The Wicked Ones

6. The Team of Nightmares comes together

Blythe grimaced as she took a sip of the brew that was inside her thermos. No matter how much good it did to her slightly aching head it tasted horrible, the peppermint she had added had not helped to improve the taste. Upon entering the captain's office she noticed Alexander and Asterin already standing there. Her friend looked tense, exhausted and most definitely hangover and, to her left, Thornhood looked surprisingly annoyed. Her immediate reaction was a discreet wince, knowing very well that this was not going to end well.

"Hello there Captain, I feel like I'm interrupting something, why did you call me?"

Artfully, she decided to slip in between the two other officers as a last resort barrier if anything happened. Quietly, Lis put her thermos in her friend's hand and nodded knowingly.

"No, you've arrived just in time Detective. I had just finished telling Thornhood and Black about the future promotion of either one of them."

Elisabeth's eyes opened wide and she suddenly understood the tension that had been building up in the room when she entered. She looked from her left to her right a few times, desperately trying to read the expressions of her two colleagues. But they were stone cold, with a hint of determination for one and worry for the other. The woman had no idea how any of this was going to end but there was at least a 50% chance it would end in a bloodbath.

"With... All due respect sir I don't see how I'm involved in any of this."

God she hated it, this tension. It was terrible, it reminded her of how unfit she was to deal with emotions, of how she always let Benjamin be the one to tell families about deaths. It wasn't that she didn't understand or feel these emotions, on the contrary Blythe tended to absorb them all like a sponge the way she did with every small detail that was a part of her surroundings. That's why she avoided being in contact with strong emotions, that's why she avoided relationships. It was much easier that way. And right now, she'd rather have been facing a crime scene than standing in between Asterin Black and Alexander Thornhood.

"They have both been assigned to work alongside you on your current case. They will work together, following your lead, once the case is closed I will make a decision. I also expect you to make a full report of how they both acted, reacted and participated. It is upon that that I will base my choice."

Asterin's jaw tightened as she crossed her arms behind her back. She simply knew this was going to be awful.

"Very well. That is all, you may now all leave." said Johnson, already looking through the papers on his desk.

Asterin nodded once and exited the office as fast as she could without running, quickly followed by the two others. She stood there, glaring at Alexander as she gulped down the entirety of the thermos Lis had given her.

"I really do hope that's not alcohol." he said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. .

"Vodka actually." Asterin spat.

Alexander's frown was instantly replaced by a smile. "Oh please, you don't drink vodka. I remember you saying at Spencer's starting pot that it tastes worse than sanitizer."

Asterin furrowed her eyebrows, taken aback. "How can you even remember so insignificant details ? No wonder you are always blabbering nonsense."

He was about to protest but she turned towards Lis and handed her back her bottle.

"Thank you for this. I seriously owe you. And don't worry I promise not to kill this one and mess up your case." she added, gesturing towards Alexander.

Elisabeth stared intensely at her friend.

"I know you won't, because I won't let you. This competition nonsense is bullshit, if it were up to me none of this would be happening. Competitions are unlikely to show the best of people, quite the opposite. I do not want to see how frustrated, angry, or prone to discord you can become in extreme situations. What I want to see is calm, collected thoughts and organisation. The post you are aiming for is one that requires high levels of teamwork, you need to listen to the people you work with, no matter who they are and what your personal relation to them may be. So you two will work together. Don't give me that look Asterin ! You heard what the captain said, you two are following my lead. Whatever the task is, I want you to do it together. You both have different ways of dealing with things : Thornhood, I know you excel in the psychology of things, Asterin you are excellent at noticing details and creating hypothesis from those details. It can only be beneficial to see what you can do by combining those talents. I expect you to listen to me, I don't particularly enjoy large display of authority, particularly when I'm the one that has to be authoritarian. But this time I will be bossy and you two better obey."