"Are you sure you weren't drunk?" Liam asked, his brow furrowing with confusion.

"I've already told you that I wasn't. Seriously, what is so hard to believe about this? We've seen stranger things before," Killian argued, fiddling with his tie while he checked his reflection over in the mirror.

"Yeah… but a 'hot girl' giving you cryptic advice on how to proceed? Dude, even for us that's weird."

"Maybe it is. But she was right. There's only one person who can really tell us what happened that night and we haven't even tried talking to him."

"That's because bullshitting our way into a maximum-security hospital is low, even for us," Liam pointed out. It was exactly why he wasn't planning to go with his brother that morning. Killian might not care about his criminal record but Liam sure as hell did! He had plans for his future. Plans that did not involve spending time in jail for impersonating a federal agent.

"If it's the only way to find out where dad is, then we need to do it, Liam! I can't believe that out of everything we've seen and done, jail is what scares you the most."

"It's not jail that scares me, Killian! It's what happens after that. It's the effect it will have on the rest of our lives. Nobody's gonna want to hire an ex-con. Especially not one convicted on charges of fraud. And I doubt Elsa's gonna want to date one either. You don't get it, do you? You live in this little bubble where all you do is hunt and follow dad around. But there's a whole world out there where actions have consequences, Killian. And I'm not sacrificing myself just to bail dad out of whatever hole he's gotten himself into this time."

"Fine. Suit yourself," Killian snapped back, before grabbing his jacket from where it had been resting over the end of his bed and storming out of the motel room.

Liam hated fighting with his brother, but he also hated how stubborn the rest of his family could be at times. While he knew that knowing all about the things that went bump in the night had changed his own outlook on life, he had chosen to try and enjoy the hand that fate had dealt to him. Life couldn't just grind to a halt because vampires and vengeful spirits actually existed. People needed to carry on. And that was exactly what Liam was trying to do. Killian and their father had never really understood that before, and he was starting to think that they never would. For them, hunting was their entire life. And while a part of Liam could understand why his father had become so consumed by hunting down the thing responsible for their mother's death, he often wondered why Killian had allowed himself to be drawn into Brennan's quest for revenge.

Liam sighed as he ran a frustrated hand through his hair. He tried hard to push aside his resentment towards his family so that he could focus on what needed to be done at that moment. It wasn't helping, though. What he really needed then was a touch of normalcy in his world. So while Killian was out trying to blag his way into a secure holding facility for the criminally insane, Liam pulled out his cell phone and flicked through to Elsa's contact details before he hit send on the call. His girlfriend had always been good at breaking him out of his funk, and he hoped to God that she'd be able to do the same thing for him that morning.

"Hey, Baby," she greeted, when she finally answered his call. "How are you doing?"

Killian reached down to button his jacket as he closed the car door behind himself. He hated wearing monkey suits, which was why the one he was wearing that morning was the only one he owned. But on occasion, being dressed smartly had given him and his father more information than all of the rest of their digging combined. So he pushed aside his discomfort and tried to focus on what he needed to do. After taking a few seconds just to check his pockets for the false ID Granny had made for him a few months back, Killian strode confidently towards the entrance of the big brick building in front of him.

It hadn't taken long for him to find out where Reverend Martin was being held while he awaited trial. The fact that he'd been committed to a psychiatric ward for close observation helped Killian. The doctors on staff would be less likely to spot an imposter than other law enforcement officials. But Killian also knew that once he was inside, he'd need to move fast. The longer he hung around the more chance there was of being caught. And for all of his bravado that morning, he really didn't want to be caught impersonating a federal agent.

With his most confident swagger in place, Killian made his way through the entrance and over to the main reception, where he propped his hip against the counter to wait for one of the secretaries to turn her attention his way.

"Can I help you?" a woman finally asked a few moments later, sighing a little as she did. It had clearly been a long morning and she was already eager to get home – which was something Killian knew would work in his favor. The woman would be less likely to argue with him if she was already done with the day's workload.

"Yes, I'm special agent Tyler with the FBI," he announced, briefly holding up the credentials for her to look over. "I'm here to speak to Reverend Martin about a series of attacks across the country that I believe he may be connected to."

The receptionist looked down at a stack of papers on her desk and shuffled a few of them around before she turned her attention back up to Killian. "We weren't expecting you today, Agent Tyler."

"They're recent developments that have become increasingly more urgent to pursue," he lied. "Is there someone who can take me to the Reverend?"

"Uh… yes. Yes of course. I'll um… I'll call down for someone now," she promised, as she reached for the handset on her desk. "Please, take a seat."

"Thank you." Killian offered her one of his killer smiles before he turned to head for the small seating area just behind the main entrance. The people already sitting there gave him a curious look but they didn't say anything as he dropped down into a hard plastic chair.

Thankfully, he didn't have to wait too long. A rather harried young man dressed in scrubs soon appeared at the locked doorway. He cast a glance around the waiting area before his eyes landed on Killian's suited form, and asked, "Special Agent Tyler?"

Killian stood to offer the young man a nod and then his hand for shaking.

"If you'd like to follow me, Agent Tyler. We've just restrained Reverend Martin and brought him up for questioning."

Killian didn't like the way that sounded. While he'd seen some deadly things before, and had killed and maimed his fair share of creatures, the way they were talking about another human being turned his stomach slightly. He was almost certain that Reverend Martin was innocent in all of this, and the man definitely didn't deserve to be treated like some kind of animal.

"He's just through here," the young doctor explained, pointing to a locked door. He then swiped the badge on his lanyard over a sensor on the wall before pushing his way into the room.

"I can take it from here," Killian assured him, as he took in the small, padded space and the other man in the room, who was sat behind a table. The Reverend's hands had been cuffed in front of him and there was a rather drowsy look covering his features. He'd clearly been heavily medicated, which would make questioning him tough.

The young doctor looked like he wanted to argue that he should stay, but Killian shut the door on him before anything else could be said. He then quietly made his way around the room to take a seat on the other side of the table, across from where the Reverend was sat.

Killian took a few moments to gather his thoughts before he opened his mouth to ask, "Reverend Martin? My name's Special Agent Tyler and I'm with the FBI. I'd like to ask you a few questions."

Martin's head snapped up from where he'd been busy staring at the links on his cuffs to fix Killian with a wide-eyed stare. For the longest minute, silence hung between the two of them, and it was uncomfortable enough to have Killian fidgeting in his seat.

When the Reverend finally spoke up, Killian almost wished he hadn't.

"It's you!" he accused dramatically, trying to push himself away from the table. "It's you!"

Thanks for sticking with me as I battle through my health issues. It'll be a little longer before I get back to something resembling a normal posting schedule - but I hope to get there as soon as I can.

Thanks for reading and reviewing.