Sometime today

Feeling a little shake to his shoulder, it's finally enough to rouse Jason. Lifting his head a little, he looks up at Katie groggily, his eyes slightly glazed from a sleep that was too deep for the few minutes he'd been resting. Trying to shake it off though, he sits a little straighter, rubbing his hands over his face and keeping a lid on his physical discomfort. "Mm... sorry. I didn't sleep well last night. Guess I just got really tired there for a minute."

Stretching a little, he tries to move past the whole thing by ignoring the fact that he'd never fallen asleep at his desk like this before - tired or not. "We're going to lunch, right?" The thought of food alone made his stomach lurch, but he smiled anyway.


"Well?" Reese stares across the table at Alec. "Hal said you wanted to see me."

Alec holds up his cuffed wrists as he sits in the interrogation room. "These first."

"Not until I hear what you have to say."

"You really think I'm gonna try to get out of here?"

"Alec, I wouldn't put anything past you at this point."

Alec sighs and leans back in his chair. "Got your notepad ready?"

Reese taps his pad with his pencil. "What have you got for me?"

"Why are you fighting to keep me out of prison?"

"I thought we were hear to talk about your side of the story, not mine."

"I want to hear about that first. You apparently think I'm innocent. Why?"

Reese shrugs. "If the man who was shot and arrested is truly you, then you fooled the best. I just don't believe even you could pull that off."

Alec's mouth curls into a wry sort of grin. "Maybe you've met your match."

"Maybe. But let's find out. What really happened, Alec? Why did you go back to the Agency?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"No, actually, it's not. There's still the matter of the clues you left behind. It wasn't a trap. And you're not that careless."

"How do you know?"

"You're too good for that." Reese leans his elbows on the table, staring Alec in the eye. "I will not let you go this easily. You're too important."

Alec manages another grin. "You just don't want me in prison because you're afraid I'll leak information to the wrong person and it'll get back to the Agency."

Reese sighs again. "Maybe Brown is concerned about that, but I'm not. I'm more concerned for your well-being. Now come on.... for no other reason that to simply set free the truth, get it over with and quit wasting time, talk to me."

"If I talk, will that help keep me out of prison?"

"It might." Reese cocks his head. Did he detect some motivation? "Depends on what you have to say."

Alec takes a few more moments to gather his thoughts. He'd remained silent because he didn't want to deal with all of this... that hadn't changed. But maybe he was starting to get tired of this fight. He was tired of the interrogations. Whether he liked it or not, he didn't want to go to prison. And maybe he did want to deal with this like Justin had been prompting him... even if he wouldn't admit it. "It wasn't the Agency."

Reese's eyes widen. "Excuse me?"

"It wasn't the Agency." Alec looks down at the table and traces invisible doodles with his thumbnail. "I got a call... from the Underground."

"The Underground? You mean that other organization that Chance clued us in on?"

"The one and only. They told me to get back into the Agency... but I'd have to make believe I was legit so as not to blow it. I was to infiltrate for one week, report back anything I learned, and I'd be free to go. If I didn't cooperate, they'd hurt Ryan." He thinks back to that night... the night that changed everything. "I panicked. I knew the Underground would know if I alerted the Elite, so I opted to do what they said. I made a phone call to one of the higher-ups in the Agency. Yvette was on the loose and heading my way - it was perfect timing for them to test out my loyalty."

He pauses, rethinking the chain of events. "I had less than twenty-four hours to meet Yvette and make it all look like I wanted to be there. I wanted to tell you guys somehow what had happened, but I knew the Underground might sweep my apartment to ensure no one else knew what was going on and I couldn't risk that - if they thought my cover would be blown and their deal would fall apart, then it would be my fault and they'd hurt Ryan."

Reese nods slowly. He'd had no idea. They'd all assumed it was the Agency and only the Agency - no one had thought about anyone else's involvement. "So you left the clues."

"Figured stealing Carson's car was the quickest way to get attention, and I left the clues in my apartment. I knew Carson at least would get the playing cards if he got a chance to see them." Alec sighs, wincing as it causes pain. "I hadn't been on the road with Yvette more than a few hours when we stopped and I called back in to report to the Underground and let them know I was in. They told me plans had changed. They wanted me to stick to the Agency and do whatever they wanted for six months, with no contact to them or anyone else on the outside. Then after six months when I was nicely settled in, I'd be their mole and feed them information. But I wouldn't be allowed back here. And if I tried to get out, they'd kill the people I cared about. Ryan... Misty... Dalton... Dani... even Carson."

Reese sits back in his chair and lets out a low whistle. "So that's why you didn't try to come back."

"Yeah. When I hung up the phone, I knew that I had no choice. I know you'd say now that I should have come to you, but I just couldn't justify that risk. The only option for me was to turn back into the Alec Banks the Agency had created. And I had to do a good job. I couldn't fake my way through six months... I couldn't pretend I was a part of them and nonchalantly avoid dirty deeds so my conscience would stay clear. No..." Alec shakes his head. "No, they would have known and would have put me in the torture chamber. Worse, the Underground would have found out and would have followed through with their own threats."

"So you kept going."

"When I got back into the car with Yvette, I knew the act was over. It couldn't be an act... it had to be real. So... I turned."

"On the outside."

"No... on the inside too."

"But you-"

"Accept it, Reese!" Alec raises his voice. "I don't have a conscience like you do. I don't have the loyalty to good deeds like you. Rules about not lying, cheating, stealing or killing just don't exist inside of me. I went back to Yvette. Drugs made me feel good. And I was the one that murdered."

Reese leans forward. "So you're telling me that you didn't want out then."

"I was back with the Agency for good - it was the only way. And I hoped then that my clues would be overlooked."

"That's why you were upset when Carson found you."

Alec rolls his eyes. "Idiot that he was. I never should have tried to tell anyone where I was going in the first place. I was the stupid one for thinking I could outsmart the Underground or the Agency, let alone both of them."

"Stupid or not, I can't ignore the fact that this whole thing revolves around you trying to protect the people you cared about."

"And you think that's gonna keep me out of jail? I've murdered people, Reese... no judge believes there's a good reason for that."

"I don't understand why you're not fighting to win here." Reese shakes his head. "Why didn't you just come right out and say that you were protecting people by going to the Agency?"

Alec turns away again, his jaw muscles tightening. "It just isn't that simple."

"Why not?"

"It's just not, okay?! You know the story now, so you do with it what you want. I don't care. "

"But, Alec, if you're not gonna fight for this, then what am I doing?" Reese really didn't understand. If this was all for the sake of people Alec cared about, then why was he not claiming it as a good deed? Why was he ignoring those good intentions?

"You tell me. Even if I don't go to prison, I'll still be in the custody of the Elite, and the Agency gave me more freedom than that."

"So you really did want to stay? Because it felt like freedom?"

"In the Agency I had power... freedom... authority. I forgot how felt it good and once I was back..." Alec shakes his head, his eyes seeming to go hard. "I was glad the Underground had forced me back in. I would have stayed too, had you all not interfered."

Reese simply didn't get it. But at least Alec had admitted the story - that was a good enough start. Standing up, Reese gives him one last look. "Thank you for explaining."

Left alone once more, Alec has a hard time settling his nerves.


Tal leans on the counter and shakes his head. "No apology needed. I could have left, but anything else I would have done would have been just about as fun as this." He gives her a wry grin. "I have a very exciting life."

Shifting his focus for a moment, he glances over the paper Ryan had and signs it with a fast signature. "There we go... thanks for getting me penciled in here today. I appreciate it." His eyes search Ryan's face once again, seeming to be probing for her inner thoughts, yet not overstepping his bounds.

It seems he might say something, but the door opens again and Leo walks in with the other paperwork. "Hey, Tal."

"Hey, Leo." They didn't know each other well, but they were halfway familiar with each other.

Leo rearranges some papers, tears off the copies and goes to the register, letting him know what the bill was.

As Tal is paying, he gives Ryan one last glance. "Thanks again. I'll see ya around."


Mick chuckles at BJ's request. "I think maybe we should give Dylan a little break. But maybe sometime we can have both him and Jade over, okay?"

Leaning down, he gives BJ a kiss to the forehead. "Night, Bud." He pulls up the blanket a little more, shuts off the light then heads back down the hall to rejoin Rosetta for some quiet time before bed. Though the evening had been a little stressful, it had still been a good one and any step forward was positive...

...Not a whole lot changed after that. Even though Dylan retreated a little and still preferred to be alone most of the time, he seemed a little more willing to say hi to his family, and maybe a little more willing to chat once in a while. Someone on the outside might say nothing had changed at all. But for those who watched closely, they'd be able to see that perhaps a bit of Dylan's heart was beginning to soften as he grew and learned and was welcomed into his family. Another family dinner would have to wait... but it would come, in time...

..."So she's coming when?" Sparky looks out the window as he sips his morning coffee.

Mick comes up beside him, taking a bite of his bagel. "Sometime today, according to Reese. At least that's what they planned."

"Hmm. What's her name?"

"Stacy. Her girl is Ashlee. They sound like a pretty good fit. I wasn't so sure at first, but..." Mick shrugs and finishes his bagel, following it with a swig of coffee. "I trust Reese and it does sound like she's qualified."

"And Dylan?"

Mick's eyes drift to the barn where he knew his son was working until everyone else was done with breakfast so he could eat alone again. "He's not too thrilled. But I figure once Stacy's here, he'll get used to it. Once he sees she's not gonna be his babysitter."