"How's it with the protests in the western district?" Ambrose asked as he stood before a whiteboard with drawings of the entire structure of BoneHaven placed on it.
Some areas were pinned with lines crisscrossing about in a haphazard display.
Stroking his chin, he studied the map while awaiting a response from the agent beside him.
"Still ongoing. So far, it hasn't gotten violent." The female agent replied.
"If it does, tell our boys not to hesitate to put them down. We can't have nuisance parading our streets." Ambrose remarked emotionlessly as he continued staring at the map.
The female agent seemed hesitant with a response as she revealed a complicated expression.
Noticing the strangeness, Ambrose looked away from the map and turned to face her. "Is there a problem?"
"N..No sir." The agent quickly replied before adding. "It's just that…"
"Spill it."
"The western district is also a part of BoneHaven so, understandably, they would be unhappy with the lack of security in their area. I mean, for all we know, the rebels could be hiding there."
Ambrose didn't immediately respond, instead taking a moment to study the agent before him.
They were currently in a meeting room large enough to fit a little over a hundred people with chairs scattered about.
Strolling over to a seat, he made himself comfortable before asking.
"You are right in saying that the rebels could be hiding there but, tell me something…"
"Sir?"
"Do you think it's right that we gave more attention to the Central, Eastern, and Southern Districts?"
"Sir…"
"You need to understand something. The nobles, middle-class citizens, and factories are the heart and soul of BoneHaven. If anything happens to them, we won't be able to recover."
"But…"
"The paupers staying in the western district do not add anything to this city. They are vermin that live off of what has been freely offered to them and instead of giving back, they request for more.
"They are nothing more than parasites and I do not plan to spread thin our defenses taking care of parasites. If they die, let them. After all, those bastards breed faster than rabbits. There'd always be new ones to take their place." Ambrose said without mincing words.
The female agent was left speechless by the Captain's thoughts.
She had empathized with those from the western district mostly because she had come from a humble background and knew more than anyone else how hard it was to succeed in an empire that prioritized those of noble backgrounds.
Now she finally understood how the superiors made their decisions.
Was this what they saw paupers as?
Parasites?
Before she could recover, there was a knock at the door, drawing Ambrose's attention.
"Come in."
An agent walked in and after saluting, quickly reported. "Sir, the suspected evil god follower, Alexander Regulus, is on the move."
"Good. Get Natasha on hold. If he does anything funny, she takes him down." Ambrose replied.
Revealing a complicated expression, the agent remarked. "Uhmm, sir… there's a problem with that."
"What?" Ambrose raised a brow.
"Miss Natasha is nowhere to be found."
"..."
***
The officer stared at Alex, unsure of what to make of the current situation.
It took only a moment however for his brain to register the revolver in Alex's hand before he quickly tried to reach for his own.
A sudden click however caused him to pause.
Hesitating, he slowly looked up to find Alex pointing the revolver at him.
"You… Who are you?... Do you know you are committing a crime by pointing a revolver at an Officer of the law?" The officer said in a particularly loud manner.
Putting two and two together, Alex quickly figured out he was most likely trying to alert whoever was in the apartment.
He had to act quickly before the person escaped.
Not bothering to answer the officer, he landed a punch so heavy, he passed out with a single blow.
With that, he removed the yellow tape and pushed the door open.
Just as he entered to survey the apartment, a dark blade with a crystalline sheen reached for his throat.
At the same time, a faint trace of killing intent leaked out from the intruder.
Alex froze on the spot before he narrowed his eyes.
His senses hadn't picked up the assailant waiting at the door which meant that the person was even more skilled than he was in assassination tactics or… the person was part of the supernatural world.
He was proud enough to believe that the skills he had perfected on Earth couldn't be upped so easily by one lacking talent.
Assessing the situation, he remarked. "...I do believe it is a crime to be moving around someone else's home without their permission..."
As he spoke, he slowly turned in the direction the blade came from while pulling his scarf down.
A moment later, he couldn't help but chuckle inwardly. "...Ms. Natasha."
"You…why are you here?" Natasha replied, a bit flustered.
The killing intent that caused Alex to pause was long gone with the dark blade retracted into its hilt.
Alex glanced at the apartment before casually replying. "... If I remember correctly, this is the apartment myself and my siblings stayed in, no?"
"...I… You are correct." Natasha dropped her head.
"So I should be asking you what you are doing here."
"...I'm investigating the attack on your family. We agreed to do that in the first place."
Alex turned away from her, surveying the tattered apartment with torn cushions, broken chairs, and even the floorboard was compromised in several locations.
Even a person with half a brain would notice that this wasn't a normal crime scene.
If anything, it looked more like the scene of an intense battle.
The scratches on the wall and dried blood splattered about strengthened that notion.
"I didn't think you and your partner would be so kind as to abandon more important duties for the sake of my insignificant home," Alex remarked as he got to the center of the sitting room.
Natasha raised her head to meet his gaze. "...Well, you are a citizen of Zion. We cannot abandon you after what has happened."
"I may be grieving, Ms. … But I hope you do not consider me a fool?" Unlike his terrified nature from earlier, Alex decided to be a bit brazen.
To his understanding, slight deviations from the characterization of the original Alex wouldn't be enough to destroy whatever sorcery Nyx used to help him replace the poor man.
In any case, Natasha wasn't too familiar with him in the first place.
The original Alex and him, to her, what was the difference?
Natasha's lips quivered. "Well…"
"You still suspect me of being associated with an evil god?"
"... I know what I sensed."
"And for that, you are willing to abandon your work?"
"I am not the only Enforcer," Natasha replied. "...And the threat of an evil god is not something I can ignore."
"Why?"
"... I'd rather not say. Learning too much would leave you vulnerable."
"... I see." Alex nodded, glancing in the direction of the one bathroom and two rooms, he asked. "Did you see the party outside?"
"... I know what you mean and… I've long since come to terms with the fact that I can't do anything about it," Natasha replied.
Alex raised a brow. "Is that what you tell yourself at night?"
"Mr. Regulus!" Natasha tightened her grip on her blade but that was it.
Though it angered her, she understood that she had failed her city.
Despite the strength she possessed, she couldn't change the discrimination that plagued BoneHaven.
That realization left her helpless and pained.
Alex nodded upon seeing her remorseful expression.
Taking a deep breath, he asked. "What if I am not the source of the evil god but it has to do with those that attacked my home?"
His intense look caused Natasha to hesitate.
Realizing how serious he was, she pondered on his question for a moment longer.
"...Then I'd have to go after them." She said soon after.
Alex nodded. "If I can prove my Innocence, would you help me catch the culprits?"
"I…"
"My family deserves justice for what happened…." Alex's gaze turned sullen as he waited for a response.
"... I will do my best," Natasha replied before adding. "But you will do exactly as I say."
"No problem." Seemingly hopeful, Alex inquired. "So what now?"
Taking a deep breath, Natasha walked over and reached out her hand for his.
Alex obliged, placing his palm on hers.
Holding his palm tightly, invisible energy was released from Natasha's being, enveloping Alex a moment later.
As soon as it made contact with Alex, he had a slight headache.
The longer the energy stayed with him, the worse the headache became.
Just as his expression was about to distort, Natasha released her grip and met his gaze.
"... I didn't sense anything from you. Though your Yin-Yang balance is tilted toward yin, the overwhelming yin energy I sensed is not from you."
Alex mused inwardly. '...If you had lasted a few more seconds, you wouldn't be saying this.'
Revealing a complicated expression, Natasha remarked. "I made a mistake. I apologize."
"It's fine. You were only doing your job." Alex waved it off, of course for good reason.
Natasha revealed a smile. "...Now I can rest easy that at least you aren't associated with that presence I felt. But it worries me now that the true culprit is still out there."
"Anything I can help you with, I'll gladly do so." Alex readily offered.
"Th..thank you." Seemingly flustered, Natasha quickly regained her composure. "... If you could recall the events of two nights ago, it might be helpful."
Alex shook his head. "Unfortunately, I can't. Everything from that night is a blurry mess."
Of course, he had his means to recall everything what with the memories of the thug that attacked him still floating untouched in his subconscious.
At the moment, however, he didn't plan to make use of it.