Mary and the green plated demon knight landed on a balcony jutting from the hall along an alleyway with a skid. They both took a moment to dust themselves off, the demon checking to find any scratches, before they looked up. “Before we go in, I have a few questions for you. Firstly, what’s your name?” she asked, “It’s kind of rude to not give me one.”

The demon looked at her and facepalmed, “Yeah, I forgot to tell ya. Whoops. The name’s Huk. H-u-k. No c. You don’t know how many people expect the c,” he complained.

Mary eyed him, but nodded nonetheless. “Alright then. So, Huk, why the hell did you attack me so randomly? Was I really that suspicious?”

He shook his head. “No, not really. I specialize in air and wind mana, as well as the more physical variations of such. I threw a good air blade at you earlier, would’ve sliced straight through at least half of the unenchanted metals the Purity Union stole, so that sword you have is impressive. I’ve never seen it before, so what the hell is it? Beyond that, what do you use to get around? That was a solid 50 feet, but you just jumped it,” he asked, rambling.

[I’m starting to lose confidence in this guy. Quickly. He seemed reliable before, but that may have been a professional persona,] Abe said in Mary’s mind. She couldn’t help but agree with him, but also knew that looks could be deceiving, so kept her guard up.

“Well, I stole the sword from a squad of spec ops,” she explained, huk recoiling in surprise, “As for the jump… that’s a secret. I can’t let you in on all of my secrets,” she added. She didn’t trust Huk, even if he was a demon. He may not have been from the Purity Union, but there were a lot of hidden demi-human gangs that caused minor trouble in the slums. Most of the ones that caused worse were either caught and killed or good enough at hiding that they couldn’t be found. Huk could have been in the later category.

The demon deflated slightly at her response, “Eh, that’s fair. It’s not like I’m gonna tell ya how my wind works. Anyway, take this inside, we can’t keep the bigwigs waiting,” he said, suddenly walking through the doors of the balcony. Mary quickened her pace to match his hurried steps, though she was nowhere close to putting effort in.

She peered around at the immaculate corridors of the Company’s headquarters with caution. “Are you sure it’s a good idea to waltz in here? You know that I am a wanted fugitive, right?”

Huk flicked his hand slightly, chuckling, “Don’t worry about it, this place is not a place you’ll find a Purity goon or enforcer. That just means that we have a good place to talk while we’re on our way. Which means… you can tell me the story behind that slaughter,” he said in a tone that could only mean he was grinning.

Mary was unimpressed, showing as much when she crossed her arms and glared at his slightly turned helmet, “First of all, rude. I barely know you, and the whole thing is… touchy. Second of all, why is that the first thing you ask that you can’t see in front of you?” she demanded, a bit miffed.

He sagged a bit, “Sorry, I’m a bit of a battle junkie. Mostly because of my upbringing. You know how it is for most demon demis around here,” he said, turning forward and taking a right at the intersecting hallway.

She nodded, “That’s true. Even before the whole Purity business you guys had it rough.”

“And it only got harder after the bastard Helix became top dog. Do you know what it was like, out in the demon slice of the slums?” he asked, stopping and turning back to her.

She nodded again, “I do. I’ve been out there a few times. I knew this demon girl in school who lived around there. Last I heard, her family moved out to Rakei. A year ago if I’m not mistaken,” she recalled.

[Hmm…] Abe wondered to her, [Ah, here it is. Rakei is a republic a few hundred miles north of here. They’re demi-friendly and, apparently, have been putting serious pressure on Olsvania for the last decade, since the Purity movement started. Interesting,] he muttered, fading back out of focus while he was browsing something else from the files he stole from the Sect of the Divine Mechanism. She was suddenly annoyed thinking about them, both their awful cult and their awful name.

As she was thinking and listening to Abe, Huk glanced back at her, “Wait… Rakei… wait, was it Little Silver? Cute little horns, chubby face, uh, silver hair?” he asked excitedly.

“I think so,” she mused, “Joyce was her name, if I remember correctly. You knew her?”

He laughed, taking one last corner and coming to a stop at an ornately carved yutan wood, “Of course I do! She was the best mechanic around. She was also one to… nah, I probably shouldn’t say that about her. We all have our vices. Now then, let’s go meet the richies,” he said, throwing open the doors and walking in with Mary following him.

Inside, a long, narrow table stood as the centerpiece of the room with chairs lining the sides. In almost all of the chairs sat a man or women in different states of business dress. One man saw it fit to where enough purple to make an emperor green with envy. A woman near the opposite end of the room took the term ‘business attire’ differently than most, wearing such revealing clothing that most in the room avoided looking at her. One man, sitting at the right hand of the man at the head of the table, was petting an exotic animal that not even Mary had heard of. The man at the opposite head of the table was not fat, but large. His frame seemed to strain the chair he was sitting in, making it seem comically small for his bulk. Muscles bulged through his suit and threatened to tear the fabric if he exercised his arm’s full range of motion. As they entered, all eyes turned to them as Huk sat in the one chair provided at the end of the table and Mary quickly grabbed the one loose chair in the room. As they sat, the hulking man stared at them with deep blue eyes. He cleared his throat, grabbing the attention of every person in the room, “We will now begin the meeting. Tunnel Rat representative Huk, it seems you have brought a guest. Could you introduce us, as well as provide assurances that she will not be a problem?” he asked, cordially at first bit with an edge in his voice by the end.

Huk took a breath, “I can, Mr. Wezolict. May I introduce Mary Grant, a criminal wanted by the Purity Union for over 200 accounts of infidel murder without proper cleasning rites, tens of accounts of elite Purity Enforcer murder, theft of Purity Union property, along with whatever other random charges were committed in the process of the previous actions,” he explained with little ceremony. Mary’s eyes went wide as she stared at his utter lack of subtlety and the reactions around the room were split between recoiling at the breadth of the crimes and leaning forward in interest.

Before any of the other attendees could ask questions, the scantily clad woman’s eyes went wide, “Wait, Grant!? You’re Arthur’s little cherub, aren’t you?” she asked in excitement. Mary was taken aback by her sudden activity and could only answer with a simple nod. “Ah! He was such a good man… A shame what happened to him, you know? Actually, who am I kidding, you probably know. He was such a fine specimen! In fact, when we were still dating, he-”

“That’s enough, Carla,” Mr. Wezolict interrupted, “We do not need you to waste time with your sexual escapades.” He turned to Huk, “Mr. Huk, I believe you have proven both her abilities and trustworthiness. Now, on to the main topic, some of our informants have sent word of an important shipment of water-attuned steel arriving from Helix’s backers in the Yesli Dominion. We need your group to intercept the shipment before it arrives in port. We will split the spoils as we always have, 30:70. The shipment will arrive in 3 days time, and will reach the eyes of the southern island in 2 days time. They will arrive during the night, to give you some sense of the precise timing,” he explained. Huk nodded once he was finished, and the rest of the assembled businessmen and women discussed specific requests concerning the ship and other items within.

Once the meeting was adjourned, Mary and Huk left, heading to the balcony and finding a quiet rooftop. “Alright, looks like you’re part of the game now. I can’t give you the location of any safehouses, but I can tell you to meet me at Gus’ antiques. He’s a friend of mine and won’t mind me hanging around there. Anyway, I’ll see ya then,” he said as he soared off into the distance, pointedly away from the slums.

Mary sighed and sat down, “That was stressful,” she muttered.

[What are you saying? You did great!] Abe assured.

She gave a short laugh, “Of course you’d say that. Which part is the mind madness and which is you, I wonder,”

Abe mentally shrugged, [And which part of that was the mind madness and which part is you, I wonder,] he said, giving them both a laugh.

“Anyway, we have a first step, so let’s head home and get some sleep, as well as carve a few enchantments. We have to be ready,” she stated, feeling resolved. As she flew back to her run down apartment, ideas streamed through her head as she planned for her part in the raid.

*=====*

“What the hell happened!?” a man yelled. The two enforcers, wearing their signature red fatigues and white vest, that received the brunt of the shout winced a bit, recoiling from the spit that followed the outburst.

“Well, sir, we were doing our rounds when we heard a young woman scream and saw her fall from this alley in fright, pointing at something,” the first, younger enforcer began, “We ran up to her and tried to calm her down. I don’t know what I thought we’d find, but this…” he trailed off, gesturing to the bloody alley painted with blood, a man’s corpse in the center missing four fifths of his torso and with a severed arm.

“Yeah, we didn’t know what to do!” the second, older enforcer shouted, “All we could do without the investigators and seekers was call HQ!”

The first man clenched his fists, preparing to lash out once more, when another figure entered the alley, “Branson, calm down. I know what you’re thinking, but we have to be calm about it,” he lectured, “While this is definitely the bloodiest murder we’ve ever seen, we have to investigate with the same clearheadedness we do with everything.”

The man, Branson, turned to the newcomer, wearing a thin jacket, jeans, a collared shirt and a tan badge, and sneered, “Oh, what, is the genius detective O'Malley going to solve the case with his aloof attitude like always? Give me a break! The Purity Union cannot stand for this! If I need to, I will make an appeal to Pope Helix if you don’t take this seriously!” he cried out, seething with barely contained rage.

O’Malley pulled his hands up and back, “Branson, if you do that, it won’t change anything. I know you see it as your duty to kill demi-humans, but you have to put your duty as a police officer before yourself.”

“Enforcer,” Branson spat back, “We aren’t ‘police officers,’ we are enforcers. We do not simply stop crime, we enforce truth and justice.”

“As well as the agenda of the Purity Union.”

“And what if we do? We do not make the laws, we enforce them,” Branson growled, eyes narrowed.

O’Malley shrugged, “Perhaps. Either way, I must attend to my duties. As do you,” he said, venom lacing his words in a way they did not before. Branson flinched, muttered some excuses, and trudged out of the alley. “Much better,” O’Malley sighed wistfully.

The first enforcer lightly coughed after a bit, getting the brown-haired O’Malley’s attention, “Um… are you the detective, sir?”

He smiled and nodded, “Indeed I am.”

“Should we give our accounts then?”

He nodded again, “That would be helpful.”

The enforcers came closer to the detective, so they could speak with some degree of privacy, “So it all started with the four of us making the rounds here —the other two are trying to comfort the lady who found the body— and we all hear a scream. We run to find a woman falling on her backside and pointing into the alley, and when we get there, we see all of… this…” the first enforcer said, gesturing to the alley while O’Malley took notes, “While John and Alex try to calm the woman down, we phone HQ in over the radio and keep any curious early risers from seeing this.”

The second officer nodded. “Yeah, then that guy, Branson, shows up. He takes one look at the body and starts tearing into us, yelling about demi-human-this and Purity Union-that. He kept going, demanding that we tell him everything about the case. I think he scared that poor woman as well, so it might be hard to get answers out of her.”

O’Malley scribbled furiously in his notebook, muttering, “Doing rounds… woman screams… finds alley… cordons off… Bronson annoying… Alright, I think I have everything. Do you two mind pointing me to the woman?” they nod, pointing to an offshoot alley near the entrance of the crime scene. O’Malley followed their directions, his amber eyes scanning for any clues, when he suddenly stopped and looked down. He kneeled as a small tattoo on his hand flashed blue. Rubbing his fingers in the dirt, he wrote furiously in his notebook. Once done, he walked to the offshoot alley and found the other two enforcers consoling a young woman as she rocked back and forth.

As he entered, one of the enforcers ran up to him and saluted, “Sir,” she said, “Did the other two fill you in?” He nodded, which she reciprocated, “Good, all we have to add is that the woman has been terrified for the past half an hour. I don’t think we’ll be able to get her to talk about anything yet,” she hedged, but O’Malley shook his head.

“I’ve spoken to people with worse cases,” he said. He walked up to the woman and sat down in front of her, waiting for her attention. It took almost a minute before she took notice of him. When she did, he flashed a smile and spoke calmly, “I know you’re not doing great, so how about you take your mind off of things for a while? Why don’t we start with this: Why are you up so early? It’s only five in the morning.”

The woman was shaking but soon calmed herself enough to answer, “I-I always go o-out for a m-morning jog… I-I was j-jogging and found t-this alley and h-him in it. I-I was so scared and I d-didn’t know what to d-do so I-I screamed and then t-the officers arrived and… and…” she rambled, tears welling up in her eyes.

O’Malley placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down. “I get it. It’s hard. You aren’t at fault, alright?” All he got for his words was a subdued nod and more sobbing.

He sighed, patted her shoulder, and stood. Just as he did, the younger enforcer he spoke to jogged into the offshoot alley, “The rest of the investigation team arrived, sir. They’re asking after you.”

He nodded and slowly walked back out into the main alley, scanning for any clues. When he got there, he found a team of investigators combing through the scene. They used various enchanted devices to scan the air, looking for trace amounts of unique mana that could have been used, environmental DNA samples, and other pieces that could provide clues. As he gazed at the rest of the investigative team, he noticed his colleague, Hana, approaching, “O’Malley, good to see you found a case that actually has you doing something other than sitting in the corner and doing nothing,” she greeted with a grin.

He scoffed, “I do more than that, you know. I-”

“Find traces of the suspect at the scene to determine their psychological makeup and the circumstances the crime occured. I know, you’ve given me the speech a million times. So, what’d you find? Anything good?”

He sighed and walked towards the body. “I did, and the image is not a good one. We’ll find out more when a Speaker finds their way here, but from what I see, we have 2 suspects, both working together. 1 of them actually killed the guy and the other was just there. The worst part is that the one who killed this guy can’t be older than 16. Maybe a malnourished 17 year old, but I doubt it,” he explained as Hana grimaced further with every word.

“So you’re telling me that a 16 year old did this?” she gawked, waving her hands about, “Most deep sea beasts couldn’t even manage half of this! In fact, I’ve been using my own tools. The worst part about all of this is that either someone has an impractical bone knife, or our suspect is so far from human it’s scary. I found some DNA traces and analyzed them. Or at least tried to. The stuff vaporized as soon as I looked at it. Personally, I’m leaning toward the later option; no one enchants a knife that kills the remnant cells that remain after cutting,” she concluded.

O’Malley shrugged, “Who knows. We’ll get some more solid proof once a Speaker arrives.” Hana just nodded and got back to her tools. O’Malley sighed and leaned on the wall of the alley, eating a self-heating bagel he always kept in his jacket’s inner pocket.