"You're in the wrong place, and you're making the wrong conversation." "I'm not done with you." "Remember how it ended between us the last time we met?" "You think you're gonna come out any better if we play again?" "This time you're the one who won't see it coming!" "Imagine, a light fae lawman coming into a club owned by the Dark and issuing threats." "I could make you do some very bad things to yourself, and no one would fault me." "You can't control an animal, Vex." "I'd have your throat out before your first thought." "And leave you with a club full of human witnesses." " You wouldn't do that." " Try me." "Humans or not, you'd do well to leave while you can." "Thanks for the drink." "Well, that was a nice visit." "Who wants a drink?" "Yeah." "Let's have some fun." "2 tablespoons of chili powder..." "All right." "And finally... the ground cumin." "You know, I didn't know you could cook." "Please, I spent a whole month running a sweet con as a high society caterer." "Well, I didn't know that either." "You know, most of the time you know the least about the peeps that are closest to you." " It's, like, so sad." " Thank you, Dr. Kenzi." " Yeah." " You know, I wonder what deep, dark secrets Dyson has." "Oh, now that is a diary I would kill to get my hands on." " Well, knowing him, you probably would have to." " Mm-hmm." "All right." " For the sweet moment of truth, Milady." " Mm-hmm." "All right." "Ohh, wow." " Oh, my God." " Ugh, God." "All right." "Grilled cheese it is." "Yeah." "Aah!" "Life is hard when you don't know who you are." "It's harder when you don't know what you are." "My love carries a death sentence." "I was lost for years, searching while hiding... only to find that I belonged to a world hidden from humans." "I won't hide anymore." "I will live the life I choose." "And after Spain, where did Dyson live?" "Let me think." "He spent some time in Iceland, 50 years or so." "Reykjavik." " But he was always a cop?" " Not always." "What's with all the questions all of a sudden?" "She's suddenly become obsessed... with learning all of Dyson's deep, dark secrets." " Just hope she doesn't get into yours, Trickster." " Hey, you can't blame me for wanting to know more about a man that I'm involved with." "Perhaps I should explain that the phrase" ""curiosity killed the cat" is not just an empty saying." " D-man, you're bleeding." " I'm okay." "Sanctuary." "I ask for sanctuary." "Clear the bar, please." "Sanctuary has been invoked." " What kind of trouble are you in?" " I don't know." "Well, are you hurt?" "No, it's not my blood." "It's a dark fae, a psycho named Ba'al." "Guess he's gonna think twice about messing with the Dyson, huh?" "He's dead." "Dyson." "Buddy, where you at?" " I'm at the dal." " Hell of a time to be gettin' your drink on." "Look, there's a lot of people looking for you." "We got a dark fae who looks like he was a chew toy for a wolf." "Three witnesses say they saw you threaten him" " an hour before he died." " Hale, I'm being set up, man." " What the hell were you doing there?" " I don't know!" "I've been trying to remember, but I c..." " I can't remember anything after I quit work yesterday." " You know the drill, man." "The Ash wants you to get yourself in here." "Look, you gotta stall for me, okay?" " What are you gonna do?" " I don't know yet, but I will call you." " The Ash wants me to turn myself in." " You can't do that." " The first thing he'd do is hand you over to the Dark." " What happened to due process?" "You still have a lot to learn about the way our world works." "Sometimes I wish I could forget about your world." "Look, you tell me what you know, and I will find out who set you up." "I don't want you anywhere near this, Bo." "Hey, macho man." "You have saved our lives, like, a million times." "We owe you." "It's not about that." "This Ba'al... he was one of Vex's guys." " I thought Vex was gone." " Well, he came back a couple weeks ago." "And you didn't think that was important to tell me?" "Bo is our best bet to find out what happened." "I'll need Hale's help." "We can pool our resources." "Don't put yourself in Vex's way." "There's nothing he would love more than another chance" " to get at you." " I am not gonna do anything stupid." "Yeah, and I'll be there to make sure of it." "Yeah, and who's gonna make sure" " you don't do something stupid?" " Look, for a guy that needs our help, you're making this really tough." "Thanks." "Since I'm going into Vex's living room," "I should probably be packing." "Can I borrow that siracon again?" "It's a restricted weapon, and when The Ash heard about you using it to get to Vex," "I got a visit." "It's been confiscated." "Oh." "Fantastic." "Well, I guess we'll just have to do this the old-fashioned way." "We're probably gonna get our asses kicked, aren't we?" "Let's go." "Bo." "I'm gonna be fine." "I promise." "You'd better be." "Come on." "Let's get you cleaned up." "Ohh." "You're all this circus needs right now." " That means you're happy to see us?" " It means our boy would be better off if people didn't start rooting around where they don't belong." "Well, why don't you just tell me what you know, and I'll do a lot less damage than if I'm just out there" " flailing away blind." " Trust me." "I have seen her flail." "You can't go into Dark Fae territory." "We can." "We might be the only ones that can help Dyson." "Fine." "I'll give you what I got." "The Morrigan sent over their evidence, as per protocol." "Lauren's analyzing the forensic samples." "The security camera shows that there were three witnesses." "A dark fae bartender named Silas," "A human goth girl named Portia, and the club's owner..." "Vex." "You already had the pleasure?" "Yeah, and the pleasure just about killed her." "And you still wanna go chasing this down?" "You're crazier than I thought." "Well, I'll take that as a compliment." "Bo, they know Dyson and me are tight." "They'll be watching me hard from both sides." "Now I'll help in any way I can." "Tell Dyson that I still got his back." "He knows." "Thanks." "What'll you have, girls?" "Couple of black orgasms, and, uh, some conversation." "All right." "You are totally rocking the PI right now!" " Yes!" " Well, tonight is your lucky night, because I can help you out on both counts." "This is about that fae cop that killed Ba'al, right?" "Why are you so sure the cop killed this Ba'al?" "Well, I think it was pretty obvious." "I mean, the cop was here arguing with Ba'al, said something about the last time they met, and he said that Ba'al wouldn't see it coming next time." "Looky, looky, looky-loo." "Look who's come out clubbing." "The unaligned love machine." "Love isn't the first thing I think of when I see you." "Oh, come on." "You don't hold our last meeting against me," " do you, Bo?" " A girl usually doesn't forget somebody trying to make her" " kill herself." " Oh, yeah, right." "Bad move." "I'll make her kill you next time." "Speaking of killing, Dyson offed a very dear friend of mine." "Yeah, well, from what we hear, your dear friend was a psycho." "Yeah, well, it's not nice to speak ill of the dead." "Did Dyson also tell you about the relationship he and Ba'al had before last night?" "If I was a police officer, I might even see a motive." "We heard someone else saw what happened... a girl named Portia." "She saw what we all saw..." "Dyson threatening to kill poor, poor Ba'al, and then doing it, apparently." " How do we find this girl?" " Oh, come on." "I'm not gonna do your work for you, Bo." "But go ahead." "Knock yourself out." "Another killer in the room just adds to the excitement." "She's not a killer, not like you." "No?" "Really?" "We should compare scores sometime." "You know, we don't have to be enemies." " I could be very friendly." " Just when I think you're as creepy as you can be, there you go getting creepier." "I'm serious about having you here." "Look at all the human pretties, like a succubus buffet." "You could have whoever you want, be as strong as you want." "No hassle." "No guilt." "Thanks." "I'll keep that in mind." "Enjoy yourself." "Ugh." "So what now?" "All we have to do is find a girl dressed in black" " in the middle of a goth club." " Oh." "Rapid calculation..." "That is about everybody, including me, in a "pigeonhole me and die" sort of way." "But don't worry." "I will sniff her out." "Are you sure you're okay with sticking around to find her?" "It's Friday night." "Where better to be than a deadly dark fae dance club," "You know?" "I hope these clothes are okay." "I grabbed the first thing I found in your closet." "Anything without blood on it is the style of the day." "You know, I never asked you about this before." "What does it mean anyway?" "Souvenirs of battles I've been in," " Lords I've had fealty to." " What language is it in?" "Lycanthrope." "Wolf shifters of both light and dark have used it for millennia." "That's a lot of ink." "You must've killed a lot of people." " You starting to think I did it, too?" " No." "I know you didn't do it." "I just..." "I wanna get to know you better." "But now that you mention it, both the bartender and Vex swear that you were threatening Ba'al at the bar," " and Vex even said you had a reason to kill him." " I wouldn't have done it like this." "Threaten Ba'al in public and then kill him an hour later?" " Well, what did this guy do to piss you off so bad?" " It was years ago." "My partner and I were tracking some dark fae who were leaving a trail of bodies around town." "Got a call to go to a house uptown, and when we got there, we found a husband and wife butchered, but whoever did it left a sink full of blood." "That's when I knew it was a redcap." "A redcap?" "What is that, some kind of team thing?" "The kind of team that uses their victims' blood to dye their hats." "They're the street gangs of the fae world." "Well, what about Ba'al?" "I mean, even the Dark don't let their people leave bodies lying around." "They let it slide." "I went after him to try and get some justice, but he got the drop on me, stuck me with a silver blade." "I almost bled out while he just stood there watching." " Finally my partner showed up." " And they didn't do anything to him?" "It was humans being murdered, Bo..." "Fair game as far as the Light and Dark are concerned..." "And my going against him was unsanctioned." "As far as they were concerned, it was just self-defense." "Jeffrey Dahmer could plead self-defense with these guys." "So did I have a reason to kill him?" "Yes." "Did I want to kill him?" "Yes." "But why yesterday?" "Why would I do it in front of the whole world?" "Well, somebody out there knows, and they know why they set you up." "We're gonna find them, and we're gonna bring justice to fae town." "So noble." "Such a heroic call to arms." "So adorably goofy." "Sorry, bar is closed right now." " Think of me as a VIP." " I do." " I don't see you here that often." " I never developed a taste for stale beer and ptomaine poisoning." "Now that we have the niceties out of the way, why don't you just hand over Dyson," " and we can get this over with?" " He's not going anywhere." "Mm." "I hoped someone would say that." "Aah!" "Aah!" "Aah!" "Double load of iron and silver." "Not the most pleasant way for a fae to pass." "You don't really think that you can keep him, do you?" " We handed over our evidence." "He's ours now." " Sanctuary is sanctuary." "It'll take a higher power than you to pry him loose." "Okay, old man." "You wanna play by the rules?" "We will." "But when all the games are played out," "I'll have Dyson's head for my wall." "You shouldn't have done that." "What, and not uphold the tradition of sanctuary?" "If the Morrigan gets you in her sights," "She's gonna make you a special project." "And from what I can see," " it doesn't take much for her to want to get her kill on." " I don't want anyone else suffering for this." "So what, we're just supposed to let them execute you" " for something that you didn't do?" " I should be out there finding out what happened." "Okay, every fae on the street will be looking for you." "I wouldn't be surprised if the Morrigan's already put out a reward." "You're staying here, and that's that." "Look, I know that not doing anything is killing you, and watching it isn't much easier for me, but I am gonna figure this out, and you are gonna stay here," "And... and you're gonna trust me." "Or do I have to drain you into submission, huh?" "Threats, threats." "If you go to Vex's club, you're just walking into his hands." "Hey, he's the one who invited me to spend some time there." "He might even be sweet on me." "Just watch yourself, okay?" "Are things gonna be okay till I get back?" "The Morrigan won't make a move until she gets support from the elders, but if she does," " there might not be much I can do." " But there are things I can do." "All right, remember, Vex can get into your head, but there are ways you can get into his, too." "I know." "What do you know about kirins?" "That they can reach into your mind and retrieve memories that you thought were lost." "I also know they're dangerous." "If I don't remember what happened last night, it's just a matter of time before the Morrigan gets what she wants." "I've gotta try." "Okay." "I'll see if I can find someone." "Until then, keep your hands off my taps." "I'm still running you a tab." "Hey." "Hello..." "Tall, dark, and gruesome." "My name's Tenebrae." "It means "dark"." "I figured it for "dim" anyway." "Whew." "Do you feel the connection between us?" "Both of us stuck in our fleshy prisons." "We could leave here and spend an evening of dark delights back at my inner sanctum." "What makes me think your inner sanctum is your mom's basement?" "I like to think of it as the dark core of the home." "Hey, I'm looking for a girl named Portia." "Do you know her?" "She's a thrall to the dark one they call Vex and his cabal." "You should leave her alone, unless you wish for their terrible gaze to fall upon you." "Honey, I just wish for my gaze to fall upon her." "Okay, so where is she?" "There." "Word of advice..." "You ever want to get a girl back to your inner sanctum," "You gotta lighten up your game some, okay?" "I'm sad now, but we shall meet again in the eternal void!" "This Ba'al has a crapload of enemies, even in the Dark." "Too many to count, and not enough time to interview them all." "Well, how about Dyson?" "You think one of his enemies might have set him up?" "Honestly, he might even have more enemies than Ba'al." "I mean, in case you haven't noticed, our boy has a short fuse..." "And big teeth." "So he's killed like this before?" "Man was a stone warrior for a couple hundred years." "He's only been a cop for the last 50." " You think he did it?" " Not without good reason." "Well, did you have anything else on these witnesses?" "Well, the bartender doesn't have a profile." "As for the girl, she's a runaway from up north." "She'd been kicking around the streets for a few months" " and then washed up at Vex's place." " Which means it's only a matter of time before she's on the menu for Vex or one of his freaks." "Not good, but also not our business." "Well, that only leaves Vex as a witness, and I see him more as a suspect." "Well, from what I hear, Ba'al was pretty loyal to him." "I don't think loyalty means anything to guys like Vex." "Did you have any luck finding out where Dyson was before he visited the club?" "Uh, there was a couple hours between when he finished his shift... and when he was supposedly at the club." "I mean, the whole thing is a blank to him." "Hale." "Yeah, send her in." "It's Lauren." "She's finished the workup on the material from Ba'al's autopsy." "Oh." "I didn't know you'd be here." "Well, I didn't think to warn you." " I didn't mean that." " I..." "I know." "I'm sorry." "Uh, is there something going on here I should know about?" " No." " No." "Yeah, okay." "So what did you find?" "As you can see, the teeth marks are consistent with a canine bite and not inconsistent with Dyson's wolf shape." "And with a lot of other shape-shifters, not to mention actual canines." "Dyson will have to turn himself in to get an impression made." " Wh... no." "Not happening." "He leaves that bar, he's fair game." " Look, I know that" "Dyson and I haven't always been on the best of terms..." " but I am actually trying to help here." " You think turning him over to the Dark is helping?" "Well, we're still waiting on an analysis from the animal hairs they found on the body." "Hopefully they won't match Dyson's DNA, and hopefully we'll get them on time." "That's way too many "hopefullys"." "I'll keep working on it." "You're not gonna give up, are you?" "I guess not." "You know, Dyson's a particular kind of man." "A man like him will give up too much for someone he cares for, sometimes everything." "Now I worry about him getting in too deep." "Thought maybe you'd be bad for him." "Well..." "You might have been right." "Nah." "Not even." "You're the real thing." "Hey." "I'm Kenzi." "Portia." "This club is, uh, gloom-tastic, huh?" "It's the best music in town." "Cool." "You been coming here long?" "A few months." "It's kinda the only place people don't try to turn me into a project and try to save me or something." "Oh, girl, you don't look like you need saving'." "You gotta be able to take care of yourself in this world," " Right?" " Yeah." "I hear ya." "I've been on my own since I was, like, 15." "You gotta learn the skills out there." "You gotta play them before they play you, right?" "Hey, I heard some guy got killed here last night." " That is pretty hard-core, huh?" " He was a dick." "A lot of the staff are like that around here." " The only nice one is Silas the bartender." " Well, if the guy who got killed was such a bad guy, then I'm" " sure lots of people must've been lining up to dust him, right?" " It was some cop who did it." " You sure?" " I'm sure." "I went outside after Ba'al and the cop fought." "Then the cop came outside and went into this alley, and then Ba'al came outside, and he went into the alley, and then I heard this growling and screaming, and when I looked, some big-ass wolf was killing Ba'al." "I think that wolf was the cop." "Man, the drugs they sell here must be kickin'." " Whoo!" " No, really." "It's what I saw." "Huh." "Patrick." "Good to see you." "I was wondering when the Light was going to show up." "I'm surprised you made it a personal appearance." "Detective Dyson's welfare is our first priority." "We want to get this difficult situation behind him" " as quickly as possible." " You're wasting your time if you think" " Dyson's gonna hand himself over to the Dark to be executed." " There'll be a process." "But we all know how that process will end, don't we?" "I'm following procedure..." "A part of the job that seems to be eluding you lately." "If you come with me, you'll be appointed the best representation." "There are many ways to structure a defense." "A defense for whose benefit, I wonder." "If he's handed over, whatever follows will be a formality." "He will be found guilty, and he will be executed." "There are no ways to say this gently, but if he's not handed over, the Dark will find a way to take him anyway." "The more you fight that, the closer you'll bring us back to the brink of war." "Dyson, you're a reasonable man." "You don't want to be responsible for the suffering of so many fae." "And he doesn't want to commit suicide" " by giving himself over." " You hold this position even if it means defying my direct order?" "Sanctuary is sanctuary." "Dyson remains here until he decides to leave." "You do realize that this could also mean the end of whatever strange..." "power position you occupy?" "You should be very certain of your own grasp on power before you start attacking others." "Ooh." "That was the wrong answer." "Gentlemen." "Thanks." "Portia, my friend needs to ask you some more questions" " about what you saw in the alley last night." " That's why you were hanging out with me?" "No." "Not only." "Okay." "A little bit." "Look, I'm sorry, but the guy that they say killed Ba'al..." "He's a friend of ours." "I'm not getting involved in this any more than I am." "Hey, you are the only one that might be able to help our friend." "Please." "Please, please." "I came out of the club." "I saw the cop go into that alley." "And then I saw the wolf killing Ba'al." "I wish I could tell you what you wanted to hear, but that's what happened." "If he did it, maybe they made him." "I can't imagine anybody making Dyson do anything." "Except you." "You could probably make him jump off a building." "Well, Vex can force people to do things." "Okay, what about the forgetting?" "And why would Vex kill his own friend?" "Well, that's stuff that we still need to figure out." "Thank you." "Look, dude, I-I'm really sorry if it seemed like I lied to you, because I hate when peeps do that to me." "I get that he's your friend." "Do you have a place to stay tonight?" "I've kinda been couch surfing the last few nights." "I don't know what I'm gonna do tonight." "You wanna crash at our place?" "It's not a palace." "It's not even a shack." "But it's dry..." "Sometimes." "That sounds good, actually." "Thanks." "Okay, let's go." "Hey there." "I was kinda hoping you'd be back." "You're not afraid to be seen talking to me?" "No." "You're what most fae dream of being." "You're unaligned." "You get to step outside all of these politics." "The rest of us, we just do what they want." "I mean, look at me." "Do you think working here is my choice?" "Well, if you're not a big fan of Vex's, maybe you wouldn't mind telling me why he had a beef with Ba'al." "I think that sooner or later, Vex has a beef with everybody." "And when he does, they don't stay healthy long." "Yeah." "Kinda got that impression." "Yeah." "Thanks." "Stop this." "Worst idea I've heard all night." "What do you want from me?" "Judging by your little display," "Yeah, I'd say you want something from me." "Now let me go." "why?" "You're trying to help the man that killed my friend." "Dyson didn't do it, and you know that." " How would I know that?" " Because you did." "Maybe I was wrong about our beautiful little romance." "You think so badly of me." "If you were to die now, there'd be no clan to avenge you, would there?" "But that would just put a damper on the evening's festivities." "Uhh!" "Tell your boyfriend to take responsibility for this own crimes." "I rack up enough of my own." "This is the guy you found to go through my brain?" "When you've dredged as many heads as I have, a little belt before work is mandatory." "Mm." "Two is even better." "The bar is open after the job is done." "Have you ever worked with a kirin before?" "I know the risks." "Listen, big boy, knowing the risks isn't the same as living through it." "What we're about to do isn't gonna be fun for me." "For you, it's gonna feel like somebody's pouring battery acid in your skull." "Well, don't sugarcoat it for me." "Open your head to me." "It'll be easier for you." "And it'll be less likely that you'll lose the memories that you wanna keep." "Forgetting isn't always such a bad thing." "Let's do it." "Show me..." "Yesterday afternoon." "Quitting time looks good on your, brother." "Have one for me on the way home, huh?" "Hey, Dyson, line one." "There's nothing there." "There has to be something..." "impressions, thoughts." "This isn't some bullshit amnesia case." "Somebody went into his head" " and scorched his brain clean for those few hours." " How would they do that?" "Maybe somebody like me." "Something somebody gave you." "What, like a fae roofie?" "Yeah." "Just like that... 'cause you sure got screwed, partner." "How about that beer?" "Must be nice here with you and Bo, looking after each other." "I'm still gettin' used to it myself." "They way things were at home," "I kinda wanted to not be noticed, you know?" " That's when things got ugly." " Yeah." "I know what you mean." "Even sleeping in parks was better than staying with them anymore." "But there are better things than staying on the street." "Like what, getting a job in a burger chain and getting hit on by the greasy assistant manager?" " You tried that, too, huh?" " Yeah, okay, not that." "But anything would be better than hanging out with that demented psycho Vex and his gang." "They're not so bad." "Hello?" "He gives, uh, mental lunatic killers a bad name." "Well, yeah, but..." "The music is good there, and Silas is nice." "He takes care of me." "He lets me stay over sometimes." "Did Silas give you that?" "Uh, yeah." "Kinda." "Yeah, I kinda pick up things along the way, too." "Look, Portia, are you sure you don't know anything more about what happened last night?" "The cop killed Ba'al." "Are they threatening you?" " Because if they are, me and Bo can totally protect you." " Nobody's threatening me." "Listen, I'm kind of bagged." "Do you mind if I crash?" "Yeah." "The couch is all yours." "Let me go see if I can rustle up some clean sheets." "You know, if you stick around for a few days, maybe me and Bo can help you figure out a game plan." "You know, we have some connections that could probably help with, like, getting a job and..." "Oh, my God." "What?" "You look like you just lost a fight to Freddy Krueger." "What the hell happened to you?" "I don't know." "Any luck?" "I'm sure Vex did it, but no one there is gonna tell me the truth." "How about you?" "The memory fae turn up anything?" "I got back a couple more minutes." "The last thing I remember is getting a call before I left work, but I don't know from who." "And the kirin says my memories are gone" " and they're not coming back." " Well, let's find out who that call was from and what they know." "Hale." "Yeah, I haven't come across any shape-shifters on our side who look good for setting up Dyson." "They don't exactly check in with us." "Well, Dyson remembered something." "He got a phone call right before he left work." " Do you know what that was about?" " I was already gone." "Call was logged in for him at 6:05." "Well, can you get me the number?" "It's an art dealer." "Lyle Harrison." "6597 Merton." "Since when did D start chasing art?" "Well, that's a very good question." "Thanks." "Does this art dealer by the name of Lyle Harrison ring a bell?" " Nah, I've never heard of him." " Well, it sounds like a piece of this puzzle is about to get filled in." "Bo, I feel useless just sittin' here." "I know." "Look, I'm a shifter." "My whole life has been about the hunt." "I get the scent, I track my prey, it takes me where I need to go." "But with this..." "I don't even remember." "I don't even know where to start." "Well, it's just a couple more hours, so hang tight." "I'm gonna go take care of something." "Yo, Portia, I got some stuff for your back!" "Portia?" "So not good." "I really don't understand what could be so important that you need to see me this late at night." "It's about your friend Vex." "Vex?" "Well, what a surprise." "Vex sent you?" "He put some stuff into play that got me here." "No." "I don't think I should be talking to you." "Well, you, uh, you really don't want me to leave though, do you?" "No." "No." "No, I want..." "You want me." "But what I really need from you is for you to tell me why you called that policeman yesterday." "I-I can't." "Mm, you have to, though." "See, I really..." "Really need to know." "I..." "Mm, I called the police because I was scared." "Things had gone too far." "Mmm." "They hooked me up with Dyson." "What had gone too far?" "The games." "Ba'al had a special room for VIPs." "Ohh." "He'd provide girls." "What kind of things?" "Pain." "You could play with them, and it's like they wouldn't remember after." " You like pain games, Lyle?" " Yes." "Yeah?" "Giving or receiving?" "Giving." "Game's different tonight." "What did you tell Dyson?" "About the girl." "They said she was special." "Ah!" "She had pink hair." "And when he hurt her, her eyes would glow." "But Ba'al took it too far." "I never knew a person could take that much pain." "Uhh!" "He killed her." "And he said he did that when he was tired of them." "But I... that's not what it's about." "I didn't want that." "A girl is dead, and you didn't do anything to try and stop it." "Was Vex part of this?" "Ohh." "Vex took his fun other nights." "Ba'al killed the girl." "You watch where you take your pleasure next time, or it might take you." " Hey." "What did you get?" " Turns out our dark fae friends are running some kind of fun fair for guys who like pain in the basement of the club." "Well, what does that have to do with Dyson?" "Harrison said they killed a girl." "She had pink hair." "He said he thought he saw her eyes glow when she was hurt." "Okay, hold on." "Wait, wait, wait." "I recognize that description." "It's a Light fae girl." "Missing person." "Mica Ruth Gray." "She's a Light fae out of north Fordham." "She left home a couple of weeks ago." "And she turned up at Vex's, and Ba'al killed her." "And you think that's why Dyson did him, for killing her?" "No, no, he wouldn't have." "I mean, it would've been so easy to report Ba'al for killing a Light fae." " His own people would've turned him in." " Yeah." "I don't..." "none of this makes any sense." "Yeah, well, it's gonna start pretty soon." "Yes, I called you a coward." "There should be a chicken on your clan crest." "The Ash has to take it to a vote, and I need to know that you're on Dyson's side." "Don't even start!" "You chose your allegiance." "We're done!" "You have to stop doing that." "You can't throw away your friendships for me." "I appreciate this as a time to find out who's worth calling a friend." "They're gonna force the issue." "They'll make you suffer, too." "It wouldn't be the first time, and it won't be the last." "What are you doing?" "I'm gonna finish this, one way or the other." "Dyson!" "Damn it." "Kenzi?" "Bo, Bo, Bo, this is bad." "This is, like, mega-bad," " Super-ultra-freakytown bad." "She's gone." " Slow down." "What happened?" "Portia ran away, and I saw her back." "They did something to her." " They hurt her, like some kind of pervy torture hurt." " I know." "Ba'al was running a club for people with a taste for that in the basement." "Kenzi, there were more besides Portia." "I don't know why, but she doesn't remember what happened to her." "Well, there's a lot of amnesia going around these days." "But it's convenient how good she is" " at remembering what Dyson did." " I'm afraid I know where she went." "Let's go." "Aah!" "Tell me who took my memory!" "Tell me who killed Ba'al!" "Just what we wanted to ask you." "So nice you saved us the trouble of coming to get you." "Don't even think about it, not unless you want those who are protecting you to suffer as well." "Aah!" "Ahh." "I just love to see justice done." "Don't you?" "I really, really, hope" "Portia wast stupid enough to come back here." "Well, she's an easy loose end to tie up." "None of these fae would give a damn about her." "Okay, so Harrison said they took the girls to the VIP room." "You ready to go clubbing?" "Yeah." "This is gonna give "girls go wild"" "a whole new meaning." "I don't know what you think I'm gonna tell you." "I don't know what happened." "Honestly, I don't really care, lovey." "Ba'al was a liability anyway." "What I really wanna know is all the juicy gossip about your little succubus girlfriend." "Why don't you ask Vex?" "He knows where she came from." "I lied." "Well, you know what she knows." "But not as much as you do." "You're not much of a poker player, are you, wolfie?" "That's okay." "It might take some time, but you'll tell us." "And what entertainment it will be getting it out of you." "Find out what's behind door number one?" "All right, kid, playtime's over." " We've gotta get you out of here." " No, I'm..." "I'm okay." "I take it "okay" means something different in your world." "He wouldn't let them hurt me." "He never would." ""He" who?" "Where'd you get that?" "She said Silas the bartender gave it to her." " She said he takes care of her." "Why?" " I recognize these symbols." "Dyson said it's the secret language of the wolf shifters." "I think we just found out who killed Ba'al." "Just finish it." "This is getting boring." "I have a feeling you're gonna disappoint me." "Believe it." "It won't be a total loss." "Finish it." "Everybody stay calm." "It would be a shame to ruin your makeup." " Bo, get outta here!" " We're going together." " Cut him loose." " Oh, please." "You don't think you're gonna get away with this, do you?" "He's a marked man, and you will be, too." "Not if I can prove that Dyson didn't killed Ba'al." "Oh, come on." "You're not gonna blame that again on me, are ya?" "Aah!" "Why don't you tell them who did it, Silas?" "Uhh!" "Silas, where do you think you're going?" "He's the one who cooked up the drinks around here, including the ones that Ba'al used to wipe the girls' memories clean after he finished using them." "Oh, that's absurd." "Why would Silas kill Ba'al?" "The same reason most people do things..." "For love." "Silas knew that Portia was gonna be killed by Ba'al," "The same way he killed all the other girls when he got tired of them." "Here's how it went down." "Dyson was questioning Silas" "About a Light fae girl that Ba'al killed." "Silas knew that Dyson would go mental on Ba'al, so he saw his chance to get rid of Ba'al and put the blame on somebody else." "And after Dyson had it out with Ba'al," "Silas waited for him in the alley." "Aah!" "All he had to do next was send Ba'al out there alone, follow him, and take his revenge." "Aah!" "The girl saw the murder." "Silas made up the story, okay?" "He got Portia to lie and say that she saw it." " Silas, I didn't tell." " Even if that we true, do you really think we'd just let you walk out of here?" "We've already called it in to Dyson's partner." "So if all you want to be considered a party to what Ba'al did to the Light fae girl, be my guest." "Yeah, that global fae dustup you're all so worried about is gonna start for real." "Ugh, this night did not turn out the way I planned." "Portia, you have to come with us." "I couldn't let them kill you, Portia." "I'm sorry." " I'm not leaving him here." " There's nothing we can do." "Oh, well." "This evening won't be a total loss." "Detective, I want you to know how happy I am about the outcome of the investigation." "The Dark have completely dropped their action against you." "Really?" "It appears they found the killer themselves." "Well, they do some good work sometimes." "Dyson, I want you to know that, personally," "I'm happy it all turned out okay." "Well, personally, I think somebody's ruining a perfectly good celebration." "This affair has been instructive, old man." "I sense we are headed toward a more substantial disagreement." "Was there ever any doubt?" "I suppose not." "I never thanked you, my friend." "You were gonna put it all on the line for me." "I couldn't do anything less for my best customer." "But, uh, just promise not to make it a regular occurrence." "On my honour." "So what are you gonna do now?" "I'm not gonna go home, if that's what you're asking." "Whoa." "You got the wrong girl, sista." "I don't know what those people are, but they're not like us, are they?" "They're different." "Yeah." "They're, uh..." "They're different, but in most ways, they're just like everybody else." "You sure you don't want to crash here for a few more days?" "No." "I, uh," "I saw a sign for a job in a window, and I applied." "They said I could have a shot." " They even gave me an advance for a room." " Nice." "Uh, burger joint with a greasy manager?" "No way." "Pizzas, and the manager is a she." "Well, remember, when I order pizza, I like extra pepperoni." "Can I call you?" "Yeah, you better." "You know, you're the only one I haven't thanked properly." "Oh, you don't have to thank me." "I need to thank you more than anyone." "You were always so sure I didn't do it." "Well, it turns out" "I didn't have to ask all those questions after all." "I know you." "Yeah, I think I know you, too."