"And if this should be our battle place, don't let me fall, don't let us fall"

King or Cripple, Deliriou5?

NEW ORLEANS

MARCH 9TH

5:20 PM

Gabriel yawned again as the taxi slowly drove down the crowded roads towards the French Quarter. He was too tired to walk, not after nearly half a day stuck on a plane with no sleep. Trust Germany to have a torrential downpour and so delay all flights. Now he only had a few hours to organise things with Grace before tomorrow's parade. That would be the easy bit. First came the hard job of trying to get into Grace's good books. Sure, they would co-operate with each other. But he needed Grace to be talking to him properly, not slating him because of his behaviour. Somehow out of the window, a firework went off. Gabriel had noticed the party atmosphere, as if everyone in the city suddenly cared that the President of an unknown country was making a visit. But in these times of continued crises nationally and internationally, any excuse for a party was taken. Gabriel felt himself drifting off to sleep, but was cruelly woken by the shout from the driver. He looked out of the window at the shop, home sweet home. The lights were on, which was always a good sign. Picking himself up, he got out of the taxi and wandered to the door, wondering what sort of homecoming awaited him.

ST GEORGE'S RARE BOOKS

No flags or party balloons awaited Gabriel. Just Grace sitting at the counter reading a book and drinking coffee and the sound of the television blaring out from the back room. If Gabriel didn't know better, he could swear someone was here with her...Mind you, it wasn't as if Gabriel felt he knew Grace that well at the moment.

"What took you so long?", she asked without lifting her head.

"Delays and stuff, I feel awful. Why is it that whenever I go on a plane I end up stuck next to the fat man who can't stop snoring?"

"Now you know how I feel when we take Mosely to the cinema." Gabriel looked towards the back of the shop.

"Who's your guest?"

"Don't worry, Gabriel. I haven't turned your charming home into a sordid love nest. I told Mosely to come over, I thought we might need him."

"Gracie, this is no time to try and get free parking permits", Grace didn't laugh at the joke. Gabriel didn't blame her. Mosely came out from the back.

"Gabriel! Good to see you!"

"You too, Mostly. So are you involved in this Krojan thing?"

"Only in getting ordered about. Those military guys seem to have the whole place completely surrounded. The NOPD has been told to keep to civic duty only. It looks like the Feds have got a role in it too."

"Speaking of them, has anyone spoken to Mulder and Scully yet?"

"We were hoping you would", said Grace, "You know more about this thing than we do."

"Are you sure about that, Gracie? I could write everything I know about this thing of a postage stamp and still have room left..."

"You've spoken to them before, Gabriel. You know what it will take to make them believe there's something going on."

"Yeah, a frickin' flying saucer!", laughed Mosely.

Gabriel walked into the back room and fished around his desk trying to find the card with Mulder's phone number on it. So far he hadn't even thought about what he was going to say. Somehow he was going to have to convey that the end of the world may be coming, except he didn't know how. That there was a killer on the loose who was a madman, but he didn't know where. And that the parade tomorrow had something to do with it all, but he didn't know why. But if Mulder and Scully were as clueless about what was going on as Gabriel hoped, maybe that would be enough. After all, as far as they were concerned it was just another Federal operation. Nothing special about being on guard duty, not when it was their job. The phone rang a couple of times before it was answered.

"Agent Mulder? It's Gabriel Knight..."

"Hello, Gabriel. How nice of you to call me", no attempt was made to hide the sarcasm, "How is Germany, by the way?"

"I'm back in the US, now."

"Lucky old us, then.", sighed Mulder, "What do you want?"

"I've got information for you which could save many lives. There's a man who you have to stop because he's going to kill...."

"Listen, Gabriel. I don't have time for your vague accusations and quasi-religious mumbo jumbo. Unless you have something solid..."

"If you don't act then this country could be in danger. I know that you're involved in this Krojan business, and I have reason to believe that the President is in real danger!" Suddenly, Mulder's cocky attitude stopped. Was it the name drop about Krojan or something else? Gabriel wasn't sure.

"Where can we meet?"

"My shop, as soon as you can."

In less than an hour, they were all assembled. Gabriel, Grace and Mosely were in the shop when Mulder and Scully walked in. Afternoon was becoming evening, time was ticking away. Grace now seemed more receptive, maybe impressed that Gabriel had convinced Mulder to come. He hoped that she would say the right things so they would take notice. Scully sat down by the window, Mulder stood to one side. Neither seemed keen to get close to Gabriel and his group at the front of the shop. Mulder's arms were folded, he waited expectantly.

"Thanks for coming", said Gabriel, "I wasn't lying when I said this was important...we have a lot to talk about."

"Are you using slides?", groaned Mulder.

"No..."

"Carry on, then"

"It's all related to this prophet guy that I've told you about before, the man who killed Celia Keller. Now we think that he's planning to assassinate the President of Krojan sometime in tomorrow's parade as a starting point to some sort of master plan, but we don't know what that is. We know that you guys are meant to be protecting him in some way, so we thought you were the best people to talk to."

"As a matter of interest, what do you know about Krojan?", asked Mulder. He wasn't convinced as to what Gabriel knew, he certainly wasn't convinced that he knew about Krojan's weapon. If that was so, then this was just the same false accusation that he himself had dismissed yesterday.

"I don't know anything about it as such....", sighed Gabriel, "But even if the President is insignificant, his death could be significant."

"How so?"

"In 1918, an Archduke was shot dead in Yugoslavia..."

"Francis Ferdinand", interrupted Scully, "It's thought that his death was the immediate cause of the First World War"

"Are you suggesting that the murder of this President will cause World War III?", said Mulder.

"It fits the pattern, we have reason to believe that the assassination in 1918 was prophesied and the prophet had direct influence in the death of Ferdinand." Mulder nodded and looked at Scully, who seemed to have no expression. He turned back to Gabriel.

"Gabriel, I'm going to say this once and I hope you hear it right because I hate repeating myself. That is complete crap. You have taken legitimate historical events and perverted them to fit your own little apocalypse theory which, if I remember correctly, I spoke to you about a couple of days ago."

"Things have changed..."

"But your overly active imagination hasn't! Now I don't know exactly what you were doing in Germany to think this one up, but I suggest you go back there and leave the real work to those who know what they're doing."

"How can you dismiss this!", shouted Gabriel, "This guy is a killer!"

"And you're a lunatic, Gabriel. You've given me nothing more than you did when I last told you my opinion."

"So you're going to do nothing?"

"We're going to do our jobs. And I warn you, Gabriel. If I catch sight of you interfering tomorrow, then I swear that I will get you locked up and this time it will be more than one night." Mulder walked to the door and pulled it open. Scully didn't move for a moment. She looked at Mulder, than at Gabriel. Mulder seemed to be motionning her to leave, Gabriel was giving her a questionning look. Maybe wondering 'does she believe?' Scully turned awy from Mulder and back to Gabriel.

"Did you say that this man killed Celia Keller?"

"That's right."

"Well, in that case, we do have a responsibility. The murder investigation is still open and we need to catch this man before he kills again.", she turned to Mulder, "Even if we only treat this as a normal manhunt, we can't let a killer go on the loose right under our noses." Mulder glared at her for over-ruling his authority.

"Do what you want", he said, "But don't forget what's really important here." He left the shop and walked out to his car. Scully watched him go before turning to Gabriel.

"You're still staying out of this, Gabriel. But if you see this man tomorrow, call us and we'll make sure he's brought to justice."

"You won't catch him", sighed Gabriel, "But OK." Scully nodded and followed her partner out to their car. She opened the passenger's door and sat in the seat. Mulder was there, looking out of the window in the other direction. At least he hadn't left without her.

"What did you do that for?", he asked, "Why give him a reason to interfere?"

"Because he'll interfere anyway, Mulder. And at least this way our visit might not be a complete waste of time. If we catch a killer then we've done our job."

"If he jeopardises things tomorrow, that weapon might not come under proper control...and then who knows what will happen."

"Mulder, we are Federal agents. This case may be a conspiracy against us and the American people, but we still have a job and catching killers is in both our job descriptions. To punish the guilty, protect the innocent, and to bring about justice. Nothing changes that, not even this assignment. You accused me of forgetting what was really important. I think you've forgotten that yourself." Mulder said nothing. He turned the key in the ignition and the car moved away.

ST GEORGE'S RARE BOOKS

MARCH 10TH

08:00 AM

Mornings had never done much for Gabriel. Not that he'd woken soon enough to see many of them, mind you. But even when he did, Gabriel had still never seen the strange concepts of romance and renewal which people throughout the ages had associated with them. Today was different, however. Maybe it was the fact he had just slept more in one night than he had for an entire week, without even one nightmare. Or maybe it was the fact that this could be some sort of incredible day, either for better or worse. This day, the sun's rays seemed to shine with a greater intensity. As if it was trying to give everything it could before it was snuffed out, never to shine again.

"Are you decent?", came the call from the front of the shop. Gabriel just kept looking at the sun.

"Come in and find out." Grace sighed, Gabriel spun round. She was actually already inside the room. So much for the suttle approach.

"You're early", he said as he went over to the mirror to check his hair. Grace sat down on the bed and watched Gabriel's considerable grooming process.

"I took a look down by the dock before coming here, there are already crowds."

"Is this city under another voodoo spell or something? What's got into these people?"

"It doesn't surprise me, actually. Remember John Keller's church?"

"Yeah, but people went there to see miracles. What are they going to get out of this?"

"Maybe they'll see in the end of the world."

"You believe that, Gracie?"

"I don't know, Gabriel. I don't know what we're dealing with, how many people are involved and what will happen at the end....I just hope we do the right thing."

"We've managed OK before, Gracie. Just treat it like another werewolf case and we'll do just fine." Grace watched as Gabriel carefully combed his hair into position. He was the vainest man on the planet, no doubt about it. At least if the world were about to end he'd feel that he looked OK....nah, he'd still be complaining that the wind was blowing it about. Grace went into the front of the shop and picked up the newspaper from the counter. She hadn't gotten around to reading it yet. Not surprisingly, John Keller's church had made way for a huge spread about Krojan. Although it just seemed to be a detailed plan of the day's itinerary. So much for the suttle approach, if anyone did want to assassinate the President, all they needed to do was pick up the paper.

"Have you got a plan?", she shouted into the back room. There was a moment of silence

"Actually....no. Maybe we can make it up as we go along...."

"Lucky for you I've thought it through." sighed Grace, "I've already called Mosely, he's going to meet us at the dock. It's probably not worth me trying to call Mulder and Scully...."

"I can think of a few things to call them."

"...But I think we should stick to Scully's plan. Wait and identify this man, then call them in to arrest him."

"It won't work, Gracie."

"It might do, Gabriel. I don't know if this man is a prophet, a killer or God himself. But we do know he's dangerous, and I don't like getting into dangerous situations..."

"Scared that you might need to use your tai-chi?"

"I'm scared for you, Gabriel. I know I keep telling you this, but you are the last Schattenjager. And you still don't know what you're doing. If you get killed doing something stupid, then we loose a lot more than just the lease on this shop." Gabriel walked in from the back room. He walked over to Grace and hugged her. He didn't usually, but to tell the truth he was as scared as she was.

"Nobody's going to die, Gracie. We're going to find this man and make sure he doesn't hurt anyone again, I promise."

KROJAN RECEPTION PARTY

09:20 AM

Mulder and Scully entered the warehouse for the second time. This time, as well as the decor, the room was alive with people busying themselves. Until the President arrived, this was the headquarters for the operation as well as the party area. Scully motioned Mulder to the stairs and they went up to the second floor. All the crates were gone, including the weapons. General Fortz was here with some of his troops and Skinner. Fortz looked up and gave the agents an ugly look.

"This is what it's all about, Mulder." he said as he checked a map in front of him,

"You wanted to know why I brought you two here? Well, this is it."

"With all due respect, sir. That's more bull than the crap you've fed us in your briefings, and you know it."

"I'm not going to listen to more of your tiresome accusations, Mulder. You both know your orders. You are to stay here and act as advisors from this station. You will not be required to carry out Federal duties and you will not draw your weapons in public."

"Can we go to the bathroom if we feel the need or do we have to radio you for permission?"

"Look, Mulder. I know you're a smart guy. I know that you two are both smart, that's why I chose you for this mission. Now this may not seem glamorous, intense. In fact it may feel downright strange being told to just sit here. But I can assure you that it is for a reason and that it will be explained after this is over." He gave the chart one final check before rolling it up and motioning to his guards who followed him down the stairs.

"Yeah", said Mulder quietly, "It'll be explained when it's too late for us to do anything." He turned towards the window, Skinner watched him.

"I'm going to be in the reception for the duration of the visit...."

"Hey! How come you get a free lunch?"

"I'll be sure to send you up a sandwich, Agent Mulder.....If there's any trouble, I want you to radio me. I won't get Fortz involved, we'll handle it as Federal agents."

"Why are you willing to go against Fortz's orders, sir?", asked Scully.

"Because like you I've done my own investigations, and although I don't know anything for sure, I don't like what I've seen." He gave them one final look before going back down to the reception himself. Mulder sighed and pulled out two chairs. There wasn't very much in this room, the closet thing to a surveillance system was the window through which the dock could be seen. Scully noted the crowds already gathered.

"Seems like everyone wants to see this guy."

"Maybe they know something we don't....like, anything!" He began settling down for his ten hour sleep, that was the best thing he could bring to this mission. Whilst Fortz was off saving America's butt, Mulder would be sitting on his. And there was no other choice.

"Aren't you going to look out for Celia Keller's killer?", asked Scully.

"He should be easy to spot", sighed Mulder, "Look for the horned beast with 666 tattooed across his forehead."

"Mulder, whatever you think of Gabriel Knight's assumptions, there was a murder. And it was downright strange that the murderer saw fit to be baptised first...."

"If Gabriel Knight wants to hunt this guy down, then let him. For once I'm going to obey orders which means we sit here and do nothing." Scully sighed, she hated it when Mulder went into his moods after knowing that the Government had knocked a blow against them. So maybe it wasn't bees and black oil this time, but any General who sneered at them and gave them fishy orders went on Mulder's hate list. And as his partner, she had to stick by him. And that included his lack of action on this murderer. Scully wasn't sure about it. She didn't follow Gabriel Knight's accusations about prophecy and the end of the world, but her religious upbringing had led her to believe that the church was a place of sanctuary and safety. To find a body so brutally killed was...immoral. Scully wanted this man to be caught, maybe it was her own beliefs taking over her job. But she couldn't stand to think about that body. Of course, to Mulder it was just an interesting psychology about the location. But that was something she could never share, not without a mind like Mulder's that could swap places with a killer and explore his weaknesses. Hers was a mind which saw things and comprehended them rather than perverted them....so when she saw Gabriel Knight out of the window, her natural inclination wasn't to draw her gun and take a good shot.

"Looks like Gabriel Knight hasn't taken your advice", she murmured.

"Maybe we should just tie a cement block to him, chuck him in a river and be done..", sighed Mulder. "Oh yeah, I forgot, he'll use the power of God on me or something..."

"Mulder!", snapped Scully.

"Sorry, I just get really off with this guy." He walked over to the window and saw Gabriel with his assistant walking over to that fat policeman who they'd met before at Christmas.

"What's that other guy's name?...Mousy?..."

"Mosely", said Scully firmly. "He was at that other murder scene a couple of days ago when you went AWOL."

"Another weirdo...this city must be full of them." Mulder took out a felt tip pen from his shirt pocket and began drawing the numbers '666' on the window over Gabriel's face. Scully raised her eyebrows but said nothing. Mulder shrugged.

"Well, let's face it, he's got the hair of a beast from hell."

DOCKSIDE

Even in a crowd of people, there was no mistaking that familiar yellow jacket. Mosely was wearing his best clothes, the suit with only three coffee stains, he was talking to some officers who were guarding the street. It had taken Gabriel and Grace nearly ten minutes to get through the crowds. It was insane, not even the President of the USA would get this much attention! Maybe there really was a spell over them all....Mosely saw them coming and motioned the officers away.

"Nice day for it", he said.

"Yeah, Satan loves the sunshine", sighed Gabriel. "What are we going to do?"

"Well I've given a description of this guy to officers all along the route. If he's spotted, they'll radio me and we'll go and get him. Now I don't have a full description, only the rough one you gave me, so we might get a few false calls. But we'll find him eventually, these guys are good."

"I bet it'd be easier if he looked like a doughnut or a cup of coffee, that's the NOPD's specialisation.", said Gabriel.

"Don't get cocky, Knight! I shouldn't be helping you like this, I've got orders to follow!"

"Sorry, Mosely", said Grace, "Gabriel's just a little tense"

"I'm frickin' scared out of my wits", said Mosely, "I hate these weird murderers." Mosely never admitted it, but Grace knew that the Voodoo Murders had a strange effect on him. When he'd shot Dr. John, the man at the centre of the ceremonies which caused the deaths of those people, he'd been shaking like a leaf. As he'd dragged her out of the honfour he'd been muttering and stammering. He had been a nervous wreck. Luckily he hadn't faced anything like that since then, only the usual of the Earth who could be dealt with without worry. But now it was another strange person, another unpredictable and inhuman figure. And more to the point...it was another case with Gabriel at the forefront. No wonder Mosely was scared.

To hunt a killer, to catch a killer. It was never easy. Even after five years, Gabriel still didn't know exactly how it was done. As he pushed his way through crowds of people along that dockside, he wondered exactly how long it would take. This man was different from any he'd met before. Every time he'd met this man so far, he had been an unwelcome visitor. Unlike Malia Gedde, Dr. John and Von Glower, he hadn't wanted anything to do with this man because he'd known right from the beginning that he was not a friend. But even knowing this guy was bad wasn't enough. Maybe he was just good at hiding, or Gabriel was bad at closing the net. And the other thing was that this time, he had no idea whatsoever to escape. What if it turned out this was another werewolf? Or a vampire or something? But Gabriel put those thoughts out of his mind. After all, vampires didn't exist except in the minds of overly creative writers. And the most striking thing about this man was not his peculiar 'other self', but the fact that he was so human. Unless it turned out he wasn't, obviously. But that was another thing that would have to wait.

Whilst Gabriel filled his head with 'what if' situations, Grace was being more observant and was thinking about actually finding this man. As she walked with Gabriel, she was constantly thinking through the past few days in her head. Analysing conversations, recalling details of appearance. There may not be anything to help locate this man, but maybe enough to work out what his purpose was and what he could possibly gain by the death of this President. They left the dock and began following the line of the parade down to the streets. It made sense that their suspect would not want to do anything immediately, for one thing the military presence on the dock was considerable. If he was going to approach the President to send him down the wrong road or pull the trigger himself, he would want to do it in a quieter area. But between here and the centre of the city were so many back streets and blind alleys, it would be impossible to search them all.

"There's one thing we haven't thought about yet", said Grace to Gabriel as they wandered down a side street looking for a possible sniper's nest.

"What's that?"

"What will this guy do if he sees you? He seems to have taken an interest in telling you to stay away, Gabriel. What's to say he won't kill you the moment he sets eyes on you?" Gabriel considered it for a moment or two as they walked.

"I don't think he will. He's had plenty of opportunities to kill me already. I don't see why he should do so now."

"Well this is the point when his master plan comes into action...I remember that Tetelo wasn't too keen to have Malia rip your heart out before you got into her honfour. In fact I seem to recall she was rather friendly.."

"Gracie!"

"Sorry, but you see what I mean?"

"But is this his master plan, Gracie? I still don't have a clue what's going to happen! Maybe we've been wrong all along and he just wants to scare me like he did John Keller..." Grace wanted to come back with an argument that maybe scaring John Keller was just to use the publicity from his church, and that this man's feelings towards Gabriel were more personal when suddenly the radio that Mosely had given Gabriel sprung into life.

"Knight! Can you hear me?" Gabriel picked up the radio.

"Loud and clear, Mostly..."

"We've got a positive ID here on Kings, I'm just getting confirmation...."

"Can you repeat that last message in English, Mostly? I'm not fluent in NOPD mumbling..."

"We've got him, Knight! Get down here!" Gabriel looked at Grace. It looked like her arguments on personal safety would have to wait, Gabriel turned towards the directions Mosely was screaming out of the walkie talkie and began to run. The only aim was to get to that target, at this moment, nothing else mattered to him.

KINGS' STREET

NEW ORLEANS

09:37 AM

Gabriel's legs probably stopped running ages ago. What he had neglected to find out from Mosely was that the site was about a mile away from where he had been previously. But that strange combination of adrenaline and pure determination drove him as it always did at these times when he was chasing and hunting down the evil-doers. Luckily this area was mainly uncrowded streets, well away from the parade route. He could run with his coat billowing out behind him like a cloak without anyone around to shout remarks about why he hadn't got his Batman mask on to 'hide his ugly face'.

Grace wasn't lagging behind, actually she was pacing herself better than him. All that 'self-help junk' that Gabriel so arrogantly dismissed was paying off. She could see Gabriel was over-exerting himself, he'd probably collapse before he got to the scene. Maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing, if he did get there then all he'd do would be to rush right in and do something stupid. Although she hadn't told him, Grace felt far happier in calling Mulder and Scully out here to deal with this guy. Except nothing she could say would ever get the impression out of Gabriel's head that it was his 'duty' to deal with this. Why hadn't this Schattenjager business come with a nice instruction book?

The crowds were building up as they neared the point that Mosely had called them from. Gabriel was saved from a cardiac arrest by the fact he was forced to slow down to walk. Grace was right there with him as he pushed and shoved his way over to Mosely who he could now see. Much to Gabriel's annoyance, Mosely was waving to them.

"Knight!", he was shouting, "Over here, Gabe!" Gabriel got over to him and pulled his flapping arms down.

"Stop that stupid waving, Mostly! We're supposed to be discrete!"

"Yeah? Well that dumb trench coat of yours is hardly discrete Knight....Have you been in a sauna or something? You look hotter than hell!"

"We've just been for a little jog....", he replied between heavy breaths.

"Well Grace seems OK...", smiled Mosely. Gabriel turned around an looked at Grace. She hadn't worked up a sweat.

"Looks like you need a visit to the gym", laughed Mosely. Gabriel jabbed his finger into Mosely's stomach.

"Look who's talking....Franklin..."

"What?", that was the first time Grace had heard Mosely's first name. Instantly the detective's face returned to his "I've just discovered a frickin' horrible murder scene" look.

"Just shut it, Knight....do you want this guy or not?", suddenly the joke was over and Gabriel saw where Mosely was pointing. The crowds were dense now, people all along the side of the road. Mosely was pointing at an area just out of eye-line, he'd had the good sense to hide around the corner.

"He's the guy in the black coat just next to the lamppost", he hissed. Gabriel steadied his nerves and looked around the corner, preparing the jump into action if he was noticed. But instead of seeing his suspect, he found himself looking at a small, fat man with a bald patch. The height might have been similar, but to Gabriel the man looked as much like the murderer as Mosely did to Pamela Anderson.

"Well?", hissed Mosely, "Is that him?"

"Is that some kind of bad joke?", gawped Gabriel. "That's not him!"

"Are you sure?...He looks like the description you gave...."

"Are you kidding me, Mosely? It's a completely different guy! The face, the hair...it's all wrong! Are you blind or do your eyes just need testing?"

"Look, Gabriel. That description you gave me was so rough...."

"Not that rough, Mosely." he was so angry that he was almost shouting. "Anybody could have told that isn't the guy! He doesn't even look like a killer!"

"Oh yeah, and that Malia Gedde woman did...."

"Mosely! This is serious! You've got to get a grip!"

"Gabriel!", snapped Grace, "I think you're the one who needs to get a grip!" She too had seen the man. Yes, it was an entirely different person but Gabriel's description had been vague and this man did fit that very vague outline, especially considering Mosely hadn't even had a picture to look at. And Gabriel's attitude now was appalling, trying to blame Mosely for an honest mistake. Gabriel refused to apologise, he was livid that he'd just got himself hyped up to fight this prophet guy and Mosely had screwed it up by being blind as a bat.

"Mosely, if you're not up to this then you can step away..."

"Hey! I didn't even want to do this!", Mosely was almost shouting now. Using that attitude that only policemen seemed to have between interrogator and grade school teacher, "If it were my choice then I'd leave you to search thousands of people for your mystery man! I'm wasting valuable resources and you don't even seem to care!"

"We do care", said Grace, "Gabriel's just a little anxious..."

"No need for you to apologise, Grace", said Mosely, "I know where the attitude problem is here...."

"Yeah, and so do I", continued Gabriel, "Maybe it would be better for all of us if I did this thing myself."

"I have no problem with that", said Mosely as he folded his arms.

"Please, Gabriel, see sense", begged Grace. But Mosely had already called the officers near him over and was walking away. Gabriel watched them go.

"Geez...the troubles I have", he murmured. Grace bit her tongue, she didn't want to say anything now because it wouldn't be pretty if she did. Instead, she walked off too. Where are you going!", shouted Gabriel.

"You said yourself that you wanted to do this thing alone, maybe we should just leave you to it!"

"So where are you going?"

"I'm going to find Mulder and Scully and I'm going to ask them, even beg on my hands and knees, to get them to help us. Because otherwise, we don't have a hope in hell."

"There's no way I'm getting on my hands and knees for that prat Mulder."

"I didn't even dream of asking you, Mr. Mighty Schattenjager, I know that it's my job as your slave to do these things." And with that she turned on one heel and began walking back towards the docks. Gabriel sighed. He could try screaming at her to come back, but it wasn't worth it. She'd be better when she had time to cool down. She wasn't any use when she was in this mood. What was wrong with all these people? Were they under a spell too? In a world of complete insanity, Gabriel thanked his lucky stars that he was sane enough to carry on, even if everyone else around him was blind or prone to ridiculous mood swings. Turning back to the parade route he began following it around towards the city centre.

DOCKS

09:50

Somewhere came the voice of an announcer, booming over the crowds. The muffled voice was almost unrecognisable but it obviously meant that this show was about to get underway. Grace was back where she and Gabriel had started, where the greatest military presence had been. She was totally serious about finding Mulder and Scully, she wasn't going to leave this up to Gabriel's intuition. To her left was the main launch where the President would arrive, although Krojan was only a short distance off the coast, instead of using a helicopter it had been decided to have the journey by boat. Publicity over common sense once again. She turned to her right, there was the main military presence, at an old warehouse converted for the event. If she was going to find the FBI agents, then it would be in there. Without any hesitation she walked over to the doors.

The reception area was incredibly crowded with all manner of soldiers, special service agents and caterers. But not chaotic. Everyone knew what they had to do and everyone was crying out their own tasks without getting others worried. Far less chaotic than the crowds outside, and they didn't have jobs to do. Trust the military to keep things orderly. Grace was looking around when she was approached by a tall, bald man wearing glasses.

"Can I help you with something?", he asked.

"I was looking for some people...."

"Well I'm afraid this area is restricted", he replied, "I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"I will in a moment, I just need to know where to find a couple of people...."

"I'm sorry, but I can't allow that." He took out his ID and flashed it in front of her face, "My name is Assistant Director Skinner, I'm with the FBI. We can't allow anyone in here."

"Skinner?", Grace remembered hearing that name mentioned by Mulder once, "Do you know agents Mulder and Scully?", she detected a brief nod and saw his eyes roll.

"Yes, I'm familiar with them....are they the people you wanted to see?"

"I wanted to speak briefly, they know who I am." Skinner nodded, it couldn't hurt to ask. He told a guard to wait with Grace whilst he went upstairs.

Mulder put the last touches on his house of cards. It had taken him abut twenty minutes although it seemed like hours. Like everything, it was built on the flimsiest of foundations and it would take only the slightest of knocks to make it come crashing to the ground. The door opened and the subsequent breeze did exactly that. Mulder looked up to see Skinner standing in the doorway.

"Busy, Agent Mulder?"

"I'm keeping myself occupied."

"There's a woman out here who wants to speak to you...Miss Naka...Naku...", he couldn't remember the name.

"Grace Nakamura?", asked Scully.

"That's right."

"Tell her to jump off a cliff", sighed Mulder, Scully glared at him.

"I'll go and speak to her", she said. Mulder shrugged, he didn't care if Scull wanted to waste some time. It wasn't as if they had anything better to do. Scully followed Skinner out, leaving Mulder to play '52 card pickup'.

Scully found the quietest corner of the reception. Thankfully, Grace hadn't brought Gabriel with her, which was a blessing. She was pretty certain that Grace had the same feeling about Mulder. Grace waited whilst Scully stole two Styrofoam cups of black coffee from a nearby tray.

"I saw you this morning", said Scully, "Where's Gabriel?"

"He's trying to find this guy, but not having much luck. He's so obsessed with it that he's being stupid. That's why I came to find you, I was hoping that you might help."

"Why me?"

"You said that you wanted to catch this killer, even though you don't agree with Gabriel's theory, so I want to take you up on the offer."

"Do you believe Gabriel's theory?"

"I don't know what to believe at the moment....about quite few things." Scully nodded. She knew that she couldn't go off and leave this warehouse, but there was something that might help. Mulder would kill her if she gave it to Grace, but she felt she had no choice. She reached into her pocket and took out the list of co-ordinates she and Mulder found in the airport.

"What's that?"

"Something which might help....or might be totally useless. I don't know which."

"I'm willing to try anything."

"We found these co-ordinates on the body of a Government official who died in mysterious circumstances last week. We believe he knew something about John Keller, or this killer, but we don't know for sure. These co-ordinates refer to four spots on this parade route." Scully jotted down the street names beside them. "It may be a long shot...but I suggest you search these four places for your killer."

"One of these is right outside this warehouse..."

"We've discounted that one. But then again, we don't actually know what these co-ordinates refer to. It could be just points of military presence. But you said you were willing to try anything?"

"Yeah, and I think these are the best hope we've got. Thanks, Scully."

"Remember, if you find this guy. Call us. We may not be able to help you search, but we can arrest this guy and stop him if his intention is to commit another murder."

Mulder was rebuilding his house of cards when Scully got back to the upper room. She watched through the window as Grace began walking down the streets to the first point.

"What did she want?", asked Mulder.

"She came asking for help."

"What did you say?"

"I told her to go jump off a cliff."

DOCKS

10:00 AM

Right on time. Fortz smiled as the small boat approached. Everything was running like clockwork. In a few minutes, he would be greeting the President. Then it would be into the reception, starters already laid out. A short address to the assembled patrons then the parade to the city centre. Beside him stood his best troops, ready for action. As the boat neared the dock, he turned and looked at the warehouse. He could just make out Agents Mulder and Scully. He smiled, they had been as good as expected. He had been warned that they would investigate him, and the warning was true. But Fortz was on top of everything, and now they were in place to watch events unfold as witnesses, and when the time came to explain all, he would use them as witnesses. The past week had been a struggle, the murder of the minister’s wife hadn’t gone down too well with his superiors, but Fortz was certain that he’d explained it well enough. As for Mulder’s attempts to frame that man he arrested, they were pathetic. But soon Fortz wouldn’t be answering to his superiors, he knew that. Giving a nod to his solders, they went to their positions. Soon the orderly manner of this operation would allow him the opportunity he had waited years for, and he was going to take it. No interruptions, no unexpected events, everything like clockwork. Right on time.

JACKSON SQUARE OVERLOOK

Gabriel had a brainwave. Without the constant interruptions of Grace’s worries and Mosely’s incompetence, he had been able to remember where the President was going to make an address from. St Louis Cathedral. So where would the crowds be? Obviously Jackson Square. Now the chasm had closed off most of the park, but there was a large crowd of people facing the stage. Gabriel smiled and slipped some quarters into the binoculars. If this guy was here, Gabriel would find him. But it might take a while, scanning every individual face was impossible. Of course, the President wasn’t due to be here for several hours. He was at the moment being wined and dined in the warehouse down by the docks. Maybe the killer wouldn’t even be here yet. Gabriel began scanning the back rows. Start where the crowds were thinnest and work inward. Gabriel admired his own genius, he had all the time in the world to scan these crowds and if the killer was there, he wouldn’t notice Gabriel.

“Looking for someone?”, came the voice from behind. Gabriel shuddered. He turned around to face his prey. The man he had been searching for was right behind him, arms folded. Gabriel shrugged.

“Just a few old friends and psychos....”

“I think we’ve had this conversation before, Gabriel.”

“Yeah, well I think ‘psycho’ is more than appropriate considering what you’re trying to do.”

“And what exactly am I trying to do?”

“You’re trying to kill the President of Krojan.”

“Why?”

“I dunno...but it has something to do with an Armageddon!”

“You’ve been reading too much of that gothic horror you write, Gabriel. What you’re saying is absurd!”

“You think you’re so smart, but I know your game! And I’m here to stop you as Schattenjager!”

“Just answer me this, Gabriel. If I’m here to kill the President, why don’t I have a gun? Or a bomb? Or even a toothpick? Why am I standing here, talking to you instead of going down to the dock now and killing him?”

“Because it’s all part of your plan! You don’t want people to know what you’re doing!”

“In case your memory is weak, I stood up in front of a crowded church full of journalists and TV reporters and told them what was going to happen. Is that the ac of a man who requires privacy?”

“All right!”, shouted Gabriel, “I don’t know exactly what you’re up to! But I know you’re a killer, and that this whole scenario is a copy of one that happened nearly eighty years ago!”

“In other words, you have stumbled to a conclusion based on inadequate evidence. You have developed a prejudice for me, and you have turned your friends away from you. Doesn’t that tell you something?”

“No...what does it tell you?”

“It tells me that I over estimated you. That you’re not a Schattenjager after all.”

“You want to bet on that?” Gabriel pulled out the talisman and hung it in front of the man’s face like a butcher would hang a meaty bone to a starving dog. Except the man wasn’t scared, he even shrugged his shoulders.

“You’ve just given me proof, Gabriel. You expect your talisman to do me harm because I’m evil. But nothing has happened to me. Therefore either the talisman doesn’t work, or I am not an evil man. Either way, you got it wrong.”

“So you’re saying that you’re a ‘good’ man?”

“I could be God himself for all you know.” The man actually seemed disappointed that he was having this discussion, like a duellist who found that his opponent was a weakling not ready to fight and that he would not be given the chance for the fight he wanted. He turned his back on Gabriel and began walking away.

“I’ll still stop you!”

“If that talisman is your only defence, Gabriel Knight, then you’ve just shown that you can’t” Gabriel was furious, this man had turned his back on him! He wasn’t going to take that. Running forward, he put his arm round the man’s neck like a wrestler and began pulling. The man struggled, then kicked Gabriel in the groin. Gabriel staggered back. Then regained his composure and pulled a punch, it hit home on the man’s face. The man punched back, harder and faster. Gabriel felt blood trickling down from his nose, he tried to fight back but was no match for the man’s strength. Then, it all stopped. The man turned away again and began walking back away.

“Had enough, have you!”, shouted Gabriel, “Get back here and finish it, you coward!”

“I only did enough to defend myself”, said the man, “I refuse to take the aggressor’s role.”

“Then I’ll do it for you!”, Gabriel tired some peculiar combination of a headbutt and a series of punches in front of him like a rhino. It hit more like a cat. The man only had to step back for Gabriel to fall flat on his face. He felt a sharp pain as his talisman was pulled and grunted in dismay as the chain broke. The man jangled it in front of him.

“I’m disgusted by you, Gabriel Knight. You have shamed your whole family by taking the name Schattenjager. I don’t wish to see the names of those history makers ruined by one foolish man. So I will prevent you from doing their name any more insult.” He put the talisman in his pocket and knelt down beside Gabriel. “You still do not know the difference between good and evil. You recognise the struggle, and the warriors, but not the tactics or methods. You must discover what role history makers play in this war. Or you might as well be damned right now. I will go about my business here, and you will witness like everyone else.”

Gabriel’s nose and mouth were full of blood, he felt like he couldn’t speak, “You.....can’t tell me I’m.....not a Schattenjager....it’s not for you to decide.”

“No, it isn’t. But it is my right for me to deliver judgements already decided by someone else. And that is what I’m here to do today.”

“Making...history?”

“And as you have just seen, Gabriel, I am more than capable.” Gabriel looked up to try and reply, but the man was already gone. Not that he cared any more, he just wanted to lie here and die quietly....he closed his eyes and sighed. The conversation was ringing in his head, the blood pounded in his brain. Maybe he had even fallen asleep. Gabriel didn't know, he just felt drowsy.....

“Gabriel!”, he was awoken from his half slumber by another familiar voice. He didn't know if he had been here for a few minutes or a few hours, but the sun felt hotter and the light was brighter. He squinted in the sunlight. It was Grace, unmistakable. She was standing, looking at him like he was a dead cat in the middle of the road.

“Hi, Gracie”, he murmured, “Afraid you missed the party.....”

“What the hell happened?” Grace was beside him now, trying to help him stand up.

“Our friendly neighbourhood psycho....”

“Here?”, asked Grace.

“No, actually”, even when in pain, Gabriel could manage sarcasm, “He beat me up a couple of kilometres away. But I figured I might as well work on my tan so I crawled over here....”

“We have to get you some help, maybe Scully can take a look at you.”

“Oh that’s all I need....a gloat session with the FBI....” Gabriel managed to lean on Grace heavily, she grunted under the strain,. She wondered if Mosely really was heavier than Gabriel.

“Well whatever you think of them, you owe them for me finding you.”

“What do you mean?” As they walked, or stumbled, towards the steps down, Grace took a piece of paper from her pocket. It had some co-ordinates written on it with street names scrawled beside them.

“This one corresponds exactly to this overlook”, she said pointing to the second one down. Gabriel shook his head.

“Well I’ll be damned....” Then he remembered the man, the struggle, and the talisman, “He’s got the talisman, Gracie.”

“Yes, I noticed the mark on your neck where he pulled it off....I think you’ve got a lot of explaining to do, Mr. Schattenjager.”

“I think you can stop calling me that, now. Because I think this was his way of telling me I was fired....”