Vincent D'Agosta was sitting behind a pile of chaotic paperwork on top of what Iris assumed was once a desk. A cup of coffee was being nursed in the officer's hands but when Pendergast and Iris entered he drained the liquid in one swoop. Iris lifted a box of evidence bags, placing them on the ground beside Vincent's desk, before taking the now clear seat. Pendergast had moved to a cork board dominating an entire wall of the office. On it where the crime scene photos and biographies of the victims. In the center of the board was a map of the entire state of New York. Little multicolored strings trailed from certain locations on the map to their corresponding victim photos. Iris recognized that the strings were linking the victims to their crime scene and a second string to where the victim lived. None of the strings however were linked together.

"What happened to your face, Dr. Denali?" Vincent asked as he stood from his chair.

Iris flashed him a small smile. Agent Pendergast had turned around at Vincent's question, his eyes now locked onto Iris. "Just a scrape, D'Agosta. I misjudged the distance between the stairs when we were leaving the house tonight and made a fool of myself." Iris saw Vincent's eyes trail to her scraped knees. She pushed a blush into her cheeks. "Agent Pendergast's floor is unforgiving for those of us who are not coordinated."

Vincent laughed loudly. Iris glanced over to Pendergast who gave her a simple nod before turning back to the board. Vincent came around the desk, a bright white string in his hands. He motioned for Iris to join him and Pendergast infront of the board. Pendergast shifted to the left slightly so that she could stand beside him. Vincent motioned to a larger picture of the sketch Pendergast had made at the hospital of the Reaper's bottom face. Someone had added to it, the top of the face now reflecting the demon's mask that Iris had seen. The image caused her to shutter softly. A memory of that attack brought terror into her heart again even though she tried to hide it. She tried to will the memory away and go back to a quite, serene state of mind but the longer she stared into the shadowed eyes of that mask, her terror built. Iris slipped her hand down and entwined her fingers in the cold grip of Agent Pendergast. He didn't pull his hand back nor did his face change its stony expression. Iris knew that she would regret this contact with him later but the agent's reassuring grasp on her hand helped to calm the fear in her heart.

Pendergast was the first one to break the silence. "Just as I thought, there is no connection between any of the victims."

Vincent nodded but a bright smile graced his lips. "Until now."

Iris remained silent as Vincent connected the white string from the photo of the small boy directly to the Reaper himself. Confusion clouded her thoughts but when the realization dawned on her, her grip tightened in Pendergast's hand. The agent looked down to her as he tightened his own grip on her. Iris remained silent and focused on the bright cord. Pendergast looked back to Vincent. "There is a connection between the boy and Reaper?"

Vincent nodded but didn't speak as Iris reached out and stroked the string. "It was his son."

Pendergast's eyes narrowed at the Reaper's picture. "That is what we are thinking. The DNA test on the boy didn't bring up anything to help us with finding his identity. But what we did find was a familial match between the child and the Reaper."

"Has anyone reported the child missing?" Pendergast asked quietly.

Iris pulled herself away from them, sitting back in her chair by the desk. She didn't want to look at the picture of the child anymore or the Reaper. That white line was just torturing her mind. Why would the Reaper kill his own son if he could have just tried to hide the truth from him? She felt unwanted tears stinging her eyes as she looked over to the tall agent.

Vincent had pulled his notepad from his pocket. "I have officers trying to track down any missing child reports but nothing has come up so far. Though it is save to assume the Reaper himself will not be filing a report for the child."

"The mother will or any other close family to the boy." Pendergast fell silent as he looked over to Iris. His gaze soften for a few seconds before he looked away. "What can you tell me about the evidence collected from Iris from the different attacks?"

"Hold on, I have it here somewhere." Vincent crossed back to his desk and began trying to tame the chaotic papers.

Pendergast cleared the second chair infront of the desk, gracefully seating himself and flinging one long leg over the other. He reached over and gingerly touched Iris' arm then withdrew his hand when her gaze focused on him. "Are you alright, Iris?"

The events of the last few hours came back to her when he spoke her name. She regarded him coolly before responding. "Fine Agent Pendergast. I am just trying to sort my thoughts on this case. Part of me is not sold on the child being the son of the Reaper."

Vincent cursed as a pile of papers cascaded to the ground. "Well there is no denying the DNA analysis of the blood found on your dress and the child's saliva. There is some familial bond between the two."

Pendergast brought his fingers up to his chin and closed his eyes in thought. "That does not explain his anger over the child's involvement and death in his plans. He openly blames Dr. Denali for the death of the boy but he could have prevented it himself."

Iris breathed deeply as she watched Vincent sort through the papers. "I do not believe that he recognized who the child was when he first attacked him. What did the medical examiner find as the cause of death?"

Pendergast leaned forward and took a manila folder from the top of a stack. Vincent shot him a glare at finding it in a matter of seconds. The agent flipped the folder opened and began to read from it. "The cause of death was severe trauma to the head from a very powerful strike to the temple. That hit apparently was enough to dislodge the brain from the spine and crush the skull itself. The brain swelled until the head could no longer contain it."

"How could someone kill a child?" Vincent growled. He returned to sorting his papers, viciously throwing the papers around.

Iris let her eyes drift close. Her mind was slowly digesting the new information. "The Reaper did not know that the child was related to him until after he took him from that alley." Her voice was soft when she spoke.

Pendergast closed the folder and placed it back on the desk. "If the child was his then he would have recognized him sooner."

"Or at least been more hesitant in killing him."

"Hesitant?" the agent questioned.

Iris nodded her head, regarding him with her emerald eyes. "If he was indeed the father than killing a child roughly the same age and sex as his own son would cause a parental emotion of love and a need to protect the boy to rise in him. He would have been more gentle and instead of hitting him hard enough to kill, the Reaper would have only knocked him out. The child could have easily been persuaded into thinking that what he saw in that alley wasn't as bad as it truly was."

Vincent scoffed. "You're giving that maniac too much credit Doctor."

Iris shrugged her shoulders. "Even a maniac has emotions, Vincent D'Agosta. Besides we all are a little crazy inside," Iris let her eyes drift over to Pendergast, "some hide it better that others."

Pendergast chuckled softly. When Vincent gave him a questioning look he simply waved his hand in dismissal. "Doctor if you think he is crazy, you better be lucky you never had the pleasure of meeting his brother."

"Brother?" Iris thought back to her time exploring the mansion. She had come across a small room once that contained many pictures of the Pendergast family. Two in particular had caught her attention: one was of a much younger silver eyed agent and the other was a man about two years younger than Aloysius with fire red hair and peculiar eyes. One of them was hazel, the other a milky white as if he was blind. She had been curious about the intense look in the boy's eyes. In the same room she found a hidden photo album. One of the pictures contained Aloysius and this boy, only the boy's eyes were both hazel. The look in this young man's eyes were so different than the portrait on the wall. Something had happened to him that had caused the young man to mature significantly between the pictures. This photo had to have been taken many years before the portrait had been painted. The two boys were about seven years old and both full of joviality, smiling like maniacs infront of a plantation's gate, but when she looked into the different colored eyes of the young man in the portrait it seemed life had lost its grandeur to him. "You must be talking about Diogenes Pendergast?"

The look of shock that crossed Pendergast's face could have jolted a dead man back to life. He stared at her not even bothering to hide the emotions that crossed his gaze. Iris returned his stare and started to judge the emotions that he was feeling. Distress, shock, and just a hint of sadness could be found in that intense stare before the agent mastered himself and hid it. Vincent D'Agosta was not so skillful at hiding his own shock. "You got Pendergast to tell you about Diogenes? Doctor, you are a miracle worker."

Iris chuckled softly behind her hand. "I am no miracle worker, D'Agosta. While Agent Pendergast was tied up in that Colorado case, I explored his mansion. I just happened to come across family albums filled with pictures of him and his brother when they were younger." She smiled at the agent in triumph as his eyes narrowed dangerously. She knew that he was not all too happy that she had dug into his past. Even Pendergast knew the value of information in the hands of someone who knew what they could do with it.

D'Agosta shook his head. "Believe me Doc, you did not want to meet that Pendergast. He was a fountain of crazy." The officer exclaimed in sudden joy as a paper was pulled from the bottom of the stack. "Finally!"

Iris flashed Pendergast one last smile before she turned her emerald eyes onto D'Agosta. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

"Yeah, this is the report on the evidence we took from you after your first run in with the Reaper. I haven't looked at these since the second run in with the killer." Vincent sat back in his chair, throwing his legs up on the edge of his desk. It was surprising he even found a clear enough edge to prop himself up. "It seems they didn't get much from under your nails except dirt, nothing that could give them any to test for DNA."

Pendergast spoke up, curiosity in his voice. "I'm more interested in the bite on Iris' shoulder."

Iris looked down at her shoulder. The wound had long ago closed but the puncture markings were now a dark red scar. The doctors told her that it would lighten over the years but it would never fade. Just like the scars on her back, they would be a constant reminder of her failure to protect herself. That would never happen again. "Where they able to get any saliva from it?"

Vincent flipped through a few pages in the report, stopping at one. He pulled the page from the folder and held it up. The look on his face twisted into pure confusion. "What the fuck?" He handed it to Pendergast. "See if you can figure this out."

The agent took the page delicately in his slender fingers and read over it. A smile graced his pale lips as he handed the page to Iris. "It seems you may be on to something, Doctor Denali."

Iris looked down at the report. The top showed the results for the blood found in the bite on her shoulder. There was no surprise in those results. The blood matched her own DNA sample she provided to the officer that collected the evidence from her. The second page of the report showed an unknown DNA sample extracted from her wound. This must have been the saliva from the Reaper's bite. "I do not think I am seeing what is so surprising."

"Oh shit, Doc I'm sorry. You haven't had the chance to go through the case file." D'Agosta pulled out another lab report and passed it over to her. "That is the child's DNA profile and the blood sample of the Reaper we pulled from the dress you had on the night of the second attack."

"Thank you." Iris looked over the second page. There was a small summary at the bottom from the lab technician that showed the similarities in the two samples. The Reaper's blood was a familial match to the boys, meaning he was the father. The sample had too many coincidences for the Reaper to be anything other than a parent. Something struck Iris as odd. The sample from the bite wound should match the blood from the Reaper's gunshot wound but it didn't. "They aren't the same person."

Vincent smiled and poured himself another cup of coffee from the pot on a small table behind his desk. "Which means we have two Reapers."

Pendergast waved a hand in dismissal at his words. "Or we were mistaken and the man from the park was innocent and not involved in this case."

Iris stared down at the papers disbelievingly. "That is impossible," she said defensively. "He had the anarchy scar on his cheek. The same scar from the alley! There was no way..."

As she trailed off both men stared at her. Vincent was the first to speak. "You don't think that you might have made a mistake."

Pendergast narrowed his eyes as he looked over at her. She could feel frustration bubbling up with in her. "Iris it is normal to make mistakes."

"I didn't make a mistake!" Iris shot up from the chair she was sitting in. "He had the same scar on his face, but..." She had to take a few calming breaths but nothing was helping to calm her nerves. "I need some air."

Aloysius Pendergast watched as Iris retreated from the office. He looked back at Vincent who was stunned into silence. Quietly Pendergast stood and started going to the office door. "Wait, don't you think we should give her some space? She seemed really distraught."

Pendergast looked back at his friend. "It is my duty to ensure her safety, Vincent. I cannot let her go off alone."

"I know but," the officer sighed, the exhaustion of the past few months drawing on him. This case had really taken a lot out of the man. "Iris has to be blaming herself for the child's death. I mean she was there and tried her hardest to protect him but in the end it wasn't enough. Then she gets the one chance to catch the guy and he gets away."

"You saw the evidence My Dear Vincent. That man she chased was not the same man that attacked her and killed the child in that alley." Pendergast said. The tone in his voice was level and emotionless.

Vincent rubbed his eyes. "Yeah. You don't think that she just figured that out and now realizes that she potentially could have killed an innocent man? Iris is probably freaking out." Vincent regarded the agent with suspicion. "Did something happen between you two?"

Pendergast chuckled. "Whatever do you mean Vincent?"

"I'm not an idiot Pendergast. You and her have been tense ever since you walked into my office. When I asked her about her injuries, I didn't miss the look you gave her. Did you hurt her?"

Pendergast looked back at the door. "I don't have time for this Vincent."

Vincent came around his desk and placed a firm hand on the door, keeping it closed. "Don't lose sight of yourself again Pendergast, like you did after Helen's death. I would hate to find you using again."

A soft laugh issued from his chest. "I assure you that I have grown stronger from that experience and I do not intend to be that weak again." He placed a cool hand on his friend's shoulder. "You do not know the whole story between me and Iris Denali."

"I would if you opened up." When the agent didn't respond, Vincent continued. "All this tension and hostility towards Doctor Denali is uncalled for. She is just doing her job and trying to help us the best she can. Try to give her a break Pendergast. I don't know what is going on between you two, and honestly I'm not sure that I want to, but try to make things right. It is better to work together civilly than as enemies."

"What are you suggesting Vincent?"

"Try to see things from her perspective. You might learn something."

"I will make an attempt." Vincent released the door and Pendergast shook his hand firmly. "Call me if anything comes up Vincent."

"Oh before you go." Pendergast stopped mid stride and looked back. "The officer that is handling the missing persons report has not been checking in regularly. I've tried to light a fire under his ass but he seems hell bent on moving as slowly as possible."

"Why not give the task to someone more motivated?"

Vincent sighed and slumped his shoulders. "That's just it, there is no one else. I've had fifty officers quit the case on me. Officer Alberio is the about the only person left that isn't currently assigned to something else. I heard that he was lazy but I didn't think it was this extreme."

Pendergast nodded. "So what would you like me to do about this?"

Vincent threw his hands up. "See if you can get the ball rolling. Unleash the hounds on the man for all I care, just get him working!"

Pendergast laughed for the first time in amusement. "I do enjoy your euphemisms, Vincent. I will see what I can do about our sloth."

With a swift step the agent moved back out into the parking garage. The rest of the precinct had been locked down for the night and he was sure that Iris was seeking to be alone. One of the only places available to her would have been the parking garage or the small outside area the police used for dining. The parking garage was deserted and no one was standing near his Rolls. He hastened his pace towards the small, gated dining area. A lone figure was seated on one of the benches, looking up into the night sky. Pendergast stopped in his tracks to take in the scene infront of him. Iris looked venerable as her eyes were locked onto the cloudy sky. The lab reports were still clutched in her tight grip. As the moon peaked out from behind a cloud, tear tracks stained her cheeks. Pendergast knew that he should stay back and leave her be but something was pulling him to her. He had only half lied to her in the elevator at the federal building. He didn't want a relationship that would potentially end like his marriage, in pain and sorrow. But he did want to be close to Iris.

No amount of denying his heart had helped his cause. Aloysius wanted to protect Iris, wanted to be near to her. Diogenes had been right. Something was connecting him to this woman and he tried his best to push her away from him. Foolishly he thought that if he exposed his plans to manipulate her into submission that she would give him a reason to crush his feelings for her but that backfired. His heart had instead filled with regret and guilt at the pain and betrayal he had watched blossom in Iris' eyes. Helen had never had this effect on him before. True he loved his wife for the similarities they shared but there was something in this young girl that compelled him to be next to her. Compelled him to protect her with a savagery only found in the heart of a lover.

But the truth was that Pendergast knew he could never expect her to feel the same way towards him. He had seen to that himself just a few hours ago. Iris was lost to him. While he wished to try and follow his heart, to make things right, he knew that to find the Reaper and stop him things would have to remain the way they were. To show Iris affection would be to endanger her further. If the Reaper choose to follow on his promise and attack the things she loved than he would be putting himself in the Reaper's path. While the aspect of the Reaper pursuing him did not bother Pendergast, he knew that if given the choice between saving herself or a loved one, Iris would give herself over to the Reaper in an instant. Instead he would have to put himself further from her and remain only her protector. To only watch over her and wait for the Reaper to make his move. Pendergast knew that it would be hard but he would have to do this, for Iris.

Pendergast cleared his throat as he took a seat next to Iris. His quick, precise movements in seating himself had not caught her attention. Pendergast knew how perceptive Iris could be, the fight in the parking lot earlier had shown him that. Even with being as silent as he knew how Iris still heard him and attacked. But now she didn't even know he was within inches of her. Iris jumped at the sound and looked over at him. The extremely sad look in her eyes pulled at the strings of Pendergast's heart but he knew that it would be a mistake to act on those emotions. Iris would not appreciate any advances on her person, especially after their falling out not hours before. "You should not be out here alone Iris," he chided softly.

Iris sighed and looked back at the papers in her hand. "I was so angry at the child's death that I didn't stop and really take everything in. I can't believe I missed it."

Pendergast felt confusion enter his mind. "What did you miss?"

"The scar on his face."

"I saw the same thing you did Iris. That was the same scar that you saw in the alley and described to me at the hospital."

Iris shook her head gently. "It looked the same from afar at first, but if you really studied it, it was different."

When she fell silent Pendergast gently prodded further. "Different how?"

"It was fresh." Iris placed a hand on the new scar on her shoulder. "It was a deep rosy red like he just sustained the injury within a few weeks. The Reaper I fought in the alley had the same scar but it was faded and flesh colored."

Pendergast nodded in understanding. "Do you think that the man in the park scarred his own face?"

"Why would he do that? To imitate the killer?"

Pendergast inclined his head to the side. "It is not unheard of for a serial killer to have admirers."

Iris shook her head again and Pendergast fell silent. "I don't think that is it. If he was just an admirer then why would he run when I looked at him."

"You were pointing a very large weapon his way Iris. I would run if that was the case."

Much to his delight, Iris laughed softly. "He started running before I got the gun from you, Aloysius."

When she said his name, Pendergast smiled. Iris was slowly coming back to the calm, playful woman he had first met. He hesitantly laid a cool hand on her leg. Iris tensed but did nothing to push him away. "I want to apologize for everything that was said at the federal building. It was not the right place or time for what we discussed."

Iris placed her hand on top of his. "You don't need to say anything. You were right; we both were trying to manipulate each other and we both failed. The adult thing to do would be to put it all behind us and move on. As much as I hate to admit it, I need your help in hunting the Reaper."

Pendergast flashed a small smile at her. "I will do everything in my power to help you Iris. So long as what you are trying to accomplish does not endanger your life. I will not help you hunt the Reaper if it means you are going to go out on you own without me. I am still..."

"In charge of protecting me." Iris gave him an exhausted smile. "I know what your job is Aloysius Pendergast."

"I want to protect you Iris. Not just because it is my job but because it is what my heart is telling me to do."

Iris looked over at him in surprise. Pendergast himself was shocked at his lack of control over his own words. They just slipped out before he could stop himself. Iris sighed and stood, her back to him. "It would be unwise for us to pursue this, whatever this is, any further Agent Pendergast. Our interactions with each other must remain professional if we hope to close this case sometime soon. I am afraid I must insist on this."

Pendergast stood and gave her a nod of understanding when she looked back at him. "I understand and will acknowledge your request for professionalism."

Iris smiled and reached into her pocket, withdrawing a small flash drive. She tossed it back at him and he caught it deftly. He gave her a look of confusion. "My report on your behavior. In light of recent events, I believe you are perfectly capable of performing your job as assigned. I will be the first to admit that your manipulations of myself were unexpected and took me by complete surprise. A man suffering from insanity could not have pulled off such an elaborate scheme."

Pendergast chuckled darkly as he put the drive into his own pocket. "You are wrong Iris. I am as you said in Vincent's office."

Iris gave him a puzzling look but smiled as she caught on. "You do hide it well Aloysius Pendergast, but at least you know how to control yourself. Send that report to your superiors and you will be cleared for full duty."

"Thank..." Pendergast trailed off as the huffing of a third party broke the air. Looking over his shoulder he could see Vincent running towards them. The officer had paled significantly in the short amount of time they had been apart. When the officer stopped infront of him Pendergast held out a steadying hand on the man's shoulder. Iris gave him a concerned look as she watched Vincent catch his breath. "What is the problem Vincent?"

"You aren't going to believe what the lab boys just faxed over to me!" Vincent said between breaths.

Iris stepped up beside them and helped Pendergast ease the officer onto the bench. "What did they say Vincent?" she asked softly.

"I asked the boys to take a second look at the saliva sample from the bite wound, thinking that maybe it was contaminated because of your blood. You won't believe what they found when they looked closer at it."

Iris sighed and looked at the papers. Pendergast knelt next to his friend to fix his gaze into the man's eyes. "Tell me Vincent."

"There were trace amounts of the Gluttony victim's blood in the saliva." Vincent said, pride filling his voice.

A soft gasp issued from behind him. Pendergast felt a cold chill run down his spine. "The Reaper is consuming the blood he collects from his victims."

"Yeah, exactly. The DNA sample from the saliva still matched the unknown that was on the reports but do you realize what this means? The fucking Reaper is a fucking vampire!" Vincent was getting excited and Pendergast could feel the tinge of a headache starting.

"He started killing nightly and every victim had been drained of blood. Unless he has a freezer to store all of this blood he must be consuming it at an alarming rate." He closed his eyes in thought. "No, he has to be consuming all ten pints of blood he harvests from each victim daily. That is the reason he has to go out and kill so often."

"To keep his supply fresh?"

"Yes. Which would mean that the month and a half that he has so far been inactive could be the precursor for something much worse."

"Like what? A mass murder?"

Pendergast shook his head. "I am not sure."

"He is in mourning." A soft voice said from behind them.

Pendergast stood up and looked at Iris. "Why would he be in mourning, Iris?"

Vincent scoffed. "No offense Doc, but this maniac is probably incapable of mourning. With all of his victims it is a wonder if he had any feelings at all."

Iris shook her head softly. The lab reports slipped from her fingers. "If the DNA from the saliva still matches the report then the Reaper from the alley and the man that I attacked in the park are related. Which means that..."

"That the child he killed was related to the original Reaper in some way and now he is mourning the death of that boy." Pendergast finished for her. Iris gave him a solemn nod and Vincent stared in confusion.

"And it also means that when he decides to return to his killings, he will be enraged and even more deadly." Iris stated, the cold child of her voice making Pendergast's hair stand on end.