General Population (6 page)

"Aye there, Maddix?" said a slurred voice from behind him. "Did your dog make a mess on the carpet?"

Maddix wasn't too surprised to see that two of the constables had decided to spend their patrolling night drinking heavily. He could smell cheap whiskey on both of them. Not that there was such a thing as fancy whiskey in Malevolent, but in his mind whatever whiskey the constables drank made it cheap by association.

"Go to hell! Where's your boss?"

"Probably at the station. Getting himself some beauty rest."

"Let's go wake him up." Maddix wiped the sweat from his brow. "Things are not
under control
anymore!"

Maddix's heart was beating so fast that his body temperature seemed to triple. This made the air around him so cold he felt like he was being locked in a freezer. He tried calming his nerves by drinking some cold water, but all that seemed to do was make it worse. Although he had felt scared before, he'd never felt this helpless. It was one thing being jumped by monster in the real world; it was another thing entirely to be trapped inside a cage with a whole civilization of them.
   

It was well over two hours since he had sent for Larouche and the elusive chief had yet to make an appearance. Although, he considered, that was probably not such a bad thing. Expecting Larouche to take anything he said seriously was a stretch but considering this latest attack, he would have to listen at least to reason if not act on it. Dead vampires, zombie attacks, and now werewolves? There needed to be some action taken, and it was now just a question of what the next steps should be. Violation of the pact between humans and the creatures of Malevolent has only one consequence … extermination.

Maddix glanced around the station watching all the activity going on around him. Mostly it looked like a lot of gossiping about what happened, but he could swear he heard a few jokes directed at his expense. He supposed it was kind of funny to see the overseer get caught with his pants down. It was assumed that someone with so much responsibility would be a little more alert to danger. That was a drawback of living in a prison where the prisoners can't harm you, though. You get soft.

The three drunken constables Maddix encountered were carrying the naked body of his attacker to the emergency first aid room. There wasn't any need for doctors or a morgue in Malevolent since no one ever got sick or seriously injured, and the prisoners took care of their own dead on the rare times they had any.

At least that's how it used to be.

It was like the whole world had changed the second Drahomira came into his office and reported her brother murdered. Maddix ran scenarios through his head to find a connection. Could this rabid werewolf have killed Havel Statsny? Something had to be sick in this wolf that attacked him, he could see it in his eyes. Could a werewolf even get rabies? And if they did, how did he contract it here? He supposed that theoretically it was possible. Magic and science didn't always work well together.

 
"Just got the word that the chief is rounding up some suspects and then he'll be here," said Constable Roberts with his head poking through the door.
 

"Suspects? Who?"

"I don't know, Colonel Mustard, and Professor Plum no doubt. They're always causing trouble around here," joked Roberts.

"Fine, whatever. Can you send someone to escort Ms. Cherane back here?"

"Oh yeah, already did. We figured you would want her here. Any case, we are always willing to accompany a beautiful piece like that to the station."

"Watch yourself." Maddix grew impatient. "You better show her some respect."

The constable's face went grim and his eyes narrowed. "Or what?"

"Prisoner escort coming through," shouted Larouche

Like a well-oiled machine, the constables in the station all stopped what they were doing and took positions by the entrance. Every man watched the three suspects closely as they walked in, followed by Larouche and four of his men. Maddix recognized the three of them immediately as Tanya, Eric, and William—the three werewolf pack leaders.

The expressions on their faces fluctuated between frustration and contempt. They didn't put up any resistance at all, but Eric and William refused any contact with the constables whenever they tried to lead them by the arm. Neither tried to touch Tanya, who displayed this reserved sense of calm, unlike her companions.

Javier did not seem concerned one bit for who they were or that the two men were twice his size as he stepped ahead of everyone and pointed to the door to the interrogation room. "Have a seat, please. I have some questions for you."

Maddix darted from the office. "What's this?"

"Monsieur Benbrook," Javier avoided eye contact, "I trust you are well. I have brought in these three for questioning, and we shall get to the bottom of this
unacceptable
attack on your person. Now if you will just run along—"

"No way! Not this time. There is something seriously fucked up going on and we have no time for a pissing contest. I'm going in there with you."

"Trust me, monsieur, I have the solution to this problem."

"Great, we can discuss in in there." Maddix slipped away and followed the three lycanthropes into the interrogation room.

Javier huffed in frustration but accepted defeat reluctantly. The two men took seats across from their guests.

Eric and William were both equally intimidating, but William's eyes were this constant shade of yellow that made him just a touch more frightening. They both looked like they had aged well in their forties—dog years he supposed—with long graying hair. William kept his hair in a ponytail, which only served to bring out his unsettling eyes better. Maddix read once that werewolves who spent too much time in wolf form tended to keep some of those animal attributes in human form. Then there were some that could just change certain aspects of themselves as tools or to intimidate. Maddix could not tell which was the case with William.

Tanya was a unique among the werewolves. She wasn't frightening physically, but there was an energy that exuded from her that set the hairs on one's skin straight. Every movement she made had grace and patience. After a few seconds of staring at her alluring blue eyes, Maddix noticed that she never blinked. Just looking on the surface it would be hard to picture her as being deadly, but Maddix knew that there was only one way to become a pack leader of werewolves … a fight to the death.

"Now," Javier chimed in, "I hope everyone is comfortable?"

Nobody said a word. They just stared at Javier and Maddix with disdain.

"If everyone here is honest and answers every question, this will be over quickly. Do you know why you are here?"

"Is this over a dead bloodsucker?" asked Eric, with a grimace.

"Maybe," Maddix jumped in. "You know of any?"

"I didn't say that," said Eric. "Just curious."

"Perhaps then you might be able to tell us why one from your kind would attack Monsieur Benbrook tonight?" Javier was all business.

"That's impossible," Tanya answered.
 

"Oh trust me," Maddix quipped, "it happened. I have the scars to prove it."

William hummed to himself.
 

"Something you wish to share, monsieur?"
 

"Not at all." William was a soft speaker. There was a calm to his demeanor that was unnerving. He seemed unfazed by anything.

"You're all aware of the zombie attack earlier today, right?" Maddix asked.

More silence.

"Listen," said Maddix, "we're not trying to accuse you of anything. If there is something wrong—"

"Monsieur, please. Did one of you order someone from your pack to attack Monsieur Benbrook tonight?"

"As I said before," Tanya replied, "that would be impossible. Overseer Benbrook is protected. Besides, we would have no reason to do so. Doing so would get us all killed."

"I propose a solution then." Javier's arrogance crept back into his voice. "The three of you shall be escorted to the body and identify the remains. If the attacker belongs to any one of your clans, you shall be held responsible and dealt with accordingly. Understood?"

"Wait—" Maddix couldn't get the words our before Larouche was ordering his men to join them in the room.

Javier instructed his men to escort the pack leaders to the first aid room and they obeyed without an argument. Each one took turns with William going first, followed by Eric. Both men shook their heads and walked out upset but composed. Tanya stopped and stood there frozen for a few seconds before giving in to tears. Suddenly the hard as stone pack leader appeared vulnerable and almost human.

"You know him," Maddix stated.

"I do, Overseer. His name was Benjamin."

"Is he one of yours?" asked Javier.

"He is."

"Stop, Tanya, don't say any more to them," said Eric. He put his hand on her shoulder.

"That settles things," said Javier.

Javier pointed to Tanya and his men escorted her to the cells. Eric and William stepped tried to step in but could not help her. They were powerless against unseen forces that prevented them from doing harm to the constables. Seeing their inability to react only confused Maddix even further considering what had just transpired. What was it that was special about Benjamin that made it possible for him to jump him?

"This doesn't prove anything," said Maddix. "It's circumstantial."

"This isn't a court of law and these people have no such rights," Javier snapped. He turned to Eric and William. "We have no further need for your assistance. I thank you. My men will escort you to the door."

"This is shit!" shouted William, his yellow eyes glaring at Larouche.

There were a few words exchanged before the two were shown the door. Maddix could see Tara passing them as she walked into the station. She made her way to Maddix and held him by the shoulders.

"Are you okay?" Tara asked.

"Little bruised up but I'll live."

"Madam Cherane, so sweet of you to join us. We have just concluded our investigation. Perhaps you could bring Monsieur Benbrook home and pour him a stiff drink. I assume that you will have much to decide now."

Tara barely acknowledged Javier. "What is he talking about?"

"Now hold on! I'm not rushing to make any snap judgments here."

"It is the opinion of this office that we have a clear violation of the pact and the next course of action is obvious."

"It not that simple, Javier," said Tara.

"It is simple to me, Madame. They broke the rules and they must pay the price. And the responsibility for reporting such violations falls on the overseer. The ball is in your court, as they say."

"It's not like I have a secret phone line to the outside," Maddix replied. "I need more solid evidence than some weak correlation."

"Monsieur," began Javier as he stepped in really close to the overseers; his voice lowered to a whisper, "I do not give a damn about these demons. We have all kept up this nonsense for long enough. Now do what needs to be done and get us out of this fucking hell."

Maddix was silent as Javier walked away from them. Part of him didn't think it was right to condemn everyone in Malevolent, but the other part sided with Javier. Things were worse than he thought if he was starting to agree with Larouche.

When Maddix awoke the next morning, his muscles in his upper body ached. It was a painful reminder that a rabid werewolf had almost eaten him the night before. He vowed to himself that when things settled down that he would start exercising more and reading less. Tara was always pushing him to be more physical, but Maddix was never much for athletics. That was his conclusion anyway. Who really knew what he was into? Not being able to recall his past made it hard to argue with Tara.
 

After getting dressed, Maddix made his way to the library. The earthly smell of fresh coffee smacked him in the face. Tara was already pouring two cups that she had laid out next to a silver-serving tray containing warm toast and muffins. Maddix's growling stomach reminded him of the delicious dinner that they never got to have.

"Good morning," Maddix muttering, picking up one of the full coffee mugs. Holding to his face, he gave the warm beverage a deep inhale. It was just what he needed to clear the cobwebs from his brain. With so much on his mind, Maddix had barely slept during the night.
 

"I made it stronger than normal. I imagine you need it as badly as I do."

"Yes," replied Maddix, sipping generously. "Probably the worst night of my life. Ironically, considering the circumstances, I didn't have those dreams, at least."

"Getting mauled by a werewolf was probably enough of a nightmare."

Maddix nodded in response, mouth full of coffee.

A knock coming from the adjacent office's door interrupted their morning banter. They both looked at each other with fraught expressions. What could possibly be next? Maddix was almost afraid to answer the door and find out, but answer it he did.

Maddix breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the smiling face of Ephrain Ketter wearing his apron and protective sleeves. Under his left arm, he carried a big book with what looked like a grasshopper on the cover.

"Aren't you supposed to be opening shop?" asked Tara, stepping in behind Maddix with her cup in hand.

"Yes, but it's not like they're beating my door down. I found some information on your bug friend." Ephrain held up the large book with a grin. It was an old science book about exotic insects from around the world. After letting himself in he dropped the aged tome onto Maddix's desk.

 
"What did you find?"

"Well," said Ephrain, as he flipped through the worn pages, "the wings themselves match different varieties of wasp, but the coloration is more closely related to the South Asian variety of jewel wasp."

"South Asian? How the hell did it get here?"

"Can't help you there, but I can say, these are a nasty breed of a bug. The jewel wasp reproduces by stinging a cockroach in the brain and turning it into a zombie. Then it lays its eggs inside it, and the larvae eat the poor sucker from the inside out. Vicious bastards."