TNG: Iblis, the First Hero

Chapter 14: Conviction

Conviction

Cid awoke to the sound of his cell door opening, but instead of seeing the commissioner behind the door, as he was expecting, a different man had come to see him.

The auburn haired stranger closed the door behind him as he entered the room. It was at this moment that Cid noticed the black and white nametag on the officer's uniform.

Patterson... I knew I recognized this guy from somewhere. He's Celine's dad, he deduced.

"Good morning, Cid," Sgt. Patterson said as he approached the cot that Cid was now sitting bolt upright on.

"I should've know that they'd send you," Cid responded, his cool tone masking the ice that was now leaking into his veins.

Add the CSPD to the growing list of people who know of your supposed "secret identity", he told himself.

"The commissioner has decided to let you off with a warning, but I can't stress how important it is that you hang up that uniform or suit or armor or whatever it is and never try this again, kid," Sgt. Patterson declared.

"How much do you guys know?" Cid asked warily.

"We know enough. We know that you have powers. We know that you probably stole your suit from NoirTech, where you live. We know that your parents were murdered, and now you are looking to get revenge on whoever did them-"

"That's not why I'm doing this," Cid interrupted.

"Then why are you doing this? If it's not your parents, then what is it?" Sgt. Patterson asked.

There was a brief silence as Cid collected his thoughts.

"We live in a city that's controlled by the yakuza. You guys try your hardest, but every year they just gain more control over this city. I have the ability to stop them! To do what you guys can't. To make sure that what happened to my mother and father never happens to anyone else!" he declared, trying to sound more informed than he was. In reality, he was Iblis because King wanted him to be Iblis and Cid liked using his abilities, and nothing more. But he couldn't tell a cop that he was basically a 'glorified adrenaline junky'. He did want to go home, after all.

A warm smile appeared on Sgt. Patterson's face. "I understand your point, but you've got to have more faith in our system. I can tell you for a fact that we are doing our best here, and one day we'll have enough evidence to take down the Yakuza. You just have to give us more time."

Cid was not about to argue with a cop who could probably throw him in jail for the rest of his life if he wanted to, regardless of his relationship with the man's daughter, so instead of protesting, he asked "What should I do?"

"You quit. We're keeping your suit. I called your guardian. He took the first flight from Japan back to the states. He seemed, less than pleased."

He was faking it. The whole thing was his idea! Cid wanted to shout, but he knew that King, as a legal adult, would be in far more trouble than Cid would be as a minor if they found out he was involved or even behind the whole "Project IBLIS" concept.

Instead, he muttered a compliant "Fine."

Sgt. Patterson seemed to buy it, rising to his feet and making his way to the door. He paused before exiting, however.

"You know you actually had the Yakuza scared s***less. Apparently you took down Takeshi Yagami, the Shogun, and he was in here babbling about how he was taken down by a 'demon'," he mentioned.