Chapter 2

Storm rubbed her temples as she continued to question Cody Martin. She could tell he was becoming uncomfortable. Talking about his brother was becoming a real task for him. Especially since his brother was very near death.

"Cody, I know this is hard. But I need to know everything about your brother so I can find the person who hurt him," said Storm. Tears fell down Cody's face.

"I'm sorry. I want to help. I really do. But I'm so worried about Zack. If he dies, I don't know what I'll do," said Cody. Storm sighed.

"Would it be easier if your mother was here?" asked Storm. Cody nodded.

"I'll go get her," said Storm. Cody nodded. Storm got up and went to go get Carey. In the past hour and a half she had gotten a pretty good portrait of Zack Martin. He was a troublemaker and had made some people angry in his life. The question was did he make anyone angry enough to shoot him? Storm rounded a corner and headed towards the waiting room where Carey was being questioned. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw a man walking towards her. What was he doing here? He stopped walking when he saw her. Chance Matthews smiled and gave Storm a small wave. Storm felt a large array of emotions sweeping through her. Anger. Joy. Sadness. And dozens of other emotions that mixed and collided inside of her. Seeing Chance brought back a lot of good memories. But it brought back a lot of pain too. Storm slowly walked towards him.

"Hello, Storm," said Chance.

"Chance. What are you doing here?" asked Storm.

"There's a new development in Zack Martin's case," said Chance.

"The FBI is interested in the near fatal shooting of a thirteen-year-old boy?" asked Storm. Chance pulled out the bag with the .45 caliber bullet with the red x painted on it. He handed it to Storm.

"The .45 Caliber Killer. Violent Crimes thinks Zack was supposed to be his next victim," said Chance.

"You work in Violent Crimes now?" asked Storm.

"No. They requested me," said Chance. Storm couldn't believe it. The .45 Caliber Killer had shot Zack?

"I find it hard to believe that the .45 Caliber Killer shot Zack. Zack would be in the morgue if that was the case," said Storm.

"Then how do you explain this?" asked Chance, holding up the bag with the bullet in it.

"Anyone can paint a red x on a .45 caliber bullet," said Storm. Chance nodded. Storm could see a faint smile on his face. He was testing her.

"Same old, Chance. Always testing me," said Storm.

"Sorry. I couldn't help it," said Chance.

"So what are you here for? To see if the .45 Caliber Killer really did shoot Zack?" asked Storm.

"I'm the new profiler on the case," said Chance. Ah, shit. Now I'll have to work with him, thought Storm.

"Well, then we'll be seeing a lot of each other." Storm frowned. This was turning into a real shitty case fast.

"I guess so," said Chance, getting annoyed at Storm's attitude. "I want to talk to Zack's brother, Cody."

"I've been talking with him for the past hour and a half," said Storm.

"My turn," said Chance.

"He wants his mother there with him." God, he's still a jerk, thought Storm. He wanted to dig deep into Cody's deepest emotions. The hell you will, Chance, thought Storm.

"Fine. I'll wait until you get her," said Chance. He moved aside to let Storm past. Storm let out a huff and went to go find Carey.

In the operating room, Zack was barely holding on. The surgical team was working tirelessly to fix the damage to Zack's lung and prevent his ribcage from collapsing. Jack had called in cardiac surgeon Dr. Chris Williams to oversee the surgery. Chris was one of the main reasons Zack was still alive. The surgery was entering its' fourth hour. The bullet had long since been removed and sent to the police. Chris managed to fix Zack's lung and get his heart rate to slow down. His ribcage hadn't collapsed luckily and doctors expected his lung to heal nicely. They would monitor him for the next several days. Zack was closed up and taken to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

Carey Martin felt nothing as she walked into the small room where Cody was being questioned. She did not notice the cold draft. She did not hear the slight whirring sound of the air conditioning. She did not feel the tension in the air. The only thing that touched her was the sight of Cody. His arms were crossed and he was hugging them to his chest. His eyes were red, but he wasn't crying.

"Mom?"

Carey looked at him and sat beside him. Wordlessly, she wrapped her arms around his frail body. The tears began to flow from both of them and Cody fell into his mother's embrace.

"It's not fair," he choked out.

"I know, baby," Carey said as she held him close, "I know."

Storm took a few steps closer to Chance, "Let's give them a minute," she whispered.

Chance opened his mouth to protest but Storm interrupted him, "now."

Neither Carey nor Cody paid any attention to the closing door.

"Is Zack going to die?"

Carey pulled back slightly. She cupped Cody's face in her hands, catching his tears, "He's still in surgery," she said, "It—the doctors told me it could go either way."

Cody shook his head. He pushed Carey's hands away from his face, "I hate this," he said angrily, "Why is this happening all over again?"

Before Carey could think of something to say to that unanswerable question, the door swung open."

"I thought you said you were going to give us a minute," Carey snapped. But to her surprise, it was not one of the investigators who opened the door. It was Jack Cole.

Carey and Cody leapt up and began firing questions at him.

"Is Zack okay?"

"Is he out of surgery yet?"

"Did you get the bullet?"

"What's going to happen?"

"Did he survive?"

Jack held up his hands, "He's alive," he said quietly, "He's in a private room in the PICU.

Cody closed his eyes and fell back into his chair, silent tears streaming down his face. He replayed Jack's words in his mind.

'He's alive, he's alive, he's alive.'

"I know you're in the middle of an investigation," Jack continued, "But if you want to see Zack, that's fine."

Carey nodded, unable to speak. Relief was spreading through her chest.

"Come with me," Jack said, "I'll take you to him."

Cody sprang to his feet. He walked slightly behind Jack and his mother as they walked up to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. They were talking about Zack's prognosis, but Cody wasn't listening. All he could think about was the ominous gunshot that shattered his world hours before.

"Take as much time as you need," Jack said once they reached Zack's door. He sighed, "I suppose the two of you are getting really used to this by now."

"Unfortunately," Carey said, smiling bitterly.

Cody walked passed the two of them to get into the room. He rushed to Zack's bed and looked at him.

He inhaled sharply. This is bad. Zack had an IV in one hand. He was on a respirator so there was a tube down his throat, taped to his cheek to keep it in place. There was a thin tube stretched across his upper lip, with two extensions going up his nostrils. There were wires taped to his chest.

Cody picked up Zack's un-bandaged hand and kissed his forehead.

"Zack," he whispered into his twin's hair, "You gotta keep fighting. I can't lose you now. I love you."