*Did you know that in real life Daniel Roebuck (Agent Weine) is almost four years younger than Robert Guenveur Smith (Agent Schreck)? I thought he was like ten years older. Well, who cares about reality? lol (still smiles stupidly, lol) Again big big TXL to DHARKE! I was afraid the chappie could be a bit too dramatic and corny, lol  Carter as the devil in disguise? Our friendly, patient, helpful Carter? ;o)*

Chapter 5

"What's up with the Mills case?"

Agent Weine appeared in the door of Alex' office, but he didn't notice him. He folded his arms and leant against the doorframe, waiting. Observing. While Alex had scared his partner at first, Weine had just thought him to be one more youth that had gone cuckoo by all the shit he watched on TV and those stupid PC games. Further fear was one of his weak spots; he hardly ever felt some. The world was crazy and sick and he was used to it. Compared to his colleague Schreck, Weine was far more earnest. Not due to his age – though the age difference amounted to ten years – but due to his experiences. He didn't have a nice childhood, never many friends, so had begun early to bury himself in his books and later in his work. Just like Schreck had done some nights before, he stared at Alex, who still hadn't notice his presence. He still wasn't sure about what to think of him. Of course, Alex was doing an excellent job, but there was something strange about him. Still. Something Weine couldn't put into words. If Weine had mucked around in esotericism, he maybe would have said that Alex was surrounded by a dark aura. It wasn't that he hadn't learnt to trust him; there was just this, well this something.

"Alex?"

"Huuuh?" Alex still couldn't take his eyes off the screen.

"The Mills case?" Weine repeated, the patience himself.

"Huh?"

"Alex?"

"Huh?" He gazed towards the direction of the owner of the voice that tried to attract his attention. "The Mills case!"

Good, the boy started to wake up.

Alex reached into one of the desk drawers and handed a file to his superior. Schreck took it without even opening it, so it wasn't hard to guess that this hadn't been the reason for his visit. "You heard about that plane crash at JFK?" He wasn't sure whether Alex seemed to tense for a moment or not.

"It was all over primetime news."

"That wasn't my question", Weine replied, knowing that Alex must feel like being examined.

Instead of an answer, he leant back and folded his arms as well. "Why?"

"Why don't you give me a simple answer to a simple question?" the elder agent asked, not raising his voice in any way. "Have you been there, Alex?"

The young man shrugged. "Yes, Federal Agent Weine, I have been there." He couldn't tell where the sudden rage inside of him came from. After all Weine wasn't his enemy. But Alex couldn't help the feeling that there was a somewhat accusing undertone in his superior's voice. "Is there anything else you'd like to know?"

Weine did not let himself get worked up. "What happened?"

"I'm sure you've seen the news as well."

"The unofficial version please."

Alex narrowed his eyes. He was far angrier with himself than with Weine, for it was still so easy to give him the feeling that someone tried to make him responsible. It was as if he had been taken back to the time when he was sixteen and had first met his later boss. Again he felt the anger and disbelief on the part of the agents, his own helplessness as he tried to explain something he didn't even understand himself and only knew for sure that no one would believe him. Even his best friend didn't, so why some overworked federal agents that only wanted to close the file of a stupid kid gone crazy should do?

Weine draw his own conclusions from his silence. "So it happened again. The third time. Have you found out yet how the design works this time?"

Alex ears pricked up. He wasn't sure whether he had heard right. "No."

"If there's anything we can do …."

Now Alex was speechless. Had Weine really just offered his help?

"You're still of the opinion that I think you to be the 180 killer, don't you?"

"Actually …. in a way …. yes." What the hell was happening here?

Weine grinned. "Well, I guess I didn't do much to convince you that I didn't."

Alex was confused. The only thing he was sure of was that he disliked the fact that Weine now knew about it, but it had been inevitable. What had he expected? That out of some mysterious reason Weine wouldn't hear about the crash or even if, wouldn't draw his conclusions? After all, it didn't change anything.

"So if …."

Alex ran his fingers through his already tousled hair and shook his head. "You know you can't. Unless you go and kill death. This would make us become immortal. So the overpopulation would increase even more due to the fact that no one dies and in a while – " he scratched his head, wondering where all this nonsense had come from. "Look, I know you just want to help, but – there's nothing you can do. We either beat it one more time or we don't. We live or we die. That's the stake, that's the game. Only difference is; the rules aren't clear yet." He was astonished how simple it sounded. Weine's mobile started to ring and he went outside, leaving Alex who was thankful to cut the talk short. He was sure that he would be allowed to take some time off, until everything was over - however - but who could tell how long it lasted. It wasn't that he liked his job so much that he wouldn't stand to break off for a while, the truth was that it was a perfect way to busy him, to distract him, tiring him enough to silence the constant questions and fears in his mind. Things that had driven him so mad a few years ago that he finally complied with his parent's wish to undergo psychiatric treatment. Actually the talks with the psychiatrist hadn't helped him much, for he hadn't been able tell him the whole truth, sure that if he did they'd never let him leave, but the time out had done him good. And his parents had finally stopped unnerving him with their well-meant but incessant worries.

~°~.~°~.

Carter alternated between slamming on the gas, the brakes and the horn. It was unbelievable how many idiots owned a driver's license. And why had 98 percent of them to be in the streets right now? He was tired for he had spent half of the last night in his firm. Fucking job. If somebody had told him five years ago that he would work in the family business one day he simply would've laughed at that idiot or knocked him down, depending on his mood. He didn't really want to go and look for a job, but needed money since his father had cut off his money supply after he had found out that his son spent more time on partying then on studying. The job was much more demanding and time consuming than he ever would have thought, but to his own astonishment Carter found out that he kind of liked it. It was so funny to fire people, which he did as often as possible. Well, at least he threatened with it since Liz had managed to wake his conscience, something he thought to be irretrievably buried years ago. Liz. Stupid bitch. He was angry with her, angry with himself. Why couldn't she have died before she moved into his apartment, turning his life upside down and waking somewhat positive feelings towards her in him? He didn't love her; he hated the fact that he was missing her. And then as a farewell gift she had restarted the game. Carter slammed on the brakes as someone nearly collided with his car. He leant out of the window and yelled at the person: "What the fuck is wrong with you, asshole??" The next moment he almost swallowed his chewing gum as he caught a quick sight of the man's face. That couldn't be, this was simply impossible. Not here. Not now. He was distracted by a loud hooting behind him and when he looked to the front again the man had already disappeared in the crowd. As he continued driving he was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he even forgot to give the hooting idiot the finger, apart from pulling him out of the car and smashing his face in, of course.

~°~.~°~.~°~.~°~.~°~.~°~.~°~.~°~.

The janitor reached into his toolbox to find the corresponding tool to screw the bolt tight. He cursed as one of the pointed nail scattered at the bottom pricked into his finger. As he pulled it out and tried to lick off the blood he nearly fell backwards off the ladder he stood on. Cursing even louder he hardly managed to keep his balance. He was a janitor for God's sake! No goddamn plumber or engineer. Why couldn't those hospital weirdoes get that? Thinking they were so great, so celestial. Gods in white, don't make me laugh.

"Hey Jack", one of the male nurses said, grinning at him. "You're redecorating the entire building or are them managers just too greedy again to call a real engineer?" Jack gazed along the ceiling. Most of the panels had been taken away, certainly more than would have been necessary, so he could see the long rows of cables and conductings that lead through the whole building. This hospital might look posh from the outside, but nobody should ever have to see that.

"Do you like your job, Mr Lonsdale?" One of the managers asked the young man, passing by the very moment.

He swallowed. "Yes."

"So if you like to keep it, I suppose you better convince me that we really need your help in this hospital. Maybe you could prove it by working, not by hanging around."

The male nurse gritted his teeth, but disappeared into one of the rooms behind him.

"Sir - " Jack began.

"Don't worry, Jack, I'm sure you will make it. As always", the manager said, walking on and not even looking at the janitor. Jack snorted and grimaced as the man entered on of the elevators. A movement below his feet cut his anger off for a while. A blonde long legged young woman passed by, her claret dress not revealing as much as he would've liked to, but still enough to distract him from his momentary work. He didn't care that she was accompanied by a young dark haired man, nor did he care about his next step. His foot slipped on the rungs and he lost his balance. The ladder wobbled heavily and finally fell down to the ground, knocking a huge bucket over, the dirty water spreading out over the floor.

Clear and Todd turned around as they heard the noise behind them. Clear walked towards the man to help him as Tod suddenly grabbed her from behind and pulled her back. She jerked around, an angry expression on her face and only then the single pieces of the puzzle suddenly fitted together. As he fell down, the man must have tried to grab hold of something and so ripped one the cables off its socket. It was lying in the opening, ready to fall down any time. She stared on the floor; her feet were only a few inches away from the puddle of the ground.

 "Go away! The cable!" she screamed, causing the people to look at her if she had just escaped from a madhouse. "You! The janitor! Fucking get away from the water!!"

Confused the man stared at the wild gesticulating girl and her friend, then took a look above. Just at that time one of the last hooks loosened and it shot down, directly into the water. A nurse screamed as she watched his body being shaken by the electric shocks that ran through his body. It was a horrible play to watch. Everybody stood frozen, none of them able to help. One of the employees must have run to the fuse box, for suddenly the light went out and only the emergency power generator kept working to guarantee that no patient would suffer in such a situation. Jack's body fell to the ground, but no one laughed at the splashing sound it made as he hit the puddle below him. People rushed towards him, intending to help him, but though he got first class first aid, it was too late for him. The lights were turned on again and Clear was sure she'd never forget his eyes. Opened wide, they were staring at the ceiling, a disbelieving expression in them. His left hand lied on the floor, the fingers cramped, yet lifeless, the index finger pointing in their direction as if to show whose place he had taken.

Tod gulped as he noticed what she was staring at. The feeling of unreality he had since the security officers had put him under arrest a few days ago, slowly left and was replaced by knowledge. Nobody would've been able to tell him this was a normal accident. It had missed the survivors. Again. For the third time.

*I'm sorry if it was too melodramatic; I'll try n stop it. Maybe some more action would do good (laughs at the thought of herself creating an action sequence). Since I always fail at physics I dunno how high and dangerous the remaining voltage is (or if this is the even right term), so if some cracks could help me out, u're welcome, lol*