EVERYBODY CRIES

"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one." -Albert Einstein

Los Angeles (Elysium)

"This can't be happening."

These words were not said out loud. They were said in the mind of Jack Bristow as he stood outside the doorway to his own house in the middle of the night.

How did he get here? It's nighttime, which sounds about right. It's a nice night out, which also sounds about right. Jack is in his white shirt and shorts, his usual sleep attire, and that sounds right as well.

But his last memory before suddenly appearing outside his front door was closing his eyes and falling asleep in his own bed. That was after seeing his daughter Sydney, his son-in-law Michael Vaughn, and his grandkids Isabelle and Jack. They live on the beach west of Santa Barbara, about an hour from his home. Jack strongly remembers driving back with a massive headache that no painkiller could chase.

"Maybe this is a dream."

As he thinks those words in his head, Jack looks around and starts realizing that everything is where it should be, but there's a blue tint to everything he sees. It seems so real...but it's not. At first he feels completely dumbfounded, but then he just accepts it.

"This has to be a dream...albeit, a vivid dream."

That appears to satisfy Jack. As a man who's always believed in projecting a strong image of self-control, he accepts that this isn't a big deal and now he has the good fortune of being able to control his dream.

Or so he thinks.

Jack spins around and soaks in his surroundings. The street he lives on looks oddly barren. Usually, there's a few cars parked on the street and in their driveways. However, there isn't any signs of human life around him besides his own...

...and a blonde woman in a car across the street.

Jack walks towards the street a bit and squints his eyes as he looks at the car. It's a black Ford Taurus with no special markings or anything of the sort. The windows aren't even tinted. He looks at the woman a little more and notices something strange about her.

She's sleeping.

Jack keeps his typical poker face, but can't help but wonder why a woman is sleeping in her car in the middle of the night on his street. It's a woman he can't recognize, but a woman who doesn't look homeless or down on her luck or anything of the sort. She isn't dressed in a business suit or a hobo outfit. In fact, it looks like she's in a white dress of some sort. Jack starts wondering why this woman is appearing in his dream...

SLAM!

Jack quickly turns back to his house. He just heard his back door slam shut. He quickly starts running towards the back of his two story house and spots a couple people in black running towards the woods.

Jack yells "HEY!" as he gives chase, but the people just keep on running. Jack's not in the best of shape since entering retirement a few years ago and he was never exactly a sprinter.

The two figures disappear into the woods and Jack slows to a stop. He loses track of the figures in the woods. When he does, he turns around and sees his back door is open. He starts to walk towards the back door, but stops when he hears the sound of the car from across the street starting up.

He walks back towards the front of the house and sees the black Ford Taurus screech off down the street. Apparently, the woman in that car has woken up. Was she a part of this?

Jack closes his eyes and remembers what the woman looked like...her hair, her face, her dress, her car. Now, he's got the profile of the woman in his head in case he sees her...

"Wait a second...this is a dream."

Jack murmurs those words out in disbelief. For a dream...this sure feels real.

Mary Falk also heard the crash of the door and jolted awake. She watched as Jack gave chase towards these two black figures running from the back of his house. She watched as Jack stopped giving chase and, as he stopped to catch his breath, realized those figures were getting away.

Quickly forgetting her fatigue that caused her to nod off and fall asleep, and seeing as Jack doesn't appear to be in any more danger, she turns on her car and screeches down the road to give chase.

Mary gets to the next intersection and makes a left and goes down two blocks until she reaches an intersection where she finally makes another left turn, her tires squealing as she rounds the corner.

As Mary turns on the street, she sees the two black figures emerge from the woods from a half block away. The figures get into a car of their own that's parked on the street and speed off.

Mary decides to continue the chase at high speed. She presses down on the gas pedal a little more as the car in front of her starts to speed ahead.

She studies the back window and sees a third person in the backseat turn at her quickly. Mary doesn't get a good look at the person's face before the person turns again. She watches the person reach forward with both arms and touch the two figures in the front seat on their shoulders.

A couple seconds later, the three people in the car disappear. The car veers off the street and runs into a tree at about 40 miles an hour, smashing the front end to bits.

Mary slams the brakes and her car comes to a stop next to the wrecked car. She quickly gets out of her car and runs up to the wrecked car to examine the damage.

She looks inside the car and discovers no trace of a single human being in the car. She quickly realizes that whoever the person in the backseat was...he or she knows how to teleport, but the two others didn't.

Suddenly, thoughts start to race through her mind. Crime doesn't really exist in Elysium. She hasn't been in a high speed chase involving questionable people since she was alive and working with Bill Vaughn in the real world, trying to protect her son Tom Falk as well as her now-daughter-in-law Nadia Santos from their fates in Rambaldi's prophecy.

"What is going on?"

Those are the only words that Mary can process in her mind at the moment as she looks in the driver's side front window, looking for any signs of evidence. A quick scan inside reveals nothing.

Soon, she realizes that she can't linger here very long because it might raise suspicion should anyone be inhabiting the homes around her. She needs to leave...but where is she going to go?

She should check on Jack, but then thinks better of it. Mary saw Jack Bristow in action in real life when Tom worked with him. She knows he'd probably suspect her of being with whoever these black figures where. And since he's a new arrival in Elysium, she knows he needs to be eased into the ways of the afterlife, so she decides that dealing with Jack at this point would not be the best idea.

Mary lets out a deep sigh and realizes where she needs to go. She needs answers from Laurent L'Andre, the man who sent her on this task.

She closes her eyes and teleports away from the scene of the accident.

Tenay, France (Elysium)

Time zones still are in effect in Elysium and it is now daytime in this remote east-central French village that looks like as it did in the 1400's. It's as if Mary also jumped back in time as well as location.

Mary appears in the field outside a quaint little cottage that is set away from the village. The cottage sits on a nice, green open field, with wildflowers in bloom all around her. The picturesque setting reveals hills off in the distance and even the white, snow-covered top of a mountain very far off beyond the hills.

But Mary isn't here for the scenery. She's there for answers.

A gust of wind blows her dress as she starts marching towards the front door of the cottage. She's in a foul mood, partly from the adrenaline from the chase she was just in and partly because she hasn't had much sleep at all.

Mary reaches the wooden front door and gives it a few hard pounds with her right fist. The scowl on her face looks eerily reminiscent of the scowl that her son Tom would form when he was in a foul mood himself.

After a few impatient seconds, a short, diminutive black-haired woman answers the front door with a wide, yet concerned smile on her face. In a very noticeable French accent, she says "Marie! Vous regardez bouleversé, ce qui semble être le problème? (Mary! You look upset, what seems to be wrong?)"

Mary, unamused at the bubbliness of the woman she's conversing with, flatly replies "Où est Laurent, Michelle? (Where is Laurent, Michelle?)"

Before Michelle can answer, we hear a familiar-sounding male French accent come from inside the house. "Michelle, l'intérieur de la maison, j'ai besoin d'un mot avec Marie seule. (Michelle, inside the house, I need a word with Mary alone.)"

Michelle just nods her head, knowing better than to question her husband. As Michelle backs away, we see Laurent emerge. For the first time, we see him without his trademark off-white robe and instead, he is wearing a wool sleeveless blue shirt and cotton white pants that are cut off below the knees. He looks comfortable...if not modest in appearance.

Laurent, noticing Mary's fuming face, steps outside and closes the front door. Once the door is shut, he turns back to Mary and, in a somewhat concerned tone, asks "What happened?"

Mary takes a deep, frustrated breath and says "There were two people at Jack's house when he arrived." Laurent asks "Who were they?" Mary quickly snaps "You tell me." Laurent gives her a funny look and asks "How would I know?"

Mary folds her arms and says "Because you knew a lot more than you were letting on when you assigned me to be Jack's personal stalker. These people bolted and got in a car. A third person was in the back of the car and, while they were driving away, was able to teleport all three of them away."

Laurent lets out a sigh and says "So, they know how to teleport..."

Mary angrily gets in Laurent's face and, not intimidated one bit by the fact that Laurent is much bigger and much more cold-blooded than she is, yells "WHO ARE THEY?" Laurent coolly replies "I don't know exactly, but these might be visitors from Hell."

Mary shakes her head in disbelief, then reforms her snarl. "What all do you know? TELL ME!" But before Laurent can answer, they hear a man with an Italian accent ask "I'd like to know as well."

Mary turns around quickly and Laurent looks over her shoulder. They both see that Milo Rambaldi has appeared and has a very inquisitive look on his face.

Laurent, a little despondent that Rambaldi is here, says "Milo...I did not know you were coming." Rambaldi casually starts walking up to Mary and Laurent and says "You should know by now that I am far from conventional...I tend to get an honest answer out of someone when they're surprised to see me. And I see that worked, because I just learned you disobeyed my orders."

Mary curiously asks "How long have you been standing there?" Rambaldi cracks a wry smirk and says "Long enough to know that Laurent sent you on a task that was meant for him." Laurent, not doing a good job of hiding his frustration at being caught red-handed, says "I just returned from a meeting with my contacts researching the portals. There has been a development."

Rambaldi just grunts a bit, his way of a non-committal acknowledgment of Laurent's whereabouts. "You were about to say something to your blood relative about who 'these people' could be. Maybe now would be a good time to fill Mary in."

Laurent folds his arms and says "One of my contacts from Il Credo Divino (Italian for 'The Divine Creed') spotted some suspicious figures in black yesterday. They hid their face in a black mask and hood, unseen to the world." Mary asks "Where did your contact find these people?"

Laurent replies "They were spotted in Novosibirsk, Russia. They were boarding a plane." Rambaldi, connecting some dots in his mind, says "And now three figures in black were spotted in Los Angeles..." Laurent shakes his head, cutting Milo off. "The ones my contact spotted were heading for the Vatican."

Rambaldi forms a look of deep concern on his face. "The Popes...the Elysian Council..." Laurent says "We don't know anything about their intentions, and it did not appear to my informant that they were aware they were being tracked." Mary says "Of course not, your Creed allies are masters of disguise..."

Laurent looks at Mary and says "This is no time for flattery. There is a concern here." Rambaldi intently nods and says "Ok. I will order the Vatican guard to be on high alert. What about these 'portals'?"

Laurent gives Milo a funny look. "What about the Elysian Council? Shouldn't there be more security..." Rambaldi shakes his head dismissively. "Our location is known only to a handful of people. This stays a secret. There is no need to raise concern with the other council members. We can handle this internally amongst ourselves."

Mary folds his arms and asks "Now, about these portals..." Laurent shakes his head and says "No word on their location. But, you'd have to have a good reason to be in Siberia, and hiding a portal in the remote woods of Siberia would be what I would do. However, finding this portal could be like finding a needle in a..."

Mary intently says "We should send search parties..." Rambaldi cuts her off. "...and tell the citizens of Elysium that there is a threat on their lives? Absolutely not. We need to let the people of Elysium continue to live in peace and without fear unless it is absolutely necessary. The people don't even know they can die here if they get a blow to the head!" Mary lets out a defeated sigh and hangs her head. She knows arguing with Rambaldi on this topic is pointless.

Laurent asks "Where is Jack Bristow?" Rambaldi's ears perk up. "Is Jack under duress?" Mary looks at Rambaldi and says "Two people shrouded in black were in his house. They must have saw Jack and bailed. He gave chase for a bit, then stopped and looked out of breath. That's the last I saw of him before I went after the figures myself."

Laurent frustratedly asks "And you just left Jack alone? What if there were more of them?" Mary looks at Laurent and says "Jack saw me as I took off, and he'd suspect me of being with them. I had to figure out if you knew anything more. Plus, he's a new arrival, he hasn't been through counseling yet. He needs to be eased into Elysium."

Rambaldi forms a look on his face like he just formed an idea. "Nadia was supposed to see me later about the orphanage problem, and usually Tom accompanies her. Mary...Laurent...go to Jack's house, but give him a few hours to rest, he should still be sleepy like he was from Earth. Bring him to my office. I'll handle the rest." Mary asks "What if he gets aggressive towards us?" Laurent cracks his knuckles before Rambaldi can answer and says "I will handle that."

Rambaldi snickers and sarcastically says "That's awfully sweet of you, Laurent, but let Mary do the talking. We want Jack to be our ally...he might be helpful in squashing a problem our unwanted guests from Hell might cause. Let Mary do the sweet-talking...but be ready, Laurent, should Jack get a little feisty. We do need him in one piece for when Tom counsels him."

Laurent gives Rambaldi a headnod and looks down at Mary. "You look tired." Mary nods and says "I haven't gotten much sleep." Laurent nods and says "We will do this around noon his time. Get some sleep, I will meet you at your house."

Mary nods approvingly and says "Alright. I will see you then." Mary then closes her eyes and disappears as she teleports back home.

Rambaldi forms a confident smirk on his face as he walks to the front door and knocks. Laurent follows behind as Michelle opens the door and beams a large smile. "Milo!" Rambaldi then starts sniffing something in the air. "Est-ce que…canelé est que je suis une odeur? (Is that... canelés I am smelling?)"

Michelle giggles and says "Vous avez encore un faible pour les pâtisseries...entrez! (You still have a weakness for pastries...come on in!)" Rambaldi forms a wide, cracked smile and says "J'ai toujours apprécié votre hospitalité, Michelle. (I always appreciate your hospitality, Michelle.)"

Rambaldi looks up at Laurent, who just gives him a light chuckle over his boss's weakness to pastries. Rambaldi then steps into the little cottage to enjoy his dessert.

Tom and Nadia's home, San Felipe (Elysium)

Nadia stands behind her 5 year old daughter Maria, brushing her long, straight black hair as she sits patiently in front of her mirror in her bedroom.

Maria looks like an absolute doll, with her face all done up in makeup and red lipstick on her lips, blue ribbons in her hair, and looking splendid in a cute blue dress. She looks like she's going to a formal gathering of some sort, but she has other plans.

She's got to impress a boy.

Nadia, who's in a casual shirt and jeans, stops brushing and, happily looking at her daughter's face in the mirror, says "There! You look so gorgeous!" Maria giggles and says "Thanks mommy! Do you think Emilio will like me?"

Nadia laughs a bit and says "He'll be so amazed at how you look! Trust me!" Maria stands up from her chair and says "Good! I can't wait to see him!"

"OH COME ON, WHERE'S THE PENALTY?" "ARE YOU KIDDING ME, REF?"

Nadia and Maria's smiles erase at the yelling coming from the living room. Maria looks up at Nadia and, with an angry scowl on her face, says "They're not using their inside voices, mommy!" Nadia looks down and, trying to hide her laughter, says "No, they're not! Come on, let's go talk to your father and uncle."

Maria runs out of the room and Nadia quickly walks out behind her.

Maria runs down the hallway and into the living room, where Tom Falk and Eddie Falk are watching a hockey game on TV. Tom's leaning forward in his recliner while Eddie is leaning forward on the couch, both facing the TV and not paying her any attention. That last fact irritates her more.

"HEY!"

Eddie and Tom quickly look over and see an angry Maria standing there with her hands on her hips. As Tom pauses the DVR, Maria yells "YOU TWO USE YOUR INSIDE VOICES!"

Tom looks over at his brother Eddie and, trying to hide his laughter, says "She's right. We broke the rules." Eddie smirks back and then looks at Maria and says "We're sorry. But this referee is just killing us!" Maria forms a small smile through her angry face and says "It better not happen again, or I'll send you to your room!"

Eddie looks back over at Tom as Nadia emerges from the hallway and sarcastically says "Boy, your daughter is strict!" Tom smirks and says "She learned from the best." Nadia snickers a bit and says "Yeah, she learned from ME!"

Tom looks back at Nadia with feign disgust and says "What's that supposed to mean?" Nadia shakes her head as she folds her arms and says "You and your mother let Maria get away with anything! If it weren't for me..." Eddie, deciding to stick up for his admonished brother, changes the subject. "If it weren't for her wonderful mother, Maria wouldn't look so nice today!"

Maria excitedly hops up and down and says "Thanks Uncle Eddie!" Tom looks back at Maria with a smile and says "Yeah, you look fantastic! Did you tell your mommy thanks?" Before Maria can answer, Nadia happily says "Yes she did, Tom! She was very thankful that I could help her look good today!"

Tom looks up at Nadia and asks "She's just going to hang out at the orphanage while we're gone, right?" Nadia nods and says "Right, but she really wanted to look good today." Nadia then looks at Maria and says "Tell daddy why you had mommy help you today!"

As Tom looks back at her, Maria gets red in the face and mumbles "I don't know..." Nadia laughs a bit and says "Come on, Maria! You wanted to look good for someone..." Eddie, getting the hint, says "Did you meet a boy at the orphanage, Maria?"

Maria just nods but doesn't say anything, still hanging her head and still blushing as she rocks back and forth nervously. Tom smirks and says "You wanted to look good for Emilio, right?" Maria looks up shyly at Tom and says "Uh-huuuuh..." Eddie asks Nadia "Who's Emilio?"

Before Nadia can answer, the front door opens, and a tall, slender, and rather attractive woman in her early 20's enters. She has medium-long black hair, just a little shorter than Nadia's, and has a big smile on her face as she's dressed in a red tank top and jeans. As she walks in, Eddie looks at her like he's just seen an angel.

Nadia walks up to the woman and says "Julieta! It's so good to see you!" Julieta beams as she embraces Nadia. The childhood friends from Argentina trade a couple cordial kisses on the cheek. As they kiss, Eddie leans in and whispers in Tom's ear "That never gets old." Tom looks at Eddie with a funny look, but doesn't say anything. He's starting to realize Julieta does something...weird to Eddie.

Julieta releases the hug and, in an accent and throaty voice similar to Nadia's, says "It's so good to see you as always, Naddy!" Maria then runs over and hugs Julieta's leg. "Hi Julieta!" Julieta bends over and hugs Maria back and warmly says "Hi Maria, you look so beautiful today!"

Eddie, taking an opportunity to talk to the apparent woman of his dreams, says "Yeah, Julieta, apparently my little niece has an eye on a boy at your orphanage!" Julieta looks up surprised and says "She dressed up for Emilio?" Maria confidently says "Uh-huuuuh!" Julieta lets out a surprised chuckle and looks back down at Maria. "That's so sweet of you, Maria! He's been looking forward to seeing you today!"

Eddie asks to no one in particular "So, who is this Emilio kid, and why does my niece like him so much?" Julieta responds with a smile "He just arrived a couple weeks ago at the orphanage. He's this sweet little boy, but he's SO shy! That didn't stop Maria from hanging out with him, though..." Maria giggles and says "He's niiiice and he's fuuuun..."

Julieta puts a hand on Maria's shoulder and says "She's really helped bring him out of his shell. They're so fun together!" Maria looks up at Nadia and asks "Can I stay with Emilio and the orphans for dinner?"

Nadia raises her eyebrows surprised and looks over at Tom, who shrugs and says "Fine by me." Tom then forms a playful smile and says "Besides...gives me and you a chance at a quiet dinner...just the two of us..." Nadia smirks at the prospect of a quiet dinner with her husband and tells Julieta "If that would be alright with you, Maria can stay with the orphans for dinner."

Julieta laughs and says "Maria is always welcome at the orphanage! I'll drop her off around 8, ok?" Nadia smiles wide and says "That'd be great, thanks!" Julieta looks down at Maria and says "Come on, Emilio's waiting!" Maria lets out a "YAAY!" and heads for the front door.

As Julieta waves bye to everyone, Eddie says "Hey Julieta...you, um, look nice today." Julieta looks back at him with a flattered smile and says "Thanks! I like your shirt!" Eddie looks down at his tar heel blue polo shirt and smiles as he looks back up and says "I'll wear it more often now, thanks!" Julieta laughs and says "Good idea! Bye, Eddie!" Eddie gives her a sheepish wave and says "Take care, Julieta."

Julieta then walks out the front door with Maria leading the way.

Eddie then forces his hands into his pockets and timidly says "I guess you two have to be going..." Tom looks at Eddie with a strange look on his face and asks "Are you ok?"

As Nadia laughs a bit, Eddie bashfully says "I don't know what it is about Julieta...I'm not usually like this..." Tom rolls his eyes and says "Yeah, no shit! It's not like she's the Pope!" Eddie punches Tom in the shoulder and says "I know that, you ass!"

Nadia playfully tells Eddie "You know, if you just asked her out..." Eddie shakes his head quickly and says "I can't." Tom fires back "Why not? Think she'd turn you down?" Eddie shakes his head quickly again and says "It's not that...look, I don't want to talk about it now. You guys have to be going. I think Dad wanted me to help cut firewood with him and he's probably waiting for me. I'll see ya'll later."

Tom gives Eddie a poundhug and says "Yeah, we'll talk later. We have to finish watching the game!" Eddie laughs and says "Yeah, we do, don't we? We only got through a period!"

Nadia then gives Eddie a hug and whispers into his ear "I think Julieta likes you. She'd probably love to go out with you." Eddie just lets out a disappointed sigh as he releases the hug, but says nothing about that. Instead, he just says "Take care you two."

Then, Eddie disappears as he teleports to Bunker, Missouri to help cut firewood with his dad.

Nadia looks at Tom a little concerned and asks "Why is he so bothered about Julieta? They like each other, but did you see how defeated and disappointed he looked just now?" Tom nods and says "I think I know what's bugging him. I'll talk to him later about it. You ready to go see Rambaldi?"

Nadia nods and says "Yeah, I hope he hears me out about the orphans..." Tom gives her a reassuring smile and says "I hope so, too. If push comes to shove, I can help you out and have Matt Aguero take over the counseling reigns. Handing orphans seems like a much bigger job than newcomers and I feel bad that I can't help..."

Nadia wraps her arms around Tom's neck and says "You help me by being here for me and loving me like you do." Tom leans down and gives Nadia a kiss on the lips and says "I still love you more than you'll ever know." Nadia smiles wide as she grabs Tom's hand and says "I know you do, and I love you too. Now, let's go."

Nadia closes her eyes and teleports her and Tom out of the house. Little did either one of them know what was going on while all of that was taking place...

Los Angeles (Elysium)

"The number you are trying to dial has been disconnected or is no longer..."

Jack Bristow slams the phone back into it's cradle on the kitchen wall. He's been trying to call or text Sydney all morning, but when he calls he gets that message he just heard and when he emails her, it tells him that her email address doesn't exist.

It's been a few hours since Jack arrived in Elysium and he still has no idea what is going on. Everyone he knows that is alive is unreachable where he is at.

Oh, and everything is still in a blue tint, and that is really starting to bug him.

His house is otherwise just as he left it on Earth, including his clothes. He's found the time to put on his favorite polo shirt and khakis...the only things that still feel normal to him.

As he stands leaning on the wall trying to make sense of his predicament, he hears a knock on his front door.

He immediately grows suspicious, are those people in black back to finish the job? Regardless, he knows he should be ready for anything and has plenty of weapons at his disposal.

Jack quickly walks over to a kitchen drawer and opens it up and reaches in...and grabs nothing. Normally, he'd have a gun in the drawer, but it's not there.

The front door knocks again. Jack walks out of the kitchen and starts digging into his couch cushions, looking for another gun.

Again, he comes up empty.

The front door knocks again, this time a little stronger and this time accompanied by a worried woman's voice: "Jack Bristow? Are you ok in there?"

The voice doesn't sound threatening at all. Could be just deception or it could be a concerned neighbor.

Jack does spot a golf club that he always kept next to his front door. He quickly walks over to the club and grabs it. He takes a deep breath and quickly flings open the door, then clutches the club tightly and ready to swing at what ever is on the other side..

He immediately sees two people standing in the front door: Mary Falk, a medium-length blonde hair, blue eyed woman who stands about 5'5 and is dressed in a basic shirt and jeans, and Laurent L'Andre, who is dressed in his trademark off-white hooded robe. Jack immediately notes that this man in the robe looks a lot like Tom Falk, only noticeably taller and sporting a goatee.

Seeing as they're not jumping out at him in anger, Jack asks "Who are you two?" Mary replies "I am Mary Falk." The name immediately rings a bell in Jack's mind. "Tom Falk's mother?" Mary nods and simply says "Yes."

Laurent, in his usual cold, sullen voice, says "And I am Laurent L'Andre, loyal apprentice to Milo Rambaldi." Jack tilts his head a bit, surprised at the notion of speaking to two dead people. "You two are dead. How am I talking to you?"

Mary blankly replies "That depends on your definition of 'dead'." Jack quickly fires back "I don't know any other meaning of the word 'dead' besides 'dead'. You two are no longer among the living. Why am I talking to you two?"

In a very calm voice, Mary says "Put down the golf club, Jack." Jack quickly asks "Why?" Mary fires back "Because we're not here to hurt you. We're here to help you." Laurent then says "If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it already." Mary closes her eyes in shame and looks up at her cold-blooded ancestor with a somewhat irritated look. Laurent pays her no mind as he stares down Jack.

Jack studies Mary's face a bit. While Mary projects a strong image, Jack believes her when she says she's here to help. There's no signs of anger or hate in her face towards him. In fact, she's been quite calm.

He then looks up at Laurent's cold face. Jack can't help but worry about this tall, intimidating man, but he's also noticed that Laurent has not made an ill move towards him and has also been rather calm. And he believes Laurent when he said he could kill Jack if he wanted.

Jack looks down and drops the club. As it hits the floor, Jack looks back up at Mary and says "Ok, I've done what you asked. What is going on?" Mary takes a deep breath and says "You died. You're in Elysium now."

Jack's mouth opens a bit in surprise. He turns away and digests what she just said, then down at the ground. "I can't be dead...I'm in my home..." Mary calmly says "Yes, you are. Everything that exists on Earth, with some exceptions, exists in Elysium. You cannot converse with the people you left behind, and guns are not allowed to be carried over into Elysium, but Elysium is designed to be a copy of Earth."

Jack closes his eyes tightly as he fights the emotions that are starting to swell up in him. Mary and Laurent watch as Jack's eyes start to water a bit. Jack puts his hand over his face and, with his voice cracking a bit, says "Excuse me for a moment."

Jack turns away and heads back into his house to grab a tissue. He's not one to let his emotions break out like that, but the fact that he's not going to see his grandkids grow up or see his daughter Sydney until they die is really hurting him. He always dreamed of playing catch with his grandson or giving Isabelle feedback on her singing, but that's no longer possible, and that's killing him inside.

Everything that has happened since Jack suddenly appeared on his doorstep makes sense to him now. The fact he can't contact Sydney and the lack of guns in his house...he now realizes he is indeed dead.

Jack lets out a loud sniffle, which Mary and Laurent hear from the doorstep. Mary has a somber look at first...then a smirk as she turns to Laurent. "I'll take my 5 bucks, now." Laurent gives her a blank look, then reaches into a pocket and hands Mary a bill. As he does, he grudgingly says "Jack is a hard man...crying is not in his nature."

Mary pockets the bill and flatly says "Everybody cries the moment they realize they're dead." Laurent sighs and says "I don't know how your son does it." Mary looks up at Laurent and asks "Does what?" Laurent coldly replies "Put up with all the crying and sorrow in his counseling sessions."

Mary says nothing as Jack reemerges to the front door. Keeping his composure this time, Jack says "Sorry about that. I should have guessed I wasn't dreaming. What happened to me...how did I die?" Laurent replies "I can investigate a little later. All I know is that you were to arrive via natural causes."

Jack asks "What do you mean 'investigate'?" Laurent replies "We have the ability to see what's going on in Earth. We cannot interact with anything on Earth, but we can witness things as they happen in real time. That includes overseeing someone's autopsy. I will provide you an answer when I get it."

Jack looks over at Mary. "You, Tom, Nadia, Irina...you all had the ability to communicate with each other...why can't everyone do that?" Mary replies "I'm not the one you should ask." Laurent looks down at Mary, then back at Jack. "Rambaldi made a genetic modification to my DNA as well as Aleksander Derevko's DNA. I don't know how he knew how to make the modifications. Even though I am his apprentice and bodyguard, he does not tell me everything."

Jack sighs, looks around for a bit, then looks back at Mary and asks "So, how does all of this work?" Mary thinks about what Jack could have meant by that question, then says "Assuming you mean how does Elysium work, I'm also not the best person for that."

Jack, growing a little impatient at the lack of answers he's getting, irritatedly asks "Then who do I speak to?" Mary replies "My son and Rambaldi. They're both waiting for you."

Jack curiously asks "Where are they?" Mary replies "Rambaldi's villa in Italy. We're late, we should be going." Jack forms a confused look and says "It'll take us hours..." Mary shakes her head and smirks. "Nope. Take my hand."

Mary grabs Jack's hand with her right hand and goes to grab Laurent's hand, but he instead backs away and says "I think I will investigate Jack's death now. Maybe I can have an answer for you soon."

Laurent then disappears before Jack's eyes. Jack raises an eyebrow at that. Mary smirks and says "Tom can show you how to do that. It's easy, but there are some caveats to it. It's his job to explain how Elysium works to new arrivals." Jack looks back at Mary and says "Fine. Take me to him."

Mary smiles and says "As you wish." Mary then closes her eyes and disappears with Jack.

Rambaldi's Villa, Vecchiano, Italy (Elysium)

Nadia and Tom have a seat in front of Rambaldi's desk in his workshop, which looks just like it did when Tom first saw it before he went on his Project Nadia rampage.

Rambaldi folds his hands and sets them on his lap as he looks comfortable in his chair. "It's good to see you both. How can I help you?" With a look of concern on her face, Nadia says "Milo, the overcrowding in the orphanages is just becoming too overwhelming for our orphan mothers to handle. In some places, the volunteers are too few and the children are too many. And no one wants to adopt!"

Tom hangs his head and says "Milo, the counseling program is being run well. If I had to, I could help manage the orphans with Nadia and let Matt Aguero run..." Rambaldi holds up his hand. "No. That won't be necessary." Rambaldi then looks over at Nadia. "A fellow council member proposed a possible solution to your overcrowding problem that you might find interesting."

Nadia leans forward and, now very curious, asks "What is it?" Rambaldi leans forward himself and says "This counsel member wants to provide an incentive for people to adopt. He wants to pay people the costs of raising the child, that way there's no financial risk. You know that good deeds are the way to earn currency here, and this would be a way of rewarding a very good deed that we don't have in place currently."

Nadia beams a wide smile on her face. "Milo...that would be fantastic!" Tom nods and says "Yeah, that would be!" Nadia then jumps back in and says "More kids would be adopted in loving homes and there'd be less crowding...this is a great idea! Please, let me plead my case to the counsel..."

Rambaldi laughs a bit and says "I admire your enthusiasm. I thought it was a pretty good idea myself, but some details do need to be worked out. There's a closed work session on this tomorrow in the counsel chambers. It's not out of the realm of possibility that we could hammer out the details tomorrow and have something ratified in two weeks. I will pass along your approval of this idea, it will hold weight I assure you."

Nadia leans back in her chair and breathes a big sigh of relief. "This is amazing...please, let me know if there's any promoting or anything I can do to get the word out..." Rambaldi smiles and says "You'll be the first to know when the edict is passed. Speaking of orphans...is your daughter at the San Felipe orphanage?" Tom nods and says "Yeah, she's found a boy she likes."

Rambaldi raises his eyebrows in surprise. "Oh really? At the ripe old age of five..." Nadia laughs and says "Oh, it's not like that. He's this really shy boy..."

Nadia is cut off by the office door knocking behind her in a special rhythm. Rambaldi smirks, knowing who's at the door. He yells "Come in!" The door opens as Tom and Nadia turn their heads to face who's coming in.

Their jaws nearly hit the floor when they see who is at the door: Mary Falk and Jack Bristow.

Nadia jumps out of her chair. "JACK!" Tom also gets up quickly and turns to Rambaldi. "What the...what is this?" Rambaldi ignores Tom and Nadia's shock as he slowly stands up and looks at a somewhat overwhelmed Jack Bristow with a calm smile.

"Welcome to Elysium, Jack. I am Milo Rambaldi. We have some things to discuss."

END OF CHAPTER