[Money. Easy. That's what he told himself. Power. Just a bonus. That's what he told himself.

[But it's all over now. Money means nothing. Barrington Whelk means nothing. Only one thing has ever mattered.

[Numbers roll. 107: What's the worst thing you've ever done?

[Whelk is quiet. His lips tighten, but it's not annoyance. His nostrils flare, but it isn't anger. He has to clear his throat.

[Once. Twice...]

I tried the sacrifice once before. [How can his voice sound so distant, still whispered directly into his own ears.] I...killed my roommate.

[His "roommate". They'll never meet again, will they?]

It didn't work. [Why didn't it work?]

I needed it to work. It has to work so that he--

[Whelk bites off his own words. He doesn't know how to finish them. He doesn't know what he wants, what he's wanted the last seven years.]

It just has to work. It can't...be in vain, but it is. [He shrugs, miserable, smiling.] It is. It was all for nothing.