"I can't believe I'm doing this." I muttered to myself as I sped down the road in my car.

The last few days flashed through my mind and I shook my head in disbelief.

Find Erik. He'll be able to help.

Help with fucking what?

How the hell was I going to find him? I remembered briefly meeting him when I was making plans with Xavier and Damon, but we never had a real conversation before.

There were too many questions that I needed answers to, something that was driving me fucking insane.

As an FBI agent, it was my duty to gather the intelligence and data to take down criminals. My specialty was in organized crime, which was why I was partnered with Garrett Benson, since he insisted that Monroe Protective Services was dirty. Due to his success rate the last few months, the superiors granted him more leeway– which was why I was stuck with his ass.

Too many agents wanted to close a case and move on to the next one, seeing everything in black and white to make the investigation quicker.

But that wasn't how I worked. I liked to look at all the facts and see things from other people's perspectives, seeing their thought processes and how they operated before making any theories.

When my superior assigned me to Benson, I knew he was the same way as the other agents. However, his obsession with the Monroes was a problem. He refused to believe anything but the devil incarnate.

This made him more brutal and short-tempered in the field, making reckless decisions that could get us all in trouble. Benson was willing to do anything to arrest them, and somehow he was able to do it at Wiseman's event.

From my experience with Monroe and Cohen, they were far from normal businessmen. One glance in their direction and anyone can tell. They had a strange atmosphere around them, where you could either be friend or foe. And you would be in deep shit if you were ever an enemy.

But oh, could Xavier Monroe wear a charming smile on his face and put you at ease, while Damon looked down at you with a scowl like you wronged him in some way. They were the perfect balance between hot and cold in the security business.

I knew these men weren't clean, not a single doubt about it. But there was something more to them that didn't necessarily seem bad. I'm sure if I knew every single crime or offense they'd committed, I'd probably have a heart attack.

A part of me thought Monroe and Cohen were in over their heads if– and honestly, by that point, I'd concluded it wasn't an if– they were trying to expose public corruption and organized crime with the Diablos.

But another part of me thought about how many resources and connections they must have to even make this much trouble. It would be extremely beneficial for the FBI to work with them–in the long run, and especially now.

If they didn't already have unofficial connections with the FBI.

I thought about Rosaline Sinclair, Damon's girlfriend and the witness that started it all. Everything was connected to her. She was why Monroe Protective Services stepped in. It was after meeting her at Elysium that a car almost swerved into me, potentially trying to gravely injure or kill me.

They were about to blow a major case open and Benson had them arrested. It was too much of a coincidence and raised a bunch of red flags. Someone wanted them out of the way. Why?

Was this Senator Wiseman? Lorenzo Diablo? The more I watched those two through the monitor tonight, the more certain I was that they were up to something.

Make sure my family is okay.

I saw the FBI trucks and police cars at the end of the street where the Monroes lived.

"Shit. I don't get paid enough for this." I groaned as I parked to the side and stepped out. The entire property was surrounded and I watched as multiple people wearing flex cuffs were guided into FBI trucks. Some of the people being arrested looked bored, annoyed, or amused.

Not necessarily the reaction the other agents expected. I recognized one of the people as Tom, head of security. He gave me a nod before climbing into the truck.

I flashed my badge and they easily let me pass the yellow tape.

"Special Agent Adlai," Agent Shelby, the officer in charge, greeted me. "I thought you were assigned to the senator's party tonight."

"I got called here last minute, especially after Mr. Monroe and Mr. Cohen got arrested at the party," I lied. "Was ordered down here without any intel. Hoping you can update me on this."

"Of course, follow me," Shelby gestured inside the house. The front doors had been ripped off the hinges. "We received word of suspicious activity and given orders to raid the house. We were met with some resistance, especially one man who carried a few knives. Luckily no one was hurt and we were able to take him into custody. The team is trying to look for evidence, but so far nothing. All the technology and appliances that were plugged in were fried to shit, no way of recovering anything."

"Have you arrested Mrs. Monroe? Anyone else unaccounted for?" I asked as I looked around at the team spread out, gathering things into evidence bags and taking pictures.

"No, Mrs. Monroe wasn't in the household at the time. We're trying to get in contact with her. We're also trying to find Mr. Monroe's assistant, Erik Coda, and their lawyer, Jasmine Amari."

"All right. How long do you think it will take for the scene to clear?" I asked as I looked at my watch, which told me it was only six o'clock.

"A couple hours, probably, even with all the technology fried. There's a lot of property to go through. With multiple people coming in and out of here, it's a forensic disaster." Shelby confirmed.

"All right. Thanks, Shelby," I patted him on the back before going to Mr. Monroe's office.

There were already agents in the room. I nodded to them in greeting, wondering how the hell I could figure out Erik's whereabouts. He was long gone, possibly with Maria Monroe and Rosaline. I went to the desk, my gaze skimming through the paperwork for some sort of clue.

Not finding anything, I walked out and tried to figure out possible places Erik could be hiding. The MPS building was out; the FBI would probably be demanding entrance there. The only other place I could think of was–

I ran out of the house and back to my car.

~*~

I stood in front of the entrance of the club, a bit skeptical.

Elysium was the only other place where I'd met with Monroe and talked to Rosaline. I didn't know how much importance the place held, but the Monroes had to be close to the management. They'd had men surrounding the perimeter and people inside the club. Pretty sure they were even following me when I left that night before I almost got hit by that car.

Reminded that there were people looking to harm me, I decided to get out of public view.

The club was just starting to open, not yet crowded. I looked around, trying to see if I could spot Erik. I walked to the bar, where the bartender was making drinks for some customers. I recognized him from the last time I was here.

"What could I get you, sir?" The man asked.

"I'm looking for your manager. I need to talk to him about something urgently." I quickly flashed my badge to avoid any spectators. "Damon Cohen sent me."

That last bit was slightly a lie, but I was trying to find Erik because Damon asked me to.

The bartender looked at me skeptically before pulling out a walkie-talkie and taking a few steps back. He said a few words before waiting for a response. I could barely hear what was said over the music.

After a couple minutes, the man addressed me.

"You can meet with him in the office. I'm Michael by the way," we shook hands before a person called to him for another drink. "Hope you aren't trying anything funny. You won't make it out of here if you do. You can find the office upstairs and down the hall, the stairs are on your left in the back of the room."

I furrowed my brows but nodded, tucking away that piece of information. I walked away to let him do his job and I did mine.

~*~

I knocked on the office door and I heard a call to come in. As soon as I opened the door, a hand grabbed my suit and pulled me inside. I stumbled but quickly regained my balance, falling into a defense position.

I quickly skimmed the area and found a large man that I assumed was the manager and Erik. I slowly relaxed my body, but kept my guard up.

"Glad to see that they didn't arrest you." I said when it was clear they weren't going to speak.

Erik eyed me distrustfully. I couldn't blame him. An FBI agent who was with Erik's boss and coworker before they vanished and the FBI raided his home? That did not sound good.

"I didn't know about the raid. I only found out when I arrived at the scene." I informed him.

"Where are they?" Erik asked, going straight to the point.

"They were arrested, so in FBI custody. I'm not sure what the charges are, but Agent Benson took them into custody."

Erik cursed before going to the desk, grabbing a laptop and rapidly typing.

"That Campbell socialite bitch disconnected me from my feed. But she can't stop me from accessing the database and her intel." Erik muttered.

"What?" I asked in confusion, causing the other man to chuckle.

"Erik doesn't like it when people mess with his things. He's even angrier after destroying millions of dollars worth of technology. I'm Frank, owner of the club." Frank introduced himself and I shook hands with him.

"Special Agent David Adlai. I was working with Xavier and Damon. I don't know a lot of details but I get the gist of it," I turned to Erik. "Do you know where Rosaline and Maria are? Damon asked me to check on them before he was arrested."

"They're safe, that's all you need to know. No one will be able to get to them." Erik said distractedly, his fingers flying across the keyboard.

"Erik usually comes here when there are problems. Elysium doesn't have an official relationship with Monroe Protective Services and it's a great cover." Frank said.

"Then why would you be willing to tell me this information? I'm a government agent. I could easily use this information against you." I asked, curious.

"Xavier would never have organized for you to go here, much less work with you, if you weren't trustworthy. Besides, Monroe already gave you the all-clear." Frank gave me a knowing smirk when he saw the look of confusion on my face.

The all-clear?

Before I could ask, Erik gestured for me to come over.

"According to the files, Xavier and Damon were arrested for Angelo's murder, as well as accessory to murder and obstruction of justice. The murders victims are Ruben Anthony, Thomas Harvey, and Patrick Myers– the LA shooters. Apparently they helped the accused, Finn Drystan, get the supplies and weapons to kill them. Obstruction of justice charge is probably Benson's doing, claiming that they were covering it up using different funds and resources," Erik stated. "Can't believe they pinned Angelo's death on them. The bastards."

I stared at the screen. "Did you just hack into the FBI database? That's cyber-intrusion and a federal offense."

Erik just looked at me like I was an idiot.

"Are you going to help or not? Benson is making up these charges from somewhere and we need to figure it out before my bosses are put in jail for life for crimes they didn't commit."

Sighing, I decided to leave it alone. We had other problems to deal with and it seemed like a useless argument. "Why don't you look into Benson's accounts or messages? He may have some information there."

Erik nodded in agreement and I offered him Benson's phone number.

"Try looking into his more private accounts. I doubt he'd go anywhere public." Frank offered before grabbing a book and settling onto a couch, acting like all this was an everyday occurrence.

I have a feeling it is. I'll deal with that another time.

"Already looking into that and actually...I'm finding he's been sending money into a private bank account. Benson was paying thousands of dollars for something."

"Paying for what? Intel?" I spoke to myself. Was Benson desperate enough to go to resources outside the FBI to get what he wanted? He was going against protocol?

"Benson was in communication with a private number. I'm trying to track it now but it's probably a burner phone. Multiple messages talking about getting or creating evidence needed to put Xavier in prison. The number even told Benson to form the raid and to wait in front of the event venue until he got the all-clear. His supervisors never agreed to it," Erik scoffed.

"That was what the hold was. They just added his codename on the website since he was another piece of the puzzle."

"What website?" I felt ridiculous asking multiple questions but I was frustrated.

"A website that the Diablos use to hire assassins and other operatives. You can deal with that later," Erik waved me off. "We have other priorities."

"Other priorities that don't include taking down a dark website that allows people to contract other criminals?" I told him incredulously.

"I will send you this information soon, how about that?" Erik said, completely ignoring me.

Don't shoot him, Adlai.

"Sounds good, but I am wondering why this wasn't sent to the FBI in the first place." I drawled out, wondering why I didn't just put handcuffs on this guy.

"Because if I did, then these people would've gotten away with it, the website and evidence would've been destroyed, and they would be harder to track. We're on the same side, whether I like it or not," Erik mumbled to himself. "I'm almost done figuring out where Benson's sending his money to."

I watched him, trying to figure out what this man's deal was. Again, someone mentioned we were on the same side and trying to do the right thing.

While their methods were unorthodox and didn't fit FBI protocol– or the law– I had to admit that they had more information than I ever did.

Would we have ever gotten this close to taking down the Diablos if it weren't for these guys?

A ding went off on Erik's computer, and a name popped up on the screen.

My eyebrows raised after I read the name, immediately recognizing it. I turned to Erik, who was finally smiling for the first time.

"That should be enough, right, Special Agent Adlai?"

My mind was spinning at this information, but it was the best news I had all day. It was my turn to smile and gave him a single nod.

"Oh, that's plenty. Let's head to the police station. You sure you don't want to work for the FBI? We would need someone with your skill set."

Erik snorted as he got up from the chair. Frank looked up at us knowingly before returning to his book.

"I'd only cause trouble. The FBI wouldn't be able to handle me."