The Demon Of The Nine-Nine
Disclaimer: I do not own Halo or Brooklyn 99 in any way, shape or form, they belong to their respective owners.
ENDDRAGON369: When Four-Drink Amy is involved anything is possible.
Sheploo: They really did get what they deserved if you ask me.
FallenMetalGod: It is a lot of fun writing dialogue for Six and Rosa. And agreed about Hitchcock and Scully. They might be loveable idiots, at least Scully is, but they might be the ones that finally make Six snap and just implodes on them.
Sm0keyPanda: I agree, the characters might be a little off at times, but I'll try and improve them. However, I disagree about some of what you said. If this was about late series Jake I would agree, but season 1 Jake was incredibly immature and acted like a child most of the time. A great detective, yes. But a child, nonetheless.
You're right, Amy isn't just a nerd, but I barely had her and Six interact so don't know where you're getting that from.
Again, Terry and Six have barely interacted and Terry asked Six to work out for a way for the two to bond not because that's all he does. My Charles is probably not the best, but again I'm hoping to improve his characterization to better match the one in the show.
However, I strongly disagree with what you said about Gina. She's extremely creepy with Terry and if their roles had been reversed and a male-Gina made all the inappropriate comments to a female-Terry such as wearing tighter shirts and walk around the office without a shirt on, the show would have been cancelled from the get-go. The only reason those comments were eventually scraped was not because Gina became a better character but because Terry Crews came out about being sexually assaulted.
Guest: Season 1 Jake maybe, but he does get a lot better as the series progresses.
GeorgeQuartz: You're welcome.
UndeadLord22: Well, why not? It gives Six more of a challenge when cybernetically enhanced criminals are on the scene.
VLF: A little bit, yeah. Along with a bit of Captain America/Deathstroke due to the whole super soldier aspect and a bit of the Punisher.
Angry lil Elf: Yes, I am. And who knows, Noble Industires might have created a ripple-effect that births other companies from the Cyberpunk series such as Militech etc, etc and eventually births the Cyberpunk world. As for Johnny Silverhand...well, Six made a career of hunting down terrorists and since Johnny is a terrorist meaning that he probably won't be his biggest fan.
A Fan: No, I didn't watch Edgerunners, but I did play the game and decided to add the Tyger Claws.
Darth Ralen: Oh, I think that it's obvious to everyone but Six that it's going to happen eventually.
Ranger McAleer: No, Cyberpsychosis is not in the Haloverse but probably should be considering that cybernetics are a thing.
War Sage: Thanks, man.
You'll see this chapter.
Jake will have more incentive to work harder in this chapter.
It's more like Six doesn't want to join Internal Affairs or rank higher due to like being a Detective and doing the grunt work...but I do have an end plan for how this story will end.
Yes, eventually people from Six's past will turn up.
I was going to write a dream sequence/imagination scene where Amy jumps across the table and starts making out with Six before after learning that he makes his own binders...but to be perfectly honest, I couldn't be assed.
Brainstorm Sorcerer: Glad you liked it, man. And I was going to write an imaginative scene where Amy did that...but couldn't be assed. And the biggest mistake that Rosa made was trying to go to war against a Spartan. And who knows, maybe Glides and Cheddar will meet one day and explore the facility together as they become BFF, maybe Glides even creates a deceive like in Krypto the superdog allowing them to understand that Cheddar is saying when he barks...but maybe that's going a little overboard.
Six doesn't really mind seeing as how she's not doing any real harm, as well as the fact that he's unaware that she's flirting with him. If Six was to go off on anyone it'll probably be Hitchcock and Scully, mostly because they have different attitudes when it comes to work.
Octavio Sumarkho: He found both the Prowler and the Huragok on Reach which I will probably do a flashback detailing how he escaped the planet and found himself back in time.
E: Thank you, appreciate your words. And I've done to respect the lore and keep Six somewhat in character such as not making him a happy go-lucky guy due to him being a Spartan-III, a vengeful orphan that lost everything to the Covenant. But as the story progresses, I'm hoping to give Six some characterization of his own and ultimately make him a better character.
Chapter 12.
"For the last time, the best cop movies in order: Training Day, Lethal Weapon, and Fargo. End of discussion." Amy decreed as she and the others sat around the desk she shared with Jake and listened their favourite cop movies as they waited for the morning briefing.
"Wrong," Jake adamantly disagreed. "Die Hard is the best cop movie of all-time...ya, here that Jericho?!" Six sighed when he heard Jake addressing him, even if he knew that it was going to come up eventually after he had insulted his favourite motion picture, unintentionally he might add, not that it seemed to matter to him. "Not some stupid book."
"The book is more compelling."
"You sit on a throne of lies!"
"What's going on?" Amy quizzed looked between Jake and Jericho, the latter who was surrounded by a mountain of binders and busy working on finishing the paperwork that had been assigned to Hitchcock and Scully the week before, which he had been doing non-stop since she and the others had arrived and showed no signs of slowing down any time soon...God, she was so attracted to him right now.
"Before Jake passed out, Jericho mentioned that he thought that the book that the Die Hard was based off was better," Terry explained rolling over to them on his seat getting a pout from Jake as the others chuckled.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, laugh it up," Jake laughed back sarcastically. "Like you lot could do any better."
"Easily," Rosa smirked at him.
"Is that so, Rosalita," Her smirk fell as Jericho spoke up. Looking over at him, she saw that he was still busy being the teacher's pet and working on uploading the files. "Care to put your money where your mouth is?" He asked before pausing making her eyes narrow dangerously. "Unless you have other plans this weekend?"
Biting the inside of her cheek, Rosa glared at him knowing full well what he was alluding too. "Name a time and place," She growled at Jericho refusing to back down to him of all people... actually, it was more of the fact that she refused to show weakness to anyone or anything; but mostly him.
"Not worried about missing..."
"Finish that sentence and I'll stab you in the throat." Rosa threatened glaring menacingly at Jericho.
"Damn, Rosa!" Terry cried out as he scooted away from the terrifying Latina, an action that pretty much everyone else mirrored.
"Threats are only affective if you can back them up, Rosalita." Jericho replied casually as he continued working completely unfazed by her threat. He suddenly stopped and his shoulders tensed when he heard the familiar sound of a knife being pulled from a sheath, the blade rubbing against the leather. Looking up, he saw her brandishing a Bowie Knife. "You're overcompensating."
"Heh, that's what she said." Jake laughed uneasily in the presence of the knife-wielding Rosa before his eyes widened when he clocked on what he said. "Wait..." The others laughed at his innocent mistake.
"Come again?"
"Title of your... never mind." Jake wisely stopped himself as Rosa glanced at him for a second before turning back to glare at Jericho.
"It's big, bulky, and completely unnecessary." Six stated calmly as he stared back at Rosalita. "May I, Rosalita?" He asked placing his hand out.
Clicking her tongue, Rosa got up from behind Jake and walked back over to her desk and placed the knife in his hand. "Don't cut yourself." She snarked giving it to him and folded her arms across her chest as she and everyone else watched as he started flipping the large knife in the air and each time grabbed the handle as it spun in the air.
"Maybe you shouldn't be tossing around a knife?" Amy voiced nervously worried that he was going to stab himself if he wasn't careful. She felt her heart race a little quicker and swallowed a lump in her throat as Jericho stared directly at her with those intense blue eyes of his and held his gaze for a moment making her feel like she had been hypnotized and found herself unable to look away.
What felt like an eternity, Jericho released his hold on her as he flipped the knife again then snatched it mid-air and looked down at the weapon in his. "Relatively speaking, this is nothing but an intimation tool." He said pressing the tip of the blade into his fingertip and bent the knife to test the strength of the blade. "Simply put... it's too big."
The others sniggered as Six inspected the knife. Glancing at each other, they decided to have a little bit of fun with the stoic detective. "Don't you like em big?" Jake held back a smile.
"Not really," Six answered.
"Why not?" Rosa played along, more than happy to embarrass him. "Too much for you to handle?" she grinned at him.
"No, but after strenuous use your arms begin to ache and if you're not careful you'll hurt yourself." He told her... even if that wasn't really the case for augmented humans, but they didn't need to know that. "As I mentioned, twelve inches is too big."
"And what size do you prefer?" Amy bit her tongue to stop herself from laughing.
"Good question," Six complimented contemplating it for a moment before answering. "Four to five inches I suppose."
"Can't handle anything bigger?" Terry added, also playing along.
"I've handled bigger in the past," Six commented referring to his own the Kukri that he had taken from Emile following his death. "I just prefer four to five inches, it's more than adequate to get the job done."
"Do you have trouble gripping it if it's too big?" Charles joined in, happy that for once it wasn't him on the receiving end.
"Depends on where I am." Six told him. "In enclosed spaces it can make it hard getting the right momentum needed."
"I bet it does." Rosa grinned as the others started snickering before laughter broke out, no longer able to contain it.
Pausing as laughter broke out around him, Six reflected on his words and looked down at the knife then back up to the others. "Ah," he realized what was going on." A clever use of equivocation." He complimented. "Well done."
"Equivo-what now?" Jake blinked owlishly and asked what most of them were thinking.
"You guys talking about masturbation?" Hitchcock suddenly asked as he walked over, hearing the conversation making the group go silent as everyone stared at him. "Because I can't go a day without beating my..."
"Hitchcock!" Terry cut him off before he could say anything...Hitchcocky; meanwhile everyone else grimaced and looked torn between being disgusted and wanting to throw up their breakfasts.
"What?" Hitchcock both looked and sounded confused, not seeing the problem. Thankfully, everyone was saved when Captain Holt emerged from his office looking as stern as ever.
"Briefing room in five minutes," Holt addressed the room before looking at Terry. "Sergeant Jeffords, I acquire a word."
"Just the one?" Jake grinned at Holt who looked unimpressed... or greatly amused, it was impossible to tell with him. Whatever the case, Holt turned and walked back into his office.
Shaking his head at Jake, Terry wheeled himself back over to his desk as everyone else stopped what they had been doing started heading into the briefing room and waited for the morning meeting to begin.
"Thanks for sharing," Six said flipping the knife so that he was holding the blade in his fingertips and pointing the handle at Rosalita.
"You're welcome." Rosa sassed back as she accepted the knife and placed it back in the sheath that was hidden by her coat as Jericho got up out of his seat then walked away, with her following shortly after along with the others.
"Wait!" Charles called after them as everyone headed into the Briefing Room. "We never finished telling each other what our favourite cops movies were. I like Turner and Hooch."
"Yeah, no one cares, shortcake." Gina drawled walking past him and once again taking a dig at his height. Sighing, his shoulders slumped, and his head lowered as he followed the others into the briefing room and sat next to Jake.
Sitting in silence, Charles glanced over at Rosa to see that she was standing next to Jericho at the back of the room both sharing the same blank expressions. He couldn't help but feel extremely jealous at the sight, he couldn't remember a time when he had come and stood next to him aside of when she needed something; what was it that Jericho had that he didn't?
Deciding to shoot his shot again after messing it up a few weeks ago...and a few times after that, he went for it. "Hey, Rosa." He called out getting her attention. "You never said what your favourite cop movie was."
"Robocop," Rosa answered without hesitation. "It had everything I like, gratuitous violence."
"Kinda like the Demon," Jake murmured making the entire room release a collective groan. "What?! I'm just saying is all. Stop judging me!"
"Do you think you could go one day without bringing up the Demon?" Amy asked with a sigh feeling a headache coming on due to his obsession with the infamous vigilante, or vigilantes if the rumours were to be believed.
"Don't be ridiculous," Jake looked away then quickly turned back dramatically. "You know I can't." He told her theatrically. " Me and him...
"Him and I,"
"Whatever," Jake continued ignoring old grammar-Nazi over there. "Him and I," He used air-quotes making Amy roll her eyes. "We're like Batman and the Joker."
"Oh, you mean you being a clown?" Most of the officers present chuckled or shook their heads in amusement. "I could have told you that."
"You're hilarious."
"Thanks," She squeezed her eyes shut and gave him a smile.
"And what I meant was that the two of us... we're like Ying and Yang. You have me, the incredibly good-looking Mavrick detective that fights for justice," A collection of snorts and murmurs filled the room. "Then you have him, a vengeful vigilante that spends his nights punishing the guilty. We're two sides of the same coin... I guess you could say that we're eternal rivals."
"Rivals?" Amy scoffed making a face. "He doesn't even know who you are."
"You don't know that!" Jake retorted refusing to allow her to break his stride. "For all you know he could be in this very room," everyone present rolled their eyes at his theatrics, almost everyone. "But don't worry guys, you can rest soundly knowing that I'm going to be the one to bring him in."
"Might be a little late for that."
"Say what now?" Jake blinked owlishly as he turned to one of the officers.
"I'm guessing you didn't hear?" They said rhetorically as everyone listened in. "The Demon was in Los Angeles at the weekend, or at least that's the rumour. They found dozens of dead Tyger Claws down at Santa Monica Peir, and a high-ranking member of Claws was found with his throat slit in his own penthouse."
"Awesome," Jake grinned from ear to ear oblivious to the looks that everyone was giving him. Between cyborgs that admittingly often went nuts, all the advances in technology within the last decade, and the fact that a vigilante that seemed to jump out straight from the pages of a comic book was running around taking down bad guys and delivering out some good old fashion vigilante-justice.
What a time to be alive!
"Alright, let's get started." Blinking when he heard Terry's voice, Jake saw him standing behind the pedestal with Captain Holt standing off at the side. "Jericho, where are you on digitalizing the old case files?"
"Regretfully..."
"Don't listen to that snake in the grass, Sarge." Scully cried out pointing his finger accusingly at Jericho who stared back indifferently. "He's trying to take all the credit for the work that me and Hitchcock did."
"Damn right." Hitchcock nodded as the two fist-bumped.
"Detective Reach was here at 06:59 this morning and voluntarily decided to take your assignment from you," Holt pointed out looking just as indifferent as Jericho.
"We didn't ask for the rookies help," Hitchcock shot back getting a firm nod from Scully.
"Rookie?" Everyone thought or mouthed making a face.
"Evidently not," Holt mused holding his gaze. "I gave the assignment to you both last week. How much have you completed?"
"Exactly 1%" Scully smiled giving Holt two thumbs up and making Terry facepalm.
"Reach?"
"32.5%."
"And how long have you been working on it?" Holt questioned rhetorically despite already knowing the answer.
"Approximately an hour... with a few interruptions that deterred me from my work," Six reported candidly shocking everyone in the room that he had managed to get so much done so quickly.
"Wait...by interruptions do you mean us talking to you?" Jake asked turning to look at the imposing detective that was standing at the back of the room. "You know what, stupid question. Forget I asked."
"Already have," Six told him getting a few chuckles. "Unfortunately, I will need to construct some more binders,"
"Ooooh, Mamma."
"Before I place the physical copies back into the Records Room." Six explained to the captain and ignored Amy's comment about her mother, whom he noticed she often brought up which was strange considering the strained relationship the two had... or so her file said.
"Understood." Holt nodded as he too ignored Santiago remark about her mother. "The case is yours," he declared making both Hitchcock and Scully sulk that the job that they had been hoping to stretch out for as long as he could had been stolen right from under them. "Peralta, where are we on the Adams Street burglary?"
"Very close, captain. Aside from a complete absence of evidence, suspects, or leads. So, in conclusion, not at all close." Jake chuckled awkwardly with Holt looking unamused.
"And the Vickers Street aggravated assault?"
"Stalled out, and the Calloway robbery also remains unsolved... due to the lack of solving it by me."
"Sounds like someone's in a little bit of a slump," Gina commented sympathetically as she turned to look at him.
"I'm not in a slump." Jake vehemently denied such vicious accusations.
"You're not?" Amy asked smugly. "Have you seen the scoreboard?"
"Of course, I've seen the score-the hell?" He blurted out when he saw that she had somehow overtaken him and by a substantial number. "When did that happen?"
"Since I arrested more people than you," Amy answered happily. "Looks like I'm going to be crushing that car of yours after all...even after Jericho did all that work on it." She pouted in mock sympathy.
"Keep dreaming," Jake shot back. "I'm just having a slow week is all."
"Then how about you up the stakes?" A voice in the back spoke up. "Why don't you add Reach onto the scoreboard?"
Six clearly disliked that idea and quickly spoke his mind. "That won't be..."
"That's a great idea," Charles thought otherwise and expressed his enthusiasm. "Who doesn't love a threesome?" He added as an empty silence filled the room and everyone stared at him. "What?" He asked noticing the stares.
"You just said who doesn't love a threesome," Rosa droned as she and everyone else looked at Charles.
"Yeah," Boyle didn't see what the problem was. "First, second, and third. The perfect number in a competition... that's what everyone calls it."
"No," Amy passionately disagreed. "Everyone most definitely does not call it that... no-one calls it that but you."
"Sure they don't," Charles mocked making a face. "I think you're just scared that you're gonna be pounded by both Jake and Jericho." Most started snickering at both Charles and Amy's expense, the latter who was glaring at the former...although her cheeks coloured slightly.
"Appreciate the confidence, man." Jake laughed uneasily. "But maybe ease off on the, um..." He paused trying to be as delicate as he could without embarrassing him... well, no more than usual any way."
"Ease off on what, Jakey?"
"You turned it sexual, man!" Terry cried out. Taking a deep breath to compose himself, he looked to the back of the room. "Jericho, I've got another case for you. A body was discovered in the Alexandria Plaza this morning. I want you to head down there," he told him getting a nod from Jericho. "Take..."
"Me, me, me, me!" Jake raised his arm like an impatient schoolchild desperate to be seen.
"You already have more than enough cases to keep you busy, Peralta." Holt informed him sternly.
"I can do them when I get back!" Jake argued back. Jericho had been at the Nine-Nine for a week now and not once had they worked a case together, old express a-lot seemed determined to keep them apart. "With your two ace detectives on the case, we'll be back before you can say Bobs your uncle."
"I am familiar with only one Bob, and he certainly is not my uncle."
"You know it doesn't really work when you play along." Jake remarked with a dull look.
"I know." came Holt's deadpan response. "Carry on, Sergeant Jeffords."
"Yes, Sir." Terry nodded as he turned back to Jericho. "Now as I was trying to say," he said putting emphasis on the trying and gave Jake a look. "Take Charles with you." Pretty much everyone looked disappointed at his decision, especially Amy, Jake, and Rosa, the latter who while she'd never admit it was bummed out that she wouldn't be working with him.
"If Jake wants to go instead, I don't mind staying behind," Charles offered as Jake perked up and looked at both Terry and Holt eagerly.
"Peralta already has his hands full," Holt stated calmly, denying the request and making Jake fall back into his seat and began sulking at once again being stuck on the side-lines instead of working with the greatest cop in the entire NYPD. "The rest of you, dismissed."
With the morning briefing over, Captain Holt left the room along with Terry as everyone else either got up from their seats or moved away from walls and headed towards the door to return to what they had been doing before being called in... almost everyone.
"This sucks!" Jake let his displeasure be known as he slumped in his seat and pouted. "What have I got to do to get Holt to let and Jericho work together?" he asked rhetorically, not really expecting an answer from anyone.
"Maybe if you weren't in a slump..." Gina sang out getting a pouty look from Jake.
"I'm not in a slump."
"The board says differently... speaking of which." getting up from her seat, Gina walked over to the board. Grabbing the pen that was at the bottom, she pulled the tip off and created another box underneath Amy and Jake's name and write Jericho at the top with 0 underneath to Jake's 34 and Amy's 45.
Having no desire to be included in their competition, Six tried to speak up and deter her. "I really don't..."
"Hush, handsome." Gina cut him off with a simper as he placed the pen in her pocket. "Now, I think that we should all talk about the conditions of the bet, such as if you lose you have to walk around the office without your shirt on and just let us stare at that magnificent body of yours."
"We've got work to do, Charles." Six called out to his new partner as he pushed himself away from the wall.
"Have fun,"
"You realize that they're going to a homicide, right?" Rosa drawled making Amy redden as Charles mouthed an apology to Jake before quickly following after Jericho and left the room.
"Stop rubbing it in, Rosa!" Jake grumbled kicking his chair away and making Amy and Rosa roll their eyes at his tantrum, as for Gina...well, since it didn't affect her, she didn't care. "Why can't Holt see we'd be an amazing team?"
"The captain probably doesn't want you affecting him with your slump," Amy told him with a smug grin.
"It's not a slump!"
Stepping out of the elevator with Charles after leaving the Bullpen, Six walked down the steps and headed through the large double doors and headed out into the street with his new partner and felt the crisp morning air brush across his scarred features. "Oh, I almost forgot." he commented reaching into his pocket and pulled the tracker out and offered it Charles. "Here."
Charles felt uncomfortable as he was suddenly put on the spot as he stared at the familiar tracker in Jericho's hand. "What's that?" He lied through his teeth and pretended to be ignorant. "I've never seen it before in my life."
"It's the tracker you placed in Jake's car." Six stated bluntly, confused why he was prevaricating. "I presumed that you placed it in Jake's Mustang in the event that should he ever be kidnapped, or his vehicle stolen, you'd be able to trace them and locate him."
"Yep!" Charles all but blurted out. "That's exactly why I placed it inside of Jake's car." He nodded quickly. "It has nothing to do with the fact that I live my life terrified that Jake is one-day going to replace me with somebody better." He laughed tightly earning a few odd glances from the people that walked past. "But seriously, I'm not joking." he told Jericho with a blank face as he took the tracker from him.
"Are you jealous of other people's achievements?"
"No."
"Then it's unlikely that it's Cronos Syndrome," Six mused mostly to himself as Charles looked at him. "Did this fear of being replace manifest before or after your divorce with Elanor?"
"Wait, you know about Eleanor?" Charles asked him doubling back and cast his mind back to the last week to see if he could remember mentioning his ex-wife to Jericho, even in passing. Before he could think too hard, a low rumbling sound drew his attention and turning to the source of the noise, he watched as a black 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle with white racing stripes appeared before suddenly stopping in the middle of the road.
"Hmmm," Six nodded before walking away from Charles and headed over to his Chevelle.
Following after him, Charles was thrown through a loop as he watched as Jericho opened the door and climbed into the car. Waiting for a few moments, he expected whoever it was that had delivered his car to jump out of the other side... only to be left waiting. "Problem?" He heard Jericho ask as the window rolled down and he looked at him.
"But, but, but" Charles went off trying to process everything. "That car just..." His finger trembled as he pointed it at the black muscle car.
"Hmmm?"
"How are you so calm?! It just appeared on its own... wait, is it like Herbie?" Boyle's eyes lit up at the possibilities of one of his favourite films coming to life.
"Herbie?"
"The Love Bug!"
"..."
"Don't you sit there and tell me that you've never heard of Herbie." Charles asked scandalized at the very thought. "What sort of childhood did you have?" Not seeing Herbie? The adorable little Volkswagen that had a heart of gold? He'd never heard of something so tragic...and he was Boyle, he knew tragic.
"No, I'm not saying that" Jericho answered getting a relieved sigh from Charles.
"Phew, that's a relief. "
"I'm telling you to get in the car." Six stressed when he saw that Charles was still standing on the pavement rather than getting in the car like he was supposed to. Seemingly getting his point across, he watched as Charles walked around the front, stopping to allow a bus to come past before walking around the side and entered the car. "Seatbelt."
Placing the seatbelt on, Charles strapped himself in and the second that it clicked, he was yanked back as the Chevelle roared to life startling those that heard it outside as Jericho pulled away and headed down the street. "So, is it like Herbie?" He asked as he stared out of the windscreen that displayed a HUD just like Jake's Mustang following modifications that Jericho had done over the weekend.
Turning down the street, Six glanced at Charles for a second from the corner of his eye. "I don't know who that is." He told him as he turned onto the main road and headed in the direction of Alexandria Plaza, a shopping centre that his company built and named in the honour of New Alexandria and all the people that had died there... even if only he and Dot were privy to that information.
Well, technically it would be more accurate to say that the plaza had been named after Alexandria, the second largest city in Egypt.
"You've never seen Herbie?"
"No."
"What sort of parents would let their son go through life without seeing Herbie?"
"Dead ones." Six answered nonchalantly as he focused on the road and headed to the crime scene unaware of the guilty expression that Charles gained as he stared at him, immediately regretting his words.
"I'm sorry," Charles apologised. "I didn't..."
"It's fine," Six waved off his apology not needing his or anyone else's pity. "They died a long time ago."
"Did you... you know what, never mind. It's none of my business."
"You're right," Six agreed with him. "But you've already started," he added alluding for Charles to continue.
"Do you have no other family?"
"Once." His thoughts drifted back to Beta-Company, to Kurt and Mendez, to Noble Team.
"Not anymore?"
"Everyone I've ever cared about is dead." Six told him and from a certain point of view it was the truth. Even in his own time most of the people that he cared about were dead with the exception of Kurt, Mendez, Lucy, Tom, Owen, Jun; and if had been a while since he had heard of Jonah and Roland meaning that there was a good chance that they had died or were just deep behind enemy lines.
Not that it really mattered, he wouldn't be seeing any of them again.
"Don't you have anyone special in your life?"
"Do you mean like a significant other?" Six questioned glancing at Charles from the corner of his eye and when he saw him nod, he continued. "Negative. I neither have the time nor the desire to initiate an intimate relationship."
Charles thought that he'd be over the moon to hear that since it would mean that he had a better shot with Rosa, but that couldn't have been further from the truth and instead pitied him. "Friends?"
"Not anymore."
"But what about the people you've worked with at the other precincts?"
"What about them?"
"You don't count them as friends?"
"They're associates," Six told him as he focused on the road. "Just like you and everyone else at the Ninety-Ninth precinct."
"So, no friends at all?"
"No."
"I couldn't imagine life without the people I love in it." Charles said looking out the window and staring out at the city. "Being a Boyle, family is pivotal to our very way of life." He added and when Jericho didn't say a word, he looked at him to see that he had tunnel vision...or maybe he was just ignoring him. Still, that did little to deter him from getting to know him.
"So, what do you do when you're not working?"
"I'm always working."
"But you must have a hobby, something you do to unwind after a long week." Charles pressed on. "Whenever I want some me time, I light a few scented candles, run a nice hot bath and just soak in the bathtub for hours with a nice glass of Charbonnet in hand." He sighed euphorically suddenly desiring to be in that bathtub. "What about you?"
Deciding to entertain Charles, Six contemplated the question for a moment before answering. "Guns. I like guns."
"Oh," Charles bobbed his head up and down. "That's nice... but I meant something more relaxing like getting a deep tissue massage at the end of the month."
"Why would I allow a stranger to touch me?"
"Because they can reach places you could only dream off," Charles said with a look that gave the super soldier pause, the smile on his face wasn't helping either and felt like there was some hidden meaning behind his words. "And when they're done you see the world in an entirely new light. Colours are brighter, smells more pungent, and sounds more vivid... ah, you never forget your first."
The conversation in the car, which admittingly had been rather one-sided came to an abrupt end as they finally reached Alexandria Plaza. Pulling up outside, the two detectives saw a large crowd had gathered that consisted of both the public and reports, the latter clearly there to get their latest scoop and held back by the metal barriers and the cops.
Getting out of the car and locking it, Jericho and Charles headed over to the entrance that had been sealed off preventing anybody from entering the plaza. As they neared the entrance the two of them were bombarded with all manner of questions from both the reporters and the public. Ignoring them, they walked over to the entrance and showing their badges to the officers they lifted up the tape and allowed them to enter.
"So, what do you want me to do?" Charles asked as the two of them walked through the plaza that was filled with cops and forensics that were collecting evidence.
"Your job."
"Well, you're the Primary so I was just..."
"There is no Primary," Six cut him off. "I'm First Grade, you're First Grade. That makes us equals."
Charles looked a little taken aback considering that there was always a Primary and a Secondary but saw no reason to argue. "Alright," he nodded just as they reached where the victim was laying with a thick blanket covering them making it impossible to identify them.
"Detectives," One of the uniformed officers greeted when they saw Jericho and Charles approaching.
"What do we know, Officer...Lane," Six asked looking down at his nametag on his uniform.
"Aside from his identify, not much." Officer Lane regretfully informed the large detective. "We identified the victim as one Bryan Murphy. An account manager at Alexandria Bank that was scheduled to be a work at 07:30 this morning."
"Do we have a rough idea of the cause and time of death?" Charles questioned holding a notepad in his hand and started jotting everything down.
"The blood spatter indicates a high velocity impact," Six noted upon seeing the blood that was a far distance away from the body, as well as the shards of glass and metal. Looking up, he saw that the glass ceiling had been smashed leaving a sizable hole behind; however, his attention was fixed solely on the building that could be seen through the hole. "Most likely the cause of death."
"Until the Medical Examiner does the autopsy, I can't give an exact time. But the alarm was tripped at 06:45 this morning, which was probably around the time they died after falling through the ceiling."
"Got everything you need, Charles?" Six asked Boyle getting a nod from him. " Thank you for your assistance, Officer Lane. You've been a big help."
"Happy to help," Lane smiled only for it to falter slightly. "If you've had breakfast, I would advise against looking at the body... it's a rather grim sight," he grimaced. "Anyway, I should let you go." He added before walking away and leaving Jericho and Charles to get to work.
Careful not to step in any of the blood that surrounded the body, Six knelt down and pulled back the blanket and found himself face to face with the girl that he had failed to save on Saturday night, her cold dead eyes staring back at him. "You could have saved me." Closing his eyes and pushing her to the furthest corner of his mind, he opened them again and stared at the victim.
"Of all the ways to go," Charles pitied the guy seeing his mangled body that had been crushed upon hitting the cobblestone pavement making him look like a discarded puppet with the stuffing pulled out, and pieces of metal and bones sticking out.
"It's unlikely he felt a thing," Six voiced as if it was any consolation and pulled the blanket back over his face, being as respectful as he could. "Thoughts?" he asked getting back to his feet and stepped away from the body.
"Like you said, the fall was what killed him." Charles said placing the notepad away then looked up at the hole in the ceiling. "I would have proposed suicide but seeing as how the victim landed on his back rather than his front, we can rule that out."
"Good observation," Six complimented as he focused on the building above them. "Not only that, but regardless of if Bryan fell from suicide or he happened to slip, the trajectory is inconsistent with where he landed. If we go with that hypothesis, he should have hit the vents on the way down, but they seemed intact." he said pointing at the large vents that stuck out the side of the building." Granted it could just be extremely durable," he added.
"But if I may inject my own hypothesis," Six continued as Charles looked at him. "It is my belief that Bryan Murphy was pushed, rather forcefully I might add."
"You think he was murdered?"
"I do," Six answered firmly. "And I have a gut feeling it has something to do with those documents." he said gesturing to the myriad of documentations that stuck to the glass rooftop on the outside. Narrowing his eyes, he noted that the signature on the dotted line all had Bryan Murphy's signature on them. "I believe it would be judicious to check out that building."
"Then let's go," Charles supported his decision and the two left the plaza and circled around and headed for the building.
Reaching the top of the staircase inside of the building, the two detectives found the door ajar. Slowly pushing it open, Jericho and Charles walked out onto the rooftop balcony that overlooked the plaza and the city below.
"I guess we know where the stone came from," Charles remarked glancing at the broken railing that had a section missing. "I can't see any camaras, ideal place for a secret rendezvous."
"Hmmm," Six agreed as he walked over and knelt in front of the broken railing. Running his finger across the broken concrete it crumbled at the touch. "Friable."
"What're you doing?" Charles asked as he walked over. "Oh, having a quick rub? Good idea."
Ignoring his comment, Six gripped the broken railing and giving it a bit of a tug, he ripped a chunk off. "It's extremely brittle." Dropping the stone, he wiped his hand on his trouser leg. "Wouldn't take much strength to push someone through it." He added getting up off the ground.
"There must have been a reason why he came up here," Charles frowned folding his arms and gained what could be considered a serious look. "Bryan wasn't expected to be at work until 07:30 and with the alarm being tripped at 06:45 he was forty-five minutes early. Officer Lane said that Bryan was the Manager, meaning that he would have had keys to get into the building," he summarized piecing together everything they had learnt thus far.
"Why not do that instead of waiting up here... assuming that he did come up here." Charles finished and turned to Jericho who looked in deep thought. "We could always get forensics up here and get them to dust for footprints?"
"Good idea," Six nodded as he stood at the edge of the rooftop and looked down.
"Don't do it, Jericho! You've still got so much to live for!" Charles pleaded making Six exhale through his nose. If he was going kill himself it wouldn't be jumping off a building, it would have been him taking out as many Covenant and INI's as possibly... alas, that wasn't really an option right now. Well, not the INI's that he would have liked to kill at any rate.
Forgetting that for the time being, he looked down and gauged the trajectory between the rooftop and the hole through the glass roof. As he did something caught his interest, that something being a briefcase that was laying atop the vents on the side of the building. "Got something."
"What?"
"Come and look,"
"Why don't you just tell me what it is?"
"Would you come here?" Six implored as he glanced over his shoulder to see that Charles seemed to have moved back while he had looking over the side. Sighing, he continued. "You're not going to fall."
"Like I'm gonna fall for that," Charles shot back. "That's what they always say in the movie and seconds later they fall to their death."
"This isn't a movie."
"It still applies."
Sighing and wishing that Rosalita was there with him instead since he wouldn't be having this problem with her, Six did his best to reassure Charles. "I won't let you fall, alright?" He told him and after a few moments he nodded and cautiously walked over to him and grabbed his shoulder and looked over the side of the building.
"What're we looking at?" Charles asked quickly tightening his grip on the scarred detective as he looked over the side of the building before his eyes landed on what Jericho had discovered. "A briefcase? You think it's connected?"
"I do," Six confirmed. "Most likely dropped during the fall and had been storing the documents." He added as the two moved away from the edge of the building.
"We should get Forensics to dust for prints." Charles voiced once the two were away from the broken railing. "If Bryan met somebody up here and they were after the documents that he had in the briefcase their prints should also be on the briefcase assuming there was a scuffle."
"Acknowledged."
It had been a few hours since both Jericho and Charles had alerted Forensics to the briefcase and now treating Bryan Murphy's death as suspicious. Currently, the two were back in the Chevelle and waiting to be contacted about the results. As they waited, Six unintentionally created a rhythm that filled the car as he tapped his finger on the steering wheel and rested his chin in the palm of his hand as he rested him arm on the window and stared out at the city.
"You hungry? Because I could eat a horse."
"I find it very unlikely you'd be able to eat an entire horse; and certainly not in a single sitting." Six replied sceptically. "To be perfectly candid, I doubt you could get through a single leg."
"It was just an expression."
"A Fallacious one."
"I... don't know what that means." Charles told him as Jericho continued staring out of the window.
"It's a synonym for inaccurate and several other words," Six educated Charles. "It's never too late to better your vocabulary and expand your mind."
"Oh,"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"So, are you?" Charles asked once again when Jericho said nothing.
"Not really."
"That wasn't a no," Charles stated with a smile. "I know this great little place right around the corner."
"No need," Six politely declined as he reached over and opened the glovebox revealing several MRE packs inside. "Take your pick."
Pulling out one of the packs, Charles looked pained as if somebody had just struck him across the face as he read the packet. "Oh, Jericho." he rued as he looked at the man beside him. "Please tell me you don't eat this."
"Of course," Six confirmed making Charles want to cry. "It provides me with all the nutrients required by the human animal."
"This, this is garbage." Charles trembled barely manging to hold back his rage as he aggressively snatched all of the MRE's in the glovebox and got out of the car without saying a word.
"Charles?" Six questioned, unsure why he had snatched all of the MRE's and was currently storming towards the trashcan on the sidewalk. Watching him, his eyes narrowed as he tossed the packs into the trashcan on the sidewalk and walked across the street. "Well, that was a waste of money."
"You do realize that you're a multibillionaire," Dot said, her voice coming through the speakers once Charles disappeared.
"Doesn't mean I should spend it frivolously." Six countered evenly. "Where's he even gone anyway?"
"I am capable of many things, Lieutenant. Alas, reading the minds of organics is not one of them." Dot informed her partner who grunted in response. "That being said, I do believe that Detective Boyle has gone to buy you lunch."
"We had lunch... until he threw it away."
"As a keen food connoisseur, I imagine the thought of placing dehydrated food in his mouth was too much to bear." The A.I told him. "Which really is not all that surprising. Even in the twenty-sixth century, MRE's are seen in a relatively poor light... only you seem to enjoy them."
"It has nothing to do with enjoying," Six took the opportunity to correct it. "They have a long shelf life remaining unsullied for months, sometimes years at a time. But mostly..."
"Yes, they provide you with all the necessary nutrients required to stay nourished." Dot spoke over him, cutting him off. "But have you ever thought of having some variety in your diet?"
"No." Six told her as he glanced at the time that was displayed on the windscreen and frowned. "What's taking Forensics so long?"
"They are currently having lunch."
"Oh, for god's sake."
"I thought that you were an atheist?"
Ignoring her, Six massaged his temples feeling a strong migraine beginning to form. Bryan Murphy had possibly been murdered and his killer was still out there and instead of doing the work they were meant to be doing, the work that they were paid to do they were eating their lunch and setting back his investigation.
"How long are they going to be?"
"Unknown," Dot replied. "They seem to be enjoying each other's presence and talking about going to the movies to watch Godzilla tonight." She told him getting a frustrated look from the Spartan. "Apparently and I quote "the trailer looks wicked, dude" end quote."
"I hate this era." The super soldier grumbled. Alas, before he could say or think anything else, he saw Charles returning and walking back across the street holding something that was covered with white paper in both of his hands as he made his way back over to the car with his ever-present cheerful smile.
Opening the door, Charles jumped back into the car and turned to Jericho once he closed the door. "Have they called?"
"No." Six told him, and from what he had learnt they wouldn't be for a while.
"Wonder what taking them so long?" Charles wondered only to hear leather cracking and saw Jericho gripping the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. "Whoa, looks like somebody is getting Hangry, but I've got you covered... assuming of course you're not a vegan." his eyes narrowed suspiciously. "You're not, are you?"
"No."
"Phew, had me worried there for a second." Charles breathed a sigh of relief. "Anyway, here you go." He said handing Jericho the food that he had gotten them both. "I couldn't in good conscience just sit here and watch you put that garbage in your mouth."
"I wouldn't call it garbage...well, I would now since you threw them in the trash." Was he griping? Maybe a little, but he still felt that it was a complete waste of money to just throw out good food. "Thanks." He said accepting the food.
"Please, Jericho." Charles stopped him in his tracks. "If there is one thing that Charles Boyle knows then it's food."
"If you say so," Six murmured as he looked down at the food that was wrapped in the white paper. Unwrapping it, he discovered that it was a burger of some sorts... although he noted that it wasn't a conventional bread bun that he had seen in the past.
"Problem?"
"What is it?"
"A Ramen Burger," Charles responded and when he received a blank look, he continued. "You've never had one before?"
"Negative."
"Oh, where to start," Charles asked rhetorically as he set his burger down on his lap. "It was created by Keizo Shimamoto, a ramen blogger that appeared on Conan...you watch Conan?"
"No."
"It doesn't matter," Charles steered the conversation back realizing that they were going off topic. "As I was saying, it debuted in Brooklyn last year and was voted by Times Magazines as one of the seventeen most influential burgers ever created. It replaces the traditional bread bun with two fried ramen buns, hence the name, which gives it more of a crunch."
"Sandwiched between the ramen is a meat patty that is topped with arugula, chopped scallions and finished off with a sweet shoyu sauce." Charles finished explaining and turned to look at Jericho to see him looking at him. "Well, what're you waiting for? Take a bite and tell me what you think."
Doing as he was instructed, Six lifted his food up and went to take a bite of his first ever burger. As he did, Charles spoke up. "Careful when you take her in your mouth, she's a squirter."
And cut! Here's the next chapter of The Demon of the Nine-Nine, I hoped you all enjoyed it. This chapter took far longer than I would have liked mostly because I had to go back and delete a large section of it since I was originally going to give Six Detective Vision from the Batman Arkham games via glasses he made but opted against it and instead wanted him to solve the case by himself rather than with technology.
And despite his protests, it looks like Six is involved in the Bet whether he likes it or not.
Charles also learned a little about Jericho, which we all know he'll be telling the others as soon as they get back.
Not much else to say other than let me know what you all thought.