The Paladin Short Stories

The Nightingale Chapter 5

Neither detective knew what to make of that before Jormund pointed at the door, his eyes not shifting from the screen.

Even so, his finger was pointed at a door that opened up to reveal a frazzled-looking dwarf rushing through towards where the captain was standing.

"Sir, we have a situation developing outside."

"What kind of situation?"

"The press got wind of the k********g. We have fans outside in numbers, asking about what happened to Carina. And, of course, news outlets are providing live coverage of what's happening to the minute."

"s**t," the captain growled. "They're going to start spinning the narrative in fifteen different ways if we don't get them something to work with. Who the hell leaked this to the press anyway? I thought we were keeping this under wraps for the moment?"

"The kidnappers leaked it to the press," Jormund cut in smoothly, his annoyingly soft voice carrying easily through the room. "How else are they going to keep themselves appraised of what we're doing?"

"I don't like this," the captain continued, shaking his head. "I don't like that they've been anticipating our every move."

"Give them a report," Jormund suggested. "Tell them that the kidnappers have made contact and that there is proof of life, meaning their beloved siren is still alive and will likely be returned alive soon. No cause for panic."

"How does that help us?" Wolmark asked.

"It gives us a little more time to operate until all the cameras turn to the detectives instead of the captain. I'd say... about three hours for us to find something out before the scrutiny is turned up to the point where it's impossible for us to work. From that point forward, be prepared to pay the ransom. That is my suggestion."

The captain nodded slowly, turning to the two detectives. "You two had better have something to show for this. I'm about to make an i***t of myself if you don't. Do you understand?" Wolmark and Vinders both nodded, and the captain turned his attention back to the officer that was waiting for orders. "Let everyone outside that we're going to make an official statement in ten minutes. That it's an investigation in progress, and we appreciate their patience."

The officer nodded, turning and sprinting back out as the captain retreated back to his office, likely to prepare his statement.

Both the detectives turned their attention back around to the paladin, whose expression hadn't changed from the point that he'd spoken to the chief. Vinders could almost see the gears spinning in his head.

"What are you thinking?"

The Paladin didn't answer immediately, but his fingers tapped at a quick pace on the table in front of him, his unnerving eyes twitching. "They'll be watching every move that the police make. That's why they've been making sure that everyone is informed of the situation. We need to take advantage of that. Let the cameras follow someone else. They're going to be moving to the agent's house, setting it up for them to pay the ransom asked. Perea, I think her name was?"

"They are?" the dwarf asked, tugging idly at his beard.

"Indeed. We, on the other hand, will be heading over to where our kidnappers are. Keep an eye on them, make sure that nothing goes wrong with the handoff, and maybe get the siren out of there if the opportunity arises. We do know where they are, yes?"

It took a few seconds for the techie to realize that he was being spoken to. "More or less. From within a couple of blocks at least."

"We can head over there and find out the rest," the paladin noted. "We head out after the rest of the officers move to Carina's. Make sure that none of the cameras are going to be around."

"I don't like just waiting around like this," Vinders grumbled, fidgeting with his badge.

"The paladin is right," Wolmark finally agreed, although the dwarf didn't appear happy with the admission. "If we leave immediately, there will be reporters hounding our car like fae to a honeybee. We need to wait if we're going to try something creative."

The paladin's eyes were firmly locked on the screen, like he was trying to see something that the rest of them had missed.

"You fought in the Mist, didn't you?" Vinders finally asked. "The captain says that he was in the fighting, but only at the end, when the empire was already retreating. Did you ever fight with him?"

Jormund shook his head. "Can't say I ever did, but then, the paladins were very rarely fighting on the same fronts as the rest of the soldiers. They wanted us deep in the Mist, where we could operate more effectively, I suppose. Not a lot of point in having specialized troops mixed in where the blind shooting is at its thickest."

The man didn't even look like he was paying attention as he spoke, like his mouth was working independently of the rest of his body. Vinders had seen the like in the past, but mostly from people whose minds were a little too active to spend too much time in the present.

He was looking for something, and Vinders did want to ask him about it, maybe help to keep the two detectives in the loop, but he was afraid that he would be breaking the man's concentration.

Was man really the right term? It didn't sound like the right term.

Vinders didn't have time to break the paladin's concentration as he rose to his feet in a single, smooth, almost unnatural motion, looking around himself.

"I think we have our opening," he stated, tilting his head, like he was listening for something. "We have eyes turned away, and it is our only window to leave this place without dozens of anxious reporters hounding us for details, and transmitting those details back to our kidnappers, unwittingly, or not."

Vinders narrowed his eyes. Too many questions were coming to mind, but none of them felt important enough to interrupt, as Jormund stopped at the door.

"I assume that one of you wishes to drive the car that will take us to the location in question?" he asked, realizing that they weren't following him yet.

"Oh, right." Vinders was already on his feet, motioning for his dwarven partner to follow suit as they headed on over to the elevators, taking them down into the lower levels of the building, and the parking lot, where they immediately picked out one of the plain, undercover cars that would not be spotted by any but the most trained of eyes.

Sure, they couldn't just assume that their quarry didn't possess such eyes, possibly even artificially made, but it was certainly better than just heading out in a vehicle with the bright markings of the Renfold Police Department.

Vinders scowled as he could see literally dozens of cars and vans parked out in front of the building, with a veritable crowd standing on the steps, looking like they were literally hanging on to every word that the captain had to say about the situation.

They couldn't all be reporters. Most were doubtlessly streamers or bloggers, looking to give their take on the k********g, and others were likely fans, hoping to learn what happened to their beloved siren.

As Jormund had surmised, they were all too busy listening to the press conference to consider the nondescript sedan leaving through one of the side exits.

"I'm just glad I don't have to deal with those jackals on a daily basis," Wolmark muttered, pulling his seat up to make it a little more comfortable for a dwarf his size.

"If the idea is to rise up in the ranks of the police department, you might have to learn to deal with them," Jormund noted, rubbing his temples in the back seat.

"That's why I don't think I'll ever rise up to captain." Vinders disliked the idea as well, and while he did have ambitions, they had nothing to do with rising in the ranks of the police department. Not anymore, anyway.

"I might," Wolmark muttered. "That, or I could just jump over to a job in the private sector. I hear they have some hiring practices that would give me a solid salary right off the bat after I get enough time in the department to allow myself a retirement option."

"How long until that happens?" Jormund asked. The paladin looked like he was in the throes of a headache and needed to keep the conversation going, if only to stave the effects off.

The winding streets of Renfold meant that high speeds were only possible on the freeways outside the city, especially as they started climbing into the chapters, working their way up the cliffs overlooking the port and the sea beyond. Vinders liked the view out into the waters. He could see the storms out on the horizon, with the occasional crackle of lightning showing, while Renfold was one of the few ports safe enough to trade in.

There was a time when he would have wondered about what caused those storms and why they still raged, but all he could think now was about how lucky he was to have settled in a spot that was safe from all of it.

He pulled the vehicle to a stop outside the building that the techies had narrowed down as one of the possible locations. If Carina was being held nearby, it didn't look like anyone else had caught wind of it yet.

"The rest of the officers will be heading to the siren's mansion," Jormund muttered, handing them a radio to stay in touch. "That's where the manager will be handling any demands for ransom. If I were a betting man, I'd say that's what our kidnappers are waiting for before making their move."

Wolmark turned around in his seat to see the man. "And what move do you suppose they will make?"

Jormund opened his mouth and shook his head a few times. "I'm not sure. Too many possibilities. The likely story is that they want to follow the police on their investigation to stay ahead of it. What their next step might be is impossible to know, unless you know a mystic of some repute."

"Mystics are bullshit," Wolmark grunted, tugging idly at his beard. "You get an old man with a long white beard and mutter something about future events. If he's good enough, he makes it vague enough that people will see future events and think that the old bastard has a third eye or something."

"Don't let the queen's guard hear you say that," Vinders cackled. "Not a lot that her mystic isn't allowed to do, so long as he keeps predicting good weather and solid market growth in the future."

"It's a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy, that," Jormund commented quietly, toying with the buttons on his coat, his unsettling eyes staring ahead at nothing in particular. "The weather around Renfold will hold until the spells around the bay fold in a couple of hundred years. Having the man say that the market will stay strong means that people will continue to invest and thus keep the strength of the market."

Both detectives looked at the back seat.

"What did you say?" the dwarf asked.

"The obvious."

They turned back to face forward. It was difficult to tell why the man had spoken, or really what his point was, but neither appeared to care enough to ask him.

Suddenly, Jormund leaned forward, eyes widening.

"They're on the move." He opened the back door and turned to see that neither detective was moving with him. "Come on then, this is what you've been waiting for. Weapons out, and let's go!"