Chapter 78 - New Assignment

The fourth floor of the police station was full of meeting rooms. Room 413 was at the end of the hall around the corner. As Finn walked down the hallway he steadied his gait and took a deep breath, calming his nerves. By the time he turned the handle of the meeting room door his eyes were focused and steady.

A plain room greeted him. It was wider than it was deep, with hardwood flooring and three rows of chairs lined up to face the front wall. The room was lit by a row of windows along the back wall, beyond which the bright urban landscape of the city could be seen.

There was only one other person in the room at the moment. He sat in the back row, three chairs down the row. He had medium length black hair that covered his eyes, a thin face and a lanky build. He wore a long sleeved white cotton shirt over top a pair of grey pants. A leather satchel sat on the chair beside him. His arms were crossed and his head was bowed as he seemed to be asleep in the chair. His feet were propped up on the seat in front of him, giving Finn a very casual, unprofessional first impression of him.

Based on his attire and attitude, a civilian? Finn wondered silently to himself as he examined the person who was approximately his age. Since there was no one else in the room Finn walked to the center row and took a spot six seats from the end, not too close or too far from the other person. 

The room fell silent as Finn wondered if he had been directed to the correct room. A few minutes passed without anyone entering the room, when the other man spoke up.

“Better get comfortable.” He said, a lazy tone to his voice, “I’ve been here for two hours already.”

Finn turned around in his seat and saw that the other man was looking at him with one eye open through his bangs, as if he was still half asleep.

“What are you here waiting for?” Finn asked in a polite tone.

The young man shrugged and said vaguely, “To be assigned to a team, I guess.” 

“Same here.” Finn nodded, and reached out his hand in a friendly gesture over the back of his seat as he introduced himself. “Finn Mackenzie.”

“Zwei Xing.” The young man replied, uncrossing his arms as he leaned forward to shake Finn’s hand firmly.

Zwei had a lazy expression on his face which he didn’t try to hide. He had been called into the station early in the morning and was told that due to the circumstances of the previous night his application to the police force had been expedited. The officer who picked him up was in such a rush that Zwei didn’t even have time to check on Yuzu before he left the house, but now he had been waiting in this room alone for almost the entire morning.

He wasn’t annoyed though. In fact this pace suited him just fine.

“You’re an officer, then?” Finn asked.

Zwei shook his head, “Not yet. I just wrote the last officer’s exam yesterday. You?”

“I’ve been in the DVMP for six months.” Finn said, abbreviating the department name - Domestic Violence and Missing Persons. He turned back to face the front, suppressing a frown. What was a newly trained recruit doing in this room? Wasn’t Finn supposed to be assigned to a special task force?

His thoughts were interrupted as the doorknob turned and in walked Chief Jintang Fang, dressed sharply in the standard slate grey uniform. There was a brief rustle as Zwei quickly put his feet down on the floor and both young men stood at attention. Chief Fang’s eyes stopped on Zwei and Finn, nodding at each in turn as he stepped into the room.

He closed the door behind him and motioned for them to sit down as he walked to the front of the room.

“I will keep this brief.” Chief Fang said, “Everything I say from this moment on is strictly confidential. You two have been specially selected and are being assigned to a new team. Once I explain the nature of this assignment, you will have the option to decline. If you decline, it will not affect your position in the police force. It will simply be as if this meeting never happened. You will only be required to take a binding oath to never speak of what you heard in this room.”

Seeing that there was no objection, Chief Fang continued.

“This team is an investigative unit with the sole purpose of investigating the circumstances behind the failed mission of the Special Ops team last night. This mission resulted in the deaths of Special Ops Chief Yang Yun as well as five senior officers. The consequence of their failure resulted in the last night’s attack on the city that claimed the lives of hundreds of civilians.”

Upon hearing these words, Finn felt like he had been struck in the chest. Chief Yun… is dead? The Chief was his mentor, the man who had helped him through the academy, who had fought for him to get into Homicide and Forensics and who had taken him out for drinks when he’d failed. The one who had taught him about the world of the Exalted. Chief Yun was the last connection that Finn had to his father. Yun was a pillar for him to hold onto in times of trouble, and a beacon for him to follow into the future.

Chief Yun is dead?

Finn could only repeat the question in his mind as his brain refused to understand what it meant.

“That was an attack...?” Zwei asked. “The vines, and the.. vampirs?”

Vampir was a term for a mythological creature. It referred to a corpse that came back to life and sucked the life out of its victims. The news of the crazed people with eyeballs and fronds growing out of their bodies had spread completely through the city, and this term had become the popular way of referring to the people who had suddenly lost control and attacked their friends and neighbors like beasts. This event that had swept the entire city had been given the term “The Night of the Creeping Vines”.

“The ministry has decided to partially cover up the truth in order to prevent widespread panic.” Chief Fang replied to Zwei, “The official story is that a foreign plague has come from the south, which causes a parasite to grow inside the infected. The symptoms are body sores, high fever and confusion. Civilians are instructed to report to the cathedral or hospital for treatment. The most important factor is preventing the initial infection, so people are urged not to go into the forest or wilderness, and to limit travel to the south.”

“As for the vines and eyeballs, this is the untreated terminal result. The host suffers symptoms of rabidness, much like rabies. Citizens are ensured that if they receive treatment in time, the parasite won’t reach this stage.”

“What about the vines that are growing in the street? Or the fact that all the plants seem to be growing wildly?” Zwei asked.

“Also a natural phenomenon.” Chief Fang said, “The vines are a fast-growing weed from across the sea, and this year just happens to be a fairly abundant year for plants.”

“Who is going to believe that?” Finn asked cynically, finally starting to recover from the shock. He shoved the feelings of uncertainty and anxiety down as he regained his composure.

“Since it is the official statement from the ministry, they will have no choice but to believe.” Chief Fang said simply. “Even regular officers will not know the true nature of these events. Only the Chief of each department and few select officers - which now include the two of you. The announcement of Chief Yun and the other officers’ deaths will also remain hidden for the time being.”

“This assignment is extremely dangerous. The forces that we are up against pose a national threat, and are capable of much more devastation than what we saw last night. Since the existence of this team is top secret you will not receive backup from other members of the police. You will be unable to share your activities with your family and friends.”

“In other words, aside from yourselves and your supervisor you will be alone.”

Chief Fang held his gaze on Finn and Zwei in turn once more, searching their eyes for any sort of hesitation. Neither young man showed any doubt in their eyes, even the lazy-minded Zwei had a firmness to his gaze behind his bangs.

“Any questions?” He asked, finally.

“No, sir.” Finn said with a resolute tone. He still couldn’t come to terms with Chief Yun’s death. The words did not sound real to him. He felt like he could just walk down the stairs and find his mentor in his office like any other day. But of course, this was just his emotions unable to accept reality. 

He thanked Noga that he had been given the chance to investigate this tragedy. No matter the cost he was willing to see this through.

There was a pause before Zwei spoke up, “What are the benefits?”

“Full senior officer’s pay. That is, the maximum pay one would receive after twenty years of service.” Chief Fang said, “In the event of your death your family will receive your yearly salary as compensation for the rest of their lives. You will have full support from your supervisor in the form of equipment, expenses and other logistical items.”

And Exalted powers. Finn thought quietly to himself. For such a mission, their advancement into the realm of super humans was a given. He silently chided Zwei, who probably had no clue that such a world existed. Once again he wondered why Zwei had been assigned to this team. Was he really the best candidate that the departments could find out of all the hundreds of officers? A zero-day newbie who was only worried about salary?

Finn blinked as a thought ran through his mind. And why were there only two of them here in this room? Chief Luan had said that each department was appointing one person. There were six departments, shouldn’t there be at least six people present?

“I shouldn’t need to say that this assignment is critical to the safety and security of Noga and its citizens. If you came to the force to make a difference, this is it.”

Finn didn’t have time to ruminate on this as Zwei nodded behind him and said, “I’m in.”

Chief Fang nodded and looked at Finn, who stood up straight and placed his palm over his chest in a salute.

“Honoured to be of service, sir!”