Night had already settled over the docks when Aren and Mirelle arrived.The harbor lights stretched across the dark water, reflecting faintly against the slow waves.
Cargo ships rested silently along the piers, their metal bodies creaking softly with the tide. Aren and Mirelle, they approached the warehouse Veydrick had marked earlier.
"That's the place," Mirelle said quietly.
The building looked abandoned from the outside. Rusted metal doors. Faint company markings. No workers visible from outside
But the faint sound of machinery drifted through the walls.
Aren exchanged a glance with Mirelle.
"So much for an empty warehouse."
They went in through a side entrance.
Inside, the scene inside was completely different. Large crates were stacked across the floor. Conveyor tracks ran between loading platforms. Workers in plain clothes moved quickly, sealing containers and pushing them toward transport trucks.
Mirelle crouched behind a stack of cargo.
"What do you think is inside, Aren."
Aren carefully opened a nearby crate.
Inside were small metal cases. He opened one.
Inside were encrypted communication devices—compact transmitters with military-grade signal scramblers. Mirelle stared at them. "Those aren't legal for civilian transport." Aren closed the case.
"That explains the shadow network..."
He looked around the warehouse again.
"They're distributing untraceable communication tech."
Mirelle frowned.
"For what?"
Aren answered quietly.
"For people who don't want to be found? But helping who?"
"I have a plan, let's move Around slowly, and see whether we can find anything beneficial to us." Aren spoke. They moved behind the sacks slowly. They found a table full of papers at the side. One of paper contained the transport timing and items transport information.
Before they could move further, A faint hiss filled the air. Both of them froze.
Mirelle sniffed the air. "Do you smell that?"
Aren turned. A thin mist was spreading from vents along the ceiling. His eyes widened.
"Gas."
Within seconds his vision blurred.
Mirelle tried to move but stumbled against the crate.
"What?" Her voice started to fade.
The last thing Aren saw before everything went dark was the silhouette of someone standing near the warehouse entrance.
Watching them.
A few kilometers away, in the Police Station: Captain Rethan's office was quiet when Veydrick entered. The captain looked up from his desk.
"Mr. Veydrick. This is unexpected."
"I needed to review the Helios file," Veydrick said calmly.
Rethan handed him the original folder.
"You picked a complicated case."
Veydrick skimmed the documents, reading slowly to grasp more info.
"How are the cases at the court?" Rethan asked. "All types, with same result...My Victory" Veydrick smiled faintly, looking at the report, when suddenly his smile faded. Rethan asked what happened.
One line caught his attention.
"Officer Aren reported being followed?" Rethan nodded. "A few days ago, before visiting The Chairman of Helios..Slovar."
Veydrick looked up sharply.
"And you allowed him to continue field work?" "He insisted," Rethan replied.
"He even visited Slovar? So he knew who he was...and i... and above that all, What's wrong with you!!?"
Rethan asked why and Veydrick replied. "Aren just started his service this year, you could have asked a second or experienced officer help him"
Rethan became still. For the first time, Veydrick's calm expression cracked slightly.
"The dock..."
Rethan checked the note. "He and Mirelle went to inspect a dock location, they told you about it?" The room went silent. Veydrick closed the file.
"…place?..."
Minutes later, his car was already speeding through the city streets. The Dock Warehouse.
Aren woke slowly. His head throbbed.
The room spun as his vision returned.
Across the floor, Mirelle was also stirring, pushing herself upright with difficulty.
"Ugh… what happened?" Aren rubbed his eyes.
"Gas, it was halothane gas, a type of anesthetic gas." Aren replied with a slow voice.
A slow clap echoed through the warehouse.
Both of them looked up. A tall man with white hair stepped forward from the shadows. His black coat moved slightly as he walked.
His eyes rested calmly on them.
"Good evening, officers."
Aren's voice hardened.
"…Slovar." Slovar smiled faintly.
"I'm impressed. You reached the docks faster than expected, was it Veydrick who suggested it?"
Mirelle tries to stand with her hands and legs tied, still unsteady.
"You poisoned us." "Temporarily,..." Slovar replied.
His gaze moved to Aren.
"You have something that belongs to me."
Aren's hand tightened.
"What?"
Slovar tilted his head.
"The papers you stole..Officer Valric, it is very very bad to steal something." Slovar said playfully.
Aren looked down. His voice when he had spoken to him in the office had different tone...but now..."He is Cleary having fun to see us like this"
Mirelle scoffed. "You expect us to just hand them over?" Slovar's smile faded.
"I expect you to make the intelligent decision." Several men stepped forward behind him.
Aren and Mirelle exchanged a glance.
Neither of them moved.
Slovar sighed softly.
"…Very well, I will give you a another chance, hand over the papers to me"
"No", Aren said in his firm voice. "Very well...let's see the training you got in Police Academy then" and ordered the men to remove the rope on their legs.
The men lunged forward.
The fight was fast and chaotic. Aren dodged the first attacker and shoved him aside, grabbing a metal rod from the floor.
Mirelle blocked another strike and pushed a crate into the path of two others. The rope started to loose.
The warehouse echoed with footsteps and crashing cargo. But the gas had weakened them.
Aren's movements were slower than usual.
One attacker managed to strike his shoulder, forcing him back against a crate.
Mirelle struggled against another man, breathing heavily.
Slovar watched calmly from a distance.
"Even weakened," he said softly, "you're still persistent."
The fight continued. But slowly, the attackers began gathering around. They both started to fight, and after few kicks and punches, Aren heard Mirelle's scream. He turned to look Mirelle being held captive by one of the men.
Something inside him snapped.
In one swift motion, he pulled his pistol.
The room froze.
Slovar tilted his head slightly. "You wouldn't."
Aren's voice shook slightly.
"Stay back."
Slovar took one slow step forward.
"You won't do it, being in first year, i know any of you can't use your gun."
Aren's hand tightened. Everything blurred together. The gas. The attackers.
Mirelle, struggling, screamed: "Aren don't, you will be fired." Aren looked down for a moment, and spoke, "if I don't, you will die...Mirelle.
The gun fired. The sound echoed through the warehouse.
Slovar stopped moving, the gun shot correctly at his head, as per his excellent training scores"
For a moment he simply stood there. Then he slowly started to collapse to the floor, watching Slovar's body, he knew his career has ended.
Silence filled the room.
The attackers left the girl, and ran towards the door. Mirelle instantly went to Aren.
The attackers ran immediately to the door when, The warehouse door burst open.
Veydrick stood there. And from behind Captain Rethan ran and entered.
Veydrick looked from Aren…
…to the body on the floor. And the other officers entered the warehouse, catching the attackers.
For the first time since they had met—
Veydrick looked completely stunned.
"Aren…
Aren's voice barely came out.
"I—"
Mirelle, holding Aren, started to cry.
Veydrick stepped forward slowly.
The weight of the moment hung heavily in the air. The villain of the entire investigation lay motionless on the warehouse floor.
And Aren on ground with the same gun with which he shot Slovar.
Veydrick ran to Aren. Aren spoked feebly in a slow voice to him: "I'm sorry...I wasn't careful" Veydrick looked really sad and tears fell from his eyes. And then Captain Rethan approached. They both were given rest for two days.
Two days later. The police station felt colder than usual. Aren stood silently in Captain Rethan's office. The report lay on the desk between them.
Rethan sighed heavily, looking at Aren, he spoke" "Aren...i heard Mirelle, what and why you shot him, and that has been taken into consideration, and so instead of jail, i have been ordered to suspend you, and about the Helios Logistics, it will be shut down soon"
Aren didn't argue.
Silence. Rethan closed the file. Aren's badge rested on the desk. Outside the office, Mirelle waited in the hallway.
Veydrick stood beside the window, staring out at the city, Aren spoke: Goodbye...Veydrick....sir"
Veydrick replied, mild tears in his eyes: " Good Job, Officer Aren" Aren left.
Outside, Mirelle hugged him and thanked him.
The case was over.