<<Note: This takes place prior to the double murder of the brothers and Isuelt's arrest for Questioning and eventually her charges of Murder.>>

Later that evening about 10pm or so, Brian took a seat at a table in front of 'Yotsuba's Cake Shoppe', and ordered a coffee. Blue eyes glanced around the area a bit, as the coffee arrived and Brian took a slow sip. Normally this would be a night like no other, and his 'Lil Red Haired Beastie' would be in his company, but as fate had it and also recent circumstances beyond all of their control, Jenai was on patrol once more, due to the recent murders in WestEnd.

The sisters in turn were all more active, as well as Brian and as it seemed his sister Jewell 'The Empress'. As to her exact involvement, Bri truly didn't know, but he knew he had seen her on the roof tops, instead of in the company of her beau, and this began recently. Not to mention the two newest sisters arriving as well. Brian and Eddie had also stepped up their patrols in turn, and so far no one had anything. So Brian decided it was time to try another avenue, it was time to see what the authorities truly had, and what they were going to do with it. Luckily, O'Rourke was truly a man, Brian felt he could trust in this matter. Now it all would fall into place, that is if the information were as good, as the trust Brian placed in the veteran officer.

Moments later, O'Rourke appeared seemingly out of nowhere. The older man was dressed in his civies, which consisted of an old pair of jeans, a blue flannel shirt with a white undershirt, some comfortable looking sneaks, and a long coat. A nod offered to Brian, as he took a seat at his table and reached into his jacket. A glance was given by both men on the sly around the area a bit, as O'Rourke set a large envelope on the table, and waved to the waitress and ordered himself a chai tea. Brian reached over and opened the envelope a moment, and pulled out what looked to be the OIR (Offense Incedent Report), written by the first guardsman to arrive. A raised brow as he noted what the older man had ordered, and shook his head a moment with a chuckle.

"Somethin' wrong, boyo' That is what we talked about, is it not?"

"It is, but...Chai tea??"

"What about it' It soothes me, and I hear the chai here isn't like that watered down crap they serve up in Star's End, yanno' Anyways, where are m'muffins?"

"Kinda figured you for a straight black coffee, the kind that is two days old and sticks to your ribs kind. Anyways, I got em right here, fresh from the goddess 'Muffin Shady' herself, blueberry, chocolate chip and hazelnut."

"Maybe ten years ago or so, anyways boyo...you gonna talk my ear off or read a bit. It's rude to comment on a man's coffee, at least it was that mocha cappo crap these kids like to drink."

"Point taken, and I'm readin'.."

"So how's that spitfire of a wife you have" Damn, I remember when she came into the station to pick you up, bun in the oven too right?"

"Thought you said you didn't wanna talk?"

"No, I asked if you were going to read or talk my ear off, that's what I said. So how is she" Don't tell me she left you already?"

"Actually, that is exactly what happened. We were seperated the time I was locked up, she came as a courtesy. And—

"Courtesy my ass, boyo. I didn't see no—"

"Courtesy or no, it was done. We have a beautiful daughter and they live in a place called Bethesda. We still talk, and things are alright." said as Brian's eyes continued to pour over the OIR.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm not, I'm in a much better place and so is she, so let's leave it at that and talk this report."

The tea arrived, and Brian scooted over the covered basket of muffins towards the older man. Brian's eyes made note of a few details in regards to what was written.

"The guardsman who arrived" Who long has he been in service?"

"Five years now, he was vested just this last month in fact. Good man, solid record, good with people too."

Brian nodded and pulled out a pencil, and made his own notes a bit on the report, and then pulled out what looked to be the autopsy, which had some interesting diagrams, and even some black and white photos attached. A moment taken, as he adjusted his spectacles a moment and took a closer look. At the diagram first, his mind making note of the sheer brutalilty of the crime, itself.

The night had progressed, and with it came little sleep. Brian poured over every bit of that report, more than a few times and still came to nearly the same conclusion...Pacing back and forth inside the loft he shared with Jenai above Yoysuba's, Brian had the notion this was not going to get easier by any means..

Details...They came and went...Brian put himself there, or at least as best as he could. His own diagrams created, the way he might have gone about it, the best way to remove someone's legs, and what not...He tried to place himself in the mind of the predator, and still could not do so. The crime was just so brutal, that he couldn't place himself there. The sheer brutality was something he hadn't seen in quite a bit of time.

At first he nearly swore it was Ren's work, for some reason it seemed to scream out her name, but deep down he also knew that was not the case. Brian would have know if it had been Ren, even though their bond had diminished, he was still aware of her presence to a degree and upon his own visit to the crime scene, there were no traces.

The obvious of course was there....The scales carved into the victim's back, and the blood on the sign. Two tell tale signs of a message, and in this case it seemed the message carried a heavied tone, indeed. But then more questions came to mind...Was this message for one sister" Possibly all of them' Was this a wronged individual" Why was the man quickly killed and the woman made to suffer like no one's business"

Not to mention the trouble of killing two people in that manner...No one really could out a time to the death itself, save very close in conjunction to when the bodies were found. Another thought that came to mind was the 'Zodiac' killings as well, of which Brian was familiar with during his time with the Oracle, as a freelancer. Could the 'Zodiac' have possibly resurfaced" Could it be a copycat'

So many questions, and fewer answers at best, then again...Brian realized the more he thought on it, the worse it became...He needed to narrow his search down once more, and keep things into focus. This killing, needed to be looked at, not a thought trail as to who might have been able to pull this off, as that train of thought lead to a whole other barrel o' monkeys.

A fresh pot of coffee was set on once more, and yet again Brian went through the report carefully, bit by bit. O'Rourke's words fresh in his mind as he did so. It didn't help one bit, Brian was still stumped. He felt he had someone in mind, a profile so to speak. Someone who enjoyed dominance over a definitely weaker prey. The punishment her body endured was a testament to that, granted they didn't know if she were alive or dead during the ordeal...

As far as Bri was concerned, he covered both bases, and tried it once more. If he really wanted her to suffer, he would have killed the man right in front of her, a quick death to ensure she saw the power he wielded and to ensure if she were stupid enough to run, he would be able to catch her quickly without having to deal with the male anymore. That would be the start of it, as he imagined the sheer look of fear on her face, as she looked to the dead man, and then to him once more.

Given all the evidence, Bri imagined himself reaching out and gripping that throat, then lifting the woman a good ways. Given the indentations into her neck and lower jaw line, and bruising of her neck and said jaw line, she had to have been lifted at least more than six inches, give or take. Also there was no evidence to support more than one person lifting her, or two hands. This was a decently strong individual and they wore some kind of glove, possibly a gauntlet. Bri could imagine the pleasure in watching a helpless person in such a situation as you controlled their very life as you saw fit. Yeah, this was one sick bastard they were dealing with.

"Don't worry doctor jones, I'll keep the big bad killer away from you, and keep ya in one piece for Jenai! Ha!"

Brian shook his head a moment, as he leaned to the counter top in the kitchen, and scribbled a note for his Jenai.

Sweetmeat, Took Kerri for a walk, headed down to the crime scene, want her to have a sniff around and see what turns up, fresh muffins in the oven, make sure ya save a couple for later =^.^= , I'll be home soon, I love you. 'Sugarbutt'

Bri nodded to himself, and tacked the note to the fridge door, cause he knew 'lil red haired beasties' always made for the kitchen when they came home. It was in their 'pooh' like rumbly in their tumbly nature. So with that done, Bri made for the couch and grabbed his own harness and strapped up. A nod to Kerri, as he slid on his half mask, leaving it down for the moment and then grabbed a small duffle bag nearby.

"Alright, Gorgonite. Let's talk a walk."

"Bout damned time! I can't wait to tell Atheala and Edea they missed out, HA!"

Out the door they went, and down the stairs. Moments later, were heading from roof to roof and soon were out of the market place, and into the darkness.

After a bit of time, they came to the scene of the crime. Luckily foot traffic was nil, as it seemed the public was indeed concerned. The alleyway still taped off, and there was even a guard standing by to boot. Bri and Ker remained on a nearby roof top and simply watched a moment, and looked to eachother with a somewhat puzzled look. Looking to the alley entrance once more, Brian noted the guard kept looking back into the alley every few moments, and seemed to be talking.

"There might be another guard, or someone else. We need to be sure, I'll go and check it—"

"Natcho momma, Raven m'boy! Wha ha!"

Before Brian could even react, the Mithra was bounding along the roofs edge, and vaulted literally across to the adjacent building, and then landed with literally no sound and was soon one with the darkness. Blue eyes watched the Mithra in amazement, as Brian reminded himself once more just what Kerri could be truly capable of when she needed to be. He almost forgot under that silly masque of hers, hid a very calculating weapon in every sense of the word. He was glad to have her around, truth be told.

Shaking that thought aside, Brian looked to the alley entrance once more and watched the guard once more, and noted the man was looking a bit long in the tooth a bit, and Kerri had not returned. Shifting a bit he decided to look for her and as he went to rise, something caught his eye, as a shadow seemingly peeled itself from a near wall, and grabbed the guard, dragging him into the alley. Brian sprang into action, and dropped down from the building and sprang across the street and into the alley, his hand drawing his wakizashi a moment, while blue eyes panned back and forth.

His eyes finally came to rest on Kerrithra at the other end of the alleyway, with both guards leaned up against the wall. Sheathing the blade, Brian made his way towards her, being careful of the crime scene itself. He shook his head, and sighed in relief as he noted they were sound asleep. Patting herself on the back, Kerri walked past him towards the tape off area, and snickered a bit.

"Fear mah Kitty, humans. Kerri strikes again."

Bri sat there a moment, and shook his head and followed her. He set the duffle bag down, and opened it up, reaching inside. Even though this was the second time, he had been here, this was Kerri's first and he hoped her extra senses might grab something he and others had missed. He pulled a small note pad and scribbled a few notes, his eyes once more rested on the her, as he pulled a smaller satchel type bag from the duffle.

"Hey Ker— Gorgonite, you what did you do to them, exactly?"

"Nothing big, Rave. Just a slight toxin in the claw tips of my gloves, send em to dreamy land for a bit. Found it at this Far Eastern store. Asain or something. Anyways, they're fine."

"Oh...Uh, okay. Well here we are, the poster was over that way, and they were found where the white out— Nevermind, you know that. Well, let's see what we can do here. I'll take this end again, you try that one."

"Affirmative."

So once more, he delved into the alley and tried to see if there was something they all missed. Everyone was doing something in regards to looking for the culprit, and this was theirs. Starting from the spot where the poster sign was marked, Brian opened the satched and pulled out a small spray can and sprayed the area where the poster was, along with the area on the ground underneath where it once was.

Waiting a few moments, Bri then tucked the can back into the satchel and pulled out what looked to be a mag lite, and turned it on. A blue light flared from the flash light, as he shined it along the sprayed areas and nodded quietly to himself, and knelt a moment. Kerri walked over and sniffed a moment, keeping back a bit.

"What's that, Raven?"

Bri paused a moment, and set the flashlight down a moment, and pulled a small note pad out, a few notes were scribbled and then it was tucked back into the bag and once more scooped up the light, and looked to Kerri.

"Luminol."

"Loom-my-Nall?"

"Close enough, it lets us see blood, even if it has been wiped away, it's used on Earth and other realms. I managed to track some down in Star's End, it's a variant, but it seems to work. I just wanted to see if there was something that the black and white photoes may have missed."

"You have too much time on your hands, Raven. Oh well, spray away, I am getting back to work."

Nodding to her once more, Brian went back to work. Spray, pause and light. He repeated the process, and followed the trail to the outline where the female was found, a raised brow was offered as he donned his spectacles a moment and made note of something. The luminol had reacted to something underneath the chalked lines, but that wasn't what got his notice. It was something that seemed to pressed upward a bit from the chalk, setting the satchel down next to him, he then waved Kerri over.

It didn't take a a great deal of work for Brian to find the crime scene, the buzz running rampant in the streets, couple with the massive activity by the local Militia, and officers made it an easy search. Weaving his way through the crowd of on lookers, Brian quickly made note of the taped off warehouse, and where the guards were posted. Lifting his hood to cover his face somewhat, he wound his way towards a small group of guardsmen, who were speaking to one another. Quietly, Brian remained well blended with a group of gossiping ladies, as he listened intently to the guards in turn.

"So no one has gone inside yet' I mean save Azreal when he got the tip from the witness?"

"Hell no, no one has gone inside! You saw him, he puked his ass off, poor rookie. Anyways, this one has 'em spooked. They are waiting for one of the Abbey's people to bless the area, and then let the scene people get in there. No need for us to let our guys in there and screw this up, right?"

"Yup, that's about the skinny...Still, can't believe one of those Santuary girls woulda done this, then again...That one they talked about, she has a bad temper and drinks like hell to boot! They say that guy was bar b qued something nasty, maybe she boozed up an—"

"Shut up! You know we don't talk about that, sides we need to get back to our posts an wait for the Abbey an scene people. make sure no one else gets in, and none of your people either, got it?"

"Yes sir!" "Yes sir!"

Quietly, Brian listened and watched as the guardsmen each left in a different direction towards the taped off warehouse. Brian made note of what they had said, and in turn frowned a great deal. He knew Isuelt, even at her worst would not commit such an act, yet they said they had a witness. He knew he had to get in there before whoever the guardsmen were waiting for. Quietly, he pondered a bit and went about walking along the taped perimeter looking for any possibly way in. As it stood these guys were not playing around one bit, and any way inside would be met with quick resistance, and superior numbers.

Another sweep of the perimeter brought Brian to a stop, as he pondered just straight out heading up to them, explaining who he was and what he had, and take his chances. Taking a step foward, Brian began to head to the warehouse, and just as quickly as he stated, he felt a hand on his shoulder and heard an all too familar voice.

"Don't let em know who you are, they're scared.."

Brian's first instinct was to reach back, and knock the hell out of whoever it was, as they most assuredly snuck up on him, and truthfully put a good fright up in him. Turning quickly, his arm cocked back a bit, and just as quickly as he moved the unknown person moved that much faster, as if they had read his mind. A soft voice accomapnied the flurry of movement.

"It seems, my little Lordling...That you have once again been a busy boy, and cannot seem to keep your nose out of other people's problems. A true shame, but since we are all here, perhaps we can come to some kind of a compromise?"

Eyes of light blue looked into his own fiercely, barely inches away...The cloaked female grabbed him, and wrapped her arms about him, tugging him closely to her, and with a whispered tone continued.

"I suggest you remain where you are in my arms for a moment, and listen...You have been noticed, as have yours...Mother has deemed this situation deserved our attention to some degree, as Marfa's children have been calling for assistance and comfort. At first we too, thought it the 'Queen of Shadows', but soon after you put that to rest. As to the one behind this we have no idea, but we are not planning any actions, save comforting the masses.

You however, have taken a different route, and Mother for some reason known only to her, has deemed we do what we can to assist, somehow. So this is what we will do, I will let you go in a moment, Nyu will run to the guards and explain the Abbey respresentatives are currently being accosted, and need as much assistance as possible. You and I will head inside, and let you do what you need to do. I am sure Nyu will be convincing enough to send a great deal of these men away. So say no more, and we will move in a moment, understand?"

Brian simply blinked and looked to the woman once more...He recognized her of course. It was Rienna, the Abbey sister who had literally raised him since he was taken in by Mother Iscariott, and the Abbey at the age of eight. Also the same Rienna, who was present the day Brian asked to be removed from the service of the Abbey and goddess altogether. Needless to say, Brian was stunned a great deal. Yet he remained where he was, and simply nodded to her quietly and waited for whatever Nyu had in mind.

The feeling...Unreal...No other true way to put it, and the stench...gods, it was the stuff of nightmares. Even Kerri was having a hard time with it, as she poked around for something, hell anything that could help. Rienna held her posts by the main doorway and kept watch as Brian and Kerri worked each of their angles. Panning the flash light from left to right, it did not take Brian long to find the mark, the smoke rising from the freshly burnt corpse was kind of a dead give away.

Pausing in step, Brian's eyes widened a bit as he simply stared a moment in somewhat of a shock. This was nothing like the last pair of murders, no clean kill and left alone male, no female torn to pieces...This one...Damn, this one was another beast altogether. Moving closer, Brian set his bag down and proceeded to round the chair bound man a bit, using the light to get a better inspection.

The stench was something that words could not be out to by any means, as Bri reached into his pocket for a scarf and created a make shift mask of sorts to help him cope. A pair of latex gloves followed as well, since this was a fresh scene compared to the last, he wanted to be prepared as best he could.

With a delicate touch, Bri's hands trailed the charred arms, and legs...Making note of the binding on each limb, not to mention the wounds, and the victims struggle to free themselves..

"This one was alive...Damn this is something else...This poor sod was burned alive...Kinda like.."

"Burned alive?" Whatcha mean' And whatcha mean by 'kinda like' anyways."

"His arms and legs...Look at em...Well mainly the arms, see the cuts, and gashes. Even in the charred flesh it can be seen. He struggled like a mad man, it must have been horrific. Fingers extended the way they are, in different ways on each hand. The burning as well, too uniform, makes no sense to do this to a dead man...This person was the real victim here. The other would be the 'example' kill, possibly?"

"Example kill" Okay, now yer loosin' me a bit. You mean all this was done to make him...Wait...Like the woman from earlier! I got it now. You mean the other one was— Okay, I don't get it."

"All I can do is speculate from what I saw from the last one, and the fact Michael said this was a pair as well. In the last one we had a pair, and the man was killed quickly, and I assume it was in front of the woman, I mean it's what I would have done, had I been in the killer's shoes and I really wanted to make her suffer...

Perhaps it repeated itself, then again I haven't seen the other body yet...I dunno, all I can do is guess at this point...I know one thing, this man's cause of death was the burning. I don't see anything else, no stab wounds...No broken—"

Pausing a moment, Brian examined a scorch pattern closer...Using his light again, he noted the lap of the man had much worse charring than the rest of him, and much of it looked to have spread from that point. He raised a brow, as he leaned closer and trailed his finger upwards and looked into what was left of the man's face, charred flash and bone stared back at Brian, as he whispered to himself.

"Can't you tell me something" Anything...Please...Who...What did this to you?"

Yet another raised brow, as he traced a finger along the scorched jaw and noted a set of fractures. Two were very profound, others were hairlines stemming from it. Not enough to cause someone not to be able to talk of anything, but enough to make it know they got hit good. He made note of it, then again for all he knows that could be old, especially given the burning and lack of flesh to compare bruising and what not. He sighed in frustration, as he shook his head and muttered a few curses.

"We don't have much of anything, save this man was burned alive and more than like suffered like no one's business...Buncha speculation, and little else. Damn it, this was a f*cking waste of time! Damn it!"

Another sigh escaped him, as he looked down a moment and stood up once more. He assumed this being a fresh scene he would have had something better, something more...The frustration was taking it's toll, as he seemingly came up empty thus far, save they were dealing with one twisted individual. Just then, his thoughts came to a stop as Kerri spoke.

"So Um...Ya think that one might have something for us, I mean he looks a mess, but who knows. At least he isn't burned like that one. Ya might wanna get a mop though. Um, Brian...The other body, y'know...Work to do?"

Lifting his head, once more Brian turned to Kerri who was seemingly peering into the darkness, his light shone in that direction. What followed was a gasp, and little else, as Brian's voice was nowhere to be found.