Shitshitshit.
Kai glanced at the box in his hand and set it down, quickly slipping deeper into the shadows. The door swung up, spilling a long beam of light onto the floor. Kai held his breath, smushing himself flatter against a shelf.
The cop walked in, humming to himself. Although the area where Kai had been was hidden from the view of the large window, it was right in the path of the doorway. So the cop saw the box on the ground almost immediately. "Huh?" He walked closer to investigate. Kai narrowed his eyes as he calculated his chances. He didn't even dare to breathe too hard; after all, the cop was only a few feet away. The cop in question looked at the box then bent over to pick it up. With his back to Kai, Kai took the opportunity to inch towards the door. The file he wanted was clutched in his hand and the cop was cleaning up for him. It was time to leave. What he didn't expect was that the station had a cat.
Kai felt something brush up against his ankle. Startled, he looked down to see a grey-brown striped tabby. At least he thought it was a tabby. In the dark, it was too hard to distinguish. It rubbed its head on his leg, letting out a tiny but distinct 'meoow'. The cop started to turn and Kai hurriedly stepped forward, his arm shooting out as he hit the cop on the neck hard enough to knock him out. He grabbed him as he started to fall, his gloved hands fisting in the signature blue shirt. Gently, he lowered him to the ground. When he woke up, he'd most likely think that he'd passed out and hit his head on the way down.
Kai reached up, straightening the teetering box and crept back towards the propped open door of the archive.
'Meow'. Kai smiled, crouching to stroke a hand through the cat's soft fur. It purred, rubbing docily in his hand.
"You're the lookout, huh?" Kai's heart clenched as he nearly overdosed from cuteness. "Well, buddy I got to go. Maybe I'll see you around." The cat ambled over to the unconscious officer, watching with piercing eyes as Kai checked the hallway then stepped out, the door slowly swinging shut behind him.
◆◇◆◇◆
Kai woke in warm bliss, his right arm tingling and numb. After a few moments, Kai peeled open bleary eyes, blinking as sunlight flooded his vision. He shifted but a weight on his right side refused to let him move. Kai turned his head, finding Quinlan sprawled on his stomach, pillowing his head on his arm.
After managing to extract his arm, Kai sat up, only to find paper strewn over the bed. There were a few on the floor too. A couple held hideous doodles from when Quinlan had gotten bored. Kai groaned, running a hand through his hair as his memories came rushing back.
[LAST NIGHT]
Kai held onto the file as he crept back to the conference room, his grip getting tighter and tighter with every passing second. Part of him wanted to tear it apart, certain that there must be a clue that confirmed his suspicions. The Crimson Moon wasn't the culprit. The rational part of his mind screamed that he was getting his hopes up for nothing. It had been three years; did he really expect anything new to pop up.
'But there was.' Kai thought. 'The perfume, the notes, the hints. It's all new.'
When they got home, Quinlan pulled Kai into his room before he could protest. Reluctantly he indulged him and stayed. On the bed, Kai stared at the folder in his hands. He was almost scared to open it.
Without a word, Quinlan pulled him into a hug. "It'll be okay." Kai grumpily pushed him away. He flipped open the folder, taking out the wad of paper. His eyes scanned the pages, reading information he already knew. As he flipped through more of the packet, Kai became agitated. It was just telling him information he already knew! Even prepared, Kai couldn't stop his heart from crashing to his feet. He shouldn't have let his hopes get up. Stupid.
"Kai...?" Kai grunted in response. "Do you want my honest opinion?" Kai looked up, hating the pity he saw in Quinlan's eyes. He knew he was a mess, the pieces of him held barely together by vengeance and...Gabriel, but he didn't need to be reminded. Kai looked away, affirming with a small shrugging motion. "Honestly, it's been three years, Kai. Three fucking years. Isn't it time to move on?" Quinlan knew he sounded harsh but he needed Kai to realize. It had been getting bad. "Your vengeance has become an obsession. You don't even care about your own well-being anymore!"
"Then maybe you shouldn't either!"
"Kai!" Quinlan cried. "This anger you have right now, you need to let it go. It might keep you warm right now, but it'll leave you cold in your grave."
Kai scoffed. "What kind of bullshit is that?"
"What I mean is that your anger fuels you right now, it's all you see. But when everything ends, it's going to become a regret! What happens if you find the culprit? What then, huh? What are you going to do after that?"
"When I find the culprit, not if," Kai growled.
"What about your parents?" Quinlan tried. "What would they think if they saw you like this? I'm sure aunt and uncle would've wanted you to move on. Let go kai, and let them move on too." Quinlan dragged a hand down his face, his tone becoming weary. If he was honest, it was partially for himself as well. As the older one, after Kai's parents passed, he was supposed to be taking care of Kai. But with him taking killing jobs since he came to their household, who knew what sort of impact that had had on his mental well-being!
Kai shot to his feet, the scattered papers sliding from his lap and onto the ground. "You don't know anything!"
"Kai! I know them! They would have want-"
"WHAT DO YOU KNOW OF THEM?!?!" Kai roared. "WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT ME?! HOW WOULD YOU KNOW IF THEY WANT THAT?!" Kai was gasping now, his chest heavy and his eyes burning with tears. He forced them back. He would not cry, not like this. He didn't cry but he couldn't stop the strangled breath from rising up his throat. "Don't! You don't..."
"Kai..." Quinlan stood up, his face twisted with regret and worry as he reached towards Kai. "I'm sorry. I might not have known them as well as you but...but I know that they wouldn't have wanted you to suffer."
"I'm not suffering," Kai lied, covering his hand with his face. He couldn't seem to catch his breath, hiccupping on silent sobs. Quinlan awkwardly patted his back, pulling Kai into a hug.
"There, there," He said awkwardly. Over Quinlan's shoulder, Kai looked dismissaly at the papers scattered on the ground. His gaze wandered, catching sight of something that made him freeze. Swiftly, Kai untangled himself from Quinlan's grip, walking past him to the pile of papers. "Kai?" Quinlan kneeled beside him, watching him messily card through the papers. He pulled out a tangled mass of pages, a few seemingly to stick together due to some unknown substance. Between two of the papers, a corner of a third peeked out. Kai pulled it out, quietly sniffing. "Kai..." Quinlan was starting to look at him like he was crazy.
Kai ignored him, bringing the page up to his nose. Something lit in his dull eyes and he gasped.
"What?" Quinlan asked, flinching back as Kai shoved the paper frantically under his nose. He sniffed tentatively and furrowed his brow. After a few seconds. He spoke. "It smells like women's perfume."
"Do you recognize the scent?" Kai asked, a little apprehensive. Quinlan side-eyed him.
"Why??"
"It's been on all the notes," Kai hurried to explain. "There was one in my car, and one in my locker at school. And when I went to visit Gabriel, there was this red-haired woman who bumped into me and I swear-"
"Wait! Hold up!" Quinlan said, holding a hand up to stop him. "Did I hear that right? There was a note in your car?! Your car was locked, right?"
"Uh...yeah."
"Kai, that's so dangerous! And wait, who is this Gabriel that you mentioned?"
"Ah well," Kai looked away a little flustered. Quinlan raised an eyebrow. "That's not important! The thing is, these notes, I think they're helping me. They told me that...ah, well." Kai's mind flashed back to the two notes. They had told him that Gabriel was a Crescent. Was that necessarily helping him or intending to hurt him? Because, what if they'd never reconciled over that matter. Thinking of that, Kai still hadn't found the time to tell Gabriel that he was a Fallen.
Ignoring that thought in favour of the situation at hand, Kai flipped over the paper. Shock jolted through him. Though the page was mostly empty, a single black line in simple font had been printed on the center of the page.
'Do you think I'm a friend or a foe?'
After recovering from his shock, Kai frowned, his brow drawing so low, he was about to get head cramps.
"Wow." Quinlan said over his shoulder. "Do you think I'm a friend or a foe?" He quoted. "What kind of message is this...are you sure they're helping you? What did the other notes say?" Kai ignored him, lost in thought.
"Do you know where this perfume comes from?" Maybe he could track its sources and narrow the scope of his search.
"Ah...well," Quinlan scratched the back of his neck a little embarrassedly. "It's been popular recently. I'll bet half the women in the city are wearing it right now." Kai deflated. There goes his lead.
"Wait! Can you do a sweep of women with long red hair? Her voice is kind of sweet and thick."
"Citywide...I don't know, but I can try." Quinlan looked skeptical, looking at Kai like he was grasping at straws. But Kai didn't care. This was all he had to work with right now. If it was a lead, he wasn't going to let it slip through his fingers.
◆◇◆◇◆
"He got the note?" That same honey voice had just been talked about, rang out.
"Ah. Yes ma'am." A rich throaty laugh tumbled from her throat.
"My, my." The woman said, her ruby lips cruelly twisting upwards. "This is too easy." She sighed. "You're too predictable, honey." She traced a manicured nail along the grain of her desk, procuring a slight scratching sound. "Just watch but be ready."
"Yes, ma'am." The man shuffled out after hastily bowing, taking that as his cue to leave. The woman waited until he had left before turning to look out her massive floor to ceiling windows. She tsked,
"You're too weak." She sneered. "You won't beat me at my own game. Nobody takes what's mine. Not even you, Mr. Balavachi."
A/N Y'all I have no excuses for not updating for the past two weeks. This chapter was stuck. Then I sat down on Wednesday and just *flying fingers* wrote the rest of this chapter.
So many March birthdays! Mine, @Firelancer21, a parents, Yoongi's, @ayesha070307 on Insta. Love you all!! <3
Whoever reads this chapter, hope you enjoyed! Vote and comment.
Ugh I have so many dramas I wanna watch and the list is growing. Doesn't help that I already am watching multiple shows at the same time. ✌😓