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Chapter 202 : Returned at last
🕑 Added 2025-01-25 21:16:37 +0000 UTCA day after dealing with that cheap Villain invasion problem, James wasn't surprised to see a familiar scaly face come knocking at the Penumbral Palace. Well, technically she entered the shop normally and just asked Larry and Barry if Silhouette was available, but the turn of phrase stood. She wasn't alone, though her escort chose to stay outside. They looked more armed than regular cops, and a handful of them stayed near the more armored of the two trucks they had arrived in.
He decided to come down to meet her. He had nothing to hide in the offices of the facility, but he figured there was no point in wasting their time by playing power games and the sort. As soon as the brothers finished their call on the facility's ground line, shadows moved and parted before inflating and bursting into his regular vaguely humanoid Silhouette shape, a few steps away from the lizard woman he had come to know when he first brought the Nightsnatcher to the authorities.
"Inspector Vanille, was it? It's a pleasure to see you again."
"Yes. Good day to you too, Mister Silhouette. We have a few things to discuss if you have the time."
"I always have the time for our police forces. What can I help you with today? Have your superiors finally decided to take us up on our offer of supplying equipment?"
Having a non-human form for so long had done wonders to help James distinguish more unique facial expressions and body language. He wasn't as familiar with reptiles as, say, rats, but he could notice the barely restrained grimace of his interlocutor.
"I'm afraid that's something about my pay grade for me to know."
Was she displeased that she wasn't informed, distrustful of him, or was she in favor of his offer but unable to say anything? Something worth investigating down the line, if he had the time. Vanille had seemed fair and professional so far, so looking into her was far from a priority. Still, crooked cops rarely wore their corruption on their sleeves. Though to be fair, in his position, James would more likely be the one paying bribes. A subject worth considering depending on how things went.
"A shame. The offer still stands, of course. My business may be security and self-defense, but citizens are the safest with a good police force protecting them."
"I see what you mean. On this topic, we received reports yesterday of rumors of low-priority Villains being hired all over the city to attack your facilities. We didn't get any call from you, but we did get a call from a bartender who claimed you came out of nowhere and kidnapped a patron."
"Ah. Yes, we handled those lunatics in costumes on our own. They were not worth calling your forces or the Hero Union. And I will admit I did go grab the man supposedly responsible for hiring them when an acquaintance of mine called me about overhearing someone offering a Villain money to attack us. We had a stern discussion, after which we went our separate ways."
"I cannot condone a citizen taking justice into their own hands."
"Oh? Is self-defense illegal now? Because if so I may have to rework my business."
"No, but you should have called us to report the situation."
"I wouldn't call a man in a lizard costume a situation. Merely a waste of time."
"The point remains. Villains, as... Unimpressive as they can be, are qualified as such for a reason. A lizard costume alone is not enough to be officially labeled as a Villain. Those people are dangerous, no matter how harmless they may seem. And might I ask what happened to them?"
"I let them go. As I said, they were more annoying than dangerous. Nothing was stolen, lost, or damaged. The man hiring those Villains admitted to being paid by a third party, and while I do disapprove of his life choices I understand anyone else could have played this proxy role. I believe I have to choose not to press charges, no? I am making use of it. Really, this whole situation was no worse than kids trying to play a prank."
This wasn't a lie. Even the burglars down at the orphanage had been free to go. Oh, James had been tempted to come up with something more permanent, but letting them run away with their tail between their legs to tell everyone else in the city attacking him wasn't worth it was more beneficial than just corrupting them. Besides, Techlord had made sure to strip them of anything of value, such as their strangely reinforced clothing and stealth-inducing masks, before throwing them away from their territory, right at the doorstep of one of the Sunken City's escalators. Those manning them were supposedly representatives of the unofficial authority in the underground community, so James trusted them to handle the mess. At best the burglars got punished, at worst, they were free to go and now knew better after the beatdown they took.
It appeared Vanille disapproved, but they both knew he was right. He could at worst be in trouble for letting wanted Villains go, but arresting them wasn't his job and public opinion would likely side with him. Gecko Man wasn't the next Sunburn. If anything, showing mercy to such pathetic dregs of the rogue gallery put him in a better light.
"Next time something like this happens sir, do call our services."
"If I think I'm dealing with anything worse than rowdy teenagers, I will."
The burglars had been the only somewhat dangerous thing, and Techlord had been much more violent in his handling of them. Since the police wouldn't hear of their attack on the orphanage since they didn't know it existed, he couldn't even be blamed for excessive usage of force.
"I must insist, sir. In the future, let us do our job. This doesn't qualify as vigilantism as it was done in self-defense, but still."
"I know, Vigilantes break the law, even if it is to stop other criminals. Emergency services are properly trained for a reason, and vigilantism puts not only the person but those around them in danger. You need not worry, I have no plan to patrol the streets at night to take down evil-doers. I'm a businessman. Besides, my company's main gimmick is giving people the means to defend themselves in the first place. Don't you worry, I will happily call you or your Hero colleagues if I ever feel there is a tangible threat."
The large lizard woman nodded.
"Alright, glad to see you understand. While we're on the topic, I don't suppose you could tell me what you learned from your conversation with that Villain contractor?"
"Oh, gladly. He didn't know who was paying him to do this, but he admitted it wasn't the first time and that he wasn't the only one contacted for this sort of scheme in the past. We theorized from his history of being hired to damage upcoming businesses or businesses who just developed new technologies that this was corporate espionage and sabotage."
"Any chance you could have narrowed down the list of suspects?"
"Sadly, no. He had been hired for similar events a dozen times, but considering there are at least a hundred companies in Zalcien, it didn't help much."
"Sorry to hear about that. Any chance you could share the names of other victims?"
It was James' turn to nod, forming a thin tendril and writing on the notepad Vanille was offering, infusing the paper as though he was writing in ink. He doubted they would check the piece of paper for signs of Transformation, and if he was lucky this small thing would be enough to have an eye on the police. If Vanille was going to be the cop in charge of every case surrounding him, this would prove very valuable. If they did figure out the piece of paper was partially corrupted, well, that wasn't proof he was spying on them, just that he had the Transformation Aspect.
"I hope this will help you in future investigations."
"It should. That being said, we would have preferred if you called us to share that information rather than wait for us to come to your door, sir."
"Apologies. I have been very busy lately. Besides, I knew you would come. If not for this matter, then for something else I've been waiting quite some time for. I noticed your people guarding an armored truck outside. Am I right to assume that my property is finally being returned to me?"
"Yes sir. Our experts have finished studying the Nigthsnatcher. We now know everything we need about the creature and its victims."
"I hope you were able to identify them all."
"It took some time and multiple magical rituals only mages understand, but yes. We've been contacting the victims' families and will soon release an official announcement. We wanted to make sure the creature's body was back in your care before then, to lower the chances of someone attacking our convoy to steal it under our noses."
"A gesture I greatly appreciate. I will have to ask my security to work overtime without notice before we can transfer it to a safer location, but thank you for bringing it back."
"I'm sorry you weren't given a head's up, sir. I'll inform my superiors of this hiccup."
"I don't doubt it. If that is all, I have affairs to take care of and you new criminals I'm sure."
"One last thing while I have your attention if you don't mind, sir. Afterward, I'll have our people bring your property back to you."
"Ask away, Inspector."
"I also happen to be one of those charged with investigating the Patcher's death-"
"Right after the Nightsnatcher case? Your superiors must think highly of you, Inspector Vanille."
"Thank you. As I was saying, they have me working on that case as well, and considering how troublesome the case is and how little evidence was left after the fire, I've made it a habit of asking those I come across. Silhouette, would you happen to have information you could share about the Patcher's death?"
"Well, I don't want to be crude, but I'd like to say good riddance."
The restrained snort combined with the small smile on her reptilian lisps led James to believe she agreed.
"It's a sentiment shared by many, but that's not what I asked."
"I'm afraid there isn't much I can say. I've heard crows flew around the area at the time, perhaps Blake Black could enlighten you?"
"Mister Black has made it clear he wouldn't help us, aside from confirming that one of the Patcher's creations was the one to deal the killing blow."
"I see. Do you have any suspect or lead?"
"The only thing we know for sure is that someone was involved. The Patcher was shot, and we doubt any of his former victims would have the idea to start a fire and burn the place down."
"I'm assuming you couldn't connect the gun to any other case?"
"No, nothing. It was an unregistered weapon as well, doesn't match anything sold legally by any manufacturer in the city."
"I see... Well, my obvious lead theory is that the culprit lost someone close to them at the Patcher's hands, but I don't believe this reduces your list of suspects much, does it?"
"Not really. He didn't take people from the city often, but we still have a least a hundred people we confirmed he kidnapped, and their friends and families are even more numerous."
"Well... Perhaps one of the city's Vigilantes? I'm not too familiar with them, are there any who are known for relying on firearms and possibly burning their targets?"
"One Death was one of our first suspects, given his modus operandi, but he does have an alibi for the hour of the crime. As a whole, it's unlikely for one of our known Vigilantes to have done it because they would have tried something similar years ago. They're not off the suspect list altogether, that would be irresponsible, but we doubt they're involved."
"If they wanted to try their hand at killing the Patcher, they would have done it already, uh? A good argument. So you're looking for a newcomer or someone who was very recently wronged by the man, then?"
"Those are leading theories at the moment."
"Am I wrong to assume you suspect me?"
"You're part of the list, I won't deny, but you're no more suspected than anyone else on it. You're a newcomer in town and have made selling non-lethal weaponry your business, but there's no motive for you to kill the man."
"Well, some would think the chaos from removing one of the city's core Villains would lead to insecurity and an increase in sales."
"Maybe, but it would also put a big target on your back. It wouldn't be worth the risk. Still, I must ask, would you have any reason to want the Patcher dead?"
"The same reasons as most people would, I suppose. I won't deny a few of his pet projects attacked my employees in the slums, but ultimately no one was harmed. Frankly, my people there are attacked more often by Sicklers and other local beasts than Patchees."
"I see. And on a personal level? Any loved one who got taken away?"
"Not one of mine, but I did hear the story of one of my employees' friend's sister being taken. Would that count as justification?"
"Likely not. If I ask you if you did it, I suppose you'd deny it."
"Undoubtedly."
"Alright. I won't bother you any longer. Unless you have some last-minute revelations to make."
"Not this time, I'm afraid."
"Right. I'll have the others bring the Nightsnatcher. We brought it in a secured box, for ease of transport."
"Ah, I'll admit having it rolled like a carpet was a little incongruous. I'll have some of my guards take the box inside."
The lizard woman nodded.
"And Silhouette?"
"Yes, Inspector Vanille?"
"Remember to call us if anything new comes up. We're here to serve and protect, not just bother folks."
"I'll keep that in mind, Inspector. Do remind your superiors of my offer. I want nothing more than to know your officers are all safe and sound, and given the means to handle ruffians who abuse the defensive properties of our products and use them for nefarious purposes."
"I'll make sure to. Goodbye, Mister Silhouette."
"Goodbye, Inspector Vanille."
The two went away from each other, ordering their subordinates to prepare for the transfer of the peculiar cargo. James had a feeling Vanille wasn't as discouraged from the idea of him being the Patcher's killer as he'd like, but he had made sure to leave no evidence behind then. Besides, the woman didn't seem eager to solve the case either. The Patcher's death becoming a cold case seemed to be the likeliest result considering how things were going and the inspector's feelings. Not the perfect outcome for him, he'd rather someone else get the blame and have the case closed, but not being condemned was enough of a win.
Inspector Vanille, for her part, now had a leading theory regarding the murderer's identity. Though, even as she watched the almost coffin-like box being brought out of the armored truck she had come here in and continued to observe her colleagues carrying it back to the front of the shop she had just left, she didn't feel in any hurry to share her guess with the rest of the force.
Like she had told one of them in the past, ironically when he brought up how Silhouette seemed to have some shady business going on, sometimes turning a blind eye to some folks meant worse folks getting their comeuppance or knowing better than to cause some trouble. He might be a crazy explosion-obsessed lunatic, but she appreciated Abrakaboom for that reason: he usually kept civilians out of his schemes and didn't hesitate to obliterate other lunatics who didn't play as nice and ruined the "game".
Besides, it wasn't like she was actively covering him. Silhouette was still on the suspect list. Her colleagues would look into him later. They'd be free to come to their own conclusions.
