Disclaimer: 'In Time' does not belong to me.

The reviews that I got brightened my whole day. Seriously. And I had a four hour music composition exam. So thank you Lily and Evangeline Evergreen. Your comments made my day. I only hope this chapter fairs just as well.

Leon sat back in his car, the static of the radio filling the vehicle. He could feel the beginnings of a headache coming on. This day could not have gotten any worse. First a mutilated woman found dead on a sidewalk, then a red petal located by the body, seemingly random and then finally a voice on the radio. He would wager that it would be another couple decades before he had a day as bad as this.

He thumped the steering wheel in sudden furious anger, ignoring the instant throb of pain that shot through his arm. This whole situation was impossible...improbable...something of that description. Leon was sure of it. There was absolutely no logical explanation that the voice on the radio could be the person that he was thinking of. But there was also no chance that Leon was wrong. He had heard that voice before, many times in the distant past, but he wasn't likely to forget that calibre.

Or that familiar mocking tone.

He started slightly in surprise as the radio fizzed into life again, "Timekeeper Leon, this is Dispatch, please respond," he quickly picked up the receiver, "Timekeeper Leon, your receiver went offline ten minutes ago, respond,"

"Dispatch this is Timekeeper Leon," he replied, thinking over the last few minutes, "I believe there is something wrong with my radio, someone contacted my receiver which wasn't Dispatch. Is there any way to find out where it came from?"

"No," the woman at Dispatch answered smoothly.

"No?" he was slightly bemused, "What do you mean by that? I know someone contacted me who wasn't at Dispatch. I need to find out where the call came from. It's rather important,"

"My apologies, Timekeeper Leon," she told him, "But that call that you received was not what caused your receiver to go offline. The call that you picked up was broadcast to every radio belonging to the Timekeepers," Leon sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He could feel that headache growing already. He quickly took a look at his clock. 0000:00:0:08:49:21. He had enough time to get back to Headquarters. He had a feeling that he wasn't going to get to go back to his apartment tonight, "Your radio went offline ten minutes ago, Timekeeper Leon,"

"I have no idea why that was. To my knowledge the radio was working the entire time," Leon started the car up, pulling out swiftly in the road, "I'll be at Headquarters within the hour," he pressed the accelerator and the car sped up. He wanted this to be over and done with as soon as possible. Even if he knew that realistically that wouldn't be the case in the slightest.

An hour later and the car skidded into the parking lot outside the Timekeeper Headquarters. Grey and immense, with concrete looking down from looming heights, the whole building could be mistaken for the appearance of a prison. Perhaps a long time ago, in a time before the need for the Timekeepers, it had been used for such a thing, but now it was the centre point for the hustle and bustle of the Timekeeping force, and its associated professions.

Leon got out of the car quickly, striding up the stairs at a pace that he had never quite been able to drop. 0000:00:07:31:11. He wasn't up to his usual time saving standard. He brushed the thought aside with an irritated frown passing over his face. He didn't need distractions, not at this point in time. Not at any point in time.

People always moved out of the way when Leon walked past them. He didn't pretend to himself that it was anything to do with his physical appearance. Compared to most of the other Timekeepers, he was thinner and of not of an overpowering height, but that wasn't why most of the Timekeepers moved out of his way. It was from the sheer unnaturalness that always accompanied Leon.

Although not one of the most senior Timekeepers within the force, he was, however, one of the oldest. He'd been in the field for nearly fifty years, longer than nearly every other Timekeeper. Usually, as an unofficial rule, Timekeepers retired from active duty around thirty five to forty years of active duty and took a desk job. Leon had exceeded that by almost a decade, and didn't show any signs of stopping. He had no intention, barring physical disability, of stopping quite yet. He frankly couldn't see any interest in being surrounded by paperwork, and he had enough in his job in the present time.

This quirk made him stand out from many of the Timekeepers, especially the younger ones, but he didn't let it bother him. Those Timekeepers regarded him as a distant figure, someone that was easy to take orders from, but rather silent when within the walls of Headquarters unless he wanted information from another Timekeeper.

Leon made a beeline towards Timekeeper Ellini, a Timekeeper that had taken a desk job after twenty years, and one that he knew fairly well, having worked with him for several years before retiring from active duty ten years ago. She looked at him when she saw him head towards her, "I would have thought that you would have clocked off by now, Timekeeper Leon," she informed him.

"The broadcast, Timekeeper Ellini," he said simply and she nodded understandingly, "It was to every single radio that the Timekeepers owned?"

"Every single one," she answered, typing into the computer, "Don't ask me how they managed to do it. If they weren't a Timekeeper then it should be impossible. The broadcast also didn't originate from here either. We haven't had the time to trace it. Most of us had been packing up to get some sleep. I had more time than everyone else, so I stayed behind to do some background. I've run the voice through some recognition soft..."

"You know who it is," he cut smoothly through her and she turned her head towards him, with a slight concern showing through her eyes, "Timekeeper Ellini..."

"Leon," she said plainly, abandoning the formal tone, "Listen to me. I know it seems like a coincidence, the murder victim, and now the broadcast. But that case has been closed for a decade now. There is no way that it is who you think it is. Even I thought so, but we can't allow ourselves..."

"It's not a coincidence; trust me," he dismissed her words easily and she leaned back in her chair, folding her arms, "Who did the software come up with when you ran the broadcast?"

She sighed, almost angrily, "It came up with her," she relented, and Leon allowed a smug expression to flit over his face before allowing the emotionless expression to settle there again, "But they might have manipulated the voice," he shook his head, "Leon, what you are suggesting is impossible. The case was closed over a decade ago, you caught her, and she is spending the rest of her life, watching as her time ticks down in a prison cell. She's not allowed visitors from the public, no telephone calls to anyone that isn't permitted, and what she reads is even regulated. There's no way that it could be her,"

Leon placed his hands together, "When I was investigated that case, ten years ago, I learned that I couldn't discount anything because everything was part of the picture," he explained, "So I am not going to rule anything out now. Ten years ago I was less experienced,"

"Not by much," Ellini inputted, "You still caught the bitch that did it,"

"I got lucky, and she got arrogant," Leon said patiently, "But I learned that I couldn't take anything for granted. And now it seems like that case is once again coming back to play the second act, and I know that everything is connected together. The murder, the petal, the broadcast. All leading me back to one thing,"

"You aren't going to go..." Leon looked at her silently, "Then that is your choice, Timekeeper Leon," she had reverted back into the formal tone again, "However, I would advise that you wait until you have slept and received the autopsy report in the morning,"

Leon hesitated but nodded roughly. He did need to sleep, being exhausted tomorrow would only serve to slow him down, "I'll see you tomorrow then, Timekeeper Ellini," he said turning away from her, before hesitating slightly, "And thank you for your...opinion on this case," the words were difficult to say. He was unused in saying them.

"Don't forget there was others on that case as well, Leon," Ellini replied, returning to tap on the computer, "Not just you. She played all of us; admittedly you more than the rest of us. But, Leon, don't forget that we Timekeepers will always have your back,"

Leon nodded sharply, walking away from the woman. He had a lot to think about before tomorrow.

But first he was going to get some sleep.

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