#hahaaaha

He squares his shoulders at the door and pulls it open, only to have a badge shoved in his face. 

“I’m Detective Ito.” The badge is withdrawn and Tama decides that may not have been the best idea. The man in front of him is decidedly less impressive than the shiny metal tucked into his jacket. “I’m here about some recent homicides in the area and I was hoping I could get some information from you. Can I come in?” 

Tama squints a little, sizing the man up. He doesn’t look like much; forty-something, overweight, a general air of disinterest. “No,” Tama replies flatly. Then, stepping out of the apartment, he locks the handle and closes the door behind him, forcing the detective to step back to make room outside the door. “It’s a bit of a mess;” a blatant lie--Genos keeps the place looking pristine at all times-- “I’d rather just talk out here.”

Not that he’s really planning to do much talking. A glance down at the street and he sees the policeman’s partner sitting in the car, watching them through the window. Fine. 

The detective seems irritated that he’s forced to talk outside, but Tama isn’t really interested. “What kind of information are you looking for?”

Ito clears his throat and opens a folder, pulling out large, glossy photos. Portraits of familiar faces, lying serenely with pale skin and closed eyes. “Do you recognize any of these people?” 

Tama resists the urge to smirk and meets Ito’s gaze. “Never seen them before. Are they the--ah, homicide victims?”

Ito sighs and says, “Yes; and it’s funny you should say that. I have a witness that confirms someone who meets your description leaving the scene of this--” he holds up a photo for emphasis-- “man’s murder. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?” 

This time he does smirk. “Not a thing. Your witness must have seen someone else.”

Ito’s face puffs up a little in indignation, his cheeks flushing. “I think you’re lying.”

Tama can’t help himself; he chuckles, shaking his head and takes a step toward the detective. Ito scrambles for his gun and Tama knocks it out of his hand, ignoring the metallic clank as it skips across the floor. A glance to his left and he can see the partner aiming her firearm at him, probably lining up a headshot. Good.

Another step and Ito starts backing away. Tama snatches for his collar, though, and catches him before he can get far. With his free hand, he reaches for the photos and drops them over the railing, one at a time. “Fine. I killed them.” 

Ito doesn’t seem as afraid as he should be. And his partner hasn’t wavered. Her voice is clear as she calls up, “Let him go.” 

A grin. “Did you hear me?” he calls back. “I killed them. All of them.” Then, drawing Ito close enough to smell the coffee on his breath, “What are you going to do about it?”

Three shots bounce off his temple like pebbles and Tama laughs harder this time. “Is that what you came here to do?” 

“You’re under arrest!” she replies, lining up another shot. 

He’s still laughing as he jumps over the railing, landing heavily on the street with Ito still in hand, struggling against his grip. Ito’s fingers curl around Tama’s and Tama reaches with his other hand, his fingers wrapping snugly around the detective’s throat. 

“I’m warning you,” his partner threatens, but her voice wavers a little. Three shots to the temple hadn’t done anything and she knows she’s already lost. Tama hears her on the radio requesting backup, but he doesn’t really care. He can feel Ito’s pulse in Ito’s neck, heart pounding against his palm. He can feel desperate hands clawing at him and smiles. It feels good. 

“Congratulations,” he says with a glance to Ito’s partner. “You found me.” A broad grin as he starts to squeeze Ito’s throat. He watches the color fade from the detective’s face as his fingers curl deeper, ignoring the bullets hitting him from close range now. The partner empties her clip and Tama glances sharply at her. “You can’t save him.” And he reaches with his free hand to grab Ito’s jaw, yanking it upward and away from the hand curled around--into--his throat. 

The spray of blood that follows feels like summer rain. Warm and wet and full of life. The partner scrambles to get into her car, closing the door and backing away as Tama drops the corpse by his feet.