1463 Grim Findings.
Felix and Ravager went straight to the squad's office after discovering their captain was there.
The room had shelves filled with records of cases, artifacts, and souvenirs from resolved incidents.
The dim light from a vintage lamp washed over Captain Charleson, seated behind a massive wooden desk. His eyes, always sharp, skimd through a case file.
Felix cleared his throat, drawing the captain's attention. "Captain, I need your backing on Arion's case."
Captain Charleson glanced up, his expression unreadable. "That mory-wiped specter? Why?"
"Because this isn't an isolated incident. I am certain that there's an underground market where these spirits, with their mories and personalities wiped clean, are being sold off as servants," Felix explained.
Charleson leaned back, his eyes narrowed in focus. "That's a grave allegation. Do you have any proof?"
"We have Arion's master, willing to turn in the seller. It's an intricate web, and if we pull the right thread, the whole system might unravel," Felix replied.
Captain Charleson's eyebrows knitted in concern. "This could be a massive operation. ssing with spirits' mories and identities? It's against every code we stand for."
Felix leaned in, "Exactly, Captain. We must shut it down. Think about it. How many more Arions are out there, reduced to nothing more than empty shells for soone's dark pleasure?"
While Captain Charleson seed in favor of supporting Felix, he didn't give him his word right away. He switched his focus to Ravager and ordered, "Spit it, What do you guys need from ?"
Ravager glanced at Felix before sighing deeply, "We kinda need the witness protection program to buy Arion master's help. He wouldn't co forward without it due to the strict contract he signed with the seller."
"I knew it." Captain Charleson gave them an irritated look, "You think I am foolish to keep risking my career and reputation to support your crazy actions?"
"I did it once in our previous mission, but don't make it a habit." He scolded.
Captain Charleson was righteous, but he wasn't dumb to keep putting his career in the hands of Felix.
Using the witness protection program implied breaking a contract willingly without any punishnt involved.
Such injustice and rule-breaking needed to be justified through significant results and not many captains were bold enough to do this for their cases.
"Captain, I know what you are thinking, but you should read the details of the case first and you will understand how big this case is." Felix stressed, "It's one of those cases that can get any captain a straight promotion to a high inspector position right away. It will be really disappointing to see such an opportunity get wasted."
Upon hearing so, Charleson began considering it for real.
'If it's a real case with a big underground organization behind it, then bringing them to justice will do more than just get a promotion. I might even be considered to run for the Departnt Chief position if he ever decided to step down.'
'But, can I really trust this troublemaker?' Captian Charleson thought as he stared at Felix's nonchalant expression like his agreent or rejection ant nothing to him.
'I should take it and run my own investigation before using the witness program.' Captain Charleson decided to take the safer approach and study the case on his own before making a real decision.
"Bring everything you know and I will take it from there." He ordered.
"Thank you, Captain. We won't let them get away with this."
Felix nodded in understanding and took off with the surprised Ravager behind him. When they left the office, he couldn't help but ask Felix.
"Did you know he will agree?"
"Of course." Felix replied calmly, "Haven't you researched his past? He is strict on everyone but mostly on himself due to his high ambition to climb the law enforcent departnt's ladder. As long as the risk was justified, he would most definitely take a leap of faith in this case for the sake of his ambition."
"I see."
Even though Captain Charleson had yet to fully agree, both of them were certain that he would accept the case after reading its details.
As they expected, the mont Captain Charleson studied the file and t with Arion, he realized the seriousness involved and didn't hesitate to assign the case to his squad.
He brought everyone to a eting and began assigning them roles on the case.
"Hazel, I need a full detailed background check on the victim. You have permission to question his coworkers, family mbers, and anyone related to him."
"Nidam, I need you to bring in the master and check what kind of information is in his possession. If it was note-
worthy, we will put him in the program, if not, we will find other ways to interrogate the seller without his assistance."
"Rookies, since you brought the case to , I won't leave you aside." Captain Charleson ordered with a stern tone, "You will be responsible for finding related cases or victims. The procedure imposed was to help anyone with lost mories to regain them and if they can't, give them a new identity. So, there must be so victims who went through the system without anyone putting an extra effort."
Felix and the others nodded in understanding. If it wasn't for Felix's knowledge about the fallen specters and his desire to find a big case, he would have followed the protocol like anyone else.
After all, everyone was overworked with many cases at once and not many would put in extra effort when no one told them to.
"Report back when you find so decent results."
With that last statent, everyone scattered outside of the office to carry on their missions.
...
A few hours later...
Felix and Ravager were seen burying their heads deep in hundreds of holographic screens.
They were inside the departnt's record cabinet room, a sprawling chamber with towering shelves that had the musty sll of old paper and the weight of countless histories recorded within.
Files were stacked and cramd into every nook and cranny, so dating back hundreds of thousands of years if not millions.
Dust particles floated in the air, lit by the dim overhead light.
Suddenly, Felix stood up pulled out a thick folder, and placed it on the wooden table next to a growing pile.
Then, he scanned it with his crystal device, and the folder's content was translated into a clear hologram.
The haunting image of a vacant-eyed spirit stared back at him from the case photograph, making Felix realize that he had landed on another victim.
Ravager, looking through another set of files, raised an eyebrow, "This is our fifth record with a similar case today, and I have a gut feeling we're just scratching the surface."
Felix's face turned grave. "It's far worse."
He spread out nurous files in front of Ravager, all with eerily similar circumstances.
"All these spirits had their mories wiped clean, much like Arion. And the more disturbing fact? Every single case was concluded within days of being filed."
Ravager's eyes widened in shock. He quickly skimd through a couple of reports. "No thorough investigation, no leads followed, just... closed? How is this even possible?"
He understood that many law enforcers follow the rules and procedure to the letter, but there was bound to be soone with a slight interest in the reason why the casualty lost his mories.
"Keep searching, I have a bad feeling about this." Felix uttered with a solemn tone.
Felix didn't want to say it out loud, but he honestly began to believe that there was soone with high power inside the departnt, making sure those cases ended in a similar manner.
In fact, he always had his doubts about this right from the start.
In his eyes, it shouldn't be possible for Miss Sanae to find out about the Fallen Specters organization while the law enforcent departnt had absolutely no idea.
He always had a suspicion, but he never took it too far, believing that Miss Sanae got lucky or sothing.
But now? His doubts were becoming clearer and clearer with each similar case he found.
After more than twelve hours of nonstop digging, both Ravager and Felix looked at each other with grim expressions.
"We have counted over a hundred of these cases spanning three decades. They were effectively silenced, buried deep within the archives."
Ravager clenched his fist. "Who would have the power and influence to do this? To make sure these cases never saw the light of day?"
"I'm not sure, but whatever is happening, it's systemic and deeply rooted," Felix replied, "We have to take this to the captain and he will know what to do with it."
"I agree."
Felix and Ravager cleared their table and returned all the files back to their places before taking their leave.
Unbeknownst to them, their captain was called by his superior the mont the case was accepted...
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