Blood Red, Snow White. [Private, 18+]

[Uzaki]

 

 

 

Name: Gabriel Picket

Sex & Position: Male, Seke

Age: 26

Height & Weight: 5ft 9in, 175lbs

Eyes: A dark blue.

Hair: A deep auburn color.

 

Likes:

+Honesty

+Animals

+Applepie

+Hot Showers

+Winning

 

Dislikes:

-Losing

-Winter

-Lying assholes

-His stepfather

-Abusing power

 

Personality: Gabriel Picket is an open and chatty guy, he's charming and sociable and isn't shy around crowds or strangers. He has an air around him that makes people relax in his presence and open up when they meet his soft smile and handsome face. In most situations he appears calm and collected, levelheaded and not one to jump to conclusions.

Beneath his charming surface he's judgmental and quick to divide people into different categories of either being useful or useless, intelligent or idiot, strong or weak. He's smart, aware of his good looks, and his decisions are thought through and calculated for the best possible outcome for his own gain. Gabriel has a moral code of always upholding the law and doing the right thing, no matter the situation. There are many people he's friendly with but not many people he's friends with. Most of his colleges like him, a few thinks he's full of himself and a narcissist. People forget that he's smart and underestimates him, something he's aware of and uses whenever possible.

 

History: Gabriel comes from an upper class family, his mother was mayor for a period but then stepped down when her husband and Gabriel's father died in a shoot out at his work as a detective. He has always been popular and he has always used that to get his way, or in getting what he wanted. Early on in life he decided to become a police detective like his father, something his mother didn't want for him for she'd rather see him rise in politics. He's worked his way up quickly through the ranks to become a detective.

Other than that he's had a string of brief lovers, never anyone he actually loved more than himself and his career.

 

Random facts:

*Gets lonely and sad sometimes and numbs that with drinking and mindless sex with strangers.

*Hates his stepfather, he's convinced his stepfather is only a leech, a gold digger.

*Believes people only like him for who he pretends to be.

*Loves animals, watches a lot of cat-videos online.

 

There's something beautiful about the colour red against a white background, Gabriel mused as he stood looking at a bloodstained, white sheet. There's not much blood, just a long smattering trail across the short side of the white fabric hung to dry in the dry cleaning store, and it has seeped into the cotton and dried. Vivid, dark red. He finds it quite beautiful and decides he'll keep that stray thought to himself, lest his fellow detectives will look at him strange.

 

Turning around he takes in the scene of the crime once more, the slightly over-weight latino man cradling a wrapping of bandage over the wide cut on his forearm while sweating in the humid summer air. The spinning fan above their heads keeps causing the mess of scattared papers spread in the room to flutter about, settling briefly before moving again. A female medic from the ambulance outside stands a bit to the side, ready to take the victim of this robbery as soon as Gabriel says she can, she looks annoyed.

 

“Detective Picket, we've taken the surveillance video from the store.” a police officer informed, carrying a cd in a plastic bag labelled 'evidence' and continued on outside. The bell above the door dinged twice as the door opened and closed.

 

“So, I'm to understand that nothing was stolen.” he questioned, moving closer to loom over the sitting man and looking down at his receding hair line. There was a distinct smell of metal and antiseptic when he was standing this close, as well as some cheep cologne and sweat. The latino man nodded, avoiding eye contact.

 

Gabriel fished out a photo of his suit and held up in front of the other's face, forcing him to look at it. The man glanced, dark eyes sweeping over the image of two men standing together and talking. Their faces were facing whoever had taken the picture but was a bit grainy due to the distance it was taken from, it was still easy to see their faces and recognise them.

 

“And do you recognise any of these two men?”

 

“Senior, please, I don't know anything. I am just working here, every day the same and nothing happens.” he said with a distinct accent, finally looking up and meeting Gabriel's blue eyes, wide eyed and nervous. Drops of sweat rolled down the side of his face and across a few days worth of stubble.

 

“So when I look at the video later I won't see any of these men on the video, and I won't see anything being stolen, is that right? No bag being taken?” he continued to question, offering a toothy smile, and feeling quite pleased with himself.

 

It wasn't an accident that he'd turned up at this particular dry cleaner when it reported the attempted robbery. Gabriel had investigated a string of robberies taking place at dry cleaners, the first had been filed away as a failed attempt by a colleague of his but he'd dug it up when he'd gotten the case. This was the fifth to get hit. Three of the other dry cleaners hadn't actually been robbed, nothing had been taken, but at the second robbery something had been taken. A bag, with something. The dry cleaner working claimed he didn't know what it was, that bag. Gabriel's gut told him something was up. Something was fishy about all of this.

 

“Senior, Senior Detective, I don't know what's in the bag.” the man stuttered, looking panicked. “I don't know these men, I don't know anything.”

“Look again and think very carefully before you answer this time. Try to remember if you got all your papers in order, Senior.” Gabriel replied, dropping the smile and narrowing his eyes. “Or the papers of your family, perhaps, your señorita and bambinos. And now. Look again.”

 

It looked like the man was holding back his tears, looking paler than before as he glanced at the picture again and carefully studied it. Dark eyes looked between Gabriel's stony face and the picture a few times before the guy sort of sagged, shoulders slumping and lowering. Surrendering. Gabriel's heart sped up a little, excited and thrilled as he could almost taste victory.

 

“The man on the left, it was him, I don't know who he is.” the latino confessed, sounding resigned. “He came and cut me, told me to give him the bag. That is the truth. I don't know what the bag is, I get paid to keep it a few days before some other guy picks it up. Easy dinero.”

 

---

 

Out on the streets Gabriel stretched and pocketed the picture in his suit again, pulling out his phone and dialed the technician he'd left the work of identifying the men on the picture with. In the corner of his eye he saw the victim being loaded up into an ambulance, the medic fussing about with straps and blankets, and he snorted at the drama of it.

 

“Yes, Gabe, what is it?”

 

“Well hello to you to, Christie.” he greeted the grouchy tech, keeping his voice light and going for charming. “Do you have any identities for me yet, on the photo from last week? Have you worked your magic on it yet?”

 

“Oh, shut it, I said I'd call when I was done.” she snipped back, clearly not impressed with his charms over the phone. “I do have a name and an address for one of the guys, though not the one you wanted. It's Mr on-the-right-side. I haven't tried everything yet so I didn't send you the info, but if you want it....” she trailed off, waiting for him.

 

Gabriel frowned, Christie was a hard nut to crack, not as easily swayed as the rest of the female colleagues of his. He would find a way though, she was an excellent technician and he'd might even go as far as to say she was the best at identifying and working with digital media like sound and images. Having her in his corner would be beneficial.

 

“Please, Christie. If you would be so kind.” he begged, silently hating having to beg anyone for anything, no matter how small. There was a snicker from the other and the sound of typing on a key board, fast typing on a keyboard, and then a distinct final tap.

 

“Those were the magic words, Gabe. I sent you the information. You're welcome.”

 

The call ended before he could say thanks as she hung up on him, but at least she'd sounded somewhat placated. Perhaps he'd use a more respectful and timid approach with her, maybe that would appeal to her dominant disposition, he mused while using his smart phone to access the e-mail to check what information Christie had found. The e-mail only held a name and an address for the guy on the right, it was actually the guy on the left that had been identified as the perpetrator in the robberies. Perhaps they were associates or partners. Maybe this was a hired hit and Mr Right-side was the contractor.

 

Time for a house call then, Gabriel thought and headed over to his car, it was sometime between late afternoon and early evening so he hoped his suspect would be home.

[LoneDigger]

Jaxson already regretted everything about last night. This had to be the worst hangover he had received yet, and his body was sore everywhere, but yet he had a lingering sense of smug accomplishment.

The transaction had gone by smoothly, as far as Jaxson was concerned their was no evidence on him about the crime and he had even managed to climb his way up a little higher in his gang's ranks.

He wasn't just some bottom of the heap, punching bag for the higher ups, or at least not as much. Jaxson considered himself to have moved from an omega to a beta, per-say. And the male had the scars and bruises to prove it.

Of course his gang had decided to celebrate their accomplishment by drinking and partying, most of last night was a blur. But Jaxson could recall having one too many and then...

Jaxson moved to stand up only to feel a wave of pain shoot up his spine.

"Fuck..."

Still an omega there, apparently.

His thoughts were then interrupted by the sound of his phone ringing.

Jaxson glanced over at his digital clock by his bedside, and the electric blue numbers read that it was already late afternoon and he had slept through the whole morning, unsurprisingly.

He sighed loudly, running his fingers through his messy amber hair, ruffling it up slightly as he pulled himself back up again, and stumbled out of bed.

It was probably one of the guys calling him again about another one of their missions.

Though Jaxson highly doubted he would be useful today since he was still hungover as hell as he fingers fumbled to grasp the phone and press the incoming call button.

"Hello?"

Jaxson slumped down on his cheap, leather sofa. Not even having the faintest notion that this call could be anything life changing.

[Uzaki]

Finding the place hadn't been difficult. The gps had narrated Gabriel through the streets and it had only taken a bit over twenty minutes to go from the crime scene over to the registered address of the guy on the right. Most of the traffic from rush hour had petered out though there were some cueing on the main streets and a few construction sites causing detours. He was fascinated over the constant road construction that was going on every summer, always closing down lanes and redirecting traffic. Fascinated and sightly irritated.

 

Now Gabriel stood outside the door to the home of his new, live lead for a few minutes, considering calling for backup, before he pulled up his phone and dialed the number included in the e-mail. Through the thin door he could hear the shrill ring tone of a phone, probably belonging to the one he was looking for. His suspicion was reinforced as someone picked up and answered at the same time as the phone on the other side silenced.

 

“Hello.” he greeted the voice, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “My name is Detective Gabriel Picket and I'm calling in regards to a crime I'm investigating. I just want to confirm that you're home, I'm five minutes away and want to make sure I'll be able to meet with you.” the half-lie tumbled easily from his lips.

 

Standing back Gabriel leaned against the wall across from the door, keeping the phone to his ear. It would be amusing to see what the other would do with the information he'd given, he was hoping the other would try to make a run for it so that Gabriel could catch him on the way out. It would surprise him if this character would simply welcome him with open arms. One can never know though, he thought and waited for the response.

[LoneDigger]

The line went silent for a moment while Jaxson's hazy mind tried to process what had just been spoken.

Okay... so this guy was claiming to be a detective that was only five minutes away from his home.

Was this even real, or some sick prank?

It seemed too confidential considering what he had been up to the other day.

Yet Jaxson had been sure that there was no evidence against him. He wasn't even the one with the body count. He was just there to 'help'.

But there was no way that some detective could know all that.

No way in hell.

"Quit fucking around. I'm really not in the mood for your games."

Jaxson growled, his instinct already deciding that this had to be a set up from someone in his gang trying to get a laugh.

But when the male didn't get the response he was expecting, his blood suddenly ran cold despite the hot summer air and he stumbled over to his window, pulling back the dusty curtains, the harsh sunlight burning his green eyes as he blinked rapidly to adjust and then glanced down at the street bellow and spotted a man he did not recognize, leaning against his doorway.

What the hell was going on?

More importantly, what to do now?

How many were there?

Was he trapped?

Even though Jaxson was almost starting to panic, he forced himself to remain calm and act like nothing had happened.

It was all just a misunderstanding. That's it.

[Uzaki]

Gabriel could see, in the corner of his eye, the upstairs curtain moving, someone was looking at him and he made a show of turning towards the window and giving a small wave with his free hand. That was quite the colorful language, he thought but decided to keep his comments to himself. The other already seemed tense and avoiding riling him up further was probably a good idea.

 

“It’s okay.” Gabriel tried to sooth with a calm tone of voice. “I only want to talk to you, ask a few questions. It won’t take long.” Stepping back he glanced towards the window again to see if he could catch a hint of what the other man was doing or going.

 

I won’t bite, was at the tip of his tongue but he swallowed and took a breath. Gabriel did bite and he had a sharp tongue but he also knew when to keep his mouth shut. It wasn’t often he lost his cool or let emotions rule him.

 

“Come to the door, Jaxson. “

[LoneDigger]

Jaxson placed both hands over his eyes, the sunlight suddenly feeling like nails that were being hammered right into his skull.

The phone had been dropped in the process, and the male kept mentally telling himself to not panic.

Calm down.

Jaxson quickly thought over his options. He could try running, but that would be useless, especially in the state he was already in.

The thought of killing the detective briefly crossed his mind, though he quickly decided against that as well. Since it would be too obvious who had done it.

That left him the only choice to cooperate and see what this guy wanted from him.

As he bent down to pick up the phone again, Jaxson replied in a surprisingly even tone,

"I'll be down in a minute."

Before hanging up the phone and then allowing himself to sigh loudly and slump back against the wall.

No time for pouting, he needed to see what this guy wanted so he could get this all over with.

As Jaxson got dressed he purposely choose clothes that were loose fitting so that he could easily conceal a handgun underneath his hoodie.

He didn't plan on using it necessarily, but it was something he always took with him when dealing with people he didn't trust.

Once he was done with that, Jaxson headed downstairs to unlock the door.

[Uzaki]

Gabriel hummed at the click of the other hanging up and pocketed his phone. Making sure he was standing a good distance from the door but still within range of shoving his foot between the door frame and door should it be needed, he waited.

 

From a young age he had tried to think and plan ahead. When he was a teenager he'd made a game of trying to predict people's reactions, either to the things he did or said or from situations that happened around him. Most of the times he was wrong but he got quite good at being able to consider enough possible outcomes so that he at least had thought of the outcome that happened.

 

When the door finally opened he flipped open his detective's badge, gold star flashing as it reflected the lights around it.

 

“Hello, I'm detective Picket.” he repeated and offered a small smile, trying for a friendly look. “Thank you for your co-operation.”

[LoneDigger]

Jaxson was not ready for this.

Not now.

His sense weren't alert. He felt almost beaten already, which was not something Jaxson normally ever even considered. But he quickly pushed that thought aside and replaced it with his usual, stubborn attitude.

Jaxson almost wanted to laugh when the other flashed his badge around. Like it was some kind of threat, or significance.

"What do you want?"

Jaxson muttered, wasting no time in getting to the point of the conversation. He didn't bother acting polite either. It wasn't the male's style to do so. Even if it wouldn't kill him to show some manners, occasionally.

All Jaxson knew was that he did not like authority figures, so he probably wouldn't be too fond of this detective Picket either.

[Uzaki]

“Well.” Gabriel said, briefly speechless from the direct reply. It wasn't unusual with dealing with rough people, usually there were also slurs or foul language to go with it so he appreciated the decent, if somewhat annoyed response.

 

The other didn't seem very interested in his badge either so he put it back into his coat pocket. The brown coat he wore was short and slim and a modern take on the classic coat detective's in older films wore. It was a gift from his mother at his promotion to detective, partly a joke and he'd worn the jacket in spite ever since. The pockets were big enough to hold everything except the gun, that he always had strapped to his side. While pocketing his badge he fished up the picture of the two men, Jaxson and another.

 

“We'll skip straight trough the chit-chat then, sir.” he continued and held up the photo. “This here is an image of you and another man, a man we're looking for in relation to a case. Who is this man?”