Kai clutched his cup of coffee a little closer as he sat the kitchen of his apartment. On his return home, the landlord had stopped to make conversation. Really, Kai mused as he blew at the steam from his coffee, He's just worried if his number 1 tenant moving away. Kai snorted a little.
It had three days since Kai found out who the spirit was. Three days and nothing out of the usual had happened. The Russian sighed a little to himself and took a sip of his coffee. He winced a little; missing Jemma's freshly brewed coffee but since Kai did not have any room for a coffee machine….
His thoughts were cut off when the phone rang. Kai grabbed the spare phone from the kitchen counter. "Hello?"
"Hey Kai, it's only me."
Kai hummed in the back of his throat as he took another sip of coffee. In the background he could hear Jemma's slightly off-key version of Kings of Leon's song Crawl. "Can I help Nath?"
"Just wondering if you had a black-out last night? Round about 3ish this morning?" Nathan moved the phone away from his mouth a little and swore at Jemma in Japanese. Kai frowned a little.
"No. Can't say that I did. Why? Something happen last night?" Kai inquired. Jemma had switched songs, singing along to Sex on Fire. Kai heard something being thrown before Jemma yelped loudly.
"Sorry about that. Nothing to big Kai. It may have been the fuse box." Nathan explained.
"Any word on Oliver?" Kai asked, moving to dump his empty cup in the sink. Nathan sighed a little. Never a good sign.
"Nothing. It's like he just vanished. We've had Enrique on the phone at all hours yesterday. Starting to grate on my nerves now."
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Jemma continued to rub her forehead where the beer-mat at hit her. She watched as Nathan cut the connection on phone and ran a hand threw his hair. "Meanie! You did have to throw a beer-mat at me." She pouted sourly.
"Kai said he didn't have a black out at the apartment. I'm really beginning to think it was the fuse box." Nathan muttered. He tapped his fingers against the bar and chewed on his lip. Jemma gave a little shrug of her shoulders.
"I'll check the fuse-box on my way to the dumpster. You doing anything today?" She asked. Nathan watched as Jemma pulled two big black bags into view. Recently the pair had been going through a lot less stuff but Nathan didn't really mind.
"Accounts to do." Nathan let a sly smile grace his features. "Will you be giving me another terrible version of Sex on Fire?" He snickered. Jemma turned to glare, only Nathan knew her heart wasn't it in, and flipped him off.
"See it? Swivel!"
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The early morning air was crispy. Jemma watched her breath hang in the air before cursing to herself for not wearing a hoodie. Goosebumps rode up her naked arms but with her hands full, Jemma could do little but shiver. Teach me to wear nothing but a tank top and skinny jeans. Jemma cursed and dumped the bags down on the floor.
Jemma frowned to herself. The cover of the fuse box had been dented. The English female stepped closer and opened the box. The frown deepened as Jemma began to sort through the fuses. There came a snap, a crackle before the lights inside the club flickered to life.
"How strange. How very fecking strange." Jemma shrugged and turned to the dumpster. Picking up the first bag, Jemma paid little attention to the inside of the dumpster when she opened it. The first bag went in easily with a soft thump as Jemma reached down for the second bag. This time she turned to look inside the dumpster and froze. Crows were heard in the distance. Jemma placed the second bag back down and gently closed the lip of the dumpster. She then retreated back to the backdoor of the club.
"Nathan!"
"Yeah?"
"Phone the police. I've found Oliver."
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Kai sighed to himself as he let the hot water from the shower flow down his back. He washed the last suds of soap and shampoo away and watched them disappear down the drain. Kai quickly turned the shower off and grabbed a nearby towel. In the living room, the T.V was still blaring out what sounded like a news report.
"This just in. Another body has been found at the famous gay club Midnight Chaos."
Kai, now dressed in a pair of loose jeans, stalked closer to the T.V. The Russian watched as fresh police tape had been placed over the entrance of the alley. Passers by stopped to have a peek while two other news reporters were seen in the distance. Kai grabbed the remote and turned the volume up.
"The victim is Oliver Polanski, age 20. A celebrated art collector in Paris, he was reported missing three days ago by his friends. Jemma Aeris Scott, co-owner of this club, was the unfortunate person to find him."
Kai made a grab for his phone.
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"This isn't looking good. Two people found in the dumpster of your club. You don't think someone is telling you something."
Nathan watched Jemma out the corner of his eye. If there was one thing Jemma hated more then anything in the world, it was homophobia. Jemma clenched her hands into fists tightly, so tight that her knuckles were white. "What the hell are you driving at?" she hissed.
Alexander held up his hands. "Nothing. Now let's start from the top. How long did you know Mr Polanski?" he began. Nathan said nothing. He waited until Jemma had calmed down a little.
"Long time. Met him through Johnny McGregor who we met through Elizabeta Stride, a friend of ours." Jemma paused. She took a swift drink of whatever cocktail Nathan had given her. "You wouldn't believe he was gay. Guess he won't be able to ask Enrique out now."
Alexander hummed a little himself. "I know Johnny. How can I contact Elizabeta?" Nathan raised an eyebrow.
"You don't. She doesn't even live in this country." Nathan glanced back at Jemma. "Bluebell's still dating Johnny though, right?" he inquired. Jemma let a nervous chuckle escape her lips. "Jemma-chan?"
"Well…you see…the thing is…" Jemma was cut off when the first bars of Eric Draven's guitar solo from The Crow floated through the club. "Ah! Gomen!" Jemma squeaked and rushed to a quiet corner to take the call. Nathan turned back to Alexander.
"Word of advice my friend. Next time you come here, leave the homophobic attitude at the door." Alexander felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He tried to form some sort of retort but nothing came to mind. "It's not me you have to worry about. Jemma-chan hates homophobic people. Let's just say you're not one of her most favourite people."
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Alexander took in a deep breath. He hated stepping foot in that place, he hated even talking to the owners. Unfortunately he had been assigned to the case and he would bring down the killer.
"Alex."
Alexander turned look down the alley and walked closer to the dumpster. He didn't look inside. "Ray? What are you doing here?" the inspector inquired. Ray smiled in greeting.
"Loving my job." He laughed a little. "Short staffed again so I offered my help. I have something about the victim for you." Alexander raised an eyebrow. "He's been dead for two days now."
Thanks to SchoolBoredom & Loner7803 for their reviews.