Prologue
An enchanted tray floated by swaying jauntily through the air delivering food and collecting empty bowls and glasses, its pace was rhythmic as though a sassy waiter in a hurry was rushing from one table to the next. Kram watched it as he leaned back tilting his stool onto two legs. He lifted his chin away from the heat of the hot pot on the table, taking a swig of his beer, the ice brushing his lips, and clinking against his glass. He had long since zoned out of the conversation happening around him. Shifting his concentration from the tray he focused instead on his magic, trying to see how little he could use and still get the effect he wanted. He visualized it as a silver stream, his goal was to get the stream down to a thread as fine as spiders' silk without letting it break. If it broke, he and the stool would fall.
"Kram! Kram! I'm talking to you!" A man's voice cut in from his left.
"What did you say?" Kram said, looking at detective Love his expression bewildered like a lost puppy.
Love shook his head in mock annoyance, before kicking his foot into Kram's knee. It was enough to sever the connection of the small stream of gravity magic Kram had been discreetly using to keep himself upright. Losing his balance, his stool flopped down on all four legs splashing beer out of his glass and onto his hand, he gasped and sputtered the sip he held in his mouth now in his nose and throat. The other guys burst into laughter. Love and Kram were like brothers always messing with each other, but they made a good team. They joined the DSI together after they solved the famous purple lotus theft case, while on the Bangkok police force, it was one of the earliest cases involving magic.
"I asked, oh genius detective, if you had any other ideas about who might have killed our victim, Aim because the boyfriend has an air-tight alibi," said Love. Krams demeanor changed immediately as he bristled.
"No, I don't have any other Ideas because I'm sure he did it! I just don't know how he did it." Said Kram slamming his glass on the table in frustration slopping more beer on his already wet hands. The others jumped at the sudden noise. Kram smiled sheepishly in apology, changing his tone before he continued.
"Don't worry I'm confident we will figure it out. That's why Noh picked us, right? We are the best, like Thailand's own avengers" Kram said, raising his beer for a toast with the others. Love laughed.
"Does that make you Iron man?" he asked.
"No, Tan is an engineer and not afraid to break the rules; he also builds our gadgets plus he can melt stuff and shoot fire out of his eyes or whatever, so clearly he's Iron man." Kram raised his beer to Tan, who nodded as though he were taking a bow on stage, before clinking his glass with Kram's.
"I hate to disappoint you, but it doesn't shoot from my eyes so far." Tan said before pointing at Noh.
"That makes you Nick Furry.
"Nick Fury or Agent Colson?" Love said, narrowing his eyes as though scrutinizing Noh.
"Mm, definitely Nick Fury." Tan said around an ice cube clenched in his teeth. "He assembled us, he cusses too much, basically invincible and he's old." Tan crunched the ice as he ducked away from Noh's punch. The others laughed.
Noh was the oldest member of the team and the leader; everyone trusted his judgment. He was tall and lean in his mid-thirties with black chin-length hair, a goatee, and a leather jacket. You'd never peg him for a cop. He often let the younger members take the lead in questioning or testing theories, it was his way of teaching.
"If you cut me, do I not bleed?" Asked Noh a paraphrasing Shakespeare before smirking.
"Fine if I'm Nick Fury who is Xavier." Asked Noh.
Everyone turned to look at Xavier. He was the second newest member of the team, tall and good-looking, he stood out in any crowd. Half American, half Thai, a talented investigator he had been hired for his linguistic skills both mundane and magical. His ability to use and decipher magic texts and his knowledge of psychology proved useful at every turn.
"That's easy, he has to be Captain America. " said Kram nonchalantly.
The whole table erupted into laughter. Xavier nodded and flipped off Kram.
"Wow! Just because I'm half American?" he asked, emphasizing the half with a smirk.
"No, not just because you are American. It's because you are gay, you don't get our jokes and you're American" Said Kram.
"I get your jokes. You just aren't funny and what does being gay have to do with anything? You're gay too!" Shot back Xavier laughing.
"True, but for me, it isn't a superpower," Kram replied.
"Wait, wait does that make you Super Gay?" Chimed in Love. Who quickly had to dodge a smack to the back of his head from both Kram and Xavier.
"Ok, Ok I'll be Captain America," said Xavier "but who is Love?"
"Vision." said Tan and Kram at the same time.
"He can find you anything, he's full of useless information, is surprisingly deep, but awkward at social gatherings. Even his magic is tech based as long as he has a connection" Tan and Kram took turns listing Love's attributes.
"That just leaves you then." Said, Love.
They all looked at Kram.
"Me? I'm obviously Dr. Strange. Mysterious and full of wisdom." Said Kram.
"You're full of something all right," said Noh.
"Definitely cocky enough." Said, Love.
"And absolutely Strange." Added Xavier.
"Where's your cape?" asked Tan, narrowing his eyes as though he were looking at an imposter.
"First of all, it's a cloak! And I won't tell you where I keep it. That's private information. Kram said in mock indignation.
"Alright, alright, enough! What do you think, Noh? Is there another angle we are missing, or do you think we missed something with the boyfriend?" asked Kram.
Noh took a sip of his beer, sitting quietly for a few moments before speaking, the whole table sat in silence waiting to hear his thoughts.
"I agree with Kram. No one else had a motive. The boyfriend has a history of violence; that's why his first wife left him. What really bothers me though is how calm he is. We interviewed him twice and he's not angry or upset, he's confident like he knows we can't catch him. That's what makes me feel like we're right." He yawned.
"Come on guys, that's enough for tonight. We need to have clear minds and fresh eyes in the morning and at this rate all we are going to have is hangovers. Get some rest and I'll see you early." Said Noh.
With that, they all stood up stretching and groaning, keys jingling as they dug out their wallets and phones to pay the bill. One by one the team went their separate ways, most taking motorcycle taxi's back to their homes. It was late, most of them would sleep, but Kram would put on a fresh pot of coffee and think, obsessively running through the details once more. When something held his attention, sleep was elusive until he solved it, like carefully picking at the strings of a complicated knot.
Were they being biased? Were they looking for ways to make the boyfriend fit because they wanted him to be guilty? Kram sipped his coffee and looked over the board he had built at home. Love had suggested he ask Tan to build him a liquid crystal board like they had at work, but he preferred the old-fashioned way, holding the file in his hands. Kram moved some photos and papers from one side to the other, erasing and rewriting what they knew. One of the team's rules was to follow the evidence and facts no matter where they lead. They had to be clear and clinical like a surgeon cutting out cancer wherever it spread. They had to follow the truth regardless of any personal feelings.