DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY DEAD OR ALIVE CHARACTER. THOSE CHARACTERS BELONG TO TECMO, LTD. AND TEAM NINJA. I AM IN NO WAY INTENDING ANY COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT AND I'M NOT MAKING A PROFIT FROM THE USE OF THESE CHARACTERS. ANY CHARACTER NOT A PART OF DEAD OR ALIVE IS MINE AND MINE ALONE.

Chapter Twenty-eight

Tuesday, December 27

3:02 P.M.

Charity Medical Complex

Shark pushed out of the large glass doors and trudged outside into the cold winter afternoon. The skies above Okashima were thick and gray, reflecting his mood quite well.

What did you expect? She had every right to say the things she said. You don't deserve her forgiveness. You were a fool to go to Jack.

Shark shook his head, knowing that his inner voice was right, as always. He just never usually listened to it. Now look where that choice has left him. He would've never used the dagger to cut her if Smith hadn't asked him to. The chemicals were one thing. They usually were a pretty safe tool and yielded answers quickly. But knives? If he had just listened to his gut back then none of this would be happening.

At that moment, he knew what he had to do. But in order to do anything, he would have to wait. So he sat down in the waiting area downstairs and did just that.


Jack walked into the hall with the female doctor. "What is it?"

Karei thought a moment. "There's several questions I want to ask you, but I think the most important would be who is Smith and why did he hurt them?"

Jack was surprised she knew anything about Smith. "Smith?"

Karei nodded. "She told me Smith hurt them both right before she fell asleep yesterday."

"What makes you think I know anything?"

"She's mentioned you several times. I figured since you two are so close, you might have an idea what may have happened.

Jack nodded. "He's some kind of crime lord or something like that. But I'm sorry to say that I have no clue why he would do this to them. The guy is obviously scum, but I am thankful that things weren't worse."

"Worse? How could they be any worse?"

Jack sighed. "She could've been killed, or she could've been raped. But she wasn't, thank god."

"I see what you mean. But what did happen to her could have been worse than death, or even rape. The extent of her injuries is something that I've never seen before in any other patient."

He nodded. "But she's still alive, and I will make sure that no one touches her ever again. I swear it."

Karei nodded. "I believe you, and I wish you could tell me more. Do you know why he took Kasumi and Ayane?"

Jack sighed. "I'm afraid I don't know the answer to that either. All I really know for sure is that he wanted to hurt them very badly."

Karei shook her head. "He did a damn good job then."

"I think he thought they knew something, but I can't say what that might be. Obviously, she didn't tell him anything. Or she didn't know what he thought she did."

"So you don't know anything?" Makita said, clearly disappointed. "What about the chemical that was in their systems?"

Jack shrugged. "Sorry. I didn't know anything was wrong with her until she started spewing blood everywhere. It scared the shit out of me. I thought I was going to lose her."

Karei glanced into the room at the two girls and thought about the remarks Ayane had made earlier and the havoc it had brought upon Kasumi. "Do you know why Kasumi's sister hates her so much?"

"Why do you think that?"

"It's kind of obvious isn't it?"

Jack nodded. "Yeah, I suppose it is. What did she do to Kasumi this time?"

"I don't remember word for word, but I remember it made her very upset. She was clearly devastated. I tried talking to her sister, but it was no use."

Jack sighed. "I knew putting them in the same room would be a bad idea."

"So do you know why?"

"It has something to do with when they were kids. Something went wrong and they've never been the same since. That's all I know. Ayane can be unreasonable sometimes, but I didn't think she would stoop this low."

"I guess I'll have to wait for the police to investigate before I get any real answers. They'll probably want to talk to you as well."

Jack buried his surprise well. "Police, huh? Well, it's a good thing they're coming. Maybe they can shed some light on this mess."

Makita nodded. "I certainly hope so. I'll let you get back to Kasumi now. I just wanted to see if you had any answers."

"Never hurts to ask. If you have any more questions, please come back and ask them. I don't mind."

Karei nodded and left, and Jack went back into room 23A, where Myamoto, Kasumi, and Ayane were all waiting quietly. Damn, he didn't need any trouble with the cops, but him killing Duncan would be sure to get their attention. This wasn't going to be an easy day.

Jack closed the door behind him and glared at Ayane. "You made her cry? How could you do that?! Especially after you saw what she's been through?"

Ayane scoffed. "So she tattled on me, huh? So what if I yelled at Kasumi? She is a worthless little twit, and I meant what I said."

"Take that back! She isn't worthless!"

"You're right. She means less than nothing to me," Ayane hissed. "The dirt on the bottom of my shoes is more important to me than her puny insignificant life."

Kasumi suppressed her steadily building emotions, knowing that it would only make Jack even angrier at Ayane if she fell apart now. But she was close to the edge of her limits and she couldn't listen to any more. Not right now.

Jack glared at Ayane. "If you were even half the person she was--!"

Kasumi sighed, struggling to maintain control, and grabbed Jack's forearm. "Please, don't get mad at her."

Jack was amazed at Kasumi. "Don't get mad? How can I not? She made you cry, and she seems pretty proud of it. I'm surprised you're sticking up for her."

Kasumi nodded. "Yes, she did. But--"

"I hope you're happy, Ayane. Even after you tear her down, she still won't get mad at you. How far are you willing to push her?"

"As far as I want. Now, screw off! I don't have to answer to the likes of you."

"Apologize to her. You owe her that much at least," Jack said in a flat definitive tone, his voice as hard as solid rock.

Ayane gave Kasumi a fake smile. "Sorry, you ugly little wench. I'm sorry you're still alive and I'm even sorrier that Smith didn't get the chance to slowly carve you apart like--"

Kasumi, already broken and pushed too far, exploded into tears at that exact moment, unable to hold back her feelings any longer. The pain was just too much for her to hide anymore, and it burst through her meager defenses like an unstoppable tidal wave. She buried her face in her hands in a lame attempt to shield herself from Ayane's hatred and hide her misery from Jack at the same time.

"Why?!" she sobbed, "I just want things to be the way they were! Is that too much to ask?!"

"It is too much to ask," Ayane said coldly. "I wish you were dead."

Kasumi reacted as if she had just been whipped with a leather strap. The words sliced through her like a razor and she realized that maybe it would've been better if Smith actually had killed her. Then at least she wouldn't be made to suffer through this kind of trauma.

"Me too...." she whispered softly, tears continuing to glide down her cheeks.

Jack was both shocked and infuriated. "You don't really mean that, do you? Things won't be this way forever."

Kasumi remained silent.

Ayane's lips parted in a genuine smile, but something hurt inside like a thousand bee stings. Seeing what she had just done to her once best friend had jarred something loose in Ayane's hardened heart, but as soon as it a had appeared, it had vanished within the dark shadows of her pain and anger.

She looked into Kasumi's pained honey colored eyes and saw it again, instantly recognizing the dark blemish that was showing. The thing she had seen during their captivity was now again being reflected in her sister's soft emotional eyes. The massive amount of pain that Kasumi had managed to conceal so well was exposed, and this time it was her fault it was there. Ayane's smile vanished and she looked away. She couldn't see it again. The first time had been enough for her, and Kasumi's hurt was just too much for her to take again.

Jack shook his head and gritted his teeth, but could find nothing to say. At least nothing that would help. He could see that Ayane had regretted her cold brutal remarks, but she still wouldn't mutter a simple 'sorry' to her sister, who obviously wanted nothing more than her forgiveness. She wanted it more than anything in the entire world.

Kasumi dried her eyes and looked up at Jack. "Sorry, I just kind of lost it and--"

Jack leaned close to her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders in a tight affectionate embrace. She slowly and carefully returned his hug and sighed comfortably, resting her head against his chest.

"It's okay, Kasumi. Everything will get better, I promise."

She nodded. "I know."

He smiled and gave her a small kiss on the forehead. Then he leaned back into his chair and held her hand in his own. Then they proceeded to start talking about everything but the last few weeks. He was trying to keep her thinking of the future and not the past, and it was working at the moment.

Myamoto dragged up a chair and also sat next to Kasumi, but before he took a seat, he noticed the look of complete jealousy on Ayane's face. He also noticed that she looked like she was about to cry. But that could have been the lighting in the room.

"I don't think you mean to hurt her. I just think you aren't that sure what you want," he said. "It's okay to show your true feelings."

I'm sorry! She wanted to shout to everyone. I'm so sorry, Kasumi! I'm sorry for everything! Please forgive me.

Myamoto shook his head when she ignored him. "You bring this on yourself, you know."

Ayane responded by rolling over and closing her eyes, ignoring everyone else in the room, and drowning out her misery.


Tuesday, December 27

4:12 P.M.

Organization Compound 32

Smith banged his hands onto the darkened console in frustration. "The systems are far too damaged to fix. We need a lot of spare parts. Spare parts that I don't have."

Thomas nodded. "Yeah, my men missed a lot. They were trained with a focus on hand to hand combat, not firearms. Mix that with a bunch of assault rifles and you get this. Sorry about that."

"If that damned Jack Wallace hadn't shown up, things would be done by now. Both the girls would be dead and we'd both have our own private islands. But look at this place. It'll take forever to get it operational again."

"Then it's a good thing that DOA 4 isn't going to start for a while. If you truly need this place to give orders to your contact, then you should have enough time to fix things."

Smith sighed. "I guess you're right. Let's get back to work."

Thomas hesitated. "Do you have a plan if he shows up here again?"

"To be honest, I haven't given that much thought. But if my 'surprise' in the woods didn't get him, then I don't think there's much I can do. He can't get in anyway. I changed the codes, remember?"

"Somehow, I don't find that reassuring."


Tuesday, December 27

8:37 P.M.

Charity Medical Complex

Jack got up from the plush blue chair and put on his black leather jacket. "I should probably get going. Myamoto and I have a few things we need to take a look at. We'll be back sometime tomorrow though."

Kasumi yawned and closed her eyes. "I'll be waiting, Jack."

Her voice was soft and gentle, much like a sweet breeze in a field of blooming flowers. Jack could tell immediately she was feeling more than a little tired. Whatever the doctors were giving her sure made her sleepy, but he knew that with sleep the healing would progress quickly.

He gave her a slight kiss on the cheek and left the room, glancing at Ayane as he approached the door. She had already fallen fast asleep underneath her thick warm blankets.

Jack felt both confused and saddened when he gazed upon her, knowing that her rage towards Kasumi was not entirely about something he would ever come to understand. For the first time ever he was beginning to realize that he would need to learn much more before even scratching the surface of their broken relationship. There were just too many glitches and crossed wires to make sense of everything. Why was Ayane so pissed at Kasumi? Why did she want to break her so badly? What did Kasumi do to cause this, if she did anything at all? These were questions that circled through his thoughts.

He could easily see Kasumi's magnitude of hidden pain, even when she was trying to hide it, and he had seen it tonight when Ayane had ruthlessly lashed out. But the thing about tonight's display of raw, unbridled emotion was that even though she had tried to hold it in check, the pain broke through some kind of thick defensive wall and she obviously hadn't been ready for it. And that sudden unexpected bolt of anguish had caused her to shatter into thousands of shards inside, like a delicate crystal swan in a hailstorm of misery. She snapped.

He knew her better than anyone on the entire planet, and he knew that those words had cut her far deeper than Ayane had realized or intended them to. It was very rare that he ever saw Kasumi burst into a fit of tears and he had only seen it happen maybe five times since he met her. Mostly in the last week, but it had happened maybe once before then. She had been completely oblivious that he had seen her, but he never wanted to bring up such painful issues while they were together. It was something she apparently didn't want him to know and he respected her privacy.

But on the other hand, there was Ayane's story. He had only talked to her maybe three times, including Zack Island. She was a mystery to him and he had to admit that he wasn't clear on her side of things. But knowing Kasumi and who she was, Jack knew that whatever had gone bad between them, it wasn't intentional. Kasumi would never willingly harm anyone she cared about in even the slightest way, especially Ayane of all people. That's just who she was.

But Ayane didn't strike him as someone who would be unjustified in her motives. Whatever was wrong, she blamed Kasumi for it. Whether it was actually her fault or not didn't seem to matter much. All that mattered to her seemed to be the methodical devastation of her sister's spirit. And it was working. It was almost like she wanted revenge for something that had ruined her life while they were growing up. But what was it that had been so terrible?

"Earth to Jack," Myamoto said, waving his arms in the air. "What's up? You're a million miles away."

Jack sighed. "It's nothing really."

"Doesn't look like nothing to me," Myamoto said.

"It just bothers me that Ayane continues to act this way towards her sister, even after what they've just been through together. It's going to destroy Kasumi if she keeps it up."

Myamoto nodded. "Even I didn't expect what she said. That was harsh. But I still think that she really isn't as sure as she presents herself to be."

"Why do you think that?"

Myamoto shrugged. "I don't really know. But the way she reacted when Kasumi started crying showed she was conflicted."

Jack nodded. "I saw that too. The way she smiled but then stopped two seconds later when she looked at Kasumi was definitely a sign of remorse. I'm trying to find some connection to see what might have happened between them, but the only way I can learn more is to ask Kasumi and hope she talks. But enough about that. I think we should get back to what we were doing before. Did you find anything new on the laptop I let you borrow?"

Myamoto thought a moment. "No, nothing that we haven't already seen a hundred times. Face it; we have nothing to go on."

Jack popped his knuckles as he continued to walk down the hospital hallway. "I can't accept that. I need to see Smith pay for what he's done. Maybe we should go find Hayabusa and Hayate and go back to the docks."

"Take a break, Jack. You're working too hard. We can't do anything tonight anyway. It's almost nine o'clock. How much do you think we'll find in three or four hours of scavenging through the dark?"

Jack nodded and was about to reply when to uniformed patrolmen came through the hospital entrance. Jack quietly put his back to the wall and stealthily peered around the corner as Doctor Makita came out to greet them, making sure that they couldn't see him.

"So you're the officers that were sent. Very well. I will show you where they are staying. Follow me, please."

Jack knew he was supposed to stick around and answer questions, but he had expected them to arrive at around seven or seven thirty. When they didn't show up, he decided to wait until he got his story together. Damn, what am I supposed to say now?

Myamoto saw the cops as well and sighed. "Well, this isn't good."

"Really?" Jack murmured sarcastically. "I thought that having the cops here would be fun."

Myamoto rolled his eyes. "Well what are you going to do?"

"We're leaving. I can't afford to get into trouble right now. Not with Kasumi so vulnerable. Besides, I'm sure that she'll point out that I had to kill him or we'd both be dead right now. It was self defense."

"Yeah, and then guess where they'll go? To your house. And then they'll ask why you didn't come forward. I don't know how things worked back in America, but here you look pretty suspicious."

"I suppose you're right. I'll think of something when the time comes, I'm sure. Let's go find Hayabusa."

Myamoto nodded and they both left the building as soon as the police had left the lobby and proceeded to Kasumi's room. They had hid in a nearby janitor's closet so the police didn't notice them as they passed. Then when it was all clear, both men exited the hospital and walked out to the dark green Jeep that was parked outside.


Tuesday, December 27

9:01 P.M.

Jack's Apartment

Hayabusa had been waiting patiently for Jack to return, wanting information on how Ayane was getting along and on anything that Myamoto may have found last night.

Hayate, however, had decided to return to the village. Both of them agreed that in case Jack failed to locate Smith soon, it would be best if the Shinobi had an experienced leader to coordinate their defenses.

But Ryu wondered if his friend was going to start sending out parties after Jack as well as Kasumi. The man knew everything, and that was a death sentence as far as the Shinobi were concerned. Yet, Jack Wallace would obviously make a great ally in the struggle ahead, so Hayate would most likely hold off on the attacks until this was resolved. After all, Hayate had to realize that without Jack, they would be in far worse shape than they currently were.

"Why am I not surprised?" a voice muttered from the doorway.

Ryu turned around to face Jack, who was standing in the entrance of his apartment. Myamoto was right behind him.

"So how are they doing?"

Jack sighed. "Don't worry. Ayane's feeling just peachy." His voice was thick with contempt.

"And Kasumi?"

"I'd rather not go into any details about that. She's okay by medical standards."

Hayabusa said nothing for a few seconds, thinking about Jack's cryptic response, and then he spoke. "What about otherwise?"

"If you were there, you would know. I was hoping you would come with me today and try to clear a few things up. Or at least show them some support."

Hayabusa sat down on Jack's leather recliner. "I had more important things to do at the time," he said, referring to the long conversation he and Hayate had about Smith, the village, and Jack and Kasumi. That conversation ultimately led to Hayate's return to the village.

"More important things to do?" Jack was curious, "Like what?"

"It's none of your concern."

Myamoto sighed. "Is he always like this?"

"Pretty much," Jack said. Then he returned his focus to Hayabusa. "Listen, I wasn't looking for you so I could waste our time with stupid meaningless questions. I wanted to see if you had any ideas on what we should do next."

Hayabusa shrugged. "Can't you think of an idea on your own?"

Myamoto shook his head. "We've exhausted every approach as it is. We've got nothing."

"Then I suggest you wait until something presents itself. I have no further advice for you." Hayabusa got up and approached the open window.

"Wait!" Jack called out. "Why exactly were you here anyway?"

"I wanted to see how the girls were recovering, so I decided to wait for you."

"That's it?"

"You sound disappointed, Jack. What were you expecting?"

Jack thought a moment. "I don't know. But how can you expect me to just sit on my hands until Smith makes the next move? Kasumi's already paid the price for that kind of strategy and I have no desire to see her hurt any worse. There has to be something you can think of."

Ryu remained stoic as usual, showing no outward signs of impatience. "We've been to the forest and now we know there is something dangerous prowling those dark halls. Our only option would be to return to the docks, but I have a feeling that there isn't anything there. Smith is most likely long gone, Jack. There's nothing to be done about that. You have no choice but to wait."

Jack nodded. Hayabusa's reasoning made perfect sense, but Jack hated the idea of letting the bad guys make the first move. He would just have to keep a careful eye on Kasumi and make sure that no one came near her.

"I guess you're right..." he muttered. "It still sucks though."

Hayabusa said nothing and left the apartment swiftly and quietly with all the skills of an elite ninja

As soon as the man had vanished, Jack plopped down on the couch and looked at Myamoto. "I guess we wait then."

Myamoto sat down in the recliner Hayabusa had been occupying earlier. "This is just like a good game of chess. You have to know your opponent to get the edge. So what do we know about Smith's habits?"

"He likes to hurt women, obviously," Jack's voice was filled with disgust. "And it looks like he's too cowardly to do anything for himself so he hires others to do his dirty work for him while he sits back and enjoys the show."

Myamoto glanced at the ceiling. "Shark. Is that who you're referring to?"

"Duh, who else do we know that worked for Smith?"

"Bayman, for starters," Myamoto said. "And then there's that 'park ranger' you shot."

Jack had completely forgotten about Bayman and Duncan. "Oh, yeah. That's right. Unfortunately, knowing he's a sick bastard who can't so anything for himself isn't exactly helpful."

"What else can you think of?" Myamoto asked.

Jack sighed and shook his head. "You probably know more about him than I do at this point. I bet you've memorized those files I gave you. What can you think of?"

"Honestly, I didn't pay much attention to his habits and techniques. I was only searching for a weakness. But I know someone who definitely would know his habits."

Jack shook his head. "No. I already told you that she needs to recover before we even consider bringing her into this mess."

"Jack, wake up and smell the roses. She is the mess. Right now it seems like everything is revolving around Kasumi. And considering what she has just endured, I think she deserves to be a part of this."

"But--"

Myamoto continued. "I know you want to protect her, but you can't save her from everything. I say we ask her if she knows anything that might prove Smith's weakness. If she saw anything that could tick him off or draw his attention, it would help a lot."

Jack nodded. "I suppose you're right. But there won't be much we can do anyway for at least two more weeks. She needs some recovery time before we try any sort of fighting. But I have an idea that might speed things up, if she's willing to push herself."

Myamoto was curious. "What are you thinking?"

Jack grinned. "I think that if we went to the gym to spar at least an hour a day, she will build back her strength twice as fast."

Myamoto burst out laughing. "Jack, she'll wipe the floor with you, even in her current condition. She's a Shinobi, and she will kick your ass."

Jack chuckled. "Maybe so, but I can hold my own in a fight. And it will sharpen both our senses for the road ahead. However, your plan doesn't involve any fighting, so I think we should go ahead and ask her if she picked up any details."

"Glad you reconsidered. I'll come back around noon tomorrow so we can go see her again."

Jack nodded. "Sounds good. See you later."

Myamoto gave a slight nod and left the small dim apartment, leaving Jack alone to consider everything that had transpired during the day. The argument in the hospital replayed itself over and over again in his head. He fell asleep on the couch again wondering about her past and what had gone so terribly wrong.


Tuesday, December 27

9:12 P.M.

Adjacent to Jack's Apartment

Hayabusa returned to the roof of the building across the street where he had set up his temporary base/residence. He thought about Jack's question seriously and closely evaluated the advice he had given. Waiting probably wasn't the best course of action as earlier events had proven, but he wanted Jack to back off for a second a focus more effort on Kasumi.

He wanted this for two main reasons. First, he wanted Kasumi to get stronger quickly so that Hayate wouldn't have to worry. And more importantly, if Jack was concentrating on her, then he wouldn't be paying attention to digging any further into the Shinobi, thus giving him a better chance at not attracting Hayate's attention.

Hayabusa decided right then that it would be best if he went solo for a while. But what was the next step he would need to take? A full frontal assault would be too messy and it wouldn't lead him where he wanted to go. He had a distinct feeling that this was bigger than just Smith and Kasumi. Something bigger had to be at stake here than a single girl's agony and some greedy thug.

Hayate would have to know something about why Smith was so interested in the Shinobi. There must be something in the Mugen Tenshin village that sparked the Organization's interest. Something valuable beyond anything he had considered.

Ryu unrolled his thick black sleeping bag and sighed. Tomorrow he would need to speak with Ayane. Since Hayate had returned to the village where he was needed, Ayane was his best resource on what Smith might really be after.

Kasumi most likely didn't remember or hadn't been graced with such a precious knowledge. After all, she never did step up and take her rightful place as leader after Hayate's accident. It was very likely that Shiden hadn't told her anything too important before she ran away.

The only reason he suspected Ayane knew something was that she was always nosing around in Hayate's business. If anyone besides him knew anything, it would definitely be her.


Tuesday, December 27

10:47 P.M.

Somewhere in Long Beach, CA

Corso peeked into the old rundown building and nodded with satisfaction. This was indeed the place he had been searching for. It looked like the apartments in this building had been unused for years, save the occasional hobo squatter. The electricity had been cut off and the place reeked of cigarette butts and booze, as was to be expected in this part of LA. He walked over to the dented mailboxes in the darkened lobby and scanned through the nameplates that were still legible.

"A. Peterson," Corso read aloud. "Nope."

He moved his gloved fingers down the rows as if he were reading a shopping list. "M. Benedict," he whispered as he shook his head. "L. Moore, K. Willis."

He continued to read the names with growing frustration. Finally he grinned as his index finger ran over the final nameplate. "J. Wallace."

Corso gave an approving nod and walked triumphantly up the dim stairs leading to the fifth floor of the building. He had searched local newspapers and the Internet for any trace of Jack Wallace as 'Annulus' had instructed him via e-mail. But all he had managed to turn up was an old murder case involving a man named James Wallace.

The obituary of the man is what led him here in the first place. It had clearly stated that James had been preceded in death by his wife, Susan, who had fallen victim of a rare form of cancer seven years prior to his murder. But the woman wasn't what he was interested in. It was the last part of the article. 'James Wallace was survived by his only son, Jack Wallace (16), and his daughter, Victoria Wallace (19).'

Corso tried the door knob on James's old apartment and sighed when he found it to be locked. But the building was obviously condemned and no one would care in the least if this particular door was kicked in. Besides, there was probably nothing there to steal anyway. He was after clues, not items.

He walked into the darkened apartment, his old leather boots causing the scratched and worn hard wood floors to groan under his weight. The entire place was covered in a thick layer of dust and gray sheets covered all of the old furniture. Surprisingly, nothing seemed too out of place. He noticed that the walls were bare of any pictures or white spots indicating where picture once might have been.

The apartment was tiny, even by the standards of the neighborhood. It was immediately apparent to him that Jack and Victoria weren't spoiled as kids and were raised in a pretty harsh environment.

As he entered one of the tiny bedrooms, the atmosphere completely changed from lonely and cramped to cozy and sentimental. There was a twin sized bed with broken legs and springs against the wall under a simple window. A plain wooden bookshelf was the only other piece of furniture in the room besides a battered chest of drawers that had seen better days.

The bookshelf was filled with dusty picture frames and books on marksmanship and modern firearms. There were also a variety of thick mystery novels and a few whodunit brain teasers.

He walked over to the shelf and picked up one of the frames, dusting it off with his hands. It was a clear photo of a once happy family. The father, James, was standing next to his wife with a smile on his face. The two small children stood in the foreground of the photo and he guessed them to be no older than five and eight. Everyone seemed very content with their perfectly average lives.

But as he looked through the others, Corso saw a story unfolding before his intelligent hazel eyes. When the mother vanished from the pictures, the daughter became more and more different from her father and brother, which was apparent in her defiant stance, her changing wardrobe, and her refusal to smile or stand close to her relatives.

But he instantly noticed that while the daughter was growing further away, Jack seemed to be following closely in his father's footsteps. They stood side by side, often with James's arm around his son's shoulder and a proud look upon his face.

Soon, Victoria was out of the photos altogether and it was just Jack and his father. There were various pictures taken on fishing trips or showing a target from shooting range with bullet holes directly in the bulls-eye.

Corso put the pictures back and left Jack's room, puzzled and intrigued. What had happened to Victoria? And where was Jack now? But the one thing that he was really wondering about was why this 'Annulus' character had taken a sudden interest in this man's life and history.

He shrugged. A paycheck was a paycheck and it didn't matter what things were like in the present. He continued his search.

As he walked down the narrow halls, Corso peeked into another small room, which was littered with posters of old rock bands and torn papers. Clearly Victoria wasn't organized like her brother. Either that or the rats loved all the paper she had left behind. One thing was instantly clear: searching that room would be a waste of time. Victoria obviously didn't like her father and brother and anything that might have proved even slightly helpful was probably long gone by now. So that left one more room: James and Susan's room.

Corso opened the old door and was greeted with an unexpected sight. There was a large brown blood stain on the dirty tan carpet at the foot of the king sized bed. Glass vases lay broken on the floor and dried and crispy flower stems lay beside the pieces. Strips of bright yellow police tape still lay on the carpet near the stain. The room was relatively empty and there had definitely been a struggle during James's attack. And once again the room was too messy to get anything really useful from, so he opened his PDA and started writing up an e-mail.

One thing was clear for certain: this job wasn't going to be as easy as he had thought. At least while he was gathering data on the previous DOA contestants, he had a pretty easy time finding what he needed on the Internet. Famous people were always easy to figure out. But Jack Wallace would present a small challenge, and Corso liked challenges.