I can't tell

The corner of Trent’s mouth turns up and he gives a little nod at the mention of Luke. “I shouldn’t have had to ask. How long have you been…”

Sparky cuts him off, sensing the tension, even though Angel has willingly spoken to him. “They’re engaged.”

Trent turns to Sparky, question flickering in his eyes. Just engaged? After all these years?

Sparky seems to read his mind. “We split up, Trent…everybody. A few stayed here, but otherwise we were eighteen years apart.”

“All this time?” Trent furrows his brow. He would have thought the gang would have stayed together.

“It was the Agency…then they were dormant for eighteen years….then things started happening all over again. We thought Jim died and that’s how we all got back together again. We’ve all had separate lives…Mick’s got an ex-wife and two kids in Montana…all the kids you knew are grown up…” Sparky nods to Clint as an example. “Except for Jim and Becky’s third…they lost him as a baby.”

Trent’s eyes darken and he looks to Jim, who is staring at the floor.

Sparky continues. “Wes is married now…Jay’s wife and son died and he’s remarried now…Rosetta and Mick are engaged too…” He shakes his head. “Time hasn’t stood still for anybody. It’s not the same anymore.”

“I didn’t expect it to be…” Trent glances around at the faces again, landing on Rosetta, a bit of pride actually showing in his eyes, hearing of her engagement. He looks down again. “I…I don’t know what else to say. You’ve got my story and I guess…I guess I’ll move on if you want me to. I don’t have anywhere to go right now…I’ve been on the move, not wanting the Agency to find me alive…but…if I could…” He looks up to his sister. “…could just spend one night and maybe beg a meal off of you, I won’t ask for anything more.”


Luke glances at his bedside clock and groans. It was late…really late…and he hadn’t even gotten out of bed yet. He didn’t feel good…he didn’t feel like trying. He knew he should…he knew he needed to…but he was just so tired of trying so hard. Rolling over on his side, he lets his head sink back down into his pillow. Just a while longer…maybe all his legs needed was just a little while longer…


Leaning back in his chair, Jason throws a brief glare in Nate’s direction for his opening comment. Of course it hurt. But that didn’t mean it needed to be discussed.

Opting to stay rather than get up and walk out like his irritation wanted him to, Jason’s eyes drift to a sign on the wall. He didn’t want to hear this…he didn’t want to talk about him and Katie, whether Nate had figured it out or not. It was over, done with, and a painful sore that needn’t be rubbed with salt. He did wonder about Nate’s past…he’d never heard that story before. But any curiosity is driven away by his desire to shove his own circumstance out of the way so he wouldn’t have to look at it any more.

Completely ignoring Nate’s compassionate gesture and offer to be there, Jason shifts his focus to their job.

“The Agency could want Mick for a zillion reasons. They were after him from the beginning when he went back to Texas because he’d been working for them without knowing who they were. They had a working department that actually was in law enforcement, not illegal actions and that’s where Mick was. He started investigating and realized they were the culprits for years’ worth of torment on the Texan families. They caught on to him and he skipped along with another agent, Mel.”

Jason shrugs. “So that’s one thing. The Agency simply doesn’t like to lose, so will go out of their way to get agents back whether it makes sense or not. Another reason could be that it’s because Mick’s the ringleader of the Texas gang. Sparky, or Tyler, and Austin have taken over some, but Mick’s really been the driving force since the beginning – him and Rosetta. So from that angle, the Agency could just be trying to break up the team…take away the leader and see what happens.”

He pauses to take a swig of his orange juice. “They could want answers…they probably don’t know how much everyone on this end knows, so just being able to figure out all that we do know about them would help their plan of action. Or…they could want something in return. But they’ve remained silent… Personally, I think they’re toying with us. I think Medridge wants us to make the first move, which is why Austin and Reese opted to do nothing…they’re trying to stop the cat and mouse pattern.”

Jason stops again, not realizing how much he’s thrown himself into this case or how quickly, just to avoid other topics.


The longer Scott is awake, the more alert he grows, feeling more free to talk as his mouth loosens up, the effects of the drugs that were already in him, becoming more evident. He quirks an eyebrow at Misty, his fingers strumming the bedside. “Mm, loopy…I think I can handle that.” He gives her a grin. “This is one guy who won’t resist a shot. It’s not every day I can get doped up and have a clear conscience…”

He furrows his brow in thought as Misty leaves the bed, then returns. “But if I say anything stupid…keep that here, will ya?” Receiving the shot, his eyebrows raise. “I wouldn’t want everything floating around this office – I’m already the brunt of jokes the way it is without my rampant high babble being passed around through…email…or…something. There was once when I was on this high powered stuff and for three days my sister listened to me and didn’t tell me how stupid I was, and I didn’t remember a thing, but later on everybody else knew about me talking about the purple plants and the balloons…boy that was bad.” Scott suddenly stops and blinks, not at all sure how much he’s just said, but fearing it’s way too much. “And please tell me to shut up.”

…Scott manages to keep himself fairly subdued for several minutes, but turns his head when he hears the door. Looking up at Katie, he squints at her. “Well, I’ll be. She did come.” He shrugs. “Me, I hurt, but it’s not so bad when I’m as high as a kite, so I think I’ll live. At least now I can join the ranks of the other guys and have my own battle scar to show off.”

He raises an eyebrow at Katie. “You don’t look so hot though. I mean…yeah, of course you’re hot, you’re always hot, ever since I met you, you were…” His voice suddenly trails off and he pauses as if trying to figure out what he’d just said. “I don’t think that came out right did it….did I just embarrass myself, or is it just me? I can’t tell.”