Chasing Sugarplums [ Almond Cookie x Reader ] Human AU

9 || Driven to a Corner

"1K was a bit too bold, (Y/n)" Almond shakes his head, as he sits back on his chair. He sets down the two newly made cups of coffee on the table, and a packet of sterile gloves. "better not put fingerprints on the contents."

You shrug, "I go all out," You managed, the wax seal in your hands, fully intact. There was a smirk etched onto your lips. Your eyes trace the lines that resemble both the drawn tattoo and metal piece you've found.

"That's dangerous." He sips his coffee, glancing at you for a moment.

"Yes sir." You say, as you set down the wax seal, and open the packet. You wear the gloves and begin to unwrap the brown paper. Almond leans in, anticipation creased on his brow. You find several pieces of layered brown paper, used to wrap.

The package contents revealed themselves. You and Almond stare.

There was one VHS tape that is unlabeled. Behind it is a letter, sealed and also stamped with the same wax seal, but what caught Almond's attention was the four random objects.

"That's..." he trailed off. You follow his gaze. There were 2 keys, one encased set of rings and one small plastic bag with cloth in it and a label. "Check them." Almond says.

You manage a nod, and look at the two keys, first. Each of them had an engraving. You move them to read what the engravings say, but Almond audibly races you to it.

"Master Key/M.E.H.." He reads, "The other, Parfaedia I. staff Key 23." He spat, followed with a sharp inhale. You see him shake his head in frustration. You both look at each other.

"They're mocking us..." You mumbled, picking up the plastic bag. As you open it and read the label, Almond stands up and walks to the window. You glance up at him, worry stricken in your expression once more. You didn't get to ask him how he was, this morning.

He looks back at you not leaving his spot in front of the window, "Where are the other two objects from?"

"This one..." You trail off, removing the cloth gently. You feel a slippery solid object wrapped in the cloth. You open it gently in your palm to reveal a lens. "This one is from the Observatory, it seems," You say, as you take another glance at the label.

At this point, Almond walks back to you, and instead of sitting in his chair in front of you, he sits beside you. He dares not touch the objects however, without a set of gloves. You feel his weight on the couch where you sit. You do your best to swallow your giddiness.

You read the label of the case where the small rings were placed. You move it a bit to show him and he leans in, looking. "Yup, from the museum all right." He managed, "These guys decided to burn down four of the most active and well known buildings in the city and decided to steal from said buildings for trophies."

"Not only that, they gave them back too," You turn your head to look at him. His brows are creased, his stress lines obvious now than ever. "And not to just anyone, they gave them back to... you. Not the council, or to the respective members or owners of the buildings or even the Commissioner." You hesitate to say something more, but with one moment of locking eyes with Almond, he already seem to know what you wanted to say.

"They aren't just mocking, they are taunting...challenging." He stole the words right out of your mouth.

You nod, solemnly. "But the specificity of these items. They could be clues?" Your gaze shifts back to the remaining objects in the package, the VHS tape, and the Letter. "Which one should we check first?"

"I'd like to know what they have to say." Almond says, "Open the letter."

.You silently pick up the envelope. The envelope paper was a sheen yellow gold. Light faintly reflects from it. It was certainly a perfect match for the red wax seal and it's gold leaf flakes.

"Tch, these fancy guys." Almond hisses into his coffee cup as he takes a sip.

"They seem to be financially secure from the way they present this Letter..." You open the envelope with one swift motion, not bothering to remove the seal.

No remark from the Detective. You steal a glance at him and you see him lean in anticipation.

You pull out the brown paper, that was folded. Your eyes finally rest onto the contents of the letter. The letters were made by a typewriter, each mark and stamp of the ink uniform. There were hardly any mistakes.

Typical criminal letter," You say, "The Writing looks to be fro ma type writer."

"Mhm," Almond moves closer and slightly cranes his neck to see the writing. You move your hand with the letter to give him a better sight.

The letter reads,

"Greetings.

I do think pyrotetra is a fitting name for the work of art we have done. Our darling journalists have certainly a good taste in naming. Though we are not here to brag. No, we are here to let you know that the hour of Desolation is nigh.

We offer a challenge. After all, your ancestors have taken this land from us, and converted it into a metropolis that serves your self centered lives. How fast are you to save your beloved city from the revenge of our God?

Oh, but the odds aren't in your favor, isn't it? The commissioner's actions did nothing to help you, really. Is this how far the city has fallen? Needless to say, there are more of us than you think, beloved detective. I really wonder if that fox-eyed vigilant assistant of yours can help you crack the case?"

The letter wasn't signed. Only the insignia once more at the bottom of the page, pressed into the paper. Over it was a name. The Divine Order of Desolation.

You hear ceramic slam against the table.  It shakes you from your thoughts. Wide eyed, you look up to see Almond, who slammed his mug against the coffee table, and storm off.

"Sir-"

He makes his way up the flight of stairs and slam a door. You stand, an attempt to chase after him, yet he was quick. You hear the lock of the door in place and  look up at the closed door. Finally, you whip your head back at the table, where coffee has spilt, and spreading across the surface of the table.. You rush to save the items before they are drenched with coffee. You managed to save the objects, except or the layers of brown paper and the cleanly removed seal that now melts from the heat of the coffee.

You let out a sigh and remove your gloves. So much for complete evidence.

You look back up. You could hear footsteps. You freeze to listen, even bringing your breath to a slow pace. Almond's footsteps from upstairs seem to pace around, frantic and raged. You hear a few objects being thrown around. Heavy thuds against the wooden floors. You could tell that some of them were books, stacks of papers or folders, and even furniture. What you hoped you wouldn't hear is glass, however.

There was a need, you wanted to get up there and check up on him. Yet, as you look at the mess on the coffee table, you decided that it was better to let him calm down. You couldn't blame Almond really. The man had been driven to a corner. His HQ burnt to the ground with 80% of his personnel dead. The commissioner did nothing to compensate or to even express her grief for the loss.

Destructive rage. Something that you have learned about in your course. And you know full well that letting the rage quiet down by itself was better.

It struck you, at this moment in time, that you might be the only one on his side, other than his daughter and Latte maybe. You take a few deep breaths. You calm yourself. You make your way to the kitchen, and find a rag. You pull up your sleeves and decide to clean.