MIDNIGHT PRINCE: Empire of Sin



After handing the matter over to Nikola, Adam now found himself standing in front of the police station.

Thinking about it now, it was rather humorous how he had managed to avoid this place despite his whole affair with Jack the Ripper. However, he had somehow still found his way here because of another problem that was technically not directly tied to him.

'Well. For Shuri, it's definitely worth it.'

The LAPD bureau was rather large all things considered.

Entering the establishment, he could see that all the people here were either wearing the traditional uniform of cops or donned similar clothing that screamed their identity as detectives. The cops were walking around all over the place, coming to and from as they did their jobs of saving the city from the clutches of crime.

Well… Most of them, he thought in his mind.

Some of them would sometimes give him a look but would otherwise avoid his existence, probably thinking that he was here to make a complaint or something.

After wandering around the large bureau for a while, he was finally able to reach a place that he thought was the entrance of the main door.

"Sorry, I need to check you."

Adam nodded as he was stopped from entering by two men that served as security guards of the precinct. They brought a metal detector from inside and started inspecting him from head to toe for anomalies.

Thankfully, he had already hidden his weapons so there was no way for him to be ratted out by the detectors.

His weapons were, in fact, floating above him right now, hidden by the use of his illusions, and once he went past the check, he would re-equip them on his body once more.

"Your motive for coming here?"

"A close friend of mine is currently being interrogated in this place. I came to visit her."

"I see… Name, Address, and the name of the person you are visiting?"

A series of questions and authentication procedures assaulted him thereafter, making Adam wonder in his mind just why he hadn't just gone invisible and avoided this hassle altogether.

Looking around the crowd, he was quite a bit surprised to see that many Hunters and even supernatural creatures were mixed in with the people that are supposed to be sent to prison.

It was rather weird to see how they were listening to the orders of the police officers even though they had the power and strength to completely break out of their bounds and kill everyone here.

Adam realized once again that he knew surprisingly little about the rules of the supernatural world and that, as always, there was so much that he needed to learn and understand about this world still.

Finally, after what seemed like an interminable time he was able to flee from the endless waves of questions that had been directed his way to the security guards and entered the true heart of the police bureau.

———

In the interrogation room, a blonde woman wearing comfortable pants and a gentlemanly shirt was currently having a staring contest with Shuri.

Even though the woman had somewhat of a scowl etched on her face, Shuri's expression mirrored the perfect opposite of the detective's as she calmly gazed at the detective with a serene thin smile on her lips.

"Madam Nakiri, I would really like it if you could be more forthcoming about what happened. This 'accident' that you are speaking of was clearly a staged murder attempt. By helping us understand your situation you are actually helping yourself. Why are you not being cooperative then?"

All she received in response was silence and the same serene smile that had never left Shuri's face for even a moment since she had started interrogating her. The scowl that had marred the detective's face could only grow thicker and more prominent when she saw that calm and serene smile of Shuri.

If it was a mocking or derisive smile that she was directing at her, then she could have simply pushed it off. She was already used to being looked down on when interrogating possible suspects.

But this smile full of benevolence and peace that she was directing at her made her feel like she was looking down at a silly child that had yet to learn much of the world and this irked her to no end.

Fighting the urge to smile, she stood up and walked out, going to the other side of the interrogation room.

"Seems like you didn't have much luck, huh?"

Her mentor, Kirishima, chuckled lightly after seeing her leaving the room, "Why don't you come and help?"

"And being sued later because of attempting coercion. Yeah, no thanks. This woman is an old fox. Don't let her look fool you. You should personally know that it isn't the smartest move."

Smith sighed and ruffled her hair lightly, "What about the Secretary?"

"Even more silent. You better let go. Those two are the victims in this case. We have no justification to keep them any longer. If we try, they will sue our ass to no tomorrow and the high up won't be happy."

"Argh!"

She groaned at this, "Always excuses, always politics. Isn't there one fucking moment where we can simply talk about what is wrong? This case is clearly a hit! This was no accident. Furthermore, the cause of the death of the other two doesn't seem to match the damage they should have received."

"Firstly, lower your tone. I hope you do not forget that I am your superior first and foremost."

Kirishima calmly talked to her despite her outburst, this made Smith deflate as she realized that she was acting like a petulant child to someone who had always shown respect to her.

"I am sorry."

He smiled and patted her shoulder, "Good this is what I like about you. So now let me talk to you not as a superior but as a friend."

He slowly withdrew his hand and his smile vanished alongside,

"I do not understand what kind of delusions you had when you decided to become a cop. It seems like you mostly had many great dreams. But you need to wake up to reality now."

"..."

"You are putting your nose in matters that do not concern you. Your desire to help people, bring justice and keep the peace is great and beautiful. But you need to understand that the world does not care about what you wish."

He shook his head and looked at the one way mirror, clicking on the button linked to the mic.

"We are sorry about the inconveniences. I think we have enough information. You can leave now and we are very sorry about what happened to you, we will make sure to give a word to your assurance."

After he said so, he turned around and could see Smith looking at him with stubbornness,

"So I am wrong? Is it wrong to expect cops to work for justice? Isn't it exactly the oath we all took? To protect and serve?"

Her eyes reddened a little, "Why does everything have to revolve around politics and wealth?"

Kirishima closed his eyes. He was painfully aware of what she was feeling now.

After all, he also went through the same situation. Only, unlike him, he had had no one to help him realize and he nearly burned himself.

Concern entered his voice, "I am not saying that you're wrong. I am saying that you are going at it wrong. If you continue like this, you will get yourself killed sooner or later."

Looking at her, he knew that what he had just said had barely entered her mind.

"Take a walk outside, cool your head and think straight. I think you need another vacation."

"I …"

"This is an order. Leave now."

"Understood."

She nodded and walked away.

Her mind was complicated. It wasn't as if she was stupid.

She perfectly understood that her dream and aspiration about what the police should be were childish at best. Perhaps in the eyes of many she was just a stupid child who refused to understand reality.

But she understood reality and this was because she understood it that she could not understand.

Why was it so bad for her to wish to see justice being served when it needed to be so?

Why was it the norm that people like her were considered as outside of the norm and everyone considered corruption, injustice, and manipulation through influence and money to be tye norm?

She felt a headache just thinking about this.

'I wonder what my brother is doing?'

She sighed and decided to take a coffee. Her brother always went abroad for his work and could be out for Days and weeks.

She initially suspected it was something illegal but after digging she realized it was some kind of minor company.

Like her he was also a little too straight laced and it seemed like this also caused him problems in his job.

In moments like this, she took solace in talking with him as he was the only one who seemed to understand her.

"Coffee?"

"Yeah thanks."

When she reached the machine, she nodded and accepted the sudden proposal and sighed again when she received the cup.

"I feel alive now."

"Well, a cup of coffee during the night can certainly help."

Smith stopped short when she raised her face in order to thank the man who helped her.

Her eyes widened when she immediately recognized one of the targets of her investigation that caused her to take a short "vacation" not long ago.

"Adam Gospel."

The sole survivor of Jack the Ripper.

(AN: I received a gift today from one reader so I am happy so I decided to add a bonus chapter today.)