Silence

Levi's eyes never left Karla's face as she spoke. Unassuming. Shy. Cautious. Low self esteem. Those were the words that flitted through his mind. But also strength. Hope. Intelligence. Potential. His head cocked to one side as he briefly forgot about his food. Was that embarrassment he saw flicker on her face? Everybody struggled at some point, and it was a pity if she felt ashamed of that. 

As the table fell quiet again, his eyes dropped to some of the papers he'd brought. Flipping to one in particular, he looked at the near-minimum wage that was typed up as part of an offer. His fingers fiddled with his pen for a moment before he scribbled it out and wrote a new number above the line, several dollars higher than the original. 

"Well...everybody deserves a chance." He looked up again and slid the paper over to her to see the hourly wage. "I'm afraid it won't be full-time. I'm not sure what you need for income as far as your current situation goes. But I can guarantee no less than twenty hours a week, and no more than thirty. It would be Monday through Friday, and we'd set up a place for you at the office. We have limited ability to provide health benefits, but we most definitely would provide paid sick days and paid vacation days."

He let the information sink in and as their waiter came by, he took the ticket to pay for both their meals. Clearing his throat, he turned his attention back to Karla. He hoped upping the wage would be enough. He wished he could offer her a full-time job with full benefits right on the spot, but their small company just couldn't afford that yet. Would she be able to live off what they were offering? 

"My mom likes to send leftovers to work for lunches," he added with a crooked grin. "So that could possibly mean some free meals, too. And she does make a mean lasagna..." Was he begging her to take the job? Seriously? Where was his head? His father was going to kill him. 


Lane didn't move as Angel came and sat down next to him. Nor did he respond as she took his hand. His eyes remained glued to the coffee table as if his mind wasn't really there. One would think he didn't even hear Angel speaking, but he did. Nothing broke his silence though. Slipping his hand from hers, he leaned forward and set his elbows on his knees, creating distance. After several long moments of silence, he slowly shook his head. His jaw muscles tightened with the effort to keep a lid on his emotions, but even then, his eyes started to turn red.

He could have walked away when Mick had caught him in the middle of another incriminating phone conversation. He should have. He should have left right then and there. He still should. He still had time.

His feet shifted. But he didn't rise. As much as everything inside of him screamed to leave - to get out now - something just as invisible, but twice as strong, kept him here. Though still not looking at his sister, he could feel her eyes on him. She cared about him. She loved him. She'd do anything to figure this out and help him. But how could she? How could anyone here? Especially now. Yet he still found it impossible to move. And even so, he still refused to speak at all.

Without any response to Angel, verbal or otherwise, it was inevitable that shortly after, they weren't the only two in the living room anymore. While everyone else went their separate ways or cleaned up in the kitchen from dinner, there were those Mick asked to join them. Rosetta, Sparky, Wes, Luke, Eric, Trent and Stacy.

Lane remained seated on the couch, his eyes never leaving the coffee table. Anyone could see the tension building on his face, though. 

Mick looked to Angel with apology. He knew she didn't want to hurt her brother, but something had to be done. "Come on, Lane," he prompted sternly as he stood on the other side of the low table. "Come clean. Whatever it is, you can trust us." The others all waited quietly.

Eventually, Lane finally moved. He glanced up at Angel and swallowed hard as sudden tears sprang into his eyes and he looked back down. He shook his head as he tried to control his emotions.

Mick sighed. "Don't make us do this the hard way."

Silence.

"Lane!" Mick's hand came down hard on the table, making Lane jump. He leaned down low to be at his eye-level. "If you don't start talking, we're gonna have to call in the Elite, and you know you don't want to deal with them."

Silence.

Mick straightened and threw up his hands, trying not to blow his top. Taking a deep breath, he caught Rosetta's eye, relying on her to help keep his temper in check.

Lane's folded hands had become so tight that his knuckles were turning white.

It was Trent's turn. "Man...Whatever you're involved in - if anyone gets it, it's me. I shouldn't be here at all, and there are days I still wish I was rotting in prison for all I've done. But if there's any place to come clean, it's here. Angel's not your only family. We all are. Whatever it is, you can trust us."

"He's right," Luke prompted. "Just talk to us."

Lane shook his head stubbornly and remained silent.

"Dang it!" Mick didn't want to use force. To harm Angel's brother. Their old friend. But something had to be done. "I'm calling the Elite." He took out his cell phone.

"They have my son!" Lane shouted angrily. His outburst was so sudden, that the room went dead quiet. With just as little warning, he got to his feet so quickly that he hit the coffee table, jolting it from its position on the carpeted floor. Walking to one of the windows, he kept his back to the others and folded his arms tightly, tears still lingering in his eyes.

The room stood in stunned silence and several looks were exchanged. Lane had a son? He hadn't said a word about a family, so everyone had assumed he didn't have one. Why hadn't he at least mentioned it? Mick slowly put his phone back in his pocket. "Lane?" he asked more cautiously. "What's going on?"

Lane swiped at his eyes but didn't answer.

Mick sighed again and looked to Angel for help. Maybe she could still get him to talk. Somebody had to. Something very serious was going on, and they had to know. If Angel couldn't get it out of him, he'd have no choice but to call the Elite. This smelled too much like the Agency to let it go.


"Good." Justin smiled again before opening the truck door. "Come on." 

Getting inside, Justin immediately made the dogs lie down in the corner, and they did so obediently, despite there being nervous activity around them. Quick introductions to Pete and Jamie were made for Beth's sake, and Lydia, of course, took advantage of more company and went to make some coffee in the kitchen to keep herself busy.

Jared was no more at ease though. "Know anything?" was his only greeting.

Justin shook his head. "Sorry. No. I'm on my way over to headquarters though, to see if we can figure anything out."

Jared turned his wheelchair. "I'm coming, too."

"I think it's best if you stay here. There's-"

"I said I'm coming, too." Jared's eyes narrowed. "If it were Beth, you wouldn't wanna be left out of the loop, so you better take me with you or I'll find my own ride." 

Justin sighed before looking to Pete. Pete gave him a little nod. "Jamie and I both will stay here. You want an escort?" 

"No. As far as we know, we don't have anything to worry about other than finding Grace. We'll be fine." Justin nodded Jared to the door. "C'mon then." Before leaving, he gave Beth a quick but strong hug and a warm kiss on the lips, promising he'd be back shortly. 

Once at Justin's pickup, a new problem arose. Jared stared at the passenger door and gritted his teeth. Justin reached for the handle, but Jared stopped him. "I can do it myself." 

"I believe you," Justin responded calmly. "But we don't have time for that. So shove your pride back down or I'm gonna leave you here." He opened the door, and without taking any griping, he lifted his brother into the passenger seat.

Jared had underestimated Justin's strength, and blinked his surprise at how easily it had been done. He watched in the side mirror as Justin folded and set the wheelchair in the bed of the truck as well. He was so matter-of-fact that Jared really couldn't argue with him, so the ride to the Elite was a silent one....

..."You sure you don't know anything?"

"How could I?" Garret threw up his hands at Reese's questions as they stood outside Nate's cubicle. "I'm in here, remember? This is something new."

Reese sighed. "But could it be the Agency?"

"Well of course it could. Anything could be them. But you got a lot of if's going on here. Just because some kidnapper calls a girl's boyfriend's brother doesn't mean it's Agency. It's weird, but that's all."

Reese knew he was right. But there was just something about all this that set him on edge. Maybe it was just his gut instinct. Movement caught his eye and he turned to see Justin come onto the main floor, followed by a man maneuvering his own wheelchair - that must be Jared. "Speaking of which..." 

Garret's eyebrows shot up. "Wait. You didn't tell me it was Justin. Is he the boyfriend or the brother?"

"Brother. That's Jared - it's his girlfriend that's been nabbed."

Garret glanced at Nate. Justin was part of the Elite, part-time and fairly new or not. And he was someone who got close to any Agency thugs brought in. Which made him a pretty dangerous player, really. It would be Medridge's style to torture him through other people getting hurt, especially considering Justin's field of expertise - delving into people's psyches. Maybe Reese wasn't so far off after all. 

"Justin." Reese shook his hand as he approached, then also offered a hand to Jared. "Hi, I'm Mike Reese, Chief of the Elite. I'm sorry we're meeting under such stressful circumstances."

Jared just nodded. 

"Any more calls?" 

"No." Jared shook his head before holding up his cell phone. "Still waiting."