Bitter Cold Truth: A Tale of the Everburning City

(2-2) Could be a kindness

"I imagine you don't understand the significance of this," the woman addressed as 'chief' said. "But a Crafter or even a reject murdering anyone is extremely rare. Deaths do happen, particularly when a Crafter is lost to their power, but those are casualties of the job. I actually suspect the two of you have dealt with more murderers than this entire bureau."

"I..." Samuel began to say.

But to Samuel's surprise, it was Angela who spoke next. "I think I understand, ma'am. I used to be army, until..."

Samuel cringed as Angela waved the stump of her left arm, the sleeve billowing a little.

"And as much I dealt with violence and horror, I never really had to confront with the worst of who we are as people before I joined the orderlies. The intent matters. If you mean to kill someone, it doesn't matter if it's a knife, a Salamander, or the Craft."

"Army?" The woman asked.

Angela snapped to attention and saluted, her right fist resting over her heart. "Aye, ma'am. Inspector Angela Ostal, formerly of the Third Platoon, Twelfth Company, Second Brigade, North Army. And this is my partner, Inspector Samuel Battleborn Fraser. Rest assured, we will find your quarry."

The woman smiled at Angela's assertion, and held out her hand. "Deputy Chief of Oversight, Agrias Sunbane. Welcome."

Agrias shook Angela's hand firmly, then extended it to Samuel. "And thank you for doing this."

Samuel shook Agrias' hand firmly. "Does this Starson Vontusk have any records or reports we can take a look at? Judging by what witnesses overhead, I believe our quarry and Mr Vontusk knew each other."

Agrias smiled and pointed across the table. "Hendricks, bring me Starson's case files."

"Starson will have a record of his most recent assignments. His last reports should have been no more than two days ago," Agrias explained. The woman smirked a moment later, and added, "Oversight may be a paramilitary agency, but we spend almost as much of our time writing reports as we do at our jobs."

"You're confident Starson had kept up on his records?" Samuel asked.

"I am," Agrias said.

A man stepped beside Agrias, and set a small metal box on the desk in front of her, and nodded politely before he stepped away and melded back into the cacophony of activity.

Agrias took the lid off the box and set it aside. "Starson was a well-regarded name in the Bureau. And a prize assignment for any reject. Over the last few years, he had been given politically sensitive jobs, because I trusted him to avoid killing someone unless he had to."

"So his case might have been politically sensitive?" Angela asked, glancing over at Samuel.

"That fits with what witnesses reported," Samuel said, nodding in agreement. "The High Central accent, a stage actor haircut, it wouldn't be strange for this reject to be part of a well-connected family."

"I think I have it, inspectors," Agrias said, as she set a report in front of Samuel. "It was assigned to him directly from the bureau chief, six months ago. And yes, this assignment was politically sensitive. His assignment's name is Silas Miller."

"Silas Miller?" Samuel asked. The name was vaguely familiar, just enough to tickle at Samuel's memory without any context.

"His father's a senior architect for the Bureau of Civil Development, but his mother is the reason this is sensitive," Agrias explained. "She-"

"Has a seat at the Agora," Angela finished for her. "She's a member of Parliament."

"Matthew," Agrias barked, pointing down the hall. "Take a team and go check the boy's residence. If you don't find this coddled speck of ash, keep the building under surveillance. It's good odds this kid will try to get something from his home."