Chapter 3: Your Involvement is Unnecessary

"Having fun?" A familiar voice echoed in the room.

Hearing this voice, Caspian couldn't help but smile as he recognized the voice. "Mom! It's good to see you!"

Caspian walked toward his mom and gave her a tight hug. They were really close, but as of late, they rarely had the chance to contact each other. After all, Caspian was an incredibly busy detective, and his mother was a captain of a task force in a bigger city.

After a short moment, Caspian let go of his mother as he asked, "What brings you here, mom? Weren't you busy?"

"Haha, I am. It's just the murderer of your recent case is the person who our agency is chasing after."

"Huh… it seems this case is indeed serious."

"Yes, indeed," Caspian's mom then turned her head to face Abby as she said, "Abby, dear, I'm sorry, but can you step out for a moment?"

"Ah, yes! It's no problem, C—Ma'am Grace," Abby smiled as she left the room.

"Since we can't steal this case from you since that would be an obstruction of the law. However, we… I want you to drop the case."

"Huh? Why, though? Although I still haven't found out anything about the killer, I would probably find a clue about him—"

"No, this case is not something where you just find a couple of clues, and you can subdue the killer. That person is incredibly dangerous, and I DO NOT want you involved, do you understand?" Caspian's mom, Grace, said as she looked at him with a grave expression.

"That just makes me want to investigate this case further! If he's a dangerous person, we need to capture him ASAP!" Caspian exclaimed.

Grace was slightly angry as she said, "NO! I do not want you involved! I do not want to see you get hurt just because of your ego!"

"I thought we were gonna have a happy reunion, but you're just screaming in my ear! I understand what you mean, but I'm a detective! I want to keep people safe as well, mom."

"*Sigh* look, Caspian, baby, I know, but my force will handle everything. I've already talked with your captain, and you will drop the case no matter what."

"What!?"

"I'm sorry, son, but this is for your own good."

Grace simply pulled him to hug, and Caspian didn't fight back, but he was slightly angry. He calmed himself down since he knew his mom just wanted to keep him safe. But his stubbornness didn't want him to just lay around doing nothing while a so-called 'Dangerous Killer' was on the loose.

"Alright, mom. Calm down, please."

"Thank you, son," Grace hugged him tightly while giving him a peck on the cheek. She then smiled widely as her beautiful features radiated. Her gracious blue eyes shimmered lightly, her blonde hair fluttering.

Caspian couldn't help but go soft just because of how much he missed his mother. It's been a few years since they've seen each other face to face.

"Mom, how about we have a drink tonight? We finally reunited after a long time," Caspian said lovingly.

"Hahaha, of course. But I have to go first. Thank you for understanding, Caspian."

As Grace left, the smile on Caspian's face faded as he thought, [Sorry for lying, mom. But since you considered him dangerous, I will try to find him and put an end to him.]

Abby then knocked on the door and took a quick peek. "Detective, are you there?"

Caspian simply smiled as he said, "Come in, Abby."

"So, what happened?"

"Mom told me to drop the case," Caspian sighed as he sat down on his desk.

"What? But why, though?" Abby couldn't help but be curious. Ever since Caspian became a detective, she had never seen this situation before.

"She said that her agency was chasing after that specific killer. She also said that her task force would handle everything."

"I see. So are you planning to obey her, or will you do the opposite of what she said?" Abby had a sinister smile on her face. She knew that Caspian was afraid of his mother and wouldn't dare disobey his mother.

Caspian, who saw her face, snorted as he said, "Of course, I won't."

Abby had a surprised look on her face, "What? Aren't you afraid of your mom?"

"I am… slightly. But she said that the killer was dangerous. I don't want any more innocent people to get hurt. They can continue with their investigation, but I will also do my own."

"Do you want to join me or not?" Caspian asked Abby seriously. "We could get in a lot of trouble since we're doing things unauthorized, but it's much better than lazing around waiting for another person to get killed."

Abby couldn't help but be shocked by what she heard. After a while of contemplating while rubbing her forearm, she then said, "Ah shit… fine, I'll go with you."

"Nice, though we probably wouldn't be able to talk with the witness today since I'm sure my mom would find out. Let's do it tomorrow. If you get in trouble because of me, I promise I'll try and take full responsibility."

"Nah, don't. I'm doing this just because I want to."

Abby simply sighed as she looked at Caspian, "Anyway, are you really gonna do this? This is the first you're willing to get yourself in trouble. Also, don't act like the 'goody-two-shoes' of this, please."

"Fuck you, Abby. I was going to invite you to come drinking with me and my mom, but since you decided to be a bitch—"

"Detective, I'm sorry for everything I've done wrong. I will kowtow to you if this apology is enough, so please let me go with you!" Abby clasped her hands together.

"...You're absolutely shameless…."

"What can I say? I want to get some free drinks."

Caspian couldn't help but smile. He was friends with Abby for a long time, and being able to have a fun conversation like this was scarce because of their jobs.

"Let's have lunch… I'm dying of hunger," Caspian said as he stood up and stretched his limbs. Abby smiled as she replied, "Let's go."

They then walked to a restaurant near them, and as they walked there, a big man bumped into Caspian. The man was much stronger and bigger than Caspian, so Caspian fell, his hand hitting something sharp.

"Ah, shit! Sorry dude, I wasn't paying attention." the man said as he helped Caspian up.

"It's no problem. Ah… goddamnit, I have another wound." Caspian looked at his hand and just beckoned the man that it was alright.

As they left, the man simply smiled as he grabbed the sharp rock which wounded Caspian's hand while whispering, "Hmm! This is even more potent than the others. Ah, yes, that'll work."

Caspian and Abby sat down as they ordered their food. While waiting, Abby told Caspian, "Cas, show me your hand."

"Haven't I told you to not call me that—" Caspian was about to complain, but Abby stopped him as she continued, "Just show it to me?"

Caspian just shrugged as he extended his arm. Abby took a quick look at his wound and folded his coat, and exposed his other wound. Abby then asked Caspian with a concerned voice, "Where did you get this wound?"

"Last night, I tripped and fell on some glass. It's fine… no need to worry about it," Caspian smiled, seeing how concerned Abby was.

"Be careful!" Abby said as she let go of Caspian's arm.

"You're kinda cute being all worried," Caspian said as he leaned his back against the chair. Abby's face had a tinge of red, but it was unnoticeable as she said, "Oh, shut the fuck up. I'm just worried."

"Haha," Caspian laughed as they waited for their meals. After it arrived, they had a short chat, quickly finished eating, and returned to their station.

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Just outside the station, a person was calling someone on the phone. They had the same uniform as Caspian and Abby, but that person was almost completely hidden in an alleyway. "They're starting to make their move. We have to hurry and capture them before anyone else gets hurt."

"Affirmative, we will start our move soon," a voice from the phone replied.

"For some reason, they keep hunting down… half-bloods. You should keep track of every single half-blood within the vicinity. Keep them safe, and if the need arises, get them to the haven."

The call soon ended, and the person threw the phone on the ground and started crushing it with stomps. "I liked that phone, but it's better than getting tracked by those bastards."

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As the day ended, Caspian decided to visit the new pathologist. They had only interacted twice and only really chatted a little.

As Caspian entered the lab, he saw Scarlet working as hard as before. "Good evening, Doctor Bell."

"Ah, Detective, it's good to see you," Scarlet made a short reply as she compiled the files on her desk and put them in a folder. "What brings you here?"

"I decided to visit. And also get some new information if there are." Caspian said as he sat down on one of the chairs while leaning back.

"Unfortunately, I don't have any new information. I sent the animal blood samples to a bigger laboratory, but the animal blood was unknown." Scarlet said as she sighed. Being unknown means that the case was getting a lot harder. "Oh, Detective, I heard you dropped the case. Why did you drop it?"

Caspian sighed as he crossed his arms, saying, "My mom leads a specialized task force from a bigger city. She told me to drop the case since the murderer was someone they were chasing after. Of course, I couldn't do anything about it since even the captain had to comply."

"Your mom must have a really high rank."

"Yeah…. But I'm not planning on stopping and not doing anything to help."

"Wait, are you planning on—" Scarlet was about to finish her sentence, but Caspian simply answered before she could get it done. "Yes, I will have to disobey our superiors' orders."

"But that would just get you in big trouble!" Scarlet exclaimed.

"Shh! Don't be so loud. It's just… much better to do something than wait for another person to get killed."

Caspian sighed as he stood up. "Can you please keep this a secret? Although I wanted your help, I wouldn't want you to get in trouble. After all, you just recently transferred to this department."

Scarlet couldn't help but lean back on her chair while crossing her arms. "We're pretty similar, detective. I'm pretty stubborn myself, so I'll help you by giving you any information if I find some."

Caspian smiled as he said, "Thank you, Doctor Bell."

"No problem, detective. But as payment, let's just not talk this formally, m'kay?" Scarlet said as she waved her red hair. Her brown eyes reflected an eagerness to help.

"*Sigh* Alright, uhh… Scarlet."

"Good. I'll tell you when I find something else, Detective Caspian."

Caspian left the lab and called Grace. "Mom, let's go to the bar near my apartment."

Grace then responded, "Okay, see you soon. Did you invite Abby?"

"Of course I did," Caspian chuckled.

"I knew it," Grace laughed lightly as she said, "You just can't leave your partner alone. I'm already near the bar, by the way."

"You know it. Yeah, I'll be there soon," Caspian then ended the call as he called Abby and told her the same thing.

"Hey, don't leave the station yet. I'm still here," Abby said, the audio on the phone doubling. She then grabbed Caspian's shoulders while saying, "See?"

"Oh, you've already changed?"

"Yeah, I don't like the idea of being seen drinking while in uniform."

"Haha, let's go," the two rode in Caspian's car and headed to the bar.