Caged In

Carson is taken by surprise as Misty comes running back to him. He has no problem returning the kiss though, and has just a little bit of trouble letting her go. “Don’t be late or you’ll get us both in trouble!” he calls after her.

Shaking his head, he sighs deeply and stays downstairs for a few minutes, just studying the shooting range, exercise equipment and more. TJY was certainly interesting…he, along with the Agency had suspected they existed, and had just been finding out more about them, but he wouldn’t have guessed it was this in-depth.

Hooking his hands in his pockets, he ambles out of the room and to the elevator, taking his time. Half of his interrogation party was in jail, the other half on that case, so he wasn’t left with a whole lot of options.

Carson arrives on the main floor again and wanders down the hall, glancing into offices and receiving a few funny looks from other people he hadn’t met, but they apparently knew who he was.


Rick and Wyatt are speaking in hushed, irritated tones as Misty arrives back in the infirmary with her files. Their conversation is brought to a halt, and both turn around to see her.

Rick nods to her and retrieves the file. “Thank you.”

Wyatt studies his cousin for several moments, a strange look in his eye. “Hey, Misty, I want to talk to you for just a moment.”

He takes her to the side, away from Rick, and sighs deeply. “Look, Misty, I know you’re a grown woman, you’re older than I am, and you don’t want to hear this. But I’m your cousin and I feel the duty.”

Wyatt searches Misty’s eyes. “I think this thing you got going with Carson is very unwise. Guys like him have patterns… One of these days, he’s gonna get tired of you, and you’ll be dumped just like all the other women he’s had. All you are to him is something fun, and when he gets bored, you’re gonna be left miserable and alone because you thought he really cared.”

He pauses, shaking his head. “I don’t want to see you get hurt, Misty. I know I can’t tell you what to do….all I can do is give you a fair warning. Carson is bad news, and you’re gonna get hurt if you keep this up.”


“Misty, I still need those blood samples gone through,” Rick interrupts.



Carson lingers outside the infirmary door, unsure what to think. He’d heard everything Wyatt had said. It set a bit funny with him…he was irritated at Wyatt’s words, but anger wasn’t really an element. He was right – Carson did have a pattern, and it was one that took him down unbeaten paths and rocky roads of flippant relationships.

Misty was fun…she was flirty and sassy, and turned him on, no doubt. She’d also shown him something other woman hadn’t – a care that went beyond a physical relationship to something deeper. She cared about what happened to him, and about the choices he made.

He still wasn’t quite sure how to process everything though. What was he really after with Misty? Was he thinking of her just like every other woman he’d had? He definitely felt something a different when he was around her…but he hadn’t yet been able to put his finger on it.

Carson takes a deep breath and continues to amble down the hall. He was tired of thinking about this subject. If everyone around him wanted to speculate what was between him and Misty, so be it. He didn’t care. Right now he was simply bored and apparently needed to find something to entertain himself…

Several hours later…

“How stupid can you get?”

Carson is shoved down the hall, his face holding an anger. “Look, I wasn’t doing anything wrong! Can’t a guy have a break?!”

Hal glares at him, and gives him another push, aiming for the holding cell as their destination. “I don’t know what you’re trying to pull, but you’re not going to get another chance.”

Carson spins around, returning his own glare. “You…”

He’s cut off by Reese. “What on earth is going on here?!”

Hal points to Carson. “I was on one my own cases outside of TJY and followed a suspect to that bar downtown. I went inside and guess who was chit chatting away with the bartender?”

“Carson!” Reese throws his arms in the air. “What were you thinking?!”

“I didn’t say anything!” Carson defends.

“No, but you were pretty dang close,” Hal hisses.

“I’d only been in there for half an hour!”

Reese shakes his head, holding up his hand. “Look, Carson, I don’t care how well you can hold your liquor, or at what point it affects your tongue. But we cannot take that risk. I want you to stay out of the bars and in this building, do you understand?”

Carson grits his teeth, the hardness returning to his eyes. “I was thirsty!”

“We have vending machines.”

“So what? Now instead of locking me in a tiny cell, you’re giving me free run of an underground office?” His sarcasm is evident. “Sounds like heaps of fun.”

“We are not here to have fun,” Reese reminds sternly, unafraid of Carson. “If you want something to do, I’ll give you something to do. But until we figure out where you fit in, you’re going to have to stay here, abide by our rules, and for pete’s sake, stay out of the bars!”

Carson works his jaw muscles as his irritation grows. “Fine. I guess I should have known it would be like this. I should be grateful you didn’t kill me, right?” He scoffs and turns around, heading back down the hall. “I know where the cell is. You needn’t watch your security cameras to know I arrived.”


Jason shifts his weight a little on the hard bed, trying to get comfortable, but it wasn’t easy. He was pretty sure no ribs were broken, but they’d been bruised pretty good, that was for sure, and his face was feeling worse. The group in the next cell over continue to insist on hurling insults in his direction, but he ignored them, remaining silent…silence was his friend right now, and the only way he could ever have a hope of getting out of here.

He leans his head back against the cold wall and sighs deeply. He knew Katie had surely known about his beating. He felt worse for her than he did himself. He knew the torture she went through for him. Part of him wished she didn’t have that sixth sense, so she could be spared the pain.

All he could hope for now was that he could at least see her so she could be reassured he was okay. The future was foggy, but he had to stay positive…he couldn’t let TJY down…he couldn’t let Katie down.


Cindy giggles as she rests her head on Wes’ shoulder. “All I want in that house is you… But I suppose a bathroom and kitchen would be nice too.”