New Arrival

Jared was pretty sure he didn't deserve Grace's forgiveness, so receiving her words was music to his ears. He returned the squeeze to her hand, and kissed the top of her head. Maybe being so close to losing her had made him realize just how important she really was to him. Funny how life was... it wasn't so long ago that being in this position with a woman on a night like this would lead to quite different circumstances. But right here, right now... he wanted nothing more than to simply sit here and enjoy Grace's presence - nothing more...

...Despite the very short night, it was Justin who was up first with the rising sun. He'd stayed with Beth all night, but had slept very little. He was careful not to wake her as he quietly slid off the bed and made sure the blanket was still covering her shoulders. No one else was up yet - except Jamie since it was her turn to keep watch. Justin told her she could go though, and he'd let Pete go a little later, confident there would be no more incidents. 

Only a few minutes later, Justin eased down on the top step of the porch and slowly sipped a hot cup of tea. The porch was cool on his bare feet, and the morning breeze made the hair on his arms stand on end, but he hardly noticed. The world around him was starting to rise for the day. People drove by on their way to work. An airplane flew overhead. Birds sang their morning songs. Nothing had stopped. It didn't matter who suffered or who died. The world never stopped turning. And neither did the Agency. 

Setting his mug aside, he retried his phone from his pocket and thumbed through some numbers before choosing one and letting it dial. He knew he'd have to leave a message this early in the morning, but that was fine with him. "Yeah, Reese, this is Justin. We need to talk about my position with the Elite. Give me a call back when you can." 

As soon as he ended the call, his phone buzzed that a new call was coming in. It was so sudden that he almost dropped his phone. The caller ID read Dr. Hawks. Justin sighed, but answered it. "Uncle Kash. You're up bright and early."

"So are you. No surprise, though. I just wondered if everything was alright this morning."

"Yeah. Yeah. I mean, as well as it could be." 

"I heard about Sarah Parker."

Justin's jaw tightened. "It's despicable what these people will do to prove a point."

"So it really was connected to the situation with you and Jared."

"Yeah." Justin rubbed his eyes wearily. His uncle was too smart not to have figured it out. 

"How's Beth?" 

"Not good. 'Bout as you'd expect. She'll be okay - she's strong. Doesn't make it any easier though." 

"And how are you?"

Justin swallowed hard. He was quiet for a few moments as his eyes found a caterpillar on the sidewalk. "I'm better than Beth." 

"You know I'm here for you." 

Justin straightened and cleared his throat. "Yeah, I know. Thanks. Listen, I'll let you know if you need to be on alert anymore."

Dr. Hawks knew well enough not to push his nephew, and allowed the conversation to end. "Okay. Take care." 

Once the call was over, Justin tucked the phone back in his pocket and picked his mug back up again, letting it warm his hands and face. There was a time for everything. A time to win, and a time to lose. A time to fight, and a time to surrender. And there was no shame in throwing in the towel to avoid any additional heartache. 


Walking at the edge of a side street, Garret heard a vehicle behind him pull to a stop. He didn't turn or stop though. He had a feeling he knew who it was, and a few moments later, his peripheral vision proved him right. But he just kept walking. He really didn't care if Nate walked with him. He'd give up eventually and go back to the Elite.

Despite his continued pace, he did listen to what Nate had to say even though it would seem he was ignoring him. He adjusted his backpack and kept up his route, aiming for the outskirts of town, even though he didn't have a destination in mind. He wanted to believe Nate. He wanted to believe it was all just that simple. But it wasn't. Not in his world. Nothing was simple. Ever.

After hearing him out, Garret walked a littler further until he finally stopped under a big oak tree beside a lonely intersection. He would say he couldn't trust anybody in the Elite...but deep down, he knew Nate was trying. He knew Nate was as close to trustworthy as he could get at this point. And even though all of this made him mad, there was just something that pushed him to at least speak now. Turning, he looked Nate square in the eye. "Chris Murphy. If you wanna label the corpse, there's a name. He recognized me. Even if he woulda been put in prison, word would have gotten back to Medridge that I'm still alive. And you know what would have happened next? He woulda had Victoria killed because she told him I was dead. She's a traitor for that lie alone and traitors don't survive."

He shifted as a car passed by, his eyes ever wary. He was safe nowhere. "But who's to say I'm not lying now?" His attention returned to Nate. "I could walk right back to the office and tell Reese the same thing, and he would still say I'm lying just because he doesn't trust me. Or let's pretend for a moment that he did believe me - then he'd have me locked up again because I killed someone just to save Victoria's hide, and since that's not protocol, it's not a good enough reason. So basically I'm screwed either way. Either he thinks I'm lying and I'm in trouble, or the truth itself gets me in trouble. So what's the point?"

Anger burned under the surface. Not against Nate, but against the system. Against him feeling like a fish out of water with no hope. Against being between a rock and a hard place without any way out. A crack in his inner wall allowed some unexpected emotions to seep through, and he dropped his gaze before setting a hand on his hip and taking a deep breath. Not that long ago, he'd haul off and take Nate down - the adrenaline would get rid of any uncomfortable emotions. But today...for some reason...he couldn't.

"It was a mistake. Coming here. This whole thing. I never should have left the Agency. I never should have even considered listening to my emotions instead of my head, let alone actually following through." As he regained control, his eyes rose to Nate's once more, and his voice adopted an icy edge. "The smart thing for you to do right now is just let me keep walking. Reese will be thrilled to be rid of me, and I won't endanger the Elite anymore. I've disappeared before...I can do it again. And no protocol or regulation can stop me."


Travis pried open one eye. How long had he been out? He had no idea, but he was still sprawled on the hardwood floor where he'd been dragged earlier. Picking himself up, he used his left arm for leverage, which was the wrong thing to do. Collapsing with the shooting pain, he just laid still, now also feeling his sore ribcage, and a splitting headache.

Con turned his attention to the screen again. "He's awake." It was the next day, and the ranch was no less tense.

Getting over the initial painful shock, Travis finally managed to sit up, only now noticing that he was chained to the floor. At least he could move around a little, but the downside was even less hope of escape. Already, the heavy shackle was making his ankle sore, and there was no way he'd be able to pick the lock.

Leaning back against the wall, his eyes fell shut. He wondered if his left arm was broken, and the way his head felt, he questioned whether or not he had a concussion. He was glad he couldn't see himself in a mirror. He could feel the half-dried blood in his hair and down the side of his face. His eyes fluttered open again and he glanced up at the camera on the other side of the room. If his dad was watching, he was probably beside himself. Or was he? Doubts had started to creep into Travis' mind. Doubts about being rescued. Doubts about his own dad's life. What kinds of things hadn't he been told? Why were such terrible people after him? That didn't just happen for no reason.

New tears flooded Lane's eyes as he stood nearby watching. He'd gotten an hour or two sleep last night at most, which didn't help, but he did his best to stay in control of his emotions this time. "Why doesn't he say anything?" he questioned aloud.

"He probably doesn't know we can hear him. Or he thinks it's just a lie and no one's really watching." Con leaned back in his chair and sighed before looking at his watch. "As soon as our contact gets here, we're going in. But you need to stay here."

"What? Why? I have to go with you!"

"No. We can't risk you losing your head, and you know good and well you may not be able to refrain from doing something stupid."

Lane bit his lip. How could he stand by and watch while someone else went to rescue his son? "I'll keep my distance. I promise. Please. Just let me go."

"You and Angel both," Con compromised, looking to Lane's sister. "Your job is to keep your brother under control, and to be ready once we've got Travis on the move back here. Can you do that?"

Mick stood nearby, listening and watching out the window. Jim and Becky were nowhere in sight - Mick guessed they were having a much-needed family meeting after last night. Everyone else was going about their duties as told. Word had come that someone was coming to help, but no one was exactly sure who it was. The only thing they knew was that they were supposed to arrive soon, and Con hoped to put their plan into motion immediately upon their arrival. Until then though, the stress level remained high.

Catching movement at the end of the driveway, Mick tucked his shotgun under his arm, tugged his hat brim low, and headed out the door. Most likely it was their contact - but he wasn't going to take any chances. Once outside, he walked down the driveway to meet the man who was approaching the ranch yard...