A/N: Re-posted after some minor editing.
Warning: More talks of rotting flesh. And death. You've been warned.
Mission_9: Man Down
"Thanks for taking me out for ice cream tonight, Sir. How thoughtful and not at all uncharacteristic of you."
"Mm."
Whi-Two chuckles as she leans over and bites a mouthful of confectionery from her cone. Lack-Two shortly follows, reducing his cone's size almost in half.
"About twenty more of these, and my silence regarding doing ninety percent of the paperwork assigned to you will be guaranteed during the employee feedback interviews," the young detective continues to joke, licking a drop of strawberry from the bottom of her thumb. To which Lack-Two only snorts.
"Ha ha," he draws monotonously, sauntering along the rows of well-lit shop windows that donned the streets of Nimbasa, with Whi-Two, not more than a few inches away from him. The latter hastens her pace.
"...Though that should've been easily pushed down by threats," Whi-Two muses on, thoughtfully landing soft kisses on the pink sorbet. Then she faces him.
"So, what's all this for again?"
It was then that Lack-Two finally pulled his attention away from the windows and back to his subordinate, but not before making a show of rolling his eyes in faux exasperation－something Whi-Two has learned to distinguish from real annoyance quite well.
The weird skills you pick up from working for almost a year with a real-life psychopath, she thought to herself.
"You mean to tell me you agreed to come with me all this way without even knowing what's it all for?" Lack-Two lets out a snort of approval.
"Looks like your training is beginning to pay off, Detective."
"It concerns me how less and less concerned I've become, Inspector."
The two raise their cones triumphantly and let them hit like champagne glasses.
Oddly enough, there seemed to have been no hint of uneasiness in Whi-Two's system when Lack-Two randomly approached Whi-Two earlier after their shift ended and asked her to come with him "somewhere"－something that would have set off the girl's alarms had it been a few months ago, especially after knowing that this was Lack-Two of all people.
He was the most dangerous person she knew, after all.
And she was a cop.
Yet, somehow, there has become a silent agreement between them－one that none of them have fully consciously taken part in, as Whi-Two would frequently find herself realizing－that they are, in fact, the least threatening part of each other's life. At least, outside of office hours.
Whi-Two still believes that Lack-Two as a boss is the Devil's incarnate, and she still often finds herself questioning every deity she's ever prayed to in all her past lives why she ended up with him of all people. But as soon as their shifts reach an end, and the clean, crisp uniform that's only often seen on an inspector is draped over completely by his faded blue jacket, Lack-Two suddenly becomes less antagonizing.
She doesn't know how or when or where, but somewhere along the months that they've been at each other's throats, Whi-Two has begun to consider Lack-Two her friend. Whether or not Lack-Two considered her as such was beyond her concerns.
"Well, if you must know," Lack-Two begins.
"I always do, but go on…"
The young inspector gives her a look of disapproval, but there was an apparent smile on his face. He reaches forward and smears a bit of his cone against Whi-Two's nose. The girl responds with a small shake of her head to drive him away.
"I've never actually been a mentor before, so I wouldn't know how most mentors do this, but," Lack-Two trails off a bit, looking down shortly before hastening his steps again. Whi-Two, as a reflex, follows suit.
"This is just about the best way I could think of to celebrate your ranking up to Second-Grade detective."
Whi-Two slightly froze. She looked at him in disbelief.
Lack-Two was quick to counter.
"...Without giving you a big head, that is."
Still, the girl retains her expression. Lack-Two didn't need to look her way to confirm that.
"Wait… So, this is really for me?"
"You could say that," Lack-Two shrugs, keeping his gaze forward. "Though, it's also a little bit for me. I mean, you wouldn't be where you are if it weren't for me, so…"
At that, the look of gratefulness completely leaves Whi-Two's eyes as they roll so exaggeratingly that it almost strained her.
"I don't even know what I was expecting," she mumbles to herself as she sighed. Lack-Two only chuckles to himself.
"Just keeping the balance, kid," he mutters back.
"So, how come we never celebrate when you rank up?" Whi-Two asks, returning to her snack. Then she pauses in between eating.
"Do you even rank up?"
Lack-Two shakes his head.
"I'm already a first-grade inspector. I have the highest rank there is. Unless you count the Superintendency as a rank." He suddenly pauses to slightly pull his head away from his food, after having felt the cream touch his upper lips. And without any care of whether Whi-Two points it out or not, he haphazardly reaches for the confectionery with his tongue.
Whi-Two had to look away before he could catch her.
"Then… once you reach first-grade inspector, you only consider Superintendent Aldin to be above you?"
"No, we still have a sense of seniority among each other－it just isn't something official nor blatant. It's just between us high-rankers."
"But you don't get promoted?"
"Only when you assume Superintendent Aldin's position. But I don't think that is happening anytime soon. That man is not that good with aging."
Whi-Two laughs. "I know right?"
Then she sighs again, looking thoughtfully at the almost-finished cone in her hand.
"Guess it'll take you some time, huh?"
"Hm?"
"To be able to rank up again! I mean… you are planning on taking the seat someday, right? You're the only one I know who fits the title. And besides, isn't that what the Superintendent trained you for?"
Lack-Two suddenly freezes in his tracks, ice cream melting from his cone to his hand, and then dropping down to his shoe. Whi-Two continues walking on, unaware that her companion was already a few steps away from her.
"Although, if this goes on, I might end up going against you for the title. Who knows, right?"
The young inspector watches his subordinate's back as she begins walking further and further from him, obviously in yet another trance as she starts talking about her dream.
It was always the case with her, and normally he never minded it. Most especially now.
Otherwise, if it weren't for the distraction, she might have noticed the look on his face and started asking.
And God only knows what he can give for an answer.
"...Although, yeah. I have quite a lot to go before I go anywhere near the possibility of having you as a rival."
"...Whi-Two?"
Said detective turns around, noticing but not minding the apparent distance between her and her inspector.
Lack-Two watches her for a brief moment before sighing.
"...You've gotten vanilla all over your lips."
-...-
The two turned a corner and what met them was the lively colors of Nimbasa Square, this time donned by warm-colored lights and lively music. Stores lined up along the pathways, causing little crowds that blocked the already narrow roads.
Whi-Two's eyes twinkled with fascination.
"Wow," she whispers. Then, from the corner of her eyes, she sees a blur of dark blue and realizes that Lack-Two had already walked past her, his expression signaling for her to pick up her pace. Whi-Two, though slightly annoyed, follows suit, almost out of habit.
"So, tomorrow evening…" she begins, slowing down her pace as soon she's kept up with him.
Lack-Two makes a show of raising his brows, though his eyes still targeted forward.
"My friends from high school will be in town for this event, and we're planning on meeting up after work..."
"If you're going to ask me for permission if you could go out with some friends for a drink and a night around the city, let me be the one to ease you of the effort and say, 'I'm not your dad. I don't give a hoot'."
Then Lack-Two makes a point to face Whi-Two and wags his index finger at her.
"As long as you're home by eleven." Then, with a stern face, he adds.
"And no boys."
Whi-Two makes a face.
"Oh, God, no," she winces with disgust, though there was an apparent giggle that broke her voice.
"Yeah, you're right," Lack-Two shrugs, returning to his default, nonchalant expression.
"It's you we're talking about."
Whi-Two shakes her head as she rolls her eyes.
"I'm not asking for permission, nuthead," she sneers, pushing him lightly, giggling.
"But I am wondering if you were free and would care to join us."
The young inspector looks at her again.
"Why would you want me to join you? Need someone to pretend to be your boyfriend again?"
"No," Whi-Two snorts, albeit, at least Lack-Two, a bit nervously.
"They actually asked me to ask you." She shrugs.
"Apparently, you're still a big name as 'Nathaniel Alart', even outside our field. Most especially to girls."
"...And the fact that you're not part of that demographic says a lot about you."
"Anyway," Whi-Two presses, giving him a look of annoyance.
"They found out that I knew you, and they insisted that I introduce them to you." She chuckles nervously.
"I wasn't really going to agree, but..."
"But you did," Lack-two points out, a hint of a knowing smile on his face. Whi-Two finds herself blush for a moment, before shrugging, and saying in a low voice:
"A simple 'no' is more than enough, Lack-Two."
The young inspector chuckles as he shakes his head in amusement.
"Tempting as that may be, Detective, I'm afraid that I'm gonna have to pass," he says with a sigh.
"For two reasons: one being we both know that the inevitable outcome would be that I steal your spotlight and the night ends up being more of a bad mixer instead of a reunion." He gives her an exaggeratingly sincere look.
"And we both know we don't want that." Then he pauses for a bit.
"Well, you don't, anyway."
The girl gives him a look, shaking her head in disapproval.
"And two: I myself have something to do on that day."
"You sure it's not a 'something', but a 'someone'?" Whi-Two whispers under her breath.
Lack-Two gives her a look, just in time to catch Whi-Two's hand flying to her lips in shock. She looks back with a look of fear, which Lack-Two unhesitatingly eases with another of his chuckles.
"I'll leave that to your imagination," he says with a wink, making Whi-Two shudder.
"No offense, Sir, but you slightly disgust me."
"Says the one who just a few minutes ago, was attempting to pimp me to her friends and masking it as a reunion."
"I wasn't－"
"Why are you even trying to pimp me to your friends? Or to any female that moves, for that matter?" Lack-Two sneers at her, though his eyes were still playful.
"What are you? Lai?"
"Can you blame me?" Whi-Two reasons out. "Now that my family knows you exist, every family reunion that I'm single and am in close vicinity with you, they'll always go, 'Oh, why don't you just go date your inspector? You guys looked so cute together! And those genes on that thing! Imagine the children!'"
Lack-Two looks at her incredulously. Whi-Two had to shrink away in embarrassment.
"...At least," she follows with a low voice. "That's what my mom always says. I'm only paraphrasing."
"Sure, you were."
They continue walking.
"Well, why don't you just date me?" Lack-Two suddenly quips.
"Oh no…"
Lack-Two only shrugs. "Yeah, that's fair."
"No, no, no…"
"Hey, the first 'no' already delivered your point. What..."
To his surprise, his subordinate immediately turns to face him, bowing her head. Her eyes darted back and forth, as if looking for an escape, naturally heightening his alarms as a police officer.
"Oh my God, why here…"
"What's wrong?" he asks, already searching the perimeter for any sign of suspicious presence.
"It's…" Whi-Two hesitates, slightly fidgeting as she goes nearer and nearer to her inspector.
"The guy over there. With the green cap?"
"You know him?" Lack-Two asks, already eyeing the young man down with scrutinizing eyes. He just stood there, looking around, a sense of hostility in his presence despite the relaxed way his shoulders hung. Lack-Two notes the man's peculiar aura. How despite how he was placed in the middle of a sea of people, he still stood out.
Like he's seen him somewhere.
"Whi-Two, do you recognize him from any crime scene?" he asks, already preparing himself to begin pursuit.
"Worse, Sir," Whi-Two response, her eyes still unable to stay still. "So much worse."
Lack-Two was about to react when he felt the man move. He finally lands his attention to where the two UPD officers stood, and as soon as his eyes locked with Whi-Two's, his face immediately brightens up.
Lack-Two raises his eyebrows at him.
"Rosa?" the young man quips, taking a short look at the slightly horror-stricken girl. Then, after confirming based on Whi-Two's reaction, he starts trodding to where they stood.
"Oh my God, it is you! Rosa!"
It was only then that Whi-Two finally straightened herself up and distanced herself a bit from her inspector, but only after taking a long, deep breath.
The suspicion in Lack-Two's eyes slowly gets lesser and lesser as the young man approaches.
"H-Hi there," Whi-Two was greeting, a plastered smile and an awkward wave directed to the otherwise still obliviously enthusiastic young man.
"I almost didn't recognize you, Curtis… What a surprise." Then, discreetly, she leans towards Lack-Two.
"Please help me."
Lack-Two only watches her, slightly confused.
"God, imagine seeing you here!" the young man was saying. "Maya said you were reassigned to a new station, but who would've guessed it would be here in Nimbasa!" Then his dark emerald eyes suddenly find themselves landing on Lack-Two.
His smile drops slightly but evidently.
"...And, I see that you're with somebody."
And with that, epiphany hits Lack-Two.
"Ooh," he breathes, nodding in acknowledgment. Then an amused smile that everyone but Whi-Two will ever make a mistake of missing smears over his face.
"I am going to stop you right there."
The other two look at him, one with confusion, and the other with utter horror. Still, Lack-Two ignores the latter and reaches his hand for the earlier.
"Nate," he says with a friendly yet distant smile. "A colleague."
Then he looks knowingly at Whi-Two, who he can already tell was murdering him in fifty different ways in her head.
"Just a colleague."
"O-Oh!" There was an apparent look of joy in the young man's eyes as he took Lack-Two's hand.
"Curtis, a friend of Rosa's," he announces with a beam. Then he looks at Whi-Two briefly before letting the bright smile down.
"Just a friend…"
Lack-Two was already smiling as they shook hands.
"I see," he says with a hint of a chuckle. "That is very interesting."
Curtis looks at him, confused. But he nods in acknowledgment, nonetheless.
Whi-Two watched them both in horror.
Lack-Two don't you fucking dare…
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Curtis. I'm taking you and Rosa have a lot to catch up on, so if you'll excuse me…" He points to a nearby stall.
"I'll be talking to that cute blonde over there."
Lack-Two then faces that direction but pauses quickly to whisper to Whi-Two's ear.
"Sorry, kid. I panicked."
-...-
"Hi. One please," Lack-Two gestures at the popcorn vendor with his finger. The vendor nods and starts the machine. Then as he waits for the kernels to pop, he finally takes the chance to scan the vicinity. His alarms are still as heightened as when he first entered the park and has not left him even after meeting Whi-Two's little friend. The young detective may have not noticed it yet, or perhaps have not yet decided to report to him, but there was without a doubt a presence that has been following his detective around since he's come back.
Although, he was willing to bet it was even before he got back to Nimbasa. Which means his subordinate must have gotten herself into a fight that has left her marked. And, unfortunately for him, he doesn't know where. Or when.
Or how.
What Hugh mentioned from before still bothered Lack-Two more than he admitted. Although he promised to himself that he won't be as hands-on with any of his subordinates－even his own mentee－unless he's found the need to. And therefore, any detail outside of his domain should be of less importance.
Yet still, knowing that Whi-Two was with an injury he was and is still not aware of, and to add to that, this suspicious presence that has been following her around lately－it was all weighing on him quite a bit more than he's intended to allow it.
As if he needed more things to think about this time around.
He lands his gaze briefly at his subordinate and the young man and tries to take note of the different crowds that circled them. Thankfully, there was nothing that even he should be wary of.
The people still moved about with their own personal businesses, and for that, Lack-Two's qualms were silenced, albeit only slightly.
As he was about to reach for the popcorn, a presence suddenly moved past him, just a few inches behind his back. He freezes slightly, hands in the middle of reaching for the bag. Then he looks to the direction the presence took and tries once again to examine the sea of faces.
Again, nothing worth his concern. At least at first.
Then he picks out a face that seemed oddly familiar at first glance. Though he was skeptical.
"Yuri…?" he mouths to himself.
He then gestures to the vendor again with his palm to ask for a minute. The vendor, though confused, lowers the popcorn bag, and watches as Lack-Two stuffs both his hands in his pockets, lets his eyes dart somewhere, and starts walking towards a certain direction.
Lack-Two looked around a few more times to ensure he was discreet, and when he was sure that no one, not even his target, had noticed him, he started for the figure.
But he wasn't able to move that far when he heard his subordinate calling for him.
He looks back to her and finds her by the popcorn stand, her eyes connoting confusion. He nods to her direction to say he's on his way back, then he looks back to where the figure was standing, and unsurprisingly enough, the figure is gone.
Lack-Two groans to himself as he proceeds to walk back.
Whi-Two grimaces as her inspector approaches. The latter only smiles.
"So," he greets. "How was it?"
"With all due respect, Sir, you suck."
"Tell that to the monthly reports, not to me." Lack-Two faces the vendor and reaches for his recently purchased bag. Then he offers it to Whi-Two. Whi-Two looks at it glumly, but takes it, nonetheless.
"Who was that, anyway?" he asks. "An ex?"
"You heard what he said," Whi-Two almost mumbles, picking through the paper bag.
"He was a friend."
"Just a friend," Lack-Two points out playfully.
Whi-Two rolls her eyes as she munches on.
"His name is Curtis... We grew up together in Striaton before I moved to Aspertia to attend the police academy."
"And...?"
"He's a singer. A well-known one at that."
"And...?"
With a sigh of defeat, Whi-Two rolls her eyes.
"...And we used to date."
Lack-Two smirks.
"...There we go." He then steps forward and starts subtly leading Whi-two to continue walking. But only after second-checking the vicinity. Whi-Two makes a face, but follows nonetheless, unaware of the peculiar look in her inspector's face. Which was immediately replaced by a look of amusement.
"Well, at least now we know you're not lesbian," he sighs, lowering his arm from her back and returning it to his side.
"Fayba owes me twenty bucks."
Then his eyes turn solemn.
"What happened?"
"As any textbook young relationship would go about," Whi-Two shrugs, mindlessly nibbling at a kernel.
"We wanted different things. He wanted a happily ever after... I wanted to be a police officer."
"Quite far from the textbooks I've read, but go on."
Whi-Two grimaces but does as she was told.
"He wanted to travel the world and make music, and even though he didn't admit it, he wanted me to go with him. But he knew from day one what I wanted, so…"
Whi-Two only raises and lowers her one shoulder in that dejected way that she sometimes does when she's tired, but to Lack-Two, she's done more than enough for him to understand what exactly she went through.
"He couldn't take that?" he asks, a hint of suggestion instead of inquiry in his voice.
"Oh no," she shakes her head. "He actually offered that we try long distance. He said he'd wait for me, and that I was worth it, but I turned him down."
She smiles ruefully, crumpling the now empty bag in her small, slightly shaking hands.
"I don't think I have the heart to make someone wait for me indefinitely. That's just unfair for the both of us."
Lack-Two watches her with a solemn gaze. Then he sighs and looks back at the sea of people that surrounded them.
"I hear you," he whispers.
Whi-Two gives him a look, just in time for him to lower his gaze, the nonchalant look in his face quickly returning.
"So, what's he doing here now?" he asks, erasing the solemn tone completely.
At that, Whi-Two's expression suddenly lights up.
"He actually just bought a place there in central Nimbasa! I mean, he'd still travel, but this will be where he's setting base for most of the time. And I'm proud of him too! The places up there in central are super expensive and too obnoxiously luxurious."
"For most people," Lack-Two snorts.
Whi-Two looks at him with disdain.
"Like I said: Obnoxious."
"...And I'm guessing he's got someone new waiting for him up there?"
The girl shakes her head.
"No," she sighs. "Oddly enough he's still single."
"H—"
"...And before you say anything, no. Us is still off the table." Whi-Two takes the crumpled-up bag and attempts to shoot it at a nearby trash can. The bag, much to the girl's chagrin, makes a last-minute decision to miss. Lack-two finds himself amused enough to laugh.
"Well, why not?" he reasons out, watching Whi-Two pick the bag up and dropping it properly at the chute.
"I mean, he's already living here now and with that goal of yours, I don't think you're going anywhere. And yes, he will be traveling from time to time, but he still comes home to you. I mean, you get to keep your job and be with a guy who is obviously still head over heels in love with you. Sounds like a win to me. Not a lot of girls can have that."
There was an evident drop in Whi-Two's spirit as she conjured up a slightly rueful smile. It makes Lack-Two drop his.
"Distance…" Whi-Two begins wistfully, giving Lack-Two a resigned look.
"It was never really the problem, to begin with…"
Lack-Two watches her as she looks down at nothing in particular, absentmindedly fiddling with her bag strap.
"Then what was?" he prods.
"As I've said, Lack-Two, this is not in my priority. It wasn't then. It definitely isn't now. I'm..."
"Busy?" Lack-Two suggests in an unconvinced tone.
"...Emotionally unavailable," Whi-Two mouths unconvincingly.
Lack-Two snorts and rolls his eyes.
"Bullshit."
"Ah, but it's true, Sir," Whi-Two points out. "What with work and family being my top priority, I don't think…"
"Don't get me wrong, Whi-Two, I'm not saying none of that is true. Work is definitely important. Family?" He shrugs. "It depends. But I don't think it's healthy for you to close yourself off just like that. You can't face things alone, okay? At some point, you're going to need someone to back you up, and, sometimes, work and family can't do that."
He then gives out a remorseful sigh, but still manages to give out a resigned smile.
"Trust me."
Whi-Two watches him for a moment, taking note of the way her inspector's eyes seem so focused yet unfocused at the same time. She wonders if he's looked like that the entire time they were talking.
Then she takes a deep breath.
"But I'm not alone," she reasons out, joining Lack-Two with staring at nothing in particular.
"I mean, I have you."
Lack-Two gives her a quick look－quick enough for her not to notice, but long enough for him to study her every feature. In his head, he tries to save the memory of what he just saw and what he's been seeing since she's entered the picture and tried his mightiest to contain her in just one image he can just store away.
And just like before, he fails all too miserably.
Lack-Two could only sigh.
"Mentors aren't forever, kid," he mumbles, almost to himself.
-...-
Lailani O: Hey, it's me! I'm in the area haha. You free?
Lack-Two's brows furrowed as he held the phone to his face. He had just gotten home and was already by his apartment's door, his key in his other hand. The last thing he needed was another social gathering of some sort.
He's already used up most of his energy with Whi-Two from earlier on, and knowing Lai, what he had left was not enough.
Still, a chat with Lailani would be beneficial, he muses a bit to himself. Of all the people in his already extremely short list of acquaintances, it was only Lai that he could actually speak his mind a bit more freely without the need to explain himself－given that Lai almost never actually asks－and true enough, he's gotten a lot more in his head at the moment than what he's willing to hold on to.
In addition to that, he's also wanted to discuss more what he's seen earlier on. Perhaps, Lai would be interested.
It was, after all, about her former mentee.
Lack-Two grunts a bit, moving his phone to his more dominant hand, and starts typing.
No.
As expected, the reply was quick.
Lailani O: Great! Already here at your place.
At that, Lack-Two raises a brow, and quickly yet calmly, he proceeds to open his door, and true enough, Lailani was already there, sitting by his couch. With what seems like Jaques Selosse by his coffee table.
"Surprise!" Lai cheers with a small gesture. Lack-Two could note the slight blush in her tan skin and the forlorn look in her eyes.
Lai had been drinking. Or crying. Or both.
Either way, Lack-Two knew that his topic of choice had to be settled for next time.
"I have so many questions," he greets her with a sigh, walking to his coat rack to hang his jacket.
"But firstly, how in the hell did you get in here?"
"Magic," Lai teases. Then she reaches for something in her bag and fishes out a key.
"By the way, here's your duplicate back."
"I don't have a duplicate," Lack-Two points out, watching as Lai lands it on the nearby table's glass top. Lai only shrugs, lifting her glass of champagne to her lips.
The young inspector watches her for a short while before staring back down to his table, now focusing on the bottle of expensive alcohol. Lai follows his gaze.
"Oh yeah, I brought something for ya!" she boasts and then smiles shyly as she gestures at her glass.
"Although I hope you don't mind that I've already started with it." She takes another swig.
"Now I get why you're so addicted to these things. Expensive liquor is damn good."
"Which brings me to my second question," Lack-Two mutters, walking towards her. He reaches the coffee table and stands there, his posture allowing him to look down on the still obliviously drinking female inspector. Though his eyes connoted annoyance, there was still a hint of concern.
And Lai, despite being slightly intoxicated, could still note that, being the detective that she was.
"Remember when you said that if I wanted to hold a conversation with you, I should offer you something like this?" She gestures for the bottle, and before Lack-Two could follow her, she immediately grabs the bottle to refill her glass. The young inspector sighs, and then reaches out for it, right before Lai could even reach halfway.
Lai watches him, slightly confused.
The boy lowers himself so he could level with her face.
"Alright," he grunts.
"What's going on, Lai?"
At that, the smile on the female inspector's face slowly drops.
"I saw Hugh today," she softly whispers, looking down a bit sadly. Though there was still a hint of that carefree smile she always exudes to everyone. Lack-Two had himself wondering if ever that was ever sincere or just an involuntary thing with her.
"You met with Hugh?" Lack-Two prods on when he found that she didn't plan on following up with her statement.
"No, Nate, I just saw him." Lai lets out a drunken cackle which immediately dies down when she sees that the serious look in her friend's face barely fades away.
"Well, meeting up with him was the plan," she breathes, looking down again. "But he was with this tall, formal-looking guy who I assumed was his superior, so I figured, 'meh'." She shrugs.
"I don't think it would do him or any of UPD good if I sauntered off there in front of them looking like this."
Lack-Two makes a face.
"Good God, woman, how much have you been drinking?"
Lai smiles again.
"Take it this way," she explains, gesturing at the bottle in Lack-Two's arms.
"I was supposed to bring you two bottles of expensive-ass wine."
Lack-Two watches Lai for a moment before he lets out a sigh and walks to where Lai sat, lowering himself a respectable distance from her. Then, after giving it some thought, he hands the bottle back to the girl. Lai, though a bit confused, accepts it graciously.
It was against his better judgment to let Lai fall even deeper into this madness, but he of all people knew what kind of things people like Lai are going through to turn to alcohol for comfort.
He may be, as Whi-Two coined, a "drunkard", but he was no hypocrite.
"So, what happened?" he asks, producing himself a glass as well and taking part in the bottle.
He may not have the heart to stop her from drinking, but it doesn't mean he won't try to at least lessen the damage.
"Oh, I stared at him for a moment from a distance before giving up, bought some alcohol, and went straight to you." Lai giggles.
"You know, if you think about it, without the alcohol, this is just like old times, right? From when we were in the Academy?"
Lack-Two watches the champagne in his glass thoughtfully.
That statement could have never been truer.
"Why'd you decide to go to him?" he asks when he noticed that Lai was getting quieter again. To which the female inspector replies with a shrug.
"I don't even know," she sighs. "For some reason, when you told me that he was in town and that I should go see him, my mind decided, 'This could be your last chance. Why don't you just go for it?'"
"'Last chance'?"
"Bastard still looks the same, you noticed? Like he didn't age away from that gorgeous idiot I obsessed over back at the academy. It's almost torture."
Lai hiccups, and Lack-Two had to second-guess himself whether it was the hiccup or something else that had caused the crack in her voice as she spoke.
"It's kind of unfair, you know," she muses, her usual, carefree smile suddenly growing bitter. "It's like every person I learn to care about leaves. Moves on to the other side."
She bites her lip, tears forming in her eyes.
"Leaving me behind."
It was at that moment－in the years that Lack-Two knew Lai－it was only then that Lack-Two was able to witness Lai cry the way she did.
She cried nothing like most girls he'd seen. Lai didn't bawl like a child. She didn't scream, or thrash around, or look at all pitiful.
Instead, she sat there, wordlessly consuming the rest of her glass's contents, tears silently streaming down her cheeks, all the way to her lap.
Lack-Two could only watch her.
"I mean, scoreboard," she was saying, still being able to escape a giggle amidst the tears. She then raises one of her hands and starts counting with her fingers.
"Hugh, my granddad, Yuri, all of the pet dogs I've had my entire life, my old mentor, you…"
At that, Lack-Two's gaze immediately falls unto her, just in time for Lai to do the same. The latter smiles amidst the tears.
"Look," she says. "I don't think I know anyone in this city aside from the Superintendent who is prouder of you than I am, but..."
"To be fair, only you and the superintendent know," Lack-Two counters.
"Fact of the matter is... I'm heckin' proud of you, you dramatic asshole!" She hits him lightly on the arm.
"But it just sucks that you're pulling a Hugh Richards on me, dude. It just sucks so bad."
"Yeah, well…" Lack-Two sighs, looking down on his still untouched liquor. Lai only watches him with a rueful smile.
"What can we do, right?" she continues for him knowingly.
Lack-Two returns her gaze to her and gives a small, resigned smile himself. Then he sighs and relaxes himself towards the backrest, now landing his eyes on the ceiling.
"Well, it's not like I'm leaving for anything anytime soon," he mumbles, almost to himself. "And we both know Hugh is here for a far longer period than what I'm willing to tolerate. You still have all the time in the world."
He looks at her.
"Why the sudden meltdown now?"
To that, Lai only scoffs, following his position against the backrest.
"Not all people are like you who can schedule when their meltdowns will occur."
"Not all people can," Lack-Two agrees.
"But I know for a fact that you can. Which brings me back to my original question..."
He takes a moment to pause and set his glass down on the coffee table. Then he lets out a grunt as he sits closer to the girl. Lai watches on an indecipherable look in her face.
"What's going on, Lai?"
Instead of answering, Lai closes the gap between them by leaning to his direction, and, without hesitation, landing her lips against his.
Lack-Two does not move, let alone react. He stays perfectly still, and so did Lai. She only lets her lips touch his for a few seconds before casually leaning back.
"There really is nothing there, huh?" she asks, easing herself back to the backrest.
Lack-Two lets a corner of his mouth rise as a form of a smile before he shakes his head.
"Same here," Lai sighs. Then she laughs.
"At least now we know for sure, right?"
Then her smile fades as she looks wistfully at nothing in particular.
"Say, Nate?"
She turns her head to him.
"You're my friend, right?"
The young inspector only watches her. But still, he finds it in his senses to nod.
"And no matter what happens, you'll always be my friend… right?"
Still no response. Lai looks at him, her expression solemn.
Lack-Two finds himself looking down before he could answer.
"Of course, Lai. I'll always be your friend."
"No matter what happens?
Lack-Two winces.
"No matter what happens," he agrees softly.
Lai smiles ruefully.
"Nate?"
He looks back at her.
"Inspector Lack-Two, I have something very important to tell you."
-...-
Will have to take a rain check tonight. Urgent. Sorry!
The young detective sighs as she places her phone away, hoping that her friends can still extend their patience for her despite the umpteenth time she's canceled on them because of work. Especially now when they took the time to pay her a visit in her location, which she knew, knowing them, was them already going out of their way.
Whi-Two tightens her seatbelt as the car sped through the streets, and tries but almost fails to decipher all the messages coming through at once from the speaker. Somehow, despite the crispness and clarity of the voices, they all seemed like static against the pounding sound in her head.
It was one of the most vital cases she's heard in weeks－and that says a lot considering she worked where she did－so she insisted on coming despite the hesitant look in Lai's eyes when she approached the female inspector. And although Whi-Two was able to convince her superior of her involvement, she still wouldn't be able to blame the inspector if she'd decided otherwise.
About a month or so since they last worked a case together, and up until now, it was only the CSI-U inspector in the entire precinct who is knowledgeable of her certain handicap, and its sources.
Whi-Two feels for her right shoulder, ignoring the vibrations coming from her phone. She could only assume it to be her friends voicing out their supposed understanding of her situation－though deep inside, Whi-Two knew, even they were growing tired of it all－and, unfortunately for her, that one message was the only thing she could give to them as an appeal for further patience.
She could still feel a small tinge of pain when she moves her arms－she fears it to be permanent damage－but other than that tolerable sting, she knew she could already handle herself. The short lesson from before coming from Hugh also proved to be very helpful.
Not including what she thinks are the small hiccups, Whi-Two was already in tip-top shape. And this would be the start of her coming back into the field after a far too long hiatus.
Her and the driver's body pull a bit forward at the abrupt breaks. She could already hear the murmurs coming from outside the car, where more policemen were moving around and shouting commands. A small hint of burning dried leaves wafted towards her nose as she stepped outside, and as soon as both feet were on the ground, Whi-Two strips down all her doubts and fears.
It was supposedly a peaceful farming capital, and for the longest time, Whi-Two had heard very little crime occurring here, except for the usual skirmishes between landowners and farmers. But never something big enough that it required the summoning of the main division.
Which is why it's made Whi-Two even more fired up.
"Detective," an officer lifts his head from a group to acknowledge her approaching. Whi-Two noted the face to be familiar, but couldn't seem to place a name on the face.
Leo of HNT's face continues to light up as she walks towards him.
"Detective Whi-Two" he greets, breaking himself away from the group completely to accommodate her. They both give each other a salute.
"You're…" He looks around for good measure. "Not with Inspector Lack-Two today?"
The young detective smiles sheepishly.
"Um, no…" she shakes her head. "It's a Thursday. Day Off."
"Oh." There was an apparent hint of relief in Leo's voice.
"I'm actually with Inspector Oudir right now," she explains, already looking around, trying to get more clues on the situation.
"By any chance, have you seen where she's gone?"
"Oh, Inspector Lai, she…" Leo trails off, eyes scanning around for the right face. Then he outstretches his index finger and gestures for the familiar set of blonde hair just by the other side of the area, in conversation with more uniformed officers.
"She's talking to the heads of the precinct here. Apparently, there was a witness that reported to them of what seemed like a small, dead body found in one of the vegetable patches. Possibly starved to de－er..." He suddenly looks aghast, giving Whi-Two a concerned look as his hand slowly moves to his mouth.
"S-Sorry… I don't mean to freak you out with the details, I..."
"Oh, no no! It's okay!" Whi-two exclaims, raising both hands.
"I'm also part of the CSI-U. Believe me, I've seen and heard so much worse."
She looks back at the direction where Lai was at. The latter was beginning to point people around.
"What is the situation now?"
"We're still at nothing," Leo announces sadly.
"We've scoured almost every possible hiding place in this area, and still we couldn't find where the other missing kids may be kept. Although, many investigations before this one have already pointed to this area. It's just so close to impossible to secure a search warrant when you're dealing with Unova's number one vegetable exporters." He clicks his tongue.
"Damn snooty rich bastards. I'm willing to bet they're also the ones behind this."
"You know we're not allowed to say that," Whi-Two whispers, gesturing for him to do the same. Then in her regular voice, she continues.
"Besides, we don't have any proof of that being true."
"Look around, Detective," Leo points out. "Aside from Unova's one and only airport that is insanely guarded, this and the port in Virbank are the only places in this country that can actually export something… And I can tell you right now, my hometown will have to check ten times before they could let a ship sail. So smuggling kids or their organs by sea is a lot less likely."
"Wow, you have some… very strong feelings about this case," Whi-Two comments, still looking for a window to be able to walk out and approach Lai.
"I love kids," Leo claims proudly. "I can't get enough of them! Which is why knowing people make money from kidnapping them and selling them as slaves to heartless bastards overseas irks me terribly."
Then he gives Whi-Two a sheepish look.
"As a matter of fact, I love kids so much, I can't wait for us to have them."
"What?"
"What." Leo looks to his side.
"Yes, Officer, I'm coming." Then he looks at Whi-Two.
"I have to…"
"Please."
Whi-Two watches as the flustered officer starts brisk walking his way to the other side. As soon as he was a good distance away, she too started her way to where Lailani stood.
"Inspector," she greets with a salute.
"Detective," Lai mouths, almost a bit in shock.
"You actually pushed through coming here…"
"Well, yes," Whi-Two agrees, although a bit unsurely. "I want to help. This is a search and rescue, Ma'am, I'd like to believe my skills in detecting can assist us in finding those kids."
"I understand that, Rosa, but…" Lai trails off, biting her lip, her eyes suddenly filled with worry.
"What about your injury?"
"I've healed," Whi-Two was quick to reassure her, trying her best to convince herself of the same thing. "I promise."
Lailani watches her for a moment, the doubtful look in her eyes not showing any signs of going away. Whi-Two counters it with a determined look－the same one she's been using to win over arguments with Lack-Two. If she could call Lack-Two begrudgingly telling her she's not his responsibility as winning.
Thankfully, Lai was not as hard of an opponent.
"I understand," she whispers. Then she nods and takes a deep breath.
Whi-Two's determined look is replaced with worry.
"Is everything alright, Inspector?"
Lailani gives her a look before forcing a smile.
"Just tired, dear," she mumbled. Then she looks at the large cargo house at the end of what Whi-Two had just realized to be an airstrip.
Whi-Two then follows her inspector's gaze back to the cargo house, just in time for Lailani to return her gaze to the younger.
"You ready to find some kids?"
-...-
"Inspector, what are you doing?" Whi-Two starts looking around warily to see if any uniformed officers who have been searching nearby had eyes on them. Thankfully—though at the same time, surprisingly—none have had. She then returns her gaze to the female inspector, who was trying to pick one of the backdoor locks of the largest storage houses.
"Trying to open the door, dear," Lai replies, not taking her eyes off the lock. "And I could sure appreciate any assistance, sweetie. Do you mind fetching me that crowbar near you?"
Whi-Two looks to her side, and true enough, amidst the darkness of the back area, there was indeed a crowbar just a few inches from where she stood. She bends over, picks it up, and hands it to the inspector.
"How did you…?" she starts, but is cut off with the sound of Lai's short but loud shriek as she hits the lock with the rusting metal. Whi-Two winces at the noise, and again, she starts looking around to see if any soul at all has heard them.
"Don't worry about us being caught, Detective, this is the back of one of the restricted areas we've no search warrant for. No uniformed officer would dare come near."
"And that's exactly what I'm worried about, Inspector," Whi-Two returns to Lai, who was now using the crowbar to wrench the dented deadbolt open.
"We've no search warrant for this. The owners might…"
"…Catch us?" Lai cuts her off, now attempting to break the chains with her own hands. "Send a formal complaint? Have us suspended if not stripped off of our badges?" She makes a point to face Whi-Two with an assuring smile.
"I'd be worried about those things if we were uniformed officers from just any division, Detective, but we're from Main! It'll take them millions and countless lawsuits before they could even make the higher-ups consider putting any form of legal pressure on Main." She grunts, this time trying another approach by lifting a large stone and hitting it against the bolt.
"It's about time you learn that, Whi-Two."
Said detective suddenly looks at Lai with a confused expression. It was the first time she's called her by her undercover codename.
"Inspector…?"
BANG!
Lai lowers her gun, watching as the metal chain finally falls from the door handle. Then with a grunt, she gives the door a strong, frustrated kick.
The door swings open, shedding faint light from the outside into an otherwise pitch-black space. Whi-Two watches as Lailani pulls out her torchlight and gun, and starts walking in without hesitation. She starts for the middle of the area, and soon enough, Whi-Two can see her fading away as she moves farther and farther. Still unsettled but afraid of losing her inspector, the young detective follows suit.
It was a large and spacious warehouse, Whi-Two notes, moving her torchlight around as much as she could, in case something might suddenly jump on them. And the young detective was sure never to let what happened before happen again.
She feels her throat constrict at the thought of the shadow that now haunts her very dreams.
"Detective, over here." Whi-Two turns to the direction of her name being called and finds the inspector's light shining towards her. She squints for a bit but nonetheless traipses her way to where her inspector stood.
"You alright?" Lai asks as Whi-Two almost tiptoes her way towards her, the latter warily gliding her light around.
"I wouldn't worry too much, dear," she tells the young detective. "If there were any people here, we wouldn't be able to go this far."
Whi-Two looks at her questioningly, and even though Lai could not completely make out her subordinate's expression, she nevertheless takes her light and shines it next to her. What seems like stairs appear before them.
"Eh?" the young detective blinks. "How did you—"
Before Whi-Two could finish her words, she finds Lai already moving up.
"I-Inspector…!" she calls after her, but even without shining a light on the blonde, the young detective knew she won't heed her words and would only expect her to follow.
All of a sudden, Lai was starting to act a lot like Lack-Two.
Good thing she knew how to act around a Lack-Two.
Again, with one last look around the vicinity to ensure that no one was in pursuit, she faces the metal steps and starts hoisting herself up.
-…-
The first thing that Whi-Two notes as soon as she steps into what felt like a room made of metal scaffolding was the sudden stench. A stench so uniquely strong and pungent, that Whi-Two knew immediately what it was:
The smell of rotting flesh.
Her hand immediately flies towards her nose and mouth. She could feel herself gagging.
Then she feels something small and cloth-like hit her lightly on the face. She looks down and targets her light on the object, and finds a face mask.
"Hoping that helps, Dear," Lai was saying as she applied a similar mask over her nose and mouth. Whi-Two watches as the female inspector turns away from her once again, and starts rummaging around. The earlier, with a dejected sigh muffled by her mask, marches her way to the latter.
"No signs of any kid anywhere," Lai was announcing, sweeping the area with her light.
"Though that comes out as no surprise."
Whi-Two watches the inspector carefully as she nears her.
Lai went on.
"...But we did find something that will prove everybody's hunches if it weren't for this department's stupid bureaucracy."
Whi-Two gives her a look, and Lai gestures at the boxes with her light. The girl follows, and what greets her was what seemed like a rotting piece of an organ.
The girl immediately backs away.
"Good God, what is that?!" she gags.
Lai retains composure.
"That, Detective, is a kidney with no body attached to it. By the looks of it, this has been sitting here to rot for about five days, at least based on my estimate. And I'm no medical examiner, but judging by the way its color is a bit dark despite the short amount of time it's been subjected to air, this was not a healthy kidney."
Whi-Two groans.
"But here's where it gets interesting," Lai continues, facing the struggling detective.
"Detective, you've taken biological forensics back in the Academy. How old do you think the owner of this kidney was?"
Hesitantly, Whi-Two looks at the kidney once more and then returns her gaze back to her inspector. Sadly.
Lai only looks at her expectantly.
"...Nine or ten," she whispers. "It could be older, but definitely not more than twelve."
The young inspector smiles glumly as she returns her gaze to the box.
"Right answer," she whispers back. Lai closes the box gently and starts streaming her light around, giving Whi-Two a good look of what surrounded them in that small space.
There were more boxes of various sizes. And, if looked upon closely, appendages were lying about, some she could tell was still fresh with blood.
Whi-Two's heart sank.
"Why are they just thrown about like this?" she asks.
"I thought these people sell these in the black market or something?"
Lai sighs.
"They sell the 'good' ones, obviously. But of course, when the orders are packing up high, you don't get to have much time for quality control. So…"
She moves the light around again, illuminating the boxes one by one.
"They just take as much as they can and leave the rejects behind."
Whi-Two starts walking to one of the boxes and starts examining them, noting how long they have been stored there and what could possibly be inside.
She could feel something constricting her throat.
"What kind of monsters would do this…" she mumbled.
Lai watches Whi-Two from behind briefly. Then she sighs, pulls out a gun, and points it at her.
"The kind of monsters that actually live among us."
-...-
Whi-Two eyes Lai and the gun in the latter's hand. Pointed directly to her.
She drops her torch in shock.
"I-Inspector, what are you…?"
Lai looks at her with lifeless eyes.
"I'm sorry it has to come to this," the young inspector begins. "I really, desperately prayed to God that you wouldn't come here today."
She tightens her hold on the weapon, and aims it directly to Whi-Two's forehead.
"Then maybe we wouldn't have to be this way."
Whi-Two watches the other officer hold her weapon so calmly and steadily－something she's never found herself seeing before. Lai had always been a topnotch detective, perhaps one of the best she's ever since. But never in her entire stay in the UPD had she seen her wield a weapon.
And the fact that she now stands there before her with a stance much calmer and more composed than hers scared her.
She thinks of reaching for her gun, but something about the way Lailani looked at her made her believe she might have to sit that idea out.
Her inspector would have killed her before she could even aim her gun.
Whi-Two instead proceeds to raise both her hands in surrender.
Lai grips her weapon even tighter.
"Duck, Rosa."
Confused but overruled by reflexes to follow command, Whi-Two immediately lowers herself, just in time for a bullet to pass over her. It zooms past where Whi-Two's head was, narrowly missing Lai's cheek before it hits squarely to one of the boxes behind her.
Lai places both her hands on her gun, and continues to point into the shadow. Whi-Two follows her gaze.
A man emerges from the darkness, a gun in his hand. He mirrors Lai's stance.
"Well, well, well," he begins with a smile.
"Isn't this delightful? I wouldn't have expected that we'd have guests. Then maybe I would have tidied things up a bit."
The man starts walking a few more steps, carefully approaching Lai. The young inspector retains her stance.
"Nevertheless, I would like to welcome you, officers. Hopefully, though, you don't plan on staying? I do still have errands to run."
A click was heard from behind, and the man turns around and finds Whi-Two pointing her gun at him.
He smiles.
"Drop your weapon," she orders in her lowest, most commanding voice.
"Hands behind your head. This is your first warning."
The man only laughs at her.
"I don't think you understand," he says, facing Whi-Two completely but still aiming the gun to his back, to where Lai stood.
"I simply must get to those errands, regardless of my situation. My partner can be very impatient."
"I said, 'drop your weapon and hands behind your head'," Whi-Two repeats, louder. She places her finger into the trigger, readying herself.
"Sir, this is your second warning. I will shoot."
"Well, aren't you adorable? It was a good call that I didn't finish you the first time."
He starts moving his arm slowly, changing his gun's target from Lai to Whi-Two.
"Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to see that cute little face..."
He aims the gun to Whi-Two's forehead.
"...Rookie."
Whi-Two's freezes in shock, making her break her stance. Suddenly her arms felt limp and useless while her legs turned stiff. Her throat began to tighten, constricting her voice.
She recognizes that voice too well.
"It's… you…" she stammers, slowly dropping her gun. Lai watches the young detective crumble in distress.
"Rosa, no－!"
Before Lai could take a step forward, she feels the ground move abruptly forward, sending her and Whi-two rolling to the far end of the other side of the room.
The man acts past and reaches for what seemed like a handle above him, and was able to regain his balance.
He laughs as he watches the two officers hit some of the boxes and be doused in bloodied ice and rotting human appendages.
"Like I said," he begins as Lai still struggles to go to Whi-Two to comfort the trembling girl.
"My partner is impatient. Those errands simply must be done."
Back outside, Leo hears a rumble. He turns to the source of the noise and finds the large warehouse behind them shaking. Thinking if he was maybe delusional, he starts for it, but before he could land his second step, what seemed like a plane bursts out of the establishment, driving itself to where he and the rest of the uniformed officers were standing.
"Incoming!" one of the officers screamed, and everyone started scattering about to get out of the way. Leo, in shock, could only watch as the airship quickly approached where he stood. But before he could find himself being run over by its large wheels, they started to fold, and Leo, along with the rest of the officers, watched as the plane began to ascend.
All of them fully unaware of what was on that ship, and more importantly, who.
-...-
"Yuri… don't do this."
The laughter in Yuri's eyes slowly dies down and is replaced with resentment as he stares down his former mentor and the young rookie detective, his hand still firm and straight as it points his gun towards the two.
"I thought we agreed you would never mention that name to me again," he almost growls.
"...Inspector Lailani of the CSI-U..."
"Wait, that's Yuri?!" Whi-Two hisses, retaining her protective stance next to Lai, who was doing the same for her.
"I-I thought he was…"
"Dead?" Yuri finishes for her. "Compromised? Dropped out of the UPD's radar?" He then eyes Lai once more, this time with disdain.
"Abandoned?"
Lai's eyes were filled with remorse.
"Yuri, you know that if I could, I would have convinced Nimbasa to continue looking for you, but we didn't have much information to work on when you disappeared. You barely gave us anything to work with. How were we to know you survived?!"
"Way to blame the victim, Inspector," Yuri returns with a snide. "Classic UPD tactics." He then releases a broken chuckle.
"Why can't you just admit that you people were too afraid that an undercover agent came too close to exposing an organization proving too big for their sorry asses to handle, and that the only thing they could find to save face is cut all ties with that poor agent who just wanted to do his damn job…" He clicks his tongue as he shakes his head with a bitter smile.
"You people are animals…"
Lai makes a face.
"I found you, didn't I?" she mutters, lowering her head. Whi-Two looks down at her sadly, but then she notices her hand moving. It was subtle for even Yuri to notice, but Whi-Two could see that her inspector was pointing at something. The young detective moves her eyes slowly to the direction and finds Lai's gun just a few inches behind from where they both sat, where it had probably flown off when they lost their balance.
Whi-Two starts reaching for it while not taking her eyes off Yuri.
"I found you," Lai says again, louder this time.
"Despite Aldin's orders. Despite UPD protocol. I searched for you, long and hard, despite what little resources I had, and here I am." Lai starts to crawl slightly to where Yuri stood. Naturally, the young man follows her with his gun.
"You weren't abandoned. At least not by me."
The dark-haired man watches Lai and gradually crouches so that he and Lai are at each other's eye level.
"You're right," he begins. "You did find me. And you were a big help to me, and you were an amazing superior officer and mentor up until the very end, even after realizing whose side I fight for now. And I couldn't have been more touched by the gesture."
Then he grabs Lai's hair and touches his gun's nozzle to her forehead.
"But nobody likes a snitch, Lailani. And, I don't know how UPD handles snitches like you, but in my line of work, we make sure traitors of any form－especially those who bring police task forces into our major hideouts－never see the light of day."
BANG!
Yuri feels the bullet pierce through his hand, making him let Lailani go. The inspector immediately pulls away and backs down. But Yuri does not come after her. Instead, he looks to his side, to where Whi-Two stood, gun once more in hand.
"Told you I wasn't afraid to shoot," she breathes, cocking the gun once more.
"And I'm not afraid to shoot again."
Yuri cradles his injured hand as he stood, chuckling to himself.
"Well, well, well," he hums. "Nothing less expected from someone under the tutelage of Mister Perfect himself. You're quite impressive, Detective Whi-Two of the SUU and CSI-U." He then starts walking towards her.
"Or should I say… Detective Rosa Bilden?"
Whi-Two takes a sharp intake of breath.
"How'd you know my real name?!"
The young detective was only half a second off from recovering, but before she could, Yuri immediately dashes to where she stood, sends a punch down her gut, and she doubles over at the sudden blow, he takes her hand and the gun with it, twists it up to free the gun from it, and ends with yanking her arm up while applying pressure on her right shoulder with his knee.
Whi-Two screams in pain.
"Wow, you're just as easily distracted as the records say you are," Yuri taunts, pushing down on her injured shoulder even harder.
"Don't worry, dear, your name is not the only thing I know about you."
Whi-Two makes a quick scan of her surroundings and finds the gun he made her let go lying just below her. She tries to reach for it with her other hand. Yuri notices.
"Oh, what's wrong, sweet little detective? Can't fight back without a gun? Damn, is 8.5 that low of a score?"
"L-Let me go…"
"What? Let you go? But we were just having a little bit of fun right? From a former CSI-U SUU hybrid to a current one… I mean…" He grins, pulling even harder.
"I too have studied under the tutelage of your beloved mentor. I'm basically your senior."
"Yuri stop that this instance!"
A large, heavyweight wooden lid hits Yuri squarely on the back, making him let go of Whi-Two. He turns to Lailani who held the now broken wooden board in her trembling hands, a dangerous look in his eyes.
"You…"
Lai is unfazed.
"I won't let you make Nate suffer what I did when I lost my mentee…"
And that was the last thing she said before she charged to Yuri at full-speed. Yuri, unable to prepare himself quickly enough, is brought back by Lailani's weight. The impact sends him and the inspector flying across the small space.
Into the opening that Lai and Whi-Two left open when they first boarded.
"INSPECTOR!" was all Whi-Two could scream as she felt the fabric of Lai's uniform slip from her fingers as she tried but failed to chase after them. She was half a second too late, and she had to stand there and watch as both Lai and Yuri's bodies flew out of the plane and fell to God knows where. They were too high up now for her to know.
"No…" she squeaks, slowly sinking to her knees.
She was just there. She was right there.
And she couldn't save her.
She was but a few inches away from here and Whi-Two couldn't do a damn thing.
The young detective was useless.
Whi-Two suddenly feels her body convulse as she starts throwing up. Her body decided tears were not enough.
She was so close.
So damn close.
There was a sound of a gun clicking behind her head.
"Hands above your head and slowly straighten yourself up, officer."
Whi-Two inhales and lets out a resigned sigh.
She's completely forgotten about the "partner".
"Don't make me say it again, officer," the man claims again, pushing the gun even harder to the back of her head.
"Shouldn't you be manning the plane?" she asks, not turning her head. Her voice was calm, and it surprised her.
"Auto-pilot," the man replies, and there was a small taint of a quiver in his voice. Whi-Two takes note of that.
"But that's none of your business, alright? Now, do as I say, officer. Or..."
"Or what? You're going to kill me?"
"No, I won't do that. I'm going to have to land this plane and be able to walk away unscathed, and since I don't have the boss anymore to help me out, I'm going to use you as a hostage." There was a pause.
"But again, that's none of your business. Up!"
"So you can't kill me," Whi-Two continues, her voice still as calm. "If you can't kill me, then there's nothing else for you to do to threaten me. Why should I obey you?"
The tremble in the man's voice becomes more apparent as Whi-Two begins to show movements.
"I-I'm…"
Whi-Two suddenly turns to the man and smiles.
"...Doomed."
And in a swift and sudden movement, Whi-Two springs herself up and uses the momentum to hit the man on the nose with her elbow. After which, she turns, knees the man in the gut, grabs the gun as he is caught off his stance, presses her knee on his shoulder as she holds his arm up, and points the gun at him.
"Fly this plane back this instant."
The man struggles to let go but fails.
"A-And why should I follow you?"
At that, Whi-Two smirks.
"Because I can learn how to manage this plane in a matter of minutes with some guidance from colleagues down there, but I don't think you can do the same while plummeting down to your death."
-...-
The rest of the events went by in a blur to Whi-Two, each scene as detached pigments in her then clouded mind. She remembers threatening the pilot at gunpoint to land the plane back to Mistralton City, the confused but relieved faces of her fellow officers as she emerges from the plane, a criminal on hand and a plane full of shreds of evidence. She remembers Leo along with the other officers attending to her and making the mistake of asking her where Inspector Lailani was. She remembers feeling an overwhelming amount of adrenaline kicking in, making her jerk up and start running.
Whi-Two remembers feeling the stiffness of her legs, making it much harder for her to move them up and down as she ran across the fields, to where she surmised her inspector's body may have landed. She remembers feeling the tears stream down her face as she reloaded the gun in her hand with a fresh batch of bullets. She remembers preparing herself for a fight, and she remembers full well the face of the man she promised herself she'd kill upon the sight.
But Whi-Two remembers most of all the sound of a gunshot. She remembers it startling some nearby wildlife, making them run the opposite direction, convincing her to quicken her pace despite the pain. She remembers reaching a clearing, and she remembers noting each and every object she could lay her eyes on:
Remains of what seemed like a parachute, a dismantled gun, sprays of blood, the blinding absence of that man and his trail...
...And the lifeless body of Lailani Oudir.
-Mission_8 Status: Failed-
"As part of the UPD's Code of Ethics, it is against UPD protocol to conduct investigations of any form or execute an arrest without securing the proper warrant from the District's assigned colonel, or in the case of Nimbasa, the Superintendent. Any officer guilty of disobeying this code will be dealt with the agreed upon charges by the UPD Board of Trustees." －Excerpt from the UPD Trooper's Manual, Chapter 10: Investigations and Arrests
LOL at you people if you think I'm done.
-...-
On the other end of the region, Lack-Two finally opens his eyes at the sound of his phone's vibration, after about nine or ten cycles of it dying and living again. He heaves a sigh and sits up, carefully moving the arm of the slumbering figure next to him from his bare chest. The figure begins to squirm a bit, making him return his gaze to her. He waits for a slight moment to see if she's awake, but she simply returns to her slumber after tossing once.
Lack-Two sighs, lands his feet on the floor, and reaches for his bag. He fishes for his phone and finds that he has missed seventeen calls, all from his subordinate Whi-Two.
The young man lowers his phone as he takes another deep breath. But before he could finish his exhale, he felt his phone vibrate again.
He raises the phone back to his eye level, and true enough, Whi-Two was trying to call him again.
Lack-Two feels his throat constrict as he watches his phone light up in that blaring way it does to remind him that it was something he had to attend to. Tremblingly, he lifts his other hand, and, almost as if he had no control over his limbs, he presses onto the red circle.
Reject call.
He then sets his phone back to the bedside table, grabs his shirt and jacket, and proceeds to rise from the bed. The figure next to him raises her head.
"Where are you going, Nate?" she asks in a slurred voice. "Come back to bed. I'll miss you."
Lack-Two sighs before pinning up a smile as he turns to her.
"Just going out for a smoke, baby. I won't be long."
As soon as he is out of earshot, he raises his watch to his lips and starts whispering.
"Gained suspect's daughter's trust. Percentage of intel left to collect: two percent."
He then lights a cigarette and puffs a smoke, looking out into the Nimbasa skyline.
Then a thought passes through his head.
"Note to self," he mutters into his watch.
"Make sure Whi-Two doesn't do something stupid..."
Okay. Now I'm done.
Love ya'll.