C20 The Arrest of Captain Aueralius

The soldiers flanked the entrances to block off our escape routes.

We were given orders to stay seated.

I saw I had, indeed, been sitting in the same spot the whole time. It must have been the crown cakra magic that made me feel I had been standing on my own two feet in that played moment. I felt somewhat relieved.

Some soldiers held out large guns with round box magazines fixed behind the loop triggers. Their long skinny barrels were pointed at our faces.

I observed a distinct difference in the uniforms these soldiers wore compared to those of the Evadale Knights.

Their stiff peaked caps, double-breasted jackets with gold buttons, straight cut slacks and buckled boots were all tan. The motif badges on their caps bore a silver crescent moon.

Their faces were clean and the sheen from their uniforms seemed fresh. I gathered an impression that these soldiers weren't the type to traverse into the bowels of Hell's Labyrinth.

I tensed when a hand gripped mine. Something wet and round was pressed into my palm.

_"Hold this tight and hide it. No one must get a hold of it,"_ Leinard said in my mind.

I decided not to ask questions on things my brain could never work out such as how he could get a hold of the nikiaku ball without anyone realizing it.

I clenched the marble tight, carefully moved my hand to my belt pouch, lodged the marble there then returned my hand to my side before anyone had noticed.

"What is the meaning of this?" Leinard stoically called out to the intruding soldiers.

A stocky man in the same tan uniform and wearing a gray overcoat over his shoulders like a cape, stepped coolly into view.

His boots struck the ground, loudly, with purposed strides. A midnight-blue badge of three gold stripes and crown head was pinned, obviously, to his right breast. His whole persona was one of high importance and authority. Yet, his round face held a youthfulness that didn't match up with the image he was portraying.

"Lieutenant Colonel Aueralius." The man's brittle voice almost spat Leinard's name to the ground.

"Commander Appleton." Leinard responded in like.

My eyes darted back and forth between both men, feeling the intimidation from Commander Appleton's glaring blue eyes and the defiance from Leinard's.

"To what do we owe the pleasure?" Leinard's voice showed no sign of welcome to the man and his men.

"I have a warrant for an arrest authorized by our District Attorney, the Honorable J.D Weltz." A nasty smirk broke Commander Appleton's poker face.

He pulled out a red wax sealed envelope from his jacket pocket and held it up for all to see.

My eyes darted about the faces of all the knights seated with me and was impressed that none of them felt the intimidation.

"If it's an arrest, couldn't you have brought it to one of your lieutenants to pass?" Leinard said.

I felt his words was poking a stick at the commander like how Pesti and I had once done when we tried to get honey from a beehive.

"Normally, but this occasion requires special treatment." Commander Appleton gloated.

I heard Trix sigh.

The Commander handed over the sealed envelope to Leinard.

I heard Leinard's voice in my mind when he broke the seal and mentally read the contents of the letter the envelope had contained.

[Warrant SD116669 issued for the arrest of Captain Trent Aueralius of the Wisteria Garden Squad for the Evadale Knight Order, for suspicions of negligence in duty with loss of life. He is hereby suspended from duties without pay pending a full internal investigation. The suspect is to be contained under house arrest with body monitoring round the clock.]

His reading continued to list the suspect's rights for an attorney representation and further conditions of his temporary incarceration.

[By sealed authority of The Hon. J.D Weltz.]

Leinard's reading ended with a sigh.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Wilfred's hands were clenched into fists, so his knuckles were white. Jensen's expression was burning with outrage.

"Very well." Leinard calmly handed the letter over to Trix who didn't read it.

The soldiers cocked their weapons when Trix stood. He calmly removed his monocle patch and approached me.

"Please give this to Saku when he wakes. He'll know what to do with it," he said with a smile as he handed me the patch. His fingers tenderly brushed my cheek to stir up a deep blush.

I felt my heart go badump seeing both of his natural blue eyes staring at me.

"Well, Jensen looks like the squad's under your care for the time being." Trix gave Jensen a cocky wink.

He stepped before Commander Appleton with his arms behind his head. "If you wanted me that much, Miles, you didn't need to issue a warrant."

He allowed the soldiers to disarm him, making some crude jokes about keeping his family jewels intact for future play.

"Tsk. Ever the wise guy. Let's see if you can keep up that cheek stuck in solitary confinement for a month," said Commander Appleton when he went behind Trix's back to cuff his hands in silver binds.

"Tend to Saku, Lita." Trix issued his exiting order over his shoulder as the soldiers escorted him out of the room.

A tense quiet lingered around the team that Trix had left behind.

"How did Trix know that he was being arrested?" I quietly asked Leinard.

"The warrant was read to him," Leinard stoically answered.

It explained of that time when Trix had unexpectedly turned up with a stretcher for War.

Lita roused Saku from his unconscious state by the power of a vial of smelling salts she waved under his nose.

He groggily stood up and redressed in his gear. No one said anything to him about what had transpired nor any words to each other when we left the theater.

Leinard parted ways with us when we approached the elevator for the journey back to the Second Tier.

"I'll see you again Famine." Leinard cordially patted my shoulder and headed in the opposite direction.

"Let's go," Jensen ordered.

We entered the elevator.