Random objects and cars flew by Edward as he was speeding down the highway all the way from Morth City on his way to a local convenience store in Ussermis, Axfield, after picking up a call from dispatch about an attempted robbery made by members of Men of Midas. Apparently, the attempt ended up with 3 dead bodies, all of which were the robbers. Even though his day hadn’t started very well, with Blackburn now possibly getting the charges dropped, he wasn’t going to take comfort in the sight of three dead gangsters. Alataria needs justice, not blood.
Only the occasional traffic jam or red headlight would ruin Edward's attempt to avoid thinking about the trial. Damn Vernes… he's not going to lift a finger… he's just going to let this case die, he thought in those moments. And Dillard… even though he's the one who started this case, under the orders of President Conrad, I still fear to learn how he's going to react.
Once he arrived at the convenience store, he saw the paramedics stuffing the bodies of the robbers into black plastic bags and placing them in the ambulance. He noticed his good friend, Derlick Sims, questioning an old man. Once Derlick noticed Edward, he parted with the old guy and walked towards him. Derlick was perhaps Edward's only friend on the force, with everyone else being condescending pricks, in his opinion, who make fun of Edward's devotion to the force's cause. Only Derlick understood Edward. As the two met, Derlick swept back his slick red hair and let off a long sigh.
"Hey, man. Didn’t know you picked up this call," he said to Edward. "I mean, I knew you were in Morth City at Blackburn's trial."
"Yeah, I… had to get away, so I decided to come here and… distract myself."
"I get it. The guys at the station told me what happened in the court."
"So, anyway… what happened here?"
"Well, apparently two members of Men of Midas tried robbing and killing the shop owner and his employee, but the old man shot them both with a shotgun, and then, when a third guy showed up, two Justicars appeared and killed that one."
"The Justicars?" It seemed odd to Edward.
"It's not that weird. The Justicars have been tackling Men of Midas a lot recently. They have a suspicious habit of showing up almost every time those fuckers are up to something," said Derlick. "I already heard everything from the old man, but I haven’t had a chance to get to his worker there." He pointed at the young man who stood beside the old man. He looked to be about in his twenties, with short blonde hair and a trimmed beard. "You can have him if you want."
"Sure," said Edward and started walking towards the young man. Anything that might take my mind off the horrible morning I just had.
By the time Edward reached the man, the ambulance had finished loading the bodies onto it and drove away. While most people would celebrate the death of any members of Alataria's notorious mob gangs, Edward was no such a man. He would prefer to see them rot behind bars, instead of in the ground.
"Sir, my name is Officer Edward Elwin," he presented his badge to the young man. "I'd like to ask you a few questions if you don’t mind."
"Sure," the man replied with a light, almost carefree tone.
"What's your name?"
"Edrimer Frye."
"Can you tell me what happened, Mr. Frye?"
"Sure," he sighed and recapped the story Edward had just heard in detail, with every part of it matching the old man's tale.
"I'm going to have to ask that you hand over any camera footage you have of the incident."
"Sure thing, officer."
Edward scanned Edrimer with his eyes. He didn't look suspicious, then again, perhaps it was his easy-going attitude that managed to hide it. Edward noticed a long, almost artistic tattoo all over Edrimer's right hand.
"Is that the Seditone?" Edward asked. He recognized the shape of the swirly lines.
"It is." Edrimer stood proudly.
Every now and again, Edward would see graffiti paintings of that symbol in the districts around Fallhalt. During the days of the Tearful Rebellion, it was a symbol of hope and inspiration, but in the years after it, that symbol had become more of a monument of a long lost hope that is now buried in the past along with countless of brave people who stood up and rebelled against President Alford.
"Well, you best be careful when you walk around with that tattoo. I mean, I guess there's no harm in it here, in the Axfield district, but where I live, in Morth City, that might be dangerous."
"Oh, don’t worry, officer. Morth City isn’t on my next vacation plan. Neither is the entire Fallhalt district," Edrimer joked. The government sees the Seditone as a symbol of treason and defiance and has therefore ordered every cop and law official in the Fallhalt district to see that any kind of display of it would be punished for.
"So, anyway…" Edward seeked to move away from the subject. "You said the Justicars just showed up out of nowhere?"
"Yeah."
"Did any of them say something?"
"Well, one of them asked about the other two robbers. I don’t know how he even knew about them." Perhaps they just spotted them going into the store.
"And they didn’t say anything else?"
"No."
"Did you notice anything about their appearances, perhaps? Could you spot their eye color through the Elastic mask?"
"No," he said. "Why do I get the feeling you're more worried about the Justicars, rather than Mallistrom’s men who attacked me?"
"Well, that's actually not really me asking, that’s Jonah Dillard asking," said Edward in a display of honesty.
"APD’s Chief of Police has a special interest in the Justicars?"
"Oh, Dillard hates the Justicars more then anything. Every now and again, he likes to remind us how important it is that we gather every piece of information on them that we can get whenever it’s possible, and how we should keep a sharp eye on their activities."
"He actually considers them a greater threat than the other crime syndicates? Why?"
"Groups like Men of Midas or Code Sanguinary have been around for more than a century. The Justicars have only been around for... 5 years or so."
"And he thinks that makes them easier to dispose of? That's ridiculous!"
"It’s not just that. The Justicars basically do what APD should be doing, but they’re also breaking the law with their lethal methods, so as far as making a joke out of the police, the Justicars gets first place."
"You forgot to mention that people like Dillard have their pockets full of money from people like Mallistrom," Edrimer rudely pointed out with a smirk. Edward remained silent to that comment. APD sure had a disgraceful reputation of having half of the force, if not more, paid off by ringleaders, with Reus Mallistrom being the first name to come to mind whenever mentioning that reputation. Not to mention that APD didn’t have much to show as far as arrests and trials go, thanks to the ever-growing use of Elastics, which diminished the chances of finding DNA residue that might tie the criminals to their own crimes.
"Oh, I'm sorry, officer. Was that out of place?" Edrimer addressed him with a sarcastic tone.
"Actually, no," Edward fought back with utmost sincerity. "You're actually right. APD is corrupted, like many other things in this country. You're right about Dillard, and as much as I hate to admit it, without the Justicars' help, you might have been dead now." Edward spoke his heart out without hesitating. It felt good for once to talk freely about the force and its downsides, even if to a complete stranger.
"I like you, Officer Elwin," Edrimer presented his hand, and Edward shook it. Still… if it wasn’t for things like Elastics, we might have been doing better, he couldn’t help but think. Many believe that Elastics are one of the worst things that ever spawned out of the technological advancements of the 21st century. The fabric which Elastics are made of is some sort of a rubber-leather hybrid, which actually works as a breathing fabric, so its users won’t suffocate or sweat themselves to death while also guaranteeing that no DNA residue like hair or fingerprints will be left while using them. Although no one is sure who was the one who took the unique fabric and turned it into the gloves, shoes and mask set that is known as Elastics, their use has been growing ever since they first appeared on the streets.
"So I'm guessing you're going to keep working here?" said Edward. "Unless you intend to join the White Knights of Alataria, now that you’ve seen them in action."
"I don’t know. For now, all I want is my peace and quiet." Don’t we all?
"Good luck finding that," Edward laughed. "Have a good day, Mr. Frye," he bid the young man farewell and rejoined Derlick.
The 32-year-old cop was drinking a cup of coffee that was given to him as a courtesy by the old shop owner. A lit cigarette stood between his fingers. "You know, my father used to tell me that cities like this one, Ussermis, were quiet places with little crime before the Men of Midas came in," said Derlick.
"Yeah, my father told me the same thing. Now Ussermis is no stranger to violence, especially since those fuckers have an outpost in this very district, in Ravenwey Burrows."
"Yeah, we've all heard about the abandoned metal factory they're using."
"Then why aren’t we doing anything? Why aren’t we shutting them down?"
"You know why." Derlick sounded indifferent as he inhaled the smoke from his cigarette and blew it away.
"Money. Of course." Edward made a face full of contempt. "They say the Mallistroms have their hand in everything. Every kind of business you can think of."
"Money makes the world spin, Edward. We both know that."
"Money makes the world rot. We both know that, too."
"You know how much I'd love to see Mallistrom or Trife or Hill walk down that courtroom."
"Yeah… that's a lovely dream. Sometimes I wish I could walk up to the Heart and punch our President Conrad in the face." Edward said. Everyone knew the capital city of Alataria by its name, Hartleigh, but almost everyone called it by its popular nickname, the Heart.
"The Heart…" Derlick said. "I find it very ironic that we call that city the Heart, whereas the most heartless bastards in the country live there." He chuckled.
"I'd call it sad, not ironic."
"Oh, come on, Edward, lighten up," he bumped Edward with his shoulder.
"Right, sorry," Edward tried to appear cheerful, yet his acting wasn’t the best. "Let's just head back to the station," he said for lack of any desire to continue the conversation.
The police station in Morth City was one of the larger ones in Alataria and was the very one in which sat the Chief of Police, Jonah Dillard.
"I curse every time I have to drive to that goddamn station," Edward admitted during the trip. "I hate that place. I hate those dirty pricks we have to work with."
"Well, you know I hate them too, Edward, but you have to admit you're quite the odd man out."
"Why? Because I won't take money to look the other way?"
"No," Derlick chuckled. "Because you're so obsessed with your idea of justice that you refuse to accept any other form of it. I mean, I wouldn’t mind that much if Blackburn was killed instead of jailed."
"Blackburn deserves to suffer for his crimes, just like any other ringleader in this country."
Derlick sighed. "Your father dug his principles deep into that skull of yours, didn’t he?" He did, Edward admitted it in his head. But in the end, he died alone because of it. His ideas made sure no one would ever come to visit him during his last days of illness. No one but me. And now… I wonder if I would one day meet the same fate. It's a good thing I have Derlick. In a country that only knows corruption and greediness, he is the only one who's willing to understand me and be a friend. I will always appreciate him for that.
"Anyway, forget about the Deserter General," Derlick said. "Even if he walks free, there are bigger fish to catch in Alataria. Sunyula Trife and Reus Mallistrom are several times larger than his little band of rogue soldiers."
"Trife and Mallistrom will never end up in a courthouse and you know that, Derlick," Edward sounded anguished. "They're paying off Dillard, as well as every officer on the top brass. They're untouchable." Derlick didn’t dare to say a word back. He knows I'm right. He's not going to disprove me. "And don’t underestimate Code Sanguinary. What they lack in number, they make up in skill. Let me remind you that a few weeks ago they managed to infiltrate a press conference and assassinated the Minister of Finance with only a handful of men."
"Of course, I remember. That's what got that entire case against Blackburn in motion. I don’t know what the General was thinking, to be honest. Did he really expect he'd be able to kill a minister without getting any kind of retaliation from President Conrad? I tell you, he's gotten reckless."
"Blackburn isn’t reckless, trust me." Edward seemed confident. "I saw him at the trial this morning. He hadn’t lost it. He still has that fire in his eyes, as he always did. Blackburn is smart. Everyone who has read anything about his military career would know that. He knew Conrad would retaliate. He's simply not afraid of him. The entire purpose of Code Sanguinary is to defy the President and take down his government."
"Yeah, but the number of soldiers he has these days in nothing compared to what he used to have. Shouldn’t he be afraid of… extinction?"
"Derlick, you forget that this is Alataria," Edward looked at him. "People of his kind aren’t the ones who should be afraid of extinction. We are the ones who should."
