Reveal The One True Desire

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Annyeong Bunny

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The setting sunlight sent rays over the crime scene, with many crime scene investigators yawning from the lack of evidence. Lee Hyun Suk set his jaw as he crouched beside the male of a couple, his eyes tracing over the clothing. Of course, the others would miss such important evidence because of how "tired" they were. Because of that specific case, Lee hadn't gotten a wink of sleep in the past two days, analyzing the evidence and trying to tie it to a specific murderer. Unfortunately, it was also his job to hunt down the murderer and alert the police, which he needed to start fairly soon.

"Lee! You got something?" a burly voice called from behind him, causing the detective to turn his head, seeing who it was. Letting out a quick sigh, Lee nodded and stood to his full height, slipping the latex gloves from his hands.

"On the victims' clothing, the cotton material is sliced in almost a jagged way, so the murderer must have used a pocket knife with uneven teeth. Based on the last case, it seems the murderer must have committed both murders." Lee spoke nonchalantly, almost bored at having to explain the obvious evidence. Based on the look from the other male's face, he hadn't caught that bit of evidence. The detective simply let out a breath and turned away, his hands stuffed in his pockets. He had to get back to his flat and put the new evidence together with the rest he had already gathered.

"Honestly... you'd think that even the crime investigators would find such obvious evidence." Lee muttered to himself, scowling a bit in impatience. Pulling out his phone, the detective took a few notes over the crime scene before walking again, already trying to piece things together. 'The murderer... why does he seem to target couples specifically?' On his trek down to his car, Lee rubbed the back of his neck with a stoic expression as he mulled things over. A feeling like an adrenaline rush seemed to take over the male as the pieces started fitting together...​
 
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Austin Gallagher
"Come on, Carly. Let me take it. Give me the case! Show the files to me. I'll be good. I won't bother the police." Austin pleaded, trailing after a tall officer who was holding files for a recent couple murder case as he walked back to the scene "Okay, so, I might bother them a little. Who wouldn't? I need to do my fucking job. I need to! It's been two days since you let me on something. Two. Friggin. Days. I've been sitting in the closet I call an office for two days, doing absolutely NOTHING. Tw-"

"I GET it, Gallagher, you've been doing nothing for two days." The officer, Carlton, said in slight exasperation "Jesus Christ. Look, we already have a good detective- actually, a great detective -on the case. We don't need you." He glanced back at Austin, before shrugging "You know how it is. We aren't going to pay you for something we don't need you on. Go home, take a nap or something. You work nonstop."

The detective rolled his eyes "So you're throwing me away because some fancy fuck-o with a nice title waltzes in? Oh, that is great. Perfect!" He grumbled, crossing his arms and glaring at the back of Carlton's head "I've worked on a ton of cases with you guys, and yet, and yet, you throw me away for a new guy! That's just-"

"Life, Gallagher, it's life. Goodbye!" Carlton said, snatching the few papers Austin had managed to get from him from his hands, before walking off. Austin watched him and then sighed, rubbing his head.

This was horrible. His life revolved around cases. He took each and every one he could get his hands on, even if it required him sneaking into buildings for things. And he did solve them, through mildly unconventional methods. That wasn't the point, though. He solved them, and that was that. They should be grateful, right? But no, instead he's pushed to the side. It sucked. A lot. And he was mad. His father had been a police officer in this town, and that should earn him some credit, but it would appear that it didn't. Sure, Austin had moved away for a while, but he came back, didn't he? And now he was solving cases.

He ran a hand through his hair, trudging back where he had originally came from, away from the crime scene. He was about to just let this one go, seeing no possible 'in'. However, he spotted someone who looked like they just came from the scene. It wouldn't hurt to try and get some info from the guy, right? He looked new, so he probably had no idea who Austin was. Unless, of course, the force had warned the guy about him. That would suck. But, he could handle rejection.

So, he made his way over, plastering on a fake smile. It didn't hurt to look friendly. People liked friendly people. Well, most people did, at least, and he would cater to the majority of the population. Once he had arrived over, he cleared his throat to gain the mans attention, and waved.

"Hi. You look like you just walked away from the recent crime scene! I live around here, and I'm a bit worried. Mind telling me what's going on?" He said, trying to keep a polite tone and a straight face. Which was surprisingly hard to do; he wasn't a polite guy, so he was really pushing himself to be at this point.
 
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The case... there wasn't anything normal about it. If anything, it was much too similar to the previous murder case. Almost as if they murderer wanted the investigators to realize that. It was too easy... much too easy. Any serial-killer, even one just starting out, wouldn't make such rookie mistakes. In a way, murderers think alike, almost like they are their own species. Getting into their minds wasn't that difficult of a challenge, but trying to find out who... now, that was the challenge. The exact challenge that Lee craved for. Cracking the case and getting into their minds. Seeing how they think. It was almost like an adrenaline rush to him. If only he could--

The clearing of a throat pulled Lee from his thoughts, causing him to stop in his tracks. The detective lazily turned his head in the direction of the sound, thinking that it would be an investigator catching up to hear about the details. However, he was met with an exaggerated smile and wave. Had he seen this person before? No, he couldn't have. Whoever he was, who did he think he was trying to fool? Lee glanced at the man's grin, seeing the forced stretching it created. The sight amused Lee slightly, and caused him to lift half of his mouth upwards. A half smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"Can't you already tell? There's been a murder. That should be enough for your curiosity, right?" Lee spoke briefly, giving a slightly bored sigh before slightly bowing his head, dismissing himself.

"Then... if there's nothing else, I'll leave first." the detective then lifted his head to it's original place and moved his eyes back to the document in his hands. Without another word, he continued walking down to his car, one hand slipped inside his pocket. Then, he paused, tilting his head slightly before turning toward the male. If he wasn't mistaken, didn't the other investigators warn him about a possible meddling detective? Scoffing a bit, he nodded slightly at the realization of who the mystery man was.

Lee raised a dark eyebrow slightly before looking lazily at the man. So... he was trying to get information from him? It was no wonder the others warned him. If he hadn't studied psychology, he wouldn't have seen through the fake exterior the male was giving off.

"Ah... I thought I should say." Lee paused and made the most extravagant and exaggerated toothy grin he could muster before using his hand to make a circle around his mouth. "You might want to work on your skills before trying them on me." and with that, Lee dropped the smile and sighed, the usual bored look never leaving his eyes.
 
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Austin Gallagher
Austin immediately trailed after Lee, rolling his eyes a bit. So they had warned him. That's great. They warned everyone, didn't they? It wasn't like he was THAT bad. He even helped them sometimes! And this is how he's repaid. The indignity. That wasn't about to stop him from getting in on this, though. Such was a small set back that he could overcome, and he had dealt with way worse, so he could overcome it easily. This guy didn't intimidate him, and he WAS going to get information one way or another.

"Eh, don't use that tactic much anyway. Look, just give me some info and I'll stop bothering you. It's either that or I chase your car. If you don't believe me, feel free to ask Officer Carly. I do it to him all the time." Austin drawled, stretching "I'm ALSO curious: New recruit or the guy who took my place? Because I'll be brutally honest, if you're the second, it makes me want to annoy you more. So, yea, there's that."

If this was the 'good detective', he was going to shoot himself. After he shot the detective, of course, but that didn't really change much. This could NOT be the guy that took his place. Well, it could, but it would just annoy him more. And, in turn, he'd annoy this guy more, and hopefully that would get him to get out of town and go do his job elsewhere, because this was Austin's territory. He was here first, so therefore it was his. Basic rules of being a detective.

Maybe not basic, but it was a dick move to take another persons job. This man had preformed such a dick move, and he was now on Austin's list. Which was pretty long, as it had most of the head officers on it, but that wasn't the point. This man was on it and was number one on the list of dicks. Austin had been working this job for a while, for a few years, but that was apparently not good enough for these people.

Sure, he annoyed them. A lot. But he got the job done, didn't he? And he did it well. Kind of. There was a bit of breaking and entering involved, but it was minor stuff, and it all worked out in the end. He deserved some credit. He did this all without police resources most of the time, and he solved stuff, and that was pretty cool in his view. He was still viewed as a nuisance though, unfortunately, making getting resources even less likely.
 
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A silent sigh escaped the detectives lips as he heard the male continue to talk. He closed his eyes momentarily to recollect his thoughts on the case, barely registering what the other male was saying. There was no reason to pay attention when he had an important task on his hands. Lee opened his eyes once more and pressed his lips into a thin line, not even bothering to glance at the other male while he spoke. Finally, he stopped, turning to the male with a stoic and almost bored face, holding a hand up to make sure he wouldn't say anything else before he himself spoke.

"Honestly, this little chat is not that important to me at the moment. As for taking your job, I guess that would be me, then. However, I've been following this case since I was in South Korea, when I had no other important cases to look after. So, in reality, who really took the job? I'm only following instructions to take this case. And, frankly, I've been quite interested in this case's story. I guess it just worked in my favor." Lee spoke slowly to get his point across. Sighing a bit, he narrowed his eyes a bit at the other male. He needed to get back to his flat before other important theories in his mind get wrapped in the previous ones. Cursing to himself, he opened his notepad quickly, jotting a few notes down before shutting it.

"I could care less if you try to annoy me, but I have to get home to figure out a few things. If you can't already tell, the day's almost over, and I need all the time I can get. Then, if that's all." Lee bowed his head a bit once more before pressing his lips together and heading to his car. Then, turning to the male, Lee set his jaw, one hand on the door handle. Never before in his line of work had he met someone so obnoxious and stubborn. It was irritating.

"If you can prove something about this case, using your own resources, I might consider letting you help me with this case." Lee said, his eyes bored before he pulled his car door open. Sighing, he slid into the driver's seat, shutting the car door. Giving a humorless smirk, the detective pulled out of the driveway and paused to turn and look at the male. Pressing his lips together, he turned to face the road ahead and drove off.

"Tch... let's see what he's got."
 
Austin Gallagher
Austin stared after the car for a moment, a bit dumbfounded, before scowling. "Good detective, my ass. 'Meh meh meh, I've been following this case since I was in South Korea, I probably read Nancy Drew novels before I go to bed, woe is me I lost my Hardy Boys plush'." He grumbled halfheartedly to himself, crossing his arms "Oh, I'll prove something about this case. I'll crack it. You'll be amazed. They'll be amazed. You'll be out in the rain while I bathe in the sunshine of the chief saying 'good job, Austin'."

Then, he did a 180 turn on his heels, marching in the other direction. He was going to prove that asshole wrong. Austin could do this on his own. He had solved things before, he'll do it again, and he'll get pleasure out of seeing that guys face break in the realization that he had totally been beaten into the dust. Austin was going to dig that detectives grave, and, with the grace of an angel, lay him down in it. It was on.

Next week, he'd make a grand entrance with astounding information. It would blow. Their. Minds. All he had to do was some sleuthing, which may require some breaking, some entering, and other such illegal things, but would all be worth it to see the look on that jack asses face. Actually, all their faces. He was already planning out what he would say and do, because it WOULD be amazing, and this sort of amazing took a week to sort out.
 
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A few weeks of steady evidence-gathering passed, and it was about time for Lee to report to the Chief and other investigators. The detective grabbed his file, which had grown significantly over the days, and headed from his flat. After getting in his car, he drove down to the station and parked. He took a minute to recollect his thoughts before exiting the car. Locking it behind him, Lee tucked the file under his arm as he adjusted his rolled sleeve on his black button-up, making sure it was even like the other, just above his elbows.

A slight sigh escaped Lee's lips as he opened the file, looking over the evidence he brought. Luckily, the cases provided him with evidence that the others failed to find. Like always. It wasn't even surprising for the detective anymore, so he learned to just do a sweep after the investigators had already finished.

Arriving at the meeting room, Lee cleared his throat and gently rapped his knuckles against the door. Once granted entrance, the detective stepped inside, closing the door behind him. The podium was set up with the Chief and other investigators sitting at a long table in front of it. Lee took his place at the podium, placing his file down before moving to grab the whiteboard. Using the magnets, he put the pictures of the crime scene onto the board and took a marker, writing significant notes down under each picture. Turning to his small audience, Lee gently bowed his head before moving to the first picture.

"From what I've noticed on the male of the deceased couple, the wounds inflicted on him were not from a weapon one would think. When inspected closely, one can see that the skin from the cuts is ragged, almost like the weapon had uneven teeth. Something that would inflict the most pain to the victim as it tore the skin. Maybe a hunting knife? The weapon isn't clear, but we can also take into account that based on the type of weapon used, whoever killed the man may have had a grudge. He wanted the man to feel pain before dying. As for the wife, I believe the murderer wanted to end her quick, but not exactly painless. Now, why would someone want to inflict torture before finishing off the victims?" Lee paused, a smug grin pulling his lips, but not exactly reaching his eyes. Rarely did he ever emote. After a few seconds of hesitation, Lee continued.

"Based on my classes I took in psychology, there are many events that could stem out to torture and murder for adults and couples. Did the murderer grow up seeing a parent have an affair? Maybe he was abused by both parents while knowing about the affair? Those are the things that anyone would decide with. But..." Lee paused once more, "... what if it wasn't his parents? What if he had a wife of his own, or a girlfriend, who had an affair while with him? A common case that I ran into in South Korea was that a murderer would target certain people that reminded him of a certain person or people. He would be killing the same people over and over in his mind..." Lee said simply, the adrenaline feeling rushing in his veins once more as he imagined how the murder must have happened. He was thinking from the murderer's viewpoint. Entering his mind. A rush that Lee often found himself in, but it helped him get closer to knowing the methods of a killer...

"Of course, no theory is absolute until there's more evidence or murder cases. Even if it's terrible to think, seeing how a murderer kills his victims is how to get one step closer to the killer. Memorizing his methods, and if they torture their victims or not before finishing the deed. Murderers have their own personalities, like normal people, so obviously they would have certain ways and preferences when finishing off a victim."
 
Austin Gallagher
It was a interesting view, and the Chief looked impressed. Or, well, she had been, til the door was literally kicked open by the resident nuisance. He was clad in his usual leather jacket and button-up shirt, plus a pair of sun glasses and a pair of black jeans that had a few tears in them. From what, who really knows? Other than this, though, he had on what looked to be a colorful children's party hat, and hanging out of the corner of his mouth a colorful party blower to match. In both hands, he held cans of soda, and around his neck was a pink, cheap feather boa.

The group of officers looked rather unsurprised as he walked in nonchalantly. He visibly perked up when he spotted Lee, and flashed a grin, going over and throwing one arm around his shoulders "Heyyyy! Detective Douchebag! What's cooking, good looking? Not much, by the looks of this case." He said gleefully, before pushing one of the cans to Lee's chest "Sh, sh, sh, don't say a word, I'm not going to listen anyway. Besi- Oh! You guys have donuts. Splendid." He unhooked his arm from around Lee, before bouncing over to the table, taking the party blower out of his mouth and placing it in his jacket pocket.

He took a donut, and fell back into a swivel chair, sending it back a bit as he did. He cracked open the soda and sipped at it, glancing around at the others in the room, before setting it off to the side and lowering his glasses to get a better look at them "What? Not happy to see me? Am I not welcome? Ouch, feelings are hurt. Chief Hemsworth, you love me. Just admit it to yourself." He said, seeming to be quite smug for some reason as he waved the donut around "Come on, lighten up a bit! I mean, wow, dull much?"

He took a bite of the donut, and took a moment to enjoy it, before saying "Man, have I mentioned I love the cop-donut stereotype? Because you guys buy them, and then I get them, and th-" He was soon cut off by the Chief, to which he scowled and simply shoved the rest of the donut into his mouth.

"Mr. Gallagher, if you don't have anything substantial to add, I suggest you leave." She said sternly, eyeing him with a cold look. He shrugged at her, grabbing his soda and taking a sip, before beginning to speak once more.

"Oh, dear, I think I do have information, but....oh, what's that noise? That's the noise of me not being on this case. Shocking!" He feigned surprise, before going on "And I'm not sharing with the class because of that. Oh, man. Oh well." He took out the party blower, using it to make a loud, obnoxious noise "Cheers!"

Then, putting it back, he leaned back in his chair with a wide grin, sipping at the soda. When no one appeared to be speaking, he chuckled "Go on. I'll just watch, since I'm not involved." He said, rocking back and forth.

"...If I put you on this case, Gallagher, you'll give what you have?" Chief Hemsworth said hesitantly, and relaxed a bit when he gave a nod "Fine. What do you have?"

He hopped up from his seat, placing the soda down "Well, well, well! There we go!" He clapped his hands together "Well, I checked out the bodies, and the crime scenes-"

"You don't have permission for that."

Austin scoffed at the fact that he was interrupted "Rude. Well, your forensics are dumb, so I used my father's ID. They let me check everything." He explained with a shrug "Anyway, I snuck into some houses, blah blah, BASICALLY I found some connections, family photos, a wallet, a trail of blood, a really nice rug-"

"WHAT was that?" The Chief almost instantly demanded. Austin rolled his eyes.

"A RUG, chief. No, I didn't take it, before you ask, I looked. No touchy. What is with you and interrupting today, hm? I-"

"I meant the one before that, Gallagher."

"Ooooh!" He snapped his fingers with a grin "The blood trail! Out in the back of the woods. Cue ripped jeans, THANK you thorn bushes. Yes. Blood. Party. Might be from the murderer, seems like that couple put up a struggle. Ooorrr, someone got left behind and escaped. Either way, I'd say it's fairly useful. But what do I know?"
 

To say the least, Lee was caught off guard by the sudden commotion caused by none other than Austin. His eyes were slightly widened in both shock and irritation. Especially when he had the nerve to put his arm around his shoulder. It took everything he had not to chunk the can of soda at Austin's retarded face. Instead, he slammed the can on the podium and closed his eyes, struggling not to jump over the table to stuff the stupid party blower down his throat. After a few seconds, he turned to the whiteboard and started gathering his evidence, tucking them back in the file as the commotion went on behind him.

However, he paused, hand in mid-air when he heard about the trail of blood. Leading into the woods? Had there been another victim? Or did the murderer catch himself while trying to escape? Lee's eyes were wide as the piece of evidence started linking with others. The dimwit actually managed to figure out a huge chunk of evidence. However, his mind was running it's gears too fast for him to even think about the irritation Austin gave him. Instead, before his rush thoughts disappeared, Lee swiped his hand quickly across the whiteboard, sending the magnets and pictures flying while he grabbed the marker.

Quickly, he jotted down the thoughts that came endlessly to mind: "victim escaped" "failed murder" "obvious trail of blood" "forest" "hidden murderer". All of those and more Lee quickly wrote down, his eyes wide as the adrenaline feeling became a bit stronger. The scene started playing in his mind. The murderer had tried killing the last victim, but failed. The victim was able to escape into the forest, but not before getting snagged, leaving the trail. Then, how would the murderer not follow him to finish him off? In big bold letters, underneath his little thoughts, he wrote "Murderer Injured". The victim must have injured the murderer just enough to get away, even if he did leave a a trail. Whatever he did caused the killer to flee...

"Austin. Was there any evidence of a third family member of the household? From picture albums or just any signs of a third person living there?" Lee asked quickly, turning from the whiteboard to look at Austin with an intense and serious gaze. Almost one of sincere impatience. "Did you check the woods thoroughly to see where the trail led to?" Lee popped another question quickly, flexing his right hand open and closed as he waited for a response, his left hand holding the marker ready to right. From the first question to then, Lee didn't break his gaze from Austin, his jaw set with slight impatience.
 
Austin Gallagher
"Awe, douchebag, you used my first name! Swoon! My father always told me I'd find a man like you. Take me now." Austin said, fanning himself with the end of the boa, before leaning against the table with a grin "But, I got all of this, I'm not dumb. Though, that's what you seem to think. Whoopsie, you're wrong."

He began to walk around once more, hands moving wildly as he spoke. Both seemed to be a habit of his, though whether nervous or not was unclear "Alright! Let me set this stage for you. Of course, I'm not completely sure on this, but I'm.....kind of sure. Eh, still sharing either way." He waved a dismissive hand, before making a arc movement over his head with both arms "This was a crime of passion, my friends! Or, well, I think. Maybe. But, anyway, it's a tragic passion story. Almost as tragic as ours, douchebag." He lowered his glasses to send a wink over to the other man, before putting them back out "Imagine! Two people have an affair. One decides- we'll call them a -this means love! B doesn't think so. In fact, B is married, whoopsie! B is married and has a child. Double whoopsie!"

"So, what do you do when your lover that you are romantically attracted to is married?" He glanced around, prompting an answer from someone "Someone? Anyone? Come on, kids, this isn't rocket science! You torture them! You do it in a copy-cat way so you don't get caught! But, what if you don't know they have a kid? And that kid comes in looking for Dad, and of course Dad is ON THE FLOOR BLEEDING OUT?" There was a slight pause, before he awkwardly cleared his throat "Uh, hah, alright, moving on from that. Surprised child, child is old enough to hit you with something, child injures you and you injure the child, child runs to the woods that he knows the layout of. I mean, really, if you have a forest out back and you're a kid, you totally know where that shit goes, right?"

Then, he fell back into his chair and shrugged " 'Course, that's just my theory. Moving on, the trail faded off after a bit, but I'll bet the kid is hiding somewhere in there if it's his blood." He yawned a little "Anddd, cut. That's all I have. Aw, man, Jerry! Did you eat all the donuts again? Really, that's-"

"Mr. Gallagher, I hope you aren't dragging your own personal affairs into this." The Chief said, eyeing him "Because that will help no one, and you know it."

Austin stumbled over his words a bit, before scowling "Look, I'm not- This isn't about that, alright? I'm doing my job, and that's what I got-"

"And what you GOT sounds suspiciously like what happened to you. I think you should partner up with our other detective while you're on this case. Maybe he can keep you in line." She said sternly.

"What? No. No, I'm not- I'm fine! On my own, thank you, I can handle this by myself. And there are DIFFERENCES, my mom was already dead, so hah!"
 
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A growl escaped Lee's throat despite his calm facade. However, he listened to what the smug bastard had to say, in order to further develop his theories. As he listened, he looked to the floor with narrowed eyes, gently rubbing his chin in thought. So, he had been right about the affair bit, but he hadn't known that the child was involved. Lee had started blocking out the rest of the unnecessary chatter going on as his mind worked. However, he looked up in time to hear the Chief's dispute with Austin. Personal affairs?

There wasn't enough time to worry about that, but he was sure it would be important in the near future. At the mention of being paired with him, Lee set his jaw. It was the only way to get the case finished, so he had to suck it up and deal with it. At the other male's objection to the partnership, Lee felt his lip twitch in irritation. Honestly, he needed to suck up his pride and finish the case as fast he could. What difference did it make if he had to work with someone? Lee wasn't too keen on working with a prick like him either.

Pressing his lips together, Lee used long strides to cross the room. In a matter of seconds, he was beside Austin, ripping his party hat off his head. Despite the annoyance and irritation he felt, he wasn't going to waste any more time for the murderer to go and kill another innocent life.

"Get up, you selfish bastard. I'm either finishing this case with or without you, so suck it up and stop acting like a child." Lee snapped, his eyes narrowed slightly in a cold icy glare. He was done with his childish behavior. Here he was, whining about donuts, when the murderer could be planning his next kill. Without waiting for Austin to respond, he grabbed at the male's collar, pulling him behind him to the door. There was nothing he despised more than a cocky smug bastard like him.

"You're working with me whether you like it or not. I'm not giving up on this case just because a cocky dare-junkie wants to show off." Lee growled, his jaw set with a icy facial expression.
 
Austin Gallagher
"For someone who finds criminals, you're really bad at reading personalities." Austin drawled, whacking Lee's hand "First of all, I'm not a dare-junkie, I'm a I-want-to-keep-this-specific-job-junkie. Also, I wanted you to get angry, because you totally were smug yourself the first time we met, so I ramped it up a bit." He rolled his eyes a little "Now let me go, you don't want me to tag along anyway, I don't play well with others, and I need to get stuff from my office."

And all of that was true. Dangerous situations were not why Austin was in the job, and he sure as hell didn't want people thinking that. Most people here knew why he was working as a detective, but obviously they hadn't clued this guy in. He wasn't sure if he should thank them for that or hit them over the head for it. He also wasn't selfish, and that was a dick thing to say, and it only made him more annoyed at the guy who had a good hold on his collar.

It was also the truth that he needed to head back to his office. While he might make it seem like he didn't do much work to get to his conclusions, the office showed a different story. It was a mess, covered in papers, and had cork boards lining the walls with different information connected to them, tied together with red strings. He lived in the office, and that wasn't a lie either. The guy didn't own an apartment nor a house. He slept on the couch of the room, if he even slept at all, and that was that. He was, simply, consumed with his job.

Which was another reason the force didn't give him cases for the last three days. They seemed to think that would get him to sleep and remember meals and not work for once in his life. That, of course, failed. He was determined to work anyway, and he did succeed in that. They had to let him into the case because he knew stuff, and now they couldn't kick him off. It was pretty great for him.
 
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Lee paused, looking down at Austin as he kept a strong hold on his collar. This guy wasn't getting it at all. Using his free hand, Lee gently squeezed the bridge of his nose, completely unaware that they were still in the room with the Chief and the other investigators. Letting out a sigh of defeat, he dropped his hand from his face before turning his icy eyes to Austin. He was done. He just wanted to get further with solving the case, and the childish man he was holding on to wasn't doing anything to help.

"Look. I don't care what you want to do, but you aren't stopping me from working on this case. You can go and be the star somewhere else, it doesn't matter to me. But if you aren't going to take this seriously and professionally by working with me, like your Chief advised, then stay off this case. I'm not against working on this case with you, since it's part of my job, so stop avoiding it like a kid and do your job correctly." with that, Lee more or less shoved Austin as he let go of his collar, setting his jaw and narrowing his eyes at the man.

Turning, the detective walked to the door and put his hand on the knob, turning it before pausing. He turned back to Austin and pressed his lips together before brushing off the front of his button-up with his free hand. With an inaudible sigh, he turned his eyes to the ground in thought before lifting his eyes to the male once more, his face back to it's usual icy emotionless slate.

"I'm heading over to the crime scene. Before leaving, I noticed a lead but didn't get time to investigate it. If you want to be mature about all of this, meet me there, and we'll focus on the case. If you aren't willing to work with me while I'm trying to, then don't bother coming." Lee spoke, his voice devoid of any emotion and jaw set before turning to the Chief and the others.

"I'll be leaving first, Chief." he said simply, bowing his head and holding it for a few seconds before stepping out of the room. Letting out a long breath, Lee closed his eyes as he walked down the hall. The gears in his mind were already turning about the case...
 
Austin Gallagher
Austin stared after the man, before sighing and rolling his eyes. What a downer. The guy didn't seem to know what fun was. At least he himself used humor. New Detective Guy seemed to have misplaced his sense and replaced it with a sense of being dull and boring. While Austin didn't want to work with him, though, he had to if he was going to work on this case. Unfortunate, but he was sure he could handle the guy. Well, hopefully. They would definitely clash in the whole personality aspect, but that was a minor hurtle to jump in this catastrophic obstacle course.

He had already jumped the first hurtle, and that was getting on the case in the first place. He had no worries about overcoming anything else thrown at him. So, despite being shoved, he simply dusted himself off and walked out. A quick stop at his office and then he would go and annoy the fuck out of the other detective once more. Maybe even enough to get the other off the case and out of town. Who knew, really? Austin was talented in the art of making people hate him and go away. Useful in some cases, horribly un-useful in others. In this case, thankfully, it would work well for him.

So, he went to the office, then went to the scene, losing the feather boa and all other unnecessary accessories he had put on for him little show. He wasn't too concerned where Lee was, so while humming a tune, he just headed on back to the area he had found the trail. He figured if the man was here, he'd be there. If he wasn't, he'd make his way there or something. Or not. It really didn't matter to Austin either way.
 
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The trail. Austin had been right, as much as Lee would rather not admit. Despite how the other investigators bad-mouthed him, Lee could obviously see that the said male was a capable detective. Leaning down to the branches, he saw the blood staining the ground. Tilting his head slightly, Lee looked into the darker area of the trees. A perfect place to hide for a child. Slowly standing, the detective eyed the shadows. He stood staring at the area, his mind already creating the scene. The child ran deep, deep into the woods. Why? To lose the murderer if he were to chase you. Hiding in the trees was also another option. Especially if it was dark under the canopy of the leaves. Lee just hoped the child wasn't horribly injured. However, the sound of footsteps met the male's ears, causing him to slowly turn around. It seemed like Austin had just got to the scene.

Pressing his lips together, the detective wanted nothing more than to just go into the darkness of the forest to investigate. However, he had to be professional unlike his childish partner. In a sense though, it seemed like Austin had decided to work with him. At least he had listened... either that, or he intended to work if Lee was there or not. Slowly, Lee let out a long breath, his chest falling slowly as he did so. Unknowingly, Lee refolded his cuff above his left elbow and did the same with the other, his intense and cool gaze still watching the other detective. Just the sight of him made Lee's lip twitch slightly, despite his stone-like expression. It was incredibly frustrating that the man was able to irritate him like that.

Turning back to face the trail, Lee mumbled to himself, something about a "childish bastard" and "finally, I can work." He was sure the other detective would see him sooner or later, as he was standing at the evidence pointed out earlier that day. Whether Austin cared to follow or not, Lee didn't hesitate to think about. All that was on his mind was the case at hand, and he could care less about Austin's train of thought and what he was doing. Slowly, Lee ducked under the overhanging branches and started walking into the darkness the trees provided. Instantly, a light chill compared to the shining sun graced the detective's skin, causing him to tense his jaw. There was definitely a creepy vibe, but despite that, Lee pressed on...
 
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Austin Galagher
After looking around and then spotting the other detective, Austin soon made his way over, hands snugly in the pockets of his pants. He carried himself with little to no urgency or care, looking more relaxed and laid-back than people on a possible murder spot would normally look. With him, though, it wasn't that surprising; he didn't seem to be the type to respect an area for events that happened in it.

And, as far as he was concerned, there wasn't anything urgent here. The possibilities were rather small in number. The way he saw it, it was either the kid or the murderer. If the kid, they were either dead or still hiding. Murderer, they were gone by now, and that was that. The evidence or whatever else there was to be found would stay put and be there waiting for them when they got there, no matter how long it took.

He eventually reached an area beside Lee, sun glasses hiding what he was looking at and, to an extant, what he was thinking. After a moment of silence, he began to speak up, saying "If it is the kid, you're going to scare him off with your face, man. You look ready to murder someone yourself." He stretched out his arms a bit with a yawn "Relax a bit. 'Sides, it's bad for your health to be tense and all that jazz."
 
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The detective looked carefully around the dark trees, his mind already buzzing with thousands of possibilities. However, he felt his entire body tense at the sound of Austin's voice, not realizing he was already beside him. Slowly, Lee closed his eyes, taking in a silent sigh as his adrenaline started to calm. Opening his eyes once more, the detective turned his head to glance at the other, his eyes slightly narrowed before he rolled them. Haha, very funny. Pushing back a bitter reply, Lee turned his eyes to the leaves above, squinting against the few rays of sunlight that managed to hit his eyes.

"If it was bad for my health, I'd be dead by now." Lee drawled, moving his jaw slightly side to side. Lifting his hand, he adjusted his left cuff once more, a habit he had unfortunately acquired. After looking among the trees, Lee turned his eyes to Austin, looking over his appearance. "Besides, I think sneaking up on people would be worse for their health than anything else." the detective's voice took on a snarky tone before looking away, slowly stuffing his right hand into his pocket. He had a strange feeling that the kid would be somewhere around them. Not too deep in the trees, but just far enough to keep himself safe and hidden. Tapping into his mind a bit more, Lee paused his walking, pressing his free hand against his mouth.

Growing up, Lee had done his own share of adventuring, as strange as it sounded. So, he knew quite a bit about plausible hiding places. Especially for younger kids who just needed to get away from the intense or difficult things in life. Every kid wants some place to escape. What better place to go than the woods? Plenty of trees to hide in, and it's quiet. Nobody can find you if you don't want to be found. The perfect hiding place. Lifting his free hand, Lee gently began walking once more, letting his fingertips lightly brush against the rough bark of the trees he moved past. Turning to look at Austin, the male gave a slow sigh, gently furrowing his brow as he thought.

"The kid might have traveled a bit further into the trees. If he didn't want to be found, he would keep moving. Especially if the situation's dangerous. What direction do you think he went?" Lee asked, having a slight hunch that the child might have went in many directions. "If he was really scared, then he might have been running in panic, going in many different directions until he felt he was safe... but every person thinks differently. There's no telling where he could've gone unless we find some clues..." Lee spoke his thoughts out loud, mainly to himself, but also so the other detective could think off of his own speculation.
 
Austin Gallagher
"I'm starting to think you were just born an adult or something. Seriously, were you ever a kid? You're using adult logic. Adult logic is different from kid logic." Austin said, rolling his eyes a bit himself and nudging Lee with his shoulder a bit "I mean, if I were a kid and this happened to me, I'd run to where I knew I'd find people to help me. If not that, either some underbrush or maybe a tree house. I mean, if you're trying to escape, wouldn't you find a safe hide away as soon as you could and hunker down there? I wouldn't keep on running, myself."

He paused, then shrugged "And if not that, kids aren't geniuses, so he probably would've run straight or something. If we split up, we can cover more ground." he added, using one hand to adjust his glasses as he glanced around the area. Lee probably wouldn't agree, that he knew. But it was worth a try at the very least. He didn't want to be stuck with the guy the whole time, because that would be lame and boring. Also, he'd probably get a headache. Actually, both of them would get a headache from each other. No one won in this situation.

Which might get the guy to let Austin do his own thing, which would be great. He had a few more things he wanted to check out, and since he wasn't happy with partnerships, he didn't want to do it with anyone. Doing stuff with people meant you had to match their pace, and Austin wanted to go at his own pace. So, he would hold onto the hope that Lee would get tired enough of him to let him off whatever leash he was on.
 
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At being nudged, Lee turned to glare lightly at Austin. However, after a few seconds, he merely sighed and closed his eyes. He was crazy to think that he would be able to work with him. The detective slowly opened his eyes and turned to glance at the other male, his jaw tightened once more. It wasn't like every kid was the same. Why would every kid decide to just run and find help? Lee had been one to run and hide from people and things, so why wouldn't there be other kids like that? Despite his thoughts, Lee simply looked over Austin, not even bothering to explain his reasoning. At the idea of splitting up, Lee slowly moved his jaw from side to side ever so slightly, turning to look along the trees.

"You don't even want to bother working with me, even with my constant attempts to do so for my job." Lee spoke in a calm and bitter manner, slightly narrowing his eyes at the trees ahead. "You're obviously trying to get rid of me so you can try to do things by yourself." the detective added, turning his icy eyes to Austin after he spoke. He didn't know why, but the entire situation irritated Lee. He was just trying to do his job, and he was stuck with somebody who was trying to get rid of his partner. Childish bastard.

"Tch... whatever. We'll meet at the beginning of the trail in about an hour and a half. If you bother trying to ditch out, I'll personally take things into my own hands and make your life miserable." Lee spoke, his voice calm despite his words. He kept his glare trained on Austin before sighing and turning away, heading into the trees opposite of the other detective and disappearing in the shadows.

He didn't need anybody's acceptance, and he could work just fine with trying to find clues on the child. Lee just decided to start giving up on trying to get Austin to take the partnership seriously. It wasn't the first time, and he was sure it wouldn't be the last. The detective was used to people ditching him to finish cases, along with being alone. It wasn't bad, but he could admit that at times, it got lonely. However, there was nothing he could do. Lee was just that type of person... he wouldn't change himself to fit what other people wanted. That would never happen again.
 
Austin Gallagher
No matter how harsh or bad it was, it was what he needed. He wasn't planning to ditch anyway, it just seemed that he and Lee ran on different clocks and did things different ways; Lee was the type to follow protocol, Austin snuck into the morgue using his father's I.D. They didn't really mesh well. Unfortunate, since they had to work together, but Austin could handle it. Instead of slinking into the woods, he went to the house, thinking more clues might be back there. Considering it had been a bit since the murder, the kid could have moved. The house might have something that indicated where.

Exactly an hour and a half later, after rummaging and searching, Austin returned to the head of the trail, a messenger bag that certainly wasn't his but filled with things secured on his shoulder. He glanced around briefly, and, noticing Lee wasn't there, decided to sit down. He took off his sunglasses and shoved them in a jacket pocket, and then opened the bag, pulling out a stack of papers. He took them for a few reasons, the first of which was for finding potential suspects. The second was to see if there was anything about the kid. He figured that no matter what he did, Lee would be unhappy, so he would do what he normally did: take what he could and make connections.

He grinned to himself, corners of his eyes crinkling a bit as he flipped through the papers. He would probably hear anyone approaching due to the leaves, so he wasn't too worried about being snuck up on or startled. He was more interested in what he had in his hands. Sure, there was a small chance that he wouldn't hear someone approaching, but it wasn't like the murderer would come back, so it'd be fine either way.
 
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