Falling apart

"Hey, hey, it's okay," Ryder assures. The last thing they needed was for Thirteen to be terrified here. Alec was one thing - he just had a bad attitude. Gage was clueless, but wouldn't fall to pieces. Thirteen... she needed more care... more delicacy.

Ryder reaches out to put a hand on her shoulder, then runs a finger through her hair, gently working out a small tangle. "Tell you what... how about you and Trooper hang out here for a little while longer and..."

A knock at the door makes him look up in surprise. Reese stands in the doorway. Ryder keeps a hand on Thirteen's shoulder, keeping her from backing away. "Good morning, Reese."

"Ryder." Reese nods and eyes Thirteen before looking back at Ryder. "I was looking for you... I was told you had her in here for the night. Wasn't sure that was such a fantastic idea."

"Well, Trooper stayed in here and... the girl's not a threat." Ryder stands slowly. "I was on the main floor too, so I thought it would be okay."

"The interrogation room has served for Gage, I think-"

"Can we talk about this outside?" Ryder urges Reese into the hall. He looks back over his shoulder and nods to Thirteen. "It's okay. I'll be right back." He leaves the door cracked open as he and Reese stand in the hall. "The interrogation room might be fine for Gage," he hisses. "But not her. She's scared spitless and doesn't need something like that."

"If you haven't noticed, she's our prisoner, straight from the Agency! I will not tolerate us pampering one of them just because you feel sorry for her."

"I don't just feel sorry for her!" Ryder's eyes narrow. "She doesn't even have a name, Reese. She goes by "Thirteen." She's an Agency baby just like Carson figured. It's bad enough for her to be in here at all, let alone in a cold locked room. I mean, come on. She wanted the dog for company so she wouldn't be alone, for crying out loud."

Reese sighs and puts his hands on his hips. "Look, we can't play favorites, Ryder. Agency is Agency. Who says she's not acting?"

"I do." Ryder's eyes spark with a daring fire. "It's not an act. She's not involved, trust me. She doesn't know what's going on, and the Agency is all she knows. Take one look at her and you can see she's been treated like an animal. She's smart, but she's been taught only what they wanted her taught."

Reese grits his teeth. "Ryder... I'm sorry, but I'm not putting TJY at risk because you're attracted to the girl."

"Aw don't give me that." Ryder glares at him. Feeling warmth on his lip, he realizes that he's split it again, and he wipes away the small droplet of blood.

Reese quirks an eyebrow. "What happened?"

"Ask Nate."

"Nate? What, he hit you?"

"Yeah, but I guess I deserved it. Look, I'm talking about Thirteen, not Nate, alright? Just let her stay in this room for now. I'm asking you... for me. Please? She won't go anywhere, I promise."

"Fine. But she gets interrogated this afternoon."

Ryder shakes his head. "Let me handle it."

"No, Ryder! It's bad enough I don't have her under lock and key. We're not going to treat her with kid gloves. Innocent or not, she's still Agency and she still holds some information. It's our job to extract it."

"So what are you gonna do? Use force? Let someone in to beat her up like Scott?"

"That was not our doing," Reese snaps. "I will let her stay in the room, but she gets moved to interrogation one this afternoon, got it?"

Ryder tries to control his temper. "Who's doing it?"

"I don't know. Nate's gone, Jase is gone... I'll probably do it myself."

"Well just...."

"What?"

"Never mind." Ryder turns back to the room. "She'll be there." Entering the room once more, he closes the door behind him to lean against it, looking over to Thirteen. He tried to convey he was sorry. "You've got a few hours," he informs quietly, wiping his lip again. "Then Reese is going to take you into the other room for questioning."


Carson lets Misty lead him out of the courthouse and agrees to the coffee shop. Once there, he eases into a booth across from her, trying not to let the pain show from sitting down. Ordering a coffee and sandwich, he fiddles with a packet of sugar, not meeting Misty's eyes. The table is quiet... too quiet. He was glad she wasn't yelling at him, but he still felt an overwhelming amount of guilt.

He finally breaks the silence. "Screwed up again, didn't I?" His eyes stay away from hers. "I know... we all fall sometimes... but I was stupid.... again."

His finger rips through the sugar pack, spilling the contents on the table. He sighs. How appropriately timed.

"Just with Katie... and Herb and the restaurant... and Alec... and this whole thing with Mackenzie I just..." He swallows hard, finding it difficult for some reason to maintain control. "Guess being back on the field got to me... thinking about Katie. Then I knew I had court today and I just wanted to forget for a while.... just wanted to sleep and forget so... I guess I did." He shrugs. "I don't remember what I did last night. But I still remember everything else I was trying to forget."

His heart ached. He was supposed to be taking over a restaurant. He was supposed to meet a lost brother with strength. He was supposed to be a strong character with or without Mackenzie in his future. He was suppose to be able to handle his job on the field. But instead, he was falling apart.


Evening has caught up with Break Out...

"Jen, look, I... but... wait... I...." Kyle groans and leans back against the side of the bus. He rubs his forehead, holding the cell phone to his ear.

"...of all the stupid!" Jen's tears can be heard in her voice. "You haven't been returning my calls, or anybody's for that matter. Then when I finally get a hold of somebody, they tell me that you almost died!" She chokes on a sob. "Don't do that to me!"

Kyle turns around, resting his forearm against the bus. The reststop was dark and quiet. Crickets chirped, and a few lights lit the near-empty parking lot alongside the interstate. It had been a long day on the road, and he was tired since being released from the hospital. The day had been quiet as well... Hunter had seemed especially offish and Kyle wasn't completely sure why. But he'd kept his distance. Only when stopping for a break, had he realized that he had several new missed calls, and had finally called Jen back. He sighs. "I'm sorry. I know I was stupid and..."

"You certainly were! Don't scare me like that! Accident or not, I..." She sniffs. "...I couldn't do it without my brother so just be smarter from now on!"

"I will, I will." Kyle tries to keep his own voice low. The others were just a ways away, and he really didn't want to make a scene. He knew he's scared his sister, and he felt badly about it. He felt badly for scaring everyone, but was just trying to move on. "I'm sorry, okay?"

"I want a hug," Jen murmurs, still crying.

"Well if I was there, I'd give you one." Kyle waits as there is a long pause. "You still there?"

"Yeah..." Jen sniffs again, her voice continuing to crack as she speaks. "There's... there's something else. That's why I've been trying to call."

Kyle can feel himself bristle. "What? What is it?" His mind immediately thought of all the people who could be in trouble or hurt.

Jen pauses again. "Kyle, it's... it's Katie..."


...Kyle tucks his phone into his pocket as he tries to swallow the lump in his throat. He can hear the others talking a little ways away, but doesn't feel like joining in. Instead, he turns the other direction. Ambling into the freshly-cut grass, he finds a tree to lean against and takes a deep breath, trying to maintain control. But a tear escapes anyway for a journey down his cheek. It drops off his chin and lands unnoticed on his shirt. God, not Katie, please.

Keeping his back to the others, he lets his head hang, What more was there left? What more could happen? How much more severely did his heart have to be torn?

Shifting his weight, Kyle's arm slips on the rough bark and he winces as he receives a nice cut near his wrist. He sucks on it for a moment, but lets it bleed, not really caring at this point. He swipes at another tear. He needed to go. The others would be waiting. But he just needed one more minute...