Atticus' POV:
Lincoln is livid that I left him alone even though today is supposed to be my day off, but it is not every day that I get a call that someone with the malfunction killed an innocent boy. If it even was someone with the malfunction... my boss seems to think so, and it is not my place to fight with him, so I had to get my ass out of bed at five.
"Your boyfriend isn't too happy, huh?" Jared asks as we walk up to the apartment door of one of the people with the malfunction.
I roll my eyes at him. "How can you tell?" I ask irritably as Jared pulls out the file of the person we are supposed to collect.
"You seem annoyed," he comments. "And I do not think it has anything to do with getting up at five for this assignment."
"Yeah, Lincoln is upset because today is our common day off," I tell him, knocking on the door. "Do you think this person is even up?"
The door opens and I glance over to see Jared has forced his face into a serious expression, as he always does when we interrogate someone. He opens the file when the boy who lives in the apartment has opened the door all the way.
"The set for Men In Black is in the building down the street," he says, and I cannot help the smirk that tugs at my lips. "Can I help you two? It is only six in the morning and I am very busy."
Jared opens the folder. "Silas Murray?" he asks, and the boy, Silas, nods slowly. "You need to come with us."
"Is this about the crazy murderer on the news?" he asks, leaning on the doorframe. "Because it wasn't me, so you guys should move on to the next room."
I frown, because I do feel bad for this guy. "We have to take you in. They want to interview everyone with the Mistacesemia malfunction," I tell him, taking out the pair of power-limiting handcuffs that all of us are armed with.
"Wait," he says, seeming panicked, as I move forward to cuff his hands. "If I go willingly can we avoid the handcuffs?"
Jared seems reluctant, but I respect his wishes, since Silas does not seem dangerous and instead just nervous about what could happen to him.
"Fine," I tell him, reaching toward Silas to grab his shoulder and guide him out.
"Don't touch me, either," he says to me, and there is a bitterness to his voice that I understand.
After all, it isn't every day that you are woken up and taken against your will to be interrogated for something you probably did not do.
As we walk away, a guy in a red DoorDash shirt walks down the hall.
"Is that for Silas Murray?" Silas asks, and the DoorDash guy nods. "It's mine."
He snatches the iced coffee from the DoorDash guy and takes a long drink from it. "If I knew I was going to be taken away by two guys from the group dedicated to ruining my life this morning, I would have gotten an extra shot," he mumbles as we walk toward the elevator.
I will not lie; this boy is pretty funny.
He seems witty and I admire his spark despite knowing he is being taken for an interrogation even though he does not seem the kind of man to do something like this. A lot of people would see this as an opportunity to put one of the people with the malfunction behind bars, but I do not see it like that.
As an officer who specializes in cases where malfunctioned individuals are involved, I have made sure to not discriminate against them. Especially since they did not choose this life, and Lincoln has emphasized that to me time and time again when I make accidental assumptions based on genetics.
Lincoln is a scientist who specializes in understanding the genetics of the individuals with the malfunction. That is actually how we met; I helped to calm down a young woman who was having some kind of immense panic attack after getting in a car accident, and he was the doctor that checked to see why she lost control because it is rare that one of the people with the malfunction loses their control as much as she did.
I stayed with the girl to talk to her about relocation because once one of them loses their control in a public space, they are recognized by the public as a threat.
Lincoln admired my dedication to protecting her, and I found it attractive how smart he was when talking with her and his ability to earn someone with the malfunction's trust, especially as a doctor.
I asked him on a date, and we have been together for the last year and a half. It is pretty often that we run across each other at work, but we of course have to stay professional so it is not as fun as when we are at home.
"Are you alright, Atticus?" Jared asks, and Silas looks over at me with deep judgment in his eyes. "You seem a bit spaced out."
I hum. "It's six in the morning. I'm exhausted and trying to prepare for the backlash I'll receive from Lincoln when I get home," I tell him as we get to our patrol car and open the door for Silas.
Silas huffs as he climbs into the car. He has a bratty personality, from what I have seen of him, but it does not really bother me because all I have to do is interview him and then I can get back into bed.
"When I prove my innocence, I expect to be driven back home and we are stopping at Starbucks so I can get another coffee," Silas says, swirling his drink around in its cup. "I also demand financial compensation."
Jared scoffs. "For what? Our records say you do not have a job and that all of your money is a direct deposit from a bank tracked back to..." He pauses and flips through the file. "Montana, where you are from. Looks like daddy is still paying your bills, huh?"
"It is a bit difficult to get a job when the law requires me to tell them that I have this bullshit malfunction," Silas responds in a huffy voice. "And are you watching me?"
"The law requires we keep an eye on the moves of every individual with the Mistacesemia malfunction," I inform him, turning around and finding Silas pouting in his seat. "Just files, not cameras."
Silas raises an eyebrow. "Well, you showed up at my door about twenty seconds after the news about a kid getting murdered by one of the Mistakes, so I don't really think it was a coincidence," he grumbles.
We show up in front of the station where Jared and I report to, and I escort Silas inside. He is tense, which makes sense, since he is in a place where most people like him only go to be held in a cell.
"Jared, Atticus," the receptionist, Kalin greets us as she sees us enter. "Mr. Venga is waiting for you in interrogation room C."
"Thank you," Jared says, reaching forward to grab Silas' arm, but Silas pulls his arm away.
"I can walk by myself, thank you," Silas says, drinking his coffee and looking between Jared and I. "Is one of you going to lead the way or am I supposed to wander around until I get tackled and handcuffed?"
I fight back a smirk. "Follow me," I tell him, and I guide him toward the interrogation room where my boss, Darrel Venga, stands leaning against the wall. "Mr. Venga."
"Atticus," he responds, eyeing Silas up and down. "Which one is this?"
Before I have a chance to open the file, Darrel walks up and pulls up the sleeve of Silas' sleep shirt and peers at the mark on his arm.
I have never liked Darrel; putting him in charge of this unit is the equivalent to putting a homophobe in charge of a pride parade. By that I mean Darrel despises every single person with the Mistacesemia condition.
"Keep your fucking hands off of me!" Silas snaps, and my jaw drops when a bluish-grey energy type substance bursts from his hand and shoves Darrel against the wall.
I have only seen someone use their powers once, and that was the girl who I helped relocate.
As soon as he uses them, Silas drops his hand and backs away. "Oh god," he whispers, his eyes wide with fear. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that. I... I don't really get out much and I have never really used my abilities around others."
I personally don't blame him, but I can't speak bad about my superior right in front of him.
Darrel is livid as he stands up. "He is our killer."
"No I'm not!"
"What other excuse do you have for attacking an officer?!"
Silas look between myself, Jared, and Darrel with a look of pure confusion on his face. "Do they just pick the dumbest people to work here?" he asks, and he is actually serious. "I did not attack you! I was reacting to you grabbing my arm out of nowhere, and I accidentally reacted too strongly."
"Sir, he really did not mean any harm," Jared pipes up, much to Silas' appreciation. "And he was very compliant this morning when we took him in. If he was really a killer, I do not believe he would even be in his apartment. This interview is merely for records, just to confirm we spoke with him."
Darrel is still mad, but he knows he can't argue with sound logic, especially because there are cameras in this room. "Fine. Interrogate him and then get him out of my station," he orders, stomping out of the room.
"He seems like such a good leader for this place," Silas says, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "He really hates people like me, doesn't he?"
Jared nods. "Yeah. Let's just get this over with. Where were you last night between the hours of ten o'clock PM and five o'clock AM this morning?"
"At home."
"Do you have proof of that?"
Silas shakes his head. "No, I didn't plan on a murder so forgive me for not recording my every move for the last eight hours."
"Do you recognize this man?" Jared asks, laying an image of the deceased boy on the table.
Silas' eyes widen. "Oh my gosh!" he exclaims.
Jared and I share a shocked look, ready for whatever Silas is going to say, but the brat merely smirks.
"No, I've never met him. Sorry, guys," he says, taking another drink of his almost empty coffee. "I rarely leave my apartment because I don't have a job and I usually just DoorDash or run to the grocery store on rare occasions. All of my classes are online and I have no desire to make friends or go out in public."
After a few more empty questions that give us nothing, I escort Silas to the front and drive him back to his apartment.
"Thanks for not having me arrested," Silas says as he climbs out of the front seat. "I appreciate it."
I shrug. "You cooperated so it's the best I could do for you. Stay safe."
Silas nods. "I'll try," he says, looking up at his apartment complex. "Look, I'm not your killer, but I am someone with powers, so I can understand the mindset of someone with them. They will probably target someone who had an impact on them negatively, like a doctor or an officer like your asshole boss. Just something to think about."
"Thank you," I say, holding out my business card to Silas. "If you ever need anything, that's my personal number."
"Probably won't ever see you again, but thanks for the gesture," Silas responds, walking toward the building and waving. "Bye, Man In Black!"