*Thanx to DHARKE for my first review. Well, that lurid master …. uhm don't care, okay? Like many things he was meant to play a bigger role in them fics but right now I'm not so sure whether I really wanna do that. Please be patient with me, guys, okay?*

Chapter 1

"Still up?"

Agent Schreck walked along one of the countless passages of the huge building, then took some steps back, deciding to enter the small office he had just passed by. He watched the dirty blond in front of him putting another spoonful of instant coffee into a big cup.

"Please tell me that this time there's water in it? Doesn't have to be hot, but water."

The young man looked up from his sheets and files, trying to find the meanings of the word he had only half listened to, then smirked and held up a big bottle of Coke that was standing under his desk. Schreck's face twisted with disgust. "This is nauseating. Believe me, one day it's gonna kill you. You'll get a heart attack from all the caffeine."

"Oh, killed by coffee – guess we didn't have that before."

The older agent slowly nodded, knowing what he was alluding to, but even after all those years still unable to joke about it that carefree. Well, he was sure that the boy wasn't that carefree as well. "What are you doing? It's like –" he glanced at his watch, "past 1 am."

"You're still here, too", the blond answered, typing something into his notebook.

"Yeah, but I'm on my way home."

A smile appeared on the young man's face as he nodded, but in Schreck's eyes it disappeared a bit too soon, as he turned back to his computer screen.

"You sure you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine, dad."

Schreck frowned at the allusion to the age difference between them. "I'm not that much older than you, you know", he pointed.

"Uh huh", the other one grinned.

Schreck watched him as he was waiting for some new page to open. He could remember vividly the first time he had met Alex Browning. He was suspected of having killed 151 passengers on that famous 180 flight, since nobody believed him that he had a premonition and that the reason he got 7 people, including himself, off the plane and people thought that it hadn't been for any supernatural power, but for his guilty conscience. Schreck and his colleague Weine had been entrusted with the investigation. A sixteen year old boy, average kid, never got himself noticed in any way. From his long working experience Weine could tell that often those were the worst of all, but something had told Schreck that Alex hadn't done anything wrong as far as the crash was concerned. Actually he had been a bit scared. Scared of that boy who had just sat there, letting examination after examination wash over him, knowing that none of that was of any use. Thinking about it that had been what had worried him most. That he knew it, had knowledge of things Schreck never had wanted really to even think about.  If death really came for you, it would get you, that was the way he had been educated. There was no chance in escaping. But Alex had desperately tried to. And after all him and two of his friends had managed to. But they had paid a high price and they were still paying it. It had been after them once more, a few years ago and still those three had been able to survive, though Alex didn't have his premonitions this time. As if they had somehow got lost on the way.  Schreck couldn't tell whether it was a bless or a curse. He didn't know much about that 'last time' for he couldn't induce Alex to tell him about it.

Schreck still couldn't believe that Alex was now working with him. It had been himself, Schreck, who had been sent to offer him the possibility to become an FBI agent, because someone was obviously of the opinion that he somehow was on good terms with him and further, that Alex had the correspondent qualifications for this job. It rarely happened that someone with his background even became a candidate. He still could see the disbelieving look when he asked him. There were loads of people who would've done nearly anything to become an FBI agent, but in this case he had done a hard job on convincing someone to think about the whole thing at all. Since Alex had been quite bored of his job in a computer company, he had decided to give it a try. And as far as Schreck was able to judge it, it had been the best for him; a firm task was exactly what he had needed at that time. Something to concentrate on that would distract him from all those ideas of a predetermined fate, Death's design and all of those things Weine had considered to be bullshit. Though even him had finally realised that Alex Browning wasn't the serial killer he had thought him to be, he still wasn't willing to believe in something supernatural and since the possible existence of a power so dark and destroying scared Schreck more than he wanted to admit to himself, he had tried to talk himself into agreeing with his colleague and friend. He didn't succeed.

Only after a short time Alex had become one of the best in his new job, 'something between a profiler and a clairvoyant' as Weine liked to call it. He was simply able to sense things. Spending only ten minutes at the scene of a crime sometimes could be enough for him to tell whether a crime had taken place or just a simple accident or a suicide. Since his fiancée had gone to the Boston Arts Academy to take part in a conference that was lasting several weeks, he was working more and longer than all of them. Schreck knew that he tried to escape the constant fear that he felt whenever they were separated from each other, but after all one couldn't spend his whole life at one place or always together just because there was the possibility that something could happen. And he personally thought that the thing he didn't want to think about, was over. At least he hoped so.

"Didn't you want to go?" a voice broke into his thoughts.

"You try' n get rid of me?" Schreck asked, folding his arms and eying Alex suspiciously. "Are you planning something?"

"Yeah, the big party, you know? Playboy Mansion will be moved here", he replied, rolling his eyes. "No really, isn't your girlfriend waiting for you or stuff?"

"Or stuff."

He slapped his hand onto his mouth. "Aaaww, wrong line, sorry." Schreck's girlfriend had just broken up with him a few days ago. 

"Don't worry", he answered, scratching his head, trying to cover his emotions. "Anyway, don't you stay too long, okay? I don't wanna come back tomorrow and still find you here. Honestly Alex, you could need some sleep."

 "Uh huh", Alex made, again looking at his computer and within seconds being immersed in his work again.  Schreck shook his head grinning and closed the door behind him. Inside the office, Alex put some more coffee into his Coke.

*Aw okay, that was quite short again and I'm really sorry to leave you here, but I have to go. Hope to have some time during the weekend. By the way; have a nice one.  ^ . ° )