Caves

Carson seems to not even hear Nate as he gets into the car and turns on the engine. Not even bothering to buckle himself in, he squeals out of the driveway, aiming toward downtown.

Finally he answers Nate. "Wyatt had a date with Aerith tonight. She knows Frankie. If I can catch them at Mom and Pop's before they leave, I can ask her where he's been staying."

As they speed down the road, Carson reaches under his seat and pulls out a pistol to hand to Nate. "Check to see if this is loaded, will you?"

His thumb taps his steering wheel nervously as his mind works overtime. Frankie....anyone else? Was he alone? Did he have more thugs with him? Was Misty even still alive? How badly had she been hurt? Where would Frankie take her? And why? Was it for his own gain? Was someone trying to get to him through Misty?

Mom and Pop's comes into view and Carson spots Wyatt's jeep. "Good. They're still here."

Getting out quickly, Carson stuffs his keys in his pocket and walks quickly to the door. The bell jingles as he enters, announcing his arrival.


Wyatt grins. "What do you think happens to a twelve year old who just took off for the afternoon without asking permission. I couldn't even hide where I'd been- by the time I got home I was covered in head to toe with mud and..." His voice trails off as he hears the bell and looks to see Carson enter the restaurant with Nate on his heels. He starts to smile, but quickly grows concerned. Something was wrong. His childhood story was forgotten.

Carson completely bypasses Wyatt, going straight for Aerith. "I need to know where Frankie's been staying."

Wyatt's eyes widen. "Frankie, but..."

Carson shoots him a glare to shut up, and looks back to Aerith. "And I need to know now."


Bret forces a smile and nods at Charlotte, glad for her efforts to cheer him up. "Yeah, Con's a real good guy. Once you're friends with him, you got a friend for life. He's a real softy, but I've seen him mad and I certainly wouldn't want to cross him." His eyes widen for a moment as he imagines Con's size.

He chuckles. "Jamie's sweet and loves Con to death. It's always fun seeing them together."

Shrugging, Bret answers about the caves. "Titan Inc. lost the contract on the housing division because of the caves, but someone else turned right around and hired us back to do some excavation and prep for a tourist site. We've been blasting to remove the earth, and most of the caves are accessible now - it's just a matter of making them safe. Then we're to put up the buildings they want. So..Titan didn't lose much over the whole thing, thankfully."

A smile spreads on Bret's face. "A coin flip day, huh? Maybe we should flip a coin to decide when that will be." Chuckling, he shakes his head. "I don't have off until Saturday. But..." His eyes catch Charlotte's for a moment, suddenly certain seriousness settling over the table as searches the depth of her eyes. "I'd like to do that again."