Three Cursed Gods

02 : A WATERBENDING BOY

McKayla stepped out of Devilry and Drinks, and into the cold January air, pulling out her phone as she did so. The alley that led up to the bar was grimy and dank, and she hurried out, scrolling through her notifications.

She had two missed calls and a text. McKayla looked at the message first—it was from her mom, confirming that she'd be there for dinner on Friday. She strode down the main street, tucking her trench coat tighter around her as she sent a quick confirmation reply. She then looked through the calls: one from Zavis—she'd call him back later—and one from—

"Shit," she said, quickly returning the call.

As the phone dialed, she looked around at the street she was on. There weren't many people outside—understandable, given the dismal weather—and the few unlucky souls who did have to leave the comfort of their homes walked at a brisk pace with their heads down. She was trying to figure out how long she had before the rain started when finally, the call connected.

"Hi, Captain Abrams," McKayla said, silently praying that she wasn't in any trouble.

"Detective Robinson," came her captain's voice, slightly crackly over the phone's tinny speaker. "Where are you?"

"I was just speaking to Nigel about a potential lead," she said. "I'm heading to check it out right now."

There was a pause. "Nigel? The bartender? Which case are you working, Robinson?"

McKayla sighed, and contemplated ending the call due to 'connectivity problems' but she knew that would never work on her captain.

"The Rhapsody case."

There was another pause. "Robinson," the captain sighed, and McKayla hurried to explain.

"Look—I know you don't think it's an urgent case, but I really think I have a lead this time! A real one! And—"

"Robinson," Abrams said, and the severity in her voice shut McKayla up immediately. "You have been working on this case for a year now, and you are no closer to solving it! Focus on more important cases—"

"—this case is important—"

"—that require immediate attention—"

"—we need to stop this thing before it gets out of hand—"

"—so please, Robinson. Leave this one alone. We can give it to someone higher up in the ORDER. You don't have to do it yourself."

McKayla sucked in a sharp breath at those last words. Captain Abrams didn't understand—she did have to do this. Solving this case was the only way she could make up for what she'd done. There was no other way.

"Please—let me just try this one last lead. If it's a dead end, I'll let it go. I promise." She had no intention of doing so, but the captain didn't have to know that. She held a breath as she waited for the reply.

Abrams sighed, and McKayla could almost hear her shaking her head on the other side of the phone. "Fine. This one lead. But you have to focus on your other cases too." She paused, and it was only after hearing McKayla's assent that she continued. "Also, I need you back in an hour."

McKayla yelped—that left barely enough time to talk to Nigel's suspect. "An hour? Why?"

"There's someone I need you to meet. He's a detective from the ORDER—like you— and he's from a different station. His case has led him into your area of the city, so I trust you'll help him out?" Since there weren't enough ORDER detectives to have one per precinct, they had larger areas of jurisdictions that didn't always correlate with the usual NYPD precincts. They all had a 'headquarter' precinct within their jurisdiction, and McKayla had chosen the 89th, simply because it was closest to her apartment. She hadn't met with any of the other NYPD ORDER members yet, except for her vacationing partner, and if she was being honest, she was slightly curious to see what they were like.