"You could get life for this, you know."
The nonchalant sentence came off-screen, from the interrogator wandering the room. In the center, seated but not cuffed, sat a tired, scared-looking old man. The old man did not respond, but fingered his shaggy white beard nervously. The detectives watching the recording couldn't imagine him ever in that chair, and couldn't imagine him ever coming close to a police station. The whole situation was absurd, and being called in at the middle of the night did nothing to improve their moods.
 
It was Mr. Philip Kite, widely known to the public as the most prominent figure of The Council. Although technically retired of old age, The Agency has hired Mr. Kite to represent The Council on numerous occasions.
 
And now Mr. Kite was in an interrogation cell on a murder charge, being grilled like a hardened criminal. Never in the history of The Council was any of the members arrested, and nobody knew if it's even possible to legally arrest a Council member, former or current. A judge will have to decide, and soon.
 
On the screen, the interrogator walked behind Mr. Kite and then placed his hands on his shoulders, leaning in to whisper in his ear. His voice could be heard clearly.
"How old was she, Kite?"
The camera zoomed in on Mr. Kite's face, and his lower lip was trembling.
"How old was she? 18, 19? or do you take them a little younger?"
The interrogator moved away, but continued to circle Kite, watching him.
 
The camera zoomed in a bit more on Kite's anxious face, and a faint whisper could be heard. The on-screen subtitles were added after recording by lip-readers.
"I-I can see them."
Off-screen, the interrogator chuckled.
"See what?"
"Autumn leaves falling on a slab of stone."
Mr. Kite's voice didn't rise, but his face steadied as he continued.
"A w-wind blows them to the air, then stops and sets them down. Around the slab, flowers grow wild."
 
It was a rite, anybody watching knew. Although not technically forbidden to anyone to watch, The Council's rituals were seldom seen by anyone who was not a member. The interrogator probably knew as well, and as the camera zoomed out he could be seen to the side of Mr. Kite, watching intently. The Council's rituals are what keeps them able to support the massive weight of knowledge on their shoulders, and without regular practice a Council member would slip up and lose his understanding. Mr. Kite was no longer a Council Member, but old habits...
 
The camera zoomed in again, tears silently running down Mr. Kite's cheeks were visible. His whisper remained steady.
"I can see the petal of every single flower. I can see every speck of dust on the slab. When the rain falls, I can see every direction in which the light reflects and creates rainbows, I can see..." He was crying harder now, and the recording was cut. The light was turned on.
 
"At 0200 Mr. Philip Kite was arrested and brought to the station on a murder charge." The chief dryly notified the detectives. The interrogation was likely only a couple of hours ago, then.
"We have not notified the press, but The Agency has already demanded his immediate release and questioned the lawful ability to arrest a council member, even if he is technically retired."
This is not good. The Agency almost always got what it wanted.
 
"As you well know, The Agency is very protective of members of The Council. While they are a governmental agency, they cannot force his release until the matter is brought before a judge." The Chief went on, fully aware of how uneasy the room is becoming. "We're going to request the whole affair to be dealt with behind closed doors, and hope to reach a quick and tidy solution. Until then, keep it under wraps."
 
The detectives were dismissed, even uneasier than before. It was going to leak to the media no matter what, but nobody knew what the results could be. A few detectives huddled, talking quietly, at the end of the hallway. An angry voice rose, quieting the others.
"The fact is, The Council has enjoyed a special hands-off status until now, and nobody called it into question because we assumed it was necessary. If this gets out, it could all blow."
Murmured agreements were followed by another voice, older than the first.
"It's not just going to be about The Council. People criticized The Agency for their program and whatnot for years, but they were never loud enough or numerous enough to get attention. Now they got caught with their pants down, and the men upstairs will have to do something about it."
A different, angry voice followed up.
"My kid was in that program for four years, then they rejected him. Four years of their stupid little meditations and chants and he's not good enough, and now he has to make up for lost education."
"What about the money? Nobody ever complained about taxpayer money going towards The Agency and The Council, we all thought it was necessary..."
 
Later that morning, The news in the station's common area were turned on, apparently during the start of a special broadcast.
"...Earlier this morning, Philip Kite was apparently arrested and brought into the Capital Police Station"
An almost unanimous groan rang around the room. The TV reporter went on, accompanied by Kite's pictures in various occasions. "Kite was a well-known member of The Council, and appeared many times in public to represent it and The Agency..." following was a short biography of Kite, from his early childhood to recruitment to the then-new program, and then his ascension to a Council member. The reason for the arrest was not mentioned, the viewers at the station were relieved to find out. The news anchor gave the floor to one of their analysts, who seemed all too eager to say his piece.
 
"The Agency and, as a result, The Council have enjoyed a bizarre, almost para-governmental freedom until now" he informed the viewers. "Due to this, just the police force's ability to arrest a former Council member was called into a question, something that should be a given..." This was bad, everybody knew at once. People always objected to The Council's existence for one reason or another, but now they had something to latch on to. "The whole situation will hopefully rattle some cages," said the analyst, with a hint of satisfaction in his voice. "and make us ask ourselves why we fund an organization with no proof of direct help to us, the tax-paying citizens." The story was over for now, and after a few ending words the news went on to a regular broadcast.