Case File: The Tainted Nature.

10.30 P.M

Monday

Azy’s eyes immediately widened and stood up. “No. Nope. Not happening. Hell no. Not in a hundred years. Not funny, Mary. Hahaha. No!” He grabbed a tissue and wiped the sweet nectar off his face.

“I knew this was going to happen,” groaned the captain. She grabbed a long piece of tissue and tried to clean her inner thigh. “Ah, fuck. My hand is still numb.”

After seeing how difficult it was for the captain to clean herself, Azy kneeled between her thighs and helped clean her soaked thighs. He let out a grin at the masterful work in front of him. “You really go out with a bang, didn't you? Perhaps I can change your mind with that second round?”

The captain flicked Azy’s forehead and caused him to pull back. “Don’t get any ideas. It’s not my call in the first place.”

“The higher-up again? They don’t learn, do they?” Azy saw his bite marks, it was still leaking a bit of blood. He dove in and licked it. The sudden tongue against the captain’s inner thigh caused her to moan. His vampire’s saliva healed the bite marks.

“Azy… I really want you in me, but we can’t right now. We need to talk about your new partner.”

The vampire helped with her turquoise panty and redid the garter belt. After Azy strapped everything back in place, he pulled back and dropped his butt on the sofa behind him with a loud thud. “Who is she anyway?”

“A freshie from the Academy.”

“A freshie in this department, are they serious? She’s going to get herself killed in a week.”

“I know that, but the higher-ups are serious about this. Apparently, she has demonstrated skills beyond any of her peers that go above the standard. They think she would be a good addition to our department, and with my department lacking the manpower, I can’t say no.” The captain took out a compact mirror and fixed her slightly disheveled look.

“But why me?” groaned Azy.

“You’re the only one without a partner out there, and for some reason, she requested you.”

“She wants me?” chuckled Azy. “I don’t blame her for falling for me, but we never even met before. There’s got to be something else. It must be those guys from internal affairs again.”

“To tell you the truth, I don’t think so. But be vigilant.” A knock on the door pulled their attention. “Come in.”

The young woman who entered was different from Azy’s expectation. From top to bottom, she was a mess. Even though her skin was brown, it did not hide the dark bags under her blue eyes. Her brunette hair was jumbled up into a messy bun. Her style looks like an office lady who’s been raising five kids. Azy admits that she was naturally beautiful despite her current messy appearance. If she had picked the right outfit and used a bit of makeup, she would be a beauty.

Her sight darted from the lounging man on the sofa to the woman in charge. “Captain Mary, I’m done with the briefing.”

“Please take a seat.” The captain gestured to the chair across from her.

She took a seat without giving it much thought while occasionally glanced at the smirking man on the sofa. “The briefing was very helpful.”

“Sure it was. Anyway, meet your new partner.” She gestured to the vampire on the sofa. “That man is Azriel Leopold, The Vampire, but we called him Azy. I believe he prefers to be called that rather than his real name. Don’t ask me why, ask him.”

Azy stood up and fixed the lapel of his jacket. Then in one smooth move, he took a bow and extended his hand for hers. She raised her eyebrows and hesitated to give her hand, but it would be considered rude to not do so. She gave him her hand. Azy placed a kiss on it while taking a whiff of her scent. “A pleasure to meet you.”

She immediately pulled her hand away from the vampire, not out of caution, but at how creepy it was. “Me too…?”

“Stop that, Azy. I got enough complaints from HR as it is.” Captain Mary sighed. “Moving along, she’s your new partner. Meet Ms. Layla Daher. She’s a human as you can tell. Top of her class. I think she will be a good fit for you.”

“Nope,” said Azy, then suddenly, he left the office. Both women were dumbstruck by his action.

“You don’t fucking have a choice. Either she comes with you or you’re out!”

Azy stopped in his tracks, his shoulders sagged in defeat. He scratched the back of his head and turned around with a renewed smile. It was a disingenuous smile and everyone can tell from a mile away. “Sure. Let’s go, partner.”

Layla glanced between the piss-off captain and the vampire. The captain calmed herself and turned to her. “Go and remember my advice.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” She left the office, but not without closing the door behind her.

Layla joined Azy’s pace but suddenly stopped when the vampire turned to face her. He groaned and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Are you wearing your bulletproof vest?”

“Yes,” answered Layla.

“Good. Always keep it on when we’re out there. Did you get the standard handgun?”

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“I did, and they also taught me how to use it.”

“Great. Your gun only works for you. We can’t share. If you lose your gun, then you have to pay the fine before you get a new one. Understand?”

“Understand, so what now?”

“What did she say to you?”

“Uhm, what?”

“The advice, what was it?”

“What advice?” Layla returned his question with another.

Azy sighed. “Did she tell you not to trust me?”

Layla didn’t answer his question, instead, her expression remains neutral. She’s good at keeping a poker face, even Azy couldn’t tell. Yet, he knew it was the truth: the captain told her not to trust the vampire.

“She’s right. Don’t trust me or you’ll regret it. I’m not a human, I don’t think like one, understand?”

Layla hesitated. She took a moment to think, then nodded her head.

“Second, even though you can’t trust me. I’m still your partner. I got your back and you got mine. Easy as that.”

She nodded her head again.

“To answer your earlier question, we are---” Azy was thrown across the room right in front of Layla’s eyes. He crashed through a glass pane and into the break room. His back was buried into the lower cabinet.

“That’s for taking my fucking spot!” A red, tall, and muscular woman with two big horns stood beside Layla with her fist lowered. With her two horns, midnight lush hair, orange eyes, and a tail, she had a raw and dangerous, but alluring look to her.

A cambion, they were said to be the offspring of a human and a demon. Many of their deeds during the war had made them into legends. Often describing their inhuman strength and their zealous passion for battles. Only a few species have the strength to go face to face with them. However, modern times have made them a bit impractical, yet one could still find a cambion in jobs that require strength and battle prowess.

However, this one particular cambion was not fond of Azy at all, not since the failed date.

Layla finally regained her senses and quickly took out her handgun and aimed at the cambion. “Freeze!” Despite Layla being alarmed by the massive woman, the rest of the force was still casually doing their work as if nothing had happened.

The cambion huffed her satisfaction. Her black long braid twirled as she spun and walked away.

Layla was confused at what had happened, she didn’t say anything when the woman left. Since how calm everyone was, she deduced that this was a normal event in the department. She did hear that Azy had a rather infamous reputation. She slid her handgun into the holster and rushed to where Azy had crashed.

“I told you the coffee maker survives this time. Now give me that ten bucks,” said an officer to his friend.

He grumbled a disapproval groan, then passed the bill to his friend. “I swear next time you’re going to run out of luck.”

“As if.”

Layla walked past the officers and kneeled beside Azy. The state of his body was gruesome, his left arm and leg were broken. Azy gritted his teeth together while the nerve around his neck visibly bulged. Sooner, his broken arm and leg unnaturally straightened back to normal with a loud crunching noise.

“Is my jacket okay?” asked Azy.

The question came out of nowhere for Layla. “Uhm, sure… but aren’t worried about yourself or about the one who hurt you?”

“I’m fine and don’t worry about her. I know who it was. Ugh, I knew I shouldn’t take that parking spot.”

Antonio squatted down beside Azy and caused his badge to dangle from his neck. “I told you Valentina won’t like it if you take her parking spot.”

“There’s a difference between like and hate. I think she hates me, but what do I know? Human emotions are something foreign for me.” Azy lifted himself off the ground with a loud groan.

“Oh, you’re new. My name is Antonio Verandas, nice to meet you.” He gave the young woman one of his award-winning smiles and extended his hand for a handshake.

She took his hand and gave it a firm handshake. “Layla Daher. I’m Azy’s new partner.”

“Seriously?” Antonio burst out laughing, but after a few seconds, he calmed himself. “And here I thought pigs don’t fly. Anyway, watch his back for me, okay?”

Layla nodded at Antonio’s request. “I will try my best.”

“Did you get the file, Antonio?” asked Azy while he brushed the glass off his jacket.

“I sure do. Here it is, but don’t forget you owe me big time for this.” Antonio placed the file on Azy’s lap.

“I know. I know. I’ll make sure to pay you back in full.” Azy took the file and stood to stretch out his arms.

“To be honest, this group you’re going after seems more shady than usual. Just be careful out there, and that especially applies to you, Azy’s new partner. Anyway, I got a lot of paperwork tonight. See you guys again.” He left their side, but not before giving them a slight wave.

“He seems like a great guy,” said Layla.

“Who, Antonio? Yeah. Great guy. He’s single too if you want to know.”

“What? I don’t mean it like that.” Layla narrowed her eyes at Azy.

Azy shrugged his shoulders. “I’m just saying. Come on, we got a long night ahead of us.”

They left the precinct and arrived at the parking area. Apparently, it was Layla’s car that was parked in his spot. It wasn’t that surprising since Azy already guessed that it was her car. She stood beside it, ready to get in, but Azy waved at her to leave her car alone. “I ain’t going to be caught dead driving that thing.”

“What’s wrong with my car?” asked Layla as if it wasn’t obvious enough from the messy interior and the poor condition.

Azy walked to his car, a red 1964 Mercedes-Benz in mint and perfect conditions. He was beaming with pride as he gestured the difference between his car and hers. “This is a car. That is… I’m not really sure what that is.”

“Whatever. It’s not like my car can’t do the same thing as yours,” said Layla as she entered the passenger side.

“You just don’t get it. Every car is different.” Azy entered the driver’s side. He gently slid the key into the ignition and brought the car to life with a single turn of the key. “Behold its purr. You feel that?”

“Nope, but it was surprising to find out that you care so much about cars.” Layla smiled at him.

“Well, not all of them. I only care about this one. It’s my precious treasure.” Azy ran his fingers against the steering wheel. It was true that he doesn't care about any other car except for this one. This car was a treasure gifted to him by someone he knew a long time ago.

After Azy enjoyed the fleeting sweet memory, he drove the car out of the parking space and toward the checkpoint. He waved at the orc that guarded the checkpoint, and he waved back before letting them pass through.

Finally, Azy let out a sigh of relief when they hit the road. Nothing beats the cold and dirty air that the city offered. Now all he needs to do is follow the scent and catch those bastards who brought a Kelpie into his city. The best place to gather information is to visit his favorite vampire den.