In the main HQ of the roman police force, the deputy commissioner was silently sitting in his office. The room was dimly lit and had the scent of incense. The clock echoed across the room too loudly. The flames lit on the candles began to go out even though there was no wind. Shadows began to disappear as the window creaked open. A deadly breeze blasted the room. The deputy remained unmoved.
Then…the deputy dropped to his desk, his face slamming onto the hard wood. A bang spread throughout the room and the next second, silence took over once more. The shadows seemed to return but still the clock moved too loud for its own good.
***
Alaric sat on his porch in his rocking chair. He had a cup of tea by his side, sitting on a small table. He closed his eyes and felt the wind of the countryside. He opened his eyes and let out a small sigh. He rocked his chair for a few more moments before stopping. His eyes twitched as if he had encountered something unpleasant. He shook it off, picking up the newspaper from table. He opened the first page of the morning edition.
His eyes instantly widened, and a frown unconsciously craved itself on his face. His brows furrowed and he tightly gripped the paper. He rocked the chair harder and felt a sense of unease well up in his old heart.
'Something is not right…'
He looked at the first title of the newspaper that was only available in the countryside. The title read;
"Deputy commissioner of the central roman police force died last night due to unknow causes…"
***
At the scene of the crime in the police HQ, Police cars were lined up around the curved yellow building with blue glass; not letting anyone enter or exit. Sirens and light flared giving a sense of urgency. Police officers tensed as if they were waiting for someone. A few moments later, a car pulled up to the HQ. Its windows were tinted and was colored all black. The door flew open as Missio exited. Krishna, Henry, Eira and Mary also exited the car. They headed towards the HQ, the officers making way for them.
They entered the building, the atmosphere tense. Feet stomped against the floor, the clock ticked louder than it should. The group rushed up to the office. They marched up the stairs carefully. They arrived at the office which was heavily secured by individuals wearing white suits with golden accents and black glasses. They approached and were stopped by one of the men.
"ID." he said.
Missio pulled out his ID without question, handing it to the man. The man lingered on the card for a moment before handing it back and stepping aside. The group entered the office. It looked untouched, the body still hung on the table, covered by the scent of incense. Missio approached the body and picked it up. He carefully placed the corpse on the floor with his fingerless gloves. The team instantly crouched down.
The group began to examine the body. Henry activated his virtual glasses, instantly scanning the body. Krishna went through, checking for wounds. Eira checked the table and Mary joined her. After a few minutes, they stood up.
"No wounds…" Krishna whispered.
"No fingerprints either…" Henry added.
Eira and Mary approached the group after their investigation.
"We didn't find anything on the table…no fingerprints, no blood, no weapon." Eira said.
"It's seems like it wasn't a physical attack…Maybe it was poison?" Mary suggested.
"Right!" Krishna snapped his fingers. "Henry, take out your blood scanner."
Henry nodded and put his bag down. He searched around in it for a while and pulled out syringe. He handed it to Krishna. Krishna injected the syringe into the deputy's body and extracted some blood. The syringe lit up and began scanning blood. After a few minutes, the information was sent to Krishna's glasses. He turned them on. The projection covered his vision.
His team waited nervously for his response. After a few moments, he sighed and looked back at the group.
"It isn't poison or venom…Damn." Krishna said.
The group clicked their tongues…except for Missio. He crouched down and touched the body with his fingertips. He closed his eyes. His friends were confused but stayed quiet. Krishna was oddly focused on the operation Missio was doing. After a few moments, Missio's eyes widened. He fell back and gasped.
"Damn…" He whispered.
His friends rushed to him and asked the question.
"What did you find?" Eira asked, making sure to keep her voice low.
"His…His soul was…I-It's not there." Missio replied.
"What?" Mary inquired out of instinct.
"There…There is a void where his should be…I can't feel anything…His soul was stripped form his body." Missio stood up with shaky legs.
The room froze for a moment. Everyone took a few seconds to digest that information but Krishna cut through the silence and asked.
"Can you find where his soul is? Can you at least get a trace where it went?"
Missio looked at his friend dead in the eye. He hesitated for a moment then opened his mouth.
"It was pulled out naturally."
"What do you mean by 'naturally'? Elaborate." Krishna asked, his funny personality somehow making it to such a dire situation.
Missio began pacing around the body.
"There's no trace of it anywhere…Not even the best can pull out a soul without leaving a trace but this…this…there is no trace…He's gone straight to the grave." Missio replied.
He then looked towards his team and said in a low voice.
"Krishna – brief the agents. Henry – inform the police to arrest all witnesses in the building and to close it off for the next week. Eira and Mary – get Stratos on this, fast."
The group nodded and each went to do their own tasks. Krishna approached the agents outside, the other passing by him.
"Listen, He wasn't attacked or poisoned. His soul was straight up taken from his body."
The agent flinched his composure slipping for a moment.
"What do you need us to do?" The man asked.
"Secure the entire premises. We're arresting everyone who is in the building. Don't touch anything unit the Stratos academy researchers come over." Krishna answered.
The man nodded and pressed his earpiece.
"Reporting… I'll need backup at the deputy's office."
***
Henry stepped outside, news reporters were swarming the officers. Henry walked up to the chief, sirens blasting in the background. He tapped the chief's shoulder, gaining his attention.
"Arrest all individuals who are in the building and were in the building yesterday." Henry whispered.
"I need eight of you fellas to come with me! Quick!" The chief shouted, turning to face the entrance of the HQ.
Eight officers followed him as he entered. In the next few minutes, they arrested all individuals in the building except for the agents and Missio's team. Missio stood in the deputy's office, his face full of tension as the agents sealed off the office.