G^Me_SYNC_L1Fe ~ Ghost Bird Fanfiction

13• D4D

Kota picks up one of those very flyers from the desk and stares at the photo of the girl sadly. In this photo, no one could ever guess the strains she dealt with in the darkest reaches of her life. She appears so happy, so carefree, with blue eyes that gleam with ecstatic intelligence and a little mischief.

He smiles at her image softly, so clearly able to imagine her still here today. He could almost imagine her laughter, though he's never had the pleasure of hearing it for himself in person, as she bounds across her father's apartment happily. He can imagine her silly shenanigans as she spent time with Elliot and her friends, loving them in the only way she knew how - entirely and without restraint.

He sets the flyer back on the table and notices a photograph in a frame on the desk. He picks this up next and smiles at it once he takes it in.

Kinley is probably no older than four in the photo. Elliot has her in his arms on his hip. She's hugging his neck, grinning goofily with her cheek smooshed against Elliot's. He's laughing joyously in this photo, glasses askew from her brutal show of affection. Her blonde straight hair is wild and tangled with autumn leaves, an acorn knotted at the bottom.

It's such a genuine moment shared between the two. Kota swallows thickly as he sets the frame back in its place. Tears sting his eyes.

Somehow, this case is affecting him more than any other he's worked. Maybe it's the fact that Pixel is with them, giving them a tangible piece of the missing girl who was so precious to so many people. It makes it more real, he thinks to himself as he looks over at the group he came here with. His eyes meet with Nathan's after passing over the other three talking quietly amongst themselves while Elliot cleans up in his room.

Nathan looks worried so Kota tries to give him a reassuring smile and goes back to the seating area to join the others.

When Elliot rejoins their company, he looks over to Alex with a smile, " I'm happy to see you out of the detention center."
Alex snorts, " You and me both."

Elliot chuckles at him fondly and looks over towards Owen, " So what is it you've found on Kinley?"

Owen explains the circumstances in which they found themselves arriving at her old school. He also showed all three of them the transmissions the academy received over the years. Sara and Alex look demented and distressed at the transmissions, but Elliot peeks up, grey eyes lighting up, " Thats her! That's my baby!"

Kota smiles at him as he stares eagerly at the transmissions. It makes him happy to know that she had such a wonderful support system and so many people who genuinely care for her.

Owen gets them back on track, having the hardest time getting Elliot to look away from the phone he's clutching desperately in his hands. A gleam of light, so incredibly similar to his daughter's, gives life to the grey.

"Mr. Foy. Can you tell us more about Kinley? We've gathered a bit about her from her friends and what we've been able to see for ourselves, but no one knows a person quite like a parent does," Owen gently prods.

Elliot laughs tearfully and hands Owen back his phone, " She was born with genius. I knew from her earliest years alive that she was spectacular and special."
He smiles wryly, " I know almost every parent thinks that about their child, but with Kinley it's no exaggeration. She was dismantling my spare computers by the age of two. By three she rebuilding them. At four she learned how to code from me as if learning the alphabet. In school the teachers spoke highly of her, suggesting all sorts of programs or specialty schools that would feed her bright mind. Kinley didn't want that though. She wanted to stay with Alex, so of course I listened to her. I knew she wouldn't be happy in one of those stifling schools that pushed her every day. She's always been a free spirit, and regimented learning would just crush her passion."

Kota grins at him and says, " She sounds like something else."
Elliot laughs boisterously, his mood brightening the more he talks about his daughter, " That's putting it mildly! Kinley has a notorious mischievous streak in her from the day she was born. You don't even want to know how many times I was called to the principal's office because she'd hacked into the school sprinkler system to get out of class or altered the grades of a student who she felt didn't deserve it a poor score."

He sighs happily, shaking his head fondly, " I knew I'd have to set some rules and boundaries for her. The little imp was heading for trouble, I knew it in my bones. So after a talk with her, I gave her three rules. One, never experiment with human anatomy or lives. Two, never do anything illegal. And three, create to help never to cause harm."

Owen smiles minutely at the rules, " Wise of you to teach her young."

Elliot snorts, " I didn't have a choice. She outsmarted most of her teachers from the beginning and always had these crazy ideas that were just asking for her to be thrown in jail. I had to teach her morality much younger than I thought I'd ever have to."

Nathan jumps in at this point, wanting to get answers to the question that's been bugging him since he found out about Kinley's mother, " What's the deal with her mom anyways?"

Elliot loses that wild spark and slumps in despair. Quietly, he answers Nathan, " We divorced when Kinley was seven. Kinley wanted to live with me but the court gave custody to her mom. She's always been a stubborn woman, always self centered and putting herself first. I can't tell you the last time she tucked Kinley in before the divorce. She always went out with her friends, partying and acting like she was still in college instead of a mother. After Kinley disappeared, her mother was upset obviously, but not upset enough to stick around. She did what she always did, ran away."

"Do you know where she went," Kota asked.
He nods, " She moved in with the guy she'd been seeing at the time. I heard they got married last year. They've been living in Idaho. Can't get the damn woman to pick up her phone."

Nathan glowers at the floor, trying to stamp down his temper. He'd suspected as much, but honestly embraced denial instead of the stone cold truth.

"What can you tell us about her workplace," Kota continued the conversation, giving Nathan worried looks.

"She started working there about a year before she went missing. She  technically wasn't legally old enough to work, so her boss paid her under the table. One of my ex's boyfriends got a little erratic one night and hurt her feelings from what Uncle told me. She showed up in the middle of the night while he was doing the accounting for his business and he took her under his wing after that."

All three froze, not really hearing the rest of what he said after he mentioned a name they al knew well.
Kota clears his throat and squeaks out, " I'm sorry, but did you say Uncle? As in the man who owns Bob's diner?"

Elliot nods his head, eyes squinting in confusion, " Yes, that's him."

The three share a look. All along they'd been so close to answers, but they never even considered Uncle as a prospective employer of the girl. They figured he would've told them at some point if he knew about Kinley.

This changes everything.