Murder of the 15th IX

It was 11 in the morning when Levi and Marco walked into Jackson Detective's office tired as a horse.

After leaving the crime scene they tagged along with D.I Davies to inform the family of the terrible news. And to listen to some basic questioning regarding the latest victim Cleo Gallagher.

Joe and Mike looked up from their seats after hearing the front door open.

"Hey." Marco greeted the two in the room in unison with Levi's "Hello, boys."

The slicked blond flops down the mustard-colored sofa, raising his leg on the center table. He loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top two buttons. Then he cracked his neck.

"Morning, boss," was the two's unison reply, subtly exchanging a look noticing the lighter tone on the blond's voice compared to the past days.

Marco sat down on the other end of the mustard-colored sofa, stretching his legs on the floor. His back hurting like a bitch.

He turned to Levi, "So, you two made up?" he asks the blond.

"We never fought," Levi retorts, a yawn passing his lips. He grabs the day's paper on the center table, the murder is already printed on the front page.

Marco grinned at his friend, "Didn't seem like it." he comments, and winks at the boys who he knew were listening to their conversation.

They had been tense the past weeks, it was like they were dealing with a ticking time bomb that was named Levi, but they can't see the countdown. Levi in a good mood is great, he'd always been very generous with their pay and bonuses. And their benefits were great too., that's why even though he could be a real prick at times, the stay. And their work hours are very flexible, giving them enough time to spend with their families, well atleast for Joe who has a wife and kid.

But years before the redhead came into the picture, Levi was so bored of his wits that he was irritable, demanding, and sarcastic. He wants things done fast and expects people to be able to keep up with him. An impossible feat for average blokes like them.

But since their blond boss had been acquainted with Sam his moodiness had improved. He had her as a constant source of entertainment, an intellectual match that he didn't have before. She always had something to distract him from when he didn't have any interesting cases.

To the boys, she was a blessing sent by gods to quell their years of suffering, a savior. But at the same time the Kryptonite.

And for the past weeks, they had been quietly agonizing, hoping his fight with the redhead would come to an end and a brighter day would be seen again.

Levi expelled a tired sigh and turned to his left where Marco sat. "What's the point of this, Marco?" he asked.

"Nothing at all. I'm just glad you two are okay again. I mean, you were touchy." Marco says, earning nods from Joe and Mike.

Levi narrowed his eyes at him then at the two in disbelief. "A bit, boss," Joe says.

Marco snorts, "No, VERY. " he insisted, chuckling after.

Levi scoffed, tearing his eyes away from the bearded man and back again to the newspaper.

"Admit it, you are glad too," Marco expressed.

"And now she has someone threatening her. " Levi comments flipping the page.

"Don't worry, Davies assigned men to protect her," Marco reminds him.

Levi shoots Marco a glare, after using the word 'worry'.

"I'm not worried." he retorts, earning an unconvinced look from Marco.

"But they are idiots," Levi says, something Marco couldn't disagree with. That whole press-con still irked him. Things may have turned very different if they avoided publicizing the investigation. And now a lot of people are living in fears just for having certain names.

Marco left the office half an hour later after drinking tea that Mrs. W prepared. Whilst Levi climbed up his flat, to shower and change into something more comfortable.

Levi lay on his flat, on the sofa playing with a card in hand, making it disappear and reappear. He was thinking about the case, about Sam, about the photo of her attached to the corpse. And the tension on his jaw almost seemed permanent. Levi got off the sofa, walked towards his table, and grabbed his mobile.

He searched for a name, he clicked it and pressed the mobile against his ear.

"Hello, sister dearest," he said over the phone.

A Week Later.

Marco walks towards Sam's lab, where he knew Levi was. Two Bobbies stood by the mechanical doors, whom he exchanged an awkward greeting with. Marco gently knocked on the door, attempting to get the two's attention inside.

They seemed to be discussing, in his mind some genius debate about things he wouldn't understand. And that's coming from a licensed Family Doctor.

Sam turned together with Levi, and he raised both hands revealing two cups of coffee. Sam grabbed the controls on the table and switched the door open.

Marco walked in, "Hi!" he greeted.

He made his way towards the two, "Elle asked me to bring this to you two, says she's busy. Something with the Press," he says slightly amused. He knew what was going around the press. Especially the internet.

Levi and Sam each take a cup from his hands.

"Thanks, Marco," Sam says nonchalantly.

After taking a quick sip, Levi turns to look at Marco who was then shrugging his jacket and hanging it on the rack by the door.

"What about the Press?" he asks the bearded man. Sam turns to Marco, waiting for his answer. She was curious too.

Marco's mouth broke into a smile,

"You two are a couple, dating for 2 years now," he says, well aware of the people shipping the two.

Since the media storm on the murder of the 15th case, he had noticed an increasing amount of people tagging their @JacksonDetectives twitter account.

But since last week, when a photo of them walking out of Guy's Hospital together, speculation started to form.

And yesterday, when they were seen together, this time in a Chinese restaurant at the wee hours of the night after a busy day. The media had labeled their relationship to be 'more than professional.'

Levi's fangirls online had been tweeting and retweeting the photo, tagging their agency's twitter account. Some are outraged by the slicked blonde's betrayal, while the many support it. Even asking for some juicy bits from him or the boys.

More and more photos of the two in public had been posted and retweeted with the hashtag #Samson, even those from a year previous. And after receiving no comment from both Sam and Levi. The world took it as an admission, something Marco and their friends had found funny. Because the truth was, they weren't even aware of it.

Neither of them owned any social media account.

Levi frowned, if they were going to make speculations they should at least get the facts right, he thought.

"That's clearly false, we have known each other for only 14 months," he comments dryly. Sam simply shrugged, continuing to drink her coffee, she needs to get back to work soon. Afterall her world does not only revolve around the Murder of the 15th Case.

"Samson." Marco quips, stifling a laugh.

Levi cocked a brow, whilst Sam tilted her head at the bearded man.

"Pardon?" Sam asks. "That's what they call you two, Sam and Jackson, Samson. The world's biggest genius couple. It's a thing now." he explains, earning a rare confused look from the two.

Marco turned to Sam, "Don't you have twitter?" he asks.

Sam shakes her head,

"I don't even have Facebook," she says. "Why not?" Marco asks, almost offended.

Sam shrugged, not really finding the big deal. "Communication other than face to face leads to complications," she says

Marco scowled, "How about socialization? Getting in touch with old friends and family. " he insisted.

"I've got Elle for that. She can get me, anyone, when I need them." Sam says amused. It was true.

"How about entertainment?" Marco offers, trying to make a point. Recruit her into joining the Twittersphere.

Levi looked down at Sam, "Do excuse Marco's attempt to get you into social media." he mocks.

Sam snorts, amused. She turns to Marco, "I've got Levi. I'm never bored." she says taking the last sip of her coffee. She puts the empty cup aside and gets back to examining the latest victim, Cleo Gallagher's fingernails clippings. In hopes of finding any trace of DNA from the suspect. A long shot.

Marco gave Levi an amused grin, while Levi watched the woman work, torn between being insulted and flattered by her comment. At least in his books, never bored is a compliment.

Next day, CID

Davies stood by the low podium, facing a group of officers seated before him.

Davies turned to Levi, seated amongst the officers at the front, next to Marco.

"What have we established, Mr. Jackson?" Davies asks Levi, being formal in front of his colleagues.

"He is a man, with profound knowledge on pharmacology, forensics, and medicine," he says.

"So, basically, you." Jones jokes behind Levi, earning a glare from Davies who had been stressed over the case since he got it more than a month ago. There had been a total of 7 confirmed victims, the first 2 still hadn't been identified.

Levi turned to Jones, his signature mocking grin back on his chiseled face. "No, but he's good. Good enough not to leave a trace, almost. We established that he is a well-educated man..." Levi starts to explain.

"We?" Kevin asks, earning a bored look from Levi for interrupting him.

"Dr. Gray and I" he emphasized, "..have formed the conclusion that this man works in the field of Medicine, with his profound knowledge on the human anatomy, pharmacology, with his precision and intellect, unlike this dreadful lot. We have concluded that this man works alone."

"How can that be? This takes effort...this takes--" an officer interjected.

"Yes, thank you for your useless input. We all know that it takes time and effort, and a good amount of neurons. Thus, the very reason he has to do it himself and nobody else. Clear signs of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, from the way every victim was handled to perfection. I hope you are at least familiar with it. The need for perfection, if one wants something done right, he needs to do it himself."

"How about features? Hair color? Height and build."

"As for that, approximately 1.82m and above, based upon the length of hand marks left around the latest victim's arms."

"Cleo Gallagher," Davies said.

"Pardon?" Levi asked confused. "The woman, the latest victim's name is Cleo Gallagher," Davies explained. Marco sighed, Levi knew the woman's medical history and psychological profile, all intimate details based on the info they had gathered about her. But he can't recall her name.

"The last victim, Cleo, has Dr. Gray's photo with it. She could be the target." one suggested, and the others nodded in agreement except for Levi who thought the notion stupid.

"We have assumed the same, but in further consideration she could also be the distraction to the next victim. Let's not forget this man works on perfection, he has a hit list, the names. We are certain Samantha Gray is not on that list."