113- My Mess is Your Mess Now

Harlowe sighed as he leaned on his desk, staring down at his large dark green coin. The day had been longer than he had hoped, and the news of the magister's death weighed upon him. Even if they weren't friends, they were associates, and with him now gone, he had no contacts left in the Magistrate and worried about the validity of the contract he had with the MET.

"You think it's connected?" Folsten said as she stood in the doorway.

"It's damn convenient if it isn't," he replied as she stepped inside and closed the door. "Figured the old bastard was going to outlive me, and now thanks to him this entire thing is up in the air."

"We still have Phaedra, and for now, that should be enough."

"I hope so. Starting from scratch and going through proper channels is only going to waste time."

"Look it's almost six. Why don't you let me take you out to dinner at the pub down the street? Maybe head back to my place, pick up where we left off last night, once we're done?"

"As enticing as that sounds, I've still got an hour's worth of paperwork, but I won't say no to some take-out."

"I'll be back as soon as I can," she replied before turning and leaving his office, closing the door as his phone began to ring.

"This is Harlowe," he answered.

"It's Detective Byatti."

"What can I do for you now, Detective?"

"Those two idiots you sent me the last time, where are they now?"

"Depends, what do you need them for?" Harlowe questioned as he sat back in his chair.

"For fuck's sake, Renford, cut the shit. Send them to the MET, and have the tall one call when they arrive."

"No can do Eijana. Kavak's in the hospital and the other one's been relieved of his duties."

"Then un-relieve him! Or maybe you'd like to get off your ass and come do your bloody job! A magister is dead and that fucking psycho you've been tracking is responsible."

"I'm on my way," he replied before hanging up the phone.

He was furious, slamming his fist into the top of his desk, unable to contain his anger. Opening the top drawer of his desk, he grit his teeth at the sight of Yechiel's police badge. Picking up his phone, he quickly dialed a number as he grabbed the badge. Stuffing it into his pocket, he stood up and headed towards the door, grabbing his jacket on the way.

"Hello?"

"Yechiel, where are you?" he asked, throwing open his office door.

"At the hospital with Kavak."

"I changed my mind. I'm coming to get you."

He didn't wait for a response and hung up the as he ran across the squad room and out into the parking lot, calling Folsten on the way.

"Ren, I haven't even pulled out of my parking spot yet."

"Good. Dinner needs to wait. We're taking my car."

Hanging up, he got into his car and unlocked the passenger door before starting the engine, and fastening his seat belt. Pulling Yechiel's badge from his pocket, he put it into the cup holder as the side door opened, and Folsten got in.

"Buckle up," he said as he threw the car in reverse, turned, and back out of his spot.

As he sped towards the hospital, he filled Folsten in on what had happened. When he pulled up to the front entrance, Yechiel was waiting outside and eagerly jumped into the back seat, once he noticed Folsten in the front.

"You're going to need this," Harlow remarked tossing Yechiel's badge back at him, "and don't get any bright ideas. This is provisional. You still need to take the mandatory psyche eval and counselling sessions. No arguments!"

"Yes, sir," Yechiel replied as he put his badge into the pocket of his hoodie. "Now, where are we headed?"

"To the MET. It's not public knowledge yet, but Magister Gerotherine was found dead earlier today. Detective Eijana Byatti called me a few minutes ago; she says our killer's responsible."

"You don't think," Yechiel shook his head, "Dammit Harlowe, could that thing have been watching us the entire time?"

"I don't know Kid, but we are damn sure going to find out."

When they arrived at the MET the security was extensive. Even with Detective Byatti's invitation, it took them nearly twenty minutes just to get in the door, only to have two, armed Enforcement agents escort them to the second floor. At the top of the stars, Byatti was speaking to a woman, Harlowe knew as Magister Nagashi.

"Good, you're here," Byatti remarked as they made their way up the stairs. "Your killer is out of his mind. Murdering a Magistrate in his own office in broad daylight!"

"What makes you think this is one of ours?" Harlowe asked as she stared down at him.

"I don't know? Could it be the same look on his face as its last victim? His head may have been crushed and his face found in three pieces but I know a look of terror when I see one! You said your killer was an 'angel of mercy'. Gods preserve me. They are scooping up a man into buckets to carry him out of here. What about this seems merciful to you?"

"Detective, we said it was a theory. And it's a theory that still has merit."

"Detective Mazurka, if there is something you need to tell me, now would be the time."

"Now is not the place," Harlowe intervened raising a discreet brow to Byatti.

"Well, lucky me. The district chief no longer feels you are capable of handling this case alone, and has reassigned me to your major case squad," she informed Harlow as his phone chimed. "that is probably the email now."

"Great," he remarked sounding less than enthused. "Welcome aboard Detective Byatti. Now my mess is your mess."

"And it's one I intend to clean up," she snapped back at him. "Follow me."

Leading the way down the hall, past the men in bio hazard suits, she brought them into an office.

"This is Magister Nagashi's office. She is allowing us it's use while we investigate," she explained as she made her way across the room to where a table had been set up with a laptop and camera equipment. Beneath, bins of evidence kits and protective gear.

"This is the last video from his office," she said as she clicked on a file and stepped back.

Harlowe watched as Inniken was moving around his office and gather supplies from his shelves and cupboards, before the screen went black.

"According to the security team, 17 cameras and five microphones have malfunctioned over the past couple of days. They claim it was some electrical glitch caused from a recent software update. I think it is nothing but a convenient lie, but it changes nothing." Moving up next to Harlowe, she closed the video player and opened the gallery. "This is what his assistant found at around 1, when he came to inform the magister that it was time for lunch."

Even Harlowe felt like gagging at the sight of the pictures. It looked as if Inniken had exploded. There was barely a spot that had gone untouched by blood, entrails or body parts.

"The photos are easier to look at than the scene itself. My team has already begun to scoop up what is left of the Magister. Now that I am officially a member of your squad, our Captain has offered the use of our forensic lab to help process his remains."

"Thank your Captain for me. I'll have Muggs coordinate with your Medical examiner in the morning."

"Fine. Now, do you want to tell me what the hell is capable of this?" she questioned as she pulled up a second file of pictures, these ones of up-close photos of strange wounds, claw marks, unexplained patterns on the floor and across the remains.

"We don't know," Harlowe replied pulling out his phone and opening a file before handing it to her, "but last night, it nearly killed one of my officers."

Byatti gasped, her eyes showing shock and horror.

"Take it!" She practically threw his phone back to him before turning and leaning against the table, breathing as deeply as she could to regain her composure.

"That was your partner?" she asked, glancing back at Mazurka.

"Yes. He survived and is in the hospital recovering."

"Who is his replacement?"

"You are," Harlowe stated, pocketing his phone. "He's on probation. If he starts acting funny, take his gun away. And as for you kid, congratulations. You get to work with the best Detective in Wahlborn Grove."

"You flatter me," she remarked sarcastically.

"Well, it's easy to be the best in a place where nothing really happens," he replied with a smug grin.

"Fine. I don't care what you think of me. The only thing that matters is stopping that thing. And to do that, we need to know what the hell it is."

"We're working on it. We currently have a civilian under contract with us and the MET. And thanks to that video, you just saw, the Archivist is willing to work with us. He gave our civilian full access to the archives. If there is anything in the books about this thing, they will find it."

"The archivist? As in the Head Archivist, Phaedra?" Byatti questioned as she turned and looked at Harlow.

"Yes, that would be the one."

"They you may want to rethink your position. The Archivist is currently in a holding cell. He was arrested for violating a travel permit, but the magistrate is also willing to serve him up as a suspect on a silver platter."

"Fuck," Harlowe sneered. "Of course, they would. He's a ward who rediscovered his humanity."

"What does that mean?" she questioned as he turned to Folsten.

"Call her. She needs to know."

"Got it," Folsten replied and left the room.

"Harlowe, answer me," Byatti demanded. "What did you mean, he rediscovered his humanity?"

"In a sister. The civilian we sent in here, turned out to be his sister. Or at least someone he views as his sister. Her name is Quayleigh Vershinin."

"I know that name," Byatti replied moving to the stack of files on the table, pushing several out of the way before picking up the one she wanted. Opening the cover, she hastily looked down a list of names, stopping near the bottom. "Here, I knew it was familiar. One of the microphones that went out was registered to Q. Vershinin's room, and it went out four minutes after she arrived in the building."

"And the previous day? Any troubles with that microphone?"

Flipping back through the logs, she found a similar entry.

"It went out the day before as well. Shortly after her card was used on the elevator."

"We need to get down into that room," Harlow stated, "Let's see how cooperative the Magistrate actually intends to be."