The Land Below our Feet II (Unleashed) COMPLETE

INVESTIGATION

The ambiance inside the tiny workroom had turned even more oppressive with the presence of the Argantean and his three intimidating companions.

Frayenko, the night warden, fruitlessly tried to still his shaky hands as the scrutinizing look of his interrogator silently pierced his very own soul.

-Take your time – Jakul spoke in a low, calm voice. Slowly resting his elbows on the table before him and eyeing him with interest – I need you to tell us everything that happened that day, no matter how trivial you may think it is.

-That night – The young employee awkwardly corrected him, clearing his throat – It was a night shift, Sir… I don't work in the daytime, ever.

-See? That's exactly what I mean! – The Argantean exclaimed encouragingly, loudly slamming his palm on the table and making him flinch – Now, you made a report of an incomplete delivery that night for a reason, Frayenko. So, walk me through it. What happened?

-Well, I remember coming in to start my shift like I always do... It's usually just me at these hours, as you can see – He said, gesturing towards the door behind them, which led to the quiet storage space and nervously chuckling – Well, me and the Commander's men posted outside, of course.

-What are your functions, warden? – The shortest of them, a bulky man with dark enigmatic eyes and a stern face inquired, nodding at his lanky figure –Despite what the title of the position you hold might suggest, I can see that you clearly aren't here to carry out any protecting chores at all, and there already is an entire military squad surrounding the building for that purpose anyway. So, I am curious… What is exactly what you do in here on your own all night?

-Inventories – The scrawny employee explained, signaling the piled stacks of archives littering the room – The Day-shift does the reception and the unloading of the crates, but they hardly ever bother with any of the paperwork… So, I'm normally the one who registers every lot that comes in through those gates during the day… That's why I was so weirded out that night in the first place.

-Why is that? – The until then silent Captain demanded to know, making him unconsciously shiver at the sound of his deep voice.

-Because when I came in, that cargo had already been logged – Frayenko declared, biting his lower lip pensively – It just made no sense! For the first time in ages, they had done all the filing of that crate's contents along with the three others that had arrived that morning. And it just seemed too good to be true.

-So, you had to go and check them for yourself – The lady warrior spoke with conviction, her sight sparkling with a knowing wink and kindly smiling at him –That's how you found out.

-Yes, so I filed a claim about the missing ammunition that night – He sighed, staring into the Argantean´s clear eyes – I sent it back to your facility, but I never received a reply.

-That was because we received verification a couple of days later that annulled your first report. We've never had any issues on this end, so we had no reasons to doubt the veracity of it – Jakul replied, nodding at him severely – They must have seen the paper trail and covered their tracks before we could start a proper investigation... And it worked. At least for a while.

-Well, unfortunately for them, this investigation is officially open now, and we're getting to the very bottom of it – The Captain declared with resolution – So, no one leaves this room until we figure out who took those guns… If they could follow the logs to cover their asses, so can we. They should have left some evidence behind, and we're going to use that to catch them.

- You are absolutely right, Sir! – Frayenko agreed, jumping on his feet excitedly as he rushed to rummage among the numerous archived papers while a stream of hurried thoughts spilled from his mouth – If they sent that verification form, then we should be able to find a copy around here somewhere. It categorically invalidated my claim, so I bet they must have filed it to keep up their front! Now, here is the report I made that night, and here…

He went abruptly silent, his voice cutting off as he carefully extracted a single document and wordlessly turned around, presenting it to the captain with trembling hands.

Greghan took the flimsy piece of paper out of the warden's hesitant limbs and inspected it up and down quietly for a moment, his eyes hardening.

-All right – He announced, gesturing to his companions – We got a name. Let's bring that filthy traitor in and crack him like a nut.

-Wait! Captain, we must handle this the way the Commander would, and for that we need to cool our heads first – Jakul mediated, extending his hand towards the log he was holding and waving his fingers pleadingly at him – Now… May I see that, please?

Reluctantly, the soldier finally handed the document to the golden-haired man after a brief hesitant moment, and the foreman lost no time taking in the information scribbled on it.

-Do you know this man? – He asked Frayenko once he had finished reading the text. Showing him the paper sheet and pointing at the name signed at the bottom of it.

-Not personally – The warden admitted, shaking his head – We've never met face to face, but I know what he does… He is supposed to be my daytime counterpart. He is the one that usually leaves all the desk work for me to take care of.

-Well… We've got a few hours before sunrise – Jakul calmly muttered, eyeing the prevalent darkness through the small window beside them – So we better find out everything we can about this scum before he comes in for work.

The blue morning light had barely begun to seep into the crammed office when Kaionte entered the still somber place and got startled by the unexpected presence of some strangers standing in the shadows, his heart almost bursting out of his chest as one of them lit an oil lamp and revealed the figures of three grim looking men and a sneering woman.

-Good morning, Kai! – The one clearly in charge saluted him in an exaggerated tone, sketching a toothy smile and pointedly gesturing for a chair before him – Why don't you take a seat?

-W-Who are you? – The warden stammered, his eyes tentatively darting towards the door behind him, which was promptly shut by the nimble dark-skinned lady who stood menacingly before it, her fingers barely grazing the handle of the sharp saber hanging from her waist.

-Uh-uh-uh – The intimidating man teased, clicking his tongue disapprovingly and shaking his head with scorn – Come on, Kai… Why would you want to leave us so early? You just got here, pal. Now sit!

Gulping down, the frightened man did as he was told, slowly pacing toward the indicated spot. His rear collapsing on the chair, defeated.

-We know what you did, so there's no point denying that – A short, bulky man said, taking the lead of the conversation and purposely closing in on his face – We also have a pretty good idea why… We just need to know the who. So, name your accomplices and we might consider letting you live.

Kaionte looked at him with widened eyes and an increasingly paling face, but his mouth remained stubbornly motionless as his anxious sight traveled repeatedly around from man to man.

-We've got to admit that we were sort of mystified when we pulled up your records, and we found out that you were from Umber… - His interlocutor continued saying, chuckling slightly - It made no sense! You see… We just couldn't understand why someone who'd fought on our side the last time would corrupt himself in such a way?

-But then…. We took a look at your family – The Argantean chimed in, smirking knowingly at him and letting the meaning of his words sink as the warden's features grew even more restless – And well, that certainly cleared up things quite a bit.

-So, yeah! We know all about your new Hathengatter wife – The tall, long-haired warrior in command informed him – And how she came to Lowland claiming to be a seamstress barely a couple of weeks after Queen Elande had ascended the throne, so there's our first rotten fruit…

He paused, deliberately inching towards his terrified eyes and pulling his chin forcefully up as he did so.

-You must know I've already sent a unit to fetch her – He calmly told him – So, why don't you give us a hand here and tell us who else is in it? Then maybe I will spare the life of your unborn child's mother.

-No one! – The afflicted man finally cried out desperately, tugging at his sleeves – I acted alone! Please believe me… I did it for her!

-Here's the thing, Kai – The golden-haired man intervened, shaking his head sadly at him – We can't believe what you say. It's not logical… Those are some heavy weapons, and you must have had someone helping you, either carrying them out of here or turning a blind eye to the incomplete delivery...

- In any case, this is far from being a one-man operation, and you know it – The tanned soldier loudly stated, pacing around him like a hungry predator - So, we ask again, where’s the rest of your dirty crew?

-I'm so sorry – The trapped warden sobbed, his voice slurring as he collapsed heavily on the table before him – But you must understand! They said that they would kill her! I had no choice!

-Who are they? – The warrior impatiently shouted – Tell me! Who threatened you? Who helped you?

-It doesn't matter anymore – He faintly mumbled, giving them all a glassy look and smug, triumphant smile – Don't you see? They've already won!

-Sir! – The woman suddenly rushed to shout, her eyes shining with awareness as she ran towards the employee's figure that had slowly begun sliding to the ground, rolling him upwards and uselessly trying to reanimate his lifeless body – The sneaky bastard chewed on a kill-pill! And he's f*****g dying!