"So," Spiro started, scanning everything. "What do we actually know about this guy?" Because that was the other thing. Cyrus never told the same story twice. The few guys who they had arrested for being in cahoots with him never had stories that lined up. One said Cyrus Mossberg wasn't even his real name—it was Jared Sage (Not true— Theo knew that for sure. They had Cyrus's yearbook photos). Another said he was an illegal immigrant from Wales, and the gang Headquarters was there. Cyrus only spoke over phone calls because he was secretly still living in Wales and nobody knew it (Also fake. Cyrus had never been to Europe— only South America, and that had been illegally because he didn't have a passport, not that Theo had evidence of that beyond what Cyrus himself had told him). It was frustrating, Theo imagined, to have so much information, and yet nothing to do with any of it.

"Well," Theo sighed, ready to recite the file he'd read so many times. "We know his name is Cyrus Mossberg. Born in Jenks, Oklahoma, approximately thirty four years old. His mother died when he was young, no siblings, and his father was a very involved member of an old gang based in Texas known as the Horse Thieves. Said father died in a gang related shootout when Cyrus was nineteen. His godfather took him in and sent him to college; his whereabouts after graduation go dark for about three years until a new gang called the Hunters pops up in Louisburg, dealing cocaine and setting up illegal fights. While the gang has no known allies and very few known members, they certainly seem to have some enemies," Theo continued. "There were a few scuffles with a small mob based in Oklahoma City, but since then, any rival gang encounters have either ceased or gone underground. Among the known members of the gang are Martin Welsh, a computer science major and general loser,"

"Understatement of the century. The dude literally lives in his mom's basement." Spiro reminded him. "Also has a record for a restraining order violation. Nice guy."

"Possibly a hacker, by my guess. Then there's Felicia O'Connor, a small time wrestler trying to make it to the MMA. Probably one of the fighters in the gang's supposed illegal fights. And finally Jordan Mills, an animal shelter worker who did some time in juvie for beating his stepfather with a two by four," Theo went on.

"I love it when criminals use creative weapons like that."

"I'd call it more ineffective than anything. A baseball bat would've done the job a lot better."

"Well, next time we see Mills, we'll let him know that plywood isn't the best option for beating someone to death." Spiro stared at the pictures of Cyrus they had, frowning.

"Moving on. The exact size of the gang, in addition to the location of their headquarters is currently unknown, as are whereabouts to Cyrus Mossberg and any other gang members. These guys are smart and leave virtually no footprint. Their dirty work is neat, and they don't get involved in messy stuff. You gotta give them credit for that much, if nothing else. Am I missing anything?"

"Yeah, Mossberg is married." Theo paused, his blood momentarily running cold. That was new information. Or, at least, it was to Spiro.

"What?" He asked casually. Spiro passed him one of the pictures they had managed to snag of Cyrus Mossberg. There was a silver wedding band on his left hand.

"In every photo we've got of him other than yearbook pictures, he's got that ring on. Judging by the placement, I'd bet money it's a wedding ring." Of course it was a wedding ring. Theo knew that. He had bought that ring; had put it on Cyrus's hand on their wedding day and listened as his husband had grinned and promised to never take it off.

"But there's no record of it. No wedding certificate," Theo pointed out, even though he knew that information personally. He and Cyrus had been married quietly, and Cyrus had been in charge of officially filing the papers for it. Theo found out later that it had never been done, so there was no evidence that he and Cyrus were married. It was an official marriage, Cyrus had assured him. It was just that the government didn't know about it. And as pissed about it as Theo had been at first, looking back, he was grateful that Cyrus had thought ahead.

"Maybe he didn't file one, or it's under a false name. Anything's possible. He could be married to Felicia O'Connor for all we know," Spiro guessed. Theo snorted.

"No, he's not."

"How do you know?" Theo held up a picture of Felicia, quick to cover his tracks.

"No ring."

"Fair enough." Spiro shrugged. "Maybe we should try to find whatever chick he's hitched to, see if she'll talk. Or maybe just us having her will make Mossberg turn himself in, who knows." Theo bit his tongue to hold back a laugh. Cyrus? Married to a girl? Now that was the most hilarious thing he had heard all week. But if Spiro wanted to go looking for a wife instead of a husband, then Theo was fine with that. It would just make his job easier.

"I don't think she'd talk, even if you find her," Theo countered. "Cyrus's big thing is loyalty. He wouldn't marry someone who would rat him out to the first cop that came along." Even if that cop was the person he'd married. One of the things Theo was proud of himself for was that he'd never considered turning Cyrus in. Never. He may have been a gangster who did things that Theo didn't agree with, but he wouldn't turn over the love of his life for something like that. If that made him selfish or corrupt, Theo didn't care. Cyrus meant more to him than his job did, and he didn't care what that said about him.

"Maybe, but you never know. If she's living with secrets like Mossberg's, it's gotta be tough. Maybe she would crack under some bad cop pressure." Spiro grinned, and Theo smiled at his partner's naivety. He'd never crack under pressure, and neither would any of Cyrus's people. They were too loyal. The closest person to Cyrus that might sell him out would be Kramer, and that would only be to save his own ass. Kramer was self centered like that.

"Maybe," Theo said. "But it'll be nearly impossible to track down Cyrus's spouse if we know nothing about her, so I think we'll need a different lead." Spiro sighed and shook his head at the board.

"What are we missing here, Theo?" He asked. "There's got to be something we're missing."

"We're missing plenty of things," Theo said. "His home address for one thing." Spiro laughed sarcastically.

"I meant clues. Evidence."

"I know what you meant, and you know what we have to do." When at a dead end, the only logical thing for them to do was to start over at square one. Relearn all the evidence they had, see if somebody had slipped up somewhere and given then a clue they hadn't seen before.

"I hate going over everything again."

"Well, it usually works, so let's give it a shot." Another sigh from Spiro.

"Fine." Theo scanned the board again. He knew so much information about Cyrus. There were so many leads he could give Spiro, but the hard job was picking which one would be useful enough to use, but wouldn't lead to Spiro discovering everything about the entire gang. He had to pull at a thread without unraveling the whole sweater, and it was difficult to know which string to tug at. And he had to find one that Cyrus wouldn't mind. He didn't mind when Theo gave out a hint, but Theo knew Cyrus worried that he might slip up one day. Not that Theo ever intended to. He had taken many steps to ensure that nobody in the PD suspected who he was married to, and he'd be sure to keep it that way. But what was a good clue to give Spiro... His eyes fell on one of the pictures of Cyrus taped to the wall.

There. Perfect. He loved it when the best idea came from evidence Spiro had already had in his hands.

"I think I got something," He said, and Spiro looked at him.

"What is it?" Theo pointed at the photo and Spiro followed the gaze, raising an eyebrow in confusion. "I don't get it." It was a normal photo of Cyrus sitting at a table, taken by an anonymous source who had turned it into them with no other words. Theo suspected it had come from another gang leader in the area, possibly Oak Mayfield. Chances were they had disagreed over something at a meeting, and he had dropped the photo as retaliation.

"Don't look at Cyrus; look at the background." Theo suggested. In the photo, the wall behind Cyrus was checker patterned with red and white, the corner of a poster peeking in as well. "I think I know where he was when this was taken."

"Where?"

"Gino's—the Italian place downtown. I just went there last night," Theo said. "The wallpaper's the same."

"No way," Spiro shook his head. "Mossberg hasn't been to a place that public in years." He didn't need to tell Theo that. Not when it had been eight years since he and Cyrus had gone out to dinner together at a real restaurant. Cyrus hardly showed his face anywhere anymore, let alone anywhere public.

"Maybe he knows the people that work there and they let him have a meeting," Theo said. "The waiters and the owner might know something. We could check it out." Spiro grinned.

"You always were good at finding leads," He commented. Theo smirked. Spiro had no idea.