EPISODE ONE

DEATH OF THE BLACK EAGLE

"So how's the issue with Freja going?" Matthew tried to avoid getting his pancakes stained in blood. Blood was no good syrup, and he managed to escape all the blood staining his lips. A victim died that day due to a shooting Gilbert was involved in, when he'd sent his partner home. The phone was hard to hold in between his ears, and the hospital bed and stuff hanging around Gilbert made it hard for him to hold his phone as well. "Not good. Today we had our fith argument this week, and it's not looking good. She's getting pretty tough to deal with, and I've accepted the offer of a transfer to the other office at the other side of town." Gilbert tried to sound cheery, but didn't really know what to think about leaving his partner. He knew it was no good that he'd been with her so long, and he knew it was time to stop. At home she was recovering the shot and many beatings she recieved the other day, and was enraged when she'd called Gilbert. She didn't think straight when she was enraged. "Sheesh that came out of nowhere Gil. You sure you'll like the new place you've been given?" The mouth filled with blood and pancakes made it hard to exactly make out what Matthew was saying, but it was clear enough to be a bit understandable. Marianne was seen walking down the hallway with some documents, and handed them to Matthew. "Arthur said you have to read all of these, pronto." Marianne was pretty much the secuding secretary of Arthur Kirkland, the boss of the entire company. "Oop gotta go Gilbert!" Laying the phone back on the desk, Matthew immediatly took the papers and began reading them. Gilbert laid back and sighed, when a nurse came in and told him he was free to go home. He shot up and left immediatly with the pain still in his shoulder, but someone was in front of the enterance when he came, a certain woman nervously holding a letter as if she would give it to somebody. Maybe Freja wanted to give it to him? When he came out, she smiled relieved and went up to him and handed him the envelope. "It'd be best if you opened it when you're settled at your new working station. It's going to make more sense if you open it when you're there." Was all she said before going in her car and driving away. He remembered. Tomorrow was the day he got transferred and would begin looking for a new house. He sighed and kept the letter in his jacket, unsure about actually wanting to read it.

Gilbert had finally gotten into his new job, it would be some days before he was completely settled in, but he managed. His new partner was weird though, as if something was off. Asta was her name, and she acted cheery, happy, and non-judgemental towards him, but it was like she didn't want to make descisions herself. And it felt weird and out of place. He just needed time to get used to not having an equally bossy partner on his side, that was what he thought. Their boss was also unusually kind and warm hearted, almost as if he couldn't get the team to do anything. The coroner was the most disturbing. The coroner took his job seriously, unlike Matthew who was flying around with guts looking for his phone lost in the corpse, and sassed the hell out of the murderers's sloppy work of a murder. It felt weird, but he shrugged it off. This job would leave him more oppertunities for different tasks, and friendships wouldn't get in the way this time. These people were too odd, he didn't want to be their close friends. He'd keep his old friends like Matthew and Arthur and people like that, he was unsure about if Freja even liked him anymore, and he was unsure if he still liked her. He had to keep his relations closed for a bit, for multiple reasons. And as the first day passed, it went pretty slowly as they usually do. Nothing happened, nobody got in any crime. Peachy. He went home as usual, his brother pestered him a bit, and he went to bed. It was hard falling asleep that night, but he managed.

At Freja's house all alone it wasn't exactly easy for her to comprehend either. Gilbert being the third partner who's left her made Arthur take the descision to not allow her a partner anytime soon. It would be fitting so she didn't cause any misbehaviour and trouble with more people forcing themselves to leave the force. She understood, but didn't get sleep that night. She hoped that this would sort itself out sometime soon, and let them all have some peace again. After all, that's what anybody forced to work with her deserved. She couldn't help but be sad to see another partner leaving her, but she couldn't say she didn't know he was considering it. She felt utter and completely useless, and with that bottle of wine by her side, she might've considered the biggest and best change she could ever think of. Quitting the CSI force. It was best for everybody. She'd do it in a few days, just to see if she could sort everything out. But that night she didn't sleep, not at all. She didn't know what do to, it felt unnatural. She always knew what to do, always. The house was lonely at night when the animals had all gone to bed, even her trustworthy pet rooster. Noticing her paper flower in the hair, she smiled at it and laid it in a special glass case she owned. It was precious, nobody was allowed to touch it except her. Nobody. The case was put in the drawer again, and she felt it was safe once again. Humming softly she tried sleeping the entire night without any prevail. Nothing happened at all.

The next day almost all of the CSI force was called out to some crime that had happened around the natural district of the city, the natural district was the place the home of Vincent and also Freja's home lied. A shooting. Freja wasn't allowed to come as she lacked experience from being partnerless once again, and had to stay at the office doing some paperwork. She had no idea what was going on there, and got worried a lot of the time. She had to focus though, she could manage the paperworks.

Gilbert was actually on an investigation with his old team as allies this time. He couldn't find Freja, but descided not to be bothered by that and instead just wanted to solve the case. Three victims had been found on the streets, two injured and one dead. A nineteen year old, Aput to be exact was the only concious one at the moment. Matthew was quickly called to the ambulance to help her get in and remain calm as the stress would be too much at that point. The other injured vitim was Mathias Køhler, twenty-five, brother of Asta, Aput, and Freja. And it was sad, oh so sad to see who was the dead victim from the shooting. Eleven year old brother of the victims, Magnus Køhler. Oh god Gilbert recognized him far too well, Freja was his mother-like figure. Taking care of her younger brother ever since the family's only parent passed away from disease. He was cheerful and loved his big sisters and brothers like if they were parents. Unbelievable he would be assaulted by a madman with a gun, but so it happened. As the kid it was most logical that he would be the fatally wounded and or dead, and in this scenario it was dead. Very saddening, but what broke Gilbert's heart is what he realized. This was his former partner's dead brother, dead little brother. One who she loved as if he was a son to her, because she was there to help raise him. And now that Gilbert pretty much had cut contact with her, she had to endure this herself. He shook his head, surely she's gotten a new partner right? The two can deal with it together, he had a new job. He couldn't focus on old relations now. Matthew finally came back to the scene and helped get the corpse of the poor kid back to the laboratory. Matthew was the one who had to tell Freja, you could see it on Matthew's shifting gazes at the different people. Gilbert actually felt sorry for his entire old team -except for Matthew of course- after seeing that, but he went on and his department had picked their part of the evidence. Driving the car was pretty boring as Asta wasn't too interesting like his old partner was, and then he suddenly just wanted to slam his head into the steering wheel, he promised himself not to remember Freja. He had a new partner now. It was just unfamiliar and distant to him. He was literally uncomfortable by having this new partner, and when they reached the main building, he instantly just went home. If he worked too much more today he'd think about Freja and feel so sorry for her, and he just needed to forget her. He clutched the letter and with a heavy sigh he opened it as well. It read the following. "Dear Gilbert. I understand your choices and I know I'm a pain, so this is not something I'll pretend I have a word in. If anybody else than you would have a word in the saying, it would be Ludwig. And it's entirely your choice, not anybody else's, and that especially counts me. I'm a burden and I've been too long, too long to be able to change the least bit. I've had three partners to get better in, three freakin' partners to be able to at least be a bit more reasonable with my partners; but no, instead I've wasted them on complaining about how I was right and shit. I'm sorry for that, I'm sorry for being useless and I'm sorry that I couldn't be a better partner, but your new one surely will fit you better than me. So I've taken the only good choice, and I have this to say if you're confused from what we are. We're just partners, were would be a much better word in this, but I still like you like when you where a partner of mine. There is a difference between being lovers and being partners. So let me learn you about how relations work, so you won't replace me in your life. Aquaintances can be with you without any issues. Friends can reason with each other at any time given. Partners will do everything for their other partner, even give away their own life. Lovers can do all that with a kiss and "I love you" that makes them inseperable. So far we've proven we are seperable, and not stable enough to be more, and I'm okay with that. Just as long as we stay these partners we used to be, at least mentally, we'll both be fine. But back to my choice I was saying to you..." He swallowed his breath as he turned the page, already visible to contain a full scentence of big black words, ended with a period. He turned paper. "I'm no detective anymore, you are." He instantly knew what that meant. She quit the CSI, and even claimed him to be more worthy of working there than she did. He'd thought this meant that he would forget about her right? Wrong. The damn letter made him think more and more about her, and he got so worried. In secrecy, he didn't want to lose their partnership either. Suddenly he got a phone call. "You're moved back to your old CSI agency alongside your partner. If you go to work, it's already prepared for you down there, so you can arrive already tomorrow. And you have a trial to attend when you get there." Yep, his boss was too soft. Actually, his former boss.

Freja was at the agency packing her office's items and documents as she would leave the building for the last time that day. It was hard to comprehend, but she had to. Putting the picture of Magnus in her bag hurt even more after what she was told; she of course had also made a giant rage trip as soon as she heard about it. Her youngest brother that saw her like as if she was his mom, died because she couldn't be there and warn them. It was her fault. Suddenly a lot of the detectives and cops came storming in through the door, including the two recently transferred there, Gilbert and of course Freja's own sister, Asta. Gilbert looked miserable, utterly horrible. She went over to him to ask what they said at the court, but instead just was overtrown by a clutching and strong hug, and he held tightly. The embrace was strong and she heard a few whimpers come from him, but after a while he did let go. He didn't even look in her direction as he handed her a piece of paper. The paper was the murderer's confirmed victims and kills. She read the page, but cringed when she saw Magnus's name at the top of the page. She almost felt so disgusted that she couldn't continue, and in sadness closed her eyes to take a few breaths. When she opened them again the bent the part about Magnus, and tore it off. She kept it for memories to remember him with, and to remember herself of the failure she was. Just for her to use when she got a new job somewhere else, and she had to tell herself to do it better. She put the paper in the bag, and cautiously read on. She was stunned when she saw the next name, standing in big dark letters. The man she hated with her guts, but her former partner was so close to him it was impossible to even dare get between the two. The name stood clear, and she had to read it a few more times to comprehend it. "Ludwig Beilschmidt" It read inside her head, and she went up to face her former partner, Gilbert still glaring at the ground. She knew he felt guilty now. Right when she was about to comfort him and tell it was going to get better, Arthur came in. Oblivious to what had happened, he didn't notice the sad Gilbert beside her. "It's time for you to go." He waved his hand in a motion signaling he wanted her out of the building. She nodded in sadness, and faced Gilbert one single time. "Hope Asta is a better partner." And with that she exited the building, one last time.