Unlikely Pair [3/?]
“You’ve just wasted a good 5 minutes of my life, old man,” Barnaby said as he saw Kotetsu approaching, “but since you were with the Chief I have to let this one slide.”
“Thanks, I guess,” Kotetsu said as he jogged the rest of the way to his new partner’s side, “we ready to go?”
Barnaby blinked, surprised at how well Kotetsu took his selfish outburst.
“Just waiting on you. The officer there is ready to take us to the scene of the robbery,” Barnaby responded, “lets get going.”
The two began walking out to the parked police car when Kotetsu called out, “Hold on a sec.”
Barnaby turned to look at him, “What is it?”
“Look, I know we didn’t exactly start out on the right foot, but we are partners. Just know that no matter what you may think of me, I’ll always have your back 100%. You can trust me on that.”
Barnaby was taken aback by the sincerity in those brown eyes. ‘How can he say that stuff with a straight face? Doesn’t matter… I’ve heard these promises before,’ he thought.
“We’ll see about that, old man.”
The two got into the police care and rode 20 minutes to the scene of the robbery they would be investigating, and on the way were further briefed on the case. A restaurant owner had been noticing that every night for about a month they had been coming up really short when balancing the books. Since it’s such a small business, they have very little staff and so almost everyone has had an opportunity to have a hand in it. The owner had thought if he put enough pressure on his staff that someone would come clean. When that didn’t happen, he finally did the math and realized he had already lost over $5000 and decided to report the crime.
Kotetsu felt pity for the man. “Can you imagine being betrayed by someone you work so closely with everyday?” he thought out loud.
“You’ve been a detective for how many years now? What rock have you been living under? This is the real world, old man. Everyone lies, and everyone is lied to.”
Kotetsu’s spirit sagged under the weight of his partner’s coldness. He couldn’t understand how someone could be so emotionless to the plight of another. In their line of work, everything is about people.
He straightened in his seat as they pulled up in front of the building and said, “You know, we’re detectives. We’re in the business of helping and protecting people. If you can’t sympathize with another human even this much, then maybe you picked the wrong job.”
Kotetsu opened the door and exited quickly without giving the Barnaby a chance to speak, and walked directly into the restaurant. Once his back was turned his face broke into a goofy grin. ‘Heh~ Good going, Kotetsu!’ he thought, mentally patting himself on the back, “that little bunny has a lot to learn.’
Barnaby stared after Kotetsu, surprised by his sudden lecture. He didn’t want to let it show that Kotetsu’s words had gotten to him, so he quickly gathered himself and followed. ‘Well he’s serious enough, I’ll give him that much.’
The blonde joined his partner and they began interviewing all the employees individually. Kotetsu made it a point to listen in on Barnaby’s interviews to see if he needed to step in and help, and was pleased to find the younger man was actually very good. His questions were quick and to the point, and he took very concise notes. After about an hour, they had finally gotten through everyone’s stories and came together to discuss what they had found.
“All the stories I’ve heard were about the same. No one noticed anything strange, and no one knows of anyone with motive,” came Kotetsu’s recap.
“Same with those I talked to. Also, no one was ever left in the shop alone. When closing up, there is always one manager and at least one other employee in the store last and they leave at the same time. So it’s probable that the theft is happening sometime during the day.”
“Not bad, rookie. You do pretty well with your interviews,” the older man praised, “I guess I’m lucky there isn’t much to teach.” He reached over to ruffle the younger man’s hair, but Barnaby quickly sidestepped and gave a displeased stare.
“Of course. Anything you can do with your outdated techniques I can do even better with the training fresh in my mind. Do you mind if we save the small talk for later, old man? We’re in the middle of a case.”
‘Sheesh. I was just trying to be friendly,’ he pouted inwardly. “Alright, have it your way.”
Barnaby nodded and continued, “There’s got to be something we’re missing. Someone is sneaking money out everyday… Do you think there’s a backdoor someone could be using?”
Barnaby stood and peeked through the kitchen and did in fact notice a back door. He motioned to one of the employees sitting near by and asked, “What is that door used for?”
The woman looked over in the direction pointed out to her and said, “Oh, that door leads out into the back alley where the dumpster is. It’s only ever used when the trash is taken out. There’s a homeless man that lives out there, so we try to keep from bothering him.”
The two detectives eyes met, and Kotetsu said, “You think maybe he saw something?”
“We might as well go find out.”
The two opened the door to the alleyway and found the homeless man they had been expecting sitting near the dumpster, staring at the floor. He looked up at them when he heard the door open and looked almost surprised. He made no move to acknowledge them any further and looked back down at his feet.
Kotetsu approached the man first, flashed his badge, and asked, “Excuse me, sir. We’re detectives here to investigate the robbery happening in this restaurant. Have you noticed anything or anyone unusual come out through this door?”
The man looked up again, but this time looked more nervous than surprised. His eyes darted between the two and finally answered, “Only trash comes out that door.”
“Only trash, huh? Well has the trash for today already been brought out?”
The man’s eyes widened and could only managed a nod. Kotetsu took his cue to move to the dumpster and inspect the trash bag on the top of the pile. He made to undo the knot at the top, but realized there was already a hole ripped into the side. He looked over at the man who was now staring up at him, watching his movements carefully.
It was Barnaby’s turn to step forward and ask, “Did you take something out of this bag?”
The now squatting man’s hand moved instinctively over a brown paper bag at his side. “T-the boy who brings out the rubbish leaves food for me sometimes! He left it for me so it’s mine to take,” the man defended.
‘There’s something rectangular in that bag,’ Barnaby noted to himself. Noticing the other man’s growing anger, Barnaby spoke calmly as he began moving closer, “Well that’s nice of him. Hey, would you like me to take the container in that bag back inside and thank that boy for you?” He extended his arm to pick up the bag from the ground, not noticing the man had tensed and had begun to move.
Kotetsu saw a flash of silver and yelled, “Watch it, Bunny!” and swiftly reached out and grabbed the back of his partner’s jacket and pulled backwards. The now angry homeless man had snatched up the bag and lunged at Barnaby with a knife he had pulled from his pocket. Thanks to Kotetsu’s quick response Barnaby was pulled out of the way safely, but also had knocked them both to the ground allowing the suspect an opportunity to take off running down the ally.
‘That old man he- he saved me,’ Barnaby thought gratefully as he sat while his mind slowly caught up with all the sudden action. Kotetsu was on his feet again the next second and took off running after the enraged man. Barnaby called after him, “Old man! We have to call in for back up! The patrol officers can cut him off.”
“There’s no time! Call it in yourself! I’m going after this guy,” Kotetsu shouted back. ‘There’s no way I’m letting him off after he attacked my partner.’
Kotetsu was quickly gaining on the frantic man and was soon within distance to take him down. The man looked back and with one last desperate move, swung his arm around towards Kotetsu in attempt to take a stab at him. Kotetsu, pumped full of adrenaline, evaded enough to only sustain a shallow cut on the arm, and in the same motion grabbed hold of the outstretched arm and tackled the man to the ground.
Kotetsu disarmed the man, and quickly handcuffed him causing the suspect’s defiant energy to fade into defeated acceptance. He then reached into the man’s pocket, took out the brown bag in question and found a stack of money tucked neatly inside a rectangular case. He stood, pulling the other man along while reading him his rights. He then turned to begin marching the man back to the restaurant when a police car pulled up along side them and Barnaby stepped out of the passenger-side door.
‘Well he doesn’t look too happy with me,’ Kotetsu thought, observing the blank look on Bunny’s face.
The blonde walked over to Kotetsu and without a word took hold of the perp’s arm and ushered him into the back seat next to a boy Kotetsu remembered from the restaurant. “
“So that kid was the accomplice, huh?” he asked aloud.
Barnaby nodded. “It was easy to figure since he tried to take off running as soon as I re-entered the restaurant.”
When Barnaby returned to his side, he continued, “Well I guess the rumors I’ve heard about you are true. Always running off and doing unnecessary things.”
Kotetsu laughed uncomfortably and replied, “At least I didn’t break anything this time!”
Barnaby sighed wearily. “Lets just get these two back to the precinct and call it a day,” he said, motioning to a different car waiting to take them back to the office.
As Barnaby turned his back to walk over to the car, Kotetsu grabbed him by the shoulder and asked, “Hey, you alright? You didn’t get hurt did you?”
Barnaby moved to face Kotetsu and joked, “I’m fine. Thanks to the surprising reaction time of some old man, I’m completely unharmed.” His expression then turn serious and he added, “You should be more worried about yourself. What happened to your arm?”
“Oh this? Don’t worry about it, it’s just a scratch,” Kotetsu commented offhandedly, “lets get going.”
Barnaby watched as Kotetsu walked passed him and called out, “Hey old man! Thanks… for having my back.”
It was Kotetsu’s turn to be surprised, not expecting such an honest ‘thank you’. He smiled over his shoulder and replied, “Anytime, Bunny.”
“Thanks, I guess,” Kotetsu said as he jogged the rest of the way to his new partner’s side, “we ready to go?”
Barnaby blinked, surprised at how well Kotetsu took his selfish outburst.
“Just waiting on you. The officer there is ready to take us to the scene of the robbery,” Barnaby responded, “lets get going.”
The two began walking out to the parked police car when Kotetsu called out, “Hold on a sec.”
Barnaby turned to look at him, “What is it?”
“Look, I know we didn’t exactly start out on the right foot, but we are partners. Just know that no matter what you may think of me, I’ll always have your back 100%. You can trust me on that.”
Barnaby was taken aback by the sincerity in those brown eyes. ‘How can he say that stuff with a straight face? Doesn’t matter… I’ve heard these promises before,’ he thought.
“We’ll see about that, old man.”
The two got into the police care and rode 20 minutes to the scene of the robbery they would be investigating, and on the way were further briefed on the case. A restaurant owner had been noticing that every night for about a month they had been coming up really short when balancing the books. Since it’s such a small business, they have very little staff and so almost everyone has had an opportunity to have a hand in it. The owner had thought if he put enough pressure on his staff that someone would come clean. When that didn’t happen, he finally did the math and realized he had already lost over $5000 and decided to report the crime.
Kotetsu felt pity for the man. “Can you imagine being betrayed by someone you work so closely with everyday?” he thought out loud.
“You’ve been a detective for how many years now? What rock have you been living under? This is the real world, old man. Everyone lies, and everyone is lied to.”
Kotetsu’s spirit sagged under the weight of his partner’s coldness. He couldn’t understand how someone could be so emotionless to the plight of another. In their line of work, everything is about people.
He straightened in his seat as they pulled up in front of the building and said, “You know, we’re detectives. We’re in the business of helping and protecting people. If you can’t sympathize with another human even this much, then maybe you picked the wrong job.”
Kotetsu opened the door and exited quickly without giving the Barnaby a chance to speak, and walked directly into the restaurant. Once his back was turned his face broke into a goofy grin. ‘Heh~ Good going, Kotetsu!’ he thought, mentally patting himself on the back, “that little bunny has a lot to learn.’
Barnaby stared after Kotetsu, surprised by his sudden lecture. He didn’t want to let it show that Kotetsu’s words had gotten to him, so he quickly gathered himself and followed. ‘Well he’s serious enough, I’ll give him that much.’
The blonde joined his partner and they began interviewing all the employees individually. Kotetsu made it a point to listen in on Barnaby’s interviews to see if he needed to step in and help, and was pleased to find the younger man was actually very good. His questions were quick and to the point, and he took very concise notes. After about an hour, they had finally gotten through everyone’s stories and came together to discuss what they had found.
“All the stories I’ve heard were about the same. No one noticed anything strange, and no one knows of anyone with motive,” came Kotetsu’s recap.
“Same with those I talked to. Also, no one was ever left in the shop alone. When closing up, there is always one manager and at least one other employee in the store last and they leave at the same time. So it’s probable that the theft is happening sometime during the day.”
“Not bad, rookie. You do pretty well with your interviews,” the older man praised, “I guess I’m lucky there isn’t much to teach.” He reached over to ruffle the younger man’s hair, but Barnaby quickly sidestepped and gave a displeased stare.
“Of course. Anything you can do with your outdated techniques I can do even better with the training fresh in my mind. Do you mind if we save the small talk for later, old man? We’re in the middle of a case.”
‘Sheesh. I was just trying to be friendly,’ he pouted inwardly. “Alright, have it your way.”
Barnaby nodded and continued, “There’s got to be something we’re missing. Someone is sneaking money out everyday… Do you think there’s a backdoor someone could be using?”
Barnaby stood and peeked through the kitchen and did in fact notice a back door. He motioned to one of the employees sitting near by and asked, “What is that door used for?”
The woman looked over in the direction pointed out to her and said, “Oh, that door leads out into the back alley where the dumpster is. It’s only ever used when the trash is taken out. There’s a homeless man that lives out there, so we try to keep from bothering him.”
The two detectives eyes met, and Kotetsu said, “You think maybe he saw something?”
“We might as well go find out.”
The two opened the door to the alleyway and found the homeless man they had been expecting sitting near the dumpster, staring at the floor. He looked up at them when he heard the door open and looked almost surprised. He made no move to acknowledge them any further and looked back down at his feet.
Kotetsu approached the man first, flashed his badge, and asked, “Excuse me, sir. We’re detectives here to investigate the robbery happening in this restaurant. Have you noticed anything or anyone unusual come out through this door?”
The man looked up again, but this time looked more nervous than surprised. His eyes darted between the two and finally answered, “Only trash comes out that door.”
“Only trash, huh? Well has the trash for today already been brought out?”
The man’s eyes widened and could only managed a nod. Kotetsu took his cue to move to the dumpster and inspect the trash bag on the top of the pile. He made to undo the knot at the top, but realized there was already a hole ripped into the side. He looked over at the man who was now staring up at him, watching his movements carefully.
It was Barnaby’s turn to step forward and ask, “Did you take something out of this bag?”
The now squatting man’s hand moved instinctively over a brown paper bag at his side. “T-the boy who brings out the rubbish leaves food for me sometimes! He left it for me so it’s mine to take,” the man defended.
‘There’s something rectangular in that bag,’ Barnaby noted to himself. Noticing the other man’s growing anger, Barnaby spoke calmly as he began moving closer, “Well that’s nice of him. Hey, would you like me to take the container in that bag back inside and thank that boy for you?” He extended his arm to pick up the bag from the ground, not noticing the man had tensed and had begun to move.
Kotetsu saw a flash of silver and yelled, “Watch it, Bunny!” and swiftly reached out and grabbed the back of his partner’s jacket and pulled backwards. The now angry homeless man had snatched up the bag and lunged at Barnaby with a knife he had pulled from his pocket. Thanks to Kotetsu’s quick response Barnaby was pulled out of the way safely, but also had knocked them both to the ground allowing the suspect an opportunity to take off running down the ally.
‘That old man he- he saved me,’ Barnaby thought gratefully as he sat while his mind slowly caught up with all the sudden action. Kotetsu was on his feet again the next second and took off running after the enraged man. Barnaby called after him, “Old man! We have to call in for back up! The patrol officers can cut him off.”
“There’s no time! Call it in yourself! I’m going after this guy,” Kotetsu shouted back. ‘There’s no way I’m letting him off after he attacked my partner.’
Kotetsu was quickly gaining on the frantic man and was soon within distance to take him down. The man looked back and with one last desperate move, swung his arm around towards Kotetsu in attempt to take a stab at him. Kotetsu, pumped full of adrenaline, evaded enough to only sustain a shallow cut on the arm, and in the same motion grabbed hold of the outstretched arm and tackled the man to the ground.
Kotetsu disarmed the man, and quickly handcuffed him causing the suspect’s defiant energy to fade into defeated acceptance. He then reached into the man’s pocket, took out the brown bag in question and found a stack of money tucked neatly inside a rectangular case. He stood, pulling the other man along while reading him his rights. He then turned to begin marching the man back to the restaurant when a police car pulled up along side them and Barnaby stepped out of the passenger-side door.
‘Well he doesn’t look too happy with me,’ Kotetsu thought, observing the blank look on Bunny’s face.
The blonde walked over to Kotetsu and without a word took hold of the perp’s arm and ushered him into the back seat next to a boy Kotetsu remembered from the restaurant. “
“So that kid was the accomplice, huh?” he asked aloud.
Barnaby nodded. “It was easy to figure since he tried to take off running as soon as I re-entered the restaurant.”
When Barnaby returned to his side, he continued, “Well I guess the rumors I’ve heard about you are true. Always running off and doing unnecessary things.”
Kotetsu laughed uncomfortably and replied, “At least I didn’t break anything this time!”
Barnaby sighed wearily. “Lets just get these two back to the precinct and call it a day,” he said, motioning to a different car waiting to take them back to the office.
As Barnaby turned his back to walk over to the car, Kotetsu grabbed him by the shoulder and asked, “Hey, you alright? You didn’t get hurt did you?”
Barnaby moved to face Kotetsu and joked, “I’m fine. Thanks to the surprising reaction time of some old man, I’m completely unharmed.” His expression then turn serious and he added, “You should be more worried about yourself. What happened to your arm?”
“Oh this? Don’t worry about it, it’s just a scratch,” Kotetsu commented offhandedly, “lets get going.”
Barnaby watched as Kotetsu walked passed him and called out, “Hey old man! Thanks… for having my back.”
It was Kotetsu’s turn to be surprised, not expecting such an honest ‘thank you’. He smiled over his shoulder and replied, “Anytime, Bunny.”