Five years had passed since Joey had joined the force. Enthusiasm filled his entire body as he walked into the police station; the thought such a place being new to him would seem like such a dreamlike idea after spending most days of his life working diligently to catch the sins which prevailed in Whitechapel.

"You must be...Constable Savage!" A man's voice called out, triggering his head to dart in one direction.

"Y-Yes, sir." Joey replied, his eyes quickly scanning his surroundings. Everything – back then – was a lot newer. He remembered his amazement; the desks were a much higher quality than he had anticipated and, whilst the atmosphere remained dull and bleak, in comparison to the dreary city beyond these office walls this particular building was a refuge for lost souls. One minute had passed since he had first entered, and yet a feeling of homeliness had already grabbed his heart and soul. The man before him couldn't have been more than five years older than him and yet his hair was the colour of dust, combed back. This being said, trace elements of the dark colour which prevailed before were still persisting to a degree; this was especially the case in his beard, a network of dark brown hairs which lifted from his nose to his neck. However, his eyes were still full of youth, painted with the vibrant blues which Joey could only associate with the cornflowers which grew in the fields of his childhood.

"Welcome to the Division, my boy." He greeted, placing his hand firmly on shoulder. He smiled like a child, full of wonder and delight; Joey often wondered whether his excitement was even remotely close to that of the gentleman before him. "I'm Inspector Hutchins." He cheered, beginning to walk forwards towards one of the desks. "We'll be working closely together, so feel free to call me Dennis." He then stopped and turned to Joey, who caught a sparkle in his eyes. He pointed down at a desk, "This, my dear fellow, will be your working space!" He clarified, guiding him to take a seat. Upon falling into the seat, Joey noticed a couple of things. One, the seat was not the most comfortable space to be seated. The other thing was that he recognised quickly that he didn't mind this whatsoever. The glee in Inspector Hutchins' tone was contagious and Joey knew now – for certain – that this was where he would reside for the rest of his life.

"Sir, I, um-" Joey began, turning to face his superior. "Thank you."

"Oh, no problem, my dear boy." He replied, haste beginning to build in his tone. "However, I must be off; a body's just been found." Joey's eyes widened, a fact that Dennis quickly picked up on. "Oh, I see this interests you, hm? Come along, perhaps?" He offered; Joey leapt out of his seat in an instant.

"Of course, sir!" He eagerly agreed, tucking his chair back under the desk. However, an obstacle was about to form in his path.

"Uh...Inspector." A new voice interrupted.

"Speak, Roberts." Dennis' face dropped, turning to a man who had interrupted on his right.

"Should we really be trusting the newbie to behave on a murder inquiry on their first day, boss?" The sergeant answered, looking Joey up and down. His face was young and there was no doubt in Joey's mind that they were of similar age. His hair was short, but very clearly as black as the night's sky. While some may have formed an unhealthy disliking to such a person who currently blocked all that he wanted, Joey was optimistic and sat back in his chair.

"He's right." Joey settled, turning back to Dennis. "I'll get my turn later, sir." Inspector Hutchins smiled profoundly, shaking his head in disbelief.

"You're going to make quite the fine officer, lad." He speculated, patting him on the shoulder once more. He then turned, his head continuing to shake, his feet taking him outside. To Joey's surprise, the sergeant had not departed. Instead, he continued to stare at him.

"James." The sergeant stated, placing a hand out for him to shake. Joey smiled and acknowledged his truce, allowing his hand to move its way into

"Joey." He replied.

Upon this final word, his eyes flickered open. When did it all go wrong? He sat up in bed and looked to his left. Ellie lay there sleeping, her head occasionally jolting as a result of the nightmares which plagued her dreams. Tears ran from Joey's eyes. Where did it all go wrong?

He moved his way downstairs and began to stuff his mouth with bread to tear himself from the thoughts filling his mind. At this point, there was absolutely no doubt in Joey's mind that James was Jack the Ripper. But five years ago...before the first death...before Rachel...or Kayla...or Brandon...

"Joey?" Ellie asked in a quiet tone, looking to him from the foot of the stairs. He took a few moments to swallow the bread before looking to her.

"Yes?"

"We're probably going to die, aren't we?" Ellie asked, her voice fully contained within itself. Indeed, there was no fear in her voice. Joey nodded, thinking of the pain and suffering which James had caused with little thought. "Then, I must ask you a favour."

"What is it?" Joey curiously asked, tilting his head to one side.

"If we make it through this," she began, "you will never leave my side ever again." Joey's eyebrows rose dramatically and he edged his way closer. Her tone was simple, she had no lies left to tell. He nodded.

"We'll make it." Joey responded, "Now, let's do this." He picked up his baton from the floor and held it awfully tightly.

~~~

Joey and Ellie looked to one another before entering the infamous police station. The desks were old, the room was older. The love and care Joey once had for this place was lost within the death he had grown to associate it with. They had not known whether James would be present, but they recognised that he was. As they entered, he leapt up and looked at the two.

"Where have you two been??" He demanded, fake concern filling his voice. The two weren't taking any more of this trickery. He rushed to a desk where he held many pages of notes. "I've figured it out, you know?" He explained, placing the pages in Joey's hands. "It's Brandon. It's always been Brandon." He let out a breath of anger. Joey dropped the notes and placed his foot firmly on them.

"Stop the act; Brandon's dead." Ellie announced, sending deep-cutting looks at her enemy. He froze.

"Ah." He responded, his anger being wiped away within an instant. "It's been fun, huh?" He interrogated, moving closer to the two of them.

"You killed them all." Joey said, not flinching in the slightest.

"DO YOU BLOODY THINK I WANTED TO?!" He screamed, brushing a hand through his hair. "DO YOU REALLY THINK THIS WAS ME?" He breathed and slumped onto the floor. "James Andrew Roberts died one year ago." He paused for just a moment before looking the two in the eyes. "I had a wife once. She was beautiful in a considerable number of ways." His eyes began to shine, tears building up within them. "One year ago, she was walking home when a drunken lady – Nichols was her name – smashed a glass bottle against her fragile skull and wiped her beauty from the planet."

"Your wife...died?" Ellie interrogated, her mind full of confusion. She'd been predicting much violence and terror from their encounter with James, but instead she saw a broken man before them; sorrow filled ever crease in his body. James simply nodded and sobbed.

"It took time, but eventually I found her. When I laid eyes upon her, the rage within me killed me and gave birth to a psycho filled with revenge...Jack the Ripper." James described. He closed his eyes for a moment, his memories filled with nothing but fire. "I tried- I tried to kill him. My associate, Matthew Irvine, did deliveries for me and, well, I decided...perhaps I could place the blame upon him."

"You're sick!" Joey exclaimed, attempting to hit him with his baton and end his existence on Earth. James did not flinch, but the blow never came. Ellie, who despised James with all of her being, pulled Joey back, intent with hearing his confession.

"He died and so did Jack. Until, of course, I got drunk and killed again." He continued, tears beginning to fall the lengths of his face. "As soon as that happened, I knew I was destined to be caught. I suspected that Matthew had told Rachel that I was Jack and, well, I was correct."

"He- he did what?" Ellie asked, immensely surprised. "Why didn't we find out about this?"

"Well, I killed her, didn't I?" James concluded. "And I regretted it immediately."

"And Kayla?" Joey demanded, edging closer.

"Joey, I have worked alongside you for five years." James remembered, "Over that five years, I've discovered that you are very capable at your job. Constable Banks, you – too – would potentially discover what I had done. However, Kayla was willing to go to such lengths to discover the truth that she was my next threat to putting this all behind me."

"So... YOU KILLED HER JUST BECAUSE SHE MIGHT WORK OUT WHAT YOU DID??" Ellie shouted, edging closer with Joey.

"Y-Yes." James replied, shame beginning to intrude upon his tone. "Brandon was my last chance. However, it seems like he was one step ahead of me, hm?"

"You- You used your pen to scribble out Rachel's notes. Brandon noticed." Joey explained. James placed his hand over his face.

"Of course... I underestimated him." James concluded. "I underestimated everyone." He paused and stood up. "However," A menacing look appeared on his face, "I am so close, why would I stop now?"

With one final thought, Joey and Ellie looked at each other. Negotiations had failed. It was time to finally end this.