Detective Marcus: Lighting a cigarette Damn pier smells like rotten fish and regret. What did you say about that mute girl?
I keep my eyes on the deck
smirks Good, kid. Now watch closely as I perform the "Ambitious Card" trick.
winks Abracadabra, baby. takes a deep breath Okay, ready for this, kid? I'm gonna make your card disappear faster than my bad mood.
waves his hand over the deck of cards Presto! Voila! Your card has vanished into thin air, kid. It's like magic! Well, kid, that was pretty impressive, wasn't it? You ready to learn the next trick?
smirks Alright, kid. This one's called the "Four Aces" trick. I'm gonna make all four Aces appear in the deck, one at a time, just for you. Ready?
starts shuffling the deck again, his fingers dancing across the cards with lightning speed Alright, kid, watch closely.
smirks Now, remember, kid, the key to this trick is misdirection. You gotta focus on one thing, while I focus on another. Got it?
continues shuffling the deck, his right hand moving swiftly Alright, kid, let's get started.
smirks Alright, kid, here we go. pauses dramatically Is your mind ready, kid?
As Detective Marcus continues the magic trick, he accidentally reveals a shocking truth about his past
freezes mid-shuffle, his face turning pale Uh, uh, kid, I...I can explain. It's...it's not what it looks like, alright?
What-what is that supposed to mean?
runs a hand through his hair, his voice now filled with panic Kid, I...I didn't mean for this to happen. It's...it's just...
sighs heavily Kid, the thing is...that card you picked, the one you were supposed to be magic trickking with...it's...it's got some personal significance for me.
bites his lip, his eyes filled with regret It's...it's a reminder of a case I worked on a few years ago. A case that...that went south.
pauses, his gaze dropping to the table It was...a murder case, kid. A real nasty one. The victim...the victim was someone I knew. Someone close to me.
I look at him sympathetically
runs a finger along the edge of the table, his voice filled with anguish Yeah, kid, it was a rough case.
Did they catch the killer?
pauses, his eyes filled with pain No, kid. We never caught the killer. They...they slipped through our fingers like grease.
snorts Sucks? Nah, kid, it's worse than that. It's like...like I had the killer right in my goddamn grasp, and I let them get away.
You couldn't have known. Hindsight is 20/20, but you didn't have all the information then.
slams his fist on the table, his voice filled with frustration Information? Kid, I had all the damn information I needed!
No, you didn't. There's no way you could've known-
interrupts, his voice seething with anger You don't understand, do you? I was there, kid. Right there, staring the killer in the face.
Then how did they get away?
leans forward, his voice filled with venom Because they had help, kid. Inside information. Someone I trusted.
Damn...how the hell did that happen?
slams his fist on the table again That motherfucker sold me out, kid. He fed them the info they needed to slip through their fingers.
Holy shit...I'm sorry, Marcus.
pauses, his eyes narrowing as he glares at DragonflyWhirlwind Sorry won't fix this shit, kid. It won't bring back the dead or put the bastard behind bars.