(Warning: There are still slight mentionings to the events in the previous chapter, but no actual suicide occurs. Reader discretion is still advised.)
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It was hard having to deal with the constant stench of blood in the air and still manage to keep one composure. Camille the entire time kept to herself on the other side of the warehouse, unable to bear the sight of Jasmine's corpse being carried out on a stretcher, body bagged and wrapped as it was being taken to the nearest autopsy facility.
Jack had reached down for the mask long forgotten on the floor and held it in his hands, getting a better visual of the design on it. It was a kitsune mask, with a drawing of a flower on the center of the head. The design was nothing special, kitsune mask could be bought anywhere if you knew the right place. It was rather dull and didn't stick out at all, nothing to help point out to the group she was supposedly referring to sometime back.
"What's that in your hand?" Michael asked, snapping him out of his trance.
Jack turned around and gave Michael a concerned look, "You shouldn't be here right now, you should be with the medical team getting your neck checked out. Make sure that women didn't cut you, that poison was potent so even the smallest wound could be deadly."
Michael looked down and placed his hand on his chest, "Don't worry, I'm being careful. I'm making sure not to touch the skin at all, although it does itch. I'll wait till I return home to properly get it washed."
"Go do it now," he ordered. "If you wait that long then you might scratch at it unintentionally. It's safer for you to just get it over with while you can. I'm sure someone has some water to spare, go ask around before it's too late."
Michael lifted his head softly, eyes shaking, "But I wanted to help with the observation, or at least make sure that you're oka-"
"It's my job as your secondary officer to watch over you," Jack reminded, "not the other way around. I'm entirely responsible for your safety at all times and must prioritize your needs before mine. Worry about yourself first then you can get back to me, and avoid rubbing your face. Got it?"
Realizing he couldn't win Michael simply nodded his head in defeat, "Yes sir."
He walked away to probably go around asking someone if they had seen a stream or a clean river nearby. The poor boy looked exhausted. His eyes were red and puffy from his heavy crying and he knew he was probably dealing with a powerful headache to top it all off. All he wants is for him to get cleaned so he can finally return home and gets some rest, he deserves it after what he's been through.
Jack turned back around and gripped the object in his hands even tighter, before sighing when he realized there was nothing he could do with it.
He was startled even more when something perched itself on top of his head. He recognized it as the ugly bird from before who had decided to stick around despite the recent killing of its previous owner.
"The hell?" he questioned at first, before sighing and swatting at the creature. "Get off of me, won't you? I'm not going to become your next caretaker."
Instead, the bird evaded his attacks and perched itself on his shoulder, pecking at its feathers. Jack groaned in frustration, looking for the nearest officer he could find.
"You there," he called out to another one of his league members, who was currently chatting with someone else while holding a clipboard. Jack approached them both and pointed to the creature on his arm. "Do you think you can contact someone who can ring up a species check on this bird over here?"
The two officers stared at each other in confusion until one of them shortly nodded his head. "Uh sure yeah, I do believe we have a professional veterinarian working at the department. She hasn't been in for some time now so it will take a few days until I can get back to you on that."
"Take however much time is needed, the longer the wait the less I have to spend with this foul thing." With that, he practically shoved the vermin off of him, and it flung itself forward into the other officer's grasp. The other officer was struggling to hold it while it fought against him, though he didn't care. He simply walked away knowing that the creature was no longer his problem anymore.
He walked over to where Camille stood, who was still facing away from the crime scene, staring at her wrist.
"Is something wrong Chief?" he asked, revealing his presence to prevent startling her.
Camille smiled softly before turning around, "I'm not Cheif yet Jacqueline, I would prefer it if you don't call me that."
Jack simply shrugged respectfully, "I figured I should get used to the name so I'll be ready to use it for when it really happens."
Her face softened as she acknowledged his attempts to cheer her up, "It seems almost as though you're looking forward to that day more than I am."
Jack smiled back, "Why wouldn't I be? That would be the day all is right with the world. Besides, I won't stop calling you Cheif until you stop calling me by my real name."
Camille giggled playfully, "For someone with such a rare name you'd think you'd be more proud of it."
Jack sighed embarrassingly, "Of course, if I was a lady at that."
"It's unisex."
"But still more common for one gender, unfortunately."
Both parties shared a laugh, then wishing it had never ended because as soon as it did the heavy feeling of reality came weighing back down upon them. Camille looked to the floor momentarily, allowing her shoulders to sag.
"It's relaxing having someone like you by my side, it feels as though I don't always have to be the stone-cold head of the office broad all the time and I can finally let my guard down."
"It's understandable," Jack reassured, "You've been more involved in my days as an officer than the actual chief himself. The favoritism is well justified."
With that Camille took a deep breath and fixed her posture, noticing the item in his hands, "Is that the mask she wore?"
He stared down at the object before nodding, "I thought it might belong to that organization she was rambling on about but turns out she probably just bought it from one of those tourist sites located around the Townsquare."
"She must have been traveling a lot to obtain something like this," She extended her hand out wordlessly so he passed her the mask. She adjusted her grip on it and stared at it in confusion, "The more I think about it the less I understand. You didn't get to see her grow Jacqueline, she was more innocent than she looked."
Jack scoffed, "Nearly slit Michael's throat just for some papers, are you sure about that ma'am?"
She traced her thumb over the red imprints carefully, "She was the sweetest little angel you had ever seen. While her mother had her past I was sure the two could handle themselves on their own. Something awful must have happened to make her join what I could only imagine being a terrorist group. But whatever could it have been, to begin with?"
"That's a decade ma'am, a lot can happen in a decade."
She looked as though she was going back in her past, probably recalling memories of when she raised the little girl and her mother, staring at the mask the entire time. After a while, Jack sighed and shoved his hands into his pants pockets.
"If you want to you can keep it," he suggested. "It's extremely unlikely that thing is going to be enough to provide us any source of information. Use it to remember her by, or something."
She looked taken back by the sudden offer Jack proposed and for a second opened her mouth to protest, but then considered it before nodding her head in agreement. "Perhaps I will...thank you."
She tucked the mask somewhere deep inside her trench coat, before beginning to walk off. "Locate Officer Michaelangelo for me and have him follow me to the cart that brought me here. Don't worry about your horses, I'll get someone else to take care of them for you. If I'm not mistaken Officer Jones and Samantharine should be arriving at the station any minute now."
She turned her head back in his direction, "I would like to inform you all of the truth behind this story before I give you my next orders."
Jack barely was given the chance to say 'yes ma'am' when she walked off and outside the warehouse. This was the most emotional he had ever seen the woman in his entire life, and he was quite curious to know the reason behind it.
He sighed out loud and scratched his head with his finger, "She should really stop calling people by their real names if she wants them to open up more to her."
-
"It's good to see you all again," Camille spoke to the four officers in front of her, all of them back inside her office, "especially after the long day we all shared."
"The pleasure is ours ma'am!" each of them spoke in well-timed synchronization.
"Before we start," she looked toward Michael, "I would like to confirm that you are doing well. Have you gotten your examination as requested?"
Michael silently stuttered before nodding, "Yes ma'am. The doctors didn't notice any signs or side effects of the consumption of the poison. They even helped me disinfect my neck to prevent any irritation and cream I should apply to soothe the itchiness."
"Not to be rude ma'am, but are we here together again?" Michael was the first to question. "Shouldn't we be giving our reports individually instead?"
Camille nodded, "That's good, now let us continue. I'm sure you're wondering why I've gathered you here today instead of allowing you to file your individual reports. It is because there is something I wish to let you all know about before we continue from this point on."
She rose her head, and all five of them prepared themselves for her lengthy speech.
"As some of you know the culprit of our case referred to me as auntie several times, however, let me make it clear that we are not blood-related at all. In fact, she only knows of me through her mother, who was a part of a small mafia organization-no....rather in charge of it herself."
She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes, "I knew the women way back when from the time a few other primary officers and I ran into her group during the middle of a drug transaction. We had managed to catch her and have her team arrested, only for them all to slip out of our fingers at the last minute. I spent a large proportion of my life chasing that woman down, and even willingly letting her go free just because of the promise of a new hunt the very next day."
She chuckled bitterly, "I was naive back then and had only just been recruited as a Primary officer. We sort of established some awkward relationship with one another despite our ties to our jobs and even hung out on the days neither of us were busy. However, those days ended when all of a sudden she turned herself in, after months of inactivity.
"Apparently she had gotten pregnant with one of her business partners and was afraid of what the group would do to her if they found out she mingled with a client. So in an act of desperation to protect her baby she offered us information on every single member in her group if we promised her our protection and safety.
"Back then the APD standards were much more different and we ended up providing her with so much more than what she had asked for. Her information helped us not only bust down her team but also other businesses too that were associates with hers. It was the biggest takedown in legal history, the EPD writhing in jealous of our success. We offered her a second chance at life and allowed her to live prison-free once the baby was born.
"None of my partners knew this at the time but I would take time off from work to help her raise the baby. I got her a job, offered to babysit whenever I could, and even stayed over some nights when things became too overbearing. She made me the godmother of the child and we were practically a family at some point."
Camille got quiet after some time, looking as though the next part of her story was troubling. This gave the other officers time to process the information before she continued.
"Time passed and my work in the field was noted. Apparently, word of my association in busting down some of the worst gangs in both sovereign states was released which led to my promotion. Before I knew it I was Cheif in command and the next in line to take over the department, which I'm still waiting currently waiting for. The new obligations made it hard to find time for Jasmine and her mom, and before I knew it the distance between our meet-ups had turned into years.
"I figured it'd be best for the department if I put my responsibilities as an officer first, which eventually led to me cutting ties with pretty much every friend I had outside of the office, including her. I hadn't checked on them since and sooner or later I lost all contact with them. Apparently, they moved out to a different house after her mother got some kind of promotion. I considered asking the landlord where they went but..."
She had a look of regret.
"...a part of me said it would be best not to bother them. That they didn't need me anymore and getting myself attached would only make matters worse. I always thought all this time they were living normal peaceful lives again, but apparently, it was the exact opposite. Not long we 'broke up the mother passed and between then and now Jasmine got herself wrapped up in some serious business."
"Which brings us to today," Jones summed up.
Camille agreed before opening her eyes, summoning the deepest smile she could muster. "I would like to let you all know that despite everything that has happened I am proud of each and every one of you. Today you represented what our department has to offer and with this summary hopefully, all of your questions have been answered."
"No offense ma'am," Jack started, "we appreciate you telling us all this, but why just the four of us? Shouldn't the entire department hear about this?"
"The entire department does not need to know about my life and my past, I only told you four because I trust you, that's all there is to it," She answered clearly.
"I supposed it is a great honor to know you hold us so highly like that ma'am," Michael chuckled sheepishly.
Camille grinned at the boy's innocence before resting her arm on her desk. "You've all had a long day, it's best for you to return home now and catch some rest. I'll ask you questions on what happened later, until then you are dismissed.
"Yes ma'am!" They all shouted, and luckily no one noticed the increased look of relief on Jones and Samantha's face.
Once the four officers left the room Camille hung her head in deep thought, reflecting the words Jasmine had spoken to her back in the warehouse. According to the woman her mother jumped off a bridge around ten years ago to take her own life. She was uncertain as to what the reasons were but there was one part of that story that confused her the most.
"The only bridge in the Gaean Empire is the one acting as a connecting point between the Efflorian and Aparian official network route, often used for trading and business arrangements," She mumbled to herself, turning her chair and staring at the ceiling. "It's a bit uncommon she would pick such a busy area to end it all, or how no one seemed to stop her, but the real question is how was I not informed?"
All murder cases, no matter the circumstances, if occurred inside the Apara kingdom were to be reported directly to the department. The same goes for the Efflore kingdom as well, she assumed. Situations that occurred on the bridge would be reissued back to both kingdoms since it often revolved around something political involving both parties, such as a business transaction that had gone wrong or an unnecessary fight breaking out.
So how was she left in the dark?
-
Meanwhile, the four officers felt relieved to be excused from the cramped room. Jack stood still and stretched his muscles, feeling the weight of dirt and sweat starting to cling to his frame. He desperately needed a shower, even if he didn't smell he could still feel it on him.
"Good day today, yea?" he yawned. "Can't wait to hit the bed and sleep on it."
Michael let out a sound of agreement as his fingers lightly ghosted around his neck. "I'll see you all tomorrow," he pardoned before making his way to the exit.
Jack seemed worried for a second before looking back to the primary officers and giving them his affirmation, "A good night for you two as well. Be sure to get plenty of rest to keep leading us tomorrow, okay?" He waved his hand to Jones and Samantha before walking in the same direction Michael did, one more lazy yawn parting his lips.
He didn't want to admit it but there was a pang of guilt that was eating at him for letting Michael get caught so easily. Not only could he have died but his partner could have gone down with him. Perhaps he wasn't as good of a fighter as he thought he was, or maybe he had just gotten old.
It was decided then, first thing in the morning he'll hit the gym, then hit those heavy bags even harder.
Now that Samantha and Jones were alone they were able to properly discuss matters among themselves.
"It's a miracle she didn't ask us of anything yet," Jones sighed, "but I'm sure she'll receive one hell of a wake-up call in her mailbox in the morning."
"That gives us one day to sort out our story before she finds out the truth," Samantha clenched the paper that was still in her hand, creasing it a bit. "Till then we need to work on our report, we obviously can't lie but we mustn't tell her the whole truth either."
Jones shrugged, though he looked more anxious than he was letting on, "It's just a couple of hours, no big deal. I'm sure whatever happens tomorrow Camille will make the right and smart choices. We just have to have our fingers crossed that those bastards in the EPD don't spot anything wrong back at the house."
Samantha nodded, though his words of encouragement didn't falter the anxiety in her system. Noticing she was still tense Jones slapped her on the shoulder and gripped it hard.
"Listen, Sally, we've been in this together since day one, all the way back to our academy days remember? If you go down I'm drowning with you, there's no other way I would have it."
Samantha looked up at him and smiled teasingly, "Safe your therapeutic poetic sweet talk for the ladies, I'm more concerned with how we're getting to the Markeb Empire by ourselves rather than getting caught by Camille"
Jones smirked at her, "Oh? Then forgive me, I almost forget my partner is such a masochist the mere thought of losing her job is one a smudge of current existent problems in her life."
"Shut up."
With that, they took two steps back to make space between them for a hand bump, a newly birthed habit between them.
They made their way outside and were about to walk separate paths before Samantha stopped them both. "But wait, on a serious note how are we going to get there actually?"
Jones simply raised his shoulders before slugging his arms behind his head, acting as though there was not a care in the world that could bother him anymore.
"Don't worry, we can always figure it out tomorrow."
-
After the one responsible for the death of the Aparian Baker had passed new information regarding a potential terrorist group has reached the ears of the elite members of the APD. Jack and Michael both share a feeling of guilt for supposedly failing the other when they needed each other's help the most, and Jones and Samatha decide to put off the uncertainties of tomorrow for...well tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Camille starts asking herself questions she never did before and even plans to further investigate the matters personally in hopes of finding some answers, while the deadline to meet up with the mysterious person who wishes to speak to the recently passed Sir Williams comes closer and closer each day.
The tales of the Gaean Empire are far from finished, however, our story must continue elsewhere for the time being. Perhaps in the near future, we may return to conclude the mystery this nation still holds, but for now, we must move on...
To the Neo Empire.
The Great Nation of The Sea.