“They’ll arrest Riley soon, won’t they?” Paige asked.
“I haven’t heard much. The captain refuses to speak to me since I kept the Vigilante part a secret, and Marcus is nowhere to be found.”
“God, the wait is killing me!” Riley snapped. “Why aren’t they here already? I told Marcus he should have arrested me back in the house!”
“How come you want to go to jail? You’re a hero around here!” Adrian said as Paige nodded. “If you’re arrested people will go rabid.”
“I just want this over with. I’m tired,” Riley told him. “I’ve done more things that I can talk about and now, this precise moment, is when I need to pay my dues to society.”
“What can possibly be that bad that you want to be arrested? Is not like you’ve killed other people too,” Adrian said lightly.
Another knock interrupted them and now they were certain Marcus was behind the door. Paige refused to open it, just like before, but this time there was no way they could ignore it.
Adrian swung the door open and Marcus was standing in front of him, alone. He waltzed in, greeting a very disappointed Paige and an unreadable Riley.
“Where have you been?” Adrian asked him.
“Around. Just working some stuff up. How have you been?” Marcus asked Riley, who shrugged in response. “Are your wounds healing up good?”
“They hurt less, if that’s what you’re wondering,” Riley replied.
“So, I just wanted to drop by to tell you that The Vigilante is nowhere to be found,” Marcus said. The three listeners looked at him with confused frowns. “I talked to the boss and he said since we can’t find him there’s no case to work on. Having no witness either.”
“What are you talking about?” Riley asked him.
“The case is closed. Julius is dead, so are his men, and the only suspect seems to have vanished from the world. I think he ran away; at least that’s what I wrote in my report,” Marcus told her. Riley wasn’t sure if he was joking or not.
“Are you serious?” Riley asked him in a low voice.
“Despite everything The Vigilante did, he was not a bad guy. He did save a cop, two cops, and protected a whole town from a tyrant. That doesn’t exactly qualify as a crime, more like a self-defense type of thing,” Marcus explained. “Besides, Julius wasn’t exactly a model citizen and neither were his men.”
“Oh my God!” Paige jumped into Marcus’s arms, purely out of happiness. He awkwardly hugged her back. “I knew it! I told her she was a hero.”
“What did the captain say?” Adrian asked.
“He said, ‘Fuck, we have no evidence, no witness, and no case. Screw this.’ There’s also one more thing,” Marcus said. He slipped his hand inside his jacket, took a carefully folded plastic bag and handed it to Riley. “I found this in Julius’s bedroom. Thought you might want to hold onto it.”
Riley opened the object with trembling hands and teary eyes. She stared at her sister’s pink wallet but refused to peek inside, for fear she might have a break down, but held it close to her heart and smiled back at Marcus.
“Thank you,” Riley said.
“I know there isn’t much to be done with your sister’s case, but her wallet being at Julius house, it’s enough prove he was involved in her death,” Marcus explained. Riley was emotional at how everything was ending, but more so because of Marcus’s help, for which she could only thank him with a hug.
“Again, thank you. I owe you, a lot,” Riley said. Marcus returned the hug, careful not to squeeze her too hard.
“No, this was on me. It’s my way of doing things right with you, after everything we went through,” Marcus said. Riley felt a bit guilty since his theories hadn’t been exactly wrong before, she just didn’t have the heart to break the moment yet. “You need some peace and to be honest, so do I. We can’t keep seeing each other like this, you know?”
Riley giggled.
“Yeah, you’re right. I promise not to kill again, so I’ll be off your hook,” Riley said.
“Sounds like a good plan” Marcus told her and walked toward the door, followed by both Riley and Adrian, who seemed to be closer to her than Marcus had ever seen. “I’m gonna get to work; that report won’t write itself.”
“Thank you, Marcus. For everything” Adrian told him, offering his hand, which his partner shook with a strong grip.
“No problem. See you at work,” Marcus replied and disappeared behind the door. They stood there, motionless, still quite in awe at the whole situation.
“I guess I should go too. You two must have a lot of things to talk about,” Paige interrupted the silence. She opened the door and called, “Hey Detective Jung, do you mind giving me a ride to work? I don’t feel like walking.”
“Sure, hop in,” Marcus replied and grabbed the young woman’s hand. Paige gave Riley a wink and a wave of her hand as they both slipped through the door.
“This calls for a celebration, don’t you think?” Adrian suggested.
“Are you asking me out?” Riley said. Adrian gave her wide smile in return.
“Why? Would you say yes if I asked?” Adrian said.
“Maybe. After all, my nights are absolutely free from now on,” Riley replied.
Riley kept her gear out of arm’s reach for as long as it was necessary. That included her whole outfit and accessories too. She had made a promise not to kill again and she was planning on keeping it. The Midnight Vigilante would take a long break from action, and she would live the life she had been craving for a while, with friends included.
Perhaps she had finally found home, and she would be happy to leave her past behind, for good.
THE END
About the Author
Leonor Bass lives in Chile, with her mother and brother. She’s been writing since she was 15, mostly fanfictions, until her creative brain asked for more and her first short story “Behind The Window”
