"So what now, ma'am?" Said the unit head.
Layla replied, "Leave it to me. I'll handle things from here."
She turned and left the room; the moment she got to the elevators, she brought out her phone. The number she wanted to call was Timothy. She tried calling, but it was on voicemail; she left a message on it.
"Tim, wherever you are, when you see this message, busy or not, get here ASAP."
Across the city, the boys were already in motion, following through on their part of the plan. Timothy and Raymond already left for the station; it just remained the other three of Larry, Derick, and Max.
Three sat on a bench watching a football match going on; a few onlookers watched a preteen football match nearby. Derick got up saying.
"Excuse me for a minute; I have to go take a piss."
Larry said to him. "You're always taking a piss; are you sure something isn't wrong with your bladder?"
"Can't a man release wastewater again?" Derick teased.
Derick left for the toilet. In the meantime, the two close friends sat together in silence. They hadn't spoken to one another since the incident at the warehouse, but Larry broke the silence.
"I haven't seen you angry before; it's all new to me."
Max side-eyed him before answering. "Well, I get like that when something is wrong."
"It's my fault; I should've told you earlier, but it sort of skipped my mind." Larry replied
"I'm not disturbed by that; it's just the you-know-what that's still bothering me." Max said,
"Raymond already said it all. Listen, I'm not an advocate for murder, and Timothy isn't someone who would kill with no major reasons that I know of; this world pushed him. He was put in a spot that even I would do the same. What I've learned throughout my entire life is there's no room for softies in this cruel world." Larry said to him.
"It might seem like the way I view heroism is different; it's just that I don't want to go that route. I want to change and make my own way without bringing blood to the matter." Max said as his brown eyes squinted, showing his seriousness in his voice.
Larry completely rested his body on the bench, his neck balancing itself on the back, and he responded to Max. "I signed up for all this, and lately I questioned what I signed up for, but again, I want to save lives."
"We can accomplish that together." Max said with smile forming on his warm-brown skin
"Well, you'd need a license to become a pro." He laughed a little.
They both laughed at those words; Derick arrived wondering why the two were laughing but said nothing, and he then said something different.
"So we just hang around till we get a call."
Larry replied. "Yep, we do just that."
****
Timothy and Raymond arrived at the police station, already in their hero gear. Passersby stopped and watched; a few shouted curses.
"You lot couldn't do anything—we should jump you," one man spat.
Most people were silent, the air thick with disappointment. Vilex and Frost ignored it and kept walking. Vilex murmured, "You remember the plan?"
Frost nodded. Act like we don't know the perpetrators, he thought.
The two stormed into the station, their presence loud and unapologetic. Officers froze mid-motion—papers fluttered, coffee spilled, and silence fell like a thunderclap.
Vilex stepped forward, voice cold and commanding. "Good day, everyone. We are not here for much, just for questioning."
The silence thickened. Eyes darted around the room.
One officer finally found his voice. "You can't just barge in here, acting like you run the place. If anyone should be questioned, it's you. You couldn't even do your job right."
A few officers straightened at his words, emboldened by his defiance.
Vilex didn't say a word. The 6-foot-tall hero strode toward the officer, his steps like echoes of judgment. He stopped directly in front of the man, towering over him. His brown eyes locked onto the officer's with a stare so cold and intense it drained the color from the man's face. His voice cracked, the sound echoing metallically beneath the mask. "Ooh, I like your confidence."
The officer began to tremble.
Vilex tilted his head slightly. "Should we start with this one?"
Frost didn't hesitate. "Yes, let's take him."
Just as the officer was about to be taken in for questioning, the doors swung open and the police captain emerged, his voice firm but measured.
"Good day, Heroes. I can't allow you to take my officer in for questioning without due cause," he said, stepping forward. "You storm into my station, say nothing of courtesy, and act without permission? This is still a place of law and order."
Frost stepped forward, his usual calm now replaced with heat. "You call yourself an officer of the law? You pledged to protect this city—have you even started an investigation into the Tora Link incident?"
The captain's lips tightened. He then said, "We're doing the best we can; my officers and I haven't had rest since the killings started yesterday."
Frost snapped at him. "Then let us do our job." He raised a finger, pointing at the captain, saying. You always stall; you claim you're protecting the city in your own way, protecting your officers, but every goddamn time we come here, you interrupt our own job."
Vilex cut in, he said. "You know, instead of going to the interrogation room or anything, let's carry out what we need to do here," he said to the captain. Since you so love your officers, we do what we want here."
Dickens's fist clenched, his jaw tightened in anger, and he said. "Get the gentlemen chairs, please."
The two heroes sat at the center of the station, eyes on them. Vilex called out to them, saying. "Is this everyone?"
No answers; every officer felt like they were intruding, but none of that concerned the Heroes. The next question came from Frost, he said.
"Why wasn't there an officer patrolling the area?" he added, the eyes of the officers filled with surprise. Don't look surprised; there weren't officers there."
The muted officers sparked to life, trying to defend themselves, one said. "That can't be possible; when the shifts were assigned, we all left. I don't believe that."
Vilex chimed in. "Oh, you better believe it. He got up, he said. You all think the same way—but I'll save that argument for later. You claim an officer was there, but why weren't there bodies of an officer lying on the ground amongst the dead people, huh? Why?"
He said again. "You'd answer when I'm done right now; be prepping my answers. Next question, your cameras didn't see or your breach signal didn't pick up anything when the killings started.
Don't give me those eyes; if they were working, you'd have said that you've seen what the perpetrators look like, but no, nothing came from you.
Last question. "Who were the officers in charge of Tora Linkway?"
No answers from the officers; that burst of confidence dropped. The newest question could only be answered by their eyes; it pointed at the officer behind. He came forward; his tag had his name on it. It read Sanchez Pijuan.
"Officer Sanchez, Frost called. So you were the one assigned there; you escaped death, but I just need to know why you didn't show up there. He got up close to the short, big-bellied Sanchez. "You better not give me some bullshit reason or else," he brought his mouth to his ears, the words coming out with cold flickers, "I'll freeze your heart."
Vilex tapped Frost, saying some things to his ears. "Need to make this call; you handle things."
The hoodie hero left for the outside to make a phone call. His call was for Larry, he said
"Can you check for any camera tampering issues at the station from over there?"
Larry replied. "Yes, I can."
Inside, Frost stood in front of Sanchez, waiting for an answer. He repeated the same question to the officer. "Why weren't you at Tora Linkway?"
Sanchez, with fear shadowed in his eyes, answered. "I did what I was told by the boss. He said I shouldn't bother about there and that I can rest."
Vilex outside also got an answer from Larry.
"You're spot on, Tim; there was a tamper. It's from inside the station itself."
Vilex could only smile.
Frost on the inside, after hearing those words, turned his head to the captain with a smirk, saying. "Well then, what do you have to say to defend yourself, Dickens?"