The reckoning has come... Good thing Marinette is up for it! On another note... Writing this was weirdly hard? Gabriel is a weird personality to write for me for some reason... Probably because he has a stick up where the sun don't shine and I don't play well with personalities in the real world like that. Ah well... On another note I draw monsters and I have managed to draw an entire biome of monsters for a tree like world. Someone in passing told me they looked like I had a field journal going since I also doodle plants and stuff that could match the creatures I draw. It made me smile. See you next month!

(Slow Burn Detective AU!) Marinette is used to working alone on the streets of Paris as she strives to take down the Hawkmoth gang. When the thief Chat Noir comes crashing into her life things are bound to get magical, especially when co-detective Adrien returns to Paris and seems to want to be her new partner. Will their fated partnership end in a capture or a kiss?

Interview

It wasn't surprising for Gabriel to want to jump right in but Marinette was a bit startled when he paused to state, "If at any time you start to feel unwell just say stop. You are one of my best detectives. I would hate to set back your healing process."

Marinette had felt her face flush in response. Gabriel had never said such a thing openly like that to her not even after Tiki had died. Considering the circumstances it wasn't completely unheard of she supposed but coming from him it was practically a declaration of the utmost concern and affection. "I-I understand sir. Thank you."

Gabriel cleared his throat. "Very well, lets begin. In your words, why or how did you meet up with Roger?"

"It was an accident sir." Marinette confessed, "My mother had called me asking if I could bring some letters of theirs to the post box. They participated in a conference out of town and they had forgotten to post all of their mail. When I was dropping off the letters at the box I ran into Roger coming out of the nearby convenience store."

"How did Roger appear to you?"

"Greasy." Marinette commented offhandedly, then slapped a hand over her mouth as Adrien snorted in amusement. "S-sorry sir. I know what you meant. I suppose he seemed normal? Roger has always been somewhere between smug and annoyed whenever near me so he didn't appear any different at that time. There were no red flags in his behavior or appearance. Although, Roger was definitely surprised to see me since it was starting to get a little late. He got a little defensive when I asked him why he was out in a patrol car before admitting that he had an informant that he was supposed to see. If anything I was more shocked by his invitation to ride with him."

"And yet you still accepted? It wasn't really your place to do so." Gabriel scolded.

Marinette fought the impulse to roll her eyes. She knew Gabriel was disappointed, she could hear the accusation in his tone. "I wasn't going to but Roger mentioned that he was meeting with a Hawkmoth informant specifically. You know what happened the last time I met up with a Hawkmoth informant. I ended up here… again, dammit this is becoming a pattern isn't it?"

Adrien snorted again and immediately turned it into a cough but it was too late. Gabriel shot him a glare that had him jerking to attention while Marinette just shook her head, wincing at the bandages pulling around her neck.

"Don't get me wrong, he wasn't threatening me by any means, and I knew that Adrien was ill so he couldn't go with him. Besides I was curious, the last time he said he had an in with Hawkmoth he got conned and attacked by a rival gang, so I was a little worried that this would be another con against him. Under normal circumstances I would never have gotten in that car with him but with Adrien out of the picture and the very real threat of Roger getting injured due to his own stupidity… I guess I didn't want to leave it up to chance. The whole situation definitely made me more open to helping him out rather than ignoring him. It certainly makes me wonder if Roger had this as a backup plan from the start. Even still I was hesitant until he reminded me of the fact that you don't like it when we go into such situations alone and if something did happen it would be on my head. Sir."

Gabriel's cheek twitched at her dig but other than that his features and tone remained unchanged as he requested that she continue.

"I did briefly try to talk him out of going but he was insistent that he needed to meet with them that evening or he wouldn't get to meet at all. As I said before he didn't twist my arm or anything, but Roger has never functioned well alone. Hell when he was my partner anytime he stepped out of my sight he seemed to get injured! Needless to say, I didn't want him walking into an ambush so I decided to ride with him and call it a favor if someone asked. I know I am not on the Hawkmoth case any longer but I didn't mind the idea of keeping tabs on what the Hawkmoth gang was up to so I could assist if needed. Roger said it would only take about an hour so I didn't think it would be that big of a deal. All I expected was a brisk walk and some shadowing while he spoke to his informant. I got into the car with him and he drove for maybe 20 minutes. We ended up in some back alleyway where we got out on foot. I'm sorry sir but I don't remember the location where we stopped, parts of the night are a bit fuzzy."

"We have already found the patrol car. When this incident came to light the tracker in the car was activated and it was located quickly. Roger did not return to it and so the key is missing, but the car is impounded as it is being combed over for any additional evidence." Gabriel informed her. "To be honest I am surprised your memories are as clear as they are. You may continue."

"Oh… Well um, from the car we walked and I have to say it was a decent walk for just a 'quick' meeting but I refrained from speaking. Roger was on his phone basically the whole way and he didn't seem concerned about the fact that the area around us was pretty quiet for side streets at night. I didn't want to make Roger think that he didn't know how to do his job but the silence made me a little nervous and I think it put me more on edge." Marinette rubbed gently at the bullet wound while trying to conceal a grimace. Her body was starting to ache which was annoying, since it meant that the nurse would definitely notice her discomfort and would want to give her some medicine that would probably knock her loopy or sleepy again for a few hours. Instinctively Marinette knew the discomfort wasn't going to get any better before Gabriel was done speaking with her and she supposed she should be happy that the nurse had not insisted on giving her medicine before Gabriel had arrived. If Marinette had it her way she would already be home, mostly healed, and sleeping off whatever energy drain it took to heal herself all the way. Since she still couldn't heal herself without raising a lot of questions in the hospital it meant having to accept some discomfort or medicines. Realizing she had trailed off a bit she continued before Gabriel could prompt her, "When we finally stopped I realized that we had ended up in an area that would have made an excellent ambush site and that's when things started going off the rails. At that point Roger was messing with his phone and was clearly distressed but I thought he was just mad because his informant had ditched him."

"What changed your mind?"

Marinette's brow furrowed, she couldn't exactly say a magical stone had tipped her off so she decided to go with a half truth. This whole interview so far had been half truths so she didn't feel too bad continuing the subterfuge, "I don't remember his exact words but Roger made some comment about Adrien not being there and that they wouldn't risk fighting me with so few people. I uh, sorta stole his phone because at that point Roger was acting super shady and I knew the best way to figure out what was going on was to see it for myself."

"You saw his text messages." Gabriel concluded and Marinette nodded.

"I did and when I looked up Roger had a non-regulation gun pointed at my head."

"What did you do then?"

"Well, I was initially paralized, shocked I suppose." Marinette admitted, "I couldn't believe that Roger was capable of such betrayal and it took a few minutes of him bragging before I thought to record what he was saying. Did the recording make it?"

Gabriel nodded, "That recording was very incriminating and I have several questions about the conversation you held with Roger beforehand. The first thing I want to know is why didn't you try to run or use your own phone to record?"

"Well, to begin with my phone was completely dead. I had the idea to call Adrien and have him listen in on the 'meeting' since he was sick at his flat, but when I went to see if he was awake I realized my phone had died. Rogers' phone was the only option once I thought about recording what was going on. I hadn't planned on getting injured and figured I could out-run Roger, then call for help once I was out of his reach. Even if the recording wasn't damning enough the messages on his phone were more than enough evidence. As to why I didn't run right off the bat, I was in the alleyway and Roger was positioned in the entrance sir. He had a direct line of fire on me and so I had to think of a way to take him off guard so I could escape. I was planning on running when I took Roger off his feet in my surprise attack but he got off an unlucky shot and I was hit. I didn't recover fast enough, I couldn't…"

"I understand." Gabriel interrupted, not wanting her to think that he was condemning her. "List your known injuries so far please."

Marinette took in a shuddering breath, noting how her heart rate had increased again. She really was getting tired at this point and Adrien had risen to his feet, concern written across his face. Warmth echoed down the ribbon that joined them and Marinette knew he was sending her strength without coming directly to her side. She sent soothing feelings back at him, hoping that she had done it right before listing off what she knew. "I was grazed by one bullet on the shoulder, shot once in the abdomen, entry and exit wound present where the bullet went through me. Bullet apparently nicked my kidney but I don't believe there is any other organ damage other than maybe some internal bruising caused by the bullet's passage. I was really lucky to be honest. Concussion, Roger smashed me in the head with something, probably the gun. Bruised ribs, one might be cracked, forgot to ask the doctor, Roger kicked me a few times once he got me down. Apparently he doesn't like it when I get sassy. I think I hit him in the face a few times, knuckles are split though that might be from hitting the pavement… not sure. Either way I pissed him off good because he definitely was ready to beat me to death for a minute there. I have bruises… everywhere to be honest. Couple of gashes too but the bullet wound is the only thing to need stitches. The gashes were probably caused by glass or maybe just the alleyways asphalt surface, not a knife."

"Why the distinction?" Gabriel prodded.

"Because Roger originally planned to kill me and frame the man known as Chat Noir." Marinette announced, knowing that they were about to take a step into the unknown where her job and freedom could hang on the whim of a single word. Gabriel froze, his eyes widening and Marinette swallowed nervously before continuing, "The Hawkmoth Gang has pulled this red herring a few times apparently and it has worked in their favor every time. This time would have been no different but-"

"Do you have proof of this?" Gabriel interrupted, his icy tone making Marinette cringe.

"Yes sir, I have been looking further into the Chat Noir case since you gave it to me weeks ago. In the file I compiled I have both circumstantial and hard evidence of incidents where Chat Noir has been sighted in areas days away from places where the crimes he supposedly committed happened. I am not saying he is totally innocent in everything but he has definitely been set up or framed for many crimes that he hasn't committed. I just didn't have verbal proof of such things until Roger admitted to using Chat Noir as a pasty to cover up his attack on me. I'm… not sure if that part of the conversation was recorded though."

"Of course… you would see that." Gabriel breathed his voice barely audible. His lips hadn't hardly moved either and Marinette knew the only reason she had heard him was due to her amplified senses.

"Sir I've fou-"

Gabriel raised a finger cutting her off without ever needing to speak. Slowly he closed his eyes, his face unreadable as Marinette allowed herself to slump in the bed even as she fidgeted nervously. Glancing over at Adrien she half hoped that he might have an idea about Gabriel's odd reaction but he shrugged, creeping closer instead of sitting back down.

The silence stretched for a long minute, stressing Marinette's heart into beating faster on the monitor before Gabriel stated, "You know Chat Noir then."

He stated it as a fact. Irrefutable. Undeniable.

"He's saved my life, twice now." Marinette decided to reply in turn, already not liking the way Gabriel's tone resonated with her.

To her surprise Gabriel flinched slightly before his lips thinned into his usual scowl. "Explain."

"Chat Noir is the one who saved my life sir. He stopped Roger from killing me, brought me to the hospital, and he did it for no other reason than the fact that it was the right thing to do."

One of Gabriel's eyebrows rose in disbelief.

"Ok fine he probably saved me so that he didn't get blamed for my death. He mentioned something along those lines as he was carrying my bleeding body across the city." Marinette grumbled before a yawn broke through effectively silencing her.

"Did he kill Roger?" Gabriel asked, watching Marinette carefully. She was starting to fade even though he could tell she was fighting the exhaustion. She was no longer sitting up straight and her eyes had dulled significantly since they had begun. He wasn't sure what to think when it came to the idea of Chat Noir being a semi-hero but in this instance he had saved Marinette, out of selfishness or no. "We have yet to find him."

"I wasn't very cognizant at that time but he didn't land a killing blow that I saw or remember. Chat Noir clawed him pretty good initially to keep him from killing me but Roger was still very much alive. I could hear him squalling like a child when Chat Noir came to me and realized how badly I was hurt. In fact I'm pretty sure Roger was dragging himself out of the alley when Chat Noir snatched me up."

Gabriel nodded, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "As I said, we still haven't found Roger. Any ideas on where Roger might hide? While he was your partner did he ever mention any particular places he might go when in a bind?"

Letting her eyes close Marinette took a deep breath in and tried to think of anything that might be useful for Gabriel. "He obviously wasn't at his apartment since he isn't in custody and Chloe broke up with him so he won't be hiding with her, not that Chloe would stand for such a thing anyways. You might want to ask Chloe if she has had any spare keys go missing to places she uses since I wouldn't put it past him to just take a key and do as he pleases. Other than that I don't remember him ever mentioning anything useful but we weren't exactly close sooo…"

"Very well, I will have someone look into that idea." Gabriel decided, "Do you have any idea why the Hawkmoth gang has decided to target you again so fiercely and why they decided to pull Adrien into it?"

Marinette wanted to shrug but she had previously found that the movement hurt due to the bullet graze so she waved a hand instead, gesturing to herself and Adrien with a sigh. "Well Adrien and I worked together to pull Chloe from their clutches, although Roger swore up and down that Hawkmoth was getting blamed for nothing. Now we know why he was practically defending them."

"This is more than that. This is more akin to the attack that took Tikki from us." Gabriel pointed out, looking like he was trying to solve a puzzle without the right pieces.

Marinette wanted to look over at Adrien but she knew it would be a tell they couldn't afford. Already her heart rate was increasing again, giving more than she wanted away to a man that was an expert interrogator. "The Hawkmoth case has become more complex sir, far more than even you could have anticipated. There is a rift forming within the gang itself and I don't know which side of the rift Roger was on. I've been a thorn in the Hawkmoth gangs side for years now, and while we are supposed to be enemies some of their members call me a friend, though they could never admit to such a thing without consequences. Clearly though, I have done something in my work to piss off an upper tier member of Hawkmoth, maybe even their leader whoever they are. Other than freeing Chloe I haven't poked any Hawkmoth hornets nests and her kidnapping was never tied fully to the gang either due to only having circumstantial evidence. I don't feel like I've done anything in particular to cause such a direct attack, but who knows."

That one was a bold faced lie but Marinette really didn't want to bring the Akuma discussion into this. The Chat Noir bomb was bad enough on its own. Dropping the Akuma bomb and then tying them together right now might get her sent to a padded room. Or fired for withholding pertinent information. Either way she really didn't want to explain that she had galivanted over the rooftops fighting magic goop monsters that had turned into corpses when they were defeated. All while supposedly being on desk duty. The fact that the majority of those corpses were Hawkmoth members was concerning and made her wonder if Roger was going to show up as the next Akuma down the line. That thought had her shuddering which made Gabriel frown at her. "Do you need a moment Marinette?"

"I-I'm fine sir thank you. Back to what I was saying though, I don't know if Roger was the one pulling all the strings in this attack on me or if it was an order handed down by his higher ups. I didn't have a whole lot of time to read through his messages but they probably have a better answer than I can give. I wouldn't be too surprised if Roger had the idea to get rid of me on his own though. He was always a little too interested in the Hawkmoth case. I thought it was because he saw it as his way to put his name in the limelight so to speak. When I broke off our partnership he took it personally and then you gave Roger the Hawkmoth case after the Chloe thing... Pretty sure all that gave him an inflated head and I think he truly believed that if he got rid of me he would magically be able to rule the city somehow. Even when Roger was my partner he was constantly pulling stupid stunts and sabotaging our work. He didn't hate me, at least I don't think he did, but he felt that he was better than me and everyone else in the precinct."

"Is this conjecture? I need facts." Gabriel stated coldly, but Marinette could hear the hint of bitterness in his tone.

"Oh Roger told me that he was better than everyone to my face when he was rubbing in the fact that HE had just been handed the Hawkmoth case since I was incompetent. Adrien was actually there for that conversation because he was demanding that Adrien come fix some issue he had crafted through his own ineptitude. Either way, I don't know if this attack on my person was one planned out by the Hawkmoth gang as a whole or if Roger just decided to get rid of me because I stood in his way. It was a decent plan, so I doubt he came up with it on his own. After all, it's only because he decided to jump the gun that I've ended up here in the hospital rather than a body bag. Ever since Chloe's kidnapping it seemed like Roger was always keeping a closer eye on me. I thought he might have been trying to catch me doing something wrong so he could tattle, or maybe twist something I was doing and try to get me fired but that apparently wasn't his endgame. Once or twice Roger did try to isolate me, find out where I was going, or doing, through other people at the precinct. You can ask Rose and Damocles about that, they were the ones that warned me. Either way Roger was sniffing around and had been since we saved Chloe. Since snooping around trying to isolate me didn't work in his favor, he changed things up a bit and got extra help. As I said before, if he hadn't jumped the gun we probably would have been looking at another incident like last year."

At her words she felt the thrum of what felt like fury come from Adrien and she sent soothing sheepish feelings back at him. Marinette knew what she said was yet another lie. At best if Roger had tried to pull off his original plan, they would have ended up with multiple bodies and she would have had a bloody, grumpy cat sitting on her balcony. At worst they would have ended up with an intercity crisis as well as a man hunt. That thought alone gave Marinette a headache.

"So he did continue to antagonize you? Why didn't you say something?" Gabriel asked, looking disappointed in her.

Marinette closed her eyes, trying not to let the strain of all the questions show but she knew she was losing the battle. Either way she was going to defend herself since it was obvious that Gabriel didn't quite believe her.

"I did! Several times actually. I mean for goodness sakes I decided I'd rather be on desk duty rather than have him as a partner! You know how much I hate desk duty Gabriel, that should have been a warning all on it own! When Chloe got kidnapped I went to you again about Roger's incompetence, particularly over setting up that Raid, and you brushed me off. Roger constantly antagonized me before and even when he was no longer my partner he was always trying to get in my way. Now that I know about the Hawkmoth spy bit, I wonder if he was just trying to sabotage the case or if he just had a hard-on against me." Marinette hissed, frustrated and uncomfortable since her bullet wound was starting to ache worse, "I felt worse for Adrien when you assigned him as his partner because all Roger did was push whatever work he didn't want to do off on Adrien without even explaining it to him! Not to mention the fact that he couldn't even bother to get a chair or station for him to work at. I know you have noticed Adrien spending time in my office rather than at Roger's desk but no one seemed to care, so I did my work and I helped Adrien complete things his 'partner' should have been assisting with. I have no idea where Roger was all that time since he should have been with Adrien but I didn't bother to ask because he was out of my hair for once. I didn't mind helping Adrien at all, he is a fantastic partner and a blessing when looking over large files, but it seemed like any complaints I had against Roger or my other partners were seen as jealous rantings or me trying to undermine him. I refused to give you another reason to punish me."

Gabriel nodded, reaching forward and lifting up the recorder off the table. "I understand Marinette. This has been a tremendous lack of oversight on my part and for that I apologize."

Marinette's jaw dropped. NEVER in all her time working for Gabriel had he apologized for something he had done, or not done. In fact she had only heard him apologize once in her vicinity and that had been the day he'd delivered the news that Tiki had died. Realizing that she should probably say something Mar kicked her brain back into gear as words tumbled from her mouth, "I… uh, yes? I-I mean thank you? For listening?" She didn't add the 'finally' to the statement knowing instinctively that it would be crossing the line.

Gabriel nodded once, his features inscrutable, "For now you have illuminated several issues including my own failings as your superior. It brings new light and understanding to several of your actions. I will continue to look into things but for now this is the end of questioning."

Marinette was shocked at the sudden termination of his interrogation but she was also thankful. "H-happy to help sir."

He clicked off the recorder, sliding it into his pocket before staring down at Marinette. "Off the record, why did Chat Noir save you? I read his file before I handed it down to you, looked through the social profiles to make sure you don't fit any of his previous victims. Even if he is a decent person his actions here do not align with assisting an officer of the law, female in distress or not."

"His file is wrong sir. We will have to have a long discussion about this once I am able to show you all the things I have found. Many of the notes other detectives put into his file are blatantly incorrect. I fear that a few of them were either corrupt or simply lazy, and none of them did any kind of research." Marinette answered.

"You did not answer my question." Gabriel pointed out making Marinette wince. Thankfully she and Adrien had discussed this before and had decided to run with the story similar to the one he'd told Mime.

"Chat sort of owed me? I helped someone close to him without realizing it. I don't even know who it was that I assisted but for whatever reason he felt like he owed me for it. He has told me that he doesn't take well to other people committing crimes while blaming him. I suspect that it makes him a bit spiteful and more inclined to help even if it is against the grain. Although, him coming across Roger threatening me was a stroke of luck on my part. Outside of Chat Noir saving me this time, I've run into Chat a few other times. Tried to arrest him a few times as well, or take him in for questioning. It didn't work in my favor since he is a terrifyingly skilled fighter."

Gabriel looked stunned at this news, "He's never tried to harm you?"

"We've… sparred." Marinette answered with a grimace remembering the first few encounters while she didn't know who Chat Noir was. "Believe me sir, If he'd wanted to really maim or kill me, he would have done so. Either way he is not what that file makes him out to be. He certainly isn't a serial killer."

"I see." Gabriel pondered, looking almost human as he processed her words. "Here is your phone. Forensics went over it and asked me to return it to you. It has already been charged."

Marinette took her phone and flicked it on to find she had a ton of messages waiting for her. "Thank you sir."

Gabriel nodded then dropped a verbal bomb on her, "When you leave the hospital I believe we will have to have several discussions concerning the Hawkmoth case and Chat Noir. Officially they are not entwined so you will need to present evidence so we can officiate a connection and assign you as the lead. Until Roger or his corpse is found I will ensure he will not find peace so you may rest easy. I will personally handle this Roger business. Adrien, since you already live near Marinette you will continue to be her personal protector while injured. That includes protecting her from herself. Your daily paperwork will be shifted to someone else and Marinette is not allowed any work or files while in the hospital."

"That's not fair!" Marinette squawked, "You've got to give me something to do while stuck in this place! I'll sneak out!"

"No you won't." Adrien stated, sounding so much like his father that Marinette had to do a double take.

"Traitor…" Marinette growled, folding her arms across her chest.

"You are still exhausted Marinette, I have further questions but they will have to wait." Gabriel said, checking his watch briefly. "Rest, recover, and soon you will be able to return to hunting Hawkmoth rats. I must go. Adrien? Walk with me."

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