the blood in our future

On Record

A/N: I hate exams

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Lockwood was well aware both Lucy and him looked like absolute hell.

Lucy had just been thrown into a tree and looked the part - there were small branches and leaves scattered everywhere on her hair and clothes, there was that head wound that worried him all too much, and there were the endless small cuts and scrapes on her arms and legs from the visitor's final effort.

And he himself? God, he didn't even want to think about it.

He had those cuts and scrapes too, of course - but if they were a bit less visible on him, it was only due to the fact that his clothes were stained from head to toe in blood.

So, all in all, he understood very well why the two DEPRAC agents took a rather defensive stance upon exiting their car.

Lockwood craned his neck, hoping to see Barnes among them - but he was in no such luck. With Barnes here, there would've been a much higher chance of Lucy and him getting to go home as soon as possible. Hell, he thought that Barnes might be the only DEPRAC employee out there with a smidge of competence.

Still, he forced himself to put on his best smile, to walk slowly towards the agents.

"Good evening, gentlemen," he greeted them, playing it as if he had all the time and leisure and calm in the world, when really, the exact opposite was the case.

He wanted to get away from this clearing. He wanted to let DEPRAC check the surrounding woods for any signs of Colby, who, he was absolutely sure, had at least watched a bit of the events that had taken place. He wanted to get Lucy home, lock the door tight, and throw all of her unopened letters away. And, even more than that: He wanted to talk to her. He needed to talk to her.

Maybe now, with everything that had happened in the last few minutes, she'd be more inclined to believe him. Maybe he could still convince her.

Because if he'd read her correctly, she had still been worried about him. She had checked up on him, after that small explosion. And even if that was all there was, if the only regard she held for him was a slight care for whether he lived or died - That was something he could work with. It was a start.

It was something he could use to sit her down, to make her a cup of tea and a few slices of toast, and offer to tell her everything she wanted to know, to eradicate any doubt she still had about him.

But for that to work, he needed to show her just how competent he could be until they were cleared to leave. He needed to show her that he had no issues with working with DEPRAC if it meant getting these murders solved and Colby off the streets. That he wanted to help just as much as anyone.

So he continued his stride towards the agents, his smile turning into something ever so effortless. "Good thing DEPRAC came out, and just at the right moment, too. You see, my associate and I came across two dead bodies-"

"Lift your hands up in the air, both of you!" One of the agents shouted and raised his torch in the same motion, weirdly unappreciative of Lockwood's charming attitude.

But, then again, Lockwood supposed the blood on his clothes negated any charm he possibly could've had.

He followed the agent's orders without complaint and saw Lucy behind him do the same, albeit a bit slower.

The bright flashlight was shining directly into their faces now, and Lockwood blinked once, twice, trying not to seem as annoyed as he felt at this loss of vision.