Chapter XII
The sound of the cuffs being locked onto the thin and shaky wrists of Elix sent a wave of happiness over Robin. Along with that came a moment of regret they finally had their culprit, but not who she first thought, or wanted. It was really over he was given a firm shake and pushed ahead by the younger detective. "So, he admitted to it?" The older man asked again, as Amon handed over to him the gathered files and record device.
"Everything you need on him," Amon said, "Is on these papers, and his confession is on tape."
"Excellent work! You STN really are something else."
"You sure you can transfer him without an escort, Detective Hideo?" Amon held a hand out to the older man.
"With me and Kenta in the car, he's not going to be pulling anything." Shaking Amon hand, he turned about to see Robin's attentive stare, "I should also be thanking you too, Miss?"
"Robin," she said taking his hand, "Robin Sena, and if I had my way… I don't think you have to be taking him, anywhere."
"Hehehe, the way you sound we would've been taking you in." The off joke caught the guilty party's attention.
"Hahahah!" His laugh shook the older man, "You're funny, I think I'm going to like you…For now."
"You keep your mouth shut! Just wait until we get to our office." The younger officer lead him away, "You won't be doing any laughing there."
"Oh? So, I'll be doing the laughing all the way there then? Ha, ha, ha…" Trying his best, and it showed, he got to his newest company with relative ease.
"How did you get him to admit to it?" The older man turned an eye back to Amon,
"We listened to him, mostly, and when he got bored, he finally gave up."
"Damn, we're going to have to show patience with this one… Why do we always get the crazy ones?" That off comment earned him a look back from Elix.
"I take back what I said," His voice gave a low growl, "I'm going to hate you, for every second I have left… And when I'm done with you, you'll know."
"That's it, take him away Kenta!"
"Wait, for one moment." Amon walked to the door of the grey room, and stood tall over the tight and fidgety criminal. "You were quite the challenge, Elix…"
"I'd like to think I was the hardest one, Mr. Amon…"
"You'd be closer than you think," Holding a hand out to him, surprising not only Elix but everyone else in the room.
"I almost gave up, on you, if it wasn't for that Doctor of yours… You would've got away."
"Are you talking about that freak with the mask?" Kenta referred to the other suspect they had linked to the case,
"I'll have you know he's a respected member of his community!" Elix shouted back, angrily, at the detective.
"He's guilty, like you!" Releasing a single cuff from his left wrist, Elix stood still staring back at Amon's gloved hand.
"I'll take this as a compliment," Elix sighed, taking Amon's hand with a surprising grip. Amon felt the cold energy lingering through the fabric of his glove.
"Consider it an apology," Amon shook his hand, firmly, "I thought you were…different."
"Mmm," Elix nodded, "But I am…I'm far too different, even for you people." He gave him a smile, and it showed in his eyes. It was real, and at the same time, sad. "If you had been where I was, do you think it would've ended the same?" His question stirred the growing tension between the two.
"No," Amon pulled his hand away, "I would've got away."
"Hahahah, Oooh, I knew you were too good to be true…" His blue eyes hovered over the two men in front of him and slowly back over his shoulder to the other one. Then lastly, back towards her, "Miss. Sena~"
Robin put her hands behind herself she had no intention of letting him touch her, "Yes?"
"…You reminded me of someone, a lot actually, I didn't know she was dead until today."
Robin felt her heart skip, 'Is he talking about his sister?' She thought to herself,
"I guess that's why I treated you the way I did, you talked like her, carried yourself around like her… I think, I'm going to miss you." Was he really talking to her? Or was it all another trick? Robin couldn't tell anymore, then suddenly, to the surprise of everyone in the room.
He hugged her, to everyone moving in Robin held up her hands stopping them in their tracks. 'I never get to say goodbye to anyone…' he whispered, hushed and secretly into her ear. 'Or show them just how much I cared…' He cleared his throat and firmly patted her on the back of her head, "You're a good person, I just wish, I was too..." Pulling himself away from the cold embrace, Robin felt the warmth of her body returning to her.
"You can still become a better individual…" Robin started,
Elix smiled, "No… I can't, it's too late for me" The sound of the cuffs being locked onto his wrists signified the end. "I can only try to be good to others, but I can't be the good boy anymore, maybe I never was, and with people like these around." He swung his head back to the two detectives. "I don't think I ever could."
"…Goodbye for now, Robin." Bowing deeply and to her shock, Robin finally saw the markings on the back of his neck and what they meant. With a shaky hand and nervous energy, she placed a gloved hand on the back of his head. To his resting and still position, she could feel the intensity of his energy. That wiry strength, subdued by his emotions, and probably by the medication given to him.
With a delicate stroke, of her finger, a sudden rush of pain sent Elix back to an upright position. "Ugh… I'm getting too old for this parting business…Shall we go to jail?"
"After you," Detective Kenta showed him the door, eagerly, wanting him in their custody. "You have a lot more explaining to do before the end of the day." The younger detective taunted him, as he held onto the guilty party.
"…" Remaining silent and ever so focused Elix looked up to see before him in the office a giant cross, built into the office wall. 'Forgive me of my transgressions, for I am a sinner, and I will continue to sin.' He began a short prayer to himself, 'Protect those who may seek to harm me, for I am a vengeful and corrupt being sent by you…'
"What are you doing?" The detective could only hear him muttering underneath his breath.
'Save them, from me, for they are truly lost…' Lifting up his head, to the tingling sensation growing down his neck, Elix's last words in the office were "Praying for your forgiveness, Detective, and my salvation."
"You can do all the praying, in your cell," opening the elevator door, to their final stretch, Elix cracked his neck to a distinct snap. "You'll have plenty of time, inside." He followed the order without delay stepping into the small elevator.
"…That's all we have, detective, time." As the elevator door closed, the sound of his laughter could escaped into the office for one final time.
"Yikes," Detective Hideo shuddered, "I'm not going to enjoy that ride back." Brushing his greying hair and turned back to face the STN workers once again. "Thank you for all your hard work, with all the evidence gathered on your side and from our investigations. We should have him locked behind bars before he knew what hit him."
"Please," Amon said, "send us a full report on the affair once all work has been complete."
"Of course, Mr. Amon," the detective bowed, "I'll bring it to you, personally, now if you'll excuse me I have a feeling my partner has his hands full"
"Could you do us one more thing, detective Hideo?" Robin spoke up, bringing back the detective's attention, "uh, why, yes of course!"
"If you know anything about Maria Rose's funeral, could you give us a follow up?"
"Oh, her distant family has already been contacted and apparently she isn't to be buried" he said, apologetically, "She's to be cremated, but I'll let your office know of a date and time of the event." Taking his leave with files and collected items from Elix's person, he felt confident in their case being solved in record time.
Hearing the elevator door close for the last time, Robin let out a heavy sigh, 'And that's the last of him, we'll see…'
"Watch your head," bumping Elix intentionally against the car's frame and shoving him into the back of the cruiser. The younger detective chuckled at the smaller man before him, "You really killed that poor girl and her nurse too, huh?"
"Oh, I did much worse…" Elix scoffed, rubbing his head against the padding of his car seat. "You don't know anything about the actual crime scene, do you?"
"Hmph," the detective snorted, "More than you!" Slamming the door shut, "Geez, Hideo why do we always get the freaks?" He could still be heard from inside the car, as Elix watched the two detectives take the evidence and store it in the back of the car.
"It's this city I tell you," the older man groaned, "It does something to the people."
"Do we file this together with the Doctors things?"
"It is the same case and they're practically related… That doctor was supposed to wed his younger sister."
"What?" the younger detective asked, "Get out of here."
Getting into the car, "It's a small world," Hideo yawned taking his seat.
"Oh, you better believe it is" Elix snickered in the back,
"You keep your mouth shut, until we get to the office!"
"Yes, sir…anything you say… sir…" Another low cackle escaped him, as they started the car and drove away. Out of the underground parking lot, through the parting black gated fence and away from the last sight of that mysterious building, Ravens Flat, "Please, sir, if you would, be so kind as to turn on the radio."
"Not a chance!" Detective Kenta spat back, without turning around.
"Fine… I'll do it myself." The older officer looked over his shoulder and grumbled,
"What do you mean?"
"This little light of mine…I'm going to let it shine… This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine… Let it shine, let it shine… Let it shine~ Hahahah!"
Back inside Ravens Flat, Robin and the others felt a wave of relief wash over them. "Aww, what a weirdo," Doujima said, "I think he was actually praying when he saw the cross." Looking at the aged wooden design built into the walls frame.
"He's not the only one to do that then…" With Michael's comment, all their eyes looked over at Robin. It was another comparison in their short span of time, together.
"I think I'll get the dishes left over in the grey room." She huffed dismissing herself from their stares.
"That was very rude of you!" Karasuma swatted at the evading Michael.
"What? It's true Robin's always praying when she thinks no one is looking!"
"And you never pray?" Sakaki asked,
"Well, not here at the office…" Michael explained.
"You should try it sometime," Amon's voice spoke over top of theirs, as he took his seat in front of his computer. "They don't pray for themselves, they're praying for you and others, most of the time."
"Aww isn't that sweet!" Doujima patted Amon lightly, "Do you pray?"
"Not lately," Amon admitted, "and never here."
"We should all try it out," she teased him, "Maybe we can get brownie points with the big guy~"
"Do you ever think of anyone but yourself?"
"Constantly!"
"Yeah right!" They laughed, and bickered once more.
Amon rubbed his shutting eyes, the case really was a hard one, and he almost gave up. "He tested you the most, didn't he?"
Amon looked back and saw Karasuma motherly doting again, "I wanted to hurt him, at first, it wasn't just him, but that Doctor of his too, Kendrick Williams. I actually had to shoot him with an air soft gun to get him to think it was one of our orbo bullets."
"Did it work?"
"I knocked his mask off and he sang like a bird after that."
"What if Elix gave you a fight?"
"I could take him, he can't fight too well without a knife or blade, his doctor trained him in some kind of knife fighting style that explains all the loose instruments and markings on the victim."
"…Didn't Elix say there were two of them?"
Amon's eyes shot open, "Oh crap." He stood up and turned to see everyone else looking at Robin's shocked and awful expression.
"Robin?" Doujima walked over to her side, seeing her shake with the coffee mug in hand and the plate of unfinished food in the other. "Robin, what's the matter?" She asked putting a hand on her friends shoulder. Robin had to show them, it was all the proof she had, needed and wanted to begin with. Turning the tall, black, and cold coffee mug upside down; slowly, but surely, a small chunk of ice had fallen onto the plate. Before she let go of everything and let them dropped onto the carpeted floor. Her eyes were tearing up and teeth chattering, "He…he, he fooled us all…"
