Chapter 14: Who Did It?
Half a dozen enforcer vehicles arrived at the station. Two enforcers grabbed Orcille and dragged him into the back of one of the vehicles. The rest of the enforcers entered the underground area.
The Inquisitives were still inside the area where they had just finished eating dessert. The enforcers commanded all of them to lie prone on the floor. Five of the enforcers stood guard over them while the others rummaged through the storage area. The Inquisitives lay flat, not saying anything. Morgan attempted to break the silence, but an enforcer put his foot on his back.
About ten minutes passed. Most of the enforcers gathered back in the area where the Inquisitives were lying. Vulay climbed to the sixth step leading up to the basement door.
‘One-by-one, I want you to get to your feet,’ she barked in a gruff tone. ‘My enforcers will lead you to the vehicles outside.’
‘What the hell is going on?’ shouted one of the Inquisitives lying on the floor.
‘Shut your mouth. You will only talk when spoken to, idiot,’ barked Vulay as she moved down two of the steps. ‘We’ll start with you,’ she said, pointing at the young female Inquisitive lying face down, nearest the top of the table.
One-by-one, they moved outside and were loaded into the enforcer vehicles. Once they were all inside, the enforcers drove the vehicles back to the Enforcer Headquarters. A handful of enforcers remained behind to continue searching the station.
Darius and Denise were at the Enforcer Headquarters. Denise had been taken to an interrogation room, and Darius was handcuffed to a chair in the main corridor. Nobody was telling him anything. He heard the enforcer vehicles arrive.
Orcille was escorted into the building with his hands handcuffed behind his back. ‘What’s going on?’ Darius inquired as Orcille walked past him.
‘It’s pretty serious. Wait here for now. I’ll talk to you in a bit,’ said Vulay, who was walking directly behind Orcille.
A few minutes later, in single file, the rest of the Inquisitives entered the headquarters. They were taken to a holding cell at the back of the headquarters.
Denise was sitting alone in the interrogation room. She had no idea what was happening. She felt incredibly scared, but she knew she had to be brave.
Finally, an enforcer entered the room. He sat directly in front of her on the opposite side of a small table.
‘Do you know why you are here?’ asked the enforcer.
‘No, I don’t,’ responded Denise in a soft voice.
‘Someone in your little group of friends has done something terrible,’ said the enforcer.
‘I don’t know what you mean,’ responded Denise.
The enforcer placed two photographs on the table in front of her. ‘Do you recognise these two children?’ he demanded as he pointed frantically at both photographs.
‘Yeah, they are the two girls who have gone missing,’ responded Denise in a soft voice.
‘Who took them?’ demanded the enforcer as he slammed his fist on the table.’
‘I don’t know,’ said Denise.
The enforcer continued interrogating Denise but was just repeating the same questions again and again. Denise continued to insist that she knew nothing.
Orcille was in another interrogation room. Vulay began to interrogate him. ‘What did Victor tell you?’ she asked him.
‘He said he had the girls,’ responded Orcille in an emotionless voice.
‘Where are they?’ asked Vulay curtly.
‘He didn’t say,’ responded Orcille.
‘Where did he tell you this, and who else witnessed this conversation?’ asked Vulay.
‘We had the conversation at the back of the storage area beneath the station. Nobody witnessed this conversation,’ replied Orcille.
‘How do I know you are not lying?’ asked Vulay.
‘I handed in the toy I found, and I am cooperating with you,’ replied Orcille.
‘Do you have the addresses of all the Inquisitives?’ asked Vulay.
‘I have all the addresses, emails, and contact numbers of all the Inquisitives stored in my phone. It’s with one of the enforcers,’ responded Orcille.
‘Great, what’s your password?’ asked Vulay.
‘YASSMEAY,’ responded Orcille.
Victor was sitting by himself at the far end of the Agriculture Zone. He was contemplating the events of the evening and how he was going to approach Orcille. He felt he might have been a little harsh.
His phone rang. He answered it. ‘Hello,’ he said.
‘Good evening, sir. We are the enforcers. We would like you to remain where you are. We are coming to arrest you,’ responded the voice.
‘Okay, sure,’ replied Victor.
There was a pause for a few seconds. ‘Excuse me, sir. Do you mind telling us where you are?’ inquired the voice.
Victor hung up the phone. He walked in the general direction of the Enforcer Headquarters. After walking for about fifteen minutes, an enforcer vehicle pulled up next to him. The enforcer in the vehicle asked him to get in. Victor complied.
A few minutes later, they arrived at the Enforcer Headquarters. Victor was escorted in. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll sort this out,’ he said to Darius as he walked past him.
Victor entered the interrogation room as Orcille was coming out. They exchanged gazes, but neither spoke. Orcille noticed Victor was not handcuffed. Orcille was taken to the holding cell to wait with the other Inquisitives.
‘What’s going on? What did they ask you?’ Morgan asked Orcille in an anxious voice.
‘It’s about the missing children,’ replied Orcille.
‘What about them?’ asked Morgan in frustration.
‘I can’t tell you any more than that. You’ll know more when they question you,’ responded Orcille.
Morgan frowned at Orcille, then leaned back against the wall.
Victor sat down in the interrogation room. Vulay sat opposite him. ‘We need to sort something out. Orcille has made a very serious accusation against you.’ Victor rubbed his chin while shaking his head. ‘He says you have the children,' said Vulay sternly. 'I don’t believe him. I think he wants to make trouble.’
Victor looked her in the eyes. ‘I don’t have the children,’ he responded in a calm voice.
‘Do you know anything that could help us find them?’ asked Vulay.
‘I wish I did,’ responded Victor.
Vulay got to her feet. ‘I’m going to sort him out,’ she said as she headed to the door.
‘Please don’t be too harsh on him. He has good intentions. He’s just a little sensitive and a little confused,’ said Victor softly. She turned and nodded back at Victor.
Vulay entered the other interrogation room, where another enforcer was interrogating Denise. ‘She’s saying nothing, not a thing,’ said the enforcer to Vulay.
‘What about the others?’ asked Vulay.
‘We haven’t interrogated them yet. I figured she was the softest target,’ replied the enforcer.
Vulay angrily gestured for him to leave. She went over to Denise and unlocked the handcuffs. ‘I’m sorry about the way you are being treated. We have never had a situation like this before,’ she said calmly.
Denise looked up at her but did not say anything.
Vulay left the room and returned to the previous interrogation room. Victor had been taken to the waiting area, and Orcille was brought back in. ‘It looks like it is your word against all the others. Enforcers are searching the homes of those held in custody. If they find nothing, they can all be released,’ said Vulay calmly to Orcille. Orcille glared back but said nothing. ‘We won’t be able to release you this time. No matter what the searches uncover,’ she said to him in a harsh tone.
‘The route we use to get to the station is covered by Carvaress cameras,’ said Orcille. ‘They might provide evidence of the kidnapping.’
‘We are checking our cameras in the Industrial Zone,’ responded Vulay as she looked at him angrily. ‘The enforcers will contact Carvaress to obtain that footage too.’
‘I’m trying to help. I’m not wasting your time,’ said Orcille firmly.
‘We will see,’ responded Vulay.
An enforcer ran through the door. ‘We got them now,’ he announced.
‘You found the children?’ responded Vulay starkly.
‘No, we found the old metal tokens. They have been doing illegal trade,’ said the enforcer enthusiastically.
‘Did you find any evidence relating to the children?’ asked Vulay angrily.
‘Afraid not, but…,’ Vulay quickly cut him off.
‘I’m not interested in some pieces of metal. I want to find the children,’ she shouted at him. ‘Confiscate all the metal tokens and release everyone but him,’ she barked as she pointed to Orcille.
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