Kanu, Sadie, and Frank strolled down the hallway together, a rare invitation from the Captain for an assignment. Intrigued, Sadie couldn't resist asking the question that was on her mind.
"Sir, how come you chose us to accompany you? Neither me nor Frank mind, but the two of us just returned," she inquired.
When Kanu was assigned a task, he had his preferred individuals whom he would select. The reasons behind his choices were shrouded in mystery, and people simply assumed it was because they were the strongest in the squad. Since squad members didn't compete against one another, there was no definitive way to assess that.
"Here I thought you would be delighted at the opportunity to seize some credit," Captain Kanu replied with an amused tone, before getting more serious. “My gut is telling me that this case might have some connection to the one you were assigned to back in Slough. The incident was captured on video and circulated widely on the internet.
"I’m not sure if you’ve watched it already, but this wasn't the usual case of a Crazed Altered. We suspect it might be a more evolved version of the black liquid, perhaps the first of its kind.
"Seeing that our suspect fought against Gary Dem, who happens to be the same youngster the two of you tested during your time in Slough, it seemed even more appropriate to involve you.
“As far as we know that town might very well be the origin of the black liquid, though it’s too early to tell. The likelier scenario is that it was used as a hub point and the Crazed Altered from the time were either a batch of it having ended up in the wrong hands… or someone had deliberately done it to test the formula.”
Sadie was left speechless. Her perception of their Captain as a total slacker, someone who couldn't be bothered to read reports, began to crumble. While reading reports was technically mandatory, she doubted other Captains would invest time in reports that had “Inconclusive” written on that. Nevertheless, Kanu had not only taken note of Gary's presence on the White Rose agents' radar, despite the negative test result, but he also seemed well-informed about it.
"What's with the silence? Were you expecting me to say I chose you two because I thought you were the brightest and the ones with the most potential?" Kanu asked with a raised eyebrow.
"No, Sir! Thank you for clarifying, Sir!" Sadie responded.
As they entered through a door, the group found themselves in the interrogation room. It had all the classic elements — a one-way mirror, recording equipment, and monitoring consoles manned by two engineers.
On the other side, they could see Haze. The Altered was tied up, strapped to a chair with metal restraints around his arms and legs. It didn't look like there were any signs of struggle.
"Has he said anything?" Kanu asked one of the engineers, who was sipping away at his coffee.
"No one's been inside to ask him anything yet, Sir. We’ve received orders to wait for the interrogation until two Captains are present," the man replied.
"Another captain? Isn't that excessive for a single individual?" Kanu remarked.
The door burst open wide with a heavy hand, to the point where it banged into the wall. A large man with a square hat on his head walked through the door. His uniform was quite tight on his body, but not in a good way.
"They called me here for a reason, Kanu!" the man declared. "You brought him in, so they've given this one to you. However, they fear you might botch it. Your track record isn't exactly impressive!"
The man who had just burst through the door was Captain Hiru. He was the Captain with the most achievements in England and the one closest to being promoted to Chief. Although he didn't look like the type of person to be quick, he was quick to move in on cases when he felt they were hot.
He had earned a notorious reputation among the other Captains for meddling in their cases and stealing their credit. Unfortunately, the higher-ups hadn’t reprimanded him in any way, rather he only got praised for being someone who got the job done.
Behind him, there were two other agents belonging to his squad. They looked small standing next to Hiru but still stood out in their own way. One had a scar over his eye, while the other was strangely walking with a limp.
"Why is he restrained like that? We're treating him like a criminal before confirming anything," Kanu questioned the procedure. With six active White Rose agents it seemed excessive to treat him like that.
“That the other reason why I was brought into this case," Hiru responded. "You've arrived at a time when he's relatively stable. The kid is still fluctuating between his normal and a crazed state. There doesn’t seem to be any particular trigger, but he can snap at any moment.
“They're certain he's a lost cause, so they want us to extract information before he completely loses his mind. If he does snap, you're going to be glad he has those restraints on. Apparently, while transporting him here, he had another episode. It was a struggle, but they finally got him subdued. In the process, he knocked out one of the White Rose agents while injuring several others.
"He's undoubtedly a skilled AFC Altered fighter."
Kanu smirked upon hearing this. If Haze was skilled, then what did that make Gary Dem? The one who took out the Altered in a crazed state without even needing to transform. White Rose could really use an agent with that kind of power. Should their paths cross, the Captain intended to try and recruit him.
"Alright, let's head in and find out the origin of this black liquid. I've been reading, there have been more and more cases of this stuff every day in the lower-tier towns, especially in Tier-4 and Tier-5 towns.
"Headquarters usually leaves matters in the hands of lower-tier cities, but if we don't halt the root cause, it could escalate into a major problem. We don’t need a repeat of what happened in Slough."
*****
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