"Boss, Vibration and Whale Oil are injured. The other party had concentrated reinforcements, but a few people escaped in the end, and the rest have been captured."
It took a little time to "fix" the treeman and his accomplices in place. Wayne and Inessa were not the first to rush to the fireworks to reinforce. Lina and Sanders arrived even faster.
So by the time Wayne and his team arrived, the "battlefield" had already deviated some distance from where the fireworks rose, and the matter had entered its final stages. Ryan came over directly to report the situation.
There was an extra carriage and a few captives at the scene, as well as two or three horses. Because they had fought, their current treatment was not very good; they were all lying neatly on the ground, rubbing the back of their heads.
Being able to rub the back of their heads was considered lucky; at least their situation should be better than the two lying still beside them—they shouldn't be dead yet, as there's no need to tie up dead people.
Wayne walked up to the row of "Fallen" and asked, looking down, "Who sent you here?"
"We are..." One of the "Fallen" slightly raised his face, but his words stopped abruptly halfway through, "Just send us to the Police Station."
Send to the Police Station? So they're "locals" then.
"According to the warrant signed by Bishop Corleone before his death—which Father Tyrrell also confirmed—I currently have certain powers to deal with wild Extraordinary Persons in Virginia," Wayne said, then turned to Ryan to confirm, "They are all Extraordinary Persons, right?"
Ryan nodded, giving an affirmative answer, while the one who had just spoken among the "Fallen" quickly added: "We are not Fallen!"
The Bishop's name was too recognizable. Wayne had deliberately mentioned Father Tyrrell's name to see if they would be unfamiliar with local church members. He might even casually mention Mr. Walter's name later to probe their relationship with local Agent organizations.
But with the mention of "Fallen," the identity of the other party could be initially determined.
Wayne didn't think tonight's incident was a simple "misunderstanding." He had a general idea of the Agents' modus operandi. At least when partners were nearby, even if they were to act, they would block people off and wait for them to resist before retaliating. It was unlikely they would violate the Detective Agency's principles to proactively cause trouble.
So, if these people first tracked and then attacked, and they were still from the church, it would be even more troublesome than if they were local Agents.
The Bishop's position was about to be officially replaced, and the church had just experienced a "society rebellion" not long ago. Even if Wayne didn't know the inside story, just seeing Tom Hagen's evasive attitude, he knew the waters were deep.
In a sense, Wayne's situation was quite similar to Tom Hagen's. Following suit, he consciously wanted to temporarily "keep a low profile," preferring to focus his energy on the Dock Area rather than getting involved in the church's internal factional struggles.
So he was too lazy to ask further. He turned to check the injuries of "Vibration" and "Whale Oil." They weren't too severe; with timely treatment, they wouldn't become old injuries.
In that case, it would be best to send them all to the Police Station, as that "Fallen" suggested, and see how Father Tyrrell would handle it later.
Having dealt with this, Wayne returned to the carriage and began to appease the stewards and overseers from the Plantation.
They had seen the "treeman" tonight, and according to the custom of the church and the Exorcist Association, matters concerning Extraordinary Persons should not be known by ordinary people. So Wayne also took the "deception" approach:
"We found hallucinogens on those two people just now. You might have accidentally inhaled the smoke and experienced hallucinations. They are not 'Demons' at all."
"Really?"
Looking at the steward's expression, he seemed to find it a bit unbelievable.
But perhaps out of respect for Wayne as a guest treated with courtesy by the Beaton Family, or perhaps thinking that a great detective like Wayne, who appeared in newspapers, wouldn't speak carelessly, he quickly accepted this explanation: "Will the hallucinogens they used leave any side effects?"
Wayne could only continue to make things up, "Perhaps there might still be some residue temporarily, but as long as you rest well, you should be fine soon."
Inessa, having spent time in the Exorcist Association, was more adept at handling such situations: "If you're really worried, after we finish taking your statements at the Police Station, we can take you to the Cathedral to seek blessings from the priests. There won't be any ill effects."
The steward evidently thought so too, nodding repeatedly, "That would be best. I feel I really need the guidance of the Holy Spirit right now."
Having finished discussing matters directly related to his physical and mental health, the steward's attention immediately returned to the two people from earlier: "Mr. Wayne, how do you plan to deal with those two slave thieves?"
Those two guys also claimed to be from the church, so it was likely they were either colleagues or accomplices of the group being rounded up outside.
Wayne pondered for a moment, "Let's send them all to the Police Station together later."
"What about our Plantation's slaves?" the steward pressed on.
Wayne wasn't entirely sure, "If the police confirm it, they should let you take them back, right?"
"That's good," the steward finally relaxed completely, then asked, "Can I go see them now? I want to confirm their current condition."
"Please do."
"Thank you very much!"
...
Horses were not allowed in the city, so the horses were tied in a line behind the carriage.
The stewards and overseers then all moved to the carriage where the Agents were sitting, guarding the two slaves closely. As for the Agents who were supposed to be in those seats, they got into the newly confiscated carriage, watching the captives inside.
Not long after arriving at the Police Station, both the Plantation and the captured groups erupted.
After talking with the two slaves, the steward believed he had grasped the situation and made more severe accusations against the two "slave thieves": "They are from the 'Underground Railroad' organization! Habitual offenders who assist slaves in escaping! Our Plantation's slaves can testify."
And the captured side also felt offended, especially the two who had directly clashed with the stewards: "This is slander! You inexplicably attacked us first, and we were acting in self-defense at the time!"
Slavery was permitted in Virginia, or more accurately, because slave owners held high positions in all sectors of Virginia, "assisting runaway slaves" was in fact a felony, with a greater crackdown than even for ordinary murderers. It could directly affect the donations the police department received and the officers' benefits.
As soon as this accusation was made, not only did the police officer on duty take it seriously, but many officers in the station also rushed over upon hearing the news, as if they had encountered a major case.
The police officers were initially hesitant to make a judgment easily, but as a "ticket" clearly from the "Underground Railroad" organization was found on the person who was originally the "treeman," and the male slave then confessed their escape plan for tonight, which was indeed to leave Virginia with the help of the "Underground Railroad" organization, his testimony was completely consistent with that of the beautiful mixed-race female slave who was interrogated separately.
With eyewitnesses, physical evidence, confessions, and accusers, the leader of the "Fallen" seemed completely stunned: "We are from the church! I want to request a defense!"
The steward, now filled with righteous indignation, retorted, "Shut up, slave thief! How dare you slander the church! The priests never support you hateful 'Underground Railroad' members. You deserve to go to hell!"
That group, who knew not which part of the church they belonged to, naturally dared not use their Extraordinary abilities in the Police Station. The two groups, in the iron cages awaiting bail or detention, could only hurl insults at each other through the bars.
Wayne hadn't expected such a scene to unfold and watched the spectacle for a while before leaving.
As one of the "witnesses" and "parties involved" tonight, he was considered an "old acquaintance" at the Police Station, receiving relatively better treatment.
Because the sheriff knew Wayne would likely attend the Bishop's farewell ceremony and funeral today, he quickly completed Wayne's statement in the office and also had Wayne help confirm the veracity of both parties' statements.
Wayne, of course, leaned more towards the Beaton Family's side. Even for content he wasn't entirely sure about, he was willing to help guide it in a "relatively objective" direction.
Finally, the Detective Agency also left Liam and a carriage behind, lest the Beaton Family have no one to pick them up, and the stewards and overseers would have to walk back on their own.
Lina and Emma were still a bit reluctant to leave. "Just a little longer, it feels like they're about to start throwing things at each other."
Wayne, however, pulled the two of them, "Come on. We still have to go to the Cathedral after dawn."
"I'm not going."
"There aren't enough carriages. So you want to walk back to the restaurant yourself?"
"Hmph." Lina looked back three times with each step, and casually brought up an unrelated topic, "I hadn't noticed before, but mixed-race female slaves are actually quite pretty."
"Pretty ones are definitely a minority. You like them? Want to consider buying one as a maid?"
"Hmm... they're expensive, right?"
"You're actually considering it?!"
