Four Comrades

by General_Pankow

Chapter IV: The Bloodhound of Secret Service

A Changeling in a blue tunic appeared in the doorway of the apartment. A dozen of his colleagues were already waiting for him, and about two dozen more policedrones were cordoning off the entrance to the room. Almost all the forces of the local station were pulled here, apparently the partner still called for help...

"What happened here? "

Lieutenant Artis, the namesake of an old acquaintance, loomed over the Kulex like a thundercloud.

"Look for yourself."

Kulex simply replied. He was apathetically calm after everything he had seen.

"There is a mayhem in the living room, the owners are killed. Here is the witness."

"I see, old fellow. You're up to your ears."

The lieutenant said reproachfully.

"Do you understand what will happen now?"

"I understand, Herr Leutnant."

Kulex replied wearily.

"What happened here?!"

An approaching voice sounded menacingly. It was some kind of oberst from the hive police department, with a large retinue of various experts and detectives. One of them caught the attention of Kulex. He was a tall, but thin as a sleeper changeling with a coal-black shell and the same black jacket, his eyes were colorless, but sighted, and expressed something unclear.

At the apartment of the prematurely deceased Herr Antis, a crowd began to gather again, this time consisting of shifters in blue uniforms. The police went around the apartments, interviewed potential witnesses. Of course, no one heard any screams, no crash of broken furniture and sets, no trampling, nothing, as usually happens. The door of the doordrone's room was broken into, he was detained as a suspect. Kulex saw the mask of doom on the face of this elderly changeling, at that moment it seemed to him that the case would be put on the brakes, and the poor servant would be made a scapegoat...

The ill-fated living room was examined, the evidence was carefully collected and sent to the Main Station. Absolutely everything that was damaged in the mayhem was taken as material evidence, except for large furniture, it was examined on the spot. Detectives and experts examined every meter, every trace of a hoof strike. This was done to make a cast of the attacker's hoof and thus narrow down the circle of suspects. However, this time everything was done with some barely noticeable negligence, the highest ranks of the police were here purely out of formality, apparently already understanding what is really required of them. The changeling in the black jacket behaved strangely: he appeared here and there, spoke to junior police officers, spoke almost in a whisper and very quickly, apparently about something important.

It was foolish to say that Kulex felt something was wrong. He was in this state from the very beginning, knowing perfectly that it would not end well for him. The thought was spinning in his head: "Everything is gone, I'm finished.", but he continued to do what was required of him. Cold, calm, even apathetic, realizing that it is better to do your job to the end than to break down and disgrace yourself. He chose this path by his own will, and it's not his fault that he got to where anyone could get to. There was a high will in this incident, and he was terrified of it. He was afraid, and I stood like a tin soldier in the middle of the fire. His comrades looked at him as if he were a martyr.

The night, the street, the lanterns illuminate the way with a bright cold light. Housing unit at the top in which the Kulex was serving was left above. For many of its inhabitants, life ended at four am and began at one pm, while simpler people lived down here. Kulex turned the corner, his gaze skimmed over the apartment numbers, his body went intuitively.

That's the right one, the policedrone put his hoof to the bell, already feeling guilty for it. A nasty tinkling sound was heard outside the door, a minute later the door was already open, and Frau Cardia was standing on the threshold — Kulex rented a room in her apartment.

"What happened?"

She asked. Kulex could only shake his head and shrug his shoulders. Despite his shining uniform, he looked broken. Cardia sniffed, realized that changeling was not drunk, but dead tired, and let him into the apartment. Cardia was not very respected by her neighbors, there were dirty rumors about her, and in general renting out a living space was not considered the most honorable thing. But she didn't care about that, and neither did her tenants.

The room of the Kulex was small, it contained one bed, a small table, a chair, and a wardrobe. The policedrone closed the door, took off his uniform, and fell on the bed without strengthless. He usually had either nightmares or bizarre dreams consisting of past events composed in a variety of ways. Now there was only an empty darkness of oblivion: heavy, hopeless.

"Kulex! Kulex!"

The voice seemed to break through the water column. The darkness dissipated, consciousness cleared up. How long did he sleep? Probably less than the required amount. His head was cracking like after a hangover, whole body ached. Changeling got up, quickly made the bed. The calling voice did not subside, but only intensified. Now a knock on the door was added to it. The policeman quickly pulled on his breeches and jacket, and opened it. Cardia was standing in front of him in a scarlet robe.

"Kulex! An officer just came in. They want you urgently at the main station. Maybe for disciplinary reasons."

"Are they calling? Okay..."

Kulex said calmly, and slammed the door back. He quickly put himself in a semblance of order, as someone who for most of his life was obliged to look at his best, as the face and hand of Her Majesty Chrysalis's law, was able to do. After getting dressed and somehow wiping his facial shell, Kulex, without sitting down at the table, took a bottle of essence and took a few big sips, then he put on his cap, and without a second's hesitation left his closet. Already at the door, he met Cardia's gaze: he expressed bewilderment and fear. Kulex nodded firmly to her, saying goodbye, and left the apartment.

---

A large clock standing next to the entrance to the Main Station showed five in the morning. The hive was slowly waking up, and Kulex was walking quickly through the corridors of the station, accompanied by several of his colleagues. As already mentioned, the young policedrone did not want to waste his last strength on fear of his superiors, preferring to accept his fate and not aggravate an already lousy situation. Here is a door decorated with a beautiful blue fabric. There was no inscription, so everyone knew who lived here. The interior of the room was relatively ascetic, but without mahogany and Kirin porcelain it was still impossible to be without. There was a table right in front of the entrance, the same police oberst was sitting at the table, he was shaking the air with his "What happened here!?" a few hours earlier.

"Herr Kulex, sit down. The rest won't be needed here."

He spoke with imperious calmness. The other policedrones left, in fact Kulex was brought here under guard. He was just called in for a report, but it was more like an interrogation. Changeling sat down on a chair directly opposite the Colonel's desk. The chair for the invitee was rough and uncomfortable, as in many other senior's offices around the world.

"Well, then, Herr Kulex. Let's get started..."

Oberst lit his pipe and sedately sprawled in his chair, his gaze seemed peaceful, but in fact penetrated to the bone.

"What did you do when you saw what happened?"

ЭMy partner went to get for backup, I went to restore an order at the crime scene. Witness, inspection of the place..."

"Why is there only one witness?"

The chief's voice rose dangerously.

"He volunteered, there were no others..."

"How come there were no others?! There was a crowd of witnesses, they could have looked better! There should be more than one who could help the deal, and it doesn't matter if they want to be them or not!"

Oberst suddenly blurted out.

"But... Herr Oberst... these onlookers were not witnesses, none of them caught the moment of the murder..."

"Don't you dare to destort me!!! Who are you, and who am I?! For such an argument, I would tear off your shoulder straps and throw you into the underhive! I have all the documentation on the case, but you are just another pair of eyes that did not see everything, and moreover, turned out to be lazy to such an extent that you did not see what you had to see!"

This speech was nothing but a crushing blow, perfected to ideal over the years. From it, the Kulex shrank into the chair, and trembled like an aspen leaf. He was no longer up to apathy and stoic fatalism, the idea that his work was in question crashed into his head with renewed vigor. More questions followed. Information was squeezed out of the changeling drop by drop about almost every minute of that ill-fated day, then the oberst moved on to the day before yesterday, to last week. One by one, minor offenses of a policedrone were revealed: there he went into a pub, here he appeared in an imperfect uniform, here he did not give a salute to a senior officer quickly enough, they also recalled the harsh treatment of the herr in a blue jacket on the day of the murder... Every flaw, every blunder was sorted out by the colonel in the smallest detail. What is traditionally turned a blind eye to was suddenly put up against the Kulex as a weapon. Time dragged on like a viscous, smelly resin.
Finally, the boss finished, carefully shook out his pipe and smiled broadly:

"You are a sinner, Herr Kulex, and for your misdeeds you deserve to be punished much more than this. You will be deprived of your bonus for six months, and at the first occasion you will be kicked out in the cold... You are free."

He spoke calmly, and even with some gaiety. Kulex got up from his chair with difficulty.

"Right, Herr Oberst…"

"He mumbled to himself, leaving this terrible office."

Despite all the hardships that befell him, Changeling had to work as usual. He got to his small station, reported there to the local authorities. Everyone understood everything, and could only sympathize: to bring such a cruel anger of the high rank authorities literally from stretch really looked like the worst fate. At the police station, Kulex finally cleaned himself up, and by eight in the morning he had already gone on patrol. He silently wandered around the residential block, and his partner walked with him like a pale shadow, not arousing his interest and not wanting it. The pitiful deprivation of the bonus looked ridiculous, but the chance of dismissal for almost any reason (which, as it turned out, was easy to find) hung over him like a raised sword of executioner. Dark thoughts haunted Kulex, he was strong enough to endure the horror of last night, but he did not have enough strength to live on in the situation in which he found himself. "Is everything really gone?" "How could I cause anger by doing my job?" These questions were spinning in his head, and he refused to accept the ruthless answers to them.

The shift of the Kulex ended late in the evening. He was tired yesterday, had a bad night's sleep today, hardly ate, and his future life came under a bold question mark. He found a solution: he went to a pub after the service. This drinking establishment was one of many similar eateries scattered throughout the towering vertical of Vrax, avoiding perhaps the tip of the Main Spire. Here those who did not have enough money for something more found solace: petty officials, doordrones, retired military and many others. Kulex sat down at a small table in the darkest corner, he had one glass and a bottle of cheap tincture, which could only be called schnapps by a stretch. He decided to pour alcohol over his trouble.

From the first glass in the eyes darkened, and already confused thoughts of tired consciousness mixed up even more. Changeling stared blankly at the countertop, wondering if it was worth pouring a second one.

"Why are you sitting here alone, a servicedrone? It's not good to drink alone..."

Someone blocked the dim light of the lamp. Kulex looked up and saw a gray-eyed changeling in a black leather jacket. He recognized that quiet voice, which this time sounded like a kind mockery. The policeman stared at him blankly for a minute, and then he recognized him.

"Herr… Were you there, among the other detectives? Why do you need me? I'm wasted..."

"Yes, it was me, Kulex. I can help you, and I know how."

He leaned towards the Kulex, and he saw numerous traces of marks from teeth and hooves, almost completely smoothed out with a file, but noticeable on closer inspection.

"I represent some... higher instances of our justicia. I don't know what happened there yet, and neither do you, but I already know that this case is murky, and you and that doordrone were made guilty. He'll just be shot, and you'll be kicked out of work.

"So our police are sabotaging their own activities?"

Kulex perked up, and even sobered up a little, in this changeling he seemed to have a ray of hope.

"No, but there are definitely rusty links in it, we just need to find out who it is..."

The detective paused briefly.

"And you will help me in this. There is a big power behind me, I will be able to ease your fate."

"OK. I agree. What is required of me?"

The policeman didn't hesitate for a second.

"Work harder. This murder clearly did not happen for nothing, suspicious individuals may appear in your patrol area. Listen, look, report everything to me. Maybe you will come under my care at all. Do you want to solve the case and punish those involved?"

"Of course I want to. I'm not a truth-teller, but what happened yesterday means a lot to me now."

"That's good."

The detective took a small glass out of his jacket, poured swill into it, tipped it over and grimaced: "I've had better." Then he got up, nodded curtly to Kulex and disappeared among the tavern regulars. The policeman returned home still tired, but now he knew that he had not been forgotten and betrayed, that there was a chance that justice would be confirmed, and the perpetrators would be severely punished, whoever they were...