October 28th, 2020
24 Algrave Square, Pent Central Police Headquarters
-
Two men stood over the sleeping form of their co-worker, her body draped over the couch.
"How many times do you think we're going to need to do this?"
Corben scratched his ginger goatee, looking towards his counterpart with a musing stare.
"As many times as it takes for us to get her off our shoulders and on to someone else's."
Rolling his eyes, Omar looked down at the infamous Tassen Eitri. She'd probably been drinking, again. Whether it was the way she could do something like this so boldly, or just the bags beneath her eyes. She wasn't exactly one to handle her problems well, nor did she do a very good job of hiding it. By some miracle, she just barely clung on to her job.
Both of them knew it was in part, due to nepotism. Though she had just enough of a knack for the job and a strangely prolific dedication to some of her cases to slip by Internal Affairs undetected. A miracle in its own right really. But that's not to say her cranky behaviour had gone unchecked by HR, or the Departments she was often shifted into.
Eitri was 'Pent's PR Nightmare', as she was so… affectionately called.
And after being handed around the Pent Central Police's departments, it was Omar and Corben's turn to babysit the resident deadbeat, much to their chagrin. They'd heard many a story about her lashing out, being aggressive- everything you'd expect from a middle-aged office worker struggling through their whirlwind of a midlife crisis.
"Just stop delaying it already."
Corben muttered, giving Omar a firm elbow in the side, coupled with a timely eye roll. Neither were happy about this, but ultimately it was Omar's turn to do it. After much deliberation, begrudgingly, he reached out, shaking her shoulder gently.
"Eitri, we were given a case."
A drawn out groan met his plea, so he shook her again, a little more aggressively.
"Eitri!"
Her name was like sandpaper on his tongue, and seemingly she was no happier about being shouted at than he was doing it. The woman's hand swatted him away, her head turning to meet Omar's glare with one of her own.
"What."
It wasn't a question, but more or less a demand.
"If you-," Omar pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out a shaky breath. He had to be calm about this, collected. The bigger person.
"Well, as I said, we were given a case."
Eitri's already sullen face dropped further.
"Was I not on a case already? I don't recall working with you on it."
"No, you've been taken off that one, welcome to our corner of Pent Central."
Eitri narrowed her eyes, pulling her body up from the couch with a weary stumble in her step. The brunette looked even worse now that there was a better view of her full body; her short-ish hair was a knotty mess, awkwardly tied into a low ponytail, along with the dark rings under her eyes. It all told the story of someone who had long since given up on outward appearances, along with just about everything else.
"What… W-What department are you a part of?
She mumbled out, fixing up her crooked black tie to little success.
"Pent Homeland Police, we're the ones that get sent around the country to solve the high profile cases."
"The ones with the best paycheck, which means you can get away with a few more drinks than usual."
Corben splayed a hand, adding to his friend's description with a dramatic flare. The response was quick, an aggressive slap on the back from Omar. But Eitri? It was hard to not feel the icy glower from the fatigued drunk, the way her eyebrows knotted and her jittery hands curled into a fist.
She didn't say anything, her angry expression alone spoke a thousand words by itself.
"You'll have to forgive this idiot, he's notoriously bad with women."
"I'm not that ba-"
Another clap on the back.
"-O-Ok, maybe I'm not the best! My bad! Christ."
The ginger eked out, defensively raising his hands in front of him.
"...Let's just get this over with."
Omar and Corben exchanged weary glances, watching as Eitri brushed past them both, uncaring of anything but the task ahead, not even the obligatory introduction. The typical placations of the human mind were seemingly not of interest to her.
And hell, for the better.
It was an unspoken agreement, neither of them were going to make any strides to familiarise themselves with a woman who did nothing but build up her walls. Why should they? It was needless energy into someone who seemed to do nothing but wallow in her own sea of problems.
Omar was the first to turn on his heel, trailing after Eitri, Corben following in his wake.
At the very least, she knew where they were going.
The Superintendent's office.
It was a 1 minute affair, Eitri keeping a good distance between herself and the duo behind her. At the very least, the small mishap from before hadn't bubbled up into anything more than quiet brooding on her part.
A few sterile hallways later, they arrived. A singular wooden door, and the many portraits of former Superintendents mounted to the wall next to it. A weirdly intimidating affair, only enhanced by the strange mystique that hung around their enigmatic boss. Only five years ago he'd simply come out the blue and was... Hastily given his current role. It was during the heat of the Trifect Commission's collapse and the butt end of Pent's own bloody coup. His largely unknown track record had turned him into a point of controversy.
But ultimately, it was a short-lived debate.
There was a method to his madness which very few others could see, but everyone had grown to respect. Robin Deskin was a terrifyingly efficient man.
Omar was the first to step up to the door, giving it a short knock.
"We're here, Superintendent."
"Come in!"
He twisted the doorknob in response, letting himself in.
"Pleasure to see you three."
"Good to see yah too, Deskin."
Corben was the first to speak, offering his boss a wave, whereas Omar offered a polite nod. The duo made their way to the two cream chairs that had been situated in front of Robin's desk. His office felt like a peek into the past, the ornate wooden cornice and baseboards, the red silk curtains. It all spoke of a history that had all but been wiped away from every other corner of the building.
"Tassen, there's a chair back there if you want to pull it up."
The duo turned back to their plus one.
Somehow, she looked even more agitated than she had before, her frown pulling into a discontented sneer. Despite her show of annoyance, Eitri complied, pulling up her own chair and making herself comfortable.
The icy atmosphere gave way to something more serious, Robin's good natured smile wiping away as he pulled out a file. Faded old documents were peppered in with fresher leafs, a danger sign in its own right.
A quiet warning of the rabbit hole of past and present to come.
"Over in the North, close to the Cheshirian border, there's been a string of murders. Ultimately nothing of concern, until you look at the file."
He slotted a finger under the string latch of the file, pulling it open to reveal a single name in bold letters:
'Galbraith Moikov'
Omar and Corben exchanged confused glances, leaving Eitri to pick up the file, scanning over the details.
"I can't say I.. know this name."
Eitri turned to Corben, raising a brow.
"Were we meant to know?"
"No, no but- Usually we see these sorts of cases in the news before they cross over our desk. That's besides the point though, what's so concerning about it? Not to sound cold or anything like that but- it's the robberies and organized crimes we handle, homicides are far from our typical foray."
Robin's fingers thrummed against the table, expression grim.
"In all honesty, it's a combination of two reasons- One, the growing unrest up there and then two, the fact they've been haemorrhaging men and I- Well I don't think I need to explain why."
Everything looped back to politics, one way or another, to the excitement of no-one. Ultimately it was hard to avoid when it was such a big part of everyone's lives, everything was in recovery after the coup, everyone was talking about the changes.
"So we're just.. Filling in?"
"If you want to put it that way, yes."
"I mean, we'll take it but- I don't think me or Omar can guarantee efficiency."
"That's where she comes in."
The blonde jutted a finger towards Eitri, her eyes scanning the finer details of the file in her hands. She paid no mind that the conversation had shifted to her, hell, it was hard to tell if she'd even noticed.
"Her expertise falls in homicide, believe it or not."
Eitri lowered the file, her eyes locking on to Robin's.
"I was already on a case beforehand."
"I thought your skill set would be better off with this case,"
"And?"
"What do you mean 'and'?"
"You're not one to take me off mid-case without a good reason, Robin."
The back and forth gave no room to interject. It was a weird tension that only grew with their bosses' thoughtful silence.
"Well… I just thought you'd find it interesting. You're a predictable woman after all."
Eitri's eyes narrowed by a modicum, but surprisingly she lacked any harsh comeback, only a semi-contented grunt coupled with a small nod. Seemingly even Eitri had a semblance of a survival instinct in front of people who could fire her.
"Anyways, I'll be shipping you out in five or so days, the detectives there are just organising the paperwork for your arrival. Other than that, I'll make sure to keep you updated. On that, you're free to go."
Eitri was quick to get up, excusing herself from the room in somewhat of a hurry.
The room was left with only Robin, Corben, Omar and the case ahead of them.
"Did you two have any questions?"
Corben's fingers interlaced with each other, his expression grim. Omar could only tap his foot against the floor, trying to find the right way to ask the question the two of them were stuck with.
"I uh, do. I do have one."
Why this bitch?
How is she still on the force?
Can she get reassigned?
"Me and Corben have always worked better as a duo, why not just assign an aide rather than a whole other detective?"
It was the politest way to word it.
"Well, like I said, she's experienced in homicide. You guys are not."
"That-"
Omar sighed, thumbing the palm of his hand as he fumbled to find the right way to get across that Eitri wasn't exactly the type of person they wanted to work with.
"Lemme take it from here, Omar."
Corben leaned forward, brows furrowed.
"We're not gonna work with Eitri if we're just gonna have a repeat of today. We had to wake her up from her hungover stupor on the couch- We- We have a standard to uphold, Sir. I'm not doubting your decisio-"
"You are doubting it, otherwise why would you be contesting it?"
Corben cringed, running a hand through his ruffled hair.
"Just- Not to toot our own horn here but we're a few leagues above her, for lack of a better way to put it. She's a homicide detective, we're… well."
"You're..?"
"We're in the most.. Prestigious department, or however you want to put it. Our work is valued, we wouldn't want to… Devalue it."
"And she won't, you have my word."
"Politely, your word isn't quite enough."
"What do you want out of this conversation?"
"For her to- Not work with us, preferably."
"For her to be discharged too?"
"Ye- Wait- I-"
"Forgive me, your uhm, complaints forms. Your style of writing isn't exactly… common. But, that aside, this will be her last case."
Robin furrowed his brows a moment, lowering his head.
"Well, could be."
Corben raised a brow.
"Could… be?"
The ginger erred out, leaning forward.
"Her complaints have been catching up to her, she's been given a final chance."
Well, on one hand. Great! It was about bloody time she got her comeuppance.
"D-Does she even know?"
"Yes. She's aware."
"She doesn't seem… awfully affected."
Robin pulled himself up off his chair with a hefty sigh, heading over to a filing cabinet. There was a strange tension in the way he spoke, hell, a concern most of all.
"Tas- No, Eitri. She just.. Isn't that sort of person."
The room fell silent again.
"...I ask you this in the interest of yourself, Robin."
Omar brought in a strange.. Tonal shift. Something a bit more tense, hell, even personal. He continued to speak, choosing each word incredibly carefully.
"What- What's the main thing… holding her back?"
The Superintendent shifted on his foot, his hands held stiffly behind his back.
"She just…"
He paused, his grip tightening as he peered back at the two men still remaining in the room.
"Eitri needs to learn to accept her situation and just- move forward."
…
Robin chuckled wryly.
"She's been living in the past long enough."