[ Gartersbee, July 1, Year 1403 ]
Despite it being her day off where she could relax and take a break from her duties as an officer, Marie nevertheless had dressed herself in officer attire on both her and Hannah's day off. When she stepped out her room and into the living room, Hannah was perplexed, wondering why Marie was dressed in officer attire on a day off.
"Are you going to the station or something Marie?" Hannah said, looking up at her from the small dining table.
"Yes. I have business I need to attend to, I won't be back until the afternoon."
"On our day off? Seriously Marie?" Hannah responded.
"I didn't have any plans for today in the first place, so I might as well attend to this."
"Not even reading your books?"
"Actually, I might visit the library now that I think about it."
"Of course you would."
"Well? What are you going to be doing Hannah?"
"Not much, I guess I will go down to the marketplace and shop for a little while."
"Alright." she replied, grabbing a slice of toast.
"Marie."
"Yes Hannah?"
"Are you really planning on going this early? The sun has barely risen outside!"
"The earlier the better Hannah!"
"You must have some really important business then. Whatever, do you want me to buy you something?" Hannah asked, pulling out a small notepad and a pen.
Marie wondered about it for a while, thinking of what she could request for Hannah to buy, until the thought hit her head.
"Could you buy me some crepes from the marketplace?"
"Where are they sold though?" asked Hannah.
"The vendor is on Vestal Avenue, look for the intersection with a coffee shop on one of the corners. When you arrive at the front of the shop, go left of it and continue down until you see a small, open shop by the name of 'Walter's Place'."
"Alright then, what filling?"
"Roasted tomato and cheese filling."
"Do you not want a sweet filling?" she asked
"I wanted to retire from eating sweets for a bit, and go for something savory instead."
Hannah finished jotting down the order on her shopping list, and went back to sip her cup of coffee before looking back up at Marie.
"Well then, I'll make sure to stop by the crepe shop you talked about. Speaking of, are the crepes good?"
"Oh yes they are!" Marie proclaimed. "Once you try some you won't forget them!"
"Well they must be good then," Hannah replied, "I guess I'll buy one myself."
"Good choice!"
"Other than that, make sure you get back by twelve ok? I'll be finished shopping by then and have bought your crepes, so make sure to be back home by then before the crepes go cold."
"If that's the case, I guess I will go to the library afterwards."
"Afterwards?" Hannah said, surprised. "Is your business that long?"
"Well, yes, I need to travel a bit from here to deal with it."
"How far?"
"I'm not sure, but I don't think it will take too long if I travel by cab. If it's shorter than I thought I will stop by the library."
"Very well then." said Hannah.
Marie checked the clock to her left, 7:51 was what it read. Although she wasn't required to be at work, she wanted to get going then so that she could make it back to her apartment room on time.
"I should get going Hannah, take care of everything while I'm gone ok?"
"I will! Don't you worry about anything!"
Before going, Marie put on her light trench coat and the rest of her attire, then finished her breakfast and daily vitamins before heading out to the door and bidding Hannah a farewell until she returned at noon.
"I'll return later, goodbye for now!" Marie said.
"Don't be late or the crepes will go cold!"
"I won't!" she replied, before heading out and into the hallway.
After descending the flights of stairs then making her way through the lobby, the fresh breeze greeted her gently as she entered the street. While she made her way to the police station, Marie checked her bag to make sure she had everything she needed for her confrontation with Ernest whom she was hoping to get information out of. Everything was in order and present within her bag; photographs, letter, notepad, pens, everything that was necessary was inside.
When Marie finally arrived at the police department, most of the officers were already inside since it was past eight and they had gone to receive their day's worth of duties and assignments. Had this been a normal day she would have been scolded for being late, but since it was supposed to be her day off from work, there was no problem whatsoever.
As she walked inside and entered the main lobby, Ms. Martin was working at the front desk as usual, and when she looked up to see Marie there on her day off, Ms. Martin was surprised.
"Marie? What are you doing here on your off day?" she asked.
"I came to talk to Mr. Hayes about something."
"Oh, he's briefing the other officers working today on their assignments, you should wait outside of his office upstairs."
"So he will be there shortly?"
"Yes, after he finished assigning tasks."
"Thank you Ms. Martin!" Marie said, before heading off.
After heading upstairs, Marie continued down the hallway before reaching Mr. Hayes' office. It appeared as though Mr. Hayes wasn't inside, nor was he nearby, thus Marie assumed he was still downstairs and she waited patiently outside. While waiting, her usual headaches began to set in, and Marie clutched her head. Perhaps Hannah was right about heading out to early, perhaps Marie could have gotten an extra bit of sleep.
A short while later, Mr. Hayes could be seen down the hall walking towards her general direction. Seeing this, Marie stood at attention and faced him. When he finally arrived, he too was initially confused as to why Marie was there.
"Good morning Mr. Hayes."
"Good morning Marie, what brings you here today?"
"I would like to make a request sir." Marie said.
"Well then let us discuss this further in my office." he replied, unlocking the door and welcoming her inside.
Upon entering the office, Marie looked around it, nothing had changed at all. The office was furnished well with bookcases and decorations, and the furniture too was exquisite as expected of the police department's most respected and highest ranking officer. On the right wall, his certifications and achievements were proudly displayed, and on the left, pictures of him from various times ranging from his early days, to current times.
Mr. Hayes walked in after Marie and invited her to sit down, after which, their conversation began.
"So what is it you wanted to request Marie?"
"Well, it's about the man we apprehended the other day."
"Ernest Maer?"
"Yes sir."
"What about him?"
"I would like to question him for a bit, and I was wondering where he was transferred to."
"He was sent to the Ladeau Penitentiary which is due south of Gartersbee."
"Can you arrange me a cab that will drive me there?" she asked.
"Actually, the department already prepared one the other day."
"Seriously?" Marie said, surprised that one had already been prepared.
"Yes, you're not the only one who was planning to question him Marie, we were planning on sending some of our investigators and other senior officers to inquire upon him."
"May I come along with them?"
"Of course, I'll take you down to them, in fact, I was about to see them off actually." said Mr. Hayes.
"Thank you sir!"
Upon saying those words, Mr. Hayes got up and opened the door for Marie, and once the two were outside, they made their way downstairs to meet with the interrogation team, who were awaiting Mr. Hayes outside at the front of the building.
At last, the two of them arrived at the first floor and made their way through the reception and through the front door. When they came outside, three heads which were conversing with one another turned their way towards their direction. Marie took a quick glance at them, recognizing one of the officers and calling out to him:
"Mr. Munroe?" Marie said, surprised he was there.
"Marie? Aren't you supposed to be off duty today? What are you doing here?"
"I came to finish some business, what are you doing here Mr. Munroe?"
"We're about to head off to the penitentiary south of here."
"Well then, do you mind if Marie would accompany you as well?" Hayes said.
"Mr. Hayes!"
"Yes, I have come to see you all off, anyhow, would you be willing to let Marie follow too?"
"Sure, but why?" Munroe asked.
"She also happens to have a few words she wants to have with her the detainee."
"Is that so Marie?"
"Yes, I would like to ask him some questions as well."
"Well then, welcome aboard!" Munroe replied.
"This is Officer Lahfmal, who also goes by Marie." Mr. Hayes said to the two. "Marie, allow me to introduce you to these two."
As he said so, Hayes shifted his hand towards the direction of the other two officers.
"This is Investigator Anderson." Mr. Hayes said, pointing towards the officer on the left.
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Mr. Anderson said to Marie.
"Likewise." she replied.
"To his left is Investigator Cassidy."
"Good morning!" Ms. Cassidy said to Marie.
"Good morning to you too ma'am!" responded Marie.
"Well then, you should all get going and meet with Ernest now shouldn't you?"
"You're right sir, we'll get moving right away." Mr. Anderson said getting into the car.
The rest of the group followed along and entered the police car afterwards. After a minute or so, the car spun up it's engines and began heading southwards toward the penitentiary. The officers waved farewell from out the window to Hayes, who responded by waving back. When Hayes was out of sight, they went back into their seats and began to have idle chatter to pass the time.
First, the car passed through the main streets of the central districts bustling with people and other automobiles, then it went through the residential zones, which were more tame then the heart of the city, and at last, they were at the gates of the city.
Upon arriving at the gate, they halted at the checkpoint and a guard stepped out to greet them at the gate.
"Let me see your papers and ID's please." he asked.
Without hesitation, Munroe, who was driving the car, handed him his ID, license, and papers.
"We are heading to a penitentiary, these are my fellow officers from the Gartersbee Police Department."
"Can I see all of your ID cards?"
The other three, including Marie, hastily pulled out their identification cards and showed them to the guard, who inspected them and handed them back.
"You're all clear, you may head on out."
"Have a great day mister!" Munroe exclaimed.
"You too! Happy traveling!" he replied.
The car began to move again, and now it was outside of town, heading towards the mountains where the penitentiary was located. As they headed on their way, Marie glanced out the window to have a peak of what it was like outside of Gartersbee. The lands were lush and green, with oak trees sprinkled about. Farmhouses and fields of crops such as wheat were scattered about around the perimeter of the city, with small stone walls separating the fields and plains. Marie looked in awe at the beauty of the lands she was seeing with her own eyes. She had never left the city before, and therefore never saw what it was like outside, thus the sight of farms, fields, and such greenery was astounding.
Twenty minutes into the trip and they were already approaching the Ladeau mountain range, which was so extraordinarily large and majestic, it seemed as if it could trump over both the city and it's surrounding farms in not only beauty, but in size alone. The mountain range spanned far westward, and towered above all of the land nearby, like a human being amongst an army of ants.
Marie looked out to the mountain range and found herself in even more entranced than she was with the farms and fields. She had never really been outside the city, thus such natural beauty was astounding. Ms. Cassidy looked at Marie for a second, and smiled, seeing that she was enjoying her trip.
"We're here." Mr. Munroe said.
Marie looked forward and saw a large fortress-like structure not too far away, with its tall stone brick walls surrounding it.
A minute or two later, their car arrived at the front gate of the site, and a guardsman stepped out to inspect their papers. After the inspection, he gave the thumbs up, and the gate opened. Munroe parked the car near the pavement by a building. When the car stopped, the four of them dismounted and headed inside of the building through the front door which led to the reception area of the prison.
Upon entering the lobby, an officer was already awaiting them there.
"Are you four the investigation team sent from Gartersbee?" he asked.
"Yes we are." Mr. Anderson replied.
"It's a pleasure to meet you four, please follow me to the interrogation room. Your business will be held there."
After a short walk down the hallway, they stopped outside the room before opening the door and heading inside. The room was bland, furnished only with a table, some chairs, and a small light hanging above.
"Please wait here while we bring in the detainee." the guard said, before leaving the room shortly after.
The four of them sat down and waited for a little while. In the meantime, Marie checked again to make sure she had all the photographs and the letter in her bag, which she had. She still had not opened the letter to see what it read after the investigation, thus she decided she would discuss it and read it out loud when she questioned Ernest.
The sound of footsteps were heard outside, and soon enough, the door opened. Ernest entered the room, followed by two other guards, and sat himself down at the other end of the table. He was dressed in a full prisoner uniform, emblazoned with black and white stripes.
When he sat down, Anderson stood up and walked over to the table to begin questioning him.
"Good morning Ernest."
"Who might you be?" he asked Anderson.
"I am Tom Anderson, an investigator, and your interrogator for today."
"A pleasure to meet you."
"Well then, let's get started shall we?"
"Go ahead."
Mr. Anderson brought out the briefcase from the other day that was confiscated and set it on the table, opening it to reveal its contents afterwards.
"You know why you're here today right?"
"That briefcase."
"Partially correct, but while we're on that subject, I must ask you some things as well."
"I'm listening."
"Firstly, why did you deny having it?"
"Because of the firearm." he replied.
Anderson looked at the contents, then looked back up and asked: "Are you perhaps a photographer?"
"Yes, I have a great interest in photography and film."
"Is that the reason behind you having these two cameras and tape recorder?"
"Indeed. I take great pride in that personal hobby of mine."
"I respect your commitment to your beliefs."
"Thank you."
After his response, Anderson reached towards the briefcase and grabbed the armband inside of it, then, he showed it to the man.
"Might I ask you what this is?" he said, holding it up.
"An armband. There is no problem with it no?"
"Indeed, unofficial armbands and other decorations are allowed to be worn so long as you wear your normal armband as well. What organization or group does this affiliate with?"
"It is affiliated with a small photography group that I meet up with every now and then." Ernest replied.
"May I ask for it's name?"
"We call ourselves the Gartersbee Photographers Club for now, although we are not an official organization. For the most part we wear those armbands to distinguish ourselves as we are proud of our work."
"So a local gathering?"
"Yes, we are just a group of photographers who share an interest on the matter of photography. Might I interest you in joining?"
"I appreciate the offer but I have no talent in dealing with cameras."
"No worries, you are free to visit us anytime even if you don't know how to use one."
"I'll be sure to visit then." said Anderson. "Anyhow, shall we continue?"
"Yes." Ernest said, looking at the briefcase. "I assume you shall ask me about that now?"
"Unfortunately I must ask you about it." he replied. "Why was there a firearm in your briefcase as well?"
"Self defense sir."
"Self defense? Against what?" Anderson asked.
"Well, there are two things sir. The first of which are wild and aggressive animals, I use the firearm to deter them by firing into the air, or in extreme cases, I would kill the animal, although I've never had to do that."
"And the second thing?"
"Well, I hate to break it to you sir, but I also use that firearm for self defense against people, more specifically, officers like you sir." he replied.
The whole room stood shocked at what the man had just said. The statement of his was almost ironic in a way in fact. The duty of an officer was to protect the people, yet this man was protecting himself against his own guardian.
"Before I ask anything else, you haven't killed anybody with a firearm correct?"
"Correct, I have not killed anybody, my hands are clean of murder and filth."
"Good. Anyhow, why would you need it against us officers? We are here to protect you, not pose a threat."
"That's where you may be wrong mister, have you ever witnessed one of your own officers commit misconduct?"
"Misconduct? I have not seen such a thing, nor can I fathom it happening amongst my fellow officers."
At that moment, Marie remembered something and reached into her bag hastily.
"I must tell you mister, that misconduct amongst other officers happens more often than you think." Ernest said.
"Unbelievable! I have never seen such a thing despite serving in the force for two years!"
"What about your friends back there?" he said, pointing towards the rest of the team.
"Have you seen such a thing Mr. Munroe?"
The man nodded in denial, for he had never seen such a thing.
"Ms. Cassidy?"
She too denied ever seeing misconduct. Mr. Anderson then moved to the two other officers who accompanied them there, they also nodded no.
"Marie?"
When Anderson called her name, she stood still for a moment, not making a noise or moving an inch. About five seconds later, Marie took a deep breath and finally replied:
"I regret saying this, but I believe i've witnessed misconduct before Mr. Anderson."
As the words left her lips, the room stood shocked, Mr. Anderson in particular was quite surprised. Ernest meanwhile looked over towards Marie whom he didn't notice at first and spoke to her:
"You?" he said.
"Yes, it's me, the person you kicked right in the middle of the stomach." Marie said, walking over with her messenger bag to her side.
"I apologize for that, my instincts of self defense kicked in and I reacted to it with kicking you, please forgive me."
"I accept your apology, you seem like a kind hearted person, almost."
"What? Are you still angry over it?" he said jokingly.
"Of course I am! It hurt you know!"
"My bad then."
Anderson cut into the conversation, "Marie, what do you mean you've seen misconduct amongst policemen?"
"Well, on one occasion while I was walking home, I saw a sergeant kicking the life out of a young boy in an alleyway. The boy appeared innocent, and was shielding himself. The officer kept calling him a 'cur' and a filthy person, which leads me to believe he was assaulting him for unjust or personal reasons. He finished him off with a kick and ripped of his armband."
"Who was this individual?!" Anderson asked.
"I do not know, I was in shock at what I saw and didn't pay attention to who he was." Marie replied.
Anderson was left speechless and motionless, until Marie started grabbing something from her messenger bag. She pulled out a set of photographs and set them on the table, along with a letter.
"Anyways, the main reason I followed along was because of these, may I ask if you know what they are Ernest?" she asked.
"So that's where they went." said Ernest.
"That's right, I confiscated them myself. I would like to begin with the photographs first." Marie replied.
"I see. Well, what do you think they depict?"
Marie grabbed a photograph and inspected it for a short while, then replied:
"It's just an officer shaking hands with an elderly couple."
"Incorrect, look closely." Ernest replied.
Marie inspected it even closer and noticed something off about the photo, it was not their hands the officers were holding, but rather their wrists. To the side, an officer had pulled out a pair of cuffs and began placing them on one of them. When Marie originally looked at the elderly man in the photograph, she originally assumed he was leaning forward, but upon closer inspection, he was being dragged away.
"Why were these two being treated so harshly?! Not to mention why are they being arrested?!"
"'Government orders' was what the officers said for their arrest. Those two were my neighbors, and were a happy old couple who were well known for being the kindest around the block. They would always bake sweets for the kids that played around, yet they were taken away that day, and without a clear reason." said Ernest.
"But that would be unjust!" Marie replied.
"And it is reality." he said.
Everyone was frozen still in the room, trying to comprehend what he had just said.
"Do you see why I fear the law now?"
"But how do you know what they said? How did you know their intentions?" asked Cassidy.
"I eavesdropped on them, you can choose to believe that or not, it is your choice."
Cassidy stood speechless at his remark.
"I do not fear you however, I personally trust you in particular, Marie. Most would shrug it off, but you seem to be quite curious and open minded."
Marie looked at the pile of photos, with scenes varying from beatings, arrests, and in one photo a gun was pointed at a boy. Marie looked back at Ernest and asked:
"There's more incidents?"
"Indeed. Again let me remind you, it is your choice to believe my words, but I warn you, do not look at everything optimistically, you must look deeper into the machine that is society."
"Look deeper?" said Marie, confused.
"Yes, especially you, you must stop looking at things with optimism and the best result in mind, you must look at things logically and realize the flaws of a system. That applies to all of you too, if you ultimately want to protect your people, you must realize yourselves and those around you before doing so, or else, you will instead only harm them."
Everybody stood still, contemplating what he had just said, after a short period, Marie grabbed the letter.
"I suppose I should begin reading the letter." she said with a sigh.
"Ah, the letter, I was going to send it to a friend of mine but I couldn't."
"Do you object to me reading it aloud?" asked Marie.
"You may if you wish, there are no embarrassing secrets or anything of that sort on there." Ernest replied.
"I shall then." Marie said.
She looked over the letter and began to read it aloud to the room.
.
"Dear Jacovin
.
As requested by you, I have sent the envelope to the man you wanted it delivered to, he shall be awaiting you at his home in the western residential district. By the time I've finished writing this, which is the first day of July, you should have already received his envelope which should have made its way to you. I will not partake in your visit with him tonight as I will be needed elsewhere. Although I assume you will not be waiting for me, if you do happen to be awaiting my presence, go forth without me my friend. I wish that you have a great talk with the man and that you have a joyful evening. Let us enjoy a nice cup of coffee and a light breakfast together sometime soon my friend.
.
Sincerely
Ernest Maer"
.
"Who is this Jacovin?" Marie asked.
"He is a friend of mine I have known quite well for a few years."
"Is he a part of your photography club?"
"No."
"Who is this man you speak of?" Marie asked.
"His name is Taft Hoffman and he is a revenue agent, in other words, he is a tax collector."
"Mister Hoffman?"
"You know him?" asked Ernest.
"Yes, I see him occasionally at the police department and around town."
"Ah I see."
"You said he was visiting correct?"
"Yes, he wanted to talk to Mr. Hoffman after having a run-in with him and conversing. Mr. Hoffman and him appear to have similar interests in geography, and Jacovin wanted to speak to him again."
"So you helped him out by mailing the letter to converse with Mister Hoffman?"
"Correct."
Marie inspected the letter for a few more seconds, then set it down and looked towards Ernest.
"I have no further questions, thank you."
"Your welcome."