[COMPLETED - book 1]
Bourne shook his head. "No, you see, you're getting it wrong. I don't want you to go as boyfriend and girlfriend, I want you two to go as husband and wife."
"Married?" They said in unison. Vanessa stopped in her tracks and put h...
"I've never been to a morgue before," Matthew whispered hoping their driver wouldn't be too disturbed with where they were heading.
He shifted uncomfortably for the hundredth time since they got into the cab Vanessa had called.
Vanessa didn't look over at him but kept staring out the window. "It's going to be alright. We go in, get the job done and get this over with."
Matthew's lips pressed together as he took a deep breath in through his nostrils. There were many things on his mind since the night back home from the hospital. When and where to tell Vanessa was one of them.
In short minutes the driver of the taxi dropped them off in front of the plain white building that looked like some sort of factory. Vanessa immediately got out and waited to go up the walkway. Matthew was pretty sure he was about to throw up from the nerves.
"Are you sure we can't just get a professional to do this kind of stuff?" Matthew kept his voice low even though nobody was around.
Vanessa stared at him and spoke with forceful words. "Matthew, I am the professional."
She turned with a blank face and no shown emotion. Matthew knew this couldn't possibly be any good for either of them.
What have I seriously gotten myself into, Lord?
They walked in the door and right away the stench of some strong chemicals almost knocked Matthew over.
"May I help you?" A man in a white lab coat and scrubs came over to greet them, he wore a solemn face.
"I'm Vanessa Vaughen and this is Matthew Perry-Benson, we're from the CCPA. We're here because I believe you have a man we're looking into."
Matthew stood quiet, observing the blank walls and the grey floors. The man in the lab coat took them over to a computerized system where they handed him their I.D.'s and he started to log them in.
"And who are you going to be looking into today, Agent Vaughen?" the man didn't look up from tapping buttons on the screen.
"Uh, Joshua Kaufman I think is the name he's under," Vanessa glanced at Matthew for a second, as if trying to send him code.
Although he didn't know what she was really trying to tell him, he could definitely guess. He gave her a slight nod back and continued to watch the man with the screen.
"Yes, Kaufman, we received him a couple of weeks ago. We were wondering how long we would have to keep him in here for," the man practically muttered the ignorant words right at them.
Matthew kept glancing over at Vanessa, he could see she was trying to cover up the emotion that was growing larger and larger as the seconds ticked by.
The man lead them to the closed security door and tapped a few buttons on the lock pad. Matthew tried keeping close to Vanessa, as he found it that hiding behind her felt much better.
"I must warn you if you think the chemical smells are bad in this part of the building, don't think it gets much better when you go in there."
The lock pad beeped and the doors unlocked. The man was right, instantly a wave of some acid chemical hit Matthew as he took each slow breath.
The building was large. The inside was blank. It was like a prison, but more depressing since the people that held within these walls didn't necessarily deserve to be here.
People like Kaufman.
The man motioned for them to follow him through the room.
Matthew couldn't help but observe everything. Laid out against the walls were cabnets, looking like large lockers, stacked on top of each other. Everything was shiny and clean and made the whole experience worse.
The man stopped at a locker and unlocked it. Carefully and clearly skillfully sliding out the stand and propping it up. They looked down. Two blue feet popped out, a tag stuck out tied to one of the cold toes.
Printed in bold letters were the letters:
I.D. Kaufman, Joshua D.O.D. October 14th
"I believe his clothes were carefully sent to you days ago. We knew he was part of a murder case, but usually investigators come within a few days, not a couple of weeks. A body can't stay long before it decays. No matter how many chemicals we give it, sooner or later it has to either be cremated or buried."
The man took off the tarp as if performing a magic trick. The sheer terror printed on Matthew's face was enough for the man to keep quiet from whatever else he was going to say.
"This is him?" Vanessa whispered. Matthew could see she was trying hard not to crack through the thick wall she had to build up.
Matthew's stomach turned to knots.
If there was no name tag, Matthew wouldn't be able to tell who it was. The face was pale, his fingers were practically blue. There was no warmth coming from the body. No blushed cheeks or pumping chest. The corpse of someone he knew lay there completely still.
He wanted to jolt the body, tug on his arm or tap him. Somehow it could stir Kaufman awake and he would open his eyes and smile once again. But a heavy thought stopped him.
Tears swelled in Matthew's eyes. His throat began to throb.
Kaufman had been dead for weeks and yet it was just starting to hit him.
"Unfortunately," the piercing voice of the man came through from behind them, "I can't allow you to stay here for long. Is there anything specific you needed from this visit?"
Matthew glanced at Vanessa, but she continued to stare at the body, her jaw clenched tight.
Matthew cleared the throb out of his throat. "Do you think we could take any form of DNA?"
The man looked at him blankly, as if their emotion didn't faze him. "I'm sure a lock of hair would be sufficient?"
Matthew glanced at Vanessa to see if she would contribute anything to this conversation.
Matthew looked back at the man, trying to fake a smile. "Yes, I'm sure that would be fine."
The man noticed Matthew's tears as they escaped down his cheeks. For once, the man nodded as if he understood and then turned, walking in the other direction.
Soon the man came back and handed them a sealed bag with a few strands of grey hair inside.
"Thank you," Matthew turned at Vanessa.
She looked unwell, she hadn't spoken since they entered the room.
"Come on, I think it's time to leave," he held out his arm, smiling a bit warmer towards her.
She lifted her head, her eyes filled with horror, and reached for his arm, making her way to his side instantly. She held a grip around his forearm that wasn't like before, and rested her head against him.
As if she was asking him silently to help hold her up because she couldn't do it herself.
It was all too heavy.
As soon as they made it out of the building it all came crashing down. He didn't know what else to do.
He let her cry on his shoulder the entire ride home.
He cried himself.
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A/N
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[yes ik the chapter image isn't 'two men and a woman' like I just wanted to show u what it looked like yeesh]
