Chapter 391: You Have The Right To Remain Silent.
"God... damn it..."
A painful grimace twisted Dante’s face. In front of him, a certain video was playing on a screen protected by his MLP. It showed a red-haired youth methodically dispatching nine armed thugs using only his hand. The video was captured by a random civilian hiding behind a corner. It cut off right after the police arrived, but it was already too late by then.
Dismissing the screen, Dante turned to Jonah. The old officer was behind his desk, holding a mug of steaming hot coffee while struggling to keep his eyes open.
"That look tells me you haven’t seen it." He said.
"I was out cold till this morning," Dante replied.
"So that’s why." The old officer dropped his head. "Well, we aren’t getting calls anymore, so it probably died out. Just be careful out there."
"Will try."
Letting himself get filmed was a mistake of pic proportion, but it wasn’t like he had much choice. He did go through the trouble of choosing the location, but it turned out that wasn’t enough.
[My apologies.] Volcan said. [I was unable to detect the individual due to the distance. Normally, I would have used the surrounding security systems to search for any individuals in the area, but it seems the ones in that particular building were out of order.]
’It’s... alright.’ Dante thought aloud. ’We just have to be careful with those things from now on.’
[Would you like me to erase the video?]
’... You can do that?’
[I can try.]
’No... forget about it. That would just draw more attention.’
Going viral was a big problem, true, but it wasn’t the end of the world. With how fast things move online, he was sure the world would forget all about the video in a couple more days, and a week later, it’ll be as if it never existed. A month from now, no one will remember his face. All he had to do was wait for it to disappear.
Nevertheless, the real problem was whether the right people already saw, and if they would recognize him because of that. There was no way to tell for sure, but it was only a matter of time before he received the answer.
"Well, putting that mess aside." Jonah pushed back his chair and stood up. "How about we get to the main business?"
"Alright." Said Dante. "Let’s get this done with."
As they had previously agreed, Dante came to the station first thing in the morning to give his statement on yesterday’s incident. It was more of a formality than anything, since he had Jonah to vouch for him. The thugs having prior arrests added to his credibility, too, so he expected the matter to be done in no more than a few minutes. That’s what he thought, at least.
~[ ]~
When he sat down in the simple interrogation room, Dante felt a hint of excitement. He had been arrested multiple times before, but this might be his first time sitting in the traditional dark room with the simple table, chairs, and bright lamp pointed at his face.
Of course, it didn’t escape his attention that he was receiving the criminal treatment. Jonah had already warned him that something was up. Apparently, another captain had insisted on participating in the interview, and from the looks of it, he didn’t have a very positive impression of him.
A portly man arrived a few minutes later with Jonah following after him. Giving Dante an apologetic look, the dark skinned old man stood by the door while his colleague took the seat on the other side of the table. Placing a small folder in front of him, he raised the corners of his mouth and the pudgy cheeks on either side of his face.
"Good morning, Mr. Sokolov. I’m Officer Pedro Nara. Glad that you went through the trouble of coming to our station on your own."
"Yeah, sorry for the delay." Dante returned the fake smile with one of his own. "Wish we got this over with yesterday."
"It’s fine, it’s fine." The portly man laughed. "I was told you were far too exhausted at the time." His eyes suddenly focused on Dante. "Even though you had the energy to take out nine people."
Dante held his gaze, not flinching in the slightest. The portly officer clearly had it in for him, just as Jonah had alluded to. As his luck would have it, the interview wasn’t going to pass as easily as he had would have liked.
"Well, you know what they say," Dante shrugged. "When you have to go, you have to go."
"Are you referring to the incident or-"
"Did you expect me to take a nap in the middle of a fight or something?"
"No, I’m simply impressed that you were able to move the way you did while in a... less optimal state." The smile gradually vanished from the fat officer’s face. "Forgive me for being... suspicious of the reason you provided to avoid this interview."
If he had a gauge of some kind that tracked how annoyed he was, Dante was sure it would have been half full by now.
"Well, here I am." He said. "I don’t have all day. Can we get this over with already?"
"Sure, sure. Let me read you your rights just in case."
"You’re making it sound like I’m a suspect or something."
"It’s just a formality. We don’t want to get sued, that’s all." The portly man smirked and went on with the annoying act. "You have the right to be silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you. You have the right to an attorney. If you can’t afford one, we will provide you with one. Did you understand everything I just said?"
Furrowing his brows, Dante glanced at Jonah, silently asking what’s wrong with this idiot. The old officer looked exasperated, shaking his head with a tired expression. He was saying to play along for now, and that’s what Dante decided to do.
"Since it’s got to this, I would like to have my lawyer." He said. "We can discuss why you talked to me without him present once he arrives."
His smile faltering, the portly officer kept his mouth shut for a few seconds before trying to argue his way back.
"That is perfectly understandable. But, Mr. Sokolov, you just said you didn’t have all day. If you want to wait until your attorney is here, that is perfectly fine with us, but I’m sure you would much prefer to get this over with so you can go on with your day."