Last night, Liz had managed to pick up a beaten and battered kid off the side of the road just as she was about to leave Saint August through the Nancaan road. Looking at the kid's uniform, she had recognized it to be from the same school that Helly currently worked at. The fact that the child was alone in the middle of the night, as well as her current state, was just too dangerous to leave alone. So she hefted the girl on the back of her bike and sped off back around and towards the nearer highway for a faster way to get home.'H-Hey, calm down...' Liz slowly mouthed to the kid, her hands instinctively gesturing in a way that denotes her general idea. 'I'm friendly.'"Wh-Where am I?!" the panicked girl asked, still clutching at the blanket as she leaned against the farthest wall away from the older woman. "A-Answer me!"The detective frowned as she realized that the girl didn't manage to read her lips. This was pretty bad for communication. She had
"It still hurts...""It's going to be okay, Lina," Liz soothed just as she put the finishing touches on the last set of bandages. "It'll go away soon.""But what if it doesn't?"The detective put on the warmest smile she could muster as she patted the last bandage down gently, her other hand going to her choker to speak, "It will, I promise."With the basic first-aid done, Liz finally allowed herself to relax a bit, leaning on the couch as her eyes wandered on the used cotton balls and wipes scattered all around her. She should probably clean that up, lest she might actually get some super roaches scurrying around with blood powers or something. Lord knew she already had some creepy crawlies lying around behind her drawers...Damn, she should really clean her apartment soon. 
Liz flashed a sad smile as she subconsciously ran her hand through her neck again. In a sense, she knew that the question was coming whether she liked it or not. Children were curious, after all, and a large, pink gash over someone's neck just screamed curiosity. Even she could admit that. And it wasn't as if she won't be asking some hard-hitting questions later herself. She was more than happy to entertain the kid if it meant getting her comfortable around her presence."I had an accident a few years ago," the former police detective recounted as she put her phone down to focus on her young guest. "Got nicked in the line of duty."It was a turbulent time; being a freshly-minted detective, sniffing out a lead, her over-achieving ass getting too cocky about trying to get a promotion... If she hadn't met Heather back then, surely she would have been dead after a few days of being in the middle of hostile enemy territory with no backup. Not that she would ever say
"Liz?!~" Wisteria's muffled voice echoed from her apartment door. "Open up before I pick your lock open!~"
Time slows to a crawl...⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛"Damn it, Liz!" the bedraggled teacher almost shouted in her bedroom just as soon as she woke up. "Why didn't you call me?!"It was on a gloomy Saturday morning that Heather found herself scrambling to get dressed just so she could catch the earliest bus heading to Riverside. Liz's text was a rude awakening to an otherwise dreamless sleep, her actual lack of rest non-withstanding as the bedraggled homeroom teacher hurriedly brandished a pair of faded jeans and a random t-shirt she top-decked off of her drawers."Fuck, fuck.... Fuck!"She'd been receiving calls from both kids' parents since last night. And every time, her heart ached for the worry and anxiety seeping through the voices of Lina and Charlie's respective guardians.
Arriving in front of Liz's office, Heather felt a strange sense of nostalgia wash over her as she passed the empty storefront.Elizabeth Masters: Private Investigation Services.It still felt odd reading her friend's name for her one-woman firm. It was kinda tacky, in her opinion, but Liz was never known for good taste even in her own choice of clothes.It was fitting, to say the least.Going behind the building, Heather began ascending the stairs leading up to the apartment units situated above the detective's office. She would've sprinted the whole four flights, but she didn't have the stamina for it anymore. Even now, her heart pounded from the brisk walk that she undertook just to get there faster.Curse her new sedentary lifestyle.Still, her mind eventually
A sickening burst of excitement ran through her veins as the prospect of taking up the knife to protect her children dangerously lingered in the forefront of her mind. She knew that Lina was just by the other room, that Dr. Honn was also on the premises, but she just couldn't help but chuckle at the hilarity of her situation. The old fire in her soul was being stoked on by these constant threats in her new life...And yet, she was somehow happy that it was happening?"You're getting the look again, Heather," her friend reasonably reminded. "Get a hold of yourself."With a shake of her head, Heather did just as her friend suggested. Y-yes... She still had a job to go back to. Kids to teach for years to come... It wouldn't be for the best if she let her instincts control her again. But if their safety was this compromised, how could she just sit back
Liz was stunned.Wait... What!?"You sure it was Dio?""Yep~" her former partner chirped with visible glee despite the gravity of the conversation. "She also said that her 'Ms. Alexa' was on the back of the car as well~ Judging from the looks of it, she's super dead as well~"Malaka... Alexa was dead?"A-Alexa's dead... Heh..." the detective's eyes widened as she heard Heather try to process the information. "I should've known~"Liz suppressed the light panic trying to form in her chest as the situation slowly went from bad to worse with each revelation that Wisteria shared with them.So the detective was actually right in being suspicious of the Alexandria Heir. The fact that her trails were snuffed out as soon as she started investi