-Oxford - Saturday: Part 10-

Snake watched as Patterson stand up making his way towards Gayle King, he couldn't believe how easy it was to make people act the way he needed them with just the right little push. He had taken into account that every time she left Tyler's office she didn't carry her bag, just her phone. That would be a problem if all the information he needed was on that device but for the time he would just have to hope that what he really needed was inside her purse which was in the office right now. He also had to get there before Patterson truly snapped, he was already on the edge it wouldn't take much at this point.

Knocking once on Tyler's door he heard the mumble come in and entered, the look on the man's face told Snake that Tyler was starting to doubt Officer Jia Mianju, that could make things a bit more difficult but he only had to get through this for a little longer. "Ah... Boss..." he said lowering his eyes to the ground, he had to make himself seem submissive to this man. Make him once again doubt whatever that woman was telling him. Tyler cleared his throat before pulling several sheets of papers together, Snake was sure that this had to do with the cases not just the one with Alice or Kyoko. 'Damn you Cinderella, you made things harder for me by taken her.'

Tyler crossed his hands in front of him on top of his desk, a faint smile on his face but Snake knew the man enough to know that was a fully professional smile, "What is it Officer Mianju?"

Snake knew he was being far too professional at the moment, normally this was how he acted around most people. Yet, for whatever reason when it came to Gayle King he seemed to allow his true nature out. His hateful and spiteful self and he was sure he understood exactly why that was, it had to fully do with the fact that she was doing a job that he thought himself far better for. 'You have failed, and you don't even understand that.' He cleared his throat as he sat down in the chair, his eyes trailing towards the floor, time was not on his side he had to keep a mental note, like the fact that the purse was on Tyler's table. Like there was something in that pile of papers that he didn't want him to know about. Distract him by using the most important aspect of the case in any officer's mind. "She knows something about Patterson's daughter doesn't she?" he kept his voice low, sounding tired and defeated.

Tyler eyes narrowed slightly, "What makes you think that?"

Snake looked up at him before running a hand against the back of his neck, before darting his eye back towards the door as scared that the woman herself would appear like some sort of a witch. "Well..." he licked his lips turning back towards Tyler, "Patterson... he's distraught, I'm worried about him, to be honest. I mean if that woman knows anything that could help us get his daughter back... why isn't she giving it to us?" He wrung his hands together as he looked down at his feet again as if he was ashamed that he was even saying any of this in the first place. "He's on the edge, going on about how Lady Kyoko's means more because of who her family is, more than one of our own. More than our own children, we are the first to be blamed, or children are the first to be forgotten... once someone with money and power goes missing." He shook his head burying his hands in his face, "I mean is she even missing?"

He noted the look that crossed Tyler's face, the doubt that was there. "Does seem odd doesn't it?" he leaned back some in his chair, Snake could tell that once again the man was dropping his guard around him. "First the attack then the fact that she has a General of the British Army babysitting her... she personally leaves his side and then just happens to be kidnapped."

Snake nodded his head slightly, "That's what's been bothering Patterson and I" actually Patterson had nothing to do with it. The man was so centered on his daughter and finding out who the young man was, why there hadn't been suspects found yet. That he didn't care about one noble-born girl missing. As any farther would do naturally. "We've been on call for a lot of cases, famous people getting bored and wanting to have a bit of fun slumming it..." he shook his head slightly.

Tyler closed his eyes some, "Yes... I get your point of view but..." there was a large crash and shouting from the other side of the door and Tyler jumped from his seat, "What in the Queen's name is going on?" He roared as he stomped over towards the door swinging it open.

Snake eyes narrowed for just a moment before grabbing the purse on the desk and spinning around the papers looking at the information. 'Damnit' he said taken out his phone and taken the pictures of the papers before taken note of the case numbers for each of them. 'So much damn work...' he turned the papers back taken note of the time before his eyes turned quickly towards the open room with Tyler trying to calm down Patterson. He slipped out a single piece of paper, that would be really troublesome if it got out. His eyes turned towards the computer that was logged in 'Idiot' not that he could really fault the man, it wasn't as if he knew this would happen. He grinned as he typed in the case number he deleted it before closing the tab. His eyes darted toward the clock once again. 'Time is not my friend' his eyes turned back towards the scene before him. 'Here's hoping that everything I need is here.' and he slipped out not only his office but the police station.

Gayle King couldn't believe that she was having to pretend that she was some weak, helpless little woman. Taken several deep breaths she recalled how she had ended up under this man on the table. His body against her, it would have been a good pin for someone who didn't know how to get out of it. His arm against her throat was also well placed. Enough pressure to allow her to breathe, even talk but not dare to try and push him away, trying would be easy to stop by applying more pressure. 'Right so he snapped, over his daughter.' She closed her eyes laying her head against the table.

That was something she couldn't understand, even as the voices around her was trying to calm him down. Her mind was elsewhere trying to figure out how to address this matter. It wasn't like they didn't know more about what was going on. They knew for a fact due to Lady Kyoko that Alice Patterson was likely her double, a double that was going to die. However, saying that to a man already on the edge would be foolish. 'This is why it's a pain to deal with people.' She opened her eyes as he yelled at her once more.

Patterson's face was turning red, "Do you even fucking care?"

The truth of the matter was she didn't, no matter how she tried to look at it, Alice Patterson was not her task, not her job. She was just some bystander but that was because the Ankou couldn't allow themselves to feel such attachments. They had their own kind, they had the royal family and even those could end up with them at each other's throats if the Crown every demanded it. Their history was riddled with such moments when the Crown wanted to truly test their loyalty. It was safe to assume had the last Crown gone to one of his siblings, the Queen, and her children would have been murdered and maybe even by her own hand. All that mattered was the Crown in the end. Once the Crown died a new Crown took over so they were never without. "I'm just doing my job."

Patterson pushed harder into her throat, "You know why this happening! You know why they took my daughter. You fucking know where they are!" it didn't matter how many ways he rephrased his questions, it wasn't as if she could tell him what he wanted to know.

"Get over it already, all you are doing is wasting more time" her voice was low, to low for anyone to hear her over the screaming man in her face, nor the men trying to calm him down. Most of all it wasn't as if she really could speak that well with the way he was pressing into her throat but she was growing tired. Her eyes darted across the room as Tyler moved towards them demanding to know what was going on. The moment that Tyler touched Patterson's shoulder he shook him off and she wanted to laugh, she truly did.

"Get off of me, your just as fucking guilty as her." It was enough he had shifted and she pulled herself free just enough that by the time he had gone to reapply the pressure on her throat it was now on her chest she smiled softly.

"None of this matters, because it will not help your daughter. Nor will it help any of the others." She was sure that if she said anything about Lady Kyoko at this moment that the man would just snap further, his eyes faltered for just a moment "Right now I can say she is alive, but for how long I cannot be sure." She wondered slightly how much further she should go as Tyler raised his voice. Panic echoing in it.

"Enough." He said trying to once again to pull Patterson off of her but she was sure that right now it was because he didn't want her to say anything unneeded as if she would stupidly do just that. This man was not stable enough to handle it.

"Can you bring her back?" Patterson's voice was broken deep down inside she could feel the heartache it would be a skill to use later in a future life of hers.

"I can't promise nor will I promise anything. I have been here trying to help." Though that wasn't exactly true, she had given Tyler plenty of information, "What is more important right now is no more outbursts because it will distract from the task at hand." She had to admit she was surprised to feel his face fall onto her abdomen and the way his body began to shake, it took a moment for her to realize that he was finally allowing himself to feel exactly the burden of what was going on around him. 'I cannot allow the Crown to feel this.' Her eyes turned towards Tyler a small smile playing across her features. "Speaking of matters, where is your buddy?" She had seen him go into the office with Tyler, but with the sheer number of people around Patterson and her, she had not been able to see him leave. No one here had wanted to stop him, not really and she couldn't blame them either. She was the outsider, and that was more than fine for her.

Tomi sat in the back of a taxi, he didn't bother to get out. He could tell a lot just from the outside of the Bien Fleur building that there was nothing to be found here. At least not in the same way as it would have been for Bakkin Hana. It was not yet being used for that same sort of business. He pulled out his phone for a moment paying little mind to the nervousness of the taxi driver who kept looking back at him.

I want all business transactions for Bien Fleur. - Tomi

The owner was the name that bothered him the most, Hachirou Cao, his former boss at Bakkin Hana, the one his dear uncle already screwed up. It wasn't uncommon for people to own businesses outside of the country they worked in but it bothered him. He didn't have any exact reason but he was sure that the name on the lease was not the one that would have bothered Kyoko, 'My Hana doesn't even know his name.' At least not to his knowledge, the man never used his real name, no one had called him that. If he wasn't who he was, he likely wouldn't have known his name either.

"Umm... sir..." Tomi lifted his eyes towards the driver who quickly darted his eyes away, "Umm, nevermind... forget it sir." he muttered before fiddling with the dials on the radio.

Tomi's phone buzzed but it was far too soon for it to have been one of his men, 'Such a good boy.' He leaned forward causing the driver to jump slightly as he held out his phone with the location, to a parking ramp. "I want to go here now." His eyes turned towards the meter before looking at him again, "and if you are very good I'll double whatever is on the meter when I'm done." The man's eyes lit up for a moment as he quickly looked at the meter that had been running the whole time before nodding his head.

Did you get this information from the Mr. Ankou? - Tomi
No. - Kuon
Is it trustworthy? - Tomi
Very. - Kuon
Then I'll let you know what I find. - Tomi
Thank you. - Kuon

Tomi leaned back in the chair as he closed his eyes, 'I wonder... how much longer before you return...'

A/N: Kuon/Ren will need to grow, he's denied a huge part of himself for years now [even in the Manga] and only upon accepting himself for who he is can you really move forward. Mind you I'm fully in the belief system that there will always be parts of yourself you don't want to accept but from what I always got from the Manga with Kuon/Ren was that he was completely denying his whole being until Kyoko begins to awaken that part of him and his desire to accept himself as a person.

Also I'm glad that people are enjoying the story n.n