Into the Web

CHAPTER FIVE


The blood Dib had been doused with went to the lab for analysis when he got back to the precinct, and as he sat at his desk the next morning, he ran over the results with a slow nod. “It figures he managed to fill a paint can with that fat bastard Walscott’s blood without anyone noticing,” he muttered to himself, sighing and tossing the page of results aside, folding his arms on his borrowed desk and resting his head in them. He’d hardly slept…that gaunt face and spider-like form kept creeping through his mind, keeping him awake. With any luck, there’d be a warrant out for this ‘Johnny’ guy by the end of the day.

Dib almost jumped out of his skin when someone gently touched his back, and he blinked over his shoulder at the officer standing behind him.

“Thought you might need one.” Strange held out a large take-out cup of coffee, a warm smile on his face.

Dib blinked at him, then took the coffee gratefully, returning the smile. “Thanks…wait, don’t you have real police work you should be doing?”

The young cop’s pale blue eyes glittered as he grinned. “Like what, picking my nose and wolfing down donuts? Come on, you’ve been here for a few days, that’s long enough to figure out how things go around here.” Pulling up a chair, Strange flopped into it and uttered an explosive sigh, jerking a thumb towards the door. “Actually, I gotta hit my beat in about ten minutes and I didn’t want to waste it sitting in my squad car. All those old bastards squawk about on the radios is hemorrhoids and baldness and shit when the dispatchers aren’t bitching at them to clear the channel. It’s enough to drive a guy nuts.”

The dark-haired agent gazed at him for a moment, genuinely confused. Unable to keep his curiousity in check any longer, Dib spoke. “Why are you so nice to me? Is it because of my rank or something?”

Strange turned his head slightly, his gaze somewhat confused. “Sir?”

Dib looked down at his lap, rubbing his thigh idly as he tried to think of how to better explain what he wanted to say, finally giving up and settling for the truth. “It’s just…everybody hated me as a kid, and even as an adult nobody wants to be around me because I'm smart, and it intimidates them.” Dib sighed, raking a hand through his hair. “Or maybe there really is something wrong with me. I don’t know any more. All I can say is, you’re the first person to…well…treat me with anything other than disdain, I suppose.”

The officer frowned slightly. “I respect you, Sir. You-”

“Dib,” the agent interjected, smiling weakly. “You can use my first name. I don’t mind.”

Shifting in his seat, Strange nodded. “Dib…I respect you as an officer and as a person. Why and how you put up with as much as you do without having a nervous breakdown…well…” he chuckled softly, “I don’t know how you do it.”

“I have no choice,” Dib muttered, taking a sip of his coffee and looking out the window at the overcast sky.

The younger officer sighed softly, looking down at the coffee cup he was holding between his hands. “I’m sorry, I’m irritating you. Look, I can go sit in the squad car, it’s no big deal—”

Before Dib realised he’d moved, he’d grabbed the officer’s arm, his gaze almost pleading. “Stay.” Dib murmured, his amber eyes locked with Strange’s sapphire ones. “Please.”

Gazing at the federal agent for a moment, Strange sat down again, smiling almost shyly. “Um…thanks. Look, I was actually gonna ask when your shift ends.”

Dib blinked at him. “Shift?”

Fidgeting slightly, Strange rubbed the back of his neck. “Well…yeah…I mean, I was gonna ask if you wanted to go out for a coffee or something.”

“But you already got me a coffee—” Dib looked over at the take-out cup, eyes widening when he felt Strange’s hand rest over his own on the desktop.

Smiling hesitantly, the officer shook his head. “That’s not what I meant.” Grasping Dib’s hand gently in his own, he cleared his throat. “I meant…I wanted to ask you out for a coffee with me.”

Dib’s jaw dropped for a moment before he closed his mouth and swallowed faintly. “On...on a date?” he ventured uncertainly.

Strange nodded. “Yeah…I mean…” he paused, letting go of Dib's hand. “Look, if guys aren’t your preference, just say so and—”

“I’d love to.”

*

Coffee turned into dinner and then a movie interpretation of Kafka’s Metamorphosis, and wound up running late into the evening. As they passed by a small group of Nine Inch Heels fans crowded around outside the movie theater, Dib found that he felt better than he’d ever felt in his life. Christopher Strange, the young officer walking alongside him, was just as amiable as he’d been on the job, and Dib found that he truly liked him. Why Strange wanted anything to do with Dib was beyond him, but he didn’t ask questions.

As they walked along the sidewalk, the quietness of the night seemed to envelop the two law officers, and Strange paused as they walked by the remnants of the café that had been bombed the week before.

“I never did like this place,” Strange muttered. “The people here were so abrasive.”

Dib sighed, nodding absently. “I guess my suspect thought so too.” The agent lifted his head when he felt his hand enveloped in a warm grip, Strange’s other hand coming up to rest against Dib’s cheek.

Realising that he was being kissed, Dib froze, completely blanking on what to do. But a moment later, he gave in to instinct, relaxing against the officer’s body and moaning softly against his lips.

A moment later he felt Strange jerk against him, his weight almost bearing Dib down to the ground. “Chris?” Dib grunted, trying to hold him up, eyes widening in shock when he felt heat beginning to pool against his chest. “Chris!”

Carefully guiding Strange down, Dib’s eyes widened in horror when he saw an arrow sticking out of the officer’s back, having speared him right through the heart. Dib looked up just in time to have a steel-toed boot collide with his face, sending him sprawling on the ground, the back of his skull connecting with the pavement before everything went black.

******
To Tesgura: Thank you so much for your review, and also for the praise *blushes* I’m very happy that it’s up to par with your expectations; Nny is a VERY difficult character to write. And since this fic is a gift for someone, so you can bet I’ll be sure to see it through to the very end. ;)