Take-Two [ Tragictrees & Annyeong Bunny ]

"Cool, thanks for that, I was reading it because I'm going to be driving in a minute and I'm pretty sure you don't want me to crash us into a tree, but whatever floats your fuckin' boat." Austin said sourly, scowling, though not looking at Lee as he marched outside "I'll just ram into the nearest pedestrian, then a school building. Whatever. It's cool. All good." He opened the drivers door, huffing a bit as he slipped inside "Not like there's anything new on there, though, so maybe I'll just do the pedestrian. Its a one-kill hit-and-run sort of file. Watch that new forensics team not be able to catch me though."

He fell quiet as he pulled out of the lot, drumming his fingers once more against the wheel with annoyance. While he did that, a few texts were sent to Lees phone.

Text From: Evelyn Harris
To: Lee


Hey. Before you go and ask 'who is this?', my name is Evelyn Harris. Don't ask where I got your # from, it doesn't matter. Are you the one currently working with Detective Gallagher? And please, just answer yes or no, I already know that he isn't a pleasure to be around, so that's not what I'm asking.

Meanwhile, Austin had calmed down a bit. Took a few deep breaths, and then he had realized there was no way out of this, and making the car ride uncomfortable really wasn't worth the energy. "Alright. Okay. No alarms were tripped, right?" He began, keeping his voice level just for the sake of not sounding as if he was bitching, though he wanted to be "We need to figure out how that happened. Best way to do that is to turn on the security systems again and have me run through it like I'm committing the crime, see what trips and what doesn't."
 
Lee flipped through the file and narrowed his eyes. There was pretty much nothing to go off of, and he hated that. Slipping into the car, he sighed and leaned his head back, listening to Austin complain. He felt a response tempt his tongue, and he didn't bother trying not to say it.

"A hit and run would probably be more interesting than this case." the detective closed his eyes, sighing in slight annoyance. However, just as he was starting to try and think it through, he felt his pocket buzz. Confusion slowly spread over his face, as he realized that literally nobody texted him except Chief, and even then, she wouldn't be texting him right after leaving the meeting. Pulling his phone out, he read the text from an unknown number and immediately felt suspicious. Being a detective, things didn't just happen on accident.

Text From: Lee
Text To: Evelyn

Yes, but I don't see why this concerns you. How did you get my number?


He didn't know why he even responded back, but he did. He had to ask about where she got his number because of the fact that he didn't give his out to anybody. Like, at all. Before he could put too much thought into it, he heard Austin trying to work through the security problem. Cursing at the unknown text for disturbing his train of thought, he put his phone away.

"Honestly, I feel like that approach wouldn't go down well with the new forensics team." Lee scowled as he looked out the window. "It could work, but if the Chief for some reason said I had to go with you again because of this new team, then I feel like this case might be more difficult to try and piece together." Lee pulled at each of his cuffs, moving in between the two for about a minute, his brain working through the problem.
 
Text From: Evelyn
Text To: Lee

I literally just told you not to ask where I got your number. I assumed that detectives had decent reading comprehension, but I guess not. I got your number through skill, determination, and a lack of things to do with my precious time.

Text From: Evelyn
Text To: Lee

I'm his cousin, practically his sister if we move away from technicalities. Basically, I just wanted to see who was stubborn enough to put up with his shit. Call it respect or something, I don't know. Would appreciate it if you didn't tell him I'm texting you.

"It's the easiest way to figure out what would've possibly tripped, and the easiest way to see how whoever this was worked around them." Austin replied, sighing dramatically "This requires a very hands-on sort of process. Well, for me, at least. Looking at security details doesn't actually compare to running through them. Besides, layouts don't account for faulty tech, that you need to see for yourself." He slowed down at a stop light, glancing over briefly, before looking back at the road.


"....You're right. A hit and run would be more interesting. 'Specially now that there's a new forensics team, what the fuck's up with that? Our forensics are fine. " He grumbled, pursing his lips, his annoyance seeming to be more with the poor choice in assignment than being paired with Lee at this point "But oh, no, can't let them on a case that's in our jurisdiction. That'd be idiotic! So instead lets bring a stuck-up team of strangers in to a case thats already boring and has nothing to go off of. That makes so much sense."
 
Text From: Lee
Text To: Evelyn

I don't know what you're up to, but I had to figure out if you were suspicious or not. Call it a Detective's Instinct. I don't care what you do or don't do, I don't even know you. Speaking of wasting time, I'd appreciate it if you didn't text me. I have a job to do.


Rolling his eyes in annoyance, Lee more or less shoved his phone away once more, his eyebrow twitching slightly. So many damn distractions. Thankfully, Austin was still talking about the case, so it kept his mind on track. Listening carefully, Lee pressed a hand against his mouth, gently tapping his lips. A humorless smirk pulled at his lips as he heard the annoyance in the other's voice. At least he wasn't the only one.

"Yes, it would be easy, but unfortunately, this case wasn't going to be easy from the start. If anything, we can try talking to the forensics team and see if we can get them out of the way of our investigation. While we have to work with them, they have to work with us too... it's a two way street. At least, it sure as hell better be." Lee growled the last part, scratching behind his finger as his annoyance started to pitch. At least working with the same partner would be better than having to deal with a whole group of people who could be more problematic.

"This case is ours." Lee narrowed his eyes as he looked down the road. It was the first time he had used the word 'ours' when it came to any case, but he was pissed. So many problems were popping up that it wasn't looking good for them...
 
Text From: Evelyn
Text To: Lee

No nonsense. Great. I can respect that, Detective Lee. Not trying to waste your time, but interesting that you're on a case. Which are you two on?


"Literally just say the word and I'll take any evidence they have." Austin replied, beginning to drive once again "Because, would love to believe its a two-way street, but let's be real, they have all the equipment and probably 2 brain cells shared between the whole group. Teamwork is a sham and whoever finishes the case wins the race or whatever. Also pretty sure that we'll be the only two from the office on scene. Which, like, fun. I guess." He rolled his eyes "Don't let me near the knives or I'm gonna slaughter myself."

He had worked with other teams before, and it hadn't ended well. Either they clammed up about details, or they took this as a 'learning experience' for him, because he was the odd one out and they needed to presume that he didn't know anything worthwhile. It was always a great time, and he always came back to the office, complaining to the chief and Evelyn simultaneously. He didn't have high hopes for this.
 
"While I'm tempted," Lee spoke sarcastically, turning to glance at Austin before the road again, "doing that would only make it worse for us. Especially considering it's the two of us against almost ten of them. They'll surely use their rank in numbers against us. So, we'll just fight using the law." Lee scowled, but felt his adrenaline kick up at the challenge. "Otherwise Chief is just going to kick us both off of the case, and I'm not dealing with that."

For the third time, Lee's pocket buzzed and he growled under his breath, cursing silently at the girl, Evelyn, who kept texting him. Reading the text, he nearly scoffed at the bluntness of the question. Was she that stupid to ask a detective about case details? Glaring at the phone, he typed a quick frustrated response.

Text From: Lee
Text To: Evelyn


You have some nerve asking about a confidential case. No, I'm not telling you. Ask your cousin if you're so curious, and bother him instead.
 
Text From: Evelyn
Text To: Lee

Hm. Alright, hotshot.


"Hate that you're right." Austin grumbled, staring ahead "This is still completely stupid, and if they refuse to give us anything, I will annoy the hell out of them. That's my specialty and I'm not afraid to do it." He reached another stop light and sighed, slowing down "This car ride couldn't get longer. God, if only I was one of the cops that was willing to run red lights." His phone then buzzed, and he looked down at it, using the lull in the conversation to type out a reply.

Soon, Evelyn was back to texting Lee.


Text From: Evelyn
Text To: Lee

Museum? Stolen spear? That's boring. The lack of tripped security is interesting, though. Really awful that you have to deal with that forensics team. Wouldn't it be fun to just see their faces if you one-up them?

Text From: Evelyn
Text To: Lee

I might be a distraction, detective, but I'm a distraction with resources. Keep it in mind.

Text From: Evelyn
Text To: Lee

[ attachment ]

Text From: Evelyn
Text To: Lee

Floor plans for the museum. Red marks the ventilation. There's one right over the crate with your missing spear. Purple line shows the path they would've taken to get there. Check the outside grate- marked with red again -and you should find it's off or loose.

Text From: Evelyn
Text To: Lee

Oh, and tell Austin to get off his phone, would you? Texting and driving is a hazard :)
 
Text From: Lee
Text To: Evelyn

...

Text From: Lee
Text To: Evelyn

You better hope that I don't find out this is a game to you. I'm taking the chance, so you better not be wrong.

Opening the attachment, Lee looked over the floor plan, his eyes scanning and memorizing it quickly. It was a simple lay-out, but he could see how the thief could have easily snuck in and stole the spear. He'd have to look in the building and examine the interior to see of it matched what Evelyn said. For now, he was going in on a blind note.

"I'll second that. If they give us any shit, I'll leave it to you at this point." Lee sighed and fiddled with his sunglasses. "I feel like this is about to be difficult..."
 
Text From: Evelyn
Text To: Lee

Give me some credit. I'm an architect. This is my job. Security systems, ventilation, layout? It's my business. Tell me if I'm right. Which, I probably will be. If I see any other paths I'll let you know, but looking it over? This seems to be the only way not to trip the system. It barely works....but it works, if you work it right. Would have to know the layout pretty damn well to get through it, though. Detective-ing isn't my job, so I'll leave that one to you.


"Oh, no, this will be hell. I can say that for certain." Austin replied, pulling into a spot and getting out. He was already annoyed, and he hadn't even entered the building yet. He let out a low breath, eyeing the museum warily, before leaning on the top of the car to look at Lee "Well, where to first? I can't exactly go off on my own for this one, so lead the way, I guess."
 
Lee looked at his phone and felt his lips press into a thin line. It seemed like she knew what he was talking about, and even if she was wrong, it wasn't like it would set them back further than they already were. Once the car stopped, he pocketed the phone once more, not bothering to respond. He was too immersed in the case at that point. He pulled himself out and eyed the museum, a scowl pulling at his lips. Great.

"We should let the new forensics team know we're here so they can't pull any fast ones on us. They could easily accuse us of tampering or something worse, and that would just cause trouble." Lee spoke as he turned to lock gazes with Austin. They were in the lion's den now, and going astray would only hinder them, like Austin had said.

Walking toward the crime scene, Lee rolled his neck lightly to the side and squinted against the sun. The glass doors were propped open by the forensics team, and Lee flashed his I.D. to one of the police offers waiting. The guard was already sending the detective looks, and he didn't hesitate to send one of his own, a deadly glare being sent his way. If this was how they were going to be treated, Lee would let them have it. This wasn't a game to him.

Soon, the came to the group of investigators, all spread across the museum, heavily concentrating. Annoyance started rattle his bones at the fact that nobody was ready to greet them, but again, he figured such a thing would happen. Clearing his throat loudly, Lee stood straight, his eyes fixed in a bored stare as one of the investigators finally looked at him. A 'tsk' came from the male's mouth and Lee set his jaw, keeping his composure. He just had to get through introductions and then Austin and him could start investigating.

"Who're you? We've got enough people here, and Chief warned us about a couple assholes that could be coming to make a scene." the investigator looked Lee and Austin up and down as if they were rodents. Lee rolled his eyes closed and pressed a fist to his mouth, clearing his throat. This is what he was good at... he could succeed without beating the guy's face in.

"We're detectives that were sent to co-investigate on this case. Sorry, but the 'assholes' you're looking for are here, and we're going to investigate. We would appreciate it if you would get your Chief for us and keep your nose where it belongs." Lee spoke with one of the iciest smiles he could muster, his black eyes piercing with cold authority as he looked down at the investigator. Without a word to retort, the investigator went to find the Chief investigator, leaving Lee and Austin to wait. Dropping the smile faster in less than a second, Lee groaned lightly, his patience already wearing thin. He could only imagine what Austin could be thinking as he glanced at the said male.
 
Austin stayed quiet throughout the encounters, finding it easier to not piss anyone off if he just drowned them out. He studied his nails a moment, before a buzz from his pocket interrupted his thoughts of possible sabotage- though they would never come to fruition. He sighed, taking out his phone and checking it quietly as they waited for the chief, tapping his foot impatiently.

Text From: EVIE <3 !
Text To: Austin

I'm VERY sorry that you're stuck doing your job with someone competent. It must be like, super hard for you to get used to sharing the brain cell, huh? You gotta pass it around now? Mom says its MY turn to use the communal thought processor!


He grinned a little, genuinely unlike most of his other expressions, dimples showing as he rolled his eyes behind his glasses. He began typing back a quick reply almost instantly.

Text From: Austin
Text To: EVIE <3 !

o yea no its super tough i don't think i can do it go on w/out me pls. teamwork....it burnses us..... :(

Text From: EVIE <3 !
Text to: Austin

Get back to work, dumbass.


He stifled a chuckle behind his hand, before slipping his phone away and looking up. When he noticed Lee looking at him, he raised both eyebrows and shot finger guns at him, pursing his lips in a manner that suggested that he wasn't really paying attention to anything the other team said, for the sake of not interjecting and being kicked out.
 
Lee couldn't help but roll his eyes at Austin's finger guns. He turned back to see the investigator returning... alone. They had to be kidding. Lee moved to unbutton his top button of his shirt, feeling the heat from his frustrations rise up his neck. Once the investigator made it back to them, a smug look was on his face as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Chief says if you want to waste his investigators' time, then find him yourself." was all the investigator said before turning away and going back to work. Standing as still as he could, Lee clenched and released his fists before turning away from the investigator. He started walking with long strides, wanting to end this little game himself. Turning to look over his shoulder at Austin, he looked at him with a blazing glare not meant for him. He was pissed.

"Fuck this, let's go. We're doing this our way." Lee snapped, turning back to look ahead, cracking his knuckles. He was in full detective-mode, fueled by the annoyance of the entire forensics team. It only made his adrenaline spike. He stopped and turned to Austin once more, sure he would regret what he was about to say later. "We can't let these guys get a larger edge on us. See what you can do, and we'll meet back here in 30 minutes." they were standing next to a statue of a bronze stallion, the only one in the museum.

Then, Lee was on the move. He pulled up the attachment he had gotten from Evelyn and started to look for similarities...
 
Austin practically lit up at Lee's words, as if this was exactly what he'd been waiting for. He did a mock salute, and then began to walk backwards as he said his parting words. "Roger that! Honestly thought you would never ask. Waste their time challenge, 2k19, here I go!" Then, without waiting for a reply, he bounded off. 30 minutes was a constraining time frame, but he was nothing if not insanely talented at annoying the hell out of people until he got what he wanted.

He made his way down the steps, over to where forensics had set themselves up. He flashed his I.D, and didn't wait for them to give him any shit before he went over to the table where the evidence was being laid out. That's really just how this worked: enough confidence and people couldn't bother you. He took out his phone, humming a tune as he snapped pictures of the layouts and sheets, ignoring the indignant chatter of the team behind him as he did. If he slipped a few things in his pocket along the way? Well, no one seemed to be the wiser. Why, if he even slipped the entirety of a crowbar into his jacket and got away with it, who's to say it wasn't because someone didn't notice?

They did notice him taking the crowbar, actually. They just didn't know how to tell him off about it. Working with a socially inept group of strangers had its perks.

Soon enough, he was back at the statue, waiting. He'd done his part of being a nuisance and taking what he wanted; it was time to wait and see what Lee had dug up.
 
Lee started from the entrance, his eyes moving from the blueprint to the ceiling. His gaze was calculating as he followed the red lines and vents marked in the attachment. Soon enough, he followed the one above the spear case. Like Evelyn had said, there was a vent shaft right above it. If the thief had timed the cameras correctly, he could have easily stole the spear when the cameras provided the correct blind spot. A smirk crossed Lee's features as a scoff left his lips. So, the girl had been right after all. He would have to thank her later. Now, he had to find the vent that the thief would have gotten in from. The most logical answer would've been from the back, but from the blueprint, he saw that the back vent was in clear line of the camera's vision.

With long strides, the detective raised an eyebrow and looked to the ceiling, having the blueprint burned into his mind at that point. Muttering some words about "sneaky" and "evasive", Lee tried to tap into the mindset of someone who might have known about the layout of the museum. He knew the back entrance would have been a no-go... and walking in through the entrance had too many cameras and could catch him after not seeing him leave once he stole the spear. So... that left above. Blinking, the detective slipped his phone into his pocket and went to one of the side windows, seeing a large oak tree growing tall, the top reaching well above the roof of the ceiling.

"Bingo." Lee grinned as success ran through his mind. He had a clear idea how the thief got in, and it was by climbing the tree and entering the correct vent shaft that led directly above the spear case. "Intelligent bastard... giving me a challenge." with the answer to how the thief got in, Lee made his way back to find Austin. He saw him waiting, on time, and smirked lightly, the look not quite reaching his bored gaze.

"So, I'm assuming you managed things on your side? Find anything useful?" Lee leaned his shoulder against the statue, his gaze hard on Austin. He knew they were alone, as they were further in the museum than the investigators needed to go.
 
"Oh, I have basically nothing." Austin corrected, though did tack on after a moment "Only because they also have nothing. Sort of sad. Uh, took pictures of all the files at evidence, so there's that, and I also have...some stuff. One second, let me empty my pockets." He held up a finger, before bringing out what he had.

He first set out w screwdriver, then what seemed to be a hair, then a few screws, and then, of course, the crowbar, which resounded with a loud clank as he put it down. All were in evidence bags still, as he'd wisely chose not to remove them.

"Here's what I've looted. Hair came up as museum security, probably not important." He shrugged, before crossing his arms and looking at Lee expectantly "Whaddya got?"
 
Lee slowly moved his jaw side to side as he watched Austin pull out all he could find. There really wasn't anything at all, so it at least made him feel better to know that the forensics team was just as stuck as them. He slowly exhaled and looked at the crowbar again. His mind linked it to the thief's entrance, but if there were no fingerprints, then they were back at square one. And, of course, there wouldn't be any fingerprints. The thief wouldn't be so dumb as to make such a sly entrance, and leave his DNA.

"Well..." Lee looked to the ceiling and pointed at it, slowly moving it down until he was pointing at the empty spear case. "The thief got in through the vent shaft on the roof, and had someone lower him down to get the spear once the cameras turned to scan a different direction. He climbed up the great oak that's growing beside this place." the detective pointed to the crowbar and sighed. "He must've used that to open the vent, but I seriously doubt that there are any fingerprints... other then that, I've got nothing."

And just like that, he felt like they had gotten nowhere.
 
"Wouldn't say that's nothing! Actually, that's clever." Austin said, glancing at the vent thoughtfully, adjusting his glasses as he spoke "Oh, that's actually....really clever. That answers how they got past security, plus, hey, now we know it was a two person job. That's more than those guys got, which honestly, good enough for me." He shrugged, placing his hands in his pockets and rocking on his heels a bit as he looked back at Lee "Its progress, which was more than I expected, so cheers. Don't think we'll be finding anything else around here, 'specially considering they won't let us, so I think bouncing is the best option we got at the moment, unless you want to go crawling through some vents."

Which was a serious offer, but Austin doubted that Lee would take it. He had the feeling that the other was much less hands on than him, and would much prefer to just wait until something else surfaced. He supposed it was respectable to do that, but if he had someone willing, he would personally navigate the ventilation out of curiosity masked as work.
 
"Yeah, I wouldn't think that we'd find anything else by just standing around. " Lee scratched the back of his head lightly and looked back up at the ceiling. He continued listening to Austin as he pondered what else they could do. He didn't want to leave just yet. Then, he heard the offer of leaving or searching the vents. Slowly turning his gaze to Austin, he narrowed his eyes in thought, and pressed his lips together. He really wasn't one for doing so much for a case, but he knew they were stuck. In this case, he knew they had to check everything if they were going to try and solve it.

"That's... probably not a bad idea. And I put that lightly." Lee adjusted his right cuff as his raised an eyebrow at Austin. "At this point, there's nothing we can do but do everything we can... which means searching all we can." shaking his head, he couldn't believe what he was saying, but at the same time, he wanted to get the boring case done and over with.

"So... you're better at this than me, I'll follow your lead.."
Lee averted his eyes to the side as he spoke, pushing his hands in his pockets.
 
Austin didn't move for a second. He looked genuinely shocked at the agreement, because he was. He was expecting to just leave. Apparently, that wasn't the case. He wasn't sure if he was pleasantly surprised or if he was afraid of the outcome of this venture. "Alright. Okay. I mean, I'm surprised that you're going along with this, but I won't complain." He paused, before adding, rather awkwardly "It's...gonna be cramped in there. Also you're going to have to do some weird maneuvers. I can always just head in alone? Like, I've crawled through vents before."

He had a slight phase where he rebelled against authority, which he was pretty sure was natural for the kid of a police officer, and it had involved vents and a lot of parkour practice. He would say he wasn't proud of it, but in actuality, he didn't care. It was sort of fun, and it wasn't like it wasn't useful. For example: this situation. He found the best way to solve a crime was to recreate it.
 
Lee smirked humorlessly as Austin assumed he would have thought about following him into the vents. Rolling his eyes, he crossed his arms over his chest and gave a small scoff.

"There's no way I was thinking of following you up there. I know my limits. I just need to see where you enter from so I can tell you where to turn in order to reach the spear case." Lee explained in a monotone voice, shifting his gaze up to the ceiling. "Based on the layout I explored, the vents can be tricky. That's the only reason I'm going with you." the detective then moved his eyes back to Austin, pulling at both cuffs absentmindedly.

"So, like, I said, you can lead the way to the vent you want to pull yourself into. The one I recommend is the one at the back of the museum. It leads to the spear case a bit easier than the others."