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Dominic rubbed his hand over his weary face as he walked through the halls of the old warehouse he called home. It had been a long, well. He wanted to say 48 hours but it had really been a busy couple of weeks. Between tackling the missing greys, and trying to find a connection between them and the death of the Mountain he had been busy enough. Add on all the small cases that kept the lights on, Rock returning to the city for information before running away and (near) midnight rendezvous with the daughter of a notorious monster. It was a busy time to be a detective.

Looking up towards his door, he froze for a second. A silhouette moved behind the illuminated door. Lowering his hand to his holster he withdrew the revolver and held his thumb loosely on the hammer, ready to draw it back. Very slowly he approached the door, he could hear talking now. [i]Great[/i]. Talking meant that there was more than one, and Dominic was already tired and really couldn't be bothered with this. Momentarily he considered just turning around and leaving, he didn't have anything of real value in the office/apartment. Except his files. Sighing to himself he approached the door slowly, drawing the shadows around himself like a cloak. Ready to cast them out below the door-

[Center][i][color=6ecff6]♫Rode down the highway
Nah nah naaaah, nah nah town
Went through to Texas, yeah, Texas, and we had some fun♫[/color][/i][/center]

He could head the music now, AC/DCs [color=6ecff6]Thunderstruck[/color] and it's half sung half forgotten lyrics and, if even possible, he sighed and even deeper heavier sigh. Holstering the pistol he released the shadows back to their natural state and opened the door to the bright interior.

The space was slightly tidier than he had left it. The desk against the far corner of what should have been the living room was still an organised mess, though the myriad mugs, cups and plates had promptly been removed. Leaving a corner of the desk barren, no doubt awaiting the next mess Dominic had planned for it. The sofa had been tidied up and the pillows and blankets returned to their normal pre-Rock state. The door to the kitchenette revealed a clean kitchen. The three remaining doors remained closed. He walked over and pressed the stop button on the stereo.

[color=6ecff6]"Hey![/color] the indignant voice called from the kitchen, quickly followed by a black haired (clearly dyed with a blue streak) teenage girl. A brief glimpse of her shirt that seemed like a pink cry for help before she pulled an old AC/DC shirt over the top meanwhile her jeans had seemingly lost an arguement with every sharp object in the city. [color=6ecff6]"I was listening to that."[/color]

[COLOR=SLATEGRAY]"Your key is meant to be for [i]emergencies.[/i][/color]

[color=6ecff6]"It [i]was[/i] an emergency![/color] The teen retorted indignantly. Dominic returned the retort with a scowl. [color=6ecff6]"It was! Mum and her new boyfriend were being completely insufferable."[/color]

[COLOR=SLATEGRAY]"That isn't an emergency."[/color]

[color=6ecff6]"[i]Yes[/i] it is."[/color]

[COLOR=SLATEGRAY]"[i]No[/i], it most certainly is not.[/color] 

[color=6ecff6]"It [i]most certainly[/i] is."[/color]

[COLOR=SLATEGRAY]"Elizabeth,"[/color] he said flatly. [COLOR=SLATEGRAY]"You cannot check into hospital with a bad case of, my mum and her boyfriend are having awkward middle aged sex-"[/color]

[color=6ecff6]"Ew gross!"[/color] Dominic dodged the incoming projectile without even looking at it, which drew his attention to his desk that sat with it's back towards the window.

[COLOR=SLATEGRAY]"-[i]furthermore[/i] what in the name of all things holy have you done to my desk?"[/color] Bypassing Elizabeth entirely he walked to the far side of the room, and began filtering through various files and photographs. Receipts, notes, printed emails and texts. All delicately and purposefully placed and arrayed, turned into several neat and unpredictable piles. It was the kind of desk and accountant might have had, his stomach churned. The thought made him feel more ill than that of any murder scene he had been too.

He rummaged through some, organising it into the correct collections. [color=6ecff6]"I tidied it up, you're welcome."[/color]

[COLOR=SLATEGRAY]"It didn't need tidied. It was organised."[/color]

[color=6ecff6]"Could have fooled me."[/color]

[COLOR=SLATEGRAY]"Clearly I did."[/color] pulling the new photographs from his jacket he deposited them on the table then collapsed on the sofa. Kicking his shoes off as he did so, he let out a sigh as the removal of his shoes apparently released all the stress that he had gathered through the course of the last forty-or-so hours. Leaning back he allowed his eyes to close and just rested there for a long moment before he spoke again, Elizabeth shuffling as he did so. By his reckoning she was perched on the edge of the desk. [COLOR=SLATEGRAY]"Did you go to the memorial?"[/color]

She sorted derisively. [color=6ecff6]"Why would I honour the man who took my father from me?"[/color] Dominic had been covering his eyes with his hands, he splayed his fingers to look at her and when he saw how serious she looked he removed his hands and sat up.

[COLOR=SLATEGRAY]"Liz, the Mountain saved your father."[/color] He saw her go to mouth off, argue or offer a witty retort but he cut her off with a raised finger. [COLOR=SLATEGRAY]"It was a different game ten years ago, a lot of the Capes back then wouldn't have went as easy on your father as Saw did. Saw wasn't the first, but he was a massive proponent for imprisonment and rehabilitation-"[/color]

[color=6ecff6]"But you-"[/color]

[COLOR=SLATEGRAY]"I know what I did to help your father get a reduced sentence. You don't need to remind me, I just mean. If your dad has faced a cape any earlier. Someone like Beacon, Shield, Piper or Goliath well, then the story of the infamous Scotty Sparks might a different ending entitely."[/color]

Elizabeth rolled her eyes as she looked down at him, the inclination of a smile toying with the scowl etched upon her face. [color=6ecff6]"You know dad [i]hated[/i] that name.[/color] Dominic merely shrugged as he laid back on the sofa, kicked his shoes off and put his feet up on the coffee table that Elizabeth had clearly included in her relentless cleaning attack. 

[COLOR=SLATEGRAY]"Yes, but street gangs aren't often very original or clever with their aliases."[/color] Dominic mused, much as if to himself. [COLOR=SLATEGRAY]"It worked out for him later in life anyway, made for a catchy radio jingle."[/color]

[color=6ecff6]"You know he never forgave you for that."[/color]

[COLOR=SLATEGRAY]"I know."[/color] He sighed heavily, and the two of them sat there for a long minute just basking in the weight of the silence, we the odd stray sound wandered in from the outside world.

[color=6ecff6]"I miss him."[/color]

[COLOR=SLATEGRAY]"Me too."[/color] They sat for a while longer, until finally Elizabeth cleared her throat and clapped her hands together, walking back to the desk and ruffling through the collection of new files Dominic had brought back from his foray to Paloma's apartment. He could hear her, but he sat with his head back and eyes closed. Not asleep, but perhaps not fully awake. 

[color=6ecff6]"So why were you out so late? Working a case?[/color] Dusk nodded and grunted an affirmative. [color=6ecff6]"Bit late for that isn't it?"[/color]

[COLOR=SLATEGRAY]"I do my best work at night."[/color]

[color=6ecff6]"There was nothing in the calendar, that you [i]make[/i] me fill in, for you to never follow it."[/color]

[COLOR=SLATEGRAY]"Perks of being boss."[/color]

He could hear him get to the envelope containing the photos, shuffling through them one by one. [color=6ecff6]"How did you manage to get these, drone?"[/color]

[COLOR=SLATEGRAY]"Trade secret."[/color]

[color=6ecff6]"They say [i]Paloma[/i] on the back."[/color] She scrumpled up a bit of paper and tossed it at him.

[COLOR=SLATEGRAY]"Darn."[/color]

[color=6ecff6]"Wasn't she-"[/color]

Dominic nodded, while keeping his head as horizontal as possible. [COLOR=SLATEGRAY]"The gray who worked as a 'bike' messenger,"[/color] he lifted his hands to do the air quotes. His arms resisted him and made the whole effort half assed. [COLOR=SLATEGRAY]"Yeah she turned up dead last night. Her body was dumped just a few blocks away from the Harborlight. She must have been doing her own adjacent investigation."[/color]

[color=6ecff6]"Do you think she died because-?"[/color] [i]Because of us, because of the investigation.[/I] The possibile conclusion to the question had numerous possibilities and he wasn't entirely sure he liked any of them.

[COLOR=SLATEGRAY]"No. The way she was dumped doesn't match any of the others, but in it's own way that seems to fit the pattern of our mysterious person or persons. Everything else lines up. Both the body and clothes cleaned and sanitiser, hair removed. Blood removed, and internal organs and muscle structure indicating a high level of physical stress."[/color] A heavy breath he didn't know he was holding escaped him as he went to continue. [COLOR=SLATEGRAY]"I did think there was a mafia connection but, I've kind of run around there-"[/color]

[color=6ecff6]"Wha-"[/color]

[COLOR=SLATEGRAY]"The important thing is now we have a lead, or rather. I have a solid lead. Which is one more solid lead than what I had yesterday."[/color]

[color=6ecff6]"You didn't have any yesterday."[/color]

[COLOR=SLATEGRAY]"Yes and last time I checked, one is more than none. What do they even teach you at school?"[/color] He looked up at her as she shrugged, and his eyes promptly betrayed him and returned to their close state and he allowed his head to fall back. 

[color=7ea7d8]"So what's our next course of action?"[/color] Dusk opened an eye again and found her eying him suspiciously.

[COLOR=SLATEGRAY]"I'm going to trace those vans to their origin, and then go for a nice little chat but more importantly,"[/color] Elizabeth stood a little taller, attentive. Ready, eager. [COLOR=SLATEGRAY]"We're going to get some much needed sleep."[/color] He jabbed his thumb to point at the door behind him. [COLOR=SLATEGRAY]"There's clean sheets on the bed, I changed them for you this morning."[/color]

[color=6ecff6]"But how did you-?"[/color]

Dominic Dusk smirked as he allowed himself to fall back into a prone position on the sofa. [COLOR=SLATEGRAY]"I'm a detective Liz. I detect things."[/color]