Chapter 5
The Snake's Head
Walking out of the interrogation room, Cassius was met with a scowling Ryodan. "What the hell was that about?!" He looked pissed off. Shit, did my promise really seem too much for him?
Cassius steeled himself for the storm of backlash. "What do you think I was doing? I'm doing my job. I got the information that you needed. You heard that kid's story. If we were doing our jobs properly, that kid wouldn't have to do what he did and get in this situation! The Kalos region as a whole has been in chaos for years with all of these gangs running rampant! And what have we been able to do? Put away a few of the gang members, but not whole gangs!" Cassius paused to take in a calming breath and to straighten out his thoughts. "If I can help even just one person get out of this situation, I damn well will. I've decided that the men I requested to aid me in my job would be better utilized on this case. Use them as the police escort I promised this kid."
Cassius looked back at the kid sitting in the interrogation room on the verge of tears. He turned to look back at Chief Ryodan and said, "Don't let that kid lose faith in us. Once the people of the region lose faith in us, that's when the bad guys finally win." Chief Ryodan was silent and looked back at the teen.
Cassius took the initiative to storm past Chief Ryodan towards the break room. Before he could sit in the interrogation room with Faust, he had to let the other cop do the follow-up questions with Jason. Once that was over, Jason would be moved and Faust would be brought in. Cassius remembered how impassive Faust looked: stone cold. That Faust guy ain't gonna be easy to crack.
He marched down the hallway through the bullpen and strode into the break room. A small table sat in the corner of the room with some empty Styrofoam cups sitting on top. On the counter sat an old coffee maker with a full pot of coffee. As Cassius advanced over to it, his nose cringed in disgust. God, can anyone here make coffee without burning it?
Cassius grabbed the pot and dumped it out, rinsing out any traces of the offensive liquid. He rummaged through the cupboards to find some coffee filters and ground coffee. He walked over to the brewer and set about making something much less toxic than this black Muk (no offense meant to the actual Pokemon).
The machine gurgled to life, beginning the process of creating what Cassius would hope to be liquid gold. Although with the lack of any decent ground coffee, pulling that off would take a miracle. He poured himself a cup. He liked his coffee different ways depending on the time of day. When he needed to work late, he always took it black. And this was definitely looking like it was gonna be a long night.
Not even before he could take a sip of his get-up-and-go juice did someone come rushing in and knock his coffee all over his shirt. Cassius hissed as the hot beverage stung his chest, biting back a string of curses. He looked up at the prime offender to see another young cop holding a file in one hand and fear written all over his face.
"I…am…so sorry. Chief Ryodan asked me to get the file for the blond haired guy for you. Says you should look it over before the interrogation." The cop warily put his hand out and extended the folder as if it were a peace offering. Cassius closed his eyes, taking in a deep and calming breath. He exhaled then grabbed the folder. Once he held the folder in his possession, the cop rushed out of there like a Zubat out of hell.
Cassius placed his now empty coffee cup on the counter with the file; he then set about to find a towel to dry off with.
"Shit, this is gonna stain." Thankfully, Cassius still had his clothing bags out in the car, so he could just change into a different shirt.
Cassius walked back to his cup and proceeded to pour himself another cup then strode over to the table. He cleared it of the debris, tossing the cups into the trash. He situated himself in one of the chairs, getting comfortable. He opened the folder to start his research before the interrogation.
The guy's real name is Alexander Malor, but goes by the alias of Faust. He's 25 years old and has a rap sheet a mile long. He's been in and out of juvenile correctional facilities from ages 14 to 17, then began to take numerous vacations to city prisons for the past 6 years. He has been able to elude arrest for the past two years. That is until grandfather helped to put him away just recently. Paperwork says that they were all released due to lack of forensic evidence. Seriously? Lack of Forensic Evidence, my ass! They probably have someone they're paying off to make it easier for them to get out.
Faust's crimes are numerous, ranging from theft to breaking and entering to, just recently, aggravated assault. It seems that the Coumarine Crew has been steadily escalating their crimes over the past few years. The assault that he was charged with recently left the poor mother in the hospital for numerous broken bones.
He flipped to another page of the file. It was the report on the assault. Faust and Kita had both been present, but Faust was the one who was beating the mother. Kita was holding back her 5-year-old son. Faust wanted the woman's wedding ring, but the woman wouldn't give it up. It was all that she had left to remember her late husband by: a cop who was killed in the line of duty.
Cassius closed the file, no longer wanting to read about the sins of this monster. His heart ached at the loss of the woman and the trauma of the young boy. Cassius downed the last of his coffee and sped out to his car. He opened the back door and started to rummage through his bags for a clean shirt.
BOOM! As he was pulling on a clean blue shirt over his torso, an explosion burst from the side of the police station. Cassius whipped his head around to see the fire and smoke rising from the building. He saw four shadows by the forest line. He couldn't make out any distinguishing features other than the fact that there were two men and two women. Their Pokemon, however, were closer to the destruction. They were illuminated by the light of the flames. He could make out a Darmanitan, an Absol, a Crawdaunt, and a Rhyperior. Cassius looked back to the flames to see Faust and Kita stepping out with the Drapion Kita had used earlier in the attack and a Beartic that he assumed to be Faust's. Cassius reached for his Pokeballs and was about to release them when Faust looked over towards him.
The killing intent behind that stare was so strong that it literally paralyzed Cassius. The fear he felt from his heart was overwhelming. What's wrong with me?! The two men walked towards the four shadows. Each one returned their Pokemon, then walked away into the shadowy forest. They escaped.
Cassius stood there in shock. Never had something like this happened to him in previous cases. Never had a suspect gotten away from him. He failed. He couldn't put away the bad guy.
He was too far gone in shock to initially hear the screams and pleas for help, but he soon snapped out of it. He rushed back inside to the police station to see that nearly all of the officers were unconscious. The ones not unconscious were limping around, grabbing whatever they could to put out the fires. He began to hear the sirens of the fire department wailing in the distance.
It was hours before all of the fire was put out. Most of the police force had been injured during the explosion, with the exception of Cassius, Chief Ryodan, a few of the officers, and Jason. Injuries ranged from minor concussions to broken bones. So much wanton and catastrophic destruction.
Cassius was beating himself up about it all. He saw the group responsible for everything and he couldn't do anything. All he could do was stand there and shake in fear. That man…scares me. Just remembering how Faust had looked at him had given him chills. The murderous intent that caused him to stop dead in his tracks was a feeling that he had never felt before and hoped he would never feel again.
Cassius walked away from the station to sit on the hood of his car. Cassius was so far out of it that he never noticed Chief Ryodan approach him. "Kid, you need to go home. If my memory serves me right, then your ward will be showing up here tomorrow. We got this taken care of."
Cassius didn't argue. He was too exhausted from the night's events to even say a word. He nodded in agreement and got into his car. Before he drove off to his hotel, though, he just sat there. His mind was just replaying the evening's scene over and over, reminding him that he had failed in his duty to put the bad guys away. His overconfidence in his own skill and complacency is what caused this disaster.
The sky was clear at the Coumarine Harbor. The sun had barely risen above the horizon. A gentle breeze flowed through the cool, brisk air. The ships bobbed lazily in the harbor as the waves broke against the port walls. Patriot was perched in a nearby tree, waiting with his Trainer for their charge to arrive.
Cassius took in a deep breath, the salty air slightly burning his nose. He barely slept at all the night before. He'd never been scared into inaction before. It was obvious that the Coumarine Crew is a much bigger threat than he had originally believed. He assumed that the other four people were the rest of the Triad and their Lieutenants. But he couldn't focus on them now. He had a job to do.
Cassius gazed intently towards the harbor. The ship ferrying his ward would be arriving very soon. Cassius wondered what kind of a personality this Dr. Stone had. They were very similar in age, but considering the field of study the doctor specialized in it was a safe bet to assume that the doctor was going to be very mature.
"Patriot, can you see anything in the distance? This guy is taking way too long to show up."
He looked up to see Patriot intently gaze in the distance. After a few moments, Patriot gave nodded as if saying yes. Still, even if Patriot had seen the boat, it would at least be another hour before it arrived. Who knows, maybe even two. Cassius pulled his cellphone out to check the time. It was nine o'clock. Cassius let out a sigh of exhaustion.
"Might as well have some fun while I wait."
Cassius grabbed the rest of the Pokeballs on his waist and released the rest of his Pokemon.
"How about we play for a while, guys?"
After an hour of extreme tag, in which Cassius was zapped and nearly set on fire, the ferry boat finally arrived. Cassius stepped back to the tree that had the sign he made with the good Doctor's name on it. He went over to the docking area and held it up so that his ward would see the sign. A constant stream of people passed by, until there was just a trickle of people left.
Cassius was just about to say screw the whole sign thing when a man walked up to him. He was just slightly shorter than him with shining jet black hair. The man smiled, laugh lines making an appearance on his tanned skin.
"Hello. I believe that you're here to pick me up?"
Cassius was taken aback at the man. He dressed in khaki cargo pants and a white button up shirt. His work vest was disheveled like his hair. He reached up to push his long hair back out of his face. Okay. Not the type of person that I expected.
"Uh, yes. I'm Detective Cassius Proctor. I'll be the one escorting you across the region on your expedition."
The Doctor looked him up and down, his eyes scanning Cassius as if he were sizing him up. "Well they sure did send a cutie to be my bodyguard. I'll have to thank Diantha for that."
Cassius' eyes went wide with shock. Okay, definitely not what I expected. Cassius turned to look at Anubis and Patriot snickering in the background, while Cerberus looked dumbstruck. Flash just rolled his eyes and started to groom himself. Cassius turned back to see the stunning green eyes of the young Doctor.
This is gonna be a long assignment.
Author's Note: Sorry it took so long for me to post up this next chapter to all of my readers. Writer's block and a busy workplace is an unfortunately real contributor to this issue. But don't think that the story will stop here. It's only just beginning. I've already started on the next chapter. Please leave any reviews, whether it's praise or constructive criticism. I really love this story and I hope that you all love it too!