Rainier sighed, his hands wrapped around a chipped mug of a sludgy substance he hoped was coffee. They weren't shaking anymore, at least. Taking a cautious sip of the coffee, he found it to be unpleasantly strong, with a definite bourbon-y aftertaste. "Please tell me you didn't use booze to brew this."
"Maybe. Shit like that can mess anybody up." Anais took a seat beside him, her own cup of coffee in her free hand as she leaned her hand against Thom's shoulder to get into a comfortable position curled beside him. "You needed to relax."
Rainier shifted where he sat, tilting his head back to rest on the top of the squashed couch smack dab in the center of Anais' living room. "This is getting way too big for just us two to handle."
The dwarf nodded, as Thom continued. "I can call in a few favors and get some backup if we need to."
"Do you really want to do that?" Anais pulled a throw blanket from the back of the sofa down onto her before turning to lie on her back, looking up at him.
"We might have to." Thom threaded his fingers through her short hair, eyes closed. "We can't keep dodging Stannard like this."
"We. You keep saying that." Anais kicked her feet over the edge of the arm rest. "Am I your partner in crime now?"
"You could say that." He glanced down at her, noticing a slight bruise on her throat. Thom sat up straighter, fingertips sweeping her hair off her neck. "What is that?"
"What is what?" Anais moved to sit up but was at the wrong angle, her hand flying to cover her throat.
"You have a bruise." He took her wrist gently, pushing her hand away from the mark. "You had this earlier too. Were you fighting someone?"
"Y-yeah.." She refused to meet his gaze, "When I was getting the info on Riley, there was this guy who tried to start something."
Thom murmured a curse word under his breath, his palm sliding up against hers. Anais didn't respond, looking out away from him. "I…" He started, his other hand tangled in her hair. "Sometimes I worry about you. It's times like this where one thing could go wrong and you'd be dead in an instant."
"Thom…" The dwarf's eyes drifted back to him, her dry lips parted. "You shouldn't worry about me."
Rainier's thumb smoothed down the side of her cheek, his gaze focused solely on her expression. "Does it bother you?"
"Shit, maybe." The tip of her tongue flicked out to wet her lips, and her eyes locked on his.
"I can stop if you want me to." Thom was staring, the side of his thumb crossing over to her mouth. She locked eyes with him, before speaking in a low voice.
"No. I like hearing how you care about me." She pressed her lips to the tip of his thumb as he spoke.
"Oh." That was all he said; the words a jolt down his spine, and elsewhere, before he coughed and forced himself to look elsewhere, averting his gaze.
Cadash managed to sit up, swiveling her body so she could face him, on her knees beside him. "Just 'oh', Thom? Maybe you should take some initiative."
"You wanna see initiative, I'll give you initiative." Rainier wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer to him. Anais squealed, kicking her feet as she pretended to fight to get away.
"Don't tickle me," She screamed, jerking in his grip as he teased her.
Thom simply held her for a moment as she calmed down, keeping his eyes on her face. A breathless smile faded from his mouth and he looked at her expectantly.
"Well?"
"Well what?" She was leaning against him, half lying in his arms still.
"Is there still some initiative being taken here or not?" Thom cracked a smile.
"Do you want some initiative?" Anais, breathing fast, looked up at him, fingertips tracing circles on his shoulder.
Rainier didn't answer, his eyes searching her face, hoping against hope something would happen. He leaned in slow, taking his time. She could tell he was nervous, but Thom tilted his face to the side just a fraction, before meeting her lips.
Cadash's hand moved up from where it was on his collarbone, right to the nape of his neck. Her nails were scratching gently, sending shivers down his spine.
Thom was the one to pull away first; suddenly, with a soft sound. "Shit, that was totally uncalled for. I'm so sorry." He pulled away completely, casting Anais aside and standing up. "I.. I need some air."
"Hey, wait." Cadash made a grab for his arm, not wanting to leave the comfort of the couch. "Thom, come back."
He wasn't listening, and once he left the room, she heard the front door open. "Thom?" She threw off the blanket, stepping onto the cold linoleum floor. "Why are you leaving? Maker's breath.. Thom!"
"The Narcotics Dept. will take it from here, Detective Mornay, you can be assured of that." Meredith turned to speak to him with an air of detachment.
She gestured for the others to begin transporting the crystals and corpses out of the building.
"Commissioner, you can't do that. You're tampering with evidence." Mornay frowned, watching the agents in biohazard suits carry the bodies away. It had stopped raining but the ground was still wet, steaming with the sticky heat of the midday sun. Each crystal seemed to have a corona of orange, a haze surrounding each body and reflecting off the shiny white plastic of the suits. If Mornay didn't know any better, he would guess the rocks were alive. But that was preposterous, it had to just be a trick of the light.
"I'll be questioning the suspect myself, Detective. You should be doing something more worthwhile." Meredith had stopped Mornay from entering the interrogation room as he eyed the window, through which he could see the man Captain Rainier had called Riley. The man looked more haggard than he had looked when they arrested him. He was staring at his cuffed hands, barely even blinking.
"Commissioner–"
"Mornay, don't do this." Stannard's words were steel, and the detective stopped to look at her. "You know as well as I do that this is bigger than what you can handle."
He pressed his lips together tightly, not wanting to say anything else. "Yes, Ma'am." Mornay departed, passing by Cullen as he left.
The officer in training stepped closer to his mother, a pale red envelope in his hand. "This was left for you. On your desk." He didn't read it. It seemed too personal, a curled handwritten Meredith written on the outside, as a way of designating who it was for. "I saw Captain Erimond leaving your office soon after."
"Erimond?" Stannard frowned thoughtfully, taking the envelope in delicate hands. "Thank you for bringing this to me, Cullen."
The blond bowed his head, before glancing through the interrogation room window, watching the man for a moment, distracted. "He looks dangerous. Do you think he'll try something when you question him?"
"If you're worried about me, don't be." Meredith followed his gaze. "The man hasn't tried anything yet. If he was going to, he would have attempted before the officers brought him here."
"Yes, ma'am." Cullen let his gaze drop. He still felt unnerved by the addict separated from him by a thick layer of double sided glass. The bulletproof mirror did nothing to make him feel any better.