Free to visit

Reese had reason to suspect a shady past, or even a connection to the Agency, seeing how Ryan had interacted with Alec. So when Ryan begins to opening tell of her family's history, he sits back a little, listening intently.

There were emotions in her eyes... real emotions - not the fake kind put on an act. Her story... her feelings... they weren't those of someone who was covering for the Agency. Before Ryan was even finished, Reese had his answer that she was clean, but he doesn't interrupt. He wanted to know the rest now - he still wanted to know why she had befriended Alec in the first place, especially now if he saw she wasn't involved on the wrong side of the law.

Continuing to listen, the harshness fades from Reese's eyes, replaced with a compassion similar to what he might feel towards a daughter if he had one. Ryan was one tough cookie, but it took that just to have made it this far but the sounds of it. A part of him felt badly for assuming the worst, even though he knew they had needed to find out if she was a security risk.

Coming to an understanding of just why Ryan had come, Reese finds it an honorable motive. He couldn't say he quite grasped the footage or Ryan's inability to explain it, but as long as she was clean, he supposed it really wasn't any of his business.

He cocks his head and looks at Ryan a long moment after she's finished. "No one can act that well." His voice was a little gentler this time before he leans forward on his desk, folding his hands. "Thank you for explaining. I believe you. I'm sorry for your losses and I apologize for making you come here but we had to know if you were a security risk or not. You didn't need to tell me all that, but I appreciate it." He pauses, thinking for a moment.

"Alec had a sudden change in behavior and we needed to make sure it wasn't some tactic, brought on by outside help. He's... given me information regarding the place where he came from and it was so unusual that I had to be sure it wasn't a trick. I still can't explain why he changed his mind but I'm glad he did. I didn't want to see him go to prison and I'm sure you didn't either."

Picking up some papers, Reese straightens them out then nods to Ryan. "You're free to go, Miss McKade." He catches her eye, not afraid to look into her strong gaze. "If you or your brother ever need legal help, please come here first. And... feel free to visit Alec before you go. His door should be unlocked."


Alec says no more and just watches Hope leave. Something worth hanging on to... yeah... The wry thought crosses his mind that it could apply literally as well, and he shakes his head.

Sighing, he lets himself lie down on his side, curling up a little bit. He usually didn't lie in this defensive position, but today, for some reason, he felt like it. He could feel the chain beneath his shirt as his head sinks into his pillow. Something to hold on to... even if he wanted to, it was kind of hard when he was a prisoner.


Ty is glad that Libby will let him quit for now, but he feels badly. When they'd met earlier, he'd been enthusiastic about trying again, but now he was just frustrated all over again. He'd thought he could stay excited this time... but it never got better.

"I'm sorry," he apologizes. "I really do want to try. I just... my brain seems to shut down completely and I can't think straight. Nothing looks right anymore." He nods though and stacks up the books. "I'll keep working on it. If I got questions, I can always ask Wyatt - the guy I live with."

Trying to move on without too much embarrassment, he starts to smile a little again. "Video games sound fun. I don't have to be to work until seven tonight so I got all day. I wouldn't mind hanging out some more."

His grin shows it was more than him just not minding - he'd rather like it. It was nice having a new friend to hang out with and Libby was a lot of fun to be around. "You got the truck, so I'm at your mercy. Lead away."


Trent's eyes drift down to study the table's napkin holder. He knew there would be tough questions, but did it have to start with the toughest? He sighs.

"I don't know." His hands rotate his coffee cup a few more times, his gaze still aimed downward. "It happened because..." He pauses. "No... it wasn't the Agency's fault... it was mine."

Finally he looks back up at Thirteen, sadness in his eyes for a past long gone yet part of today. "It happened because your mother and I made a mistake. You weren't a mistake," he emphasizes clearly. "But we weren't careful, so the mistake was ours. And this all happened because my family and I were tagged from birth, targeted by the Agency. And you were born into the mess at no fault of your own."

Looking back down again, he stares into his coffee, the light steam curling into the air. "I remember holding you when you were born," he mentions softly. "You were so tiny... but you gave your mom quite a time. No one else knew... I was scared to death... disappointed in myself... but seeing you for the first time... I suddenly knew what it was like to love something so much you'd die for it."

Trent's eyes are filled with emotions as he lifts them to find Thirteen's. "Your mother and I hadn't been that serious about each other... we had a pretty shallow relationship going. But when you were born... we thought maybe we'd have a go at something better. I know I wanted to. Before I could even tell my family though, there was a car accident. Grace was killed and you were taken by the Agency."

He shrugs lamely. "They said I had to work for them or else they'd kill you too. So I obeyed... I even betrayed my own family in ways that still haunt me."

Needing a break, he takes a shaky sip of his coffee.

Ryder looks across at Trent, proud of this man for sharing the story and not just skimming over Thirteen's questions. It took someone strong to admit what had happened. His hand gives Thirteen's fingers as squeeze to let her know he was still there.

Trent sighs deeply, keeping himself composed. "I did a lot of things wrong, fighting to find you and get you out. My family didn't know because I was in too deep by then and I was too dumb to rely on them or admit my past mistakes. I wound up in jail. Then when you would have been about twelve, I got word that you'd gotten sick and died."

Starting to get choked up, his eyes roam the room, his jaw muscles working out the tension he felt. "If I would have known you were alive, I would have come for you, I swear." He looks back to her, his eyes begging her to believe him. "When I found out that you really were alive... that you were in Nevada... I just... I couldn't bring myself to tell you everything. It had been so long... I felt so guilty for everything... I just... I didn't want you to know all the bad. So I thought... I thought I could take care of you from a distance... through Ryder."

He swallows hard and clears his throat, shifting in his seat. "So that's why."