"Last night's incident with the mobs proved to us that there is unrest in the underground. We have done well cutting down on illegal activities by their organizations, and their jobs available are becoming much scarcer."

Lieutenant Sadiq Adnan listened carefully as Roderich Edelstein addressed the members of the police unit about the mob activity. The bespectacled brunette always had an air of class to him, even in the midst of tracking down criminals, and had earned the position of police commissioner a few years ago. He was also fond of following rules, which put him on very good terms with both the government and Jones Conglomerates Incorporated.

The lieutenant glanced at the two special guests in attendance. Arthur Kirkland was one of the most powerful men in the country, owning 10% of JCI's shares while also being the government's best court prosecutor. He was accompanied by Vash Zwingli, the head of security at JCI that often doubled as a bodyguard for Alfred Jones and a IT security expert for all agencies they have a hand in. Roderich's cooperation with JCI allowed the corporation a bit of leeway in having the police help them with projects, such as the one Arthur and Vash were there to tell the unit about today.

"While the bank heist last night may have resulted in the culprits escaping, and the two mobsters we captured are able to walk out on bail, there is one thing becoming far clearer," Roderich continued, "The more often these mobs have to step on each other's tails, the more opportunities we have to catch them and shut them down for good."

Sadiq looked around the room to make sure everyone was concentrating on the Commissioner's words, and was pleased to see that most of them were. While they had started with the police force around the same time, Sergeant Kiku Honda was far more calm and introverted than Sadiq, and seemed to enjoy training new recruits. Sergeant Lars van Ryn was Kiku's first student, and he had already reached the point of training his own protege, Sergeant Bella Maes.

Kiku's most recent student and partner, Sergeant Gilbert Bielschmidt, was a little more relaxed at his table, although he was at the scene last night and saw the situation first-hand. The German-born officer with silver-white hair and red eyes had gotten in trouble at first for impulsively chasing down criminals and losing them in a split second. His records were improving though, and he was showing off a smart mind that could eventually follow the path of a detective.

"We will proceed with our due diligence on tracking the mob activity," Roderich concluded, "When the mobs strike again, we will be prepared to shut down anyone at the scene of the crime."

The speech was interrupted by the doors opening to the meeting room, and everyone turned to see Sergeant Heracles Karpusi standing there. The Greek man had gone through training with Sadiq and Kiku, and now helped out the Lieutenant as his partner.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, Commissioner," Heracles said, "The friends paying the bails on Vargas and Bondevik showed up at the same time. We'll need backup downstairs to make sure there isn't any altercations when we release the boys."

"Sadiq, you head downstairs," Roderich ordered, "I need to keep the others here to explain tomorrow night's project."

"I'll come with you, Sadiq," Arthur volunteered, "Vash can present to the unit without me. Besides, Vargas and Bondevik may spill details I can use in their prosecution."

"Sounds good, come along," Sadiq approved as he and Arthur left the room and followed Heracles through the hallway.

"Any word on who picked them up, Heracles?" the attorney inquired as they went down the stairs to the main level.

"A Portuguese man named Miguel Torres is picking up Vargas. He's been flagged as associated to the Vargas crime family, but we don't have any evidence to formally charge him," Heracles explained, "The one picking up Bondevik is Berwald Oxenstierna. The Swede is believed to be Mikkel Kohler's right-hand man, but like Miguel, we have no evidence."

"It's really too bad we can't lock them up right now," Arthur complained as they turned past the main reception and towards the waiting room for releases, "We need that evidence to put them behind bars."

"Have some patience, Mr. Attorney General," Sadiq teased, "The chance will come for you to shine in the courts."

The three men turned the corner and went down the hallway into the waiting room, where an altercation had already started. Sergeant Tomas Jelen was already attempting to stand between the two pairs, while Sergeant Lenka Svoboda was prepared to come around from her counter. Oxenstierna was holding Bondevik back while Miguel tried to control Vargas. Arthur wisely stayed back as Heracles and Sadiq jumped into the fray.

"Break it up, or you'll all get arrested," Sadiq shouted, quickly gaining control of the situation, "And believe me, Arthur here would love to put you all away for good!"

Lovino Vargas quit his fighting with Sadiq and Miguel holding him back, while Heracles and Tomas pushed Berwald and Lukas out of the room to the exits. Once Lovino was visibly calming down, Sadiq approached the counter where Lenka was waiting to talk to him.

"Mr. Bondevik's paperwork was completed before the altercation, so he was good to go," she reported, "We still need signatures from Mr. Vargas."

"Well, get signing there, Vargas," Sadiq told the Italian, "You can leave when that's taken care of."

"Ah non, did I miss out on a potential client?" a very familiar voice echoed from the door, and Sadiq turned to see that Francis Bonnefoy had joined them.

"Get out of here, you slimy French vulture," Arthur told the defense lawyer.

"But Arthur, mon cher, you know I love arguing with you in court," Francis pleaded, "Am I not allowed to track releases and solicit my services to clients?"

"Piss off, Bonnefoy," Lovino shot down as he turned from the counter, "You just want whatever money you can scam, whether I'm guilty or not."

"Ah, mais non, Lovino, that is only a perk," Francis defended, "And besides, I doubt you would need to pay that much for my services. At least, not as much as Madame Kirkland's defense will cost."

Arthur immediately charged over and slapped Francis across the face. Heracles stepped between them and pushed the attorney general out of the room before it could go any further. They were promptly followed by Vargas and Torres, leaving Sadiq alone in the waiting room with Francis and the red handprint forming across his cheek.

"You okay there, Franny?"

"Yes, I'll be fine, mon ami," Francis assured, "At least he didn't punch me this time, he was quite the brute the last time we fought in the courtroom."

"You really should know better than to mention his missing wife around him," Sadiq warned, "Even though it's been over two years, it's still a touchy subject."

"Let him grovel in his misery," Francis said as they went to leave, "When Mathilda does finally return, her defense trial will be the pinnacle of my career."


Author's Notes

Here we meet the police department, with the connection between the seemingly entirely separate Chapters 1 and 2. Most of the names should be obvious, but just in case, Tomas Jelen is Slovakia and Lenka Svoboda is Czech Republic.