Darius opened his mouth, glanced at Mitsuko, and closed it again. ‘The problem,’ Mitsuko said, ‘is that Merle Shepherd is unconscious and may not survive. Is that correct?’
Courtney nodded. ‘Without his testimony, I’m not sure we’ll get further up the ladder. We’re going over Merle’s and Jesse’s apartments, computers, and the rest, but so far we’ve got nothing actionable.’
‘What do you plan to do about Nava Ward?’ Darius asked.
‘What about her?’
‘She assaulted one man and killed a second on campus grounds.’
‘I’m satisfied that she acted in self-defence. Jesse Audley died of heart failure. She hit him, but his death appears to be entirely accidental.’
Darius made a scoffing sort of laugh. ‘She’s a known killer! She executed–’
‘Enough!’ Mitsuko was on her feet and leaning forward toward her VP, eyes flashing. ‘I received a particularly damning video at lunchtime, Darius. I’ve debated sending it to the SSF all afternoon. Courtney, you’ll find you have a transfer request pending on your ketcom.’
‘President,’ Darius began, his tone shifting to something a little more reasonable, even if his anger was still in the back of it.
‘Threatening another member of this council in an attempt to get your clansman off the hook? Using your position as VP to threaten three students while simultaneously demonstrating that you don’t believe in my policies regarding student equality? Tell me, Darius, are you of the opinion that I’m easily manipulated?’
‘I’d never–’
‘Say that out loud? I suggest that you very carefully consider your position as vice president of this council. I’m going to be doing the same.’ Mitsuko fixed Darius with her gaze for a second, and then turned away, dismissing him. ‘Mel, is there any other business?’
Darius sat back in his seat. Mel glanced at him before she checked her agenda, knowing there was nothing else to discuss. Darius might have been dismissed, but he was far from finished. ‘No,’ Melissa said, ‘that’s everything.’ Until, of course, it was not.
235/4/9.
The appearance of Courtney and Kyle at the door of the classroom caused a stir which rippled down the rows of seats like some sort of event propagation effect in the quintessential field. The teacher looked up from his console and then around at the door, raising an eyebrow.
‘Excuse me,’ Courtney said. ‘I’m sorry for the disturbance, but this is official SSF business.’
She had arrived just as period one was ending and period two beginning. The timing was deliberate, of course. It minimised class disturbance. ‘What is it you need, Captain Courtney Martell?’ the teacher asked.
Courtney looked out across the room as she stepped over the threshold. ‘I need Leland Harlow Whitman to come with me,’ she said and a second wave passed over the room, this time one consisting of gasps. ‘Leland Harlow, consider yourself under arrest.’
‘On what charges?!’ Leland said, rising to his feet with a look of affront on his face.
‘I wasn’t going to mention them in front of your class, but since you ask… Distribution of a controlled substance and conspiracy to commit murder. Other charges may arise as the investigation continues. Merle talked. Don’t make this more difficult than it already is, Leland.’
Leland’s jaw tightened. Then, barely visibly, his shoulders sagged and his eyes dropped away from Courtney’s. ‘Of course, Captain,’ he said. ‘I’ll cooperate with your investigation in any way I can.’ He stepped out from behind his desk and started toward Courtney and the door.
Courtney nodded. He would cooperate alright. With what the SSF had on him, he would probably be singing his heart out within the hour.
~~~
Another afterschool council meeting, this time with a slight alteration to the usual attendees. Leland was, of course, missing. Naomi Himura sat in his place as the acting chair of the Extracurricular Activities Committee. He had been Leland’s vice chairman and would remain in that position until it was confirmed that Leland would not be returning. He was… unhappy but not angry about the circumstances of his temporary promotion.
‘I find it difficult to believe that Leland is responsible for this,’ Naomi said.
‘Well,’ Courtney responded, ‘he is. Considering what we could prove thanks to Merle Shepherd’s testimony, it was fairly easy to persuade Leland that he’d probably be treated better by the courts if he gave us everything we needed to close down his ring.’
‘But… Why?’
‘It’s not obvious? He is, or was, the head guy for extracurricular activities in this school. The school puts a degree of pressure on the EAC to give a good showing at various high-profile competitions through the year. Beyond that, Leland’s personal reputation benefits from the school’s students doing well. Crystal Mana improves the power of its users and it can be used to increase their ability to wield magic if you’re careful not to get caught at any competitive events. What he was doing was finding young magicians who could be competitive with a little help and educating them in how to beat the system. He was actually giving away Crystal Mana to the right students to improve the school’s performance. He’s been doing it since last spring, seeking out first years he could get involved. He did the same this year while keeping up the supply for the second years he hooked last year. He had a couple of older students involved and was planning to start bringing in more this year. Thankfully, he hadn’t got to that part of the project yet.’
‘What about Siegmar Tate?’ Mitsuko asked.
‘He was not part of the programme. Brynn Hermanson was actually Leland’s distributor in the MagiTag Club. She handled a few other clubs too, but she was there scouting MagiTag players and then handling their supply as needed. She saw an opportunity to make some money on the side when Siegmar came sniffing around for Crystal Mana. Leland liked his users to be sensible enough to be discreet and, as demonstrated by what happened, Siegmar was far from subtle. Brynn was killed to keep us off the scent and to send a message to the other distributors.’
‘“Don’t cross me or
