The Gallows or Your Support?

“I’d like to file a complaint on behalf of a friend.”

“Uh…huh,” the receptionist responds half-heartedly.

Her eyes roll back to the paperwork on her desk. Meanwhile I continue waiting in front of her.

“Oh…You mean right now?” she says after a minute of ignoring me.

“If it’s possible, yes,” I respond nervously.

“Your name?”

“Friedrich.”

The woman leaves the desk, going to the back.

Buildings like these are apparently common in this country. They are kinda like city halls, though every district of a city has one. Also, most people just call these buildings “the state” as a stand in. Fittingly so, as they work directly for the government. Though, the atmosphere is practically the same: dull and empty.

“Alright, please follow me.” The receptionist returned.

She leads me through the same door she came from. Several people are working behind covered desks, doing paperwork at rapid speeds. The rather big room ends in a hallway with many doors, one of which I’m being led to.

After she knocks on the door, a voice responds from inside, “Come in.”

I step inside and the door closes behind me.

“Hello again, Friedrich," the bureaucrat says, his voice as familiar as his face.

It’s him.

“Good morning, Kieran.” His cold, dead eyes immediately meet mine.

“Take a seat.” He gestures towards the chair.

I sit down without a word, trying to regain my composure.

“Now, what’s your business here?”

Taking a breath and presenting the vials, I answer boldly, “I’m going straight to the point.”

The bureaucrat gazes at vials that still roll a bit on the table between us. His usual cold demeanor changes into a serious one.

“What’s that supposed to be?” He looks up at me with a deadly expression.

“I found a few left in some blue crates. It also had a sign, saying that the crates were supposed to be shipped to the state.” I meet his eyes with all the courage I can muster.

With a heavy sigh, he addresses me, “You’re a scientist, aren’t you? That job comes with a grounded, fundamental competence. You should know better than to write your own death sentence.”

A cold shiver runs down my back, still I persist, “I know, yet I don’t have any other choice. My partner was attacked, presumably by a group of sorts. There were dead people near the alleys of the place I found the crates at. I found many vials next to them, mostly empty and thrown away. Though, I am certain the state wouldn’t kill their reserve army. This all happened near Garrick’s factory complex, which has also been made a mess of, forcing it to stop producing for at least a bit. Those are not coincidences.”

Silence grows between us, his starring burning a hole right into my soul.

“You’re lucky we’ve met already. Otherwise someone else would have dealt with you here and the gallows would have already been prepared.” Kieran leans back in his chair.

“You might actually be of use to us. Here’s the deal, you either help the state or be hanged. I assume you’ll pick the right choice?”

At my nod, he continues, “Good. You are not to tell anyone of this, understand? So…There is in fact a gang in this district. The delivery to the state was also supposed to be carried out by them. However, they’ve gotten out of hand…” Kieran says ominously.

So, it was actually a gang all along. At least I have confirmation now.

The bureaucrat then slides a paper to my side of the table.

“See the three empty boxes on this list? Those deliveries never arrived and the receptors from the state also went missing. You’re job is to find both, though the wares are of higher importance. Do you think you can handle that?” he asks in a serious tone.

“I have to. Otherwise I’ll get hanged, right?” I shrug off my uncertainty, covering it up with false confidence.

"At least you seem to know your position.”

Getting up from my chair and ready to leave, he adds a final warning.

“And Friedrich…Never stick your nose again where it doesn’t belong. We’re watching you.”

With an anxious glance back at him, I nod and leave the room.

“According to the list, the first meet up point was not too far from here.”

I make my way through the streets, getting a feeling of deja vu. Now that i think about it, it isn’t that far from the manor Garrick had his party in.

The spot is in a place similar to the one where I found the crates previously. A rather open one in between tight alleys. And just like those crates, these ones are mostly empty. Though, there is a bit of dirt on the sides.

As I look around, I don’t see anything suspicious really, just a few broken glasses and trash. However, the longer I stand here, the more I perceive a strong, reeking smell. The only thing where it could come from is something akin to a garbage container.

Opening it slowly, I’m met with an awful sight, closing it again reflexively. I hold my nose shut, peeking into it again. It is what I thought, the person that was supposed to receive the order.

“He’s completely mangled up…”

Reluctantly shoving my hand inside and searching around, I eventually find a bloody ID. Since there isn’t a photo on it, I can’t really identify him. Though, due to his smashed face, I probably wouldn’t be able to anyway. But I found it on this person, so yeah…I’m pretty sure that’s him.

I close the container, taking note of my findings on the list.

The second place written down on the list is a bit further away, to the very north of Previl. It’s also much more dense compared to the other alleys. You really have to squeeze through some of the turns. This also makes the area way darker, maybe a bit too dark…

“I can’t see anything here.”

Suddenly, I hear footsteps coming closer and closer. It doesn’t take long before I feel a hand placed on my shoulder. Is it who I think it is? Is this it?

Turning around in fear, it appears to only be a run down person.

“Excuse me, got any change?” he asks with a dry throat.

I hand him a coin, just wanting to get away from here quickly. At a quicker pace I make my get away, finding a slightly more open spot.

“This must be it.”

However, unlike the other spot, there is only one broken crate here, with no vials inside. Since the area here is so packed, it only takes a quick glance around to get a full view of anything noteworthy. Still, there’s no sign of the receiver here, not even a trace. To be quite frank, I’d also rather not stay here for much longer, so I make my way towards the west, the last place on the list.

At this point, my feet are really killing me…I’m not really used to walking so much. Come to think of it, I probably never walked this much before I got to this place. It’s even gotten dark by now, unsurprisingly.

However, I once again get the slight feeling of walking this exact path. Once I pass by a familiar factory complex, I can definitely confirm this feeling. Walking a bit further north-west, the lingering question in my mind answers itself.

“Yeah, that’s the place.”

It’s the same spot in which I found the crates in the first place yesterday. Even so, I didn’t get to look around properly, since addressing the crates took priority. It’s also a pretty open place, so I’ll have to put in a bit more effort.

Even so, I’ve been unable to find anything in the vicinity, except for the crates of course. But neither a clue about the gang nor the whereabouts of the receiver showed up.

“Guess I’ll go back and report my findings-”

All of the sudden, I hear a squelching noise below me. Looking down, I seem to have stepped into something. It’s blood. Not much, but it still formed a small pool. The blood has already begun to seep into the ground below, so it’s a bit dry. Gazing around me, I see another stain on the ground, though way smaller. And again I find another stain after that.

“A trail…”

Following the periodically laid out blood, I’m led towards a rather high reaching house with multiple stories. However, it seems to be abandoned. There’s no light flickering and through the windows, I only see dust, cobwebs and wrecked furniture.

“The track ends here.”

On a whim, I decided to try the doorknob. To my surprise it opens with a loud creak. I step inside and close the door behind me.

Exactly how it looked from the outside, there is nothing here of note. What’s interesting is that I can still see a bit in the dark. And I’m able to find the source of that pretty quickly.

A small storage room with a trapdoor on the ground inside, where light seeps through the cracks.