Keith was at his desk in the precinct. It was after hours and he was the only one there, putting together the final section of his report. Writing out the events forced him to dwell on them, and his mind was still on Z. Operation Black Lion had been a massive failure. It might have been salvageable if not for Acxa seeing Keith, if not for Keith rushing in impulsively when any other cop could have rescued that reporter. He shook his head to clear it, trying to focus on the bright side as Shiro had encouraged him to do. They had a description of Z now, and knowing what he looked like would make him easier to find.

But, Keith's practical side reminded him, their visual of Z lacked the most important thing: his face. And besides, Acxa had gotten away before she could be arrested; she would have surely tipped off Lotor and Z by now about Keith. The three of them would be impossible to find now.

He sighed, closing his eyes. He tried to rub away the strain of staring at the white document screen. Without really knowing why, he pulled up the number for the Sentinel on his phone and dialed.

Feeling stupid, he was about to hang up after the fourth ring, when a tired voice answered, "New York Sentinel."

"Lance?"

"Yeah? Who is this?"

"Keith."

A beat. "Who?"

Keith rolled his eyes. "I saved your ass at the warehouse that day?"

"Oh! Sorry, I never got your name. Thanks again for that. Uh, how's it going?

Keith chuckled at the rambling and awkward formality. He felt some tension leave his shoulders and wondered briefly if that was why he'd called. "Drowning in paperwork," he said, answering Lance's question. "You working late too?"

"Yup. Working on my article about the whole takedown."

Keith hesitated only a moment before responding. "Want the inside scoop?"

"I'm listening."

"We didn't get the top guys, but this was still a pretty major bust. And we got some leads to boot. Tell you about it over a beer?"

There was some rustling and shuffling on the other end, before Lance cleared his throat and said, "Yeah, that sounds good! Meet you in half an hour at Sal's?"

Keith agreed and got off the phone. He was trying to ignore the small smile creeping up on his face and finish his report. Typing the final sentence, he sit save and closed out of the word processor. He got up and stretched, nearly leaving before he remembered his burner phone in his desk drawer. He sat back down and took it out, turning it on to wipe the contents before returning it to the department. Once the screen lit up, he saw a message waiting for him.

You still want the top guns?

Unknown number. He considered ignoring it before changing his mind.

who is this

someone who can help you newbie

Acxa. Pulse quickening, he tapped in a reply.

why would you help me

Her reply took long enough that Keith had to let out the breath he'd been holding.

for narti

An image of Lotor coldly ripping holes in Narti's chest floated to the front of Keith's mind.

how?

L still trusts me and I haven't told him about you. So he could trust you if I get you back in touch
The rest is up to you. Get in the inner circle and get that bastard

In the time it took Keith to weigh his options, Acxa double texted him.

are you in or do I have to take out L myself?

ok
I'm in

Cover somehow back to being intact, Keith now had one fewer lead to tell his reporter about over drinks. Corners of his mouth quirking up again, he set off for Sal's.

A/N: That's it for now folks! I do have an idea for a sequel to this, but I have other projects I want to work in first . But if you enjoyed this story, let me know! It was my first real attempt at this genre, and I'd love to hear how you all thought I did. Thanks for reading!