September 21st, 2017, 10:26 a.m.
Alex stood inside her room by her door, aware that out there, in her living room, was a fully trained D.B.S. agent, the very person she had been raised to avoid. She touched the handle and began turn, hesitant, he was, after all, a friend of Imari’s, how bad could he be? She pulled back again, but D.B.S. agents lie. That's what her father told her. Alex swallowed hard, he father.
As much as she had wanted to escape her parents, she never enacted them dead. She knew they had done everything they did in an effort to protect her. They loved her, and now they were dead. Alex choked back her tears, the last time she had seen her parents, they had fought. They didn't want her to leave, it was too dangerous. But the danger, it seemed, was in their very household, and now, Alex would never see them again.
She shook herself, she had to be brave. She had to catch whoever killed them and remove that stain, that cockroach. She stepped out.
Alex stared as she witnessed Dalian pulling bits of leftover Chinese food from her takeout boxes and eating them. “Um…” Alex coughed loudly, gaining his attention.
Dalian dropped the chicken and blushed, “S-Sorry, just...I missed breakfast and I wasn't expecting to be assigned a mission and it was just sitting here so I...I uh...sorry.”
Alex stifled her laugh, “Whatever, moving on. Do we need to prepare a trap for...for the killer?”
Dalian cleared his throat and stood up straighter, “Yes, since you seem,” he glared at her, “Intent on playing bait.”
Alex shrugged, “It's a good idea and you know it.”
“Good isn't always smart.”
“And smart isn't always wise, I know there are dangers involved and I'm perfectly willing to deal with them when they come along, but until then, we have work to do.”
Dalian sighed, giving in, “Fine...first off, we need to actually have room for a trap, which means,” he gestured around the room, “Cleaning up this mess.”
Alex groaned, “Really? I didn't think playing hero meant cleaning your room.”
Dalian smiled, “Why do you think we always begin training at the D.B.S. with chores?”
“To break their spirits?”
“No. But good guess. Let's get to work.”
While Dalian spent most of his time carefully organizing trash into recycling and dumpster piles, Alex picked up everything else and stuffed it into her already full bedroom. Eventually, the room was...cleaner.
“Uuuugh”, Alex moaned, “This is gonna take forever.”
Dalian glared, “It's not going to be done at all if you just keep moving the piles to a different room.”
“Listen sweetheart, the only room that matters right now is my living room, and don't mock my cleaning style, I'm getting things done much faster than you Mr. Monk.”
Dalian raised an eyebrow, confused, “Mr. Monk? My name is Dalian Garcìa, remember?”
Alex rolled her eyes, “Yes, I remember, you've only said it about a thousand times. Dalian Garcìa of D.B.S. and whatever. It's from a tv show, Mr. Monk. You should watch more tv.”
Dalian frowned and tossed out another takeout box, “And you should get out more. How long has it been since you actually left this apartment?”
Alex blushed furiously, “I’ll have you know that I had plans to go out today before you came along.”
“Exactly, you had plans, you didn't actually do anything.”
“Shut up and finish helping me clean.” Dalian stood up, “Hey!” Alex reprimanded, “Where do you think you're going?”
Dalian smirked, “It wasn't my idea to play bait, it was yours. I don't have to help you do anything, and since you don't seem to want me around, I'm going to go make sure I have all my weapons prepared while you finish cleaning.”
“What?!”
“Toodleoo!”
“No wait! Come back!” But he was already gone. Alex screamed furiously as she crushed an empty pop can. “That little-!” She poked her head out the door, “Screw you buttercup!” She shouted.
“Did you just call me a buttercup? And why was that police dude in your house?”
Alex froze, then smiled weakly and gave a tiny wave, “Oh, uh, hiya Izzy. Didn't think you were coming.”
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