The Monster in the Sky. Klance AU

Chapter 24: The Difference Between Resilience and Insanity

Bentley left it around a week before he decided to speak to Kogane again. He needed some time to collect his erratic thoughts after the setback of the drawings being the result of a dumb teenage crush and Voltron being proved to be real. It turned the whole case upside down and Bentley had a serious case of a head rush.

If they were really in space all that time, the disappearance of Garret, Holt, McClain and Kogane was solved. There wasn't anything suspicious to delve into.

However, a man was still missing and presumed dead. A man who had a son that was probably seeking answers and closure. All Bentley wanted to do was to give the son his answers. That was it.

"You should give up," Robin pointed out one day as Bentley was stuck doing yet another few hours overtime. It seemed like he lived in the office at that point which wasn't the most efficient thing in the world, considering his partner and baby at home. "That case is dead, face it. There's nothing more to it."

"But there is! I can feel it... I know there's more to it..." Bentley scrunched his hands into fists and hit them against his forehead. It was harshly enough to leave a serious of red marks, ranging in their brightness. Think. Think. Think. He had spent years training to be the best police officer he could be so there wasn't a chance he was giving up on the case. That just wasn't the spirit of a good, worthy police officer.

"This case is tearing you apart and don't think we haven't noticed. You barely leave the office these days because you keep reading your notes over and over again. Aren't they ingrained in your brain yet?"

"Once I solve it, it will all be worth it."

Robin laid a hand on her colleague's shoulder. She sent him a soft look full of sympathy, consisting of wide eyes and raised eyebrows. "It sounds bizarre but those kids really went up into space. That's why they were missing for an entire year."

"Yeah but what about Henry Griffin? They have to be linked... we found- we found the knife outside Kogane's shack."

"Maybe someone planted it."

Bentley scrunched his face up and lightly hit his clenched fist against the table. "I don't know. Maybe. That just seems... wrong. I'm sure Kogane did it."

"Look," Robin perched on the edge of Bentley's desk so she was able to make eye contact with her colleague. "With the evidence you've got, you can't make an arrest. I don't think you're going to find any more evidence since you've cleared Kogane's shack out and don't have a clue as to where to look next. I think you should just give up now."

"But I can't give up: I need to know," Fingers snaking up into his hair, Bentley began to pull at it. Beneath the desk, his legs were bouncing up and down in an obsessive kind of determination. "We're missing something. What though?"

"This isn't healthy. We get that you love your job and you're determined or whatever but you need to know when to stop."

"I'm resilient."

"There's resilient and then there's insane."

"I'm fine, Robin. Just let me do this. I'm going to see Kogane tonight and you can't stop me."

"Alright but, if you don't get any more leads tonight, you give up, okay?"

Bentley jolted up out of his chair and began to pull his coat over his shoulders. His face was still scrunched up, deep in thought, so it was almost instinct as he murmured, "Fine."

-

"Ah, Kogane, nice to see you again." Bentley began as he walked into Kogane's dorm. He sat in the same place as he had done before, crossing his legs and flicking his notebook open to make notes. Half of the book was already filled with his scrawl, useless notes that Bentley had only made in case there was even a tiny bit of relevance in them. About a quarter of the book was full of theories about Kogane's drawings that had been rendered a massive waste of time.