A quick update :) Maybe i should be better about updating this one, eh? But due to circumstances completely in my control, I won't be able to post next week. That's why you're getting three different updates today :)

Chapter 7: Death of a Brother

Gene walked slowly away from the pub, not looking back. Another DI sent away. The new one would be coming in the morning. He was wondering who to turn his attentions to now. Since he had sent Alex to the pub, he'd helped Terry, Bammo, Poirot, and now Wells. He sighed. He'd probably need to help WPC Johnson next. He knew that the DS, DS Keefe was still reeling, even though he'd been here for several years now.

Just like Alex, he mused. Alex hadn't settled down until the very end. Only in the last few months of being there, after she woke up from her coma did she seem like she enjoyed being there. Before that she had been too busy, too worried about her daughter. She hadn't even known she was dead; she was convinced she was not. That had disconcerted him, he remembered. Sam had been like that too, but he actually had been in a coma.

Gene wondered why Sam was sent to him. People in comas were not supposed to come to this world unless they were on the brink of death and definitely would be passing over. Of course, who knew now? The technological advances that Wells had harped on about for the first couple days may have improved medicine loads as well. He knew that it had improved quite a bit since he had started as a copper in 1953. Maybe now, they came if they were on the brink and then just stayed if it was still touch and go.

Gene shook his head. He really had no clue. He needed to stop pondering about this. He needed to stop thinking, but he couldn't. Ever since 1983, since Alex had uncovered his skeleton, he could not stop thinking about everything. He knew that if he had not forgotten, this world would be more obvious, that it didn't trust him anymore. He was going to have to earn the trust of the world before he could again know its secrets. And that could take many more years. Or it may never happen. Maybe his replacement was on his way.

However, Gene knew that this wasn't happening yet. He still felt a compulsion to be in this world, had not yet tired of his job. DCI Thomas had been right. It was complete second nature to him now, and he often did not realise as he helped a person through the worst moments in their afterlife. He wished he could have helped Stu in the same way he helped those that entered his station. But he knew that was not possible. Stu was a different class of person, had a different Guardian assigned to him. He thought he may have met Stu's Guardian once, but he couldn't be sure. They had no way to identify each other, unless one came across another during a death of a charge.

He was relaxing for the first time in weeks. The streets had been bad lately. He had cleared up two murders and a small drug ring in the matter of a month. It was no small feat, but Gene had accomplished it, earning him commendations from the Chief Super himself. He smirked to himself. He was a brilliant DCI, and he knew it.

He pulled a book from the side table, staring at it. He was getting excited. Charlotte and he were going out tonight. She'd been getting annoyed with him lately, spending all his time at work. He had sweet talked her the week previously, and tonight they were going to see a film.

Now, however, it was the middle of the afternoon and he didn't need to start getting ready until about half six that night. He stared at the title of the book. It was one of his favourites, Knights of the Range by Zane Grey. He opened the cover, noting for the first time an untidy scrawl on the inside.

Property of Gene and Stu Hunt

Take this book, and Gary Cooper will be after you

Gene laughed at the inscription. He had no idea Stu had written that and fairly certain that if anyone found it, they wouldn't have any idea why Gary Cooper would go after them. Long ago, when they were children, Stu would call him Gary, a call to all their games of cowboys and Indians.

He sighed at Stu's fate. The money had been placed back in the tin in the freezer, but Gene wouldn't spend it, still convinced it was gained through drugs. However, when they had broken the drugs ring they hadn't found him anywhere close to the alleys. He had heard nothing about him either. Finally Gene had starting asking around, seeing if any of the druggies knew his brother. One of them had known his brother. He didn't say much, just that he hadn't seen him in years.

Gene was starting to wonder if Stu was actually telling the truth several years ago. If that was true, then he had been horrible to his brother. He deserved to be called like his father. He had been so close to hitting Stu that night in the pub, convinced that he was lying.

Gene sighed. He hadn't heard from Stu in two years, and he doubted he would again. He settled back into the couch, starting to read his book.

Half an hour or so later, there was a knock at the door of his flat. Frowning, he stood. Who would be coming around? He wasn't expecting anyone, certainly. He moved to the door of his flat and pulled it open. A tall and lanky blonde man stood in his doorway. His tie was neatly done, and his hair perfect. His brown eyes flashed with sorrow.

"Nielsen. What are you doing here?" he asked his DI.

Nielsen cleared his throat. "Guv. Err...A call came in about a murder about three hours ago."

"You lot can handle murder enquiries, can't you?"

"We went to the scene," Nielsen continued. "The man who had reported it was still there. The victim had been stabbed in the stomach. We took in the man who reported it, and he told us that he had just been walking and found the victim. He said that he tried to help, as he used to be a doctor, but the victim was almost dead."

"Right. Couldn't this wait till tomorrow?"

Nielsen shook his head sadly. "No Guv. See, we need you to ID the body."

Gene frowned.

"We believe the man to be your brother, Stuart Hunt."

Gene dropped the book that he was holding in his hands and pulled a shirt on over his vest. He slipped his shoes on and followed Nielsen numbly to the station.

Could Stu really be dead? If he was, it was most certainly drugs-related, Gene thought darkly. They walked quietly down to the morgue where a body was covered by a simple sheet, lying on the slab.

Nielsen walked over to the body and pulled the sheet down, revealing a handsome face. The jaw was strong, and the nose straight. The man's cheekbones were extremely prominent, speaking of a time where the man was probably malnourished.

The speed, Gene thought.

The man's eyes were shut, something Gene thanked the God he didn't believe in for. As it was, he could hardly stand staring at his brother like this.

Gene said nothing, merely nodding his head. Nielsen said nothing, covering the body.

"Where's the doctor?" Gene asked, keeping his voice level.

"In the interview room, Guv. We thought you might want to talk to him."

Gene nodded, leaving the morgue without a second look. He entered Lost and Found, seeing a man with emerald eyes and short cropped brown hair staring at the walls sadly. Gene sat across from the man, staring him right in the eyes.

"Name," he spat.

"Tom Cunningham. I found the man in the alley."

"What happened to him?"

"He was stabbed in the stomach. Not just the general stomach region, but the actual organ itself. The acid from his stomach...ate at his organs, killing him."

"No," Gene said closing his eyes, trying to keep a professional manor even after hearing about how horrible his brother's death was. "What were the events that led up to it?"

"I walked past the alley and I heard someone shouting about drugs and money. I heard the man saying something, but I couldn't make out what. I heard a grunt of pain and then someone yelling to grab his wallet. I ran into the alley, but the men had gone, and the victim was on the ground.

"Didn't you try to save him?"

"Inspector...?"

"DCI Hunt."

A flash of recognition flashed across the man's eyes. "DCI Hunt. I tried to save him, but unless someone can get immediate medical attention – from a hospital I might add – after a wound like that, the probability of them surviving is low. I tried what I could, but I couldn't ring an ambulance. I tried to persuade him to fight, but his injuries were too severe for that."

Gene nodded. Somehow, he knew this man was telling the truth and didn't want to bang him up. He knew this man was not responsible for his brother's death and had to walk free.

"Thank you, Mr. Cunningham. If we need further assistance, we will be ringing you. Leave your number with one of my men."

Cunningham nodded and left the room. Gene let out a pent up breath before grabbing a long forgotten about item and throwing it across the room. He kicked over the interview table and threw a chair.

"Bastard!" he bellowed. "You fucking twat!"

Unhappy with the destruction he had already caused, Gene knocked down a whole set of shelves. "If you were alive right now Stuart, I'd kill you," he said to the air. He longed to punch someone, something, anything. Gene opened the door to lost and found and saw Nielsen walking towards the door.

"Get me a suspect to punch! One of them druggies we dragged in this week. The dealer."

"Guv, I don't..."

"JUST DO IT!" he roared.

Soon a man was brought in, looking very intimidated.

"Here's the way I see it. One of you bastards got my brother hooked on speed," Gene said calmly, unaware that Nielsen was standing in the corner. "And I will personally hunt down every single dealer in this city until I finally do and then I will beat the living shit out of him."

The man nodded, trying desperately to work out of his handcuffs. The fury radiating off of Gene was immense; he could feel it flowing in waves.

"But I think I'll make you a warning for the rest of them," he sneered. Gene leapt at the man, throwing punch after punch until hands were on him, dragging him away. To his fury, the man wasn't even near unconsciousness and hardly any blood was showing.

"Let me go," he growled.

"Go home Guv," Nielsen said.

"Let me go."

"No."

A few moments later and he had been escorted out of the building, told not to return until he could control his temper better. He had returned right after Stu's funeral. The team was cautious around him for several weeks and he didn't blame them. He was tense and snappy all the time.

Gene suddenly realised; it was after Stu's death that he started to forget. He didn't want to believe that his brother had gone to hell, so he stopped thinking about heaven. After Stu's death and before Alex, Ray, Chris and Shaz went in; he had only taken six people to the pub. And he hadn't known that he was even taking those six.

Gene buried his face in his hands. Stupid bastard junkies. They had ripped away Stu's chance at heaven.

Gene sighed. He couldn't really do anything about it. Stu wasn't his charge. If Stu's Guardian lost him, that was his problem, not Gene's.

It didn't stop the tearing in his chest when he saw the body or every time he thought about it since. But it was his mantra, the words he repeated over and over again.

"Not my charge. I couldn't do anything. Not my charge. Not my charge."

No matter how often he said the words though, he always felt hollow inside. And he knew; that hollowness was because Stuart Hunt went to hell.