THE DRAGON ON HIS SHOULDER

∆EZEKIEL POV∆

"I'm on my way!"

That's all I managed to say before I hung up the call and the rest is history.

Before I could even think about how I managed to rush out of the hotel room with scattered dressing like a hooligan, the cab pulled to a stop outside the location Ryan had sent. 

Police tapes were everywhere and forensic agents were patrolling the building. 

My fingers moved to smooth the creases in the jacket. I don't even have enough time to stop at my apartment at least for a quick change. 

"Zeke," I snapped my head up at my name. It was Ryan, he was walking slowly towards me. 

"Finally you're here, the chief has been ranting because of your absence," He said, his face set in a grim expression.

I gave a short nod as I could hear my heartbeat accelerate. Ryan was always cheerful so before whatever happened here could dampen his mood, it meant it was brutal. 

"Where's the chief and the other officers?" I asked after a beat. 

"Inside," He nodded his head towards the direction of the building and started walking in there with me on his tail. 

I weaved past the forensic staff, carrying big cameras as I made to follow Ryan. My feet paused at the sight before me. People gathered the scene, rushing to cover it up and move it away. 

The man's head was butchered from his neck and his fingers were nowhere to be seen. 

"Holy fuck," I muttered, my stomach tightening. "What a brutal sight early in the morning!" 

"Zeke," Ryan said, closing the book in his hand, "I collected all the details already." 

After a thorough examination, I added some more necessary details for the case study.

"Let's go!" 

Ryan looked more than ready to get out of there. I raised my head, finally tearing my gaze away from the corpse and followed Ryan.

The office was cold and rigid, silence swallowed it whole. 

Chief Raymond sat behind the table, his hands tapping against the table. He only did that whenever he was anxious. Other officers were scattered across the room, discussing in hushed tones, frustration with a frown is evident all over their faces.

"Chief," Ryan called when we stepped in and Raymond raised his gaze to us. 

"Ryan," He called before turning his eyes at me. "You're here Ezekiel!" 

His lips curved faintly.. "I thought you were not going to show up since you didn't even reply to the message of your senior." 

"Right. As if ignoring your message was a death sentence, not even a patrolling dog would reply to your message," I badly wanted to say it but I couldn't, since it's best to avoid getting bitten by a mad dog that too early in the morning.

"Sorry sir, my mobile...." I was saying. 

"Keep the explanation to yourself young man," He hissed out and I nodded. My mind trailed to why I was late, the adventures of last night and the pain of this morning. 

"Focus Zeke," I scolded myself and brought my attention back to the chief. 

"Take your seats everybody," He gestured towards the empty and seats the officers behind me hurried over, sitting down quietly along with us.

"The name of the murder victim is Kean Lewis," Raymond started and the picture of Kean was displayed on the projector. 

My mouth fell open at the mention of the name. The incident had disfigured him so much that I was unable to recognize him despite his body lying in front of me just an hour back.

Kean was a popular actor that had just stirred in a blockbuster movie that sold out within minutes. 

The netizens would definitely not let this slide. Also, the Lewis family were the big fish in the tech industry, leading tech companies for so many years. They had been against his career initially but now they helped him advertise his shows. 

The public would be invested in this and this bald man will suck our blood to solve it at any cost while he chills down in the air conditioned room.

"His father called," My ocean of thought broke when Raymond continued. "He needs an explanation or else he would do it his way. The incident is trending in all social media networks and the cops have been asked to do something. We need to find the killer at any cost," he stated. 

"Lewis's father had already started investigating the murder and a silhouette of someone was caught by a roadside camera," Raymond highlighted the only clue left behind for the case.

The projector switched the image into a shadow. Head covered with a hood, glistening earrings. 

"His name is Vector. He had been on our most wanted list for the last ten years and we've yet to find him. Why? Because this man works with Zachary." He said, and a collective gasp was released in the hall. 

"Yes. So this incident is a huge one and should be handled with utmost care and responsibility." His hawk-like eyes swept through the office and settled on me.

I flinched from the gaze. "What's wrong with this man? Why is he looking at me as if I'm his prey?" 

"We need to work smart and swift," He sighed coldly. 

The projector clicked again, and the image shifted.

A collection of photographs filled the wall, the only confirmed image of Zachary in existence. 

Taken almost a decade ago, blurred, distant, and incomplete.

I leaned forward slightly, studying it the way I would any other target.

The face is partially unclear, but something felt identical to me, as if I've seen this person, maybe I'm thinking too much where I could practically see the Mafia King? 

It's not like we are neighbours who would run into each other or greet each other.

Then the slide changed.

Not his face this time but some kind of tattoo.

"Vector was seen meeting Zachary at a private bathhouse," Raymond said evenly. "Our informant described a strange dragon tattoo across his shoulder, and captured it for us with great difficulty." 

The room didn’t react.

But I did, everything inside me went numb.

A dragon tattoo, across his shoulder.

For a second, I thought I’d misheard him, my mind tried to reject it, to twist the words into something harmless.

Dragon tattoos weren’t rare, lots of men had dragon tattoos on their bodies especially on the one that works in the dark world, what's new or strange in it? Isn't it a fact everyone knows? 

But the Chief continued talking, detailing surveillance angles and missing footage, and I couldn’t hear a word of it anymore.

But a close up picture of that strange dragon tattoo popped up on the screen, and after taking a look at it, my vision went unfocused.

Heat flooded my memory without permission, bare skin beneath my palm, especially the hard slope of a shoulder under my fingers.

Ink.

I had traced it.

God.

I had traced it.

It hadn’t been small or decorative. It had wrapped around him, the body of the dragon curving from his shoulder, its tail disappearing along his arm. 

I remembered following the lines absentmindedly, my thumb dragging over the raised ridges while he watched me with an amusement filled face.

I had even leaned in closer to see it better.

He hadn’t stopped me.

The room tilted slightly.

No.

It could be a coincidence.

It had to be.

My pulse started pounding in my ears, heavy and uneven. The image of him standing over me last night overlapped with the description echoing in the air.

A strange dragon tattoo.

I remembered the way it moved when his muscles flexed.

The way it tightened when he pinned my wrists, and the way it brushed my cheek when he shifted above me.

My throat went dry this time.

There was no mistaking it.

Not that design, not that placement, and not the way it wrapped like it belonged to him.

"Ezekiel, are you okay?" Raymond asked and everyone turned to look at me with concern. 

"No, I'm not," I wanted to say. "How can I be okay when I just realized my one night stand was Zachary himself? Had he just finished giving the order or maybe being told he was done and he came to the bar to drink into his victory? How was I to say this?" 

I screamed all those innerly in a helpless state. 

"I'm fine chief," I replied evenly. "Just checking out those images, that's it." 

"That's good, check everything carefully, 

because you're going to play an active role in this investigation!"

For some reason, my heart pounded against my chest, threatening to fall out, my hands became sweaty as I watched the chief. 

"Chief?" 

"Your mission is to get close to Zachary and gather all the evidence needed to capture him," he stated. 

For a second, I thought I misheard him.

"Get close to him to gather evidence?" I let out a short, incredulous breath. "What am I his boyfriend? His husband?"

A few officers shifted uncomfortably, someone even coughed, Ryan stared straight at the table like he suddenly found it fascinating.

Silence settled over the room with my words.

Chief Raymond didn’t smile, he didn’t look offended, he didn’t even blink either.

"If that’s what it takes," he said casually.

The air changed, the faint amusement that had almost flickered in the room died instantly.

My throat went dry.

He leaned back in his chair, studying me like I was no longer a person but some kind of calculation.

"Zachary doesn’t let just anyone near him," he continued. "We need someone who can get close without raising suspicion, someone young, patient and unremarkable."

"And that’s me?" I asked in a sarcastic tone.

"That’s you," he confirmed without any hesitation, and I swallowed hard, "You’re asking me to walk into the lion’s den."

"I’m ordering you to," he corrected calmly.

My pulse had quickened as I said, "People who get close to Zachary don’t come back."

The sarcasm had drained out of me now, and Raymond’s gaze sharpened.

"Yes," he smirked. "Which is why we expect you to be careful."

Careful? As if that was enough, I pushed back my chair slightly clearly being pissed off by him and his words. "I can’t."

After a pause, the Chief tilted his head, almost curious as he repeated, "You can’t?"

"No." 

The room held its breath as if they were watching some suspense thriller movie.

Then Raymond spoke again, voice softer this time yet colder. "Oh."

His fingers tapped once against the desk, "Then what about your sister?"