bearbones ☾

Chapter One

“Identification code, please.”

That voice was all too familiar to him, having heard it every day for the past year. It was a feminine robotic voice, gentle and sweet, yet static filled and dull all at once. Green eyes scanned over the microphone on the wall, and cleared his throat.

“KG-Z908S.”

“Welcome back, Detective Kairus Guyzer. Work hard!” The feminine voice said brightly, the lock to the building clicking and letting Kairus walk into the dull, gray building, fluorescent lights buzzing overhead.

“You know, Stace, that voice modifier really is something.” Kairus stated as he leaned over counter just left to the door to see the pretty secretary that handled the door controls. She was pretty, with pinned up platinum blonde hair and tanned skin, with wide, rounded brown eyes that were the shade of the mud on his boots.

“I know. I hate it, but the director says its required now. With those new robots taking over secretary jobs, he doesn’t want it to seem like we’re underfunded.” Stace said, shaking her head and tapping her pencil’s eraser against her bright red lips, heaving a long sigh.

“But we are underfunded. There’s no problem with that. Not like we’re a government organisation. That would be sad.” Kairus chuckled, fixing the rolled-up sleeves of his white button up. The golden buttons holding the fabric tightly together just above his elbow. Stace rolled her eyes, wagging her finger at him disapprovingly.

“You get to work, Mister Guyzer, or you’ll end up getting another mark-off.” Stace scolded.

“Wouldn’t want that.”

With that, he began to walk to his desk, slumping his chair and propping his feet up on the mahogany desk so he could lean back and relax. It wasn’t like he had any cases that were in dyer need of solving- mostly just missing pet cases. Most of those pets ended up roadkill or at the shelter anyways, so why should he care?
After a good five minutes of nothing, he saw a shadow cast over his desk, and then two. In front of him stood a particularly round man, balding with the most crooked mustache a man could grow. He wore a navy blue suit with slightly rusted buttons, and a brown leather belt that was held just under his beer-belly, its belt buckle a rose gold with a rounded square buckle. Next to the round man was a tall and skinny man, no older than 23 at the least, with a full head of warm brown hair, stunning blue eyes watching him curiously. He was underdressed, wearing a casual button up and jeans, white running shoes laced up tightly around his feet. Around his neck hung metallic dog tags.

“Guyzer!” the round man exclaimed, pounding his fat fist against the table to regain his attention. Jumping, kairus wound look up at the man and flash a white-toothed smile.

“What can I do for you, boss? Or are you mistaking me for Stace and want me to file paperwork?” Kairus inquired sarcastically, only to recieve an offended scoff from the door. “sorry, darlin’!”

“I swear, I ought to fire you, Guyzer. I would, if your father wouldn’t have my damn head for it.” the round man stated, pulling up his pants- the belt, as nice as it was, was somehow too big for the man. “You’ve got an assignment.”

“This is Jacobson, my nephew. He’s hellbent on being a detective, so his mother sent him to the agency. You’ll be his mentor.” the boss-man stated, not giving Kairus much room to argue before he waddled off to his office, leaving Kairus slightly stunned. Kairus looked to Jacobson and heaved a loud sigh.

“So.. detective, huh?” Kairus asked, crossing his arms over his chest and looking to his terminal. “I guess I can teach you, Jerald!” Kairus decided and drug himself to his feet.

“Jacobson, sir.”

“What?” Kairus inquired, blinking three times as he stared at the man infront of him.

“My name is Jacobson, not Jerald.” Jacobson explained and offered a slightly sheepish smile.

“Right! Well, i’ll be calling you Jacob, then!” Kairus said enthusiastically before holding out a callused hand to shake. “Kairus Guyzer. I guess we should go find a case, then.”

☽☀☾
Hours of searching for cases- or at least searching for cases that he found interesting-  with no success. Everything was just missing pets or solved. Heaving a heavy sigh, Kairus would slap the file he held in his left hand down on the desk, starting Jacob slightly. “Christ, we never get any good cases!” Kairus exclaimed, pouting slightly as he, once again, propped his feet on his desk.

Jacob scowled, the chain that held his dog tags wrapping around his index finger. “Well.. If you want a good case so badly, why don’t we go out and find one?” he asked curiously, gnawing at his bottom lip. Kairus made a face as if he was considering it before reaching over his desk and pulling the males lips from his teeth.

“Maybe, but we won’t get anywhere if you keep biting your lip so much it bleeds. You can’t solve shit if you’ve got an infection.” Kairus scolded, watching as Jacob turned red like a Christmas light. A short chuckle left Kairus, barely audible over the chatter of the office. “Alright. I guess we should go then. Maybe we’ll have some luck down at the police station. Some old cold cases that never got solved..” Kairus would pause as he slowly lowered his feet, standing. “And maybe lunch. Lunch also sounds good.”

☽☀☾

Flashing his detective’s license gave them very quick access to the cabinet that the police kept cold cases. Jacob has gotten everything from folders A-J, and Kairus got the cases that were K-Z. They spent a good hour looking through the folders before Jacob spoke.

“This one seems interesting.” he held up the folder, flipping through it. “Janet Foster, aged 32, dies of a sudden heart failure. She had no prior heart problems, no family history of any sort of heart diseases and such.. Police suspect foul play.” Jacob explained, scooting his chair closer to Kairus so he could get a look.

Kairus glanced over the papers, eyes landing on a picture. The woman looked faintly familiar, and a quick trip down memory lane revealed why. He could hardly remember her pretty grey eyes and the stench of alcohol that hung off the both of them as their lips smashed together in the alley behind a bar. The next morning, he would somehow awaken in his bed with a cold space next to him, pillow smelling faintly of Marguerites Étoiles, a strong perfume that smelled faintly of daisies and starfruit.

Snatching away the file, he would flip through it, a deep frown forming across his lips and starting to scrunch his nose. “I know her. That would explain why I never got a call back.” he stated, raising a hand to brush through his greased back black hair. “Shit.” he breathed out, closing his eyes a moment.

A gentle hand placed on his shoulder, and he looked up to see jacob eyeing him worriedly. “You ok, Detective?” he inquired softly, which Kairus responded to with a simple nod. Kairus stood from his chair.

“You clean up the files, I’m going to go sign this out.” he stated and moved off to the receptionist desk at the front. He seemed lost in thought as he signed the release forms, suddenly feeling oddly thirsty and craving some whiskey.

“God damn it.”