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Rookie cop, world-class paintball tactician, and leader of the three color-coded musketeers of the local city precinct. Codename: Jill, I guess... gonna forget that in about three seconds.

Okay, so I guess this is happening now. Par for the course, of course, can’t go five minutes without getting Mike Tyson-ed to the face here with surprises after surprises non-stop since waking up. No, that’ll just be too mundane, bland as all hell. My life has only one gear to it and that’s: Go!

Never mind that I’m still wallowing grief-stricken over Ash’s prior circumstances. Who cares that I can’t yet decide what to give as a present on a particularly dreaded day that is approaching too damn quick? Oh, and why even worry about making a good impression on your girlfriend’s parents? Everyone likes a bad boy, right? And just how badder of a boy can you get than being locked behind bars, amirite?

And from the way things are heading now, the rookie blue officer over here was looking keener than anything to slap some heavy iron cuffs around my wrists.

I can already see the train of thought she boarded to be reaching the station that she arrived at. Naturally, she saw me, then she saw Sera, one plus one-and all of a sudden I’m allegedly fooling around behind Irene’s back.

“Well?” Blue batted again her piercing blue eyes at me. “You agree with me, right? Infidelity’s just as bad as first-degree murder? Real eager to hear your take, here.”

.....

“My take is that I think you might need to brush up a little more on your detective skills,” I said, calmly taking a seat between them both. “So yeah, this is Sera. Say hello, Sera. Sera’s a friend, you see?”

“Funny how they always say that at first, don’t you think?” There was a harsh scraping sound, and when I looked, suddenly Blue’s squinted-eyed expression was five inches closer than it was before. “Like as if, ‘Just a friend’, absolves them of all doubt. As if being friends is all anyone can ever be. Nothing more. But no, there’s always something more, isn’t there?”

“Irene is friends with her too in case that helps with anything.”

But that only got me a loud dubious snort.

“Yes, and it’s always the people you know, isn’t it?” She said, flicking those same narrow eyes from me to Sera. “After all, it’s not a betrayal if it doesn’t come from a friend.”

“Oh, come on,” I flopped a limp hand over at Sera, who was nibbling partway through a blueberry muffin, uncaring for anything else. “Does that scream romantic escapade to you? Actually, what in the hell are you even doing here?”

For an answer, she raised higher the sealed box of donuts in her hand. “Police officer, remember? Not like we consume anything else. I came here to buy everyone back at the station lunch, then you just happen to bump into me on your way to the little men’s room. And that’s how I got acquainted with your girlfriend over here.”

“Friend.”

“Yes, your friend,” She raised two fingers, air-quoting, “My mistake.”

“Yeah, I really don’t get your suspicions at all,” I said. “Like, what part of her just screams scandalous to you?”

“Well, her silence for one!” She immediately said, gesturing at Sera aggressively. “Couldn’t get her to talk to me no matter what I do-that means she’s speechless. And everybody knows you only get that speechless when you’re guilty as sin.”

Everybody?

“Hey, she has the right to remain silent,” I said to her defense. “And number two, she’s mute... so I’m gonna chalk that up to bigotry on your part. That won’t look good on your repertoire, I’m telling you.”

“Either way,” She said, still highly suspicious but slightly relaxing her stare all the same. “You don’t need a voice to be a vixen. My instinct is telling me she’s got a ten out of ten hiding beneath that purple curtain she’s wearing right now. It’s all in the eyes. And she’s got really pretty eyes indeed, the exact kind that can woo easy-peasy guys like you.”

“Hey, after all we’ve done together before...” I said, angling myself to draw her focus back towards me. “Is this seriously how little you think of me?”

Blue gave it some thought, before finally backing off, ridding away all her accusations along with a long sigh. “Fine, fine. Off the hook for now. Innocent before guilty and all that stuff. But do take note, it is my job to have my boss’s back at all times, that goes the same for the other girls-and if I catch even the slightest whiff that you’re smooching away with other girls behind her back...”

“Wouldn’t even dream of it,” I said with the straightest face I could muster. “Irene’s back is too breathtaking a sight to even look away from.”

“And that I can wholeheartedly agree with you,” Blue muttered, then began rising out of her seat, making all the standard motions of finally leaving. “Well, fun chatting, fun catching up, but a minute late returning, and the boss-lady might just give me an hour’s overtime to make up for it. See you around, Boyfriend. Nice meeting you there, uh, Friend.”

I gave a quick wave, Sera continued to rifle through her goody-bag, and then even quicker I did a double take, “Hey, no, wait a minute!”

Blue had only just side-stepped away from her chair when I called out for her, and she understandably froze, bemused... enabling me an even closer, longer look.

See, included together with all her goodbye-movements was her reaching to the ground to pick up a bright blue folder that went beyond my notice beforehand. And there, pressed hard against the translucent ocean-blue surface, was a single photograph of a very familiar place.

It was the church Amanda and I visited yesterday in our searching for potential locations, more specifically, it was a photograph of one of the symbols painted crudely on the walls... and if I hadn’t spent the better part of five minutes trying and failing to scrub it clean, I don’t think I would have spared the picture another glance.

Now the question was, why does this junior detective here have a picture like that she lugs around on her person? And you know what? I think I might just have the answer...

“Irene’s got you girls taking pictures of internet trends now?”

Blue looked confused for a moment, until she went ahead and flipped the sides of her folder, and comprehension trickled in with the smile on her face.

“Ah, you heard of this?” She took out the picture with a wibble-wobble of laminated plastic, laying it flat against the table. “Yeah, between misdemeanors and felonies, recently the boss-lady has us scouring the deep dark web for more like this. She even has a big shoebox by her desk where she has us store all our finds.”

Now that was certainly news to me because I distinctly remember Irene assuring me that they were nothing at all to worry about... but if she’s got her colored minions scrounging for more... well, that certainly doesn’t bode well, does it?

“Why, though?” I asked, keeping my tone nothing more than conversational. “Seems like a waste of time. Culprits would be long gone by the time you guys can flash your red and blue lights.”

“No idea. Trends don’t last long, it’ll die out soon, I tried to tell her,” She gave a clueless shrug of the shoulders. “I’m guessing vandalism just really doesn’t sit right with her or something. At any rate, she’s building this case on her own off-record, and thanks to a certain somebody allegedly giving half his winnings on paintball away...” She threw me a dirty leer. “I’m stuck brainlessly browsing social feeds for any more like this for the time being.”

I looked back at the photo, feeling more and more a sinking feeling inside me as the intricate symbol etched within also stared back at me... and I must have been quiet for too long, for Blue began speaking up once more.

“I don’t suppose you know what the symbol means do you?” She asked. “You’re staring at it like you do. I know it’s from a video game of some kind but that’s as far as Google allowed me to peruse.”

Meaningless. Pointless. Nothing but nonsense, both Amanda and Irene told me.

But was it?

I shook my head. “Nah, no idea... sorry... ”

Then that’s when I tore my eyes off from the photo, hearing Blue speak again.

“And what about you, friend? You certainly dress like the type that would know. No offense.”

At once, my gaze shifted to Sera, who for once, had drifted her focus away from her morning snack and was instead also pouring over the photo... and even more peculiar... she had this look in her eyes... to which she promptly turned it towards me... that stare, that expression... recognition.

“What is it?” I asked her quietly, searching deep within the glow of gold in her eyes for an answer of some kind to no avail. “What does it mean?”

It was so unfortunate that she couldn’t just say it outright. A question like that goes beyond a ‘yes’ or ‘no’, and she couldn’t even temporarily take hold of my voice... not in front of blue anyway. So, for a long while she just stared at me, the answer so close yet so far away, kept sealed behind the violet of her veil.

“Any sign language?” Blue suggested.

Then, faintly, a rustling.

Sera dug inside her paper bag and pulled another cookie. It was starting to look like she had returned to her own world again, until she let out a faint hum, calling for my attention, ready to answer my question.

I thought I was in for a very tiresome game of charades brimming with far-fetched guesses and assumpted. But then Sera simply crushed the cookie in her hand into powdered dust and did nothing more.

And never have I been more wrong.