Merciful Train

Mick gives Katie a smirk. "Hey, watch it. It took me over twenty years to get this far, give a poor guy a break." He turns to grin at Scott and offers his hand. "Good to meet you."

"Likewise." Scott returns the handshake. "I've heard a lot about you."

"So you were the voice at the other end of things when we were out there today."

"Yeah, that was me."

Mick nods. "Well it's good to have a competent tech guy back at base - I've been out on cases where the guy back home didn't know squat and led us on a wild good chase."

Scott chuckles. "I put more confidence into my equipment than myself."

"Well someone's got to run it. You have anything to do with the security out in Texas?"

"A bit." Scott shrugs. "I got everything set up here and shipped it out. Pete's pretty good with that sort of thing, though I've been hearing horror stories."

Mick grins. "Let's just say we've had a few false alarms, and a few loose wires."

Scott groans. "I'm going to have quite a mess to untangle once all that gets back here aren't I?"

"Probably." Mick laughs. "Hey, I was thinking the other day about this court hearing coming up, and I wondered if there was any way to include the folks back at the ranch in that."

Scott raises his eyebrows, the wheels in his mind immediately working. "You got an area where everyone can be like...a big room or something?"

"Yeah, the mess hall."

"Mm...yeah, it might be possible. We can set up some tv screens, have Pete wire them to the right channels to match the frequency of some cameras set back up here. We can tap into satellite power like we have before and project the image from the courtroom back to the ranch in live time. We could even set up a call so they could hear what was going on and participate if need be. Maybe even set up a cross camera so those in court can see them as well. Of course, this is all if they'll allow it. That's the hardest part, getting permission."

Mick's eyes widen. "Oh sure...that's the hardest part alright...all that other stuff is a piece of cake." He rolls his eyes, showing his sarcasm.

Scott grins a little. "Sorry. My tech spiels annoy most people."

"Not me. It's fascinating. Now I tend to stick to machines that have minds of their owns without electricity involved. But as long as we got someone who knows what they're doing, I say have at it and have fun. Just tell me what to do when it's over."

"I'm assuming you stick to horses?"

"You bet."

"Mmm, had a bad experience there once."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Out at my grandpa's. He had what he called a 'sweet and gentle' pony." Scott grimaces. "Sweet and gentle, my foot. I couldn't have been more than eight at the time...got on that brute and after he figured I was just relaxed enough, he let loose. I went flying into the fence, landed in a mud puddle. Ruined my clothes and whatever pride I had left at that point, not to mention I got a pretty sore rear end out of it."

Mick can't help but laugh. "Sounds like you need a good experience once to sway your opinion."

"I think I'll just stick to cars and computers."

"Cars, eh?"

"Yeah, I got interested in mechanics back in high school. I tinker in my spare time."

"You and my brother would get along well. He's got a little auto shop at the ranch...well, he's Jason's step father as a matter of fact. He gets quite a bit of business...my nephew helps him out now... We ought to get Clint out here sometime. He'd love a vacation, and he's all about cars now that Wes got him started." Mick pauses, his eyes widening. "Oh, Katie, Rosetta told me that Cindy and Wes are going to have a baby."

Scott raises an eyebrow. "Jason's gonna be a big brother, huh?"

"Sounds like it." Mick opens his mouth to say more, but movement catches his eye and he sees Reese entering the building. "I better go talk to him and see what he wants to do with me. Nice meeting you, Scott."

They shake hands again and Scott nods. "Yeah, we'll talk more."

"You bet...and Scott..." Mick leans in closer, his voice lowering. "Treat this girl right. She deserves it."

Scott can feel a bit of heat come to his face, but he manages a grin. "With as many bodyguards as she's got around here, I'd be too frightened to do anything but that..." He pauses for just a moment. "But I think I'd treat her right even if it weren't for that. She's pretty special."

Mick smiles, glancing to Katie. "That she is." He nods to both of them. "See you around." Turning, he heads for Reese and they meet, aiming for Reese's office.

Scott is still grinning as Mick walks away and he turns to Katie. "I like him."

A short bark interrupts them and Scott looks down to an expectant Domino. "What? Feeling left out again?"

Domino starts to wiggle with excitement.

"Alright. You can watch a movie with us, but only if you promise to behave yourself."

Domino sits down and sticks one paw in the air, demonstrating how obedient she could be.


Rick finishes up in the infirmary and winds up pulling a chair next to Misty's bed after he's checked her vitals. Just thinking for a while, he leans back, letting his mind wander and speak aloud.

"Life throws some real monkey wrenches into plans, doesn't it?" He pauses. "You know, when I started working here, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to put what I knew to work. Little did I know how many times I would lack the knowledge to help. I didn't spend enough time in medical school to really get the complete training I needed, so I learned as I went. Thankfully, most of the more serious cases were taken to the hospital. Oh, I treated the little things...got pretty good at setting broken bones and bandaging people up. Bullet holes became the norm...it was guys like Wyatt that were tough enough to grin and bear my poking and prodding until I could dig the bullets out. I've seen a lot of people hurt here... Funny thing...the common cold is hated by doctors because there seems to be no cure. But I'd take trying to treat that any day, over what normally goes on around here. Dry spells may be boring to others, but they're certainly nice for me."

Rick folds his hands in his lap. "There's so much I still don't know...I'm afraid I don't do as good a job as I should sometimes, just because I lack experience. But you've helped an awful lot, Misty. Your enthusiasm...your insightfulness and your craving to learn... Not only has it been a help during hands-on times, but you've helped me keep up with my own learning. I've always constantly done research, but you brought new life into this place. I was disappointed when you left once..."

He clears his throat a little. "I get scared with every case I get, even if its something little. Look at Con...I thought he just had the flu and it was that blasted poison. If it weren't for you, we still wouldn't have an antidote. I know what everybody would say...I do a fine job and I've done a lot of good. And that's true. I've done my best and so far my best has been good enough for TJY. But I guess I prefer having those extra hands around. ...And I'd hate for a mistake of mine to cost you your life."

Looking down and thinking for several more quiet minutes, Rick finally rises again, giving Misty's hand a pat. "Hang in there, Misty."


Carson fires off another round at the target, the sound reverberating through the room. He stares at the profile that was riddled with holes. He sees the man whom he shot in the back. He still feels the fresh anger. He sees Misty again, lying on the ground...he hears her words again as they drove back in the van. He sees the blood, trying to help Rick. He feels the helplessness as Misty had almost slipped away.

He fires again, hitting the target dead center. He sees Ashlyn again, lying on the rooftop, dying in front of him. She was an Agency hitman and would have killed him. That in itself was hard enough to deal with, knowing that she'd been ready to pull the trigger on him. Then to have killed her himself...that threw him into a whole different realm of feelings. He felt stupid and vulnerable. He shouldn't be feeling anything. Whatever was between him and Ashlyn before, was not only wrong, but it was just surface. There had been no depth...nothing to call even close to commitment. Why he was feeling this dread and remorse, he didn't know.

Carson pulls the trigger again, trying to regain strength to move on. Trying to rid himself of the urge to run. Trying to overcome.


Jason feels Aerith moving and hears her slide in across the table. He swallows hard as she talks. Why she cut him to the quick, he didn't know. And why he allowed her to be here talking to him, he didn't know. Maybe her being a stranger was the key. She didn't know his past, or even his personality. She was obviously very insightful and could read into people's body language, but it helped knowing that she didn't know all about him.

But that fact did nothing for his heart. It was still in turmoil. It was still in chains. It was still screaming to be let out...to see the light....to beat again. Yet he still fought it.

Jason finally raises his head, though keeps his eyes to the table. He knows he should be grateful for the orange juice that Aerith had brought, but right now he doesn't think he could stomach anything.

"It is painful," he finally agrees. "But I guess I've been living with pain for so long that I've forgotten what it's like to be without it. My heart is a heart of stone...my veins pump cold death instead of life..." He stops for a moment, lyrics coming to mind for a later time. "I push away those I care about and I fight those I don't care about. And so...I'm still alone. Standing out on the battle field in a cold pouring rain, knowing the enemy army is just over the hill, but without my own to charge with me."

He forces as scoffing dry laugh. "And I see it...and I feel it...and I know I'm imprisoning myself. Yet I can't break free."

Can't...it was such a strong word. Was it really 'can't' or should it had been 'won't'? Was it a choice? Was it an effort to keep that lock on himself?

He opens his mouth to say more, just on the verge of asking more questions, when his phone rings. Sighing, he rolls his eyes, in no mood to be interrupted. But he knows his place...he knows his duties.

Letting it ring a couple times, he finally answers it. "Yeah? ..." He shakes his head wearily. "Yeah, I know..." He was wanted for a debriefing before going home for the night, and Reese was ready. "Can't I...well no...look I'm just downtown alright? I didn't skip out. What do you take me for, Wyatt?" He rubs a hand over his face, knowing he'd built his own reputation. "Fine, alright? I'll be in. Just....I'll be in."

Jason hangs up before the conversation can be prolonged any more. Glancing up to Aerith, he puts his hands in the air, letting them flop back down to the table. "Can't win for losing." The anger had returned. The moment had been broken.

Reaching into his pocket, he draws out some cash for the juice, even though he hadn't had any, and slides out of the booth, standing up. "Thanks, Aerith. I guess I'll see you around if some merciful train doesn't run me over first."