Ning returned to City o to report on what he was doing. Since he had been gone for nearly a week now, his lieutenant seed to want to hear back from him.
He had received a ssage that morning asking him to visit during the day. So, when he had the chance, Ning went to her.
Lieutenant Harper was busy looking at sothing in her DODS when Ning arrived. He knocked on the door to grab her attention.
She looked up. "Oh, Chief Officer Ning, you're here. Co take a seat," she said and turned off the DODS.
Ning took his seat.
"So, how is the investigation going? Got any leads?" she asked.
"I managed to get in touch with both Jay and Cenn," Ning said. "They trust now and should let into their circles more going forward."
Harper couldn't help but raise her eyebrows in surprise. "You managed to into their circle?" she asked.
Ning nodded.
"How did you do that?" she asked.
"Not... through good ans," Ning said. "I had to use a way that got deep into their circle."
"What ans?" Harper asked.
Ning shook his head. "I can't answer that, Lieutenant," he said. "I will give you the full report once I'm done with this investigation."
Harper narrowed her eyes. "Is soone dead?" she asked.
"No, no one is dead," Ning said.
"Then I won't question what you did. But the mont people's lives are in danger, you stop what you're doing," she said.
"Yes, Lieutenant," Ning answered.
"Go on then, tell more about this group," she said.
Ning nodded. "As you expected, Jay and Cenn are indeed the people spreading Dust throughout City 3. They work under soone from what I managed to learn, but that person isn't very involved it seems, so they are pretty much in charge of everything."
"Any big nas?" Harper asked.
"None really," Ning said. "Everyone that works with them are their subordinates. And they use teenagers with nowhere to go to sell Dust so they don't get caught. I am gathering so evidence, including learning more about their hideouts spread throughout the city."
"They've taken to only one of them, but I have learned that there are caches around the city where they stash Dust. At the very least, those teenagers get their Dust through those locations around the city."
Harper nodded as she took in the information.
"Sounds like you're deep enough then," she said. "Do you know how they make Dust? Learn the process behind it."
"There is no process," Ning said. "They don't make Dust."
"Huh?" Harper looked at Ning with a frown on her face. "You just said they are the ones spreading Dust, didn't you?"
"They are, but they are not the supplier, just the distributor. They get their Dust from sowhere else."
"Where?" Harper asked.
Ning shrugged. "I don't know. But I'm going to find out in 2 days. Their next supply cos then, and they've agreed to take to the Dust handoff. I'm going to follow the supplier and see where I'm led to."
Harper seed very concerned all of a sudden, her face darkening with every passing second. Ning looked at her with a curious look. "Lieutenant? Is everything alright?"
"What are the chances that the Dust they get is made inside of the city?" she asked Ning. Ning shook his head. "Very little actually. I don't think they would be in the business of distribution if there were people making the drug right there."
"Then you agree that it is made soplace else. In another city," she said.
"Yeah," Ning said. "I thought that was obvious."
"It is not obvious, Chief Officer," Harper said. "All of this ti, our assumption had been that every City had its own Dust manufacturing team, making Dust locally. We didn't think it was coming from another place because the idea that Dust is being made sowhere else made no sense in the entire situation."
Ning leaned in, listening intently.
"People rarely travel from one city to another, and we thoroughly check them when they do. The only ti we don't check them is... it is when they are part of the Military."
Ning's eyes narrowed. He understood the implications her words had.
"So you believe that one of the people from the military has a hand in making Dust?" Ning asked. "That makes this thing very much complicated, doesn't it?"
"It does," Harper said. "It would be easy if they were Cadets or even Officers. But once the rank increases, the trouble increases too. I cannot just accuse another Lieutenant of being responsible for Dust, let alone a Captain or even a General. Things will get ssy."
"What... do I do then?" Ning asked.
"No, you have no problem," she said. "You continue what you're doing. Only, you can't just co back with nas. You need solid evidence that everything you're saying is true. If not,
we won't be able to capture them."
Ning nodded. "I'll do that, Lieutenant."
Harper remained thoughtful for a long ti before looking up. "Go back and integrate into their organization as much as you can without giving yourself up. Since you're going to be eting with the suppliers soon, find out as much as you can about them. Especially where they co from. That will be the most important piece of information you can get us right
now."
Ning nodded. "Absolutely, Lieutenant."
"Go, you're dismissed."
Ning saluted the woman and left the door.
"I should let Captain Redai learn about this. This is too much for to handle."
Ning could hear the Lieutenant mumbling as he left the room.
He went to get sothing to eat at the cafeteria and then finally went back to City 3. He paid attention on his journey this ti and saw how loose the security was for people leaving the
city.
No one ever thought of checking the soldiers, but then they never had to. There was never a need to suspect another soldier of smuggling in contraband.
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