Chapter 5

Deception

The sun had set by now and from the dark sky the rain was pouring so strongly, as if it wanted to wash the whole corrupted city away. I was hurrying along the street, when suddenly a hand shot out of the shadow of an alley and grabbed my arm.

"Captain Calintz? I need to talk to you." A female voice addressed me. Another woman – it seemed that lately the world had nothing else to do but to test me with the other gender.

I felt the strong urge to tell her to leave me alone, but before I could utter as much as a sound, her hand was over my lips.

"We cannot talk here – follow me. Please!" Her wish was not imploring, but angry and desperate and although the whole was not really to my liking, I followed the coated figure deeper into the alleyway, until she came to a stop near a lamppost that was emitting a weak shine.

"Who are you?" I inquired, trying to get a glance at her features in the weak light.

"Someone who wants to help you… and needs your help." She pulled down the collar of her coat, revealing blonde corkscrew locks, a doll-like face and –

"You are Roxy Midka!" I grabbed for my gun, and then remembered that Hugo had it.

Roxy was also one of the four Yason top members. People said that she had been a prostitute, living a life more like dying than living in the poorest part of Notia – until Orha had recruited her for the Yason. She had quickly risen in rank, mainly because, due to her former life, she had useful connections to the lowest parts of town where need and hunger were so great that people would just do anything for a warm meal and a package of tobacco. Despite her child-like appearance, she was also known for her toughness.

This time, though, Roxy didn't seem that tough to me and with a closer look, I realized that her eyes were full of fear. "Please listen to me or you might regret it later – I overheard your discussion with Carian in the bar. Is Serina still safe?"

"Why do you care? You are from the Yason, too."

"Not all Yason are the same – since the death of the Ice Queen, there have been internal fights going on about her succession and–"

"The Ice Queen is dead?" I interrupted her. If it really was true, the person who had written the message on Serina's wall either didn't know it or had wanted to lead me in the wrong direction.

Roxy frowned. "I… I thought you knew… Then you probably don't know that–" She stopped suddenly and turned around with a start, as if she had seen or heard something in the shadows.

"I don't have time for the whole story!" She spoke hastily now. "Azhadi and Carian want to take over the Yason and stop the cooperation with the government. That's why Mr. Astal had to die."

"So the murder is truly the reason why they are after Serina – she has seen Azhadi…"

"No, that's not the reason. Serina is–" the sound of a shot swallowed Roxy's next words – her eyes grew wide and she fell forward into my arms, her mascara dripping down in black cascades over her doll-like face, her red lips smeared with blood.

"Search for…the…Third…man…" she whispered with her last breath, before she slackened in my arms like a marionette whose strings had been cut.

I could do nothing but lay her on the ground, quickly taking cover in the niche of a back entrance – the murderer was probably still somewhere in the shadows and in contrast to me, he was armed. I could still spot Roxy's lifeless body lying under the soft glow of the lamp, her limps strangely twisted like she was a broken puppet. It was a cruel sight; a dark sight which fitted well to the only sounds I could hear – the never-ending metallic splashing of the rain on the rooftops, the monotonous buzzing of the lamp and my own breath.

After a while I presumed that the murderer had obviously fled, and I made my way out of the alley, every two steps taking cover in an entrance in order not to risk any shots in the back. Finally, I emerged on the main street, safely.

My head was swimming with thoughts – the Ice Queen was dead… It filled me with disappointment since I rather would have seen her in prison than in the grave: She surely would have been able to shed light on many open cases I had gathered during the years. Then there was this mysterious "Third man." Had Roxy meant Orha? He had been at the bar with Carian – had they plotted there to kill Serina? If so, it would have fitted well with my plans, since I still had a score to settle with him. If Orha was dead, Reith would finally be able to rest and the shadows of the past would haunt me no longer.

I thought of Serina's kiss and wondered if, when everything was over, I could fall for her…

Just then, it dawned on me that I should probably go check on Serina – if the murderer had followed Roxy, he probably knew where I was living and she no longer was safe in my flat.

As I reached the door to my apartment, my greatest misgivings turned out to be true – the door was open and Serina was gone. Had the murderer already gotten her? I rammed my fist against the door in frustration and rage – it had been my duty to protect her and yet again I had failed… However, the fact that there was no corpse meant that there was still hope – maybe she had only been abducted or had managed to flee. Either way, I was only half of a man without my gun – I had to tell Hugo about the information I had received and had to convince him, not as my superior, but as my friend that he had to give me the case back.

I would save Serina, no matter what.

xxx

Lester Department was deserted – even Eonis had left her job earlier than usual on this grey, rainy day. I couldn't blame her – right now, I'd rather have poured myself a drink.

To my relief, Hugo's office still had its lights on – he often worked through the nights. The sounds coming from the half open door were strange, though – it sounded like someone was rummaging through the contents of the file cabinet. I crept along the wall and then kicked open the door with force, hoping that I could catch the intruder by surprise, and thus giving me time to overwhelm him.

What I saw overwhelmed only me, though – in a bad sense.

"Serina… What are you doing with Hugo's files?"

"I… I'm sorry Calintz, but–" the words failed her as she stared at me in shock. Her guilty expression was enough for me to confirm my worst fears.

"Get away from there at once!" I snarled.

"No, stay where you are, Serina." It was his cool voice again and already, as I whirled around, I knew that I would stand face to face with Orha – I was about to lunge at him, but was held back by Serina's shaky cry:

"Hands up, Calintz!"

I heard a click – it wasn't hard to guess for me that she was pointing a gun at my back…

"So it was all a trick..." Slowly, I raised my hands, but didn't turn around – despite her weapon, I would have rather had her behind me than Orha. I did not believe that she had the guts to pull the trigger.

"A put-up job in order to get access to police files… Let me guess – you were searching for anything labelled 'Yason'." I gave a bitter laugh. "I bet they chose you because you look so much like Reith… But believe me, inside you're nothing like her, but ugly and false." I could feel how her shoulders drooped down behind my back.

"Don't talk to Serina that way. You got everything wrong…" Orha told me, his voice still emotionless. "Besides, it's not the first time that you fell for someone of the Yason. I believe you knew their most important member quite well…"

"The Ice Queen? But she's dead... She–" I stopped, not willing to speak out the impossibility of my thoughts.

"Her true name was… Reith Amila." Orha spoke slowly and for the first time something like emotion, like sadness, seemed to show in his expression.

"You're lying – that can't be! She came to me because she wanted to testify against some Yason and needed protection!"

"Yes, Reith knew that certain members of the organization wanted to do away with her and take over the clan… She had her own plans for the future of the Yason – she had seen that the family was slowly changing into an organization of criminal lowlifes. Reith never wanted the Yason clan to be a plague for Notia – she just wanted us to be left alone…" Serina's voice echoed dull behind me.

"What do you know of Reith?" My voice sounded hoarse and stubborn -- my mind did not want to accept that the woman I had loved had been in reality my greatest enemy.

"Mano…" Serina spoke softly now and it seemed that she was short of crying. "Reith was my sister… She did not lie to you! She needed protection – just like I do. You saw the message in my flat–"

I wanted to retort that it had been a fake, when I finally noticed my blindness: The message had not been from the Ice Queen, but–

"If you are her sister, you are the next in line – you are the next leader of the Yason..." To my shock, I realized that with those words I had finally declared Reith of being the guilty.

Guilty of being the Ice Queen.

"Yes…" It seemed to me that Serina had not only agreed with my statement, but also with my thoughts.

It all began to become too much for me now – too many lies and truths were swirling in my head, nothing I had ever believed in seemed right to me anymore. It was like a bad dream and as much as my brain worked, I couldn't find the strength to wake up – like a drowning man clinging to a stick, I tried to grasp hold of the last thing that contradicted Serina's explanations:

"If you are telling the truth, why are you working together with Orha now? He killed your sister – he killed Reith! I saw him with my own eyes!"

"You fool," Orha said calmly. "The gun in my hand had not been directed at her. It was–"

"Do you want to tell me that it was an accident? Was Roxy an accident, too?"

I heard Serina gasp behind me and for the second time, Orha's face showed some reaction and his eyes narrowed in bitterness. "So that's how you knew that the Ice Queen was dead… Poor Roxy… She wanted to help us and paid the price. It makes me feel even more like killing–"

He said nothing more, as a knock hit him on the back of the head.

"Calintz, quickly!" Hugo didn't have to tell me twice to react – in the blink of an eye, I had reached the shocked Serina and had wrenched the gun out of her hand – my reflexes nearly surprised myself.

"Your little game ends here." I dragged her towards Hugo.

"No, Mano, don't!" she protested, alternately looking at Orha's body on the floor and staring imploringly into my eyes – but I wouldn't get tricked by the batting of her long lashes again.

"Good work." Hugo smiled as he took Serina's arm from me.

"You saved my life, Hugo… She's a Yason! I can't believe I let myself get tricked that easily." I gave Serina a disgusted stare, wondering how I ever had compared her with Reith – then I remembered once more that the Reith I had always thought of had never existed.

Hugo had noticed the dark look on my face. "Don't blame yourself – Yason women are cunning. They'd sell body and soul to get what they want."

A sting went through my heart at his words – Reith had been a Yason, too. Had I been truly used that much? I still couldn't believe it…

Hugo's words had obviously also hurt Serina. Her eyes had turned to an angry and torn expression I had not seen before. "You know nothing!" She spat into his face.

"How dare you, you stupid broad!" Hugo slapped her, the impact flinging her into the corner of the room – I had never seen my friend so furious before.

"Hugo, calm down! That wasn't necessary!" As I turned towards the unconscious Serina, I finally realized that it truly wasn't my day:

I felt the cold steel of a gun against my head.

"How can you be worried about a Yason? But you always had a soft spot for them…" Hugo chuckled softly. "Move forward, to the corner…" He shoved me forward, roughly, towards the far end of the room where a water pipe was running along the wall.

"Hugo? Have you lost your mind?" He seemed like a stranger to me as he stood there, pointing his weapon at me. The mess in my head had now turned to utter chaos. Then, one thought loosened itself out of it and Carian's words came into my mind:

You would be surprised just who visits this place on a regular basis.

I guess that my face looked more disbelieving than it everhad been before. "Don't tell me that you are working for the Yason! You… you can't be…"

Hugo smiled nonchalantly. "The "Third man"? Why not?"

"But you hate the Yason! When Reith died, you–"

"It was him… I couldn't stop him…" Orha had regained consciousness and was on his knees now.

"And you can't stop me now." With lightening speed and precision, Hugo had fired at him, hitting Orha's upper body. The Yason slumped to the floor like a wet bag.

My hands balled to fists as I accepted the horrible truth.

"Hugo…You bastard! You killed her! You killed Reith!"

"Go back to the pipe, Mano," Hugo warned me, "or she's the next I'll shoot." He motioned towards Serina. An amused smile spread over his face when he saw that I took a step back. "I knew it. Even though she betrayed you, you can't stand to see another girl dying before your eyes. Especially not Reith's sister…"

He took a handcuff out of his pocket and threw it over to me. "Pick it up!" he ordered with a swing of the gun.

Glaring, I bent down to pick the object up – there was nothing I could do but to obey… It was true that I wouldn't risk Serina getting hurt, even though she had lied to me.

"When did you find out that Reith was the Ice Queen?" I asked.

"Not as early as I had wished to. Even most Yason do not know her face. Orha was the only one who also knew that she had disappeared, but he was so foolish as to spill it in front of Roxy. From then on, it was only a matter of time before Carian found out and informed me…" He regarded me coldly. "Reith was surprisingly stupid; she never, even for a second, mistrusted me – maybe because I was your best friend. But then again, you never mistrusted me, either…" he waved with the gun in my direction. "You should have. Cuff yourself to the pipe. Quickly."

Cursing under my breath, I attached one ring around the pipe and the other around my right wrist. The device closed with a click, effectively trapping me in the corner.

Hugo relaxed now and let the weapon sink. "Good. Originally, I wanted to finish you off in your flat, but now I can kill several birds with one stone." He stepped over the body of Orha, and began to empty the contents of the filing cabinet, flinging the papers to the floor.

"Why?"

"Why?" It nearly seemed as if the question surprised Hugo. "I could ask you the same. Why do you still try to defend justice? We both know that Notia's lost – there's no place in the city that is safe. Crime is like an ulcer – destroy one side of it and it grows even stronger in another side. Even if the government would let us have our way, we would have never been able to destroy all clans. The people no longer fear the police – they fear the Yason, though, so why not keep them calm through their rule? I dream of the same Notia you dream of. A Notia where it is safe to walk the streets at night." He sounded like he really believed what he was saying.

To me, he sounded utterly insane.

"You are speaking about a safety built through terror and fear… A false safety, but a safety that will bring you power and money…"

"Are power and money so bad? Is an easy life so bad? Look at us, Mano – look at you! How often have you risked your life and health for arresting a criminal, only to be forced to let him go two hours later…? Look at what this job has made out of you – a broken man, pitiful, consumed by revenge. Even the woman you loved betrayed you!"

"She wanted to quit – that's why you killed her… And Roxy."

Hugo chuckled. "Ah yes, that silly goose. I shot her with your weapon, by the way. Aren't you happy Mano? You've finally managed to get a Yason! I should also thank you for your performance at the Venus Fly Trap. I never would have found out that Serina had come to you, otherwise, since you did so well in hiding her before me. And since you've played the mindless avenger in the club, there will be no doubt that you killed Roxy… But don't worry – I will spare you the prison sentence." He had pulled the last of the papers out of the cabinet and turned around to face me with a satisfied expression.

"How nice of you – it also seems that you want to give me a "nice" death in making this office as messy as my own…" With my free hand I motioned towards the papers on the ground.

"It seems that your desperate sarcasm is the only thing you haven't lost yet," my friend retorted.

The biting remark had hurt and Hugo visibly enjoyed my angry expression before he continued. "But to answer your question: I'm destroying any evidence that could prove a connection between me and the Yason – namely the acknowledgments of the money Carian and Azhadi paid me for the disappearance of some people and the documents I held back for them… I didn't burn them right away, though, since I wanted to have something in my hand to remind my Yason friends of what they owned me... Not even the Chief noticed – he is too lazy and too frightened of the Yason to have any interest in cases that deal with them."

The last pieces of the puzzle finally came together in my mind – so Hugo had been the one to hold back vital information, probably even about the death of Mr. Astal, and had been the reason for the section only getting unimportant cases. It was nearly funny… The mightiest and the dangerous members of the Yason, the "Ice Queen" and the "Third man" had been dancing right before my eyes all that time. Not as funny, though, as the fact that this wisdom wouldn't be of much use to me or anyone else anymore…So I could go over to the personal part:

"There's one thing I don't understand, though. Why didn't you leave me in the dirt after Reith's death?"

"I'm no friend of the Yason, I'm just using them. So a cop with a hate towards the Yason so strong that it clouds his judgement was just what I needed. And look: you didn't disappoint – you brought Orha to me and the successor of the Ice Queen. Thanks for your great co-operation."

Roughly, he shouldered the unconscious Serina. "I'm sorry to take your last case away, but I've got some questions I need to ask this young lady before she can see her sister, again. Goodbye, my friend. It was nice knowing you!" With a grin, he lit a matchstick and threw it amidst the masses of papers on the floor. "Greet Reith for me – or better, the Ice Queen!"

He hurried out of the office, leaving me alone in my misery. It was something I was used to, although normally I had the rain as my companion and not a dead Yason.

I also wasn't handcuffed to a pipe in a room in which a fire was spreading quickly due to the dry paper on the ground…

I tried to break the water pipe, but only pulled out my shoulder in the process. After a while I gave up and slumped down on the floor, watching how the flamesslowly consumed a life's work of cases – and soon would consume me. Hugo could at least have left me with some whiskey – that bastard. It seemed that he never had been my friend at all, but had just used me like he wanted. I wondered if Reith had just used me as well – had her touch, her kisses, been false? Had her smile been as false as her identity?

No, I couldn't believe it – her lies hurt me now, but her touch had always been soothing; her betrayal sounded bitter to me now, but her kisses had always tasted sweet… She had lied to me about her identity, but still, her smile had seemed genuine.

"She truly loved you… Wanted to give everything up for you, though I tried to change her mind…" To my surprise, Orha's body had come to life, again. His clothes were soaked with blood and his face was pale as he crawled towards me and drew with a shaking hand a gun from the inner side of his coat – since he had thought him dead, Hugo had not cared to check him for weapons. Not truly surprising, the Yason pointed the weapon at me. I eyed him icily – a shot in the head was surely a better way to leave this rotten earth than slowly suffocating on the poisonous smoke and my own gloomy thoughts.

I braced myself and as the shot came, I closed my eyes -- there was no pain, though.

"Here, my gun… Still some bullets left… Go after him…" I opened my eyes – Orha had shot through the handcuff and I was no longer tied to the pipe. I took the weapon out of his shaking fingers.

"Why are you helping me?"

"Because we both loved…. and got betrayed… by the same woman…" He fell forward with a nearly peaceful look on his face.

It seemed that during all this time, I had not been the only one who had suffered and I understood of which betrayal Orha had spoken: By falling in love with me, Reith had not only forsaken the Yason, but also him.

Now I owned it not only to her, but also to Orha, to fulfil Reith's last wish.