Crow's Nest [✓]

Chapter 2

The New York Police Department was dead as usual. A few officers scurried around to act as if they had work to do while the others didn't even care to pretend. Thomas glared at a few of them, receiving glares back. No one liked the rookies, especially this year's bunch. All too big for their shoes.

Thomas arrived at his desk, seeing a sticky note taped to his computer monitor. He took it off, read it and growled. He threw it away before gesturing to the empty seat in front of his desk.
"Please, take a seat. I know you must be tired and I'll make sure the introductions are short. We can have the briefing tomorrow." Thomas said with a smile.

Harry sat down, trying to get comfortable on the plastic chairs. He thought about standing up again, his rear slightly hurting from sitting 8 hours straight on the plane.
Thomas noticed his discomfort and chuckled.
"You can stand if you want to. I'll grab us some coffee or perhaps you want tea?"
"Coffee sounds good," Harry said
"I'll be right back," Thomas said and hurried off to the coffee station.

While Thomas was gone, Harry got a chance to look at Thomas' desk. It was neat and organised, except for the overflowing file rack on his desk. Harry leaned down slightly to look at Thomas' trash bin, his curiosity getting the best of him. He took out the crumpled paper and folded it open again.

Locky not in today - Head hurts.

'Locky?' Harry wondered. Whoever this 'Locky' was, they certainly managed to upset Thomas about not showing up. And what kind of an excuse was a headache to stay home? Harry had gotten multiple headaches from his late night drinking and still showed up to work the next morning.

Thomas returned with two cups. He brought a milk carton underneath his arm and put everything down on his desk. "Help yourself." Thomas said digging into his drawers and took out a few sugar packs.
Harry helped himself and took small sip of his coffee.
It wasn't as bad as Norwegian coffee, which was strange because by the looks of things in the office, they'd most certainly have budget coffee. The fake plastic cup coffee that left a bitter aftertaste.

Thomas took a sip of his coffee and sighed.
"Alright, let's get started." Thomas said taking out a folder from one of his cabinets.
"I am Senior Detective Crow, second in charge of the Homicide Department. William Lockwood is the Head of the Homicide Department and also on his way of becoming the Chief. Good luck to that bastard." Thomas grinned. "Then we have Junior Detective Liam Connor who's our tech junkie, and Junior Detective Kevin Miles as our... Well, he does a bit of everything." Thomas said.

Harry studied the photos in the folder. Lockwood gave the impression of leadership, a tall man standing at 6'1. He's broad-shouldered and muscular, built with a strong frame. His dark brown eyes are framed by long, dark lashes, and his brown hair is a messy, slightly unkempt pompadour style. His features are sharp and angular, and his skin is a warm, olive complexion.

Liam on the other hand was a short twig, blonde hair messy on his oval head, two green eyes staring into the camera like a deer staring at headlights. His clothes hung loose on him, probably hand-me-downs. He was neatly shaven which made him look young.

Kevin on the other hand looked average, brown eyes and brown hair, messy just like Thomas' and had a slight lean built. He had a cheeky grin, showing off his canines, his eyes full of mischief.

This was the team he was going to be working with, thought Harry. Thomas seemed like a good guy and Harry's instincts were rarely wrong. Harry realized that Locky could mean Lockwood, which meant the person who wasn't here today was probably the other senior detective.
"The boss offered to pay your stay in a hotel... But some of these hotels give me the creeps. If anything happens, I have a spare bedroom in my apartment." Thomas said to Harry.
Harry nodded a thanks and continued drinking his coffee. Surely it couldn't be as bad as his hotel he had in Bangkok with the cockroaches and the intense heat. Harry prayed it was better.

Thomas had offered to drive Harry to the hotel and Harry accepted the offer.
The drive was quiet, except for the traffic noises. Car's honking their horns trying to get people to drive, even though it was a traffic jam.
Thomas sighed, resting his head on the steering wheel.
"Do you guys get traffic this bad in Norway?" Thomas asked.
"You get the occasional traffic jams that take a while before you reach your destination but it's never this bad." Harry said.
"Good to know." Thomas said and lifted his head. "I think it's bad this morning because everyone either pissed off or hung-over."
"Why exactly is a whole city hung-over?" Harry asked.
"There was a big game last night. Knicks vs Lakers. Man, that was a intense match. I could hear my neighbour screaming at the TV whenever the Knicks made a stupid mistake." Thomas said.
"Is New York that competitive?" Harry asked.
"Wouldn't you be if your home town's team played?"
"I don't know... I'm not really into sport."
"Me neither." Thomas grinned and looked at the road again.