It was just past 10:00 pm when I noticed lights beaming through my office window periodically as if someone was circling my house between the front street and the back alley. I was deep into my paperwork and the displacement of lights that continued to hit my window were ignored at first. After several minutes I decided to peak out the curtains to see if I could make a description of the vehicle. It looked to be a dark colored SUV.

Earlier in the day I had an encounter with a young thug that seemed to be very unstable and carried erratic thoughts. He introduced himself as Kt. During our conversation he informed me that he was from the East Coast and here in LA for no specific reason but to cause chaos in the community of Pasadena. I informed him that it may be a bad idea for him to do so and he was not to happy to hear that. He went on about how he would be sure to set a few fires and mark a couple murders in his book. I gave this young man a nod and walked away hoping he was blowing smoke out of his ass. 

The lights continued to pass through my curtains so I turned around began to head for the front door. I am going to head out to the back porch and see if I get approached by the vehicle.

I get to the back door and hit the porch light in hopes that the vehicle notices me coming out the back door unto the porch. As soon as I stepped out, the vehicle kills its lights and speeds down the street towards Downtown LA. I continued to stand there to see if the vehicle returns. There was no sight of it. I walked back inside, killed the porch light and locked the door behind me. 

Several emails still needed to be sent out before I headed to get some rest for the evening. As soon as i returned to the office I wrote down the description of the vehicle and the time they were circling the house. I would keep this for personal records in case I needed them down the road.

Linnie completed each task before finally laying down to get some rest.

An immediate thought that this was an instant regret popped into Vela's mind, as her eyes turned to the pessimistic man sitting beside her. He was short, stubby and extremely grumpy for some reason unbeknownst to her, but she sat quietly in the passenger seat as her mouth was shut tight in a thin line. Her expression was stoic as she listened to him mumble about how many times his 'shitty ex-wife' would leave him most nights and go out to bars, get drunk, and hit up other guys. Vela snickered under her breath and harshly whispered to herself. "Well maybe if you hadn't been such a hard-ass and realized that your ex wife needed more than food on the table and gold riches to be worn around her neck, then maybe she would have stayed a little longer." She hung her head, feeling fed up with his rambling. It was only a few seconds later when she realized that he had heard what she said, and her face flushed when the realization dawned on her. In this awkward situation where she found herself suddenly embarrassed and conflicted with her words, she instinctively excused herself by waving a hand in the air and turning her face away from him. "Don't look at me like that please. I can feel your look..." She whispered again, but this time in a shy manner. She tried to relax her shoulders a little as she told herself that maybe she needed to be a little bit more understanding, since it was late in the evening and usually this was the time when everyone would get a little moody. 

Basically, the reason why she was with him at this time was because of a particular mission that she needed to complete. This mission, in which she was told by an informant that it was 'vital to LA's survival' and 'urgent that you must figure this out', started from an alarming report from her boss that a potential rogue might have just been released into the world. Vela was one of the first people to be notified, but she knew that there were many other people and undercover cops being hired on the job. Now, she was specifically told by the boss' messenger that her first point of action would be to find anyone who might've had an encounter with said rogue in the last 24 hours, so they could start to get leads on his location. Vela assured herself that he wouldn't have travelled too far from LA as they would have to be stupid enough to escape from here, because from Vela's discovery from earlier that day- each city was being ordered to be on night patrol. This would be a heavily conducted investigation, and though she was starting to doubt her capabilities, she was determined to find that renegade. Vela had been seated in the car for an hour now, driving around aimlessly with the grouchy man beside her as the front lights of the vehicle flashed into people's windows. She had given him a first warning to not project the incredibly bright light onto people's houses in order to not disturb anyone and keep incognito, but he persisted in his mindless actions.

"Cut it out." Vela sighed, taking a long look at the house they just passed. Suddenly, the curtains moved and she quickly shielded her face. "Gosh dammit, for the last time stop pointing it so directly towards peoples windows!" She hissed quietly, turning back at the man with an unamused expression. The man shrugged unapologetically and backed up the car, speeding off on the driveway right before the owner of that house stepped outside to check who the lights belonged to. Vela was only few seconds away from slapping the smirk off his face, which stayed there for longer than necessary. "Can you please, for once, be serious about this? There is a rogue off the leash and the only thing we know about him so far is his NAME!" She roared as her face hardened, crossing her arms. Tension appeared in the air between them, her words silencing him. He looked straight out into the road, not looking at her face even once for the rest of the evening. It was only until they pulled up at a gas station that the man, whose name was Archibald, began to speak. Before he did though, he pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit it before placing it between his lips. He inhaled from the life threatening device and then out came the smoke, which filled the air around them. Archibald could be labelled as a nuisance at times, but there was a good reason that he was hired for the mission- he was good at what he does. At least Vela could appreciate that part. "His name was Kt, or something. Right?" He cut the engine off as they stopped to get some gas, before raising an eyebrow in her direction. 

Vela nodded slowly in response. "Mhmm.... and what makes this mission more difficult to accomplish is that literally no one knows him. That's why we have to start from the bottom, finding civilians who may have been in contact with him for the last few hours. God this is going to be a long week." She was helpless, tired and hungry. It didn't help when a low grumble erupted from her stomach, causing her to groan in agony. She held her waist, hoping that might help to suppress the sounds. "I'm going to get some snacks. You want any?" She turned to Archibald, her eyes desperate for consumption. She was getting impatient waiting for his answer which he could sense, so he didn't say a word, only shaking his head. There was an unspoken agreement between them that they would stop bickering with each other and just focus on the job, so she shrugged and proceeded to get out of the car. As her feet made its way to the entrance of the convenience store next to the gas station, she started to feel a wave of anxiety rush over her as the thought of Pasadena being overthrown by a potential rogue entered her mind. When she received the report from the boss, ever since then she had been sweating bullets when she was worried that Orion, an old friend, might get harmed. Hopefully he received news about this rogue too, as she didn't want to find out that he was pulled into this situation somehow. 

When she came back to the vehicle, she found Archibald suddenly lying dead next to his door. She quickly dropped everything in her hands, her drink spilling on the concrete floor as she ran to his side of the car. "Fuck!" She looked around suspiciously, her eyes widening as she looked back to the horror that presented itself on the ground. A pool of blood formed around Archibald's body, and she bit down on her bottom lip hard, slapping herself for ever leaving his side in the first place. In the corner of her eyes, she caught a glimpse of someone's bloody dagger which made her body tense. Vela looked around again in a state of panic, no one else in sight except for them two and the man behind the cash register. He wouldn't have noticed, right? Vela had been busy making him busy, giving him some cash to place in his till before giving her the change for the chips and soda. For fucking chips and soda, she gets this in return!? Vela put her hands to her temples as her heart pace quickened, her blood boiling every second. She suddenly remembered what the informant had told her, Kt being some thug trying to make a living in LA, intending to causing hell with everyone he would come in contact with. It then clicked in her mind. 

We definitely have a rogue in our midst, she thought to herself.