astro-nerd

[astro-nerd]

So This Is Social Anxiety

Part two

“How? It wasn’t a test and isn’t graded. You have no cause and no evidence.”

“There is no way you got 100% in twenty minutes.”

“Please I’ve taught myself harder concepts in similar amounts of time.” It wasn’t a lie, just slightly exaggerated, nailing harder concepts took me closer to an hour or two really.

“You will be doing them again and I will be watching your every move.” Not a chance.

“I’m not doing work again to prove my intelligence to you.”

“Then you are welcome to leave.” Well if I’m welcome to and I did make sure to give him the bird on the way out. Did I also take my papers with me? Yes, yes I did because they’re mine now and they’re evidence.

That pretty much set the tone for the rest of my day. Lecturers seeing whether I could read, spell, understand basic scientific concepts. Things kids learn in grade school. I knew for a fact that everyone else around me was doing at least highschool level material and that I was not. Most of the same people were in my classes with some swapped based on needs and they all witnessed me walk out of lectures after being insulted for quick and precise work. I was one comment away from braining myself on a wall as I sat in one the stairwells of my building. My eyes burned slightly and I almost wanted to just let the tears spill over and call Bishop to take me back to the apartment. I’d even let her hug me again just to tell her how bad my day was.

“Shouldn’t you be in a lecture?” Oh brilliant, just to make my life even better.

“What do you want, Bridge Jr?” I scrub the unfallen tears from my eyes as he sits himself on the steps just above me without asking,

“You know I’m supposed to keep an eye on you. And I'm pretty sure skipping lectures is the first step to causing trouble.” I really do not need this today.

“Are you gonna say anything useful? Or are you just gonna insult me?” He goes quiet before clearing his throat,

“And here I thought you enjoyed our conversations.” My neck snaps around to him and he pulls back slightly whether in shock or fear I don’t care. He sits silently behind me as I refuse to turn around again.

“Bad day?” I can’t tell if I want to scream or cry at his question but the tears forming in my eyes are frustrating.

Why does it even matter?

At my lack of response or want to turn around there’s suddenly a hand on my shoulder. I shoot up, nearly toppling myself down the stairs in the process as he pulls back his hand.

“Do not touch me. You don’t know me. I don’t want to tell you about my shitty day.” I’m pretty sure I’m yelling but the burning on my shoulder and the ringing in my ears take up too much of my senses. He doesn’t move from his seat on the stairs and somehow that pisses me off more. Why won’t he leave?

“I’m just saying that mouthing off with teachers and storming out of your lectures leaves a certain impression.” How does he even know about this? My nails dig into my flesh from how tightly I clench my hands trying not to break his nose for a second time.

“And what? You think that’s my fault too? You think I’m stupid as well? Forgive me for not being allowed to leave the house for thirteen years. Y’know I’m so sorry for never enrolling myself into education. That's my bad, I should've known better.” He opens his mouth to speak but y’know what I’m quite happy talking. I’m not going to let someone shut me up this time.

“I mean what do you even care? You really want to know how shitty my day was? Well let me tell you. Every lecture is an insult, everyone is working at a highschool level and they’re giving me middle school at best. I finish the work quickly and they accuse me of cheating. They want to see it with their own eyes like I’m a circus animal. I say no and they say I can leave then and I do. They don’t get to judge me. They don’t get an opinion for reading a damned piece of paper that says I haven’t set foot in a school.” I finally let out a breath and saw Bridge Jr giving me a look. I have no idea what the look means but it’s certainly not helping my anger levels.

“What? What do you want to say?” He blinks and must realise that he’s still actually in the room as he gapes like a bloody fish.

“You tried to show them?” I’m gonna break his nose. I force myself to take a deep breath for the sake of Agent Bishop and because I don’t really think he meant it in malice. I settled for taking my backpack and throwing it at him. He lets out a soft ‘oof’ as it lands. He pulls out the various worksheets from today. All correct or mostly correct. I turn back around and plonk myself on the stairs again. Slowly Bridge Jr shuffles down to sit beside me.

“If you had to guess, what would you say your education level is?” He asks, putting my backpack between our feet.

“I don’t know.” I admit moderately calmer, “I’m not sure what you’re supposed to learn when I just learnt what I wanted.” I may not have been allowed to go to school but school was brought to me any time I wanted it. I’d spend hours pouring over books based on maths and languages. Sometimes I had to learn specific things like certain chemical structures, I learnt to count money pretty early on too.

“What do you know?” Where to begin?

“Maths is the easiest. I’ve taught myself anything I could find. I’m fluent in five languages including English and ASL. I could name you every country alphabetically but don’t ask me to point them out on a map. I read Shakespeare at eight because I couldn’t reach a higher shelf. I can tell you any element from its atomic number.” I also know how to make several drugs but maybe that’s not quite the information I should be sharing.

“If I could convince my dad to get you an SAT test would you take it? And I mean actually take it, do the work and study. It won't be until November but he’ll see what he can do.” I sat there for a moment, with an actual SAT score I could attend college properly. Sure I’d be starting roughly two years behind but I’d be attending college. Would it be worth it? I do have six years of my sentence left. It’s enough time.

“Yes.”

Next | Previous | Chapter 1

[astro-nerd]

So This Is Social Anxiety

Part one

Eva

“You’re kidding me right? Tell me you’re kidding me.” I follow Bishop around to the sink with my dish to place it in with hers,

“I am not ‘kidding’ Eva, you need an education.” She continues back around the island to the living room. Why is this apartment so circular? Why does a kitchen need two exits to the living room? Stupid open plan layout.

“I don’t remember that being in my agreement. I work for the FBI as a criminal consultant until my sentence is over or until I become a hazard again. I do not go to college.” Bishop turns to give me a stern look. It causes me to stop about two metres from her, it’s definitely the look mother’s give their children to get them to knock it off. I, however, am not a child.

“When this arrangement is over you’ll need something you can do. Something that is your decision. You’re currently in some basic courses-”

“Basic courses? Are you trying to insult me?” What would it matter anyway? Where I go when this arrangement is over is not my decision.

“There is no record of you Eva, you have no qualifications. You were in jail when most kids took their SATs. Without the courses they can’t assess what you can and can’t take. There’s nothing embarrassing about it.” I huff and almost laugh, that is incredibly easy for her to say. She was probably liked by other kids.

“It’s a really nice place Eva, Jax goes there he-”

“You’re making me attend college with Bridge Jr. Great. Wonderful.” I flop down onto the couch behind me and put my face in my hands. Now not only does he know what’s in my file but he’ll also know I’m taking basic courses.

“It was the easiest work around we had.” Bishop explains, despite everything she keeps her distance. Something she’d taken to trying to do in the last few days. After the hug in Boston I was worried she was about to make them a regular thing, it made me feel like my entire nervous system was going to explode. Since then she’d been keeping her distance minus the occasional touch to the shoulder to get my attention.

“He doesn’t wanna watch me and I don’t wanna be watched. It’s simple.”

“He won’t be over your shoulder all the time, just maybe having lunch with you or seeing you on your breaks.”

“What are you paying him too? Is he actually a nanny?” Bishop sighs rubbing at her temples, for a moment I actually think I’ve pushed her patience too far.

“Please Eva. Do this and I promise to discuss a decision like this with you next time.” Why does her patience with me have no bounds?

“Fine.”

Bishop drove me to college since it was apparently too far a walk and y’know supervision. I’d tried to dress as bland as possible, sticking to a hoodie and jeans with my boots, I almost wanted a hat to cover my hearing aids as ridiculous as it sounded. Bishop wished me good luck for my first day and told me to message her when I was done so she could pick me up. The urge to run after her and climb back in the car was overwhelming and I’m not ashamed to admit it… to myself at least. Walking through the crowds of people my age felt foreign, an old memory flickers in my mind for a second. A smaller version of myself is by my side just as afraid, she has twin braids and a backpack nearly as big as her. She’s in a school uniform staring up at the large building as I do. She wants to run away as much as I do.

“You’re going to be amazing, sweetie.” Reassures a woman from behind nudging her just enough to send her into motion.

“We’ll be right here when you get back, pumpkin.” Calls a male voice as she walks beside me and then runs past up the stairs and into the building. I follow her up not long after but by the time I enter the building she’s gone and somehow I feel more alone.

“How can I help?” A cheery woman behind the desk takes notice of me as I walk up,

“Umm…” When have I ever said umm? “I’m here for my class schedule.” She brightens even more somehow making me wish I had some sunglasses to protect my retinas,

“You must be Eva. I’ve got your schedule right here and how to get it on your phone since I know you youngsters like to have everything on them these days. Oh and here’s a map too. Would you like help getting to your first lecture?” Nope, no way, not in the slightest.

“No thank you, I’ll be alright.” I smile taking them from her before speed walking as fast as socially acceptable away from the office. My schedule left me wanting to gauge my eyes out. Basic courses in maths, science, english… and nothing else. This was about to be painful.

I arrived at the first lecture just on time. Which was surprising considering I’d gotten completely lost and thought I’d never leave this college campus again. We’re a small group with the others looking mostly older than me, I got a few looks as I walked in just before the door was shut.

“You must be Eva, I take it you got lost?” The teacher asks, he doesn’t ask in a concerned way, no he asks in a ‘didn’t realise you were that stupid’ sorta way. All of my teachers know of my background, how they approach it is gonna be a fun roulette wheel.

“I did.” I take a seat a bit further from the rest of the class. At least maths is first, English would be a snooze fest and I doubt science would actually let us do anything interesting. The lecturer hands out worksheets he expects to take the whole hour lecture making sure to slightly loudly tell me,

“Don’t worry about needing help, I’m happy to explain any of the harder concepts to you.”

I finished the work sheets in fifteen minutes.

Little me is back, she sits there smiling as she does a maths worksheet for the first time. Some things never change. I wait five minutes extra for good measure before raising my hand. The lecturer gets a smug look on his face, I swear his name was Gordon or something funny like that, and comes over,

“Can I help?” I slid the papers over to him.

“I’m finished.” Now he doesn’t look so smug,

“You realise you have to at least attempt every question right?”

“I did, and I’m finished.” Huh his neck turns a similar colour to Bridge Jr’s face when he’s mad.

“You can’t be finished, it’s only been twenty minutes. I gave you enough work for the hour.”

“It only took fifteen really but I didn’t want to look like an ass.” There’re small snickers from the other side of the class and I don’t think they’re at me. He takes my papers and goes to sit at his desk, his neck getting more red with every right answer he checks off. He slams them back down on my desk,

“You cheated.”

Next | Previous | Chapter 1

[astro-nerd]

“I-I don’t wanna talk about it…”

“I know, Whumpee. I know it’s really hard. But we need you to talk about it, okay? We need you to say what Whumper did to you. It’s the only way they’ll face justice.“

[astro-nerd]

How High?

Part four

We’re not home yet so I won.” I can feel Bishop beam in pride while the other two act like they’re not listening.

“So you did, congratulations. What do you want?” The slightly flushed excited expression she has morphs to confusion. Clearly she was either too happy or this situation didn’t warrant a mask of her emotions.

“You were serious?” I take my refilled glass which I don’t miss the wary eye she shoots at it,

“I’d like to believe I’m an upholder of all my deals so yes anything you want within reason.” She stands there for a moment, calculating every move I’ve just made versus her own. There’s a narrowing to her eyes,

“I haven’t decided yet. I’ll get back to you. Thank you Agent Bridge.” She takes her phone back and heads back to her hotel room.

“I’m starting to see what you mean.” Bishop says, grabbing her own drink. I make a hum in response thinking over each moment we both just saw of what was likely the real Eva Ered.

Our trip home is uneventful although Eva does come to a decision of her reward just before we board the plane,

“Another game. It doesn’t require another wager but I would like another game to play on my phone.” I happily obliged, it was a much easier thing to do than I was expecting. Then again I wasn’t really sure what request she would make. Either way the new cryptogram word game I downloaded for her seemed to be just as much of a hit as the block game as she sat next to Bishop without saying a word the whole way home.

Pulling into my own driveway is always my favourite part of a case. A constant to come home to. I still remember the days where I would pull up and see Jax on the doorstep waiting for me to come home, running down the drive to hug me as I got out of the car. Now he lugs himself out of the passenger seat and helps me bring our bags inside. We abandon them in the living room while I start to route in the cupboards for some pans to get lunch cooking. Jax comes in not long after with four days worth of mail, the stove clicks on as he sorts through it,

“Mum’s suing you again.” He says with a laugh having opened a legal document, I throw some of Italy’s finest spaghetti in the simmering pan,

“What about this time?”

“Seems to be parental estrangement again. For your child who is in fact an adult and does not wish to see her.” I chuckle and he does and take the letter from him.

“I will send it to the lawyer, I suppose, to follow all the legalities. Wouldn’t want her to catch us out.” Jax takes over with the sauce as I move to find my laptop and the scanner. The upload is a simple process I’m far too used to, since divorcing her and gaining full custody of Jax at thirteen Diana had been constantly sending lawsuits for one thing or another. As if she hadn’t taken enough of my money during our marriage. I return back to our kitchen to see a catastrophe in the making,

“Get that seasoning out of your hand Jackson Samuel Bridge.” He smiles at me holding up his hands,

“Don’t be so dramatic dad, it tastes good I promise.”

“No son of mine will be putting that seasoning in my finest pasta. I raised you better.” I shoo him out of my kitchen.

“You need to expand your taste buds old man.” He places it back in the spice rack as I take my usual and correct seasonings for the sauce.

“There is no need to mess with a classic. No matter what you kids are up to these days.” He begins to set the table as I finish up the pasta, pouring us both some soda as he does.

“You really are getting old if you think me putting some new seasoning in is ‘kid activities’,” I place his plate in front of him and take my seat beside him on the table. Now a full pasta dish may be a bit fancy for a 1pm lunch but making a proper meal was a tradition to me coming home. No matter the time of day I would be sure there was proper food fuelling our good work. My favourite was still the pancake party I had thrown at 3am after a two week case when Jax was eight, his teachers said he’d been unstoppable all day. Not that he wasn’t unstoppable every day. Top of his classes with medical school not far away. I could never be more proud. He winces slightly as he chews the movement likely aggravating his nose,

“How is your nose?” I ask. Jax pokes around at his food slightly. Never in my life had I had to yell at him as harshly as I did that night. We hadn’t spoken to each other properly until the car ride the next morning.

“It’ll be entering the second week of healing and given I’ve had no complications in breathing so far I’m looking forward to a full recovery.” He had apologised again and again, to me and to Bishop. I’d told him it wasn’t us he should be apologising to.

“I didn’t know she wasn’t picking a fight with me.” He states twirling some of the pasta around his fork, “if I’d known what she was going to do I would’ve tried harder to stop her but instead I was just looking forward to seeing her in trouble.” I’d asked him why that night, why would he ever speak to anyone like that? He hadn’t given me a straight initial answer but in the end she’d been getting under his skin. An Eva Ered speciality.

“It’s not your fault Jax. None of us expected her to chase after a serial killer without backup.” He takes another bite not looking at me, “I’m serious Jacky. No one blames you for what happened.” I place my hand on his shoulder, he tilts to rest his head on it,

“I do. As much as we aren't getting on, I didn't want her to get hurt. Gomez said you found her on the ledge of the roof with that psycho telling her to jump. If I hadn’t told you everything- ”

“But you did. You told us exactly what she wanted you to tell us. It may not seem it but Eva put her trust in you and we got there in time. Now she’s probably bothering Bishop as we speak. You don’t have to get along immediately, no one expects you to.” He looks at me, the bruising under his glasses clearing slightly from the dark shades it had been,

“I don’t know how to not react, it’s like she knows exactly where to hit to piss me off.” I smile,

“Because she does, she’s as good of a profiler as you or I. For different reasons sure but she definitely doesn’t lash out unless threatened.” I take my hand from his shoulder as we start to eat again,

“She’s smart too, not outwardly, she plays a target easily but then slaughters her opponent. If we were profiling her I’d say her childhood was riddled with abuse and she’s deciding if we’re next to have her on the menu.” In the freedom of our home he takes the first step to do what I’ve been fighting all along. Profiling Eva Ered. The girl who’s actions to get her arrested don’t match up to her crimes or the way she acted in jail or the way she acts now. Someone who the records are convinced didn’t exist before the age of sixteen with the only trace of her existence before then being at six years old. Where does someone go for ten years? And why can’t we find it?

“I’d agree. Bishop’s kindness threatens her, like she’s waiting for the other shoe to drop. I nearly made her spit out her coffee when suggesting she had PTSD. She’s mistrusting, has insomnia, hoards food and that’s just what Bishop’s told me. She also eyed my drink in the bar last night when she won the bet, I reckon that’s the closest we’ll see to a flinch.” Jax stares into his pasta as I talk, making sure to take in every word.

“She fell asleep in one of the chairs doing research, Gomez slamming the door made her almost come out of her skin. She also hasn’t said a word to anyone except when it’s relevant for her to actually speak, she also only acts like she’s thinking of answers. I wouldn’t say PTSD is the wrong diagnosis but you’ll need more evidence.” We both think for another long moment our plates slowly beginning to empty,

“That night at the dinner. When Chief Baxter started to speak it was like she left the building. Her eyes slowly unfocused and started flicking as if they were focusing on something that wasn’t there. His speech lasted at least fifteen to twenty minutes before our food was served and she snapped back. Even then she didn’t appear as if she entirely knew where she was and reacted slowly to the situation.” Jax furrows his brow as I explain it to him,

“You think she was dissociating?” I snap my fingers at him,

“I knew you’d know the word. Yes, that's exactly what I am thinking.” I take Jax’s plate and begin to put them in the dishwasher.

“I suppose we’ll be keeping a closer eye on her then. She likely has no idea herself or is in denial, she could be in for a whole host of new symptoms if she exits her fight or flight response.” No better time than the present to tell him then,

“You’ll have a great opportunity to do so then, considering she’ll be attending your college.”

“Wait what?”

Chapter 5 | Previous | Chapter 1

[astro-nerd]

How High?

Part 3

We take our seats on opposite sides of the table.

“Are you allowed to do this interview? Shouldn’t it be an officer?” She asks tilting her head to the side, underneath the sarcasm it is a genuine question.

“Would you prefer a uniformed officer to question you Eva?” She bristles straightening her head and sitting properly in the chair,

“No.”

“Exactly. So I’m going to ask you about what happened and you’re going to tell the truth. If you do, I'll omit anything you want from the report. If not then we’ll have to go about this the proper way.” She bites the inner of her cheek for a moment,

“Okay, ask away.” I make her recount what happened to me starting from after we left. She talks about the fake argument with Jax, getting in six different cabs with my wallet,

“I’ll pay you back… somehow.” She mentions,

“Don’t worry about it. Can I have my wallet back?” She slides it over the table towards me along with the car keys before continuing. Telling me about the Unsub pulling over to give her a ride, the conversation they had and getting to the building.

“What made you pick that story?” She stiffens, not being able to look me in the eye since the conversation came up.

“Sympathy points.”

“Eva,”

“Is it really relevant?” She snaps looking me in the eyes. Again the cold expression with the smallest flicker with her eyes. Eva Ered has a tell. Not for lying I’m sure I’d never find one. No but for when something is important.

“You’re right it’s not. I apologise.” She breathes slightly easier, the closest I’ll see to a sigh of relief. Her shoulders relax slightly,

“Did he make you write a note?” Now this was the moment of truth. One move and I can trust everything she’s told me. She stills for a moment, for a moment I swear she blinks tears from her eyes,

“I had to convince him to leave his gun in the car. That he didn’t need to force me to do anything. He handed me the biro pen from his jacket pocket, likely what the other victims used and what the symbols were drawn in, and some paper.” She pulls a folded piece of paper from her pocket and places it between us. “I said I’d hold it on the way down. He normally placed them after as a finishing touch. It gave him everything he needed to trust me.” I watch her eyes follow the paper as I pull it towards myself,

“May I?” She stares at it in my hands before giving a sharp small nod. I unfold the paper and briefly scan the contents. It was a real suicide note. I carefully fold it back up and slide it back to her,

“If anyone asks. That doesn’t exist.” Her expression flickers from confused to neutral quickly,

“It’s evidence.”

“What it is is a threat against you waiting to happen. Get rid of it.” She takes it and slips it back into her pocket. A moment of silence passes between us.

“He’ll go to jail right?” She asks. I want nothing more than to reassure her,

“If the jury thinks he’s guilty. If we’ve collected enough evidence.” She fidgets and begins to pick at her fingers,

“He didn’t do it for recognition, y'know. Not exactly anyway. He wanted to prove he was smart enough to get away with it. Wanted to prove his worth to a world he felt had given up on him.” And it seems he wasn’t the only one.

“I’ll make sure to use that when we interview him. Thank you Eva.” I start to get up, she sits there a moment longer staring at the one way window.

“Eva?” I catch her attention while moving towards the door,

“Yeah?” She starts to get up and follow.

“Would you have jumped? In any other scenario?” She stops and looks at me, then smiles and laughs as if I’d asked a stupid question.

“Of course not Agent Bridge.” There’s a pit in my stomach as she closes the door. She only lied to me once.

With everything calmed down we went back to the hotel for a good night's sleep before we travelled home but not before a few rounds at the bar. Jax had already gone back to the room along with Roman not long after and Eva way before. Bishop sits next to me and we watch Gomez attempt to teach Beth real life pool.

“This is a lot harder with an actual stick.” She complains fumbling her third shot,

“Queue.” Gomez corrects before helping her line up her shot again.

“We have to talk about Eva.” I said so that only Bishop could hear me. There’s a look on her face. She already thinks she knows what I’ll say.

“I don’t want to hear your-”

“You were right.” I cut her off. With my answer much to her satisfaction she gestures for me to continue. “Eva deserves to be treated with kindness, not just human decency. What you’re doing is not over the top.” She smiles to herself taking another sip from her glass,

“I knew you’d come around.”

“However,” this causes her to roll her eyes at me, “you’re piling it all on too fast. The more you do for her the bigger debt she thinks she owes you. The more she feels she has to prove her worth to you. Every good action you take to show her that you care she will treat it as if it has a price tag. That’s why she pulled the stunt she did today. You need to strike a balance.” She considers my words looking out to our friends’ game.

“What do you suggest?” Oh I do love when she wants my suggestions.

“Give her other ways to repay you. Getting you a coffee. Washing the dishes. Anything to make her feel like she isn’t a leach on your kindness.” I finish my glass off and place it on the table leading her to do the same,

“Thank you. For the suggestion and for believing in me.” I take her hand and raise it to my lips,

“Anytime Bishop dear.” I kiss her hand before she bats me away and moves to pour another glass.

“I did it!”

Next | Previous | Chapter 1

[astro-nerd]

How High?

Part two

4:30pm. We walk back into the main office to have Beth stand up from one of the computers. Wait if she was here this whole time,

“You left Eva and Jax alone in a room together?” I say charging forward much faster than I expected to but hey I’m a dad who doesn’t like his kids bones broken okay? We open the door to the office to find Jax and… Jax.

“Finally you’re back,” he says standing from the chair he was sitting in, wringing his hands nervously.

“Jax, where is Eva?” Bishop is at my side in front of him. He lifts a hand to the back of his head. What are you guilty of now?

“About that. She went on a walk?” Gomez kicks a chair,

“I knew she’d do this, first chance she gets and she’s up and gone. I told you we couldn’t trust her.” I try to ignore him and the look of self doubt creeping onto Bishop’s face,

“Jax, I need you to tell me exactly what happened before she left.” Bishop was right about something, running doesn’t fit her profile, especially not if she won’t gain anything from it. Eva calculates every move she makes right down to the last detail. Jax describes the long five minute stare she seemed to have before throwing her file on the floor and pacing, claiming all of this to be pointless. Tells us she’d tripped when he’d talked.

“That doesn’t make any sense.” Comments Roman. I look at the chair she’d been in and the desk in tripping distance.

“She took the keys to the second car.” I say before motioning to Jax to continue. He goes on about half trying to stop her,

“I mean can you blame me she already broke my nose.”

“Keep going, that doesn’t matter now.” I say willing him on with a hand on the shoulder to show him he’s not in trouble. He takes a breath and says he asked her how long she’d been and with what leeway. Twenty two… five.

“And she didn’t say minutes?” I ask, he shakes his head. I look at the clock.

“Twenty to five. Four forty. That’s what she meant.” There’s a ding from Eva’s chair. Bishop moves to grab whatever’s in it. She picks up Eva’s phone,

“She left herself an email to send at this time, with an address.” We went after our killer while telling them to keep thinking. Beth leaves to help us. Eva keeps thinking and gets a new idea. She starts an argument with Jax and gives him vital information she knows he’ll tell us exactly. My wallet was in the second car.

“She’s going after who she thinks the real killer is.” I say. Dead silence fills the room. Faces mixed with disbelief and horror look back at me.

“Suit up. Forward me that address. Jax, Bethany, and Bishop stay here.” Roman is moving before anyone can properly process the words he’s saying. I follow suit with Gomez and Bishop starts to follow after,

“Bishop you can’t.” I say taking her by the shoulders to hold her back.

“She’s my Charge, I- I shouldn’t have left her alone. I-” She’s shaking under my fingers,

“I’ll bring her back, I promise.” She looks me in the eyes trying to blink away her own tears and nods. I ran down the hallway after the others.

We’d told officers to follow in silent pursuit for back up, if this guy sees us coming there’s no way to predict what he’ll do. Eva had given us the address of an abandoned apartment complex on the outskirts of the city.

“You don’t think she chose… jumping, do you?” Gomez asks as we near our destination.

“I think that’s exactly what she did.” I answer.

We move silently as we climb the stairs, officers below on every side move carefully to be able to deploy safety bags if the worst should happen. We have no idea whether this guy has a weapon, we’re going in blind but thankfully with bullet proof vests on. We clear each floor on the way up, there’s no way to tell exactly when they got here or how far through the Unsub’s process they’d already gone. Had she written a letter? Walked all the way up here alone with him? We make our way up the stairs to the roof access, Roman counts us in and kicks the door open.

“FBI. Show me your hands.” A man in his early fifties immediately steps back from his place close to the roof's edge and turns to face us. He’s shocked and stares at us in horror. I turn my attention towards the roof edge and see Eva standing on it, millimetres from the drop below her. For everything happening around her she’s completely calm,

“This is your only chance, love. Do it now.” The man yells as Roman and Gomez apprehend him, he doesn’t struggle just keeps his eyes fixed on Eva. For a moment I think she’ll listen to him, as if a small breeze would simply tip her over. Until she turns around and smirks at him.

“Sorry. I’ve changed my mind.” She gives a little hop off the ledge towards us, tucking a piece of paper into her pocket. A laugh starts out next to us, from the Unsub, getting louder the closer Eva gets,

“I see now. You chose here so nobody would see the fake attempt. But if you did you’d want him to know. Or else it would be pointless.” Gomez begins to read him his rights and he and Roman pull the man down the many stairs. Eva keeps her eyes fixed on him, a stone cold expression everywhere but the eyes. They flick just enough to tell me everything I need to know.

“What was he talking about?” She continues to stare at the door he’d been dragged through tracing the scar on the side of her nose with her fingers,

“Nothing. I played a character for him. He has no idea who he’s talking about.” Seems she’s not as ready to take my extension of trust as she was Bishop’s and only then that trust likely seemed unavoidable to her in the moment.

“You understand you’ll have to be questioned.”

“Yeah.”

We’d taken the long way back to the station to let the Unsub arrive first so that the media could focus on him until we got our story together. One thing was clear. Eva did nothing. Something she approved of quite readily. Upon entering our office Bishop immediately rushes over to Eva,

“Are you crazy? I leave you alone for hardly five minutes and you go after a serial killer? Anything could have happened to you.” And suddenly she’s hugging Eva. Eva who from the beginning to the one sided conversation had looked severely confused had stiffened at the contact. Although she didn’t push Bishop off. In turn this meant Bishop held on taking it as acceptance rather than the likely terror Eva was experiencing.

“We have to take her in for questioning Bishop.” I say gently, putting a hand on her shoulder. She lets go of Eva who was trying to put on an indifferent expression on her face.

“Right of course,” I motion Eva to follow me as we exit towards one of the station's interview rooms.

Next | Previous | Chapter 1

[astro-nerd]

When Whumpee misconstrued one of Caretaker’s questions/concerns/casual comments to be something they are sorry for/ should be apologetic about or that Caretaker meant for them to stop doing that thing or was being demeaning about it.

“You’re bleeding!” “Sorry! I’m sorry! I won’t get it on anything!”

“Does your ankle hurt?” “I can still do the [thing Caretaker asked if they wouldn't mind doing]. It doesn’t hurt that bad.”

“You’re sniffling…. Are you crying?!” “I promise I won’t be loud! I just can’t stop! I’m sorry!”

“You’re breathing a bit loud. Is your rib hurting again? … WHY ARE YOU HOLDING YOUR BREATH?!”

“Your room was a bit warm today. Is that how you like it? I sleep hot so I would end up sweating all night with my heater on that high.” (A few nights later) “C-Caretaker? Is.. is it alright if I t-take the blanket from the couch to m-my room t-tonight?” “Of course! How are you still cold when you're room is so hot? Are you feeling well?— WHY ARE ALL YOUR WINDOWS OPEN?! ITS WINTER!!”

“You sure are hungry! Looks like your appetite is coming back.” “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to take too much. I won’t eat tomorrow to make up for it.”

“Your hair looks different!” “I know… I'm sorry. I didn't really like it in [old-Whumper’s-favorite-style] so I changed it. I’ll change it back though, 'cause I know it makes me more pleasing to look at. I’m sorry.”

"Why are there bandage wrappings in the garbage?" "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to take your supplies without asking! Its just that one of my stitches opened up and it wouldn't stop bleeding."

[astro-nerd]

Whumpee that doesn't expect anyone to care about them + Caretaker that is appalled that no one seems to care about Whumpee my beloved

[astro-nerd]

"I kept telling myself to hang on. Just wait a few more hours...maybe a few days. I told myself that you were on your way. But you weren't." whumpee spits at carewhumper.

carewhumper pours rubbing alcohol on whumpee's open wounds, "you got yourself into that situation. you got yourself out."

[astro-nerd]

“Touch them again and you won’t like what happens.”

“You think acting tough is going to save them?”

“What could you possibly do to me?”

“Is that a threat or a promise?”

“I’ll have to keep that in mind next time they decide to disobey me. Can’t promise it’ll help them though.”

“Oh? And what if I just…. *hurts them on purpose* Oops?”

“You act like they aren’t begging for it. It’s their own fault, really.”

“You’re not really in the position to be threatening me like that.”

“There’s nothing you can do to stop me anyway.”

“You think I’m scared of a threat from you?”

[astro-nerd]

Poison your medic/scientist whumpee and make them figure out what it was and how to cure it.

[astro-nerd]

How High?

Part One

Bridge

Watching Bishop almost sag in relief as Roman gave her a profile to give to the press was all the thanks I’d ever need. The presence she had in front of those cameras was just mesmerising. I’d believe anything she said too.

“So we think the man running this therapist business is behind the murders by accessing his client’s private details?” She asks as Roman drives us on through New York’s streets.

“Basically yeah. Beth found the first link and suddenly it all made sense.” I explained back.

“And you left Jax and Eva with Beth?” There’s clear worry in her face although I’m not entirely sure where the worry is placed. In my personal opinion we should probably be worried about Beth. The concerned silence passes between us all,

“They’ll be alright. In fact I think once they overcome their differences they will be a great team.” Roman assures in the voice that means he’s 77% confident in what he’s saying. Gomez barks a laugh at him,

“Differences? Ered assaulted him and has a history of violence and Jax called her a homophobic slur before threatening to send her to jail. I doubt they’ll be seeing eye to eye any time soon.”

“With her enrolled at his college they just might.” Bishop breaks the news to us. Enrol a Charge in education? I mean sure it happens but it’s rare considering most places won’t touch someone with a record with a ten foot pole.

“You got Eva enrolled in Jax’s college?” I ask, turning to her, she looks back at me with a smile that says,

“Please don’t hate me.” I never could.

“I didn’t entirely expect it to work but they said yes so long as she takes basic classes first and doesn’t cause any trouble.” She admits out loud.

“Jax is gonna love that.” Gomez wipes a tear from his eye as he continues laughing. Now I’ve known my friend for a long time and I can tell that the way he’s acting like he feels about Eva is very different from how he actually feels. Observing them together shows a forced resentment from each side, neither is particularly convincing but at least Eva’s quieter about it.

“I have no idea what overcame him that night. Otherwise I think they’d get on like a house on fire, excuse the pun,” Bishop glares at me, “Eva only attacks when provoked.”

“Then we should stop provoking.” Bishop’s sharp tone quietens the car down as we stop moving to pull up outside our destination.

“That’s a conversation for later. Now we focus and get what we need to know.” With a nod we all move into the building.

That was a bust.

I pull my phone out of my pocket while leaning back against the car. 3:45pm. Bishop holds a coffee out to me which I take gratefully.

“That’s your second of the day and you don’t normally drink it after 2pm. What’s up?” She huffs while taking a long sip. I follow suit.

“I didn’t get any sleep last night so I’m just making sure I don’t crash before I should.”

“Something happened?” There’s a pause. When you work with someone for so long, someone who you can share every thought with, a hesitation doesn’t sit well.

“I caught Eva awake, she hadn’t been sleeping and instead was up researching the case and playing that block game you put on her phone. Every night since we got here. So I talked to her about it.” Ah. I can see why she didn’t exactly feel free to share that with me,

“Did it work?”

“Yeah, a bit. We just needed to both extend a bit of trust. After what happened at the party she could’ve ran for it, she had my car keys. At home she could have climbed down the fire escape. When shopping she could have slipped out of the store. She is very capable and yet she’s stayed. I trust her.” I open my mouth to which she holds a hand up at me “I don’t want to hear what you have to say about it. She extended trust back and got some sleep with me watching over her. Nothing bad happened and she’ll trust me again. The way I’m doing things is working.” She refuses to let me have another word in edgewise and climbs back into the car. Roman and Gomez come out not five minutes later so we can drive back to the station.

“The manager isn’t allowed to even glance at a therapist's notes nevermind know their name or address or appearance. He wasn’t our guy.” Gomez tells Beth as we make our way back. She’s on speaker phone because ‘any other phone call type is a crime and suspicious’ according to our resident technical analyst.

“I wish I could tell you I have something more for you to go on but I’ve run his name through the database and come up with nothing. His record is the squeakiest of clean or he’s either not the guy or he’s a really good liar.” Four days of running around absolutely clueless, what did this guy want? Eva had proposed recognition but is it really recognition if he gives us nothing else to go on? No his motivations and actions wouldn’t align but he is trying to prove something.

Previous | Next | Chapter 1

[astro-nerd]

Hi, I’m alive 😅

I disappeared for about two weeks due to globe trotting and time differences. New Ered upload today starting a new chapter.

Hope you’re all well 😁

[astro-nerd]

When I Say Jump

Part Five

I, as I was told, start to brainstorm on another idea. Who else can you trust to tell your darkest secrets to? Who would be sure that secret would never see the light of day? A stranger obviously but it’s not as if you tell a random person on the street your life story. No it’s gotta be someone who would ask first. Someone you’re stuck with for a long time with awkward silence. There’s no centre point to the murders, they happened all over the city. None of the victims could drive though and they were all pretty… local. None of them could drive. If I’m right the team is heading in the wrong direction and if I’m wrong…

I throw my file on the floor,

“This is pointless, until we actually know whether the therapist’s manager or whatever did it we can’t think of other ideas.” I stand trying to look as frustrated as possible. Slight pace, tense posture.

“And here I thought you were an optimist.” Bait taken.

“I don’t see you coming up with anything.” Bridge Jr gives me an annoyed look. I pretend to trip slightly on the floor as I acknowledge him and catch myself on the desk.

“And here I thought we weren’t supposed to speak to each other. Some of us have inside thoughts, you know.” Please be annoyed enough to ask the right questions.

“Right, I forgot you can’t speak to me like an actual person.”

Deep sigh.

“You know what, whatever. I’m going on a walk.” He stands up behind me.

Please don’t try to stop me.

“You’re not supposed to do that.”

My hand reaches for the handle.

“Are you gonna stop me?”

He hesitates.

“How long will your walk be?”

Perfect.

I open the door.

“Twenty to.”

“That’s very specific and what leeway should I give you before calling the others to report you as a runaway?” Who knew he could actually be useful?

“Five.” I slam the door and quickly make my way down to the car park. The others had all taken one car, Roman’s car. Opening the other one with the keys I’d snatched from the desk I noticed exactly what I’m looking for. Agent Bridge’s wallet. He’s left it in here for lunch runs every morning so far, I just suppose I’ll somehow reimburse him for what I’m about to do. Hopefully what I’ve set up on my phone which is still in my chair will work and I’m not about to become front page news.

I take to the streets with one plan in mind. Flag down a taxi. It won’t be hard, we're in Boston after all. What will be hard is finding the right one. Quieter streets is likely the best option, why take your victim on a busy street where people will definitely remember seeing them and likely your licence plate? No, the Unsub is definitely not that stupid.

You see, the trick to making yourself cry is to think of a really sad memory or story or even meme and two to look up and try not to blink. Fake it until you make it and all that. This is how I managed to leave six cab drivers likely very confused when I determined them not to be the guy. Taking a glance inside a cafe I notice the clock. 4:15pm I’d have to start heading back soon or else I’m both wrong and in major trouble. However if I’m wrong that doesn’t mean that they’re right, that leaves the Unsub still on the streets and likely another body by tomorrow. He’d been devolving taking people faster, he might’ve even already got someone today and we just hadn’t found the body yet. Whoever it was I hope they maybe, just maybe, got out of the car somehow.

“Need a lift, love?” A yellow cab pulls up behind me. There’s an older looking man behind the wheel, probably early fifties with glasses hanging around his neck and white covering most of his hair.

Sad memory.

Don’t blink.

“Yeah.” I sniff trying to wipe away my tears so he can’t see “that would be really nice thank you.” I climb into the back of his cab. He starts driving on without me giving a destination.

“You look like you’ve been through it love, anywhere I can drop you?” At that I get choked up again.

“No, not really. I- ” should I really tell him? “I’m running away. There’s nothing left for me here.” He looks at me from his mirror.

“Now now I’m sure that’s not true love, what could’ve possibly have happened?”

“It’s just,” I pause, letting a sob out the tears already on a steady stream “my dad wasn’t who I thought he was and now I know he’s changed. Last night he even hit me.” The cab driver gasps keeping his eyes on the road,

“And what about your mother? Surely she ain’t letting this happen.” He manages to reach a pack of tissues to me which I take gratefully,

“I never knew her. Died when I was six. Now I find out he killed her, I have to get anyway before he kills me too.”

“Where will you go?” Oh. Oh I hadn’t thought of that. “You don’t have anywhere do you?” I try to hide my next sobs into the tissue.

“No, no I don’t.”

“Seems like every option leads to death.”

“Yeah. Yeah it does.” I look out of the window at the passing by buildings.

“How would you do it?” I turn my attention back to him,

“I’m sorry?” He looks at me again through his mirror,

“If you were to die. How would you want to go?” I think about it. I think about it as if I hadn’t already known for years.

“I’ve always wanted to fly. Maybe that’s what jumping feels like.”

Chapter 4 | Previous | Chapter 1

[astro-nerd]

When I Say Jump

Part Four

“Did I wake you?” I ask really hoping I didn’t.

“No, because I was never asleep, I thought it was a bit odd I never properly saw you take out or put in your hearing aids at night or in the morning. So tonight I pretended to be asleep to see what you’ve been up to.” That is absolutely my bad, I should be smarter than that,

“If it helps it’s nothing illegal.”

“No but you’re working when you should be sleeping, Eva. Have you been doing this every night?” Will lying get me put back in jail? I mean it’s not a crime right? But I suppose I’d be lying to a federal agent which might actually be a crime.

“No.”

“Dammit Eva.” Clearly me lying at… 4am is highly ineffective, totally nothing to do with the evidence being stacked against me. Or my own stupidity.

“Right that’s it, in bed, we have to be up in three hours and that’s better than nothing.” She reaches down and confiscates the laptop from me, shutting it and moving to place it on the dressing table. I push myself up to sit on the bed and let the final small sounds of the night wash over me, after a moment the bed dips down next to me.

“Sometimes it helps to talk about it, it’s not hard to tell you’re one of few normally sarcastic words and that you have a lot going on inside your head. If there’s anything I can do to help.” The implication lies between us. It’s an olive branch.

Or a death sentence.

On the one hand I tell her everything and put her life at risk and potentially get myself put back in jail over that can of worms which means I’ll have to potentially find a worse way to not get released again. On the other I say nothing, there is no trust between us, no relationship, she potentially never listens to anything I have to say again and I become a useless asset and end up back in jail with the same problem anyway. There’s no real win. A burning feeling erupts on my forearm as I snap my head to see Agent Bishop’s hand there, there’s no real pressure behind it with the intent to pull back at any point. But it’s there.

“Taking my hearing aids off leaves me in your hands. I have known you for less than a week. Forgive the mistrust.” The pressure on my forearm grows as I haven’t pulled away yet.

“I can see where you’re coming from. Surely you had a similar problem in jail? How did you overcome it there?”

“You find people who can be beneficial to you. You sleep in shifts on bad nights or not at all on the worst. Good nights you actually trust your bunk mates and everyone goes to bed happy or as happy as you can be.” Man had I really not had a good night's sleep in four years? Although I’m not entirely sure I slept well before that. What is good sleep? Deep or uninterrupted or long? Sure I’ve been unconscious but have I ever been asleep?

“We could sleep in shifts, you can double check the doors and windows if that’ll make you feel better. No harm will come to you Eva.”

You wouldn’t even know what you’re looking for.

“You’d do that? Why?” She already knows I’m deeply mistrusting, I may as well not try to hide it. She’s holding my forearm properly now but not with any grip strength I could still easily pull away, the touch is soft and gentle, there’d be no bruise formed after.

“I know the start of this arrangement has been rocky but I don’t believe you’re a bad person Eva and I want to show you I believe that. Put your trust in me and I’ll put my trust in you.” Ah mutual destruction it is then. She lets me think it over without pushing.

“Fine. I’ll agree for this case but anything that happens while I sleep or when you wake me I don’t want to discuss or even have mentioned and I’ll do the same for you if I don’t know you do anything weird in your sleep.” I can almost feel the smile stretching across Agent Bishop’s face as she gets up,

“I agree to your terms. Now get some sleep, I'll take the first watch.” I watch her get under her own covers and grab her phone from the night stand. Slowly, I make my way under my own and remove my hearing aids. The silence isn’t so foreign at night but I still try not to think too hard about it. I take one last look at Agent Bishop who spots me and smiles, I don’t think she knows the sign for good night just yet. For a moment I think I’ll lie there for hours before my eyes close and my focus dissipates into the night.

There’s a light tap on my shoulder pulling me from the depths of sleep, I almost ignoring it savering the warm bed beneath me. The tap tries again forcing me to open my eyes and be greeted by the tapper. Agent Bishop stands over me, phone in hand showing me the time. 7:15AM. I’m immediately sat up and reaching for my hearing aids letting the morning greet me for the second time,

“You didn’t wake me?” I start to get up and collect some clothes from the drawers, normally already dressed by this time,

“I didn’t have the heart, you actually look rather peaceful when you sleep.”

“You haven’t slept then?”

“Eva I am thirty-seven years old, this isn’t my first all-nighter.” How do I even begin to tell her that’s not the point? It’s like I’ve taken advantage of her kindness and she reaped no benefits. What benefits could she possibly get out of me having three hours of sleep versus her having none? I settle for simply giving a mild huff and going to get changed.

We’d arrived down to the car slightly later than usual because of this and also because Agent Bishop seemed to refuse to move until she watched me eat a whole granola bar. What kinda backbone is this?

“Adding to your beauty sleep Bishop dear?” Asks Agent Bridge as we climb into the back of the car. I swallow slightly as he calls her dear.

“So sorry Bridge darling I was looking for my charger all morning, I hardly meant to keep your pretty face waiting.” At least me and Bridge Jr can actually agree on how gross that is as we both pull a gag expression.

Day four left us all looking at files, Police Chief Roland wanted a profile and soon especially since six bodies had now turned up and the media coverage was getting out of control. They were calling him Sir Suicide or something stupid and insensitive like that.

“Eva?” Bethany catches my attention from across the room. We’d all be tasked with looking at a particular victim's history and death while Agent Bishop attempted to quell the media. Bethany had the third victim, Regina Parker,

“Yeah?”

“You say Mrs Parker had the symbol on her lower stomach right?” The others start turning their attention to us now,

“She did, why?” Bethany seems to check what she was reading again before looking up at us,

“She was infertile, had three miscarriages. That’s why her husband divorced her two months ago.” Wait… I immediately start flicking through my own file again. Sixth victim, Corey Duncanhall. Recently discharged from the Navy, served seven years before deciding not to renew his service suddenly. Was diagnosed with PTSD a month later. His symbol.

“Corey Duncanhall’s problems were in his head.” I say almost to myself but the others catch on.

Jessica Reignstell. First victim. Broke up with her boyfriend. Symbol over the heart.

Jesse Rogers. Second victim. Professional athlete until he tore his achilles tendon.

Peter Huddersfield. Fourth victim. Diagnosed with depression and self harmed.

Annie Freight. Fifth victim. Having a spinal fusion that would’ve impaired her motor capabilities.

“They knew them.” Gomez says and he’s right. They knew their problems, what their breaking point was. They trusted them.

“They could’ve been a therapist?” Offers Bridge Jr. Roman turns to Bethany who’s typing before he even asks.

“They all did attend therapy during the recent time frame. Different therapists but all under the same company.”

“I want that address now. Bridge, Gomez with me. Bethany, Jax, Eva stay here in case we’re wrong we’ll need another theory. Bridge text Bishop we have a profile.” They all grab their jackets running out of the door before anything else can be said. Bethany quickly types the message she needs to send and mutters something about needing to access the police files before following them. Leaving me…

and Bridge Jr.

Next | Previous | Chapter 1

[astro-nerd]

When I Say Jump

Part three

Roman discusses causes of death with the ME as I look over the symbols on the bodies. Each one was placed differently but it was definitely the same symbol each time. What was presumed to be the first victim had it over her heart, the second his calf, the third her lower stomach, the fourth his wrist and the latest has it drawn on the back of her neck. I was right in believing they’re done post mortem and with a ballpoint pen. It was definitely a top hat with a band of ribbon around it and a little feather tucked in underneath sat a tick. Although on closer inspection it looked more like a single line bird. Ones people draw to make them look distant. Each one looked mildly wonky hence my first assumption of a tick mark but there was real effort into making the wings even. The real question was why? Why go through so much effort to draw such a symbol after they’re already dead? It was the only thing to tip us off about the link otherwise they’d be off scott free. Otherwise we would never have known…

“Recognition.” Romans had asking me why and I found myself thinking exactly the reason to the team when we’d joined up later,

“Recognition of what exactly?” Asks Gomez as we sit around the table behind the boards,

“Recognition of the Unsubs power. They really believe they’re freeing these people from their torment but also that they are the only ones powerful enough to do it.”

“That doesn’t explain the placement though.” Unfortunately Agent Bridge has a point there. Bethany had kindly loaned me a laptop to do research on so that everything could be logged and I wouldn’t forget anything. I went back into my deep dive of the symbolism of the chosen objects while the others discussed their findings. The top hat was often a symbol of status and power as well as masculinity but whether that was intentional to the Unsub was yet to be determined. I’d stuck with the idea that the bird meant freedom for the victim and tried working around that. Gomez and Agent Bridge hadn’t had much luck with the officers, having already forgotten most of their shifts from that day, never mind the bodies found a couple weeks ago. Agent Bishop had as much luck with the media as the news plays vaguely behind us reporting on and one about the newest serial killer that can end your life without ever having touched you. Classy. In a three for three Bethany and Bridge Jr had come up empty handed on connections. Two out of five were in fact diagnosed with depression but neither was on medication and the other three had no mental health history. They didn’t see the same doctors, the same chemists, nothing. Probably never even passed each other in the street. The best we had was that none of them had a drivers licence. The clock read 1:15 AM before any of us got herded off to the hotel to get some sleep. Most of us shared rooms with the exception of Bethany who now since I was here got a room to herself because apparently I have to be supervised. Didn’t realise being a runaway in Boston was so appealing to most Charges. I’d waited for Agent Bishop’s breathing to even out before slowly getting out of my bed to grab the laptop and sit on the floor where I wouldn’t be seen for my bed and continuing my research. Now as bad as I make myself seem I’m not usually always this much of an insomniac. Yes, the first night I hadn’t found the ability to sleep but last night I might’ve without the emotional turmoil and I wasn’t about to risk the chance of me waking up in a cold sweat with Agent Bishop roughly two metres from me. So instead I found myself switching between research and that block game. Both coming up short with the results I wanted. As the sun rose I climbed back into bed to doze for an hour before Bishop’s alarm went off.

Day two looked much like day one with Agents Bridge and Bishop talking to family members, Gomez continuing his officer recounts, Roman reviewing security feeds, Bridge Jr and Bethany rechecking files and myself researching. Lunch came and went with Bishop placing a sandwich in front of me which I was saving for later and I’m vaguely sure I involuntarily fell asleep in the spinny desk chair I was in for an hour before the door to our office slammed shut startling me.

“Not a single person in this place knows the importance of specifics.” Gomez, the slammer of the door, complains sitting heavily in a chair at the table, “I mean I’ve had four different guys tell me different details about one woman. It’s like they didn’t notice her at all.” There’s sympathies from around the room as we’re all coming to similar conclusions. It’s like nobody knew these people at all. Most of their families hardly knew them these days, didn’t even know something was wrong until we’d rung. They really could’ve disappeared without a trace had they tried.

We didn’t come up with any conclusions on the third day either, Bridge Jr and Bethany had switched to phone records and emails now along with Gomez joining them. Roman, Agent Bishop and Agent Bridge had gone to talk to the various doctors in person about the victims and I’d started combing through the victims files to try and match the symbols placement. To make things worse Gomez gets a call about 2pm, another victim had been found and the doctor team had been rerouted to the crime scene. Another man with the symbol drawn neatingly across his forehead. That added a whole other layer of work to what we were doing as we had a new person to cross reference with. It’s led to us working the latest we have so far. Not that I stopped working in the hotel, as usual I waited for Bishop’s breathing to even out before sitting on the floor to munch on the usual lunch sandwich and flick between work and gaming. Only soon my hair stands on end as I feel another person presence behind me,

“What are you doing?” Shit. I turn to see Agent Bishop in all her pyjama glory staring down at me.

Next | Previous | Chapter 1

[astro-nerd]

When I Say Jump

Part two

My first few attempts hardly reached over 100 points, 200 if I’m lucky. I swear I could almost feel Agent Bridge smirking at me over his book as I played again and again and again. Agent Bishop woke up ten minutes before landing not surprisingly shocked to see me next to her,

“Seat change?”

“Agent Bridge separated me and his lovely son.” I wasn’t entirely sure she caught what I said as I was in the middle of another round of the block game.

“A video game Bridge really? Are you trying to rot her brain?” Agent Bishop complains probably having looked over my shoulder to see what had me to entranced,

“Not video game, puzzle game and with high stakes motivation too.” He points out explaining the deal he’d made with me earlier “and look she hasn’t moved the whole flight, or insulted anybody.”

“Don’t provoke me.” There’s no real malice behind it, in fact I’m not sure there’s any malice behind it because he’s right this is far more interesting even without the bet.

We’re ‘wheels down’ not long after and Agent Bishop is almost steering me by the shoulder into our transport to the police department. I’m sure she’s seriously considering confiscating my phone, or slapping Agent Bridge, or both. Agent Bridge drives with Bridge Jr in the front next to him with us in the back. Bethany, Gomez and Roman take the other car which we can thankfully all leave our stuff in because there wouldn’t be time to check into our accommodation as we were delayed enough already. The chaos is much less organised as we walk into the police department with people running back and forth, answering phones, booking suspects. It’s so loud. Someone official comes to meet Roman at the door,

“Another body was found this morning, media’s got wind of the string they’ve been trying to harass my staff all morning. We’ve set you up an office through here. I'm not trying to be demanding but some fast work might be required.” He takes us through the mania and into a corridor that curves deeper into the building until we come upon an office with whiteboards and files already set up.

“We’ll do everything we can, thank you Police Chief Roland.” Promises Roman before the Chief nods and leaves us to it. Bethany immediately starts hooking up her laptops so that she can work in one corner while Agent Bridge and Gomez start to recreate the boards from home.

“Bishop I’m going to need you to curve the presses, get them off of our backs until we have all the information that we need.” Asks Roman, she nods and grabs some files out of her bag before disappearing from the room. “Jax, go through every cross reference Bethany has found with her, check every file again to see if we missed anything. Gomez I want you talking to the officers from each finding, get the stories again, anything they thought was insignificant at the time. Bridge with Gomez.” They all quickly move at his command, Bridge Jr takes a laptop from Bethany and begins reading, Gomez and Bridge make their ways out of the room back to the entrance. Roman turns his way to me,

“Eva, I want to know what this symbol means. What it’s drawn in. When. And why it matters so much. You’ll be coming with me to see the ME who found the symbol.” I nod, taking the file off of him.

We leave back out to the car for the short drive taking the one he must’ve driven from the jet.

“You still give me the same look you did five years ago.” He mentions not long into the drive,

“You still wear the watch I broke.” He laughs flicking the indicator to take a turn,

“I haven’t had the heart to tell my wife it’s broken,” he pauses “and I haven’t given up trying to fix it.”

“You replaced the glass.” I busy myself looking over the picture of the symbol as to avoid accidentally looking at him,

“An appearance fix rather than a functional one. The time is still permanently 11:35.”

“AM or PM?” I try to joke, there’s no laugh back,

“You know which.” That I do. We sit in silence for a few minutes,

“How is Jocelyn?” I look up just in time to see the brightness in his eyes,

“She’s great, really great, especially with my new position. Gives her more time to make art, to raise Sonny. You’d love Sonny, she’s gotten so big now, turning six soon. She's the sweetest kid, always running around and getting into mayhem.” I let a small smile pull its way onto my lips.

“Well with you two as parents I have no doubt she’ll continue to be amazing.” There’s a sadness in his eyes as I say that,

“I picked your case file Eva, I hope you’ll believe in my decision. That it’s not too little too late.”

“I went to jail for a reason Roman, the same reason I know for a fact you’ll keep me out of the media for. One sign of trouble and I won’t hesitate to repeat my actions.” He parks the car turning off the ignition,

“We can protect you Eva.” I say nothing and climb out of the car with him not far behind. He knows the conversation is over and leads us both into the mortuary.

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