Brook X GN Reader || I'm The Grim Reaper

Chapter 49

Chase huffed, leaning against the wall. His arm was pressed firmly to his abdomen, putting pressure on the wound. He was dressed in his white shirt and floor-long cloudy blue overcoat and business pants, black tie, and red glasses. He narrowed his eyes as he huffed again, trying to keep his breathing steady and looking at the floor.

"...F-Fuck... The stand wound really hurts," he said to nobody but himself. "I-I'm definitely not healed yet... Walking all the way here was exhausting..." He threw his head up to the wall to rest it. "God damn it, Chase. Get it together."

He let out a deep breath, standing upright and ignoring the shape pain that shot through his body. He shivered slightly, taking a step. "Easy..."

He stood there for a while until he heard footsteps coming down the alley he was standing in. Glancing up it, he saw his mother approaching, her heels clicking against the concrete, black coat over her shoulders, and arms folding in front of her. She stopped, watching him. "...Hey, chief."

Veronica pressed her lips into a fine line, unfolding her arms and tossing Chase the pill bottle she was holding. Chase caught it with both hands against his chest, falling back slightly as if it was unexpected. He turned to look at her with a small smile.

"...Thanks. There's no way I'd be able to afford this on my own..." Veronica crossed her arms again. "You can't afford anything. You're unemployed. I still wire you money every month, you know." Chase gave a nervous closed-eyed smile. "...O-Oh, I actually didn't notice." "How the hell do you think you were paying rent?!"

He gave another wonky, closed eyes smile. Veronica looked to the floor. "...So thoughtless... But you're my son, it's my responsibility to take care of you." Chase's face dropped slightly before he gave a somber smile. "It's not your responsibility, though... You don't have to do anything for me." "Stop that, Chase. I chose you to be my son. I made a decision to love you. Don't you think that's just as meaningful as if you were my biological child?" His smile dropped again.

"You've been through a lot, Chase. The things that you survived in that home..." Chase tilted his head down. "You had to become so strong, at such a young age... But no matter how strong you were, every kid needs a parent. They need to be loved. So implying that I'm not responsible for you because you're not my 'real' son really hurts. You'll always be my little boy."

Chase watched her speak. "Your little boy is a murderer. Any sense of purity that you saw in me as a child is gone." Veronica let out a long sigh. "I try to have one conversation with you without bringing up that event, and you just go ahead and do it anyway... I swear, even if I just asked you about the weather, you'd start waxing off about global warming or something... Listen, Chase. Though I'll never agree with what you did, I do understand why you did it after I watched the playback.

The man taunted you, and he probably reminded you of your biological mother. I'll never truly understand how you're childhood affected you... But I can imagine it makes some situations unbearable. But only I can sympathize to that degree because of how well I know you... And regardless of my sympathy, you killed a man who didn't need to die. Your reputation is unsalvageable. A detective killing a man in cold blood was just too juicy of a story for the media to ignore." Chase hummed in response.

"...It's disappointing. My case was only sensationalized because it was so easy for the average person to understand. A detective with a temper shoots the man he's interrogating, all on camera. It's simple. Recognizing that there's an intrinsic problem with law enforcement that causes hundreds of thousands of deaths through negligence and bribery... Isn't a very clickable headline. I can't blame the media for not wanting to cover that, though.

Whoever wrote it would be assassinated, and their murder investigation would be waived away with a paltry hundred thousand dollar bribe. I understand you're a good person, mom... maybe too good... But you can't possibly believe that this corruption can be weeded out by you alone." Veronica put her arms down. "...Maybe I won't be able to. But... I'm going to at least try." She crossed them again, giving Chase a look of determination. He watched her for a moment before throwing his arms up in a shrug.

"Alright, whatever. Though, before I go, I have an update on the case you assigned me. Or rather, a conclusion to it." She put her hands on her hips. "...Yes?" "That woman you had me investigate... was murdered. I found a slip of paper in her house scheduled a monthly deal with the Red Spades. I guess that she ran out of money, murdered her kid because he was too expensive, then missed her payment on the drugs... And they killed her like they always do."

"Ah, how convenient for you." "I have the note from the Red Spades... And her body is in the freezer. No bullet wounds. You can check. In case you think that I did it." She gave her son a disbelieving look. "I know that the department has a non-interference agreement with the Red Spades. So the investigation is effectively closed. I did what you told me to do, chief. So, please. Give me access to case X." She narrowed her eyes at him.

There was a long pause.

"...Her name was Ante Nora. Female. Black hair, black eyes. Five-foot three. 15 pounds. Birthday, June 6th. Age 28 at the time of death. And that's all I'm going to tell you. The rest is classified." "I need the rest. What do I need to do to get it?" "Something amazing," Chase smirked. "Alright. I have something in mind."

"I didn't give you a case to pursue." "Won't need one." She furrowed her brows. "I don't know what you have planned... But even if you did this amazing thing, and get access to case X... It's not going to be enough to return to being a detective. " Chase looked to the floor, then back up at her. "I don't want to come back to the force. Ever. I just want to solve case X. It's for someone very important to me."

"(Slurps up plot points like some kind of weird soup)" - Graveweaver

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