Chapter Two: Morning After
Detective Wesley McCoy was facedown in his pillow when he heard his scroll ringing on his night table. The combination of the sun peeking through his apartment window and his scroll was enough to wake a hibernating Ursa. The groggy twenty-three year old clumsily fumbled for his scroll and held it to his ear.
"Hello?" He yawned. His words were muffled slightly by his pillow.
"It's me again. Another jewelry store was robbed last night." A female voice sighed on the other end of the line.
Wesley yawned again as he rolled onto his back. "What?"
The female was growing impatient. "Wesley, wake your ass up."
"Geez, Tess," He sleepily spoke. "I'm up, I'm up. What's going on?"
"Another jewel store downtown was hit." Tess revealed.
He pulled himself out of bed and stretched. "Is it connected to the others?"
"I haven't seen the place yet," Tess stated. "But I'm willing to bet it is."
"Okay, I'll meet you at the office," He said. "See you in a few."
"Seeya soon." She said before hanging up.
Wesley tapped his scroll and tossed it back onto the side table before running his hands through his short brown hair. He wandered out of his bedroom and looked around the apartment. There was a sea of empty coffee cups littering his counter tops and the furniture was covered with paperwork.
"What a mess…" He muttered to himself. His apartment was decent, but he'd been neglecting cleaning up after himself as a result of some late nights at the station. He made a mental note to clean up before rising from his bed and heading toward the bathroom to freshen up.
After a quick shower, he threw on his blue and white plaid shirt before rolling up the sleeves. He slipped on a pair of plain black jeans that might have been a tad too tight and buttoned up his shirt just below the neck. He grabbed his Vale City Police Department badge and slipped it over his neck.
Wesley grabbed his scroll from the table and stuffed it in his pocket. He took one more glance around the apartment. He had a strange feeling that he'd almost forgotten something. He felt around his waist and realized what he was missing.
"Damn…" His voice began to trail off as he walked over to his desk in the corner of the apartment. He picked up his belt and holster from the table and fastened it around his waist. He pulled the pistol from it's holster and examined the magazine, checking his ammunition.
Satisfied, he shoved the magazine back into the pistol and re-holstered his weapon. With that, he turned tail and headed out the door.
Wesley walked into the Vale Police Department. It was a fairly new building, with a bigger parking lot and working air conditioning. It was a step up from the decrepit building that previously occupied the space.
He climbed out of his car and walked through the doors of the building. Wesley walked through the marble covered halls of the department and strolled into the bullpen. He saw a purple clad woman standing in front of his desk with her arms crossed.
"Morning, Tess." He set his coffee down on his desk. His partner raised her eyebrow when she saw him.
"Nice to see you..." She muttered. Tess was twenty-four. She wore a purple blouse that cut off at her elbows, she adorned the blouse with black skinny jeans and simple black one-inch heel ankle boots. Her Vale Police badge was dangling in a silver chain around her neck, which complimented her long flowing straight brown hair and blue eyes. Her gun was attached to her holster that was firmly around her thigh. She is the same age as Wesley, as they are very close. "You sure took your time. Which was it, jerking off to porn mags or slept in late?"
Wesley put his hands behind his head casually. "Psh, who uses magazines anymore? It's all on the web now."
Tess leaned into his ear. "Have you tried DustTube?" She quietly whispered.
Wesley rolled his eyes and groaned. "See, this is what I get for playing along. I give you an inch and you take a mile."
"Woah there, space cowboy," She replied. "Don't flatter yourself. You don't have an inch to give in the first place."
"Hah, a small penis joke," He sat down at his desk and leaned back in the chair. "Reaaaal classy."
"Don't sit down," She said. "We're leaving."
He sighed. "The jewelry store, right?"
She nodded. "Yep. The Captain wants us there to investigate. If it's similar to the previous robberies, then this ball falls in our court. We can't mess this up."
"Don't remind me," He stood up and grabbed his coffee. "Who's driving?"
Tess smirked. "I am. Your car's an outdated bucket of bolts."
"Hey, that car's a classics!" He snappily replied. "You've gotta respect the classics."
"The only good thing about that 'classic' car," Tess put air quotes around classic, "Is that it brings out the hazel in your eyes."
"Aww, was that a compliment?" He asked. "I think Hell must have frozen over."
She firmly planted her fist in his shoulder and smirked. "You wish."
Police tape wrapped around the exterior of the jewelry store. Investigators and reporters with cameras were taking pictures of the scene. As Wesley and Tess walked in, they heard idle chatter.
"You thinking the White Fang?" An officer asked.
His partner replied, "I'm thinking we don't get paid enough."
The two rolled their eyes as they entered the "Family Jewels" jewelry store. Once inside, they saw the burly captain of the station talking with an officer in a blue uniform. When he caught sight Tess and Wesley, he waved them on over. "McCoy, Eira, over here."
"Morning, Captain Stanley," Wesley greeted his superior. "What do we have?"
The hefty captain grunted. "Another jewelry store knocked off, that's what."
"Same as the others?" Tess casually asked.
Stanley nodded. "It sure looks that way. No forced entry, no fingerprints, nothing."
"What did they take?" Wesley asked as he examined the empty case.
"The Excelsior Diamond," Stanley replied. "It's the only thing that was taken."
"It's a shame. That diamond was gorgeous," Tess muttered as she stared at the empty case. "Not to mention incredibly expensive.
"What about witnesses?" Wesley asked.
"There were two guards on duty," The captain replied. "One of 'em didn't know what hit him and was found in a storage room, and I'm pretty sure the other pissed his pants before he was knocked out. They're both pretty shaken up, so I'm not sure you'll get much out of them."
"Sounds a lot like the other hits around town," Wesley said, turning to Tess. "Think they might be connected?"
She nodded. "It's a strong possibility. Whoever keeps robbing these stores is obviously skilled. Not just anyone can pull this off."
Wesley raised his eyebrows. "Do you think we're dealing with more than one perp?"
"Can't say," Tess shrugged. "But like I said, it's a possibility. It takes skill to pull off something of this magnitude and leave nothing behind."
"Ah, but they did leave something behind," Wesley pointed to all of the other cases in the store. "They left behind everything but the diamond."
"That is pretty strange," Tess admitted. "If they wanted to be cautious, they certainly succeeded."
Wesley sighed. "Well, it looks like we've hit a brick wall, yet again."
Tess placed her hands on her hips and exhaled upwards into her own face. Out of her peripheral vision, she noticed something strange on the ceiling.
"Hey," She pointed at the skylight. "I'm guessing that's not an aesthetic choice by the architect, is it?"
The captain and Wesley looked where she was pointing. There was a circular hole in the glass skylight on the roof.
"Well I'll be damned…" Stanley said, dumbfounded.
"Huh," Wesley grinned. "It looks like we know how the thief got in."
"Does the owner know about the hole in the ceiling?" Tess asked.
"I don't think so," Stanley shook his head before pointing at a red haired woman by the windows of the shop wearing various gold rings and necklaces. She looked like a walking jewelry case. "That's her over there. Maybe you could get some information out of her."
"Will do." Wesley said as he and Tess walked over to the red head.
"Good morning, ma'am," Tess said happily. "Detectives Eira and McCoy, VCPD. We're here to talk to you about the break-in."
The middle-aged woman huffed. "Good morning? I wouldn't exactly say that this is a 'good morning.'"
Tess gave her a sympathetic look. "Right…. Sorry about that."
"No, I'm sorry," The woman apologized. "Thank you for coming, detectives. I'm just a little flustered. It's not everyday that someone breaks into your store and steals one of your most precious assets. My name's Alice, by the way."
They shook hands in greeting. "So ma'am, are you aware of that?" Wesley pointed to the roof.
Alice glanced at the roof and a look of confusion crossed her face. "N-no, that's never been there before. Is that how they got in here?"
"We think so. Mind if I check it out?" Tess asked.
"Not at all," Alice shook her head. "There's a staircase in the maintenance closet that will take you to the roof."
"Thanks, Alice." Tess headed toward the roof, leaving Wesley to interview the store owner.
"So," Blake said to Yang. "What do you think they're looking for right now?"
Blake and Yang were both sitting at a busy outdoor cafe. Their table had an umbrella that blocked the sun's rays. Blake had a small cup of tea in front of her while Yang was sipping away at a caramel frappuccino. Both of them had a view of Family Jewels about a block down the street.
"Probably any clues they can find." Yang shrugged. Her aviator sunglasses reflected the bright sunlight. "But we don't have to worry about that. The Ice Queen is a perfectionist when it comes to those things."
Blake smirked. "Weiss is a damn good tactician, I'll give her that. Were it anybody else planning these things, we would have been caught by now. "
Yang leaned back in her chair. "Yeah, and Rubes knows her background information. I sure as hell don't want to investigate which diamond is the most expensive and the layout of the place."
Blake held her tea cup out in front of her, beckoning Yang to a toast. "Take what you can…"
Yang grinned as she obliged Blake's request. "... And give nothin' back!"
Toto: the Pirates of the Caribbean reference was all MAK guys. My phone went down to 19% while working on this during school, so you're welcome xD
MAK: Writing this story with Toto has been incredibly fun. INSANELY FUN. Looking forward to writing the next chapter together!