Hope

Katie's outburst continues to overwhelm and shock Jason. He couldn't understand how she could be saying these things. He had just told her he was innocent and yet she didn't believe him? Her words hurt... deeply. And the more she speaks, the more his expression evolves from shock to dismay to irritation. His hands slide from her arms and his eyes pierce hers with confusion, anger and desperation. 

He opens his mouth several times to try and speak, but is just cut off as she continues. He didn't want to believe his ears. What on earth had happened here tonight? 

"...leave me alone... we are done." Jason feels as though he had just been stabbed straight through the heart. When Katie gets into her car, he doesn't even turn around, flinching as her door is slammed and he hears the locks. She had just locked him out... in more ways than one. 

Hearing her pull away, he finally turns to see her leave the parking lot. He couldn't remember a time when he had seen Katie so angry. Hurt, yes. Upset, yes. But never so angry, let alone with him. Even when Katie's car is out of sight, his eyes remain on the road, somehow hoping that she would come back. But she didn't. 

Jason feels like throwing up as new and strong emotions rise within him - and they felt horrible. He was embarrassed, angry, confused... Why hadn't Katie even listened to him? Surely he could talk to her again, right? Surely she would calm down and he could straighten out this whole mess... right? 

"You okay?"

Jason whirls around to face Phil and he sets his jaw tightly. "I... don't know." 

"What happened?"

"What, like you didn't see?" Jason's eyes narrow as he nods towards the building. 

Phil purses his lips grimly. "Yeah..."

"It wasn't me, Phil, honest! I had no idea Sandy felt anything, let alone the urge to kiss me!"

"I believe you."

"Katie doesn't." 

"Really?"

"Yeah." Jason shakes his head. "She said we're over. I can't believe she said that. She wouldn't let me say anything, she just kept yelling at me." He throws up his hands. "If she's gonna be like this, maybe it's good she's walking away." 

Phil sighs. "You don't mean that." 

Jason's shoulders drop. "Maybe not... But what else was I supposed to do?!"

"I don't know. But right now we got a concert to put on, so you gotta get your head back in the game." 

"After that?!" Jason rolls his eyes. "My girlfriend just dumped me and I'm supposed to pretend everything is fine?"

"No." Phil keeps his tone calm. "You're supposed to get up on stage, keep your cool for a few songs then deal with this later." He sets a hand on Jason's shoulder. "It'll be fine. She's upset, let her cool off and see if you can talk to her tomorrow, okay?" 

Jason finally relents and heads back to the building with Phil. The concert would go as planned, but it wasn't their best. Jason tried to concentrate and perhaps the audience would never notice anything was off kilter, but Phil, Mike and Axel knew. Sandy had not stuck around, and it was just as well. By the time the concert was over, Jason was ready to go home and wanted no part in going to get pizza. They could go without him. 

It would be hours later when home alone that Jason would send several text to Katie.

• Im sorry Katie. Please believe me. I have no feelings for Sandy.

• We can work this out. Just talk to me please?

• I never meant to hurt you. Youre the only girl that means anything to me.

• Please can we just talk and fix this?

But he would receive no response. Falling asleep later was not easy, but he would, in the hopes that tomorrow he could talk some sense into Katie.

Swiveling on the bar stool, Hunter had just ordered his first beer. Hearing his phone ring, he was surprised to see that it was Katie. She'd seemed to have been avoiding him the last few days - not that he could blame her, after that little encounter with Jason. Hunter had all but thought his friendship with her wasn't meant to last and he'd been ready to accept that. But now she was calling him? 

"Hey, Katie." Hearing her voice, he's immediately put on edge. Then even more so when she mentions a drink. Her? Katie? Wanted a drink? What was going on? 

"Well, um... I just got sat down at Micky's if you wanna come..." He wanted to ask what was wrong, but figured he'd wait until he saw her. Something didn't feel right at all. Had Jason been a jerk again? "Or I can meet you somewhere - up to you. Where are you?" Micky's was usually his place of choice but only because it was so close to his apartment.

"Okay." Carson nods his agreement and pats Misty's knee before standing and wobbling before heading down the hall to the bathroom. It would take him longer than usual to take a shower, but he finally emerges with wet hair and a clean set of clothes, the scent of the bar now gone. 

Wandering back to the living room, his balance isn't quite what it should be, but he's not running into things anymore. Coming around to the couch, he once more sits down beside Misty, and her purses his lips, giving her an apologetic look that silently said, "I messed up, didn't I?" 

"Can.... can I h've that kiss now?"  He tried his best not to slur but there was still a drunken edge. His eyes stare back at her with genuine hope.


Victoria's fingers curl around her daughter's as her eyes remain on the starlit sky. "Don't fear for me... there are worse things than death."

Silence lingers for a few more moments before her gaze lowers to meet Victoria's. "I love you. Be strong." Pulling her close, she gives her a gentle hug before retreating again. "Now go... we don't want to raise suspicion that you know anything you're not supposed to."

Being in Medridge's office, was an honor as far as the Agency went. The fact that Garret was often here said a lot about his status. The fact that Medridge would use him as a sounding board or to vent to said even more. Garret might technically only have a level three security clearance, but that had often been overruled by Medridge himself by the things he spoke to Garret about - things that only level one agents should know. But he was the boss and no one questioned him. Everyone knew that Garret's security level basically was void when he stepped into this office. And he'd earned a lot of respect for it.

But even with all that, all the status, all the perks... standing here today in his usual "at ease" stance near the desk, he didn't want to be here. No one must know though, and his eyes kept his secret well, even from the mastermind himself.

"Why? Why?" Medridge thumps his cane on the floor as he paces in front of the wall map. "Why would someone like Hans side with the losing team?" He shakes his head. "It puzzles my mind how anyone would want to chose the side that, in the end, will be crushed under our heels." Stopping in front of the map, his eyes roam the names, locations marked with pushpins, and the web of connections he was constantly altering. "Granted, the Underground is formidable foe. More so than the Elite since they are currently unbound by law, acting out as vigilantes."

Garret cocks his head slightly. "The Elite was once a small band of vigilantes."

"Very true. Perhaps the Underground should be exposed for the law to fight instead of us." Medridge pauses then spins on his heel to stare at Garret as new ideas come to mind. "Perhaps instead of battling the Underground directly, we can learn more about them so that we can, shall we say, 'inform' the authorities. If they disband, we are free from that particular pest. If they transform under the law, they will be much less a rival. Yes... yes, that is worth pondering."

Watching Medridge continue to pace, Garret clears his throat. "I assume Hans is scheduled for termination?"

"Oh yes." Medridge was quick to reply. "We can't have him running free after this. He was the one that informed the Underground that Harkins would be here. They has already begun a correspondence with Harkins in an attempt to gain his prestige for their cause. When they found out he was coming here, they sent in their own assassin - the dear fool that you laid to rest. If they hadn't acted so stupidly, Hans' identity might not have been revealed."

"I see." It all made sense now. Garret usually didn't mind talking of such things. He had learned long ago how to not feel anything towards the violence. He shot and killed without batting an eye. It simply didn't feel like anything. But something about this time was different. It involved the mother of someone he loved, and... he cared. Yet how many others had been killed who were mothers? Father? Sons and daughters? Every one of his bullets lodged in someone's head represented someone being erased from a family. He'd learned to not care. Should he have? Were there lives worth less than Victoria's mother? "And Cassandra?"

"Ah." Medridge wanders behind his desk where he eases down into his chair. A weary sigh is expelled. "Yes... Yes, she was participating with Hans as an informant."

"Do you want me to inform Dirk to have her taken into interrogation as soon as they are finished with Hans?"

Medridge is strangely quiet for several moments. "No. She is already scheduled for termination without torture."

Garret tries not to act surprised. A family member had betrayed him and he chose a route of lesser pain? Why? Was that... compassion he saw in Medridge's eyes? "Sir?"

"We need not spend time and resources on gaining information we have already extracted from Hans," Medridge states flatly. "We have enough intel."

"Is she aware of our knowledge?"

"She has not been informed. And she will not be terminated here." Medridge shakes his head. "Too many others here respect her - I don't want to start a rebellion. She will be taken from here under the guise of something else, and will simply not return."

"Sir?"

"This requires a quiet execution." Medridge finds Garret's eyes. "Prepare to leave in two days' time."

And deep inside, buried under a mask of unemotional calmness, Garret wanted to kill Medridge right here and now.

It wouldn't be until the next evening that he would see Victoria again. He had purposely avoided her path, lest they be caught in too deep of a conversation where there were listening ears. No, it was safer to be cautious at a time like this...

...Leaning against one of the trees, Garret stares into nothingness. Hans was dead. Cassandra would be next. Had Victoria heard that it was a sure thing? He thought not. Medridge probably wouldn't want her knowing, and Garret certainly wasn't supposed to tell her - not that it mattered to him. He broke the rules all the time. 

Sighing, he glances at his watch. If Victoria didn't come to their secret spot soon, he would have to catch her another time. He couldn't stay here much longer without being missed.