"Amazing thing you've done with the whole decor thing," Yates waved at the artifacts placed beside the TV.
Keir looked at them and smiled, "Thank you, sir."
"Yates is fine," He brushed him off and followed Keir to the kitchen.
"I used to have a home like this back in Manchester," Yates said suddenly.
Keir watched him take a seat on the bar stool and admire the ambience of his house. He put up the vessel and started preparing for the tea.
"Manchester? Lovely city. What made you leave?" Keir gave him a striking smile.
Yates looked into his black eyes for a few seconds and decided to answer, "I was demoted. Got involved in an illicit drug business and was transferred to here." He shrugged.
"It's conniving what they did to you. I mean--demotion for drug dealing and later transferring to the highest drug racketing town?" Keir whistled through his mouth, empathising.
Yates nodded appreciating his words, "I know right! It's like I'm being tested or something." He shook his head.
"I never talked about my history to someone I met minutes ago," Yates chuckled a moment later, surprised by himself.
Keir smirked, "Don't worry, that happens. People tend to talk out things with me."
Yates laughed, "Something to do with your killer looks, I'm sure."
Keir mock gasped, "You got me!"
He filtered the tea in two porcelain cups and passed one to Yates. They walked back to the living room and Yates took a seat where Selene sat before. Keir eyed the place, zoning out for a minute.
Yates observed it and took a chance to ask him about her, "That Chicalina," He smiled, taking a sip of tea.
"Pardon?"
"Ms Sherman," He clarified, "You know her?"
"A mere acquaintance." Keir shrugged.
"Ah! Come on! Don't tell me you haven't banged her already. I mean did you see her?" Yates huffed through his mouth, as if imagining her before his eyes.
Keir's jaw ticked off and his arms flexed, holding himself from pouncing on him and tearing apart his skin. Yates went a step ahead in this. Keir gave him a smile that had a cynical side hiding beneath.
"I'm afraid she is taken already."
"That Haden guy?" Yates scoffed, "Don't tell me now that they have a loyal bond, pfft!"
Keir stayed silent.
Yates leaned front, "Selene is a criminal. I'm telling you infidelity is nothing compared to the things she had done. I'm sure that bitch killed Haden's clients." Yates threw back his head and laughed.
Keir grabbed the steaming cup on the table before him and splashed the piping hot tea on the laughing face of Yates.
He screamed in agony when the hot liquid touched his skin. In a swift motion Keir grabbed the binds that he always kept handy beneath the couch and tied it tightly around the Yates wrists.
The burn from the tea caused him to shut his eyes rendering him vulnerable. Keir used that opportunity to tie his legs as well. He grabbed the jug of water on the table and splashed on him again.
This time Yates sighed in relief, taking it as holy water. Keir emptied the jug on his head and glared at him like a raging bull.
"Is this about the girl?" Yates asked, still wincing in pain.
"Her name is Selene. And yes, you disrespected her," Keir spat, closing the distance between him and Yates.
"Dude, she isn't even here! Let me go!" He yelled, wriggling with his binds.
"Is she your prime suspect in this case? Is the cops onto her?" Keir asked him.
"Depends. Are you into her?" The detective asked confidently, despite freaking out inside.
Keir growled, "You have a death wish for not answering me."
"And you look at me like I'm getting one either I answer it or not," Yates spat back.
Keir stared blankly for a minute leaving Yates gulp in anxiety. Suddenly Keir burst out laughing, "I like you."
Yates gave a nervous laugh, confused by his sudden change in demeanour.
"It amazes me how a detective can be so stupid to walk into a stranger's house and talk shit about a woman."
"Because I like tea?" Yates suggested.
He shivered when Keir's unmoving gaze fixed on him.
"You're lucky that I like you. I'm going to give you what is called as a mercy death from my book--ways to murder 101." Keir smirked and paced around him.
"Look dude, you can just let me go and we can act like this never happened. You won't ever see me again, I swear," Yates tried to convince him.
Keir smiled, amused by this situation, a cop trying to convince the serial killer otherwise.
For his own amusement he played along, "Go on."
Yates understood the sweet way won't work with him. There was no mercy, or any emotion left in his dark eyes. He guessed it won't be his first murder if Yates is dead.
"Look I'm a cop, alright? If I die suspiciously, things won't be good for you. There will be an investigation," Yates tried to threaten this time but to his shock Keir just smiled more in amusement.
"Oh, you ain't gonna die suspiciously," Keir shook his head and leaned looking straight into his eyes, "You will have a very slow, natural and painless death," He whispered slowly.
Yates whimpered at his words, "How?" He whispered back.
Keir sucked in his cheek, thinking to himself. An idea popped in his brilliant mind, and he clasped his palms together in satisfaction.
"Drug overdose."
Yates freezed in shock when he heard those two words. He saw Keir disappear into one of the rooms and come back with an empty syringe in his hand.
"Y-You have drugs here?"
Keir shook his head, "No, but you do."
Keir searched his pockets and found a packet of white powder in his jacket.
Keir dangled the packet before him and smirked, "I figured illicit drug business was not the only thing you got addicted to."
Keir took the packet into the kitchen and a few minutes later came back with a drug filled syringe. Keir stood before him and stared confusedly at his inner elbow.
"I'm actually a knife person rather than a needle. So, I'm just gonna..." Keir whistled and without warning punctured his skin with the syringe, emptying it in seconds.
Yates bellowed in pain, earning a glare from Keir.
"Will you keep it quiet? I have neighbours."
Yates tried to wriggle out of his binds once again and glared at him, "You are sick!" He spat.
Keir gave a wry laugh, "Ya think?" He said in a mock southern accent, similar to Yates.
Keir threw the syringe on the table and plopped on the couch before him. They stayed in silence for minutes until Yates's eyes shuttered down slowly.
"Looks like the vein thing worked," Keir spoke, pulling him out of his deathly sleep.
Yates just grunted in response.
"Was it all for that girl?" Yates asked a while later.
Keir thought for a moment before answering, "No, it's for every girl that deserves better than shit from people like you."
Yates gave a dry laugh, "What are you? Their paladin or something?"
Keir shook his head thinking deeply, "I'm not a paladin, Yates but I'm certainly nothing like you."
Yates' smile fell into a thin line. They both stared for minutes before his eyes slowly started to shut off.
"Something is off about you, Yates. I just can't quite put my finger on it." Keir's eyes twitched at him.
Yates gave him a weak smile, "You are clever, I'll give you that."
Keir leaned his elbows on his knees and looked intently at him, "Who are you?"
But Yates didn't respond this time, he fell into a deep slumber of his life, a deathly sleep.
Keir sighed and threw his head back on the head rest. He fished out his phone from his pocket and dialled Selene.
"What?" Came a groan from the other side.
Keir's brows knit in confusion at the sound that left from her mouth, "What are you doing?"
"What do you think?" She snapped, "I'm fucking sleeping."
He shook his head, smiling slightly. "Meet me at my house now. It's urgent."
Another set of curses and groan left her mouth. "What the fuck did you do now?"
Keir rolled his eyes, "Just come here," He said and hung up.
***
"You have two seconds to explain or I'll kill you," Selene glared at him, through her sleepy red eyes.
Keir opened his mouth but closed it, realising that nothing he would say can save him from her wrath.
He moved out of her way disclosing Yates peacefully sleeping on the couch.
It took a moment for Selene to realise that there was a man on the couch, who looked like the cop that she met hours ago.
"Fucking shit!" Selene cursed aloud and turned to Keir, "Is he bloody dead?"
She rushed near Yates's body and crouched down on her knees to look at him. She was searching for Keir's classic slit throat or gut stab, but there were none. He looked like a man sleeping.
She slowly lifted her finger to Yates's nostrils but was forcefully pulled back by a pair of hands.
"What are you doing?" Keir turned her to him, still holding his grip on her waist. Touching Yates without gloves is a risk, they need to be careful not to plant any DNA on him.
"What do you think? Checking if he is dead," She spat and tried to go near Yates again.
Keir pulled her back roughly, making her crash back onto his chest.
"He is dead," He confirmed.
Selene looked at him with shock filled eyes. She roughly wriggled out of his grip and glared at him.
"Why'd you do it? Why did you kill him?" Selene's word came out breathless. This was a literal nightmare to her.
He just looked at her with an unreadable countenance. She felt like his eyes were taunting her, that she should've never underestimated someone like him. It drove her insane.
Selene lost it at that moment, she closed the distance between them and grabbed the collar of his shirt with her both hands.
She looked up in his eyes, making sure all the hatred she is feeling now is showing up, "Answer me! You psycho!" She yelled.
Keir didn't like what he heard. A low growl left from his mouth. He grabbed her wrists freeing them from his shirt and twisted them painfully to her back. Pushing his body onto hers, he cornered her between the wall and him.
"Yes I killed him," He stated proudly before gritting out, "Because I can."
He released her hands from his grip and took a step back, calming himself down. His eyes never left her, she was rubbing her wrists where he held.
"Well, of course you can!" She glared, "-because you are the fucking serial killer." She took a step close to him.
"But guess what? That man is a cop," She pointed her finger to the dead Yates on the couch and took another step towards him.
"He was assigned to the case of my clients, who you killed," She poked her finger to his chest.
"The clients who saw me lastly and a cop on my clients case who also met me lastly," She closed the gap and stared furiously into his eyes.
"Anything that happens is blamed on me, not you." Keir stood there silently.
"So," She pushed him with her palms, "You. Need. To. Back. The. Hell off!" She yelled pushing him to the other side of the room with every word.
Keir voluntarily took the humiliation from Selene. He just never realised how this affects her and what danger she could be in, until she spoke up in words.
He had been so driven by his urges that he never gave a thought to what she went through. He was ashamed of himself. He shouldn't have called her here now.
"They don't call you 'The cop Killer' for nothing," Selene gave a wry laugh and pinched her nose bridge in frustration.
Keir took a deep breath, he couldn't see her in any more distress, "Go home Selene. I'll clean up the mess that I started."
Selene looked at him baffled, "Why did you even call me here?"
Keir sighed in irritation, "I don't know?! A few hours back you were mad at me for not calling you and now you're mad at me for calling you?"
Selene gave an unbelievable laugh, "I can't believe you are turning this on me!" She shook her head and walked past him.
Keir pulled her back to him, "Killing him was never my intention. He spoke," He paused and closed his eyes for a moment to control his temper, "-vile things about you that I cannot sit tight and listen."
Selene pulled her face back a little and stared at his face. Keir knew that look very well, it was utter disappointment and hurt.
"Was this your pathetic excuse to kill him?" She questioned.
Keir grabbed her jaw and pulled her face close, "You wanted the reason and there you have it. It seems like you keep forgetting what I am, Selene. Are you expecting me to be normal, like others? "
There was less than inch space between their faces. Selene could see nothing but his dark black holes, reminding her how dangerous they are.
Selene pulled back from his death grip on her jaw, leaving behind red marks of his fingers on her skin.
She took a step back and rolled her hand into a fist. Selene's bony knuckles connected to Keir's face making him grunt in pain.
Blood trickled down from his nose but he didn't bother to wipe it, he was busy staring at her.
Selene bit her lips controlling her emotions and spoke, "I didn't forget. Even if I did, you've done a great job in reminding me what you are," She gritted out, "You've out reached yourself, Keir." She looked at him one last time and left not turning back.
Keir didn't stop her this time. He just stood like a mannequin in the center of a mall. It had been years since he saw disappointment in someone's eyes. There was hurt mixed with anger and concern.
Where there is disappointment there is trust and where there is hurt there is care, and Keir believed that.
Was he lucky to find someone who cared a bit for him, knowing what he is or unlucky that he screwed up things for both of them? He had no answer to that.
Whatever happened tonight, Keir was sure of one thing. Things won't be the same after this, they will be changed tomorrow.
For now he should clean up the mess like he promised her. He should get rid of every evidence that Yates had dropped here. Starting from removing the chewing gum from his garden to placing Yates back into his car, faraway from here.
****
Hmm.. Pretty dramatic fight, isn't it?
Who's side are you on in this fight? I personally think Selene is right and that Keir should be more responsible.
Hopefully he learns his lesson (or not)
Comments about this chapter? >>>
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~Aurora.