By the time Xena dropped Venus off and arrived back at La belle nuit, it was packed with police cars and had turned into a full-blown crime scene.

The area was flooded with law enforcement and the deafening sounds of sirens going off. Even a substantial amount of media had shown up, given that it was still the very early hours of the morning.

As Xena walked back towards the club, she felt her blood boil. The Assassin had outsmarted them once again, the fact that he had managed to conduct the kill right under Xena's nose almost felt like a personal insult to her.

"Agent Vale. I've been looking for you everywhere, did you find anything?"

Agent Daniels was standing in front of her. He looked a lot rougher than the last time she had seen him, no doubt that he too felt that the event that had taken place was a personal jab at his expertise.

"Nothing." Xena replied gloomily as she clenched her jaw.

Agent Daniels let out a raggedy breath, running his hands through his hair in frustration. This was one of the few times that Xena felt that she knew exactly what he was feeling, it was exactly what she felt too. She clenched her hand by her side as a new resolve overcame her. She was determined to find the Assassin and take him down herself.

"Agent Vale!"

Xena slowly let out a breath as she noticed Agent Fox motioning at her a little distance away. She made her way over to him, surprised to see him here. As she got closer, she realized that he was dressed in pajamas with a coat thrown over it. No doubt he had been in bed when he had gotten the call of the Assassin striking at La belle nuit.

"Agent Fox." Xena said, acknowledging him.

Agent Fox turned to her. He looked like he was about to say something when he caught sight of her dressing.

"Why are you and Agent Daniels dressed in party clothes?"

Shit.

Xena had been so concerned with brooding over the fact that she had let the killer slip through her fingers that she completely forgot that they weren't meant to be here in the first place. Their dressing could easily give them up and reveal what they had been doing.

"We had gone out together." Xena replied, thinking fast.

"You went out with Agent Daniels?"

Agent Fox was not oblivious to the quiet feud that existed between her and Agent Daniels, even though he always acted like he was detached from everything and had no idea what was going on. For some reason, Xena felt a brief anger crossover, she let it pass before she replied:

"We figured that since we'd be working together on the case, we'd get to know each other better. You know, put our differences aside."

Or rather, similarities. After all, their feud stemmed from the fact that they were the only Agents that had been trained by Agent Fox.

Whether Agent Fox believed the lie that Xena told, he didn't show. Xena made a mental note to talk to Agent Daniels later on to ensure that their stories aligned. But that was an issue for later on. In his usual manner, Agent Fox seemed to have gone past the matter and was now looking through files in his hand.

"Did you manage to find anything?"

Xena swallowed, at this point it was almost as if this very fact was being rubbed in her face.

"No, I didn't."

Agent Fox nodded. It was almost as if he had been expecting this answer. "So the Assassin strikes again."

"It appears so." Xena replied, stuffing her hands into her pocket and shuffling awkwardly on her feet.

"It also doesn't help our case that it happened here. There are no cameras at this club, seeing as quite a lot of illegal activity occurs here." Agent Fox briefly glanced up at Xena as he spoke. "Most of which the owner is a part of, or rather, was a part of."

Xena nodded her head. The whole situation seemed to just be getting more and more complex. She didn't know if it was because of how late it was, but she had less control of her emotions and felt herself growing more annoyed as the seconds passed.

Xena thought about the fact that Venus had been here. She too could have been hurt if she had somehow gotten in the way of the Assassin. No doubt, the Assassin was a cold, stone-hearted killer. The thought only made Xena reach a new level of anger that she didn't know was still within her.

"Agent Vale, I need you to go through these witness reports we just gathered." Agent Fox said, dumping a stack of files in her hands.

The last thing that Xena wanted to do was look through witness reports she knew wouldn't lead anywhere. For a moment, Xena felt the anger that had been silently coursing through her flare up, threatening to be released. An image of Venus popped up in her head, and just like that, the anger was gone. It seemed to have just diffused into thin air. Without another word, Xena carried the files to a free working site that had been set up close by.

As she settled into the seat she closed her eyes, trying to calm down. The image of Venus appeared in her mind once again and she released a low breath, feeling a wave of calm wash over her. It was going to be okay.

Xena now opened the files and began going through them. The night was cold, but at least the sirens were no longer blaring. Most of the media had gathered what they needed and had left the scene. However, Xena knew they would be back in the magnitudes the following day-or rather, in the more godly hours of the day.

Law enforcement should have dealt with the Richard Mascetti situation by now. Particularly, the FBI, who were meant to be an unbeatable force of the law. Nonetheless, here they were, getting beaten again and again.

Xena pushed the negative thoughts out of her mind as she tried to focus on the task at hand. As she had expected, the witness reports were not useful as they all said the same things as the previous witness reports she had viewed. They talked about not noticing anything out of the ordinary, they all mentioned that everything had seemed as usual. Once again, there was that gut feeling that something was very close to Xena, just within her grasp, but yet, she couldn't place it.

The next two hours flew by before Xena decided that she had done enough for the time being and would let someone else carry over.

The drive back to her apartment was quick. Xena was absolutely exhausted, and her limbs were aching from being out in the cold for so long. It didn't take long for her to change out of her nightclothes and collapse into bed. She was slowly drifting to sleep. The last thought that crossed her mind was Venus. She wondered if she was doing okay.

Xena shut her eyes and dreamed of a cold Assassin. Closed-off, but yet everywhere, just beyond her reach.