The next morning, Luke found Damian typing at the computer in his office. The door was open, but Luke knocked anyway to get his attention.

Damian looked up and immediately stopped typing. "Luciano." He got up and walked around his desk to put his hands on Luke's shoulders. "I came to see you yesterday, but – "

"I'm sorry, I wasn't really in the mood to see anyone," Luke said truthfully.

"There's no need to apologize. I can't imagine what you must be going through," Damian said sympathetically, "You have my condolences… Noah was an extraordinary young man."

"Yeah, he was," agreed Luke in a somber tone.

Damian sighed and removed his hands from Luke's shoulders. "If there's anything I can do for you, please let me know."

Luke hesitated, but only briefly. "Damian… I don't know if I can explain this to you, but… it's hard enough to lose Noah. I can't – I just can't – deal with the fact that his killer is still free."

"It must be awful," said Damian, his eyes filled with sorrow. "But Mayer was already a fugitive, there's an entire manhunt for him. You mark my words, he'll be caught soon enough. And he'll pay for everything that he's done."

"Well, that's not good enough. I don't trust the police, or even the FBI for that matter, and I can't stand the thought that he might get away."

Damian raised an eyebrow. "I understand, but I'm not really sure what we can do."

"C'mon, Damian," said Luke firmly, "You know people. You're probably tied with Lucinda Walsh for most connected person in town, and you don't play by the rules. If anyone can find Col. Mayer, it's you."

Luke's biological father eyed him apprehensively before speaking. "My illegal dealings have put you in danger, Luke. I'm not willing to make the same mistake again. We need to stay out of this and let the cops do their job."

"You also saved my life once," Luke pointed out. "Look, I'm not talking about hunting down the Colonel ourselves," he continued, noting to himself that the outright lies have finally begun. "I just want you to find him and report to the police, because he has to be brought to be justice. And I'm anything but certain that that's going to happen."

At this, Damian bit his lip and shook his head in resignation. "How can I say no, after what he's done to you? I'll make some phone calls."

Luke exhaled. "Thank you," he said emotionally.

Damian returned to his seat and began making the calls, Luke taking the chair opposite his desk and waiting. He forced himself to be patient as the minutes passed by. Damian knew all the crooks… he'd get the job done.

After what had to be at least half an hour of phone conversations, Damian finally put the receiver down and met Luke's eyes with an accomplished look. "Got it. Mayer's still in town… he was spotted leaving a shed right across from Mill Road."

"Next to the bridge," mumbled Luke. Not smart, Colonel, not smart at all… you should have gotten the hell out of Dodge.

"That's right. I'm gonna call Margo Hughes, hopefully he's still there and they can bring him in immediately." "Wait," said Luke firmly, "I wanna do it. I wanna make the call."

A moment's hesitation, then Damian nodded. Luke picked up the receiver and dialed 911. However, he covered the phone with his palm as he did, and surreptitiously disconnected the call. Damian didn't seem to notice.

Luke proceeded to carry on a fake 'conversation' where he asked to speak to Margo, and then gave her the Colonel's whereabouts. He even pretended to argue with her about not disclosing his source of information. After hanging up, supposedly, he looked up at Damian. "God, I hope he's there… I wish I could see the look on his face when he gets caught."

"He'll be regretting his actions very soon," stated Damian. "And hopefully, they'll find the body, so we can give Noah a proper funeral." Luke nodded sadly. "Anyway, you go home and let your parents take care of you. You deserve time to rest, and grieve."

Luke offered him the barest of smiles. "Thanks again, Damian, I can't tell you how much this means."

As he exited the office, Luke contemplated his slight guilt. Damian had really come through for him recently, saved his and Noah's lives – no, just my life, he realized bitterly – and here he was lying to, in fact manipulating his biological father. However, he stubbornly told himself to get over it. This was a necessary evil… and didn't come close to the evil he was trying to correct.

Luke did realize that his next task was going to be more complicated. Whereas lies and subterfuge had been enough with Damian, he'd have to tell the truth this time, and rely solely on his powers of persuasion. And he couldn't afford to screw it up. Winston Mayer was not going to live to see tomorrow if he had a say about it.

*

The omelet Casey had made himself for breakfast smelled good, but he found himself merely playing with his fork, lacking appetite. The news of Noah's death had been devastating… and even more than Casey was pained over the loss of his friend, he was worried about Luke, who must have been out of his mind with grief. Casey had come over to comfort him, but Luke's father explained that he didn't want to see anyone. Understandable, so Casey did not press the issue, but still worrying… Casey was pretty certain that Luke shouldn't be alone right now.

His thoughts were put to a halt when the doorbell rang. Casey abandoned his untouched breakfast and went to open the door. He had not expected to find Luke on the porch.

"Hey, Case," Luke greeted him quietly.

"Luke…" Casey quickly pulled him into a one-armed hug. "Are you okay?"

"No, not really," Luke admitted in a half-sob.

"I am so, so sorry about Noah," Casey muttered, patting him on the back. "I'm really gonna miss him."

"I know."

After they broke apart, Casey invited Luke inside, closing the door behind them.

"I know you stopped by yesterday, I appreciate that," said Luke, "I just wasn't really in a condition to talk to anybody."
"Don't worry about it, man," said Casey dismissively, concern etched into his face. "Listen, if there's anything you need – anything at all – just ask, alright?"

"Funny you should say that, because I do need something," Luke opened. Might as well get down to the issue. Every minute he wasted was another minute of Col. Mayer walking free, not to mention that he could flee Oakdale and Luke would lose him completely. "I realize you're not gonna like it, but I have to ask."

"Whatever you need," Casey replied immediately, "Just shoot."

After steeling himself, Luke said, "I need a gun. Your mom's a police lieutenant, I know she's got one in the house."

"A gun?" Casey looked at him questioningly. "Why? You think Noah's dad is about to come after you, too?"

This would have actually been the perfect lie to latch onto. It made total sense and Casey would probably agree to help. But somehow, Luke couldn't lie. He'd managed it with Damian, but Casey had been his friend for so long… he cared so much, was so willing to help in any way he could, that Luke had to be honest. Fuck it. Luke had to tell the truth and hope he wouldn't regret it.

"No," he said, struggling to maintain eye contact with Casey. "I'm going after him."

Silence. But only for a moment. "You're - what?" Casey snapped. "You can't be serious." Luke said nothing. "Oh my God… Luke, do you hear yourself? What the hell's gotten into you?"

"I can't just stand by and do nothing!" Luke shouted desperately, no longer able to hold it together. "Think about what he's done, Casey… he's a murderer! He's already killed two people - his own son and ex-wife - plus trying to kill me twice, and Dusty Donovan, too."

"Right," said Casey sharply, shaking his head in disbelief. "Like this is about justice and not revenge."

"And if it's about revenge?" Luke retorted, forcing himself to speak calmly, without shouting or shaking. "Is that really so wrong?"

"It's not gonna bring Noah back, and it's not gonna give you any kind of peace," Casey stated, somewhat harshly. "Actually, do you even realize what's gonna happen if you go after the Colonel? At best, you're gonna end up in jail; at worst, you're gonna end up in the morgue!"

"Like Noah, right?" said Luke acidly. He was now running on pure, raw anger. Casey just stared at him, stunned at the words coming out of his mouth. "And you know what, Casey, I have no idea where this self-righteous bullshit is coming from. You're the one who's always gung-ho about illegal gambling, stealing elections or beating people up… I thought if anyone would understand why I have to do this, it's you."

"Well, maybe I've learned my lesson," Casey shot back. After a beat, he pleaded, "Luke, you have to stop. You're a wreck right now - you should be, your boyfriend was murdered. You're not thinking rationally."

"Winston Mayer needs to die. That's pretty rational, don't you think?"

Casey heaved a frustrated sigh and turned his back on his friend. He didn't know how to get through to Luke, to make him see what his grief what doing to him, and what a mistake it would be to give in.

"You know, he was your friend too," Luke added. "So I think it's your responsibility to do what you can to make sure his killer doesn't get away. It's the least you can do for him." He realized that in many ways, he was now manipulating Casey as well, and didn't feel remotely good about it. But he couldn't stop, not now.

Casey stared at the wall, not wanting to face Luke again, to take in that broken, haunted face. In desperation, he went to the last resort. "This whole thing is about Noah, Luke. But what if he knew what you're about to do? Do you think he would feel like you're honoring his memory?" In spite of himself, he turned around to glare at Luke. "Do you think he would want you to do this?"

Luke didn't flinch, his eyes as cold as ice. "Noah's dead, Case. So I don't know what he would have wanted, and frankly, I don't really care."

Chills were running down Casey's spine now; it was hard to keep himself from visibly shivering. He cast his eyes downward, losing yet another staring contest to Luke. He knew the right thing to do was to turn Luke down. But he couldn't afford to make it about right and wrong, not now… at the moment, with what Luke was going through, he had to make it about being a good friend.

"I'll get the gun," Casey mumbled, hating himself for it, "Wait here."

A couple of minutes later, Casey placed a semi-automatic pistol and a clip in Luke's hands. He gave Luke a brief explanation of how to load and fire the weapon.

"The good thing is, you only have to load it when you're out of ammo. No need to load it between shots, it does that for you… hence, semi-automatic," Casey finished.

"Sounds like you know how to handle this thing," said Luke, his voice somewhat indifferent.

"You pick up a few things in prison," Casey rather gravely noted. "Listen, I should go with you. You gotta have backup for something like this."

"No," Luke replied firmly. "It's my fight, Casey, you shouldn't be risking your life too… you could get into enough trouble just over giving me the gun."

Casey didn't have the strength to argue with him anymore. "Well, at least tell me where you're going." At Luke's annoyed expression, he added, "I'm serious, okay? I need to know where you are in case something goes wrong."

"Fine… there's a shed right across the bridge on Mill Road. I'll be there. But no calling the cops on me."

"Hey," Casey protested, "I got you this far, didn't I? A little trust, please."

"You're right, I'm sorry," Luke shook his head at himself. "Casey, thanks for this." He touched Casey's shoulder briefly, still feeling like a bit of a jerk for his earlier words.

"I just hope you know what you're doing," Casey cautioned, "Because you've seen what this guy is capable of. He could kill you where you stand."

Luke tucked the gun into the waistband of his jeans. "Let him try."

Tbc…