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Did Kit mention how boring paperwork was? And how easy it was to get distracted? Quite literally, anything was more exciting than notes.

She checked the page number of the archive folder: 6.

Eh… too distracted.

But who could blame her? Not much came around to the little agency, and when something appeared, you had to snatch it quickly before anyone else could. Otherwise, it’s just more paperwork. Yay…

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Jace Mawer (NORA)

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"It's nice to meet someone who fancies the finer things in life." Nora smiled at them. Puns are simply darling. "I'm afraid I must be off to the Inves-tea-gative Department to pick up my assignment for today... but perhaps you could walk with me?"

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Niwa Atsushi

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"Yeah, friends. If you have any Spider-Man..." Niwa's brain rebooted itself. "Wait, actually. We seriously gotta get to work. The assignments are probably already up, and we won't have time for paperwork by now."

Damn. Nerding out had its downsides sometimes.

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Andreja Buivis

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"Of course you didn't. You are but a simple detective, and such things are out of your hands, dear Sawyer." Andreja offered them a grin. "As the great and renowned Head Detective Melagis, I order you to not question anything from now on, because it will confuse your very adorable little head."

She reached out and gave it a few pats for good measure before retracting her hand. "Anyway... the case."

The ruby ring, huh... Andreja recognised it. The story'd been going around for months. As her eyes trailed over the footprints in the bathroom, they landed on a detail in the corner.

"Huh," she mused. "He was a wealthy man, wasn't he? Recently divorced, got most of the money in the settlement..."

So why was the caulking...?

A smile slowly spread over her face. "The thief," she said slowly. "Is the woman he housed here."

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Adrik Volkov

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"Two years, six months," Adrik replied automatically, then winced. Ugh, it sounds like I was counting down the days. Changing the subject, he said, "A-Anyway... what are you doing here? I thought you were going off to that university, whatchamacallit... Cub... Clwb Ymladd?"

Tyler wanted to go there too.

He shook his head. It was a stupid thought. None of that mattered anymore.

But he couldn't help but cling to it all the same.

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SERENDIBITE

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All Detectives, Investigative Assistants, Profilers, and Interns please make your way to the Investigative Department where Maji is posting the assignments! Reach out to Serendibite if you have any questions!

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“Ahaha, I had a, uh, change of plans. Things didn’t work out as well as I’d hoped. I’m here to get away from my dad… He’s plenty occupied with Anastasia anyways...”

Iliya muttered that last bit under his breath.

“Hey, uh, Alexander’s here! Have yous een him? it’s been almost a decade…"

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Adrik Volkov

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Aleks?

Adrik's heart seized. Oh god... oh god...

That could not be good.

Hadn't he spent the past year doing everything he could to get away from the Volkovs? Enrolling in a private academy, taking on an internship in a different city, quick skims over the website for any "V"s?

Yet it hadn't been enough. Even now, staring into Iliya's stupid smiling face, Adrik felt a wave of anger wash over him... and loneliness. And self pity. And inferiority- worth nothing compared to his stupid cousins with their stupid sholarships and their stupid degrees and their stupid popularity.

"I guess we should find our assignments for the day." He wrapped the ends of his scarf around his hand and squeezed hard. "Not much good standing around here, huh?"

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“Y-yeah! Of course!”

Iliya smiled brightly.

“We should get goin-“

“Oi, what’s going on here?”

Aleksandr was there, suddenly, looming over Iliya, hands in the pockets of his shorts, his golden hair messy and wild. His jacket was tied around his waist, his blue eyes glancing over Adrik for a moment.

“…new kid? Nice t’meet you, name’s Aleksandr Konstantin.”

Konstantin. not Volkov.

“You’ve met Volkov, over here?”

A clear attempt to seperate his own presence from Iliya’s, to remove relation.

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Maji

"The blues over there..." Maji muttered as he posted the last one. Being helpful was great and all, but he now had like T-minus 10 minutes until he was off break. He sighed and sunk into a chair, pulling out his phone to check things.

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Buraddo

Stella, and... Buraddo suppressed a sigh. Jace Mawer. Nora.

"Well then, I suppose I should find my casemates!" They made sure to keep just enough levity in their voice to hide the agony.

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Megami

Megami thought for a moment before nodding. "Thanks!"

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Adrik Volkov

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Aleks.

It's him.

It's big brother.

"Charmed," he replied coldly. So this is your game then, huh? Well sure, I'll play. Whatever pleases you, "Konstantin." "I really should be going then. I don't want to mess up on my first day of the job."

He couldn't keep his eyes from darting to Iliya when he said it.

With a polite nod, he ducked underneath Aleks' arm and speed walked to the lounge, doing his very best to keep his eyes straight ahead and to pretend that they weren't behind him. Nope. Nothing to see here. No siree.

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“…It’s been a while, huh?”

Aleks walked behind Adrik, quietly.

“You were like, waist height the last time I saw you, kid.”

He spoke calmly, not trying to spook Adrik away.

Iliya sighed.

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🧣Eloi Torres's POV🌧

"Yeah, friends. If you have any Spider-Man... Wait, actually. We seriously gotta get to work. The assignments are probably already up, and we won't have time for paperwork by now."

Eloi smiled sadly at him. "Aw... yeah. I- guess so. Let's go see what those assignments are! At least... once we're finished, maybe... we can- read them together, right?"

Assuming he's... not doing anything after work. Or maybe we could do it on our break together?

Reluctantly, he headed off to find some case assignments with Niwa. But there was this warm, sunny feeling inside of him now... he had a friend. A friend who was genuinely interested in something he also liked. It was... a nice change.

♟Laurence Walton's POV📖

Someday, maybe someday, he would be able to investigate some of those cases himself. But right now, he was stuck on janitor duty. Oh, what was he worried about, anyway? It was like that pest Andreja had said, after all. He'd get through this month, and then he'd finally be able to actually prove himself. That he could do so much more than just a janitor's work.

My intellect is being utterly wasted right now. Lovely. Tsk, tsk.

And it was all because some girl decided to mock someone's glasses. He should have stayed out of it. He just... hadn't expected her to do what she did...

Ugh.

Why.

He'd get his hat back... later. He smoothly adjusted his hair with his hand, and then got back to scrubbing and mopping.

📚SAWYER LAURENS'S POV🍭

"Of course you didn't. You are but a simple detective, and such things are out of your hands, dear Sawyer. As the great and renowned Head Detective Melagis, I order you to not question anything from now on, because it will confuse your very adorable little head."

"Ah... um... okay!?" Had they just been insulted? Hmm... nahhh, probably not. Hopefully! They liked this girl's energy!

"Anyway... the case."

"Yeahhh! The case!"

"Huh. He was a wealthy man, wasn't he? Recently divorced, got most of the money in the settlement..."

"Yeahhh... I was thinking that maybe--" They stopped. Had she just figured something out?

"The thief, is the woman he housed here."

"Whoaaa. How do you figure? That might make sense... given his divorce. You think that the ring originally belonged to her and he took it, then she stole it back? Maybe he's got this love affair going on with some other person and she got jealous? Could make sense!!"

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Adrik Volkov

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Can't he take a hint?

Adrik almost wept for joy when he spotted the crowds around that posted paper. He pushed through and made it to the front. Smiling, he adjusted his glasses and-

His smile dropped.

Aleksandr Konstantin, Sawyer Laurens, Adrik Volkov.

He had no idea who that Sawyer Laurens might be, but the rest seemed pretty clear. Basically, he was screwed. Completely and utterly. 100 flipping percent-

Screwed.

He sighed internally.

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Andreja Buivis

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"No, no," she laughed. "You misunderstand. He was a divorced man, right? When he got the divorce, he had something on her... so he got a major claim out of the settlement."

Therefore...

"He was having an affair and the woman he had it with stays here, out of sight. She stole his ring and took off. He had to report the theft- it's a famous piece, y'know? People'd be asking after it. He cleaned the whole place up, tried to make it look like a plain old bachelor pad... but you know."

She grinned. "He was rich. And rich people don't fix their own caulking."

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Niwa Atsushi

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The place was crowded by the time they got there. Niwa looked around, taking note of all the new faces and storing their features in the back of his mind for analysis later. So many kids here... barely in their teens.

A pang of loss echoed deep in the chambers of his heart. Looking in there, he could still remember his own teenagehood.

Keiki. They were still here, weren't they?

Huh.

The room was noisy, and he suspected it might be overwhelming for Eloi. "Want to wait in the hall?" He offered. "I can find your assignment for you. It's no trouble."

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Aleksandr was right behind Adrik.

“How convenient. Guess you’re stuck with me, kid.”

His grin was wide.

Iliya pushed to the front of the crowd, unabel to see over them due to his diminutive size.

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Adrik Volkov

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A crushing certainty weighed in on Adrik. He wasn't sure how, but all of a sudden he just knew that Aleks was behind this. Somehow that b*stard had made this happen. There was no way to know how- some strings pulled behind the scenes, a favour turned in, or a threat in the form of a little card under someone's office door.

But there was no way this was a coincidence. Out of every detective in the agency, little Adrik Volkov gets stuck with the one person he has baggage with?

No, life just didn't work like that. Adrik understood the power of a fat wallet.

And from the smirk on that jerk's face, Adrik suspected that Aleks might know even better than he did.

Uuuugggghh that smug b*stard.

Adrik just wanted to sock him in the mouth.

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Aleks patteds Anrik on the head.

“Hey, don’t have such a sour expression. It won’t be that bad.”

He was grinning cheerfully, ruffling Adrik’s hair affectionately.

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Adrik Volkov

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Adrik slapped the hand away. "Don't touch me!" He yelled. Several heads turned in their direction. He could feel the curiosity in their gazes... and the judgement. "Please," he added through gritted teeth.

Spinning on his heel, he headed towards the hallway where each office stood. He scanned each marker until he spotted Detective Laurens. The door was cold on his knuckles when he knocked.

Shifting from foot to foot, he waited for an answer.

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Aleksandr just… stared at Adrik for a few moments, his smile fading.

“Adri- hey, kid, wait up!”

He rushed after Adrik, running as fast as one could in slippers and socks.

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📚SAWYER LAURENS'S POV🍭

"No, no. You misunderstand. He was a divorced man, right? When he got the divorce, he had something on her... so he got a major claim out of the settlement."

"Ohhh... Yeah! That would make sense." Sawyer nodded vigorously. "Due to prenuptial law and whatnot, right?"

"He was having an affair and the woman he had it with stays here, out of sight. She stole his ring and took off. He had to report the theft- it's a famous piece, y'know? People'd be asking after it. He cleaned the whole place up, tried to make it look like a plain old bachelor pad... but you know. He was rich. And rich people don't fix their own caulking."

Unceremoniously, Sawyer started clapping. "Wowwww! I guess that's why you're a Head Detective!! That makes so much sense! But... I feel the need to ask, what about the other suspects? Couldn't one of them have done it?"

🧣Eloi Torres's POV🌧️

"Want to wait in the hall? I can find your assignment for you. It's no trouble."

Eloi was about to tell him no, until he saw the bustle of people, and realized why Niwa had offered. "R-Really? You don't have to... I--" He could almost feel all the eyes drilling into his skull. He began to sweat intensely.

"B-But... If you're offering, um, okay... Thank you..."

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From Stella's desk came the rustling sounds of paper... even in the 2070s, she belongs to the rare group of people that still read newspapers. A part of her is even surprised that they still made them. Sure, they were now synthetic to not harm trees but they were already warning about "the medium of paper dying out" back in the 30s. The detective folds the newspaper neatly on her desk and makes her way to the "Investigative Department". Finding her name was easy, apart from maybe Nora, she was the only detective with a three-part name. "Red folder. At least better than some girl's lost doll." She could not help but chuckle a little at that.

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คภ๔гคєɭ ςครร๏ฬคгץ

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קг๏Ŧเɭєг

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It had been an hour. Andry supposed she should check to see if cases were posted. She needed the walk, anyway. Standing, she made up her mind to head over to the Investigative Department, Lana's return still on her mind. She posted her letter on her way. The impending case assignments loomed, and despite her cool exterior, Andry couldn't shake the jittery unease. Lana, with her damning evidence, was like a storm cloud overhead, threatening to unleash chaos.

The Investigative Department hummed with activity, detectives doing their detective thing. Andry, however, felt like she was walking on eggshells. She saw her name under a lovely red case. They were usually the kind of gory mess that seasoned detectives dealt with. This would be a fascinating profile. Conversely, she would have to become the monster again. She glanced at the assignment board again, to see who she'd been assigned with. It was Nora, Stella, and Buraddo's red case. Just what she needed, teaming up with Buraddo. Fantastic. Whether that would be a nightmare remained to be seen.

Her eyes moved to the rest. Andry's name was also under a suicide case with Aleks, Sawyer, and Adrik. She snagged the assignments with a grunt, bracing herself for the emotional rollercoaster that awaited. Suicide cases weren't exactly a picnic, but right now, they were a damn sight better than the Lana crap.

Andry's hands gripped the papers, frustration simmering beneath her collected exterior. Lana, with her smug grin and ironclad evidence, had her wrapped around her little finger. A quiet anger burned in Andry's chest. What the hell was Narcisse thinking, cozying up to that criminal? It made no sense, and the more Andry thought about it, the more it pissed her off. Her face, of course, was inscrutable. She would be dead if she let on every time she was angry.

As she walked away from the assignment board, her mind raced. The tension with Lana was a live wire, ready to spark, and the fact that Narcisse was tangled up in it ticked her off. Andry's jaw tightened as she navigated the bustling department, the weight of the assignments a constant reminder of the mess ahead. Lana's reappearance had thrown a wrench into the works, and the uneasy partnership with Buraddo in the red case added an extra layer of complication. Now where the hell were her compatriots?

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Adrik Volkov

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Leaving the Investigative Department, Adrik closed the door with a little more force than necessary. He made his way down the hall and towards the offices where he'd find the Head Detectives and get them to-

He came to a stop.

Get them to... what? Transfer him to another case? The newbie, already involved in a fight on day one?

Oh, they'd love that. He was practically offering up his resignation on a silver platter.

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Andreja Buivis

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"Exact-lee. Scorned man having an affair of his own? The papers'd eat it up. He'd be doomed. So he pays his little lover to stay here, and be real quiet... but he doesn't pay her enough, y'see? She's keeping his secret and doing the caulking. She gets frustrated after a while. And she bounces. Boom, she's off, and with his little ring too."

Andreja laughed. She'd heard a variation of this story a hundred times- everyone knew old men with young wives were no good and neither were their bloody jewels.

She considered what they said for a minute, then shrugged. "Eh, yeah, that's possible too. This was fun though, right? Even if there's no evidence and it never comes to light- because god are rich people good at covering up their tracks-[/i] we can be assured he's no innocent in this. In one way or another, he's hiding something. Might as well talk about it, amirite? Mess with that shiny reputation of his."

Or nothing! That worked too.

Hmm. The plot needed to be advanced...

"I think they finally posted the cases," she said thoughtfully. "Lotsa noise out there..."

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Andrael's inner turmoil hasn't gone unnoticed... while not telepathic in any way or form, in Stella's opinion at least, she felt a certain... vibe coming from her. Though at this point, all she knew are some chaotic currents underneath and a detective never jumps the gun, unless with conclusive evidence or a sudden eureka. And the last thing she needs today is making an "enemy" right now.

Stella first takes a look around the other cases first, though there was nothing particularly interesting about them. It's to be expected that the interns get a break-in, murder scenes are not really something everyone should or would see. Though, with enough training - or a surprising lack of morals - some could see the inventiveness of some of these. The former Oracle distinctly remembers a murder with a knife, tied over a few pulleys to an ice block.

Enough reminiscing about better times, there is a job to be done! Stella simply shakes her own head gently, as if she declines something, before walking away from the board and on her way to Andry. Or at least where she remembers her desk was...

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