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HUMAN and Beast Blood.
The two young men put their heads together and analyzed the situation.
“…Okay, I understand what you want now. In short, I just have to narrow down who entered the same breeding lab after you guys left before dawn, right?”
“Right. Yumi logged that she’d be stayin’ overnight in the lab, so anybody who wanted to know where she was could do so easily,” Zelaide explained. “The thing is, she didn’t tell a soul that I was comin’. And yet somebody knew I was there. That’s why I’m positive the spy’s somebody who knows ’bout our circumstances and is also in a position to be near Yumi.”
“Anyone stand out to you? Give me several names. Having several names to go off of is way more likely to net results than shooting in the dark.” After conversing for a while, Wei had started to take everything the Beast Blood said seriously.
“The rat research team is most suspicious. If the members haven’t changed, it’s made up of a flirt named Sonia and a man who’s all smiles named Ronaldo. They’re often in the same lab together for hours on end. I’d also look into the people they’re close to. Both love to gossip. They’re likely responsible for people findin’ out I drive Yumi there and back. We even ate together once,” Zelaide said, sharing the names and traits of the people he had met.
“Aside from them, I’d suspect her bosses… I never met President Murakami, but I’ve had an unpleasant conversation with Laboratory Director Burhardt,” he finished. “That’s ’bout all I know. I’d say they’re equally suspicious… Think you can look into ’em?”
“Can’t say for sure until I start… There’s no way a sleeper agent would get caught on the security cameras, and the institute has some strong extraterritoriality, so investigating is going to be a real pain… Might be easier if we ask someone we can trust on the inside, but…” Wei scratched his chin and puzzled his brow.
A regular police officer going in to question researchers would be a dead giveaway they were on to the spy.
“We can’t ask Mia for assistance. Using anyone tied to the police won’t work in our favor either. Maybe we can have one of their regular trade partners infiltrate for us…”
“You’re gonna tell Yumi ’bout this, right?” Zelaide asked.
“Yeah, the gist at least. We determined where the irrefutable evidence, your sperm, came from. I have to warn her about a spy hiding among her peers too. The spy might be communicating with her under the guise of being her friend. But I…” Wei purposefully trailed off. He studied Zelaide with piercing scrutiny. The Beast Blood stared right back at him through the mirror.
“Don’t fully trust me yet, right? …I can tell.”
“Don’t hate me for it. Mia wept over your innocence, and I’ve kinda gotten a feel for your personality. You don’t seem like the type to kill a woman… But my occupation is rife with the fact that good guys commit unbelievable crimes. Frankly, this is an extremely dangerous bridge for me to cross. I’m dead if my superiors find out.”
“Good point.”
“To make matters worse, public order in Gothic City has been going on the fritz over the past few days. We’ve been seizing Nightz left and right since last week, and the addicts have been ramping up their attacks and craziness nonstop since. The beat cops have had their hands full night and day. The only reason I was able to slip in to see you is because the station is down to a skeleton crew and they don’t have time to worry about questioning. This is a confidential secret, mind you.”
“……”
“I can only see it as some big syndicate distributing more Nightz than usual as a part of a bigger scheme. Today’s my first day off in ages, but I expect them to call me back on duty at any moment.” Wei sighed.
“I get the feelin’ the guy responsible for setting me up is also involved with the explosion in Nightz-related incidents.” Zelaide turned his head, revealing his angular side profile, and lowered his gaze to the concrete floor. He had sat back down on the pathetically small bed with his legs crossed.
“Why? No offense, but I doubt distributing Nightz is needed to bring down a single Beast Blood.”
“I’m a Beast Blood—I’m constantly on the receivin’ end of baseless discrimination. But Mayor Saionji publicly professes to be an advocate for Beast Bloods. Settin’ me up as a violent criminal is the fastest way to destroy the current mayor’s platform,” Zelaide reasoned.
“Meanwhile, they’re destroyin’ public order by making everybody addicted to Nightz, inflicting a double punch into Mayor Saionji’s campaign that hinged on the promise of public safety. Does it seem that unlikely to you that they’re tryin’ to cut her legs out beneath her before the next election?”
“…Wowzers. You’ve got the brilliant reasoning of an ace detective there,” Wei said, genuinely impressed. “It sounds like a bit of a stretch to me, but…it’s a real possibility. If you’re right, then there’s a real nasty puppeteer pulling strings from the top. I wish I could discuss this with my trustworthy superiors, but they aren’t likely to believe a word from a beat cop like me. Doesn’t take a genius to guess the police commissioner is in bed with the politicians…”
“Which politician is most involved with the police?” Zelaide asked.
“There are several, but the top of the list would be senators Ingalls and Haydn. Ingalls comes from a line of farmers, but he used to serve as a cop and then as Guardian Commander in his younger years. Some of his relatives are also in comfy positions inside the police. Haydn, on the other hand, has the media in his pocket and says whatever the hell he wants without getting in trouble. They both give insane contributions and donations to the police and Guardian departments.”
“Ahh, it makes sense now. That’s why they went out of their way to be there both times I was set up.”
“They’re both untouchables in this city. You suspect them?”
“I have good reason to suspect ’em. They always show up in front of us with impeccable timing. Maybe they’re workin’ together.”
“Oh great,” Wei groaned. “I can’t do anything to them. Shouldn’t we have Mayor Saionji make the first move instead? I can tell Yumi your theory and then… Do you think your hypothesis is enough to make Mayor Saionji take action?”
“She trusted me with her sister’s life, so I’d say she places a moderate level of trust in me,” Zelaide retorted sourly.
“Now that’s amazing, especially when you and your parents don’t have citizenship,” Wei said out of spite. He immediately regretted his words. “Sorry. I’m not trying to discriminate against Beast Bloods. Like I said earlier, I don’t think you’re a bad guy. Suspecting people just comes with the territory. My issue isn’t with your race…but something else.”