Sequel: Engulfed ›
Status: Completed!
Entanglement
005.
“What the Hell makes you think I knew anything about it?” Dante snapped at the police chief. “Do I look like a fortune-teller to you?” He paused to rub his temple. “And can somebody please get me a fucking aspirin? My head is fucking killing me.”
“I didn’t know anything about it,” the dark-haired girl from the station added hotly.
“Just before the explosion, the two of you headed for the fire alarm,” the policeman, Dante was pretty sure he’d heard the uniformed officer call him Chief Lawson, said.
“That was an accident,” the girl said quickly. “I didn’t mean to pull the fire alarm.”
“I was just following her,” Dante protested.
“Then do you care to explain to me how you both got out of the building uninjured?”
“I’m a Weredragon,” Dante said, rolling his eyes. “Fire can’t hurt me.”
“And you, Miss Doyle? Are you fire-resistant as well?”
“Azlynn,” the girl said stiffly. “And I’m human.” Dante felt her shift uncomfortably beside him on the couch as she said it. “I just…was lucky.”
“Uh huh,” Chief Lawson said slowly. “I see.”
“Well damn, you’re just full of surprises,” Dante quipped, shooting her a sarcastic glance.
“More than you’ll ever know, asshat,” Azlynn sniped. She glared at him, then scooched farther away, planting herself right in the middle of her couch cushion.
“All bullshit aside, I’m fine, she’s fine, and you’re fine. Why are we all still sitting here? If you really think we had something to do with this, then why did you invite us into your house?”
“You misunderstand me,” Lawson said. “I didn’t bring you here because I think you were co-conspirators in the bombing. I brought you here because clearly, the two of you have good instincts. And you helped people out of the building, Mr. DeMarco; I saw it myself.”
Dante squirmed. “Yeah, well, don’t tell anyone. I have an image to uphold.”
“Good instincts and a willingness to help others are the trademarks of good police work,” Lawson went on, ignoring him. “And your Weredragon powers could prove useful, DeMarco. And you owe a debt to society as it is.”
Dante sat up with a start. “I owe a debt to society? How about the debt that society owes me?” Dante rose to his feet and stalked swiftly across the room, yanking open the front door and walking out. He stood on the porch for a moment, mind racing. Why should I help the police? he thought. They’ve never been there when I needed them. If I go back in there, he’ll feed me the It’s the Right Thing To Do speech and I really don’t want to hear that right now. I just wanna go home, pass out, and wait for this whole thing to blow over. Aside form my presence during the explosion, this has nothing to do with me. Doesn’t matter how hard they work on it, or how hard I work on it, those doughnut-chasing truffle sniffers will never figure all this out. It’s hopeless. Dante ran his fingers through his hair, groaning in frustration. “Fuck it.”
He turned and pushed open the door, striding back inside.
“Oh, what’s this? Do you have a conscience after all, DeMarco? Or did you just want to hit on our receptionist again?”
Dante glared at the chief. “All right, before you start feeding me a bunch of crap about “it’s the right thing to do” and “I owe society so much,” I just want to make it clear that I have one condition if I do this.”
“I’m not giving you my number,” Azlynn said dryly.
“I’ll check back with you on that later.”
“So what do you want, DeMarco?” Lawson asked warily.
“You’re supposed to be some badass detective, right?”
“Before I was made chief, yes.”
“Double homicide, 2002, south San Jose. One male, one female, both roughly thirty-five to forty. Maybe you’ve heard about it? It was the first murder committed by the True Form Society.”
“What about it? What do you want me to do?” Lawson asked flatly.
“I want you to do your fucking job,” Dante replied, voice hard. “The case was never solved; the murderers never brought to justice. I want you to find the motherfuckers who did it. And when you do, you bring them to me.”
“DeMarco, that would make me an accessory to murder.”
“Then I guess you don’t really need my help that bad, do you? I’m leaving.” Dante turned to go.
“Are you really that cold?” Azlynn asked quietly. Her voice made Dante pause. He turned to stare at her. “People died today, and they’re going to keep dying. Just like whoever was killed in 2002. You could help stop it, and you won’t because you have issues with the police?"
“Look, it’s not like that,” Dante said.
“Then what is it like? Do you just not care?” Azlynn crossed her arms and pursed her lips.
“I don’t know….whether I care or not is beside the point. I have somewhere I gotta be tomorrow…I’m going.”
“That’s what you said the first time you left,” she pointed out mockingly. “But you came back.”
“So?”
“So, obviously, there is at least a part of you that does care. Therefore, if you walk out that door, you’ll come right back in. You’re going to agree to help the chief. You know you will. Why don’t you just quit with the song and dance and admit it already.”
Dante opened his mouth and then closed it a few times, but no good retort came to him. He heaved a long sigh. “Son of a bitch.”
“So I take that as a yes, DeMarco?” Lawson said, raising en eyebrow.
“I still want the murder case looked into,” Dante said. “I want the bastard who did it. But…yeah, fine. Fuck it, I’m in.”
“Excellent,” Lawson said, while Azlynn smirked.
“So are we free to go now?” Dante grumbled.
“Here’s my card; contact me tomorrow so I can go over a few things with you.” Dante snatched the piece of paper out of the chief’s hand and made for the door, Azlynn on his heels. He stopped short, causing her to slam into his back with an “oomph!”
“Uh, chief? Is there any way I can get my car back?”
“The impound fees are approximately five hundred dollars.” Lawson looked smug and Dante wanted to tear his face off.
“Son of a-”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Sergeant Miller interrupted. “You had the Charger, right?”
“Yes, the Charger. And if your boys did any Bo and Luke Duke stunts, I will know.” Dante yanked open the door and strode out, digging in his pocket for his phone to call Kyle and Brian to come pick him up.
“Interesting new recruits, Will,” he heard the redhead chuckle from inside.
“Oh, I’m glad you like them, Charlotte,” Lawson replied. “Because you’re going to be working with them.”
“I didn’t know anything about it,” the dark-haired girl from the station added hotly.
“Just before the explosion, the two of you headed for the fire alarm,” the policeman, Dante was pretty sure he’d heard the uniformed officer call him Chief Lawson, said.
“That was an accident,” the girl said quickly. “I didn’t mean to pull the fire alarm.”
“I was just following her,” Dante protested.
“Then do you care to explain to me how you both got out of the building uninjured?”
“I’m a Weredragon,” Dante said, rolling his eyes. “Fire can’t hurt me.”
“And you, Miss Doyle? Are you fire-resistant as well?”
“Azlynn,” the girl said stiffly. “And I’m human.” Dante felt her shift uncomfortably beside him on the couch as she said it. “I just…was lucky.”
“Uh huh,” Chief Lawson said slowly. “I see.”
“Well damn, you’re just full of surprises,” Dante quipped, shooting her a sarcastic glance.
“More than you’ll ever know, asshat,” Azlynn sniped. She glared at him, then scooched farther away, planting herself right in the middle of her couch cushion.
“All bullshit aside, I’m fine, she’s fine, and you’re fine. Why are we all still sitting here? If you really think we had something to do with this, then why did you invite us into your house?”
“You misunderstand me,” Lawson said. “I didn’t bring you here because I think you were co-conspirators in the bombing. I brought you here because clearly, the two of you have good instincts. And you helped people out of the building, Mr. DeMarco; I saw it myself.”
Dante squirmed. “Yeah, well, don’t tell anyone. I have an image to uphold.”
“Good instincts and a willingness to help others are the trademarks of good police work,” Lawson went on, ignoring him. “And your Weredragon powers could prove useful, DeMarco. And you owe a debt to society as it is.”
Dante sat up with a start. “I owe a debt to society? How about the debt that society owes me?” Dante rose to his feet and stalked swiftly across the room, yanking open the front door and walking out. He stood on the porch for a moment, mind racing. Why should I help the police? he thought. They’ve never been there when I needed them. If I go back in there, he’ll feed me the It’s the Right Thing To Do speech and I really don’t want to hear that right now. I just wanna go home, pass out, and wait for this whole thing to blow over. Aside form my presence during the explosion, this has nothing to do with me. Doesn’t matter how hard they work on it, or how hard I work on it, those doughnut-chasing truffle sniffers will never figure all this out. It’s hopeless. Dante ran his fingers through his hair, groaning in frustration. “Fuck it.”
He turned and pushed open the door, striding back inside.
“Oh, what’s this? Do you have a conscience after all, DeMarco? Or did you just want to hit on our receptionist again?”
Dante glared at the chief. “All right, before you start feeding me a bunch of crap about “it’s the right thing to do” and “I owe society so much,” I just want to make it clear that I have one condition if I do this.”
“I’m not giving you my number,” Azlynn said dryly.
“I’ll check back with you on that later.”
“So what do you want, DeMarco?” Lawson asked warily.
“You’re supposed to be some badass detective, right?”
“Before I was made chief, yes.”
“Double homicide, 2002, south San Jose. One male, one female, both roughly thirty-five to forty. Maybe you’ve heard about it? It was the first murder committed by the True Form Society.”
“What about it? What do you want me to do?” Lawson asked flatly.
“I want you to do your fucking job,” Dante replied, voice hard. “The case was never solved; the murderers never brought to justice. I want you to find the motherfuckers who did it. And when you do, you bring them to me.”
“DeMarco, that would make me an accessory to murder.”
“Then I guess you don’t really need my help that bad, do you? I’m leaving.” Dante turned to go.
“Are you really that cold?” Azlynn asked quietly. Her voice made Dante pause. He turned to stare at her. “People died today, and they’re going to keep dying. Just like whoever was killed in 2002. You could help stop it, and you won’t because you have issues with the police?"
“Look, it’s not like that,” Dante said.
“Then what is it like? Do you just not care?” Azlynn crossed her arms and pursed her lips.
“I don’t know….whether I care or not is beside the point. I have somewhere I gotta be tomorrow…I’m going.”
“That’s what you said the first time you left,” she pointed out mockingly. “But you came back.”
“So?”
“So, obviously, there is at least a part of you that does care. Therefore, if you walk out that door, you’ll come right back in. You’re going to agree to help the chief. You know you will. Why don’t you just quit with the song and dance and admit it already.”
Dante opened his mouth and then closed it a few times, but no good retort came to him. He heaved a long sigh. “Son of a bitch.”
“So I take that as a yes, DeMarco?” Lawson said, raising en eyebrow.
“I still want the murder case looked into,” Dante said. “I want the bastard who did it. But…yeah, fine. Fuck it, I’m in.”
“Excellent,” Lawson said, while Azlynn smirked.
“So are we free to go now?” Dante grumbled.
“Here’s my card; contact me tomorrow so I can go over a few things with you.” Dante snatched the piece of paper out of the chief’s hand and made for the door, Azlynn on his heels. He stopped short, causing her to slam into his back with an “oomph!”
“Uh, chief? Is there any way I can get my car back?”
“The impound fees are approximately five hundred dollars.” Lawson looked smug and Dante wanted to tear his face off.
“Son of a-”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Sergeant Miller interrupted. “You had the Charger, right?”
“Yes, the Charger. And if your boys did any Bo and Luke Duke stunts, I will know.” Dante yanked open the door and strode out, digging in his pocket for his phone to call Kyle and Brian to come pick him up.
“Interesting new recruits, Will,” he heard the redhead chuckle from inside.
“Oh, I’m glad you like them, Charlotte,” Lawson replied. “Because you’re going to be working with them.”