5 December 2013

8.45 am

Intelligence Division Office

"Before we start, I think we should address the elephant in the room," Christy said.

She was sitting at her desk, with Robert and Keith sitting beside her; they'd decided to meet there to go over the existing intel they had before heading out on their investigation.

"We're going to keep this strictly professional," she said, looking at the men beside her. "That means we need to work together properly and have each other's back."

"But at the same time, this doesn't mean things are going back to the way they used to be before the events of the last few months. It changes nothing. Got it?"

For a moment, she thought she saw a flicker of anger flash across Keith's face, but it faded almost immediately, leaving nothing but the numb emptiness that seemed to define him these days.

"Understood," Keith said quietly. "This is just another mission, that's all."

"Very well. Now, about the information we've gathered," Christy continued. "We've done some digging and found that there's an unknown factor shaking up black market operations and hunting down Crimson Death suppliers."

"Hunting down as in… Killing them?" Robert asked with a frown.

"No, apparently whoever it is has been destroying their operations and turning them over to the authorities," Christy explained. "Like a vigilante of sorts."

"Giorgio, you think?" Keith asked, and once again there was that flicker of what might have been anger in his eyes.

"It might be just a coincidence, but it's our best lead so far," Christy responded.

"We've traced the dates and locations of the various reports regarding these shakedowns; based on the path he's taken so far, we believe we know who his next target will be. That's where we'll be going today."

"Why would he be taking them down though?" Robert asked. "If we're working off the theory that he's the killer we're looking for, then…"

"Perhaps he's covering his tracks," Keith suggested. "He might already have gotten whatever he needed from them, and now he's trying to get rid of them and make sure they can't tell on him."

"Then why not kill them?" Robert countered. "Considering everything else he's done, killing a bunch of black market suppliers shouldn't be a stretch for him.

"Perhaps he feels it would draw too much attention to him," Christy piped up. "He'd have all their associates out for his blood in an instant. Bringing in the authorities creates enough chaos to keep everyone occupied while he continues on his way."

"Alright then, it's settled," Keith said. "Let's head out."

As they sat in their respective seats on the plane over to their destination, Robert glanced over at Keith, who was sitting a few rows in front of him. His ex–partner was staring out the window, drumming his fingers agitatedly against the armrest of his seat.

It struck him that Keith seemed oddly impatient and eager to get started. Indeed, this was the most alive Keith had seemed in months.

Shaking off the thought, Robert decided that Keith was probably just desperate to get back into the field for the first time since that day.

Thinking about that day again, he sighed.

Despite what Christy had said about keeping things professional, Robert found that he couldn't stop thinking about Keith and their falling–out.

If he was being honest, he was still angry and hurt that Keith had betrayed his trust, even if Keith hadn't meant to do it.

Keith was genuinely sorry for what he'd done, Robert knew that. That didn't invalidate Robert's anger though; he had every right to still feel angry at Keith.

But perhaps he'd spent long enough giving Keith the cold shoulder.

"Penny for your thoughts?" A quiet voice spoke up from beside him, startling him.

Turning, he saw that Christy had made her way to the seat beside him.

"Thinking about you–know–who," Robert replied, with a nod towards Keith.

Christy's face darkened.

"If you think you can't handle working with him…" She began.

"No, it's not that," Robert said quickly. "No, I was just thinking… Maybe, I've spent long enough being angry at him."

Christy looked at him in surprise.

"Really? After everything? He shot you, Robert," she hissed, doing her best to keep her voice down.

Fortunately, Keith didn't appear to have noticed their conversation.

"I know, and I'm still not over it," Robert admitted. "But… Keith's been beating himself up over it for months. At this point, I think he thinks that we're never going to speak to him again."

"And what would be so wrong about that?" Christy asked, crossing her arms.

"Come on, Christy. Don't do this," Robert told her. "You've been supportive of me and my recovery this whole time, and I'm grateful for that. But even though Keith was responsible for my injury, he's also a victim, in his own way."

"And more than that, he was our friend before all of this happened. I think he's been punished enough for what he did. Don't you think so?"

Christy held her glare for a while longer, then sighed.

"Honestly? I suppose you're right," she admitted. "I just… You could have died. It was just easier to be mad at him than to be scared. But you're right… He's hurting too, and I never really stopped worrying about him, even despite my anger."

"We'll need to finish this mission first, but after that… Perhaps we could talk to him, and start trying to work this out," Robert suggested.

Christy let out a sigh and smiled a bit. "Alright then. But focus on the mission first, got it? The last thing we need is to be distracted on the job."

Unbeknownst to Robert and Christy, Keith was looking back at the both of them from his own seat, a fierce glare on his face.

Plotting against me behind my back as usual, I see. It doesn't matter. This will all be over soon.

Reaching a hand into his pocket, he absent–mindedly fiddled with the small object inside.

He didn't need to bring it with him anymore, but it was almost a part of him at this point. The USB stick with his journals understood him far better than anybody else ever cared to.

He would take it with him to the grave.

2.12 pm

Giorgio made his way down the street, slipping through the crowd and approaching an inconspicuous alleyway leading away from the main road.

At the end of the alley, there was a door with a few marks scratched into it.

"Alright Evan," he murmured, trying not to move his lips too much. "Head inside and see what—"

"Gi, behind you!" Evan hissed in alarm.

Giorgio stiffened, turning slightly…

Click.

"Don't move," a cold voice ordered.

He froze, cursing to himself.

How had they gotten the drop on him?

Oddly enough, the voice sounded almost familiar, and he searched his memories, trying to figure out where he'd heard it before.

"Put your hands on your head and turn around. Slowly." A different voice, this time, but no less familiar.

Giorgio glanced over at Evan, only to see the younger man's eyes wide with surprise… and recognition.

Who…?

Cautiously, he complied, turning to see…

"Keith? And Robert and Christy too?" Giorgio was shocked, to say the least; especially since all three of them were pointing guns at him. "What's going on? What are you doing here?"

"We should be asking you the same thing," Christy replied coldly. "What are you doing here?"

"I was… I've been searching for answers about Evan's death," Giorgio explained. "I just couldn't let it end up as another cold case…"

"Cut the bullshit," Keith snarled, taking a step closer to Giorgio. "We know you're the one who poisoned Evan in the first place."

"What?!" Giorgio shouted, just as Evan did the same.

Giorgio frantically looked at Evan. "It's not true, I swear. It wasn't me!"

"I know, Gi, and I trust you," Evan quickly told him. "How could they think that of you?!"

"Bruno, why do you keep glancing that way?" Robert asked with a frown. "There's nothing over there."

Belatedly, Giorgio remembered that nobody else could see Evan.

"That… that doesn't matter," he said evasively. "But… How… You think I would kill my own partner? Evan was my best friend!"

"Then why did you vanish the same day Evan died?" Keith demanded. "Why were Rachel Miller's captors killed with the same poison that was used on Evan? How did Richard end up drugged with Terror Bite venom to go on a rampage in HQ?"

"Rachel? Kidnapped? Terror Bite venom?" Giorgio repeated, his confusion growing. "I don't… I don't know what you're talking about."

"…How did you know what Richard was drugged with, Keith?" Christy suddenly asked.

Keith stiffened, turning to look at Christy just as Robert and Giorgio (and Evan) did the same.

"What are you talking about?" He asked.

"My team made our report directly to the Director," Christy said. "He was the only other person who knew the exact substance that Richard was dosed with. It was never mentioned in our briefing with the Director yesterday either; the only thing we mentioned was the Crimson Death."

"So, how did you know it was Terror Bite venom Richard was drugged with?"

Keith was silent for a moment.

Suddenly, before anybody could react, he grabbed hold of Giorgio, pinning him in place with one arm while he pressed his gun against Giorgio's temple and swinging Giorgio around as a shield between him and Robert and Christy.

"Gi!" Evan shouted, floating over to hover in front of Giorgio.

"Don't move, or he's dead," Keith snarled.

Robert and Christy tightened their grips on their guns but reluctantly stayed where they were, knowing that they had no choice.

"…It was you all along," Christy hissed, a sense of betrayal threatening to overwhelm her. "You killed all of them."

"Excellent deduction, Christy," Keith replied mockingly. "It's rather useful being ignored by everyone when you're plotting revenge against your former comrades."

"Revenge? But why?" Robert asked, trying not to let his voice shake.

Just a few hours ago, he'd been thinking of burying the hatchet with Keith, and now…

"They didn't do anything to you," Robert pointed out. "Why would you want to hurt them?"

Keith was silent for a long moment.

"You want to know the truth?" He finally said. "You're not going to believe me, but I don't care. This is why…"

In another world, a research company started experimenting with things they shouldn't have and discovered a way to travel through time. It messed things up badly, so you went back in time to try to fix things.

Instead, you ended up turning traitor and selling the VSSE's intel to enemy organisations, all in the name of creating a world where only the strongest would survive. Then, when the VSSE started to catch on, you framed me for everything and eventually killed Christy.

As for the rest of the Crisis Agents, all of you believed I was guilty of murdering my own girlfriend. Even Christy turned against me before her death: As it turns out, she had been investigating me for months before you murdered her, believing me to be the traitor.

Do you have any idea how much I hated you when I found out? How badly I wanted you dead? We killed you to stop you from launching a missile filled with a dangerous experimental drug at New York, but I wasn't the one to land the final blow.

It wouldn't have been enough for me anyway. I wanted you to not just die but to suffer.

You kept a record of everything, of course. You've always been meticulous about filing your reports. I learned the whole story and travelled back to stop you. But when I arrived, I found that none of that had happened, and that you weren't the same Robert who had gone over the edge.

I hated you for that even more. I wanted vengeance against you, against all of you, for destroying my life. And now, I found that the people I hated didn't even exist in this timeline. I tried to let it go and live, but I couldn't. It didn't matter to me that you were innocent this time around.

I ended up so consumed in my bitterness, I ended up driving Christy away.

And then you, Robert… You ended up being a ray of light in my darkness.

You said you'd stay by my side, help me through this. Despite the part of me that wanted to hate you still, you gave me hope that I could rebuild whatever remained of the life I'd destroyed.

And then, that fateful day happened. In a moment of impulsiveness, I let my buried distrust of you win, and I shot you. After that, you were lost to me as well.

I lost everything after that. I'd fallen so low that I even thought of ending my life, but I knew nobody would even notice or care if I did.

The only way I could expel this misery building up inside me… The only way I could gain some manner of satisfaction… Was to make sure all of you suffered as badly as I did.

Getting my hands on both the Crimson Death and Terror Bite venom I needed wasn't easy, but it was worth the effort. Years of being a Crisis Agent gave me plenty of knowledge of the ins and outs of the black market, after all.

Evan was easy enough. A sharpened paper clip, dipped in a few drops of Crimson Death. All I needed to do was bump into him in the crowded cafeteria, scratching him with it and ensuring the poison would enter his bloodstream.

As for Giorgio… I knew the greatest agony for him wouldn't come from himself getting hurt, but rather from him being forced to watch Evan suffer and die. Sure enough, you fled from HQ upon Evan's death, leaving your old life far behind.

Richard… He's always been so haughty; so sure he's untouchable on that throne he sits on, looking down at the rest of us. A simple dart to the neck as he entered HQ took care of that. In the chaos afterwards, nobody noticed I'd slipped out to shoot at Richard.

It brought me great pleasure to see him brought so low by the Terror Bite venom, fighting monsters only he could see and gunning people down in the throes of his madness.

And my gambit paid off even better than I could have imagined… Freeing Rachel and letting her get back to Headquarters safely ended with her not just getting shot but being killed by her own husband.

Naturally, Richard took the coward's way out and ended his own life, unable to face what he'd done. I suppose I should thank him for taking care of Alan and Wesley for me… He saved me the trouble of dealing with both of them.

And as for you, Robert… The best way I could think of to hurt you was to let you watch all of this unfold, knowing you were too weak to be of any use.

As Keith concluded his fantastic tale, he let out a bitter laugh.

"How does it feel, Robert?" He asked. "To know that your partner has hated you for so long; that he's wanted to put a knife to your throat and make you watch the world burn, powerless to stop it?"

Then, he scowled.

"The only thing I didn't count on was Giorgio's utter stubbornness. I was sure you would be lying dead in a ditch somewhere. I didn't expect you to actually try to track down the source of the Crimson Death that killed Evan."

"But it doesn't matter now," he concluded, shaking his head. "I wanted all of you to suffer, and I got what I wanted. Now, the three of you will die, and then I'll die, and then it will all be over at last."

With a twisted smirk, Keith pressed his gun tighter against Giorgio's temple as his finger began to tighten on the trigger…

"NO! I won't let you hurt him!" Evan screamed.

Acting on instinct, he lunged at Keith.

To his astonishment, he found himself colliding solidly with Keith, knocking him aside and causing his shot to go wild.

Looking at Keith in surprise, Evan found the older man staring back at him with horrified disbelief.

"You… No!" Keith stumbled backwards, looking terrified. "You can't be… Stay back!"

With shaking hands, he aimed his gun at Evan.

Evan let out a bitter laugh. "Go ahead and try it. I'm already dead, remember? YOU POISONED ME!"

Keith flinched slightly as Evan loomed over him, practically radiating fury.

For a long moment, nobody moved or spoke.

From where they were standing, Robert and Christy were gaping at Evan as well, looking as though they couldn't believe their eyes.

Giorgio appeared to be frozen in place, staring back and forth between Evan and the other agents. There was an odd look in his eyes, as though he was simultaneously relieved and on the verge of tears.

Keith finally seemed to snap out of whatever spell was holding him in place. As he began to shift his aim away from Evan, Robert tightened his grip on his own pistol, fixing Keith with a dangerous glare.

"Don't even think about it. Last chance, Keith. Stand down and turn yourself in."

Keith glanced at Robert. For a moment, there was a flicker of something in his expression, and Robert could almost see the old Keith buried somewhere deep within.

Then his eyes hardened, and it was gone.

"Go to hell," Keith spat.

Quick as a flash, he raised his pistol to fire at Robert.

A gunshot rang out.

Keith stumbled backwards, dropping his gun with a crash. Reaching up with one hand, he pressed it tightly against his chest as blood began to seep out from between his fingers. Coughing, he turned to stare in the direction the gunshot had come from.

Christy was standing completely still, staring right back at Keith. Despite the tears forming in her eyes, her hands were steady as she slowly lowered her gun.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I wish it hadn't come to this."

Keith took another step backwards, then another step, then finally collapsed.

He let out a weak laugh. "Was expecting… Robert to shoot. Revenge… For… shooting him."

"This isn't about revenge, Keith," Robert told him, kicking Keith's gun out of the way before kneeling next to where Keith lay. "It's about doing the right thing."

At the mention of doing the right thing, a memory popped into Evan's mind.

"Do you want to know something funny?" He asked, floating over to Keith. "The day before we left for the Terror Bite mission, Gi and I were talking about trying to help you."

"We were gonna ask if you wanted to hang out with us, cos you seemed so alone. If you'd just waited one more day instead of killing me, things might have gotten better for you."

Keith's eyes went a bit wider.

"Is that… Really? I never knew…" He coughed, blood trickling down his chin.

A single tear rolled down his cheek, followed by another, and yet another. And then Keith was crying with whatever strength he had left.

"Why… Why did it end this way?" He sobbed. "I just… I was just so alone…"

Robert and Christy looked uncomfortably at each other, neither of them knowing what to say.

Even Giorgio, who was still shaking with adrenaline and furious at Keith, felt a sliver of sympathy for him.

"Keith… I'm sorry too," Christy suddenly said, kneeling on his other side. Her eyes were wet with unshed tears, and her lip was trembling slightly.

"I was angry at you, but I took it too far. You thought we were never going to speak to you again… But you were wrong."

"Just now on the plane, Robert and I were actually talking about how we wanted to try patching things up with you after this mission ended."

"I thought… Laughing at me…" Keith gasped.

"Of course we weren't laughing at you, Keith," Robert told him, as gently as he could manage. "We were angry at you, but we still loved you."

"I'm sorry we made you feel like you'd lost us forever, and that you had no way out. But that doesn't change the fact that you chose the wrong path."

"…Yes, I know," Keith admitted. "I knew all along that I was wrong, even when I was planning all of it. But I was so miserable… I couldn't see any other way out. I just… Couldn't stop myself."

He looked over at Giorgio.

"I know there's no point in apologising… But I truly am sorry, to both of you. I'm glad… I didn't kill you… Tell Evan I said thank you for stopping me."

"Tell Evan?" Giorgio repeated. "But he's right…"

Suddenly, he realised his partner was gone.

"Evan!" He shouted, panic beginning to rise in his chest. "Where are you?"

He took a few steps deeper into the alley, turning away from Keith's prone form.

"Listen, Keith… You're not too badly hurt," Christy told Keith. "We can… We can get you back to the VSSE and patch you up, and…"

Keith shook his head.

"No… I can't go back. This is the end of the line for me, Christy, you know that," he insisted with a sudden burst of strength. "I chose the wrong path. Even if I survive, I've done too much wrong to be able to make up for it."

"Please… If you still care for me… Let me be at peace, at last."

Slowly, almost gently, Robert placed his gun against Keith's forehead.

"Close your eyes, Keith," he instructed quietly.

With a small smile, Keith did so.

"Thank you, Robert… My friend."

Bang.

"Evan!" Giorgio cupped his hands and shouted. "Please, if you're there…"

"Gi…" A quiet voice echoed from behind him.

"Evan!" He exclaimed, turning around. "You scared the hell out of…"

To his surprise, there was nobody there at all.

"Evan?" He called out.

"I'm here, Gi," the same voice replied. "I guess you can't see me anymore. Maybe I used up too much energy earlier tackling Keith."

"How did you do that, anyway?" Giorgio asked.

"I don't know either," Evan admitted. "I was just so angry, so scared that I was gonna have to watch you die. Maybe that made me strong enough to become solid just for a moment."

"Speaking of which, look over there, on that crate."

Curiously, Giorgio did as instructed.

"A USB stick?" He curiously picked it up.

"It fell out of Keith's pocket when I tackled him earlier; I put it down there just before I stopped being solid again," Evan said. "Might want to check it out; see if there's anything useful on it."

"Alright, I guess we'll have a look," Giorgio said, pocketing the USB stick. "Thanks. What now?"

"Now?" There was a pause. "Now… I think it's finally time for me to go."

No…!

"You can't leave me now, Evan… Please…" Giorgio begged, tears welling up in his eyes. "I'm so alone."

"I'm sorry Gi… I don't think I have a choice. But I promise, I'll be watching over you always. Even if you can't see or hear me, as long as you remember me, I'll be with you."

Giorgio's lip trembled, and he fell to his knees. Finally, after all this time, he began to sob in earnest, crying his heart out like he had the night Evan died.

He could hear Evan whispering soothing platitudes as he cried and cried, like a gentle embrace to Giorgio's soul.

Finally, Giorgio managed to pull himself together, shakily wiping away the tears that remained.

"Evan… I'm so glad you were my partner," he said quietly.

"I love you too, Gi," Evan replied, and Giorgio could almost hear the smile in his words. "I won't say goodbye. Rather… See you later."

And with that, he fell silent, and Giorgio knew he was gone.

"See you later, Evan…" He whispered to himself. "I wish we'd had more time together."