The Detective Prince
Chapter 134
Unfolding
He followed, not wanting to fall behind. The time seemed to slow with each step taken, unsure of what he would come to learn in the coming minutes. The door was reached soon after, both walking in past it which brought them into the dining room. It was there that he saw the pile, a few sheets of paper stacked at the middle of the table.
"Is that the file you spoke of?" Shinichi asked.
"Yes." Bruce confirmed with a couple steps taken toward where it laid.
He reached the set in seconds, bringing all four sheets into his hand before turning back to face him.
"Here," Bruce said feeling the need to hand over all sheets over to him. "I think it would be best if you took a look for yourself."
He did not decline, feeling this was the best option at this point. Tension was now at its height, only pushing the limit when his hand came in contact with the paper. He slowly reeled it in his way, raising it up to clearly see the information that was typed out on the first sheet.
The next moments were spent in silence, using that time to examine what was in front of him. What he came to find caught him by surprise, something he would have never expected.
"A change in my body heat and my oxygen levels?"
"Yes," Bruce said. "It would appear your body has been aggravated in some kind of way, if you read on you'll see that there are signs of abnormal stress."
Not wanting to be kept in the dark any longer, reading on to learn the complexity of this claim. It took several seconds, finally coming across the line which had been referred to.
"You're right," Shinichi said looking back up to face him. "But I must ask, which parts of my body are bound to take the most impact if this continues?"
"If you go on to the next pages you'll see that most strain is being put on your muscles as of now, what happens from here going forward is unknown," Bruce replied. "At this given time I doubt you'd feel any of the effects."
"Why's that?"
"It's the level of the stress your body is being put through, which is slight levels beyond normal but clearly increasing," Bruce replied. "With that said we're going to have to monitor your progress throughout the coming days."
"So it's only the muscles," Shinichi said relieved to hear. "But I have no doubt if this continues to escalate this problem may even reach levels that could affect my organs."
"A possibility."
"From what we know now, what's the worst case scenario?"
"From the data collected thus far there are a number of possibilities that could occur, the most probable being heat failure," Bruce replied. "And if your oxygen levels along with your body temperature continue to rise you're could possibly be looking at accelerated aging."
"Now that you mention it the symptoms do seem to point to those possibilities," Shinichi said. "Now, what about finding a solution for returning things to the way they were before?"
"That will be our next step," Bruce replied. "Which will require further tests, more than just getting additional blood samples from you."
"I had a feeling that would be the case," Shinichi said. "So when will further testing begin?"
"Tonight," Bruce replied. "In the meantime I want you to take it easy, the less moving around you do the better."
He understood this completely, agreeing on all fronts.
"Fair enough."
"Good, then it's settled."
With those final words he turned for the opposite side, heading for the door leading back to where they had come.
"Where are you going now?" Shinichi asked out of curiosity.
He stopped soon after with only a step taken.
"Preparation," Bruce replied. "There's much that requires my immediate attention, we'll get started once all else is taken care of."
Nothing more needed to be said in his mind. He stayed in place for seconds to come, watching as
he walked out past the door. This left him alone, only with his thoughts to juggle with.
It was that of the unknown, going through all the possibilities of what they would come to learn as they walked. The entrance was reached soon after, greeted by a cool breeze of fresh air that blew by once the doors slid open.
"After you." Detective Noles said allowing for the two of them to step in first.
They did nothing short of accepting, entering to see a familiar man in a three piece suite standing at the large desk straight across.
"Welcome, we've been expecting you two."
"You're Lieutenant Brock."
"That is correct."
"I thought I recognized you," Heiji said as they came to a stop a few feet shy of reaching him. "You must be the one who wished to speak with us."
"Yes," Lieutenant Brock replied. "That is correct, through last night's investigation we can now say we've gained important information on the matter."
"That's what I was hoping to hear." Kylane said.
"I thought you would."
"Tell us," Kylane said. "Do we know the identity of the victim that was discovered in that car?"
"Yes, and he's one of yours," Lieutenant Brock replied. "Alfrez Tulak."
"Can't say I've heard of him." Heiji said playing the clueless role.
"Tulak was well known for his activities in Gotham," Kylane informed. "Particularly with his… apparent involvement in several drug imports."
"What do you mean by apparent?"
"In each case he found himself linked to there was never any solid proof to charge in," Kylane replied. "Well at least not on a broad level."
"I see."
"This is quite unexpected, especially for someone like Tulak," Kylane said. "Robbery has never been a thing with him, or involvement with weapons for that matter."
"Perhaps so, but there's several other elements of this case that don't quite add up."
"What do you mean by that?"
"It's as it sounds," Lieutenant Brock said in response. "In regards to this case there are more holes than any of us could have anticipated upon first glance."
"No doubt," Heiji thought to himself. "After what was revealed to me by detective Allen last night there's no way in denying it."
"I've already forwarded all known information to the police commissioner of the GCPD." Lieutenant Brock informed.
"Good," Kylane said. "With anything linked to Gotham he's bound to also want to be kept up to speed on what's going on."
"I don't know if he's gotten in contact with either of you since we spoke, but if not I think now would be the time to say."
"What is it?" Heiji asked.
"He made it clear he wanted the two of you to return to Gotham as soon as possible."
"I don't understand," Kylane said. "Why would he want us to return so soon when we've merely begun?"
"This has become bigger than any of us could have anticipated," Lieutenant Brock said. "This spreads far beyond just any ordinary heist."
"What do you mean?"
"This whole thing stems from a murder case which occurred in Gotham," Lieutenant Brock informed. "The blood of this crime spread from one city to another, possibly more."
"You're not serious are you?"
"Unfortunately," Lieutenant Brock replied keeping a straight face. "I'd love to discuss the details with you but I'm sure the commissioner of the GCPD would prefer if I left him with that bit of information to share with you both."
"I wouldn't doubt it," Kylane said before turning to her right to see him standing there in apparent thought. "Are you alright?"
The concern heard in her voice triggered him to look her way.
"Yes, I'm fine."
"We're going to go ahead and return to Gotham," Kylane said. "It would seem our assistance is needed."
"If we learn anything from our end you can rest assure all information will be forwarded your way." Lieutenant Brock said.
"We'll be sure to do the same," Kylane said turning for the exit. "Let's go."
He followed after a small moment's delay, only one thing on his mind as they made their way toward the doors.
"Could the information he's referring to be the reason why we've been called back… and what if it's not," Heiji thought with a long pause. "What could be so important that it requires us to return to Gotham?"
To Be Continued