Series of Death, Draft 02, CH 34 (Patreon)

Trembor drove through Bolifen’s neighborhood, having to force himself to respect the speed limit. He wanted to be at the precinct, clearing up whatever was going on with his brother, but Herelex had called him again to tell him enforcers were driving him and Isenson to their house.

The houses were newer construction, with large lots with bushes and trees and flowers. A few parks dotted the area, where he had to leave his car since where Bo’s house was didn’t allow cars, a measure in place to ensure the cub’s safety.

That didn’t keep enforcers from parking their cars directly in front of the house. They were here because of a crime, so local ordinances weren’t important right now. One car wasn’t an enforcer vehicle. If a RI was present, that meant a body.

“Sir,” a slim bear said from behind the cordon that blocked the street two houses before his brother’s, “this is an active investigation scene, you—”

Trembor showed him his ID as he slipped under the cordon and didn’t stop to hear the enforcer’s protest. He’d spotted the two young lions he’d been searching for by an enforcer vehicle. As he hurried to join them he saw Ufen, and the lion walked toward him, hands up placatingly.

“Before you claw me apart, they were gone from the academy when I got there. One of the advisers told me enforcers pick them up.”

“Herelex called me.” Trembor walked past the lion, eyes fixed on the enforcer positing in front of the car, trying to block the path to his nephews. “Why are they still here?”

“They won’t let me take them home.”

“Did you threaten to eat him?” Trembor demanded, making sure the young jackal could hear him.

Ufen shrugged, his tail hugging his leg.

Trembor forced himself to slow and bit back his annoyance. He had to remember that while Ufen was a decent hunter, if he had to, he’d been raised in a family where the females took care of problems. It was what made him a good match for Baytil, his sister took after Serene.

He stopped walking well into the jackal’s personal space. The officer tried backing up, but he’d put the car at his back.

“Sir, this is an investigation site, you have to move to the other side of the perimeter.”

Trembor smiled, showing teeth. “I don’t have to do anything but listen to you explain why my nephews are here.”

“I’m sorry, sir, they are—”

Trembor growled, leaning in. “They’re my family. I can smell how scared they are. Do they even know what’s going on?”

“We can’t tell—”

Trembor poked the jackal hard enough it didn’t matter, he didn’t use a claw. The enforcer flinched at the touch. “They’re cubs, not criminals. Now, I’m going to make sure they’re okay.”

“I can’t—”

“You can.” Trembor’s smile became nasty. “Your only other option is to end up as tonight’s meal.”

The jackal swallowed and gave him a quick nod. Trembor smirked as he walked around the car. Too inexperienced to remember the procedures when being threatened was to call for reinforcement.

“Uncle Trembor!” Isenson called, running to him. Herelex looked torn between being stoic and giving-in to his fears.

A female yak stepped out of another car and headed toward them as his nephew hugged him tightly. Trembor felt, more than saw, Ufen stand back. She was older, more confident than the jackal. He wouldn’t be able to threaten her.

“Sir,” she said, stopping a few steps away. “Can I ask who you are and what you are doing here?”

“RI Goldenmane.” He showed her his ID. “I’m their uncle. Why are they here? They’re both under predation age.”

Herelex opened his mouth, to protest, Trembor suspected; but he looked at the yak and closed it. Their family might consider him an adult, but he still had a year to go before the law did the same.

“We were following the investigating RI’s orders.”

That confirmed a body was involved. Trembor tried to remember who’s territory Bo lived in. He’d checked when his brother moved in, but it wouldn’t come to him. Still, it was irresponsible for them to force cubs here. There was no way they could think they were involved.

But as much as he wanted to just take his nephews and leave, he had no power here.

“Can we talk?” he asked the yak, nodded to a position away from the car while moving Isenson toward Herelex.

“I can’t leave them unsupervised.”

“I’m not asking for you to leave,” Trembor replied, barely keeping his tone civil, “Just for us to move away so we can talk without being overheard. Herelex is a responsible male, he won’t go anywhere.” He looked at his nephew, who nodded and wrapped an arm around his brother. Ufen joined them.

The yak moved half a dozen paces away. “Make it quick.”

“What is going on here?” He demanded, lowering his voice. “I know the body isn’t my brother because he’s on his way to a precinct. And he wouldn’t kill someone without paying their taxes, no matter how tight his budget is right now.”

She shook her head and spoke even more softly than Trembor had. “That’s not it. The body is under predation age.”

Trembor stared at her, having difficulty processing what she said. “What?” he asked, loudly enough his nephews and Ufen looked at him. He lowered his voice. “Bo wouldn’t do that. My brother is experienced enough he wouldn’t stalk someone under predation age by mistake, he certainly wouldn’t do it on purpose.”

“I can only tell you what I know,” she replied, “and that’s that the body in the house is under predation age.”

“Then—” she stopped as a mink in an expensive suit stepped out of the house, a pleased expression on her face. Sleekcoat. Right, that was whose territory this was. Trembor hadn’t interacted with her much, even while every RI in the city hunter Ruxul, but he knew her reputation. Ruthless in her stalking of tax evaders. Uncaring of the pain and damage she left in her wake. She had no problems using her power as an RI to get things done. As a result, she had one of the best case closure record, but it came with the highest number of complaints.

He stood next to his nephews by the time she arrived.

“Well, hello there, cubs,” she said, her voice honey-sweet and purposefully ignoring Trembor.

Isenson puffed out his chest. “I’m not a cub. I’m twelve.”

The outburst surprised her, and Trembor couldn’t help smiling.

“You’re under predation age,” she said dismissively, regaining her footing. “That makes the two of you cubs, no matter what you want to believe. Now, tell me what your father did here.”

Isenson’s confidence vanished under her authoritative tone. He looked from Herelex’s worried expression to Trembor, who was doing his best to keep it neutral. Herelex was old enough to know what the presence of an RI here meant. Isenson might not, Trembor didn’t talk too much about what he did with the cubs, but he could pick up the scents the tension caused.

“Come on,” she said, annoyed. “You two staying silent isn’t going to help your father.” She smiled. “You do want to help him, don’t you?”

“That’s enough,” Trembor stated, barely keeping from snarling. He’d prefer Ufen defended them, it would remove the professional rivalry, but if the lion hadn’t been able to stand up to a young male enforcer, he couldn’t expect him to do so with a female with official power.

“Go home, Goldenmane, this isn’t your territory,” she said without looking at him.

“But they are my family. You can’t question underaged cubs without proper representation, you know that Garmine.”

She looked at Ufen and dismissed him. “Well, since you’re here,” she told Trembor, “you can represent them.” She fixed her gaze on Herelex. “Now, you tell me about the body in the house and think about what you’re about to tell me carefully. I can push for complicity despite your age.”

“FU—this is over,” Trembor said.

“I’m not done questioning them.”

“You just said I’m representing them. As their appointed representative, I’m telling you this joke is over. I can’t believe anyone lets you treat people this way, let alone cubs.”

She fixed him with a glare. “This is my territory. I’m going to investigate anyway I want, and the day you have my closing records, you can come and talk to me about how to do my job, not before.”

“I’m not saying shit about your skills,” he replied, deciding not to point out the numbers of complaints she had against her compared to his. “I’m telling you, my nephews are off-limits. They were at the academy, so there’s no way they know what took place in the house.”

She rolled her eyes, her ears folding back, telling Trembor that until now her anger was an act. “I’m not done,” she stated. “Until that happens, no one’s going anywhere.” She pointed to the house. “It’s a c—”

“Don’t,” Trembor growled.

Her eyes widened. “Are you telling me you’re contesting the body’s age? You have to know, you and your annoying habit of getting people to take to you.” She eyes the yak, who’d kept her distance.

“I’m telling you, this isn’t something to be talked about in front of cubs.”

“Witnesses,” she replied.

“Didn’t you hear me? They were at the academy, for fuck’s sake.”

Isenson’s gasp made Trembor close his muzzle before he unleashed any more profanity on her. Herelex didn’t look happy, but if it was at the situation or the swearing, Trembor couldn’t tell.

Sleekcoat looked amused. “That’s only valid if the body arrived in the house after they left, isn’t it? And I won’t know that until I’ve questioned them.”

Trembor held his desire to strangle her in check. With her record, he probably couldn’t afford her, but it was more about giving his nephews the right example. Killing was about feeding yourself, not removing people who annoyed you.

She made that difficult with her smirking.

“Fine,” Trembor said. “Then you aren’t going to find that out today. I’m refusing to represent them, which means you can’t question them.”

Her smirk vanished, only to reappear as she looked at Ufen. “What about you? You’re a lion, are you related to those two?”

“Stay quiet, Ufen,” Trembor ordered as the lion was about to answer. The only thing that got him to open was the instructions from family took precedence over that of strangers, even females in positions of power, but Ufen looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here.

“So, he is related to them. Good, he can represent them, if you won’t.”

“No, he won’t,” Trembor said, eyes fixed on Ufen who fidgeted in place, but stayed quiet. “You want a family member to represent them? I’m going to get you one.” He took out his pad.

“Who are you calling,” she asked, suspicious.

“Their grandfather.”

“Why him?”

Trembor smiled. “Because he’s a lawyer.”

She ground her teeth, her expression dark.

“Does your silence mean you want me to call? Or would you prefer not to have someone who can document the ways in which you’re breaking the law questioning them?”

Her glare was the only answer she gave. Which was good. If she’d called his bluff, he wasn’t sure how it would have played out. Torim would have come without hesitation, but being retired meant he no longer had the authority he once did in the courts.

“How about we do this?” he said, “tomorrow you can go to the academy and question them under the supervision of their advisers. They have training in representing cubs in situations like these, but they have no legal power, so they won’t be able to nitpick you to death.” Trembor was going to call the academy to ensure they had a lawyer present because he didn’t trust Sleekcoat to be on her best behavior otherwise. Torim would help with that, too.

“Fine,” she snapped. “Take them out of here, I’m done.”

Trembor ignored the tone and motioned for his nephews to join him, then led them away from her, Ufen in tow.

“I’m sorry,” the lion said. “I know I shouldn’t have been willing to answer her. That I should have done more to get them out of there earlier, but the enforcers…” he trailed off. “And she’s a…” He sighed, shoulders slumping. “I’m not like you,” he finally said.

“It’s okay, Ufen. This isn’t on you. It’s on her. She had no business ordering them out of the academy. She had no legal grounds to do it.” He looked at Herelex. “What did your adviser say when he took you out of your class?”

“That something happened to dad, and that someone needed to ask us about it.”

Trembor looked at Isenson, considering what to say, but his nephew would find out soon enough, anyway. “I take it you didn’t say you already know he’d been arrested?” Herelex shook his head.

“Is dad okay?” Isenson asked. “He paid for the body, right?”

“He isn’t okay right now,” Trembor replied, “but I’m going to make sure he will be okay. Whatever this is, your dad didn’t do it.” There was no way Bo would do something like this. Which meant he was being set up. Why anyone would do it escape him, but considering who his brother was associating with recently, he had no problem figuring out who had done it, regardless of Bo saying things with them had been resolved.

He needed to find a way to talk to his brother before Sleekcoat got to him and forced him to admit to doing this. Unfortunately, the easiest way was the one he couldn’t use. Putting Torim in the same room at Bo right now wasn’t a good idea.

“Do you want me to take them to your dad’s?” Ufen asked.

“Can we go with you, Uncle Trembor?” Isenson asked, putting a lot of eagerness in his question.

He wanted to say now. He’d have too much to do trying to figure out how to talk with Bo and figuring out how he’d get him out of this mess. But the hope in his nephew’s eyes broke his resolve.

“All right, but only for tonight. My house isn’t set up for nephews to stay there. Tomorrow you’re going to your grandparents, okay?”

“Alright,” Isenson replied, putting as much dejection in the response as he’s put eagerness in the question.

Herelex’s canted ears proclaimed his irritation at his brother’s antics, but he stayed quiet. He was better at not showing his stress, but his scent told Trembor he was scared. This was one of those things the academy couldn’t prepare cubs for, and which Trembor wished they’d never have had to experience.

But life wasn’t kind, and now it was his job to make sure things went back to normal.

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