The unnerving silence would normally make Nole feel at ease, but nothing about his situation was easy. Jogging through the shadows made him reminisce about that night. Shaking his head, he ignored everything reminding him of Taro. He knew he had to focus on Caden. His brother was most important, so everything else would have to wait.

Despite the comings and goings of pain, he felt a surge of energy moving him forward. Either that or he was delirious from the mix of fatigue and soreness radiating from his back. The Central Enforcers Station was located four blocks east of City Square, so he had quite a trip ahead of him. Knowing that the threat of encountering Enforcers on the street was gone, and confident in his ability to ward off any gang members, Nole sped up his pace to a swift run.

Even though it was only eight in the evening, the dark clouds rolling above him obscured the moon completely, giving Nova a dark undertone. Even though the citizens needed it, Nole hoped it wouldn’t rain. It made him feel selfish to want such a thing, knowing full well that rain water would be a God send to Nova’s desperate populous, but poor weather would mean a more difficult situation for Nole.

If people began getting riled up over rainwater, chaos was sure to ensue. In the past, rain had proven to bring out the worst, most savage side of Nova City’s people. It was literally a contest of survival of the fittest. The mayhem during these times was mostly contained with the Enforcers, except at night, when their day shifts were long over. There was a time Nole recalled reading about a night when the Enforcers were called into an emergency night shift.

It was two months after he’d moved into the city, soon after Chief Caswell had implemented the strict sundown schedule of the Enforcers. The newspaper article detailing the event was fairly vague, but from what Nole understood, it had something to do with a sewer pipe infestation that jeopardized the city’s well being. The danger was so serious, that a still-standing quarantine of the sewers was put into effect. When the pipes were closed down in an act of perceived heroism, Caswell’s popularity as chief skyrocketed in the public eye. His quick thinking during that chaotic time eclipsed his rash shift changes of the city’s law enforcement.

The cautionary rumble of thunder crushed Nole’s hopes as he hastened toward his destination. He came across a few passersby, gangbangers no doubt, but he evaded them swiftly before any trouble was instigated. At one point, he could have sworn he saw a Para tattoo etched on a man’s bicep, but the mix of ill lighting and lack of concentration made him believe otherwise.

Despite the opportunities for trouble and the tightness in his chest, Nole managed to arrive to the station without traveling below the speed of a steady jog. The sky was much darker than when he’d set out, but the rain hadn’t begun falling yet.

Standing before the building, inches from the concrete steps leading to the main entrance, Nole couldn’t muster a single idea on how to go about his business in a calm and efficient way. It seemed as though every plan lead to straight out failure or fruitless capture, both of which wouldn’t help Caden.

What do I do? He could feel the humidity rising and the wind picking up. Throwing on his hood, he marched up the stairs. This could be the only way, he thought, clenching his jaw while resting his hand on the handle of the main doors. The building was quiet from the outside, at least compared to the bustling wind creating havoc around him.

“In or out?” Nole froze at the voice coming from behind him. Even though it sounded familiar, he didn’t dare turn and face them. “Are you going in, or not?” the voice asked.

“Uh,” he couldn’t think of anything to say. Thankfully, the voice spoke up again.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to spook you. I just came out here to have a smoke.” Nole turned his face to the side, and recognized Captain Quinn Hadley puffing at her cigarette with one hand, and holding back her long blonde hair back with the other. “This wind is just not on my side,” she said after a long exhale.

She must not know who I am. Surprisingly, Nole felt a sense of relief. Just moments before, he was going to surrender himself to the Enforcers in exchange for Caden’s release, yet there he was, glad that an Enforcer hadn’t identified him as a wanted criminal.

Since she didn’t say anything for a few minutes, he assumed she’d lost interest in his presence. He removed his hand from the handle and turned toward her. The dim lighting of the lamps surrounding the station provided little visibility in the darkening setting. It was only from her voice and blonde hair that he was able to recognize Captain Hadley. After all, he’d made a point of remembering Jett Maddox’s partner after running into her at the vending cart a few days ago. And seeing as that she wasn’t arresting him then and there, she obviously didn’t recognize him as Murphy’s alleged murderer.

Well aware of his current predicament, he contemplated leaving, but quickly dismissed the option. He wanted to see Caden, but didn’t want to turn himself in, and a Captain Enforcer standing yards away from him wasn’t helping. Hadley put her hair up in a bun and turned to face him once again. “You’re still here?” she mumbled, her lips pressing the cigarette in place as she pressed down the flyaway strands dancing in the breeze.

Thanks to the darkness and this hoodie, she still doesn’t know who I am.

“I was just doing some thinking.” It was the best thing he could think to say. He didn’t want to do anything rash and enter the building, but he didn’t want to leave, only to see her again inside the building. I have to think this through, he urged himself.

“At the Central Station?” He shrugged, unsure of what to say at that point. “Waiting for the rain?” The question caught him off guard. Of course, the Enforcers are well aware of the water shortage. They even know about the rain frenzies. Hadley’s petite figure sat on one of the cement steps. “I wish I could prevent the pandemonium bound to happen, but my partner’s a real slave driver.” She tilted her head back and blew the smoke above her, like a steaming volcano.

Partner. So Captain Maddox is inside. No wonder it’s so quiet, there must only be a few officers inside the station. But what would they have to work on at this point? I’m they’re number one suspect. He wished he could ask Hadley these questions without drawing any suspicion, but he knew that was impossible. The only thing that stuck to his mind was the possibility of only a few Enforcers being inside the station, which meant he could sneak inside with minimal risk of being seen, and more importantly, minimal risk of being caught.

Without a second to waste, Nole cracked the door open and snuck inside before Hadley could notice. No one was manning the front desk. In fact, he didn’t see anyone. Are Maddox and Hadley the only ones here?

He snuck into what he assumed was the main office. The unlit room housed dozens of desks, each decorated with personal effects and paperwork. Beyond the desks was a glass-paned room with shades obscuring the inside. That office was also unlit. Despite the darkened rooms, Nole was still able to see because of the light coming in from the perpendicular hallways on the right side of the room. It wasn’t much to go on, and he knew he might end up coming face to face with Maddox, but Nole wandered deeper into the building.

Shuffling between each of the unmanned desks, he looked over his shoulder to make sure Hadley hadn’t followed him inside. He saw the framed photos of family on the surface of nearly every table he passed. At one point he thought he heard footsteps, but decided that he couldn’t afford to wait around and be caught glancing over his shoulder at every step.

When he finally made it to the fluorescently lit corridor, he overheard a conversation. It came from the hallway behind the glass-paned office. It was a little difficult to hear because of the rumbling of the thunder outside, but the near-empty atmosphere inside made it easy enough for Nole to eavesdrop on most of what was being said.

“Where’s Hadley?”

“She’s taking a smoke break. She’s probably having some trouble with this weather though. You’re running yourself ragged Jett.” Nole realized the voice was familiar, but couldn’t quite place it. Whoever was speaking with Captain Maddox, Nole had met them before.

“He slipped away again today,” Maddox grumbled.

“Me and Bellamy both tried.” Him and Bellamy? Is he…? “Truth is, we didn’t expect the kid to have accomplices given his brother’s testimony.” Caden! “I can’t believe I was taken out by that kid from behind.”

It’s that other Enforcer from the back alley. So he’s… he’s still alive? Taro didn’t kill him after all. The realization was bittersweet. On the one hand, he was glad the Enforcer wasn’t killed, but the news would give Betty more of a reason to defend Taro. And she’ll be sure to hear about it in tomorrow’s paper, along with the reported incident on the rooftop and alleyway.

“None of us expected him to have allies at this point. Seems like he has some pretty reliable friends if they’re willing to harbor the city’s most wanted criminal.” Maddox sounded disgruntled. “Ryker, be sure to circulate the sketch of the girl during tomorrow’s briefing. We won’t share that with the media just yet. As for your attacker, it doesn’t seem like anyone got a good look at him, even though he was seen fleeing the area.”

“Did the kid brother recognize her?” asked Sgt. Ryker.

“We haven’t shown him yet. Before doing so, we need to make sure he’s being completely honest with us. For all we know, his compliance with the investigation could all be an act.”

So it’s true. Caden is helping. He felt defeated. A sickening feeling rose from his gut all the way to his throat, like he was going to vomit, but couldn’t. Even though he’d been informed of his brother’s involvement with the Enforcers, hearing it be confirmed from the source was hard to take. It left little room for interpretation when judging Caden’s intentions. Since Nole hadn’t heard any mention of Suri, he assumed Caden didn’t bring her up. Despite his brother’s betrayal, Nole was grateful that Suri would remain uninvolved.

Maddox didn’t speak again after that. From his position, all Nole could hear was the rustling of papers. No one came in or out of the room, so Sgt. Ryker was probably there to stay. He probably feels obligated to help after letting us get away, Nole thought.

The rumbling of thunder from outside muffled the sound of his footsteps while he walked past the hallway. From what he could tell, there was only one lit room with an open door, which he assumed was where Maddox and the Sergeant were working. That only left the other hallway leading to the right end of the building.

Unlike the other corridor, it was silent except for the echoed pattering of the beginning rainstorm. Although the noise was convenient to hide his presence, it also made it difficult to hear anyone that could potentially sneak up on him. The paranoia of the possibility was enough to make him walk quickly.

The various rooms appeared to be for the Enforcers personal use. Despite most of them being locked, he could see through the window that there was a break room and kitchen so far. A few of the unlocked doors that led to a shabby gym area and a lounge also had dead ends.

As he neared the end of the hall, Nole got the feeling that his endeavor was a lost cause. He hadn’t encountered any unlocked doors since reaching the midpoint of the hallway and he was running out of places to look.

“It’s really pouring!” Hadley declared unreservedly. Nole jerked his head behind him fearfully and was relieved to see she wasn’t there. Before she reached the hallway, Nole dashed to the last unlocked room he’d discovered. Daintily maneuvering the handle, he was just able to enter the room. When he heard her speak again, he thought it was too dangerous to shut the door and risk being heard, so he just left it cracked.

“You look like you went swimming,” Ryker joked. Judging by the proximity of the voices, he judged them to be in the main room where all the desks were.

“I can’t even get a decent smoke.” The squeaks of her wet shoes against the tile confirmed Nole’s guess of their location. “Hey, did a kid come in here?”

“You really ought to quit. Smoking doesn’t suit a pretty girl like you,” he replied.

“I don’t need your advice, Ryker,” she said, brushing off his remark. “The kid?”

“Not that I saw,” he answered. “But now that you’re done with your break, you can keep Jett company.”

“He’s still hard at work, huh?” Hadley asked.

“You know him and this case. The Chief’s making the fountain case the priority since it’s a high profile and I don’t think Jett’s taking it too well.”

“Murder of an Enforcer’s uncle is pretty top priority if you ask me. I don’t blame him though. They became pretty close after his parents passed away.” She let out an exasperated sigh and continued. “I’ll stay down here with him. You should go on home, you’ve had a pretty rough day yourself.”

“Not you too,” Ryker griped. “But I’ll take you up on that. And the next time I see that kid, he’s mine.” Hadley chuckled before saying goodbye. “Get a towel from the gym and dry off, will ya? We can’t afford you taking a sick day,” he said before bidding her a goodnight.

Nole heard the door open and close as the Enforcer left. Hadley was silent, but her shoes gave her away. The squeaks were getting louder as she tread through the hall. Nole jumped away from his position by the doorframe and hid behind a piece of furniture near the back of the room. After his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he noticed the elliptical and treadmill nearby. It crossed his mind that if Hadley was looking for a towel, it would be in that room no doubt.

Ducking down, Nole didn’t dare to peek around when the door glided open from its cracked position. Even though he couldn’t see her, he imagined her hesitating at the door’s entrance, wondering why it wasn’t shut completely. Praying that she wouldn’t dwell on it, he was saved by Captain Maddox’s voice.

“Hadley,” he called from the distant room. “You inside?”

“Yeah,” she responded. “Just getting a towel. I’ll be right there.”

“Check on the kid while you’re over there.”

“Will do,” she answered. A few seconds later, she slammed a locker shut and left, turning off the light and shutting the door completely. Through the pane of glass alongside the door, he was able to see her going deeper into the corridor instead of returning from where she’d come.

He crawled out from where he was hiding and carefully navigated past the gym equipment, keeping an eye on the window all the while. Although he desperately wanted to keep track of her movements, he decided to wait until she passed the room again and left the hallway all together before continuing his search. When she finally past the door again, and headed toward the main lobby, Nole was able to sneak out quietly. Making his way to each door quickly, his head buzzed from the conversation between Hadley and Maddox. He was sure he’d heard Maddox mention a kid. It’s Caden. It has to be.

Nearing the end of the hallway, only three doors remained. Approaching the first of the remaining doors, he paused after hearing some rustling from inside. A sense of panic coursed through him as he slammed his body against the wall before the person inside could spot him through the glass window. Who is it now? I thought only Hadley and Maddox were here. Determined not to turn back, he dared to sneak a glance.

The room had barely any light except from a small window. The darkened figure was difficult to make out, but was easily identifiable because of its fast movements. Whoever it was, they seemed rushed and focused. Seeing as that the height and build of the figure didn’t match Caden’s features, Nole swept passed the room and focused on the two remaining doors.

When Nole approached one of the last doors, he did so with caution. After misjudging the remaining people in the building, he prepared to encounter anyone. He listened closely by the new door, but heard nothing. When he looked through the glass and saw no sudden movements in the pitch-black room, he tried the handle. It was unlocked.

Some of the light from the window and newly opened door poured into the room, giving Nole some visibility. He recognized one of the objects before him – the tall support beams and cushions of a mattress confirmed that it was a bunk bed. Feeling his way in the slowly adjusting darkness, he discovered more of them. In fact, the entire room seemed to only consist of bunk beds. The Enforcers’ quarters, he deduced. It took a few seconds for the logical thought to cross his mind – that an off-duty Enforcer could be sleeping the room at that very instant.

The fear he felt was multiplied exponentially when he heard the distinct sound of brushed covers. He couldn’t pinpoint the source of the sound because of the intense pattering of the rain outside, but he knew he’d heard it. Biting his lip in anticipation, he waited in excruciating silence. Someone was in the room, and whether they were stirring in their sleep, or sneaking out of their bed to attack him, Nole was on edge; so much so that when he heard someone’s voice, he nearly jumped out of his skin.

“I can see you,” they whispered.

Nole knew there was no point in hiding. Instead, he focused on finding the person conveniently hidden in the darkened room. Based off of his initial feel for the room and the sizes of the previous rooms, he guessed there were no more than a dozen bunk beds.

“Where are you?” Nole whispered back. The voice didn’t respond. He felt his way through the room, gently feeling the mattresses for any slumbering occupants.

Given the current situation, he knew he had to hide. Rushing out of the room meant coming face to face with Hadley, or worse, Maddox, and he didn’t want that. He rashly decided that the person in the room was less of a danger to him than either of the Captains.

Clumsily rushing by the beds, he tripped over a jutting object and took a hard fall on the tiled floor. When he got to his knees, he pawed the floor for the culprit behind his tumble. In his search, his hand met a foot, which was aggressively pulled away from his grasp. There wasn’t much for him to do at that point, except talk his way out. “This is Captain Maddox,” Nole announced in a low, but surly voice. “Who’s there?”

Resting his hand on the bed beside him, Nole crept closer to where the foot was pulled away. A growing suspicion led him closer and closer to the source until his eyes fully adjusted to his neighbor. It wasn’t clear-cut, but the voice was a dead giveaway.

“You’re a pretty good liar,” Caden replied.

This week's multimedia is brought to you by the lovely and talented @Rakkaus. Check out her profile if you get the chance. And as always, thank you for reading! I'd love to hear your suggestions, theories, or reactions in the comments below :)