Dante sat alone in his office, Hale nowhere in sight. Nobody was around, and it was late at night – he had stayed a couple extra hours to see if he could catch this supposed 'Blaze' sneaking in, but so far, there was nothing of note. He sat there staring at the photograph of Maria Herrera, silent in his ponderings.
After what felt like another entire half hour, Dante set the photograph down. He didn't like his new idea, but he didn't know what else to do. Picking up a notebook and a pen, he clicked it open and started writing. After he was done, he set the picture of the woman next to it and stood up. Giving it a linger glance, he turned off the light to his office and left the precinct.
(¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸¸.-> 🖋 <-.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯)
Angelo entered the precinct like a shadow. His father wasn't wrong – when he came here the first time he was arrested last month, he did find intel. The ins and outs, the ways around, and the people who left doors open when taking out the trash. A lazy move, but one he would welcome.
He found Dante Winters' desk with ease, and he found the office door unlocked. Perfect; he was welcoming another attempt to share intel. Unless of course this was a trap – but looking around, Angelo didn't see anyone else and didn't hear anything, either. So he stepped inside and pulled out the envelope from his hoodie pocket.
However, something made him pause. When he saw the desk lamp on Dante's side on, he figured, maybe he was just leaving it for Angelo's sake. However, when he looked down, he saw something that made cold ice crawl across his lungs and bring his breath to a halting, shuddering stop.
The face of his mother stared back at him for the first time in seven years. The bright hazel eyes looking back at him sent him reeling with memories. Of how she would pester him to wash rice for horchatas, or tell him stories about her hometown, or when she would teach him self-defence against 'bullies'.
Maria Herrera watching him with the same loving gaze she left him with nearly seven years ago.
He picked up the photograph with gentle fingers, tears building at his eyes as he stared at her. There was never even a picture of her that he got to keep, a photograph of her in the Kuron Estate. It was like she was wiped away, but after all this time, he still remembered her face as clear as day.
Then he saw the note. He was barely able to pull his eyes away from his mother's gentle features, her smiling face, but he did. Picking up the notepad, he read the words three times over before it clicked what was actually written there.
I know you're not the enemy. Let's meet.
He felt his breath shaking, and his eyes poured back over to Maria Herrera. Carefully, he pocketed the photograph, making sure it didn't bend or fold in any wrong ways. Angelo, still shaking, took up a pen and wrote something on the next page of the notebook. An address, along with a time and a date.
After that, he stepped away. His hands went to the coat pocket where Maria's photo rested, his mother safe and sound, and he could barely believe what he had. He came here hoping to leave his intel, which was still resting on the desk, but he left with so much more than just an ally.