Team SRDS (Stardust)

Chapter 12: Incendiary

(A short distance away)

Steele Snow shone his flashlight into the park at the edge of the carnival. The beam darted between the woods and grass as Steele scoured the location for any sign of human presence. Finding nothing, Steele shook his head dismissively as he turned the light off and made his way back to the police barricade.

Two patrol cars were parked on the side of the road adjacent to the sidewalk which Steele was walking on. Their lights were still glaring at him, alternating between red and blue and sometimes blinking simultaneously. The display assaulted his eyes. He disliked the tranquil darkness of the night to be disturbed so violently. It is their function, Steele reasoned, but if the culprit was still here, the sirens and lights would have alerted them, prompting them to make a stealthy exit. Then again, there was no way to be sure that they hadn't left as soon as the job was done.

The inspector on the scene turned to face Steele as soon as his tread transitioned from the sturdy sidewalk to the crunchy grass and dirt.

"Nothing," Steele said, shaking his head.

"Are you sure?" the inspector asked. Steele rolled his eyes. The officer was treating him like a child. Even though he was 17 and therefore not an adult, Steele swore that he would not have any more of it.

"Yes, I was quite thorough."

Steele turned towards the dead body. The man's partner was kneeling over and observing it.

"What of the body?" he asked.

"Well, what's to tell?" the policeman asked, chuckling to himself a little bit, "We'll take it from here, kid. Just relax."

His words had the opposite effect. Steele had had enough.

"Excuse me?" he asked, though there was a dark undertone to his voice.

"Uh..." said the officer a bit nervously upon noticing Steele's change in demeanour. His golden eyes staring directly at him and the serious expression on his face. In reality, Steele was staring at the centre of the man's forehead. It was an intimidation tactic. Working splendidly, he noted.

The officer stumbled on, "Just leave it in the hands of the department. We'll look into it. Um, you should go on home, kid."

"Two Beacon teams are present here, one of them is my own. As you might be aware, the Carnival was under attack from Grimm about two hours ago, which we helped fend off. This could be a threat to the Academy, so unless you wish your chief to have a chat with Headmaster Ozpin and explain to him why you were excluding the teams on-site from the investigation, I suggest you help us out."

"W-wait, a Huntsman?" the officer's partner remarked in surprise, "Well...you could've just said so!"

"Matt, what the hell?" the officer who was talking to Steele remarked.

"It's part of standard operating procedure, Rusty," Matt remarked with an air of finesse, then turned to Steele, "I just need your ID." The officer cleared her throat, closed her eyes and began narrating in a monotonous tone of voice, "As long as a Huntsman was on scene at the time of an act under investigation by local authorities, they are allowed to investigate with said authorities until they are sure that there is no threat which is supposed to be handled by them."

"The hell they are!" Rusty exclaimed.

"I will have you reported for disobedience of legal procedure... and quite possibly obstruction of justice if you don't cooperate," Steele said, arms folded with a devilish smirk. He knew he had won, and he wanted Rusty to know it.

Rusty shook his head wearily, " Fine... you can have a look until forensics arrives," he handed Steele a pair of gloves. "And you," Rusty glared at Matt, "You and I have some serious talking to do," he said before walking back to the car. Matt gulped, "He isn't exactly a friendly one, is he now?" she chuckled. Steele responded with absolute silence.