Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Pran Buri Forest Park - National park in Pak Nam Pran, Thailand.

Kira ran through the forest at top speed.  Controlling her breathing like she always did.  She’d been running everyday since returning from the school break.  Forced to work off the soft belly that had formed after comfort eating for eight weeks straight.  

She had been all but booted off the team, yet after an abysmal loss to their rival team.  Her coach and teammates reluctantly took her back, with strict conditions, of course.  Her volleyball uniform had become embarrassingly tight around her belly and butt, forcing Kira to spend the first few weeks back at school faking an illness while running her ass off each afternoon, literally.

Taking a sixty second breather, Kira paused to check her watch, annoyed when she saw the 8:50PM glowing at her.  She’d made the choice to veer off the wood path for tourists, and run the national park’s familiar dirt path, with its steep inclines and longer, winding way.  

She’d been confident at the beginning of her run, having possibly run it over a thousand times during her years of volleyball training.  But never had she run so late at night.  Luckily for her, she had her handy dandy shoulder torch, chuffed she was finally getting to use it.

The wooden boardwalk which was mostly used by tourists, was all flat, no matter if the forest floor dipped or rose.  It began at the entrance of the park's carpark, leading to three different walks, 5kms, 10kms, and 15kms; which stretched to the right, around the mangroves, over the water and back to the carpark.

Due to the town's new ‘tourist friendly’ overhaul, the boardwalk had been replaced in some places, repaired in others, and heavily lit with bright lamps that attracted every mosquito in a thirty mile radius.  At this time of night, there’d be a thick curtain of the disease carrying pests.

Hence why Kira only ran on the left-hand side of the boardwalk.  It was nothing but rolling inclines and soft, dry forest floor.  She needed the steep hills.  She needed the 20kms dirt trek.  Nothing but running would help work off all those feelings she’d suffocated with food over the summer break.

Taking off again, she paced herself, focusing on keeping her shoulder torch as steady as she could.  School had never been fun for her.  She’d been the token fat girl up until two years ago when her mother had gone on a health-kick and literally padlocked the fridge.  With her lighter body, Kira joined the volleyball team, dropped her loser friends and sat with better people…until those better people began ruining her life.

Now her life sucked once again…

Everyone at school hated her.  Everyone in town looked at her weirdly, whispering behind her back.  Her mother wasn’t talking to her, and her father refused to acknowledge her existence.

It wasn’t her fault!  It hadn’t been her idea in the first place!  Yet everyone at school blamed her.  How was she supposed to stop them?  She was scared of her ‘friends’, just like everyone else.  If she went against them, she’d might as well paint a bullseye on her ass too!

No, it wasn’t her fault.  Ohm made his choice when he rejected the psycho bitch!  If that hadn’t been bad enough, he started dating a dude!  Of course Sara ‘The Psycho’ was going to lose her shit!

“Fuck!”

Kira had been busy in her head to notice the branch in her path.  Her foot clipped it, sending her to the ground.  Reaching out, she grabbed the closest branch over head, only for her body to twist around and smash into a thick tree trunk.  

Searing pain flooded her shoulder, causing Kira to feel instantly sick as she dropped to the ground.  The glow of her torchlight disappeared, plunging her into complete darkness.  She’d felt this pain twice in her life.  The first time was during volleyball practice, the second time was when she accidently wore the wrong colored dress to Sara’s 15th birthday party.  

Her shoulder was dislocated.

Closing her eyes, Kira began to cry.  The pain was intense, but what made it worse; her mother was going to kill her when she found out.  Technically, Kira was still grounded (until hell froze and pigs began flying, so her mother declared) but she’d been sneaking out in the afternoons when her mother left for her afternoon shift at the petrol station.

How was she going to explain this?  No doubt the hospital would call her mother.  Kira was still underage…

“Fuck!  I’m so screwed!”

Lifting her good arm, Kira reached for the torch .  She had begged her parents to buy her a weighted vest for her birthday.  But they refused to spend the money.  Saying if she wanted a gift over $100, she could get a job and buy it herself.

Kira had gone out and found a job at the local convenience store.  It’d taken her five weeks to save up enough money to buy the vest.  Then another week to buy the velcro torch that went with it.  Her bitch of a mother had seen her purchase and threatened to start charging Kira for rent if she was just going to waste her money.

She quit her job the next day.  ‘Fuck her mother!’

“Yes!”

Kira didn’t lean far as her fingers found the torch.  She clicked the switch, but nothing happened.

*CLICK CLICK CLICK*

“Noooooo!”

‘This isn’t happening!  How the fuck was she going get out here without a torch?!’

More tears began to slip down her face as the pain throbbed on her shoulder.  Kira’s fingers were taking turns between going numb and prickly with tingles.

‘Gods!  She hated her life!  She hated her fat family genetics!  She hated her bitchy controlling mother!  Hated her psycho friends.  And hated her judgmental town!’  

Mostly…she hated herself.  Tipping her head back, Kira began to sob.

Life wasn’t fair.  She’d never done anything wrong.  Yet here she was, stuck in the dark with a dislocated shoulder.  Looking down, she could even see how badly her trainers had scuffed.  Blinking through her watery gaze, Kira realized she could see her shoes!

In fact, she was beginning to see everything around her, as the forest filled with a light that grew brighter and brighter.  The wind picked up, causing the leaves on the ground to fly up and spin.

The trees swayed this way and that, moving to the chaotic breeze.  Only for it to grow stronger, breaking branches and whipping Kira’s jacket against her skin.  She peered around the tree, looking directly into the blinding light.  Holding her arm still with the other, Kira crawled to her knees, ignoring the rolling waves of nausea.

From the sounds of distance rumbling, a storm was coming.  The wind slashed through branches above her, causing the forest to whistle and moan.

“Hello!”  Kira called out into the light.

Her voice was lost as the leaves and trees around her danced wildly.

“Please!  I hurt my arm!  I need help!!!”

Kira lifted her hand, shielding her eyes.  The light ahead of her was overwhelming to say the least.  In the distance, shrouded in white light, a tall figure moved towards her.  Relief overtook her instantly.  She waved her uninjured arm up, calling out over the noise.

“Over here!!!”

Her voice was lost in the coming storm.  It didn’t matter, hopefully this person had a car.  As she watched the tall silhouette walk towards her, her excitement curdled in her gut.  With each step the stranger took, it occurred to her that she was in the forest…at night…alone.  

‘Why were they in the forest at this time?  Were they a runner or a late night tourist?  …Shit!’

Kira couldn’t tell if the stranger was a man or a woman, causing that curdled feeling in her stomach to twist into something distressing.  She’d been so focused on the pain in her arm, so panicked by the bad turn of weather, she’d completely forgotten about the basic female 101 rule; ‘stranger danger’.

‘Should she risk it, or run?’  

Now that Kira could see everything around her, even with the wind rushing around her, she could see the path she needed to take to go home.  Standing, Kira swayed, catching herself on the tree before she fell.  The pain in her arm was intense enough to make her stomach cramp, bile rolling up into her throat.

Lifting her head, her breath caught, body freezing in fear.  The stranger stood in front of her, close enough to reach out and grab her.  She remained petrified, legs shaking under her weight.  With so much white radiance behind the stranger, Kira could only see darkness made flesh.

In her paralyzing fear, she simply stared into the stranger’s face.  Seconds felt like hours, but as time ticked by, the stranger’s face became clearer.  

Relief hit her like a ton of bricks.

“Oh thank fuck!  You have no idea how happy I am to see you!...Wait…”

“I put the time of death between eight and twelve hours ago.  No visible cause, no sign of battery or sexual assault.  All we have is this…”

Coroner Boonya said as he pulled up the back of the girl’s t-shirt and jacket.  Two small circular burns marred the girl’s tanned skin.

“Can we turn her over?”  Sergeant Kampu asked.

Though it was phrased as a question, coming from the irritable officer, it sounded more like a demand.  Boonya wasn’t caffeinated enough to comment.  Instead he ignored the man’s tone and turned the girl over.

The sergeant sighed in frustration.  “Kira Somsri…”

Boonya lifted his head in surprise.  Though he’d checked the girl’s ID card when he arrived at the scene, that had been well before Sergeant-I’ll get there when I get there-Kampu finally showed up.

“She goes to school with my son…”  The sergeant muttered.

‘Ah shit!’

Boonya kept his facial features as straight as possible, learning from his earlier mistakes by asking the man too many questions.  The sergeant’s son was a touchy subject at the best of times.

“Any ties to Choraka Suwannart?”  he asked while eyeing Kampu’s reaction carefully.

A dark look passed over the sergeant’s face before disappearing.  Without a word, he turned and walked away.  Ignoring Boonya as he called out behind him.

‘Figures…’

Boonya had been called in but this wasn’t the first unexplained death in this sleepy little town.  After that storm last night and all the rain they received this morning, any evidence on or around the body was most likely washed after with the weather.

Motioning to his assistant to cover the corpse, Coroner Boonya zipped up his waterproof jacket and pulled the hood over to keep his balding head dry.

“Pack her in the van, let's drop her off and go get warm…”

Department of Special Investigation, Bangkok.

Agent Peat Chai walked up the stone stairs of the plainly designed concrete building, discreetly fluffing the front of his long-sleeve button up shirt, as he desperately tried to dry off the sweat running down his chest.  It was storm season, but the rain was late to hit the city, giving way to miserably humid days and sweltering hot nights.

The DSI building itself was as plain as it got; a grey concrete box-like structure, with grey concrete stairs and an overgrown garden that hid all signage.  When Peat first started working at the Department of Special Investigation three years ago, he’d circled the block a handful of times before finally asking for directions from a man wearing a suit and ID badge around his neck.

The parking was horrendous in the city (not that he owned a car), and since the DSI building was smack bang in the middle of the city central, Peat was forced to catch two buses and a ferry across the river to get there and back each day.

Three years he’d walked through the same streets, up the same concrete steps, and yet, he still hadn’t made a dent in coming any closer to moving up the office ladder.  He arrived to work fifteen minutes early everyday, stayed fifteen minutes after clock off time to clear his desk and empty his rubbish bin.  His work was through, double checked and always handed in on time.

Yet after all his diligence; Peat had been upgraded from rookie to office bitch.  Not only doing the work assigned to him, but being offloaded with work that belonged to his coworkers who ranked higher on the ‘office scale’.  On top of that, Peat was sent out daily for lunch orders, coffee runs and dumped with every shitty job from filing, photocopying, to Archive drop offs and stationary pickups.

But today…today would be different!

Today he had an interview with Section Chief Bunmi on the fifth floor.  Every year the department opened up applications for field agents, and anyone on any level could apply for the position.  This would be the third time applying, and like they say; third times a charm!

Never once had he ever been actually called up stairs for an interview!  When the elevator doors opened to the fifth floor, Peat practically floated towards the woman at the front desk.  Smiling happily as he gave his name and showed his ID card.  

“Agent Peat Chai to see Section Chief Bunmi.”

The woman checked her computer screen quickly and smiled.

“You’re early but that’s ok.  Follow me, please.”

She stood, straightening her light grey pencil skirt before coming around the desk.  Peat followed her closely.  Politely smiling and greeting anyone that passed them.  They walked through a group of open offices; each office cube was twice the size of the ones downstairs where he worked.

The room seemed brighter…it smelled nicer too!  And was that an espresso machine he spotted in the break room?!

‘Wow…’  All they had on the second level was an electric jug and instant coffee.  Then there was of course; ‘the coffee runner’.

“Here you are.”  

Announced the receptionist before nodding to him and walking down the hall.  Her black pumps moved silently over the plush unstained carpet.  Peat checked his suit, checked his ID badge, checked his hair and his breath before knocking on the white wooden door.

“Come in!”

Nerves had been building from the moment Peat got on the bus this morning, only increasing with each step he took towards this very door.  He’d been dreaming about field work from the moment he first started working at the DSI, but understood that it took time to prove one’s self for the position.  

Nevertheless, above all else; he needed this job upgrade…desperately!  With field work came the perks of a car, a much higher wage, health insurance, plus Peat would no longer be treated like a slave by his coworkers on the second floor.  Most importantly, he would earn enough money to afford to move out of his ex’s apartment before he was finally kicked out onto the street.

If he could avoid begging his parents to let him stay with them, he would.  Though they probably wouldn’t allow it anyway, just to teach him a harsh lesson after being the bitter disappointment he was…

They could get over the fact that he was gay.  But they had never been able to forgive him for finishing top of his class in med school, only to work a government job outside the medical profession.

Walking into Section Chief Bunmi’s office, Peat took in the crisp white walls and the large bay windows.  With soft grey furnishings and pale blue abstract paintings on the wall, all in all it was nice but a little empty.  Or perhaps, a little basic.

Bunmi sat behind her pale oak desk, smartly dressed with her white hair styled between grandma and corporate chic.  Peat had only ever seen Section Chief Bunmi in passing on the ground floor.  She was a large woman in her late sixties, known to be strict but fair.  

She honestly reminded Peat of his Head-Mistress from high school.  Mostly because they both scared the crap out of him!

“Agent Chai, thank you for coming on such short notice. Please…”  Bunmi said politely.  Motioning Peat to the only empty seat available.

As he sat, he respectfully greeted the older woman sitting next to Bunmi and the pale, thin woman leaning against the wall.

“Right.  Well…”

Bunmi opened a thin file in front of her, before speaking again.

“We see you have been with us for two years...”

“Over three…this august passed-gone…”  Peat corrected.  Mentally kicking himself for speaking out of turn.

Bunmi gave him a look of indifference as she glanced up from his file.

“You went to medical school but chose not to practice.  How did you come to find yourself working for the DSI?”

‘Crap!  He’d already annoyed her!’

“Well…I was recruited straight out of medical school.  I saw the DSI as a place where I could grow and distinguish myself.”

He said with a professional smile.  Mentally patting himself on the back.

‘Well done!  You managed to say it without crying!’

Lord knew, the Section Chief didn’t need to hear that the only hospital who had gotten back to him about his job applications was the city central, and Peat would be damned if he was going to work at the same hospital as his cheating ex!

“Agent Chai, are you familiar with Agent Fort Seng?”

Peat blinked stupidly at Bunmi, taken back by the random question.

“I know of him…but we’ve never met, sorry.”

Bunmi shared a look with the older woman sitting next to her.

“You know of him?”  The other woman asked.  She was small in stature, mid-fifties (possible) with a salt-pepper pixie cut.

Peat nodded.

“Only by reputation. He was born here but lived in the UK while attending the University of Cambridge for psychology.  Wrote several published papers on serial killers and the occult.  His work helped catch that cult leader, not to mention he’s labelled one of the best behavioral analysts this department has…”

‘Not to mention that other label…’

Behind his back, Agent Seng was called Agent Lestrange.  He only ever dressed in black, had a snake tattoo on his forearm and when he needed to use the English language, he spoke it with a British accent, opposed to those in the department that spoke with more of an American accent when using English.

Office gossip constantly stamped him as…strange.  Creepy even.  He could practically read a person like a book, seeing through the lies and the bullshit within seconds.  He was a genius in his own right, and was higher up the department's ‘food-chain’, giving him the perks to request or decline the cases he worked on.

He didn’t mince words, which rarely made friends in this building.  He didn’t ‘scratch the backs of others’.  Nor was he open to having his ‘back scratched’, which pissed a lot of the brown-nosers off.

Then there were the more personal rumors...  The ones that were shared at the water cooler and at Christmas office parties.  Agent Seng was a bit of a flirt, man or woman it didn’t matter, but never got too close with his coworkers.  No one knew his orientation and when asked, he would give a smart-ass answer or simply ignore it. 

He was smart, incredibly attractive, dressed well, and…well, apparently…slung a bigger gun than most.

“What you may not know; is that Agent Seng has developed an inconvenient obsession with a disbanded project outside this department.”

Bunmi said.  Interrupting Peat from his mini daydream.

“Are you familiar with the “BL-Files?”

Peat nodded slowly.

“They are the unexplained cases.  Blacklisted as unsolvable.”

“Pretty much.”  Section Chief nodded, looking back down at Peat’s employee file.

“Agent Chai.  You have applied for the position of field agent three years in a row now, is that right?”

“Yes.”

“Well…we are willing to accept your application.  Though it is clear you are unqualified, with zero recommendations from your senior supervisor.  But we are willing to look past it, withstanding a few conditions…”

“Yes!  Anything!”  

Peat bit his lip.  One side of his brain was chanting ‘STOP INTERRUPTING HER, DICKHEAD!’  The other side of his brain was having a little pre-celebratory party.

“We want you to partner with Agent Seng. You will write reports on your activities while you assist with these BL-Files, as well as your logical observations on the legitimacy of his work.”

As the Section Chief spoke, Peat could feel the gaze of the thin woman leaning against the wall.  His eyes flicked over to her.  He smiled but her face stayed stony.  

Peat was starting to feel anxious again.

“You want me to…disprove Seng’s work?”  He asked quietly.

“Agent Chai.  We value loyalty in this building over all else.  We also believe you can do great things in this department.  It is why you were hand picked out of many, many more experienced candidates.  Because we trust you will make the proper scientific analysis.”

If anyone walking passed the door heard this, it could be taken at face-value.  It had all the right words.  But to Peat, it was sounding more and more like a rock and a hard place.  If he were to decline, he would go back to the lower levels, to his tiny cubicle, and possibly spend the rest of his DSI career making photocopies and fetching coffee.

Or…he becomes a rat.  Granted a well paid rat…  But a backstabbing traitor to the first, and possible only partner he’d ever get.

Bunmi said they valued loyalty?  But where was their loyalty for their agents?

Looking down at his knees, Peat worried his bottom lip.  He wanted to say no, but this was possibly the only chance he’d get to be a field agent.  Looking back up, Peat found himself nodding at Bunmi.

“Good.  Tomorrow you will report to Agent Seng.  We look forward to your reports.”

Just like that, his employee folder was snapped shut and he was directed to leave.  The once crisp white office walls felt dull and cold.  Peat’s journey through the larger office space changed.  It seemed fake and obnoxious.  He took the stairs down to his office on the lower level, dragging his feet.

Level two was the research department.  Peat wandered passed each tiny cubicle until he reached his own, at the very end of the room.  It was only slightly bigger than a toilet cubicle.  The fluorescent light above was so bright Peat had been getting headaches by the end of the day.

There, next to his keyboard was a mountain of paperwork.  Twice as much as he had when he left last night.  Senior staff were tactlessly using his desk as a dumping ground for paperwork that they themselves couldn’t be bothered doing.

Looking at the time.  Peat sighed when he realized the meeting had only been no more than half an hour.

There were no personal items on his desk.  So he wouldn’t need to pack.

“Oi, Chai!  Coffee!”

Peat stood, looking down the hallway of cubicles, to the tall senior calling out his name and pointing to his watch.  Right…he was still their bitch for the rest of the day.  Peat looked over the mountain of paperwork and sighed.

He took the coffee order and the cash, only to be short changed by his supervisor.  This happened a lot.  For the year Peat sucked it up and used his money, leaving it when his supervisor laughed him off.  Then when Peat pushed the topic, his supervisor would berate him for his attitude, saying he lost the money, and for a while he would say Peat stole the money.

It backlashed for everyone, including Peat, when he emailed HR and CC’d “DSI ALL”.  Outlining the seriousness of the accusation, and the mental anguish over being accused in front of his peers.

Below the email, he attached two and a half years worth of screenshots and bank statements, each dated, timed and labelled; every time he was told to cover the cost of his coworker’s coffees with his own money.

Peat was compensated out of the department’s petty cash, and his supervisor was reprimanded, but he was called labelled petty and immature for emailing his grievance to everyone with a DSI email.

They called him the Coffee Prince behind his back, not that he cared when he got the money back.  He finally got to get something other than instant noodles that month!  Though he had made an enemy of his supervisor, which led to six months of extra paperwork that wasn’t his.

And his supervisor had been slowly ‘forgetting’ to give Peat the right change, if at all.  Today, Peat went out for coffee and came back with his list, handing each coworker their change and receipt.  When he got to his supervisor's desk however, instead of a free coffee, he placed a menu pricelist on the man’s desk.

Then followed a five minute rant about Peat’s attitude and stinginess.  Until Peat held up his phone, open to the Recording app.  His supervisor told him to take a joke and steered clear of him for the rest of the day.

Returning to his desk, Peat almost started crying.  The pile of paperwork was now tenfold what he had before he left for coffee.  Even if he stayed behind to complete his work, there would be no time to complete the rest...  

Sitting down heavily on his squeaky desk chair, Peat heard the words ‘asshole’ and ‘coffee prince.’  He had been so hopeful when he left for work this morning, but just like everyday of his life; his hope fizzled out into another series of disappointments.  

Making possibly another petty and immature decision; Peat flicked through the stack of files on his desk, finding the ones that were his, while placing the ones that weren’t to the side.

‘Those ones would be tomorrow’s problem.’

The next morning, Peat inquired at the front desk on the ground level.  Where exactly was Agent Seng’s office?

He didn’t believe it when the receptionist told him.  Nor did he believe it when he got into the elevator and rode it all the way to the basement.  Or when he finally reached the far end of the hallway.  Only to stand in front of an old door with a faded plaque that read; STORAGE.

Knocking on the door, Peat waited before sighing in relief.  This had to be a prank.

‘Maybe his supervisor put the front desk receptionist up to it?’

Peat turned to walk back up the hallway.

“Sorry! Nobody down here but the DSI’s most unwanted!”

Groaning inwardly, Peat turned back towards the door and opened it slowly.

Inside, sitting behind a large desk, was Agent Fort Seng.

‘Wow…’

Peat had to be honest with himself; the man was gorgeous!  There was no way around it.  Seng was fit, with broad shoulders and a jawline for days.  His black button-up was practically painted on, while lovely dark eyes were slightly hidden behind designer reading glasses.  Giving him a hot-Clark-Kent-vibe.

Peat looked around the room, taking in his surroundings as he ventured deeper inside.  It was an odd open-planned L-shape space.  Much larger than the whole floor on level two…somehow.

All in all, the room was a mess.  Filled to the brim with boxes, containers, and mountains of paperwork and old newspapers.  It seemed, Fort had created a path through the chaos; from the door to his desk.  Even managing to place several hundred UFO photos, occult symbols, and a large poster from a book cover that read “WE ARE NOT ALONE” on the wall behind his desk.

For some reason it made Peat smile. When he turned to Fort, he found those dark eyes on him.

“The extraordinary history of UFOs and aliens invading our hopes, fears and fantasies…good read?”

Peat asked as he looked over the wall of photos.

“A little dry, but the poster was free, so I can’t complain.”

Putting in place his most professional smile, Peat finally stood in front of Agent Fort Seng.

“Hi, I’m Peat Chai.  I’ve been assigned as your new partner.  I hope we can work well together.”

Fort stood, greeting him politely.  Peat couldn’t help but notice that although the man wasn't all that taller than him, his sheer size in muscle mass alone made him feel petite.  He was suddenly very physically aware of Fort.  It caused a slight delay in brain function, unable to remember what he was supposed to do or say next.

“So, who’d you fuck off to get sent down here…Chai?”

It suddenly occurred to him that the coffee issue may have placed Peat on HR’s and the Section Chief’s shit list.  ‘Oh double crap!’

“Actually, I’m excited to work with you.”  Peat said truthfully.

He'd spent the majority of the morning filling out paperwork for his new position, while mentally jumping for joy at the outstanding salary package awaiting him.  Peat had also spent the night before, and the better part of this early morning's bus ride convincing himself that his actions didn’t need to strictly adhere to the Section Chief's ‘conditions’.

Making the decision to work side by side with Agent Seng, whilst still reporting his findings honestly, just as any regular field agent would.  There was absolutely no reason why he couldn’t reach his professional goals, and keep his morals in check.

“Really?”  Fort said with a lifted eyebrow.

‘Gods he was attractive…NO!' 

Peat scolded himself internally. 

'Cool your jets! You can’t think this way…especially about a new partner!'

He needed to throw Fort into the friendzone, and lock him down tight.  The man was a colleague ONLY.  They could grow to be friends for sure.  Maybe even brothers in the future.

‘Yeah…Targaryen brothers…STOP IT!’  Peat's mind screamed, barely catching Fort next words;

“And here I was under the impression you were sent here to spy on me…”

He smiled at Peat, but there was no warmth there.  

Pausing, Peat debated whether to just admit it, but the Section Chief hadn’t technically said the words ‘spy’.

“If you have any doubt about my qualifications or credentials, th…”

Fort grins at him, waving his hand before sitting back down at his desk.  A thin employee file Peat recognized lay open on the junkyard that was Agent Seng’s desk.

“You’re a medical doctor, but you’ve never practiced.  You teach at the academy on your off-time.  You finished with high marks for your degree in physics.  Well, well, well…rewriting Einstein?  That’s rather impressive.”

‘It was rather stupid…’  Peat thought.

Though it was simple enough at the time, extremists saw Peat’s papers as an affront to Einstein’s work.  He wasn’t trying to dissolve the man’s legacy, merely add his understanding of it in a different light.

His boyfriend (at the time) had called him pretentious.  It was just one of the many low blows he’d received from that loser.  Even when Peat had received a commendation for his thesis, his ex refused to go to the event and watch him accept it.  Saying he was too embarrassed…

When one googled Sour Grapes, images of his ex must surely pop up.  For not once in all his years of school had his ex received an award.  Fuck…if it wasn’t for Peat, the cheating dirtbag would never have passed his medical exams.

“You mock me.”

Peat said it in jest, but the fact that this man (his new partner) was already looking down on him kind of hurt.  

Fort's easy smile disappeared.  No doubt reading Peat’s face.

“I mock not.  I read it.  Front to back.  It was very good.”

Peat lifted his gaze, meeting Fort’s eyes.  Behind those stylish readers were the darkest brown eyes he’d ever seen, along with eyelashes that anyone would envy.  Fort seemed genuine in his remark.

“Thank you…”

Peat meant it with his whole heart.  This man was the first person to say something nice about his paper.

“Maybe I can get your medical opinion on this…”

Moving closer to Fort’s desk, Peat peered at the image on the ipad in his hands.  On the screen was the body of a young girl.

“Kira Somsri from Pran Buri.  Fifteen years old, no explainable cause of death.  The autopsy showed nothing.”

Fort moved his finger over the screen, shifting to the next photo of the girl’s back as she lay on the coroner's table.

“The only thing unusual were these two little bumps on her lower back. Doctor Chai, can you ID these marks?”

Peat lifted the ipad to get a closer look, using his fingers to zoom in on the marks.

“Bug bites.  Needle punctures.  Possibly an electrical burn?  I mean, photos can be deceptive.”

Fort moved in closer to Peat, leaning over a little to flick through the images on the ipad. He was wearing black tailored suit pants with a black button up.  His matching black jacket hung over his desk chair.

Peat was very, very aware of every move the man made; every breath, every shift of fabric.  Fort navigated the ipad’s screen until it opened up to a molecular diagram, while Peat floated in the heavenly scent of citrus, bergamot and wood-smoked vanilla.

“This is the substance found in the surrounding tissue.  Any ideas what it could be?”

Peat felt like he was being tested.  He’d probably feel more annoyed about it if Fort’s body heat wasn’t making him think naughty things.

“It’s organic…there isn’t much information to go on.  Possibly a synthetic protein?”

Fort shrugged his broad shoulders.

“No idea, never seen it before.”

Peat tutted before catching himself, but it earnt him a cheeky grin from Fort in return.  The man touched the ipad screen, moving into a linked report.  The photo on the screen showed a picture of another young girl face-down in a dirty puddle of water.  Her rain soaked shirt lifted to expose her back.

“Here it is again five hours away from our first victim.”

Fort flicked to another photo of a dead blonde man.

“And another in a completely different continent.”

Peat stared at those two little raised bumps.  Floating in a sea of Fort’s expensive cologne.

“Do you have any theories?”

“Plenty”  He said with a grin.

Peat waited, watching Fort sit back at his desk.

“Well…mind sharing them with the rest of the class?”  His curiosity getting the better of him.

“Tell me Agent Chai; do you believe in the existence of aliens?”

Peat grinned, looking over at the poster.

“Depends, are we talking facehuggers or little fluffy ones from planet Melmac?”

A devilishly smile spread across Fort’s handsome face, causing Peat to flush with warmth.

“Two teenage girls from the same high school have all died under mysterious circumstances.  What happens when logic and science offer us no answers?  Could we not finally turn to the supernatural or fantastical as a plausibility?”

Peat shook his head.  He felt like they should be debating this over beers while listening to Nirvana.  Not during an introduction first thing in the morning.

“In regards to those girls; it’s more probable that human error caused them to miss something important during the post-mortem. Or, worse case scenario; the investigation was purposely botched or even buried.”

He lifted himself up to sit on the table he’d been leaning against.  Lost in Fort’s deep brown eyes, Peat was secretly chuffed that the larger man was actually listening to him.

“What’s fantastical is the plausibility that there are answers beyond the realm of true logic.  Everyday science changes, updates and improves.  Who’s to say this isn’t one of those moments in history?”

Fort smiled, nodding at Peat.  ‘Was this all some sort of test?’  Feeling emboldened, Peat continued.

“The answers are there, Agent Seng. You just have to know where to look.”

The larger man was quiet for a few moments before opening up his laptop.

“You can set up your things over there.”  He pointed to the other side of the L-shaped room.  Still very jam-packed with boxes and containers.

Sighing in relief, Peat walked over to the closest box.

“What are all these?”

Without looking, Fort shrugged.

“No idea.  Most of this stuff was headed for the archive room upstairs.  It’s more than likely long forgotten.”

Lifting the lid of one box, Peat peered inside, seeing nothing but old files.  Placing the lid back, he removed his jacket, and hung it over a chair.  Rolling up his sleeves, Peat went upstairs to the newly renovated archive level.

“Can I borrow this trolley?”  He asked the guy behind the counter.

Eyes solely focused on the screen of their phone, the desk clerk waved Peat off.  

Two hours later and seven trolley’s worth of files, boxes and containers made it upstairs before the dickhead at the counter yelled at him.  Another hour later; Peat had managed to dump thirteen boxes in the hallway outside the archive room before his trolley was snatched away.

For the rest of his shift, Peat checked each box.  Moving some files from half filled boxes to make full ones, folding down the empty cardboard.

When it was time to clock out, Peat waved goodbye to Fort, before checking that the coast was clear on level two.  Peat walked back to his (former) desk, spying a new pile of paperwork on his desk that was tall enough to reach his belly button.

He loaded the rest of the old boxes into the elevator and one by one unpacked them onto the desk of each coworker that stood by while Peat was berated and bullied.  He neatly placed mountainous piles on EVERY desk, thinking about the years of backstabbing, unnecessary bitchiness.

By the time the night cleaners arrived, all the boxes were empty and folded down.

The massive pile of paperwork that had been dumped on Peat’s desk yesterday and day, was now randomly placed between old files, on everyone’s desk.  They would be forced to go through every single page and file to find the work they tried to make Peat do.

As he walked to the recycling bin to throw away the extra cardboard, Peat smiled to himself.  He was dusty, grimy and exhausted, but all the storage boxes and containers were gone from HIS and Fort’s office.  Though…he wasn’t looking forward to the consequences of his actions punching him in the face tomorrow.

The gravity of his little ‘goodbye’ to his soon-to-be former coworkers had mentally caught up with him on the way home.  Peat had missed the last bus, and with his lack of funds, he could only afford to catch a taxi to the river ferry, barely making the final one as it was.

He’d been possessed.  It was the only logical explanation.  Tidying his new office space had turned to rage cleaning.  Peat had been stuck in his own thoughts.  Remembering every shitty job he’d been dumped with, which only fueled his rage, until the idea to ‘offload’ the rest of those musty old files.

All while Fort worked intently on his laptop, headphones blaring jazz in his ears.

The consequences of his actions hadn’t caught up with him just yet.  Mostly because Peat had shut off his phone the moment he walked through the apartment door.  Getting back here at the end of the night always depressed him.

He skipped dinner, grumbling that his shortsightedness had cost him a taxi ride and not the pizza he had planned.  With nothing to do, Peat got changed into his pajamas and rinsed his work shirt and pants, hanging them on the line outside over the little balcony.

Crawling onto the mattress, Peat closed his eyes for what felt like a mere moment….

*KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!*

Groaning, Peat squeezed his eyes shut; he was too tired for a booty call!

*KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!*

Turning, Peat checked his phone, only to realize it was off.  Lifting his watch up, Peat squinted at the time.  

4:07AM  He’d only been asleep for three and a half hours!

*KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!*

If this was his ex, he was seriously considering killing him.  Climbing to his feet, exhaustion making every step to the door heavier than normal, Peat paused to check the peephole.

‘HUH?!’

Blinking several times to moisten his tired, dry eyes, Peat looked again…

*KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!*

Unlatching the chain, Peat turned the door handle and pulled the door open.

“Morning, partner!”

Agent Fort Seng was standing in front of his door, looking refreshed and delicious in his all-black attire.  Peat was stumped for words, but the large takeaway coffee in the larger man’s hand definitely caught his attention.

“Oh, this is for you…”  He said, handing Peat the coffee.

It was hard to be grumpy when a hot…coffee was in reach.

“Not that I don’t appreciate the coffee, or the view… But do you mind telling me why you are here… At four in the morning?”

Uninvited, Fort stepped into his apartment.  His sleep-deprived mind couldn't deny that the outfit looked fantastic on the man: black jeans and a plain black t-shirt that hugged every muscle like a fitted sheet.

"It's not what I expected."  Fort said, surveying the empty apartment.

No shit!  His ex had taken everything but the mattress.  Peat couldn't afford rent, food, AND furniture.

“It’s not my place.  The rent is cheap, and there isn’t anything available in the city that won’t cost me a kidney.  You didn’t wake me up at stupid-o'clock to see where I lived…”

Fort nodded.  

“We’re off to Pran Buri Forest Park.  I’ve got the car out front; pack a bag.  We’ve got an interview first thing.”

Peat stared longer than was polite.  His brain was too tired to work.

“Pran Buri Forest Park?  That’s a three-hour drive!”

“Better get packing then!  I’ll meet you at the car.  White Mercedes!"

Then he was off, down the dingy hall and out of sight.  Peat closed the door and wondered if he’d dreamt it all.  Looking down at the hot coffee in his hand, he could still smell the scent of Fort’s expensive cologne lingering in the air.  It was enough to light a fire under Peat’s ass.

He took a deep drink of coffee, groaning at how amazing it tasted, before racing to the bathroom.  He peed, showered, dressed, and packed within twenty minutes.

Fort’s car was a white satin-wrapped Mercedes AMG GT.  Peat knew enough about cars to carry a conversation with his father.  His dad was a retired general surgeon but loved his cars.  Peat had once been his father’s pride and joy; when he was a kid, he’d been obsessed with cars.

As he got older, however, Peat began to take notice of boys and idol singers.  He and his father eventually became distant as a result of it.

They started their three-hour journey by reviewing the case's details.  Peat found his reading glasses in his shoulder bag and opened the files on Fort’s iPad.  There were newspaper articles on the dead teenagers.  Along with the coroner’s reports and scene photos, though the reports seemed rather dry.

He noticed the name, Doctor Noi, before Fort swerved hard on the road.  Peat stiffened as the car slid to a stop, only to jerk forward suddenly when Fort floored the gas.  Narrowly avoiding the truck heading straight for them.

Peat’s body would have slammed forward had Fort’s arm not come out and pinned him to the seat.

“You ok?”  He asked calmly.

‘No, he wasn’t!’

Peat had his hands wrapped around Fort’s forearm like a snake.  Heartbeat racing against his ribcage.  Fort stayed with him in the car until he remembered how to breathe.  When Peat nodded his ok, Fort removed his arm, patting him on the knee.

Both of them exited the car to help with the traffic incident.

With no fatal injuries and no damage to Fort’s car, they’d left the moment an emergency unit arrived at the scene.  Peat’s fatigued nerves had been left frayed.  He’d almost kissed Fort in relief when the larger man suggested he get some sleep.

Soft jazz played over the car's radio, while Fort sat comfortably beside him, tapping his fingers every so often against the steering wheel.  It took Peat next to no time to drift off to sleep…

The moment he heard the hushed rustle of plastic, however, Peat’s eyes snapped open.  Sitting in Fort’s lap was a bag of red grapes.  He caught Peat looking and gave him an apologetic smile.

“Sorry, I was getting peckish.  Want some?”

“That’s ok… And no, thank you.  How far are we from Pran Buri?”

“We passed the welcome sign only seconds ago.  You slept pretty soundly.”

Peat sat up, looking around to see beautiful forestry, darkening with grey rain clouds overhead.

“You said before that this case had already been investigated by the DSI…”

Fort nodded as he chewed a fat grape.

“Two teen deaths with zero evidence; the department thought it prudent to come out and check.  After a week of hiking, kayaking, and enjoying the local Pad See Ew, our boys were called back to home base. The case was quickly marked unsolvable and buried in the BL-Files.”

Fort grinned as he threw another grape in his mouth.

“That was until I found it last week.”

Peat was a little distracted by how soft and sensual Fort’s lips were.  When he smiled, he seemed much younger.

“You noticed something they didn’t, I take it?”  He asked curiously.

Fort nodded again, mouth too full to speak.

“The first autopsy report was suspiciously lacking.  Where, the latest victim has reports signed by a completely different medical examiner…”  Peat thought out loud.  

It wasn’t exactly a pattern; he didn’t really understand why they were investigating this.  He paused for a second before asking,

“Do you suspect the first medical examiner?”

Fort smiled at him.

“Mmm…ask me again after a little digging.”

Both their attention was caught when the car’s radio began to hiss and crackle.  Static noise began to increase in pitch until Peat had to cover his ears.

Fort braked the car hard when the radio abruptly died.  They had stopped in the middle of the road, high up on a hill, overlooking nothing but green rainforest.  The larger man got out and headed towards the back of his car.  Peat unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the car door, walking quickly to Fort’s side.

Just like Fort’s desk, his car boot was a mess.  Not dirty, but more like he used it as a junk drawer with wheels.  Rummaging through the shoes, papers, and…chains?  Fort finally pulled out a can of spray paint.

Peat watched curiously as Fort spray-painted a hot pink smiley face on the road.  The man turned, throwing the can back in the boot before closing it shut and walking back to the driver’s side.

“Agent Seng?  What…?”  Peat questioned, pointing to the road.

Fort shrugged his shoulders and got back in the car.  Peat sat beside him and closed the door, a look of utter bewilderment etched into his face.  Was his new partner a random vandal?

“It’s probably nothing…”  The larger man said as he turned the car back on.

“Seng, when you said ‘a little digging,’ I didn’t think you meant GRAVEDIGGING!”

After meeting with Coroner Boonya, Fort and Peat left to drop their bags off at the rainforest resort before grabbing another coffee.  Thirty minutes later, they were parked outside the local graveyard, following Coroner Boonya and his assistant up a steep slope.  

Several workers were huddled around a mini crane as it dug up the earth.

“We need to get tissue samples from the first victim to compare the compounds found on Kira Somsri.  Aren’t you glad I told you not to get that slice of cake now?”

Fort said smugly as he peered over his designer sunshades.

“Ah, and here I was thinking you thought I was fat.”

The larger man gave him a mocked shocked expression.

“I WOULD NEVER!”

Suddenly glancing down at Peat's stomach.

“Although, give me a feel and I’ll tell you honestly…”

Fort’s hand came terribly close to Peat’s stomach, and on instinct he slapped out his hand, creating a loud *CRACK!* that could even be heard over the crane’s engine.

“I'm putting you in that hole if you even attempt to pinch my stomach again!”

Hissing at Fort while pointing to the grave.  

The large man grinned wolfishly and opened his mouth to say something, before his attention was caught by a car screeching to a halt.  Peat turned to watch as an angry-looking man and a cake-faced teenage girl got out of the car, heading directly towards them.

“Excuse me!”  The man said, huffing as he stormed up the hill.

Fort pointed to the girl.

“This is a strictly kid-free zone right now.”

“Hey, fuck you, asshole!  Who are you calling a kid?!”

The angry man swore under his breath, hissing at his daughter before pushing her towards the car.

“We’re ready!”  Coroner Boonya yelled behind them.

Turning, Peat began to walk up the hill.

“Excuse me!  Who the hell do you people think you are?!”

"Agent Seng, and that's Agent Chai from the Department of Special Investigations."

Fort took out his badge, showing his ID. Peat had taken out his the moment Fort started introducing them.

“And you are…?”

The angry man’s face flushed red.

“Doctor Juthamas Noi!  I’m the medical examiner of this-”

“-Then you must have been informed of our intentions to reopen this case?”

Fort said, casually interrupting the man.

It was clear that the doctor was edging towards panic as his eyes kept flicking behind Fort to the crane.

“I’ve been away… family business.”

“Well, now that you’re back, we have some questions for you.  Like why you didn’t do the recent autopsy on Kira Sonsri?  Are you aware of the tissue sample that was taken from the girl's body?”

Doctor Noi’s face went white before turning an ugly shade of purple.

“What…what are you insinuating?!”

Peat moved to stand next to Fort.

“We aren’t insinuating anything, Doctor Noi.”

He gave the man his most professional smile, only to get a stubby finger jabbed into his chest.

“Well, I think you are!  And if you're looking to make defamatory accusations, you'd better have hard proof to back it up!”

“Mind removing your hands from my partner?”  Fort said quietly.

Noi blinked rapidly before realizing what he’d been doing.  He snatched his finger back and stormed down the slope.  Fort waved at the daughter as they drove off, tutting when she flipped him off through the window.

“Anger issues much?”

Peat turned and walked the final distance to the grave with Fort following closely behind.

“Choraka Suwannarat was the first victim.  Apparently she and Kira were friends from school.  Until she was accused of bullying a boy until he committed suicide.”

It hadn’t been in the report, but Peat had easily found the girl’s socials.  Public opinion of her was lower than scum.

“Suwannarat confessed to the bullying, but since she was underage, and it was her first offense, she was let go.  The guilt must have gotten to her.  She tried to hang herself, but when that failed, her parents sent her to the hospital for monitoring.”

That was another thing left out of the report…

Peat opened the iPad and double-checked the report while a few workers jumped into the grave to secure chains around the coffin.

“The report says she died of exposure…”

Fort snorted.

“She was missing for seven hours in May…  How does a fifteen-year-old die of exposure on a warm summer night, Doctor Chai?”

“READY!”  A worker in the grave yells.

Everyone stood back, watching as the crane slowly pulled the coffin out.  Peat watched nervously as the chain around one end of the coffin slid to the edge.  The damp earth caused the chain to slide even more.  Peat opened his mouth to point it out, but the crane jerked suddenly, pulling the chain free.

What happened next was like a scene from some awkward dark-comedy.  Everyone watched in horror as the coffin slipped free of the second chain and started rolling down the hill.  All the workers started yelling in panic, chasing the coffin down the hill…straight into Fort’s Mercedes.

*BANG!*

Peat choked on his laughter, covering his mouth quickly to fake a coughing fit.  He’d made the comment earlier that parking inside the graveyard was disrespectful, but Fort waved him off, saying, “They’re dead; what are they gonna do?”

“You would make a terrible actor…”

Fort grumbled at him as they made their way to the now broken coffin.  Peat watched closely as the larger man leaned down to lift up the largest top piece.

“Fuck!”  A site worker behind them shouted.

‘Indeed!’  Peat thought, covering his nose.

Inside the coffin lay the mummified remains of a grey, desiccated body.  Peat blinked rapidly, waiting for his eyes to focus properly.  Inside the coffin was supposed to be the remains of a fifteen-year-old girl, but what he, and everyone around him, was seeing was definitely NOT human!

A handful of workers began to pray; some even ran off to vomit behind a headstone or a garden shrub.  Peat shared a look with Fort before kneeling to get a closer look.  The arms were longer than they should be…the face too.  The fingers were thick and elongated.  With flat fingernails and much larger fingertip pads.  

If Peat had to take a quick guess, he’d probably say this was a non-human primate.  An orangutan, or maybe a mandrill.  

“Seng…there’s no way this is the body of a teenage girl…”  He said quietly.

Fort turned to Coroner Boonya abruptly.

“Seal this up, right now!  Nobody sees it.  Nobody touches it.  Got it?!”

After a whirlwind of interviews, phone calls, and a quick dinner.  Peat found himself dressed up in scrubs, double-checking everything he needed before starting the autopsy on Suwannarat’s body.  He hadn’t cut into a person since med school, and the salad in his stomach wasn’t sitting right.

Peat wasn’t a particularly squeamish person, though he wasn’t a fan of bugs or geckos.  It was just that the smell coming off the grotesque corpse was enough to curdle fresh milk.  Boonya had left an herbal inhaler on the counter for him, along with a small bottle of eucalyptus oil that could be dabbed on the face mask he wore.

It was tempting, but he wouldn’t be doing his job properly if he cut out his sense of smell.  What if the body was clean only for the smell of toxin or poison?  Peat couldn’t risk it.

His partner was taking photos with his phone at every possible angle.

“Do you know what this could mean, Chai? It's almost too big to even comprehend…”  Fort said excitedly as he moved in closer for a better shot.

Peat shook his head, letting the bitchy comment on his tongue go.  He was getting hangry.  From the moment that lid opened, the larger man had been convinced that the world's unknown answers were right in front of them.  

He didn’t even seem to mind that the side of his car was damaged.

“The subject is one hundred and fifty-six centimeters in length, weighing fifty-two pounds in extremis. The corpse is in advanced stages of decay and desiccation. Distinguishing features include large ocular cavities and an oblate cranium...”

Peat’s eyes flicked to Fort before looking back at the table.  His own phone was placed upside down in his scrubs pocket, recording his voice.  He would send a copy to Fort’s iPad when finished.

“...indicates…the subject is not human.”

Fort stopped taking photos to stand close to him.  His smoky vanilla cologne cutting through the decay.

“If it's not human, then what is it?”

Peat sighed, the long day and lack of calories finally weighing on him.  It was beginning to rain outside, and the restaurants in town had closed early for the night.  All he wanted to do was eat, take a hot shower, and go to bed.

“It's Hominidian.  Most likely a chimpanzee or orangutan, possibly another great ape.”

Fort leaned over the body, the wheels in his brain ticking before he shook his head.

“Buried within a coffin marked Choraka Suwannarat?  Last I checked our monkeys never exceeded the throwing limit… No.  I need tissue samples, x-rays, blood type, toxicology, and a full genetic work-up.”

Peat stared at Fort incredulously.

“You can’t be serious?!”

The larger man nodded, pointing to the paperwork on the bench behind them.

“Whatever can't be done here, can be ordered to go…”

“Seng!  You don't honestly believe this is some kind of an extraterrestrial?  Come on… Where’s Choraka’s actual body?  She was reported dead… But where are her remains?”  

Peat asked, waving his gloved hand over the corpse.

“We can do x-rays here, can't we? Is there any reason we can't do them right now?”  Fort said, ignoring his questions.

Peat was physically taken back.  His stomach dropped as the excited energy around Fort worried him.  It must have shown on his face, because Fort’s body relaxed, eyes softening.

“I'm not crazy, Chai. I get your doubts… I have them too.  But what would it hurt to tick every box?  Maybe whatever we find in those tests will help us figure out who…or what has killed these girls?”

Peat stared at Fort a little longer before walking over to the desk and pulling up the forms they needed to start testing.  The larger man put his phone away, taking a seat across from Peat as he continued to fill out the digital requests.  

To make everything go smoothly, he wrote down the form numbers, the time requested, and the reference numbers on the paper next to him.  A sick nervousness churning in his gut.

The time on his laptop read 4:17AM; Peat hadn’t been awake this long since medical school.  Back then, he’d lived off the delusion of love and RedBull.  Now, he was overtired and running on fumes after consuming the last chocolate bar in his mini-bar fridge.

The rain had stopped, but the ground outside was still wet.  It should’ve cooled the temperature down, but instead it was muggy and gross.  Peat had turned on the aircon to its lowest setting before taking an incredibly hot shower.

The x-rays of ‘Choraka Suwannarat’ had been emailed to him an hour ago, by a rather fucked-off coroner’s assistant.  Toxicology and bloods would take longer, no matter how many strings Fort tried to pull.  A tiny piece of metal, no bigger than a short grain of rice, was found inside the nasal cavity, but without cutting the body up, there was no way Peat could know what it was.

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

“Who is it?”  ‘What kind of psycho knocks on someone's door before the sun rises?!’

“Your dream man.”

Peat couldn’t stop himself from smiling at Fort’s voice before opening the door.  ‘Dream man indeed!’  His partner was wearing black running shorts and a tight black t-shirt.  Black trainers and black socks.  Peat was starting to sense a theme…

“That’s funny… You don’t look anything like Henry Cavill…”

Fort laughed.

“You wound me!  What does he have that I don’t…besides too much chest hair?”

Peat struggled to keep a straight face.

“Hmmm… Apart from a hot British accent, thick muscles, and the ability to build his own gaming PC from scratch?  He also didn’t keep me up past midnight and had me work on nothing but coffee and a garden salad.”

Fort grinned down at him.

“You have me there… but I do have a little bit of a British accent, and my muscle are pretty thick…”

Peat faked a disappointed sigh.

“Yet not thick enough to forgive the last two points I made.  Why are you knocking on my door at stupid-oclock…again?”

His partner rolled his shoulders back, causing the tight shirt to stretch even more over his large chest.  ‘Yum…’

“I'm way too wired to sleep now.  So I’m heading out for a run; do you want to come?”

Peat internally smirked.

“Desperately, but I’ll pass on the running.”  ‘Giggity’

“Have you figured out what that little thing up Choraka’s nose is yet?”  His partner asked, oblivious to Peat’s little comment.

“No…”  He mumbled, mid-yawn.  “Have fun on your run.”

He began closing the door before Fort’s hand stopped it.

“Wait… Did you just say something naughty?”

Peat yawned again, brushing the larger man’s hand off his door before pressing his body against it to close.  Locking the door once it clicked shut.

“I mean…”  Fort started.

“Goodnight, partner!”  Peat yelled out.  Blushing hotly as he walked into the bedroom.

The Department of Special Investigations had strict rules on relationships in the workplace.  Many partners had been forced to separate, transfer, and were even fired over it.  Peat took off his robe and slipped under the covers.  Sighing in bliss as the cool, clean sheets felt great against his flushed skin.

In-office relationships were forbidden; it was a good, sensible rule.  And yet Peat still found himself flirting with his partner.  Chalking it down to being half starved and dead tired.  Office rumors said Fort was a big flirt, so anything from the larger man should have been ignored by Peat.  

So why was he suddenly trailing his hand under his sleep shirt?  When his fingertips began teasing his hardened nipples, why was he picturing Fort?  His vision swam with images of the larger man bending him over his work desk, rolling and pinching his sensitive nubs, while rubbing that legendary thickness against his backside.

Peat spread his legs, lifting two fingers into his mouth to suck on, coating them in plenty of saliva.  There was no rule that said Peat wasn’t allowed to fantasise about his partner…

‘NO!!!’

He slapped himself lightly, snapping his legs shut and crossing his ankles together.  

Peat needed this partnership to work!  He needed the job.  Desperately.  

After cheating on him, his ex’s parents had forced the loser to let Peat stay in the apartment until he found his own place.  That was well over three years ago.  But Peat knew in this economy that their kindness and patience could only go so far.  Especially as his ex had already been making noise about selling the apartment to help his parents move to a nice estate.

Peat needed a reality check.  Fort was gorgeous, yes.  But he was still his WORK partner!

He had to place the handsome man inside the ‘friend/colleague zone’ and lock it down tight.  Jerking off to the vision of his partner pounding him into his desk was out of the question.  Even if he could practically picture the handsome man using his black suit tie to pin his hands down…

“Stop it!”  He hissed at himself.

Peat needed to get laid!  That’s all it was!  He was simply suffering from pent-up chemicals in his brain, making him horny and dumb.  He hadn’t had many lovers in his life.  There was one ‘closeted’ relationship in high school, which was more experimental than anything, but at the time it broke his heart to be kept a secret.

Then he met Tae-Joo, “Just call me TJ.”  First day of medical school.  They had been friends at first, but after a drunken night post their very first exams, they slept together, and they were official the next day.

TJ had been cute but a little plain in the early years.  But as they continued through medical school, he started taking better care of himself and liked the attention he started getting.  Not too long after that, TJ got it into his head that Peat too should start taking better care of himself.

It was much at the start, a small off-handed comment here and there.  Yet one day Peat found himself going to the gym twice a day, using only light weights to keep himself slim but small (or TJ would criticize him for looking too bulky).  His food was controlled, his wardrobe was full of clothes that TJ chose, and they only ever hung out with TJ’s friends.

Peat had been so blinded by love, he hadn’t noticed the water around him beginning to boil him alive.  TJ had slowly made himself the only thing in Peat’s life, and he enjoyed reminding Peat that he had nobody by dumping him before exam time.  Saying he had too much on his plate to cope with their relationship.

Only to show up with flowers and a stupid “oops” look on his stupid face a week later.  

A few days before their final exam, TJ dumped Peat.  Via text.  But by then, Peat knew it was coming.  His love and devotion had turned into disgust and hatred.  Peat replied with a simple “K.”  And turned off his phone, spending all his time before their last exams in the library studying hard.

As punishment for replying so blasé about the breakup and then having the nerve to turn off his phone, TJ fucked anyone and everyone that had been fanning over him within the last two years.  He brought them home to their apartment and left the bed a mess, leaving used condoms on the floor.

Complaints of the noise got back to TJ's parents, and realizing he had nowhere to go and the gravity of wasting his life on a waste of space like TJ, Peat broke down into tears.  He told TJ’s parents everything, and though TJ denied it, Peat had photos and screenshots of his texts.

After realizing he was caught out, TJ started gaslighting Peat.  Saying he couldn’t be blamed because Peat made him feel bad, that it was Peat’s fault he acted out.  There was a small moment there where Peat really did doubt himself.  Wondering if he had been the problem all along, but seeing TJ’s mother slip off her flip-flop and slap the hell out of her son brought him back to his senses.

That weekend TJ moved out, and Peat was told he could stay until he found a place.  But just to be the spiteful narcissistic knobstacle he was, TJ took everything.  Furniture, linen, kitchen utensils, even the bathroom cleaning supplies.  When Peat returned after visiting his parents, the apartment was completely empty.  Everything was gone…but the mattress…the same one TJ cheated on with.

Did the loser take everything to move into another apartment?  No.

He sold everything they had bought together online and kept the money.  Blowing it all that weekend on bottle-service and texting Peat about what a great time he was having.

After that, Peat refused to date, throwing himself into his career.  There had been a handful of one-nighters and even a few friends with benefits.  And shamefully on his part, he slept with his ex from time to time to keep the talk about selling the apartment to a minimum.

Peat could admit he was touch starved and had convinced himself that sleeping with his ex was simply a healthy release… Like exercising.  Though it damaged his mental health and self-esteem…

Sighing, suddenly annoyed at himself.  Even after all that happened today, his overthinking brain went back there of all places.  Peat took a deep breath and let it out.  Realizing it was beginning to rain outside again.

‘I hope Fort doesn’t get sick…’

“Choraka Suwannarat was a patient of mine, yes.  We tried several medications to help calm her depression and anxiety.  We tried group therapy as well as private therapy.  Even family therapy… A lot of help that did for her.  No… The longer she was with us, the more we uncovered that she was a very troubled young woman.  She seemed to be showing signs of post-traumatic stress, but…unfortunately, she ran away before we could truly help her.”

This, from Doctor Gongsun, resident psychiatrist for the town’s hospital.

Peat had been woken later that morning by knocking on his door, this time at 10.05AM.  Had Fort not been holding a large coffee (and looking like a whole bakery), Peat probably would have shot him then and there.  The grin on his partner’s face made it clear that he knew he was one move away from death.

They went over their plans for the day at the breakfast bar in the resort; this time Peat wasn’t moving from that table until his stomach was full and his caffeine levels were fully loaded.  Earlier, when Fort had first suggested getting a sandwich to go, Peat gave him a withering look.

“Just try and remove me from this buffet… See what happens…” He threatened the larger man.

Peat found a table for two near a window and ordered the largest coffee they had before heading over to the buffet to load his plate with a little bit of everything.  Plus a side plate of poached eggs and toast.  Fort made himself a single plate of eggs, plain rice, chicken breast, and berries.

When they finished breakfast, they climbed into Fort’s white Mercedes (with its dents and torn front-side panel) and headed straight to the hospital to interview the last few people that had contact with Choraka before she ran away.

“Do you see that in many fifteen-year-olds?  Fort asked.

“Yes and no.”  The doctor replied.  “If I were back in my home country, I would say yes.  The education system does not support the mental health of students; there is a lot of pressure from teachers and parents.”

Doctor Gongsun smiled sadly.

“But here, there is less pressure.  Though that’s not to say I would rule out abuse.  Especially in this case.”

“Why would you say that?”  Peat asked.

“There were signs.  Her parents said her behavior changed dramatically when she started high school.  There was the usual tension and anxiety.  Plus a reluctance to talk about any of her relationships concerning her family or her classmates.  She would get angry and defensive, then suddenly apologise, calling herself all sorts of names…”

Gongsun shook his head, fingertips touching the girl's medical file.

“I can’t be completely sure, but if you were to ask me… I would look towards the school…”

“...Because you’ve treated more students from Choraka’s school?”  Peat questioned.

“Yes.”

Fort looked over at Peat, eyebrows raised.

“Are you treating any of Choraka’s classmates now?”

Gongsun nodded.

“Lalana Thong-Di and Ohm Kampu.”

Fort shifted to the edge of his seat.

“And they're being treated in this hospital?”

The doctor nodded, closing Choraka’s patient file.

“Is it possible for us to talk to them?”  His partner was slowly rising to his feet, one word away from running out of the room.

“You can certainly try, though you might find it difficult.  Certainly in Ohm's case.”

Fort was out of his chair the moment Gongsun said, “You can.”  Peat stood slowly, his thoughts bubbling with too many questions, like: how did the agents before them not pick this up?  Why was Suwannara’s mental health not added to her case file?  Did anyone check with the school about more students struggling?

Gongsun accompanied Peat and Fort down the halls, filling them in about Lalana and Ohm’s situations.  Ohm was suffering from catatonia.  As in, the lights were on, the engine was running, but no one was manning the wheel (so to speak).  Lalana had broken her back; she was healing slowly, but there had been complications during surgery.

“...she may walk again, but it will take time.” The doctor said in a hushed voice now that they were coming up to the psych ward.

Peat glanced inside the room.  A handsome youth lay in a hospital bed, still as the dead, eyes blinking every so often.  While a young girl with purple hair was sitting in a wheelchair close to the vegetative boy.

“How did this happen?”  Peat whispered to the doctor as Fort smiled and waved at Lalana.  The teen's eyes went wide, blushing as she waved back with only one finger.

Gongsun walked to the side, out of sight of the teens.

“Lalana says she slipped while sitting on the school’s roof… Ohm tried to save her, but they both fell.  He fell into a tree below, but she went out much further, hitting the pavement…”

“You don’t seem so sure?”  Peat asked in a hushed voice.

The doctor tipped his head side to side as he thought of his next words.

“What they suffered was traumatic, there’s no doubt… but when asked, Miss Thong-Di’s memories of the events of that day vary…depending on who she is speaking with.”

‘She was more than likely lying then.’  Peat shared a look with Fort before nodding.  They all walked into the room, greeting Lalana politely.

“I’m reading to Ohm.”

Gongsun smiled and nodded, eyes flicking to meet Peat’s.  Lalana wasn’t, nor had she been holding a book.  After years of firsthand experience, Peat could spot a compulsive liar a mile away.

“We have some visitors, Lalana. Are you feeling well enough for a chat?  We will understand if you’re too tired.”

“I’m not tired!  It’s just…”  The teen looked over at Ohm.  “He needs me.”

Fort smiled warmly, crouching down in front of the girl.

“He’s a very lucky boy to have such a beautiful friend staying by his side.”

The girl blushed, smoothing the blanket over her knees.

Peat walked around them, taking Ohm’s bedchart, and reading over the doctor’s notes.  Ohm wasn’t on any medications or painkillers, no sedatives or antibiotics.  He was fed and changed regularly by his…

“Doctor, it says Ohm’s uncle visits him daily?  Not his parents?”

Gongsun nodded, coming around the bed.  Turning his back on Lalana.

“Yes, there’s only his father and uncle now.  His mother died a few years back.  He comes in every afternoon to feed and bathe Ohm.  Lovely man, runs the only veterinary clinic we have, but doesn’t overcharge like those thieves in the town over…”

Fort had moved to Peat’s side, looking over his shoulder at the patient chart in his hand.

*SLAP!*

“Lalana?!”

*SLAP!*

“Stop that! Nurse!”

*SLAP! SLAP! SLAP!”

The teenage girl was smacking her own face brutally.  Peat took hold of Fort’s elbow, pulling him back gently, keeping them out of the way.  The moment an orderly and nurse had Lalana’s arms secured tightly, she started screaming like a banshee.

The girl had given herself a bloody nose and still thrashed her arms in the nurse’s grip.  When Doctor Gongsun moved towards Lalana with a sedative, the girl’s eyes went wide.  In one last attempt at freedom, the teen threw her body out of the wheelchair.  

While his partner was distracted by the noise and chaos, Peat calmly watched as the teen put her hands out to brace herself for impact, but the moment she was on the floor, she started smashing her head into wood. 

A nurse pulled the girl’s bed shirt up slightly, pulling her bottoms down just enough for the doctor to administer the sedative.  Fort’s hand grabbed Peat’s, squeezing it hard.

Yea… He’d seen it too…

On Lalana’s lower back, just under her belt line, were two familiar little bumps.

The rain pelted against the restaurant’s windows while Peat and Fort ordered dinner.  They’d skipped lunch… Again.  And when Fort suggested that they stop in at the convenience store for some instant noodles and a few cans of coffee before tonight’s ‘activities,’ Peat was officially done.

He waited for the Mercedes to come to a complete stop at the red light, before grabbing his bag and slipping out of the car.  After slamming the door closed, Peat made a bee-line to the restaurant he’d been thinking about ever since they drove past it.

By the time Fort walked through the restaurant doors and took the seat across from Peat, there was already a small bowl of marinated olives and a plate of garlic bread in front of him.  Taking off his black suit jacket, Fort shook off the rain and hung it over his chair.  The larger man said nothing, just smiling at the flustered waitress as she handed him a menu and asked for his drink order.

They stared at each other across the table in awkward silence until the waitress came back with Fort’s drink.  Peat ordered the pork & veal meatballs with spaghetti and a slice of the ricotta crostata, while Fort ordered the lobster oreganata and the caprese salad.

“Are you going to tell me?”  

Peat asked when their waitress finally stopped fluttering around Fort.  Take her sweet time getting their orders to the kitchen, which only added to the agitation in his voice.

“Tell you what?”  

Those dark eyes watched Peat closely.  A little smile lurking in the corners of his mouth.

“Why are you so hung up on these marks?  What do you know?”

“Why… Is your report back to the higher-ups a little lacking?”

Peat’s eyes narrowed; he could feel his blood beginning to boil.

“Did I miss the memo where you and I aren’t on the same team?  Are we not working for the same department?  Are we not here to solve this case?!”

He was starting to raise his voice.  Peat was fucking livid. ‘What the hell were they doing here if not finding out who or what killed those girls?’

Fort stared at him while taking a long sip of his tea.

“I think those teens have been abducted.”

Peat sat back in his chair.  ‘There was no indication of that…’

“By whom?”  He asked.

“By what…”

Peat stared across the table; he didn’t know what to say.

“Do you have a better explanation?” The larger man murmured.

Peat opened his mouth, but the waitress was back at their table to deliver their meals.  It gave him time to run through what they knew so far, which wasn’t much, mostly more questions.

“Mmmmmmm…”

Peat groaned the moment he took a bite of the meal in front of him.  It was…for lack of better words, “melt in your mouth.”  Sweet and savory, with the right amount of tang of tomato.  Even the pasta was cooked perfectly.  Peat managed to get through half his plate before looking up to see Fort grinning ear to ear.

“What?”  He asked, dabbing his face with a napkin self-consciously.

“Nothing…”  Fort stated with an innocent look.

Peering down at his last two meatballs, Peat spun his fork in the nest of pasta.

“Perhaps Doctor Gongsun was right to speculate about the school… Was it ever questioned by our people?”

“Not even once.”

Peat sighed.

“I don’t believe Lalana accidentally fell off the roof, and I don’t believe her little fit today was anything but a grab for attention.  The kids all went to school together; were they in the same classes?  Were they friends maybe?”

He spared Fort a puzzled look, shaking his head.

“I don’t know what caused those marks…yet.  But there are too many logical questions left unanswered.  None of which involved spaceships and Andorians…”

Peat tucked into the rest of his meal as Fort said nothing, pulling out his phone from his jacket pocket.  Seconds later, the larger man started to read out loud.

“Andorians are a blue-skinned, humanoid species.  Characterized by their distinctive antennae and native home on the moon Andoria.”

He placed his phone face down on the table.

“I would never have pegged you as a Star Trek fan.”

Peat laughed.

“I’m not.  Back when I was in medical school, I would be so stressed about my exams or if the teacher was going to pick on me in class.  I was so full of anxiety that it made sleeping next to impossible.  But one night, I randomly put on the TV, and Star Trek was on.  I woke up the next morning on the floor.”

Fort grinned again.

“Are you sure it wasn’t just sleeping on the floor that did it?”

Peat shook his head. Fort’s smile was contagious.

“I tested it out.  Doesn’t matter if I’m on the floor, couch, bed, or in the school’s library.  Put on Star Trek, and I’ll start nodding off.  I can’t tell you why.”

His partner chuckled.

“Damn… And here I thought you might be a hot nerd.”  Fort said.  Scraping his plate clean with a spoon, trying to get the last bits of sauce.

“Oh, I am a hot nerd!  Just not for Star Trek.”

“Star Wars?”

“Nope.”

“Hmmmm… What else is there?”

Peat dropped his fork, while his mouth dropped in disbelief.

“Umm…many!  There’s 3rd Rock from the Sun, ALF, Falling Skies, Roswell, Doctor Who, Resident Alien…even that American one with the redhead!  How can you possibly be so quick to jump to UFOs and Gobbledoks in this case but be so clueless with the alien media?”

Fort had begun choking on his drink the moment Peat said the word ‘Gobbledocks.’  The larger man was beginning to turn red as he tried to cough up the hot tea in his windpipe.  Peat got out of his seat, patting the man on the back.

“You…*COUGH! COUGH!*…made that up!”

“No, I’m pretty sure that American show went on for, like…10-11 seasons…even got a few movies out of it.”

Fort was shaking his head, waving for Peat to shush.

“That word *COUGH! COUGH!* Cockgobbler! *COUGH!* That has to be a made-up word!”

Peat kept his face as straight as he could.

“All words are made up…”

Fort thought about it for a split second before tipping his head back and roared with laughter… Or was it cackling?  Peat suddenly had visions of the laughing hyena from The Lion King….Ed!  His partner's laugh was loud and contagious, with other restaurant patrons cracking smiles as they listened to this big dork fall into a fit of giggles.

Shaking his head, Peat finished his meal, feeling unhappy that it was over.

‘Would Fort judge him terribly if he ordered another meal?’

They kept their conversation light.  Talking about what schools they went to and what their favorite and least favorite subjects were.  When the waitress bounced over to take their plates and ogle at his partner, said partner ordered them a large pepperoni pizza with two plates.

The waitress almost overheated at Fort’s smile as she floated away, but when their pizza arrived at the table and Peat was handed the largest slice, he too almost swooned to the floor…

Dinner ended up going on for longer than planned.  The food was amazing, and they stayed for coffee while Peat finished his dessert.  It turned out that Fort was surprisingly easy to talk to, and they split their conversations between the case, people at work, and what fandom Peat might belong to.

The rain had stopped by the time they left the restaurant, and they walked to the car, hitting the importance of the forest back and forth.  Eventually, after a lot of conjecture and the rude remark of being called a chicken, Peat agreed to go into the forest that night.

They stopped at the resort to change.  There was no way in hell Peat was hiking in a suit and leather shoes.  By 8PM, Peat was dressed warmly in jeans and a long-sleeved thermal.  He was lacing his boots when Fort knocked on his door.  Throwing his raincoat to hide his gun in its leather holster, Peat filled his pockets with evidence bags, latex gloves, and a torch.

Peat opened the door to leave, freezing when he saw his partner's outfit.  Fort was dressed in all black once again: a long-sleeved thermal that was practically painted on.  Cargo pants, gun holster, and side bag.  He looked like he was off to hunt some vampires.  

The outfit…was definitely doing something for Peat…

“Ready and raring?”  Fort asked, adjusting his belt.  

The movement had Peat’s eyes drift down, spying the concealed weapon in his pants.  Realising too late he’d just checked out his partner’s package, Peat kept his face void of any emotion.  ‘Damn! Damn! Double Damn it!’

“Let’s just say I’m ready and able…”

Peat turned quickly, locking the door behind him, before making a beeline towards the car.  With Fort VanHel-Seng walking closely behind him, he was struggling to keep his mind out of the gutter.

After one rather awkward drive, Fort turned into the national park’s carpark.

“Our two victims died on this side of the park.  They found Kira’s body only a few feet from the busy walking trek.  Her mother said she ran it quite regularly.”

Peat looked out the window towards the blackened forest.  ‘Why were they doing this at night again?’

“Out of the two, she showed the most damage.  A dislocated shoulder and torn labrum.  Judging by the bruises on her legs and the scrapes to her hands, not to mention the scuffs on her shoes.  I’d say she tripped and hurt herself.  Whether she was running for her life and then fell, or fell only to meet her end though…”

Fort paused, fingers on the door handle as he looked at Peat intently.

“What?” Peat asked, shrugging his shoulders before continuing.

“Boonya was very thorough with his report.  Kira also showed signs of long-term abuse.  Her medical records in that hospital alone showed hairline fractures to the skull and left arm, two broken fingers, several broken ribs, and a torn earlobe.  Plus, this wasn’t the first time she’d dislocated her shoulder.  When questioned, her mother said Kira played volleyball, but her coach at school said Kira hadn’t shown up since school break finished.”

“...”  Fort continued to stare at him in the darkness of the car.

“What?!”  This time Peat couldn’t keep his voice from sounding annoyed.

“That wasn’t in the report, Chai.”

“No, but I asked Doctor Gongsun.”  He explained quietly.

“When?!”

“After Lalana threw a fit and you stormed out of the hospital in search of cockgobblers.”  Sounding even more annoyed.

‘Don’t get snarky at me for working without you when you bugger off to plant Krypton!’

Fort broke out into fits of explosive laughter.  Head tilted back, hands holding onto the steering wheel for support.  Peat hid his grin by opening the car door and slipping out.  Though the rain had stopped, the ground around them was wet, and weather radar was promising more heavy rain to come.

“Split up or stick together?”  His partner asked when he finally got out of the car.

“Dealer’s choice, I’m not fussed.”  Peat replied.

“Really… Not fussed?  This coming from the man who threw himself out of the car because I suggested instant noodles for dinner.”

They pulled out their torches and clicked them on, lighting their path to the park’s main walkway.  Peat shrugged.

“What can I tell you?  My stomach is full, and my gun is loaded.”

Although it was dark, Peat could still see Fort shaking his head in amused disbelief.  They stopped just outside the entrance to the public walkway; every two metres a bright lamp illuminated the wooden path.

“That explains why Kira chose to run off the path.”

“What do you mean?”  The larger man looked around.

Peat pointed to the lamps.  To where thousands of blood-sucking mosquitoes and moths fought it out for the best glowing spot.  Frogs and geckos moved quickly over the planks, jumping through the smorgasbord of bugs.  ‘ICK!’

“Ahhh…”  Was all he said in return.

They walked into the forest together but split up halfway in.

“You sure you don’t need me to stay with you?”  His partner teased.

“I’m fine.  This isn’t a horror movie, and I’m not some bimbo with big tits; go look for your chestbusters.  And call if you need me or Sigourney Weaver.”

Peat waved him off, walking away.

“...What if I find a cockgobbler?”  Fort yelled behind him.

“If he’s tall and single, give him my number!”  He yelled back into the darkness.

“HA!”

Peat grinned ear to ear as the sound of Fort’s laughter faded further away.  The site where Choraka's body had been found was only a few feet away, or so his phone's GPS said.  Every now and then his phone would drop out of signal.  Unusual for the town that had its own cell tower under the ground.

The forest floor was wet and soft, but every now and then he would spot dark earth.  Sort of like the refined topsoil for landscaping.  Peat crouched down to take a closer look.  The rain had soaked everything around them, but the dark earth was reasonably dry.  Just to be sure, he pulled a forensic bag from his pocket.  Peat dragged the plastic tube over the forest floor, picking up the dark earth and anything that may have soaked in underneath it.

The sound of a twig snapping up ahead had him on alert.  Silently, he sealed the evidence tube and slipped it in the plastic sleeve, placing it into his pocket.  Peat quietly unbuttoned his raincoat, ears pricked.

The rumbling of a storm closing in couldn’t hide the unmistakable sound of a shotgun being reloaded through the breach.  Peat’s heart jumped into his throat; he had only practiced shooting at the gun range.  Removing his gun, he silently clicked off the safety and aimed at the ground.

Lightning struck out, filling the forest with a bright white light.  The distinct silhouette of a man had Peat’s heart hammering against his ribs.

“Special Agent Peat Chai, DSI, drop your weapon. Now!”

A blinding torch light flashed in Peat’s eyes, but his weapon was already raised in front of him.

“Put the gun on the ground and identify yourself!”

Peat kept his voice steady even as all the moisture in his mouth dissipated.

Slowly, the torch’s beam lowered, leaving him still blinded by the afterimage.  Both his hands stayed fixed to his target.

“I'm Sergeant Kampu with the County Department. You're trespassing on private property here.”

Peat kept his weapon up.

“We are conducting an investigation.  We’ve been trying to contact you and your department for days.”

The sound of boots crunching on damp leaves had both Peat and the Sergeant aiming to the side.

“Chai… You ok?”

Peat felt relief hit him like a ton of bricks and swung his weapon back to the sergeant.

“You aren’t welcome here.  Leave… Or I'll have to arrest you.”

“Can’t do that.”  Fort stated.  “We were sent down here to get answers… Plus my floors are getting rewaxed, and that little one took a shit on everyone’s desk on level two.”

‘Oh crap!’

“You’re on private property without legal permission. Now, I'm only going to say it one more time: get in your car and fuck off.”

Peat looked to Fort.  He was the senior field agent after all.  Another flash of lightning was followed by the deep rumbling sound of thunder.  When his partner lowered his gun, so did Peat.  They turned their backs on the sergeant and began walking back to the car park.

“What do you suppose he’s doing out here all by himself?”  Fort asked.

Peat thought about it.  From what little he could see of Sergeant Kampu, he wasn’t in his uniform… But he was wearing black gloves…

“Maybe it has something to do with this?”  He pulled the plastic evidence bag from his pocket and handed it to Fort, who shone his torch on it.

“Dirt?”

“It’s dark earth, landscaping soil.  Or at least I think it is.  Even after the recent downpour, it's pretty dry.  It was in random spots as I was walking…what are you doing?”

Fort had been looking at his phone, then at his watch as Peat spoke, moving his body one way, then the other.

“My phone has been dropping out… Now the compass on my watch is going crazy.”

Peat turned off his torch and covered the light from Fort’s phone.  He let his eyes adjust to the lack of light before turning sharply to the right.

“Come on.”  He said, pulling on the larger man’s sleeve.

They walked in a reasonably straight line until the lamp lights of the public trek came into view.  Following it uphill, Peat walked through the clearing and into the car park.  Fort’s white Mercedes was still sitting all alone.

“How did you know which way to go when the compass didn’t?”

Fort asked as they jogged to the car.  It was beginning to spit.

“The North Star always points north.”  He replied with a straight face.

The larger man shook his head in awe, turning the car on before a curtain of rain hit the window screen.

Peat hid his smile and sat back in the comfortable seat, waiting for the seat warmers to kick in.

Fort turned the car out of the parking lot and drove carefully as the rain started to grow heavier.

“I want to come back here; we barely got a chance to look around.”

Peat said nothing, enjoying the sound of the rain.  They’d been in the forest for maybe less than an hour, or so the little clock on the car's dashboard read, ticking over to 9:23PM.  Fort checked his watch again, taking his eyes off the road.  Peat turned to look at him…

Within seconds, the car was consumed with a white blinding light.  Peat blinked rapidly, desperate to work through the afterimage that seemed to be burnt into his eyes.

“Seng…”

A warm hand touched his thigh.

“It’s ok.  I think the car lost power…”

Peat looked towards his voice; the quick rush of anxiety had his chest aching.  The more he blinked, the clearer his vision got, and when he could finally see the handsome face of his partner, the residual anxiety bled from his body.  

Fort was right; sure enough, the car had lost all power.  Digging through his pockets, he found his phone.  If Fort couldn’t get the car to start, they’d best call a tow truck.

He touched his phone, but the screen stayed black.  He pressed the power button, but his phone seemed to be as dead as the car.  That was odd… He could have sworn it was fully charged before getting out of the car.

“Does your phone have any charge?  I think mine just broke.”

“Yeah…wait… Mine's flat.”

Peat watched as Fort tried to turn this phone back on, only to get distracted by his watch.

“Son of a duck!”  The larger man exclaimed before throwing himself out of the car.

Peat groaned and got out, getting soaked within seconds as Fort stormed around the car.

“What is it?!”  He yelled over the heavy rain.

“We lost eleven minutes.”  Fort yelled back.  Hands in his hair, as he walked back and forth in excitement.

“What?!”  Peat wasn’t sure he heard him right.

Fort closed the gap between them, grabbing Peat by his elbows and shaking him.

“WE LOST TIME, CHAI!  I looked at my watch before that flash of light, and now my watch is dead.  Like our phones… LIKE THE CAR!  Look!  Look!  It stopped at 9:34PM!”

He was almost screaming over the rain.  Looking at Peat with wild eyes.

“So… How can you tell if your watch has stopped?”  Peat shook his head, unable to follow.  Unsure of why Fort was grinning.

“Because I have an old wind-up pocket watch my grandfather gave me for good luck.  Look!”

It was silver and tarnished, with western numbers and a cracked face.  But it was still ticking.

“And?”  He asked, though not looking forward to the answer.

“People who have been abducted, people who have seen UFOs…they talk about a bright light…and all that time they lost.”

Peat had had enough; there was only so much a full stomach would tolerate.

“For fuck’s sake, Seng!  Time doesn’t just disappear!  It's universally immutable!”

Fort grinned down at him, fingers gripping Peat’s elbows tightly.

“Then explain that…”  His head nodded to the road behind the car.  Peat pulled out of his partner’s grip, walking towards the hot pink smiley face Fort had painted the day they arrived in town.

Peat finally hit save and closed his laptop down.  Sighing tiredly as he absentmindedly rolled his head from side to side.  The crunchy pop to the left side of his neck had him groaning in pain and a relaxed relief.  He wasn’t the biggest fan of cracking his neck, but he understood why others enjoyed it.

He and Fort hadn’t been able to get the car started, and without working phones, they’d been forced to walk back to town…on foot…in the storm.  He hadn’t said a word to Fort the whole way back.  He wasn’t mad, just too busy lost in his own thoughts.

Could lightning have done it?  Blinded them?  Stunned them?  It was the only logical explanation.

If lightning hits a car, the metal framework acts as a Faraday cage.  Redirecting the electrical current around the outside of the vehicle and into the ground below.  If there are people inside the car when lightning strikes, technically they should be safe, but it’s recommended to stay inside for at the minimum thirty minutes.

Contrary to popular belief, the rubber tires of a car do fuck all when it comes to protection.  

And it's very possible for a lightning strike to fry a car’s electronics and wiring.  But both their phones?  That one Peat couldn’t figure out.

Had Peat not studied Einstein’s “lightning and train” thought experiment, he’d know nothing about lightning, other than how to treat the damage it does to a human body, and therefore very possibly jump to some crazy conclusions himself.

It had taken them more than an hour and a half to get back to the resort, and by the time he unlocked his room door, he’d mentally solidified that what had happened to them in the car was merely a lightning strike, and not a UFO encounter.  Because aliens were not real…

Even with his raincoat on, Peat was soaked to the bone.  Seconds after locking the door, he made a beeline for the bathroom.  Peat hung his gun and holster on the bathroom door's hook, then threw his wet clothes into the bathtub.

He’d turned the shower on one smidge below scalding, before sitting exhaustedly on the little washer's stool under the water.  He should’ve had a bath, but there was no guarantee he wouldn’t fall asleep in it.

When his fingers began to prune, Peat turned off the shower taps and slipped into the resort’s fluffy bathrobe.  Using a towel, he tried his hair, then his legs quickly before slipping his feet into slippers and forcing himself to sit down in front of his laptop.

Never one to leave his homework to the last minute, Peat wrote everything in an online journal.  Then he wrote his work report, stipulating only the facts that were important to the case.  He could understand Fort’s lack of trust.  Especially since it was clear that the section chief wanted Peat to spy and undermine Fort’s findings.  

He just hoped with a little time, he could earn his partner's trust.  Peat simply needed to find a level playing field where he could do his job well, without backstabbing anyone in the process.

*SIGH*

Peat stood, stretching his back.  His wet clothes would have to wait until tomorrow; hopefully they’d be dryish as they hung over the shower wall.  Wandering over to the bed, he pulled the blankets down and grabbed his pajamas.

Slipping off his bathrobe, Peat pulled up his pajama bottoms.  He paused for a moment when his thumb brushed over a sting on his butt cheek.  Turning around to the mirror on his closet door, Peat pulled his pj bottoms down.

“...”

Absolute darkness enveloped him as the power went out.  Lightning struck close, and the wind outside made the rain hit hard against the windows.  Peat felt his chest tighten; his feet started to feel cold and numb.  Without thought, he grabbed his bathrobe and ran out of his room, straight to Fort’s door.

*BANG! BANG! BANG!*

“Seng!  Open up!”

Fort opened the door in surprise, a cigarette lighter burning in his hand.

“What’s wrong?!”

Peat threw himself into the room, dropping his bathrobe to the floor, before pulling his pajama bottoms down.

“I need you… I need you to look at something…”

His partner closed the door quickly and walked over to where Peat stood.  From the shadows on the wall, Peat knew the larger man was looking over his body.  A warm hand touched his back, dragging gentle fingertips down his spine until Fort was kneeling behind him.

Peat tried to look behind him, stomach rolling.

“What are they?”

Fort went to look closer, the lighter’s little flame glowing over their skin.   Warm, wandering fingertips rested just above the crease of Peat’s backside.  He waited a whole thirty seconds before panicking, then a fingertip dipped a little lower.

“Seng?!”

His partner sighed, causing a delicious wave of heated breath to skate over Peat’s cold skin.

“Just bug bites.”

“REALLY?!”

“Yeah, I’ve got a few myself.”

Peat almost began crying with relief as he spun around and threw himself into Fort’s arms.  His stupid, tired brain had jumped to illogical conclusions…

His partner embraced him warmly; yet, slowly, the larger man’s hands began to move over Peat’s shoulder blades, down his spine, and over his backside.  Peat’s fingers gripped Fort’s shirt tightly, eyes blinking in stunned silence before feeling his pajama bottoms being pulled back up over his hips.

“It’s ok.  You’re ok.” He whispered against Peat's hair.

Fort hugged him around the waist, patting his back, and every so often murmuring words of comfort.  They didn’t part for a really, really long time.  It was inappropriate; not only were they partners, they also hadn’t known each other that long.

Peat kept telling himself to let go, but when was the last time anyone had hugged him like this?  Fort’s body felt so warm and firm against his.

“Come on… Let's get you warm.”

The larger man used his lighter to see his way to his open suitcase.  Rummaging around until he found clean socks and a t-shirt.

“I’m ok… Really.  I can go back now that-”

“-Stay.  Please.  At least for a little bit.”

Fort handed the t-shirt and socks to Peat, pausing when they heard a knock at the door.  He took the clothes and felt his way around, getting dressed while Fort opened the door.  Peat slumped over as he sat on the bed.  Feeling unbelievably stupid.

‘Fuck!  He got scared like a little kid and ran next door.  Clinging to his partner like a little weenie!’

“Thanks!”  Fort said, closing the door and interrupting Peat’s self-conscious inner rant.  His partner stood there, holding two fat candles.  With his lighter he lit the wick of one and set it on the bedside table.

“The front desk dropped these off; I’ve got yours here.”

“Only one candle each?  Really?”

“Why not?  This sort of ambiance is wick-edly romantic.”

Peat blinked slowly, watching the handsome man fight to keep a straight face.

“A candle pun?  That was terrible!”  Peat gently bit his tongue, hoping his ‘serious face’ would hold up better than Fort’s.

“What?!  I thought that joke was illuminating!”

Peat groaned.  “Noooooo…”

“Ok, ok, don’t wick out; it’s just a joke.”

Peat felt his face beginning to crack into a smile.  Aside from the "aliens walk among us" issue, Fort was rather a big dork… It was incredibly endearing.

“Ah! Ah!  I spotted a smile!”

The larger man turned to his closet, pulling out an extra blanket.

“Get under the covers.”  He pointed to the bed.

The sudden order had Peat’s insides flutter.

“No, no.  I should get back to my room.”  

As if the gods disagreed, a sudden hit of thunder had Peat jumping.  It was so loud the room was shaken.

“How about we say that storms bother me… And I would appreciate the company until the worst passes.”

“Is any of that true?”  Peat asked.

Fort ignored his question and simply walked over to the bed, pulling the blankets back for Peat.

Sighing quietly, he crawled up the bed and slipped under the thick blankets.  Sitting back against the headboard, Peat caught a heated look from his partner before the larger man spun around, pulling a bag of grapes out of the mini fridge.

It suddenly occurred to Peat as he discreetly pulled his pajama shorts out of his buttcrack, that he may have accidentally given Fort quite the skin show.

‘Oops!’

“Is it all fruit that you like, or just grapes?”  He asked, hoping he sounded normal.

“All fruit.  I have a wicked sweet tooth, so I try to keep healthy snacks on me to curb it.”  Fort explained while sitting on the floor next to the bed.  He wrapped the extra blanket around his body, resting his back against the mattress.

The lightning flashed through the drawn curtains, sending white and blue flickers across the room.

“Can I ask you something…”  Peat tested.

“Sure.”

“The whole…alien thing.  For someone that doesn’t consume any pop-culture on it… I’m curious about where it comes from.”

Fort sighed, using his fingers to comb his hair back and out of his eyes.  Turning his body towards Peat, he rested his head on the mattress.  Eyes meeting his, before looking beyond him.

“I had an older brother.  A year older.  My mother said we were practically twins, though we didn’t look like each other all that much.  We ate the same foods, wore the same clothes, liked the same comics…even made up our own special language that only the two of us knew.”

Peat smiled.  He had an older brother, though they had never been close with their eight-year difference.

“He followed my father into the military, joining the cadets when he was fifteen.  Then applying for service at eighteen.  But since I failed the fitness criteria every year, I had to look at a different career path.”

Peat wasn’t able to hide the shock from his face.  Causing Fort to smile, though there was no humor in it.

“We were both pretty chubby, but when my brother joined high school, he got into sports: soccer, tennis, field hockey, basketball, and even badminton.  I, on the other hand, had zero hand-to-eye coordination.  Or at least that was the case in high school.  So my brother became fit and popular, as I piled on the pounds and spent my time hiding in the library.”

Peat wriggled down the bed, propping his head on his hand as he lay on his side.  The thunder outside sounded like it was slowly moving on.

“My father and I eventually started clashing.  It was fine to be a chubby kid, but as I got older, he’d be constantly on my ass about how fat I was getting and how embarrassing it was to introduce me as his son.  Even if I got the highest grades at school… Even if I won scholarships and awards… It all meant nothing to him.  So when I got a chance to move to the UK, I jumped at it, putting as much distance between us.”

“And your brother?”

Fort smiled.  This time it was genuine.

“He didn’t care.  We called each other every other day, and we wrote letters and sent photos.”

“I take it… He passed?  You speak of him in the past tense.”  Peat asked gently.

Fort nodded, looking past Peat.

“It was just before I graduated university, though I didn’t hear about it until well after… The plane carrying his battalion unit went missing.  It just went up, headed towards the drop zone, and never came back down.”

Fort turned his body, back leaning against the bed, staring straight ahead.  When he said nothing, Peat wriggled down the bed, rotating his body so he could reach out and rest his fingers on Fort’s shoulder.

“I hadn’t heard from him in months… I started to get worried since my parents weren’t taking my calls.  I called everyone in the family until one of our cousins finally told me.  I made it back home in time to watch the family bury an empty coffin.

After that, I slowly became obsessed with finding him.  Or at least finding the crash zone.  His apartment had been ransacked.  All our letters, his laptop, his journals, all his papers, USB sticks, and even photo albums were stolen.  But his watches, the money in his top drawer, and even his electronics were all left untouched.”

Fort snorted, unamused.

“I found out he had a secret girlfriend our parents didn’t know about.  She’d told me, within the last nine months before he went missing, he’d become withdrawn, stressed, and secretive.  She’d suspected an affair but couldn’t bring herself to confront him…

Then she started to notice he was sleeping less.  He was becoming paranoid; he would say one thing but write another on a notepad, as if someone was listening to them in their own home.  He handed in his resignation papers.  This flight would be the last run before calling it quits; he’d even started filling in the paperwork to join the police force...”

Peat was starting to feel anxious as he listened to Fort’s story.

“But he went missing.  And someone broke into his apartment.”  Fort’s voice cracked, pulling on Peat’s heart.  He curled his arm around the larger man's neck, resting his forehead against his back in quiet support.

“Around a year after my parents buried an empty coffin, I was contacted by a law firm in Singapore.  My brother had been sending them letters to keep safe.  They were instructed to contact me if my brother didn’t check in after a certain time.”

Peat felt his heart moving up to his throat.

“To anyone else, the letters would look like gibberish.  But to me… I knew exactly what they said.”

“He wrote in your special language.”  Peat said.

Fort nodded, reaching up to grip onto Peat’s forearm.

“...He knew he was going to die.  An accident, or maybe it would look like a suicide.  He said during a night mission, they’d spotted something he couldn’t explain.  Lights in the sky that could move like nothing he’d ever seen before.  People in the village spoke of their neighbors disappearing into a ‘godly’ light...”

Peat ended up falling asleep in Fort’s bed.  At one point during the night, he’d woken to find the larger man in bed beside him.  He pretended to be asleep and cuddled into Fort, sighing happily when he was hugged right back.  He was, however, grateful to wake alone, unable to face the embarrassing truth of all the professional lines he crossed last night.

There was a note under the candle on the bedside table; Fort had gone for a run.  Peat got up quickly, making the bed, before grabbing his bathrobe and walking back to his room.  After showering and getting dressed, Peat threw all his dirty and damp clothes into a plastic bag and walked to the resort's laundry room.

While he waited, Peat slipped into the restaurant for the complimentary breakfast buffet.  His laptop was sitting in his bag; without his phone, Peat wasn’t able to check his emails and had taken his laptop with him to work at the table.  But as Peat spooned some spicy savory mince over his buttered sourdough and topped it with two perfectly poached eggs, he convinced himself that technically he was ‘off the clock.’

‘Work could wait thirty minutes.’

As he ate, last night replayed in his mind.  

Fort had taken his brother’s cryptic letters to his parents, telling them what was written in them.  They weren’t proof by any means.  Just childish gibberish.  Fort knew he’d never be able to use it as any kind of evidence.  And even if it was written for all to understand, it was easy to label them as the crazed ramblings of a soldier suffering from stress and/or trauma.

Fort had stayed in the country for his mother’s mental health, and instantly secured a job within the DSI.  His insight into the criminal mind, along with his high case closure and his newfound connections, had given Fort the freedom to do as he pleased within the department.

He’d found the BL Files by happenstance.  At first glance it looked like a bunch of false reports: UFO sightings, alien abductions, and random supernatural occurrences, all thrown in a pile and blacklisted.

To break the monotony of serial killers and cult leaders, Fort read the BL files as a way to clear his brain.  Until he started to notice patterns.  He followed it up with learning as much as he could about the paranormal, the supernatural, and the occult.

After helping the department with an international child killer, Fort had taken a BL file as a way to cleanse his mind.  While making inquiries for the case, he found his attempts blocked.  After doing a little more digging, it became clear that the block was coming from someone at a higher level of power.

Fort was now working under the assumption that aliens did exist… And our world leaders were well aware of it.

Peat thanked the waitress clearing his table and walked back to the laundry room.  After switching the washed clothes to the dryer, Peat sat at the little table undercover on the balcony and opened his laptop.  The rain had stopped, but the ground was still wet, with a light fog that sat stubbornly over town.

Since his report last night, Peat had received five emails.  Each one of them: bad news.  Four of the five emails stated all tests had been cancelled after the Suwannarat family threatened to take legal action.

“Ah, fuck!”

He’d been working under the premise they had permission, or at least that was what Fort implied…

The fifth email was from the building manager where he lived.

“Ughhhhh!  That absolute fuckstick!”  He grumbled.

The email revealed that Peat’s ex had gone into the apartment, saw that he was gone, and dumped his personal belongings at the front desk.  As the apartment’s legal owner, his ex was able to order new locks on the door.  The manager tried to call him this morning, but when they couldn’t get ahold of him, they emailed.  

The building manager was a pretty nice guy, and wrote that Peat’s things would be kept in the office downstairs, but as of last night, the apartment was officially on the market.  Meaning: Peat was now homeless.  

Closing his laptop, he leaned back and shut his eyes.

‘What a shitty way to start the day…’

After the *BEEP BEEP* of the dryer finishing, Peat folded his clothes slowly and dragged his feet back to his room.  Fort’s curtains were open, so he figured he’d drop his clothes off and give his partner the bad news about the tests.

Peat knocked on Fort’s door.  He’d been gone for most of the morning now.

“IT’S UNLOCKED!”

A yell came from within.  Peat turned the handle and walked into Fort’s room, closing the door gently with a click.  His partner walked out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel, skin flushed and damp.

“That was one hell of a long run!  Did you just get back?”

Fort threw the towel he’d been using to dry his hair on the bed and walked over to Peat, wrapping his (very naked) muscular arms around him.  ‘Gods, he smelled amazing!’

“Can I ask what’s prompted such a response?”

Fort groaned rubbed his face against Peat’s shoulder

“My baby’s dead.”

Peat’s eyes flew open.  He pushed at Fort's firm chest.

“Wait, what?!”  Staring up at Fort in shock.  ‘He had a child?!’

His partner went in for another hug, holding Peat a lot tighter as he groaned against his neck.

“I went for a run to check on her after I called the tow truck, but there was nothing they could do for her.  I can’t believe it!  Out of all the places on the road!  Why did the only tree to fall down in that storm have to be on my baby?!”

Peat blinked several times before he began pushing at Fort’s chest in annoyance.

“Get off me, you big dickhead!  I thought you were talking about a child!  No!  You don’t get hugs!  Fuck off!”

“Noooo… I’m sad.  You hugged me yesterday.  Hug me nooooowww!”  The larger man whined like a child.

Peat struggled but found himself stuck.  Both hands splayed over Fort’s rather ample pecs…

“Seng… Yesterday was different.  There’s no reason to be so brokenhearted over anything as silly as a car.”

Fort let out an offended gasp.

“Silly as a car?!  How could you?!  I can’t believe I was even considering you to be her new mummy.  It’s like I don’t even know you at all!”

Peat was done struggling and crossed another line: he pinched Fort’s nipples sharply, freeing himself when the larger man squeaked and covered his chest.

“Go get dressed, you giant dork!  Come talk to me when you’re ready for more bad news.”

Fort’s rushed, overdramatized actions to find clothes were stopped.  His face went still before huffing in irritation.  He walked into the bathroom and came out a few minutes later in black jeans and another black t-shirt.

“Do I have time for breakfast?”

Peat shook his head.

“No, but lunch is going to be served at the resort’s restaurant if you want to head over?”

Fort sat on the bed.

“Just give it to me…”

‘Gods, how he wanted to… Especially after seeing how lovely the man’s chest was…’

It had been a short conversation, to say the least.  Peat told him about the cancelled tests.  Only for Fort to confirm they had written permission from Choraka’s parents.  He even showed Peat the online forms that had their signatures.

The more they spoke, the more Fort started to look stressed.  The man had been up for most of the night and gone out early that morning.  He needed a little rest and food, but before Peat could mention it, Fort was up and out the door.

Peat followed his partner all the way to the resort’s front office, where he commandeered one of their back office phones.  When Fort began to yell at someone from the department’s lab, Peat left and walked over to the in-house cafe.

He ordered a coffee for Fort and himself, then looked over the menu before ordering two of the largest steaks, with garden salad (dressing on the side) and two soft eggs as a topper each.

Now that he knew Fort was health-conscious, Peat would order for him with that in mind.  

Peat went back to find Fort after ordering their lunch; he turned the corner into the front of house.  Just as the larger man stormed out of the office.  He looked angry…  ‘There was no denying it… He looked hot when he was mad!’

“We gotta go… The Suwannarats are now saying her mother wasn’t in the right state of mind.  Get this… After discussing it with her husband, AND Sergeant Kampu, she’s now saying our office bullied her into getting permission.

“...Did we?”

Fort paused, surprised that Peat would ask such a loaded question about the department.

“Not to my knowledge, but now the department is calling us back.”

Peat shook his head.  “That will be hard without a car…”

“We need to go to the Suwannarat’s residence and…try to get them to see reason.”

“No.”

“...What do you mean ‘no’?  They’re talking about cremating the her body; we can’t just leave thi-”

“-Seng!  I’m not saying anything about leaving town.  But you are not going ANYWHERE until you sit down and eat something.”

Fort walked past him, shaking his head.  “I’ll eat something on the way!”

“No.”  Peat said firmly.  “You will follow me to the table, plant your ass on that seat, and eat everything on that plate.”

His partner gave him a dark look.  “And if I don’t?”

Peat thought for a moment, smiling finally when an idea struck him.

“I can’t make you do anything… But if you do as I say, I’ll let you touch my stomach.”

Fort’s eyes flicked down to Peat's lower half.  ‘Got him!’

“Bare skin.” The larger man said quickly.

“...just a touch.” Peat put his hand on his hips.

“With both hands.” Fort replied.

“One hand…for 30 seconds.”  Peat began pushing his partner towards the cafe while they negotiated.

“One hand, but I get to rub it in bed tonight.”

Peat paused, wondering if they were talking about something completely different.

“Both hands, one full minute.”

“Both hands, ten minutes, and you have to sit on my lap.” Fort said as they got to the table.

Peat choked on a laugh.  Just happy that Fort began tucking into his meal.  After everything that had happen this morning, he had assumed he’d be wallowing in miserable today… Considering he was pretty much homeless now.  

But spending time with Fort was definitely the distraction he needed to smother his pending depression.  Looking down at his steak, Peat cut a small piece and dipped it in his egg.  He needed a little comfort right now…

“Ok, final offer… One hand, and you can rub it in bed until I fall asl-”

“-DEAL!”

It lifted his spirits that lunch had been great.  The conversation was kept light: foods they liked, sports teams they followed, and music they listened to.  It was no surprise that Fort liked jazz, but it was a big revelation that he didn’t follow sports.  Fort preferred to watch things like the Miss Universe pageant or a documentary on his days off rather than sit around in a bar listening to strangers yell at a TV screen. 

They made a move to duck into the local phone shop before heading to the victim’s school.  Only to be stopped near their rooms by a rather winded receptionist.

“You…have…a phone call!”  The pretty blonde wheezed out as she held onto the garden wall.

Thanking her, they follow her back to the front desk.  The blonde passed the phone to Fort and huffed, dropping her plump backside onto her desk chair.  She discreetly checked her makeup and dabbed the sweat from her brow before straightening her desk.

“Yeah?  Right.  When?  We are… See you soon.”

Fort hung up and thanked the woman, turning around to drag Peat away before the poor girl could get a flirty word out.  With the tense expression on the handsome man’s face, Peat could tell something was wrong…

“Lalana Thong-Di is dead.”  Fort said the moment they were outside and alone.

“What?  How?”  Peat began thinking about all possible hospital-related scenarios in his head.

“Hit by a truck last night.”

Peat stood still, waiting for the punchline, but Fort just stared grimly at the taxi bay.

“The girl in the wheelchair?  The one with years of physical therapy, pain management, and rehabilitation ahead of her?  That girl?”  Peat said doubtfully.

Fort opened the taxi door the moment it stopped in front of them and gave the driver their destination.  Thirty-ish minutes later they were dropped off on the other side of the rainforest, where three police cars, one ambulance, and one large delivery van were sitting on the side of the road.

Peat and Fort walked towards the crowd, showing their badges to get past the boundary tape.  Coroner Boonya was standing only a few feet away; a body covered in a white sheet lay at his feet.

“What happened?”  Fort asked.

Boonya opened his mouth but was interrupted when a loud “Excuse me?!” came from their left.  A handful of police officers stormed over to them.  He and Fort held their DSI badges out in front, stopping the officers from grabbing them.

“We didn’t call you; you have no clearance here.”

Remarked the senior officer, waving his hand at their badges like they were nothing.  He was a tall, good-looking man in his mid-thirties, with enough muscle to lift a small car. 

“I called them.”  Boonya said tiredly.

“You?!  Look, you can’t ju-”

“-I apologize, Senior Officer Chaiya, for not speaking with your department before calling the DSI.  But three CHILDREN are dead… How many more will die while you and your sergeant continue with this jurisdictional dispute?”

Something almost close to guilt flickered in Chaiya’s eyes before he turned on his heel and began barking orders at the other officers.  Peat and Fort walked over to Boonya, nodding their greeting.

“The truck driver said she ran out in front of him.  By the time he saw her, it was too late.”

Peat crouched down beside the body, pulling back the sheet.

“She was running?  On foot?”  He asked.

Lalana was a broken mess, littered with lacerations, contusions, and burn marks from the truck's undercarriage.  The worst of it being the lack of a skull in the back.  She must have been hit hard, then dragged.

Peat covered her face with the sheet while Fort and Boonya spoke about the driver’s condition.  Working his way down her body, she was wearing the hospital gown and Tweety Bird pajamas.  Her legs had been grated over the road, skin and muscles…

“How long was he driving with her under the truck before finally pulling over?”

Boonya nodded, seeing where Peat was going.

“He said, with the storm last night, it was next to impossible to see a safe shoulder to pull over.  Apparently, he didn’t know she was under there.  He pulled over and called an ambulance, then police, but couldn’t see her body on the road.”

Peat checked Lalana’s arms for defensive wounds or anything that could be classed as out of the ordinary.  Even if a wheelchair-bound girl running in front of a truck…at night…miles from the hospital wasn’t out of the ordinary already.

Lalana’s hands were like the rest of her body: a horrific jumble.  The Bugs Bunny watch on her left wrist was cracked, the light grey leather stained with blood.  Peat turned her broken wrist to see the watch's face better.  Bugs Bunny's arms were stuck on the time of Lalana’s fatal accident… 

9:23PM…

“We’re ready to move her back to the lab, but it’ll take us just over an hour to contact her parents and get the paperwork ready for autopsy.  Dr. Chai, will you be joining us?”

“Yes!”  Said Fort before Peat could open his mouth.  He looked at his partner, giving him a quick lifted eyebrow before turning back to Coroner Boonya.

“If you don’t mind, I would appreciate it.”  He said politely.

Standing, Peat said his goodbyes before following Fort to where the police officers stood.

“We need a lift into town.”  His partner stated at the senior office.

“Not my problem.” Chaiya said snidely.  His eyes glanced at Peat, sliding down his body for a split second before turning back to the officer next to him.

Peat ignored it and turned to Fort.

“Let's just ask Boonya to call us a cab, yeah?”

Fort gave Chaiya a withering look behind him before jogging off to find the coroner.

“Your partner’s a bit of a dick.”  Senior Officer Chaiya muttered behind Peat.

“My partner is a good man, and is just trying to do his job.”

Peat stood by the road before walking along it.  Chaiya followed him.

“His job isn’t here.  It’s back in the city, hunting down terrorists and war criminals.”  This was said rather bluntly.

Peat continued to walk along the road, backtracking to where the truck struck Lalana.  There were no tire marks on the road.  And all the blood had washed away in last night's storm.

“The driver hit her and kept driving?”  He asked with skepticism.  Not really expecting a reply.

“This road is a deathtrap at night.  A storm like we had last night?  It would’ve been difficult to drive through.  No streetlights, no road reflectors.  He shouldn’t have been on the road in the first place.”

Peat agreed, especially after walking a similar road last night.  He thought about the blinding light, the impossible loss of time, and then Fort’s car ending up under a tree.  It was so bizarre, he couldn’t help but smile.

“Can I ask…the relationship between you and your partner?”  The muscular man asked.

Peat blinked rapidly for a second before staring at the senior officer, incredibly confused.

“So…you two aren’t…”  He trailed off.

Peat laughed softly and shook his head, continuing to walk up the road. ‘How bizarre…’

“How long do you two plan to stay in town?”

He shrugged his shoulders as he looked over the forestry line.

“Unsure at this point.  Depends on how this case goes, I suppose.  Why?  Are you going to threaten us into leaving like your sergeant?”

Chaiya was taken back for a moment before rolling his eyes and huffing.

“Of course he did… No, I…”

Chaiya stepped closer.  ‘Goodness, he was rather large close up…’

“I was wondering if you’d like to get a coffee with me once you’re free…or maybe…dinner?”  Chaiya asked quietly.

Peat turned to the musclebound man.

“You’re asking me to have coffee with you?  Like…a date?”

“I know it’s more than ‘a bit’ unprofessional for me to ask, but beautiful men don’t just swing by this town every day.  Thought I’d try my luck…”  Chaiya smiled wolfishly before he looked behind Peat, the smile disappearing completely.

Fort was jogging up the road.  “Cab’s here!”

Peat nodded and looked back at Chaiya.  His decline was on the tip of his tongue.  Not only was dating while on a case incredibly unprofessional, this officer also showed a complete lack of cooperation when they arrived on the scene.

It didn’t matter that he was attractive or that he had the body of a Hemsworth.  What mattered to Peat was the lack of compassion this man showed, huffing about jurisdiction as a fifteen-year-old girl lay dead at their feet.

“NOW CHAI!”  Fort barked at him from behind.

Peat spun his head, unable to control the “you did not just yell at me!” expression on his face.  Pissed off, Peat turned and fixed a soft smile on his face.

“I’m sorry.” He said apologetically before turning around and walking away.  He refused to make eye contact with his partner.  Blood boiling at his audacity.

They got in the cab and sat in uncomfortable silence until reaching the phone store.  Peat paid the cab driver with his card before Fort could lean forward.  He collected the receipt for reimbursement, thanked the driver, and slipped out of the cab.  Slamming the door without waiting for Fort.  

Peat walked straight into the phone store and found the closest assistant.  He was being petty.  The adult in him told him to turn around and tell Fort he didn’t appreciate being barked at.  The child in him didn’t want to face the confrontation, remembering how small and stupid his grandfather used to make him feel when he yelled at him.

His ex hated the silent treatment, but it was the only weapon Peat had.  If he argued, then his words would be twisted, fueling any future gaslighting.  If he apologized, Peat would hear hours, sometimes days, of berating and “I told you so’s.”

They collected their invoices and moved to the cafe next door.  Choosing a table at the back near a wall with an empty power socket.  The sweet barista let them sit and charge their new phones.  

Peat stood after plugging in his phone and turned, only to see Fort blocking his way.

“I’m sorry.  I’m sorry for how I spoke to you, and I’m sorry for embarrassing you in front of the senior officer.  It was a jerk move.”

Peat stared up at Fort’s handsome face.  Shocked.  ‘When was the last time anyone apologized to him first?’

“Let me buy you a coffee to say sorry, ok?”

Peat could only nod, completely thrown by Fort’s accountability.

His partner’s broad shoulders relaxed with Peat’s forgiveness, and turned to walk up to the coffee counter.  Ten minutes later, two coffees with little milk hearts sat in front of them, along with a thick slice of red velvet cake in front of Peat and a gluten-free orange and almond slice in front of Fort.

“I didn’t know you were gluten intolerant.”  Peat said casually, hoping to quickly put the discomfort behind him.

“I’m not, but I’ve found that if I’m going to cheat on my diet, it needs to be either gluten-free or sugar-free.”  Fort said with a sad sigh.

They sipped their coffees and ate cake, waiting for their phones to charge enough to turn on and download their accounts from the storage cloud.  The phone company had already sent their old phones back for testing, while the new ones were covered by work.  The sales assistant said all they’d need to do was turn it on and sign in to their accounts.  Easy peasy.

If they wanted the phones to charge faster, switching them to airplane mode was the way to go. It gave Peat enough time to order another round of coffees as well as a slice of the Black Forest cake that had just been put on display.

“Sorry… I just realized it’s not fair to eat this sort of thing in front of you!”

Fort smiled and shook his head.

“Normally I would agree with you about that… But cherries are gross.”

“What?!”

“Gross.  That tart cherry mixture between a Black Forest cake is…just yuck.”

“Nooo, it’s not!  The chocolate cake is rich and dense, the cream is light and sweet, and the tart cherries cut through all that for the best bite!...Mmmmm.”

Peat took a big spoonful from the top, accidentally getting the cream all over his mouth.  It dripped down his chin, but before he could reach to get his napkin, the coffee cup in Fort’s hand dropped, hitting the edge of the table and covering his lap with fresh hot coffee.

‘Oops…’

With Fort’s pants a caffeinated mess, they caught a cab back to the resort, only to be blocked out by fire emergencies.  Fort jogged off to his room while Peat wandered over to the crowd of tourists and resort staff.

“What happened?”  Peat asked one of the resort’s cleaners.  She stood on top of the garden wall, peering to the left for a better look.

“Two of the rooms at the back have caught fire.  Not sure how, but the fire is pretty big; they evacuated everyone, just in case it spreads.”

Peat nodded and climbed up the wall, hoping to get a look.

“See?  Just between those two palms…”

Peat moved to where the woman had been standing and pivoted to the left.  There was definitely a lot of smoke.  He wondered if Fort was able to get back there to change, or if he was being made to wait for fire emergencies to fin-

“OH FUCK ME SIDEWAYS!”

Between the two palms, he could see it: that was his room on fire!  Which probably meant the second one was Fort’s.  Peat looked around for his partner, finally seeing him jog towards him with his new phone in his hand.

“We have a problem.”

“Yeah, we do!  Do you know how hard it was to get my hands on sleepwear fabric with elvish letters?!”

Fort’s eyebrows drew together in utter confusion.  He shook his head and helped Peat down from the wall.

“I just got off the phone with Boonya; someone set fire to his lab five minutes after Lalana was placed on the table.”

“Is everyone ok?”

Fort nodded.

“Yeah, they all got out in time. … What do you mean by elvish fabric?”

Peat gave Fort a half smile.

“Oh, that.  Our rooms are on fire.”  He said casually before heading to the resort's cafe for his third coffee of the day… Or was it his fourth?”

Fort followed him into the cafe before taking him by the elbow and turning him around.

“Our rooms are the ones that are burning right now?  Are you being serious?”

Peat waved to the nice young man at the cafe register and stuck up his index finger.  Signaling for ONE.  The 20-something-year-old smiled and ran behind the coffee machine, happy to have something to do.  Peat sat down and pulled Fort to sit in the chair next to him.

“Yep.  And everything we left in there this morning is now kindling.”

Fort stared at him for a good thirty seconds before running out the door at top speed.

“He’s so cute.”  Peat said to himself.

He heard the cafe door open but didn’t bother looking, knowing Fort must’ve guessed there was no hope for anything… at least their files were backed up to the cloud…

“Please!  You have to help me!”

Peat looked up, recognizing the cake-faced teen from the graveyard.  She was pretty… Until you got a closer look.  Her makeup was thick, with too much setting powder that accentuated her breakouts.  Her hair was fried from too much bleach.  Her hair extensions weren’t cut to layer, nor were they the same piss-blonde color as her fried hair.

“I’m Sara Noi.  You have to protect me!”

‘That’s right, she was…’

“Doctor Noi’s daughter?”

The girl rolled her eyes and huffed.

“Yes!  Congratulations!  Now can you help me or what?!”

“Well… What do you need help with?”  Peat said, ignoring her attitude.

“Someone’s trying to kill me!  That’s what!”  She shrilled dramatically.

Peat inwardly winced at her voice; nails down the side of a car was what came to mind.

“Why don’t you start from the beginning?”

“Why?  Can’t you just drive me to the city?”

“What’s in the city?”

“... Are you fucking serious?”

Peat stared at her blankly while he waited for the answer.  People like her thrived on the negative emotions of others, and Peat had a lot of experience hiding how he felt.  Internally though, he was cussing her out black and blue.  Her little reptile brain picked up on it, and she stared straight back at him, as if to challenge him.

“To take you from your home, without your parent’s knowledge or permission is classed as kidnapping, and that would be illegal.”

He said slowly, as if talking to a small (rather slow) child.  Her face turned ugly, cracking her foundation.

“My father can’t do shit!  He can’t even do his fucking job because of that stupid hick police station!”

“Does your father know what's happening?  Why your classmates are dy-?”

*BANG!*

Sara slapped her hand against the table to cut Peat off.

“Who cares about them!  I’m the one in danger!  I need to get out of this fucking town!”

Peat said thank you to the young barista who brought over his coffee; the youth quietly lingered close by, wiping down already clean tables to listen in.

“Tell me why first.  Why would I and my partner risk losing our jobs?”

Sara crossed her arms over her chest, and just stared at him like she’d never been told NO before.  They both turned at the sound of the cafe door opening and watched Fort walk in.  Sara’s face grew dark.  She didn’t seem to like his partner very much.

“What’d I miss?”

“Sara was about to tell me why she bullies kids at her school.”

The girl's blond head snapped back to Peat, looking bug-eyed and pissed.

“You’re lying!  I never said anything of the sor-”

“-You know”  Peat said, cutting her off.  “Since all three victims who died went to your school, we decided to do a little digging.  Did you know that Kira kept a personal diary?  And that boy… What was his name?  Pay?  Pere?  Ah… Pat!  He too kept a journal.”

Sara stood in a rush, chair crashing behind her.  She pointed one purple acrylic nail at Peat’s face.

“THEY’RE LYING!  I did nothing to them!  I’m the victim here!  Not them!  Everything they said is a goddamn lie!  Kira was a fat slut that always chased after my boyfriends!  And Pat Shinawatra was a lady-boy loser that stole…”

Sara paused in her rant.  Had she figured it out yet?

“You know what?  Fuck you both.  My father was right… Pigs stick together.”

The girl turned, nose held high, and stormed past Fort, slamming the cafe door so hard the glass panel in the middle broke.

Fort stood fixated on the broken glass door before picking up Sara’s vacated chair and sitting on it across from him.  The young barista was already dialing the resort manager about the door.

“Were you ever going to tell me about those journals?”  Fort asked quietly.  No doubt feeling a little guarded.  

He took off his suit jacket and hung it over the chair, rolling up his sleeves.

Peat took a sip of his coffee, distracting himself from leering at his partner's forearms.  He caught the scent of smoke over the rich aroma of his drink.

“There are no journals, Seng.  To my knowledge, at least.  But I know a bully when I see one…”

Fort blinked at him in surprise.  “You were bluffing?”

“I had a girl like her at my school.  Little bitch tormented me for years until she was finally suspended for the alcohol in her locker…”

Fort smirked.  “Where did you get the alcohol at that age?”

Peat laughed.  Nobody had ever suspected him before.  Not at school, not at home.  His parents weren’t drinkers, but his grandfather sure was.  Stealing the cheap gin from under his bed and hiding it in that little cow's locker was easy enough.

The condition of his grandfather living with them was that he had to quit drinking.  He’d been kicked out of every retirement home because of his violent, drunken behavior.  So accusing Peat of stealing his ‘liquid medicine’ was impossible.  Though, his grandfather seemed to suspect Peat’s mother of dumping it, since she cleaned his room every weekend.

“So what’s your theory then?”  Fort asked before they both looked towards the cafe door.

Sara Noi stormed back into the cafe, looking a little more composed.  She marched up to their table and sat down on the empty chair, her eyes only on Peat.

“They were my friends.  Yes… We fought.  But we were like sisters.  Now they’re gone, and I’m scared I’m next.  Please, you have to help me.”

Peat nodded, faking a sympathetic look.  Sara had already pegged him as the weaker-hearted one out of him and Fort.  Which probably explained why she didn’t like the handsome man all that much.  She didn’t think she could manipulate him, so she focused her attention on Peat instead.  ‘Charming.’

“So Kira’s diary-”

“-She’s always been jealous of me… But I looked the other way because that’s the sort of person I am.  I loved my friends.”

“What about Pat?”

Sara’s eye twitched at the sound of the boy’s name.

“Look…the truth is, Ohm and I were secretly dating.”

“Why secretly?”  Fort asked, arms crossed over his broad chest.  ‘Were his pecs getting bigger…?’

The girl ignored his partner and continued with her story.

“Pat was obsessed with Ohm; he’d always find stupid little reasons to talk to him.  And Ohm was just too nice of a person to tell him to back off.”

“So you did it on his behalf?  So he wouldn’t look like the bad guy?”

Said Peat, he was starting to see a picture Sara wasn’t intending to paint.  Her reptile brain paused before pointing to Peat.  ‘Again with the pointing!’

“Exactly!  I mean… I didn’t like doing it, but the little queer was practically stalking my boyfriend, and there were so many times he just wasn’t taking the hint!  So yes, I was a little mean, but I had to be!  And then…the girls took it too far.”

Sara looked down at the table, trying to appear contrite.

“You mean Kira, Choraka, and Lalana?”  He asked.  

The girl was the only living link they had for the moment.

“Yes!  THEY were the ones bullying Pat!  I was only trying to get him to leave Ohm alone, but they thought it was funny to send him death threats and decorate his locker with gay porn.  I even caught them in the bathroom trying to sexually assault him with a hairbrush!”

“Was this reported?”  Fort asked gruffly.

“Yes!  Ohm reported it.  But when Pat went to the hospital, he started telling everyone it was me!  Just because it was my friends…who, by the way, broke into my locker and used my hairbrush!  I mean…I can’t control them!”

“He was trying to get you out of the picture…”  Peat added.

Sara sighed.  “Exactly… See, you do get it!  With me arrested or suspended, he could get Ohm alone.  But the girls admitted to doing it as a joke, and that I had nothing to do with it.  The school took it as a misunderstanding, and I got to come back and protect Ohm.”

Peat was starting to feel anxious.

“Pat killed himself shortly after you came back to school…”  He stated.

For a split few seconds, the teen's lips twitched in the corners, eyes sparkling with mirth, before she scrunched up her face.  As if to cry.  

“Yes!  H-he asked me to meet him up on the school roof.  He said he was finally going to give up on Ohm, but instead, he jumped up on the ledge, threatening to kill himself if I didn’t leave my boyfriend… I mean…how much of a psycho do you have to be to act like-”

The door to the cafe opened as Sergeant Kampu and Doctor Noi walked in.

“Sara, honey, let’s go.”  Noi said tiredly.

“NO!”  The teen screamed suddenly, jumping up to make a run for it.  She hit the ground the second she tried to bolt.

Peat ducked his head under the table in time to see Fort retract his foot.  Looking up, he spotted the look of pure satisfaction on his partner's face.

“No!!! NO!  You can’t make me!  Nooooo!  Fuck you!  You spineless sack of dog shit!”

Sara was hollering at her father as Sergeant Kampu pulled her (none too gently) to her feet.

“I’m so sorry, honey.  You need help-”

“-Fuck off!  I don’t need your help!  You bastard!  You traitor!”

Fort stood, walking towards Kampu, only to dodge the teen's legs as she kicked out at him.

“Where are you taking her?  We have more questions.”

Doctor Noi was the one to finally speak up.

“We are taking her somewhere where she’ll get the help she needs.  Losing her friends has taken its toll on her.  Honey, please stop!  You-you’re only hurting yourself…”

Fort was asking the doctor more questions, while Sara was screaming over everyone.  Peat watched quietly from the side, observing how the sergeant’s fingers were digging into the teen’s arms hard enough to make his knuckles grow white. 

The two older men dragged the hysterical girl out kicking and screaming.  Real tears of pain and anger cause her black eye makeup to bleed down her face.  The moment his partner closed the door behind them, and following the dramatics away from the cafe, Peat sighed in relief.

His ears were happy for the reprieve.

The young man who worked at the cafe came out from behind the coffee machine, where he’d been hiding, and shared a “WOW” look with Peat.

“Sorry.” He said, helping the youth pick up the fallen chairs and setting the table back in place.

“Don’t be.  That chick has always had a few screws loose.”

Peat smiled, picking up another chair.

“You go to school with her?”

“Oh god no!”  The guy looked mortified.  “I graduated a year before that chick transferred.  But my sister graduated last year.  Gods!  The stories she could tell you!”

“Noi was a pain?”

“A pain?”  The young man snorted.  “She was a nightmare.  She once harassed a sub-teacher so badly that the woman left town.  She took a video of a girl in the grade below her getting changed in the bathroom and posted it on the school Facebook page.  Why?  Who knows…she’s crazy scary.”

“How did nothing get done about it?”  Peat muttered, watching from the window as Sergeant Kampu and Fort got into a yelling match outside.

“Her mother was this high-profile lawyer.  Every time the police showed up to school, her mother would come in, and the chick would get off.”

‘Typical.’  Peat thought.  

“Where is her mother in all this now?”

“Dead.  Hit and run.  Went jogging like every morning, and someone hit her.  Left her to die on the road.”

“Wait…when was this?”  Peat turned to the youth.

“Hmmm…probably a week after the sergeant's son had that accident.”

He pointed to the officer yelling at Fort to leave town as he stormed back to the cafe.

“Sergeant Kampu is Ohm’s father…”  Peat said simply.

‘Fuuuuccckkkkk…’

“They know, Seng!  They know who’s responsible for these murders.”

After the argument with Sergeant Kampu, Fort had realized the officer was Ohm’s father.

There were seven DSI employees with the last name Kampu.  Peat had also gone to school with three Kampus’.  Even the receptionist at the resort was a Kampu.  So both he and Fort had made the rookie mistake of assuming it was just another common name.

The resort had moved them to another room, but since the block of rooms they had been staying in was emptied, the only room available to them was the honeymoon suite.

‘How convenient.’  Peat thought humorously.

They hired a small town car and drove into town to pick up a few spare changes of clothes.

“They are definitely hiding something.”  Fort said quietly.  He looked uncomfortable behind the little wheel of their rented car.

“I think Sara did something, and her father has been cleaning up after her…maybe hiding or tampering with evidence from the very start.  Those reports could have been falsified.  Kampu knows what happened and is using his power in the department to hide it.”

Peat was sure of it, but without clear proof, it was nothing but speculation.

“Ok… But why would they destroy evidence?  What about Choraka Suannarat’s body?  What could they have done to create that?”

Peat could see why Fort was doubtful, especially since he had his heart set on aliens…

“Without those tests, we can’t prove that the corpse WAS Choraka. It looked more like a large ape… Wait!  Didn’t Doctor Gongsun mention something about Ohm’s uncle being a vet?”

Fort side-eyed him.  “That doesn't mean anything.  It’s not like those large monkeys are allowed as pets in this country.”

“No… But there is a zoo two hours away.  Plus, that law only came into effect a few years ago.  That little metal chip we found in the nasal cavity could’ve been an owner's microchip.”

Fort shook his head, unconvinced.

“If that was true, why switch the body?”

“To hide evidence?”  Peat guessed.

His partner tapped his fingers against the steering wheel in thought.

“There’s a bigger picture here if you don’t just focus on the girls.”  Peat said, thinking out loud mostly.

“In what way?”

While driving, they passed the spot where Fort’s car broke down; the pink smiley face on the road was the only evidence that they had ever been there.  Having to walk back to the resort had been a pain in the ass, but at least they hadn’t had any passing traffic.  They could have been another town fatality like Lalana.

“Stop!”

Fort pulled the little car over to the side of the road and stopped.  Peat got out of the car and walked to the very edge, where the road began to dip down.  Without the rain, they could see the lush green acres of rainforest with the little sleepy town hidden around the bend.

“Sara bullied her classmates, and her mother always came to the rescue.  She was accused of assaulting a boy.  The same boy that fell off the school roof.  Did he really jump?  Do we believe her account of things?  Then after that, her mother dies in a hit-and-run.  And then those ‘friends’ of hers begin to die off.”

Peat turned to look at Fort.  His partner was leaning against the car closest to him, listening intently.

“What if we include Sara’s mother in the list of victims?  All three girls helped Sara hurt that boy, and now they're dead.  Not only that, all three bodies, including any evidence of the killer on them, have been burnt to ash within a few days of us being here.”

“Including everything in our rooms.”  Fort added.

“Yes.  Sara’s mother could have been the first victim.  The person who hit her never came forward.  Nor was it fully investigated.  Sara’s savior is taken off the board.  Choraka, Kira, and Lalana took the blame for Sara’s misdeeds, and now they’re gone too.  Which only leaves Sara left.  She came to us because she knows who the killer is.”

Fort combed his head out of his dark eyes.  Shaking his head.

“Why not just tell us who it is then?”

Peat tipped up his hands and shrugged.  The sky above them was beginning to darken.

“I don’t know… Maybe the only way to convince us of the who is if she had to admit to the why?  Maybe the why implicates her?”

Fort turned his head, staring at the pink smiley face on the road.  His eyes looked up to the grey, miserable sky above.  Then a thought struck him like lightning.

“I think I know who did it. I think I know who the killer is!”

Peat closed the gap between them.

“Who?  Kampu?”  He asked excitedly.

“Yes!”

Peat stood in front of the large brick hospital building, utterly confused when Fort locked the car and power-walked up the stone stairs.

“Why are we here, Seng?” Peat asked when he finally caught up with him inside.

“To question Ohm Kampu…”

Peat froze, staring at his partner as he walked down the hospital hallway.  He followed the large man down the hall and up the stairs before grabbing his arm outside Ohm’s room.  Disbelievingly, he whispered.

"You believe this boy.  A catatonic vegetable… Has been out there killing his classmates and setting the evidence on fire?!”

Fort smiled down at him.

“Why not?  Lalana was bound to a wheelchair and still ran in front of that truck.  It makes sense, and it fits the profile.”

His partner went to push past him, but Peat pressed his hands against Fort’s broad chest to stop him.

“What profile?!”  His voice rose.

A nurse stuck her head out of the room next to them and hushed them.  Peat whispered, “Sorry,” and turned on Fort.  “Explain, Seng. Please.”

The larger man nodded and pulled Peat closer in so no one else could hear their words.  From the outside it looked like they were hugging, and after Fort spoke… Gods, he needed a hug.

“Lalana was killed the exact same time we lost those minutes on the road.  I think something happened within that lost time.  Lalana was taken control of and forced onto that road.”

Peat couldn’t help but smile sadly at Fort.  His handsome partner saw his thoughts written on his face.

“You think I’m nuts.”

Peat swallowed what he wanted to say and nodded gently. 

“Look…”  Fort said softly, his warm hand cupping Peat’s cheek.  “I believe the kids were drawn to the forest… Something is summoning them there.  Maybe those marks are from some kind of test?  A test that mutated Choraka’s body into that thing?”

Peat turned his head to the side, blinking rapidly to curb the tears pooling in his eyes.

“Something summoned Lalana out of her chair and forced her to run into that forest.”

“So if…”  Peat’s voice cracked a little.  “If aliens summoned the girls to the forest and killed them, how is Ohm involved in all this?”

There was a pain in his chest from the sudden shift between them.  Peat wasn’t just sad about his partner’s loss of reality.  He was disappointed in him too.

“Let’s find out, shall we?”

Fort walked away from him and into Ohm’s room.  Peat watched him disappear, and for a moment his eyes lingered on the end of the hallway.  He envisioned himself walking down the hall and back down the stairs.  Passing their parked rental car and hailing a cab.  He could catch the train back to the city, then the bus home…wait.

Peat had no more home to go to.  His apartment was gone.  

He’d been hoping his promotion as a field agent would be the fresh start to independence from his ex… But now…what was he to do?  Beg his old coworkers on level two to forgive him?  To spend the rest of his career as their office bitch?  Living from couch to couch until his friends finally get sick of him?

He couldn’t keep working with Fort.  Not with these delusions of extraterrestrials.

“Chai…”

Wiping the traitorous tears that slipped down his face.  Peat took a deep calming breath and walked into the hospital room.  Fort was standing at the end of the bed, holding onto one of Ohm’s feet.

Peat stepped forward slowly, his eyes staring at the dirty feet of a boy that was supposed to be bathed nightly.

“Nurse, do you know who was working the night shift last night?”  Fort asked the older woman walking past the door. 

“On this floor?  Me and two others.  I left around midnight.”

“Did anything unusual happen last night?  Do you remember what you were doing around 9PM?”

“Oh yes!  Watching TV, we quickly did the rounds on the floor before 8:30PM so we wouldn’t miss our show.”

“What was the show about?”  Fort asked, though Peat wasn’t listening.  

Instead, he inspected the dark earth stuck in the cuticles and under the toenails of Ohm’s toes.  Even the teen's dry ankles held little bits of black dirt in the creases.

“Oh, I can’t remember the name of it, but one of the nurses downstairs got us hooked!  It’s about a sexy author looking for inspiration on an island getaway.  Last night the author took a robust island tour guide back to the city to be his muse and sex slave.  Talk about…woof!”

The older woman began fanning her face with a patient's bed chart.  Fort gave Peat a side smile.  Peat snorted quietly, taking an evidence vial out of his jacket pocket and scraping the black soil from Ohm’s toes into it.

“Um, sorry.  But what is he doing?”  The nurse asked when she finally looked around Fort’s body, seeing Peat cap the vial closed.

“Nothing.”  Fort said smoothly.  “Do you know who was taking care of Lalana last night?”

The nurse shook her head, still curious about the vial in Peat’s hand; he pocketed it.  ‘Out of sight, out of mind.’

“Sorry, that floor’s had a complete overhaul on staff coming and going.  Too many patients, not enough nurses… It’s an age-old story.” 

It was a story Peat knew all too well.  Although he came from a family of doctors, he knew better than anyone that without nurses, every doctor wouldn’t know their ass from their elbow, or what floor it was on…or how to fold it, insert it, or peel it off.

He thanked her kindly and nodded as she said her goodbyes, humming out the door and down the hallway.  Peat covered Ohm’s feet with the blanket and walked out of the room, making his own way to the car, while Fort quietly followed him from behind.

They both climbed into the little rental car in utter silence.

“Chai…” Fort murmured.

“It’s nuts… It’s crazy…”

“But?”  His partner questioned.

Peat stared straight ahead before finally nodding.  ‘Fuck it.’

“Ohm Kampu was in the woods last night.”

Fort was silent for a moment.  “How can you be sure?”

Peat shook his head.  ‘This was all impossible.’

“I can’t, not really.  But this…”  He removed the evidence bag with the vial from his jacket pocket.  “...looks like the exact same dark earth I found in the forest that night.”

Fort took the vial from him gently and looked at it.  Squinting a little.

“So we take it to the lab and test it?”

Peat began to nod, only to start groaning.

“The other sample was in the mini fridge in my old room… It’d be destroyed by now.”

“Ok, just so we are all clear… Because this is something you’ll need to write in that report of yours.”

Peat felt himself calm down a little.  ‘The report, right.’

“Either Ohm is faking his condition, which is almost impossible, but not completely undoable.  He, his father, and Doctor Noi have been killing teens and covering it up.  Or…”

“Or…”  Fort stared at him with a strange intensity.

Peat couldn’t jump to conclusions.  His brain simply wouldn’t let him.  There were too many variables to consider.

“We need to go back into the forest and collect another sample.  The hospital would have the right equipment to test it since the coroner's lab is out of the question.”

Fort’s handsome face broke into a huge grin.  Turning the car on, he quickly put it in drive and sped out of the hospital car park like a bat out of hell.

They’d made it to the camping and fishing store before the heavens opened and buckets of rain poured down over the little town.  They piled the counter high with enough items to make the DSI’s accountant have a mild stroke.  With all their gear burnt to a crisp on the job, it was technically the department’s job to replace it.

It wasn’t like they were buying frivolous things.

On the counter were two waterproof jackets and pants made out of the same material.  Two pairs of moisture-wicking tops & bottoms.  Two of the most expensive hiking boots in the store (Fort’s idea).  Four pairs of thick socks.  Two baseball caps, and two sets of waterproof gloves.  

Then there were the items for their backpacks: navigation tools, water canisters, first aid kits, disposable rubber gloves, and plastic sleeves for any evidence they found.  Along with two stupidly expensive Swiss Army knives (also Fort’s idea) that clipped onto their belts and several torches and extra batteries.

Their guns had always been on them each time they left their rooms.  Tucked safely in their shoulder holsters, hiding under their jacket.  Even so, they’d lost several boxes of ammo when Fort’s car had been towed.  Luckily, the camping store supplied ammo to those with hunting permits or, in their case, official badges.

They’d gotten dressed in the store while it poured down outside.  Then risked the roads to the closest convenience store.  Peat and Fort sat on stools in front of the large glass window, eating hot instant noodles and machine coffee.

Peat sighed in mock annoyance.  “You finally did it.  I’m back to eating instant noodles.”

“Why are you so opposed to sandwiches and instant noodles?”  His partner seemed rather perplexed by it.

Peat smiled.  “It’s not just them.  It’s everything in a convenience store I’m opposed to.”

Fort finished his mouthful before asking, “Ok, but why?”

“When I was in med school.  They had one cafeteria and one convenience store.  There was nothing else for miles.  The cafeteria only served traditional food, and it was always made in bulk, so it wasn’t that good.  It got old really quickly.”

Fort nodded.  “I was wondering why every place we’ve eaten at was foreign.”

Peat snorted.

“Then during exams, we didn’t even have time to visit the cafeteria to eat, so we all took turns going to the convenience store to stock up on packaged sandwiches, instant noodles, microwave rice, and canned foods.”

He finished his noodles and sipped on his coffee before continuing.

“There was one partially hard month for exams, where I filled my room with bottled water, energy drinks, and anything from the convenience store that was long-life and microwavable.  I knew every minute counted, and stuffing around with meals was impossible.  It almost killed me, but I passed with high marks.”

“Why did it almost kill you?  The stress?”

Peat grinned, getting up to grab himself a large bulgogi beef onigiri.  He sat down and peeled away the airtight plastic.

“Well, it was stressful.  But after weeks of refined carbs and no vegetables or fruit, I was so constipated I looked pregnant.”

*COUGH! COUGH! COUGH!*

Fort began choking on the noodles he’d accidentally inhaled.  He had been slurping up his dinner when Peat had made the comment.  Peat thumped him on the back rhythmically until his partner began to calm down.

“What is wrong with you!”  He sputtered, making Peat grin.

“Nothing!  I took a few X-Lax and was right as rain.  Never in my life have I taken that big of a shi-”

“No! No, no, no, no!”  Fort coughed a little while covering his ears. “La la la la, I’m not listening!”

Peat began giggling, only to catch an annoyed look from Fort.  Such an offended look caused him to tip his head back and laugh so hard he snorted.

The snort had them freeze in surprise before they both broke out into fits of laughter.

After dinner, they paid, cleaned up their mess, went to the bathroom, and left.  Thanking the store clerk as they went.  The rain hadn’t stopped, but it had lightened up enough to drive over to the forest's main walking trek.

Nighttime had come quickly with the miserable weather.  They’d originally planned to park right by the entrance, until Fort pulled off the road and parked behind a patrol car and a cream-colored van with a pleasant logo of happy-looking cartoon dogs, cats, cows, and horses.  Under the logo read Kampu Veterinary Clinic.

Zipping up his jacket and lifting the hood over his head, Peat got out of the car and swung his bag over his back, switching on the torch light.  He shone the bright beam of light into the window of the vet van; a long red rod sat on the passenger’s seat.  A cattle prod, maybe?  Fort moved to the patrol car, shining his light in.

“Empty.”  He said.

“Same here.”

“Do you think the sergeant is here with his brother?”

“AHHHHHHH! NOOOOOO!!!!”

Peat held his breath as screams of fear carried over the drizzling rain.  Fort pointed to him, then pointed to the left.  Peat nodded and quietly unzipped his jacket, glad he decided to put the long-sleeve thermals on under his gun holster.

Drawing his gun out, Peat aimed it at the ground while he walked quickly into the forest, the Maglite in his other hand illuminating his way.  He started running towards the panicked screams, catching a male voice yelling before more screaming.

Peat focused on his footing, slowing down or speeding up depending on what lay at his feet.  His hiking boots were heavy, and he felt a little uncoordinated as he ran.  Luckily the baseball cap kept the rain from getting into his eyes, but the sounds of thunder not too far off had his anxiety right up there.

The screams were getting closer, so Peat started to raise his gun, only for the forest to tip on its side when Peat was suddenly hit by what felt like a freight train.  He fell to the wet ground, wincing when his shoulder smashed into a raised tree root.  He forced himself to look up at his attacker, pained eyes meeting the manic stare of Sergeant Kampu.

“I told you to go home!”

Peat felt around the forest floor for his gun, turning in time to see Kampu's boot connect with his head.  White flashes of light filled his vision as his body spun, hitting the ground.  Pain burnt a vibrant red inside his head before slowly dulling to a nauseating orange.  Lightning broke through the darkness of his surroundings, lighting up the forest between flashes.

From the sounds of the cracks and thundering rumbles, the torrential rain was now a full-blown storm.  

“SON, STOP!  NO MORE!”

Peat climbed to his feet, only to have his knees buckle as the pain in his head caused him to fall forward, vomiting.  The blur of screams and yelling floated through his head until he heard Fort’s voice.  Eyes snapping open, he forced the discomfort and pain aside.  

He needed to have his partner’s back!

Anchoring his will, Peat focused on every step. Crossing his wrists for support as he held his weapon in one hand and the Maglite in the other.  Thunder suffocated the sounds of angry voices, but in the chaos of the storm, Peat could still make out the odd flashes of torchlight ahead.

*BANG!*

‘That sounded like a shotgun blast!’

Peat picked up the pace, tears of pain beginning to blind him as he most likely ran towards an unknown danger.  Had his brain not been so scrambled, he’d have been thinking clearly enough to know that running through a forest at night, in the middle of a storm, was a recipe for a broken neck.  And yet he still ran, heart hammering, skull pounding with each step.

Lightning flashed around him, while the photopsia from his obvious concussion flashed behind his eyes.  Peat saw Fort wrestling a large man. A shotgun held between them.  Peat raced into the clearing, only to slip on wet leaves, triggering him to fall backwards.

*BANG!*

Peat’s heart stopped.  He desperately crawled to his feet, heart in his throat, when he saw Fort lying on the forest floor.

‘Nooooo!’ 

The large man his partner had been fighting raised his shotgun towards Peat.  He was aimed at, and before Peat could raise his own gun… The large man fell to the forest floor.

Without thinking, Peat raced over and grabbed the shotgun, before dropping to his knees beside Fort.  He pulled up his partner’s wet shirt, frantically looking over his flawless chest, down his sides, his arms, and his neck.

Peat moved his hands down to Fort’s pants, feeling around for a bullet hole.

“I’m… I’m not into exhibitionism, but for you… I’d make an exception.”  His partner croaked.

Peat laughed nervously, though it sounded more like a sob.

“Fort… I can’t find the bullet wound.”

“Bullet wound?  I wasn’t shot.”

Peat moved back to give his partner room when the man began to stand.

“Nah, that wanker hit me with the butt of his gun.”

Relief so immense had Peat throwing himself at Fort.  “I thought I hit you!”

“I mean, it’s not my thing, but-”

Fort stopped talking as they turned to see Sergeant Kampu weeping over the man on the ground.

‘Oh gods, had that bullet hit him instead?’

Ohm Kampu stood in the small clearing, his hands covering his mouth as he silently cried for whom Peat could only assume was his uncle.  Sara Noi lay on the ground at his feet, bloody nose and clothes torn.  

Peat aimed his gun at the ground, calling out to Ohm while Fort moved to the sergeant’s side.  The storm above them was growing in ferocity, deafening his own voice.  The lightning strikes were getting too close for comfort.

Movement caught everyone’s eye as Sara scrambled to her feet and bolted into the forest.

“Chai!”

Peat was already running after her.  In the corner of his eye, he could see his partner not too far behind.  Through swaying trees and spinning leaves, Peat chased the teen across the forest.  Getting closer and closer to Sara until uneven ground took out his feet, sending him stumbling to the ground.

On his back, frozen in place.  White light filled his eyes as he stared up into the sky; for a few seconds there was nothing.  No sound, no rain, no wet forest floor.  Just miles and miles of bright white light.  Peat held his breath, heart skipping, and head pounding.  

‘Was he passing out?’

As quickly as the light came, it went.  Peat blinked rapidly through the red afterimage that was burnt into his vision.  A comforting weight pressed against him from above, along with the unmistakable smell of warm citrus, bergamot, and smoky vanilla that surrounded him.

‘Had he died?  Was Peat’s heaven under Fort’s thick, muscular body?’

Red faded to darkness before Peat could finally make out Fort rising onto his knees.  Peat’s face felt the chill of each raindrop as it landed, reminding him that they were outside, in the middle of a storm.  His partner stood, pulling Peat up to his feet.  

The forest swayed in Peat’s vision, but before he felt himself falling once again, a strong arm curled around his waist, keeping him upright.

“What happened?”  He yelled over the wind.

Fort shook his head and reached into his jacket, pulling out his extra torch.  Peat had honestly just assumed at the time that Fort was getting the most from the department’s petty cash by purchasing the rather expensive torch in his hand.  It was little, but mighty.

Now, he wished he’d thought about getting one too.

With his partner’s help, they walked ahead to where they’d last seen Sara Noi running.  

She hadn’t gotten far, but what had once been dense rainforest was now an open and barren clearing.  Heavy-looking trees were now nothing but brittle kindling on the forest floor.  Fort shone the torchlight around them.

It was a perfect circle.  In the white-blue blaze of every lightning strike, Peat could see that the clearing was a perfectly formed circle…void of all life.  

In the middle lay Sara Noi.  

Fort helped Peat walk to her side.

She looked like she was sleeping.  Her bleach blonde hair was now a white mess of frizz around her head, while a fine layer of smoke rose off her skin until the torchlight, only to be swept away by the wind.

“Sara!”  He called out, reaching forward to check her pulse.  Under his fingers, the teen’s skin crumpled like dry pastry.  Now started, the cracks began to spread as the wind pushed through the open cavity of her neck.

Peat yanked his hand back to stare in horror as the girl’s face crumpled and caved in.  Her chest began to implode, and the clothing she wore grew heavy with the rain.  It was only then that Peat realized her clothes were dry, though it wasn’t possible.

Ash and embers rose from the destruction of the teen's corpse, the storm around them lightening up but still snuffing anything that rose up.  Sara’s remains turned black and ashy under Fort’s torchlight until there was nothing left of the girl’s body but wet clothing.

Peat lifted his head to look at his partner, who seemed just as awestruck as he felt.

“Is she dead?”

They turned to see Sergeant Kampu and his son Ohm standing just outside the large circular clearing.

“Yes!”  Fort called out.

Ohm’s shoulders slumped forward, his face breaking into tears before his father hugged him tightly.  

Sunlight poured through the morning clouds like a slack team leader showing up once the group project was done, just so their name wasn’t left off.  Peat sat in the hospital, forced to go after fainting when he stood up too quickly.

He had a simple concussion, nothing to be concerned about.  Work protocol had him under hospital care for the next 24 hours, then another 24 hours of rest.  While he waited alone in the hospital for the next 48 hours, his partner was out there doing all the work.  Interviewing Ohm Kampu, his father, and Doctor Noi.

Fort recorded everything.  Then went back to the resort to pack up what little they’d left in their room.  Ohm was sent to the city hospital for testing after making a full and miraculous recovery.  

Another hire car was waiting outside the hospital entrance when Fort wheeled a tired Peat to the stone stairs.  With his partner's muscular arm around his waist, Peat walked carefully down the stairs and sat slowly in the passenger’s seat of the new rental car.  

On the drive home, Fort filled him in on the interviews.  Kira, Choraka, and Lalana’s deaths were placed solely on Sara.  Evidence of abuse and death threats were found on her computer.  

Social media messages and private group chats of the girls begging Sara to show mercy and come forward after they were blamed for the abuse and sexual assault of their classmate Pat, Ohm’s boyfriend.  Sara's threats to kill them and bury them in the forest was the nail in her empty coffin.

Doctor Noi was in the process of confessing to tampering with evidence.  While Sergeant Kampu stayed tight-lipped about the whole thing.  Refusing to answer any of Fort’s questions about why they were in the forest with Sara.

Sergeant Kampu’s brother, the vet, was pronounced dead at the scene.  Peat had killed him.  It was an unfathomable fact he was trying to put off thinking about until the mandatory therapy DSI was scheduling for him.

In the vet’s van, Fort found duct tape, Sara’s hair, and a double-pronged cattle prod.  On his body they found a needle full of pentobarbital.  The green-dream drug they give to animals when putting them down.  And yes, like he’d said before to Fort, the green-dream could easily kill a person.

Ohm was questioned about his nighttime walks in the forest and his time in the hospital after the car accident, but all the boy would say was, “I can only remember the white light.”  Leaving everything else unanswered.  According to Ohm, the last thing he remembered was holding his boyfriend’s body after he’d fallen.  Everything else that followed was just white static…

Sara’s remains had been rained into the earth under her.  When her clothes were picked up, all that was left of her were traces of dark earth staining her clothes.  On record, Sara Noi died of a freak lightning strike.  Logically, it wasn’t possible.

Had it been lightning, he and Fort would’ve been killed, being as close as they’d been to where Sara lay.  Besides, no amount of power could have disintegrated Sara’s body like that…at least…nothing on earth.  

Peat closed his eyes, resting his head back, as the pain meds only softened the raging headache he had.  Fort was sporting a busted cheek where Ohm’s uncle suckered him with the gun.

“How are you feeling?”

“Like Moo-Hong.”  He said, smiling to himself.

“Huh?”  Fort looked confused.

Peat just shook his head gently.  He felt overcooked, as if he was about to fall apart any minute.

“Looking forward to getting home?”

Snorting at the question, Peat kept his eyes closed.

“No.  That apartment you picked me up from was my ex’s.  While I was having fun with you, he went in there and cleaned out all my things.  It’s now on the market and I’m officially homeless.”

“What will you do?”  Fort asked quietly.

Peat sighed.  His migraine made him a little emotional as he finally was forced to face what little options he had.

“I suppose I could ask my parents, but I don’t see them allowing it.  I have an older brother but he wouldn’t piss on me if I was on fire… I do have an old friend from med school I could ask to let me crash on their couch for a little bit.”

Leo was too kind to say no if Peat asked for help.  But with a new baby in the house and his heavy workload at the IVF clinic, Peat felt guilty about burdening his friend.

“What are you going to write in your report?”  Fort asked softly.  Eyes trained on the road.

Peat watched him for a moment before answering.

“The facts.”

“Even if those facts are a little unexplainable?”

“Nothing is unexplainable."  He said, slightly annoyed.

Fort grinned.  “The bright light?  The perfectly circular blasted treeline?  Sara’s corpse?”

Peat sighed again, shaking his head.  His caffeine intake was at an all-time low, and he needed sugar for this road trip, or he was about to get snappy.

“Can we stop at a bakery or cafe?”

“The doctors said no caffeine for the next 24 hours…”

“Seng, if I don’t get coffee into my bloodstream, I’m gonna grab that wheel and ruin your day.”

Fort looked over at him, grinning like a loon.

“Whatever you say, partner…”

They managed to get off the main stretch of highway, taking the off-ramp until they found the first set of shops.  Peat was out of the car before Fort turned off the engine.  Running into a cute little cafe and straight into their bathroom to pee.

By the time he got out, Fort was at the end of the counter, waiting for the coffees he had ordered.

“What’s in the box?”  Peat asked, pointing at the little pink treat box.

“Donuts.”

“Really?”  He asked excitedly before moving to the sweets display.

“Oi, I got yours right here.”  Fort held up the pink box.

“But there’s a blood orange and custard-filled one…oh and-”

“I got you one blood orange, one apple crumble, one lotus biscoff, and one lemon meringue.”  His partner recited.

“Really?!”  Peat felt like a little kid, bouncing on the balls of his feet.  Migraine temporarily on hold.

“Coffees for FORD!”  The barista behind the corner called out.  Fort rolled his eyes and pointed to the bench.

“Can you please grab those? I’m heading next door…”

Peat nodded gingerly and grabbed the coffees, following Fort diligently, as he waited for that box of donuts to open.  Next door was a small fruit and vegetable shop.  Peat moved to stand beside the larger man as he looked around, eventually buying himself a bag of snow peas, blueberries, and almond butter apple crisps.

Once in the car, the two of them snacked and gossiped about people they worked with.

“How did you know about what I did the other day?”  Peat asked randomly.

“You mean leaving all those old files upstairs?”  Fort grinned.  “I watched from my phone at home.”

“Huh?”

Fort crunched on a snow pea while smiling.

“I’ve got a friend that owes me a favor in the security department.  They helped me set up a link to the DSI’s security cameras on my phone.”

Peat blinked at his partner and licked the lemon filling off his lips.

“That’s…illegal.”  He stated dumbly.

“Very.”  Fort grinned.  “But it's saved my ass several times and is well worth the risk.”

“Does that mean you saw me?”

Fort nodded, chewing on another snow pea.

“I sent an email to Section Chief Bunmi, saying that I asked you to work overtime to clear out some space, after Kennedy emailed an HR complaint about you dumping the files at his desk.”

Peat had stuffed the rest of the lemon donut in his mouth, so his “That fucker did what?!”  Came out as “MAPUKADIPWAP?!”

“Yep.  My friend in HR texted me when she received it.  Then I requested Bunmi send the rest of the files to your old level, since they didn’t have much work going on.  That morning, your old team leader had already received his orders while we were on the road.”

“Woah…well, I get that explains why I never got any backlash.”  Peat said, stumped.

“Oh, there’ll be backlash.  They were pissed.”

Peat laughed.

“I’m not surprised.  All the files they dumped on my desk to be completed have been slipped in those piles.  If they don’t check them, they’ll go straight to the archive.”

Fort popped a few crisps into his mouth and muttered.

“But they’ll just be sent back.”

Peat smiled coolly.

“Correction.  Each file that goes to archive without being completed or signed off gets forwarded to the team leader with a reprimand.”

“Won’t you get blamed for mucking around with their files?”

Peat snorted, licking his fingers clean before picking up the biscoff donut.

“They’d have to admit why all those files were on my desk in the first place.”

“Ohhhhh.”  His partner seemed rather impressed.  “What a dastardly plan indeed!

They’d made it to the city by the late afternoon.  Peat had called ahead to ask his friend if it was ok to crash on his couch for a few days (at least until he could convince his parents to put up with him).  Fort drove to Peat’s old apartment and helped him move what very little he had.

“If you need it, I know a place where you can stash the rest of your stuff until you find a place.”

Peat smiled at his partner.

“Thanks, I appreciate the offer, but honestly, this is all I own.”

Fort gave him a side-eye from the driver’s seat.

“Three suits, one suitcase of clothes, a blanket, and a pillow?”

Peat nodded.

“When my ex left, he took everything of value.  Even the things that were only worth sentimental value.”

“What a lint-licker…”

Peat smiled.  “Agreed.”

His old friend Leo had been waiting at the door of his house when Fort pulled the car into the driveway.  He invited Fort in for a cup of tea, but his partner declined politely, rainchecking the offer to take the hire car back before the dealership closed.

Peat spent the night listening to his friends catching him up on all the baby stuff he missed out on, then, just to share the experience, kept him up all night as their little angel screamed the house down every three hours.

When he finally trudged up to the table with his second cup of coffee, Peat had a new found respect for his friends, and decided then and there that he never, ever, ever wanted kids.

Peat had left for work later than he would’ve liked after discovering Leo’s overweight pug had vomited a half-eaten gecko into his work shoe.  He then missed his bus, closing his window from ‘early starter’ to running at high speed.  Finally clocking in with three minutes to spare.

Winded, flustered, and out of breath, Peat bumped into Section Chief Bunmi’s secretary.

“Agent Ch-goodness!  Are you alright?”

No.  He really wasn’t.  Peat could run a good five kms before straining himself.  But in this heat?  Up those stairs?  His knees weren’t built for inclines!  Peat was hunched over, sucking in as much air as possible, while sweat dripped down, stinging his eyes.

“Sorry… Were you looking for me?  He asked politely, huffing between words.

“Oh!  Yes, Section Chief Bunmi wants to see you ASAP.”

Peat nodded, composing himself while still using the wall as a way to stay upright.  When he walked into Bunmi’s office, his sweat froze on his skin.  The room's mood was chilly, to say the least.  The tall, thin woman from the last meeting was back, leaning against the wall, saying nothing when Peat said his good mornings.

“We have finished reading your report on this case... The scientific basis and credibility just seem…a little too far-fetched, Agent Chai.”

Peat had been expecting as much when he’d emailed his final report at 3AM that morning.  Aries (Leo’s wife) was heating up the baby’s bottle while Leo walked back and forth, rocking the screamer.

“Though subjective, everything in those reports was as I saw it.  Conclusions could be made for both sides of the coin…had we had more information, but the evidence we have still stands.”

“This…time loss… Seng made in his report.  You can confirm it?”  Asked the thin woman in the corner.

“I support Agent Seng’s report.”  Peat said strongly.

“What exactly do you support?  I see nothing that indicates a legitimate reason to waste this department's resources!”

Bunmi sounded pissed, ignoring the woman behind her.  Peat spared a glance over to her, only to hear an annoyed throat clear from the section chief.

“Crimes were committed.  Furthermore, they were covered up to hide the truth.”

“The truth?  That a teenage girl kills her friends, makes their bodies disappear, and then disappears herself?  All while the only person that could have answers, talks about a blinding white light and losing time…  Are you telling me you support Agent Seng’s report that…an alien force was at fault here and the local authorities were covering it all up?!”

‘Was that what he wrote in his report?  Goddamn it Fort!’

“Agent Seng believes we are not alone in this universe.”

It was true enough.  Did Peat personally believe it?  No.  But he wasn’t going to pick apart his partner's report for these people’s peace of mind either.

“That will be all, Agent Chai.”  Bunmi pointed to the door, dismissing him.

He stood, thanking them politely before leaving, closing the door quietly behind them.  In the hallway outside Bunmi’s office, Fort was leaning casually against the wall.

“Good morning!  How’s the head?”

Peat smiled.  “Fine.  How are you?”

“I’m wearing pants and I haven’t joined a cult today.  So not too bad… Are you still my partner?”

Peat laughed; though tired, he felt a weight fall off him when Fort’s warm scent embraced him.

“Of course!  It’s sort of endearing how gullible you are…”

“You find me endearing?”  The larger man asked with a cheeky grin.

They walked down the hall and through the open-planned office space.

“At how GULLIBLE you are!  You even believed I could read the stars on a rainy night.”

Fort’s face went blank before he tipped his head back and began to cackle, shocking everyone in the office space around them.  Peat grinned.  Walking into the elevator when it opened.

“I thought it was odd, but I just figured you might be special…”

His partner said as he pressed the B button.  Peat was planning to go out for coffee across the street, already pressing the G floor button.

“As in…extraterrestrial special?”  He teased Fort.

“Exactly!  I mean, with an ass like yours, you’d have to be out of this world.”

Peat’s neck almost cracked when he turned to look at the larger man.  He could feel fits of laughter bubbling up, but held it in, keeping his face as straight as possible.

“I suppose you’ll live longer if you stick with me.”  Peat remarks offhandedly.

“Because I’m the hero in the horror movie?  Dying before the hot nerd?”

*DING!*

“No…because the hot himbo with great tits always dies first!”

Peat watched Fort freeze in the corner of his eye before getting out of the elevator on the ground level.  Their coworkers piled into the elevator, all while his partner simply stared at him in shock.

Waving goodbye, Peat turned towards the entrance doors, only to hear Fort yelling behind him.

“You think I have great tits?!”

It was brilliant.  And couldn’t have been better timed.  As Fort’s question echoed in the open room, stunning their coworkers coming and going into absolute silence.  Peat couldn’t help but turn around to see his partner blushing bright red with embarrassment before the elevator doors closed.

For the first time in a long time, he felt the edges of happiness.

He was homeless, sleeping on a couch with no money and no sleep.  But seeing Fort blush like that could very well have made his day, his week, maybe even his year.  

He was the best partner Peat could ever wish for.  Definitely worth the three bus transfers to get here!