Guy with a ponytail

"So you got in a fight with someone nameless at an unknown location." Reese leans back in his chair, staring up at Alec, who had come into his office only a few minutes prior. "Alec, you're a smart man. You know that doesn't help things any. I need a name. I need a place. Otherwise, you have no alibi."

"Look, I don't even know what this is about." Alec throws up his arms, forgetting that it would hurt. "You think I killed some guy, but you're wrong."

"It's not just some guy," Reese corrects. He tosses a file towards Alec. "Take a look at the names in there. Go ahead."

Alec hesitates, but does open the file, flipping through the pages. "I recognize some of these names. Agency connections I think. Some I don't know though. Who are they?"

"They're all the people who have been killed lately, right when we're getting ready to bring them in for questioning." Reese is very stern, not treating this like a game. "It also appears that these killings have taken place when you're unaccounted for. It's not just one night, Alec - it's a whole batch of them."

Alec blinks and looks back to Reese. Surprise was evident in his eyes. "I swear I had nothing to do with these. Why would I?"

"We figure it's the Agency killing off those that are at risk for security breaches. But you're the only one with Agency ties who has been in this building to know where we're going to be next and who we're going after."

"So you think I'm still with the Agency."

"Are you?"

Alec grits his teeth. "No. But it doesn't matter what I say, does it? If I look guilty, it just gives you an excuse to lock me up."

"Give me a reason not to!" Reese leans forward on his desk, folding his hands. "Give me a reason, Alec. If you weren't killing someone last night, where were you and why are you so beat up?"

It wasn't fair - being backed into a corner like this. "I don't want to get the others in trouble." Alec still resists. "The police will just blow it way out of proportion and I won't do that to them."

Reese cocks his head. "You forget - we're not the police. We're the Elite." He stares at Alec, waiting. "Trust me, Alec. For once in your life, trust me. If no one deserves to be arrested, then I won't. If they do, then you shouldn't be protecting them."

"They don't deserve jail."

"Then tell me where you were, Alec.... come on. If you're innocent, prove it to me."

Alec swallows hard, his mind racing.



"Leonard Barnsworth?"

Leo almost cringes at his full name being used. Right in the middle of a conversation with Cassy while still at Mom and Pop's, he lets it trail off as he looks up at the man who was interrupting them. "Yeah?"

Wyatt shows his badge. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I'd like to ask a few questions."

Leo's eyes widen and he gives an uneasy glance in Cassy's direction. "Oh... okay. Did I do something wrong?"

Wyatt smiles. "Not that I know of. I just want to confirm where you were last night."

Leo bristles slightly. "I was with some friends."

"Where?"

Leo hesitates.

Wyatt shakes his head. "Nobody else is going down if you just tell the truth."

Leo hoped this officer was being truthful about that. "I was outside town at the street race."

"Is that where you got those shiners?"

Leo sinks down a little. "Yeah."

"And who was it that you fought with?" Wyatt cocks his head, waiting, but not receiving a response. "It's okay... if you tell me who, they're going to be in a whole lot less trouble than they are now."

Leo wonders what kind of trouble Alec was in now, but he finally relents. "Alec... Alec Banks. He was at the races when I got there and he didn't leave until someone took him back to TJY a few hours later."

"Okay. That's all I needed to know." He nods to Leo, then to Cassy too. "Sorry to interrupt you guys. Eat in peace." Leaving the table, he wanders up to the counter and looks around for Aerith.

Carson sees him from the kitchen and he nods to Aerith who he had putting some dishes away for him. "Some guy with a ponytail is out there looking a little lost. You might go see what he needs."


Phil's eyes roam Ryan's face, taking in everything about her fine features and he grins. "I'd like to meet your chinchilla."

A silence comes over the peaceful scene, but he doesn't mind. The words slip right out of his mouth without him even thinking. "Has anyone ever told you that you're beautiful?"