Raving Moon, Lords of the Night Book One

Chapter 28: No Peace

We left T&B One and took the train two stops downtown to headquarters. The first indicator something was wrong was the heavy GCPD presence on one end of the platform. A dozen police officers stood inside the turnstile, turning people away. Even underground I could hear the rhythmic cadence.

No justice, no peace. No justice, no peace.

We had to walk to the other end of the platform and exit two blocks away from HQ. Outside were more police. The street was blocked off from pedestrian and car traffic. A large protest was underway and the police department was gearing up with riot equipment, mounted officers and dogs. Among them were members of the Public Defense and Surveillance Joint Task Force supervising everything. Barricades kept the press at a distance and disruption tape had been placed strategically beside the yellow caution tape.

We used our badges to get past the police line and approached one of the task force officers. He was a tall blonde with long nails and hair down to the small of his back.

"Evening, Lieutenant." He nodded to me without giving Ariane a second glance. His name was Cody, one of Hawkins' stooges.

"I'll pretend you didn't just ignore me, Cody," I said, watching as more policemen arrived.

He looked from me to my partner and back. His eye twitched, a bad habit.

"Evening, Lieutenants," he grumbled.

"Evening," Ariane said. "What did we just walk into?"

"The mutts have finally lost it. They've called together a bunch of rabid activists and are planning to riot right outside of headquarters. It's outrageous." Cody looked up at Ariane as if just remembering she was there. "The only thing this will accomplish is getting more people hurt."

"They're doing this because they think there is no other way to have their voices heard." She stared at the GCPD buses parked in a row. "Why are there so many cops here?"

"Someone got word of this on social media before the eggheads could get to it. There are humans in the crowd, protesting police brutality and calling for oversight."

"Looks like we're all dealing with the same tyranny."

Cody scoffed, adjusting his long duster. Police choppers buzzed overhead, never entering the restricted space above headquarters. They circled the area, keeping the overzealous news choppers from getting too close. I watched a drone fly just over the trees and past the barricades. I pointed it out to Cody, who quickly called out its trajectory over the radio. Disruption tape would distort its video, but we couldn't account for any audio recordings. Caution dictated someone bring it down.

"Things need to change," Cody said as we walked along the barricade, testing its security. "These mutts-"

"People," Ariane growled.

"These people think we are the issue, but the real issue is a lack of respect for the King's Law and blatant disregard for law and order."

"Officers like you are precisely the issue," Ariane said. "The King's Law is not in question, it's the application of the law that's the problem. The community is protesting the denial of their basic humanity."

Cody laughed. "Basic humanity?"

I stepped away, not because I didn't have a horse in the race, my advocating for equality was well documented, but because something was wrong. The chanting had stopped and a strange buzzing filled the air. As I tuned out Ariane and Cody's debate, the buzzing became more of a steady murmur. Over the murmur I started to make out screams.

I turned to Ariane and her ears had perked up, she could hear it too. A cloud of thick smoke rolled around the corner, filling the street and tumbling toward us. The police radios came to life, warnings going off all around us. The police began to form up in rows, banging their batons upon their shields.