[2er RPG] The Shepherd [ENG]

"Yoga", answered Andrew plain and simple.
Instead of talking to Logan, the profiler went online on his phone and continued reading. He knew his colleagues better than they knew themself, so he let Logan alone until the man had the right amount of coffee in his bloodstream. Right about then, a phone rang. It wasn't Logans and most certainly not Andrews. The phone was in vibratiin but clearly audible while buzzing over the glas top of the coffee table. The display showed the grinning face of a boy, Marcus in the background. It was Dylan.

Logan was too tired to make a joke, he was even too tired to process what Andrew just told him. Yoga... He only saw what Andrewa was doing, when he lifted his head to take another sip. The caffeine slowly kicked hin and Logan managed to sit up straight. Right at that moment a phone rang and Logan looked at Marcus phone on the table. It wasn't like him to leave it outside the bedroom, but he wasn't himself yesterday. The picture told Logan that Dylan was calling, he probably wanted to say good morning to his dad. Logan picked up.
"Hey Buddy. How are Leilas pancakes?", he asked standing up meanwhile to head for the bedroom and wake up Marcus, so he could talk with his son. To know he's alright would make the day easier for him Logan guessed and Dylan was also glad to know him safe.

Marcus was groggy. And he hated it. His thoughts were so slow and sloppy.
He rolled around as Logan woke him up
"What?", he mumbled.
Logan gave him the phone.
"Yeah?"
"Hey dad!"
Marcus forced himself in a sitting position.

The call lastet a few minutes. At some point, Marcus put his son on speaker so Logan could listen in on.the newest dream the boy had.
"Leilas pancakes are better than yours", Dylan said, obviously chewing in one.
Marcus smiled tired.
"But dads are the best!"

The call ended after everything was said and Marcus promised again, to be careful and call tonight before bedtime. After that, he forced himself in some clothes. Andrew waited patiently. He even made coffee.
"I wanna check out that shop first. Talk to some people who know Louis. Don't wanna meet him unprepared."

Logan put some clothes on and brushed his teeth after the phone call and he drank anther coffee to really wake up. Marcus wanted to check out the shop and ask around, Logan and Andrew didn't oppose. "Sure thing. Maybe we should split so we don't raise any suspicion.", Logan proposed, Andrew looked at Marcus. "I'm going with you.", he sighed, but smiled. Marcus wasn't too good with words, that's why he really needed a partner in such jobs. And Logan did pretty well alone, in fact he was to learn more when he was alone, rather being with someone. Andrew always said this was his natural charm. Logan nodded, Marcus was not to oppose to this.
"Well, then let's get going!" After two cups of black coffee, Logan functioned and was motivated to do his job. He stood up and lead the way. With the car they drove to the address and parked nearby. Then they split of to ask around.

Marcus headed straight to the colorful shop. Officially, it was his grandfather's. But Stan managed to find out, that he wasn't working in said shop. Marcus figured, the old man wanted to live secluded so he's not an attraction for those freaks who followed murder stories.
The shop was quiet. No wonder; it was one of those shops which bloom during Mardi Gras and kinda fall flat the rest of the year. It was a mask shop, old school, handmade. Demons, monster, witches and animals watched every inch of the shop. It was unsettling. Marcus noticed how Andrew tensed upon seeing the faces.
Marcus went to the counter. A young blond girl, reading an old book, stood behind it.
"Hi", she greeted friendly and put the book down.
Marcus figured she was a student of some sort. Music or Art if he had to guess.
"Hi. This shop is amazing", said Andrew, "the masks are beautiful. Who makes them?"
Marcus wandered a bit through the small room. Some masks were horrifying, some almost childish. One mask caught his attention. It was a rather simple one: a grotesc demonic face with twirled horns and fangs. The mask reminded him of something his brother had said when they saw each other for the first time.
"Maybe I need to be bad, so you can be good. I'm the demon who leds your wings shine."
Marcus grabbed the mask and put it on. His field of vision narrowed down and for a brief moment, panic sprouted inside his chest. But then he saw another mask. A white one with golden ornaments on it. It looked almost like dog, but the ears were to big... a jackal...
For once, Marcus did not think. He took off the demonic mask, grabbed the white one and two that looked more childish. He bought all four of them.
Meanwhile, Andrew made some progress. Unfortunately, the young woman didn't know much about the shopowner. He found out what he could. The two agents left, Marcus with a bag with four masks in it. He didn't know why he bought them. It was a gut feeling and usually he could trust that.
Outside, he pulled a gum out of his pocket. The plastic bag went into the trunk of their car. Now they needed to wait for Logan, then they would head of to the adress Stan gave them.

Logan went around outside the stord a little, talked to some people and asked about the shop and the owner. Unfortunately there wasn't much information to be gained as Marcus grandfather didn't work there himself. But the shop was although 'kinda creepy' a part of the community here.
Logan met with Marcus and Andrew again to learn that they hadn't got much insight either. Then he looked at the bag that Marcus brought while they made their way to his grandfather.
"What's that?", Logn asked looking inside. It was from the shop and it was really kinda creepy. "What are these for?"

Marcus didn't answer Lognas Question. There was no answer to be given. He didnt know why this bag in the trunk existed. And right now, it wasn't his top priority.

They left the actual city and headed towords the Bajou, the outer swamps of New Orleans. People actually lived here, besides the insects, the heat and humidity, and whatever was lurking inside the muddy water.
The streets were horrible, not much more than a wet line of dirt trough a jungle of trees. Over the years of trimming the plants learned their lesson. It looked like they grew around the so called street, forming a strangely beautiful tunnel through the woods.
It took them the better part of an hour to reach their destination. At the end of an even worse road they saw a former white house, one of those old plantation houses, though it had lost all of its glory. Today, there was no plantatiin. The land fell onto the city of New Orleans years back and the city didn't care about this rotten place. The greenery was barely kept at bay.
They parked a few feet in front of the house. It almost seemed abandoned, but Marcus saw the healthy houseolant through one of the windows and the new screws on the stairs. Someone lived here, definitely.
Marcus got out of the car, glad to wear boots instead of his usual sneakers. The ground was soft and squishy from all the mud and plants. Out here, the temperatyre was skyrocketing high and the humidity made it even worse. One breath and you were sweating even if you're naked. But Marcus in his jeans and leather jacket didn't seem to bother. Andrew on the other hand regretted his outfit of choice. Until the mosquitoes noticed them. Less skin meant less surface to attack.
Without hesitation Marcus crossed the not at all kept front yard, went up the few stairs to the veranda and knocked on the wood next to the mosquito door. No answer.
"Mr. Ackerman? My name is Andrew Foster, I'm send here by the Ministry of Justice. We want to ask you some questions."
No response.
Marcus listened very closely while Andrew was talking. He filtered out all the noises the swamp made.
He nodded to Andrew and Logan, as he heard the steps.
"Mr. Ackerman, please. We mean you no harm. Just a couple of questions and we're on our way back."
More steps. Going away from the door. Than a familiar klicking sound.
Marcus gestured Andrew should step vack from the door and pressed himself against the wooden wall between the doir and a window. He peeked inside and saw an old man with a flint.
"Louis, you don't me, but look at me and you'll know why we're here", he shouted.
No steps, no klicking.
The door swang wide open and a man with salt and pepper hair, a salt and pepper beard and strange two-colored eyes pointed his gun at Marcus. The man looked angry, then confused, then realization kicked in and he lowered his weapon.
"You're not Francis", he said with a raspy voice.
"No, I'm not", Marcus replied, "but I'm your grandson nevertheless."
For am moment, the man hesitated, then he opened the mosquito door and let them in. The inside looked a lot like the outside: lots of wood, nothing from this century.
Louis Ackerman was a tall, muscular man, just like his grandsons. He put the gun away, leaned it next to the kitchen counter. He didn't offer them something to drink or even a place to sit. He just sat down at the kitchen table and reached for a cigarette. Marcus grinded his teeth. No cigarette for him, he needed to resist.
"So Frank made another one?", Louis asked.
Frank... the man who looked like the younger version of Louis and the older version of Marcus. The man who named his firstborn after himself because of his ego.
"Apparently", Marcus answered and sat opposite of the man.
"You look like him."
"I look like you."
Silence.
"I don't know where he is. I have nothing to do with him, since he left for college decades ago. We don't have the best relationship, you know."
"Yeah, I know. Me neither. But you of all people know him best. Any idea where he could be hiding?"
Louis shook his head.
"He was always a loner."
The man sighed and offered Marcus a cigarette. First, the cop wanted to resist, but something was telling him, that he would need one for what's going to follow. So he took one. Louis got up and poured himself a drink.
"I know why he is the way he is. Why he does all this shit. I'm the reason for that. When he was five, he watched his mother die. I was drunk and insisted of driving. No need to tell you what happened. After that he was... I don't know. Something inside him broke. He was so scared. Of absolutely everything. I had more.doctors in his room than most people see in a lifetime. Nothing seemed to work. Until we started to confront him with his biggest fears. He got better. He smiled again. He went to school again.
My second mistake was bringing him along on a hunt. He was scared at first. But when he saw the deer, heard the shot and then saw me working on that thing he was interested. I tought it was a good sign. In my eyes it was one of those family bonding moments. So I showed him how it's done. He learned quick. Always the clever one. I didn't realize what happened. Sometime after he went for college, I found them. There were dozens if not hundreds of animal corpses hidden in the backyard. Birds, raccoons, cats, dogs, everything. I tried to talk to him, but he shut down after I told him about the corpses. Fewer calls. No calls. The next time I heard about him was years later when he came by with little Francis. He only stayed a night, told me they were in their way somewhere else and he wanted the boy to meet me. Francis had the same look in his eyes as Frank. Scared. He didn't say much. Just sat around in a corner, watching everything."
Louis downed his third drink at that point. Marcus got up and stopped him from a fourth one.
"They left the next morning. Next time I heard of them, Francis broke out from hospital and the whole story about Franks experiments and Francis' murders was on the news. I should've said something. Should've taken Francis. I could've saved at least the boy."
Tears rolled down the old mans face.
"It's not your fault, Mr. Ackerman", Andrew said, "You did, what every father would do. There was no way to predict the outcome. Neither your sons nor your grandsons doing is your responsibility."
"How did you get out?", Louis asked Markus, looking him straight into the eyes they shared.
"I was never in. My mother fled while pregnant. She found out about my fathers wrongdoings. A cop helped her. By the time they wanted to arrest my father, he was gone. Francis too. Eventually my mom married the cop and I was their son."
"What halpened to them?"
Louis knew what Marcus knew. In this family, people close to you don't survive very long.
"They were both murdered when I was seven and my aunt took me in. She died a three years ago."
Louis nodded. That sounded like the life, an Ackerman had to bear.
Marcus pulled out his phone and scrolled through some pictures until he found a food one of Dylan.
"This is my son, Dylan. His mother was killed by Frank. The cycle is repeating itself and I won't let that happen. I'm gonna stop my father, I'm gonna stop Francis and I'm gonna be a living, breathing father on the side of justice for this little boy. He is seven, just like me when my mother got killed. We both knkw, Frank did that on purpose. We both know that he knows who Dylan is."
"The family curse comes with the eyes", Louis mumbled, mesmerized by the picture of Dylan.
"I don't know where he is. But he always liked music. So much that he was never far away from a music shop. A good one, with quality staff and instruments. And the opera. He loves opera."
"Thank you", Marcus said, putting away his phone.
"When this is all over", Louis said, "maybe we can meet? It would be nice to have normal family for once."
"Sure. But first I have to take care of this family", Marcus answered.

Logan stepped out of the car and immediately his shoes where covered with mud. He resisted the urge to lash out at the countless mosquitoes around him and followed the others to the door. He was ready for whatever may come at them. But Marcus had it covered and his grandfather let them inside. Logan leaned against a wall there and listened to what they where saying. It wasn't what he expected and it was not much information which had helped them. At least Marcus grandfather didn't seem like a psychopath, so there certainly was hope in this family.
He looked around while standing there, but it looked like a normal house from the inside. A lone house hidden in the swamps to hide himself from everything what happened. Logan didn't want a fate like this for Marcus.
He wondered if Marcus' brother would come here too, or maybe his father. But he wasn't here a long time, so it wasn't likely. And they had to ask Andrew about his opinion anyway, he probably gained the most information here.
Logan didn't say anything and he also didn't want to. It was best for Marcus to handle this. After they talked, they went outside again together and sat in the car, not driving off yet.
"Your opinion Andrew?", Logan asked from the backseat, then looking outside again. He didn't want to believe that this was everything. They didn't learn anything useful. There where thousands of music shops all over the country.

Andrew sighed.
"He's honest. Just a man eaten up by guilt. He still has that alcohol problem. Probably a chainsmoker-"
"Most definitely a chainsmoker", threw Marcus in.
He still had the taste of the cigarette in his mouth. He shouldn't have done that. But it helped. At least in his mind.
"Anyways. He thinks he has destroyed his family and is looking forward to maybe get it back. You", Andrew turned to Marcus, "gave him hope back there. I think he has the potential to be a better version of him. But all in all? Not a big help. He doesn't want to have anything to do with this."
Marcus wasn't really listening. He thought about the little information they got from Louis. More puzzletiles that needed to fit in somehow.
"Get back to the french quater", he suddenly said.
He had an idea.

"Okay...well...checking all opera abos isn't going to help.", Logan sighed when Marcus told Andrew where to drive next. "We're not going back to the hotel?", he asked confused and leaned forward again to look at the two in the front. "Hey Andrew? Do you think his granddad will be left alone? He sure seemed nervous when we knocked at his door, or is he just paranoid? If nothing else Marcus' Dad is somehow interested in his family, you think he'll come back here? Or is here to look after him without him noticing?" Just some ideas Logan had, he was more the ask questions guy then the search for mini clues type. It frustrated him to not be able to see any progress.

"I don't know Logan. I really don't kniw. But apparently, Marcus has an idea."
Andrew glanced over to the third one of their team. Marcus was looking out the window, as usual, but he had that thinking face he always had when the puzzle pieces formed a picture.

Back at the infamous Bourbon Street, Marcus placed himself in the middle of the action. It was torture for his overworking, non-filtering brain, but it was the fastest way to get everything he needed.
He registered each and every tourist, the guides, the shopowners, the people living here, the limping squirrel on the tree to his right, the plant getting eaten by ants on a balcony two floors up to the left. He registered Logans concerned look, the fascination of Andrew as they both watched him doing his thing.
Marcus reached for his phone, not breaking his concentration to not concentrate. Blind he typed in a message and send it to Stan. He needed more information than just watching could give him.
Five minutes, that's all Marcus could bear. He went back to the car and layed down on the back seat. He had a ton of data to get through and no time to waste. Logan could say what he wanted but tonight, Marcus wouldn't sleep. He would go through all his personal surveillance footage he just took.
He reached for his phone again and called the number, Francis had send him.
"Hello, little brother. How's the city of Jazz?", he asked.
"I spoke to our grandfather. Apparently, Frank loves music way too much. Got something for me?"
"Hm..."
Francis took his time to think. At least he really wanted to help. Motivation was definitely not an issue on this one.
"I have never seen much of the outside world, as you know. But the few glimpses I got were of music shops and opera houses."
"Good. Any more information about the hiding technique? We can't find him with just that."
"I thought about that for a while now. I remember something about the names, he chose. It was aleays a color for the last name and something biblical for the first name. You know, like Zechariah and Abraham."
"Thanks."
Marcus hung up and saved the information. Now they just needed a place to tstart. For once they had a real chance of catching his father. But for now, Marcus needed two things: a quiet place to think clearly and some painkillers.

Logan watched Marcus and said no word, Marcus had enough to process. He felt kinda useless on this mission, he wouldn't go as far as to wish for some action, but that was mostly the only thing he was good at. Except asking random people questions but that wasn't useful either in this case. Logan only was the babysitter for Marcus, which Marcus didn't want. With his overactive brain and Andrews sharp thoughts they didn't need someone like Logan to try to think of anyrhing useful. Instead he had to sit tight and watch them work. When Marcus layed down and had finished his phonecall Logan and Andrew joined him in the car. Andrew was driving them back to their hotel without saying a word, Logan kept quiet too, now sitting in the front. He hoped for Marcus to find something useful soon.
At the hotel Andrew and Logan sat down on the small coffee table, giving Marcus the peace he needed to think.
Logan ordered some food to have at least something to do.

Back at the hotel, Stan had everything ready. Marcus could start working as soon as they got back. But for now he did something, he never did: he took a break.
"Logan?", he asked and gestured him to join him in the bedroom, so they could talk in private for a moment.
"Listen. I know you don't have much to do right now, but that's gonna change soon. I need you to take care of Dylan for a couple of days while I... you know. 'Do the thing'. And after that I'm counting on you to get my dad. You're always better at this. The whole tactical stuff is your thing. And I'm gonna dive in head first, so I'm not really helpfyl afterwards."
He took Logans hand and looked him in the eyes.
"I have no idea how long this is gonna take, but I won't stop till we got him. I need to know that he's no threat anymore."

Logan joined Marcus in the bedroom and sat with him. He instantly regretted his thoughts, Marcus didn't need something else to worry about. "I... I'm sorry, I didn't want you to worry about me, but... yes I feel rather useless right now.", he apologized and smiled softly, looking into Marcus eyes. "I know you have to get him, I do too. We'll get him this time, I can feel it. And I'll fly back to take care of Dylan, so don't worry about him, just focus on finding your father." He was ready to do anything to help and Andrew was here to look after Marcus, so Logan was good to leave. He mostly came along because he didn't know what would happen at his grandfathers house, now that that was out of the way... "I love you Marcus. And I trust you to not kill yourself." Logan leaned forward to give Marcus a short kiss. "I'll pack right away." He sighed a little. "I told you it's not worth it to unpack my stuff."

"Who says, I'm not coming back? He's not here. But I know how to find him."
Marcus actually smiled. He was confident for once.
"I'm gonna drown myself in work as soon as we get home. I'm basically gonna live in my office again. And I don't want Dylan to feel... abandoned. "
Now he was kissing Logan.
"I try to not make it sixtyeight days", he joked, "and for my sake: remind me to eat and drink. Please."

After dinner, Marcus had trouble to not get caught up in his thoughts. And later that night, he lost that fight. He lost himself inside his mind, thinking about every single detail. Sleep was a no-go. To not disturb Logan, he went outside into the living area of their strange hotel suite. When morning came, he sat there with three mugs of fresh coffee and a pile of notes he took, so everyone else could try to follow his thoughts. And also it was easier to have a visual of everything. For him, it was the seventh coffee in the last twelve hours. He missed his cigarettes, especially after the one he had yesterday. Big mistake. He had no gums left to compensate that urge.

Logan asked Marcus if he really wanted to come back home, as it wasn't all too quiet there, but he wanted to see Dylan too, that was obvious. And he was glad to hear he wasn't bothering him with reminding him over and over again to eat or drink something.
They ate what Logan had ordered and soon after Logan went to bed and left Marcus to his thoughts.
The next day he woke up unusually early, probably because he was too worried to sleep. He came outside, Andrew was still asleep. Logan smiled at his boyfriend and hesitated for a moment, but then hugged him from behind and gave him a short kiss on his cheek. Then he took one of the notebooks and tried to figure out what Marcus was thinking. "Have you drunk something other than coffee? You know your headache gets worse when you dehydrate yourself like that." Logan didn't understand much of this notes and put them back, then got some water for Marcus. "You up for a small break?", he asked, but shook his head soon after. "Not what you think, just talking a little?"

Marcus grunted quietly without looking up. He wanted to finish his train of thought. He wrote another page of confusing notes before reaching for the glass of water. He emptied it in one go and leaned back.
"I don't have a headache. Yet", he sighed and rubbed his tired eyes.
"I need more gums... or cigarettes. I'd prefer the latter so I really need to get my hands on some chewing gums. Best case scenario before we go to the airport."
He looked at his watch. Dylan would call in a few minutes.
"A break sounds great. Even without what you think I think. Which I don't cause I think about a million other things right now."

Logan smiled. "I'll get you some in a few minutes. Dylan is going to call anyway." He looked at Marcus phone on the table, then back again in his strange eyes. "Do you miss him? Since he moved in with you, you weren't apart for this long." Logan still had the feeling to say you and not us, he didn't want to interfere too much and the both of them had this strangely strong bond. Not a normal father - son relationship, they shared much more. "When we are back, you'll at least eat with us right? I mean... you can't deny him his pancakes, but in the evening too, okay? I have to remind you of eating and Dylan wants to spend time with you, so two against one. Not open for discussion." He grinned a little, Marcus could forget about time when he was working, but his son was priority number one and he also wanted to spend time with him, so there was not much to discuss. The phone started ringing in this exact moment and Logan watched Marcus picking up. After he said a few words too, he left to find some gums.

"As long as you get me out of the office."
He reached for his phone and forced Logan to say some words before he left.
"Why is Logan leaving?", Dylan asked immediately.
"He gets me some chewing gum. I don't have any left."
They talked a bit, mostly Dylan about his newest strange dream with strange monkeys and cats in some big trees. It was really weird.
"You gonna come home today, right?"
"Yeah. We all do. But I have to work a lot, when I'm back, so you have to spend more time with Logan, okay?"
"You ginna catch the bad guys, right?"
"Yeah. I'm finding them and then Logan gets them. So one of us will be there for you. Sound like a plan?"
Dylan nodded, a bright smile on his face now.
"I can brag about my dad being a hero at school. Both of them!"
Marcus bit his tongue when he heard his boy say that.
"You need to tell that Logan", he said.
Logan would explode of joy hearing this.
"Okay, buddy, I need to get back to work and then stat packing. See ya tonight."
"Okay. Love you."
"Love you, too, kiddo."
When he hang up, Andrew stood in the doorway.
"It's fascinating how human you can be."
"Shut up, Foster. Drink your coffee."
"I haven't done my Yoga yet."
Marcus sighed but that was Andrew, so he didn't care.

When Logan came back Andrew was awake too. He said hello, then kneed before Marcus, offering him the chewing gums. "For my little princess...", he iterated, then got up again as if nothing had happened and began packing. "Nevermind your stuff Marcus, I'm packing it too, so do your brain magic!", he shouted from the other room, just getting a utterly confused look from Andrew and he could only imagine the face of his boyfriend. Well, sometimes he was just in the mood for something stupid. He started throwing everything they had in their bags, Marcus better didn't come in, the chaos had upset him surely, but Logan got everything inside. All's well that ends well.
Andrew had drank his coffee and packed his stuff before Logan was finished and Marcus collected his notes, so they could be at the airport on time.