blood never lies

                    More importantly, why do they have to drag me along?

The policeman’s charity ball was some bi-annual event that he’d thus far managed to avoid. He was just a lab geek, after all, not really a police officer. But this year, LaGuerta had pulled him into it, stating that everyone had to attend. Something about ‘public relations’.

Why she thought he of all people would help would public relations, he didn’t know, but here he was. Attending the event and standing off to the side, watching the going-ons with a sort of detached fascination. All these things people did, the situations they put themselves in. Why? What was the purpose of it all? And why did he have to come?

               Maybe if I make a full confession to the Bay Harbor Butcher case I                won’t have to stay here anymore. I might get the electric chair, but it                has to be better than this.

     "I suppose it is, but really, who would       turn down a box of doughnuts on a       rough day in a job like this one? I       guess everyone is allowed to have       their guilty pleasures."

               “Exactly. See, you’re already getting it.”

Tony said encouragingly and offered a smile in return. Despite all his trust issues, he was still unknowingly falling for the act that the other man was putting up. In Tony’s eyes, he appeared to be genuine enough, or just like any other guy on the street if you may.

               “A picture for the kid? Sure, that shouldn’t                 be a problem. Do you wanna be in it so he                 doesn’t think you just printed it out? You                 know, while we’re first at it, making sure it’s                 believable that this meeting really happened.”

         "Ah, thanks. I really appreciate all of           this. I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting           you to be such a nice guy. You hear           a lot of things about celebrities, you           know?"

He flipped through the settings on his camera with skilled fingers. Taking pictures of crime scenes required much different setting than taking pictures of a person. He set up a timer, removing it from around his neck, though he didn't set it up yet, looking a bit bashful.

               “That’s understandable, I don’t blame ya.”

The next thing he was told come quite as the surprise to Tony. Although he knew nothing about the blood pattern analyst or his family other than what he’d just been told, it was never a good feeling to hear that someone had passed away. He knew all too well how though that could be, especially for those left behind.

               “Oh, um. I’m really sorry to hear that…                  I’m sure you’ll figure out how to handle                  her too though. Try my suggestion. I’m                  sure it’ll work.”

           "Thanks, I appreciate that. I'll try and             keep that in mind next time she's             yelling at me. What can you do, really?"

He offered a bit of a smile before reaching for the camera that hung around his neck, his fingers curling around it. He'd been headed home to upload the pictures to his computer, get get some work done at home, to add to his collection of photos.

           "Do you mind if I get a quick picture?             You know, for Cody. I'm not sure he'll             believe me if I just hand him a piece             of paper."

"No, it's alright." He was rather surprised, really. Most people grew bored of his work when he started talking about it. Bored or squeamish anyway. Not many people asked him about it. It was one of the few things he truly enjoyed. "I use a combination of technological and classic. I also work in a lab to try and recreate blood patterns, using my own mixture of corn syrup, dye, and water to create a consistency like blood."

He did mind, really. He had a man drugged in the back of his minivan. He still had a few hours before the man woke, hopefully, but this little interaction could certainly put a damper on his plans, couldn't it?

"I'm not sure what you mean."

With this man’s physique, Tony was actually more surprised to hear that he was a blood pattern analyst than if he had been a cop of sorts, and frankly, he would’ve had an easier time believing the latter. Then again, who were to say he didn’t spend most of his spare-time in the gym? Tony wouldn’t judge. With the grotesque things you probably ended up seeing with an occupation like that, no wonder you’d want to be in a good shape.

               “Well, even if I didn’t know what you do,                 it’s kind of self explanatory in the word.                 And hey, technically you’re still fighting                 bad guys with your work, you just do it                 from a safe distance. No shame in that.”

Upon the mention of an older sister, Tony couldn’t help the smile that appeared shortly on his lips. 

He wouldn’t disagree that teenagers could be difficult, but more times than not he found that it wasn’t because the teenager wanted to be difficult, they just no longer approved of how adults would still treat them as kids.

                "I was just always better at the... behind the                  scenes work. Don't really have the stomach                  to be out in the field all the time, I suppose."

He was surprised by the advice offered to him by the other man. The last thing he'd ever expected was to receive parenting advice from the infamous womanizer Tony Stark, of all people.

                              But then, it'd hardly be the first time I learned a life                               lesson from one of my victims, now would it?

                "I'll have to try that... it's just been hard since                  their mother passed. She was always the one                  that knew how to handle her."

In a moment of slight discomfort from being handed the paper sheet and the file underneath, Tony silently told himself that he wasn’t really being handed something, that he was only borrowing it, before he somewhat reluctantly took the items in his hand and started signing the blank paper.

                    To Cody. Remember to value your                     dreams and stay awesome. From                     your #1. Mechanic, Tony Stark.

                                              “Sure thing. And if Cody wants you can                                                give him a high-five from me too when                                                you give him this.”

About to give the now signed paper back to the other, Tony caught a glimpse of the text printed on the file underneath. Miami Metro Police Department. His eyes went back up to the man in front of him, this time with a mild interest as he handed the paper and file back to him.

This man was good, Dexter would give him that. With a note like that, the words he could see... it was easy to see how he might charm the world. But Dexter was good at pretending too. He put on an almost sheepish smile of response, shrugging his shoulders.

                 "No, no fighting bad guys for me. I'm                   just the lab geek. I'm a forensic blood                   pattern analyst. Normally this is the                   part where I explain what I do, but I'm                   sure I don't have to with you."

No, Tony Stark was one of the most brilliant minds of their generation. That was part of what made him so dangerous. Intelligence, charm... he was going to be a difficult target. But Dexter could already feel his Dark Passenger creeping around the corners of his mind, prowling about to have a good look at their latest pray.

Taking the paper and the file back, he moved to tuck them back into his bag, shaking his head a fraction.