"Where have you been? I almost sent a uni to your house just now."
The concern in Steve's voice could be heard from across the bullpen, where the young Inspector had been pacing the small corridor between their respective work areas in a manic frenzy. Still chewing on the last of his sunflower seed, he crossed the large office with a few hasty steps to meet his partner in the middle.
"I got held up in the bathroom.", Mike explained matter-of-factly, causing his young partner to stop in his tracks.
"You…what did you just…? Are you ok? Was it the pizza last night?"
"No. No. Of course not. It's nothing like that."
Grabbing Steve by the elbow, Mike proceeded toward his office impatiently, casually glancing across the rest of his detectives manning the bullpen, some of them following the scene intrigued.
Tagging along quietly, the young Inspector glanced over at his partner several times, as if to make sure that Mike was indeed alright.
When they finally reached the inner office, the Lieutenant closed the door behind them, drawing in a deep breath, before taking a moment to pat his partner's chest reassuringly.
"I am fine, don't worry.", he began soothingly, then let his eyes drift across his office, still digesting the scene he had so inadvertently stepped into.
Growing curious about his peculiar behavior, Steve frowned, his eyes following his partner's every move intrigued.
"So, what did you encounter in the bathroom that I usually don't encounter?"
"Deceit. Possible illegal activity. And a bad hunch that we're on the right track following Visari's testimony."
"Yeah…yeah, I guess you're right. I don't usually encounter that."
With a slight eye roll, Mike tapped his partner's shoulder, then pointed toward the black phone, as he handed over the thin file that had travelled upstairs with him.
"I gotta get a hold of Roy. This thing might be a lot bigger than either you or I can handle. We're going to have to walk a tightrope with Missing Person's for now until we find the people responsible for what's been happening- all of them. Here, look into this file in the meantime. Find out anything you can on her."