Crash! Boom! Bang!

Crash

"Isn't it tiresome?" There was a tiny bit of empathy hidden behind the sarcasm in Ragnor's voice. With a sigh Magnus glanced over to Ragnor, who was lounging over the couch, from where he sat behind his desk.

"I think I need you to be a little more specific about what you refer to. At the moment, I've got a lot to choose from," Magnus said flatly. He had finally made it to his office after being rescued from his apartment. If rescued meant being scolded by Ragnor, which apparently was happening. Since Magnus was a grown up, mature and all, he didn't like being scolded like a child. It might be petty, but he was therefore never going to reveal to Ragnor that he was right. That he had, in fact, experienced that very feeling of exhaustion this morning.

"This is the third time this week you've been in need of extermination. Not that I mind, I just love coming over and scaring those bed warmers away. And I thank you for not choosing the same ones, that means my repertoire will hold longer." Ragnor was back to being his sarcastic self, his moment of weakness this morning long forgotten. Ragnor was the man who had more or less raised Magnus, and the older Magnus got, the harsher Ragnor got.

"What can I say, I don't want to learn from my mistakes, that would mean I have to stop doing them." Magnus crossed his arms over his chest and pouted.

Ragnor sat up and pointed a finger towards him. "Stop making a fool out of yourself, stupidity doesn't suit you. I thought I taught you better, you're not a child anymore."

"And you know damn well why I made the choices that I did. And this is just the icing on the fucking cake," Magnus snarled as he flung Asmodeus' letter towards Ragnor. Magnus studied the facial expressions of his friend as he read the letter. First he saw confusion, then frustration, a hint of sadness and finally anger.

"Bloody hell. Is he talking about-"

"What else," Magnus cut him off. "That's the only really stupid thing I've ever done. From what I've learned the last couple of days, I wouldn't put it past him if he has something else hidden away too," Magnus growled. "It just means that I'm totally fucked, and not in the good way this time."

Ragnor's entire posture softened and he took a deep breath, trying to reassure his friend that everything was going to be alright. "We'll think of something. Have you talked to Sebastian?"

"No, but I guess that's the next thing to do on this awesome day that just keeps getting better and better." Magnus ducked his head and hunched his shoulder. His voice was sore and broken as he continued, "Needless to say, I want you there."

"Of course, like I said this morning - I've got you."

Magnus shot his friend a thankful look. All these years together, he never doubted his friend, even after he got himself mixed up in his father's business. Ragnor was the one who had found Magnus on the street outside his building, passed out from malnutrition. He took him in after he had run off from yet another foster home. Ragnor had opened his home to the young boy, and despite Magnus' general distrust in people, he had chosen to stay. It had been a bureaucratic mess, but in the end it was decided that Magnus could stay with Ragnor. It wasn't that big of an age difference between them, and Magnus had always seen him more as a friend than a father. There was no one in the world he trusted and relied on more than Ragnor. "I don't know how to handle this, but I'm going to find a way out of this mess," Magnus said firmly.

///

The crime scene was very similar to the one that had been haunting Alec for days. This time the victim was a young man in his twenties, around 5'10, blonde hair, and slim features. He was well dressed with manicured hands, and a nice haircut. He didn't fit the scene, lying on the ground in an alley in this neighborhood. There was another similarity to the other victim as well. Their bodies were displayed in a very distinctive way. Their arms were crossed on their chests and their eyes were closed. Both looked peaceful. "Do we have a time of death?" Alec asked the coroner.