"Hey, Noct—come here for a minute."
Detective Noctis Lucis Caelum had just walked into the police station, ten minutes late for his evening shift, when he heard his boss hollering his name.
But being late was nothing new for Noct. As he headed for Cor Leonis's office, he wondered what else he could be in trouble for. Recently he'd been walking around the station like a king; the young detective had just spent seven months deep undercover, and had been instrumental in bringing down a major drug cartel run by kingpin Ravus Nox Fleuret. Even a hardass like Cor had been forced to forgive his somewhat unorthodox methods and notorious tendency to pull his trigger first and ask questions later. It had been just one week since he'd come off that assignment. Surely his celebrity hadn't faded so quickly…
Noct took just a second to drop his belongings off at his desk before knocking on the frame of the open door leading into Cor's office. "Hey. What's up, Chief?"
"Get in here and close the door," Cor ordered.
Suddenly Noct had a familiar feeling in the pit of his stomach. He wasn't in trouble; he was about to receive a new assignment, and it wasn't going to be pretty.
Noctis closed the chief's door then claimed a spot on the beat-up leather sofa facing the man seated on the opposite side of a large, cluttered desk.
"I've got a job for you, Noct," Cor said, as expected. He was leaning over a drawer, thumbing through files. "…I was sure I had another copy in here… Ah, well."
"Another copy?" Noct repeated. Why would Cor have two copies of a file? That could only mean one thing.
"I gave the original to your partner. Bah, forget it." Cor kicked the overstuffed drawer shut with a growl. "You'll have to get with him for the case notes."
"Partner?" Noct's brows furrowed. "Chief, you know I work best alone."
"Not this time," Cor argued. "There's too much ground to cover."
Noct folded his arms over his chest and smirked. "The Nox Fleuret cartel wasn't too much ground for one man to cover; how's this any different?"
Cor didn't miss the way Noctis boasted of his recent accomplishment. But he retorted, "There was only one route into and out of that snake pit; there are any number of doors leading in and out of the Central Insomnia Shopping Center."
Now Noct was looking at the chief like he'd lost his mind. "You're sending me to investigate a mall? No offense, Cor, but aren't there security guards for that kind of thing?"
"There are, but since they're not getting the job done, someone else has to do it. Besides, mall security guards aren't real police officers; they wouldn't know how to handle the situation if an entire gang of thieves broke in and pointed guns in their faces. And that's what's going on right now. Where did I put….ah, here." Cor hadn't been able to locate a file for this case, but he had a newspaper under his coffee cup. He tossed the paper across the desk to Noct.
Noct picked it up and turned it around to read the headline. His eyes widened. "Is this for real?" he muttered with disgust. He read aloud, "A gang of four thieves has been breaking into shopping malls to steal gift donations from the Secret Santa charity drive.' What kind of animals steal from little kids at Christmas?"
"You've been underground, so I'm not surprised you haven't heard about it, but it's all they're talking about on local news stations," Cor said with a sympathetic frown. "The burglars have been seen a couple times, but they wear masks and move fast. And it's been rumored they're packing an arsenal."
"Yeah, this is serious. I get it now." Noct tossed the newspaper back across the desk. "So who's my partner?" was his next question. He silently prayed to the Six he wouldn't be stuck working with Prompto Argentum. The kid was a sharp shooter for sure, but he was green. He hadn't completed his training at the academy long before Noct had rejoined the precinct, and if Noctis had to work alongside someone else, he wanted it to be a seasoned pro. Someone like Gladio Amicitia. Noct had worked with a partner on the occasional case, and even though he and Gladio butted heads more often than not, there was no one he'd rather have watching his back.
But to his confusion, Cor answered, "Detective Ignis Scientia."
Noctis frowned, sure he'd misunderstood. He didn't know that name. "…Who?"
"Ignis Scientia. He's a decorated detective who's done some outstanding work. He just transferred here from Tenebrae."
"You're not talking about Specs?" Noctis groaned. "Aw, Chief! You know everyone's been calling him The Stiff, right? And do you know why? Cause he's dead dull. The guy never cracks a smile. He always looks pissed off."
"We're not here to have fun, Noct."
It was hard to argue with that. "You said he transferred here from Tenebrae. What's the story? They don't transfer detectives unless there's a problem."
"Well, that's another thing I wanted to talk to you about, Noct." Cor stood and walked around to the front of the desk to address him directly. "There is a bit of a problem: you."
"Me?" Noct was genuinely surprised, and offended. "After what I just did—singlehandedly, might I add?"
"What you did was reckless—dangerous."
"Nobody got hurt." Noct corrected himself, "Nobody on our side, anyway."
"I know you're a good detective. Hell, you're one of my best men, Noct. But your methods are a little…" Cor struggled for the right word.
"…Crazy?" Noctis offered.
"That's it—crazy." Cor shrugged. "The district attorney doesn't like it. The mayor doesn't like it. The governor—"
"Okay, okay, I get it…" Noctis sighed. "So The Stiff was reassigned to reel me in, huh?"
"That's right. No—I mean, don't call him that!" Cor ran his hand over his face. "Just…try and get along with him, all right? People haven't been very welcoming; he's having a hard time fitting in."
"That's probably his own fault," Noct muttered under his breath as he stood.
"Noct…"
"All right, all right. I'll play nice with the new kid." Noct headed for the door. "I know how to share my toys."
When he was gone, Cor retreated to his desk chair once more and sank down into it with a heavy sigh. "I can't wait to retire," he grumbled to himself.
As he went off searching for Ignis, Noct mulled things over in his mind. He'd been lectured—off the record—plenty of times for his antics, but he'd never been suspended or formally reprimanded in any other way. He wondered if the chief's story was true, then decided it wasn't. For one thing, it would be pretty damn irrational to punish a man who took down a major drug ring in your name, possibly earning you a reelection. And for another, this was the first time he'd heard that the governor knew him by name. Nah. Cor was probably trying to cover for the fact that no one else wanted to work with Ignis.
Ignis wasn't at his desk…his very pristine, very bland, very boring desk. There wasn't a potted plant or a single photo frame in sight, nothing nearly so domestic. Spare office supplies were neatly stashed in a handy organizer that was not standard issue. What kind of guy buys his own office equipment? Noct wondered suspiciously.
He tried the desk drawers, hoping to get a look at their case file, and found them locked. Nobody was paranoid enough to lock their drawers inside the precinct.
"Gods, even his pencil cup is organized," Noct grumbled with disgust, walking away from the sterile cubicle as if he had a bad taste in his mouth.
He finally found Ignis in the break room, pouring himself a mug of very black coffee.
Noct didn't have to try too hard to muster a smile. He was naturally a friendly guy, even if he preferred to work alone. He walked up to the counter to greet his new partner with genuine cordiality.
"Hey, Specs," he said. "So, I hear we—"
Those were all the words he managed to get out of his mouth before Ignis whirled on him, cutting his introduction short.
"I've already heard," Ignis said sharply, his tone like ice. "And let's get one thing straight, Detective: if I'm to be saddled with you, we're doing things my way—by the book." Noct's brows shot up. "Oh, yes," Ignis continued, "I've heard all about you and your little exploits. I'm not impressed with your 'free-style justice,' or whatever you've been calling your Lucis-Caelumisms. If we were back at my old precinct, you'd have been suspended for that foolish stunt you pulled on the Nox Fleuret case. We may share a rank, but I've been in this game for far longer than you have. Do yourself a favor and follow my example. Do nothing unless I agree. Are we clear?"
Noct was almost too stunned to speak. He blinked to wipe the shock from his face, then stammered, "Y-yeah. I hear ya, Specs. Loud and clear."
Ignis wasn't finished with him. "And one more thing. You're to address me by my proper name and title, not a childish nickname I haven't condoned and don't approve of. You will call me 'Detective Scientia,' is that understood?"
"Yes, sir!" Noct quickly agreed. He watched Ignis—Detective Scientia—spin on his heel and storm out of the break room before he even knew what had happened.
A low whistle came from somewhere behind him, and Noct turned to look over his shoulder. Detective Gladiolus Amicitia was seated at one of the break room tables, having apparently witnessed the entire disaster.
Gladio looked at Noctis sympathetically. "Sounds like he spent all week rehearsing that speech."
Noctis was bewildered. "That's what I was thinking. I just want to know why."
"Couldn't you tell?" Gladio chuckled. "You're why."
"Me?" Noct shot back at him. "What did I do?"
"He's been pissed off all night. You're partners now, right?" Gladio shrugged. "What else could it be?"
"But I didn't do anything!" Noct was at a loss. "I swear this is the first time I've ever talked to the guy."
Gladio shook his head. "Hmph. Don't feel bad. I'm working a case with the rookie, Prompto."
"After that chewing out I just got?" Noct ran a hand through his dark hair. "I'd trade you any day."
Gladio snorted. "Hell, no."