Storm

Jason just reaches the hallway when he hears Katie’s phone ring. Turning back around, he sees the small commotion at the desk, and stops his route. He goes back, even though his anger still burned for Phinox. He needed to know what was happening.

Carson stands back, watching the screen and hearing the call. He dreaded what would happen next. He eyes Jason, knowing that he would take this the hardest.
Notified and hearing the call, Reese is quick to join the group. He doesn't have time to question why on earth Phinox was there, let alone not being held. But he knows not to question his men - something must have happened between times, and right now it was Katie they needed to focus on. Having a traitor in their midst or not, now was not the time to bring it up.

Eyes widen at the request for Derek and Jay. No one understood why they would be asking for such a thing. Not even Reese seems to know why.

Hearing his father’s name, Jason’s heart leaps into this throat. He hated the man, but this was hitting even closer to home. What was going on? Why? Nothing made sense. He didn’t realize his fingernails digging into his own palms, his fists were clenched so tightly.

Continuing to watch and listen, it's a horror that is set into motion. Carson keeps his eyes on Rod and Gage, trying to pick up signs of what would happen next and how far they would go. He tries to block out the image of Katie herself, barring his emotions from getting in the way. It had been his method to deal with these kinds of things when he'd been the one inflicting pain. He'd developed his own on/off button on when to care and when not to. The only problem was, that being a new man made it much harder to turn that switch off.

Jason, on the other hand, is stunned by what he sees. The horror fills his eyes and for a moment, he feels himself stop breathing. A cry wanted to come, but it got stuck in silence. Tears wanted to flow from his eyes, but they remained behind a shield of terror. He felt like he was in the worse nightmare he'd ever had, except he knew there would be no waking up. This was reality, and the one person that gave him reason to live was being put through a pain he couldn't even imagine.

As Rod goes for a second round with the acid, Jason can't stand any more. His scream echoes across the TJY floor. Completely overtaken with the grief he felt, logic no longer plays a part. He goes for the phone.

Carson and Reese both know how important it is not to disrupt Rod, despite what was happening, and both seeing Jason move, they know they have to intervene.

Jason is blocked head-on by both men. "No!" He pushes against them, trying to make the extra ten feet to the phone Nate held. "They can't do this!" he screams. "No!"

Carson and Reese have to plant their feet, trying to take Jason down before he ruined the call. Both have to use all their strength, pushed to the limit by Jason's adrenaline-driven desperation.

"Jason, you need to leave now," Reese orders.

"No!"

"You're leaving," Reese repeats. A look over his shoulder proves that within seconds, Katie would be receiving the second round. He glances to Carson, relaying his desire for Jason not to see this. Carson understands, giving a nod. Reese nods back. "Get him out of here."

Jason still struggles, pushing against both of them. "No!"

Carson finally gets a good hold on him and whips him around, dragging him backward away from the scene and to the hall.

Jason fights the whole way, but his desperation clouds his judgment, making it difficult for him to do much harm to Carson. "No!" he screams again. "Katie!"

Carson pulls him back around the corner then spins him around, pushing him to his office. "Don't leave this office until Reese comes and gets you," he orders sternly.

"You can't keep me in here!" Jason tries to get past him again, but is pushed back.

"I can and I will." Carson stares him in the eye. He knew Jason was hurting, but right now they didn't have the time to pamper him. "You're under Reese's orders now. Stay put or it'll be the holding cell."

"I have a right to know what's going on!"

"And you will. But right now you need to stay away from that monitor." Carson backs away, making sure that Jason stayed put before he spins around and walks quickly back to Katie's cubicle.

Jason stands numbly for a moment, unable to straighten out any thoughts at all. Katie's cries echoed in his mind. The picture of her being burned tormented him. "No!" He slams his fist into the wall, tears beginning to sting his eyes. "They can't do this!" he shouts.

A full minute passes with the sounds of his anguished cries mixed with the crashes of office paraphernalia being thrown against the wall. Breaking glass signals that he'd turned his anger to more delicate objects with no less ire.

And then... silence. Jason is slouched on the floor, surrounded by the debris from his storm. Tears roll down the sides of his face and he stares into nothingness.


Back with the small group, Carson watches in pain as Rod's sadistic nature takes over. Reese closes his eyes, unable to see the girl he cared for like a daughter being put through this.

When the call has ended, there is numb relief. But the pain lingers because it had been real... and Katie had been harmed.

"We need to call Jay and Derek," Reese states flatly. "Whether we give in or not, they need to be here for safety, and they need to know what's going on. I'll have Susanne make the arrangements." Giving a nod, he heads to the office, calling over his shoulder to Nate. "Call me when something else happens."

Carson eyes Reese, and knows that he's leaving because he can't take any more. He couldn't blame him. He did agree with bringing in the two men though. "Why do they want Jay and Derek?" He shakes his head. "That doesn't make sense."

Setting his jaw tightly, he sinks down into the chair, once again, assuming his position at the monitor. He didn't want to make Nate do this any longer right now. "What's next?"