bsumone | ❝ Nobody knows where you’re going ❞

"Good to know." The fact that Dal wouldn't share and the fact that he'd be nearby. He nodded to him and then looked straight ahead. To make sure he wouldn't see what direction Dal went. It wasn't what he would have preferred but you couldn't build trust by always thinking of yourself first. That simply wasn't how it worked.

Once he was gone, he paid for the meals then headed back to his hotel to get some sleep. Over the next few days he had some leads followed and he started to realize that this had to be someone with a good deal of power. But who? That was the problem. Especially when he didn't know where all these people were disappearing.

Without telling the police where he was going or what he was up to, he headed back to the area where he'd met Dal. With him, he brought food and blankets. No point in asking questions without giving something in return. A few people later and he saw Dal.

He smiled as he nodded his head. "In need of some food again? I brought sandwiches."

Dal didn't think much about their little breakfast meeting beyond the general keeping his eyes open for anything suspicious part. And maybe that Gabriel was too handsome to be a cop. But that was silly. No one said every good-looking person had to be a movie star or a model. What Gabriel will probably notice is that this block of full of younger pretty boys. A few blocks over, the ladies Dal mentioned. A few blocks from that... Well, certain types kept to certain places. It was easier for most of them to stay in the same place because that's where the johns go to look for their specific type.

Before Dal could even answer, his stomach spoke up on his behalf. He hadn't had anything but a cup coffee in the morning before crashing out for the day. He happened to have warm water today, so he grabbed a quick shower before heading out and missed the nice lady that usually handed him leftovers out the back door of the diner. So, yeah, the mere mention of food had his stomach rumbling. He clutched it and let out a quiet laugh. "No onions, right? Can't have my breath smellin'."

"No onions. No garlic. Promise." Pulling a wrapped sandwich from his bag, he handed it over to Dal so that way he could start eating. He even got out a bottle of water to hand over to him as well. Once he was sure that Dal had the food, he went to go sit down so he could chat with him.

"Heard anything while you were out here?" Probably not but he could still ask.

There's a covered bus stop just nearby that makes for a convenient spot for them to sit. "Nothin' you don't already know," he offered with a disappointed sigh. Unwrapping the sandwich, he looked over to the people gathering for what they often call 'the nightly meat market.'

"I talked with the guy who lived with..." the last victim. Dal choked a little, then faked a cough to cover it up. "He said he didn't see anything weird. But it got me thinkin'... There's like, what do ya call 'em? The people who work with people like us and try and get us off the street?" He's grasping for 'social workers.' He took a small bite and chewed it delicately before glancing back to Gabriel. "They're the sorta people we wouldn't think twice of bein' here, ya know? Maybe who you're lookin' for is passin' themself off like one of the people tryna help us."

Dal doesn't consider himself a smart person. Not book smart, anyway. It's probably something Gabriel's already considered. But on the off-chance that he hadn't... It was worth noting.

Though this was something he'd considered already, he liked hearing it from someone like Dal. "You know, one of the ladies over there said the same," he noted as he nodded in the direction of the ladies that Dal had mentioned to him before. They'd all liked him and great deal and had been eager to talk with them. Gossip really. But even gossip had its worth if you knew how to weed through the drama to find the facts you needed. Read between the lines as it were.

"Do you mean social workers? I was thinking perhaps them or some kind of volunteer. Which leads me to what I wanted to ask you actually. Is there an organization that most in your profession prefer to go to? For supplies you need."

He had a feeling that Dal didn't really tend to go there based on their last interaction. But if he knew something and it lined up with other answers that Gabriel had heard so far then it would give him a good place to look into.

Dal looked up, taking another larger bite. He took the time he was chewing to think about the question.

"There's people from GLITS, the Sex Workers Project, and Children of the Night out here on the regular. But the real help comes from the religious charities." Ironic. "There's a popular shelter that has a soup kitchen that some church runs. A lot of the same faces work there week after week. That place also helps us with supplies: clothes, blankets, condoms. There's even a doctor and a lawyer that comes by once a week in case we need 'em. Not sure what church it is, but I can show you the place."

He started out there. He still goes there from time to time for a hot meal and a handful of prophylactics. Sometimes when the owners of the building he crashes in go away and lock him out. They still expect the rent, but forget to tell him he won't have access. Woops.

"You mind walkin'?"

Mentally, he took down the names of those organizations. It would be easier to look there first to check records rather than seeing if any social worker had all of the same clients. Honestly, he doubted the social worker side since it would be too easy to get caught. A volunteer at one of these organizations though? That had possibilities.

Gabriel gave him a smile and nodded. "You were my last stop so I'm out of sandwiches and my last blanket is for you. So I can walk."

This was a good way for him to look around the church and get a feel for the volunteers there, see who had been a regular there the longest. Good. This was a great start. "Lead the way when you're ready. If you don't want to eat and walk at the same time that's fine."

He pushed off the bench, still munching slowly on the sandwich... ignoring the crust, just like on the toast a few days before. "They got a few rules to let people stay over," he explained as they walked. "No fightin', no fuckin', and hypothetically no drugs. I think they mean usin' 'cause they don't check our stuff. They got a couple floors with cots and storage lockers and a big bathroom where we can get cleaned up. Limited space though, so ya can't stay for a long time."

It's actually a few blocks from where Dal spends most of his nights working. So Gabriel will notice they're heading through some different territories and the streetwalkers nearer to the shelter aren't as many. The last thing most of them want is to have a reason for places like these to get shut down.

"It's a nice place and the people there, they look at us more like you do."

"So the usual for one of those places." He was familiar with how they worked having been to more than one for work as well as having seen some when he was growing up. Looking around, he noticed that the place was not only close but that no one was working near it. His gut was telling him to suspect this place. Or rather, someone working in this place.

It was going to take more than a day to properly investigate it. Especially on his own if he didn't want to draw attention to himself. The killer could be there and he didn't want to spook whoever it was.

No, he needed a good idea of who it was and then he needed a plan. He'd check out the other places too but his gut had never led him astray so far.

"A place that actually cares. I know what you mean."

"Yeah. This one's a favorite. It's got the most space for sleepin' and they have breakfast for the people who stay." He's not sure where they get their funding from, that sort of thing never mattered to Dal. This place doesn't turn anyone away unless they're behaving erratically. They don't seem eager to put their wards in danger. Some of the other shelters don't seem to care quite as much. But this one is like a beating heart for a lot of people who live and work in this neighborhood.

"I think most of the people workin' here go to the church. You might be able to get some information about which one it is specifically." Or, you know, just check out the signage as they get closer: City Hope Fellowship.

That meant they were getting funding from someone with power. That matched with what he'd been suspecting before. So this place was a good bet for hunting grounds even if he was sure the killing grounds were somewhere else. Studying the signs, he noted the name. City Hope Fellowship. He knew where that was and it wasn't far from here. Easy for them to travel back and forth and so on. He nodded as he glanced around at people lining up for supplies and such.

Looked really organized. This was prime hunting grounds if all those lists and documents he was seeing were up to date with names. Gabriel smiled at his good luck here. He was glad he'd started talking to Dal in the first place.

"You're really amazing, Dal. This is just what I was looking for."

"I've been around here for a while. If I see someone new, 'specially someone young, I point 'em this way. It's real safe around here," comparatively. There are no drug dealers in sight! Dal's not sure how or why they stay away, but they do.

"The people who work here are real nice. They'll probably talk to you if you wanna ask 'em questions. If not, I might just pop in for a few things."

"Get what you need, Dal. I can go ask around and see what I can learn. No need to wait for me, alright? I'll be seeing you around. With more sandwiches, of course." He reached into his bag and got out that blanket. It was for Dal, after all. No point in him keeping it.

"In case your building gets cold."

A shy sort of smile curled his lips as he took the blanket. He only had one, which was hard to deal with in the winter if the heat went out. So having an extra was a good thing. Dal got cold pretty easily, someone else told him once it's because he's so skinny. He's not so sure about that, but extra warmth is always appreciated, especially in the colder months of the year.

"Thanks," he added before wandering off and disappearing through the shelter doors. Never mind that little pep in his step. He's easily moved when people are nice to him. He got what he needed -- some fresh socks and a few handfuls of condoms thrown in a plastic shopping bag -- and headed back to his room to drop the bag off before heading back out to work.

For a while, things seem pretty normal. Other than that whole serial killer thing. Dal didn't hear or see anything unusual. Until a few weeks later when he noticed a familiar face absent from his block. When he asked around and found out no one else had seen him since the day before... Dal fished out his phone to text Gabriel.

someone I knows missing
noones seen him since day before

He went on with his painfully punctuation-free typing to describe the guy and give him a name. Tommy. That's all he knew, no last name. They may have shared a block, but they didn't share personal details. Tommy was a little older than him, he figured, and they'd often chat about work and the people they see. There was quite a bit of overlap in their customers. It made for interesting chatter over coffee at four in the morning.

Surely if a new body was discovered, the word would be out by now. Dread built up in his heart, and he spent a good part of the night checking out the shelters and flop houses to see if he could find Tommy. He kept texting Gabriel updates with each stop. He started losing hope that maybe he was just sick or laid up.

Gabriel was immediately on it. He didn't have high hopes here and was sure that they weren't going to find Tommy until it was too late. What made this worse was that he knew who Tommy was. That was the young man who loved cheese on his sandwiches but hated mustard. Who didn't need a blanket because he ran hot but he'd make sure someone who needed it got the blanket. He was a good one.

Texting back he made sure that Dal knew he was looking into it. And the first thing he saw when he got to the office was a list. The list of names of those who visited the shelter regularly since the killings started.

Tommy's name was on there. As were the other names. This was the place. This was it. Immediately, he started looking further but it was too late. He got a call from the police about finding the body and the picture they sent him told him everything he needed to know. Tommy was the new victim. Drowned just like the rest.

The next day he went to the various groups to deliver the news. He was up front with them about their friend and he offered comfort to anyone who needed it. More than that he assured them that he'd found the hunting grounds and he would find the killer before anyone else fell. Gabriel's eyes swore it.

After making sure that everyone had food and water, he went to head back to his hotel. There were lists he had to look over. Volunteers to sort through to make sure that he found a list of suspects.

Tommy was one of the closest things to a friend Dal had. Losing him was like a kick in the stomach. Just hearing the news punched the air right out of his lungs. It made working tough that first night after... Everyone was on edge and Dal spent most of the night like a limp fish. Muscle memory took care of everything he needed to do while his mind went blank. Besides that, most of these guys just wanted a quick fuck in their cars, so it didn't matter much if Dal was pretending to be into it or not.

To make matters work, his heart sank as he walked up the Chinese restaurant he lived above. All the doors were gated and locked. Looks like the owners were out of town again and conveniently forgot to tell Dal beforehand. Which meant the bag with his belongings was locked up inside, too. He thought about walking the rest of the way toward the shelter when the sky opened up and started pouring. Dal was already socked by the time he found an awning to hide under.

With shaking hands, he finally reached into his inside coat pocket to contact... Gabriel. That's the only person he could think of. He just hoped the guy was awake. It wasn't even quite four in the morning yet.

hey u awake
locked out could use some help

Gabriel had been asleep but when he heard his phone he was awake right away. Grabbing his glasses, he put them on and squinted. Ah that was Dal. He knew his number now after that text to let him know about the missing friend. Reading it, he called Dal back as he grabbed his keys and room key. No way was he having him walk here.

"Dal? Where are you? Give me your cross streets and I'll pick you up."

He hit the button for the elevator to head down to the garage to get his car.

Cross streets were no problem. Dal had a good sense of this neighborhood since he'd been working it for the last eight years. Since he wasn't at his building, he didn't mind rattling off the address on the building he was at either.

Even though he's been out of the rain, he's soaked and shivering violently by the time Gabriel gets there. It's a little weird watching the headlights turn down the mostly empty street, moving a slow crawl (probably so Gabriel can see the numbers on the buildings), then pulling to a stop in front of him. Weird knowing exactly who was going to be in that car and that nothing was going to be expected of him when he got inside.

As soon as he saw him shivering, he aimed the vents at him and turned the heat up before he started to drive back down the streets to his hotel. He even shrugged off his own jacket, revealing he was just in some sleep pants and a t-shirt. A sign he'd been in bed when he'd been contacted. Handing the jacket over, Gabriel kept his eyes on the road.

"Here. It's warm at least. We'll see about getting you out of those wet clothes and into a robe when we get to my room." A shower too to warm him up.

It's almost comical how he's pouting. It looked like he might cry.

"I don't even have my toothbrush... It's all locked up," he muttered. Unlike some of his cohorts, Dal didn't keep his belongings with him while he worked. Everything he had fit into a duffle back and he kept that safely locked away in his room. His room, that he paid for and didn't have access to yet again.

He draped Gabriel's jacket over himself, nestling into the warmth of it. "I was gonna head to the shelter then the rain started." A veritable downpour! How anyone can drive in it, he had no idea.

"Did I wake you?"

"I'll get you a toothbrush and you can use my toothpaste. You can have the bed too."

Laughing softly though, Gabriel shrugged. Yeah, he'd been asleep after a late night of working on the case. But that didn't matter here. "You called and needed help. It doesn't matter if I was asleep or not."

He wasn't someone who cared about what time of day it was. If someone needed him then that was what mattered the most. "I have leftovers from my lunch that I can heat up for you to eat if you're hungry."

Once again, his stomach answered for him. Beneath Gabriel’s jacket, Dal clasped his hands over it as if to urge it to quiet. “A little hungry,” he murmured sheepishly.

For a moment, he’s silent, just staring ahead and listening to the heat humming through the vents. And grateful for Gabriel’s attentiveness. The last time he brought sandwiches, Dal noted his didn’t have crust. This guy really paid attention to others. And before he knew it, there were tears.

“He suffered, didn’t he?”

Edited 2023-03-22 09:15 (UTC)

He made a note to heat up his food in the microwave. Not gourmet but it didn't have to be. Just a leftover burrito. Nothing compared to what his mom could make but that was what he expected from all Mexican food in the city. There just wasn't anything good here and he'd come to accept that.

At the question Gabriel was quiet for a moment. Then he offered his hand over to him without looking. A way to offer him support.

"In the greater sense of the word? No. He didn't suffer." Death by drowning was never pleasant but the way things had looked the gesture had been almost...kind. It was complicated to explain and the best way to put it was just that he didn't really suffer.

His hands poked out from under Gabriel's jacket, still trembling though maybe not entirely from the chill. Those thin fingers clutched at the agent's hand while Dal tried not to lose it completely. It's one thing to hear people are going missing, getting killed. It's another entirely when it happens to someone you know. It suddenly became less of an abstract thing.

Dal couldn't stop thinking about it, though. Poor Tommy, alone and terrified in his last desperate moments. Dal always figured he'd die alone but... He shook his head and pulled one hand from Gabriel's to rub his sleeve over his eyes.

"I didn't see him leave with anyone unusual. I thought he was goin' somewhere to crash for a while. He said goodnight and headed off. And then he never came back."

And he knew now that he'd found that shelter. The favorite of everyone on those blocks. He even had a short list of people that might be the killer now. He just needed a plan to get close to those people and figure out who it was. Basically he needed bait and he hated that.

Squeezing his hand, Gabriel did his best to reassure him. He had this. He'd get it figured out and ask these people would be safe finally. As safe as they could be given their positions.

"If I can do what I need to then Tommy is the last one this killer will ever get. I swear that."

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