Page 33 of Hell’s Weapon

My head starts pounding painfully as I think through the ramifications. We have a murderer intent on killing the contestants at a rapid pace, the Angels might be trying to derail this whole thing, Hades is already breathing down my neck, and now I apparently have the most incompetent second in command.

Oh, shit! What if one of the contestants has picked it up. What if the fucking prick who is getting knife happy around here has it? They could be in the building already, could’ve sliced open number Twenty-One’s throat and then walked straight into the Officer’s quarters.

“I’m so sorry, Garrick. I have never–”

“Shut the fuck up,” I snap over him. His apologies can’t do shit right now.

I take a deep breath and pinch the bridge of my nose hard as I run through the risks and try to prioritise the list of things going wrong on this absolute shit show of a day.

Ignoring Tarron and storming to the kitchen I spot three off duty officers making dinner, or maybe it’s breakfast. This night is turning into the next day already and I haven’t slept at all.

“I need the building searched. We may have a contestant with an officer badge. Check every single room and do it thoroughly. The contestant may be the one killing the others.” All eyes widen at the plural. “Yes, others. There has been another murder. So uniform up and get this place locked down. I want someone at the door and another on the tunnel entrance. No one gets in or out without being checked. I want all of our badges disabled. And I want every millisecond of CCTV footage from the last twelve hours scrutinised. Got it?”

They all nod and give me an affirmative before springing into action.

“Can I help with the new body?” Tarron asks from beside me.

“No,” I bark at him. “You can clear up your mess here. I want this building secured within the hour and I want a full report. I want to know if you find anyone, and I want to know if even a single item is out of place. Got it?”

“Yes, sir.” Tarron doesn’t usually bother with the formalities, being my second and all, but from my tone I’m guessing he’s picked up on how pissed I am at him right now. He’ll need to be punished for this. And I’ll take pleasure in doing it considering the coronary he’s giving me.

But I need to get the new crime scene secured and hopefully start piecing together some clues as to who is doing this.

Four hours later and a few of the officers helping me with the body have to leave to prepare for the day.

We’ve deactivated all the locks in every building. The contestants can’t exit their rooms as they wish anymore. They’ll be escorted to meals and their lessons today and maybe for the foreseeable. Those in this building won’t be leaving the dorms until they’ve been interrogated. I need to find something, anything, that will help us determine which one of the fuckers is killing outside of the games.

This body was no different to the other one. Throat cleanly slit, not a mark or print in the blood splatter. No evidence of a fight or forced entry into the room. The roommate seemed legitimately shaken and even when my eyes shifted in my frustration, they didn’t break.

I don’t think they are our killer.

“Why don’t you take a break?” Dominic says as I rub my tired eyes, leaning back into the corridor wall. “I can finish here and make sure the body gets transported.”

“Thanks, Dom,” I reply after letting out a long exhale. “I should wait until we’ve finished interviewing everyone on this floor at least.”

“No, you need to go get some sleep. If any evidence turns up we can come and get you. Everyone’s locked up, the killer isn’t getting another chance.”

I contemplate heading back to my room for a quick nap. I still need to deal with Tarron. I can’t believe he fucked up so monumentally. He’s meant to be in charge whenever I’m not but how can I trust him now?

Leaving Dom in charge of the final clear up and reallocating number Forty-Three, the roommate of the fresh corpse, I make my way back to the Officers’ quarters. The sun is fully up now and the sky is clear, azur blue stretching from horizon to horizon. The heat hasn’t kicked in yet but it's muggy out. I bet we’ll have a storm soon. The call of the mountains pulls at my cat. I want to take off and shift.

Inside the Officers’ quarters the ground level is quiet but I hear plenty of action down on the office floor. Jogging down the stairs with the tiny ounce of energy I have left I check in with my team who are wrapping up the search. I don’t know if I’m relieved or even more frustrated that they found nothing. It seems Hades really has chosen some elite criminals for these games if these humans are outsmarting us in multiple ways.

With our current luck I cannot believe that one of them doesn’t have Tarron’s pass and hasn’t tried to get into the building. The opportunity would be too good to miss.

“What about the CCTV?” I ask when they’ve summarised their physical search.

“We’ve just clipped the sections and divided it between those of us who aren’t needed out there today,” one of the rookies replies. I nod, wondering how long it’s going to take to comb through the last twelve hours of footage. With the amount of cameras we have set up we could really use more bodies watching it, but with the lockdown in place more of the team are outside ferrying around the contestants.

“Oh,” Elisa grabs my attention. She’s another of my team from back in Tartarus that I brought over. She’s the best organiser I’ve ever had and ensures we never run out of the supplies we need. “Hades is in your office.”

“Why didn’t you lead with that?” I growl at her. Elisa shrinks back. I don’t currently give a fuck though. I don’t even stop to wrap up the meeting, I simply leave them to it. Crossing the hall and taking a breath to steady my anger, I head into my personal office.

“Sir, I’m so sorry, I wasn’t told you were back,” I apologise as Hades spins in the chair he’s occupied.

“No worries, I gather you’re dealing with more than just another body.” I can’t decipher his tone. Is he angry? Disappointed? Am I about to be punished for the staff pass?

“Yes, I’m afraid so.” I keep my eyes low as I reply and take my seat behind the desk. I pause for a second, the scent of currents drifting up my nostrils. But Hades starts speaking before I can process it through my fog-tired brain.