Chapter Text
Marie slowly opened the door so that it wouldn't creak. It was quiet inside the apartment, suspiciously quiet. The girl stood in the middle of the hallway like a stranger, listening to every sound. Whoever broke into her apartment, Angel was definitely not happy about him. Inside were her personal belongings, important documents, and the few pieces of evidence she had managed to gather. Of course, they were all in the safe and there were copies, but that wasn't encouraging.
She had a pistol hidden under the cushions of the sofa, which she had acquired a long time ago when she was just starting to play a dishonest game. An ordinary weapon that won't be bothered to ask questions about. Such a small thing gave more confidence than the cameras and the security system. This human psychology is a strange thing. The commotion came from her office, where there was a safe with evidence, so it would be easy to get to the weapon. Marie put the documents on the bedside table near the exit, they would only get in the way now, and went towards the living room as quietly as possible.
Marie's apartment had only two rooms, she didn't need any more. The living room was a cluttered space combined with a kitchen. There are dirty dishes in the sink, and the table in front of the TV is cluttered with papers. The sofa was the only clean place, because the girl often used it for sleeping, if she slept at all. The other room served as her office, and it was locked with a key that Marie hid under the kitchen floor. So it was hacked.
Angel easily reached the couch and took out a pistol, fully loaded and the safety off. Perfect. There was a noise from the next room, something fell. The girl slowly moved towards the noise, stood near the door and began to wait. Silence. Marie put her finger on the trigger and started counting in her head:
One…
Two…
Three!
She yanked open the door and pointed the gun at the source of the noise.
- Aunt Marie! You're back! - A child's voice exclaimed.
His finger hovered on the trigger. In front of her was a boy about 8 years old. He stood in the middle of the office and looked at Angel with his big brown eyes, not noticing the gun pointed at his skull. Marie tsked in displeasure and took the muzzle away. Just a second more and…
- What are you doing here, Noah? – In front of her was her nephew and her brother's son. -Shouldn't you be at home doing your homework?- Her voice was cold, she could no longer hide her true nature. Although a small note of concern still crept into her tone.
The boy froze, considering the answer. His gaze became cold and calculating, the way she saw it in her mirror. Noah tried to copy Angel, which his parents really didn't like, and Marie even more so. She didn't need a kid meddling in her business.
- None of your business.- He turned away childishly, crossing his arms over his chest.
- It's mine. This is my house, and it's against the law to break into other people's apartments.- There was no warmth in his voice, but there was irritation and fatigue. She didn't want to deal with her annoying relative. - Should I call the police? – not a hint of a joke.
- I took the key from Dad. This is not considered hacking. And it's a little late for the police. - He said it with an intelligent look, as if he was discovering America for Marie.
Marie narrowed her eyes in disbelief. She and her brother had a strained relationship. Too different, too many old grudges. But he did have a spare key, just in case. After all, he was the one who paid the bills. But Angel wouldn't believe that her brother would just let his only and beloved son leave late at night to visit his "beloved" aunt. It was absurd. But Marie didn't ask about it.
Instead, she walked through her clean office, unlike the living room, where it was more pleasant to work in a favorable environment, and opened the desk drawer. Inside was a safe, which wasn't open, but Angel needed to make sure. She quickly and easily entered the code and breathed a sigh of relief. Everything was in place. Rowan's confession and the little information about the missing people were safe and sound. Marie closed the door with a sense of relief. Then she looked at her nephew, who was watching her every move. It was as if he hadn't been about to be shot five minutes ago.
- I almost shot you. - She reminded him, frowning. - Do you even understand that?
- You wouldn't have done that. I know you wouldn't! You're too calculating and careful. You would never... - He was cut off.
The girl grabbed the boy's hand, her nails almost digging into Noah's delicate skin, and pulled him closer, forcing him to look into her eyes.
- I would. – her tone was dangerous and emotionless.
Noah had to learn his lesson. Next time Angel wouldn’t react so quickly. She would definitely have to talk to his parents… This could all end badly. They stood there for a while until the nephew pulled his hand away. The boy looked at her with haunted eyes until his aunt changed her expression.
— Don't you dare break into my apartment without permission anymore. I'm not kidding, next time I'll shoot. – She shouldn't tell this to a child, but who if she doesn't teach him discipline – Do you understand me, Noah?
Noah didn't answer. He just sniffed and looked away.
– I asked.: Do you understand me? – The tone has become lower, more dangerous.
– Yes... Aunt Marie…
— Great. - Angel wasn't satisfied, but she just didn't have the strength for more. The rage was slowly fading.
– I just wanted to help... - it sounded so quiet that Marie barely heard it. Maybe she would have felt guilty if she hadn't known for sure that the guy was to blame.
– If you want to be useful, then bring the documents from the hallway. I have a lot of work to do today.
The boy perked up and immediately ran out of the office, not wanting to be alone with Marietta. The girl took advantage of the moment of solitude and allowed herself to relax. She pulled the hairpin out of her hair, the only thing holding her bun, and let her wavy hair fall over her shoulders. They still smelled of coffee, and the individual strands were stuck together. Marie was tired and buried her fingers in her curls, it was so hard.…
It had been two weeks since Angel had started her investigation, and she had only arguments and unverified data to go on. The families of the missing people were constantly sending her letters about the delay in the case. Marie knew that things were moving too slowly, even by her standards. The situation was further complicated by Sawyer, who was enthusiastically sabotaging any progress she made. Despite this, Marie couldn't help but admire his determination and ingenuity in many cases.
The hairpin fell to the floor with a loud clatter, no longer needed. Marie would have liked to shed the "Marietta" mask completely, but it was too early for that, too little information had been gathered. This image was built specifically to win people over. A sweet girl with an unusual last name, who would think of her? Only lately, her disguise wasn't working as it should. It was funny. She despised Leith for hiding behind masks, and she was no better.
Next to the hairpin on the floor was a wall plaque. It was the one that had attracted Angel with its noise. It was filled with newspaper and magazine clippings about Marie's closed cases. It was her little wall of fame. She had made them as a child, and the habit had stuck. Angel approached the fallen object and hung it back on the nail. There was her first case with the abnormal aristocratic family, and there was her most notorious case... Something caught Marie's attention. Her last case was a year ago, when she "retired" for personal reasons. It seems that she has started to lose her grip since then.
- I've brought everything!
A sudden scream made Marie turn around. Noah was already standing in the doorway with a huge pile of papers. He was almost invisible behind them.
- Yes, yes, put them on the table. – The girl waved away. The custody services definitely won't pat her on the head.
The boy, as he was told, put everything in Marie's workplace. The table was slightly higher than him, so Noah had to stand on tiptoe to put the papers down. One of the sheets slipped out of the stack and fell to the floor. The nephew bent down to pick it up, but immediately froze. He was trying to make sense of what he had read.
- What is "Big Body Initiation"?
- What? - Marie turned back to him. Now there was interest in her gaze. What did Noah find there?
- That's what it says here. - The boy waved the paper slightly. – Written by a certain "Harley Sawyer"...Who is it?
Her heart skipped a beat, and then began to beat at breakneck speed. Angel immediately approached the boy and snatched the document from his hands. The handwriting was indeed Sawyer's, just as incomprehensible and strange. Probably all doctors have it like that. Half of the words couldn't be made out because of the stains of today's coffee. Marie might regret what had happened, but the irritation in Harley's eyes was too... intriguing. Even possibly intoxicating.
It was a letter addressed to Leith Pierre. Apparently, the email was never sent due to the incident this morning. What a pity. It was written as follows:
Mr. Leith,
I perfectly understand your desire to accelerate the promotion of the "Big Body Initiation", but I do not think that the introduction of outsiders will be necessary. Recently, your arbitrariness has led to...
Stain
There's not enough material for that. Our business requires much more expenses. The children of the orphanage are a good start, but I need more…
Stain
I hope you won't bring Miss Greinberg up to speed. I don't think she is reliable enough. I hope you will take into account my requirements.
Sincerely, Harley Sawyer
Marie's hands began to shake. Suddenly, the small piece of paper became heavy in her hands. She had a new lead. A new thread that will help her. Harley probably left the letter on the table, and Angel accidentally took it along with his work. It was an accident, but it was so pleasant. She had never thanked a god she didn't believe in as much as she did now.
She sat down in her chair and laughed. Sawyer must have searched his entire office for his letter. It was a pity she couldn't see his annoyed face.… The sudden change in mood surprised Noah.
- Are you all right, Aunt Marie? - The voice became worried. As if he wasn't being scolded by an Angel. How quickly children forget their grievances…
- Everything is fine, I would even say perfect!
The girl held the paper in front of her, examining Sawyer's handwriting. He definitely deserved the "Most Illegible in the World" award. Every visible word was like a cipher, and the divorces left gaps here and there. Even so, Marietta was reading the text with a strange fascination. The words were delivered skillfully, competently and quite covertly. Marie could only guess at the true meaning of the letter, but even that bit of information was enough.
Suddenly, the Angel brought the paper closer to her face. An unexpected action taken out of curiosity. A familiar scent hit her nose, which turned her life into a nightmare, but at the same time was the most desirable. He's like a drug, he's made a girl addicted to him. This smell was much better than the poppy stuff that was sprayed at the factory. Marie relaxed back in her chair and put her feet up on the table. God, why did Sawyer have to have this divine fragrance?
– It even smells like him…
- Why are adults so strange? - A sudden voice broke through the trance the girl was in.
Her nephew was looking at her with a mixture of confusion and curiosity. She had completely forgotten that he was still there.
- Because everyone is crazy. Some more than others...
Marie leaned over to the safe and opened the door again, putting the new evidence inside. Well, she could study it in more detail later, without witnesses.
- Is this Sawyer your boyfriend?
The girl straightened up abruptly, looking at Noah as if he were a completely different person.
- Why do you ask? Her voice was dangerous again.
- You were happy when I gave you the letter. The boy shrugged. - You looked at it for so long, I thought it would have holes in it. And all the time you were smiling, and sincerely. You rarely do that - he said, argument after argument.
Marietta furrowed her brows and said with displeasure:
- Sawyer is mine... - she searched for the right words. – My colleague… We see each other a lot at my new job. We have a strictly working relationship. - "Built on hate," she wanted to add.
Noah wasn't convinced. He nodded suspiciously and narrowed his eyes.
- Is that why you have a whole board with his name and photo? – The boy closed the door, revealing the detective's little secret to the world.
There was another board on the door. There were various stickers attached to it with Marie's thoughts that were related to Sawyer. Here she understood his coffee preferences, recorded his schedule and close social circle. All the information found was on the stand. Something was underlined, something was circled. The whole board looked like the work of a stalker. Angel looked at Noah. He stood in front of her desk as if he had discovered the great secret of the world.
- Why do you need so much information about your "colleague"? - The boy crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for an answer.
Marie leaned back in her chair and answered without any concern:
- My life and work are none of your business, Noah. Besides, this is private information.
- I'll tell Dad that you're back to your old ways! – By "old ways", he meant her work as a detective. Her family didn't really approve of it. There was no guarantee of safety.
- And I will say that his son left the house without his permission and broke into my apartment. – the argument was stupid. Her brother would get mad at her anyway, but that silenced Noah. The boy's eyes darted around the room, looking for an opportunity to respond.
- Then I'll say that you almost shot at me and threatened me!
That's when Marie got a little nervous. She already had a bad relationship with Noah's father, and she didn't want to worsen it. She swung her legs off the table and looked at Noah.
"What do you want, little gremlin?" A hint of annoyance flickered in her voice. She's being blackmailed by a child, how stupid…
Noah's eyes sparkled.
***
The next day, Marietta came to Sawyer's office with her work done. She didn't sleep all night doing this idiotic task. Angel stood at the Doctor's desk, holding out a USB flash drive with data. Harley didn't even look at her, didn't look up from his computer. He just took the object out of the girl's hands without looking at it and skimmed through the work she had done.
- Hmm... - he drawled meaningfully. – You know, Miss Angel, I'm surprised that you made it on time. - The unexpected praise confused Marie. Is Sawyer more supportive today? Well, thats good. A sudden pride in herself spread through her body. - However. - The word hung in the air. – These reports are no longer relevant. It is tedious to provide more accurate and concise information about each of them. You will also need a printed version of all the redone documents for the archive. That's why I need you to redo it all. - Harley turned to her now, crossing his arms. His eyes sparkled with amusement. Nit. –And since you're doing your job so fast, it won't be difficult for you to fix everything by... - He looked at his wristwatch. – Let's say by noon. But for you, it will be a piece of cake. Isn't that right, Miss Angel?
Marie could feel her fists clenching behind her back. The pain of nails digging into the skin was sobering, allowing me to think more calmly. Sawyer was asking for the impossible, again, just to wear her out, to watch her suffer. He knew that she would do this job on principle. Angel forced a smile on her face and said sweetly:
- By all means, doctor. – just a little more and her teeth will crack from the force with which she clenches them.
Marietta grabbed the flash drive from Sawyer's hands and hurried out of Sawyer's space. She could feel Harley's gaze on her back and his predatory smile. God, he was lucky that he wasn't the target of her mission and that he smelled so good, otherwise Marie would have spared no expense to rid the world of him.
The girl decided to fix her lousy mood in the break room. She needed a dose of caffeine to collect her thoughts. Fortunately, almost no one was around at this early hour, she definitely didn't need any more gossip and rumors.
Marie made her terribly strong and bitter coffee and sat down at a nearby table. The flash drive twirled between her fingers as the Angel glared at her. Most likely, the girl was very deeply immersed in her thoughts that she did not notice the sudden appearance of a recent acquaintance.
- Hello, hello! - Fisher waved cheerfully, drawing Marie's attention. – Do you mind if I sit down? Without waiting for an answer, she took the empty chair next to Angel.
The girl looked up. Actually, Marie didn't really want to talk to a generative extrovert right now, but she had to grin amiably and relax.
- Yes, of course I don't mind. - She put the flash drive in the pocket of her skirt. - Do you need something? The rest room at the shelter is much closer than this one. - Despite her sweet tone, she remained bluntly linear.
Diana pouted and muttered resentfully:
- Can't I just visit my friend while she's on break? - "A friend?" They only met yesterday, and this girl has already put such a label on their relationship. – The break is too early. – She remarked casually. - Is Sawyer really bothering you? Although it's not surprising, I've heard that he forced as many as 7 new employees to quit! And I witnessed his disgrace myself. - Diana leaned towards Angel conspiratorially.
This information did not surprise Marie at all. Not everyone can stand the character of Hardy.
- Yes, actually, we don't have the most pleasant relationship with him. Well, you know that. The pink shirt that Fisher had given her was now at the bottom of the laundry basket. – Sawyer has really tortured me, I don't know what to do. Even now, he's given me such a stupid assignment! At least hang yourself. She tried to make her voice as plaintive as possible. Marie could feel herself deteriorating with every word. Although this was how she maintained a dialogue and got rid of stress.
Diana's eyes lit up sharply. Just like Noah's last night.
- You know... I have a solution to your problem. - She rummaged in her fancy purse and pulled out a leaf. – The shelter needs help now, so Stella has organized volunteer work there for everyone. And this is encouraged by Leith. So you'll take a break from Harley at the shelter, play with the kids, and unwind. - A smile crossed her lips. - Well?
It was a setup. Diana had her own motives, nothing happens for nothing in this world. But she couldn't figure out what the benefit was for Fisher. But if you look at it from the other side, Sawyer mentioned the children from the orphanage in his letter, so they still play some role in this nightmare. Angel could have asked Stoll to find information for her, but he's currently busy with another assignment for the girl. Marie turned the brochure over in her hand, reading the terms, and made a decision.
- I agree.