Gluttony and Greed Walk into a Burger Joint

Chapter 10 - Harvest

Crime scenes were always a mess of activity and the brothers were easy to trust. So long as the Twins dressed in sharply cut, dark suits and wore sunglasses with guns at their hips, it was never any trouble for them to get in on the action.

The house looked normal, if a little run down from the outside. The porch had the old, wet wood look about it, half of the boards were rotting away and in desperate need of a redo and paint job. Dirt-crusted patio furniture lay outside and to the right of the frayed screen door. It was midday in late autumn, overcast and cold. Snow was still a ways off, but the bite in the air promised it wouldn't be too far.

The sudden blaze in the house was what alerted the fire department to come in the first place. What they found warranted a call to the rest of the authorities.

Alus's eyes were shining when he entered the house and removed his sunglasses, folding them and tucking them gently into his inside pocket. He had to fight to keep his expression straight so as not to alarm those around him, but no one could shake the light from Alus's gaze. Arek's stoic face was much more believable. The Twins felt at home in the half-burnt residence. The blaze had been isolated to the kitchen where the methamphetamine lab had turned south, exploded, and threatened to take down the entire building. Even the refuse spread about with the putrid smell of burnt chemicals layering on old food, urine, mold, and general filth couldn't spoil the brothers' mood. In fact, it added to their satisfaction.

Gluttony and Greed could be breathed in through the walls of the place. The Twins crossed the threshold and felt...cleansed.

Alus had to look at Arek to keep from laughing. He needed his brother to keep the giddiness at bay. Souls had suffered under the influence of the Third and Fourth Daemoenic sins in this place. They already belonged to Arek and Alus, even if they weren't aware of it, yet.

As they made their way through the front hallway, they turned left to find the sitting room. On the flea-infested and tattered couch sat the two homeowners, a man and a woman. The female was dressed in what could only be guessed as a nightdress that hadn't been washed or changed out of for at least a week. Her hair was knotted and boasted a poorly attempted dye job. Her partner wasn't much better, dressed in old cutoff jeans with no shirt. Both their feet were stained with dirt. The Twins couldn't see the couples' hands, because they were cuffed behind their respective backs. One officer stood in front of the two, clearly in charge of making certain they stayed put. Arms folded in front of his uniform, he turned and met the Twins' eyes. He had brown skin, looked to be in his mid-thirties, and had very shortly cropped curly hair. The officer's eyes were the color of earth and sharp. "You guys got some I.D. says you belong here?"

"Absolutely, Officer..." Alus sounded entirely too cheerful.

"...Reynolds." Arek read the policeman's name plate and butted in to try and hide his brother's obvious excitement. The Twins each reached into their respective pockets and pulled out U.S. Marshall badges to display.

Reynolds visibly clenched his jaw and looked back up to their eyes. "Little young for U.S. Marshalls, aren't you two?"

"Thanks Dad, that's awfully nice of you."

Arek elbowed his brother hard enough in the ribs to get a gasp then a sharp laugh, taking over for the second time. "You'll have to take that up with your supervisor. We'd like to question these two before you bring them in."

"I'm afraid I can't allow that."

"Hey Bro, you smell that?" This from Alus, whispered carefully next to Arek's ear.

Arek waved his brother away and continued his subdued argument with officer Reynolds. They needed only a few moments alone with the perps to solidify the hold on their souls. The sooner they finished here, the sooner they could move on, the more they could harvest for the day. More was better. Always more.

The house was littered with police officers and detectives here and there. Most of the firemen had evacuated. Lab personnel were in the kitchen, taking samples for evidence. Only a few milled about the sitting room.

Alus's bright eyes, currently reflecting the navy blue of his suit, were fixed on the far corner of the room. "Smell you." He whispered it under his breath, cocking his head gently to the side. There was a half-bookshelf flush against the wall he was approaching. If he hadn't been listening for it, he would have missed it -the muffled high-pitched sound along with a faint shuffle. "Hear you," another quiet and rhetorical murmur from Gluttony's lips which curved up at the corners. He reached out his hands and curled his fingers around the top edge of the bookshelf.

"Hands off, Motherfucker!" The male perpetrator finally spoke up once he saw where Alus had wandered to, moving to stand. Officer Reynolds shoved him back into the couch and shouted a warning, but Arek's attention was finally caught by his brother. He was moving towards Alus as quick as he could without appearing alarmed.

Wood scraping on wood, the bookshelf angled out surprisingly smoothly, revealing a cubby door. Alus grinned and reached for the handle, whispering still to himself, "olly olly oxen free."

He pulled open the door. 

And behind door number 1 is....! A vote? Please do drop one before moving on if you're so inclined. :)