Chapter 24: Grieselda

Grieselda marched into the lieutenant’s office stiff as a sick-stick, her body’s usual reaction in the presence of her mentor.

The dark office did little to ease the tension. The window blinds were drawn and a lone LED lamp on the lieutenant’s desk barely illuminated the end of the spacious room.

Her mentor sat in the lieutenant’s grand chair, while the lieutenant himself was relegated to standing beside him. After all, what was a mere lieutenant to the Lord Protector?

Lord Murakami was dressed in his extravagant black and gold uniform that complemented his golden blonde hair.

His powerful blue eyes regarded her every move, placed a ghostly pressure on her stride and made her every step exaggeratedly cautious as if walking was no longer second nature.

She managed to traverse the room without incident, halted before the executive desk and saluted her real superiors: the only two people aware of her current assignment.

“Mentor, lieutenant.”

“At ease apprentice,” Lord Murakami said.

She dropped her salute but remained stiff at attention.

Lord Murakami rested his elbows on the desk, interlocked his fingers and stared through her with those righteous blue eyes.

Sweat trickled down her spine within the oppressive silence.

“Your latest report is quite disturbing,” Lord Murakami said. “Do you know what Safaree and Ray Dawn discussed?”

Grieselda shook her head. “Unfortunately the restaurant they met in was reserved for just the two of them. There were guards covering the entrances so there was no quick way to surveil inside without risking discovery. But it I think their discussion should’ve been related to Shenko.”

Safaree seemed obsessed with her former apprentice, further proven by the fact that she never trained another apprentice mage after Shenko transferred to cybercrime.

‘Why such a great woman would obsess over a man-child like Shen is beyond me?’

“The union elections are coming up,” Lord Murakami said. “You think she plans to push Shenko to replace her?”

“It would seem so but Shenko himself seems disinterested.”

“No need to bring it to the governor’s attention then.”

“Despite the political implications on the union elections,” Lieutenant Rafinya said. “Am I correct in presuming Ray Dawn has done nothing illegal?”

Grieselda hadn’t reported their meet with broker or the shady deal the captain did with the criminal. There was no point doing such without any evidence. It would only make her look incompetent for missing such a golden opportunity.

She frowned. “You presume correctly sir.”

“Then it’s fair to say, you haven’t made any progress,” the lieutenant said.

Grieselda swallowed hard. “He’s more cautious than any of my previous assignments so getting proof will take some time.”

“Maybe,” the lieutenant said. “But maybe he isn’t dirty. Maybe he’s just that good at his job. Maybe were better off diverting Internal Affairs resources to other potential assignments.”

Grieselda’s frown deepened distorting her face.

She knew Lieutenant Rafinya wasn’t so naïve to believe what he was saying. She had long suspected the lieutenant was willing to overlook the captain’s evils because he closed so many of his high profiled cases. That made cybercrime look good and in-turn made the lieutenant look good.

“What about you, apprentice?” Mentor asked. “You believe this assignment is a waste of time?”

“No, he is definitely dirty,” Grieselda said. “He’s shown me enough to conclude as much but he covers his tracks well. Only by getting closer to him might I capitalize on a slip-up.”

“I trust in your judgement apprentice.”

Grieselda nodded her appreciation.

“But I also expect results,” Lord Murakami said, his cold blue eyes weighing down her body.

“Soon,” Lord Murakami said.

“Yes mentor.”