Chapter 70: Chapter 70: Attack On Central Mall (Part 6)
The officer turned to face Don's mother but didn't make himself much clearer. "If you could both please follow me, everything will become clear."
Samantha was far from the type who would normally find trouble with the police, but this time the only thing on her mind was getting Don home so he could be properly tended to after everything they had been through.
For someone to ask them to follow without making things clear made her truly upset. "Why can't you make it clear now? If you're looking to get statements from the victims of this incident, then find some other people. My son is injured, and I need to get him home.
Is that going to be a problem, or do I need to call my lawyer for this?" Samantha rasped, her voice now showing the anger she currently felt.
The officer sighed. "Ma'am, please. I was only told by my superiors to find a Don Bright and bring him over there. Whether it's for questioning, a statement, or something else, I have no idea. What I do know is that it's important. So, do with that information what you will." The officer just sighed and tipped his hat, clearly not wanting to argue with Samantha any longer.
Once she got this explanation, her anger faded and she looked concerned yet again, glancing at Don out of the corner of her eye.
Don, who had been silent this entire time, was also very curious as to why they asked for him, but considering what the police officer said, he could make a few guesses. 'Superhuman world or not, taking a life is no small issue. It has to be about that. Maybe they saw what I did through the cameras, and they want to question me?' he thought.
Turning his attention to his mother, he found her already looking at him with concern. "I don't know, Donnie. What do you think?" she asked, also inwardly reaching a similar conclusion to Don, though more worried that it would lead to more problems.
"Well, it's best we go now and see what the problem is. It won't look good if they end up following us home, and it's not like I'm guilty of doing anything wrong," Don replied confidently.
Samantha nodded in agreement, though the grip with which she held his hand tightened, which showed Don that she was still very much tense and worried despite her agreement. "Okay, let's go."
Don and Samantha began following the officer as he made his way past ambulances tending to civilians and officers questioning others. The parking lot was huge, and it became quite hard to maneuver through with all the people that had gathered there.
Eventually, they arrived at a perimeter set by the police, with officers standing around a few vehicles at the center. The first thing Don noticed upon arriving was that it was incredibly noisy there compared to the other areas of the parking lot.
More importantly, it was the place with the most media personnel trying to get through. He could barely hear himself think as numerous reporters stretched out their hands over the perimeter, holding out their microphones and yelling out their questions.
"Commissioner Bateman, Commissioner Bateman! A question, please!" one female reporter yelled out, but like the rest, she was ignored.
As the officer, Don, and Samantha reached the perimeter, he stopped, saying to one of his colleagues, "I found the kid, but his mother won't let him--"
Before the officer could finish, the colleague he was talking to narrowed his eyes at Don and Samantha, who were right behind the officer. "Oh, you found them. Go on ahead."
The officer was surprised by this and turned around to see Don and Samantha. As their gazes met, Samantha quickly said, "This better be quick."
The officer didn't say anything and simply waved them over, and the police making the perimeter opened up to allow them through while holding back the many reporters who tried to make their way in.
After passing the perimeter, Don's eyes immediately settled on the individuals within it, particularly Red Star, who stood out like a sore thumb--not simply because of her flashy outfit and figure, but also because she was the tallest person present, being over 200 cm tall.
It almost seemed absurd to look at for Don; to possess such a physique with such a height seemed impossible, but there it was.
As if feeling his very intense gaze on her, Red Star casually turned her head in the direction the officer, Don, and Samantha were in. She, too, ignored the officer and Samantha, focusing solely on Don before asking the people around her, "Is that the boy?"
'Did she feel me looking at her?' Don wondered, surprised by how quickly she looked his way. It made him immediately turn his focus elsewhere and be more cautious going forward. 'She must be the hero who delt with the attack.' Don quickly concluded.
As they reached Red Star and the group of people around her, Don realized he had initially focused on her and failed to notice another individual who stood out, but perhaps a bit more subtly.
Unlike Red Star, he didn't adorn a flashy superhero suit but instead wore a neat white suit with a matching fedora and a brown walking cane in hand. He had a full white beard, deep brown eyes, and graying medium-length hair.
Despite looking older, he had an incredibly fit and muscular physique that was prominent even through his suit.
In addition, he was also well above average in height, only a few centimeters shorter than Red Star. Next to this individual was a man who stood out even less, as he was roughly the same height as Don.
He wore a black, loose-fitting suit and had black, slightly disheveled hair. He wore a large pair of spectacles which he adjusted upon seeing Don and Samantha.
The last person of interest on the scene was a stern-looking, overweight man who was bald and wore smart casual attire with a trench coat on top. He was the person Red Star's question was directed at, and in response, he lifted a large A1 photo he was holding. "Yeah, that's him."
All these individuals looked to be of great importance, and Don knew none of them, which worried him, depending on what he was being called here for. This was, of course, only a possibility, and he didn't allow it to make him visibly nervous.
He simply met the gazes of all these individuals while trying his best not to show any suspicious reaction. 'Good thing my face hurts,' Don thought.
As they reached this group of people, Samantha, who couldn't see far because of her damaged spectacles, finally recognized some of the people present. "Commissioner Bateman?" she muttered, recognizing the police commissioner of Santos City--the overweight man wearing the trench coat.
She then turned her gaze to the man holding the cane, and her eyes widened even more. "Mr. Invincible?" Finally, Samantha's gaze settled on Red Star. "You're that Uropean hero... Red Star. What's going on?"
The director showed a smile and let out a hearty laugh. "These days, I just go by Director Graham, not Mr. Invincible. My heroing days are long behind me. You must be the boy's mother. I apologize for the inconvenience.
We were wondering if he or you could clear up something for us."
Samantha turned her attention to Director Graham and didn't speak as provocatively as she did to the officer. "And what might that be?" she asked in a slightly shaky voice.
Director Graham maintained a smile and turned his gaze toward Don before explaining, "You see, Red Star here isn't authorized to act on United Provinces soil, but by choosing to save the people who were in Central Mall from Nightshade, she's landed herself in a bit of trouble.
However, she's made it clear that she didn't kill any of Nightshade's Green Thorns during her efforts to save the people, but four dead bodies were found in the Mi Casa clothing store."
"Since surveillance was taken out during the explosions, we wanted to confirm with those captured going into the store last before the attack if they could confirm what Red Star is saying. Most of the people were victims of the Green Thorns, like the owner who is still unconscious and has been rushed to the hospital. We were simply asking if you could shed light on this matter."
Samantha stood closer to Don and held his hand tighter. Her instincts as a mother told her to defend her son. 'Donnie isn't a registered hero, so he could get in trouble for killing those Green Thorns.... they're probably just looking for a scapegoat,' Samantha wildly thought, having seen enough outrageous cases during her time as a resident in Santos City.
With that in mind, she quickly tried to answer. "We didn't--"
Before she could finish, Don, having reached a different conclusion, interrupted her and answered, "I killed them."