Work Text:
“Dismissed.”
With that, everyone in the room started to disperse, all of them aware of what they were supposed to do next. Itachi watched them as they filed out of the exit while mingling with coworkers and talking about the case. He supposed it didn’t matter if they did it in here, since he’d expressly told everyone on this case that not one word said in the meeting room was to reach outside ears until the case was solved and even then some details were to be withheld.
Now all he had to do was sit back and watch for the leak. He knew there was one, that’s why he’d said everything was secretive, if something that shouldn't have reached the press he would be able to narrow down who the traitor was. Plan and simple. Trapping mice had always been easy for him. Closing his eyes for a moment to let the built up stress drain from his body a little, he waited until the room seemed to silence before opening them again. Sasuke was still in his seat, an eyebrow raised at the older brother with a faint amusement.
Itachi mirrored the uplifted brow and took his time standing and moving towards the door. Hearing the snort behind him, he smirked but didn’t comment as he started for his office. Today had been long but there were still many hours left of it. It seemed things were always that way lately, with this new mass-murderer on the loose, he simply didn’t have time for breaks and rest and the ending of days.
And speaking of things to do, he needed to check in on his forensic scientist. She was the only one he’d exempted from the meeting because he knew she’d been working through the morning and already had the foreknowledge of what was going on. She’d been informed at the same time Sasuke and Uzumaki had. Itachi was fairly certain that she nor his brother or the blonde were the leak, the three stood beside each other firmly and if one was a culprit the other two were bound to be as well. But there was only one person responsible for all the deaths.
He crossed the threshold of the desks and quads to get to the elevator, but instead of taking it he took the stairs that were to the left of the thick metal doors. He preferred the stairs because they were safer and quieter, and he was not above admitting that he knew it irritated his scientist.
At the bottom of the stairs, he turned to his left sharply, not needing to go far to get to the door that led to her office and lab.
However once he was in the doorway he paused and blinked at the sound of her voice, “Shit.” And he found himself momentarily stunned because he hadn’t known or even expected her to use such coarse language. She was usually so polite and well mannered that the idea that she used such words had never occurred to him. Though, as he watched her glare at whatever she thought had earned such verbal abuse, he decided that she was one of the few who could pull off the words without looking any less intelligent or ladylike. That didn’t, however, mean he wanted to hear them coming from her at work.
So he cleared his throat.
Amusement immediately found a home in his chest when she jumped and slowly craned her head to him. He heard her mutter another cuss word under her breath.
He hadn’t really caught the word but he knew it was one syllable. He paid the word itself no mind as he walked soundlessly into the lab area until he was standing beside her. Her green eyes stayed on him, slightly wide and her mouth turned into a sheepish smile.
Immediately, he knew she was expecting a reprimand for her choice of words. And he had been about to as well, but at the last moment he turned toward the screen and gave her a sidelong glance. “Have you found anything?”
Slowly, clearly confused, she shook her head. It took her only a moment to come to a conclusion, one that involved her thinking she was off the hook he was sure, as she too turned to the computer, “Nothing concrete. I have a positive match for thirteen of the seventeen victims, but that’s it. Everything that I get is only the victims, their DNA, their fingerprints, their skin fibers. Which is why I’ve still got nothing.”
Itachi nodded, he actually hadn’t expected her to get so much with how little evidence they had. But that’s why Haruno Sakura was one of the best forensic scientists out there, and that’s why she worked for him. He stayed where he was, waiting for her to continue.
Green eyes blinked him, seeming at a loss once more, but only for a moment. But then long fingers were back on her keyboard, the sound of her manicured nails against the keys almost as loud as the sound of them being pressed. Within seconds she’d pulled up all thirteen files.
Names and faces and records showed up one by one, filling her computer screen but she didn’t seem quite done as her nails kept clicking against the keyboard as she pressed the ones she wanted. Turning to him, she started on the list, each profile enlarged as she came to it, telling him about each one. How they died, what happened to them before and after death and who they were. When she was done she paused and he could see the gears turning in her head as she thought of if there was anything else he needed to see.
“And that’s all that I have right now. I will tell you if I have more, sir.”
He nodded thoughtfully; this new information could be very useful especially with knowing just how thorough their killer was. “Good work.”
She grinned, clearly happy with the praise. He knew why, it was rare that he verbally showed his gratitude for what had been accomplished and even then not many earned it. Sakura was simply one of the few who tended to most of the time, because she was always giving him more than he expected and doing everything he asked in less than the small measurements of time he gave her. The woman was a workaholic really, one who enjoyed her job and got along really well with her coworkers and definitely never gave him complaints when he told her to do something.
But she also had a mouth on her, she loved to argue almost as much as Kisame and apparently, she also had the cursing tendency down as well. Which reminded him, he still needed to rectify that particular part. “And Haruno?”
She paused, giving him a curious look, “Sir?”
He bent down and kissed the woman. Though she often reported him, she wasn’t his subordinate--besides that particular can of worms, he’d liked her long before either got their positions. Itachi felt her freeze momentarily, clearly she hadn’t expected it. Neither of them were prone to public displays of affection, making a clear distinction between personal and professional. But in the seclusion of her office, Itachi couldn’t resist using the opportunity to his advantage. “Curse at work again, and I’ll start kissing you.”
She blinked her big eyes at him, the daze still clear in them. Finally she nodded, showing that she understood his condition. And then she paused again, a small smirk replacing the slight haze. It was a smirk that was all too similar to Sasuke’s, and Itachi knew it meant that she was willing to tease and make fun. “But sir, I don’t see how that’s a punishment.”
With an arched eyebrow, he decided to play her game, “No?”
The smirk morphed into a grin as she shook her head emphatically, “I sure as hell don’t.”