He was not drunk enough for this right now.

Actually, he didn't think any amount of alcohol could have prepared him for this. It was his job, he knew that, and he knew what he was signing up for with it, but he didn't think he'd ever seen something so--

"Gruesome." A man who's name tag read 'Greg' stepped up next to him, his face an almost perfect mirror of the disgust that he was feeling. "Not the kind of thing you want to see at one in the morning, is it?"

"It never is," he said, deadpan.

"Sorry they called you out of bed for this, sir, but you're the first one they go to for this kind of stuff," Greg apologized, and he heard the sincerity in his voice, but it didn't make it easier. "Do you think it might be...?"

He didn't answer; he knew the chances were high, that nothing else, not even a dedicated serial killer, could make this much of a mess. Which only meant his night was going to be much longer.

It was almost one in the morning, quiet and dark with the hint of tomorrow in its serenity, and he was standing next to a shredded corpse. There was no telling who it was, no recognizable features, and the hands and teeth were missing completely.

"What's the official cause of death?" He asked instead, a clear and firm way of changing the subject, and to get his mind to focus. For a second, Greg looked as if he would argue against it, but it seemed he knew better.

"Nothing official yet," he said. "It's pretty up in the air right now; blood loss, asphyxiation, blunt force trauma, hypothermia."

He winced at the last one. Nothing about this was natural in anyway, and he was surprised the police weren't asking the intrusive questions they usually did. It was the middle of December and snow was sticking to the ground, but it still raised a few red flags. Not to mention the scars.

"Fuck," he muttered. This was too big to be a coincidence. "And what about Fitz, any word from him?"

The name made Greg perk up, like the whole thing was just now getting interesting. Stupid rookie. "None yet, sir. You know he doesn't usually, ah....cooperate."

An understatement if he'd ever heard one, he knew Fitz flat out hated anything that had to do with stepping outside his cult of a school. He was the only one who could help at all with this, but he would only do it if it benefitted him, and it would be hard enough getting him to actually pay attention to it.

"Are you gonna talk to him, sir?" Greg asked, and he could practically hear the plead to come along in his eagerness. "You think he could help?"

"I think he'll be a pain in the ass, but he's our only shot right now."

He'd rolled out of bed as soon as he'd gotten the call, but the scene had already been dying down when he showed up. Figuring that it was all under control for right now, he decided it was best to try and get the next step out of the way. He wouldn't be in the mood any other time.

"Good luck, sir," Greg called after him as he left.

He stopped at a gas station on his way and grabbed a coffee, so he wouldn't fall asleep at the wheel, and it took him another hour before he was sitting outside the gates, staring warily at the tall building in front of him. Despite the time, all of the lights were on, and he could see people moving around outside. The place gave him chills that he couldn't explain, and he wistfully remembered his warm bed back at home, before swallowing his reluctance and pushing his door open.

People stared as he passed, and it shook him that a lot of them were just kids, fourteen and fifteen years old. He wasn't an old guy, but at that age, he'd be lucky to be allowed to sit on his front porch without getting in trouble, let alone wield a weapon.

"Sir!" Someone shouted just as he was climbing the steps towards the main entrance. He stopped and watched an older woman catch up to him, guessing she was someone who worked here. She smiled, but he could see it was thin with impatience. "I'm sorry, sir, but you can't just walk in there without checking in at security. Just a precaution, but you never know what sort of trouble that could cause."

He smiled back just as fake. "No offense, but I think your security is pretty lax if 'trouble' can make it all the way to the front door."

She wanted to fight back, he could see that, but she went on like he hadn't said anything. "What can I help you with today?"

"I need to see Fitz." He turned back around, but didn't make it far before she stopped him again.

"I'm sorry, but Mr. Fitzgerald isn't available right now, you'll have to make an appointment."

"Look, I don't have time for this." He dug into his jacket pocket and pulled out his badge to show her. "I just need to consult with him for a few minutes, I'm sure he can take that much time out of his precious schedule of doing nothing else."

"There are rules here," she accused, like he was one of her crazy ass students. "Your title doesn't have any supremacy in this school, and--"

"Just let him in, Julia." They both turned towards the new voice, but with entirely different attitudes about it. "It's too early to be making such a fuss about it."

Julia looked supremely pissed about letting him go. "But, he hasn't checked in, he could be anyone--"

"He's an old friend. I trust him."

He gave her a mocking two-fingered salute and followed the other man into the building. "'Friend' my ass," he said under his breath. It didn't go unnoticed.

"After all these years, I thought you would at least consider us acquaintances," Fitz said amiably. He wasn't affected by the snark and sarcasm, and it was annoying.

"Business partners is as close as we'll ever be." He was tired and bored by this already. "I just want to ask a favor, anyway."

"Your favors are always interesting," Fitz said, smiling slowly and staring him down. "But you know I like to be paid back, don't you?"

"Yeah, I'm fully aware," he said stiffly.

They stopped at a door marked 'private', and Fitz pulled it open and led him into an office/overly-decorated living room, with a large desk pushed into one of the corners and multiple couches and chairs filling up the rest of the space. It was colored in red and white and gold, and it probably cost more than every single thing in his shitty apartment put together.

"It's a bit late to be working, isn't it?" Fitz commented. "You won't be twenty-seven forever, you know."

"Thanks for the reminder," he said. "And I don't think you want to have the 'who's job is worse' contest with me right now."

"So what is it?" Fitz perched himself on the edge of the desk and waited. His patience was an act, because they both knew he curious beyond belief, but he also knew he wouldn't have to wait long.

"I have a dead body," he started curtly. No point in dragging it out any longer than necessary. "There's no certain cause of death yet, but they were covered in bite marks and ice."

"And why is that my concern?" Fitz said in a bored tone. "People die every day, it's pretty repetitive."

"You could at least pretend to have a soul every once in a while." He was trying to get through this as quickly as possible, without losing his temper and saying something he would regret later on, but it was a tremendous effort, holding his tongue and keeping his face straight. "I need your help."

"My help," Fitz repeated thoughtfully. "You mean you need me to do all of the work so you can pat me on the back and say 'Well done, team', but only your name will be in the headlines. Right? You know, I've begun to feel like our meetings are very one-sided, and only beneficial to you."

"Fitz," he said, running both hands through his hair. He spoke carefully. "This isn't about me, or you, or anyone but the dead person who's been turned inside out in the middle of some alleyway. You're the only one who can give me some answers about this, so please, could you bury your wounded ego for a few minutes and help me?"

He dropped the presumptuous smirk, and shrugged. "I can't promise you anything."

"You can promise that you'll try."

"Fine." Fitz tapped a finger to his chin. "Off the top of my head.... nothing comes to mind. I can look into it for you, if you don't mind the wait."

"How long?"

"That depends." He stood up again and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "How quickly will you be able to hold up your end of the deal?"

His jaw clenched. "What do you want?"

Fitz smiled again. "A week."

"Fuck you," he exclaimed. "Last time it was three days."

"And now it's seven." He shrugged and turned towards the window that faced the grounds outside. "How badly do you need the information? Surely you don't have other plans, do you?"

He went silent and watched Fitz with a hatred in his stomach that made him dizzy. Everything about this was messed up, but he always came back, and no matter much he complained and argued about it, there was nothing else. This was it, his only option.

"You can say no," Fitz said evenly, still turned away. "If you hate it so much, I won't stop you. There are other things you can offer me."

"Money? Social status?" He said. "I think you have enough of that."

"Very true."

He shook his head. There was no way around it, they needed the info and there was no other way to get it. Fitz wouldn't listen to anyone else, he barely accepted this. "Fine. But only at night."

"Deal," Fitz accepted with a wide, arrogant grin thrown his way. "I'll call you when I have it. Now, if you don't mind, I have a school to run."

He left the building with a ball of anxiety in his throat that only these visits left him with. A lot of people thought he was a cheat, that it wasn't fair he was able to climb the ranks of the police force so quickly just because of his solid information source, but they didn't know he hated it too. The first time, he'd been young and determined, had ignored everyone's pleas to just leave the headmaster of the Crazy School alone, but he hadn't quit. And now, three years later, he wished he had listened.

He needed a drink.

***

a/n: short chapter squad

okay but like this isn't even really a chapter its sort of a prologue/intro to the whole story or whatever, the rest will be longer

this isn't dan's pov either the 'narrator's' identity is a ;) secret right now

I'll probably have the first chap out by the end of the week or something idk we'll see pray for it

yah okay I'll see you next time ily peace