Dark Fate, Chapter 42 (Patreon)

It may be Christmas, but you still get a chapter!

Chapter 42 – Employment

I decided that I would use the advice I’d heard from a high school football coach once upon a time, “Practice like you play.” I geared up, putting on my armor, activating my shadow armor, and ensuring that my weapons were in my inventory, ready to use, before heading downstairs. Oh, I had considered walking downstairs wearing nothing but a robe, like some kind of playboy, but I was trying to build a connection with the local police, at least while the government still stood, so I didn’t want to go giving them the idea that I wasn’t capable, or was treating this like a game.

Rosie Clark

Human   Female

Level 5   Spellsword / Guardian

Market   Value: $6,500

Stepping into the living room, I went first to former Officer Clark. She had looked good in uniform (and better when I’d gotten her out of it), but the dress code of a detective suited her well, too. She was wearing a white blouse with navy trousers and blazer, with flats. Dressy, conservative, but she could still run in it, if she had to. Smart.

I smiled as I approached her. “Ah, detective, congratulations on your promotion. It seems like just yesterday you were a bright young officer taking a report from dashing adventurers who braved a dungeon.” When she extended her hand, I immediately brought it to my lips. It was a bit of theater, but a role that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Detective Clark blushed at my casual use of [Seduction], and I could hear the hitch in her breath as I kissed her hand. Perhaps she was remembering some of the other places I had kissed her? Either way, she quickly regained her focus.

“A-heh. Yes, in fact, it was just yesterday. The promotion came through while I was waiting for you to emerge from the dungeon, and was waiting for me back at the station. As you know, Apocalypse Day was not kind to the Department. The Chief decided that filling some of the pressing vacancies was more important than waiting for proper time in service and the like.”

I nodded solemnly. “Yes, I was watching the news reports, when the zombies attacked the police lines. I can only imagine how many other tragedies happened throughout the city.”

Clark nodded once. “It was a rough day for us all.” She took a breath, and then continued, motioning to the second detective, “This is Detective Austin, my partner, now that I’m in Homicide.”

Patrick Austin

Human   Male

Level 5   Justicar / Detective

Market   Value: $6,800

Detective Austin was an older man, probably in his late forties. His dress was professional, but rather than the crisp and clean look Clark had, his clothes looked just that little bit worn, and lived in. Not ragged, or anything, but you could see that the suit coat had been washed more than a few times, and his shoes, while clean, were clearly well broken in, chosen more for comfort than style.

His class was an interesting one, too. A Justicar was similar to a Paladin, in that they were a holy warrior of sorts, but while Paladins were focused on their deities, and often went around smiting evil, a Justicar was more concerned with Justice. At their best, they were the symbol of blind justice personified. At their worst, they were Judge Dredd.

I shook the detective’s offered hand, and said, “Detective Austin. Pleasure to meet you, I’m sure. I must say I’m happy that the Department is having experienced hands mentor the new talents.”

The older man grunted, clearly not entirely pleased with the situation, but making the best of it. “Yeah, well, we need to get them up to speed as quick as possible, or the whole thing goes up in smoke. By the way, when we were running the address you gave Detective Clark, the property was not registered to any ‘Greene’. Would you mind telling us how you came to own this place?”

“Oh, that’s simple enough. A rather rude individual wanted to take something that was mine on the night of the Apocalypse. He challenged me to a duel under the System, where the winner got all the possessions and property of the loser. He rather overestimated his abilities, and ended up losing everything to me.”

“And you expect that to be legal?”

I shrugged. “Why wouldn’t it be? It is no different than, say, killing zombies and taking loot from their corpses. Or jumping off a table and not being surprised when your feet hit the ground. It is a simple fact of life in this new world.”

Austin’s eyes narrowed at me. “You are awfully sure of yourself, aren’t you?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? It isn’t like there is anyone in this city who could stop me, after all. I’m easily the highest-leveled person around. That is, after all, why you came to me to clear out the dungeon, is it not?”

Detective Clark cleared her throat, and said, “Well, perhaps that is something we can talk about another time, right Pat?”

The old detective grumbled, but nodded. “Fine, fine. We’ll set that aside for another date.”

I nodded appreciatively to Clark, before motioning to the couch, inviting them to sit. “Well, I’m assuming you came here for a reason? Some task that needs doing, but the police is unable to do, or unwilling to have it done openly?”

Austin sighed. “No, not exactly. Damn politicians would be concerned about the optics, though, depending on how it got out.”

“Oh?”

“Chief of Police convinced City Hall that they needed some extraordinary measures to keep things from going to hell, what with the System changing everything. On his own authority, he’s already authorized changes to the police uniform and kit based on the System, such as allowing officers to carry melee weapons, and things like that. But there are two areas where we have big problems, so far.”

I nodded slowly. “Let me guess, the levels of your police force, especially units like SWAT teams, and your knowledge of the System, and things that come from it?”

Clark smiled nervously. “Yes, as you can imagine, the idea of going out and killing people, despite the image police often have, is not something that most cops are comfortable with. The few bad apples aside, cops aren’t cold-hearted killers.”

I looked at her. “Finish the saying, dear. ‘A few bad apples spoils the bunch’. That means when you see one that is bad, you need to get rid of it, not have the union protect them and shield them, and ensure that they can get work in another city even if they do get fired.”

Austin coughed. “Yes, well, the DA is already working with the Chief to find a way to make truth-telling spells, if they are real, admissible in court. That should go some way to curbing police excess, since they wouldn’t be able to wriggle out of things, telling half-truths.”

“A free hint for the DA, then, would be to focus on spells that read intent and belief, rather than ones which compel answers. A ‘Detect Lies’ spell would give off an indication when someone was lying, but ‘Compel Truth’ or ‘Read Thoughts’ would likely be inadmissible in court due to the Fifth Amendment.”

“What is the difference?”

“One is a passive effect that does not compel or coerce a subject, and the other directly affects the target’s mind, which would be all kinds of privacy violations, at the very least. So, they still have their ability to avoid incriminating themselves, but you still have a spell that is a good deal more reliable than a polygraph. Of course, the spell isn’t perfect, since if someone believes what they are saying is true, then it won’t react.”

Detective Austin grunted. “And if they’ve been given wrong information, or are one of those tricky wannabe lawyers that know how to word things so they can lie without perjuring themselves, then there’s nothing the spell can do about that. Well, that’s just freaking great.”

Clark cut in, “Anyway, the Chief convinced City Hall to sign off on us hiring some consultants, who could help in investigations involving System entities and effects, at least until other members of the department are able to do the job unassisted. The main parts of it would be tagging along on investigations and providing whatever insight you could on the System, and dealing with threats that are beyond the capabilities of the officers, who would be there to ensure chain of custody on any evidence, and so on.”

“I see.” And I did, really. They knew they were in over their heads, but they had to stay within legal frameworks. Still, I wasn’t about to get made into a convenient scapegoat. “I would need permission to use force, including lethal force, at my discretion while in the field on police business, then.”

Austin’s eyes narrowed. “We can’t just give you a license to kill. This isn’t the wild west!”

“No, it is worse. The wild west at least had Sam Colt to make all men equal. There are creatures mentioned in the System notes that can kill you with a thought, if you’re lucky. If you’re not lucky, well, imagine a spell taking your mind, and locking it down, leaving you a prisoner in your own head, while your body moves, speaks, and kills at another creature’s command, all the while you see and experience it all, helpless to resist. You have to get them before they get you.”

Both detectives shuddered at that thought. I nodded. “Remember, if your traditional weapons and tactics worked in this new world, you wouldn’t need me as a consultant. In time, things might get to a point where they get back closer to how they used to be, but once more people start getting levels, and figuring out the system, it is going to be the law of might makes right.”

Clark deflated. “That’s a depressing thought.”

“Think of it the same as acknowledging that politicians lie like rugs, the IRS is always going to be looking to take its cut, and not even the apocalypse is going to keep people from paying for a happy ending at the massage parlor. Just because you acknowledge that the sky is blue and that water is wet doesn’t mean you have to like the fact. Accept reality for what it is, don’t go trying to scream and change a hurricane’s course. Unless, of course, you know weather magic. But I digress.”

Austin chuckled. “All right. I’ll see what I can do on the permissions and the like. We’ll probably be getting back in touch with you real soon.”

I raised an eyebrow. “That sounds like you already have a situation you need ‘consulting’ on, hmm? Why don’t we just assume I’ll be taking the offer, and you can fill me in while you’re here. That way, I can do any research I might need to, and come prepared when we get the legal bits worked out, so we don’t waste any more time.”

Detective Austin coughed once. “It would be completely improper for us to talk about confidential parts of active investigations with someone who wasn’t under contract with the city or another law enforcement organization. However, we could discuss generalities with an expert in the field, getting expert witness testimony to refine theories we already have. And if that expert gave us new theories to fit some hypothetical situations, then that is simply good police work on our part, right, Rosie.”

Detective Clark nodded. “Exactly, Pat. That would just be a happy coincidence. Especially if that expert witness was later brought on in an official capacity, and wasn’t having to start from square one.”

I smiled as the two did their legal gymnastics to unofficially clue me in on what the case was. “Excellent. Well, as the closest thing to an expert on the System and its denizens there is in the city, not counting entities that are actively bound to the System, and may be unreliable sources because of that, I could certainly entertain some hypotheticals. As a favor to Atlanta’s finest, of course.”

Austin nodded. “Of course.” He took a breath, and continued, “It is public knowledge that the city was hit hard just after the System Apocalypse hit, but by now, the deaths have slowed. People know where monster spawn points are, and the four known dungeons in the city are all marked off and no one is just falling into them unawares. So, the number of deaths has slowed dramatically. For most of the city.”

“Most?”

“Yes. Unfortunately, there’s an area out near Avondale that’s still seeing steady disappearances.”

“Disappearances, not deaths?”

“Ah, some of the family members have priests in the family, or know priests. We know that some of the people who disappeared are still alive, but can’t pinpoint where they are.”

I nodded slowly. “Sounds like a ward of some kind is blocking the higher divination spells. Anything connecting the missing individuals, besides presumably disappearing from the Avondale area?”

Clark grit her teeth, as a bit of emotion crept through her professionalism. “The missing people are all female, and those confirmed dead are all male. We’ve found the males, or their heads, anyways, because the killer was ‘kind’ enough to deposit them on the doorsteps of their homes.”

I blinked. That was a very specific MO, and one I remembered seeing before. Oh, not in this life, but the last. That bastard’s nasty habit of putting someone’s head on their doorstep is what led me and my childhood friend to a fight we couldn’t win, and when I stopped being a Lesser Angel, and started being the Black Knight.

Well, now, that put a new spin on things.