Midnight

Susanne can't help a little laugh and she shakes her head at Chuck. He was silly for asking, since she'd just suggested the movie herself. Not that she minded... it meant he really did want to spend more time with her.

"Yes... yes, I think I will. However, I must warn you, it's a sappy musical." Her smile turns into a sly sort of grin. "But I have a feeling even if you hated the movie, you'd come anyway just to lay on a little more of that charm." She looks at her hand he had kissed. "You might want to be careful... lay it on too thick and I'll start dripping."


Eli didn't mean to look so surprised, but his eyebrows did rise as Ryan talks about wanting him there. He'd figured she might miss him, sure, but maybe he hadn't realized that how he felt about her was how she felt about him. He loved his sister dearly - he just hadn't thought she really cared one way or the other where he was. Realizing that she did want him here... maybe even needed him here... it made him all the more glad that he'd decided to stay.

As the conversation shifts, he lets the other subjects drop, figuring it was best. He wouldn't make her talk about things she didn't want to - a distraction would be good.

"I would love to watch a funny move." He nods and stands up and heads to the cupboard to nose around. "As long as we have popcorn. Popcorn is a must." Searching a little more, he finds a box of microwave popcorn. "Eureka! Now we're set. I'll let you choose the movie though - I'm too indecisive."


And time moves slowly on...


Finished with his shower and getting dressed, Alec eases down at the kitchenette table in the hotel suite. Taking a swig of coffee, his gaze lingers on the table, his mind far away. His face was pale and dark circles were under his eyes. One might be surprised to discover he'd only been away from a healthy lifestyle for a few days. But during those few days, much had happened... much had changed.

"Mmm... you smell good." Yvette comes up behind him, slipping an arm over his shoulder and down to rest her palm against his chest as she takes a breath of his wet hair.

"It's the coffee," Alec responds dryly.

"Oh, I don't think so." Yvette slides her head down to kiss his ear then his cheek. "Nope... it's definitely you."

Alec takes another sip of coffee. "Where's our next target?"

Yvette sighs and straightens up. "You're certainly a stick in the mud this morning. Bit of a contrast to last night, don't you think?"

Alec quirks an eyebrow before slinging a glance over his shoulder at Yvette's scantily clothed figure. "No focus, no job." He points to the table. "Target?"

Rolling her eyes, Yvette retrieves a map from the counter and tosses it on the table in front of him. "Brummel Hotel on the other side of town. We go in, kill the guy and get out. In the meantime, we keep our cover here as newlyweds for two days or until we receive our next destination coordinates."

Alec only grunts in response before studying the map and following the road with his finger before reaching the red ink circle. "You'd think I'd never done this before," he mutters.

"I was only repeating our instructions."

"So repeat them to the mirror."

Yvette scowls and aims a backhanded slap to his face, but her wrist is caught midway. Alec's grip tightens and he glares up at her. "Wanna try that again?"

Yvette wrenches her arm loose and rubs her wrist. Leaning down to put her face in front of his, she eyes him without fear. "Don't forget who I am," she threatens.

"Oh that's right, you've got pull with the big boss." Alec's eyes wander down her figure then back up again. "I wonder why."

Through the angry glare, a faint grin appears at the corner of Yvette's mouth. "You're smart enough not to wonder." Cocking her head, she leaves a tantalizing kiss on his lips. "And I'll see to it that you never do wonder."

Left alone again, Alec downs the rest of his coffee and focuses on the map once more. Hearing the shower running a few minutes later though, he gets up to wander in that direction.


For the tenth time that morning, Carson finds himself standing in the kitchen with his thoughts so very far away from the restaurant. What was going through his mind had been bothering him all yesterday and all night. He'd picked up the phone twice to call Reese, then had changed his mind. How could he be in his right mind to even consider giving Alec the benefit of the doubt? It was ridiculous. All the clues added up - he and Reese had proven that. There could be no doubt. Anyone with half a brain would see that Alec had turned his back on the life he had now and had returned to the Agency. He'd robbed, he'd run from the law and he'd killed. He was back to smoking, doing drugs and he was doing who knows what with Yvette. So why on earth was Carson's conscience bothering him so? Why did he keep thinking back to that stupid deck of cards? It was ridiculous!

Growling in frustration, Carson takes off his apron. "Dani, take over," he hollers. "If you need help, call Herb."

Dani's eyes widen as her brother walks to the front door. "But..." They were just starting for the day and it was looking to be a busy one. "Carson!" Too late. He was already gone.

Driving across town, Carson's mind continues to work overtime. By the time he reached Alec's apartment, he didn't even know what he was looking for. But he had to find something to prove one theory or the other.

Getting to the apartment door, he easily picks the lock and enters. Wandering through the one room that served as both living room and bedroom, he goes over everything, even knowing that Reese had already had someone down here to search for clues. They'd turned up nothing. But surely there had to be something more decisive. Something more concrete.

He checks the mattress, checks the window sills, under rugs, under chairs and behind the television set. The kitchen was next. It shouldn't take long - it was tiny enough. But he does take his time, checking every nook and cranny. The last place was the far cupboard. Removing the few canned goods that were there, he stops. Turning a can over in his hand, he read the tomato soup label. But... this can weighed a whole lot less than it should. He shakes it. His ears don't hear liquid - instead, they hear something light and solid. What on earth?

Carson runs his fingers around the edge of the can. It didn't look like it had been opened. Oh, wait. His thumbnail lifts up the lid. It had been cut around and below the lip instead of inside of it, forming a nice lid that was almost impossible to see. Finally able to see inside, Carson's eyes widen. He pulls out a roll of cash. They were big bills too. Fifties, twenties and at least a couple hundred dollar bills. There had to be several thousand dollars here.

The first thought that would cross anyone's mind was a payoff from the Agency. But Carson, as much as he hated to admit it, knew better. If it was a payoff, Alec would have taken it with him. He hadn't left in a hurry and forgotten the money - it was obvious that he'd been very systematic about his departure. He had left his money here on purpose. But why? Who would do that? Anybody would want all the money they could get.

Whether Carson liked it or not, he knew the truth. He knew it, and he had to do something about it. Putting the money back in the can, he takes the whole thing with him.

The ride to TJY was a quick one. Thankfully, Reese was free.

"Alec didn't turn." Carson dumps the can on his desk.

Reese looks at him in confusion. "What?"

"The can. It came from Alec's apartment. I was just there. He's got at least several thousand dollars in there."

Reese's eyebrows rise. "Yeah, I knew he had that. But what does that prove?"

"You knew?"

"Yeah, I had someone keeping an eye on him. He got it through winning bets for underground fighting - the same as what you were involved with before."

"And you didn't arrest him for being involved?"

"Technically, he wasn't." Reese gives him a wry sort of grin. "He had a guy at the car races who did all the dirty work and got a cut of the winnings for doing it. Alec had a nice little deal going on with him. I figured he could be in worse trouble so I let it go."

Carson rolls his eyes. "I wish I would have known that. Regardless though, if you were heading out of town, would you leave that much cash behind?"

"Probably not." Reese leans back in his chair, curious. "But we can't just think he's innocent because of-"

"And the fact he stole my car and left his watch for us to find."

"You think it was on purpose?"

"When was the last time an Agency agent like Alec was sloppy? His watch was easily identified as his. He could have erased his phone's voicemail. Him stealing my car made him traceable until he switched vehicles, pointing us in the right direction."

"You have a point, but still..." Reese sighs. "You're part of the reason we formed this opinion of Alec, you know. Your perspective means a lot and I respect it - you have had no trust for Alec up until now. You explained away everything and now you're telling me the opposite. What changed?'

Carson fishes in his pocket for the deck of playing cards. "These were his. There are two extra aces in here."

"So?"

"He's cheating."

"Well, obviously, but-"

"No. Not cheating with cards. He's cheating the Agency. He's trying to beat them at their own game."

Reese isn't convinced. "Carson, that's pretty far-fetched. Don't you think that-"

"It's something we used to do," Carson explains. "Agents used to leave each other messages with cards all the time because it would be overlooked by the police or anyone else."

"Why didn't you say something before?"

Carson swallows hard. "Because I didn't believe Alec was innocent. I didn't give him the benefit of the doubt."

"You now think your instincts were unreliable?"

"I don't know. Maybe I just had a personal grudge against him because of what he did with Dani and because having him around reminds me of my father." Carson sighs. "Maybe I've just been selfish and I wanted to prove I'd been right. Well... maybe I was right about him. But maybe he's changed and I just didn't want to see it."

"Why wouldn't he alert us, rather than giving in to the Agency?"

"I don't have an answer for that."

Reese stands up and paces for a moment. "We're still tracing him - or rather, following his wake of destruction. He and Yvette have hit two hotels - four people dead, including that first gas station attendant. We always arrive too late, but Gunner and Nate are working on tracing a pattern and if we can find out his next stop, we might be able to snag him. If he's innocent, why is he involving himself in those things?"

"I don't know. But when the Agency latches on, it's hard to shake them and sometimes you just have to do things to save your own hide."

"You think Alec would kill rather than be killed?"

Carson shrugs. "I betrayed the Agency so TJY wouldn't kill me. All I'm saying is that there's something else going on here that we can't see. Alec wanted us to know it was him and to be able to trace him."

"What if it's a trap?"

"The Agency is too cocky for that. They'd rather meet someone head-on rather than lure them with bait like that - especially Alec. He's a guns blazing guy, not someone who is patient enough to lie in wait."

"I have to admit, you're pretty convincing. But I still don't know..."

"What do we have to lose?" Carson holds his hands out to the sides. "If we go in after him and he's guilty, then we've captured him and put a lid on him leaking any more information about the Elite. If he's innocent, then we've rescued him."

Reese sighs deeply. "Look, Carson... I understand what you're saying, and I want to believe Alec is innocent too. But we have to look at the facts. Whatever his intentions were, he is now running with the Agency and he's killing people. If it were just a woman or just the drugs, I might be able to let it go - but it's bigger than that. You know it, and I know it. I can't tell my men and the local authorities to make sure Alec isn't harmed. When we go in, we go in to extract him - dead or alive. You know how it works."

Carson's shoulders drop slightly. He never thought he'd be defending his brother, but he was tired of fighting his gut instincts. Something just wasn't right, and he knew, without proof, that whatever was behind Alec's actions were motives that had yet to be seen. Unfortunately, he also understood Reese's position. "So you're gonna send in Elite men who will team up with local cops wherever the hotel is, and go in after Alec and Yvette to arrest them. Without giving Alec a chance."

"I didn't say he wouldn't have a chance. But I'm not going to walk in, unarmed, and try to negotiate with him. I'm not going to try to call him first and ask him to repent or else. Whatever his intentions were, he went too far, and I'll not play this game. I don't care if the Agency forced him to return to them - he still had a choice, and he chose to join and kill."

...It wasn't five minutes later, that Carson was leaving TJY. He was frustrated... frustrated that he didn't know the real truth behind all of this, and frustrated that Reese wouldn't at least give Alec a chance to return on his own... and he was frustrated that he understood completely why Reese was taking the stand that he was. Reese was right - Alec was a murderer on the loose, and that wasn't good. But there was something... something that just wasn't right here.

"Hey, Carson?"

He stops at the exit and turns to see Ty. He lifts his eyebrows, a little surprised. "Yeah?"


....Midnight. Ty cleaned the TJY main floor just as he had two nights ago. He looks at the clock. This time, a visit wasn't going to surprise him.

He sweeps out the next cubicle and empties the trash, absentmindedly cleaning some dust off the desk as well. His mind wasn't on task though. It was quite a ways away, really. But he knew what he was going to tell Ryan once she showed up. He'd said he would help, and he would.