Steve immediately felt himself transported back to the parking garage earlier in the day. That same haunted feeling, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end, his heart beating rapidly at the unknown dangers awaiting them as they closed in on their killer.
They'd jogged up the white stairs to Mario's mansion like they had done this morning, only to find the door partially ajar this time- intentional, that much he figured.
Positioning themselves on either side of the doorframe, Steve slowly pushed the massive door open, trying to drown the eerie thoughts of trip wires and explosives linked to it. With his index finger curled around the trigger of his .38, he waited for it to swing wide enough to gain access to the mansion.
Instead, the door hit something and stopped midway through.
Glancing over at his partner in growing worry, Steve used his foot to put more pressure on the door but it wouldn't budge.
He could tell that Mike was torn on the best course of action, and then decided to take over. Motioning for him to stay put, he pressed his full body weight against the door, causing it to swing open briefly and granting both detectives entrance, before nearly shutting again.
As they surveyed the scene, the reason quickly became apparent.
Steve stepped forward, putting his body in front of Mike to shield the Lieutenant, as he bent down to check on Mario's servant lying lifelessly on the deep blue carpet, his body partially blocking the door.
"He's still alive. Looks like our killer got to him with this electronic device. There's a burn mark on the side of his neck."
Steve nodded but never looked over at his partner. Instead, he let his eyes drift across the vast atrium, checking for hiding spots and potential clues about Vlad's and Mario's whereabouts. When he sensed Mike's presence behind him again, he slowly walked over to the pleasure room.
With its door wide open, he quickly peeked in there, noting the absence of any adult toys and the mobster's prostitutes. Hopefully that meant there were only two people left unaccounted for in the large mansion.
Steve felt Mike's hand on his lower back, wordlessly nudging him toward the stairs leading to Mario's private quarters. According to the Lieutenant, it was highly likely that the mobster would attempt to hide out upstairs, where he had full access to the camera's videotaping every inch of his property, perhaps even a well-equipped armory.
And if he'd gained access to it, so would Vlad.
Two holes in the nearby plaster wall and a small puddle of blood suggested that their killer followed the same theory.
Drawing in a deep breath, he followed the elaborate wooden railing upstairs, keeping an eye on the occasional blood drops against the light gray carpeted stairs. Drops that grew larger in size as they reached the second story.
When they arrived upstairs, Mike hesitated at the sight of a long corridor leading to either side of the building. Steve froze in his tracks, relying on his partner's unmatched sixth sense when it came to situations like these. As the Lieutenant let his trained eyes run across the entire scene, the walls, the now black carpeting hiding any blood splatters and the half a dozen or so closed doors to either side, mere seconds began to feel like hours.
Finally, a set of tense blue eyes met his again, pointing to the left.
Steve pushed himself against the wall as he slowly turned the corner, trying to decipher what Mike's plan was. Neither one of the doors ahead was open. No signs of struggle could be seen. If anything, a disturbing silence filled the long corridor ahead.
As he slowly made his down the hallway, Mike flanked him, his black overcoat swooshing quietly as the Lieutenant pivoted back and forth to ensure that nobody could come up from behind and surprise them.
When Steve reached the first door, he noticed a small drop of blood against the light brown wood. He was about to reach for the handle, when gunfire erupted from a couple of doors down from them. With a growing feeling of dread, he recognized it as the machine gun fire from earlier.