The radio played in the background as I sat at my desk sipping coffee and reviewing my latest field notes. My last round of surveillance hadn't turned up anything useful, but as a habit, I double-checked my observations just in case.

I exhaled in a puff and leaned back in my chair, looking up at the collage tacked to the brick wall alongside my window. It consisted of a large map of the city, pinned with the Acolyte's known hangouts and flop houses. Red string connected mugshots and police reports to the various spots on the map, giving me an overview of the gang's patterns and routines. I got up and pinned my latest notes to the board.

For nearly three weeks I had been surveilling the gang's bar, a roadhouse called Ace's on the outskirts of the city. While I had been able to get eyes on several major players, Zacharia was frustratingly absent.

I poured over everything again, looking for a new angle to track him down. I was almost out of time for Jack's deadline, and it was making me antsy.

As I worked, I heard a break in the music over the radio give way to a commercial for the news.

"This is Good Day Sacred River, with your news updates. Missing persons' cases are still on the rise, but Mayor Gambal still insists there is no connection, and the discovery of five-year-old Annabell's body during a police raid gives residents more questions than answers. Should you be worried? What can you do to protect your family? Join us at five for the answers!"

I looked back at the radio and frowned as the commercial ended.

Since I'd put down the bottle and started paying attention to the world again, I had been hearing more and more disturbing reports like this. Now, a five-year-old girl is dead... What the hell was going on in this city?

I shook my head and returned to my notes when the phone rang. It was Jose's caller I.D.

"John," I answered.

"Hey, John!" came a cheery reply.

I smiled, "Penny, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

She giggled, "Jose wanted me to give you a call. He would do it himself, but he is, um, preoccupied." In the background, I could hear Jose yelling at someone. Something about overcharging for pizza. The sound muffled as Penny pulled the receiver away from her mouth, "JOSE I'M ON THE PHONE!" she shouted.

"Sorry," she sighed as she returned to me, "wanted to let you know we got a tip Zacharia will be at Ace's bar tonight. Apparently, he skipped town for a bit. He Just came back today.”

I put my coffee mug down, "you sure? Who's the tip from?"

"No idea," Penny said, "it was an anonymous tip."

I looked up at Zacharia's mugshot on my board, "Well that's something, thanks, Penny."

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"Sure thing." she said, "but John...” I heard the note of concern in her voice. "Be careful," she said.

Smart girl, she knew how bad this could go.

"Don't worry doll, I got a plan. Call you when it's done." I hung up the phone.

Finally, after weeks of tracking these assholes, I might be able to wrap this up. It was a lucky break for sure, but it was still too early for counting chickens.

Despite my attempt to sound confident for Penny, my plan to catch Zacharia consisted of either calling Daniel in with a team to hook him or getting the drop on him myself when he was alone, neither of which was exactly foolproof.

Still, if he was going to be there tonight, I wasn't going to miss the chance to take him.

I walked over to my counter, grabbed the backpack sitting there, and started restocking supplies to survive another night in my car.

Stakeouts are anything but exciting. Anyone who tells you differently is selling you something. It is the most tedious boring thing you could possibly do. They can go for hours, even days if you catch a lead and don't want to risk losing it. So, the key to surveillance is patience... And caffeine... Also, salty snacks. Oh, and empty bottles.

After all, I wasn't about to lose my target over a pee break.

Once my bag was packed, I glanced at the corner of the room where my gun safe sat. It struck me I hadn't carried a weapon since leaving the force. But I knew if things went south tonight, I needed to be ready.

So, I walked to the safe and rotated the tumbler. Swinging open the heavy door, I pulled out an old leather shoulder holster and threw it on, then retrieved my Glock 17, unloaded it, and checked the action. I re-loaded the weapon and holstered it.

But as I closed the safe, I looked down and noticed my fingers were twitching, and I was suddenly very aware of my breathing. Was I nervous? That was odd. I'd been shooting guns since I was knee-high, why the hell would I be nervous?

I walked to my bathroom and faced the mirror. Drawing my weapon, I pulled out the magazine and racked the slide again, checking that it was empty and safe. Raising the gun to my reflection, I looked down the rear sights as I had done thousands of times before.

My chest felt oddly tight, and both hands shook slightly. I rested my finger on the trigger, but as I looked down the sights, my vision started to blur.

I tried to shake it off as I gently increased pressure on the trigger until I felt it click on an empty chamber. The click struck me like a cannon shot, my whole body flinched, and I dropped the gun in the sink.

"Fuck!" I shouted, slamming my hands on the vanity.

I closed my eyes and tried to ignore bloody memories that threatened to overtake me. I punched the mirror in frustration and felt the glass crack. This was bad. If I couldn't operate my gun without risk of having a freak-out, it posed more of a danger to me than it did offer protection.

I ran my hands through my hair as I turned around. When I looked up, I saw a Spider-ghoul leering at me from the corner of my shower. I flinched and covered my face again. I was losing it.

Come on John get a grip, I thought... Right, remember what Leo said, cold hard facts, control my emotions. What did I need to do?

I needed to find Zacharia before I could do anything else. I would work with Daniel and get the police to pick him up, so there was no need to go in guns-a-blazing.

Taking even, controlled breaths, I returned the gun to the safe and stripped off the holster.

I texted Daniel to give him the update, and he texted back saying he would bring a team to apprehend Zacharia if I found him. That would have to be good enough.

Grabbing my bag, I headed for the door, stopping at the old wooden trunk, still sitting near the entryway. I thought for a moment about the nightstick...

My skill with it had been growing steadily in tandem with the talisman. But I wasn't fighting a watcher or answering an innocent's prayer. I was trying to earn a buck. Something told me this wouldn't qualify as a duty for the Vessel of Justice.

I walked out the door, leaving the nightstick where it lay.