Time/Date: Early Morning, TC1853.01.08
Location: Metropolitan Police Station - 4th Ring, Evidence Room
Wu's communicator buzzed with priority clearance—the kind that demanded immediate attention regardless of the hour. He activated it, stepping into the corridor's relative privacy where harsh fluorescent lights cast shadows across institutional green walls.
"Commissioner Wu," came Judge Elira Thorne's voice. One of the few Imperial Circuit judges Wu trusted to be immune to political pressure. Her tone carried the crisp precision of someone who'd made decisions that reshaped lives for thirty years. "I received your evidence package thirty minutes ago. I've reviewed the preliminary analysis."
Wu straightened instinctively, military bearing asserting itself. "Your assessment, Your Honor?"
"This is considerably more serious than your initial briefing suggested." Papers rustled through the communicator. "Celestial Union Incense—that alone triggers multiple protocols. Add the fertility compounds, the minor victim status, evidence of conspiracy involving multiple parties, and we're looking at potential treaty violations."
Wu's pulse quickened. Treaty violations meant international implications—the kind that dragged multiple continental powers into diplomatic chaos. "Your Honor, we need arrest warrants. The primary conspirators may flee jurisdiction within hours if we don't move now."
"Agreed. However, Commissioner—" Judge Thorne's voice carried warning weight that made Wu's instincts prickle. "The moment I issue warrants involving restricted ceremonial substances, I'm required by international law to notify the Sanctum Intelligence Service. It's automatic. Non-negotiable. The treaty stipulates that any criminal investigation involving Sanctum-origin materials falls under their oversight jurisdiction."
Wu closed his eyes briefly. The SIS. Of course. The one organization that could override local authority, override even imperial family sovereignty in cases involving cosmic security. They operated on a level that made imperial politics look like children's games.
"How long do we have?"
"The notification goes out the moment I authorize these warrants. SIS response time varies, but given the imperial family connection and the substance involved—" She paused meaningfully. "I'd estimate you have perhaps an hour. Maybe less. They'll send oversight agents immediately."
An hour. Wu's mind was already racing through what could be accomplished in sixty minutes versus what would be left undone when cosmic bureaucracy descended on his investigation.
"Then we work fast, Your Honor. The warrants?"
"I'm authorizing arrest warrants for Selene Lin and Amara Brenner on charges of conspiracy to commit sexual assault against a minor, illegal possession and use of restricted substances, and child endangerment. I'm also authorizing a detention order for Prince Kael Xuán pending further investigation into his involvement."
Wu felt satisfaction sharp as winter wind. "Thank you, Your Honor."
"Commissioner—one more thing." Judge Thorne's voice shifted, taking on a more personal tone. "The evidence suggests layers beyond what you've uncovered. Missing hotel workers. Baby swap implications. Family secrets going back decades. When the SIS arrives, they won't just be interested in the immediate crime. They'll want to understand the full scope of the conspiracy. Be prepared for them to take a much wider view than local law enforcement typically considers."
"Understood."
"And Wu—" Her voice softened slightly. "Whatever political considerations exist between the Wu and Xuán clans, set them aside when SIS arrives. They don't care about clan politics. They care about cosmic security and treaty compliance. If you want to maintain any jurisdiction over this case, you need to demonstrate absolute professional integrity."
The call disconnected with a soft click that seemed abnormally loud in the quiet corridor.
Wu stood there for a moment, the communicator still in his hand, mind calculating implications. Arrest warrants were coming. The SIS would arrive within the hour. And once they did, this investigation would transform from a local police matter into something far more complex—something that could define or destroy careers, reshape political alliances, and potentially expose corruption reaching into the highest levels of imperial society.
Set them aside, Judge Thorne had said. As if hundreds of years of clan rivalry could be dismissed like morning fog burning off under sunlight. As if his grandfather's death at Xuán hands was just another political consideration to be managed.
Wu touched the jade pendant beneath his uniform collar—family heirloom, passed down through three generations of Wu clan military officers. His grandfather had worn it the day he'd died in border skirmishes that everyone knew the Xuán family had orchestrated. His father had worn it while serving in a military posting so remote it might as well have been exile. Wu himself had worn it through every rank, every posting, every political humiliation the Xuán-backed imperial court had inflicted on his branch of the family.
And now he held Kael Xuán's fate in his hands. The golden prince. The heir apparent who'd never faced consequences for anything in his entitled life.
Professional integrity, the judge had said.
Wu took a deep breath, squared his shoulders, and returned to the evidence room. The door opened with a soft whoosh. Three pairs of eyes immediately fixed on him with varying degrees of anxiety and anticipation.
"We have warrants incoming. Judge Thorne is processing them now."
Morrison looked up sharply from the evidence board where he'd been making final notations. "How long?"
"Minutes. But there's a complication." Wu moved to the room's center, commanding attention with the same presence he'd used for military briefings decades ago. "The restricted substance involvement triggers automatic SIS notification. They'll have oversight jurisdiction the moment the warrants are issued."
The room went silent. Even the forensic technician's fingers stopped their constant typing, hovering over her keyboard as the implications sank in. Everyone understood what SIS involvement meant. The Sanctum Intelligence Service didn't answer to local authorities. They didn't care about political considerations or family connections. They had the power to override imperial family protection if cosmic security was at stake, and they wielded it with ruthless efficiency.
"How much time?" Veyne asked, her steel-gray hair catching the fluorescent light as she set down her tea.
"An hour. Maybe less." Wu's voice carried command authority. "Which means we use every minute to build an unassailable case. When SIS arrives, we need to show them we've conducted this investigation with absolute professional integrity. No political motivation, no clan rivalry, just evidence and law."
The forensic technician pulled up final analysis reports, fingers flying. "Everything's documented. Chain of custody is perfect. We have video evidence, forensic analysis, witness statements, and clear proof of conspiracy." She paused, looking up at Wu with determined fire in her exhausted eyes. "The case is solid, Commissioner. Even the SIS won't be able to find holes in our methodology."
"Then we prepare for their arrival," Wu decided. "Morrison, compile everything into a comprehensive briefing. I want a complete timeline, all evidence properly indexed, and witness statements cross-referenced. Make it so thorough that even cosmic auditors would approve."
Morrison nodded, already gathering files. "On it."
"Forensic tech, ensure all evidence is properly logged and secured. Triple-check every chain of custody document. If there's even a hint of procedural irregularity, the SIS will exploit it."
"Yes, sir."
"Veyne, get the detention areas ready—we'll be making arrests the moment those warrants arrive. And brief the desk sergeant. I want him prepared for VIP arrivals within the hour."
His communicator buzzed again—Judge Thorne's authorization signal, a distinct pattern indicating official legal documents were now active in the imperial system.
"They're here," Wu announced. "Legal authorization to arrest Selene Lin and Amara Brenner, detain Imperial Heir Kael Xuán for further investigation. Let's move."
The team dispersed with military efficiency, each person understanding the stakes had just escalated beyond anything they'd handled before. This wasn't just about solving a crime anymore. This was about exposing corruption that reached back decades, involved multiple noble families, and touched on cosmic laws that transcended imperial authority.
Wu stood at the window overlooking the pre-dawn darkness, watching the first pale light touch the horizon like a blade cutting through the night. In less than an hour, SIS agents would arrive. The investigation would transform from a police matter into something that could reshape political alliances, expose decades of conspiracy, and potentially rewrite the status of everyone involved.
He'd spent his entire career preparing for moments like this—moments where duty and politics collided, where the right choice could destroy you as easily as the wrong one. The Wu clan's rivalry with the Xuán family stretched back generations, woven through imperial history like blood through silk. Every Wu child learned the stories. The border skirmishes. The convenient postings. The promotions that never came. The whispered accusations that couldn't be proven but everyone knew were true.
Part of him—the part that still burned with clan loyalty, that still felt his grandfather's jade pendant warm against his chest—wanted to see Prince Kael destroyed by this scandal. Wanted to watch the golden prince face consequences for once in his privileged life. Wanted the Xuán family to feel what it was like when justice actually applied to them.
But Judge Thorne's warning echoed in his mind. The SIS didn't care about clan politics or personal vendettas. They cared about cosmic law and truth.
And the truth was... the truth was more complicated than clan rivalry allowed.
Wu's hands gripped the windowsill, knuckles whitening. Because somewhere in the evidence files, in the carefully documented conspiracy, was a pattern that troubled him. The sophistication of this scheme—the timing, the resources, the access to Sanctum materials—suggested players far beyond a merchant family's reach. Someone with celestial connections. Someone who understood bloodlines and imperial law at a level that required either extensive training or insider knowledge.
Someone, possibly, within the celestial families themselves.
Which meant if he let clan loyalty blind him, if he pushed too hard to destroy Kael without following the evidence wherever it actually led, he might miss the real conspiracy. Might let the true architects escape while he settled for the visible targets.
His grandfather's voice seemed to whisper in his memory: "Tianlong, vengeance without wisdom is just another word for failure. When you finally get your chance at the Xuán clan, make sure you don't waste it on the wrong target."
Wu took a slow breath, feeling the weight of the jade pendant, the weight of over a thousand years of clan history, the weight of this moment that could define everything.
Professional integrity. Not because Judge Thorne demanded it. Not because the SIS would be watching. But because his grandfather had taught him that real victory required patience, precision, and the wisdom to see the larger game.
If Kael was guilty, the evidence would show it. If he was a pawn in someone else's conspiracy, that truth mattered too. And if there were celestial families manipulating events from the shadows—well, that was exactly what the SIS needed to find.
Wu turned from the window, his decision crystallizing like ice forming on winter water. He would conduct this investigation with absolute integrity. Would build a case so ironclad that no one—not the Xuán family, not the imperial court, not even the SIS—could find fault with it.
And if that destroyed Kael Xuán? If it exposed imperial corruption? If it brought down celestial conspirators?
Well, justice served was better than vengeance wasted.
His communicator buzzed with an incoming message. Desk sergeant reporting unusual activity at the station entrance—official vehicles approaching with speed that suggested urgent business.
Wu allowed himself one small smile.
Let the cosmic authorities come. They would find an investigation conducted with absolute integrity, evidence gathered with meticulous care, and a case built on truth rather than political convenience.
And if that truth happened to expose corruption reaching into the highest levels of imperial society?
Well, that was precisely what cosmic law was designed to address.
He straightened his uniform, touched his grandfather's jade pendant one final time, and moved toward the corridor. The SIS would be here any minute. The game was about to change.
But he was ready.
The question was—were the Xuán family?