Chapter 9

"Yeah, he didn't rob the place. He burned it down."

A thin layer of dark grey ash coated the interior of the vault. Since the inside was made up entirely of metal, Genevieve assumed that the blanket of ash that clung to its shelves and walls was actually just remains of burnt paper. Paper that was valuable beyond belief, and the sole reason this building existed in the first place.

At first Genevieve didn't believe this was the work of Shadow, since she was under the impression that all he did was steal. But to be able to break into a highly guarded bank with no problem was something only someone like him could manage, and she knew that.

"Why was it called a robbery in the news, when it wasn't? Why lie to the public like that?" She questioned, though her gaze never moved from the burnt up vault.

"People would freak out, if they're told that some freak set fire to an entire cash supply of the biggest bank here. On top of that, they'd start protests against the mayor and government since they did fail to protect the citizens' money. If it's labeled as a robbery, the chances for the riots would decrease but not vanish." Alec replied, pressing his lips together while he too eyed the vault.

"And that's exactly why Shadow targets government owned banks. Not only does he want to sow the seeds of possible discord, but he also wants the government to go bankrupt by paying back the money that was lost." She muttered, which was more of an afterthought than a statement.

The gears were turning in her head, and slowly but steadily she had begun to piece things together. Shadow's motive was clear as day, and Genevieve narrowed down two possibilities in her head. He either has a vendetta against democracy, or he's just a psycho who does all this for fun.

The main question still stood; why burn the money instead of just snatching it?

After a while, Genevieve's restless gaze landed onto a table sitting just outside the vault. She approached it and upon closer inspection, she saw what seemed like pieces of evidence. A half burnt dollar bill, a ziplock bag containing bloodied cotton swabs, and a folded up paper rested on the surface of the table. She had reached out to grab the paper, but Alec's voice from behind stopped her. Maybe even startled her.

"Grab a glove, Perez. We wouldn't want to tamper with evidence." He all but murmured, and Genevieve could tell he was in close proximity again. Much to her dismay, he was right.

Her hand clenched into a fist and she retracted her arm from the table. With a sharp intake of air, she turned around slowly with a sickly sweet expression. There was obvious sarcasm dripping from her smile, but her eyes held something else.

"First of all-" Genevieve shoved him with nearly all her might, and it seemed that Alec moved by just a step. Despite the inefficiency of her push, it did manage to put some space between them.

"-you could have said this from here too, Walliams." She muttered flatly, and Alec simply cracked a wry grin in response. As much as he liked it when she got playful, her riled up state was something else entirely.

"Why? Do I scare you?" His smirk widened and flashed bright white teeth. Genevieve could have sworn she nearly got blinded by it, and she eyed the rare expression gracing his features. Once again she was in awe, and her irritation almost wavered. Almost.

"Don't start with your shit right now, we're literally in a crime scene."

"Don't tell me what to do."

His smile had faltered, but the mischief still twinkled in his eyes. Contrarily, Genevieve's eyes had narrowed in a look of disbelief, and her hands rested on her waist while she continued to stare him down.

'What did he eat today'?

It was truly baffling how he'd be rude on one occasion, and prince charming on the other. She didn't know what to think; was he messing with her, or simply bipolar? The chances of both were equally high.

"Like what you see?"

"Quite the opposite, actually. My ovaries just shriveled up."

'A huge lie. That couldn't be further from the truth', she thought to herself.

Alec got defeated to surprise by her remark and his grin dropped momentarily. His question was clearly rhetorical, but was also aimed to pull Genevieve out of the sea of thoughts she seemed to swim in. He had noticed how her glare was off when she zoned out for a bit, but he didn't expect her to fire back almost immediately.

His smirk perked up again and she simply rolled her eyes in response, before turning around to resume her previous task. A stack of disposable gloves rested on an edge of the table, and she grabbed a pair for herself to slip her hands into.

The crinkling sound of paper emanated from Genevieve's hands as she unfolded the rumpled sheet, and Alec peered from her shoulder out of sheer curiosity.

'My Darling,

I prefer a more personal and face to face conversation, but I suppose a letter will have to suffice for now.

Though this... let's call it a cremation, was a warning for you, I want to express my gratitude.

This is to thank you for distracting that impudent man when he nearly got his claws on me. I'm aware that it wasn't your intention, but you unknowingly saved me. And because of that, you're in my good books.

Which is why I want to warn you. Back off. Though tempting, do not go through all the trouble to catch me. You'll inevitably fail. This fool is stupid enough to go after me, and while I do plan on killing him some time soon, I do not wish the same for you.

In order to make sure you won't make things harder for me, I'll put you to a test. After a day or two, I will blow up a sky-colored bird at exactly 1 pm. All you have to do, is not interfere. Keep in mind that I will be informed of any steps you take to oppose me, so be careful. If you do end up failing this test, things will get worse. For both you, and this city.

With love,

S'

____________________

"Ugh."

Genevieve shut the screen of her laptop and held her head in her hands for a few moments. A throbbing migraine had started to develop on the side of her head, and she didn't know if the cause was stress or simply staring at a brightly lit screen for too long.

Sky-colored bird.

These three words had started to haunt her ever since she got back home. So much so, that she spent at least three hours just looking the phrase up. It was safe to say that she had scoured the internet in search for the answer to this riddle, but got nothing.

Genevieve rubbed her eyes before glancing down at her table where the accursed letter from Shadow still sat. While it did fuel her anxiety, a faint smile tugged on her lips at a memory.

_

*Flashback*

Alec was speaking with an officer but Genevieve couldn't hear the conversation. Her shock overpowered her senses at the moment. She was rooted to her spot, and her eyes skimmed the page over and over again in confirmation.

"Genevieve."

Alec turned his attention towards her after conversing with the officer, and he noticed how concern was etched onto her features. His eyes darted between the paper and her face, before he slowly pulled the sheet out of her grasp. Genevieve's now empty hands remained in the air, whereas he folded the letter back up.

"A change of plans. We shall be tampering with evidence."

The folded up square was tucked between Alec's index and middle finger, and he held it out in her direction.

"No one has read this yet, and it will remain that way. We'll keep it and try to figure out what the bastard meant."

Genevieve's head snapped up to look at him with bewilderment, and her gaze dropped to the folded up letter.

"This is illegal. We can't just take evidence from a crime scene, Alec. That's wrong."

He rolled his eyes in response.

"Again with your damn rules, woman. I am not in the mood to see the police getting involved in my investigation. If they read this, they'll either jail you for no valid reason, or they'll try to take matters into their own hands and ruin everything."

He held a strong point, much to her aggravation. She didn't care for being wrongfully jailed, it just felt out of place to simply grab such strong evidence without informing anyone. A small voice in the back of her head gushed over the fact that Alec didn't suspect her after reading the contents of the letter, but she shrugged the thought away. Again, this wasn't the time.

Alec knew she wouldn't budge, so he reached out and grabbed onto one of her hands. With her palm facing upwards, he placed the paper in the middle and curled her fingers over it.

"Either you take it or I will, but I won't let them get their hands on it."

_

When Genevieve realized who she was smiling at, she quickly wiped it away and trained her eyes on the letter once more. Despite the location of her gaze, her mind was busy elsewhere.

Amber.

Her line of sight flickered towards her phone, in the hope that its display would light up with a notification.

'Hey.'

'I heard you took a sick leave today, and I hope you're doing okay.'

'Is it cool if I drop by tomorrow to see how you're doing?'

It was about time Genevieve put a rest to her endless doubts, so she thought of paying Amber a visit. Of course, it'd be rude to show up uninvited so she informed her beforehand. She didn't know if that was a dumb or smart move, considering how Amber could be the possible mole in the system.

The dinging of Genevieve's phone brought her back from her thoughts, and her hand shot towards the device. Surely enough, a message from Amber rested on her notification center.

'Sure.'