Angels with Newfound Hope
Chapter 13: Discussion
The stealthy route to the station always took a bit longer than just regular walking, but Alex found it worth it to keep out of public view. Those half-healed wounds of his would likely get him an unnecessary hospital visit. It still didn't take him long to get back into the cool air and mindful eyes of the police headquarters.
'Wasn't he supposed to meet me here?' The brunette thought aloud. He figured asking would be better than potentially interrupting his work.
"Hey. Has Sebastian been here recently? I was supposed to meet with him right about now." He asked the secretary politely. She glanced up from her work, seemingly uninterested, but straightened her posture once she saw who was standing there.
"Yes actually. He told me to tell you he wants to meet in the chief's office instead. Sorry if I seemed uninterested. It's-"
"Hey, I get it. Before I came here, I had a stupidly boring job as well. You want to know how I get through every day?" Alex let the secretary shrug before continuing. "I make little projects for myself when I'm not doing anything. Not sure if there's much you can do here without getting in trouble, but I bet there's something. You just have to think creatively." He finished with a genuine smile.
"Huh. I can't say I ever tried that much. Have to keep an eye on everyone in this lobby in case they come up." She stated curiously. 'Bingo' the human thought.
"I think I got it. Have you ever tried drawing caricatures of passersby?" The stormy-eyed man questioned, to which she shook her head. "Then that's something you could try. I have to go meet with Sebastian, so try drawing me from memory for a start. It doesn't have to be realistic, just a doodle. I'll see you soon." He bid the secretary farewell and trotted off to Bryce's office...
The door to the Chief's office glided open, revealing the officer himself sitting with his back turned. He spun around once the sound of the hallways reached his ears. Alex nodded his greeting as he plodded over.
"Hey Alex." Sebastian greeted.
"Hey Sebastian. I take it you wanted a bit more privacy discussing this matter." The larger male set the evidence he collected down, to which his company inspected.
"Spot on. That, and it's nice in here. The chairs are comfy too." The raptor wheeled himself around in a little circle with the chief's desk chair. Honestly, it was comically large for the runner, and the brunette found that funny himself.
"How good are we ta- oh my god these are comfy." He was immediately surprised at the sheer plushness of the chairs. You really sank into them, they were so soft.
"Told you. Anyway, Bryce was supposed to be here too, but he's still caught up in the search. He's definitely not one to give up easily either." Sebastian pulled his tail out from under him and let it slump over the chair's arm.
"Not even in leisure. That man is determined beyond belief." Alex sighed dreamily. That part of him specifically drove the human insane.
"Classic Bryce. It's why he's our chief. He gets things done. Unfortunately, the search is going downhill fast. Reza could be long gone and out of our reach by now. What do you think?" The smaller officer asked almost hopelessly. He honestly needed some extra pep in his blood STAT.
"I really don't think he's going anywhere. He's easily recognizable no matter where he decides to flee. Then there's the escape back to humanity. Unless there's some undiscovered portal out there, his only way back is how he arrived. And he can't use that without someone-namely me-noticing. He's pretty screwed no matter what." The ambassador stated confidently. Hopefully, that worked for the situation.
"Very astute of you. I'm glad you're not worrying much about this." The raptor commented.
"Oh I am worried, Reza's still a missing person after all. But I'm also confident in myself. I've helped the OPD- Onyx Police- catch criminals before. My friend Chris asked me to accompany him to a scene before, and get this. I actually stopped a suspect from getting away by clotheslining him." Alex clotheslined him alright. That plasma blade Mongoose equipped him with sliced half that jaguar's head clean off. If not for the instant cauterization, there would've been one hell of a mess to clean up.
"O-kay then. Well at least we have more evidence thanks to you. Let's have a look..." Sebastian trailed off as he was handed the stuff collected. The first thing the officer noticed was the bandage. "This could definitely be something. Where was this found at?" He questioned, further inspecting the dressing.
"That's the weird part. It was in a maintenance tunnel under Tatsu Park. I heard footsteps below me, so I got the hatch open and found that." The human explained, leaving out the part about him fighting off his own alter ego. He really didn't want them to worry about Viper if they weren't an immediate threat yet. It seemed as though they were more focused on him anyway.
"It could be anyone's then. We'll still hold onto it, but keep that in mind." He advised. At that moment, Alex got a weird chill up his spine. It was as though he shouldn't mention any of the attacks or something would happen.
"Understood. Now for the other thing. It's Reza's purchase history from a store he frequented." He let the officer check the receipt. "There's a pattern on there that should be noted. He bought lemons on every visit. This wouldn't normally be all that important, except for this one thing. You can write secret messages with the juice. Invisible to the naked eye, all it takes is a clothes iron to reveal it." He let the officer mull over the fact for a bit.
"Now that, I've heard of. I just never thought it would be put to use in modern day. But this doesn't help if we don't have the letters he sent." Sebastian shot back. Unfortunately, he was right. They have no reason to consider the lemons noteworthy if they couldn't intercept the letters.
"There's still the bandage at least. That's one point you can continue from." The brunette reasoned. Sebastian nodded affirmatively.
"Indeed it is. We'll get onto it as soon as possible. And thanks for the help." He got up with the items in hand.
"It's no problem. This visit never was supposed to be a vacation. I guess you'd better get back out there if Bryce still isn't back." Alex pulled himself from the chair's plush clutches and stretched. He had to get one for his house.
"Yeah, I'd better. Can you find your way back from here?" The raptor asked, to which the stormy-eyed male hummed his confirmation.
"I guess I'll catch you later then. Best of luck out there, Sebastian." Alex waved him off as they parted ways. Now for him to get back to his apartment...