Pazrin and the Conspiracy of Jitolo

Pazrin’s two-day-old stubble was itching like a motherfucker.

She pulled out a lighter and flicked it, using the flame to light her cigarette. She inhaled and held the smoke in her lungs for a few seconds before exhaling a plume of blue-grey smoke into the afternoon air. It was early afternoon, but the sun was already low in the sky, casting long shadows everywhere. She walked down the street and took another drag.

“Paz!” she heard from behind her. She turned around to see her partner running up to her, his spiky hair bouncing with each step.

“Hey, Soufflé! What’s up?” she asked, putting her hand on his shoulder to stop him from running into her. Soufflé looked around nervously as he caught his breath and started walking alongside her. Pazrin checked their surroundings before continuing. “What do you have?”

Soufflé looked up at Pazrin with wide eyes and said “I think we might have one of those killings again…”

“Shit, really?!” Pazrin said as they started walking towards their police cruiser. “Where? Who? When?”

Soufflé shook his head: “No idea who yet… But someone reported seeing a man with blood all over him running out of a bar into an alley nearby an hour ago… We should hurry because… well… we don’t wanna be stuck in some crappy bar when this happens…”

They walked to their police cruiser which was parked just outside of the alley where the killing happened. They got in and sped off towards the scene of the crime, lights flashing and sirens wailing through the busy streets of Jitolo City.