Series of Death, Draft 02, CH 36 (Patreon)

Trembor followed the black-furred bear through the precinct.

It had taken hours to find someone with the authority to get him in to see his brother. He didn’t know anyone in this precinct, and the captain here had been quick to point out the rules. Trembor wasn’t the assigned RI, and the fact he was related to the criminal in the cage played against him this time. Even Trembor trying to use his overall authority as an RI was scoffed at. The severity of what Bo was accused of had everyone eager to see him torn apart.

“Thanks again for doing this, Bahamel,” He said as he followed her. Coming up with someone who had more authority than the cheetah had been difficult. Everyone he knew well from his time at the academy was around his age, and captain was the highest any of them had reached. They’d tried to talk sense into the cheetah, but he hadn’t been interested. It almost felt Sleekcoat had taken over this territory knowing the people in this precinct were strangers to him.

Then he’d remembered the one person he knew had more authority; Bahamel.

“I know I’m not your favorite person right now, with you being Marlot’s friend so—”

She rounded on him and fixed him with her gaze. “I’m not happy you and the wolf broke up. I thought what you had was more solid than to break under a little spat, but that’s your personal life and none of my business.”

A little spat? What had the wolf told her happened?

She took a breath. “And you happen to be one of the few RIs in this city I can actually stand; who doesn’t go about treating enforcers like your personal servants. So, yes, I’m happy to help you with this.”

Help him bend rules, she didn’t say. He pushed his discomfort down. This was to help Bo. And it wasn’t bending them much. An RI’s power to tell enforcers what to do might be mainly situational, but it was there. He and the precinct captain just didn’t agree on the situation.

Bahamel’s official title was captain too, but because vice crimes were spread throughout the city, every precinct had vice enforcers who answered to the local captain and her, with her authority coming first, it meant that when she stepped into a precinct everyone, even the local captain, stood aside.

She placed a hand on the door’s handle. “I can’t get them to turn the cameras off without causing more trouble than I’m willing to deal with, so watch what you say and don’t lead your brother to say anything that can be used against him if this thing ends up going to court, which we both know it will; unless someone here decides to deprive the family from exacting justice themselves.”

“Bo didn’t—”

“I don’t care, lion.” She took another slow breath. “Underage deaths aren’t my division, for which I’m thankful. I’m just telling you how things are. Right now, your brother’s rating is the only thing keeping these people from going in there and paying it. If one of them decides he has evidence to lower it after the fact? Don’t think they won’t act on that.”

“I know. I’ll be careful.”

She nodded. “And next time something like this happens, try to make sure it’s in my territory. I can do a lot more for you there.” Her willingness to bend rules for him made Trembor uncomfortable.

She opened the door and Trembor entered, Bo standing, hesitating, then sitting down, looking unhappy.

“Don’t take too long,” Bahamel said. “Sleekcoat is going to raise her hackles when she finds out you’re here. And when that happens, even I won’t be able to help you anymore. This is her territory and her case.”

Trembor sat as the door closed. “How are you doing?” He studied his brother. There were procedures on how to treat a prisoner, but when dealing with cub death tempers ran hot and prisoners became extremely clumsy. Bo’s mane was a mess, with a few areas caked with dried blood, but there were no obvious injuries.

For a few seconds, the look Bo gave him had Trembor ready himself for an argument, then his brother closed his eyes and made an effort to calm himself.

“Not good. How are Herelex and Isenson? Did dad make a fuss about them staying there?”

“They’re at my place.”

Bo tilted an ear and the corner of his lips went up. “You? Cubs in your house?”

“It’s just for tonight. Isenson wanted to stay with me. I’ll make sure they are at his Grandparents’ tomorrow. Has anyone told you what happened?”

“Oh, they told me enough.” Bo rubbed his arm, then bared his teeth at the camera.

“Don’t antagonize them, Bo.”

His brother glared at him. “They’re the ones doing the—”

“Stop. This is being recorded.”

“I didn’t do anything.”

“And I intend to prove that, but you need to survive until then. That means not giving them a reason to eat you.”

His brother scoffed. “They can’t afford me.”

Trembor stifled a sigh. He wanted to give his brother a reality check. If anyone found out about how much he owed, his rating would tank. As much as he hated it, this was one good thing about Bo owing it to some crime family. They wouldn’t be quick to divulge it.

“Your rating is dependent on more than your job, Bo. And if your dead, defending yourself from alleged crimes isn’t easy. Your rating can be lowered after you’re dead. Keep that in mind when you decide to bite one of the enforcers, okay?”

Bo looked at him suspiciously. “Are you just saying that to keep me from making a fuss?”

Trembor stared. “Ex-enforcer here, Bo, Registered Investigator. I’ve seen it in action. Most of the precinct feed themselves on the people they arrest because they have evidence that will lower their rating to nothing once it’s processed.”

Bo was thoughtful. “Okay. I’ll watch what I say.”

“Thank you. This is going to be tough enough as it is.”

Bo tilted an ear. “How tough can it be? I didn’t do this.”

Trembor sighed. “Sleekcoat’s the RI here. She’s known for closing cases and doing so at the expense of a lot of proper procedures. I’m not aware she ever got anyone innocent convicted, but I’m also not aware she’s ever had an underage, unclaimed, death in her territory.”

“This is sounding a lot like you guys have no rules keeping you under control.”

“We have rules, Bo, but the government wants unclaimed deaths settled, it’s money they’re losing otherwise, so…” he trailed off, looking at his brother expectantly.

“Alright. The government wants its cut, I should know that better than most.”

“As an example, she had your sons pulled out of the academy and brought to your house before Ufen could pick them up. He was there before I was. But Ufen isn’t good with standing up to females, or enforcers. I kept her from questioning them, but she’s going to try to get you to give your approval.”

Bo frowned. “That doesn’t sound legal.”

Trembor shrugged. “She prefers asking forgiveness. If she had your approval for questioning your sons, only someone who knows the laws will be able to keep her from doing so.”

“Good thing they’re going to be at Dad’s then.”

Trembor nodded. He decided not to bring up all the ways Sleekcoat could get the cubs out of the house without raising suspicion. Well, if Serene wasn’t home. If she was, suspicions would be all there was.

“Now, keep in mind this is being recorded, but tell me what happened.”

Bo threw his hands up. “What do you mean, ‘what happened?’ Enforces showed up at the office, cuffed me, loudly telling everyone I was being arrested for under-aged predation. Do you have any idea how humiliating that is? Even once this is cleared up, no one in the office is going to forget about that. They’re never going to respect me now. Fuck, I’m probably going to lose my job over this.”

“They can’t fire you unless you’re proven guilty.”

Bo narrowed his eyes at his brother. “You’ve clearly never worked for the government. They can’t afford to have people think criminals work there.”

“Think?” Trembor asked, tilting an ear and unable to keep the smirk off his muzzle. “We are talking about the same government who’s currently fighting half a dozen allegations of misconduct, right?”

Bo waved that aside. “Once you’re at the top, you can survive that stuff. I’m just an office worker, Trem. With someone like me, it’s a lot easier for them to get rid of me than to fight more allegations in court. And they aren’t going to use this to fire me, they’ll just come up with enough mistakes in my work to justify it.” He dropped his head in his hands. “Fuck,” he let out, realizing something. “I’m screwed. I need this job. They’re going to k—”

“Bo,” Trembor cut his brother off before he said anything more. “Bo, look at me.” When his brother did, Trembor nodded to the camera and its blinking red light.

Bo mulled it over for a few seconds. “I didn’t do anything wrong; what do I care what they record?”

Trembor sighed. “Don’t be so dense, you grew up with a lawyer just as I did. They are going to use anything you say to bring your rating down, even if it’s nothing. So choose your words carefully. You’ve heard enough stories from dad to be cautious.”

Bo rolled his eyes. “Those are decades old, we have DNA now. As soon as they do tests, they’ll see I have nothing to do with this.”

“Maybe, but let’s cover the groundwork, anyway. Where were you yesterday?” He didn’t want to think about DNA and how all that was stored on computers and how easily someone like Marlot could get into them; even by the wolf’s own admission, he wasn’t the best out there when it came to hacking. someone determined enough could make sure all the evidence gathered pointed to his brother.

“I went to work, stayed there all day, then went straight back home. The usual. It’s not like I’m partying all the time anymore.”

“Can Herelex and Isenson corroborate that?”

Bo opened his mouth, then closed.

Trembor sighed. “Bo, I kept Sleekcoat from abusing her power, but she will question them. Even if Dad’s there, or some other lawyer. She can ask her questions, and they are going to have to answer. What are they going to tell her?”

Bo rubbed his face and cursed softly. “I went out after we were done eating. I came back after they’d gone to bed.”

“Where did you go?”

“To—to hang out with friends.” The hesitation and the way Bo’s eyes flicked to the camera, even if he kept his head from moving, told Trembor what kind of friends he meant. Not the kind who’d come to his rescue.

“Where was that?” if he couldn’t get someone to provide his brother with an alibi, he needed records showing where he’d been.

“One of their houses.” Bo didn’t volunteer more. Trembor kept himself from reacting. If his brother wasn’t lying to him, that meant a residential area, and those were notoriously low on street cameras. Could he get one of the neighbors to talk to him? Confirm Bo had been there? If he had.

He’d have to do what Sleekcoat would. Get the enforcers to track his car through the city. Only he’d been looking to prove where Bo had been, rather than every place where he could have gone and stalked a cub.

“How much meat in your cooler?” Their father would laugh at the use of a lack of a need to hunt as a defense, but Bo needed something, anything.

His brother shrugged. “I don’t know. I hunted a week ago, maybe a little more. I prepared the body myself, but there’ll be records of me selling the hide and extra fat; not that there was a lot of that. She was an Elk, on the lean side. You know I aim for healthy because of the cubs. I think there’s about a week’s worth left. You know how cubs eat.”

Trembor nodded. There would be the hunting history to establish a pattern. He’d have to check how many cubs had gone missing in the area this one was from. Too many and Sleekcoat could claim Bo was responsible for all of them. Mark him as a hunter, if nothing else.

His brother’s sigh pulled him out of his thought. “What did dad have to say about this?”

Trembor was at a loss to answer. He hadn’t even thought to tell Torim. “Well, at this point I’m sure he heard what happened. So he’s probably making sure you have proper representation.”

Bo snorted.

“Come on, he’s not that kind of father, and you know it. It doesn’t matter how angry he is at you. You’re still his son. He’ll do all he can to protect you. If nothing else, he’s going to make sure this is handled correctly. Every party involved will have ample time to build their case.” That would piss off Sleekcoat, if nothing else, with her desire to close her cases as quickly as possible. Although, how would the Bureau view this? Would they consider her part done once this was with the courts?

Most people who didn’t pay for their kills did so because the death was accidental and they hadn’t been able to afford it. Most of the time, those just agreed to a plea without involving the courts. Trembor never had one go to court, so he wasn’t sure how it went.

“What do you know about it?” Bo asked.

“Nothing more than what you’ve already said you know. This isn’t my territory, and when I defended my nephews from Sleekcoat’s abuse, I made sure she wouldn’t want to share information with me.”

Bo chuckled. “It’s tough to imagine you not making a good impression on someone, even while opposing them.”

“Sleekcoat made it tough to be nice with her. But don’t worry, I’ll find out what she has, and I’ll do everything I can to help whoever dad finds to defend you.”

Bo nodded, looking at the table. When he spoke it was soft, his face away from the camera. “Trem, my friends, they…” he trailed off, closed his eyes. Trembor could see the wetness there. He wanted to reach across the table and comfort him and not care what it would look like to anyone watching. It hurt to see his brother so helpless. “Make sure my sons are okay. No matter what happens here. I need you to look after them. They’re the only ones who matter.”

“Don’t talk like that, Bo. You didn’t do this, so you’re going to be cleared. I’m going to make sure of that, no matter what Sleekcoat wants this to be.” He chuckled. “Tell you what. You and I are going to dine on whoever did this to you, okay?”

Bo looked up and nodded, but his helpless expression remained.

Trembor looked for something else to say, another way to comfort his brother, but there was nothing left to say. Now it was time for him to get to work to find out who had done this and make them pay.

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