Friday

December 14th 1984

Boston, MA 9:27

A frigid wind swept in while Kyle made his way to the subway. Flurries were coming down fast and light. He pulled his jacket tighter as he went down the steps and got on the red line. Tired, he just looked out the window as the train crossed the Charles River. The moon shone brightly illuminating some docks. When he noticed them, he couldn't help but get wrapped up in nostalgia. Bradley came to mind. Sure Kyle tried to convince himself and his friends that the whole situation was ancient history but deep down he knew it could never be so simple. Half hearted memories lazily crossed his mind. The late night interrogations together, their crime busts as exciting as those in movies. A tranquil trance set in and the train seemed to disappear under him and silence without the slightest effort on his part. The only thing he could hear was that phone ringing. The frantic steps running towards that dock in New York and the memory of him drawing his gun and yelling something. He didn't remember what he said. For some reason, that part of the memory always got lost in the shuffle. All he could remember was pointing the gun at Bradley. Right as he was going to shoot, the docks disappeared into a slab of concrete and the sound of the gun shot surrendered to the sound of the loud screeching noise of the train coming to a stop. He was sure that he heard the conductor muffle something over the speaker but ignored it. The doors opened and Kyle fled the train at the wrong stop. He knew it was wrong but by this point wasn't exactly in the mood to just go back to the hotel.

Wanting to shake off the memory and lingering sadness, he took a left at the platform and headed up the steps to a freezing night. He was in Harvard Square. Being a Friday night, the streets were packed with preppy college kids wearing Benetton and Burberry. "Spoiled kids" Kyle muttered. He looked over at the actual college. Old as dirt but still well maintained and historic. Harvard University. Kyle never went to college. He never regretted it either. He liked to think that there were things schools just couldn't teach. Being the great detective that he was, not a single person who knew him would disagree. Kyle head towards the building and onto the quad where kids were throwing snowballs. He didn't think much of this until a rogue snowball crunched on his right shoulder just barely missing his face. Brushing this off, he looked over at the apologetic students, one of which was rushing over, and snapped "Hey watch it, will ya?"

The guy rushing over said "Whoa, man I'm real sorry. We didn't mean to-" the offender stopped and got a good look. "No way" he said, looking surprised. "Kyle Hyde!"

Admittedly, it took Kyle a minute to recognize this person but when it clicked he replied "Jeff Angel."

Jeff extended his hand for a handshake, smiling brightly. Kyle was taken aback by all this. Getting past the initial surprise of seeing Jeff here after this long, he was still dealing with the differences. For one, Jeff didn't look like a spoiled punk. At least not as Kyle knew him to be. Jeff's hair was even different, looking more orderly and his general attitude seemed upbeat and even friendly. This whole thought process flashed through Kyle's mind in two seconds flat and he proceeded to return the handshake.

"Wow, Jeff Angel. This is a real surprise. What are the odds?"

"I know, right! How are you Kyle?" Jeff replied almost cheerfully

"I've been good. Just doing my thing. What about you? How have you been all these years?"

"I've been good, thanks. Working and studying hard" he signaled the school with one arm.

Normally, Kyle was a reserved man who wouldn't speak above a neutral tone but this was just too much even for him. "You go to Harvard?" Kyle exclaimed

As Jeff went to reply, he got pelted with a snowball. He motioned to his friends that he was ducking out of the game. "Let's for this way. We can talk a bit or even, you know, catch up."

They waked along the quad out to the street, the snow beneath their feet crunching with each step.

"So yeah, I'm coming here now. English major. I love writing and I hope to get something published soon. What brings you here?"

"Just passing by. That's good about college though. You know, I didn't think you would go to college. Doesn't exactly fit your…style."

Jeff raised an eyebrow and chuckled a bit "Because I was a spoiled brat, right? I get that. Why not call a spade a spate, yeah?"

"Well" Kyle exhaled "Considering everything that you'd done, I'd say spoiled and a little insane"

"And you'd be right, really. But that Jeff is long gone"

Truth be told, Kyle was dying to hear what happened. Between the stolen money, the father who was part of NILE, he was anxious to hear how the whole thing played out. As stern and hardened as he was, he was still human. Just as he was about to cave and ask, Jeff decided to fill the void.

"I bet you're wondering how it all went down, huh?"

Playing it cool, Kyle replied "Well I can't imagine it wasn't a cake walk"

"It wasn't exactly easy but it it's probably a lot simpler than you imagine" Just then, they approached a bench. Jeff lit up a cigarette and motioned for them to have a seat. "This'll probably take a while."

"Fine by me." Kyle breathed out pretending he wasn't cold.

"Where do I start. Okay, the hotel. So when you checked out that day, I grabbed the money, checked out of that dump and hightailed it on over to Beverly Hills. I went home before going to the police because honestly, I was too scared to face whatever might have happened. I wouldn't have even known what to do. When I got home, my dad was out by the pool just reading the paper. My heart felt like it was going to explode. I walked over quietly, took the money out of that nasty little Ziploc bag and just set it down next to his beer. He put down the paper, looked at the cash and then at me. He then stood up and I was braced for the worst. In the most unexpected moment of my life, he closed in, raised his hand and just pat me on the shoulder.

Without saying a single word or even looking me in the eye, he just head over to his room without saying a word. It was the most weirdly relieving moment of my life. Things were pretty quiet for the next few days, not that we were exactly chatterboxes or anything but this silence was uncomfortable. I did hear him talking to the police over the phone dropping the charges. After that, I started feeling like things were finally going back to normal." Kyle was listening avidly and Jeff took another drag and continued. "I'd done some thinking those days, you know" Jeff looked embarrassed "You really got me thinking you know" Kyle's expression didn't change. "It was time I became my old man. At first I was still set on just doing anything to piss off my dad. I even came close to legally changing my last name from Damon to Angel. But the whole thing just seemed so stupid after a while, plus it was an expensive and long process."

Kyle smirked at this because as mature as Jeff was trying to sound, some of the stuff he was saying still sounded petty. Still, Kyle was a reasonable guy and understood that Jeff was still a kid. "So you didn't change it huh?"

"Well no. Mostly because I didn't want to confront my dad about it and break the silence. Anyway, luckily for me, as much as a punk I was, I actually did very well in high school. That arrogance carried me through. In the summer of 1980 I got my first job. Well, actually two since I really had nothing going on. I busted my ass working until I got enough money to move out. I applied for a few scholarships in the meantime and well, here I am."

After all this, Kyle didn't know why exactly Jeff was telling him all this. He wasn't one to get all mushy but gave the kid a break. Rubbing his hands together, he let out "That's all great. Your father must be proud." Jeff rolled his eyes at this, lit up another cigarette and softly said "You know, that's the funny part" a weak smile formed on his face "I got so caught up in working and filling out applications for school that I seriously forgot to tell my dad I was leaving in the first place. As you can imagine, he isn't the type to keep tabs on me so he never really thought anything of me being out all day. He probably just figured I was out screwing around. A couple of nights before my leave, he passed by my room and saw me packing boxes. He asked what I was doing and I just filled him in on everything. He asked enough questions to make up for the lifetime lull of conversation we had going. After the questions he asked me not to leave and I said I had to because everything was ready including me. From that he went on to arguing and yelling how I probably thought I was better than him or something.

I just kept my head and decided to keep mellow on the whole thing. Seeing that I wouldn't budge, he offered me some money to take with me but I just declined. Not even out of pride, but out of annoyance. I was sick of living under him. The last few days after that, my dad and I talked some more. Very small talk. He saw me off at the airport. I took off, flew away and never looked back. I keep in Christmas-card-contact with my dad. We never really talk. He sends a fat wad of cash and a terse, generic message about holidays and keeping in touch. Now I'm here working and studying, sharing an apartment with three roommates and sometimes just getting by. It's not as luxurious as is could have been but its better this way. My victories are my victoriesand my hardships are my hardships. Regardless, it's all mine." I legitimate, mildly arrogant smirk flashed across his face temporarily revealing the Jeff that Kyle once knew. But it faded. "I get a bit scared sometimes though. I hear through the grapevine that NILE has a pretty big chapter in the Northeast. Sometimes I get jumpy walking alone at night. I know it's irrational but sometimes I feel like I'm being watched. To my dad's credit, he kept me out of everything but occasionally I wonder. I try not to pay attention to any of that though."

They both got off the bench and headed up the street back towards the station. The simple mention of NILE shook Kyle up. After all, the events of the past years would all be impossible without NILE. He shrugged it off a bit knowing he had nothing to really worry about. Admittedly, being next to Jeff made him feel like a bit of a target but he let it go. They passed Harvard and a few of the shops and stopped at the platform. Kyle took his hands out of his pocket and brushed them together briskly. "I gotta hand it to you, Jeff. You really cleaned up and you're on your way to becoming a sharp, stand-up guy. A real man. Color me proud and impressed. Keep it up, kid"

He extended his hand out towards Jeff for a shake. Jeff's eyes were lit up, processing everything Kyle had just said.

"Th-thanks. That really means a lot to me"

"Well then, It was good running int-"

Kyle was interrupted by a sudden tight hug. His eyes widened behind Jeff's shoulder and he kept his arms suspended while Jeff actually embraced like a desperate kid who found his mother at the grocery store. When he finally let go, Kyle looked a bit pale.

"I'm sorry. That was…yeah. I'd better go" Jeff sniffled quickly and extended his arm. Kyle, still a bit confused, reluctantly but firmly returned the gesture. Keep up the good work, kid"

Jeff tightened his scarf and walked off. He thought about the past few years. Everything that had changed so drastically. His evolution from a spoiled punk ass to a Harvard man. All of this initiated by a man named Kyle Hyde. He would never forget him.

Meanwhile, Kyle put his hands into his pockets and made his way down the steps toward the subway, still completely unaware of being the source of such changes.