Riley’s eyes shot down-- he was used to being taller than most of the people he encountered, but he had at least a foot, and probably quite a few years, over the slim young man that stood before him. 

He blinked a few times, trying to reconcile the brother with the faded memory he had of Gabe. He knew that Gabe had been handsome but subtle about it, keeping his appearance muted and moving like a man used to blending in with his surroundings. 

That was clearly not a familial trait. The brother’s black hair was punctuated by a shock of dyed blue locks at the crown of his head, currently pushed back from his face by a neon headband. The shorts and tank top he wore afforded a good view of the multitude of brightly colored tattoos that decorated his slender limbs, and as he craned his face up to inspect Riley, the hall light caught on the silver hoop in his lower lip.

“Well, shit,” Gabe’s brother said, his gray eyes rounded in surprise. “You weren’t kidding about being able to beat me up. You’re a fuckin' skyscraper.”

“Size isn’t everything in a fight,” Riley grumbled. To his surprise the other man laughed, shaking his head in a way that sent his blue-black locks flying.

“Said like a guy who’s been in some. I definitely see why Gabriel picked you. Come in already, will ya?”

He ushered Riley into the apartment, closing and bolting the door behind them. Riley took a look at his surroundings; a shabby living room, a kitchenette with a pile of dishes in the sink, a hallway that he assumed led to the bed and bath rooms. He turned back, to find that his host was still goggling up at him.

“What?” Riley asked.

“Sorry, it’s just Gabriel really didn’t say anything about you, other than the whole call-if-in-trouble bit, so I didn’t know who to expect. And you were so grouchy on the phone, I kinda figured you'd be some cantankerous old suit, but instead you're like, young and hot. It's super disorienting, and my brain is already kind of fucked up with Gabriel missing. I mean, guess it would be weirder if you were some old guy, because like, how would you two have ever met, but--”

“Do you breathe?” Riley interrupted, blinking down at Gabe's little brother. The words had spilled out so rapidly he wasn't even sure he'd caught them all. “Look, kid--”

“Excuse you, I’m not a kid. I’m twenty four.”

Riley sighed; at nearly ten years his senior, he had the wisdom not to argue the counterpoint.

“I’d use your name but you still haven’t told me.”

His host's demeanor flipped from petulant to surprised in an instant; Riley could feel that his energy was all over the place.

“Oh, shit, really? I’m Dash. Sorry, I'm just... like I said, my head's not right with Gabriel missing. Which is why you're here. So, you know, look around, do your thing.” Dash gestured to the apartment, looking around a little helplessly. 

“I don’t have a thing,” Riley said. Maybe this wasn’t a joke, but it sure as hell hadn’t been a good idea to get involved. “I’m telling you, you’ve got the wrong guy.”

“No, I don't,” Dash said firmly, shaking his head. “Gabriel told me to call you if he was ever in trouble, and he's in fucking trouble. So you are the guy.”

“He barely even knew me,” Riley said. “I didn’t think he kept my number.”

Dash shrugged, undeterred.

“If you knew Gabriel at all, you know he’s got a sense about people. He can meet you for two minutes and it's like he knows your whole life story."

"That wasn't... exactly... how it was with us," Riley said. He did recall Gabe's surety of self. And his surprise when Riley had subverted some of his assumptions. 

Light glinted off of Dash's lip ring as he studied Riley, his gray eyes making their own assessment. Riley held his ground, but felt uneasy under Dash's stare. The Reyes brothers at least shared a knack for putting Riley off balance.

"Did you really come all this way just to tell me you're not going to help me find him?" Dash said. 

Yes, the logical, protective side of Riley's brain said. I shouldn't get involved. I don't owe Gabe anything. This isn't my problem.

Unbidden, another voice, a too-recent memory sounded: You weren't there. I needed you, and you weren't there. 

What if Dash was right? What if Gabe was in actual trouble?

“How do you know he’s missing?” Riley asked, as he began to look around the tiny apartment; for what, he didn't know. “When did you last see him?”

“Yesterday morning,” Dash said, eyes bright now that he had Riley's acceptance. “I left for work and he was here, but he wasn't when I got back. He didn’t have work, and he hasn’t been answering any of my calls or texts. We tell each other if we're going to be gone for the night, and we always answer messages. Always.”

Riley felt another pang of guilt. His family would think something was wrong if he did answer a call right away.

“You live here too?” he asked. If the living space was any indication, the apartment would be cramped for two.

“It’s my place, actually,” Dash said. “Gabriel’s been crashing. So like, it's his home too, but only my name’s on the lease. We're gonna look for a bigger apartment now that's he's got a steady job... I mean, we were...”

“Has anything been disturbed?” Riley asked. As an outsider, it was impossible to tell; he could see layers of dust on the bookshelves, dirty towels hanging on doorknobs. The magazines and video games strew haphazardly about the floor could be part of the typical ambiance.

Dash looked around, wringing the hem of his tank bashfully. 

“Um, no, I don’t think so. Neither of us are, like, super into housework.”

“Is he dating someone?” Riley asked. “Could he just be with them, or a friend?”

“If he's somewhere it's safe to use his phone, he would have called me already. Someone took him-- it’s the only explanation that makes sense. Can't you like, feel if someone came in here and kidnapped him? Use your powers, Mr. Government Agent man!”

“You know it doesn’t work like that,” Riley groaned, feeling his frustration start to seep out. “I mean, there’s trace magic all over this place from you two living here, but I can’t see anything more than you can. I can’t help you.”

“Dude, you’re not even trying,” Dash whined, his gray eyes pleading.

“Then report this to someone who could actually help.”

“I can’t.”

“Why?”

Dash sucked on his bottom lip, worrying his piercing. His gray eyes darted around, like he was trying to find something in the apartment that could prove his point. Finally he looked back to Riley.

“Well, because, it’s just that I’m pretty sure I know who took him."

Riley raised an eyebrow, waiting for Dash to continue. 

"And, well, I'm pretty sure it's Felix Saben.”