grani

Deedee, where are you?

Look, I've brought your favorite jerky!

Eric! I found him!

Where at, Miss Grani?

Whooooa! I can't get a hold of him, and he's gonna get away! Hurry!

C'mon now, this way. I have your jerky right over here, so stop running around.

Where'd you find him, Miss Grani?

Phew, he was trying to make his way down into the sewers. But thanks to that shiny little rump, I was able to catch him before he could squirm down there.

But you've got to keep an eye on him, Eric. I'm not with the Mounted Police anymore, so I'm not gonna be able to help you find him on patrol anymore.

Thanks, Miss Grani. And, I know... But it sure is weird. Deedee's usually so well-behaved, and never goes running around like this. Why'd he be trying to hide in the sewers?

Good question. You hear that, Deedee? Care to explain?

Huh? Did you get something dirty on you? It's all dark and... Hey! Don't climb on me!

Shoot, almost forgot! I need to head over to the hospital!

Sorry I'm late. Ran into a little incident while passing through the Infected district.

More of your good deeds, Grani?

Heheh... So where's Kurt Jr.? He still with you guys?

Second bed on the right. Oh, but...

Thanks a bunch! I'll go pay him a visit!

Uhh...

He's not going to be able to answer any questions. The doctor has already administered his injection, and he just fell asleep.

Sir... How's your son doing right now?

The doctor said his condition was stable, but he keeps waking up in the middle of the night.

Sometimes he starts screaming the moment he does. He'll grip my hands hard and cry, 'it hurts, dad!' But there's nothing I can do except wait for the doctor to rush over with the shot.

More often than not, though, he just sits in bed staring at me without saying anything. As if those two wide eyes are looking right through me.

The doctors at Rhodes Island are very experienced in dealing with Oripathy. He WILL get better, it's just a matter of time.

Mm...

Don't you worry. Even if the Mounted Police are no more, I'll get to the bottom of this case. Justice will be done!

You're a good officer, Grani. Always have been.

Grani, here's that Originium detector you wanted to borrow. It's a bit heavy though. You sure you can carry it back by yourself?

No problem! Thanks, and sorry for imposing on you again.

Don't mention it. We've known each other long enough.

By the way, is Kurt Jr.'s case not settled yet? Did the factory not provide any compensation?

Yeah. Before the Mounted Police were disbanded, we searched that factory from top to bottom for anything suspicious.

The eyewitness says he got caught up in the explosion in the distillation tower, which gave him Oripathy.

But there were no traces of an explosion or any contaminants in Work Area #3, where it allegedly happened. No sign of a cleanup either.

That makes no sense.

Originally, the factory supervisor denied any sort of incident happened at all. Then later, they claimed that the Mounted Police failed to produce any evidence, and put pressure on the department to get our investigation shut down.

And now that the Mounted Police are gone, the case has been transferred to the guards, and no way are they gonna do anything about it.

'That's an internal matter for Bolton Chemicals–' That's all the captain will say, in that pinched voice of his.

Kurt Jr. has been in that hospital bed for how long now? And they're still hanging up the investigation? Unbelievable.

Which is why it's up to me to keep things going.

But you're a guard in name only now, while they figure out where to reassign you. And even if you have the equipment to investigate, how are you going to get access to the factory?

No one said it would be easy.

I can't even begin to imagine how hard it'll be.

Eh, don't worry about me. Heck, I've been a mountie long enough to make connections. I'll make sure things work out.

Oh, right. About Kurt Jr.... How's his condition, for real? I don't think you're giving his dad the whole truth.

*sigh*... Nothing gets past you, does it? I didn't lie to him. I just... omitted the most harrowing detail.

His condition has indeed stabilized, but his Cell-Originium Assimilation rate is very high. Coupled with the damage to his body caused by long-term physical labor, it's... hard to give a prognosis.

Even in the best case scenario, he may end up spending the rest of his life bedridden.

He's only twenty-six years old, isn't he? No wonder you didn't want to break the news to his dad...

I promise you, Grani, we'll do everything we can.

I know, I trust you guys. Thanks, though.

Alright then, I'm gonna head back first. After I get this whole thing under wraps, let's hang out again!

One sec.

Hm?

In addition to treating Oripathy, we're also very experienced at handling Originium contamination. If you ever need help with that, give us a call.

Got it. As a member of the Mounted– I mean, who do you think I am? Grani, that's who.

Two glasses of Big Johann's Special... Err, make that one special and one dry martini please. Appreciate it.

Phew–– Now then...

Here, over here!

Didn't expect us to be meeting up in a conspicuous place like this, Officer... I mean, Grani.

It's the same place as always. Nothing wrong with that, is there?

Do you know how dangerous it is for me to meet with you privately these day?

Yeah, yeah. I'll make it up to you with this. Here, your favorite dry martini.

So did you bring what I asked for?

Here you go. A list of all the orders Bolton Chemicals has made this past year.

Want me to start with the conclusion?

Go for it.

You were right on the money. This last year, they've been ramping up their purchases of refined Originium, processing equipment, and raw materials. It's clear that they're upping production capacity.

When it was already close to saturation? But why?

Londinium hasn't known peace for quite some time. Anyone with a keen eye can tell that our precious dukes have been getting jittery.

High-speed battleships need maintenance, and armies need supplies. What better time to ramp up production for the days ahead?

Bolton Chemicals is the pillar of Rydell City’s industries. If they wanted to ramp up production, they could just go through the city...

But that takes money, which cuts into their bottom line. The most cost-effective way of increasing production capacity is... simply to have more in the first place.

Seeing how new contamination treatment equipment isn't anywhere on this list, they must still be using the same old equipment and pipelines that were already getting overwhelmed before.

And the end result is... kaboom.

Thanks, I seriously owe you one. I can guarantee you this document's gonna come in handy. As for what comes next, I might need your help again.

Grani.

Huh? Yeah?

I can't help you anymore.

Huh? Don't joke around like that. We've been working together for so long, and you know how much I rely on you.

How about this? When we wrap up this Kurt Jr. case, I'll treat you to a nice meal at Rollin' Rotunda to show my appreciation. How does that sound?

I'm serious, Grani. You're no longer Mounted Police, which means our cooperation has come to an end.

Moreover, as you've seen, this incident can't be boiled down to something as simple as 'a little accident happened and the factory refused to pay compensation.' It involves the future of a large enterprise. There's no need for you to wade into these murky waters.

Danny, don't try to talk me out of it.

I'm not. It's just a warning. I'm saying this as your friend– don't pursue this case. It'll all resolve itself, which is in everyone's best interest anyway.

...Alright, if you want out, I'm not gonna stop you. I know you have your reasons, but I have mine too.

This was the last case before the Mounted Police were disbanded. But we've seen our fair share, and it's not like we've never butted heads with Bolton Chemicals before either.

Plus, I can't just watch Kurt Jr. lie in bed for the rest of his life. It's my responsibility to keep investigating.

There's that sense of justice again. This isn't some exam at the police academy. After all these years, do you still not understand the kind of land you live in?

Do you expect Bolton to just defer to you officers like before, bowing their heads and offering up a settlement to apologize? You've never seen them bare their fangs, have you?

I don't care; I'm not afraid of them. Do they have what it takes to stop the business end of my spear?

You think they'd only go after you? Hah. They've already made their move.

Notice how many people's eyes have been on you, ever since I stepped into this bar?

The folks who come to Big Johann's are all neighbors and fellow workers. I used to come here all the time after patrol, so I know them well.

Take a look at this then, Grani.

What's this form?

'Notice: Due to ongoing investigations by the Mounted Police, the Rydell City factory has sustained significant economic losses. As such, management has unanimously decided that...'

'Employee salaries and labor pensions will be reduced by percentage, according to the employee's rank. See the following table for details...'

What?! How dare they?!