Chapter 5

“Idiots!” a woman repeated. Drin, the officer, and the other man turned toward the entrance.

Three figures stood in the doorway, half-hidden in shadow before stepping into the light.

Two of them wore black, office-like uniforms with S.M.O emblazoned in white across the right side of their chests. Drin: So it’s S.M.O. His mouth twisted into what was meant to be a menacing expression. It wasn’t.

The first was a broad, bald man with a round face and heavy build. The second stood slightly shorter but leaner, his posture sharper, more athletic. Then Drin’s gaze shifted to the third. Drin: Wait… who’s that?

The woman between them was tall — about 1.84 meters — and carried herself with quiet authority. Dark skin, long black curls falling in heavy waves around her shoulders. Her golden eyes were steady, observant, unreadable.

She wore a fitted black suit, the jacket open over a crisp white top. Nothing excessive. Nothing decorative. Yet the way she stood made it clear she didn’t need embellishment.

She didn’t speak at first. Neither did Officer Jeffrey nor Drin. Her eyes moved to the corpse. For a brief moment, something shifted in them––not shock, not fear. Disappointment. She exhaled softly and went down on one knee. “I am sure you fought well.”

She closed the man’s eyes, then rose again. Her gaze met Drin’s. Hers didn’t waver. Drin, on the other hand, couldn’t quite stand still. Yet for once, he didn’t let his eyes wander––not even for a second.

For a few seconds, the room stayed quiet. Even Drin didn’t say anything.

Then the tension started to itch.

Drin could maybe pretend not to see it, but he did. And worse, he definitely was imagining the woman’s ass. Drin: Authority and sexiness! A dangerous combi!

He was about to move to the side to get a better view of the woman, but somehow managed to hold himself together. He even had to clear his throat. Twice.

Still, it seemed Drin wasn’t the only one struggling with self-control. His two comrades had already lost themselves to the woman’s allure, their attention drifting just as hopelessly as his.

For a brief moment, Drin had a prickly headache. But for his luck, it disappeared as fast as it had appeared. So, Drin used this possibility and walked toward the woman. He did so with slow and wide steps, hands in the pants and a grin on his face. Drin: I already had a hot date today; this shouldn’t pose a threat to me. And with these thoughts, Drin tried his luck,

“Hey, I’m Drin and you’re from S.M.O,” he pointed at the uniform’s writing of the others, “right? I didn’t mean what I just said a couple of minutes ago. My tongue slipped; you know.” He shortly wiggled his hands in mid-air. “Sometimes shit happens! We should use this opportunity––” The woman strode past Drin, in direction Officer Jeffrey, uttering,

“S.M.O is like my family and you dared insult them! I have nothing to speak with you! And I doubt this is the fitting place to play cozy!” While the woman was walking toward Officer Jeffrey, Officer Jeffrey gave his utmost not to let out a sound. Besides, he slightly directed his gaze toward the floor in order not to let the others, above all Drin who was now observing them, see his grin. Officer Jeffrey: Oh, shit Drin. You really fucked up! Better if you have a date with your cappuccino. Even though, I doubt that your chances will increase! The woman halted afore Officer Jeffrey and proclaimed,

“It may be sudden, but we are here to take over the case!” For a moment everyone froze.

“Take over the case?” Drin demanded. The woman slightly turned her head and asked,

“Done looking at my ass?” Drin pointed the finger at him, then at her.

“Me looking at your ass? Woman you crazy or what? I mean what ass in the first place?” The woman completely turned around, smirking faintly.

“Wow. At least have the balls to admit it if you’re a man!”

“Balls?” Drin repeated with thinned eyes and a grin. “Seems like you have enough of them!” Officer Jeffrey likewise his colleagues stifled a laugh. Judging their red faces this proved to be a hard task. The woman stayed impassive and calmly contemplated Drin’s body from the top to the bottom. She had viewed him whole. She nodded.

“I think it was the right decision to ignore you,” she then uttered, “considering your appearance!”

“We both know you like my appearance, lady from S.M.O!” The lady rose one eyebrow and asked,

“You know liking something is not the same as hating something, right?” They stood face to face, gaping deep into each other’s eyes. Something unpleasant and certainly ugly was going to happen. The atmosphere tensed up and gave the spectators goose bumps, preventing them from further mirth. Still, their wide eyes couldn’t hide their excitement. Officer Jeffrey: If I knew something like that would happen, I would have taken my popcorn.

Even in this situation, Officer Jeffrey could only think about food. Though, it was no surprise, when the reason for his weigh was popcorn. Before the discussion could escalate any further, a male and rough voice interrupted the group,

“So many, just for me? You make me blush and happy!” The group turned toward the entrance and spotted an unknown brown-haired man standing there. Immediately, the police man recognized this man and pointed his finger at him while shouting at the same time,

“This is the thief!” Officer Jeffrey stormed to the front and shouted,

“Who the fuck are you? What did you do to my colleague?” He didn’t even wait for an answer, took out his gun and shot the whole magazine at the man. Pang! Pang! Pang! Drin: Are you stupid, let him answer and then shoot! Pang...

After the shots, the sweaty Officer Jeffrey and the police man’s eyes remained wide open, fixed at the man who was supposed to be dead. The body parts where the bullet had struck had holes. Though, sand filled these holes. Then the sand turned to skin. Woman: I didn’t know he was an elemental type! Well, I am prepared for that! The people of the S.M.O, including Drin, weren’t staggered by this scene at all. For a short moment, the woman side-eyed Drin. Woman: How can he be so calm after having seen something like that? She quickly put her thoughts away and focused back on the enemy, declaring,

“Sandman, S-rank I’ll arrest you now!”

“Haha!” the sandman howled. “Only S-rank? After today, I’ll be SS-rank!” Drin’s gaze swayed between the woman and the man. The only way to satisfy his curiosity was by asking,

“Sorry, but is this rank a hot shit?”

“Yes, it is!” the sandman replied, stretching out his chest. “It represents the strength of a person.”

“And is S-rank a high rank?” Drin asked. After a brief moment of musing on the question the enemy replied,

“It’s not the highest, but not the lowest rank either!” Woman: Men! The woman couldn’t bear this sorry sight anymore and decided to take control of the situation by advancing to the front. Like a general she commanded,

“Prepare yourself! He’s dangerous!” Drin: But not so dangerous like you! You’re so hot, I could even end burning myself if I touch you carelessly! But it may be worth it! The woman wiggled her body as if she was trying to shake something off and judging her disgusted expression it must not have been something nice. It surely had to be due to the creepy gaze of Drin behind her, but she forgot about this feeling and concentrated on the enemy. Everyone took a fight position, everyone but Drin who abruptly started spouting nonsense,

“So you are the sandman and will you now sing me a song to sleep? Hahahah.” It was sad to see how Drin chortled alone at his own joke, but it did his job. The sandman completely lost control,

“I’ll fucking kill you all!” Officer Jeffrey: If I knew this would happen, I would have taken my popcorn. Before anyone could think, speak, or do something, the sandman placed one palm on the floor and looked up to the group.

“Let’s see if you can survive a fucking sandstorm!” Immediately after he had finished talking, a sandstorm arose in the room. Drin: Let the play begin!