Psycho

Unit 24

Unfortunately, they were hardly unnoticeable. When he arrived at one of the counters to check in his suitcase, the customs officer couldn't help but ask how he got these bruises. His heart pumped harder, but he stayed calm. He simply replied that he had fell down from high stairs. The officer looked at him suspiciously, then looked down at his passport. She put the sticker on his bag and gave him back his papers.

Inwardly sighing of relief, he walked to the side and waited for Phil. When he was done, he met Dan and asked why it had taken so long for his turn. Dan replied the truth bitterly. Phil didn't add a word.

When they finally got to seat on the plane, Dan immediately put on his headphones and stared out the porthole. He was going to America. He didn't know how to feel. On one hand, he thought it might be a good idea. Let the investigation stir for a while... now that Jesus was dead, they'd be all over the place looking for Alpha... but he'd be long gone.

But on the other hand... No. Dan stopped himself from thinking about it. Or rather, it stopped making him think about it. If he did, he would start feeling nauseous. With a 9 hours flight, he had to stay focus and not think of these thoughts. They had cost him Phil's suspicion and those ugly bruises.

"You are Alpha... You are the God..."

Dan smiled to himself when the plane took off, thinking about Quest's reaction when he would wake up and learn the news.

~

The car's door shut violently and Quest sprinted to the morgue's back exit. He noticed there was no one else here yet. When he reached the back, he saw Vincent sitting on the asphalt. His knees were close to his chest and his head was hanging in between his legs, his hands grasping at his hair strongly.

Quest turned his head to where Vincent was looking away from and he brought a hand to his mouth. He thought he was going to be sick.

Jesus' eyes once full of life were empty. They were dark abysses in which you could lose yourself and your sanity. They were so dark in the middle of his tanned face, covered in blood and purple bruises. His hands were both nailed to a horizontal wooden plank, and the same pattern had been done on his feet with a vertical plank. His throat was the bloodiest part. The hole on his neck had poured onto his bare chest all the way to his navel. His head hanging down lazily, Quest could see the numbers "10" and "16" incised on his soft cheeks.

Feeling his heart pinch, Quest diverted his eyes back to Vincent. He jogged up to him and crouched to his level.

"Vincent..?" He asked softly.

Vincent Talley looked up at the detective. His eyes were so sorrowful, so wet and so red that Quest's breath caught in his throat. Since the beginning of his work with the team, he had never seen Vincent with a different emotion than happiness on his face.

"Quest..." he breathed painfully, his lips quivering.

Quest noticed a puddle of vomit not far from where they were. Before Vincent could add anything, he wrapped his arms around him and hugged him sympathetically. Nuzzled in Quest's neck crease, Vincent burst into tears. He tried speaking at the same time, but it made his words incomprehensible.

So many thoughts and emotions were going through Quest's mind that it was all foggy. He just held his sobbing friend as he tried to take in what was all happening.

After a few moments of holding Vincent, Quest heard fainted voices and footsteps. He looked in that direction and saw Wade jogging up to them followed by paramedics with a stretcher. He patted Vincent's back and stood up.

"Quest!" Wade exclaimed, jogging up to him. "Quest, what happened? I called Tucker, they should be here soon."

He threw a glance at Vincent, still in tears on the ground. As a response, Quest simply moved his head in Jesus' direction. Wade turned his head as well.