Chapter Text
Interrogation number: POSV-516
Interviewing Agent: Cypher
Interrogated: [x]
Interrogation with [x] number: 1
A note, quickly written in handwriting: blackmail, attack on agents, DANGER [underlined twice]
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[RECORDING STARTED]
[rustling of papers, shuffling of chairs, clinking of handcuffs]
Cypher: I'm glad to see you in handcuffs. It was quite a challenge to catch you.
[silence]
Cypher: I see what you're trying to do. You won't be able to use your powers here. I'm sorry.
[silence]
Cypher: I'll ask the first question; where are you from?
[silence]
Cypher: What's your name?
[silence]
Cypher: Do you know why you're here?
[silence]
Cypher: The sooner you start talking to me, the sooner we can clear this up.
[silence]
Cypher: We can help each other, you know that?
[silence]
Cypher: Or we can sit here in silence. But that won't do anyone any good.
[silence]
Cypher: Okay. All right. I'll come back in a little while, maybe your jaw will be healed.
[scratching of chairs, rustling of papers, coughing]
[RECORDING ENDED]
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“Where is that damn brat?”
An angry mutter escaped the lips of the stout woman as she once again grabbed the blanket, only to discover that the girl she was about to wake up was not there.
It wasn't the first time. She had always been a trouble, for as long as she could remember. It was no coincidence that this was already the third facility the girl had been transferred to, in the hope that it would be the last. After all, this was where they took care of children affected by the radiant.
With each passing day, Cansu Demirbaş believed this less and less. Maybe she used to be gentler, maybe she used to smile pleasantly, and maybe she used to approach matters related to her charges more... calmly. But ever since that damn devil incarnate came under their roof, everything had changed. Pleas, threats, scaring her with the police, prison – none of it helped. The damn thirteen-year-old seemed to manipulate everything and everyone into thinking she had improved, only for it to end up the same as all the other times.
And that was probably what annoyed Cansu the most – that she kept falling for it. That she kept falling for the tears and fear that the brat herself created.
“Where is she?” she asked, this time turning to the other girl, who was doomed to be the devil incarnate's roommate.
“She went…”
“I'm here.”
Cansu looked at the younger of the two girls standing in the doorway of the small bathroom. She turned off the light, so now she could see the child's face – irritated, yet proud that she had managed to upset her older roommate once again.
“Why isn't your bed tidy?” Cansu asked, knowing full well that she was the reason the duvet was now hanging off the mattress.
“I will fix it now,” the teenager muttered, rolling her eyes.
She moved away, and right behind her, like a shadow, which it basically was, followed a black cat with crimson eyes. Cansu felt an unpleasant shiver run down her spine when she realized that the eyes of a non-existent animal were fixed on her.
“Hide that thing,” she ordered, fixing her gaze back on the thirteen-year-old.
She turned her gaze on her; her two-colored eyes, which were so beautiful, did not suit this child at all. Cansu hated it when she looked at her – she could never find anything in them. It was as if the thirteen-year-old's gaze was perpetually empty. She had talked about it once with her superiors and colleagues. She said it wasn't normal. That this child... wasn't normal. That she shouldn't be here, that she would only cause problems. This wasn't a reformatory, it was a fucking orphanage. The devil incarnate had not been punished (yet), so of course no one supported Cansu's idea of transferring her somewhere else. ‘It will have a bad effect on her,’ said a colleague. ‘This is her third orphanage,’ said the boss. Why the hell should she care? Why couldn't Cansu have a peaceful day at work? And why did they always assign the girl to her?
“Did you understand what I said?” she asked harshly, placing her hands on her round hips. She had had enough. Too much to bother being nice.
The devil incarnate tilted her head to one side. She even looked at the nightmarish cat sitting next to her leg, and for a split second, Cansu thought that for the first time, she had listened to her right away, rather than after a million years and many requests. But she was wrong again, because the girl looked up at her, squinting slightly.
“I'm not going to hide it,” she announced, then headed for the bed as if nothing had happened to make it again.
“That wasn't a request, you have to hide it,” the woman snapped, stepping aside to let the poor roommate of the 13-year-old pass through the door.
They were left alone. Cansu hated being left alone with this child.
The teenager shrugged. Her black hair fell from her shoulders as she did so, because, as usual, she hadn't tied it back and, as usual, she had no intention of doing so.
The bed was made. The girl turned to face her, tucking one of her unruly strands behind her ear.
“Can I go to breakfast?”
Cansu felt like simply saying ‘no’. To tease the brat to show that she had power and control over the 13-year-old's life. To make it a punishment for her to be in the same room with the woman, but they both knew it didn't work that way. If it was a punishment, it was only for Demirbaş; because the girl never showed any signs of discomfort or irritation.
And she really liked using her powers, even though the rules clearly stated that children were not allowed to use them on the staff. Cansu knew she was breaking the rules, that she was messing with everyone's heads, but none of them had any proof to actually report the case of devil incarnate to management. The fucking asshole looked at them as if they were a new generation, which most of them would never have the right to become.
It wasn't that Cansu hated Radiants. She only hated one child who, unfortunately, had powers. That was the difference, at least in her opinion.
The girl walked past her, followed by the cat; it growled when it found itself under Cansu's feet, and she was sure it was trying to hit her with its paw, which only penetrated her shin, piercing that one spot with cold. Demirbaş jumped away from the nightmarish animal, ready to reprimand the girl, but the teenager was no longer in the room.
“I hate this job,” she muttered under her breath, to herself, before stepping back out into the hallway.
That wasn't entirely true. She liked this job. She used to like it a lot. Now... now there were only brief moments, almost fractions of a second, which she couldn't even recall at the moment. She didn't have the strength to get up in the morning for work, and after work she didn't have the strength for her beloved hobby. Her partner... damn it, she didn't want to think about him either. Basically, Cansu just wanted peace and quiet – and for Hazal Eyletmez to never end up in their center.
“Cansu, are you okay?” her colleague asked suddenly, materializing in front of her with surprising speed.
Or maybe it just seemed that way to her. She had no idea anymore. She must have been tired after the night shift.
“You could say that,” she said, adjusting the loose sweater on her shoulders. “I'm going to check the rest of the rooms and then go home.”
“I'll check for you,” her colleague said, sighing quietly. “Leave early. I can see you're tired.”
This was no surprise; Cansu was often tired, and unfortunately, nothing had been able to help her fatigue for a long time.
“Thank you,” she said with a slight smile; this time she was truly grateful. “I'll repay you somehow.”
“No need,” said the woman, dismissing Cansu with a wave of her hand.
Of course there was a need. In her mind, she was already searching for the woman's favorite drink, because that was the only way she could repay her – with alcohol from her coworker, so she could get drunk and forget about work.
At least that's what Cansu did.
She finally left the building, clutching a bag with an empty lunchbox inside, a book, her wallet, phone, keys, and a few other completely unnecessary items. She felt that someone was watching her; that someone's gaze was stubbornly fixed on her back, and she stubbornly pushed on, knowing full well who the persistent gaze belonged to.
Sighing heavily, Cansu got into the vehicle. She threw her bag on the seat next to her and closed the door. Finding her keys was quite a challenge, but she managed to do so without any problems, soon starting the car and driving off into the busy streets of the Turkish capital.
It felt like a million years before she got home.
It was small, yet large enough to accommodate two adults and a giant dog, whose muzzle she saw in the window as soon as she got out of the car. There was already one vehicle in the driveway – her husband's – so Cansu breathed a sigh of relief as she walked toward the door.
The Great Dane greeted her with a deep, low bark, wagging his tail faster than a helicopter propeller. Trained not to jump on people, he waited excitedly for Cansu to put down her bag and take off her shoes. Only then, jumping in front of her, did he get her full attention, begging for more petting.
“I'm back!” she announced loudly, although there was no need to do so. If the man was interested in her return, he had heard the dog's greeting himself.
She locked the door. Things weren't going well for them, and contrary to appearances, it wasn't because they were short of money. The salary of an orphanage employee was surprisingly high, and Argın had recently received a raise. All this allowed them to buy a second car, which meant they were less likely to drive to and from work together.
Argın usually took shifts to fit in with Cansu's schedule as much as possible, which was very nice. Now, however, it seemed like a kind of torture, because the longer they sat together at home, the greater the chance of another argument that they would not be able to stop.
Cansu headed for the kitchen, where her husband was currently working. The dog, which had been running around in front of the door a moment ago, now walked calmly toward the couch to lie down and continue watching through the window. The woman no longer paid any attention to him, turning her attention to the man who, still in his work clothes, was preparing breakfast.
“Good morning,” she said, placing her hands on the back of the stool next to the kitchen island.
Argın looked at her over his shoulder and smiled slightly. It was a good sign. Cansu breathed a sigh of relief.
“Good morning to you too,” he said, turning away from the stove to approach the two plates with a frying pan in his hand. “I hope you're hungry.”
She wasn't. In fact, contrary to appearances, Cansu didn't eat much, hence her lack of appetite for another meal. Still, she nodded. She didn't want to upset him.
She took the plate. She placed it on the island in front of the bar stool she was standing behind and sat down, watching the man closely. She felt like she didn't know how to start a conversation with him, even though they had been together for ten years, five of which they had been married. She was probably afraid that a silly conversation would turn into an argument, and that they would go to bed with their backs turned to each other again.
“How was your night?” she asked; it was a safe option. The safest of them all.
“Fine,” the man said with a shrug, taking two forks out of the drawer and handing one to his wife. “I finally got a week off work. So I thought that...”
He faltered, as if he remembered that he couldn't say it. Cansu felt a lump in her throat, because two days ago they had started talking to each other again after a big argument, and she didn't want to go back to that.
“That maybe we could get out of town, ” he finished, sitting down next to her, arm in arm. “If they give you time off.”
Cansu felt her heartbeat quicken. Argın looked at her with that look of his, that puppy-dog look that could make her agree to anything. But now he didn't have to do that, because Cansu would agree to his proposal anyway.
“I'll send an email right away,” she said, smiling broadly; she felt like she had forgotten how to do it after such a long time.
And just when Cansu thought that things couldn't get any better after receiving the email confirming her request for a week off, after sleeping for almost the entire day, she received the news that Hazal Eyletmez had run away from the orphanage.