I was flying high above the ground, and I was watching.

  There was a guy. He looked clean and walked with a smile. He walked by people at night and they would smile and he would smile back.

  He was the kind of guy that smelled of confidence, the type you’d crack a joke at, even if they were just a stranger.

  But I knew what he was.

  “Yoo hoo, Christian!”

  He stopped in his tracks.

  “Oh wait,” I said from above. “Is your name Christian?”

  He ran.

  “Man, at least let me get the banter out first,” I quipped. “I don’t really get to socialize much so these moments mean a lot to me you know!”

  I flew after him, talons ready and eager to pin him down.

  And that’s exactly what I did. I flew down, slamming him on to the ground. I was gentle, but he seemed to fly down with extra force.

  “Alright! Alright, whatever man! Take whatever you want and leave me alone!”

  I studied him.

  “Ooooooooh,” I whispered. “You’re a smart guy aren’t you?”

  “Just leave me alone man!”

  I looked at his face, full of fear and weakness. But it was wrong, like those actors who overact, dived too deep into the emotions. Those people who had so much sincerity that it felt fake, that’s what felt off about him.

  I got off of him, backed away, and clapped.

  It didn’t sound nice. It sounded like two pieces of metal repeatedly smacking against each other, but I was in character and I wouldn’t stop now.

  “You think,” I spoke. “That as long as you cooperate, you can get through the legal loopholes and prove yourself to not be a wisher, right?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about man. I’m just trying to go home.”

  “Oh yeah, Cloverfield Terrace Apartment Fourteen.”

  His face stayed still.

  “Gotcha,” I smiled. “A regular person would freak out if a stranger knew their address. Come on Jace, keep up the facade! Play the character!”

  And just for a split second, he grimaced in anger. And then he settled in fear again.

  “Just leave me alone man!”

  I clapped again.

  “Bravo! Bravo! Back into the saddle with barely a blip! Should’ve been an actor, Jace.”

  He kept staring at me, his eyes still for a moment before he went back to looking freaked out.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “Have you ever been caught before?”

  “I don’t no what-”

  “That’s a yes. You would have said no if you hadn’t been. Is your DNA in the system? Are you using the same identity you had when you were caught last time?”

  “Leave me alone,” he whispered.

  Dealing with criminals, you learned a few things.

  One of those things is reading people. The most important thing about reading people was that you didn’t. You let them think you did. You accused them of things they didn’t do and you let their response inform you.

  It was an old tactic. Come down to the station, we know you did it.

  Why did you do it? We know she was cheating on you, was that why you killed her?

  Eventually you’d answer one of these questions and that would inform them of the answers to the others.

  Most of what I was saying to Jace were guesses, random shots in the dark. But if I acted like they were more than that, like I was a true Holmes-type then he’d be on edge and more likely to slip.

  It didn’t really matter. I already got him anyway.

  The best detective work wasn’t the one where you find the guy and tell him his mother’s maiden name by the placement of his cheekbone, no.

  It was the one where you tailed a guy for days on end, found out everywhere he went and learned about both his supplier and the people he was dealing with as well.

  Shifters were smart. They had to be. Their biggest skillset was only useful if they could live multiple lives. You’d never find contraband in their apartment. You’d never find a stain on their perfect little lives. They didn’t have a closet full of skeletons. They had a wearhouse that they rented out under a false name.

  So you had to find where that was and then prove it was theirs. This had taken me weeks of work.

  But I was tedious and that was unfortunate for my frowning friend over here.

  “Just tell me who you work for, Jace. I have it narrowed down to five people already. I’ve been following you, watching your drop off points. I’ve kept my eyes on almost everything you do man.”

  “That’s-”

  “Yeah, its illegal and bad hero conduct. Thankfully, I’m not a hero. Look, I just had this conversation recently with a very despicable guy and I’m not trying to repeat it, you know.”

  Jace’s face hardened, as if he were trying to hold himself back.

  “I know about your arms deal for the Jacks, a pirate port gang right? Small time? They rob small trading ships just a little off the coast?”

  His face paled.

  “Nice, and you I know you don’t deal EJ but not because you have any moral compass but because you’re a user yourself, right? That’s why you do all this, not because you want to but because you need to.”

  “I- I don’t know what you’re talking abou--”

  “Let’s keep going. You deal chemical wears as well, I haven’t figured out who-”

  One of my drones went down.

  Oh… he wasn’t afraid of me. He wasn’t even afraid of jail. He was afraid of who he was working for.

  I flew, my talons interlocking beneath the man's arms and flying low to the ground.

  “He’ll kill me man. He’ll fucking kill me. He knows where my family is- FUCK HE KNOWS MAN.”

  The charade fell through and the man started crying as we weaved through dark buildings.

  “Relax and shut up,” I whispered. “Or I’ll drop you.”

  The man whimpered.

  “Stealth, call Mike.”

  “Hey,” a voice replied.

  “I’m out here by the pier. Requesting immediate back from heroes.”

  “What’s happening?”

  “Remember that Christian guy?”

  “The one that was trying to get the kid to run arms deals? Yeah.”

  “Well, I caught him.”ajor

  “...And?”

  “Whoever he’s working for is taking out some of my drones and trying to kill him before you guys can pick him up.”

  “Aw shit. Okay, let me see who I have close to your location. I got two Major F’s coming your way. They’re a tag team due, but they’ll cover for you.”

  My heart sank at that description. Please not them. Anyone but them.

  “QuickNick and PunchStar, but we also have-”

  My mind reeled but I brought it back before I could miss anything.

  “A Major A nearby, Rhythm. She’s hard to contact at times but we’ll call her in. Just give us a second.”

  "Be quick," I grunted. "I'd prefer A's over F's."