376 Chapter 376: Return to the hotel

\"…what? Mother?\" I turned to stare at the step-siblings, stunned by the revelation. Neither Bu Fan nor Xin Chun was paying attention to me, their gaze fixed on the lady perched atop the rooftop. She appeared to glance in their direction, and then she leaped away and disappeared in a single bound, her figure swallowed by the night.

\"No way…\" Bu Fan murmured, his face hard. \"What is she doing here?\"

\"She just saved our lives,\" Xin Chun whispered, her voice still suffused with disbelief. Well, not exactly. Given our skills and the Constellation spirits I had already summoned, Bu Fan and I would probably be able to hold the kidnappers off, at least until the police showed up. Speaking of which, the sirens were getting increasingly louder as their vehicles rushed toward the scene.

\"Nobody asked her to. We could have handled those bastards on our own.\" Clenching his fists, Bu Fan glared into the distance, his face simmering with resentment. \"Leaving whenever she wants, showing up whenever she wants…still as selfish as ever.\"

I stifled my irritation at being ignored and repeated my question – louder this time. \"So that's your mother?\"

\"Ah, yes.\" Xin Chun seemed to remember that I was there, and she nodded. She was still riding on top of Canis Major, and Bu Fan reached up to help her down, cradling her protectively in his arms. Apparently he didn't trust anyone other than himself to handle the safety of his sister. \"It may be a while since we've seen her, but there's no mistaking it. That's definitely my mother.\"

\"Should we pursue?\" Bu Fan asked, glancing at Xin Chun. For some reason, his voice was unusually muted. Most likely he was taking into consideration Xin Chun's feelings and being sensitive in his own way. Xin Chun shook her head.

\"If Mother doesn't want to be found, there's no way we'll be able to track her down.\"

Bu Fan barked out a harsh laugh. \"That's true.\"

The lead police car pulled up right beside us, its tires screeching to a halt. Yes, they are still driving normal cars on wheels instead of bestowing hover technology and anti-gravity on all conventional vehicles. Seemed like all the flying cars of 70s and 80s sci-fi movies (like Blade Runner) was an unrealistic pipe dream. Anti-gravity hover technology was way too expensive for common civilians to install it in their daily vehicles. Not to mention impractical.

\"Hands up! Don't move!\" the police alighted from their vehicle, bringing their guns up to point their weapons at us. I obeyed, raising my hands, but predictably enough Bu Fan was too proud to surrender. He scoffed.

\"We're not the bad guys here. If anything, we are the victims.\"

\"We'll record your statement back in the station. I would like to remind you that you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in court…\"

\"In case you haven't noticed,\" Bu Fan growled, his voice dripping with annoyance. \"My sister is handicapped. I can't raise my hands unless I put her down somewhere, and unless you have a wheelchair somewhere inside that car, I'm not going to simply leave her on the ground. She can't stand or walk.\"

The police looked a little sympathetic, exchanging glances, and nodding.

\"Put your sister in the car. We'll bring you all to the station. But no tricks.\"

\"We are not criminals. I don't appreciate being treated like one…\"

\"Just do as they say, Bu Fan,\" I told him with a heavy sigh. \"Let's get this done and over with, and we can return to the hotel faster. The earlier we get back to the station, the faster we can show them the recordings, and the earlier they'll let us go.\"

Unable to argue with my logic, Bu Fan relented and carried his sister to the open police car. After he gently placed her upon the leather couch, he held his hands up for the police to handcuff him – but only after he spotted me doing so earlier. I heard the metallic snap and felt cool steel close around my wrists, but didn't complain about the lack of comfort. I noticed that the police didn't handcuff Xin Chun, and I silently approved of that.

Behind us, the rest of the police cars arrived, and the officers spilled out to carry out their investigations, hastily cordoning the scene and beckoning specialists over to cast spells to preserve clues and recreate the incident that had just occurred here. Combined with the public city cameras that kept a vigilant eye on the streets to maintian the security of its residents. The more cynical citizens would accuse the Federation of prying into their privacy and depriving them of their freedom, but honestly, unless you were committing a crime in public or doing something you knew was wrong, why should you care about being caught on camera?

Bu Fan insisted on being put in the same car as his sister, which was fair if you thought about it. After all, he had just literally saved Xin Chun from abduction. I allowed myself to be manhandled…I mean escorted to a second car, and waited a moment or two until the police could spare a couple of personnel to drive us back to the station.

At the station, we were then herded into separate interrogation rooms. I was heartened to see the station staff pull out a wheelchair from somewhere to accommodate the crippled Xin Chun, but that was the last I saw of either her or her brother before the police shoved me into the room. I obediently sat down on a chair, and then watched as the policemen shut the door, leaving me alone inside the room.

Sighing, I closed my eyes and waited. Fortunately, I didn't have to wait too long. Before I knew it, I heard the door creak open and my eyelids flung open. A detective in a trenchcoat and that cliché hat strode in, glaring at me from across the table as he took a seat opposite.

\"Why did you murder those men?\" he demanded without any hesitation. I gaped at him.

\"…excuse me?\"

\"Stop pretending! I know you murdered those men!\" he yelled before rising to his feet and striking me across the face. I crashed into the ground, tasting blood. What the fuck? Since when were police allowed to use violence?

While I lay on the ground, the detective kicked me in the ribs, sending me spinning. I coughed and curled into a fetal position, wondering if I should fight back. I would get into deep trouble, and it wasn't going to be a minor incident that I could easily cover up if I got into trouble with the authorities. I would get into all sorts of legal disputes, which would be guaranteed to put me out of the tournament for sure. Hell, I wasn't sure if being arrested like this would automatically disqualify, but I decided to play it safe for now.

\"Listen, kid. Just 'fess up your crimes and I'll make this quick and easy. If you admit your guilt, you'll avoid the death sentence. If you behave well, we'll let you go on parole, maybe twenty years max. Fewer if you behave yourself. But you need to be responsible and admit your crimes first.\"

He then hauled me to my feet and slammed me into my chair. I rocked against the cold metal and plastic, coughing out more blood. The detective smacked my face and then gripped my chin, forcing me to look at him.

\"Hurry up and 'fess up, kid. We haven't got all day.\"

\"I didn't kill anybody…\"

The guy struck me across the face, and I almost toppled over, only for him to stomp on my foot, pinning me to the ground as I jolted backward. Heaving, my vision almost blinded, I gritted my teeth and glared at him defiantly.

\"Oh? You don't want to cooperate, huh? We'll do this the hard way then.\" The detective punched me in the gut, causing me to double over. He then stalked off and opened the door. Glancing back, he sneered. \"Don't worry. What we have is time. We'll force the truth out of you eventually. A kid like you think you're so tough? You'll break like all the others do. I'll give you some time to think about it clamly and differentiate between right and wrong. When you're finally ready to confess to your crimes, you can let me know.\"

He then slammed the door, leaving me alone in the room.

\"…fucking bastard,\" I wheezed, wincing and closing my eyes to force away the pain. Gathering mana into myself, I trued to ease the injuries. Before I could do much, however, the door opened, and this time a different detective came in.

\"Sorry about that. I see that Detective Rottsfield has done quite the number on you.\" the newcomer had a kind smile, and he placed a cup in front of me. \"Coffee?\"

\"...thanks.\" I was relieved when I saw that it wasn't black, and I drank a sip. After placing the mug down, I watched as the second detective push a bowl toward me.

\"You must be hungry. Here, a katsudon (pork rice bowl).\"

I raised my eyebrow at that. Why a katsudon of all things? Then again, I was indeed hungry after throwing up half of my meal from Tofu House, so I accepted it gratefully.

As I scooped the rice into my mouth, the detective relaxed in his chair and watched me eat with a satisfied smile.

\"You look like a good kid. I hope you can cooperate with the investigation.\"

\"Sure.\"

\"So what happened?\" Leaning forward, he asked his question in a gentle manner. I glanced up from my bowl, recognizing the strategy. So this must be the good cop, bad cop scenario. Fine, I might as well play along.

\"My friend – Bu Fan – and I went to rescue his sister from a group of kidnappers. I can replay the whole video for you if you need to. I have it all recorded in my glasses.\" I tapped my glasses, which projected a holographic video in front of me. Swiping at it, I inverted it so that the detective could watch it properly. Raising my hand, I created a copy of the data and beamed it to his smartphone. \"You can watch the entire thing.\"

\"Thank you. That will be useful. So…the kidnappers attacked you, and you were forced to kill them?\"

\"We didn't kill them. Not me or Bu Fan, anyway. It was a…lady in black who did so. Bu Fan and Xin Chun said she was her mother, apparently. Hang on, let me find the scene for you.\"

Using my finger, I fast-forwarded to the end, when the kidnappers were obliterated by a single spell from Xin Chun's mother. The detective watched, his eyes widening for a moment.

\"Hang on…you sent this to my phone, right?\"

\"That's right.\"

\"Good.\" The detective rose from his seat. \"I'll be back in a bit. I need to show this to my superiors. If what you have just shown me is true…\"

\"It's true.\"

\"I don't doubt that.\" the detective forced a smile. \"But yes, once we confirm the veracity of your video…let's just say this is a very big find.\"

\"What do you mean?\" I stared at him, puzzled. The detective paused for a moment, as if conflicted whether he should tell me or not.

\"Let's just say she's a very big fish…a target that the police has been pursuing for a very long time. Sorry, but I can't tell you any more than that.\"

With that, he left, and I found myself alone in the room once more. With nothing else to do, I finished up my bowl of katsudon and waited.

I must have dozed off, because the next thing I knew, I was awaken by angry voices and the door slamming. To my complete surprise, it was Sacha Stuart who barged into the interrogation room, his usually handsome features twisted in rage.

\"What did you do to Richard?!\" he bellowed at the cowering policemen. Rottsfield, in particular, was slinking away, but Sacha glared at him. \"You beat him up to try and force a false confession from him? And you call yourself a policeman?!\"

\"Sorry…it's just that…the evidence was pointing toward the kids…\"

\"What evidence!? You brought them back to the station without having fully inspected the scene, and you beat Richard up before you tried getting any details or his own personal account of what transpired here!? Do you think I'm stupid? I've heard about how you guys operate. You just want to force a confession out of whoever you find on scene so that you can wrap up the case quickly. Isn't that right, Rottsfield!?\"

\"I…I…\"

\"The chief superintendent will hear of this, I promise you this.\" Sacha was glowering at the now frail-looking Rottsfield. \"About your illegal interrogations and assault on interogatees. I'll make sure you will never find a job in the police force again.\"

By now, Rottsfield had stopped stammering, and he hung his head, his shoulders sagging. I almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

\"Let's go, Richard. We'll get you healed up, and get you back home tonight.\"

Sacha's voice turned gentle when he turned to me. I nodded dumbly, feeling an immense sense of relief. This ordeal was finally over, and it was resolved without me needing to defiantly fight back against an abusive detective trying to force a confession out of me. I knew I made the right choice. Rottsfield would get punished and fired from his position, and I would return to participating in the tournament without a hitch. Great.

\"Actually, I'm staying in a hotel that the Federation booked for us students,\" I told Sacha. He nodded and inspected me. I must have looked quite the sight, with all the bruises and bleeding on my face. He shook his head in disgust before softening his face.

\"Oh, yeah. I meant hotel. But before we send you and your friends back, let's get those wounds healed.\"

He then glared at Rottsfield and the rest of the policemen, all of whom visibly avoided eye contact with the current Stuart clan head.

\"As for these…gentlemen…\" he almost spat out the word. \"You have my word that they will pay for their…methods.\"