Characters:
Riley Rourke – The Half-Blood. Roman descendant.
John Wyatt – The Inspector witnessing Riley's doing. Can see through the Mist.
Gordon Rourke – Riley's uncle. Was a Sergeant in the Army.
Inspector Wyatt was examining on the other side of the interrogation room, through the one-side mirror. His eyes were fixated on a muscular yet young girl, who was sitting uncomfortably on the chair. Her feet was fidgeting non-stop, as if she was plugged onto a live electrical current.
The inspector sighed heavily. No matter how hard his work, he still has to do it whether he likes it or not. He pushed the door, deliberately making a loud noise. The girl glared at him with vicious looks. She reminded Wyatt of a tigress. Quiet when hunting, but very dreadful. He pace himself towards the empty chair, sit on it quietly, then stare at the girl with an amused look on his face.
"Well? What do you want?" The girl snarled.
"Nothing. I just… need you to answer a few questions." said Inspector Wyatt while flipping on his files, so he can look anything except her eyes. Even he has to admit, her stare gave chills down his spine. Something that he hates, by the way. "Is that okay? If I ask you a few questions?"
The short-haired brunette tapped her feet so quickly, it sounded like a Morse code. SOS. SOS. I need to get out. "Just… get on with it."
Inspector Wyatt flipped back his file to page one. "Is your name Riley Rourke?"
"Yes."
"And your gender is… female?"
Riley seemed sensitive to this particular question. She clenched her hands while furrowed her eyebrows out of anger. "And? Did you think I'm a boy before?"
"Er… no."
"So why do you even ask?"
"Protocol." said Wyatt almost automatically. And that's true. But to tell the truth, the inspector did think that Riley was a boy. According to the file, Riley was just 17 years old, yet her body seem so toned for her early age. And with her outfit, Wyatt has no clue. A camouflage long pants with baggy green army t-shirt, and a really short black hair. If Wyatt was seeing her strolling on the street, he would've thought her as just another army brat. A male army brat, for sure.
"Just answer my questions, please. No interruption. Okay?"
Riley grumbled as an answer. Wyatt takes that as a yes. He then flicks his files to the last page.
"Do you go to… New York Military Academy?"
"Yeah. What's in it to you?" Riley was obviously intimidating the Inspector, which didn't work. He just stare at her with weary eyes.
"I'm just following protocol, Miss Rourke. You don't have to snarl every time I speak to you. Are we clear on that?"
Riley squinted her eyes for the last time. After that, she stare at the floor. "Yeah. Sure. Whatever."
Wyatt shakes his head while scoffed bitterly. Seems like he has to speed up procedure. "Okay, fine. Just a few more questions." He pulled out an evidence bag from under the table. There's a military knife on it. Other than that, the weapon was pristine.
"Is this yours, Miss Rourke?"
"Maybe." Riley was still trying to be angry, but her temper cooled down when she saw how serious Wyatt looked. "Okay, it's mine. And please, address me as Riley. Or Rourke. Lose the 'Miss'."
"Okay. Who give it to you?"
"My uncle. Gordon Rourke. He lives in the Connecticut. He was a sergeant in Iraq. He gave that to me as a present for successfully entering the Academy."
Inspector Wyatt raised his eyebrows. Finally, a long and straight answer. Why didn't she behave like this from the beginning? "Good. Now did you use this particular weapon recently, Riley? And please don't lie." He added that when Riley was opening her mouth with angry look in her eyes.
The fire was still there, but Riley manage to controlled it. She pursed her mouth, and after a few seconds, she admitted. "Yeah. I was using it. Just this morning, actually."
"For what, may I ask?"
Her eyes suddenly shot at Wyatt, giving him an icy stare. "You won't believe me."
"Try me."
Her hands clasped together while she rocks back and forth. "Promise you won't laugh?"
"Yes."
Riley took a deep breath, the let it out hastily. "Fine. I use it to kill a monster."
With a cough and a faint smirk, Inspector Wyatt gritted his teeth out of frustration. "Now that, Riley… is a flat-out lie."
And just like that, Riley's temper blew. She flung the table passing Wyatt, until the thing cracked the one-way mirror. "See? You won't even believe me even when I tell the truth! No one will!"
"Because it's a LIE, Riley!" Wyatt shouted his best to overcome Riley's anger, but it's no use. Now the girl braced herself, as if she was in a boxing match. A thought from his files suddenly popped in his mind. Riley Rourke was an excellent hand-to-hand combat practitioner. She has been taught Ju-jitsu, Taekwondo, and even the famous Brazilian war-dance Capoeira since she was seven year's old. That's 10 years of training. It would be stupid to him for trying to face this girl at this time, while he was unprotected. The only combat training Wyatt has ever got was 2 months of body-combat gym class. He's a desk police, period. Without the guns and Kevlar, he's practically naked.
"Okay then Riley. Let's just… Let's calm down, shall we? Okay?"
"You won't believe me! My teachers won't believe me! Everyone in the Academy doesn't believe me! Just let me take a polygraph, I'll prove it! I'll prove it that I wasn't lying!"
He let Riley steamed and furious. Anything, as long as she doesn't attack him or jeopardize him in any way. "Okay, okay. I should've listen to you first. I'm sorry. Just… put down the chair, okay?"
Breathing heavily and still looked suspicious, Riley finally lower her chair. With no words coming out of her mouth, she even put the table to its place with one pull. Inspector Wyatt's eyes were wide while watching this girl worked around him. That table was solid steel, and she managed to pull it with her hands cuffed. Talk about superpower. Wyatt suddenly thinking about taking some of the serious combat classes.
When things finally cooled down, Wyatt sat back at his chair with cupped hands. "Good. Now, let's get back to the… conversation. Shall we?" He changed his words from 'interrogation' to 'conversation' to avoid further destruction. But much to his surprise, Riley smirked, then shrugged.
"It's okay if you want to say 'interrogation'. I know I'm in one, anyway."
Inspector Wyatt gulped. This girl seems very likely to read his mind. Scary much? "Okay. I'll ask you a few more questions then?" He fiddled his file until he finds the suitable sentences. "Now, have you ever allegedly…" Okay. This is weird. "…throw a fireball consists of… metal… across the locker room?" Wyatt himself can't believe the accusation written on that file. It seems so… peculiar.
And strangely enough, Riley's answer were straight and sounds truthful. "No, that was not me." She said with a bland tone while watching her fingers intertwined. "It was some new guy. He was like 2 metres tall and buffer than The Rock. You know, the wrestler? He said I will be a delicious meal for him. I just protected myself. He's the one who projected the thingies from his bare hands, not me."
"But the file said-"
"Seriously, dude?" Riley arched her eyebrows. "Can you imagine me, with flaming bronze balls on my hand, then having the strength to throw it across the room?"
Silence was hanging in the air.
"Okay, maybe I could. But that doesn't mean I'm the one who does it!" Riley continued with a disbelief look on her face. "What proof do you have? Photos? The metal ball? What?"
"Just a testimony from your friends." Inspector Wyat murmured. "But in here, it's also said that you cause the shelves at the library to collapse. 19 of them, no less."
"That's just because some crazy librarian chased after me!" Riley was shouting impatiently now. "She was like 'Come here! Be my special lunch!' and I was like 'Never!' and the next thing I knew, she flew and trying to peck me to death!"
Wyatt stare at Riley for a few moments in awe before he spoke. "Peck you?"
"Yeah! She suddenly got a sharp mouth and some crazy talons, and try to grab and carry me towards the library window! It's not my fault that I'm trying to stay on the ground! And, you know… stumbled across some shelves along the way."
"Stumbled at 19 shelves. While you were carried by a crazy lady-bird monster. Really? You expect me to believe that?" But he hesitated when he saw Riley's eyes were starting to glint dangerously again. "Okay, okay. Lets just say what you went through was true. Getting back to the subject at hand. How did you explain this?"
John Wyatt pulled out another evidence bag, but this time there was a uniform in it. A grey shirt with black trousers, all were folded nicely with no scratch or rips. Riley furrowed her eyebrows. "So? What do you need me for to explain it? It's our uniform."
"But I understand it's not yours."
"Of course not. I used my casual attire, didn't I? It's weekend. I stroll around with my shirt and pants. Only a crazy student who would walk in the city with their uniform on." But Riley's eyes suddenly shifted. Wyatt raised an eyebrow. This girl was lying, and he knew it.
"There's a witness regarding the incident today, and he dares to swear that he saw you stabbing the boy's eyes. The one who has his name engraved on this shirt." Wyatt pointed her long finger to the uniform's name tag. Riley doesn't even look at the evidence, but her eyes were boring at Wyatt's. The inspector gulped automatically.
"And do this 'witness' says anything else? Anything that is NOT circumstantial?" Riley was balling her fists now. Wyatt knows if he answered it wrong, he can't hold Riley much longer. But it was too obvious. He doesn't have anything else to prove that Riley killed, or even hurt someone. "No. There's no more evidence."
Riley's smirk was victorious. "So what am I doing here, then? Free me." She gestured her hands that was still cuffed, causing Wyatt's anger to boil even more. He bangs his fist against the desk, which only hurts his hand. Now, if Riley was the one who's doing it, it'll be a different story. Maybe the dent that she'll cause will never get fixed.
"Don't you lie to me, Riley! I know you hurt someone in that alley just this morning!"
"What's your proof besides a wobbly testimony? If I do something wrong, PROVE IT!" Riley roared back. Her eyes were as crazy as a hungry tiger. Maybe on normal circumstances Inspector Wyatt might back down, but this was no small matter. He knew Riley was guilty. He knew it! Because… Because…
"I saw it! I'm the witness! I saw you, weapon at the ready, climbing at someone's back the stab him in the eyes! There's no way that it's a fluke! You might have killed someone today! Why won't you admit it?" His voice was hoarse and full of desperation. His eyes won't lie. He saw it happened, at close range even. There's no way that he's mistaken.
Riley was at loss for words. She can't even shut her mouth properly. "You saw what I did?" She asked with a disbelief tone.
"Of course I did!"
"You saw me. In action. Killing that monster?"
The inspector sighed. "Even though your opponent was muscular, doesn't mean that he's a monster, Riley. Stop saying that."
"What? Are you kidding me!" Riley scoffed, then laughed very bitterly. She took a deep breath while shaking her head. "Okay. If you witnessed it, then you saw him, right? Ferguson, which you implied I stabbed?" Ferguson was the (monster) victim's name.
"Yes."
"Do you know how much he weight? Or how tall he was?"
"Well, of course." Wyatt furrowed his eyebrows, trying to remember what happened this morning. "I don't know about weight, but he was a pretty big guy. His height, though… about 2 meters?"
"More." Riley added. "Just measure me. I'm easily 1.8 meters. I was as high as his stomach, for Pete's sake. He must be 3 meters tall, at least."
"So? There must be a lot of his type at an army school." Even though he said it, Wyatt wasn't sure that what he wants to say. 3 meters was not a common height, even for adults.
With a bitter tone coming out of her mouth, Riley wiped her face. "A lot of his type in my school? A lot? Mother hugger…" She shot her eyes fiercely at the inspector. "Fine. I'm sure in all that papers, there must be some info on Ferguson. Why don't you check his status on my school? Find out what classes he's in."
Once again, Wyatt's hands were rummaging through his files. And yes, he found a piece of paper containing information on Ferguson. There was no photo attached, but his eyes went wide when discovering what his grade was. He was just a freshman. Just like Riley. Then how come his body was so big, just like a quarterback in a professional league? Unless he was skipping a year or two… But there's no such thing on his file that says those flaws. He slaps his map close with frustration. "There's something missing here…" He whispered to himself.
But of course, Riley heard it. "Yea, there's something missing, all right." She shot her sights towards Wyatt's unsure look. "Your acceptance that all of this-" She gestured at a figurative object in front of her," All of this is not normal. At all. You must admit that something unusual, some magic has done their job in this incident. Just admit it."
The inspector wasn't listening to Riley with all of his attention. His mind drifted back to that morning, instead. When he saw the stabbing. His eyes widened when he realized... what Riley told him might be true. He did saw that boy as a peculiar one. And his roar, his body, his limbs... they were not entirely normal. He is way too tall and way too buff for his age. But... but there's no such thing as magic!
Wyatt pull his map onto his tight, his eyes fixated at Riley with determination. "I will get to the bottom of this." He hissed. But Riley only smirked.
"Sure you will. But I remind you, you will only be wasting your time."
The inspector slammed his hand to the desk so he could look more intimidating, but that was pointless. All he get was more bruise in his palm. After a quick scoff, he pointed his index finger to the spiky-haired girl. "Don't you move. Don't even blink if you can. I will be right back as soon as possible."
When Wyatt stormed out, Riley stuck out his tongue. And to upset him even more, the girl blinked rapidly when he turned around, making him even more furious. Wyatt stomped to his office, determined to found some more clue regarding Ferguson and his past.
EDITED at 6/8/2012: Eliminating past and present tense confusion in some sentences. :)
