street signs | a zodiac story

x | upward over the mountain

chapter 10, upward over the mountain

"Upon the sand, upon the bay!" Gemini began

"There is a quick and easy way, you say," Libra continued

"Before you illustrate," Aquarius sang

"I'm not the man you think I am," they chanted in unison, "OH I'm not the man you think I am"

They continued listening to the Smiths, the new and hip band of 1984, it would really be a shame if the lead singer turned out to be a racist. 

The song came to an end as the trio realized they had been singing loudly in the driveway of a literal hitman, they all thought the same thing and exchanged awkward glances before bursting out laughing and walking up the pathway to the William's door.
The path was long, and Gemini was adjusting his tie, and glancing down at the outfit that they had taken from the police station. 
"Oscar Churley," he read aloud, "cool name I guess,"
"Yeah," Aquarius smiled, "suits you."
"Thanks big Q," he giggled before  turning to Libra who was looking down at her feet, 
"Thinking about something?"
"I'm willing to trust you again," Gemini bit his lip, "don't make me regret that,"
Libra and Gemini exchanged smiles, before Gemini pounded on the door loudly
"I've been waiting to do this," he smiled before shouting, "POLICE OPEN UP!"

-

"Listen," Will scowled, "I've had millions of you police scum knock on my door and try to nail me for crimes, and guess what? You're never going to get me. I have an economy running on my own and if I get thrown in prison, you're going to have riots on the streets and riots in your own precinct, you hear me?  They will take you from your own homes and lynch you for-"

"Listen Cook," Aquarius hissed, "we're not from the police,"
She pulled down her sleeve showing her Berlusconi tattoo, fear immediately laced his demeanour, cause Aquarius to smirk.
"So," Aquarius continued, "are you going to continue to threaten us or are we going to talk?"

"I'm not getting into mafia shit," he spat
"little late for that don't you think?" Gemini retorted
"Okay," Cook sighed, "what did I do now?"
"We have reason to believe you killed porter hill," Aquarius deadpanned, "anything to add to that?"
"Was I his biggest fan?" Cook responded innocently, "Certainly not, but I'm a man of  morals- or better of exploitation, and I would never kill someone unless paid to,"
"So were you paid?"
"No," Cook responded, slightly easing into the conversation, "I can show you my records too if you really need them, I have a document of all of the payments that I receive,"
"That would be expected, yes," Libra's tone was entitled, but it got the message across

Cook slightly gestured to the couches, inviting the trio to have a seat, before leaving to grab the book in question. The place was nice for a well known assassin, definitely comfortable. The walls were a soft taupe brown with a carpeted floor, and the furniture had a similar tanned pigment. The blonde man returned, dropping his book on the coffee table with a loud front in front of  the 'detectives'. 

"I get why you would suspect me," Cook lit a cigarette, "I have the same gun and I live near the building but I can convince you I didn't do it."
"Go ahead," Aquarius prompted, the intensity of the monotony in her voice was chilling
"I have almost every handheld gun that isn't limited edition or created for some specific purpose- it's for the job, you guys would understand better than most," the three nodded their heads without synchronization, "what was used was a a 38 caliber six shot revolver if I'm not mistaken, and I would use something more sophisticated for a crime so important to me, not only that but I might have a  little idea based on  that fact on who the killer could be,"
The air signs exchanged glances with eachother and the man, waiting for him to tell them.
"Oh yeah right," Cook snapped out of what seemed to be a little trance, "I'm only telling you this because if they can't pin it on you guys they're going to pin it on me, but the police doesn't have enough money to fund guns for their subordinates if you catch my drift,"
"Yeah,  I do," Gemini retorted, "I would believe you if there weren't at least 3 other guns out there, y'know, ever?"
"Right well," Cook used a hand gesture to further his point, "38 calibers are some of the best guns- for the best price, and I know the majority of the police force has them, I would look into the 93rd precinct."
"Thank you, do you mind if we ask you some questions just as a formality?" Libra asked
"I understand completely," Cook smiled
"Where were you on the 9th of September at around 2am-3am?"
"I was carrying out a hit on a man who went by the name of Louis Graham, my binder previously provided should attest to that," Cook pointed to the profile, the check receipt and the request all taped nicely in his binder, "if you guys were the police this would've gone significantly worse,"
"I would say this doesn't rule out assassination, but based on your career I would say it does," Libra giggled a little
"Is that all?"
"Yeah, thank you for your time," Aquarius smiled warmly, "I'm happy we actually got information out of this and  we will for sure investigate the 93rd precinct,"
"Happy to help," Cook responded, "I hope to have business with you in the future, I have a lot of respect for you guys"
He shook their hands as they saw themselves out, loading into the car happy with how their investigation  played out.

-

"I'm serious, you could get in a lot of trouble for this," The man's pleading eyes begged with his superior

"No, we won't," The taller man responded, "We have the interest of every authoritative position behind us, we've already gotten away with it," 

-

wow! i published a chapter after how many months of dormancy? sorry to keep you guys waiting lol. its officially here though, next chapter is another plot/filler chapter so it's gonna be hard to write but i will power through for you guys. thank you for all of your support as readers, it means the world to me <33

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