Scott glanced over to Sonja. She had heard the outburst over the phone. There was no need to ask what she intended to do. She declared Ashton to be her sister in a moment of delirious excitement. She would not leave a sister to be imprisoned in such a manner.

They walked toward the front door of the station only to be stopped by Rifle Guy. Scott was a deputy now. He would need to sign in and out of the station.

“Where you planning to patrol? I didn’t think they’d have given you a beat, yet,” said Rifle Guy.

He saw no reason to lie. “My friend has been taken by the Militia. I am going to go retrieve her.”

“Taken?” asked Rifle Guy. He seemed confused for a moment then grinned. “Ah. Sorry. Must have heard that weird. I look forward to meeting them when you get back!”

“Of course,” said Scott. “I forgot to ask where they are stationed. I think that It was supposed to be around the hospital somewhere?”

“Ah. Yeah. There’s a hotel being built nearby there. The militia took it over,” said Rifle Guy.

“Took it over?” asked Scott.

“I’m not sure how they worked it out, but they run the place like a little fort,” said Rifle Guy. “Seems a bit too quick, honestly, but they were on top of things.”

Scott’s eyes narrowed. “I see.”

He signed their names then they left the building. Technically, Sonja should not be allowed to run freely in the streets, but she was in the company of a deputy.

Neither of them spoke. Instead, once they were out of sight of the police station they took off at a hard run. Sonja stayed just behind Scott as she had no idea where they were going.

They continued to run until they reached a turn-off in the road that led to several parked military vehicles. A barricade was placed in the middle of the road complete with sandbags and barbed wire.

Scott frowned darkly. There were several people at the barricade, each of whom wore jackets with a similar insignia on the sleeve. Where had they come from? They were far too organized to have spawned overnight given the fact that they were Earthlings.

“Halt!” cried a man in a black uniform. “Civvies aren’t allowed on the streets. You’ll have to come with us.”

Scott eyed the man briefly. “I’m a deputy.”

The man snorted. “If you were, you’d know that this area is off-limits.”

“There’s a part of the city that local law enforcement has no jurisdiction over?” asked Scott.

Another uniformed man approached, “What’s going on?”

“This guy’s claiming to be a deputy. Doesn’t even know this area is off-limits,” said the first man.

Throughout this entire exchange Scott read their spiritual information. He senses thoughts, emotions, and slowly wormed his way into their minds. What he found there did not seem to be particularly noteworthy. Neither of them was important in their organization. Though, they did seem to think they outranked actual law enforcement.

“You got any paperwork?” asked the new arrival. Scott reached into his pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. It would have to be used in lieu of a badge at the moment.

The man looked the paper over then nodded. “New guy. Right.”

He handed the slip of paper back to Scott then said, “We don’t have time to babysit local law enforcement. This sector of the city is under quarantine by order of the mayor. You have no jurisdiction here.”

“I see,” said Scott calmly.

The snickering man snickered once more. Scott tilted his head to the side. “If I insist on crossing your barricade?”

“We will have to arrest you,” said the man.

“You are not law enforcement. You said so, yourself,” replied Scott.

“Look. Deputy,” said the man. “I’m not going to argue the finer points of the law here. We’re in charge. You aren’t coming through.”

“I see,” said Scott. He glanced over to Sonja. “We should leave now.”

She quirked her eyebrow upward then tilted her head to the side. Confused for a moment, she soon realized that he had come to a decision. They turned to leave, only for the first militia member to tell them that they should learn their place.

“I know my place,” replied Scott calmly.

The man snickered once more, his commanding officer joining in this time. Scott ignored them both.

He led Sonja back the way that they came for a short distance then slipped into an alleyway with her. She looked to him, curious to see if he actually did have a plan.

“You do know that those weaklings could not have stopped you, master,” said Sonja.

“I’m more concerned for Ashton than for their snickering,” said Scott. “Let’s go around for now.”

Scott transformed into a shadow then drifted up to a nearby roof. He transformed back gestured for her to join him. It was quite the leap, and almost too high for her to make it. However, he caught her hand and helped her up.

Quietly, he led her on a roof hopping adventure that circumnavigated the roadblock. They were quiet and far enough from the militia men that they remained undetected.

They knelt atop a building and stared off into the distance. The hospital stood where it always hand, on the other side of the bridge which crossed the Wilmar River. It was not much of a river, and it required even less of a bridge. Still, there was a large roadblock that protected the bridge.

The duo watched for a time only to see a single car drive up. It was a red sports car of a type Scott could not identify. A convertible, there were four people inside.

By their clothing and mannerisms, they were not soldiers or police. If anything, they seemed to be a group of rich kids out for a drive. The militia drew aside and allowed them to pass.

“Bastards,” growled Scott. “I’ve seen all I need to see.”

“Hmm?” asked Sonja.

From this distance it was difficult, but he did manage to pick up on some of their thoughts. He spoke those thoughts to Sonja and her eyes narrowed. The only people in the area allowed to move freely were people of means and purpose. The so-called militia guarded the rich people and kept out the riffraff.