ACT THREE: PART ONE

-FALLEN FROM REALITY

It had been a month. Sam felt the loneliest he'd ever felt in his life. He had cut himself off from the world. The only time he came out was for a case or to help Hughes with and errand or two. He'd gone out for a drink with Mr Hudson a few times but it always ended in them both lying on Samuel's bed talking about sad things. They'd actually grown quite close after- he should call him Noland really, told him about his break up with a Naria. Turns out Yates was behind that two because he wanted Noland to work more.

Everything seemed to just be getting worse. He'd hit rock bottom and he just kept digging.

The receptionist popped her head into his and Hughes joint office. "There's an announcement in the main area." She told them. Sam sighed and dragged himself over. He stood by Noland and Hughes and watched as Yates stood atop a table to tell the department the news. "I have great news to share! The information came straight from Interpol today!" He said excitedly. "The Mafia you all know, the Thorn's Mafia released a statement to the world today and we managed to intercept the message to a local shop we now know is very illegally run." He took a breath in. "Alpha two, Daniel Hansen had been confirmed dead as of 11:24 yesterday night." There were cheers and clapping. A king of the enemy had fallen! It was time to celebrate, but Sam's world turned upside down. His knees caved in immediately. His ears rang. Hughes and Hudson grabbed him by the arms and quietly removed him from the cheering crowds.

It had to be false. Another one of Yates ways of hurting Sam. He would feel it. He would feel if he was dead surely. Hughes hated it. Sam was like a son to him and his wife and seeing him suffer before and now knowing what was coming next was gut wrenching. "Just hold on a little longer." Hughes tried to tell him but he made no sense. Sam stared ahead of him, anger filling him. "He's not dead!" He screamed. "He's not! I would know!" Noland put a hand over his mouth not knowing how to quiet him. Hughes sighed and retrieved something from his pocket. It was a letter addressed to Samuel but had no address. "I wasn't going to give it to you but since Yates..." he just handed him the letter.

Sam opened it with trembling hands.

Dear Mr Mason,

I am writing to inform you that Alpha two is deceased. There will be no funeral as it is not to our traditions. I frankly know little about you or your relationship with Alpha two but was informed the letter of acknowledgement was to go to you.

Funds will be transferred to your account. Best wishes for your life.

Alpha One- Kristen Thorn

Samuel gasped at the letter. There was only ever one letter of acknowledgement and they were only given out by Alpha one in the case of a hard working Alpha's death. This warmed Sam's heart a bit knowing Daniel's work didn't go unseen. Though it didn't fill the confusion in his mind as he grasped the letter close to his chest. "He's dead."

-I AM NOT DEAD

~A month ago~

Hughes was a man of pride, honour and family. He was older then he looked and though he never said his age, he was old enough that the line between good and bad wasn't always a straight one.

He was sitting at the table with his wife Shirley one night when the front door opened. Hughes got up in alarm but when he saw the pleasing sight of Daniel Hansen he relaxed somewhat. "Shirley dear I need to have a conversation with this man." He told her kindly. She smiled at the visitor and left to go upstairs to her home studio.

"Your wife is beautiful." He told Hughes who nodded in agreement. "What can I do for you Mr Hansen?" He asked. Hughes looked Daniel up and down. His tie was loose, his shirt freshly tucked, red puffy eyes. "That problem I'm having with a Nathan Yates. I'm going to have to do something I really want to do... but I can't." He told him. "What's happened to Samuel?" Hughes asked immediately. Daniel waved his hand. "Nothing, Yates forced him to break up with me. He came home shouting at me and I got him to leave so I could listen to Johnathan- my Betas recording." He explained. Hughes shook his head. "How?" Daniel placed a device on the table and pressed play.

"I'll give you a choice. Either I have you here twice and I will stop using the photos to get names from you."

"No!"

"Oh? Then I guess there's no choice then. Break up with Alpha two or I'll publish the pictures."

He paused it. Daniel put his hands through his hair to stop himself punching the table. "He wanted to use him? Like some person on a street corner? This is a game to him- I'm going to kill him." Daniel nodded in agreement. "We can't. Not yet, and Samuel told me not to."

"He said nothing about me." Hughes said placing his gun on the table. Daniel raised an eyebrow at it. "That's my loophole. I can't stop you from killing him however... I can help make sure you stay out of jail." Hughes nodded. "Why don't you just have him killed by someone else?" He asked. Daniel sighed. "Nathan's being a evasive. My people follow him and follow him all day then poof he's gone. We have been trying for weeks and weeks just so we could at least mug the pictures off of him but we can't get near him for some reason. He'll only calm down if I'm gone or dead." He explained. "Then you leave the country so I can track him down."

"And if that doesn't work I'll fake my death." He said as if it were the simplest thing in the world. The plan was set.

-AN ALLEY ONE NIGHT

Present

Hughes was angry. Daniel was angry. He had had to smuggle himself back into the country, alone. He thought he hated travel anyway but that had been awful. Now he stood in a dingy alley in a large Russian style coat, complaining about the cold. "You don't come across as a professional criminal." Hughes commented. Daniel looked at himself. "I'm sorry let me go make myself look more like the Godfather or something."

Hughes took out a cigar but Daniel stopped him. "You don't like smokers?" He asked but Daniel was rummaging around in his coat. "Here. It's a King of Denmark." He said passing Hughes the pricy cigar with his name engraved on the foil. "You sure? These are fore thousand a pop." Daniel shrugged. "I got a warehouse of them. Most the higher ups are old and smokers so I keep a supply for meetings. Whatever gives a deal an edge." Hughes lit it and looked down the Alley again. "You wanna make money Mathew?" Daniel asked. "What do you mean?"

"We need more good investigators. We don't go to the police with our issues and sometimes the paper trails only show so much. What do you say? Retire early... have a good sized check at the end of the month.... get Shirley that necklace she wanted." Daniel said using his silver tongue. Hughes thought about it. "How much?" Daniel leaned over and gave him a generous offer. "Deal." He said straight away. "Good... if you had said no I wouldn't have been able to get you out of prison."

"You didn't tell me that!"

"Oh who would say no to that offer?" They were suddenly silenced by incoming footsteps. They hid inside a doorway. Daniel's fits clenched together.

As Yates walked past them Daniel walked out and punched him hard in the jaw. Yates fell back onto the floor and Hughes came strolling out, gun in one hand, cigar in the other.

"How are you Nathan?" Daniel asked. Yates looked up in shock at the ghost standing in front of him. "He's shocked."

"Your dead." Daniel looked himself up and down. "If that's the case I'm here to take you on your first class ticket to hell." He mused. Yates turned over to grab something from his pocket but Hughes raised his gun. "Sit still." He said between his teeth. Yates sat back slowly. "I've ruined your life Dan. You should kill me! Do it!.... unless you're scared?" He teased. Daniel took a calming breath. "Why would I kill you?" He questioned. "Because I ruined your life! I won the game! If you kill me you'll have revenge, you'll feel complete, but little Sam will never forgive you for being a monster!" Daniel knew that. He knew all the facts and in the end he let it be someone else's decision. He took a step closer to the fallen villain. "I lost? I'm a billionaire, I run the world.... your the loser who spent his life taking others successes instead of working himself." Yates was red from anger. "You sold your life to Thorn's remember! Everything you have was given to you." He yelled. Daniel slowly shook his head. "That's one thing I always noticed on your reports Nathan... You think I sold my soul to the devil to become Alpha two. It's all a lie. During my gap year I worked every single day in the desert tending to the late Alpha one. Two, three, five years- I don't remember. I served a king to become a king. I deserve to be here. You deserve nothing." Yates lunges forward at Daniel with a yell.

Hughes was quick to react and promptly pulled the trigger sending a bullet straight into Nathan's head. He fell back. Instantly dead. Hughes bent down and took the memory card from his pocket and sighed. "Well at least that's over. You better go because I have to call this in." He turned right to see Daniel who was looking down at himself. "Not to alarm you, but I think I've been stabbed." He keeled over onto his knees. "Don't call the ambulance-" darkness.

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