Spes Novis

Inform and Investigate - 8

Veda glanced at Lavender as they followed behind the city officers. "How did you sleep, Lavender?"

"I didn't," Lavender admitted. "I was up all night stressing about this letter I received."

"A threat?"

"Yes. Said I have to stop investigating."

"And yet here you are," Veda responded.

"Yeah. I am. And we're going to stop them before they do anything about it," Lavender said, glancing behind her. She locked eyes with Corey for a moment and gave him a brief nod. Training her eyes forward, Lavender looked at Justice Proctor's house.

"Are you going to tell Dep?" Veda asked.

"No, it's my problem. If it escalates, I'll let him know. Come on, we have a house to search." Lavender followed the police officer into the empty house.

Lavender gestured for Corey to follow her upstairs, she didn't want to talk to Veda right now and she didn't want to deal with the local police. The rest of her unit was already fanning out on the first floor to search. She hurried up the stairs and spotted a swishing curtain at the end of the hall. Instead of searching the first room, Lavender went over to investigate.

"Lavender?" Corey asked aloud before she could shush him. He fell silent when she held out her hand behind her.

Peering through the window, Lavender saw a figure creeping away from the house. Occasionally, the person would glance back at the police out front.

"This way," Lavender whispered. She saw the figure disappear around the side of the pillar. Determined to catch him, she climbed out the window and used her scythe as a support to lower herself down from the window.

"Lavender! Wait!" Corey called out as she took off after the suspect. Corey had no such means to get himself down, but Lavender trusted he could find her.

She dashed around the side of the pillar, weaving around the bushes of the extravagant mansions. Justice Proctor lived luxuriously, that was for sure. Catching sight of the person's cloak, Lavender knew she was on the right track.

Her breath came more slowly as she finally caught up and was able to follow at a slower pace. Her suspect had no clue she was following. At this point he took his time, walking slow and calm as not to draw attention to himself.

Lavender watched as he approached the elevator tubes. If she let him in one of those, she would lose him for sure... She couldn't exactly hop into the same one as him, and getting in a different one could prove problematic.

To her relief, the man sidestepped the elevators and opted for a much more... Unusual method of transportation. Lavender watched as he removed a panel from the wall of the pillar and replaced it behind him, vanishing from her sight. She waited a moment, then followed.

After putting the panel back, Lavender was quickly plunged into darkness. Her eyes adjusted almost instantly, saving her from a nasty stumble into the abyss. Inside the pillar was a straight shot down into the bottom of the city. It was the inside of the elevator shaft, Lavender realized. She saw a small light going down into the depths.

Looking at the cable, Lavender knew she only had one option. She whispered a small protection incantation into her hands, then jumped out to one of the cables, grabbing hold. Lavender gasped as she almost fell, but was able to catch herself with her legs, clinging tight to the cable. Regaining her composure, Lavender focused on how she was going to get down. She played with her grip for a moment then began a firefighter's descent down the wire, occasionally tightening her grip to slow down.

By the time she got to the bottom, her arms were aching and her hands had visible burns on them, despite the protection spell. The pressure in her head was astounding, but that couldn't be helped much either. Despite these inconveniences, Lavender was relieved to have boots on the ground and a lead in her case.

Lavender drew her scythe out and held it close to her side as she followed the singular tunnel out of the elevator shaft. The passageway was dark and dank, reeking slightly of sewage and smoke. Whatever was going on down here could not be legal.

Voices filtered toward Lavender's ears as she made her way to what appeared to be an underground warehouse. She peered around the corner and beheld a space filled with people working, talking, and lounging. She could only hear the closest group of people.

The first voice Lavender heard was deep and throaty, "Proctor's as good as gone."

"What a shame, I liked him," another voice lilted.

"Really? I thought he was kind of stuffy, always giving us orders," a third voice sounded.

"Giving you orders. You're the one who worked for him."

Lavender recognized the third speaker as being the man she had followed. She reached for her phone and sent her location to Corey, then squatted down to listen some more.

"Do you think they'll find him guilty?" the girl asked.

"Probably," Lavender's lead said. "I was in his house. Evidence against him everywhere. Whatever happens is done, there's nothing else we can do but wait and see."

"Good riddance, I say," a fourth human announced. "He was a real piece of work."

"I hope they chain him up and bind his powers," a fifth person exclaimed. "He was nothing but a nuisance. To think, I had to work with that wizard scum!"

"Shh, sh. I think we have company," the throaty man said.

The group turned and trained their eyes on Lavender, who froze in her spot.

"Welcome to the party, sweetheart," a voice behind her said. Lavender felt a sharp blow on the back of her head and suddenly she was on the ground, handcuffed. Her scythe was kicked away from her desperate hands. The man turned her over and smiled with glistening white teeth against his horribly scarred face. "Remember me?"

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