Cargo

Jen quirks an eyebrow at Alice and Kyle. "WWCK?"

Kyle gives a wry grin. "Yeah. It's a mouthful. We outta just say wwkkk..." he tries to pronounce the acronym with little success.

Jen smirks and turns, but doesn't miss the further interaction between her brother and Alice. He didn't seem to get excited over Alice's hand in his hair, nor was he displeased. It was just as if their interaction was totally natural - neither surprised the other, as if they'd been friends forever - the same conclusion Jen had drawn before. She shakes her head, giving up on trying to figure it out. Kyle had said Alice was interested in his story and would even be traveling with Break Out. Part of Jen wished the bus would stick around a while longer so she could get to know Alice too. But for now, she could just be satisfied that someone was making Kyle smile, and lately, that was a good thing. If Jen couldn't do it, at least someone else could.

"Mm..." Kyle leans back into Alice's hand, knowing that she was teasing, but actually it felt good. "Pizza?" He thinks, his eyes closed as he contemplates his choices. "It would be a sad day in history, the day I turned down pizza."

His eyes fly open and he hops to his feet. "Mom and Pops close at ten tonight. We better get a move on!" Grabbing Alice around the waist, he picks her up off her feet to throw over his shoulder, heading for the stage to tear things down. "Oy! Move out of the way! Cargo coming through!"

Alice's prompting to get Kyle going, and then his humor mixing with hers takes the edge off the room as the band starts to pack things up. Though disappointed in the horrid evening, and still thinking about the situation with Axel, they manage to clean off the stage, get everything loaded, and head on down to Mom and Pop's. Thought it was late, they were always welcome, and pizza was soon at the table.

Mike and Phil had come to join them, added to the group, and helping keep the atmosphere light when the tense pauses came. Jen and Mike laugh down at one end of the table, Phil, Taylor and Joel get into a teasing argument over something silly, and Kyle proceeds to flick his unwanted olives across the table onto Alice's place with precision.

The only one at the table not really joining in was Rocky. His mind was far away. He was unsettled. Something just didn't feel right. He'd thought it was just the whole thing with Axel, but it was persisting. Something was wrong. Something was nagging at him. His gut warned him that something was amiss. Was it more than just Axel? Everything else seemed fine. He wouldn't know what to question in order to find an answer.

Picking at his food, he finally is the first to leave. Exiting Mom and Pop's, Rocky wanders to his car. He stops and stares up at the starlit sky. By now he was feeling guilty for his earlier actions, knowing that he'd probably made things a whole lot worse by going after Axel like that. He hadn't even given Axel a chance to defend or explain how things had changed. Maybe they hadn't, as everyone feared, but he should have at least given him the benefit of the doubt.

Sighing, he gets into his car and turns on the engine. He checks his phone. No messages. Jess hadn't called. Maybe she just needed her space. But he'd feel bad if he didn't at least check on her. He wasn't too far away... maybe he should just stop by.


Reese jumps as Angelica enters his office. He'd been lost in a mountain of paperwork, totally engrossed. "Jess?" He racks his brain. "Oh, Jess Fisher?" He immediately bristles. He remembered that case. It was the one Carson had been slightly involved with. He hated cases like those. And now the scumbag was out?

"Aw great." He frowns and shoves a bunch of papers aside, running his finger down a list of names and phone numbers. He kept all the contact information of cases, for instances just like this. Grabbing his phone, he dials quickly and waits... and waits... and waits.

Finally hanging up, he's on his feet. "No answer. She could be out somewhere, but I'm not taking the risk. You stay here and start the paperwork for a restraining order immediately. I don't want to take any chances with this one."

Reese grabs his jacket to throw it on and fishes in the pocket for his keys. "I'll call you as soon as I know something." His walk is brisk as he heads to the door, and once outside, he jogs to his car...

Rocky pulls into the parking lot at Jess' place and scans the spaces. He didn't see her car. Odd. Feeling funny about just showing up, he decides maybe he should call instead. Picking up his cell phone, he dials and waits, but receives no answer. He sighs. Maybe she had decided to get out for a while. He couldn't blame her. Maybe he should go home himself and just get some rest.

Suddenly his car door flies open, making him jump in surprise. A gun is pointed at him and orders are being barked.

"Get out of the car, now!"

"Whoa! What..."

"I said get out! Move!"

Rocky fumbles with his seatbelt, having no clue what was going on. "What do you want? You want my car? Take it, just...." He's yanked out by his arm and shoved into the side of his car. He starts to get just a little riled. "Hey, what is this?"

"Quiet!" Reese digs into Rocky's back pocket to pull out his wallet. It had been dark. Too dark to make out faces, but this strange vehicle had been sitting here, watching the front door, and Reese was in no mood to stand around and watch.

But seeing this was not at all who he was looking for, he relaxes, uncocking his gun. "I'm sorry. I thought you were someone else."

Now Rocky was upset. He turns around, taking back his wallet. "What is this anyway?"

Reese flashes his badge. "Elite business. I thought you were a stalker."

"Stalker?" Rocky lifts his eyebrows. "Certainly not. I was just here checking on a friend."

Reese eyes him suspiciously. "Who?"

"Jessica Fisher." Now Rocky's the one who is suspicious. "Who are you really after?"

Reese's mind works quickly and he looks around the parking lot. Something wasn't right. "Look, you stay here, I'm going to go check on Miss Fisher's apartment."

"Whoa, whoa." Rocky reaches out to stop him. "What's going on?"

"I have reason to believe that she may be in danger," Reese explains quickly.

Rocky immediately shifts gears. "Danger? Why?"

"The man we put behind bars for harming her just got out. Now please, step aside."

"Over my dead body." Rocky spins around and starts in a dead run for Jess' front door.

"You..." Reese mutters and starts after him. Gun still in hand, he is right on Rocky's heels. The last thing he needed was some zealous friend getting in the way. But he didn't have much choice but to accept help at the moment.

Rocky reaches the door first and doesn't even wait to knock. Slamming into it with his shoulder, it breaks it open. The living room is dimly lit and Rocky's eyes widen in horror as he seeks Jess on the floor with a strange man bending over her.

Reese shoves in beside him, gun drawn. "Freeze!" Too late, Peter starts to run, heading for an open window. Reese doesn't hesitate to go after him.

Seeing the man fleeing, Rocky slides down on his knees next to Jess, pushing her hair out of her face, his eyes showing the torture he felt for seeing the marks on her face from the brutal slaps. "Jess... Jess, are you alright?"