Up to Saturday

Jason wince a little as Misty helps clean him up, but can’t help laughing at Nate. “Welcome to the shiner’s club, Nate. It looks beautiful.”

Carson shakes his head. “I don’t think I even want to know.”

Jason rolls his eyes. “Just an undercover job gone sour.” He pauses. “No, I take that back. It was a success, but we had a few, um, unexpected turns down at Kelley’s.”

“That would do it.” Carson lifts his eyebrows. “Just walking in there is like asking for a fight.”

“Yeah well…I guess we did.”


Once Nate and Jason are cleaned up, Jason heads out, bidding the others goodnight. Pausing at the door though, he looks over to Katie again. “I might need your radar on Saturday…I’ll talk to you about it more later. Thanks for your help.”

A few minutes later, the engine of his motorcycle can be heard as he heads for home.


Carson slings an arm around Misty and bends to give her a kiss. “Ready to get going? I stopped by the movie store and picked up a couple good ones if you’re up to it.”


The next day is uneventful. After the brawl, things almost seem boring, though plans for the weekend ensue. Jason hangs on to light at the end of the tunnel that he’d discovered the night before, though is fairly quiet, spending most of his time in his office going over his case. Several phone calls coming in to him proved he’d rather be out with Camryn or JetStream, but all he could promise was a Sunday night jam session and supper out at Mike’s.


Going back to Titan Inc, Bret finds that though Dean is out of commission for at least two months, he had made preparations for Bret coming back to work, so he wouldn’t be out of a job. Grateful, Bret opts to stay on, planning to start up again on Monday.


Carson sticks close to TJY and Misty, a bit aloof, but for the most part personable, mentioning some weekend plans, but not taking off with any excuses.


Scott makes sure to spend time with Katie, mentioning that he might be leaving a little earlier than planned since it would just be him, though nothing was set in stone.


When Friday rolls around, the most action taking place was preparations for the funeral across town that most people didn’t even know about. But in Texas, Con and Jamie prepared to leave.

Crouching down, Con pulls BJ into a big bear hug, shaking him just a little for good measure and to make him laugh. Drawing away, he roughs up BJ’s hair. “Now you behave yourself for Angel, alright? And when Mick and Rosetta get back, give them both really big hugs for us.”

Bidding everyone else goodbye, Con and Jamie catch a ride to the airport where a TJY jet is waiting.

The flight back seems long, and Con is quiet most of the way. His mind is on why they were going back early…thinking of what he could possibly say to ease Brandon’s family’s pain. He tried to sleep on the trip, but he just couldn’t, and ended up praying most of the time instead, quietly reflecting. The week at the ranch had been full of joy…now it was back to reality, and how harsh it really was.


Bret sits near the back of the little church, dressed nicer than he had been in a long time. He felt out of place…there was a group from Titan Inc present, though even with them and a handful of family, it was a fairly small attendance. Bret couldn’t remember the last time he’d been in a church…it had probably been his wedding day. It felt odd…big…almost scary.

Focusing to the front, he tunes back in to what’s going on around him.

Con stands up in front of the small crowd, eyeing his own coworkers…Brandon’s mother and brother…others he didn’t know. All were mourning the death of one so young. Most were unaware of the hope that Con knew Brandon had found.

His arm still in a sling, Con paces just a little, gaining composure before speaking. “You know…I was asked to say something today because I guess Brandon mentioned me to his family right before he died.”

He pauses, thinking. “Most of the people who will remember how I’m connected to him will think of me as the one who pulled him out of the rubble after the cave-in on our construction site.” Con shakes his head. “But that’s not something that should really be remembered. It’s comforting to know that Brandon got one last chance to speak to his family…to say goodbye. But the thing I know and I remember, is that he is now in a better place.”

Gaining momentum, Con stops pacing and looks out again, catching Jamie’s eye for a moment. “When I was underground with Brandon and he was still conscious, he knew he was probably going to die. And he realized that there was one important thing that he’d missed in his life - that he didn’t know what there was for him after death. But the more we talked, the more it became clear to him what he needed to do…what he wanted to do in order to be confident of his future.”

Pausing, Con picks up his Bible from a nearby stand and opens it up to John. “When Jesus was preparing to leave this earth, he spoke to his disciples, comforting. And what he said was this… ‘In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.’ Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?’ Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”

Con shakes his head a little before looking up again. “Brandon realized that this was true. Brandon realized that he had neglected to acknowledge Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior during his life. But the great thing is…” A small smile forms. “It’s never too late. And I want you to know, that Brandon did accept these things, and he did acknowledge that God exists, loved him and wanted him to rest for eternity with him.”

Unexpected tears spring into Con’s eyes as he remembers sitting with Brandon in that small, dark space. “Brandon wanted to go to that place that Jesus was preparing – a place in Heaven. He didn’t want to die without that reassurance. And he realized and believed that the only way to get there was through Jesus, just like Jesus said. Because He IS the only way.”

Con takes a moment, taking a deep breath. “I have no doubt of where Brandon is right now. He’s resting so peacefully in the arms of God, and honestly, I’m jealous that he got there before I did.” A silent tear runs down his cheek. “Sometimes I want to go there so bad, I can taste it. But I’m left down here for a reason…sometimes I don’t know what that is, but it’s there. Brandon fulfilled his reason…he lived a life of love an joy despite the hard times. And though he’s gone, he’s left everyone here with this message… It’s never too late, and don’t wait too long.”

He holds up his Bible for emphasis. “Knowing Brandon, he wants to see you all again. He wants to spend a few more moments with you. He wants to see your faces again. But the only way for that to happen, is if all of us know what he did…that the only way we can get there too is through Christ. Brandon didn’t die in vain.. he left this message behind. Now what will you do with it?”

…Con stands back from the small group, leaning against a tree as the burial is completed. He didn’t feel comfortable mingling with the people here…he wasn’t sure how to feel. He was mourning…yet it should be a celebration. Death was a strange thing to deal with.


To: Katie
From: Kyle
Subject: Sunday night
Body: Yo, KT! What up?! Why does it seem like forever since we’ve seen you? Anyway, this is short notice, but what are you doing Sunday night? We’re gonna have a jam session out at Mike’s, Jen’s gonna be there, miss Camryn, and feel free to bring Scott along if ya like. Figured we’d do hamburgers or something. Oh, and we got that big summer bash coming up quick – by Sunday night we should know when it’ll be.
Let me know about Sunday so I can tell Mike how many hamburgers to fix… not that he listens to me, but it’s always worth a try.
-Kyle


Saturday rolls in, proving that no matter what is going on in life, time will pass. No matter the desire to slow it down or stop it, it comes, steady as a heart’s pulse, unrelenting, unforgiving.


“…Alright…” Jason slides into Katie’s extra chair in her cubicle, his face showing that he’s in work mode. “I was going to utilize Carson tonight, but he said he’s got other stuff going on so…” He grins a little, despite the tired look in his eye. He hadn’t gotten a whole lot of sleep tonight with so much on his mind, but was trying to ignore it. “I need your radar.”

Leaning his elbows on his knees, he explains. “Misty and I are going to take off about ten-thirty tonight. I thought about putting a tracker on my bike, but I don’t know how heavy these guys’ security is and I don’t want to blow my cover. So…here’s what needs to happen…I have to get in, get a fight and get out. Hopefully I’ll win so I can actually get paid, let alone live. At some point though, we’re going to need the cavalry to come. I’ve already got the local police on standby. Though Misty will be there to watch my back, most likely she won’t be able to call anybody quick enough.”

Jason takes a deep breath. “So…I’m relying on you to know when we need to call the cops, but not before.” He searches Katie’s eyes. “I’ll do my best to let you know. …think we can handle this?”


“Hey, babe.” Carson comes up behind Misty in the infirmary, throwing his arms around her and giving her a kiss. “I got stuff tonight, so I’ll be in late, but you want to do something after? Movie…latenight drive to the lake…take a walk…sit on the couch and kiss…” He grins, resting his face on her shoulder next to hers, his unshaven scruff just a little bit scratchy.


Bret stretches out on his couch, trying to get up enough gumption to do something…anything. He was supposed to have called Charlotte yesterday about doing something today, but hadn’t. He didn’t know why…he just…after the funeral he just hadn’t been in the mood for anything at all.

Sighing, he reaches over his head for the phone. He should have been out with Charlotte starting this morning already, and he felt a bit bad for not calling her earlier.

Finally dialing, he waits for her to answer. “Help,” he greets dryly. “I want to wallow but I promised to call you first.”