Dean was led into one of the top VIP rooms, away from the roaring shouts of the other attendees. It was a lot nicer than the lounge he was sitting in earlier, that was for sure. The man of the hour that Dean had been dying to meet was now seated in front of him.

Braun Strowman.

The tall monster of a man crossed his arms at Dean, eyes staring back like daggers in him. Dean wasn't afraid of him like the others, though. Instead he just stretched out his legs on the table between them, which made Braun angrier.

Dean smirked. "It's 'bout time you called me in here, Braun. These cuts on my face are enough proof that I passed your stupid test. I completed a fight, now you hold your end of the deal."

"I was hoping you would get hit so hard you wouldn't remember."

"Aww. Well, isn't that just too bad."

"Shut up and say what it is you need to say before you regret it, Ambrose."

His smirk faded and replaced with a serious gaze. He pulled out the picture of his sister and held it up for Braun to see. "My sister was last seen alive at the club you own. Word has it you were there that night. I want answers."

"Answers to what? Think that I had something to do with that girl being found dead?"

"For a guy that spends his time in underground fighting rings, that wouldn't be too far-fetched. Did you or did you not see her that night? I want a straight answer!"

"Better watch your tone," Braun breathed heavily. "And yeah. I saw her."

"What happened to her? She was with her friends, she wouldn't just disappear. And since you were there and know everything that happens in your club, what happened?"

"I just run the place. It's not as though I have an all-seeing eye. But I can tell you that she was there with a group of people her age."

"Did you at least see her leave? I need to know everything!"

Braun gave off a somewhat sadistic grin. "Why so desperate to know? The girl is already dead, isn't she? Knowing what her every move was that night doesn't change anything. You are one sad case, Ambrose."

The anger started to boil deep within Dean's chest as his fingers clenched on the arm cushion of the chair. Removing his legs off the table, he leaned in closer. It didn't intimidate the bigger man, but both now stared back at one another with vicious intent.

"It's not about just her death," Dean explained through gritted teeth. "It's about finding the bastard responsible. And if I find out that you killed her, I'm gonna-"

"You're going to what? I'm capable of a lot of things, Ambrose. I can rip out your spine right here and now if I wanted to. But I can tell you with a clear conscious, that I didn't murder that girl."

Dean was on his feet now. "Then tell me everything you saw that night she was last seen."

Braun stood up calmly and began to walk towards the other side of the room, fetching a glass of whiskey. In the midst of watching him, Dean could've sworn he heard the click of a camera go off. Looking around there was nothing but him and Braun. That was, until he spotted what looked like a silhouette of someone in the vent.

"Are you just going to keep staring off into space or can I kick your ass out of here?"

Pulled out of his suspicions, Dean cleared his throat. "You still haven't told me what you saw."

Taking a swig of whiskey, Braun leaned against the wall. "The girl showed up at the club with friends, had a few drinks, walked off by herself out of the club. Never came back in."

"...That's it? That's all you're gonna tell me after I practically got the shit kicked out of me? I came here to find out everything you know! My little sister died! And you're just going to stand there drinking? That's seriously all you know?"

The half empty cup whooshed past his head and shattered hard against the wall, glass shards everywhere.

"Next time I'll aim for your skull," Braun growled. "Your problem is not my problem. You sought me for answers, you got 'em. Now here's my advice, Ambrose. Drop the damn thing, if you know what's best. You're poking around with something dangerous. I didn't kill the girl, but I don't suppose you want to get on the bad side of someone who did."

"You're saying that this is deeper than me?"

"I'm saying that if it was up to me, your mouth would be shut up permanently. Now get the hell out of here."

Knowing he wasn't going to get anymore answers out of Braun, Dean swallowed up his pride and made his way out of the room, cursing under his breath all the way home.

Facing his best friend was no easy task either.

"Holy shit! What the hell happened to you? I tried calling you." Roman was absolutely horrified at the state in which his friend was in. Face cut up and bruised, knuckles bloodied.

"I'm fine. Just went out for a while."

"Dean, for fucks sake…" Roman exhaled whilst checking over him for any further injuries. "Please tell me you weren't out looking for more answers again."

"I was. Turned out to be a waste of time."

"Dean, you gotta stop this! I told you, let the police handle this-"

"They aren't doing shit!" Dean yelled. Immediately regretting it, he shook his head, patting Roman on the shoulder. "Sorry. But I'm not gonna sit on my ass while they're wasting time. How can I? How can you expect me to do that?"

"Because you're literally risking your life now! Look at you. You're losing sleep, you're becoming impatient, and now you've added injured to the list. You're losing yourself over grief. I want to help you, but you won't let me. I'm trying to tell you how much you're putting yourself in danger when there's no chance you'll even find what you're looking for. Her funeral is coming up, Dean. I know you don't want to talk about it, but at least get some sleep. For me."

The worst thing about Dean dealing with his grief is that he didn't want to acknowledge it was there at all. Whenever he felt those tears, he always pushed them back. He didn't want to grieve, he wanted to find the person responsible for killing his sister. But tonight, Dean felt so out of it and for the first time in a long time, didn't feel like fighting back and took Roman's advice. Sleep sounded really good right now.

However, even with his friend finally getting some rest, Roman still worried for his safety.

Finn felt exhausted from the long night. Flipping through the pictures and notes he took, he sought to put together all he had. He made a mental note that he had to be more careful when spying on a suspect. All these months off work had made him a bit rusty. If not for that Braun guy interjecting, Finn would've been caught red-handed by Dean.

After what he saw last night, Finn wasn't sure if he could still call Dean a suspect in his case. Everything seemed to lead to more questions. He kept trying to remember what Braun was explaining to Dean last night.

Victim walking out alone, never coming back inside. The ominous warning he gave before he kicked Dean out. And Finn didn't buy that a murderer would be out looking for clues about his own victim. Not to the point of risking your life in a fight.

Seth made his way into the shared office, handing Finn a coffee to ease his fatigue. Smiling softly, Seth tried organizing the mess of papers on the desk.

"How'd it go last night? Find anything interesting?"

"Somewhat," Finn mumbled as he continued flipping through the pictures. "I think there's more to this Dean Ambrose than we suspected. More on this case for that matter."

"Think he's the guy we're looking for?"

"I don't think so…"

"Oh?"

"Take a look at these pictures." Finn tosses the bunch at his colleague. "I followed him all night and overheard some interesting details. For starters, it doesn't seem like even his friends are liking the idea that he's a suspect. They're very vocal about his supposed innocence. Then, I learned that he was out last night to hold a meeting with another man. He was looking for answers."

"Answers to what?"

"Same as us."

"You mean he's looking for the killer responsible?"

"That's exactly what I mean. Call me an amateur for being gone for a few months, but I don't think he'd be seeking out answers about this murder if he was our guy. At least, not by this extent. More interestingly, is what that other man in the pictures told him."

"What'd he say?"

"He told Ambrose that the victim walked out of the club by herself and never came back in. Now why would that be?"

"I don't know. It was a popular local club. Those places can get stuffy with all those people in one place. Perhaps she needed fresh air."

"Ah, but what if the victim was led outside?"

"What do you mean?"

"Ambrose was pressuring the man into telling him every detail. If there was the slightest chance that the victim walked out with someone, wouldn't you interrogate to find out everything that another person knows? And strangely enough, Dean Ambrose reached out to find that man, the owner of the club himself. It's a big club. How did the owner know what the victim was doing up until she left the building?"

"You're saying that maybe this big dude knows more than he's letting on?"

Finn nodded.

Seth held his hands up and grinned. "Finn, once again you outsmarted all of us. That's why you're the best man for the job. Okay, so let's assume that the victim was led outside. What then? How was the victim led outside if no one was with her when she left?"

"That's what I need to find out. But another thing stuck out when I was listening in on this. The bigger man, Braun, gave Ambrose some kind of warning. Almost as if he was warning him, no, threatening him to give up his search for the truth."

Finn could see the files for Elias on the table and something clicked. His throat became dry and he swallowed hard, intently thinking. He started to remember what Elias told him in that last phone call they shared before he died. Finn pushed the thought back and decided on writing it down later instead of discussing it now. There was the chance that it wasn't important to the case right now.

Seth's eyes widened. "You think what you overheard last night was a clue that we should list the club owner as a potential suspect?"

Finn stroked his chin, unsure of what to say next. "Maybe. Or maybe it's some kind of red herring. The reports say he was in the club all night."

The door to their office was swung open and entered was a short blonde woman carrying a small folder.

She drops it rudely on Seth's lap. "Chief Flair and Sami wanted me to drop the finalizations of the forensic results for you." She sent a scowl Finn's way. "Who's the new guy?"

"Uh. Alexa, this is Detective Finn Balor. He's just returned from a leave of absence and is taking control of the recent murder cases. Finn, this is Alexa Bliss. She works in the forensics lab with Sami."

"Nice to meet you," Finn said in a monotone voice and an unamused expression.

Alexa rolled her eyes. "Ditto. Just don't make my work extra difficult."

With that, Alexa exited the office, leaving Finn to ask what the hell just happened.

"Don't pay any attention to her," Seth smiled. "She was hired not too long after you left and she's always had that attitude. It's best to just ignore it."

"I think I'll just stick to talking to Sami in the forensics lab, thank you."

"And what about the case? You still want to do it alone? There's nothing wrong if you want some help-"

"I can do it myself, Seth."

The tone of his voice quickly makes Seth drop the subject. Finn didn't need anyone's backup. This was a case he knew he could solve alone. He just needed more answers on what he was looking for. Maybe a run in with Dean's roommate could help him out.

Before heading out on his investigation, he knew he couldn't leave Seth feeling bad for wanting to help. He gave Seth a small grin and pulled out the napkin from the night before out of his pocket and handing it to him.

"You might want to inform Charlotte that I found a secret underground fighting circuit. That's the address. We may want to do something about that."

Rain was the last thing he needed today. The water dripping down his window made it even harder to spot Roman Reigns leaving the apartment building. When he did see him, however, Finn had no time to run out with his umbrella.

"Roman Reigns! May I have a minute of your time please?" He shouted before Roman could enter his car, showing his badge. "My name is Finn Balor. I want to ask you a few questions about my case."

Roman glared at him, a frown that already implied that he was not in the mood for such frustrating conversations.

"I already told the cops all that I know. Now leave me alone."

"Mr. Reigns, please-"

"No! I already know what you people are implying about my best friend. He's going through enough already without people like you coming and making it worse. I've told you all I know from that night, so why don't you piss off?"

Finn abruptly stops him from opening the car door. "I have reason to believe that your friend might be innocent!"

That stopped Roman from fighting back for the moment. His expression softened, but was still doubtful on what the detective was going to say next.

"What?"

"I was….doing some investigating. Now, hear me out. You're extremely persistent in proving to us that Dean didn't kill anyone, correct?"

"Yes, because he didn't."

"Up until last night, I wouldn't have believed it. Now the picture is becoming bigger and less intact. If you want me to prove to the station that he's innocent, you're going to have to help me."

Roman exhaled heavily. "What do you need to know?"

"Has Dean been out a lot lately? If so, could you explain what he's been doing?"

Finn started to see something of startled concern in those eyes now.

"Yeah, he has. He's….really starting to worry me now. But he doesn't want to listen to me or anyone right now. He's becoming blindsided. Too angry, too upset."

"What's he been doing?"

"...The same as you. Looking for your culprit. That's why I was leaving just now. I'm going out to look for him. I know I sound like a mother hen, but that's my best friend out there and he's gonna get hurt if he's not careful."

"Do you know where he is now?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Not too far from here. He left a while ago."

"Let me find him, then."

"Listen, Balor, I don't-"

"It's my job to find answers, not his. But he can help me learn more about what we're dealing with. If he cooperates, then I have no reason to be suspicious. Don't worry, Roman Reigns, just try your best to relax and I'll do my best to do what I'm here to do."

Soaking wet, he dismissed himself and walked back to his car, but not before Roman called his name.

"Hey, Balor! Let me ask you something. If someone you cared about died and you wanted to know the bastard who caused this, would you be doing the same thing as Dean?"

Finn paused and looked back. Images of his old friend started to fill his mind. Naturally, he pushed them back. Pulling out the flask from his jacket, he took a hard swig.

"I already am."