-Ruarc Brennan-
The room became chaotic, my first mission was to get Quan out of there as safely as possible. It didn't take me long to scoop him up in my arms and march towards the door, which I kicked open, being careful not to use sharp movements, and dropped him outside. I shut the door behind me as I re-entered the interrogation room and helped the vampire restrain Michael. Ito was in a small state of shock, he had five small cuts on his face, which would heal by the end of the day, and was shaking.
"Kenji, are you alright?" I asked over the shouting of Michael, who was simply yelling abuse at the poor boy.
Kenji nodded hesitantly before turning towards the window. "Candice is coming." He cleared his throat and creeped towards the door. "It's lucky to be on its hinges," he muttered.
My lips twitched a little as the door opened, hanging on by only one hinge now. "Brennan, we will be discussing this alter," Candice declared as she strutted into the room and folded her arms. "Michael Lockheart, you have been declared guilty of five accounts of murder. You will be facing trials in the upcoming days to decide your fate." She nodded towards Michael, indicating to the other guards to come forward and take him from my hands.
I moved around the people and left the room, checking up on Quan, who was leaning against the opposite wall with his arms crossed.
"You seem to like carrying me," he said bitterly. "Let's not make a habit of it."
I shook my head. "If it means that you're safe, I'll carry you anywhere." I cleared my throat and shook my head. "For my job, of course. I can't afford to lose that."
Quan sighed and started to walk away, before his footsteps paused and he turned to me. "Can you grab my cane?"
I clicked my tongue before turning back to the interrogation room, where I found Quan's cane propped up just by the doorframe.
"Your noble guide," I teased as I handed it to him. He wasn't wearing his gloves, which I suppose wasn't much of a priority for him after being attacked by a werewolf. I made sure that my hand didn't come into contact with his,
Quan took his cane without a word and headed towards his, our, office. I was extremely grateful that it was reaching lunchtime, so I would have the one interesting interaction of the day.
I tried to keep my distance, which meant that I hadn't even reached the office before he was leaving with his coat on. I debated about whether or not I actually needed a coat before shaking my head and following him a little closer. After witnessing someone being attacked mere inches away from Quan, I felt more of a need to protect him. The realisation that he was in danger had finally sunk in. He wasn't just in danger from people trying to abuse his powers, but also because of the job that he does.
"Your staring is making me uncomfortable," Quan stated as he sat in his regular seat by the window. He had already devoured the muffin that he had bought and was now sipping at a mug of black coffee. "I'm used to being stared at, but your stare is another level."
I blinked for the first time in about half an hour. I wished that I had the ability to blink whenever I needed to, instead of letting an uncomfortable layer of dust rest on my eyes.
I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. "Sorry," I muttered. He had put his gloves back on as soon as he reached the front door of the police station and hadn't taken them off since. The thought about what he could potentially see had crossed my mind several times since last night, but it was more out of fear than interest.
"Out with it," he said. "What do you want to know?" He sounded hesitant, as though he couldn't quite predict what I was going to ask. The fact pleased me slightly. His job was to be clairvoyant and predict thoughts and events, despite me not witnessing that yet. It made me feel almost accomplished.
I would feel more accomplished if I knew what I wanted to ask. In reality, I was curious about many things attributed to Quan. It wasn't just his powers that Intrigued me. I was interested in how long he'd been working at the station, what happened whenever there was an attack before I arrived, what persuaded him to get a job at the station, and many other questions which circled my head.
I was finally losing it. His office had bored me so much I went into overdrive when faced with the slightest bit of action.
"How old are you?" I asked. It was probably one of the most 'normal' questions I had circulating in my head.
He moved back in his seat a little, as though the shock had physically pushed him back. "I wasn't expecting that question," he admitted with a small laugh. "I'm sure it's on my file, which you would've been provided with when you got the job." I wasn't given any file when I started. "But I'll humour you, I'm twenty-five."
I found it difficult to stop my jaw frond roping in shock. Quan looked about sixteen, but I knew that wasn't possible, so I rounded it up to about eighteen or nineteen. Even though that was slightly improbable. He looked incredibly young. Maybe it was because I hadn't seen many of his facial expressions, or perhaps he was just lucky. "I suppose the same question could be a sore topic for you?"
I swallowed thickly. I shouldn't be surprised that he'd have an interest in that, nor should I be mad about the fact he rounded my own question onto myself. "I'm fifty-four. Though, I was turned when I was twenty-nine." I rubbed the back of my neck. "At least I'm not eternally a teenager?" I tried to add some sort of joking element, an attempt to lighten the mood.
Quan hummed and took another sip of his coffee. "It could be far worse. You're not the oldest person at the station." I scoffed a little, Candice was a few hundred years older than me. But even William was older than me. Then silence fell over us, well, Quan's nails clicked against the mug. "Why did you give me your number?"
It was my turn to be surprised by a question. "Well, I thought that it would be obvious. You won't invite me into your house. If you have my number, you could at least call me if something goes wrong and invite me in."
Quan rolled his eyes. "That would defeat the purpose of not letting you in."
"That would defeat the purpose of my job," I retaliated. "I wasn't a big fan of moving house either. I wasn't expecting some of the changes that came with the job,"
He pouted a bit. "Poor you." He then bowed his head. "Sorry, I hate the fact your job exists, and I hate getting close to people. It doesn't mean I have to automatically hate you." He then looked at me, somehow creating a mischievous glint in his eyes. "However, I don't think I'll be behaving much differently. I'm not the nicest."
"Oh, I'm aware," I said in an equally mischievous voice. "The only thing close to your heart is your cat."
"And it will remain that way," he spoke coolly. I supposed that was the end to our friendly banter. He stood up, slipped his coat on, and gestured for me to follow him out of the door.
I had no choice but to follow. At least I was being acknowledged now. It felt a little nicer than being expected to follow him without any care of his part.
I was ordered to visit Candice's office as soon as we returned from our break. Quan snorted before burying his nose in his work as soon as Jade told me that I had to be interrogated.
Candice's office was one of the biggest and grandest rooms in the entire building. There were lavish, velvet settees, and intricately carved wooden tables. The paintings and statues which littered the walls were no doubt antiques, worth millions all together.
"Ruarc, thank you for coming." She gestured to the seat across from her, which I sat in reluctantly. "I wish to discuss your commitments with you."
"My commitments?" I asked hesitantly. "I signed them when I got the job. I don't think I did anything to oppose them."
She peered over her glasses, which he wore just for fashion's sake, at me. "I didn't say that you did." She put the papers she was inspecting to one side before swinging her monitor around so that I could read what was on the screen.
In monochrome, there was security camera footage from the Alpha bar, showing Quan and I exiting with him in my arms.
"I-" I stammered over trying to find some comprehensive words to excuse what I was seeing. "I was drunk."
A knowing smile came onto Candice's lips. "They do say that our true intentions come out when we're drunk." She raised an eyebrow. "But that's not what I asked you here for." She turned the monitor back to face her before standing from her seat and rounding her desk, standing in front of me. "You shouldn't have been getting drunk. I monitor your card, and I know that you don't buy any extra points. Ruarc, you need to take care of yourself."
I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. I couldn't bring myself to meet her eyes. I felt like my mother was scolding me, which was a relatively fresh wound that didn't have enough time to heal. "I know."
"Do you?" she asked with a small scoff. "Without the blood you need, you would be weak, in pain, easily overpowered, ill, need I go on?" She sighed and crossed her arms. "I hired you because you were one of the best fighters I know. I pulled you out of that trouble only for you to completely change. I could always drop you."
I narrowed my eyes at her. "Is that a threat?"
She shrugged. "You seem to like Quan, and he seems to tolerate you." It was my turn to scoff. "But if you can't do your job, because you don't look after yourself, there's only so many things I can do."
She was being polite, at least she wasn't threatening to force blood down my throat. "I know how to take care of myself, and at least I'm managing the month," I argued. "I take it one month at a time, it only affects me for one night."
"One night could mean that you slip up," she argued. "Do you want to go back to how you used to be?"
I remained silent. That was the last thing that I wanted.
"Go back to your office. I'm going to be keeping a closer eye on the bar. Don't make me have a word with the staff and tell them to refuse you."
I sighed and exited the office with a small nod.
"You're doing good, Ruarc. Just keep your mind on why you accepted the job," she called after me.