Riley had readied himself for battle in order to convince Dash not to come to the meet up with Adam, but in the end his preparations were for naught; the phrase government agent was all it took to have Dash insisting that Riley would be able to get more information if he went on his own. 

Riley suspected that Dash had his own ill history with the law, to make him so reticent to come forward. If that was the case, it was all the more reason to keep him far away from Adam-- the Special Agent was hardly the person to engender greater trust in the institution he represented. Riley knew too well that at the end of the day, Adam Volk was a man out to serve only his own interests.  

Not having to worry about Dash did little to allay Riley’s overall anxiety as he plodded towards the park. Dash still hadn't heard from Gabe, and at this point even Riley had to concede it was suspicious. Given how prompt and communicative Gabe was purported to be, three days of absence and silence wasn’t right. Adam could gloat over Riley all he wanted, as long as his information would help connect to Gabe’s whereabouts.  

Riley crossed a stretch of grass, heedless of the morning dew that collected on his shoes. He spotted Adam first, the Special Agent too engrossed with adding creamer to his coffee. Riley had nearly reached the coffee stand before he looked up.  

“Decker,” Adam said by way of greeting, nodding once before marching away towards a park bench. Riley matched his pace, even though his legs felt heavier than they had a moment ago.  

“So,” Adam said, once they’d both taken a seat. There were few people around at this early hour, but the agent kept his voice low. “What exactly do you know about the movements of Felix Saben?”

“Movements?” Riley said, surprised. “Nothing… that’s why I came to you.”

“There had to have been a reason that this week, of all weeks, you suddenly start nosing about the case,” Adam said, fiddling with the lid of his coffee. “You're going to tell me your source.”

Riley’s stomach dropped, but a lifetime of suppressing feelings kept his face passive.  

“I don’t have a source,” Riley said. “It’s all just rumor and noise. Given what happened last time he was here, I figured it wasn’t likely that he'd come back. Has he?”

“Don’t know,” Adam said, taking a sip of his coffee. “No one does. The agents from the Dorval office that had been tasked with monitoring him reported that he gave them the slip. This week. So he could be anywhere. He could be in your closet, for all I know. You do have plenty of connections to the criminal class, right?”

Riley refused to take Adam’s bait. “He vanished this week? Which day?”

“What’s it to you?” the Special Agent asked, the sharpness of his tone relaying his frustration. Riley wasn't about to come clean about Dash and Gabe, but it was clear that Adam wasn't going to share information if he didn't first. Riley knew he only had one card to play. 

“I heard there was a sighting in town, a few weeks ago, of a guy who could be Jimmy Kadence. That’s… that’s why I thought something might be going on with Saben.” 

“Says who?” Adam needled.  

“A bartender downtown: male, medium height, greasy blonde hair. I don’t remember the name of the bar, but it was on the 1400 block of 8th Ave, I’m pretty sure.”  Riley recalled exactly where Dash had taken him, but he certainly wasn’t going to do all of Adam’s work for him.  

“Memory like that, I can’t believe someone hasn’t tried to promote you to field agent,” Adam said with a sneer. “But, I guess it’s better than nothing. Jo Ruggers in town, now Jimmy Kadence; it’ll only be a matter of time before they reunite with the boss man.”  

Adam stood, stretching casually.

“I know you’re not telling me everything, Decker,” Adam said, crumpling his coffee cup and lobbing it towards the nearest bin. “Don’t forget, I know how you think, and I know how you act. I know you want to parlay your fifteen minutes of fame into something more, something to make people forget what you really are.” He smirked down at Riley, who was frozen on the bench.  

“It’s not a bad scheme, honestly. But whatever your next move is, you need to stay the hell away from the Saben case. It’s going to be real agents, with real field experience, who bring him in. If you fuck up my investigation, not even Daddy will be able to save you.”

He winked at Riley, by far the most surprising part of their encounter, then spun on his heel and marched off.  

Riley remained on the bench, sitting still long after Adam’s suited form had disappeared from view. The vitriol of Adam's parting hadn't registered, because Riley was stuck on the bomb he had unwittingly dropped; the tale of a creep bartender could be taken with a grain of salt, but now an actual agent had confirmed the presence of another Saben associate, in town just in time for Gabe to disappear.  

Though his body was still, Riley's mind turned ferociously, until suddenly he knew what he had to do next. Swearing softly, he pulled his phone from his pocket, shooting off a quick text to Dash before dialing a different number.  

As the call connected, Riley took a deep breath. 

“Hey,” he said, “I need a favor.”