“And they took him off the list, no questions asked. Brainless slugs. Even though they knew - or should have known because I wrote it in-” Rai banged on the steering wheel, “- they should have known that he’s still related to a whole bunch of other cases. We can’t take our eyes off him yet.”

Rai’s eyes were currently glowering at the road ahead as he drove them to Oliver’s given address.

Oliver, the first of the chain, had been removed from the missing persons registry earlier that morning, after dropping by the station personally. He was long gone by the time Rai stormed their call lines. The details were ‘confidential’ according to the office, and Rai wasted no time in telling them what he thought: nobody had bothered to get any more information, and if Oliver had happened to let slip anything, it had not been recorded. Because the morning staff were nothing but a pile of lazy, brainless slugs.

“If he thought he got away, too bad. The public search notice has been called off, but his info is still in the system.”

Sao yawned. He was being rocked into a stony half-slumber by the vibrations and intermittent swaying of the car. He had woken up late (amazingly he’d gotten up at all) and dressed himself rather poorly, but comfortably. His pillowy fleece-lined coat, the sun in his eyes, the whir of the heater, the scatter of the late-morning commute, the minimal hours of of sleep he’d gotten the night before - a nap beckoned.

Rai swerved violently into a different lane and Sao’s head collided with the window pane.

“Take a nap if you need it,” Rai said, as though he had not heard the crack and resulting groan. “What time did you get back last night?”

“Don’t remember. I went straight to sleep.” Sao shook his head, which did little for his concentration. “I won’t be doing that again.”

“Not a night person, huh?”

“Not at all. And there’s the matter of the stabbing… I’m afraid to say anything to Icey. Or Zen.”

“Icey was in and out of the hospital before the night was up. It wasn’t a loss.” Rai was checking his mirrors for another violent lane-change. “And color me surprised, got some decent pictures from the traffic cameras of what was probably Marina’s car. It helped that our timeframes were tight, because of your messages, and the affirmation we got from the bar, Icey and that other guy. Zeke.”

“I never figured out his deal.”

“Did you get to speak to him?”

“Only a little. I didn’t even get his name. He wasn’t too happy with me getting between him and his date.”

“The cops didn’t get much out of him either. Not that he wasn’t cooperative, there just wasn’t much to say. As for his involvement, I’m inclined to say none, though we have his address on file just in case. He lives close to the office, actually. He said he met Marina on the ground floor of his workplace out in the city after getting out late. She told him a friend she was going to meet had stood her up. He just missed the bus so he decided to ride with her since they were headed the same way, in her car apparently. They talked a little, about work, he said. His work, mostly, he never got to hear what it was she did for a living. In the end, she convinced him to stay out a while, get a drink, talk some more.”

“That doesn’t sound like her. Icey looked like she was pretty shocked at how Marina was acting too. She wasn’t the impulsive flirty sort, from what I hear. And picking up a stranger...”

“I wouldn’t know. Didn’t meet her, remember?”

“Right…”

“From what Zeke said, I gathered there were two things he noticed about her. Marina became more interested in him the more she learned about his job, and she was the one leading the conversation, and their little trip out. What I think is he could easily have been the next victim, but the fracas of you, Icey, and the cops stepping in messed it all up for her.”

“That’s harsh. I just said, she wasn’t acting normal.”

“Well, she could have been leading him to the cult… or… someone else, who would do the dirty work. Whatever that is. I wish I knew. I stopped by Marina’s apartment again this morning. No sign of her. No one in the lobby, either, so I couldn’t ask security or anything. If the building even has security.” Rai jerked the steering wheel so hard it sounded as if it might be ripped from the column.

“And her car?”

“There have to be a hundred places to hide a car in that wasteland of a neighborhood, but garages are all locked up and the big parking lot in front didn’t have what I was looking for. The traffic cameras didn’t get a perfect look at the details last night, but her car looked kind of blue, kind of like a four seater - and there weren’t any like that. None that had been turned on in the last year, anyhow. That place is full of abandoned vehicles.”

Sao’s head was spinning. Perhaps he’d knocked into the window too hard. The car swerved again, off the highway, and he grasped the seat for safety. Rai drove as intently as he did anything, powering forward as if magnetized towards a target. More conservative on the horn than Sao had expected, but there were laws in place regarding that. The motor itself provided a fair amount of noise, roaring as Rai stomped on the (unnervingly loose and mangled) accelerator.

Sao looked out the window for a bit as Rai steadied their course.

“I don’t know what to make of this,” Sao sighed. “It was strange, even before she ran away. Marina ignored us that night. Icey and I were right in front of her, but she didn’t seem to see us. Until we made a scene.”

“How many times has she seen you before?”

“She may not have recognized me, but it wasn’t just me, it was Icey, too. They’ve known each other much longer.”

“Huh,” was all Rai said to that.

“I misled Icey into thinking Marina might have been under the control of that man. But it seems to have been the other way around. She wouldn’t have approached Marina so easily if she knew. And then...”

“And then, what? The whole thing has already happened. And you know what I think.”

“That it could have been worse.”

“Yeah. The fact that Marina had a knife on her at all isn’t a great sign, but that part wouldn’t have changed. Just who got cut. End of the night, Icey’s fine, and everyone is accounted for - except Marina herself, but that means her status didn’t change. A net loss of zero.”

Sao focused on a crack in the plastic dashboard cover. “It’s almost like she doesn’t want to be found.”

“Too bad. You don’t shake off suspicion by ignoring your friend right in front of you, and then knifing them.” Rai paused to read some road signs. “Even if you try to come clean later, like Mr. Oliver attempted today, it doesn’t matter. You’ve dug out this huge hole, you can’t just tell someone else to fill it all up for you. Disappearing, casually appearing to party with a guy who later goes missing, disappearing again, not going to work, not taking calls - and then suddenly saying ‘oops, ignore that big fucking hole’. Yeah, right.”

“And tunnels to other holes, so to speak.”

“Yes. That’s the prime reason we can’t just let him walk out of this. Locke and Marina are technically still missing. Maybe he has something to do with it, maybe it’s all coincidence - hell, maybe he already spilled it all and the dickheads at the station just didn’t listen.”

Sao smiled, though he wasn’t sure what for.

Rai frowned at the bland vista ahead of them. “Keep an eye out for 5th street. House #22. I sent you the address.”

5.22. Sounded like the time Sao had gone to bed.

The pale yellow skyline of the city disappeared behind a tall maroon-tiled sound barrier, and they descended into a grid of low-rise houses, each boxed in with a square of dry grass, and some chain-link fence.

From a distance, the houses had all looked a standard shape, height, and size. But as they entered the neighborhood, and passed between the individual lots, Sao saw there small variations, signs of life, opinions and families. Obscure flags, animal lawn ornaments, and planters- even a dog napping peacefully in spite of the morning chill. A few of the front porches had elaborate arched roofing installed and painted, others were just tin sheets perched on poles.

It was stirring some inane longing in him. He wasn’t supposed alter his borrowed flat. He had no lawn. Did he ever have one? Not one that could be decorated, anyway. Pets were a definite no, all the way.

“I wonder how much the rent is in this area,” he commented.

“Higher than you’d think,” Rai said.

“Isn’t that always the case.” Sao sighed. “Where can one get a lawn for cheap?”

‘Why would you want that? Grass needs cutting. And when the season changes, you need to shovel out snow. Are you watching the street numbers?”

Still, there was something appealing about the small trimmed gardens. The uniformly sectioned squares seemed to normalize everything within them, all these people and their quirks mixed together in harmony. Cats on the fences, kids on the lawn in makeshift sandpits. Signs announcing PRIVATE PROPERTY and SMILE YOU’RE ON CAMERA. And the cars! Yes, they were a diverse crowd. Quite a few pricy looking sports cars, and among them patchworked beasts and trucks suspended twice their height. Safe in their driveways, the occasional mystery vehicle covered with a beige tarp.

The house at Street 5, Number 22, had a blue sedan sitting in the open.

Rai and Sao emerged from their own scrawny silver setup and simply stood at the edge of the sidewalk in silence for a while.

“So Marina escaped in car that looked something like this,” Sao said.

“Something like it.” Rai unlatched the fence and entered. He circled the car like a hunter, and after two rounds, backed up to the front steps. “Take a couple of pictures for me. And be ready to dial the station. I can’t make arrests, have to wait for a full officer to come do it, so if we’re going to try to bring somebody in, we have to make the call early.”

“Arrests - you think this is it?”

“I just know that car looks a lot like the one from last night.”

“Then Marina could be in there.”

“Who knows. I do know there’s somebody in there.”

Sao looked up just in time to follow Rai’s deadpan stare to the leftmost window of the house. There was a flicker behind the glass as a curtain was hurriedly dropped.

Rai darted up to the front door began pounding the doorbell. “Hello. Mr G______. I’m conducting an investigation. I have my ID right here. Mr G_______. Mr Oliver G________. We’d just like to ask you a few questions regarding your case this morning.” Sao could hear the overlapping chimes filling the house. “Just a few small things and we’ll be on our way. Mr-”

The racket finally brought someone to the door. Sao was not sure what he had been expecting but breathed a sigh of relief regardless. It was indeed, Mr Oliver G_______, in the flesh. His gold-streaked hair was gelled down, and he had dressed himself sometime before they arrived - in shirtsleeves paired with a set of pants he could have worn to the office. Though of course, he was not actually attending work.

His eyes had dark marks under them, the sign of a rough night. Rai’s eyes, framed over their own horrifically dark circles, burrowed into this clearly suspicious figure.

“Are you a cop?” Oliver asked, squinting back.

“Independent investigator. I heard you had your missing persons status taken down this morning. Glad to see you’re safe at home.”

“Yeah. It was a misunderstanding. I was-”

“Out of town?” Rai offered.

“An emergency, I had to be with family a while. Couldn’t pick up the phone, it didn’t work there. Up north.” Oliver regarded both visitors cautiously.

“Up north, huh. Cold at this time of year. When did you get back?”

“Last night...” he did not seem so sure. Sao felt somewhat sorry for him. Whatever his story, being dogged by Rai was not anyone's idea of a good morning

“What time?” Rai tilted his head towards the car in the driveway. “Is that your car?”

Oliver leaned out the door, blinking in the merciless sunlight. “Yes. It’s mine but a friend's been using it for a while, while I was away. I guess it got returned last night.”

“Your friend knew you were away? We didn’t get any response to your posters when you were missing. Could we have the name of this friend?”

“I don’t know. He doesn’t really talk to the cops.”

Rai was smiling in that imbalanced way of his that Sao did not really want to call a smile, but he spoke so levelly you could hear the gravel scraping. “Oh, I understand. It makes sense. You see, this car was seen at a particular time and place last night, and we would really like to talk to the driver at the time, if possible.”

“I’ll ask him to call. Just a moment-” Oliver backed into the house. The door barely slide close an inch before Rai’s hand was on it.

“I wouldn’t want to alarm this friend of yours if this is another… misunderstanding,” Rai said, “Maybe you could help me out before we make the call. There’s a little bar on the south side, do you know if your friend frequents that location? You see, what went down there last night was pretty serious stuff, if your friend really has nothing to do with it I’d hate to cause… distress.”

Plenty distressed as is, Oliver’s hand came up to the door’s edge in an attempt to pull it from Rai’s grasp. A flash of metal made Sao’s breath hitch for a moment, but he realized it was just a watch. A bulky frame, with a metal wristband.

A men’s watch. No wonder he’d thought something was wrong when he’s last seen it. On Marina’s petite wrist, it had looked out of place. But here it was now. On Oliver. Sao frowned, and touched the keypad of his phone.

“Rai, when you have the time,” he said, as breezily as he could.

“I think we’re almost done clearing up our friend here.” Rai was gradually wrestling the door back open. “Your friend wouldn’t happen to be called - what was the man at the restaurant called?”

“Zeke,” Sao said. A message was shot off to the dispatcher. Perhaps he should make a call too, in case.

“No, I thought it was Locke,” Rai said.

One ear to a dial tone, Sao’s frown deepened. Locke had nothing to do with that particular night. There was no way Rai would forget a fact like that.

“Yeah, Mr. Locke T_____, you know he’s been missing too, right?” Rai leaned an elbow against the doorframe. “He might have been spotted out there that night. Wanted for that, among other things. You see, he was spotted at a couple of strange disappearances. You wouldn’t happen to know him, would you?”

Oliver’s shaky gaze stumbled its way to Sao.

“Why are you looking at him?” Rai glanced back. “He doesn’t have the answers. Do you know him or something? Hey-” Rai waved a gloved hand at Sao. “You know this guy?”

“No. Nothing more than the posters. Oh - excuse me. Hello, this is...” The other end of his call had picked up. He backed to the edge of the lawn to remove himself from the conversation, but Oliver’s eyes were tracking him, his voice hounding.

“I don’t know Mr Locke. And I don’t know anything about the south parts, I never go there. And I - I don’t know the guy with you, either, but it looks like he making a call. Am I-”

“Are you sure? Then I’d really like to know the name of your friend.”

“I told you, I’ll go get you the number. If you’ll let me go get my phone-”

The door didn’t budge. “Whoa, hey, not so fast.” Rai’s head was now within the confines of the house. “I’m going to have to ask you to let me in while you search. I understand that might be uncomfortable, your privacy, after all. If that’s the case, please wait until the officers arrive.”

“What? You-” Again, eyes went to Sao. Rai graciously stepped right into Oliver’s rather worried line of sight.

“It’s a precaution. Your friend, if they are related to this crime, and if what you say is true, he knows where you live since the car made its way back in the night. This person may be dangerous, so we’re going to take you down to the station, where you’ll be safe. I know you were there just earlier today...” Rai shifted the door further. “So you’re familiar with it, right? You’re not in trouble. Don’t worry.”

Utterly unconvinced, Oliver made a final, monumental yank on the door. Rai doubled his efforts, and placed both hands on the door. “What’s wrong?”

Sao finished his call and took a step forward, but only one. Oliver’s previously handsome face was contorted in a way that told him no more. It wasn’t stopping Rai, though.

Oliver tensed against the door. “You have to leave.”

“For your safety, I can’t do that.”

“I’m warning you. I’ll report this.”

“Someone was stabbed, you know. You could be next. You never know.”

“Rai, they’re on their way,” Sao called out lamely, backing out of the open door in the chain link fence.

“This is a trick,” Oliver said. “I didn’t do anything.”

Rai was now nearly wedged between the door and the frame. “I never said you did. Unless you have something to tell-”

Before he could finish, the door was suddenly released. It swung open 180 degrees and the steel handle cracked against the panelled outer wall. Rai’s footing faltered, and at the same time Oliver turned and ran into the house. Rai was after him in a second with thunderous footsteps. Sao attempted to follow, but they were gone by the time he reached the door.

The house interior was much smaller than his flat, the roof hung so low it felt as if it were caving in. The rooms were all packed together, wedged between the sandwich of floor and sinking ceiling. He could see into nearly all but the rooms furthest down the hall from where he stood. Though Rai had clearly been bluffing about the stabber returning, he walked with some care, in case of a sneak attack, and killer in the closet or behind a corner.

The sight of the bedroom stopped him. The pillows were a jumble, and a thick winter comforter was shoved to the foot of the bed. It was an altogether natural sight compared to Rai’s eternally untouched perfect sheets. But that wasn’t the issue.

On the floor, there was a crumpled white shirt, beside a puddle of navy blue fabric. A small skirt and jacket. Definitely not Oliver’s.

“Marina?” he called faintly.

From the furthest room, he heard Rai yelling with alarming confidence: “You think you’re going to fight your way out? Do it! Try me!”

No reply from his adversary, but Sao leapt to his feet when he heard the explosive shattering of glass.

“Rai, are you alright?”

The large window above the living room couch had been knocked right though. Glass shards littered the floor along with a familiar looking knife. Rai, though, was unharmed. He had been bowled back into a cabinet of books and cassettes, but there was not a scrape on him, to his apparent dismay. “Couldn’t get a hold of him. What a wimp. But smart. Dammit.” Statement given, he lunged back on his feet and out the window, kicking the knife aside as he went.

Left on his own, with the open window, the caving ceiling, the traces of Marina - Sao was unsure of how to proceed.

“Marina?” he called again.

His voice seemed to echo in the confines of the hallway. The walls were paper-thin. If someone were hiding, they would have heard him. Marina, if she wanted to be rescued, should have run right out. Unless she was being held captive. Unless she didn’t want to be saved. Unless she wasn’t there at all. What if someone else was?

He closed his eyes and mulled over this. Sure, he could get stabbed. But if she was being held somewhere, possibly short on air, possibly hurt, wasn’t that more important? Oliver, whatever his involvement, had just made a run for it, and he’d been holding the knife. What were the chances of two knife waving, window jumping maniacs?

He thought of Marina and Icey. She hadn’t jumped windows, but the knife...

He made a detour to the escape room to pick up the knife with a tissue from his pocket. Half of his reason was to make sure it hadn’t ghosted away when he wasn’t looking. It was a vicious looking piece, serrated and dense, for cutting meat and bone. The same sort that had been placed in Marina’s delicate hands the night before. What the hell caused two young professionals to abandon their jobs to do… whatever this was?

Rai was hoping for a cult. Perhaps he’d get his excitement, Sao couldn’t think of much else at the moment.

Then, just outside the room, there were footsteps. The floorboards sent an odious creak all the way up to the precariously hanging roof. Sao stepped out into the hall, knife dangling rather uselessly in hand, and came face to face with the police response he’d called.

---

The local station was tiny, the walls off-white and every corner caked with dust. Sao crossed his legs on one of the folding chairs against in the waiting area, unattended. He had been fully compliant and as clear as he could, and one the officers had seen his identification they trusted him to stay put while more complex measures were dealt with.

The cutting edge of Rai’s voice was making its way steadily through the closed door to the staff area. It was hard to make out any specific words but he was not happy. When he’d been found, it had not been with Oliver, or anything useful in hand. He refused to leave before they captured their runaway suspect. To get him into the car, officers had reluctantly said they would keep someone in the neighborhood on patrol, but Sao doubted they had the resources.

He looked at the wall across the waiting area. Behind the front desk, there was a bold, proud painting of the old police heraldry, the balancing scale; two cage-like balances hanging from an elegant column. It drew forth some warm old memories, but it should have been replaced with the new design, the pointed silver shield. How this station managed to dodge the rebranding campaign was a mystery. It seemed like something Rai would have a comment on.

Rai did not sound ready to stop anytime soon, so Sao tilted his head back for a short nap. His cheap metal seat’s cushion may as well have been a cement block, and the fluorescent lights were buzzing loud as a swarm of mosquitoes -- but he was tired enough for it all to work out.

He may have been unconscious for up to an hour when he was awoken by a voice.

“Well, look what the cat dragged in.”

Sao shook himself awake and pulled his eyes upward. A large, square frame was graciously guarding him from the glare of the lights, grinning down. Sao squinted. The visitor was garbed in the city standard, a white shirt and dark slacks. But thrown over the typical setup was a rather loud crimson jacket, just one shade off the red of his hair. His hair wasn’t red like Zen’s glittering autumn-leaf waves, but a single self-assured tone, brick-red. Fitting for such an edifice of Central, Sao had said.

Van always laughed off such dramaticization.

“Damn! Sao, it’s been what? A couple months? I almost took you for a vagrant. Where’s the suit, my man?”

“I was expecting a slow day at the office,” Sao said, yawning and slumping further into his fleece coat. “I thought I’d dress down.”

“It sure looks like you’ve been up to something out of the office. Ending up in a side street station like this. So, what are you in for?”

“Another few hours of waiting, by the sound of it.”

“Speaking of which, what’s he in for?” His surprise guest flipped a thumb at the staff room behind the desk. Rai was still chewing out the staff behind the closed door. Things were heating up.

“It's foggy. Possibly forcing his way into a house. Chasing a suspect through a window. Sorry, that was a bad joke.” Sao had to shake himself awake again when he remembered who he was talking to. “It’s a long story, but it was all part of an investigation. As far as I can tell, he hasn’t done anything particularly noteworthy, nothing that’s worth keeping him in here this long. In fact, he almost got attacked, but that came to nothing as well - you'd think almost becoming a victim would make less reason for argument. I think he’s just enjoying the conversation.”

“Sounds like it.”

“I can only hope he doesn’t talk his way into a suspension.”

Rich laughter. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

“Oh, no. You’re telling me now he’s a repeat offender? We could be here a while, then.” Sao laughed. “Don’t tell me you had to come all the way out here to bail us out, Van.”

Van shrugged his broad shoulders with a huff. “The things I do for you kids. Your little incident got reported to the main office as internal conflict. It happens I was looking for a reason to go for a walk.”

“Not a lot going on over there, then?”

“Hah! There’s always a lot going on, but that doesn’t mean I can’t use a walk once in a while.” Van inspected the shabby station that surrounded them. “This place takes me back. Never been here, but it sure is old-school. Complete with the old scales of justice.”

He regarded the wall fondly.

“I have to say, I actually liked the scales better than the shield,” Sao ventured.

“Yeah? Is that so.”

“It’s a classic symbol of justice. And the shaded body, and you have the flourishes up the pillar and the arms, it looks more appealing. Maybe that’s too delicate, but when they put the motto in the ring behind it, it’s like a carved coin - or even shield itself. Levels of balance. I’ve heard my tastes lean towards old school, though.”

“I’ll say. A regular museum piece. Personally I lean towards the shield, probably because it’s something I could draw myself. Just a slab with some lines.” Van’s silver Level 2 badge, sporting the shield emblem in question, was sitting proudly on his slightly ragged red lapel. Like Rai, he often kept it in tucked away. He must have pinned it on in preparation for his business here at this backwater station. But even if he had turned up without his badge, there would be no questioning him - everyone knew where he stood in the ranks.

“Don’t get me wrong,” Van said, as if encouraging a student, “This doesn’t mean I’m hating on the scales. For starters they look much more impressive sitting on the wall like that, all the little parts coming out, it’s like a fancy painting. Classes up the place. And for a lot of us, walking into them like this, it’s like seeing an old friend.”

Sao smiled at that.

“Unfortunately, like the other old-timers, a lot of the time it’s also a sign things aren’t up to speed.” Van shifted his shoulder towards the back room door, where Rai was now offering some airtime to another officer, who launched into a tirade of his own. All were oblivious to Van’s presence.

“No kidding. I think it’s been an hour or so.”

“Someone should break up the fight, no?”

“Someone really should. Don’t let me keep you from doing what you came here for,” Sao said. He yawned again and set his hands behind his head.

Van watched him levelly as he did this, and rather than head behind the desk and straight to work, he dropped into one of the chairs in the row in front of Sao’s, arm slung on the backrest. “So you ended up here while working on a case.”

“Yes. Missing persons, three of them. No - excuse me, one of them turned up, but he’s connected to the others, so we tried to meet with him today and -- like I said, there was a misunderstanding, I’m guessing Rai’s trying to iron that out somewhere in his feature-length defense.”

“Is Rai officially on this case?”

“I assume so. Unless...” Sao massaged his forehead. “You don’t have bad news for me, do you?”

“Didn’t want to tell you, but you’ve been put on on unpaid leave indefinitely.” When Sao did not so much as twitch, Van grinned, his pronounced canines glinting. “I’m just yanking your chain. I don’t know what you’ve been up to but Rai knows that the chief is a paperwork freak, so he wouldn’t skimp on those required forms. Nope. What’s really important here is how you’re doing. You got transferred out of the main office recently. I even went looking for you last week when I heard rumors that free hamburger day was making a comeback-”

“Free burger day. Please don’t remind me.”

“- and just completely embarrassed myself in front of the new desk men in-training. I think the entire paper crew’s been reassigned now, though the new guys are just as entertaining. I’ve been trying to check in on the old guard when I can. In any case, burger day reminded me where you were, and in turn reminded me of who you're working with these days. So I’m asking for real: how’s it been?”

“It’s been fine.”

The grin remained in place.

“What’s this?” Sao laughed. “I know it looks bad for Rai at the moment, but evaluations aren’t due until the new year.”

“Asking as a friend, then. Come on, Sao, ya know me. I love good news like anyone, but if there’s anything that needs a little changing up,” Van said this with the subtlety of a jackhammer, “Or any problems regarding a particular issue of yours, you know I can get things turned around by tomorrow.”

“That’s called nepotism.”

“Don’t start. I’d do it for any one of you. I’m about to pull him out of here, after all. For the sake of his audience as well as him.” Van nodded towards the chattering door. “Let’s say if Rai were the one calling in, if you were harassing him out of work, stealing his girl, picking through his wallet in secret - I’d haul you right out the back like any crook. Me and him go a good ways back too.”

Sao did not dispute. Van’s bold red frame certainly looked like he could lift up someone of Sao’s stature (twiggy, in Icey’s words) and swing him about like a limp rag. And the claim of friendship - Van seemed best friends with everyone on the force - he was known for stepping in on anyone’s behalf, technicalities be damned. The hero of the people, the one you could turn to.

Of course, when trying to play both sides, holes were bound to appear in such grand proclamations. Van tried, but all his theoretical offenses on Rai’s behalf sounded ludicrous.

Sao laughed. “It would be hard to even try any of those on him, so no fear.”

“How about that old habit of yours? The midday nap. Ah - no, don’t look so spooked, he hasn’t lodged any complaint, so I assume it’s under control.”

“More or less...”

Van had seen him yawn at least four times now, and Sao felt another coming on. “I was up later than usual last night,” Sao explained. “So this isn’t how I walk into work every day.”

“Heavy workload, or all-night bar hopping?”

Sao tilted his head. “A little of both. I accidentally ended up with some late-night investigation after leaving for the night. I went for a drink and wound up in the middle of an incident related to the case.”

“Hold up, you were investigating something alone?” Van set his head on his elbow. “He’s got you off paperwork, already? I knew he was a terror, but to get you going on the field... we should have transferred you out earlier.”

“Not so fast. It was an accident - I was trying to step away from work. Rai thought I’d gone home, and when he turned up he told me to get out of there. It’s a long story. In a series of long, twisting stories,” Sao laughed, before the yawn came. “He doesn’t sleep, you know. I mean that literally. His bed hasn’t been touched in a month. Each morning I come into the office, and he’s exactly where I saw him the night before. And there’s the fact that he said it outright. He just doesn’t sleep. Totally straight face.”

Van guffawed loudly and the staff room door suddenly went silent.

“What a guy! That explains how he keeps churning out reports with one day’s notice.”

“It’s unbelievable. Magic takes all forms, these days. By the way, you should get the main office to cut that out.”

“Cut what?”

“The one day reports, of course.”

Van raised an eyebrow - almost impressed. “Defending your boss, now. I see I have nothing to worry about.”

Sao smiled. “I wouldn’t wish a one-day deadline on my worst enemy.”

“So his habits haven’t affected you too much, I see. Not bad, not bad - this is a surprise fit.” Van pointed at him, as if making a proclamation. “I don’t know if you’ve seen his track record, but we usually have to pull clerks out of there quick. Sometimes by their request, sometimes by his. The ones that sit through their temp assignments didn’t generally have good things to say. Either you’re a natural or he’s making an effort to hold back on the wackiness - that wouldn’t be a bad thing - it means he’s learning from past experiences. Of course, I gotta remember all this is coming from you.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“You have a way with people that tends to work things out, even when the person’s a total asshole.” Van crossed his arms. “A productive asshole, in this case. I want to see him move up too, he could do great things, but the whole Level 3 depression has had him stuck in rut for a while now. It’s not a rut in his work... more of a hole in his attitude. If you manage to get him out of that, then we’re golden. So in a way, we’re using you as a test. No offense.”

“None taken. Is he looking to get promoted?”

“If it were that easy, I’d have just tossed him a new badge. But he’d rather let his contributions go to his current rank. The whole independent investigator system is his baby, though he single handedly brings the numbers up.”

Sao blinked. “Let’s back up a moment - his baby - are you saying he has some special role in the ranking?”

“Special role, if a creator is a special role. The entire Level 3 system wouldn’t exist without him.”

“Cr- really? That was an entire department shift. Hold on - he’s my age, isn’t he? When did he...”

“I have a hard time believing it myself - he was just a crazy kid back then, but he managed to make a big difference.” Van chuckled, darkly. “The latest Life Fountain movement, too. See, this is what I’m hoping he’ll be able to work his way up to one day.”

Sao wondered if any of this would have made more sense if he wasn’t wasting away from lack of sleep. All he could hear was Rai’s disappointment in the other third level investigators, as well as the Life Fountain movement, his rant echoed his accomplishments. Why did they fail? Perhaps Van would know, but with Rai simply a door away…

“So we’re relying on you for that magic touch. In a manner of speaking.” Van snorted. “Another part of you I can’t explain, how you get all close to anyone with that touchy-feeling condition of yours. What did we call it…?”

“Haphephobia.”

“There’s no way I called it that, what is that, some ancient medical term? You’re looking at someone who never writes a damn report if he can help it.”

“I picked up the word from a friend.” Sao thought of Marina and his smile drooped.

Van watched him closely, expecting more. “Right. This condition is actually a point of real concern, especially since it involves Rai. How did he take it?”

“He has been very… understanding. Unusually so.”

“Unusual. Hah! That’s not something you hear much, but alright, let’s say that means above average. The important thing is, is it enough? Be honest. Remember, what I said before you headed out on your own. Rai can try to be a friend, but his involvement with Life Fountains makes him dangerous in that regard.”

“I remember. I feel I’ve been cautious, but he’s also been extremely accommodating. It’s almost odd considering how he has to rip into nearly every issue he sees. He has never once tried to make contact. In fact he’s explained away handshakes for me on several occasions, saving me the headache around others. Sometimes I think he remembers my own story better than I do.” Sao inspected his shoes. “He’s been wearing gloves since the day we met. The office must have warned him about me. He insists the gloves aren’t for my sake, but a couple of his old friends suggest they’re a rather recent addition to his set of quirks.”

Van was frowning, but not too severely - his true wrath would have sent Sao fleeing behind the desk. No, he was concerned. Was Rai really such a point of contention?

“Whatever his reasons,” Sao continued, “he has been impressively respectful, most of all in regards to my condition. I can see the effort, and I’ll say it’s noticeable, and appreciated. Lord knows he keeps his distance far better than half of the main office staff. I have no reason to request another placement. Yet.”

“If things look fine, why consider a ‘yet’?” Van studied him a while longer, then broke into a hearty laugh. “All points in his favor. Seems like he runs a tighter ship than the main office. It always seems like someone’s playing grab-ass under the desks over there. Not just at the paperwork mill - you get officers fooling around, too. That, or getting into fistfights.” Van took a moment to savor those memories. “Well then. If you say all this, I’m inclined to believe everything’s good. You’re an observant one, you know?”

“Not the worst thing I’ve been called.”

“Hah. You joke, but it’s the reason we keep you around.”

A thud came from the direction of the staff room door. Fists on a table, gloved fists, perhaps. Now Rai was audibly shouting, “He was the one that broke the window. Are you even listening? Are you really trying to arrest me? Because if you are, I--”

Van stood, emitting a long, winded sigh of grief. “Well, now I feel bad for leaving your perfectly respectful supervisor stuck in there.”

“Sounds like fists are about to fly.”

“It’s time for me to ruin the show, then.” Van made his way out of the row of chairs, mumbling, “Rai in gloves all day. Really.”

“Really,” Sao said, and yawned.

Van paused. “Don’t you look relaxed? Makes me wish I could get a transfer. But Sao, remember. If anything goes amiss, if anything of note comes up, and I don’t just mean Rai. Remember we’re here for you. All of us. In office and out. My own door is open anytime if you need to talk.”

“I’ll remember that. But I’m guessing you have worse to deal with than anything that will arise for me.”

“Then by all means, feed me the good news. We could all use some of that.”

Sao just nodded. He was feeling drowsy again.

With that Van strode to the door, knocked twice, and pulled it open before he could get a response. “Afternoon gentlemen, sorry about the interruption...”

---

“Nepotism,” Rai declared on the station’s front steps.

“That’s what I told Van as well.”

“Hey, it works. I got my say and got out. They were never going to lock me up, but they couldn’t stop dangling the threat of ‘prison or punishment’ in front of me for two seconds to understand what’s happening. Van shut them up long enough to listen.” Rai shook his head. “Not that it helps in the long run. They said they would look be on the lookout for our missing people, but you know as soon as Van and I step out, they’re just going right back to magazines and naptime. Old school complacency, personified.”

Sao guiltily suppressed a yawn.

“Did you see the wall, too? That was the old emblem. They’re supposed to be gone after that scandal. You know, I don’t like having to speak against anyone on the force, but that kind of laziness is telling all on its own.”

“I noticed.” Bringing up the artistic merits of the old scales of justice would probably not sit well with Rai.

“Lucky you, missing out on our chat. Oliver’s technically not missing anymore, so they aren’t - excuse me, don’t have to do a thing. Who cares if he was spotted before another person went missing, who cares if he tried to stab a lowly third-level investigator. In fact, if anything goes wrong with him again, if he disappears or makes a complaint or fuck knows, it will be our fault.”

“A disgrace. But this means we’re at an impasse.”

Rai threw open the door of his car. Like the pedals, it was swinging with suspicious flimsiness on its hinge. “We don’t stop. Of course. We just work smarter.”

“Good to know. So what next?”

“Back to the office. Give me some time.” Rai frowned, at the sights past the windscreen, into what lay beyond. Sao settled his head against the seat. The headrest was as precariously hinged as the door. It was the passenger’s headrest, too. Just how much abuse had this car suffered?

“Her clothes were in his house,” Sao said, shifting his temple to the window instead. “On the bedroom floor.”

“Yeah. That could mean a lot of things. But friendly or not, it looks like Oliver is involved with Marina.” Rai turned on the ignition, without looking down. “Van’s sending some people to pick things up in case we need them later. And to stop anyone from looting the house.”

Sao closed his eyes. “Oliver’s watch.”

“What about it?”

“The watch that he had on today. Expensive piece, definitely a men’s watch, you'd see them on the office crowd. Yet I saw Marina wear the same thing on that night with Icey - I think it was the exact same one. I thought it was odd at the time, that it didn’t suit her. Turns out it was another link.”

“Interesting.” It was a curt statement, the kind used to shut someone up, but Rai appeared to be absorbed by thought. He was silent until they exited the small square parking lot. “It did seem like you caught onto something strange, when we were talking to him at his door. By the way. I think you handled that well.”

“I’d hate to think I was in the way.”

“Well. It’s good to have backup. Of course, it depends on the quality, but-” Rai shrugged and attacked the steering wheel, yanking the car to the right.

They rose onto the highway, and the towers of the central city came into view once again. It was a smoggy day. The dilute shadows and slightly brownish tint hanging in the air put Sao in the mood for a nap.

“And what a surprise, I wasn’t expecting to see Van today,” Sao said.

“Yeah. You should have seen the room go silent when he walked in.” Rai snorted. “He must have been sitting bored at his desk until the report came up. Glad I forced them to send in the complaint as soon as we started talking.”

“You knew he’d come in?”

“No. Well, there was a non-zero chance. When someone’s reporting themselves, the office knows it’s probably me.”

Sao’s sleepiness vanished for a second. “You reported yourself.”

“For, what was it… appearance at suspicious scene. Nice and bland, I typed it out in front of them and made them hit send. Old timers like the crones at that station, no way they know how to ‘do computers’.” At Sao’s offhand snort, he added, “Don’t sweat it, I left you out of the central statement.”

“Thank you. But that fact that there was a report at all, I feel partially...”

Rai laughed, dry and short. “I couldn’t dodge the report altogether, what if anyone asks where I was that day? What if this needs to go through the courts for some reason? Those oldsters wouldn’t write a damn word for official records but you bet if they were asked to recall it, they could complain for hours and pin it on my ‘lack of cooperation’ or something and I’d fry. So I preemptively gave them some extra cooperation. With the bonus chance of getting Van in there.”

“I’ll remember that.” Sao rolled his head against the cool door frame. “So I take it you know Van quite well.”

“I’ve known him a while. He’s helped me out a couple of times like that, not always in person, but he’s talked away stupid problems, helped clear up accounts, things like that. And among the main office slackers he is… generally one of the sensible ones. He knows the investigation is more important than the dick-waving one-upsmanship contest, like the one I got locked into. Plus, he knows he'll win. In a real fight he’s the one you want, even the chief leaves raids entirely to him, no questions, no ten-tier forms to fill.”

“So I’ve heard.”

“But man, sometimes… he’s too much. He tried to get me on the police rowing team. Of all things. That didn’t go well.” Rai turned the car south, back towards the office. “It’s great to think he sticks up for me and the other low-rankers, but I know we aren’t special. He treats everyone like that. Always talks like he’s your friend. Great when he’s on your side, but you just know he could turn around and mow you down. You’re a little like that.”

“I am?”

“The talks-like-a-friend part”

Sao smiled at his shaky reflection in the window. “How else would we be able to populate the department rowing team?”

Rai didn’t laugh or even sneer, but nodded. “You must know him well too.”

“Hm? He is everyone’s friend, after all.”

“I said he talks ‘like a friend’. It’s just the outward appearance - who knows what’s really going on inside that head of his. No, his real friends are all big guys - sports team lifers and raid buddies, the kind on his level, who knock their heads together for fun. I wouldn't have suspected someone like you. Feet kicked up, a little wave, didn’t even have to give your name. Somehow, I can’t see you on the football field, or wrestling down gunmen, so you must be a different kind.”

“You catch everything.” Sao tried to recall what he’d done, a futile task. His tired brain simply concluded for now that Van hadn’t taken offense. “We did talk a bit before he went in to see you. But yes, I suppose introductions weren’t needed. I’ve actually known his family a while.”

“His family?” Rai said. Sao though he heard a trace of envy.

“They're three brothers. I’ve never met the youngest, but his second brother’s done me some favors when I was getting out of my old... let’s call it ‘housing situation’. And I have to thank Van himself for where I am now, job-wise. He’s the one who told me about your office posting back when the clerks were all being shuffled, and here I am.”

“And you’d thank him for that.”

Sao smiled and said nothing.

“And he’s never tried to get you onto any of those sports teams?”

“I can’t do contact sports. That much has always been clear. That includes the practice and locker room antics. I imagine someone who drains the fun out of the principle is not worth placing.”

“No kidding,” Rai agreed, even more enviously.

When the now-skeletal trees of his home district began speckling the streets, Rai eased on the accelerator just a touch. If Sao didn’t know better he would have thought Rai was enjoying the familiar sights. They eventually parked on the sidewalk, around the corner from the office/apartment building.

“I didn’t realize you drove,” Sao said as he exited, stretching his arms out. “Or had a car. Has this been parked out here this whole time?”

“It’s usually in the garage on the other side of the block out back. No point squeezing it back in there now. I’ll probably be driving it out again later.”

Sao rubbed his eyes with the back with the base of his thumb. “Garage. Another surprise. Your flat comes with a garage?”

“Yes. But it’s a mess. An box of cans fell over when I drove drove out. If you saw what it looked like in there, you’d say the car’s safer on the street.”

Back in the office, with the creaking heaters going full blast, the wind and smog and cold were shuttered out of sight and mind, Sao found himself ready to just lie down and drop off to dreamland. He’d settle for his desk or the wooden bench in the foyer as a bed. He tried not to look at Rai, who was able to sit down and immediately immerse himself into a new task like he’d been doing it all day. Instead, he rested his head behind his screen and hoped his ever-sinking eyelids were out of sight.

Somewhere in the day, he managed to check his mail and saw he had two transcriptions waiting for him. An appendix to his old cult case temporarily held his attention as he sifted through the day’s events for clues regarding Marina. A cult? Disappearance as indoctrination? Swapping clothes?

Sometime ambiguous time later, Rai said he was going out. Without risk of his supervisor’s watchful glare turning onto him, Sao well and truly dropped off to sleep on his desk.

---

“Sao.”

It was dark. A night after smog, no stars, the moon faintly blurred. He was not fully rested, but better than he had been, Sao was able to jolt himself awake and register the horror of having slept the whole day through.

Sao smoothed both hands over his face. “What time is it?”

“It’s after hours. You should be getting home.”

“After hours. God. I’m sorry.”

He took a moment to pull himself together, close his machine and stood. His wits were definitely more close at hand that they had been during daylight, but at the moment they were all giving him an internal beating.

Rai did not seem particularly concerned, but then he was back at his desk, his face mostly masked by his glowing monitors. Sao passed him by, catching a frame or two of his latest cinematic treat on his right hand screen. There was a man pinned to a dentist’s chair, in the process of losing his teeth to a raisin-faced attacker with a wrench.

Fantastic sight to wake up to. Sao ran his hand over his eyes again. “Sorry again. How humiliating.”

“I know. Human sleep cycles break so easily.”

“That’s one way of putting it. Thank you for… understanding.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Rai gave him a final look with his impossibly wide, deadly awake eyes. Like the diabolical tooth-wrenching doctor in his movie, or his gurgling victim. There were far too many horrors in the world to consider, how could anyone have time for sleep? “One more thing, Sao. Don’t take any detours tonight.”