Aliens on Aventine Hill

The Fourth of July [Part 2]

"Don't you think it's a little early in the morning for this, Elias?"

Derek hurried after his partner, cursing under his breath as the coffee sloshed up over the edge of his cup and dribbled down his knuckles. He shook off his hand frustratedly, "I mean, it's not like this guy is going anywhere."

"Better to get it out of the way."

Derek straightened up as Elias glanced over his shoulder at him, although he rolled his eyes the moment Elias turned his back again, "Right, right... Time's a wastin' and all that... Where're you going?"

Elias gestured, raising an eyebrow at Elias, "The morgue is this way."

Derek stared up at the building with dread, "Rrrright..."

He followed Elias around the back of the building and down a short staircase into an unloading bay with several ominous garage doors. There was a small black door off to the side which someone had propped open. Elias slipped through before Derek could protest.

The interior hallway was claustrophobic. Both its floors and the lower halves of its walls were tiled; blurry reflections danced in the glazed ceramic. Despite the quiet, something sinister seemed to hang just out of sight.

Elias let the door shut behind them, sealing out the cheery morning sunlight. There were no windows here, Derek noticed. The harsh artificial light made the edges of Elias' face seem even sharper, almost inhuman.

Elias, however, seemed completely oblivious, strolling down the hallway without so much as an air of apprehensiveness while Derek dawdled.

"Ah, there you are, Officers," a man coming down the hallway looked up from his clipboard to greet them. Derek's stomach twisted: there were faint pink stains on the man's bright white jacket.

"Good morning, Frank," Elias nodded, tipping his hat, and gesturing back at Derek, who snapped to attention, "This is my partner, Derek Moore."

Derek looked from the doctor, a man with olive skin and curly salt-and-pepper hair, to Elias with surprise. The two in stark physical contrast to each other—the former with his rounded nose and happy chin, and the latter with his sharp, severe features and cold, calculating eyes.

But more than that, Elias actually seemed happy to see this man. His perpetual scowl had loosened into something that wasn't quite a smile but definitely closer to it. While the doctor gave Derek a polite smile, he scowled at Elias, "I thought you said you were coming alone..."

Elias frowned, "You two were going to meet eventually."

The man inhaled exasperatedly and turned to Derek, extending a hand, "Forgive me. I'm Dr. Breslau. Frank Breslau."

"Ah, a pleasure," Derek stared warily at the doctor's hand before shaking it, eyes on those pink stains. The grip was strong and warm, and Derek felt confident to ask, "So then, do you handle a lot of the police autopsies?"

"Oh no," Dr. Breslau shook his head, "Although there was a time when I worked with the county, those days are long over. But I certainly don't mind doing the occasional favor for an old friend."

He glanced again at Elias, who gritted his teeth and nodded. Dr. Breslau shared a knowing look with Derek and gestured towards a pair of black double doors near the end of the hallway, "Shall we get started?"

Derek grimaced, reluctantly following Elias and Dr. Breslau down the hall.

The first thing that hit him was the smell.

His nose wrinkled, and Derek gagged, but Elias seemed undisturbed. Fighting the urge to pinch his nostrils, Derek wondered how many times his partner had been in this room before.