Super Miserables

The Dysfunctional duo

Chapter 3
Within the week, Enjolras back out hunting. The trimulvate were out investigating a new case that Jehan gave them. They were in a city not far from Lebanon there was a suspicious death of a local politician. The trio approached the security guard who was standing a few feet away from the cops.
"FBI investigating the death of Robert Scotman," Combeferre introduced to the man.
"More of you guys? I guess Scotman was a government official or whatever."
"What can you tell us about Mayor Scotman? Did you know him well?" Enjolras asked getting a scof from the security guard.
"What can't I tell you? I work for him throughout his whole political rollercoaster. He's been in office for the past 15 year. He was elected mayor which was pretty good. I mean he helped the school systems a lot as well creating a lot of youth programs. By the time that re-elections came around, things were looking good. And then it hit a sharp turn.
He got accused of having an affair. Completely false but it still hurt his reputation. And then his wife got cancer and his kid was diagnosed with schizophrenia."
"Damn," Courfeyrac piped up. The security guard sighed longsufferingly.
"You're telling me. It was the same time too.  Sarah always had imaginary friends and whatnot but after Alice got diagnosed it started to spiral. Unfortunately the situation got worse. Then, when Alice was down to a week left, Robert left out on a trip. By the time he came back, Alice's cancer miraculously cured itself. No one really connected the dots, they mostly just marveled at the fact that Alice as alive. But, his daughter wasn't so trusting. She said that her father did something wrong to save Alice but Robert blamed it on schizophrenia and had her sent away. His relationship with her was mostly not existent after that."
"Well thank you for that. We will let you know if we find anything," Combeferre said with a nod as the trio left to investigate the crime scene. Courfeyrac began chatting to a witness whilst Combeferre talked to the cops. Enjolras examined an EMF meter that he had under his jacket. As he was scouring the room for hex bags, another man walked over to him.
"Glad to see you're conscious again Sleeping Beauty," The other "FBI agent" quipped. Enjolras vaguely recognized the man as the same one who saved him a few weeks ago. "Name's Grantaire." The man offered a hand to Enjolras who shook it.
"Enjolras. Are you investing the murder?"
"No, I'm here sight-seeing actually." Enjolras glared at him as Grantaire lit a cigarette. "My bet's a witch."
Enjolras rolled his eyes and went back to examining the room as Grantaire watched from the door. After a few minutes, Grantaire turned to leave when Enjolras called something out.
"You're wrong."
The solo hunter turned back with a smirk.
"What?"
"I said you're wrong," Enjolras reiterated as he straightened up. "It's not a witch, it's a demon deal."
"What makes you say that?" Grantaire challenged.
"Well first of all, the victim had bite marks indicating a hellhound. Second, there are no hex bag anywhere on the corpse or the room. Finally, the man died exactly ten years after his wife's cancer miraculously vanished." Grantaire slow clapping brought Enjolras back to the present.
"That was impressive, I must admit but you missed something." Enjolras furrowed his brow.
"What?"
Grantaire revealed a small hex bag from his pocket. "This was in Mr Mayor's suit."
"But it can't just be a coincidence. It's ten year to the day and this place reeks of sulfur."
"Well then, might I propose a team up?" Enjolras glared at him before sighing dejectedly.
"Fine. I'm going to visit Sarah Scotsman while the Combeferre and Courfeyrac go to the coroner's office. Want to come?"
"Why not?" As the duo head out, Enjolras swiped the cigarette from Grantaire mouth and dropped it into a puddle.
"Hey! What was that for?" Enjolras gave him a steely bitch face.
"My hunt, my rules. No smoking."

The duo showed up at Sarah Scotsman's house later that afternoon. As soon as Grantaire knocked on the door, a woman with a small child on her hip.
    "Can I help you?" She asked, looking irritating. Enjolras pulled out his fake FBI badge and showed it to the woman.
    "FBI ma'am. We have some questions," he said sharply. He and the woman glared at each other until Grantaire spoke up.
    "If you don't mind," he added. "We just need some more information to continue the investigation after your father's unfortunate death."
    The woman scoffed but let them in anyway. She sent the little boy upstairs after kissing the top of his head. She then gestured for the two hunters to take a seat on the couch.
    "What do you want to know?" She sighed.
    "We wanted to know more about your father's trip while your mother was sick," Grantaire explained. "I know that this must be hard to talk about but-"
    "He made a deal with the devil," she said simply. The two men stared at her until she explained.
    "He told me that he sold his soul for my mother and that the demon told him that I was dangerous. So my father sent me to a place worse than hell until I was so damaged I was broken."
    "I'm so sorry, Ms. Scotsman. That must have been incredibly hard. I can imagine-"
    "It's Ms. Vaudale, my wife's name and, no; You really can't. I was ten and my father sent me away to a girls school and into a conversion therapy program. I didn't even know my mother survived until I turned 18 and got myself the hell out of there. It was literaly torture for eight years of my life. I still can't..." she trailed off and took time to calm herself. Enjolras gave her an apologetic look.
    "I'm sorry ma'am. We didn't mean to say anything to trigger any unwanted memories," he apologized.
    "I think it's time for you to leave," She said. The two men got up and left the way they came in a few minutes earlier. Enjolras stopped as Sarah Vaudale came behind him.
    "I'm very sorry about what happened to you. I can't say I know exactly what you went through but I have dealt with something like that in the past. My parents sent me to a conversion camp for a few months when I was young. I was fortunate enough to get away from them but I know many people aren't as fortunate. Is there any other information about your father that might be useful?" He asked gently, so that his partner couldn't hear. Grantaire looked back when Enjolras wasn't behind him. Enjolras held his breath as he waited for a response. Sarah sighed and nodded.
    "He had two secrets that only I knew. He had a secret lover where he went to visit that week and my mother was medically dead for two days before her recovery," she admitted. "My father paid them off to sweep it under the rug. I hope that helps."
    "Thank you ma'am. We will keep you updated." Enjolras handed her a card with a grateful smile. Sarah nodded and closed the door. Enjolras met Grantaire at the car and the pair started down the road.
    "So how did you get that lead out of her?" Grantaire asked, leaning back in the passenger seat. He saw Enjolras tensed and grip the wheel tighter.
    "I sympathized with her. I told her a bit about my messed up childhood," he explained with an air of sadness. Grantaire waited for him to elaborate but Enjolras didn't.
    "Okay, I'll bite, what happened?" Grantaire sighed.
    "Why would I tell you? With all due respect, I barely know you."
    "Well I did save your life," Grantaire retaliated.
    "So has an inflatable duck."
    "Okay that's a story for another day but what is the dramatic childhood trauma, first."
    "I'm sure you don't want to hear this," Enjolras said with a small nervous laugh.
    "C'mon Apollo, let's hear it. Lose your cat when you were a kid? You told it to a stranger once today already."
    "Fine, you want to hear it." Enjolras tightened his grip on the wheel and jerked it to the left down the turn.
    "My parents were wealthy, abusive, and homophobic so when the one time I trusted them and tried coming out, I spent the summer between eighth grade and highschool in a coversion camp. After I came back, Combeferre's parents called social services and I ended up moving in with him. Is that what you wanted to hear?" Grantaire stayed silent, feeling like an asshole.
    "I'm sorry, Apollo," he said quietly. Enjolras quickly wiped the tears from his eyes. An awkward silence filled the car until they pulled into the motel where Enjolras was staying.
    "Are you here, too?" Enjolras asked. Grantaire shrugged.
    "Haven't really gotten that far in the hunt yet."
    "You can stay with me if you want," Enjolras offered getting out of the car. Grantaire was taken aback and climbed out of the car as well.
    "Really? Aren't you angry at me?" He asked suspiciously.
    "No, you're reaction was understandable. It's just a mess of bad memories," Enjolras explained. "You've been really helpful and we need to work on the case anyway."
    "Well, I'm not one to turn down a free room," Grantaire said shrugging. He grabbed his hunting bag and followed Enjolras inside. The motel room was covered with various papers and news clippings.
    "Damn Enjy, you need to keep a cleaner room," Grantaire smirked.
    "It's Enjolras and do you want the room or not?"
    "Chill out Enjolras. I'm kidding," Grantaire said, dropping his bag down on one of the beds. "Do you want to go out tonight?"
    "What?!" Enjolras whipped his head around to see Grantaire smirking at the flustered expression on the blonde.
    "To investigate the mistress. I was able to get her number from Robert's aide and set up a meeting. Lucky for us, she's a couples therapist who likes to start meeting in bars." Enjolras took a minute to process the news.
    "Wait what?"

    Two hours later, Enjolras was in an outfit of Courfeyrac's choosing; a black v-neck, ripped black jeans, his signature red leather jacket, and black combat boots. He squirmed self consciously as he waited for Grantaire at the bar. When the other hunter showed up, Enjolras felt his cheeks turn pink. Grantaire was in a dark green button up with quite a few undone buttons, black jeans, aviator glasses, and black biker boots.
    "Hey Apollo, you look good," Grantaire commented, looking the hunter up and down. Enjolras blushed a bit under the look.
    "Thank you. So do you. Where's the woman we're meeting?" he said quickly, hoping the lighting would hide his rose colored face.
    "Thanks Apollo. She should be here somewhere... Ah, there she is!" He waved at a woman sitting not too far away in a booth. Grantaire threw his arm around Enjolras' shoulder and led him over to the booth.
    "Ah Grantaire! Wonderful to see you again," She greeted, hugging him. '    "Great to see you too, Ann. This is my fiance, Enjolras," Grantaire introduced. Enjolras kicked him under the table but shook Ann's hand.
    "Well, I hope I can help you guys. Let's get something to eat than we can head over to my office," she suggested.
    "I must admit your methods are slightly unorthodox but then again, I'm don't always understand these things," Enjolras commented. Ann smiled at him.
    "You have a point. I don't typically do this, but Grantaire asked to meet here first," she explained. A moment of realization dawned on Enjolras and he kicked Grantaire again.  This time Grantaire wrapped his arm around Enjolras' waist and pulled him closer as a retaliation. The group ate some appetizers and then decided that the couple would go see Ann the next day.
    When they got back to the motel, Grantaire burst out laughing.
    "Oh my god, that was amazing!" He cackled, pulling off his glasses.
    "You're a jackass," Enjolras grumbled, pulling off his jacket.
    "I can't believe that worked! A therapist that likes to met at bars!"
    "You could have just said you knew her," Enjolras huffed.
    "She's a friend of a friend," Grantaire shrugged. "She only agreed to meet me with my fiance."
    "I hate you," Enjolras groaned and stormed off towards the bathroom. Grantaire caught him by wrapping an arm around his waist and spinning him around, a few inches from his face.
    "That's why we need couple's therapy, love," he purred mockingly causing Enjolras to blush. Grantaire burst out laughing again and let Enjolras go. The latter hurried into the bathroom to change into his pyjamas. When he came back out, Grantaire picked up his laughing.
    "Oh my god E! You are killing me tonight!" Grantaire laughed. Enjolras looked down at his clothes and glared at Grantaire.
    "What? It's my pair of Star Wars pants and a Wicked shirt," Enjolras asked.
    "Yeah, Enjy. Star Wars and Wicked! I would never have guessed that you were a theater kid," he mocked. Enjolras rolled his eyes and climbed into his bed.
    "Good night, Grantaire," he huffed again.
    "Night Apollo," Grantaire said turning off the lights.