Jackson's eyes slowly cracked open, the bright light above him was blinding his sight, he heard voices shouting words that he couldn't make sense out of, he was in pain. He slowly came to his senses and took in his environment, he was being wheeled into a hospital on a stretcher "Mark, Mark" he kept mumbling weakly as he recollected his last activities, they had been shot. He weakly turned his head from side to side looking for Mark, he tried to get off the moving stretcher and felt hands holding him down. As he struggled to sit up he saw Mark being wheeled in, oxygen mask on his face and an EMT on top of him doing chest compressions. "Ma..Mark" he grunted in pain as he stretched his hand to touch Mark. Mark's stretcher sped past his, his hand brushed Mark's dangling hand "Mark" he cried as he was turned into an operating room his hand still streched out and Mark disappeared from his sight. They transferred him from the stretcher onto the operating table, he grunted and winced from pain as he tried to get off "I...have to ..get to him" he tried to rip out the IV that was being placed into his arm. "Don't...please...he..." he begged and tried to grab the nurse's hand as anesthetics were injected into him. "Mark...no..Ma..Ma..." the drugs took over him.

Jackson laid sleeping on the hospital bed in a private VIP recovery room, a white bandage with a little red stain in the front wrapped over his right shoulder and around his chest. He inhaled sharply and flicked his eye open, his room was empty, where was everybody? Mark? He had to be by his side. He tried to sit up and felt excruciating pain in his upper body, he gritted his teeth and managed to sit up. He yanked the IV needles from his arm and shuffled slowly for the door his body bent over from pain as he repeatedly called out Mark's name weakly. He was half way to the door when it opened and a man in a doctor's robe entered.

"You shouldn't be out of bed Mr.Wang" The man put Jackson's arm on his shoulder and his own arm around his waist "I'll help you to your bed"

"No" Jackson said weekly, he grabbed the doctor's arm "Mark, take me to him, i need to see him,please" he saw the doctor pull something from his pocket out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed a familiar tattoo on the back of his hand. He was one of his father's men.

"Get away from me" Jackson tried to fight him off and fell to the floor, he tried to crawl toward the door and felt the needle in his thigh, the effects were quick, he felt his legs go numb and tried to drag himself on one good hand, he fell face foward as his hand gave way "mark" he whimpered gazing at the door as tears escaped his eyes. The man crouched over him an evil smirk spread across his face and turned him on his back, Jackson's vision was getting blurry.

"He is dead" Jackson heard the man say. He was totally paralyzed by now and couldn't utter a word as rapid tears escaped the corners of his eyes, wetting his hair, everything went dark and he passed out.

The man carried him to the hospital bed and set everything up the way it was "Come in" he yelled. 

Jackson's father walked to his son's bed side, he leaned over bringing his face to his son's, he caressed his hair gently "You made me do this" he whispered and kissed his son "How long do we have?" he addressed the doctor.

"Forty-eight hours"

"Watch him, i don't want anybody in here, not his mother, no doctors." he said to one of his men "No one" he emphasized. "Let's finish this" he spoke to the doctor as he walked out the door.

Mark lay on a cold table, surrounded by men in black suits, Jackson's dad sat in a dark corner watching "shoot him up" he ordered.

"He could die" the doctor replied.

"Do it!!" Jackson's dad bellowed. The doctor stuck the needle in Mark's chest, he did not move. "Again" Jackson's dad said flatly. The doctor looked at him with concerned eyes and stuck another needle in Mark's chest. He jerked up into a sitting position wheezing and and clutching his chest.

"Where am i? What happened?" He spoke very fast and jumped off the table. "You?" he asked when Jackson's dad emerged from the shadow's "I warned you" he glared at Mark "We are in the hospital boiler room right now" he said as Mark began looking around "Your family and friends think you are still in surgery"

"What do you want from me" Mark was calm but jittery.

"You are lucky" the man walked across the room toward Mark "both of you" he stopped in front of him "The bullet missed your heart by a few inches and lodged in his upper chest, right here" he said pointing to the spot on his own chest.

"How is he?" Mark's voice was low as he feared the worst.

"he's alive, i put him in an induced coma"

"How could you!! He's your son!!" Mark raised his voice as he became filled with rage

The man scoffed and ignored Mark's question "Your family and friends believe you are still in surgery, you've been out for three hours" he turned away from Mark "they will be waiting for 48 hours, after which they will be told you are dead, you will disappear and never come back, i'll provide you with a new identity and enough money to make you comfortable for the rest of your life" the man's voice was cold and dangerously low.

"You can't make me do that!" Mark yelled

"I don't get why you boys are so dramatic" the man laughed " Bring him!" he ordered his men.

"Let go off me!!" Mark fought back, it took six guards to subdue him.

"It's all that adrenalin pumping through you" Jackson's dad said as he led the way and his men dragged Mark behind him "You will be in excruciating pain when it wears off" he looked behind him at Mark and chuckled "Don't think of calling for help, the whole floor is empty" he continued, a cop approaching them turned and walked away when he saw them "See?" He laughed, and opened the door to Jackson's room, he gestured for his men to let go off Mark when they entered. He nodded his head in Jackson's direction, and one off the men put a cocked gun to Jackson's head.

"You won't" Mark's voice was shaky, as he realized the inevitable. He had a choice to make, stay alive and live in pain or die, he was ready to die, but he couldn't let Jackson die, he loved him too much.

"I would rather have a dead son than a gay son!" The man yelled "Now he wakes up to hear you're dead or you both die right here, right now"

Mark shut his eyes tight and the tears finally fell, he wanted to shut out this terrible nightmare, he wanted to go back to the morning cuddles and soft tender kisses, he wanted to go back to the late night talks on the couch, he wanted to go back to the sunshine and laughter, the warmth of Jackson's body on rainy nights. His body shook as his big heart shaterred to pieces, he opened his eyes and stared at the peaceful face of his beloved, Jackson can't die, he nodded his head slowly giving in to the heartbreaking demands.

Mark's eyes never left Jackson's face once they settled on him, he took slow steps, one foot in front of the other toward him, one of the men blocked his path, he turned and looked at Jackson's dad "Please...let me hold him" he sobbed and sniffled, uncontrolable warm tears staining his cheeks "Pleeaase" his voice breaking on 'eeaa' as he yearned for Jackson. The man waved a hand nonchalantly and the men backed down.

Mark sat by Jackson and brought a shaking hand to his cheek, he run his thumb over his lips and leaned in to kiss him "I'm sorry, i'm so sorry" he whispered and placed little kisses with trembling lips on his beautiful face "Please don't hate me so much" he kissed his temple " I..love..you..always" he whispered into his ear through quivering lips. He lay his head on Jackson's chest, wrapped his arms around him and wept, he cried for the life he had to live without his love,he cried for the lonely days and cold nights, and for the emptiness he already felt. Jackson's father turned away in disgust, he hissed and glared at one of his men who was wiping his eyes.

~~~7777777~~~

Mark hid in the shadows of the backdoor watching from a crack in the door as his friends and family mourned in the hospital funeral hall, he saw his framed picture mounted up behind a bed of white chrysanthemum flowers, his family stood by the side receiving condolenses from well wishers, his friends were huddled together grieving his death, then he saw Jackson in a black suit with a hemp band on his arm, sitting in the center of the room staring up at his framed picture, his face was expressionless, no tears, nothing, his eyes were dead, it was as if he wasn't there.

"Time to go" he heard the man assigned to him say. He took one long look at Jackson and blinked away his tears as he turned and walked away.

Mark stared out the window of the car, he was clutching the necklace around his neck holding on to it for dear life, It was the only thing he had left of Jackson, he had nothing, no clothes, no phone. He groaned as he felt a sharp pain in his chest, he looked down and saw a red stain begin to grow on his inner shirt, he pulled his outer shirt over it, the man sitting across from him opened a flat small suit case,took out a syringe and stuck it in Mark's forearm. Mark felt the pain ease.

"Take this" he handed the case with the remaining adrenalin shots to Mark "You will need it". The guy handed him a black card "money will be wired onto that card every month" he threw a brown evelope into his lap "those are your papers". The car pulled up in front of the airport "Get out" the man opened the door.

Mark looked at the things in his lap and looked up at the man "Who is in the coffin?"

"The fool who missed his aim".

Mark got out the car and stared after the car as it drove away, he walked into the airport slowly not knowing where to go.

~~~7777777~~~

Jackson stared at his unfamiliar image in what remained of the shattered bathroom mirror, he had not stepped foot outside since Mark died two years ago. He run his hand through his bushy beard, and touched the locked hair that was falling down his chest, his eyes were deep in their sockets and his cheek bones were sticking out, he turned and looked his body over, his hip bones were sticking out and all his prominences, ankle, knee and elbow, were all sticking out. He looked at his face again, he couldn't recognize himself. He searched the dusty drawers for shaving cream and a clipper which surprisingly still worked. He slowly but surely gave himself a clean shave and haircut, he walked into the apartment, everything was the same as Mark had left it, the TV remote still lay at the exact same spot on the center table, the last cups they had used still sat at the same spot on the kitchen counter, everything was the same except the cats which his mom had taken away since he could no longer care for them. It was dark, the windows were covered with news papers blocking out the sunshine, the place where he had made a home with his beloved was now a hollow house filled with memories. He made his way slowly to the windows and tore away the papers, he covered his eyes as the light hit his face, he had forgoten what it felt like to feel the sun on your face, he finished removing the papers as his eyes adjusted to the light.

He walked into the bedroom, the bed had not been made, not since the last time they slept on it together, it was the same. He opened his closet and put on a suit. The clothes hanged on him they were too big, the pants almost dropped down, he found a belt and held it up. Jackson had become a shell of the person he once was, he was alive but not living, at least not in the present, he still had not shed a single tear since Mark died, he sat everyday in his couch and lived in the memories of yesterday, he couldn't move on he was stuck. Today, he was finally going to make things right, he was going to testify against his father, the prime minister had lost power and was standing trial for misuse of political power, his father had been implicated but there was no evidence against him until Jackson finally agreed to come out and testify, he was flying to Hong Kong to bring justice for all the wrong that his father had done.

~~~7777777~~~

Jackson sat in the witness box, his eyes dead and his face expressionless as he stared at his father, his mum sat in the back sobbing more for her son than her ex-husband.

"And so you heard the gunshot and then?" the lawyer prompted

"I looked out my window and saw my dad and his friend standing over the body"

"Do you see your dad's friend in this room?"

Jackson looked at the other men standing trial "Him" he pointed at the prime minister

"Go on"

"My dad saw me and called me to come help him. I helped him carry the body into our back yard"

"What did you do with the body?"

"We buried it and built a fountain over it"

"Do you remember tha face of the dead man?"

"I see it everyday"

The prosecuter laid out pictures in front Jackson "that one" he pointed.

"That will be all your honor"

The proceedings ended and Jackson's father was sentenced to life without parole. Jackson stood infront of the court house with his mom, she was crying as she hugged her son, he didn't hug her back he just stood there with his hands by his side, she held him at arm's length looking into his dead eyes and his gaunt face "It's over now" she sobbed. Jackson stared straight ahead not making eye contact. His mom had tried to stay by his, she would come evryday to the apartment but he wouldn't let her in, she left things for him at the door of which he would later take what he needed and leave there