A/N: Ok, so today is my day for posting all those stories that I would have posted if I could, and now that I can, I will. I guess this is kind of self-explanatory. Please review and tell me what you think.

Disclaimer: Not mine.

***

It's for the greater good.

How Alex hated those words. They were the words used when people knew they were doing something wrong, slippery, twisted words that would sell themselves to anyone who thought they had the right motives. The ends justify the means was another one, even worse.

But they both meant the same thing. We will do whatever it takes, no matter how evil, to fix this the way we think it should be fixed.

They were words said to ease guilty, downtrodden consciences. They were words Alex heard all the time.

But Alex knew the truth.

If the ends justify the means, if it was for the greater good, then you risked becoming exactly what you were trying to destroy. No words could hide the fact.

If you killed a killer, no matter what the reason, you, too, were just a killer.

But the words would change. Everyone could twist the words. Murderer would change to hero if it was the right person. Terrorist could change to freedom fighter for the right target.

At least the other side was honest. At least they admitted it was just about the money.

Alex was sick of it all: the pretty words, the lies, the manipulation. He was tired of having to scan each sentence to find its true meaning, tired of always having to be on his guard.

He wanted out.

He had found it.

Up here he was away from it all. Here, at least, he was free. Here he was just himself, not pretending to be something he wasn't. Not pretending to be the happy school boy, or the cool-headed agent. Just himself. Just Alex.

The wind tugged at him, beckoning him forward. The sky was so far away. So far... and yet, it seemed that he could reach out a touch it. Just one small step and he would be free forever. The wind tore away his pain, leaving him numb inside. Numb and empty and peaceful. He tilted his head back and revelled in the feeling of the sun on his skin. The early morning rays turned his skin and hair to gold, his dark lashes resting gently on his cheeks.

The heaviness that had weighed him down had gone, blown away by the gusts and eddies that swirled around him, speaking beguilingly of freedom, a chance to end their control once and for all, to take his life in his own hands.

He didn't want to go back down, down where the responsibility and expectations would crush him. He wanted to stay here forever.

Just one small step.

He couldn't return.

Down there was slavery.

He took a step forward.

Down there was hatred.

He curled his toes around the edge.

Down there was a living death.

A voice rose above the wail of the sirens, echoing into his ears.

"NO! ALEX!" It was Jack. She was screaming. "ALEX! Don't do it! PLEASE!" She was hysterical.

Ah... there it was. The pain. All consuming. Burning. Piercing. Tearing. Killing him inside. How could he live like this?

He couldn't live like this.

"Don't jump, Alex! Alex!" It was a boy this time... Tom, he finally realised.

He didn't want to go down. He wanted to stay up here. Forever.

Jack would never forgive him.

"I'm sorry, Jack," he whispered, a single tear sliding down his cheek.

He stepped forward.

For a moment, he felt himself fly.

Then he was falling, gravity dragging him down, down to exactly where he didn't want to go. He felt himself laughing hysterically at the irony. He didn't laugh for long.

***

Jack wept over the broken body on the curb. She had loved him so much, but apparently that wasn't enough. Where had she gone wrong?

She pulled out the note he had left her. Just two words.

I'm sorry.