Infiltration of the Iridine | Silence of the Lambs

Chapter 6

Author's note: Sooo... Guess who's back from their two(?) year leave!!! Yes yes, that means I'm here to write some more content for you all. Sadly I don't have a classic "why I was gone" story for you, but, I hope you enjoy the story and you can actually remember what was going on! Enjoy <3

Crawford's POV:

A blaring alarm. That's what it takes to wake me from my deep slumber. The sound echoes through my room, so much so that I'm concerned about waking the neighbors. I slam the clock exhaustingly, the bright green letters creating a hazy aura in the room: 4:30.

Even for a higher-up, 4:30 is about 3 hours too early. I yawn and make my way out of bed, nearly stumbling over the pile of clothes left on the floor from the night before. I open the curtains and, meeting my expectations, the only light seeping into the room originates from the moon. That, and the street light.

I brush my teeth, staring into the mirror. I can barely recognize the man staring back at me. I used to be so young, and now I am met with a plethora of wrinkles. I try smoothing the skin with my fingers, but the wrinkles return once I pull my hand away. I sigh, reminiscing on the younger years and switching the brush from my right hand to my left; apparently, this prevents Alzheimer's, but who knows what's true on the internet these days.

As I get dressed I think back on the earliest discussion the team had on the San Mateo case. I grab my notebook, propping it open as I grab gel to style my hair. Rereading my notes brings me no breakthroughs. Perhaps Jeffers was right when he said we'd need a new victim.

I sigh, realizing that today is the day, the day a new victim could appear, based on the pattern of the killings. I check my watch as I leave the room, realizing I have about ten minutes to spare. Maybe my neighbor can offer some new insight... I think as I knock on her door.

After what felt like only half a second the door opens quickly, and the smiling agent stands radiantly opposite me.

"Mr. Crawford, nice to see you this morning!" she pauses, "Oh my- what's the time? Am I late already? I'm so sorry I must have lost track of time! I am so so so-"

I stop her from continuing with a chuckle, "no worries" I say her name calmly "you're not late at all. In fact, you're early, and if you have time to spare I'd love to ask you your thoughts on the case"

Her face softens, clearly relieved. She invites me inside and we sit on her couch. I look around her room, I feel like I know nothing about her, she doesn't give much away. Maybe looking around will help.

Quickly I scanned the room, seeing a stack of apples on the nightstand, an open suitcase on a stand, and an open closet with some blazers and pants hung up. Before I can study more, the couch bounces as she sits next to me, shaking me out of my observational trance.

"So..." she starts, flipping through some pages in her notebook "I can't say I have good news for you, sir" she stops flipping and lands on a page. "While I do have some... rather farfetched ideas, nothing has much evidential backing and I am at a bit of a loss on where to go from here"

She looks almost sad as she studies the page, seemingly trying to discover something new from her old scribbles. Turning, she gives me a somewhat dejected look with a forced smile, inviting me to discuss my own findings.

"I must admit, I haven't deduced much to help us. I did want to ask though, did you do any work on that student theory you brought up in the initial meeting? I know we discussed that it was a bit unlike the profile, but you never know with these things." I lean back on the couch to relax, realizing now that the side of my calf is grazing the side of hers: the couch is quite small.