AN/ This work was written for the GHHQ fanworks weekend. I'm so utterly impatient (can't seem to wait another week), therefore, I am sharing the first chapter now with all of you. I will post the remaining chapters between the 17th and 20th of April. Happy reading!
"Oh God…" Mai muttered as she snapped her head back. She waved for her field assistant to approach. "Hey Yasu, we need baking soda, stat!" Setting her gaze on the decomposing body, Mai clenched her teeth and held her breath.
"Huh?!" Yasu peered over the young agent's shoulder. As he eyed the wisps of smoke rising over Mai's crouched form, he began to smell it. "Oh God!" He smashed his hand over his nose, the pungent scent was nearly enough to knock him over. Turning away, Yasu rushed to the van. He gasped for fresh air the moment the human stick bomb was out of range.
After throwing open the back door of the black vehicle, Yasu plunged himself inside. He reached for the clear bin Naru had packed for Mai. The scientist always insisted Mai keep a few basic things, baking soda included, when investigating crime scenes.
"Hurry! We're losing evidence!"
Fumbling, Yasu grabbed onto a large orange box. He then sprinted from the van at full speed. Mai was waiting for him with an outstretched hand. The moment it was within reach, Mai yanked the box of baking soda from Yasu and proceeded to dump it onto the rapidly disintegrating remains. Yasu stepped back as the starch white powder mixed with the acid coated bones. The solution bubbled over top loose dirt and dead leaves, further obscuring his view of their latest crime scene.
"We should get Naru's team out here…" Yasu suggested while pinching his nose. "I don't think our coroner is going to want to come and fetch this one…"
Mai grumbled, "As much as I can't stand working with that ass, I think you're right… After all...if it weren't for his...previous insistence….we wouldn't have anything left."
"Well...he's also one of the best anthropologists out there. Bones are like...his specialty," Yasu added. He reached into his pocket for his cell phone. "I'll call him now. Ah, why don't you go take a seat in the van? I'll keep an eye on everything out here."
Arms crossed, Mai sighed, "No. I think I'm going to have a look around. That body hasn't been here long. Surely whoever tried getting rid of it is still around." Her hand hovered over the holster on her hip. As Yasu nodded, Mai stepped over the neutralized remains. She headed into the thickening treeline in search of more clues.
The famed anthropologist, Oliver Davis, gazed at the pile of damaged bones. Upon first glance, he assumed at least half of the skeleton was missing. Perhaps more. The skull itself wasn't even fully intact. Then again, he had no reason to be surprised. The body had been doused in acid...
"How strange…" Oliver knelt down, pointing a gloved finger at the remainder of the mandible. "There are no teeth, and judging that the majority of the damage was done by hydrofluoric acid, it's likely they were removed prior to disposal."
"Great, seems like we've got ourselves a cautious killer." Mai rolled her eyes. "We can't get an i.d. without dentals."
Oliver raised a brow, "Don't worry. It may take me a day or two, but I'm certain I have enough to work with to provide useful information pertaining to identify the victim. For instance, based on the size and shape of the mastoid process," he reached out to touch the side of the skull, "this is a male."
Mai blinked. She then crouched beside Oliver.
"Okay. That's...helpful…" Her shoulder brushed against his as she steadied herself.
Oliver huffed, "It's more information than your forensics team could have provided." Before Mai could retort, he continued. "This man is also of Asian descent, most likely, given the shape of the occipitals. He was likely between 173 and 178 centimeters tall." Directing Mai's attention to the partial femur, Oliver smirked.
"What?! But more than half of it is missing! There is no way you can tell!" Mai huffed.
"Look," he pointed to the bottom portion of the remaining bone, "we have the bottom, and here," he moved his hand, "we have a section of the pelvis. We can make an educated guess as to the length of the femur, and therefore, we can estimate his height."
Scoffing, Mai jotted down the details in her notepad, "Anything else, Dr. Narcissist?"
Shrugging, Oliver took a look at the skull again. He tilted his head as he brushed away debris.
"I would estimate the age of this man to be between nineteen and twenty-five."
Mai frowned, "Huh? Wait a minute, didn't you just describe yourself?" She nearly threw her hands up, "Naru! This is serious! I'm not one of your interns you play head games with!"
Oliver shook his head, "I have given you accurate information pertaining to this set of remains. It is purely a coincidence I am a match to the description I have offered."
"Naru…"
He sighed, "What reason would I have to lie?"
Rising to full height, Mai turned away. She clenched her pen, until her knuckles were turning white.
She uttered to herself, "You're the one that likes screwing around with my emotions…why not screw with my work while you're at it…?"
Deaf to Mai's comment, Oliver craned his neck back and spoke, "I'm going to have these transported back to the lab. I'll have someone try and run a DNA sample. It's also possible that this man's DNA is on your database."
Mai curtly replied, "Fine."
"In the meantime," Oliver stood, removing his gloves, "I suggest you begin searching through missing persons, and see if you can find any matches with the description you have."
Eye twitching, Mai snarked, "When did you become my boss?"
Frowning, Oliver gestured for his team to come forward. He then returned his attention to Mai. As she moved away from him, he caught a glimpse of her face. It was red, and he was able to spot a wet, shiny streak.
"So, I need to clean the bones for Dr. Davis. Since you're new, I'll give you the task. Just be careful not to destroy any evidence," said one of Oliver's interns, Takigawa. He offered a box to the latest recruit, John. The younger man accepted the box and glanced inside. He furrowed his brows while observing the goop covered bones.
"I've already got the bath you need to soak them in ready," Takigawa smiled, gesturing towards the room furthest down the hall. "Just keep an eye on them, and let us know if anything unusual happens."
"Alright…" John cleared his throat, but Takigawa was already halfway across the lab. "Lord have mercy on this poor soul…"
Shifting his gaze up, John peered at the room Takigawa had prepared. Exhaling loudly, John took his first steps down the hallway. As he passed open doors, he caught sight of other interns working on artifacts that looked to be prehistoric. Someone with black, shoulder length hair was taking samples from one of the artifacts, muttering about isotopes.
Looking to his right, John peered into another room. It was dimly lit. The only distinguishable light came from a single monitor, and all John could hear was some man's relentless typing. Perhaps he cataloged everything? John had not received an official tour, so he wasn't too sure.
Another door down was open. He could hear a one-sided conversation. As John glanced inside he saw Dr. Oliver Davis with his back turned. His phone was pressed against his cheek, and the projection on the wall before him rotated between images of a crime scene.
Swiftly glancing into the box again, John confirmed the remains in his arms matched those depicted in the images holding Oliver's attention.
John shook his head and continued on towards the last room on the left of the corridor. As he stood in the doorway he studied the room's orientation. It very much reminded John of his university chemistry lab, but rather than twelve stations, there were only four. At the back of the room, sitting on a table, as Takigawa had said, was a bath ready for the bones.
Carefully, John set the box beside the tank. He reached for the tongs laying nearby and inspected them. Certain they were sterile, he began to transfer the remains from the box to the tank. Each bone fizzed as they were submerged in the clear solution. The residue once clinging to them washed away, leaving them multiple shades whiter than John's own teeth. Once all bones were in the tank, John stepped to the shelves on the other side of the table in search of a tray.
Below his field of vision sat a stool. As John moved his legs tangled with it, and he yelped. Crashing to the floor, John reached for the shelf to stable himself. The shelf did nothing to halt his momentum. Instead, it tipped, toppling over top of him, and the glass tank.
Chemicals and other liquid solutions splashed on the floor as glass vials shattered. John shouted out as he covered his eyes, expecting to be crushed by the metal frame. The table on which the tank sat prevented the shelf from reaching the floor, as well as John's body, however, a few open containers splashed into the bone cleansing bath. The new compound sloshed from the tank and coated John's wrist and sleeve.
Shortly after John yelled for help, Oliver was standing in the room, lost for words. Never had he seen such a disaster in his own lab.
"What happened here?" He observed a distressed John on the floor before sighting the tank. Oliver inhaled and stepped further into the room. Once close enough to see each item in the tank Oliver brought a hand to his head and cursed.
Bleach….among other things.
"Mr. Brown… Go and get yourself cleaned up…" Oliver kept his tone level. He wanted to be upset and tear into his new intern for ruining his chances of DNA analysis, but Oliver remained calm. He gazed over the table, noticing that a patch of skin on John's hand was discolored. The stains on his coat were quickly changing in color as well. Oliver hesitated to reach for the young man, but when he saw that the stains were beginning to dissolve the fabric of John's coat he gasped.
With no time to explain, Oliver yanked the new intern to his feet by the collar of his coat and rushed him off the emergency shower.