Cop Craft – Dragnet Mirage Reloaded

A police car parked on the shoulder end of New Guinness Avenue. Setting a map on the hood of the car in place of a table, Inspector Zimmer and a couple of other officials were in the midst of negotiations. Spotting Matoba and Tilarna in front of the coroner’s office, Zimmer gestured towards them exaggeratedly.

「Looks like we’ve been called.」

「Yes.」

Shrugging his shoulders, Matoba went over to Zimmer and the others. Tilarna grabbed her embroidered coat, before following after him.

「We found another victim.」

Hearing his words, Matoba scowled, groaning in frustration.

「Fuck. Where, sir?」

「The body was discovered in the parking lot of the Alamo Park mall. Security officer. Throat torn to bits. A couple witnessed the scene.」

「Alamo Park?」

Matoba looked down at the map on top of the hood. The place in question was about five kilometers away from here.

「Hey, isn’t this outside the perimeter? It hasn’t even been thirty minutes since she left. How the hell did she get this far?」

「That’s why I called you here.」

Zimmer exasperatedly said, glaring at Tilarna as he did.

「Exedilika. The vampire ⸺ how fast is she? Is it possible for her to travel five clicks in just twenty minutes? With a missing arm and without being seen by anyone?」

「I do not know.」

Tilarna answered. Like a Noh mask1, she was expressionless.

「Even in my world, we do not know much about the vampire ⸺ the Ladé Neven.」

「You think ‘not knowing much’ cuts it?」

The head of crime prevention reprimanded her there and then. He was a tall and lanky man wearing a beige suit. To have reached that position before forty years of age, he must have quite the background.

「We already have victims turning up. Judging from this girl’s information, by the time we finished setting up the perimeter, that monster was already long gone, attacking citizens left and right. We can’t afford to let it go wild any further. At this rate, we’ll have an entire city-wide lockdown on our hands. How do you plan on taking responsibility for this?」

「That is……」

Tilarna looked down, at a loss for words. The head continued.

「This is exactly why I was opposed to hiring Semanians in the first place. I don’t know what the Director-General was thinking. We civilized people have our own way of doing things. In the end, this happe⸺」

「Why don’t you leave it at that, sir. The longer you sit here spouting your theories, the more dead we’ll have on our hands.」

Before Matoba could say anything, Zimmer had spoken up.

「What?」

「If that girl wasn’t there, Dr. Epps would have been killed, the vampire would have escaped regardless, and we wouldn’t have found out till the morning. I’d consider us lucky. Am I wrong?」

「Inspector Zimmer. What are you saying……」

「In the first place, Exedilika works under me! If you have a problem with it, say it to my face goddammit! YOU BRAT!」

On the receiving end of one Zimmer’s tantrums, the head of criminal prevention lost all color in his face. The other higher-ups were also dumbfounded at Zimmer’s menacing attitude. Giving a final snort of his nose, Zimmer turned on his heel, telling Matoba and Tilarna to ‘come’, before briskly crossing Bluebird Street back over to headquarters.

Good grief, treating the head of criminal prevention like a brat……

「What a surprise.」

Chasing after Zimmer’s back, Matoba pleasantly said. Tilarna herself must have thought his actions strange, for her eyes were wide open.

After all, the head of criminal prevention not only outranked Zimmer but held greater jurisdiction over general police operations. While the head may indeed be an asshole, there was no way anyone would directly challenge his decisions. To yell at him amid that crowd, it might come back to bite him in the ass later on.

「What? You guys got something to say to me too?」

Zimmer said.

「No, nothing.」

「Then don’t be surprised by every single thing. Ya fools.」

「Aye aye, sir…… So, do we get leave from work?」

「That’s right. Hunting monsters isn’t part of the job description here at Vice. Give us all the necessary information and go home. Oh, and don’t forget the notice.」

「Of course, sir. I’ll even reimburse you for it.」

「That just about does it. Know you won’t be paid for this. Alien, what about you?」

Having been referred to in a discriminatory manner once again, Tilarna had a complicated expression on her face. Still, given the circumstances a while ago, she could not stay displeased. She was beginning to understand what sort of man Zimmer was. Without uttering a single word, she nodded.

「Okay. Then, let’s hear your thoughts on the matter.」

Stopping at the entrance to headquarters, Zimmer said to the two.

「The police probably won’t do much more than this. Especially at this stage. Sure there’s a risk, but it’s only one vampire. Warnings will be sent out, but we can’t expect them to suddenly declare a monster on the loose.」

「Well, that is about right.」

「We know full well the extent of our responsibilities. Just like you said, Chief, hunting monsters ain’t part of our job description. At the very least, we’d like to find her and give chase but⸺」

「You have something up your sleeves?」

「Nope. Zip. To be honest, we don’t have a choice but to follow her traces. It’s just….. that vampire has no idea how society works over here. She won’t be able to pull any tricks. We’ll be able to catch her right away.」

「Hmm……」

Arriving at the parking lot, Zimmer stared deeply into Matoba’s eyes. They were not the eyes of the grumpy old man from across the street, but those of an experienced investigator evaluating the suggestions of his subordinates.

「Very well. I’ll take care of the backup.」

「Thanks. Besides, I’ve got the perfect police dog right here.」

Matoba pointed to his partner with his thumb.

「Bolice dog?」

As Tilarna furrowed her eyebrows, Zimmer curved his massive lips up into a nasty grin.

A hundred meters away from the coroner’s office, a car was parked.

It was a red ‘07 Ford in mint condition, unremarkable in the eyes of the patrolling officers.

A man was in the driver’s seat. Wearing a cheap suit, he was a Hispanic under thirty years of age. It appeared as though he had just gotten off work, and was waiting for someone.

This time, however, the red Ford caught the attention of the two officers working the intersection, leading them to approach the vehicle. One took one side to cover his partner, while the other knocked lightly on the driver-side window in an attempt to get the driver’s attention.

「Do you have any business here?」

「No. Am I not allowed to park here, officer?」

The driver calmly answered the officer.

「You’re not breaking any laws, but I’m going to have to ask you some questions. Who are you waiting for?」

「Sure. My girlfriend’s one of your colleagues, officer. Her shift is ending soon, so I came here to pick her up.」

Saying that, the man pointed towards the police headquarters across from the coroner’s office with his chin.

「Is that so? Do you know her name and which department she works in?」

「Officer Jennifer Vincent. Dunno which department she’s in though…… Something related to communications. You don’t know her? She has brown hair. Kinda petite.」

「I’m not sure. I barely ever go to their floor. Mind if I take a look at your driver’s license?」

「Yeah, go ahead.」

The man brought out his license, showing it to the officer.

「Officer. Is it okay if I stay here?」

「Yes. But please do not go any further. It would inconvenience forensics.」

「Understood. But, how strange. Did something happen?」

「Who knows. I’m haven’t heard much about it myself. Well, then.」

Pretending not to know, the officer quickly left the car alone. In reality, there had been a murder at the coroner’s office, but he had no obligation to tell an ordinary citizen about it.

「Well, I can imagine what happened……」

Seeing the officers off back to the intersection, the man muttered to himself.

Completely expressionless. In a perfectly monotone voice.

「We’re late. Letting her go like that…… This is going to be a pain in the ass.」

Several minutes later, he saw several detectives cross the street over to police headquarters. A large Eastern man and a Semanian girl clad all in white. Following a black detective inside, they came out of the parking lot less than a minute later, heading north of Bluebird Street.

「Oh my, that person is…… What a pleasant surprise. I am not particularly well-versed in the art of surveillance.」

His lips relaxed slightly.

Afterward, the man took out his cellphone, setting it at a certain height against his ear such that the officers from before could see, and pretended to have a conversation with someone. From their point of view, it looked as though his girlfriend had just told him to ‘go on home.’ However, the reality was the two of them have never met. He had simply looked up her name and department before providing the information to the officers.

The man abruptly started his ignition and drove out of the place.

Towards the north of Bluebird street

TL Notes: See the following.