7. Chapter 6: The investigator's trap

CHAPTER 6: THE INVESTIGATOR'S TRAP

"Are they still on our back?!" Asked Gelt, panting.

After running away from the shop, things had gone bad really quickly. They hadn't been on the move for more than a few minutes when a sound they couldn't recognize had come from behind them. As they wondered what it was, a black and white iron chariot with red and blue lights spinning on top of it drove down the road and quickly catched up to them. A second iron chariot was following behind the first. The alien noise was coming from those.

Before the mercenaries could react, the chariots stopped near them and six guards had come out shouting, pointing in their direction the same weapons that the guards they had killed earlier had.

Fortunately, the mercenaries were veterans. In this type of situation, there was only one thing to do: running. Fighting would only waste time, and the more the mercenaries stayed in one place the more guards would gather around them and block the roads.

Another stroke of luck was that these guards didn't use their weapons when near other otherworlders. Powerful as they were, these weapons were as deadly on the Falmartians than on the otherworlders. Using this at their advantage, they had fled inside a nearby street using the crowd as a cover. Because of the density of the crowd the guards following them had to abandon their iron chariots and give chase on foot.

One last thing which allowed the Falmartians to maintain an advance over the guards was that they were used to travelling. Walking for days, even weeks to reach the destination of a contract be it on horse or foot gave them powerful legs which tired way much slower than the legs of someone just standing around all day waiting for a crime to happen.

Ygar glanced back, before slowing down to catch a breath.

"I think they lost us. But let's be careful, I wouldn't be surprised if other guards were looking for us."

As they slowed the pace, Velgard took a moment to assess their surroundings. They were in a street in which no iron chariots drove. Instead, humans flooded the area, buying and selling in shops on each side of the street.

They were still wearing the civilian clothes stolen from the house which allowed them to stay somewhat inconspicuous (Velgard's size was still fairly larger than an average human and if one looked closely you could see his wolf-like face in his hood), but now the guards knew how they dressed as well. And to add insult to injury, as they had to run away without thinking they now didn't have a blasted idea of where they were.

And of course, going back to find the bridge where they had rested was out of question. So they walked forward along the street, carefully looking for blue-dressed guards.

They eventually reached what they could only describe as a market. Rows and rows of stalls selling vegetables, meat, fish, cheese but also clothes, cutlery and many items they couldn't recognize.

Maintaining a fast walking speed, they entered the market, skilfully avoiding the crates on the ground and the civilians.

"You're too slow, Gelt." Commented Olva.

The imperial's eyes immediately went wide.

"Are you insulting me, witch? I'm a centurion in his imperial's majesty army!"

"Look at yourself, then look at us." Answered Olva while grinning. "You may be an observer, but if you can't keep up, I'm not saving you."

Hearing this, Gelt took a moment to look around. He was still panting, slowly recuperating, while the mercenaries were fine despite the chase and the heavy backpacks filled with loot on their back. Pulling in his legs, he catched up to the tree mercenaries.

"I'm a commander, not a foot soldier." Was his only defence.

Still on the lookout, the kept on going deeper into the market. But the guards knew where they were as well. The first two guard they saw patrolling were avoided by hiding behind the white cloth of one of the stalls. The shopkeeper looked at them strangely, suspicious as they were, but said nothing.

As soon as the patrolling guards had turned at an intersection the group went back on track, speeding up the pace. The crowd was even denser than back on the street, but they forcefully pushed their way. The sound of angry shouts and threatening fists from the civilians accompanied their push.

"Wait!"

Ygar raised his hand and immediately stopped. The three other mercenaries bumped into him at the abrupt order.In front of them were two guards as well. They were speaking with a civilian, with their back to the mercenaries. They hadn't been spotted yet.But that wouldn't last.

One of the civilians, a man with a large beer belly turned to them and raised his voice, pointing at them with his finger.

"Nē! Watashi wa anata ga dokokarakitano ka wakaranaiga, anata wa hitobito o osu no o yameru hitsuyō ga aru, sore wa kikendesu!"

Encouraged by the man's boldness, similar shouts came from the crowd around them. Shouts which were getting louder.

Loud enough to attract the guard's attention.

"RUN!"

As Ygar's order, the mercenaries broke into a sprint, speeding past the guards while they gave chase. Glancing back, Olva noted that while running they spoke in a small black box. Magic? Where they preparing to cast magic? Mages in Falmart used many cataclysts. Most of them used a staff like she did, but some preferred wants, orbs made of materials with magical properties or even bones and animal parts. With that in mind, it wasn't unreasonable to think that they prepared magic.

But one thing reassuring her was that she couldn't feel any magical energy coming from them. In fact, she couldn't feel any magic in this world, and has stressed that fact to her companions multiple times. However, given the almost miraculous sights of this world it was easy to understand why they didn't completely believe her.

Her train of thought was interrupted by Ygar's shout.

"Watch out!"

She got brutally tackled to the ground, as a group of guards that had been waiting at a corner ambushed them. While she was on the ground, numerous other guards acted similarly on the remaining members.

One guard rammed into Ygar from the side, sending him to the ground and another quickly approached with handcuffs in hand. Not intent on finishing in prison, he immediately stuck his fingers into the guard's eyeballs. Ygar pushed the guard who was screaming in pain back and swiftly avoided the handcuffs which closed on empty air from the second guard. He dropped the handcuffs, took out a short black stick and launched an overhead hit, forcing Ygar to block with his forearms. The pain exploding in his arms showed that the black stick was way heavier than it looked like, but Ygar was not a mere man. He was a veteran mercenary of many battles, and he had suffered much worse. Still on the ground, he brutally kicked the guard's feet, forcing them both on the same level. He then took out a short knife he had been hiding in his clothes and stabbed the guard's shoulder.

With his two opponents both screaming in pain, Ygar quickly got to his feet and assessed the fight. People were screaming left and right, and more guards could be seen running into their direction, while the sound of the alien sirens they had heard earlier echoed in the streets, seemingly more numerous each few seconds. They still had a few precious moments as the crowd was slowing down the guards, but the more they waited the less chances they had to flee.

Quite expectedly, Velgard was doing fine. Of the three guards that had attacked him, one was already fleeing, holding his bloody arm in his other hand. The second guard was rolling on the ground, trying to stop the blood flow from the deep bite mark on his left shoulder, and the third guard was now trying to avoid the same fate as the two others.

Olva was against two opponents, but she was doing fine, for now at least. With her dagger she blocked and avoided the black sticks skilfully.

However, Gelt wasn't doing good. Despite being an army man, he didn't get the occasion to unsheathe his sword and three guards were restraining his limbs while a fourth was getting ready to close the handcuffs onto his second arm. Ygar immediately jumped in his direction and kicked an unsuspecting guard's chin. Bone cracked, and the guard fell to the ground seemingly unconscious.

The guard which was preparing to close the handcuffs launched a fist, but the telegraphed strike was easily parried and riposted, sending him back a few steps. The two other guards tried to attack him, but when they saw the knife Ygar had taken out from his earlier fight they stepped back, remaining ready to launch an assault.

Holding the three guards at bay with the threat of his knife, he helped Gelt back up.

"Gelt, make sure our back is still clear, we'll need to run really fast in a few moments!"

The imperial nodded, but took some precious seconds to open his backpack and unsheathe his spatha. He didn't have the occasion to show it, but he was quite skilled at using it and now that he had his blade in hand, he was ready to fight at full capacity.

"Velgard, we have to go!"

The barghest gave one last swing with his claws, and the last guards attacking him fell screaming, holding his bloodied face. Velgard then swiftly caught his bag then started to run in the direction Gelt had already took. In a moment of inattention, the three guards Ygar had been keeping at bay attempted to attack him but he surprised them by kicking the first in the chest, sending him sprawling to the ground while the second's strike was parried by the knife. With his other hand, Ygar tried to grab him in order to smash his face against his knee, but the guard stepped back. The third one retreated once more after seeing that.

Olva had finished as well. One of the guards facing her was backing away with a deep bleeding gash on his legs and the second one was covering his retreat.

"Hurry!" Said Ygar, more alarmed each second as now that the crowd was thinning, some guards were taking out their fire weapons from their belts. There were still a few civilians in the line of sight, but it wouldn't last long.

She grabbed her bag, and ran behind Ygar. They now ran without any sense of direction, simply choosing the path that seemed the less dangerous. Eventually, they made it out of the market into one of the more common streets, with sidewalks and a road for the iron chariots in the middle.

They made it out, except Olva. She was the last of the group, running behind Ygar. As she was about to step out in the street, one of the guard caught up and jumped on Olva. Both fell to the ground in a flurry of groans, hits and shouts. Olva managed to separate herself from her opponent and got up, raising her dagger into a defensive position. The guard in front of her got up as well, and Olva was surprised to see it was a woman.

Her opponent didn't have any apparent weapon, but she raised her fist and assumed a pose that left little openings for Olva to strike. Despite not being a main melee fighter, the wych could see that her opponent wasn't to trifle with.

Olva raised her dagger and tried to stab the woman in the arms, but her opponent nimbly caught the blade, and before she could react the woman turned on her heels, launching a frighteningly powerful kick that connected with Olva's shoulder.

Pain exploded in her arm, and she dropped the knife she had been holding. Still stunned, surprised and shocked at the strength of the kick Olva didn't block in time the fist hitting her other arm. But this hit wasn't as powerful as the previous one. She looked at the fist. Her opponent was holding a small rectangle black box, with two small metal bits sticking out at the end. And she was smiling. Then, she pressed a button and Olva's world exploded in even more pain. All of her muscles suddenly tightened, she found herself paralyzed, then fell unconscious.

"Olva!" shouted Ygar. He had been watching the fight, but he couldn't help as more guards had interposed themselves between him and her. Velgard grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Don't do it! We can't help her for now, but let me work my own magic, trust me and run!"

Trusting his old-time comrade, Ygar broke into a run after Gelt while Velgard quickly opened a sash at his belt and took out a small clay pot, then threw it in Olva's direction. Without looking for the result, and broke into a run as well, catching up to Ygar.

It was merely an hour later that Gennosuke found himself in front of the interrogation room the woman they had captured was in.

Unfortunately, they had lost the three other murderers inside a large mall. Patrols had been quickly set up in the area, but to no immediate result. In order to optimize the repartitions of the teams, Gennosuke had went back to the police station with the unconscious woman for interrogation. On the way, he also called the hospital which had took the seven policemen after the arrest attempt. Five of them were gravely wounded, one of them being between life and death and two others were wounded but could get easily healed. With a grave look, he added these to the already heavy tally of these murderers.

Upon arrival he took the time to change back into a proper police uniform and quickly question her, but she didn't seem to understand Japanese or English. With what his daughter had told him this very morning, he had contacted a nearby university for someone fluent in latin.

Him, Kanamori and an officer ready to take notes were behind the two-way mirror, watching the woman taking in her surroundings. She pulled on the handcuffs restraining her to the table bolted on the ground, but quickly abandoned the idea. She was wearing a pair of jeans, sports shoes and a bright green t-shirt with a blue vest on top. Not the fanciest combination for sure. Her skin was unusually light and as he took a closer look he was surprised at her eyes. They were ice blue, almost white. She had long hair, braided into a ponytail which reached her back.

"What was on her?" Asked Gennosuke.

Kanamori pulled a clipboard from under her arms and listed everything.

"A large knife, a leather bag, travelling supplies, fur and cloth clothes and what I can only describe as… Cultist… Stuff…"

Taketa raised his eyebrows. Kanamori was very professional when working, and it wasn't like her to be so evasive.

"What do you mean by cultist stuff?"

"Well… I'm not too sure myself. You should take a look."

She grabbed a cloth bag from the ground and put on a nearby table its content. And indeed, the best way to describe it was "cultist stuff". Small bones engraved with mysterious runes, various dried animal parts, small tusks, a ritualistic curved knife, a wooden box with various crystals inside and a wooden staff with a crystal on top. Taketa picked up the staff and looked closer, but it was exactly what it seemed like.

"Well, it's not the first time I hear about cultists, and I saw stranger things coming from them." He said as he put back the staff on the table. "Did he arrive?"

"Actually yes." Answered Kanamori. "He said he would be here by now. I'll bring him."

Kanamori left the room, and came back after a few moments with a man behind her. He was quite old, wearing a brown work suit and black shoes. Taketa stepped forward with his hand extended.

"Professor Hakino I presume? Police investigator Taketa Gennosuke."

The man accepted the handshake.

"Well mister Gennosuke, I never would have imagined policemen would need the help of someone from the Tokyo University of Arts and Letters. How may I help you?"

Taketa pointed to the woman behind the two-way mirror.

"I understood you give latin lessons, professor Hakino. This woman here speaks latin, and I need a translator."

Surprise was painted all over Hakino's face, but he simply answered "alright" before following Taketa and Kanamori to the interrogation room.

The woman stared at them as they took their positions: Taketa sat in front of her, Hakino slightly behind him and Kanamori standing near the door, watching closely in case she got violent. Taketa couldn't help but frown his nose at the smell coming from her. He hadn't been there, but Kanamori has said that before the three other murderers fled, one of them threw a clay pot at the woman which broke upon contact. The content was some kind of green juice and had an extremely powerful pine tree smell. It was so strong in fact that Kanamori and the nearby police officers had to pinch their noses to avoid throwing up their breakfasts at first. Now, the smell had subsided a bit.

"Tell her I'm investigator Gennosuke, and I'm here to receive answers. What's her name?"

Hakino spoke in latin, and surprise appeared on the woman's face. She probably didn't expect anyone to speak latin here. She answered shortly.

"She says she's named Olva of the Snow witch tribes. She also said that… Well, do you really want me to translate everything?"

Taketa nodded.

"Well… She said that she doesn't speak to dogs and that…" Hakino sighed. "That you must have had a dog somewhere in your bloodline to look the way you do…"

The investigator ignored the insult. It wasn't the first time someone swore at him during an investigation, and it certainly wouldn't be the last.

"Ask her if she understands why she's here."

After a short back and forth, Hakino translated.

"She knows why she's here, and she will step down to a dog's level, but she wants water to drink first."

He sighed.

"Tell her she'll get it after the interrogation."

"She insists."

Suddenly, Taketa punched the table with his fist. He tried to be civil with her, but that was only because of the protocol. If it was his own decision, this woman would have been beaten for answers. Rage clearly showed on his face and he spoke through his closed teeth. He had little mercy for the likes of her.

"Tell her I have no reason to give anything to a coward murderer, and that unless she wants to spend the rest of her life behind bars she'll stop playing smart!"

The professor, probably more intimidated than the woman, gulped and translated.

"She… She says she'll tell you everything you want, but she wants water first…"

Taketa sighed. The silence was heavy in the small room, only broken by the light buzzing of the led light above them.

"Fine. Fine, fine fine. Kanamori, bring her a cup of water. I'll make sure it's the last favor she gets in a long time."

Yuna Kanamori nodded, but took one last look at the woman before leaving the interrogation room. She was smiling.

Hello there, author here.

Managed to write the chapter on time. Surprised myself.Anyway, here are the answers to comments:

C V Ford: That's what got me into writing this fic. Wanted something a little bit different, and thanks!

rmarcano321: I'm not sure what you mean by theme. Elaborate a bit maybe?

Dreadcraft: I mean, that's exactly what the Empire did. Doubt the deaths caused by the mercenaries will count much in front of the hundreds of dead and enslaved by the empire. (Not saying it makes their acts less serious).

And for all the supporters in the comments, thank you!

See you next publication!