Walking into his apartment, James saw the homeless man holding his hand out towards him and ignored him, making his way up into his room. Letting himself in, he quickly placed a chair in front of the door and walked over to his wall. Grabbing a piece of paper, he added the name Maguns under his photo and nodded to himself.
Taking out his phone, he called Xavier, "Dear Detective. A pleasure." Xavier spoke.
"I saw one of the targets on the wall today. The Magician. A fifteen-year-old boy called Magnus." There was silence. James could hear Xavier pacing back and forth, in thought.
"Did you seek this one out as well?" He had to ask. James noticed that, despite his voice sounding the same, there was a hint of annoyance in it.
"No, it was a coincidence." Collapsing into the seat before the wall, James groaned and rubbed his temples, "Do you believe in coincidence, Xavier?" James asked. It had plagued his mind ever since he had met the boy.
"No." Xavier answered instantly, "I have seen too much to believe in it anymore." He sighed, "I believe that when you want something, two things happen. Either you are pulled towards it, or something is sent to block you. The former is so you can achieve it, the latter is a way to test you to prove you can handle what you wish. After all, just because you want something doesn't mean you can handle that responsibility."
"So what you're saying..."
"James, this is my personal belief, not the truth of the world." Xavier cut him off, "I'm just indulging you." James smiled and nodded to himself. But it got him thinking about everything. 'Is it a coincidence that this all started when Samuel was about to become Mayor? Is it a coincidence I was led to Xavier? If not, then why me, why now?'
James grabbed his head and rubbed. He could spend hours asking the questions, but knew he wouldn't get what he wanted. "Where do we go from here?"
"You're not going to like this, but you're on your own for now." James frowned. Xavier, as if he could see it, chuckled, "Things are already falling into place, and I won't change anything by telling you where to go. Dear detective, do what you do best and investigate. You already have enough clues."
Xavier hung up, leaving James in silence. Staring at the wall, it was a first in a while, and he couldn't help but feel lost. It was a disgusting feeling and made him bitterly chuckle. "I've become too reliant." At some point, he had used Xavier to guide him where he needed to go, and without it, he now felt like he was walking in the dark. It was sickening.
James stared at the wall and sighed before getting up. Lighting a cigarette, he spoke to himself aloud. "Cain is coming to kill me, but I don't die." James paused and took a smoke, "But how does he know who I am? We met once, and all he saw was my face. I didn't wear my uniform."
James' eyes narrowed, "The warehouse, but even then it's not enough. That monster may have been able to see me, but he didn't care enough at the time. So where else? The man's house. I was there, but not the one who put it in the system, so it can't be that." James looked at the wall.
Staring at it and seeing Xavier's face, his eyes widened as he found the missing link, "There was a leak at the station which resulted in Charles' death. He was the one who allowed the Gentleman to get hold of Xavier's key." James took a deep inhale, "But the captain wouldn't leak it, he still wants me around, and the other party he spoke about wanted Charles gone. I can't be sure, however."
James took a smoke, "I wasn't as smart as I thought. The Captain said clearly." The final domino fell. "They got into the station. It can't be a mole, there's always a ping when information is sent outside the system, which means they snuck in." His mind raced. "It wasn't hacked, we have enough protection against it, but what if..." James stared at Magnus before remembering his theory of how the man died, "What if you could make everyone believe you weren't there?"
James gulped and took out his phone, calling the captain's burner. "Sir." James spoke quickly, "The day after I leaked the footage, was there any news of the footage of me being sent to a party outside the system?"
James heard the captain begin to type. After a few seconds, he replied, "No."
'It's not a leak.' James told himself and nodded, "Then, sir, how does someone know it was me?" There was silence, and the captain groaned.
"James, it wasn't him. I can assure you of that much. Your death right now does no one any good." James could only trust the captain and carried on. Explaining his theory about Magnus without mentioning names, he brought up the crime scene Magnus had been at to justify it.
The captain was silent throughout, and only after James finished, he spoke, "This guy. Hypotetically, do you think he could make someone believe they were constipated?"
James didn't need to think. "I have no doubt he could do that."
James heard the man's fist slam into his wooden desk. "If your theory is true, James, they were in, and they were at my computer. How they got past the barrier, I don't know, but they were inside."
James gulped and let out a weak breath, "Sir. I'm going to give you a name and face. Give me a day, and I'll find a reason to put a warrant on him." His voice shook slightly. He knew that he didn't die when Cain struck, but he couldn't be sure if it was because of luck or because of his actions. Xavier's words gave a clue, however. He wanted what was about to happen to go as his vision told.
A choice between blind luck and preparation, the choice was easy, and thinking of Xavier's words, he was sure of it.
'Dear detective, do what you do best and investigate.'
"Understood." The captain said in his usual deep tone. James hung up and sent the picture of Cain, followed by basic information. It wasn't enough to get the ISD involved to show how much of a threat he was to normal people.
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"Why is it taking so long?" Alannah slammed her fist on the table and glared at Lucas and Cain. She had hastily called the two to meet her at her home. Magnus sat aside, holding a device in his hand, playing a game, ignoring the three.
"Alannah, we are working around Xavier and the target's position in the force. We can't risk being too hasty." Lucas calmly said, making Alannah grind her teeth.
"They spotted Magnus. They spotted me. Luckily, he wasn't making a move and just watching, or Magnus and I could be dead already." There was a deep anger in her voice. Cain and Lucas could only look at one another.
"This was an oversight, I agree, but things are already in motion. We have Adrian watching his house as we speak. Soon, he will be dealt with. In the meantime." Cain looked to Lucas, "Put people on Magnus. This was an oversight, and we must correct it."
Lucas nodded and sat down. "Alannah, stay close to Magnus, keep him protected." Lucas looked to the boy, seeing him still not care about the conversation, even when the danger he was in was brought up. Sighing, he could only carry on and direct things. "I'll have someone else take over your matters," Lucas said without room to negotiate. Alannah nodded, not bothered about the change in her role for the time being.