[6:32 PM]
[Morgue Building]
The sound of surgical tools echoed between the walls with every movement.
The white lights reflected off the shiny floor, and the smell of disinfectants lingered in the air.
Then… SLAPPP!
The corpse's liver slipped from Gabriel's hand as he was moving it for analysis.
Gabriel sighed under his medical mask, lifted his eyes toward Ethan:
"Ethan."
Ethan quickly raised his head from the body, lowered his mask, and replied fast:
"Yes, boss?"
— "New gloves and disinfectants."
Ethan nodded in agreement and rushed off to obey the order.
At that moment, Gabriel removed his gloves and washed his hands thoroughly.
And just as he turned to continue his work...
His eyes widened for a moment — the liver was no longer on the floor where it had fallen.
"What the…?"
Gabriel muttered as he looked around, but all he found was the corpse on the table —
and Ethan whistling while working.
Gabriel approached Ethan, poked his shoulder with his finger.
Ethan turned with a smile, removed his earphones, and said:
"Is there something, boss?"
Gabriel looked from the spot where the liver had vanished to Ethan, then asked:
"The liver… where is it?"
Ethan smiled confidently and said with his nose raised:
"I disinfected it and put it back inside the body again."
— "....."
Silence.
Ethan tilted his head to the left in confusion:
"What? Did I do something wrong?"
A cold smile spread across Gabriel's lips as he muttered while turning to the corpse:
"You idiot."
Gabriel reached his hand into the corpse's abdomen to extract the liver and replied coolly:
"The container first... always. Not the body."
Ethan folded his arms in annoyance:
"Ugh... fine, maybe I made a mistake, but... don't look at me with that expression every time!"
Gabriel rolled his eyes in irritation, carefully lifted the liver this time, and placed it in the container for later analysis.
He lowered his mask and removed his gloves, while Ethan was holding the report notebook, chewing on his pen, and asked:
"So... what do I write now?"
Gabriel sighed tiredly and said as he changed his gloves:
"The victim shows signs of hanging suicide, but after analyzing a sample from the liver, we'll determine if there were any traces of toxins or not."
— "Traces of toxins. Got it!"
Ethan put the notebook aside and stretched his arms from exhaustion:
"So... hmm... what's next?"
Gabriel replied without looking back:
"Take a sample from the liver to the toxicology lab."
Ethan jumped off the table excitedly and said while holding a scalpel:
"Let's do this!"
He carefully carried the liver and placed it on the table after disinfecting it properly.
His eyes reflected on the scalpel as his hands moved forward to extract the needed sample.
Meanwhile, Gabriel was preparing the scale for use. He placed the needed disinfectants on its surface, wiped them gently, and made sure the area was spotless.
Ethan approached, his hands trembling as he held the liver sample. He bent down and gently placed the piece on the sensitive scale.
When the scale lit up, showing 34 grams,
Gabriel wrote in the report:
"Sample from the victim's liver weighing 34 grams, preserved at six fifty-two PM on Wednesday, December 17th, 2023."
Gabriel signed at the end of the report before putting the notebook aside.
Ethan approached Gabriel carrying all the samples they had collected that day and said, trying to keep his balance:
"Whoa! That was close! So... are we heading out?"
Gabriel chuckled lightly, his smile lifting:
"Let's put the samples in a larger container so they don't fall."
Ethan, wobbling, replied:
"Yeah... that would be better."
A few minutes later, Gabriel and Ethan arrived at the toxicology lab to analyze the samples.
They were greeted by the supervisor — a short, bald man with a white mustache and glasses — who welcomed them cheerfully:
"Dr. Gabriel! How are you?"
Gabriel smiled diplomatically, extended his hand to shake, and replied:
"Doing great, Dr. Harris."
Dr. Harris's mustache lifted with his smile as he replied warmly:
"Glad to hear that, Dr. Kraus.
Do you have samples for us, or are you just here for a visit?"
Ethan rolled his eyes in annoyance and blurted out:
"Ugh... really?!
Don't you see the bag I'm carrying, or do you think we just came from the morgue for fun— Ow!"
Without warning, Gabriel elbowed Ethan sharply in the chest to silence him, then said quickly:
"We came to analyze samples from six corpses, Dr. Harris."
He took the bag from Ethan. "And maybe share some coffee as well."
Dr. Harris chuckled at the scene, then gestured ahead of them:
"All right, all right, come with me to deliver the samples."
Ethan glared at Gabriel as they walked and whispered angrily:
"I hate you!"
Gabriel replied immediately without looking at him:
"No, you don't."
Moments later, they reached the delivery room.
Dr. Harris pointed at one of the workers and said:
"You."
— "Me?"
— "Yes, you. Come take the samples from Dr. Gabriel."
The lab worker stepped forward confidently, took the bag from Gabriel's hand, and hurried off to extract and analyze the samples.
At that moment, Dr. Harris gestured toward one of the rooms with a smile:
"Come to my office, Dr. Kraus. I already ordered your coffee."
Gabriel nodded in agreement and followed Dr. Harris with Ethan into the office.
Dr. Harris sat down on his chair while both Ethan and Gabriel sat in the two chairs directly across from him.
Dr. Harris let out a tired sigh, then smiled again and said:
"How's everything going, Kraus?"
Gabriel smiled calmly, though it didn't reach his eyes, and replied:
"Doing well.
And you, Harris?"
Dr. Harris's smile faded; he lifted his phone and said wearily:
"My niece... she's been missing for a week now."
Gabriel looked on, his expression unchanged, and replied:
"That sounds unfortunate."
— "Yeah, we've searched for her and filed a report with the police, but... still no news."
Then Dr. Harris turned his phone toward Gabriel and Ethan and said with deep sadness:
"This is her picture. Her father's been a wreck searching for her."
Ethan stared at the photo for a moment — the girl looked familiar. A young woman with long black hair reaching her back, slim and graceful.
Ethan gasped internally and whispered to Gabriel:
"Isn't that the girl we dissected two days ago?! Before that stupid dinner with the boss lady?!"
BUMP! — HMPH!!
Gabriel kicked Ethan hard in the leg without taking his eyes off Harris.
Dr. Harris noticed Ethan's muffled yelp and asked:
"What's wrong, Ethan?"
Ethan glanced at Gabriel — his expression colder than usual — then quickly turned to Dr. Harris and stammered:
"N-nothing... just... h-hungry, yeah! I act weird when I'm hungry. Hehhaha."
Dr. Harris laughed at Ethan's clumsy behavior, then looked at Gabriel and said:
"I like your assistant, Gabriel. Where did you find him, hmm?"
Gabriel was silent for a moment before a small, genuine smile formed on his lips.
He said:
"Well... let's just say fate works in mysterious ways."
Ethan lowered his smile then, his eyes dropping to the floor as if he suddenly remembered something.
Gabriel pushed his chair back to stand up and said while fixing his shirt:
"I think that's enough for today, Dr. Harris. I have some work to do."
Dr. Harris stood up too and said jokingly:
"Ah, you always say that. What kind of work keeps you so busy all the time?"
Gabriel turned at the door and replied:
"You'll find out soon."
As soon as Gabriel stepped out, Ethan followed right behind him. Every time he glanced at a corner, he started seeing black smoke creeping from the shadows toward him.
Ethan froze in fear, grabbed Gabriel's shoulder, trembling, and whispered frantically:
"I forgot my meds! Do you have any of those pills with you?!"
Gabriel put his hand into his left jacket pocket and replied:
"Yes, I do."
Ethan reached for Gabriel's hand, took two pills from between his fingers,
popped them into his mouth, and swallowed them quickly.
Moments later, the black smoke began to fade from the corners, and Ethan let out a relieved sigh:
"Much better... now let's head to your mansion and deal with the meat in the fridge."