I Am Tired Of Being A Hero
Chapter 90: Rationality switch

Chapter 90: Rationality switch

"We have a mutant with the ability to control fire."

The silence that followed after this sentence was documentary-worthy. The person who had broken the news could not be less concerned about it, she started putting the pictures into a box and labeled it with a date.

Case O1

"Excuse me? How could you come to that conclusion with just the fire patterns." It was Sarah who broke the silence.

Ravi looked at Arlen who had a contemplative look on his face, a look that soon settled into realization.

Kora raised her head from her label to see Sarah looking at her patiently, she smiled, "It was not just the fire patterns." She did not particularly like explaining herself but she would make an exception once. She slid on her gloves and opened her work bag on the table, she took out a small container and opened it.

She took out a glass container of a small chuck of wood that looked charred on the side, "This is taken from the kitchen counter." She took out some pictures that she had gotten from the Fire Forensic Officer and took out another container to show a black, wrinkled substance, "And this is a piece of skin from one of the victims, Sarah Johnson."

Draco made a sound like he was about to retch.

"Don’t do that in my lab." Karo said curtly, "I got it from the Fire Department Lab after I visited the crime scene. The victims burned hotter and faster than their surroundings. The only way that this would be possible was if the unsub dosed them with gasoline and then set them on fire. But..."

"The cameras did not show anyone leaving or entering their house." Arlen finished for her.

"Unless there is some missing footage, Officer West?"

"Yes?" Ravi looked at her, his face had no expression when he stared at her, noticing everyone’s expression he replied, "There was no missing footage."

"I checked the bodies but there were no ligature marks or any sign that the victims had been bound. I just did a preliminary investigation, I will return later. I ordered some toxicity examination but the Fire forensic officer had already confirmed that there was no Accelerant on the victim’s body. My speculation is that a mutant with the ability to control fire committed this crime. We should ask for access to the mutant database here." She finished and she did not speak again, arranging her samples again.

"She is amazing," Lisa said next to his ears.

Ravi pursed his lips but he did not reply. She was very versed in matters of criminal investigation, unlike him who was winging it. It was annoying, this feeling.

Someone pulled him to the side, and Ravi’s entire body tensed before relaxing when his nose touched the vanilla scent with undertones of amber.

Arlen.

Ravi looked at him, "Can I help you, Captain Sinclair?"

Arlen looked at the person in front of him that was glaring at him, his eyes were slanted upwards m, the angle making his brow bone appear deep, his jaw tightly clenched, "Are you angry with me?"

"No." Ravi replied immediately. Why should he be angry? They were just captains and subordinates. Even if they were friends, They were the most ordinary of friends,

"Did I do anything to offend you?"

Aside from finishing each other’s sentences, buying each other’s fridge and coffee machines, "No."

"You are lying."

"I am not." He pulled away from Arlen’s grasp, "Cpatin, I and my partner would go to the Dune Complex to know if there were any outsiders the day before, any handyman or something like that."

"That is a brilliant idea..."

The door to the lab opened and Kora walked out, she saw the two of them by the side. She looked at them for a second but she did not say anything.

"Arlen. Captain Arlen, I want to talk to you about something important. Please come with me."

Arlen looked at Ravi, "Officer West, go ahead. We will talk later."

Ravi stood there looking at the door when he heard a sound.

He looked at the coffee cup in his hand which was now smaller than a pebble.

Oh!

He was quite calm.

He repeated this sentence to himself several times today, even when they had interviewed the manager of the estate. According to him, they had had general repairs the day before and not the day of the fire.

They had still collected as many names as they could, about all the staff members that entered the complex for 24 hours.

It was a few minutes past 4, Lisa took the list back to the police station and Ravi said that he would return home.

He did not return home. He just squatted down in front of a grocery store and covered his face. He had not been the best today, if he was pregnant, he would have blamed it on hormones, only that he was not.

Why had he acted the way he had today?

He had gotten so used to being the one that Arlen took everywhere so when he did not, he had been upset, and his emotions did not subside but continued to flare even higher Kora, she was smart and effective. Just yesterday, he had been wishing for the Captain’s burden and when the person had finally come, he had been so...envious.

It was as if logic had been diminishing rapidly.

Why?

It was so stupid, to feel this way because he would leave one day, wouldn’t he? If he protected the incarnation till he finishes whatever he came to this world for, Alya would grant him his desire and he would leave so why did his chest feel so damn painful.

When he leaves, Arlen will have other friends. He was not even important to him, he would miss him for a month or two and then he would..laugh and chat with Kora or someone else like her.

He was being irrational

He shut his eyes tight, suddenly unable to bear it anymore. He could hear people whispering around him but he paid them no attention.

"Officer." A surprised voice asked and Ravi looked up to see a wooden walking cane.

Malik bent down next to him and asked again, "Officer, is that you?"

If he was quiet, maybe he would go away.

"Am I disturbing you, should I leave?"

Forget it, "It is me. I just want to be alone for a while. So go."

"Officer, are you wearing your uniform?"

Ravi frowned, "Yes."

"Then you should not block the passenger’s path like this in your uniform, you should change. When you wear ordinary clothes, you can squat here like this. People must be staring at you."

"I don’t care." He did not.

"But I care, if you stay here too long, people will start taking videos. It might go viral and then the police department might suspend you. I quite enjoy going to work with you every morning. It would be uncomfortable to look for another job in this economy, what do you think?"

If he should leave the Davenport Police Bureau so soon, he would probably never see Arlen again.

Ravi sighed loudly.

Maybe he should just stay here, they would take the video and then Arlen...what would Arlen do, he would probably be disappointed, but at least he wouldn’t be so focused on...That did not sound right, it was unfair to stress someone who was already stressed.

"Officer, don’t throw a tantrum?"

"Eh?"

The gentle voice had a smile now, "Were you dumped or is the arson case so stressful? Whatever it is, don’t throw a tantrum on the pedestrian walk."

He was not a child, why would he...It was a blade that was heated up and was suddenly dropped into the river. His thoughts which had been knotted up and painful began to cool and rationality began to return little by little.

"I am not a child, why would I throw a tantrum?" He stood up from where he had been squatting.

"True." There was a patronization in his voice that made Ravi’s toothache. He was the one who used that voice on others, never had it been used in him.

"I am serious. I discuss all my problems rationally like a grown adult."

"True." The patronizing tone left and the gentle cadence of the voice was all that remained. The two of them walked down the sidewalk.

Maybe it was the vulnerability of this moment but Ravi confessed, "I find it hard to get used to new people and new situations."

"You must have been so uncomfortable when we moved next door,"

"I have a lot of wishes for you, none of them good."

Malik chuckled, it was the first time that Ravi was hearing him laugh, it was very warm but he still preferred Arlen’s laughter. Arlen’s laughter was like the sun.

There was a loud grumble making Ravi pause. He looked at the blind man beside him who just smiled.

"Sorry, I was actually on my way to have lunch and dinner. I have not had a bite to eat all day."

"You did not have breakfast."

"Sage cooked. I admit, I have committed some sins but I doubt any of them warrant such punishment."

Ravi’s lips twitched and he chuckled.

"That bad?"

"Worse."