An hour past noon, Police Station, East Circle
The call went through to bring the remaining Rostami family to the station, one that was vetoed by Robert on accounts of their family crisis and the fact that Navid was being held in their very lockup. They face-timed the hospital and Reyhana Rostami was quick to confirm Dr. Maddox Crane's alibi. As soon as the culprit was all but confirmed, the situation turned exceedingly simple, Dr. Maddox Crane and Dr. Fletcher Hawthorne were let go and an arrest warrant was fast tracked through the legal system. As soon as the morning came Dr. Anisha Maria was officially arrested for the murder of six infants and one police officer and she was cuffed and taken down to the garage to a police van. The prosecutor's office wanted press for a trial almost immediately, a police officer had after all been murdered in this whole ordeal and the case gained some wild traction because of such a thing. Jerome was a part of the team that was tasked with getting both Dr. Maria and her confession to the court and he learned now that it would be a chore judging from the way the news and media had run a total smear campaign against the female doctor. How the media outlets even got the news this fast he had no clue off but they seemed to get everything quicker than even the police could catch on. He did work as freelance journalist and had some good sources in several police stations across the city, all of which would now be abandoned considering his imprisonment and then presumed death. Still, the people had flocked almost immediately to the station as soon as they heard the news of the culprit behind the arson attacks with boards of written protest and anger in the droves. As he looked out the window from the second floor, he merely let out a sigh, the people still had some much strength despite the sun high in the sky, shining brightly with heat and light. He touched the gun on his hip and the badge he had there as well, he had everything he needed, he was in proper uniform. He made his way down to the garage where the van carrying Dr. Maria awaited. It was somewhat large and he didn't really understand why they needed something this large, a car would suffice just as easily, the woman was cuffed and watched over by him. If she made the foolish decision of escaping they would be scraping up her remains off the pavement in a matchbox, that he would ensure. He wanted her to escape so he could kill her. When he had returned to the break room after his stint with the interrogation he had found the entire Blake family gone and they had left nothing behind save for a word on a napkin 'Thanks' and with that he was around ninety percent sure that Lillian Blake had also figured out the culprit behind her brother's murder. The question now became, when would Lillian Blake and attack and how would she attack because he didn't want to be caught in the crossfire. Let Dr. Maria and Lillian handle their problem between themselves. He greeted the head constable, a very old man with a thick moustache and a balding head, who was also there for the transfer and the driver of the vehicle came forth. As they waited, Dr. Maria was slowly brought down, her hair somewhat dishevelled as she turned to look at him with those dead eyes of hers and he frowned. She was shuffled into the van and cuffed to the rails. Seconds later another prisoner was brought down and yet again it was one that Jerome recognized.
"Navid," he said surprised.
At his name being called he looked up and almost immediately his face paled as he looked about ready to through up.
"Sir," said Jerome turning to the head constable. "Why are we taking this man along with us as well, I wasn't told of this."
"It's convenient," the head constable simply replied rubbing his moustache with his thumb.
Jerome asked no more, it didn't much matter to him whether he escorted one or two prisoners, both were normal humans. This was something that surprised him about Dr. Anisha Maria, he was sure the woman was someone that belonged to his new world, but she was hundred percent human with not a trace of magic in her as Eckhard had confirmed and Jerome's assumption was that she was simply now a 'psychopathic b*tch'. He entered the van after Navid and the head constable and he was followed by two other constables, lower in seniority than himself. He seated himself right at the very back, behind Dr. Maria, giving her a cold smile as he passed her by and slowly the van began moving and the garage opened. The van drove out and almost immediately they were swarmed by the angry mob, even he felt a little frightened, they looked positively blood thirsty to him. He took a quick peek at Dr. Maria's reaction and was somewhat disappointed to the same dead look.
"You aren't scared?" he asked her, the woman turned to give him a similar dead look and he let out a wry smile as he stayed quiet.
As soon as the van had driven past the majority of the mob she slowly turned to him like a zombie.
"Should I be?" she asked.
"What?" he asked in confusion.
"Scared, should I be scared?" she clarified.
"Considering the fact that the mob outside were ready to lynch you then yes," he said with a nod and she shook her head.
"You're here aren't you," she said. "So is this van, as long as I'm in here, I'm safe."
He whistled at that, a slight amount rage building in him, "You've got a lot of guts, you set fire to the hospital three times, kill seven people and now you want our protection."
"I don't want it," she replied. "You gave it to me, because you need me alive and in court, that's the way law works isn't it."
He kicked the back of her seat as he leaned back in his own. She still faced forward as the van drove without interruption as they got onto a main road. If everything went smoothly, they would be at court in the next five minutes. He looked at the head constable who had earplugs in his ear, connected to his smartphone. The man appeared to be listening to music and the two other constables that sat at the front were as still as statues and as expressionless as stone.
"Why did you do it?" he asked out of curiosity.
She turned to him again before sighing and turning back, "That woman, she really wanted euthanasia?"
Jerome frowned, "Yes…what does that have to do with anything?"
Dr. Maria shook her head as she looked forward again, not answering him, making him grow somewhat frustrated again until his eyes widened with realization. How on earth had she realized that Dr. Crane's alibi consisted of a euthanasia discussion?
"Wait…how did you know that?"Jerome asked pulling on her shoulder to turn her.
"Know what?" she asked simply.
"His alibi…euthanasia," Jerome replied.
Dr. Maria snorted, "I don't know, maybe I just guessed."
"Did Crane, tell you?" he asked, persisting. "Is that how you know?"
"Did he tell me?" Dr. Maria repeated his question sardonically. "Did I tell him?"
Jerome grit his teeth, his face set now in a tight frown, "Stop going around in circles and tell me what's going on."
"Reyhana Rostami was tired of her life, her husband was arrested and her source of income had disappeared, she was assaulted on daily basis, physically and sexually, she lived for her son which too had become weary, she just wanted to end her life, it wasn't euthanasia she was asking for but a simple way to kill herself," said Dr. Maria with another sigh. "What she was asking for was assisted-suicide not euthanasia, give her a piece of rope and she hangs herself with it."
Jerome's eyes widened at the sudden roll of information from Dr. Maria, how on earth did she know all of this? He looked at the head constable still engrossed in his music and the two constables who might as well at this point be statues, he was the only one that heard.
"Why are you telling this to me now?" hissed Jerome. "Were you there…with Crane when that Rostami woman was talking?"
Dr. Maria let out a short burst of laughter which elicited a half turn from the two constables up front who with given time turned back to their original positions. He looked outside as the van turned a street going into uncharted territory on the route to the court and he frowned. Quickly he turned his attention back to Dr. Maria.
"Were you there with Dr. Crane?" he asked again and Dr. Maria shook her head.
"I was there," she replied. "He wasn't, I told it to him, to get his opinion…I didn't think-."
Jerome quickly came to a realization, the alibi, it was swapped. He got up from his seat suddenly as he looked at Dr. Maria.
"Damn it," he cursed. "He took your alibi and used it himself, he framed you and you confessed."
"I did," she admitted. "There wasn't much point to holding ground, everything was against me."
"We could've had more time," he argued back. "Why on earth did you confess woman?"
She simply shrugged, "It seemed pointless at the time…though now that I think about it, you may be right."
He punched the wall of the van eliciting a look from both the constables at the front, he quickly gave them a smile and sat back down.
"You're really a zombie aren't you," he said. "I've never seen someone with less motivation."
Now that he looked outside, he realized that they were on a totally different path to court…was Lillian Blake making her move, if so she would get the wrong culprit because Dr. Maria wasn't the one behind the fires, it was Dr. Maddox Crane.
"HEY!" he roared to the front at the driver. "Where the hell are you taking this van!?"
It was at this point the two statue of a constables seemed to realize something was wrong as well and they quickly got up to go to the grill that separated the driver from the back of the van. Navid looked at him as well with the same pale look.
"Keep your head down!" he snarled at the ass and finally the head constable pulled out his earplugs.
"Where are we?" the head constable asked and as the van sped up, Jerome had the urge to kick the old goat out of it.
"STOP THE DAMN VAN!" he yelled as he pushed down Dr. Maria who appeared to be getting up and moved to the front.
When he saw Navid making to get up, he slapped the man upside the head. He then looked at the head constable, still gormlessly looking around.
"Imbeciles," he snarled, he himself was one at this point, he had noticed the van taking the wrong route and he hadn't said anything, he had been more interested in Dr. Maria's truth.
Suddenly the van stopped and driver's door opened and he saw the driver jump out and run away.
"What the hell's happening?" asked the head constable again, quickly getting up and he pushed down Navid who attempted to get up again, rubbing his head.
Jerome snarled and grabbed Navid by the head and slammed him into the handle in front to knock him out, one less annoyance to deal with. It was then Eckhard came alive in his head.
<
Jerome did a double take at that…did Eckhard just say grenade.
"Where Eckhard?" asked Jerome swivelling around.
<
Jerome did a mental count in his head as he turned on his feet and ran to Dr. Maria.
"Hold tight," he growled and to the bewilderment and fright of all on the bus he picked up Dr. Maria and then with a kick he blasted the back of the van out and jumped, easily clearing the record for the longest long jump and landed in a roll outside with Dr. Maria held tightly in his grasp.
Behind him he heard the crash of glass and around two seconds after he landed he heard a crackling explosion. The heatwave hit his back he covered the now 'innocent' civilian.
"F*ck," he cursed as he got onto his knees from prone position and looked back to see the van on fire.
This had to be Lillian Blake, but this was bit of an overkill, and he remembered back to Eckhard's words, it was a blood thrall that fired it, there was no doubt in his mind anymore and if it was Lillian Blake then the woman was damn crazy, using a grenade launcher to ambush a police vehicle to avenge her brother and kill all police officers in the van. Indeed he was quite sure that the people inside the van were all dead because he could see their figures through the smoke and orange haze. He put Dr. Maria down and got to his feet and the van exploded a second time as he raised his hand to shield himself. He felt the shrapnel hitting him but they all bounced off of his ridiculously tough body as he was shielded from the heat as well. If the people inside weren't dead at first, it could now be confirmed that they were charred.
***
"Eckhard…how many hostiles?" asked Jerome trying to keep calm despite the surely heavy firepower he would be facing.
<>
He reached for the radio on his shoulder and connected with his station.
"This is constable Jerome Elliot Hall, part of the escort detail for Anisha Maria and Navid Rostami and our convoy has just been attacked…I repeat our convoy has just been attacked, the perpetrators are armed and dangerous…send backup immediately, we are on Northbound Road on the side of Witch Mountain, just past the second speed marker."
He sent over the message and then turned back to Dr. Maria who had been knocked unconscious from the impact when they hit the road, either that or she was dead. He knelt down and felt her pulse…there was one, good, it meant she was alive for now anyway. If those blood thralls got anywhere near the good doctor then it would be better for her if she had died in the explosion. He drew his pistol and aimed it through the smoke and haze as he waited with bated breath. It didn't take long for him to see movement as five figures walked unharmed through the fire, each of them looking very homeless and downright murderous. Indeed they all had on cheap and tattered clothing, dishevelled hair and a crazed look on their faces. The five consisted of four men and one woman and they all looked fairly young.
"Stop there," said Jerome pointing his gun. "I have a gun."
It was then that he noticed a strap across the woman's body and of her back hung an assault rifle which she promptly drew.
"You have a much bigger one," Jerome muttered. "F*ck."
He was about to jump for cover when he figured that he himself was covering Dr. Maria. He threw a desperate look at the woman with the rifle as she took aim and he jumped right in front of the Dr. Maria putting himself between her and the barrel.
"Eckhard…help!" he roared as he spread his arms, covering her as best as possible and then the spitfire of explosions started.
He felt each bullet hit him in the back in consecutive succession, throwing him forward a little and it pierced through but his skin was tougher, a lot tougher and he acted a shield to the doctor perfectly. As the bullets hit him over and over, he closed his eyes and grit his teeth, bearing with the pain, it wasn't all that new to what he had experienced during the past few days, nor what he had experienced in prison, he could bear with this. All the while Eckhard's voice sounded of inside his head.
<
As the bullets pierced him, his body also pushed them out, instantly repairing the area, covering them with nubots. He coughed and spat out blood as his eyes turned red at the pain. At some point he realized he had also bit his own tongue as well. He groaned as finally as the rifle ceased its function and he slumped forward on top of Dr. Maria. His eyes had blurred and he could still hear Eckhard's voice sounding off in a far off distance. He clenched his body trying to stay awake because if he faded now the only thing he would awaken to would be the news of the good doctor's death and Maddox Crane, that bastard, would commit yet another murder. He groaned again as he struggled to turn, behind him was a veritable mine of bullets, all that had hit his body and been pushed out. He felt the blood thralls approaching him.
"We get him?" one of them asked, the blood lust was glaringly apparent in his voice.
"He got hit with somewhere in the range of a hundred and fifty bullets," another male voice stated.
"None of them made it through," the woman in the group noted as she threw the rifle onto the ground.
One of the males, slightly braver than the rest in his group got closer in his approach. Jerome rolled halfheartedly, turning to face his victim.
<
Jerome heard Eckhard's clear voice and his eyes widened as he unleashed a mad grin, he looked at the approaching blood thrall, whose eyes too widened and suddenly something blade-like pierced through the man's skull and expanded shattering it. He dropped like a ball and Jerome sprang to his feet and shook his head. His hand now had a large blade jutting out of it, more precisely, from his palm. The blade made a form as it the nubots collected and formed and fairly soon he was holding something akin to a single-edged longsword. The blood thralls all took their vary stances in preparation for what was to come.
"I don't know why you f*ckers thought it was a good idea to blow up the convoy and shoot me with an assault rifle," said Jerome relishing in the tense atmosphere. "But you are all goddamn dead."