Post by Stark on Apr 28, 2022 16:27:36 GMT -8
Dust swirls above a cluttered desk, intermingling with a trail of blue-grey smoke. It's almost pretty. But, of course, its nothing new to the man at the desk. He leans forward a bit, disrupting the swirling patterns to snuff out a cigarette in the ash tray. Taking just a little satisfaction in doing so. It's 2022, after all... no one smokes inside at work anymore. But then, no one's at work to stop him. Plus he'd already taken the smoke detector down. He also could give two shits if he gets caught. Simple pleasures.
The smile on his face gradually fades as his attention turns back to the files on his desk. A small assortment of unsolved cases. One a bright young college student, found dead at a bus stop. Single stab wound to the chest. Another for a woman - and her two children - shot dead in her apartment. Brian had been damn-near-certain it had been the woman's wife. But she'd produced a pretty solid alibi. He frowns, dissatisfied. Before he realizes he's doing it, his hand is pulling a flask from the inner pocket of his coat, even ask the other hand slides the last file on his desk out from under the others. Having come this far, he sees no reason not to unscrew the lid and knock back a swig. He almost regrets it. It burns like battery acid going down and tastes like a park bench. Maybe next time he'll go for 'Jack' or something. As his focus returns to the last file, his hand twitches and he makes a half-measure to open it up - but he stops short. Not the time or the place for that rabbit hole.
He leans back in his chair again, letting out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. It's been 17 years since Kendal's murder. Every fiber of his being wants to rifle through that file one more time... just to see the killer's face again. 'Unsolved' my ass... Brian knows exactly who's responsible for the gunshot that ended his partner's life. His arm shakes and his hand balls into a fist before he slams it down on the desk. The cheap flask topples over and starts emptying its contents onto the floor and a puff of fine dust fans out from the impact. Kendal’s gone, but that piece of shit walks free?
The room fades away from his mind, replaced by that night he had his hands around that fucker’s throat. So goddamn close! So close to some actual justice! One more chance, and everythi—
A door closes somewhere down the hallway. He freezes up for half a second.
”Shit.” he mutters under his breath. The hazy cloud of dust breaking away from his body fades from reality as he instinctively fortifies himself behind his Mask. Hastily, he scoops the casefiles into an open drawer, grabs the smoke detector and jams it back into place, scoops up the flask, starts sopping the spill up with tissues…
Footsteps lead into the opposite direction, growing softer until he hears the satisfying rush of air as whoever-it-is exits the building. Brian shakes his head, letting out a bitter bark of a laugh. He gets up off the floor and opens the drawer with the files he’d shoved in. That ‘special’ one’s going back under lock and key. Maybe some other time he’ll indulge. For now, he resigns himself to finish cleaning up – sealing the ashtray he’d brought in into a Tupperware container – and going home for the night. Maybe grabbing a bottle of something that costs more than $3.50 on the way home, too.
The smile on his face gradually fades as his attention turns back to the files on his desk. A small assortment of unsolved cases. One a bright young college student, found dead at a bus stop. Single stab wound to the chest. Another for a woman - and her two children - shot dead in her apartment. Brian had been damn-near-certain it had been the woman's wife. But she'd produced a pretty solid alibi. He frowns, dissatisfied. Before he realizes he's doing it, his hand is pulling a flask from the inner pocket of his coat, even ask the other hand slides the last file on his desk out from under the others. Having come this far, he sees no reason not to unscrew the lid and knock back a swig. He almost regrets it. It burns like battery acid going down and tastes like a park bench. Maybe next time he'll go for 'Jack' or something. As his focus returns to the last file, his hand twitches and he makes a half-measure to open it up - but he stops short. Not the time or the place for that rabbit hole.
He leans back in his chair again, letting out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. It's been 17 years since Kendal's murder. Every fiber of his being wants to rifle through that file one more time... just to see the killer's face again. 'Unsolved' my ass... Brian knows exactly who's responsible for the gunshot that ended his partner's life. His arm shakes and his hand balls into a fist before he slams it down on the desk. The cheap flask topples over and starts emptying its contents onto the floor and a puff of fine dust fans out from the impact. Kendal’s gone, but that piece of shit walks free?
The room fades away from his mind, replaced by that night he had his hands around that fucker’s throat. So goddamn close! So close to some actual justice! One more chance, and everythi—
A door closes somewhere down the hallway. He freezes up for half a second.
”Shit.” he mutters under his breath. The hazy cloud of dust breaking away from his body fades from reality as he instinctively fortifies himself behind his Mask. Hastily, he scoops the casefiles into an open drawer, grabs the smoke detector and jams it back into place, scoops up the flask, starts sopping the spill up with tissues…
Footsteps lead into the opposite direction, growing softer until he hears the satisfying rush of air as whoever-it-is exits the building. Brian shakes his head, letting out a bitter bark of a laugh. He gets up off the floor and opens the drawer with the files he’d shoved in. That ‘special’ one’s going back under lock and key. Maybe some other time he’ll indulge. For now, he resigns himself to finish cleaning up – sealing the ashtray he’d brought in into a Tupperware container – and going home for the night. Maybe grabbing a bottle of something that costs more than $3.50 on the way home, too.