The additon of a rose
The group of cops were gathered around a table in the police station.
Chat was currently looking at his phone, the states of all his coworkers locked on him.
Chat jumped backwards, nearly falling out of his chair after Ladybug’s gloved hand loudly slammed itself on the table in front of him.
Chat let out a surprised shriek. “What was that for?!”
“You’ve been sitting here ignoring us like a fucking idiot for 15 minutes! You’re the final vote your moron!” Ladybug snapped.
“Whoa, Lbug, lay off.” Kim commented. “I mean one of the cases we have to choose between is the murder of his father. I wouldn’t expect this to be an easy choice.”
Ladybug whipped her head around, sending a glare at Kim. “We started the votes two days ago! He’s had time to choose!”
“You try deciding if you want to investigate the murder of your own father.” Chat grumbled as he stabled himself.
“If you don’t decide soon, I’m deciding for you. Both are high profile cases as both were very famous men. We need to get on this as soon as possible. Not to mention we still have that nasty snake to catch.” Ladybug out a hand on her hip.
“Well maybe I want you to decide for me. So the choice isn’t on me. Or maybe I could call conflict of interest and you all could investigate my father’s case without me.” Chat retorted.
“He’s not wrong. It kind of is a conflict of interest.” Alix pointed out.
“We need as many cops as we can get, especially with Rose—“ Ladybug was suddenly cut off by a high pitched feminine voice.
“On leave?” Finished a short woman with short blonde hair.
Happy gasps were heard all around.
“Rose!” Alix jumped up from the table, running to tackle the blonde girl in a hug.
“Rose! What are you doing here? I thought you were on leave!” Kim exclaimed with joy.
Rose waved her hand. “Leave is over! I’m feeling much better! I didn’t want to tell you I was back cause I wanted to make it a surprise!”
Ladybug released a sigh. “We don’t need a surprise, Rose. We’re cops, not high schoolers. With how much we’re dealing with, we need as many hands on deck as possible. But, it’s good to have you back.”
Once Alix released Rose from her hug, the two walked over to the table, both taking a seat.
Rose propped her elbows on the table, folding her hands under her chin. “So I heard not only are you dealing with Viperion although the local force is dealing with it until he strikes again, but you’ve got the Hayden and Gabriel case as well.”
“We were directed to choose either Gabriel or Hayden’s case. The other will be handed to another department.” Chloe explained. “We’re trying to choose which we’ll focus on.”
“But Chat can’t decide.” Ladybug added sourly.
Rose giggled. “Oh Ladybug. You never change! You know if you were faced with this decision, it wouldn’t be easy! Chat can either choose to investigate Hayden, a man he has no connection with, or Gabriel, his father. We have no leads on either, right?”
Chat looked at the floor. He nodded.
Chloe looked at Chat’s reaction carefully. He knew more than he was letting on about at least one of the cases. And she had a feeling she knew which one.
Luckily for Chat, Ladybuy nor Kagami were currently looking at him, both of their focus on Rose.
“Adrien, which case do you think you would be most helpful with?” Rose asked gently.
Adrien let out a sigh. He turned his gaze to look at Rose. “I knew my father better than anyone. I could probably be pretty helpful. I guess I’m just… scared.”
“No time for fear, kitty. Don’t you want to catch who killed him?” Ladybug asked. “Even if you hated him, this isn’t justice.”
Chat gave a slow nod in response. “I’ll help on my father’s case.”
“Yay! It’s solved!” Rose clapped her hands together. “See, LB? All you need to do is be gentle! Coldness won’t get you anywhere!”
“It got me where I am now.” Ladybug retorted.
“Fair enough. But we’ve got work to do!” Rose cheered.
Chat nodded in agreement with a smile. He knew he had made the wrong choice. Hayden was a bad man, sure. But they actually had no idea who killed him. With his father, he already had the answer. Not like it would help them anyways.
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1 AM in the morning was the current time. Once again, the crew was gathered around a table, mountains of paperwork sprawled across it.
Chloe stood up, stretching her arms out with a yawn. “Well, we’ve been looking at the information we’ve gathered from all of Gabriel Agreste’s associates from the past few days for hours. We’re all working overtime. It’s time we head home.”
Kagami nodded in agreement. “Yep. We won’t be productive at all next shift if we’re tired out of our minds. Although I think we all have had trouble learning that lesson since we started with Viperion.”
“At least he hasn’t struck since either of these high profile cases were opened up.” Alix added.
“Hey Chat, walk me out?” Chloe asked. She looked at Chat, who was unresponsive with his head lying flat on the table. She took a step closer to the sleeping blonde, suddenly smacking him across the face, which caused him to jolt awake.
“Jesus Christ!” He exclaimed. He looked up at Chloe. “What was that for?”
“You were asleep and I want you to walk me out.” Chloe answered.
Chat sighed. “Whatever.”
•••••
The two blonde cops were now walking along the street. Although it had been silent between them so far, Chloe began to speak.
“So I haven’t had the chance to talk to you in these past few days. We’ve been so busy.”
Chat replied with a simple shrug.
“I noticed your behavior when Rose was asking about the cases.”
“So? My father was murdered. Is it strange that I’m acting a little off?”
“Not at all.” Chloe began. “What’s strange to me was your reaction when Rose asked if either case had a lead.”
These words caused Chat to stop in his tracks. “I-I um… well, it’s hard that we don’t know who killed my father and—“
“Oh cut the crap, Adrien. You know who did it. It doesn’t happen to be a certain snake-themed criminal, does it?” Chloe turned to face Chat, placing a hand on her hip.
Chat held his hands together. “I didn’t tell him to! I actually told him not to when he expressed interest in it! Trust me, I was very angry at him upon discovering it. But he managed to talk me down…”
“You’ve seen him since it happened?” Chloe asked.
Chat nodded. “Only once. It’s actually been over a week since I’ve seen him. It’s not like I have his phone number. The only way I can talk to him is by running into him. But if you figured that out, why didn’t you suggest him as a suspect?”
“Same reason I haven’t told LB that you’re getting all buddy-buddy with Miracle’s most wanted criminal. Because I trust your instincts and I know you don’t want to turn him in.” Chloe answered. “But this won’t last forever. He’s evaded capture for this long. But if we ever manage to actually catch him, there’s no keeping him out of prison.”
Chat looked at the sidewalk. “He’s not a bad guy, Chlo.” He began quietly. “There was one point a few weeks ago when he mentioned something he was afraid could give a clue to his identity and he just… broke down crying. He’s sensitive. He isn’t evil. He’s just hurt.”
“I can tell.” Chloe said with a nod. “But unfortunately, our job as cops is to catch the criminals. Bad people or not. I’ll do my best to ensure his freedom. But you know if Ladybug catches wind of this, it’s over for you.”
“I know.” Chat replied sternly. “Which is why she’s not going to.”
••••••
Chat and Chloe had split paths about 15 minutes ago. Yeah sure, Chat could’ve driven to his hotel room if he hadn’t taken the bus to the station today. He wasn’t sure if there were any bus rides at 1:30AM, so walking to his hotel room it was.
Miracle was a nice city. As he had mentioned previously, maybe he could move his home base to here. His friends were here, and this was a good team. He didn’t know if Ladybug would agree however.
“Little kitty all alone on the street without his lady.”
Chat paused, immediately recognizing the voice as the familiar Viperion’s. He turned to look behind him, spotting the hooded criminal.
Chat gave a shrug. “We’ve been pretty busy ever since you killed my father. And then we got another high profile case soon after. No one associated with my father has any leads.”
“Do you feel bad knowing you have the answer to this investigation?” Viperion asked, putting his hands in his pocket.
“Eh.” Chat replied. “Not like it matters. The answer is you. And we don’t know how to catch you. Not like it would do them much good.”
Viperion let out a low chuckle. “You know exactly how to catch me, tomcat. All you have to do is betray my trust. Get your colleagues in on our little meetings, catch me off guard. It’s quite simple.”
Chat furrowed his eyebrows, averting his gaze. “I’m not going to do that.” He went to sit against the brick wall of a nearby building.
Viperion quickly followed after Chat, sitting next to the cat-themed cop.
“I know you’re not. I’m just saying. It wouldn’t be hard. I’ve given you everything you need.”
Chat turned his head to look at Viperion. “Then why do you hang around me? Why do you hang around me if it’s so risky for you?”
Viperion turned his head, returning Chat’s gaze. “Because you’re entertaining. You’re real. Honest. I’ve met so many fake people in my life. So many people willing to lie for their own gain. You’re taking a chance on me.”
“But why?” Chat exclaimed suddenly. “Why risk everything for me? Your safety? Your sister? What about her? I’m sure she knows and isn’t happy about this.”
Viperion looked at the ground, giving a small laugh. “She’s not. She thinks I’m letting my emotions get the best of me and that you’re tricking me. I told her that she’s wrong.”
“It sounds like she cares a lot about you. She knows you’re doing this, and still supports you.”
Viperion sighed. “She knows it’s for her. Mostly, anyways. Some of them are just for fun.”
“I know the money is to support her, but how could the murder benefit her? I mean, unless any of the people you’ve murdered have hurt her personally.”
Viperion froze. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. “They don’t call you one of the most brilliant detectives in all of France for no reason. But I suppose after all you already know about me, that isn’t rocket science to figure out.”
Chat put a hand on Viperion’s shoulder. “Hey, it’s alright. Only I know. And I’m not going to tell anyone. Only Chloe, Kim, and Alix know I meet up with you. And they’re all really chill. I highly doubt they’ll tell Ladybug or Kagami about this.”
Viperion turned to look at Chat again. “I sure hope you’re right. Cause if I get busted because of this, my sister is never going to let me hear the end of it.”
Chat laughed. “I’ve known Chloe since we were kids. And Kim and Alix are super goofy. Kim was the first one to defend you. So we’re good. I promise.”
Viperion flashed a smile at Chat. “I appreciate it.”
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It was 5 days later.
The main crew were all in the main work room, scattered about, looking at different papers or computer screens.
The door burst open, a panicked Alix running into the room.
“We’ve got a a HUGE problem!” Alix exclaimed.
Rose looked over at Alix with a worried expression. “What’s wrong?”
“Yeah, why are you acting to squirrely?” Kim added.
“It’s Lila Rossi!” Alix revealed. “The director-general! Head of all police stations in France! She’s coming here today!”
Ladybug set down the stack of papers she was looking at. “What.”
“Yeah! All I know is that she wants our progress on the Viperion case!”
“But we’re not anywhere close to catching him.” Kagami pointed out.
“Knowing her, I doubt she cares.” Ladybug replied.
“What do we do?” Kim asked slowly.
Ladybug stood up. “We wait for her to arrive.”
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