Title: X - Wheel of Fortune
Rating: T
Timeline: set after "Undertow"
Summary: Where are they going from here? ;)

Disclaimer: All the copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events, are the properties of their respective owners. I'm just playing with them! Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be in any way factual. ^_^ I felt as I should be a bit longer than usual because there will be many "outside references".

A/N: This is my fictional season "7.5". You'll find here a bit of everything. I think everyone who liked the show can read this fic, but I have to warn you, there is JS. There will be "interludes" between the "episodes" full of personal stuff, but you'll be able to skip them and still understand the story. I haven't finished to write the story yet, but I'm starting posting it anyway. This a big project - my attempt to a short WAT season. There will be several episodes, each of them made of 4 chapters (more or less). I hope you'll like this. If you have any questions, ask away.

Even this time around Diane and Sharon helped me to write this -- thanks girls! I'd be lost without you two! You're always willing to waste your time going through my writing and you make it a lot better. ;) Special thanks to Irene and Ruth--I'm sure I gave you nightmares! Despite this you never let me down. Thank you!

I've been longer than usual, I'm sorry, but, I promise, I'm not going to repeat this!
Buona lettura! :)

X - Wheel of Fortune

Prologue

Wednesday 20 May 2009, 11 PM
Coney Island, NY

A young couple were enjoying the warm night walking down the long boardwalk by the seaside. It was not crowded like in the middle of the summer, but music and voices filled the air. People were working hard to set everything up for the big opening of the summer season, traditionally set during Memorial Day weekend.

Walking down the seaside the couple admired the Cyclone – the big wheel, Coney Island's symbol. Its lights were on, just as it was the last rehearsal before the great opening. The two people were walking close to each other. The young man had his arm around the girl's shoulders. Suddenly the girl stopped and stretched out an arm, indicating one of the little shops along the street. She started jumping in excitement.

"Look! A psychic! Shall we go in and have a 'reading'?"

The young man's expression was doubtful.

"Let's go, please. It's funny! I always did it with my best friend back at home. There was a fortune teller at the spring fair and we always fantasized and laughed about boys..." She was a little girl again. Her eyes lit up at the memories of such happy days.

"You know I hate these things." He tried to resist his partner's contagious excitement, but he knew deep inside he would give in. He loved too much seeing the little girl in her come out and enjoy the little things.

"Please…," the girl's pleading eyes were on him. "Just this time. I'll never ask you again." She was smiling – looking at him, she realized she had won. She took his hand and led him inside.

A pungent smell of incense surrounded the couple as soon as they worked their way through a beaded curtain. The room was small and dark, although a few lit candles added to the atmosphere. Old and shady drapes were all over the walls, and a crimson oversized cloth covered the small table. Several talismans and a crystal ball were in view on the counter. A framed mirror returned a confused reflection. Everything was studied to convey a sinister sense of mystery.

"Good evening, I'm Alice." A woman suddenly greeted them, but there was no smile on her face. She took a quick look at them and then added, "I guess you want a reading."

The girl was going to answer when the psychic spoke again, "Would you like to take a seat, please?"

They sat at the other side of the small table and waited for the woman's instructions.
The psychic shuffled the tarot cards. Then she put the deck on the small table, nudging the couple to cut it. She laid out the cards on the table, drawing a fan. "Please, pick up three cards and hand me each one without turning it."

The girl was going to pick up her third tarot when the psychic stopped her and nodded to the man to pick it up instead. When the card touched the woman's hand, a sudden shiver went down her spine and a horrible scene flashed in her mind. A young girl was tied up on what seemed like a camp bed. She was petrified and you could read terror in her eyes. She had been beaten and dried blood was on her body. The psychic tried to hide her shock as best as she could. But she knew that the man had noticed her reaction. She quickly looked for an apt phrase – one of those phrases people would expect from a tarot reader. Then she gave them a quick reading full of cliché. She took the money that the happy girl gave her, without even looking at the man with her, and escorted them to the door. She closed it behind them – they would be her last clients for the night. When she was sure they were gone, she leaned against the counter, took deep breaths, and looked at her own confused reflection in the mirror. What the hell was that?

---***---

Thursday 21 May 2009, 6:30 PM
FBI Headquarter -- NY

Jack Malone checked for the last time the report he would hand to his superiors. It was complete. Danny Taylor and Elena Delgado, no Elena Taylor now, had sent their reports in that morning before leaving for their short honeymoon to the Niagara Falls. He took off his glasses and rubbed his forehead. His team would be two agents short for a week, and it would lose an element permanently starting the following week, since a married couple could not work in the same unit. He asked for a new agent, but with the economic crisis and the counter-terrorism alert, he knew looking for missing persons was not one of the Bureau's priorities. Maybe, he could manage swapping Elena with an agent from Andrew's team until she would get her transfer.

Through the glasses he could see "his team" -- Vivian Johnson, Samantha Spade and Martin Fitzgerald -- heading out. They were laughing, probably joking about their just married co-workers. Just a couple of years earlier his team would have ended a day like that drinking something together, toasting to the future. Just some weeks before, he and Samantha would have ended a day like that with at least a dinner together. Now he was alone in his office – when had things started to change? – He sighed, then put his glasses in his pocket and collected his things. He had to head out – his daughter Hanna was waiting for him at home.

Hanna had agreed to stay with him in New York for the summer and give their father-daughter relationship another chance. He had three months ahead of him to convince his daughter to not go back to Chicago. And he was determined to be successful. He had already given up his relationship with Samantha, …was it going anywhere else than to failure anyway?... And now he had to keep his work out of his private life and let his co-workers "swim alone". Early that day Samantha had asked him why he didn't consider taking his daughters on a trip during the summer. Would Hanna and Kate be happy with it? He wondered if it could be a good idea.

He was walking down the corridor when the phone in his office rang. Jack hesitated. Should he go back and answer? He usually didn't have to think twice, but Hanna had already called three times – she wanted to be sure he would be home in time. She had made a surprise dinner for him. Jack kept walking toward the elevator – there always was a point to start from, right?

***

Thursday 21 May 2009, 6:40 PM
FBI Headquarter -- NY

A young agent was talking with a woman at the entrance.

"I'm sorry, Madam, but Agent Malone has already headed out. I'll leave him a message. Mrs. Alice Bernsen, right? Should I write anything else?"

"No, thank you. Let him know I'll come back. I need to talk with him about a missing person case he could have worked on." The woman thanked the agent and headed out.

The agent followed the woman with his eyes until she vanished around the corner.