jake x male!mc x darkness as best buddies/partners in crime [part 2]
A/N: the main push i needed to write a second part of these series is @lem-onchan 's amazing art of Darkness. better than i would've ever imagined and still right on the spot!
➢ a quiet foyer of a grey faceless block of flats in the depths of a busy city centre.
➢ laced with unspoken curiosity, your confident steps were followed by nearly audible ones. hadn’t it been for the shuffling of the worn shoes, you wouldn’t fight the urge to look back and see who was trailing behind. Jake climbed the stairs with lesser enthusiasm than you, albeit he remained steady and didn’t appear to be willing to voice any doubts, which was a good sign already – he was as invested in this peculiar case as you. and while absentmindedly smiling with relief, as you moved up the spiral staircase, you did a little review in your head.
➢ about a day ago, you received a strange message via email, suggesting a requested investigation of a recent murder case. although such tasks weren’t entirely uncommon for both of you, the way a supposed client contacted you was rather specific. in fact, it was him who found Jake’s hideout and knocked on the door in the ungodly hour of night.
➢ you vividly remember turning to the sound in a flash, clearly being intimidated by it, though Jake’s blue hues only calmly drifted away from the monitor, as his endless typing ceased. briefly looking at each other, you nodded at him, carefully drawing a gun hidden under the floorboard near the couch.
➢ you stealthily approached the door, expecting it to burst open any moment. instead, the measured knocking repeated, as if the person behind it was politely waiting to be let in. however, you weren’t the one to be fooled. doubt grew within you rapidly, as you suspiciously prodded possible explanations for such a strange occurrence; it was unlikely that some delivery boy got lost and stumbled to your and Jake’s flat to get money for his pizza. although, you`d gladly choose him over a friendly visit of a several police officers.
“it`s Themis, l.k.l.m”, replied a man’s voice steadily.
➢ eyes widening, you once again looked over at your partner, still unbothered, sitting with his legs crossed and tired gaze focused solemnly on the door alone. it was a password for visitors – one that was changed every week in terms of safety – and the one guaranteeing the client wasn’t a sly conman or a well-informed third party, who wanted to gain an easy entrance. nobody could get it without reliable channels you placed your trust in, so this late-night stranger awoke a thirsty interest, promising a perhaps good piece of work for the future morning.
“what’re you talking about, sir?” you tried to feign ignorance to check the visitor further. “you must be either drunk or out of your mind to disturb people so late. go or else i’m calling the cops.”
“no!” the voice on the other side rose in panic. you almost missed the desperation in it. “i’m sure i-i got the right flat. i’m from Tino. Tino sent me there.”
that statement finally let you feel convinced. you swiftly hid the gun in the breast pocket of your jacket and twisted the doorknob – revealing a skinny bloke with disheveled fair hair, dressed in worn jeans and a funny shirt. overall, he reminded you of a clueless high school kid, though he didn’t appear younger than both you and Jake.
“then come in.” you chirped, greeting him with a bold twinkle in your eyes and a laid-back, lopsided grin; you moved to the side, allowing a slightly confused guy to enter the apartment. Jake warily analysed his movements before spinning in his chair to face the guest properly.
you promptly closed the door, and then there was an uneasy pause.
“so you’re these guys everyone’s been talking about on the news… right?” the stranger began his speech rather haphazardly, almost audibly gulping the lump in his throat.
“maybe.” Jake replied drily without a hint of a smile.
“we don’t watch telly much these days, you know?” you tried to compensate the chilliness in the hacker’s tone and kept the conversation going in hope to unhurriedly discover the guest’s identity. you gestured to a pile of papers and photos of different people on the desk. “a lotta work to do.”
that seemed to relax a visitor way more than how Jake addressed him with one word.
“i bet. so these rumours were true, after all…” he mumbled with visible relief. “i was really hoping you’d help me with my case.”
“who do we owe the pleasure to?” you kept a collected smile on your face, desiring to obtain necessary information before any matters.
“oh. my name is Daniel Garrett.”
“MC, and this unfriendly however genius fellow over here is Jake. he won’t bite but I make no promises.”
Jake pressed his lips together at your antics.
“Tino assured me you two would help me out, no matter the difficulty.”
“considering you do already know his name and whereabouts, i guess it’s useless to hide the fact he’s our informant.” the hacker said seriously, clenching and unclenching his fingers and making the dark rings adorning them look more prominent. “as our potential client, you’re sworn to keep that in secret, even if we end up turning down your case.”
the fair-haired young man looked at Jake persistently, even daringly, having a sudden air of confidence.
“i’m afraid you won’t turn it down, because everything will change soon. and this widescale case will be impossible to overlook, no matter how much we try.” his words carried a sense of regret. “the person dear to me already fell victim to this and there will be even more casualties if we do not hurry.”
both you and your partner looked at each other, intimidated by such statements.
“Daniel, do you mind being a little more concrete?” you wordlessly pointed at the couch, offering Garrett a seat. he accepted it with a slight nod.
“i believe my friend was killed by anonymous users of some weird group chat.” Daniel paused, collecting his thoughts. “… his name was Jamie. the body found recently in the abandoned mart belonged to him. this incident attracted a lot of attention…”
“… as it was quickly shut down.” Jake tuned in. “the case gained quite the resonance on forums.”
“yes. that’s right. so you do know what i’m talking about.”
“but i still don’t get why you are so sure we will agree on this case.” the inquiry hacker sent Daniel’s way was too sharp, and Garrett directed an angry glare at him.
“don’t get him wrong, Jake is just trying to ask for more details.”
“because the number of such terrible occurrences is increasing. the net is not even moderately safe anymore. i know there were other people who died under such mysterious circumstances as those which are surrounding Jamie’s death. all from our city. all relatively similar in interests and occupations. Jamie… he told me about entering this group two months ago and since then he drastically changed. he spent all his time in front of the computer or outside, going god knows where. and then he disappeared and never came back. what i’m trying to say is… i contacted relatives of the similar victims and they reported the same behaviour as what happened afterwards those guys joined the group.”
“in other words, i need the assistance of the professionals to know the truth.”
➢ having plunged deep into the memories of the yesterday evening, you came to realise that the correct door was inches from your nose. Jake reached an arm and rang the bell for you, not commenting on your thoughtfulness.
➢ a few moments later, you were greeted with as usual amusing sight of your peculiar acquaintance, dressed in his fluffy blue sweatpants and home t-shirt with kittens. he seemingly only came out of bed, having not even rubbed his sleepy grey eyes. he had bed hair, unruly chestnut locks stuck to his forehead. he was scratching his belly with one hand and holding a mug of steaming coffee in the other. his posture mirrored one of a puzzled person, who was processing what the hell you and Jake were doing on his doorstep.
“hello, Darkness, my old friend. care to tell us passionately about the most popular forums lately?”
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