Performance

Reese listens to Destiny, playing with a pen as his mind mulls everything over. Once she's stopped, he looks up at her intently. The Elite had failed on this one. Destiny was still alive... but only in body. And Reese felt to blame. If he'd simply had one of his own men take on the bodyguard job, this wouldn't have happened.

"I'm sorry, Destiny. For everything. I wish I could go back and make some different decisions so that none of this would have happened."

Sighing, he pauses to look down at his desk calendar, then back up again. "I'm going to ask you to give it one more week at least. It's... only been a few days since all of this and... it's a vulnerable spot to be in. I know that nothing has happened with the Agency, other than at the funeral, but if I let you go now and something happened, I'd never be able to forgive myself. As far as taking up my men's time, that's for me to worry about, not you. This is our job, Destiny... this is what we do and it's just as important as anything else around here, if not more. You are important."

He studies her a moment, wishing there was more he could say. Were there any other reasons for her wanting to be out of the safe house? "Are you uncomfortable with a male bodyguard? If you are, I can have Katie take over instead of Jason."


"Me? Scared of a crowd? You kidding?" Quinn quirks one eyebrow, a wry grin appearing on his lips. If only she knew. "I just don't want to upstage Elvis there."

Turning back to the stage though, he cringes again as another flat note is sung. "Or maybe I should just so people don't get up and leave. I'm not doing Elvis though." He grins again. "That would just make the poor fellow feel even worse."

Quinn shakes his head. Karaoke? What was he thinking? But hey... no one knew him, he'd never be back again, and who cared? At least it was a distraction, right?

As "Elvis" comes to an over-dramatic finish, Quinn rolls his eyes at Anastasia. "Alright, I can't take it anymore. They've gotta hear at least one good song tonight."

Taking a swig of pop, he gets up and points a finger at her. "You better clap."

Before he knew it, he was up onstage, mic in hand, looking out at the people - some too busy chatting to pay attention, and some seeming skeptical of this newcomer. He grins though, feeling rather at home up here. After choosing a song, he grabs a stool and sits down, one foot tucked up on a bar while the other rested on the stage floor.

Finding Anastasia, a little smile seeps out. It was a slower rock song he'd chosen, but a powerful one and one that many would recognize. As he starts to sing, it becomes very apparent that this is not the first time he's had a microphone in his hand. His voice is mellow and controlled, following the music well and never hitting a sour note.

Falling into the music, he lets his eyes close, drifting to a place he always did while he sang... it was a place of peace... it was his place... his haven.

As the song winds down, he gazes out and finds Anastasia again, his voice holding the last sweet note until the very end. Lowering the mic, that little faint grin returns as the people clap for his performance. Making it offstage again and ignoring all the attention, he ambles back to the table and sits down, casually taking a sip of his pop again. "Satisfied?"


Axel sighs and nods a little. Knowing that Quinn had been wearing the dogtags did present a mystery. If he was out to make trouble or had rejected Axel completely, it wouldn't fit that he was wearing the tags.

Axel knew he needed to call Quinn. It was the right thing to do. He could feel it in his gut. He was just...

"I'm scared," he whispers. Not all that long ago, he'd been ready to raise a stink and find a way to clear his name and prove his innocence. But things had calmed down, his friends had accepted him, he'd kept his job and he'd just moved past everything instead. But what if Quinn's presence brought back the nightmare? What if he raised questions in people's minds again?

Axel's hand moves up to softly brush Jess' cheek as he looks into her eyes. At least he wasn't alone this time, and he had her promise on that. Moving his face closer, he kisses her nose, then her eyes gently, a final kiss landing on her forehead. "You're more of a friend than I deserve... thank you."