Skulduggery – Crow

Anton – Bear

Ghastly – Panda

Dexter – Wolf

Saracen – Weasel

Erskine – Snake

Solomon – Raven

Chapter 43

Three days after Christmas and everything was going back to business. Valkyrie had made a meeting with the Elders, Crow and head department responsible for sending Marr and Crux to her home.

She arrived early and sat with Crow at the roundtable. Only Guild and Meritorious were going to be there as Elder Crow was working on other meetings with other people. Valkyrie had been impressed the three officials had made time for her meeting at all.

They sat in silence waiting for the others for a few minutes before Meritorious arrived early. He sighed and sat down opposite Valkyrie.

"Detectives," he said tiredly. "Can I ask what this meeting is about?"

"It is about Detectives Marr and Crux," Valkyrie said, then tapped the documents she had on the table in front of her. "Read this."

He did and by the time he was finished, everyone else was sitting around the table. Marr and Crux were absent as Valkyrie hadn't wanted them ruining her speaking time. Meritorious put the papers down and slid them over to the head of the department responsible for issuing it, Mr Lament, who looked them over blankly and gave them to Crow. He slid them back to Valkyrie who was heading the meeting.

"Thank you for agreeing to meet with me today on such short notice," she said formally. They nodded. "I don't want to take up all of our time today, so I'll be quick. Elder Guild, please read these papers while I address Mr Lament." He took them with a contentious look but read them because everyone else had. "Mr Lament, as you have read on those papers, your department issued for my property to be assessed by Detectives Crux and Marr as well as allow them to interview myself and the Dead Men for signs of abuse and neglect within the home. That is correct?"

He coughed slightly and nodded, staring at the table. He wasn't comfortable addressing her it seemed. "Yes, these papers were issued by my department. I also gave my permission for it to happen although it is not written there."

Valkyrie nodded to him, a polite thank you of sorts for making her life easier and being upfront about what happened. "And to get an issue at all, Detectives Marr and Crux would have presented evidence for such a warrant."

"Yes," he said. "I did not hear it from them personally, but it is written on the documents. Public questions and worries over a child being used for work, underfed, overworked, tired all of the time, not being allowed to do schoolwork, shouted at, beaten. It is all in the papers. I was only consulted as the assessor who wrote the issue wanted to be certain with me before they allowed the detectives to go to the Dead Men. I believe they were nervous."

"Yes," she said. Many people were nervous of them. "And according to that document, it was issued on the twenty-third. The Detectives, firstly, were meant to be in my house immediately as this is an estimated moderate to high violence case, correct? And I did not see them at my doorstep until the evening of Christmas day. Not only that, but they lied to get into my house and only after insulting my home did they present the documents. I'd also like the have the Elder's confirm that, firstly, Detective Marr is meant to just be on desk duty and secondly, Detective Crux is on probation. Why were they at my house and why did you send them?"

The man began to look a little flustered when Meritorious confirmed the punishments and also pointed out they had acted maliciously to Valkyrie before. "They were just doing their job," he said pathetically. "I didn't know they were not allowed to work; I had no staff to send out and they have the qualifications. I wanted it to be sorted as soon as possible, as with all cases."

"We are not suggesting," Crow said quickly, "that the case should not have been checked, as it was a serious accusation that needed investigating, but it was gone about inappropriately. Not only that, Marr went through the home for hours, more than she was allowed, and never found any evidence. She moved things, went through clothes, went through our kitchen, messed up our offices, and went into Valkyrie's deceased Uncle's office, broke sentimental items and when mementoes of his life were uncovered," he meant the Echo stone, "she insulted them in front of Valkyrie. We want her and Crux to be punished for their behaviour not only in targeting Valkyrie but also for Marr's actions within our home."

The meeting was fairly quick after that, just as Valkyrie predicted. Marr and Crux were banned from entering any department other than their own. Crux was given a further six months probations as well as giving up his Sanctuary equipment, and Marr was put on probation also. That was all they had come for. Except maybe getting them fired but as Meritorious had previously told them, they were understaffed and needed workers.

Guild shot out of his seat and the meeting room immediately, and Mr Lament left after apologising to Valkyrie. "That went well," she said. "And he seemed like a nice man."

"Yes," Meritorious said, looking at her. "You truly do live up to your name. If anything else happens, I might be able to fire Crux though, so keep an eye out."

Valkyrie smirked and Meritorious left with a reminder about a case he had given them.

.*****.

New Year's passed them in a flurry of snow and spring was on them before anyone knew it. Bear spent much of his time at his hotel with the surge of customers wanting to holiday, and Panda was constantly working on someone's dress or designer bikini, leaving discarded drawings of bras and skirts all over the house for the others to taunt him with.

As it was, most of the others were in and out of the house also. Tanith had her citizenship finally and Crow was always with her, but all the others had adventures to go on with the heat coming in.

Well, all in other countries. There was no heat in Ireland, not even in June, just rain and women stubbornly hearing shorts because it's spring, damnit!

Skipping to April, Valkyrie was eating bits of an Easter egg Snake had sent her in the post – it had arrived miraculously intact and almost as big as her arm – and doing paperwork in the joint office, Dead Man territory within the Sanctuary.

Her own desk, something that had appeared in the Dead Man office after she became co-Head, was near the front as much of the staff liked to dump things with her instead of sorting it or going too far into the room. It really annoyed Valkyrie, so she just left it there to pile up. Unfortunately, that backfired – Crow was making her do it all while he was healed in the Sanctuary of two broken legs. Having a criminal with them, Valkyrie had driven the Bentley to the Sanctuary. It had been fun for her!

Not for Crow.

Or the criminal who threw up as soon as they got him out, but he was a murder anyway.

So that was why she was all alone in the office when Crux walked in.

Valkyrie glanced up from her paperwork on a case weeks ago and sighed internally before getting back to her writing. "Is there something I can do for you?" She asked coldly.

He huffed and smacked something onto the desk making papers fly everywhere. "What the hell do you call this?"

Valkyrie glanced at it with her eyes. "It's the report for the Five-Faced Man," she said.

He growled and flipped it opened to the section she had written what had happened in it - he had been brought in from his probation much to everyone's disappointment because two other detectives had died in the line of duty and another was pregnant. He was only allowed to do paperwork and filing, only allowed in certain rooms. "And this?!"

She sighed and sat up. "It's what happened. I already know it. I ran the investigation and wrote that."

"It's utter bullshit," he snarled lowly. "Rubbish, all of it. What do you want me to do with it?"

"File it?" She said, giving him a mean look. "Like, now, because I'm busy."

He reached over and slapped her, and Valkyrie finally realised how close to the breaking point he was. If it had been different, she'd have shouted and hit him back. As it was, she took a not-so-calming breath and attempted to look at him blankly. "Detective Crux," she said slowly, looking at his crooked nose, "I'll ask you once, kindly, to leave this office or I'll call for the Cleavers."

"You shouldn't even have that power," he said, pushing forward so hard the desk moved several inches into her and his face was almost touching hers. "You're just a child."

"A child you smacked," she said without meaning to. "Get out of my face."

He laughed hollowly and spat on her. She took a breath and got out a cleaning rag from the top drawer of her desk and wiped her face clean. She pushed back on her chair and stood, moving around the room as he slowly stalked her. She had nowhere to go. He blocked her exit, not that she could have used it standing behind her own desk. Shit. "What are you doing Cain?" He asked.

She sniffed and got a pager out of a draw and turned it on. She typed on it quickly 'Need backup' and put it down. Crow would see it on his own as she had used Panda's, something he never used. She just hoped, considering no one else ever touched theirs, that Crow had the sense of mind to look at his own – her phone had been smashed so she didn't have many choices and he did carry his on him and was always on her back about carrying hers.

Crux growled impatiently and stalked over. She pulled purple energy into her hands and held them out, but he didn't care that she shocked him, just used one hand to pull her forwards regardless of the energy and punched her with the other.

She pushed herself back and grabbed a lamp, smashing it over his head. He gasped but continued forwards and pulled her over the desk, grabbed her hair and hit her head against the wood again and again and again until she was dizzy and felt sick.

Valkyrie had no idea how long it went on, him hitting her. But the next thing she knew, she was on the floor and he had pulled her protective jacket off her. Everything hurt. Had she been unconscious? Or was she just more lucid than before? Where was Crow? Why hadn't he seen her page? Or had it only been moments instead of the hours of pain it felt like it had been?

She sucked in a painful breath and saw through blurry eyes him look over at her. She couldn't hear him over the ringing in her ears, but he was talking about something.

She didn't feel him pick her up and throw her over his shoulder, but she did feel her nose hit his back and her legs swing as he carried her off somewhere. She had no idea where that somewhere was, her head got foggier as the blood rushed to it.

.*****.

Valkyrie opened her eyes next to see the top of a cell. She sat up quickly, feeling her head get dizzy and eyes blur. When it passed, she looked around.

She was on the floor of a Sanctuary cell and besides her was a man.

She almost screeched but stopped herself quickly, seeing he had fallen asleep. She breathed heavily, trying not to panic, and pushed herself into a crouch despite her painful head. She touched it tentatively and felt the swollen skin but pushed off the pain for that time. Her other hand was shackled to the base of the bedpost.

Breathing slowly, she checked what she had on. Nothing that would get her out. She almost swore and then looked at the guy. She had had a master key for the shackles in her tunic usually and she was wearing the tunic but…

She looked at the man. Perhaps he had shackled her and taken the key.

She recognised him. She had arrested him with Crow two or three days earlier. She looked him over and saw he was in the Sanctuary provided overalls and gently reached out to put her hand in the pouch.

His hand wrapped around her wrist.

Dun dun duuuun! I feel bad again but I'm kind of enjoying it too this time. I'm a horrible person :D