Mercy [Buzzfeed Unsolved]

9. A Look Into The Psychological Affects Of An Image

A/N: Art for the fic is by @/ivegotnoromeo on tumblr, please go support her!!!

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It was only Tuesday morning, and everyone was already visibly exhausted from yesterday's events. Hell, they had been anxious the day before, but the fire really exceeded any expectations citizens of Mercy had of Revelations. It left them with an apprehensive feeling like no other: raw terror.

Shane almost found it amusing that he was the only one in the office that had received an extra little surprise on top of everything else last night. His phone burned a hole in his pocket simply from the knowledge of what was stored at the end of his camera roll. Instead of being able to work properly, his concentration flitted between person to person, wondering who on earth he could tell about it - if anyone.

Adam was surprisingly calm throughout the entire ordeal. Even now, it would be nearly impossible to tell that anything had happened by his face alone, save for the occasional fidget of his pen or the bite of his lip. Andrew hadn't even made it to the office that morning (as he was most likely getting treatment for his burns), but Steven had rushed in late with a caffeine high. That being said, Steven actually went and sat himself at his desk and started working, so even if Shane would talk to him, it wouldn't be right away.

There was also Ryan that of whom Shane could talk to. His demeanor was comforting and familiar to Shane, despite having only known him for a week. God, they had only met two Sundays ago now. With everything that had happened, it felt like years had gone by. Perhaps he was still enough of a stranger to discuss the mirror incident with without any repercussions. Shane had to shake himself out of his thoughts as he realized Ryan himself was approaching him.

"Bennett's gotten another call," he told him, speaking quietly. "He wants us to be on it. He thinks it has to do with the case."

Shane sighed, rubbing his forehead tiredly as he leaned on his desk. "Already? What is it this time?"

"It's nothing as bad as last time," Ryan assured before hesitating slightly. "You... you heard about the robbery last night, right?"

"Yeah... just a bit though." Because of all the commotion the day before, there had been a robbery in a warehouse that stored toxic chemicals that had gone relatively under the radar of the police force. It wasn't too concerning to them at the moment compared to the fire, but they had managed to collect video evidence from security cameras as the incident was going on. Shane was currently pulling up the clips from the shared folder in the computer system. "Is it connected?"

Ryan nodded. "He's been murdered."

Shane blinked, completely taken aback by the statement. A grainy but surprisingly clear image of a man infiltrating a warehouse looped on screen. Shane could just barely pick out enough features from the screen to recognize him.

"Him?" he gaped, pointing to the man, who had almost kicked down the door to get in.

"Yes, him," Ryan confirmed patiently.

"Why would they murder someone on their side?" Shane muttered under his breath. He switched videos, now watching the robber taking back... something. Whatever it was, there was a lot of it. Enough for a few trips - the rest of the tapes had that confirmed.

"No idea. That's probably why Bennett wants us to go check it out."

"Is he coming with us?"

"Yes. I believe he's already waiting in the car for us. Just one out in front."

"Perfect. After you, shortcakes." Shane stood up and gestured for Ryan to go ahead of him, who responded with a scoff and a roll of his eyes. He made sure to close everything on his computer and lock it before following him out of the office.