A/N: That be Hal Berghim ^^^
......[(( _ _ ))..zzzZZ(( _ _ ))..zzzZZ]......

POV HAL:

I'm praising every god out there for putting me in this city. Who knew that my demotion could turn out to be a blessing? I end up in a city that I thought it would be hell to find an angel waiting for me. Upside could literally mean the upside of my downfall. I'm happy; I couldn't help it. Right when I met an adorable guy who glared at me in the elevator, I knew I'm going to love this city. My care for being thrown off the FBI became less after meeting this angel.

Okay, he's not an angel in the sense but- man, is that what people call love at first sight? I wondered if people threw themselves at his feet for how cute he looked. The grouchiness was like a plus one but maybe that's because I thought anyone good-looking that's shorter than me with an attitude is cute. So far, I'm loving it. We had so many moments to count in such a short time. I wonder if Chief Dean might notice my horrid infatuation for my partner and pull me away from him. I had to enjoy this demotion somehow, right?

Riley drives me to the UCPD station and we both head up to our floor. George appears at our office with a couple of papers in hand. He hands me some then to Riley. I glance at each document. Autopsy reports and a name of a drug. I have actually seen this drug before but that's probably because I used to be in the FBI. The drug, Daze, seems to love being circulated with death. I lift my feet onto my desk, leaning back in my chair. I earn a few glares from my partner before he returns to reading his.

George leans his back on the white wall, waiting for us to finish reading. I didn't read the autopsy reports because from just one skim, I was able to make out only one abnormality. The drug, I already knew how it worked so I barely have it the time of day. George stared at me in puzzlement, most likely questioning how I got the reading finished in short time. I slide my feet off the desk, waiting for Riley to glance up his papers. It takes him five minutes before I receive another glare for the noisy plop of my feet.

"This drug... Daze. You think it's being distributed around the city?" asks Riley.

"Unfortunately, yes. We just received a report from our Narcotics Division. Remember Jenkins's girl? She called an hour ago talking about busting a trunk full of this junk. Can't believe this city is starting to have a toxic flow of drugs," frowns George with his arms crossed. I'm sure Upside has the usual drugs like meth and cocaine but I guess it's not a major problem from the looks of it. I'm skeptical on how low the crime rate is in this city but- hell if I know I just started living here.

I speak up, "Daze. I've run into it before a while back. It's an easy drug to make with the right stuff. I'm surprised about the rise in its popularity. Most of the people who take it wind up dead." George and Riley go into thinking wonderland. I believe most detective thinking is a lot of repetitive to-do lists. My former boss said he despised my mind for going off on random tangents. Just like the way I'm doing it now.

I oogle at Riley some more. I thinking he's catching on that I'm interested in him, I hope. No one can't resist my flirtatious gestures. If he can't tell I'm trying to get more of his attention, I got to step up my game! I don't know.... His dark brown hair looks so fluffy that I want to play with it. Luckily I'm taller than him by a few inches so I am face level to that hair of his. His chocolate brown eyes can be cold one time then fired-up the next. Ughh the more he speaks I want to tease him more. When Chief Dean told me he was my senior by two years, I was shocked because that baby face of his could fit with high schoolers. This is an unhealthy obsession but I haven't felt this way in a long time.

"Hal. Hal, Jesus Christ man stop staring at me," I blink out of my thoughts to discover a slightly flushed Riley. His mouth forms a pout while his big eyes glare daggers at me. He sighs, "You didn't even listen. Damnit. We'll be discussing with the other pairs to see what patterns and info we've come up with. Let's get moving."

I nod, slipping my coat on as we leave our office. In the opened area of the floor, tables are pushed together and wheeled whiteboards are surrounding the group of detectives. Riley nods to some guy who's scribbling something down on one of the three whiteboards, "Jenkins, we're here." The man motions to some seats where we sit next to a beautiful Hispanic lady.

George passes her the rest of the documents he had. This must be his partner that he was assigned instead of Riley. I wink at her just for fun while she pulls a confused look before chatting with George as if I'm not even there. Whatever, it's not like I needed her attention. I got my angel. I lean back in the chair to glance at Riley who's writing a couple of things on a the second whiteboard.

The man is completely in the zone. I liked how calm and calculating he was when it comes to doing his work. My former boss would have love to have him on his team instead of me, the mess up. Riley glances up from his writing, looking around. He spots me and motions me to hurry over. I get up from my seat eagerly, wanting to know what he needed. Riley talks to me softly, "Can you write more about Daze since you've run into it before?" I nod allowing him to hand the marker to me.

I observe the board for a moment to see what he's got up on there. Most of it were dated cases from the reports he must have read last night. The last part was the two current bodies and an empty spot for the drug. I bite my lip, thinking if I should get the third whiteboard. As if knowing what I was thinking, my angel pushed the third one to me. I smile a silent thanks before jotting down facts about Daze:

-Low end drug
-$3.50 on streets
-chemical consist of high levels of dopamine and traces of melatonin that would knock out the user later
-Causes hallucinations, no fear to irrational thinking, high heart rate, adrenaline rush, emotional highs
-many cases have found suicide, heart attacks, assault, murder, and rape
-not well known as other common drugs
-color: purple, red, pink
-taken by ingestion or injection (more reactive)

I tap the closed marker at the end of my chin. What else should I write? "That should be good enough if you can't think of anything else," Riley says next to me. He scans my work with a nod of approval. It makes me smile in a goofy way which he notices and lightly pushes me back to my seat. I plop into the seat next to George with a grin. The black man looks at me like I've gone insane. Maybe.

Jenkins addresses the group of investigators, "Alright guys, so far we have grabbed every bit of information we can get our hands on. Every case that he could have a possible hand in it and every habit he's shown us up until now." The board behind him lists: extremist, religious, justice-seeker, wants attention, male, strong enough to kill a well-built criminal, and etc. The list goes on with minor details from readings and I lose my interest.

Jenkins allows Riley to explain patterns of each case that is possibly connected to him. Sadly, I hate the word "possibly" because we aren't sure that he had something to do with these. The man's an attentions whore; he could have been lying about killing others. So far, two have been confirmed by him. I rather not believe a killer when he's trying to push us down a specific path.

Riley crosses his arms, "Deaths connected to him have been labeled as suicides and have been placed in the case closed section. He hasn't given a letter to us until his latest two victims. The key for the victims' connection is that they are all have been put in the system at least once. All victims have hanged themselves. Evidence surrounding the crimes scenes are either a bottle of Daze or nothing at all. All autopsy reports have said that the victims had an unidentifiable drug, which we all know is Daze."

I watch Riley's lips go up and down as he talks. I have the urge to just kiss them. I didn't want to hear what I wrote on the board. I do want to see my angel look so fired up in front of our whole homicide team. He's too cute for a man in his thirties. I wonder if he's into men. I believe that love can be with anyone, no matter the gender. My previous girlfriend told me I can be a hopeless romantic at times. I won't deny my hidden stash of romance books in my drawer at my nightstand.

"Hal. Hal! Again with the zoning off," Riley scowls. I desire to see him smile again like last night. The heart warming laughter he emitted last night continues to ring in my ears. I don't want to forget it. I smile at him, "Yes?" my dear... He would sock me if I said that. Riley rolls his eyes before continuing, "I was saying that everyone left and we need to head to the narcotics floor to talk with Lizzy."

"Right," I get up from my seat. I really got to stop daydreaming at important events. George should have said something; the guy must have been too busy entertaining his partner that he had no time to slap my awake. Don't think I didn't notice the romantic glint in his eye every time he glances just a second at his partner.

Riley and I reach level above us. People are rushing left and right when we exit the elevator. "Riley!" calls out a blonde woman with her hair tied in a ponytail. We make our way towards her; she's leaned over a large table that is almost covered with bags of- most likely- Daze. I poke one of the bags and purple tablets inside move from my disturbance. Blonde sends me a "don't touch the evidence" look.

"Lizzy, shouldn't this be in evidence? Are you counting them?" asks Riley. So this is Jenkins's girl? The way she carries herself screamed 'boss' and that might be true if she's examining evidence. Lizzy places more bags of Daze in an open box. She writes something down on a notepad then says, "I have counted a total of three hundred and twelve bags of Daze. I thought this crap should be easy to get, not mass produced like its the end of the world."

"What if it is?" I smirk. Ooof. I rub my side where Riley hit me. I was serious though. This drug operation, plus a serial killer, awakened a new type of trouble for this city; it's the end for Upside. Riley asks, "I'll check with some of my intel if this drug has already spread like the plague." Lizzy nods at his plan before setting down her notepad. She shoves her hands in her coat pockets and says, "Riley, I think this Daze supplies that's being distributed in Upside might be different than the ones on record. I don't know but I have a feeling. I'll be sending you a report of the chemical contents if I discover any difference."

We leave Lizzy alone with her bags of Daze. I somewhat agree with her statement. Daze should be easy to make without the need to mass sell it. When I used to work for the FBI, we'd run into a couple of Daze dealers who didn't spend a fortune on making the drugs. They weren't that special but why now is it getting some infamy?

Riley's phone rings that classic rock song while he takes the call. I stare at his face that changes expression continuously. He must not know he can be an open book if people watch his expressions. If he comes off cold, just one look at his face can mean something completely different. I fake most of my expressions because I understood this; I don't want people figuring out my true intentions unless I want them to.

"Yes.... Jeez this man has no rest. He better have something else to do then add to the body count.... Okay talk to you later," sighs my angel. He puts away his phone then faces me, "Another hanged body. We have to check it out this time." No joke. Does this man have nothing else better to do then have people hanged? I frown, "He's making this a game of Hangman but we keep loosing." Riley rolls his eyes at my analogy before motioning me to continue walking.

Hangman huh?