Transcendence

Chapter 14: Traitors Abound

Poison, it was a simple deduction; even a man with the brain of a mule would know the answer.

Vimes looked down at the dead bodies, Privates Gyram and Durham, their corpses were ghostly pale. Despite having only been dead for a few minutes they already looked like corpses well into decomposing. The only color that remained was the still fresh blood that seeped out from their mouths, but the red liquid carried the consistency of porridge.

"What poison did this?" Vimes inquired, his question directed to the man who had carried out the autopsy just moments ago.

VanHowzen looked at the Captain, taking his hands out of the wash bowl and drying them, he didn't reply at first. He washed his hands and dried them off, but a look of contemplation was clearly seen on the old doctor's face.

"Marsh Venom, likely from a Darkfang Creeper. The poison caused the two men's stomach walls to liquefy; internal bleeding and organ rupture were likely the result of death," VanHowzen replied, tossing the towel back onto the bench and walking over to the body. "You can see it, the reason his blood is so thick is because that is actually the dissolved walls of his stomach."

"So it was murder then, in the food?" Vimes said in some disgust as he looked at the lightish red liquid that seeped out of the men's mouths, like bloody puss.

"Yes, the one that did it was smart but also amateurish," VenHowzen replied, making the Captain look at him with a look that said he and expected a better answer. "They used too much, way too much."

Vimes crossed his arms and nodded his head; motioning he understood and he wanted him to continue.

"Tarantula venom from what we know liquefies the organs so the spiders can suck it out the victim, leaving a husk behind," VanHowzen clarified. "This was different, whoever poisoned the food was pretty smart, and they didn't put the poison in the food, per say, but actually fed the poison to the animal they used to put in the stew."

"How can you tell?" Vimes asked, actually surprised with the Trauma Surgeons explanation.

"This here," VanHowzen said, showing him a remaining piece of meat from within the dish, the doctor picked it up with an instrument and placed it on the table.

The meat looked runny, but it also looked odd considering the milky substance that was running off it was not the same color as the greenish soup it was in. Vimes watched as the doctor put an instrument through the piece of meat and watched as it simply fell apart, like a knife through butter.

"The meat was poisoned?" Vimes asked, and was answered with a nod.

"The meat has been partially liquefied by the poison; they likely used rat meat as rats are quite resistant to poisons and venom by extension, likely while these two didn't think it anything other than well prepared meat," VanHowzen said, looking over to the soup.

Vimes was surprised, but still how did the doctor know. As if knowing the Captains query the doctor gave it to him.

"The puss here, that is the poison leaking from the meat, that is the poison still doing its work on the meat they were eating," VanHowzen said, pointing with the instrument to the milky substance. "Most wouldn't test the meat in the soup, only the soup, and because the poison was mostly in the meat they wouldn't be able to find out what killed the victims. But they got sloppy on one part, they used too much."

"How did they use too much?" Vimes asked, the men were dead, what more could you want?

"If they had only used a few pieces they could have easily had it so that the men would have bled out internally, cause of death would be a mystery and the suspicion of poison may have actually been unlikely," VanHowzen answered.

"So we got lucky then," Vimes replied, if these men hadn't been poisoned so greatly then it is likely that they would have died of mysterious circumstances. But mysterious circumstance could still be murder, but without a motive or an instrument that killed them there would be no way to suspect anyone.

"I wouldn't call it lucky, because we both know this could have only come from one place, and that place is only known to a few groups, and we're part of one of them," VanHowzen replied, his voice but a whisper.

'The Guard,' Vimes thought to himself.

That was true, although there was no way to confirm it; the Guard were the only people who could reach the place to collect this poison safely. They were also probably the only ones who could acquire it without any questions being asked. The reason they would need it however did not sit well with him, he would need to go to the source and find out who had been collecting of late.

"Keep this to yourself, make it appear that they died of unknown causes, put that in the report," Vimes said, whispering a reply to the doctor, VanHowzen nodded his head in understanding before covering the bodies.

Vimes didn't wait for a reply before he left the infirmary. He took a few steps out of the room and immediately slumped against the wall; letting out a breath and feeling his armor get heavy. Another wave of frailty overtook him, again he felt like his age was catching up with him. It had been happening since this morning, as if this entire event was somehow sapping what strength he had.

But the cause of it only made his state deteriorate further; this conspiracy was taking a toll on him. At first he tried to denounce that two guards were attempted murderers, blindly defending them because they were fellow soldiers such as he. Yet in the end they were found to be hiding crucial information, given to them by the people they attempted to kill. Then when they were to be interrogated they died, poisoned before they could reveal the reason behind their actions.

The loss of two good soldiers was hard for him; Gyram was always a good guard and performed his duty to standards he was always proud of. His action had been a deep wound to the old Captain, but nothing could compare to the pain he felt when they were killed. From what he and the good doctor could deduce was by the hands of another guard.

This was not what he thought the day would bring him; he suspected it would be another peaceful day like always. The hope was shattered when that boy Ichigo was brought in for causing a disturbance, running through the streets with a sword. At first he thought the boy was simply a nuisance, some rascal off the boats that was looking for adventure, not the first time that had happened.

Then there were cries of attempted murder, the exposure of the massacre on Shady Rest, and that two guards were implicated in attempting the former and hiding the latter. Everything went to the Nether as soon as these things came to light. Not thirty minutes after the soldiers were put in the cages they were dead. It was almost too obvious that there were more people out there, people who didn't want to be found.

There was a conspiracy in the works, one that was directly tied to the massacre in Shady Rest. One he needed to unravel.

Vimes moved off, regaining some strength to continue walking as his mind tried to find reason in all this chaos. But there was so much unanswered, the reason for the attack on the town as well as why there were people trying to cover up that attack, or possibly why there was an attack. He needed to have these questioned answered, and he had only one person he could trust to help him find answers.


Hallen stood before her commander, the Lieutenant, who was roaring in anger. Screaming as to why the assassination did not work and also to why both his men were dead. Despite his rage Hallen remained rooted on the spot and kept her composure, she was his second in command and he would not be so quick to cast her aside for failure for delivering bad news.

"They couldn't even kill two children!" The Lieutenant yelled, pacing and making wild gestures in the air as he continued his rant. "How they were defeated by them is beyond my comprehension, worse yet, one was completely unconscious and woke up right when he was about to die!"

He couldn't believe it, it was simply impossible to believe that both attempts on the two witnesses could fail so spectacularly. They were just some brats that needed to have their necks broken and their bodies thrown down a sewage duct. What was so hard about that?

Worse yet, so very worse, is the fact that the incident about Shady Rest has come to light and revealed to Captain Vimes and Colonel Lorena. Two officers that he knew were staunch followers of Jaina Proudmoore and quite possibly the last two people he would want investigating this. Both were very thorough, and he had no way of actually preventing them from doing their jobs or subverting the investigation from either of them.

If he tried then they likely would get suspicious of him, something he couldn't allow to fall upon him. They already suspected the two men were traitors, not smart to make them think there were more. Yet they likely suspected that already, considering that the two men that were suspected as traitors were dead now.

He knew that Durham wouldn't say a damn word, that man was the best soldier he had under his command, always did as he was told. But Gyram, that loyal good hearted boy, he was a liability that he couldn't leave to Vimes; he would crack that kid easily. Then every single one of his supporters would have been revealed and they would have been arrested, and when work of their acts against the Horde was revealed. Execution was all but certain.

But still it was such a waste, if he could only have killed Gyram. Yet if Gyram was killed Durham may think he would be next, meaning he likely would tell them everything before they made an attempt on his life. It left them no choice but to kill them both and leave no clues or traces back to their group. Yet the suspicion was enough to force them to their toes, especially since the poisoning was not exactly subtle by any means.

"Why in the Nether did you not use a more subtle poison?" He demanded, glaring at the Private who had carried out the deed to murder those two men.

"I am sorry sir, but we were pressed for time, we needed them removed quickly," Hallen replied, her voice even and showing no hints of nervousness. "We had no idea how long we had before Captain Vimes would begin his interrogation; a proper execution was out of the question."

"Still you could have tried," The lieutenant seethed. "Now we have to keep our heads low unless we risk being suspected, and suspicion is still enough to get a rope around your neck."

"With respect sir, with the situation as it is, the chances that the death of both of them at the same time, regardless of if it was now or in a week's time, would still be seen as suspicious. They would have likely put two and two together as well," Hallen replied, giving her commander the logical standpoint on why they needed to rush it.

The Lieutenant glared at her for a minute before his gaze simply settled onto the table he was leaning on.

"I suppose you are right in that regards," The Lieutenant replied. "But this will be a problem, he will suspect someone is behind this whole thing, we need to find something to take the attention off us."

They needed someone to take the attention, someone who they could play was pulling all the strings yet at the same time they could manipulate. He thought over some of the men he had under his command, there had to be someone they could use as a scape goat. But the fact of linking them to the death of the men was not easy, especially since he was dealing with some very intellectual individuals. But if he found a link, they would simply fill in the gaps, that was why they need the right person.

"Where is Lieutenant Reethe, along with the men we sent to Shady Rest?" The Lieutenant inquired.

"They departed two hours ago, if they took the boats across the channel they should be close to Shady Rest," Hallen replied, and watched as a thoughtful look appeared over the man's face, before it turned into a wicked smile.

"Hmmmm, send a raven to Lost Point, I want them to collect Reethe and my men, remove Reethe and relay new orders for them. I want them all to report to Northwatch as expected, but make it clear to stay off the roads," The Lieutenant said, already he could feel the ruse beginning to form. "I want you to make note that Reethe never arrived at North Point as well, that should throw them off long enough for us to form some sort of plan."

"Yes sir," Hallen replied.

"Also tell the Kul Tiras to start packing up; they likely won't be safe there," The Lieutenant continued before finally waving off the Private, giving her permission to leave.

"Sir," Hallen replied, snapping off a salute, before turning and moving for the door.

The Lieutenant took a seat; he had a lot to plan out and little time to do it. Likely Vimes would be sending someone to confirm the town's destruction as well as determine who was responsible. His men should be able to get out of there in time, after all the investigator would need to take the road. His men could easily avoid them by going through the swamps and avoiding detection.

But still Vimes was a very real danger; the old man was tenacious and stubborn as an ox. Vimes wouldn't stop for anything in order to find out who destroyed Shady Rest and also finding him and all his associates.

But there was little risk of someone running their mouths; they knew they couldn't do it. They would be hanged regardless, they had committed crimes that bordered on high treason, and there was no going back. But there was one who may be a problem. Reethe was the key to everything; he knew every little detail of this conspiracy.

He was its foundations and if he was pulled out and taken by Vimes everything would crumble. But if they were able to kill him, then Vimes would have nothing and then they would only need to bide their time and wait for the suspicion to subside and everything would be right.

Reethe may have brought this entire group together, but it was he who made it what it was. Every action that this group took was to undermine the Horde, to bring them low. Those animals needed to suffer for all their actions, this group sought to do it and they would be successful one day in bringing them down. One day they would avenge Lordaeron and finished what Daelin Proudmoore started four years ago.

'I will finish your work, I will do what your daughter could not,' The Lieutenant thought, giving a silent prayer to the fallen Admiral.


"The Guard?" Lorena asked, shocked with what Vimes was saying, he was actually suggesting there were traitors within the Guard. "You cannot be serious."

"I am, everything is unravelling, and it all started when word of Shady Rest got to us, specifically us," Vimes replied, looking at her intently, his cryptic words easily deciphered.

She understood what he was saying; the massacre had been hidden from them along with almost everyone else. They only suspected it at first, it was an isolated incident with only two guards who for some reason tried to murder two innocent people. But what Vimes was suggesting was simply impossible for her to wrap her head around.

"You are suggesting that there are more traitors," Lorena said, not liking the sound of what she was saying. "That was the reason they were killed, to make sure no one could rat them out."

"It is the only explanation, if there were others then those two needed to be killed," Vimes answered, looking at her intently. "The method of their deaths is also proof of that as well."

"Poison can come from anywhere," Colonel replied, still not believing that any of this was possible. After all why would the guard's turn, why would they cover up an attack made by the Horde, it didn't make sense.

"Marsh Venom is not a normal poison," Vimes stated, making Lorena's eyes widen slightly in surprise. "I think we both know where a guardsman could have gotten it."

Lorena knew exactly where they could have gotten it; there was only one person in the entirety of Dustwallow Marsh who could have acquired that venom.

"Tabetha," Vimes nodded to the Colonels answer.

"Are you certain it was Marsh Venom?" Lorena asked, and the Captain gave her a grim nod.

"It could have only come from her; she is the only one who knows how to collect it," Vimes further enforced.

Tabetha was a strange woman who lived out in the swamps, no one really knew much about her. Other than she teaches those who are interested in the arcane, be it Alliance or the Horde, so long as they are interested. Nothing other than that aside from the occasional help she provides between Theramore and the Stonemaul Ogres, being a mediator between the groups.

But they have not heard from her in nearly a month now, they weren't really worried at first. But maybe they should check up on her to make sure she was alright, especially now considering that a poison she owned was used in a murder. She could be a target.

"We should send someone to visit her, to make sure she is alright and also see if she can tell us who she may have supplied with Marsh Venom." Lorena made her thoughts known.

"Dangerous, especially if we send someone in the guard to do it, we may be sending an assassin rather than an envoy," Vimes warned, and they both realized something.

They couldn't trust anyone; no one in the guard could be trusted to carry out the investigation, of handling evidence, or testimony. If even one person was allowed into the investigation that was a traitor, then this entire endeavor would compromise everything. Evidence pointing to those responsible could be lost and also the other traitors would get off scot free.

Since all of this was conjecture they couldn't prove that the Guard was responsible because there was no evidence to suggest it, only guesswork. That wouldn't fly and without any evidence on who was responsible they couldn't weed out the traitors from the loyal ones. This would also tear the Guard apart, meaning that any future missions would be in danger of failing because the guards din't trust one another.

"Is there no one we can trust?" Lorena asked, wanting to know that her men could be trusted; she knew them all and did not want to think they would willingly hide this.

"Aside from me and you, then no, Gyram was one of my best men as well as one I considered trustworthy," Vimes said, some regret in his voice as he mentioned the man that he once considered a fine example of a soldier. "Who knows how many men could have turned, or who may be leading them."

"We need help, we can't go ourselves, we don't have proof that there is a conspiracy other than that the guards were killed with a poison that can be acquired from a woman who lives in the swamps," Lorena said, they didn't have a single shred of physical evidence, but they knew that the guards could have only been killed by another guard.

"We need to find out who acquired the poison and also what happened at Shady Rest, it is the only way we can uncover who is responsible," Vimes said, very worried how this may turn out.

If they sent the one investigator they would be limited, they needed a small group to investigate this. It would take to long for one person to do this, especially if they had a lot of ground to cover. But with the guard out of the question it was impossible, they had no one else present who could aid in the investigation. They had no one they could rely on to actually help them.

"Maybe if we get someone from outside the guard and maybe the city, if we hired an adventurer he could do the job for a fee," Vimes suggested, thinking of any option.

"He would likely be paid out by someone else to hand over the information; we need someone trustworthy, not a hired mercenary." Lorena replied. "What about the magisters in the tower, could they help?"

"No, they don't have the experience to carry out this kind of task; also I doubt you would be able to get any of them out of the tower and into the swamps," Vimes replied. The mages, if you could call a bunch of people with their noses in books that had little skills in other areas mages. They don't like getting down and dirty, they like it clean and neat, the real trick would be getting them out of the tower and then the gates of the city.

"But Pained could help, she is loyal and also she isn't officially part of the Guard, she can help us," Lorena said, she knew the Elven woman for some time, Pained was completely loyal to her superior and she only had one, Jaina.

"She could, but that is one, we would need more," Vimes said, Pained was good, but still she was only one person and they needed a team. "Maybe I can get Tervosh to help; he is a level headed individual."

"That still doesn't give up much to work with, Tervosh and Pained can speak with Tabitha but we have no one to help Tarem in Shady Rest," Lorena said, they didn't have a single person they could trust at the moment. "Even that hot-headed boy would be more help than anyone else."

Vimes looked at her for a moment, finding her joke to be quite poorly delivered, but he found himself thinking back to the boy. He remembered that saddened gaze that focused on him when he asked about finding any survivors. That boy was haunted by that massacre, even if he never witnessed it, the thought alone ate away at him.

But Vimes saw something more in the boy; something that he knew would be invaluable to this investigation.

"I will go speak with the boy after I meet with Tarem; you should inform Jaina of this development and also see about getting Pained and Tervosh involved, they would be of great help," Vimes said, moving off to get this done, they had been dawdling long enough and they had to settle that they would be getting little help from anyone else.

"Wait, I was only joking about the boy," Lorena tried to protest, but it was already too late, Vimes was out the door and gone. "Damn it, he has to leave me with the hard part, I wonder if Tervosh or Pained are up for a little trek through the Marshes?"


Adelina sighed quietly; her pleas for Ichigo to stop had been ignored as well as protested. Ichigo was marching towards the Barracks to see Captain Vimes, without invitation by the Captain or requesting to visit. Something she tried to tell him he simply could not do, he ignored her; she began to wonder if he actually followed rules of authority back home. But given the situation as it was, she guessed that it was understandable.

Ichigo was still distraught over the destruction of the town, so much that he actually tried to close himself off. He said he was going to talk with Zangetsu, although Adelina had no idea what he was talking about. After all how would he be able to talk with a sword? But the problem came when he tried to find his weapon.

When Ichigo asked about it Adelina simply told him she had to leave it behind, saying she couldn't carry it and him to Theramore. What she did not expect was him to become frantic, shouting that he needed to get his sword back. Adelina had no idea why the blade was of great importance, it seemed like a simple blade, aside from the fact that it didn't have a proper handle and grip.

But he told her that the blade was actually part of his soul, a manifestation of his powers as a Shinigami. He did not give a very good idea of what the blade was, saying several different things such as the blade having a manifested spirit that resides within him but also a part of him. Very confusing, but it is likely because he was too agitated to give proper explanation.

"Ichigo, please, you are still recovering from a fatal wound. Let me go alone and I will retrieve Zangetsu," Adelina tried to convince him to back down, letting him go there would only do more harm than good. If he saw all that destruction and the burnt remains of the dead, there was no telling how much damage it could do to his psyche.

"I need to go there, this isn't just about Zangetsu," Ichigo replied, a bit forcefully, he didn't like it when Adelina tried to deter him. "I need to see if anyone got out, I need to make sure that there are no survivors."

Ichigo was being very stubborn about returning to Shady Rest, after learning about Zangetsu being in the town he decided straight away to speak with Captain Vimes. He wanted to go back there; he wanted to see if he could help in some capacity. Adelina had told him he was simply feeling guilty and shouldn't do this to try and make up for a mistake that he never committed. But again he stubbornly refused to back down, he needed to go there and see for himself if anyone could have gotten out.

But despite his determination on returning, his attempts to look strong for what he was about to face, but deep down he was scared. Ichigo in truth did not want to go back there; it would haunt him he knew that, seeing that kind of death was not something he wanted to face. But if he didn't his own conscience would never let him forget it, he would be just as haunted for not returning there and helping when he could.

He just hoped the Captain would allow him to go, yet in contradiction to himself, deep down he was hoping that Vimes would refuse.

Entering the barracks Ichigo moved his way to Vimes office, passing several guards who failed to stop him. Ichigo reached the door and without knocking opened up and walked in. Behind him followed Adelina and an assortment of guards ready to pounce on the Shinigami.

"Ichigo?" Vimes asked, surprised to see him, both because he was about to have him summoned and because he just walked into his office unannounced.

Vimes turned to Tarem and offered a few words and walked over to the man, gesturing the soldiers to stand down.

"What is it?" Vimes demanded, looking at the boy, this was the second time the boy had done something stupid; he was beginning to think it was a bad idea to try and have him join this investigation.

"Vimes, I need to go to Shady Rest," Ichigo said, deciding not beating around the bush, he made his demand loud and clear.

Vimes looked surprised for a moment before his gaze hardened; he looked to the assembled soldiers at the door and motioned with a jerk of his head, telling them to leave. As soon as the door was shut and the sound of retreating footsteps had died down to nothing Vimes asked the obvious question.

"You want to go to Shady Rest? Why?" Vimes inquired, his eyes never leaving the substitute's as he looked for the answer in his gaze and his words.

"I left something there, I need to get it back, and also see if I can help find anyone that may still be alive and maybe where the bastards that did this are," Ichigo replied, a deep scowl forming on his face as he thought of the monsters that murdered all those people.

Vimes was silent for a moment, thinking carefully on his answer.

"You realize that you will be taking part in an active investigation on the massacre, and you will be required to aid in determining the cause of the attack," Vimes said, giving Ichigo a chance to join, something that actually surprised Adelina.

"Yeah I know, I will do whatever I need to, just let me see if anyone survived," Ichigo said, and for a moment Vimes was silent.

"Alright, you can take part, but you will be under the supervision of Daelo Tarem," Vimes gestured to the man beside him. "He will be departing shortly; if you want you can accompany him to the stables and get a horse."

"Thank you," Ichigo said, relieved slightly but in a way found it quite odd that he got on so easily, he thought he would have had to fight for it more.

Tarem moved forward and gestured to the door, motioning Ichigo to follow him. Ichigo followed the investigator and as he moved past Adelina, he found her staring at the Captain with steely eyes.

"Adelina?"

"I will join you shortly, I need to speak with Captain Vimes for a moment," Adelina replied, her eyes remaining fixed on the old human who matched her gaze.

Ichigo looked between them both before he nodded and following the investigator out of the room. As soon as the door closed the room was cast into a deathly quiet as the young Elven druid stared down the old Theramore Captain.

"You planned this, I can see it," Adelina said, narrowing her eyes at the old Captain, who did nothing but stare at her with an equally hard gaze.

"Necessity, I am afraid, I have no choice but to acquire his services along with yours," Vimes replied, moving over to his desk and taking a seat.

Adelina moved forward and stood in front of the Captain, looking down at him with both height and obvious disapproval.

"Why? You know he cannot be sent to the town, he wouldn't handle the stress," Adelina replied, her voice dangerously aggressive, the last thing she wanted was Ichigo to suffer greater trauma.

If Vimes was as good as a soldier as he should be, he should know that sending him there would only cause him more harm. Yet, the Captain would not do this out of spite or some kind of sick joke, there was more to this than was being let on. You don't send two young people into the sight of a massacre and expect them to investigate it, especially if you're a survivor of that massacre.

"No, he would become distraught over what he saw, so much so that he would likely breakdown from the grief." Vimes replied, knowing full well that he understood Adelina's concerns. "He will either go into a deep state of depression…"

"Or want revenge," Adelina said, making Vimes nod his head, while her jaw clenched. "You want him to hunt these people down; you want to use his drive to find them."

"I do, that boy won't let this go, I can see it in his eyes, he may not be able to help the people that are gone but he can avenge them," Vimes replied, rising to his feet and looking in her eyes as she glared into his.

"I can tell he valued every single life that was in that town, when you mentioned the massacre I saw his reaction, I saw the horror in his eyes as he realized everyone there was dead. I saw how his horror turned to anger when you mentioned the attackers. I saw it turn to grief when you spoke of how he was beaten before he could help anyone else," Vimes stated firmly. "I know for a fact that he will do everything in his power to find someone who survived that slaughter, I know he will go to the very roof of the world to find the bastards that did this."

"How can you know he would do that?" Adelina demanded, although she knew that was what Ichigo was like, how could he be the same.

"Because I have seen people like him before, many times before, people who don't care about gold or lengthy outlandish titles, but actually does something right because it is right," Vimes said, leaning forward and asking for a simple reply. "Tell me I am wrong?"

Adelina was struck silent; she wanted to shout that he was wrong to use him in such a manner. But when she thought about it he was right. Ichigo was selfless and kind, even towards his enemies he showed compassions. Never had she seen him willingly take a life with his own hands, his nature was almost akin to that of a Red Dragon. A protector of life and someone who would never wish to take a life, although his ideals were taken to levels to sheer insanity, yet it was what made him who he was.

She may not know why he was like this, why he was so strict in his code of honor to never take a life. But she knew that he did it for a reason that was deeply engraved into his being. He was a protector, and he would do everything in his power to save another person's life, even at the cost of his own.

"You are right, Ichigo is someone who doesn't care for titles, and I personally know he would storm Ogrimmar itself if he needed to save a friend, just one," Adelina replied, remembering the tale he told her of his friend Orihime, how he invaded an enemy stronghold to save her after she was kidnapped.

Vimes straightened up and looked at the girl; he had expected an answer like that. His observation of the boy was right, something he was glad about.

"Then you know why I need him, he will do more than just investigate, he had a personal investment in this case and will go to great length to see that those innocent people are given justice as are the people who attacked," Vimes said.

"I know, but why? Why do you need him?" Adelina asked, they were only here for a few hours now, and had only met the Captain about an hour ago and now they were to investigate a crime that had great political significance? This wasn't right.

Captain Vimes wouldn't allow them to take part in this; he should have known that Ichigo couldn't take part. He even said that Ichigo was at risk of having a mental breakdown from visiting Shady Rest, something that could cause further complications. Yet he was sending him anyway, what could be so important that they would rely on two strangers to see this investigation performed.

"Return when you are done with the investigation at the town and I will explain, but first we need some evidence to prove a theory I have," Vimes replied, not giving the girl any detail, he sat back down and motioned the door to her, asking silently for her to leave.

Adelina glared at the man, he was hiding something very important and the fact he didn't tell them despite it made her feel uneasy as well as annoyed. Turning on her heels she quickly made it to the door, but halted when Vimes called out.

"I want you there to make sure the boy stays on task, if he does fall, pick him up and keep him moving," Vimes replied, knowing very well what he was talking about, Adelina turned and levelled him a glare as well as a sneer, before she slammed the door shut behind her.

Vimes let out a sigh as he sunk back into his chair, rubbing his temple and trying to clear the oncoming migraine, he didn't like this one bit. Relying on those kids was not what he wanted, especially if one was emotionally unstable, but he had little choice in what resources he could use.

This was simply too important, he needed all the help he could get, and if the boy wanted to help he had to accept. He just hoped that the boy remained focused, and that girl is able to make sure he doesn't stray too far. Vimes didn't want that boy to break under that kind of pressure; it would be what would haunt him for the rest of his days. He hoped it didn't come to that.


One more to go