“I’m Andre Jossel, Captain of the 3rd Special Forces Group with Gothic City’s Guardians. Zelaide Silvergray, you are a suspect in the murder of the prostitute Manuela. Do not resist and come with us to Police Headquarters.”
“What did you just say?!”
It wasn’t the Beast Blood who shouted, but the woman fidgeting behind him.
“What in the colonies are you talking about? Zel just finished speaking with the mayor about the…Manuela case!” Euphemia argued, unsure of how to best explain the conversation they had with Erica. Zelaide hadn’t done anything wrong. She needed to prove that.
“Yumi… Don’t interfere,” Zelaide warned, calmer than ever. Not even a shred of emotion glimmered in his teal eyes.
“But it’s the truth! Why are you being suspected of murder?”
“Yelling at ’em isn’t gonna help my case, right? I’ll be fine. Just stay out of it.” Zelaide looked over his shoulder at her. His tone was brusquer than usual, but he wasn’t angry or emotional. Euphemia wisely chose to bite her tongue. He turned back to the nervous Guardians. “What’s your basis for the charges?”
“The DNA sample collected from the fluids left in the victim’s body at the scene of the crime matched with the blood sample you submitted for your Hunter registration,” Captain Jossel explained with cool indifference.
Anyone who worked as a Hunter, whether they were Beast Blood or Human, was subject to various legal regulations since they often acted independent from the planet’s governing bodies while packing enough heat to take down a small army.
Killing Muta required the use of high caliber lethal firearms and explosives, which were a threat to normal citizens and police if used wrong. Regulations were strict for all Hunters, but they were especially severe for Beast Bloods who weren’t registered citizens. Various biometric identification data including fingerprints, voiceprints, blood samples, iris pattern registration, and the works had to be provided when registering as a Hunter.
Collecting this data was a deterrent against elite Hunters becoming violent criminals. Many Beast Blood men became Hunters. It didn’t require them to blend into human society like other occupations. The Hunter occupation was also established with Beast Bloods in mind as a way for them to vent their bloodlust, while they effectively took down Mutas and dangerous criminals the police rather not deal with.
“My fluids were found at Manuela’s place? Which? Sweat? Spit?” Zelaide asked.
“Drop the act. It’s a prostitute’s workplace. It’s a given it’s semen. All over her genitalia.”
The younger Guardians snickered. Zelaide still didn’t lose his cool.
“Impossible. I just finished reporting to the mayor that I met up with Manuela, but I didn’t sleep with a woman in that room.”
“But your DNA was collected from the crime scene. It came up as a 99.997 percent match with Zelaide Silvergray in the police databank. That’s you. That’s why we’re here to arrest you. We’re here on official orders. See for yourself.”
Jossel brought up an image on the simple IHT attached to his armplate. A complex string of numbers popped up. The blue glowing code number and Gothic City’s official crest coldly illuminated Zelaide’s face. Beneath the code was the reason for Zelaide’s arrest and the Chief of Police’s signature.
“Like the police of a bygone era used to say, we have a warrant for your arrest,” Jossel stated dispassionately.
“That can’t be! Please wait a minute. I’ll go ask my sister. I just came out of her office. She won’t stand for this unfair arrest!”
“Sister? Office?” Jossel and the Guardians eyed Euphemia suspiciously.
She spun around to march back into the building she had just left and bumped into the large man standing directly behind her.
“I can’t recommend that, young lady.”
“Mister Ingalls!”
“Don’t drag Mayor Saionji into this. You will only hurt your sister’s reputation. This is an official, legal warrant for arrest. Think logically. It’s the mayor who holds ultimate responsibility for these orders.”
It was Harry Ingalls, one of the next mayoral candidates who had a heated debate with Erica during the TV debate just recently.
“The official report should be arriving at Mayor Saionji’s desk right about now,” Ingalls said with a hard expression. “She won’t act once she knows the facts. The grounds for arresting this Beast Blood are justified. Knowing her, she will tell the authorities to thoroughly investigate it, but she won’t drop the warrant just because her little sister asks.”
“But she just—”
“Situations change just like the wind. If this Beast Blood is telling the truth, the investigation will be drawn out before his sentence is handed down. All you can do is wait like a good girl under your sister’s protection. You trust him, don’t you? You should be able to wait if you do.”
“If he’s deserving of trust that is.” Senator Ziggurat Haydn, Erica and Ingalls’s political rival, appeared from the right door that opened without a sound. He wore a custom-tailored black suit and showed no emotion on his bony face. “I am also privy to police intelligence. I just read the report. According to it, this Beast Blood frequented that prostitute multiple times in the past. You understand what that means, I hope, Lady Euphemia.”
“I do. But their relationship was a consensual business transaction, right?”
“It seems that this Beast Blood always paid the murdered woman large sums of cash per a visit. Large sums exceeding market price—as if he was being blackmailed into it. Perhaps she had some dirt on him?” Haydn’s pale eyes icily turned to Zelaide.
“She did not,” Euphemia said for him. “Zel—Zelaide was enraged over Manuela’s murder…”
“Enraged, huh? Then why did he come to City Hall? To seek shelter from arrest?”
“Absolutely not! We have good reason for being here.”
“Can you explain what that is, Lady Euphemia?” Haydn coaxed in a velvety voice.
Zelaide stayed perfectly still, his features schooled into a mirror of calm. The Guardians surrounding them and Ingalls watched over their conversation without interfering.
“Because…” Euphemia trailed off. Telling her sister’s political enemies that her life was being threatened would only put Erica in a worse position. Only three days had passed since they last found her under attack by the motorcycle gang in the Wilds. That gang was definitely a part of Infernum, the anti-Beast Blood terrorist group.
“Because he is cooperating in an investigation,” she settled for. That was the best excuse she could come up with.
“He can defend himself at the station. It’s not a good idea to argue out here. I understand how you must feel, but please cooperate,” Ingalls advised Euphemia, his voice stern.
“That’s not fair!”
“It’s fine, Yumi.” Zelaide maneuvered in front of her. The surrounding Guardians instantly tensed and stood protectively in front of the mayoral candidates. But Zelaide continued to take a calm stance and simply moved his eyes over the men as if he was bored with them. “He’s right. I should go.”
“Zel! How could you say that?! This is clearly a trap! They framed you. Once they have you locked up they won’t let you back out!” Euphemia shouted, not caring how it made her look.
Contrary to her emotional outcry, the Beast Blood kept his composure.