Border, KS

BEGIN CHAPTER 6: DEVELOPMENTS

Monday started early, with the coolness of the weekend leaving a little lingering mist on the still slumbering city. Walter walked in through the mist with a briskness to his step that matched the air, and a determined look on his face. The desk sergeant gave him a nod and waved him on through, a matching expression on the hispanic officer’s face.

The holding cells of the headquarters were deep in the back, and he had to stop and be checked several times, which warmed his heart. Even under normal circumstances he was in favor of people doing their job properly. When the people they were keeping had tried to kill his children—well, he thought briefly that maybe the guards weren’t there just to keep people from getting out.

Finally he came to the secured interview room, and looked in through the darkened glass to where a single prisoner was secured. “Only one?” He asked as he looked to the others. Marshal Alexander, Andre, Leah, and the newly minted Corporal Shaw were in the room watching.

“He’s the only one who has seemed willing to talk at all. In fact one of the others doesn’t have a tongue.” Alexander offerd darkly, shaking his head.

“So he either had cancer, or used to be a snitch for some very serious people.” Walter said as he stopped to consider. The man in the room, the one apparently willing to talk, was handsome. Sprays of silver dusted his dark hair, and his eyes were a pale crystal blue visible even through the dark glass. “But this one will talk?”

The rest of the room shared a look that Walter couldn’t identify. “Well…” Andre offered with a shake of his head. “Kind of.” He motioned.

The man seemed to know he was being spoken of, and raised his eyes to exactly where Walter was standing. “Transit lux, umbra permanet.” He said, with wry smile of amusement.

Before Walter could ask, Leah raised her notepad. “It means ‘Light passes, shadow remains’. It’s an inversion of a latin phrase, apparently.” She offered, before she smirked at Walter’s raised eyebrow. “I had to google it; they don’t reach latin at Hebrew school.”

Walter snorted before he turned back to the window to gaze on the man inside. “What did we pull up about him?”

Shaw turned away from the monitor, where he had been considering something. “He has a record for some minor violent crimes, and it looks like he was questioned by Interpol for a couple of things but either they were wrong, or nothing stuck.”

The others considered him for a moment before they looked back to one another. “So we have someone who may be violent, or may not be. Except we caught him with a rifle shooting at teenagers, so that answers that.” Walter summed up.

“So we’re going to go in a little bit blind.” Alexander agreed. “Maybe more than a little bit.”

“Come, Marshal and Marshalings.” The voice from inside the cell cried out, his voice strong and with just the hint of a melodic accent hiding behind years of practice. “I do believe that there are 72 hours before you have to charge me, and I have been waiting to talk to you.”

They all stared at the glass for a moment. “Christ, what an asshole.” Andre murmured, before they shared a general shrug.