Interlude - Elsewhere

(This is a side chapter dealing with others in the setting; I'm not sure if this should go into the main chapters or here, kinda just experimenting. If you want more context/story, here you go without bloating the main thread).

A grumble echoed out in the room as he clicked a button.

Detective Bishop found himself in front of a panel of screens and a control panel, reviewing security footage as it was being sent in. He drew the short end of the stick that night but he wasn’t the only one. Knowing that others were tasked to do this kinda work. Still it was a boring assignment. Though maybe boring was a good thing.

“Hey hey, got you something.”

A large bag fell on his desk. It smelled pretty good and had some decal on the side of it. Looking like a half moon or something.

“Didn’t let you as a Skies guy.” Bishop muttered as he cracked it open. The scent of cooked fish and potatoes greeted him.

“Least I can do.” Came the response as the figure next to him leaned forward.

Bishop pursed his lips together when his guest put something else on the table. A flash drive. Grunting, he slapped it into the computer before him as he cracked open the to go box, and started to dig into the stew. It was only lukewarm but still better than walking down to the vending machine. He took a few scoops of his meal while the machine started to read the data.

“Slow night I take it?”

“Till you showed up. Few drunk driver, couple muggings, no mage activity though.” he replied between his slurps, “You?”

“Fulfilled my debt, got shut down, and saw something interesting. Security footage.” Came the answer.

He shrugged and pulled up the video. Took a bit to get to where his guest wanted in the file but he eventually found it. Footage showed off a guy taking a bite or two of food and collapsing to the floor, his hot date trying to help. Other figures started to rush into the screen, mainly a guy in a black outfit and a woman in a nice white dress. A woman who was kinda familiar.

"Nil looks good in a dress." he paused in his eating, "Didn't think she'd be the kind of gal to get dolled up like that."

"I’ll let her now Bishop, though she would probably stab you for that.” his guest, Haze, said with a grin as he cracked open his soda can and took a sip. He motioned with a finger at the screen, “I want info on our guy here.”

“What the stiff?” He asked as he started to run a scan through face resignation, “Wait couldn’t you…”

“Data got corrupted. Lot of guests lost their tables.”

“Werid…, got it.” Bishop brought it up on the main screen.

Before them was all the government records they could easily access. Birth records, school records, criminal, etc etc. He didn't seem to have a rap sheet so that part was empty but the rest of the info seemed to be there.

“Name: Cole McKay. Twenty six. Born, Ireland. Came to the mainland for study in Galbay.”

“That big college town in the west?” Haze asked as he leaned forward for a better look at the screen.

“Seems that way, studied Engineering while being an athlete scholarship." Bishop tapped away and pulled up a medical report along with a police report. While he didn't have a criminal record, he did have paperwork with the authorities. "Car crash wrecked his leg and he was laid up for a year. Dropped out, moved here.”

“Why?”

“If our records showed off people's thoughts, we wouldn't have that much work to do." Bishop shrugged, "So dunno, but he owns a bookstore on the other side of town.”

“Hmmm and the woman…?” Haze asked, his finger going back to the video and hovering over the man's date.

Bishop too a big gulp of his food before tapping away and repeating the process. An image of a woman came up and government records appeared on screen. She was a looker but not like in a whistle as she walks past way more..., elegant or something. It was hard to put into words..., otherworldly might actually be the best idea. If he was fifteen years younger...., ah well. He pulls his eyes away from her deep violet pools and started looking at her info.

“Rachel McKay. Age twenty five. Stateside birth, moved to Galby for college.”

“Across the pond to here, why?” Bishop had to roll his eyes at Haze's continued questions.

“Seems..." he started as he pulled up info and started reading from it, "She had family from around here. Great Grand Parents or something, so her family has some ties to the area. Let's see she studied Economics, History and was starting medical degree as her major degree before she dropped out. Earlier School records show she skipped some grades and got into college earlier.”

“That big of a college record and dropped out? Lemme guess, Mr McKay?”

“Seems that way.” He pulled up another image of a certificate. This one fancier and yet tackier than all the school based ones. The hearts were a bit of a dead give away. “They got married wound the time he was still rehabilitating. Ceremony was small and private.”

“So why move here then?”

“Besides moving for the husbands state of mind? Would you want to stay in the city that your dreams got smashed?” He got a look for his suggestion which he typed a bit more at the computer. This time pulling up property records. “Mrs McKay inherited a building from one of those distant family members. Been passed around with no one really 'owning' it. Between that and a few more favors from friends and family before they left back home, they opened a bookstore.”

“Moved in.. little more than a year ago, opened a few days ago. Renovations and supplylines took a while.” Bishop said turning to face the Agent.

“Hmm” Haze scratched his chin in thought, taking a sip from his drink before speaking. “You said he was an athlete? What did he play?”

Bishop finished his meal and tossed it into the waste basket before tapping away, going back to the husband's records. It was a rather quick find on what McKay was.

“Boxing.”

“Interesting.” Haze's grin started to widen.

“Look I admit they kind fit your conditions…” Bishop had already started to connect the dots after first seeing that McKay got an Athletic scholarship, “But I got like a hundred other hits." he tapped away at the keyboard some more and started pulling up other files fit the profile they had been building, "Unless you got something else, the McKays just go in the list.”

“Maybe two things.”

“Eh?”

Haze leaned over and tapped a few commands on the keyboard, pulling up two images. One was of the front of the bookstore the couple owned and the other was… a small bit of paper? There seemed to be some sort of image or decal on it.

“The girl at the scene had this with her. It’s a bookmark in the shape of a bird. And look, matches the logo of the store. Even said a pretty lady gave it to her when they shopped there.”

It was a match. But Bishop wasn’t convinced. This was still a bit of a stretch. It might be enough for the Agents of the Guardians but he wanted to make sure they were pretty dead on. He'd seen what happened to some of the people they took away for questioning and it rarely ended well. Regardless of what the media actually said.

“So lemme get this straight," he took out a pack of cigs and popped one into his mouth, flicking a lighting to it before taking a big breathe. "Boxer turned book keep saved a mom and daughter he maybe met once cause his wife gave the kid a book mark. That’s a bit out there don't you think?”

“Yeah. Yeah it is." Haze chuckled at the thought, but his grin never left his lips, "But got another reason to look into him.”

“Eh?”

“See," he leaned over again and tapped away at the keyboard, pulling up the name of the restaurant, "Celestial Skies was founded by a mage who used his talents for cooking. Kinda a waste but can’t argue when you eat it. Their food never gets someone sick. Not possible. This the kind of place you lose a hand if you fuck up the recipe. They even incorporate some toxic ingredients that get treated to make them safe.”

“Really?” Bishop's eyes looked back at the wastebasket he tossed the remains of his meal in.

“Yeah. Founder was a bit of a nut and they’ve kept the tradition. Point is no one gets sick from Skies. Forget the public backlash, that’d be an insult to their entire history. Heads would roll.” He explained, tapping away some more.

Bishop was treated to a few articles of unsolved murders. All of them having only one thing in coming, working for Celestial Skies. But that only was the only thing that connected them, and they were years apart. It seems the staff was series about... 'having heads roll' on a fuck up.

“So you think he got poisoned?" he took time for another intake of his cig, blowing smoke off o the side, "Maybe by some gang that found out who he is, or who is they think he is?”

“Maybe.” Haze tapped some more and leaned back, his arms folding over as the video started to play of the man getting sick. “It’s just…”

“Just what?”

“The meal that got him sick? It’s house special.” His shades glinting with the reflection of the screen and a while smile on his face, “And I haven’t heard of anyone getting sick from their wolfbane sauce.”