FSE

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_ _ Wind swept across the open landscape creating waves in the long, green grass, just the same as it would out on the ocean. Most of the paddocks were empty, with tattered, torn down fencing forming their borders. Trees sprouted up out of the free growing grass here and there, and occasionally in a haphazard windbreak line at the edge of a paddock. As a swift, blue blur raced along the fence line that ran parallel to the small back road, all manner of birds and small mammals scattered, startled by the sudden appearance and disappearance of an Arkon racing out of the city.

_ _ Up ahead a large homestead waited patiently just a small way away from the road. Once the home of a wealthy and respected family, fifty or sixty years past, the large, mansion-like structure was looking a bit on the shabby side. Its windows were dirty and its paint peeling, and the grass around it was as long as in the paddocks across from it.

_ _ Coming up on the structure, Julius slowed his pace and kept to the trees. Carefully, he watched from a distance, looking out for any signs of life. But there were none; it didn't look like anyone had lived in that house for over twenty years, let alone recently.

A few minutes earlier.

_ _ “Why did you come here?” Julius asked, looking at Accretia with serious eyes.

_ _ Accretia looked back at her old friend for a moment and then began to explain once again, “I told you; I came looking for-”

_ _ “No,” Julius interrupted, “Not... Why did you come here, to Earth?” the tiger tapped his finger on the kitchen table firmly, emphasising his meaning.

_ _ “I was sent here, by Dante,” the leopard said, a hint of shame in her voice as she looked away again.

_ _ “For what purpose?” Julius urged.

_ _ Accretia took a deep breath and then began to explain what her part had been in things up until a few nights ago.

_ _ “Dante is collaborating with someone here on Earth,” the female feline started, “He sent me and a few others to assist in the establishment of a beachhead, a point of control that he can later invade from, with a much larger force. This entire city is to be that initial landing site, so to speak, and my job was to aid the humans Dante had allied with in taking control of the city.”

_ _ “If he plans to invade, why not just do so?” Julius asked.

_ _ “Because it would be chaos. There would be no control, no order,” Accretia explained, “Dante believes that Arkons are the rightful rulers of all existence, and he intends to begin his crusade at the birthplace of Arkons. But if we were to just fall enmasse and begin attacking, it would be like trying to control scattering mice. An organised invasion from a point of established control is a far more effective method of conquest. He wants to rule, not exterminate. But he'll take whatever measures he can to cement his position as the ruler of all things. As I've already told you, he's killing any Arkons that challenge his authority. Using a human criminal organisation is just a means to an end, for him. He doesn't care about them or their methods. He works through them because they are the only organised force that would willingly ally with him.”

_ _ “And who is the leader of this criminal organisation?” Julius asked.

_ _ Accretia sighed and looked Julius in the eyes, “I don't know; I've never met him. All I know is his name is Carrick.”

_ _ Julius slammed his palm on the table, startling the leopard. It seemed that this Carrick was a bigger threat than first thought. For the better part of the past decade, many criminal activities had been tied back to a single organised crime element, with an unknown individual as its leader. The only lead police had was a name, Jeremy Carrick. And now, it seems, that he was just another pawn in a much larger, more dangerous game.

_ _ “What's wrong,” Accretia asked, concerned at Julius' sudden burst of anger.

_ _ “The police have been after Carrick for years,” Julius growled, “But he's a ghost. He's been behind any number of criminal activities in this city, and yet nothing is known about him.”

_ _ “I know where he might be,” the leopard offered, leaning over the table in an attempt to comfort her old friend.

_ _ Julius glared at Accretia, his eyes seeming to try and determine if what she had said was real or a figment of his imagination. A low rumble began to well up in the tiger's throat as he spoke a single word, _ _ “Where?”

_ _ “There's an estate outside the city, about forty minutes drive; five for an Arkon,” Accretia said, “There are a number of places in the city that were used to meet and organise details, but the main place everyone went back to in the end was that estate. If this Carrick is anywhere, he'd be there. I know this for sure because there were always people going to talk with him and they never left the house.”

Julius stood up.

_ _ “Are they still there?” the tiger asked, looking at Accretia expectantly.

_ _ The leopard closed her eyes and reached out with her wings, concentrating in the direction of the estate she'd just spoke of. There, she could feel the presence of over forty people. “Yes,” the female Arkon said, looking at Julius once again.

_ _ As Julius approached the house, he noticed small details not normally seen at a glance from a distance. For one, the shed next to the house had its doors open a couple of inches and the black and blue Arkon could see some kind of off-road utility truck inside, and it wasn't old and dusty. On the front patio a pathway could be seen in the dust, formed no doubt by people regularly walking up and down the wooden boarding. Some of the dust caked windows on the second floor looked like they'd been partially cleaned, as well. However, Julius saw no movement inside, nor could he hear anything but the nature outside. It was evident to him that someone was in fact living there, but they seemed to be out presently.

_ _ Breathing deeply, the humanoid tiger stepped out of his hiding spot and strode across the road before making his way up the twenty or so meters of driveway that lead to the front of the house. If anyone was at home, Julius was certain he'd have noticed by now.

_ _ The front door was unlocked and opened quietly on clean, oiled hinges. Inside the house, things looked much more cleaner than they did outside. Only a thin layers of dust coated surfaces that were out of the way, in distant corners or on unused shelves, and there was an assortment of personal items and knick knacks dotted about; a book here, a cup there. Further into the house, however, things were much more livelier. In rooms not able to be seen from the front of the house were things like TVs with game consoles hooked up to them, some still turned on. There was a stereo with headphones plugged in, and even a game of monopoly laid out on the floor. Cutlery and dishes were also lying about, along with some random items of clothing.

_ _ As Julius explored the interior of the house, he came across almost a dozen bedrooms, at least two living rooms, a rather sizable kitchen, three toilets, two bathrooms and a surprisingly empty hall with an elaborately patterned floor. Julius guessed that that room must've been used for local balls some years ago. The air itself was thick with the scent of humans, many humans, and a few Arkons. The tiger wandered how so many people had been able to slip away so quickly, until he caught a familiar scent. As the smell of the cheetah from the bank wafted into Julius' nostrils, a low, menacing growl rumbled in he throat. If she had been here, it was a safe bet the other one would've been to.

_ _ “Did you ave any luck?” Accretia asked when Julius returned.

_ _ “The place was deserted,” Julius informed her rather glibly.

_ _ Accretia's mind stumbled for a moment. “But... how?”

_ _ “When you were there, did you see any cheetahs?” Julius inquired.

_ _ “Yes. A male and female. They're kin. She could make any object at will and he could... Oh. I see.”

_ _ “I couldn't have missed them by more than a minute or two. The air was still warm and it looked as though everyone had stood up and left at a moment's notice.”

_ _ Julius slumped down on the couch. Once again, this Carrick had slipped away without so much as an inkling of who he was. It wasn't even worth going back to the house at a later time. If they'd been able to slip away so efficiently this time, they'd surely be able to do it again.

*****

_ _ When Harrison came visiting, Julius told him of his expedition to the outlying estate.

_ _ “Dammit!” the detective muttered. “We've looked at that place a couple of times, even raided it once, about seven years ago. Sure, we noticed someone had been squatting there, but we were never able to pick up any leads from it.”

_ _ “Is there nothing more that can be done?” Accretia asked.

_ _ “If there is, I don't know about it,” Harrison replied, sounding defeated.

_ _ “What I don't understand is how they escaped so fast,” Julius muttered, almost to himself.

_ _ “I thought you told me this teleporter came and went in a matter of a couple of seconds, at the bank,” Harrison reminded Julius.

_ _ The tiger stood up from brooding on the couch and looked at his old friend. “That's not what I mean,” Julius corrected, “That house was full of people, and they weren't all in one room. The teleporter would've had to make multiple trips, which, even at his speed, would've taken at least half a minute or more. And if he were to teleport everyone at once, he would've had to wait for them to assemble. That would've taken longer...”

_ _ “I see where you're going with this,” Harrison ventured. “You're saying they must've known you were coming before you got there. Now, I've seen how fast you move and even if they saw you coming from a mile off, you would've been on top of them before they could start mobilising.”

_ _ Julius looked at the leopard. He didn't want to think that she would betray him, but he couldn't deny the logical deduction playing out before him.

_ _ “Now don't go getting any funny ideas!” Accretia defended herself, standing up straight. There was no accusation in her friend's eyes, but she could easily figure out where this line of thinking was going.

_ _ Julius looked away and moved to stand by the window, looking out at the city he had come to call home.

_ _ “I don't...” Julius took a deep breath and then turned to look at Accretia once more, “I don't want to think you played any part in this, but if I can see the logic, so can you. You've always been smarter than me. Harrison, is there anything you can do to prove Accretia didn't warn them somehow?”

_ _ Harrison thought for a moment.

_ _ “I know you Arkons are fast, but I somehow doubt Accretia could've outrun you there, warned them, and then run back, all in a few minutes and without being seen by you. That pretty much leaves phone or the internet, both of which we can check easily enough.”

_ _ “For the sake of our friendship, I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt,” Julius said to his friend, a tone of sorry in his voice, “But I need to know you didn't or...”

_ _ The tiger's voice trailed off as he was unsure of how to say what was on his mind.

_ _ “Due diligence,” Harrison interrupted, “As police officers, even if we know ourselves that someone isn't guilty, it is our job to eliminate them as a suspect instead of just assuming their innocence.”

_ _ Accretia sighed. She understood what the detective was saying and why Julius insisted on clearing her name, but she still wasn't happy about it.

_ _ “Fine. If it'll make you feel better, do your investigating,” the leopard grumped.

_ _ It was a week before Harrison returned with the good news.

_ _ “I haven't been able to find any evidence to suggest Accretia sent any warning to Carrick at the old Merrington estate. Given the abilities you Arkons have, and the advanced technology you've shown us, I could begin to speculate a hundred possible wild theories to continue pointing a finger, but in all honesty, I think it's safe to say that your friend is clean,” Harrison presented.

_ _ Accretia looked over at Julius and smiled a subtle sort of 'told you so' smile that was more playful banter than an actual I-told-you-so. Julius responded simply by sticking his tongue out at her. Over the past week, the two Arkons had spent a good amount of time catching up and reminiscing about old times, particularly the times before Julius had fled Iyos. This had lifted the tiger's spirits somewhat and he was now in good humour.

_ _ “So what do we do now?” Julius asked Harrison.

_ _ “Actually, that's something I wanted to talk to you about,” the detective replied.

_ _ Harrison, sitting at the kitchen table, opened a large yellow envelop he'd brought with him and placed a couple of enlarged photographs on the tabletop. Julius, sitting across from his friend and next to Accretia, took the photos and looked at them. They were surveillance photos of a woman appearing to be in her early to mid forties.

_ _ “That's Anita Bell. I'd like you to... ask her some questions,” Harrison said.

_ _ Julius just looked at Harrison with a quizzical expression.

_ _ “It's been several months since Lechester took office, now, and ever since then I've been doing my own little investigating on the side,” the middle-aged human began explaining. “Unfortunately, since our mayor forced the police department to cut ties with you and moved in his own people to watch over us, I've had to keep it very low key, which meant it was a very slow investigation. Finally, I believe I've found a potential lead in connection Lechester back to Carrick.”

_ _ “What does that have to do with her?” Julius asked, holding up the photo of Anita Bell.

_ _ “Shortly after taking office, Anita began working closely with Lechester. She's a high ranked lawyer in one of this city's biggest firms, but she seems to be handling much more than just legal matters for Lechester. PR, calendar organisation, event management. I had to call in some very old favours in order to dig deep enough, and at the bottom of the barrel I found out Anita Bell has a history with Jerremy Carrick.”

_ _ Julius' eyes began to light up, but Harrison lifted his hand to stop his blue and black striped friend from saying anything before he finished.

_ _ “However, there's nothing solid. It's all speculation and hearsay, accusations at best. Now, I trust my sources enough to investigate further, but if anyone from the department begins asking questions about her involvement with Lechester it'll start making noise, noise we can't afford to make. So I need someone else to apply a little pressure for me.”

Julius breathed deeply. It wouldn't be the first time he'd had to 'make inquiries', but he didn't particularly like having to do it because of how he had to do it.

_ _ “What do you want me to ask her?”