Once I quickly left my apartment, I got in my car and drove down to the gas station to be met by the sign of sirens, both police and fire truck along with a broken down almost burnt to a-crisp building. Police tape lined the scene. I quickly emerged from my car and flashed the officer standing at the tape my badge. With a quick pace, I began to investigate the scene. I tried to look for signs of why I was requested here. If something really bad occurred or if they needed my expertise.

  "Izzy." I heard my name yelled from the gas station entrance. I looked up to see my partner Jacob stood at the door, still donned in the same suit from earlier in our shift. He had a look of concern and exhaustion on his face.

  "Flint, what do we got?" I asked as I approached him.

  "There was some robbery, stick-up type deal and there were a few people involved. One witness who made it out, a store clerk said they were members of El Diablo's association. They wanted money. Apparently, there was a device at the gas pumps that they set off which set the joint on fire.

  I began to observe the building and look around for any clues.

  "Was anyone left in here? Did anyone get hurt?"

  Jacob sighed. "We don't think there were any victims? There was one outside once the fire started who already got sent to the hospital. The clerk got a couple burns and bruises but he should be fine. If you'd like to help us look, please go ahead." He said as he walked away quickly to handle something with another detective who called upon him. I nodded and began my search. I began to look through the ash. I looked up to notice Ray next to one of the coolers. I nodded at him.

  "Ray." I said softly.

  He looked up, his gray beard smoldered with dust and ash. "Ahh, Izzy, Didn't realize you'd arrived yet. Welcome to the chaos." He said as he laughed a little bit.

  I smiled at him. "On the phone, you seemed worried for a specific reason. Was there something in particular that made you contact me?"

  Ray nodded as he wiped some of the ash out of his beard. "No, no, not that, just stressed you know?"

  I nodded. "Oh believe me, you heard what happened to me. If I wasn't stressed out after that, people might think there's something wrong with me." I laughed and continued on my search. I headed to the back of the store and began to dig through the ash.

  Suddenly, my breathing caught deep in my throat. I coughed from the dust. There was in object lying in the rubble. A watched. Its face cracked and scorched. It looked quite familiar. Almost like the one D...

  "No..."

  "No it can't be..."

  "No."

  I put the watch back in the debris and stood up, not being able to take my eyes off of the watch. My breathing began to quicken as I was creeped out by the sight of the watch.

  Jacob appeared at my side after a moment. "You alright?" He asked.

  I bent down again and picked up the watch. I showed it to Jacob.

  "It's a watch." He said.

  I sighed and looked at it again.

  "I can't believe it. I won't allow myself to believe it. It can't be. He left my place. He shouldn't have been here..."

  Jacob looked concerned. "He? Who's he Izzy? Do you know who this watch belongs to?"

  I sighed.

  "It looks a lot like D-... D-." I paused again.

  "It looks like Darius's watch..." I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

  I kept the watch in my hand.

  "Security cameras." I said and looked directly at Jacob who jumped back because of my stern demeanor.

  "Cooper! Grab the tape." He yelled over to Corporal Cooper who was stood at the counter. He ran over quickly with the tape and handed it to Jacob.

  "This is the tape that the clerk gave us when we arrived on the scene. Take it. We can look it over back at the station." He said and took a deep breath afterwards.

  I took a deep breath as well. I quickly walked out of the store and back to my car. Jacob followed quickly behind.

  "What would Darius be doing here anyway at this time?" Jacob asked me, he tried to be calm as he could based on my state at the current moment.

  "I have-... no idea. Gas, a drink, a snack. I think he lives around the corner. I don't know. Honestly. I can expect Diablo's lackeys to come around here especially after we captured him but not Darius! Why him?"

  ________________________________________________________________________

  I came back to the office with Jacob, my shift was about to start anyway. I was a mixture of emotions with everything that just had transpired in not just the last hour or two but the past 24 hours.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Jacob was seated at his desk reviewing paperwork. He looked up when he saw me.

  "Let's watch the footage," Jacob said to me, I slowly nodded, knowing I had to no matter how much it killed me.

  The footage showed the gas station in the late evening, People moved in and out, cars pulled up to the pumps. Everything seemed normal. Then, just after 10 PM, a figure appeared on the screen. They were dressed in dark clothing, a hood pulled up to obscure their face. They moved quickly and purposefully, headed straight for the gas pumps.

  "Pause it," I said, my eyes narrowing as I studied the figure. "Look at the way they move. Confident, like they know exactly what they're doing."

  Jacob nodded. "This isn't their first time."

  The figure took something out of their pocket and bent down by the pump. A minute later, they stood up and walked away. Moments after they disappeared from view, the gas station erupted in flames.

  "They planted some sort of device?" Jacob questioned.

  I felt a surge of anger and helplessness. "They knew exactly what they were doing," I said, my voice trembling with rage.

  Ray's hand on my shoulder was steady. "We'll find them, Izzy."

  I nodded, trying to stay focused. "Let's get a closer look at the footage," I said. "There might be more."

  As we continued reviewing the footage, I couldn't shake the uneasy feeling. The way the figure moved, the deliberate nature of their actions; it all felt personal. And then there was the watch. I tried to push away the thought that Darius might be involved, but the seed of doubt had been planted.

  "Wait, rewind that," I said suddenly, my heart skipping a beat.

  Jacob rewound the footage to a point where the figure entered the gas station. Another figure followed closely behind, tall, with a familiar build. As the camera angle changed, the second figure's face came into view. It was Darius, donned in the same outfit he was when we went out yesterday

  "Oh my God," I whispered, I felt a cold shiver wash over me. "Darius was there. He seemed to be in line."

  Jacob leaned closer to the screen. "It looks like he's following the first guy."

  We watched as Darius moved through the aisles, his eyes locked on the figure in the hoodie. There was a brief exchange near the back of the store, out of the camera's range. Moments later, Darius followed the figure outside, just before the explosion.

  My mind raced. "He must have seen something. Maybe he was trying to stop it."

  "Why wouldn't he have been trying to signal for backup then? Is he dead?" Jacob asked me.

  I sighed, "Ray told me that the clerk said he walked out and then the explosion came, he was transported to the hospital where he succumbed to his injuries."

  I sigh again.

  As we watched the footage frame by frame, we saw Darius follow the figure outside. There was a brief struggle, and in the chaos, Darius's watch fell to the ground, unnoticed. The figure in the hoodie broke free and fled, moments before the explosion, then the camera went out.

  "Can we talk to the clerk? Where's Ray? We can have him bring him in." I said pulling out my phone.

  "Way ahead of you."

  I looked over to the doorway of the precinct, Ray walked in, followed by the clerk to the gas station, a Spanish man, with a long, pencil mustache, accompanied by a red and white Miami shirt from one of the local vendors.

  "Interrogation 2 Burks," I yelled over to Ray.

  A few moments later, Jacob and I walked over to Interrogation Room 2 and stopped, looking at each other.

  "We got this." He said to me, opening the door.

  The clerk, a young man in his twenties, was visibly shaken. His hands trembled as we sat down in the room. "I-I saw everything," he stammered.

  "Woah woah, you're not in trouble... I'm Sergeant Flint, This is Detective Grant. What's your name?" Jacob asked as he sat down across from the man.

  "Ricardo." He stammers out.

  "Nice to meet you, Ricardo, apologies for what happened to your store, now, nice and easy, tell us, how did the fire and the "robbery" go down."

  Ricardo would take a few deep breaths... "I was standing behind the counter, watching the newest telenovela because I was working you know I couldn't watch it with mi esposa. Then this man came in, dressed in all black, he looked around and threatened me, telling me El Diablo would come to get me if I didn't give him all the money behind the counter... I was frightened, of course, Another man came in after him, but he wasn't with him, He was getting water and a pack of Snickers. The man at the counter pulled out a pistol and the nicely dressed gentlemen tried to intervene. They had a quick back and forth, then they ran outside, I thought they knew each other or he was trying to help me. They struggled for a bit, and then the explosion happened. That's when the sharply dressed gentleman must have dropped his watch."

  My stomach turned in knots. "The tall guy, Did he look familiar to you?"

  Ricardo sighed, seemingly thinking for a moment. "He did actually, he looked a lot like that doctor from the news, the shooting."

  That's where it sat in, It must have been him. He was there. I stand for a moment.

  "Darius... It was him..." A tear leaves my eye which I try to hide.

  "Oh yeah, that's his name, I wasn't sure if it was him..." Ricardo says.

  "Thank you, Ricardo... We'll need you to make a statement. Just head outside to the desk, Sergeant Burks will help." Jacob said, standing and turning around.

  I pulled out my phone, I was cautious to press the numbers. I did and looked over to Jacob.

  "Miami General Hospital, how may I direct your call?" The woman on the other line said, very calmly.

  "This is Detective Isabella Grant of the Miami Police Department, I'm calling to see if Dr. Darius Toretto was admitted as a patient?"

  There was a pause on the other end of the line. "One moment, please."

  I could hear the receptionist typing on her keyboard, the seconds stretching into what felt like hours. My mind raced with possibilities. If Darius was in the hospital, it might mean he was hurt.... or worse. But if he wasn't, where was he?

  "Detective Grant," the receptionist finally said, "I'm sorry, but we don't have any patient by that name currently admitted. He is one of our doctors though."

  My heart sank, "Are you sure? I'm aware of the fact that he's a doctor but..." I said, my voice trembled with every single word.

  "Yes, I'm sure. May I ask why you're inquiring about Dr. Toretto? Is he in some trouble?" Her voice carried a hint of curiosity and concern.

  I hesitated, feeling the weight of the situation bearing down on me. "No, it's nothing like that. Thank you," I managed to say before hanging up.

  Darius wasn't in the hospital. That meant he was still out there, somewhere. And I needed to find him before it was too late.

  "Look, I know how close you are to this case. I'm not telling you to go home, but leave for an hour. Go get a coffee. A donut, whatever. I'd like you out of the building for an hour to clear your head." Jacob said calmly.

  I gave him a look of defeat. I didn't want to leave but I knew he was right.

  "Fine..." I said, I headed back to my desk and grabbed my keys and bag.

  I headed to the nearest coffee shop. I ordered my normal latte and a donut. I parked in the parking lot and began sipping at my coffee. A few moments later, my phone buzzed.

  It was a message from an unknown number.

  "Stop looking for answers or you'll regret it. - E.D."

  I didn't know what to think of this message. I began rereading it a few times.

  "E.D? E.D? What?"