Chapter Text
The case file barely touched the Chief’s desk before Doohickey picked it up.
Skimming the first page, he gathered it was an ongoing missing persons case. Five men from Chelsea, similar appearance, about the same age, all disappeared during their commute home from work. The investigation so far revealed they frequented the same night club known as The Summit, popular among gay men.
As Doohickey looked through the file, his brow furrowed. He raised his gaze to the Chief. “So, you’re saying you want me on this case.” He shook his head as his eyes roamed over the photos of the missing men. “It’s not lost on me that I look an awful lot like these targets, boss. This could go sideways fast.”
“I know, Constable. That’s why you’re not going down there alone.”
Doohickey raised an eyebrow. Before he could question it, there was a quick knock and the door to the office opened.
“Chief, I’m here about that undercover case-” Clancy cut himself off when he saw Doohickey and muttered, “Ah, fuck.”
If Doohickey had less decorum, he’d have echoed the sentiment.
He thanked his stars he got his job back after the Don Ciciccio fiasco. Though he supposed he should really thank Jimmy, given he was the one who got the Chief to change his mind. Unfortunately, he got the Chief to bring Clancy back as well, so that gratitude would have to remain unspoken.
Given the absolute carnage Clancy and Rebecca brought upon his life, Doohickey wasn’t exactly thrilled to work with him again. Becca, at the very least, didn’t deny it when Doohickey revealed he knew about her cheating. For what it was worth, the divorce proceedings were otherwise amicable. Maybe a little too easy. But Doohickey hadn’t gotten the chance to examine that before he was back to working full-time.
Work helped distract him from the implosion of his marriage. That is, unless he got assigned to a case with Clancy. Being the most skilled members in the department meant they often had to work in tandem, though the underlying animosity from the situation with Rebecca meant Doohickey would rather gnaw his arm off than play nice.
The cases still got solved in record time but not without plenty of arguing.
Other officers – particularly Jimmy – were clearly out of their depth whenever the two fought. Typically, they would just let it play out, the tension fizzling out as quickly as it bubbled up. As much as Clancy ticked him off these days, he was still Doohickey’s partner.
Doohickey wasn’t proud of their newfound dynamic, and he got the sense Clancy wasn’t too keen on it either. But something needled at him every time he looked at Clancy. This annoying little itch that made him lash out any time he had an excuse. Clancy getting under his skin with a joke or one of them missing a small detail in a case file turned into a massive issue that Doohickey couldn’t let slip by.
The worst part was the fights didn’t even make him feel better. In fact, they often made him feel worse. He truly respected Clancy as a detective and didn’t want to chew Clancy’s head off over every tiny problem, but he almost couldn’t control it.
And it didn’t help that Clancy gave as good as he got. One of the first times they argued after being re-hired, Doohickey anticipated that Clancy would back down. Maybe because of the affair, maybe because he’d never seen Clancy really pissed off before. But that expectation got shut down swiftly when Clancy fixed him with a steely look and asked if he really wanted to do this. Suffice to say, that only fueled the fire coursing through Doohickey’s veins and set the tone for every case thereafter.
Now, staring back at Clancy from where he sat in the Chief’s office, Doohickey could feel that itch creeping up on him again.
“Come in,” the Chief beckoned. “Close the door behind you.”
With only slight hesitation, Clancy did just that. Instead of taking the seat next to Doohickey, he lingered behind him, peering over his shoulder and leaning his palms against the arms of Doohickey’s chair.
Doohickey tensed when Clancy’s hands entered his peripheral vision, and he tilted his head out of the way when he felt Clancy lean closer to get a look at the file.
“This the case you want me undercover on?” Clancy asked the Chief, nodding toward the folder Doohickey clutched.
“Not just you.”
Clancy flicked his eyes from the Chief to Doohickey and back. “You want us two? Working alone together for who knows how long?” Finally, he stood up straight, raising his hands. “I respect your decisions and all, Chief, but I think Doohickey’s gonna have a problem with that.”
Doohickey’s jaw clenched. Oh, he was asking to start a fight.
The Chief must have expected pushback because Clancy’s reluctance didn’t faze him. “Listen. I know you two have some personal issues you’re working out, but this is bigger than that. Five people, same profile, vanished into thin air. No one’s found a single trace of any of ‘em. We need guys on the scene to figure out what’s going on down there. Believe me, if I thought you two couldn’t get your shit together, then I’d send Jimmy and that transfer, but I don’t think they’re ready for this. We’ve got a real problem on our hands, and I need the most capable men here to solve it.”
A moment passed in taut silence. Doohickey found himself wondering if Clancy might actually walk out. Until, with a sigh, Clancy came around to sit in the empty chair.
“So,” Doohickey spoke up, “what’s the assignment?”
“Whoever’s behind this is clearly smart,” the Chief began. “They’ve somehow managed to leave no evidence of themselves anywhere.”
“CCTV footage?” Clancy questioned.
“Either they know some blind spots, or they work some kind of surveillance job because they haven’t turned up on any feed we’ve checked so far. At least, not alongside any of the victims.”
Doohickey chimed in, “You’re sure there’s a perpetrator? I mean, if there are construction sites around, it’s not exactly unheard of for people to get stuck in those.”
The Chief leaned his elbows on the desk, hands clasped in front of him. “Based on the area we’re looking at, there’s only one site, and none of ‘em have been spotted anywhere near it. None of the officers have had any luck in their investigation, so we figure someone’s keeping a careful eye on this and watching out for police.”
“Going undercover’s our best bet then,” Clancy reasoned.
“Exactly. Now, I doubt I need to point this out to you boys, but Doohickey’s appearance matches the target profile completely. We’ve got an apartment ready for you in Chelsea which leaves only one issue. Three of the men who disappeared are married, and the last two are engaged. I doubt that’s a coincidence. We have a better chance of drawing this guy out if he thinks you match every trait he’s looking for.”
A dull ache made Doohickey’s temples throb, his now bare ring finger twitching. The Chief couldn’t seriously be suggesting what he thought he was.
Risking a look at Clancy, Doohickey noticed his face had gone pale.
Continuing, the Chief gestured as he spoke. “That’s where you come in, Detective. Doohickey’s gonna need another officer looking out for him, especially since we can’t have him going back and forth from the department.”
“Wait, what?” Doohickey whipped his head back toward the Chief. “I’m not coming into work during this?”
“All the targets went missing on their way home from work.” The Chief briefly pinched his nose bridge as if he had an oncoming migraine. His voice came out tired as he went on. “I’m sorry, Constable, but it’s too high a risk.”
Doohickey bit his tongue for now, but there would be hell to pay if this assignment turned up nothing.
“So, Clancy will watch your back, and both of you will keep an eye out for any funny business. However you act in private is up to you, but in public you need to sell that you two are engaged at the very least.”
Clancy grimaced. “I don’t know that we can pull that off, Chief. I know some Chelsea guys, and they’re not gonna believe I got a fiancé.”
Doohickey scoffed. God forbid Clancy make a case easier.
The Chief slammed a hand on his desk, using the other to point at them. “Look, I don’t care what you two come up with, but you’re both on this case. I’m getting real fed up with my two best guys refusing to get along, so both of you are going down there even if I have to drag you myself. Are we clear?”
Clancy answered right as Doohickey opened his mouth to argue.
“Alright, alright. We’ll handle it.”
With that, Clancy grabbed the case file out of Doohickey’s hands and swept out of the office.
Doohickey locked eyes with the Chief and frowned before following him out.
Clancy flicked through the file as they crossed the precinct. His fists tightened, crinkling the edges of the reports, and he passed the folder back to Doohickey when they reached his desk.
As Clancy sat down to hastily type at his computer, Doohickey watched him with a twinge of unease. Doohickey had every reason to hate this assignment, but Clancy seemed more upset than him at that moment.
Searching through their digital archive, Clancy repeatedly bounced one of his legs and tapped his fingers against the wooden desktop. His face, still pale, was etched into a scowl.
Had Doohickey taken their arguments too far? Was Clancy angry with him to the point of not wanting to do undercover work together? A weight settled in Doohickey’s stomach at the thought. He’d never intended to actually make an enemy of Clancy, but maybe that sentiment wasn’t shared.
Instead of waiting for Clancy to inevitably explode, Doohickey placed a tentative hand on his shoulder. “Hey, if this bothers you, we can just go back to the Chief. I can always work with another officer or-”
“No,” Clancy barely spared him a glance, eyes glued to the screen. “You shouldn’t be going at all.”
Okay, not the answer he expected. He didn’t know whether to feel insulted or worried. “What do you mean by that?”
Clancy wet his lips and finally turned to face him. “There’s clearly something deeper going on here. Someone doesn’t just kidnap five people and then return ‘em. Whatever’s happening is far worse than we know, and he’s sending you, someone who fits the victims’ profiles perfectly, right into the heart of it. He’s putting you in serious danger, August, and you’d do well to reconsider this assignment.”
Doohickey stared, stunned into silence. First names were a rarity with Clancy and usually meant he wasn’t fucking around. The last time Doohickey heard his first name out of Clancy’s mouth was when they had a proper talk about what he did with Rebecca.
But this was his job. He couldn’t refuse to do it because of Clancy’s apprehension.
“When I signed up for this line of work, I knew what I was getting into,” Doohickey started. “Potential danger is the last reason I would refuse an assignment. I get your concern, but you have to trust me.” He searched Clancy’s eyes, making sure he understood. “I can handle this.”
Clancy relented with a sigh and a slight smirk. “Should’ve figured as much. Well, that just means you’re stuck with me the next few weeks.”
Doohickey turned to head toward his own desk. He retorted over his shoulder, “If this lasts as long as a few weeks, I’m filing a complaint.”
As Doohickey walked off, Clancy called after him with a smug grin evident in his voice, “Hey, it’s what you signed up for!”