Alex listened to the phone ring, and hadn't quite decided yet if he wanted Catherine to pick up or not. He wasn't prepared, he didn't know what to say to her or how she would react.
"Hello?" said a familiar female voice.
Well, here goes, Alex thought. "Hi Catherine."
He heard a sharp intake on the other side. "Alex....?"
"Yeah."
"Wow. I can't believe- after all these years.... What've you been doing? Are you coming home? Where are you?"
"I- I don't know if I'm coming home. I don't think I'll be welcomed."
"I still love you."
"That's the problem" Alex replied. His mind wandered back to the incident.
Alex and Catherine were lying naked in Catherine and William's bed. William came in, taken completely by surprise. His eyes widened as he realized was what going on. "I'm sorry," was all Catherine had said. Alex lay frozen in fear and self-loathing. "I can't believe it." William said over and over as he turned to leave. He closed the door behind him with an echoing click. The two lovers couldn't move or even look at each other. A shattering crack broke the silence. They rushed up to William's study, but he was dead. "I love you" was scrawled on a scrap on paper on his desk. Alex had fled his comfortable upper-class life in shame.
"Alex?" Catherine's voice brought him back to the present.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have called."
"Please come home. I don't know where you are, but I can tell it's really wearing you down. It'll be ok. Come home."
"I have to go. Bye."
She didn't protest and he wouldn't have listened. Alex hung up the phone and morosely watched the rain come down.
I have to get out of this apartment, he thought.
Alex flung on a jacket and hurried outside, hoping the fresh air would save him from insanity. His feet took him to the playground and he flopped down on a swing, hoping it would hold his weight. An ambulance's scream filled the air. Alex idly wondered what was happening and looked up to see the ambulance coming closer. He tried to become invisible, suddenly feeling foolish in a playground sitting on a child's swing. As he attempted to decide which was worse, sitting here in the rain or just walking off, his eyes skirted around the playground, looking for the best escape route. Underneath the rusted red slide his eyes found a dark shadow that looked very much like a person.
Fuck! It is a person. Shit shit shit. How long has that been there?
Then, Alex panicked and ran, losing any hope of being invisible. He ran to his car, got in and drove away. He didn't have anything but the clothes on him, but he knew he needed to leave, before that town drove him crazy. He was going home. To Catherine. To bad memories and guilt. But at least he was going home.

Alex woke up on the sofa, mind still whirling from the night before. Taylor and Kara were heading out the door and they exchanged a few awkward pleasantries, awkward from Alex's end anyways. After they left all Alex wanted to do was hide in his room and collect his thoughts, even though he should have been heading to the police station to see Froyd. Alex morosely headed to his bedroom and flopped down on his bed. His mind was spinning with all that had happened to him in the last few days.
Did my dream mean something? Is it time to forget this town and this horrible job and go back home to Catherine? Would she have remarried? Would she still take me back? And what about Taylor? I have to protect him, but how? He just shot a police officer. Alex thought.
His eyes wandered around his room and looked out the window. It looked cold and grey and dreary. Standing at the bus stop was a girl as bland as the grey day.
Wasn't she that new girl? I guess life here is too tough for some people. Including me. Maybe it's just time to go home. I don't have to deal with this shit hole.
Instead of spending the rest of the day moping in his bed, Alex decided to get out of his house and get some food. As he walked down the hallway to the elevators he hoped he wouldn't see Taylor or Froyd today, he hadn't decided whose side he was going to be on yet and didn't want to have to make a rash decision he'd later regret.
That's how I've ended up in this situation in the first place. Alex bitterly thought.

Brrrring. Brrrring. Brrring.
"Hello?"
"Alex, it's me, Catherine. Come home."
"Catherine...you know I can't-"
Brrrring. Brrrring.
I thought I answered the phone already....Oh, it was a dream..... Alex thought.
Brrrring. Brrrring.
"Alex?" said a familiar voice.
"Uuh?" Alex cleverly responded.
"Is it alright if me and Kara crash at your place for tonight?"
"Huh? Wait, what?" Alex said, realizing he was speaking to Jeremiah Taylor, "What's going on?"
"I'll tell you when we get up there."
"Okay, yeah sure." he said, "You can come on up."
"Thanks, man. I'll spill once I get up there, I've got a lot to tell you, man. I've got a whole lot to tell you."
Alex hung up the phone and turned on the lights, trying to wake up some and prepare for their arrival.

"Hey man," Taylor whispered.

"What's up?" Alex whispered back.

"Let me put Kara to bed first, then I'll tell you." 

Alex led Taylor into his bedroom and left Kara safely to her dreams.

"Well...?" Alex whispered.

Taylor paused solemly, collecting his thoughts on an unhappy topic.

"Jerome got caught. I'd given him $33,000 for a once in a lifetime opportunity, Kara's tuition money...."

"What was this once in a lifetime opportunity?" Alex asked, already knowing the answer.

"Remember...I told you that some guy had called Tyrone from Bolivia and offered him a whole lot of coke really cheap and he needed me to chip in so he could get it. Like an idiot, I gave it to him...."

"Fuck man, I remember....did that dealer scam you?"

"No....it's worse. Tyrone got the coke, but got caught. Fucking police....I wonder who could've turned him in...? Those dumbasses couldn't've found it by chance...someone must've told...."

Alex sat in a guilty silence, hating himself for taking so much of his friend's money, money that was supposed to go to his little girl's tuition.

"Anyways," Taylor started up again, breaking the silence," I was heading over to Lu's Garage for a sell-"

"How do you know they got Tyrone? Maybe he ran into a little trouble, so he's taking a bit longer, nothing to worry about, he's just taking a while..."

"I saw him in the back of a fucking cop car!"

"Oh. Shit."

Two sat in silence, thoughts whirled around inside both of thier heads.

"Uh...so what happened? You said you went to Lu's Garage...?" Alex said, breaking the silence. 

"Oh, yeah...so I was heading over there and I saw an undercover cop...big shiny SUV in the middle of the ghetto, what else could it be, right? Anyways, I ran and to the hole in the fence that led to the park and there was some kid cop standing in my way."

"What? A cop? What'd you do?" Cold understanding suddenly dawned on Alex.

"Well, I told him get out of the way, but he didn't, so...."

"You shot him?" Alex said, wishing he hadn't made absolutely sure, wishing he'd remained ignorant of the terrible crime his friend had committed. 

"Yeah..."

"So that's what happened that night when I got Kara from school and you came home late?"

"Mhm"

Again the two shared a thoughtful silence. 

"Hey Froyd, what's new?" Alexander said, stepping into Deputy Froyd Delson's office.
Froyd gave him a very weary look in response.
"That good, huh? Word on the street is that Donald Fish randomly got shot in the calf." Alex said, thinking back to when he's followed Fish's example of heading over to package store after some stupid kid pulled the fire alarm.
"Yeah, that whole mess is really weird. We don't even know if Donald was the target. Anyways, the good news is that we finally got J Rizzle on a petty solicitation of prostitution charge, but we're gonna have to get more evidence of his drug dealings and his connection to some of the murders he's implicated in if we're gonna get to keep him."
"Good, good. Drug dealings, does that mean you need my help" Alex asked, hoping his good friend Jeremiah Taylor wasn't involved.
"Nah, not really, we dont really have the time to send someone in undercover."
"Any more good news?" Alex said, breaking the awkward silence.
"Yeah. That guy who kidnapped and killed that little girl last year is loose. Great news, right?"
"Damn. That's horrible. How'd he get out?"
"I don't even want to talk about it. These stupid, lazy prision guards are gonna be the death of me, ya know?"
"Mmmhm," Alex gruted his affirmation.
"And of course there's the usual mugging, but the one in the alleyway by the townhomes was particularly gruesome. We think there's something we don't know, something more to that whole ordeal, but I've got more important things to worry about right now. Like that fucker being on the loose again."
"Mmmhm," Alex grunted again.
"Well....uh...thanks for coming in today, but I don't think we need you."
"Oh, well, uh, I actually just came in to get my paycheck."
"Ah," Froyd said, a glimmer of disappointment in his eyes.
They stared awkardly at each other for a while, until, fortunately for both, Froyd was called away. Back outside in the crisp fall air, Alex was heading towards Jupiter Appartments. "God, I miss my home, " he thought bitterly, "not this godforsaken whole in the wall. I'm not even doing what I wanted to do here. I'm a fucking narc. Not ridding the world of bad guys with vicious plots, but selling out guys who are just trying to make a living. Maybe I should just go home...." His mind wandered back home, to what drove him away and what would be waiting for him when he got back, then he quickly dismissed the thought from his mind. He trudged as thoughtlessly as he could manage the rest of the way towards Jupiter Appartments.

Alexander Darcy was lying in bed still, pretending he didn't have to go to work. "Five," he thought to himself, counting the number of sirens he'd heard this morning since being rudely awakened by one. He rolled over onto his side to see how late it was. "Only 10 o'clock, not too bad..." Alex thought, suddenly motivated to get out of bed, or at least sit up. "Goddammit," he thought as his head throbbed with renewed intensity. "I knew I shouldn't have had that many PBRs."
Alex had had a bit too much to drink last night when Kara's dad came home. Jeremiah Taylor, Kara's dad, and him were good friends from less than desirable circumstances since Taylor was a drug dealer. Alex had no intention of selling Taylor out, but many of his cohorts had needed to go down to provide a smokescreen, many of whom Alex had gotten to know, which only doubled his guilt when he saw them being led away in handcuffs. Alex had really liked Tyrone, he was an amusing fellow, and a bit gruff, but you could count on him. "You can't really count on me, can you?" Alex thought and sighed.
Alex was about to settle into a long afternoon of wallowing in his own guilt when the fire alarm went off. Realizing he had no clothes on, Alex quickly shoved on yesterday's clothes, hurried down the hall, and stabbed the elevator button. Remembering that you shouldn't take an elevator in case of fire, he looked around the hallway for the stairs. Finally, giving up, he went back to his room, pushed up the window, dropped down to the fire escape. Alex allowed himself a brief smile at the fact that someone was actually using the fire escape to escape from a fire. He went around to the front of the apartment building and saw a clutter of people, awkwardly he remained some distance away from them. Looking around he noticed a gruff man head towards the package store, feeling inspired by the idea, Alex followed. "What could possibly happen, right? My headache can't possibly get any worse...."

Alexander Darcy spun on his heel and headed out into the brisk very early morning air. He was exhausted, bitter about his current situation, and cold. As he walked away from the police station he felt the icy pinpricks of the first snow on his face and hands. He turned left onto Polaski Avenue and heard the muted revelry of Le Royal Theatre. The theatre wasn't popular for shows like the Globe Theatre put on, but more like the Moulin Rouge, except not even that classy.
Finally he arrived at Jupiter Apartments on the corner of Rousse and Polaski and sidled into the front door just as the snow really started to kick in. He rode the rickety elevator all the way up to the twelfth floor, one from the top, and felt his heart skip a beat from the starling downward jerk necessary for the elevator to line up with the outside door.
He walked down the hallway, slightly more awake from his near death experience, to apartment 1246. After the customary fight with the lock, he was finally home. He flipped on the lights just long enough to spot a cockroach scurrying across his floor. He threw his hat and coat onto the chair, then loosed his tie. Alexander thought about hanging up his suit jacket, but decided against it, and instead threw it into the pile with his hat and coat. Once in the bathroom his own reflection caught his eye. He ran a hand through his short black hair and looked at the dark circles under his hazel eyes; his angular jawline was covered with a few days' worth of stubble.
Alex collapsed into his bed, immediately relaxing, knowing, unfortunately, that it would be a long time until he'd fall asleep. Many times like this he'd lie in bed wondering what he was doing here.
Alexander Darcy woke up with a start as the alarm on his phone went off. Fuck, Kara! He ran around the apartment putting yesterday's clothes back on and hurried down the hall to the elevator. No matter how many times he pushed the button for the damn machine, it still wasn't coming faster. Once in the small enclosed space of the elevator, he began tapping his foot expectantly, willing the machine to go faster. At some point a girl with wandering eyes got in and he almost ran into her, thinking it was the ground floor. She was studying him as they rode down the last few floor, but Alex had resumed his tapping and didn't care or seem to even notice her existence. The elevator lurched to a stop and the instant the doors opened Alex darted out, his coat furling out behind him.
After running a few red lights and barely stopping for even more stop signs, Alex finally arrived at Guiding Light Christian School for Girls. Sitting all alone on the steps was a little 10 year old girl with her chin in her hand.
"You're late," said Kara narrowing her brown eyes, but smirking all the same.
"Would you expect anything less of me?" retorted Alex.
Kara sighed, gave up on being mad, and ran down the steps to give Alex a hug. Alex loved the little kid like she was his own, but wanted to keep her dad out of trouble so he'd be the one raising her.
"How was your day?" asked Alex, ruffling up her hair.
Kara scowled, patted her black hair down and shrugged, "Well, I liked the learning part, but I still feel out of place."
Alex nodded, understanding completely, but had no advice or comforting words to give. They got into Alex's car and the drive back home was a silent one, both lost in thought.

Kara's dad Taylor came home very late that night as Alexander Darcy was attempting to keep the roaches at bay and made a beeline for his room. Alex raised a quizzical eyebrow, but then decided he didn't want to know. Alex didn't want to know anything that would separate Taylor from his little girl. When Taylor came back out, the two grabbed some beers and settled down to watch Leno when the power returned. 

Beginning

Alexander Darcy rubbed his eyes and took a look at the line-up of fat black men on the other side of the one-way mirror. He took a long inhale of his Turkish Silver before resignedly sighing out, "That one," in reference to fat black man number three. He would know Tyrone's lamb chops and ten chins anywhere.
"Thanks Darce, couldn't've nabbed him without your tip," said Deputy Froyd Delson. Froyd was as close to a friend as he had at the police station, but Alexander still found it extremely irritating whenever Froyd referred to him as "Darce." Alexander decided not to say anything about it this time, though, because he knew Froyd had had a long night catching this drug lord. Alexander had heard that Tyrone would have $75,000 worth of cocaine in his car on October 25th, and, well, these were the wee hours of October 26th. He hoped this catch would keep them off his back for a while.
Alexander Darcy stubbed out his cigarette, put on his black fedora and threw his black overcoat over his arm, then followed Froyd out of the observation room. Once out, he saw Tyrone being lead away in handcuffs and Alexander desperately prayed to any and all higher powers that Tyrone wouldn't look up. Of course he did. The flicker of recognition that crossed Tyrone's face quickly turned into a long suspicious glare. Alex wanted to apologize, to take it all back, but he couldn't.
"I feel like a fucking narc," Alex thought, "oh wait, that's because I am."