Whoo! The next chapter is finally up! Thank you so much to , 0Life-is-a-Song0, Dragi, b4k4 ch4n, The Hollow Fairy Wolf, Shinimegami7, Arid Tundra, Nekotsubasa, andhearts, Velvet Chaos, Clockwork Phoenix, A-chan, MadeInHolland, LoneBoy7, Kikurukina Bal Des'cagel, DeNiSaY60, Composer Gizmo-chan, Aindel S. Druida, Pockylover09, ramen-is-my-goddess, RealityInABottle, ooXloveXoo582, and Bane-Dane! You guys are my heroes~! ^^

O

Chapter 9

Axel and Roxas looked up from where they sat crowded around Axel's computer screen as Cloud quietly opened the door and drifted inside. Swallowing a bite of the Chinese takeout they had ordered in, Axel knew Cloud was out of it when he didn't even seem to notice that Roxas was sitting on his lap. Not wanting to take any chances, Roxas slowly slid off onto another chair that he had brought in, Axel speaking up only after the maneuver was successfully executed. "So…how'd it go?"

Cloud blinked then shook his head, "It didn't go. I almost had him but he backed off at the last second." Sitting down at his desk, Cloud stared thoughtfully at the screen, "I think he's starting to crack though."

"What do you mean?"

"I was riling him up to see if I could get anything out of him and he snapped for a second."

Roxas's brow furrowed, "That weirdo didn't do anything to you, did he?"

Cloud paused, his mind drifting back to what had happened. When Leonhart had him pinned there had been a moment when he thought he was going to get hurt but that hadn't been the case. Towards the end, he had actually thought that Leonhart was going to kiss him…The mixed emotions of rage and attraction had kept him paralyzed and he was still reeling from the aftereffects. It was still difficult to think straight. He felt disgusted, angry, confused, practically everything under the sun but the one thing he really wanted was to see Leonhart again, if only to punch him in the face. "No. He wouldn't have gotten very far anyway, he was unarmed and I had my gun on me." To prove it, Cloud flipped open his jacket to reveal that he was wearing a shoulder holster.

Axel shook his head and set the chow mein he had been devouring down, "I keep on telling you that you still need to keep your guard up. The guy's a killer."

"And I keep telling you that I can take care of myself, so drop it, alright? Let's try and focus on our jobs."

Letting out an annoyed sigh, Axel leaned back in his chair, closing the window he and Roxas have been looking at on his computer, "Fine. It's not like there's too much more to go over at this point. Luxord filed his report while you were gone; it's in the system so you can take a look at it whenever you want. I skimmed it and it doesn't say much that we don't know already. Basically we're stuck where we are until either we get a hold of a DNA sample from Leonhart or we figure out who Riku and Zexion are and bring them in."

Cloud frowned, "I don't think we're going to be able to get a sample from Leonhart without a warrant, and I doubt we'll get a warrant without more supporting evidence to tie him to the scene. That leaves us with hunting down Riku and Zexion."

"What can we really do but wait for hits from the hospitals?"

Frustration quickly mounting, Cloud ran his fingers through his hair, only serving to mess it up further, "We can't just do nothing! There must be something we're missing. We need to look at the evidence Luxord got from the crime scene."

"That's probably all back at the lab in Dark City…man, we just had to drive there and back this morning, I don't think I'm up for another road trip."

"Too bad, you're getting paid for it. We'll go out again tomorrow morning."

Axel raised a brow, "Should we call Luxord then and let him know we're coming?"

"No, then he'd have time to figure out a way to block our access to the crime scene evidence. We'll just come over unannounced. Technically we have every legal right to look at what they collected since it was our investigation first."

"True." Axel's voice was still unenthusiastic, but Cloud was pretty sure it was because the redhead didn't want to spend another four hours in a car tomorrow. He couldn't say he blamed him. At least he would be reimbursed for the gas money.

Glancing over in his partner's direction, Cloud offered a small grin, "The good news is that we might as well take off early from work. Not much more we can do in the office anyway."

The news did wonders for Axel's spirit and a smile was back on his face, "Well, when you put it that way, the plan just got a lot more bearable. Maybe I'll actually get a few hours of sleep."

"If only…" Cloud turned his computer on and ran a search for Luxord's infamous report, printing the document out so that he would be able to read it back at his apartment. Walking over to the printer, Cloud looked at his brother, "Are you free to leave now?"

"Yeah, my shift ended about an hour ago. I'm just kind of hanging around."

"Do you want a ride home?"

"Thanks, but Axel said he'd give me one. Right, Axel?"

The redheaded detective blinked, his green eyes confused before Roxas turned give him a look, "Oh, ya. I remember that now. Ya, no worries Cloud, I'm going that way anyway to run some errands."

Cloud narrowed his eyes at them, for once focusing his stare more on his brother than Axel, "You are, huh? Well…I'll call at some point during the night to make sure you made it back alright."

Roxas glared back, although the look came out more as a pout. It wasn't the kid's fault; he had a very boyish facial structure. One of the curses of the Strife family. "I'm an adult now you know. You don't need to check up on me."

"When you're alone with Axel, I do." Ignoring Axel's protest, Cloud continued as he pulled his papers from the printer, "There's no telling what you two would get up to left to your own devices…Actually, I can tell, which is why I'll be calling." Looking up, Cloud gave a small smirk, "As your big brother, it's my job to harass you, get used to it."

Roxas chose instead to continuing glaring, the staring contest between the two brothers ending when Roxas let out a small huff and crossed his arms over his chest, "Why'd I want to work with you again…?"

"Couldn't tell you. What I do know is that Axel better not cause any trouble because he's going to be stuck in a car with me for four hours tomorrow. Got it?"

Axel answered for the other blond, "Crystal clear." Standing, he began to collect his things, "But I think I'll be taking you up on that leaving early thing before you rescind the offer. Come on Roxy, let's beat it before he changes his mind."

Watching them scurry out of the room, Cloud waited until the door to the detectives' office shut behind them before letting out a sigh. He checked the papers in his hand to make sure he had them all before walking slowly back over to his desk and grabbed his briefcase up off of the floor. Shoving the thick stack of papers inside, he found himself wondering what exactly was going on between those two. Never mind. He really didn't want to know. Roxas was right when he said that he was an adult now; Cloud had no business sticking his nose into their private lives. But still…Maybe he was just bothered by seeing Axel and Roxas get closer because it reminded him of how painfully pathetic his own private life was. If he could even be considered to have one that is…

Maybe his whole issue with Leonhart was just some sort of manifestation of sexual repression. It was possible. Thinking about it, he hadn't had a "significant other", gone on a date, or even had a drunken, regret-filled one-night stand in months. Okay, that was a lie. It had been a few years. Slamming his briefcase shut, Cloud shook his head as if it would break apart the thoughts. Days off early were a rare commodity in his line of work and he was going to make the most of his. Even if that meant going back to a dark apartment to heat up a microwave dinner and go over Luxord's report on the living room couch. At least it would be a change in scenery.

oOoOo

The next morning found two very sleepy detectives sitting in the front seats of Cloud's converted cruiser, the two coffees sitting in the cup holders clearly the only thing keeping their eyes open. Leaning his head back, Axel let out a grunt as his hair hit the headrest, "It's way the hell too early to be functioning…"

"Tell me about it…" Cloud reached down and fumbled around for his coffee, keeping his eyes on the highway in front of them that was just beginning to fill with early morning commuters. "That stupid report kept me up 'til midnight in the morning, I got three hours of sleep."

"Man, that's not sleep, that's a nap." Stretching, Axel adjusted his seat belt so it would stop chaffing his neck, looking down at the clock on the dashboard, "We'll be in Dark City right when the lab opens."

"Hopefully that means we won't have any trouble from Luxord for a while."

"If that guy's there and stops us from looking at the evidence, I swear I will shoot someone."

Cloud glanced briefly at his partner and at the handgun holstered on the man's hip with a reprimanding frown, "Don't even joke."

"Fine, I'll tase 'em. Or mace, mace would be satisfying…"

"Better. Non-lethal anyway." Spotting Dark City's skyline on the horizon, Cloud snatched up his coffee cup again, "…This is going to be a long day."

Fortunately, it didn't take much longer to arrive at the Dark City crime lab, the building a strange hybrid between a warehouse and an office building with a very industrial façade. It was also conveniently located down the block from the main police station, although that fact just made Cloud wary as he stepped out of the car. He was hoping that there would be a little distance between the two. Undoubtedly Luxord would be notified about Cloud and Axel riffling through his evidence as soon as they requested to see it, whether or not they had a legal right to do so. With the police station so close it wouldn't take long for the arrogant detective to walk over and interfere. They might have three to five minutes to study the items at a maximum if Luxord decided to walk over immediately.

Axel slammed the passenger side door as he got out, catching Cloud's attention as the redhead stifled a yawn behind his hand, "Let's get this over with."

Nodding, Cloud went on ahead, Axel following close behind the shorter blond as they pushed the door to the lab open. Cloud spotted a man sitting at a desk behind a glass window and walked over, knocking lightly on the window to catch his attention.

The man glanced up sharply, his eyes narrowing as he took in Cloud, and especially Axel's, appearances, "Good morning. What can I do for you?"

Ready for the question, they simultaneously pulled their badges out of their pockets and pressed them against the glass, Cloud unable to keep down a small smile as the man blinked up in surprise, "We're detectives from Twilight Town and we need to see the evidence Detective Downes brought in from a crime scene yesterday."

"I'm sorry sir, but that's confidential property of the Dark City Police Department."

Pulling his badge back and stuffing it into his pocket, Axel frowned down at the man through the glass, "Look, it's part of an ongoing investigation, so unless you want to start something between the DCPD and the TTPD, I suggest you let us look at the evidence. Check our names or whatever, but we kinda don't have time for any bureaucratic crap right now."

The man frowned back uncertainly, clearly not appreciating the veiled threat but not wanting to impede on a case. Glancing back behind him further into the crime lab, as if looking for some assistance, he turned back to them with a frustrated sigh, "Fine, you can come in but you'll have to sign the evidence out and you can only view it in a designated area. I will be calling Detective Downes about this and if he hasn't heard of you, we'll hold you for tampering with the evidence."

Cloud slipped his own badge back into his back pocket, "Sounds fair."

The man behind the glass huffed a little and pressed a button to activate an intercom, "…Lab tech needed at the front desk…"

A few seconds passed before a young woman in a long white coat appeared, the annoyed expression on her face indicating that she had been interrupted in her work, "What is it?"

The man at the desk nodded to Cloud and Axel, "These two have requested to see the evidence from Downes's new case."

"And who would they be?"

Cloud reached out his hand, which the woman accepted after a second in a handshake, "Detective Cloud Strife, and my partner Detective Axel Flynn, from the Twilight Town Police Department. We just need to take a quick look."

The woman looked unconvinced, "Detective Downes didn't say anything about you two…"

"I assure you, he knows who we are, and we're allowed to be here. This is our case just as much as his. He just seems to think that this is some sort of competition…you know how Luxord gets."

Nodding, the woman relaxed a little, "Yeah, I do. Alright, come with me." As they left the foyer, Cloud glanced over his shoulder to see the receptionist picking up a phone, undoubtedly to give Luxord a call.

Ignoring it for now, Cloud focused on following the lab technician through a maze of cubicles and large glass rooms, practically every corner filled with machines, testing materials, large binders filled with paperwork, and plastic evidence bags. Even at this early hour, the place was buzzing with activity, technicians dressed in the same white coat as the woman in front of them going about their business. Cloud couldn't help but be impressed at it all. While Twilight Town had a very reliable crime lab, they just didn't have the same kind of resources and funding that Dark City was able to devote to their own lab. Though the difference was understandable since Dark City's crime rates were astronomical in comparison to Twilight Town's.

At a brisk pace, the woman guided them to one of the large glass rooms where a large metal table stood in the middle, stacks of brown cardboard boxes piled up in the corner. The table was covered in bagged items, the objects organized apparently by type: bullets, blood stained carpet fragments, broken equipment, even the ropes that the perps had used to climb down the building. Everything was already labeled with it's type and location and some of the bags that seemed to have contained blood-stained items were empty, their contents undoubtedly having been sent to be tested. Turning to face them, the woman put her hands on her hips, "Here's everything that was gathered from the scene. Try not to move anything around too much, we just spent an hour organizing it. I shouldn't have to tell you this, but if you want to pick anything up, use gloves." Pointing up, the woman motioned to a security camera attached in the corner of the ceiling, "Your actions will be monitored. If any suspicious activity is noted, you will be escorted off the premise, understand?"

Cloud and Axel nodded and didn't even watch as the woman left, eager to get started. Grabbing a pair of latex gloves from a small box sitting by the door, Axel pulled them on with a sharp snap, "Alright, where do we start?"

Following suit, Cloud donned his own pair of gloves, "First take pictures of everything." Pulling out his notebook, Cloud flipped to an empty page, "Let's see what Luxord found…"

As Axel diligently took pictures of every item, Cloud started going through the bags that had been photographed. So many things had been collected that it was hard to know what was important. Starting with the bullets, Cloud noticed that they had been divided up into groups depending on what type of gun had fired them. There were only three groups, which made sense. The largest came from a pile that was labeled "Guards" along with the make of their handgun. It would make sense that they were all outfitted with the same weapon. The thing that really surprised Cloud was how many bullets were in the other two piles, a smirk slipping across his face as he observed them more closely.

One pile looked like it had come from a specialized weapon; the bullets were a rare type, he had never even heard of the brand, and they were an irregular size. Although it would make it hard to track down the exact type of gun that had fire them, it would make it easier to track down whoever used the gun. Only so many could have been sold in the area and the perp who used it was likely to be one of those few who purchased one. Looking at the last pile his smirk only grew. Shaking his head, he picked up the bag so get a closer look and his suspicions were confirmed. Judging from their shape and size, the bullets came from a type of service revolver only issued to police officers, the military, and, of course, mercenary groups. The bullets themselves were produced by a company that exclusively sold to the same groups. There were only a few people who would have access to that gun and that type of ammo. "Gotcha Leonhart…"

"Huh? You say something?"

Cloud looked up to see Axel staring curiously at him and gently shook the evidence bag in his hand, "Let's just say I found some corroborating evidence for Leonhart's trial."

"Awesome. But if you liked that, then you're going to love this."

Setting his camera down, Axel dug a bag out from under a small pile of debris that had been collected at the site, revealing what looked like some sort of slight smashed machine. Cloud couldn't tell what it was supposed to be from across the table, "Why would I love that?"

"Because, this bag of metal scraps used to be a high-tech device used by hackers, probably to by-pass the buildings security systems. I had one like it on a case I worked like two years ago, and this is definitely the same thing, except a little more beat-up."

"And what's good about that?"

Axel rolled his eyes in exasperation, "It means that someone was with the group of thieves who knew enough about electronics to work this thing. It takes like years of knowledge to know how to use this, and even more smarts to be able to use it to hack a security system, especially one as advanced as what the Dark City Organization installed. What's better is that there are only a few places to get things like this, even on the black market, and even the illegal ones usually have serial numbers. Like this one." Pointing to a series of miniscule numbers punched into the inside of the smashed-open metal box, Axel grinned, "It shouldn't be too hard to trace the buyer of this one."

"I wonder if Luxord's figured that out yet?"

"What have I figured out?" Cloud froze as the voice echoed out from behind him. Turning around, his gaze landed on a rather irate looking Luxord standing in the doorway, "Gentlemen, this was rather devious, even for you. Looking through another man's evidence without proper notice is rather something of an insult in the detecting business."

Both Twilight Town detectives put down the bags they were holding as inconspicuously as possible, Axel not dropping his grin as he replied, "Well we were betting that you weren't going to let us check it out if we told you ahead of time, so we decided to surprise you."

"A good gamble I suppose, but poorly executed." Walking in, Cloud watched as Luxord's eyes easily took in the camera and his notebook, "So, have you discovered anything noteworthy?"

Cloud answered easily, "Just the differences between the bullets that were collected. Looks like the perps managed to fire off quite a few rounds. I'm assuming most of them were found in the walls?"

Raising a brow, Luxord leaned forward and pointed down to the bag full of military-issue ammo, "About half of these were found in the walls along the corridors. About three-fourths of these," Luxord moved his finger to point at the bag of specialized ammo, "were found in the bodies of the guards."

"Meaning that the perp using the specialized ammo was probably the only one firing when they were trapped in the office by the guards…" Cloud fell silent. That meant that for whatever reason, Leonhart hadn't been firing and, when taken into account that the office is were the blood was found from one of the perps, that meant that it was likely that Leonhart had been the one who lost the blood there. The thought that he had yet to collect a sample from Leonhart brought a frown to Cloud's face. Without something to compare the blood spilled in the Organization's office too, it was practically useless.

"Precisely. Now, if you would care to do any further inspection, please by all means continue. However, I think that I will stay and observe. You understand of course."

"Sure." Watching out of the corner of his eyes as Luxord stepped back to lean against on of the walls, Cloud turned back to Axel, "Did you get photos of everything?"

The redhead nodded, "Yep. Got close-ups on some things too, so we'll be able to get all the details back at the station."

"Good. Well then, I think we might actually have everything we came for already." Pulling off his gloves, Cloud sent a small, slightly smug smile back towards Luxord, "This way we won't have to take any of your time."

Narrowing his eyes, Luxord took a moment before straightening up, "You'll be sure to keep me posted then on any leads then."

Axel followed Cloud over to the door to the room, throwing his used gloves away into a small trashcan under the table on his way out, "Right back at you, Luxord. We'll see ourselves out."

"By all means."

Leaving before the other detective could ask too many questions, Cloud and Axel quickly jumped back into the car. Before Cloud could get back on the highway Axel spoke up thoughtfully, having caught a glimpse of the Dark City train station from his window, "I wonder if they took the train out of town since no one said anything about them using a van in this robbery…?"

Cloud blinked and immediately took a hard right to catch the turn to the train station. Flung against the passenger's door from the centrifical force, Axel swore as he regained his balance, "What the hell was that for?!"

"The station probably has security cameras set up. If any of them did take the train to or from Dark City than they should be one video!"

"Yeah, great. Next time give me a heads up before a turn like that though, alright?"

"We were going to miss the turn."

"You could've turned around later!"

Shrugging, Cloud followed the road signs to the train depot, parking his car in an area reserved for those who were going to be there less than an hour. Heading to the main office, they quickly found the chief security guard and, with a flash of their badges, had copies of the footage from all of the security cameras half an hour later. The footage was only from the past three days but that should have been enough to catch their suspects going to or coming from the city.

Three hours later, Cloud and Axel found themselves back in Twilight Town and sitting on top of Cloud's desk staring intently at a TV screen they had wheeled in from the break room. As soon as they had gotten back to the station they had put Roxas to work running the serial numbers on the hacking device to see if he got a hit on buyers or sellers in the area. Cloud had printed out a quick print of a photo Axel had taken that morning of the specialized ammo and dropped it on Roxas's desk so that after he was done tracking serial numbers, he could research the maker and possible buyers of the bullets. He was earning his pay today.

Back in the detectives' office they were watching the security camera footage on fast-forward so that it went at twice the normal speed. The image was split up on the TV screen so that it showed four camera angles at once, Cloud in charge of watching the left side of the monitor while Axel was in charge of the right. Since they only knew what Leonhart looked like, they had their eyes open to look for anyone remotely resembling the ex-SeeD. So far they were drawing a blank.

Even on fast-forward, the footage seemed to stretch on forever. Four hours into it, Axel heaved a sigh, taking off his glasses to rub at the bridge of his nose, "Ah, the pictures are still hurting my eyes, even with the glasses on. This is stupid! Half of the picture is static and even if Leonhart did walk right by we probably wouldn't notice because the quality sucks so bad!"

Glancing over at the clock on the wall, Cloud was shocked to find that it was only 2pm. He would've sworn that it was already 5pm at least, but that's what getting up at three in the morning did to you. "He's pretty distinctive, I think you'd notice."

"No, you'd notice. You and your Leonhart obsession…to me he's just another serious-looking guy with a scar across his face."

Cloud didn't even have to take his eyes from the screen, his tone clearing indicating how hard he was glaring right now, "Shut up Axel."

A few minutes later, Cloud perked up a bit something catching his attention from the corner of the screen right when his focus was about to fade. Leaning in, he frowned as he took a closer look at the top left image, his brows shooting up as he saw it again. Checking the corner of the image, the footage had been taken around 12pm two nights ago, less than an hour before the robbery was supposed to have gone down. Although the image was fairly blurry, the figure was still unmistakable. It was Leonhart all right, wearing heavy boots, tight black pants, and a heavy jacket, the man's hair down and covering a good deal of his face. Damn; did this mean Axel was right?

"If you sit that close to the TV you're going to go blind, you know." Startled, Cloud whipped his head around, finding Axel gazing back with an eyebrow raised in curiosity, "Find something?"

Cloud put all the screens on pause, backing the images up a few frames until Leonhart was standing right in the middle of the top left picture. Tapping the screen, Cloud leaned back, "Look familiar?"

Frowning, Axel leaned over him to get a better view, a smile slipping onto his lips as recognition filled his eyes, "Aw, look, Cloudy found Leonhart! I knew you would!"

"At least I found something." Not willing to give Axel the benefit of a reaction, Cloud changed subjects despite his annoyance, "Since he's walking across the terminal down to the left corner of the picture, it means that he probably just got off the train and is walking into the city."

"And since he got a ride in, that probably means that he got a ride out! Luxord wrote in his report at roughly what time they managed to escape, right?"

"Yeah, he said that going off guards' testimonials they climbed down the building roughly around one in the morning. Taking into account that he had to walk back from the skyscraper to the train station means that he probably could've gotten there by around two, especially if he was injured and alluding capture at the same time."

"Alright, let's take a look!" Abandoning his own side of the TV screen, Axel grabbed the remote and began to fast-forward the taps again, this time at a much faster rate, until the time marker in the corner read 1:30am. "Whoever spots him first this time wins. Loser buys pizza tonight."

"You're on."

Cloud, of course, won the bet. Ten minutes into watching the footage at normal speed, his finger shot out again and connected with the screen right above a picture of Leonhart entering into view, "I win."

Muttering a curse, Axel scowled, about to move back when the film progressed and two more figures came into view. Leonhart seemed to be supporting someone with the help of another man. As the three staggered towards the train off-screen, Cloud turned to Axel, a smug smile on his face, "Well either he's being a good samaritan and helping someone load up their wasted friend onto the train or those are Riku and Zexion, one of which is too injured from the robbery to walk himself."

"I think I'm gonna go with the latter." Pausing the footage, Axel and Cloud gazed at the image, each privately amazed that they had gotten two such notorious criminals on film.

The afterglow of their small victory was interrupted as the door to their office was thrown open, causing both of them to jump. A streak of blond ran in and Roxas scooted around the TV so that he was standing right in front of the two detectives, his eyes wide and excited. "You guys aren't going to believe what I found!"

Axel grinned, "We'll have to see if it's as awesome at what we just got."

Glancing back at the TV screen, Roxas turned back around unimpressed, "My news is way better! I tracked down the serial number on that mechanical, thing, you took a picture of and got back a name of the business who sold it. I got in contact with them and, after convincing them that no charges would be made against them for illegal activity would be filed if they gave me information, they sent me the account number for the person who bought that device from them. Now there wasn't a name or address or anything attached but after some more snooping I found that a sizeable amount of cash had just recently been withdrawn from that same account. The money was used just yesterday to pay for bills at the hospital in Traverse Town!"

"The hospital in Traverse Town?" Cloud's mind immediately locked onto Leonhart. He hadn't pegged him to be the one who would've bought hacking equipment but—

Waving his hand, Roxas broke up Cloud's thoughts, "I know what you're thinking, and it wasn't Leonhart. I checked with the hospital and they said that neither Leonhart had been to the hospital in about a week. When I asked them about the patient who paid with money from the semi-legal account, they did give me a name; Ienzo Corazza. Get this, he had checked in the night before he was discharged with a broken leg."

Axel nodded, "Sounds like the sort of injury you'd get from falling a few stories after getting shot at."

"I know, right? Anyway, it gets even better. Another patient checked in at the same time as him because of neck injuries and stayed a few hours before being released. I'd be willing to bet that the guy is the third thief."

Frowning thoughtfully, Cloud leaned back on his desk, "What about the specialized ammo, did you have time to run that?"

"I just got finished with that actually. After some online searching, I managed to locate the maker. The bullets and the gun that fired them likely came from a high-end, less than legal, gun and ammunitions store back in Dark City. When I called them, they were a little less than helpful. I faxed them a picture of the bullets and they said that the sort of gun that they were made for was a probably a special model made about a decade ago. Only a few of them were ever made and sold, and you had to be pretty well-to-do to be able to afford it. When I tried to press him for more information, he stopped talking but not before letting the name 'Riku' slip. That was the supposed name of one of the crooks, right?"

"Yeah, and that would make sense. From what we were told, this Riku guy used to be a hitman, so it wouldn't be too surprising for someone like that to buy such a customized weapon."

Clapping his hands together, Axel slid off the top of Cloud's desk, "We're finally bringing things together! Do we have enough to bring this Ienzo guy in for questioning?"

Cloud hesitated for a moment before nodding, "I'll give our supervisor a call but we should go ahead and start setting this up. While we're at it, let's bring Leonhart back in too so we can question them together."

"What about that Riku guy?"

Cloud paused at Axel's question and Roxas jumped in, "I think you have a fair chance of catching him at the hospital. They said that he was going to come in to pay his bills today."

"Good idea, we'll set up a stake-out. Axel, you call over to the Traverse Town PD to request that a plainclothes unit be stationed at the hospital until we can get some of our own guys there. I'll get them a copy of this," Cloud tapped the TV screen where the image of Leonhart and his two companions limping onto the train still hovered, "so that they can identify him if he comes in. Meanwhile, Rox, get us Ienzo Corazza's address so that we can send someone to pick him up, and get another team to go out and pick up Leonhart. Meanwhile, we need to set up an interrogation space and get some questions ready."

As soon as Cloud stopped talking they burst into a flurry of activity, excitement pumping adrenaline into their veins and increasing their pace, Cloud and Axel each diving for their desk phones as Roxas hurried back to his desk outside.

Once they had units dispatched, Cloud got on the phone with their supervisor to work out the legalities. Luckily, the man agreed that they had gathered enough circumstantial evidence to bring them in for questioning, although Cloud was more than a little put off to hear that he still did not have enough evidence to get a warrant to take a DNA sample from Leonhart. Hopefully someone would talk during the interview and give him something to work with.

Claiming the largest interrogation room, he and Axel got to work in trying to set up the right stage for questioning. Although it was true that they could question the men one at a time, having them in the same room at once seemed like it might give interesting results. They had already figured out that Leonhart wouldn't talk, but maybe he would slip up if put in the same room as his two partners. After all, they would be arriving separately and so wouldn't have the opportunity to set up a cover story. Unless they were really good at adlibbing, they probably wouldn't be able to come up with a very smooth alibi that would explain away the evidence, particularly the video of them at the Dark City train station.

At 5:03pm, their first suspect arrived. Cloud didn't immediately recognize him but, by the cast wrapped around his right leg from just below the knee to the heel of his foot, Cloud guessed that it was Mr. Corazza. As he hobbled into the interrogation room on his crutches, Cloud found it hard that the other was a legal adult capable of the crimes he was under suspicion for. Despite his calm, cool demeanor he barely looked a day over 17.

Dropping gratefully down into a seat across the table from where Cloud and Axel were sitting, Mr. Corazza glanced around at the two seats next to his, his visible eyebrow rising with just a hint of surprise, "I am assuming that I am not the only one who you plan to interview today?"

"That's right. But we might as well talk until they get here." Flipping open his notebook, Cloud looked the other man straight in the eye, fighting the urge to look down again as he was met with a glacial indifference. "You're Ienzo Corazza, correct?"

"That is correct."

"Mr. Corazza, do you know why you were brought in?"

"Ienzo is fine. And as to your question, yes, I have been informed as to the nature of this interview although I have to say that some advance notice would have been appreciated. I would have had the time to make myself a little more presentable."

Cloud looked over, realizing that the man was dressed in what looked like his pajamas, striped, drawstring pants and a old band t-shirt that looked a little too big for him. "I'm sorry for any inconvenience but there's really no need for you to dress up. You just got out of the hospital anyway, it's to be expected."

Setting the file of information he was holding down, Axel glanced up at the slender man, "This says you're twenty-seven. Is this a fake ID?"

"I assure you, that is my true date of birth. My birth certificate is on record at Traverse Town's City Hall if you still do not believe it."

"Just checking—" Axel paused as there was a knock on the door and it was swung open to reveal a tall young man with silver-white hair. The man appearance switched from a glower to a sort of happy surprise at seeing Ienzo sitting in the room. The officer holding the man led him inside before walking over a manila folder filled with his personal effects.

Searching through it, Cloud frowned, "No personal identification?"

The officer shook his head, "No sir, he wasn't carrying any."

Turning his attention back to the silver-haired man, Cloud gave him a quick once over. He was well-built, handsome, and just from the way he sat down Cloud could tell that he was going to be one of the most arrogant men he had ever dealt with, "For the record, please state your name and date of birth."

He received a smirk in response, "I think I'll decline to state."

"Well what are we supposed to call you then when we address you?"

"Call me Riku then."

"Riku?" The man nodded back and Cloud shook his head. The man was brazen, that's for sure, giving his street name out during the first interview. He was either trying to protect his true identity or he was just so confident that he was going to get away with it that he didn't care.

"Riku, do you know the man sitting beside you?"

Riku glanced over at Zexion before turning back to the detectives, his expression never changing, "I may or may not've seen him before."

"Have you or haven't you? It's a pretty simple question."

"Sure, let's say so."

Cloud looked up as there was a second knock on the door, frowning softly as it swung open and Leonhart stepped inside, the soldier barely batting an eye when he saw who else was in the room. Walking over to the last remaining seat, Leonhart sat down on his own, his gaze avoiding Cloud's. Cloud didn't think it was from guilt over the robbery though, maybe just from memories of their last encounter.

Shifting his gaze across the line, Axel leaned back in his chair, "Well, now that the gang's all here, I suppose we can get started with the good stuff. Just as a procedure, I'm obliged to tell you that this interview is being tapped, anything you say can be used against you in a court of law, at any time you have a right to an attorney, blah, blah blah. Alright. Now, I want you each to tell me what you were doing two nights ago around midnight."

He pointed at Ienzo who let out a small sigh, "I was at a club in Dark City and broke my leg. There is not too much to say about the whole matter."

Cloud and Axel's focus shifted to Riku who shrugged nonchalantly, playing seamlessly off of Ienzo's lead, "Same here. Except for the breaking my leg part."

Turning to Leonhart, Cloud raised his brow, "You never really seemed like the partying type to me Leonhart. Are you going to tell me that you went to a club in Dark City too that night?"

Finally Leonhart met his gaze, his stormy grey eyes flashing, "Even I need a moment or two to relax."

"Right." That hadn't been very convincing. As appealing as the idea was of Leonhart at a club, Cloud found the image hard to conjure up in his mind. Maybe the soldier loosened up after a few drinks but for him to be to willing go in the first place seemed unreasonable. "Can anyone else besides the three of you back up your story?" He received silence in response and took this as his answer. "Seeing as you are all residences of Traverse Town, how did you get to Dark City?"

Ienzo went first again, "I took the train."

Riku gave a short nod, "Ditto."

And Leonhart, "I took the train as well."

Scowling, clearly becoming annoyed, Axel kept his eyes on Leonhart, "What about you, do you know the two men sitting next to you?"

Leonhart glanced over and shrugged, "I may have seen them before."

Looking towards Ienzo, Cloud began to dig through the small stack of papers they had brought in with them, "Did the three of you meet at all in the club?"

"We perhaps brushed by each other once or twice but it is difficult to recall distinct faces from such an environment."

Finding the page he was looking for, Cloud pulled out a copy of the security camera footage showing who was now clearly Ienzo being carried by Riku and Leonhart, "How do you explain this then? Surely you'd remember the guys who carried you home."

All three men across the table leaned in to try and decipher the fuzzy image and all three quickly leaned back looking sufficiently nonplussed. "I suppose my mind was not all together at the moment. I was in a good deal of pain then and was about ready to pass out."

Before Axel or Cloud could ask another question, Riku spoke up, "Actually, you don't sound so hot right now. Did these guys do something?"

"Quite on the contrary, I am still under the lingering affects of the morphine from the hospital and took a slight overdose of my prescribed Vicodin this morning. While I am no longer in any pain, functioning properly is proving challenging. In fact, I am seeing two of you at the moment but I am sure it will pass."

"You're such a sissy."

"I do not think that this is the proper time to—"

Cloud watched as Leonhart closed his eyes, startled a bit when he raised his voice over Ienzo and Riku's conversation, "Would you two knock it off so we can get out of here?"

Apparently remembering where they were, Ienzo immediately shut his mouth and Riku grudgingly fell silent. Cloud and Axel had been willing to let them go to try and understand the group's dynamics better but it seemed that Leonhart wasn't going to have any of it. Might as well continue with the questions then, "It seems like you really don't have a good explanation for why the three of you happen to be boarding the train together. Moving on, it came to our attention yesterday that a robbery occurred in Dark City in the same district that houses the train station. Do any of you three know about that?"

Ienzo spoke up first and the other two let him, "I heard a bit about it on the news this morning. Perhaps you are having a little trouble solving the matter…maybe you should work on your intercity communication skills?"

Slamming his paperwork down on the table, Axel stood up, "Stop messing around! We know a lot more than you give us credit for Ienzo! Or should I say Zexion?"

Cloud watched all three carefully for their responses. He and Axel had decided to take a risk with that one. While they strongly suspected that Ienzo Corazza was indeed Zexion, they didn't really have any solid evidence to support their claims. Riku glanced over at the other man and Leonhart just continued to stare down at the table top. There was a long pause before Zexion finally moved, an eyebrow arching before he leaned back in his chair, "I suppose you can call me whatever you wish, but it will only stand up in court when backed by evidence. There is none, by the way."

"Nothing, huh?" As Axel sat back down, Cloud pulled out a copy of Ienzo's hospital bill from their stack of paperwork and slid it across the table, "We found something a little funny that we wanted to get your opinion on. Do you recognize that?"

Ienzo gave the sheet of paper a quick once-over before sliding it back halfway, "It would appear to be the bill I received from my overnight stay in the hospital."

"So it's yours then?"

"That is my name written across the top, yes."

"And all of the information on there is correct?"

Ienzo's voice slowed a little, his eyes narrowing just a hint. He knew that he was being led into something, "As far as I am aware."

"Well then, maybe you can help explain why this account number that was used to pay for your hospital stay matches the account number used to pay for a high-tech hacking device that was found at the scene of the crime two nights ago?"

Ienzo's face hardened, his voice becoming frigid as he stared at both detectives, "I cannot. Perhaps you made an error in your investigation."

Shaking his head, Axel leaned in his onto his palm, a gloating grin on his face, "Afraid not. We managed to track down the seller, he specifically gave us this number." Turning so that he was addressing the other two suspects as well, Axel absently flipped through their pile of paperwork, "That's not all that was found there though. You might have been able to make clean getaways before but this time, you got sloppy. Not that I can blame the three of you. Having your asses shot at as you rappel your way down the side of a building must've been a little stressful."

Riku rolled his eyes, Leonhart and Ienzo looking too tight-lipped to be able to reply, "Enough with the theatrics already. Seriously, Ienzo, Leon, if they had anything concrete against us we'd be sitting in the back of a squad car on our way to the jailhouse."

Cloud frowned at his dismissive attitude, "You sound like you've been through this before…"

"Once or twice. Now," Pushing away from the table, Riku rose to his feet and adjusted his coat, "unless you have anything more to say, I think I'll get going."

Axel bounced to his feet too, "You just can't leave. We're in the middle of an official police investigation!"

"Yeah, well next time get something to hold us on. Ienzo, Leon, are you guys coming? Trust me, they don't have the right to keep you here. The legal system's great like that."

"Since I am not sure that I like the direction this interview is taking, I think I will take my leave as well." Shakily pushing himself up, Ienzo grabbed his crutches from where they were leaning against the wall before turning a cold eye back towards Cloud and Axel, "Detectives, it has been, refreshing, to see that the Twilight Town Police Department is not made up of complete morons. I will be interested to see what you come up with later."

As Riku and Ienzo made their way out, Cloud's eyes flew back to Leonhart as the man stood as well, their eyes finally connecting again. "You're going too?"

Leonhart straightened up, "I have better things to do than have you waste my time again."

"Why'd Riku keep calling you 'Leon', is that your street name? Already carving a spot out for yourself in the underworld?"

"'Leon' has been my name for the past two years. It's the only thing that hasn't changed since then."

As Leonhart, no, Leon, made to leave the room, Cloud lurched forward, "We know that you did it, that all three of you did it. We also know that you've gotten yourselves into some deep shit by trying to rob a place run by the Organization. If you turn yourselves in, we can offer you and your families protection."

"My partners aren't interested and I'm still not interested. Stop trying."

Striding across the room without breaking eye contact, Cloud whipped out his business card from his jacket pocket. "Not until I see you all behind bars." Leon looked down at the card in between Cloud's fingers and Cloud pushed it into the other man's hands. "Take it. When you change your mind, give me a call."

Glancing back up, Leon met Cloud's eyes again and ripped the card in half, shoving the trash into his pocket, "Don't count on it. And the next time you bring me in, make sure you have something to make it worth the effort."

His hands clenching into fists, Cloud watched as Leon strode out of the door, silently fuming. Riku had been right, they didn't have enough information yet to formally charge any of them for their crimes. But Cloud knew that they had the right guys, and after he and Axel managed to tie up a few more loose ends, they would be able to prove it, beyond the shadow of a doubt.