It was late, but he felt like getting really drunk.
Walking into Becky's bar, Finn ignored her constant concern and asking where Dean was. Finn didn't want to remind himself of the failures he had suffered tonight. He didn't want to think of how their suspects somehow broke into Dean's apartment and left evidence to frame him with. How Finn had tried to call him for almost an hour to no avail every time until his phone went dead. How Charlotte had officially removed him from the case and threatened suspension.
It reminded him too much of the feeling after Elias died. He wished he could crush his badge. Dean could've been out there in danger and he had no idea where he was or where to look. One of Becky's bartenders fills up his drink and Finn could already feel himself getting buzzed. He hears someone enter the bar and Becky waved hello to whoever it was. He begins to sense someone behind him.
"What the fuck are you doing?"
Finn looks up and it's Roman glaring down at him.
"Do you know what the hell happened tonight? I came home from work only to find out that the cops are going out to track down and arrest my best friend!"
Becky and the other bartenders widened their eyes in shock but do no effort to calm Roman down.
"I've been trying to get ahold of him but he's not answering me. You were the last one with Dean, what happened? Where is he? Where's Dean?"
Finn rubbed his temples. "If I knew, I wouldn't be sitting here."
"Then why are you here? I thought you'd be doing all you can to find him. You know that stuff was planted there! Dean had nothing to do with it, so why are you here?"
Finn finally turns around fully towards him. "I've been removed from the case by orders of my boss. There's nothing I can do now."
"So you're just going to sit here and drink away your sorrows?"
"That's exactly what I'm going to do."
Finn felt the hard punch of Roman's fist on his cheek before he could take another drink. The strike sent him falling back on the marble floor as Finn tasted blood on his lips. Roman ignored the shocked gasps and mumbling of the confused customers surrounding them as he stood over Finn who was now absolutely livid with him.
"You are such a fucking coward, Finn!" Roman shouted at him.
He wiped the blood from his lips, highly tempted to spit on Roman's shoes. "You know you can be arrested for that," he slurred.
"Do you think I give a fuck about that right now?!"
Finn felt himself being pulled off the floor by his shirt collar, but held his head low, not wanting to look Roman in the eyes. He shook him hard.
"Why are you acting like this, huh? What happened to what you told me when we first met? On how you were going to prove Dean's innocence. The cops are out looking for him! I have no idea where he is. And now that he's missing, you're just gonna give up and go back to your drinking ways?"
"Because there's nothing I can do anymore! Charlotte has prevented me from getting further involved. No matter what I do, those killers are always one step ahead of what I know! Well this time, they've won! Is that what you want me to admit? They've won!"
"That should give you more reason to prove it wasn't Dean! You and I both know that Dean was framed. That stuff was put into our apartment begging to be found. I don't know how that stuff got in there and neither did Dean. You might have given up, but not me! And you're the only man besides him that really knows what's going on and I will not have my best friend be put away when we know the truth. You know what to do! So why don't you get off your drunk ass and do it?!"
Finn said nothing and lowered his head once more. It was all true, but the shame was too much.
"You're not even going to say anything?"
No answer.
Roman didn't know whether to punch some more sense into him or break down in tears. He did neither and instead let go of Finn, the detective plopping back on the floor with a thud.
Roman shook his head. "And to think...Dean actually told me he was falling in love with you."
Finn's breath hitches in his throat at those words and feels his heartbeat pick up. Dean was falling in love with him? It made the hurt of not knowing where he was even worse, but there was something else that opened up. Something hopeful. The will to not give up again. Finn never thought he could be so selfish at a time like this. He had to remember the promise he made. He can't give up Dean. Not like Elias or the victims before and after him.
Not when he had a reason to finish this case. And that reason was Dean. Finn saw it all clearly now.
"R-Roman, wait."
But he's too late to call back to him as Roman is already out the door and Finn winces from the pain of his punch now seeping in. The other customers go back to whatever they were doing and Finn feels someone picking him back up.
"I'll call you a cab," Becky mumbles. "I think you've had enough tonight."
And she was right. Finn was no good to this case if he was hungover. But there was no way he could sleep with Dean on his mind.
Arriving back to the station in the early morning with little sleep and a minor headache, all eyes are back on him but none in a positive light. Word got around fast, but Finn didn't care about that at the moment. He needed to find out who his two suspects were and had to do it fast. Entering his office, though, he wasn't surprised to find all the files on the case were removed. What did surprise him, however, was that Seth was nowhere to be seen. Odd. He hadn't gotten word of Seth since last night.
Pulling out his phone, he dials up for his best friend. Just like last night, it ends straight to voicemail.
Something certainly wasn't right, Finn thought to himself. It was one bad thing for him not to hear anything from Dean, but not getting ahold of Seth too was troublesome. Something here wasn't right.
There's a knock on his door and he opens it to find Bayley. "Hey, how are you holding up? I see you already found out we took away the files from you."
"It's okay, I'll solve the case without them."
"Finn, don't. If Charlotte finds out, you'll be suspended."
"I have to. I need to prove to her that Dean's innocent. I don't care if I get suspended anymore, I just want to make sure he's safe."
She smiles gently. "You're starting to sound like your old self again. Something tells me you feel more than just deep care for this guy, though. But you're not looking too good, Finn. Are you alright?"
"What do you mean?"
"You look like somebody punched your face in."
He passes he a quick smile. "You're not completely wrong. Have you seen Seth?"
Bayley shakes her head and begins to fumble with her uniform. "Things are looking ominous and I don't like it, Finn. I feel like you're the only one who can figure out just what the hell is going on."
Finn notices her somber expression and things had to have been bad for an optimistic person like Bayley to look so devoid of hope. He gently wraps her in a hug and Bayley returns it with a long sigh. Once she's ready, she lets go, looking slightly better, but still worried.
"What do you think I should do?" Finn asks.
"Go see Sami."
"Sami? But he's still in a coma."
"I think it's something you need to do. I know how much this case has taken a toll on you. Maybe seeing Sami can take some of the burden off your shoulders. Remind you that these things aren't your fault. But before you do," Bayley makes her way to the desk, opening one of the drawers to pull out a pistol. "When Charlotte made us clean out the office of all the files, I found Seth's gun. Wherever he went, he must've taken his taser instead of this. I know he wanted you to borrow it for protection, so here. Just don't let Charlotte know."
Finn hesitates before he can take it. He knew the consequences of getting caught by his boss, but this case was reaching a new level of dangerous. If he was to be suspended for going against orders, then so be it. Finn hides the gun and wishes Bayley luck, before he heads to the hospital.
Sami hadn't moved at all since he last saw him. Finn just didn't understand why anybody would run Sami over on purpose. He was always such a kind and sweet person, always smiling at how much he loved his job. Sure, it was stressful at times but he was part of the reason they caught their suspects half of the time. And now what had become of him was nothing but a comatose state.
Finn stared at the empty hospital room, the only thing making noise was the heart monitor and Sami's shallow breathing.
"Hi, Sami. It's Finn."
He had heard once that people in comas could still hear the voices of those who visited them and Finn wondered if Sami could hear him right now. The doctors said he had a chance of waking up, even if it was slim. Finn wasn't a praying man, but he prayed that Sami would take that slim chance.
"Sami, I don't know where to start with this. Things have actually gotten worse since your incident. The case hasn't been doing well. I keep running into walls and now Charlotte has removed me altogether. Would you believe that?"
He relaxes his muscles and can hear the roar of the thunder starting outside. Always raining. Typical.
"Anyways, I know what you'd be saying right now if you were awake. You'd be telling me to stop being so hard on myself. That I'll find some miracle way out of this. But...it feels like this is a fight where someone is gonna end up hurt again. It hasn't been all bad since I returned, though. I admit, I missed the thrill of being back. I know how much you and Bayley and even Seth deep down want me to come back full time. I wonder if I can do that, the way things are going."
The heart monitor is not bothering him as much as it did last time. Finn takes that as a good sign. It reminds him that Sami is still alive, even if he's asleep.
"You'd be saying how it's okay to take time. You and the others always understood. At the time I used to take it for pity. Not anymore. I found someone to show me that. He's so humble to me, Sami. He felt comfortable telling me about his pain and I told him mind. He never looked at me in a different light. He has so much passion, such courage, he's promised to stick by me in this case. But I might've put him in danger. And that scares me. I don't want to feel like I'm failing again, not when I still have to help him."
His breath felt shaky. It was too cold in this room. But Finn knew what he wanted to say. So he set it free.
"I'm in love with him, Sami. I can say that without fear now. So, please. If you can hear me...I want you to know that I'm going to make things right. For you, for Elias, and for Dean."
As if the universe was hearing his words, Finn saw the slightest of movements from Sami's hands. His breathing even started to pick up in bigger breaths. Concerned, Finn walked closer to his friend, where Sami's eyebrows knitted together. Before Finn could call for a nurse, he saw those eyelids open slowly to show Sami's clouded eyes.
"F-Finn? Is that…?"
"Sami!"
Finn smiles wide in disbelief. Sami was finally awake even with the looming fear of him never waking up. Finn would hug him if he wasn't covered in bandages. Sami looks around him, confused about his surroundings and why he's covered in wrappings at first. That's when everything starts sinking in. Finn is startled by Sami's eyes widening in fear and hearing his heart monitor pick up speed.
"Finn! Wha...what the hell-!"
"Woah there, Sami. Just breathe. You just woke up from a coma, you'll be a little overexcited. Just try to relax and breathe slowly."
"No, that's not it!" Sami shouts. Finn doesn't know what he's talking about until Sami gets himself together to muster up words. "I remember what happened to me."
Now Finn's attention was caught. He sits hurriedly in his chair and waits for Sami to get his thoughts together. The heart monitor only slows down a little before Sami speaks again.
"I remember that I was walking down the street with Alexa. We just got done having a talk about who might have messed with our evidence in the lab. Then we, um, crossed the street. There wasn't many cars or people around. But right in the middle of us crossing the street, Alexa stopped me. She said something about how she was sorry for what she was about to do. That she...wished I would've minded my own business. Then she attacked me."
"She...she what?"
"She elbowed me in the stomach and ran to the other side of the street. Before I knew it I...I-"
"You don't have to finish. I know the rest. The driver got away and you fell into a coma."
"But you don't get it! Alexa must've been the one who tampered the evidence!"
Thinking about it now, it made perfect sense. Finn thought back to the day Sami got hurt and how it was Sami and Alexa who informed him. Alexa was the one who told Finn she checked the cameras but at the time he took her word for it. She easily could have been lying. And it would've been easy for her to ruin the evidence under the ruse that she was watching the rest of the team. The sheer coincidence of her finding Finn and giving off the performance of her life with those tears after Sami was run over.
Conveniently not seeing the license plate of the car that hit Sami. The reason why she was so cool under pressure after it happened. Purposely acting as if she couldn't remember Finn's name or care about anyone in the department but herself. Refusing to fully answer Finn's questions about Sami's incident. Even the incidents surrounding the death of Dean's sister and how Charlotte knew about Finn's time with him from an 'anonymous' employer was starting to make sense.
Alexa Bliss was one of the two suspects. And judging by the clues, she was the brain running the system right under him.
"It's her. It was always her. Why couldn't I see it? That's why we haven't been able to capture her in the act for so long!" Finn's pulse was racing from this revelation.
"But she didn't tamper with the evidence on the other victims in the past. She barely joined until you went on your leave of absence. I only wished I kept the realization of tampered evidence to only myself and told you in private. I would've escaped a near death experience. But there's no way she could've pulled those murders off herself."
"She didn't. There's one more left." Finn saw Sami's shocked expression but continued. "I'll explain later. But how she's connected to all this was simple. She obviously learned a lot in college about forensics worked and no doubt learned how to cover her tracks as well. That's why your team never found anything significant to the case. And I bet she knew that she couldn't outsmart you forever. So she went under the guise as a member of your investigative crew. No one would draw suspicion to a employer whose job it is to find evidence linked to the killer."
"So that's why she tried to have me killed," Sami breathed. "Once she knew that I found out, she was worried that I would trace it back to her and get her caught. She obviously didn't want to do it at first, but that didn't stop her from trying."
"She probably thought you died too. I guess for her, seeing you in a coma that you had slim chances of waking up from was enough. That was her grave mistake."
"This is all too much," Sami groaned. He was getting a headache from all this information piling on him at once. There was so much happening and he didn't even know how long he'd been out for.
"Do you remember the car that hit you? I know I'm asking a lot when you've just woken up, Sami, but it's my job when lives could be at stake. I have a feeling the driver of the car could be my second suspect. Can you try your best to remember?"
As much as everything was bewildering him, Sami tried his best to remember. It came to him in pieces, so he had an idea. "Pass me that napkin and a pen. I'll draw him. I saw his face when he ran into me."
Finn was quick to do what Sami said and once his friend had everything in place, he began to scribble a face. Sami was always a talented artist in the department that sometimes he considered becoming a sketch artist to draw suspects. But Finn shook off that thought once Sami was done.
Finn almost audibly gasps when he sees the finished drawing of a bearded man.
"Finn? What's wrong? You look sick."
"I-I...I know this man. It's...Dean's landlord."
Even if it was just a drawing, Finn recognized the man's face. The bearded man who greeted him almost every time he arrived at the apartments. The landlord who sounded like he knew Dean on a personal level. But why would-
That's when Finn realized. That's how the evidence must've found their way into Dean's home. Being the owner of the apartments, it wouldn't have been hard to find a way inside. And the pictures left in Dean's mail was probably sent by him too.
Dean and Finn really were brought together by fate. Two men who were deceived by people they knew. And what felt the worst, is that they were right in the palm of their hands. Finn needed to warn Bayley and Roman, two friends on both side who had the potential to be in danger.
"Sami, thank you for all your help. You've opened my eyes to everything. I need to hurry and go. I think I just solved this case."
"Wait, I can help."
"No, Sami. You're still hurt and haven't been cleared by the doctors. I'll tell them you're awake and if everything goes smoothly...I'll see you real soon."
"Finn, please be careful. Alexa is dangerous."
Calling Bayley had only made Finn's stomach churn. Apparently Alexa wasn't at work today either, but unlike Seth, they had heard from her. Bayley said something about her calling in sick. Finn didn't believe Alexa's cover up one bit.
"Why are you asking about Alexa? Is everything okay, Finn? Are you alright?" She asked during the call.
Finn explained that he would get back to her shortly with everything he knew. Right now, he had to check in with Roman for any clues on who this landlord was. Slamming the car door shut and hanging up the phone, Finn hurries his way to the apartment, noticing the absence of the bearded man greeting him. Knocking without pause, Roman answers the door looking annoyed to find Finn there.
"What do you want?"
"I know who framed Dean!"
Blinking once, but willing to hear, Roman steps out to join him. "Who?"
"Your landlord. And a fellow employee of mine."
Roman seemed muddled. "Wait, Bray? That guy? He's a little weird but I never took him for someone like that. Are you completely sure?"
"A friend of mine who was nearly killed in a hit and run was linked to my case. He woke up and drew a picture of the driver, who looked exactly like the owner of this place. And with the clues I've connected to this investigation, he's one of the suspects I've been looking for."
"Son of a bitch!" Roman yelled as he hit the wall. "And Dean? Have you found him?"
"I've had no luck of contacting him. But with the evidence and witnesses we have in Braun and my friend Sami, we could have enough to clear Dean of his suspicion."
Roman let out a sigh of relief. "Thank god. Finn, thank you. I don't know where he is, but what are you waiting for? Go downstairs to arrest that bastard."
"If he's there. I have a feeling he's not, though. Something in my gut tells me that. In the meantime, have you checked your mail today? These two haven't been shy of sending messages before, so I don't think they'd stop now."
"Right. I'll find out."
Getting to where Bray's supposed living spaces were, Finn got no response at the door. Kicking his way in, it was completely dark, his hand hovering over Seth's gun before he turned on the light switch. There didn't seem to be anyone home once light filled the room. Looking around, he found nothing out of the ordinary save for a lack of knives around the kitchen. Bray wasn't here. He could hear Roman calling for him outside, though. He sounded worried.
Rushing out Roman hands him two photographs no doubt left by Alexa and Bray this morning. But these two sent more shivers up his spine than the last few combined, more than he could imagine. It was Finn's worst nightmare manifesting itself before him.
There they were. In each of the two photos, there lied Seth and Dean. Both were seemingly knocked unconscious on the ground, dirt and leaves surrounding them. Seth looked like he was sleeping while Dean looked as though he put up a fight. But it ended in the same result for both of them. Knocked out in a wooded area. Both photos carried the same message, though:
They're waiting, Finn.