Alright new chapter, hope you enjoy, it might be a bit boring depends not so action pact as the others but hey it's getting there XD

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Mike awoke the next morning at five am and felt like a bolt of lightning had just hit him, he had been trying to think of how many times Steve had been left alone on cases and there had only been a few times in the past few years that Steve had so this narrowed it down a hell of a lot. Mike got up and went to the bathroom, he got his clothes ready and as he got in the shower decided that from now on he was gonna throw one hundred and fifty percent into this case, the little hint that Shadow had dropped might be the hint that would cause his downfall.

Mike went to the kitchen and saw the bottle of scotch that was almost empty on the bench and grinned 'No more of you I'm gonna beat this guy…' Mike said as he grabbed the neck of the bottle and threw it in the trash. 'I'm not gonna let that ass hole win…'

Mike didn't know why he felt so empowered all of a sudden, he had woken up several times thinking that if Steve was strong enough to take on Shadow and still be alive, than he could be too. He felt that he had been letting down Steve by focusing on the downside rather than trying as hard as anyone knew he could. Together they were strong and Mike knew if they were gonna get through this they would both have to be strong.

'Why didn't I think of this before…why haven't I been the tough one…I've got to beat that bastard, starting from now I'm gonna grab that case by the scruff of the neck and get into it, no more fear Stone…Stop getting way to personal…Time to show everyone who's boss again and get back in the game…' Mike drank his coffee and was thinking about where he went wrong over the last two weeks. He hadn't felt like getting drunk till recently and this was a bad sign to him, it was the sign he'd be heading into the point of no return unless he got stuck into this case properly.

'I should've tried harder earlier…' he thought to himself as the sun began to come up. 'It's gonna be a busy day but, I want to take that clue from last night and find whatever I can…' Mike's determination kept his mind on focus and no more did he wonder if Steve was alive, he just wanted to focus on what he had and was looking forward to what he was going to end up with later in the day or in the next few days.

He didn't care how long it took or how long it would take, he just knew he had to get through this case, and be in charge again. He was too personal in the case and now he was going to handle it like he wasn't personally attached, he was going to handle it like it was any other case and hoped that his efforts would save more lives…

Steve had been stirring in his sleep, woken up several times covered in sweat and his leg was making him feel worse if that was even possible right now. He managed to limp along the wall to the bathroom and drank a lot of water before limping back to rest his leg. He was wondering if John was going to come back to torture him some more or to leave him alone. Steve rubbed his hands against his face and hadn't noticed till now how long his facial hair had grown, he hated it 'I wish I could shave…' he said to himself 'I wish I was out of here, I wish John was dead!' he yelled getting more worked up.

'I can't let him get to me…C'mon Mike I hope you solve this case soon…' Steve said staring at the ceiling wishing he could see daylight once again.

'I can't give up I just can't…Mike wouldn't want me to give up, I don't want to give up and give in to his retched plan…You wouldn't want me to give up would you Angie?' he said staring up at the ceiling. 'What's it like up there?' 'I wish you were here…Well not here but just alive…I can't imagine what you went through…I'm sorry I wasn't there for you…' Steve murmured to himself as he thought of Angela, he closed his eyes and thought about how the sun shone on her hair when they used go for walks, how she'd smile, how she'd talk to him about her day, as she would listen as he told her about his day and they really listened to each other. She was the only one in his eyes that genuinely loved and genuinely cared for him, how they'd share their dreams with each other and tell each other everything.

She was like no other woman Steve had met before, he couldn't compare nor put her below anyone else, Steve hadn't thought of her and how it used to be for some time which made the memories fade… She was still connected with him…

And now she was gone, even though she wasn't in his life in that way anymore he still felt like she had a major impact on him and now she was gone forever… As he was about to drift into sleep he heard the door unlocking and echoing across the basement, piercing his ears with the horrible and dreaded sound of John arriving. He came down the stairs slowly and Steve could see that he had a plate and a glass in his hand. 'Breakfast, hope you're hungry…' John said slowly and was yawning; he actually seemed tired and somewhat more human now.

John put the plate and glass of water next to his mattress and Steve lay still and looked across at the glass and plate on the ground beside his mattress. 'I'll be back later Keller, no funny business.' He said as he turned on his heel and walked back up the steps and locked the door behind him. Steve was pleased to see six slices of bread with peanut butter on them and the smell enticed him. He was suspicious; he thought 'Why is he being nice to me? Is he going to drug me again?' he hesitantly picked up the soft bread and put it in his mouth waiting for his heart to stop or to drop into a bad dream…but nothing happened, he was fine; there was nothing wrong with him.

'This is way too weird…' he said to himself taking a second bite, he kept an eye on the door but, after a while his paranoia subsided and he ate his breakfast with little care in the world…

Mike got to the office after driving around the streets doing his rounds in case he was needed and driving around to the different spots of the murders. Mike said he'd be out for a while going over past records in the record office. He got some funny looks from some of the other investigators but, he just said he had a clue of his own and thought it'd be best to go to records.

He got the key and went in there, walking down the steps of the police department and didn't really take much notice of how big the building really was. He asked if it was possible to see if Inspector Keller had made any arrests without himself on the case and the clerk nodded, reached under the desk and got out a thick book. 'Not all police stations have this on them, but I always keep it.' The old man said 'Each case I file, I write the case and the Investigators in charge of them so Keller for instance, I'll just go to K and we'll go on from there.'

Mike waited patiently for a few minutes while the clerk wrote down on a slip of paper the cases and passed it over to Mike.

'There's only five cases.' He said relieved 'Narrows it down a bit…' he said thinking it was low enough only for himself to hear.

'What you looking in his cases for anyway? Is it a revenge case? I heard he's gone missing…' Mike nodded 'We're thinking that is the case so far.' The clerk nodded 'He's been gone nearly two weeks Mike…It'll come good.' the man scratched his thinning hair and went back to his work, he had piles of files to put somewhere and Mike was glad he didn't have his job.

Mike walked through the doors to the records room and stared around at boxes upon boxes of cases, lined up on shelves like biscuits in a box. The first on the list was David Casey; there were four others on the list Martin Miller, Willy Dobell, Jared Johnston and Mark Saunders. Mike started at David and went to C for Casey he had been arrested for armed robbery last year, his case provided nothing of a brother and just that he was part of a gang with five other friends.

Mike decided this wasn't his man so he went to M for Miller and used a step ladder to reach the box, his case had three boxes and Mike sifted through the evidence for what seemed like hours and yet again found that he had been arrested for armed robbery and was in cahoots with Casey, the other three hadn't been arrested as of yet apparently and nor would Casey or Miller give them their names as they believed they were blood brothers. They said they would never tell on one another. Mike found this from reading the court transcript from when they were sentenced. 'There's some looney people out there…' he thought to himself as he put all the papers back into the box and put the lid back on it and slid it back to where it was.

Willy Dobell and Jared Johnston turned up nothing other than both were arrested for murder, Dobell for killing someone at a bar during a brawl and Johnston for killing his wife for having an affair. That left only Mark Saunders and Mike hoped this would be the guy. He had spent hours in the record room going over each case, reading over each one and as he checked his watch he found that it was already 5:30 in the afternoon. Mike yawned as he walked down the records aisles he finally came to S and thanked the lord above that he only had to go no further than 'Sa' because S took up at least three shelves.

Mike got out a step ladder and grabbed the three boxes one at a time from the shelf and put them on the floor, he then carried them to a table nearby and began sifting through the information. Mike found that Saunders' was a schizophrenic and had killed someone, the more Mike read it the more he was beginning to remember the case.

Mike remembered Steve telling him about a nut job that killed an old man for four hundred dollars just to get some smack. He tried to plead insanity in his case and had a brother that took the stand in his defence. However, this didn't go down well…

He had found that psychiatrists found him in the right state of mind to know the difference between right and wrong in the court and that he would be placed in a high security prison with mental health facilities. However, Saunders had gone crazy after nearly sixty days and had killed himself by hanging, using bed sheets and left only a note for his brother and his personal affects. What the message contained wasn't listed nor known which made Mike wonder.

As Mike read on he discovered that the brother's name was Joseph Applegate, he was Saunders's half-brother. Mike wrote the name down and his address that he had provided when being questioned about his brother.

He thought it'd be an easy road from there and wondered why Applegate basically dobbed himself in. 'There's got to be a reason…' Mike said to himself flicking back and forth amongst the pages.

After spending 7 hours reading different cases, sifting through evidence Mike finally felt like he was getting somewhere and that the case was now a step further to being closed, rather than going cold as they had previously feared months ago.

Mike felt like he was winning again, like he was in control something he hadn't felt in the last ten days. He wasn't going to let Shadow beat him and he sure as hell was going to get upstairs as fast as he could and see what he could find out on Joseph Applegate. He got upstairs around seven thirty and wrote the address down for the next day…

'I got you now Applegate.' He said staring at Steve's empty desk that was becoming a dust collector.

The following day Mike went to the address where Joseph Applegate had been living, an apartment on the west side of the bridge. He went into the apartment building which was yellow and had cracks all down it. He walked inside the entrance of the building and looked at the names on the mailboxes and found no Applegate.

He was about to turn around to leave figuring no one was there until he heard a croaky voice. 'Can I help you?' he heard a voice say from the desk, there was a middle aged woman with so many lines on her face Mike thought she was a heroin addict. 'I was just wondering if a Joseph Applegate lived here? I'm Lieutenant Detective Mike Stone.' Mike said introducing himself and the woman shook her head 'He's been gone about ten months now…' she said sternly.

'Do you know where he went?' Mike asked curiously 'No idea, but I do know he used to work at Garrison's garage on 10th Avenue. Why what's he done? Killed a man like his brother did…' The woman said turning a page in her diary carelessly.

'Did you ever speak with him?' Mike asked writing down whatever it was she was going to tell him 'Not really, but I do remember after his brother died in prison he didn't come out much…His brother's death affected him so badly…' Mike nodded 'Did he ever say anything about the case or anything you noticed about him that was strange?' she shook her head and some grey hairs fell from her bun and landed on the side of her cheek. 'He was quiet, friendly on a good day, even quieter when he wasn't… I'm sorry I can't be of any help to you.' She said slowly. Mike figured he may as well see if his boss could help locate him so he decided to leave the apartment building.

'Well thank you Miss…?' Mike trailed off not catching her name 'Miss Gracie, or you can call me Mary…' she said winking and Mike felt an uncomfortable shudder go through his body. 'If you need anything don't hesitate to ask and I mean anything…' she said winking again and Mike figured it was time to split.

'Well thank you Miss Gracie…' he said walking towards the door slowly 'I'll be off.' She gave a small wave and Mike disappeared behind the door and back out to his car 'I wonder what her young years were like…' Mike thought trying not to gag at the image of a young woman with lines all over her face and a horrid voice.

Other than that, Mike read over what he had found out 'Getting closer…' Mike thought to himself before starting the car and driving over to 10th Avenue. He was on the road for about twenty minutes and turned onto 10th Avenue, there were car dealerships and tire shops so naturally there would have to be a garage.

About halfway along; he spotted a blue sign reading 'Garrison's Garage' and pulled into the parking area at the front, put the brake on and got everything he needed. He walked towards the garage hoping that Joseph was working there or wondering if they knew his current address. The garage was a big red brick building that had a few Mustangs, Pontiac's and the odd Chevy sitting around. He walked to the side of the building and knocked on the door; a man in a blue mechanics suit opened the door and took the cigarette out of his mouth.

'Can I help you?' he said putting a cap on his bolding head. 'I'm Lieutenant Detective Mike Stone from the San Franciscan Police Department.' He said showing his badge 'What can I do for you, name's Bill Garrison.' He said offering his right hand but changing it for his left because it was covered in grease.

Mike shook his hand 'I was just wondering if Joseph Applegate worked here?' Bill looked at him and then looked at the ground 'He's been dead for six months…well that's what I heard, apparently he overdosed on heroin. Working wise he hasn't been here for ages, he skipped town and then that was all I heard besides rumours. His brother died you see…Well I guess you know…' Bill said taking a huff of smoke into his lungs and breathing it out.

Mike was curious 'Do you think he died?' Mike asked 'Like for sure?' Bill shook his head 'He was a crafty bastard, stole some tools from my garage a few times; I caught him out and fired him. He was a weird type of guy, very quiet…He talked about his sick brother a lot though, but then his brother went into prison and he became slightly crazy. He spoke about some Inspector Kelly and said he was gonna kill him for putting his brother in jail because he didn't deserve to be there or some stupid shit… He said he wanted revenge on this guy because his brother didn't deserve to go to jail because he was sick…' Mike's heart sank knowing that this was Steve he was talking about… 'This was like ten months ago after he died, haven't seen him since.'

'Did he ever say anything else?' Mike asked writing down everything Bill said 'He just said he was going to get out of town…He was probably a nutter like his brother too, he did heroin as well and supplied it for his brother sometimes. I remember one time he started a fight with someone at the mechanics shop that was the real last straw. Never heard from him again, then one of the guys said he overdosed on heroin but, that could be anyone. I heard from someone else that he changed his name…Don't know what to.' Mike was glad someone finally had some information on who this guy was. 'Can you give me a description of him?' Mike asked 'Sure, he has blue eyes, crew cut hair, well last time I saw him anyway, about five eleven, Caucasian, about thirty to what I remember.' Mike nodded as he wrote down every detail.

Thanks for your help Bill…' Mike said closing his note book and putting it in his trench coat pocket. 'Glad to help detective, I've just got to know one thing, what did he do?' Mike knew that Steve being kidnapped had been in the paper and the cases that had been done on the other victims had been put in the papers as well. 'We suspect he's responsible for the deaths of a few people and kidnapping a detective.' Bill shook his head in disgust.

'You better hope that cops alive Detective… One thing about Joseph was that he often enjoyed pain and laughed at the paper when there was a murder case inside…' Mike looked at Bill stunned, pulled his note book out quickly and wrote it down. 'You're lucky he didn't go after you…' Mike said to Bill 'I wouldn't put it past the dead beat.' He said putting his cigarette on the ground and squishing it.

'Well thanks again.' Mike said shaking Bill's hand 'Oh, here's my business card.' He said pulling a small card out from his chest pocket 'I'll call you if I need any more information.' Mike said and walked back to the Galaxie. Mike was getting more into this case now, ever since Shadow had dropped the line the two days before Mike had made so much ground up on the case but he couldn't help but think, maybe Shadow wanted him to be the one to find Steve…

Mike returned to the office in a good mood and went straight to his office to ring around a few people about who to contact for name changes and wanted to get a report on Applegate. After a long day of reading over information, reading reports on other cases and going back over the records Mike finally went home. He was half way through dinner when he got a call 'Who could that be?' he said putting his knife and fork down and walked over to the phone. 'Hello?' he said tensely and finally after what felt like weeks of silence a voice he wanted to hear most said 'Hello' back.

'Jeannie, how are you?' Mike asked feeling the happiest he'd been in a while. 'Hey Mike, I just wanted to ring for being so mean to you… I felt so god damned bad getting angry at you, I've been studying trying to take my mind off it but, I know it's not your fault. I'm sorry dad.' She said gently.

'It's okay sweety, you been okay?' Mike asked 'Yeah, it's been good. Have you heard anything about Steve?' Mike shook his head 'Nothing that would make you feel any better, but as far as I know he's still hanging in there.' Jeannie's voice choked 'I don't know how you do it dad…You're a really strong guy.' She said and Mike's heart melted 'I haven't been as strong as I should've been lately…But I've got a massive lead out now so it seems to be heading up. I need you to trust me okay, we'll get him back.'

Mike had a feeling Jeannie just nodded when she didn't respond. 'Look if I hear anything else you'll be the first to know.' She said sounding like she was about to cry.

'I know Mike, I love you.' She said 'Be careful.' Mike nodded 'I love you too, and don't go off with anyone you don't know okay? Even if they say something's happened to me, there's sick bastards that'll try it…' Mike said 'I know Mike you've told me that for as long as I can remember…' Mike smiled 'I know…Love you, goodnight Jeannie.' He said 'Love you too, night dad.' She said before hanging up.

'I won't let you down…' Mike said as he walked back to the table for dinner and enjoyed a peaceful meal before going to bed for the night…

Steve had spent the day trying to limp around the basement, trying to build up his strength despite being injured. He had fallen down many times but, kept trying and he thought either because he was going mad or because he just wanted to get the hell out of there. He had rested for what seemed like a few hours and got up to start again.

Unexpectedly, John came down at God knows what time it was and he was covered in blood. The dim light highlight the blood and Steve could see the red patches glistening in the light and hoped to God someone just tried to kill him.

'What happened to you?' Steve asked bravely as he leant against the wall he had been walking passed at the time John stood in the shadows near the stairs. 'I just killed again…' John said sounding like he was about to cry.

'Who was it this time?' Steve asked curiously 'Stone…' he smirked and Steve's eyes widened in horror at the idea 'You did what!' he yelled furiously and felt frozen to the spot. 'Nah just pulling your leg.' He said laughing cruelly 'I want him to find you Keller…and when he finds you I'm gonna make him watch you die and then I'll kill him and then I'll see how far I get after that…' he said laughing madly and Steve hoped to God he never got Mike over there. 'You need help…' Steve said and soon regretted doing so when John snapped.

'I don't need help!' he yelled 'So shut up!' he yelled 'I just killed a child god damn it!' Steve couldn't believe it…child killers were always the worst; what sort of bastard kills a child what'd they do to anyone. 'You did what?' Steve yelled 'What'd a kid ever do to you?' Steve said angrily 'He was just there…He was just walking down the street with his dog so I grabbed him from behind a tree and slit his throat…then I had to kill the dog…' Steve looked at the mad man as he was beginning to shake violently and thought he was going to pass out.

'You're going to hell…' Steve said sternly leaning against the wall as his leg almost made him slip. 'I'll be taking you with me Keller…' he said walking closer. 'Mark my words you'll be coming with me…' John was only a metre away and began to fear the worse until he backed off and went upstairs. 'Just keep your mouth shut…' he said slamming the door and Steve's heart was pounding from the fear he had just felt so much of at one time.

Steve kept an eye on the door as he limped to his mattress and got into bed 'I hope I live through this…' he said as he began to close his eyes and drift off to a deep sleep full of misery…