Page 39 of The Timeless Vigilante

She pointed to the white tiger. “Because of him, I know that you do know who murdered the Commissioner because Jude’s gesture has indicated that you are withholding.”

Dwayne laughed darkly, his crooked teeth flashing white in the darkness of the chamber. “I’ve never heard anything so foolish.”

“Can you better explain yourself, Gen?” Clark asked, blinking down at her from the high bench.

Gen spun to face the council. “Dwayne said that he can’t say, but the regulator’s movement has clearly indicated that he is using language techniques to cover the truth. Maybe it is that he knows but is trying to act as if he doesn’t. I don’t know for sure, but I can tell you that Dwayne saying he can’t say who murdered the Commissioner is a form of deceit.”

The leader of the Rogue Riders threw his hands up in the air with a loud protest. “Because a tiger did what? I didn’t see anything.”

“His right eyebrow raised, which indicates that someone is avoiding telling the truth,” Gen explained.

“Is that true?” Hester asked, curiously, looking down the bench at her colleagues.

Clark tapped his fingers on his chin, thinking. “I seem to remember a rumor of this information but it has since been lost. I think that could be the micro expressions that can give detailed information on the regulators. Diabolos and Jude obviously tell us when someone is lying and to which degree, but I remember there being something about more subtleties to forms of deceit.”

“It is true,” Gen urged. “I know it for a fact. A raised eyebrow by Jude means that someone is withholding information by using clever phrasing.”

Dwayne scoffed. “How can you possibly know what the mannerism of a tiger means?”

Gen looked up at him, defiance in her eyes. “Because my father and I programmed Jude and Diabolos as lie detectors. We imbued them with the magic that has kept them alive for centuries and made them the regulators of the House of Fourteen from the beginning.”

This produced many sounds of surprise from around the Chamber of the Tree. Murmuring broke out. This was followed by clapping by Liv, still standing at the front of the bench, like holding court.

“Yep, that’s my girl!” Liv sang, looking around at the other warriors. “She’s my relative!”

“Quiet down, Warrior Beaufont,” Freek commanded, shaking his head. “This is very speculative information. All we have is Gen’s word that a small gesture from Jude means something that calls Dwayne’s character into question. I caution the council on making serious judgements about this.”

Armando nodded. “Well, then, maybe we can get to the bottom of this. Dwayne, do you in fact know who murdered the Commissioner of Los Angeles?”

“Yes,” the Rogue Rider replied at once. “But as I said before, I can’t say.”

Again, Jude’s eyebrow raised. This time, everyone saw it. Many more gasps filled the chamber.

“I can’t say, because it was an inside job,” Dwayne said in a rush. “Disclosing that information at this stage would be dangerous.”

“Dangerous for whom?” Raina asked.

“For me as the leader of the Rogue Riders,” Dwayne replied, not eliciting a reaction from either of the regulators. “I’m playing a very strategic game as I lay down my rule in my new position.”

He was telling the truth, but Gen knew that it was about how people disclosed things that mattered. That’s why her father and she had worked to try to hone in on linguistics when programming Diabolos and Jude. However, covering all the basics was difficult since there were many loopholes.

“I need more time to put my plans as leader into action,” Dwayne continued, again not lying. “I’m using this opportunity to sift through the ranks and get rid of the waste. We’ve put a new Commissioner into place and I’m hoping that this will help for me to be more successful as the leader of the Rogue Riders going forward.”

Gen was infuriated not to see a reaction from either the black crow or the white tiger. Dwayne was telling the truth, but she knew at her core that he was choosing his words carefully. Instinctively, she knew he was up to something, but what, she had no clue.

“Yes, this new Commissioner has been making many personnel changes throughout the city already,” Seraphine observed. “Do you think it wise that Los Angeles undergo such drastic changes, especially with a murderer on the loose taking down head officials?”

“I’ve got things covered, as is my job,” Dwayne stated with conviction. He then turned and gave Gen a murderous look. “And I won’t have anyone disrupting that or putting my authority into question.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

MOCKERY AND MASTERY

Grounds, Rogue Rider Mansion, Beverly Hills, California, United States

“That dude really doesn’t like you,” Clipper said, leaning back and lounging on Glacier.

The rider and dragon were parked on the grass, under the setting sun, having stated they wanted a front-row seat for Gen and Emperor’s first training session with riding. Really, Gen believed that Clipper wanted to see her fall off her dragon or be dragged behind him and then secretly laugh.

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