Present
The police station was barely a year old. Leon had worked with Cid day and night to create a worthy police station. There were three computers in total distributed amongst twenty workers. All three of them were connected to the main computer in Ansem's old laboratory out by the bailey. They had chosen Ansem's laboratory as headquarters for intelligence gathering for its strategic place. It was far enough from the city and the police station to keep unwanted visitors away, but still close enough to get to quickly. Despite their efforts, the police station was coming in short. Their official list of missing persons grew each day. Relatives and friends of missing persons came in at all hours to get updates on the search for their loved ones, refusing to give up hope.
The lack of housing and work was making people desperate, and it showed in the constantly rising crime rate. Smaller crimes, such as petty theft, went by unpunished. Other criminals, like those who had made themselves guilty of violent crimes of lesser degree, were turned into workforce to finish the houses for the Returnees. Then there were the other more gruesome crimes for which there was no forgiveness for, not in Leon's eyes at least. Those criminals had to be incarcerated indefinitely while they waited for a trial that would surely never come. There was an embarrassing shortage of educated staff within the law enforcement. Education took time that they didn't have. A few judges from before Radiant Garden's first fall were still around, but not nearly enough to teach young people of the laws of their city, which in turn meant that there were very few knowledgeable lawyers. Their prisoners had no one to represent them in court and a fair trial could not be guaranteed.
Leon had been appointed Superintendent right before the Organization's second strike on Radiant Garden. He had seen himself capable of running a tight ship, but he hadn't counted on the fast and unexpected changes taking place, and now he could do nothing but roll with the punches.
"Claire!" Leon walked out of his office and put on his jacket as he walked past officer Claire's desk. She was a newcomer, fresh out of a three-month educational programme for applicants to the police force.
"Yes, sir!" She grabbed a file she had prepared on her desk and hurried after Leon to brief him on the latest murder case. "The victim is male. Name: Fredrick Thyne. Thirty-two years old, father of one, unmarried, but had a girlfriend. Not the child's mother. Returned to Radiant Garden two months ago and was claimed by a great-aunt who died by natural causes three weeks ago. According to the girlfriend, he kept mostly to himself and stayed out of squabbles in their neighborhood."
"There were squabbles?" Leon asked.
"Seems like it. The area he lives in is one of the most vulnerable in terms of unfinished buildings. There were a lot of issues with assigning the Returnees lots in that area and it seems like problems escalated when one of the neighbors started to finish their own house with material that the neighbors suspect to be stolen. Also, he seemed to be quite religious."
"Great. Prepare the autopsy room and call for Ienzo."
"Yes, sir!"
-x-
The outskirts of the city were a maze of unfinished and slowly deteriorating houses, built close together that gradually crept closer into the city of Radiant Garden. To keep track of it all, the shanty towns had to be divided into sectors. Sector Seven was quickly climbing the top list of worst committed crimes, and trips there had become commonplace for Cloud. The smell was the first sign that he was leaving the comforts of what he knew as home. There had been no time for plumbing before they started building the houses. Portable toilets had been put near the neighborhood and gutters had been dug out alongside the roads. What once had been five households sharing four portable toilets soon grew to eight, ten and now there were twenty-six households. There had been no choice but to dig latrines.
A well had been dug out between three sectors. It had been enough at first, but as time went on, they had to move the well three times to get to the subsoil water. Now they had to have two patrolling police officers near the well at all times to stop fights from breaking out when it seemed that the water supply would run low.
Cloud walked around the bottom floor of the small, incomplete house. The rain pattered against the imported plastic roof and wall, leaking in through holes. He had sealed off the area. He could see the multitude of people who had gathered outside, speculating amongst themselves as they tried to catch a glimpse of whatever had transpired.
Leon slipped inside, making sure that no one saw the body that lay just ahead of the entrance.
"Sorry for keeping you waiting. The coach got stuck in the mud, I had to walk the last bit. What do we got?" Leon put on gloves and circled the body with a deep frown.
"A clean shot to the head."
"Nothing else?" Leon kneeled to inspect the open wound on the man's forehead closer.
"No other physical trauma from what I can see. He still has money on him, nothing's missing according to the girlfriend, so we can rule out robbery. This was an execution."
"Shit. How the hell does a gun end up here?"
"It doesn't. All guns that've made it to Radiant Garden have been accounted for."
"So what are you saying? That one of our own did this?"
"Corruption comes from the top," Cloud said with a shrug. "I've been asking around for some information. Most are unwilling to say anything. A couple of them claimed they had seen Xehanort do it. But that body is buried, so… I got a few witnesses who said that they heard 'something weird' around three in the morning. A kid said it sounded like an egg exploding in a pot with a lid."
"What the hell does that sound like?"
"Like a gun with a silencer."
"Great," Leon sighed. "We'll pack him up to go. Get the bag."
-x-
Ienzo, Radiant Garden's most skillful physician and surgeon, was one of the many former Organization-members that had received a protected position due to his skills and knowledge. He looked barely twenty. He had been made part of a criminal organization at the tender age of nine. His psychological development was shrouded in mystery. The bureaucrats in the ballroom had yet to find useful information on him. All they knew was that he had been a master of illusions and highly intelligent for his age, but nothing on his origins. Few of Xehanort's lackeys had proper origins.
Leon and Cloud walked up to the autopsy table where Ienzo had just finished patching up the murder victim from earlier today. Ienzo treated his patients with utmost care and gentleness whether they were dead or alive. It bordered on psychotic, in Leon's opinion. There was just something macabre about the way Ienzo pushed the needle through a dead man's skin, as if he didn't want it to hurt any more than it had to.
"What do you have for us?" Leon asked as Ienzo cut the thread between the large needle and the man.
"A malnourished man with a twisted ankle, a fractured pinky and a fascination with the occult," Ienzo said and smiled politely when both Leon and Cloud glared at him. "The exit wound is here on his neck, right underneath his jaw. The bullet is a nine millimeter, standard for the guns used in Radiant Garden. I recovered and analyzed the bullet. I just have to match it with the right gun."
"How many guns do we have?" Leon turned to Cloud.
"Ninety-four. Fifty in rotation. Forty of them are held by the security police."
Ienzo glared at both of them when they both nodded in simultaneous realization. Not much was known about what kind of camaraderie the Organization-members had, only that Ienzo was quite protective of a few.
"The correction facility," Leon said with certainty.
"Before you jump to conclusions, there are other things you should know," Ienzo said, coldly.
"Like?" Cloud asked.
"Fredrick tried to scratch his attacker. There were traces of black matter under his fingernails. I don't know if you noticed when you fetched him, but he had a very distinct smell. It might have been a consequence from living in the slums, but I find it peculiar because of the black matter."
"What did he smell like?" Leon quickly glanced at Fredrick and whiffed in the air discreetly.
"Sulfur."
"Are you sure?" Cloud looked at Fredrick and then back at Ienzo.
"My memory isn't what it once was, but that was sulfur and far too familiar for my own liking," Ienzo said.
"Any reports on sightings in Sector Seven?" Cloud asked Leon.
"No. We got a report from the shelter yesterday though. What, you think a Heartless with great gunmanship got a hold of a gun and shot Fredrick point blank, leaving his heart intact?" Leon scoffed.
"I'm thinking that someone who just got out of one of those dark portals shot Fredrick point blank. Don't we know of someone surrounded by forty armed guards, with opportunity and skill to grab a gun, and use a dark portal? We might even have our motive, too," Cloud said.
"We do?"
"Sure. The dead guy smelled like sulfur. It could've been enhanced by the dark portal, point is that he still smelled like it when he got here, and that black stuff isn't nearly enough to give off that much smell. Meaning," Cloud paused to let Leon put the final pieces of the puzzle together.
"Fredrick was a former Nobody. At the top of the food chain, maybe? Shit. So, what? How the hell does he end up on Xehanort's hitlist?"
"The Keyblade-wielders have gotten involved, haven't they? They're trying to get Saïx to talk, to spill stuff Cid hasn't managed to get out of him. Sixty gil say Fredrick here knew something our guy didn't want to come out. It's a lead, at least."
"Yeah." Leon looked back at Ienzo. It was clear that the young man did not like where their conclusions were pointing.
Ienzo had set himself up for disappointment the second he forgot that 'Saïx' had been the one to endure Xehanort's possession the longest. It was only a matter of time before he fell back into old habits. At least, that's what Leon hoped was behind the sullen look on Ienzo's face. There was also a possibility that all former Organization-members were in on this, in which case, they could jeopardize the security of everyone in Radiant Garden.
Leon and Cloud were on their way out of the autopsy room when Ienzo spoke to stop them from leaving.
"Superintendent, might I suggest you keep an extra eye on the water supply. I fear it might be more vulnerable than the security at the correctional facility and in much dire need of your attention and supervision."
"Why?" Leon nearly barked at what seemed like a threat. "You think the killer's gonna poison the water? On what grounds?"
"This won't be the gunman's doing, Superintendent. I'm talking about a more vicious murderer that cannot be seen." Ienzo smiled politely as his two superiors approached him with fury in their eyes. "It's been known by many names; most famously known as a vicious Horseman. As a scientist, I know it better as Cholera."
-x-
Five former members of Organization XIII had been registered amongst the Returnees. Xemnas had been struck from the list with Xehanort's demise and Terra's suicide. The others with records of a past in Radiant Garden were listed as missing and wanted persons. To enhance the chances of finding them and holding them responsible for their crimes they were on a priority list shared with other worlds, but not with the public. No one outside the Restoration Committee and the Keyblade-wielders knew that there were former Organization-members in high positions working for their closest thing to a government. Given the circumstances, the populace would riot if they knew, and a riot would only worsen the situation.
Leon and Cloud had gone through the files and reports on all five former members of Organization XIII to learn about their whereabouts at the time of the murder. It was in their investigation that they realized that there wasn't a camera installed in Saïx's cell. Dr. Even had filed a petition for Saïx's privacy to avoid paranoia and seclusion to easier help Saïx open up to him and share his feelings on everything that had happened up until now. His cell had been free of surveillance for two weeks. They hadn't gotten any new information on Saïx, just more murder cases. It was frustrating to know that the safety of criminals was prioritized over justice, and agonizing to admit that they couldn't blame anyone else but themselves. They made those decisions.
The world Xehanort had left behind was not one they knew how to deal with. There was no immediate enemy to fight in grand battles anymore, not like they were used to. The battles they had to fight now were completely different. Budget plans, preventive strategies, intel gathering; they were rebuilding a world in hopes of making it better than it once had been. But as it was now, it was much easier to romanticize King Ansem's era when Radiant Garden seemed to constantly prosper.
"How do we deal with this?" Leon asked tiredly and tossed the file in his hand onto his desk. He looked over at Cloud who leaned back in his chair, his feet on the corner of his desk. Cloud hadn't gone home for at least two days and it was starting to show.
"What do you mean?"
"The Xehanort vessel is technically out of our reach. He belongs to the Keyblade-wielders now."
"If he's murdered one of ours, it doesn't matter who he belongs to," Cloud said.
"You should go home and sleep."
"I'm fine."
"If he's murdered one of ours'," Leon repeated mockingly. "We have Saïx behind bars because he almost leveled what was left of Radiant Garden to the ground. He's killed countless of ours, and yet, he was handed over to the Keyblade-wielders. One more dead body to add to the pile won't magically change that. You'd know that if you had bothered to sleep. Doesn't it piss Tifa off that you're here all the time?"
"I wouldn't know," Cloud mumbled and reached for another file. "We should go down there and work on our diplomacy skills."
"How?"
"Bargaining. That's what all good diplomats do, right?"
"What do we bargain for? We've cut deals with the Keyblade-wielders already. They have free access to everything we have."
"Not everything," Cloud said smugly. "Who's the chaperone? It's the redhead, right? Lea? I say we get a little personal. We get Saïx, he gets a talk with Ienzo. Who knows? Ienzo could help them along with their project at the Land of Departure?"
"That's good. It could work. Let's go. But after we're done, you're going home. Tifa won't wait around forever."
They rose from their seats to hurry to the correctional facility in hopes to cast a light on this case, but were stopped as they were about to leave.
"Superintendent Leon!" Claire called and ran up to them. "Regarding the murder on Fredrick Thyne, there is a woman in hearing room three who says that a certain Rebecca, Fredrick's girlfriend, is missing."
Leon took the notepad Claire held out for him to read the form the woman had filled in.
"Since when?"
"Since last night, sir."
"Alright, I'll be there in a second. Cloud, go home. We'll meet by the correctional facility tomorrow morning at eight."
"Fine, whatever."
Leon hurried to hearing room three and closed the door after him gently when he heard the woman sitting with her back against him sob. He sat down across from her and put the clipboard on the desk.
"You didn't sign your name on the form," Leon began. "Why?"
The woman looked up at Leon slowly, her lower lip still quivering. She was pale. Her tears had left streaks of dirt on her sullen face. She brushed her short, blond hair back nervously.
"Rebecca called me Lynn."
"Miss Lynn," Leon scribbled her name onto the form. "Do you have a last name?"
She shook her head.
"I heard that the police think that Rebecca was Mr. Thyne's girlfriend, but that's not true. Rebecca was a lady of the night. She happened to be there the night he was killed, and now she's gone."
Leon sighed. They had managed to break two prostitution rings in Sector Seven in about as many months, but these people regrouped faster than his SWAT-team.
"And you think it's connected with the murder?"
"I'm sure of it. Rebecca would never leave without saying anything. She's been acting weird since that night. Scared, frightened. She wouldn't tell me what was wrong and she didn't trust the police to protect her. I think… I think she thought the murderer was after her, not Mr. Thyne."
"Why would that be, Miss Lynn? Do you know?"
"No. Mr. Thyne tried to get Rebecca into religion. He said it would save her. After meeting him the first time, Rebecca said it wasn't for her and – she was scared. She told me that the walls in his house bleed black. Rebecca always told us to stay away from the dark, and… and now she's gone." Lynn sobbed harder and hid behind her hands.
Leon leaned back into his seat, but not before he pressed a small button underneath the desk to call for Claire. He wasn't good at dealing with people crying, especially when he was working on three hours sleep. He tried to ask her about the walls 'bleeding black', but he could hardly make out what she was saying.
A case like this would usually end up at the bottom of the pile, but its connections with the murder case and the possibility that there might be sightings of Heartless going by unreported made this case worthy of an immediate investigation.
Once Claire had comforted Lynn to the best of her abilities, Lynn was led out of the hearing room and to the reception where Leon stood by the printer, waiting for some documents Cid had sent over. He caught her looking at him from across the room, and that moment would be known to him as the first time he took notice of her as a person and not as yet another case to solve.