Shoulda Knocked | Dullahan

Dullahan’s semi-casual look was a boon in areas like this; uniforms and badges were likely to get you killed. She kept her sidearm hidden in her jacket’s hidden holster, and her precision rifle folded neatly on her lower back, more or less invisible under her coat. She kept her hands in her pockets and walked fiercely down the street; quick, and with her shoulders squared, it was a look that told you if you didn’t get out of her way, you were going to get run over. Not that there were many people on the street; a few stumbling drunks, a few shady people who were in just as much as a hurry as she was… but most of the activity was in the pubs and bars, their signs acting as the only light down this street, muffled echoes of conversation emanating from within.

The wind was fierce by the waterfront at night, forcing her to put it in a ponytail, begrudgingly. She never really cared for fashion, which was why nobody ever saw her out of her usual outfit- dark jeans, combat boots, a black tank top, and her thigh-length jacket. Putting her hair like that just felt off to her. She sniffed the air; a mix of salty spray, booze, and vomit. It reminded her of Dagos, if it were on the water.

Once she rounded the corner, it didn’t take Dullahan long to spot Talia, sitting back casually with her ever-present cigarette. She couldn’t hide her smirk; she had a lot of respect for the young detective- she knew how to handle herself and had a sharp eye that would put some fellow investigators to shame. Never got caught up in scandal, and performed her job admirably. Dullahan didn’t mind being the backup to Talia; the woman was something of a friend, practically family, and one of the few people she trusted with her life.

It made it easier to keep up the civilian attitude as she approached the woman, relaxing her posture with a short wave as she greeted the detective warmly.

“Been awhile, Talia,” Dullahan said, with a small laugh. “Surprised? Good to see you again. Looks like you’re keepin’ busy, getting into trouble as usual. How the hell are you, kid?”

She joined her against the wall of the building, rolling her neck and shoulders as she shifted to find a comfortable position. After their greeting, she’d give the woman a nod. “Give me the lowdown. Boss made it clear you’re in charge for this one.” She exhaled a short laugh. “How’s it feel having the roles reversed?”

She returned the woman’s look with a smirk. “Hey, I remember back when you were that type of greenie. And look at you now. About the only one left in your department, last I heard.” She winked at her, though it could have been mistaken for a blink. “Yeah I took a peek at the reports, after they told me I was coming for backup. Can’t give you the details, but you shouldn’t lose anyone else for now.”

Something about Talia brought her out of her shell, not unlike Oliver, or Kelri. She remembered her as a rookie beat cop; tough, loud, and by the books. A woman who didn’t take crap, got results, and didn’t get caught up in scandals. Dullahan had ‘taken her under her wing,’ for lack of a more appropriate term; anyone she found respect for, she watched out for. And looking at Detective Ivanov now, well, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride for the younger woman who she had gotten close to over the years.

She nodded, suddenly serious once more as she listened to the situation. She lowered her voice to match. “Better hope there isn’t a crooked cop involved; if there’s another investigation, you might be the only one left on the force.” She looked up at the sky. “Trafficking. No wonder they wanted one of us on it.”

She pushed herself off the wall and nodded at her. “Looks like you’ve done your homework. Nice to work with someone who knows what they’re doing again,” she said, not even trying to disguise the contempt in her voice. She rolled her shoulders and stretched. “Seen a lot of dumb rookies lately. Getting sick of Hunters. Don’t ask. Whenever you’re ready, Talia.”

She was eager to see the younger officer in action again. It’s been too long.

Dullahan trailed behind the detective, keeping as casual and appearance as she could as they took the scenic route to their destination. She was a quick study, picked up on the tricks long ago. With a thought, her night vision was on; a few lights were brilliant to it, but overall it gave her more visibility in the dark evening.

She stayed in step with Talia, also pulling out her sidearm and moving as quietly as her heavy body would allow. She lagged behind because of this, but it was more important to stay silent. Time was clearly of the essence; her instinct to rush in and eliminate as many of them as possible had to be suppressed; Talia played it by the books. This was a police investigation, not a black ops mission. And after her last op, well, she wasn’t too keen on putting her human allies in danger. Especially not Talia.

She watched with her, flipping on her built-in recorder and taking footage herself. Even if it would be classified later, it could help Talia make the bust she needed. Crates were being moved, but there was no way to tell what was in them.

“Big enough for people,” she pointed out regarding the crates, whispering low. She stowed her sidearm and removed the modular precision rifle from the lower-back sling. She didn’t extend it out except for the scope, which she used to survey the individuals more. In this state, the gun looked downright silly, like a barrel-less box with a scope. With her eyes recording and the enhancement from the scope, she’d have detailed footage to ID the truck and get clearer visuals on faces. She couldn’t see into the crates, though. If only she had upgraded for thermal vision, she might have gotten all the evidence they needed. But it looked like they’d have to scan the warehouse the old fashioned way.

She’d continue scanning this way until Talia had them move, where she would then stash the rifle back and withdraw her sidearm, then follow her lead with a silent nod.

Dullahan followed her in step, rushing in behind to secure the building with her sidearm drawn. This was what she was talking about; procedure executed flawlessly. It existed for a reason, but damned if the hunters knew anything about that. I was nice to be back with only her own, even if it was just for a short search. Her night vision confirmed the detective’s call, and she holstered her sidearm.

“Got it,” she said. She moved to the darker areas of the warehouse, where her vision would make things faster than going foot by foot with a flashlight. The area was clearly being used, almost looking like something of a workshop. Photographs would be taken when she saw anything. Some supplies in a box were the first thing she saw- zip-ties, rope, duct tape… things you’d use to bind someone. Not damning evidence on its own, but anything helped when it came to court.
“These aren’t rookies,” she said as she looked through more boxes and around tables, lockers, shelves. “They cover themselves well.” She stopped at an open, apparently empty locker. She looked on the side, then back into it. With a knowing smile, she pulled on the upper shelf, pulling the false back from the locker and revealing a small cache of handguns and ammunition. “Not well enough, though.” Smile for the camera.

She replaced the back and started poking around near the crates. They were large, tall, and wide. She gripped one corner and tried to pull it; there was clear resistance, even to her; something heavy was in this crate. Not too far, on the floor, was a small crowbar. She picked it up and turned to her partner. “Alright Talia, let’s check this one out. I’ll pry it.”

When the detective came by, Dullahan would nod at her, and wedge the crowbar easily in the gap. With an almost effortless and quick motion, Dullahan pried off almost every nail in one go. The wood creaked in protest, and with a quick reposition and another pull, the wood would come off, and fall flat to the floor with a clatter, kicking up small amounts of dust.

Now there was an unexpected twist. Dullahan examined the scale; too large to be a fish, and the crate would have reeked of it if it were.

“So not humans after all,” Dullahan stated. Her interest in the case dipped; what did she care if people were mistreating those animals? But, there might be humans in the mix yet, so it was worth investigating further. Talia cared, no doubt; she was ignorant to what magi were truly capable of. Sure, there were criminal magi, but they were, at their core, wild animals. All of them. She crossed her arms in front of her chest.

“Suppose it’s easier; there are way more undocumented magi than humans. Less people would notice or care if they disappeared, too.” She stepped away from the crate and scanned the area, watching for any of the criminals that might be lingering around. She poked around a little more, but she just found more of the same; blood splatters, gear for binding, several bottles of various chemicals... nothing solid. Still, it was great supportive evidence, but they’d need to find someone, or their corpse, to have a strong case.

“Do you have any leads on where they might be transporting them?” She said over her shoulder. She turned and went towards another crate, knocking twice on it, and listening for any sound from inside; a muffled voice, a groan, knocking back… Anything to indicate there was a living person inside. She repeated this process with several other crates, talking intermittently as she knocked and listened. “This seems pretty large-scale. Wouldn’t be surprised if we found more than just pieces of magi here.”

She sighed and looked over the entire warehouse area. “I’d bet my salary they keep them here, or nearby. But they might not be in the crates yet. Your call, Talia, but I think we’re looking for a holding cell somewhere.” Somewhere that wouldn’t draw attention. Her gut told her it was in this building or an adjacent one; they were using these crates for long-term transport, and they’d want to get them in without being seen. She paced past the last few crates, and gave each of them a pair of knocks.

Dullahan nodded at the younger detective. “Always happy to break things owned by criminals.”

Even though the line portrayed excitement, there was none in her tone. She didn’t move with the haste of someone eager to free innocents; if it was Magi, they could stay in the crates for all she cared. She pulled up her own line, a radio built into her parts.

“Satya, this is Senior Field Officer Enthaupten. Currently assisting in an FCPD operation; they just posted an APB for a white transport vehicle. See that any available agents keep a lookout, as well, and notify me or FCPD immediately if spotted. Protocol 11.”

She gave the description and the license plate to the woman on the other line. Sometimes the federal agency thought they were above helping the local cops; Dullahan would make sure anyone who didn’t assist was sacked. She had no patience for petty elitism, especially in a time-sensitive case such as this. Likely unknown to Talia, ‘protocol 11’ in her division indicated that the hunter’s guild should be notified as well; if there were Magi, the hunters would find them. And if they found them before FPCD, they’d take care of them, too.

With that out of the way, she pried open another crate. Nothing but bindings and blood. She moved to the next, but a small glint caught her eye in the gap between the crates. She knelt down and picked it up gingerly. A syringe, with a few drops of fluid. She didn’t need a lab to tell her what was in there.

“Talia. Get a sample of this. Downer dose, I’d bet my life.” She held it in front of her eye, examining the details, and taking pictures of all angles. “Broken needle. Magi struggled against whoever was giving it.”

She’d hand it to Talia if she came over, or set it aside. Either way, she’d wedge the crowbar into the next crate and pried it open, the cover coming off much more easily than the last. She took a step back and narrowed her eyes.

“Talia. Magi here.”

There were two crammed into the crate; a large, lizard-like magi, with more scales than skin and nails that turned into claws, and a centaur-like magi, barely able to fit inside, even kneeling on her horse-like legs. Both females, both with tattered clothes, and both dirty, bruised, and bloodied. They were still, and Dullahan couldn’t tell just by looking whether they were alive and drugged to hell or left for dead in the crates; sadly the latter option was unlikely, as you couldn’t make as much money on a corpse. They were young, too.

She crossed her arms and considered the two. Well, it didn’t seem to be “human” trafficking; this was barely a crime to the woman. Maybe animal abuse, or something. Even that didn’t quite fit, because actual animals didn’t deserve it, and Magi, well…

She’d watch Talia, and assist if asked. Otherwise, she’d stand, unfazed, and let the detective do her work. Her hand twitched, eager to grab her gun, but a killing now would just be mercy. And Magi didn’t understand the concept, in her experience.

Dullahan’s hand went to her holstered sidearm as Talia approached the magi. “Careful, Talia,” she warned. She watched Talia check them, her body tense and ready to fire the second she saw suspicious movement from the magi. Even drugged up, there was no telling what they were capable of. She eased up once the other was confirmed DOA.

“She might be able to tell us something when she’s off her downer stupor, at least,” she said, her disgust barely disguised in her voice. She wandered away, confident Talia could handle the magi if she lashed out, and started working on more crates. After some time, it was clear that these were the only remaining two in the warehouse. Forgotten, or left for dead, she wondered.

“Nothing else,” Dullahan said, back to business. “They’re going to know we tore this place apart, you know. If we don’t act, or if that APB doesn’t pull through soon, they’re going to scatter and this investigation is going back to square one.”

She crossed her arms and looked around the warehouse, weighing her options, avoiding going anywhere near the magi. “We can’t take them if we come back, so an ambush is out. I couldn’t even call a team here in good time. Do you have any suspects? Names? If not, and they go to ground… well, you know how hard that will make it going forward.”

Could she take some two-bit animal traffickers out in a firefight? Probably. Did she care to? No. She was content to follow Talia’s lead now, whatever path she wanted to take. If the investigation fizzled out, what did it matter? This was barely a crime. Right now, it was only a favor to an old friend. And that was enough to keep her on board for now.
“Your call, Talia. I’ve got your back.”