~Five~
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A manilla envelope dropped onto his desk, the edges and corners of shuffled-together pages poking out all around. Myles looked up from his computer screen, meeting his boss’s gaze, and let out a heavy sigh.
“Don’t sigh at me, Malone. You want the good stuff, then get this shit done.” Without another word, he turned and left Myles alone at his desk.
Myles let his chin rest in the palm of his hand. He turned his gaze back to the computer screen, then took a sip of his coffee. He turned his head left and right, stretching his neck, cracked his knuckles, then turned his attention to the folder on his desk. He flipped it open and perused through the pages, scanning the text, the documents, the photos.
It was a fairly new case involving what was assumed to be a rising gang. They had been a nuisance at best over the last few months, their crimes ranging from petty theft to public indecency. It was a case no one particularly wanted; they were just a group of people being obnoxious, particularly to the summer tourists. In truth, there didn’t seem to be much of a case at all. They were arrested and released on bail, and the cycle continued. It was just a matter of formality at this point; having eyes on it in case it escalated any further.
Myles was ready to close the folder to refill his mug when a particular image caught his attention, mixed into the shuffle of police reports and background checks. It was a grainy image from a security camera along the boardwalk of a shirtless man. Myles peered closer at it. His hair was ragged and his jeans were ripped along the cuffs. He seemed… hairier than most men, but not quite so hairy to cause anyone to look twice at the image. He, however, was familiar with the mid-transformation look of a man who was turning back after an evening of rampaging. He couldn’t make out any finer details that would make him easier to identify; no noticeable tattoos or piercings or scars. The background where the sky met the ocean was dark; he could not see the moon, but there was a time and date in the corner.
Myles set his mug down and turned back to his computer. He typed in the date from the photo into the search bar, then added ‘moon phase’ after it. He got his answer instantly; a waning crescent moon. To transform without the light of a full moon meant the man in the photo was an experienced werewolf; one who could transform at will. One who could easily be a danger to society.
Myles chewed his lower lip, his gaze moving back to the photo on his desk. He couldn’t be sure exactly who that man was, and though the folder contained other varying instances of crime and mischief, there were only a small handful of people that had been caught and identified. Pups, he thought. Quite literally. Though he didn’t have a lot of experience with the nearby clans, he knew only the youngest - the newly transformed - would be foolish enough to get caught. They were inexperienced. They were pawns. Bait. They took the fall while the others got away. But with what?
Myles shifted nervously in his chair. These were not merely petty crimes. They were distractions for something bigger. But what? And why?
He grabbed the folder and moved to the copy machine, placing the pages and photos face down and scanning them to his computer. He let his mind wander as the machine whirred. He didn’t know exactly how many people were involved in the surrounding clans. Hell, for all he knew, there were more than just the surrounding clans involved. The world of werewolves was still brand new to him, and clearly much deeper than he realized.
He returned to his desk, taking the newly scanned files and uploading them to the shared case folder. It was fairly light for a case folder, even with the newly added documents. He took a few minutes to peruse through them once more, but there wasn’t much of note, at least not to an outsider's perspective. And though he knew for certain that they were werewolves, he didn’t have any additional knowledge beyond that. And he certainly wasn’t going to announce his recent discovery to his colleagues.
Werewolves, they’d laugh. Next, he’d be telling them that mermaids existed.
Myles leaned back in his chair and rubbed his face with his palms. Holy shit, he thought to himself. Mermaids and werewolves. If he wasn’t careful, he’d run into a vampire next.
He peered between his fingers and looked around the room quickly, studying the neck and mouths of his coworkers. There didn’t appear to be any bite marks and from what he could tell, no one was sporting any new fangs.
He stood abruptly, grabbed his mug, and made his way to the coffee machine. He tapped his foot as he waited for it to brew, then bent down to look into the cabinets in hopes of finding alcohol.
“The stash is gone ever since the last Christmas party.”
Myles straightened and met Lucy’s gaze.
She smiled and gestured over to her desk with her chin. “But if you ever need a pick me up, I’ve got some vodka in the bottom drawer.”
Myles leaned against the counter and folded his arms over his chest. “I heard about that party.”
Lucy grinned and rolled her eyes. “You know, in hindsight, probably not a great idea to give a bunch of cops and ex-marines alcohol.”
“What’s a Christmas party without fistfights and sex?”
“I guess you’re used to that, City Boy.”
“I’m not loving the nicknames lately,” Myles muttered.
“What else are people calling you?” Lucy frowned. “I really wanted City Boy to stick.”
Myles shook his head. “It’s good. Best once I’ve gotten yet.” His coffee finished brewing and he grabbed his mug. “Maybe I’ll take you up on your offer.”
Lucy pushed herself up onto the counter and smiled. “Okay, but if you kick it, you gotta replace it.”
Myles saluted her playfully.
“What’s Dick got you working on, anyway?”
“Derek?”
“We do nicknames around here.”
“Dick isn’t a great nickname.”
“Well when he stops acting like one, maybe he’ll get a better one.”
Myles grinned. “I got the WTF case.”
“Aw, man,” Lucy whined. “The Way to Fail case?”
“So, it’s not the What the Fuck case?”
“More or less,” Lucy said. “But he loves to give the unsolvable stupid shit to the new guys. You know. To make them fail and quit.”
“Dick suits him, then.”
Lucy smiled apologetically. “Yep. Pretty much.”
“Someone’s gotta do the shit work, right?”
“You’re a glass-half full kinda guy, huh?”
“Eh, not usually.” He sipped his coffee and shrugged. “But the joke’s on him; I’m not going anywhere.”
“That’s the spirit!”
“I’ve got nowhere else to go.”
“Less of the spirit I was hoping for.”
Myles winked at her.
“Are you one of those down on your luck dead inside detectives?”
“The deadest.”
“Nice. You’ll fit in well, here. All the old farts that can’t quite retire come here for an easy job while still feeling they got big dicks.”
“What does that mean for me? I still got thirty-five years of this if I’m lucky.”
“Keep your head above water and maybe you won’t have shit for the next thirty-five years. I dunno. I’m certainly not here for the coffee. You wanna get something better?”
Myles looked down into his mug and cocked his head to the side thoughtfully. Lucy giggled.
“You’re like a cute little dog,” she said.
Myles frowned. “Yeah,” he said slowly. He dumped the coffee into the sink. “Alright. As long as you break out the vodka.”
“Obvi,” Lucy said. “Come on, I know a cute little place on the boardwalk with cute girls.”
“You had me at coffee.”
“Not the cute girls?”
“Not really looking for a relationship right now.”
“Dude,” Lucy started. “I never said anything about a relationship. Get laid. It’s good for ya.”
“Do you make it a habit of picking up cute girls at coffee shops?” he asked.
Lucy grinned and shrugged. “Maybe I do. I mean, it’s just so easy. Buy them some large caramel crapaccino with extra diabetes and they’re happy, you know?”
“I think I’m going to learn a lot here,” Myles said.
“Stick with me and maybe we’ll survive this hell and move on to bigger and better things, hm?” She led the way out of the station and they walked down the road toward the boardwalk.
“What’s keeping you here, then?”
Lucy shrugged. “I dunno,” she started. “Family I guess. This really isn’t the career I want. But my father and uncles all grew up here, doing this, and I don’t have any brothers, so he kinda pushed me into this. And it’s pretty low-key here, you know?”
“But you want to move on to bigger and better?”
“Well, I never said that I would still be doing this specifically.”
“What else would you do?”
She pressed her lips together and turned her gaze to the sky. “I dunno,” she admitted after a moment. “I guess I never actually thought about it much. Maybe go back to school and be a lawyer or something. That could be fun. My client is innocent, Your Honor!”
Myles nodded. “Yeah, I can definitely see that.”
Lucy smiled. “I guess I could start thinking about it. I mean, my dad’s gotta die eventually, right? Then he won’t be disappointed when I quit.”
“That’s the spirit.”
Lucy laughed lightly, then sighed. “Today definitely calls for vodka.”
“I think I have that effect on people.”
“Yeah, you’re a total buzz kill, you know that?”
“You kind of are, too.”
She smiled. “To killing buzzes and enjoying them, hm?”
“The motto of the precinct.”
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