THROUGH TIME & SPACE ★ FIVE HARGREEVES X READER

CH. XV

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RUN BOY RUN

"i'm not complaining that its raining,
i'm just saying that i'd like it a lot"

2019

THE PEOPLE OF NEW YORK were not surprised to have another shooting in the city. Why they were so interested, however, was how it happened.

Call dispatch. We're going to need two more units.

As rain drizzled from the dark early-morning sky, giving off a cold and serene vibe, people crowded around in a muffled chatter of voices just outside the town doughnut shop to have a peek at what was going on inside.

Coming onto South Side right now...

A small shadow darted across the street, almost scraping the edge of a car as she struggled to slow before it came in contact with the figure. Muttering an inaudible, 'sorry' to the driver, it moved on to squeeze past the swarm of people whispering behind the lines of yellow and black tape strung from pole to pole.

An officer held up a hand when she attempted to cross over, only to have her flick out a badge, one — a very good friend, had given to her — in case she needed to get on-site, that glimmered as the neon lights of the doughnut shop's overhead lights shone and reflected back at the man.

He gave out a doubtful grunt as he didn't believe a child would hold a badge, but the girl sure as hell looked convincing. Instead of letting her go, he narrowed his eyes and said, "your mom or dad work 'ere or something? If not, you better give me that." He tried to reach for the badge but she was quick to retract her hand from him.

"Sorry," the girl scowled back at him while still keeping her head low. "You're definitely not qualified enough to hold one." She nodded at his green security vest. Close enough to be part of the team but never included in the real thing. The man was stunned to hear the girl snap back at him, barely even trying to stop her as she bumped, rather rudely, into his shoulder as she walked past and bent under the tapes to get in.

On the inside of the diner, everything was a mess. It didn't help the case that there wasn't much evidence to work with. Just a couple fingerprints and a few splatters of blood, but no direct leads.

"This is a once in a blue moon type of situation, I'd say." A woman, or more specifically, Detective Patch, said as she crouched down to take a closer look at the bodies that lay lifelessly on the ground. To an average person, it was a gruesome sight, but to her, it was just another case. Another job to get over with. She had witnessed so much filth and crime on the streets that this wasn't even close to the worst she'd seen.

"I'm inclined to agree." Another detective shrugged from beside her, also feeling a little confused by how the kills were orchestrated.

"Same gun on every vic, all in fours... All the casings are .223s..." Patch muttered to herself before looking up at her colleague. "Know what I think..? I think these idiots all shot each other." She said confidently, walking back to the corner of the room, taking cautious steps so as not to mess up any of the evidence tags on the ground. A shoeprint here, a bloody knife there...

"And stabbed," The man piped in while raising a finger. "One in the throat, one in the eye, and... this guy got his neck snapped. All quick and efficient kills." The two of them squatted over beside one of the bodies.