Lawless Detective

Unforeseen Encounter

In a world where crime prowls within the shadows like a bloodthirsty predator, there was one man who was renowned for his astounding ability to hunt down every single one of the criminals who's profiles had been sent to him.
Every. Single. One.
With a perfect record of nought unsolved cases, the civilians praised his name to the heavens, thinking: My, what a benevolent young man! With him around, we'll surely be able to live our lives in peace!

That was until he had his first live interview.

With eager hearts, the people of London sat staring with coruscating eyes at their television screens. However, as the minutes ticked by and the more sentences left that so called 'benevolent man's mouth, all the viewers' eyes dimmed. Perplexity replaced their original eagerness and some couldn't help but blurt out: What's wrong with him??

The statement that had shocked them to the core, was the one he had uttered without an ounce of compassion, "I only solve cases because it's enjoyable. I don't do it to 'help the citizens', I do it to satiate my boredom."
The interviewer was at a loss for words—the viewers even more so. Seeing as she wasn't getting the desired answers from this man, the interviewer swiftly wrapped the interview up and begrudgingly thanked the man for his time.

The very next day, miscellaneous rumours already started to fly around.
"That Officer Walker was probably a criminal himself, that's why he was able to catch other criminals with such ease!"
"I heard Officer Walker was once part of the mafia. How scary! To think our city is being protected by such a person..."

There was a seemingly endless supply of baseless rumours such as these, but there was one that majority of the population could agree on: This man was definitely a sociopath!

It didn't even matter if that was the truth or not, because people believed whatever was more convenient for themselves. If everyone else collectively slapped a label on your head, then that was your new 'truth'—and there wasn't anything you could do about it.

—————————— <> ——————————

Darkness enveloped the serene street of Brick Lane. The lucent moon, veiled by a series of dark grey clouds, was like a timid young child—shying away from the people who came near and only sparing as much as a swift glance every now and then. The street lamps didn't offer much help either—their dim light only managed to illuminate a measly quarter of the sidewalk. The fresh smell of petrichor lingered in the cool air like high quality perfume—not instantly dissipating, but also not too dense that it became suffocating.

A dark figure strode across the placid street, breathing out curses melded with hot air as he stepped into a puddle of muddy morass, drenching his originally spotless black shoes. He let out another low groan before stomping his sullied shoes against the pavement in hope of kicking off most of the mud that was now lodged between his grooves.

This pitiful soul was none other than Liam Walker, the rumoured sociopath who'd allegedly disappointed all of his little 'fans' with the power of two simple sentences.

Liam continued down the path without much care, until the outline of a narrow, but fairly tall, building emerged into view. Most people would have missed it amidst the shadows, however, walking this route was like brushing his teeth—it was practically muscle-memory. So, without hesitation, he crossed onto the small lawn and strode towards the wooden door. Upon seeing that big, bold 'thirty-three' on the door's surface, the boulder of exhaustion that had been weighing down on him, was instantly lifted.

With a handsome face carved out of ice, this man was the definition of a 'cold-beauty'. His features were sharp and well-defined and those dark brown eyes could easily pierce through the soul of anyone he encountered. Although he appeared to only be in his early twenties, those furrowed brows combined with that stone-cold expression granted him a certain air of seriousness and maturity. He was the type of man women admired from afar, but wouldn't dare approach.