Chapter 4

KRISTIN BAOK

Kristin Baok was shaking enough that he thought he might vibrate out of his skin.

It was the most he had felt since he learned of his brother's murder.

A little thread of hope burned in his chest, branding his soul with the choking need for the truth, the knowledge of what really happened to Ashley. Who had decided his life would get cut so painfully short, who had inflicted those countless terrible injuries, who was responsible for making the world live on without Ashley.

But this person —this Felix Fisk— claimed to have witnessed what happened to Ashley.

This Felix Fisk might have answers to some of the questions brimming in Kristin's head.

This Felix Fisk might be able to quiet the clamor in Kristin's mind every night as he lay awake wondering what had happened to his brother.

This Felix Fisk might make it so Ashley could get the justice he deserved and Kristin could get whatever closure that might offer and no longer have to think and wonder quite so hard.

The yawning void of nothingness in Kristin's soul thrummed with energy as he watched Ferris and Charlie read the email.

"Felix said he saw it," Kristin said, voice tight and high. "And Larson said there was a witness to Ashley's... Ashley's murder."

Ferris leaned back on the couch, setting Kristin's laptop on the coffee table. "Yes, that is true about a witness," he said carefully, working over his words, "but this isn't really proof that this Felix is the witness. As terrible as the thought is and as much as I hate saying it, this could be fake."

Charlie scowled at the email.

"What is it?" Kristin asked, hoping with every cell of his body that she saw something different. That she would back up his own all-consuming need for this to pan out into something. That she would say with certainty that the email was true, was real.

That Felix Fisk was the witness.

She curled her lip. "Well, dunno. There's just somethin' about it, you know? I mean, the words in the email seem like he genuinely is upset about... supposedly witnessing Ashley's murder. And that tracks with what Larson said about another person there who wasn't involved. But he doesn't really give any details. Sure, he said he heard a scream, but that's generic, you know? It's a safe thing to say, cuz who wouldn't scream in that situation? There aren't really any other details to show that he knows stuff only the witness would know. I can get why he might have avoided offering any details, though. He's the one reachin' out, and if he's got the wrong email, no harm no foul and nothing is exposed to the wrong person. And he doesn't know if we'll —kinda meaning you, Kristin, but sorta all of us— even want to talk to him. But this... even though I just was talking like he really was the witness, I can't say for certain. It would be nice if he was, but who knows. Nothing in there is proof this Felix Fisk dude is the witness. Doesn't mean he isn't but it's not any proof, no matter how nice that would be."

"You just said it wasn't proof he's not the witness," Kristin blurted, clinging to those threads of hope in a grip that was beginning to slip. "We gotta reach out, right? We gotta see?"

"I don't know," Ferris said. "I think we should turn this over to Larson Hotch. He'll be able to figure out if it's real or not, and then what the next best steps are in regard to it."

"If it's nothing, we shouldn't waste Larson's time, right? He's going through everything they've already found and finding where they still need to search." Kristin's fingers itched to hit the reply button and type out a message. What else did Felix know? What did Felix see?

But a small part of him knew that Ferris and Charlie very well could be right— Felix Fisk might not even be a real person, and, whether or not Felix was real, whoever wrote the email might not have even been anywhere near Myway Highway on the night of Ashley's murder. They could've been out in Raconteur, in the far-off outskirts of Cloverleaf, the furthest corners of Waverwell.

The thought made his heart sink.

Ferris gave a sympathetic smile, a look on his face that told Kristin he could see the panic swelling within his soul. "If it is something, Larson, along with Asa and Azrael and the other detectives working on Ashley's case, will want to have the email so they can gain as many clues and pieces of evidence as they can. And they'll want to contact Felix to speak with him. No stone will go unturned, Kristin."

That little part of Kristin —the part that lurked somewhere in the far depths of his conscious— knew that Ferris was right. If this email did turn out to be true, Larson would want to speak with Felix, as would Asa and Azrael. They would need to know about the email, and Kristin didn't know if they would let him respond.

Didn't know if they would let him communicate with possibly the only person apart from the killers who knew what happened to Ashley, and Kristin hated that.

Kristin choked on a breath. His hands trembled, and his eyes burned.

How would he be able to live with himself if he didn't respond to Felix Fisk? He would be letting this possible source of answers slip through his fingers. He would be letting a chance —possibly the only chance— at being able to let his brother rest easier if at all possible and himself not get lost so often in the why.

Again and again and again Kristin had found himself wondering about the why. Why Ashley? Why would someone want to do such a thing to him? What was so different about Ashley that it was him and not Kristin? They were twins, shared the same DNA. Why was it Ashley and not himself?

The SFPU —now NYTE— house just felt cold and hollow. Kristin could barely get himself to walk to his own room. Ashley's was right next to his. Shortly after joining the SFPU, the novelty of not sleeping within arm's reach of each other like they always had in Cat's Cradle, of being an entire room apart, had worn off, and Kristin had found that he liked the separation. His brother had never been far and could be reached with ease, but Kristin could get some space for himself like he had never been able to do before.

But now he didn't want that; he wished he could've spent every moment with Ashley, clinging on tight so he never had to let go. So he could always have his brother and never have to say goodbye.

A tear rolled down Kristin's cheek as he wished for the billionth time that he could see Ashley just one more time and give him just one more hug. Tell him that he was loved endlessly and how much he was appreciated. How much his presence lit up the world. How much he meant to those who knew him.

Kristin wanted to hold on to his brother and never let him go. Chase off the cold arms of death.

But he couldn't. Kristin couldn't bring Ashley back, no matter how much his heart ached, no matter how many seconds had ticked by and separated him from the last time he had seen his brother alive, no matter how many times he tried to pinch himself awake from the nightmare, no matter how much he wished he could go back in time and figure out a way to save his brother.

"Maybe we could give a copy to Larson?" Kristin offered. "Or give him the original and save a copy for ourselves?"

"He wants us on tight lockdown until he can say for certain whether anyone's targeting us as well, or if..." Charlie trailed off, expression darkening and her fingers curling into fists against her sides, arms snug across her middle. "Or if Ashley was the sole intended target, as much as I hate saying that."

Kristin shuddered internally at the thought of those responsible for Ashley's murder coming after him and the rest of NYTE. If they had so easily caused the damage to Ashley and committed his murder, what was there that would stop them from harming him or any of his friends?

Kristin didn't know.

"We need to send this to Larson Hotch, Kristin." Ferris tapped the computer screen with his fingernails where Felix's email was still pulled up, turning around on the couch to face Kristin more fully.

"Will he respond?" Kristin asked.

"I don't know," Ferris replied. "I truly cannot say. It depends on what Larson and the rest of the task force determine regarding its validity. If you'd like to reach out to them, I believe it's Asa Smith who is the go-to person for verifying documents and figuring out if someone really is who they say they are."

"Can't we reply, too? We can send it to Larson and the rest of the team, but can't we reply as well?" Kristin hated the edge of panic in his voice, how it bordered on a pathetic whine.

Pain filled Ferris's expression, and Kristin thought he might cry.

Kristin held Ferris's gaze, silently demanding an answer. He knew he needed someone else's opinion, but he also knew that there was no reality in which he wouldn't do everything he could. If responding to Felix might yield answers, wasn't it worth a shot?

But he knew this Felix person might be fake, and that tore his heart to shreds. The thought of someone pretending to know something about Ashley's murder ripped open the wound that had hardly even begun to scab over, edges still raw and red, like they would be for an unknown length of eternity. Because how could he ever truly heal from losing his brother, his first and closest friend, the only blood family he ever knew? There was no getting over Ashley's death. The pain would linger, let him go on and live after fading some but then return, rear its ugly head and leave him floundering. He didn't have to be over the first tsunami of grief to know that he would never return to who he was before Ashley's death.

Charlie had something gentle and soft in her voice when she spoke that Kristin was both grateful for and hated. It reminded him of walking on eggshells. "We could wait and see what Asa figures out, or whoever it is if it's not Asa who looks at that type of stuff. Then we could ask if we should reply." She tugged a pillow into her lap.

Kristin clenched his fists and dug his nails into the back cushion of the couch, muscles tensing as anger flared in his veins.

"You don't need to be so damn careful with me," he snarled, hating how his eyes burned and his voice threatened to tremble and crack. "I'm not going to break. I can take whatever it is you really want to say. Ashley's dead, but I'm still here and I'm not weak."

"I'm sorry, Kristin," Charlie said. "I never thought you were weak. I just didn't want to word something wrong."

"If you fix it, I don't care if you say something wrong. Just don't talk like you're picking your way through a field of landmines." Kristin fixed her with a cold glare, though he knew it didn't hold its true weight since he couldn't hold her gaze and he could feel the wet trail of a tear slipping down his cheek.

"It hurts like hell for me, but I can't imagine what it's like for you," Charlie whispered, holding the pillow tight to her chest and squeezing it with her arms.

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Kristin sighed. "He was your friend, too, you know. Family isn't always blood. You all were our family. Our first real friends, too." He took a step back from the couch, ducking his head with a sharp exhale. "I mean, you were the first ones we gave any sort of trust to. That's not something easily earned. Those times shortly after we joined when Ashley and I were talking, we thought we must be dreaming; we thought we'd always be living in Cat's Cradle. Maybe we'd become employees at one of those clubs or work in a kitchen or something, but whenever we talked about what we imagined the future to be, it was always in Cat's Cradle, never elsewhere. But then here we are. I was at first hesitant when you first told us about the SFPU when we were chatting in Jonathan's Subs, Ferris, but I'm glad we crossed paths in Moonfall that day."

Ferris opened his mouth to reply, but before he could, Ren walked through the front door.

"Morpheus's wound is healing smoothly," they said. "He's starting to move around easier."

"That's good," Kristin murmured.

"What's going on?" Ren asked. "Is everything ok?"

Charlie turned Kristin's laptop around to show them the email. "Someone using the name Felix Fisk has claimed to be the witness to Ashley's murder and reached out to Kristin."

"Oh, wow," they breathed, kneeling beside the coffee table to read it. "I wish they'd given more information so we could get a better sense of if it's real or not. With what they've said, there's no way to be able to tell if they really were the witness."

Kristin wanted to scream. He knew there was no way to be able to tell if Felix really was the witness or if Felix really even was Felix.

He had wished again and again and again for something that would lead to justice for Ashley. He had laid awake at night for hours and hours, sleep far out of reach, and silently begged for a clue because he had no idea why his brother was so viciously taken from him, why his brother's life was cut so short.

And now he had an email in his grip, one that claimed to have the information he had so desperately hoped for, and he had no idea if it was real.

The task force investigating Ashley's murder would be able to figure out its validity, but would they reply? Would they reach out and learn everything Felix knew?

Would Felix even talk to them?

Felix had emailed Kristin, not the Moonfall Precinct. He didn't even know how Felix had gotten his email, but regardless, it was Kristin who had been contacted.

"Zip might be able to pin down Felix's location," Ren said. "We could send that to the Moonfall Precinct. I mean, we should send this email to them, shouldn't we?" They looked up over the top of the laptop at the rest of the group.

Ferris nodded. "I think we should. What do you think, Kristin?"

Kristin held back a spitting growl of frustration. He knew Ferris was right: the email should be sent to Larson Hotch. They should've already done so. But he also knew that doing so would mean that he might never get the chance to talk with Felix. That just didn't sit right with him. How could he not talk with the person who might have information about his brother and what happened during the last moments of Ashley's life? Kristin wasn't sure he wanted to know what that time had looked like —he thought it might be better to remember Ashley as the bright, beaming person he was, not as the image of his shredded body that still haunted his memories— but a part of him just needed to know, to be told what really happened. He just wanted the whole story, to be able to settle, once and for all, what happened to his brother and what caused someone to rip away his life.

"We can send it," he choked out. "We can send the email to Larson Hotch. You're right; they should have it, and they can determine whether or not it's real."

The words grated in his throat. Speaking them was like trying to pull teeth.

But perhaps I can have it both ways, Kristin thought as the idea dawned on him. The email could be sent to Larson Hotch, but it would still be on his computer.

Two working on something was better than one, right?

"I'll go show this to Zip and see if he'd be able to get any information about Felix," Kristin said.

"Very well," Ferris said. "Can you forward it to me? The three of us can send it over to Larson with an update on how things are going here. He was asking about that earlier." Ferris gestured to himself, Charlie, and Ren. "Oh, also: keep an eye out in the courtyard— there should be a delivery truck coming soon with some groceries. It's our current replacement for the supply runs since we cannot leave the camp."

Kristin nodded, picking up his laptop and sending the email to Ferris. "I will."

Outside the house, the air had a slight bite to it, not cold, yet also not warm. Just enough to cause goosebumps to rise on his arms and for a shiver to race down his spine. His grip tightened on his laptop. A light breeze stirred the trees surrounding the camp, and a scattering of leaves bounced across the ground, blown by the wind.

The door to Zip's workshop was propped open by a rock.

When Kristin poked his head in, it was clear that Zip had no idea he was there. Zip stood at the table in the center of his workshop, and his nimble fingers twisted together an assortment of wires, then weaved them into the body of a robot. Hades, Kristin realized. The sketches Zip had created were quickly becoming a fully functional robot. It was bigger than Kristin thought it would be, but even from the skeletal features of it, he could tell it would be a great asset for both NYTE and whatever remained of the SFPU.

Kristin cleared his throat, and Zip jumped, eyes going comically wide. He glanced all around before relaxing when he saw Kristin.

"Sorry for startling you," Kristin said. "I just had a question about something."

Zip nodded, returning to assembling Hades, and Kristin took that as his cue to continue.

"I got an email from someone claiming to be the witness to Ashley's murder, but there isn't enough information for us to be able to determine if they're telling the truth. They say their name is Felix Fisk and that they work in tech support at Leviathan Inc. I was hoping you'd be able to see where the email came from and possibly find out if this really was sent by someone named Felix Fisk? Mostly I was just, uh, hoping for kinda anything." Kristin shrugged, setting his laptop down on the edge of the table Zip stood at.

"An... an email?" Zip asked, pausing as he fiddled with a handful of bolts and screws. His dark hair hung over his forehead in tight curls, hiding a portion of his face, but Kristin still caught the hint of a frown furrowing his eyebrows.

"Yeah, an email. Do you think you'd be able to look into it?"

Zip finished stringing together the wires and secured them in place, then walked over to Kristin's side. He skimmed the email.

"Send it to... my computer. I'll-. I'll look."

"Thank you." Kristin quickly forwarded the email to him.

Zip crossed the workshop and hit the power button on his computer. It was massive, hooked up to several monitors with a wide assortment of cords for purposes that Kristin couldn't begin to name. He still wasn't sure how Zip had managed to find the computer and get his hands on it, but it had come in handy on countless occasions, including continuously processing the video feeds from the Camera Traps and alerting to poachers they may not have otherwise found in time. They had caught and arrested Pyr Iskie both times before he had been able to wreak too much havoc because of the alerts.

One by one, the monitors all flickered to life once Zip's computer was on. Two of the monitors cycled through feeds of the Camera Traps, while another one had a 3D model of Hades. Zip used another one to pull up the email.

But before he did anything else, he paused, tilting his head to the side.

"Do... should-. Should th-this go to... to Larson?" Zip turned around, a frown wrinkling his features.

Kristin clenched his fingers into a tight fist to keep himself from reacting too much. "Ferris is sending it to him. Please, Zip. I can't just sit here and not look into this. I'll go crazy. I'd do it myself, but I don't know even a fraction of what you do about computers and looking into digital stuff. Please."

Zip pondered for a few moments, eyes trailing across Kristin and the space around him, never lingering in one place for too long.

"Ok," he finally said. "Give me a minute."

"Thank you."

Zip turned back around, sat down in his chair, and began typing in commands onto his computer.

Kristin had to remind himself to breathe— he was so close to answers that he could almost taste it.

It felt like forever until Zip's fingers slowed and he spun in his chair to face Kristin.

"It'll... it'll take a while to go through everything. Similar to what... th' government does but my version. I'll let you-you know when it's done."

Zip returned to working on Hades, and Kristin had to remind himself yet again to take a deep breath and not scream.

Answers will take time, he told himself. You just need to wait for a little while. It sucks and Ashley deserves answers right now, but justice will have to wait. Whoever did this will be exposed, it might just take a little while.

Kristin tried to calm himself. Reassure himself that he was searching for answers, as were the rest of NYTE. They'd figure out what was in Ashley's journal and then tell everyone, like Ashley had requested. Larson Hotch was investigating Ashley's murder, as were Asa and Azrael, along with the rest of the task force.

People were looking into every lead. No stone was going to go unturned.

But Kristin couldn't quite silence the little voice in the back of his head: If those responsible had so easily mauled his brother in such terrible ways, was there anything they wouldn't do?

What else might they do before they were caught?

Kristin shuddered at the thought. He didn't want to know.

xxxx

In the evening, after dinner and after everyone had retreated to their respective rooms, Kristin sat at the table across from his bed, the same one he had treated Morpheus at a few weeks prior.

His laptop stared him down, and the cursor flashed in a repetitive rhythm. The words took time to come to him, but when they did, they flowed from his fingertips in a continuous stream.

Dear Felix Fisk,

This is Kristin Baok. You recently emailed me.

I received your email and showed it to the rest of the Silverlight Forest Protection Unit. I would also like to notify you that your email has been forwarded to Larson Hotch, the rest of the task force investigating Ashley Baok's murder, as well as the Moonfall Precinct.

For your sake, I really hope you were telling the truth when you reached out to me. Everyone else in the Silverlight Forest Protection Unit wants to believe you. And I do, too. They know that you could be lying, and so do I. But I hope you're telling the truth.

Not because it means you saw my brother's murder and witnessed the last moments of his life. Not because perhaps Ashley knew of your presence and that you made it so he wasn't so alone in the company of devils. Rather, because you hold answers that can get my brother the justice he deserves and can hold those responsible accountable for their actions.

You hold answers, if you are telling the truth, Felix Fisk. Answers to who is responsible. Answers to what happened that the Moonfall Precinct and those investigating Ashley's murder might not yet know. Answers to what happened in those final moments of Ashley's life. Answers to why Ashley was murdered.

I don't know who you are, but I ask that if you truly are telling the truth, that you seek out Larson Hotch. He is looking for you, if you really did witness Ashley's murder, Felix Fisk. You can reach out to the Moonfall Precinct on Muse at MoonfallPrecinctOfficial, or you can call them, email them, or go to their physical location in Moonfall. They will listen, however you reach out.

I wish you well,

Kristin Baok

Kristin's fingers trembled as he sat back, folding his hands in his lap. He drew in a shaky breath.

He skimmed through the email, eyes barely able to process the words, and his sentences seemed foreign. His writing had turned so formal. Not once had he written an email that held such importance and weight. Not even when he had emailed President Cynthia Corville had his writing been like that. He hadn't felt half the nerves he felt as he edited each sentence, fixed up missing and wrong punctuation, moved around words until he felt the sentence was clear. Cat's Cradle had never offered much in the way of education, but Ashley's love of reading had allowed the both of them to teach themselves the basics in writing, and the rest had quickly gotten filled in during their time in the SFPU.

The idea of clicking the little arrow to respond to Felix felt so daunting, and Kristin found himself worrying his lip as he stared down the button.

He ran a hand through his curly hair. Did he really want to respond?

Ferris had told him that there was a good chance Felix was lying, that this was just someone —who might not even be named Felix— seeking attention, fame, money, something for their own self-gain and who had no knowledge of the case. Who might not even have any knowledge of Ashley beyond what was said on the news.

Nothing as to who Ashley was as a person, Kristin thought as pain lanced through his heart. The news covered the cold facts— the brutality of Ashley's murder, how he had been carved up and slaughtered, how Larson Hotch and the Moonfall Precinct still didn't have any suspects, how those responsible were still on the run and free. Not one mention of who Ashley was, the kind of person he was, how he had cared so deeply, how he had always had an easy smile, even on the hardest of nights in Cat's Cradle.

Kristin wondered yet again if the pain would ever go away, if it would ever ease. But he never wanted it to go away if it meant he had to forget. He never wanted to forget Ashley, never wanted to forget a single thing about his brother, never wanted to forget the memories.

He pushed his laptop back on his desk and propped his elbows up on the edge, resting his forehead in his hands as his eyes closed.

He pictured Ashley, dark eyes glowing, bright smile lighting up the world, contagious laugh. Arms pulling him in for a warm hug during those long nights in Cat's Cradle, the crease of Ashley's eyebrows as he blazed through his latest reading conquest, the half-hearted glare he gave whenever Charlie pulled a prank on him and the unspoken I'll get you back he sent her.

He thought about what Ashley would want him to do, what Ashley would do if their positions were reversed.

But it was hardly a thought— he knew Ashley wouldn't stop. He knew Ashley would walk to the ends of the earth.

And he would do the same for Ashley. He would never rest.

He could do it; he could get past the nerves keeping him from replying to Felix, past the worries of if Felix truly was the witness Larson had talked about. It was worth a shot. Anything was. The worst that could happen was a name crossed off the list of those who could be the witness. Kristin wouldn't mention anything that only those involved would know. He wouldn't share anything that shouldn't be said. He would tell Larson everything that Felix told him.

It wasn't wrong to search for those responsible.

Ashley deserved justice.

Kristin would make sure his brother got it, no matter what it took.

And so he touched a finger to his trackpad and hit send.