Chapter 37: Ch. 37: Bonus— The Trail
"How long do I have to wait?" I asked one of the three half man half falcon guards but they were quiet. Standing before the entrance to what was the grandest party on Olympus moments ago-- now a bloody crime scene. I was agitated and biting my nails, just what could be keeping him to long?
CLICK!— Finally! I dropped my shoulders and sighed in relief, watching as the tall man came out of the building. "Mr Pine I presume?"
He just stared at me like I was some exhibit hung up above his fireplace, Pine was the only person in the Bai Corps to know what I looked like. In a case we worked together on in the past I had to reveal my identity to him on the agreement that he would keep it secret, he kept his bargain proving that he was trustworthy.
I expected to see him exhibit signs of surprise but from the way his jaw flexed and his eye dropped a bit I could tell he was wondering.
He was breathing quite heavily, signs of stress— the case was a thought but to crack then. Just as I expected it to be. But why was he keeping me in the rain like this? I thought we were associates.
"For you to choose to come in person, guess this will be a lot of paperwork." Pine nodded casting at me a stern look. "Let her through boys, she\'s an ally."
I did not thank him for standing me up in the rain, I marched through the officer over to him and gave him my best glare. "Meanie!" You might have noticed this, when I was not on a case I was a spoil brat who never grew up.
"Come on in, I got hot chocolate. It\'s going to be a long night." Pine did not sound friendly, he knew I was needed here— it was a necessity. It only took a short while for me to settle in and I was back to work, I glanced over at the ginormous hall and took it all in bit by bit.
It was unlike anything I had ever seen before, the gods really do love flashy and all they do is masquerade around like they do a thing.
What caught my eyes more than anything was the crime scene, it was beautiful, the body had been moved but I could still spot the obvious clues and the black blood smearing the floor. "Can I have the footage from earlier?" I asked one of the Bai Corps officers who had a small tablet in hand, she first hesitated before showing it to me.
It did not take me long to figure it out, all we had to do was wait to see what the black liquid was.
A poison that killed gods, someone was definitely cooking up a storm— I thought as I walked up to the room of the death god Hades. I had given a day for him to grieve while the Bai Corps would ask around the other guests from the party and give me an eye witness report. The probability of it being valid would be 1% but it could not be dismissed none the less.
"So let me get this straight, you wanr me to ask Hades the questions you prepared?" I had Pine memorize the most probable questions to give Hades and how to react if he tried something funny.
"I will stay behind and observe every of his verbal signals and body language." I replied lightly. "Remember I still have to conceal my identity fro anyone besides you."
"Right!" Pine said in a tone I cpuld not understand. "You would rather be a ghost than a living person."
"Just open the damn door, this is the good part." I went into position as he knocked on the door. It too a full three minutes for Hades to finally answer the door, that delay was too long. Did that mean he was panicking? Or was he coming up with a cover story.
CLICK!— The door open and I saw a messed up looking man pop his head out, his blue hair dropped down by his side, his face looked a bit dry, his eyes shote with a piercing intensity and a loneliness I had grown quite accustomed to myself. I expected the almost 2000 year old god to at least be an old geezer with pale hair but he did not look half bad.
I was careful not to be pulled my his looks, maybe because he was the first decent looking guy I set my eyes on-- NO!
I corrected myself, he was clearly a potential killer and this could very well be a cover up story. Hades took a moment\'s excuse from us and went back into his room and took a whole twenty three minutes and sixteen seconds to freshen up— too long.
He was plotting something clearly-- his eyes came back more vibrant and his skin glowed, his hair was more smoother and he looked somewhat appealing— a bit too calm for someone who was being taken by the Bai Corps.
What is the source of his confidence? Is it because he is sure we would never uncover his hidden truth or because he is one of the big three gods of Olympus and we can\'t put him away behind bars? Either one it was I feel seriously unhinged next to him like standing next to a monster.
BHAM! We were interrogating Hades now and he just got upset over the fact that he was the culprit. He was rather quite composed up until now making his outburst seem more fake, I was sure that Hades knew something about the death of Hermes, something he was hiding?
"Mister-- Lord Hades, please calm down." Pine said while reaching one hand to his back, giving me the hand signals for me to step in and intervene but I did nothing. "What we just have is mere facts that are yet to be fully idealized--"
Yes that was it, keep going, I don\'t have enough clues yet. Hades is too composed to get a good grip on a lead, I watched as he approached Pine who was now waving the his fingers at me rapidly, he was scared of what Hades could do to him. To us, he could chose to kill us but there would be no one to apprehend him— that\'s what everyone would be led to belive but things have changed now.
No one could touch the law, it was the only thing that kept us all equal with the omnipotent gods of Olympus.
My eyes adjusted slightly as Hades walked past Pine and started to make his way to me, I glared at him not on purpose but I was trying to decide every bit of information I could on him. Why was he confronting me? I was sure I had kept my head low the whole time, did he want to use me as an example to Pine? If he did, there was no way I could defend myself anyway.
I was in a tight spot and it made me feel overjoyed.
"I have had enough of your mind games miss or should I say Talos." He know who I am, how? It didn\'t faze, I was too busy constituting theories of how he had coke to know of my real identity when I never introduced myself. When did he know, did he suspect me to come to him or is he the strange man that called be before?
Could he be a mastermind trying to tell me there was no way I could stop him even with all the information we have on him? This is exhilarating, there are many possibilities and what makes it even more fun is HIS composure.
"You knew?" Was the only thing I could utter, I spoke very calmly to throw him off his game but he didn\'t flinch. Talos was simple mute for a few seconds before she spoke again. "Your eyes are bold, your breath is a bit shaky, your hands quite coordinated. A little too coordinated in my opinion. You are either good at hiding your true intentions or you are just that good at it."
"I will be on my way detective, I know the leads may all point to me but I\'ll find the bastard who did this and pop him wide open like a can of soda." Hades said to her face as I turned to leave, was he admitting defeat or was he passing a message for me to come get him?
"How rather convenient, a tendency for misanthropy. He could be trying to prove his innocence by rashly overreacting or perhaps warning us that we have to way to apprehend him, that is if he is guilty of the crime." I could not help but theorize even in his presence.
Hades was now by the door, I bet he was feeling accomplished since he had made his threat. Well two can play at that game--
"Till this investigation is closes all off world travel from Olympus is now banned." I would restrict your movement, even the twelve can not go against my jurisdiction here.
You are my prey, you all are.
---
VROOM!!
I dropped off the taxi in front of the building "Mr Anonymous" had asked me to. He wanted me to break into the building of one of the twelve gods, I was not a field agent but the feeling of being the best to solve an unsolvable mystery was a real seller. I was ready to unearth the mystery of a century.
"Who goes there?" Damnit, I heard the cocking of a weapons, was it a security guard? Dammit! I did not see that coming.
Before I could tell the gun sounded and bullets filled the air, I was sure I was dead. But I hadn\'t unearthed the mystery of the century. I shut my eyes and awaited death when I heard a loud thumping sound and a dark showed looming over me, out of curiosity I peeked a bit to see someone standing before me dressed in black, the security guard was on the floor now.
A frosty wind blew filling the air with ominousity and melancholy, my gaze shifted up to see a pair of nightshade blue eyes blazing right at mine and my heart leaped. "Hades?" Now what was he doing here?