<span style="font-family:Cairo">Tony could see that things were changing within the man he was meant to be interrogating, the man who was currently captive within the police station, the man who he was trying to free from the interrogation room although to do such a thing took time. When the man rose from his seat, pacing along the back wall of the room, Tony’s eyes studied his movements and learned what he could from them as his mind raced through the situation. His senses absorbed more and more of what was changing in the man and it only increased his stress at the whole situation. <br/>
<br/>
There was no fear within Tony, but that was partially because there was no fear within Amadan - at least, not that radiated off of him like all the other things that could be at play. Actually, though, Tony wasn’t quite sure if he could understand fully what the emotions he was absorbing were. They were not quite foreign to him; he had felt things like them before, but it surprised him to feel them now. <br/>
<br/>
For anyone who didn’t have Tony’s experience, they likely would have interpreted Amadan’s pacing as some anxiety and nervousness and such emotions would make sense. He was waiting for a detective to return and the information the man returned with would determine Amadan’s fate in a lot of different ways. It would influence whether or not he was released, it would impact whether or not he was under observation beyond his release from the station, it would determine whether or not he was held indefinitely on a terrorism charge. If Amadan was thinking through those things, then anxiety and nervousness would have definitely fit the situation. However, Tony could tell simply from the emotions that flooded the air that the suspect was not in an emotional state that would allow him to think through those things in the first place. Tony could rule out things that someone else might not have been able to. <br/>
<br/>
None of those eliminations really helped him reach any viable conclusions, though. He needed more to be able to do anything like that. <br/>
<br/>
And he got the additional information he would realize he needed, too. It was not something he processed the moment it existed because he was also busy listening to what he was hearing… or <i>feeling</i>...? There was no sound so Tony wasn’t quite sure how he knew things were being communicated to him, but it was happening. It was happening and it was beyond human capability. The words came first. They were processed first. <i>And then</i> the fact that they hadn’t actually been spoken was processed after that. All the information, when it came together in his head, was enough to send a shiver through his spine and although he tried to contain it, the movement did manage to just barely be visible. That would probably make his situation worse and with his mind running at a million miles a minute, that was an errant thought in Tony’s mind. <br/>
<br/>
There were more important things in the center of his thoughts, though. And Amadan’s continued words only added more evidence onto growing suspicions. One: the emotions he was giving off were not within normal human realms nor did the actions associated with them match up with anything Tony had seen before. Two: Amadan was speaking without using his vocal chords - something that, as far as Tony knew, was not actually possible. Three: his voice had changed. While that <i>could</i> be some other disorder, Tony knew the situation didn’t lead to that conclusion. Four: the very way he spoke seemed to convey that Amadan knew what Tony was; although this wasn’t a suspicion that Tony could realistically confirm, it was a strong feeling. Lastly - and there were probably more that he missed - the very way that Amadan was able to scratch the concrete wall as loudly as he had, and still not make a single mark on the surface. <br/>
<br/>
He wasn’t frustrated. Well, if he was, that wasn’t an adequate way to describe it. Overwhelmed would have been a more apt description of what Anthony Deschenes was going through. And considering that what he heard was a question, for a moment, Tony considered answering it. However, his eyes flickered to the one way window knowing that someone could be watching. He had to play this smart or he would look like he was losing it. That being said, he still had to say something. He felt obligated to. <br/>
<br/>
<span class="fixed-color" style="color:thistle">“Mr. Velas, I am doing everything that I can to rectify the wrong that was done in bringing you here. Please understand that, please have a seat, and please be patient.”</span> Although he’d been trained for situations like this, there was no hiding the quiver in his tone. What made it worse was that anyone listening would hear it too. It was bound to bring more problems on him later on. Tony didn’t even have enough room in his head to worry about that, though. <br/>
<br/>
As more things came from Amadan, he had to process them. And it triggered something in him, something he had repressed although he still very little reasoning as to why. <br/>
<br/>
<div style="text-align: center">~*~*~*~*~​</div><br/>
<span class="fixed-color" style="color:cadetblue">“Is this your first case involving a supernatural, Detective?”</span> Ricardo had asked him as he extended his arm, holding a file with information that was apparently pertinent to the situation they were investigating. They had been partners for a while by that point and Ricardo still hadn’t known. <br/>
<br/>
Taking the file, Tony had nodded. <span class="fixed-color" style="color:thistle">“Yes, actually. I’m fairly certain I can handle it, though.”</span><br/>
<br/>
The two of them had been called to the scene after an afternoon doing meaningless paperwork at the office so Tony was actually eager for some fresh air even if that meant something bad had happened to get them there. And in this situation, there really wasn’t a worse possibility. Someone had been killed. <br/>
<br/>
<span class="fixed-color" style="color:cadetblue">“That’s what I thought too, when I got my first one,”</span> Ricardo commented and then he said no more, instead choosing to face forward as they walked into the <a class="link link--external" data-proxy-href="/proxy.php?link=http%3A%2F%2Fchapterfitness.com%2Fst-edwards-greenbelt%2F&amp;hash=f5491d7b1e363c30fcab3a75bd0bee1c" href="http://chapterfitness.com/st-edwards-greenbelt/" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">St. Edwards Greenbelt</a>. Their particular path took them through a backyard, actually, and this backyard had a woman and a smaller boy standing in it, watching as the detectives walked through. Both of them were crying because they already knew. They were the ones who had made the call. <br/>
<br/>
Only a few feet beyond where their backyard likely ended, police officers - simple patrolmen - were already setting up precaution tape and Tony and Ricardo ducked right underneath it and moved into the shade of the trees. Then they saw the scene. <br/>
<br/>
A single man was lying dead in the piles of leaves that were bound to be in a forest such as this one although these leaves weren’t brown like most would expect. They had been stained red instead and Tony actually flinched as he found the source of that. The man’s neck looked as though it had been completely ripped to pieces although closer inspection revealed that it was much more finely detailed than that. His carotid artery and jugular vein had both been finely sliced and pulled free of the confines of his skin, left to drain onto the forest ground. It was a death that had probably killed him instantly and it was also clearly made to look very gruesome. <br/>
<br/>
It actually took Tony a moment to be able to process what he was seeing. Different pieces started clicking together and simply from recalling the strength of the emotions of the woman and boy they had passed, he knew they had seen this exact same scene and that it horrified them. More than that, it fueled a hatred in them and he already knew why. Grabbing his bag, Tony started pulling out numbers and placing them. Then he started taking pictures. <span class="fixed-color" style="color:thistle">“What do we know about the victim?”</span> he asked. Given that Ricardo had read through the file, he imagined his partner knew something he didn’t. Tony hadn’t been able to open it yet and processing the scene seemed more important. <br/>
<br/>
<span class="fixed-color" style="color:cadetblue">“His name’s Victor Bates. He was married. They had one son. He worked at an auto shop, reported to work on a daily basis and was also very active at his son’s school.”</span> Ricardo seemed to know a lot about this guy already. <br/>
<br/>
And that was what perked Tony’s attention. <span class="fixed-color" style="color:thistle">“Any particular reason we already have so much information about him?”</span> <br/>
<br/>
<span class="fixed-color" style="color:cadetblue">“Yes. His son’s school was doing an investigation for another student’s parents. She claimed she was being bullied by Victor’s son Wyatt. They asked us to come and see if we could learn anything. I was here yesterday, actually. He was a reasonable guy to talk to and claimed his son had every right to be bullying a little vampire girl who didn’t belong in the school.”</span> Already, Tony had a small idea of where this was going. <span class="fixed-color" style="color:cadetblue">“We couldn’t do anything about it.”</span> <br/>
<br/>
Tony nodded, requesting Ricardo to continue. <br/>
<br/>
<span class="fixed-color" style="color:cadetblue">“Last night just after I headed out of the office for the night, they got a call. The little girl committed suicide. Left a note saying she didn’t want to live with being bullied anymore.”</span> <br/>
<br/>
<span class="fixed-color" style="color:thistle">“And this is the kind of crime that a vampire would be capable of.”</span> Tony could finish the story himself. <span class="fixed-color" style="color:thistle">“Which would mean her family is our prime suspect. They would have the motive and the means.”</span> It was a hard thing for Tony to say, but as a detective, he knew that it was all accurate deduction. Sighing to himself, he resumed his procedure of taking photographs and then he started exploring the surrounding area. <br/>
<br/>
Ricardo, meanwhile, had stepped in to take a swab off of Victor Bates’s neck. It would have evidence of vampire venom if their suspicions were true, and if they had something to compare it to, they could match it. It seemed silly… a little. Vampires were supposed to have so much more going for them, but in the end, they were also easier to catch after the fact. It seemed they were truly digging their own graves. <br/>
<br/>
<div style="text-align: center">~*~*~*~*~​</div><br/>
It had been an easy case, all things considered, but something about it shook Tony to the core. He still remembered going to the little vampire girl’s funeral - Nancy had been her name. Ricardo had gone with him because they had let her father be there, in cuffs and under guard, but there nonetheless. That had been Tony’s first encounter with the Austin branch of the HPA as well. One man walked right up to him, knew exactly who he was, and offered him a business card, thanked him for his service and for representing somewhere that he could make a difference. And Tony still remembered Ricardo’s gaze too, when it had happened. They hadn’t worked together since. And the card was still in Tony’s car. He knew how to contact them if he needed… if they still maintained a presence in Austin after what had happened only days ago. <br/>
<br/>
Perhaps Tony repressed it because he felt sympathy for the supernatural community and because he felt bad for claiming to be a part of it yet not enduring the same hate that they did. <br/>
<br/>
If that was the case, though, that sympathy didn’t exist now. <br/>
<br/>
All that existed was an urge to run as he found his eyes meeting the fierce gaze of a man who was not human and who Tony did not yet know what to call. And that was not the kind of person to be locked in an interrogation room with. <br/>
<br/>
So Tony turned. And Tony ran towards the door. <br/>
<br/>
If he reached it in time, he’d pull it open, slide out, and slam it behind him. Leaning back against it, the detective would slide to the ground with his back still holding the door shut, and his head would fall into his hands because that would be real frustration. Once again, a supernatural seemed to be digging their own hole making it harder and harder for Tony to try and help him get out of it. That was <i>only</i> if Tony managed to escape in the first place, though.</span>