The Answer

Chapter 1

Gerard walked slowly up the stairs to his front porch. It was dark and he was late, but a little too drunk to care. He was about to ring the door bell when he noticed that all the lights in the house were off; where was everyone?

"Carol?" He called out, trying to sound sober.

No answer.

"Max?" He called, this time more firm and loud.

No reply.

"They're probably on their way home.." he muttered to himself and picked up the spare key from under the pot of daisies. He staggered inside and collapsed on the couch, in front of the television. He turned it on lazily to watch the evening news.

All the channels were covering the same story: The bomb that went off at the Golden Gate Bridge. They were reading out a list of names of the bodies that had been identified, but Gerard was hardly listening.

He drifted back to the last time he saw his best friend, Travis. That fateful day when the two of them went to disarm a group of thugs in the abandoned factory. They were invincible and the whole police force respected them for that. But things didn't go as planned that day.

Gerard was to cover Travis as he advanced, but he failed to see a thug advancing and Travis paid with his life. Unable to live with the aftermath of his shortcoming, he quit the force and took up a job as a columnist for Forbes. he was glad he had a Journalism degree, but he missed Travis and his old job terribly. All he could do now was drink to those good old days.

He was jolted out of his thoughts when he heard the news reporter saying "...Carol Sanders, Jake Lewis..."

Gerard went pale.

"No.." He whispered.

The news reporter went on, "Andrew Hope, Max Sanders..."

Gerard watched the reporter read out the entire list in horror.

"I'm imagining things," he tried to convince himself.

He dialled Carol's number and waited for her to pick up. It rang and rang, but she didn't pick up. He tried again, but this time it was unreachable.

"I'm imagining things," he tried to calm himself, "I'm drunk and hallucinating."

He tried to laugh at himself, but all that came was tears. He wanted to believe he had heard otherwise, but he knew he wasn't that drunk. A soft knock on the front door ignited the hope that he was wrong. He dashed to it and opened the door,"Carol!"

"Kevin, actually.." said the man standing at his door sadly.

Gerard then noticed the police car behind Kevin and the sparkle in his eyes vanished.

"I'm sorry..." Kevin said.

Gerard sat at the front porch, with his face in his hands.

After a long silence, he looked up at Kevin and asked," Thanks for coming here to tell me, old friend. Where are they... The-" Gerard's voice cracked.

"I'll take you there," Kevin replied miserably, "But that's not the only reason they sent me."

Gerard struggled to fight the tears, "I don't understand..."

Kevin took a deep breathe," The chief wants you back.."

"What?" Gerard sounded almost angry.

Kevin shifted from one foot to another, "David asked me to convince you to come back.. I was on my way here when we found out that Carol and Max-"

Gerard frowned, "I told David that I'd never come back, I simply can't. Especially after what's happened. How can he ask me to work when I've just lost everything?"

Kevin looked at his feet, unable to answer.

"You and I both know that you'll do it," a voice spoke from behind Kevin.

Both men turned to find David standing at the base of the stairs, looking tired and depressed.

Gerard blinked at David,"You can't force me."

"I don't have to," David shrugged, "you know you want revenge and a chance to bring back what you've left behind."

"I'm nothing without Travis.." Gerard choked.

"Travis wouldn't want to see you like this," Kevin said sympathetically, "at least for his sake..."

The icy look Gerard gave him silenced Kevin's argument.

"I'll think about it," Gerard muttered and slammed the door shut behind him.

Kevin and David turned and walked back to the car.

"Do you think he'll change his mind?" Kevin asked.

"He already did." David replied.

******
The television could no longer be used as a distraction, so Gerard put it off. He considered drinking some beer, but when he opened the fridge there's wasn't any. He could've sworn he hadn't finished the six-pack he bought yesterday.

Carol must've gotten rid of it, she didn't like him drinking so much. She never stopped him though, she didn't want to control him. But he knew she had been upset with his behaviour and that stung him.

She wasn't going to be around anymore, she and Max had left him to his fate. He didn't even get a chance to say goodbye or show them that he would get better. Was this what he wanted from his life?

He tried to shrug off the guilt and pain that invaded his very being, but how could he? Nothing hurt more than losing the people you love.

Gerard went to the cellar and took out a bottle of wine he had been saving for their anniversary. It was only a week away and he had decided to promise to Carol that he would better himself.

He drunk the pale liquid straight from the bottle and let it burn his insides. He deserved to be punished, he was useless. By the time he was down to half a bottle, Gerard was weeping profusely on the floor.

After crying for three hours at a stretch, he got up and washed his face. He threw out the bottle of wine, still half full, and picked up the phone.

"Hello?" David said on the other end.

"What time do I come by the station tomorrow?" Gerard asked bluntly.

"9:00 am would be great, but you can come later." He replied.

"I'll be there at 8:30, keep the case file ready for me."

The line went dead and David replaced the receiver on his desk. A small smile crept on his lips; he was getting his best man back, finally.