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"Of all the things we do in this line of work, Rathe, this is my least favorite."

"I can't say that I blame you," the snake replied, eyes firmly on the road as they drove to their client's place of residence. "Active pursuit is risky. The person you're tailing can detect you at any time and blow the whole thing wide open. You can wait for hours until you find something useful. And the chance of losing the pursuit is hardly insignificant. However, you have to admit, you're a lot better at it than I am."

Drew snickered; that was indeed the truth, and for obvious reasons. "Unless we were in the dead of night, yeah. Black scales tend to stand out. Not to mention your stature."

"I have always struggled with being unnoticed. A shame, really, because there are a great many people that I would prefer to not notice me...though, I suppose the visibility does help with expanding the customer base."

"Most likely. Well, I guess it's part of the business...I just hope this isn't going to be one of those nightmare situations...we've had some bad times trying to do tails before."

"Indeed. But let's see what we have to deal with." Rathe drove them into the driveway of a somewhat dilapidated house with a poorly-kept yard. The siding was dingy, some of the gutters seemed to be loose, and there were peeling shingles on the roof. The whole thing spoke of weariness and struggle, a life of hardship that had yet to abate. These were the kind of people that needed more help than what service Snake Eye could provide, but it wasn't up to them whether that help would come. As Drew looked around, he could tell that the rest of the block, at least, wasn't in much better shape. Times like this I'm especially glad Rathe doesn't have a fancy car...I don't want to be judging, but desperation and apparent opportunity can make bandits out of even the best.

Rathe gave a sharp knock on the door, and seconds later it opened to reveal a frazzled-looking panther lady. "Ah, it's you...thank goodness you boys came. I'm at my wits' end here, and you're the only ones who I could think of who I could trust to do something like this."

"We're happy to be of service, madam." The snake gave a slight bow. "I hope we can resolve your problem to your satisfaction. What would be the nature of the issue?"

"It's...tricky. Here, come on in, but please keep your voices down..." The panther ushered them in, and the two entered, falling quiet as they did so. It was an interesting request, and Rathe already had a suspicion why it had been requested. The woman's name was Laurel Harlan, she had called early that morning just as they were getting ready for the day, saying she wanted some help for them to follow someone. If they were supposed to keep quiet, then that someone was almost certainly in the house - and there were few options left to choose from at that.

And his intuition was rapidly validated. "The person I need you to follow is my son Jared. I need to know what's going on with him, and what I need to do to step in and stop it."

Rathe's expression remained even, only a slight eyeridge raise in response. "Hm. Very interesting. You suspect he's doing something he shouldn't be?"

"I'm sure of it, but I don't know what. And it's eating me up inside. Jared's a good kid...I mean, he's seventeen, so there's baggage that comes with that, I know it and I try to deal with it where it comes. But he's always followed the right path so far, he stays out of trouble, gets good grades, and doesn't get mixed up in nasty business. And I'm glad he's turned out as well as he has, considering the miserable bastard that contributed half his genes."

"So Dad's not in the picture, I take it, and his presence is hardly one you enjoyed."

Laurel scowled. "That piece of shit is trouble through and through. And I'll admit it was partly my mistake, young college girl not thinking about who she was hooking up with, but he seemed nice enough at first. And then I found out he was mixed up in all sorts of nasty business - drugs, gangs, violence, and who knows how many women. I made him swear it off to help raise his son, but he just played the part for a bit before sneaking out and going back to his old ways, and he was all too happy to hit me and even little Jared. I tossed him out on his ass when Jared was three...if only that had been the end of it, he proceeded to try to make our lives hell for another seven years after that. Threats, harassment, vandalism, repeated violations of every restraining order, it wasn't until he went to jail that we finally had some peace. I was terrified when I heard he was out last year, but he's stayed away...I think he knows he's gonna get tossed back in if he doesn't keep his distance."

"Doesn't stop some people, sadly," remarked Drew. "It has to be asked, though, does Jared feel the same way about him as you do?"

"More so. He never saw any good side in him, and more than a few times screamed at him to leave us alone. There's no love to be lost there. And thank goodness, that's not a role model I'd want for him in the slightest. Now I just need to make sure he's not following that road any..."

"You mentioned you'd noticed some worrying behaviors?" asked Rathe.

Laurel nodded. "Last just about couple months, his grades have been slipping, and he's been acting stranger than before. Like his head's in the clouds, and his body's in the crapper. Can't keep up the way he used to, but he's not telling me anything. I guess that's the teen in him. The weekends are the most serious, though...he's taken to going out with a friend, and lately whenever he comes back he's gone blank. He's usually going out at times during the weekends but wasn't until just about that time that it started being like this. Usually stays out over the night, even though I've told him I want him coming back. And I guess the best way to describe what he's like on getting back is 'strung out.'"

"You suspect drugs, then."

"More than suspect. But he claims he hasn't done anything, and can't explain what was going on, he says he can't remember and that it's all fuzzy. Sounds too convenient if you ask me, but I can't prove anything. I've searched his room half a dozen times in the last few weeks, but I've turned up nothing...but that doesn't mean nothing's going on."

"Just means that whatever is isn't taking place here," observed Drew. "Have you tried forbidding him from these weekend trips?"

"I've said my piece, but there's not much I can do. Not when I work double shifts from 2 PM to 8 AM, and come home so dead tired that I can't even think straight. Even if I say no, there's nothing stopping him from sneaking out. And I know my boy, he always gets stir crazy if he has to stay inside. Hell, I tried bribing him with a video game and even that can't hold his interest long enough to keep him from wanting to run out and hang out with someone else."

Rathe's tongue flicked out in amusement. "Perhaps the wrong type of game for him. You might need a recommendation, I'm sure my colleague could provide, he dives into those mind-numbing things on a daily basis."

"He can't see the appeal," Drew fired back playfully. "But I doubt that's the kind of help you really need...it definitely sounds like something is up. Maybe it has to do with this friend, do you know anything about him?"

"Beyond that he's a jackal, nothing," replied Laurel with a shake of her head. "I don't even know that Jared knows that much about him - you know boys, they tend to not gab about themselves like they're afraid of revealing their mortal weakness. But I know what teens can be like, and if he was pushing my son into this kind of thing, it wouldn't surprise me in the least. But I can't lay down the law if I don't know what law's been broken...I'm all Jared has for family, I don't want him feeling alienated from that. I gotta be able to talk to him honestly and know what's up, and right now I'm flying blind here."

Rathe nodded. "Then I suspect that our course is clear. We will make sure we keep our eyes out today, and see if we can suss out the source of the malady. And when you're available, we will provide whatever update is possible. I can't guarantee that we'll source it out today, but if we can, you shall know posthaste."

"I hope you can. Not that I don't appreciate y'all, but money's tight, and what I can spare ain't gonna pay for too many of these weekends."

"We're all about making sure we don't break anyone's bank," Drew assured her. "We'll work out whatever is necessary. Most important thing is getting your son back on the right track."

"Thank you...you should probably leave, I suspect he'll be up soon and he might get suspicious, I know that won't help you. I really appreciate this...and I hope for all our sakes that you're successful."

---

"I know we were asked, but it still feels wrong trailing a minor," remarked Drew as they sat in the car, eyes on the building Jared had gone into. It was a regular café, nothing special and most likely not the source of the problem, though one could never be too sure. "There's just something, well, skeevy about the idea."

"It's not really any different from following anyone else, in my view," Rathe said simply. "Everyone is someone, and when it comes to some of the activities that cause trouble for people, age is immaterial. He could be tried as an adult in a court of law, so why should we treat him any differently when our goal is to determine the nature of his activities?"

"Your perspective is a bit different from mine. Also, stakeouts are boring as hell."

"Let your mind wander. Let it try to come up with explanations and theories. After all, we still need to determine what's going on with the young man, so any brainstorms can be of value."

Drew chuckled a bit. "Wasn't it Sherlock Holmes that said it was a bad idea to make theories without all the data?"

"Holmes was a man of legendary brilliance in this field, a savant beyond compare. The rest of us mere mortals must rely on more mundane methods to reach our conclusions. So long as we do not fixate on one particular one, and keep our minds open for what we don't think of, we should be safe."

"All right, so, what are you thinking, then?"

Rathe opened his mouth to respond, then paused, starting the car back up as he spotted Jared leaving the café. He was indeed with a jackal that he hadn't entered with, someone the panther must have arranged to meet. They entered into a car - neither of them driving - and started off, and Rathe trailed carefully behind, far enough away to hopefully avoid suspicion. Only when they were on track did he continue with the conversation.

"I believe there are two possibilities which are more likely than others. The first is the suspicion the mother has, that our young charge is using substances he shouldn't. It would hardly be an unusual discovery."

"And the second?"

"That Ms. Harlan overestimates her son's antagonism towards his father."

"...You think he could be sneaking out to meet him. That does seem possible...but how would that affect his studies and all that?"

"If father is as bad as mother says, then there could still be drug use involved. Another possibility is rebellion. Beyond that, I cannot say, but that is what the observations are for."

"I guess. You think we're going to be able to figure this out quickly?"

"Provided that we do our part, I'm quite reasonably certain we will have our answer before sundown."

Drew looked over at the snake. "You think it'll be that fast?"

"The impression we were given was that this has been occurring like clockwork. Which suggests that Jared is doing what he's doing every weekend without fail. Unless he knows someone's watching him, I see no reason why he would break that pattern. The question, then, becomes whether we can effectively track him and intervene in time."

"If he really is going to see his dad, are we really in the right to intervene? He's the parent, and if Jared wants to see him..."

"That's a bridge we will cross when we come to it." Not exactly the most confidence-inspiring line Drew had ever heard from Rathe - the snake was less bothered by certain social niceties than he was, but that could also bring its share of problems with it. But it was entirely possible that that wasn't an issue they'd have to deal with at all, and it wouldn't be a good idea to get ahead of himself.

They followed the car the youths were in to a different part of town, and as their targets turned into a parking lot, they swung into a different one nearby, close enough that they could use their binoculars to see what was going on. The two were apparently going to a club, one that had a reputation around Raddington as catering to younger folks on Fridays and Saturdays - lots of music and dancing, no drugs or alcohol, meant to be a safe place for them to gather and enjoy themselves. How well it accomplished that was unknown, they hadn't personally had any encounter with it to this point. But that was about to change, as Rathe observed them entering the building. "They're inside. We might have trouble keeping track of them from the car if they leave in a large group...perhaps some slightly more close-up observation is warranted."

Drew rolled his eyes. "I'm gonna be sixteen again, aren't I?"

"You can be seventeen if you wish," Rathe hissed amusedly.

"Har de har. What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to try a line that will help me watch the outside. You have your earpiece, right?"

"Always do. All right, let's get this over with."

---

Getting past the doorman was simplicity itself - the rottweiler at the door barely looked at him as he passed by. Drew wasn't exactly shocked by this...it had become something of a running joke by now. Being a mouse, he was naturally on the smaller side, and the number of times he had been mistaken for as much as ten years younger than he actually was was getting to absurd levels. Most of the time it wasn't in a way that could benefit them, either - being carded when they went out and then accused of having a fake ID, or someone getting suspicious of him hanging around an 'older man,' never mind that he was just a year younger than Rathe was.

Once inside, Drew's senses were assailed by a cacophony of stimulation. Bright, inconstant lights, flashing or weaving around. Loud music and crowd noise in poor acoustics. The scent of too many teens with too little deodorant. This was definitely not a scene he would visit for entertainment, even were he that age...but on the flip side, Drew was certain he could handle it better than Rathe. The snake was exceptionally unhappy whenever he had to be in a situation even half as chaotic as this, and it was about the only time Drew ever saw him lose focus - he just couldn't block out that much and still keep his keen awareness about him.

Then again, most of the greats were big fans of peace and quiet. Holmes was famously opposed to ever attending a football match, and I'm fairly sure it wasn't because of the sport itself.

His initial inclination was to try to seeing if he could find Jared. Provided that the panther hadn't cottoned on to the fact that someone was following, he was unlikely to stand out as a person of interest to him, and that would give Drew the chance to monitor his actions and see if he could figure out anything suspicious. But the sheer number of people around made this seem like a futile endeavor, the club was fairly large but it was packed to the brim, even if he did find Jared he wouldn't be able to keep track of him easily. Complicating that was that he had to try to keep in mind that Rathe could contact him at any time through his earpiece - a good way of keeping in touch when they needed to separate but still needed to coordinate, but it was going to be tough to filter out the background noise, and he could very easily lose sight of what he was looking for if he got distracted by that.

After a bit of wandering around without success, he decided the second best option would be to try to find a popular spot and see if Jared came to him. The juice bar seemed like the best prospect - regardless of what activities one might prefer, a commonality was that everyone got thirsty. Of course, that meant the juice bar was crowded, too, but he figured it would still be easier than trying to hunt.

The bar had the look of a tavern-type bar, but the offerings were very much on the non-alcoholic side, and there was a wide gap between the stools for people to walk up. In fact there were only a couple of stools on each side, one of which came free just as he was walking up. Thanking his fortune, Drew took a seat, trying not to look too suspicious as he kept his eyes on the teens thronging around him. There were several people mixing drinks and serving them at the counter, keeping up with the flow nicely - clearly it was a familiar operation to them, and he was glad for that because it meant there would be a good bit of turnover.

He was just settling into the groove when a platypus approached him. "What're you having?"

"Uh?" Drew froze momentarily, then mentally smacked himself. Of course they'd see him as waiting for service. "Not sure...you don't happen to have a menu, do you?"

"Yeah, you've got your elbow on it." Drew cursed internally again as he realized the server was right. He really wasn't making a great impression...good thing it didn't matter much.

"Sorry...I'm kinda distracted."

The platypus smirked, and leaned towards him a bit. "You know, you look kinda old to be in here."

That caught Drew off-guard - it wasn't every day that someone actually gleaned that. But the platypus didn't seem hostile about the revelation...he decided honesty was probably the best policy here. "You're a rare one who can tell."

"Got a good eye for it. Helps when you run an actual bar."

"No doubt. I've been asked to look after someone...worried mother just wants me to make sure her kid's not into any unpleasant business. Unfortunately I've sort of lost track of them in here."

"It's hard to keep up with anyone. Pretty darn busy in here every weekend. If he's here, though, you can rest easy - we run a tight ship here. Teens come here because it's a safe place where they don't have do deal with any of that muck - it's a safer place than his school, I'd wager."

"You think so? How do you know there's nothing happening that you can't keep your eyes on?"

"They don't get in. Reiff at the door, he's a trained drug buster. Hasn't let a single one through. Works these days specifically to help keep everything clean. We haven't had a single incident since we started doing this whole thing."

Drew gave a wry laugh. "That you know of. Teens are clever when it comes to hiding stuff from people who want to stop them from doing something. I'm glad you guys are doing your best, but you really think you've caught everything?"

"Not sure how they'd even get it in here. No one gets in without passing by Reiff."

"That can't be the only door."

"Only one you can go in through. There's four other doors, but they're all exit only - three to the sides and one to the back alley. There's no handles on the outside and they auto-lock. And if they're open for more than a few seconds, we get buzzed to them."

Drew mulled this for a moment. "You don't think anyone's ever been snuck in?"

"Don't know why they'd need to. We welcome anyone here. Troublemakers can get booted out, but we don't ban people for a lifetime. And if you wanted to do some kinda illegal substance, there's a whole lot of other places to do that - why go to all the trouble here?"

Why, indeed...Drew wasn't sure a reason was needed, sometimes the thrill of rebellion was enough. But before he could continue, his eyes caught something - a jackal ordering a drink that looked like it might have been the one Jared had come in with. He wasn't entirely sure, there were some markings that might have been different, but it was too close not to investigate. Perhaps he could revisit the question with the platypus later...

---

As Drew did his work on the inside, Rathe situated himself outside. How thankful he was that Drew could take that bullet for him, he couldn't stand places like this, all noisy and distracting, hell on his peace-loving brain. Staying outside would at least afford him some peace to think and try to come up with other potential avenues of exploration, should they need them.

Of course, he had to try to put the gatekeeper at ease. The rottweiler didn't look particularly fond of seeing him walk up. "What do you want?"

"To observe, if you would be so kind."

"Observe? Who do you think you are?"

"Just a student scientist making some field observations. You needn't pay me any mind, I'll say nothing to interfere with your job."

It was scarcely a wonder that the canine was entirely nonplussed by that. "You think I'm gonna let you do that? I don't know the first thing about you, this is the first time I've seen you."

"Well, those are two entirely unrelated statements, as I've just seen you and I know more than the first thing about you. For instance, I know your name is Reiff Calzedor, that you were a former police officer in the substance enforcement division, that you are on an enforced retirement due to injury, that you've recently been divorced, and that you're on the long path to quitting smoking."

The rottweiler stared at him in utter silence for a moment. "...There's no way you know all that."

"Your name tag only says Reiff, but the monogram on the other side of your shirt front is a distinctive CZD stylism that is famously used by Gareth Calzedor and has been adopted by others with the name, regardless of any relation. You stand at an attention pose that is frequently used by the SED as a means of exposing the nose to greater air flow to pick up on drug scents - Captain Sanger uses it on occasion himself, despite his lack of specific training. However, the stiffness of your left leg and the unorthodox kink in the bend of the knee clearly indicates that you're wearing a brace due to a severe injury that they have determined cannot be fully rehabilitated. Your ring finger shows a distinctive matting associated with a long experience with a ring, but the ring itself is not present and the matting has lost its uniformity, meaning that the ring was a recent departure. Finally, your tongue has been stained with a red tint, which is characteristic of a particular candy which has recently been attested to as a smoking cessation aid in popular circles as means of occupying the muzzle during periods of craving - yet your front pocket bears a noticeable rectangular protrusion which indicates that you haven't reached a point where you are truly beyond the habit."

"You...you got all that just from looking at me?!"

"There are many discoveries to be made when one knows what to look for. Colton Rathe, at your pleasure."

"Colton...wait. You're that Snake Eye guy?"

"Indeed. I have a feeling you heard my name once or twice while you were on the force."

"Shit. Yeah, I heard, but I never thought you were...you know, THAT kinda detective guy. If you're here..."

Colton nodded. "There is potential business afoot. I promise you, though, that this location is merely a circumstance, not the focal point of investigation. I'm merely trying to get my eye on a certain someone...I'm far more interested in the exits than the entrances at this point."

"...All right. Your, uh, cover story is that you're studying something?"

"Yes. No need to specify - I can say that I can't say what, otherwise they might start acting differently."

"Right, then. Just, uh, stay off to the side so I can do my job, then."

"By all means." Colton leaned himself up against the wall, dutifully remaining outside the area of search activity. It was nice to get a chance to practice some of his observation skills...to him, most of that was a little too obvious, the masters probably would have been able to pick up on significantly more minutiae, but he still hoped to have many more years in front of him to refine his technique. No master of the craft started out that way, after all...

---

Following anyone in the mess of people spread all over the floor of the club was a little bit of hell. On the flip side, there was no way his quarry was going to notice he was being followed, so Drew didn't bother trying to be too subtle about it. The jackal was a bit ahead of him, but not so much that he couldn't keep his eye on him yet, and he took advantage of his smaller size to squeeze through a couple tight spots. This was basically their chance, so long as he zeroed in on his mark, they could figure out what was going on and put this thing to bed.

Well, assuming he had the right guy. That was kind of an important piece of that whole plan.

He managed to track the jackal to a calmer corner where people were mostly sitting around and chatting. And that was when Drew had his first bit of suspected misfortune - the jackal was sitting alone, looking pretty sulky as he drank his soda. No sight of Jared at all...it was still possible the panther was around, but the two had looked pretty close, would they really be split off? Though, maybe the expression was because of a fight...Drew shook his head. He was getting bogged down in possibilities when data was what he needed. Deciding to take a chance, he stepped over towards the jackal and took a seat across the table. "Ditched by a friend?"

The jackal gave him a nonplussed look. "Yeah? What's it to you?"

"Probably nothing, but sometimes talking it out helps, even if it's with a stranger. These ears of mine are pretty big, I'm told they're a great sounding board."

The jackal gave a quiet scoff and looked away, but he wasn't leaving, and after a moment, his defenses fell. "Well...maybe. Guess I could use someone to tell me I'm being stupid...it's kinda that and not that. Ditched, yeah, but not...well, not today. More likely to ditch, really, dragged out here by friends but I don't really feel like it..."

"Well, maybe I can help you. My name's Drew, what's yours?"

"Eagan. Not sure you can help much, it's just me not being able to get over shit."

"Maybe so, but voicing it might help you get over it, and even if that doesn't do it alone, I might be able to help. Sounds like maybe you had a falling out with a friend."

Eagan sighed. "More than that...boyfriend."

"Ouch, definitely worse. No wonder you look so down."

"Yeah." The jackal seemed to loosen up a bit more, though. "Thanks for not, uh, bustin' outta here when I said that."

"Oh, goodness, no. Kindred spirit, I promise."

"Oh? Jeez, thank goodness. I know there're more around here than want to admit it, but that's kinda the problem...too many old-fashioned people around here, still gotta problem with it. Even Jared didn't wanna tell his ma, he didn't know what she'd think about it and she's kinda the only family he has."

Klaxons went firing off in Drew's brain. This was a jackal known to Jared, for sure...but it could NOT have been the jackal they'd seen earlier. Which meant there were two in play...and it was highly unlikely Ms. Harlan, busy as she was, had any idea that was the case. Especially because they couldn't have looked too much different, Drew had seen the one entering the club and Eagan was similar enough that he'd thought it was the same one...Colton probably would have found about six different discrepancies by now, but he wasn't quite as adept at that. But Drew knew he couldn't pick up and keep looking now, this was a chance for real information. "Jared? Panther guy?"

"Yeah. You know him?"

"I've seen him around. Never knew he swung that way." The best lies were repackaged truths.

"Yeah, he doesn't like to be open about it. Worried about his mom, and nervous about whether it might get back to his dad. Jared's mentioned that he's a pretty raging homophobe. He would say that if his dad somehow found out he might start coming back after him."

"Yikes. So not exactly the kind of support that would help him come out easily."

Another sigh from Eagan. "Yeah. But...I thought he was happy. I wasn't so fond of having to sneak around all the time, but he'd come out with me most weekends and we'd spend time together, and he looked like he really enjoyed it. We even, uh..." The jackal looked away awkwardly, and Drew could see his ears darkening. "We, uh, got to, you know...know each other. Our first time, and a couple more. That...I really enjoyed that, and...well, I thought he did, too."

Drew idly wondered if maybe they had gotten to know each other TOO well - remembering his own first time experience, it had been like a dream until he'd realized he was with entirely the wrong person for him. Such was life, especially when one was young and horny. "You ever have any troubles?"

"Well, I mean, not...big ones. I didn't think they were big. Like I said, I didn't like sneaking around, and I think he knew I wasn't too happy with that...and we had a couple times where we had disagreements, just stupid things that...well, I didn't think they were worth caring about for too long. But...no, he just..." Eagan's hand trembled, and Drew suddenly noticed that he was gripping his bottle pretty tight.

"Hey, easy...you're gonna shatter that thing all over your hand."

"Oh...ugh..." The grip loosened, but Eagan wasn't looking any less tense. "All of a sudden, about six weeks ago, he blocks me, won't take my calls or texts, and I can't get through to him at all. And then I get a call from someone who says Jared doesn't want to talk to me anymore, and then...tells me he's told him all about how I've been cheating on him for months! Like, holy fuck! I barely know three other gay guys and I've never done anything with them! And it makes me wonder if HE was the one cheating, and just accused me because he didn't want to admit it!"

That was definitely disconcerting to Drew. "That guy who called you, did you recognize his voice or anything?"

"No, I had no idea, never heard him before...maybe he was a new boyfriend or something..."

"Hm. Maybe. But..."

"What? Hey..." Eagan was suddenly looking closer at Drew. "Are you...you're not a student, are you?"

Busted. Drew decided to push his luck. "No, I'm not. I was...asked by Jared's mother to try to figure out what was going on with him. Apparently he's been...off for a while."

"Off? Is...Is he in trouble?" The jackal's expression became very suddenly anxious. It didn't take an expert to cotton on that Eagan was definitely not over Jared.

"That's what I'm trying to find out. I'm pretty sure she doesn't know about what you ard Jared have been doing, but if there's someone new in the mix..."

"W-wait, he's here?!"

"Shhh! Look, trust me, direct confrontation is NOT what you want right now. It probably won't get you answers and will get you more heartache." And will cause problems for Colton and myself, most likely. "If I find him, I can talk to him and see what's up. Now that I know this angle is there, it might help me figure out what's going on with him."

Looking a bit dejected, Eagan sat back down and groaned. "Yeah...you're probably right..."

"Trust me, it's for the best. If there's some kind of misunderstanding, it'll be best if someone else helps him see it. Or there could be other-" Drew never got to finish, as the sound of a ringing alarm entered his ears - not one from too close by, but distinct enough even over the din. And in a suspicious direction... "Ah, excuse me, I have to go check something." He didn't even give Eagan a chance to ask after as he quickly made for the source of the alarm. It went dead in transit, but he'd zeroed in enough to continue for it.

As he reached the source, he almost ran into an elephant, who seemed to be mumbling to himself. "Hey, watch it!"

"Sorry!" Drew righted himself, looking between the elephant and the area he'd just come from - which, true to his suspicions, was an emergency exit door to the back of the club. "Uh, did you see who left back there?"

"What's it to you?"

"I'm looking for someone. If they left..."

"Well, I don't know who it was, but probably just some kids who don't know the meaning of emergency exit," grunted the elephant. "Second time today, we really need to make an announcement or something. Anyway, didn't see much'a them, just one staggering like he looked sick. About all I can do is yell at 'em. Gettin' to be an annoying damn thing, can't seem to go a weekend without some dips going out there."

Drew didn't respond to that; somehow he sensed that pressing his luck too much here wasn't going to help him. Instead, he made for the front door, swiveling the mic of his earpiece down as he did. He definitely wanted to consult Colton about what he thought before they made their next move.

---

"No kidding! You were the guys to figure that out?"

"It wasn't any such enormous challenge. The ring had to be hidden somewhere, and given the sticky and sweet residue on his fingers, it was natural to check the produce drawer. Really, it was a stroke of fortune that Dr. Galam realized the theft before the gardener could retrieve it, otherwise the mystery likely would never have been so neatly resolved."

Reiff shook his head, clearly still in awe. "I never woulda even thought to look for stuff like that. No wonder Captain Sanger was always so high on you."

Rathe's smile twitched the slightest bit. "Indeed, he has spoken very highly of us. I rather suspect, however, that you're dancing around the fact that that was not a universal position in the department."

"Eh? I...I didn't mean to-"

"It would not exactly be a shocking revelation to me. Antagonism between private detectives and law enforcement officials is a tradition going back to Holmes himself."

Reiff rubbed his head awkwardly. "Yeah, I guess you're right about that...well, look, I'm just the messenger, but yeah, there were plenty of guys there who weren't totally into you...I think they felt you made them look bad. And a few of them just couldn't stand you, I remember overhearing one who...ahem, said you put the 'dick' in 'private dick.'"

The snake hissed in amusement. "I'd wager they remember me from my younger days, where I daresay there was some truth to that statement. My temperament has been improving thanks to my partner, however, and I like to think I'm making more friends than enemies these days. Though I still have my share of those."

"Must be dangerous. Hell, my job was dangerous, and I was always surrounded by backup. Didn't save my knee, unfortunately."

"There are risks. I've accepted them as a natural part of the job. But I daresay I might be distracting you."

"I wouldn't go that far...just keeping my eyes open."

"Indeed? For anything in particular?"

"Nah, just any sort of funny business. We're getting close to the time that kids start to leave en masse, and that's when it's easier to get past my guard. I've had a couple cases where I feel like I've seen people leave who didn't belong...figure they probably get in when I'm trying to watch dozens of kids come in at once, but I'd like to catch them in the act."

Naturally that got Rathe's attention. "Well, perhaps I can be a second set of eyes for you...ah, one moment." He put a finger to his ear as Drew's voice crackled through his earpiece; it was not the easiest thing to hear the mouse through the racket inside, but he picked up enough to know how things stood. "Interesting...yes, come on out, it appears we'll need to reframe our approach. See you soon."

"Izzat your partner?" asked Reiff. "Wait, how'd he get inside?"

"I daresay you didn't even give him a second glance. He looks like he fits right in."

"Well, dang. I guess if you're tracking a student, might as well get someone who looks like a student. But I guess that means you didn't have any luck?"

"Perhaps not, but I think it was productive nonetheless. Ah, welcome back." Drew emerged from the doors, looking quite happy to be out of there. "I don't suppose your ears will ever be the same."

"It wasn't THAT bad in there. That said, definitely would rather be out here."

"I get that," agreed Reiff. "'S why I preferred to play doorman rather than chaperone. Damn, you really do look like you fit, I think I remember you going in and you didn't trip any bells at all."

"I get that a lot. Usually not where I want it." Drew turned back to Rathe. "So, yeah, I can't prove it, but I really think it's likely that they ditched out back. Whatever they're doing doesn't seem to be in here, and I think it'd be hard for them to hide it if they tried to go out the front way addled on whatever."

"Indeed, I doubt they're sneaking anything past our dedicated doorkeeper, either," agreed Rathe. "That means we have to try to pick up the trail, but I fear that it's unlikely we'll do so at this point. We can try to see if there are any signs of anything behind the building, but it may be-"

Whatever it might have been, Colton would never get the chance to say, as someone barreled out of the doors quite suddenly, knocking both Reiff and Drew aside in a frantic rush. It was impossible to tell who it was in the moment, as they had a sort of cloak or blanket tossed over their upper body, obscuring their face enough and blocking a lot of details from behind. The mouse was tossed into Colton, who managed to catch and right him; Reiff stayed upright but needed to grab the railing to do so. "Oy! You ass!" The rottweiler growled, but didn't give chase, sensing a losing battle.

"The hell was that?" asked Drew shakily.

"I don't know! I've seen 'em once or twice before, skulking around, but they always bust out in a sprint and I can't very well run after 'em. Don't know if they're some troublemaker or not, but hell if I can figure out where they come from, I'd recognize a get-up like that if I ever saw 'em trying to get in."

"That sounds bad...like they might be sneaking in somewhere else...ah? Rathe?" Drew was thrown off as Rathe lifted his arm, the snakes gaze narrowing fiercely as he examined Drew's sleeve. There was some fur there, transfer from the guy who'd run into him...nothing Drew could recognize, but Rathe was far more trained in that.

"Panther." Suddenly Colton let go, and started off in a rush. "Come, Drew! We haven't a moment to waste!"

"What?!" Drew found himself once again maddeningly behind, but that tone of voice was a rare one from Colton - it was the 'don't argue, this is gravely important' voice, and it spoke of nothing but trouble. He could see the snake's head looking over towards the cloaked running figure, who was hurrying into a car; whatever this was, it had to be centered on him.

"What the hell's going on?" he finally managed to gasp out as he reached the car, Rathe starting it immediately. The engine fired up, and Rathe sent them off in a shot, getting them in pursuit of the other. He only backed off once they were ready on the road. "Colt! What's the matter?!"

"Drew..." Rathe's voice was tense as Drew had ever heard it. "We earlier discussed the potential that Jared was sneaking out to visit his father. We failed to contemplate the possibility that this was not a willful interaction!"

"You...what?! You think he's been kidnapped?!"

"You reported that there has been an uptick of back-door usage in the last several weeks. A door unguarded, allowing someone suspicious to slip in, and deliver a drug that can be used to inhibit one's faculties without anyone noticing. If approached, they could say he was sick, and it would be hard to disprove that at a glance. Unless someone was standing at the guard all the time, it would be enormously challenging to catch them. As the victim and his original captor slip out the rear, the intruder may need to find a different way out to avoid arousing too much suspicion. Covered up enough, and knowing that the doorman is unable to give pursuit, a quick escape would leave them home free. The first culprit must be a jackal, perhaps one young enough to pass as well as you do. And the second culprit is a black panther, of advanced enough age to be graying. The time frame of the break-up and the change in behavior fits well enough into the timeline provided. The regularity of the event makes a random chance coincidence resoundingly unlikely. And there would be no reason to go through all this production if Jared was a willing participant."

The logic required some jumps...none of them nearly large enough for Drew to be unable to make them. "You think that's Jared's father that just bum-rushed us."

"A skulking adult panther who happens to have been in a place where we know his son was? There are few alternatives plausible enough."

"Yeah. Sanger?"

"Right away." Rathe kept his focus on the driving, while Drew went for his phone, speed-dialing the RPD. Intense as the situation was, he forced himself to stay calm - talking frantically to Captain Sanger would only confuse him and make him sound hysterical, and that would cost them time. It was a tough challenge, rarely did their investigations carry this much immediate urgency to them - but if they were right, then Jared was in significant peril, if not life-threatening.

The phone picked up on the second ring. "Sanger."

"Captain. It's Drew Mattison. We've got a situation..." With his voice as steely as it could be, Drew described the situation - the background of what they were doing and why, the details they'd picked up during their trailing, and the conclusion and current state of affairs. Even as he spoke it out, it sounded wild - a conspiracy to abduct and drug one's own child, who would come up with something like that? He could imagine telling the same story to dozens of people and getting told to a man to stop inventing such tall tales.

Captain Sanger was not one of those people. "Yeah...I think I'm seeing the guy you're talking about. Terrence Grove, out on parole last year, against numerous recommendations. Long list of harassment complaints from his ex-wife. I'll shoot patrol cars out to his address."

"Thank you, sir." Drew's relief was almost tangible - he definitely did not relish the idea of facing down this whole thing all alone. But that didn't mean they were out of it, not at this moment - if there was an active threat to Jared, they had to try to defuse it until the authorities could take care of it. "We'll try to verify what we can in the meantime. If there's any reason to think we're wrong..."

"You wouldn't have called me if you thought there was. You stay safe out there, Drew." The phone clicked, and the mouse let out a sharp breath.

It wasn't out for long. "Drew. We need to be weapons ready." Rathe's voice was steady but steely, his eyes riveted to the road - he'd been making a concerted effort to keep tailing his quarry at a distance hopefully long enough to not be too suspicious. There was no sign that the presumed culprit was trying to shake anyone, but traffic meant that it wasn't an easy track nonetheless. And that left Drew to do something he never enjoyed: pull the guns out of the glove box.

Rathe had made it clear early on: it was an unfortunate necessity. Their line of work was too dangerous to go unarmed. Neither of them particularly liked guns, but it was the only thing that could prove a threat at range, and you couldn't count on the criminals not thinking of that. Most of their investigations didn't warrant the use of weapons, they rarely had to confront actors that threatening on their own, but the potential was there. Drew pulled them out, setting one aside for Rathe and taking the other in his hand. He'd heard that others said that holding a gun made them feel safer...somehow, it had the opposite effect for him.

The car they were tailing suddenly jerked against the side of a road, in front of a ramshackle house that made the Harlan home look lavish. Now it was Drew's turn to keep his eyes locked on the actors, as the presumed Terrence Grove jumped out of his car and ran to one that had been parked in the spot behind. He and another man, presumably the jackal, were hefting and carrying the limp form of what Drew was sure was another panther between them, up to the dilapidated building. "Shit. I'm sure it's true now. They're carrying Jared."

"Then we'll have to ensure his safety as best we're able." Colton found a spot to pull over himself, settling the car in place without any overt display of urgency. By the time he was done, the three were already in the house - exactly as they needed it, hopefully the two conspirators would be preoccupied enough with what they were doing that it would allow Rathe and Drew to ambush them. The less prepared they were, the less likely there would be a firefight - and if they could avoid that, that was the ideal.

Out they went, firearms in hand, keeping a low profile as they hurried towards the house. They went along the road as much as possible, using the cars to maintain some extra cover in case someone was looking outside. Once they were level with the walkway to the house, Drew took the lead, using his smaller size to his advantage as he could move faster with less sound, while Rathe followed up behind, taking it slower to keep his own presence from being too obvious. As a consequence, the mouse reached the door first, and squatted by it to try to hear what was going on inside. There was some chatter, not totally distinct but the voices were animated and he was catching words here and there, something about 'the stuff' and 'get him down'...nothing that suggested that they were at all expecting company, which was the best-case scenario.

Rathe was near him soon enough, and they exchanged a look, Drew conveying that they had the edge. Were there no one in danger, they would have remained that way, spying on their targets until their backup arrived...but, having no idea what Terrence might have planned for Jared, this was not a time to wait but a time to act. And it was an act they had practiced; neither one was quite the type to be solidly busting down doors, but that didn't mean they couldn't make a disorienting entrance.

Rathe got into position, ready to deliver a kick to the door, while Drew reached his free hand to grab the knob. With a silent countdown to three, Drew turned the knob just as Rathe kicked out, the door swinging freely in with a jolt and banging against something inside, spooking both of their targets. It an instant Rathe was in, weapon pointed at Terrence, who had some kind of syringe in his hands and looked to be prepping it to use on Jared, who was slumped in a chair, strapped to it by several belts. "HANDS UP, DON'T MOVE!"

"Holy fuck!" The jackal squealed in fight, and again a little louder when Drew popped up and aimed at him. He immediately backed towards the wall, looking utterly terrified, meekly leaving his hands raised.

Terrence wasn't quite as cowed, though he was complying, at least somewhat; his hands were up, but he was definitely looking to bolt. "Who the fuck are you and what are you doing in my house?!"

"Snake Eye. DON'T try to run." Rathe's hiss was harsh, but he was really hoping it would be enough - he very much did not want to open fire if there was any way he could help it. But if Terrence got out of sight, that could give him a chance to arm himself, and they didn't have the time to free Jared and get him out of there before he came back. "We know exactly what you've been doing. The audacity, abducting and drugging your own son!"

"You shut your slimy trap!" Terrence snarled. "You have no right! He's MY son, and I DIDN'T raise any fag! I can set him straight however I want!"

Both of them had to make a concerted effort not to rise to the bait. "He didn't want any of the poisons you're peddling, chemical or emotional," spat Drew forcefully. "Maybe you didn't get the hint before when he would scream at you to stay away from him. Looks like the state's gonna have to enforce your distance again, maybe this time they won't let you out."

Terrence's face twisted into an ugly, bared-fang scowl, and his grip tightened on the syringe in his hand. Rathe caught this and hissed again. "You've got one of those. There's two of us. One of us is still going to be able to respond. And lest you think my partner's going to have a harder time adapting because he's not trained on you, I'll have you know he received an ace sharpshooting award from the firearms training academy. He could probably take both of you down before the thing even reached me."

The panther didn't look any less irate, but his hand eased on his lone weapon. He still looked like he wasn't wanting to end things quietly, but his time was running out - Rathe had already heard the sirens getting louder as he was speaking, and at this point they would soon enough have the official presence needed to put things to rest here. Suddenly, that syringe hand moved, spooking both of them - they just had enough restraint to keep from firing as the needle plunged into Terrence's own arm, the panther depressing it, giving himself the drug he'd intended for Jared. He let go of it and turned both hands up towards the two detectives, flipping them the bird. "Fuck you both."

Neither one reacted to it - as far as Rathe was concerned, that was an admission of surrender. He didn't know what the panther had taken, but unless he'd been planning to kill Jared, it wasn't liable to be lethal, and the amount of effort he'd put into this scheme didn't suggest that was the goal. He'd get his last fix before he was taken into custody...which was quick in coming, as the footsteps of the officers were approaching, putting the matter to rest.

---

"I'm chuffed to hear that, Ms. Harlan...chuffed...it means happy, pleased, satisfied...look, it's British, just go with it. Yeah, yeah, I think plenty of your slang sounds weird, too. But yes, that's great to hear, hopefully that turns him back around all the way. Yeah, thank you, and best of luck to you." Drew hung up the phone just as Rathe was stepping out of the washroom, toweling off while steam billowed out of the room behind him. "Did you leave any hot water in the building?"

"If I didn't, no doubt my attention shall be brought to that fact soon enough," replied the snake in amusement. "Did I hear properly that that was Ms. Harlan?"

Drew nodded. "Yep. Tying up a few loose ends and giving us her eternal gratitude. And our pro-rated fee."

"Well, it's only fair. After all, she's a taxpayer, and we ended up calling someone she already pays for to assist us."

Things had gotten quickly settled after the police had taken over, and after their statements had been taken they were reduced to being observers. Terrence was back in prison, facing a litany of charges including multiple counts of abduction and assault with a controlled substance. The process would have to play out, but the odds of him worming out of them were quite distant, especially given that his 'partner' had already given up everything. The jackal was someone Terrence had met in prison, then recruited to help him with his plot, which apparently served the dual purpose of attempting to 'get the gay out of Jared' and trying to portray Laurel as an unfit mother to get some degree of custody of Jared and provide him more chances to get at both of them. His part had been to get Jared's trust, and get him away from potential complications such as the boyfriend - the fact that he and Eagan shared species seemed to be nothing more than a fortunate coincidence. All that was well and good, but they had much less knowledge of how Jared had fared.

"Jared's out of the hospital. He's doing better, though Laurel says he's feeling like an idiot for being duped. She's trying to help him through that, but I'm sure it's going to make him wary about a lot of things for a while...hopefully he can realize that this was a really unorthodox situation."

Rathe shrugged his shoulders as he sat in his chair. "The mind dislikes relinquishing its cautionary tales. It's unlikely he'll ever forget this ordeal, a professional may be a wise idea. Sadly, I fear that means are likely to prohibit such directions..."

Drew nodded, frowning a bit. "Yeah, if only that weren't the case. Lots of battles we aren't equipped to fight...but, well, at least he's physically feeling better, and Laurel says they gave him something to help with the withdrawal. Sounds like his exposure was limited enough and he was lucky enough that he doesn't seem to have gotten a full-on addiction."

"A better result than some."

"Not the only good result. It, uh, sounds like Eagan heard about what happened...to hear her tell it, she was just about bowled over by him, rushing into the ward and bawling his eyes out over Jared. Mighta been mutual, too, she didn't say it but she kinda-sorta hinted at it...well, Jared apparently got sucked in by our jackal because he posed as Eagan's cousin, and invented a pretty thorough tale about how Eagan had been cheating on him. And then took advantage of his distraught state by offering to help him...looks like they both figured out that they'd been played."

"I seem to remember you implying that there was some secrecy in their relationship. Dare I presume that that was rather exploded by such a forthright display?"

The mouse snickered a bit. "Exploded is probably a good way of putting it. Thankfully, Ms. Harlan is very much NOT like her ex, and she says while it's a new thing to her, anything that helps Jared get out and be with the right people is a good thing in her book. And at least it means he's not gonna be making any little panthers any time soon."

"A statement not perfectly guaranteed to remain a universal truth in the future, but one certainly applicable in today's climate," remarked Rathe. "A satisfying conclusion, I should say, to an overly exciting investigation. I shan't see myself lamenting being done with it."

"You had only half the pulse-pounding I did. I swear the bass in those clubs hijacks your heartbeat."

"Indeed. There are better ways to accelerate one's heart rate, and to experience a euphoria which drugs can only wish to induce. And they seldom end with someone at gunpoint, unless things have gone disastrously off the rails."

Drew grinned. "Yeah, I'd say I'm pretty content with that being the most excitement I get in a day. When it comes to cases, I'd rather be interested than thrilled. But hey, at least we know we're capable of it."

"I suppose so. And I hope we need not demonstrate our proficiency again for a long time."