2 comments/ 6875 views/ 2 favorites Wings of Scarred Ch. 01 By: JolliTheApple (A better summary of this story) Aria is of an ancient race of bird like creatures called the Skyians. Since the beginning of time they were considered angels or gods. However with every god there is a devil. Crows are what they call themselves. Aria is the offspring of both races and is considered a monster and is tormented everyday. One day she meets a human boy who accepts her and makes her feel worthy of happiness. They become friends but soon afterward, she disappears without a trace. Years later the the boy, Nicholas, is a police officer and is investigating a series of kidnappings. There are no clues, no witnesses and he's at a dead end. Until the day he rescues a beautiful, shrouded woman from danger. Her face bears the same scars but before him was a woman afraid. Knowing only her name, they spent a night to remember together. She disappeared like dream soon after. Only to meet her once again at the scene of a crime- with wings! Everywhere the crime happens shes there, every suspect he interviews knows her and she knows who is behind these crimes. Is this woman behind this? Or is she as much as a victim as anyone else? ****************************************** The wind. The birds. The beauty of the sunset. These were Aria's favorite things. To her, there was nothing compared to soaring through the open air with the wings you were born with. She was a Skyian. Half human, half bird. She had always wondered what a human was like. Did they have wings, stronger bones, and larger lungs, like the Skyian body did? From what she had heard, that was not the case. The elders had said that the humans were dirty and greedy. They saw Skyian's as angels or gods in old times and prayed to them. The elders saw Skyian's as superior beings. As pure as newly drifted snow. But snow comes from dark clouds, Aria thought solemnly. Aria swooped down to the water. In it she could see her reflection on the rippling surface. She could see her wings, her tattered clothes and her bruised body. As she looked down at the face that was her own, she wondered. "Is this the face of my mother or my father? Do these eyes match hers or my hair matche his?" She smiled. So did her reflection. She looked pretty even though she was bruised and beaten. How could that be? Her mother had fallen in love with a crow. Her beautiful mother, a royal in Skyian society, fell in love with a disgusting crow. Aria had never seen a crow outside of a book. She was told that crows were horrifying, contorted creatures that preyed on living and dead things. That they were nothing but savage beasts and that she was no better. But she wasn't contorted. Was she? She hid, embraced by her gray wings. She felt so warm. She'd have stayed there but she heard shout behind her. "I saw a harpy, grandpa! " The voice pleaded. "I swear! It looked exactly like the one's you talk about." "Oh shut up, boy!" Another voice yelled. "There ain't no such thing as harpies." The footsteps were getting closer. Quickly, Aria flew away. Soon she heard echoes of her people hateful words. The voices pounded in her head, over and over. She hadn't noticed the kites drifting around her until she got tangled in the string and fell. The ground drew closer. She couldn't open her wings. She twisted and fought but couldn't get free. She hit the ground, her bones, stronger than metal, throbbed from the impact. Tears burned in her eyes as she tried to escape. The birds mocked her as they flew away, like she wished to. Her tears slipped off her dirty face onto the ground. For a moment it was silent and, for that, she was grateful. Her body hurt and she wanted to cry in silence. The thin ropes were wrapped around her like a snake and the kite itself was stuck to her head. The position was so embarrassing. Sprawled on the forest clearing, tangled in a kite string. Aria sobbed a little harder. She couldn't do anything right. The silence made her sobs echo through the forest as a voice called out to her. "Hello?" The voice called. Male. It was kind of deep, with the faintest accent that Aria couldn't distinguish. The voice was coming closer. Aria struggled to get free but the more she moved, the tighter it squeezed her already bruised body. As her earlier bruises burned in rebellion to her movement, she whimpered in pain. Panic started to set in but she fought for her composure. If anyone, especially a human, found her struggling and screaming, they would shoot her. That was what she was taught. Still she shivered as the boy came closer. The trees parted to show a human boy, taller than she was. As he moved closer, she could see he was very handsome, more so than the Skyian boys were. His hair was as dark as midnight and wild as the wilderness around them. Her panic renewed from fear of rape, she was surprised when he moved very slowly toward her, like he was trying to calm down an animal. That made her mad, but she couldn't do anything about it now so she glared at him through her tears. She tried to at least. "Hey now, you don't need to be afraid." he cooed at her, his voice low and soothing. Here she was, dressed only in a short dress; tied up, alone in a deep, secluded forest with a stranger who was larger and probably stronger that her and she shouldn't be afraid? Humans must be stupid if they expected that to work on her. "You set this trap in hopes that you would capture me, didn't you?" She replied. Aria tried to sit up but failed and thumped down on the floor again. She sighed solemnly and stared at the boy. He looked genuinely confused, so she relaxed a little. "I don't know what you're talking about." He said with the slightest grin. Not a smirk, directed at those below you're status but a friendly grin. "But are you okay? You look hurt." His concern touched her but she wasn't used to kindness so she wasn't sure what to say. This human was being so nice. I wonder if he saw my wings yet. She thought. Wings of Scarred Ch. 02 He saw them. When Nicholas's kite string veered off into the forest, he didn't know what he expected to find. As he followed the trail from the string, he thought about what would be at the other end. He expected a bird hit it or, as his little sister would suggest, an alien ship. Nick didn't believe in that stuff. Never could. So when he found a girl, petite and tangled in the string, he was honestly surprised. How did she get caught in the string? Was his first question. He would have asked her but she started panicking the second she saw him. She was trying to escape. Her body was small but curvy. Her legs were long and lankly, bare feet kicked as she fought for freedom. She had really small breasts. He blushed at the thought. He wouldn't have noticed since her clothes looked loose but the string wrapped around her made them strain against her dress, her nipples very clearly defined. He tried to reassure her. She was probably in shock. She sounded like she was. She kept saying all this stuff about him setting traps to capture her. She finally stopped struggling to look up at him. She still had tears in her eyes but she tried to look tough. She was adorable. "My name is Nicholas." He said calmly, trying to coax her from her shell. "You can call me Nick. What is your name?" When she just stared at him, he placed his had on her head. She flinched, as if he were going to hurt her. Just then, Nick felt a sudden surge of hatred toward the unknown people who hurt this beautiful, young girl. And beautiful she was. Even covered in dirt and leaves, she was almost too beautiful to be real. Her hair, cut unevenly, was like gold silk against his fingers. It flowed like water through them. Nick would have continued to touch this nothing-can-be-softer hair but she spoke again, softly. "M-my name is, uh, A-Aria." She was looking up at him with those pleading violet-blue eyes. They were like the last colors at sun set. For a minute Nick didn't get what she said. He just stared at the girl, Aria, for a long time. But under his scrutiny she looked away quickly. Nick didn't like that. He laughed nervously. "I'm sorry for staring at you, Aria." Her name was sweet on his tongue. He started to wonder what her lips would taste like. His gaze dropping to her mouth, his started to water. Just one little tas-. As soon as the thought came, he shook it off. This girl was frightened enough without a teenager sexually harassing her. Nick froze for a minute. How old was this girl? She looked like a twelve year old, but who could be sure these days. "How old are you?" Nick asked, hoping she look his way again. "What?" She looked to him again. Those eyes could enthrall an angel. Nick heart started to race. "You're age?" He said again. "I'm, uh, n-nineteen." Aria mumbled. Nick was shocked. Whoa, she was a year older than him. Yet she was so small and thin, like she didn't get regular meals. Maybe she was homeless. "You're parents must be worried about you." Nick took her hand. Her gaze dropped to where their hands met. Again time stopped. Nick would have loved to hold her small hand longer but she pulled away from. A separation irked him but he didn't show it. "Could you please untie this trap?" She replied softly. She was trying to be cold and distant but was too easy to read for it to work. "I-I can't move. It hurts too. My wings-." She stopped to look at him again, fear evident in her eyes. She was scared of what his reaction would be. The wings looked real enough. They were folded across her body like a blanket. Ash. That's what color they were. He could imagine her flying, her wings spanning the open air. They were glowing now, the shiny surface reflecting the sun rays against Aria's pale skin. She was like a fallen angel in the arms of a mere mortal. "They're beautiful, your wings." He said. She flinched again. "Can I touch them?" He was half joking. The wings were magnificent, like a protective cradle around her. What would they feel like? He wondered. Rough and brittle? Smooth and silky? Nick wanted to know. "O-okay." She replied after a long pause. "Pinkie promise?" He cried with his pinkie finger out to her. Nick was so excited; he didn't realize how childish it was to say that. All his little sister's fault. His face was hot with embarrassment. "What's a 'pinkie promise', Ichlen?" She was honestly confused, like she had never heard of a pinkie promise. Where was she from? "It's a childish way to swearing to keep a promise. The two people hook their pinkie fingers," Nick flexed his pinkie finger. "-together and sing some stupid song about keeping a promise till they die. It's stupid really. You don't hav-." Aria hooked her pinkie finger with his. She looked up to and smiled. "What's the song?" "Song?" he repeated, a bit dazed by her smile. "What song?" She giggled. The purest sound to ever be heard by his ears. "The 'pinkie promise' song, Ichlen. I'd like to be untied at some point this year." "Um, I don't remember." Nick had forgotten his name the second she laughed for him. "I know it has to rhyme." "Then lets make one up." She thought for a moment. "I got it!" She started to sing Make a promise on your heart Bond together by this part Pinkies promise, sacred pact Forevermore, till life we lack "Wow, that was beautiful, Aria." Her voice was amazing. Everything about her was. She blushed prettily. She had to know how great she was. "Y-you have to sing too, ichlen." She tried to look annoyed but still looked too cute blushing. So Nick smiled and sang too. Make a promise on your heart Bond together by this part Pinkies promise, sacred pact Forevermore, till life we lack "There, satisfied?" Nick hated singing. He'd been told a thousand times that he sounded like a bag of wet cats. With his face as red as a tomato, he thought she'd laugh at him. She surprised him again. "You sing like my grandmama." She whispered. There was love in her voice, so innocent and adoring, Nick knew that was a complement from her. He smiled at her and started to cut the string from her body. Every now and then he'd stop to stare at her wings. They were twitching every time his hands brushed them. Her face, when he looked to check if she hurt her with the pocket knife he used to cut her out, was deep red. Why was she blushing? Once the strings fell away, Aria sat up. The strings had left thin, red lines on her pale skin. That didn't bother Nick as much as the obvious bruises and cuts on her legs and arms she was trying to hide. He ended up grabbing her arm roughly. "What happened to your arms and legs?" He demanded. He had no idea why he was so angry. It was obvious that she was being abused. It wasn't the first time he'd met an abused teenager, but he couldn't stand the thought of someone hurting dear, sweet Aria. She was so innocent, charming and beautiful. She was an angel. The thought that he could lose her to abuse made him feel helpless. It made him furious. It made him kiss her. The kiss was amazing. It felt like everything in the world fell away. It was just Nick and Aria. Her soft, inexperienced lips against his wet, firm ones. He'd kissed a lot of girls but none compared to this. Sex couldn't have felt as good, or as right, as this. Fire burned through his body, singeing his heart, his body and his soul. Everything hot. Their bodies grabbing for each other. Their kiss, with their tongue duel for dominance. But the hottest thing was Aria, with her faced flushed and her eyes burning with desire. Nick pulled back for a moment, to look into those violet-blue depths, just before descending on her sweet smelling throat. Nick could do this forever. She tasted like the sky itself, sunshine, fresh air and clouds. His tongue painted an intricate design on her smooth throat. Her moans were makin him too hard to resist. He kissed the sore spot. He'd made a mistake though. He grabbed her breast. For a second, Nick felt her petite breast in his hands, her nipples pressing themselves into his exploring palms. He'd have kept exploring that luscious mouth and mouthwatering breast but she pushed him away. Damn. She looked horrified. Like she was just attacked out of nowhere by a wild beast. Which she had. A beast called hormones. In seconds Aria was on her feet and in the air. Her wings were much bigger when opened. Nick called out to her but she was already out of sight. With a sigh, Nick fell to the ground. He stared up at the sky for what felt like hours. He didn't know what he was waiting for. Maybe another chance to see Aria. The beautiful, mysterious, ash winged angel, Aria. Nick was still hard for her. So much so, he considered taking care of it before he got back to his family. A sound came from the bushes behind. Nick turned quickly but saw nothing. He sat quickly and listened for whatever caught his attention. Nothing. Relaxing, nick looked up at the sky once again. "Nicholas?" His mother called from far off. Nick sighed long and hard. "Mom!" Nick shouted back, getting up from the grass. "I told you to call me Nick! I hate when you call me Nicholas." Nick groaned as his mother went on explain the origin of his name and all that crap that he cared nothing about. And now his dad joined in. Only his parents called him by his full name. Not even his complaining teachers called him 'Nicholas'. With one last look behind him, Nick walked back to the public park to explain why Nicholas was not a cool name for him. Behind him, hidden in the darkness of the trees, a tall figure stood watching all that occurred. With a malevolent smile, the figure disappeared into the darkness with a fluttering of wings. Wings of Scarred Ch. 03 Years later and Nick had found himself a profession that suited him just fine. It was strange too. He'd always thought it a waste of time yet here he was, at his desk at the 290th precinct in the bustling New York. He leaned back in his chair, wondering why he suddenly thought of the fuzzy afternoon. Maybe it was because of the events that had happened over the last couple days. It had all started with his cell phone ringing for the third time that day. His cell had rung yet all he did was stare at it. He knew who it was and didn't want to have to deal with it. The precinct he worked in was busy and noisy, so he hadn't heard the person walk up. Someone tapped him on the shoulders and he looked back to see his partner, Marcus. "Are you just going to leave it ringing like that all day?" The man who he had known as Marcus Gunnuir asked, smirking at him. The man had the kind of face one always read about. The one where whomever saw him smiling felt right at home, like he was a lifelong friend. This was the point. Marcus looked like the good cop and without even saying a word; he made one think he was. But as soon as he started talking, one realized he was anything but. Nick sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "It's just going to end up being Tally again." He replied in way of explanation. Marcus nodded in understanding. Natalia Manuel, Tally to her friends and family, was a mess. She drank, smoked god knows what and slept around like she was collecting detriments to her health. It was downright frustrating to be the one to pick her drunken ass home every weekend. And that person was Nick. He would have talked to her about it but she never listened. She seemed to be lost. Like she was unsure what to do with herself and though he hated how she was, Nick knew he had no right to chastise her. Especially since he was the reason why she was like this. Just then, the phone rang again. This time his parent's ringtone sounded. Marcus and he exchanged a look. "You want to handle this?" Nick asked hopefully. Marcus laughed and shook his head. "And get between you and your folks? Hell, no, partner." He retorted, patting his friends shoulder sympathetically. "You're on your own. But I will be here to watch the fireworks." "Asshole." He muttered, just before answering the phone. "Hello?" He sighed, anticipating his mother's firm but somewhat shrill voice, demanding that he go pick up his sister. Yet all he heard was silence. "Hello?" "Hello, Nick." A deep voice replied. Nick sighed in relief. Only one man he knew had that deep but soothing voice that made one wonder how he got along with his (some people say) high strung mother. "Dad? You're calling me?" He asked, sharing a look of confusion with Marcus. Derrick Manuel was the peace maker in their family but never had he actually started a conversation. Usually, Nick's mom beat him to it. So this was new. "It's not weird for a father to call his son about something, is it?" Derrick asked, as if reading Nick's mind. He, as a man in his late 50's, was as sharp as he'd been when he served as an officer himself. "No, sir." He replied, sitting up in his chair. He knew his father couldn't see him but it was engrained in him to do so when being spoken to. "Good." His father said, clearly smiling since his voice got less stern. "Anyway, about Tally...." "Oh, no! I am not doing this today, dad." He interrupted, wanting to get this out of the way. "I have a lot of work to do and I can't just leave and pick Tally up. Just have mom pick her up. It might help." He suggested. At this point, Marcus had taken a seat beside him and lounged about, watching the one sided conversation with amusement. A sigh sounded on the other end and Nick knew what was coming. Derrick Manuel's infamous lecture. How many snotty teens had reverted to looking like guilty children who'd been caught? How many criminals had succumbed to his epic speech of right and wrong and morals? All from this man's lecture. There was no way out of this! "Nicholas Alejandro Manuel!" Nick cringed, Oh dear, he was pulling up his middle name. Any worse and his Christian name would pop up. "You are my eldest son and a great source of pride for me but I will not allow you to talk about your family like that." He scolded, making Nick want to curl up and die. Marcus was snickering next to him. The black man had met his father and knew the tongue lashing Nick was getting. And, like a kid, he was enjoying the show. Again. Asshole. After a whole five minutes of guilt tripping his 31 year old son into submission, his soothing voice returned like a salve to heal his wounds. "Now, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, I was going to tell you that Tally doesn't need you to pick her up." "I'm sorry?" He said, surprised at this development. "Well, you should be." He father retorted, continue on. "Tally seems to have found a ride home in a taxi. Had you answered your phone, you would have known this. This is what you get for making such assumptions, Nicholas." And then, again, he was scolded but only for two minutes this time before a call from his sergeant forced him to have to hang up. It was a good thing too, since the man was jabbing at some old wounds. Why did he have to bring up his childhood mistakes? He was 31 now. There was no need to bring up the yogurt incident. After that depantsing, it was good to know his dear friend and partner was there to ridicule him about being scolded like a child by their father. Really, what would he be without him? One word. Happy. Marcus spent the entire 20 second trip from their desk to their sergeant's office teasing him. The man was merciless. He even brought up the yogurt incident. How did he even know about that?! Was it now on his public record? ******************************************************* Soon afterward, he and Marcus stood in front of his sergeant, Kelley Hudson. And yes, she was a woman. The first female sergeant in the entire history of their precinct. Quite the prejudice was against her. To make it worse, she was small, cute and curvy. Her looks were so in contrast with her job, she had developed a complex about it. Kelley was anything but nice. She was the biggest hard ass anyone in this precinct had ever faced. Even as he stared down at her petite body, he couldn't even think of a joke to make about the fierce expression on her adorable face. Anyone who had served under her knew she was not as sweet as she looked. Hell, she didn't even like her own name. She claimed it was too weak a name so she ordered everyone to address her by her last name. "What the hell took you so long?" She demanded, sitting behind her desk, looking even smaller in the old sergeant's chair. "I called you both a half an hour ago." Nick glared at Marcus. "I apologize, ma'am, but Marcus was being an asshole." He explained bitterly. Hudson shrugged. "What else is new?" She said, rolling his eyes. "I want to know why your late, not the reputation update on your partner." Marcus laughed at this, earning a glare that shut him up. The fact everyone knew he was an asshole was a great source of laughs around the office. It wasn't that Marcus was a bad cop, he was excellent. And he wasn't even a bad guy. One could be friends with him. He was just an asshole toward some people. Some people hated him for it, which was why he had never held onto a partnership for any longer than a couple weeks. Others, like Nick and Hudson, tolerated him and accepted it. As such, Nick was the only partner to stay with him for longer than 3 months. He broke that record 4 years ago though. "What he means, ma'am, is that while he was being scolded by his dad, I may have forgotten to tell him you were looking for us." Marcus explained, grinning despite the glares he was getting from both inhabitants of the office. "I wasn't even on the phone then!" Nick gritted out, still annoyed by it. Marcus' response was to pat Nick's shoulder good naturedly, like he hadn't inconvenienced his friend. Then again, Marcus was like that. "Anyway!" Hudson interrupted, regaining the full attention of both officers before her. "I have a new assignment for you two. What do you guys know about the recent disappearances of teens in the city?" Nick thought back to the snippets of info that he had heard about the case. It was supposed to be a high profile case, due it being in connection to several CEO's of big name companies. Though the connection was shaky, they had narrowed it down to two leads. "I heard that the two lead suspects in the case are Jaix Cataphos and Alikos Perisaros." Marcus said, as if continuing a thought. "But I also heard that officers Jackson and Turner were on the case. This is stuff you already know we know, so why the sudden questions?" Another reason to like Marcus was how fast he saw through ones bullshit. He always could tell when someone was leading another on. It was uncanny. Hudson stared them down for a moment and then let out a breath. "You probably don't know since I've been keeping it under wraps from the rest of the staff, but both officers have been severely injured." Both Nick and Marcus took a step back, shocked. Not about the officers being hurt, that happened a lot. It was the fact that is was being kept from everyone else. "Why?" Nick demanded, walking up to Hudson's desk and slamming his hands on her desk. "If an officer has been injured, shouldn't we look into their attack? It might be in connection to the case they were working on before." Hudson rested her porcelain pale chin on her hand and looked up at Nick. "That's exactly why I'm putting you two on the case." She said. "I also agree that there's a connection but what I'm not sure about is their attack. It was definitely a warning but...." She stopped, staring down at the files in front her. "You aren't sure who the warning was from." Marcus guessed. Hudson nodded. "Well, what kind of weapon was used on the officers? We know the suspects can afford to hire some thugs to attack those they want out of the way but we need clues to pinpoint which sent them." He reasoned. "Moreover, we'll need to talk to them as well." Nick continued. "Are they well enough to talk?" Hudson turned in her chair to take out a thick file out of her drawer and handed it to them. "This has all the information you're looking for." She said, a bit distractedly. Taking the file, Nick exchanged a look with Marcus and turned back to Hudson. "Is there something you're not telling us, ma'am?" He asked. She didn't say anything for a second and then she sighed, like she was about to admit something big. "I don't know why but," She started, rubbing her temple. "I feel like there's more to this case than what we're seeing." *************************************** After that, the two left, their sergeant's words echoing in their mind. Both wondered why she assumed that there was something they were missing. Surely, the information within the file wasn't that bad. Clenching the file tight in his hands, Nick turned to Marcus who was on his phone as he walked back to their desks. "What should we tackle first?" He asked, opening the case file. "Do we go and see the injured officers or check out the crime scene they were found at?" He sat down with a sigh. The case files didn't say much more than what was said. The officers had narrowed down their suspect pool down to two CEO's. Jaix Cataphos, age 29. CEO of Cataphos Exports. Despite starting out small, in a few short years, his company had went from a small company to a major corporation that handles the country's most influential trades. They were also said to have ties with several mafia groups and other questionable clients but no connection had ever been found. There was almost nothing on Jaix before starting his company at the age of 26. Alikos Perisaros, age 32. CEO of Perisaros Conglomerate. What started out as a simple advertising company exploded into a major conglomerate soon after Alikos took over 4 years ago. Young, ambitious and daring, Alikos took the business world by storm with his risky but calculated decisions. Like Jaix, Alikos has no records before taking over what would later be called one of the top conglomerates stationed in New York City. Many had investigated the matter but none had yet to find a thing on them. It was almost like they'd just popped up into their society one day and lived like they belonged. Anyone who looked into the matter too long always ended either hurt or indisposed in some way. Or they just stopped looking into it all together. It was strange. What pissed Nick off the most was the fact that neither of them even bothered to try and hide their lack of identities. They did have some records but they were so flimsy, anyone who looked into it long and hard enough could find holes in it. Did they just think no one would care? "The crime scene is going to be released soon." Marcus said, hanging up. "Which means we have to check it out soon or else we won't have much to go on." Nicholas nodded, falling into his chair as he read the report. Marcus definitely continued speaking but Nicholas didn't hear a word. He was more focused on the words telling a very familiar story in front of him. Marcus shook his shoulder, obviously bothered by Nicholas' lack of an answer. "Huh?" Nick turned to Marcus. "What did you say?" Marcus raised an eyebrow at him. "Weren't you listening?" He demanded. Nick stayed silent. Sighing, Marcus continued. "That was a stupid question. Of course you weren't." He looked around the room and then, after what seemed like a long moment of contemplation, Marcus smacked Nick in the back of the head. "Ow! What the hell?!" He cried, rubbing his head. Marcus said nothing on the subject, just continuing on like nothing had happened. He did that very often and it always pissed Nick off to no end. But they had more important matters to take care of. "Officers Jackson and Turner were investigating the kidnapped teen's case before they got attacked right?" Marcus asked, staring down at his desk. On it rested a small portrait of his family. A beautiful wife and two kids. One of which, was the same age as the abducted kids. "Yeah, but they couldn't find much connection between the teens. Other than being around the same age group, none of the kids relate to each other. Some are middle class, others are runaways or orphans. So far, no upper crust kids had been taken, making the officers think the kidnappers don't want to be noticed too much." Nick continued, looking through his copy of the report. "Right." Marcus agreed. "These bastards are only targeting kids who can't otherwise defend themselves or those the system has forgotten. Perfect targets. So much so, we have no idea how many kids they've already taken thus far." He said, his fist clenched. After a minute, the man let out a breath and appeared to calm down some. "Anyway, we have a lot of work to do before we officially start this investigation." "I'll go and interview the detectives." Nick stated, already standing up and picking up his coat to go out. At the baffled expression on his partners face, Nick went on to explain. "These guys were attacked and immediately hospitalized. That means they must have information that wasn't written in their reports." "I'm sure the chief sent someone over to check in on them before." He retorted, crossing his large arms across his chest. "Yeah, but how coherently do you think their story were?" He countered. "They'd just been attacked in a dark alleyway after a long night. After the shock they went through, I'm sure they missed something and we shouldn't take any chances with this." Marcus stared at him for a minute before nodding. "Fine. I'll drive us over to the hospital then." He offered, holding up his car keys. Nick shook his head. "I want to go alone." He said, walking ahead. "You go and check out the scene where they were attacked. You have a much keener eye than those CSI's do." Marcus crossed his arms. "And how are you going to get there?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "Two words my friend." Nick pointed out. "Sub. Way." "That's one word, dumbass." His partner retorted as the neared the door. "I'm not talking about the restaurant, Manny!" He argued. Nick always hated that nickname and Marcus knew it but he ignored the obvious bait. "Neither am I." He let out a breath and dragged his hand through his hair. "Seriously, what is the point of you even having a license? I've never seen you drive anywhere." Nick shrugged. "I just prefer the train and bus. That's all." He replied, opening the door, breathing in the sweet scent of the city. Street food, mud and people, along with all the little things that made their city so cluttered. "You prefer pickpockets, homeless people and fares to a free ride?" He asked, clearly thinking his friend and partner was insane. "And they call me weird." "No. We all call you an asshole. There's a difference, amigo." He said, patting the man on the shoulder. "Besides, at least trains don't have to suffer from traffic jams." "Yeah, you just have to deal with all the crowds and delays." He retorted, smirking as they went their separate ways. Marcus stepped into his car, waving back at Nick as he headed toward the subway. As soon as Marcus disappeared into the sea of traffic, Nick's smile fell. "This is going to be a long day." He muttered, walking down the subway stairs.