1.2 - Person of Interest

Lieutenant Vali was a lanky guy in his early forties. He had a curved mouth and a five o’clock shadow, and his short, greasy unkept hair stuck out from the sides of his police cap. He was well-known in the Police Force as a by-the-rules guy and never showed any appreciation for Abnormals.

Ever.

In fact, there was no doubt he hated people like me—correction, there was no doubt he hated me, in particular. My very existence gave his job some sort of purpose. Otherwise, he’d be who knows where trying to scam gullible people, or betting his salary on a Hover Racer that would never win.

If only he was nicer, more polite, then maybe I’d have thought he was, at the very least, a decent jerk.

“Are you sure it was only you and the girl when the bomb went off?” he asked. "Standing in the hall, I mean."

“Just us.” I took a seat on one of the cushioned, upholstered chairs in Sunshine's luxurious, porcelain-floored lobby.

As Vali scribbled something on his Data Pad, I watched as multiple residents from upstairs were wheeled on stretchers or escorted by paramedics to a parade of ambulances parked outside.

“And you said she’s a courier?” he continued without looking up.

“Yeah. Logo on her shirt is from Tributary Inc. ‘The most trusted shipping service in all of Ave Strata.’ Ring a bell?”

“Yeah, no shit. You think someone there knows something?”

I shot Lieutenant Vali a frustrated look. “You tell me, genius. Aren’t you supposed to be investigating all these attempts on my life? Hasn’t anything in the last ten years given you a clue yet? And besides, shouldn’t you be asking them if they know something?”

Vali raised his eyes to me. “Just answer the damn question, Jacen. I don’t got the patience to deal with your attitude today.”

“It could’ve been an inside job from Tributary, or someone wants us to think it was from Tributary.” I folded my arms. “Not enough details, though. Where’d you take the girl?”

“Which one?" Vali snorted. "Plenty of girls got hurt today. You lookin’ for a date with one of ‘em?”

“I meant the girl I’ve been talking about this whole time, dumbass. The courier. Where’d the medics take her?”

“The ER at Marley Thomas Hospital, I think. That's where everyone's going.”

“What?! Marley Thomas?! That’s all the way downtown! Why didn’t you tell them to go to Heines Marshall, instead? It’s just two blocks away!”

The lieutenant glanced up at me again. “Don’t tell us how to do things, punk.”

I scoffed at Vali and refocused. “You guys know her name?”

“We ID’d her as Elaina Yos—…something.”

“You don’t remember her name?”

“It’s whatever.”

“No, it’s not whatever. She’s one of the victims here!”

He gritted his teeth. “You gonna keep being an asshole, Jacen, or can I do my job?”

I stared back at Vali and felt the anger boiling in my fists. This wasn’t the first time I heard the intrusive voice in my head goading me to attack him. Just one punch, the voice said. Just one, well-executed punch on his nose would send a trajectory straight through his brain, and his life would meet a swift end.

But I buried my hands in my jacket pockets. “That doesn’t sound very professional of you, lieutenant. Wouldn’t want me to report this, would you?”

He ignored my empty threat. “What else do you know about the girl?”

“She tried to stop the bomb.”

“What?” the lieutenant squinted. “I thought you said she was running?”

“Yeah, running to me. She tried to stop the bomb. She ran back to my apartment and yelled at me to get away. That’s when it happened.”

“So, you don’t believe she’s a possible perpetrator?”

“No, unless she’s a good actress.”

Vali shook his head. “…who felt the need to run back to your door and get caught in the blast? Risking her life? Yeah, don’t think so.”

I nodded a few times. “I see your brain’s working, after all. No wonder you’re the ‘shining example’ for the Police Force. Nicely done, detective!”

“Shut the hell up, jackass. Whatever you're thinking about that girl, she's a suspect in this case.”

"You've gotta be kidding—"

"She's a person of interest, so don't even think about paying her a visit. That's my only warning."

I had no idea how the other officers of the Police Force tolerated this guy. I spoke to many upstanding officers in the Police Force, but there would always be outlying assholes like Vali to give all the other officers a bad rep.

I leaned back on my chair and tapped a finger.

“Any more questions? I’d like you to leave.”

Lieutenant Vali eyed the silver book in my left hand. "What's that?"

"What's what?"

"That," he pointed with his stylus.

"A book."

"No shit. What kind of book?"

"Don't worry about it. Just something I picked up to read before bed. Abnormals can have hobbies, too, you know?"

Lieutenant Vali snorted and shook his head again. “Whatever. Not like you got a home to sleep in, anyway."

"Nothing the city can't handle again. An hour of annoying paperwork should do it. Wouldn't be the first time they made me change addresses."

The lieutenant scribbled on his Data Pad. "How many does this make now?”

“Pardon?”

Vali did a double take. “First there was the guy with the knife, then those three teenagers with weird ‘matter’ powers or something, then the old hag with the poison, then the ice cream man with the silencer, and then, what, now this?”

“You forgot the woman with the fake stroller and sledgehammer. That happened after the knife guy.”

“Yeah, yeah. So that’s, what, four attempts on you now?”

I squinted at him. “Six, including today. Did you even pass elementary school?”

“Shut your mouth. Everything I do is for the preservation of Ave Strata."

“Preservation from who, exactly? Makes me wonder who was the dumbass that assigned you to me in the first place.”

Vali slammed his Data Pad and pointed his stylus at me. 

“Listen, you punk ass, I didn’t ask to be put on this case of yours all those years ago. You think I care about what happens to you? Huh?! You think I give a damn about all these schmucks trying to kill your Abnormal ass? I don’t. If you ask me, you should just leave Ave Strata. I don’t care how. Would make my life easier. Would every Normal's life easier! In fact—In fact, all you damn Abnormals…you’re nothing but trouble for all of us with your 'powers.' Buncha freaks, you guys are.”

I raised my eyebrows, unfazed at his crash out. 

“That’s the 17th time you treated your assignee with such astounding respect. The perfect example for officers to follow.”

Vali gritted his teeth. “Now you tell me what else you suspect, so I can get it down in your file, and I can go home to my family.”

“I told you everything I know. Now, feel free to get lost.”

“Bastard kid…”

Vali walked away, followed by the two other officers standing by him.

“Have a good night, Lieutenant Vali,” I mumbled. “…you damn Neanderthal.”

It would always happen like this. 

Vali would arrive at the scene of a crime—well, an attempted crime on me—and he’d pepper me with questions on how I felt about it. Then, nothing would happen from that discussion. No updates were given to me, no investigations into who was behind this, or any of the other attempts on my life.

Nothing.

He viewed his duties as more of an annoying checklist item he had to do. To him, dealing with me was just a part of his job description, and he hated it; I was the “Other duties as assigned” bullet point for him. Knowing that gave me something to relish whenever we crossed paths.

As for me, this day was my breaking point. 

I couldn’t leave it to someone else to do it for me. I couldn’t rely on anyone, really. 

At least, not yet.

Could this courier girl…Elaina…be another hired hand? But the book showed me she was obviously—well, seemingly—trying to warn me about the bomb. 

So, she can’t be a perp, could she? All the others before either surrendered to the police, escaped, or were eventually captured.

This time, I had to find out for myself. I had to know who was after me.

I stared at the book in my hand.

Maybe this was the first step I needed.