Renegade

Jason’s stomach tightens just a little at Dr. Fuller’s words. It was hard to comprehend what was happening.


Con holds his smile with Katie, the corner of his eye catching the Dr. coming in. “Yes, it’s been quite a while, but not to worry…things will be just fine.” He gives her arm a gentle pat. “I’ll be back, alright? Don’t go anywhere.”

Turning, he gives a slight nod to Dr. Fuller before going back out into the hall. Joining Nate and Jason, his worry he now lets show on his face. How on earth were they going to deal with this?

As Jason paces, suddenly a thought strikes him and he looks up quickly between Con and Nate. “She doesn’t know how strong our connection is,” he almost whispers.

Con lifts an eyebrow. “I didn’t think about that…how does…”

“I don’t know,” Jason cuts him off. “I don’t know how it affects anything.”

“You better cool your jets as much as you can,” Con warns. “Otherwise you’ll giver her an overload she’s not expecting.”

The minutes tick by as they wait for Dr. Fuller.



“Well I’ll be, if it ain’t Renegade Carson.”

Carson looks up quickly from where he’s mopping the floor around the counter. It had been a quiet day until people had started coming in for supper, and after someone had spilled their pop all over the place, he was up to clean. The noise of the evening had begun, and now they only had a few tables left. Mabel was busy at the register, Aerith was taking orders, and Herb was in the kitchen, content at that end of the world.

Carson’s eyes narrow as he spies Waylon and his two buddies, Cash and Reagan. He recognized them alright…They’d had their fingers in the Agency several times during the last few years, their only goal to cause trouble and gain money.

“You here to eat or cause problems?” he asks evenly.

Waylon’s large black frame leans against the counter casually, a sly grin coming out. “Seeing you mopping the floor, I think I’m just here to watch,” he taunts. “Never thought I’d see you in this line of work.”

Carson sloshes the mop back down into the bucket before wringing it out and continuing to clean the sticky mess. He tries to ignore the three that had already gotten under his skin multiple times before.

A cigarette butt is flicked in his direction, landing where he’d just mopped. Looking up with a glare, he sees the smirk on Reagan’s face. “This is a non-smoking facility. I suggest next time you take a smoke outdoors and dispose of the leftovers properly.”

Reagan’s eyes widen and he laughs. “My, my, my, you’ve quite the vocabulary, Carson! Wow…they said you’d changed, but I didn’t believe them. You really have gone wussy.” He slaps Cash’s arm. “Hey, get a load of that - a wussy, Aussie!”

The three goons bust out laughing, Waylon pointing at Carson. “I think you missed a spot.”

Carson can feel his face growing red as his irritation intensifies. Aerith had her back turned from the other end of the room, Mable was still busy, and Herb was too far away with too much noise to know what was going on.

He grips his mop more firmly, his knuckles growing white. “Either sit down and order food, or get out,” he orders sternly.

“Ooh, he does still have a big shot attitude.” Waylon grins. “I thought that still existed somewhere.”

Reagan takes a step forward. “Grady wants you back, Carson.”

Carson bristles. He’d taken orders from Grady for several years. The fellow assassin had always liked Carson’s style. “Tell him he can’t have me. I’m not playing that game again.”

“Well we say you are.” Waylon moves towards him. “It wasn’t an option for you. You are coming with us. You can do it the easy way or the hard way. But you know the consequences of the hard way. You know Grady don’t take no for an answer.”

As the three move closer to Carson, his mind reels. How had they found him? Why did Grady want him back? The Agency didn’t need him. These guys couldn’t just walk in here and bully him. “Sorry boys. I’m not coming.”

“Oh yes you are.” Waylon reaches out to take Carson’s arm, but he’s suddenly thrown backward as a mop handle connects with his jaw. Staggering backward, Waylon knocks over a stool, cursing under his breath.

The other two move in, and suddenly there’s an all out brawl, three against one. Carson holds his own, wielding the mop as a weapon, jabbing Reagan’s stomach, knocking Cash’s feet out from under him, and swinging for a second round at Waylon.

Moving too quickly though, Carson’s foot hits the fresh water on the floor, and his own feet slip. Losing his balance, his feet go right out from under him, his head and shoulders slamming back onto the floor. Almost dazed, he looks up just in time to see Waylon on top of him. Thinking fast, he brings the mop handle up, hitting Waylon where it counts.

With a cry of pain, Waylon doubles over, falling to his knees. By now, Cash is on his feet and gives a kick to Carson’s ribs. Carson winces and rolls away in pain, getting to his hands and knees, but is knocked from behind.

As the fight ensues, several customers look wide-eyed at the scene. One man in a panic grabs his cell phone and dials 911.