Pilot

Though never having met her, as soon as Kyle sees Alice, he knows it's her. Just something about her, he had no doubts, and he was proven right when she approaches.

He offers a smile and gives her hand a firm shake. "Nice to meet you." Before anything else can be said, he starts in again. "Look, I'm sorry if I was a bit short with you on the phone. It's been a rough week, but that's no excuse, so I apologize. I really am grateful for any attention the band gets."

Kyle genuinely did care about JetStream and making a good impression for the band. Though Alice had just mentioned him on the phone, he could only assume it was really about the band as a whole. Maybe she was even interviewing someone from Cryptic - he didn't know. But there was certainly a whole lot more interesting things to talk about concerning the band than just the little stunt he'd pulled at the concert. Surely this was just a one-time interview that would simply give JetStream some exposure. His own role was small, and he certainly didn't feel like much of what he'd done deserved any hype - all it had done was get him into trouble.

"You get to call the shots," he offers. "We can walk or sit, and I'm ready to answer any questions you have."


Axel's mouth upturns slightly. "You deserve to be made to feel good," he responds quietly. He starts to say more, but a digital ring interrupts them. He gives a little sigh, tempted not to answer his cell phone. "It's Joel."

His eyes give away that he really didn't want to talk to anyone right now, but he knew he should. Finally he lets go of Jess' hands and reaches for the phone in his pocket. "Hey, Joel."

"Axel! Good morning. Hey, listen... we got a band meeting tonight."

"Yeah... I knew that."

"Well, Taylor's backed out again."

Axel cringes a little. "Oh?"

"Yeah... look... I know you said she and her had a little misunderstanding or something the night of the concert and... well... I don't want to stick my nose in, but was it more like an argument or something? This just isn't like her, and I know she's not sick."

Axel strums his fingers on the table, knowing that color had seeped into his face as he doesn't look at Jess. "Um. Maybe. Look... I'll call her alright?"

"Thanks, man."

"Yeah sure..."

"Later."

"Yeah." Axel hangs up, giving another sigh. After several awkward seconds, he looks back up at Jess. "Excuse me for just a minute. Go ahead and order... on me today." He forces a smile before rising and walks several feet away near the door. Dialing, he waits, then hears Taylor's answering machine pick up. Well, maybe it was better this way. "Taylor, it's Axel. Listen, I'm sorry. I know you've been avoiding the band because of me. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I don't know if you don't want to ever see me again or what, but I do still want to be your friend. I'm willing to forget about what happened if you are. So..." He lamely fishes for something else to say. "See ya later. Bye."

Axel felt like a fool. That hadn't come out the way he'd wanted it to at all. But it would have to do now. He couldn't make Taylor change the way she felt, and if she was too embarrassed now to face him, or too afraid he was mad at her, then there wasn't much else he could do. Hopefully she would move on and they could forget the whole thing. He didn't want to tell the other guys about it, for fear of just making Taylor feel worse.

"Sorry about that." Axel slides into the booth across from Jess again. His eyes show a new weariness in them, but he overcomes it with a bit of a grin. "Where were we?"


"Gunner!"

Gunner jumps up from his chair, grabs the shotgun and whirls around all in one movement, taken completely off guard by Jeff bursting through the cabin door.

"Whoa!" Jeff holds up his hands. "It's just me."

"Dude, you scared the crap out of me." Gunner lowers his weapon. "What's wrong?"

"Not really sure, but something is wrong with Angel, and Luke needs to get to Nevada, and fast. I know we're not part of the Elite, but you think we could piggy-back on some security clearance to get us there?"

Gunner grins. "You bet. Get somebody to stay her on duty to watch the cameras, and I'll even get Luke there myself."

"Sparky already volunteered. I'm going to come along with Luke to give him a hand if he needs it."

"Great. As far as I know, there's a TJY plane at the airport, but the pilot is on leave." Gunner is already hunting for his ID and throwing things into his backpack. "But I don't have a pilot's license for nothing. I'll pull a couple strings with the airport to get clearance and it will be a whole lot faster than waiting for a pilot."

"Fantastic." Jeff moves to head back to the ranch. "I'll get Sparky," he hollers over his shoulder. "Meet us at the messhall, I'll drive the truck."