This wasn’t Yuri’s first time at the rodeo. He knew what the cops had to do. Protesting was pointless. They had to sort out the good guys from the bad guys, and from the way they were dressed, it was way too easy for SWAT to decide that they were black hats. The time to argue an arrest was not at the scene, but in the station, with legal counsel backing you.
It didn’t make the situation any less sucky.
The police cuffed Yuri and Will, confiscated their gear, and bundled them into their cruisers. At the station, the cops collected their clothing and issued them jumpsuits, then sat them down in separate rooms for questioning.
Yuri stuck to his guns. He would not speak without counsel present. He reiterated his position until the detectives relented and allowed him to make a phone call. Instead of calling a lawyer, he called Joshua Gregory.
The former commandant of the STS, he was one of the exceedingly few operators who had bounced back from the unit’s disbandment. As adept a politician as he was an operator, he knew where the bodies were buried, and more importantly, who had ordered the burying. The government couldn’t quite get rid of him, so now he served as a ‘consultant’, once again plotting to undermine the New Gods from inside the system.
The cops placed Yuri and Will in solitary confinement, allocating them to different cells. When morning came, they reunited the duo, bringing them to a conference room. Not an interrogation room. A bona fide conference room, with a long table, comfortable lights, cool temperatures, swivel chairs. There were even windows that looked out into the outside world.
Two men in cheap suits were waiting for them. They introduced themselves as Detectives Hunter and Gable, Intelligence Bureau.
In other words: RPD’s in-house spooks.
“You two seem to have friends in high places,” Hunter remarked.
Will chuckled. Yuri smiled politely but mirthlessly.
“Who are you anyway? The locals say you’re private security, but your ‘friend’ says something else,” Gable pressed.
“Are we on the record?” Yuri asked.
“Of course not. This is just an informal conversation,” Hunter said reassuringly.
Will and Yuri looked at each other. And laughed.
“Come on!” Will exclaimed. “We won’t born yesterday.”
“You know our names. You know who are. And we’re way past the point of playing games,” Yuri said.
Gable smirked at his partner. Hunter shook his head. Although it seemed smooth, even natural, Yuri guessed that it was a just a performance, letting him think that he had won something, making him feel intelligent, goading him into dropping his guard.
“Yuri Yamamoto and Will Connor,” Hunter said. “Former STS, now… ‘private security’. What brings you two to our fair city?”
“Working a private security contract in the Church District,” Yuri said.
“The merchants’ committee said there were four of you. What happened to the rest of your team?”
“They’re not here, are they?”
“Obviously. Where did they go?”
Will shrugged broadly. “Beats me.”
“We lost contact with them after SWAT arrived. We were hoping you would know,” Yuri said.
The cops frowned as one.
“We’re going to need their statements on the shootings,” Hunter said.
“You didn’t ask the committee for help?” Will replied.
“They claimed they had no way to get ahold of the rest of your team.”
“Oh?” Yuri remarked.
“Most of the committee have been extremely uncooperative during our interviews,” Gable said. “They refused to say anything.”
“Gee, I wonder why,” Will said.
“A mystery for the ages,” Yuri agreed.
Hunter scowled. “Obstruction of justice is punishable by federal law.”
“But exercising the right to remain silent isn’t,” Yuri said.
“Racketeering and witness tampering are federal offenses, but I’m sure you wouldn’t know anything about that,” Will said.
Black fury twisted Hunter’s face. Will grinned. Yuri said nothing.
Gable touched Hunter’s shoulder. “Cool it.”
Hunter clicked his tongue and looked away.
Shaking his head, Gable turned to Will and Yuri.
“Alright, look, maybe we got off on the wrong foot. We’re on the same side here. None of us wants a war in the Church District. But you can imagine that after the shooting, there’s a lot of pressure from the top. Let’s start over. We just need some answers. Fair enough?”
A modified good cop/bad cop routine. A lesser man would have fallen for it. Yuri knew better.
Cops assigned to spook duty were usually better trained. They wouldn’t display emotions as readily as Hunter did. Not unless they were making a play, with Hunter as the bad cop and Gable as the _less _bad cop.
“Sounds fair,” Yuri said. “But you gotta understand that we’re in a difficult position.”
“I understand. After you did in the STS, well, the New Gods aren’t going to be too fond of you and your team,” Gable said.
“Then you understand why we can’t stay here,” Will said.
“It won’t be for long. Just answer our questions and you’ll be on your way.”
Yuri shook his head. “That’s not how it’s going to work.”
Hunter bristled. “What do you mean?”
“Look around you. We’re in a conference room. Not an interrogation room. That means you must have received a phone call from someone high up. Correct?”
Gable nodded cautiously. “What about it?”
“I called him last night. Here’s what he told me: ‘I’ll make sure they will give you their full cooperation.’ ‘They’ meaning you. I’m not seeing that cooperation here. And I’m sure you have an inkling of what he can do.”
“What do you want?” Hunter asked.
“We want you to keep the New Gods out of the Church District. Permanently,” Will said.
“Come on, Mr. Connor,” Gable said. “You were born and bred here. You know how things work. Our SWAT team isn’t even half as good as the STS.”
“PSB ESWAT picked up the slack. Go to them instead. I don’t care how it’s done, or who does it, but I want it done.”
“I’ll call the PSB. But I can’t guarantee results. That’s all I can promise.”
“Then I can promise you that our mission in the Church District will continue indefinitely.”
“You’re toting military-grade firepower on the streets. It makes people nervous.”
“It didn’t make our clients nervous,” Will said.
“Without this ‘military-grade firepower’, we wouldn’t have stopped the shootings,” Yuri added.
“We appreciate what you did, but you’re not STS anymore. You gotta leave that to SWAT,” Hunter said.
“We saw how well they did across the river,” Will remarked.
“How many people died before the cops arrived?” Yuri asked.
“Eight,” Gable said.
“Looking at how long it took RPD to arrive, if we hadn’t done anything, it could have been eighteen. Or eighty,” Will said.
“You’re saying you know what happened at the waterfront?” Gable asked.
Under the table, Yuri tapped Will’s foot. The intel cops had almost led them into a trap.
“I heard shots. I didn’t see anything,” Yuri said.
“Me too,” Will replied.
“But the two of you ran to the church,” Gable said.
“That was our contingency plan.”
“We found two shooters at the bridges. They were both shot in the head. Know anything about that?”
“Nope,” Will said.
“What he said,” Yuri said.
“Really, now. Your colleague Kayla Fox was a sniper, wasn’t she?”
“No,” Will and Yuri replied as one.
“Really? Then what was she?”
“Team sharpshooter,” Yuri replied.
Hunter waved his hand. “Same difference.”
It wasn’t. Not by a long shot. But never respond to the enemy when he was trying to goad you into reacting.
“Where was she during the shooting?” Gable asked.
“Why do you care?” Will retorted.
“The angle of the shots suggested they came from the roof of Sanger Goodman. Was that where she was?”
“Answer my question.”
“Answer ours first.”
Yuri held up a finger.
“I don’t think you understand you’re in. We’re only talking to you out of common courtesy. You ought to cooperate with us. Not the other way around.”
“You’re private contractors. You’re not feds,” Hunter said.
“Same difference,” Yuri said.
“What, you’re working for the feds?”
Yuri grinned. “Why are we having this conversation in this room?”
Gable frowned in unspoken surrender.
“Over the past couple of years, there were reports of violence all over the country. Riveria, especially. A hit team waged a war against the Pantheon and the Liberated. It ended with them blowing up a park. Are we going to see that happening again?”
Yuri knew it was the parking lot of a park, but to say that was to admit guilt.
“The New Gods had a major showdown in Babylon some years back. And before that, Riveria. Now they’re acting up again in Shinsekai, especially around the Church District. Are you going to do anything to prevent that?” Will said.
Gable sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose. “The New Gods rule the world. You know that as well as I do. Hell, better than I do. Regular cops like us, there’s not a lot we can do.”
“Which of them do you worship?” Yuri asked.
“What?” Hunter exclaimed.
Gable blinked. “We’re seculars.”
Sure you are…
Yuri was willing to bet that they worked for the New Gods. They might not worship them, but they certainly wouldn’t object to taking their money. The New Gods had many ways to convince those who believed in such quaint notions of honor and objectivity. Anything and everything Will and Yuri said here would flow into the ears of the New Gods at some point.
“So long as the New Gods threaten our clients, we’re going to remain here,” Yuri said. “You can take that to the New Gods.”
“If you know what’s best for you, you and your team should pack up and leave town,” Hunter said.
“No can do,” Will said.
“We’re trying to do you a favor,” Gable said. “The New Gods don’t ever forgive and forget. They know you and your team are in town. They know you have someone high up protecting you. If they move against you… there’s nothing we can do.”
“Then we have to do what we have to do,” Yuri said.
“You do that, we can’t turn a blind eye to it. You know how the game is played.”
“We don’t plan on starting trouble. But we’re going to finish it,” Will said.
Gable sighed and shook his head. “You’re making a big mistake.”
“You know what’s the bigger mistake?” Yuri asked. “Not going after the group trying to drive a wedge between the New Gods.”
The cops exchanged a look.
“‘Drive a wedge’?” Gable asked. “What do you mean?”
“Werewolves shredded the Liberated crew right outside the Church District. During the shooting at the waterfront, I heard wolves howling. I bet witnesses report werewolves as well. Put everything together and you’ll think the Court of Shadows, correct?”
“We’re not ruling anything out,” Gable said diplomatically.
Will laughed. “Sure you aren’t.”
“The shooters in the long coats were pledged to a wolf god,” Yuri said. “I bet the other two infiltrators were also Elect. But the Lord and Lady of Shadows do not manifest as wolves.”
“How do you know that?” Gable asked.
“The Lord and Lady manifested in front of me. God, my god, drove them back.”
Hunter paled. “You… did… what?”
Yuri smiled and did not reply.
“How did you know the shooters were pledged to a wolf god?” Gable asked.
“I had an asset on the ground with Aethersight. He spotted the shooters going in,” Yuri replied.
“Karim Mustafa,” Gable said. “He’s an Elect, wasn’t he? Was that where he was?”
“I didn’t see him,” Will said.
“What he said,” Yuri said.
“You two know that lying to a cop is a crime, right?” Hunter said.
“You know that we know that your report will be read by the New Gods,” Yuri said. “Didn’t you say something about doing us a favor?”
“You want to do us a favor so bad, you should find out who the Elect really worked for,” Will said.
Gable pursed his lips and glanced at his partner. Hunter glanced back. An invisible communication passed between them.
Yuri waited.
At last, Gable turned back to them.
“We know the shooters aren’t from the Court.”
“How?” Yuri said.
“The Court told us.”
Yuri and Will laughed.
“We’re not idiots,” Hunter sputtered. “We cross-referenced the shooters against our own database of known Elect.”
“They’re not in the database?” Yuri asked.
Hunter shook his head. “No. They’re not part of the New Gods, or any other minor Power.”
“Or they’re just not in the database,” Will said.
“That’s true, but let’s think it through,” Gable said. “There’s no reason for the Court to commit a terrorist attack in downtown Riveria. Not without provocation, anyway. A shooting like this would only turn public opinion against them. Even their own believers would turn against them.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Yuri said.
Elect do not defect. They could not. Once they pledged the soul to their gods, their gods controlled them completely. Even their very thoughts were sculpted by the malign will of intelligences beyond human comprehension. They were no longer human, but meat puppets.
“If there’s one thing we know about the New Gods, it’s that they are rational. Everything they do serves a strategic purpose. This shooting doesn’t. Punks and hotheads may do stupid things on the street. It happens all the time. But this? A Speaker has to sign off on it, and there’s no reason to go on a shooting spree,” Will said.
Yuri nodded. It conformed with everything he knew about the New Gods. Even the Court’s embrace of ultraviolence was rational. Through destroying their enemies in spectacular fashion, the Shadows intimidated witnesses and potential threats, and impressed their allies.
This shooting would simply turn the cops and the rest of the New Gods against the Court.
“It’s a false flag attack,” Yuri mused.
“Got to be. Any idea who’s behind it?” Gable asked.
“We’ve been out of the game for over two years. If you don’t know, how would we?” Will said.
“That’s not what our intel says,” Hunter replied.
The New Gods could have left them alone. Should have left them alone. But they didn’t. Their never-ending quest to dominate the world inevitably placed them into conflict with the former operators of the STS. When the inevitable happened, the New Gods inevitably blamed the team.
Which went a long way towards explaining the state of the world.
“Cui bono,” Yuri said.
Will nodded. “That’s right. You want to know who’s behind the false flag, you ask who benefits from it.”
“What do _you _think?” Gable asked.
“That depends on who you work for, of course,” Will said.
“What are you implying by that?” Hunter bristled.
Yuri tapped Will’s foot again. Easy.
“You’re the detectives,” Yuri said. “Go detect.”
“We’re just glorified security guards,” Will added.
Gable shot him a knowing look. Will and Yuri smiled back. Everyone knew what was really going on.
“Are you going back to the Church District?” Hunter asked.
“That’s where we’re contracted to protect.”
“If you see Karim Mustafa or Kayla Fox again, get them to contact us.”
“Are they wanted for anything?” Yuri asked.
“No, but they’re persons of interest.”
In other words: same difference.
“We’ll pass on the message. We can’t guarantee what they’ll do next,” Yuri said.
“But we can guarantee what will happen if you don’t cooperate with us,” Will added.
“Don’t fuck with us,” Hunter said. “We may just be city cops, but we’ve got more juice than you think.”
“Instead of harassing us, use that juice to get the New Gods out of the Church District. That’ll solve all our problems,” Will replied.
Gable shook his head. “You know that’s not realistic.”
“Keeping the little guy down while protecting the fat cats at the top. Is that all RPD is good for these days?”
Hunter leaned in, his eyes aflame.
“You know we’ve got our jobs to do.”
Yuri breathed.
In that moment, he fell into a moment of supreme calm, of total immobility. All emotions settled, all thoughts vanished. His heart became still, and in that stillness it became like a mirror, perfectly reflecting all things that fell upon it.
In that state, he allowed Hunter and Gable to see themselves as what they truly were.
Hunter blinked. Gable raised an eyebrow.
“You have your jobs,” Yuri said. “So do we.”
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