Chasing Fate (Sentinel & Guide)

Chapter 50

[Wow!!!! I can't believe I made it this far. I want yall to know that I really appreciate all the support. This was a throwaway story I started to work through some personal shit. I wasn't planning in keeping up with it, but now I'm at 50 chapters and really excited about where this story is about to go. There is an ending planned, but it's going to get REAL wild first. These next few chapters are a mental break for me because I know what's next,  so please enjoy a little filler before the fun begins!]]

The hardest part of Anton's job was one of the most important. He pulled up the police report that had been filed for Farin and made a call to his parents. The conversation was through the phone, but Anton's guide senses could feel the hope, confusion, and pain as he delivered the bad news. The samples on the bones and hair had matched completely. They'd found Farin, and he'd been murdered approximately two years after his missing report date. 

Anton bravely stayed on the line as he heard Farin's mother's trauma reawaken in worse form. He contained himself as he advised Mr. Godsby on how they would help arrange transport the remains for internment, and gave platitudes about how they'd bring the killer to justice. As the phone clicked to the dial tone Anton slumped at his desk. He was more exhausted after that call than after the two day stint he spent awake investigating the crime scene. 

He needed a recharge. 

One block down the street from the police station was a small strip of eateries. One bakery cafe actually had a direct line of sight to the front doors of the police station, and while security experts would usually consider that a risk, this was the safest bakery in this part of town.  

The bakery, Boulangerie Ricin, belonged to none other than his loving sentinel. 

Emma Ricin knew something was amiss when she saw Anton's hunched figure exiting the station. They'd been bonded for almost fifteen years and by now she knew his moods just by his posture. So when he entered and took up his favorite seat in a booth nearest the back kitchen doors, she'd already put an assistant on duty, bringing out a plate of croissants and coffee for them to share. 

Anton didn't speak when she sat down, just reached out a hand and let his shields down so she could feel what was going on. She felt the pity and remorse flowing over her, as well as the confusion and apprehension. He'd told her plenty about the case when they were home, especially how the Heir Sentinel's new guide had given them such a huge break in the case. 

If they hadn't known where to look, if Fate hadn't had that attack, this would be nothing more than a dead end. But the knowing was far more tragic. 

Emma's hackles were raised by the thought of such a young guide being killed. She was a born sentinel, any sentinel who could kill a guide was lower than dirt to her. And it had to be a sentinel. The crime scene was immaculate. Even with the hair, it was only a stroke of luck that there was a DNA record of this kid. If he hadn't gotten tested for the guide gene, he'd be a John Doe to bury in the public cemetary.

 But what stressed her more was that the dates and the hair didn't add up. According to Anton, the hair collected had been quite long, nearly a foot in length, but the kid had always preffered short hair, sporting a buzz cut since he was old enough to choose. 

Farin had been alive after he disappeared. At his age and the fact that he'd just manifested his guide gene...the evidence pointed to one thing. 

Sentinel abduction. 

The same traditionalists who trained guides also believed that every unbonded guide was just waiting around to be kidnapped to their 'proper' sentinel. It led to some pretty draconian practices to keep guides safe back in the day, but now that the traditionalist method was completely debunked, guides could live their lives freely. 

Emma gripped Anton's hand a little tighter, bringing it to her face so she could feel the familiar callouses. of his gun hand. She'd met Anton at the shooting range she worked at after leaving the service. Back then she'd looked different, had a beard and people instinctively called her Sir. 

Anton was beautiful, even with his crooked nose, shooting the target with pinpoint accuracy usually reserved for sentinels. She remembered his stance, puffed up like he had something to prove. He'd seen right through her too, seeing that she had seen too much of war and violence, and wanted to live peacefully. They'd become great friends before their bond solidified into something more. 

Their bond was something traditionalists shunned with every fiber of their being. Anton's crooked nose was caused by a sentinel who thought he should have spent his life kneeling at his sentinel's feet. He'd dedicated his whole career to turning that upside down, to making the world open to guides just like it was for everyone else. 

But Farin, perhaps even Marina , hadn't been as lucky as Anton. They weren't able to find the sentinel that fit like a puzzle piece and pursue their own dreams. Instead Farin ended up buried beneath a tree after two years of undisclosed hell, like so many guides for so many generations, it hadn't changed much at all. That reminder was hitting the detective hard.  

Emma sent more calm and reassurance through their bond. Anton was one of the brightest minds on the force, and now they had one of the strongest guides she'd ever heard of helping the Heir Sentinel. Everything was in place for them to solve this case. 

The sentinel smiled gently as she felt Anton's heartbeat return to its normal energetic pace. He didn't take back his hand from hers, entertwining their fingers as he took a sip of the cappucino. 

"We've found Farin, but we still have nothing on Marina. I just can't see how it's connected." 

Emma took a sip of Anton's cappucino, "Hmm. It is strange that Marina led you there, instead of to her. If that poor boy was put down there two years ago, how would she have know about it? You said she only came to this city  for work nine months back. Right? Dating the boyfriend for 5 months?"

Anton nodded, "Yea, and she wasn't the camping type according to her friends. A city girl. Photojournalism and streetwear type stuff. Very urban. That's why it all seems so strange and disconnected." 

Emma nodded. Anton was slowly straightening up, regaining his vigor as he got ready to go back to work. Just then his phone buzzed. He answered it immediately.

"Ricin here. What's the deal?"

Officer Tang on the other line sounded a bit confused, "We found another USB at the site. Thought it was trash but I gave it a plug anyway. Come get your eyes on this."

Anton was up out of his seat in moments, downing the cappucino in one gulp and stuffing the croissant in his mouth. He paused to get a red-lipped kiss from his wife before bursting through the door. 

Emma shook her head fondly, though her heart was sinking. This might be more than just their little edge-of-town department could take. 

[[A/N: Heir Sentinel is Jack's new title, because he's officially able to succeed his father now that he has a guide of his own. Before this he was simply an Alpha Prime ,of which there are about 2-3 in the region. If Jack had succumbed to Finchausens then he could not become the protector of the region. When he officially presents her to society then she would become the Heir Guide, and when Sigfried and Martha step down Jack and Fate become Senior Alpha Prime while Sigfried and Martha become Elder Alpha Prime]]