"Colored in a shower of sin, I continue to wander the barren road. I won't let anyone touch this love. That's our defiance of god." Hyde, Finale

Leon stood outside of the Ranchero Grill in Ajo, Arizona. He had driven many miles to get where he was. Now, he was almost afraid to go inside. The night was dark, and cool. Loud voices seeped through the slightly ajar windows on each side of the establishment. With a deep sigh, Leon started forward towards the entrance.

The place was full of people, most of them talking loudly with a cigarette between their fingers. Leon slowed his breathing to limit his intake of the poisonous air. He made his way to the bar and knocked on it with his knuckles. The barkeep glanced up at him with a "You're not from around here" look on his face. Leon sat on the stool and tried to look more natural.

"Hey, buddy. C'mere for a sec'." He said to the guy, pulling a picture of Chris from his pocket. The man, rather reluctantly moseyed over to where Leon was seated.

"What can I get ya?" He asked, drying his hands on a towel.

"A cold beer would be fine. Hey, have you seen this guy around here lately?" Leon replied, sliding Chris' picture across the bar's surface.

"I ain't seen nobody." The guy said before even seeing the picture. He poured Leon's beer and set it down on the counter with a thud. "And you can tell your boss, or whoever sent you here, to keep his goons outta my establishment."

With a sigh, Leon showed the man his badge. "I'm a cop from up North. My partner disappeared. I got information saying he's down here. I would appreciate it if you cooperated." He replied. The guy let out a throaty grumble.

"I don't know why people keep choosing my place as some kinda rendez-vous. Alright, buddy. I'll tell you what I know. But none of this comes back to me, got it?" He said finally.

Leon nodded. "Alright, follow me." The barkeep said, motioning towards the jukebox. "Larry, take over." Leon glanced at this Larry fellow, who looked quite simliar to the guy he was following. Perhaps they were brothers. Leon followed the barkeep down into the basement. It was a dark, dank room with assorted bottles of alcohol everywhere.

"Ok, sir. What have you got?" Leon questioned, ready to reach for his gun. The man sat on a wooden barrel and sighed.

"Some time ago, this guy comes in, right? Some kinda ethnic. He looks sick-like…pale and sweaty, that kinda thing. He gives me this sealed envelope and has me read it in complete privacy."

"What was in the envelope?" Leon questioned.

"A picture, a letter, and some cash. The letter said something about a girl coming, and looking for this sick ethnic. He gave me instructions to give to her whenever she got here."

"The picture was of the girl?" Leon asked. The guy nodded. "What did she look like?"

"Pretty…tall. Short red hair, I think. Anyways, she was supposed to come down a few days ago. But she never showed. The guy came back, causing a big scene. I told him she never showed up, and he just left. Now, the other day another guy comes in with the picture of this girl."

Leon held his hand up. "What'd he look like? Was this him?" He questioned, producing the picture of Chris again. The man took the picture and peered at it.

"…yeah, this is him. He comes in, all pissed off, and I'm thinking he's some mob goon. He shows me the picture and tells me to tell him everything I know about her or something like. So, I figure the guy is a nut case and walk away. I thought he left, but then I'm on my way back from the john, that little space that ya can't see the bar from, and he pulls a piece on me."

Leon sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "What happened next?" He asked.

"He threated to kill me. Now, I have to ties with this sick ethnic, so I spilled his information. I mentioned the sick ethnic, and he seemed to know who I was talking about."

"Carlos, probably. Keep going."

"So he wants to know what I was supposed to tell the girl. At this point, I just wanted him to get out of my face, so I gave him the envelope the other guy gave me, minus the cash, and told him to leave. He did."

"So Chris was here, and presumably looking for Carlos, who had something important to tell Jill. You wouldn't happen to recall what information was in the envelope would you?" Leon questioned.

"Aiyai yai! What is this, some kinda…for God's sake, three different people somehow find my place, all looking for different information, or some kinda help. Jesus Christ."

"Look, pal. A cop is missing, and I'm just trying to find him. As of this moment, you're helping in a police investigation. Keep helping, and you might get some kind of monetary reward."

The guy seemed interested. "Oh, yeah? Well, you're in luck Mr. Cop. I just so happened to make some copies, just in case someone tried to get over on me." He replied. Leon restrained from smiling like an idiot.

"I'll need those copies, then." He said calmly. The man begrudgingly waddled over to the safe in a dark corner of the basement.

"Shit like this is always finding me. What's with this sick ethnic anyway? He looked like some kinda cancer patient or something."

"That's what I'm here to find out, buddy. Hey, what's your name anyway?" Leon asked.

"You can call me Earl. And there better not be any more of you's coming down here, alright? This is the end of this." Earl said, producing the photocopies.

"Well, I can't guarantee that you won't get any surprise visits in the future, but I won't be involved, Earl. Can you direct me to a motel around here?" Leon asked, looking at the papers.

"Aren't you gonna have some dinner first? Do me that much, at least. Let me get something out of this damn charade." Earl said, heading back upstairs. Leon held back from asking if the food was good. Earl was in a good position to kick Leon in the head.

"Sure. What's the house special?"

"Quesadillas. Spicy, with a side of onion rings and a brew to go with it."

"Great, I'll take that."

Later in the evening, after Leon had his dinner and a bad case of indigestion, he called up Claire. There was no answer at her house or her cell phone, so he left her a voice mail.

"I found a guy who's seen Chris, and got information from this restaurant owner about where he went. I think Carlos is really sick, and called Jill for help. But since Jill got shot, Chris had to come instead. I just had a bite to eat, and am going to be staying at a motel. Nothing fancy, though. Give me a call when you get this. Hope you're okay."

Claire could hear her phone vibrating as she ran her fingers through Kaz's hair. She knew that it was Leon calling, but she continued to run her hands up and down his naked back while he nipped at her neck. The sound of the vibrating phone stopped, and all that could be heard were gasps and quiet moans. Leon was absolutely clueless as to what Claire was doing on the other end while he explained his day. He wouldn't receive an honest description the next time he spoke to her.

She would omit the message from Leon's lover, the tears, confiding in Kazuya and their eventual love making. She wouldn't tell him how good it felt, or how different the two men were. How could she?

It had begun to rain in Ajo when Leon circled the same area before pulling over. He checked over the guy's written directions to make sure he didn't make any mistakes. "Left at the interstate sign. There were two lefts! Was it a big left, or a slight left? Dammit, Earl." Leon sighed and rubbed his eyes. He listened to the sound of the rain for awhile before being startled by knocking on his passanger window. Checking for his gun, Leon lowered the window.

There was a scantilly clad women leaning towards the window. "Can I help you?" Leon asked. She had no protection from the downpour of rain, and her clothes were thoroughly soaked.

"I was going to ask you the same thing." She replied. Leon removed his shield from his pocket and showed it to her. "Oh, shit." She spat, turning to run.

"Hey, wait a second." Leon called, unlocking the door. "I'm not going to arrest you. Here, get in."

Hesitantly, the woman returned and got into the car. "You don't let the badge control your life, huh?" She asked, wiping the water from her face.

"I try not to. What are you doing out in the rain?" Leon asked, handing her a box of tissues.

"Thanks. I got kicked out of my shit-hole apartment, and don't have money to stay at a hotel. Gotta make a living, right?"

"You can make a better living than this." Leon said.

"Can you tell me a job where I can get fifty bucks just for opening my mouth?" The woman asked.

"…sure…you could be a teacher. Or a uh…reporter? People get paid to talk, you know." Leon stuttered.

"God, you're dense! Fifty for oral, one fifty for sex, and you gotta use a condom."

"Woah, I'm not sleeping with you! I'll pay for you to stay at a motel, alright? I was heading to one any way." Leon explained. Claire would have a fit if she knew about this.

"How much is it a night at a motel?" The woman asked.

"I don't know. I'm hoping less than a hundred bucks. I don't have much cash with me, but at least I have a credit card." Leon replied, turning back onto the road.

"The motel is that way." The woman said, pointing to Leon's left.

"That's the left Earl was talking about, I guess."

The two made it to the motel, and Leon got quite a look from the guy behind the counter when they arrived. "Two single's." Leon requested.

"You sure?" The guy asked.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Two twenty, sir." Leon handed the guy his credit card and looked around. He wrinkled his nose at the poor décor. "Here's your keys. You want a wake up call?"

"No thanks." Leon replied, taking the keys and turning around.

Misty, the prostitute, was waiting in the lobby which was really just a room with two chairs. He tossed one of the keys at her. "Take a warm shower and hang your clothes to dry. I didn't bust you today, so you're lucky. Don't keep doing this, okay?" He warned. She frowned at him, but said nothing as he walked towards the stairs. The place reminded him of the Bates Motel in a lot of ways. The room he would be staying in was simple. There was a bed, cabinet, a table with a vase of fake flowers in it. The bathroom was a little grungy.

The tub needed to be scrubbed out and the faucets worked, but barely. Leon hesitantly took a hot shower and prepared himself for bed. There wasn't a t.v., so all he could do was sit and read over the information Earl had given him.

"In the south of the city, there's an old diner. In the bathroom, there'll be a note behind the toilet with a number on it. Call it, and someone will meet you out from in a taxi in 15 minutes. Tell him 'Fast but safe', and he'll take you to me. Be safe Jill, I hope to see you soon."

Leon sighed. Chances were that Chris already called the number and found Carlos. How could Leon persuade the guy into picking him up? There was a knock on Leon's door that caused him to jump. With a sigh, he put the papers into the dresser drawer and walked over to the door. He opened it up and was surprised to find Misty on the other side. "What's up?" He asked, resting his hand on the door knob. Ignoring his question, she barged into the room. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"Checking your room out, sweetheart. I was wondering if all the rooms in this place were shit holes, or just mine." She answered, peering into the bathroom.

"Yeah, this room sucks, too. I'm expecting a call, so if you don't mind…." Leon said slowly, hoping she'd get the hint.

"Oh, the call can wait. Besides, I really have to pay you back. This place may be a dump, but it's better than looking for john's out in the rain, right?"

Leon held up his hands. "Listen, I told you that you don't have to pay me back. Really. Just go back to your room and get some sleep." He said, gesturing towards the door. Misty advanced on him, and put her hands on his shoulders.

"Ooh, you really ought to loosen up, babe." She cooed, pushing him onto the bed.

"Hey!" Leon exclaimed as he was felt up. Putting his hands on her shoulders, he pushed her away from him.

"Listen, I appreciate the….affection, but I have a girlfriend, and I'm a cop. This is wrong. Please, go back to your room." He said, keeping her at a distance.

"God, you're so uptight. Your girl will never know." Misty pouted.

"Yeah, but I will. Don't worry about the money, okay?"

"What if I wanted to anyway?"

"Go."

She licked her lips and thrust her middle finger in his face. As she stormed out of the room, she muttered something about Leon being a fag and slammed the door. With a sigh, Leon ran his hand through his hair. He guiltily reached for the phone, hoping that Claire would be home by then.

While Claire scrubbed her skin red in the shower, her phone began to ring. "Son of a bitch!" She exclaimed, throwing her loofah angrily onto the tub floor. Twisting the water knobs off, she yanked the shower curtain open and grabbed her bathrobe. She tightened the belt around her slender waist and went for the phone.

"Hello?" She said, a little impatiently.

"Hey, it's me." Leon replied.

"Oh…hi. How are you?"

"Just settling in for the night. Did I bother you or something? You sound frustrated."

"No…I was just in the shower finally when you called."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Do you want me to call back?"

"I'm already out, so what's the point."

"Sorry." Leon snapped slightly. He chose to skip over the whole prostitute thing for now, since Claire seemed to be in such a foul mood.

"Anyway, what's up?"

"Well, Chris has definitely been here. And I think he's met up with Carlos at some point, probably as soon as he got here."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah. There was this bar owner who had all this information. He kept mentioning this 'sick ethnic', so I think he means Carlos, I'm not one hundred percent sure yet. Anyway, Carlos set up this whole rendezvous thing for Jill, but since Jill was shot, I think Chris came in her place."

"And…?"

Leon sighed. "Carlos left a note in the bathroom of some diner, with the number of a guy who'd pick Jill up and presumably take her to Carlos. But if Chris has been here, chances are that if I call that number, the guy won't come." He explained.

"So what now? Are you at least going to try?" Claire asked.

"Yeah. I'll talk to the guy on the phone, and hopefully persuade him to come get me. Tell him that I'm Chris' partner, and I know everything that's going on. I can try to bribe him, if it comes down to that."

"Alright, I hope it works. Have you called Chris' cell yet?"

"No, I probably should to let him know where I'm at with this."

"Yeah…I'll let you go then. I'll get back to my shower."

"Okay, then. I guess I'll call you if anything else comes up. Oh, how'd that shoot go? You had one today, right?" Leon said. Claire stiffened, memories of the night flooding into her memory.

"…Fine. It went well, the guy was a real pro." She said finally.

"That's great. I can't wait to see how the pictures came out."

"Yeah, me too. Alright, honey, I'll talk to you later."

"Okay, good night."

"Night."