Arriving at the door to their destination, Riley has safely buried her emotions and put up a front. Having somehow ended up between the guy she still loves but no longer trusts and the guy she trusts but emotionally confuses her, distant and impassive seems like the way to go. 

Opening the door to his loft, Aaron looks annoyed but not surprised to see Grayson. As he leads them through the living room to his office, he manages to hold back his resentment. Taking a seat behind his army of screens, he looks at Riley. 'So, what do you need me to find?' 

As she pulls over a second desk chair and sits down she makes sure to keep her jacket closed tightly, hiding the fact that she's still wearing one of Gray's shirts, only to remember the jacket is also his. 'The drug dealer who supplied you and Milo with Glow, Trip.' Riley requests. 

'His real name is Freddie Knox.' Gray decides to share this bit of information last minute as he leans in the doorway, and as he does he receives a surprised look from Riley. 

They continue to exchange glances while Aaron begins busily typing away behind his equipment. None of the codes or windows on the screen look familiar to Riley, and she can't begin to understand what kind of digital tricks he's performing. But when he pulls up Knox's police records the array of odd numbers and letters seem to have worked their magic. 'Yeah, this is him. Apparently supplying the Wolf with drugs isn't his only crime. Petty theft, assault, a bunch of DUI's, he's got a record a mile long. Been to juvy a few times, this guy started young...' 

As Aaron reads half aloud he wonders if this is what his or Milo's life would have looked like if they didn't have their cushy backgrounds. If their parents didn't make all their mistakes magically disappear, would he even be sitting here? 

'There's no address listed,' Aaron states. 'But he does have a grandfather living in the city. Let's see if Freddie visited him in the last few weeks...' 

As Aaron begins tapping into city security cameras, provided by Cadari Inc., to digitally patrol Grandpa Knox's house, Riley abandons her chair to talk to Gray. 'How well do you know this guy exactly?' 

'He was a buddy of mine back in the day, when I was working for his boss.' 

'In the gang?' 

He simply nods to her question, glancing in Aaron's direction and then back at her. 

'Is this going to complicate things?' She asks, receiving a dead serious look that tears right through her. 

'No, I'll do whatever it takes.' 

'Found him.' Aaron's call leads Riley back to the desk as Gray also takes a step closer. 'Knox was at his grandfather's place yesterday, I should be able to track him from there to wherever he's hiding out.' 

And so the game of chase begins, as Aaron switches skillfully between streets cams, following Knox closely. After a few blocks its gets more difficult however, when Knox disappears down an alley and doesn't come out on the other side. 'What the...? Where did he go? There are no entrances to buildings in that alley, there's only one way to go; straight.' 

Having moved from the door to the desk unnoticed, Gray leans in closer to the screen before confirming his suspicions. 'I know where he is, let's go.' 

As Gray is about to turn and leave, he is suddenly halted when Aaron closes the windows on the screen, revealing the black feather behind it. The mystified look that follows last nearly a minute, and Riley and Aaron quickly pick up on it. 

'You?' 

As Aaron turns in his desk chair, seeming to know what Gray means, Riley is left puzzled. 

'You're The Rat?' Gray continues. 

Aaron, remaining unfazed, silently stares back at Gray. 

'What are you talking about?' Riley demands. 

'Your boyfriend here is the notorious vigilante hacker personally responsible for putting away half the crooks on the streets of New York in the past six months.' Gray clarifies, before turning back to Aaron. 'Some of those crooks were my friends. Must have been real easy, huh? Safely behind your desk, watching everyone on those cameras, then simply calling the cops with anonymous tips.' 

Aaron rises without breaking eye contact. 'Yeah, and I should have found you and turned you in too.' 

'You couldn't if you tried.' 

The tension is quickly mounting between them, and Riley has to break through her own astound before realizing it's time to intervene. 'Gray, can you give us a minute?' Unable to get his attention right away, she steps in between them to catch Gray's eye. 'Please?' 

Clearly aggravated, Gray removes himself from the situation. 'I'll be downstairs.' 

Once Gray's left the loft Aaron voices his own irritation. 'He's like your lapdog, isn't he?' 

'Aaron, just... don't.' 

As he returns to his chair, Riley places herself opposite him. 'So... vigilante?' 

He takes a second, preparing himself, trying to find the right words. He wasn't exactly planning on sharing this with anyone today.

'A while ago, I was in a dark place, and I got so frustrated with myself. After the drug dealing, and how I'd wronged Carrie... and you, I didn't recognize myself anymore. I felt like I'd forgotten what mattered. And looking around this city, practically overrun by crime, I knew I could do something. So I got this place, all this stuff, and I started trying to track them down. It was easy, I knew how to hack the police database, the Cadari Inc. cameras, all I had to do was send a location to the cops and they'd do the rest. And no one knew I was behind it.'

'Why didn't you tell me?'

'Would it have mattered? I still broke your trust. Look at this place, Riley. I could have helped you, I could have done what Grayson is doing. But instead I got scared and I thought only of myself.'

'You're helping now.' With that Riley pulls away, forcing herself to leave Aaron's tortured soul behind. Though she feels herself begin to forgive him, the idea of being as close to him as she once was raises doubt. And neither prepared nor strong enough to deal with it right now, she resumes the path towards her enemy.

∾

A little past one AM, chilled by the cold night air, Riley finds herself in the narrow, trash filled alley. The melted snow is dripping down from the fire escapes onto the wet and icy asphalt. Following a determined, fast-paced Gray, her short legs have difficulty keeping up. When he suddenly comes to a standstill she almost runs into him. 'This is it.'

Confused, she looks at him as she pulls her red knitted beret further down over her ears. 'What?' She follows his line of sight up to one of the fire escape ladders. 'Up there?' 

'If I lift you up can you pull down the ladder?' 

She's taken aback slightly by the question as he turns to face her. 'Eh... y-yeah, yes.' 

Kneeling, he wraps his arms around her legs and raises her up as she grabs hold of the frozen steel. The ladder swiftly comes crashing down. She gasps as he suddenly lets her go, only to catch her again mid-waist. Feeling the ground return under her feet, her eyes can't defect from his, not right away. Not until he releases her from his grip and turns to begin climbing the ladder. 

Seeing the city skyline rise and appear more and more as she follows him to the roof, a strange sense of safety dawns on her the higher she gets. Like the world can't touch her anymore. The view stretches beyond Washington Heights and across the Hudson River as they reach the top. And when she spots the small hidden away building sitting on the roof, in the shadow of a water tower, Riley finally understands where Knox disappeared to. 

With no windows except for half of a greenhouse attached to the back of the building, they can approach it undetected. Bright white lights shining through the glass of the greenhouse light up the roof enough to see the way. 

'So, what's the plan?' Riley asks, whispering. 

'We find him, get answers, I threaten him if necessary.' 

'That's... simple.' 

Raising his fist to the door, Gray knocks multiple times in a pattern. It takes a few minutes, but finally the door swings open, releasing overwhelming marijuana scented clouds. Through the smoke Knox emerges, freezing when he recognizes Gray as his unexpected guest. 

Looking no older than twenty-five, Knox has a black buzz cut, a stubble beard, and arms covered entirely in tattoos. His thick eyebrows lower in anger as his expression darkens. 'You've got some nerve showing your face here.' 

'Hey, Freddie. Long time.' Gray attempts to sound casual, but fails. 

Stepping outside, Knox slams the door shut behind him. 'I'll say. What the hell do you want?'

'I need some information, about a drug you've been selling.' Gray demands.

'You're seriously asking for my help? You must be losing it.'

'This isn't about you or me. I'm just trying to keep some people from getting killed.'

'That's a first. Don't remember you caring much about who died two years ago.'

'Let's keep her out of this.' As Gray utters the words Riley detects some pain in his eyes. 

It only seems to enrage Knox more. 'Like you even have a right to talk about her, after you abandoned her, and then me!' 

'I had to get out!' Riley does not often hear Gray raise his voice, and now finds herself startled by it. 

'I'd already lost Julie, why'd I have to lose you too?' Something breaks inside Knox, but he holds his ground and stares in the face of his torment. 

'Because you blamed me... and I blamed me.' Gray confesses. 'You could barely look at me. Admit it, you wanted me gone.' 

Scoffing in disbelief, Knox looks away as he nods slowly. 'You're right...' In a movement so rapid neither Gray nor Riley can respond, Knox reaches in the deep pocket of his hoodie and pulls out a hand gun. 'I want you gone.' 

While Riley immediately feels panicked as her hearts begins beating uncontrollably, Gray stays perfectly calm. 'I'm not leaving without answers, Freddie.' 

Pointing the gun directly at Gray's head, Knox draws closer. 'I'm not giving you a choice.' 

Feeling increasingly nervous, Riley finally decides to make her presence known, incapable of seeing that gun pointed at Gray for another moment. 'Wait!' Taking a step closer as she raises her hands, she catches Knox's eye. 'Please, you don't have to do this...' 

He interrupts her dismissively. 'Oh trust me, I do. I should have done this two years ago.' 

Stepping even closer, hoping to take Knox's focus off Gray, Riley is quickly blocked by Gray's arm raising up in front of her. 'Gray is right, this isn't about him. It's about me, I need your help.' She continues. 

'Ah, so you're the one he doesn't want to see killed?' Knox concludes. 'Figures. You really have a type, don't you Gray?' 

Now seeing a more convincing possibility, Knox moves his aim, pointing the gun at Riley. Deprived of his calm and steady tone, Gray's face shows dismay. 'I don't help anyone, sweetheart. I'm the bad guy, and in case you hadn't realized, so is he.' Knox growls. 

Attempting to slow down her breathing, Riley looks straight into the barrel of the gun, trying to master her fear. When she suddenly hears noises behind her, near the fire escape, she doesn't process it right away. 

'Hey you, that's my friend you're holding at gunpoint. I suggest you drop your weapon.' 

Turning around, Riley and Gray see a figure appearing out of the shadows, raising a gun of her own. As she steadily approaches them, Riley recognizes her. Though she still looks like herself, somehow it doesn't seem like Sofia. And when Knox loses his cool at the sight of her and puts up his hands, Riley determines Sofia must have a doppelgänger. 

'Alright, easy, I don't have any problems with your people.' Knox asserts, and Sofia confidently agrees. 'Yeah, and you wouldn't want any either. Now, we have some questions for you. You answer them truthfully, and I'll forget this ever happened.' 

Knox nods as he slowly returns his gun to his pocket. 'Sounds like a plan.'

'The Glow you've been selling at the Neon Wolf, who did you get it from?' Sofia asks.

'If you want a name, I don't have one. All I know is that my boss made a deal with some rich guy. Picked the drugs up at a fancy company somewhere.'

'What company?' Riley interjects.

'I think it was... CH Technology. I don't know anything else about it.'

Taking a few steps closer, the look in Sofia's eyes gives Riley chills. 'You're never going to sell Glow again, nor is anyone else in this city, got it?' Sofia orders. 

'Yeah... got it.' 

As she begins to lower her gun, the intense look on Sofia's face softens a little. 'Alright. Riley, Grayson, let's go.'

After descending back down the fire escape and walking to their cars in silence, Riley finally manages to voice her perplexity. 'Sof, what the hell was that?' 

Sofia stares at the keys in her hand as she breathes deeply, suddenly feeling nervous. 

'How did Knox know you?' Riley demands. 

Gray, mumbling almost mockingly, answers the question for her. 'Every felon in the country knows who she is...' Confirming Sofia's suspicions, Gray does know her secret. 

'Look, Ri, I'm going to tell you everything. Let's just get back to Penburg first, okay?' 

As Sofia gets in her own car, and Riley joins Gray in the pickup, Riley sighs deeply. 'You alright?' Gray asks, still kicking himself for bringing Riley into a dangerous situation like that. 

'I have no idea... I think I just need some sleep.' 

'At least we got a few answers...' 

As she nods slowly, she recalls the sensation of familiarity she experienced at the mention of CH Technology. She knows that name, she's heard it somewhere before. But the answer, the memory, is just out of reach.