bsumone | ❝ Nobody knows where you’re going ❞

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."

Somehow, that squeeze made him feel a little better. He believed it when Gabriel said he would find this killer and make them all that much safer. He never believed it when the cops said things like that because he'd seen too much of their disdain. When people like him were victims of anything, the cops always called it a 'no humans involved' sort of case.

"Do you know who he is? If he has anyone here?" He meant Tommy, of course. He didn't know the guy's circumstances or even his last name. Just that they exchanged small talk on the regular and worked the same block for the last couple years. "Even if he didn't get on well with 'em, if he has family they deserve to know he's gone."

"I know him. I have his file and I'm looking into who his family is and if he has anyone." Including if it would be safe and honoring him to contact them. But that was for him to figure out. He'd take care of it so Dal wouldn't have to worry.

Taking his hand back to get his key out for the parking garage, he got them parked then led them to the elevator. There he glanced at the man next to him and rested a hand on his shoulder. Giving him a smile, he nodded then led him to his room.

"Bathroom is there and there's a fresh robe in there. I'll heat up the food and you can have the bed. The couch is fine for me."

Never mind that the bed clearly showed signs that he'd been in it before he came to get Dal.

In truth, Dal was still feeling pretty numb. So he didn't say much or even look around as they made their way inside. He snapped out of his daze when Gabriel finally spoke and he directed his eyes wherever the agent indicated.

"You sure? I don't mind the couch. It looks pretty comfy."

"Well then I should sleep well on it."

Gabriel gave him another smile then went to move his things away from the bed. Thinking about it actually. "What charger does your phone use?"

He has to think about the question for a minute. "Um, one of those USB chargers... The small kinds." He meant a USB A-to-C cable. "It's a Samsung, if that helps." He fished the phone out of his pocket and held it out so Gabriel could see it.

"Um, you mind if I shower?" He was still cold and wet and wanted to warm up before wrapping himself in a dry robe and some blankets.

"If you hand me your phone I'll start charging it and you can enjoy your shower." So yes he could go shower. He didn't mind and even encouraged it. Gabriel smile and waited until he had the phone to plug in before he went to get comfortable on the couch, putting away files so that way he wasn't exposing things to Dal. That done, he got up again to microwave the food. And grab a bottle of water for his company.

Those were set on the table and he got out a book to read while he waited for the other to come back out.

Usually, Dal wasn't long in the shower. He's used to having lukewarm water, at best, so he's mastered the art of washing in just a couple of minutes. Tonight was different, though. The hotel had hot water aplenty. And Dal turned the heat up until the water beating down on him turned his skin red and steam filled the bathroom and then some.

He spent a solid twenty minutes or more in there before the water finally shut off. Dal felt a little better once he stepped out, dried off, and wrapped himself up in the fluffy hotel robe. At least the chill was out of his bones. He made certain he was wrapped up tight before he stepped out of the bathroom. The last thing he wanted was to give the impression he was trying to get a little something-something out of Gabriel.

The scent of the burrito hit him instantly. And since he wasn't working, he didn't care what was in it! His face lit up a little at the sight of it and he snatched it up before taking a seat beside Gabriel.

"Thanks for this. I'll try not to be a bother."

Setting his book aside, he shook his head. "You're not a bother, Dal. You can stay here until your place gets unlocked. I don't mind. Think of it like a friend having your back."

Letting himself relax, he turned the TV on to some random feel good late night movie. It didn't matter that it was the middle of it. This was just to let the man next to him have some semblance of safety for a little bit.

"They shouldn't be gone long. They're never gone more than a week at a time." Thank goodness for that or things could get tricky. Dal kept eating the burrito slowly, stopping for sips of water now and then. But his eyes were fixed on the TV. He didn't have one of his own and the only time he really saw anything on one was when he would stop in at some all-night restaurant. Usually, they just played the news.

After he finished the burrito, he at least had the sense to look over at his host and ask, "Is there a blanket for you?" He thought there would be, but he needed to ask before tucking in for the night to make sure everyone's warm and comfortable.

Dal had a good heart. He was looking out for others and it mattered to him that his friend had died. Gabriel nodded to reassure him that he'd be fine. He had a stack of blankets for handing out to people in the corner so he could just grab one of those. The lack of a pillow was unfortunate but it wasn't anything serious. A cushion would work just fine.

"Get some sleep. I'll chat with you in the morning and make enough coffee for the both of us."

"I left my clothes hangin' in the shower to dry," he added before getting up. Best to let him know so he's not startled in the dead of... well, it was already morning and it could very well be light by the time either of them might wake up to use the toilet.

Dal sank a little deeper into the robe and gave Gabrial a little wave before he padded off to the bed. He fell asleep easily, wrapped up in clean sheets that smelled like someone safe. Dal's not the sort who had trouble falling asleep in strange places. Staying asleep was his difficulty tonight since his unconscious mind was thinking a lot about his friend.

It's possible Gabriel woke long before Dal did. Or maybe not, considering the hours they were both keeping. Whatever the case, it was the scent of coffee that pulled Dal from sleep. For a second, he thought he was still dreaming when he opened his eyes and found himself in a much nicer place than usual. Clean, warm, welcoming. He almost didn't want to come out of the cocoon he'd made of the blankets.

Some tired sound escaped him and he asked, more to himself than Gabriel, "What time is it?"

The couch was not ideal for him. But he didn't mind it really if it meant Dal got to have a nice warm bed to sleep in for a few nights. Getting as much sleep as he could, he showered when he got up and made coffee before sending the clothes off to the laundry service. Maybe he should have asked but he figured Dal should get as much sleep as possible.

Looking up at him through the dim lighting in the room, since he'd kept the blinds closed and only used the desk lamp, he took off his glasses a moment to clean them. "It's after noon I believe. Are you hungry? I can order something. I sent your clothes down to get cleaned up so they should be up in a bit when they're done."

Closing the file he'd been looking at, he rubbed his eyes then put his glasses back on.

Oh, that's a lot of information for someone who can't even open his eyes all the way, yet. Not just the telling of it but the processing of what was behind it all. Gabriel's proven to be nothing short of a thoughtful person; Dal's seen that. Yet every time it's directed at him, it feels... He couldn't describe it. People just weren't like that to people like him. It felt new every time.

Those dark eyes swept over the room once more. It was a pretty nice place as far as Dal was concerned. The carpet was soft under his feet, the bed was incredibly comfortable, and it just... Well, it seemed very clean. Much more upscale than any place he's stayed in almost a decade.

"Is there a menu?" If it was after noon, he might as well get a lunch-type meal. Hell, they might not even be serving breakfast at this hour. "Did you eat already?"

"Here." He got up and brought the menu over to him. Then he gave a pause as he laughed softly. "No. I lost track of time actually. So I haven't had anything other than coffee today."

He held up a finger to his lips and gave him a wink like he was telling him a secret. "Don't tell my mother. She'd be very upset."

Then he gave a stretch as he went to sit with Dal to see what he wanted to have.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject