From where darkness is born. (Vigilante Squad)

So he had to pee? Like Luke actually believed that. That was like, the oldest excuse in the book. Not to mention he probably had a bed pan, so yeah, bullshit. But before Luke could really do anything about the whole thing, the nurse was back, telling Matt pretty much the same thing him and Pat did, just more sassy. She also said something about a detective here to see them, which really could have been about any number of crimes they committed or that had been done to them, either way, trouble.

Despite the fact Luke knew Matt was likely going to run out of this hospital like a bat out of hell the first chance he got, he turned away to go talk to the officers, Pat likely following.

"Just.....try to keep him here Adelene." Luke said just as he left the room. From there it was a journey down the hall, and an elevator, and another hall. Hospitals were always so damn huge and confusing, but they would find the waiting room near the entrance, and likely the 'detectives' that were waiting for them.

Now, Luke just had his friend blown up, had his memory wiped and hand crushed, and committed several crimes against very rich and powerful people. These guys could be anyone, and they were more then likely out to either hurt him and his friends, or arrest them. Unfortunately the latter was the better of the two, at least he could fight that in court.

He had a 9mm handgun on his waistband, but it was all registered and legal. It was the one he always carried for self defense, not that he believed he would be using it. But then again, like what was previously said, these guys were more then likely not his friends.

"What can i do for you, detectives?"

When Pat and Luke entered the room the detective stood up in his jeans and his black leather coat, removing a grey fedora and revealing the same chiseled face and little black and brown stubbles that matched the matted hair atop their head. Detective Robins looked to Luke and to Pat before letting out a heavy sigh with an apologetic look on his face. With an awkward grumbling as he cleared his throat. Then he put the hat in front of him while he folded his hands over them and looked back and forth.

"Gentleman I'm here on behalf of the L.A.P.D. After our altercation I took the case of uncovering the perp who did this to Matthew. Naturally I looked at both of you. and when you both checked out I went onto other people...and I think I found a lead. Unfortunately this means that the both of you are in danger, because they'll be coming for you next. The M.O of the attacker is generally just a week apart. We'd like to place you into protective custody." He said, and in truth he didn't expect them to agree or go with it. Though the concept that there was an attemptive killer and that it was identified and it was likely targeting them.

As expected there was the detective they had dealt with before, strong jawed as ever though they seemed a little less accusing than before. Despite how things were going he found a stray thought directed towards the fedora, though internal cringing was something that didn't last as long as he would have expected. Their expression was apologetic, which made him wonder why exactly that was the case. Pat buried his hands into his pockets, drawing in a shallow breath as a manner of tension began to fall over him. They were here on behalf of the police that much he could tell, but the reason behind that became clear very soon.

This wasn't a visit incriminating them, but rather they were here to protect them of all things. They were going after the same person that had done this to Matt, and apparently they would be going after the two of them after that. They wanted to place both of them into protective custody, though if the police could protect them was something that he found himself wondering. Still this didn't exactly sound like something that they could say no to. "Into protective custody?" He found himself parroting with a shocked tone, looking to Luke before looking back to the male who had delivered that news.

"So someone wants us dead." He didn't know exactly what he did, but maybe it had something to do with Matt himself, or Luke. Unless of course his limited vigilante activities had managed to catch up with him. "Well, protective custody beats a body bag so I'd be fine with it." Just thinking about it really, being dead and gone made him feel uneasy.

Protective custody? Well, that sounded more dangerous then anything. Lukas knew it was probably only offered with good intentions, however cops were people, and people could be payed off. Too many people were offed by police officers to trust that. Not to mention.....how did he know this guy wasn't working for somebody? Cop or not, it was possible. That and Lukas was paranoid because one of his friends just blew away the brother of one of the wealthiest people in the world and the other got blown up for Luke's own vigilante antics.

"I appreciate the offer, i do. But i can take care of myself. Anyway.....if we need protection, then why is Matt sitting in a hospital unguarded? How do you know these people won't show up to finish the job? Utilize your resources on people who need it." Luke said. He wasn't going to leave Matt to hide behind some badges, especelly if people were after him. This probably wouldn't sit well with the detective, but who cared.

"Besides, your protective custody is likely nothing more then a waiting room, vending machine, and a couple of overfed and under paid men in blue. Two of those things i already have." Luke said, turning to Pat.

"And do you just go with everything? Jesus Christ Pat." He said, clearly irritated as he turned his back to the two, about to leave. He was done with cops, done with all of this. If the people who did this to Matt showed up, he would welcome them.

"He IS being protected, unfortunately we can't let him know that he is. The perp and him have a history." The detective said, immediately becoming uneasy and wondering just how much information he was able to give away before it was a breach of conduct. Despite whatever the detective was hiding he quickly brushed everything away and refixated his attentions on Luke and Pat. "I understand your hesitations but until we can find Kahn we'd really appreciate it if you could either come with us or stay here with Matthew and make sure he doesn't-THERE you are! Oooohhh I tell you what Mister Officer Man this is some mighty fine protective custody you got going on here. Now tell me do y'all just let anyone walk out the doors without checkin' them!?" The detective had been intercepted by the loud condescending, sarcastic voice of Sass incarnate. The slightly heavier black woman stepped forwards and put her finger into the detective's face as he was about to speak.

 "Nuh-uh pretty boy. You don't talk, you just listen. Cuz you in MY house now, and the only law and order there is, is what Mama Adelane says. You know what mama says, pretty boy?" She asked before the pointed finger and finely polished fingernail swiftly took a fistfull of shirt and jacket before pulling the tall detective down to her level and speaking through her teeth. "Mama says she's missing her baby. Now you gonna go find my baby...before I rip off yours. " She said before releasing the detective, whom had broken out in a sweat and immediately reached for his radio. He frantically began asking for a location on their charge, though they reluctantly stated they had lost him. Which means that Matt was somewhere on the loose, likely going home from what they would know, unless the boys had another idea.

It seemed that him and Luke were in opposing views of many things. Rather than saying anything in return to Luke, all he did was roll his eyes and sigh. Apparently Matt was under protection, though perhaps they were just making those measures a little less obvious to trick however this person was into making their move. The name Khan itself made no sense to him, but likely they were the person that was responsible for their friend being hurt. Before they could finish their statement, someone interrupted them and already he was aware of who they were. It seemed like the woman had a way of just appearing and putting their two cents into everything that was going on, as if they appeared from the viel or something like that. Something had been said about Matt and that left him with one thing to say. "Like hell they were just taking a piss." He noted with a roll of his eyes and glaring at Luke.

Would legs need to be broken before they learned they couldn't just run off wherever they wanted? "Apparently Matt has a fucking death wish." Home was one place they would likely go but it did not sound like somewhere that he would go if he wanted to go uncaught. "Unless he has a ride somewhere around here, I doubt he could have gotten to far in his condition, barring of course they have some kinda of help." He muttered to himself, postulating what their friend could be doing. "As for the where.....I have no idea where they could be going." He shrugged, stumped more than anything else.

Drifter just kept walking as the confrontation between the detective, Pat, and Adelene happened. He didn't turn around, but he listened as he took the steps toward the hallway. Of course Matt ran, Lukas had expected that as soon as he left the room to talk to the detective. So with no words, he continued down the hall at a steady pace. He honestly felt Matt was hiding something. Why would someone want him dead? The detective said the perp had a history with him, so what kind of history? And why did Matt up and leave even though he knew he was in bad shape to be standing let alone getting back to his normal life. Something was up here, and Lukas intended to find out.

He would get in his car, put his gauntlets on as a safety measure if anything, and open his laptop. Opening his browser he did some searches on 'Kahn' in LA, using any back doors or stealth sniffers to find any criminal hangouts he could. Eventually, he did find some information. Useless info in the end, as all it said was that he was ruthless and had a major grip on the cities criminal underworld, but then again all information was welcome.

He found his way to a deep, deep web chat room. You needed serious skills to be able to find yourself in this part of the internet, and fortunately Lukas had them. This chat could at least respect he wasn't just some thug. So he logged on to it, hundreds of criminals were talking in real time, all from the LA area.

Drifter: Where can i find Kahn?
Drifter: I have a....business proposal for him.
Drifter: Anyone who answers gets three hundred dumped Gmail passwords and thirty credit card numbers.

And he wasn't lying, he could get those easily and he would keep his word. Right now he didn't care about theft if it meant getting to the bottom of what happened to his friend and why. All he could do now is wait.

Well apparently everyone found it to be quite the surprise when Matthew turned up missing. Unfortunately this meant that everyone was taken of premises in order to locate and secure the wounded person. Luke went out to his car, and knowing Pat he'd tail along behind like a lost puppy, as he so tended to do. When Luke went out to his laptop he continued to do his usual cyberspace traversing, and eventually landing himself into some of the darker areas of the web. Unmonitored, unwatched and unregulated. The dark alleyways and shadow society of villains existed well within the web. After all, the only thing the web wasn't truly safe from was Anonymous.

Drifter: Where can i find Kahn?
Drifter: I have a....business proposal for him.
Drifter: Anyone who answers gets three hundred dumped Gmail passwords and thirty credit card numbers.

 It didn't take long for someone to bite, though it was quite likely that criminals would absolutely love the prospect of getting such sensitive information and credit card numbers none the less. It was a dream come true, though frankly it was a little too good to be true. But if nothing else anyone with information would be jumping on the opportunity. Though the one that bit was one that seemed to hold attention.
 
 CrimeKid: "I can get you a meeting with Kahn!"
 Mr.Astronomial: "Kahn is in hiding, he'd kill us if he saw this!"
 Bliss.sued.Me: "I need $$$ man! Look at my name! I'll tell you where Kahn is! I'm at 32nd street in L.A."
 *LeftShark has logged off*

  Though immediately the two eager guppies were filled with a rather heavy sense of urgency to get out some information, what the second member said would likely hold Luke in some suspense. If Kahn was truly in hiding then it was quite clear that either of these people could be lying just to get money. However given by the names the one man was at least honest about it. The only hesitative portion would have been meeting in person, though if nothing else that would give Lukas an advantage.  Though perhaps fate decided to be kind and grant him a reprieve from the necessary detective work as a new name popped up.

Miss-Fortune: "Everyone clear out. Now."
CrimeKid has logged off
Mr.Astronomial has logged off
After a few seconds the name popped up again.
Miss-Fortune: "What part of everyone don't you understand?"
*Bliss.sued.Me has disconnected*

Miss-Fortune: "So you want to find Kahn. That's easy enough. Why don't we skip all of this nonsense. We meet at Posideon's Trident. Twenty Minutes." and with that, Miss-Fortune logged off and the chat began to scramble up before auto-deleting itself and kicking Drifter form the chat. The first thing he'd see was an article popping up with a picture of a man laying there in 32nd street, hog-tied with licorice and his mouth stuffed with whipped cream the faint shadows of an aquatic entity on the wall behind him.

Well with Matt mysteriously running off and Luke doing their own thing, that left him on his own. Then there were questions really, what he would do and things along those lines. Just thinking about it was within itself annoying, but there wasn't much he could do about that. Following Matt seemed like the smart choice, but then again hopefully protective custody was more than just a name really. Not that he could just throw that thought from his mind, but nothing he could do about it now really. Luke seemed to be doing something, so he decided to follow after them to see if they could get any information. After all, out of the two of them his friend seemed to be far more technologically savvy than he was. May have been just the fact that they actually spent the time to learn things like that but now was not the time to ponder on his own ineptitudes.

Where he found Luke so happened to be their car, which had been the second or third place that he thought about looking. The only reason that it seemed likely for them was the fact that it was their car, which may have not been the best of reasoning but he was not known for sound logic. Seemed like they were doing something, at least from the way they were playing around on their laptop anyway. "Up to something?" He asked, leaning against the side of the car. The answer was likely a yes, but he preferred to have something more concrete than an assumption. Assuming was something that he much preferred to avoid if he could. Using his position, he tried to get a better peek of their screen but that didn't seem to go as good as he would have liked, so the former question was all he had.

"So what. Are you planning to go out after whoever this Khan guy is?" Just going after them didn't exactly seem like the smartest idea but then again neither was the last time they went after someone. So if anything he wasn't expected anything intelligent, or even to join along in this.

Drifter watched as the messages appeared in response to his offer. Some were a bit more trustworthy then others.....but then again no one was to be trusted on the deep, deep web. But eventually he found one that looked alright, and she gave a meeting place. Might as well go look it over. He closed his laptop, then noticed Pat was looking through the open window of his Honda. He hadn't really known he was there.....he was in too much of a zone apparently. His friend asked a couple questions, and Luke just smiled.

"Yup, probably going to kill him, if he doesn't kill me." Luke said nonchalantly, then continued.

"Find Matt. Like you said he probably hasn't gone far. Maybe he decided to take a walk and went to the public bathroom, i don't know, but you'll find him." After that....the tires on his car screeched and the engine roared to life. The way he figured it was......he had the information, and the car, there was no way Pat could insert himself in the danger like Luke knew he would want to. So, he drove like a bat out of hell, eventually reaching Poseidon's Trident and waiting by it. This left Pat in a bad position.....but yeah, Lukas didn't care. The place was a strip club....of course. The classic hide out of all criminals.

Well if that wasn't the worst part of things, Pat got left behind. Of course now it was a matter of the fact that there was nothing actually wrong at all. Especially when Matt wasn't actually missing. You see, he was never missing because he actually did in fact go to the restroom. The fact that no one told Adelane until after she was already panicking was bad move on their part, because honestly she didn't hear them over the sound of her threatening an officer of the law. Matt made it back to the bathroom in time to hear Pat cursing up a storm outside. Matt opened the window and stuck his head out the window.

"Pat....Paaaaaat. Hey Pat, buddy. Pal... Why are you screaming profanities like a maniac? Seriously dude, you're right by the pediatric unit...that is....unnecessary." He pointed out. Granted he wasn't a saint either, but at least he tried to not swear around children.

-------------------------------------------

Luke would arrive at Poseidon's Trident and get out of his car, though before he walked in there was a bouncer who asked to see his identification.

A lot of things were happening, but one of those things was the fact that Luke had just drove off. "That motherucker! Get your pasty nasally ass back here before I godamn fucking repurpose your fucking face with a tire iron!" He shouted outloud face turning slightly red from the shouting as he stamped his foot against the concrete to show some emphasis on that. Eyes did direct towards him, but the only person to talk to him was one Matt shouting from a window. That stopped him in his cursing tracks, leaving him more confused as the fact that his friend was here rather than having run off elsewhere. "Well that....solves one problem." He muttered to himself, more pleased with the fact his friend wasn't off bleeding out. That left him worrying about Luke who had driven off somewhere.

With that he sort of dashed back into the hospital searching for Matt's room, slightly breathless. "The profanities....long story. Ummm.... the real problem here is....Luke kinda just drove off, I have no idea where to."

Strip clubs.....not really Luke's thing. The air of perversion truly repulsed him. You see....sex was never something he liked to be outward about. Sure he wasn't one to avoid that sort of thing, he just hated when drunk people got together and started talking about how great someones ass was. But he wasn't here to go over his issues with horny meatheads, no, he was here to find out where he could kill a certain someone.

He had his gauntlets on, they looked pretty much like normal gloves so he probably wouldn't be stripped of them. But then again knowing my co-author these guards are probably both competent and genre savvy. Either way though, he was going inside, and that he did. Once he got to the door though, he was suddenly stopped as he tried to walk past the bouncer, you stuck an arm out to stop him.

"You may be a glorified Walmart greeter for this place, but that doesn't give you a right to touch me." Drifter said as he swiped the arm away and took a step back. The man then asked for his ID, which he gave. He hoped it was just for the alcohol, otherwise he might have a problem here.

"Get on with it, I'm in a hurry." Drifter said as the man was taking a bit too long looking at his ID.

Pat finally desisted with the profanities and dashed back to the room, Matt quickly got back into bed and applied a little pressure to the small wound. As it would turn out Luke had eventually gone out and about, leaving Pat behind. Immediately Matthew grew slightly suspicious, looking at Luke.

"Well what were you guys last talking about when he left?"

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The Bouncer looked over the identification before looking over the young adult before shaking his head and handing it back. Of course Lukas had to play it tough, as he always did. Well, perhaps it wasn't playing tough as uch as it was not giving a fuck if anything bad happened to him. Funny how he somehow managed to "turn things around" but was still acting the same as he always had. It would be fairly interesting to see how things evolved following his attitude here. Of course the young man made it quite clear that he had things to do, places to go. "Get on with it, I'm in a hurry."

"Indeed you are. You look like the kind of fellow that drifts from...place to place." A woman said as she approached from the bar. Her attire was that of a sleek, petite dress with seamless hems ending just above the knees. The sleek cream colored dress remained clad to her as several strings reached up and around her neck. The dress overall was complimenting to her thin frame, but far too elegant and proper for her to work in an establishment like this. Her monocolored dress seemed to have a proper finishing over it that caused the light to dance off of it, and caused it to shine just as brightly as the cocktail glass in her hand. "Am I wrong?" She asked, her darker skin tone complimented by her elegant and high class make-up designs. A simplistic cat eye with shimmering silvery tan eye shadow and lip gloss. The very posture she held was more than enough to tell you this was not some harlot who worked here, this was exactly whom Luke was looking for.

"Let him in." She said before turning, the man let out a little glare at Luke, the woman turned his head over her shoulder. "NOW!" She said as she walked back towards the executive lounge, disappearing behind the black door.

What were they talking about before he left? That required a few seconds of thought before he could think up a response to that question, which involved something about  that Khan guy. "He said something about killing some Khan guy." He noted, wondering what that meant to Matt. Maybe it meant something or maybe he was talking nonsense, but wither way maybe he could get something from it. "Dunno who exactly that is but they sound pretty bad. So...do you know anything about them?"

Oh jesus, she used the 'drifts along' line. He knew he shouldn't have used that username. Some people used it as an opportunity to be horribly annoying, it almost felt like one of Rory's bad puns. But moving on, he gave the bouncer a dirty look and followed the woman. She could have been a stripper, but judging by her attitude, clothing, and the fact she just told the greeter to lay off, she was some kind of owner. This was perhaps the person he was here for, though how she knew it was him who set the meeting up he didn't know.

At this point he couldn't turn back, so he walked after the woman and into the club. Music was blaring and strippers were dancing, obviously. People were drunk, and those that weren't drunk were acting like they were. Totally not the place he wanted to be to discuss this.

"Can we go somewhere a little less.....um, full of strippers and drunk people?" He asked the woman, hoping she had an office or something. Even a basement or closest would be better then this annoying place.