Picked up

Scott rolls his head back and closes his eyes against the questioning. Another tear trickles down the side of this face. The brutal interrogation had brought one thing to the surface... and that one thing made him feel lower than he ever had before. He deserved to be locked up.

Rick watches him and shakes his head. They wouldn't get any answers this way. He pats Scott's arm. "Here... take these." He holds out a couple pills with some water. "They'll help you rest."

For once, Scott didn't resist. Right now, if sleep would keep him from this place, he would take it. After downing the pills, he turns just a little to see Dalton again. "It wasn't your fault," he responds quietly. "It's all my fault."

Rick wanted to ask why, but he knew it wouldn't do any good. "Rest, Scott." He nods to Dalton. "Let the others know what happened. We need to find out who did this and why if he's not going to tell us."


Carson half-listens to Sapphire and Nate, keeping his eyes on the computer. "Someone overrode the security codes? Why..." He puts the question to rest, unsure if Sapphire would be able to find the answer.

Shaking his head, he rubs a hand over his face. Did they have a traitor here? Was the issue with Scott even bigger than they thought? What about Phinox? Did have the capabilities? But why?

Soon, it is apparent why someone would have overridden the security. Dalton's news of Scott is yet another puzzle piece that doesn't seem to fit. But now they knew someone had been let in to interrogate Scott. But no security cameras showed who.

Carson's shoulders are slouched. It had been a while, and he was still processing all of the information. He spoke aloud, mostly to himself, though Nate was busy nearby and could probably hear him.

"So...If someone found out, like I did, that Scott had information on the Agency... were they trying to extract it? And if so, why? Was it something the Agency needed? Or was it to prove it existed and protect TJY?"

He sighs deeply. "But why isn't Scott talking? Why isn't he trying to protect himself? And who, on the inside, let someone in?" He runs through names in his mind. Was it really someone connected to the Agency? Did they have a mole? Or was it someone simply concerned about TJY's safety, as Carson and Nate had been?

"I still believe Scott was assimilated and he has Agency data," he muses. "But that just makes him a traitor. That could be why he's refusing to talk, because he knows he'd just convict himself. But if he was a traitor, why did the Agency leave him for dead? Or was the whole thing a setup? Did they leave him for dead, knowing that TJY would come get him? Has this all been an act? Surely not. But what else?"

Carson groans. There were too many pieces... too many unanswered questions. It was nearing noon and they were no nearer a solution.

Movement on the monitor brings him back to his own task, even if he didn't want to think about it right now. It was Gage again. The young man was moving around, offering Katie a drink, and seemed to be cleaning her up a little bit, though was remaining silent and a bit rough.

Carson squints the screen. He wished it was clearer. What were those marks on the inside of Gage's arm? His eyes widen. "He's a user." Carson takes his notepad and jots it down. If they found where Katie was, Gage would be a prime target to bring in. If he had a drug addiction, he would be easy to interrogate and break for answers.

Leaning back in his chair again, he hits the intercom on the phone to talk to Sapphire. "Any leads yet on who overrode those codes?" He didn't know that so far it had been traced to a computer on the lower level.


Rick leans back against the counter, sighing in frustration. The last several hours had been for nothing. Scott had rested some, but Rick had also tried time and time again to question him. And each time, Scott refused to talk. He wouldn't say who had been there, and he wouldn't say what they wanted. He wouldn't talk to Rick, Misty, Dalton or even Wyatt.

Shaking his head, Rick heads for the phone. He didn't like using this route... but they needed answers. If Scott was truly a traitor, which he just couldn't believe, then they needed to find out and fast. If he wasn't, then they needed to know the truth, and they needed to take care of this situation quickly before it got out of hand.

Rick picks up the phone in the corner of the infirmary, far enough away that Scott couldn't hear him. Checking the sticky note that had the number written down, he dials and waits until he's transfered to the person he wanted.

"Dr. Garrison? It's Rick Johnston, over at TJY. Listen, um...I'm not sure if I should have called or not, but you're our last hope." Too serious, he doesn't even notice his unintentional pun. "I'm asking you... if you would consider coming here to see Scott. He's under suspicion of treason."

He pauses, letting that news sink in first. "He was also roughed up pretty badly early this morning, but he won't say who did it or why. We're in the middle of a life or death situation, and we could hold off on getting information from Scott, but we don't know if it's connected or not, and if it is, we have got to know. ...He won't talk to any of us, Dr. Garrison. We've been trying for several hours. I'm asking.... would you come see him at TJY?"


Derek walks through the gate and stops to the side, scanning the faces. He didn't know who he was looking for, and he was still on edge. The whole flight, he'd thought up reasons as to why they would want him in Nevada, and he had yet to figure it out.

Finally he moves forward, his bag in hand.

"Derek... is that you?"

Derek stops in his tracks and whirls around. He blinks, studying the face in front of him. It takes him several moments, but when it finally dawns on him, his eyes widen. "Jay? Jay Pent?"

"Yeah." Jay stands back, studying the man before him. The mission was forgotten for just a moment. "It's... been a long time."

"It certainly has." Derek shifts his weight a little awkwardly. Jay was one of the few out of the Texas gang that he hadn't gotten to know all that well, but there was no doubt it was him.

Jay cocks his head. Derek had been just a kid the last time he'd seen him... he had to be near forty now. It was almost like seeing a younger Austin. There had been a lot of bad feelings back then towards both Austin and Derek. But now... seeing Derek today... all of the frustrations and anger were gone. Time had healed the wounds. "Wow."

Derek starts to smile. "Yeah." He looks down, shaking his head before he looks back up again. There was a lot going unsaid, but it really didn't need to be spoken. Reality was still upon them. "Let me guess... it wasn't a coincidence that we met here."

"I guess not." Jay becomes serious again. "I don't know why you wre brought here too, but it has to do with Katie... my oldest daughter."

Derek's eyebrows rise. Katie had to have just been a baby last time he'd known of her. Though he thought he'd heard over the grapevine that she'd gotten tangled up with TJY not all that long ago. "Is it bad?"

"I don't know. She was taken... by the Agency... then they called me early this morning, but I don't know why. You?"

"Haven't a clue."

"Do you know who's going to pick us up?"

"Don't know that either."

"Well... lets head to the front then."

They reach the front of the airport, still looking for anyone familiar, and still finding no one. Both men were growing more and more tense.

"Jay? Derek?"

Both whirl around to spot the younger blonde man. The looks on their faces confirmed who they were.

"I'm Ryder." He extends his hand. "Reese sent me to pick you up. Follow me."


Jason paces his office like a caged tiger. He had no where else to go. He was under direct orders not to approach the monitor Carson was watching. He knew why... he knew Reese was just trying to protect him, and part of him was grateful... but part of him couldn't stand not seeing for himself that Katie was still alive. He didn't know which was worse - seeing Katie tortured, or knowing that she was and not being able to see that she made it through.

His office was still a mess... he hadn't bothered to clean up the things he'd thrown around. Trooper was staying in one corner just to avoid the glass on the floor.

Jason leans against his filing cabinet and takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly. He felt so... he couldn't find the right words. With a normal human's dose of emotions, he wasn't sure how to decipher everything anymore. But he knew it didn't feel good.

He wanted so badly to just DO something... anything. But there was nothing he could do. Carson was on guard at the computer... Nate was trying to track down locations of where the acid had come from... Phinox was trying to figure out how to set up a meeting with Rod... Scott wasn't talking... Sapphire was still trying to find who had let someone come in the building - but even that, they had no idea if it was connected to Katie or not. Hal was guarding the main floor to make sure Jason didn't go where he wasn't supposed to. No one was interrogating Reiker, but they'd squeezed just as much otu of him as they could, and the police were coming to pick him up later. Rick and Misty were busy with Scott and Alec... Laura was working with Jamie on tracing vehicles... even Susanne had something to do!

But Jason... he was stuck in his office with nowhere to go and nothing to do. He did not want to work on any other cases right now... this was the most important one he'd ever faced... and he was on the outside.

Even Ryder had a task to do.... oh yes... the airport.

A churning started in the pit of Jason's stomach. He'd spoken to his mom a while ago when she'd called to see how he was... he hadn't mentioned that Derek was scheduled to show up. Oh how Jason wished Katie were here. He had no idea how to face the man he'd hated all these years... the man who had abandoned his mother... Jason didn't care that Derek hadn't known about his birth... the fact was that he'd still abandoned Jason's mother, and as such, Jason had grown up without a father. Derek had found out about him later through Austin, though still not caring to ever meet him. It was a bitterness Jason couldn't just pretend didn't exist.

Straightening, Jason sets his jaw tightly. He was his own man. He was one of the best Elite agents. He'd had a rough past, but he'd come out on top, and he was proud of it. No one would put him down. Derek was just another man... just another man.