Cops and Robbers | ✓

7 | runaway street rat

"This is him?" Marinette asked, pointing at the man through the small window of the door. The suspect was seated at the table, hands cuffed to it, and a he wore a meaningless expression as he stared into the wall. He had brown hair, brown eyes, and dark skin, but his eyes seemed to hold some type of grey color that she couldn't quite understand.

"That's him," the man confirmed. "We believe he is in some way connected to this case. I want you to question him."

"Right now?" Marinette turned to her superior to gasp. "But sir, I don't have any questions ready. I–"

"That's been taken care of." The man interrupted her, and she watched as he instantly pulled out a notepad from... well, she wasn't sure where. She took in gently from his hand, noticing that the pad was filled with questions. Marinette was impressed, but slightly nervous. She had been trained numerous times at the academy to do this certain thing, but never had she done it in real life.

She was no investigator.

She took the notepad from him with trembling hands and gulped. Taking in a deep breath, she shakily reached for the doorknob and pushed it open.

The man cuffed to the table lifted his head at the clicking sound of the door. Marinette was surprised when her superior closed the door behind her, not offering to accompany her.

She didn't really feel comfortable being in such a confined space with a criminal alone. Marinette had her fair share of horror in her life, and even though this man had his hands cuffed, that didn't mean he could be trusted.

She sat down in the seat across the table from him and looked down at the file she was given. "Hello... Nicolas Lahiffe?" She read, "I am Officer Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

"Well, you're new," he chuckled, and she could practically feel his eyes roaming her. "It's the rookies who always mess everything up."

The fact that she watched his eyes roam her body made her feel sick. This Nicolas man was already beginning to disgust her.

She ignored his comment and continued on with what she was given. "You're here because the agency believes you are a suspect and a valid connection to the case of the missing jewel of Paris."

"And you believe them right?" He laughed at that. "I don't even know what happened to that stupid gem!"

"Then this should be easy, hmm?" Marinette smirked as she laid out all the photos the file held. "All these photos have a record of you being present before the incident occurred and two days after the gem was stolen. All you have to do is tell me if you know of anyone who was there that night?"

His eyes looked fearful as he took carful notes of the photo, then he looked up to meet her eyes again. "I swear, I have no idea who stole it," This time, his voice seemed more sincere. "I was only nearby because I was delivering a product to my buddy and it took me about two days to get his money. Please, I swear, I had nothing to do with this robbery."

Surprisingly enough, Marinette was satisfied with his answer. She hadn't expected him to confess so soon, but she was satisfied. An all knowing smile spread across her lips, and she pulled away the photos from his reach. "Okay," she spoke after he admitted his side of the story. Stacking all the photos together evenly and putting them back into their folder, she added, "You're free to go."

"Seriously?" He asked as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "That's it?"

"Yes," Marinette replied, then she removed her eyes from the folder to raise an eyebrow at him. "Unless you'd like to add something else?"

He eyebrows twitched upwards, and Marinette was slightly surprised when he took that offer. "Actually yes. Could I request in seeing someone?"

Marinette definitely didn't expect him to ask to see someone, but she wasn't too surprised by it. This man most likely had family members or friends who were locked away for other criminal purposes. Visiting with them would be a natural thing to do.

Just as Marinette was about to request who he's like to see, the door to the small, confined room swung open to reveal Alya under its doorframe. Marinette was the first to gasp, and she didn't bother to see the criminal's expression.

Marinette was surprised to see her, but her expression shifted into a frustrated one. "Where have you been?"

Alya seemed to be lost for words. She stood there with an expression that looked as if someone had died.

But before she could try and explain herself, Nicolas' voice echoed from behind. "Alya? Is it really you?"

Marinette was the first to switch eye contact between the man and her so called friend. "What are you talking about?" She pointed a daring finger at Nicolas, confusion still written all over her features.

For the first time in that room, an all knowing smirk spread across Nicolas' lips. Completely ignoring Marinette, he turned to face Alya again before he said, "I've missed you so much, babe."

_______________________________

Honestly, what was your reaction when you read the last sentence of this chapter?

I laughed, but that was because I wrote it😂

What a drastic change to the story.

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