Criminal Minds ~ DNF

15

"George!" The Brit was pretty much assaulted by Tubbo as soon as he got out of the 'taxi'.

"Yo- You're alive!" He stuttered, looking George up and down as if he wasn't real. "Tommy almost pissed himself! Why didn't you tell us?"

"I figured you would have known. Sustained and survived like a PVP God, mate," he told Toby. It was very much in Tubbo's nature to worry and overthink, so taking the news stories at face value was not something he usually did.

"In fairness, Tommy did go talk to Philza and clear everything up for me, but honestly I still didn't believe it," he admitted, smiling sheepishly.

"That's your problem, then!" George teased. "You missed the annual Christmas fight this year."

"I thought you and Kate were back on decent terms?" Tubbo had been told all about the Davidson Christmas Argument.

"Yeah, but she and her husband had to call it quits," George replied.

"Not gonna go into that," Toby raised his eyebrows, putting his hands up in surrender.

"I didn't want to. I mean, I get to spend more time with her now."

"Yeah?" Toby prompted.

"She moved to Virginia. Now I know what to do with our days off, ah? Jennifer was ecstatic."

"That's amazing!- Speaking of children," Toby motioned at the blonde boy knocking people over in an attempt to get to George.

"PHILZA MINECRAFT DOESN'T LIE!"

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After both boys had accepted the fact that George was not a sleep-deprivation-induced hallucination, they let him go into the administrative department to speak to Phil and Puffy.

"George, how are you doing?" Was Philza's first question.

"I'm alright. Please, explain my involvement in this case?"

"Puffy and I, watching from a third-person perspective, saw quite a few things of interest. First of all, Dream seems to have quite the soft spot for you!" Phil opened his laptop and turned it around. George's stomach dropped. It was the video file from the camcorder that he had set up and it had a perfect view of the unfolding scene. Philza clicked play.

"That's it, darling. Now, come to the glass, I want to see your pretty face up close."

"Good boy, good boy..."

Philza stopped the video, skipping it forward a few minutes. When he unpaused it, the voice was barely audible even with the volume at max. Puffy crossed her arms over her chest, blinking back any emotion she felt rewatching the tape.

"-ou fucking crying? Oh, my poor baby! Don't cry, love. Everything's okay, I'm just playing. I'm sorry darling, I didn't mean to frighten you, I'm just messing around, look. I'll even put your gun down. I'm sorry baby."

"Why do you keep calling me names?"

"Because I love you, and I'm sorry. I was never going to hurt you, I couldn't do that."

"He had his hands all over you at this point, correct? Touching your face, playing with your hair?"

"Correct, sir." Phil nodded again, skipping the tape five seconds into the future. 

"There you go, sweetheart. Oh, honey, I feel so bad. You wanted to know who....."

The words coming out of Clay's mouth (probably the most important ones he'd said all day) were completely incomprehensible, an inaudible whispered combination of letters and syllables. As soon as he heard the words turn into mush, Philza closed the computer as quickly as he could. 

"The first time, I was told to watch the whole thing... I suggest that you don't," he said, taking out the USB drive and sliding it across the table toward George. The Brit stared at it for a second before taking it and shoving it in his pocket. He was never going to use it, but why the hell not?

"So. Can you tell us what he said to you?" Puffy prompted.

"I-" George put his head in his hands and racked his brain. 

"Maybe this will help?" Philza murmured, passing George a folder. He hesitantly opened it to find a thin stack of paper. The first of many was a photo. A man that George vaguely recognized from somewhere was laying in the bathtub fully-clothed, completely drenched in his own blood. There was a pool of it in the bottom of the basin, and the man's eyes were completely glazed over. His lips were parted in a silent scream and there was a small tattoo just under his ear that read 'trust'...

George jumped to his feet, dropping the stack of paper with his eyes and mouth wide open. Phil and Puffy simultaneously shot him a questioning look. His hands trembled as he pointed at the photo.

"Th- That's Kate's husband! That's Devon!"

"You know this man?" Puffy asked with a frown.

"Yes, he's my sister's husband! Ex-husband, I don't- what?" George was speechless. "He was with us at Christmas, they had a fight! I- He's dead?"

"Does that explain this?" Phil grabbed the folder, sifted through it for a second and then bought out another photo. It was of a note, a little scrap of printed paper harbouring the most terrifying words George had ever read.

"Hope that bitch Mary-Jane loves coming home to this! Tell your sister Katherine that I dealt with her asshole of a husband for her :)"

"Oh, my fucking-" George would have passed out had he not sat down at that moment. When met with another questioning look, he quickly explained that year's Christmas fight.

"Mary-Jane was his fling... I've gotta call Katie..."

"No need. The authorities have already contacted her about the death. Are you alright?" Puffy was right to be concerned. George must have looked like he was about to throw up. To be fair, he was rather close.

"Mmh," he hummed in response. "I told... I told Dream about Katherine."

"What did you tell him?" Phil wanted to know.

"Nothing, just that she was my sister. How did he know? First the duck-shooting incident, now this? It's almost as if he's stalking me!" The brunette threw his hands up in frustration.

"Elaborate."

"On the tape. He said something about not being able to shoot ducks. Last year in England, my dad tried to make me shoot ducks but I couldn't. How did he know?"

"I don't know, but I'd check for bugs or trackers next time you're alone. I don't know how he'd get one on you, but if there is one you need to get rid of it," Phil instructed.

"Understood, sir."

"I'd watch your email as well. You're involved now whether you like it or not," Puffy said sternly. "I'm sorry but the information you may possess is too valuable to glance over."

"Understood, Ma'am. I'm happy to help where I can," George replied.

"You know that if you're overwhelmed, you can take yourself away at any poin-"

"With all due respect, Ma'am, I don't need helicopter parenting. You haven't met my Nana Peg, but if you had, you'd wish you hadn't. If I needed or wanted that, I would be in England right now," George said firmly, wondering if he'd put his foot in it. Puffy laughed.

"The offer's still open, kid."

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Word count: 1198

Luna xx