Concern

For a moment, Eli was almost offended that Ryan was obviously avoiding answering him about who she was texting. That in itself added to the strangeness of all this.

Then her mention of Alec made his eyebrows rise. And for another moment, he wondered if perhaps the Elite had made a terrible mistake. It wouldn’t be the first time the Agency would have made them believe someone was dead. Was there really a chance here? Did Alec really contact Ryan? Wait…she thought everyone was keeping him away from her? Was that…paranoia in her voice? Eli’s eyebrows came back down as the strangeness grew.

Seeing her phone, Eli stepped further into her room and took it from her to look at the text messages. He truly believed something would be there from Alec – real or fake. But all he saw were messages from Ryan to Alec. That was it. No return messages.

He glanced back to his sister and studied her eyes. Something was way off here. She wasn’t lying to him. She wasn’t playing around. There was no fun in those eyes. No teasing. Not even sadness for losing Alec. There was belief. Belief that what she was saying was true. And yet…there was nothing here from Alec.

“Um…Ryan…” Eli cleared his throat and stepped closer to sit down on the bed next to her. He held the phone out to her. “There’s…nothing here from Alec.” He cocked his head. “I’m not really sure what you think is going on but…no one is hiding anything from you.” Had she really taken this so hard as to try and convince herself Alec was still alive?

“Alec really is dead.” He continued to study his sister’s face, trying to figure out what on earth was really going on. “He hasn’t texted you…or anyone. The Elite has proof he died.” His confusion was evolving into concern. “Are you okay?”


Justin smiled a little, not sure how to take Beth’s compliments, but…it did feel good. She somehow always made him feel good. In spite of their rough start, and his constant trouble with trying to help too much, she always put up with him.

Beth’s suggestion of coffee made his smile grow. He’d been doing his best not to push her into getting out more, and he’d tried hard to just give her space and time. Offering to meet him for coffee was a big step, and he was proud of her.

“I would love to go get coffee with you. Just name the time and place.” 


“So what do you think?”

Carson held his phone to his ear with his shoulder as he stirred a new batch of pizza sauce. He was in his normal jeans and tee, with his baseball cap on backward as he worked in the kitchen. “You’re asking me?”

Reese’s voice was just a little irritated. “Well you’re the one who brought him in.”

“And I already told you not to trust him.” Carson rolled his eyes and gestured to Aerith to grab the next pizza that was coming out of the oven. Lunchtime wasn’t exactly the best time for phone calls. “Besides, you’ve been keeping me at arm’s length from the Elite for how long now, aye? Now when you got a lion in your cage, you want my opinion? Why not call Ryder? He works at a zoo.”

“Seriously? You’re gonna play that game now?”

Carson sighed and took a taste of the sauce before scrunching his noise. “Hey, Aerith, taste this, would you? I’m all off today.”

“Carson?”

“Alright, what?” He glanced out to the dining area to make sure Thirteen was doing okay with customers. “What do you really want from me?”

“Since you’re the one Garret sought out, I find it natural to bring you in on this case. You obviously know more about him than anyone, and even after Justin’s evaluation, I’m still not sure what to do.”

“Lock him up and throw away the key.” Carson scanned a new order ticket before going to grab a clean pizza pan. “Look, Reese, I’ve kinda got my hands full at the moment. You’ve always seemed the capable type. So be capable and handle it as if I weren’t available. Oh wait – I’m not. I’m up to my elbows in tomato sauce, cheese and pepperoni.”

“Is everything okay? You’re…rather chatty…in an irritated sort of way.”

Carson couldn’t help his laugh, and he threw a wink at Aerith before patting her on the shoulder as thanks for all her help today. “The only thing I’m irritated with is the timing of your call. I honestly don’t think I have anything to add, but if you really want me in on it, I can’t come til after closing tonight. No, scratch that, I’ve got a date. Tell you what, how about I just call you if I think of anything? Okay good. Bye now.”

He ended the call and slipped his phone in his back pocket before he took a deep breath. “Alright, so…” He quickly came back to Aerith’s aid. “Sorry. Where were we?” 


Garret sat on the holding cell floor, still and silent. Since Justin’s visit, he’d been left completely alone, other than to be given meals. Otherwise, he was clueless as to what was going on upstairs, and what they were planning on doing with him. He hated being here. He hated being this vulnerable. He hated it that he was being ignored. And he hated being locked in here. His worst nightmare was coming true. But it couldn’t. This had to work. 

Reese looked at the monitor in the control room, frustrated after his brief conversation with Carson. Garret seemed to be calm…too calm. He’d given himself a workout multiple times over the last few days – it reminded Reese of both Carson and Alec, although Garret’s fighting techniques seemed to be more aggressive. More calculative. There was a definite difference between this man and the Agency officers they’d had here before. Reese feared Justin was right – Garret could get out of here any time he wanted. So what was making him stay? They didn’t even have him in cuffs anymore.

“He’s been asking to be let outside,” Hal commented. “Last couple mealtimes.”

“What did you tell him?”

“Said we had more considering to do before we let him out of his cell, let alone out of the building.”

“Did he say why he wanted out?”

Hal quirked an eyebrow. “No, he didn’t have to. You think he’s gonna stick around once he’s let out that door? We’d never see him again, and he’d have the layout of our entire building, security and staff to give the Agency.”

Just a little sweaty from his pushups and fight routine to keep his body active, Garret glanced up at the camera in the corner of the room. He had to get out of here before he went totally mad. He had to breathe fresh air. He had to see the sky. No one knew about the times as a child he’d been locked in a box in an attempt to rid him of his claustrophobia. He still couldn’t stand close spaces. No one knew that, not even Victoria – it was too great of a weakness to reveal to anyone. He’d learned to control the anxiety and focus on his job, no matter what. Here though, he had no job to focus on. Nothing to distract him. And the walls were closing in on him.

But playing nice wasn’t getting him anywhere. They were ignoring him, and that just fueled his desperation. He felt like throwing his weight around – he could take Hal down next mealtime. Or he could override the digital lock on the door and take out anyone he wanted to on his way upstairs. He knew where the weapons were kept. That could be a good place to start. But…he couldn’t. He had to gain the Elite’s trust, no matter how much it went against his nature. But that didn't mean he couldn't do anything.

He got to his feet. He’d get their attention one way or another. Shoving the cot into the corner, he stood up on it, reaching for the camera.

“Whoa, hey, what’s he doing?” Reese blinked as Garret came close to the camera, reached up…and the screen went blank. Reese didn’t like this one bit, and hit the intercom on the way out the door. “Nate! Down to the holding cell with me. Stat.”

Downstairs, Garret was back on the floor, a few camera parts in hand with wires he’d ripped out of the wall. They’d have to do something with him while fixing it…it might be his only chance to get outside for just a couple minutes. Even just out of this room would help. He was suffocating in here.


Aaron shrugged, while keeping his eyes on the road. “So far, our hackers haven’t been able to detect whether or not the Elite is actually holding Garret. But I think you’re right – that’s our best bet.”

He glanced out the window. For some odd reason, this felt different than most assignments. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but it almost felt like something big was waiting just under the surface to erupt. “Assuming we’re right and that he’s at the Elite headquarters, we’re gonna have to find a way in. And considering he obviously hasn’t broken out yet…they must have better security in place than we anticipated. So using stealth may not be the best route.”

They really were low on options at this point. They didn’t have enough facts, and it was making this whole thing tricky. “So if we can’t use stealth, we’ve either gotta have ourselves arrested – which brings the risk of us not getting back out either – or waltz right in there and hope they don’t have our faces on file – another huge risk.” He paused as a new idea came to him. “Or…we nab one of their agents and demand a trade. It would give us a quick answer as to whether or not they have Garret. And if they do, the Elite is loyal. They’d make a trade in a heartbeat.”

He gave Victoria a sidelong glance to see if she liked that idea. It was the best he could come up with, and it might just work. Best case scenario, it would only take a couple days to complete, and they’d be home free with very little fallout.