The black car passed us as we stayed parked in the cop shop parking lot. My hunch told me this was the safest spot for us to be at the moment. Luckily, it paid off because they kept going.

My mind whirled with questions. Who were they? How did they find out about the meeting with our client? How did they know Kayura was going to be at my office? Were they following her instead? Why were they following us?

I looked over at Kaye to check if she was alright. As far as I could tell, she seemed fine. She didn't look like the fact of knowing about the black car phased her. Kaye was more curious than anything. I was going to say something, but someone knocked on my window.

I braced one hand on the door, while I took hold of the handle with the other. I was prepared to shove to open my door into the person on the other side.

"Kento, wait, let go of the door," Kaye said as she laid her hand on my shoulder.

I glanced at her and then turned my attention to the driver's side window. I let go of the door when I saw two flat foots I knew well, Ryo and Sage. I rolled down the window, "I could have laid you two out flat with my door."

"Yeah, you could have, but then we'd have to charge you with assaulting an officer," Ryo quipped with a smirk.

I shook my head in amusement, "Wouldn't be the first time."

"More likely won't be the last time, either. What brings you two here anyway," Sage asked as he got straight to the point.

I was a bit hesitant on saying anything about our case. Sure, they were our friends, but we only started our investigation. "We're on a new case. I pulled away from the parking spot at my office, and we ended up with an unmarked black car behind us. We're not sure why or who they were. But what I can tell you, we were being followed by a black car with no plates."

Ryo and Sage glanced at one another and then back to us, "Not much to go on."

"No kidding, we have more questions than answers," Kaye replied as she studied them. "Were you two going out on a call, or coming back from one?"

Ryo smirked, "Coming from one. We were on our way in when we saw Kento pulling in here."

I bit my lip as I thought over my question. "I am curious if you could answer me something."

"What's your question, Kento," Sage asked.

"You two heard of an exclusive fight club called the Dynasty, right?"

"Yeah, what's with the interest? Were you trying to get in as a fighter," Ryo asked, as he and Sage knew I have a hard time passing up a good tangle.

I shook my head, "Not this time. Did anyone make a call into the hospital about one of their fighters?" I studied them, I could see they heard something.

"Now I recall, there was an anonymous call about a fighter named Dais, he was on his way to the Dynasty. He never made it, though. Why? Did you need to know for a case you're working on," Sage inquired?

"I can't be sure. I was curious."

"Hey, Kento, if you and Kaye are looking into this. You need to let us know. Because this case could be more dangerous than you think."

I nodded, "Thanks, Ryo, we'll keep it in mind. But I'm sure we can handle it."

Sage frowned, "At least keep us in the loop. Then we'll be able to back the two of you up in case things go sideways."

"I hear you. But right now, we need to get going. I haven't eaten I need to so." I started my car as I saw Ryo and Sage step back. I pulled out of the spot. Kaye and I waved before I drove out of the lot.

The two of us rode in silence for a while. I glanced towards her. I could see she wanted to ask me about the conversation with Sage and Ryo. But she wasn't pushing the issue. I appreciate her for it.

It didn't take long for us to arrive at my usual diner. I've been coming here for years. The food is great. The people are friendly enough. Plus, it was a little out of the way. So then I'm not distracted when I'm trying to figure out a case. I went up and around the block before I parked in the back. We got out of my car and walked around to the front. The bell above the door rang as we walked inside the diner.

The hostess greeted us, "Kento, long time," She smiled with a mischievous glint in her eye. "I see you brought a date. About time," The hostess didn't wait for a reply as she led us to my regular table. She winked at us and left.

Kaye and I glanced at one another, and then I gestured for her to go ahead and take a seat. I then sat across from Kaye with my back to the wall. This way, I can see everyone coming and going through the front door. Plus, having a table at the back of the diner gave us a quicker exit to my car.

I could feel the awkwardness between us. Sure, from time to time we would tease and flirt with one another. It was all in fun. But if someone else commented as she did, then things got a little off. It was hard to explain. Our, well, come to think of it, I'm not sure how to describe the bond between Kaye and me. Yeah, we're friends, partners, plus I'm a bit more overprotective of her than anyone else. But it doesn't mean anything or does it?

Kaye was trying to grab my attention. She said my name over and over, even to the point of throwing a wadded-up napkin in my face.

I snapped out of my thoughts and gave her a sheepish look as I rubbed the back of my head. "Sorry."

She looked at me in concern, "Kento, are you alright? You've been going off into your world for a while now."

"I'm fine. What were you saying?"

Kaye studied me for a bit. She didn't press the issue because she asked her question a second time since I didn't hear it earlier. "After we're done here. Where did you want to go next? To the hospital and question Dais, or the Dynasty?"

"We should question Dais first. Then have a better idea of how Kayura runs things in the fight club."

Kaye was about to reply when the waitress came over with my usual. She laid it down as she smiled at me. Then glanced at Kaye and backed up a bit when she was a little surprised when I came in with someone. The waitress pulled out an order pad and pencil, "Did you want something?"

"I'm fine, thank you for asking," Kaye replied as she saw the waitress give a small nod and walked away from our table.

I raised a brow towards Kaye, "Are you sure you don't want anything?"

Kaye smiled at me, "I'm fine, Go ahead and enjoy I can wait until you're done." She scooted out and rose to her feet. I looked at her. "I left something in the car. Be right back."

I watched her walk out the back and wondered what she left in the car. I shrugged it off and turned my attention back to my meal.

Kaye made it to my car and opened the passenger door. She leaned in and picked up what she was looking for. As she was about to shut it, Kaye caught sight of the same black car which followed us earlier. She shut the door and made her way to the diner, leaning her back against the wall. She glanced at the back door and then to the lot across the way where the black car parked. Kaye crouched down low and got as close as she could so they wouldn't see her.

She continued to watch. Kaye saw two people getting out. One she recognized as Anubis, Kayura's driver, and the other, was someone she never saw before, but from what she could tell the other person was tall, and had blue hair. They had their backs to her. Kaye couldn't hear what they were saying. She debated getting closer or going back inside the diner.

As I continued my meal, I glanced at the clock on the far wall. Close to five minutes since Kaye went out to get something from my car. I don't think it would take this long. I started to feel a bit anxious. I finished what I was eating, and I started to rise to my feet when I saw Kaye coming back to me. "What took you?"

Kaye looked at me as she sat down, "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you worry. When I went to get what I forgot, I saw the same black car which was following us earlier parked across the way."

My eyes went wide, "Did they see you?"

Kaye shook her head, "No, I stayed low, and out of sight, but I couldn't hear what they were talking about. I did see who was in the car. Anubis and some other guy tall with blue hair."

"Blue hair? Wait, I started to think through something. Why would a G-man be with Kayura's driver? Was Rowen undercover? If Rowen was in town, why wouldn't he send word? This case kept on getting more and more interesting. Something huge must be going on if the feds were in on it. Made me wonder if Ryo and Sage knew. I'd have to talk with them about this some other time. I leaned in close to Kaye as I motioned for her to lean forward, 'The blue-haired guy you saw, it's Rowen. He's a fed."

Kaye frowned a bit, "What is a fed doing with Anubis? Do you think he might be undercover as a fighter?"

I nodded, "Seems to be, but it's hard to know for sure without talking to him. It'll be risky to confront the guy when he's around anyone from the Dynasty."

"After we talk with Dais, Rowen might be at the fight club."

"I suppose, but the question is how do we without letting Rowen's cover blown? I'm sure Kayura has told her fighters she hired us to look into what happened to Dais."

Kaye leaned back in her seat thinking it over, "I'm not so sure if she has. Kayura seems to be the secretive type to me. If I had to guess, the main person she might have told would be Anubis since he drove her this morning." She ripped out a piece of paper from her notebook and started writing. She glanced up at me. "Where would there be a place where people wouldn't think twice about bumping into one another?"

I frowned as I thought it over, and then it hit me and a smirk played across my face, "The Torrent. Anybody and everybody goes there. So it wouldn't look suspicious if we met up, but how do we tell him?" I watched as she finished jotting it down, and then placed them in her pocket.

"We'll figure it out when we get to the Dynasty," Kaye replied as she glanced at my empty plate and then back to me. "I guess I don't have to ask if you're ready to go."

I smirked as I stood, "All I have left to do is pay my tab, and we can leave." I waited for Kaye to join me as we walked to the counter. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the money and paid my bill. I glanced at the clock again and grinned. I got a hold of Kaye's arm and guided her towards the back, and then had her stop.

She looked at me, "Kento?"

"Wait a moment. They should be coming through the front door any time now."

Kaye raised a brow at me, "Who will be coming?"

I chuckled, "Our diversion. This diner isn't only my favorite place to eat. There are a few flat foots who like to eat here as well. They should be more than enough to have Anubis and Rowen drive out of here before we leave." True enough to my word, a few cop cars pulled in and parked in the back. I brought Kaye over to the back window, and she showed me where the black car parked. We watched as Anubis and Rowen hurried back into it and drove away.

Kaye smiled at me as we made our way back to my car, and we got inside, "Well played, Kento."

I smirked as I glanced at her with a wink, "Thanks, now let's get to the hospital and question Dais. This case is getting more and more interesting."

"Kento, something else is bothering me," I kept my eyes on the road as we were on our way to the hospital.

"Yeah?"

"How did Anubis and Rowen find us at the diner?"

I frowned a little, "After Anubis' injury in his last fight. He could never get into the ring again. He's more than Kayura's driver, Anubis is also a fixer. He takes care of whatever business Kayura doesn't want to get her hands dirty with."

Kaye looked over at me, "So he's her muscle."

"More or less, Anubis does his homework on his targets. We ran across one another a few times before you and I became partners."

"So then Anubis will know you're a gumshoe. He could rat you out to the other fighters."

I shook my head, "Doubtful. Anubis doesn't trust the others in the Dynasty. He keeps his eyes on them, so they won't cause Kayura any problems. If they did, then he would make sure they wouldn't fight ever again."

"Do you believe Anubis was the one who attacked Dais and put him in the hospital?"

"No, I don't think so, I do believe there is another fighter who is taking up a side job as another fixer. But this one isn't working for Kayura, he's working for himself. The hard part will be figuring out who and why, as well as what he wants."

"Makes me wonder if Dais will talk with us at all then. Especially if he knows his attacker. Why would someone from the Dynasty attack a fellow fighter? If the attacker was one of theirs to begin with? Could whomever put Dais in the hospital been from a rival fight club?"

I shrugged as we were approaching the hospital, "All good questions. Only Dais would be able to tell us for sure," I pulled into the parking lot and shut off my car. We got out and walked towards the front door of the hospital and entered. We approached the reception desk.

The receptionist glanced up from her paperwork, "May I help you?"

"Yes, we're looking for a fighter who came in a few days ago by the name of Dais."

"Oh yes, are you reporters or something?"

I shook my head, "No. But we are here to ask him a few questions about what happened to him."

"I'm sorry, but I can't allow you to go and talk with the patient." The receptionist replied as she looked back down at her paperwork.

I glanced at Kaye, and she could see I'm put off by this dame. Kaye looked at the receptionist once more. "Pardon me, but if we could have a few moments with him, we would appreciate it. We won't take long."

The receptionist looked up again, "I said it isn't possible. I'm sorry, but Dais is dead."