Take Me Back To Paddington (SERIES)

Chapter 15 - The Push

I narrowed my eyes, looking at the man who just said something I didn't approve.

"Pardon, sir?"

"You are not investigating this case"

I breathed a heavy air in. "Are you pulling me out from the team, sir?"

"You are never in the team for Chae Richards' case at the first place" He clarified his point.

"Then just put me in, what seems to be the problem?"

"Why don't you take a break for a while, Isaac?"

I chuckled.

"Take a break?" I doubted his suggestion that didn't even make sense to me. "You want me to take a break when nobody takes witness accounts from my neighbours if they heard or saw anything?!" I yelled again. "You want me to take a break when the first 48 hours aren't used effectively as they should be?!"

Baxter grasped my forearm softly, trying to stop me when we had all the eyes on us at the moment.

"You want me to take a break when the lead detective for this case is investing his time and efforts for a wrong suspect, while the real killer is free out there, probably already get himself cleaned from Chae's hair on him and destroyed the clothes he wore on that night?!"

"Lisa, that's alright" Nick whispered, starting to pull me away from the anger that already burned my patience out.

DCI Cooper responded. "Looking at your condition right now, I don't think you are emotionally competent to perform or lead the investigation-"

"Who the fuck cares of what you think?!" I snapped as my eyes went big. "The whole team is lost, not knowing what to do and the goddamn leader is smoking at the back of the station!"

"Isaac, stay away from the investigation and leave" He warned me. "I don't want to see your face here until tomorrow"

I brushed my face from the forehead down to chin, head shaking slightly.

"I can't believe any of this-"

"You heard me. Leave now"

And I laughed, eyes looking at the others who were about to witness how the respectable, intelligent detective they once worshipped, now had really lost her mind.

"You are just as fucked up as Hopkins, boss" I sneered at DCI Cooper. "All of you" Turning my body to face the others, I continued. "You are all fucked up!" I yelled as loud as I could. "This whole bloody station is fucked up!"

That was when I saw DCI Cooper moved from the door frame, coming towards where Baxter and I were standing.

"Detective Lisa Isaac, I'm suspending you under disciplinary action, effective immediately"

There were seconds of silence lingering around us when that command just flicked my sanity off, taking me out from the group of rats I had been running along in the dark for years in my career history.

I was kicked out from my own group and placed in somewhere bright; exposed and had nothing to look for anymore.

Because there would never be any hole in the bright side. Those holes only existed in the dark.

"Are you really doing this to me?" I sneered at him when my frustration had hit its peak. "After all I have done for this department?"

DCI Cooper stretched his arm out.

"Give me your gun and badge"

Blinking, I let out heavy breaths before I could even respond to that simple instruction that didn't seem to be easy to process for my brain.