20 - The Super-Detective and His Biggest Fan (1)

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*Old Note*

Jun 06, 2005

You probably needed to move somewhere after your house burnt down. Maybe it's too far for you to visit our secret spot?

I just hope you're safe and well,

Your Friend

***

*Present Day*

"Ilari!" a cheerful voice called almost as soon as Ilari stepped out of his car.

Ilari looked at the pretty, dark-haired and dark-skinned girl, with an eagle on her shoulder, waving madly at him from the coffee shop across the street. He picked up Alair quickly and made his way to them.

"Hi, Pilar! Hi, Bartok!" Ilari said with a big smile. "How are you doing?"

The girl, Pilar, laughed happily upon seeing Ilari and Alair, and her eagle, who was named Bartok, flew to Ilari's shoulder and rubbed her head affectionately against Ilari's face.

"Hello, pretty Ilari," Bartok said. "Well met, lovely Alair," the eagle said to the silver cat before returning to Pilar.

Ilari quickly invited the girl and the eagle upstairs to his new office.

"Nope," Pilar said with a pout. "You have to treat me to coffee and snacks first."

Ilari rolled his eyes impatiently. "Later," he said, narrowing his sapphire blue eyes.

Pilar stuck out her tongue. "In terms of our bargaining power right now, my friend, I have the upper hand right now," she said with a teasing smile.

Ilari frowned. "Are you blackmailing me?" he demanded, a sharp glint flashing in his normally soft eyes. Alair also lifted his head and stared at the girl and the eagle with a similarly sharp raptor gaze.

Pilar blinked. "I wouldn't dare," she said with a seemingly innocent smile and a gesture of surrender.

"We just want to taste your cooking again, pretty Ilari," Bartok murmured, dipping her proud avian head in embarrassment.

"You have already taken undue advantage of my human and set a high price on what he wants from you," Alair said, pointing a sharp claw at Pilar and Bartok. "Do you think you are in any position to ask for more? Do you really think that my human, with his family background, will be unable to access the things that you provide for him?"

Pilar shook her head rapidly. "No, no, sorry, Ilari," she said. "Just that your cooking is so delicious…"

She did look rather miserable, and Pilar was a friend after all, so Ilari's heart softened.

"I'll make something for you later," he said. "But for now, come up to the office."

The girl and her eagle followed the man and the cat quickly, with ingratiating looks on their faces. As they walked, the two of them looked around with curious eyes, taking in the décor of the office.

"Nice place," the girl said. "You chose it by yourself?"

"Thanks, Pilar," Ilari said, not answering the question. "Come on, let's go in and take a seat in my cabin."

Once they were seated in his cabin, he asked the girl excitedly, "So, Pilar, did you get a new video for me? I heard Enre solved what the papers are calling 'The Impossible Murder' – is it true?"

"What a fanboy," Alair said, rolling his eyes.

"We do have one," Pilar replied. She stroked the eagle's feathers affectionately. "My Bartok worked very hard to get you this video. We'll expect a lunch tomorrow, along with the payment!"

Ilari sighed, but he'd already said that he'll cook, so there was nothing to be done. He never should have let Pilar and Bartok taste his cooking, he thought ruefully. Or Lily and Darling, for that matter. Despite his misgivings, a fully quipped kitchen had been set up in his office, thanks to Lily, the elderly landlady, who, by now, had unleased her maternal instincts upon the hapless detective duo and their magical familiars. And the worst thing was that only Ilari thought it was ridiculous to have a full-fledged kitchen in a detective's office! Alair was quite pleased – in fact, he was so pleased that he let Darling lick his face…just once, but for Alair, that was already a big concession. Kir and Kai had such hopeful looks on their faces that Ilari didn't have the heart to say that he wanted the kitchen demolished. He did put down his foot and insist that no one else be told of the existence of the kitchen. And then, the first thing Ilari had done was to lock the kitchen door and put up a signboard saying 'Private – Staff Only'.

"I'll drive by your office tomorrow and drop it in," Ilari told his friend.

"Excellent!" she chirped happily. She eyed the office curiously. "Nice place," she said again. "You are working with someone, I heard?"

"Yes, Kir and Kai. They are currently travelling, but should be back tomorrow," Ilari replied. "You can meet them next time."

Pilar blinked. "Kir…as in the research department fellow? Kai the tiger?"

Ilari nodded, surprised. "You know him?"

Pilar whistled. "How can I not know him?! His research is invaluable to us! In fact, if you were not so stubborn-headed about this detective business, I'd have imagined you working with him at the research facility," she said excitedly.

"I am," Ilari said in a small voice. "I'm interning with Kir."

Pilar's brown eyes widened to the size of tennis balls. She leaned forward eagerly. "How the hell did you manage to convince him to play detectives with you?!"

"I'm trying to run a serious detective business here," Ilari snapped. "As for Kir…he offered. I help him reduce his research workload, and he helps me with detective work."

Pilar narrowed her eyes. "Are you feeding him as well? I heard someone remark just yesterday that the guy's looking better. He's quite good-looking, but too thin. You fatten him up properly, my friend, and our 'seeker of beauty club' shall be forever grateful!"

"I don't need your gratitude, just give me a discount on the videos you get for me," Ilari grumbled.

Pilar laughed and patted his shoulder. "We'll see, we'll see. Make that skinny genius into a world-class beauty first." She winked at Ilari.

"He's already a world-class beauty," Ilari murmured under his breath, annoyed. He held out his hand.

"You're no fun," Pilar said crossly, and handed him a portable drive. She lowered her voice. "Ok, this is super-super-super confidential, all right? You've no idea how difficult it was for us to get hold of this footage! So you can't let anyone know about this! Not even your family, and especially not Kir and Kai! I'd get fired!"

"Don't worry," Ilari assured her. "My lips are sealed."

Pilar took her leave soon and Ilari spent the rest of the day in a daze. All he wanted to do was to go home, hide in his bedroom and watch the video…