His nightmares had made him feel tired and weak, the exhaustion spreading from his stiff neck and shoulders down his back and legs. Every step to and from his car had felt unusually difficult, as though his tormented mind was doing everything in its power to keep him away from the office.
Drawing in a deep breath that made his lungs hurt, Mike clenched the file in his hand a little tighter; the one he hadn't let out of his sight since taking over Alex's case.
By now, the last known image of little Kevin was ingrained into the back of his mind, the puzzled expression on the boy's face as he was drug through a rain storm and away from the house where his parents had been brutally murdered something that shook him to the core.
Numerous times he'd hypothesized where the boy could be now, whether he was still alive or not. And if he was indeed dead, why not kill him along with his parents?
It was those heart-wrenching thoughts that had consumed much of his night, and now that-
"What in the world is going on here?!"
Making out the shadow in the corner of his eye as his partner surrounded by four people circling him like a pack of hyenas; Mike took a sharp right and sped up his pace, immediately recognizing Verdant in that group.
From his distance a few feet away, he could overhear heated words aimed toward his partner, who had taken over the stoic role of listening to the insults and arguments quietly, not gracing his attackers with a reaction to the vile words. If anything, Mike saw a flash of utter relief cross the young Inspector's strained features upon recognizing his partner approach.
"I ask again, Verdant, what the hell is going on here?", Mike barked, the file in his hand shaking slightly, "You and…your…your entourage are in a restricted zone. Restricted for law enforcement only."
"That means I must be in the right spot.", the slimy lawyer countered, "Isn't that what we do at the court level, enforce laws, remind people what is right and wrong, ensure that nobody can hide, not even behind a badge?"
"Spare me the misleading rhetoric, we've all heard too much of it already.", Mike growled and took a moment to look over the group, guessing it consisted of Vargas' parents and younger brother who looked a whole lot less intimidating now that he'd broken up their private lynch mob.
The sole female stood a foot shorter than he, the father looked to be in his late forties, a head full of grey hair, and the brother seemed confused, trying to feed off his parents for lack of knowing what exactly he was doing here.
"Of course, that's the way you operate, don't you, Verdant?", Mike continued, having a hard time containing his fury, then slowly inched his way over to his partner, "You hide your true agenda behind a long list of half-truths. You have long forgotten that your job is to represent the truth, not your skewed version thereof. You prey on your client's heartache like a vampire sensing blood, then you use their emotions against the system you despise so much. And when you can't get your way through the legal channels, you resort to these…these childish displays, just like you are doing right now, trying to put a monkey wrench into my partner's head because you hope it will make him hesitate on the witness stand. Well, let me tell you something right now, you two-faced thug. It won't happen. Up here at the Hall of Justice, we still believe in the truth and I won't allow for your despicable ways to muddy the waters and tarnish our names. And now, for the last time before I have all of you escorted out of here and charged with a misdemeanor, leave this parking garage. It is for restricted access only. And that doesn't include you."
Much to his surprise, Verdant limited his reaction to an ulcer-inducing smile, nodded cordially, before wrapping an arm around the parents, slowly ushering them back toward the sidewalk access, the son taking a moment to look both detectives up and down before following along wordlessly.
"Are you alright?", Mike asked, his voice still shaking slightly.
Next to him, Steve nodded slowly, several shades too pale.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm ok. Listen, did you…did you just call him a two-faced thug?"
"Yes, I do believe I did just that.", Mike answered, before a faint smile played on his lips, "Seemed to have worked though. It shut him up for the time being. That's more than I accomplished in the last ten years of dealing with this man."