Hello everyone! Sorry this took waaaay too long! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

-1 Month later-

Roger pov:

Ever since we've been searching again, we haven't had any stroke of luck. With two more months before we got the DNA results, I was starting to lose hope again.

All I wanted was the love of my life sent home safe. I wanted to hold him tight and tell him how worried I was, how important he is to me. I promised myself that if I ever got Mark back, he wouldn't ever be allowed out of my sight again.

Walking the city, in a new town, more through the outskirts, I lowered my head.

Collins looked over at me with a sigh.

"Roger… I know it's rough, man…"

"I just want him back…" I murmured. "Id give everything I had if I could just see him and hold him… I miss him so much…." I felt my eyes blur with tears. I growled angrily. I hated crying. I felt like such a baby.

Collins put a hand on my shoulder.

"It'll be okay, Rog… I promise…"

"You don't know that!" I spat, ducking away from his touch. I didn't want comfort anymore, not unless it was from Mark. He watched me sadly. I grunted angrily, and walked on.

Looking around for more people to talk to, I stormed towards a small guy on the sidewalk. He was looking around nervously as if he believed something was going to attack him at any moment. I quirked a brow, but still followed through. Holding a flier in my hand, I tapped his shoulder. He nearly jumped twenty feet. His demeanor reminded me of a mouse, rather than a human.

"Y-yes?" he stammered. I sighed. I hated this part. I held up the flier, trying to take Collins's method, and act polite, as much as I disliked it.

"Listen… my friend has been missing for nearly six months now… and I'm just asking around town… we're from Alphabet city, and I know we're far out, but… have you seen him?"

The man looked over the flier for a minute. I watched him closely when I saw him twitch nervously. Something like recognition flashed in his eyes, but it was soon replaced with fear. He stumbled back away from me, shaking his head quickly.

"N-no, sir! I haven't seen him! Have a nice day!" I narrowed my eyes as he tried to quickly walk past me. I put an arm out, catching him around the waist, and gently pulling him back.

"Look buddy, I'm sorry to keep insisting, but I really need some answers. Are you sure you haven't seen my friend?" The man seemed to go pale as he realized I was onto him. He looked around fearfully again.

"Listen…" he began, his voice low. "I… I have… I can't…" A yell in the distance made his head snap up. A tall man was down the street, watching us. Something about the man spooked him tremendously, for he gave me such a hard shove off him, I was sent stumbling back. "I don't know your friend! I can't help you! leave me alone! g-go away!" and with that, he broke into a run.

I let out a low growl. This guy obviously knew something, and wasn't talking? I wasn't about to let it go that easily.

"GET BACK HERE!" I yelled, taking right off after him. I heard Collins yelling for me, but I didn't stop. The man, upon seeing I was giving chase, squeaked, and took off down a side alley. He kicked trash cans down behind him, trying to slow me down. I jumped them with ease.

"Please!" he screeched. "You don't understand! you're gonna get me killed!"

"I'll kill you myself if you dont tell me what you're hiding!" I called back. He cut down another side alley, jumping a fence. I followed without breaking a sweat.

"I can't talk! he's watching! even if I wanted to explain, I can't, okay!? I just can't! I don't wanna die! I have a husband! and two kids! I'm not about to put them in danger because of a stranger!"

I began growing confused. This sounded like mafia type bullshit. I still kept as close as I could.

"What!? who's he!? I won't let him hurt you, but you have to tell me what you know! that missing man is my boyfriend! he could be dead, or dying! I have to know!"

The man went over another fence that overlooked a steep hill. He paused just long enough at the top for me to move in. I hopped the fence, tackling him. He screamed and flailed as we both tumbled down the hill quickly. He punched and kicked at me as I held onto him. Once we got to the bottom of the hill, we smacked right into a tree, and were sent flying away from each other. He recovered while I was seeing stars, and I grunted, trying to get to my feet as he took off again. I rubbed my bruised head, and stumbled after him. He soon found another street, and another alley.

The man was coming to a dead end. A brick wall loomed ahead. Perfect. He noticed this too, and he came to a stop. I moved faster, determined to tackle him again, when something was pulled out from his waistband. I froze when I realized it was a knife. A decent sized one.

"D-don't you come any closer!" he yelled, moving towards me. I backed up. "I'm not gonna hurt you, but you better let me go away in peace. If you follow me, I will do what I have to in order to protect myself, and my family, and if that means taking you out… so be it."

I sighed. "I'm not gonna follow you… I just… want to know what's going on here… ive noticed everyone in this neighborhood is jumpy like you are… what happened here?"

The man watched me sadly.

"Sir, I know how it feels to lose track of someone you love… and I would help you if I could… but I can't. I can't tell you why I can't either." He looked around before sighing. "Lets just say… that there's a very bad man who recently passed through here… and if you know what's good for you, you'll get out while you can." he climbed to the top of a nearby fence, pausing. "I really do hope you find your friend. However, if you wanna find him here… you'll have little progress." with that, he dropped to the other side.

"Wait!" I yelled, trying to follow, but when I got over, he was gone. I blinked in confusion, trying to understand. He wasn't talking because… he was scared. Someone was keeping people in this town quiet. I hopped back over the fence, and ran out of the alley. I had to tell Collins.

He nearly knocked me over once I ran right into his path by mistake. He stood with his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.

"R-Roger…" he breathed. "D-don't… harass… the locals…"

"Collins, I talked to that guy before he left. He didn't tell me much, but from what I've heard, it seems someones already doing that for us…" Collins paused.

"Is that why everyone here is either jumpy, or a shut-in?"

I nodded. "It looks that way. We aren't gonna get anywhere by asking around. We've obviously gotten closer to where this Jason guy is, though… he must have passed through here..."

Collins blinked. "You really think he's the reason everyone here is so spooked?"

"I dunno…" I sighed. "But we don't have anything left to go on… I say we start poking around a little more…"

"We should tell the police!" Collins argued.

"We don't need the police anymore! we can finish this on our own! so far they've done what, hang two fliers? big fucking deal… besides… I don't wanna draw attention to this place… you saw how scared that guy was… whoever is making these people so upset, whether it's Jason or not, they may start hurting others if they know they're gonna get caught..." Collins considered this.

"You have a point there… but what are we supposed to do, now? it's getting dark… and we don't know the area…"

"Lets head back…" I said reluctantly. "We can always drive back here tomorrow, and start our own little investigation." Collins agreed, and we headed off.

That night at the loft, I couldn't sleep. Whoever this Jason guy was, he seemed to be getting even more dangerous each passing minute. I shivered as I remembered how terrified that smaller man looked. This guy must be crazier than we anticipated. For what it was worth, I hoped the small man's family was safe. He was just as worried for the people he cared about as I was.

I turned over on my side, pulling Mark's scarf tighter around my neck, and sighing. Now that we had some sort of path to go on, I promised myself I wouldn't stop until I brought him home…. and brought Jason down as well.