Like a sponge in a puddle, Cole took in the view from the roof of his penthouse apartment. His cigarette smoke trailing out over the horizon ushered by the winds. Cole isn't someone who is snuck up on easily. He watched her tiptoe behind him and he started to smile. She never gave up on trying.

“Morning Sylvia.”

“Damn it, Nashoba is right, you have to teach me that trick!” Her laughter was the music that tamed his beasts. “Quieting the unhappy?” She didn't need to ask, they already told her the history.

“Yeah, it's a double edged sword. I am the reason they are here, but at the same time I never wished them this.” Cole's military career had given him more then he realized. He noticed the reaction people had towards him after his eruption. That quiet unease of someone dying uncomfortably in bed. That was the closest thing Damien could compare their looks too. It didn't take him long to realize what the cause was, but the reason still eluded him.

“Still want to work this out on your own? Or should I just tell you?” Sylvia was never uncomfortable because of them, his ghosts. Instead she seemed lost in their stories. He knew the stories of their professional lives, never the personal side of them. It was business and they were his assignments. Some even knew he was coming and made attempts to trap him. Damien always planned on that, even with the ones who had no idea. That is what made him the best at what he did.

“I need to do this myself, please understand.” Damien's voice was confident that he could come to terms with them, but his face was pained with the memory of Andrew Norris. Two weeks after moving into the building, he had come into the lobby as the elevator was closing. Cole shouted at the family inside to hold it. Never having met Cole before, they did. Regret and the look carved on their faces instantly when Cole entered the elevator. In the elevator was the Norris Family, William and Barbara Norris, his wife, and little Andrew Norris their ten year old son. Cole tried to be pleasant, polite and set them at ease. He failed. As the doors opened up to the fourth floor the Norris Family quickly got out, and never looked back. Just before the doors shut completely, Cole heard it, the crying of a frightened child. He knew it was Andrew and he knew he was the reason that boy was crying. The Norris Family moved 2 weeks later.

Cole did his homework after that incident. He discovered that the fourth floor apartment had been in Mr. Norris' family for 3 generations. It was now on the market for the first time in that history. The more Damien searched the more he was determined to make things right. Cole bought the apartment, hired a company to tend to its upkeep and has now started tracking the movement of the Norris Family. Once the ghosts were quieted, he would go to them. He would make it right.

“Its Andrew isn't it?” How Sylvia always knew was amazement to Cole. He liked his secrets, he liked controlling what people knew about him. That is how he survived every trap set by his assignments. He diagramed the traps himself. One of the lessons he learned from his trainer was, “Sometimes, the best way to catch someone is to become the bait they are after.”

“Until I met that boy, I was never concerned by the reactions I received. It was another item in my arsenal.” Cole's voice was sorrow. “No child should ever fear a Nova, and no child should ever cry because of me. That is why I always take the stairs now, all 89 floors, never again should someone who lives here be made to feel uneasy in their own home.”

“I made peace with myself a long time ago. Peace for the things I did as a soldier. Now that I know that some of my targets are trapped and follow me I must make peace with them.” Cole turned to Sylvia. “I have to be the one to communicate with them, so they know I am honest about amends.”

“They know you want peace, but some are still bitter.”

“Shh, please I need to do this.”

Sylvia smiled “You are right, stubborn, but right.”

Sylvia switched gears a little, “How often do you come here now?”

“Every morning. I can feel their pleasure in being here. I don't know if it is the view, the breeze or just the location itself, but they like it and so do I.”