the alpha

Part 5

Chapter 5

09:39 am
The Atlanta Branch
756 W Peachtree St.

Life is not good at the moment.

No, check that, life just took a huge steaming, diarrhea shit on his desk after taco and tequila night, that is how bad it really feels. Much like said nights, he knows there is a way to clean this up and get past it, but at the moment it feels as though his face is being rubbed in it, which is a sickening analogy, but one that he can't help but feel is entirely accurate.

"You skipped ethics class in college, didn't you? That is the only way you could possibly be this fuckin' dumb!"

Carlton drums the fingers of his left hand on the desk as he tries, once again, to figure out what would have made the gin-soaked priest at St. James turn on him. He fails once again, since there is simply too much dirt that he has on this individual, as well as many others, that could prove damning if they ended up pissing him off, as Father London has done.

Trevor appears to have forgotten what kind of material Carlton has to use against him, such as the photographs, the taped confessions, the signed statements. The only thing that could have happened is that Trevor has someone else protecting him, or perhaps he simply doesn't care any longer. Carlton does not really believe the latter explanation, especially since he knows how much Trevor enjoys the various things he does with dogs, which sickens Carlton deep down, but also excites him since it's just another nail in the old prick's coffin.

"Hey!"

He looks up and realizes that for the past few seconds he actually zoned out and forgot that his editor, Mr. Kiss-My-Ass Abel Quinan, is shouting down at him from his unimpressive five-foot five-inch height. If he stands up now the little red-faced editor might just back up a step, especially since no matter what Abel says, he is scared of Carlton and won't admit it. The Napoleon complex this man displays on a regular basis is simply amazing since it borders on mania at times, but Carlton really is not in the mood as of now, especially since he can see in peripheral vision that others in the newsroom are watching, some of them with a smug smirk on their faces.

"What?" he asks. Abel's head looks like it is about to explode, and as interesting and entertaining as that might be, Carlton has a source to seek out and a reputation to salvage, if that's even possible.

"'What?', 'What?!!' Fucking what?!!"

"Are you done? I have got somewhere I need to be." Carlton decides that he does not care if Abel is done or not, anywhere but here would be a better location at the moment, especially since seeing Abel fume and sputter is a lot of fun, but it doesn't accomplish anything other than raising the editor's blood pressure. So, it is fair to say that he's a little surprised when the smaller man backs up a step, but then calms himself noticeably as he takes a deep breath.

"Yeah, you've got somewhere to be alright," Abel says with a nod, "You're suspended, effective immediately, two weeks without pay!" Carlton stops for a moment, turning slowly, menacingly, to glare at Abel. The smaller man holds his ground, but he is trembling all the same as he does so, and Abel knows it would be easy to make Abel piss himself it he wanted to. But he can weather two weeks without pay, there are plenty of side deals he has had going on for years now that pay more than this piddling job.

"You can't do that," he says quietly.

"I can," Abel growled, "And I am. Two weeks. Out of this office, and out of my face. Now get, the fuck, out."

He can squash this man without much effort, but he can also let the man have his moment, since it does not raise suspicion, nor does it allow anyone the chance to feel anything but what they're feeling now, satisfaction. Carlton has not made the effort to make friends in this place for a long time, and that's been on purpose. None of these mewling, pitiful wordsmiths know what it is really like to sacrifice for their career, nor do they understand what it means to give up just about everything to get their stories. They write their dead words with numb fingertips in an effort to shock and titillate their readers when in truth, they wouldn't know real news if it reached out and took a bite out of their asses.

"Fine" he says with a glacial tone, "But you will be missing me after two days, and be begging me to come back after two weeks. You know, and I know it."

"Get your ass out of here," Abel says, his eyes widening as he trembles a bit more. Many might think this is anger, that he is trying to restrain himself from striking a man that's nearly twice his size. But Carlton knows better. Abel is afraid, and more than that, he knows that Carlton is right.

He does not even say anything on his way out, especially since giving Abel this precious moment is still important. It will make his return all the sweeter when the little prick welcomes him back while stating that he is not begging. A smile creases his lips as his mind begins to design the moment as it will probably happen in the weeks to come. For the moment however, he has a priest that is in dire need of confession.

10:32 am

"The body count in this town is getting a little out of hand," Stanton said with a sigh, taking a seat across from Randall. Their shared desk was a strange mix of chaos and order that had been built in the short time that two detectives had been working together.

"And none of them appear to be connected by anything but a few minor points," Randall stated, poring through a stack of papers that were resting haphazardly in his inbox. "There's got to be a connection there, but I'll be damned if I'm seeing anything."

Stanton scoffed, "The last thing you need to do is start stepping on your toes your first year on this detail kid. Each case was assigned to different detectives."

"Any collaboration thus far?"

"When there is a link that's more than circumstantial then it might happen. But people around here have been a little touchy since the last round of budget cuts. Plus, you already know that most detectives do not want to let anyone steal their thunder."

Randall nodded, "I don't give a shit about thunder, I'm here to do a job and keep the populace from eating each other."

"Aren't we all kid."