Chapter 18.
Rated "M"
XVIII - Death By Drank
I was back at work in no time. Per usual, I got there early, but not early enough to beat Roxanne to the office. I sat on the edge of the desk next to hers and just stared at her as she typed at record speed in the complete darkness of the room."What do you want, Sempers?" She asked coldly as she stared at the screen. Her fingers flew on the keyboard like they always had, and somehow I was entranced by movement of her hands.
"I just wanted to ask you how your weekend was. Is that a sin?" I asked. Roxanne stopped typing and turned to me, her icy blue eyes narrowing into that familiar glare I hated. I swallowed at the sight.
"Don't bring up religion, Sempers. Ever. Got it?" I nodded slowly and hesitantly and Roxanne turned back to her screen, her fingers flying once again, each finger pad dancing against the keys.
"So. What about your weekend?" I asked, folding my arms across my jacket after taking a sip of my coffee. Roxanne continued typing and I couldn't help but notice a few things. One, she was wearing a black pantsuit, per usual. Two, her hair was tied back, her choppy bangs being the only hair not enclosed by the rubber band. Three, her makeup was light. And four, her perfect features were being lit up by the glow of the computer screen. It was only a matter of time before my eyes would ache for more than just the sight of Roxanne's model-like face and the faint sight of her collar bone. At work anyway. Thank God Zak wasn't there to see me evaluate my female partner's looks.
"Tedious, monotonous, insipid, unstimulating, jejune, banal, lackluster, stodgy, vapid, monochrome and mind-numbing." Was her list of words describing her own weekend. I laughed.
"Let me take a guess... all those words mean 'boring,' right?" I said. Roxanne sighed and shook her head, leaning back in her chair and looking at me.
"You're not going to give up, are you?" She asked. I rose a brow.
"What am I giving up, again?" I taunted. Roxanne rolled her eyes and looked at her watch, noting that it was merely seven in the morning.
"Pretending that we're friends." She said as she clicked on the print button on the screen and stood up, eyes glancing at me before she began walking to the printer in the other room.
"Ouch." I emphasized, smirking. "That hurt. You know, It wouldn't kill you to crack a smile once in a while, or you know, be nice." I said, following her into the room as she waited for the papers to print.
"Yes, because cracking a smile would make everything easier..." She said as sarcastically as possible. "Tell me, how did you come up with those ideas. Please refrain from telling me that Mr. Hall gave you them."
"Zak's observant, but I don't think he cares to change your attitude. Now, myself, on the other hand, I have to work alongside you. It would be nice if you didn't act like you hated me all the time." Roxanne laughed at my statement.
"Observant? Very, to my own displeasure, I suppose. But I can't have everything go my way, can I?"
"Why do you say that?" I asked. Roxanne picked up the papers from the printer and put them into a neat pile before picking them up and looking at me.
"I may be blonde, but I'm not stupid. I may be visually impaired, but I'm not blind. And I may be straight, but I'm not hooking up with any guy in this office." I laughed at her statement as I followed her out of the empty room and walked to my own desk, hanging my jacket on the chair and looking up at Roxanne who was signing the freshly printed papers.
"So you did realize that Zak was hitting on you that day?" I asked, not exactly stunned that Roxanne had already known, but still slightly shocked.
"I'm twenty-five, single, a woman, and I'm working for the government. I'm pretty damn used to it."
"So wishing you were lesbian like Ruby...?" I started and she sighed. I couldn't help but smile as I watched her finish signing the papers and look up at me.
"So you heard that?"
"Yeah. I was quite surprised that Zak didn't though based off of pure proximity." Roxanne suddenly got quiet as she stacked the papers neatly once again, holding them together with a paper clip before staring down. "What? Do you have feelings for Zak?" I suddenly said, coming up with a thousand endings to Roxanne liking my best wing man. She suddenly looked up at me, her eyes narrowed like they had been earlier.
"No. I don't have feelings for Mr. Hall. And I never will."
"Who are you trying to convince? Me or yourself?"
"Well, when I have those options, you." She said simply, shrugging as she picked up the papers and began walking to the Captain's office. I followed her quickly, not wanting the conversation to end too soon.
"Me? Why?" I asked as she stopped at the door and knocked before looking at me.
"Because the last thing I need is to get fired because if you thought just a little that I had feelings for Mr. Hall in the way you thought at first, you'd never let me live that one down, which would inevitably result in myself engaging in punching you in the face and potentially breaking your nose which wouldn't settle well with Bureau of Investigation."
"Harsh..." I muttered as the Captain yelled for Roxanne to enter. She opened the door and the light from the Captain's office spread to the nearest desk. I leaned against the metal doorframe as I watched Roxanne walk to the desk.
"Miss Winston, Mr. Sempers, how can I help you?" The Captain spoke, making notice of my own presence. Roxanne placed the papers on his desk and I watched as the Captain's mouth twitched up into a smirk. "Did you work all weekend on this?" It was a question, but it wasn't one with a hint of awe in it. I could almost imagine him laughing slightly as he said it. Roxanne sighed heavily and sat down on one of the chairs.
"What?" She asked, tilting her head as the Captain rose a brow. "Don't look at me like I'm an idiot. The only reason you'd keep this conversation going is if you had a request or a favor or more likely a case to be settled that involved both Sempers and myself."
The Captain smiled and shook his head almost like he regretted saying anything. I couldn't blame him. Two weeks partnered with Roxanne didn't teach me anything. I knew for certain that she was more observant than she appeared. I just hoped to God that she hadn't realized what had happened that morning at her house, when I found my heart beating faster and... well... my male anatomy being a bitch.
"Miss Winston's right. I do have a case for you to work on, the both of you." He said, glancing to me. "Alexander, if you wouldn't mind..." He motioned to the chair next to Roxanne. I sighed quietly, closing the door behind me as I walked to the chair and sat down. I could see Roxanne's icy blue eyes almost glare at the Captain, but I didn't know a damn thing as to why she was all of the sudden upset with him.
"The man who was killed last week in his apartment, if you remember, was suspected to have died from a heroin overdose. But after recent studies, the morgue has found the cause to be from 'purple drank.'"
"What the hell is that?" I asked. The Captain looked at Roxanne and she sighed again. I turned to look at her, but she just stared off into space as she spoke.
"Purple drank originated from the South. It's a combination of prescription-strength cough syrup, soft drinks such as Sprite or Mountain Dew, and for extra sweetness hard candy such as Jolly Ranchers. It began it's debut in the rap community, believed to be in Texas, and spread throughout the South."
"So what are we doing? If him dying from this... purple drank stuff is so important, then what are we supposed to do?" I asked. The Captain opened a folder and showed us a mug shot.
"This is Danny Cinder. He's responsible for Dallas' death. Yes, he was on heroin, but there are signs that point to Mr. Cinder being Dallas' killer. There's limited information I have gotten about how that can be, but we still need to make sure that we get him in custody before he kills someone else. We've traced him to a high-class community in Jackson, Mississippi. We believe that he is going after his victim's parents."
"Wouldn't the Jackson police forces take care of him?" I asked.
"This was originally sent to the FBI for further investigation, but it so call happens that Miss Winston is the preferred agent for this case. And since she has been required to legally engage in a partnership with an NYPD agent, you hereby are required to assist with her case. Which inevitably means that you and Miss Winston will be heading to Jackson in two days for further investigation."
I nodded slightly and looked to Roxanne to see her reaction to the news. She just stared at the Captain, her eyes unsure of what emotion to take on. She suddenly cracked a smile and leaned forward, speaking before getting up and leaving the room.
"One, you're a dick. Two, if Dallas wasn't dead right now and you were pulling this stunt, I'd put up my middle finger."
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