Survived another Christmas, not like we do much of anything for it. Chores still need to get done, projects caught up on. We did get a fair amount of snow so that added to the overall atmosphere. I hope everyone had a relaxing couple of days!

Steve was grateful that no foam party was taking place that evening at Morley's.

Sitting in a corner booth near the back room that would allow him a clear view of the bar area, he'd spent his time reading the funnies in the Telegraph, and watching the scantily clad ladies walk by, who were undoubtedly drumming up business. A few of them he knew from his years in Vice, the rest of the brave ones offering to service his needs quickly backed off when he flashed them his service revolver.

Dan was sitting in the far east corner near the door, munching on a bowl of peanuts, hoping to signal Horatio's arrival and block off exit routes if necessary.

Half an hour ago, the first members of Pippin's actor group had arrived at the bar that sat a dozen people, but was stacked with enough booze to serve an establishment three times the size of Morley's.

Steve recognized a couple of them from plays he watched over the past few years, part of him surprised that the group who spent their professional life portraying important historical characters didn't pick a better place to hang out at. Then again, many of the plays featured troubled characters, and what better place to watch those down on their luck, than a hole-in-the-wall bar.

Pippin had glanced over at him fleetingly, knowing that he wasn't supposed to acknowledge his presence, before sitting down and ordering a round of drinks for his friends.

Taking another sip of water, Steve put the newspaper down and absent-mindedly played with his napkin, feeling painfully vulnerable and alone without Mike by his side. It was silly, he knew that, and it certainly wasn't the first time they separated on a special assignment, but given the nature of this case, he couldn't help it.

The front door opened, giving sight of their masked suspect, casually strolling toward the bar. Almost immediately, Steve switched to observer mode, taking in the 5'10" height, approximately 150lbs, lean body but squared shoulders, making him assume their suspect was male.

Worn out tennis shoes and long jogging pants beneath the dark gray hoodie supported his argument.

Exchanging a brief glance with Dan, he reached for the newspaper again, pretending to read the front page, as he waited for the man to sit down with his friends, and order up a vodka straight up, tall.

"How's it going today, Horatio?" he heard Pippin ask, a little too sterile for Steve's liking.

"There's darkness over the horizon…", Horatio explained and glanced around, causing the young Inspector to duck his head behind the newspaper, "Enemies are approaching the fronts, encroaching on what we have fought for so hard. We mustn't let this happen."

Slamming the glass on the bar surface after gulping down nearly half of it in one sip, Horatio grunted, then shook his head.

"Well, what can you do about it?", Pippin asked innocently and sipped on his beer, his shaking hands visible even from Steve's position.

"Truth and justice must prevail. We cannot let those who challenge us continue to tarnish the name of our true leader. He, who was born a king."

"But…but I thought everything was taken care of last week. You sounded so positive and happy afterward."

"Happiness is but a temporary pursuit in my profession, lad.", the masked man answered and finished his drink, barely letting the ice melt, "Evil does not pause. It infringes, it destroys, it challenges us. The thread of righteousness will aid our journey. We must fight to stop it. Stop it, I say!"

Deciding that he'd heard enough to justify an interview, Steve climbed out of the booth, his left hand sliding back to open his holster just in case, his right hand reaching for his badge.

Despite the mask, Horatio saw him approach out of the corner of his eye, and stopped mid-sentence, one hand clasping his glass tightly.

"And yet, the guardsmen are at the door as we speak, storming the trails, trying to breach the castle walls."

"Something like that, yeah...", Steve countered calmly and forced a smile, a tactic that had worked before to contain a stressful situation, as he flashed his badge at the other man, "The guardsmen would like to take you downtown and ask you a few questions."

He could see Horatio flinch, momentarily considering running, when Haley appeared on the other side, a toothpick balanced between his lips, smiling broadly.

"You going anywhere, Pal?"

Their commotion had raised a few eyebrows and Steve noticed that even the low background music had stopped altogether, as several dozen eyes were on them.

"What do you say, Horatio? We can do this the easy way and just walk out, or we can cuff you in front of everybody. Doesn't matter to me."

"I shall go, you imbecile guardsman. But only, if my mask will remain in place until you take me to your leader."

Sharing an eye-roll with Dan, Steve reached for the young man's upper arm and pulled him away from the bar, leaving a nervous Pippin behind, who bit his lip insecurely.

"Let's go and have you meet…our leader then."