Bitter Cold Truth: A Tale of the Everburning City

(11-2) Left by duty weary and used

Bittersweet. It wasn't a word Samuel was fond of using.

But as he walked down the street, with Angela's arm wrapped around his back and her hand tucked into his coat pocket, the word seemed to snuggle itself into his cheerful, but melancholy thoughts.

There was abject terror in his thoughts, too. But even as Samuel's free hand rested on top of the model airship tucked into his other pocket, he refused to let himself think about what it meant. Knowing he had one of the greatest powers in the City in his coat pocket threatened to drive him mad.

"You're not worried about people knowing, Sam? If we walk inside together, we'll be walking into a room full of investigators. Pretty sure someone will notice," Angela asked. Her question pulled Samuel out of his worries, into a problem he was much happier to address.

"Fair point," Samuel replied, without pulling away.

Angela smiled and squeezed a little tighter. "Good answer, Sam."

Samuel only let her go to open the door once they reached the precinct. Samuel gripped the door handle and paused. "Guess I'm just ready to live on my own terms a little more. Sorry it took a near death experience to work up the courage."

"People are package deals, Sam. We come as we are, and if you aren't good with that, you move on. And you were worth waiting for," Angela said, detaching her arm from around him and setting her hand on top of his. She pushed and guided him to open the door.

They opened the door to see a tidal wave of dark blue. A crowd of orderlies, nearly everyone who worked at the precinct, were standing in a broad semicircle at the entrance. As soon as Angela and Samuel put their feet through the doorway, the crowd launched into a thunderous cheer.

The roar of hands clapping was deafening, and punctuated by irregular and intermittent cheers. The crowd held for just a moment before some of the officers surged forward.

Samuel went through a long series of nearly blind handshakes, firm claps on his back, and a chorus of congratulations. There was a rushing wave of smiles, and the cheer was so infectious Samuel immediately forgot the worries he had felt just before he opened the door.

Samuel was worried he would end up lost in this mass of goodwill until Captain Vaska eventually bellowed into the crowd. "That's enough! I have a letter to share with you all, and then I expect you to get back to work! Crime in the Billows isn't going to stop just because Ostal and Fraser manage a burning miracle."

"A letter?" Angela asked.

"Yes. Addressed to Sam and Angela, from some guy I'm sure you've near heard of. Anyone know the name 'Gerald Raeth'? Captain of some terribly named ship called the 'Midnight Songbird'?" Captain Vaska announced before she made a show of unfolding the letter.

"To Inspector Samuel Battleborn Fraser and Inspector Angela Ostal, First Billows Precinct," Captain Vaska began to read, pausing as the crowd cheered when she learned their precinct's designation aloud.

"I trust you are both recovered from last night's ordeal and will be indulged if you slept in this morning. If you were not forgiven for your late arrival, inform your Captain that any complaints should be sent directly to me, ideally by standing on the nearest balcony and shouting at my airship while I ignore her."

That elicited more than a few laughs from the room, and even a smile from Captain Vaska.

"Further interrogation of Clovis Hannover has yielded little pertinent information, but a rich collection of tangential discoveries. Copies of the interrogation transcripts have been sent along with this letter," Vaska continued. "The accord reached with the other belligerents in last night's incident has gone into effect, and they have begun their terms as agreed upon. Rejects Johnathan Stroud and Tessa Avaliyn have both been judged to be of sound and rational judgment, and have begun a work tour under the tutelage of a respected member of the Bureau of Lands and Cultivation. Gwendolyn Aranhall has few qualms about working with rejects, and has agreed to oversee their time."