Safe?

"Okay." Carson might not agree with Ryan's decision, and he might think she was foolish to want to contact the Agency, but he did trust her word about walking away if it came to that.

"I'll come to your place in about an hour to pick you up then. Pack for at least three days - we might be gone longer than that, depending. We think he and Yvette are about a day away right now, but by the time we get there, they might have moved on and even once we do locate him, we're gonna have to find the right window of opportunity."

Carson nods with decisiveness. He wasn't going to go in half-cocked or without intel. He thought that Alec would want out and if he did, if they could slip in and slip out, it might be a very easy extraction. But if Alec really didn't want to come and Carson had read the signs wrong then it could turn into a mess if they weren't careful.

"Oh, and you might want to just leave your brother a note instead of telling him to his face where you're going." A wry grin avoided Carson's lips and instead, appeared in just his eyes. "I'd rather not have him beat me to a pulp for taking you along." While Carson could handle his own and was very skilled when it came to hand-to-hand combat, Eli knew how to street fight and Carson would just as soon avoid any confrontation.

"So get home and pack. I'll see you in about an hour." Giving Ty one last glance, he turns on his heel and heads for the door.

Ty still leans on his broom handle and watches Carson leave, then eyes Ryan. "Carson thinks Alec's clean. Reese disagrees. Good luck."


Once in his car again, Carson heads back home. He'd already made arrangements to be gone and though Misty knew as well, he wanted to let her know exactly what was happening now that he'd seen Ryan.

Getting home, he parks and goes inside, finding Misty in the living room, despite the late hour. "Hey, Babe." He wanders in and eases down on the couch next to her but doesn't get too comfortable. He needed to stay awake so he could leave in a little while and drive.

"Ryan said she wanted to go, so I'm taking her along." The possibility had been there before, but now that it was a sure thing, Carson wanted to check again to ensure everything on the at home would be okay once he got back. He looks at Misty for a long moment, searching her eyes. He wished it was her going along instead, but as it was, the circumstances called for something different this time. "You still okay with that?" He knew she trusted him, but he didn't want any insecure feelings to surface because he'd be traveling with another woman.


Susanne just shakes her head and laughs. Though she did find his compliments amusing, and though there was a part of her that didn't believe a single one, there was still a corner of her heart that felt oh-so good when he said those sweet words.

"Um..." She accepts the helmet, but hesitates. She had yet to reveal to Chuck where she lived. It had been a precautionary move before... what about now? She really would prefer changing into her jeans and a more comfortable shirt, not to mention she might like to freshen up really quickly after working all day. She hadn't planned on stopping at home, but now that he'd mentioned it...

"I... guess it would be nice to stop by home first. But I might as well drive my car there at least then you can just take me straight home later." She hands the helmet back to him. "You can follow me."

Did he know what a big step it was for her to allow him to her house? She didn't know. But as she turned to her car, her heart began beating just a little faster. She was going to let Chuck a little further into her safety zone... was it wise? Was it safe? There was only one way to find out.

It wasn't long before they were across town and Susanne was parking in her driveway. She gets out of her car and glances back to Chuck, giving him time to get off his bike before going up to the front door. Unlocking it, she steps inside first, flicking on the lights, and turning to let Chuck inside as well. "I'll just be a few minutes..." She gestures to the living room. "Make yourself comfortable... the birds will probably want to introduce themselves." Setting her purse by the couch, she heads down the hall, trying to not make Chuck wait too long.

Though the house was not large, the living room had plenty of space. A couch was angled at once side, close to a small entertainment center for a television and a few movies. A soft gliding chair was also present, next to a small table and lamp where a few gardening magazines were kept.

The walls were cream-colored with a green ivy border around the top, stenciled with paint, proving great care and time. A few pictures that adorned the walls were mostly paintings of flowers or landscapes. Hanging in one corner was a lovely green plant - not alone as there were several more houseplants about the room. The back portion of the living room though, was dedicated to several bird cages. And at the bottom of each cage were handmade nameplates. The birds had been named after variety of flowers, and each also bore the meaning of that particular flower.

On the end was a little red canary named Mallow - the meaning listed was "delicate beauty." Next were two lovebirds, the first yellow one was named Honeysuckle, meaning "bond of love," while the second was green and red, named Gloxinia which meant "love at first sight." In the middle cage was a whitefaced cockatiel named Olive for "peace." And on the far right were two blue parakeets - one named Snowdrop for "hope," and one named Periwinkle for "sweet remembrance." Roomy cages and plenty of toys proved the owner's care for these twittering, whistling pets that cocked their heads and stared at new company with cautious curiosity.