Anti-Hero | Tim Bradford

Chapter Eighteen - Noticing

The walk to the interrogation room was short, Morgan followed Lopez, hot on her heels, as she tried to mentally prepare herself. Sure, Lopez would be taking the lead but Morgan always disliked interrogating suspects. It was too unpredictable and she had had enough unpredictability for a lifetime.

As they approached the door, Morgan held her hand up to stop Lopez for a moment. Quickly she whipped out her phone, shooting a quick text to Tim.

"You alright?" Lopez asked, looking for signs of hesitation on Bradford's face.

"Yeah, I just don't know how long we will be. He worries a lot still."

Angela just nodded, "I mean, can you blame him."

Instead of replying, Morgan moved to open the door for her and Lopez, closing it behind them as they entered the far to cold room. She held her breath to stop herself from shivering as she sat down on the metal chair.

On the opposite side of the table was a dark haired man, his grey hood covering most of his face. He looked down, refusing to acknowledge the two women. His clothes were nothing to marvel at, they weren't scruffy but were nowhere near neat, almost as if they had been scrunched on the ground after they had been washed.

His sleeves were pushed up his arms, revealing his tattoos. They were mostly dragons and other types of script work. There was, however, one tattoo that stood out from the rest.

It was a snake, wrapping in and out of his fingers and up his hand, connecting to the dragon on his wrist. It had aged somewhat, the delicate lines almost blurring together. The black in took up almost all of his hand, the only colour was the deep red eyes. Morgan could almost feel the thing looking at her, although she wouldn't have blamed it if it did because she was staring just as intently.

She had seen it before, not in the same placement, but it sure as hell was the same snake. It was the eyes that gave it away, it wasn't something she was likely to ever forget. It had seemed strange for a waiter in a high end restaurant to have such a tattoo on display, but maybe it wasn't just a tattoo, maybe it was a symbol of something more.

"What are you staring at, lady?" he grumbled at Morgan, snapping her from her thoughts. "Something you like? Because I can show you a good time if you ask me nicely."

Angela rolled her eyes as Morgan spoke for the first time since they had entered the room. "Your tattoo... Mean anything?"

"Nothing that a pretty thing like you need to know."

"We are asking in a law enforcement capacity. Non-compliance can add to a sentence if you're charged. Now, does she need to ask again" Lopez said, redirecting the attention back to her, noticing that the other detective wasn't quite with it.

"It's a pact. Me and my brothers got them. Show loyalty."

Lopes scrawled down his words in her notepad. "And why a snake?"

"Wasn't my choice. I just got it." He leaned back in his chair, "Now are we done here, lady, because I've got places to be"

"Yes. You're free to go, but don't leave the city in case we have any more questions." Angela snapped her notebook shut before guiding the man out.

———

"What got into you then?"

Morgan didn't need to turn around to know it was Angela behind her. After spending so many years working with her friend, she had come to tell when she was near, and slightly annoyed. "I've seen that tattoo before."

Lopes finally caught up. "Is it like a gang one? Something to look out for?"

"I'm not sure," Morgan stopped in the corridor, lowering her voice slightly. "Look, I'm sure it's nothing. It's just when me and Tim went out the other night, the waiter had the same tattoo on his neck."

"Could it not just be two men with snake tattoos."

"Yes... no. Maybe." Morgan rocked back on her heels as she considered her answer. "It was the eyes that were the same. I didn't see the tattoo in whole, like I said. It's probably nothing. I'm just being paranoid."

"We'll tell Grey, get it into a report. Better safe than sorry." Angela held her hand out, gesturing for Morgan to walk alongside her to the Watch Commander's office.

Morgan looked down at her feet as she walked, a sad smile adoring her face. "Thanks Ange, it means a lot. But do you think you could do me a favour; don't tell Tim. There's nothing to know at the moment."

"Are you-" Lopez began to say, only to be cut off from a voice behind her.

"Don't tell Tim what?"

Both detectives turned around to be greeted by Tim, standing strong in his blue. His face was hardened , eyebrows raised in questions, and his arms crossed along his chest.

"About our super secret love affair, Timothy." Angela said, quickly making her exit. She had learnt long ago not to get caught between the two Bradford's, especially since they were both as stubborn as each other.

"Do I want to know?" He asked after a moment, moving forward to place a gentle arm on Morgan's. He wouldn't admit it, but he liked to feel her, it was a reminder that she was here and she wasn't going away anytime soon.

"Nope!" Morgan just laughed again, knowing that it would annoy Tim somewhat. She knew that he didn't need to know all of her hunches but it didn't mean that she couldn't have some fun with it at the same time. "Although..."

"Although what?"

Morgan pulled back from her husband, taking a few steps as she turned back to him, shooting him a wink. "The dude we had in interrogation. Totally into me."

Before he could respond, Morgan had turned on her heel again, moving down the corridor. Leaving Tim no option but just to shake his head at her.

"Hey, are you ready to go?" Chen asked, as she walked in from the direction Morgan had just left in.

"Sure boot. Let's go."