Babies

Ryan's sudden question was so out of the blue that Tal's fork hovered halfway to his mouth as he stopped mid-bite. Her tone made his stomach turn, and he kept his eyes on the television. 

Her second question brought Eli to a halt as well, and he looked between her and his best friend, wondering what in the world was going on. Even small spats were rare for them - what was this?

Tal slowly set down his fork, swallowing his previous bite and hoping it stayed down. Right now, he wasn't so sure it would. He refused to look at Ryan, too upset to even show her his face. And all this....it was just too much. He never should have come over tonight. "You're not crazy," he stated quietly. "I am." He rose to his feet. "For thinking this could work."

As he aimed for the door, Eli quickly set his plate aside and got up. "Whoa, whoa, where are you going?"

"Back where I belong." Tal slipped on his shoes and grabbed his keys. "Thanks for supper."

"You barely ate!" Eli's eyes were wide. "What is going on here?" He looked to Ryan, Tal, back and forth. When Tal didn't reply and simply tried to leave, Eli took him by the shoulder to stop him. "You're not going anywhere until I get some answers."

Tal shrugged off his hand, and finally looked to Ryan. His eyes weren't angry. Just sad. Hurt. Disappointed. "Why should I stay?" The words caught in his throat. This wasn't how he wanted to do this but Eli was backing him into a corner. "I never even really belonged here anyway, did I? All the time in Alec's shadow, just too blind to see it."

Eli recoiled and straightened slightly. The hospital. This had to be about what Ryan said at the hospital. Tal must have overheard. And now... Eli had no response. He looked to his sister, now even more worried about her emotional state.


Halfway through dinner at the nice restaurant, Reese rolled his eyes as his cell phone buzzed. He and Angelica both could never shut off their phones, even for a meal, and they knew that, but just once it would be nice to not have to worry about anything else. Seeing the caller's number, he couldn't remember whose it was, and was tempted not to answer. But something told him he should. 

"Hello?" Hearing Chuck's urgent message, he sat up straight in his chair and gave Angelica a very concerned look. "Ok, just keep cool. It's going to be okay. I'll call Susanne's phone and figure out what's really going on. I'll be in touch - call me back if you hear anything else."

Ending the call, Reese stood up from the table. "Susanne's been nabbed. It's gotta be Agency. Come on." He tossed Angelica the car keys so he could concentrate on calling Susanne's phone...and anyone else he'd have to. "Let's get to headquarters."

He left payment on the table and dialed as he walked outside with her, heading to the car...

Seeing the phone showing that Reese was calling, Aaron quirked an eyebrow. That was even faster than he'd anticipated. He let it ring a few times before finally answering. "Well, if it isn't chief of the Elite. What an honor."

Reese slid in the passenger seat and buckled himself in. He bristled at the man's voice. "What do you want?"

"Mm, right down to business. I like that." Aaron glanced to the basement door. "I've got something you want, and you've got something I want. So the logical solution is a trade, don't you think?"

Reese gritted his teeth. "And what is it you want?"

"Just two warm bodies." Aaron fiddled with a knife, twirling the tip of the blade on the kitchen counter. "Actually, to particular warm bodies. You've got two Agency operatives and I want them back."

Reese glanced at Angelica, worry in his eyes. "And if I refuse?"

"Oh, that's easy. Susanne here dies. I'm not a cruel man - I'll make it quick. But then I'll just have to find my next target and we'll have to start all over again. So for efficiency sake, I'd suggest getting this uncomfortable process over with. Savvy?"

"Yeah...yeah, I understand. So what do..." Reese's voice trailed off as the call was abruptly ended. He knew the kidnapper was just toying with him, and giving him time to work things out before offering up any more details. He growled in frustration. "He wants Garret and Victoria in return for Susanne. Otherwise he's gonna a kill her." He dialed a new number on his phone. "Nate - it's Reese. We've got a situation. Meet me at headquarters asap. I need you to interrogate Garret..." 

...It was an hour and a half later at the Elite. Reese stood inside Victoria's holding cell, while Pete was just feet away with a readied shotgun, just in case. Reese folded his arms and stared at Victoria, anger flashing in his eyes, though he was trying to keep his cool. "The agent you say shot Nate - he's still out there, isn't he? I want to know everything about him, and I want to know the real plan here. I don't like being blindsided, especially when it involves kidnapping one of my own agents. So start talking."

Upstairs, Garret paced the interrogation room. All he knew was they wanted him distanced from Victoria while they talked to her, and something bad had happened. Bad enough that he was back in the hated cuffs and shackles. He hadn't fought, but he'd thought they were past this. It must be only Nate who thought of him as a human being. Reese had told him Nate would be here soon, but he had no idea why. He hadn't done anything but beg to see Victoria again, and it was strange to be handled after normal hours. 


Sitting at his desk at home, Justin's eyes were glued to his computer screen. He'd just been in the middle of a pizza and movie with Beth at his place, and had just gotten super comfortable on the couch with her, when Reese had called. Now the movie was paused and he'd had to leave Beth on the couch while he worked in his office. But Susanne's life was on the line, making it far less of an inconvenience.

Dalton had sent him all video footage from the last few days of Garret and Victoria both. Reese wanted him to go over it and see if there were any hidden clues or any mal-intent or lies. It was hard not being onsite, and some footage had no audio, but Justin would do his best.


Troy frowned at Stacy's response, his eyes showing he was trying to work something out in his mind. “Oh. Well...maybe you can help." Her coolness had put him on edge, but he had a job to do. "My colleague and I have a couple month-old babies that we were hired to leave with Eric - their father. If we can’t leave them here with a family member, we’ve been directed to take them to social services instead." 

He sifted through some papers in his hands. “I’ve got a statement from the mother, giving up her rights, in case anyone should question the legitimacy of this situation... Ah, here it is." He glanced over the paper. “Is this something you're authorized to handle, or do I need to speak to someone else?”