Officer Matthew Stürme felt awkward.

Victor (and his scummy father, Umbra) still took shelter in his apartment, an uncomfortable addition to his relatively quiet life. He tried to avoid meeting Umbra's eyes are often as possible, which was fairly easy, as the two stayed in the guest bedroom the majority of the day. The unlocked window seal told Matthew that Umbra preferred not to leave through the front door.

Today, Umbra was gone, probably doing things Matthew would have to arrest him for later. Victor was still in bed, not yet recovered from the illness that had overtaken him.

Matthew hovered by the door, peeking in. While he despised Umbra, he pitied the child he dragged along in his antics. The poor condition Umbra had brought him in at a week ago worried him.

Victor was sitting up, one of Umbra's t-shirts hanging loosely off his shoulders. His face was pale, his eyes fixed forward, almost eerie.

"I know you're there," Victor said quietly.

Matthew scratched the back of his neck, blushing. "I was just making sure you were feeling better. Do you want me to give you some space?"

Victor coughed into his sleeve, shaking his head. "No, you're fine. It's your assistant that I don't like."

Matthew blinked. "Esper?"

"Yeah, him. His aura is terrible."

"You don't have to pretend you're a psychic here, Victor," Matthew replied, furrowing his brow, "It's a little insulting."

Victor shrugged, "The theatrical stuff daddy and I do are pretend, but I can sense things. I can feel death. It lingers on people. Has Esper ever...killed anyone?"

Matthew's blood ran cold. "Stop joking."

"I'm not. He killed someone."

Victor's eyes were tired, but they rang with a seriousness that seemed beyond his years. He didn't speak, but the silence spoke volumes.
Matthew had interrogated criminal after criminal. He knew what a liar looked like.

Victor wasn't lying.

Why had Esper hid this from him? What else was he hiding from him?

Mind running at three hundred miles per hour, Matthew laid a hand on Victor's shoulder.

"I think it's time for you to get some more sleep. You're still a little feverish. Umbra will kill me if you get any sicker."

//its interesting to see how the story elements translate to another au...i have a bit of a storyline for this au, so keep a watch out for more of criminal for hire