phil exhaled a puff of cloudy fog into the icy air, watching as it evaporated into nothing. he flipped around a stolen, shiny detective's badge between his fingers, something he had picked up on his way out of the police department. in his other hand, he held a piece of ripped up paper regarding a certain inmate at the london penitentiary.

"here goes nothing," he muttered, shivering as he hesitantly left the last strains of warmth that resided inside his beat-up car. snow freckled his coated shoulders and littered his face as he shoved his hands in his pockets and walked towards the towering gates of the intimating building. a guard stood a few meters in front of him, his face stern in the bitter wintry air. "what can i do for you, sir?" he inquired after locking eyes with the stolen detective's badge. "i'm here to see someone," phil stated, pursing his lips. "christopher kendall."

⚰

"phil lester, i'll be damned," chris chuckled darkly, his trademark smirk tainting his manipulative lips. even with a bordering wall of glass and nothing but a prison wall phone to talk through, hearing chris's taunting voice still made phil's blood boil. chris had a way of always having the upper hand without you ever realizing it, a skill phil both resented and envied.

"you dyed your hair," the ex-drug dealer added, nodding as he held up the phone to his ear. "suits you, the black."

"shut up, damnit," phil hissed, narrowing in his eyes on his old college roommate. "what? not too keen on visiting an old friend?" chris mocked, the same evil glint still shining between his blue pupils. "not some scummy drug dealer with a life sentence," phil grumbled, stressfully running his fingers through his hair. "now now, i wouldn't be asking for help with an attitude like that," he smirked, licking his chapped lips. phil's gaze narrowed. "who says i need help?"

"my my, phil. you said it yourself, why else would you visit a scummy ex-drug dealer in the london penitentiary if you didn't use of my, lets call them, refined specialties in the crime industry," he laughed, phil's fist clenching and unclenching by his side.

"fine, i need you to tell me where i can find him," phil stated, after a moment of chilling silence. "and why would i do that?" chris replied hauntingly, clicking his tongue.

"look, damnit! if you won't tell me where he is, i'm leaving," he threatened, glaring at the convict behind the glass in front of him. "alright, alright," chris started, "but you're gonna owe me for this one, i need a favor." phil rolled his eyes, running his hand through his hair as if anticipating regret. "what do you want?"

"what do you think i want? hazel's murder case."

"and how the hell am i supposed to get that?" phil scoffed, shaking his head. "that's your problem, do we have a deal or not?" chris shrugged, raising his eyebrows expectantly. phil sighed, not having expected himself to end up in a penitentiary, bargaining with a criminal for information on another. "yeah," he sighed defeatedly.

"okay, you're gonna want to go to this underground club downtown, it's called the hive, and it's a criminal manifest. i'd keep your head down, too, being an ex-cop and everything. anyways, you're gonna want to ask for dan howell, he processes everything for curare," he explained, emphasizing this man's name.

"remember that unsolved murder case from a few years ago? with that boy found in the lake?" chris questioned, narrowing his eyes. phil shrugged, "yeah, troye mellet, why?"

"because, according to the streets, howell doesn't play fair. but there's word that he had something to do with mellet and wants to know his burial site. and i'm sure you can find that in some file or something, for, you know, life insurance and such."

"right, okay," phil nodded, feeling as if he was a little kid preparing for a test. "i'm not expecting to be in here for much longer, anyways. after five years in here, everything becomes a drag," chris complained, gesturing lazily to the gray atmosphere of everything. phil scoffed, laughing in disbelief. "how the hell are you gonna do that? dig your way out?"

chris rolled his eyes. "i know people. and once i'm out of here, i'm gonna want that file." phil sighed, nodding. "yeah, yeah, whatever. is that all?" chris remained silent for a moment, chewing on his bottom lip lazily.

"yeah, just do me a favor and don't get yourself killed."

|im really excited for this fic actually so thoughts?|