Nemesis

XXII -- Slowly Dying

Nemesis

Chapter XXII — Slowly Dying

[Johnald Ft. Frazer — So Cold]

[25 November 2023]

[New York City Police Station]

[13:00]

"Well, here goes nothing," Amari mumbled as he stared at the door that led him to the New York Police Station's interior. He had other tricks up his sleeve, and one of such was collecting the information he needed from the authorities instead. Knowing how secret Miranda and Dain had tried to keep the matter, Amari was sure that the knowledge that the police had was rather limited compared to the aforementioned duo. So, he would not have preferred this option, but Amari did not have any other choice.

With a deep breath inhaled, Amari walked into the building to find himself in the reception area. There were plenty of people already there, each with their own experience regarding New York crime that had only grown stronger in the storm of the war. With resources stretched thin, criminals had taken the opportunity to cease control over the state.

After taking the scene in, Amari walked over to a man behind the desk, skipping past quite a few people, but none of them had done anything to retaliate when they took notice of his appearance. The man gave Amari an expectant look, awaiting him to speak about his problems.

"Hi, Sir, I was wondering if I could speak to the captain of the force?" Amari requested, but the man's look now appeared more apathetic than anything. It was clear from his expression that Amari's request would be

denied. "I'm afraid not, the captain is very busy and doesn't have much time on his hands, I'm sure you can imagine why." The man said in a tone that matched his expression. Amari sighed and nodded in slight understanding and disappointment. It seemed that his second option would not be ready for quite a while, and he had to do things on his own. He walked away from the man and out of the building, wondering just how his plan would succeed at this point.

He began to walk out of the parking lot, staring at the ground, and as a result, he bumped into another figure ahead of him, sending him crashing into the ground. Amari gazed up as he rubbed his slightly aching head to catch sight of a rather large man; compared to his build. "Sorry about that, I was just a little distracted is all," Amari said as he stood up, wiping the dust off of his clothes.

"It's okay, I guess we're all a little distracted these days." The man said, holding his hand out for Amari to shake, who took the opportunity to do so. "Name's Lwazi Radebe." He said as he shook Amari's hand, who was a bit confused at the name that he had not heard before, but he was not too surprised when looking at the man's skin tone and the slight accent he had. He was a bit lighter than Amari, however. "Amari Brock," Amari soon answered as he regained his composure.

"So, Amari, what brings you to the station?" Lwazi asked as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "I came here looking for the captain, but apparently he's too busy," Amari said in a disappointed tone, well aware that another pillar he depended on for his plans would fall without any access to the information he needed. Lwazi raised an eyebrow as a small smile appeared on his face.

"Well, it looks like you're in luck." He said and Amari stared at him in confusion for a small moment before it finally registered within him. He was staring at the captain. "You're the captain? The nigga in there literally just told me you're too busy." Amari said as his confusion returned, but it was much milder. Lwazi shrugged his shoulders. "I take some time to myself, now and again." He answered and seemed to accept that answer,

but he knew the captain had found a way to escape from his duties, if only for a little while.

Amari was also shocked by Lwazi's rather pure demeanor, given that he had expected to encounter a robot of sorts — a man ruined by the job that he had. However, it seemed that he was quite wrong and he was glad that he was. "So, now that you've found me, what do you wanna discuss?" Lwazi inquired and Amari took a deep breath, trying to compartmentalize the words in his mind. "I need some information on the incident that happened three weeks ago at the hospital." He finally said, choosing to cut to the chase rather than beating around the bush.