it has been a few days, george has put of asking clay about nick for as long as he could but he knew he had to soon. and seeing as the two were eating breakfast in their kitchen after dropping ivory off at school, it was the perfect time.
"So- my boss had me looking through some files the other day about Sapnap, there was one file that had be a little confused" clay could hear the nervousness in georges tone, meaning clay had every reason to be terrified.
"go on?" clay questioned, masking the tone of fear behind a simply tired voice. george didnt seem to take any attention to clays words, but going on nothing the less.
"you and him got arrested for a liquor store robbery?" georges words let clay mentally calm down, knowing that it was nothing serious and that the police weren't onto him at all.
"yeah- we were being stupid. I wanted to get ivory something for her birthday but since I was seventeen, my trust was frozen and my parents didnt like the idea of me having a kid so young." clays words made perfect sense, but to george they made a little to much sense. like they had been prepared.
"but you two knew each other?" george questioned again, clay raising an eyebrow at georges curiosity. though the brunette had every reason to be curious, it was almost scary to clay knowing george could be on to him as a police man.
"we went to high school together, after i got arrested because of him though i stopped talking to him" clay spoke with a weak smile, putting his cereal bowl into the sink without a care in the world about what george was really at.
"i dont know if you have any plans but my boss wants a statement from you, everyone's on edge with Sapnap back out and they are just trying to find him- i know you aren't involved but she wont stop until you do come in" george reasoned, him sounding almost scared of what clay might say.
"okay" clay shrugged, walking towards his bedroom with ease. He really didnt care to go in, but he knew it would make george happy if he did. when he brought ivory to school, he dropped by the warehouse and brought Sapnap food, giving him instructions on where to go if he Absolutley needed to leave.
george cleaned up the kitchen, soon enough the two making it to the police station and several eyes landing on the brunette and blonde when they walked in. The police knew george as just a police man, though georges captain knew otherwise. and you can imagine the shock on her face when she watched him walk in with no one other than his husband, clay Davidson, Well Clay Huff at the time, someone who knew nick as a kid.
the three got situated in a questioning room, clay looking only a little to comfortable for either george or his captains liking. But nothing the less she began asking the blonde questions.
"you and Nick went to high school together, correct?" she sat down in front of clay, holding a vanilla folder that was in reality empty but clay didnt know that.
but he did, he knew how everything worked in places like this. however he didnt mention it, due to his husband being in the room and very susceptible to what he says.
"yes, that's right" clay spoke back, squinting his eyes slightly at the women Infront of him as he seemed to study the wrinkles and marks on her worn face.
"when was the last time you spoke to him?" she looked up from her fake file, seeing the blonde was already looking at him.
"i visited him a few times in prison but i dont think iv actually talked to him in- at least seven years" clay spoke with exaggeration, something george didnt know the blonde was capable of.
but his words made perfect sense.
"has he tried to contact you since he was released?" she said with skeptic lining her words, looking at clay as if she was searching for something.
"nope" clay shook his head, pulling off the lie only a little to well to the point where georges captain thought he was lying.
"are you sure?" she asked, george looking at her in confusion as he realized she thought clay was lying.
"i wouldn't have said no if i wasn't sure of myself" clay cocked his head to the side a little bit, his confidence and sarcasm catching both george and his captain by surprise.
"where were you at about Twelve in the afternoon last Monday?" she shut her fake folder, crossing her legs and interlocking her fingers on her knee. george looked extremally confused until he realized she was accusing him of being a world wanted criminal.
"with my daughter, at my house, after george bailed on brunch" clay paused between his sentences, his tone coming off as a little rude which was starting to piss off the captain. though george also found something strange, the way clay was comfortable, the way he was acting, it was like he had been in this situation multiple times before.
"can she cooperate that story?" she asked with a stern voice, though her words made clay and george a little angry. the audacity she had to want to bring ivory down to the station, a fifteen year old girl.
"if you dont believe me then i submit to a polygraph, aren't those things insensible?" clay shrugged, brushing off the question about bringing ivory down to the station.
george rose an eye brow at his confidence, not liking the idea but if clay had nothing to hide then why would he submit to such things. The captain debated her options, before calling in someone to actually do the polygraph.
clay had to take off his hoodie, revealing a long sleeve that seemed to hug his body only a little to tightly. but nothing the less he let george and the captain wrap the heart monitors around his body.
there was one around his torso, one around his bicep, one around his wrist and little ones on all five of his right fingers. it was standard set up, but it was more uncomfortable then clay ever imagined it would be.
"is your name clay Davidson?" the captain asked, everyone in the room knowing it was just a question to regulate the polygraph machine.
clay said yes, the man at the machine holding up a shaky thumb to show the blonde wasn't lying. though it was just his name, not much to lie about.
they fire balled questions, clay passing every single one just according to his plan. george seemed content with what was happening, however the captain seemed angry. like she knew clay was lying but couldn't prove it.
they were about to wrap up, until her last question caught everyone in the room by surprise. one that made clay freeze a little bit, and one that made george semi angry for her accusing him of such things.
"are you the criminal known as dream?" she asked calmy, watching the blonde movements as the question was asked.
clay froze a bit, though no one noticed. he looked up from his hands that he was fidgeting with, locking eyes with the captain and answering simply.
"no." clay answered simply, his tone showing a little aggravation and george could tell. he was a little afraid of clay just getting up and walking out but nothing the less he stood by the door and waited until the man at the machine held up his thumb again, signaling clay was in fact not lying.
"i would have to study the data but just eye balling it, he told the truth" the man spoke with a grim voice, one that showed exhaustion and tiredness despite it being nine in the morning.
the captain let out an audible scoff, one that made clay shake his head in annoyance.
"look, i am not this criminal you seem to think i am. Sure, i knew nick, sure i got arrested with him but that sure as hell doesn't make me dream" clay stood up, ripping off the Velcro monitors with a little aggression.
george took a step back at clays sudden aggressive behavior, seeing that the questions really did leave the blonde angry.
the captain shook her head, a little laugh leaving her lips as clay picked up his hoodie and pushed through the doors, ignoring georges protests to get him to slow down.
but, his speed and anger got the best of him when he didnt notice the group of men in bright colored ski masks entered the building. he froze as he was relatively close to them, all five pulling out large guns that were no doubt loaded.
"clay!" george shouted from behind the blonde, but before clay knew it he was being pushed over by one of the masked men.
everyone in the precinct took out their guns, shouting began and soon enough the first gun shot went off. it was into the roof, little dust of drywall falling onto the man who fired the shot.
clay followed the sound, seeing that the man who fired the shot was taller, probably the leader of the group and wearing a black ski mask. But something about him was familiar, the way he stood, the way he looked around at everyone in the room.
clay was more hidden, off to the side and behind a ledge of a wall. He had a perfect sight on george, seeing the brunette glance over and a little smile on his face formed when he realized clay was hidden from the intruders.
the man in the black ski mask spoke loudly, the room now being silent as the gun shot had made every voice freeze.
though his voice, it was familiar to clay. it was dark and raspy, but from afar it took him a minute to realize who it was. It was Jschlatt.
clay began to inch towards the back door, thankfully no one seeing him until he reached the door itself and another man walked through. He was wearing a bright pink mask, pastel pink hair seeping from under it.
Clay also knew who this was. But before he could say anything, the gun got pointed at his face. he slowly rose his arms, but not moving backwards as the man was instructing. as much as he wanted to just say something and this man know who he was, meaning he could get out of this no doubt, he couldn't risk revealing his face in such a public spot.
he turned around, walking back into the main room and most of the attention turning to him as there was a gun pointed a the back of his head. and there was a new intruder.
georges gaze immediately turned worried, seeing as his husband was being held at gunpoint and practically hostage along with everyone else.
Truth be told there was no point in breaking into a police station, unless they were looking for something. and just as george had predicted, two more men came from the back with multiple boxes of files and evidence.
clay knew Schlatt had something in mind, like there was some other climax to this whole situation. though as he could fight back because he was supposed to just be a museum worker, he found himself being pushed around by his literal contact techno who had no idea that the man he had a gun to was dream.
clay had dozens of contacts, but not a single one knew what he looked like. and that's why he kept his mouth shut, making sure no one in the room heard his voice because then techno and schlatt would know what he looks like and would know damn well who he was.
it was a Bruce wane, or Oliver queen moment. being caught somewhere without your mask, having every ability to get free but not wanting to reveal yourself to the people you care about.
half an hour passed, dozens of boxes being carried out into two different vans out front. Clay had been pushed over to an empty space, being held separate from everyone else but still having a perfect view of everyone. his hands were cuffed behind his back, along with most of the other police in the building.
when someone is sitting down, they are more susceptible to ideas or thoughts from others who are standing up. and that's why every single person in the room was sitting down, clay against a wall and george right in front of him but acrost the room. The two held eye contact for a while, until the men started pulling people off the ground and to their feet.
clay saw george, and he saw how the brunette was only a little to calm in this situation. even for a cop, he was sitting there without a single emotion on his face. he wasn't scared, he wasn't worried, just numb.
but george could say the same thing about clay. The blonde was sitting there, glancing around with almost curiosity on his face. For someone who has never been in a violent situation before, this was not normal behavior.
if george didnt know any better, he would say clay either knew about this or knew who was doing it.
though the two of them were snapped out of their staring contest when clay was pulled to his feet by the man in a black mask. george internally panicked, not liking where this was going at all.
Clay had tried to escape, had been caught, and was being very blunt with the men. It didnt take a rocket scientist to put two and two together and realize the leader wasn't going to be happy with the blonde.
"hey! hey we dont need to be feisty now. you got what you wanted, there is no reason to hurt people" george tried to stand up but the man in a bright pink mask put his hand on georges shoulder and held him down.
the man in a black mask slowly turned his face to look at george, being a little surprised that the brunette seemed to care about this blonde. At first there was something familiar about the blonde but it was nothing he couldn't brush away.
clay scrunched his nose as george tried to pry apart the situation, but his heart was warmed that he tried. Though the blonde knew he either revealed himself to the group or he let george try and dissolve the situation.
"maybe just a little scratch?" schlatt questioned as if he really wanted an answer, george shook his head as the man in a black mask seemed to be protesting and genuinely looked like he was going to hurt clay.
"then scratch me, leave him out of this" george tried to stand up again but technos hand held him down firmly, clay begged that george didnt try to fight him because he knew what techno was capable of and he knew a local city cop wouldn't be able to fight him.
"why dont we ask him? would you rather get hurt or the brunette?" schlatts words were annoying to clay, but he was asked a direct question and he had to answer.
he hesitated, but then he felt a gun barrel on his lower back. He was done thinking, he was just annoyed and angry. and you can imagine how shocked everyone in the room was when he dropped his shoulders and turned his body to face the black masked man, his hands were still cuffed behind his back but it didnt take away from the effect.
"i think that you guys are wasting your time and letting other police surround this building" clay spoke with a tone unrecognizable to george, but one schlatt and every other intruder knew all to well.
George watched as the black masked man seemed to take a step back, like clays words had physically pushed him backwards. But just as clay spoke, just as every intruder seemed to freeze in time, a swat team bust through the doors and rather quickly disarmed the men.
leaving schlatt, the only one with a gun, still pointed right at clays face. there were reporters outside, and clay knew damn well most of the town was watching.
"why dont we ask him? would you rather get tased, or surrender?" clay mocked the same tone schlatt had used, catching every single person in the room off guard due to his sudden confidence.
schlatt had his mask on still but clay could very, very visibly see the fear mixed with confusion. it was like schlatt had thought clay was ugly or some low life, or had scars on his face like any known criminal. but that was far from the case; clay had perfect skin, curly dirty blonde hair that was almost formed in a mullet, freckles scattering his face.
he didnt look over twenty three. But here he was, a thirty one year old man and a world wanted criminal. knowing schlatt he tried to fight back, but ended up getting tased in the end. george immediately stood up and was somehow already out of his cuffs, but so was clay.
they shared a little glance, one that was unrecognizable to either of them. they were married, lived together, have known each other for years, sleep in the same god damn bed, but in that moment; in that moment they looked like strangers to each other.