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Carson doesn't reply to Misty right away. His eyes grow dim...lifeless and he doesn't look in her direction. Quiet settles over the room as if he's not going to answer her. "

My father worked for the Agency." His statement slices through the silence. "I was just a kid...all I knew was that he was a businessman. He often took trips to the US, and every once in a while he'd let me tag along, though I'd end up staying alone at the hotel while he went to his 'business meetings' that would have been 'too boring' for someone my age."

Carson's eyes dart about the room as he blocks out the past. "I don't know how much my mom ever knew. I think she suspected something, but wasn't involved." He shrugs. "So I grew up as normal as any kid. Went to school, had friends, didn't get in too much trouble, though I was less than an A student. When I was out of high school, my dad approached me about a job. It would just be running errands, he said. Maybe going to the US with him again, though officially. The pay was good - what kid wouldn't want cash in his pocket?"

He shifts his weight, stretching out his legs on the floor, still staring ahead and not a Misty. "I didn't know about the Agency's dealings right away...I picked up on things slowly, but by that time I'd already been working for several years and didn't want to lose my job so I turned a blind eye to anything I heard. Then one day something happened...my dad had a fight with someone, or he didn't agree with something they were doing. In a desperate move, the Agency brought in my father, me, my mother and my sister. They started threatening us...saying our dealings with them needed to be all or nothing. My father stood his ground, my mother by then had an idea of what was going on, and she stuck with him. My sister was bull-headed enough to insult one of the guys holding us."

Carson makes no movement...his eyes lock into one of the cement blocks on the far wall. "The Agency gave us one more chance...it was joining them or die. My family chose to turn their backs and walk away. They were gunned down. Dead within a matter of seconds." His stare never wavers. "The gun was pointed at me and I proved just what a coward I was by folding. I'd work for them. I channeled my anger against the Agency towards other people instead...the people they wanted me to take down, or torture into talking. I was good at it...the best they had because I was brutal and I didn't care. Eventually, despite what the Agency had done, was on their side without so much as a look back. There was no way out, so the only option was to be one of them, and I played the part to a tee..." Carson allows just a slight pause. "...Until a few days ago."

He scoffs and finally looks down, letting his fingers fidget with a loose threat on his blanket. "So, that's me. A coward who looks out for number one." He shakes his head. "I don't even know why I'm telling you all of this."


Jason steers his motorcycle along the road as it makes a steady incline until reaching a plateau with a gravel lot. Parking, he sets the bike on its kickstand and gets off, removing his helmet, despite the pouring rain, and takes Katie's off too. Grabbing her so she doesn't have to walk, he lifts her up into his arms and walks a ways through the rain until they reach the edge of a cliff. Trees had blocked the view up until that point, but now they could see out across the countryside. Lightning flashes in the distance, revealing the ominous rolling clouds. Thunder rumbles, shaking the earth. The view is breathtaking, the fact that they're soaked to the bone isn't even considered.

Jason squints out into the rain, waiting for each lighting flash to enjoy the display, holding Katie so she can see too.


Arriving at Jamie's Laura runs quickly to the door with Nate in toe. Con is already at the door, opening it and ushering them in out of the rain. "Good grief, I was about ready to call someone to go looking for you."

Laura grimaces. "I know, I know. Sorry. I got hung up."

Con looks at her for a moment, immediately seeing the slight redness in her eyes. That was from no rain. He glances towards Nate, then back at Laura again, questioning the circumstances of which he didn't know.

Laura senses his concern and doesn't want him assuming this had anything to do with Nate. She pushes a smile to the surface. "My car is in the shop again, but Nate was kind enough to give me a lift, so you have him to thank for getting me here in one piece."