Like Clockwork [The Grey]

Las Angeles had been dealing with a small round of killings as of late. Four metahumans within the span of the past two months had been killed, brutally if the reports could be believed. Usually it had been within their own homes, leaving a bloody scene and with the bodies having the tops of their heads cleanly removed. The police had only just begun investigating the strange string of crimes, but finding any concrete evidence was something that they had a hard time doing. There was only one string they could follow and that was the fact that all of the victims exhibited the meta gene. Detectives were on the crime and already they had done a good amount of investigation. That was where this whole story started out really, with two detectives. A young woman walking alongside an older male that looked within their forties with hair just beginning to gray. "A serial killer that targets metahumans. I wonder what they're goal in doing so is." The female would postulate out loud while the elder male seemed to be considering something.

Both were dressed slightly formally, though it was usual attire for both considering they were in the field at the moment. "There could be many reasons for this really. Maybe they have some vendetta against meta kind as some do or maybe they want to make an example of them to someone." The two had been thinking over possible leads ever since the third killing, following potential leads to their proper conclusions. a horn honked loudly within the span of traffic that lined the street as the detective were currently following a lead on a certain metahuman. They were reportedly florakinetic within power, allowing them to control plants. This was something that had drawn their attention more than anything else as that seemed like a possible target considering how this unknown killer had been working. They lived within the same radius of the other victims, meaning that  it was all too likely.

The person worked as a florist, using their gift to grow amazing flowers for people. They mostly seemed to get business from couples, but then again that went without saying. "Do you really think we'll find this killer by following this person?" She asked, raising a single eyebrow curiously while looking to the male.

"Either we do or another person dies to this monster." He noted with a shrug. "However, I'm confident enough that we could find something that leads us towards them." That was when both of them came upon the flower shop, which looked rather lovely from the exterior. Flowers furnished the window sill, all of them bright in color. What greeted them was a scream, something that forced both of them into motion. Before the two of them could really get inside a force threw both off of their feet and back a good meter or two. Not that any damage was done but by the time both of them entered the shop itself, the body was already laying on the ground with the head cleanly removed as the elderly woman lay within a pool of her own blood. "Shit. Looks like we're too late."

As the two detectives entered the front door, another young man was slipping in the back.

Jardin had been nearby when he had heard the sound of a metal door slamming open.  Curious, the young ne'er-do-well slipped into the alley, finding an emergancy exit gaping open.  Whoever had opened it was long gone...

Still, Jardin could not resist; he had to know what was happening.  What's the worst that could happen?

Famous last words...

As he slipped inside, he removed his sunglasses; only two kinds of people wore shades inside.  Jardin was bombarded by the scents of a hundred species of flower, and...something else.  Something metalic, rusty.  He thought he might know but it was just out of reach.

Then it came to him: blood. A lot of it. Like the pool the poor old lady was lying in with half her skull missing. Oh, dear.

Another issue: just as the corpse came into view, a pair of Berrettas were trained on him; the ultimat in bad timing.

A glint of metal at the woman's belt just added to the problems. It clearly read "LAPD."

Jardin's hands were up in a shot. "It wasn't me," he blurted.

Eyes would scan from the pool of blood towards what appeared to be someone standing over the corpse in question as the sound of a door slamming shut could be heard. Within  a matter of a second, both of them drew their guns and directed it towards the metahuman standing over the now dead woman. Both of them had their weapons directed towards their limb mostly to keep them from running away should they try. "You didn't do it? I have heard that a lot, but never from someone standing over the body itself." The male noted with a rather serious looking face with gun remaining trained where it was.

"I don't think he actually did." The female beside him made note of with slightly narrowed eyes. It might have been here superpower or something along those lines.

"You sure?"

"At the very least he believes he didn't do it." She added lowering the gun slightly while looking down to the body with a disgusted look as the smell of blood proved to be pretty pungent within the room. ''I don't think we can write him off as a suspect though." From there her eyes would dart towards a back door which was still slightly ajar."I think whoever did this run out the back." She then added with a small sigh, which her partner seemed to consider.

"Looks like we might have a small lead afterall."

Standing before these two cops, Jardin had no doubt he looked like some random street thug. Wearing his prefered gray hoody and loose black sweats, he was not fully prepared for the woman to vouch for him.

And vouch she did and in a rather peculiar way. "He believes it"? It seemed to Jardin that she was either very skilled at reading people...Or she could read minds. And something suggested more the latter.

Slowly, careful to keep his hands visible, Jardin brushed his hood back, showing more of his face and uncovering his tied back hair. "I think you might be right, ma'am," he said, hoping to be of some help. "I came only when I heard the door slam open. I didn't see him though." The young meta indicated the body again, correcting himself. "Aside from this, that is..."

Oh, he would kick himself later but he had to say something. "Can I put my arms down? They're starting cramp." There; douchy comment out of the way...

Both turned towards the metahuman with an almost quizzical expression, before one of them shrugged. "Sure." The female detective said after a short pause, motioning with her head as an indication that they should lower their arms. "Normally the big guy over here would say something along the lines of thanks for the help but we can handle this, but I on the other hand would not mind the help." She noted to the apparent annoyance of her partner.

"I don’t think that's a very good idea." Her partner noted before removing a cell phone from his right pocket and stepping outside, likely to call in the homicide that had just happened.

"I'm Detective Hayes and the one outside would be Detective Smith. We've been following this guy for a few weeks now, but they seem to  know what they're doing." She noted kneeling down to look at the body which was just beginning to grow cold. Her nose wrinkled in disgust as she continued to look it over, eyes narrowed while she considered every detail. The way the skull had been cleanly sliced open, there the brain itself had been untouched like the other ones. It was confusing really, but then again maybe they had caught him before they were finished with whatever they were doing.

"Alright, I called in the department. So what did you find out about the....body." Smith asked as he walked back in, pausing to look at the body as well. "So...you didn't see them? Well that removes any kind of identification, but I suppose there might be a bright side to this. There might be a few cameras around here we could check." From there he seemed to fall into thought.

Jardin's hands came down, clasped in front of him.  He had to resist slipping them into his pockets else he scare the detectives into thinking he was armed.

Peering at the body over Hayes' shoulder.  He decided to experiment to see if she read faces or minds.  "By the way, I'm Lou Grie," he lied.

Before the woman could respond one way or the other, Smith re-entered the shop.  "Well, your 'un-sub' doesn't seem to be taking anything from the victims," he said.  He managed to sound rather professional, he thought, continuing.  "Another thing; if you look at the underside of the removed portion of skull," Jardin indicated the top of the womans head lying nearby, "You'll notice it has no cut marks. Which means it was 'willed' off. By a meta." He shrugged. "Though the M.E. probably told you as much."

"Though why you're asking me and not your partner I have no idea." Oh great idea, Cory; get sassy with the cops for no good reason. He shook his head. "Anyway, from where I entered the alley, there was a convenience store or something. I think there was a camera." This was a half truth: he had seen the camera out of the corner of his eye. His borderline eidetic memory made such "minutiae" easy to recall.