A Danger That Lurks In The Darkness | A TPQ AU |

XIII | In Which Mini's Life Might Be Destroyed

RUDY
“So was—” 

“Yes, you were correct.” she cast her exasperated gaze towards him, but then she returned to staring into the distance, her gaze turning from exasperated to stormy. 

She pressed her head against the cool glass window of his car, clenching the strap of his seatbelt, and unclenching it slowly, with an interval of three seconds. Red marks ran down her palm, with this repeated exercise. 

Keeping an eye on the road, he gently pried her fingers off the seatbelt, and said, “I won’t gloat. What happened?” 

“He found out,” she groaned, burying her face in her hands. 

“Found out… what?” 

“That we’re onto him!” Her voice was strained in frustration, her previously neat hair falling and brushing her cheek. 

He clenched his hands on the steering wheel, which had grown itchy. Should he brush the hair away? No, right? I should concentrate on the road. 

“When I sent you away and went to talk to him— ugh, he knows about who we think is the kidnapper— his stupid brother— and he told me to ‘be careful’!” 

“He threatened you?!” His voice rose by an octave, and he clenched the steering wheel tighter, leaving impressions of his hands on it. 

“Not exactly,” she grumbled, continuing to stare out the window. 

“Okay— tell me exactly what happened,” 

And so she did. 

After she finished, she began tapping her foot against the floor of the car, the sounds muffled by the carpet.

Her fingers, on the dashboard, trembled. 

His own fingers felt a phantom twitch, as he took a deep breath. “This is another thing we can figure out, right?” 

She didn’t respond. Her face was devoid of the optimism she was famous for. 

It was strange and disheartening how one person could destroy the faiths and happiness of so many people. 

If she wasn’t feeling particularly optimistic, then he would be. For both of them. 

“Okay, so now we need to figure several things out,” 

“Like what?”

“First off— why was James Daniels selling personal information? And to who?”

“To whom,”

“To whom,” he corrected. “And why was he selling the information?” 

“Money? Leverage? He’s just an asshole?” 

“Maybe— but that’s just speculation.” 

“True…” she trailed off, but began again: “what if we dig up the old case files from Evidence? There has to be some record of James Daniels being a criminal.” 

“Hm,” he made a left turn, and flipped the bird at a driver who entered their lane. 

“But what if we don’t find anything?” 

“With my undefeatable charisma and your intelligence, I’m sure we will,” 

————
 

He sneezed once more, making dust fly in the air. 

Mini, who was poring over case-files, wordlessly handed him a handkerchief that he accepted gingerly, and covered his nose with, before sneezing again.