Dorian, who was sitting on a curb, watched on as the firefighters, who had quickly responded to their call, desperately tried to prevent the fire from spreading to the other nearby buildings. Hearing several roaring engines from the left, Dorian turned and saw several vehicles belonging to the military quickly pulling up to the scene, with Jac immediately jumping out from the driver's seat, and running up to the group. Iona was running right behind him.
“Are you all ok?!” Jac frantically asked the group. Dorian and the others nodded. “We all made it out safely.” Dorian said, his voice slightly hoarse. “No injuries to speak of either.”
Jac breathed a sigh of relief as he took a look at the building, which was still up in flames. “Miriam told me what you all found in that building, that the bodies of those missing were found in a makeshift cell?”
Digby nodded. “Yeah…at least they matched the descriptions of those who had been reported missing. Guess we’ll never know for sure thanks to…well…”
Jac sighed. “I’m sure our coroners will do their best to identify their remains. Their families deserve to know…however…”
Jac looked at Dorian. “I was told that you were the one that noticed the fire first. Did you see anything out of place when the fire started?”
Dorian was silent for a few seconds before nodding. “Yeah…if I had a say, it was probably a trap.”
“A trap?”
“The lead we followed up, it described the man perfectly, and described the sense of fear felt by those who are unlucky enough to cross paths with him. They knew someone would follow up on that lead.”
“But that doesn’t exactly mean it wasn’t a trap.” Iona stated, who was writing down everything Dorian was saying.
“Yeah it wouldn’t…if it weren’t for the fact that someone set up a trap in that room. There was a wire that was pulled right before the fire started.”
Jac’s brow furrowed as Dorian said this. “How do you know that?”
“Right after I mentioned to Digby about my suspicions concerning the lead, I spotted a wire against the wall. I saw that wire suddenly become taut, followed by the smell of oil. Immediately afterwards, you could feel the heat from the fire in the cell. We had just enough time to escape from the room before it completely engulfed the place. Well…that and saving these papers that we found on a table down there.”
Dorian handed Jac the papers. “I took a quick look at them, but haven’t thoroughly read them.”
Jac nodded as he quickly began reading. As the minutes passed, his face became more and more serious. As he finished reading the last piece of paper, he looked at the group. “I’m sorry, but using my authority as your caretaker during your field assignment, I’m hereby canceling the rest of the assignment. You are to go home as soon as possible. I will tell your instructor to give you the best grade possible for going above and beyond during your assignment here.”
“W-what?! You’ve gotta be kidding!” Digby shouted, walking up to Jac. “We’ve gone too far into this to just turn tail and walk away!”
Dorian nodded. “I agree! We’ve done so much with this case that it won’t feel right to just…abandon it when we still have the rest of the day in our assignment!”
Jac shook his head. “I know how you two feel, and would feel the same way if I were told the same thing. However, with what was written here, it’s much bigger than just these incidents. I have to do my job to protect your wellbeing and to prevent you from becoming a target.”
“What are you talking about?” Dorian asked as he also was standing up, his hands on his hip.
Jac turned to Iona. “Iona, I’m enacting the Homeland Defense Confidentiality law. Under no circumstances are you allowed to write about what I’m about to say next. If you do, I’ll have no choice but to charge you with leaking state secrets. Do you understand?”
Iona sighed but nodded, putting her pen on her right ear. “I understand. Everything you say from here on out will not appear in the article. I do reserve the right to say what happened in the building though and what caused the fire.”
“That’s fine.” Jac said before turning his attention to the group. “This also applies to you all as well. You may write this in your assignment, but only your instructor may be told about this, not even the rest of your classmates. Understood?”
Dorian and the others nodded. “Good.” Jac stated before sighing. “The papers here mention that this man we’re searching for is a member of a previously unknown cult. He’s not the only member of the cult in town, and the cult also has a presence in every major city in the country. If he’s just a standard member, yet he’s capable of doing this…I need to make sure you’re not a target of this cult. Not only you all, but your classmates as well.”
“...I’ll make sure no member of this cult will harm anyone from my class.” Dorian said, glaring at Jac. “Miriam can attest to that.”
Miriam was silent as she looked at the ground, before nodding. “I can agree with that…but…you can’t be there at all times. I’m sorry, Dorian, but I’m in full agreement with Jac. This is just too much for students.”
Farnell nodded. “I…think this is for the best, Dorian, Digby. I’m nowhere even close to being ready to fight someone that’s now designated as a threat to the nation’s security.”
“He’s right.” Olive said, shaking her head. “We’re just students. I think we’ve already done more than what we were supposed to do on this field assignment. There’s nothing wrong with making sure we’re safe while we improve our skills so we can put a stop to threats like these in the future.”
Digby sighed and shook his head. “Fine…”
Everyone looked at Dorian who finally relented. “I’m not happy at all about this…but alright.”
Jac nodded, waving over a squad two soldiers who had come with Jac. “Nethers! Williams! Drive the students back to the base. Let them take as much time as needed to gather their belongings before taking them back to the station.”
The two soldiers nodded and began walking towards a vehicle. As the group began to follow them, Miriam cleared her throat. “I’ll make sure to keep all of you in the loop about what’s going on with the investigation. Just be sure to not leak any information though.”
Miriam then looked at Dorian, who was glaring at her. “Keep them safe Dorian.”
Dorian remained silent as he turned his back on her. As the group got into the vehicle, Jac turned to Miriam. “That Dorian certainly has determination. You had told me about him before, but I can see why you have such faith in him.”
Miriam nodded. “Yeah, he does. He’s also very stubborn though, and that stubbornness can cause him to not see the entire picture. He’ll be upset with me for a while. However, in a pinch, he’s loyal to a fault. You’ll be hard pressed to find someone else that’s been through more than he has at such a young age.”
“Even more than you?”
Miriam chuckled and nodded. “Some of my struggles were of my own making. His…well…his were forced onto him. He’s made tremendous progress…but he still has a LOT to learn.”
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