The Crow & The Ghost: A Dystopian AU Simon Ghost Riley x Reader

Chapter Three: Strategy

        "That's it, I'm staking out in here." Kieran says, propping his feet up on your desk. It's seven a.m. the following morning, and Kieran had taken one look at you when he walked in just moments ago and knew some shit had gone down.
        "You look nervous," He had said when he entered, placing your coffee delicately on your desk. "I've never seen you nervous in my entire life."
        "I'm not nervous—"
        "Oh, yes you are!" Kieran let out a maniacal laugh, running a hand through his curly, light brown hair. His voice is so loud you wince. "The Crow I know doesn't bother denying things that aren't true."
        You glared at him and swiped the coffee cup off the desk and brought it to your lips. "Shut up," You had murmured before taking a sip.
        Now, his dark green boots were on your desk and a stupid smile was plastered across his face. He doesn't know anything other than it has to do with Riley—who else?
        How the hell were you going to explain to him what happened last night? Oh, yeah, I never answered your text because Lieutenant Riley showed up at my door to give himself a tour of my apartment, but that was it! Totally normal!
        "Crow giiiirl," A Scottish accent rings through the hallway. You groan, and Kieran's face looks like it's about to explode with joy.
        "God, what a great fucking morning," He says before bringing his own cup to his lips, just in time for Captain MacTavish to enter.
        Soap's eyes land on Kieran and he smiles. "Good morning, Captain Corr," He says kindly. His eyes shift towards Kieran's boots on your desk. "Comfortable, are we?"
        "You wish she liked you enough to let you do this," Kieran shot Soap a look that you could only take as blatant flirting. Your eyes rolled to the ceiling.
        "God, I wish someone did," Soap shoots back, and Kieran's face turns positively devilish.
        "It is seven in the morning," You grumble, and this makes Soap turn his attention towards you.
        "How's my girl today?" He asks, his brown eyes glittering in the fluorescents.
        You get up, inching around your desk and reaching out over Kieran to switch the fluorescent lights off. "I don't know, there's no girl of yours in this room to answer the question." You say as you sit back down.
        "Ah, right," Soap says. "I forgot you belong to Ghost now."
        Your smile drops and your eyes flick up to his. "Excuse me?"
        His brows flatten, an inquisitive look on his face. "Pinched a nerve, did I?"
        Kieran lets out a snort before his hand claps over his mouth. His eyes are near wild. He lives for shit like this.
        "I don't know what you're talking about." You say.
        "I take it the home visit didn't go well?" Soap asks, his voice guarded.
        Kieran's hand drops, and so does his jaw. "The home what?" He demands.
        "Kieran—"
        Soap suddenly lets out a loud laugh. It's short and sharp. "Christ," He says, his accent thick. "This should be fun to watch. You and I have front row seats, Kieran, how lucky are we?"
        Kieran stares at you, open-mouthed, before slowly looking up at Soap. "I have no clue what's going on, but I'll sit anywhere with you."
        And you've had enough. You slap your hands on the desk, making both Kieran and Soap jump, before you push yourself to standing. "All right, get the fuck out," You say, pointing at the door. "Thank you for the coffee, Kieran. Soap," You stare at him for a moment. "Thanks for being annoying. You love keeping it consistent."
        "Anything for my Crow girl," He cooes as he makes his way towards the door.
        "Don't call me that."
        Soap is walking down the hall as he says, far too loudly for your comfort, "Ghost hasn't claimed that nickname yet, so it's all mine. See you at lunch!"
        "Like hell you will," You mumble to yourself, sitting down again.
        Kieran's feet are off the desk but he remains sitting, his blue eyes boring into you. "I'm not fucking leaving until you tell me what he was just talking about."
        "If you love MacTavish so much, why don't you ask him what happened? It's another excuse to get him to talk to you."
        "Oh, you're venomous today," Kieran whistles, taking another sip of coffee. "Whatever happened must be damn good."
        Before you can answer, your desk phone rings. The extension is 9999: Lt. Riley.
        "You have got to be fucking kidding me," You growl. Kieran jumps up to lean over your desk and see the name, you swat him away, hitting his chest harder than you meant to, but the bastard has already seen it.
        "Oh, fuck yeah," He says, and settles back down in his seat.
        You pick up the phone, immediately propping the receiver between your ear and shoulder as you wake up your desktop. You have to keep your hands busy, so it's not entirely obvious to Kieran that you're going to puke from nerves.
        "Lieutenant Crow speaking."
        You hear a rough, irritated groan on the other end. It sounds a little too erotic for this early in the morning, but you stifle any thoughts or feelings you have about it. "God," He sighs. "This shit again? You have my caller ID."
        "Good morning, Lieutenant Riley," You say plainly, your gaze darting to Kieran as you press 'enter' on the keyboard after typing your log in. "Is there something I can help you with?"
        "I'm wondering when you're free to chat this morning," He says, and you realize he must be in his office. Where is his office? You've never been to it. The Headquarters is a gigantic building, with nearly thirty floors and an expansive layout on each.
        "I can be free whenever," You say. Kieran's eyebrows shoot up, but you roll your eyes. You open your email, disappointed you have nothing new to read.
        "Ah. Like a good girl," The voice on the other line says.
Fucking Jesus, who says this shit? Can Kieran hear it? You glance at your friend but he doesn't look like he's about to go into cardiac arrest, so it seems like he can't. "Like a cooperative coworker," You correct, but your thigh muscles involuntarily tighten in your seat.
        "Whatever helps you sleep at night," Riley replies, his voice is a bit raspy, like he hasn't used it in a few hours. Were you the last person he spoke to before right now?
        "Are you going to set up a time with me or just keep speaking nonsense?"
        "I'll come down in a half hour, little Crow."
        "Do you even know where my office—"
        The line was already dead. Damn him.
        "You're meeting with him?" Kieran asks expectantly.
        You shrug, trying to pretend you didn't just have that conversation. Like a good girl.
        "Yes," You say, closing your email and letting out a sigh. "He's coming down here at around 7:45, I guess."
        "I don't even get a full morning with you before he just takes you away," Kieran says, throwing a hand in the air. "I'm getting the shit end of all of this, you know. My partner is being stolen away by the resident dump truck."
        You let out a giggle, but give Kieran a chastising look. "The resident dump truck is not stealing me from you. It's just a short assignment."
        "Promise me that you'll also investigate his workout routine?"
        "All right, sweetheart," You stand again, this time coming around your desk and taking Kieran by the forearm and forcing him to stand. "It's genuinely time for you to go."
        "Got to get ready for your big date?"
        "See you later, Captain Corr."
        "You are so bor—"
        You slam in the door in his face before he has the chance to finish.