 
### Hunter

by Sean McPherson

Hunter

McPherson, Sean

Copyright 2011 by McPherson, Sean

Published by Smashwords

This is an original work by Sean McPherson. Any relation to names, characters or stories to other works or real persons is purely coincidental. References to other works were not made with endorsement or consent by their respective owners or artists and is made in good faith.

Cover art was designed by Sean McPherson and made with pictures that are in the public domain.

Special thanks to Noor in helping make each story from good to great.

Thanks to my sister, Candice. The few pieces of advice helped immensely.

And thanks to my parents, who have helped support me through these trying times.

The skyline displayed the late night. Even the skyscrapers were almost all dark, though small red lights highlighted the height of each building.

Over one such building, a bulky, van-like machine flew directly over the rooftop. The vehicle moved smoothly, then halted only a few feet over the rooftop. It blended well into the infinite shadow of the city. The light color may have given itself away in brighter conditions, but the red lights barely reflected off its side. Even the cabin lights inside were dark.

The back of the hovering vehicle started to lower. It was a slow rotation, ending as though it made a ramp. The end of that ramp would have ended on the ground if it had actually landed. Instead the platform was still a few feet above the roof.

From the vehicle emerged a dark clothed man. He was approaching middle-age, a hardened look etched to his face for this occasion. The glasses framed the serious look in his eyes. A hard backpack was weighed him down a little. This was Jeffrey Hunter.

He leaped down to the rooftop, leaving the vehicle as the ramp closed back up. Moving his right hand to his back. With a blue flash, a gun materialized. The weapon looked somewhere between a taser and an average, bullet launching pistol.

With his other hand, he touched the rim of his glasses. Jeff looked downward, seeing through the many floors of the building. Using the glasses, he saw many red dots, with a few larger ones that belonged on the nearby floors.

Now fully prepared, Jeff walked towards a marked door. With every step, he made that sure he didn't make any noise to alert the guards. Arriving at the doorway, he took the doorknob and slowly rotated it until it stopped. He then pushed the door to the stairway with equal carefulness and stealth.

It was dark there with only the fairly dim light from outside showing where each step was. Jeff was stepping to his side. He was careful to make sure that each step was as even and quiet as possible on the metal stairs. It was a short flight of stairs, but his view remained on what hid behind the next door.

Light protruded the bottom crack of the door. For a quick second, a shadow pass across that light. Jeff took extra care in twisting the levered knob to its open position. Then he quickly swung the door open.

Using the door as partial cover, Jeff shot two bolts of light into the air. The first hit the passing guard in the back. The second missed. The farther guard spun around to see his opponent. He barely had enough time to raise his rifle up before another bolt hit him, knocking him unconscious.

Free of the guards, Jeff calmly walked down the well-lit hallway. His first job was to frisk one the fallen guards. Quickly finding the radio, he put it to his mouth, "There's someone in the west stairway!" That would be enough.

Getting back up, it took one turn before he found the elevators. He smashed the button to the metal doors. It took only a second for the familiar ding and a open door in front of him. He entered then pressed the button for the ground floor.

Once the doors closed, he put his other hand behind his back to summon a twin to his other gun. He breathed one large huff, mentally preparing himself for the trial that was to come.

The elevator doors opened. It was a long second, a momentary pause as he rushed out. The barricaded guards were facing away, towards the stairway that Jeff used as a decoy. But it didn't take long for them to take notice, with a hail of gunfire erupting.

Jeff fired straight forward, not at anyone in particular. That made sure that his immediate front was covered by his gunfire as he dove out to the closest pillar. Taking cover, he looked around for any faults in his choice. Looking up, he saw a catwalk with a guard running across. Jeff fired several bolts from both guns, only the last hitting its mark. The guard was knocked down and lay against the rail.

The hail of bullets ceased. Movement could be heard, as the intruder knew that they were repositioning themselves for the kill.

Jeff set both his guns behind his back. The blue flash erupted; now both guns were replaced with two round orbs. Using his mouth to remove the pins, he tossed both the grenades behind the towering pillar. With a bang, the grenades exploded in a cloud of black smoke. Several of the guards coughed, others yelled words of warning or commands. The intruder couldn't comprehend them, nor cared to.

The black smoke coated the entire room. Replacing his guns back into his hands, Jeff dived out of his cover. He shot three guards who had come out, but didn't see him through the smoke.

The intruder ran to the back. Using his memory of the area, he bumped into a wall. He moved swiftly to the right, where the flap for employees was.

Some of the remaining guards heard his steps, firing blindly. They were nowhere near Jeff, giving him plenty of opportunity to get into position. He got behind the long barrier where bankers would have worked, and where the remaining guards were positioned. Jeff shot many times, not caring to waste any ammo in order to down the remaining competition.

The smoke cleared as quickly as it had come. All the guards were lying on the floor. Jeff walked back behind to where the vault was.

It was a large, metal door: a classic type of vault door that one would expect. The side had an electronic keypad ready for someone's input. The large door was sealed by one hinge to the side; sturdy enough that it take more small explosives to wrench it.

Un-summoning his weapons, he took out a slight bit of gum. Mushing it up, the gum was placed between the keypad and the door hinge. Taking a short distance back, he watched as a small explosion cause the door to open. It was only a small crack, enough for him to get a grip on it. He pulled it open, revealing what he was after.

Inside, a small girl sat on the floor. She was sad, though have long cried herself out. It was very apparent that she had been stuck in the vault for several hours.

Jeff smiled to reassure the girl. He offered a hand to the girl, and she took it.

Outside, several police vehicles had been surrounding the building. Of the many people on the site, only two were not part of the police force. That was where the Jeff and the girl were walking toward.

He was carrying the girl to the car from out of the building. When she saw the two, she excitingly pointed them out. Jeff gently set the girl down. She ran right for the man and the woman - to her parents.

The woman leaned down to capture and lift the girl up, embracing her with all their heart. The mother cried in relief, that her daughter was safe. The father embraced the daughter from the other direction, showing a very similar emotion.

With his job done, Jeff started to walk toward a dark alleyway. The mother noticed that he was leaving and yelled at him.

He turned around, seeing that she wanted to say something. She only whispered, so he couldn't hear her. But the words were obvious, "Thank you."

He smiled, and turned his head back. Jeffrey Hunter walked into the darkness.

Episode 1

### Kara

Six months earlier

The artificially dark sky shaded the metal hanger. On the back platform, wind whipped around the four scientists. Each was in front of a computer monitor that didn't have a keyboard or anything else connected. On the far end from the door was Jeffrey Hunter.

He stood looking up at his experiment. There was no awe in his eyes, but they still held deep interest. Jeff, lacking the glasses on his face, studied every particle of the effect above them. Having done this test at least a dozen times before, he was looking for any change that occurred - no matter how minute.

Glancing at his screen, he checked to see if the array of sensors had detected any changes from previous tests. Nothing had changed. Now he turned around to face the other scientists.  
"What's your readings, Brian?" He called to the scientist on the opposite side of the platform.

"Looks good. I think this problem's solved." The problem he referred to was slight variation of the size of the portal - the thing that was causing the dark sky above them.

Jeff moved on to the lone woman of the group, "Liz, how's the power regulation?"

"It's going fine. No surges, even when it was near proximity." She shifted her protective goggles a bit. They weren't necessary, but she found the wind whipping around her prescription glasses annoyed her eyes too much.

Jeff made one last check on his monitor before turning back, "Anything I need to know, Gil?

The man next to Jeff simply replied, "Nope; good here."

"Then...we're done." Jeff pressed a few keys on the computer screen. The portal closed and the sky brightened up to the sunny, noon light. Only a hum remained as the Dimensional Transport still hovered over the open-air hanger.

"That was the last one," Jeff proclaimed.

There was only a short cheer from the other three. They couldn't be too excited with much of their work that had yet to be finished.

Jeff continued, "With that, once you guys are done, take the rest of the afternoon off. We'll need the rest for next week." Jeff was about to finish some of the work he had, then a different thought came into mind; one that really had never occurred to him before. "Liz, can you finish this up for me?"

Liz looked a bit confused, "Uh...sure. You have something else I didn't know about?"

"Nope, I just decided to take the afternoon myself."

"Really? Are you sure?"

Jeff had a firm look, "Yes, I'm sure."

"OK." She walked to Jeff's console to finish up his work, keeping her feeling of reverse deja-vu very apparent.

Jeff silently walked passed the other scientists, including Brian, and left the hanger through a door in the back. Noticing that Jeff was leaving early, the friend quickly typed a few last critical notes into the console and ran back to catch up.

Outside the hanger was a minimally lit and decorated hallway. A formally-dressed soldier walked by as Brian caught up to Jeff.

"Hey, Jeff, are you coming tonight?" Brian asked.

"You know that it's my anniversary with Kara."

"Hey, the meal's on me. Brenda will be there; and I know Kara was wanting to meet her." Brian slightly leaned toward Jeff while they continued walking, trying to put a bit of insistence on the matter, "So.....?"

Jeff gave a small laugh, "Relax. Both me and Kara will be there. She actually preferred it."

Brian stopped, while Jeff continued walking, "Great! Seven o'clock, the A.I.E. restaurant!"  
"I'll see you then, Brian."

Brian ran back to the hanger. Jeff continued walking toward the offices and out of the facility.

Jeff wandered in front of a large window that clearly labeled the dance studio. Looking inside, he had a perfect view of the dance floor. There was only one person inside: a nimble red-haired dancer. Kara was practicing some of her moves, a few were very apparent that it was with an imaginary partner. Most of the motions were for solo sequences. She performed artful acts of twirling and leaping to unheard music.

One could easily tell that Jeff was content with the sight. After the few moments of watching her, Jeff decided to move forward. He walked to the door and opened it. An electronic sounded as he entered the quiet building.

It was that sound that stopped Kara in her tracks. She straightened herself up a quick bit before noticing who came in the door. Her bright teeth were revealed as she almost leaped toward Jeff, landing inside his arms.

"How'd you get time off?"

"I gave myself the afternoon," he honestly replied.

Kara gave him a suspicious look. " _You_ gave yourself the afternoon off?"

"What? I am the head of my team. I can always give work to somebody else once in a while."

"Yeah...You would rather give someone else the day off and work on _their_ experiments then give yourself the day."

"OK, you got me there," Jeff conceded.

Kara released him from the hug, then took his hand as they wandered aimlessly around the studio.

Jeff turned the questions toward Kara, "How about you? No one else seems to be here."

"Just a dead spot in the schedule. I've got a few hours before the next class."

"That's good, 'cause I was going to see if we can have lunch together."

"That sounds good," Kara decided to turn things back toward Jeff again, "But first, when are you going to take a vacation?"

"Actually...rather soon. The project's almost done, so I was planning on us flying to-"

"Maui," Kara inserted.

Jeff still had his mouth open from before he was cut off. He was about to say something, but decided otherwise. "OK, Maui it is. Any reason for going there?"

Kara playfully smiled, "You'll have to find out when we get there."

Jeff took that response in stride, "Alright. Shall we head on out to lunch then?"

"Sure. I'll trust you to choose a good place."

The two, still holding hands, turned and walked out the door.

Jeff was pacing at the bottom of the stairs. He took a quick look at his watch then leaned up toward the stairs, where Kara was still getting ready. "It's almost six-thirty, honey."

Kara didn't even lean out of the room. She wasn't anxious like Jeff. Instead she was more excited towards the coming evening. "I'll be ready in a sec."

Jeff nonchalantly hid around the corner. He took a small black box out of his pocket and checked the jewelry inside. Inside was a bracelet, diamonds adorned all around with the center pieces being a blue sapphire and a ruby. He did that probably a few too many times, but couldn't help but be eager for the time to give it.

Then the sound of heels hitting the stairs came along. Jeff quickly closed the box and re-hid it inside his pocket. Returning to the bottom of the stairs, he saw Kara. While she had a fancy, multicolored dress on, she looked just as casual as ever. The look was made more casual with her hair loose upon her shoulders, no formality to it at all.

"You don't even have to ask: you look beautiful."

Kara smiled at the comment. She was now at the bottom of the stairs, standing close to Jeff."Thanks. Now let's go see your friends."

"Isn't Liz your friend too?"

Kara playfully said, "OK, let's see your coworkers."

Jeff was a bit caught off-guard from the response. "Why do you always get me like that?"

"You should know why. Now, come-on. Let's eat."

The low hum of the crowd can be heard as Jeff and Kara's dinner party was seated at a rather large table. Brian was alongside his girlfriend, Brenda. While the group laughed at Brenda's joke, Jeff opted only to smile. For him, it was another in a long line of "that's Brian" kind of moments.

"So, Brian literally fell over you?" Kara asked Brenda.

"Yeah, he just ran right into me. Of course, he asked me out before he had even got up."

The group gave a short laugh, again with Jeff just smiling. Even Brian laughed, having a good sense of humor about himself.

"Hey, give me some credit," Brian responded, "I helped her first, then asked her out."

Liz spoke up, "And was she carrying anything?"

Brian gave a blank stare for a second, then gave his reply, "Well, no. But that didn't restrict me from helping her."

That caused another eruption of laughter, one which even Jeff was part of.

After the laughter died down, Liz turned the conversation toward her other coworker, "So, Jeff. This is your anniversary, have any speeches?"

"No, not really. However, I do have something I wanted to give..." Jeff stood up, and removed the black box in which he was carrying. He aimed it towards Kara, and opened it. She gave a very pleasant look as she raised the bracelet to look at it. Jeff could tell she liked it, watching her put it on her wrist.

Brenda requested, "Kara, let us have a good look at it."

Kara got up and presented the bracelet. Then, she leaned over and gave Jeff and good, almost too-long kiss. The group applauded.

As they withdrew, Brian asked, "Where's your gift, Kara?"

She looked at him in a playful manner. "I don't think that would be appropriate."

Brian returned the tone, "Then I'll leave it at that."

Jeff responded, "I'm not sure if I can."

Kara turned to him and whispered, "It won't be what I'm wearing..."

That intrigued him enough to let it sit.

The man sitting next to Liz raised his voice, "So Jeff, as I understand it your project is pretty much finished. How does it feel to have done something that no one knows or can know about?"

Jeff looked at Liz with suspicion, "Liz, did you tell him anything?"

Liz replied, "Are you saying I can't trust my husband?"

Jeff knew the answer and showed it in his glare.

"All right, I can't trust him at all with that. I know how he is with his coworkers. No, I didn't tell him a thing."

Brian said, "Well, I know what it is and still want an answer."

Jeff pronounced, "You should know by now that I never wanted accolades. No, that what this wasn't about. This project will change everything that we know. It may take years, maybe even decades to go public. Even during that time, what we have done will quietly whispered in other places. Whether it be NASA or some other government agency, our secret will come out. I just hope to live to see what will be done with our discovery."

Brian stood up from his seat. "And that's a good moment to end on."

With that, the other dinner guests stood up from their chairs and began to leave. The group were on the opposite side of the restaurant from the door. Jeff and Kara was last to leave the table, and was the last to exit the clear glass door.

Jeff had held the door open for Kara. He had just released it when, as though he just remembered something, patted the back of his pants. "Dang, I think my wallet fell out again."

"I'll get the car while you look," Kara offered.

Jeff took his set of keys out of his pocket and handed them to Kara. "Thanks. It shouldn't be too long."

"See you then."

Jeff jogged back into the restaurant, while Kara headed the other way to their small car.

He made a quick walk back to their unattended table. Swerving back to where he was sitting at, Jeff ducked down to look for his wallet. Underneath the table, the wallet could clearly be seen. He leaned forward and snatched the wallet with ease.

Just as Jeff got up, a large boom came from outside. He looked out a large window that was facing the parking lot. Even with plenty of other people obscuring his view, he saw the large fire. Panic came over him - it was his car that was aflame. He immediately ran out of the restaurant.

"Kara!"

He ran towards the blazing car, looking around for Kara. He was thinking, hoping, that she didn't get into the car. It happened too soon for her to have gotten there.

"Kara!"

Jeff had passed near the fire when Brian was ran into him.

"Kara!"

Brian took hold of Jeff, stopping him. "Jeff, she was in there."

"No, she couldn't have been in there-"

Jeff had turned around, finally looking directly into the flames. He saw a well-burnt hand. It had the bracelet that he just gave to Kara.

Jeff fell onto his knees, whispering, "Kara..."

Jeff sat at the foot of his house. Brian and Liz could only get him to go that far. All he did through the night and as the sun rose was stare at the blacked bracelet. It was the only thing the firefighters were able to retrieve.

Brenda also remained with the group. She could tell that Jeff needed people around him, no matter how alone he wanted to be. The group remained silent. All the words they had were all expelled. They all waited for Jeff to do something.

A military style truck, overlaid in the classic green camo, stopped across the street. Two people got out: a man from the driver side and a woman from the passenger side. Both were wearing formal military uniforms. A visible sigh came from the man.

The woman walked up next to him and gestured toward Jeff with a nod. The two pass by the separate party without even taking notice.

The two soldiers stood in front of Jeff. They whispered to him, "Jeffrey Hunter."

Jeff stayed silent, not acknowledging their presence.

The woman tried to get his attention, "Sir, we have important news we have to tell you."

Jeff still was silent. The military man looked at the woman and did a slight shrug in his shoulders. The woman had the same look on her face. They turned back and proceeded with their duty, "There has been a break-in at Femas."

Jeff still remained silent.

The man continued, "Two guards were injured. Three of the five intruders were also killed, another one was injured.

"The last one, the leader of them, escaped by....umm....using your project."

Now Jeff looked up at them.

The woman took her turn, "We talked to the police. They found that the bomb that caused the explosion here was the same as several others that were used before."

"And was the same person stole "my project"?" Jeff presumed, speaking for the first time since the explosion.

The man answered, "Yes. We're referring to Nathaniel Karns."

" _He_ killed Kara?"

"Yes, and blatantly so."

Jeff now had initiative. He got up and marched straight towards Brian. Without looking back, he said to the military officers, "Thanks."

The two military personnel stood there, watching Jeff march away.

Jeff quickly approached Brian, "Brian, I need your car."

Brian hesitated. He wondered what his friend was doing. But giving in to trust, he pulled his keys out his pocket and handed them to Jeff. Without any explanation, Jeff walked toward the nearby car.

Brian, worried for his friend, released Brenda and offered her to Liz. "Can you take her home for me?"

Liz nodded. With that done, Brian ran toward his car. Jeff was already opening the door and getting in. Brian had to quickly open the passenger door and get himself in the car before Jeff drove away.

While the friend put on his seat belt, Jeff had skipped that step. He was very much intent on driving.

"What did those two tell you?" Brian asked.

Jeff didn't look at his friend and kept his eyes on the road; onto his objective. "That Nathaniel Karns..."

Brian interrupted Jeff. "Karns! The mob boss killed Kara?"

"Yes. They identified the bomb was Karns'. He also stole the Dimensional Transport last night."

"Stole as in took it, or as in he's in another reality?" Brian inquired.

"The latter," Jeff plainly said.

Brian took a second to think. Then it came to him, "Wait a sec. You aren't thinking on using our secondary prototype?"

"It's the only way to get him."

Brian tried to reason with Jeff, "We don't have an "anchor" yet, we had the secondary for just that purpose. If we get the anchor ready..."

Jeff remained firm, "That's presuming he doesn't move from universe to universe. By the time we get the anchor ready, I doubt we can track him."

"So you're going to chase him?"

"That would be the plan," Jeff said.

Jeff opened the hallway door. He was still in a quick march as he guided himself inside the hanger. Despite being in a separate location, this hanger was designed exactly like the other one they worked in. The main difference was the piles of various emergency supplies that were in duffle bags or boxes of various size.

The main feature of the auxiliary hanger, as with the main one, was the Dimensional Transport. It was larger than any SUV truck and raised on a pair of round skis. One can easily tell that it only had two rooms; a small cabin for the two pilots and the large rear section for any passengers or equipment. More subtle were the two tubes placed along the main body.

Jeff leaped down the raised platform and went straight to those boxes and bags. He picked up a couple of bags, neither one too heavy for his lack of exercise, then took them to the back of the Transport. He had to drop them for a second to open the Transport. Pressing a series of codes on the keypad located on the end, that caused the back-side ramp to open. Not bothering to wait for the ramp to touch the floor, he tossed the bags in and went through several more cycles of loading for his trip.

Brian arrived not long after Jeff. He went to the far end of the platform and activated the computer monitor. Brian began the start-up procedures that he was all too familiar with, even though this was normally Jeff's job in the experiments.

In total, it took only a minute for both to finish their work. Brian, right as he finished his last command, went back to the short ladder and jumped down to the main floor. Jeff stood at the end of the ramp to snag a small remote key for the Transport. Brian met him there.

"Last chance: are you sure about this?" Brian still voiced concern, hoping that his friend would not go forward.

Jeff looked directly into Brian's eyes and spoke frankly, "I'm sure," He then held out his hand to Brian,"Thanks for everything."

Brian shook his friends hand and smiled, "It's been a pleasure. Good luck, Jeff."

"Thanks."

Jeff walked into the Transport, stepping over the boxes and bags he randomly piled in. Once in the pilots cabin, he pressed a button and the ramp began raising back up.

Brian climbed up the ladder and went back to the computer panels. He watched as the ramp closed. Then he watched the monitors for any problems.

The roof slowly opened, showing the bright morning light. It was nearly open when the Dimensional Transport began hovering upwards. The vehicle cleared the rooftop before it started to tilt upward as well. It gained considerable height before stopping mid-air.

Brian watched it hover over the hanger, taking only quick glances at the monitor. This wasn't an experiment anymore; it was seeing a friend leave for the last time.

A new hum coursed through the hanger, as the tubes gained more and more energy. Then, they each shot a beam of light into the air. It ended about a hundred yards away, where the sky darkened and a swirling portal appeared.

With the wind whipping about, Brian saw the Dimensional Transport fly into the portal. Once it was through, the portal flashed away; Jeffrey Hunter was gone.

The other side of the portal formed in the night sky. From it, the Transport shot out above the cityscape. The portal remained open for only a second more before disappearing. Jeff could see that he was fairly high up in the air; about as high as the skyscrapers in the distance. He couldn't directly see what he was over with the way the cockpit was designed. The view was mostly filled with the various nearby buildings. In one direction, there what seemed to be a retail market within another calm neighborhood.

He decided neither one of those were appropriate places to land. While there was security mechanisms in the Dimensional Transports, he didn't want to put it where it would be very conspicuous.

Placed between the two pilot seats was a screen. It was showing a rough map of the city that he was over. While it wasn't perfect, it still a good indicator whether an area was heavily populated or not. Jeff tapped a bar on the right side of the screen and scrolled it down to have the map zoom out. He then noticed an open area, then tapped it to mark it. With one last command, a line appeared with directions to that area.

Jeff took the control stick and rotated the Transport toward the new location. Being this far in the air, it only took that turn before he was directly aimed at the open field. Boosting the Transport forward, he sent the craft through the skies at about a moderate speed.

His destination turned out to be a park. It was wide open grass with only a few trees spotting the field. Switching the map to a camera mode, he looked around the park for an open area that was out of view of anyone passing by. The best he saw was a ditch that was a fair distance from any marked path.

Jeff slowly moved the Transport over that ditch. He then, just as slowly, lowered it until it lightly touched the ground.

Now set on the ground, Jeff powered the Transport down and opened the rear ramp. He calmly walked out of the vehicle, pressing his remote key to close the Transport back up. His target was the city lights in the distance.

The police station was silent. This was the time of night that usually one officer was in the whole station. Most apparent was the officer manning the front desk, watching for anyone that would have something to report - even at this late juncture.

Jeff opened the door to the seemingly dark station. The officer looked up at this new person and asked, "You have something to report, sir?"

Jeff replied, "Well, I was actually wondering if you can help me find someone."

"If this is a missing person report, you'll have to wait until..."

Jeff stopped the officer, "No, this is not. I'm looking for a felon and thought he might have shown up on your radar."

"I'm not sure if I can give out any information to public citizens, not unless you have any new information."

"I might have some. The guy I'm looking for might go by the name of Nathaniel Karns. He is about average height, short grey hair and has a tattoo of a dragon on the back of his hand."

The last part caught the front-desk officer's attention. Rather then writing anything down or looking up anything on the nearby computer, he said to Jeff, "Wait in here, I'll get someone who can help."

Jeff nodded in acknowledgment as the officer went to the back. As he waited, Jeff wandered about the waiting area. There were plenty of pictures on the wall. Some were photos of officers who have long since retired. Toward one side were pictures of charity events, a few that was quite new compared to the others.

Then there was one old photo. It was on a wooden mantle with a gold plate engraving the officer's name. Below his name was the dates he served as an officer; it was for only ten years.  
"Excuse me, sir," a man called out.

Jeff turned to see that the officer from before returned back to the desk, and a new officer was holding open the door between the waiting area and the offices. Jeff approached him.

He held out his hand to Jeff, "I'm Sergeant Garret Nelson."

Returning the handshake, "Jeffrey Hunter."

Nelson gestured toward down the hallway. "This way to my desk."

As Jeff walked down the hallway, he noted that it was a bit dark. It wasn't difficult to navigate since all the chairs and other office equipment was set to one side. No one else seemed to be here. Jeff thought it would have been otherwise, that some officers would be on call.

While Jeff and Nelson walked down the hallway, the officer began his questioning, "I heard you were looking for my suspect?"

"Yes. His name is Nathaniel Karns."

"And why are you looking for him?"

Jeff paused in the hallway, with the officer following suit. The now-former scientist looked directly into Nelson's eyes, "He killed my wife."

"I'm sorry for your loss." Nelson gave out genuine empathy. They had a second of silence between them. The officer was the first to continue walking.

They entered the office area. It was filled with work desks and had little in any barriers or dividers. The other side had several windows that peeked into meeting rooms. Everything, especially the meeting rooms, was dark. There was only one light in the entire area: the computer monitor that, as Jeff guessed, was on Nelson's desk.

The officer walked to the desk, sat down and pulled out a couple of folders from his files. Jeff chose to remain standing.

"So, what do you know about this...Karns?"

Jeff explained his knowledge of his enemy, "He's a mob boss. Usually he doesn't work directly, instead hiring others to do his dirty work."

"Well, he's changed his tactics since you last knew him."

Nelson opened the top folder and pulled out a few black and white photographs.

"Here's the security photo we got late last night. From the footage, it appeared he was directing the others, but he certainly wasn't staying on the sides. We have a decent I.D. on the other perps. I was going to see if I could find them tomorrow. And until now, we couldn't get an I.D. on this Karns fellow.

"Do you have any idea why?"

"I doubt you'll believe me," Jeff said.

Nelson gave a laughing sigh, "You know, I've seen and heard of some strange things. Try me."

Jeff prepared himself, mostly in some way to be mocked, "OK, both he and I are from an alternate reality."

"An alternate what?"

"I'll explain it this way: an alternate reality is the similar to this world. It can have the same buildings or people, just with something different. It could be some part of history went a different way, somebody made a different choice and might become a villain rather then a hero."

Nelson caught on to the idea, "Like that one Star Trek where..."

Jeff held up his hand to stop Nelson. "Yes. Apparently we share that in common."

Nelson was about to ask another question when the hand-held radio that was sitting on his desk came to life, "Attention Sergeant Nelson."

Nelson took the radio and spoke directly into it, "This is Nelson."

"We have a break-in occurring at 5th and Cherry. The security camera shows a couple of the suspects you were looking for."

"Thanks for the tip. Have a couple of patrol officers meet me there in five."

"Copy that."

Nelson put the radio into the holster on his belt. Then he opened a drawer in his desk, "Do you know how to handle a gun?"

"One of the better things about working for the military," Jeff replied.

Nelson took out a pistol from the drawer, then offered it to Jeff. "I usually don't do this, but I might need you there."

Jeff took the pistol. Nelson went back into the same drawer and retrieved another pistol for himself. While he led Jeff to the parking garage, he holstered the weapon. Jeff, first making sure that the weapon had its safety on, set his in the back of this pants as an impromptu holster.

The officer led Jeff along another hallway to another door. Even though they were on the inside, the door required a card key for it to be opened. Nelson took a card from his pocket and swiped it to release the door.

The garage had a few cars left; only two that weren't marked police vehicles of some sort. The entire area was well lit, although was very quiet.

Flipping through his thick set of keys, he held the remote for his car. Clicking it came the familiar sound of the doors unlocking and the front and rear lights flashed.

The two just got into the car when Nelson's phone rang. The officer started the car before pressing a button on the center console. "This is Garret."

"Garret, where the heck are you!" The voice was of a deeply displeased woman.

As he backed the car up, Nelson silently cursed himself. "Sorry, Jen. Work took much longer. I won't be..."

"You won't be home until late. Again. I had to skip out my own business for this, you know. When was the last time we had a good night out, much less had sex?"

"Jen..."

"Worse, look at the pile of clothes you have yet to clean. I don't have time for all of that! You need to do your share..."

Nelson practically yelled, "Jen!" The silence indicated he got her attention, "I have Mr. Jeffrey Hunter here helping me."

A barely audible verb came out, then she realized what Nelson just said. "Oh, sorry. Thought at this time of night we'd be alone."

Jeff felt even more awkward. "That's fine."

Nelson suggested, "We'll try to discuss this tomorrow."

Jennifer replied, "I can't. The conference starts right in the morning and I need to be in the office right after that."

Nelson was a bit disappointed that this couldn't be worked out in a simple fashion. "All right, we'll figure it out. Right now _I_ have to work. Sorry.

"Love you."

Despite the gesture of affection, he ended the call not very happy. He sat in the car and took a few moments to let the moment pass. Then he gather his willpower to set the car in drive and leave the garage.

There was another car parked on the street when Nelson and Jeff arrived. It was purposefully dark; the lights and engine were off. The building itself looked equally inactive.

Nelson stopped the car behind the parked police vehicle. After the car was shut down, the two got out of the car while the two in the other vehicle did the same.

As they met, Nelson asked, "Are they still in there?"

The first man answered, "Yup. They've been in there for fifteen minutes. I doubt they knew about the cameras." Looking at Jeff, he asked Nelson, "Who's the 'civ?"

"This is Jeffrey Hunter. He knows a few things about our mystery suspect. I'd like to introduce you two, but we should head on in."

The two police officers nodded. The second one pointed out doors in the building, "The front seems to be the best entrance."

"You two go first."

The group moved swiftly but also tried not to make any noise. With the two unnamed officers leading, they calming walked to the front door. It was left slightly ajar, definite evidence that whoever was in there used that door. One officer moved to the side to make sure no one was on the other side. Quietly opening it, they moved quietly into the dark building.

Once inside, the first police officer signaled toward the right. Despite the dark conditions, Jeff could see most everything in the hallways. There weren't many chairs or other obstacles for the four to move around.

They walked for what seemed like a long time before he saw where the burglars were. Inside a corner room, lights sputtered across the blinds. The officers moved along the wall and ducked down below the windows.

Nelson gave hand signals to the police officers, showing that they should go to one direction. He then signaled Jeff to stay behind him.

They all moved their respective positions behind the two shut doors. With guns drawn, they took a ready position.

"Now!" Nelson yelled.

He kicked the door open. Holding his gun up, Nelson aimed at two burglars that were standing up. They were about to draw their own weapons when the door to their side was broken.

"Drop your weapons!" ordered the other officer.

The four burglars, including the two that were on the floor, were at first confused as to what to do. Then they did just as they were ordered: they dropped their guns and held their hands up in surrender.

Nelson cautiously moved to the captives. The guns were tossed into a small pile that was a good distance away from them.

With the action over with, Jeff calmly walked into the room with his gun drawn as a just-in-case measure. He looked at the standing burglars; none were Karns. Jeff couldn't help but have a bit of disappointment, even though he doubted the villain would have been there anyway.

Looking around, Jeff saw a door that was to his side but behind the three officers. He opened his mouth to alert them. Before that could happen, the door swung open. A burglar was hidden behind and had waited out until he saw the perfect time to ambush.

Jeff quickly reacted by aiming his pistol. Without giving time for precision, he fired several times.

Nelson and the others swung around to face the new threat. It was already over. The ambusher fell back against the wall, blood leaking from his chest.

The other officers switched their aim back to the other burglars to make sure that they didn't do anything. Nelson ran to the wounded man and slapped the gun he was holding away. He then took out his radio, "Shots fired. Need ambulance at 5th and Cherry, suspect wounded."

"Copy that."

Jeff slowly lowered his pistol, then briskly walked up to the wounded man.

"Where's Karns?" he simply asked.

The robber, almost half conscious, gave a grimace of pain. He grabbed his wound before answering, "Who?" Then it occurred to him who Jeff was talking about, "Oh, yeah, that guy. Never said his name actually. Just had a job for us, got some good stuff."

The robber knew that he was defeated, and it mattered little what he said.

Nelson asked, "And you thought you could do it again here?"

"Yeah," he said, emoting a sense of pain as he said it.

Jeff took his turn, desperately wanting an answer, "Do you know where he is?"

"Nope, not a clue. I just knew that he took some bombs."

Jeff looked at Nelson, knowing very well how dangerous Karns with explosives. "Great."

Jeff awoke from a clatter of activity. There was quite a bit more people wandering around the police station than the night before. The lights were all on, making the space seem like it in relative daylight despite the lack of outside windows.

He rotated himself upwards from the impromptu bed of seats. Everyone around him looked like either an officer or office worker; yet no one took notice of him. He guessed that he wasn't the first to sleep there.

Before he was dropped off there, he didn't think he was at all tired. Jeff guessed that all the events of the previous day had got to him. Although he didn't remember any dreams, he still felt something from one: a mixed feeling of nostalgia and sadness. He was too tired from waking up to show either one. Even if he was fully awake, he tended not to show that type of thing publicly anyway.

Nelson came from the office area and walked toward Jeff. He held a cup of steaming liquid, "Coffee?"

Jeff took the cup and sipped it. Jeff wondered, "What time is it?"

"Eleven. I would have been here earlier, but...you know the problems I have at home." Nelson sat down next to Jeff, "Enough about me, how are you doing?"

"A bit disoriented."

"First night in a new world," Nelson humored.

Jeff couldn't quite tell if Nelson really believed him about his alternate universe travel. Either way, he let him help out last night. He guessed that even if Nelson didn't believe him, the officer still trusted him enough for that.

But Jeff still wanted to know, "You never really mentioned why you believe me."

"When you're a patrol officer for fifteen years, you get a sense when people are lying. Or otherwise. You also get a sense of when to trust someone."

"Like last night."

"Yeah."

Nelson changed the subject, "I have two other officers look into a few things about our case. In the mean time, I would like to show you something."

Nelson got up and started walking toward the office. He waved at Jeff, instructing him to follow. Jeff took a quick sip of his coffee before getting up to follow. They walked down the hallway to the office then turning the opposite direction from the garage. There was another hallway that was similar to the main entrance. This one had more doors, probably various storage closets or another. They traveled to the last door before a corner. Using his key-card, Nelson opened the door.

Inside was racks of various devices or another. The larger items were placed toward the bottom racks, while the opposite was very true. From what Jeff could tell, nothing in there could be considered evidence or any type of weapon. The only thing he saw that he could recognize was a few open cases of fingerprint kits.

Nelson walked to the back of the small room. Reaching up to the top-most rack, he took a small device about the size of a small cell phone. "Normally we have our counselor prescribe these, but I figure you can be an exception."

Jeff, standing only a few steps from the doorway, wondered, "Why do you say that?"

Nelson plainly answered, "You didn't hear yourself while you were asleep." He didn't elaborate further.

The officer walked over to Jeff and handed him the device,"With this, close your eyes."

Jeff shut his eyes.

Nelson continued his instructions, "Hold the projector up, so it's pointing away from you."

Jeff complied, extending his arm like he was aiming the device at something.

"Now, imagine your wife."

"Her name is Kara," Jeff blurted out, without knowing exactly why.

"OK, imagine Kara. When you have the perfect mental image, press the green button."

Jeff saw Kara, just like the day before. His memory of her was just as fresh as ever. He pressed the button.

"Now open your eyes."

With the mental image of Kara still in mind, he opened his eyes to only find the background has changed. Kara was standing in the storage room. She was breathing but not talking or doing anything else.

"How..."

Nelson explained before Jeff could complete his question, "Some company developed it about three years ago. They say it helps those in grief, in which I think was the case here. The technical stuff I don't know that well, but I've heard it definitely helps."

Jeff didn't take his eyes off the Kara hologram. She was in a loose dress, the very one she wore at her dance school. Her red hair flowed in the unseen breeze. The green eyes casually stared right back to him. He could see that she was happy, just as he always saw her. It was almost a relief to see her.

Nelson caught his attention by patting him on the shoulder. Jeff couldn't really tell how long he stood there; just that his arm relaxed a bit.

Nelson said, "Let's go see what they've found."

Jeff was a bit hesitant to leave this moment, but he knew he had to. "Sure," he responded to Nelson.

Jeff pressed the green button again, dissolving the hologram.

Nelson led Jeff back to the office a few moments later, where his desk was occupied by two people. The man and woman, both dressed in office attire, appeared to have waited a few minutes for them to arrive.

Nelson introduced the two, "This is detectives Millie and Charlie."

"First name basis?" Jeff asked.

The young woman answered, "We're brother and sister. It's easier for the both of us."

Nelson moved onto business, "Have you found anything?"

The man, only a few years older than his sister, answered, "We've found our burglar's hide out and figured out what they had stolen. After checking the inventory from the Sandvale robbery, there's still plenty missing."

"So what's missing?" Jeff asked, hoping it wasn't similar news to last night's revelation.

Millie took out a note-pad from her pocket, "Other then quite a bit of explosives, we got several low-grade lasers, heat sensors, night vision binoculars, various communication devices and some pieces of some experiment or another."

Jeff wondered, "What kind of experiment?"

Charlie took his turn, "I believe the Sandvale people said it was an experiment on some kind of new energy. Something like that at least."

An idea came to Jeff, one he hoped would work, "Can you get them to send a part of that experiment over to me?"

Charlie answered, "Actually, I think there was a piece of it in the evidence locker. I'll go get it."

Charlie got up and jogged to the hallway that Nelson and Jeff had just came from.

Nelson looked at Jeff, "Got an idea?"

"Possibly. We're going to have to take a trip to do this."

Millie interjected, "On a more important topic, do you know what this "Karns" will use those explosives for?"

Jeff grimly said, "Yeah; none very pleasant. He has plenty of experience with them."

Charlie returned from the main hallway with a black box. It was about the size of a external hard drive. He handed the metal piece to Jeff. He examined it in greater detail. It seemed to be very plain, with the exception that it still had some fingerprint dust on it. Looking more carefully, he saw small holes and dents, showing it was wedged between something.

Charlie said, "I don't think this piece did anything. But then again, I'm not an scientist."

"Well, I am. But I'll need some equipment that's in my Transport," Jeff faced towards Nelson, asking him, "It's in a park nearby. I'll need a car."

"I can drive," Nelson offered.

Jeff marched toward the garage. Nelson followed, but still faced the siblings, "I'll give you a call if we find anything."

Nelson followed Jeff to the garage, hoping that this lead would help.

Jeff was leading Nelson around the park. The two was slightly lost, going down a few empty pits. Jeff had a good sense of direction and found the Transport that was _just_ out of sight. The few people that was wondering around saw the two. They were all watched to see if they were looking for something.

Nelson stayed at the top of the small hill when Jeff arrived at the Transport. Luckily it hadn't rained, Jeff thought. Otherwise the entire ditch would have been waterlogged. Taking his remote key out, he opened the back ramp to the Transport. Jeff noticed that Nelson was still at the top of the hill, ushering people away from the sight.

Jeff yelled to him, "You can just come down here."

Nelson took the suggestion and slowly walked down the hill. He stopped aside the ramp, content to peek in at what Jeff was doing.

"Hold this."

Jeff handed him the black box from the police station. Nelson saw Jeff then rummage through the various bags and boxes, looking for something. All of the supplies Jeff had gathered were still in a bit of a mess. The search was further hindering any organizational efforts.

Then he found it. The device was a small wand with a screen at the bottom. Tapping a few instructions into it, Jeff walked back to the ramp where Nelson stood.

Nelson held out the black box while Jeff waved the scanner around it. It took a few rounds of waving the scanner back and forth over the box before it beeped.

Jeff was enthusiastic at the results, "OK! This is better then I thought."

"So, what is it?" Nelson asked.

"I have no idea," Jeff blatantly answered, "But I have seen this before. And I know that it can be tracked miles away."

Jeff turned around and walked through the cabin. He sat in the pilot seat and began start-up procedures. Without turning, he said to Nelson, "You might as well hop aboard."

The ramp started to raise up on Nelson. He practically dove into the Transport before the ramp would close up on him. He walked to the front, taking a bit of wonder to the ship.

Jeff took a lever and pulled it upward. That action caused the Transport to start to hover, then go flying straight up. While it wasn't too fast, it made Nelson decide to sit down at the passenger seat.

Jeff said to him, "I figure that at this altitude, we could increase our chances of finding where Karns is hiding."

Nelson was looking outside, almost in awe. "I definitely believe you now."

Jeff took the scanner to a nearby console, its screen showing it is connecting to the Transport's interface. With the scanner's information set in the Transport, he tapped a few buttons to begin the scan.

He looked over to see Nelson's expression of awe. He said to him, "I guess you don't have hover-craft technology."

Nelson shook his head, "No."

The display panel beeped, notifying Jeff that it found something. He looked at it to find a dot right in the middle of downtown - where larger buildings were located.

"It won't be very accurate until we move closer," Jeff informed Nelson.

Nelson saw where the map was pointing to, "Don't worry, I know exactly where that is."

The police car that Nelson drove moved slowly. Although the afternoon traffic was light, most of the cars passed by them. Jeff had his scanner in hand. He constantly looked at the screen to see exactly where the other pieces of the stolen project is at.

Jeff knew that his other Transport was not hidden here, but he might get Karns; that was the important thing.

The scanner beeped, showing that it found something.

"Right in there," Jeff said, pointing to a mid-level hotel. It was one of the older, smaller buildings in the area. It was still quite tall and would otherwise be a hard place to find someone.

Nelson, without acknowledging Jeff's discovery, parked the car a block away. Before getting out, he took the car's radio mic, "This is Nelson, I'm at the corner of 42nd and Douglas, heading into the Billiard Hotel, checking on a suspect."

"Copy that," said the operator, "I'll send in a patrol car over to your position."

"Thanks. I'll be inside."

He set the mic back and the two got out of the car. They walked casually, trying not to look too conspicuous. Inside the hotel a concierge approached them. Jeff went ahead, following the signal the scanner was giving him. Nelson put his finger to his lips, telling the concierge to be silent. He held up his badge as credentials and the formally dressed man let them by.

Then Jeff stopped in the middle of the open waiting area. He was directly below the signal. They quickly looked around and found a sign for stairs. They found the door to the stairway, which went all the way to the tenth floor. As they went up in the dull area, Jeff checked to see if they were level. He found the mark as they got to the third floor.

They went to a hallway that had many doors, each a room for the hotel. Jeff moved slowly while he tracked the signal; getting closer to where Karns was.

Then he found it. The door was just the same as the others: with a card needed to open it on the doorknob. Jeff pointed it out, trading his scanner for the pistol that Nelson gave him.

The officer took out his own pistol. Taking a step back, Nelson slammed his foot into the door. It took a second kick to break the door open.

With his guns aimed forward, Nelson moved inside. He quickly checked the open bathroom before moving to the bedroom. "I don't see him."

Jeff, very close behind, pointed out the cracked balcony door. "He probably has been gone a while. I doubt the car alone would have scared him."

It all wasn't for naught. Quite a bit of stuff was piled on the bed. Jeff raised his scanner, waving over the assorted items. He found a small piece of electronics and some other things that looked like they belonged with it, "I think this is what we were tracking."

"Have any idea why he would want that piece?" Nelson asked.

Jeff shook his head, "I have no idea. I don't even know what this does; he might though. Probably would found some way of getting information on it beforehand."

They sifted through more of the stuff, seeing if there was anything else important. Nelson was the first to give up, "I don't think we can do anything here. I'll call Millie to come down and check to see what all this is."

He was about to take out his cell when the hotel phone started ringing. Jeff was about to pick up the ringing phone next to him when Nelson signaled otherwise, "No, I'll get it."

Jeff stood back to let Nelson in. He calmly picked up the phone, "Hello?"

"Is this Sergeant Garret Nelson," said the voice on the other side.

Nelson decided to lie, "No, it isn't."

"Hmm...He was leading the investigation into me. Oh well, you'll do."

"Is this Nathaniel Karns?" Nelson asked.

"That's interesting," Karns said curiously, "I don't think I used that name here."

Jeff listened to Nelson intently, trying to get an idea of what the conversation was about.

"One of your flunkies overheard it." It was another lie. That was a technique officers used to collaborate information. In this case, he didn't want to tip him off about Jeff.

"So that was the case. Then I'll have to get rid of them." The way Karns said it was as though it was fact, with no anger or annoyance at all.

"What do you mean by that?"

"That won't be of much concern to you. Especially once you learned why I called."

Karns waited for a second for some response, but Nelson didn't give one. So he continued, "There was a reason I preferred to have Sergeant Nelson on. I have something of great importance to him."

"And what would that be?"

"A better question is who."

Nelson clearly had to hold his breath for a second; as well as his temper. He knew exactly who Karns was talking about. "You have Jennifer."

"That's correct. It was good that you know Mr. Nelson. That way you can tell him yourself." Again, no anger, hate or any negative emotion came from Karns. He just made cold, calculated statements.

"And I presume you want him to stop his investigation," Nelson guessed.

"No," Which surprised Nelson a bit, "I've been around long enough to know how to properly kill an investigation.

"No, my needs are more...self-interested. I need money, and plenty of it. Actually, if you can get as much of the largest common denomination in a briefcase, that'll do. I'll be in the construction yard along 6th street at ten. Only one person will deliver; I don't care who it is. The rest should be obvious.

"And relay this to the Sergeant: don't take this personally, it's just business."

Karns hung up his end of the phone. Nelson slowly set the phone back down on the hook. "Damn it," saying it not only about the situation, but also metaphorically kicking himself.

Jeff could more than relate to Nelson's pain.

The police station was in a fury. Various officers were running around the desks, trying to get their jobs done and move on to the next steps. The noise was blocked by the large window. The Chief of Police was now leading the investigation, standing at the head of the table in the meeting room.

"Does anyone know how she got kidnapped?" asking the group.

The siblings were sitting next to each other, opposite from Jeff and Nelson. The brother said, "We got witnesses that she was caught in her work place parking lot."

Jeff wondered, "Did anyone see him?"

"At least two people did. He didn't hide himself at all."

Jeff pondered this for a second, then gave his estimate on Karns' goals, "I think he's planning an escape. When he stole my Dimensional Transport, he did it blatantly. If that's the case, he'll be even more dangerous."

The Police Chief raised an eyebrow at Jeff. The foreign scientist has proven himself thus far, but he was still a civilian. "I appreciate your help thus far, but why couldn't you just trace your machine?"

Jeff knew all too well why, "I'll spare the technical details. The Transport can be tracked across different worlds, but not that well within third-dimensional space. I can only get it to within ten miles at best."

Millie wanted to move onto real business, "With that aside, this meeting tonight is the best time to capture him."

Nelson, wanting to do just as Millie suggested, still had concerns. All of those concerns were for Jennifer. "Just a few problems. I checked out the site. No one's there, but there's still plenty of explosives that are _now_ armed."

"So we can't be on site," said the Police Chief, "We still can have snipers and other people off site."

Nelson offered, "Then I'll be the one to go in to meet him."

The Chief leaned forward, making sure he was insistent. "No. I will need you on the ground, coordinating." That was true, but he sensed something in Nelson he didn't recognize. He did well as a cop, but he could see in his eyes something that made him a bit too impulsive at the moment.

Everyone knew that someone had to go up there.

The Police Chief could delegate this duty to anyone, but Jeff decided, "Then I'll be the one going."

The Police Chief asked the obvious question, "And why should I trust you on this?"

"I know what he has; what he is capable of. And I'm going to guess you'll need your men elsewhere."

The Chief knew that was true; he could use everyone someplace other than straight in the line of fire. Moreover, since Jeff was the only one to know Karns at all, it may be a good card to play. "All right, you will go. Hopefully seeing you, of all people, will throw him off. And we need him to make mistakes.

"The meeting is in six hours. Everyone be on site in five. Dismissed."

The sun was setting; it was getting late. Jeff only heard the sound of the waves crashing. This was the first time at the beach in a long while. Kara - actually her hologram - was standing next to him. While he heard the beach, he stared at the vision of the very happy woman.

Millie had found him. She quietly approached, seeing how Jeff was in a mood of nostalgia and grief.

She saw the hologram of Kara. It was still, only breathing. No sound emitted from the vision; something that was purposefully done. "Is that your wife?"

"Yeah, that's Kara."

Jeff let the silence set before asking, "Why do you suppose they didn't make it so then she could talk?"

"I guess to keep it from being too much of an escape."

Jeff didn't care for the answer. A wave of regret just rolled over him, "I should have grabbed my answering machine. I kept a few of her calls; for no real reason. But, in my haste in leaving, I didn't go and get it. I miss hearing her. I miss talking with her..."

Millie gave a swift kick to Jeff's shin. It didn't hurt him but it was enough to get his attention. "You'll have to grieve later," She said frankly, "For now, we have work to do."

Jeff gave a quick look at Millie, confirming by saying, "OK."

Millie walked back from whence she came.

Jeff, still holding the hologram projector, gave one last look at Kara. He whispered to himself, "That's another thing I miss: a reason not to work."

The construction site was still a skeleton. It was surrounded on one side by two larger buildings; the other it towered over the smaller buildings. Lights illuminated much of it, with very little that one could not see from the outside.

Emergency vehicles of all types were on the street. Flashing red and blue reflecting off the covered fence. Most of the people on site were police officers, although there was medics, firefighters and SWAT teams ready in case they were needed.

Nelson appreciated the response. The main goal was to get Jennifer back. However, everyone knew it was also to stop Karns before he could do any more damage. Part of that plan was being set at that moment. Raising the radio to his mouth, Nelson spoke, "Sniper team, what's your status?"

The snipers were all in the nearby buildings. They were positioned to get as many angles as possible. There were a few blind spots, but he doubted that Karns would have it any other way.

"Lead here," the man spoke from the radio, "All snipers have checked in ready. Negative on any presence within target site."

Nelson looked around the buildings to try to see where they were. However, these guys were experts: they knew how not to be seen. Into the radio he instructed, "Keep me posted if you see anything I can't."

"Copy. Sniper out."

Nelson lowered his radio, keeping it in hand.

Out of an armored SWAT truck came Jeff. His chest was a bit larger then before, with the extra protection of a bullet-proof vest. He otherwise looked just liked when Nelson first met him.

The sergeant approached Jeff. He removed a small device from his pocket, "There's just one more thing you'll need up there."

Nelson lifted up Jeff's hand and strapped the watch-sized device to his wrist. "This is a magnetic grappling rope. There actually isn't any rope, it's more like a beam. Which is why people nicknamed it the grappling beam. The length you have left is on the face here."

The officer pointed out the device's face. The small display that had 1500 on it. While small, one could still read it if they lowered their arm.

Nelson continued his instructions, "It'll attach to pretty much any surface. You just have to ball your fist up..." He mimicked what Jeff would need to do, extending his arm out to show him, "...and bend it downward. The angle your wrist is in will have it extend, slows or retract it. You'll need it if you fall."

"Hopefully that won't be necessary."

Nelson checked his watch, noting the time, "You got ten minutes. Ready?"

Jeff didn't nod, "Yes. I'm ready."

"Head on up. The case is at the entrance. Good luck."

Nelson held his hand up for Jeff to shake. The handshake wasn't a cheerful one at all, but far more serious.

Jeff released and walked toward the construction site. One could not tell how many scenarios that ran through his head; many of them not good.

He found the briefcase easy enough: it was placed at the feet of one of the officers who were guarding the site. Jeff picked it up, noting that it didn't weigh all that much for him. The officer nodded, a silent way of saying good luck. Jeff returned the nod.

Inside the fence, there was still quite a bit of construction equipment: concrete mixers, drills, hammers, all the things one would expect on such a location. There was an open-air elevator ready for Jeff to use. He calmly walked to it and set it to go up.

Arriving at the eighth floor, Jeff halted the elevator and opened the gate. There was a nearby ladder and small wooden walkways. For Jeff to get to the outer ledge, he had to walk directly on a few steel beams.

The beams were wide enough that he could walk somewhat normally. He decided it was best to take each step in a careful manner. There was no need no hurry and he certainly didn't want to fall. Coming across a vertical beam, he held his loose hand to it in order to step on the makeshift walkway. After that his path became much easier.

The wooden platform hovered over the ground with nothing below. It had a makeshift sign that said, "Wait here." No doubt something Karns set. With neither Karns nor Jennifer there, Jeff had to wait for something to happen.

From above, Jeff heard it. The familiar hum of the Dimensional Transport. It slowly floated to the skeleton of a building. At this distance and angle, he couldn't see inside the cabin.

The Transport stopped a few hundred feet above the building, then lowered itself down. It seemed like a long time, as Jeff both anticipated and dreaded meeting his foe. The former made worse in that while he hoped to end this entire scenario, he dreaded the many possibilities that Karns could have brought with him.

Unexpectedly, the Transport stopped just above him. It shifted to a metal beam that was sticking out. The rear ramp began opening during in its approach. It took only a few seconds before the beam was inside the open Transport.

Jeff tried to shift his body to get a view inside. He couldn't hear anything either. Whatever Karns had planned, he knew it wasn't good.

As the Transport shifted back out, Jeff spotted Jennifer. Her arms was tied to the steel beam. She hung just out of reach to the nearest metal walkway.

The Transport lowered itself with the ramp still open. The end of the ramp just touched the wooden platform. The white-haired Karns turned around from the pilot cabin. His attitude was almost cocky, as though he knew that he had won the day. He approached the back of the Transport. The villain's feet stopped just before the ramp. As he looked onto Jeff, his attitude changed.

Nelson could see the Transport from his binoculars. Unfortunately, he couldn't see Karns at all. He raised his radio, "Sniper team: does anyone have sight of target?"

The answer did not please Nelson, "Negative. Target's location is known, but not within sight."

Mentally kicking himself, Nelson lowered his radio back down before returning to the binoculars. "OK Jeff, let's see if you can do this."

Jeff stared down Karns. The villain looked curious, as he saw something he didn't expect. It took him a second to fully comprehend the situation. Then he smiled. "I see that you survived my attempt to kill you."

"That I did," Jeff responded, revealing a hint of anger.

"Judging from your tone, your wife wasn't so lucky."

"Was killing her part of the plan?"

Karns shook his head. "Not necessarily, no. She was only collateral damage. Just someone who was at the wrong place...at the wrong time," Karns said that as a simple statement, "I just needed you dead, to delay anyone chasing me. Apparently that part of the plan failed."

That didn't sit well with Jeff. "So, you didn't really care that I was alive or dead. You just kill for only a little gain?"

"Don't get me wrong. People don't care about anyone that they can't see. Or even meet. Even then, we manipulate others, try to gain favor or devalue others. There's no one that really cares about anyone else. We only value ourselves. Heck, our entire society is based on caring about ourselves."

"And Jennifer and Kara was merely a string to be pulled."

Karns smiled, "Well I use anything to my advantage. Caring about someone in this world....or any worlds.....can hurt you. They may leave you. They may hurt you, intentionally or otherwise. And as you have found, it will hurt you if something happens to them."

"That may be, but I'll take that pain any day." For Jeff, that was the truth of things; something that Karns clearly didn't understand.

The villain checked his watch. He could have taken as much time as he wanted. However, Karns didn't want to waste anymore time on small talk. "It's been a fun chat, but I require that case you have. Slide it over here."

Jeff set the briefcase down, flat on its side. Standing straight up, he slide the briefcase using his foot. It made an audible thud as it hit the end of the ramp. Karns leaned down and quickly took the step down to retrieve his prize before diving back into the safety of the Transport.

He opened it, checking to make sure that there was money in the case. Closing it, he remarked to Jeff, "Looks good. So long, Mr. Hunter."

Karns reached into his pocket, clicking his remote key without removing his hand. The ramp started to close. Feeling secure that the deal was done, Karns turned his back to Jeff.

Jeff saw the opportunity. Quickly pulling the gun that was hidden on his back, he aimed at Karns. With the ramp moving upwards, he had to be quick. Jeff lined up the small sights to Karn's back and fired.

The villain fell forward. Blood splattered ahead of Karns. Jeff saw the body landing on the floor, just below his view with the ramp rising up. He dove forward, stopping the ramp from closing further with his hand. He looked in to see the condition of his rival.

Karns was breathing, heavily. Jeff was about to pronounce to Karns that he was defeated when the villain slumped to his side. In his hand was the red button of the detonator. He pressed it.

Nelson saw the red fireball rising out from the building. He desperately looked for Jennifer, but couldn't see anything through the flames or black smoke. Starting to run forward, he wanted to go in and find her. But a hand stopped him, grabbing his arm. It was Charlie. The friend held a combined look of concern and insistence.

Nelson got the message: it was too dangerous to go in. The firefighters scrambled all about. Some were spraying water to put the immense fire out. His fellow officers went to the streets, trying to do all that they could to keep the few onlookers from panicking.

All that Nelson could do was pray that Jennifer was fine.

Jeff lifted himself up. The blast knocked him into the Transport and down onto the wooden platform. He was lucky in that it hadn't caught fire - yet. He looked inside to see Karns was now in the pilot seat. Jeff was about to reach for his fallen pistol when he heard a thud.

A shoe had fallen; a woman's shoe. Jeff looked up to see Jennifer was still hanging on the beam, now panicking more than ever. He looked back down to the pistol. His mind was going through different scenarios of what he could do. Karns could do more damage, threaten more lives. If he overtook him fast enough, he could use the Transport to rescue Jennifer.

That wouldn't happen if he failed. Karns would be able to run free with no one to stop him. He would have failed Jennifer, Nelson...and Kara.

It was the image of the young woman that was his wife, the love of his life, that made the decision. That image of Kara smiled, always full of joy. It was that radiance that made him love her and made his life worthwhile.

Gripping the gun, he pushed himself forward away from the Transport. He had to save Jennifer, above anything else.

Running along hot flames, he ran across the boards and beams. The end of the wooden platform was blackened and partly ablaze. He naturally avoided any fires, almost skipping across collapsing portions of the blackened wood. Then he moved onto the hot metal beams. It was getting hot but not hot enough for him to stop. He pushed himself further, knowing that time was short.

He passed by the elevator. It had been long gone from either the explosion or flames. Instead, he went for the nearby ladder, luckily still intact. He climbed, as fast as he could. Jeff was never the athletic type, but he pressed himself farther than he ever had to before. He had to.

Jeff heard something from above. He looked up, seeing something accelerate towards him. Hugging the ladder as close he could, a breeze of debris sweep past him. He continued climbing.

After the long climb, he swung onto a metal beam. Jeff looked around to find Jennifer, who still hanging and swinging wildly. Even with no wide platforms, Jeff still ran to Jennifer. He knew that he could slip or misplace a step. Yet, time was short. He ran and swung around any vertical beams that got in his way.

He arrived to the edge. The metal beam was several feet away from where Jennifer was swinging. She saw him and started to make a more concentrated effort to swinging herself over. Jeff reached over, trying to catch some part of her. She swung back, then forth, missing his hand. She swung back, then forth again. This time he caught her ankle. Carefully pulling her towards relative safety, he saw that her mouth was taped and limbs bound with a thin rope.

With her close enough, he quickly untied her legs first. She was just over the metal beam, so he untied her hand while she held onto the rest of the hanging rope. As the last knot undone, she let go while he made sure she was safe on the beam. The last step was to rip the tape from her mouth. Although she was now free to say anything, all she could do was convey fear.

Jeff looked back. The flames toward the middle was now a constant inferno with constant debris falling. He knew that option was out. Looking up at the metal beam, a though had come to him. With a flick of his wrist, he launched a blue beam towards where Jennifer was hanging. "Hold on," he told Jennifer as he grabbed onto her. Together, they jumped.

Nelson was on his knees as the building was collapsing onto itself. No one had seen Jennifer or Jeff. He had almost lost all hopes of seeing her again.

But that hope was finally answered. Jeff was holding Jennifer as they walked out of the black smoke. Immediately several other officers and medics running towards them. Jeff waved them off, knowing who Jennifer needed to see.

Nelson ran right for her. As he neared, Jeff let Jennifer go onto her own feet. She walked toward her husband - the love of her life. The two embraced each other. Tears very visible in her eyes. Even though Nelson didn't have any tears, he might as well have with the look of his eyes.

Jeff knew that he saved a life, a marriage, and two people's happiness.

Kara was in front of him. She was once again showing that smiled he loved. Even though it was a hologram, her red hair flew with the breeze of the ocean. Jeff wanted to touch her once more. But that couldn't be done.

A hole had been made next to her. It wasn't much, but it was all he could do for her now. This was her place: the beach. It was where both of them had been happy, where they were free to frolic, have fun, do anything they wanted to without restriction. It was where he had plenty of the best moments of his life.

Jeff shut down the projector, Kara disappearing for the last time. He tossed the small device into the hole that was marked with stones. He proceeded to take the shovel that was next to him to haul dirt over it; burying Kara.

Episode 2

### Where There is No End

Jeff opened the door to his home and walked into the summer light. The nearby living room was calm, filled with peace. He and Kara didn't often use it unless they had friends over. Even then, the party often moved to the entertainment room.

For Jeff, the room was filled with memories. It had all sorts of stuff they had collected from their travels. Most were things that Kara bought from trips that she had to make alone. Jeff wanted to go with her on those same trips, but working on the Dimensional Transport often demanded his personal supervision.

"Kara, I'm home," he yelled into the house, knowing that she was home. There were times that she went out with friends. Usually if that happened, she would greet him before leaving for those events. They always wanted to have as much time together as possible.

He walked down the hallway to look for her. Along the wall, pictures were displayed. Most were of Jeff and Kara in some moment of happiness. There was only a small handful of pictures of Jeff that didn't include Kara; all of them some celebration of accomplishments he had made.

Too often Jeff would just look at the pictures. He recognized them but didn't reminisce on any given one. Jeff would rather move toward something in the present that would put him in a good mood.

There in the back end of the house, in the entertainment room, was Kara. She was standing in front of the couch singing. He didn't recognize the particular song, but he heard her voice though the speakers. She was a good singer, even though she wouldn't admit it.

The large television screen flung the lyrics from right to left. Bars appeared that showed the notes that each word had to be in. Kara always liked this game. Then again she always liked performing with music. That was one reason she loved to dance.

The song ended. That was when Kara noticed Jeff standing in the hall. "Sorry I'm late," he said to her. She wasn't disappointed. It wasn't uncommon of him to take more time at work. "Got too much work, as always."

Kara smiled at him, "I'm always glad to see you home." Gesturing toward the plastic guitar next to her, she asked, "Want to join me?"

"I'd rather listen to you sing."

"And I rather not play alone." The look on Kara's face was of playful insistence.

Jeff smiled in return, knowing that she wouldn't take another answer. "OK, I'll give it a roll."

He walked next to her, picking up the guitar. Strapping it around his shoulders, Kara scrolled down on the screen to pick a song. It was "Island in the Sun," one of Kara's favorites. Then again, she rarely played something that didn't appeal to her. It always had to be a song that touched her soul in some way, even if it was a sad song.

He began strumming the fake guitar. The notes scrolled, Jeff had to focus on his portion of the screen. Shortly after, Kara began singing the lyrics to the song. Kara was just having fun, while Jeff was trying to be a perfectionist with his part. It was like that every time.

Suddenly, a realization came to Jeff. They had done this many times before, but something was different. Kara was not supposed to be here, alongside him. She was...."Wait a sec-"

Jeff woke up in the Dimensional Transport. He was leaning back in the pilots seat with a beeping echoing throughout the cabin. He looked around to see what it was. Then he saw it was his watch, removed from his wrist. He pressed the button to shut off the alarm.

He looked up to the dark swirls of light, the space between worlds. While his first trip had taken only a minute, this one had taken much longer. He looked at his watch; the nap had been for a half-hour. It felt like longer.

Jeff leaned forward to press a few buttons. Looking at the display screen, he saw that the journey was almost at an end. The new world awaited him in only a few minutes.

Jeff pressed a few more buttons, more things he had to do to prepare for the journeys end. Some things needed to be powered up. Others systems needed powered down. Mostly, he needed to make sure that everything was going fine and that no complications were turning up.

When he ran out of things to do, he looked away from the instruments. He couldn't help but remember the dream, one that mirrored the times he had just days before. All he could do was give a verbal sigh.

The emergency room was filled with people. Most were sick, a few had injuries held by makeshift casts. Jeff had to wade through the various doctors and family members to get to the desk. Behind it, a nurse was hurriedly going through papers, getting work done to shuffle more people through the system.

"Excuse me," Jeff politely asked, trying to get her attention. The nurse heard him, but had ignored him. She continued filling papers. "Excuse me," he asked once more, putting a louder tone to get her attention.

"Can you give me just a moment more." It was a sharp, matter-of-fact tone to her response. Jeff could see that she _had_ to work at her own pace. Complications would worsen her mood. Considering the large stack of back-boarded papers, he thought it was best to wait.

The nurse finished writing on the sheet of paper before turning her full attention to Jeff. "So, what can I do for you?"

Jeff took out a photo from his pocket. It was of Nathaniel Karns, cropped from a security photo that he got from the last world he visited; his first trip to an alternate universe.

"Have you seen this man?" he asked her.

She didn't look at the picture before asking a procedural question, "Is it a relative of yours?"

"No, it's actually a fugitive I'm looking for." He had to put it bluntly, restraining the anger he had towards Karns.

"So you're a bounty hunter?" she asked. It wasn't a question he had expected. On the other hand, it appeared she had asked that question many times before.

He put it delicately, "If that's what you would call it..."

The nurse took a careful look at the photo. "Nope, I haven't seen him. What's his name?"

"He might be under Nathaniel Karns."

The nurse slid her chair over a few inches to the computer. She typed in the name, looking for any possible records of the villain.

"Nope, he's not in here. I'll ask around. Did you suspect he had a medical emergency of some kind."

Jeff nodded in affirmation, "I know that he was shot."

She then returned that answer with blunt response, "Then I'm afraid he wouldn't be here. I haven't seen someone like that come by."

Jeff couldn't hide much of his disappointment, "Thanks for your help."

Another hospital that didn't have any leads. Jeff knew that while Karns had to go into some hospital in this world, he still could hide almost in plain sight. At that pace, it would take too long before Karns would be in the next world.

Jeff waded across the room, going toward the exit where several people stood waiting for their respective friend or loved one.

He didn't get far before a short woman approached him. "Excuse me," she said, "I overheard, that you were a bounty hunter."

Jeff looked at her; she seemed wearied by something. "That's what the nurse referred me as, at least. Is there anything you need?"

"I think someone tried to kill my fiance. Can you help me?"

Jeff looked at the woman, who's despair was showing in every cell of her body. It was as though she herself took the same injury that her fiance had. He decided to pry for details, "Where's your fiance?"

"He's still in the emergency room. Does this mean you'll help?"

Jeff nodded, "I'll help. Can you explain what happened?"

As though she didn't hear him, she asked, "How much is your fee? I can pay-"

Jeff held his hand up in refusal. "Don't worry about it. Now, what happened?"

"I...don't know. He just...fell when got to my door...The police just said he overdosed on something."

The incident clearly shook her. It wasn't just the trauma, but that she didn't know what had happened. But the question remained, "What makes you think different?"

"He stopped using drugs. And he wouldn't break that promise. I _know_ that."

She said that as though it was fact, not a belief. Jeff never knew anyone with drug problems, nor did he know if this woman had much more experience than he did.

The look on the woman's face is what hit him the most. The severe look of worry, that she may lose someone precious to her. "I'll look into it. What's his name?"

"Karl Finard," she simply said.

"OK, I'll see what I can find out."

He was about to head back toward the desk to inquire about the man, then he remembered, "Almost forgot, what's you name?"

"Trisha Jenny." Even though he offered help, her mood did not change. Jeff wasn't sure if anything he did would help her. He took out a note-pad, something he had just in case. "And what's your number?"

"867-5309"

He put the note-pad away. "I'll...remember that."

It was clear that Trisha did not get the reference.

Jeff walked back to the desk. He was about to say something, when the nurse quickly slid her chair to a pile of folders, snagged one out and slapped it in front of Jeff. Without a word, she went back to her busy work.

"Is this for me?" Jeff asked.

The nurse still didn't look at Jeff, "Yeah. I overheard you two over there. That's the guy's initial report."

Jeff took the folder, but didn't yet open it. He still had question he had to ask her. "Were you here at the time?"

The nurse got up, slightly annoyed, and looked right into Jeff's eyes. "No, that was 5 hours ago. _And_ before you ask, I'll make sure the doctor contacts you when Mr. Finard is out of the ER."

The tone were sharp, but the words were kind. This nurse wanted to help as much she could, but was overloaded at that moment.

Jeff was about to say thank you when the Nurse had one more thing to say, " _Also_ Sergeant Susan Yearling was the responding officer and should be heading the investigation."

The Nurse sat back down, going through the papers that she had to make sure were right.

"Thanks," Jeff said, knowing that the nurse wouldn't respond in any way. He wasn't even sure that she heard him, but left hoping that she did.

Once again, Jeff stood in the middle of a busy police station. Various people waited at the seats. Most appeared to be angry and annoyed; most likely due to the very problem they were complaining about. The wait for the police response to those complaints didn't help the mood.

Calmly, in an attempt not to hinder the atmosphere anymore, Jeff walked up to the desk and said to the man behind, "I'm here to see a Sergeant Susan Yearling."

The formally dressed officer looked at him. With an equally calm tone, he replied, "Sure, can you give me the reason you want to see her?"

"It's concerning Karl Finard."

Jeff couldn't see the office behind, so he expected the officer to use the phone right next to him. Instead, he rolled back his seat, turning toward an unseen hallway. "Susan! There's a guy to see you!"

Jeff only had to wait a few moments before a middle-aged woman entered the room from a side door. Unlike the desk clerk, she did not wear a uniform. Instead, it was a more business-casual look, with the badge clearly visible on her chest and a pair of glasses on her eyes.

"Sergeant Yearling?" Jeff asked.

"That would be me."

"I'm Jeffrey Hunter." He held out a hand in formal greeting. She returned it, less formal in her movement.

"Hi. Sorry about the traffic, it gets busy here. By the way, you can just call me Susan."

"It was no problem." Jeff turned his demeanor to a serious tone, "I'm here concerning Karl Finard."

She nodded, then said "Then it would be best for us to walk to the hospital. I was going to see the doctor anyway."

The two walked by the crowd to and out the twin doors. Walking alongside each other, they headed toward the hospital. The five-floor building towered over the small two or three floor buildings that neighbored it. Being only a few blocks away, navigating to the hospital was simple.

"Did the doctors contact you?" Jeff asked.

"Only a minute ago. They said he was out of the ER, but I was going to wait until Mr. Finard was able to ask questions."

For Jeff, it was that answer that concerned him. "Not a priority case for you?"

"Well, we had to consider that all the symptoms was of an overdose. When we checked the vic.'s history, he's been arrested several times for felony possession, and for distribution."

"So he sold as well as dealt?"

Susan nodded, "Yup. I'm guessing you believe the fiance?"

It was easy to surmise that Trisha had spoken to the police, but they didn't believe her. Maybe for good reason, maybe not. That is why Jeff was here. "Yeah, I do. And we'll see if she's right."

Susan knocked on the doctor's open door, gold label adorning the name "Vick Geroldo." He was standing next to his desk, shuffling piles of papers around. Hearing the knock, he set the papers down on the desk; where it was obvious they didn't belong.

Turning around, he recognized the officer, but not Jeff. He adjusted his glasses before saying, "Come on in. I'm guessing you're Sergeant Yearling. And you're Mr...?"

"Hunter," Jeff nodded in greeting.

"Hunter," Vick repeated in acknowledgment, "The nurse staff was paging for you a little bit ago, so I'll tell them you've arrived."

"Thanks. How's your patient?"

The doctor turned serious, "He's stable, for now. Took a surprisingly long time for him to get there, but not unheard of."

"How long did it take?" Jeff asked.

"Six, six and a half hours."

Jeff was surprised. He wasn't familiar with medical procedures, but he didn't expect hours to go by before they could get him close to being fine.

Vick continued, "His blood pressure among other things was on overdrive. His heart stopped twice. It'll take several days before we can get a good estimate on when he'll wake up. It was pretty severe. Why do you need to know?"

Susan spoke up, "Well, we're here because the fiance is claiming that this was an attempted murder."

Vick nodded. He heard similar concerns many times before. "I haven't done any analysis yet. However, I did manage to take a blood sample. It's best to see what drug could have done this. Would you two like see how this tests out?"

Vick turned back to his desk. Out of a drawer, he took out a small white box. He didn't explain exactly what it was, instead going past the two investigators into the hall.

Susan followed, with Jeff in the rear of the small hallway. Other than a few painted signs showing major destinations, the hall was plain.

Other doctors and nurses walked down the hall, turning to get by next to Vick. Each one was in a rush, but Jeff noticed that something was in common for each one. Every doctor and nurse had a pair of glasses on.

Jeff raised the question, "This may sound a bit strange, but...why are all the doctors and police wearing glasses?"

They stopped, with both Vick and Susan looking back.

"You've been living under a rock or something?" Vick asked, displaying knowledge that Jeff lacked.

Not wanting to give a complex explanation, Jeff responded, "More on the 'something', but we can go with that."

Vick gestured forward, toward where a small alcove was. They walked the few steps to where plenty of devices were on the tables. Above, there were closed cabinets.

Going to the back, only a few steps away from Jeff and Susan stood, Vick opened one of the cabinets. He took out a identical pair of glasses that he wore and handed them over to Jeff.

"These are scan-glasses. They can show you multiple visual spectrums, and can scan for vital signs or for people in a given area, as well as for other things that emergency responders would need. It's been standard issue for police, firefighters and doctors for the past five years.

"If you want, we got extra sets of these?"

Jeff was intrigued by the new technology. "Sure, that'll be useful, considering my situation."

He looked at the glasses, seeing nothing that would distinguish them from normal prescription glasses. Putting them on, he felt the weight of them onto his face. Against his expectations, nothing appeared to him.

After setting the box down, Vick leaned down and pulled a small, but thick, book out and tossed it to Jeff. Not looking at it, he figured that it was a manual for the glasses; something he would have to read later.

Now Vick stood back up and turned his attention to the box. He took the contents out: vials of blood samples. Taking one of the vials, he moved a step to the side to a small analyzing machine. The vial was placed into the place holding tube and Vick closed it, activating it automatically.

"It'll only take a minute to see what was in his system," he informed the two investigators.

Susan asked, "You have any theories?"

Vick shrugged his shoulders, "Don't know. There's a few things that in high enough doses could have given many of the same symptoms."

Jeff took his turn to ask, "Any wounds or other indications that this wasn't a voluntary overdose?"

"There was a needle mark on the upper arm, but I couldn't tell if it was voluntary or not."

A beep sounded. The small machine stopped its operation, now showing the results on its small screen. Vick looked at it.

"Crap!"

Whatever was on the screen showed Vick that this was a serious situation, far more than his previous speculation.

Then his beeper went off. He looked at it, "Crap!"

Shoving Jeff and Susan out of the way, Vick ran out of the alcove and toward the patient rooms. The two followed, knowing an emergency was happening regarding Karl.

The three passed by several series of doctors and nurses, all stepping aside for the runners.

When Vick arrived, there was several other nurses and a doctor already attending to him. Alarms were sounding, displays showing that Karl was in a critical state.

"Get 5 C.C.'s of adrenaline!" the doctor had yelled, with a nearby nurse about to comply with the order.

"Negative!" Vick yelled, countermanding the order. Moving next to the bed that Karl laid in, Vick had the stature that took command in the room.

"We're going to have to do this with the paddles alone," he said, somewhat confusing the fellow medics.

The other doctor wanted to know what he was doing, "What..."

He was cut off by Vick, "I'll explain in a bit. Paddles."

The nurse handed him the paddles. Rubbing them together to smooth the gel, Vick took the paddles and planted them onto Karl's naked chest. He pressed the buttons on the handles, jolting Karl upward.

With that one shock, the emergency sirens and vitals were silenced. Karl was fine - for now.

Vick took a deep breath, calming himself from the adrenaline high. Seeing Jeff and Susan in the doorway, he said, "You two might as well come on in."

The two moved to the back of the room, out of the way of the other doctor and nurses. Vick went on to explain what he had found, "Our patient has the Bull's-Bane Bacteria running through him."

Completely unfamiliar with it, mostly because it was unique to this world, Jeff asked, "And what does that mean?"

"The patient's own adrenaline fuels the disease, speeding up the its progression. This isn't found in America, and isn't spread by anything except by contamination directly into a blood system."

"So someone did try to kill him," Jeff presumed.

Vick nodded, and went on to say, "More importantly, we can't synthesize a cure unless we have a sample from the original culture. If we don't get it within 48 hours, we got a dead man."

The waiting area was much more calm than before. Rows of bolted-down seats were clear of people - except for one. Trisha sat there waiting for any news to come. Jeff never asked anything about her, or about the man he was trying to help. Seeing her wait for the most important thing in her life was all he really knew. That was all he needed to know.

Quietly, he walked up next to her and sat down, "You heard what we found?"

Without moving at all, she replied, "The doctor told me."

She was holding a cup of coffee, one which seemed to have lost its heat a while ago. Not really caring about how hot it was, she sipped at it.

"Have you slept?" Jeff asked, knowing she had been there for a long time.

"It's too hard to sleep. I just can't, not until Karl's OK."

Jeff looked downward, away from seeing Trisha. What he spoke, he spoke just as much to himself as to her, "I don't know about getting much sleep as well.

"Every night, I see her."

Trisha turned her head, seeing Jeff at the corner of her eye, "Who?"

"Kara, my wife. She was killed by the man I'm chasing."

"I'm sorry," Trisha said, knowing the same fate that he had could happen to her. For all she knew, that might be why he was saying these things to her; that he knew what she was facing.

"I see her," Jeff continued, "It's like everyday before. As though it never happened. I feel her. Taste her when we kiss. But then, when I wake up, I just can't tell... If that dream is what I want...

"Or if it's the most painful thing."

Jeff decided to take out his wallet. In held one of the few remaining things from his world that he valued: a picture of Kara. It was a portrait, one that showed her loose red hair circling around her bright smile.

"Just by looking at this, I can tell why you married her," Trisha said. Seeing this, she had to know, "Is that why you're helping me, because she died?"

Jeff wondered for himself that very question, "I...guess so." It was the best answer for both of them.

Susan had watched the conversation from afar and away from their view. She listened to him, seeing that Jeffrey Hunter was more than a simple "bounty hunter." It was a moment in which she found out who he really was. She couldn't obstruct him from saying those things.

However, there was business to attend to. Susan walked to Jeff, not hiding her footsteps in the quiet hospital. She tapped his shoulder, gesturing toward the door when he looked up.

After replacing the photo back into his wallet, he got up from the seat. Swinging around the bolted chair, he turned back to Trisha. "I know you need to be here if anything happens, but you need to tend to yourself as well. Do you have a job or something to take your mind off things...at least a little bit?"

She didn't look back at him. She just replied to the suggestion, "I work here. I'm a nurse, a floor up. That's where all my friends are at. It's where I met Karl. Where we fought his addiction. I can't go anywhere else, even if I wanted to."

She turned around, looking right at Jeff. "Thank you, Mr. Hunter. I'll be fine." Jeff could tell it was a feign, that she wasn't completely well. But she would try, and Jeff couldn't stop her from that.

Jeff turned back around, not giving a farewell or goodbye. He just calmly walked over to where Susan awaited. Jeff's mood immediately switched for the business at hand.

"We got an address for Mr. Finard," Susan said to Jeff, "I was going to head on up there right now."

"All right, I'll have to hitch a ride with you."

The superintendent opened the door to Karl's apartment. While the place wasn't messy, it showed that the person living there didn't clean often. A fine layer of dust had settled onto most unused surfaces. Everything appeared to be organized, as though the owner placed everything back in its place after every use.

After opening the door, the superintendent waved them into the room, preferring to stay outside for the duration of the visit. Susan gave a polite word of thanks before entering the room.

Jeff tapped the side of his glasses, as did Susan. This set the optical devices to passively scan for anything it could identify as unusual.

Susan moved to the kitchen area, where there was only a refrigerator and stove counter. She opened the door to find no fresh foods. The milk had turned to an off-white; a sign that it had gone bad.

"Somehow, I'm doubtful that he's been here for a while."

Jeff had wandered into what could be called the living area. It was wide open, save an old couch and table. Both were well used; probably before Karl obtained them.

On the table was a few magazines, a television remote and the only land-line phone in the room. The answering machine had a light flashing. Jeff pressed the play button and Karl's voice first sounded, "This is Karl's place, leave a message."

Then a new, raspy voice came on, "Karl, it's Marcus. Pick up the phone, I need to..."

A click sounded. Karl apparently had picked up the phone while the machine was still recording. "I told you not to call me," He had said it forcefully, "Not here, not anywhere."

"Yeah, but.."

"I don't care. Lucky for you, I don't want to hear, or see you, again."

The message ended.

Susan had walked on over to the area, finding a trash can while the message played. In the midst of the papers was one small pad that had marks on it, as though the ink leaked through previous layers of paper. They were all phone numbers that were scribbled randomly on it. "Hopefully one of these will have this Marcus on here."

Jeff wondered, "Need to go back to the station to check those?"

"Nope, the scan-glasses should do the trick." Susan looked directly at the papers, square on. With a touch onto the frame of her glasses, she activated a scan module. Visible lines scanned the entire paper in a few seconds, then the next few it unscrambled the random organization into a half-dozen sets of numbers.

She then took out her radio, touching a button to call the operator. On the screen, a short-bearded man swerved in his seat to face the caller. "Bob here," he said as an upbeat greeting.

"Bob, It's Susan," she replied, being more down-to-business in tone.

This actually encouraged the man, setting a brighter mood to his side of the conversation, "Hey Susan! What can I do for you?"

"I have some names and numbers. Can you match them up to our database,specifically if there's one named Marcus."

"No problem! Just give me a view."

Tapping another button on the side of the radio, her glasses synchronized its information to the radio then to Bob's computers.

"Got 'em," He informed, "It should only...take...a....second. Got one! Marcus Carlville. Convicted for possession several times, but also recently for a robbery a few months ago. Is out on parole."

"Can you send me the address?" she asked Bob.

"Already done. It'll be in your car's navigation system. Anything else?"

Susan gave an encouraging smile, "No, Bob. That was good. Later."

With one last touch of a button, the screen went blank.

The apartment building that Marcus Carlville lived in looked like an old college dorm. The paint was old and cracking, even when seen from afar.

Susan's police vehicle quietly pulled up behind the old, well-worn cars that lined the sidewalk. The overgrown lawn almost hid the small sign that would tell the name of the apartment complex.

On the other side of the lawn was a man going through a pile of thrown-out furniture. He was interested in exploring one particular piece of furniture: a couch that lacked any cushions.

"Is that Carlville?" Jeff asked.

Susan pushed a button the computer that sat between the two. It switched from the map function to showing the entire profile of Marcus Carlville, including his mug-shot from a previous arrest. It showed the same balding man that was in front of them. "That's him," Susan confirmed.

Marcus more carefully inspected the couch, this time pressing his hands onto the springs of each seat.

"Are you thinking that he wants a free couch?" Jeff jokingly speculated.

"Nope. He's looking for something," Susan replied. "Want to see what it is?"

Jeff held up his hand, simultaneous signaling a negative and stopping Susan from exiting the car."Actually, let's just see what he does with it."

Marcus now started to press on the sides, very much showing that something was hidden in the couch. Then towards the bottom, he found upon something on the side. Leaning down, he swung himself close to under the couch. Reaching in, he pulls out a small manilla folder.

"I can still see what he's got," Susan declared. Taking her glasses, she zoomed in onto Marcus, then shifted her view to the folder. She tried to see if there was any writing on the outside, but didn't see anything.

"Are you getting this?" she asked Jeff.

"Yup," he said, doing much the same, except a bit more clumsy in his viewing. He had yet to completely familiarize himself with all the scan-glasses functions. "I don't think there's anything but papers in it."

With the folder in hand, Marcus walked across the street. Without even trying to disguise his movements, he walked straight to an old car; its paint worn with many seasons of weather. Getting into the already unlocked car, he started the car and immediately pulled out without even putting on his seat belt.

Susan waited a second, letting Marcus gain some distance before starting her own car to follow him.

It had gotten dark while they drove. The drive itself took only an hour, but the sunset was rather quick for Jeff. The weather didn't seem particularly cold, even though the daylight had the same kind of hours as winter months. He pondered on it, thinking of several theories but didn't settle on any particular one.

They had pulled up near an abandoned factory. Only the parking lot had any light; and there was very little even there. Marcus pulled in one of the few spots that was illuminated by the street lights.

Susan decided it was still best to stay out of sight. She stopped the car on the dark street, behind a fence and a tree that would block their immediate view. She silenced the car. The two investigators got out of the vehicle at the same time.

While Jeff walked around to join Susan, she got out her radio. Without turning the screen on, she clicked it, "Officer at Warehouse 415 in the Hillard District, requesting backup."

"Copy that," said a female voice on the radio, "Two cars will head your way."

Susan puts away the radio, making sure it was silenced as not to give them away. She removed her holstered pistol before moving into the parking lot; Jeff followed her lead with his own gun.

While the two followed, they saw Marcus casually walking into an unmarked door. He closed the door behind him. Susan and Jeff walked more swiftly to catch up.

Susan moved to the hinged-side of the door. Jeff moved opposite, holding his gun at ready. The officer grabbed hold of the doorknob. Slowly opening it, Susan made sure that no noise came from the door.

"You have the message?"

The voice echoed throughout the building. It wasn't a large building with some pieces of heavy machinery to hide behind. While still be as stealthy as possible, Jeff moved to the nearest piece of machinery. Susan was shortly behind.

"I just got it," Marcus said, Jeff locating him above. He was in a catwalk that hovered across the open building.

Jeff switched his glasses to an infrared mode. There was several warm bodies in his sight. Three were separate; mostly likely guards or escorts. One silhouette he could tell was Marcus. The last one across from him was the one he was conversing with.

Marcus handed him the envelope, something that Jeff could only see in the gestures Marcus was making. The envelope itself was invisible in this light spectrum.

"It looks like one of our former dealers got himself in the ER," said the mysterious receiver of this message that Marcus was delivering. He looked back up to Marcus, "You knew this...Karl. I thought you had dumped him somewhere?"

Marcus held his hand together, very much showing his nervous mood. "He wasn't going to squeal, not with the guy I had him meet."

The two went silent. The leader seemed to think about the events that had unfolded. Jeff decided this was the best opportunity to whisper to Susan, "I'll head on up to the platform."

Susan nodded in confirmation. She kept a lookout while Jeff moved through the dark towards the stairway.

The leader continued, "Even still, you're a liability. Our ties are now officially...."

A sound came over them; as though the unused power had been cut off. Then emergency lights flooded the entire factory floor. Jeff was still in the middle of an open space when he was spotted.

The three guards pulled their guns, aiming at Jeff. Susan fired her weapon. The metal railing deflected her bullet. Now that the fight was pronounced, every combatant spread out towards their respective cover.

Jeff took his limited cover behind the stairs. He was still fairly exposed but it was the best he could get. At that moment, he decided look around. He mentally mapped the entire battlefield and each person within it.

Susan ducked behind the heavy machinery, heavy hail of bullets flying her way. The ricochets off the metal was almost deafening. Using her off-hand to remove her radio from its holster, she yelled into it, "Shots fire! Shots fired!"

Without any more elaboration, she dropped the radio on the ground. She took her gun in both hands, then swung around for some pot-shots at one of the guards.

The guard was crossing the walkway toward the opposite side. Jeff couldn't tell exactly what he was doing, as the others were headed onto his side toward a closed office. The first one in was Marcus, as he had no weapon and was in a much more fearful state.

Jeff decided to fire at the guard from that other side. He fired several bullets, never keeping any kind of count. One still flashed upon the rail. Several others made their mark. The guard collapsed as though he was a rag doll.

The other two guards and the leader were above Jeff, firing at Susan. One looked up to see his ally fall. Susan took that moment to make a carefully aimed shot. She just fired one time. Blood splattered out of his temple. The other two gunmen stepped away from the terrible sight.

The gunmen weren't stunned for long. They fired many more bullets at Susan. Seeing the threat, she ducked behind and waited until she could get another chance to move.

Jeff noticed that he was being ignored. He switched his glasses back to the infrared mode. It revealed the two remaining enemies above him. They were using the metal wall of the office as cover, switching in and out between each other to give maximum firepower.

He ran under the walkway, trying to stay out of sight. The gunfire was loud enough that Jeff could swiftly get to where he wanted without giving himself away.

From his pocket, he removed the one thing he kept from the last world he visited: the grappling beam. Quickly strapping the watch-like device to his wrist. He looked at it for a second to make sure it was operational.

Swinging himself out from under the walkway, he looked up to where his fist was held high. Bending his wrist downward, the beam shot straight onto the ceiling.

The leader and his bodyguard had noticed the beam. The two was puzzled by the stream of light. Then Jeff rose up from it with his weapon ready to fire. Before they could react, Jeff emptied his gun into them.

He hung there a few seconds while the two gunmen fell. After he let his adrenaline go down, he swung his foot over to the catwalk.

Susan watched in awe as Jeff hung there for the long second. she then mentally slapped herself out of that awe. Using her glasses to make sure that all the enemies were finished, she yelled at Jeff, "It's clear, Jeff."

After picking up the radio, she ran up the stairway. At the top was the dead bodies. They were piled on one-another. She looked to find Marcus, curled up as though he was in an earthquake.

She looked the other way to find Jeff still clumsily swinging himself over the rail. She asked him, "Where did you get that?"

Jeff sternly replied, "Don't ask."

Taking the radio that was in her hand, she relayed information to Dispatch, "Shot are silenced. We got three probable injuries."

"Copy that," the radio said, "There are three units already on their way. ETA in less than two."

"Thanks," she said, knowing that there was now ambulance coming their way.

Jeff walked up behind Susan, seeing her look over the bodies with a detached observance. She quickly identified which barely had any life to it, then covering the wounds with as much of the coat each wore as she could.

He watched, not knowing if any one of them would live. But he knew that at least one was dead. Susan didn't even bother to cover the leader's wounds. He saw him: the groomed hair and bloodshot eyes that stared out at nowhere. Jeff could almost see the hair turn to white, the same as Karns. Mixed feeling stirred, giving far more questions for Jeff than answers.

He snapped out of his internal thoughts. He looked right at Marcus. The minion had hid under a desk throughout the battle. Now he slumped into view, face down on the ground.

"I got him," said Susan, implying that she would arrest the messenger. "Check our other shooter."

Jeff looked across the catwalk to find one last body. He jogged over, towering over the body of the well-built man. He saw the large red stains on the back. Bending over, he put a finger on the guard's neck. It was still warm, but he didn't feel any quick rise and falls of a pulse. He moved somewhere else, seeing if he missed something. Then put his whole hand around to feel the entire neck for a pulse. There was none.

Jeff walked back, shaking his head in negative. Susan had dragged Marcus out and cuffed his hands behind his back. "Can you check that guy for any ID?"

She had nodded toward the leader, lying separate from the other two guards. He lifted the body to its side, snagging out the wallet of the man. Opening it, he found the drivers license and said it out-loud, "Barry Rivers."

Jeff closed the wallet then tossed it over to Susan. She kept one hand on Marcus, even though she was finished restraining him. "We'll have to check his home," she said to Jeff, "But I doubt he had any poisons on him."

"Hopefully, he will be able to answer a few questions," Jeff said, referring to Marcus. The man remained silent as they waited for the rest of the crews to arrive.

The clouds in the sky was gloomy. The foreboding rain never came, despite what Susan was feeling.

The grass throughout the field had a dark-green tone, as though the gloom permeated into the ground. Even though that grass was well cut, it could still hide the one thing that Susan walked to every year.

Jeff walked up. He could tell that Susan wasn't in a good mood. So he went straight to business, "They checked River's home. He didn't have any samples of the virus, nor anything that would infect someone.

"Also," Jeff said, going to a slightly different topic, "The power at the warehouse went out because of a car accident about four blocks from where we were at."

Even with the attempted distraction, it didn't take Susan's mind off of what was in front of her. "It doesn't get better."

Jeff looked down. It was a flat, grey marker \- one that showed a young girls name. "That's your daughter," he guessed in a blunt manner.

"Yeah. She died a two years ago. Stray bullet hit her," Susan confessed, "I thought if I could be in the Force, I could help others avoid the same fate. Instead, I find them on the same, worst day."

Susan looked directly at Jeff, seeing the same feelings in his eyes. They were just far more hidden and guarded, "Is that why you wanted to help: to help that woman avoid your fate?"  
Jeff kept his eyes down at the marker and said, "Truthfully, I'm not entirely sure. It just seemed like the only thing I could do." He looked back up to Susan, "Maybe, even after all this time, having that badge is all you can do, even if it doesn't seem to help."

"And what of that man who killed your wife?"

"I still have to chase him. I've seen the things he's done, the things he is willing to do. But..." Jeff started to show the same thing that Susan had, "If I can't catch him, what am I to do?"

Something in that statement stirred Susan. She stood taller, then walked aside of Jeff, "We just stop standing."

Marcus sat on the other side of the glass in the very grey, brightly lit room. He had lost, had no options, not much of a future. For him it didn't matter if he cooperated with the police or not, he was a doomed man.

Susan stood on the other side of the table. She leaned forward to press the depressed man. "You had a night, ready to tell me anything?

Jeff watched the two, curious in the technique and results.

Marcus didn't raise his head, "About Karl, right?

Susan continued, "How did you know that Finard was in the hospital?"

Marcus gave a short laugh, mostly at himself. "One of my duties: to make sure that people who go clean don't go clean on us."

"Who's this 'us'?"

"Um.....Rivers and me."

"The dead guy," Susan said plainly.

Marcus raised his head up only for a moment to nod in confirmation.

"So, how do you make sure people don't tell on you?"

Marcus stayed silent.

"He's the guy you're afraid of. Now that Rivers is dead, you don't lose anything from telling on him. But there's someone else."

"OK, I know this guy," Marcus confessed, showing that his stress had broke. It didn't matter what happened now. "I don't know his name nor the guy he works for. I just know that he convinces people to take a job, a paying job, someplace. Then they do some shady work there."

"You've been of good help," Susan politely said, keeping her voice to a neutral tone.

Susan opened the door when Marcus had to ask one last question, a hope, "Does this mean I don't get charged with anything?"

"Nope. I didn't say a thing about that."

She cruelly closed the door, leaving Marcus alone.

The door opened, letting in the bright light of the hallway into the room. The records room had no files, no papers or any type of hard copies. Susan walked into a room filled with three large computer terminals. Only one of the old computers had a screen and keyboard for direct access.

Jeff was right behind her. "You keep records exclusively on computers?" he wondered.

Without sitting down, Susan entered her name and password onto the black and white screen."Actually, these are just our servers," she said, "The actual records are stored in Guanaco. They can be accessed anywhere."

A search prompt came up. It asked several questions including name and physical description. Susan only put in Karl's name before pressing enter. Several listings showed up: all showing the same name. Tapping a button, Susan sorted the entries by location. She then highlighted the first listing. Once again pressing enter, a full profile showed up on Karl.

Jeff watched over Susan's shoulder and stated what he found on the screen, "Onslow Paint and Glass Manufacturing. I wonder what they'd been doing?"

Susan moved the cursor down to highlight the company name, then pressed enter. Another profile showed up, this one on the company. "Other than one health violation," she repeated from the screen, "they've been clean."

"What was the violation?"

Susan tapped one button to change the screen. "There was a gas-chemical leak in a paint factory. It seems the only similarity is that it's in the same place that Finard works."

"Then let's go there," Jeff suggested.

The secretary led the two into the small room that was Finard's workspace. Unlike the police department's records room, tons of papers and folders lined the walls and desks. There was only one computer in the entire room: a small, old computer that sat on an equally small and old desk.

"This is it," said the secretary, "He mostly kept to himself while he worked."

Jeff asked, "And during breaks?"

"I've seen him talk to a few people in the lunch room."

While the two investigators walked into the room, the secretary continued to think. She pondered on whoever Karl had talked to. "Come to think of it, I don't think he ever talked to the same person twice."

Jeff had been looking around, trying to find something useful. With that statement, he turned to the secretary, "He never made any friends here?"

The secretary shook her head no. "Nope, only one person ever even stepped into here after Karl was hired."

"Do you know who that was?"

"I didn't know him. He had an employee badge on and that's all I needed to see. I couldn't describe him, even though he came by yesterday."

That got Susan's attention, "He came yesterday?"

"Yeah. 'Said he needed a physical record of something - never said what it was."

Susan looked at the desk, then asked the secretary, "Do you go into this room?"

The secretary looked around the room, seeing it as though it was a new, foreign place. "I don't really get passed the door."

Susan looked around, then saw something. Without a word, she waved at Jeff to come see a round, metal container. "Hold on to this for a sec," she said, handing it to him.

The officer took out a small, hand-held spray can from one of the pouches on her belt. She sprayed a white, powdery substance onto the can. The dust made fingerprints much more visible to the naked eye. Now holding her glasses, she scanned the container, hoping for something other than Karl's fingerprints.

She could see the glasses pick up each fingerprint, then shuffle them around to an organized space off to the side. After a short time processing them, it marked the ones it recognized as Karl's in green. Jumbled within those were fingerprints marked in red; these were not yet identified.

"And there's a hit," Susan said to Jeff, "I'll have to run this out in the car."

"All right," Jeff acknowledged. Turning toward the secretary, he said, "We'll be back.

"Sure," She said politely, "If you find anything, I'm more then willing to help."

The secretary closed the door after Susan and Jeff left, leaving it as dark as they had found it.

Jeff closed the car door, soundproofing from all the industrial noise outside. He looked at the center computer screen, which Susan had turned on. "Do you think this guy will be in your system?"

Susan shrugged, "You never know. If our guy was right, this company may have a few more ex-cons."

She pressed on the last button to sync the information from her glasses. It took a few moments before it switched from that connection to connecting to the police's computer systems. After scanning all the files, it found a match.

"James Ternstall," Susan announced, "And he's employed here as we suspected. I guess we'll be visiting him next."

Without looking further, she shut the computer down. The two were about to exit the car when an electronic ring came from Susan's pocket. Removing from it was her cell phone. Without looking at the caller ID, she answered, "Hello, this is Sergeant Susan Yearling."

It was Karl's doctor on the other side of the call, "Sergeant, this is Doctor Vick. I'm calling to see how your investigation is going."

"We hit some set backs," she replied, Jeff intently hearing her side of the conversation. "But I think we might be able to find your bacteria samples. How's our patient?

"Well, that's the problem. Karl had another seizure. This time it put him into a coma."

Susan sighed. Time was running out and she need to know, "How long do we have?"

"I say if I don't get that sample in around....eight hours, we won't be able to synthesize an antidote in time. In ten, Karl won't be around to get one."

"All right. Thanks for the information." She clicked the red button on the phone, hanging up the call.

"So, what was that?" Jeff asked, wanting to know the details of the distressing conversation.

"That was the doctor. Mr. Finard's condition has deteriorated."

"So, we better work quickly," he said, getting out of the car with much more swiftness than before.

The area was clean, almost too clean, Susan thought. The same secretary led them to James Ternstall's office, which was actually a small sectioned-off area within the chemical plant. The air purifier was quite loud and barely filtered out the heavy smells.

"Didn't you say that he would be in right now?" Susan asked the secretary.

"That's what his schedule says. However, it isn't uncommon for any of our managers to leave early. They just file a note on it when they get back."

Jeff wandered in from behind, looking around for anything conspicuous. Susan decided to stand in place for her search and continued to ask the secretary questions, "Even if they come back the next day?"

"Yeah. We tend to have "as long as it gets done" kind of policy towards work."

Jeff looked around the lone table. Picking up a small, cheap statue, he inspected it to find nothing unusual. Setting it down, he turned toward the desk. He asked the secretary, "Do you have access to this computer?"

The secretary replied, "Sure, what do you need?" She moved to the desk and entered all the required information into the computer.

"I need to see if there's any e-mails or memos that was sent to or from him," Jeff requested.

Susan walked behind the desk along with the others. The officer looked over the secretary shoulder as she brought up the requested information.

"We keep all e-mails for at least 15 days," She informed the two, "They can't even be deleted from the computer. Standard policy for our section." She clicked on the e-mail program and entered one last set of log-in information, "There you go."

Stepping back, she let Jeff have access to the computer. He quickly scanned the lines of e-mails that its owner stored. There was one that caught his eye, "Here's something. One marked "important," and from himself."

Thinking out-loud, Jeff summarized the e-mail he read, "It looks like he knew about Finard's condition yesterday." Turning to Susan, he asked, "Did you see the document this is talking about?"

"Not here, but if we go by his home, I would bet we would find it."

Jeff nodded in agreement. The two walked to the door, with Jeff in the rear. He had one last thought at the door, turning around to the secretary, "Can you send the police department a copy of that?"

The secretary moved back to the computer. "I'll make sure it's marked for you guys."

"Thanks for your help," Jeff politely said.

The secretary nodded in reply while Jeff and Susan left the room.

The neighborhood betrayed the face of who was living in it. It was a calm and peaceful. Very much not like Ternstall's record of several assaults. She wasn't sure if this was a mask, hiding what Ternstall was doing or if he genuinely wanted to live there.

With Jeff behind her, she knocked on the door. There was a lack of any noise in return. The windows showed that the house was lifeless. "I don't see anyone's here."

She twisted the doorknob to find it unlocked. With the door open she found her assumption was correct.

The living room was to their left; rather dark aside from the few inches of sunlight. The architecture had made it so then little natural light emitted into this house. Jeff looked inside to find it sparse. There were books on the book shelf and some chairs and tables. But there was little that added personality to anything in the room. It reminded Jeff of his old dorm rooms; except those had letters of accommodations and other notes of achievements marking the walls.

Moving further inside the house, Susan split towards what looked like a work room. It was one that had a computer and desk as well as several large pieces of workout equipment. _At least this looked like it belonged to Ternstall_ , Susan thought.

Jeff wandered down the hallway. A short ways in he found a door that looked like it should be part of a closet. Opening the door, he found it was something different. "Susan," he called out.

Susan followed his voice to find Jeff inside. She saw the room was filled with ultraviolet light as well as the heavy smell of several chemicals. The sergeant doubted it was safe to stay in there for long.

"It looks like Ternstall was part of something after all," Jeff said as he walked around the rows of chemistry sets. It was obvious many of those sets were designed for mass production.

"Certainly not something of a hobby," Susan commented as she walked in, inspecting the liquids.

"No. But none of this seems like it's an illegal drug, or even explosive for that matter," He said, knowing, mostly from his experience with a chemist, exactly what explosives generally were. "This isn't making the end product, whatever it is. Moreover, there's no sign of that bacteria that Finard has."

Moving to the corner, where a computer was on a chest-high table, Jeff found it already on. There was several programs already on. Each were regulating some of aspect of the makeshift chemical production. Starting up the e-mail, he found it automatically logged in with full access to everything that Ternstall received.

Reading through several e-mails, he summarized his findings to Susan, "It looks like he was suspecting something was going to go wrong. He broke it off with a girlfriend three weeks ago. Her reply was asking why. He never said, just saying not to see him again."

Susan looked up, not caring to look further at the chemical anymore."It might be that he fled when he heard what happened to Finard."

"Possibly."

Susan moved back to the doorway, while Jeff continued his search in the e-mails. "I'm going to see if there's anything elsewhere," She informed Jeff.

"Alright," he replied while his eyes never left the computer. Right after she left the room, he found another e-mail that looked interesting. Reading it, he found it was something very important. A find that would break this case wide open.

Without closing the program, he left to find Susan. Walking down the hallway, he couldn't see where she went. "Susan?" he called out.

From another side room, he heard her voice, "Over here. You should see this."

It was down another short walkway that separated itself from the rest of the living area. He found the lone bedroom. It had a strange, unpleasant smell to it.

The skylight illuminated the gruesome sight. Susan stood next to the bed - which was the literal resting place of Ternstall. His eyes were closed, peaceful in the way that he died.

"Although he was suspicious that something was going to happen," Jeff said to Susan, "I don't think he expected this."

"According to my scan-glasses, he died three hours ago. No wounds other then a puncture mark on his foot. I think he was killed with the same bacteria that Finard has."

"Not surprising. But if he died first, wouldn't that mean he was infected first as well?"

"Possibly." She turned to Jeff, "Did you have something?"

"Yeah, I need you to see if you can track an e-mail address."

The two left the body to rest. They walked back to the chemical room to where Jeff had left the computer. Susan looked at the e-mail, seeing that it had instructions from someone unknown. "This is it?" She asked, mostly to make sure that there wasn't a mistake.

"Yeah," Jeff nodded in confirmation.

Susan took out her radio. Once again, Bob was on-screen, "Bob here, what 'you need?"

"I've got an e-mail that I need traced," Susan flatly commanded.

"Sure," Bob said, just as eager as before, "Just show me the e-mail, and I'll show you who it belongs to."

Susan smiled, as Bob's enthusiasm always cheered her up at least in some way. She rotated the radio so then Bob could see the e-mail they needed tracing. She had just got it centered when Bob announced, "Got it. _And_ the results are in."

She rotated the radio back towards her. "So who is it from?"

"A Barry Onslow."

This was news. "Wait, a second. Is that the same Onslow as the company?"

Bob energetically nodded, "Yup, he's the president of the company."

Without another word, she ended the call by saying, "Thanks."

Bob waved at the screen. "See you around."

The screen went blank. Susan set it back in its holster, looking up to Jeff. "So, Onslow hired Finard into his criminal organization."

"It's a good plan," Jeff analyzed, "Hire somebody who wants out of crime back into it. For Finard and everyone else involved, there was no escape."

Towering over the other buildings, Onslow's office overlooked every inch of the industrial plant. Windows and high-end architecture permeated the entire floor, including a large desk for his own personal secretary.

Both Jeff and Susan had to arrive through an elevator. They already had announced their intentions on the ground floor. The secretary was a woman who was much more formal in both attire and attitude. She stood at the elevator, very much showing resistance.

Susan announced, "We're here to search Mr. Onslow's office."

"Sorry," the secretary said, "Mr. Onslow is...."

The secretary was cut off when Susan opened up the paper, showing that it was a search warrant. She sighed in defeat, knowing that one of Onslow's rules would have to be broken. "OK, the door is open."

They walked through the glass door to the office. The immediate sight was an entire wall that was just one piece of glass. The room was filled with trinkets from different travels that Onslow had experienced. Susan looked around, being her detective skills always said that hidden things were the most important. Jeff, on the other hand, went straight to the computer on the large, wooden desk. "Do you have access to his computer?" he asked the secretary.

"Uh.....no. Only Mr. Onslow can get onto that computer or his account."

Jeff didn't show any concern, "All right." He turned it on anyway to see if he could get anything out of it.

Susan moved next to him and opened the drawers. She found them empty. "I don't think this was empty before," she surmised, "He was tipped off about us."

Jeff typed several keys. With the user-name already on screen, he was attempting to guess the password. "We didn't exactly make ourselves hidden. Then again, it might have been that he found out that Finard survived."

"A good possibility," Susan said, before looking at the computer. "Got anything?"

Jeff quit after only a few guesses. He only put in the most common passwords that he knew. Then again, he thought, those might not help since this was a different world. "No," he said to Susan in defeat, "The log-in's too secure."

"I'll see if Bob can do anything."

Susan took out her radio. The picture of Bob showed up, but this time, he was facing away from the radio, working on something else. "Bob, still busy?"  
This was a time where Bob was not in an amused mood. "Quite a bit," he said, exhuming his pressures he was under, "I've been going through that e-mail that we've traced. I only ID'ed a few of the other recipients; mostly other ex-cons."

"Well, we can't access Onslow's computer. Can you at least get remote access to his business e-mail?"

Bob still was working while he talked, "Maybe. I would try to access the company server. But if one of my theories is correct, he tried very much to limit any records of his activities."

"Is that why Finard was hired into the records section?"

"I think so. He was there mostly to erase records on certain lines of communications and apparently some inventory."

Susan was about to ask something when Bob interjected, "Wait a sec. I think I found something. The operation is happening in a warehouse along Cherry Street. It doesn't give an exact location, but I think you should be able to find something with that."

That was good news. "Thanks Bob," she said much more emphatically than before.

"And before you go," he said, stopping Susan from ending the call. "Snag that computer. I'll be able to do something with it later."

"Will do." Now Susan shut off her radio.

With Bob's confirmation, Jeff quickly shut the computer down and subsequently pulled every cord from it. He hauled it in his hands as he followed Susan out the door. The secretary was almost speechless, mostly in hearing of Onslow's illegal operations.

Susan drove slowly along the empty road. The entire area was abandoned industrial factories of one sort or another. She had knew it was a seedy neighborhood, but rarely ventured further than within her car. What they were looking for was activity inside one of the buildings.

Jeff was more intently looking, using his scan-glasses to detect anyone. While it was in search mode it could identify anyone using infrared and a few other spectrums that Jeff didn't know about. He looked across one building, seeing it as though he didn't have any glasses on; no signs that anyone was in there.

Then he saw one red dot in the next building. He held his hand up to let Susan know that he may have found something. She stopped abruptly, forcing Jeff to jerk a bit in his seat. He looked at the building, zooming in to see if there was any more signs of life. Aside from that one on the second floor, nothing. He shook his head negative and Susan continued the slow drive.

She sighed in frustration, since they had drove for a half-hour without anything. "I think we should head towards Onslow's home."

"There's already two others there," Jeff replied, "If there's anything, we'll hear it."

The car strolled slowly in front of another inconspicuous warehouse. This one had no signs of its previous owner or use, but it looked a bit less run down then most of the others.

Jeff once again spotted something, and held his arm up. This time, he found more than just one dot. "Susan, I think you should look."

Susan took her own glasses and looked at the same building that Jeff pointed out. She saw many dots, each a person. She counted how many was in there, "Did you get 22 people in there as well."

"Yeah, More over, the only entrance that I can see is the hanger doorway."

Susan took her car radio out from the car holster. "This is Sargent Yearling. I'm at 2481 Cherry Street. I need a SWAT team here asap, have around 22 identified suspects in a warehouse, many probably armed."

"Copy that," the man on the other side of the radio said, "I'll give an ETA as soon as it comes by."

"I'll stand by at this location," she said, hanging up the microphone.

"So we have to wait?" he asked, hoping for some other answer to this dilemma.

"I don't think we can get in there alone."

"Presuming that the bacteria sample is in there, it'll be cutting it close."

"Well, if they find it at his home, it won't be close. But if it's here, I'd rather cut it close then not at all."

If Susan had hoped for a quiet entrance, it didn't turn out that way. SWAT trucks were spread all across the street. The large force was very visible to anyone that looked outside.

Then again, Susan had seen several more people enter; one that was confirmed to have contacted the Onslow residence. Unfortunately, they had not found anything there. If the bacteria sample they needed was anywhere, it was in that building.

Everyone was finishing up arming themselves and putting on their armor. Even Jeff and Susan, both of whom was joining the SWAT team in this operation, had similar gear on.

Susan was waving her arm in the air in a circular pattern, summoning the twelve SWAT team members as well as Jeff. When they encircled her, she began the last briefing.

"Over the course of two hours, me and Mr. Hunter had been looking out at the suspect warehouse. There were two people spotted going in, both very armed.

"The main suspect is the president of a chemical company, Barry Onslow. From Bob's inspection of this e-mails and computers, as well as our search of his home, this is an illegal chemical operation; end product not known at this point. It's possible that some of them may be explosive, so avoid shooting any of those chemicals.

"Most importantly," She said, emphasizing this goal in the raid, "We are in need of a bacteria sample that our suspect may be carrying. He might have it in a weaponized form, so if you see the suspect, take extra precautions.

"Any questions or concerns?"

No one answered.

"OK, everyone should know the plan," Susan concluded, beginning the operation by saying, "Let's get them."

The SWAT team led Jeff and Susan to the main door. The lead one took the large door, attempting to open it quietly. But as soon as it was partially open, bullets penetrated the metal. They all very narrowly missed the infiltrators.

"There goes the easy way," yelled the SWAT team leader, "Baker, Rosen, Dillian - ready to blow three holes."

The SWAT team split into three groups; Susan and Jeff took the left, farthest most group to the large hanger doors. Those were much heavier and pretty much bulletproof. The three assigned SWAT members took out a small ball, attaching it to separate sections of the large door.

With their bombs set up, everyone dove out of the way. All three went off at the same time, giving off more noise than volume in its explosion. The holes that were left betrayed the apparent size of the explosives, as they were easily large enough to enter from.

"Go!" ordered the SWAT leader.

The teams dove inside into a hail of fire. The bright lights caught Jeff by surprise for a short bit, but quickly adjusted as he followed the professional combatants.

Everyone quickly had to take cover. The explosions knocked over a metal table near the entrance, convenient for Jeff, Susan and the two other SWAT members in their group. Bullets flew by them, but mostly ricocheted off the table they took cover under.

Instead of putting their backs to the table, everyone looked toward and beyond it. The scan-glasses was identifying the exact location of each shooter they were facing.

Susan faced to her right, where the SWAT leader had take refuge. "I got twelve on the ground, eight up on the next floor."

"Same thing here," the gruff voice confirmed, "Take the group on the left."

Susan nodded in confirmation.

Jeff leaned around to his right to fire a few shots at the gunmen. All the shots missed, with last one hit a vial that caused a small explosion. It didn't harm the nearby gunner, but scared him quite a bit. He took cover behind the table, from both the gunfire and the possibility that the next vial hit would be bigger.

Jeff swung back behind the table, as more gunfire headed his way. "It's never easy," he said across over to Susan.

"If it was, we wouldn't be here," she replied before raising herself above the table. Susan fired at the same targets Jeff was aiming at; one of the bullets felling one of the three gunmen.

With that, gunfire ceased to be aimed at Jeff's group. He took that chance to dive past Susan and toward the center group.

Not knowing what Jeff was doing, she fired covering fire; even knowing that the gunmen were not firing back at the moment.

Instead of going across to the center SWAT group, he dove more forward towards a small vat. It was just large enough to give him cover. More importantly, it gave him a more direct view to the gunmen without being seen himself.

Using his glasses, Jeff zoomed towards the metal table this enemies were using as cover. Specifically, he looked at the vials that were haphazardly laid there. The scan-glasses could identify each of the vials temperatures, which helped Jeff quite a bit. Unfortunately, he didn't see anything he had hoped to find.

Just as Susan took cover, another gunman popped up to return fire. His fire was returned by a SWAT member that swung around. However, the gunman quickly reacted and shot the SWAT in the shoulder; blood spurting onto his firing arm.

Jeff looked down and saw another vial. It was close to him, but just within the sights of the gunmen. Slowly and as inconspicuous as possible, he reached out and grabbed the vial; diving back once it was in hand. First he looked through the clear glass, then opened the cork to smell the chemical within the vial.

Closing it back up, he was satisfied with what he found. Without going out of cover, he looked at where the gunmen were; measuring his distance. With a quick lug, he tossed the vial over to the gunmen. The glass shattered into a cloud, distracting the over-confidant gunmen.

Using his distraction, Jeff ran right beside the gunmen, his weapon aimed upon them. "Hello, guys," he announced.

The gunmen looked, having dropped their pistols to get off the dry powder and got caught surprised.

Susan saw what Jeff had done, turning to confer with the SWAT leader next to her, "We need to give the others some support."

"If we go over there, we should be able to flank the group." He was pointing to a improvised path between the vat in which Jeff had taken cover and several metal drums that were on carts.

"And what of Dillian?"

He shook his head, "He can't move, not without making his wound worse. But knowing him, he won't leave, not without securing this place first."

Susan looked at the wounded SWAT member, who now had his visor up. He was sweating, but his wound wasn't bleeding now.

"Alright, we'll move on my mark," she announced. Susan set herself to be ready for the dash. The path seemed to be covered, but she wanted to be ready if it wasn't. The SWAT leader did the same. "Go!"

She ran across to the other side of the vat, then to behind the metal drums.

Jeff was now taking fire from one of the gunmen from the center; a group of six that pinned down the other SWAT members. The two gunmen that Jeff was now accompanying was unarmed; their guns now confiscated by Jeff.

While still taking cover, Jeff tried to interrogate the two now-former gunmen, "Where's Onslow?"

"Why should we tell you?" One of the gunmen yelled.

"Because, I think you have a better chance with us then with him, especially considering he has killed one of his lackeys already."

The gunmen looked at each other. They silently agreed, the other gunman saying to Jeff, "He's upstairs."

"OK, now I suggest you stay down."

Jeff rose to fire back at the group of gunmen.

Susan and the SWAT member was hiding around a set of drums. Their impromptu path had taken them across behind and across to the other side of the factory floor. On the other side of the drums were three gunmen. One of them had a bullet wound in his stomach, but was still fighting.

Susan tapped on the metal drums.

She had to whisper to the SWAT leader, as not to give away their position to the gunmen on the other side."They're empty."

"They probably won't stop a bullet then," he surmised, knowing that liquids generally helped slow bullets down.

"Actually....I have a better idea."

She gestured for him to shove it over. She gave a three count with her hand, then both began to shove the metal drums over. It took a second, difficult with the drums collective weight, but they finally gave way.

The barrels fell on top one gunmen. The other two were surprised and turned toward their new encounter. Just as the guns faced Susan and the SWAT leader, they both quickly shot them down without a real fight.

The six gunmen heard the crash, which proved a good distraction for Jeff. Raising up his pistol, he fired at the most vulnerable of the gunmen. Two fell in the rapid fire of bullets, one being the guy that had been attacking Jeff. The last one standing quickly ducked back down.

The remaining four were now confused and scared. One tried to wave another to go somewhere, but he wasn't going to do that anytime soon. The lead repeated the gesture, with more insistence. And again it was refused, with more insistence.

Then Jeff appeared over their heads. They tried to react to the attacker, but then three SWAT members also appeared. They all held their hands up in the air, dropping their weapons in defeat.

It took a quick minute for the SWAT team to round up the captured gunmen and restrain them in handcuffs. Susan looked around, surveying their defeated enemy to the SWAT leader, "We got three on that side, two wounded."

"One dead here," He said, pointing to the other side from where they came.

Jeff, however, was more concerned with other matters, especially since this one could be easily handled by a few men. "We need to get upstairs; that's where Onslow is."

The SWAT leader pointed toward a set of stairs, "There's two entrances; one to the front, one in the left rear."

Jeff looked with his glasses. Through them, he got an x-ray like view to the covered stairs. He followed it up, and saw three heat signatures of people near the top of the stairs. Following it further, he found a room that was in the rear corner that two signals were standing still.

"The front staircase has three guards," he announced.

Susan had used her glasses to map the other path, "Three guards in the rear as well."

The SWAT leader took in that information and formed a plan. "Then we'll split up. Four of us in the rear with Sargent Yearling, four with Mr. Hunter. The rest, take the wounded out and ready for emergency crews."

The SWAT leader led the group that was to take the rear. The five stopped at the stairs, out of sight of any ambushers that awaited them.

Jeff's group took a similar position. With one of the SWAT members in lead, he quickly turned into the stairs. At first, they found no resistance in the narrow stairway. The five moved as quietly as their heavy gear allowed. They had gotten halfway up when a guard cautiously turned the corner, finding the SWAT team. He fired his pistol, and the lead SWAT member returned fire with his rifle. The two missed their mark, with the guard diving back to safety. A stand-off now took effect.

Susan's group had also gotten to halfway to the top of the stairs when they encountered resistance. The guard swung around and emptied his pistol. The SWAT leader crouched when he saw the guard and gave a single shot. His aim was true, hitting the guard right in the forehead.

However, Susan had taken the guard's bullet. The bullet had penetrated her vest, just inside of her shoulder. She was bleeding profusely and leaning on the SWAT member behind her.

Quickly rotating around, the SWAT leader looked at Susan's wound. "Get her out of here," he ordered the man who supported Susan. "Me and Baker can go ahead"

"Right," The SWAT member acknowledged, turning Susan onto his back to carry her out.

At the front stairs, the guard tried to lean back out, only to be met by a bullet by the SWAT member. Jeff was now impatient, knowing he didn't have much time for a stand-off. He knocked on the wall, checking what material it was.

Jeff switched his glasses to infrared mode, showing the two guards in a red silhouette. He didn't have the best aim with the glasses, since the gun wasn't visible in the spectrum he was using. But he did the best he could, and fired.

The bullet went through, and the red shadow slumped down on top the other guard. "Go!" he yelled, hoping to surprise the other guard.

The lead SWAT ran up the stairs, gun ready. He turned the corner and fired at the remaining guard, completely unsuspecting of what had and what just happened.

With no more resistance until their goal, they turned the hall to a control room. Yet there was no one there. The other side had an open door. They barely got through that door when they saw Onslow.

It was apparent that the villain had gotten caught from the other side, as the SWAT leader pinned him down along with his last guard. The gun that Onslow held was quite different than what the others held: it was a tranquilizer pistol. Jeff knew what he was looking for was right in Onslow's hands.

"Put your weapons down and hands in the air!" the SWAT leader ordered.

Onslow looked around. He held his hand up in the air, gun still in hand. The guard did the same. While defeated, Onslow wasn't about to completely give up.

"You need this, don't you," he teased, waving the tranquilizer gun. "After all, I shot two people with it."

He looked directly at Jeff, as though he knew that he was the one who needed it the most, "You need this for Finard."

"Yeah," Jeff flatly replied.

Onslow laughed, "I knew that guy was trouble. All the others gave up; being clean that is. But not that guy. Even now, he probably still thinks he can go straight. And that's where you come in."

The villain looked down at the vat, "Well, have fun getting it!" He casually tossed the gun over towards the vat.

Jeff quickly leaned over the railing of the catwalk and shot his grappling beam at it. It snagged the gun, propelling it over the vat and just onto the edge of it.

Jeff looked up, as the SWAT leader was forcing Onslow on his knees and arresting him. He nodded a confirmation at him, and the SWAT leader nodded back.

Outside, Jeff met Susan. She was on a stretcher being loaded up to an ambulance vehicle. Several other ambulances were around, illuminating the entire scene.

"I got it," Jeff announced to her.

"Good. Get on aboard," she ordered, showing little of the pain she felt.

Trying to lean up as far as she could and facing the driver, she said to him, "Head onto Angel Hospital."

"We're already going there, but..."

The driver was about to say that Jeff couldn't come along, but Susan countermanded him, "It's more of an emergency then my condition. Let him stay."

The diver nodded. The ambulance doctor hopped on in on the other side from Jeff and closed the doors.

Jeff paced away between the series of seats. Trisha sat, waiting patiently for some news. Susan sat in the row opposite from her, wounds covered with heavy bandages. It had been nearly two hours since they arrived, not knowing if they were in time or not.

Vick walked up out of the back rooms, solemn with some bad news. He talked to everyone, most importantly to Trisha, "I'm sorry, we didn't make it in time."

"What does that mean?" Jeff asked.

"Karl is still in a coma. And the best I can give is a fifty-fifty chance of ever coming out of it."

Trisha didn't cry, didn't make much noise at all. Instead, she went into a state of shock. Jeff sat next to her, held her in a semi-hug as he knew she needed it.

Susan slumped into her hard seat. This was not the result she wanted, or needed.

Jeff watched as Trisha sat next to Karl. All he did was sleep, ever in the coma that was forced upon him...and her. He wasn't sure who was worse off, Karl who had nearly died and may still. Or Trisha, who had tried to help him out of the life he led, still trying, only to have to wait to see if anything would be fine.

The investigation for Susan had pretty much concluded. Marcus was going to jail, right next to cell that contained Onslow. Only the fine details remained for her.

But the last he saw of her was at the graveyard, again at her child's resting place. Just as much as everyone else, she had hoped for a different result. He knew that people were helped, that there was one criminal not hurting anyone anymore. But those people would remain silent, never knowing the hurt that Trisha felt...or that Jeff felt.

Suddenly he felt tired. He left the room, then the whole hospital, without a word. Going back to the Dimensional Transport, which had been left alone for too long, he left the world without any farewells or goodbyes. Without knowing if he had truly helped or not.

Once in flight, he finally took the time to sleep. He didn't care what dreams came, only that the did.

Episode 3

### Purpose

Miles woke up. He found himself sitting on a metal chair. Still groggy, he looked around his unfamiliar surroundings. It was a fairly large room of unpainted brick. There were boxes next to him, each with a wire sticking out of them. Miles tried to trace where each wire went to, but couldn't without getting up. More interestingly, to his other side was a simple table that had a lone speaker.

Despite being knocked out by some unknown person and put into a strange room, Miles found himself unrestrained. Straight forward was a clearly labeled exit. He decided to get up, intending to exit the otherwise abandoned building. That was when the speaker boomed out, "I suggest you stay in your seat, Miles." The voice had a very dark, electronic tone to it. One could tell that it was being heavily modified.

Miles cooperated, not knowing whether this person had a camera or other way to tell what he was doing. He guessed that if that was the case, the remote captor could also hear him, "Where..." he first tried to ask, then reformulated the question, "Why I am here?"

The silence for the few long seconds told him that either his captor didn't hear or didn't care to answer the question. Then the captor started his monologue, "The seat you are on is on the detonator of the box next to you."

_He was on a bomb_. His heart raced as he shifted himself more firmly onto the seat. Miles held stiff, making sure that he did nothing to disrupt the thing that could end his life.

"You are at the abandoned building on Earlander Street," the captor continued, "I left everything in your pocket, including your phone. I'm not after money, and that's all I'll say to my motive."

Miles carefully reached into his pocket, finding his cell phone just where it always had been. Taking it out, he flipped it open to dial 911.

"Before you call anyone," the captor interrupted, "You will want to know one thing. In another room in that building, there are two people in a similar situation. They too, are next to bombs."

Miles dropped his phone at the revelation. Realizing he dropped his best way out, he didn't dare move to get it. With not only him, but two other people at his mercy, Miles listened intensely to the captors next words.

"Their fate is up to you. If you stay seated, they will die. Get up, you will die but they will live. It is your choice. You have twenty seconds."

With that final instruction, the speaker went silent.

Miles sat, fear gripping him. He knew he should get up, that he should sacrifice himself for two strangers. But that fear gripped him. It held him to the seat. His body defied what Miles wanted.

With all his strength, he shifted his body. He rocked, twisted and tried as much as possible. But there was that fear. It was the thing that kept him in that seat.

Without warning, a huge boom came from behind him. He knew, that he failed those two people; saving himself. Miles fell out of the seat, the lack of danger allowing him the freedom he needed only a second ago.

His face was right in front of the phone. He saw it, but couldn't even think of using it to call for help. Only one thing came to his mind: that _he killed those people._ He didn't lay those bombs or kidnap those two, but he unintentionally made his choice.

Jeffrey Hunter opened the door, seeing Miles on the floor. The lying man might not have been crying, but every other symptom showed that he was in intense grief.

Running to him, Jeff checked him, making sure that Miles was unharmed. With that done, Jeff then looked around to see if there was anyone else. He saw that in the back was a door on the floor. It had been blown down from the explosion that got his attention. Smoke billowed out, obscuring everything.

"Damn, can't see anything through that fire," he said to himself.

Jeff looked down to Miles, seeing that he was in a lot of emotional pain. But he needed to ask the question anyway, "Was there anyone in there?"

Miles whispered, "No....no...."

Outside, two hours later, lights flashed around the building. Police vehicles and fire trucks filled the area. For everyone in the vicinity, the crisis was over and shifted toward finding out who had caused it. Beyond the yellow police tape was two large vans. Television reporters huddled inside them.

There was one lone ambulance vehicle. The two medics were gone, but Miles remained seated in the open back. He was silent and deep in a thought no one dared to ask about. Even Jeff didn't dare to ask, despite being in a similar situation.

Jeff stood next to a tall police officer. They both looked at Miles, expressing pity towards him while holding a sense of analysis towards the situation.

"Two people, just like our vic. said," Captain Hanover said to Jeff, confirming that two bodies were recovered. Jeff knew that the coroner had drove up on the other side of the building and retrieved the bodies from there.

Jeff continued the analytical route, "Did you find where the voice-box was transmitting from?"

"Unfortunately, from inside the building. I doubt we find much there." The Captain sighed, "We probably won't be able to do much until all our vics are identified."

The term "vic" hit Jeff. That was the most important detail in this case for Jeff: that two people had died. He was wandering around the area when he heard the explosion that killed them. It wasn't his business before, but instinct took over and now he was involved.

"I can inform the relatives," he suggested to Hanover, "It'll save you time..."

The captain shook his head negative, "No, I couldn't even let one of my officers do that. I know you want to help, but I need to take responsibility. _Including_ the least appealing duties."

A subtle screech of a car halted their conversation. Both turned to find a woman getting out of a minivan just parked outside the police tape. The headlights were still on, obscuring her exact details. Even then, Jeff could still tell that she had the look of worry all over her face.

The headlights shut off as Hanover started to walk over. Jeff was intending to follow, to see who this woman was. Hanover gave a hand signal for him to stay put.

Without a word from Hanover, the woman said to him, "Miles Minerva called me, only said to pick him up. What happened?"

Hanover bluntly explained, "He was kidnapped about four hours ago. He was held there until thirty minutes ago, when several explosives were set off. Two others died in the explosion."

It was something she didn't expect at all. She held her hands up in complete shock, hiding her face. Once it sank in, she asked, "Is he alright?"

"Miles is fine, just shaken up. If you want, you can escort him home."

Hanover raised the tape to let the woman through. She ducked down below the tape before jogging to the ambulance that Miles sat in.

Jeff looked at the two. They were silent, Miles sitting in his depressed state. The woman was next to him, holding him with as much comfort as she could give. She didn't have any words to say. Jeff could tell that she wanted to say something.

"At least he has someone to talk to," Jeff said openly, though Hanover caught it.

"I hope so," he replied.

An officer approached Hanover, holding a very business-like mannerism. "Sir, we found the room the suspect was hiding in," he said, "It was within the building, two floors up."

"Alright," Hanover nodded, "I'll head on up there. And if they need it, make sure our vic. gets home alright."

"Yes, sir," the officer acknowledged.

Jeff followed Hanover into the building. He gave one last glimpse back at the grieving Miles and the woman who cared for him.

The room which the investigating officers had directed them to was rather nondescript. Only brick showed on the walls and one table sitting on the far side of the room. On it was a small black box.

Jeff walked right up to the table, with Hanover hovering nearby. Jeff picked up the small, black box. He carefully inspecting it to see if there was anything.

"You shouldn't be handling anything," Hanover commented, "Especially bare-handed."

"He left this," Jeff replied, "I doubt there's any prints on here anyway."

Jeff looked for a second more, discovering only what the object was. "This is just a transmission box, where he would hook up a microphone." As evidence, Jeff pointed out a audio port in one side of the box.

"Do you think it would have any recordings on it?" Hanover asked.

Jeff shook his head, "No. There would be a separate device for that." Jeff pointed to another, smaller, port on the device as evidence for that conclusion. "I'm not even sure why he would leave this," he confessed.

"Maybe he was in a hurry," Hanover guessed.

Jeff clearly didn't believe that scenario, "No, it would have been quicker to just pull the plug from the wall and take the whole thing."

"He left it on purpose," Hanover concluded, then continued, "As though it's a warning."

"That's doesn't sound good," Jeff commented.

"It's the worst case, and that's the one I have to run with right now."

Hanover unclipped his radio. Speaking into it, he asked, "Barrios, any word on if this guy got his mug on camera?"

"Sorry, sir," The officer replied over the radio, "We couldn't find any cameras either at the abduction point or near the building. Not a single traffic or security cam."

"Alright, keep at it and keep me posted," Hanover said, ending the short conversation.

Jeff set the device back down and began walking out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Hanover asked, still standing next to the table.

"To the coroner's office. Even if they're random abductions of convenience, it would help a lot to see what these people had in common."

"OK. We'll keep combing over this place. He didn't leave without a trace; we'll find it."

The office side of the morgue was grey but clean. Double doors were to one side, where a body would be rolled in from. The public entrance was a door a few feet from it. Jeff entered from there and took in all the impersonal color around it. Along one wall was a series of cabinets with a desk parallel to them just out of the main pathway.

The opposite wall had a semi-clear door that opened. It revealed a woman who wore a red apron. One could tell it was red due to her work and not by design. She removed her bloodied gloves, tossing them into the bin next to her before approaching Jeff.

"Jessica Alters," she introduced herself, as though she had expected Jeff.

Jeff tepidly returned the handshake, not knowing what she had touched. "Jeffrey Hunter," he replied in kind before going straight to business, "Do you have anything?"

Jessica nodded, "Sure do. If you want to come back here..." Gesturing back to the room that she just exited, Jeff followed.

Inside there were two bodies lying on tables: a man and a woman. Both were severely burned and had dried blood. They were next to the lines of storage units. Computers next to them showed the official entries for each of them.

Jessica traveled between the two, "First off, both were right next to some pretty powerful explosives. It came from behind and they were probably unconscious when it went off."

"Nothing too surprising thus far," Jeff commented.

"When it comes to C.O.D., it was as you would expect: severe trauma from the explosives. The only reason I surmised that they were unconscious was because they were restrained, but there was no signs of struggle around those restraints."

"How about their abduction?"

Jessica pointed to a small hole in the man's neck, "Mostly likely some sedative injected from a dart. Toxicology will be a while to confirm exactly what it was."

Jeff sighed, moving onto a different subject, "Any idea on the identities of these two?"

Jessica moved to the computer next to the woman, taking a quick peak at it for reference."Annabelle Farris. She turned up on missing persons report by her husband. According to the report, she went missing after work; apparently she always goes home without fail."

"So she likely was abducted at or near her work."

"That would be the logical conclusion."

Jeff's eyes laid upon the body of Annabelle. She didn't look anywhere near like Kara, but the way she had died hit Jeff hard.

Jessica noticed his glare. "Anything you want to talk about?"

Jeff shook his head in denial, "No, not really. Where was she working at?"

Jessica once again took a quick glance at the computer, checking her answer. "She was a paralegal at the Regal Business Complex."

"I'll head on over there, see if anyone has anymore information."

"I'll tell Captain Hanover."

Jeff held a hand up in refusal, "No, I'll call him on my way. You can see what else you can do."

Jessica, while not upbeat, gave a tone of encouragement. It was something she always gave. "All right. Good luck."

Jeff nodded, showing that he acknowledged her goodbye. He left the room, headed towards the Annabelle's work.

Cars were passing by Jeff and the parking lot manager. The two wandered around the thinly lit downtown parking garage. On this floor, the amount of cars parked were still few in number, although some were attempting to find spots near the two.

"She always parked at this lane," the manager said, showing that he was very aware of his customers.

Jeff saw that there were no cars in the lane at that time, showing that she was abducted elsewhere. "And she left at her normal time."

"As always. She was a punctual person, always came in and out exactly the same time."

"Did she leave with anyone?"

"Not directly. A couple of other employees from the same firm left shortly after, maybe just a minute or so."

Jeff looked around, and saw the next lane over there was one car that stood alone. "Can you tell me who?"

The manager expressed worry, not knowing exactly what the question pertained. "Are they suspects?"

"Maybe victims, I have to look at either possibility."

The manager was worried over the issue, "Pat Intellus was one of the people that walked out shortly after."

Jeff walked up to the car. He looked inside, trying to see if there was anything that could help confirm the identify its owner. Taking out the phone he received from Hanover, Jeff rang up Jessica.

"Jessica, this is Jeff Hunter."

Jessica answered, "Hey, what do you need?"

"I have this car here, license plate w-p-i-1-4-3."

She was silent for a second to move to her computer. "Sure, any reason why you need it?"

"I just need to confirm something, mostly the owner."

Jessica got the results, and was shocked by what came up. "Well, you found our other vic. Pat Intellus owned the car."

Jeff displayed disappointment. "Thanks," he kindly said before hanging up. He turned back toward the manager. "I'm sorry to say this, but Pat Intellus was also our second victim."

The manager nearly fell over. He showed signs that he was confused, as though he didn't know what to do. He pointed back towards his office, saying, "I'm....going to...."

Jeff approached him, trying to be reassuring. "If you need some time before answering more questions, just call Captain Hanover at the station."

"Yeah. Can you give my condolences to his sister. Whenever I talked with him, he spoke highly of her."

Jeff solemnly nodded, "Yeah, I will."

Jeff stepped up on the patio, blinded only for a short second with morning sun rising. He double-checked the address that was on his notepad. "This is her place," he said to himself. It was said with sorrow in his voice, knowing exactly what he was getting into.

Ringing the doorbell, he heard footsteps come close. The door opened, but the person who answered was not who he expected: It was Miles. He still wore the same clothes as last night. The shirt was still disheveled from the experience it went through. He showed some signs of recovery, but still held onto fresh memories.

"Oh, it's you...," He groggily said, showing recognition of Jeff, "I never got the chance to thank you."

"It was never needed. Are...you busy?" Jeff wasn't sure if he should talk to him at that time or not. Miles gestured inside, inviting him into the two-story home.

Turning to the right, the living room was dark with the windows shaded. The couch showed the pillows were tumbled and smashed; where Miles had slept that night. The nearby table also had some papers shifted and knocked over.

Miles wondered next to the couch, choosing to remain standing. Jeff, looking around the very decorated room, found a series of pictures set on a mantle. The largest one showed a woman alongside Miles; a portrait taken at a fair. There was one smaller portrait next to it. That picture was of the same person who had died last night.

Jeff took his mind off the photo. He set his sights at the couch. "This was where you slept for the night?"

"Well...I couldn't go back to my apartment, especially since I'm late on my payment. My old firm hadn't sent a check yet."

"I presume you were a lawyer?"

Miles nodded, "Yeah. Had a good record too." The last part was a passing comment, something that Jeff ignored.

"Where did you work?"

Miles took this question very differently. There was a sense that this wasn't a casual conversation anymore. "Does this has to do with....last night?"

Jeff made sure that his voice had a serious tone; not to carry any positive tone or have any hint of the news that was to come. "It does," he replied.

Miles answered plainly, "The legal department at the Regal Business Complex. Why?"

At the corner of Jeff's eye, a woman was leaning down the stairs. The loose-haired woman that was about the same age as Miles had listened in on the conversation. Stepping down the stairs and approaching Miles, she looked right at Jeff. "I have to ask the same thing, Mr. Hunter: _why_?"

He didn't know how she got his name, but that didn't matter. Jeff knew who she was: Carla Intellus. Tensing up, Jeff prepared to give the two the bad news. "You both may want to sit down," he suggested.

Miles moved next to her, holding her shoulders. The way Jeff put it, they both knew bad news was coming. Carla shook her head in refusal, "No! I've heard too much of that before! Just say it right now!"

Jeff took a deep breath. He began an explanation; delaying the inevitable. "I asked because the woman in that explosion worked there as well. And as I later found out, so was the man."

The two were shocked at the news, Carla gasping. But the shock wasn't personal, as though they heard of a terrible incident on the news. It still hurt. They both knew people from there. But without a name, it was a faraway tragedy.

Miles thought about it a bit more, taking his view of things, "The guy was after me; it wasn't random."

"I'm thinking that way too," Jeff said, "But that wasn't why I'm here."

Now the two were on the edge of their metaphorical seat. Jeff was about to say something much worse...and now he couldn't delay it any further. "I...didn't know you were here," he said to Miles, then shifted his attention to Carla, "I was here for Ms. Intellus. Your brother was the other victim. We confirmed it about an hour ago...I'm sorry."

Carla collapsed into Miles. Tears ran down her face as she tried to smother herself into Miles' shoulder.

Miles also showed much sorrow in this news, maybe more than her. At that moment he had to be strong, for her. In all the sorrow he may have inadvertently caused her, he had to be strong....

The blanket swooshed through the air as Jessica removed it from the body of Pat Intellus. Miles looked down at the sight. Although it had been cleaned of much of the grime, it still had many scorch marks and other severe burns. To Miles, it looked peaceful and sad.

The latter emotion still flowing through Miles as he looked on. He said grimly, "Yeah, that's him."

"I'm sorry for your loss," she sympathetically said to Miles. It had been something she said many times before and always tried to show sympathy. In this case, which Miles showing much grief in his actions, that aspect was especially important.

Jeff stood at the doorway. He was letting Miles have his time before intervening.

Miles still had many questions, some escaped his lips, "I...why him? Why not me?" It was to himself. Intellectually, he knew he wasn't to blame. But some deep part in him said that Pat - as well as Annabelle - would be alive if he _did_ something different.

Jeff hear that in his voice and had to refute, "It wasn't you."

Miles, still staring at the body of Pat. "I know...but...I was given the choice. Yet...I couldn't get up. He was kind; still had much to look forward to. If I knew..."

"Don't," Jeff sharply interjected.

Miles turned to Jeff, outraged with the response. "Don't what! Don't blame myself!" He marched right up to Jeff. "How can you say something like that, when I am still have some responsibility: the choice I made cost him his life!"

Jeff stood vigilant, "My wife died, for the very technology I made. I can't ask that question, just as you shouldn't."

Miles was taken aback from this revelation, "Your wife...?"

"Yes, Kara," Jeff confessed. "She was killed by the very man I am after."

Miles walked away as though confused as what to do.

Jennifer watched as though a observer watching a play. She had seen much, arguments between officers and a victim's family were not entirely unusual. But an officer generally kept things from being personal; rarely revealing something about themselves. In that respect, Jeffrey Hunter was different.

Miles turned toward Jeff, asking, "Then why are you helping me? Shouldn't you chase after your killer?"

"It takes time, to find him," Jeff explained in a simple manner. "In the mean-while, I can not ignore your killer."

The law offices were high up in the office complex. The wooden walls showed the high-end design. For all intents and purposes, the office appeared to Jeff as a cliche, something born out of a movie. There was even a fish tank to the left side of the waiting area.

On the other side of the reception desk was two desks, empty sparing the computers. Jeff saw the one afar was occupied by a police officer. Hanover waited near the other computer. He approached the captain.

"I got your call. Did you get a warrant for all the office's files?"

"We have them for Minerva's files," Hanover replied.

"So you can look through all his files?" Jeff asked, not knowing what the laws would entail. However, he very much implied that they were going through confidential files.

"No.....Don't you watch television at all?"

"Let's say not really."

Hanover gave a strange look, "OK. We only have the names in the files. Everyone he's work with...and against."

"Oh. And I'm guessing you're running a background check on every one of them."

Hanover nodded. He gestured toward the opposite desk, "I went through half his files already. The lieutenant is almost finished himself. So far, nothing substantial. Three hits and all have confirmed alibis."

The Captain looked over his shoulder to the lieutenant to see if he would be done soon. It looked like the officer was still searching the files.

Turning back, Hanover took a whispering but very serious tone in his voice, "I thought I told you not to inform any relatives on the murders."

Jeff replied in kind, "You don't need to take all of the responsibility. I only did what was necessary."

"Necessary? How can that be necessary? Those people don't need just anyone to give them that kind of news!"

" _That kind of news!_ There is no good way to say that your wife was killed."

It seemed like a Freudian slip. Hanover took this information, thinking that Jeff may not be qualified to help him in this investigation. "Wife? You meant brother, the Intellus kid."

"No. I meant my wife," It was also a blunt way of Jeff to say go no further down that line of conversation. He had his reasons for doing this, and that should be the end of it. What Jeff wanted was to get back to the case at hand.

Luckily for him, the lieutenant yelled out, "Sir, I'm done here. Nothing looks unusual."

Hanover sighed, knowing that conversation had ended. He turned toward the lieutenant, "Who's your best bet then?"

The lieutenant thought a quick second before responding, "Well, he's a state over, so I didn't think he would be a likely suspect. But he does have plenty of motive, having lost a criminal case with two of our victims helping in defense."

"I guess we'll go down and see if he has an alibi. 'Rather follow something than put this on the back-burner."

Jeff spoke up, "I'd rather stay here and ask around."

Hanover looked at him, thinking it wasn't the best course of actions. But he was not in the mood to countermand him, "OK...I'll just warn you we already asked around."

"Well, I'd rather hear things for myself," Jeff said, continuing the confrontational tone.

Captain Hanover walked out of the office and towards the elevators, with the lieutenant in tow.

Jeff looked around, finding only the secretary behind her desk. He walked over and asked her, "Do you know anyone that has worked with Miles on any cases?"

She answered formally, "That would be Leroy Parkson. He's in his office right now. Two doors to the left."

She pointed down the hallway, which looked as sterile as the main room. Jeff nodded while saying, "Thanks."

Walking down the hall, it was brightly lit with all sorts of pictures and awards posted on the walls. The names on each door was gold plated. It wasn't difficult to find Leroy's office.

The door was mostly open, tilted so Jeff would easily see into it. Opening it further, Jeff found the lawyer at his desk. He was reading and shuffling through papers. The door creaked, alerting Leroy of the investigator's presence.

"Come in," he pleasantly invited. "I presume you're with the police."

Jeff walked in right to the desk, sitting in the chair. "More or less," he accurately answered, "I would like to ask some questions for myself."

"Anything. If it'll help get this guy, I will be an open book."

Jeff was very direct, "Did Miles have any problems with any clients."

Leroy laughed. "That could be said of anyone. Trust me when I say that its worse here than at a customer service phone center. If you lose a case, especially when defending, clients _will_ blame you."

"Is that why Miles left?"

Leroy shook his head, "Nah. If you couldn't take that, you wouldn't last two months, much less several years. Plus, we made sure every legal measure is in place to make sure we're safe against those bad apples," he turned grim, "Except in this case."

"As such, you wouldn't know anyone that would carry a grudge for several years."

"I wish I could help at that. After several insanity cases, I've found it might not take much to set some people off. But usually, those people are impulsive, not calculating."

Jeff thought for a second. He then decided to change the topic, if only slightly. "How about any of your other staff?"

Leroy was shocked at the accusation, "No! No, not at all. I'm not just saying that because they're my friends and coworkers. We all have worked together at some point or another. If you can't work with someone else, you can't really work in a competitive field like ours."

"Now you say this is 'competitive.' How about any other lawyers outside this office?"

"I can't say, but doubtful. Everyone else has to play the same game."

Jeff quickly thought about it. Then one idea came, "What about those who don't have to play by the same rules?"

"Being completely solo? Happens so often, but they always either drop out because they have no support or get absorbed by one firm or another."

That gave Jeff an idea. He got up, without facing Leroy he said to him, "Thank you."

The coroner's office was quiet until Jeff marched in. He had purpose and wasn't going to deviate from it. Going back behind the desk, he went straight to the cabinets along the wall. One after another he opened them, looking top to bottom for something very important.

Jessica walked in and immediately ditched her bloodied gloves. She had heard all the noise, curious as to what it was. She watched as Jeff opened yet another cabinet.

"Jeffrey!" she yelled, "What...are you looking for?"

Still searching, he answered, "I need some old phone books; the police station didn't have any."

Without a word, she walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. It was a silent indication that she knew exactly where it was. As he stopped looking, Jessica moved to the farthest cabinet. She revealed the books he was looking for.

"Which do you need?" she asked, presenting them to him.

"Anything older than two years."

She leaned down to grab one from the stack. Leaning back up, she turned to hand it over to Jeff."Can I ask why you need them?"

Jeff took the book, then took a seat from the side and set it next to her desk. While scrolling through the pages, he replied, "In speaking with one of the lawyers, I got an idea. What if it was another lawyer; one that got burned by something that Miles did?"

Jessica asked the logical question, "There's hundreds of lawyers, especially in a city like this. That..."

Jeff cut her off by responding, "I already asked that. The only lawyers, or former lawyers, that would be burned enough would be those who worked alone; who didn't know the entire social environment."

Jessica went though his line of thought, "So you're looking for someone who worked alone and worked against our victim at one point or another?"

"And likely is not in business anymore."

She turned around and snagged another phone book. Sitting at her own chair, she joined Jeff in the search. "I'd better help, this will take a while."

Jeff looked at her, reciprocating the gesture, "I appreciate it."

The two were still there several hours later. Jessica was looking uncomfortable, having to sit and search through the phone books and other files throughout the time. She pushed herself herself away from the desk. Her legs especially were in desperate need for a break.

Walking about, she stretched her muscles much in the same way an athlete would. Then a question about Jeff came to her, one that would be personal and she didn't know how he would respond. But at that moment, her need to ask was greater than the fear of pushing him away.

"You said that you lost your wife."

Jeff felt saddened by the comment, but answered anyway. "Yeah, less than two weeks ago."

"How you lose her?"

Jeff stopped looking through the phone book completely. "A car bomb; intended for me."

"Intended for you? Why?"

Jeff thought for a second on whether to do something or not. After deciding, he looked at Jessica, "Can you keep this in confidence?"

Showing trust in her manner, she replied, "Sure. Is this some deep dark secret?"

"Not really, just one that would make me look crazy." He let the silence sink in, expecting some kind of response. Without one, he continued, "I was a scientist; theoretical physics. Specifically worked on various dimensional theories."

She was confused, "What is that?"

"It's hard to explain in laymen terms. There's..." he rethought how exactly to explain the concept, "In my case, it was in exploring alternate realities: where everything's the same except some change. In more dramatic examples, it would be like if World War Two was lost. But I've found that kind of example are rare; most of the changes are very hard to locate, maybe even mundane."

Jessica showed much interest in the subject, "So...how does this research come into play?"

"I made a vehicle to travel between those worlds. Actually two were made - just one was made as a backup. Karns, the person that killed my wife, stole one and tried to kill me to prevent anyone from following him."

"So, why aren't you following him right now?"

Jeff shook his head, "Wish it was that easy. I can track him, but it can take several hours or days, especially if he hops across multiple worlds."

"In the mean time you help people out?" she rhetorically asked

But for Jeff, it wasn't as rhetorical as he would like, "I...don't know. I was just a block away from the explosion. Just like the last one..."

He was namelessly referring to Karl Finard, likely still in a coma. It was that failure that forced Jeff to halt the conversation, "We better get back to work."

Jessica saw the sore spot she had hit. Quietly she walked back to her seat and did just as Jeff suggested.

They had gone through the same routine for the next fifteen minutes: find a name and search the database for any connection to Miles.

Then Jeff thought of something, "Let's try something else. Get out last year's book."

She went to the same cabinet and handed the newer book to him. While he looked, she gave her own confession, "My father worked at this very morgue, doing the same work that I do. He was killed on duty.

"I didn't really look up to him; he was always working. Never did he see his own family. Yet...here I am. Strange how losing loved ones makes us, just naturally help those in need."

Jeff did not respond; did not appear to have heard. He just kept looking.

Then he found a name, "Here's someone I didn't see before. Look up Geroldo Ballard."

Jessica rotated her seat to face the computer. Entering the name for a search, she found an entry. "He had a business license for only six months; doesn't give an exact date."

"Was he in a case against Miles?"

Jessica clicked several times, looking through the file. It didn't take long before she found the section she needed. "Yes," she answered, "But Ballard won that case. However...he went up against that same firm two months later and lost. That was after Miles left. In fact, that case was the last one that Miles worked on."

Jeff pondered for a bit, then deciding, "Give me an address."

Jessica looked at Jeff, "You suspect something?"

"Yeah."

Jessica looked it up on the computer. "Fifty-four-forty-eight Ellison Avenue. It's in an old neighborhood."

Jeff got up and to the door. He was about to leave when he turned around to say, "Thanks, Jessica. You are probably right, that we are destined to help people."

Jeff opened the door to old, run-down home. From the outside, it looked small. Inside, that view was not betrayed. The single-floor, two room home was dark. Lights were out and the only window shaded. The door was barely a measure for security. As Jeff released the door handle, it fell off.

Being dark, Jeff had to use his glasses to look around. Its night vision revealed little in the cluttered living room. He saw a cot at the other side of the room, obvious that was where Ballard had slept.

Moving forward, Jeff kept scanning to see if there was anything that appeared important. He saw only one more room. Looking in, he saw a toilet.

But this wasn't a regular bathroom. A table was mounted above it. Moving further in, he saw that papers were stacked on the floor and all along the wall. Even though he couldn't read a thing, it was apparent this was the room that Ballard kept his obsession.

Above his head, he found the light. Pulling the metal string flashed the dim light on. Turning off his scan-glasses, Jeff saw who Ballard was really after.

On each of the news-clips, each of the document, it was Pat Intellus that was highlighted or circled. His name came up time and again. No one could go into this room and not see it.

"It was Pat he was after, not Miles...." Jeff said the revelation to himself.

Miles sat alone. His home was dark - reflecting how alone he was. It was a three room apartment in the city that was not far from the old office where he used to work. Jeff opened the curtain, seeing cars drive by a few floors below.

Having left the curtain partially open, Jeff stood in a shining light compared to the dark couch in which Miles resided. He stared forward, looking at the large television that reflected his image.

"I...don't understand," Miles said, " _He_ was the one that this...Geroldo wanted?

"Yes, that's what we found," Jeff matter-of-factually stated. "Thus far, we don't know why, which is why I'm here. I need to know about Pat."

"I can tell you he didn't come from the best place. He was a drug addict. Carla tried to hide it, even though she tried to help."

Jeff was curious, "Then how did he get into law?"

"Me and Carla were on a date one night," he reflected, "It was the first time I met him in person. He just came up and said, "I want to become a lawyer, I want to help people." I knew from there he wanted to move on with his life. After going through detox, I put him through six months of law school; just to put him through the basics. Then I had him hired as a paralegal; training him with real-world scenarios."

"What got him off the drugs and into this new career?"

Miles shook his head negative, "Never really asked. He never said; and if I tried to bring it up he immediately shook it off."

Jeff took this in, then moved on to the second phase of questioning. "Now, about Ballard. I saw that your last case was with him specifically."

"Yeah. He was starting out; I could tell that from the first sight of him. He was...unorthodox to say the least. Brilliant, yet unorthodox. Nearly got himself held in contempt a couple of times; but always got out of that the very next sentence he spoke."

"You speak highly of him?"

Miles thought about it, then answered, "In court, yes. Out of court I didn't speak to him a single word. For that case, he refused any negotiation what-so-ever. It was highly unusual for any lawyer to do."

"Why is that?"

That question got to the core of Miles' old interest, "For one, settling out of court is almost standard practice. It's too expensive for both parties to reach a final verdict. But even if you aren't intending on settling, it becomes a game; seeing what the opponent will do. I guess....he just saw that even approaching the idea of settling was a form of giving up."

"Explains why he was a defense lawyer. Was that case the reason you left the firm?"

That got Miles to move the other direction, remembering something unpleasant, "I guess so. I used to enjoy being a lawyer; playing a game. But that case...it turned too serious too quickly."

Miles laughed at his own comment, "Yeah, I can tell how that sounds, but in too many ways that what a debate felt like. But there...it was like someone brought a gun to a fencing match. What was graceful sparing now was serious and threatening."

Jeff nodded, confirming that he understood everything that Miles had just said. "Thank you. If you need me, call Jessica at the Coroners office; she'll have my number."

Jeff left the bright light into the shadows and walked toward the doorway. It had been cracked open, left as it was when Miles let Jeff in.

Without turning to face Jeff, Miles halted him, "Are you going to ask Carla those same questions?"

Jeff also did not turn to face Miles, "Should I?"

"No. She's taken too much already. I...can't let her feel more pain than she already has."

"Is that why you're here in the dark?"

Miles bluntly answered, "Yes."

Jeff turned to see Miles, but he did not reciprocate. "I might not know everything, but I think she would want you around. If you can't do that, try to find some way to let yourself."

Jeff left the house, letting Miles sit in the dark.

Jeff arrived at the floor of the law office, turning to the clear doors that were to his immediate left. It was now dark, with all the lights shut down sparing just a few. Those few did a lot, making everything visible, though the color was much different than his last visit.

Leroy hovered behind the glass and let Jeff inside. "Here's the files you requested," he said, clearly holding a thick bundle of papers. The several folders within the larger binder held all the papers associated with the lawsuit that Ballard last faced against the firm.

Taking the large folder, Jeff felt the heft of it. Rather than opening it, he said to Leroy, "Thanks. Anything you can tell me about it?"

Leroy shrugged, "I wasn't really involved all that much. Pat was the lead researcher on it, while Anna spoke in court."

Jeff said, mostly to himself, "Anna was involved, but why was Pat the target?"

Leroy responded to the thought, "I don't know. Pat was in the courtroom, as all lead researchers are. But he never spoke a word to the judge or jury."

Jeff looked back up to Leroy, "But he was seen talking to Anna?"

"It would've been inevitable."

Jeff began looking to the side, mostly out of a habit of visually exploring an environment. "I wonder if..."

He saw something. His glasses picked up a signal; another person was in the office.

Alert, Jeff asked the lawyer, "Is there anyone else in here?"

Leroy turned cautious and worried with the change in tone from Jeff. "No. I only stayed to let the secretary out."

Jeff pulled out his gun, handing back the folder to Leroy. "Stay here," he ordered, "If you hear anything, go down the stairs and call the police. Don't even look back for me."

Leroy nodded in confirmation. Showing much caution, he walked to the elevator. Though he tried to keep his calm, the nervousness still permeated outward.

Jeff held his gun downward, ready to fire if need be. Moving slowly, he approached the signal down the hallway. He passed by all the closed doors. Jeff could tell that there was a hallway in the back.

It was toward the end that he could see that there was plenty of cabinets and drawers lined along the wall. It appeared that although small, this was the area that the entire firm kept their files and other office utilities. Shifting to the right side, Jeff could see that the intruder had a drawer wide open. Fingers were still rifling through the papers.

Jeff took another slow step, then a very audible click sounded. Jeff looked down to to see a small length of fishing wire wrapped around his ankle. He didn't even feel it. Then an explosion of smoke covered the hallway.

Jeff coughed as it unexpectedly filled his lungs. Exerting the last of the smoke that he could exhaust, Jeff looked back up. The intruder had flew through some of the back-ways, places only a few staff were supposed to be in. Jeff dashed in pursuit, into a bright service hall.

There was still some workers that dodged to the side as Jeff ran by. Swinging around a corner, Jeff maneuvered around carts filled with dishes and other furniture. It was a winding path with some of the equipment placed randomly between the left and right sides of the hall.

Jeff rotated around another corner, this one to several elevators. One had just closed - but he knew that it was a decoy. He kept enough track of the signal to see that the intruder took the emergency exit only a few feet away. Jeff slammed that door open, seeing his opponent with his own eyes.

It was a skinny man, someone who had seen much better days in terms of health. The intruder had three floors lead on Jeff, going down the stairs. Luckily, Jeff was only a couple of floors below the top of this stairway.

He flicked his left wrist upward toward the ceiling. Bending his wrist, he flung the grappling beam to the ceiling. Leaping as straight down as possible, Jeff fell down the stairway. As soon as he was level with the intruder, he slowed his acceleration with the grappling beam. Aiming his gun, he yelled at Ballard to stop.

The intruder did just that. They looked at each other face to face. Jeff confirmed that it was Ballard. The villain was more sullen now than the newspaper photos portrayed.

At first, Ballard looked interested, looking up and down to inspect the grappling beam. Then, he smiled. In his hand was on a detonation switch; he clicked.

An explosion collapsed the ceiling above. Debris immediately fell onto top level set of stairs. Jeff quickly sunk away from Ballard, who calmly turned around to the nearest exit.

The beam dissipated, having lost its connection to a solid object. Jeff quickly reacted, seeing the floor come near much too quickly. He flung it to the side, not really aiming at anything in particular. It hit a wall. Jeff swung toward the same wall several floors below. As the beam crossed the stairs, it dissipated from the direct connection. Jeff fell hard onto the corner between the floor and wall.

He yelled out in pain, then rolled himself onto his knees. Looking up, he held his glasses to locate Ballard. There was too many dots, too many people between him and Ballard to identify. Some were running away from stairway and the explosion. A few were running to it, curious to what happened and see if anyone was hurt.

Either way, Jeff lost his man. "Damn."

Jeff walked out of the towering building. There was a large party that was also in the building, one that was for a fancy dance with everyone wearing designer dress. The police had arrived, along with firefighters and television media.

Captain Hanover walked right over to Jeff. He showed less concern and more frustration. "What happened, Hunter!" he demanded. His tone was very direct, with a hint of anger. For him, this was a disaster despite no one being hurt.

"Ballard was in there, looking for something," Jeff explained, trying to remain neutral in tone. "I suspect it was the file I that I got."

"And that?" He referred to the explosion, implying what Jeff had indirectly cause it.

"Ballard snuck in, but as you see came prepared if he needed to flee."

That didn't satisfy Hanover at all. "This isn't good, Hunter. If this guy was considered a terrorist before, he's now going to scare a lot more people. Especially those people we need to get information from."

Jeff saw the reporters, some had cameras that aimed directly at the chaos that Jeff was in the middle of. "You want to give those reporters something, then say he isn't a danger to the public."

Hanover looked at him curiously, "Why do you say that?"

"He could have killed me with that explosion, but didn't. Nor did he try to kill me with a trap he set. I think he's only going to kill who he considers his targets. The rest is just to distract us; just like he did with his stated M.O."

Hanover shook his head, frustrated. "I'm not sure if that's much to give the press; but hopefully it'll be something." His tone turned much more serious, "Now, stay out of trouble. We don't need anything else like this again."

That warning, bordering on threat, was a statement for Jeff to stay out of the case. Jeff knew that working with Hanover from this point on was out of the question. It didn't matter what he said or how much evidence was presented, Hanover wouldn't care.

Hanover marched toward the flashing cameras, intending to give a short statement. Jeff walked the opponent direction, intending to go elsewhere to find out where Ballard went. Then he heard a yell, "Mr. Hunter!"

It was Leroy, bumping and navigating out of the midst of other people. He ran right to Jeff. The folder was still in the lawyer's hands. It was previously neat and looked untouched; now some papers had stuck out.

"I went through some of the summaries, seeing if I can add anything for you," Leroy explained, "It looks like it was another case involving fraud."

"Does this firm have a lot of those?" Jeff asked, emphasizing Miles' last case which also involved fraud.

"The term is rather broad; especially when dealing with large corporations. Here, the defendant, Debra Vallor, was a part of a subsidiary company. Some of the charges were very serious among several other, more minor things."

"I'm going to take a guess he lost."

Leroy opened the folder, toward the back. While reading, he said, "Actually, no. It went to trial, but saw no verdict came down.....Here it is. It said that the defendant died. Our client dropped the case after that; apparently for public relations."

Jeff was shocked about the death, "Really, does it say how she died?"

"The news-clip we have here says she committed suicide."

While this was a break in the case, it wasn't a happy one. They both knew the weight of the tragedy.

"Good work," Jeff solemnly said, before quietly leaving.

Jessica was leaving the office, walking outside to where a lone car was sitting below a street light. A song randomly burst from her hip. She kept walking when she removed her phone from her pocket. She quickly looked at the number, recognizing it before answering. "Hey, Jeff. What can I do for you?"

Jeff stood in a alleyway. The crowd and flashing lights of the scene he just left was in the distance. Most of the alley was dark, silent, and lonely. That was precisely why Jeff was there; to be away from all the people and noise.

"Can you access any evidence on someone; a Debra Vallor?" Jeff asked over the phone.

Jessica arrived at her car, hovering around it without opening the door while she spoke with Jeff. "I wish I could. I only have access to case files and any evidence found directly on the bodies. Even then, all that goes to storage after a few weeks or when a case closes. Why don't you have Captain Hanover help you."

Jeff spoke frankly, "I don't think I'm on his good side at this moment. Isn't there anything you can look up on your computer?"

She sighed, "Not in this case. I remember that name and that was closed quite a while ago. My computers only have access to open cases that I am involved in."

"And you weren't involved in it."

She shook her head, as though Jeff was right there. "Sorry. You have to get someone at the station to open those up for you."

Jeff was disappointed, and didn't hide it, "Thanks anyway. Good night."

"Night," she said, much more emphatic than Jeff's polite goodbye.

She hung up the phone. She quickly switched it with her keys to open her car.

The rest of Ballard's home reflected the darkness of night. Only shapes could be seen in the darkness of the home, with much more hiding in that very same darkness.

There was only one bright room in the small house: the converted bathroom that was the focus of Ballards insanity. Jeff stood in the middle, all the news-clips and papers still hung on the walls. The police had only removed the papers that were loose on the floor.

Jeff stood staring at the clips. He was trying to figure out, "Why was Pat his focus?"

He had spent at least an hour there, wondering that very question. He had scanned the various clips, seeing all the highlights and other notes that were put onto them. Jeff tried to figure out a pattern. He was trying to get into the mind of his killer.

Jeff knew that despite having killed his "target," Ballard didn't flee; just the opposite. Using his all the detective skills he had to use for every failed experiment he participated in, Jeff tried to find out Ballard's motive.

He looked at one clip. It was of Ballard stating that his client was completely innocent. It wasn't a large clip; as though the news didn't care much about the subject. But the picture that carried with it showed Ballard alongside his client. The quote in it was very emotional, very much showing that he cared for Debra.

Jeff removed it, intending on looking at it closer. The article may have seemed minor, just as much as the many other clips. But sometimes it's those details that are the most important. He read it, just as he read several other similar ones.

Then he noticed part of Ballard's phrase in the article, "I wholly believe that my sister is completely innocent, that it is the plaintiff that is committing fraud!"

Jeff spoke to himself about the revelation, "It was his sister! That explains why he cares so much about this one case. But still....why Pat?"

He outright dropped the clip. Jeff continued to look around, this time towards a set of notes. He saw some circled and highlighted notes. These were very much shown to be important, so well highlighted that one could skip them as though they were a decoy.

Right in the middle of a note, was circled in red, "E-mail claiming cover up"

Jeff moved down, to one printed document, torn partial showing . He was reading it, then figured things out.

"Pat _won_ the case, and Ballard knew it."

Jeff drove in front of Carla's house. It was still the dead of night. But Jeff knew the immediacy of what he was after - presuming it was there. The car stopped right in front of the house, Jeff swiftly getting out without any care to even close the car door.

Just barely at the porch stairs, he saw the door open, purposely left ajar. It was announcement that someone had been, or was, in there.

Jeff pulled out his gun, then used his glasses to scan the house. His glasses showed that two people were standing on the second floor; very close to each other.

Jeff opened the door as quietly as possible. He kept his gun aiming forward, mostly to make sure no surprises would catch him off-guard. Walking straight forward, he climbed the stairs. His focus stayed on the target through the wall. He got to the top, aiming his body to his right. They were both in the bedroom.

But then, the bedroom door opened. Jeff stopped. Carla was being held with a gun to her head. She took two staggered steps forward, revealing her captor to be Ballard.

"Hello, Mr. Hunter."

Jeff kept his gun trained on Ballard.. It was a stand-off; one that Ballard had planned. Why was something Jeff wanted to know. However, that wasn't his primary concern at that moment,

"Carla, are you..."

Ballard interrupted him, "She won't be saying much. I told her that if she speaks a word...." The implication was clear.

"So you were waiting for me."

Ballard tilted his head to the side, "Not you, specifically. Actually, anyone who had reason to visit Ms. Intellus, especially at this time of night. You see, I'm looking for something."

Jeff knew. It was the same thing he was after. "A copy of the incriminating e-mail."

Ballard laughed, "You're just like him; that Patrick Intellus. Smart, but very misguided."

"Misguided as in doing his job?"

"Exactly! I found all too easily, lawyers only care about winning; not about the truth."

"What Pat found was the truth, Ballard."

Jeff took his left hand off the gun for a quick second, shifting his glasses.

"No! They only created their truth!" Ballard yelled out, proclaiming what he believed. "The one that killed my sister. That's why I have to find it, to make sure their lies don't become the truth."

He said it not as though he knew it was fact. His mind refused to believe that his sister did anything wrong.

"That's why you killed him and Annabelle Faris, to cover that up?" Jeff rhetorically asked.

Another laugh came from Ballard, one that showed Jeff made a mistake. "No. I wanted them both to know what I have gone through; what they caused. In truth, I didn't expect that man to stay in his seat. That wasn't what I saw in him."

"So this is to punish all who done your sister wrong. To make sure her "good" name isn't tarnished."

"And you aren't doing the same?"

"I don't care what your sister has or has not done," Jeff proclaimed for himself, "What I do care about is what you are doing in her name."

Jeff had located what he wanted. He quickly shot to the side into the wall. Steam shot out of the bullet-hole, hitting Ballard directly in the face. The villain released Carla to cover his severely burned face. Carla dove forward, intending to take cover behind Jeff.

Now staggering back, Ballard saw that his gun was now gone; fallen from his searing pain. Jeff was now pointing his gun at him.

"It's over, Ballard."

Without warning, a boom sounded below Jeff and Carla, collapsing the floor below. They fell into the garage and on top the car. After recovering, he looked over Carla.

"You alright?" he asked, concerned that she was hurt.

Carla nodded, "Yes."

Jeff looked up to see Ballard gone. Rolling off the car, Jeff ran to the garage door. Holding the latch, he pulled the garage door up. He ran outside to look for Ballard. He didn't see anyone or anything.

Deciding to search around the house, Jeff circled to the open fence. He found Ballard leaping from a tree that hung near a window. Pursuing him, Jeff ran to the back fence and tried to grasp the top. He tried to quickly pull himself up. But he was slow and had little experience in climbing fences.

As he hauled himself onto the top of the fence, Jeff found it was too late. A van had started and was driving away.

The red car drove with much intent across from Carla's home. It stopped just out of the police tape that had barricaded the house. Police officers of various rank toured through the nooks and crannies, searching for any piece of evidence. Jeff stood outside watching them. He had been forbidden from doing much else.

The lights from the vehicle shut off; daylight just dim enough to require them for driving. From out of the car came Miles, running right toward Jeff. There was a loose sense of deja-vu for the dimensional traveler. This time, it was Miles who came to comfort his girlfriend.

With little hesitation Miles asked, "Where's Carla?"

"She's inside, and is fine," he responded, trying to comfort the very worried man. "Shaken up, but otherwise fine."

Miles ran to the front door. He maneuvered around police officers that were scouting and protecting the area. Jeff more calmly followed. The officers didn't have to move for Jeff after being almost shoved over by Miles.

As soon as Jeff got inside, he saw Miles and Carla embracing on the couch. "I was stupid," Miles proclaimed to Carla. "I kept myself away, and left you alone..."

Carla cut him off. She was trying to stop that line from being spoken and imprinted into reality. "I'm fine, Miles."

Jeff took a few steps into the living room. The noise got the couple's attention.

"Thank you," Miles said to Jeff. "If it was anyone else..."

Jeff cut him off just the same as Carla, "You can thank me later, but right now I need to know something. Ballard was looking for a copy of an e-mail; one that would be presented to court. Do you have an idea where it would be?"

Miles turned serious, knowing the answer, "There's a storage facility. We kept all unused evidence in there. If there's a copy of that e-mail, it is in there."

"Good. Where is it? I need to get there..."

It was Miles this time that interrupted him. "You mean we. I'm coming along; it'll be faster that way."

Jeff warned, "Ballard may be there. He went through Anna's home right after he left here."

Miles stood up, remained firm in his decision. "I'm not going to stand back; not after this."

Jeff nodded in approval, "Alright. Just stay behind me."

He lead Miles toward the door. Before they could exit, Carla yelled, "Miles!"

They both stopped. Miles turned to her, expecting fear and concern. Instead, what he saw on her face was pride; that he found something he didn't have before.

She smiled, "My brother would be proud."

Miles was confused. He didn't get the entire reference. "Why do you say that?"

"He wanted to keep this secret. Pat wanted no pity from anyone," she explained, "One day he found a body. He didn't know who it was; didn't care. Next to it was a child; a crying child. Pat didn't go near, just watched until the police finally came.

"At that time, he only cared about himself; but never saw what pain others felt, until that day. He knew that it was those drugs that gave him pleasure delivered pain to others.

"That's why he wanted to go into law: to help people."

Miles took this to heart. He never knew any of this; but knew that no pity would have come if Pat told him this anyway. Now, he saw the look on Carla's face and wanted that to stay.

"Then I'll carry that obligation for him," Miles proclaimed, for himself and Pat.

The car stopped near the black metal gate. While large, this storage facility looked like it was just a standard one that anyone could use. The buildings were a single story tall and looked very plain to the naked eye. The gate was not even as tall as the buildings; only a few feet above a person's head. Anyone could tell that one could jump it if necessary.

Jeff got out of the drivers side with Miles following suit from the passenger's seat. Having stopped at the gate, Miles asked, "Why aren't we driving? It's on the other side of the property."

Jeff thought more strategically, "This guy has a perchance to use explosives. We better move cautiously."

Jeff stood at the gate while Miles put in the code in the nearby terminal. The gate barely opened when Jeff squeezed through. Removing his pistol, Jeff placed his hands on his glasses; scanning for anything suspicious.

"Where's your locker?" Jeff asked, going into a cautious combat mode.

Miles walked through the half-open gate, staying behind Jeff. "It's straight back, last building to the right," he pointed out the building with his finger. "The building and the room each have a different code." A thought came to Miles, "Do you think he would just try to blow himself in?"

Jeff moved slowly, looking around for any surprises. "It's a possibility," he said, not knowing the full answer. He wasn't sure if Ballard would destroy the entire room outright or be more systematic in his destruction.

They continued closer, moving too almost too slow for any comfort. Miles was tense, being almost helpless to anything that would happen.

Then Jeff saw a blip in the distance; not quite to their building but close. Jeff zoomed in, seeing Ballard. He was holding a container. It was aimed it at Jeff.

"Get down!"

Jeff pulled Miles down, just in time to avoid a makeshift missile. Behind them it was like a aerial mortar hit the gate.

While remaining prone, Jeff returned fire. Although his shots were all wide, they still forced Ballard into cover.

Jeff looked right at Miles. "I want you to go around and see if you can get inside. I'll keep him busy. If we don't get him here, you'll still be able to lure him out with that document."

Miles nodded in affirmation, "Right. I'll go left and around back."

"OK," Jeff readied himself, "Go!"

Jeff leapt up, rushing toward Ballard. Behind him, Miles ran to the left and out of fire.

Ballard turned to launch another volley, but Jeff fired in response. In dodging the bullets, Ballard dropped the makeshift missile. Jeff stopped. He holding to the side of the building next to him; not sure if the missile was aimed his direction or not.

The missile launched toward the other side. The explosion hit wall with a large boom. With threat neutralized, Jeff continued forward. He kept scanning the ground to make sure no traps were placed.

He saw Ballard run across to the next lane over, as he casually dropped a ball behind him. Jeff kicked the fallen weapon in the middle of his pursuit. Ballard looked back just as the ball was about to drop near him. He dove behind an angled wall as it exploded.

Jeff stood, gun aimed at Ballard's general direction. "It's too late, Ballard! The police know everything!"

Ballard didn't look back, "About what? That I killed those two? I don't care about that!"

Jeff moved toward the small alcove, gun trained. As he got view of him, the villain quickly turned to the wall. From the ground, a small ball flashed bright.

Jeff was caught blinded for a quick second. That was enough for Ballard, who knocked Jeff down with a swift punch.

As he recovered, he looked up to find Ballard towering over him. Jeff's chest was compressed by his enemy's foot.

"I fight for my sister's memory," Ballard proclaimed, then asked his opponent, "What about you, Mr. Hunter? What do you fight for?"

"I fight for myself!"

Ballard found this response curious. This was enough for Jeff to put down his card.

He launched the grappling beam out and latched onto the building. Using his main hand, he grabbed onto the very foot that Ballard was pressing him with. Jeff quickly and forcefully retracted the beam, pulling him to the building and Ballard onto the ground.

Jeff rolled over onto his knees. He looked up at Ballard, who was recovering from his own fall. Then he looked around for his gun, which was against the building across the pavement. Jeff quickly decided between the gun or Ballard. He chose the gun.

Jeff got up and ran to the gun, snagging it as quickly as he could. He looked back up to see Ballard running to the last building in the line: the building that Miles said was their building.

There was a device already latched onto door. Ballard put one more thing onto it; finishing what he was doing before Jeff dropped by. With that, he took a wired trigger, standing back to blow the lock off the door.

Ballard opened the door, to find Miles. He was holding a red-taped bat, swinging it right onto Ballards face. It knocked him down onto the ground. This time, it was Ballard who saw Jeff tower over him.

"You fight for yourself as well," Jeff said to the defeated man, "The difference between you and me, I realized that everyone else feels the same pain I do. I don't want anyone else, especially those I love, to feel that pain. You, on the other hand, caused it. That's why I fight: for the things I can not ignore anymore."

Episode 4

### A memory

Jeff walked down the street, lights illuminating the evening stroll. It was a warm summer night with a decent number of people also wandering the roadways. Jeff felt calm in this environment, though he couldn't identify exactly why. Probably the same reason he aimlessly strolled about.

Off the corner of his eye there was a couple coming up from behind. He slid over to the side to let them by. He was saddened in the memory of being with Kara on a street just like this one. He felt no ill or jealousy towards the couple, instead mentally giving a prayer for the strangers.

Looking around, Jeff thought he recognized some of the restaurants and other small businesses that laid across the sidewalk. He never paid much attention before, but the colors and other features looked similar to his own world.

He thought about it for a second, then gave a shrug. "Something familiar had to show up sometime," he said to himself.

A woman had passed him by as he pondered that question. Jeff continued his stroll behind her.

Then as the woman passed along a dark alleyway, a shadow popped out. He tugged at the purse that the woman had. She tried to pull it back, but the robber was too quick. He ran up the street just as soon as he got possession of the purse.

The sequence happened too quick for Jeff to interrupt. Running past the woman he chased the dark-cloaked robber.

The villain turned to the left and into another dark alley. Jeff rotated in pursuit, then saw the man aiming at him. He ducked behind the wall to avoid any gun fire. Two shots fired in his direction while he pulled his gun out. Then Jeff looked back down the alley to find the robber had continued his flight.

Jeff gave chase, rounding another corner into a bright street. He was far ahead, concentrating on running away while still brandishing the pistol. Deciding on a different tact, Jeff stopped to raise his gun. Taking only a second to aim, he fired.

The robber collapsed forward, having his leg wounded. The gun had flown out of his hand. He cried out in pain, then regained a bit of composure. He looked up and found his gun lying a couple of feet from him.

He reached for it, but his hand was stamped on by a foot. Jeff had his gun still aimed at him.

"I suggest you stay still," Jeff sternly said to the robber.

Then, a loud footstep came from the street. Jeff quickly reacted, aiming his weapon at the newcomer.

Then he saw it was a woman; someone he very much recognized. He softly lowered his weapon, with a surprised look on his face.

Her green eyes stared at him as she approached. "Kara?" he said in amazement.

Completely surprised by his appearance, she elatedly yelled, "Jeff!" She leaped onto Jeff in a hug, tears running down her face.

Jeff lifted his free hand to return the hug. But his face showed a sad realization: this was not his Kara.

Three years ago

Jeff and Brian were walking down that same street. The businesses were different, but much of the design was very similar. They had been conversing while they walked around. There was a moderate crowd surrounding them. Jeff didn't pay as much attention to them as to his friend.

Brian said to Jeff, "And you think that car companies won't put out hovercraft cars?"

It was a casual debate that Jeff often enjoyed conversing with Brian on.

"The problem is that as long as Washington subsidizes the technology rather than mandate it," Jeff responded, "The car companies won't have any real incentive to produce them. People, and moreover corporations, like stability. To keep things the same."

Brian moved onto a different subject, "Well, speaking of that: We're going to have to change come next month."

"Yeah, graduating with Masters. You hadn't heard from anyone yet?"

Brian shook his head, "I thought you would get something, Mr. Top-of-the-class."

Jeff laughed at the comment. "I've looked, but nothing for theoretical physics unless you got a brilliant idea."

Brian gave a short laugh at his own thought, "You rely on me too much."

"Well, I.." Jeff bumped into a woman. He looked down to see her sitting on the ground, hair had flown a bit over her face. It didn't hide the somewhat sly smile, as she appeared to take the fall in stride.

"I'm sorry," Jeff apologized.

He offered a hand. She took took it and he lifted her up. Giving a pleasant smile to him, she said, "I should be sorry, I was in too much of a hurry. Thank you, though."

They stood for a second before Jeff said, "Well, then I won't take anymore of your time. Have a good day."

"You too," she replied

She hurriedly walked away, while both Jeff and Brian watched her leave. When she was clear, Brian nudged Jeff, "You should have asked for her number."

Jeff shrugged, "She was in a hurry. Plus, knowing my luck, she probably already has a boyfriend."

"Well, in that case, come to the party tonight. I'm sure there'll be plenty of single women there."

Jeff shook his head in negative, "Nah. I got a few things to do at home anyways."

"Your loss...as always."

The two continued down the street. Jeff would later learn her name: Kara.

present day

Jeff released Kara and she got down from her embracing hug. They gave a good look at each other. Jeff held the sad truth in his eyes. Kara's expression changed from relief to confusion.

Worried, she asked him, "Jeff, what happened to..."

Jeff cut her off, showing just as much disappointment in his voice, "Kara, I'm not Jeff. Not the one you knew."

Confused, she said, "Then...who are you?"

"It's a little complicated. I'll explain after I take care of this." He was referring to the man he was still subduing with his foot.

Jeff snagged the purse from the man, who was still in pain from the heavy foot and wounded leg. He lowered his gaze to the leg, which had bleed through the pants. Using his glasses, Jeff scanned the leg. "Your leg will be fine," he stated to the robber, "I suggest you find a hospital and never try anything like that again."

The robber nodded. "Alright."

Jeff released his foot. The man got onto his good knee, and began to reach for his gun. When Jeff spoke, the robber paused. "And leave the gun."

The robber re-composed himself to going back all the way to a standing position. He then hobbled into the darkness.

Jeff now directed himself back to Kara. "I'll drop this off and meet you at home."

Kara was confused and wanted answers, but gave in, "Sure."

The two began to walk in separate directions. Then, Jeff remembered something and turned to ask Kara, "Just in case, our house is on Banson?"

Kara gave the same pleasant smile, "Yes, on Banson."

Both seemed to want to talk more, standing for a seemingly long second. But then both simultaneously decided to walk away.

Jeff walked toward the quiet house. It was the same, calm neighborhood that he knew. The entire experience put a sense of deja-vu, despite being only a month removed from it all. Even the tan house was exactly the same as his own world. "It looks exactly as I left it...

"If it was my house."

The intellectual part of himself had to be in the forefront. Otherwise he might have lost himself in an imaginary moment.

He walked to the house, and onto the front porch. His finger hovered inches away from the doorbell. Instead, he decided to try something else. He removed a small set of keys from his pocket. Shifting through them, he chose one key in particular. Pressing it into the doorknob, Jeff found it went all the way through.

"Even my keys work here," he observed. Turning the key, the door opened all too easily.

Entering the house, Jeff removed his key and quietly closed the door. He wandered in the dark hallway. The rest of the house was dark, spare one room. It was down the hall only a little bit: the living room was obviously occupied. Jeff slowly walked to it.

Passing through the main hallway, he saw that pictures were still lining the wall. The one that caught his eye was of his wedding day. He and Kara stood, posing for the camera; though the happiness that was displayed was real.

Leaving it, he turned the corner to find one lamp lit. Kara was sitting on a couch, waiting. She turned to look at him. "You have glasses. I didn't notice before."

"Oh, yeah," he said to himself. Jeff removed his glasses but held them in his hand. "That is part of the explanation I have. But first, do you know where your Jeff is?"

One could tell that the answer brought sorrow to Kara. "You...he died. Killed at the military base where he worked."

He knew all too well the pain she felt. "I'm sorry."

Kara saw that pain, and wanted to ask, but Jeff spoke just as Kara was about to ask.

"The work I did, at the military base, was top secret," Jeff explained, "For a reason. I was working on a way to traverse into alternate universes."

"Like that one Star Trek we watched together?"

A minor laugh came to Jeff's mouth. "Yeah. But it seems that your world and mine are more similar then they are apart."

Although it answered a lot, there was one particular question she needed to ask, "So, what happen to your...me?"

"My Kara died."

"Oh," She let that revelation hang. The two were quiet, Jeff standing while Kara sat. The silence was more discomforting than anything else.

So Jeff explained further, "Kara...my Kara, was killed by the mob boss, Nathaniel Karns. He stole one of the prototypes I was working on. And that's why I'm here."

"You think he's here?"

Jeff shook his head. "No, not anymore. It takes time for me to track him, and he probably jumped to a new world before I arrived." He had to ask about her situation, "But what about your Jeff?"

She was lost, not knowing exactly what to do. She answered, "I don't know. They won't tell me anything, not even how he died."

He offered, "Then I'll see. It's the least I can do."

Kara gave a smile to him, showing approval toward the offer. The words were of further kindness, "I could always tell that you were a kind person. Even when we first met."

Jeff returned the smile. "And I always envied that ability of yours."

They stood, and their smiles faded.

"I should head on out."

Kara stood up. "It's late," she said to him, "You can stay here."

"No, I can't." It showed in the look in his eyes.

Kara sighed, hoping for an escape of any measure.

Jeff turned, about to leave when Kara yelled, "Jeff!"

Turning back around, he looked right at her.

Kara began, "I...never got the chance to say this...to my Jeff at least. You remember when we first bumped into each other?"

Jeff laughed, remembering it clearly. "Very much."

Kara was very timid toward admitting, "Well...it wasn't an accident. I saw you and..."

Jeff smiled. "Yeah, I understand. Thanks."

With that good thought in mind, he walked out of the house. Though it wasn't entirely pleasant, the visit ended with that good thought.

Jeff stood within a hotel room. It wasn't much, with only beds and a table between them. He held his cell phone, the very one that he had from his own world. He didn't know if it would work or not as he turned it on. As the home screen came up, the small icon showed that it had a strong signal.

On the table was a phone book, with the white pages open. He didn't need to reference it as he dialed; he already knew the number. Though this was a different world, he needed to double-check everything for minor changes.

Putting the phone to his ear, he heard the phone ring. It was late night, so he didn't know if it would be answered or not. It took several rings, each couldn't come sooner. Then it finally answered,

"Hello?" said a very groggy man.

"Brian, this is Jeff." He knew that his name coming up would be a surprise.

Brian didn't betray that expectation. "Jeff Hunter?"

"I've heard that I was dead."

Being late at night didn't help Brian's comprehension. "Well...yeah..."

Jeff explained, "You know the project."

He heard Brian slap himself in the face. "You're not Jeff-Jeff"

"I wouldn't put it that way. But yeah, I'm not the Jeff you knew."

That revelation woke him up. "So....crap! It worked. The transport worked!"

"You didn't get that far here?"

"No," Brian exclaimed, "We were a few weeks from some final tests. The portal was formed, but we didn't test the Transports ability to go through yet."

Jeff trailed off to himself, "At least there's some differences..."

Brian didn't get the reference, "What?"

Jeff went back to the conversation on the phone, "Nothing. At least for you."

"So are you going to help us?"

Jeff solemnly answered, "No. I was calling to see if you heard anything about your Jeff's death."

Disappointed, Brian still answered the request. "Nothing. We haven't been able to get into the lab all week. I think the military is trying to keep as much of the investigation in house."

It wasn't the answers he was hoping for. Brian was generally good at hearing things. This was one of the cases that even he was out of the loop. Jeff gave a polite, "Thanks."

Brian interrupted the goodbye, "Before you go, you want to meet up, at a bar or something?"

Jeff though about it for a quick second, "I'll have to see about it. I'm not sure if I'll be around for long."

Brian gave a short laugh, "Your typical answer."

"I'll call if I need you."

"Sure. You should know how to call me."

Jeff said to himself, "Maybe."

He pressed the end-call button. With nothing gained, he sat down onto the bed. That was his best bet on starting his investigation. He couldn't go to the police...that would be an interesting and awkward situation.

There was one thing he could do, "I guess I'll go to where this began."

Jeff walked up to the gate. It was manned by one military-dressed security guard. The guard was still very alert, and immediately saw the approaching Jeff Hunter. The expression on his face showed the guard didn't recognize the scientist.

As Jeff got parallel with the guard post, the officer demanded, "Sir, can I see your I.D."

Jeff had a different idea. He said to the guard, "Actually, I don't think that would be a good idea."

Not even giving the argument a thought, the guard replied, "I can't let you enter for any reason unless I see your I.D."

"Can you contact Commander Elsworth? He'll vouch for me."

Military Guard though for a second, looking at Jeff. It was an unusual situation. He had to gauge whether the man standing in front of him was a threat or not. As he looked at him, the guard's memory started to kick in, "You do seem familiar..."

"Yeah, that's why I didn't want you to see my I.D," Jeff knew that the guard probably read newspapers or watched the news. Either way, he couldn't give his own presence away without even more questions being brought up; questions he didn't want to answer.

The guard went to the booth, deciding to refer to the Commander. He picked the phone and dialed a number.

Jeff yelled, "Tell him it involves the Dimensional Transport Project." He knew that the name wouldn't give away much, if anything. It would be enough for the Commander to identify him.

The guard kept his eye on Jeff throughout the phone call. The stare was less of suspicion than in keeping to procedure."Sir, I have someone at the gate who asked for you.

"He refused to give a name or I.D., but said to mention the...Dimensional Transport Project.

"All right, I'll do that."

The guard hung up the phone and again approached Jeff. He asked formally, "Do you have any weapons on you?"

Jeff silently acknowledged by removing his gun, and handing it to the guard by the barrel.

The guard went through his procedure, "I'm to escort you to the Commander's office and keep you there until he arrives."

Understanding the need for security, he acknowledged the procedure. The guard quickly went to the booth to press a few buttons that opened the gate. The two stood side-by-side, mostly so the guard would have an eye on Jeff, as they went into the facility.

The guard had waited the hour before Commander Elsworth arrived. He stood in the doorway, blocking the rest of the facility from Jeff. The scientist sat in a chair, placed right in front of the desk. He would have been standing, but the guard ordered otherwise.

Commander Elsworth stepped behind the guard, and looked at the visitor. "Holy shit." Elsworth turned to the guard. "You can go back to the gate."

The guard simply said, "Yes, sir." With no questions or requests, the guard left. It wasn't his place to do so, even with concerns over security.

Elsworth wandered around Jeff, studying him. He got behind his desk, still standing, before speaking. "Since you mentioned the project, I presume that you're not our Jeff Hunter."

Jeff bluntly answered, "No, I'm not."

"Well, it was a good thing you didn't a name back there. Even with him, it would have been considered a major leak.

"The question is now: why did you want me?"

Jeff was up-front in his request, "I'm looking into the death of your Jeff."

The military officer nodded. He knew that this Jeff didn't know that from a newspaper. "You visited Kara, then?"

"Yes," he answered, the acknowledged, "And before you ask, I did tell her about the project."

It wasn't the best news for the commander, but it was unavoidable. "Considering, you weren't wrong. It helps that the project is suspended at the moment."

"So, 'my death' was related to the project?"

Elsworth looked at Jeff. It was an interesting question, even if this Hunter was similar to is own. "You came here for information," he prodded.

Jeff nodded.

"Then you have to answer a few questions for me."

Jeff was a bit reserved at first, then said, "Fine, ask away."

"Is there anyone else with you, from your world?"

"No, I came alone. I'm actually chasing someone who stole the primary prototype." Jeff wondered what kind of response Elsworth would give.

He gave something unexpected, "I'll take a guess. Nathaniel Karns?"

It still surprised Jeff. Karns in his world stole the Transport right at completion. This world's Transport was not ready yet, so Karns shouldn't be interested in it. Yet the name came up. "He was involved here too?" Jeff had to ask.

"Right now, he's our main suspect. What happened on your side of thing?"

Jeff told the sad event, "Shortly before Karns took the prototype...

"He killed Kara."

Elsworth gave a look of sympathy. "I'm sorry." That bit of news prompted Elsworth to sit down.

It was an off-hand question, Elsworth asked, "So, if I asked you whether to continue the project or not..."

"I would," Jeff answered immediately.

It surprised the commander. "Really? Why?"

"I've seen a lot. Some of which was why you gave us a go for the project. These glasses, for example, were used by police and doctors. I still think the Transport can bring good things."

The answer seemed sound, "Fair enough."

With that bit of conversation done, he rifled through some papers. He took a set out and passed them to Jeff.

"Here's what we got thus far. Sparing the body and some bullet casings, nothing at the site has been disturbed."

Without even looking at the papers, Jeff asked, "Can you take me there?"

It wasn't much, so Elsworth answered, "Sure."

They both got up. Elsworth rounded around the desk, and Jeff followed him to the hallway.

It had only taken a few minutes for the two to arrive. Even though Elsworth led the way, Jeff recognized every hall they went down. He only had access to a limited part of the building, so that fact told him that this Karns was after the Transport.

The hallway was dark, but the lights still partly lit the way. It was enough to see the various markers investigators put down.

"It isn't far from the hanger," Elsworth explained, even though Jeff already knew it.

The area was roped around with the familiar yellow tape. All the evidence had been long removed, with each marker showing where they were at. One was larger than the others; Jeff guessed that was where this worlds...Jeff had laid.

Once again Jeff had tapped his glasses to begin his visual investigation. They didn't add much to his general scanning, but sometimes did pick up something his naked eye couldn't.

Elsworth stayed back as Jeff walked around the perimeter. "Since you're investigating this," He said to Jeff, "You might be recognized by people who aren't cleared. And I prefer.."

Jeff continued his visual survey while he responded, "Already done. I'll just say I'm a brother."

Elsworth shrugged, "You thought it through."

"Once I figured out what kind of world this is, yeah. Trouble is making sure everyone else knows my cover story."

Elsworth was about to respond, but then noticed that Jeff found something. The view of his glasses showed a set of shoe prints.

"It was a good thing that this is a lab environment," Jeff explained, "There's prints that would have gone away otherwise."

The commander found this curious, "We didn't find those before. Dirt prints?"

Jeff replied, "No, something different. I think a chemical print. Probably from someplace else on the base."

"Unfortunately, when Karns and his men charged in, they killed the cameras. We don't know where anyone was that night."

"Well, if he did it, he did it alone and from close range," Jeff surmised, "Karns probably killed me that night."

3 years ago

Jeff was within his old apartment. Sparsely decorated, everything was placed in a practical manner. It was small, with only a single room to it beyond the bathroom. Even the small kitchen was more or less part of the same room.

All he did this night was wonder around. Something had come to mind earlier, but he couldn't quiet complete it. This incomplete idea had kept him up and pacing.

He decided to sit down at the computer desk, facing away from the monitor. At this point, the computer wouldn't help at all. Jeff just needed to figure out one last problem with this thought. Swinging his seat around to face the desk, Jeff grabbed a large pad of paper. As he swung back around, he snagged a pen off the desk.

He wrote down a short scientific equation, then another one below, and one last one below that. Visualizing it on paper was working much better than just in his head. He looked the entire thing for a second, then scratched out something in the middle equation, correcting it with something slightly different.

"That's it."

Jeff was more than satisfied. He knew he found something important.

He dived to the other side of the room and picked up the cell phone. Quickly going through list of contacts, he clicked the dial button.

Putting the phone to his ear, he heard it ring a few times. When it was answered, he could hear music booming through. He could barely hear Brian answer, "Jeff! Wondering where I am?"

He was in a bar, very crowded by the sound of it. This was Brian's typical Saturday night activity. It seemed like one of Brian's life goals was to get him into a party, bar, anywhere that Jeff just wasn't interested in going.

So Jeff ignored the question, "Actually, I think I have some good news. You know that fifth dimensional theoretical computation that was theorized."

Brian wasn't entirely sober, "I...think so. You may have to simplify it for me right now. I had a few."

So Jeff did just that, "I think I found how to travel between alternate realities."

"That's great!"

Jeff heard a higher-pitched voice in the background. He couldn't tell what she was saying, but he could tell it was directed at Brian. "Jeff, I'll talk to you later."

He knew what the situation was. "You're trying to hook up, aren't you?"

"Very much so. Later."

"Later, Brian."

Jeff placed the phone back down, and returned to his desk. He sat there, thinking how to further perfect his theories.

Present day

Jeff went back into Elsworth's office. Although it was morning, no one would tell by the lack of windows. The commander had used his chair to get the rest of the night's rest. The knock that Jeff gave woke the man up. It somewhat embarrassed the commander, but Jeff gave no indication that he should be. After all, he was in similar situations in his dimensional travels.

Swinging upward, he asked Jeff, "You have anything?"

"Nothing more than those chemical prints. Tried to find out what it was, but a dozen possibilities remain. Being they're from an equal number of rooms, I can't rule anything based on it."

"So that leaves Karns as our main suspect."

"Or one of his two men that remain. We need the gun for definite proof."

Elsworth nodded. He knew what needed to be done, "Then I think you should hook up with Captain Allen at the police station."

"The police are in on this? You usually would keep everything in house."

The commander gave a shrug, "Had to. If there's one thing we have to be, it's efficient. I decided that the man-power to have one of our investigators catch up on the Karns investigation would take too much time."

"A _current_ investigation on Karns?" Jeff asked.

It was another thing that he couldn't answer. "You'll have to ask the Captain on the details."

"And what about the leak. Being the Transport was a top secret project, how did Karns learn of it."

"Well, that where you come in. I was planning on sending someone over as a liaison, but you seem to be a better suit. If the Captain needs to do a raid, call me."

"Right," Jeff confirmed.

Jeff was about to leave when Elsworth gave one more piece of advice, "Jeff, don't tell anyone about the project unless absolutely necessary."

Jeff smiled, "I wouldn't have expected anything else."

The police station was full of officers running around, making calls and doing other tasks. There was one officer on the phone, Captain Allen, who had a bigger desk then most of the other officers. He just ended the phone call as Jeff approached and held out a hand in greeting.

"Captain, I'm Steve Hunter, the liaison from Ousters Military Base."

Allen returned the handshake. "Steve Hunter, related to the guy that died?"

"Yes, very much so." He had to faint some grief, drawing from the loss of his own Kara.

"And the commander there didn't think this would inherently be a conflict of interest?"

"He had confidence that won't happen. Actually, he sent me for my....expertise in the matter."

Allen didn't like that Jeff was being coy, but knew that element came with the territory. "Well, just in case, you have to follow me on this. I want to nail this son of a bitch."

Allen began to walk toward the front of the office, and toward the exit of the station. Jeff stayed along in tow.

"How long have you been on this investigation?" Jeff asked, trying to catch up on the investigation.

"Months. After Karns got out of jail from the last fraud charge, I never doubted that he would try something."

"Considering his reputation, I'm not surprised." He knew Karns reputation more now that he was chasing him. Before, the man was an often used name in newscasts, usually in press conferences. The man was admittedly smart, avoiding prosecution and long sentences.

Allen continued the conversation on his target, "He's been lucky thus far, having lackeys take the fall."

"I guess you're not one to take pawns with the king in sight."

"That's exactly it."

They got to the front of the office when another officer approached them. Both Jeff and Allen turned towards the newcomer. "Sir, we found a truck," the officer informed the Captain, "It was ditched on Aurora."

"All right, we'll be right there." He turned back to Jeff, ordering, "I'll drive."

The van was on the side of a road far outside the city. It was along a quiet plains where development was very limited. There was one other police car already there, with its lights on but not blocking the road.

Allen's car drove past and parked on the other side of the van from the police car. The two doors opened at the same time, with Jeff coming out of the passenger side. The captain reached back into the car and removed a small box.

They walked over to the open van, where the waiting officer looked around the area. Jeff paid more attention to the van, whereas Allen went to the officer for an update.

The officer began without being asked, "I did a quick search. Didn't find much, except some papers from that Ousters job.

That peaked Jeff's interest. From the other side of the van, he yelled, "Did you read those papers?"

"Only a little bit before I found that they were top secret. It was all a bit on the scientific mumbo-jumbo side."

Allen nodded, "All right. Keep a look out and we'll see if we can find anything more."

The officer formally responded, "Yes, sir." He wandered off, taking a semi-patrol around the vehicle.

Allen moved to the open front, driver-side door of the van, and set the box onto the seat. Opening it, he took out the fingerprint dusting kit and started dusting the wheel.

Jeff, already inside, moved to the back seat and found the papers scattered on the seat and floor. He picked one up, recognizing it immediately. "Yup, these were the papers that were missing."

Allen was more methodical in his investigation, checking for prints in the likely places like the steering wheel. "Care to let me in on what they were trying to steal?"

"Nope."

Allen gave a single-exhale laugh. "Typical of the military."

Underneath one paper, Jeff found a small black box. Opening it, he found a bracelet. It wasn't just like the one he gave to Kara, it was exactly the one. It had the same ruby and sapphire jewels. He removed his own, scared bracelet and held them side-by-side. They were exactly the same.

This was a curious thing. It might have been one of Karns' lackeys that took it, or Karns himself. Others about this world in general, like the time-line of events. Jeff bought the bracelet only a few days his and Kara's anniversary. Was that the case here? Did they marry on a different date?

"Got something?" Allens asked.

Jeff closed the box and replaced his own bracelet. "No," he replied, setting the box aside. If it was important, he would retrieve it later.

Jeff continued looking around the papers. It didn't take long before he found a little blood on one paper. "There's some blood on one of these," he announced to Allen, "Probably from a paper cut."

"Any chance for DNA?" Allen asked, not even looking up to see the paper.

"Possibly. It still has a small bit of moisture to it."

That was a curious find. "This car was found only fifteen minutes ago," Allen stated, "Blood doesn't take that long to dry. So, if it's been a week, why would they only look and ditch this van so suddenly?"

"The papers might just be a curiosity. As for the van..." Jeff leaned out of the van, calling out, "Officer!"

There was no response. Jeff doubted that he was far away, so his absence was curious. Going out through the sliding doorway, Jeff moved out of the van. Going across the back, he headed toward the other officer's car.

Around the van, he saw the body. The officer had been shot in the head without any warning.

Jeff yelled at Allen, "Get down!"

He dove behind the van. Several bullets penetrated the van, missing Jeff if only by luck. Inside, Allen got low, also having avoided penetrating shots. He slid out of the van, and quickly got behind next to Jeff.

Jeff quickly leaned out, to get a view. He held his hand on his glasses. He quickly scanned to the right, then leaned further to scan leftward. There, two dots appeared. Numbers next to them showed that they were 200 feet away, low to the grass.

"I see two of them," he informed the captain, "Probably using sniper rifles."

"So this was a trap," Allen surmised.

"It at least turned out to be one."

Jeff looked around, checking the view to see if there was anymore enemies. There weren't any that the glasses could identify. That meant he could do something.

"I have an idea. They're low in the grass, straight forward. If you can get their attention, I might be able to do something."

Allen nodded, readying his side-arm, "All right, I'll go to the car. If they're using sniper rifles, you'd be out of sight."

Jeff nodded. "Then on your mark."

Allen readied himself, gun raised. With a quick breath, he dashed up and to the police vehicle. He fired several shots over to about where the two henchmen were.

While the sniper tracked Allen, he saw that he aimed his pistol at them. He was about to pull the trigger when one shot hit the ground just in front of him. "Dang, when he see us?"

The other henchman was next to him, also lying prone. He didn't have anything but his bare eyes to see the action with. "I told you that we should have set up farther back."

"And _you_ can make these shots any better? I don't think so. Heck, if it wasn't for you, we would have just brought handguns with us."

"Hey, who dropped the gas can! We would have this thing scorched!"

The henchman was finished with the argument. "Oh, shut it! Let me make this shot."

The first henchman set his eyes back to the sniper scope. He laid there on his belly, slowing his breath, waiting for his opportunity.

"Hold it!" The two gunmen lean up and turn around to see Jeff behind them, holding his gun to them.

They both held their hands upward, feigning defeat. Then the henchman grabbed his sniper rifle. Jeff fires his gun to the side of him. The other henchman dove at Jeff, knocking both of them down.

The two rolled on the ground, trying to gain the upper-hand. The gun was flailed out to somewhere in the grass. Without a weapon, Jeff punched at his foe. The henchman blocked it, retaliating with a head-butt. This left Jeff's forehead bloody, but otherwise he was fine.

Pushing the henchman away, the two disengaged from each other and rolled to a crouching position. The other henchman took this opportunity to grab the sniper rifle and had it aimed at Jeff.

Then the loud bang of gunfire erupted; the henchmen was hit through the heart. The dead body collapsed onto the ground, while his partner watched.

Allen had his gun raised, now set on the second henchman. He was still kneeling, holding what was Jeff's gun. He looked at Allen, then Jeff; thinking what to do.

The henchman dropped it. He then raised his arms in defeat, knowing that the odds were against him.

Allan rotated around him, taking out a pair of handcuffs, while Jeff retrieved his gun. Once Allen was at the henchman's back, he took one arm down, then the other to handcuff him.

He looked back up to Jeff, "Let's head to the precinct for some answers."

Three years ago

Jeff was briskly walking with a huge pile of papers in hand. He mumbled to himself, flicking through the different papers. For him, everything had to be correct for the meeting that he was going to.

Looking up, he checked the street sign. Shifting his head a bit to both sides, he played with two different routes he could take. He decided to turn right along that road. With that decision made, he went back to shuffling the papers.

Then he ran into a wall.

Looking up, he didn't actually walk right into a wall, but into a woman. He had accidentally knocked both Kara and himself down.

"Sorry."

Kara looked up to see him. She saw a stack of papers had fallen near her. She grabbed it and handed it to him. "That's fine. I do that too often."

Jeff took the papers and set it along with the rest of his stack. The two got up and looked at each other.

Then Kara recognized him. "Wait, didn't I bump into you a few weeks ago."

Jeff was a bit flustered over it, but he too remembered it. "Yeah, that was me. I guess I pay too much attention to what I'm doing than where I'm going."

Kara gave a short laugh at the notion, "Then you're in a hurry for something right now?"

"Not really, I'm just making a business proposal."

"To whom?"

He thought about what to answer, then decided, "I can't really say."

That disappointed Kara. "Oh, OK."

The two stood there, quiet; expecting the other to say something to continue the conversation. Eventually, Jeff said, "I'd better get going."

She cheerfully said, "Good luck!"

Jeff once again walked to his destination, leaving Kara behind.

Present day

The room was bright, the lone lamp above searing the metal table below. The captured henchman sat, defeated. His mood very much showed that defeat.

Jeff stood in the corner, while Allen stood over the prisoner on the other side of the table. "What was in the van?" The tone that Allen put was very demanding.

The henchman gave an honest, though nervous, answer, "Just papers, I didn't even look."

"Who did look?"

"I dunno; the boss I think."

Jeff spoke up, "You're referring to Karns?" He was much more calm, keeping his insistence to a more subtle tone. Both he and Allen had already knew the answer, but had to confirm the fact anyway.

The captive nodded, "Yeah." He then shook his head, saying to himself, "I'm so dead just for saying that."

Jeff had to ask, "Why work for him, with _that_ over your head?"

The henchman's mood turned more energetic, but still had the depression of before. "He wasn't like other bosses. He was...fair. You didn't get punished unless you fucked up."

Allen took his turn to speak up, "And you did just that."

"No. He's offing us now!" the henchman proclaimed, "It's like a clean slate. I don't know what it was, but it started after that job. I just hoped to get on his good side."

Allen walked to the door, waving to Jeff to follow. They quietly exited the room and closed the door behind them.

Once outside, Jeff faced Allen for the conversation, "We might not get much more from him. He's just babbling because he has nothing else."

Allen looked over toward the door, toward the henchman for a quick second. "Yeah, I got that as well. I'm a little afraid of that "clean slate" comment. Do you have an idea what Karns was after."

Once again, Jeff had to respond with, "I can't say." This time, he very much inferred he knew the secret, since he very much knew what Karns was after.

Allen didn't like that. "I thought so. I had done some digging, found no "brother" to Jeffrey Hunter. Who the heck are you then?"

This was something that Jeff was afraid of. "You wouldn't believe me."

"Well, I'm entitled to something. It's very suspicious to have the military send some guy that looks exactly like a dead person. One that I know is dead."

Jeff sighed, knowing that he had to reveal something. "It'll be a little complicated, so it's better..."

"One of my best guys is dead! So forgive me when I saw screw that! What was Hunter working on? I doubt cloning, since he wasn't a biologist. Unless it..."

Jeff stopped him, "If you're going to speculate that much, I might as well tell you. Just remember, this is considered a military secret, and you have to treat it as such."

Allen nodded, knowing that it was a reasonable request. "All right, what is it?"

"I'm from an alternate universe."

Allen knew exactly what Jeff talked about. "A parallel world that's similar to ours, just that for some reason you lived while our Jeffrey Hunter died."

Jeff was a bit surprised by how well he grasped the concept. "Exactly. How did you..."

Allen smirked, "I read a lot of science articles, as well as plenty of sci-fi. I take it goes along the lines of string theory."

Jeff wasn't comfortable putting it in those terms. "Not exactly, though that is a decent description of it."

Allen had to get back to business, "So that is what Karns was after."

"Yes. In my world, he succeeded. In this one, for some reason he didn't."

"He tried to kill you there too?"

That was the hardest part of admitting Jeff's situation. "Yes....instead he got Kara."

The captain saw the pain in the traveler's eyes. "Sorry. I'm sure this has to be a bit awkward."

"A little," Jeff admitted, "But let's get back to work."

Allen shrugged. "Well, unfortunately we can't do anything for a little while. What we're going to do is find out where this guy has gone. In the meanwhile, I was going to take a break, and you should too."

"I've only been at this for four hours. I think..."

The officer had to interrupt him, "Trust me, take this time off. Once we get something on Karns, we won't stop for a long while. At least I won't. So when that happens, we'll call you. Just grab a phone from the clerk."

Jeff sighed. He wanted to continue, but Allen had a point. "Alright. I'll try to stay close."

Jeff strolled slowly on the sidewalk. He was passing by Kara's studio, not expecting anyone there. It was in part for a need of nostalgia, and in part because he didn't know when he would be able to see it again.

He looked inside to find that Kara was inside. Expressing surprise that Kara was dancing, he couldn't but help to lull himself too deep into that sense of nostalgia. He saw her - just as she was the day that fateful day.

He looked down with that last day in mind. Jeff couldn't help but see Kara, and feel sadness.

But then a thought hit him. Kara, the Kara that was inside, was probably also going through the same thing. Even though it wasn't the Kara he knew, and wanted, he had to go in and see if he could somehow help her. If it was only a little bit, that would be enough.

He walked through the door, triggering the familiar ring. Kara abruptly stopped her practice. At first, she showed enthusiasm, as though it was just like her Jeff had entered. But then she remembered who it actually was. It saddened her. As with Jeff, the knowledge of the tragedy before her couldn't help but enter her mind.

"I just saw you while passing by," he explained.

Kara composed herself the best she could. "I...just wanted to get my mind off everything...that has happened."

Jeff nodded, "I understand. I have those moments as well. And..."

Kara blurted out, as though she was afraid to say it but needed to anyway. "Is that why you left your world? To get away?"

Jeff stood there, thinking about it. He looked through his feelings, and knew, "No, I think it was the opposite. If I wanted to escape, I would have just gone back to work; away from everyone. I'd go back to who I was, before I met you.

"Thinking about it, I wish I didn't do as much work, back then. I should have..."

"No you shouldn't." She practically yelled it. Kara cried, tears of both remorse and happiness. "I loved that about you; your passion. I didn't care that you were at work all the time, because you loved it.

"I didn't have that passion. Didn't....."

Jeff took a few slow steps, then embraced Kara. While it was her, the embrace wasn't with his wife; it was with what might be a friend. A grieving friend in which he was going through the exact same thing.

"I needed you..." Kara whispered.

...He was going through the exact same thing.

Jeff walked into the small apartment. It was a clean, average apartment; one that no one would have expected from a criminal henchman. There was no clutter lying around. Only some personal nick-nacks lay on a bookshelf - one that contained no books.

Looking around, Jeff noticed that there was one subtle commonality: the place wasn't settled in. The resident could have packed up in a few hours and leave to any destination.

"You wanted me to see something?"

Allen was holding a cell phone. He was going through more of the numbers. It had been only an hour since he had called Jeff. "Yeah...that was then. There was several calls made to this phone; came up as random numbers that had no names to them."

"You guessed they were Karns."

"Can't confirm it though. Actually, we can't even confirm anything about these numbers." Allen quit looking through the phone. Now he faced Jeff, giving him the bad news.

"Our dead perp had calls received by a completely anonymous person. The tech guys think that Karns didn't use a normal phone," Allen explained to Jeff. "Instead, it was through an Internet connection. He went through several techniques, most that I don't understand, to make sure that each call was anonymous."

Jeff nodded. But then a thought came to him. "Can you hand me the phone?"

Allen gave him the phone. Jeff shuffled through the numbers, each with no name to them. Jeff was going through each number as they came in, looking at the times that they came in.

Jeff pulled out his own cell phone. He quickly pressed a few buttons to dial up a number, then held the phone to his ear.

The answer came from Elsworth, "Hello?"

"This is Jeff."

Elsnworth was interested, "Jeff, have you found anything?"

"Possibly. I needed to confirm something. What time was Karns in the facility?"

The commander gave his answer very quickly, "Specifically, it was eleven forty-three, and he exited at twelve twenty-two. I had to memorize every detail of that night. You...the other Jeff, was found exactly an hour later. What do you need this for?"

"We got two of his guys;...one dead. But I think we may have something from him."

"If you need to, give me a call and I can give you as much support you'll need."

Jeff had to admit, "That may happen..."

Without a goodbye, Jeff hung up the phone. Returning to the dead man's cell phone, he found one entry that was late in Karns' operation.

"You know quite a bit of science fiction, but I know quite a bit on computer science," Jeff said to Allen, "Karns used his phone late in his raid."

The officer was a bit confused to where Jeff was going, "How would that help?"

Jeff walked around to find a phone book. Opening it, he looked for an entry for Internet Service Providers. While he talked, he called that company.

"Anonymous can work only if you're looking from afar. If you know where they connected..."

Jeff continued, "You can figure out who they are based on that connection. But wouldn't you have to..."

Jeff kept the officer silent with a raise of his finger. He spoke into his cell phone, "Can you get me someone who can look at records of Wi-Max router connections?

"Yeah, the warrant that I have covers both any connections to or from the phone that was called. We just need a number or IP address.

"I'll hold."

Jeff turned back to Allen. "I know exactly what Karns connected to. There's only one outside Internet connection within five miles of the military facility; hopefully no one else was on as well."

The person on the phone talked to Jeff, notifying him that he was ready. "OK, I need to know a phone number or IP address for any connections made at twelve-fifteen two days ago.

"There's just one? Just a second..."

Jeff took looked around for a pad of paper and pencil, which he found near the land-line phone. "Ready." Jeff wrote down a series of numbers for an IP address. With that finished, he ended with a simple, "Thank you."

Jeff hung up the phone, readying himself to leave. "Let's go find Karns."

Allen, enjoying the major break in the case, followed Jeff out of the room.

Allen's car pulled up to a marked property that was far outside the city. There was one building set on what otherwise looked like an old farm. The entire area was disguised further with overgrown with large weeds and other various plants. There was one path to it: a graveled road that had a metal bar that acted as the barrier.

Not far behind them came two other police vehicles along with a SWAT van. No matter how covert they acted, anyone could have noticed them. Luckily they were a good ways from the buildings.

Allen and Jeff got out of the front car. The police officer looked around, trying to see if there was anyone that was going to take pot-shots at them like before. Jeff looked directly at the building while holding the rim of his glasses.

From his view, he could see many red dots - many people were inside.

"Can you tell if he's in there?" Allen asked.

"Unfortunately not, but this is the place. However, the IP connection hasn't moved in the past two hours. Considering all the electrical signals I see in there, this definitely is the place."

Allen turned around to face the two vehicles that had followed. He gave a confirmational nod to them. Two officers came out of the smaller car, while the van opened in the rear. A dozen heavily armed SWAT officers came out and lined up next to Jeff and Allen.

Allen faced the building. Without facing Jeff, he asked, "Will your Army guys be here?"

Jeff replied in a similar fashion, "They will. If nothing else, they are reliable."

Allen removed his pistol, with Jeff followed suit.

"Then let's get him." Allen announced.

The small door exploded into an open position. A couple of SWAT officers ran through first, aiming their rifles at different directions. Jeff and Allen walked in right after, taking a similar attitude of making sure that they had all angles covered.

The room was empty, blatantly disguised as a waiting room. The chairs were unorganized. It was as though the last people who used them did not reorganize anything.

Jeff moved to the back, where two bookcases were placed separately on the wall. Using his glasses, he scanned both of them. The lenses revealed electrical signals behind both bookcases, as though both had doors.

He turned to whisper to the others, "There's something behind both these bookcases. I wouldn't be surprised if one was booby-trapped."

Allen was the first to speak up, "Can you tell which is safe?"

Jeff used his glasses, moving closer to see if he could somehow see details of what was giving off those signals. However, the vision was too fuzzy; one could see a basic shape but nothing else.

He stood back, trying to think of how to get past this obstacle. Then he got an idea. He switched his glasses to the infrared mode. He saw heat signatures of people behind the right-hand bookcase.

Pointing it out, he said, "That's my best bet."

Two SWAT officers moved to each side of the bookcase. They moved it just so then the metal door was visible. Then another officer came from the back and examined the door. After a short look, he waved for everyone to get back.

From one of his waist mounted his pocket he took out a small box. The box was placed onto the door hinge, then the SWAT officer ran back. In the middle of his run, he grabbed the detonator from another pocket. Once he was at the entrance, the red button was pressed.

A loud bang echoed in the room. The SWAT officers swiftly walked to the door and entered.

That is where the firefight began. Shots were fired from the SWAT and unseen enemies. The first two slowly proceeded, gaining ground for the ones behind them. Jeff and Allen were the next ones in, both diving toward pillars; the best cover that they had.

Jeff immediately saw that gunfire came from slits in the metal panels. It was obvious that Karns set up barriers for just this situation.

More SWAT came in, all trying to find cover. The first two were shot in the chest; only one was able to shrug it off. The other clutched the wound, trying his best to stay in the fight.

One SWAT officer yelled out, "Flashbang!"

Jeff knew those words. He turned the other way and shut his eyes. The clank of a grenade fell in front of one metal barrier, then a flash lit everything around it.

The gunfire continued, although it seemed to be less numerous than before. Some of the SWAT officers moved around, trying to position themselves to get around the barriers. Unfortunately, they had to retreat when more bullets responded to their movement.

Jeff took out his cell phone and began typing.

Allen noticed this, "What are you doing?"

"Calling in the calvary."

He pressed the send button then waited. Gunfire continued to suppress the SWAT team behind the pillars.

Then a large boom rattled the ground. The gunfire stopped, as all the guards were now curious as what that boom was. The SWAT team had the same feeling. Another boom came, now causing a part of the upper wall to explode. It exposed daylight to the large room.

One of the enemy guards yelled, "Shit! They have a tank!"

Jeff dove out of his cover, quickly running across the large expanse. With the guards distracted with the military, he was able to get behind the first metal barrier. Other SWAT officers followed, moving behind the four barriers and surrounding the guards.

From the back of the facility, several doors opened. People poured out, fleeing from the inevitable defeat. Jeff didn't bother to count the number beyond guessing it was a few dozen. There was one side door that they funneled into. A few of the men and women had their guns out and were firing at the SWAT teams.

Other SWAT officers had moved into the crowd, as more and more of the fleeing mob fell to return fire. With less gunfire coming out, they attempted to keep as much of the mob from fleeing.

Allen spotted Karns. He was attempting to blend into the small crowd, but not holding any weapon that would make him stand out.

Allen ran across to the other side of the large room, then towards the back. One of the henchmen in front of Karns noticed him and fired his weapon clumsily. The police officer quickly shot the man in the head, exposing Karns.

Karns saw Allen, having a gun pointed in his direction. "Nathaniel Karns, put your hands up!"

Now the SWAT was moving forward. Karns took stock of his chances of running. He looked at the two SWAT officers that was nearing; one had blood on his shirt from a previous wound.

Karns raised his hands behind his head, knowing that it was over for him.

All the gunfire had ended. Jeff was helping one of the SWAT officers cuff one of the guards. The tank had moved close to the building, showing itself through the hole it had made. Soldiers stood in front of it, aiming their weapons and making their presence well known.

Karns had been cuffed and was now being marched to the front of the room. Jeff saw Karns calmly walk, seeing how he was still calculating a plan. Karns looked around, as he was looking at each SWAT officer and soldier part of the operation. But when Jeff and Karns' eyes met, something was different.

Jeff remembered how Karns, the one that killed his Kara, had reacted when they met. That Karns knew Jeff, even though they had never met before that moment. This Karns didn't react that way. It was as though Jeff was just as much a stranger as any other member of the SWAT team or any of the soldiers.

Jeff knew what that meant. "Damn, he didn't do it."

3 years ago

Jeff and Brian were sitting across from each other while conversing. They were in Jeff's apartment, with daylight heavily contrasting parts of the room. It wasn't their usual spot, but they were waiting for a phone call.

Brian reviewed Jeff's theory, "You think that this energy is present pretty much everywhere?"

"I know it is. It's just distributed to a very thin level."

"So why don't we use that for the Dimensional Transport?"

Jeff shook his head. "There's just too little. To get to a different universe, you need a lot of it."

Brian leaned forward for his argument. "Jeff, it isn't about whether it's possible or not. They don't do experiments like in the Cold War days, exploring things like telepathy and such. With something like this we have to show that it is not only possible, but that we can do it. If we can show that there are multiple routes to traversing alternate universes, it would give them much more confidence in us."

Brian was a much better pitchman than Jeff and they both knew it. However, Jeff was never comfortable with spinning anything or giving half-truths.

"The method we have works; that's what the mathematical formulas show. If there was any other way, someone else probably would have discovered it by now."

Brian replied, "That may or may not be true, but that's not the point. We have to operate as though we're proposing to politicians. They won't understand the theories exactly, only in general. And..."

Jeff's phone rang. He looked at the caller ID, quickly saying before he picked it up, "Well, let's see if we got it."

Holding the cell phone to his head, Jeff carefully listened to the phone while keeping a neutral face on what he heard. "This is Jeffrey Hunter.

"OK We'll be there Monday."

Jeff hung up his phone, placing it back on the table.

Brian was metaphorically on the edge of his seat, restraining himself to not make it literal. "Well?"

Jeff simply said, "We got it. Starting Monday, we have to gather a team and begin building."

Brian was ecstatic. "That's great!"

Jeff, while showing content, was far from as energetic as Brian.

The friend got up and headed towards the door. This wasn't a moment that he could celebrate in that room. He offered to Jeff, "Hey, come join me and Liz at the bar to celebrate. She'll love to hear the news."

Jeff held up a hand in refusal, "I don't know. There might be a few things I'll need to do."

"Jeff, this is a once in a lifetime success. Just this once, come celebrate it. I know you'll love it."

Jeff swung his head, deciding one way or another. Then his decision came, "You said that last time, but what-the-hey."

Jeff got up to follow.

This was another thing to celebrate for Brian. "Excellent. And this time, we'll go to a place that doesn't have a bull rider."

Present day

Karns was sitting in the interrogation room across from Allen. He was calm, as though he still didn't have anything to fear.

On the other side of the glass was where Jeff and Elsworth stood. They had watched the two for the better part of an hour, mostly going nowhere.

Allen continued his line of questions that were also part-accusation, "You deny getting anything at the Ousters Military Base?"

He replied with as much calculation as always, "Yes. I will only say that I had entered. I doubt you have anything more than breaking and entering."

"What about that minion of yours that killed an officer, and attempted to kill me and a military consultant."

"He was not "one of my minions". He was a former associate that operated on his own."

Allen put more pressure in, "That isn't what he said."

Karns simply waved his hand, "I doubt he wouldn't say otherwise. Not with someone else to blame for his own crimes."

Allen's phone beeped. He took it out and read the text that he received. Without a word, he left the room, returning to the viewing room that Jeff and Elsworth was in.

Jeff said to the captain, "I'm guessing that text message wasn't good."

"No. Ballistics came in negative for your...other self."

"I wasn't expecting it to," Jeff said, not saying exactly why.

"Well, it would help if the military can give us the papers that was confiscated."

Allen was referring that to Elsworth, who stood back and observed everything that went on. But with that accusation, he had to step forward, "Considering that some of those documents may have came from us, we can not let state secrets out."

That still didn't please the police officer, "Yeah, but longer we don't have evidence, the more likely this guy goes free again."

"He has already admitted to trespassing onto military property; I doubt he'll go free for long."

Allen was turning very frustrated with this line of conversation. "I want to prosecute him for the murder of one of _my_ officers. _You_ are hindering that."

Elsworth kept posture, although he too was being frustrated by the conversation. "And we will assist in your investigation and prosecution of Karns; just as soon as we clear everything that we have."

Allen turned and left in frustration.

Jeff had stood in the middle, trying not to get into the argument. He feared any intervention may cause even more problems.

Elsworth sighed and turned toward Karns, who was standing patiently. He decided to change the conversation, "How did you know that Karns didn't kill you."

Jeff also turned to face Karns. "The way he looked at me. In my world, Karns knew me. He tried to kill me, and he recognized me when he saw me in my first trip following him. That wasn't the case here.

"Something's different. Something beyond that I had died and Kara lived. And that Karns didn't get the Dimensional Transport."

"Is it possible to find out what was different?"

"Possible, but not likely. I think it was best described that time is like a river; a single stone could change the course of things. That stone could be incredibly small, or very large. It's impossible to tell which."

The military commander didn't like that concept. "If it isn't Karns, then we hit a dead-end." Elsworth turned directly to Jeff, looking into his eyes, "You did good work. Do not forget that."

Jeff wasn't so optimistic, "I just wish I could do more."

The larger, older man said, "We all do. Everyone looks back and wishes that. For better or worse."

Jeff turned back to see Karns, sitting in his prison; the one he is in now and the one he will be in.

Daylight penetrated through the windows, lighting most of the Hunter residence. It felt calm and empty. The doorbell rang. Kara walked through the hallway from the back entertainment room. She opened the door to reveal Jeff.

She was silent with her greetings; something that wasn't like her.

Jeff explained his visit, "I just wanted to visit one last last time."

Kara turned to let Jeff inside. He wandered along the hallway, heading toward the back entertainment room; for no particular reason. Kara walked next to him.

"Did you find anything?"

Jeff answered, "No. I thought it was someone, the same man that killed my Kara. But it didn't turn out that way."

She wondered, "So, are you going to stay for a while?"

Jeff shook his head in a negative fashion. "I can't. I still have to get Karns...my Karns. But also....this isn't a place for me."

Jeff started looking at the pictures that was lined up on the wall. They varied from portraits to fun pictures of Kara and Jeff. He looked upon them as he said to her, "There isn't much for me here. It isn't the place I remember it to be; it _feels_ like someone else's."

She couldn't help but say to that, "Funny, I feel like that sometimes."

Hearing that, Jeff looked right into Kara's eyes. She was very sad, still going through her own grief. Jeff mentally questioned on if either one of them would ever find peace in themselves.

He looked back at the pictures. Moving onto the next picture, he saw something curious. The picture was of him, alone, in graduation garb. "I remember...this was different. Where's Brian?"

"Who?"

"He's my friend. I met him at college, for my masters."

Kara distinctly did not remember things that way. "No...You said you didn't have any friends at college. You were too busy with studies to do anything else."

Jeff pointed to the picture, with a realization in mind. He said to himself, "That's what's different."

Kara didn't get what he meant. "What?"

But Jeff didn't hear her. There was a lead and he needed to follow it. He marched to the door, saying to Kara behind him, "I need to go. I think that I may have found a lead."

Kara just stood, a little befuddled at what Jeff was doing. Before she knew it, he had closed the door behind him.

Back in the military base, the Dimensional Transport stood in the hanger. It looked complete, but there was still plenty of parts that was lying around it.

Jeff opened the door, calling, "Brian! I heard you were in here. We need to talk."

Then suddenly a shot came his way. Jeff ducked, then dove behind a computer monitor. The metal base was more than enough to shield him; since they were build for random debris to hit them. He removed his own gun, readying it for combat.

Brian could be heard, echoing around the hanger. "I knew you would find me; you were always too smart for your own good."

Jeff looked around; he couldn't identify exactly where Brian was. He yelled out, "Is this what a friend does?"

Brian laughed. "A friend? I can't imagine that! You were always studying, always doing your best to be the best. I knew I couldn't compete with that!"

Jeff switched his glasses on, to find in infrared exactly where Brian was. He was behind one of the large boxes.

"Ironic isn't it? That you would find your own killer. You always wanted to excel..." This was a rant that Brian needed to yell out.

Jeff rotated around the monitor, firing his gun next to where Brian was taking cover. Jumping down to the main floor, he ran to the other side of the box.

Just as he rounded the corner, Brian ran right at Jeff. The punch knocked both of them down on the floor, with Brian working more aggressively to get footing. Brian dove, intending to tackle the already downed opponent. Jeff responded by kicking, hitting Brian in the face.

Jeff got up and looked around. He saw his gun a few feet away from him. Brian had the same idea, finding his own gun near him.

The two dove for their respective guns. Jeff was too quick, grabbing and aiming his weapon before Brian could even get a hand on his gun. He froze, knowing that Jeff could fire if he made a further move.

Jeff slowly walked up to Brian, all the while saying, "If you knew me, as my Brian did, then you would know one thing: I didn't care about myself. At this moment, I only care that you hurt Kara."

Brian was befuddled with what Jeff had said. But before he could even say or do anything, Jeff punched him, knocking him unconscious.

Jeff looked up, seeing the roof open and revealing the gathering clouds. The weather was not going to be good.

3 years ago

Jeff was at the bar, talking to Brian. Liz was on the other side, also in the conversation. They were all happy, with Brian and Liz occasionally laughing. Jeff on the other hand felt out of place.

Then he looked behind him. The sight forced him to fully rotate in his chair. He saw Kara, dancing on the floor. She was not with anyone, just dancing to unheard music.

He thought to himself, thinking whether to do something or not. Things were stopping him, the very things that had kept him away from places like this. But something inside grabbed him; told him that this wasn't a moment to skip. Jeff got up and walked through the crowd to Kara...

Present day

Jeff stood at the beach side. The wind was whipping across his face. And rain was coming, but he didn't care. All he did was look out, deep in thought and memory.

Liz walked up to him. "No one told me that _you_ were here."

Jeff's only response was to say, "Sorry."

Liz shrugged her shoulder. "Considering everything, I don't blame you."

The two looked down at the grey, sandy plains. The water continued to wave back and forth.

"This was the exact spot."

Liz had to ask, "Exact spot?"

Jeff nodded, having more memories come to him. "This was the place that I had asked Kara to marry me. It just seemed perfect. Here we could just be ourselves, have fun and do anything we wanted to. And we could be alone if we wanted to, or go down a half-a-mile to find a huge crowd."

Liz said, "I think it was the same way here."

Jeff honestly said to his coworker and friend, "That's why it's so hard to leave. Yet, I can't stay here. Not with what I have to do. Not with everything that has happened...to the both of us."

The friend put her hand onto Jeff's shoulder. "I understand. The funeral's in twenty, I'll give you a ride."

Kara's expression was of great sadness. In front of her, was the closed casket of her Jeffrey Hunter. While she was standing next to several other people, two were Elsworth and Liz. They both stood with umbrellas to protect themselves. Kara went without one.

Jeff watched from afar. He too was unprotected from the rain. He was only looking at Kara, seeing her both as the Kara he met in this world and the Kara that he had lost.

Quietly, Jeff turned around and left.

Episode 5

### Leave Out All the Rest

The man was well dressed in expensive clothing. But those clothes were heavily stained. His body laid in the middle of the field, blood pooled underneath. The cause of death was very apparent: a single shot to the chest.

Police vehicles flashed in the distance, officers and detectives walking between the crime scene and the road they parked their cars. There was no signs of that any vehicles had been in the field. Even the officer's footprints had left little mark despite the rain from earlier.

Officers and detectives continued to do their duty. One was hovering near the body, using various instruments for his tests, and another searched for anything that would identify who this person was. Many more officers searched around the dark field for more evidence.

Jeff looked down at the solemn sight. He had a screen overlooking it. The Transport hovered above, unnoticed by those who worked below. Other screens were still on, the cockpit fully lit.

But Jeff continued looking at the scene. He showed resolve that this would be his next mission.

Jeff approached the two police cars that blocked the road. It had taken him an hour to get to the crime scene perimeter. That fact alone made Jeff glad that this area was basically one large, flat field with various crops, making it easy to navigate.

The lone officer looked up to see Jeff. He found it curious that someone was all the way out here, miles from the suburb and without a car. Rotating around the barricading vehicle, he intercepted the former-scientist. "Good evening sir. I'm sorry to say that this area is closed."

Jeff nodded, talking very directly to the officer. "Yeah, I know. Can you tell me who that man is?"

The officer knew what Jeff was talking about, but decided to play coy. "What man are you talking about?"

"The body in the field over there." Jeff looked across the field, where lights illuminated a sphere around the crime scene.

The Police officer remained professional, noticing that Jeff had known about the investigation. "How do you know that there is a body over there?"

Jeff had to spin the truth a bit, knowing the actual truth would likely be too foreign a concept for the officer to believe. "I was in a helicopter not too long ago and couldn't help but see the lights out here."

"I don't remember a helicopter flying overhead."

Jeff knew at this point his explanations could draw suspicions. "It was pretty far away and I have top-of-the-line binoculars."

The officer believed that explanation, at least enough to give the newcomer an answer. "I personally don't know, nor could I give it unless it's part of a public statement. What was your name, sir?"

"Jeffrey Hunter. I'm a private investigator."

That told the officer why Jeff was there. "Did someone hire you or something?"

Jeff shrugged, "Not really. I would be filed under not-for-profit."

The officer still found this strange, but decided not to pursue any questions and gave a official-type of response, "Well, we can't help you. We'll give a name and a preliminary report for the public tomorrow morning. If you obtain any information, we would be thankful for any tips."

Jeff looked over to the crime scene. He wanted to be right in there, but highly doubted the police would let him in on their investigation. "Alright. I'll be at your station in the morning to pick up a copy of that. Can you tell me where it is?"

The officer pointed out, "It's the one on Marlow Avenue."

Jeff spoke politely, despite the disappointment, "Thanks."

He turned around and walked back to where he had came from. The officer looked at him, thinking that he was a strange person.

The station was not busy at all the next morning. There was a woman in her early thirties who was waiting there, as there was no one at the desk. Jeff entered the quiet place; the woman noticing him immediately. She did not approach or speak to him, just observed him as he walked in an stood near the desk.

They both stood there quietly for a few seconds before an officer walked to the desk from the offices.

The officer put up a formal stance, "Good morning, anything I can help you with?"

He had directed the question to both of the visitors, not knowing which had came in first. Jeff looked at the woman, expecting her to walk up to the desk. Instead, she gestured him forward. At first Jeff was going to suggest otherwise but saw an insistence in her that meant it would have been a waste of time to reject the offer.

So Jeff approached the desk. "I'm an investigator looking into the dead body that was found last night."

"The one at the Branson field?"

"I believe so." Jeff said it rhetorically, but not really knowing the actual name of the crime scene.

"Yeah, we were expecting you. Got word that you were interested in the case. I'll save you the time and give you the press release; that has all the information on it."

"Thanks." Jeff had said it right before the officer turned to go back into the offices to retrieve the paper.

That was when the woman approached Jeff. "Excuse me."

Jeff turned to see her holding a pad of paper in one hand and a pen in the other.

"I'm Jen Archer for the Densen Times," she introduced, "and couldn't help but overhear your conversation."

Jeff remarked, "Very purposeful, since you let me go ahead of you." He was very blunt in that statement. She still laughed even though Jeff was serious.

"It isn't common for anyone to be here this early in the morning unless you have something interesting that happened. And you apparently did have something."

Jeff felt fairly resistant to talking with this woman. "I won't have much more to say than what the press release already has."

Jen looked right at him, calling a perceived bluff. "But you still knew about this before I did. Plus, you called yourself an investigator. If you don't know anything, why would you be interested in it?"

Jeff honestly spoke, "Because it was there, and there would be someone who would want to know what happened to that man."

The desk officer had returned, saying, "Here you go." He sett down two sheets of papers; one directed towards the reporter. "And here's one for you, Ms. Archer."

She turned toward the officer. "Thanks. By the way, is the crime scene clear for reporters?"

While the officer didn't like the idea, but knew he had to say, "If you want to head that direction, go ahead. C.S.U. cleared the scene a few hours ago."

Jen took the paper, then turned back to Jeff. "Want to come along?"

She had held the offer as though it was on a string. He thought it might be wiser to go alone on this, but she would just as likely hover around him anyway.

"Alright," he gave in, "Where's your car?"

She waved him towards the door. "Just outside."

The slim car could be seen in the distance. Jeff had no problem navigating the tall grass field; one that hadn't been maintained in quite a long time. Jen let Jeff lead the way, having him stamp out a path before her.

Then they came to the search area. It was plowed down, showing that many people had walked around. Some heavy prints showed where the lights had been placed. At this time, the ground had dried, making the few remaining prints more permanent.

Jen pointed out, "The release said that they weren't sure that Allen Carlile was dumped here or not."

"But it didn't say they found a weapon or any shell casings." Jeff bent down, holding his glasses as he searched around. There were faint spots of blood, though most of the pool had been removed by the rain. Jeff knew what the press release said probably wasn't correct.

Jen held up her cell phone, taking pictures of the area. Moving around to get different angles, the pictures were more about aesthetics than finding anything.

Thinking off-hand, she asked Jeff, "You think you can find something the police hadn't?"

Jeff looked down, seeing in a different visual spectrum a huge splotch in the dry mud that marked where the body had been. It was apparent that they didn't remove everything from that spot. "Possibly. I'm going to take the guess he was killed right here. Someone took out the grass, but there's still plenty of blood on the ground."

Jen looked at the spot Jeff was investigating. "I don't see any blood."

He simply responded, "Don't ask." He said it to wave off the question.

Jen, being a reporter, didn't like it. "That's my job, to ask questions."

Jeff got up to start looking around the area, turning to get a perspective of the entire area. "Well, that's a question I don't want to answer at the moment."

Jen lowered her phone, looking right at Jeff. "Then what other question are you not answering?"

Jeff looked back, giving a very serious vibe in his features. He knew some of the implications. "If you're thinking that I had something to do with this murder: no, I wasn't even in the city when it happened."

"I know that. Why would a murderer investigate his own crime. But that still leaves a lot of questions for you."

Jeff turned, ignoring any further questions about himself. "I can't tell specifically, but there was at least one more person than our victim here. They came the same way the police did."

The reporter had to ask, "How can you tell that?"

Jeff pointed to the ground where the body was, noting how different it was from the rest. "Whenever it happened, it was wet out here. Not by much, enough to put an imprint here. And since there is no other paths made, everyone involved came by the same road."

"But you don't see any footprints," she pointed out.

"No. That what makes it difficult to determine how many people were here. But there was only one shot, right in the center of his chest."

"Which means what to you?"

Jeff looked at her, "Likely, he didn't expect it. Or at least didn't fight back."

She noted, "That doesn't say much."

He further expanded upon that point. "Not until we know who he was with."

Jeff walked down the path, intending to leave. Without looking back, he said to Jen, "Let's see if the family wants to talk."

She followed him down the path back to the car.

Jeff knocked on the door, holding the screen open. The house didn't look special; a welcome mat was the only decoration in the doorway.

A voice came from the other side of the closed door, "I don't want to talk to any reporters!" The call was angry and showed much irritation towards previous attempts.

Jeff looked at Jen, silently sending a signal to cooperate. Holding her hands up, she backed away from the door. He then called to the woman through the door, "Mrs. Carlile, I'm a private investigator."

Harriet replied, "I didn't call for a PI!"

"I'm not asking for any money."

He heard a few steps before the door opened, revealing the middle-aged woman. She looked tired, as though she had woken up too early and couldn't sleep. She was very skeptical about Jeff. "Then what do you want?"

"The same thing you want: answers."

She looked at him, still mostly skeptical, but mostly tired. "Look, I already answered questions the police asked. I don't have anything more to say."

Jeff decided to go the short route, "What did they ask?"

She was a bit frustrated, but decided to answer anyway. She figured it would have been faster. "Allen worked at the Fenraid offices downtown. Never said much about work, nor if he had any problems."

He switched things up a bit, "How about at home? Who was he here?"

The question triggered minor sense of nostalgia in her. "He...was a father above all else. Even above a husband."

There was a hint of resentment in her voice. With that in mind, he asked, "You two were having problems?"

She answered, "Not really. It was just...he was quiet. Not himself unless he was with Kyle or Dana. He's been like that since Dana, our younger one, was born. I just think...it was the both of us."

"What do you mean?"

She grew tepid, as though she revealed too much about her personal life, "Well...it seems like something all married couples go through."

The comment hit Jeff; the part about being married. "I haven't experienced that."

Harriet missed the meaning completely. "That's good for you, right now at least. You'll know what I mean when it happens. It'll be subtle, but you'll notice it at one point."

Jeff knew that wouldn't happen, but didn't want to explain to her why. Instead, he redirected the conversation back towards Allen. "So Allen enjoyed being with your kids."

"Yeah. Would do anything for them."

A few steps came from down a set of stairs. "Mom, who's that at the door?" The child was no more than ten years old. Leaning just a bit, Jeff could see that he was still in his pajamas; waking up for the first time that day.

Harriet masked her mood when directed toward her son. "It's someone who wants to help."

The child was oblivious to the situation. "Help with what?"

She didn't want to lie, but didn't want to explain the situation just yet. Or ever, but it had to be done. "I'll tell you in a little bit. Go back upstairs for now."

Tired, the son rotated right around and walked back up the stairs. Harriet turned back towards Jeff. "I haven't told them yet."

Nodding, he backed away. "I won't take anymore of your time."

She appreciated the notion. "Thank you," the new widow admitted, "It would help, to have those answers."

Harriet closed the door.

Jeff walked back to the driveway, where Jen had been wandering around. The garage door had been cracked open; Jeff didn't notice before if it was like that when they arrived or not.

The reporter said, "In case you're wondering, one of their cars is missing."

Jeff looked the door, pointing to it. "Did you open that?"

Jen innocently shook her head. "No, it was like that. I could just see that there's one car in there. The other side is empty."

Jeff, turning partially to a different topic, said to her, "It wouldn't be surprising if something happened near his work. Let's go downtown."

"Alright, I'll just warn you I have deadline this afternoon."

"So you'll be ditching me?"

She took it partly as a joke, though Jeff had hoped she would. "Considering, not at all. I just need to stop by my office before then."

Jeff spoke very deadpan, "I was hoping that you would."

Jen replied in a hard tone, "Ha. Ha. Get in the car!"

Jeff led Jen down from the nearby parking lot. The plaza was a fancy one, especially considering this wasn't a metropolis. Various offices could be seen, each being a completely different business than the others.

As the two strolled down, a man in formal attire approached them. He first directed towards the reporter. "Are you following this guy around, Miss Archer?"

She took the humor in stride, "Yes I am, Detective. Is there a problem?"

The detective turned toward Jeff. "Be careful, she'll be quite pushy if you allow her."

He deduced, "I trust that you know each other."

She waved at the formally clothed man. "This is Detective Oldman. I've had the "pleasure" of interviewing him a few times."

He responded in kind, "They were a "pleasure" all right. I've heard about you though, but never got your name."

Jeff decided to ignore the apparent rivalry between the two. He introduced himself, "Jeffrey Hunter. I'm guessing you didn't stop here just for pleasantries."

Jen muttered, "More likely stone-walling."

Detective Oldman clearly heard it, but chose to ignore it. "Anyway, I wanted to save you time. Mr. Carlile didn't work here. He was fired well over two years ago."

Jeff pointed out, "His wife didn't know that."

The detective pointed out in the distance. "Being his car is parked here, he may have changed jobs, or something else."

Jeff found that curious, "His car?"

The detective pointed directly to a Sudan parked away from other cars. "It may take a bit for us to get a warrant to search it. You're still welcome to look, but not touch." He emphasized the last point towards Jen, showing he didn't trust her at all.

Jeff politely said, "Thanks for the tip."

"Good luck for you as well. Officially speaking we don't condone a P.I. investigating an open case, but unofficially we don't mind. As long as they don't get into any trouble."

"I'll keep that in mind." Jeff was more sincere in the comment than what Jen was showing. The Detective left, keeping an eye on the reporter before going full stride across the parking lot.

The two started walking to the Sudan, with Jen taking the rear. "Trouble won't stop you, I can see that."

"I'm not sure if it's true here, but where I come the average police officer has never fired their weapon. I've done so several times."

"Sounds pretty safe," she commented about Jeff's hometown.

He solemnly responded, "Not really."

They arrived at the car. Jeff looked inside, immediately noticing a small box placed on the dash."There's a GPS in there. Maybe it has previous points that would..."

The door unexpectedly unlocked before him. He turned around to see Jen had fiddled with a remote key. She shrugged at Jeff's look. "I did a story on car thieves and found out a thing or two. One of them was that the security on this model car is rather pathetic."

Jeff very seriously said, "I thought he said not to touch."

"And I didn't," she innocently responded.

Jeff sighed, opening the door. He reached in to grab the loose GPS. Coming back out, he switched it on. Looking at it, he pressed a button on the screen to bring up several way-points. It automatically showed the last one used. Jen looked over his shoulder, seeing the way-point on a map.

"I know that place," she said to him, "No wonder he left his car here."

"Why do you say that?"

"Police patrol there all the time. Very bad neighborhood. Drug dealers all around, along with other unsavory folk."

"And leaving his car here means he didn't want to get caught. Question is: for what?"

The car rolled slowly through the rather old and run-down neighborhood. Jen drove as Jeff looked at the poor people that inhabited the grey homes. A few stared as they drove by, most tried to look as nonchalant or hide from view.

They stopped along one of the houses. It didn't look any different than any of the others. Jeff got out, holding his glasses to get a preview of the scene.

Jen walked around the front of the car. "This is the place on the GPS. Doesn't look special. Then again, nothing here does."

Jeff blatantly stated, "Nobody's inside, so let's take a look."

Jen looked at him, "How would you know..."

Jeff raised a finger to cut her off. "That's one of those questions."

He began walking to the house, with Jen taking a momentary pause before running to catch up. The door was cracked open; though without a door handle it couldn't have been technically closed. Jeff was not cautious at all, whereas Jen didn't trust his analysis. She knew the neighborhood and the dangers that lay. She kept a constant watch back toward the entrance, as well as any dark corners that someone could hide in.

Jeff looked around, inspecting the empty home. There wasn't one piece of furniture. Opening a closet door, he found it just as empty. "Are any of the homes here this empty?"

She knew neighborhoods like this, "If it's been abandoned a long time, it could have been looted into this state."

Jeff held his glasses, searching for any hidden compartments or rooms. At first he looked along a horizontal line, then downward. Finding nothing, he looked up; that direction held something interesting.

He rounded around a wall, navigating to and up the stairs. Jen followed, mostly out of curiosity along with a little bit out of caution.

At the top of the stairs, Jeff looked up to find a string on the ceiling. Pulling it slid down a step-ladder that went up to the attic. Climbing it, he saw what he had found earlier.

"I didn't expect this."

Jen climbed up behind him, a bit of shock in her discovery as well. "That..can't work, can it?"

What they had found was a large computer, running warm in the otherwise cool attic. There was a lone screen and keyboard. More over, there was several slots open. Jeff inspected those slots, finding two occupied. Pressing a button, a drive slid out. He picked it up, finding it clearly labeled as a terabyte hard drive.

Jeff knew exactly why that was here, "Information is what they were hiding."

Jen looked around, still wondering several details. "Still...how were they getting power to this thing. Most homes here don't have power, much less those that have been abandoned."

Taking that into account, Jeff looked around. It didn't take long before he found cables that leaked directly out of the house. "They must have done something, since these go straight outside."

Going back to the large computer, Jeff another cord that ran next to the power cable. "This thing's also connected to the Internet."

Jeff went back around to the front, where the keyboard and monitor was placed. He began to type, seeing if there anything on it. All he found was a blank screen.

"Having difficulty?" Jen asked.

But Jeff knew it wasn't just simple security measures. "In that we're too late. They erased everything."

Jen practically gave in with that. "So this is a dead end."

Jeff smirked, "Nope. I got a few things up my sleeve. I just need another computer that can take this drive."

"If it helps," she offered, "The newspaper has those drives."

"Good. I'll need a quick stop before hand."

The two climbed back down. They walked down the stairs, with Jeff in the lead. His glasses detected people approaching from outside. He signaled for Jen to stay at the stairs.

Diving to the door, he looked through the crack. He saw four men approaching, all with pistols drawn. Jeff drew his own gun, diving out of the way.

The door slammed open. Without hesitation, Jeff fired through the door, hitting one of the gunman. The others dove back outside, reevaluating their tactics.

While crouching down, Jeff ran to the living room windows. He kept a constant watch at the gunmen. Random shots were fired into the house, all missing Jeff. Raising back up, Jeff fired through the window at the nearest gunman. Of the several shots, one hit the target in the head. Diving back down, the windows shattered with the return fire.

Then a round object was hurled into the home. Jeff couldn't help but say to himself, "Crap!" Jeff lunged over the window-sill, out of the small explosion.

Now outside, Jeff quickly looked back up. He found one of the gunmen. It was a split-second, but a long one. They had seen each other and both knew how vulnerable they were with their guns lowered. Jeff was faster, raising his gun and firing it several times.

Then the last gunman dove on top Jeff. He successfully pinned him down, gun aimed right at Jeff's head. The gunman smiled, thinking he had defeated his opponent.

Then a gun shot sounded, blood splattered all over Jeff. The gunman slumped down, his head blooded from the bullet. Jeff looked up, to see Jen aiming a pistol at the dead body. She was in complete disbelief and shock over her own actions.

Jeff got up, looking around to see the house on fire. He moved to Jen, trying to console her. "It's over. You can let go of the gun."

Jen released the gun, letting it fall to the ground. She still stared at the dead body. "I've seen bodies, but..."

"Jennifer!"

Jeff shook her on the shoulders, trying to get her attention away from the transpired event. "I need you to drive. Back to the field."

Although still in shock, she was confused over the request. "Why back there..."

"I need to get something. But we need to work fast. The more we wait, the more evidence is erased or destroyed.

"Do you have the detective's phone number?"

"Yeah, it's in my cell phone."

"Good. Hand it over to me."

Jen cooperated, taking the phone out of her pocket and handing it over.

Jeff gave further instructions, trying to get her away the events before her. "OK. Get the car ready. I'll call and make sure the detective knows everything that has happened."

But she couldn't help but have the gunshot in her mind. She couldn't move, yet Jeff was forcing her to do just that. "How can you be so calm?"

Jeff grimly said, "It's something I've gotten used to. Now go!"

He started going through the cell phone to call, all the while making sure that Jen walked to the car.

The car stopped along a nondescript part of the road. It was along a large ditch, where water would flow during the winter.

Jen's shock had dissipated, but the memory of the events had not. She was still reflecting - seeing the man die in front of her. Normally she would have demanded why they were stopping there. Now she was too distracted to even ask.

"Jen, come with me." He was trying to be sympathetic. But rather than ask any questions, she silently nodded in agreement.

They got out of the car. Jeff led her down the ditch, revealing to her the Dimensional Transport.

Using his key, he opened the back hatch. She was in awe, for the first time since the firefight showing some emotion.

"Again, this is another question that I won't answer. Plus, I want this to remain off the record."

She nodded, no questions coming to her anyway.

Jeff walked inside, rifled through some of the equipment. As he went through some of the stuff, he explained, "One thing we have as a precaution is a recovery disk. It's just in case the system gets wiped for one reason or another." He found a box, in it full of computer equipment. From it, he easily snagged out a CD case.

Then a beep came from the cockpit. The screen showed that it found the other Dimensional Transport. Jeff clearly saw it, then turned to Jen. Despite his own mission, he needed to finish this case.

Without her even asking, Jeff said to her, "That's nothing. Another one of those questions." He said that as he left, closing the Transport.

Jen led Jeff through the newsroom. The people inside took notice, more over Jen's changed mood than Jeff's presence. Some of the reporters kept to their typing while others looked at the two while conversing on the phone.

She led him to a back room that held several sets computers. With a sigh, Jeff said, "Thank you. From here on out, I need to do this alone."

"But don't you need any help?"

"Not with what you already have faced. Go write that story. Make some good come from this."

She nodded. "Then this is good bye. I hope you find what you're looking for. You deserve it."

She was about to leave for her desk when Jeff stopped for one brief request, "Can you keep Allen's name out of it. We don't know his role in this, and I don't want his family to learn the worst possibility."

It was a request often given by police. Despite the name being in the press release, she said to Jeff, "I will."

With that Jen left. He sighed, then moved onto the business that was the hard drive. Jeff sat in front of the nearest computer, taking out the drive from his pocket. Sliding it into the nearby open slot, the screen showed that it had loaded the drive. Next he put in the CD into the slot loader.

Jeff rebooted the computer. Instead of going to the operating system, it went to a simple command prompt. He moved the cursor with the keyboard to the option that will repair the drive.

Then a man came into the room, "Are you the PI that Jen's been shadowing."

Jeff turned to face him, "I'm guessing you want to know what happened."

He was the only one with a name tag on his shirt. Jeff could tell he was the editor of the newspaper. The boss said, "I already know; heard it from Detective Oldman. But I wanted to know from you, is she fine?"

Jeff nodded, "Physically, yes. Mentally...that will take time. If you can, it may be best to give her time off."

"Normally, I find that difficult. She's a hard worker and never wanted to miss a story. But I haven't seen her like this since her first traffic accident."

Jeff asked, "But she still continued after that?"

The editor nodded in confirmation. "Yeah. She's resilient."

"I hope that's still true."

The computer beeped, letting Jeff know that it was finished. He looked at it, then back to the editor. "I need to see this alone."

The editor had heard that plenty of times. "Alright, take as much time as you need."

"Thanks. And give Jennifer my condolences."

"I will." The editor closed the door behind him, leaving Jeff to look at the hard drive.

He searched through the various files, each came up as a text file. Jeff quickly knew what it was. "This is spyware...from the looks of it targeting banks."

He scrolled down, looking through more of the file. He saw what the program was designed to do, then decided to close it. He had seen a list of details on the file, including the author. It was simply named "Allen."

It was a simple deduction, "He wrote this."

The bank's office was just in the back room on the public floor. This was a district office; not any of the big fancy ones that would be in the big cities. There wasn't any extraordinary amenities or decorations. Jeff was being led by the manager to a set of computer banks - the servers that run the entire bank network.

"I thank you for telling me about this," the manager said to him as they walked, "We try to have the best security out there. But if something gets in, it can take far too long to even see something wrong."

"Well, I'm hoping that you could tell me where all that money is being funneled to."

They arrived in the center of the server room, where a lone terminal stood. The manager explained, "To secure us in cases of fraud just like this, we keep records going back for at least a decade. If even a quarter of a cent, or less, is moved, we have a record for it."

The manager began typing into the computer, paying attention to the computer while the conversation continued.

Jeff asked, "Do you need to be that specific?"

"Oh yes! One of the easiest ways to launder money is to take very low amounts, like half cents, from various accounts. Get enough and it'll be a plentiful sum."

"So how does this one work exactly?"

"This one is new," the manager answered, "It was designed to trick the system into thinking that it's paying an employee. The transaction isn't mirrored to H.R., so no one would have noticed it until we audit it. Which could be several years."

"So how much money is being funneled?"

The manager found several records. "Judging from what I found, it was about a dozen accounts. That would translate to about six-hundred-thousand dollars a year."

"Not a great amount, but not petty," Jeff commented.

The bank manager took a good look at the listing, finding something curious. "That's strange. No wonder nobody found this. Every one of the fake accounts lists them as various branch positions, but it's all billed to the corporate account."

"That's strange how?"

The manager turned away to face Jeff. "It doesn't work like that. All the branches are run by their own management structure; including HR departments. Corporate just handles the larger numbers and services."

"So someone knew how to hide it in your system?"

"Actually, that's not the major effect. Funneling money is something the company looks out for all the time; no matter the source. No, what this means is that it only affects the corporate entity. No personal accounts, none of the branches."

"So they think that this is taking from the rich, and giving to themselves?"

The bank manager shrugged, "I guess so."

"Still, do you have records of who this is going to?"

"Yup, it's all going to one account; one from another country."

Jeff didn't like that answer. "That means it's untraceable."

"That would be true. But you said you got this from here?" The manager asked.

Jeff didn't know where that question was leading. "Yeah, would that be important?"

"There's only one wire transfer service within fifty miles; it's on Maple Avenue. Actually...," The manager typed a few more buttons, bringing up a new screen. "Yup, they all coincide with our normal time scale. That means it all the accounts were paid this morning."

Jeff knew what that meant. "So whoever is behind this has visited the wire service today."

The manager corrected, "Or will. A friend of mine used to work there, says it can take a short while for the entire process to complete. I say if he's been there already, it's only been a few hours."

"Thanks." Jeff said before quickly turning around and began to leave. If the bank manager was correct, he could easily identify the killer, or even catch him.

Jeff walked along the street near his destination. The wire service was a lone building, among the series of businesses located in a quiet part of town. Several cars were in the parking lot. One was right in front of the building; a good indication that it's owner was inside.

He just entered the parking lot when a man exited the building. The somewhat short man held a wad of cash in his hand. Looking up, the man saw Jeff. A look of recognition flashed on his face.

The man pulled out a pistol, aimlessly firing it.

Jeff quickly ducked behind a parked car. Pulling out his own gun, he quickly rose to see where the villain was. Gunfire came from the black car, forcing Jeff back down. The unknown man had opened the door while still firing to cover his escape.

Rising back up, Jeff fired into the car. The passenger-side window spider-webbed, but the villain was undeterred. He started the car, then the motor roared to life. Going backward, the car aimed directly at the car Jeff was hiding behind.

Jeff dove away from the smashing cars. Getting back up, he fired at the fleeing car. While some of the bullets hit the trunk, it was too late. The car was gone. All Jeff could do was to use his glasses to get a license plate.

Jeff was led by an officer directly to the desk of Detective Oldman. The man in business attire turned in his seat towards Jeff. "I see that you once again found trouble."

Jeff ignored the comment. "Did you find out who owned that car?"

The detective pulled a file, "Frances Regal. Middle-aged with two petty thefts. Are you thinking this has to do with the Carlile case?"

Jeff simply said, "He recognized me."

"Considering that you're a PI who investigates random cases, how would that be unusual?"

"Trust me, it would be."

Another officer, the same one that Jeff encountered the night before, stood up from his desk.

He said to the two, "I couldn't help but overhear you. Going through the remains at the Branson place had several pieces of burned equipment."

Jeff turned to the officer, "Yeah. I already knew that there was a server there. Did you get anything off of it."

"Unfortunately, no. All the drives was too severely burned to recover anything. But we did find a few things within the framework. One was that there was a security camera installed right in it."

Jeff was curious by that."I don't remember seeing that."

The officer replied, "And you wouldn't. It was only when we opened it up did we find the thing. It's one of those "spy" types that one could buy at specialty markets."

Oldman said, "That would explain how he would recognize you."

Jeff realized something, "That would mean that they also was Jennifer."

The detective thought for a second, but drew from his own knowledge and experience. "I don't think they'll go after her, but I'll send a patrol just in case."

Jeff offered, "I'll go down. I already put her through a lot; I need to make sure she doesn't go through anything else."

The detective nodded. "Alright, I'll have one of our officers drive you over. Stay in the house while the officer sits in the car for the night. It'll take a while before we get anything on where Regal is."

Jeff said to the detective, "Just keep me informed."

"I guess so." The detective turned back to his desk to continue his work. The officer signaled for Jeff to follow him, leading him out of the office.

While it was dark outside, the entire house was bright with every light turned on. A knock came at the door. Jen walked over, wearing slippers as part of her more casual clothing. Her approach was silent. It was broken by her gasp as she opened the door to find the man she shadowed that day. "Jeff! I...didn't expect you."

Jeff was direct, "A camera was placed in the server. I came to make sure you were alright."

"Thanks. You can come in if you want."

Jeff opened the screen door, passing by Jen as he walked into the living room. The area was directly adjacent to the kitchen, which Jeff could see some food being prepared. Jen came up behind him.

"I have dinner ready if you would like some."

Jeff smiled, trying to convey some warmness. "Sure, I would like that."

Jen walked to the kitchen. Jeff sat down in the couch, looking around while he waited. It took only a few moments before Jen returned with two bowls filled with hot stew. She handed it over before sitting in an adjacent chair.

After taking a few bites, she tried to stir up a conversation. "So what made you become a P.I.?"

Jeff stopped eating, but said nothing.

"Come on! This is completely off the record. You can't avoid answering everything forever."

Jeff sighed. He avoided looking at her when he spoke, "Truth is, I'm not sure which I'm tired more of: explaining it or having it told to myself."

Jen saw the sorrow in his eyes, "Does it have to do with that thing you showed me?"

"A little."

Jen tried to keep as sympathetic as possible in her questioning. "What was it?"

Jeff looked up at her. This was not the part he was hurt about. "Do you watch sci-fi movies?" he asked her.

"A little. why?"

"Well, it goes into that realm. It's a called a Dimensional Transport. What it does is travel between alternate universes, alternate time-lines if you will."

Jen got the concept. "Like "Shifters"?"

Jeff didn't get the reference; since it was a television show native to this world. "I...don't exactly know. But I guess you got the right idea."

She turned to her skeptical instincts. "How can I know that's the truth? All you've shown me was...."

Jeff cut her off by holding out his left hand and launching the grappling beam to the wall. It was a very clear demonstration for Jen.

"OK. I believe you."

Jeff flicked his wrist, dissipating the beam. He resumed eating his stew. She too ate a few spoon-full of the meal before a question came to her. "That still doesn't answer my question: Why did you become a P.I.?"

Jeff looked at her, giving a very resolute answer, "Because I can't ignore those in pain anymore."

Jen finished her bowl, satisfied with the answer. She got up, taking Jeff's empty bowl. "I'm going to bed. Consider the place yours for the night."

Jeff needed to know one thing, mostly for logistics. "Does your husband work late?"

She was confused as to why he knew that, until he pointed at a picture of the couple. After that realization, she was saddened. "No. He's out of town; a conference in Nebraska."

"Did you tell him?" He referred to the shooting.

She shook her head negative. "I couldn't tell him right now. He needs to concentrate on his own work."

Jeff showed he disagreed with that decision. "Trust me, call him. It won't do you any good keeping it to yourself." This was an obvious reflection of his experience with Miles a few weeks ago.

Jen showed appreciation for the advice. "Sure, I'll do that. Thank you." She left to the kitchen, leaving Jeff to lay down on the couch. The way she agreed told Jeff that she probably wouldn't do it, though he hoped otherwise.

A cell phone went off in Jeff's pocket, waking him in the dark room. He had to adjust his position to retrieve it before answering drowsily, "Hello?"

It was the voice of the detective, "We got a lead. I already told the officer outside where Regal's residence is."

Jeff leaned up in the couch. "What about Jennifer?"

"Considering what I found, I don't think she's in any danger. Just in case I have another patrol heading that way. Plus I think you would probably want to see this."

"Then I'll be on my way."

Jeff hung up the phone, putting it back into his pocket. He walked to the door, making sure the lock was set when he opened it. Before he left, he looked back, as though at Jen. He was still concerned, but knew that the sooner the case was finished, the sooner she would _be_ safe. Walking out the door, he closed the door behind him.

Jeff walked through the rather luxurious home. It wasn't terribly large, it just held a lot of expensive stuff. Right in the living room was a very large HD television, with a surround sound system and several pieces of electronic consoles connected to it.

Other signs of expensive equipment and trinkets lie everywhere around the home. Jeff knew without a doubt that this person profited the most from the scam the group was running.

Detective Oldman was in the next room over, an office of sorts. There was a computer that a crime scene specialist was going through. The screen was pure text: they were working in a DOS mode.

Jeff approached the detective very directly. "What do you have for me?"

"Well, judging from the passports that we got, I think we only have this guy and maybe one other left."

"Passports?"

The detective referenced a stack of passports that was on the desk next to the crime scene specialist. "All the passports matched the I.D.'s of the men you fought. It looks like they did much of the grunt-work. Regal seems to be the ring leader. The only thing we don't know is who made the software and how our vic. got involved."

Jeff noticed the computer, pointing it out for Detective Oldman. "Having trouble getting anything out of that?"

The crime scene specialist turned around towards the detective, shaking his head negative. Oldman said to Jeff, "Yeah, I'm guessing Regal did a good job erasing everything. He also ditched the car here; so it'll be difficult to find him."

The detective noticed that Jeff had switched conversations on him. "You know something about Allen Carlile that I don't."

Jeff purposely hid the fact that he had a hard drive, and that for all he knew that Carlile was in on the scam. "Just speculation. I just know whatever he did got him killed."

Jeff was wandering around the Regal house. He had been looking around for the past hour, scanning with his glasses. He was in the kitchen when Detective Oldman approached him with a bit of news. "They gone through the computer and confirmed that it was completely erased; more so than if he took a magnet to it."

Jeff continued to search around, seeing if there was anything hidden. "What else is new?"

"They went through the other equipment connected to that computer. From what they found in the router, they guessed that he was using an onion-type encryption technique to hide his identity."

Jeff knew the term, though it was slightly different from his own world. "Slow, but he could connect to anything the spyware was in without being identified. He also shredded every paper document pretty well. I think a phrase involving paranoia certainly applies here."

Jeff took a quick break, finding nothing along the counters and cabinets. Detective Oldman noticed that Jeff had released his glasses. "Why do you hold your glasses like that?"

Jeff lied, again mostly to avoid other questions, "Mostly out of habit."

"I was just curious, especially since those aren't prescription glasses."

"Well...they're sentimental."

Oldman could tell Jeff didn't really want to answer anything about the glasses. "Alright."

A phone rang in the detective's pants. He quickly snagged it out and answered, "Oldman here." He listened for a few seconds before replying, "OK, I'll be on my way."

"What was that?" Jeff asked.

"We were able to get a warrant for all of Regal's phones and communication devices. They found a cell phone signal in a hotel along Cherry. Want to come along?"

Jeff was curious about Oldman's inclusion. "How come you're letting me in on this case? I thought it was official police not to include PI's?"

"Well, considering what you've already been through, I figured I could include you in on this."

"I guess I'll take it."

The two left the home.

Jeff and Detective Oldman were following a very tired manager. He led along the walkway on the second floor of the motel. He nearly passed the room before stopping. The manager already had out his keys and was intending to open the door before the detective said, "No, I'll open it."

The motel manager backed away, saying, "Alright."

He handed the keys over to the detective, keeping an watch of the events that would unfold.

Oldman retrieved his gun, expecting trouble inside. He looked up at Jeff, "Ready?"

Jeff replied, seeing with his glasses inside, "Nobody's inside."

The detective was confused by that statement. "What?"

Jeff simply said, "I can tell that no one's inside."

The detective was about to ask how he would know that, but shrugged it off. He inserted the key into the door then carefully opened it up. Still aiming his gun, he turned into the room to find it empty.

Inside it was pristine, as though no one had been inside. Oldman wandered in, holstering his weapon. Jeff followed while the manager stood in the doorway.

"I guess you were right," the officer said to Jeff.

The two quickly looked around, Oldman finding a cell phone placed right on the table. It was purposely placed for anyone to see. Jeff saw it as well. "He must have used it as a decoy, knowing we would trace it."

The detective was frustrated with the turn of events. Letting out a grunt to release that frustration, he then turned to the manager. "How long was Regal going to stay here?"

Still tired, the manager answered, "Well, he only rented the room for one night. Just said he was going on the road first thing in the morning."

"Did you see his car?"

"Yeah. It was a grey....car. Not a truck. It had two doors. I don't know cars all that well."

That wasn't what Oldman wanted to hear, but it was something at least. Saying to himself, "I guess that's something for patrols to look out for."

Without even looking, Oldman gave up on finding anything more there. He snagged the phone then said to Jeff, "We're going to the precinct."

There was a few people wandering around the police station, usually hauling something from the Regal home. They had collected much and knew they needed to figure out everything before the villain got too far.

Jeff was pacing, looking at the passports. He was wondering what the connection between these people were. Holding one of the passports, he noted to himself, "This guy got caught for robbery, and the others had similar records. So how does Allen Carlile figure into this?"

The detective was going through several other things at his desk. He was far more systematic in his method. The hope was that the evidence would lead to someplace, rather than having it support a theory.

Jeff had an idea. He went to another desk, where the computer had already been turned on. He put in one name from the passports. The result was an exact name, showing one of the men he encountered early that day. Using the mouse, he pointed right to where occupation was supposed to be.

It had nothing - no job was listed.

He went onto the next passport. The result was the same; the man had no work. Whispering to himself, "They were all in the same place..."

That in turn spurred another idea. He got up and approached Detective Oldman. "Can I borrow a car? I think we might have missed something at the field."

The detective was interested, but didn't think it would have led to anything. He handed Jeff a lone key.

"I doubt you'll get into trouble. Car's in the garage. Just click the key and you'll see it."

Jeff said, "Thanks." With that, he left the station.

At this time night was starting to give way to the morning light. It still was very dark, with the headlights of the car illuminating the roadway. Jeff stood in the middle of the crime scene, right where Allen had died.

"This is where they met," Jeff said to himself, "But other than it's out in the middle of nowhere, why here?"

Jeff looked around, seeing if there was anything more to the field than just the tall grass. Using the zoom function of his glasses, he scanned the horizon. He found a house and barn towards the edge of the field. He began to to trek towards it, making a new path in the field.

Jeff wandered into the old home on the farm. It had been long abandoned. The door was wide open and every window leaked in moonlight. He attempted to find some type of light switch, but there was none. Giving up, he used his glasses to scan the building.

Moving to the next room, he looked down to find a hatch to the basement. Walking through the open room, he easily found the hatch and opened it. Inside was a ladder; one much newer than the rest of the house.

Jeff climbed down to find the basement filled with tables. He only had to walk in a few feet before finding a overhead light. Pulling the metal string revealed the room filled with papers.

Going to one of the tables, Jeff looked at one of the papers carefully. He knew this was the smoking gun; the very evidence that Regal and the others had stolen money from various banks.

"They stole from not just a few banks," Jeff summarized to himself, "There's information of hundreds. This one is from India, one from Spain, Russia. They were making a lot."

He was moving from paper to paper, finding more of the evidence. Then one paper caught his eye. It was from Allen. It read: "Frank, I got another ping from the server. This one will close in a day or two, so I have one request. Put my share into the trust fund that my son has. I'm not sure how much longer we can keep this up..."

Jeff stopped reading. He found the exact reason Allen joined up with Regal. "All he cared for was his son and daughter."

That was when he heard a noise. Looking back at the entrance, the ladder was snagged upward and out of reach. Switching modes, Jeff easily found a warm body moving in the house, rushing to get away.

Then a beep was heard behind him. He looked back, then under a table. There was clearly a bomb, with the red numbers showing not much time left.

Jeff ran to the gleaming open hatch. Thrusting his arm upward, the grappling launched to the ceiling. Retracting it pulled him back up to the first floor. Reaching with his foot, he got himself back onto ground and began running towards the back; approximately the same route the villain had used.

Running out, he slammed into tall fields of overgrown wheat. Even though it was thick, he continued to run.

The house exploded.

Jeff dove downward, to avoid some of the flaming debris that was raining down near him.

He looked up, scanning the area with his glasses. He easily found his enemy, still running through the field. Jeff got up and ran right after him.

Then a maze of corn appeared to Jeff. It was either through the maze or through the walls of corn. Jeff took a step back and rammed through the corn. He dove right onto Regal.

Regal recovered quickly, throwing Jeff over him onto the ground. The villain reached for his gun - had grabbed it - but it was too late. Jeff had rolled back up and was aiming his own gun at him.

"Hold it!"

Regal did just that. He still held the gun, but rose with his hands up in the air. Jeff mirrored the villain when getting up, keeping his sights on him. "I guess you got me," Regal said to Jeff.

"In that I did."

Regal laughed at himself, "All because of that stupid man."

"The very one that made you rich."

"Yeah,but that man, was he _annoying_. Everything had to be done a certain way." the villain chuckled, "He wasn't afraid of the cops. No, he wanted to keep it from his stupid family."

Jeff didn't like what he was saying.

Despite the visual rejection from his captor, Regal continued his rant. "Then he kept saying things about trust funds and saving accounts. Couldn't be happy with just the mediocre cash he was given. Finally, I just had it. He said he thought he found another job; one which he wouldn't be a "crook." The guys thought he would be rat. Me, it was because he would not stop talking about those stupid kids."

Something snapped in Jeff. He fired his gun; right into Regal's head. At that time - that moment - he didn't care about the circumstances. It was what he said about Allen Carlile.

Jeff slackened his arm. He watched as the villain went silent. Regal just gave one last breath before falling backward onto the ground. Jeff stared at the body. The grey eyes, the hairy arms, every small pimple on Regal's face was seared into Jeff. It seemed like it would be alive if it wasn't so still.

An hour later, police surrounded the villain's body. Detective Oldman stood next to Jeff, showing sympathy. The coroner moved the body into the black cart. They zipped it up the bag. Jeff stood for a while longer, until morning had come. He finally knew what to do.

Jen opened the door to her home. Jeff was right there, a very serious look on his face. "Can I ask a favor of you?"

Jen nodded. "Sure, anything."

Jeff held up the hard drive; the only piece of physical evidence left. "I need you to hold on to this; keep it secret."

She took the drive, curious as to its importance. "Uh...sure. What's on it?"

Jeff explained, "It shows that Allen Carlile wrote the spyware. He did it to support his family; his children especially."

"But shouldn't the police have this?"

"He already paid the price. His two children have to live without their father. I just hope they won't have to learn the other sacrifices he made."

Jeff walked away, leaving Jen with the last piece of evidence that Allen Carlile was a criminal.

Jeff stood in front of Harriet. She waited at her doorstep, leaning forward to listen to him. It wasn't the actual truth, but it was the best answer Jeff could give, "All we know is that Allen found these guys and were about to turn them in. He was doing the right thing; just got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Harriet smiled, "Allen was like that; always doing the best thing. I was just told that he hid away money for the kids, so they would go to college." She showed much pride in her husband, in the lie that Jeff had told. "I'm sure he thought of them every moment until the end."

"From what I found, I know that to be true." That, at least, was true.

The Transport was a much lonelier place. There was no wonder anymore as colors swirled into the cockpit. Jeff had finished all the button pressing and other commands for the Transport. He looked up at the photo of Kara.

Tears flowed from his eyes. While it was for a good cause, he still felt like he let her down.

"I'm sorry, Kara. I'm sorry."

Episode 6

### Alone

The Dimensional Transport's portal darkened the sky. The birds flew away, fearing it as though it was a violent storm. Nothing else in the tall wheat plains payed attention. Even the birds perched on the leaf-less tree had not moved.

The Transport exited the portal. The dark swirl flashed away. The sky returned to the normal clear day, though clouds hovered tantalizingly close. Jeff would have no problem finding a place to land.

He looked across the landscape. There was a large city in the distance. Setting a course, his next job was to check to see what was there. In pressing several buttons, he discovered something important, "Nobody's here. Transmission signals: negative. Satellite communication: negative. No electrical energy. Only signs of wildlife."

Then a beep sounded. This was a new one. It was something he hadn't heard before. But he was expecting it for sometime. He moved to a new screen, seeing a red-lettered notice.

"He's here. Karns is in this world."

The Transport landed underneath a large bridge. This was the best spot to keep the Transport hidden within the city. As ramp opened, Jeff walked out. He immediately looked all around the environment.

There was not a single car on the road. Everything was quiet. There wasn't even the faint buzz of electricity running. It was cold, clouds hovering over the skies. Jeff only had a light jacket on; adequate for the moment.

There was no immediate threat...or much of anything. Walking down the street, where various business would have been open. Now there was only dark rooms within. Turning a corner, Jeff found a grocery store. The doors were permanently wide open for anyone or anything to be let in.

Going inside, Jeff walked down along the check stands and toward where there was still a stack of newspapers. Lifting one up, he noticed it was the "Yorkston Times," for the date "July 14, 2004"

"Well, I have to guess this was at least a few years ago."

Moving down to the main headline, it was labeled, "City ordered to evacuate; power cut to entire state."

He didn't look any further. There wasn't much more than that within the next few paragraphs. Jeff outwardly thought, "Something happened here. Can make it easier to find Karns...as long as he stays in the city."

Setting down the newspaper, Jeff looked at the isles of the store. On one side...was not pleasant. The fruits and vegetables had all rotted away. There was still a stench coming from the display. A few rats hovered around to consume the rotten food.

Moving further down, the isles were only slightly better. Most of the shelves were cleaned off. One had fallen down and was leaning up against another shelf that still stood. The frozen food isle had all the doors closed, but were all still very messy. The parts that had frozen treats had all melted a long time ago. All that remained was a stain within all the shelves. He dared not open any of the doors.

"I guess I'll have to find some food elsewhere."

As Jeff walked out, a group of deer pass by. He watched as they ran along their own predetermined path. A laugh came to him, something of a rarity. It just seemed too random of an event for him not to. "Kara would have loved to see that."

Then he realized what he just said. Jeff decided to leave the piece of humor at that. He continued farther down the street. This was a road that had trees planted along for decoration. That decoration was now almost a barrier, as several trees and bushes had grown in the mean time. Jeff chose to travel along the main road, despite being prevented from even seeing what the buildings held.

Then a phone began to ring. It wasn't just a phone; it was every phone in the area. Jeff knew something was wrong. Crossing over one bush, he found one of the public phones that was ringing. Without hesitation, he picked it up.

"Ahh, good. I was hoping you would hear that." It was Karns' voice.

Jeff was direct in his own questions, "Why are you here, Karns?"

"While we don't have much time, we still can have a little conversation, can't we?"

Jeff said, "That still doesn't answer my question."

"Well, in case you haven't noticed, there's no one in this large city. My guess here, nuclear warfare is replaced with E.M.P's. I've only found this generator by accident. Enough to make this conversation possible."

"So you think this is a game?"

Karns replied, "Of the deadly kind. After all, we're after each other. This way no one gets in the crossfire."

"I thought you didn't care about anyone else."

Karns laughed, "You have me mistaken for some stereotypical terrorist. I won't kill anyone just willy-nilly."

"Then what was that back there, capturing a police officer's wife."

"Ahh that. _That_ was an experiment of mine. You see, smart gangs and other underground organizations rarely go after cops. That would only bring their attention onto them. So I thought, why not do just that. Try to make an monopoly in the black market. Hop out of that world, come back in a few months."

"Too bad things don't work like that with the Transport."

"No, it didn't. Just a set back though. I can still collect things, then settle down when I'm satisfied with what I have. Though you make that plan difficult."

"And thus, this game you laid out," Jeff deduced.

"Yup. I'll just say that I'll be hanging around downtown. Other than that, well, you'll find out." Then Karns hung up. Jeff was left with the phone still in his hand. Rather than set it back, he just dropped it. Considering there was no one left in the city and no electricity running, there was no use in setting it back.

He looked below the small booth. There was only a metal string hanging. Walking back up the street, he looked around for an open building. He saw a nearby door open. Deciding it was as good of an option as any, Jeff walked to it.

The main lobby was very dusty. The rugs released some of the dust into the air as he stepped onto them. Going around the desk, he looked in the shelves to see if there was a phone book. Shoving all the papers and other utilities out of the way. The one thing he was looking for wasn't there.

"I hope they didn't take all the phone books along with the food," he humored himself.

He marched down the hall a little bit, settling before a random door. Lifting his foot, he pounded at it. Several hits were made before the door gave way.

The room was messy to say the least. Jeff had to shove several dishes, pots, hammers and other things that the tenants left behind. He strode through the layer of stuff, finding a closet. He finally found the phone book above his head. Rising onto his toes, he snagged the book.

Looking around, he saw there was a couch. Further wading through the clutter, he got to the couch and sat down. Right in front of him was a big screen television. It was something that one would relax in front of for hours. Now, it was just a waste of space or a poor decoration.

Sitting down, Jeff set the book upon his lap. Before opening it, he looked around the abandoned apace. It was a spacious apartment. It was certainly something that Jeff would have appreciated in another life.

He thought to himself, "Actually, this reminds me of that one apartment we looked at..."

Two years ago

Kara wondered into the room first with Jeff in tow. The real estate agent behind them kept a very formal manner, "As you can see, this is very spacious. More importantly, it's centrally located among several restaurants, stores, and theaters."

Kara almost ran into the main room, spinning around in an almost playful manner. Jeff was more controlled over his observation. It was all empty space, with a closed storage cabinet as the sole piece of decoration.

He wandered in and tucked his head into the nearby bedroom. He deem the space pretty decent. Moving to back into the main room, he said to Kara, "This isn't bad. How about you, honey?"

Playfully she said, "Nope."

Jeff was almost disappointed. This was not most definitely not the first place they'd seen that day. "So what's wrong?" asking for probably the tenth time just that day.

The reply was similar to all the others, "The space isn't right."

The agent gave her guess, "Is it not large enough?"

"No...It just feels like I can't do anything with it."

"Oh kay......" Jeff commented about Kara's continued lack of description.

The real estate agent stepped forward. "I do have a few others in this building that are different. They are a bit more expensive than what you quoted."

Jeff thought about it. Then he gave his suggestion aloud, directed toward Kara but was sure be heard by the real estate agent. "How about a house."

Kara was intrigued, but at the same time concerned. "I thought you said we couldn't afford a house."

Jeff gave a shrug, "I can make a few sacrifices, presuming my raise doesn't get through."

She thought about it, thinking of possibilities. Jeff saw something in that, "You haven't lived in a house before, have you?"

"Nope. Don't get that when traveling the world all the time."

"Well, they aren't like apartments," he explained to Kara, "We can change or renovate anything you want."

That did it for Kara; the freedom to do anything with a room. "All right, let's go see some houses."

The real estate agent shifted some papers, looking through the list of residences that she had. "Although I cover mostly apartments, I got a few options available for you.

Present day

Jeff was still sitting down, going through the phone book. He looked back up, once again inspecting the space that he sat in. Remembering that experience, "Yeah, I think Kara would have hated this place as well."

He went back to the phone book, finding the entry he needed. "There's the telephone company. If Karns called from anywhere, that would be it."

Flipping it to the back, Jeff looked at the rough map of the Downtown area. He found the street that he was on. The other side of the map was where his target was located. There was no need to check for scale, Jeff knew it would be way too far to walk. Using the Transport would have been too conspicuous, particularly in a dead city like this one.

"Well, have to see if I can find a car."

Jeff emerged into the parking garage from a set of stairs. Going down any set of elevator were not an option. Instead, the longer and more sweat-inducing method had to be used. In a way, the cool air made exercise necessary to keep himself warm.

He was holding a flashlight and swung it around to scan the dark area. A chirp came from the darkness. Lifting his light upward, he found some bats were hanging from crumbled portions of the ceiling.

"I guess the wildlife is more comfortable in this world." His voice echoed a little in the open space.

He walked down the mostly clear garage. There was one car in view. He approached it, checking the door. It was locked. Taking the butt of the large flashlight, he smashed it into the glass. It bounced off without as much as a crack. A second swing produced the same result.

"Let's... find another car."

Jeff went further into the darkness. There was water dropping through a pipe. Underneath was a large puddle that Jeff chose to navigate around.

Then he saw a yellow car. Moving closer he saw it was labeled as a taxi. It was unusual in that it could hold at least eight people. Jeff knew that considering the situation, his choice of vehicle was rather limited.

Once again, he checked the door. It was open this time. He leaned inside, first checking the glove compartment. It held several papers and a map. The latter Jeff pulled out while leaving the rest in as he closed it back up. Then he shifted to the middle compartment. Inside he found a dead iPod. Shifting further, he found small trinkets and a few books; nothing he could really use.

Then he felt something below him. Getting back up, he found a set of keys sitting right on the driver's seat. Taking them, he made an educated guess to which one was right.

Now he properly sat in the vehicle and closed the door next to him. He put the key into the ignition. With a turn he hoped the car still worked. Luckily, the car started. The headlights illuminated the wall in front of him; and in turn the rest of the car. He shifted the gear to reverse then pulled out of the parking spot.

He drove slowly. The signs directing him toward the exit appeared only feet in front of him. They were not designed to be seen by a car's headlight. He turned twice, not having to change floors to find the exit.

However, a chain door blocked him. He couldn't help but comment, "It's the end of the world as you know it. Why lock up behind you?"

Jeff got out, taking the problem in stride. Getting closer to the outdoors, he noticed that it had started snowing. It wasn't heavy at that moment. Jeff enjoyed the sight of the light snowfall. He always lived in a temperate climate, where little snow appeared each winter. Looking upward, he stood there for just for a moment before he went back to work.

Leaning down, he found a latch in the bar. Pulling it released the doorway. The bar whipped up a few inches before resting. Taking the cold bar, Jeff pulled it up halfway. He shifted his stance to shove the bar fully upward.

With the barrier gone, he returned to inside the car. The headlights had automatically stopped; the car detected enough light to switch them off. He looked down at the gas gauge. "I hope a half-tank will be enough."

He drove the car out to the street and towards his destination.

Jeff opened the door into the telephone company's two-story building. It was dark. The building was designed with plenty of interior lighting, all now useless. Jeff wielded a large flashlight. He also had to hold his glasses to scan the area. Coming to a main work area, it was bright with the large windows above. It was still cold; some of the windows had broken long ago.

Standing in the middle, he looked around to see if there was anyone there. There was not a single sign of life. "Not surprising Karns isn't here."

He walked down another hall. This was more sterile than previous halls. Jeff had guessed this was where all the technical equipment was. Finding a pair of swinging doors, Jeff looked into it. Inside was tons of large equipment; each with a seat in front. He focuses on the panels, trying to see their function in the dark.

"Switchboards," he surmised to himself. He walked in to the room. There was several layers of the switchboards. Then the light illuminated a large box sitting next to one particular panel. Moving closer, he saw the box was actually a power generator.

Looking up close, Jeff found a label. It had generator's power output. Inspecting it, the numbers in his head didn't add up. "He couldn't have powered those phones with just this alone. I don't think he could have with dozens of these..."

Then there was a click. A sound of metal shifting grated the room. Jeff swung around to see a huge block coming his way. He dove out of the way, hearing the crash of the block hitting the generator. The two objects then slammed into the wall, opening a hole.

Jeff heard creaking. It was coming from above. He ran out of the room, using his memory more than the flashlight to navigate. He swung around a corner. His body crashed into the wall before turning back the way he came.

Behind him, the entire second floor collapsed onto the first. Dust filled the dark air, his flashlight clearly showing the aftermath. There was rubble, steel and various other office furniture laying in a pile. There was no way to go back the way he came even if Jeff wanted to.

"Probably best to get out of here, before any more surprises show themselves."

More creaking, then a crash, was heard; this time from somewhere else around the building. Jeff quickly searched around using his glasses. He saw that beyond the blockade the entire hall had collapsed.

Then more sounds came from above.

Jeff dashed back towards the switchboard room. He didn't care how long it would take for that section to fall, he had to be out before that happened.

Another crash, this time it was ahead of him. He couldn't see it with his flashlight; presuming he could even keep that steady. He was just two feet from it before he found another hallway had fallen in.

There was another path. Running down, he swung corner after corner. Jeff had to rely on his instinctive direction to find an exit.

Then he arrived in the large, bright center room. More glass had broken. Dust assailed the sense more here than in the hallways.

He stood there, thinking. Looking around with his glasses, he tried to formulate a plan. There was several windows on the second floor. Jeff shrugged that idea. There was not telling how stable the structure was as is, much less with his weight added. There was emergency exits along the other two walls, but the paths were winding.

As much he would like to, he decided, "No time for a decent plan."

Taking the last option, he just ran. He wound down one dark hallway. Turning a corner, he found another wall of debris. Going back, he took a different hall.

This time he heard something. It was another crash; just like the trap Karns had placed. He stopped for a quick second. Looking just above, he couldn't quite confirm it, but there was something that looked just like the trap.

Not taking the time to confirm, he ran. The ceiling crumbled behind him. He took another corner in the dark space. Finally, the door appeared in front of him; the red marking showing it clearly in the limited light. Jeff smashed into it, diving outside.

The light snow had put a minor layer of white upon the grass. Nearly falling down, Jeff breathed in the fresh air, standing for just a second to catch his breath. Then more noise was heard; more destruction had occurred.

Slightly concerned, Jeff stumbled across the grass. The best option now was to get farther away from the building. Looking back, he only saw the wall. Plumes of dust rose into the sky, a demonstration of the damage that was dealt.

"If _this_ is a game, I'll have to come prepared."

Jeff sat in the car, looking through the small phone book that was stored in the car. A map laid on the passenger seat for reference. The snow was building on top the car, including the windshield. It actually let more light into the vehicle than before.

The phone book was in the emergency look ups; specifically police. The first comparison he looked up on the map was close. Too close. "Probably can't use that one. Karns would have the same idea....and I already know what kind of footprint he has."

He moved down to a random entry down the list. This one was half-way across the city. This one would do.

He started the car back up. The windshield wipers activated and whipped the snow off. He looked down at the fuel meter. It hovered just below half-full. "At least I got one of the more fuel-efficient cabs."

Putting it into drive, he moved forward to his new destination. In his rear view the building was still pluming with dust.

Jeff walked into the police station. The only indication it was one was by looking at the remaining pictures. The entire space otherwise looked like an average office. It was dark, with only a sparse amount of light filtered in through the few windows. Jeff had to use the flashlight across every corner and pathway.

He moved through the offices. They were messy, having to wade through various papers and fallen computers. Going back down one hallway he found the jail. It was ironically one of the few places that light permeated the building.

Jeff commented, "This was _not_ what I was looking for." He moved back toward the offices.

This time, he turned down a different path to find storage lockers. Holding onto the doorknob, he found it locked. Going back to the office, Jeff went to the first desk. He opened the drawers and rifled through the contents. He didn't find any keys.

The next desk, he pulled the drawers straight out. Contents were just papers; no keys.

Another drawer: more stuff, no keys.

He gave out a sigh, "I guess it's time to bust some myths."

Returning to the storage locker, he removed his gun from his improvised holster. With the barrel a few inches away from the lock, he shifted over to the side. He figured that ricochets would go the other way.

It did just that. The bullet fired into the lock then could be heard going through the opposite wall. Aiming his flashlight, he inspected the lock. It was severely damaged but looked intact. He tried the knob again. It was still locked. Putting more force in, Jeff found it had progressed. One more shove, the door flew open.

Shining the flashlight in, there was several tables and drawers. No guns were visible. Looking along the walls there another door. This time it was made of steel. "I doubt I can use the same trick twice."

He moved to the long drawers. Opening them, he found something interesting. There was several sci-fi looking weapons. Each one looked like they would have been new; at least from when the city was abandoned.

At the end of the drawer was a paper. It was roughly folded and had been seen several times before. Taking it out, Jeff held it to the light. It read, "The RS-200 series stun-pistols are currently designed for tactical uses where civilians may be caught in crossfire. They are designed to send electrical pulses that causes unconsciousness, effectively "knocking out" a person. It is effective through normal clothing, including the heaviest of winter clothing. It is not, however, effective against body armor.

"For now, they are to be used only for emergency situations where mass violence occurs. Everyday use is planned, but only after a trial period and city officials, including the mayor, have signed off."

Jeff knew the reasons behind the last sentence. "Yeah. Too many people get wrong ideas about tested technology. Wouldn't be the first." For too many times, he heard rumors and wild speculation quoted as fact, and too few people willing to look for the real facts.

He grabbed a one of the guns. Finding the small latch on the bottom, he released the power pack. Inspecting it, he figured out it was rather simple in design. "Presuming the power output isn't incorrect, I could reconfigure these to take double-A batteries."

Taking two of them out and setting them onto the table. Now he moved to the lockers. These were wide open.

Unfortunately, there were no protective vests. Instead, just a few holsters designed to hold pistols near the chest and waist. Opening the next locker, there was a single vest. It was rather light, but Jeff knew it was his only option.

Jeff removed his jacket and took the vest to put it onto himself.

One year, eight months ago

Jeff was getting his dress shirt on. The tie was hanging over the coat in which he was to wear. Brian was next to him, also dressing.

"I never thought I see this day, you know that?"

Jeff nonchalantly said, "As you have said several times this week. And don't make me give a quote on how many times you've said it this month."

Brian retorted, "Well...still, you have to..."

Jeff continued Brian's comment, "....admit that _I_ wouldn't be likely to marry before you. Yes, we've gone through this as well."

Brian didn't appreciate that Jeff knew him all that well. "Alright, alright. I'll stop saying it....Just one more time!"

Jeff stopped him. "No. Go...get a drink or something."

Brian, still with a button loose on his shirt, began to walk out of the room. He opened the door when Jeff said, "And nothing alcoholic. You're the best man and I don't need you staggering."

The friend wave his hand behind him, "I won't." He left the room at that.

Jeff completed buttoning up his shirt and moved onto his tie. He was attempting to maneuver the tie into place, but was having difficulty tying it. This went on several minutes with several different methods being attempted.

Then the door opened. Jeff expected it to be Brian, or at least someone else. Instead it was Kara, wearing a casual dress. He saw her in the mirror.

"Kara?"

She approached him as he turned around. She immediately grabbed the tie and began tying it herself. "I knew you couldn't have tied this yourself."

Jeff was still a bit confused. "Isn't it bad luck for the groom to see the bride on their wedding day?"

"It's while she's in her wedding dress. Anyway, too late for that now. You don't want to know the crap my dad had to go through."

"Yeah, I've heard about the hotel." Apparently the hotel had several logistical problems, including at least one reserved room that had been occupied.

But Kara further informed Jeff, "The hotel...was not crap. Not compared to what he went though with the reception hall."

Jeff grimaced at the thought. "I think you're right; I don't want to know."

Kara laughed as she completed the tie. "Don't worry. Today's going to be a great day."

"I don't doubt that one bit."

They stared at each other for a quick second before Kara put a finger on Jeff's lips. " _That_ is bad luck. I'll see you down the isle."

She began to walk out of the room when Jeff said, "That's in forty-five minutes. Do you have time to get into your dress."

Poking her head back in, she playfully said, "You can wait."

Jeff laughed to himself as she closed the door.

Present day

The snow was getting more severe. Jeff looked up to find the skies darkening. He still had the light jacket on, but it was loose over his vest and holsters hugging his waist. The stun-pistols were obviously holstered within.

He didn't like how the skies looked. "It's winter, so it will probably be dark in a few minutes. Sorry Karns, this game will have to wait for tomorrow."

Jeff kicked in the door, finding an empty room. There was plenty of dust but that didn't deter him. Walking into the vacated apartment, he went through the cabinets in the small kitchen. There was nothing in any of the cabinets barring large books. He went to the bed room...finding a collapsed bed.

"Well, I knew finding food and a place to sleep wasn't going to be easy...I just wish it was."

Another door was kicked in. This time, Jeff found it wasn't even worth searching. Cats immediately approached him, stopping several feet away. They stared at him, not sure exactly if he was friendly or not.

The more aggressive ones took the front of the curious pack. Jeff saw the implication. "I'll...leave you guys alone...."

He closed the door.

Jeff just opened this door; it was left unlocked. He walked down the hall. Reaching the kitchen, he found cans of food. Taking one out, he looked at the bottom. It had the expiration date on it. "I don't know what day today is...but I'm going to take a guess this is bad."

He tossed it casually behind him. Going to another section of cans, he pulled out a can of soup. Turning this one over, he found this one had no expiration date. Turning it back, he looked at the label.

Giving a shrug, "Beggars can't be choosers."

An hour later, Jeff was sitting next to the fireplace. The open can was hovering above the flames. He was using a long metal extension to keep his hands away from the hot can. The label had long since burned off into ashes.

Carefully, Jeff removed the can from the fire. Still holding it with the metal grips, he put the his off-hand over the can to test the soup's temperature. Satisfied, he took a nearby bowl - one that had severe cracking on it - and poured the meal into it. Some liquid leaked. Jeff quickly grabbed a cloth to plug it.

With that done, he began eating it. Jeff clearly didn't like it. But he powered through, knowing it probably was going to be the only thing he would eat for a long while.

He finished the bowl. The only thing he could say to himself, "I hope that won't do something to my stomach."

He moved down the hall to a closed door. Opening it, he found something unpleasant: in the bed lay a skeleton. It wasn't clean, patches of flesh still kept many of the limbs attached. There was no smell. The window was left cracked open. Instead of being repulsed, Jeff was saddened. He knew exactly what happened.

"In the confusion of the evacuation, everyone forgot this guy. He was just left alone, and has been alone all this time."

His hand was still on the doorknob. All Jeff did, all he could do, was look at the remains and reflect upon the sight. Getting back into the real world, he decided to walk away. "I'll leave you alone for the night. It's the least I can do."

He softly closed the door behind him.

Jeff was sleeping on an old couch. He had the stun-pistols lying on the table in front of him, and the scan-glasses were on his face. Sunshine blinded him back to the waking world.

Groggy, he got up. Jeff had to look around to reorient himself. It was a completely different place because now the apartment was lit. Getting up, he took the guns and holstered them back up. Shifting over, he grabbed the vest that hung from the back of the couch. Strapping it back onto himself, he couldn't help but keep looking at the bedroom door.

He grimly decided to deal with that situation.

Walking into the room, he looked at the bed itself. The sheets had remained. Afraid of causing further problems, he decided to grab the edge of the cloth. The first one he simply pulled it out from under the bed. He repeated this for each corner.

With the sheets loose, he pulled one corner into the center. Reaching over, he pulled the opposite and tied the two ends together.

The snow had piled up over night. Entire roads was filled with the white coating. It was still snowing heavily enough that it was piling up on the bed-sheets. Jeff had to drag the entire impromptu bag, not having the strength or care to carry it in-hand. It still wasn't easy work. The task was made worse after having to drag it down several sets of stairs.

Finally, he arrived at the taxi. He had to leave the bundle behind for a short bit, going to the front seat. He opened the car, not having cared to lock the door the night before. He had to search for a lever or switch. Then he found the button and pressed it. The trunk automatically lifted up its door. With that, he went back to the body.

Attempting to keep everything together, he lifted the bundle and set them into the trunk. It wasn't easy, as he had trouble keeping a good grip. But he did it on his first attempt, not dropping the remains.

Closing the trunk, Jeff said to himself, "Now to find someplace better for you to rest."

The air was grim, despite the bright light reflecting off the snow. Stones towered over the layer of white. Most were in good condition, though some had fallen long ago.

Jeff was lucky that he found an open grave. He didn't see any bodies or coffins, or even a gravestone yet placed. He supposed this was as good as any. The car was parked only a few feet away. He was holding the wrapped remains.

A problem arose. The grave was six feet down, no ladder or pulley to gently lower the remains down with. Jeff looked around, confused in not knowing exactly what to do. Then he shrugged his shoulders.

"Sorry, guy. This will hurt only once."

He leaned over and dropped the skeleton into the grave. It gave an audible thump but otherwise looked fine. Then again, it was still wrapped in the bed sheets, so no one could accurately attest to the condition of the remains.

Jeff walked away, returning with a snow shovel. He used it to push huge piles of dirt and snow into the grave.

After more than an hour of work, he was roughly finished. Sweat leaked from every pore. He had long removed his coat, but didn't dare remove the vest. The last thing he did was find a large stone and hall it over the now-covered grave. He was breathing heavy, a bit exhausted.

"I'm surprised that took only two hours...I think." He generally had a good sense of time, even though he didn't have a watch.

He got into the car, intending on resting. His eyes was almost closed when something caught the corner of his eye. The glasses had found a person, very likely Karns, in a tall building. This woke him back up, giving him energy he didn't know he had before.

Jeff quickly took off the scan-glasses, looking at them. He shrugged, "I guess the lack of electrical activity gives this thing better range. At least I hope that's why."

Putting them back on, he double-checked that there was a person in that building. It was a quarter of the way up in the building that was at least twenty floors high.

Jeff put the car into drive. Before driving off, he gave a nod to the grave. "Thanks."

Jeff exited from the stairway. It was dark, but he did not hold a flashlight. Instead he was guided completely by a night-vision mode in his glasses. He didn't find it the best option, bumping into a few things he couldn't see in his peripheral vision.

He roughly walked toward the signal. Moving slowly, he scanned the hall to make sure there was no traps set for him. Then he arrived to the closed door that would reveal Karns. Jeff had no doubt that it was locked. So he readied himself, not telling exactly what Karns was doing or which way he faced. He removed one of the stun-pistols, preferring to hold it in both hands.

He kicked in the loose door. Diving in, he aimed his weapon at Karns. The opponent had reacted fast, aiming his own pistol at Jeff.

"Hello, Mr. Hunter."

Jeff and Karns held their respective weapons at each other. Karns looked at the stun-pistol with curiosity.

"I see you've been collecting a few things yourself," Karns said to his enemy.

"Yeah. And I'm tired of hearing your voice," Jeff retorted.

Jeff shot at Karns, not giving him the chance to react. The bolt of light hit him directly in the chest. Karns fell down onto the floor, unconscious. But then Jeff heard something. Looking onto the ground that Karns stood, a peddle had been released.

The floor beneath Jeff gave way. He didn't fall far, only to the next floor. But it was far enough to hit his leg hard. Pain shot throughout his body. Jeff screamed out, then looked back up.

He lie on the floor, rolling over onto his back.

With his glasses, he saw Karns was still there, still asleep. Jeff tried to get up, but more pain went straight through his left leg. As much as he could, he couldn't get up under his own power.

Rolling back over onto his belly, he tried crawling to the wall.

Then a new creak sounded below him. Jeff quickly reacted, rolling back over and launching the grappling beam. It hit the ceiling just in time, having the floor below him collapse.

He hung there, looking down at the much lower floor. It was several floors down before he could see rubble. He looked around to find the rest of the room's floor had fallen. The walls and main supports were strategically left standing. The nearest platform was a doorway, closed and too far for Jeff to swing.

Looking back up, there was the tantalizing glimpse of Karns. He still was asleep, right above Jeff. "Damn."

He began to lower himself down to the floor, far below and away from his chance to get Karns.

Jeff drove the car right where an ambulance would normally park. The car door opened, a huge stick poked out. Attached to it was Jeff. He was stepping almost awkwardly with his good foot. Subsequently he dragged out his left, broken foot.

Using the excessively large stick as a cane, he limped toward the hospital door. The glass was still there. Jeff simply took out his pistol - the one with actual bullets - and shot the glass several times.

Multiple spider-webs appeared in the glass. Jeff stood on one foot, careful not to get on his broken leg, and used the stick to smash the glass away. Walking the best he could, he traveled over the glass, not caring much about the damage.

Jeff first went to the emergency room, hoping that there would be something to help his leg. The medicine cabinet had only bottles labeled with complex names; useless unless you knew each one of the medicines. He moved onto another cabinet, finding nothing there of use. Only various instruments that no one bothered to pick up.

Another room, this time a examination room. Standing high, the upper cabinets were first explored. They lacked anything; long raided when the evacuation occurred. Jeff sighed. He slid the stick wide, carefully sliding down onto his good knee. Now on the ground, he opened the nearest cabinet.

Immediately inside was a boot. It was designed to go right up to the knee. "I guess this is what I've got."

Jeff got back up, this time more awkwardly now that he had to balance the boot in hand with the stick in the other. He intended to walk over to the bed only to find it lacked a mattress. He sighed, knowing that he had to deal with walking to the next room.

He slowly hobbled out of the room, holding the boot in one hand.

Two years ago

The early morning light was showing. Jeff was gathering the last of his notes into his briefcase. He was in the his study, upstairs across from the bedroom. The papers were normal for work, but where he was gathering them wasn't.

He sneezed. Then sniffled. Jeff had a cold, anyone could tell just by hearing him.

Kara walked in, wearing a robe. She leaned on the frame of the door, showing that she knew better. "Where are you going?"

Jeff looked directly at her. He knew what she was going to say, but he wanted otherwise. "I'm going to work. There's several tests I have to perform, not to mention..."

Kara cut him off. "Then don't. You're sick, Jeff. And not just a little. I felt your forehead this morning. You. Have. The. Flu. Get back into bed."

In all his years, he never skipped class or work. He survived worse. "I can't. There's so much to do and I..."

Kara continued not letting Jeff have the last word. "I may not know what you're doing, but I do know that Brian can take care of everything you can name. Make the call and get back into bed."

Jeff set the suitcase back down, defeated. Turning back around, he walked next to Kara when she put a hand up.

"Don't you give that flu to me either."

Jeff remarked, "You aren't going to make this fun at all."

"Not until you stop sneezing," It was an almost playful comment. "Now, get back to bed."

Jeff gave a closed-mouth laugh. Leaving the room, once again he sneezed.

Present day

Jeff got up onto a stretcher. It didn't look all too good itself, but was one of the few functioning beds left in the hospital. The room stretched long, showing that it used to hold multiple patients. Separation between where each patient would sleep was long gone. With the curtains torn down and machines taken away, it was just one large room rather then multiple smaller ones.

Looking out into the white streets outside, he gave a sigh. The winter weather was calm, but still very heavy. Driving maybe difficult. Walking maybe worse now with his leg.

Turning back to business, Jeff took the boot that he had carried. It was placed next to him, just far enough that he missed sitting on it when he got up onto the stretcher. Moving his foot up wasn't entirely painless. Once he could reach, he removed his shoe.

"I hope that this is all this leg needs."

Now he took the medical boot and put it on. It was snug, but didn't feel restrictive enough for his leg to heal. With a little pain, he twisted it around, looking for some form of instruction.

Then there was a button. It was next to a valve where it would normally be inflated. Luckily for Jeff, there was a backup mechanism.

He began repetitively pressing the soft button, inflating the boot's interior. It had taken a while for him to fully inflate the boot. When it was done, Jeff got off the stretcher. He was able to get onto the boot without too much pain - at least enough that he can handle.

"This should last a few days...until I can go into a universe with proper medical care."

Walking around the halls, he still wasn't as swift as he liked to be. Moving towards the entrance, he stopped at another patient room. Staring outside, he began to think of his next move.

"Karns should be waking up any moment. Considering, I can't come to him. Plus, I think going onto his turf isn't the best idea. So the question becomes...how can I lead him to me?"

He walked back towards the room he put on the boot. It was a long way to pace, but he had to do it. Jeff paced around the entire hallways of the ground floor. The walking took put took away from any distractions, and it kept him warm. The temperature in the hospital, or most any room in the entire city, was far from preferable. The snow didn't help that matter.

He winded down several different hallways. This kept his mind further away from his injuries. It was dark, he had to use the flashlight throughout his pacing. Here, in the dark hall somewhere within the hospital, Jeff stopped. He looked up, at where the lights that had remained.

"What's the one thing that Karns lacks in this world: Electricity." He looked back down, but continued to elaborate to himself about the idea. "They probably already used any generators here in the hospital. That's presuming they could even keep them secure. No, I'd have to look someplace that no one else would have thought there be a power generator....The power company!"

It was getting late when Jeff arrived at the power company. The building was much larger than the telephone company's. This was the main station for the entire city. Turning the key back, he shut down the taxi. He got out and noted to himself, "It's almost night. That'll make any lights that much more noticeable."

The building itself appeared unremarkable. The surrounding area was filled with various lines and metal frames that carried the electricity outward. A closer inspection would show all of the signs were made of multiple light bulbs, un-powered for ages.

Jeff made the short trek into the dark building. The interior didn't betray that expected darkness. He actually found it darker than any other building he had been in. There were no windows, nothing that would give any outside illumination. By design, it would all have been illuminated by the many lights on the ceiling.

Not too far inside, Jeff waved the flashlight around, searching for any obstacles in his way. He quickly noticed the building map. Moving closer, he found it was an emergency map; highlighting the exits and stairways. Using his finger, he traced a path to the nearest stairway was.

"If a generator is anywhere, it'll be in the lowest floor."

Now finding his goal was only a few relative blocks away, he continued his journey inside. He made two turns through well-decorated hallways. Posters had all sorts of advertisements, most had severe amounts of dust added to them. Some had fallen away, their shattered frames a peril to bare feet. Even though the boot was hard on the outside, Jeff chose not to take any chances.

Then he came upon the stairway. It was next to a pair of elevators which had their doors indefinitely open. Jeff opened the heavy door to the stairway, finding the area rather plain. It was all painted in a light grey color, making it so then even flashlight illuminated every inch.

Walking down, he made sure to hold onto the railing. He led with his good foot, trying to let his broken leg receive as little stress as possible. The trip down took much longer than normal. It was also far from painless. Finding the door took a short second of searching - it was placed across from the stairway.

Opening the door, he found this floor to have a much greater mess. Every possible paper now was on the ground. Desks had collapsed upon themselves. Moving further inside, he found the more mechanical section of the station. Various circuit boards, controls and other technical equipment filled the rooms that Jeff searched.

But the search came up with no generator. He looked around every room, but found nothing. "Crap, maybe I made a bad choice," Jeff said to himself. Thinking farther down alternate plans, "I hope the gas in the car will hold out."

He shifted the flashlight, intending on heading back. Then he held still. Shifting his head back and forth, he was deliberating between two different ideas. It took him a few seconds to make his decision. "Well, if I'm going to find a generator, I might as well see if I can get anything to repair a bad one."

He walked across the room, towards a large turbine that was installed. He looked through it, seeing if there was anything useful. Instead, he found something more interesting. "Wait a second...this isn't broken at all."

He moved over to another piece of machinery. Then over to a control board. "I may not be mechanically proficient, but I can tell if something's broken or not. Everything here is fine."

A smile came to his face.

Walking out of the room, he moved to a few rooms down the hall. It was one huge control station. At the main desk, he found the right controls. He mostly guessed at which levers to move based on the labeling. He soon shifted the various levers.

First, the control panels came on. He could hear the generators beginning to work. Pressing a few more buttons, the generators began to hum even louder. Light filled the room.

Throughout the city, it started with a familiar hum. First the street lights came on. Then the traffic signals. Finally, row after row of buildings began to illuminate like Christmas trees.

Karns stood in one such building, couldn't help but seeing the snow shine in the light. He got the message.

One year ago

Jeff entered his home, holding a rental DVD in his hand. Closing the door as quickly as he opened it, he yelled out to Kara, "I got the DVD."

He walked down the hall and headed right to the entertainment room. The room was dark, with Kara setting some candles down. They were unlit, but she had the lighter for that job in her hand.

Jeff stood in the hallway, "The one you asked for wasn't there."

She said, "I hope you didn't pick some sci-fi flick." She was continuing to light the various candles all around the room.

"I thought you liked Serenity?"

Kara smiled at him, "I did. But I'm not in the mood for that...intensity. I'd rather just relax and enjoy a movie."

He replied, "Then good thing I got Love Actually."

Kara looked at him, finishing lighting the last candle. It was of pure disbelief. "You never saw that!"

Jeff shook his head. "Never got around to it. It was always on the "I have to see that sometime" list."

Kara walked up and snagged the DVD out of his hand. "I'll go ahead and set it up."

She quickly walked over the the television, bending down to set the disk into the DVD player. Jeff in the mean time sat on one side of the couch, finding the remote on the arm. Kara walked to the couch, at first looking like she would sit away from Jeff. Then as she sat, she leaned right into Jeff's lap. Pressing a button, Jeff began playing the disk. No menu, it went straight to the movie.

Kara looked up at him. "OK, Simon and Kaylee were a cute couple."

Jeff laughed, "Yeah, I already knew that you liked them."

The two now kept their eyes on the large television. Jeff held Kara's hand throughout.

Present day

Jeff was now shoving desks across the room. This one was metal, maybe a bit too heavy for his bad foot. But he worked through the pain. This was something he had to do, and nothing would stop him.

With it in place, he began to lift it up. It wasn't light; which was precisely what he wanted. Again, the weight on his foot wasn't comfortable. Finally, the table fell onto its side. Jeff gave a very audible sigh.

"Done. Wish I could take a break, but Karns could be here any second...or tomorrow."

Jeff went around, to a small hole within the barricade. The entire thing was made of various hard objects, things that would protect him on some level. At the very least, it allowed him to move without being seen.

He laid down behind the metal table, relaxing but making sure he was ready for anything. Taking one of his stun-pistols out, he set it next to him. He had to make sure that he could grab it at moment's notice.

With everything set, he just looked up. The white ceiling was bright. Despite the short time he was in this world, it felt odd to have the entire building illuminated.

He didn't know how long he laid there when a beep sounded. It was a beeper placed next to him. No numbers appeared on screen, just a bell that flashed on and off. That was his alarm.

"He's here."

Grabbing the pistol, he rotated his body to a prone position. Remaining below cover, he used his glasses to scan the entrance. He said to himself, "I hope this table doesn't impede on the scan-glasses range too much."

Then an explosion rippled the entire building. A section of ceiling tile fell halfway across the large office from Jeff. He tensed up, readying for the inevitable confrontation. It turned silent. He knew Karns was near, and would be on him any moment.

Then a fury of bullets began hitting the table. Jeff waited a quick second before the fury stopped. Popping up, he aimed his gun at Karns, who took cover around a corner. Karns turned back, returning fire. Jeff dove back down to dodge the incoming bullets. He saw that Karns had a rifle this time. Couldn't tell how large a magazine it held, and thus how long he could keep up the ballistic assault. So Jeff went to plan B.

Jeff dove to the side, where a small hole was. He threw the grappling beam at the wall opposite Karns. It hit a small block, indistinguishable from the rest of the rubble. Pulling it out, a creek came behind Karns. A huge block was being hurled towards his position.

The villain dove out of the way, into the room proper and into Jeff's sight. Quickly noticing the trap within a trap, Karns ran along the wall until he found a nearby pillar to hide behind. Jeff barely had time for one bad shot before the villain disappeared. Without looking at his opponent, Karns yelled out, "Cleaver, but you'll have to do better!"

Now Karns began to take a proper inventory of his environment. Jeff held his assault, quickly changing out batteries for the stun-pistols. Reloaded, he waited to see what Karns would do. The villain saw that the entire office was a mess; the entire floor covered with various papers and stuff that was left. Then there was a stairway, towards the upper floors. He ran for it.

Jeff shot a few times, but purposely aimed off his target. Karns noticed this, returning fire; taking his eyes off his path. That's when he fell through a pile of papers into the basement.

"Got him," Jeff whispered.

He slowly approached the hole that he made. Aiming his gun at his unseen opponent, he felt confidant that he held the high-ground.

Then a grenade was tossed from the hole. Jeff ran back to his cover, diving over the table just in time. The explosion itself wasn't large, but there was enough shrapnel that hit the table to down an elephant. Jeff heard every one of them as the shrapnel deflected off the table.

He looked back up to find even more of the floor gone. The grenade had dealt more damage upon the building. Then he used his glasses to find Karns. He was similarly wounded, staggering on one leg. Karns ran towards the stairway that he had aimed for before he fell into the trap.

Jeff jumped over the table to follow. He had to ignore the pain his foot was giving him. His goal was more important at that moment. He barged though the door, looking down. Karns had already begun to climb the stairs when Jeff saw him. He was at the disadvantage, being too open while Jeff had cover behind a small wall beside the stairs.

Karns ran back, avoiding the bolts of light headed his way. He didn't even bother to aim his rifle, more intent to get back some advantage.

Jeff aimed his grappling beam to the ceiling two floors above. Having it to pull him over the short wall, he hopped to the center of the stairway and lowered himself quickly to the basement.

He kept his eye on Karns, who swerved across the maze of hallways. Jeff got some familiarity of the hallways, running to catch up.

Jeff turned one corner, then a second. There he noticed Karns had stopped. Jeff knew he was planning something. He waited and watched Karn's shadow intensely. The enemy shifted, as though he was removing something from his pocket. He couldn't see what it was, but could guess by how he held it.

Jeff made preparations of his own. He flipped open a small hatch to the stun-pistol, revealing a few keys. Pressing several buttons, he changed various settings to it. "Let's see if this works."

Karns stuck his hand out, lobbing the grenade down the hall. Jeff turned out into the hall, carefully aiming. He fired several shots, the first hitting the mark.

The bolt hit the grenade, flinging it back towards Karns. He ran away, diving into another room.

Jeff was well clear of the blast. He had kept his eye on Karns, easily finding him just inside the room he dove in.

Karns was bleeding. Shrapnel had hit him in a leg, arm, and stomach. He looked up at Jeff, showing defiance in his apparent defeat. "Good shot there, but I still got better."

The villain gestured towards the back. Jeff saw it but couldn't react fast enough before the flash hit him. He dove behind the doorway, just in case Karns still had a weapon.

Luckily, he didn't. Karns had gotten up and ran further down the hall. As soon as Jeff got his vision back to normal, he saw Karns just turning a corner. Curious why he didn't take advantage, he looked back into the room. The rifle had been left, showing it had no ammo left. Turning back, he resumed his chase after Karns.

Jeff reset his glasses, finding Karns once again. It revealed that Karns had moved to an elevator. He turned the corner just as the doors closed. Rather than summon another one, Jeff ran to the nearby stairwell.

The door fell down as Jeff charged through it. He ignored the stairs, instead running to the center of the towering room. Launching the grappling beam to the ceiling, he pulled himself up to the top floor.

It took a bit of time, too long, for him to swing himself to the railing. Keeping the beam up, Jeff pulled his leg over the short wall, then disconnected as he rolled the rest of his body. There was one more short flight of stairs before he could catch up to his enemy.

Jeff punched through the last door. He saw Karns standing on the ledge. The villain was holding his gut, less out of preventing bleeding than to relieve pain. He turned for a short bit, looking at Jeff.

Karns fell backward into the air.

Jeff ran to the ledge. As he got closer, he figured out what Karns' escape plan was. Looking down, he saw the Dimensional Transport - the one Karns had stolen. The ramp was open with a mattress strategically placed for Karns to fall onto.

Closing the ramp up, the hovering vehicle floated up above Jeff. The two had a brief, but memorable, glimpse at each other. Jeff knew he won the duel. But now Karns would very much intend on ramping up the stakes.

Once it was well above the nearby buildings, the portal opened. The Transport flew into it, finalizing Karns' escape. For Jeff, the marathon continued.

Jeff opened the door to the taxi and sat down. It was snowing quite heavily, but that didn't bother Jeff. What bothered him was the disappointment of not getting Karns.

Twisting around, he bumped his bad foot. Pain shot through him. Grimacing, he let it subside.

That got his mind off of Karns. Now a different topic came to mind. Closing the door, he removed his wallet. From there, he took out the picture of Kara. He mounted it onto the dash.

As he leaned back, he said to the picture, "I miss you, Kara; really do. I'm not sure what I'm going to do without you. Ha, just look at me now." Jeff gave out a loud sigh to himself, "I'll never get used to it, days or nights without you. It'll become normal, but I'll never get used to it..."

Jeff turned the car ignition, setting it into drive. He drove alone through the brightly-lit, living city.

Episode 7

### Matters

Light shown through to the large windows. The white room within the hospital made that light shine even brighter. While unusual, there was only one patient in the room.

Jeff lay on the bed with his leg in a cast. A white-coated woman held a pair of scissors, very much intending on cutting the cast. He waited too long for it to come off. It had been three weeks since he broke his left leg in his encounter with Karns.

The doctor looked at Jeff, "I hope this is the last time I'll see you, Mr. Hunter."

Jeff replied, "I will guarantee that."

The doctor glared at him, knowing what Jeff was meaning. "You better not be intending on doing anything dangerous," she said in a scolding manner, "Your last attempt at first aid set you back a week."

"I assure you the last thing I want is to get injured again. But I can't exactly guarantee it, since my work is very dangerous."

She growled, "As you have said a few times." She began to cut the cast open, moving slowly and carefully. "Although the leg is fully healed, I suggest not doing anything too strenuous for the next few weeks."

Jeff said, mostly to alleviate the doctor's mind, "I'll keep that in mind."

A voice echoed into the room. Across the hallway, a man yelled loudly. The half-closed door made it so that Jeff couldn't understand what it was about. He didn't care much about it. His interest at the moment was in getting back on his feet.

The commotion was enough to grab the doctor's attention. She stopped cutting the cast halfway through. She put the scissors down and walked to the doorway. From there, she could see that the man was irate and possibly drunk.

"I said I don't want to take any more of your crap!" the man yelled. He was angry. That anger was directed less toward the staff than towards other issues he had. But people were there and in his way.

The doctor walked out, approaching the man. She tried to be calm in the face of the very angry man who seemed to be turning violent. "Sir, what's the problem?"

The man swiftly turned to the doctor, yelling right into her face, "I'm sorry, was I being a bit TOO LOUD."

She remained calm. "Yes, now if you..."

The man interrupted her, "Calm down! Doesn't anyone know that saying that _doesn't make the guy calm!_ "

Jeff was trying to remove the cast himself, but found it was still stuck. He gave up removing it and chose to get off the bed. It was awkward walking directly on the cast, but he did so anyway. Moving to his jacket and other stuff he had on him, he removed the stun-pistol.

The man twirled around and yelled to the crowd, "You want to know what I want, I want you all to...."

A stun bolt flew right into the man. He collapsed onto the floor. The nurses raced to check to see if he was fine. The doctor was shocked, not ever seeing a weapon like that. Turning around, she saw Jeff holding the stun-pistol.

The doctor yelled at Jeff, "What the hell was that?"

"This is a piece of experimental technology I got my hands on."

The doctor was not happy with the terminology. "Experimental?"

"Relax, it's been well tested. He'll be out for about two hours." Jeff walked back into his room.

The doctor turned back around to check on the new patient. The nurses nodded positively, wordlessly telling that he was find. "Anyone know who this guy is?"

The nurse behind the counter, the one that was the first to be yelled at, answered, "That's Parker Jaden."

The doctor recognized the name. Nodding in confirmation, she was now more solemn toward the unconscious man. One of the nurses had taken a stretcher and the entire group was now raising him up onto it.

Jeff waited in the new patient room. It was nearly identical to the one he was in just a few hours before. It was the placement of the window, placed across the long wall, that made the lighting quite different.

He was at the end of the bed while Parker slept soundly. Jeff had waited for the better part of an hour. The stun bolt had put the man under longer than Jeff expected.

Looking up, he saw that Parker started to groggily wake up. The patient looked around his new surroundings, then saw Jeff. He wasn't surprised. Although he didn't exactly remember much before he was knocked out by the stun-pistol, this wasn't a new occurrence.

"Where am I?"

Jeff explained, "At the hospital. You had walked in to get some medicine, drunk."

"I'm not surprised," he said, almost as if he was expecting it, "So how bad is it doctor?"

"I'm not a doctor."

He looked at Jeff more carefully. It was then he noticed that the man before him had no white coat, or anything else that identified him as a doctor. "Oh. Then why are you here?"

"I'm an investigator. Doctor Harden recognized you from the news."

"So you know what's going on with my life."

Jeff shook his head negative. "Not really. I just got the jist of things from the doctor."

That confused Parker, "You don't watch the news at all?"

"Not really."

He began his story, "My girlfriend, Riley Oakland, has been missing for several weeks now. They believe she's dead."

"Is that what you think?"

"I....yeah," He was about to say something else, something that held hope. But that hope dwindled quickly. "I was hoping she was alive. But...she always called. Never asked her to, she just made sure to always reassure me everything would be fine."

"Now it isn't."

Parker nodded, "Two days ago, the commissioner said the case has gone cold. Do you really think you can help."

Jeff reassured the recovering man, "I'll try. I can't guarantee anything, but that's the risk I'll take."

Jeff was inside the office section within the police station. This one was more structured, with more labeled doors and only one small room that had four desks. He had passed by a few large locker rooms, featuring more names then there were desks. The entire station looked retrofitted from an entirely different purpose.

The lead detective was leading him to the files archives. Since this was a closed case, the detective has more latitude to give Jeff information. "Unfortunately, this was one of those cases that we got no leads to begin with."

"You didn't find anything, at all?"

The detective shook his head negative. "Nope. Trouble is, missing persons need to be found rather quickly. After around forty-eight hours, it becomes exponentially difficult to find a person. After a week...it goes down substantially. Several months it becomes impossible until we get a very good lead."

He turned, taking a set of keys out in front of the locked door. Setting the right key in, he opened the door for Jeff. The two wandered in, further leading Jeff in the maze of archived case reports and evidence.

Jeff asked, "So why do you think she's dead?"

"You'll see when I get the files out."

They arrived at their destination. It didn't look any different than the other boxes. It was labeled, "Oakland, Riley. Missing Person." The detective grabbed it while holding the boxes below to make sure they didn't spill over. He continued to hold the box while he opened the top and removed a set of pictures.

"No one heard the gun shots. We found several bullet holes, though we never found the bullets themselves."

The detective handed Jeff the pictures. He immediately shifted through them with quick glances. The first was of the door, left wide open. The next was a bullet hole that spider-webbed the glass. There was further pictures of both of those, each taken at different angles.

Then came a picture of a floor - with a blot of blood on it. It had a ruler to show that it was far from just a drop, but was not where a body bled out.

"You found blood," Jeff said to the officer.

"Yes. The C.S.U. people said it was substantial, but not enough to kill a person. She might have bordered on unconsciousness, though more likely was just dizzy and experiencing various symptoms of shock."

"So she was taken?"

Detective tilted his head, "We can't be exactly sure, but that seems the most likely scenario."

Jeff was curious by the wording of that. "Why can't you be sure?"

"The problem is that we found no footprints, or fingerprints to indicate that other people were in the home. The door was not forced in, though the boyfriend did say that she didn't lock it during the daytime."

"So you know she didn't leave by choice. What about her vehicles?"

The detective simply replied, "Both left in the garage."

"Both? She lived with someone?"

The detective shook his head, "Nope. From what we learned, one was a casual vehicle, the other used for camping. She apparently was a writer that worked a lot in the outdoors."

Continuing off that tangent, Jeff asked, "She wrote about the outdoors?"

"Yup."

He expected more, but decided to work with that. "So I doubt she made any enemies that way."

"Well...that was one of the more unusual things about her. We couldn't ascertain where she earned most of her income."

"Most?"

"She got about fifteen-thousand dollars a year. But from our search of bank records, she got another forty from some other source. We couldn't determine from where."

He knew what that meant, "You think it's from a suspicious source?"

The detective's expression showed that wasn't entirely the case, "It was through a direct deposit. Not exactly the route a black marketer would take to pay someone."

"So you didn't pursue it further."

"Nope. I highly doubt that company would be involved, at least directly. No, the shooting has more in common with the street gangs. They usually don't go into that neighborhood. But if she got on one of their bad sides, they would have no bones about going out of their way."

"Do you have a squad focused on those gangs?"

"They stone-walled us, saying they found nothing. It's not uncommon of them. For them, the big picture is their goal."

Jeff looked back down at the photos. "Is the house still open?"

"It was cleared by C.S.U, but it hasn't been available for sale yet."

Jeff handed the pictures back to the detective, who subsequently set them back into the box. "Though I doubt you missed anything, it's as good as any place to start. Thanks, detective."

"If you come up with anything, I'm glad you helped. Just make sure you stay out of trouble."

Jeff almost scoffed at the comment. He knew that would be difficult at best, considering his history as an investigator. "I'll try."

The home was warm in appearance as Jeff walked through the open door. As always, he held his glasses. He didn't care much to look at the aesthetics of the house.

Finding former location of the blot of blood was easy - there was a section of hardwood floor missing. It was in the hallway, where the outside light illuminated the area. Jeff looked at the windows, which had been taken out at that time. He could still tell exactly where everything was.

Jeff gestured toward the windows, guessing that was where the bullet would have hit her. Using that trajectory, he looked at the wall. There was no hole. "The bullet must still be in her. Probably low caliber. But only a single bullet...means they aimed. They saw her and aimed."

It wasn't a simple hit-and-run. But the open door concerned Jeff about the scenario.

"If it was a simple sniper, then why is there no damage to the door? Did she run, or someone else get her?"

Looking back, he saw that there was a glass door to the back. Walking there, he noted that the back yard wasn't very large. There was nothing of importance there, it was just pure green with grass. Jeff inspected the glass. There was several fingerprint smudges where she would open the door. "Wouldn't be surprising they checked these out already."

Moving on, he walked down a small flight of stairs to a doorway. Opening it revealed the garage.

There was two cars. Both were in very good condition, indicating she valued the otherwise normal vehicles.

Jeff was curious about the smaller of the two. He used his glasses to scan, finding the interior structure too complex to view from such a wide angle. Moving closer, he checked to see if the door was open. Flicking the handle revealed that the door gave way with little resistance.

Using his glasses, he first scanned the glove compartment. There was plenty of papers, but nothing suspicious. Next was the center compartment. He found what looked like a power adapter for the cigarette lighter.

Then he shifted a bit, intending to push himself back up and out of the car. As soon as he got up, Jeff noticed something. It was under the car seat - a compartment. Searching for a short bit, he found one of the levers had a second connection. Pulling it up, he found the seat popped up.

The compartment was empty. However, there was small signs of the contents it had held. A few flecks of white dust, not much but still visible, lay at the bottom.

Jeff sighed, knowing what the dust exactly was. "Now I know why she was a target..."

The newsroom was bright with the windows letting in the afternoon light. Looking back into the offices and production rooms, activity swirled all around. Jeff tried to call the police department, but all the officers were too busy to answer any questions. So he went to the next best place.

Jeff walked up to the front desk. He directly asking the receptionist, "Can I talk to Rick Veritas?"

The young man turned. It was apparent this wasn't his preferred occupation, but held to performing his duties. "Sure. Who are you?"

"Jeffrey Hunter, a private investigator. I need to get some information on the local drug runners that you covered a year ago."

He got up from his seat, "I'll get him for you."

While he went to the offices, Jeff hovered around. He barely wondered half-way across the small waiting area before a man approached him. The thin man held out for a handshake. Jeff returned it quickly as he formally introduced himself. "Hi, I'm Rick. You wanted to know more about drug traffickers?"

"Yeah, specifically on any rivalries they have."

Rick showed all too well the scale of the problem that Jeff was asking about. "It's pretty serious. The Drug Task Force is up to their necks with various reports relating to all the gangs we have. Heck, I wasn't even the one who proposed the original story; it was Mary. But the way some of these gangs treat women...I don't even want even go down that route."

"Unfortunately, I may have to. The person I'm looking into, was a woman possibly involved with one."

"Well, in this city there's three major gangs," the writer explained, "The smaller ones float between them, making various alliances to survive. The Ragers would definitely not allow a woman in their ranks. The other two would, although they are certainly a minority."

"What do these "Ragers" think of the women from the other gangs."

"If they stayed within their own territories, they generally are ignored. If a man crosses, they're generally tortured and killed. For women," Rick gave a grim look, "They're the reason there's not many woman join the gangs."

Jeff kept to a more analytical tone, "I take it that outright assassination is not their general M.O."

"There hasn't been a single case of that by them, at least intentionally."

"How about the other two, would they attack the other gangs?"

"They do conspire occasionally against the Ragers, but the alliance doesn't last long." Then it hit the reporter what this conversation was really about. "Wait, you're investigating an assassination?"

Jeff replied, "Possibly, can't say for certain yet."

"When did this happen?"

"A few weeks ago. It's some new information I found. If you're thinking of making this a story, stop right there. I don't want to say anything until I find out more."

Rick nodded, folding his arms at the comment. "Alright. If you can relieve the gang problem, even if by a little bit, I'm glad I helped. After all, that's why I do this."

Jeff nodded in approval, "And I'll thank you for that. Good day, Mr. Veritas." Jeff turned to the glass doorway, heading to his first lead.

Jeff slowly walked around the city streets. He knew from the articles that this area was filled with various crime activity, including drug trade. The walls heavily supported that fact. Graffiti was almost randomly sprayed on all of the brick walls. If one could remove each layer of paint, it would have shown the history of the city district and its occupants.

Jeff moved slowly to not give himself away. A scientist in this realm stuck out more than a nail on a board. And the common phrase involving those nails would apply here.

There was whispering. It wasn't particularly soft, as though the two had no fear of being heard. Jeff dodged out of sight. He leaned around a corner to try to get a sight at the two men.

They were young, would be attending college in another life. One was holding something in his hand: a white brick. Jeff could tell they weren't done, that the negotiation had yet to be complete.

What he couldn't tell was the exact words. All he could hear was only the muffles that came around the brick wall.

So Jeff waited and watched as much as he could. As one of the men turned and looked around for something suspicious, Jeff ducked backed into cover. While behind the wall, he had to use his glasses to guess when the search was done. There was little detail that he could see, but it would have to do until he could get a direct line of sight again.

It took a long while, but Jeff waited until the dealer handed over the brick. Right after that, the two separated and headed opposite directions. Jeff slowly walked a bit further when he saw the receiver walk his direction.

The man turned, not noticing Jeff since he was looking down the main street. Then he looked up, only seeing the flash of Jeff's stun-pistol. The dealer didn't notice a thing, continuing to walk down the street towards his destination. Jeff followed a short distance away. He tried to be as stealthy as possible, hoping not to be noticed.

He continued following until the dealer turned into an old apartment building. From there, Jeff stayed back farther, using his glasses to keep track of where the man walked.

The dealer walked up a short flight of stairs. It was only the second floor when he turned from the stairway to the nearby open door. Inside was his roommate, playing a videogame. He barely acknowledged his entrance, waving his hand before engrossing himself back into the game.

Jeff kept up the pursuit, walking up the same stairway. He saw the door was mostly closed. A crack still showed the pacing dealer. Readying himself, Jeff removed his second stun-pistol. Tensing up, he watched where the two men were with his glasses. Then he charged in.

With his left hand, he easily aimed at the standing dealer. Then his right aimed at the sitting gamer. Neither had much of a chance to react, the gamer barely dropped the controller when Jeff shot him.

The dealer woke up. He immediately saw that his computer was across from him. Trying to get up, he quickly found himself strapped into the seat. Jeff towering next to him. "Good morning, Mr. Halberd."

He yelled, "Who the hell are you?"

"That isn't all that important."

"It'll be important when my 'mate wakes up to kick your..."

Jeff cut him off, "That's not happening. He'll be out for another three hours. I made sure of that. Anyway, you'll be answering my questions."

Halberd laughed. "You _are_ insane."

"I doubt that. Anyway..." Jeff removed a picture, one cut from a newspaper article. It was of Riley Oakland. "I need to know if you have seen or heard of this woman."

Halberd was still weird-ed out by this conversation. "You think I'll talk! Man, if you knew anything, you would know that we don't talk to cops. Ever."

Jeff stood confidant that he'll succeed. "Well, I'm not a cop."

Halberd scoffed at that notion, "Whatever."

Jeff moved to the computer. Flicking the mouse revealed his plan. There was a e-mail, typed up and ready to be sent. "You really should set your e-mail not to remember your passwords. It really helped me make it look like you did talk."

Now Halberd was worried. "Wait, you know what they'll do!"

Jeff moved the mouse to where it was a simple click would send the e-mail. "Yeah. It's your choice. Plausible deniability, or..." Jeff hovered his finger over the mouse, slowly moving it in a very dramatic manner.

Despite being very nervous that Jeff would go through on his threat, he kept his mouth shut. Even as it hovered lower and lower. It was mere inches from the mouse when he shouted, "They'll kill my brother!"

Jeff stopped, looking directly at Halberd. The man's eyes spoke volumes of the anguish and pain that was at stake.

"That's why. I'm in this for him."

Jeff rhetorically asked, "You need the money?"

"You think you know this part of town, you don't. No one gets out. If you don't join the Ragers, at best you'll die of starvation. It's better to stand with them. Leaving is a betrayal to everything we have!"

Jeff stood over him, "So you think it's best just to join them."

"What else would you do?"

Jeff looked right into his eyes, "Fight. Do something to change things."

"And wind up dead." Halberd had said in a more calm manner.

Jeff replied, "You think you're just doing the best you can. But it isn't. I've seen it. I seen a man die because of his choices. I had to lie for him, for his children! Not because he was a good man, so then his children won't take the brunt of his mistakes. Do you want that? For your brother to go through the same thing as you!"

Jeff walked back to the computer when Halberd spoke.

He was calm, defeated. "It wasn't us. All the bosses asked around, to make sure the police didn't get up our butt. We kill, we do evil things. But we aren't idiots. We avoid high profile things like that."

Jeff looked at him, with a little approval. He took the mouse, at first looking like he would go through with this threat. Instead he closed the program.

Calmly, Jeff walked across to the other room. He returned with small length of a metal pipe. Halberd knew what it was for. Before the gang member could protest, Jeff swung it right into his face.

Nose bloodied, Halberd yelled, "What the hell?"

"As I said, plausible deniability," Jeff replied. He simply dropped the pipe. His hand drew behind him, summoning the stun-pistol.

The gang member said to Jeff, "What if they still think I talked? How does that make you feel?"

Jeff took on a grim look in his features. "Not good. But I've seen your rap sheet. Five assaults, one that led to the victim's death. I don't care who you're involved with, you have a choice. And you chose poorly.

"For that, I can not forgive you. Not yet." Jeff lifted the stun pistol and shot Halberd in the chest.

Jeff found the box of evidence. He was in the police department's evidence room, given permission by another officer to go through everything. It was unusual, but Jeff convinced the police officer that it was necessary.

Setting the box on the ground, he shuffled through it. He was trying to find something. Papers were set aside. The short search came up empty. Covering it back up, he set it back to the designated spot.

The detective passed by in the large room. He then saw that Jeff had set the box back. In his hands was another evidence box, but turned to face Jeff. "Did you need something?"

Jeff shrugged, then decided to ask, "Did you find any GPS devices or smart phones at Riley's house?"

The detective shook his head negative. "Nope. No cell phones at all, or any GPS'. Why do you ask?"

Jeff sighed, "I was hoping to figure out where she went."

"As in for her outdoor books?" the detective asked.

"I was hoping more inside the city, but that may work as well."

"Within the city? Didn't find anything." The detective thought about it for a second, trying to give an alternative answer. One came, "However, I'd talk to the boyfriend."

Jeff nodded, "Yeah, because she always told him where she was. I was hoping to avoid it."

The detective knew what Jeff was talking about. "Yeah, you don't want to give any false hope or impression. I've had more than a few cases where the original suspect turned out to be a victim. You just have to face him and make sure that he knows you don't know everything. Moreover, make sure he knows that you are trying."

The radio beeped, notifying that someone was trying to communicate with the detective. He looked around, trying to find a place to put the box. Not finding anything, he wordlessly asked Jeff to hold it. Taking it, Jeff felt the heft of the box.

The detective removed his radio and spoke into it. "Go ahead."

It was the receptionist. "Since you're in the archives, can you find a Jeffrey Hunter. I have a Parker Jaden at the front desk asking for him."

"Yeah, he's right in front of me. He'll be up there ASAP."

"Thank you." The detective set his radio back. Taking the box once again, he said to Jeff, "Good luck, Mr. Hunter."

"You too." Jeff left to the front desk.

Parker was pacing around the waiting area. He was being impatient, even though he had to wait for answers for several weeks now.

Then Jeff arrived. Parker drew his immediate attention to him. "Have you found anything?"

The question was almost rushed, as though he couldn't wait for any answers. Jeff tried to calm that need. "Possibly, but I need to know a few things before telling you anything. The main thing, where did she go for her outdoor research."

Parker was disappointed but answered anyway, "It was about thirty miles to the south of Baretts Park. It's along a hiking road. She went there as a "base of operation" of sorts."

"All right. I'm not sure, but something might have happened there that caused the entire situation."

Parker turned to a different thought. "I never read one of her books. Not until a week ago. She always loved the hikes, being surrounded by trees rather than brick and mortar. I never knew that. I always just took her out to eat in some fancy restaurant. We talked about all sorts of things, but I never really got to know her."

"How long had you known each other." Jeff asked that, conveying this was more curiosity than part of his investigation.

"Two years. I asked to go along, but she always said, "This is my thing." Should have been more insistent."

"But she was still with you. I don't know if you should have been more involved, but I can still say she enjoyed your company. It doesn't take a wizard to tell you that."

Parker nodded at the sympathetic comment. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Just do me a favor and tell me everything."

Jeff honestly said, "I'll try."

Parker had one last thought, this one related to the investigation. "If you need to go to her camping spot, I can give you a ride."

"No, that's all right. I have a better means to get there anyway."

Jeff was floating above the large forest. His way of getting to the site was using the Transport. Using his screen to look down onto the green landscape, he couldn't see many trails that led to the spot. Due to the large trees, the mapping feature didn't have an accurate map of all the trails. Jeff had to rely completely on the screen and GPS to figure out where Riley camped.

Then he saw it. The camp site was a small, open space in the midst of other trees. Jeff looked around for a trail, but couldn't see one. "Off the beaten trail, but shouldn't be tough to get to...Presuming I can find a landing site."

Jeff used the map to see if he could find a nearby space that could accommodate the Transport. Scrolling around, he found one quite a distance away. Looking up into the horizon, Jeff scoffed at the idea of that long of a hike. The day was getting too late for that.

So Jeff had to come up with a different idea. Getting up, he went to the back and started going through some of the stuff. First, he found a long piece of rope. Then there was a problem: he had no idea what to tie it to.

Looking around the cabin, it was all smooth with not much to tie to. Above there was handles that one could grab onto, but Jeff shook his head at the reliability (or lack thereof) of those. Then he looked at the front chairs. Going back to the pilot cabin, he ducked below the passenger seat. It was suspended by a round tube - perfect for the job.

Jeff began wrapping the rope several times around. "One of the few things I really learned from Boy Scouts."

Pulling it tight, Jeff completed the knot. He moved back to the controls. Shifting the levers, he lowered the Transport to just above the trees. His last action was to open the back ramp. Jeff walked onto the ramp and into the outdoors. Holding the rope, he was tepid in getting off the ramp. Carefully, he held a tight grip onto the rope.

Finally off the ramp, he very slowly, very carefully, he slid down the rope. It took all too long, but he eventually released his grip a foot off the ground.

The campsite appeared to be well used. Many holes indicated where tent stakes had been placed. But it wasn't whether this was a campsite that concerned Jeff - it was the ground. Jeff kneeled, looking for any evidence that Riley had used this location as part of the drug trade.

Then Jeff heard a footstep, purposely loud.

"What in the hell are you?"

It was in a threatening tone. The middle-aged man certainly had more exotic ideas of what the Transport was and why Jeff was in it. Jeff turned, summoning and quickly aiming his stun-pistol at his ambusher. They faced each other, aiming their respective weapons.

Jeff sighed, knowing this was one of the situations he didn't want to happen. He replied, "I'm not a "what.""

"Then what is that?" He quickly pointed at the floating Transport.

"That's called a Dimensional Transport. It allows me to travel to and from alternate worlds."

"So, you're the first in for an invasion?"

Jeff sighed, "No. I'm the only one. No invasion, no other strange sci-fi stories."

The man stood firm. "How am I supposed to believe you. For all I know..."

Jeff shot him mid-sentence. He was tired of explaining and knew how many circles they would go.

It was several hours later. There was a fire nearby, right in front of Malard. He was slumped upon a log that Jeff had dragged over. Waking up, he found the fire warm. Remembering his encounter with Jeff, he expected to be tied up or restrained in some way. But his hands were just as free as before.

Jeff tossed his wallet over to him. The detective was curious.

"Sorry for knocking you out, but we both knew where that conversation was going, detective."

"I guess you went through my wallet."

"Yeah, and was wondering why one of the members of drug squad was here."

Malard thought, the nodded toward Jeff. "You first."

"All right. I invented the Transport."

Malard was a bit surprised. "You built that?"

"Well, me and a team of engineers and several other scientists. But yeah, I led that team. Until a man by the name of Nathaniel Karns tried to kill me and took another prototype. By the way, have you heard of him?"

Malard shook his head negative.

"Well, didn't hurt to ask. I've been chasing him for the past three months. The last three weeks unfortunately in a hospital healing from some wounds he gave me. On the fortunate end he had to do the same."

"I doubt you're chasing him just because he _tried_ to kill you."

Jeff still didn't like explaining this part. "In the attempt to kill me, instead he killed my wife, Kara."

Hearing that, Malard now sensed humanity in the man before him. "Oh. Sorry."

Jeff moved on. "Between chasing him, I come across cases that I investigate."

"I heard you met Ms. Oakland's boyfriend at the hospital. So what have you found out."

"Only that she had compartment that would store various drugs in. I found someone in the Ragers that confirmed that they didn't attack her."

That information surprised the detective. "Wow. How'd you do that."

Jeff coyly said, "I figured a few methods of persuasion."

Malard looked worried. "You didn't..." He implied the word torture.

Jeff shook his head in denial. "No, not at all. Plus, that wouldn't work anyway. As I hear it, most would give false confessions anyway."

"And that's why we have quite a few more problems with the Ragers."

Jeff finished his report, "Beyond that, not much. Which is why I came here, to see if she made any transactions here."

Malard informed, "She didn't."

Jeff was curious over his certainty. "You knew I would be here."

Malard nodded, "Didn't know you would come with that." He pointed at the Transport, still bright with some of the interior lights. "Even though we don't talk much with the other detectives, we still hear things here and there. When we heard you took up the case, we made sure to watch."

Jeff got wind of something from him. "There's something more to this case; something you knew."

Malard once again nodded. "It's no mistake this is unsolved. We made it so."

Now was Jeff's turn to be surprised. "Why?"

"Because, Riley Oakland is an undercover agent for us. She was still undercover when her home was attacked. All we know right now is that she was alive during that incident."

"And now?"

Malard shrugged, "She hasn't contacted us since."

Jeff followed Malard into a dark corner of an apartment building. The detective was being mysterious. Jeff had followed him anyway. It wasn't his place to ask, especially if it was to get more information.

A man hid in the shadows waiting for Malard. Staying in the shadows, he turned to Jeff, "Who is this, Malard?"

"This is the guy investigating into Oakland."

The agent whistled, "So this is the guy who tried to take on the Ragers. I'm impressed."

Jeff said rhetorically, "Is that what you heard."

"Well, I heard you didn't get a damn thing. But still, most of us in the Tigers really admire someone who was very up front in taking them on."

Malard spoke up, "Any word on Oakland?"

The undercover agent responded, "Nope. Nothing since our attack."

Jeff deduced from that, "So it was you guys that attacked the home."

"Had to do it myself," the agent said in a mannered tone.

"You were the one who shot at Riley."

The shadow agent shrugged his shoulders, "I didn't know she was an agent beforehand. Malard only told me after she went missing."

Malard said, "So now that you two are caught up on one-another, any updates?"

The agent shook his head, "Sorry, man. Lost track of her for a while. She got passed around a few times, a few too many people with connections."

Without any gestures or emotion, Malard said, "Thanks anyway. Continue your work."

"Will do. And you," the agent looked at Jeff, "Good luck. Better yet, good luck to anyone who gets in your way."

Jeff said, in part not knowing any other response, "Thanks."

Malard turned to leave, with Jeff following him out of the room. The undercover agent just stayed there until they were both out of view.

Before they could get out of the building, Jeff asked the detective, "So do you have a contact for the last gang?"

"Oakland was it. We have ways of contacting all our agents in case of emergency. Even there Oakland has gone dark. We would move in on it, but can't until we get more evidence, more to work with on the gang."

Jeff saw the implication, what Malard was aiming at. It wasn't for Riley's safety. "So you won't move because you want to take the whole gang down first."

"In essence, yes. If she's either dead or alive, showing ourselves would jeopardize our entire operation, possibly entrenching the gangs further."

Jeff didn't like it. "You're just like him."

Malard didn't get the reference, "Who?"

"The Rager I interrogated. He was just like that. You want something done, then do it. Stop waiting and take your chance now."

Malard grew a bit angry. He heard the same arguments before, "You think it's that simple! We can not make a single mistake!"

Jeff pointed out, "You're making one right now. The longer you wait, the more they do entrench themselves. More over, more people get hurt; more people die." Jeff began to walk away from Malard, to his own direction.

Malard yelled out, "Where do you think you'll go? You'll just stir up trouble if you take them on by yourself."

Without looking back, Jeff said, "Then trouble it will be."

Jeff followed another street thug, just like before. This man was cautious, more so than the one from the Ragers. Jeff had to stay farther back and keep his left hand armed.

The drug dealer led him to an old house. But this time, instead of walking toward the abandoned house, he turned toward the tree. Up top was a tree house that someone built for their kids. Now it looked like a hiding place for the drug dealer.

As the dealer got up to the top, he ducked into the small opening. Jeff had to stand nearby to evaluate his options. He scanned with the glasses, but was too far away to get any specific features.

He moved closer. Caution was in his footsteps. He knew that this dealer could look out any moment and see him. The street had no other activity - he stuck out like a red flower amongst a sea of blue. But the gamble payed off. He saw with his scan-glasses there was a crack, large enough to stick his pistol in. Not enough to look through and have his pistol in at the same time, but it was enough for a plan.

Then the dealer poked his head out, as though he was going to leave. He saw Jeff standing there. The two were looking each other in the eyes. With little hesitation, the dealer pulled out his gun and fired at Jeff. The shots were poorly aimed as Jeff shifted around and toward the tree house. Aiming more carefully, he fired the stun-pistol that he held.

The dealer ducked into the tree house. Jeff heard him yelling, "What the hell!"

Jeff ran up to the tree. Rather than climb, he launched the grappling beam into one of the higher branches. Raising himself up, he pushed himself awkwardly against another limb.

Inside, the dealer was nervous. He was focused on the entrance, expecting Jeff to use that.

Then out of the corner of his eye, he saw it. The stun-pistol was squeezing through the minor hole. He was about to aim at the gun when it fired. The first shot missed. The dealer panicked, trying to run out when the second hit him. His head landed inches away from the open air.

Several hours later, Jeff had the dealer pinned against the tree. Since they were facing away from the road, they were mostly hidden. However, a curious onlooker would find them easily. Because of this, Jeff would occasionally poked his head up. He was more worried about the more violent onlookers.

The dealer woke up seeing Jeff over him. He laughed, "So you're the guy everyone's talking about. Now I see why."

Jeff said to him, "Yeah, and I take it you know why I'm here."

"Not really. All I heard you were asking about some girl."

Jeff could see the smug look on the dealer's face. He was almost taunting him. "You know. You know exactly what I'm asking."

The dealer once again laughed, "Well, I was hoping to string this out a bit longer, but what the heck. Yes, I know about that Riley bitch. We also found out she was a cop, not too long after the Tiger's pathetic attack."

The dealer was pretty much humoring himself, but Jeff was not amused. He saw this, turned a bit more serious. "Yeah, she still lives. She's a stubborn one, but we still like to know some things about her."

Jeff knew something was up, "This is intentional, you giving me this information."

"Glad you catch on. And guess what, she isn't your biggest problem.

"It's the cops."

Jeff heard the implication. "What do you mean?"

The dealer was more smug than ever, "We figure that there would be more cops hiding in our midst. So, why not hit them where it hurts. No one would ever expect that. We all made sure that everyone would know, so _you_ would know. Actually, it should be starting any minute."

Jeff ran. He didn't have the means to get there, not without using the Transport, but he had to get to the police station.

The detective was just walking past the front desk. He faced the officer who was manning the desk, "I'm going to see about that accident on Trenton."

The officer noticed something strange happening outside. Two cars pulled up on the other side of the street. Then another two. And another four.

The detective turned, "What is happening...."

That's when several of the car windows rolled down. All of the windows revealed a gun of various types and size. Then they fired.

The detective ducked as glass shattered and walls crumbled as the attack began.

Jeff continued to run. He looked around, finding empty cars that probably didn't run all that well. No one passed by, no one was there to help.

He took out his remote, the one that opens and closes the Transport. "In case of emergency..." he said to himself.

Pressing it, he heard it from the short distance. The unique hum of the Transport came alive. He turned into the unkempt, abandoned park. The Transport lie in the midst of trees, just hidden enough from casual view.

He ran right into it, not even letting the ramp open completely. Jeff sat into the pilot's seat. Prepping the Transport, he spoke to himself, "Probably can't get this too close, but it'll be better than walking."

The Transport powered up. Without doing the final checks, he raised the Transport above the trees.

Getting up, the detective saw his location was exposed, as well as much of the front area. Staying low, he assessed the situation. From there he saw there was several officers behind the desks. The other way had opposing forces in even greater numbers.

Removing his gun, he then crawled to the back. Bullets flew over him. As he got to the desk, he got up to quickly rotate around to the back. Turning to the officer next to him, he asked, "What do we got?"

The officer popped up to fire, then popped back down to answer, "We got three cars on the way. Unfortunately, the others are in the garage. All other off-duties are getting readied in other stations 'cross town."

"So, we have to hold for at least a few hours. How about them?"

"Eight cars of at least four each - at least that the count I got. For the most part they seem to be enjoying firing their guns at us, though there's still a lot of them."

Then an explosion ripped through the back of the building. More small pieces of debris fell around them. The radio boomed, "We got more of them coming in the back!"

The detective heard this. He patted the officer on the back. "You think you can hold them off?"

The officer nodded. "Yeah, I'll be able to hold them until reinforcements arrive."

Raising up, the officer gave covering fire. The detective kept low as he ran back further into the police department.

Jeff arrived in a war zone. It had been an hour since the battle started. The cars were being used as shields by several of the gang members. Jeff stood several yards away, where many other people had conjured to watch the mayhem. Often they would have to take cover away from stray bullets.

Using his glasses, he assessed the situation. He noted that the battle had extended deep inside the station. Outside, the station walls had collapsed, making it strategically hard for the police inside to advance.

On the other side of the street was several other police vehicles. These were where several other officers fought. However they were just as pinned down as those inside. Notably because one of the police cars had burned down. Jeff knew that these thugs had explosives on hand.

He looked around. The only form of cover was a nearby trash bin. "Dang, probably can't get close."

Then Jeff looked up from the mayhem. There was a small office building across the street. The second floor was perfect for a plan.

Jeff ran across to the back of the building. The back entrance was nondescript but still easy to find. The building was shiny, as though it was heavily used and maintained.

As he approached the door, Jeff found a problem: it was card-locked. His response to draw his stun-pistol. Pressing a few buttons on the side, he switched to an experimental setting. "Let's hope this works."

He aimed the pistol at the door, then fired. The bolt hit it. Instead of breaking the door down, it violently jolted - staying upright.

"Dang," Jeff yelled out.

Then he looked at the card reader. He shot that; it broke though not severely damaged. This caused the door to open. Jeff looked at it curiously. "I guess they used cheaper door locks....At least I hope that's the case."

Jeff ran into the building. There were throngs of people who had taken cover in the back of the building. He could see their faces as he passed by, but could do nothing for them at that moment.

He ran up the well presented stairs. Once at the top, he turned down the hall and right to the room that he needed.

No one else even dared to stand in the room. Stray bullets had flung themselves in. Jeff ignored the light hitting him from the bullets holes. As silently as possible, he flipped the locks and opened the windows.

Aiming downward, he had the advantage. Taking out his second stun-pistol, he began firing upon the gang members. The random shots hit three of them. That got the attention of several opponents. They aimed their pistols and rifles up at their new rival. Ducking into the building, Jeff had to dive quite a ways into the room. Bullets ripped straight through the walls and into the ceiling.

He said to himself, "Got the advantage, but it still won't be easy."

The detective ran to the evidence room. The boxes littered across the floor with many of the racks that had fallen. There was two men that had taken refuge behind one such fallen rack. They fired as the detective got into position.

He had to hide among other racks, a pile that wove a web rather than a consistent barrier. It was the best he got. He return fired through the web. The gang members ducked, but came back up just as the detective gave pause.

The several loud booms came from a different direction. The gang members fell. From the shadows came Malard, holding a shotgun. The detective was relieved.

"Glad you _would_ join in," the detective sarcastically said to Malard.

Malard put up a smug look on his face. "Well, this is both our problem, isn't it?"

"Yeah, that's right," the detective agreed. "Anyway, let's stop standing here. They still have the armory."

"Lead on!"

The two exited the archives as swiftly as they came.

Jeff spun to the window. He fired several shots at the thinning forces outside. There was now only a dozen remaining, but that dozen still proved worthy. Ducking back, he avoided more shots at him. Then a grenade crashed through another window.

Jeff quickly ran to it and threw the grenade back into the streets below. It exploded mid-air. The gang members ducked, but appeared unharmed by the explosion.

A level of frustration coursed through Jeff. "Damn, this will never end."

Releasing a battery from one of his stun-pistols, he went to his pocket for another one. Shoving it back into the weapon, he looked back up. His glasses picked up many life signs coming his way.

Commotion could be heard below, as the remaining gang members pointed down the open street. Jeff dared take a quick peek to see what was happening.

The reinforcements had arrived.

Several police cars full of armed officers exited the various vehicles, taking defensive positions.

The gang members responded by ignoring Jeff and focusing on the newcomers. Jeff saw this opportunity.

He holstered one of his stun-pistols. Leaning out, he launched the grappling beam up to gutter. Carefully climbing out (just as much for safety as stealth), he looked down at his landing site. It was between several of the gang members, all pointed in different directions. A tight grip held Jeff's remaining weapon.

After a quick breath, Jeff jumped. He landed right on target, though a bit hard on his legs. Quickly he fired his stun-pistol at the nearest foe. The others began to turn, but found the idea problematic. Two of them were hit by bullets from police officers.

Jeff resumed the assault, firing at the remaining gang members. In no time, only one remained. He was about to surrender - had his hand in the air - when Jeff just shot him anyway.

Several officers approached the barricade. One came up to Jeff while many of the others assessed the condition of the downed gang members. It was a SWAT officer, "We got four remaining inside."

Jeff asked, "Which way did they enter?"

"I heard from the back."

Jeff suggested, "Then let's go around that way."

"Just as I was thinking."

The detective and Malard was side-by-side trying to get into the Armory. Shotgun blasts could be heard coming from the immediate doorway.

Malard said, "Dang, how'd they get in into the vault?"

More shotguns blasts came. Everyone avoided the doorway.

Then Jeff and the SWAT officer came up behind them. "What's going on?"

Malard informed, "Three men inside, got into the vault."

The SWAT officer pulled out a grenade-like object. "I got an answer for that." Pulling the pin, he tossed it into the room. The grenade exploded into a huge flash, causing the gang members inside to scream out in blindness.

Jeff spun in front of Malard, preventing him from going in first. He stood in the doorway and fired onto the gang members.

With that, Jeff surveyed the scene. There was much damage along the walls of the station. Several bodies laid on the floor, some were gang members, others police officers and other staff.

Jeff didn't like the sight.

Jeff walked around with Malard next to him. There was a flurry of activity. Medics and firefighters frantically tended to the wounded. Only thirty minutes had past after the fire-fight and the clean-up was still in the initial phases.

They passed by a makeshift jail, a large room that was locked and guarded by many officers.

Malard admitted to Jeff, "You were right. Delaying things have caused more problems."

"Don't beat yourself up over it." Then Jeff quoted, "We live in the best of all worlds." It meant that everyone made the best decision they could. It was strange saying it, since he was in parallel worlds that had varied decisions. Yet, it was something he found more and more true.

"You of all people can not say that."

Jeff shook his head, knowing the exact reason he could. "It doesn't work like that. Parallel universes work along string theory. They don't exist on splitting threads; they're all separate from one-another. You just live on one of those threads. Sometimes a few threads run parallel, until a certain point."

"That still doesn't mean you weren't right."

Jeff sighed. "All you did was loose the trees for the forest, not realizing the trees make up the forest. We all do that. It's unfortunate that it takes tragedies for us to realize that."

A voice came from behind, "And you are right."

Jeff turned around to find Parker standing in the wrecked offices. "I talked with the detective," he said to the two, "He told me that Riley was an undercover cop."

Malard nodded. "Yeah, it's true. She was also ordered not to tell anyone. If anyone got wind...well..." He flapped his arms up, silently commenting about the entire scene.

Parker asked, "So, is she alive?"

Jeff affirmatively said, "Yes, she is. And we'll get her out."

A bunch of men, including Jeff, the detective and Malard, circled around one of the few tables that remained in the police station. On that table was a map. A red circle were around the large apartment building that Riley was in. At this point in the planning, they were working entrances into the building.

Malard informed the group, "There's four entrances, one for each side. Two of them are for emergencies, but considering the tenants, I doubt they're even on. By the way, how'd you get this information, Hunter?"

Jeff said, "Surprisingly, one of the captured Tigers had a fear of sleep. My stun-pistol had a severe effect on him when I shot him during the fight."

Malard, along with the others, found that fact curious. "Oh...kay...Anyway, We'll take them on from the back and east entrances. Mr. Hunter has volunteered to go solo at the west entrance."

Detective looked up at Jeff, "You think you can do that alone?"

Jeff replied, "Yes. Plus with two other teams going in, they'll be perfect to distract and thin any forces they have."

Malard nodded. "And that's the plan. I doubt they expect Jeff to go alone with two other teams swarming in different directions."

Parker joined in on the table's discussion. "How do you know where Riley is?"

Jeff spoke up, showing that was one of their problems. "We don't. Not yet at least. Hopefully when they all move around, I'll be able to locate Riley."

"Then what about me?" Parker insisted with that on being part of the operation.  
The detective said, "Can you operate the radios?"

"Two years as an ambulance driver should be enough."

"Good, cause we'll need to know what's happening."

Malard looked up at group, "Everyone got the plan."

The others nodded and spoke in affirmation.

Malard ended by saying, "We're doing this to strike back at them. We're doing this for all those that died today defending this building, this home. More importantly, we're doing this for Riley Oakland, someone who is still alive and needs our help."

Parker sat at a desk, surrounded by radio equipment. It was a makeshift setup, but it still worked. Rolling around in a swivel chair, Parker announced the call on the headset radio, "Everyone has given the green light. We're good to go!"

The detective was standing at the door, fully geared for the assault. Upon hearing the order, he waved the rest of the two dozen officers to move inside. One man moved ahead, a large mallet in hand. Steadying himself in front of the door, he swung the mallet. One hit rumbled the door. Then the second broke down the barrier.

Now the detective took lead, slowly moving into the dimly lit building.

Now Malard did much the same with forces greater in number. Waving forward, he simply kicked in the unlocked door. The firefight started immediately. There was some yelling, the calls for alarm.

From the nearest apartments came armed gang members. They haphazardly charging in with guns firing. The lead officers, Malard included, had blast shields preventing gunfire from hitting them. Gunfire from the officers easily took them down. More fire came from rooms further down the hall. The front blocks in the police squad crouched down and aim their shields in defense.

Then some more fire came from the stairway down the hall. Malard yelled into his headset,

"We got their attention and are holding position."

Parker held his headset, making sure that he heard Malard over the other noise that was being transmitted. "OK, Anderson. Prime team has encountered hostiles and are holding position. What's your status?"

The detective swung his shotgun around, still searching for any response from the gangs. The other officers were doing the same.

He informed Parker, "We're pretty far in and haven't seen anyone. We're keeping on the look..."

Gunfire from the back halted his sentence. He swung around to find a gang member fallen.

Swinging back, there was now two more gang members. The detective held his gun for the expected gunfire, but it didn't come. Instead, they yelled out in alarm.

The detective held his arm up, signaling a halt to their advance. Ordering his subordinates, "Let's get these two rooms secure. We'll be able to use those as cover."

Redirecting himself back to the radio, "Never-mind. We got contact and are setting up a defense."

Malard was still taking quite a bit with his shield. It was daunting being surrounded by gunfire, but he held firm. The man behind him had ducked below and aimed in another direction. More gang members were attacking from the side hall.

One SWAT officer yelled, "How many of these guys are there?"

Malard gave the best answer he had, "Last count was at least two hundred. There's at least a quarter of that in this building."

The SWAT officer fired, narrowly missing the gang member who dared pop his head up. Malard looked forward, through the small windowed slit in the shield. Even that was becoming harder to see through as the shield was scared from gunfire.

Malard spoke into the headset, "I think we got enough attention here. How's our wild-card?"

He heard Parker respond, "I'll send him right in."

Jeff held his stun-pistol, ready at a moments notice. A buzz echoed in his ear. That was the call. He aimed the pistol at the door in front of him. "Going in now."

With the looser door, he fired his stun-pistol. The blast plowed the door down. Peering in, he released the battery - the only shot it got due to the power setting. Shoving a new battery in, he entered the building.

A hand remained on the scan-glasses. Jeff's first job inside was to look around and find where everyone, police and gang members alike, was at. Straight ahead was the main team. Most of the officers were inside, though there was still quite a few outside. Scanning further down, he saw the second team. They were well inside and fighting a dozen gang members down hall.

Going up a level, he found that the numbers thinned greatly and were scattered. To the third floor, Jeff found a lead. There was a cluster of three people - one was sitting down while the other two were towering over.

Jeff ran further into the building.

The detective turned out of the doorway and fired his shotgun down the hall. One of the gang members was hit, but not badly. Turning back, he avoided incoming several shots.

Parker came over the radio, "Jeff is in. Advance if you can."

The detective nodded. Signaling his men forward, they nodded in affirmation.

Simultaneously, everyone dived back into the hallway. An unsuspecting gang member was caught off-guard as he was quickly shot by the envigored force. The enforcers all calmly walked forward. Two gang members tried to fire at them, but was quickly shot at. Calls for reinforcement quickly came from the remaining gang members.

Malard was having more difficulty moving forward. Gang members came from all sides, though the main force was concentrated down the hallway. The SWAT officer tried to fire more shots, but found his weapon empty. "I'm out."

The undercover detective ordered, "Then switch with me." Malard set one arm down so he could retrieve his pistol. "On three. One...two...three!"

In one quick motion, the SWAT officer grabbed the shield and the two switched positions. Malard proceeded to fire his pistol down the hallway. He kept up his concentration as bullets from behind flew over him.

Jeff had found the elevators. Pressing a button, he found that it had worked. It took just a second to open. Getting in, Jeff pressed for the top floor.

There were two gang members that had heard the ring as the elevator doors opened. Curious, in part because of the firefight, they looked inside.

No one was in the elevator.

They shrugged it off. Turning their back, Jeff quickly landed inside the elevator and fired the stun-pistol at one enemy then the other. Above him, the emergency hatch was open while his grappling beam was connected to the top of the elevator shaft. Releasing it, he moved forward.

The hall was thinly populated. One gang member was guarding a corner, facing Jeff's direction. Jeff spotted him quickly, firing before he had the chance to react. He ran further in. Another corner was his destination. The door was open, so he took a peek inside.

It was Riley on the ground, bruised in several places but she still held a look of defiance. She was cuffed to a radiator. Two gang members from towering over her with submachine guns.

Jeff took out his second stun-pistol and readied his charge. Turning into the room, he didn't aim all that much. He just fired as many shots as he could, aiming high and at the two figures.

One was able to turn but not able to fire when he was hit. The other had been caught completely off-guard. They both landed a foot away from undercover officer.

Jeff ran over to Riley, who showed gratefulness for Jeff. "Glad you finally came. I wasn't expecting anyone, not since they found the text."

"It took a while, but we figured out you were alive and needed help."

Jeff took one of the guns from the fallen gang members. Aiming it at the radiator, he shot the cuff clean off. Riley, stiff from sitting for so long, stretched as she got up. Holding his hand to his ear, Jeff spoke to the radio. "This is Jeff. I got her, Parker. We're heading out."

Riley had picked up a submachine gun when she noticed what Jeff said. "Wait, is that Parker Jaden on the radio?"

"Yeah. He's helping us coordinate."

Riley waved at Jeff, enthusiastic to speak to him. Jeff removed his headset and handed it over to her. Putting it on, she immediately spoke into it. "Parker?"

The radio operator heard her voice and couldn't help but feel relief. "Is that you, Riley?"

Riley reciprocated the feeling, "Yeah, it's me, kid."

Parker laughed at the pet name. "It may be a bit cliche, but I'm glad to hear your voice."

"Same here. I'm sorry I didn't say anything; that I worried you...

"No need, babe. I'm proud, and will support you whatever you do. Just get back home."

Riley nodded, "Alright. But first, I'm going to take out the rest of these bastards."

Parker replied, "Then go and kick some ass."

Riley got more energy from this than she had in weeks. Then she looked over to Jeff, who offered one of his stun-pistols.

"This will be better if you really want to punish those men."

Riley set the submachine gun down, then took the pistol. "What is it?"

Jeff informed, "It'll just knock them out, not kill them."

She smiled almost cruelly. "I like it."

Malard now aimed forward, a new officer taking the place he was at. More gang members were down the main hall. Resistance had persisted to either side. Ducking down, he removed his clip. As he looked around, he tried to find his next, best target.

"Shit!" A gang member had yelled.

Gunfire erupted to the right, more than previously indicated. Malard looked and saw that the hallway was now flooded with police officers. They moved forward, aiming at the various rooms to make sure they were cleared.

The detective was leading the charge. He converged right toward the main force. Standing up, he spoke to Malard as he shot into the opposite hall, "Glad to see you."

"You too. Got a plan for these guys."

The "guys" were a reference to the main enemy force. The detective quickly turned to look, then back to cover the other hall. "Just wait a second."

Then more gunshots erupted in the main hallway. Several of the gang members now ran up the stairs, the only safe haven from the police raid.

The gang members were yelling at each other. Verbal attempts were made to figure out what to do and who should do it. Then from their back came bolts of light. The gang turned to find Jeff and Riley, standing side by side.

Some of them tried to fight them, but got caught between a rock and a hard place. Police had climbed the stairs and were firing upon them as well. Several more bolts downed the gang members, unable to hide from Jeff and Riley.

Then it ended. It was sudden, almost unexpected. The battle was over. The remaining gang members had dropped their weapons with hands in the air in surrender.

Riley, tired, handed Jeff's pistol back to him. The two walked down the stairs. It didn't take long before she was outside, surrounded by other proud officers.

Back at the police station, a car pass by all the barricades and rubble. It stopped right where the door used to be; where Parker waited.

The door opened, with a very weary Riley getting out. Her strength may have been waning, but she didn't need to any encouragement. She walked calmly, almost too calm, to the man she loved. They embraced. Tears ran down both their eyes.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't say anything, do anything..."

Parker whispered to her, "I don't care. That doesn't matter, none of that matters."

Jeff watched from the back of the car. It was the best sight he had seen in a long time. He watched as the clouds parted, showing bright sunlight of the ending day.

Episode 8

### Fall

Gregory was looking at his computer. He was finishing up the last series of notes. Looking up at the clock, it was past 11 at night. The rest of the offices were dark. So were the laboratories that were across the hall. Removing his glasses, he set them next to the keyboard. "Can't exactly do much now anyway. Time to call it a night."

He pressed the log-off button on the keyboard and subsequently turned off the monitor. He took the nearby open bag, zipped it closed and hoisted it onto his shoulder. Getting up, he stretched from his long term at sitting. Small pops could be heard, especially when he intertwined his fingers and bent them backwards.

Walking down the hallway, he saw something happening in the lab across the hall. Lights flashed across the windows. Gregory leaned over, trying to see through the open door what was happening. He made it halfway across the large, blinded glass when he felt metal upon his head.

"Hold it right there."

The shadowy figure held a very serious tone to his voice, suggesting violence as he held the gun to Gregory's head. The scientist held his hands up in surrender. The minion held his hand onto his captive's shoulder, guiding him into the room that was being robbed.

Inside the unlit room kept all the other faces shrouded in shadow. The minion led Gregory further into the room, until they arrived on the other side. Gregory saw what he was facing: a custom safe designed to keep a specific experiment within. "Open it."

Clearly showing his fear, he had to explain, "I...don't have the clearance."

That didn't please the robber, "What?" He pressed the gun hard onto Gregory's head.

"We can't open it! Only a few security officers can!"

Without remorse, the robber said, "Then that's some bad luck you have." The minion gave the impression that he was going to fire - a partial bluff.

From nearby, another man stepped forward. He remained in shadow and let his voice carry the weight of control. "Do not harm someone who could be useful."

The minion loosened his grip on the gun. He looked at Karns, "What use can he be if he can't get in?"

Karns remained calm, in control. He looked at the scientist, "Do you have access to the computers?"

Still very nervous, Gregory nodded.

"Good. We want a certain file." Karns turned his attention to the minion he hired, "Keep an eye on him, and make sure he gets that file."

The minion nodded. He pulled Gregory away from the safe. Poking the captive with the gun, he silently ordering the man to lead him to the computers.

Before they could exit the doorway, Karns sternly ordered the minion, "And don't kill him. He may be of further use to us."

Once they were gone, another minion approached Karns. "Why the file? What's a stupid document going to do for us?"

Without looking at him, he responded, "Simple, information is much more valuable than the product itself. With all the specs of the device, we can make even more, sell it to some rival company... or use it for ourselves."

The man insisted, "What use would you have of documents and not the thing itself?"

"I have a few ideas, all requiring that man to stay alive. Remember, by dear friend: people are a resource just like anything else. Don't get rid of something that will be useful."

Not quite satisfied, the minion walked back across the room to continue the search for anything valuable. Karns simply stood within the shadows and watched over them.

Jeff walked down the busy street. He held intent towards his movement, though not exactly knowing a direction. At a crosswalk, he looked around. Surrounding him was tall buildings and various shops. Just around the corner was a coffee shop with newspapers predominately displayed.

Shrugging his shoulders, he walked into the coffee shop. Once inside he snagged one of the newspapers. Holding up the paper, he asked the cashier, "How much?"

The cashier waved his hand in denial. "It's free."

Jeff nodded and kindly said, "Thanks."

Taking a nearby empty seat, Jeff looked at the front page. He scanned the headlines. Flipping to the bottom half, he found something, "Lab break in, scientist missing"

With the city limits well within his search grid, Jeff knew this was a decent lead. "If Karns is up to something, that would be it."

Reading the article, he found the location of the mentioned lab. Flipping it back, he placed the newspaper on the table for the next person to read.

It was much brighter in the laboratory now that natural light leaked through the blinds. Police were still interviewing several people. A few were security guards, dressed more casually since they often worked with the scientists.

Jeff walked up to the police tape. The lead officer noticed him and approached. "Sir, this lab is closed due to an investigation."

Jeff almost smiled, since he was recognized as a scientist than investigator. He took the short time to read the name on the present badge as "Detective Carson Yelm."

"I don't work here, Detective," Jeff said to him, "Actually, I'm here to investigate a lead for myself." Jeff took out a picture. It was the surveillance picture that Jeff obtained from the first world he had traveled into. "Was this man involved, by any chance?"

Yelm looked at the photo. It did pique his interest. Looking back, he waved to another officer who was interviewing an security officer. "Parsons! Can you double-check this for me?"

The officer held up a hand, telling the security officer to pause the conversation. Walking up and next to the detective, he too looked carefully at the photo. "Can't say for certain, but it does look like our man."

The detective nodded, simultaneously approving and dismissing Parsons. Then he returned to Jeff. "How do you know this man?"

"He killed my wife."

Like most others before him, Carson gave a sympathetic, "I'm sorry." It went quiet for a second before the lead officer figured to go back to business. "What do you suspect he was up to here?"

"More than likely, he was trying to steal something for a malicious plot of his. What was this lab working on?"

The detective explained, "Well, I asked the supervisor, but he declined since it wasn't missing."

Jeff was curious. "Really?"

The detective held up the tape for Jeff to cross. "If what you say about your guy is true, I'll see if the supervisor changes his mind."

Jeff took the offer and ducked under the tape. Yelm led him into the room where the break-in was centered. Next to the safe, a formal man stood watching everything unfold. That was Yelm's target. As they walked to him, Yelm said, "This man believes that whatever you were working on was targeted."

The supervisor was a little annoyed that he had to repeat, "Well, they didn't get past the safe. Why do you need to know what it is?"

Jeff stepped forward. "It may give an idea of what Karns' activities are."

The supervisor sighed. Looking at the security officer that Parsons was interviewing, he yelled, "Gil, can you come over here."

The security officer walked over to the other side of the safe. The supervisor held up a card, indicating that the security officer should do the same. Getting out his own car, he mirrored the supervisor's motions as they swiped their cars onto the safe.

The distinctive tone of metal moving within told Jeff that it was now open. The supervisor opened it, then pulled out a long tray. On it was a metal backpack, straps bleeding out the bottom.

Then Jeff's glasses indicated something interesting. Holding them, he found out what it was. "This is using some type of multi-dimensional energy."

The supervisor looked up at Jeff, "While the term is curious, it is rather accurate. We figured out how to effectively use physics normally available at the sub-atomic level, where most phenomena that goes into 'multi-dimensional activity.'"

This went over the head of Yelm. "Layman, please."

Jeff decided to explain, "I mean alternate universe. Multi-dimensional particles more freely travel between different worlds. They're usually not abundant, at best being one part per million."

The supervisor used that as a basis for his explanation, "Well, we are able to give a similar charge to normal particles for a specific purpose. By doing so, we can essentially squeeze things down and store them inside this device. Let me demonstrate."

The supervisor took a pen out of his pocket. Switching the backpack on, he held the pen to the backpack. In a blue flash, the pen disappeared.

The demonstration wasn't exactly clear but detective barely understood the premise. "So the pen is now in the backpack."

The supervisor showed affirmation. "And we can store much larger objects within as well. All without any additional encumbrance. It can't take anything that requires constant movement, so we locked out most organic materials."

With another motion and a flash, the pen returned to the supervisor's hand.

Jeff asked, "How is this controlled?"

"It reads both motion detection and brainwaves. That way it locks other people out while keeping a safety check."

Jeff looked closer at it. "This looks close to being finished."

The supervisor nodded. "We still need a field trial. You seem to understand the physics behind this."

Jeff nodded in return. "In another life I was a theoretical physicist."

That put an idea into the supervisor's head. "Then I'm glad I showed you this. I going to guess you wouldn't mind trying this out for a while."

Jeff turned enthusiastic. "Not at all."

The supervisor gestured for Jeff to place his hand on top the backpack. He placed his finger where it looked like a small reader was located. Jeff held it there for a second, then heard a beep. Releasing it, the supervisor held the device up for Jeff to possess.

Detective Yelm coughed, calling attention to himself. "Now that you two are done geeking out, can we go back to the case? Most importantly, was the victim on this project."

The supervisor kept a more analytical tone, hoping that the worst hasn't happened. "Yeah, Greg was vital in some of the breakthroughs we had."

Jeff strapped the backpack on, then asked, "Did he have access to this?"

"Not really. It requires both a researcher and a security card to open it."

Yelm took his turn to ask, "How about any research files?"

The supervisor looked over towards the offices, "He often stayed late to make sure all the notes and public files were right."

Both Jeff and Yelm knew what that meant. It was Yelm who asked, "Do you by chance keep track of your researcher's computer activities."

The supervisor got wind of things. "You can't mean..."

Jeff said, "It's very likely. If under duress, your guy probably gave Karns any files you have on this."

The supervisor sighed. "I checked this morning and found they were still there, but didn't think to see if they were accessed. I'll do that now."

The supervisor walked towards the offices where his desk was.

Detective Yelm turned to Jeff, continuing the discussion. "You think he stole those files to sell."

Jeff shook his head negative. "Not at all. His lackeys maybe. He may even say that it was all about money to their face. But for him, money doesn't matter."

"Then why would he steal plans vs. the actual thing?"

Jeff looked at the safe. "I wouldn't be surprised he couldn't get into it. Were there any cameras in here?"

That was the disappointing part of the investigation. "Nope. Only in the parking garage. Do you think he could make another one of those things?"

Jeff answered, "Hard to tell. Worse, he may have other ideas."

Yelm's phone began to ring. He got it out and answered, "This is Yelm. Got it, thanks. No! Have her wait there."

He hung up the phone, then looked back up to Jeff. "Looks like someone spotted the van. It was ditched at the New York Tower. Want to join in?"

Jeff nodded, and promptly followed Yelm out of the room.

The unmarked car stopped several spots away from the lone van. Yelm and Jeff got out and walked directly to the two people that were waiting. One was a large man, someone who could have moonlighted as a football player. The other was a formally dressed woman, remaining silent at the moment.

Yelm approached the man, who was one of the parking garage attendants. Before he could say anything, the man answered the unasked question, "Sorry, sir. The camera was shot out before they left the vehicle. Went through that tape for a half-hour; couldn't see a darned one of their faces."

Yelm sighed disappointingly. Jeff instead approached the woman. "How about you, miss? Did you see anything?"

"Mrs. actually. Or will be shortly, in just a month."

Jeff tried to give a warm smile, "Congratulations."

"Thanks." She saw that Jeff was more interested in business, "Anyway, I saw this van come up about an hour ago. They tried to disguise themselves as some road workers. But it was the fifth guy, he looked like the scientist that got kidnapped"

Yelm stepped up, done with his conversation with the parking officer. He joined in on the debriefing. "You keep up on the news."

The bright-eyed woman nodded. "One of the things you have to do in P.R. I work upstairs on the third floor. Had to come in early today. Only got a glimpse of them before they left."

"Did you see any of their faces?"

She shook her head negative. "Sorry. They all kept their head down and wore hats."

The detective pulled out a note pad from his pocket, and a pen from the spiraled metal. "Can I get your name and number, just in case we have any more questions?"

"Sure. Cheryl Sandler, and 555-9090."

Detective Yelm wrote down the information. Putting that away, he replaced it with a business card. He handed that over to Cheryl. "If you think of or see anything, go ahead and give me a call."

"Will do." She nodded, as though she was saying good bye. She gave an additional nod to Jeff, more casual and intimate that the one before.

As she left, Jeff and Yelm walked over to the open van. He said to the former scientist "I think she liked you."

Jeff visually showed that he disagreed. "She said she was getting married. Plus...I'm not ready for any of that."

They stood at the open sliding door of the van. Jeff was looking inside, trying to continue his work in spite the direction Yelm was going. "How long has it been?" the detective asked.

Jeff sighed, all the while using his glasses to scan the vehicle. "Five months now." He wasn't finding anything outside. Jeff released his glasses and leaned in. He began looking for any clues, as had Yelm.

He was on the flat-bed part of the van when he saw something. It was a smudge, as though someone was quickly wiping something and didn't bother to do a good job of it. Taking a more careful examination, there was hints of a fingerprint within it. "Looks like they wiped this thing down before they left."

Yelm was on his knees, exploring the front from between the two seats. He was looking at the dash, finding a similar smear himself. "Got something that looks like a wiped fingerprint?"

"Is that important?"

"Sure is. It's not common knowledge yet, but we can digitally reconstruct those. Only gives a partial; probably not even admissible. But if it's enough to get a decent match, that's more than enough to get our investigation going."

The examination room was in the back of the station, with windows high up and displaying the very tower that Jeff and Yelm had come from. They waited along the wall, as the technician stood in front of the computer.

"This should take only a minute," the technician informed, "Luckily we were among the first to get the upgrades D.C. mandated. One of the few times I applaud politicians."

Yelm whispered to Jeff, "Don't mention politics to this guy. I first interviewed him in a small town in Oregon, he _railed_ against the city council."

The crime tech pointed backwards at Yelm. "I heard that! And they were a special kind of terrible that city councils generally avoid. Just take the lack of focus on the roads and..."

Yelm responded, "And we need to get back back to work. Especially with the flashing light saying it's done."

The crime tech looked back at the screen and began typing. "I knew that. These fingerprints match two people...from two different backgrounds."

Yelm shrugged his shoulders, "Unusual, but not unheard of. Who are they?"

"I got a Samuel Parkston. Unemployed. Got caught stealing from a high-end pawn shop. Lives in Riverside.

"The next guy is Arlando Velston. Occupation: "White hat" security analyst, inside the 'Tower."

The term flew over Yelm's head. "What's a "White hat" security analyst?"

Jeff interjected, "They're hackers - tries to find various security holes in computer programs, servers and other services. "White hat" refers to being on the legitimate side of these things."

"Well, since you know those thing, go ahead and talk to this person. I'll have one of our officers meet you there if you need to arrest anyone. I'll go to the guy in Riverside."

Nodding in affirmation, Jeff left the room with Yelm behind. The crime tech moved to the next file on his desk and begun work on that.

Jeff was being followed by an officer, who held his long accustomed tall and defensive posture. The office looked like any normal office. The front desk proceeded a long stretch of desks. For each desk, there was a computer; most had a person behind that computer.

Next to the desk was a secretary - talking to Cheryl. As Jeff opened the glass door, Cheryl took notice of him. She abruptly stopped the conversation and approached him. While showing a hint of worry, she was glad it was him who had come. "Do you need anything more, Mr...Sorry, never asked your name. Happens too often."

"It's Jeffrey Hunter. I thought you said you didn't recognize anyone at the scene?"

"I didn't. Is there a problem?"

Jeff's expression showed that there was. "One of your employees, Arlando Velston, is a suspect..." The officer put a hand on Jeff's shoulder. He leaned forward and whispered a piece of advice into Jeff's ear. Turning back towards Cheryl, Jeff had to make the correction. "Alright, a person of interest in the case."

Cheryl said, "Don't know him. I'm just the P.R. rep." She gave an audible sigh, "If this guy was involved, that makes my job _a lot_ tougher."

"Can you still show us where he is?"

She didn't resist, instead showing enthusiasm towards helping Jeff. "Sure." She moved behind the desk, looking at a map of the office. She easily found Arlando's desk on the reference table. "Follow me."

She led Jeff into the office. The desk was towards the back, so she decided to strike up a conversation. "Do you work for the police or something, Mr. Hunter?"

"Not really. I'm something of a traveling private investigator."

That sounded exotic to her, "You go around solving different crimes?"

"Yeah."

"Sounds very interesting."

Jeff whispered to himself, "It isn't."

They walked a few more rows until they arrived at the desk. A pasty man was working, looking at a DOS prompt. He looked up, seeing both Jeff and the officer. The latter gave the hint. He tried to act innocent. "Is there something I can help you with?"

Jeff stepped forward. He leaned onto the desk, glimpsing at the papers below. "Yeah, there was a break-in at a lab last night, which included a kidnapping."

"Yeah, I heard about that; was on the news." Then it hit him, "Wait, you don't suspect me on that?"

Jeff went to the point, "Where were you last night?"

"I was working, from home. My log would show that."

Jeff lifted his hand. He pointed to the paper that was underneath. It was technical in nature; casual eyes would miss it. But not Jeff. He had seen much of that type of stuff just like with the Dimensional Transport. "Then what is this?"

Arlando's mouth hung open for a second, "That's something I was working on later..."

"I can tell," Jeff said to the "person of interest" in this case. "This is specs for a card reader - one for security. Just like the one that you had to get past."

Arlando knew that he was caught. "Alright, I was the one who circumvented the security. I needed the money. As good as this job pays, it isn't enough. My mother lost her insurance. If she has another fall, or a stroke like she did two years ago, she'd go bankrupt."

Jeff kept his questioning on the case at hand, "When did he contact you?"

"I don't know how, but he got hold of my home phone - which was unlisted. He called two nights ago, saying he could help me. I hadn't got the money yet, but..."

Jeff interrupted, "That's enough. You can go about your business. If Karns, the man who called you, calls again or gives you any money, call the police station next door."

Arlando was understandably confused, "You're letting me go?"

Jeff turned his back, intending to leave. "For now." He walked away, with the officer following without question.

Cheryl was also confused, and ran up next to Jeff. "Wait, you're not letting him go for me in any way?"

Jeff continued his serious mood. "No. He's a small fry. I need Karns. Trouble is, in my experience he never stays anywhere for more than forty-eight hours. I need to see what he's up to."

Jeff stood back while another crime tech worked on a computer. He had waited for a few minutes. However, he was impatient to get to Karns, especially knowing that time was not on his side.

Detective Yelm walked in, exhausted from his expedition. Jeff couldn't help but notice this. "Had a tough time?"

"Yeah. Our perp wasn't exactly...prepared for us."

The detective described the problematic experience: He arrived at the apartment with a door partially open. They knocked, but there was no answer. Having the door open meant they could enter and look around. As he performed the casual search, he looked in the bathroom. That's when the problem started.

The man they were looking for had been sitting on the toilet, oblivious to everything outside. But when Yelm peeked his head in, the suspect went alert. He snagged a handgun from his loose pants. Then he aimed his gun at the detective.

Yelm responded in kind, pulling his own gun to their suspect. The two stood there, guns aimed at each other. He had wondered why the man wouldn't get up from the toilet.

Then he heard a drop into the toilet water. He couldn't move in part out due to the stand-off, but also because he wasn't done.

"And that's how it was for around an hour. He would not get off that toilet."

Jeff tried to be a little comforting. "Did you get something out of it at least?"

Yelm shook his head. "Nope. Only that your man, Karns, only took one man to help escort the vic."

The tech turned, showing he had found nothing as well. "Sorry. It only showed that he called from a pay phone in the Baltimore Mall."

Yelm explained, in part to himself, "Use a highly populated area to cover his tracks." He looked back over to Jeff, "I presume you were attempting to track him down."

"Yeah," Jeff responded, "He called all the lackeys through that phone. Around the same time."

"So another bust."

Jeff showed otherwise, that there was something else to look into. "Not really. He called four numbers."

The tech shrugged his shoulders, interjecting, "We're waiting on a new warrant for that phone, so it'll be at least an hour before we get the other two numbers."

Jeff pointed his finger upward, telling that there was more. "The thing is: he knew to call those four numbers - those four people. Each had a record; none would have been in a public listing. How did he find out those records?"

The detective could only respond by saying, "If they all had a record, those would be public."

The computer technician shot down that idea, "Only if you know the name in the first place. He got a list from somewhere."

Jeff elaborated further, "Most likely it would be some type of electronic access, maybe a laptop or phone."

The computer tech knew where Jeff was going. "If we can get an IP Address, we possibly can trace where he was, and maybe where he is. I'll go ahead and see some possible places that carry those lists." The computer tech turned around and begun work on the computer.

But Yelm thought it wasn't the best route to go. "I'd rather wait on those numbers. If this Karns is smart enough to get in, he'd would be smart enough not to be so easily traced."

Jeff shrugged his shoulder at the notion, acknowledging his point. He still felt that this was the best chance. Yelm on the other hand left the room and headed for other business.

Jeff walked into another coffee shop. This one had the similar warm brown walls that he seen many times before. It was actually part of the same chain that he went to earlier that day, despite being only a few blocks away. Jeff always found that a bit curious.

Based from what he got from the techs, they figured that Karns probably stayed around this area. A rather large area at that. So this was the tenth coffee shop that Jeff had to explore, finding where Karns had Internet access.

Approaching the counter, Jeff took out the picture of Karns to show the barista. "Have you seen this man in the past couple of days?"

The woman shook her head negative, then reconsidered. "Actually, yeah. He was here a couple of days ago, just surfing on his laptop. I think that's all the wanted to do, but found out that it was only for paying customers."

"You have a password setup on your network?"

She showed affirmation to the question. "One too many hackers in Iowa meant that we had to protect customers. In the same store, that is. Don't ask me about computers - I just use them. Anyway, the policy is to make these things more secure. Don't ask me how, I'm just giving the company line."

Jeff nodded, internally guessing a few things the company could have done to secure it. "In that case, do you keep records of his access?"

"Yeah, we have a computer in back."

She walked down the counter and opened the employee flap for Jeff. He walked through, then followed the young woman into a roughly designed room. The space lacked wallpaper and the calm environment of the public area. A desk was set aside, a laptop computer set onto it.

Jeff walked ahead of the barista and set the chair aside. She watched as he went to work, though didn't understand a thing he did. Tapping the pad woke up the blank screen, immediately showing the router's interface. He quickly located the records. Clicking the mouse scrolled the page down to around two days ago. He easily found the name, "Nathaniel Karns."

"At least he made it easy for me."

But it wasn't so easy. Clicking down, he found multiple entries, each with a different IP Address. "That isn't good. He's cycling IP Addresses. Tracking him will be impossible."

Yelm walked into the large room, a hall that was used for a large party within the last hour. The last of the musicians was stacking the large black cases onto a cart. With the tables stacked aside with the chairs, three people were mopping the floor.

A formally dressed woman met Yelm, asking, "Can I help you?"

"I'm looking for Daniel Undercern."

With that heard, the far-off janitor dropped his mop and ran out of the hall. The detective gave a very audible sigh then gave chase. He ran the same path, through the doors to the back-ways of the hall. Once out, he saw the man turn the corner into a service hall. Quickly following he found plenty of obstacles. Yelm's reaction and dexterity was greater than his opponent. The man busted through an emergency exit. Yelm had halved the distance since the chase began.

The man turned around, having pulled a gun when Yelm exited the hall. He turned to fire, narrowly missing the detective. Now that violence was presented, Yelm removed his own weapon to the fleeing suspect. "Stop or I'll shoot."

The man ignored the warning. He turned back to fire. Yelm stood, carefully aiming before firing. The man fell. Blood pooled around the body.

Yelm ran to him, but found that the shot hit dead-center in his chest. "Damn!"

Jeff was sitting down, waiting in the commons when Yelm arrived. The detective was exhausted. He had to go through several interviews for the incident. Then he looked at Jeff, who was in a greater quandary than he was. "Bad lead for you as well?"

"Yeah. Karns changes his IP Address randomly every so often. So unless we find him accessing something within the minute he starts, it'll be impossible to trace."

Yelm sat next to him, disappointment welling out of the two. Though it was for a very different reasons. "I had to shoot our suspect."

This put things into perspective for Jeff. He tried to be empathetic when he said, "Sorry. I guess you couldn't get anything either."

Detective Yelm solemnly shook his head. "I'm not sure if I could. You'll find out that there are two types of people that commit violent crimes: people who are actual villains and are prone to violence beforehand, or people that are caught in the wrong place at the wrong time in some way. As long as the former holds...I can at least say to myself that it's justified."

Jeff asked, "And that makes it better?"

"I...don't know. But I have to find some way to make it worth it...in some way."

Jeff tried to use something he knew to help Yelm out. "You're still here, and can make a difference. That alone makes it worth it."

Yelm looked at Jeff, "Sounds like you have gone through some times yourself."

Jeff went though much of the same confessional that he has gone through time and again, but had avoided in this world. Right now was different. "The reason I'm after Karns is that he killed my wife, Kara."

Yelm nodded, now fully understanding Jeff's change in careers. "I see why you're so ready to get this guy."

"It didn't take long for me to realize, if I was the one Karns got, I couldn't do the things that I had done these past five months. I've shot - killed people myself. But I have also made people feel safe, and make sure that their memory will not be tarnished. _That_ is what keeps me going."

Detective Yelm smiled, "I'm glad to have met you. Actually, let's get a different perspective on this problem of yours."

Jeff didn't ask what Yelm's idea was, just trusted him as they both got up and left the room.

Arlando was at his desk. He was just about ready to leave for the day. After shuffling a few papers, he looked up to see Jeff and Yelm approaching. "Mr. Hunter, how can I help you?" Arlando directed the question toward Jeff.

Yelm spoke up, "Actually, it was me who needs your help. We got some IP Addresses..." he turned back toward Jeff, "Is that what you called it?" Jeff nodded. Yelm continued speaking to Arlando, "As he told me, it's randomized, so we can't locate him immediately. "But is it possible to find where he _has been_?"

The hacker was curious by the request, "Don't you have your own unit for that?"

Jeff said, "We would, but they quoted several days before it could be complete. I was guessing that you could beat that."

Arlando nodded, knowing that he could. "A generalized search requires a lot resources, but I can figure a few ways around that." He sat back into his desk, preparing to work. "Do you have at least five of those IP Addresses."

Jeff tossed over a thumb-drive. "The text file has ten of them."

Arlando took the drive and plugged into a port. Opening the file, he copy and pasted the addresses into a program. He then let the program run its course.

Yelm asked, "How long will this take?"

Arlando turned to him, confidant that the computer will do its work. "Not too long. I assigned several other computers that I have at home to split the load. The more quickly this is done means that his routes gone through more centralized servers..."

That's when the computer beeped, notifying that it had found something. "Luckily, that's what it happened. I'll bring it up on a map."

Pressing a key, a map of the city showed all the points that had come up. Most were centralized towards one end of the city. They were about a mile away from the Tower in the downtown district.

The hacker informed, "I eliminated all the servers and such. Most likely the ones outside here are false positives."

Yelm was pleased with the results. "At least that'll give us a very good idea where he is. I'll be in touch."

The detective left as Arlando let the program finish it's final analysis. Jeff followed, not fully knowing that the Detective didn't even care for a map. As he followed him back to the entrance, Jeff asked, "Have a good idea where he is?"

The detective showed confidence, "Yeah. There's only one hotel there..."

Three people walked down alongside the rather high-end hotel. The detective knew that in this part of the city, there was no other types of hotels. One had to go several miles before finding anything more reasonably priced.

The hotel manager led the two to the room, giving a key card to the detective. Yelm held his arm out, directing the manager away from the door. "If he's in there, this may be dangerous."

Jeff announced, "He isn't in there."

There was a tone of disappointment in Jeff's voice. Yelm looked at Jeff, who was holding his glasses. Unbeknownst to Yelm, Jeff had already scanned the room for the villain. Yelm swiped the card to open the door anyway.

Inside, the desk that was placed next to the television had various papers stacked. Some of it was newspapers. Others were various printouts of technical material.

Jeff commented, "This is different. He usually takes everything with him."

Yelm was looking through the papers, trying to see what they were. Jeff on the other hand looked around the room. "Maybe he left these because they're not important anymore."

Jeff visibly showed that he didn't agree. "I doubt that."

Scanning with his glasses, he looked at the bed. The x-ray mode revealed something under the bed. Quickly, he dove down and lifted the linens to see what was there.

"We have a bomb here!"

Jeff rushed to get up, running once he was on his feet. Yelm held the door open for Jeff. Once they were directly out of the room, he approached the manager.

"Is there anyone in the other roo...."

That's when the bomb went off. It rippled through the walls and floors, blowing the three onto the other side of the hall. Looking back, Jeff saw the entire room was gone, as well as parts of the rooms next door.

It didn't take long before emergency crews arrived. Since the bomb didn't cause any major fires, the work was done in equal time. Two firefighters calmly walked by Jeff. The former-scientist stood while staring at the wreckage. Next to him, a stretcher lay with a black bag - a body obviously filled it. The victim was an occupant of the neighboring room.

There was no sadness in Jeff, but much anger. It was directed all to himself. "Should have known that Karns would do this."

Yelm heard this. He walked back up to him. "No, you couldn't have."

" _No, I should have._ He specializes in explosives. Not being in there should have told me he was up to something. Now a man is dead because of that."

Yelm argued, "But it wasn't you that made it or set it off; it was Karns."

"I know." The tone showed that it didn't make anything better.

The detective decided to say, "Come on, let's get back to the station. It's getting late and the both of us need some rest. Especially after this."

Yelm was leading Jeff through the police station offices when another detective approached. It was an older man, nearing retirement but looked resistant to the idea. "Good evening, Yelm. Is this the guy who I.D.'ed our suspect?"

"Yup. Farnsworth, this is Jeff Hunter."

Jeff and Farnsworth shook hands in the greetings. The other detective greeted, "I'm the guy that's taking over for the night."

Jeff asked, "Is this standard procedure?"

"In a way. A combination of kidnapping and a lot of media makes this a high priority. Can't stop just because it's night."

Jeff wanted to change tact - continue working rather than take a nap. "So I guess you'll need my help on this...."

Yelm held his hand up, showing that he would object. "No, you're going to sleep. If Farnsworth has anything he'll wake you up. But it's almost nine right now, which means you've been working all day."

Yelm led Jeff further into the station, presumably to someplace that he could sleep. But as they neared, Farnsworth looked at his phone. The other detective had to rescind the order, "Never mind, I'll need Mr. Hunter."

Detective Yelm nodded a goodbye then left the two behind. Jeff approached Farnsworth, showing he wanted more information. The new detective gave it to him, "Just got a text from CSU. Dellard turned on his phone ten minutes ago. They're tracing the signal now, so let's get into the car."

The two left for the garage.

The car pulled up to a building that was being remodeled. It was framed with a metal platform and a large tube for demolition. There was even a large bin filled with the results of the internal demolition.

As they got out of the car, Farnsworth looked up. "He's in this building, they're guessing around the fifth to eighth floor."

Jeff also looked up. Through his glasses, he scanned up the floors. He quickly found a life-sign at the fifth floor. "Well, they're good at their job. He's on the fifth floor."

Not asking how Jeff knew that, Farnsworth moved very swiftly.

The interior floors and walls still rough from the demolition. All but one door was removed - the door they needed to go through.

"In here I'm guessing?" Farnsworth said to Jeff.

Jeff, still holding his glasses, nodded. Farnsworth was about to go in when Jeff held a hand up. "Wait. Let me check the door first." Using the x-ray function, Jeff quickly found wires coming out of the door. Turning directly to Farnsworth, Jeff informed, "It's wired."

While Jeff inspected the room through the glasses, Farnsworth looked through the door. He couldn't see anything. So he yelled, "Mr. Dellard, can you hear me?"

A voice came a distance from the door, "Finally! I....can't move. He said there's a bomb in here!"

"We know and are taking care of that right now. Just stay there and stay calm." Farnsworth turned back to Jeff, "What's the diagnosis?"

Jeff released his glasses. "The door's wired, but not much else is. I can get through the window on the other side, but will need your phone."

"Why?"

"Because I don't have one and don't have an idea how to disarm a bomb."

The detective removed his phone from his pocket, then handed it over to Jeff. "Alright. Bomb squad is listed, as with any other department you might need."

"Thanks." Jeff walked down the hall, then turned to go up the stairs.

He went to the seventh and top floor. He immediately turned to the hallway. He was acting swiftly, but not in any real need to hurry. Jeff had guessed that if Karns intended to kill Gregory, he already would have.

The hall looked identical to the floor below, demolished and very dirty. All the doors were removed, including to the room that was Jeff's destination. Walking into it, it was empty \- everything cleared and ready for the remodeling. The only thing of note was the window left cracked open by mistake.

Jeff pushed it out further then poked his head out. Looking down, he saw that the exterior platforms were too far away to be of use. Looking up, he saw that much higher was some platforms. Reaching out with his left arm, he shot the grappling beam up and connecting to the platform.

More awkwardly, Jeff pulled his leg up onto the waist-high windowsill. The second leg came easier. Jumping out, he hung from the beam. Bending his wrist further, he slowly descended to the fifth level window.

He was now level and could see the captive. Jeff swung to kick the window. It only made a thump - no sign of damage whatsoever.

What it did do was got Gregory's attention. He was standing in the middle of the room. He turned to find Jeff hanging. Slowly, he approached the window and opened it. He was a bit confused (an emotion mostly encouraged by the dangerous situation).

"Are...you here to help?"

Jeff nodded while swinging to get his foot onto the windowsill. "Yeah."

Latching onto the window, he pulled himself into the room. Jeff bypassed Gregory and went straight to the bomb. It was placed along the wall perpendicular to the door. It was painted red, screaming out from the otherwise bland walls.

Holding his hand behind his back, he summoned a small metal case. Opening it showed several tools intended for small spaces - for disarming the bomb.

Greg saw this. "Wait, how'd you..."

Jeff said to him, "Yes, I was loaned this. Not important at the moment, and I'll need silence if you can."

Jeff withdrew the phone from his pocket. Quickly scrolling through numbers, he found the bomb squad sorted along side several other departments. Pressing the green call button, he withdrew a small headset. Just as he put it onto his ear, a woman answered, "Bomb squad, this is Becca."

Jeff stayed calm despite the company that did the opposite. "This is Jeffrey Hunter. I have a small bomb that's wired to the door."

"O.K. Mr. Hunter, is there any kind of timer on it?"

He looked carefully at the clock. Using his glasses, he found that it was working independent from the bomb. Further inspection didn't reveal anything. "I don't see one, but considering who made it, we probably don't have much time."

"Since you haven't said otherwise, I presume it's in the case." Even though she was working blind, the bomb technician had done this several times before. "Find screws or the thing holding it together. Don't remove them, just pull it apart just enough to see if there's wires."

Jeff cheated by using his glasses. He easily found several screws on the corners. Only one had a wire going into it. "There's only one wired."

"Wow, that was fast! How did you..."

Jeff said, "Never mind that, I can work as fast as you can tell me what to do."

"If there's only one, can you open the case without touching it."

Jeff removed his hand from his glasses, assessing that idea. Then he took a small screwdriver and begun to unscrew one of the safe ones. "I think I can. Doing so now."

After the first, he went onto the other two. He did it with a certain level of proficiency, something Jeff learned from taking various electronics apart.

Once finished, he carefully twisted and bent the case so he could rotate around the live screw. With that done, he saw the exposed bomb - a twisting mess of wires surrounded by a brick that was the explosive material. "It's open."

The bomb tech asked, "Do you see the detonator?"

Jeff used his glasses, finding underneath the knot of wires a small device. Several wires came out from it. Going back to his normal view, he saw why there was so many wires: many were exposed and were very close to one another. If they touched, it would detonate the bomb.

"Found it, but can't get to it. Too many exposed wires above it."

"There goes the easy way." she whispered to herself, "Let's check the explosive material. Find anything that is going into it."

Jeff searched along one side, finding a single disk that set two rods into the material. This made thing look worse with the way the exposed wires were set. "Negative, same problem."

"But can you tell what type of igniter it is? It it electrical or flame based?"

"I'm guessing electrical. It's two rods going into it."

"Smell it."

Jeff drew closer, trying to get a whiff of whatever it was.

With no answer given, she asked, "Can you smell anything?"

Jeff found he couldn't. "My nose isn't that good, but I can't smell anything."

"Good. Most likely we're not dealing with a volatile material. What I'm about to say next will sound strange, but do you have a pistol?"

"Yeah..."

"Are you a good shot?"

Jeff thought it sounded almost insane, "Are you suggesting that I shoot the bomb?"

Gregory heard that, "Wait, what?"

Jeff ignored him as he heard from the bomb tech. "Exactly. We're hoping that the detonator will take a split second to register any movement in the wires. A bullet is the best chance you have - the smaller the caliber the better."

Jeff put his hand to the backpack, forming a pistol into his grip. Returning the weapon to his view, he pulled back on the barrel to load the bullet. Then he stood back and aimed it.

Gregory wasn't confidant in the plan, "You're not seriously going to..."

Jeff just said, "Stand back."

Gregory did so, hiding behind Jeff.

The scan-glasses were set to see the detonator. He carefully aimed. Taking a deep breath, he held it as he adjusted.

He fired.

He could hear it hit the bomb, but the lack of an explosion meant it worked. Releasing his breath, the bomb tech could tell the result. "Good work, Mr. Hunter."

"Credit goes to you, Becca."

"Just doing my job. I'll send a disposal team to finish up. Good night, Mr. Hunter."

Jeff said to her, "Good night."

He let the now freed man relax for a while. The next task was to open the door and let Farnsworth in. The detective informed him that the bomb squad was incoming as well as several other officers. It took only a few minutes before that came true.

Jeff walked back into the room and kneeled in front of the much relieved Gregory. The man sat, tired from his long ordeal.

In the back, the bomb was being handled by two techs that were carefully dismantling each component. One carried a small camera and took a picture each time something was moved.

Farnsworth hovered around them, holding a note-pad to take any observation made.

For Jeff, he had one thing on his mind. "What did he have you do?"

Gregory showed very much that he was tired, but still knew that he had to answer the questions. "He had me work one something. The physics were very similar to the backpack's, but designed to shift much larger things."

"Like what?"

"Something like a small house. I can't be sure. It was...just one component."

That was the curious thing for Jeff, "One?"

"Yeah. He said it he's been working on it for months."

Jeff didn't like it. Rising up, he asked one more question, "Anything else you can give us?"

Gregory shook his head, now getting more tired as he knew his night was just about over. "No. I didn't even power it. Just...put it together."

Jeff nodded to the victim, "Alright, that'll be it for now. If you go out in the hall there'll be an officer that can escort you home."

Without a word, Gregory slowly and with a bit of an ache, got up. He then wordlessly walked out into the hallway. Jeff approached Farnsworth from behind. The detective continued his observation of the bomb dismantling. He said to Jeff, "So, we still don't know where Karns is."

"No, we don't."

"Any idea what he's doing?"

"Not really. If it was just this, I say he would try pulling a Carmen Sandiego by stealing entire buildings at a time. But he's been working on this for months. I have to at least get one more piece of the puzzle before guessing what the whole is." Jeff wiped his brow, showing his own drowsiness.

Even though he didn't turn around, Farnsworth noticed this. "There's a blanket in the car. Use it. No excuses."

Jeff knew that it was a lost cause to argue. "Alright. Hopefully the nap will give me an epiphany. One of the better tricks through grad school."

Jeff woke up with a beep coming from a watch. This was an area of the police department designed for people to sleep in. There was little light that came from the hallway and no real way to tell the time. He got up feeling more refreshed despite the short duration of the nap.

Going out into the hall, there is a television that has the news on. Jeff paid little attention to it. Several police officers were paying direct attention to the news on small screen. One of them was Yelm, who had just came in. He turned back to see Jeff coming out. "Good to see you well rested."

Jeff replied, "Rested, maybe. Anything else since last night?"

"Still have that on your mind."

Jeff admitted, "Not sure if I can have much else. Why the television?"

The detective turned back, facing the television as he explained, "Morning news. While we tend to have a good information system, sometimes they air something that gives us a lead. Usually it's tangential, so one never knows when it happens."

Jeff looked up at it. The story wasn't anything that interesting for Jeff - a story about costs for another parade in the city. The reporter on the screen said, "The costs to the businesses here, even though they are several blocks away, can be staggering. Or they could be profitable, depending on their reaction. A report showed that shops and reservation-only restaurants can't get people in with excessive crowds..."

Jeff looked in saw something in the background - a figure that flashed by for a quick second. "Wait, do you have this on DVR?"

Yelm looked at him with a strange look, then realized it might have been something else. "Can you translate your geek talk?"

Realizing that he was in a different word, he rephrased the question, "Are you recording this?"

"Saw something?"

Jeff said, "Maybe."

The detective moved to his desk, snagging a few things before saying to Jeff, "Go ahead and get to the car. I'll call ahead."

The newscast was ending with the last word from the solo anchor, Red Perlman, "And as always, have a good morning."

He got up and noticed the formally dressed Detective Yelm. Removing the tiny microphone, he approached the two. "Do you need something?"

Yelm didn't even bother to stop walking, "Actually, we were visiting your editor."

Red pointed down across the large, dark room. "He's in the production room. It may be easier if I show you where."

The detective nodded in approval. Generally he and journalist went well together, often having mutual relationships. The only aspect he didn't like in reporters were the excessively intrusive questions.

And one just came along, "What do you guys need to know?"

The detective was about to refuse, when Jeff spoke up, "We're here to see about the whereabouts of a suspect."

Still walking, he turned his head around, "It wasn't a source for one of our stories? Might be difficult if that's the case."

Jeff replied, "No, mostly it was an incidental sighting."

"Ah, good. Unfortunately, I've had my fair share of problems involving sources."

Yelm couldn't help but mentally agree to that.

They arrived to a room labeled, "production room." Red simply opened the door while making sure not to make too much noise. He indicated to the investigators to stay back for a few moments.

Red walked inside and right to one of the men that sat down. He put a hand onto his shoulder and whispered into his year. The editor nodded, got up and followed Red to just outside the room. There, the editor said to Jeff and Yelm, "Red told me what you guy want. The production room's a bit busy at the moment, but the editing room will work better anyway."

Inside the editing room, Red hovered behind the investigators. The editor sat while scrolling through several newsreels. "Luckily we just started making digital copies a few months ago," the editor informed everyone, including Red. The reporter didn't do much in production. "Makes this process much easier."

He found the right segment. Without the sound, he let it play. The intro sequence played with the reporter walking on the street. Then the screen shifted to several b-roll shots before Jeff decided to speed the process. "It was toward the end, around the last ten seconds."

The editor sped it up until the spot that Jeff specified. Then he let it go through.

Jeff saw it, "Go back and play it slow."

"Going quarter speed." the editor announced.

The last ten seconds played slowly, until Karns was clearly in the shot. "Stop!"

There it was Karns, clear in the shot. He was being nonchalant in his motion.

The detective said, "That's Karns all right."

Jeff turned around and asked, "Do you know where and when this was taken?"

The question was directed at the editor, but Red was much quicker. "Actually, I do. That's 4th Street, just a block from the New York Tower. In fact, he's heading right for the tower."

The editor furthered, "This was turned in yesterday afternoon."

Jeff said to himself, "Not an exact time, but hopefully that'll do." Jeff almost raced out of the room with Yelm chasing after him.

Outside the television studio, Jeff had just got to the car when Yelm yelled at him. It was parked alongside the street, just out of the heavy traffic. "Hunter! Take the streets. It won't take ten minutes if you cut along Bell."

That implied that Yelm would take a different route. He asked, "Where are you going?"

Yelm had got out his keys and was opening the car door. "I'm going around to the east side and calling in more to make sure Karns doesn't escape, if he's there."

"Alright. By the way, can I borrow your phone?"

Yelm grabbed a phone out of his pocket and tossed it to Jeff. "Keep it. It's just the station's phone, I can get replaced."

Jeff nodded, then began walking down the street. Once the Tower was in view, the foot traffic turned heavy. He still had plenty of breathing room in the crowd; and room to maneuver. Jeff pass through several rows of people. He dialed the phone.

Arlando heard his phone. He was in the middle of a crowd. Pulling it out, he moved outside the crowd right before he answered, "Arlando here."

Without introductions, Jeff asked him, "Are you at your desk?"

"Not yet. I'm just a few blocks away"

He informed the hacker, "OK. When you get there, I want you to check the Tower's financial logs for the past few days. See if someone has rented a space in there."

"You think Karns is in there?"

He simply replied, "Yeah."

"Alright, I'll do just that. If he's in there, I'll find him long before you arrive."

"Good, 'cause I'm about eight minutes away."

Arlando set his phone back into his pocket. He made a swift turn into another building. Inside was a parking garage, a shortcut he had to get into the Tower.

Then the hacker noticed Cheryl approaching a stairway. She returned the glance, then directed her attention to him. "Arlando!"

The hacker put his hand up as a form of "hello," but continued to move along. She ran right up next to him. "I wanted to invite you to the wedding."

He commented, "I thought you didn't even talk to guys like us?"

"Like us? Someone who made a mistake and had the courage to fix it.

"Anyway, I decided to visit you guys. I guess if I find more people like you, that makes the entire business look..."

A loud noise echoed across the garage. It had come from the next-door elevator. Neither one could identify what it was. They held still to see if it happened again.

Jeff swiftly walked down the streets, passing by more people. Then a warning flashed on his glasses. He stopped right in his tracks. The reading showed as it as unidentified, but had indications of various effects he experienced between worlds. "What the..."

Then a poof of air shoved someone across the street. Then down the street was a larger one that knocked a woman to the ground. Then another one the forced a parked car to hop. Then another one above him. They were becoming more frequent. People rushed toward the walls, reacting as through it was an earthquake.

Higher up, a small explosion caused a loose piece of brick to fall down. Jeff quickly summoned his stun-pistol and pressed one button before aiming. Firing several shots, he hit the chunk of brick. The shot just nudged it out of the way of a couple who were below.

Then it got worse, as a bus was shoved all the way up and against a building. The people below barely had time to avoid the the large vehicle before it landed back onto the ground.

Within the Tower, several groups of people lined the hallways, unaware of what was happening outside. They walked as they had everyday.

Then the largest of the "air explosions" happened in the middle of the crowd. It wrecked through everyone, everything. It knocked tables over and out of their respective rooms. Then a second explosion ripped out the walls and pillars.

Jeff saw the glass shatter all along the 30th floor and the other floors above and below. Then it begun. The tower began to collapse, with the top falling straight through. Each one creating a greater and greater cloud of smoke and dust.

Arlando heard the large rumble. An earthquake made less noise than this new one. Without a thought, he pulled Cheryl down underneath the stairway - the best chance he got. Then there was nothing; pure darkness enveloped as everything around them.

Jeff watched as the final tip of the tower disappear into the cloud of smoke. But the cloud kept expanding - right toward him.

Everyone had the same idea: run for the nearest doorway. Although plenty had made it into the businesses and restaurants, it was too late for Jeff. All he could do was raise his arms as protection against the huge wind.

It was only a few seconds. But those seemed like hours. The wind was taking him backward. Jeff had to fall forwards before being jerked backwards. He couldn't see anything, it was the thickest smog he had ever experienced. Screams were muffled as the last of the dust wave pass by.

Lowering his arms, it was as though he was transported into a different world; one he had never imagined. It was all grey. The dust and debris of the collapse covered everything. The people that couldn't take cover, including Jeff, had the same monochrome color as the roads, cars and buildings.

Coughing, there was still more than enough dust in the air to make it hard to breath. Jeff covered his mouth, then removed his useless glasses. The sight before him was the worst. The place he intended to go to, the place that Karns was at, was now gone. Instead was a huge mess of metal.

"Oh my god."

To be continued

Episode 9

### Rise

Jeff stared at the rubble. There was a part of him that had to take in the horrible sight. Another part was trying to comprehend it. Other people were doing the same. Especially those who were coming out from the shops and buildings.

The entire world was grey. The wave of smoke had covered everything, including those who couldn't make it inside. Coughs came, trying to expel the cause of the grey. The sound surrounded Jeff, until he realized a few of those coughs were coming from his own mouth.

The large pile of metal, brick - everything that comprised the Tower - was all he cared about. It wasn't abstract, like a car without its victim. He knew, just as the people around him did, that people were in that building. People that he spoke to. People that he had names to. People that had their own lives.

The scan-glasses were in Jeff's hand. He wiped away as much of the dust from it as possible. Putting them back on, he held them to scan the enormous pile. The glasses showed several signs, but they were faint and flickered on and off.

That realization caused Jeff to move forward. At first it was a walk. Then he gained more and more a sense of urgency. The ground felt rough and slick. Jeff couldn't keep steady at first. Then his own hesitation faded away and he went into a full-out run. He was not the only one.

Other people followed. They varied from young and old. Anyone that was there before was now headed for the wreckage.

Jeff climbed onto the nearest block. The terrain was firm. Jeff grabbed the nearest block he could lift. He then aimlessly threw it out of the way. Then the next. Then another one.

Everyone else did the same thing, each moving a small portion of the rubble. They all put in as much effort as they could. However, even the combined effort was barely putting a dent on the problem.

For Jeff, as well as everyone else, that didn't matter. They were doing something. Each pebble was a pebble closer to finding someone.

He didn't know how long he did that. Take a table-sized pebble, throw it behind him. Grab another one, throw it out. His vision was completely taken with that red dot - the life sign that remained.

Then a hand went onto Jeff's shoulder. "Jeff. You can stop."

Jeff turned to find Detective Yelm. He looked right at the police officer, showing that he wanted to be there. "There are people still under there!"

"I know that there could be people..."

Jeff interrupted him, showing his insistence. "I _know_ that there are people in there! I can't just leave them. Not now."

"No, especially now!" Yelm was showing his own insistence, "We don't know what the hell just happened. We need someone who can find out. You _are_ that person.

"I know you want to help. Heck, everyone does. But all those people, including you, don't know what they're doing. As much as you want to help those people, I can't let any more people get hurt.

"Now, go do your thing. I'll do mine."

Jeff couldn't argue. He knew that he was right, but still didn't like it. "Alright. Just make sure you get to those people."

Yelm agreed, "I won't sleep until I do."

Jeff reluctantly got up and walked away. More officers were giving the same speech to other people that had got there. He felt for them. At least Jeff had something he could contribute.

The newsroom was in a panic. Every reporter was moving. The editor was in the production room scrambling to see what they had. Red sat in the chair, alone in front of the camera. The producer was behind the camera, holding her hand to the headset.

The anchor was solemn. He heard the news literally one minute ago. The reporter in him tried to compose himself. Many other things were on his mind, but this was his job. It was moments like this that being here was most important for everyone out there.

Looking up at the producer, he begun the last series of quick questions before going live. "Who's on site?"

"We got Henesy on the move; should be ready in two."

"Any live feeds?"

The producer looked down at her notes, "We have one traffic cam right now. Not the best view, but it tells the story."

Most important for Red, "And any viewer submissions?"

"Yeah, going through them now. We can get them on air in a few.

"We're live in five..." The producer showed her fingers for the final countdown, remaining silent for the camera.

Red re-composed himself, though the weight of the tragedy still showed through. "This is Red Perlman. The New York Tower...has collapsed. There were reports of random winds, explosions of some kind happening all around the area. We don't know if that is what caused the collapsed of the entire tower.

"This happened at nine-twenty-three eastern. We can not confirm how many people were in the building at the time, but a previous report we have estimated that around three to four thousand people could have been inside.

"We're told that every emergency respondent in the downtown area is already on scene, with many more still in route. All though officials have yet to release much information, they have told anyone in the New York area that if you can stay home, please do so. Unless you are..."

Red put his hand to his ear, having something told to him. "I'm being told that we do have video of the event. It was caught by a view with a cell phone. The quality is not the best. And I am told that this video can be disturbing."

Through the monitor, Red looked at what happened for the first time. The camera was shaky. The screen started showing a garbage truck that had flipped over. Then the camera zoomed across the street, focusing on an arm that was outstretched in an overturn car. Static coated the screen. The person filming had been flung down onto the ground. The screen went grey, fallen onto the ground.

Light returned. The camera focused on the Tower. It was already collapsing, grey smoke billowing from the implosion. Red's eyes were glued to the video. A part of him still in disbelief and expecting a cut-away saying that was a simulation. That wouldn't happen. This was the real thing - a real tragedy.

The screen returned to Red. The video had hit him more than anything else ever had. "As you have just seen, some strange...winds were occurring just before the tower collapsed. No word on any connection they had.

"The police insist that only authorized personnel can be at the scene. They did say they have good reason to expect that there are people still alive and that they will do anything and use every resource to find them."

The darkness is all that she could see. Cheryl woke up and couldn't see anything. She felt a large weight pinning her down - it was another person. "Arlando, is that you?"

Grunting, the man shifted. He had been awake for several minutes. He quipped, "Well, you wanted to get to know me, so here we are."

"I don't think this is the time for jokes."

He replied, "We don't have much else to do. Heck, we were lucky in getting this air pocket."

"And no way out."

"Especially with this leg pinned." He looked down, as though gesturing towards it. It was wedged between two huge blocks. There was no pain...which is what worried Arlando the most. "It'll be a while. Our best bet is to stay awake and hope they get to us sooner rather than later."

Cheryl nodded, knowing what he was asking of her. "Alright. So where are you from?"

Jeff swiftly entered the science station. He had little to no clue on what happened, so he had to start somewhere. There was a television monitor that had the news on. It was a different station than what Red was on, but the newscaster showed the very same emotions. The few workers that didn't have anything else to do were glued to the television.

The majority of the people within the room scrambled. New numbers and information were flowing in and each person needed to analyze it. Jeff walked into the mob. He couldn't identify who was leading the group. He walked up to one of the few people watching the television and tapped his shoulder. He turned around to face him. "Do you need something?"

"Yeah. I'm from the police department and want to see what you guys have."

The scientist answered, "I can do that. In case you haven't noticed, everyone else is busy."

The man led Jeff to a Richter scale. Next to it was a computer, which was being used by another scientist. He had to tap her on the shoulder and gestured that he needed it for a second. Stepping aside, the geological scientist watched as the Scientist showed Jeff what they had found.

The first thing was a linear time scale, showing how much activity there was. There was a marker placed for when the Tower collapsed. The scientist explained, "As you can see, the collapse itself created a lot of activity. But before that...several smaller ones that increased in size...."

"I was there," Jeff said, implying for the scientist to skip onto the important information.

"OK, that'll save me a bit of time." He switched the screen to a map. Each mark on the map was noted to show exactly what period of time it had recorded. "As you see, they all had random location, going as far as twelve feet below ground and eight blocks away. That's not what caused the Tower to fall; at least the ones below ground."

"Being on a Richter scale, I'm guessing you don't have anything above ground."

He replied with a shrug, "Not really; only directly on the surface. As you saw, it was as though explosions happened without anything there. We tried to see if there was radiation left over, or something that we can study. Nothing."

"So you don't have anything."

The scientist shook his head negative, saying the opposite of Jeff's rhetorical statement. "Nothing we can study. A few of us have a theory that each of them had a very small detonator, as though atoms themselves were combining or splitting. But I have no idea how anything could have caused such a chain that we just saw."

Jeff sighed. He had many theories on what happened. This confirmed one at least one of those theories. "Unfortunately, I may have an idea. Thanks and keep up. This still is an important piece to the puzzle." Jeff left without another word, including something to give the baffled scientists.

Yelm was behind a row of other officers. He was continuously yelling muffled orders. The mob that was in front of the officers were pushing and tussling. Everyone, men and women of many origins, wanted to get in and help. The officers had to stand their ground. Luckily few were willing to give their full force to shove their way through the police line.

The detective, the unofficial coordinator in that area, walked away from the mess. His feet had to maneuver over large pieces of mortar. There was a nearby fire fighter that carried a bullhorn. He handed it over to the detective. "It's finicky, but it's the best I could find on short notice."

Yelm reassured the large man, "It'll be fine. Hopefully I won't need it for long."

The fire fighter gave a shrug then went back toward the main bulk of the Pile.

Yelm turned back around to the crowd. He stood upon an impromptu platform. Putting his mouth to bullhorn, he tried to speak but found it didn't work. Lowering it, he pulled the trigger several times before it squealed. Once again he raised it up.

"Everyone, please stand aside. I know you want to help just as much as I do, but we can only have those trained for such emergencies on site. We don't want anyone else getting hurt, most especially those that are trying to help.

"Go home or go volunteer somewhere else. But please, let those who can help best do so. Just give us your prayers. We'll need them."

The speech calmed the crowd. No one moved. Instead, they watched. They gave their silence and cooperation. But Yelm could see that nothing would move them. He gave a sigh, knowing that was all he could do. Stepping down, he walked back towards the Pile and where he himself could work.

Once in the spot he had begun work at, he removed gloves from his pocket and put them on. He begun lifting many of the smaller stones that he could. This was more strategically done than those had done before him. The gloves were already old and wearing more with the work. He continued even with the little protection they provided.

Then a yell came from several hundred feet away. He looked up to find a fire fighter waving his hands. "Someone get a stretcher!"

Two men raced on both sides of a stretcher. They carried it with swiftness, though they didn't need to. Yelm ran to the site of the discovery. In an opening, there was a body of a boy. He would have been in his early teens. Why he was in there no one knew, nor cared.

The police officers that carried the stretcher waited up top. Fire fighters lifted the body from below. With much caution and solemn, they placed it onto the stretcher. Another fire fighter took a silver blanket and placed it over the quiet body.

It started with one officer that was watching: he gave a salute to the fallen. It took a second for another to notice and follow suit. Soon, everyone that was in the vicinity raised their hands to the fallen boy, ending with Yelm.

The officers lifted the occupied stretcher and carried it away from the Pile. For them, this was as much a funeral as a recovery.

The back door of the Transport was opening. Once it had fully lowered, Jeff walked right to the cockpit and sat down. Swiveling around, he pressed several buttons. He held the look of intent that persisted throughout the day.

Then the phone went off - the very one that Yelm had given him. Removing it from his pocket, he he clicked the green button. Before he could say anything, the caller said, "Yelm, good thing I got through. I need to know...."

Jeff interrupted the night detective, "Sorry, Farnsworth. This is Jeff. Yelm gave me his phone before the...tower fell."

"Oh. I've been trying to call everyone I could, though the phones are jammed. Took me a half-hour just for this number. Well, it would still be good to know what you're up to."

Jeff continued looking at his various monitors. "I'm trying to find out exactly what happened."

More curious than expecting anything, Farnsworth asked, "Found anything?"

"Not really, but I got a theory that I'm checking on."

"What is it?"

Jeff replied, "I can't really say..."

"Dang it, Hunter! Don't play coy, not now! What the heck is it?"

Jeff knew he was right. He stopped looking at the monitor and focused on the phone call. "Both me and Karns are from an alternate reality."

It sounded completely off-topic. "You're talking sci-fi now?"

"Look outside and explain that." Jeff referred to the Tower and how it fell.

"All right. Then what?"

"Karns stole the project I was working on, the very one that creates portals and allows us to travel between realities. Usually, a portal is opened several hundred feet in the air. That way nothing would be affected on either side of the portal. However, I'm not sure what would happen if he opened one on top or directly into solid matter."

Farnsworth was shocked at the implication. "You think Karns did this?"

"I went to a half-dozen research centers ruling out more natural causes. Mostly because I was hoping that it wasn't Karns this time." The monitor beeped, informing Jeff that it was finished. He turned his attention back to see the results.

Farnsworth commented, "I hope so as well. Something like that...I don't want to..."

"That isn't it."

The correction sounded odd to Farnsworth, "Wait, I thought you said it was him."

Jeff re-confirmed his findings from the screen, "I said it was possibly him. It still could, but it wasn't with the Transport. Which is one reason I don't like saying anything: just saying it implies that it's true. Something I hate about politics."

The detective gave out an audible sigh, "All right. Keep at it and keep me informed. I got the FBI and NSA down my throat, not to mention the public."

"Yeah, I know." He lowered the phone and pressed the end-call button. Looking back up at the monitor, a new question had been raised. Dozens of entries were listed. Each entry showed where and when the explosions had occurred.

Pressing a button on screen, it switched to a map. Most had centered around where the Tower was, but many more were marked elsewhere. Many more leads he had to chase.

Arlando was still lying face-down within darkness. For some time he was trying to shove a rock over. Cheryl could hear him grunting - that tipped her off. "I'm not sure if that's a good idea."

"Well, I can't just stay here all day."

She was worried, "If you take out the wrong rock..."

"I still can't take this sitting here not doing anything!"

Cheryl turned equally insistent, "This is the time that not doing anything is the best!"

Arlando stopped her movements. He looked at where her voice came from, giving a look of shock. Then it turned to a fit of anger. "No one should ever say that. Waiting for something to happen, for someone to help..."

"Sorry," she admitted.

He continued his rant, "My mother, her illness started because she was attacked, right on the street. Several people stood by but no one helped. Not a one called 911. What I've been doing for these past five years may not have been the best, but it was something."

A light flickered on. That small amount of light illuminated the entire cavern. Cheryl had flicked open her cell phone, intending to hand it over to her fellow prisoner. "I forgot I had placed it in my pocket."

"Thanks." He took the phone and dialed 911. Placing it on his ear, the light faded a bit as he waited for a response.

The answer came with him hitting the rock next to him with his fist. "Dang! A message said the phones are tied up."

As he lowered the phone, the light hit Cheryl's clothes - blood-stained clothes. He said to her, "You're hurt."

"It isn't bad. 'Doesn't hurt, really."

Arlando touched it, pressing it. She didn't squint. "You can't feel a thing there. That isn't good."

"I'll do fine. After all, I've had worse while biking."

He looked upon her. Her face showed that she wasn't worried. Closing the cell phone, the prison went dark again. Now she released her mask, showing just as much worry as he had.

Red drank from his cup of water. He listened to the reporter that was on a nearby monitor. This was one of the few breaks that he got, and he tried to make the most of it. It was only for a few minutes. That small amount of time was enough.

He took out his phone and pressed one button. He raised it to his ear and listened. The report still took a large portion of his attention. For him, it didn't matter where he went - he couldn't escape.

When the other side picked up the phone, he could hear the television in the background. It was the same newscast. He said, "Hi, honey. I got three minutes."

The worried woman said, "I noticed. When are you coming home?"

"I'll probably have to be here all day."

That didn't please her, "All day?! I was hoping you would pick up Ben."

"I can't leave it here. You've been watching?" It wasn't just a sense that no one else could do his job; it was his duty.

She gave an almost loving answer, "As always."

"Then you know what kind of tragedy happened. We have to stay on air."

She still had to know, "Until when?"

He couldn't give an exact answer, "I don't know. With something like this, I don't know when we can stop filming people's tears."

Jeff walked around the city. He was guided by the phone that Yelm had given him. The screen showed a map, with several destinations logged in. He followed one that had several entries.

People were walking everywhere. It was the ones that held pictures that concerned Jeff the most. They held them up, hoping that any passer-bys would recognize the faces. The others had equally sad expressions, most going toward the place the Tower used to be.

He looked down, making sure that the directions he mentally held were correct. When he looked back up, he had pass by a group of people hovering around a cell phone. He could hear it ring. When a beep sounded, the very one for an answering machine, the holder ended the call and redialed. It seemed like a futile effort. But that effort was something both they and everyone around them put their faith into.

Looking the other way, something caught Jeff's attention. He lowered the phone from his direct view. There were no cars, only pedestrians lined the street. The crowd was staring at something.

Crossing the road, he got a better picture of the window. It was covered with pictures. They were all the same loved ones that others were trying to find elsewhere. Each had a phone number, and a name. One in particular caught Jeff's attention. He got close to find it was of Cheryl. The small photo showed her on a some kind of European vacation overlooking a grand valley.

Jeff punched the wall. Holding the fist against the bare brick, Jeff looked down in frustration. He didn't know how at yet, but he knew that he failed someone else.

He looked up, seeing her in focus. Then the focus drifted farther and farther out. Along with Cheryl was many other people that were also lost. Even if they were alive, their lives wouldn't be the same - all haunted by the same tragedy.

"No more," he swore, "No more."

Shoving himself back up with his fist, he turned back to his lead. He walked much more swiftly and with intent. He needed answers; it was the least he could give everyone.

Yelm continued his work of trying to get as much rubble out as possible. Standing up, he wiped his sweat-covered brow. His breath was heavy. He looked around to find plenty of people working on the same job that he had. But they were approaching larger and larger pieces; things that couldn't be moved by hand.

Turning around, he approached a construction worker who had just arrived. "Do we have the large machines for the heavier stuff?"

"It's on the way still. I called just a minute ago and..."

A loud boom echoed across the rubbled field. Several of the workers ran from their site. The explosion had spooked them. It had looked like nothing had moved, but quite a few people were still yelling to get out. Yelm ran to the area, trying to look inside a hole that they had dug out. At first he couldn't see anything in the darkness.

Not looking at anyone in particular, Yelm asked, "What happened?"

A nearby fire fighter answered him, "A car probably exploded. It's pretty hot in there and we're right on top the parking garage."

Looking around the unrecognizable mess of metal, Yelm verbalized the shocking fact, "We're on top the garage?"

He looked more carefully into the hole. There was a slight flicker inside. It only indicated that there was a fire far within the rubble. Yelm turned toward the center of the Tower site, noticing that heavy smoke still billowed from it. "That's what that is: something's still burning."

"Yeah. I can't even speculate how long that will last. It could be for a few more hours, or a few days. 'Just hope that it's on the shorter end of things."

Yelm agreed by saying, "I hear." He walked back to where he was assigned to work.

Farnsworth slammed the phone on the desk. There was very few people in the station; most were in the streets controlling crowds or in the Pile digging. The detective had the agonizing task of coordinating several squads of the station and several other squads of incoming officers from other parts of the city.

"Jill, where's the eighth district SWAT cars?"

The secretary still had a phone on her ear. She turned, covering the receiver. "They're two miles south. There's some traffic, so it'll take a bit."

"Tell them to swerve to the east. We need more people on that side."

Jill nodded in confirmation then turned back to her phone.

The phone rang at Farnsworth's desk. He immediately picked it up. "Farnsworth speaking."

It was another in the line of federal agencies that wanted answers.

"I have my best men on the job," he said to the phone, "They haven't found a thing yet."

They held their insistence.

"I said...!

The man on the other side wouldn't give Farnsworth a word.

So he decided not to let them. "Now, listen! I don't have any answers for you. What do you have for me?! Cause at this point, I can't have you calling me every fifteen minutes! So unless you have something to give me, don't call back!"

Once again he slammed the phone. He whispered to himself, "I had to have the hardest job of all: sitting here." He looked over to the television. It showed images of people that held their pictures. "Me and and all those people."

Jeff walked up to the building, recognizing it immediately. It was the same location that he found the kidnapped scientist. The question remained, "Was Karns behind this after all?" Turning his thoughts more directly toward the task at hand, he entered the building.

Inside it was just as abandoned as it was when he first came in the night before. Police tape blocked much of the floor, but there was no one inside to enforce the blockade. Ducking under the tape, he walked right into the very room that Gregory was held in.

It wasn't that event that led him there. Jeff found that room was the center of an anomaly that the Transport detected. At the doorway, he scanned the room using his glasses. The entire room was empty, including the very thing he searched for.

He sighed, showing a bit of disappointment. "Whatever it is, it doesn't leave anything."

Holding up the cell phone, he looked at it. It had the map showing with him marked in the center. Pressing a button, he zoomed it in, but couldn't see anything but the building's roof.

Now that he had it zoomed in, it was a clearer picture. Everything had happened toward the center of the room, as though it surrounded the actor that caused them.

He knew one answer, "It was Karns. But it was also Dellard. Whatever Karns made him do was the final piece that caused the Tower to fall."

Pressing back on the phone, he dialed up Farnsworth. The call was in part to keep him in the loop. More importantly, it was to get Gregory Dellard's address. He needed more answers from the victim.

Red sat at the news desk. He spoke frankly to the camera, "Our reporters got a response from the New York Police Department. While they believe the strange effects, the ones you have seen for the past hour-and-a-half from various footage, and the fall of the New York Tower were linked in some way. Just how they don't know yet.

"We have a reporter right in the Pile, as they are calling it. Rebecca Terson is with Detective Yelm."

The monitors switched to a woman who's formal suit had hints of dust on it. She talked, but Red couldn't hear what she was saying. He had removed the earpiece that he had on for more than two hours.

The Editor approached the desk, a board in hand. "Alright Red, we got word from Susan that she'll be here in twenty minutes."

Red shook his head negative, "No, that's fine. I can stay as long as they can." He referred to the screen, showing firefighters and officers going through the Pile.

The editor couldn't refuse, at least not at that time. "Alright. I'll have her head elsewhere."

Red moved onto the upcoming reports, "Who else do we have?"

"Fred is at the Resergance Hospital. I was going to move him in thirty, but I'll send Susan instead."

"Anyone at any of the nearby fire or police stations?"

The editor showed disappointment in his voice, "Tried that. Jill said that everyone she went to declined."

"Alright, where's Peters?"

The editor stood silent for a second, knowing something that Red didn't. "He took off. I heard that he got a call from his wife early this morning that she was being interviewed in the Tower."

Red took this news very solemnly. "O.K. Do we have a photo of her?"

The editor knew this route, "You want to show it to viewers?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I had the same thought. I stole the portrait that Peters had on his desk."

Red nodded, "Good. As soon as we come back, have it up."

"Alright." The editor left the desk for the back room. Red put the earpiece back into place. Once again, the director gave a signal that it was almost time.

Red faced the camera and with a monotone spoke, "I just got a report that one of our reporters, Peters Velic, will not be with us for the rest of the day. He heard that his wife, Carla, might have been in the Tower during the incident. If my producers can put up a photo of her..."

The monitor showed a photo placed next to Red. Below was a phone number. "The number below is for the station. We have been putting it up for any tips, including if you have seen anyone that we've reported as missing. If you know where Carla is, please call is as soon as you can. I normally don't ask for much of our viewers, but this is something I must ask. Please, help us find her. Help us find everyone that is missing."

The television was the only thing that made sound in the entire house. Gregory and his wife sat in front of it. They watched, seeing the very images that Jeff had experienced personally. Both held their hands as though in silent prayer for the people within the Tower.

The doorbell rang. Gregory's wife reactively raised up to get it, but the husband put a hand on her shoulder. Greg got up and separated from his wife. He walked across the warm living room to the light-colored door.

It was Jeff. The former-captive easily recognized him despite the trauma from the night before. This time, however, meant something very bad.

"Can I speak with you?"

Gregory was more up front about the very apparent subject. "I caused this, didn't I?"

Jeff tried to impress upon him, "No, you didn't..."

Gregory cut him off, thinking what Jeff said was just false comfort. "Why would you be here then? It was the thing I made. I..."

"Dellard!" Jeff had to get his attention off the line of thought. With Gregory's eyes upon him, he softly said, "Let's talk in private."

Gregory nodded. He led Jeff towards the dinning room. Putting the table between them, Gregory awaited Jeff's questions.

"I won't lie," Jeff said, "I do suspect that Karns caused it. But I don't know how. So I need to know what you built for him."

"I...still don't exactly know. It had all the same components of the backpack."

The phrasing was curious to Jeff, "But it wasn't the backpack."

"The thing was...the effects was being applied much further outward."

"Outward?"

Gregory tried to keep the explanation from being too technical, "At first I thought it was to shrink larger objects, like entire buildings. But the component that I made doesn't do that. It charges the particles, just like the backpack, but it doesn't do anything with them."

"You tested the "component"?"

Gregory just nodded.

"Did you notice anything?" Jeff asked, "Any strange effects?"

Gregory shook his head negative. "No. Actually, I had to use a monitor to make sure everything worked. The glow you see with the backpack is only caused by moving the particles in mass. Since nothing was done, you couldn't see anything with the naked eye."

That tipped Jeff. "Then what you did probably wasn't at fault. There was rapid expansion of air, to an explosive point. You would have noticed that."

Gregory shook his head, knowing the point. "Just because it didn't cause anything at that time doesn't mean it didn't cause it. Whatever it was plugged into, my piece was vital towards that. I helped him! I helped him destroy the Tower!"

Jeff held his footing, "You didn't press the button. It wasn't you that caused all of this. It was Karns. _He_ made you make it, just as he probably did to several other scientists."

Gregory wasn't satisfied, "I still made it. If I refused..."

"Then you wouldn't be here with your wife."

That point hit Gregory the hardest. It showed him that there was some good to have come from it.

Jeff said to the other scientist, "I know how it feels. Karns stole my own invention and used it for his own devices. Just like a driver who makes a blind turn, there is only one thing one can do: learn."

"Knowing still doesn't help."

Jeff countered, "No, but it's something. It makes those lives lost less pointless. And it gives you a reason to live: to make even more lives better."

Yelm wandered away from the camera that coupled the reporter. An production assistant shook his hand, showing his thanks. The police officer headed back into the Pile. All of the other workers were still shifting as much of the rubble as they could.

An officer approached him, expressing that he had important news for the detective. "The backhoe is here, but we need to clear some of the heavy stuff on the outskirts before it can get into the Pile."

Yelm ordered, "Then do it. What's the problem about that?"

"Well, we're at the point where we can't just shift it around. There's a few trucks, but they need to know where to take it all."

Yelm sighed. It was more administrative stuff. He would much rather get back into the physical labor. "Where did the trucks come from?"

"I didn't look, but the three trucks came from two different companies that I guess the city often contracts to."

Yelm pointed towards the dump trucks in the distance, "I want you to talk to the drivers and see if they can get their own bosses. See if they can get a dump site. If they can get it for cheaper, or even free: good. But the priority is to get a place that is as clear as possible. After this is all finished, we have to figure out what the hell happened. Can't have the pieces mixed up with regular garbage."

"I'll get on it." The officer left without a single question for Yelm. The orders were reasonable, though swiftness was more needed more than anything else.

Yelm continued his walk. It was only a few seconds before a loud crash was heard. It was near the location that he was aiming for. He ran. The many fire fighters and police officers moved franticly, climbing away from where the crash was occurred. Yelm approached a fire fighter, one that he knew to be the chief.

"What happened?"

The fire chief answered, "My guess is there was a collapse nearby. I don't think it was where we were working."

The lead police officer suggested, "Let's get everyone out for right now; get a head count. We need to know if it was us or something else that caused it. I'll call my guys on this side."

"Just as I was thinking. We may have to stop putting out fires with our hydrants; the water could be putting more weight onto everything."

Yelm sighed, knowing in that case fires would continue and possibly spread. "I'll leave that up to you.

"Damn, I would hate it if we have to choose between two bad options. _Here_ of all places."

The fire fighter replied, "I know." He left Yelm to do his duties.

Yelm pointed to his side, yelling, "All officers over here; now!"

Arlando and Cheryl heard and felt their surroundings move. Luckily it was only a vibration, but they could tell that something bad happened. "I don't know what that was."

Cheryl thought, "Can't be an earthquake. I wouldn't be surprised that something fell."

Then a beep came from Cheryl's phone. She took it out. The small light illuminating the entire chamber. The phone showed that a message from her fiance came in. She read it, and it lit up a smile on her face. "Ted is looking for me."

"Your fiance?"

She almost showed glee after reading the message. "Yeah. He sent this twenty minutes ago; still trying to find me."

Arlando's mood brightened up as well, "Send him something back! Tell him where we are!"

Cheryl typed away on the phone. The process was quick. The multiple clicks echoed in the small prison. Cheryl pressed hard on the last button to complete the message. "Done."

This was the best news that the two got all day. Though they didn't talk, their spirits were raised.

But Arlando noticed something. There was a thin line of almost-clear smoke on the top of the cavern. He kept this a secret from Cheryl, preferring to keep the mood high. The hope that rescue would come was more important. He just pray it would come before that the smoke would overwhelm them.

Jeff closed the cell phone. Gregory had sat down with his wife, fatigue and the weight of events on his shoulders. The investigator walked from the dining room to the foot of the living room. He looked right at worried man.

It was enough to catch Gregory's eye. He turned to Jeff while his wife continuing to watch the television.

Jeff said, "I called the lab and we're going to run a few tests. We'll need you there to confirm everything."

He looked at his wife, who returned the favor. It was a wordless way of him saying that he'd rather be here.

Jeff also saw this, saying to the two, "Everyone needs answers; _you_ above all else."

A shallow nod came to Gregory. It was something he did need. There was still the fear that his worries would be confirmed, but he had to go. His wife saw that bravery, smiling at him - encouraging him.

The two grasped their hands, silently giving their love to each other. Almost reluctantly, Gregory let go and stood up. He announced, "Let's go."

Red continued his sit-in at the news desk. A few people had rotated around, including the editor that hovered in the back. Another anchor, Terri, was now walking out of the dressing room. Red nodded. It was the last part of the conversation between him and a field corespondent that was on the monitor.

Red finished with, "Thank you, Bill." He then turned the attention towards his fellow anchor, "Just in the studio is our afternoon anchor, Terri Farefield."

He rotated the seat towards Terri. She sat down, with the camera aimed right at her. "Afternoon, Red."

"Normally you would have arrived about thirty minutes ago."

"Yeah, we would have a few words before I would take the afternoon news and again when you took evenings a few weeks ago."

"It's been interesting doing the split shift." He had said that as an off-hand comment, not intended to expand further.

She began her own story, "The commute was rather different. Normally, I take the subway to downtown, then walk the rest of the way. The problem is the exact route I take is exactly across from where the Tower would be."

Red waved his hand toward the camera, "Now you brought some video that you took."

Terri nodded, "I had a cell phone on me. The quality isn't that good, but it's something I carry with me at all times for."

The monitors showed the video that Terri had taken, starting with a shot of an overturned truck. "Even though it happened almost three hours ago, none of the wreckage on the streets have been touched."

Being the host in this case, Red asked, "Are these on every street?"

In a sad tone, she answered, "Pretty much. There's some cars, trucks, buses...One road was blocked by a huge pile of bricks."

Now the video changed to show that pile. It was taken from across the road, the quality made more grainy due to the video being enlarged in post-production. "Some of it was from the buildings, but I doubt it was all from that."

Once again Red rose a question, "So where did it come from? Was it dumped from somewhere else?"

Terri shrugged, not knowing the answer. "I'm sure that maybe some of the mystery behind the explosions.

"From there I moved close to the Tower site. As you can see, I couldn't get all that close." The film switched to a huge mass of people, as they watched the workers from afar. "I talked to some of the people there. Some were there just to show some form of support. Others were waiting to see if their brother, sister, husband, wife..."

As she spoke, Red held his ear-piece. It was important, as it shifted his focus from what she was saying to the ear-piece. "Sorry, Terri. We'll get back to your account but we have Rebecca at the Tower site right now."

The monitors showed Rebecca, far away from the rescue operation. She kept a quiet tone to her voice. That tone reflected the scene of the people praying around her. "We just got word that a fire fighter has been pulled from the rubble. It was one of three that had responded to a medical emergency that was called just before the Tower fell."

She went silent as the camera zoomed in on a flag-draped cart. It was being moved slowly and carefully down the pile. It sometimes went out of view as the procession passed by a standing column. Both Red and Terri watched in silent vigil. They watched the screen just as everyone at home would, with sadness at another grim discovery.

When it was out of view, Red took over, "Thank you, Rebecca. I speak for everyone in hoping that we see the other fire fighters alive and well."

Terrie extended, "And not just those fire fighters, but everyone that was in the Tower; though as unlikely as it seems."

Red commented, "Well, if there's any day that we want to see a miracle, it's this one."

He let that last sentence lay there for a short while before turning the conversation back to what Terri's experience. "Now, Terri, we were in front of the Tower site...."

Yelm stood silently as the body went just out of view. Then everyone went back to digging, trying to find anyone in there - preferably alive. An officer ran right up to him. He had waited until the procession had completed.

There was a small note pad along with a cell phone in the same hand. "Sir, I got something." Yelm turned to him. "A tip came a half-hour ago that someone was trapped near or within the Pile."

"Within the Pile!" It was both shocking and the best news he had this day.

The officer explained, "A cell phone text, at least that was the claim. Unfortunately, it took a while for that text to go through, as well as the time for the receiver to get the tip to us."

Detective Yelm said, "Still, this should be something!"

"We were able to triangulate the coordinates. I have them right here." He referred to his note pad. Then he shifted the cell phone to his other hand, making it the main focus of the conversation. "And they're keyed in here."

Yelm ordered, "Go ahead and locate it. I'll grab a few people to concentrate right on rescuing whoever is down there."

The detective ran over to where some people were resting. He tapped their shoulder, arm, back...whatever to get their attention. He then signaled for them to follow. With five men in tow, he ran back towards the edge of the Pile, where there was several other people also working.

The officer stood, looking for Yelm until he finally saw him. Seeing each other, Yelm climbed over the larger pieces of rubble before arriving alongside the officer. It was well outside the center of the Pile. "Should be around here," he said to everyone, "Accuracy is a bit low, to within about a hundred feet in either direction - and we don't have a depth."

Yelm said, "That's all right." He turned to the men that had followed. He informed them, "We got a tip that someone is right here - alive. Let's get to work!"

Everyone began shifting around the rubble. They worked almost franticly to get to the trapped victims.

Jeff was leading Gregory right into the laboratory, the same one that was broken into and where the scientist was kidnapped. The police tape still remained. Even the vault that had contained the prototype backpack, the one that Jeff had, was still wide open. Nothing had moved since they day before.

The lights lit up with a flick of Gregory's finger. For him, it felt like years even though it was a few days since he was last there.

Jeff said to him, "They ransacked through here. Do you think you'll have all the parts necessary for this?"

Gregory still looked in almost awe. Then his mood shifting towards business. "Yeah. I heard an off-hand remark that they purposely only stole one of everything. Now that I know what I'm building, it won't take long."

Jeff held up a hand, indicating that he'll step aside as the other scientist did his work. "I'll be here if you need anything."

Gregory almost tentatively walked in. He was still reeling from the events in the past few days. But he shook his head negative while diving for a cabinet. "No, I can do this on my own...Though I could use a computer."

He pointed out the door and toward the offices across the hall. "If you can grab Phil's laptop. It'll be on the desk next to mine; hard to miss."

Jeff left for the offices while Gregory removed a small metal piece and placed it on the counter. He then moved to the next cabinet, placing another strange piece onto the counter.

Jeff arrived in short notice with the small laptop in one hand. He placed next to the components that Gregory was haphazardly removing. Getting up from the low cabinet, Gregory noticed that had Jeff returned with the laptop. Opening it up, the boot-up was quick.

"Luckily Phil never shuts down his computers. Makes this much faster." He clicked on a file that was right on the desktop.

It brought up a schematic that Jeff immediately recognized. "That's the backpack, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but I need only one part of it." He clicked off-center, shifting the view to one particular part. "This was the thing they were looking for. For their purpose, I had to increase its size and power requirements by double. There's also a few adjustments that I had to make, which took the most time."

This realization put a thought into Jeff's head. He held up a finger, "Continue making it. I'm just going to quickly test a theory." Jeff set himself aside. The other scientist continued his gathering, though looked over his shoulder at Jeff.

Removing the backpack, Jeff placed it right on the floor. He held his glasses and set it so then it would register anything unusual. Then he held his hand next to the backpack. With a thought, he summoned one of his stun-pistols.

The glasses identified the occurrence as the same exact thing the Transport had. Then he un-summoned the pistol, then had the backpack materialize the small toolkit. Jeff sighed. He had found one component of what happened that morning.

Gregory had noticed the sigh. He took out one last piece before turning toward Jeff. "What did you find?"

Jeff didn't look at him, just stared at the backpack...or really the results in his glasses. "The thing that happened at the Tower...what probably made it fall...the backpack generates the same type of readings."

"Wait, so the backpack itself can do that?"

Jeff shook his head negative. "No. The same effect, but possibly a different result. We'll find more once you're done."

Gregory knew that he had to get done, so he nodded and began to assemble the components.

Arlando was quiet. He was listening to some of the distant bustling that was happening above. It didn't help that he was breathing hard. He couldn't help it. The air was thin with the film of smoke. And that was increasing its presence within the cavity.

Then a beep boomed in the silence. Arlando looked down to see that the cell phone, left out in Cheryl's hand, was lit. A message was received.

But Cheryl appeared not to have noticed. Her eyes were closed. That was a sign Arlando knew wasn't good. "Cheryl? The phone; I think it's saying help is coming. I can hear them."

She remained silent.

Arlando shifted around. He let one arm free; weight pressed onto him a bit more than before. But it didn't deter him from using his right hand and shaking Cheryl.

She remained silent.

"Cheryl!"

She bustled a little, but was not fully conscious. She was breathing hard.

"Damn it!" Now Arlando slammed his fist on the roof of the small chasm. He repeated it, trying to make as much noise as possible. "Here! We're here!"

He placed his hand on the floor. With all his strength, he pressed up onto the rubble. He wasn't strong. The effort was almost futile. But he had to do something. It moved only an inch before he had to give in, having it quickly slam back down onto him.

With a few hard breaths for rest, he resumed pounding onto the roof.

Gregory inserted one last screw into the roundish box. The device was about the size of a large book. It looked rough, with little done for aesthetics. "Done."

Jeff got up from a nearby chair. He had passively watched Gregory assemble the stand-alone component. Now he stood next to Gregory at the laboratory's center table. "Is this the same exact thing you gave Karns?"

"Yes. Baring the power supply, which is better than his. It shouldn't change anything."

"All right, then power it up."

Gregory moved toward the back of the lab, indicating he was going to retrieve something. "We got several instruments here if you need..."

Jeff shook his head. "No, I got them all right here." He held his glasses, showing that he would use them.

"But don't you need me to help..."

Jeff still refused any assistance, "Not really. I'm an expert in dimensional science."

"Really? Then why..."

Jeff knew the question, "Karns killed my wife, Kara." That was all that was needed.

"I understand. Starting it up." Gregory moved back to the other side of the table. He simply took a power cord and plugged it into the nearby outlet. "You won't be able to see it with your eyes, so I hope that those glasses can register it."

"Traveling around, I had some time to modify these to register a lot more than they were designed for."

Jeff looked around. The entire room was aglow. Removing his glasses, he confirmed that it was his glasses picking up the invisible effect. "And it's working."

With that confirmed, Gregory anticipated the result. "So, do you see something I didn't?"

Jeff took a moment to evaluate. "It's...just as you said. The effect is similar, but not exact. Actually...the full effect on the atoms are different than the backpack's." Jeff remained there, thinking.

Gregory was on the edge of his seat, "Please tell me what you're thinking."

"First you can shut it down."

Gregory removed the cord.

Once it was shut down, Jeff looked at the other scientist, "I highly doubt that this was the thing that caused all this. It may have been a critical component to the thing Karns made, but not more than most any given part in a car."

"Still not very comforting."

Jeff still held his mood of evaluation. "Well, considering some of the technology I've seen, this might have been more of a first opportunity than only one.

"Still...why did he need this? He's hardly a scientist himself."

Gregory knew the answer, "So he had someone else helping him." It was his way of helping Jeff, which he did...in one way.

Jeff had realized who had helped him. He removed his glasses over his own realization. Then he looked at Gregory, holding a very disappointed look in his eyes. "Did Karns show you what he wanted out of this?"

"...Yeah. It was after I made the first prototype of it. He showed me a PDA, which I thought was tweaked from what that thing produced."

Jeff shook his head negative. He took a nearby seat and sat down. "No, it was from mine. When I made the Dimensional Transport..."

"The what?"

"It's the thing that allows both me and him to travel to alternate realities. The first prototypes produced portals that had similar readings."

That still didn't explain things to Gregory. "So why would he want it now?"

"I don't know. That prototype method was abandoned because it would shift things rather than transport. Dangerous if you didn't know what was on the other side."

The two were silent, trying to think of the reason behind the madness.

Then a question came to Gregory, "So what does your portal do?"

"The portal charges a target section, designed for mid-air since that is far less dense and far less likely to have problems on the other side. It creates a common space that...

"Damn! That's why!" Jeff slammed his hand onto the table. He knew exactly what Karns' plan was.

Gregory was getting antsy waiting for Jeff to explain.

Continuing, Jeff explained, "I know what Karns did. Within the space, he would fold two different worlds into one. That's why he was at the Tower, to shift where there likely wouldn't be another building. The amount of dimensional energy put into it... had to go somewhere."

Gregory said, "That's what the explosions were. The excess energy shifting stray particles right into stable ones."

"Creating a small forms of nuclear fusion."

Gregory had to also sit down. "A weapon that no one could even see..."

"It's not a weapon."

Gregory looked up at Jeff. The end result of this evaluation was different, but one that Jeff knew was true.

"All of that is just a secondary effect," Jeff explained, "One that he probably doesn't even care about. No, this was a test - and it worked. He doesn't just want to shift between two worlds...He wants to shift between many. That way he can pick which world he folds out of. And there's only one I know he wants to go to.

"He wants to go home."

Yelm was throwing piles of rubble out to where other workers would haul that pile further away. He worked just as franticly as the rest of the half-dozen fire fighters and police officers. This was the best tip they had yet. He had even heard something from that direction. So they worked while an ambulance waited nearby.

One more large piece was removed. A dark chasm was revealed. Taking out a small flashlight, he shined it down. He immediately saw two people lying on top one another. "We got a hit!"

This re-energized everyone. They threw away anything they could to widen the hole.

As soon as it got open enough, a fire fighter jumped down the short distance. Then one of the medics ran with a stretcher in hand. He stopped at the edge, then slid the long board down.

Another fire fighter tossed down a thick rope. All of the men around took up a section of that rope.

Then a thumbs up came from the hole. Everyone pulled with several tugs. It didn't take long for the stretcher to come up - carrying Cheryl.

The medic came up to inspect her. Another medic ran in with a medkit in hand. All the while, the workers began the work of getting the other person out. The new-comer medic took her kit and removed a mask to give Cheryl air.

They lifted the stretcher up to pull out the wheels. Then the two medics carefully carted her to the ambulance car. They got to within view of a large group of people. The medic in front gave the good news just by signaling with a thumbs up. A cheer erupted from the crowd.

Jeff sat there, knowing that his work had inadvertently caused Kara's death _and_ this tragedy. He sat with Gregory. Both were silent as the revelation sank in. Gregory had no words, he couldn't think of any comfort to give Jeff. Not after his own doubts about his own culpability.

But Jeff knew that he had to face things. He took out the cell phone. Opening it, he found that it's battery was low - too low to make a proper phone call. He looked up toward Gregory to ask, "Is there a phone nearby?"

Gregory pointed towards the back. "It's a speaker phone, but that should still work."

Jeff nodded in thanks; an almost solemn nod that reflected his mood. He got up from the chair and walked right to the phone. Using the last of the cell phone's power, he found Farnsworth's number. His fingers almost shook as he dialed the number.

The answer came almost immediately, "Farnsworth here."

"This is Hunter."

The detective heard the tone, "You got news?"

"Yeah. I know exactly what happened. Karns used the Dimensional Transport that I built and combined it with the thing that Dellard made. The explosions that you saw was actually a side effect of that. I don't know if Karns even noticed it, but he probably didn't even care."

"Why do you say that?"

He referred to the last part, on Jeff's speculation on Karns' motives. "Because he's as heartless as one can get! He doesn't care about anyone unless they give him something. He said that much to me in person."

"So...is he still here...in this Earth?"

"No, you can't get him." This made Jeff realize: he can't get depressed. He can't let any revelation get him down. "And that's why I have to get him. He's going to use it again, but on a greater scale. Other worlds will experience the same thing. If he ramps it up, as I expect, it could hit countless worlds at the same time.

"To stop that is why I have to find him."

Farnsworth heard Jeff's quiet resolve. If he couldn't do anything about Karns, he couldn't stop Jeff from doing anything. But there was other issues in the air, "What do I tell the people out there?"

"You can say Karns died in the Tower. Or that he's gone missing and is presumed dead. It doesn't matter."

Farnsworth understood why things needed to be that way, "All right. Can I get a full explanation in writing from you?"

"I'll be leaving as soon as I can, so probably not. Dellard knows everything, so you can get it from him."

"Then I'll call around and give you anything you need. You can have anything, as much food and water, weapons, equipment - anything."

Jeff ended the call by saying, "Thanks." He pressed the button to end the call.

Turning back around, he saw Gregory had stood up; both physically and metaphorically. "I'll also do all that I can. There has to be a way to prevent that effect. We'll do all we can here as well."

Jeff nodded in approval.

Cheryl coughed as she woke up. A mask was over her face. She saw two medics hovering over her. They had chosen to stay at the Pile since her condition, while problematic, wasn't too severe. When she was fully awake, the woman removed the mask. "Please breath deep. There was quite a bit of smoke that you inhaled. Shouldn't be much of a problem now. If you had stayed there much longer..."

Cheryl looked around. She didn't see the computer hacker anywhere. "Where's Arlando?"

"The man you were with?"

Cheryl nodded, coughing instead of saying anything.

The medic waved towards the Pile and where Yelm was at. He noticed it at the corner of his eye and walked away from the workers. She watched as the dirt-covered detective climbed down from the small mound. He was calm, reserved in his approach.

Cheryl knew this wasn't good news. It was on his face. He arrived at her feet, looking at Cheryl.

"Miss, good to see you awake."

"Arlando, where is he?" She asked this, though knowing that the answer wouldn't be pleasant.

The detective turned very solemn, "I'm sorry. We tried as much as we could, but he was dead when we got you out. As I understand it, he struggled in his remaining moments. It was probably to get you out. Doing that, he got his crushed leg out. Unfortunately, after being held down for an extended time, limbs can accumulate harmful elements. Enough can becomes a poison. When the limb comes free, it releases all of it to the rest of his body.

"But the thing was, it saved your life. We didn't know exactly where you were. He pounded on the rocks. It was that noise that helped us locate you.

"He saved your life."

Yelm silently turned and left Cheryl to be alone. The medics, though remained there, stood silent and acted as though they weren't there.

Cheryl cried. Tears flowed for the man that saved her life.

Red sat at the desk with Terri next to him. Scenes of the Pile played on the monitors. Terri commented on those pictures, "All those workers have to be getting tired by now."

From his own experience, Red countered, "I know that people can go beyond their own limitations when situations call for it. I've heard it from police officers and normal citizens. The question is how long that can last."

He flipped his papers, indicating that he would move to a different topic. "James has moved to a nearby Red Cross donation center...and found something interesting."

The monitor switched to show a new reporter outside the donation center, with long lines taking over the scene. The reporter said to the camera, "We talked with the administrators and they are actually telling all these people to come back tomorrow. Blood donation is normally very low, and very much in demand. Today, they not only have more than enough, they can't even store all the blood people are willing to donate.

"I've spoken to a lot of these people. They come from different backgrounds: young, old, rich and poor. Most are average, the same people you would meet on the street and not even take notice. Or the friends that you would have in the office.

"Each one saw what happened this morning and said that they had to help. Most wanted to be at the Tower itself, but decided if they couldn't be there then it was here."

"So what are..." Red held his earpiece, getting a piece of news once again. "Sorry James, but we have Rebecca on 24th. 'Becca, what do you have?"

The monitor changed. Rebecca was next to a middle-aged woman who was holding a phone. "Red, I have Carla right here. She was across the street in a coffee shop when the incident happened. She tried calling, but the call volume prevented her from reaching Peters. She stayed there until she saw the report we made. It took all this time for her to figure out how to contact us.

"We gave her a phone with a dedicated line, and she is calling Peters..."

The phone was on speaker, so when the answer came, Rebecca went silent. An answer came over the phone, "Hello?"

Immediately tears came to the wife's eyes. "Pete, it's me."

"Carla? I..."

Carla couldn't help but let the tears flow. "Yeah, I know you were worried. I was too. I'll be home soon!"

He too was expressing relief beyond anything he'd felt before. "I'll be waiting. Please get home soon."

"I will. I will."

As the short call ended, tears still flowed from Carla's eyes. She addressed Rebecca, and in turn to everyone in that newsroom. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

Rebecca couldn't help but say, "It was worth it just to see that." She turned to the camera. "That's one happy ending today. Let's hope for more of them."

Jeff walked behind the Transport. The remote key was held in his hand. He pressed it, opening the rear ramp.

Then a truck cross the field. The back was filled with boxes of various labels. It stopped not too far from the Transport without having its lights or engine shut off. From it came Farnsworth. "Glad to have made it right on time."

Jeff held his serious look while the secretary got out of the passenger side. She immediately went to the back and opened the hatch. Farnsworth walked towards Jeff, but looked right at the Transport. "So this is the thing you were talking about."

Jeff also looked at the Transport, "Yeah. This thing has given me a lot, but has taken just as much."

Farnsworth looked over to the traveler, "Do you regret it then?"

Jeff still didn't have the answer.

Farnsworth could see that in Jeff's face, "Everything's like that, Hunter. I've seen my fair share of tragedy and triumph. You'll always miss those people lost. But those tragedies define you, and that definition can make you a better person."

"I just wish it didn't take the tragedies to do that."

Farnsworth replied, "I don't think it can work that way. Otherwise, how'd we define good times? You take the bad so you can work for the good. One day, you'll get something good from this thing. Just hang in there to see it."

Farnsworth turned around and begun his walk to the truck. "Time to work. As much as I'd like to get out of the station, I can't be away too long."

Jeff followed with the intention to help. Once he got to the back of the truck, Jeff saw how much was piled. There was a lot, mostly boxes of food and several jugs of water. "Don't you need some of this?"

Farnsworth lifted a box out of the truck. "We're strong people, Hunter. Despite having the worst disaster in memory, we stood strong today. We'll survive. Just do your thing and make sure no one else has to go through this. Work so then others can have good times."

Jeff took this to heart, and began loading along with the two.

One week later

A lone fire fighter worked on top the Pile. He was tired, just as most around him. The work had gone on for too long. But much more was needed. Looking back, he saw a woman, Cheryl, passing out bottles of water. She wasn't the only one still doing that.

Going back to work, he lifted another piece. The large white block was thrown down so another man would haul it elsewhere. Then he heard something. Lowering his covered ear to the ground, he listened. There he confirmed something.

Calling for others to help, several men gathered. They began lifting more rubble out of the way.

It didn't take long before the formally-lone fire fighter could reach in. Retracting back, he held an amazing sight.

A very young kitten was still alive.

He handed it off to another fire fighter, only to reach in again. Another kitten was retrieved.

The effort lasted only a few minutes. In the end, the fire fighter placed the last of the six kittens onto a blanket. The small box wasn't large or sturdy, but it worked. Those kittens represented something they all had wanted:

A miracle.

Episode 10

### Resistance

Jeff landed the Transport in a grassy field. The small area was surrounded by trees. That made things even more dark at night. The lights from the busy city a mile away were also hidden.

He slammed his fist onto a console. It was a controlled slam, as though he still valued what he was smiting. Still, he needed to vent his frustration.

"Karns is still not here. Two weeks and he still eludes me." He pressed several buttons, checking to see if he could continue the chase. Looking at the main monitor, he saw the estimated time: 56 hours. He had to give up on the frustrating chase for the moment.

Jeff looked into the back cabin. There were a lot of empty boxes. The supplies from the last world he stepped in \- the one that Karns caused the Tower to fall - were thinning. "I guess I have to leave and get more food and water...somehow."

He got up and pulled out the remote key. While stretching his muscles, he pressed the button to open the back. Jeff hadn't left that seat in days.

His body now needed to walk. He grabbed the backpack from the other chair and walked out of the Transport. His task was to get more supplies; a task he didn't know how to complete.

Getting towards the edge of the open park, Jeff could see quite a few people strolling this night. They all walked on a paved trail that ran parallel to the quiet road. Few people had paid any attention to him. As he got closer, he saw why. Most of the people were couples. They were using the warm night as an opportunity to get out.

A car rolled slowly through the streets. Jeff didn't take notice of it...until it was too late. Several flashes erupted from the car's open windows. Screams came from all around the park.

Jeff's mood switch from calm to alert, running to where the screams were centered. He held his glasses in an attempted to get a good look of the car. It was moving too quickly and his run made his vision too rough to get much of anything.

Arriving at the trail, he saw the victim: an elder black man laid on the ground. He was bloody from the gunshot. A woman, likely his wife, kneeled next to him. She was crying hysterically. Jeff used his glasses to confirm the obvious: the victim was dead. "Damn!"

It was at least an hour since the shooting. Jeff stood with a detective, watching the widow hover over her husband. The coroner had just finished his assessment and had given the woman a moment.

The detective commented on the sight, "Always the hardest part, seeing them like this."

Jeff nodded, agreeing while not having much else to add.

The detective didn't like the silence. He continued talking on a different topic entirely, "Well, since you don't have anywhere to go, I can call a hotel to board you up for a few days. Might be a good change of pace, staying in one place for a while."

"Yeah, maybe." It was obviously part of Jeff's cover story, that he was a "traveler" chasing Karns. Yet, his travels involved staying in the Transport, constantly between worlds. It was traveling without moving at all.

A car pulled up just beyond the lights of the police barricade. From it came two people: a black woman and a Caucasian man. It hit the detective, now knowing full well the motive behind the shooting. "Damn. It's an interracial couple."

It said in a more matter-of-fact like tone, though he was cursing internally because this would be a difficult case. Jeff guessed it was a difference that this world held. He asked the detective, "Why is that important?"

The couple came up behind the widow. The daughter held up rather well considering that she was right in front of her father's body. They were comforting the mother while insisting that they should leave. It was very apparent that she didn't want to leave.

"You're definitely not from around here. We've had several shootings just like this. There's more than a few people that don't like the idea of interracial marriages. There isn't a definite group gang, per-say. Otherwise we'd have those people locked up by now."

"You mean that you haven't arrested anyone?"

The detective would have shaken his head negative, but he couldn't while in front of the entire family. The son-in-law had finally coaxed the widow to walk to the car. The daughter stayed behind for a short bit, giving her own words of farewell to her father.

"No. We've identified gun after gun. Traced them to some gang member or another. We arrested them on other charges, but we knew they were never the killer. Don't know if it's one person, an organization or even a stand-alone complex."

Jeff knew what the detective was talking about, "Copies without an original."

The detective looked at him, "I'm surprised you know the concept."

"I was a scientist a long time ago. It's a concept that comes up often. Especially in my field."

"What field was that?"

Though Jeff had mixed feelings saying it, he answered it in a neutral tone, "Theoretical physics."

The daughter touched her father on the forehead, her final gesture. She turned around and walked to the car.

"Why'd you give that up?"

Jeff motioned his head toward the body. Without a word, it indicated his motivation for chasing Karns.

"Oh. My condolences."

They saw the man had escorted the mother into the car and was helping her into the back seat. The daughter had caught up and got alongside her mother.

That was the signal for the detective to leave. "We'll try our best. If you want to try to investigate this yourself, go ahead. Can't help you out, though I hope you find these guys."

Jeff replied, "I hope so as well."

"Two years ago

Jeff opened the door. It was a little more difficult while he was holding a small bag of groceries. Most of it was for lunches, sandwiches and microwave meals. He headed right for the kitchen. Jeff decided not to announce that he was home. Actually, he was rather early and didn't expect anyone to be home.

The home itself was rather new, clear of the many things they had accumulated. They had moved in about a month ago; enough time to settle in but not enough to have a "lived in" feeling to the house.

He closed the door, then turned to find Kara. She was sad, depressed. Jeff set the bags aside and walked right to her. "What's wrong? I thought you'd be at practice all day?"

"Dan is moving to Albany. He's quitting..." That meant that she was without a dance partner.

Jeff tried to comfort her, holding her as much he could. "I know you'll miss states, but you can bounce back. You'll find someone that'll..."

It didn't help. It had unintentionally made things worse. She pushed him back. "No, you don't get it. I can't dance without him! We were a team! Either one of us would know exactly where the other was at any given moment. But...I didn't see this. How can I find someone if I can't connect with them, know if they'll be there."

Jeff still tried to comfort her, even if from afar. "Kara, I'm more than willing to do whatever to help you."

Things turned on him from there. "No, you can't. You have your own work, the thing you can't even tell me. Some project that takes all day, all those friends of yours that you work with. Everyday, you have something to go to. I don't; never have...

Just go!"

Jeff tried to argue. He tried to say that he could help her. But her eyes held a cold gaze, an insistence that her mind wouldn't be changed. Holding that rejection to heart, he turned around and silently left the house.

Present day

Jeff walked up to the home. It was in an average neighborhood, with kids of varying origins playing in the warm summer morning. For Jeff, it seemed a bit strange. These weren't people that were down-trodden or even overtly harassed, yet last night happened. He never got it, probably never would.

A woman opened it: the daughter, Teresa Sheldon.

He introduced himself, "I'm Jeffrey Hunter."

She recognized him, "You were with the detective last night."

"Yeah. I'm separately investigating the murder."

She opened the screen door and waved him in. He followed her inside. The two went into the living room. There was the man from last night right on the couch, just ending his bowl of cereal. Setting it down, he got up to greet Jeff.

She waved her hand, "Bobby, this is Jeffrey Hunter."

The two shook hands. He said, "I saw you last night. Thanks for your help."

Jeff admitted, "Wish I could do more."

She took her turn to introduce herself, "I'm Teresa, by the way." She also offered a hand for Jeff to shake.

After the handshake, Jeff had to ask, "How long have you two been together?"

"A year. We're actually going to get married."

"Well, congratulations." It was another bittersweet thing for Jeff. After many years of being alone, he would always appreciate what others found. Yet, there was Kara...

"Thanks. I'll get mom. She's still in a bit of shock, hasn't fully comprehended what's happened. I think might help you, since she's numb right now."

Jeff reassured, "I'll try not to be long."

She walked away and towards the back of the house. Jeff turned to Bobby in the mean time, "How long have you been engaged?"

"A few months..." he got the jist of the question, "Wait, you think this is related?"

"As I understand, it might be."

Bobby sighed, falling to the couch. "We have gotten some threats. I thought it was just some punk kids; the ones who threaten but never do anything more."

"What kind of threats?"

"Most just harassing, call us names and such. A few were violent, but none were death threats. That's why I didn't take them seriously."

"Problem is, I doubt these people gave you any warning at all."

Bobby didn't like the suggestion, "It still doesn't help."

Teresa appeared, holding her mother and softly leading her to the living room. "Mom, this is Jeffrey Hunter. He wants to help."

The older woman, Beth, looked at him. She then looked back down as the daughter led her to the chair that faced the television. The elderly woman had barely acknowledged him, so he wasn't sure if she would answer any questions.

Jeff leaned towards her, trying to be as kind in his questioning as possible. "Mam, I'm an investigator. I want to ask you a few questions about last night."

"You were there; you saw everything." It was drab tone, but very blunt.

He had to push forward, "Why were you two there?"

"We always walk there."

"At the same time."

"Every night."

That showed that if someone could have planned the shooting. So Jeff had to ask some of the more obvious questions. "Have you seen anything unusual in the past few days?"

"Nope."

"Do you know anyone that would do something like this?"

"I wouldn't associate myself with idiots."

That response interested Jeff. "What makes you call them "idiots"?"

"Give me one minute with them and you'll find out." It was just as blunt as it was defiant. But there was a hint of something else, of something that she omitted but not to hide. He guessed she didn't want to say it in case she was wrong.

But she may have been right: the killing was to deter the couple. He had to know if that was what she was thinking. "Did you get any threats to yourself or your husband?"

"No, just heard about them. 'Thought I had avoided those idiots."

Yup, that confirmed it. She had said it the same way as the very ones that killed her husband. Unfortunately it didn't give much for Jeff to work with.

"Thank you for your time." Jeff quietly left the family. He could tell that they all wanted him to succeed, and he hoped he would.

Without the help of the police on this one, Jeff decided to walk into the local department of transportation. He had followed an enforcement representative to a back room. That was where many monitors supervised the local highways. There were a few other streets monitored, which this morning held heavy amounts of traffic.

The representative explained, "Normally we wouldn't show anything like this to the public, just due to privacy concerns. And legal ones, since technically these haven't been prosecuted yet."

Jeff presumed, "And this is an exemption."

The rep sat down at a computer, typing in a search for the very picture that Jeff had requested.

"Of sorts. You've more than proven that there was a crime. Unless they're complete idiots, which I've seen more than a few, they won't reveal themselves by paying a traffic ticket."

The rep found a picture of the car. It had the muzzle flashes of the gunfire, showing it had captured the crime in progress. The car clearly showed three guns were being fired, two in the rear.

"And...that'll work too." The rep referred to proof of a crime happening. "Something like this would have been sent to the police, though it takes a day or two for us to find it."

Jeff asked, "So no one else has seen this?"

He shook his head. "Nope. Otherwise it would have been flagged."

Jeff found this curious, as it meant the police had yet to ask about this.

The DOT Rep used a photo-shop-like tool to select an area around the license plate. It zoomed in, making things a little more fuzzy and pixelated. The computer scanned the image, making several swoops that made things a little clearer. Though it was still a bit fuzzy, anyone could read the license.

Then a panel showed up on the side. The rep entered the license plate number into it. "This will take a moment."

A moment indeed, as the information show up just as he had said it. It showed a name and an address.

Jeff looked at the address, "Do you know where that is?"

"I'll print out some directions in the back. Should I send this to the police or to you?"

"Yeah, go ahead. I'm just going straight to this address."

"Alright." He got up to go to the back room, leaving Jeff to stare at the picture.

Jeff checked the paper to make sure that this house was the address. The number on the house was clear, though the bottom digit was only a shadow. It was out of character with the rest of the well-kept property.

The car was not there. There was a parking space clearly outlined for it, but no car. Jeff leaned down. He found several small tire marks that showed that it would normally be right there.

Approaching the main entrance, he rang the door. He heard some footsteps that came from somewhere in the house. But they were getting quieter, as though the person was walking away. It was too calm to be someone running.

Using his glasses, he found the lone person walking down the main hallway and away from him. Then he stopped. The marker just stood there, despite Jeff ringing the door a second time.

Curious as to what he was doing, he switched modes. He couldn't see the man all that well in this mode, but he could zoom in and see in an x-ray view. Where the man was near a large gun rack. There were several long barrels lying on it. Switching back, Jeff saw the man approaching. Danger was approaching. Stepping aside the door, he summoned the stun-pistol.

The caution was warranted. A boom sounded as a shotgun blasted a hole through the door. Jeff dove to the new hole, trying to shoot through it. The man dodged and stepped back to another room. Jeff dove back then reached to see if he could open the door. It was locked. He had to locate another entrance, one the gunman would not expect.

He quickly searched the house. There was only one other option: the exact opposite side of the hall. That wasn't much of an option.

Jeff exchanged the stun-pistol for a small battering ram. Trying to stay outside the doorway, he swung it as hard as he could. It got the gunman's attention. Another boom sounded. The door didn't budge, but the new hole was closer to the doorknob.

Jeff traded the stun-pistol back out. Diving in front of the door, he repetitively fired into the first hole. He had to keep it up to pin down the gunman. Using his free hand, he reached in and twisted the knob open. Pulling back, he cut his arm. It wasn't bad but enough for quite a bit of blood to spill. Giving only a slight grunt, Jeff internalized the pain. The situation forced him to live with it.

That gave a slight pause for the gunman. He ran away and toward a set of stairs. With the door open, Jeff gave chase down the hall. He turned to see the gunman at the basement staircase. The shotgun fired. Jeff dodging behind the corner to avoid the large chunk of metal. Returning fire, Jeff raise up and shot with both stun-pistols. The gunman fell forward and out of view.

The battle was over. The glasses registered the man very much alive. Jeff traveled down the stairs for further investigation.

Just above the gunman was a thick, metal door. It looked like a panic room of sorts. Jeff calmly walked down the stairs, careful to avoid the sleeping man. Peeking into the room, he found that it was more than a panic room: it was full of various plants.

"I guess he had something to pass the time with."

Towards the back was some chemistry sets. There wasn't any indication that this was an extensive drug operation. But then there was a computer.

Jeff walked inside towards the computer. He found the humid air a bit too much. The computer was on, with an e-mail program right on the screen. Jeff clicked on the out-going mail. There was plenty of addresses, but that wasn't the most important piece of information. A few entries down, he saw when he sent them.

"He was right here last night. And thus, not our guy."

Jeff had gone through the last of the computer records. He found a few hints but nothing of real note. Getting up, he turned around to wander back out the room. That's when he heard someone announce, "This is the police!"

Jeff walked up the stairs, making sure not to show any threatening attitude. Luckily he recognized the voice. "I'm here, Detective."

The detective had his gun ready when he heard the reply. Moving towards the voice, he saw Jeff standing at the top of the stairs. The detective lowered his weapon. He looked back at the blasted door. "Dang, what happened?"

Jeff explained tersely, "Rang the bell, and this guy got a shotgun and fired."

The detective openly thought, "You're a lucky guy."

"Yeah." It was good luck, but not in the same ways that Jeff would have hoped for.

Turning towards business, Jeff said to the police officer, "He wasn't involved; found that much on his computer. Although he has a few different things going on down the stairs."

"Considering, that isn't unexpected." The detective was about to take Jeff's point and go down the stairs. He was at the top, right along side Jeff when he noticed the suspect lying on the stairs. "Is he?"

"Nope, just knocked out. It'll be another hour before he wakes up, so you have time to look around."

"How can you be sure of that? Are you also a medical doctor?"

Jeff replied, "No. Just trust me on that."

Then the other officer yelled out to the two. "Sir, I got it right here."

Jeff and the detective walked out of the room and to the main hallway. Toward the back, the lieutenant had looked into the open cabinet that contained the gun rack. Using a handkerchief, he held a pistol. "I think this is it."

The detective sighed, "Dang, just like the others. I didn't think they'd work so quickly."

Jeff said, "I'm guessing you mean the gun."

"Yeah. It's always the same. The gun was always found on someone else. We have the charges to put them away for quite a long time, but most wouldn't talk no matter what kind of deal we made. The few who have always led to someone else who wouldn't talk. I just had hoped this case would be different if we moved fast enough."

Jeff thought about this, coming up with an idea, "Do you have a list of who has held these guns?"

"I have a chart. I'll send it to you; doubt you can do much with it, but I'll send it anyway. Never know."

Jeff said to the detective, "One never knows. Send it down to my hotel room. I already got a list of names from this guy's e-mails, so hopefully I can find something."

The detective replied, "I hope so as well."

Two years ago

Jeff paced around his hotel room. There was no other option, not after Kara kicked him out. He was tackling this problem like every other one: being alone and in constant thought.

His phone rang. Pulling it out of his pocket, he looked at who was calling. Flipping it open, "Hello, Brian."

"Jeff, I have these tickets to a Bon Jovi concert, but my date got work at the last minute. So I was wondering if you and Kara would like to go in our stead?"

Jeff hadn't told him yet, "Well, that would be difficult."

Brian put on a concerned tone to his voice, "I know that tone. Heard it hundreds of times from other people, but I think this is the first time from you. Doesn't help that Kara was the first in, what..."

Cutting him short, Jeff said, "Get to the point."

"You and Kara had a fight. And judging from the lack of an echo, you're in a hotel room."

Jeff tilted his head, "For someone who knows so much about relationships, I'd think you'd be married by now."

"Luck of the draw. Some can take years of constant dating while others find theirs in high school. Of course, I thought you and Kara were a match.

"So anyway, what was it?"

Jeff said, almost detached from the problem, "Well, she lost her dance partner."

Brian knew, "And let me guess: you offered to help."

"Wouldn't that be the natural thing to do?"

"Not necessarily. I've met too many women to say anything hundred-percent, of only because every one of them are different. But in this case, you're offering to help in a time where she needs comfort."

"But what's so wrong with offering help?"

Brian responded, "Well, it could have been how much you _can_ do. Let's face it, you're not a good dancer. How are you supposed to help find another partner?"

Jeff tried to justify the idea, "I could still look up credentials and such."

"Still, that probably won't be enough, especially now. I hope you remember what she said. Any apology will have to include something addressing that."

"Yeah, I've been thinking about that all night," Jeff admitted, "Are you good to take lead tomorrow if I'm not there."

"Sure. Take your time."

Jeff pressed the end-call button. Setting it down on a nearby desk, he began wandering around again.

Present day

Jeff walked into his hotel room. There was a large folder that laid right inside the door. The room itself was rather similar than the one he visited the two years prior. Then again, even in his cross-world travels most hotel rooms were rather similar. They were all sparse and had a place for everything that someone staying more than a few days would need.

Setting the backpack down, he wandered to the nearby desk. He placed the folder on the desk before turning his attention to his shirt. Smelling it, he found something new. "That wasn't there last night."

He thought about quickly going out to either get it cleaned or get some new clothes. After all, he's been wearing these since the first world he was in.

After a short bit, he decided otherwise, "I'll go out later. This is more important than new clothes anyway." Then again, most things Jeff did was more important than new clothes.

He took a folded poster out of the delivered folder. Laying it out on the desk, it showed the complex web of suspects. Each had a link labeled with the weapon used. In the middle, a question mark that showed a possible single suspect. The number of people involved made that seem unlikely.

"This may take a while," he said to himself.

Going to his backpack, he summoned a laptop. It got placed next to the chart. It didn't take long for it to boot up. During that time Jeff took out a thumb-drive and plugged into the laptop.

He opened a file, showing the complete set of e-mails that was on the gunman's computer. Rather than show the subjects, he made it so it showed the names of the writers as well as those receiving sent e-mails. Jeff had to compare each name to see if it was on the chart. He started on the inner-most set of names, then rotated outward.

It took him a long while. Hours had passed. The work was very redundant, forcing him to take short breaks. Then he found something. It was one name, labeled towards the center. That name was one part away from the final contact on that line. The next line down showed that there was a suspect that was linked twice before, so Jeff guessed that was the case here.

The name was also highlighted in red. Looking down, the legend showed that those names denoted those that were successfully prosecuted. "I guess I have someone to visit."

Taking the backpack from the bed, he left the room for his investigation.

He didn't have his backpack on him. It was deemed a possible problem at the metal detector. Jeff would be able to get it back after this visit.

A jail guard led a man into the meeting room. Staying at the door, the guard kept watch over the proceedings. The prison-garbed man, nick-named Caster, immediately sat down at the table. This was a formality for him.

He gave a good look at Jeff, curious as to why _this_ guy was there. "Who the heck are you?"

Jeff remained standing. The two mutually sized up their opponent. "Jeffrey Hunter, an investigator of sorts."

"Of sorts? Either way, I'm guessing you want to ask me some questions. Good luck."

Jeff remained equally astute, "I figured. Gun dealers won't rat out their buyers."

"Smart man. Too bad you're not smart enough not to waste your time."

Jeff replied, "How about your time?"

Caster put his arms out as much as the shackles would allow. "I got time to waste. So I'll humor you, but not much more."

"Alright. How about Fred Underly," Jeff stated to him.

Caster shook his head, feigning ignorance. "Don't know the guy."

Jeff knew all too well that he lied; had the evidence to prove it. "Two things: He's already caught. Hid his computer but nothing directly on it. However, I have him sending you a request for your "services." Second thing is that he's not the guy I'm after."

"You want my supplier." He had said it confidently. This was for show, he had gone through this process all too often.

"Very much."

Caster gave a shrug, "Don't know him. On the other hand, this Underly guy apparently wanted his own gun back. I was able to find it among other dealers."

"His own gun? You mean he lost it?"

"Strange for such a scared cat like himself. But yeah, someone stole it and he couldn't exactly go to the police to get it back. And you found out exactly why he wanted it back on short notice."

"So where'd you get it?"

Caster remained coy, "As I said, another dealer. Won't give a name. I will only say that he got the usual way."

"And that means?"

"Man, you must be really new to this "investigator" role. That means that the gun was stolen, and placed right at a doorstep. No one talks to anyone. No cameras, no recorders whatsoever. The money is placed in a separate place, so only those that know the system get paid."

Jeff used that along with an idea he got from the chart, "OK. Would some of these "suppliers" go to multiple dealers?"

"Hmm...maybe. Takes time to figure the system. Let's face it, most are lazy and trust only one guy. It's possible. I can't really say due to said system."

Jeff nodded. He had a theory to check. "Thanks for humoring me."

The convict commented, "Hey, I've had fun. Heck, you could've asked any copper, including this guy back here."

Jeff shook off the attempted insult and knocked on the door. It opened, letting him leave with the prisoner sitting at the table.

The home was empty. The new feature was the police tape that surrounded it. A car flashed outside, showing there was someone to watch over the crime scene.

Inside, Jeff looked over to the very room that he gave chase in not a few hours ago. That room and its basement had been the main focus of their investigation. The only other place that seemed to have been touched had been the gun cabinet. It was empty, several labels placed for archival purposes.

Neither one was the target for Jeff at that moment. Instead, it was something that the police had skipped over thus far. He went straight down the main hall and right to the back door. It was a sliding door, the outside noticeably covered with dust.

Jeff summoned a small kit from his backpack. Setting it on a nearby table, he opened and took out a latex glove. Then he removed a small spray bottle. "Glad Farnsworth gave me this. Just hope there's more somewhere in the other supplies."

Turning to the door, he sprayed the edge. There were plenty of fingerprints. Jeff scanned them with his glasses. Then he opened the door just enough for him to see the side. Spraying that revealed more fingerprints.

With that done, Jeff looked around for any other points of entry. Across the back, to the kitchen, was a cracked window.

Walking to it, Jeff sprayed all sides of that window. It was small. Definitely not the best place for someone to climb through. It was also rather high off the ground outside. But it was a possible entrance and Jeff couldn't ignore it. There were less fingerprints, though it showed that the window experienced some activity.

Jeff returned to the back door. He placed the spray bottle back into the kit and closed it. Lifting it up, he placed it behind him for the backpack to store. The gloves were then removed, but nowhere to go. The garbage bin was taken as though it might have evidence. Jeff shrugged and shoved the used gloves into his pocket for later disposal.

Jeff then summoned a PDA from his backpack. He began tapping instructions with his finger. "Time to see if this really works."

With one final command, the PDA stated, "Linking with Scan-glasses." No progress was given. There was only a small dot moving across the screen. It took a long moment. Jeff was half-afraid that it wouldn't work.

Then it said, "Complete."

He breathed a sigh of relief. Lowering the PDA, Jeff walked out the door and right to the police car.

The officer inside the vehicle had taken immediate notice. He didn't move from the driver's seat. The stoic man just stared as Jeff walked towards him.

Jeff asked the officer, "I have some fingerprints in here that I would like to search."

The officer nodded. He reached out for the PDA, "I can do that. Just warning you, this will be considered unofficial evidence for trial and if anyone comes up that hasn't been convicted, I can't show it to you."

Jeff handed the PDA, indicating that he agreed with the terms. The officer stared at the PDA. He rotated it several directions. The officer couldn't find a port to hook into.

"Oh, you'll need this," Jeff reached around back, trying to hide his summoning of the connection cord. One end of the cord was designed to connect to the PDA. The other was spread out to several possible ports to connect with.

The officer took it and immediately connected the PDA. He turned the computer in the middle so Jeff couldn't see. With a simple click, the computer began it's process. It didn't take long for a hit to come.

The officer said, "Looks like most of the fingerprints were from the home owner. But there was one from a "Derek Richards." Convicted for possessing several weapons without a license. I'll upload an address to your...thing."

"Thanks. I'll be heading there as soon as I can."

The officer asked, "Where'd you find this, just so we can do our own fingerprinting to make it more official."

"They were at the back window. I heard that someone came in and stole one of this guy's guns."

The officer nodded. It was a reasonable idea that may to something. He gave back the PDA with the cord still connected. "I'll just warn you to call for some police backup. You were lucky here, just don't chance anything."

"I won't." Jeff said it very seriously. However, he intended to do this alone.

Jeff walked down the rather sparse neighborhood. There were few houses. Most were old farmlands that had long been annexed or abandoned. It taken Jeff a long while to get to the outskirts of the city.

He saw the home. A new car adorned it, though the rest of the property was low profile. Just as Jeff stepped onto the driveway, a sheathed window flicked open. Quickly looking around, Jeff saw a few stakes poking out of the ground. They were obviously part of the security system.

But it was the person who hid behind the curtains that concerned Jeff. Using his glasses, he saw that his suspect, Richards, was the only person in the house.

The home was small. There were no obvious hiding places that the scan-glasses could locate. Jeff still didn't take any chances.

He summoned the stun-pistol as he approached the door. Jeff knocked on the door. It was an attempt to say that he wanted to talk. He heard Richards walk down the stairs and to the door. It remained closed, though Jeff could see that the man was armed and ready at the other side. "What do you want?"

"I just want to ask a few questions."

The man replied, "Oh...no. I'm not answering anything. And don't think of even trying to barge in."

Jeff knew the threat was credible. He had to make a counter-threat to get him to talk. "Alright. But I'll warn you I may come back with some cops in tow."

The man on the other side thought for a minute, then decided, "Come in then."

The door clicked and cracked open. It was too suspicious; though Jeff had the upper-hand. He saw Richards had moved back with his arms up as though aiming his gun.

Jeff raised his own pistol, readying for the battle. He slammed the door open then aimed at Richards. The light bolt hit a lamp, causing it to flicker and wobble. Richards panicked. The suspect retreated further back while firing aimlessly. Jeff had to dive back outside despite the poor aim.

Richards backed over the couch, falling almost accidentally. In mid-fall, he turned, changing his intentions to make that his cover. He knelt there while watching the front door.

Jeff saw this and had to change tactics. He looked down the main hall. This one stopped a short distance before a sharp turn into the living room. He found that entire area was open with only a wooden table and a bookshelf towards the other wall. With no other entrance, Jeff had to go the hard way.

Summoning the second stun-pistol, Jeff dived in with suppressing fire. Richards tried to change his angle from over the couch to the side. Jeff easily traced his movements. Lying on his side, the suspect raised his arm over the couch and fired aimlessly towards Jeff.

The investigator saw this and dove to the front of the couch. Now both lie on each side of the couch at a stand-off.

Richards yelled out from the other side, "Who the heck are you?!"

"Just a traveler who picked up a few things along the way."

Jeff looked around the room, trying to formulate a plan. The lamp that Jeff hit was still was on the small table. After returning one of his stun-pistols into the backpack, Jeff extended his arm out. He launched the grappling beam onto the lamp. He then pulled hard on it.

It flew over his head and the couch, crashing on the wall. Richards looked up to see the pieces fall. That was enough of a distraction for Jeff to roll over on the other side of the couch and fire. Richards head collapsed onto the ground, eyes closed to the world.

Jeff knelt there to let the adrenaline blow over. He had won that fight and now had to wait for Richards to wake up. "I guess you'll be ready to answer my questions in a little bit."

Richards was waking up with a bright light right on him. Jeff had got a lamp and kept flashing it in the captive's face. He was sitting up against the nearby wall, the couch not far from where he sat.

He could see Jeff beyond the lamp's light. The investigator hovered over several pistols and a rifle. "Yeah, I've gone around and found all of these."

Jeff walked a bit to the side of the light to make him more visible. "The police will be here in about an hour. In the meantime, I figured I can ask my own questions."

Richards presumed, "Like where I got those guns?"

"Actually, I already know that. You stole all of these, likely from people who had good reason not to report the theft.

"What I need to know is where were you last night?"

"Last night..." he thought about it, on why that would be important, "The park shootings! You think I did that!"

"That's it. Your fingerprints were found at the home of the person who owned the gun."

Richards almost cursed himself for the mistake. He mumbled to himself, "That was three weeks ago."

Jeff heard it all too well. But he chose not to pursue that line. Instead, he wanted to know if this was the guy or not. So he pressed, "Where were you?"

Richards admitted, "I was downtown waiting for the guy that did the shooting."

Jeff stared at him. He didn't like what he heard, and wasn't entirely sure if he told the whole truth. Richards saw this, "Hey, I didn't do it, so I get a deal for testifying, right?"

Jeff replied, "I'm not a cop, so I can't guarantee that."

"Oh..." Richards hoped that didn't give away his only card.

"But if you give me a name, I might give a good word."

Richards answered, "I can't give a name. You should know that we don't work like that."

Jeff responded to that, "Then you might not have anything."

The captive panicked, "OK, OK...This one guy wasn't like the others."

"The others? So there was more than one."

"Yeah. They all learned about each other and how things work from some chat room. This guy swore that this couldn't be traced since he wasn't actually trying to kill anyone."

That motive sounded strange, "He was trying to scare them?"

"I guess so. Some relative or another was...well, you know."

It was almost like a natural reflex to avoid something. Jeff wanted to know if that was Richard's own feelings or something else. "You don't even want to say "marriage," do you?"

"You can't around these people. They'll rant about inequality, that people lower themselves in doing this. Takes hours before they'll shut up."

"So do you feel the same way?"

Richards thought about this. "Just call me abstaining from the debate. Wasn't my intent, but hey, a living is a living."

"Yeah." Jeff raised his stun-pistol and fired. It was partly out of some anger. More importantly, he had to leave now. He couldn't wait for the police to get there.

Especially with the information that he got.

Bobby heard the knock at the door. He opened it to see Jeff standing there. The investigator held a very serious look to his face. That was contrasting to the rather sad expression on Bobby's face.

He waved Jeff in, already knowing that he wanted to ask questions. The fiance traveled to the small kitchen area and dove into the refrigerator. "Want anything to drink."

Jeff stood around the chairs that surrounded the large television. "No, I'm fine."

Bobby took out a can for himself. He traversed back into the living room and his chair.

"There's a few things I'd like to ask," he said to the fiance.

"I know. Not sure if I can answer them right now." He rubbed his forehead, showing frustration in his untold situation. "You're married, right?"

Jeff was curious on how he knew that. With a single motion of his eyes, Bobby indicated that Jeff still wore his wedding ring.

He had to sit down, across from Bobby. "Yeah, I was."

"Well, did you have a problem that you couldn't solve, couldn't do a thing about?"

Jeff nodded. He in fact did. "Yeah."

Bobby admitted, "I don't know. Teresa is trying to keep it together for her mom. But I hear her at night. She couldn't even have me with her last night. Now tonight..."

Jeff felt sorry for this man, but he had worse news to give him. "Well, the question I have won't help things. Did anyone in your family disagree with your relationship?"

Bobby felt more distress. He knew exactly who Jeff was talking about. "My cousin Herald. When my parents died in a car accident three years ago, he was the one there to help. He said he'd take care of me if I had any problems. But this..."

"I was told that he only wanted to scare them. The killing might have been an accident."

Bobby snapped, "An accident!"

He noticed that his own anger wasn't just about his cousin, though it was because of it. "Sorry. He warned me about dating Teresa. But I never thought he would do anything like this."

Jeff replied, "Who would? Still, I need to know where he lives."

Bobby remained quiet. It was as though he wanted to confront his cousin himself. Jeff had to convince him otherwise. "I know you want to face him yourself. But considering he may be armed, I need to do this."

The fiance asked, "If your wife was hurt, wouldn't you want to at least punch that guy in the face?"

Jeff nodded. "I do. My wife was killed almost six months ago. That's why I've been traveling, to get the guy that killed her - and not only her. But that's also the reason why I've been doing this, helping people like you and your fiance.

"Teresa isn't dead. She's still there and you can do something."

It was too apparent what Jeff meant: be defiant. To confront the nay-sayers, his cousin included, by doing the one thing they didn't want.

Bobby nodded in agreement. "Alright. He has an apartment in the Paulow area, on Fairview Avenue. Here." Bobby took a notepad and wrote down the address.

He passed it to Jeff, who waved it as he said, "Thanks."

Jeff got up and walked out of the apartment. Bobby sat there for a second, then followed suit.

Jeff walked along the tall buildings. There wasn't anything unusual until he got close to the entrance. At the moment he was more concerned that he found the right location.

A car pulled right out of the parking garage. Jeff tried to get a good look at the driver, making sure that it wasn't his man. His angle was obscured and the cabin dark. All Jeff could do was hope that it wasn't him.

Then he noticed the open garage door. That gave him an idea.

Jeff dove under the closing door to the garage. Looking around, he saw the labels for the elevators. He traveled across while looking around. He didn't want to miss any important item, no matter how minute. The entire floor was filled with cars. It was a rather large garage. A sign at the elevators showed that this wasn't available only to the tenants.

The elevator opened immediately. Jeff walked in and pressed the button for the bottom floor. The wait was short, though anticipation made it seem a bit longer.

The door opened to a far less occupied level to the garage. It sprawled with empty space after empty space. Jeff walked down, looking at each car as he pass by. Then he found it, just as he suspected. Towards the other side of the garage was the very car that was at the drive-by.

"No better place to hide a car, unless someone knows you had it."

Approaching the car, he looked inside. The front seats were empty. The back had a twisting pile of metal rods. They looked uniform, as though it was part of one device. But one couldn't tell what it was for.

Jeff summoned a flashlight and aimed it into the car. At the floor, there was something that he couldn't quite tell what it was. Zooming in with his glasses, he saw exactly what it was.

A gun was connected to a remote firing device.

"He was alone alright."

Jeff turned to go back to the elevators. The doors were still open, inviting him inside. He pressed the button to go into the apartment proper.

The apartment building was rather bland, but Jeff supposed that the hallway wasn't the highlight of the place. He walked down to the room that the fiance gave him.

Knocking on the door, he found it was open. Before entering, Jeff checked to see if and where Herald was. He saw the life sign not too far from the hall. Entering, Jeff was careful in his approach.

A click came underfoot. Jeff looked down to see a wire was tripped, still pulled with his foot. Following the thin wire to the wall, Jeff had to use his glasses to see what was the device was. It was about chest-high and held a long barrel. The firing mechanism was cocked. Jeff guessed it would fire if he either went any farther or backward.

Carefully lowering himself below the line of fire, Jeff pulled his foot back. It got halfway before it fired with a loud boom.

There was a small hole on the wall the gun was mounted but not on the other side. It was less a trap than an alarm.

Jeff checked to see where Herald was. The suspect was now further out and moving. Jeff leaped over the wire and gave chase. He found that the far room had an open window.

Jeff ran to follow to through the window. Looking down, he saw that Herald was climbing down the fire escape. Looking up, he tried to see if there was a thing to latch onto with his grappling beam. There wasn't anything above. "Dang."

Climbing out of the window, Jeff landed onto the metal grate and chased Herald along the same route. The suspect noticed this and sped up his pace. He reached the next floor and pulled out a gun.

As Jeff got to that floor, bullets flew up from the lower ladder. It was apparent that the man wanted to delay Jeff. He was still dangerous, so Jeff had to summon his stun-pistol. With the suspect at the bottom of the ladder, the two had limited options.

Jeff reached over the railing and fired. He couldn't quite get a sight on Herald, but it was enough to dislodge him from that position. Herald ran down the street then turned at the first opportunity.

The quickest option for Jeff was to jump down along the ladder. Latching the grappling beam to the platform above, Jeff jumped and let the beam slow his decent.

As he landed, he shut the beam off and ran after Herald. Jeff turned down the same dark alley. His scan-glasses kept track of where the enemy was. He saw the dark figure turning again. Nearing the turn, Jeff saw Herald was getting farther and farther away much more rapidly. Rounding about, he saw why. The villain had ran right into a bus that was rolling out into the distance.

Jeff stood in the very room that Herald was in an hour before. Several officers were investigating the room, as well as the car in the garage.

From the hallway came the Detective. He was tired, a bit from this case and a bit from the long hours. He looked right at Jeff and said, "You have to go where danger is, don't you?"

Jeff half-jokingly responded, "Isn't that just as much your job?"

In equal manner, the detective said, "At least our paperwork is shorter. The car in the garage is just as you said. The second gun was his own. The thing was, it was loaded with blanks."

It was a curious thing. That factor would fit if he was truly scaring people. On the other hand, he still fired real bullets with the stolen gun. Jeff asked, "Then why was the other gun loaded?"

"My guess, he was trying to frame our other guy. But the story of him just trying to scare them may have been only half-true."

"How so?"

"I got word from our tech guy of some of stuff from the chat room records. Hard to tell if he really cared about the marriage or if he was just playing along. Either way, our guess is that if he felt that if he hurt someone, all the better. But it wasn't a factor in his plan."

Jeff replied to that implication, "Still shows he's a danger."

The detective agreed, "Especially seeing that he tried to make sure no one came in here unexpectedly. On that note, you really have to tell me how you avoided these things."

"I'll just say that's a trade secret." Jeff's phone began to ring. Picking it out of his pocket, it showed a series of numbers. "Glad I finally got this to work."

He opened it and took the phone call, "This is Jeffrey Hunter."

It was Bobby, "Hunter, I just heard from Herald. He started giving quite a speech, saying that he was close to deaths door and such. What happened over there?"

"There was a bit of a firefight. He ran and got onto a bus. We don't know where he is right now."

"I was on my way to Teresa's when he called me. I've heard him in panicked situations. This was his worst."

Jeff couldn't help but say, "Great. Do you know where he would go?"

"I have no idea."

"Well, thanks for the warning." Jeff hung up the phone and put it back into his pocket. He then informed the Detective, "He's going to be a bigger problem than we thought."

Ten minutes later, the detective got off his own phone. He received a tip. "Alright, we found out where he dropped off. It was in the Lakebelt neighborhood."

Jeff nodded even though the statement wasn't expressly for him. It was for all the officers around him that weren't inspecting the scene. He offered, "I'll tag along if you..."

"Uh...no. I know you've done good work thus far, but this is a case where it'll be better if we follow up on this. Anyway, I'd rather have you go down to the vic.'s home and comfort them. I'd certainly wouldn't be comfortable if this guy is on the run."

Jeff sighed. He still wanted to be in the action, especially with all the abilities he had. "Alright. I hope you find him."

Two years ago

Jeff stood outside his own door. He rang the doorbell and hoped. Despite the lack of light, even coming from the house, nerves showed on his face.

The door opened. It was Kara. She certainly didn't have a good day and Jeff being there either would either help or hurt it even more.

"Kara, please come with me."

She wasn't in the mood for surprises. "What is it, Jeff? I don't want to drive twenty minutes for some picnic or other cliche thing."

Jeff reassured, "It isn't. Can you trust me on that?"

She almost thought she regret it. Then she decided to hold a hand out for him. He grabbed onto it, holding back both nerves and anticipation.

The trip didn't take all that long. Jeff drove to a familiar part of town. It was actually close to where they had first met. Kara was openly showing her skepticism throughout the trip. They got out of the car. She was about to speak, but Jeff signaled for her to wait.

He led her to a nondescript building. The only feature was a large open window showing an empty room. They entered the open door; one that Jeff had left it so. Kara looked around. She found this place not special at all.

"OK, what is it?"

Jeff presented the place, saying, "It's yours."

"It's mine?" It was a question of much confusion. She didn't know where this was going.

"Yours, as in your dance studio. You can host dance competitions, teach, practice..."

That spawned something within her, "Wait, did you say I could teach?"

He was completely honest when he said, "Yeah, I think you can teach. You're great with people...at least much better than me."

That comment she had to laugh at.

Jeff continued, "The point is, you don't need anyone to succeed. You're a great dancer by yourself. All you need to do is figure out how to express that."

This was a good gift. She hugged him. As they embraced, they began to move. They swayed as though there was silent music. Kara quietly whispered, "Thank you."

Present day

Several police vehicles arrived along the silent street. The Detective got out of his car. They had arrived at the fairly old, though still vibrant, neighborhood. Some restaurants were open on one side of the street while homes were fully lit on the other.

The Detective gave the signal for everyone to round up around him. Once they did, he gave his orders. "I want you guys to check out any homeowners, see if they saw anything. I'll check the restaurant here. If you see him, call the radio. Though he may not intend harm, he's still armed and dangerous."

The other officers nodded in acknowledgment and spread out to do their duty.

The Detective crossed the street and calmly sauntered into the restaurant. It was small, but the owners attempted to make it look as fancy as possible within their limited budget.

There was a waitress ready at the glass door. She saw the badge and immediately thought there was a problem. "What can I do for you, officer?"

"Detective, actually. But have you seen this person around here?"

He took out a picture that was taken from the apartment. It was the best profile he could get on short notice.

Luckily, she did recognize him. "Yeah, he came off a bus about an hour ago. I only looked up because I thought he would come right in. Instead, he turned and waited at the bus stop."

The Detective pointed back behind him, double-checking her statement, "He went to this bus stop?"

"Yup. Waited about ten minutes before catching the next bus."

"Thanks." He quietly left the restaurant.

He went straight to the sign, the lone marker for the bus stop. There was a map of each of the three routes. In there, he found the problem. "Damn! He's going after the vic.!"

There was the familiar knock at the door. Teresa climbed down the stairs and opened the door. On the other side was Jeff. "Mind if I come in?"

"Sure, we're all upstairs." She waved him in and led him up the stairs. Turning towards the bedroom, he saw that the mother and fiance was sitting on the bed. There was a television that had on the late night news. Beth sat up on the bed, showing that conversations were still abound.

When Jeff entered, those conversations ended. It grew quiet. An almost awkward silence. He said, "Sorry for the intrusion."

The elder politely said, "It's no problem. We all just wanted to know what was going on."

Jeff had to deliver the sad news, "Last I heard, Herald Salsten was still on the loose, though he seems to be on the other side of town."

Teresa guessed, "That sounds like he isn't after us."

"Well, I hope that's the case. Can't confirm it. Then again, I can't even confirm the exact motive."

Beth wanted more, "And what does that mean?"

Jeff had to hold firm, hoping that this would turn towards the more innocent conclusion. "I'd rather not say."

Bobby spoke up, "Still, I never expected him to do such a thing."

"Few do. We suspect that in his mind, one way or another he was looking out for you."

Beth showed her disapproval, "Hmph! Some cousin!"

The lights flick off. The rest of the house fell into a silence rarely heard. Bobby picked up the cordless phone, "It's out."

Jeff held his hand up to the three, displaying his combat readiness. "Wait here. I'll check things out."

He walked out of the room and made sure he's out of view. From his backpack he brings out his stun-pistol. Now ready, he scanned with his glasses to locate his enemy.

It was straight down in the garage. Jeff walked down the stairs, trying to be silent in his approach. He didn't want to give up the advantage.

Rotating around the circuit of rooms, he found the garage door. The intruder was now hovering just in one location. Jeff couldn't tell exactly why. It might have been a trap, or something else. Jeff knew he had to move first.

He slowly and carefully opened the door. No gun fire yet.

The garage was the darkest room, though the crack in the garage door emitted enough light to navigate. Jeff turned to see where the intruder was: behind a large pile of boxes. This garage was more a storage room than for parking cars.

He had to move slowly to get a view. There was a short set of wooden stairs at the doorway. An old set of stairs that seemed to creak, but jumping down may give him away even more. Jeff slowly shifted his weight onto each step. The first went fine, then second equally so. He grew impatient and over confidant, making the next transition faster.

That gave him away. A loud creak came from the board below. The intruder heard him, quickly turning around from the boxes and seeing Jeff. The two fired almost reactively once seeing one-another. Jeff dove down, forcing his own shot to miss.

But it confirmed his suspicion: Herald was the intruder.

Jeff got up to run around to take his own cover. There was another pile of boxes nearby that served him...

Or not. A bullet flew straight through in front of him. Herald had misjudged the shot, thinking Jeff would go farther than he did.

Getting up, Jeff fired at Herald. He missed as the intruder dodged behind his own cover. Herald evaluated his situation, notably due the bolts of light coming towards his head. His first act was to return fire, forcing Jeff further back into the garage.

Then he bolted towards the open door, leaping over the short staircase. Jeff had no time react before he was gone. Giving chase, he followed the intruder. He swerved back around and through house. He heard the stomp up the stairs. Following up the stairs, he turned the corner to see a more dire situation.

Teresa was struggling against Herald. She couldn't do much with a gun to her head. The gun would switch between her and the other residents. Turning half-way towards Jeff, he looked at him. "I wouldn't come any closer!"

Jeff still held his weapon firm. He couldn't be sure of the effects of hitting either him or her. If he missed and hit her, that might cause worse problems. So Jeff had to talk things out. "You don't have to do this, Herald. I know you didn't intend to kill Casey."

He shook his head, denying the relatively favorable claim, "You think I cared about that bastard?!"

Beth was en-angered, "Watch that...!"

Herald cut off Beth's protests, "Remember the situation, grandma!"

He waved his gun for a short time at Beth, threatening her instead of Teresa. Jeff tensed. He realizing that could be the key to everyone surviving the night.

"You didn't care if he died or not. No, you cared about your cousin."

"The young fool doesn't know what he's getting into! I figured, if it wasn't me, it would be someone else. Those people would kill him - I knew it when I talked to them."

Jeff feigned assurance, "You warned him, hinted that this was a bad idea."

"I know what you're doing, trying to gain favor with me. Make this look like I can give up with no consequences. That's not going to work."

"Then what? You're going to jail one way or another."

Herald remained confidant, "I still win. She's the one, the temptress that will make my life a living hell."

That was a slip that everyone noticed. Jeff pointed it out, "Your life?"

Herald then noticed that he indeed said "my life." He nodded, changing his story - the truth of why he did it. "Yeah, my life! I knew these people long before this bastard cousin of mine met this witch."

"You would have been ridiculed. Or worse."

He nodded, showing that Jeff's deduction was correct. "Worse was more like it. I had to do it, for myself and his sakes."

Beth had to speak up, consequences be damned. "You have to be an idiot of among idiots! Claiming to help but only bring pain. I hope you..."

Herald turned away from Jeff with his back far more exposed to him. The gun swung towards Beth, almost as if he was going to fire. "Shut up you..."

Bobby took this chance to grab onto Herald's arm. He was careful to keep the gun beyond him while putting pressure onto the villain.

With his grip loosened, that gave Teresa the chance to put an elbow into Herald's face. That stunned the man.

As she dove away, Jeff fired. With Bobby's grip remaining firm, the villain went limp onto the floor. Letting go, he saw that Herald had been defeated.

Teresa went straight to her fiance's side. She looked down at the man who killed her father, thinking him dead. "Is he..."

Jeff answered, "No. Just out for a few hours."

He looked up at the family, as they did him. Bobby said to Jeff, "Thank you. You saved us all."

"I just saved him," he responded, pointing to the unconscious villain, "You did the rest." He especially referred to Beth, who had been stuck in the bed throughout the incident. Even from there, she had the most courage of them all.

Jeff stood next to the Detective The two watched as Herald was being carted off in a stretcher; still unconscious. The engaged couple stood at their doorstep. Another officer was going through one last interview with them. Things were much different than the last time he stood next to the detective.

"What do you think will happen to them now?" the detective asked, "They know the danger that they face."

Jeff reassured, "They'll do fine. Every couple has to face their difficulty."

The detective said, "One hell of a difficulty."

"It is. And that's why I doubt they'll lose each other."

Episode 11

### Hunter

The night security watched over the small facility. Shining a light down the dark firing range, he saw the scars that various firing tests had left there. Fortunately this night it was clear of any of the targets. It was now one wide open area.

He walked down the linear path. Nearby was a locked door. It was one that the security officer had never opened. If anything, he always made sure that it was locked with the padlock in view.

Turning to go back down the hall, he raised up the radio mic that was mounted on his shoulder. "Testing area two checked. Anything more before I head back?"

Silence.

Once again, he tried to hail his coworker, "Bob, I said can I head back?"

Still no answer.

He grew frustrated, "Great, Bob's asleep at the desk again. Man, I should open that locker just once. Just so then I can wake him up and keep it that way."

The guard continued down the hallway while keeping the light on his path. Then the light revealed a man, who just smiled. The intruder fired a gun right through the officer's head.

In the other hand, the killer carried bolt cutters. He walked over the dead body right to the locked door. Using the cutters, he easily removed the lock that been there for many years. He worked swiftly. A large bag was set onto the bloodied floor.

It taken several minutes for the job to be finished. Once all the loot had been placed in the bag, he picked up the handle and dragged it on its wheels.

Outside, it barely looked liked they were hiding anything. The truck was waiting in the rough parking lot. Once the killer got to the vehicle, he opened the trunk door. Several guns and grenades were shifted from the large back to the truck.

He said to the driver, "I don't know how you found out about this place, but man this is some good stuff."

The driver sat in dark shadow. He kept an eye on the killer through the rear view mirror. The one thing that gives his identity away is his voice, though it wouldn't matter in this case. "Did you run into any difficulties?"

"There were just three security officers. I just shot them all."

"Did you leave any evidence?"

The killer shook his head in denial, as though it didn't matter. "So the cops can track us? Nah, they can't catch fish in a dry lake bed! I could leave a hundred bullets and they wouldn't know that it was me."

The last gun was placed on top of the rest. Next to it was a scattering of grenades along with several tubes and other devices. "All done here. Where are we off to next?"

The driver turned around in his seat, pistol in gloved hand. He shot the killer right in the head. The body collapsed behind the truck and out of the mirror's view.

The villain opened the car door, letting light in to show his face. He leaned out then tossing the gun onto the ground. With that done, he closed the door and started the car. Driving away, Karns brimmed with confidence.

His day was near.

In the daytime, the testing station could easily been seen despite its out-of-the-way location. The large grass field went on for miles. That was perfect for what the facility's owners needed. In the distance, there was a large digging site that would also be used for larger tests.

Jeff walked into the area that was filled with police officers. One was hovering over the dead body of the killer. The detective looked up and saw Jeff being intercepted by another officer. They conversed for a short bit when the detective decided to check it out.

He approached the two, mostly facing Jeff. "What's going on here?"

The officer responded, "This man here says he may know our suspect."

"So how would you know who our suspect is?"

Jeff answered, "I've been chasing him for the past six months. At least this would be his MO." He took out a picture of Karns and showed it to the detective. "His name is Nathaniel Karns, former mob boss. Has a tendency to kill anyone that gets in his way, including his allies if necessary."

Detective Paul Lewis shrugged, "Alright, you can follow me."

He led Jeff to the body. The gun still lay on the ground in plain sight. Lewis began his explanation of the scene. "As you probably read in the newspaper, four bodies found. Three are night security, this guy still unidentified. In the last few hours, we figured that this guy killed all the security officers and broke into the several lockers. Then he delivered the goods here to their truck."

Jeff presumed, "I take it the items stolen were experimental in nature."

The detective gave an affirmative.

Jeff expanded, "I guessed so. Karns isn't concerned with money unless he has an immediate need for it. Usually he goes after unusual or experimental weapons."

Lewis asked, "Is he trying to fight a war or something?"

"More or less. But that's the reason I suspected he was behind this."

The detective looked right at the gun. "Continuing on, the gun over there killed this guy. Our techs looked at it. Couldn't even ID a model, much less any fingerprints or any other method of identification."

"And now I _know_ that this was Karns."

Lewis needed to know, "The reason for that would be..."

"It would be a long explanation, something I'd rather not get to right now."

That didn't help the detective. Unless Jeff could give more, Lewis couldn't continue his inclusion. "In that case, unless you know where this Karns would be, I can't tell you anything else."

Jeff sighed, "That was something I was hoping to find out myself. What about these tracks?"

"Stolen vehicle. Any other ideas?"

"I would like to know what kind of gang activity you have. He often works with those people to do similar operations."

Detective Lewis suggested, "Go down to the station. We have a few officers there that can give you much more than I can. From there, you can work on your own. I'll work from this angle. Can I get a phone number just in case?"

"Sure." He brought out his cell phone. Flipping it open, he pressed the green button. It scanned for an available number then showed the it on screen. He handed it right over the detective, who had taken out a note pad to write down the number.

Jeff retracted the phone and putting it back into his pocket. He turned back to leave, but the detective had one last question. "By the way, what's your name."

Jeff turned his head back to answer, "Jeffrey Hunter.

Officer Patricia Redford was leading Jeff further into the police department. They had already pass by several of the offices. "You ask a fairly hard question here. We got nearly a dozen gangs that number at least twenty members."

"Sounds pretty bad."

They arrived in her office where plenty of charts and notes were posted. Each was part of its own investigation, while a few were more collective works. "Luckily most of the violence is centered towards the Parkland district. That's where most of the territories intersect. Outside there, the gangs try to remain underground and out of sight."

Jeff prodded, "So which ones are the most violent?"

The officer pointed to one of the collective charts, showing the different gangs and their rivalries. "The Shells, named for their common use of guns. Then there's the Black Dogs, a rather ironic group given their origins and that they're mostly Caucasian now. They're both rivals to each other and have given us the worst problems."

Jeff put his hand to his chin to think about the possibilities. Then he shook his head, thinking otherwise. "Any others that give you problems."

"You don't think this Karns would join either of these gangs?"

"He likes to keep a low profile. If you say they have the worst problems, that also means they're the ones being watched the most."

Redford gave a shrug that said, "That's true." She pointed out the next two down her list. "The Cokelands might fall into your category. Although they often get between the Black Dogs and Shells, it's mostly for their own survival. Despite their drug-running beginnings, they're now more into general crime. Hard to track them since they're fairly random. That's opposed to the, quote, "security" based gang Protectors."

"Yeah, those sound more like Karn's style. What information do you have on those two."

"I can run a few copies down that'll tell most of what we have: suspected leaders, territory and arrested members."

Jeff politely said, "Thanks, that'll help."

She pulled a bunch of papers out of one drawer then another set. Jeff stood in the room as she ran off to make those copies. He had a plan, one that hopefully would work.

Two men were conversing as they climbed the apartment building's stairway. They arrived on their floor. The two found an open door, something they didn't find unusual. Going in, they turned toward the outer living room.

That's when Jeff jumped out from his hiding place behind the couch. He quickly shot the two. All they really saw was a large light coming their way before they fell onto the floor, unconscious.

When one of them woke up, his hands were tied a radiator. Jeff took noticed. He displayed the computer he brought in. Jeff used this trick before and decided it was a good option. This time he would use it on the guy they called Terence. "Good morning."

The man looked up at Jeff, being defiant as he could. "Who the eff are you?"

"My name's not important. What is that if you can tell me if you are working with this man or not."

Jeff took out the picture of Karns and showed it to the gang member. "He may go by the name of Karns."

Terence remained silent, defiant towards Jeff's interrogation.

"I take it you're not going to answer any of my questions."

"What the heck else did you expect!"

Jeff showed that he was going to play hardball, "Unfortunately for you, I didn't." Jeff shifted away to bring the computer into full view. "Truth is, I have done this before; was rather effective. Mostly due to who do you fear more: your friends or the police."

"Shut the eff up and say it!"

"All right. I have an e-mail right here, ready to send to the police. For all intents and purposes, you'll become a traitor to the Cokelands."

Terence understood the threat. He tried to deny Jeff of any victory but still knew that he could lose much more than Jeff could gain. As Terence remained silent as Jeff slowly and dramatically hovered his finger ever closer to the enter button. It hovered closer and closer, to where it was almost near pressing it.

"You press that and you won't get your info anyway."

Jeff pulled back, only to say, "All right, I'll test that."

He moved more swiftly, as though to slam his finger into the button. That swift movement panicked Terence. "All right, I'll talk."

Jeff withdrew and faced his captive. "Then talk, Terence."

The captive flinched with the use of the name. After a second, he re-composed himself. That could have come from anywhere including his own computer. Now that he gave in, he had to talk about what he knew.

"The guy approached us, saying we could steal all sorts of stuff, gain ground on the Shells and stuff. But we know guys like that, no loyalty. He'd shoot us in the back after we do our end."

"Good assessment of him. But is that all?"

"Last we saw, he was with the Prots doing much the same. I'm guessing the bastards went through with it. Otherwise you wouldn't be here."

"So if he was with them, why not rat him out?"

"Cause you're with the cops. You take him, you'll go after us as well."

Jeff nodded in hearing his argument. Knowing he wouldn't get much more out of him, Jeff decided to leave without releasing his prisoner nor deleting the draft e-mail.

But before he left, Terence had one question of his own, "What do you want with this guy anyway?"

Jeff didn't turn, just spoke with his back to the prisoner. Melancholy tinted his voice, "Because he killed a lot of people. My wife, Kara, was among them. People that will never come back, never comfort or cry, never to help anyone. I hope you think of that from now on."

He silently left Terence behind.

It took a second for Terence to realize that Jeff was leaving him cuffed to the radiator. "Hey! At least toss the keys!"

Jeff saw another pair of men walk out of another apartment building. Despite being only about six blocks away, he was now in different territory. He lay at a corner and tried to look inconspicuous by watching cars. A paper laid in his hand. It showed a rap-sheet of one of the men.

The other man had seen him but turned back to his conversation. Jeff guessed that his alibi was successful. The two continued walking casually down the street. They headed just to where Jeff guessed, toward the nearby elevated rail.

Jeff had to wait until they were several blocks away before pursuing them. They were far enough away that Jeff had to track them with his glasses. Even then he was on the outside edge of their range. The signals flickered, so Jeff paced himself a bit faster to catch up.

They turned the corner along the line. He was now half a block from there they stopped. Having caught up, Jeff came to the edge of that corner. He watched as they stood for about a minute in the same spot. The glasses showed that other people were going about the building they stood in front of. But he couldn't tell if they just stopped to wait or if that was their destination.

Peeking around the corner, he quickly saw their real intention. Gun shots flew at him. He was forced back around the corner. Now in combat, Jeff took out a stun-pistol.

It was still a fair distance from them and they had the same problem. He turned the corner and fired. Their shots were too far inside, hitting the wall Jeff shielded himself with. The bolts went just too high.

A train flew along the elevated track to his right. Jeff decided on a gamble: he flung the grappling right into it. He took only a few steps to be clear of the wall as it pulled him quickly down the street. It was held for only a second. The enemies tried to respond but things happened too swiftly.

Sliding down the street, he aimed his stun-pistol and fired as many shots as he could. One then the other man fell before they could turn around to respond. Jeff released the beam, sliding a few more feet before stopping.

Jeff got up. He now had many scratches on him and was bleeding through the relatively new clothes. Though it was a bit painful, he was otherwise unharmed. "Dang, that might have been a bad idea."

He walked over to the unconscious enemies. Jeff put his pistol away and wiping blood off his cheek within the short distance. Kneeling down, he searched the pockets of the two. The only things he could find was their wallets. Going through one, he found only a drivers license and some money. The other had the same, but also had a piece of paper.

Jeff didn't have the chance to look at it when his phone went off. He took it out, holding the paper in his other hand. "Hunter here."

"This is Lewis. We found the truck and thought you would like to look at it."

"Sounds good. Where is it?"

"We're at 314 Sunset. If you see the beach, you're not far."

"I'll be there." Jeff hung up the phone. He looked down at the men, now not having the time to interrogate them. "I guess I'll have to follow up on these guys later."

He simply walked away, leaving the two to wake up a few hours later.

Jeff got off the bus. His clothes was still stained with blood from the earlier combat. At the next opportunity, he would retrieve a new shirt from the Transport.

The sun was setting along the calm beach. But that wasn't his destination at that time. Instead, police had surrounded a lone truck near an empty beach house.

Detective Lewis saw him coming up, noting the bloodied shirt and pants. "Dang, what happened to you?"

"Ran into trouble. Don't worry, they're just scratches; looks worse than it really is."

Lewis shrugged. It was unusual but not far out of place. He lead Jeff to the truck. All of its contents had long since been emptied.

Moving to business, "We finally got an inventory of from the testing range. Several experimental guns and some more advanced smoke grenades. They were probably laid on the truck bed. As you can see, they're not here."

"So is there anything worthwhile here?"

He pointed into the truck, "There's a GPS, though it was reset to factory. The tech guys are going have a look at it tonight."

Jeff decided to step forward. "Actually, I might be able to help with that. Where's the GPS now?"

"Still in the front seat of the car."

Jeff walked to the open front seat where the GPS lay. Picking it up, he looked for an external port. It was small but easy to find. He summoned a laptop from the backpack and placed it on the seat.

That still surprised Lewis. "What the hell was that?"

Not elaborating too much, Jeff answered, "Experimental backpack for storage, among the things I picked up in my travels."

"Where in the heck did you get that?"

"Long story on that. I'll tell you later."

Jeff summoned the multi-ended cord and connected the two devices together. The computer booted up and he started his own program. "I keep this around for just these things. Copies what's on there as backup, while it searches for deleted portions. It may take a while."

He let the laptop do its work while he wandered off away from the scene.

An hour later, Jeff sat along the beach. It was far away from where the investigators were starting to leave. His thoughts turned sober, forcing him to turn introverted.

Detective Lewis slid down the rather steep hill to the beach. Approaching Jeff, he saw that sadness in his face. "Something's wrong."

"It has been for six months now. That's when Kara died."

Lewis presumed, "Kara was your wife."

"Yeah."

Jeff didn't need to know how he knew, but Lewis explained anyway. "Saw the ring on your finger. Not too many reasons someone would travel alone for so long. Fewer that would chase another man. I take it he killed her."

"Trying to kill me," he said to the detective, "It's something I'm rather tired of saying. Then again, I'm tired of a lot nowadays. I've helped plenty of people, but there'll always be something missing."

Lewis knew, "Kara."

Jeff showed that was the right answered.

The detective put a hand onto his shoulder. "Your laptop said it was done." Without directly saying it, Lewis was saying that Jeff needed to get up out of that sadness and do something.

Jeff agreed. He got up and followed Lewis up the steep hill.

They arrive back at the truck. The laptop was showing that it's work was complete. Rather than use the computer, Jeff picked up the GPS. He began to press buttons on the screen, showing the various destinations that were put in.

Then Jeff began to think. "Karns usually isn't this dumb. He knew how to hack into military computers, among a few other things. I doubt he would let something like this leak."

Lewis asked, "Think this is a trap or something?"

"It wouldn't be beyond him."

Lewis nodded, "Alright, we'll check out the coordinates ourselves. We have a few ways of doing that without getting in harms way."

The unmarked car that Lewis drove stopped across the street. The street-lights were rather dim, though one could see anyone under them. Jeff was the first to get out, then Lewis. Both met at the back of the car.

"If I didn't see that backpack, I'd swear you were legally insane."

"That's why I try not to advertise it," Jeff replied, "So what's your plan?"

Lewis opened the trunk. From it, he took out what looked like cheap remote control car. The only difference was it had a round ball taped to it. "Not as nice as the ones the bomb squad guys get, but serviceable in times like these."

Setting that one on the ground, he went back to remove a second one. He then handed Jeff a small tablet computer. "Controls on the left side of the screen. Not much to them." Switching the computer on, it showed the RC car's very low perspective. Jeff moved the first car around the street, getting used to the controls. "I'll go up and open the main door. We'll have the cars go in from there."

Jeff nodded in confirmation. Lewis ran up to the door and found it locked. He evaluated the lock, deciding it was a simple solution. The detective took out his wallet, then a card from that. He wedged the card above the bolt. Using that technique to open the door was a quick process. With the door cracked open, he ran back next to Jeff.

From the trunk he grabbed his own tablet PC and activated his RC car. The two cars went into the door. Inside was a large dark room. It looked like an abandoned factory, with some bits of machinery still lying around. Jeff swerved to the left, aiming around a large piece of machinery that was near a set of stairs. Once past the large machine, he turned to find a table with some large case underneath. The more curious thing was the grenades were lying around.

Jeff said to the detective, "Found something. Looks like some of the weapons that were stolen."

Lewis looked over to Jeff's screen. "I might get a better view."

Lewis maneuvered his RC around to a different angle of the table. Moving closer, he saw something peculiar. Moving to where he almost touched the table, he saw wires running up.

Jeff had looked over his shoulder. "It's wired, just as I suspected."

The detective shook his head while pointing his finger upward. "I've seen this type of wiring before. Had to dismantle a few lamps in my time. These are exactly the same type, I can tell from here."

"And that means what?"

"They sense touch," the detective proclaimed, "If we use gloves, nothing's triggered."

"I doubt the box below is the bomb, so I suggest we look around to see if there's anything else."

"Even if it was, I was going to suggest that."

Jeff and Lewis walked into the room they just saw from a much lower angle. At first glance they would have missed the box if they came in first instead. However, Jeff was more cautious than that, especially when it involved Karns.

The first thing Jeff did was look around for the bomb. It was well hidden and Jeff doubted that there was another trigger they had yet to find.

Lewis pointed out, "There's a second floor up there, though I'm not sure if the elevators work."

"I wouldn't trust them anyway," Jeff said, knowing Karns' inclination to use traps, "The stairs are equally suspect."

He hovered near the stairs. They too were wired with small boxes as well. All of them were spider-ed into other legitimate wiring in the building.

Lewis picked up one of the rifles. He inspected it, trying to identify what it was. "These are decoys. I checked the specs to all the experiments. A few of these have the shells, but nothing else."

Lewis looked over to Jeff, who was inspecting the catwalk. He said to the traveler, "You think you can find the bomb? Maybe we should call the squad."

Jeff answered, "No, I can find and disarm it. After my last encounter with Karns, I've studied up on explosives.

"Most likely it's on the roof or ceiling."

"Well, if you can't take the stairs or elevator, then how are you..."

Jeff shot the grappling beam up onto the ceiling, lifting him off to the second floor catwalk. The detective mumbled to himself, "Never mind. With this guy, I'll just sit here and doddle around."

He leaned down, taking one of the fallen grenades up. After the quick inspection, he had a curious revelation. "Hunter! This is the real deal."

Jeff was up on the catwalk, staring up at the ceiling. The darkness forced him to use his scan-glasses. "What's the real deal?"

"The smoke grenades. I'm guessing this was more than a trap for us. This was a drop-off location."

Jeff shrugged, "Makes sense. Best way to set a trap is put a little nugget of truth."

"Just as likely double up with the trap: take out some opposition as well as erase some evidence. Then again, I wouldn't be surprised that the people on the receiving end of the deal rejected these."

Jeff stopped. His glasses found a box stuck up on the ceiling. It was much too high for him to reach with his hands. He zoomed in, checking out his options. They weren't good. "I can't get this. Requires two hands at least. I guess we'll have to get the bomb squad."

The detective set down the grenade back on the ground. He walked over to just below where Jeff was standing. "Think it's going to go off?"

Jeff evaluated the explosive, "No. There's no timer. Just as long as we avoid the table, stairs and elevator - maybe a few other things up here - we'll be fine."

Jeff shot the grappling beam up, using that to lower himself back down to the ground floor. As he landed, he was about to say something when the glasses alerted him to something. He looked back at the entrance. He summoned both stun-pistols just in time for the main doors to be barged open.

The three men on the other side didn't expect a fight but had guns in hands. In the lead, was Terence.

Jeff yelled, "Hold it right there!"

One man tried to raise his gun, Jeff shot at him with both pistols. He collapsed while the other two dove behind the large machinery. Jeff and Lewis had to do the same.

The detective looked over to his partner in combat, "Well, I guess this trap might not have been meant for us."

Jeff's mood stayed more strategic, telling Lewis, "There's two. Make sure neither one gets to the stairs."

Though it was dark, Jeff doubted he could sneak around on them. Then he thought of something. He looked back toward the table. "You said those are smoke grenades?"

"Yeah. They're technically evidence, but times like these..."

Jeff dove back, making sure neither of the enemies were in line of sight. Snagging one of the grenades from the ground, he ran back to cover. He pulled the pin then tossed it to the side of the enemies' cover.

The two men couldn't react fast enough. It exploded into a huge cloud of black smoke. They coughed, inhaling the thick darkness.

Jeff nodded in approval, seeing just how quickly the smoke had spread. He ran straight into the center of that smoke. Using his glasses to locate his opponent, he fired just twice with more careful shots.

The smoke dissipated just as quickly as it expanded. The only one standing was Jeff. He banished his pistols then suggest to Lewis, "Let's get these guys outside, just in case."

This time it was Lewis that stood over Terence as he woke up. Jeff was leaning against the car during the wait. The other two were being held in the unmarked vehicle, still asleep.

Jeff jumped up, ready to interrogate Terence. Lewis signaled him to stop. It was almost defensive, as though Lewis couldn't let Jeff take over his job. "Terence Sanders. Why were you here?"

Lewis had put it in a way that showed he also encountered Terence before.

The answer simply was, "You know why."

The detective responded, "Then feel lucky. Very little in there wasn't wired to explode."

"Yet, I feel very welcomed."

"Snarky as always. But I think you would like to be rid of your tipster. He's either too incompetent to work for you or an outright traitor."

Terence kept his composure, "Either way, we'd rather do that ourselves."

Lewis looked at his opponent carefully, trying to read him. It was a complete guess but he had to throw it out as though it was actual knowledge. "It wasn't a spy within the Prots. No, you followed Karns."

Terence remained silent, the best indicator that Lewis was right.

"Mr. Hunter here told me everything he found out from his encounter with you. As such, we know that Karns gave you first offer. You didn't take it but apparently didn't leave it at that."

Terence remained silent. He wasn't going to cooperate anytime soon. So Lewis had to make a move to force him to say something. He removed a phone from his pocket - Terence's phone. It was a card he held just for this moment.

"Should I do this the hard way, go through every number, get them into an interrogation room to see who your spy. That's not going to be fun for you in lock-up."

Terence begrudgingly spoke up, "Fine. It's under "Howard." I'm sure you'll figure out the rest, then mess it up."

"By "mess it up" you mean "arrest," that's not our plan. But for now, you can rest easy behind bars."

Lewis walked away from him and stopped next to Jeff. He spoke softly, as so Terence couldn't hear. "Once I get this phone trace done, I need you to go down and see what you can get out of him."

"Why me? Wouldn't you have other, more legal, options? Not to mention the need to admissible evidence?"

"If this Karns person is stealing and selling experimental weapons, we got more than enough evidence for that. Especially if we cut a deal with this guy. It's more important that we catch him than build a case."

"And that can't happen if you're the one to talk to him."

"Exactly. We'll still work from our end, but hopefully you can get him more quickly than we can."

Jeff nodded, showing that he knew the plan to be a good one. Lewis went around the car, going inside to retrieve the information needed. Jeff looked over to Terence, thinking he maybe become more of a hindrance in the future.

Within the park, there was several abandoned cars there. It was a purposeful set-piece. "Howard" had to make sure he wasn't visible while watching anyone passing by. He was in one of those cars. It didn't run, but that made it all the more powerful of a disguise.

But it wasn't good enough when he heard a knock on the passenger side door. He looked over, seeing Jeff holding his stun-gun (a feint in-itself, since it couldn't penetrate the window). Jeff gave a signal to open the window. Leaning over, Howard just unlocked the door, since it was faster and less conspicuous than having Jeff stand outside.

Jeff took the offer. He got into the car and closing the door.

"Sorry for the gun, but I knew you wouldn't respond any other way."

Keeping his eyes outward, he said, "You want to talk, then talk. I don't have time for shit."

"I know you've been watching Karns."

Howard gave a quick look at Jeff then back to his duty. "That guy! What do you want with him? He already gave out all that loot."

"I know. And I know he'll be planning more heists. But that's not the only reason why I'm looking for him. He killed _a lot_ of people, my wife included."

Howard presumed, "It's revenge you want."

Jeff thought about this. As much as he denied it, that still held a nugget of truth. "If that's what you want to call it, then yes. He is too self-centered to the point where killing anyone holds no meaning for him. For each death in his wake, there's someone like me to truly bare the pain he's caused."

"You sound like some politician, the same ones that make caricatures of us."

"Is that how you defend killing."

"Yes. We stride on the shadows of life. Death is an everyday fact." He put a pair of binoculars to his eyes, staring at a passing figure in the night.

"So you're just another Karns."

"As _you_ describe. But if you want that argument, go see Karns yourself."

Jeff responded, "That's what I'm trying to do."

Howard pointed out, "It's easier than it looks. He's at the Reverence Hotel."

Jeff found it almost too easy. He had to find where this guy's allegiance went to. "If you understand Karns so much, then why you refused his offer?"

Howard saw the shadow wait for a little bit. Then another came. The two talked, then walked away - an incomplete deal. This wasn't what Howard hoped for, giving a sigh towards the failure. With his work done, he looked over to Jeff, "Maybe we have more in common with you than Karns."

Jeff calmly walked down the hallway of the hotel. It was very high up, judging from the open doors. Finding the one closed door was simple. Jeff had to be very cautious. He had to use his scan-glasses to first check for any traps, then to see if there was someone in there. There was: a person walking towards the back. There was also other items. Jeff could identify that they were there, but couldn't tell exactly what they were.

He gave a minor shrug, thinking he had to spring it first to see what it was. He hoped it would affect Karns as well.

Taking a firm stance, Jeff took hold of the door. He summoned a stun-pistol into his other hand. Twisting the handle slowly, he found it unlocked. Once fully turned, he moved fast. He slammed it open and dashed in with the gun ready.

He saw the man's back turned. Aiming his gun, he yelled, "Hands up!"

The man cooperated. Without a command, he turned, confirming it was Karns. "Good evening, Mr. Hunter."

Jeff kept his sight aimed at Karns.

Karns kept calm, knowing that he'll succeed, "I knew you would come. I take it the Cokeland spy had told you where I was."

Jeff asked rhetorically, "You knew you were being followed?"

"That's why I armed my weapons drop. It's a good warning, one they should have found out themselves by now."

Jeff smiled, "Actually, they didn't. I found your stash and disarmed it."

Karns was a little miffed but it wasn't a very important thing to him. "Then I'll have to do something else. Can't have them in my way, just like you are now."

"That's how you view everyone."

Karns pointed out, "As does everyone else. They either give or take."

"And only give if you expect something in return."

"Exactly. Happens in business, even so call friendships."

Jeff defied his opponent. "There's just one thing you don't realize. There's great gifts in giving without such expectations."

"Like your wife. And where is that gift now?"

That hit Jeff, and Karns could see it. But Jeff gave the most honest answer, "That gift is making what I had that much more real."

Karns gave a very snarky response, "Good to know. I should also say that I wasn't up waiting for you."

Jeff knew what that meant. He turned his head, seeing three life signs coming up. Thinking quickly, he would have been trapped between Karns and the newcomers. So he shot Karns to take him out of the equation.

He then ran to the open door, peaking out to see the three men. They all carried guns; all rifles. And they saw him as well. "Hey! That isn't him!"

Even though Jeff didn't reveal his weapon, they presumed he was armed. The lead lifted up the rifle and fired a stream of bullets. Jeff ducked behind before the gunfire started. It was consistent. Each gang member made sure to keep up the assault. With them getting closer, Jeff had no chance to return fire. They were just too coordinated.

He looked at Karns, knowing this was another lost chance.

Running to the back, right over Karn's unconscious body, Jeff opened the patio door. He looked back and fired a few warning shots into the hallway. That quick glance caught something. There was a folder placed on the bed. Jeff quickly dashed the few feet to snag it. Returning to the glass door, he fired another volley of warning shots.

He went onto the small deck. Jeff was many floors above the ground, but had no choice. The Prot gang members turned the corner. Climbing onto the railing, he jumped. Jeff fell quickly. He watched as each floor whizzed by. He launched the grappling beam, not aiming for anything in particular. It hit one of the ledges, pulling Jeff toward the wall.

He slammed into the wall hard then relaxed to just over another deck. Looking down, he was still way too far off the ground to jump. Looking up, he couldn't see anything. But he heard yelling from the gang members.

Lowering himself, he tried to work as swiftly as his aching body would allow. He landed onto the deck and shut the beam down. Pulling the door, he found it was unlocked and open. Luckily there was no one in the room.

Jeff ran through the room. Opening the door, he looked both ways to make sure no one was around. He ran towards the elevators and stairs. Still holding the stun-pistol in hand, he took out his cell phone. Pressing a few buttons, he put the phone to his ear.

"This is Lewis."

Police cars were parked in the main driveway of the hotel. There was only one ambulance. That was where Jeff was sitting down. He was tired, both from his minor - but plentiful - injuries as well as the long day.

Lewis, showing his own fatigue, walked out of the hotel and towards Jeff. "Considering, it was a good thing you called us in. Got a look at the security footage. These were among the elite of the Protectors, a few trained in the military."

"Why would someone in the military become a gang member?"

Lewis shrugged not knowing the full answer, "The only thing I can say is that all were dishonorably discharged. More than a few high-ranking Prots have the same background."

Jeff held his side, reducing the pain emanated from it.

Lewis noticed it. "You were darned lucky. Not a single broken bone."

"But _a lot_ of bruises. I think there maybe a few small fractures, but nothing that should slow me down that much."

"How do you know..." Lewis answered himself, knowing Jeff had plenty of gadgets. "Well, still sounds like you need to rest. I do too. The night techs are going through the room right now."

Jeff slowly, and painfully, slid off the ambulance and onto his feet. "You're right. I'll get back to work in the morning."

Lewis grew concerned, "Isn't that a bit soon? Wait until you aren't..."

Jeff cut him off, showing insistence. "No, I can't. You've seen what I'm capable of. Karns is much worse. If I miss this chance to catch him, at best it'll be weeks before I can get another chance."

The detective suggested, "Just don't do anything stupid."

"I'm not that kind of person."

Jeff opened the door to the dark hotel room. He didn't bother to turn the light on. Walking in, he removed the backpack onto the extra bed. Then he tossed the folder he had snagged onto the nearby desk.

From there, he sat on the bed. Jeff sat there for a few moments, then removed his wallet. The open wallet showed a picture of Kara. He stared at it, missing Kara.

Flopping onto the bed, his arm reached out to the other side. He stared across to (the picture of) Kara. Fatigue took him and forced his eyes closed. He lay there on one side of the bed with Kara's picture on the other. It was as though he was too used to living with Kara next to him...and she was gone.

Morning light shown through the window. It was rather late in the morning, which got Jeff to work that much more swiftly.

Getting out of the humid bathroom, he walked over and sat at the desk. His first job was to look at Karns' folder. Inside there was specs, various parts that would fit into a whole. There was one particular part that caught Jeff's eye. It was almost the same as the backpack: the very one that caused the Tower's fall two weeks before.

"This is the Dimensional Folding Machine! Every spec, everything he has gotten." He went through the various papers, finding each had a different art style, different names connected to him.

"He must have bribed dozens of scientists, each for a piece of the puzzle."

Spreading out the pages, Jeff organized it all. He tried to see what has been done. More importantly h needed to know what has yet to be done. There was one master plan, a page that showed the entire device in its ideal whole. All the pieces wouldn't fit into such ideal specs, but Jeff knew it would still work: because it already had.

With all the papers in some organized state, Jeff flipped through the stapled master plan. There was some notes made. One particular phrase caught him: "The notes given by Nathaniel were incomplete and theoretical..."

It had confirmed Jeff's suspicions; Karns had taken his own research and transformed it to this monster.

Jeff had to shrug it off and not waste any more time. He looked between the large pile and the master plan. The pages went back and forth before finding what he needed to know.

He breathed a sigh of relief. "He has three pieces missing. One is a large generator. The other two...Maybe that's why he's joined up with that gang."

Jeff walked through the busy office within the police station. He was being led by an officer, someone who had more recent experience at a desk than the streets. Going the main hallway, they turned to a isolated hall that held a dead end. The first right-hand door was their destination.

The open door revealed Detective Lewis working at his computer. The officer knocked, alerting Lewis to Jeff's presence.

"Mr. Hunter. I see you're better."

Jeff flexed his fingers, "Only a little. I needed to check with you on something."

The detective got up from his seat, meeting Jeff at the door. That was when the desk officer nodded at his coworker and left to do other duties.

"Well, if it's about Karns: we haven't gotten anything. All we have is confirmation of the three Prots identities. All three already had warrants."

"Good to know, but that's not what I needed. What I really needed was list of what was stolen."

Lewis went back to his desk and pulled a paper from a stack. Returning to Jeff, he held it for the scientist's eyes. "This is what's missing; everything else was expunged."

Jeff looked through the list, line by line. Lewis had to know what Jeff was thinking, "What's this about, Hunter?"

Jeff finished reading, finding nothing. But the explanation would be a bit of an open wound. Walking inside, Jeff closed the door. "Karns is building something...something that would get him back home."

The detective didn't know what that meant, "Home? Couldn't your machines do that already?"

"No, not without an anchor," Jeff answered, "There has to be something to track across an unknown amount of possible universes. Without one, it would be like flying in the middle of the ocean without a compass - times a million."

"I take it this "anchor" is on both of your machines."

Jeff nodded in confirmation.

"So what then is Karns building?"

"It was an indirect part of my research. Rather than have a portal, a tunnel between worlds, it would fold space. It would fold the designated space of two worlds into one. That way when you unfold them, one would simply choose between them. I believe Karns is taking that idea, but instead of just two worlds, it would be as many as possible.

"The problem is the effects outside that field. It causes particles to more freely travel between worlds, fusing and fissioning groups of atoms. The result, explosions large enough to topple a tower."

It was a shocking thing for Lewis to comprehend, "He would do that, just to get home?"  
Jeff grimly answered, "He already did. I said "topple a tower" because that's exactly what happened. I still don't know how many people died that day, and that's just in that world..."

Lewis was taken-aback with this implication. Although much of his work had been very serious, he had never faced a threat of this scale. "I can see why you're so anxious to get this guy...to say the least."

"Yeah. He's missing three pieces. One is relatively easy to obtain, a large power generator. The other two are missing. I was hoping that neither one was on that list."

"Can you describe what they are?"

Jeff shook his head, "Not really. Both would be rather experimental and probably under energy research."

The detective went into action, "I'll start calling around and seeing if anyone else had anything missing or stolen."

Lewis sat down and begun typing at this computer. A knock at the door didn't interrupt him. It opened with another officer poking his head in, "Jen wants to see you."

Lewis didn't even look away from the screen. "Have Mr. Hunter go in my stead."

Jeff pointed out, "Isn't this police business? I thought..."

The detective turned in his swivel chair and looked at him. "Considering, I think it's fine for you to hear what she says. Plus I have this, which will take me the better part of the day to do. Just keep me in the loop."

Jeff nodded. With that done, Lewis went back to work.

The officer stood outside the door. Once Jeff was out into the hallway, the officer led him through the maze of desks.

The officer opened the door. Jeff entered the viewing room where Officer Redford waited. She looked at him, curious why he was here instead of Lewis. Then she realized exactly why. "Lewis says he's too busy?"

"That's what he said to me."

She smiled while nodding, giving a look that she knew something like that would happen. "Happens all the time. Doesn't help that we dated."

Jeff guessed, "Awkward breakup?"

She shrugged, "Not really. Out of uniform we're good friends. In, on the other hand..."

Jeff nodded, "I see. So what do you have for me?"

Redford directed the conversation toward Terence. The prisoner was sitting on the other side of the glass in the interrogation room. "You already know who he is...in part because I gave you his information. Anyway, he had very little to talk about the Cokelands. On the other hand, he has a lot about the Prots he wouldn't mind spilling. I already got that they've been working with Karns for the past three days."

Jeff replied, "That isn't good."

"Why's that?"

"Karns always shifts away before the 48 hour mark. Three days means he's up to something."

Redford moved forward, "Well, he may have an idea of where he is. I was giving him a break, but I guess you can have a go at him."

"Alright."

Jeff left the room, only to return to view in the interrogation room. "Hello, Terence."

Terence got up, his stance very defensive. "Hey, you aren't going to zap me with that...thing again!"

Jeff stayed calm, "I won't unless you give me a reason to. Now sit back down."

Terence slowly got back into his seat. "Sorry. That thing gave me the worst case of insomnia."

"I'll keep that in mind. You had something to say about the Prots?"

"Yeah. Something I doubt my cohort in espionage mentioned it, but we tagged the some of the weapons as well."

"So you know where their hideouts are?"

"If that's where they went. Apparently some of the weapons can take videos. So we put a virus in them. My computer would be able to track it, but I need to..."

Jeff held his hand up, "No, that's fine. You can stay here."

"But you can't access the thing..."

Jeff insisted, "We can."

Terence was a bit speechless. He wanted to say something, but felt that it would be countered immediately.

Jeff presumed, "You thought you could get a deal out of that?"

Terence silently nodded.

"We'll think about it. Depends how well this thing goes through."

Jeff left it at that, turning around and leaving the room.

This was an old, run down apartment building. The police vehicle stood out in this neighborhood. It couldn't be helped. Redford sat in the driver's seat, the location marked on the computer's GPS function. Jeff looked inside with his glasses. "Got plenty of people inside. More than a few probably seen us already."

Redford informed, "The back-trace is still showing the weapon inside. It's on the east side, towards the front."

"I guess I'll have to go in the hard way." Jeff opened the door and got out of the car.

He still had one leg inside when Redford pulled on his wrist. "We have to wait for backup on this."

"Then they'll be too fortified. Better now when I alone can get in."

Redford knew she couldn't stop Jeff from going in. So she went into the glove box and grabbed a small headset. "Take this. At least we'll communicate. I'll still call in backup, so you have about five minutes to do whatever you need to."

Jeff took the earpiece and put it in. "Got it."

Jeff turned around and calmly headed into the building.

Once inside, Jeff summoned his stun-pistol. He kept his eyes on the environment and every life-sign the glasses revealed. His feet moved as silently and swiftly as he could. Jeff couldn't move particularly slow just due to the deadline Redford gave.

As he approached a corner, he saw a life-sign. As he turned, he saw it was an armed, shirt-less man. "Who in the hell..."

Jeff didn't give him time to finish his warning. He shot him with the stun-pistol. The opponent slumped down along the wall. Jeff moved forward.

The next two rooms had people going into the hallway; they probably saw what happened. Jeff dove behind another open door to dodge several bullets. Turning back, Jeff returned fire at the more exposed opponent on the right. Several shots missed, but one hit the target.

Jeff had to dive back for another volley. He rotated back around for another volley before returning to cover. This guy was much more skilled than his counterpart, knowing when to take cover. Jeff had to take a chance.

He took his turn at sending a volley of bolts. Then he just walked straight out in the open. The guard turned into the hallway, but paused for a critical split-second. He didn't expect Jeff to change position and adjusted his aim. They shot at the same time.

Jeff was grazed, his arm bleeding. The guard fell.

Although he was bleeding fairly badly from the small wound, but he had to continue. Several more guards was coming down an adjacent hallway. Jeff summoned the second pistol before diving across the hallway. He fired at the three guards. None of them expected the swift assault.

He was near his target, the room where the weapon was located. But then he saw something poke out of the room: a small square barrel. Dodging into another doorway, Jeff heard the gunfire come from where he needed to go.

Once it stopped, Jeff poked his head out. More gunfire erupted, so he had to quickly go back into cover. He checked his scan-glasses to see where his opponent was. His opponent was right in the doorway with a large weapon in hand.

He had to see if that was the experimental weapon. Holding the headset, Jeff hailed, "Redford, did you say that the guns all were under a wireless connection?"

She came over the radio, "Yeah. I still have it connected."

"Can you send any commands to it?"

She guessed, "Not much of one, just a power down command."

That would work, "Good. I want you to do that on my count."

"Just give me a second....Ready."

"One....Two....Three!"

Jeff dove out, pistols ready. He ran right for the gunman, who held the weapon up as though it was broken. That made taking down the gunman much easier.

He spoke into the radio, "I'm in. I'll check around for anything. How much time do I have?"

She said, "Might as well stay there, you have one minute exactly."

Jeff kicked the loose weapon back into the unoccupied room. Within view was a computer. Moving towards it, Jeff saw something very important. There was an e-mail right on the screen. He was unfamiliar with the sender, but it was the message that concerned him.

It said, "Everything's ready for tonight's hit. Bring the gun, it'll be useful. This will bring more than enough cash for us and give this Karns fella the thing that he needs."

Jeff didn't bother reading the rest. He knew what that meant. "Karns is going to steal another piece..."

Jeff waited in the police station office, with plenty of officers passing around him. His arm was patched up with a simple bandage. Despite the initial bleeding, it turned out to be a minor wound. He took a sip from his cup. The coffee tasted good. Probably because he went without it for well over two weeks.

Lewis came out his office and turned the corner to find Jeff. He was about to go somewhere else, but decided to might as well inform Jeff. "Just finished the search. There's a few that looks like possibilities, though it's hard to tell which is being planned to be hit."

Jeff growled, "I wouldn't expect less at this point."

Redford came up to Jeff's spot. The two officers showed a bit of discomfort. She turned her direct attention to Jeff, ignoring Lewis. "Didn't get anything from the computers. Actually, only one had anything on it. All the others went through a scrubbing program. Can't even figure out any of their e-mails."

Jeff remarked, "They're smarter than most."

She informed, "Unfortunately, this isn't that uncommon."

"So, our best option is go down your..." Jeff directed towards Lewis, "list one by one."

Lewis said, "Yeah. It would help if you could give a description of what he's looking for."

"Can't really do that. I don't have exact specs for it; just a general idea. The things he needs can be modified from quite a few devices."

Frustrated, Lewis responded, "Then I'll take you around. It'll be a long shot but sometimes that's all we can work with."

Lewis, in an almost shy manner, pass by Redford. Jeff followed, ignoring the two's discomfort and sticking to business.

Jeff sat looking outside Lewis' car. Towers defined the view from the highway. The detective kept his eyes on the road though the fair amount of traffic. It would take a while before they arrived at their destination.

The detective had to break the silence, "You haven't seen anything yet? I mean something that Karns would take."

Jeff looked forward at the traffic rather than Lewis. "I'm pretty sure. All four facilities didn't have anything I could identify."

"Just making sure, since this one is more than a few miles away."

Jeff replied, "I wouldn't waste time at this point."

The conversation grew silent again. Jeff looked back at the passing cityscape. He grew deep in thought, having nothing else to do.

Lewis looked over and saw exactly what Jeff was thinking. "Thinking about your wife?"

Jeff kept his view on the outside world, "Yeah."

The two let that set for a second. Then Jeff asked a question, "How long were you two together?"

"I presume you mean Jen and I. We dated three years - even moved in together. In truth, I'm still not sure what happened."

"So how did it feel when she left, when she wasn't around all the time?"

Lewis found this question curious, "You never had a girlfriend before your wife?"

"Not one as long. It could have been that I was more shy or that I was more interested in my work. I only had three in my whole life before Kara, none lasted all that long."

The detective commented, "Kara must have been special."

Jeff almost whispered, "To say the least."

Lewis put honesty into his voice, "To answer your question, I missed her. I had something there to return to everyday...and then suddenly it wasn't there. Took me a while to realize that I couldn't just sit around and be depressed. I'm just glad you got through that rather quickly."

"Yeah."

The car grew silent once again. It would remain so for the rest of the trip.

Director Vander led Lewis and Jeff through several laboratories. Most were empty but a few had people working on different devices and formulas. He said to the two investigators, "We do a lot here, so if you can get down to at least a general category it would be very helpful."

Jeff looked at each lab to see if anything interesting was in it. "Mostly we're looking for anything that would do with power regulation or multi-dimensional research."

The director looked at him very strangely, especially after hearing the latter request. "Well, I don't even know what you mean by "multi-dimensional research." And we do plenty of research in both power generation and regulation. Actually, I'd say it was better not to ask."

Hearing that, Lewis now got exactly why Jeff was being so coy.

They arrived in a records room. There was one central computer alongside several other terminals that were available. The director informed, "I can bring up a short description of everything we have. I'll just warn you that we don't have everything in this facility. Actually, less than half of it is here."

The detective asked, "Where's the rest?"

"We keep everything that isn't immediately being worked on in a bank downtown."

This caught both Lewis and Jeff's attention. It was the police detective that said, "That sounds rather far to go to store something, especially something important for your company."

The director felt more defensive about this, mostly because he was the one who made the decision to do that. "Actually, it isn't out of our way. My wife generally stops by and take anything non-vital down there since it's on the way to our apartment. Heck, we're owned by the same parent company. The cost to store it is less and just as secure than if we rent out a separate facility."

Jeff came forward on why they needed to know about the bank. "It looks like we found what we're looking for. We got a tip that mentioned money alongside a theft of an unknown device."

The director presumed, "And you think that the bank will be hit?"

Detective Lewis nodded.

This put the director into action, "I'll see if my wife is there. She was going to drop something off."

The director took out his cell phone and put it to his ear. He waited while it dialed. "Honey, where are you. OK, I need you to go to security and....what's happening."

Detective Lewis silently cursed. He knew exactly what that meant.

The director yelled into the phone, "Jill! Talk to me!"

Lewis ordered, "Switch to speaker."

The director lowered his phone, pressing the button for speaker-phone. A woman was heard, "Please, my daught..."

A man yelled over her, "I don't care, lady! Get out before I shoot!"

"I need to find her!"

There was sounds of shoving and pushing. Jill screamed as she was being pulled outside. Lewis waited until she had calmed down a little bit before speaking.

Lewis tried to speak to the hysterical woman, "Ms. Vander, I need to know what's happening."

She talked, trying to stay calm, "Men, all with guns, came in...they just threw us out."

Now Director Vander had to interject, "You said something about Claire?"

Jill, still very panicked, answered, "I don't know where she is! The last I knew she was in the vault, putting everything away. It was just for a moment..."

The detective stayed calm and tried to reassure the mother, "Has anyone called the police?"

"I don't know....wait," Her voice grew more quiet, as she was listening to someone. When she came back, she grew more worried. "The alarm..."

The phone was set down onto the table. Director Vander turned and walked to the nearest chair. He sat down, hands in his face. He explained, "The vault automatically closes when the alarm is triggered."

That meant their daughter was still in the vault. The first thing Lewis had to do was make sure Jill was all right. "Mam, I'll personally be on my way. We'll get your daughter out. I want you to call 911 and listen to the operator. Explain to her that Detective Lewis said to put this at maximum priority."

She could barely respond by saying, "OK, just please come quick!"

Detective Lewis reassured, "The police will be there in less than three minutes. Everything will be fine."

With the phone shut off, Lewis turned to Vander, "Do you know how much air is in the vault?"

Vander said, "It has it's own circulation system. Anyone stuck there would sit in there for the night."

There was something at least, "Good. When the Prots do something, they're very insistent on finishing it."

Jeff raised a question, "Why didn't they take everyone as hostages?"

"Simple: fewer complications. Come on, let's get over there."

The scene outside the bank was already hectic. Police vehicles were lit, making their presence very obvious. There was only one dark vehicle. From it came Jeff, Detective Lewis and Director Vander. The latter looked around to find his wife waiting towards the front of the scene. "Jill!"

She turned around, and immediately ran to her husband. She embraced him and whispered, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

The director comforted his love, "It's not your fault. Don't ever think that."

Jeff watched as Lewis retrieved the lead officer. It was a large man, part of the SWAT team. Lewis introduced him to Jeff, "This is Sargent Fosters. He's been overseeing the operation up to this point."

The SWAT team leader simply nodded, "Good to meet you, Mr. Hunter. I've heard more than a few things about you."

Jeff said, "Thanks. What's going on right now?"

The Sargent moved to another car and took out a crude map of the tower. He laid it out on the hood, pointing towards the top of the building. But before he could say anything, a phone rang. It was Lewis'. The officer took it out and walked away from the two.

Though he indicated for them to continue, they listened anyway. "This is Lewis. Wait, what? Dang it! No, have Redford go by, I'm at the bank stand-off. Thank you."

He hung up the phone then noticed that both Fosters and Jeff had overheard him. Lewis decided to explain, "They just heard that another facility was broken into. Confirmed that Karns was involved."

Jeff sighed, "So this was a decoy."

Lewis responded, "Or a secondary crime; won't know until after we investigate both scenes."

He turned to Fosters, "Anyway, you were saying."

Sargent Fosters restarted his assessment, "We found several armed men had taken hold of the top floors. Most are still downstairs where the main banking area is located."

Jeff said, "Without a doubt they're trying to get into the vault."

"That'll be difficult unless you know what you're doing. Right now, it looks like they're trying to work through the computers to get it open."

Lewis raised, "Since there's a young child in there, do _we_ have a way of getting in."

Fosters removed a small detonator from his pocket, "Small directional explosives can open the door. Just have to know exactly where. Worse problem is getting in. They're heavily armed with limited routes inside the building."

"Can't go in the fire escapes?"

The tactician shook his head negative, "If they got into the security office, not really."

Jeff looked at the map. He put his hand on his chin, formulating a plan.

Lewis noticed this, "What are you thinking, Hunter?"

"What about the smoke grenades that we got in evidence?"

Lewis shook his head negative, "Those were designed so than no one can see through it, not night vision or infrared."

Foster furthered, "Plus every entrance is funneled. They'll know where to shoot even if it's pitch black."

Jeff remained firm in his plan. Nothing they said changed anything. "I can still do it. The smoke doesn't effect my glasses and.."

Fosters cut him off, "Glasses? What are you..."

Lewis held a hand up, letting the Sargent know to let him hear Jeff out.

"I can go in on the roof and go down through the elevators. As long as they don't get any warning, I should get into a position that I'll have the advantage."

Fosters countered, "Going in via helicopter won't be the most silent method of infiltration, especially with those guys on the top floor."

Jeff, with a bit of swagger in his voice, replied, "Who said I need a helicopter?"

Episode 12

### Goodbye, Kara

They all kept the lights off to keep the room dark. The few windows didn't add much light from outside, even in the afternoon. There were several men scowering through the large cabinets. One was working on a lock using a large set of cutters. All the while, Karns watched the door to make sure no one came in unexpectedly.

One man got up from the ground and checked his watch. He grew anxious and a bit angry. The burglar walked right to Karns. "I should have heard by now that the..."

Karns held up a single finger, telling the gang member to be quiet. "They simply triggered the alarm. It will take more time than you expected."

That didn't do much to help the gang member's mood. All it said was for him to concentrate on his own task. "If they get caught..."

Karns stopped that thought in its tracks, "No one will be caught if they're smart enough to get the job done. That includes you."

"I don't care that Derek has made any deals! If I don't..."

Karns swiftly raised his gun and shot the gang member in the head. That set everyone else to stop working and look at the scene. Karns looked at each one's eyes, tilting his brows to give an authoritarian look.

"Back to work. No one delays this operation anymore." It was said simply, but with much swagger that it set everyone to go back to their rummaging.

Karns turned back around for his watch. He whispered to himself, "Just one more..."

Jeff walked into the same facility. Night had long fallen since the robbery and several hours after the police arrived. Redford was looking at the body that laid near the room's doorway.

She looked up to see Jeff maneuvering around the dead body. "I thought you were at the main crime scene."

"I was, but decided this might be a better place to look at."

Redford had yet to hear of Jeff's one-man operation that ended the stand-off. Looking down at the body, she explained their findings. "This guy was a member of the Protectors. Didn't have any ID on him, so we'll have to wait until morning before we figure that out. The bullet, on the other hand, is the same type we found earlier."

Jeff knew, "The one Karns uses."

"Yup. That and the cameras were all on in the hallways. The strange part was that this was the only room that the cameras were turned off."

Jeff found it strange, until he figured out the reason. "I don't think he cared about hiding his involvement, except in what he took."

"Well, we got a full inventory. Trouble is, we've found a dozen items missing thus far. It'll take time to figure out what each of them really are."

Jeff looked around to find every possible storage cabinet open. Other officers had to lean down, note pad in hand to take a full inventory of the small facility.

Redford said, "The good news is that this was the only room broken into."

Jeff continued looking at the work being done. "Is there anyone who can tell me more about what's stored here?"

She clearly showed that she was disappointed in the current results, "Not really. Apparently all this stuff comes from various laboratories. Until we get a full inventory, there isn't much to do. I suggest taking a rest, while you can."

Jeff turned around, facing the doorway. He gave an audible sigh, in part out of frustration over not being able to do much. "I guess you're right." Looking down at the dead body, "I just hope this doesn't mean we're too late."

Jeff once again threw the backpack onto the extra bed. Just as the night before, he sat down on the bed and removed his wallet. He stared at the picture of Kara, lost in thought. It was at these times he found the worst.

"I think we're getting close to the end, Kara. It's just that...I don't know what to do after this. He maybe near his goal, but he's also at his most vulnerable; staying in one place. He'll go down. I swore that a long time ago. It's just I've found it's not just for you, it's for everyone.

"The trouble is...I've come back to when I lost you. I've spent most of my life alone. Now, I can't really imagine living alone once again."

He lied down with that thought fresh in his mind.

Jeff wandered inside the very busy police department. There wasn't one officer that was sitting, even if they were at their desk. As he passed by, there was a few pats onto Jeff's back - congratulations for the work he did the last night. But that didn't encourage Jeff. All he wanted to do was work.

He was only half-way through the office when both Lewis and Redford approached him. They didn't notice each other at first. They both said simultaneously,

"We have the lead scientist of a few of the stolen projects."

"All the suspects woke up an hour ago..."

Jeff held up both hands, silencing them both. "I take it even though I'm technically not an officer, I'm the defacto lead in finding Karns."

It was a bit awkward for the two police officers.  
Jeff furthered that comment, "It seems like that anyway since both of you came right to me, rather than the other way around."

Then another man came up from behind Jeff and said, "It helps that you, frankly, kicked butt last night."

Jeff turned around to look at the decorated newcomer. The formally dressed officer held out his hand in introductions. "I'm Michael Sellers, chief of police."

Jeff returned the handshake, formally introducing himself, "Jeffrey Hunter."

"It seems like you've been man of the hour. Normally we wouldn't allow a civilian to do anything near something like that."

Detective Lewis stood up for that comment, "Well, sir, I have experienced for myself the abilities of Mr. Hunter. That showed me he could be trusted and reliable to make such a call."

The chief nodded then looked at Jeff for more questions. "Where did you learn to do such things."

Jeff answered, "Some of it was required training by the military, when I did scientific research for them. Most has been the experience of chasing Karns down."

"Then it will probably be a good idea to temporarily deputize you. For the remaining of this investigation, you'll take lead."

"You can do that?"

He gave a half-shrug towards the question, "Eh. It's supposed to be for cases of emergency but exceptions can be made."

Jeff showed appreciation toward the offer, "Well, thank you. I'll just say my priority is to pursue Karns and make sure he doesn't harm anyone else."

"Considering, I understand that." The chief was about the leave. Then he turned around as though he forgot to say something (at least that what he wanted to portray). "By the way, Lewis told me your complete story. I understand the possible embarrassment, but you've been given a gift. Don't be afraid to show it."

The chief left to do his own work. Jeff stood there, strangely saddened by the very words that were meant for encouragement.

Redford noticed, "'You alright?"

"Yeah. It's just that was something close to what Kara told me once."

Jeff breathed deeply to regain he composure. He turned back around to the two officers that he now commanded. Now that his position was more official, his voice took a more commanding tone. "Back to where we were at. Lewis: you go first."

The detective informed, "The dozen or so men that you shot last night woke up a couple of hours ago. We interviewed a few of them and confirmed that the job was more of a decoy. At least it was for Karns' objectives. For the Prots, it would have been a significant windfall in money."

"So Karns wasn't involved with that at all there."

"Not entirely. Apparently the plan was that if the vault closed, they were to hole-up until it opened. After that, they were to go to the roof and call for Karns to pick them up."

"All right," Jeff turned to the other officer, "Now, Redford: your report."

She stepped forward, "We gathered a lead scientist of several of the projects that were stolen. Although you were rather vague with what to look for, I made an educated guess who would be best to talk to. She's in my office right now."

"Thank you. I'll do that right now. Both you and Lewis keep doing interviews and see if we can get anything out of the captured Protectors. Best case will be a location of Karns and the others working for him."

Both officers gestured their confirmation then walked next to each other toward the interrogation rooms. Jeff headed the other way, toward the office that Redford occupied.

The tall woman looked at the various charts that Redford had posted up. Then she turned towards Jeff upon hearing him enter. He held out a hand for greetings, with her returning the gesture. "I'm Jeffrey Hunter."

"Patricia Teller. You're not an officer?"

"No, more of an private investigator that's working with them. As I heard, you were lead of several of the stolen projects. Can you tell me about them?"

She held up both hands, "Which one? I deal with a large variety of experimental research. I've done biology, computer technology - heck, you name it, I've probably done it."

Jeff found this rather curious. "You don't specialize in anything?"

"Only at first, in physics. But I rather enjoy a challenge. Diving into a new area of science makes it that much more of a challenge."

Jeff shrugged and tilted his head a bit. "I can see that. I'll start with anything dealing with multi-dimensional or string-theory-based research."

She shook her head negative, "Nope. Did some formulation along those lines at MIT, but never even occurred to do that for private research."

"Then any research into energy or energy regulation."

"Not really. We only just started working on figuring out how to draw electrical power from biological sources. We're only growing some cultures right now, but even then it's not something we can put into a storage locker."

Jeff sighed, going down his mental list, "Anything intended for defense?"

She thought for a second, just like every other question. Then something did come into mind. "Actually, there was something stored there. The "Reverse-partical Field Generator," as it was called. Better known as a force field. It was a rather inefficient model. That thing required _a lot_ of power to keep it going, which was the reason we weren't too concerned with any thefts."

"Something like that one would be concerned with corporate espionage."

Once again she shook her head in denial, "As I said the design was impractical. Required too much power. After that model, we scraped the entire design. Reverse engineering it would cause more problems than it would be a help."

"So, what exactly does it do?"

She stood there eyes upward in thought. Words came out of her mouth but weren't vocalized. Then she reexamined her formulation. "The best I can put it into laymans terms is that it creates a highly dense field. By reversing a certain charge, it causes the gravity at targeted points to be extremely high. So high that nothing can penetrate it. Unfortunately, that also includes air."

Jeff drew straight from his own experience as a scientist, "But to do that at a distance, even a short one, that would require some kind of cross-projection system to make sure the space inside doesn't become dense as well."

"Exactly. The projectors themselves are rather small but have to constantly be active. And before you say for the entire field not to be always on, can't be done. Power-up procedures requires at least three seconds; way too long for bullets."

Jeff was about to say something, then caught himself going too far into something that. The line of though was ultimately not useful. Instead he asked, "How much power does the stolen prototype need?"

"Best case would be a giga-jewel."

Jeff knew that if his theory was right - that Karns would take over a power station as the last part of his operation - then that requirement would be easy to fulfill. "Thanks, Ms. Teller. We'll call if anything more is needed."

Jeff was about to turn around to leave, but Patricia had one question for him. "You seem too familiar with all the science to just be a PI."

He looked right at her, "I used to be a scientist. The man I am looking for: he stole my prototype and killed my wife."

She showed sympathy to his story. "I'm sorry. Will you go back into science, after you get this guy?"

Jeff breathed deeply, "Probably not. It's not anything Karns - our suspect - did. It's just that before I met my wife, Kara, science was an interest of mine. With her, she showed how much of a passion I really had with it. Now...that's gone."

"So is being a PI a passion now?"

He honestly answered, "Not really. It's more like something I have to do, something I can't ignore."

Officer Redford swung inside the door. "We got something from the crime techs."

Jeff turned to face the officer. She was pointing with her thumb, a gesture to follow.

"From the storage facility?" Jeff guessed.

"No, the bank. They found that they were trying to get an external connection. Just found out whereto."

Jeff nodded and followed her out of the room.

The car stopped in front of what looked like an old, rundown school. Redford explained the origins of it. "This was closed only two years ago. Before that, several relatively-cheap upgrades were made. That included Internet access. Apparently those lines are still active."

Jeff used his glasses to assess the situation, "There's only one person, in the large room over to the right.

While many of the windows were exposing the room, half of them were boarded up. It was a quick and messing boarding, but they still served as cover.

Redford got out of the car with Jeff following suit. She walked around the car to stand next to Jeff, then removed her gun. Seeing the weapon, Jeff ordered, "Put that away. If there's a firefight, I'll do the shooting."

As Redford holstered her gun while Jeff summoned his own. She raised an eyebrow at the sight. Jeff simply replied to this by saying, "I'll explain later. First let's take care of this."

They moved silently into the building. The initial entryway was a large room, with what would have been the cafeteria. There was a hallway to their immediate right. They calmly walked down it with Jeff in the lead.

It wasn't far before they arrived in what was labeled the "computer room." The door was cracked open. Jeff tensed up, indicating for Redford to be right behind him. He peeked inside to find one person working on a laptop.

Deciding to take a "up-front" approach, Jeff simply stepped into the room, yelling, "This is the police!"

He didn't have a chance to say anything more before seeing the man grab a gun. Jeff shot at him with several bolts. They all missed, but the volley still worked: the man dropped the gun and held his hands up in surrender. "Alright! Alright!" he yelled out in defeat.

Jeff carefully walked around the table to seeing the lone gun on the floor. He waved Redford in. While Jeff kept his stun-pistol trained on the man, Redford walked in to cuff him. She wasn't kind to him.

The hacker wasn't pleased, "OK! I gave up, no need to be rough."

She argued, "That's what they all say."

She finished cuffing him, then spun the hacker around for the interrogation. Jeff lowered his weapon, but decided to keep it around just in case. "You know our first question."

"Yeah, I try hacking various banks, law firms, anything one would want."

"Then what about last night?"

The hacker knew that was the thing that tipped his involvement off, "The bank job. The Prots wanted me to hack the system and open the vault door."

"Then they paid you...or were supposed to."

"The latter. I didn't take the job for the money, it was for the challenge. Individual accounts...simple with either spyware or just brute force. But a bank itself, man that was challenging. _They_ had trouble just getting it off the intranet."

"How were you supposed to be paid?"

"In cash, right here. They never showed. But if you're looking for them...I do have something to trade."

Jeff presumed, "You want a deal."

"Of course. I had this just in a case like this. They didn't uphold their end, and I doubt they'll come back to me anyway."

"You put spyware on their computers."

The hacker countered, "Their cell phones actually. I have it right on this laptop."

Jeff walked on over to the laptop. There was a program still running. Jeff shut it closed and disconnected the wires from it. The hacker interjected, "You'll have a rather difficult time getting it. I always make sure to have a tough encryption."

Jeff looked the hacker right in the eye, showing defiance towards the offer. "At this point, I'd rather take my chances. Let's go book 'em, Redford."

She shoved him forward, moving him out of the room and to the car.

The laptop was placed along side a desktop monitor with computer cords connecting the two. The tech was completely engulfed by the work on the desktop. His actions were being mirrored onto the suspect computer. Jeff paced around the laptop as the tech performed his initial analysis.

The tech smiled, having solved a predicament. He turned around to inform Jeff, "This guy is smart, but missed a few important things."

Jeff kept his arms folded, "What does that mean for us?"

"I know where the files are but the encryption program too tough to break outright. To get to the stored records, I have to brute-force the password.

"On the other hand, the spyware _is_ sending data to this computer. All it has is the location. I could do more once I break into the program."

Jeff sighed, "But that could take several days."

"At best. More likely this guy has a good enough password that it'll take months, if not years, before the computer can crack it."

Jeff ordered, "Well, go ahead and see what you can do with the spyware and see if we can track down some of the Prots."

The tech turned and begun working on the computer. "Give me about an hour and you'll have it."

Jeff nodded, leaving the room to do other work.

This time there was three cars in front of the Prot's stronghold. In each there was at least two officers. Jeff came out of the lead vehicle, letting Redford take care of initial preparations. All the officers were mounting armor on themselves.

Jeff stood forward and examined the building with the scan-glasses. The stronghold wasn't large, about the size of a large house. But the old office building allowed many spaces that one could hide in.

Fully equipped, Redford walked up behind Jeff. "What do you have?"

Jeff answered, "Around twenty-five are in there, mostly in groups of twos and threes. In the second floor there's a large group; I wouldn't be surprised that one of their leaders is among them."

"More than twenty," she thought about the situation, "May have been good idea to have brought Lewis."

"He's still doing interrogations; that'll take him the rest of the day to finish." Jeff was reassuring, since tactically he knew they would succeed.

Redford, on the other hand, didn't like the odds if something went wrong. It went against her instincts as an officer. "Let's get you suited up before we do anything else."

Jeff turned and walked over to the car. As Redford got out a vest for Jeff, he removed his backpack. He looked around at the other officers, giving orders while he put on the vest. "I want four of you to head around the back. We'll take everyone out on the way to the central stairway."

From the front seat Redford grabbed a headset for Jeff. With the vest on, he put his backpack on - finding way too tight. Whispering to himself, he noted, "And this is why I don't like vests."

He had to take the backpack off to loosen the straps. Trying it again, he found it fit enough for this mission. Redford handed the headset to Jeff. He put it on, seeing the other team turning the corner. It wouldn't take them long to get to the rear entrance.

Jeff waved for the remaining two officers to follow him. They all withdrew their weapons. Speaking to them as well as to the headset (and thus to the other team), he ordered, "Don't fire unless absolutely necessary. We won't be able to find Karns or any of the Prot's leadership if we just have dead bodies."

They stood at sides of the door. It was boarded up, likely because this was a glass door without the glass. With everyone ready to barge in, Jeff had to make one more check with the other team. "Are you guys ready?"

Over the headset, he heard, "Ready."

Jeff nodded to everyone, indicating the time was very near. "Go."

Jeff took the lead with his stun-pistol aimed upward. The door was unlocked, making entry very simple. Inside, the condition of the facility was much more well kept. There wasn't much decoration in the halls. There also wasn't much dust as one would expect in an abandoned building. Jeff watched with his glasses, noting and tracking every life-sign.

Just a few steps inside was doorway. It was a formerly an office. Now it was turned into a bedroom. He pointed to it, showing the others that someone was in there. Redford and the other office took position to get the best view; right next to Jeff.

Jeff decided to start the firefight. "This is the police!"

Two men ran out with gun in hand. They weren't ready as Jeff fired his stun pistol at them before they got to the doorway. Others heard, diving out of their rooms and firing down the hall. Jeff turned to see them.

"Four of them!" He pointed out for the other officers, "One on the right, four doors down. Three on the left, five down in the hallway."

Summoning a second stun-pistol, Jeff fired a barrage down the hall. Redford and the other officer took the opportunity to dive across the hallway to the very room the unconscious Prots were laying. In a better position, they tried to fire at the larger group.

His first pistol's energy ran out. With a slight bit of difficulty, he clicked the battery out. Putting it behind his back, it flashed to a new battery. He slid it back into the pistol, all the while hearing bullets hit his cover.

Redford turned back out of cover firing and hitting one of the Prots. Responding to the bloody splatter, another Prot fired back. It hit her in the chest. She dove away as she felt the bullet hit. The other officer looked at her chest, assessing her injuries...which there were none. "I'm fine; the vest took it."

The officer nodded and went back to firing at the violent gang.

Jeff finally shot the lone Prot. He looked at the other group, finding one of them lying down but still alive. The other three were still up. Each took turns at firing mostly at Redford.

Spinning into the hallway, Jeff kept his back to the wall. He slid up to get closer while trying to stay out of sight. His was able to get halfway before one of the Prots noticed him. Using his left-hand weapon, Jeff fired. The Prot dove back. This allowed Redford and the other officer to move up. The three enemies would try to attack Jeff, but couldn't fire with the advancing police officers.

When all three were close, they kept their guns trained. Jeff, with no notice, dove into the hallway. One of the Prots decided to run down the hall. The barrage of stun-bolts hit all three before they could do anything about it. Jeff even hit the bleeding Prot, who had still held his gun.

Jeff turned to the two officers, "Call the ambulance. No doubt the other team faced similar numbers.

"I also want both of you to hold this position. There's two more down that hallway. Hold them there."

Redford had to ask, "You're going up alone?"

"After meeting up with the other team, yeah. I'd rather not take the time to clear those two out before going up the stairs."

"Alright. Be careful." That was her as an officer speaking, trying to convey to Jeff not to take any risks.

Jeff moved down the main hallway and to the central stairway. Once he arrived, Jeff had found two more officers. One informed him, "Encountered four Prots; all went down quick. I sent the other two guys down to secure the rest of the floor."

Jeff said, "There isn't much left, but wasn't a bad idea. Let's go up stairs. There's only one group there."

Jeff led the pair up the two sets of stairs. The second floor was much more open with larger rooms than the first. There was one main hallway, which Jeff led the group down towards the set of life-signs.

It was five men, circled within their own conversation. The quietness that enveloped the floor told Jeff that they hadn't heard anything from below. It was as though the entire building had soundproofing. Which was fortunate for Jeff's team.

The group stood in a large room. They were just out of view from the doorway. Jeff indicated to the other officers to stay put for the moment. He stood in the doorway, holding both pistols ready.

"Police! Hands in the..." Jeff couldn't finish; the two with their backs turned pulled their guns. He shot them, but there was still three more to contend with. Bullets flew by as he dove back down.

"Stop!" Jeff heard it come from the middle of the group.

The gunfire ended. Jeff and the other officers didn't know what to make of it. The leader of the group yelled out, "We're putting our guns down."

Jeff dared a look to find the remaining men set their guns to the floor. They raised themselves back up with hands in the air.

The leader looked at him, "I want to talk."

Jeff saw the leader was the most well dressed of the men. The suit conveyed that this was someone who loved to display his wealth. Waving the other officers in, Jeff kept his weapons trained. The two officers dealt with the minions first, cuffing them. Then the leader was cuffed before Jeff said, "You said you wanted to talk."

"You want Karns, right?"

"The point?"

"We want him as well. He burned us last night."

Jeff prodded, "How so?"

"You saw the body. It was that and the stuff we took was crap." The leader showed in his expression that Karns' betrayal was not going to be tolerated.

Jeff said to the high-minded criminal, "So now you and your gang want to make a deal."

"Give me more credit. I know you won't do that. No, call it good behavior if you like, but I'd rather get the bastard."

"Do you speak for the rest of your gang?"

The leader remained silent. That told the story.

"You're alone on this," Jeff presumed.

"You've had problems with your bosses. Nothing's happy-cheery, especially here in the dark side of the street."

"So what do you have to give?"

"I know what he needs and where he's going to get it."

Jeff and Redford kicked in the door. There was several people on the floor of the laboratory. They all were as flat and still as possible. One of them yelled, "Don't move! There's a bomb!"

Jeff looked around. There was one such package placed on a table. Looking at it, he couldn't figure out the exact trigger. Jeff lowered himself to speak to the scientist. "What did he say about the bomb?"

The scientist was still very nervous, "He...he ordered us to get down. He had a gun...then place it there. Said that if any of us got up before five o'clock, it would explode."

That told Jeff something. He summoned a small kit from his backpack, then took out a spray bottle. He sprayed a mist around the area. There were several beams that just barely missed the doorway.

Redford said, "We were lucky."

Jeff countered, "No, Karns wanted it this way. To take more time from us."

Ducking below the beams, Jeff crawled to the table that the bomb was placed on. He looked around to find a cart that was just about the same height. Spraying around the bomb, he found the points that each laser came from.

He looked over to the woman lying next to the cart. "Can you slide the cart over to me?"

The timid woman took hold of it and tossed over to Jeff. Before he did anything else, he said to all the scientists, "I want everyone to crawl to the doorway. Officer Redford will escort you out of the building. You are not to come in until our say-so."

They all cooperated, crawling cautiously to the doorway. Once out of danger, each one expressed relief. Redford kept ushering each one out towards the building's entrance.

Once they were all gone, Jeff went to his operation. He sprayed the mist once again. His next task was to take the bomb directly in his hands. Slowly, he shifted it onto the cart. Once on the cart, he crawled with the cart in tow. His method was slow and methodical. The beams were the barriers that couldn't be broken. At times he came centimeters away from that danger.

His target was an adjacent room of equal size. It looked empty of any purpose: exactly what he wanted. The cart moved until he hit the doorway. The slight bump at the doorway was a mountain for the cart. It seemed like he made no progress, only giving an inch by inch.

Finally, it was inside the room. He closed the door with equal speed to his final push. Once it was closed, he gave a sigh of relief. Getting up, he gave himself a moment to look around. Right at the center of the room, there was cables that went to a missing object. It was too obvious.

"Karns got the last piece."

Detective Lewis stood in a corner of the interrogation room. He had paced back and forth while the Prot captive sitting silently in the seat. This interrogation turned out to be one of the more difficult ones. The prisoner had remained silent for an hour.

"You won't even give your name, something I have right here!" He pointed to the license that was tossed onto the table. "You know that this silence is more confirmation for us than anything else."

He was about to approach the table once again, but then the door was barged open. It was Jeff, "Lewis, I need you out."

Lewis tried not to show it, but he breathed a sigh of relief. Almost every interrogation was about getting new information, not trapping anyone unless necessary. The ones that stayed silent were the toughest to crack.

Once outside, Jeff was quick to give an order, "I need you to help Redford and get every power plant, transfer station...anything that would generate electrical power in-mass."

"What's this about?"

Jeff informed, "Karns took the last piece of his machine. The only thing he needs is a massive power source."

Lewis thought about the situation, "Depending what he needs, that could mean quite a few things. Some of tallest towers require a power station in itself."

"Then check those as well. He may work quickly or it may take a while."

Jeff was ready to leave, but Lewis still had one question left, "How do you know that Karns hasn't already left yet? It might be to his advantage to just go to another world."

Jeff removed his remote key and showed it to Lewis. "I set this to alert me whenever Karns goes off-world. As for the why...I don't know. But maybe one of these guys knows something about it. For now, it'll be more important for you to check those power stations."

Lewis left toward the offices to do just that. Jeff decided to take his own advice and turned toward the jail cells.

It was on the other side of the building. The jail cells were purposely placed a ways from the interrogation room, where officers could place any number of objects or anyone to pass by.

Jeff marched in, passing all the jeering prisoners. Usually there was only a few in there. Now the sound alone told how unusual having all these gang members said about the situation.

He went straight to the last cell. That was where the Prot's leader stood silently. He was contempt with having all of his fellow members harass the police any way possible.

Jeff stood in front of him, holding a serious look on his face. "Did you ever meet or speak with Karns?"

The prisoner commented, "Direct. Says that Karns got the thingy he wanted."

"Yeah, and he'll for all intents and purposes gain more power because of it. Moreover, he'll kill countless people."

The Prot played along, "Well, can't have that happen, can we? You know what I mean by that. So what do you need to know?"

"Did he say anything about the devices he took for himself?"

"Nope. At least not to me. Overheard a few small things, mostly some "rail thing" couldn't work until he got them."

Jeff knew, "I take it he used the words "Dimensional Transport."

"Yeah, that's it! Said that they were replacement parts, to make it even better."

"Did he say where it was?"

The Prot leader shook his head, "Only said that he would use it once the bank job was done to get the guys out. Confused the heck out of me, since it sounded like a helicopter yet he said he would make it better. Can you answer that for me, pal?"

"Nope."

The Prot leader shrugged. Nothing was received though not much was given -for both of them. With that answered, Jeff left the jail. From the bars, the Prot leader yelled at Jeff with a sense of whit, "Just hope this gives a good word for me."

Jeff was inside what was an empty office. Everything had to be closed off from the rest of the action that the police station was experiencing. Laid out on the floor was all the diagrams and schematics that Jeff obtained from Karns.

He looked down at them, lost in the thought of trying to outwit Karns. Currently he had only a few hints and hoped that looking at this would show him more.

Nothing had come to him.

The door opened with Chief Sellers on the other side. He stood in the doorway, mostly due to the scattered papers. "I see you have everyone working very hard."

Jeff kept his stare downward, "If Karns gets that device working, there'll be a lot of casualties. And not just in this world."

"As you have said. I'm just curious, when's the last time you had any time off?"

Jeff sighed, "A long time."

Sellers knew why, "I'm guessing that since your wife's death, you've been working all this time."

"More literally than you think."

"Is getting Karns that important?"

Jeff looked at the chief, "It is, but that's not why I've worked so hard."

"Then what is it?"

Jeff again sighed, "I guess I've reverted back to the man I was...Kara had a way of making life enjoyable. She laughed all the time, gave more time to having fun than to work. It came with its own difficulties, but she never did anything unless she enjoyed it."

Sellers empathized, "In a job like this, I see what you mean. In trying so hard for the payoff, we miss too many things."

They stood in silence as though the other would talk. Then Sellers said, "Live now or in the future. I've found most we throw into prison choose one or the other in the extreme. I hope you can find a balance."

"I hope so as..."

Something about that got Jeff thinking. He looked between several of the diagrams. Leaning down, he picked up one. Then he shifted over to a picture of the force-field generator.

"That's what I missed. It's not just about how much, but the amperage as well."

The chief of police was curious, "What do you mean? I'd assume he'd have a transformer for that...thing"

"I meant it more metaphorically. The force-field generator, for example, takes a few seconds to generate the field. Powering up the device itself takes minutes. That maybe the least of his worries when it comes to time."

"So how long do you think he would need?"

Jeff already knew the formula, "Ideally, an hour minimum. But being he probably is not working with the most ideal pieces, it would take a bit longer."

Jeff races past the Chief, almost shoving him out of the way.

He turned right into Redford's office. She had just finished with a phone call. Jeff almost yelled at the officer, "Redford, I need you to do something else for me."

She turned to him and got up off her seat. "What is it?"

"I figured that even if Karns finds a power source, he needs to hold onto it. That means he needs help."

"If you're thinking that the Prots would help him, I doubt it. From what I've heard, even if they trust him enough for another job, it would require an immediate payoff for them. No more favors."

"Then the question is: who else would do such a favor?"

Redford's answer was immediate, "The Shells would. Black Dogs wouldn't do a thing unless you get initiated."

She moved to her desk, taking out a map. Circled was the territory, with several buildings also circled with a different color. She waved Jeff forward, so she would show what this meant. "This is the Shell's territory, and all the suspected hideouts. Recently we have confirmed one: their main gathering place. However we had no evidence or emergency to get into it at the moment."

Jeff said, "Until now. If you need me to, I can pass the formulations of what Karns is doing."

"If you had that, why not take the time for a proper warrant? It would take an hour at most."

That concerned Jeff, "I don't want to chance it. Call anyone available. If that's the meeting place, we'll get our answers there."

There was one SWAT truck already there as Redford pulled her car there. The bar was a single building, one that had several entrances. Jeff got out of the car and approached the lead SWAT officer. "Seen anyone go inside or out?"

The SWAT officer was still putting on his vest, the last one to get ready. For him, that was the usual routine. "Nope. All we have is there's two people in. Both are on the suspect list. By the way, I'd appreciated if you brought us in on that last op. you did."

Jeff replied, "I didn't necessarily call for you."

Redford went to her trunk to get herself and Jeff equipped. She said, "I made the call. It was a gang installation, one I'd prefer more intact. You guys aren't known for subtlety."

The SWAT officer glared at her, "Then why now, "Ms. Subtlety?""

Jeff stood between the two, "No need to get angry. I asked for anyone available. The others are working on where Karns will target."

Now it was Jeff that the SWAT officer looked at, "I take it _you_ want a swift end to this case."

Remaining firm, "Now more than ever."

The SWAT officer finished fastening the last strap, "I'm ready anytime."

Jeff turned to the building and examined it with his scan glasses. "There's five people in the basement."

The SWAT officer turned back toward Jeff, "How would you know..."

Redford cut him off, replying, "Don't ask, just go along with him. He'll do that quite a few times."

The officer began strapping her own vest.

The bar's interior was rather quiet despite the television that displayed a baseball game. The lone biker was drinking while watching the game, all the while the bartender kept to himself.

Then every door was kicked open. Each had two SWAT officers with their guns raised. Jeff came in right after them at the main entrance with Redford in tow.

"Everyone hands in the air!" the SWAT yelled to the occupants.

The two did just that, not wanting to be involved. The biker was more used to the situation. The bartender, on the other hand, portrayed a scared and nervous attitude.

While four of the six officers took the time to check the two suspects, Jeff calmly walked to the back. The back room had the main feature of storing bottles of various alcoholic drinks. Toward the rear was a staircase. The SWAT officer went behind him, insisting on entering first. While he was able to get past Redford, Jeff was more insistent on taking lead.

He calmly walked down the staircase to the doorway. Watching the life-signs, Jeff held one hand to the door. With pistol in hand, he fingered the countdown. At three, he rushed in. "Police, hands in the air!"

The empty basement had the five men in an odd circle. One tried to withdraw his weapon, but Jeff shot at him. The others scattered with their weapons ready. Jeff moved forward, letting the SWAT officer and Redford in. With another shot shot from Jeff, the Shells gang members knew they were overpowered.

The SWAT ordered, "On your knees, hands on your head."

The remaining four did just that. Jeff kept his pistol trained as the SWAT officer and Redford checked the four and cuffed them. With that done, he put his pistol away. Looking around, there was a suspicious door toward the back.

He walked towards it. Before he could touch it one of the prisoners said, "Don't open that!"

Jeff turned around and looked at him for an explanation.

"The guy left thirty minutes ago, said not to open it. Said it was a trap for you guys."

Jeff turned back around, holding the glasses to inspect the door. The x-ray vision revealed what looked like a safe. On top of that, there was a box: a bomb. He approached the door to find the doorknob wired. Jeff couldn't identify any other trigger. From the backpack he summoned a small drill. Putting it to the door, he drilled a small hole through it.

Without turning, he asked the SWAT officer, "Do you have a spy camera, one you would put under doors and such?"

The SWAT officer took a small string from his vest. He gave it to Jeff and it was promptly shoved into the drilled hole. The officer took out a monocular: the headset the camera transmitted to. The findings weren't good.

"It's got a timer! One minute!"

That prompted everyone - including the gang members - to get up and run for the door. The police officers did the same. Jeff stopped one SWAT officer. "We can't leave him."

He referred to the unconscious gang member. The officer nodded, moving to carry the man. They lifted him up by the shoulders then moved as swiftly as they could. They moved up the stairway, then across the main interior and out the door.

Jeff and the SWAT officer dragged the limp body as far as they could. The clock was nearing...

Most of the officers ducked behind the van. Another officer went along with Redford behind her car. While a couple were looking at the two running out of the building, others had their weapons aimed outward. They fired their guns, warning shots for the fleeing criminals. Two stopped, falling forward in surrender. The others simply ran away and didn't look back.

Jeff and the SWAT officer was halfway out when the bomb went off. It was mostly a boom, the shock-wave rippled throughout the parking lot. Smoke billowed from the bar, showing that fire had erupted within the basement.

Now out of danger, Jeff set the unconscious prisoner down. The SWAT followed suit.

Redford opened her car door. She spoke into the radio to get fire fighters at the scene. Jeff watched as SWAT officers ran to the remaining gang members, pulling them up.

Jeff approached them with much anger borne from frustration. "Where is Karns!"

"It's too late. They should be there in five minutes. You'll know where soon enough."

Jeff, with greater frustration, ordered the SWAT officer to take him away.

Redford's car came right as Lewis and several other officers also arrived. The power station was for an urban design. Most of the power lines spurred out from the roof. Jeff got out and looked up at the five story building. The SWAT van came up moments later. Every one of them were still suited up, ready for the upcoming fight.

Jeff inspected the building until the lead SWAT officer, Redford and Lewis stood around him. They waited patiently for the few moments, knowing that he was investigating their grounds.

He informed the group, "Got well over two dozen men in there."

Lewis asked, "Got an idea where our target is?"

"They get more dense towards the higher floors. I can't see anyone on the top floor, but I also can't locate the Transport."

"I checked on the way here: there's limited controls on the third floor."

The SWAT officer offered, "My team will go for that."

Jeff ordered, "Then everyone else is with me to the top. My guess is we have about ten minutes, maybe fifteen."

Redford commented, "Cutting it close."

"Which is why we need to go in now."

The main doors bursted open. Jeff had taken the lead, holding the pair of stun-pistols. The others held a variety of long-barreled weapons. They all looked around to secure the main room. Jeff had better intel because of his scan-glasses: he knew no one was in the room.

Going to the elevators, Jeff pressed a button. Nothing happened. It didn't light up or do anything to indicate it was working. The SWAT officer yelled, "Elevators are out. Have to go the hard way."

Jeff waved them towards the main stairway. He paused before barging in. Inside, he dashed and fired upward at all the defensive gang members. Lewis and Redford followed while other officers took separate walls. All fired their weapons upward.

A bullet hit one gang member. He was taken aback, holding the chest wound. Then he started to faint. The woozy enemy fell onto the railing. Then he flipped over and fell down the shaft. The body hit dead center of the floor.

Jeff continued the assault, firing at several targets. One was hit by his pistol. Then he was subsequently hit by a bullet into his abdomen.

In looking down, Jeff saw two officers were wounded. One was holding his stomach where a bullet barely penetrated his vest. The other had a wounded leg. A SWAT officer was helping the two of them to get out of the building.

Bullets still flew from above. Now they were several floors up and couldn't really hit them. Jeff ordered, "Up the stairs!" The former scientist led the charge up the stairs. He wasn't all that careful in his charge, firing at the gang members that got into his immediate view.

Redford and Lewis took a more careful pace. They stopped to fire at the gang members a floor above. This allowed Jeff's charge to go more unimpeded while the gunmen being distracted and cornered.

He stopped once he got to the third floor door. He held that position despite several gunmen targeting him. Kneeling down, he fired with both pistols across the stairway. All the bolts nearly hit the gang members.

Redford and Lewis stopped and stood behind him. The two fired in concert with one-another. When Lewis ran out of ammo, Redford kept up the cover fire as he reloaded.

The SWAT team arrived, with the lead officer going in last. "We're in. Now go get the bastard, Hunter!"

Jeff had to reload his own weapons before advancing. He then got up and began the charge.

One last flash came from the stairway door. Then Jeff broke it open, letting in the flood of other officers. The fire fight continued with many of the gang members taking cover within the large complex of cubicals.

As each officer came in, they too took cover within the immediate hallway. They each took turns firing down their route.

Jeff tapped Lewis' shoulder. Both he and Redford turned to him. "Follow me. Redford, stay here and keep covering fire at them."

Jeff went down the horizontal hallway. He turned right into a cubical. Lewis following him, knowing that Jeff had a plan. Jeff climbed onto the desk, careful not to slip on the stacks of papers.

Peeking over the walls, he couldn't see anyone. Looking back at Lewis, he said, "Watch my back." It was meant very metaphorically.

Lewis climbed onto the same desk, raising his rifle to just over the cubical wall. He watched the main battlefield, making sure no one took notice.

Jeff had a somewhat difficult time climbing over the short wall. He almost fell as he flipped himself over. Then he looked over the next cubical. Lewis took this time to more easily leap over the wall.

The gang members felt confidant as they held the dozen police officers against their nine. Then bolts of light and gunfire came across their side. Looking across, they saw one officer had somehow flanked them. Two of the gang members adjusted to cover themselves.

A minute later, bolts of light came from their rear. They saw Jeff had gotten around to the back. This forced the gang members further into the cubicals. That allowed the police officers to advance. As one gang member attempted to give a glance outside, bullets came from multiple angles.

The gang members looked at one another. No one was injured but things were getting hairy. With one solemn nod, they set their guns down. Sliding them out into the hallway, this said everything to the police officers. They knelt as Jeff came into view. He threatened them with his pistols. "Where's Karns?"

On the third floor, the SWAT officers was facing similar resistance. One gang member got hit, a bullet penetrating the table they used as cover.

The SWAT officers advanced towards the double-doors. The SWAT advanced as another gang member was hit in the head. The other gunmen retreated further back in the hallway.

Outside the room, they heard clanging and gunfire. As the lead SWAT officer shoved the loose door aside, he saw exactly what happened. First he had to dispatch the gunman, who turned to face the officer. A single shot hit the man dead center in the chest. The gunman collapsed and laid dead on the floor.

The damage had been done. All the controls sparked, damaged from the sabotage that the gunman performed. Cursing to himself, the SWAT officer held his hand to his headset,

"Hunter, the controls are shot. You're going to have to take out Karns yourself."

Jeff held his headset as he heard this. He had put away one of his pistols to keep that hand free. "Gotcha. We only got a few minutes, so get out of the building if you can."

Over the headset, the response was quick, "Roger."

Jeff along with Lewis and Redford was standing at a short stairway. Taking the lead, Jeff charged up the stairs and through the doorway.

There was a distinct hum throughout the rooftop. Much of it was the power lines that hovered above their heads. But there was one unique hum that came from the center of the roof. Although transparent, Jeff could see the force-field that surrounded the Dimensional Transport. Behind the vehicle was a large device. Large cables laid between the two. Many of them went to the tubes that projected the portal. Jeff saw a few thick cables went through the field, but knew he couldn't do anything about them.

He tried using his glasses to quickly examine the field, then lowered his hand in frustration. "Can't get anything from that field!"

That's when the effect started. A small puff of air exploded behind Lewis, staggering him forward a few steps. "What the heck!"

Jeff knew, "It's starting! We need to stop it now!"

In desperation, Jeff shot the field. It flickered. Switching modes on the stun-pistol, he shot a larger bolt into it. The flicker was more apparent and more severe. Moreover, his glasses told him something.

He waved at Redford and Lewis. "I want you two to give a continuous fire at the large box there. When I fire, the field flickers for a tenth of a second, so we have one shot at this."

Both nodded right toward each other. It was acknowledgment of both the plan and their need for each other's support. They stood up and took different angles at their target. Jeff replaced the battery of his stun-pistol. He aimed at the field, then gave the mark.

"Go!"

The two officers held their triggers down, letting a constant and uneasy stream of bullets out. Jeff fired one large bolt that shoved him back a step. The plan worked: the field flickered, letting in several bullets that hit their mark. The large box flickered. Then power began to disrupt. The field flickered more severely, then dissipated.

The increasing air explosions stopped as the entire station grew quiet.

Then another sound erupted. The Transport began lifting off. Jeff ran forward but couldn't reach the transport with his own hands. It started to hover away from them, cables snapping into the device's remains. Jeff reached out and shot the grappling beam at the Transport. He was immediately pulled off his feet as the Transport flew away.

Jeff flailed for a second before regaining his composure. Using the grappling beam, he pulled himself to the back of the Transport. He un-summoned his stun-pistol to give him a free hand. Putting his knees on the metal plating to stabilize himself, he leaned over toward a crack. Grabbing hold, he released the grappling beam. He then aimed higher and shot the beam towards the roof. Using the pull-feature, he slowly slid himself up towards the roof.

He climbed uneasily onto the roof of the Transport. His grip tightened as the vehicle tilted and winded around the cityscape. They were headed toward a large, tree-coated park. Jeff climbed until he was near the cockpit.

Jeff leaned down, near the edge on the drivers side. He and Karns clearly saw each other. It was Jeff's way of saying, "checkmate." Karns knew it.

He summoned a grenade into his hand. Jeff pulled the pin and threw it into the portal generator. The entire tube exploded, causing severe damage to the back of the Transport. The force threw Jeff back, forcing him to latch the grappling beam back onto the roof. There he held on, watching as the Transport leaned down and dove right for the trees.

Scenes flashed before his eyes. Each was a vision of him helping people during his inter-world chase. Of Bobby and Teresa: a couple that grew from sadness. Of Parker Jaden: a man who found what really was important in his world. Of Allen Carlile: the father who lost his life trying to do his best. Miles, who found the same purpose his fallen brother-in-law discovered. Karl Finard, a lost fate.

Then of Kara. She was smiling. They danced around the newly placed floor in Kara's studio.

There was only one thing on Jeff's mind before the trees came too close.

"Thank you, Kara."

One year ago

Jeff stood in front of Kara, filled luggage standing next to her. She was fixing Jeff's collar, despite his feelings that it was unnecessary.

Jeff said to her, "You aren't forgetting anything? Toothbrush, book, excessively large dress..."

That playful comment cause Kara to tug the collar just a bit too tight. She giggled, then finished up her work. "You'll be fine tonight."

"I'd rather have you here."

She looked at him, "I would too, but that competition in New York is too important."

Unfortunately for Jeff, she was right. "Yeah, I know. It's just I'm not sure if I'm good at mingling with other people."

Kara looked at him with the same loving eyes that he was still not used to. "Jeff, I've been with you for the past two years. You have an intelligence and determination that I could never touch. Don't worry about the what-ifs, just go for it. I want you to show everyone what I see in you. You got so much to offer."

Jeff held her hand. "I'll try."

Rather than say goodbye, he leaned forward and kissed her. They held that kiss for a long time.

Present day

Jeff groggily woke up. Pain seared throughout his body. He placed his right hand on the ground, lifting himself up a bit. Then his left landed, but the pain was too much. More than likely it was broken.

"I really have to stop doing things like that."

He eventually got himself up onto his feet. Looking at the Transport, he saw what had remained. There was one huge glob that was the main body. The back was open but flames enveloped the interior.

Searching the ground, he found his scan-glasses. Even though they had flew off his face, they miraculously survived the fall. Jeff picked them up and wiped away the dirt and ash. Setting them back to his eyes, his vision was fuzzy but he needed them.

Holding the rims, he scanned the remains of the Transport. The flames didn't help. Finally, he found where the pilot cabin would be. It taken the brunt of the damage, but something was amiss. The seat was still there, complete without its occupant.

That meant Karns was alive.

Jeff scanned the area, looking for a life-sign. Then he found it. Karns looked right at him. A bang rippled through the trees. Jeff ducked, quickly looking around. A large piece of metal was behind him, good enough for cover.

He dove behind it as pain rippled through him more than ever. Jeff ignored it, _had to_ ignore it. He saw the bloodied state that Karns was in. Neither could get far in such an injured state. Karns would be worse off with the police after him.

Jeff summoned a stun-pistol. He tried to summon a second one, but his arm shot even more pain as he swung it back. The one will do, Jeff hoped.

Sliding up the metal barrier, Jeff shot several times at his enemy. All the bolts went wide. He wasn't sure if it was his aim or his injuries that caused it. Either one meant that he had to get closer.

He pressed his bloodied foot onto the ground and readied to run. Jeff searched around, finding only trees as decent cover. So he pushed himself up and ran.

Gunfire came as predicted. Jeff returned in kind, sending several bolts of light in the same direction.

Arriving behind a tree, Jeff felt the heavy breathing in his chest. Looking down, he checked the stun-pistol's battery. It was running low. Once again he tried reaching back to summon something. The pain kept his left arm restricted, along with the ability to get more ammo.

Jeff turned around to face Karns. He saw the villain brazenly standing up behind a metal frame. Reaching outside cover, Jeff fired the last of his ammo at Karns. One hit a loose piece of metal, surging energy throughout the cover Karns had taken. It shocked him, but it barely phased him.

With no more ammo, Jeff tossed the weapon aside. He couldn't hit anything in his state anyway. Karns was probably the same. So he decided to take the initiative.

Jeff turned out into the open and ran right at Karns. The villain fired but missed as the last of his bullets ran out. Jeff almost fell as his fist ran into his enemy. Karns stepped back, throwing his gun away. Wiping the blood away from his face, he looked at Jeff.

An explosion rippled to their side. Both simply stood, ignoring the nearby flames. Even the flimsy piece of metal between them had flew from the destruction; but not them.

Karns moved, slamming his own fist into Jeff. There was no pain, so Jeff returned the favor. Then Karns swung his other fist. Neither cared to dodge or defend.

Jeff aimed lower, hitting Karns in the chest. Then Karns aimed even lower, hitting Jeff in the stomach. The compression forced Jeff to lean forward, gasping for air. It took a long second for him to recover. Then he ran right into Karns.

The two fell to the ground with Jeff on top. He hit Karns with one swift punch after another. As he pulled back from his last punch, he rammed it forward into Karns' face.

That was when Jeff realized that his enemy was unconscious. Taking a few heavy, restful breaths, Jeff put his hand to the scan-glasses. Karns was alive, though very injured.

Rolling onto the ground, Jeff let his body rest. He stared up in the sky, seeing smoke rise into the air. Then he heard the heavy hum of a helicopter. The shadow of the flying vehicle flew above and obscured his view.

Two weeks later

Jeff stood approximately over where he buried the holographic device - where he buried Kara. This was a different world with no marker. But the beach looked very similar, which was why he was there.

His arm was still in a sling, healing from his final encounter with Karns. Underneath his cloths held more bandages. The physical pain was gone. However, he had a different pain today. Different from when he lost Kara and yet very similar.

Wind whipped his face as he spoke, "It's been a while. I've missed you. I thought maybe getting Karns would make things better. It hasn't; you're still gone."

In his good hand Jeff tightly gripped a diamond chain. Flickers of red and blue came from his hand.

"We had great times. You were able to show me...well, everything. That I could be something beyond my work, beyond what I did. That I was someone, a living person. More importantly, I got to meet you; live with you...love you. Your smile, your love of life. I still see that red hair of yours everywhere."

Jeff had to stop. He needed to say these things to Kara. This wasn't something he was used to, something he hadn't experienced before. He never had to. Before he was closed off and only explored the abstract world. Kara changed that.

He took a deep breath. "You gave me a lot, Kara. That strength of yours gave me the most important thing: a reason to live. It showed me there was more to life than physics and accolades. Your energy and creativity, they made you the brightest star. I...enjoyed the time we had.

"I know that the only thing you want me to do is be happy. But I can't, not while I see you every night. So...I have to let you go."

Jeff released the bracelet that he held. The ruby and sapphire gems shown bright in the small hole that he dug. He then removed the wedding ring that he held onto his hand for so long. Looking at it in his hand, he pondered setting it down. Instead he decided to set it into his pocket. Kneeling down he swept the piles of dirt over the shining bracelet.

"I'll always remember those times. There's not a single thing I regret, either the good times or the bad. But I have to move on, without you.

"I have to go. Thank you, Kara."
