"It's hard to imagine a younger Hawthorne." You interject.

"It's usually hard to imagine a fossil with all the skin and muscle it used to have." Grey adds in.

"Fuck yourself." Hawthorne replies steadily without even looking his direction. "So Rook, you come find me just to set Grey up for that?"

"No, sir. Actually wanted to ask both of you guys, Allison's firehouse is doing a soup kitchen. Figured I could round up a few helping hands from the station."

Hawthorne grumbles but Grey smiles warmly.

"That sounds good, Mark. I'll be there." Grey replies. "If you ask me more cops should be doing this kind of thing."

"For free?" Hawthorne grunts. "Where's it gonna be?"

"Allison didn't mention actual-"

"It's gonna be near the Narrows." Grey says matter-of-factly. "And you know that, Mitch. Which is why I know you're gonna help out."

"For free?" Hawthorne repeats.

"We didn't pay." Grey says simply.

"I'll buy you a beer." You offer.

Hawthorne looks between you both and settles back into that smile.

"A beer'll buy me for an afternoon." He acquiesces. "Just send me the info."

"Great, Kimble might be coming too." You say this as you check your phone. Nearly 9. "Gotta go get into my blues, we can talk more later. I... might have some surprising news for you guys."

"Looking forward to it." Grey says, patting you on the back. Hawthorne just grunts his typical goodbye.

====

A quick jog to the locker room and even walking in you hear a familiar mumbling.

"Fuck..." It hisses. "Son of a... please."

You round the corner to find Banks, show in his lap, desperately picking at a tight knot that sits at the base of two long weathered shoestrings. You smirk a little as you see him rotate it and attack from a new angle. You clear your throat gently and Banks looks up in surprise before letting loose a breath.

"Christ, Mark. You walk like a cat, you know that?"

"I'm not the one playing with string." You reply, dialing in the code for your own locker. "You got that under control?"

"Yeah... just using my bad hand for it. Trying to get used to some of the little work."

"Mitch." Grey says, still measured but now tinged with something else. "I understand where you're coming from here. But this guy is already well into double digits carving people up. Carving HIMSELF up. He is not something we can ignore."

"Did I say to ignore him? Shit, I say we do this the old fashioned way, we gather Kimble, Banks, fuck it whoever. Reiner signs off on a little 'focused tour' of the Narrows and we go around until he flops out of his rat hole."

"And then we kill him, right?" Grey finishes sarcastically. "Cause that's what the good guys do in the old west. Just go shoot up the town until we get our guy."

"Better than Mark coming home to his lady friend's fingers in a box or worse!"

"HEY." You manage to get out, immediately going into a coughing fit. "Don't.. yell... in the... hospital. Fuck.."

Hawthorne grumbles an apology and shifts back into his seat.

"How about we ask Mark his opinion?" Grey says, more even toned now. "That's always been your style right? Let the student guide and you be there to support em?"

Hawthorne chews his inner cheek but he doesn't say no. Instead he looks up to you expectantly.

>"I want to work on this. I already plan on having the Sheriff keep an eye on my folks. Allison works in a fire house and when she's home we can do an unmarked. I'm not gonna let this guy scare me into not doing my job."
>"He needs to be stopped. But me getting involved is only gonna escalate things. He said all that because he's comfortable and convinced the Task Force can't find him as it is. Prove him wrong, work in the background and I'll try not to rock his boat. I trust you guys."
>"It really hurts me to say this... and Grey you know I wouldn't if I thought it was possible but. I don't see us being able to handle him alone, without any real support or resources from Dent. We'll work for free, so will Kimble. Maybe Banks. But we aren't convincing anyone else to go on this goose chase with the five of us and whatever uniforms Grey already has. It might be time we consider passing this off to our... mutual friends.