Carson made it back to the office incident free. No one asked him why the long face, no one was surprised he didn't smile at them, and no one else was in the mood for smiles, either. As a Catcher, everyone knew it was hard to deal with murderers, which was part of the reason why everyone had such a morbid sense of humor. copyright protection367ＰＥＮＡＮＡgrnvZovLq7
None of them would have guessed Carson had become one of them. And keeping it a secret wasn't the hard part. Keeping the smile off his face was. He couldn't help feeling the exhilaration of time, so much time. Carson was thirty, so he hadn't been exactly "old," but having three hundred years stretched out in front of him felt so amazing. copyright protection367ＰＥＮＡＮＡ454RlGT7Pj
But in the Time Killer Catcher department, genuine smiles attracted attention, and attention was the last thing Carson needed. copyright protection367ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6st3Om9xeK
As soon as Carson made it to his cubicle, he filed the Goldie Rose case a "missing." He claimed that he got to the house and found nothing, an abandoned house. Cases often ended that way, and after submitting his report, Carson was beginning to feel better about all of this. Well, despite the fact that he was a real murderer, now. That probably wasn't going to get better.copyright protection367ＰＥＮＡＮＡbX1OhC0Q8t
In the middle of Carson's dilemma, his boss walked up to his cubicle.copyright protection367ＰＥＮＡＮＡ35AWGdbHmI
"David, something's up," Allison, his boss, said sternly. Carson nearly jumped out of his chair.copyright protection367ＰＥＮＡＮＡYzsOjWSqUi
"What do you mean?" Carson asked, measuring his voice. Did his report sound suspicious? Or did he have that look now, the Time look? copyright protection367ＰＥＮＡＮＡ25FLZSqybd
She looked at the scrawl of bad handwriting on Carson's mobile-pad. He'd been nervously making notes of Time Killer habits, trying to avoid them, but most were just his mother's nervous ticks. copyright protection367ＰＥＮＡＮＡodrGgEf5ZJ
"Cavil's child's been murdered. That's the sixth in as many months. Catcher children are being targeted," Allison pointed out.copyright protection367ＰＥＮＡＮＡkji4OGjoSt
"You know how I feel about speculation," Carson said, relaxing a notch. "Tex, we've caught every single one of those Time Killers as soon as they struck," he said, using her nickname for good measure. "They're not related. It's just gotten harder to contain."copyright protection367ＰＥＮＡＮＡHk6wdGWNhK
"What makes you say that?" Allison asked. "There's no evidence of any kind of large leak of information. And didn't you just say you hated speculation?" copyright protection367ＰＥＮＡＮＡs4U9sIn4ZF
Carson started and then stopped. He almost told her what he meant. It wasn't information that was leaking. It was the Killer population. It was himself.copyright protection367ＰＥＮＡＮＡIuTToa1RUJ
"I just had a hunch," Carson said finally. "It's probably nothing. Don’t worry about it." copyright protection367ＰＥＮＡＮＡpDapGsZmAp
"Good," Allison said. "Oh, and I'm going on break for next week, Armistice Day and all. If you're going on break, be sure to tell Stan." copyright protection367ＰＥＮＡＮＡlgPjOMzoOs
Carson nodded. "Have a nice time." copyright protection367ＰＥＮＡＮＡsVnO2hZ21V
"You too." She started walking away. copyright protection367ＰＥＮＡＮＡRyCQmkYVj2
"Bye," Carson called after her. She stopped. copyright protection367ＰＥＮＡＮＡVlkSS4Cf5c
"Don't say goodbye," she said. "Remember?" copyright protection367ＰＥＮＡＮＡs0d0hc3WYu
Carson sighed. His boss had this notion about goodbyes. "Sorry, Tex. Forgot you hate goodbyes." copyright protection367ＰＥＮＡＮＡWVk8guGfme
"Don't sweat it." Allison disappeared into the sprawl of cubicles. copyright protection367ＰＥＮＡＮＡg0qxwDDdXy
New case closed, Carson thought. New Time Killer in custody. He had a plan because Carson knew he needed help if he was going to get anywhere without ending up in a padded cell. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSnrGHGMNRF
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Carson picked up his handheld and called Cavil, the coworker who most recently lost his daughter to Time Killing. copyright protection367ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3kN9U20DTP
"Carson?" Cavil said, picking up his end. copyright protection367ＰＥＮＡＮＡZI5UgYHgWY
"Hey, you know where they put Harrison?" Carson asked. "I’m sorry to bother you, but…"copyright protection367ＰＥＮＡＮＡWNYoCMBSka
"No problem," Cavil responded, though he sounded like it was hard for him. "He's holed up in cell 29. Why?" 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpjro8Zw2zX
copyright protection367ＰＥＮＡＮＡLBmgvAAhpO
"Research…" Carson said, leaving it at that. copyright protection367ＰＥＮＡＮＡr5sPNFB7AG
"Kay, no problem. Bye, kiddo," Cavil said before hanging up. copyright protection367ＰＥＮＡＮＡgJNBqjYv77
Carson sighed. Cavil was one of the best Time Killer Catchers. He was one of the few who was stationed in one of the surviving above ground cities. Carson had always wanted to be like Cavil, but he knew he could not be further from him in his current state. 371Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSdL6NVBo5q
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