Scripted in Blood

Chapter 30: Dead But Alive

"Come on, Cap!" This is a big deal for us," Oliver said as he pulled Monica, the captain of the Westwood police department, into the laboratory. He knew she wasn't in any way interested but he needed to make sure she did her job. This city couldn't afford to have another department shut down due to a lack of effort on their behalf.

Westwood was really becoming a dump these days. It was a place where you could murder someone and throw the dead body onto the side of the road. No one would care. No one would even falter when walking by. It only attracted the worst kind of people to migrate there. The police department probably played the second, if not the biggest role in sending it into this pathetic state.

Monica's dirty blonde hair hung down from her head, almost reaching her shoulders. She had some subtle highlights that shone through. Her hair was slowly thinning from her age and the stress of living in a city like Westwood.

Her black eyes looked into the distance, giving her an expression devoid of any emotion.

"They are both captain-level members of each of the gangs!" Oliver tried, practically pulling on her arm. He was getting more and more desperate to make the captain care about this.

Monica only shrugged.

"Oh wow. Two bloodthirsty gang members killed each other."

She took a long sip of her coffee, "I am so surprised."

Oliver grimaced as he watched the older woman drink. For all the time he knew her, Monica always got her coffee the exact same way. Black. No milk. No sugar. Just plain black coffee. Oliver had tried it that way once, years ago, and ended up throwing up before he even managed to force it down his throat.

He could not understand how the woman was able to down an entire cup of that stuff in one go, especially considering how hot she drank it. It seemed crazy to Oliver. But he guessed this fit the captain. Both were dark, bitter, and horrifying in large quantities.

He still didn't want to give up on her, though. He needed to figure out a way to once again pique the captain's interest in police work again or they would never get out of this horrible slump. He was confident that he could accomplish it.

He just needed the right opportunity.

As soon as the two walked into the laboratory, Oliver gasped and covered his face with his sleeve. The whole room was filled with the stench of rotten flesh. It smelled as if a bunch of zombies were locked in the room for months upon months.

The man started feeling nauseous and Monica was left with the job of holding him upright. Oliver's whole world swayed, and his face paled visibly. His feet practically gave out beneath him.

Monica only stared at the man while slowly giving up on helping him.

"Grow up, Oliver," she mumbled before stepping away, sending his body flying down the few steps behind him. Monica stood there and watched Oliver tumble down until he landed on his back, his arms sprawled out over the floor.

He threw up in his mouth, swallowing the contents back up, before listing his head up. Monica gently kicked his side and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Don't waste my time. Get this over with and show me what you wanted"

Oliver sighed and slowly stood up, his legs still wiggling from the fall. He just hoped they wouldn't give out from below him again. He knew he could lose Monica at any moment, and he didn't want to risk it.

He finally nodded towards the forensic scientist who was sitting down on a chair between the two dead bodies while in the midst of eating some Chinese takeout. His eyes widened when he took in the side. Oliver didn't understand how she could eat with that smell around, not to mention the fact there were two cut-open dead bodies right beside her.

Josh waved them over when she finally noticed them.

"Oh, hi! I can't believe the captain is here! You don't visit us down here anymore," She said, slurping her noodles like it was the most delicious dish in the world.

"What the fuck, Josh?" Oliver asked and the woman's eyes widened.

"Oh my god, I am so sorry," she exclaimed and held the takeout box towards them. "Where are my manners? Do you guys want some?"

Oliver facepalmed.

This was definitely not what he expected when he first decided to bring the captain down to the labs. He had hoped that they would find a very motivated worker trying to get to the bottom of this crime. What they found instead would give Monica the opposite impression.

As if she needed more excuses not to bother.

"Wasn't the most beautiful sight-" Josh told them as she finished her food. "The Armani captain had a bullet hole right in between his eyes, while the Chausse's head was completely bashed in. Lots more bullet holes as well."

She threw the takeout into a bin and fixed up her clothes, finally starting to look more professional.

"There wasn't much more I could do with them. Whoever killed the two wasn't messing around. The killer was definitely much shorter and weaker than our victim. That head of his? A final attempt to weaken him. Seems like they were successful."

She picked up the body of the Chausse executive, showing the back of his head to the two police officers.

"This is some brutal stuff."

She shook her head and dropped the man back onto the bed. Oliver stood up to attention. "Do you want me to look into this, Captain?" He asked as Monica rolled her eyes.

"Fine, whatever," she yawned and finished her cup of coffee.

"I have a haunch about the culprit," Oliver spoke up again, "I think it was the new Armani captain. Lilith Tumbler. The size and timing are too much of a coincidence."

"Sure," the captain mumbled, looking into her empty cup. "Is that all?"

Oliver nodded, his expression turning grim. After all the effort, he still hadn't managed to make Monica care about anything. He was a failure.

The two got ready to leave when Josh spoke up again.

"I'm curious," she stated and walked up to them again, forcing the two to stop in their tracks.

"I heard you arrested a strange individual recently, what's all that about?"

Oliver smiled at the question. That arrest had been his biggest accomplishment in a while. He didn't expect there to be anything quite this big anytime soon.

"We don't know much about him yet, but he seems to be some kind of terrorist. Shot up an entire restaurant in a crazy costume. He's currently under our protection at the hospital."

Josh's eyes widened. Her mouth opened to speak again when Monica suddenly jumped in.

"I'm leaving, there are more interesting things to do than this."

She walked out of the room without any other goodbye. Oliver sighed before waving to Josh and running after the captain. He needed to keep his eye on her.

He would hate to have to switch captains again.