𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐂𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐑, coffinshipping

𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒆, broken bounderies

avoiding hoffman after the incident was close to impossible. since they worked in the same building there wasn't a way to discreetly evade him without raising suspicions. sure the two rarely interacted during working hours, so he figured with no secret meeting he should be fine to live out his day in peace. that was until he received the phone call he dreaded hearing, there had been another game.

hoffman showed up on the scene with officers already surrounding the once-living woman. a thick layer of blood oozing from her slit wrists, this wasn't his doing. her skin as waxy as a candle and as pale as a ghost, all but the marking that was engraved in her flesh was left untainted. he quickly glossed over the mark, this one done with the surgical skills hoffman hadn't yet possessed.

the detective stood with an unpleased look on his face from inspecting the deceased corpse. there was some chatter at the entrance which in turn caught the curious man's divine attention. there stood the man who had stormed out on him, chatting up some cops and other important people about topics of importance.

even news reports wanted a piece for their next big article about a man who not only survived one but two rigged traps set by himself. hoffman caught his eye for a moment, looking over at him for a split second before continuing with the conversation.

an ambulance arrived on scene in a failed attempt to revive the injured girl, but in the end, her cuts were too deep and she was too far gone to be saved. with all the outside commotion and police storming the warhorse, strahm hadn't noticed the detective sneaking up on him.

"you've been avoiding me, agent strahm." he says, taking a few steps and watching body after lifeless body fly from the building. hoffman took note of strahm's stern expression, not paying any attention to the man next to him. he then cleared his throat,

"i'm a very busy man detective," strahm answered in hopes that it would justify his reluctant attitude. he thought that would be the end of it, but instead, he was pulled off to the side without hesitation.

"are we not going to talk about it?" hoffman asks. this wasn't the time nor place for this discussion, however, strahm didn't leave him much of a choice. the detective noticed every time strahm would exit a room for the sole to get away from him. all this sneaking around for what? strahm straightened his posture, refusing to look him in the eyes out of fear of what he may see.

"there is nothing to talk about." he responds, wanting to forget everything. go back to the way things used to be and forget all these complicated feelings that got thrown into the mix.

the senseless bickering, and the early morning fights all seemed so much simpler now. strahm went to walk away but was stopped from doing so. "what, you're just to pretend everything's fine?"

"that was the plan, yes." unsure of what to say, hoffman let go. so many words that he could've said but the knot bound in his throat kept the words from coming out. "now if you don't mind."

was the last thing the agent said to him before entering the warehouse, leaving hoffman conflicted and alone with his thoughts.

the next day this whole incident brought on loads of paperwork and investigations. hoffman sat alone at his desk going through the case file when all of a sudden he heard on knock at his door. "come in." he shouted to the person outside, and in walked the last person he was expecting to see, strahm.

he thought after their last interaction during the crime scene, they wouldn't be on speaking terms till the next victim popped up. he carefully shut the door behind him, giving them more time to speak in the privacy of hoffman's office without interruption.

"we need to talk." strahm started, reluctant to sit down in the conveniently placed chair. he could tell by the serious look on strahm's face that he came here with a goal in mind, why else would he barge into his office in the middle of the day?

"was this your doing detective? in that case, i might as well turn us both in and risk us getting pared as accomplices." he hissed, threatening to toss them both behind bars even if that meant he went down with the sinking ship. hoffman was a bit taken back by the sudden black mailed response, but kept his composure intact. he folded his hand onto the hard surface of his desk.

"no, this wasn't my doing. i haven't exactly killed anyone." he felt a bit betrayed by the sudden police integration. questioning him like he was some type of low-level criminal and expecting him to snap. hoffman leaned back in his chair while the agent's gaze burned a hole straight through his core. a strong glare that would have any other person crumbling beneath it.

"then who did? i want names, hoffman." the words were tainted by the venom on strahm's tongue. he needed names, descriptions, anything that could at least point him toward the true mastermind behind these killings.

but when it came down to it, hoffman's lips were sealed. he let out a short-winded sigh before breaking the tension-filled eye contact to daze off at other things on his desk. this only angered strahm, sending him further down the increasingly dangerous rabbit hole.

hoffman called his bluff without a second thought which only made the idea of turning him in all too real. he hated it, he hated him.

"fuck you and your twisted way of thinking." strahm cursed at the detective before storming out the door.

hoffman, who still sat idly in front of his gigantic stack of paperwork felt a sense of remorse for the agent. he was so close to catching the man responsible for these killings, and yet so far away.