Killjoy
By: EmpathicReader
To Alison Botha, for being the strong soul she is.
A/N: A big thank you to all reviewers! ENJOY:)
Cagalli walked briskly to her superior's office. She composed herself and calmed her racing heart before knocking on the Cedar wood door. She was nervous but her face never showed much emotion. It was the usual stony one. A relatively loud 'Come in' reached her ears faster than she fancied. Breathing deeply to stop herself from having a nervous break-down, Cagalli entered the room.
She found herself gaping mentally at her superior. He was definitely not what she imagined. Before meeting him to discussher suspicion, she toyed with the idea of an old, broken down superior. With wrinkly pale skin and all shriveled up like a prune. She thought of everything her idea of an old fart should have been. She matched up different types of eyes, ears, noses and skin colour. Hair colour has no need for any imagining. What do you expect? The guy's supposed to be old. His hair should be white or better still, he should be bald. Instead, this guy is in his early twenties. She'd say a good, 22 years-old. His hair was in a shade of black. SO black that it looked blue. Amazing. Cagalli thought. His build was great; she could see the faint outline of his hard muscles on his suit. She slapped herself inwardly. It's no time to ogle at your superior. Cagalli chided mentally. Cagalli cleared her throat slightly.
"Sir." Cagalli saluted.
"Yes?" his somewhat boyish voice asked. Cagalli frowned. The guy has no manners. He did not even look at her!
"I went to the hospital for a check-up and found out from the nurses that there was one death recently. In which the patient suffers from strange severe diarrhea and vomiting." Cagalli said.
"And?" he asked looking up for a moment. Cagalli managed to catch a glimpse of his eyes. They were in a shade of metallic grey.
"And I checked the hospital's history of deaths. There are in fact 7 deaths which have such symptoms. Plus, all of them are connected to this one woman." Cagalli replied immediately.
"And?" he asked, his eyes lingered on hers before moving to his papers.
"I think she may have a hand in this." Cagalli said. She was tired from his one-worded answers.
"And?" he asked, curiously. Cagalli resisted the urge to tear her hair. It seems like 'And' and 'Yes' were the only words in his vocabulary bank.
"I would like to request an autopsy for one of the deceased, Joe Woods. That's of course after I asked for the agreement of his family members." Cagalli explained.
"Alright, which department do you come from Miss… Attha?" he asked looking at her ID.
"The paper-work department. Sir." Cagalli replied bitterly. He raised an eyebrow.
"These matters do not need your attention." He said pointedly. Cagalli wished to wring his neck. She tried to calm down before replying.
"I do not believe in such rules Sir. As an FBI agent, it is my duty to help. Besides, my friends and I wish to move to the field mission department. So I would want to know such things." Cagalli said rather heatedly. The man smiled faintly before accepting her proposal and waving her off. Cagalli felt her heart leap with elation.
"Thank-you, Sir Zala." Cagalli said happily flashing one of her bright smiles before leaving the room. Sir Zala was shocked at seeing her smile. It reminded him so much of his mother. Interesting woman. He thought before working on the documents.
Cagalli skipped all the way back to the basement. Everyone stopped what they are doing to look at her with a bewildered expression on their faces. Miriallia approached her fearfully before placing her hand on her forehead. The test proved to be negative; Cagalli is not suffering from fever. Cagalli swatted at Miriallia's hand and explained to them her suspicions of the recent death. They offered her their help in her mission. Rey and Shinn are in charge of contacting the 6 deceased's family members. Luna and Miriallia are to interrogate the old lady of 46. And Cagalli? She has to work about the body of the deceased. After she gets permission that is…
Cagalli stared at the cold and lifeless body of the deceased. Joe Woods, a farmer. According to his daughter, he liked drinking but he was in perfect health until two weeks before. Plus, he was living with his plump 46 year old girlfriend, Matilda Ruth Logan before he died. Cagalli steadied her trembling hand and took a surgical knife from the nearby table. Carefully, she drew a line over the Wood's stomach. Red ribbons of blood, squirted out slightly. Cagalli felt her stomach knot in disgust. Ah, the things you do to get promoted. Cagalli cut out small samples of the internal organs before sewing the body up. Now that the bloody part of the job is done, all it needs now is the touch of science.
The group of five sat around her table. Rey and Shinn both revealed that all the deceased, had been under Matilda Ruth Logan's care before they died. They were convinced that she might be the one they are looking for. Next, Luna and Mirriallia could only sigh. They revealed that the 46 year old lady was absolutely appalled at them suggesting the idea. Besides that, they found out that she was a loving mother and active parent in her children's school activities. She was also a very devoted Christian who never failed to go to the church. They felt that the nice old lady could never be the murderer. It was then, arguments or rather debates, started at the table. Cagalli rubbed her temple before raising her hand for silence. When she received the desired effect, she revealed her results.
20 May 1923, Matilda Ruth Logan, is convicted to the death penalty for killing 7 people.
Cagalli smiled at the tabloids that day. It praised her and her team for their efforts to bring justice to this criminal hiding behind the façade of a kind old lady, caring parent and devotee of Christ. True enough, her fellow FBI agents now look at her with new light and respect. Alas, what she longed for is not yet hers; her promotion is yet to be secured.
A/N: So how's it? R&R!
