New Questions

Garret sat on the cold floor, his knees tucked up close to his chest as he leaned back against the wall. It didn't change much from day to day - his position, that is. Rarely did he choose to sit on the cot, or even the chair. The floor was extremely uncomfortable, keeping him from letting his guard too far down. At least twice, if not three times a day, he exercised as much as he could in these close quarters, then returned to the floor. It was so quiet, he had to force himself to continually think on any subject, lest his mind wander and he was caught unawares.

Today, his breakfast still sat on the table as well. After going through his fight routine, he'd left the coffee, eggs and toast untouched, and by now they were cold. His body was hungry, but his mind was too stressed to want to eat. Slowly rubbing his hands, he glanced down to two skinned knuckles. He'd been fighting the air, but had come too close to the cinder block wall once. It wasn't like him to be that out of focus, and it worried him. He needed to stay in control, or this whole thing could fall to pieces.

Hearing the lock in the door, he glanced up, surprised to see Nate. He wasn't expecting to see anyone until lunchtime, and at least hadn't planned on attacking any cameras today. He didn't move yet though, and was doubly surprised at the offer to go back outside.

His eyebrows rose, and for just a moment he stayed seated, trying to decide if this was some kind of trick or trap, but it didn't feel like it. Nate seemed different than the others, and Garret's gut said he could trust him - as much as he could trust any Elite agent.

He slowly got to his feet and willingly held out his wrists to be cuffed. "You seem to know the one thing I can't resist." His insides wanted to smile - wanted to show his gratefulness for being let out again. But his face wouldn't allow it. He'd trained himself too long not to let his true emotions show.

It only took a few minutes to be outside in the warm morning air. Garret felt as if all his nerve endings were thanking him as he found a patch of sunshine. Ever since that time years ago when he'd been locked in a dark underground room for over a month, the sunlight had meant more to him. At the time, he'd viewed it as a training exercise he'd bravely endured and passed. And now...it was difficult to decide whether the Agency had really been helping him or just hurting him for pleasure.

Bringing his mind back to reality, Garret glanced over to Nate, down to his cuffs and shackles, then back up again. "So...what's a guy gotta do to gain a little trust around here?" It was a genuine question - he really did wonder how long it would take to either be accepted or thrown in prison.


The coffee wasn't the greatest, but at least it had caffeine, and that's all Aaron really cared about. It didn't take long for him and Victoria to leave the hotel and head across town. They'd already scouted out a building that was across from TJY, that would serve as a good vantage point. As it turned out, they were able to get up top on the roof readily without drawing any attention, giving them a perfect view of TJY and a good angle to try and listen in...

...Aaron, lying on his stomach, took off his headphones in disgust and closed the laptop. "They're below ground and surrounded by concrete. All we've been getting for an hour is a garbled mess." It was impossible to pick up any distinguishable words or conversations that would tip them off about Garret. They'd seen people come and go already this morning, but still nothing of significance, and Aaron was concerned the only way to really find out if Garret was here would be to go in blind...and that would be a huge risk.

New movement caught his eye, and he grabbed his binoculars. And what he saw immediately removed all doubt. It was Garret himself being led outside by an Elite agent. It was obvious he was a prisoner. He was wearing handcuffs and shackles, and the agent appeared alert with a sidearm at the ready. "What in the..." Aaron continued to watch. Though bound, Garret was skilled enough to get himself out of that situation. No one else was around. He could take down that agent with his eyes closed, cuffs and all. Why wasn't he making a move? Why was he standing so casually and conversing with the agent? Had he been sedated? It didn't seem like he'd been drugged though, as well as he was standing. 

A curse was muttered under Aaron's breath. This didn't make any sense. How had Garret been caught in the first place? And why, especially being out in the wide open, was he not doing anything to get away? He was acting like a humiliated prisoner - the opposite if who he really was.

Aaron lowered his binoculars and glanced over at Victoria. All of his questions showed in his eyes. Surely she saw the same things he did.