Unchained Memories *complete*

Author: JadeHeart
Fandom: Gravitation
Warnings: none
Summary: The bonds that tie Tohma and Jim Harris together – and introducing Kumagoro. (Side story to ‘The Key to My Heart’.)
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in this, apart from Jim Harris, they belong to the creators of ‘Gravitation’.


Chapter 2


“So let’s go over this once more,”

Tohma maintained a neutral expression, trying hard to radiate an aura of complete calm even though his heart was thumping and he longed to rub at his burning eyes. He had been here for hours, how many he didn’t know. He hadn’t bothered to check his watch since he had first arrived, fearing they would think it was a sign of nervousness. In his mind he ticked off the time. Every minute, every hour he was here, meant that the plane was further away, safe and out of their reach. He would put up sitting here for days to ensure that.

He began his story again, concentrating hard, knowing they were just waiting to see if he would trip up over a previously stated fact. He already repeated this story a number of times, each time ensuring it was exactly the same. He couldn’t afford to make any mistakes. If he did, if he showed any crack in this armour he was weaving, they would have him. Or worse, they would have…

He pulled his weary and emotionally drained mind back on track, hoping the two visible, and however many non-visible, listeners hadn’t noticed that small lapse in his thoughts. Concentrate, he commanded himself, steeling his mind against any other stray thoughts. Stay on track and, for all the gods’ sakes, keep concentrating!

He began at the beginning; always a good place to start, if you started there it would follow a logical pattern as you traced the steps you wished to take to the final conclusion. Anything else would have just made it extremely messy and difficult to keep track of. So he kept his voice well modulated with just the right touch of emotion where it was required, but other than that, maintaining a certain distance in his voice from the events. He wasn’t supposed to be intimately acquainted with the final result.

So once again he wove his alibi into the story, carefully watching the two men before him, watching their eyes, their faces, every twitch of the hands or movement of the body, anything that would give him a clue, a tell-tale sign of what they were thinking or how they were reacting to his reiteration. So far it had seemed to all be in his favour, despite their obvious disappointment.

The first part of the tale was easy; it was facts, pure and simple. Stick with the facts where possible, there was less chance they could trip him up from those. All of that had been completely above board and could be verified easily. They would find no fault there. So the facts were easy. Then begin to weave the half truths. Just enough to slightly distort the facts as they had been, just skew them a little so an outsider would arrive at a different conclusion to what had actually been. It sometimes didn’t take much and Tohma had become an expert of ‘subtle’ by now so he used that skill shamelessly here. Just give them enough to send them in a direction other than that that the true facts would have given them.

Coming to the end was a little harder. This was where he was having to downright lie. He had to tread very carefully here, very carefully indeed. This was the crucial point in the telling. He still had some truths to work with but they were very few and far between. He couldn’t embellish it too much, that would be far too heavy-handed and would most likely only direct them to digging deeper in a place he didn’t wish them to. As it was he would have do some fast talking and fancy footwork, figuratively speaking, to draw their attention away from a certain path. They would certainly still look there, no matter what; there was nothing he could have done about that. But he hoped he was able to ensure that that look was nothing more than cursory at the best. Keep them misdirected, keep them looking outwards not inwards, keep them looking for an insubstantial shadowy being with no name or face, let them expend their energy chasing phantoms, and thus leaving he and his alone.

And so he continued to weave his magic through the words, conjuring this illusionary world as he called upon all the skills and ability he had at his disposal. He had to provide that protection. He had promised that he would. That was all he could do now, this was all he had to offer, this twisted tale. He was out of any other options.

He reached the end of the story once again, falling silent after the last sentence. That silence filled the room as he watched the two men opposite him watching him, neither of them speaking, neither of them moving. Then one leant forward a little, resting an elbow on the table and pointing a finger directly at Tohma.

“So let me get this straight,” the man began.

Ah, Tohma thought, now comes more of the interrogation questions, designed to cast doubt into the mind of the suspect. He refused to let it ruffle him.

“You’re saying that you were aware of Kitazawa’s drug problem?”

“I suspected something,” Tohma replied with a half truth. Oh, he had known all right, and it was due to his misjudgment of the situation that this whole scenario had now arisen. Finding himself sitting here now seemed only right somehow, a fitting result for his error. This was justice for his mistakes.

“And yet you still let him work for you?” Skepticism filled the voice.

“I spoke to him about it, to try and determine if I was correct in my assumption,” Tohma responded calmly. Again another half truth. “I hadn’t seen any real evidence of this problem during the few years he had been tutoring my charge and it hadn’t seemed to have affected his performance or his working relationship.”

“So just what was the relationship between Kitazawa and your young friend?” A sudden probing question designed to shock and get past the defenses - and one that Tohma had to deflect quickly to halt that line of thinking.

“Eiri respected and admired Kitazawa. He was, after all, his closest friend here during his stay. He was inspired by Kitazawa and wished to emulate him in many ways, even being inspired in looking at becoming a novelist as his tutor wished to be.”

“So there was nothing more?” They were still digging. He needed to get those figurative shovels away from them.

“Just what are you implying?” Tohma asked back, still keeping his face straight and his voice calm. He had to find a way to cease this line of questioning.

“Okay, I’ll come straight out and say it. Was Kitazawa screwing Eiri?” Full on shock treatment now. They weren’t holding back anymore, no more hedging around the subject. They were getting far too close for Tohma’s comfort. Misdirect them, get focused back on me, his racing thoughts demanded.

Tohma managed a light laugh, hoping it didn’t have a touch of hysteria to it which would completely ruin the impression he was trying to create. “However did you come up with that?” he managed to say with a half smile, seeming amused by the question. “Let me assure you that Kitazawa didn’t touch Eiri in all the years he had been working as his tutor.”

“How can you be so sure?” they pressed, trying to shake his calm resolve, trying to rattle him. Oh, no, you don’t, he thought back to them, trying to look into their very souls. You don’t know who you are dealing with here. You won’t break me that easily. His blank features gave them no inkling of the fierce thoughts that were churning inside his mind. I won’t let you touch Eiri. I won’t let you touch anything that is mine. No-one touches what is mine!

His voice was perfectly collected as he answered the blunt question, “Because I was the only other person in New York that Eiri knew. He’s known me for many years, he lived with me here, and he told me everything that was happening, including every moment he spent with Yuki Kitazawa. Believe me, I would have known if there had been anything of the sort occurring.”

“You sound mighty confident,” They seemed a little upset at this attribute.

Are you so used to others caving before your onslaught, Tohma wondered, still watching them carefully, trying to read every flicker of emotion they let slip that would indicate their corresponding thoughts. His head was beginning to ache with the intensity of the concentration he was trying to maintain. Up till now you must have only been dealing with idiots. Now you are dealing with me.

Tohma looked back at them calmly and spoke very precisely, “I am.”

“Humph!” One of the men stood and walked towards the door whilst the still seated partner leant further forward. “So how come you suddenly put Eiri on a plane back to Japan tonight? That’s was pretty sudden, wasn’t it? Perhaps a bit too much of a coincidence?”

Back on the attack now, Tohma thought. Back to trying to see just how much they can push me to lose my temper. He clamped down more firmly on his own emotions, pushing the anger that was certainly there far into the deepest pit in his soul. He would not let it escape here. He would not be ruled by his emotions. Nothing but calm.

“Not at all,” he answered levelly, “As I have said, Eiri hadn’t been feeling very well the last few days. He had tried to hide it but I knew that something was troubling him. I managed to have him tell me a little and realized that the best place for him to be to work through these issues was back home with his family. I am only a friend after all, albeit a close family friend, but it is not the same as being within his own family confines. I did what I thought was best for him. I had already decided that is what I would do and fairly soon, however when I had finished work today,” was it still today, he thought absently, or was it already yesterday? “and arrived home I could see he was even more upset. I had no intention of letting it go on any longer without him having the support of his family. I found out that there was availability on tonight’s flight and so decided that there was no point in putting it off. That is all there was to it.”

“Really?” Disbelief coloured the man’s voice.

“Yes,” Tohma replied, still sitting perfectly still.

During his conversation he had heard the door open, the murmur of voices and then the click as the door closed once more. The second detective approached and leant down to whisper in his partner’s ear for a moment. A brief nod from the other acknowledged what he had said.

“Okay, Mr. Seguchi, we’ve got some things to check out from what you’ve told us.” The man stood and both left the room, leaving Tohma still seated there. Even with their presence gone Tohma didn’t dare drop his guard. The large glass panel opposite him made him more than a little nervous. There could be ten people behind that, or there could be no-one. He couldn’t drop his façade now, just in case. So all he did was shift a little on the hard seat, trying to hide the wince at his aching back, and lean his elbows on the table top to rest his chin in his hands.

Keep flying, keep flying, he repeated in his mind like a mantra. Eiri would be nearly home by now, if not already. He really had lost track of time and he was now too tired to even try and check his watch. Mika would look after Eiri from now on. He would be all right now. He stifled a yawn that threatened to break out. He was so tired, so very tired.

The sound of the door opening again roused him from a half-doze, even though his eyes were open. Careless, he scolded himself, stay alert. Don’t let them catch you off guard. He looked up to see a different man enter alone, unaccompanied by the other two previous detectives.

Tohma looked him over, taking in the smart casual dress. The man would be taller than he was by a few inches he guessed, and had dark hair and bright blue eyes. He looked to be around five, or anything up to ten, years older than himself, it was a little hard to guess any closer in this bad lighting.

The man walked directly over to the table and placed a steaming styrofoam cup in front of him, a match to the one held in the other hand. The subtle aroma of coffee infiltrated Tohma’s nostrils making his mind buzz at the mere smell. The other man sat down opposite him and sipped at his own cup.

“You can drink it, you know,” he said, nodding towards the cup still standing untouched before him. “It’s not poisoned or anything.”

Tohma let one corner of his mouth twitch a little as he reached for the cup. “It would be difficult to explain away the corpse under such circumstances I would suspect.” he said as he took a grateful sip. He hadn’t been offered anything to drink or eat since he had arrived and the hot beverage tasted like heaven.

“Especially of someone as well connected as you are,” the other replied with a straight face and a flat voice.

Tohma looked up quickly. Connected? What did he mean? “I don’t quite follow you,” he said carefully, taking another sip and watching the other over the rim of the cup, “Just what do you mean?”

“Aw, come on, don’t kid around! You’re Tohma Seguchi, keyboardist for the band, Nittle Grasper, a Japanese import that isn’t doing half bad over here.”

Tohma felt his eyebrows rise before he could school his face into neutrality. “I’m surprised you know of me.” Tohma looked him over again. He certainly didn’t look like the type of person who would follow their music. Was he a closet Jpop fan?

The man waved one hand in a nonchalant manner, “Those guys,” jabbing a thumb in the direction of the mirror behind him, “wouldn’t have a clue about it. They just think you are something to do with the music industry. Me, I know exactly just who you are.”

“And why is that?” Tohma was curious now, despite himself. If this was a ploy to catch him off guard it was a novel approach.

The man’s mouth turned down in a mock pout, “My fiancée happens to love your band. She’s gone completely ga-ga over it, along with half a dozen of her friends.” He rolled his eyes heavenward in an expression of exasperation. “Your next tour is all they can talk about lately. Got any idea of when tickets are going to go on sale?”

Tohma sat there a moment longer, taking another drink from his coffee as he tried to change his mind channels. Who was this person? And how did they get on to talking about tickets for Nittle Grasper’s next tour?! Just where was this trying to head? He was feeling himself getting confused in his sleep-deprived mind. Not a good sign, he thought, trying to gather his scattered thoughts together again. Okay, go with the flow, keep it together.

“Well, we haven’t set a date just yet,” he replied, “Of course, depending on what you people intend to do with me could have quite an impact as to whether the tour with go on or not.” A not-to-subtle dig at the current situation as it stood.

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that,” the man said, seeming without a care in the world, brushing Tohma’s comment aside as though it was of no matter at all.

Tohma was beginning to feel more tired by the minute, and this casual banter was not helping his frayed nerves. He wasn’t going to be able to keep this up for much longer. He decided that he had been calm enough for long enough and it was now time to begin exerting his authority a little more.

He finished the last of the coffee and set the cup down firmly on the table, fixing the other man with a hard glare. “I appreciate the coffee. It was the first sign of good manners I had experienced from anyone here. My opinion of the police force has risen one small notch - but considering it was currently sitting in a negative position, that doesn’t really mean a great deal.”

The man’s brows rose but he said nothing as Tohma continued, “I understand perfectly that you people have a job to do. This situation is disturbing indeed and more disturbing when I consider how much harm my charge may have been subjected to unwittingly if things had escalated. However, I am aware of my rights and am fully aware you cannot hold me indefinitely, so I will shortly be making a call to my Embassy if you do not provide me with some valid reason for why you insisting on continuing to hold me here. Your lack of manners and hospitality, not including your lack of following correct procedure, does not endear yourselves to me in any way. I’m sure the media would have a field day with this matter if they managed to get hold of it also.”

The man gently placed his own empty cup on the table as well before speaking, “Wouldn’t that work both ways?” he asked. “Your name would be getting dragged through the muck as well.”

Tohma smiled, and not pleasantly. He was tired of pulling his punches – hell, he was just plain tired. “From my perspective as a musician, any publicity becomes good publicity when used correctly. Believe me, we could turn something like this to create an enormous amount of sympathy for myself as a person, and thus generate a huge amount of interest in Nittle Grasper. That would only be good for sales of our albums, as well as ticket sales for the next tour, not to mention getting ourselves known to a far wider audience than we have done so far.” Tohma leant back on the uncomfortable chair, clasping his hands carefully together on the table before him. “Believe me, this could truly be used to our advantage. The same could not be said for yourselves.”

The man opposite leant back also, almost mirroring Tohma’s stance. A smile played at the corner of his mouth, and Tohma was certain he detected a slight twinkle of humour in those eyes in the room’s dim light. “You are probably right. In other words you are telling me that if we don’t get our act together, you’ll screw us big time.”

“I don’t recall saying anything of the sort,” Tohma replied levelly. “Which I’m sure your recording of this conversation would clearly show. What interpretation you put on things is entirely your own doing, and none of mine.”

A quiet chuckle filled the silence after his last comment, a chuckle that grew to a laugh. The other man stood, still laughing softly to himself. “Okay, you’ve got us,” he said, looking down at Tohma with a smile. “Leave it with me and I’ll get it sorted out.”

“I trust that it will be done propitiously,” Tohma said succinctly.

“Absolutely pronto!” the man said, holding up a hand in a half salute. “Scouts honour!” and he breezed out the door.

Scouts honour?, Tohma wondered. Was that some sort of secret society or something?

He didn’t have enough time to think further about it as the door opened once more and the man returned, a broad smile on his face. This time the door wasn’t closed behind him. He walked over to the table and perched on the corner, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Okay, we’ve just to wait for about another ten minutes,” he began, looking down at Tohma. “Are you cool with that?”

“Why?” Tohma asked, not really expecting an answer.

“They’re still making some calls.”

“So they are calling Ms. Uesugi.” Tohma made it a statement.

“You don’t miss much, do you?” the man said, with a wry grin. “Yeah, they’re calling her. They want to check out what you claimed, you know about your charge’s state of mind and all that.”

“I see,”

“So will you wait?”

“And if I say no?”

The man waved towards the open door, “There’s the door. You’re free to leave if that’s what you want.”

Tohma looked at the door, pursing his lips in thought. “If I leave right at this moment I will no doubt only be bothered by you people again in a matter of hours, if not minutes, is that not true?”

The man shrugged, “Probably,” he admitted.

Tohma let out a small sigh, “Then I shall wait. For ten minutes only.”

“Okay then,” the man said heartily, “I’m going to go get us another coffee so sit tight for a bit.”

True to his word he was back in a moment with two more cups of steaming liquid. Tohma didn’t generally drink this much coffee and certainly not this late at night, or was it early morning by now? But just at this moment he really needed it.

“Mind if I smoke?” the other asked, taking a seat opposite again.

Tohma waved a hand giving permission, “Go ahead.”

“Thanks.”

Tohma watched the other remove cigarettes and lighter, watched the cigarette end glow when was met by the flame and the man leaning back to inhale deeply, then a pause before he exhaled sending the smoke twisting upwards towards the ceiling.

“You know your story corresponds with what we already had on file.”

The sudden comment startled Tohma out of his own internal introspection. He focused his attention back on his opposite number.

“It had been easy to run a back ground check on Kitazawa as soon as we were called in, and it was all there; his family, his schooling, his employment. There’s no problem finding out any of that stuff. However, now – well, there’s obviously a little more underneath. Thought you might like to know, there were two other men found in Kitazawa’s place, both dead as well. Both of them came up in our databanks.”

The man took another drag on his cigarette, “That means they already had records - for drug dealings. That’s how we guessed Kitazawa must have been caught up in it too. There was a small packet of crack on him at the time, so it looks like they might have been surprised during a drug deal, though there wasn’t enough to get excited about. Usually when something like this happens pretty big loads are involved. This was mere chicken feed, not even enough for these type of guys to break a sweat over. That’s what’s so odd.”

He shrugged, shifting a little on his chair, “It could be that a rival gang got wind of something going down, assumed it was something big, and tried to get the jump on them. That’s fairly normal amongst the dealers. It’s a competitive market out there. So that’s what it looks like. Another dealer busted in thinking they had hit pay dirt, instead all they busted was a normal small hand-over. They wouldn’t have got squat for that so it would have been a complete waste of their time. All that trouble for nothing.”

He blew out another lungful of smoke, not looking at Tohma, “Though there are a few things that are odd. Kitazawa obviously wasn’t anything big time, he was nothing more than a druggie, just one of many these guys would have been supplying. But for those two guys to be there together there must have been something important going on. It’s thought that most likely they were going to go onto somewhere else where the real business was going to take place, and the stop at Kitazawa’s apartment was just that; a stop-over to do the drop and then move on. They just happened to be caught by the other gang there instead of where the real deal was going to happen. That’s what is thought anyway.” He shrugged again, “We’ll never know now. Looks like Kitazawa was just unlucky enough to be caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“So that is the current consensus?” Tohma questioned.

The man reached out to stub the cigarette into the empty cup before him, immediately lighting another. “Yep. They’ve decided that the gun being left there, wiped clean no less, was just to get rid of the evidence once they realized they had made a mistake. At least they weren’t so stupid as to try and put it in the hand of one of the corpses to try and pretend it was some sort of cheesy murder-suicide incident.” He exhaled deeply, “Yes, it was a pretty neat and tidy little scene, for all the goriness of the situation. If they had been trying to do a cover-up they did a pretty good one really. Keep it nice and simple, and avoid trying to complicate the situation.” He finally dropped his eyes to meet Tohma’s. “Don’t you think so?”

Tohma kept his face blank, “I’m not a policeman,” he merely pointed out calmly. “It is not up to me to think about what was there or not.”

“Hmm,” another exhalation, “you are quite correct.”

The cigarette had almost reached the end. “Why are you telling me this?” Tohma asked mildly. “Isn’t this breaking protocol to talk about the case to one of the suspects?”

“You’re not a suspect,” he said, “Not any more. It seems pretty clear cut to them out there now. They were just giving you a hard time because they couldn’t lay their hands on anyone else. And it makes them look good in the boss’s eyes.”

“So they had already spoken with Ms. Uesugi?”

The man nodded, not showing any shame for his earlier lie, “Yep, and it all matched up perfectly with what you had said.” He looked across at Tohma with a broad smile, “She also gave them a real earful for calling at this hour and disturbing her and her elderly father’s rest, not to mention how dare we harass her little brother in another country! She’s a real tiger!”

“Yes, she is,” Tohma couldn’t stop the affection that infused those three words.

The smile on the other’s face grew wider. “Don’t tell me you and she…” He left it unfinished as he glanced at Tohma’s hands, seeing the ring glinting there. “Ah, so she’s your little lady?”

“We are betrothed, if you really must know,” Tohma said.

“So when’s the big day?”

“When I am able to prove to her father that I can adequately support her.”

The man chortled, “Hell, how greedy could the old geezer be? You’re a big pop star, you must be rolling in it!”

“Her father is a monk. Money is not exactly what he is seeking.”

The man’s eyes widened, “A monk, huh? Geez, that must be tough.” A final drag on the cigarette, “Hey, want to see something cool?” and he sat back and blew a perfect smoke ring. They both watched it drift upwards, slowly dissipating until there was nothing left. Smoke and mirrors, Tohma thought. That’s all any of this was, smoke and mirrors.

Tohma glanced at his watch and stood, “Ten minutes is up,” he said, making his way to the open door. “I believe I have fulfilled my side of this bargain.”

“Sure,” was the placid answer from behind him. He paused and turned, seeing the man still sitting there calmly. “Not a problem,” He looked over at Tohma and tossed him a quick smile. “It’s not like we don’t know how to reach you. You’re not planning on having any emotional crisis from all this that’s going to send you running back to Japan in the near future, are you?” The question was asked very calmly but Tohma read the underlying meaning, ‘Don’t leave the country’ and ‘We’ll be watching you’. This man was far from the relaxed, seemingly completely unaware person he pretended to be.

“No,” he answered just as calmly. “I will be here for sometime yet. After all,” and this time he smiled back, “We have a tour to perform.”

“Great!” the man said, standing abruptly and striding over to him. “I’ll see you out. But before I do, could you sign this for me?” He held out the second styrofoam cup and a pen.

Tohma looked at him with perplexity, but he just grinned, “I told you. My fiancée is mad keen on your band. You thought I was kidding, didn’t you? Believe me, I wouldn’t make up something like this. If she found out that I had been speaking with you and hadn’t got your autograph I can tell you now that I’d be singing soprano for the rest of my life!”

“She sounds quite formidable,” Tohma replied, taking the pen and scrawling his name around the curve of the cup before handing it back.

“I think it would be a good idea to never let her and your missus ever meet. Their…shall we say personalities, sound a little too similar. If they ever got together our lives wouldn’t be worth living!”

“That would probably be true,” Tohma responded, another smile tugging involuntarily at his lips. By this time they had reached the main doors and the man buzzed them through, leading Tohma right to the doors exiting onto the street.

“Are you okay to get home?” He was asked solicitously.

“Yes, I’ll grab a cab,” Tohma said, setting off down the stairs.

“Okay then. It was nice meeting you - and thanks for the autograph!” and with a jaunty wave the man turned to go.

On impulse Tohma called out, not really knowing why, and asked, “What is your name?”

“Me?” the man said, then smiled and winked at him. “Jim. Jim Harris. Catch ya!” and he disappeared back into the building.

Tohma turned slowly and made his way to the sidewalk with weary steps. Fortunately just at that moment a cab drifted past and he hurriedly waved it down, thanking whatever gods who were watching over him at this time for their benevolence. He could barely keep his eyes open and his whole body felt drained and strained as though he had been exerting himself both physically and mentally far past his limits. In many ways he had.

As he leant back with a sigh into the comfortable softness of the cab’s seat he thought back to the man he had just spent so long with. Jim Harris, he mused, what a strange man.

***********

The sound of the door opening behind him brought Tohma out of his memories and back to the present. He turned to see Mika standing there.

“Are you finished for the day?’ she asked, leaning on the frame elegantly.

He smiled at her. “Yes, I’m done here. Shall we have dinner out?”

“Ah, yes, that would be nice.” she agreed, walking over to collect his coat and hat and holding them out to him as he drew near.

He nodded his thanks as he slipped on both and held out his arm for her to take. “What were you so deep in thought about?” she asked as they walked down the silent corridor.

“Hmm?” he said, turning to look at her.

“I knocked twice and you didn’t even hear me.”

“Sorry,” he apologised.

“Don’t apologise. Tell me what were you thinking about? Was it about Eiri and Shuichi still?”

“Actually, no,” he said with a smile.

“No?” She sounded like she didn’t believe him. Not surprising really when usually those two were constantly on his mind.

“If you really want to know, I was thinking about Jim.”

“Oh, have you spoken to him lately?”

“Yes, just today,”

“How is he?”

“Fine, though busy by the sounds of it.”

“He needs to find a wife,” Mika stated flatly.

“Perhaps,’ Tohma remained non-committal.

“So,” Mika spoke up again after a moment of silence just before they reached the car, “Just what about Jim were you thinking?”

He unlocked the vehicle and held the door open so she could seat herself in the passenger seat. “Oh, just the past,” He closed the door and walked round to the driver’s side, seating himself quickly.

“I thought you weren’t gong to dwell on the past anymore?” she said softly.

He reached across and stroked the back of her hand gently before returning his hand to the steering wheel. “I’m not. I was just remembering.”

“All right then,”

Tohma was glad she didn’t pursue her questioning. There were many things that even Mika didn’t know about his association with Jim. She knew the main points, but he had never told her everything.

From that inauspicious initial meeting under those strained conditions, it seemed that his and Jim’s fates were inextricably tied together; neither able to escape the other, until neither wanted to escape the other. He had thought that first meeting was the worst way he could have met anyone, especially someone who came to be such a good friend.

He couldn’t have known back then just how wrong he was to have been – and that the worst was yet to come.