Their tense stalemate was broken by the sound of sirens reaching the mouth of the alley. Officer Orwen took a step back and waved at the curious crowd to make them disperse. Nobody wanted to be grabbed and interrogated about what was going on anyway, so they returned to their homes and shops in a hurry as a team of law enforcers entered the alley.
Mir calmly watched Orwen explain things to the enforcers according to his own narrative. Then he was asked to accompany them to the station for some formalities. He climbed onto the seat beside Orwen inside the jeep as if to express his trust in this young officer. Orwen began to grow a little unsettled as the jeep gradually approached the station.
.
Under the roars of the engine, finally the whispers Mir had been waiting for came, almost indistinct in its shawl of shame and anger.
"What would it take for you to keep your mouth shut in front of Galloway?"
Mir smiled, head held low. He whispered back, "Why don't you make an offer? A peasant like myself dares not quote prices in front of your excellency."
.
Even his mocking manner of speech could not provoke Orwen at this moment. "One hundred units," the man muttered, knowing where this conversation was headed.
"Five thousand," Mir said. It was the first number to come to his mind, because he had just won a temporary hunting license of the same price this morning from Sunbreaker's Church.
Orwen visibly gnashed his teeth and said, "Two thousand. Not a single unit more. That's enough money to hire a hitman to take care of you, boy."
.
It wasn't as if he was making a loss, so Mir agreed with a chuckle. The other officers inside the jeep noticed their low-volume exchange, but chose to ignore it. The reason behind was probably how alienated Officer Orwen was from the rest of his colleagues.
The transfer of money was successful by the time they reached the station. Mir's account balance hit an all-time high, more than 3000 units.
.
Galloway was the only officer in the station to cast a suspicious look at Orwen while he and Mir collaborated in setting up the story. He even took Mir to a side while Orwen wasn't paying attention and asked him whether he was being coerced to cooperate with Orwen. Two thousand units was an amount large enough to make Mir defend Officer Orwen's honor vehemently.
Mir had to go through a couple of physical and mental examinations in the hands of medical professionals working in the station. It was to ensure that he wasn't under the influence of any other mutant abilities, directly or indirectly.
"By the way, I heard Officer Orwen call that guy a cultist. Can you tell me anything about his cult so that I can warn my family and the neighbours?" Mir asked Galloway while he was being escorted out of the station.
"Cultist?" Galloway looked surprised. "I'm not really sure where he got that information from. We haven't yet interrogated the man. You could drop by tomorrow if you want. I'll tell you what you need to know."
Seeing Mir's skeptical look, Galloway craned his neck, glancing around them shiftily. "Listen, you've probably guessed that Orwen's background isn't simple. If he thinks your stalker is a cultist, there's a high chance of it being correct. So be a little careful the next few days," he said in a low voice. "Cases involving cults are not stuff that we're allowed to publicize. It creates panic, especially in these border colonies. I've already sent people to inform your parents, and two patrolling teams have been appointed to keep an eye on your area 25/10. We're going to do our best to ensure that any threatening circumstances can be nipped in the bud."
From his cryptic words, Mir managed to extract the implicit message. Even if sensitive information was uncovered during interrogation, it wouldn't reach his ears. He'd get a heads-up, at best.
.
Mir's journey back to his home would have been a bitter trek if not for the message he received from Murray's data terminal halfway on the road.
[ Uncle Bennett helped me escape from the theater. I'm hiding right now. What did you do after we left? ]
Exhilarated, Mir broke down his part of the story. Murray sent back an approving reply.
[ Good job! I've already informed the Church. Shouldn't take long before protection is sent for both me and our home. Don't get out for the next couple days. ]
[ At least explain what the fuck is going on!]
[ The red diary isn't an artifact from the Church's collection. It actually belongs to me. How I got it is another story. Just know that those strangers you met today are after it, and that's mostly why I joined Sunbreaker's Church. I got caught in a trap and confessed under a mutant's influence that I gave it to you for safekeeping. So they surrounded our house and waited for you to show up so that they could use me to threaten you into giving it up. ]
[ Didn't you say it's just a low grade sacred artifact? Artifacts like this aren't that rare! Don't tell me you lied to me about the true function of the diary? ]
Mir was so furious that he had to control the strength his fingertips were exerting on the terminal screen, fearing it might crack.
[ I didn't lie about its functions. If it was something so precious, the Church wouldn't have let me keep it, would they? I'm not really sure why those cultists are so desperately chasing it. Maybe they know something about it that we don't... ]
Seeing the term 'cultist' being used again, Mir quickly typed back.
[ What is this damned cult? ]
[ Worshippers of some great entity outside the twelve architects, that's all I know. ]
Mir had heard of such cults in the news. Aside from the architects, traces of other minor deity-like beings would be discovered inside dangerous taboo zones from time to time. Some desperate folks sought out the assistance of these beings for unique mutations, Soulbeasts, and other personal gains. Their method of gaining influence tended to be.... extreme, to put it politely.
[ Don't run around. Ask your Church for help. Also, I have some ideas about how to better utilize this diary. Better come home quickly to discuss the feasibility of those ideas. Who knows, maybe we'll uncover what the cultists are chasing after. ]
Sending the final message, Mir turned his terminal off and rushed to Yellow-lake Colony as fast as possible.