[2er RPG] The Shepherd [ENG]

"Do I wanna see the insides of my bag?", asked Marcus when they left the hotel.
He put the essentials of his work inside his backpack to work on the plain. But usually it was to loud there so maybe he could actually get some sleep.
And that's what happened. As soon as the wheels left the ground, Marcus fell asleep. It wasn't a long flight back to Washington, but in the state Marcus was in, he counted minutes not hours.

After the landing, Marcus send Andrew wherever he wanted to go to make a profile of Louis. Just to be sure. Marcus himself wanted to go hime to his boy, and spend the rest of the day with the two people he really loved before he dived into his work and became a crime analyzing zombie.

"Daddy!"
Dylan ran towards the door and literally jumped into Marcus' arms.
"Hey buddy."
For a moment they hugged each other tight. Then Dylan reached for Logan to join the hug.

Logan watched Marcus sleeping on the flight, it calmed him down and it was good for Marcus. He was happy to fly back home to Dylan, seeing him again and have some normal hours in the house.

At home Dylan was all excited, nothing unusual. He even pulled Logan in for a hug and he joined them gladly. For some moments they just stood there hugging, until he noticed his sister who was standing next to them, not knowing what to do.
"Did you have fun with Leila?", he asked, slowly taking a step back.
"Yes! And Kyle likes her too! We had lot's of fun and she helped me with my arts project. Daddy, do you want to see?", he turned to Marcus and started pulling on his clothes, so he would go look at it with him. Logan turned to his sister while Dylan kidnapped Marcus. "Everything okay?", Logan asked.
"Yes! But that's my line."
"Nothing happened, don't worry. So how was he? Did he behave?"
"Yeah... I wish our brothers could have been like him. No objections, no crying, no screaming. Although he missed you two, I could tell. But he was strong and didn't want to show me. I cuddled with him in the morning, he got up early, watching the clock as if his life depended on it. But when I asked if he wanted to call a little early or after school he always said no, because you two had work to do."
"I guess he didn't want to bother you or us. He's a good kid."
"Yeah so, feel free to ask me anytime if you need a babysitter."
"Sure, you wanna eat with us?"
"Nah, I'll leave you now. Won't disturb you family time."
"Shut up, you don't."
"Well I do. But you can treat me for dinner some other time."
"Well okay, thank you for watching him." Logan hugged his sister, before he showed her out. Then looked for his two favorite people.

Marcus followed his son and listened to every explanation of every little thing. Dylan had an eye for details. After that, Dylan told his dad everything about the weekend without him. Again, he listened.
"Do you have to work right away?", Dylan finally asked.
"No. I'll start tomorrow. Today, it's all you and the chaos Logan made inside my bag."
Dylan chuckled.
"He really doesn't know how to pack a bag", the boy added.
Dylan was a ridy little boy. He almost always cleaned up after himself. Almost.
"Let me ask the biggest question: how were the pancakes?"
"Yours are better!"
"Right answer."
They cuddled for a long moment then Marcus send the boy downstairs to say goodbye to Leila. He followed, thanking the woman for taking care of his boy. It worked better than he anticipated.

The three spend the rest of the day together and tonight Marcus stayed a little longer in Dylans room. He waited until the boy was asleep before leaving. He glanced at the only closed door in this household and sighed. For the last few hours he was able to not think about work but now everything came back. With force.
"Pancakes tomorrow, than I'll start working. I need the Profile from Andrew and some stuff from Stan. Mike's gonna kill me if he sees me in the office. Can you get me the stuff after dropping off Dylan?", asked Marcus as he got into bed.
He wouldn't get much sleep, if any, but he wanted to rest a bit until losing himself in the madness of crimesolving.

Logan had fun the rest of the day, he actually was glad to be back home again and Marcus was too. Only in bed his brain started to kick in again. "Yes sure. But it's pretty childish... he knows you work and we finally have a lead. Maybe I can talk to him, maybe he lets you back in the office." Logan crawled under the blanket and cuddled Marcus. He gave him a short kiss on his jawline beforr resting his head on his chest. "But I'll have to be at work anyway. You okay without me here?", Logan asked looking up. "I'll pick up Dylan from school in the evening and then come home with him okay?"

"You know me. I won't even notice that you're gone", Marcus replied.
That was his biggest concern he had. He didn't want Dylan to feel abandoned. But Marcus had to do this. It was the one reason why they caught all those killers. Because he was able to catch up with their work and finally thinking ahead. Every time he zoned out like this, they got their target. But for the first time, there was a little boy waiting for him, depending on him.
"You need to kick me out. Promise me. I won't be nice when you do it. But please. For Dylan."
He sighed.
"For you", Marcus kissed Logan and closed his eyes to try and sleep a little.

"I will...", Logan smiled and closed his eyes too. He was asleep after a few minutes and woke up when Dylan came cuddling in the morning. As always Logan came down late, ate a little and then drove Dylan to school. Afterward he got the stuff Marcus needed from the office and brought it home. Then he went back to the office again.
At noon he picked up Dylan and drove home with him. They stayed downstairs and made homework while Logan cooked a little. The food need to cook a little, Dylan was finished with homework and Logan sent him readying the table while he got upstairs in the office to get his father. He knocked once then came inside and closed the door behind him. "Dinner's almost ready. You coming?"

Marcus didn't really sleep that night. He mostly stared at the ceiling. And then Dylan came in and he realized how long he did that. He listened to his boy's dream, made him pancakes and lunch for school. And then they left Marcus changed from family mode into work mode and got upstairs.
After just an hour, the office was cluttered with notes, pictures, reports and other paperwork. It looked like chaos, but Marcus didn't do chaos. He did everything at once and with a precise system.
"Dinner's almost ready. You coming?"
Marcus growled but didn't move. He was immersed in his work, following a thin, barely visible lead through all the evidence. It was a good one though. One that cluld actually get them a needed breakthrough.

Logan looked at all the notes, but Marcus brain was complex and he couldn't follow. "I'll come back in 5 to 10 minutes, try to finish your thought, okay? I'll drag you downstairs then." Logan left the room again and got back down. Dylan had finished the table and sat already.
"He's not coming?", he asked and Logan shook his head.
"He's coming, he just has to finish something. Don't worry." Logan looked after the food and got it ready. He placed everything on the table and then went upstairs again to knock a second time, closing the door behind him. "Get up Marcus, dinner's ready. Dylan is already waiting."

"Gimme a sec", Marcus answered and put some notes on top of some other notes and stacked a bunch of photos.
He hesitated three times until he really got up and followed Logan downstairs.
"Hey buddy. How was your day?", he asked with honest interest.
He knew his work was important but that changed nothing about the feeling of abandoning his own son. It was something, Marcus could barely bear.
He realized how hungry he was after his first bite. Since his coffee this morning he did not eat. He barely drank enough. Well, actually it wasn't enough. It just wasn't nothing.
"Do you make progress at work?", Dylan asked out of the blue.
"Well...", how much could he tell him?
"I think so. I made a few connections and that - hopefully - leads us in the right direction."
"But your not done yet."
"Unfortunately no. But I'm gettin' there. Just a few more days, I promise."
"Well. As likg as you catch the bad guys, it's okay. It's for a good cause. But you know, you have to drink. And I don't mean coffee. Water. Or lemonade. But not coffee."
Marcus smiled. Now his son was looking out for him? That's a bit early!
"I'll try."
"Pinky swear!"
Dylan held his little hand out. Marcus nodded and hooked his finger around the boys.
"I promise, I will drink something else than coffee."
"Good. And I promise to behave and stick to Logan, as long as you work."

"Well, that was easier then I thought...", Logan smiled when going downstairs with Marcus. He talked to his son while Logan already filled Marcus a glass of water and put it infront of him. He would bring him a big bottle later, when it stood beside him he was more likely to drink slmething. They began eating and Logan let the two catch up about Dylans day, Logan heard it the second time, but he didn't bother. "Don't forget to eat.", he grinned wheb he was finished and the two had barely touched their plates. Okay he always ate fast, but Marcus usually did too when he did his thing to get back to work fast. Usually Logan had had trouble getting Marcus to do anything but he wanted to see his son and be there for him. It was good he was here.

After his promise - and Logans reminder - Marcus finiahed his plate pretty fast.
"Hey Dad. You know, it's okay if Logan tucks me in tonight", Dylan said.
It broke his heart and at the same time he was proud of his boy.
"Okay. But only this time."
Dylan smiled and nodded.
After dinner, Marcus got up, kissed Dylan on the forehead and wished him a good night sleep before heading back to the office. He completed his notes from before, made new ones. The puzzlepieces came back together and they finally started to form a picture. Marcus frantically put everything together but it was a slow process. He constantly had to recall the smallest details of things. His head hurt. A lot. But he wouldn't stop. He wanted this to be over. He was so close.
He didn't sleep. He didn't drink. He didn't eat. He took no breaks. In the morning, he had pieced together a literal picture, connecting different reports to crime scene pictures to even more reports. Colorful lines connected certain things, notes in the corresponding colour elaborated his findings. It was a mess but a calculated one.

Logan sighed silently, he thought Marcus would at least bring Dylan to bed, but he didn't say anything. After finishing their meal Marcus went upstairs again, Logan put everything away and then brought Dylan to bed. He checked his room with him and then lay down with him. He told him a story he told his siblings often. Afterwards he watched Dylan some time sleeping, before he fell asleep himself.

"Logan. Logan!" Logan slowley opened his eyes, not knowing where he was. Apparently he fell asleep in Dylans bed. "Uh... morning..."
"That's my bed you know? But... it's okay." Dylan smiled and slowly stood up, Logan followed him as Marcus wasn't there to make breakfast. He went down with the boy and made some pancakes which turned out better than his first try. While Dylan was eating, Logan got a plate and a two liter bottle with water and brought everything upstairs. The room looked like total chaos, but it wasn't. Logan searched for a place to put down everything and found a little spot which was not occupied.
"Try to drink all of it until I come back. You just get a worst headache if you don't."

Marcus didn't react to Logan. He registered him and what he was he was saying, but his work was more important. He literally couldn't think of anything else right now.
His sense for time wasn't working anymore. He didn't know for how long he was working on this puzzle. It was like he was in his own dimension. Only work existed.
He didn't even take a sip of that water. The pancakea he ignored as well. But you couldn't say he was ignoring them. He just didn't realized they were here. This part of his brain was shut down, pushed back as far as possible to make room for the important information about the case.

Logan knew Marcus was thinking ane working, but he also knew there was no right moment for him to take a short break. And he knew Marcus worked all night and yesterday only drank one glas of water while eating. He took the bottle and placed it infront of Marcus face, he told him to watch out for him and that he would do.
"Please?", he said waving with the bottle infront of Marcus. He had time until Dylan had put on his clothes, brushed his teeth and got everything he needed for school. Afterwards Logan had to go to work, so it was now or never to look out for Marcus a little.

"Gimme a sec", Marcus mumbled and scribbled down some more notes.
And then he was lost in his timeless dimension again, completely forgetting about Logan and the water bottle.
He was on to something, he felt it. He followed his own lines, his notes.
Suddenly he sat back, as if something terrible had happened.
"I got it", he said slowly, "I got it!"
He ripped the water bottle out of Logans hand and chucked it down. Not the whole bottle, but enough to satisfy his boyfriend.
"I know where my father is", he said, "it was hard to find, but he did leave bread crumbs. I found them. I followed them. And now I know, where he's hiding."

Logan waved the bottle around a while longer, but he was ignored. He almost wanted to leave, but then Marcus grabbed the bottle, telling him he has found something. "You got him?", he asked again, not believing what he just heard, it was only 2 days. "Well... do you want to drive to the office to get everyone up to date, plannikg something and so on? We can drive right now and bring Dylan to school on the way. I wanted to drive him anyway in about five minutes." Logan looked at the notes, still not underdtanding what was going on there. "Wait... what do you mean bread crumbs? Does he want to be found?"

"I don't know. Maybe. They were tiny, impossible to be found by anyone. Not even I was sure they were a lead until I found all of them and startet connecting them."
While he was explaining, he pointed to the corresponding information .
"He was after me once. I wouldn't be surprised, if he tried again. But this time, I am the first line of defense, not Dylans mom."
He looked at his work, the controlled chaos.
"Yeah, I... I come along. Give me a minute to put on some fresh clothes."
He stood up - his back hurt - and rushed into the bedroom. There was no time for a shower.
"Hey buddy!", he greeted his son, when entering the bathroom.
They brushed their theeth together.
"Have you found the bad guys?", he asked.
"I think so, yes. This is all going to be over soon. I promise."
"Cool."

On the ride, Marcus didn't talk much. His head was killing him. But he had him. He knew how to find his father. He would end this once and for all.

Logan nodded and packed Dylans lunch while the others where in the bathroom. Afterwards they got in the car, Logan drove. They dropped Dylan at school and then stopped at the office. Logan went inside, heading for their chefs office and got him up to date directly, before he got angry again. He wasn't happy about Marcus working at all, but the situation got him pumped too. They both went outside again, so Marcus could explain what he found to everyone needed for this situation. Including of course Logan, Andrew and Stan.

"Okay, listen up", Marcus started.
Besides his team - consisting of Logan, Stan and Andrew - only Mike and the operating team were in the room. They never were a big organization. It was easier to stay under the radar like this.
"Frank Ackerman left a barely visible trail I was able to follow after I got the right information. A trail only two people I know could follow. I am one of those, the other being my brother Francis Ackerman. Which means this could very well be a setup. So just be aware of that."
He turned to the big computer screen behind him and started a small presentation. In his experience people listened better when they could look at something corresponding. So he pulled up some pictures of old crime scenes and New Orleans.
"I made a mental checklist of the things Frank Ackerman usually does when disappearing. This includes an opera house in the city, a competent music shop, empty storage facilities or warehouses. This search pattern got me a lot of results, even if stacked. But it narrowed down once Stan pulled the names of the people living around these specified areas. As a base we looked at the previous crime scenes. Frank isn't dumb but he is a narcissist. It was easy to discover that his victims lived in a certain radius to the place he probably stayed. Next I needed to find out where he would go next. This is more or less a guessing game but at one of these four locations we should be able to find Frank Ackerman."
On the screen was now a map and four houses were marked. They were not that far apart but in different cities. The search pattern was perfect.
"We need to storm all four locations at once. If my father is good at one thing, it's watching. He may have security systems in all of these locations and he always has a back up plan to disappear in a second. We have only one shot at this."
"What if he's not there and monitors all of these locations?"
"He will be there. Cause he wants me. He created one monster but he had to be invasive. He wants me to prove his theory. Monsters are made not born. So by getting me, the righteous cop, and turning me into a monster, he has the ultimate evidence. He will be there."
Marcus knew about the twisted sense of family his father had. He had to be there. He had to. And Marcus needed to play the bait to get him. To end this.

Logan listened to Marcus explenation and wipped with his foot. He didn't like this, not a bit. They where too few people and at least two of them where too close to all this. Including himself. Especially if Marcus was right and his father wanted to make him a monster too, Dylan also would be in danger if it was a trap. To get Marcus to do something he didn't want Dylan was his weekest point. Logan didn't agree with everything Marcus said.
"Logan? You plan the operation.", Mark said looking at him. "I want ideas in one hour then we decide which one to follow."
"Yep... how many do I get?"
"Everyone"
Logan nodded and looked at the map. "Do we have an idea which place is more likely? A hunch is enough." They only had enough people to send a maximum of two to each location and not everyone was suited for a real conflict with this man. He had to either send balanced teams or stronger ones at more likely locations. Marcus dure wanted to have a say in this too.