Angels with Newfound Hope
Act 2 Chapter 7: Invitation
Alex Thompson found himself at the police station once again, sitting in wait for a certain dragon. He went through everything that happened on that first date that he could possibly remember. Yet hardly anything before they started that contest came up...
He figured all the beer must've been a bit more effective than he thought. Nothing came up no matter how hard he tried. It was like-
"Alex, there you are. I've been trying to call you for the last five minutes. I need you in my office." Bryce cut the brunette out of his own head harshly enough to make him jump. He peeled himself from the bench and went inside...
The cool colors and dark wood tones of the Chief's office held a more sinister air about them as Alex sat down. His dragon placed himself at his desk, a plastic bag with a single spent bullet on its polished surface.
"Draw your gun and take out a bullet." The larger male ordered in a calm, intimidating tone. The human ejected his clip and pulled a single round out. He had a sneaking suspicion as to what was going to happen. But avoiding it was a far different thing altogether.
"What did you find, Chief?" He questioned, placing the small projectile next to the one fired.
"Tell me: what's the same about them no matter what?" Was all his company said in return. Alex didn't even have to look. He knew they were both the same type of round, which confirmed part of his theory. Yet he still humored his dragon for the sake of playing dumb.
"The caliber..." He trailed off as the Chief got up from his desk, going to a bookshelf separating the room.
"The ones we found earlier today don't match the ones from last night..." He tossed another bag of bullets behind him and onto the desk. Those ones were in fact .44 caliber. "Why might that be?" A pair of hardened ambers bored into his company's very soul, threatening to break him.
"Because it wasn't Reza's revolver. It was a spare pistol from my bag." The brunette tried to defend himself to any degree.
"I don't believe you." Bryce fired back, an intense glower painting his normally handsome features.
"Look at the manufacturer. I exclusively use FN Herstal. The other, however, is a different brand. It's right above the base of the bullet." Alex pointed out the insignias on each round.
"And that matters, how? A bullet is a bullet, is it not?" The chief pressed further. This arguing was tiring him out faster than expected.
"It matters because this one..." His company brought out the tip of the round. "Doesn't use gas propellant. You can tell from the faint smell of gunpowder." He handed the evidence over for inspection. He then fired a single round into his shield before handing it over.
Bryce gave him a strange look before taking a whiff from both bullets. One had the scent of a recently lit firework, while the other had one far more pungent.
"I'll give you credit for the smell thing. But I'm more worried about you shooting that thing in my office." The stocky dragon asked, setting the casings back on his desk.
"My apologies. It was purely to obtain an example casing. Look, I think we may be a bit tense from all this. Why don't we grab those drinks you mentioned and wind down?" And the offer was back on the table at least. He could only hope that it wouldn't be shot down before it could even be considered.
"It's probably better if I pass. There's a lot for me to go through now. Not to mention you being a potential suspect and everything." And that was it. Bryce did exactly what was feared. The outright rejection cut deeper and bled worse than any knife.
"Oh. Okay... I guess I'll probably see you around..." The human didn't even give him a chance to speak as he left the station altogether. Crouching under a nearby tree, he took out his pistol again. The matte black plastic of its shell reflected back his own nothingness. There would be no redemption with someone like his dragon. Not anymore.
Every sound became mute under his own heartbeat as he placed the barrel to his temple. Every one but a dull thundering of footsteps. One that grew louder and louder as pressure on the trigger increased. He shut his eyes in wait for the inevitable...
But that never came. Instead, his arm was rammed into the ground with near bone-cracking force. One look up revealed the assailant: a certain silver dragon who shouldn't be sticking his nose everywhere.
"What do you think you're doing?" The ever grating voice of Maverick snapped Alex into a moderate rage.
"What does it look like?" Was all he spat back with. He had no energy to deal with this any longer. All he wanted to do was die.
"I know an attempt at suicide when I see one. I can tell you right now it's not worth it. Trust me." The silver dragon tried to reason with his new company.
"Is it? Is it really worth living when the one you-"
"Don't you dare say you care about him again. You didn't give a-"
"I said shut up!" That one scream, so loud that everyone within a hundred feet stopped in their tracks, shook the dragon to his very core. A deathly stillness stagnated around them for several moments before being broken. "Until you care enough to learn about us, shut the hell up. There was so much I wanted to experience with him, and now that's ruined thanks to Reza. The bastard even framed me with my own gun to spur distrust, as if killing the man I loved wasn't enough." Alex's voice never reached a volume above his own breath.
"What did you just say?" The dragon asked in shock.
"I said I love him. There aren't any words to describe how much. He made me feel things I hadn't since my fiancé passed away. But with his murder at Reza's hands, and me being framed for last night, that's all been ruined." The smaller male let his head droop back to his weapon.
"Quit the pity party, those don't get you anywhere. " Maverick let the fact sink in for a moment before speaking again. "You just said you love him, right? That you haven't felt that happiness since... whoever you talked about died?" He could see the light in the human's eyes without having to look into them.
"More than ever." Was all Alex said.
"Then prove it. Stop being this way and clear your name in whatever way you can." The officer's attempts to reassure via orders were taken with much surprise. Getting back up, the man's stormy eyes held a fire of determination in spite of that.
"Only for Bryce. He forced me out of that lab for a reason, and this is it. I may need some help, though. What do you say?" He offered with a shred of hope that this would work in the least.
"This is your problem. You should be the one to fix it." The larger male narrowed his eyes out of suspicion.
"All I'm asking for is assistance until things get hairy." His company debated on just when that would even be when someone caught their attention.
"What the heck was that scream? I could hear that clear as day from my office. " Who else but the Chief himself came up on them, a quizzical look adorning his flaming muzzle.
"I gave Alex a chance to let out his emotions. He... desperately needed it." Maverick addressed his boss simply. He only cocked a brow in surprise.
"O-kay? Why do you care about him so much anyway?" Bryce questioned with a heavy air of suspicion.
"I can't try and cheer up your depressed little friend?" The silver officer motioned to the human next to them. His sitting back down with his head resting on his arms definitely helped the look.
"You? Cheer someone up? That's pretty good, Mav. Anyway, I'm going to hit the bar. Feel free to come along. Just don't bring Alex with you." Bryce's words cut deep once again, forcing the aforementioned man even further into his mental cocoon.
"And why not? He looks like he needs some company." Maverick played dumb about what he was just told.
"Our ambassador here is suspected of last night's murder. We found a bullet at the crime scene that matches one of his own." The stocky dragon stated bluntly. His facts were regarded with a simple cock of a brow.
"Fine, you got me." Was all his underling said.
"We can talk more at the bar. I just need a few drinks in me ASAP." The chief let out a dry chuckle.
"Fair enough. Alex, let's go." Maverick called him back out from under the tree.
"You're still taking him after I asked you not to?" Bryce fired off with a numb regard from the object of his ire.
"He's severely depressed, Bryce. Even I'm not that dense. We shouldn't leave him alone like this, especially with how he's been acting. Did you forget your other scar?" The officer parried fervently.
"Fine. Just don't expect me to be all buddy-buddy with him." Again, Bryce's words cut ever deeper into Alex's fragile psyche. The aversion only made his depression worse. He needed to clear his name, and fast...