chapter word count: 406
noir heart: ninety-nine
Aster checks both ends of the alleyway two buildings over from the APD tower before he slides inside Hans' car. It's quiet and secret enough to avoid prying eyes unless you're actively looking.
"I got your message," he says after closing the door. Buried in a book, Hans offers nothing more than a finger as a request to wait. Huffing impatiently, Aster's eyes quickly check the street ahead. His heart starts thumping a rhythm of nerves as his mind subjects him to an appalling barrage of all the ways it could go wrong if he's caught with an IAB detective.
"C'mon, mate," he mutters, "Jack's waiting for me around the front. I told him I was gonna get coffee."
Hans glances up at him, then offers a polite smile. "Of course." With frustrated eye, Aster watches him lazily slip a bookmark into the book and close it. Of Spirits and Angels, the title reads. Thiana loves that book.
"Apologies," Hans says, though it's insincere as hell. "The heroes are obvious Mary Sues, and the story is clichéd, but I find myself drawn to the villain."
Aster snorts; it doesn't surprise him in the least. "So what did you want?"
Hans' eyes scan the alleyway entrance, but with no more urgency than a sloth working at the DMV. "An update."
Scoffing incredulously, Aster throws up a hand, and stares at him. "Seriously? We only just got the case. It's gonna take a while before he starts doin' anything you want to catch him doin'."
Hans glances at him again. He chuckles under his breath, and returns to watching the street. "Of course. I was simply curious - however, that's not the real reason I sent you the message."
Aster frowns. Jack's gonna start looking for him at this rate, if Hans keeps up the slow-as-molasses act. "Well?" he prompts him.
"You may be off the hook sooner than you thought."
Aster can't help the overwhelming relief from flooding his body, though it's tinged with a heavy dose of mistrust and a sprinkle of foreboding. "How's that?" he asks, though he's not sure he wants to know.
Hans' eyes drift over, and there's a playful arrogance in those emerald irises. "You'll find out when I walk into your department and arrest Detective Frost for the murder of Detective Arnulf Southernisle."
early update because...well...I wanted to. Next update is a special one as it's the 100th. Definitely M-rated.
special thanks to: doomstone, maravillakatana, oninoko and jpbake for the reviews!