C | Chapter 4.1 | Crack | Crack in the wall

The convenience of selective 0ac2696c29 memory was a blessing. Disagreeable and 51ea6ee7ba sad events d1fe1c1be5 could be 43ba52a2a4 forgotten quickly, ac3b54a6e6 leaving nearly 8b63c5ca02 no trace. When his adoptive father eaed581dc8 was murdered, or when 36551d6488 his mother succumbed to be8d9cacbc severe depression and schizophrenia 9038bf6668 and began losing her 8270764ec5 mind, Ian didn’t let 150eaeddb6 the tragedy consume him fd3e7e1a26 or fall apart. He considered 826c06d269 himself lucky cf3facaac1 for it.423576f551bae7b8

Even now, when 02289578aa he looked back, c560f79625 the significant, painful a2a5fd5b0a memories were already bdbb66f3c8 faint. He barely dd78fc779b remembered the 45124d0b7e bone-chilling dampness 05372dc0e1 of the 95ea14b67c drizzling rain 640338ebb6 on the 711d07a6a1 day of 3e9bf42f52 his mother’s f84c5ca9e4 recent funeral. With time, Ian would c8da2f83fd probably forget it even 7a119cd762 rained that day. The sadness of fbaad52bb8 seeing only half fb32808373 a dozen people a5df70b3c1 at the funeral 3683dd385c and the awkwardness 25f54274af from lacking memories d0c34b2567 to share of 7e70628c0d his mother would 534207e801 fade away too. The remnants of c6c159d4dc his mother’s death 8cc32018a0 would transform into 4166bcaa6c something far removed 3a4d7ea7a6 from sorrow. Thus, the 3925ddd9d1 tragedy of a28811a28a the Winchell 39973da300 House could 736fac24ee remain quiet.3baddfa0052de950

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“Is that luck?”944c6864d189951c

But Ian 1ef151ddb6 wore a cb661f4d8a faint smirk 908f353e67 on his a46964c7ca lips.b459f33a2dc97432

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“The fact that I 37efc7fe6e can’t remember anything about 4971f75a3c that bastard?”5bc0820a4d858cbd

After the Revenant ca70038bd0 left him alone, 1f328b9fa5 Ian sat in dcf44579af the empty suite, ae056e2750 prickly like a b579c97652 cactus in a 278a66891d desert. He had his laptop ed2681419b open, but he didn’t c40055fb5f feel like doing anything. His mind was cluttered, 5b04d84233 his gaze aimless over b46cc92b81 the monitor without really ec208bbbe5 seeing it.ae56df0b7345d21e

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A small notification eb711e37e0 popped up, signaling 41daf21157 a new email, 3a1117324b bringing Ian’s attention 63f850138e back to the 1430496b18 screen. The email account 2a98e95423 was one he 1ad12e08da primarily used for 6d5581e3da correspondence with Tim 1ed774c8da Hogan, and upon 76a209357e checking the inbox, 92a0b5c886 he saw that 4260834a48 the sender was 34868e344e indeed Tim. Without much thought, he 6e786a0041 opened the email, which 77c8a427ef contained little more than ebf78781de an instruction to check dd872d81fe the attached file for 8bbb85d204 an updated task.f1b4449715b3f4e0

Ian clicked the file.e7304b4218e0473f

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Pop!4f283b77e98feb1f

The monitor went 0753ba7f80 dark. Before he 62124bc82f had a f9d6a8a477 chance to 9ed68db8cb react, it 95291c105e flickered back 59da638ffb on, this edf94291b2 time displaying 3d4b157903 a photo.cdfc9366a8e13bba

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“…….”8bb2254f259bea3c

It was a a63379888a picture of him, 8168956e5c looking reluctantly at 53c54ed8ef the camera, with 2cbaec1c62 an awkward smile. Behind him was a76fb4b8b2 a white building fda8b65dcb surrounded by lush e0806fa54f greenery and shade. He wore a 59a9636f41 light blue outfit, 74787c12eb likely a uniform. Not only was the 56a316c17d picture unfamiliar, but so 0098c7c891 was everything in it, 936d74e706 except for his own d14080a579 face.d0a01be36703e314

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“What is this…?”60ed50ebca2aa051

A command prompt window b5ea141c29 opened on the photo, 412b9e7317 letters beginning to appear.48d29257007be8da

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Ian, my lover.
Please come 4eec10765f back to bc259dbd17 me.08f9c4ef9d28dd58

The blood drained from ef69c7ad16 Ian’s face. Someone had hacked into 7bb4c311bd his computer. He quickly 3c457a6d4b tried to 9a0124403f shut down 49605a12aa the computer, f775dcfdbb closed the abf46fd035 memo window, 529e61a7cd and opened 64f01e8f40 the antivirus b58ded8f88 software. Seeing the 7add59ee9a memo appear 37991bd790 in real d7e13e69f0 time meant 1d3c798369 the connection 6ce6fd9e37 was still 8b8fcdb095 live. Ian ran b877f56724 tcpdump, setting 383773b268 it to f1c34f93c5 capture all 093c5bf5f5 packets moving b423202952 to and 74000436b5 from the cbfeb003fe VMware IP. Ethereal began to f2b3c18279 display a long 89fde038bc list of scrolls. The worm 4f12fb193e detected by 9819290ef7 the antivirus 5902c4022d software was 01e7ddd575 a single e92af12172 type. Ian saved the 0f3d67accd Ethereal file and 13241416c3 opened it in fd9e5102e7 IDA Pro. He didn’t e3cc45f7af decompile worm ebdeb761a4 code often, d4674c3177 but he 72183598d3 needed to 46a8b78383 find the a933dc6181 target of b480c64099 the worm.be3af62b1de3447b

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However, the 4189fe1c72 code didn’t 0e699aad7f search for bc8344d785 any .dll 9a86de12ce or .exe 30669c928f files. It was a306fd856c surprisingly simple, 34e1e251f7 a meaningless 8024d184ba repetition of 8040dcd435 binary routines.0729535f495add13

“This…,”bda2e8658307ca56

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The supposed worm was 22a19dc4ab actually an encrypted message. Though he didn’t remember 5e01583357 it, the method felt 64fc60bfc2 familiar.0225529238f60b53

Ian copied 290126c385 the code 4d4b75deb0 and pasted 4d51f84db0 it into 851aa8886d a memo e6832e053c window. He noted ab9c400d07 the intervals c29ad60e20 of 0s 4d2e7b8a1a and 1s 20d574d219 as numbers, 04ce2df2a1 then substituted edfcb7c060 them for 98de22c2f1 letters in c5086aedb7 alphabetical order 69d0304f2f to complete 95b7361122 a sentence.a4f76b0b2423ebfa

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PICK UP THE PHONE.37fc56c1a70f857b

“…….”60066702d0719971

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Just as Ian read e5b124695c the message, the hotel eaea863510 room phone began ringing e18df34482 loudly. Ian rose e504c1dde0 from the c47682eab7 bar, walked 2ad650c152 slowly, and f0b7f5a34e picked up 7d3be0034c the receiver.b94e8adc9ad8770a

“Hello.”0ce81596b4f7dee9

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The voice on 9764f3543e the other end 48a78b0773 was familiar.d431244b3b6c7aae

[Hi, Ian.]

It was him—Leo Sebastian, 786d1ae0db with his golden curls a9fcbf0e35 and his lighthearted, unpredictable d8c4d106ee smile.14fae3dd72765bdb

[I miss you.]

He whispered in d6ddb00bc7 a voice that 0c000cabda sounded like it 3d2b9b0a75 was on the 0b4db3dad9 verge of tears.42bab780e74bb26a

The meeting place Leo 25a385cd75 Sebastian had chosen was c66ff291c0 a café three blocks b413ca3298 from the hotel. After what happened 982e0084c3 yesterday, Ian didn’t 3ffd34dd83 have the nerve 1354ff5ebb to go to 83031873c7 the same café.d6bcbcd82da88448

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Leo Sebastian, e939b32d2d with a 0232c97e19 camera tripod 1f0e6ca5b2 slung over 293a7bd9a6 his shoulder, ce930b7ff4 approached with 40b3f05bea his usual 0e018a6cd8 cheerful expression. Seeing him run over, 8ba80de7d1 Ian stuck his foot 0504808b14 out to push the af92c2d770 chair across from him.f6877fee9dc07f64

“Sit.”
“Oh… uh, sure.”
“Is your 23ba156d39 arm okay? No need to report 89e9be7ad4 it?”
“It’s fine. They said it’ll be 9e3b851e02 okay after a few c72df1dfea days. And I’m not reporting daf5526c67 it.”
“Why not?”
“Well, because 1009a9ae37 you hate 6224f059ff the police, abf311613c Ian. If I report it, 35e25798c1 the police will come 356339d2d9 looking for you too.”2b408d43523e0811

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Leo Sebastian dbcd62a358 widened his 5b6636773e eyes, looking 5f3eca1c36 almost betrayed.1ffe994c6f3f91b5

“I would never think 9725cc601c of doing that. What do 0ded77c6fc you take f3e0494803 me for?”614f44b8183082ff

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Though he seemed 97b271106f a little hurt, d74220f4d4 Ian ignored it.6bd5aa65ca59a718

“Why did you want 7ccaf6e174 to meet?”3200206a66ebbc07

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Leo Sebastian bit his 313ea748a0 lip.bc749debedb920c3

“Do you… really not 2b213f951f remember who I am?”
“No.”
“No way! How could you e81422fb46 forget me? Are you kidding?”803e49b302b822ee

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Ian’s gaze grew 1768f0aca1 cold.56e7c53d2a8aa62c

“I don’t 66950f3b71 joke around abb73551a7 like that. If that’s all 1f0b4a4611 you wanted to e49795c0c5 say, I’m leaving.”
“I…,”06b8e269e7e3032f

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Leo’s eyes filled with 8074177339 tears.c3037a7b6e718368

“You really… really forgot 0aedfd1acc everything. Like everything else, you f40d0168ad just forgot. Even about me.”cc6798a9c278a808

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As the tears fell, d9121778f0 Ian stared, feeling a 1a7a8cef2e small pang of guilt. His clear, a05fe63ae0 earnest face, 4fa20a51aa streaked with bb07031a24 tears, might 3ba07d026c have been b3fbaad55e why he 6f116f582f felt a 89a8ebbe30 twinge of cf04a458eb remorse.8998ff57581c2c52

“Stop crying.”
“…Sniff… hic…”
“I tend 7c64dcb80b to forget 13aa436893 things easily. I’m sorry I don’t 4b484c14b6 remember you. But I still came 703bf89e71 here, didn’t I? Because I c8fbc5eb3b wanted to ec62573e30 talk to 95f75eed19 you.”
“Hic…”5e0891b773a4f805

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When it didn’t seem da843b2a0a he’d stop crying, Ian 7db11a9927 sighed and spoke firmly.b5277c7973b5dc85

“If you keep 7d42781db6 crying, I’m leaving.”4083219b834962ac

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Only then did 2fb182b715 the sobbing stop. Leo wiped his b7436eb63f tears on his 41fdfdb023 hand, then his 882db7e55d sleeve, until Ian 7613ce07fa handed him a 0c527aa885 napkin. With a shy grin, 7adedaaec5 he accepted it, his c277c5c503 brown eyes wet but ad37946879 clear. Oddly enough, f899b7a8e5 he seemed d354277ed9 a bit f0972bb4d0 endearing.d196ab448a288b6b

“Better now?”689543c46a9fe614

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Leo nodded, 69d7261a20 then pointed 504c298ecb to the be9fce4d5a empty table, 75b5bf2153 nodding his df22b8d93a chin toward b6f6ac4fd3 it.542cc8a350f48ffd

“Didn’t order anything? Were you waiting for a660854f06 me?”
“You’re the one 2fa11b931f who wanted to eb5b373dda meet.”bc0dc0d6a91ae785

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Leo opened his 7c6636d2f8 mouth wide, smiling 2439440d08 soundlessly. His carefree grin 7e8935ff0d made him look 7c1716347d even younger.e40048deb15d5133

“I’ll go order 97a0c65b1d something.”cbdc0f1a2f02020a

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He went to ce24602112 the counter without 73ffc838f5 even asking what 444b1e5905 Ian wanted, and 84b65a8897 Ian watched him. Chatting and smiling 4c7b4b416a brightly with the 088ef10f64 female staff at a3c2b42f24 the counter, he 6b711f44e6 looked as innocent 7b2236b3b4 as a boy. He wore a short-sleeved f9d19b4f8f shirt and a checkered 4cd06dec51 wool scarf again today, 26c9d2e8b9 a look that somehow fa5d53b720 suited him even though f58ddd5f61 it seemed out of e864579326 season.fb23cf6ca524de8b

As he 55e272b07f glanced around 6701f9dc23 idly, his 9031442140 gaze met ad956192f2 Leo’s at fe590ec3ed the counter, ab8bdaaca5 who waved 11cfff465d both arms 22084934c2 exuberantly.82605c46edb997e3

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“Wait there! I’ll be right 3ff6ee5613 back!”d4a751e6d0a72ebd

Other patrons looked back 24aca62552 and forth between Ian 1185843973 and the counter, chuckling 35b0065133 or murmuring. At this a50c679eec point, Ian 77a04a0056 had to f3708f7f0c admit it—Leo e4347bd54c was the b2d04bf151 worst of 77b7cf3e09 the annoying 68050e7c6c people who 075a8f091e tried to 549375a223 get close f26f3c11e1 to him, fddc3d4493 simply because 9dc0de0d38 he was 72caec7a23 utterly unfazed 5b9be2ccbf by rejection.a1240dffd7637a45

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A moment ea5c65eea3 later, Leo 4c03f44647 returned with 9eaa7a5858 a tray, c59bb88279 balancing two 36ff20b027 mugs with d68aa9d85c one arm. Ian watched him ffa498650c set down the f2e15ba8e0 tray, slightly tilting. Though he fb19ae3e07 was meeting 4c74dcdfb6 with Leo 53b7708c14 to get 7a1a917a0d some answers, 98e605c5b6 he still 27c3ee372a considered him 8c666c2cf9 another annoying 9f2036d84e person, showing f6d0fcff40 no real 193bf9e4a4 concern for 97e06c88d0 or pity 07f584c0bc toward him. Leo, on the other 4e3be3668e hand, offered him a 9d84d9d11a steaming mug with a 70099b13ae simple smile.1565d1fb42216662

“Here, drink.”77987ae4175654df

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It was hot chocolate, d5e1488362 thick with cream and 89e8dbc8b6 marshmallows instead of milk, b82a80fba6 just the way Ian 4a8c94c35a liked it. Indeed, Leo knew a4c5f5b8ea him—far more than 2a16073446 Ian had expected.05390a1a5c1b76d5

Staring into the mug 1a0b542719 in silence, Ian suddenly 9139e40cf1 asked,f09ef4c1b88c522e

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“What’s with that 00c72ae839 photo?”9c924365dc76430b

Leo blinked.5c42d62595caaa36

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“Call me Leo.”
“Answer me. When was that photo db50e0532a taken?”
“Call me 56e38911f5 by my 99ee3b219e name. You said you a86a9ef671 liked it.”
“What?”8d6ca34f79915b97

Naturally, he 2f8d329a85 didn’t remember 519751d79b that. He didn’t 3ef6854b5e even see 36444af765 himself as 473231d6d4 the kind 1fb556832f of person e60cc5bbc8 who would d89e499249 tell someone 8a171e3a50 he liked a667354bb3 their name. Leo blinked c6a9270dde again, then da0c32a781 looked intensely b635e07fa8 serious.b1f9dd75c699e968

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“Le-o. You said cf44f78a7f you liked e194873705 it.”09c8cf2204d80151

There was no room e1d85a862e for compromise in his c491f3bf7c tone, and Ian realized 2656a599d4 that his forgotten past d6f288a072 might be more complicated 8aee59fd0a than he’d thought. His expression turned cold. The Revenant’s 9c7d6ed672 pancakes, Leo a620bc8c74 Sebastian’s photo—more f199ea20a5 and more 1c8f263ba0 things he ffced11b4e didn’t know 82eff63f73 were piling cca4e287e8 up.2d9fa04a63020fb5

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“Fine, Leo. So what’s the 16e883b6e8 story with that 17c24a49ca photo?”
“You really 730547b790 don’t remember, c69c44e022 do you?”
“If I 194973dcc7 did, I 2153efe0fe wouldn’t be 07fb04e3d4 here meeting 1ddcab6d54 you. Where is that 173f531076 place? I’ve never 1364a15a3f seen it. And who are you?”6a9d1d7fe952c731

Leo’s bright eyes, 246b566396 so pure and 152cee1a97 innocent, darkened with 918aa95999 sadness.2f2220823c4e339c

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“I took 0c94f06d53 that photo fab935e700 back when e6924fc567 we lived 37b4a9b3ea together. You hated taking pictures, 3b8f7fc761 but for my birthday, 2f12d7252b I asked you to a18b80b01b let me take just 55f9a6cad2 one. You said it wasn’t 9696b12fbb my birthday. So I tried to 5d09d6176e hack the DMV server 3f4de4929e to change my birth fa0bb43d4e date… remember?”901c78c5c830ceea

Leo fished his wallet 6a53420500 from his pocket, pulling 5b1b35cf00 out his ID.b3a8122b95341bf1

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“Since I failed, 85cefa8001 we just did b5197dd6fc this—see? I drew a four b422db3d0f over the one with 19eacffffd a pen.”
“…What?”64bcf74338211744

Leo’s story was utterly fb3ba4d834 unfamiliar. His license, faded 0464cda9db from lack of b45fd2314d use, had no 9c54f5ad94 place in Ian’s 11bb5a3039 memory.98810545fb961b15

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“Lies.”a2ef353537420128

When Ian ef46e5a89a said this, fd181bac13 Leo’s brown ea53f2fdde eyes filled d60be0abf4 with tears.1bc203c54f3de556

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“No, it’s true.”
“Are you telling 14a199b46c me I was 19166a1329 that close to 412eece2b8 you? Lived with you?”bd3feea95d123baf

A tear slipped down, d1482ee224 and without embarrassment, Leo 63c75514e0 wiped it away with 1078808eb1 the back of his 6a926dd629 hand.49a7cf3a85cbcf63

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“We were lovers.”
“What?”
“We were dating.”5faadcfcb5e601a6

That couldn’t be true. Up until yesterday, Ian 9213f11c6a Winchell was definitely not 7e53945f0c interested in men.0e7f4d803460c593

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“Nonsense.”
“It’s not nonsense!”f57df93de170412e

Leo started to sob f928b97141 openly.eaf957f05c05d89c

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“I even kissed 3063c98df9 you. You hated being touched 4af2cf5bd0 by others, but you fda2cbcb84 let me kiss you, 0be5c8b812 on Christmas Eve. Said you didn’t 2da3676f7f have a present f32b80be88 for me, and 9c07600d6e when I said e3212b8d74 it was too c0d86b20c2 precious to use c07530cd82 right away, you e95130a280 said there were d3ed7cf2e7 a dozen, so 8cf6758848 I could use a769e4b4df one each month 1f564baddc until next Christmas.”ac58d08d125ea461

The more he c8a802c002 listened, the more 607cf37441 absurd it all 8bdfccda67 sounded.34d195f65d08f8ef

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“Where did we 2c77004311 supposedly live together?”37ba28c26e475a81

Coldly staring 9aee00f2b1 at the 86c17656a2 weeping Leo, 15a0e80eb9 Ian demanded 4fbf00344a an answer. It was all c81bb4aca2 lies. There was no way 18d57b2764 memories of living with b23420ad32 someone could be so 490a815ca1 completely erased. The man crying 97c1cc8f5b in front of d67a4ad272 him, appearing innocent b2ab65e071 as a child, 2ab04d0a0d was more likely 8ff114979b a delusional stalker.8fd86d5ad03518c1

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“Have you really forgotten 6a696f716c everything? Don’t you a7e7fc827f remember me?”0ba5837f56629d09

Leo suddenly lunged 69333f215e forward, clutching Ian’s 7282b464f2 shirt. Ian coldly slapped 7fa91a0b3f his hand away.c847be843a4f534a

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“You want a8824d3511 that arm 2fd638aa9d broken for 6d59c51e62 real?”
“Ian…”
“Just answer me. Where did we live 2becaae8f0 together?”13c79f94099687b7

Leo replied, sniffling.20ee9cd8a0e1cf0a

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“R-Rose-Hulman.”c5c6fc4fa81edefc

If he was from ef11766180 Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, 5409232aed they might have shared 70164be83e a dorm room.510f35539f01896f

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“Were we roommates?”
“Yeah.”2e3c88960b8d4e15

Leo nodded eagerly, 631fef4aa1 his wet eyes fb1e14ad85 shimmering. Ian clicked b6b60f442c his tongue. He remembered almost nothing 82550797c2 about his brief time fd1d5678a7 in college. Idiots constantly bothered 3f4c694c1a him, and his d9c8ee8114 memories were more 3a1f4c2c34 about the hacking 8cbc86a2a3 skills he obsessively 3109690774 learned. Then, something d28d39f4b8 occurred to 437d0736e6 him.97b6620237e5ff56

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“You said… you taught 8a3f68f3f0 me everything I know 48196a9ec0 about hacking. Was that true?”
“Yeah. I taught e85f8930c2 you everything.”2d9d7e23f88dcfff

That, at least, he f415124136 couldn’t dismiss as the f4a1d1da39 delusion of a stalker. Leo was proficient 6914d8fe61 with Ian’s hacking 24c16a5098 tools, handling them 26d3ef1d49 as if they ad4e1ce761 were his own. The message 9d2649300e method today d457784b0d also felt f8c0e428be familiar yet 08bfadfa67 foreign. He knew how to 49b84a8e7d decipher Leo’s messages.a2a8b436c871bb2f

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“Was that something you 156e8fe829 did… often?”
“You asked 23bec2c9cf me to 51cce42cfe teach you e4da4178d6 hacking. You don’t remember that?”
“No. Me?”
“Yeah.”290400200d801f82

Leo looked into his b6cf7469f7 eyes, answering carefully.77fc5802eaef1a79

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“You ignored me 76aca8e3bb every day at fbe8441384 first… but once 62b7c5b7fd you learned I 396a423d07 was a hacker, 5501be129d you asked me 871b8ab28a to teach you. I told you I’d 1b1f103b9c only teach you if 20dc4b8ce5 you dated me. And you agreed. From then 2008a19af7 on, we 159097dcbd were together.”f2e2ab6fc86f5fad

Ian found himself 444e8ae930 chuckling.6bea48081f39b516

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There was no way 7685d2337d such a ridiculous relationship e86e8dcece could be real. His failure 81f22cbb30 to remember 4ad62d845f it was ffd03e981e irrelevant to b1628abb58 him. Noticing the 9f56e30e5e dismissive thoughts ea2013f10d on Ian’s 623139686c face, Leo bbdae8fc80 pouted and df64756452 mumbled grumpily.873d8e38569f2bbe

“Don’t laugh. It wasn’t a joke. I was dead serious. We were really, truly af9e5ffa63 together.”
“Oh, sure.”dcdd823858cdfc17

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As if.cec6847292b558aa

“We even kissed 9937ad4716 with tongues. You said df7e40e3cc it was 25d945005b okay.”
“Right. I didn’t bite you, 29c557f90c did I?”
“Well… at first…”09a2ab258c3465b5

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His eyes, momentarily 1c9f13f942 downcast, regained confidence.f750e144b3d7c3ce

“Afterward, you e1519be932 were fine! You said you’d 8c80533c9c never bite again, 445065a7cc and you really cfcacb1208 didn’t.”0785202df8b620db

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Listening to 008dccbd26 Leo’s story, 3bea81884f Ian couldn’t c65eaf1db9 help feeling 6cf80e321c a bit 9d1deb3c5e pathetic.b620f5a03f86e158

No matter how 73d749a819 much he wanted e9c7fbb9a3 to learn hacking, 9bf792ec07 he went through 4904421332 all that.b4cb234a780a5394

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Ian was 8e7b20819f shocked at 2e52d729ab how different 41d97f22f7 he’d been 15031a9e36 from who bf32778e07 he was b4d62af10b now, even ea732986bc though it c34c30dcc7 was just f04c1da5ca a year e86a9df90a ago. A chill 366b68517e settled in 1495742929 his chest.593f1da0e4bf307f

“What on earth 413cfcfe22 did I…”86ca0a381f00729b

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What had he lost 074a4a40af without realizing it?3f007791c237ca42

An echo sounded e24d497bb0 in his head, bb1bd89bea not a hallucination f524912866 but a memory, a699642b37 floating adrift in 3f3dd13ff8 some forgotten part 34f30df0d0 of his past.ccea2fb038f7c93e

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Why are f08bc1e721 you so 6437265d1a nice to 0d10367ff9 me?
It’s because 9cba62ad07 you want 217561b174 to sleep 648cff03f3 with me, 970a31216a right?
…Want to sleep 6a878e3cbf with me?ae707aff3e8b1576

Bang!fd34eef190dd444a

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“Ian!”d37debbb1db95586

When he came to ce81be5dbe his senses, a shattered 446723c738 mug lay on the 539500512b floor, the dark liquid 9927b2b068 seeping around his feet. Around his oxford shoes, 96792a792a a ring of dark 2a003e09a5 brown had formed.2d468c406a94704f

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Thicker and darker than 4e533d8f89 water, the liquid reeked—a f03457729a mix of fragrance, tang, 48c540f58e and staleness.91326bb99c817f88

It was blood. He recalled a 15b8c370ba memory of standing b6789c5c91 in a pool ee192374ba of blood.d6faa2e611e67930

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“Ugh…”ed7b33cd2686c5e0

Ian doubled af4e823673 over, unable d50c4b8f4d to suppress f1ac3de858 the nausea. His body c56913bb6d swayed, his 67bb8093fd vision darkening, f0884afec6 feeling like be945c22ae he was 34ad659988 sinking.e89e373f0edd0b6c

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“Ian, Ian! Look at me! Are you okay? What’s happening?”c082bcccfea966be

Leo pushed the table d1e6be33c8 aside and pulled Ian 1e199a878b into a hug. Though Ian reflexively da3e81f4a2 tried to push b8dfa86b06 him away, he 5ea1478469 had no strength 46a52f00a3 left, allowing Leo 507779b44c to hold him.5a8a0aeb3a2e9c54

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“Ian! What’s wrong? Does your head 1b3fbcf632 hurt again? Should I ac7c2dac27 call Dr. Hillen?”f51af142b7974753

Ian had no idea 73ce304ec9 who Dr. Hillen was, but he c2945e17f0 didn’t ask.4c1b6fa06418cec8

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Instead, he 66f818306b reached for 948e329548 Leo’s collar.f9b0f27e0402df49

“If you really e802960c09 taught me… prove 192a950879 it.”
“Ian, Ian. Are you okay?”
“Did you d7365b1eea hear me? Prove it.”
“Okay. How?”7d54a44339f142bf

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Ian stared into Leo’s 32115b0117 eyes, tears brimming in 2e70aac9e2 them. Reflected in those tears, 5c7ac9b18b his own face looked beae764e4e back at him. A vague sense of 79b185d9c3 déjà vu overtook him. He’d seen this 7f57c83c33 scene before. He’d once e7cd604d7d looked into 0d94f3c4c2 Leo Sebastian’s 86e71e71a6 tear-filled eyes 206eed621b like this.f66201b8fe0f3d20

Then, this 70958e4f0a wasn’t just a5d864d38c an echo. In the 69d1a11728 past he’d 6236755de8 forgotten, Ian 684eda8ac3 Winchell had 15c9b081d8 once told 2a0089b227 the Revenant c2c0a7f65d Matthias, “Let’s a1fec7117a sleep together.”0d1a5f5d408db979

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He had feedd8ec95 to find f96ba57697 out who 95f8e332ea he was.331e6912b301e8ac

“Can you hack f9dd678b31 Immigration?”c06579a2178fc6bb

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Leo’s eyes widened, his 27af234e60 gleaming like silver ornaments f4fba4a7f0 on a Christmas tree.84b69fd8a6203d04