Jex. The Beginning

I

It was a normal morning at the police station when the new officer Justin had arrived to fulfill his dream of becoming a detective. He was nervous, as he would be assigned his first case that day. Upon arriving at the office, Sergeant Chopa was already waiting for him along with his report and his new partner. Youngest veteran in the entire station, Vex.

Justin could not help but be dazzled by his imposing and fierce appearance, quite the opposite to Justin who even being older than him, looked like an inexperienced cadet at his side.

— As you well know Vex, we have to catch and dismantle the new group of mobsters who attack in our streets. —Sergeant Chopa's serious tone pumped to the bone —So Justin, you will help Vex capture the top brass of this new mafia.

—Yes, ma'am. —Those were the words that got out of the mouth of a bullied Justin. Without a doubt, having the sergeant in front of you imposed a lot more than you'd expect for a woman under five feet tall.

Vex looked at his partner with a face so impassive, it made it completely impossible to find out what was going through the boy's head. Justin had no choice but to follow him and try to mediate word with the young veteran.

—Hey mate, they say that in the forensics department has come a new victim of this new mafia. How about we go take a look?

—All right —replied Vex, unable to look Justin in the eye.

In the forensic department stood Zark, the coroner in charge of the case. She was examining the new body. Our young detectives approached the autopsy table, but not before dressing properly. The young doctor had a sinister and relentless appearance in contrast to her playful personality, only letting her more serious and calculating side be seen when she did her job.

—Good morning, miss. We are the officers in charge of this case, we came to know what have you discovered this time. —Justin said kindly with a smile on his face.

—You are nothing new —the coroner added with her mocking smile. —But come, I will explain, it is rare to see officers on this side of the department.

On the table there was the body of a man, his face was completely disfigured and with no other external wounds. The doctor explained to them that the body in front of them was not a normal body, he belonged to Vex's former partner. Justin could not help but look at his companion with pity, only to observe again his same old face, cold and inexpressive. Vex was a man of few words.

Zark continued his explanation of the cause of death. Officer Mortes and Vex had managed to arrange a meeting with the high command of the mafia, where Mortes posed as a simple civilian looking for a hit man. However, shortly after the meeting was over and when Officer Mortes was on his way to meet Vex, he collapsed and at that precise moment the hit man smashed his head with a mallet.

—And you will wonder how our stiff here collapsed without warning —Justin nodded, while Vex continued to observe the body of his partner — it's so easy, it's just because he has been poisoned.

Justin's surprised expression was so exaggerated that Vex had no choice but to look in awe at his new partner. It was the first normal human expression that Justin saw of him. Laughing, Zark went on to explain that he had reached that conclusion by examining the officer's blood. The contents revealed that before dying he suffered metabolic acidosis, caused by the intake of ethylene glycol, an antifreeze, which is usually used by boats or pharmaceutical companies. It is a colorless, sweet-tasting and somewhat thick substance, so it can be perfectly camouflaged with thick drinks like the Baileys he took during the meeting, whose contents were still in his stomach when he died.

After the conversation with the doctor, the officers went back to the sergeant's office. Vex had told Justin and Chopa that he had gotten a meeting with the leader within a month thanks to one of his contacts. This time they would be more prepared, so he would teach Justin how to defend against killers if necessary, so the sergeant agreed and authorized the boys' mission.