It was a bright day today, James walked into the office, his eyes immediately landing on Merry, who was seated at her desk, working on her laptop. She didn't acknowledge his presence as if he was invisible to her, but he could sense the tension still simmering from their last conversation. Pushing it aside, he turned to Marcus and Ben, greeting them with a casual, "Good morning."
"Morning, James," Marcus replied, leaning back in his chair. "We've got a new case. Mass robbery of high-end watches in a nearby town. I want you on it right away"
James, ever eager to dive into the action, nodded and immediately began preparing to head out. "I'll take care of it," he said
"Not so fast," Marcus cut in, his voice firm. "You're not going alone. I want you to take Merry with you."
James stopped in his tracks, his expression tightening. "With Merry? I work better alone."
From her desk, Merry shot a sharp look toward Marcus. "I'm not going anywhere with this jerk. I can handle the case myself."
Marcus's eyes hardened as he looked between the two. "I'm done with this attitude. You either go together, or I report this to the higher-ups. We're a team, and it's about time both of you start acting like it."
James and Merry exchanged heated glares, neither wanting to back down, but they knew Marcus wasn't bluffing. Begrudgingly, James shrugged, his tone dripping with reluctance. "Fine. Let's get this over with."
Merry sighed heavily, closing her laptop with a frustrated snap. "Whatever. Just don't slow me down."
"Marcus I have a condition, we shall take my car since it's more comfortable and faster" james said with smirk, glaring at merry
Merry clenched her fists, glaring at him. "I'll take my own. There's no way I'm sitting next to this arrogant jerk," she snapped, her voice laced with frustration.
Marcus, now visibly irritated, shot them both a stern look. "You two are seriously getting on my nerves. Especially you, Merry. Maybe James is arrogant, but why are you stooping to his level? You're going with him, and that's final. Or, you can stay here and do paperwork all day. Your choice."
Merry stormed past James, angrily bumping into his shoulder as she went toward the exit. "Fine!" she spat, pushing through the door.
Moments later, the two of them were seated in James's sleek Mercedes, heading toward the nearby town of Hemlock. The tension in the car was palpable, the silence between them thick and heavy. Merry stared out of the window, refusing to even glance in James's direction, her jaw tight with irritation. James, however, couldn't resist the smirk that played on his lips.
Breaking the silence, he spoke with a smug tone. "Do you know why I insisted you come with me in my car?"
"Because I'm planning to throw you out halfway there so you can grab a cab. Hahhahahah!" James laughed, his eyes gleaming with mischief.
Merry, clearly irritated, shot back, "That killer from yesterday should've shot you! The world would be better off if he had."
Still looking straight ahead at the road, James shrugged. "I wanted him to shoot too, but I guess I wasn't that lucky."
For the first time, Merry glanced over at him, her expression shifting from anger to disbelief. She didn't say anything, but her mind raced. 'What an idiot' she thought, shaking her head internally. 'Who jokes about getting shot? He's reckless and stupid, and doesn't even value his own life.'
with this, they finally reached the location, shop which sells expensive watches with a huge black board outside displaying *KINGSMITH* a very famous brand known for selling watches since 1995, merry and James got inside. The showroom was immaculate, with glass display cases gleaming under bright lights, showcasing an array of luxury watches. The floor was spotless, the kind of place where every detail was maintained to perfection. showing her badge merry asked an employee "we would like to talk to the manager here"
James pocket in his hands as always, started looking like an eagle everywhere. His gaze flicked to the employees, most of them looked normal, dealing with customers. One particular employee at the back stood out, nervously adjusting his collar while pretending to organize a case that was already perfectly arranged. looking more into his appearance he noticed his shirt slightly wrinkled, sweat forming in his brow, shoes scuffed at the tips, hinted at hurried movements. glancing at the store camera every now and then.
'Either he is the one who stole them or one who helped the real culprit' James concluded and followed merry to meet the manager
Once seated in a small office at the back of the store, a well-dressed man in a black suit entered, offering a polite smile. "Nice to meet you, I'm Mr. Hensley, the manager."
Merry wasted no time, her tone direct. "We're investigating the recent robbery that took place here. Can you tell us exactly what happened?"
Mr. Hensley nodded, his expression serious. "It occurred after closing hours. The security system was deactivated, and they managed to get in without setting off any alarms. They went straight for the high-end watches."
Merry leaned in slightly. "How many employees have access to the security system?"
"Only myself, two senior employees, and the night guard," he replied. "We've all been questioned by the local police."
"And the night guard, was he on duty during the robbery?" Merry asked.
Hensley shook his head. "He was off that night. We had a replacement guard, but he's been… difficult to track down since."
"We'd like to take a look at the file on the replacement guard," Merry requested.
"Of course, I'll grab it from the record room right away," the manager replied, standing up and heading out of the office.
As soon as the manager left, James rose from his seat. "Merry, I need to take a call. Excuse me."
Without looking at him, Merry responded confidently, "You're excused for life. Do whatever you want; I can handle this myself."
James leaned in and whispered, "I wouldn't be so sure. I think the manager might be involved. Stay alert."
Merry rolled her eyes. "I'm fine. Just go away."
James smirked. "Alright, alright," he said before slipping out of the office. He made his way over to the back of the store where the nervous employee was still lingering.
Approaching him quietly, James didn't bother with pleasantries. "I know you're involved," he said in a low voice, causing the employee to stiffen. "You can either tell me who the culprit is or get charged for aiding and abetting. Doesn't matter if it was intentional or not, you'll still go down with them."
The employee's eyes widened in panic, sweat now visibly forming on his forehead. "I-I didn't—look, I don't want any trouble," he stammered. "I didn't steal anything, but… I know who did it."
James crossed his arms, his gaze sharp. "Then talk. Now."
"It's the manager" employee revealed the identity "he threatened me, my family and shut me up by giving a good amount of cash"
"Is there something like a record room here?" James asked curious
"No, there's not-"
But before he could finish, James was already rushing toward the manager's office.
Bursting through the door, James was met with a tense scene-Mr. Hensley had Merry in a tight grip, a gun pressed against her temple. Her face was pale, her breath quickening as she glanced at James with fear in her eyes.
"Stay back!" the manager barked, his voice trembling as he tightened his hold on Merry. "You're not going to stop me. She's coming with me, and you won't do a damn thing about it!"
"Fine, kill her. We'll catch you later," James said nonchalantly, turning on his heel, hands in his pockets as he calmly walked out of the room, leaving a stunned Merry frozen in disbelief.
The manager, equally confused, stammered, "What the hell just happened?"
Before the manager could make sense of it, the door creaked open again, and James stuck his head back in. "Oh, I forgot to tell you, Merry," he said with a smirk, "he doesn't have any bullets in that gun."
In that instant, Merry snapped into action. She slammed her elbow into the manager's stomach, knocking the wind out of him. As he stumbled back, she followed up with a sharp punch to his face, disorienting him further with his gun sliding on ground. Swiftly, she grabbed his arms and cuffed him before he could react.
Outside the shop, James leaned casually against the wall, watching as the police hauled the cuffed manager away. Merry stormed out, fury etched on her face.
"Are you insane?!" she shouted, her voice trembling with rage. "What if the gun has bullets? He could've shot me!"
James raised an eyebrow, completely unfazed. "Who said it didn't?"
Merry's eyes widened in disbelief, her face a mix of shock and frustration, before growling, "I'm going to kill you...!!"