Thursday
8:02 AM
3.060 inches
"Feel any better?" Norman asked, Ethan's hand covered with his own blood giving him the creeps.
"A little… Don't worry, it's just a finger not my head" Ethan played and took a deep breath. It was just a finger but it still hurt as hell, that's for sure! "Aren't you gonna look for clues?"
"I will but only after I take you back home. You need to stop it from bleeding and it's not safe to wait any longer. The police is surely looking for you and as soon as they see my car they'll want to investigate further."
"Your car? They're looking for me, not you."
"It's not about them, it's about him" Jayden said and smiled as he remembered how good it felt to break the man's nose. Ethan caught up his smile.
"I knew there was a reason. Your 'maybe' wasn't that convincing yesterday, but I let it go…"
"Broke his nose. Nothing special. C'mon!" Norman said and, before Ethan could say anything - Even though with his mouth ajar and tring to hold a smile of satisfaction -, Norman helped him get up and reached for the car.
The street was empty. No police cars around, thanks God. They entered the car as fast as they could, Ethan on the passenger's seat, still moaning in pain. They had to move fast. Ethan was bleeding and that was never a good thing, besides-
A police car passed them going in the opposite direction. They had been spotted.
"Oh Shit, they found us!" Ethan exclaimed, scared "Norman, they found us!"
"Stay calm" Norman told him, thinking frantically. His face, however, showed no emotion at all.
The police car suddenly turned around and went after them. Ethan freaked out.
"Oh fuck, they're coming!"
"I told you, calm down..."
"Calm down?" Ethan screamed "You want me to calm down? They're gonna get us before you can even think about it!"
"There's a place…" Norman said, fresh memories filling up his mind "They won't be able to find us in there!"
"What? They're just after us, there's no way y-"
"Did I ever give you a reason not to trust me?" Norman asked. That was enough to make Ethan stop.
"Hold yourself!" Norman said and before Ethan could even move, he was thrown to the side as Jayden turned the car around and went against the police one.
"WHAT THE F-"
The police dodged, as Jayden knew he would! He merged into the opposite lane and raced as much as he could, Mars stuck at his seat, the shocked policeman left behind.
"You know you're fucked for what you just did, don't you?" Ethan asked, also in shock.
"I hope it was Blake at the car!" Norman answered and, laughing, entered a dead-end street looking anxiously for an abandoned house. There it was!
He parked the car beneath some old trees as fast as he could, the area behind the house just left behind for time to erase. He got up and fastly ran through what was left of a once beautiful forest he used to play in.
"Quick, follow me!" He called and Ethan did as he asked, still scared and confused. They ended up in front of what seemed to be an old entrance to a cellar. Norman held it strongly and, giving it some tugs from left to right (It almost looked like a code!) he opened the thing.
"I can't believe I still remember this!" Norman exclaimed smiling and let Ethan get in, following him. He closed the entrance and both were consumed by darkness.
Ethan started having problems breathing, lost in this deep and eternal darkness, lost in this never ending corridor, no signs of any light or exit, he… He started choking, losing everything, he…
"Hey." Norman's voice called from somewhere in the darkness and a sudden light came from his cell phone now up in the air. Ethan was blank, scared and Norman smiled, trying to confort him "Don't worry, I know this place! It is safe! Just stay close to me and we'll be out of here in no time. Trust me" Norman finished and held Ethan's hand in order to keep him near in case he had any trouble.
Still feeling dumb, Ethan followed the man, trying to control his nonconstant breathing. Even with the cell phone's light, they could see absolutely nothing on ahead. Ethan felt even more scared when he realized Jayden was counting his footsteps focused more than ever while penetrating the deep and intimidating dark corridor. When he reached counting 47 he suddenly stopped and let Ethan's hand go, pushing something over his head. After a few pushes from left to right, a sudden light hit their eyes and dust washed both of their faces. Still, Ethan felt a lot better and, taking a deep breath, couldn't help but smile.
Jayden went through the now open wooden passage, a very old and rustic one which led inside a house. That was all Ethan knew until now because as soon as they got in, Jayden started laughing all of a sudden and he forgot about anything else.
"Oh My God…" He laughed to himself, his eyes shining more than ever "It's… It's been years…!"
He helped Ethan up and closed the entrance. The architect asked nothing: He just stood in there staring at the 34 years old man which now walked around the place as if he was in a dream. He never thought he would ever be coming back in here of all places! He wondered if anyone else still remembered it… Damn, he…
He used to be so happy.
Ethan held his hand still, the pain pulsing through his veins constantly. Yet, it didn't hurt as much as it did before and taking a look around the place he realized they were into the abandoned house they saw from outside. It had some beautiful furniture (Even if it was destroyed by time and dust), some magazines on the floor, some plates… It was as if whoever was in here had left in a real hurry. He wondered why.
At the other side of the room, Jayden had just picked up some notebooks from the ground and seemed to be reading them. Ethan felt even more confused when he realized the man had his eyes full of tears.
"Damn, this is so stupid!" He exclaimed to himself, laughing as he read things he used to write. He had forgotten of how he was always called "Nahman" because of his accent, especially by George and Bernardo. Heck, just look at that quotation…
Ethan left the man to his own, walking around the place and staring at the walls. There were red written names in here and he started to read it…
George Williams, Bernardo Parra, Norman Jayden and Tom Wesley – The founders of a new generation!
"The founders of a new generation?" Ethan couldn't help but ask "Did you all join the FBI or something?"
"Oh, that…" Jayden got up and approached the wall. He still remembered how they fought against each other to find the best quotation "Not exactly… Think about four teenagers, all boys, alone in an abandoned house… What do you think?"
"Oh, that's what the magazines are for…"
Norman smiled. Hell yeah, to flee from the adults sometimes, to act as they wanted to, to simply live together and happily, sharing dreams and wishes. "When I grow up, I'm gonna be the one to make these magazines for our children!", Tom said once, joking. They surely had a lot of fun together… Until…
"Oh… Oh my God, Ethan, I'm sorry!" Norman apologized "I totally forgot about… Oh, man, I'm really sorry!" He said and looked at Ethan's hand, feeling bad for him "I'll see if I can find something to stop the bleeding!"
"Ahn, s… Sure." Ethan answered. He sat at the sofa while Jayden searched for something that could be held against his amputated finger to make the bleeding stop.
"I tried to clean it as much as I could!" He said, lending a towel to the man "Make sure you press it for at least 15 minutes to control the bleeding until we can leave this place."
"Do you think it'll take long?" Ethan asked and moaned as he touched the finger.
"I don't know… There was no policemen around here, it's an abandoned place. Let's just hope they'll lose us and give up."
Ethan sighed, feeling even more pain than before. It felt hard to speak through it, but he had to keep control. Time would flow way too slowly if they just stood in there looking to nowhere so he decided to change the subject of the conversation.
"So… How did you guys find this place?"
"George found it" Norman answered and started walking around the place again "He was the oldest of us while I was the youngest. He found the entrance and found out how to easily open it, creating this kind of "code": Three to the right, two to the left, open. Enter. 47 footsteps, another entrance: One to the left, four to the right. Open. Enter. Enjoy the naked chicks on the magazines. He was a genius, really."
"Ohh, I see." Ethan started laughing "Were they your classmates?"
"Yes, they were. I found it hard to adapt to the new school but they really helped me out. Don't you misunderstand me, we were all good kids. Never disrespected anybody, always studying, helping each other whenever we could. But we grew up and, well… What would four teenagers, 17 and 18 years old boys, do to have fun far from their parents?"
Both started laughing. It was when Ethan saw another small quotation at the other side of the wall.
Ohhh, the looove: Nahman and Rachel! Deal with it Nahmaaan!
"Rachel?"
Norman smiled awkwardly.
"Yeah, these guys were always making fun of me because of that. Nothing important."
Ethan smiled once again. Boys, always the same in any part of the world.
"So, you used to live in this town? I didn't know that" Ethan asked, taking a look at his finger: Ugh. Better press it more.
"I… Yeah. From 10 to 18 years old and then I left. It just didn't feel right to come back in here, of all places…" He commented, clearly disturbed "We boys loved to come in here, you know? We had our fun, as good friends always do. But then..."
He lowered his head, stopping and staring at nowhere, a sudden sadness hitting him hard in the chest…
"But then George was accidentally killed by the police."
Silence fell over the place and, all of a sudden, it became a dark and obscure place to stay in. Ethan wished he hadn't asked… This was a sad place, filled with loss and pain, sad memories of a better time… A better time lost forever, only alive in his memories.
"It was one of the reasons I joined the FBI… To fight for justice and for a better world" Norman said, the news playing in his mind, echoing through his head…
'The 18 years old George Williams was accidentally killed this morning during a massive police operation. The young man was shot after leaving school on his way back home-'
He closed his eyes, trying to forget. Forget about everything, forget about the moment they receive the news, forget about how they had dreams of becoming great professionals and work together, forget about how everything felt lost that day and how happy they were in face of the end of the year, just waiting to have fun together once again, all of them…
Ethan took a deep breath, trying to say something helpful but he too was feeling deeply hurt because of Shaun's disappearance and Jason's death… He left the man with his own thoughts for a while before changing subject once again.
"Norman? Ahn… Can I ask you something?"
"Sure, go ahead."
"Why were you waving your hands at the air yesterday?"
Jayden was thrown out of his memories with that question. He turned around to face the 38 years old man staring at him.
"Wha- What do you mean? When? I didn't-"
"I woke up during the night sometimes and… I saw you at your desk with these glasses and glove of yours as if…" Ethan continued, regretting asking more questions but he just had to know. It looked really weird and he even started wondering if the man had some mental issues… He continued, awkwardly "As if you were playing with the air or something."
Jayden paralyzed. Shit, that surely wasn't suppose to happen. People didn't question his use of glasses while working but like that…
"It is… Confidential of the FBI. I'm sorry."
Ethan nodded, still very confused. What had happened at Marble Street's apartment didn't help to ease this curiosity either.
"And what was that at the Marble Street Apartment? You… You seemed to have had a really bad problem back there."
"It's just a… A personal problem, that's all." Norman said and looked away "I don't want to burden you with my problems."
"Burden me? C'mon, you're here to help me and I'm here to help you! As good partners! What do you say?" Ethan said, really meaning it. Damnit, they had to help each other, that's what friends are for right? It wouldn't hurt to be a good listener, they couldn't go out anyway and he really wanted to help.
Fuck, that was it. He would have to tell him the truth. All of his question led to that: To his addiction; the hell he lived in; his fucked up life; ARI and Triptocaine. That just wasn't a good thing, everything should be kept to himself just as the other Agents should do.
That didn't mean they did that, though…
He sat on the sofa in front of Ethan and picked up the known ARI glasses and held it up in the air. Ethan stared at it, confused.
"This guy here" Jayden started saying "is called ARI, which stands for "Added Reality Interface". This technology consists in a pair of glasses and a single hand glove which allows me to analyze crime scenes and access the FBI database in real time, finding clues I wouldn't be capable of without it. For example…" The Agent put the glasses and gloves on and touched Ethan's blood splattered over his hand, analyzing his DNA "You're A+, aren't you? Ethan Mars, born in September 5, 1973, you're the son of Pascal and Judi Mars. Divorced in the last year... Correct?"
Ethan's mouth was ajar. Damn, how could he…? What had just…? How the…?
Norman smiled seeing Ethan's expression. He continued, remembering of how he found ARI incredible when he first used it…
Called, 26 years old Norman Jayden entered the room. He was confused, just like the others: They had all been suddenly called and said to be ready to test this new "technology" they had. 30 selected Agents and he was the youngest of them all. That didn't make him feel better and when he sat on the chair, facing his superiors, he did it with fear.
"'ARI'" They had told him "was created in order to make investigations easier to work with, in order to help out Agents to solve cases faster and with a better quality."
He trembled in his chair. ARI. Yeah, he had seen it before, when John was using it, when it was only a prototype…
"As helpful as it can be, however…" He said, laying the glasses next to him "it has its… Side effects."
"S… Side effects?" Ethan asked, still amazed by the technology.
"The ARI integrates with each one of its users through the brain. That's is likely to cause mental damage where we'll feel stuck to its alternative reality without now really noticing it, which means we can start mistaking reality and ARI's reality…"
He opened his mouth in amazement as he found himself surrounded by the ocean, sharks and rays swimming around him, a peaceful light coming from the sun rays hitting the water plants around him. It took him some time to realize he wasn't going to drown. It looked just… So real!
"I want you to analyze your files." One of his superiors said. He couldn't see his superiors but he could surely hear them.
"The… What?" He asked, lost in astonishment.
"To your left. Just pull out the filing cabinet drawer. I'm sure you'll figure it out."
Jayden looked at his left, looking for it. But there was nothing in there, absolutely nothing! However, as if he had already used ARI before, he automatically pulled it out and picked the only folder inside: Zodiac Killer Modus Operandi. He threw it in the air naturally and the folder stopped right in front of him. All of a sudden, he didn't know what to do anymore. He knew how to work with this interface which was a good thing but how could he if he had never even heard about the thing from any other agente other than John?
His superiors smiled.
"You've got talent boy! ARI is perfect for you."
He smiled, enjoying it. Damn, it felt great to work with it, to literally control the case, even if he didn't understand how he managed to get control of it that fast…
But now he did. After working with it for so long, he could finally understand.
ARI had been installed in his brain the moment he first wore it. He didn't control ARI: ARI controlled him.
"That's why" Jayden continued, Ethan's eyes wide "the side effects must be stopped. And to do so…" He picked up a small vial from his pocket, a blue substance well known from bringing him hell and peace, all at once, and held it up in the air "This other guy here was developed: Triptocaine. It aids us against ARI side effects. However…"
"It has side effects of its own…" Ethan completed, finally understanding.
"Exactly" He took it back into his pocket "What you saw in the apartment were… The withdraw symptoms. I'm… Trying to quit, but… Usually, getting nervous makes it even harder for me and coming back to this town of all places just…"
He lowered his head, clearly hurt. Ethan stared at him: This didn't look good.
"I'm… Really sorry about your friend, Norman."
"That's not only it… But it's ok" Jayden tried smiling honestly, with no success. It was all replaying in his head again and he felt as if he had been punched in the stomach "Did it stop bleeding?"
"Ahn, almost there I guess" Ethan said, staring at his hand for a few seconds and then pressing the finger once again.
Jayden felt another hard punch in the stomach and his attempt to get up failed. He closed his eyes, trying to keep his attention in here and now, forget about the past for it couldn't be changed… As he rubbed his face and felt his scar still in there, he saw it all even more clearly and a sudden feeling of despair took over him.
"Norman? What's wrong? Are you alright?" Ethan asked, worried. It took him a few seconds to answer.
"You…" He started, trying to be as honest and sincere as he could "You've got no idea of how much you inspire me, Ethan" Ethan just stood in there, looking at him, not really knowing what to say "You… You're ready to do whatever it takes to save your son and you fear nothing. You're brave and… A really caring father."
Mars swallowed hard. Father, yes, he was a caring father. He tried his best to do anything in order to make his son happy, he really did. But... Why did he even say that?
"Shit…" Norman continued, feeling his eyes weep as a strong headache tried to get over him "Triptocaine has really been messing up with my mind, uh?..." He said, ashamed of acting like a child, about to burst into tears for something that couldn't be changed, something that had happened so many years ago…
"You've been keeping something to yourself during a long time, haven't you?" Ethan asked. He could see it in his eyes.
Norman took a deep breath, still fighting against these useless tears which tried to take over his mind and body, a painful pressure over his lungs making it hard to breath, to think… He stared at Ethan.
"My grandma said it was my parent's dream to have a child, you know?" He started, feeling even harder to speak "When my mother got pregnant, their relationship became even better and, you know, love and all of that" He smiled for a second and suddenly his eyes were filled with darkness and coldness "But something went wrong… And my mother died during the delivery."
He took sometime before continuing. Ethan blinked many times, not really knowing what to say…
"My father was 22 when it happened… He blamed me since the day I was born. Hated me. I tried to get near him somehow but… It just didn't work I guess…" He took another deep breath. His voice started trembling as he continued "Until I couldn't take it anymore and fled."
Ethan saw he had his hands shaking and both knew it wasn't because of Tripto…
"I was around 8 years old..." Norman said, and a single tear rolled down his face "I'll never forget…"
It was 4:30 PM. His father always got home around 5 so he had to hurry. He was so excited! All his school friends were making plans on what to make for their fathers in the Father's Day. He also had an idea and was already working on it. He looked down at his drawing: It looked pretty goo- No, it looked awesome! He screamed in joy! It would be perfect!
His homework was already done so he could relax and went to play with his dinossaur toys - He just loved them all, big and awesome creatures which he wanted to meet. Too bad they were dead forever… Then he heard the door open. He left his room, carefully picking up the drawing, and reached the entrance.
"Hi daddy!" He greeted him with a smile, his father putting his wallet and a block of papers over a small table in front of the TV.
"What is it, Jayden? You've got a problem or something?"
If only his dad knew how much it hurt not to be called "son".
"No, I… I just wanted to see you."
"To see me? You see me everyday, why would you even want to see me?" His father asked and sat on the sofa, leaving poor little Norman staring at the door, not even giving him a kiss or hug. Nothing.
"I…" He started but was interrupted, his drawing still in his small hands.
"Pick up a beer for me! The day was too exhausting; I really need to relax…"
Norman sighed again. Why couldn't his father be like the other ones were? His friend Albert said his father even played with his toys with him. Was he so unlucky that he got a father who didn't even look him in the eye?
Without saying a thing, though, he opened the fridge and got the stupid beer. Taking it to his father, he asked:
"So… How was you day, dad?"
"My day?" The man opened his beer and stared at his son as if he was some kind of plague "You make the same damn question everyday! Don't you get tired of doing it?"
"I just… I just want to see if you're ok. How things are going..."
"Things are fine! What about you? Did you finish your homework? You better do everything or else-"
"It's all done!" Little Norman answered, disappointed. He actually thought his dad would ask if he was ok when he said 'What about you'… "I… I made you something, dad!"
The man stared at him, suspiciously, and put his beer over the table, next to his work papers.
"And what is it?"
"It's our home!" He said, handing his drawing to his father "I'm gonna be an architect one day and this is gonna be our new house!" He announced, smiling "What do you think? It's for father's day!"
"Father's day? That'll be in a week!"
"I know! But I want to know if you like or not 'cause if you don't I still have time to fix things up!"
The man smiled. It actually looked pretty good, even if he didn't want to admit it.
"Yeah… Nothing bad for the first try."
"You think so?" Norman asked and hugged his father tightly – He never felt what it was like to be hugged by him "Look! This is my bedroom and this is yours!"He pointed at the paper and smiled.
"Humpf… You've got the biggest one, I see."
"It's for my toys! I have lots o' them!" He answered and got up. He couldn't even believe it: His father was actually giving him attention and he had SMILED at him! It was perfect; this was the best day of his life!
"So…" His father started "You really want to be an architect? For what?"
"I love to draw! And… And I want to make biiig houses so people can live in them!" He said, bursting with happiness: His dad was making questions about him!
"I see… Is that all?"
"I… I think so, yeah, it is! But don't worry dad, I'll study a lot and try to be the best architect of the world, you'll see!" He said with a fast wave of his hand.
There was a crashing sound and he turned around with fear. The bottle of bear had been crashed in half and its content was fastly spreading over his father's work…
"Oh No…!" His father began saying, the anger making his voice tremble "I spent the whole fucking day making this fucking thing and look at what you've done!""
Norman stepped back, scared. He didn't mean to, he would never ruin his father's work, never!
"I-I swear I didn't mean to, dad! I swear it!"
"Oh yeah? Prove you didn't mean that, prove it to me!" He started screaming; shit, he hated when he started screaming "Since you've been born you only caused me trouble, you fuck!"
"N-No... Please, d-dad...!" He started crying. It wasn't his fault; he hit it by mistake, why couldn't he understand that?
"You're worth nothing Norman! It's YOUR fault that your mother is dead! Your fault!"
"P-P-please, s-stop…!" Norman started sobbing and begged. Did he really need to remind him of that every time he got angry? "I-I'm so s-sorry…!"
"It's such a pity to have you as a son! Pity!"
"D-d-d-ad…!" Norman called for him and approached the man. It was when a sharp pain hit him in the cheek and he had his head launched back. He screamed in pain and put his hand over the deep wound in his face. He stared at his father in daze as he saw the half beer bottle in his hands, blood drops over it...
"I want you to go back at your room and stay in there until I tell you to come back! Did ya hear me?"
With his hand pressed against his cheek, he left without a word and entered his room, slamming the door and sitting on his bed. The wound wasn't long but it looked deep. His right hand was already bloody and he realized there was a trail of blood on his room. He buried himself in his arms…
Little Norman started hiccupping even more. Everything was working so perfectly and he had screwed it all up as always! It was his fault his mother died and he was nothing more than a plague to his father! Why was he even alive? Why couldn't he just die without anybody taking notice? He didn't care about living anymore; he had no reason to do so. No one to count on, no one to be protected by, no one to give him a hug when he needed to, no one to tell him everything would be ok. He was all alone…
All alone...
Norman Jayden was crying silently, staring at the empty space, his fucked up mind reminding him of everything as if he were watching a movie. His fucking scar would forever haunt him, remind him of his so called life, a life where no one actually cared, a life where he had been left behind with guilt and sadness, not even a little bit of hope...
And they both understood. They had too much in common: Ethan was haunted by the feeling of guilt for not being able to save Jason and Norman's father made him feel the same way about his mother. Ethan had lost the relationship he had with his own son and no matter how much he tried to he just wasn't able to ease his pain, just like Norman tried to have a good relationship with his father but, no matter how much he tried, he had always been forgotten, left behind. The killer somehow knew that and he wanted them together! But for what?
Ethan sat next to the man and rested his hand over his shoulder to calm him up. He held his tears as much as he could but even when he became able to speak again they didn't stop from flowing.
"I ran away…" He said, trying to keep calm "I ran away but had nowhere to go. Destiny is funny… It was pouring rain that day…"
He kept on walking but his head was aching so much that he felt he could faint at any moment. Walking under the rain for so long surely couldn't do well but he had to keep on doing it, he had to get as far as he could from home. He…
He had to stay away so he wouldn't cause any more trouble.
He barely could stand on his feet though and before he could notice he fell against the street, left to die in this cold world. No one would notice him here and he didn't care. He just wanted to vanish for a few seconds, minutes, even forever!
But then a worried voice was heard approaching him and he was turned to face the man's face. He didn't really see it for it was too dark, but the man covered him with his umbrella and sounded really worried.
"Oh My God, are you ok, child? What happened?"
Before Norman could answer, however, he felt the ground spin around him and he fainted, unaware of what the man was going to do with him next...
When he woke up, opening his eyes slowly, he saw only darkness… Was this hell? No, it couldn't be… It just felt so warm and peaceful that it should be heaven or something… Then a door opened all of a sudden and he froze, not able to speak or move as light was turned on (He closed his eyes with all his might) and a man entered the room.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" The man apologized and turned it off, leaving the door open so his eyes would adapt soon "How do you feel?"
Norman opened his eyes once again, relieved. The man sat next to him: Norman was on a bed, covered with a fluffy bed blanket – No wonder it felt so warm in here. Confused, little Norman said the first thing that came into his mind:
"I… I-I want my dad…"
"Hey, don't worry! It's ok, I'm not gonna hurt you!" The man reassured him, smiling "I just came in to see if you're ok: How do you feel?"
"I… I-I…"
"Look, I'll bring you some hot tea and cookies. I'm sure that'll make you feel better. Ok?"
He didn't take long. In fact, Norman questioned if he had everything ready for him, just waiting for him to wake up…
"So… What's your name?" The man asked. Norman bit a cookie and kept it to himself. He was dying of hunger but he still was in a stranger's house "It's ok if you don't want to tell me, don't worry. Anyway, my name is John!" The man said and gave the little one a thumbs up "I'll let you have your tea then I'll take you back to your home, ok? Take your time."
The man got up and was already leaving the room when Norman felt the urge to scream! He didn't want the man to leave: he didn't want to be alone!
"Norman!"
"What?" John asked, turning around.
"Norman… Jayden… That's… That's my name."
"I see... That's a really cool name, uh?" John sat next to him again, making sure he was comfortable "What do you want me to call you?"
"Ah… Anything you want… Sir."
"Sir? Alright then… I think Norman will do it. Do you want to take a shower before going back home?'
"I… No, I… I can do that later I think… Ah…"
The light was turned on again and he closed his eyes once again. John laughed "I'm sorry, Norm."
Norm… Not even his own dad called him like that.
Now he could fully see the man's face: He was a tall and strong man with blue eyes and brown hair. There was something good about him, something that made Norman feel at peace, made him feel no fear at all…
The man took good care of him. Gave him some warm clothes he had (Yeah, they were big but he didn't care about their size: He just wanted to get over the coldness), some medicine for fever, gave him more of the tea (It was the best tea he had ever drank!)… Real care.
"Sir?" Norman asked, shy.
"Yes?"
"Why… Why are you helping me? I-I mean, you… You don't even know me."
John smiled.
"I'm a FBI Agent, that's what I do: Help people and turn the world in a better place."
Norman opened his mouth in astonishment.
"You're… From the FBI?"
"Yes, I am: John Hoover, Special Agent! Nice to meet you!"
Jayden freaked out! He had never met anyone who worked for the FBI and here he was, being protected by one! That was just so… So… AWESOME!
They spent some time together (Norman wanted to know everything about John and the FBI) until the Agent decided to call for the kid's father. Norman sat at the sofa under a bed blanket, right next to the man as he called for his father. The phone rang a few times before it was picked up:
"Yeah? " A harsh and bored voice answered.
"Hello. Are you Markus Jayden?"
"Yes, I am. Who's speaking?
"My name is John Hoover. Your son is with me, he's safe, don't worry. I'll take him home now so y-"
"Oh, that little fuck found help? Há. Lucky brat…"
"Ahn… I'm sorry, sir? I… I said your son is safe here with me and that I'll t-"
"I heard what you said, stupid! That shitty Norman Jayden, ungrateful child! "
John was speechless. He looked down to the little boy standing next to him, anxiously waiting. He didn't want to go home but if his father missed him maybe they could have a chance of becoming friends? John's smile gave him hope.
But his smile... It was a lie!
"If he wants to flee, so be it!" Markus said at the other side of the line "Can't say I'll miss him!"
Jayden's face was covered with tears. He remembered everything perfectly… And the memories wouldn't stop flowing, different places and different times popping out of nowhere…
They had reached the house. Damn, the man surely would think back after seeing his son again, right?
"What are you doing here? I told you, fuck off!" Markus yelled.
_I-I thought…
"Think again, you ingrate brat!"
"You have no right to treat him like that!"
"He's my son, not yours!"
Little Norman started crying again, destroyed, hopeless…
"Take him away, did you hear me? Take that plague away from here!"
"I'm gonna take care of you… I promise, I won't let anything bring you down! " ohn said and hugged the little one tightly.
"What? D… Did you ADDOPT ME?" Norman screamed in happiness and jumped against John's chest to his heart's content…
"Dad…? Are you… Playing with the air?" Jayden asked and John turned around fast, quickly taking the glasses off but it was already too late. Damn, ARI was supposed to be confidential…
"When you grow up, you'll be a even better Agent than I am, you'll see!"
"I love you, dad!"
"I love you too, my son!"
Ethan smiled to himself as Jayden spoke about everything. His eyes shining because of the tears and the happiness some memories brought him, Ethan finally understood what led the man to help him without a doubt, without regrets…
"John was the other reason I joined the FBI, of course. I wanted him to see me, wanted to work together with him, wanted him to actually feel proud of me! But…" He took a deep breath "I was 18 years old when it happened…"
Biology classes. 10:36 AM. Norman Jayden was sitting next to the teacher, paying attention as always. It was when Linda, his favorite teacher (She taught History) interrupted the class. As they saw her face, everyone knew something was wrong and Norman felt his heart pump hard as she called for him.
"Bring your things, sweetie" She said.
He got up, shaking violently without looking back. He had a really bad feeling and as soon as he left the room, he turned to the woman:
"What happened? Where's my father?"
"Calm down, sweetie, just come with me…"
"Why can't you just tell me what happened then? That would make things easier, wouldn't it?"
As soon as he entered the director's room and saw John's partner, Wilson, standing in there, he understood…
"I'm so sorry, Norman…"
Norman started sobbing. That memory was too much for him to handle… Ethan had his eyes watery, being hit by the same pain as his friend. There it was: The reason he had gone through all these trials with him, the reason he trusted him enough to ignore his duty and just flee with a suspect… Ethan reminded him of John, the one he really considered his father, the only one that gave him hope and enough will to fight! Coming back to the city he lived in with his father, where his friend died and being stuck in this false reality ARI gave him with the fucking Triptocaine... Everything had come out at once and he was losing it all… But he wanted Shaun to enjoy the father he had while he still had. He wanted him to be happy.
"H-He sacrificed himself f-for his partner…" Norman told Ethan, just letting it all go, just wanting the memories to fade away... "I-I just wish I could be t-there… Next to him… The same with G-George…"
His eyes became even shinier because of the tears. Ethan tried really hard not to cry in front of him. He had to be strong in order to support him, to help him, to act just like the father he missed so much…
"I… I never really feared death, but… But I fear dying alone, you know."
Ethan stared at him and felt sincerity. Norman continued:
"To live alone is one thing but… To die alone… I just…" He sighed, trying to shake the feeling away "I just, for once, wanted to make sure living was worth it, you know… Just wanted someone to… To hold my hand and tell me everything would be just fine, even after I closed my eyes forever…"
Ethan swallowed hard. He knew where they were getting with this...
"Ethan… You're... You're the only person I can really trust... I've never told all of this to anybody else before and... Please, could you… Could you hold my hand… In my departure?"
Ethan's eyes watered even more. Shit, he was supposed to be strong but how could he? How could he be strong in face of such a question? Damnit, as much as he'd like to he just couldn't do it, he just wouldn't be able to... To watch his friend... Die! However, Jayden was right: They could only trust each other and no one else. The killer wanted to test both of them and they had to stay together in order to prove they were inocent and strong enough to go through any trials he wanted them to! He stared into the watery green eyes and said, smiling:
"Only if you hold mine first."
They smiled to each other. Nothing mattered anymore. The trials, being chased by he police, absolutely nothing mattered as long as they were together. They were more than best friends, it was a lot more than that, and they would make sure no one nor anything could break this strong bond established between them. They would save Shaun and fight for their beliefs, together, until the end, as friends, as brothers, as father and son.