Pathos - A Duskwood Fanfiction

Chapter 27

(Author's note: another short one today, everyone. Sorry. Plot exposition sucks sometimes but someone's gotta do it. I love you all. ❤️)

"How much longer are we going to sit here, sir? It's been weeks now and nothing. No indication of their communication aside from the scrambles that were probably a false lead. I'm starting to think we've fallen for it."

John Pryce sat silently in the car next to the other agent, staring out of the dark gloss of the tinted passenger side window beside him. They were parked on a quiet residential street in an understatedly affluent neighbourhood, and he had his gaze fixed on a house that was across the street and several properties down. A wave of irritation flashed across his leathery features as the other agent spoke, and his dark eyes narrowed hawkishly as he turned his head to look at the man sitting behind the wheel.

"'We' have fallen for nothing," Pryce said with a crisp RP accent, levelling the other man with an almost disdainful stare. "And you are going to continue sitting here until I get back."

The other man stared in bewilderment as Pryce unbuckled his seatbelt and began to ready himself to exit the vehicle. "What? Where are you going?"

But Pryce was already outside of the car by the time the words exited the other agent's mouth, and the only reply that was given was the slamming of the car door behind him as he began to walk towards the house that had been his focus since Duskwood. As he walked, eyes trained on the approaching house, he pulled his badge out of his pocket and readied it in his hand. His other hand reached up to check the positioning of the Glock secured in his left shoulder holster briefly, and then he was mounting the porch stairs two at a time before coming to a stop in front of the elegant frosted glass of the front door.

Ignoring the LED backlit doorbell, he used his knuckles to knock sharply on the glass and then stood silently in wait. After a moment, he saw the diffused shadow of someone moving from within, slowly approaching the door. There was a pause, and then the soft sound of a magnetic lock releasing made a click, and the door opened an inch.

Through the gap, Pryce could see a sliver of the face that he had come to see. Impassively, he waited as she stared at him in silence, her eyes guarded and narrow.

"Yes?"

Her voice was quiet and tight, and her eyes did not move off of his. Which was actually rather impressive, since he'd had a bit of a reputation of making people uncomfortable with holding eye contact for longer than a few seconds at a time.

Wordlessly, he held up his badge to the gap.

She glanced at the badge briefly, then looked back up at him once more. He saw her expression twist slightly, and then her voice came more loudly than before. Sharp, now. Hostile.

"He's not here."

Pryce returned his badge to his pocket without moving his gaze.

"I am aware."

She was silent for a moment, but then issued a sharp question. "Then why are you here?"

Pryce took a half step forward, stooping slightly so that his eyes were level with the ones staring at him through the door gap.

"Is he aware that he has a son?"

At this, her eyes widened and she looked over her shoulder quickly before turning back to regard him with what was now an undeniably frightened stare. Pryce did not relent his own stare, however, and it only took a few breaths before she turned on her heels and receeded into the house, leaving the door ajar behind her.

Standing up straight again, Pryce pushed open the door and stepped inside, closing it behind him. Taking only a brief glance around to confirm that the surveillance photos taken of the residence aligned with the reality of the walls surrounding him, he walked down the entry hallway to the living room where she was sitting on a sofa in silence, staring blankly ahead.

He sat down across from her on an identical sofa, and then immediately began to speak. He didn't have time to mince words, and he didn't much care to, either.

"So he doesn't know."

She continued to stare sightlessly at the air between the two of them, her posture straight and stiff. Pryce continued.

"You're going to tell him."

At this, her eyes refocused swiftly, and she stared at him wordlessly.

"And if you don't, I will see to it personally that your son gets to grow up without both of his parents."

Her expression slowly began to morph at this as she stared at him, her lips curling and tightening in an obvious display of loathing and anger. Pryce remained impassive as he returned her stare, and as she seemed to be wresting with some sort of internal struggle, he allowed himself to examine her appearance carefully.

She was, undeniably, beautiful. The four years that had passed since he had last seen her up close had done nothing to diminish that fact - she seemed to have thrived in Jake's absence. Her long blonde hair was sleek and golden, and the natural beauty of her face had been artfully accentuated through expertly applied makeup. Hazel eyes stared at him angrily, framed by what had to be eyelash extensions, the darkness of the lashes creating a stunning frame for the green-brown of her irises.

She was dressed in simple, yet elegant attire - whites and tans that hung from her slender frame in draping swathes of expensive looking fabric. He looked down at the hands that were resting limply on her lap, noting the absence of the engagement ring that used to reside on her left ring finger. There was no evidence of a groove in the skin that would suggest a recent removal of the ring, so it was probably very likely that she had taken it off as soon as he had disappeared.

"A needlessly difficult life, wouldn't you agree?" Pryce then said. "His daddy on the run and his mommy in federal prison. Just in time for Christmas in fact, once a judge has signed the papers for your arrest."

Her eyes flashed in overt anger at this, and her next words were dripping with acid.

"Get out."

Unmoved, Pryce simply stared her down.

"Then the next agents that knock on your door will be holding the warrant for your arrest. We will, of course, ensure that your son is home when we do so. For maximum impact, you understand. He's, what, almost four years old? Long term memory capability is, regrettably, already entrenched."

"Get out," she whispered again, the tone of her voice weak and almost non-existent. Pryce could see the telltale shimmer of moisture in her eyes, and smiled internally.

"With pleasure," he said, standing. Her gaze did not follow his as he did so, her eyes staring straight ahead at the space that he had just vacated, a look of blank shock on her face.

"You have 24 hours. You know how to reach me. Do not make this needlessly difficult. Your son does not deserve to suffer for the crimes of his parents."

And with that, Pryce left.

* * * *

To be continued...