Beast

"Call me when you get there, alright?" Ray said, kissing Nikki good-bye as the train pulled up to the platform.

"Okay. Don't miss me too much," Nikki said, smiling broadly. Her long, braided hair was tied back, and she was dressed in one of Ray's Giants sweatshirt and a pair of yoga pants. "I love you."

"Love you too," Ray replied as he watched his wife board a train destined for South Carolina. Usually he would go with her, especially now that she was expecting, but it was getting closer and closer to her due date, so he needed to set up the nursery. Or at least, that's what he had told Nikki while she was packing her bags the night before. Ray neglected to mention that he planned on taking a trip to Bolton Lake as well.

It was a cool, foggy morning as he walked back to his apartment. He passed a harassed looking woman ushering her three small children to their bus stop, and Ray got a weird feeling, realizing that that would probably be his life one day. That would be his child's bus stop. He'd walk her to the bus, worrying. Worrying about whether she would make friends, and worrying about whether she'd be okay being at school for the whole day. When she got home from school, she'd tell him about her day, and he'd know that he was silly for worrying, but he'd also know it would be far more foolish not to worry. It's strange, pondering things like the future.

As he approached his apartment, Ray saw two women standing on the front step, dressed professionally, both with long, brown hair. One of them, the taller of the two, was sweeping her messy bangs out of her eyes, and spotted Ray first.

"Hi, I'm Special Agent Etienne Reiker with the Fortis. This is my colleague Special Agent Sophie Bayer, we're looking for Ray Hilman," she said. Her voice was high pitched and cheerful, with a slight French accent, like a bird's song.

"You found him," Ray replied casually, taking slow steps towards the two agents, appraising them skeptically, wondering what they already knew and what they were going to ask.

"We have a few questions for you about Cain Hammedy. Do you mind if we step inside?" Sophie asked politely, but with a definite edge to her voice.

"Not at all," Ray said, getting out his keys.

"If you don't mind me saying, you don't seem all that surprised to see us," Sophie observed as Ray led Etienne and her into the living room.

"Well, I was the closest thing Cain had to family. To be honest, I'm more surprised that you guys didn't show up sooner," Ray explained. And it was true, although he had been hoping that the Fortis wouldn't show up at all.

"Can you explain to us how you knew him?" Etienne asked as she and Sophie sat on the couch and Ray took a seat on the recliner across from them.

"Me and Cain go way back. We grew up together. He had problems at home, so by high school, Cain pretty much lived with me and my mom," Ray explained. It was a bit ironic, he noted, that Etienne and Sophie were sitting in the exact place where, just a week before, the very man they were hunting down had been seated.

"And when was the last time you spoke to him?" Sophie asked.

"Oh... four years ago? It was a week before he was arrested. Me and Nikki were over his place for Jaya's birthday," Ray said sadly, thinking of that poor little girl.

"And Cain hasn't tried to make contact with you since then?" Sophie asked, looking at Ray intensely. She knew what his answer would be, she just wanted to see whether it would be true.

"No. He couldn't have visitors in that place, right? I didn't hear nothing about him until I turned on the news a few days ago," Ray said, trying to sound as casual as possible, fidgeting with his hands uncomfortably.

"Have you heard about the break out at the sanguinarium facility?" Sophie asked as Etienne took notes.

"Yes ma'am. You think he had something to do with that?" Ray asked, keeping his voice steady.

"It's a possibility, what do you think?" Sophie said, directing the questions back at Ray.

"Look," he said, sighing, "I wish I could help you, but I can't. This guy you're asking me about? I don't know him. The guy I grew up with wasn't crazy, and he wasn't a criminal."

"Are you saying that you think Hammedy is innocent?" Etienne asked, fixing her gaze on Ray.

"I don't know nothing about that. All I'm saying is that something in that guy broke, and I don't know what's going on with him anymore. If I did, I'd tell you," Ray said. The part about something being broken was true, he just hoped that the rest had sounded convincing.

"So you have no idea where he is?" Sophie asked.

Ray thought for a moment, racking his brain for the places Cain would have gone if it wasn't for the lake house. "I really don't know. I mean, when we were teenagers, we used to break in to this abandoned warehouse a few neighborhoods over from here, but I can't see him hiding out there, right?"

"We have to consider all the possibilities," Sophie replied. To Ray, that sounded like the Fortis wasn't getting very far in the case, but he could have been wrong.

"Just one more question," Sophie said as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Do you know anything about a man named Ari?"

Ray felt a sinking sensation in his stomach. He didn't know anything about a man named Ari, just that Cain was looking for him. Ray coughed into his arm before saying, "Naw, I'm sorry. Why? Who is he?" because now, Ray honestly wanted to know. If both the Fortis and Cain were looking for this guy, he had to be important.

"We can't disclose that information. But you're sure you've never heard of him?" Sophie asked one last time, hoping that her hunch was right.

Ray shook his head. He wanted to ask more about this Ari character, but knew it would look suspicious if he did. "Never heard of him."

"Okay, well please contact us if you can think of any information that might be useful in our investigation," Sophie said, handing Ray her card.

"Thanks for your time," Etienne chimed in, shaking Ray's hand before following Sophie toward the door.

Ray nodded, examining the card and rethinking his plans as Sophie and Etienne made their exit.

"I can't believe you brought up that Ari crap!" Etienne hissed as they walked briskly back to the car.

"Well, it can't hurt," Sophie said defensively. "And did you see the way Ray reacted? He's obviously heard of Ari before."

"Obvious? Sophie, you are just seeing what you want to see," Etienne said sympathetically as she paused at the crosswalk, quickly looking both ways before walking to the other side.

"Really? Because Ray seemed to recognize the name. He could be covering," Sophie continued.

"For who? He hasn't seen Cain in years," Etienne reminded her.

"Maybe it was before Cain was arrested? Maybe Ray knew Ari too. They were best friends. You wouldn't cover for your best friend?" Sophie asked, thinking of Julius and knowing that she'd lie for him.

"Not if they were a murdering lunatic," Etienne said defiantly.

"But you heard Ray! He and Cain grew up together like brothers. That doesn't just do away. You don't think Ray acted just a little suspicious when I brought up Ari?" Sophie asked, relentless in her pursuit of the topic because she knew she was right.

"Maybe a little bit, but it could just be coincidence. People get nervous when they talk to cops. You have no proof that this Ari even exists," Etienne said stubbornly, as convinced that she was right as Sophie was.

"Fine, but in that case, we've hit another dead end," Sophie said dejectedly.

Back in apartment 261, Ray paced across the living room, wondering what he should do. It seemed stupid to go to the lake house right away. If he was being watched, it would be a dead giveaway. But he needed to go. Ray needed to warn Cain that the Fortis was asking around about Ari. Wait, Ray decided. Finish putting together the crib for the nursery, then go. Don't look like you're in a rush, and don't look like you're doing anything out of the ordinary. Wait.

It was mid-afternoon when Sophie and Etienne finally got back to the Boston office. It had been a quiet, tense ride home. They both were disappointed with the way the investigation was going. Cain hadn't left any trail for them to follow. None at all.

"Hi, Zane," Sophie said tiredly as she walked into the building.

"Hey," he said, smiling and walking towards her as Etienne went ahead to her cubicle to file their report. "You don't seem very happy," he noted, looking down at her with a concerned expression on his face. "Is the case not going well?"

Sophie sighed, "Not really. It's like this guy doesn't exist. No one we've questioned seems to know anything about him or his escape."

Zane considered this. His face looked even more hollow than it had when Sophie had first met him, and his hair was grayer than before, but this only made Zane look more intimidating, at least to those who didn't know him.

Sophie racked her brain, trying to give Zane something. She liked him, and didn't want him to think that she and Etienne weren't capable of solving the case.

"I mean, there is this one thing, but Etienne doesn't exactly agree with me on it," Sophie said cautiously.

"Tell me about it," Zane said, gently putting his hand on Sophie's lower back and leading her over to his work space where Sophie sat in his chair and Zane leaned against his desk.

"Well, we were at the psychiatric hospital, and we were asking this nurse about Hammedy and anything... significant, I guess, about his case," she explained.

"Mmhmm," Zane's arms were crossed in front of his chest, and he was listening to Sophie intently.

"And she told us about these voices that he used to hear, and it just seemed so... suspicious. She told us that he stopped hearing them within the first few weeks that he was admitted, and that doesn't seem right, does it? I mean, I'm not an expert on the subject, but from what I've read, that's something that takes long term treatment, not just a few weeks of therapy," Sophie said, hoping that Zane would agree with her.

"So what are you thinking?" he asked, hanging on Sophie's every word.

"Well, I think that it's possible that he pretended to stop hearing them. I mean, I know that there's no conclusive proof of that... but still, I really think that there's something there. Those voices meant something to him, they tormented them. That's not something you can just forget. I think... well, I think that those voices could have something to do with what he's doing now. He escaped for a reason, there's something he's planning to do, and the voices could be the answer," Sophie explained.

"That's very imaginative," Zane said, amused.

"You think it's stupid," Sophie frowned. It wasn't a question. It was a statement.

"Not at all," Zane said, leaning forward and touching Sophie's arm. "It's smart. Keep digging. If you find something, great, if not, you're no worse off than you were before."

Sophie nodded, not confident in Zane's remark.

"Seriously, good work. You never know where these things might lead," Zane said again. Sophie could make a good agent, Zane believed, but she needed to have more confidence in herself. Not be so self conscious, because it's all in the risks. If you're afraid of taking that leap of faith, afraid of exploring all your options, even the crazy ones, then you'll never be great. Fear is the noose with which the weak are hanged.