Shadow's Hand-Chapter 8: Foul Stench

While Damien's gaze was hovering at the lighting decoration, the police officer who made the greetings became rather awkward.

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It was proper etiquette to greet or even acknowledge somewhat regardless of their position. This was especially true when they were all assigned to solve the complicated case.

Even a TI would require help from local police officers, so a good connection and relationship was necessary. Otherwise, how is one supposed to work when you're all alone?

As the atmosphere gradually grew more tense, Jasmine had no choice but to intervene.

"Greetings, officer. Please excuse my superior's behavior." Jasmine calmly said and explained, "My superior is the type to be distracted as soon as he discovers some clues. If interrupted, then the clues might be disorientated."

With Jasmine personally intervening and explaining the situation, the atmosphere finally returned to normal. She might be a Ninth Order, but a TI nonetheless.

"Ah, I see..." Nodding, the officer didn't suspect much. It was long known that higher TI was eccentric. It was just that they didn't expect to encounter one of these traits so early on.

"I'm Sergeant Eugene, responsible for guiding the TI." The officer introduced himself, as well as their rank. The Sergeant was a rank above the uniformed officer and detective.

Uniformed officers were those who were assigned to the outside perimeter of the crime scene to prevent any non-personnel from entering the restricted area.

As for detectives, they were the ones responsible for recording data and noting down the significant details found during the investigation. To summarize, the reports that Jasmine had been constantly repeating came from them.

Meanwhile, the Sergeant was the person responsible for overseeing these two. It was the first supervisory rank, to say the least.

"Nice to meet you, Sergeant Eugene. I'm Jasmine, a Ninth Order TI." Jasmine responded. She then glanced around the surroundings and began noting down what she saw.

When Eugene noticed that she was jotting down notes, he was dumbfounded.

"Did you find anything suspicious, TI Jasmine?" He asked curiously.

Eugene was positive that he instructed his team to be extremely thorough with their investigations. Yet based on Jasmine's action, it seemed like she had spotted something that wasn't written in the report.

With that mindset, Eugene was ready to rain hell on his team once they returned to the station. 'How dare they make me look like an incompetent supervisor in front of the TIs!'

If words were to spread the TIs had to cover up a lot of mistakes from his Skyler Division. Then not only would he be reprimanded by his superior, but his chances of promotion would also slip away.

How could he forgive anyone who robbed him of such an opportunity?

The nearby detectives who sensed the displeasure of Eugene quickly felt pressured by the atmosphere.

A few seconds went by, and Jasmine finished jotting down on her tablet. She turned to Eugene and replied, "Oh, I'm just noting down the things I see from scratch."

"I-Is that so?" Eugene was surprised. "Were the reports we sent inadequate?"

"The reports were great. It's just that I wish to note things down based on my observation without any bias formed from the reports."

"Tsk, so it's just a newbie Ninth Order. No wonder she disregarded the detailed reports made by us." Almost immediately, a disgruntled detective snorted coldly. It was clear that they were annoyed by Jasmine's behavior and how she made it seem like their work was done horribly.

After all, the reports were all done and revised multiple times to ensure perfection.

Meanwhile, Jasmine was astonished slightly by the comment made by the detective.

Even Eugene was rather speechless when one of his detectives decided to make an unsightly remark on a TI. Almost immediately, Eugene had an awkward expression on his face, clearly unsure of what to do or say.

Was the detective's word wrong?

Absolutely not, but that didn't mean Eugene could agree with it on the surface either. The other party was a TI— even if it was a Ninth Order. Respect should still be given.

The tension was palpable, and Jasmine understood that Eugene had silently agreed with the detective's word.

'Sigh, to make a clean report is indeed a blatant disrespect to the detective's work.' She smiled bitterly.

The situation simply didn't allow her to defend herself. A small incident like this could easily fester in an instant and cause a huge political fight between officers and TIs.

Amidst the dreadful atmosphere, a voice suddenly echoed and attracted everyone's attention.

"I was wondering where the foul stench was emitting from, but it seemed to be coming from this source."

Damien, who had initially been distracted by the Diamond 3 poker card, was interrupted by the detective's remark. He wanted to inspect further, but the detective's remark caused the Diamond 3 poker card to blink and subsequently disappear.

The cause of it was self-explanatory, so Damien was naturally very annoyed and infuriated. That poker card was a clue and a hint of his current predicament. Yet before he could even get to the bottom of it, a mere detective sabotaged and ruined his chance.

"I didn't think a detective was this powerful to judge and demean the work habits of a TI. Or am I supposed to take this as a challenge and declaration of war?" Damien continued. His eyes stared down at the detective who made the unsightly remark.

Although he was distracted, his perception had never changed. He was able to perceive things that occurred even when his eyes weren't on it.

This kind of ability was indeed surprising, but there was no point in questioning it.

"Please do not misunderstand, Seventh Order." Eugene hurriedly rushed forward. "Detective Burke had no malicious intent."

"No malicious intent?" Damien raised an eyebrow. He then smirked and revealed, "I was the one who told Jasmine to note down in a fresh view, but in your Detective Burke's eyes. It's the work of a newbie."

THUD!

As soon as Damien revealed he was the one responsible for the action, Eugene felt as if he had been struck with lightning. His steps became uneven.

'This is a mistake.' Eugene realized the severity of the situation and regretted his previous inaction.