Eighteen-year-old Nicholas Hammerstein is at the cusp of finishing high school in his hometown of Los Alamos, NM. He has a seemingly ideal life and is blessed with loving parents, a cute baby sister, and great friends. Nicholas is a gifted student and martial artist who has dreams of leaving for college at the end of his senior year. But, living in a world of Emergent humans, he will soon find his life turned upside down as his life and the fate of a kingdom hang in the balance. His future and theirs will be determined by how he navigates the drastic changes in his body and the magical and superpowered Mergent population he joins.

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The Legal Stuff: Emerald Princess © 2016-2023 By Sofia Hammerstein
 
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2016-2023 By Sofia Hammerstein. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission.
 
 
Chapter 38: Questions

“DETECTIVE, YOU MIGHT want to disregard that order until you get all of the facts,” Agent Caruthers said as he interposed himself between us.

“This Mergent blew up a statue in Rockefeller Plaza! What more facts do you need?” The man in the suit argued.

“Sir, you are?” Camille’s dad asked coolly.

“Agent Kenton, EPC division head for New York City.” He turned his head for a moment and then looked back at Caruthers. “This Mergent also has an outstanding warrant for her arrest in connection with terrorist actions in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She and her accomplices attacked EPC agents as they fled and are responsible for the deaths of two agents and the destruction of millions of dollars of property!”

“Are you finished yet?” Camille’s dad asked.

‘Has Camille ever said what her dad does?’ Caireen asked.

I thought back hard, which with my improved memory didn’t take long, ‘I’m sure she’s never said.’

As if to prove a sudden gut feeling correct, he pulled out a folio badge and said, “I’m Jack Jennings, D.O.J. Special Counsel.”

I looked at Camille, who somehow looked both proud and embarrassed simultaneously.

The EPC agent looked back at him and said, “No, I’m not finished; I won’t be finished until she’s in our custody.”

“That won’t be happening,” I heard Agent Caruthers and her dad say simultaneously. “Let’s introduce everyone properly first.”

Somehow, I caught a little nod from him, so I pulled out my badge, “Agent Emerald, F.B.I.” I was proud of my flip-out with no practice and inwardly squealed.

“But…”

“And this is my daughter, Sora,” her dad said protectively, placing his hands on her shoulders. “She’s Agent Emerald’s friend, staying with us for the holidays.”

The NYPD detective seemed to have a bit more common sense, “I’m Detective Nance,” he had just said before the door opened again. This time Tigress came in and joined us.

“Hello again,” she said to everyone. I swore her gaze landed on Agent Kenton and bore through him.

“Now that everyone’s here, why don’t we take our seats?” Agent Caruthers motioned calmly around the conference table. Tigress sat next to Camille and me while her dad was on her other side. The detective and Agent Kenton sat across from us, and Caruthers sat at the head of the conference table.

“Now then,” he said, “I’m hoping we can all behave professionally to determine what happened here today. Agent Emerald, would you please start?”

I sighed, “Yes, sir,” I answered.

“How in the hell can you claim she’s an agent? She’s a baby!?!?!” Kenton seethed.

“If she’s a baby, how could you think to arrest her as a terrorist ten seconds ago?” Mr. Jennings asked smoothly.

“She’s a Mergent!”

“Well, perhaps she’s not just a baby then?” he asked. “You really do need to make up your mind; you can’t have things both ways? As it stands, Agent Emerald is eighteen years old; it’s unusual for the FBI to have an agent that young, but there is nothing against them doing so.”

He shut up and seemed to pout; I could imagine steam coming out of his ears.

“May I begin?” I directed toward the others. I decided this was a moment to shed the baby persona as much as possible. I jumped from Camille’s lap onto the table to stand in front of her. “I came here with Sora’s family for Thanksgiving Break when other plans fell through. So Sora and I arrived this afternoon. After dinner, we walked down from our hotel to the Plaza for some sightseeing. Her mom had arranged for us to ice skate tonight. We had been skating for a while, and I had gotten a little away from Sora.”

I tried to think back if there were any warning signs before then, “Her mom had just come to get me to rejoin her family when the statue overhead exploded. So I instinctively put up a magical shield around all of us to try and protect everyone.”

I looked at Camille, and she nodded her approval, “I did simultaneously as well. It’s good that both of us did it since that explosion was intense.”

“I’ll say Rockefeller and all nearby buildings are evacuated pending structural assessments. We think there’s significant damage to a couple of them.” Detective Nance said.

“I think they’ll be all repaired sufficiently for now,” Tigress said, “My team, and another, were working on it when I left.

I was a little bit intimidated then by the thought that a famous superhero group and I were now sort of working together.

“What happened next?” Tigress asked me gently while she seemed to be nervously doing something with a staff she carried.

“I ensured everyone was okay and changed into my costume to try and avoid recognition.” She smirked at that, but I continued, “As I jumped out of Sora’s mother’s arms, I noticed a figure who must have been responsible for the attack. She recognized me and began attacking me.”

“Recognized you?” Detective Nance asked, his eyes narrowing.

‘Careful, Sofia, you can’t let out too much.’

I sighed, “We’ve had some run-ins on another… astral plain of existence. I didn’t think that she could exist in the normal world.”

“Go on,” Mr. Jennings coaxed. In about ten more minutes, I told the whole fight story from my perspective. It was like the debriefings I’d heard some of the other kids talk about the last week from their combat simulator time, and just as frustrating to me.

A cell phone announcing a text sounded off, and I watched Agent Caruthers look. “Okay, let’s watch this video to confirm their story.”

What amazed me most about the video, shot from an NBC camera that always was directed at the Plaza, was the fight was really over so quickly. Just three minutes had elapsed from the explosion to the bullets to Rosemerta’s head. I looked at the edge of the screen and, sure enough, saw a man run as soon as he saw Rosemerta destroyed.

“Looks like it confirms their story to me,” Agent Caruthers said. “You have the remains of the villain in custody, correct?” he asked the EPC agent.

I could tell he was angry, “No, somehow she thawed out, regrew her head, turned into a bat, and flew away!”

I would have laughed if it wasn’t so familiar. “That’s not the first time I’ve seen her do something impossible like that,” I responded aloud.

“Who is she? And… what is she?” Detective Nance asked.

“Her name is Rosemerta, and she’s a vampire,” I told him.

Agent Kenton snorted, “There’s no such thing.”

“Not what you all have in your common myths. Vampires were real long ago, but they didn’t suck blood; they fed on manna from magic users they attacked. For her to be as powerful as she was – she has killed many people.”

“Why was she there?” Agent Caruthers asked.

“If I had to guess, it was probably to kill me,” I said honestly.

“What?” Mr. Jennings asked in tandem with every other voice in the room.

“In the other plane I spoke of, we have a war that just started. Rosemerta has tried to capture me several times there, and her King attempted to kill me in the last attempt. I never would have dreamed that she would be able to appear here. I wonder if that means others can too?”

“I’m satisfied that Agent Emerald did nothing that makes it even possible for you to think of arresting her today,” Agent Caruthers said to Agent Nance.

“But what about the outstanding warrant?”

“She and all involved have been given immunity for all parts of the incident,” Mr. Jennings stated.

“By who?!?” He practically screamed.

“By the Attorney General for the United States of America,” Agent Caruthers answered coldly. “Detective Nance, I appreciate your much politer behavior than you’ve demonstrated in the past. We may be able to get along better in the future, thanks to that.” He nodded, “Would you please help escort Agent Kenton back to the scene so he may conclude his investigation?”

“Sure,” he said simply.

I could tell there was no love lost there, but apparently, maybe he was turning over a new leaf. I watched as Kenton spluttered but allowed himself to be led from the room.

“Now that he’s gone, what else is going on?” Mr. Jennings asked me.

‘What do I say?’ I asked Caireen.

‘You can trust them, but make them swear on the secret.’

“I will share everything with you, but only if you vow not to disclose it to anyone outside this room.”

Caruthers looked a little hesitant, but in the end, they all agreed to be bound by an enchanted oath I gave. After that, I spent a half-hour giving them all a cliff notes version of the war in Caireen’s Kingdom. When I was done, I said, “There may be a clue in that video. Can you zoom into video with this system?”

Caruthers nodded, “Technomages are handy to have around. Where?”

I pointed at the man, and as the image cleared and I got a good look at him, I shuddered. “He looks like an older version of King Camulus’s son that he wanted me to marry.”

“Not good,” Camille said.

“Not good at all,” I told her. “Are they like avatars or actually from the other realm?”

Camille’s voice changed to her spirit’s, “I can’t say, but either option is horrible for all of us. I know of his father, and he’s a ruthless man.”

“Just why are they so interested in you?” Tigress asked.

“My avatar spirit is a minor goddess,” I said. At me calling her a ‘minor goddess,’ I felt Caireen gripe. “In the other realm, she is the queen of a great kingdom. When she joined me, she chose to make me her daughter there. So I guess that means that I’m the heir to the kingdom. King Camulus wants me to marry his son so he can take over our lands.”

“He wants a baby to marry a grown man?!?” Tigress asked.

I sighed, “Well, he’d like to use some sort of magic to bring me back to my real age.”

“Even still, that would be awful,” Mr. Jennings said.

“Not going to lie, I’m not a fan of that plan – and neither is Caireen!” I scowled a bit at it all. “Should we go ahead and arrange for me to return to Bechtel? I hate to endanger your family.”

He shook his head, “No, you and Camille handled that just fine, and we’ll get some extra protection now from the Liberty Watch now if I had to guess.”

Tigress nodded, “You’re adorable; if anything happened to you here, it would be unacceptable to us.”

“What about the casualties from today?!?” I asked angrily.

Agent Caruthers shook his head, “It’s not the first time something like this has happened. You’ll notice that the whole thing took three minutes, and the police opened fire seventy seconds in. The casualties were from the initial blast and the police officers she attacked.”

“How many?” I asked coldly. I was sure that the chill in my voice was especially unnerving, given my size and its pitch.

“Fifteen dead, twenty in critical care, eighty-six in serious condition, and another hundred needed light care.”

I felt the tears run down my face and let Camille pick me up and hug me. I stayed there for a few moments before I calmed down some. I fought the urge to ask for a pacifier or place my thumb in my mouth. After I calmed down, I squeezed Camille and turned to look back at the rest of the group.

“What do we do now?” I asked.

“Well, it’s late, and you probably should head back to your hotel,” Agent Caruthers said. “I need a few moments with you alone before you leave, Agent Emerald.”

I nodded and motioned for the others to go. Tigress came by and said, “This wasn’t your fault,” and gave me a hug before she left too.”

“Okay, Sofia, I don’t have much extra time to waste with everything here. Agent Sanders is on his way here to the city as we speak, and he needs to meet with you tomorrow. He said we need to get some time in for you at a range and maybe a few other quick training exercises in a simulator. Fortunately, you go to Bechtel and already had martial arts experience before then.”

“I think they said we would go to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty tomorrow.”

“I understand that’s your morning plans. I think we could go ahead at lunchtime and get Tigress to bring you back here first to meet with Agent Sanders, and then you can go back with her to the Liberty Watch’s headquarters. They have a good training facility there that you can work at.”

I nodded, “So, until then?”

“Tigress will escort you back to your hotel, and then another Watch member will take over for her there with being a bodyguard so she can get some rest.”

I sighed, “So much for thinking I could have a quiet holiday.”

He laughed, “Agent Emerald, you go to Bechtel! I swear we have a major incident from at least one of their students in this city every single holiday break!”

I laughed lightly, “I’ve heard plenty of stories.” I hated that mine was now one of them, and people had died. Their ghosts would probably haunt me forever.

He offered me his hand, which I took and shook it. “Sofia, you did nothing wrong; you can’t blame yourself for what happened. You can only keep pushing forward and do your best to stop things like this from worsening - which is what you did!”

“Thanks,” I told him awkwardly, and then I jumped off the table and walked to the door he opened for me.

Outside, Camille and Tigress waited. I held my hands up to Camille, and she carried me on her hip down the hallway to her parents and Cassidy. She felt my diaper and sighed, “You really need a new diaper Em.”

“Em?”

“Emerald is a lot to say!” She defended herself.

“Next thing, it’ll be Emmy!?!”

“Hmm… I like that!”

I groaned. “Unfortunately, my diaper bag and everything are still in the locker we put everything in?”

Camille’s mom was standing there and shook her head, “No, here you go,” she said and handed the missing bag to Camille. “One of the agents was kind enough to grab it for us. The stroller will be locked up in evidence forever, but at least you have everything else.”

I nodded and smiled a bit.

“Let’s go find somewhere to change that diapee,” she told me with a smile.

Fifteen minutes later, we returned to the Plaza in another unmarked suburban. I nursed a bottle on the trip back, doing my best not to burst into tears. I fell asleep sometime before we got to the hotel and didn’t remember them putting me to bed.

 
 

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