Chapter 5

Ray Mercer sat at his office desk reviewing notes for his next lecture when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in…" he looked up to see who his visitor was as he was not expecting anyone.

Toby hustled in and shut the door behind him. "Ray, I need your help."

The professor knew the paramedic well enough that such an entrance bereft of small chit chat was serious and likely meant there was a crisis. "Tell me what's wrong?"

Taking a deep breath Toby now regretted not mentioning Ethan before when his brother had first revealed himself. "I told you before that I remembered having a brother? " Ray nodded. "He's here."

"Here? " Ray asked for clarification.

"In Toronto… specifically at St. Lukes. " Ray appeared to be at a total loss how to make sense of this lone fact out of the larger story.

"Back up Toby… start at the beginning. How do you know this man is your brother?"

"His name is Ethan… he first showed up shortly after we had done the hypnosis to open the memories to my past… he disappeared before I learned much, but then a couple days ago he came back and he's looking for Maya as well. There was a journal in the car with Maya when she crashed… he has it." Toby was excitedly moving about the room as he explained, "She's out there somewhere… she walked away from the crash. "

Partially stunned by the weight of the news, Ray was still missing a piece. "What happened that Ethan ended up in the hospital?"

That's the part that Toby was not looking forward to sharing as it spoke to an unstableness on Ethan's part. "He had a gun and … he was upset and then he tried to shoot himself."

"Toby – " Ray started in astonishment.

"I know I should have told you before… " Toby cut Ray off.

"He could have shot you … What proof do you have that this man is even who he says he is?"

"The name might not be real," He admitted, "but he is my brother. He has the gift."

By the time Ray and Toby made it back to St. Lukes, Ethan was nowhere to be found.

"I shouldn't have left his side." Toby chastised himself as he and Ray sat in the ER waiting area.

"What's important now is that we figure out what his next move will be. Did he make contact with anyone else while he was in town?" the question was meant to calm and focus Toby, but the reaction gained was just the opposite.

"Charlie…"

Marks was standing in her kitchen pouring a cup of freshly brewed coffee when the sharp knock at the door jolted her attention away from the pot almost causing her to spill the steaming liquid. Muttering to herself she stormed to the door as a second round of increased banging started.

"I'm coming already!" She yelled towards the door and grimaced at the pain her increased speed caused her still tender wound. Glancing through the peep hole she was met with the image of a near frantic Toby Logan pacing the hallway in front of her apartment. She jerked the door opened as Toby raised his fist for another round of knocking.

The relief on his face at seeing her apparently safe and only slightly annoyed was evident. "Charlie…" suddenly he didn't have a good opening as to why he had shown up unannounced.

"What's up that you feel the need to break down my door?" the annoyance faded from her voice as she glanced over the work notes lying all over the apartment. His eyes riveted to hers had thankfully not yet noticed the file folders strewn over the couch and chair. At her change in demeanor he looked around. While it was true that he was no cop, Toby seriously doubted that she would be assigned a case while on medical leave.

He picked up the nearest folder, opened it and scanned the top paper. It was the police report on Clooney from the robbery at Ray Mercer's office. From there his eyes landed on other notes and folders all connected to the case. One in particular caught his attention. Putting down the folder in his hands, he took two long strides to snatch up the one with the bold label at the top reading "Logan, Toby". It was the file that had been stolen from Ray's office. The folder that told all about his history, at least from the moment he met Ray, including some insights and experiences that he had not shared with anyone else. Emotions collided within him… relief that Charlie seemed safe, embarrassment at what she might now know about him, anger at the invasion of privacy, fear of what her reaction to him might be after knowing more about him, and fear for her as she became more deeply involved in his life.

"This file was stolen from Ray's office… " his words were quietly spoken, but held such intensity that there was only silence for several moments in response. There was also an unspoken question behind the obvious statement.

"Toby…" Charlie's voice was hesitant and faltered when he looked up at her with the clear eyes of a child contained in a man's face – wanting so much to trust yet not sure if he could. She averted her eyes but moved a step closer. "I had to read it. " Glancing back towards Toby, Charlie could see the struggle to keep his expression neutral. "I'm really not supposed to have any of these files… Becker would have my head if he knew. But I had to try to find out about the man who shot me. That file… it might have contained information connected to Clooney…" she tried to justify having reviewed it." Needing to focus on being elsewhere she darted back to the kitchen. "Just made a fresh pot of coffee, want some?" The invitation was a bit muffled from a couple rooms away but gave them both breathing space to regain their composure from the awkward moment.

Toby tried to draw in a breath. "No thanks.. " Ethan. The reason he was there in the first place popped back into his thoughts with renewed urgency. Marks came back into the room with her coffee and sat down opposite him.

"You still haven't told me why you're here. Don't say you're just checking in on me or I may have to deck you to show you how well I'm recovering. " The comic threat lightened the mood a little and even got a half smile from Toby before his expression turned grimly serious. There was no easy way to break into this.

"Ethan is back in town." Toby said plainly.

"Ethan? What does he want? How do you know?" Shakily she set down her cup as memories of Toby's brother flooded back to her mind and her pulse started racing.

"He contacted me a few days ago – " he started to explain, but was cut off.

"A few DAYS AGO!" Charlie's eyes widened and her voice rose in volume and pitch. "When were you planning on mentioning this?"

"Charlie, you were still in a coma at the time! Things have been moving a little quickly here." Toby took a breath and steadied his voice to a calmer level before continuing. "He received the same mental beacon I did regarding the car crash involving our mother. " He leaned in closer, "She walked away from the crash. There were still footprints and some items left behind when Ethan arrived on the scene. "

"That still doesn't explain why you showed up here frantically pounding on my door." She eyed him wondering what information he was leaving out.

Toby dropped his eyes, "the last time he and I talked things got a little out of hand and he almost shot himself."

"A little…" she gasped astonished at the casual way Toby was talking about Ethan's use of a gun, but stopped when he put up a hand asking her to let him finish.

"Emotions were running high and I don't think he meant to hurt himself or me. They checked him out at the hospital and said his injuries were superficial. I had left him there for a short time to go talk to Ray and when we got back he was gone." She still didn't quite understand why that would lead him here. "You are the only other person I know of that he contacted here. That's why I came both to check on you, and to see if I could pick up a trail on Ethan."

"Where's the gun?" her police training kicked in, causing the first thing for her to focus in on in the entire situation was the potential danger the unaccounted for weapon could pose.

He furrowed his brow, "I'm not sure. Probably still at the hospital. They wanted to keep him for psych evaluation, but his bag and other personal belongings had been picked up by the time I returned with Ray to the hospital. "

"Toby, what we have here is a very unstable telepath who, no insult intended, is far more powerful and dangerous than your ability has shown to be and who may be carrying a weapon and has disappeared into the city. I assume you don't have any clue as to his motive for being back or you wouldn't have come here hoping to pick up a trail based simply on the fact that he had contact with me while impersonating a police officer… which by the way is still a crime that he could be arrested for –" she laid out the situation but now it was her turn to be cut off by Toby.

"He's here to find out the truth." He insisted.

"The truth about what?" What was it about this entire mess Toby was refusing to grasp, she wondered.

"About his life… about who he is. Ethan was taken as a baby and told his whole life that his mother willingly turned away from him. Believed himself to be a freak and used by the same people that were after us then and are still after me even now. If Frank had not saved me and brought me to Ray, there is no guarantee that I would not have ended up just like Ethan. "

"And you believe that is his sole reason for returning? No hidden agenda? " her raised eyebrows challenged Toby.

Toby paused. He couldn't say for certain there was no alterior motive behind Ethan's quest for answers, but he believed his brother's pain and understood the hunger for answers to questions long pushed aside.

"Toby… you want to believe the best of people, and I admire that in you – I do, but sometimes I think that can blind you to what is really there. Especially in this case. " the words were spoken gently but firmly.

"I have to try to find him." The whisper was both a plea and a confession.

"I know. Just … be careful, OK?" There was nothing she could say to keep Toby from pursuing the matter as he had countless other times when the case had been less personal than his brother. Yet she still worried about him.

"I'll be OK. Soo if he does come by…" He grinned that boyish smile that caused Charlie to ruefully smile.

"You will be the first person I call…" ++ and police headquarters will be the second ++ She smirked.

"Hey… giving me a head start on the cops … nice." Glancing at his watch he stood and walked to the door then paused. The folder from Ray's office was still in his hand. Toby slowly turned back towards Charlie and offered her the folder. She reached out to take it with gaze downcast, but was forced to look up to meet his eyes in silent question as his grip was not allowing her to take the file.

"Knowing what's in those pages … maybe it will help you understand." His voice was strained with emotion held in check. Maybe what was in that folder would not only help her understand him, but help her realize why he couldn't turn his back on Ethan despite what common sense might dictate. Letting go of the folder and breaking eye contact he began to open the door, Toby noticed a small book sitting on the floor just outside Marks door that had not been there when he arrived. Hurriedly he looked up and down the hallway. At the far end of the hall there stood Ethan.

Charlie had seen the book as well from where she had been standing inside the apartment . She came to the door to stand beside Toby. Both stared unbelievingly at the other telepath for several seconds, and then Marks ducked inside to grab her gun.

"No! " Toby tried to get Charlie's attention to prevent the situation from escalating.

"I can't stay." Ethan called loud enough to be heard from his present location. ++ And you can't leave. ++ With that he was gone from view around the corner by the time Marks made it back with her gun.

"Charlie you can't go after him… let him go. Please." Toby was physically blocking the door, but his words had more impact than the physical obstacle he was presenting.

"Once Toby. I will let it go this once. " A last glance down the hall, and then she put the weapon back in its holster. "What's that?" she nodded toward the book on the floor.

He reached to pick it up then recognized it. "It's Maya's … my mom's… journal. "