Recipe

Reese can't help a light chuckle. "Look around you, Phinox. I just rehired a man who was once kicked off of the police force. I have another I'm trying to get back who spent a good part of his life as an assassin. One of my janitors is still prone to trouble. One of my physicians, who also happens to be my niece, is a recovered Agency recruit. The girl we went in to rescue - you think her past record is a hundred percent clean? I've got an Australian who was a pretty high rank at the Agency."

He shakes his head. "Not fit in? We're a group of misfits. Yes, we're the Elite, and the name fits our skills and jobs we take on. But we're still misfits. That's why we work so well together. We all come with baggage, we all have pasts that have shaped us, and we all have to accept each other for who we are and work as a team - otherwise the Elite might as well dissolve into the regulated police department. You have character, Phinox. You've been beat down, broken, and you're seeing now some of the mistakes you might have made. But it doesn't make you less of a man, or less worthy to serve with us, if your intentions are pure."

He leans forward to jot down some notes. "I will speak with Brown tomorrow about your situation and see what can be done. I'm in the process of trying to sort out several other cases as well. In the meantime... you can stay at my place tonight."


"Yeah, okay." Con nods numbly and gives Jamie a quick hug before leaving TJY. A prayer was on his mind on his way to the hospital. He'd been trying for months to get Bret to consider Christ, but he'd continually balked, always living for the moment in what he called "freedom." Con's heart almost hurt. What if...

He shakes his head at himself as he slows for a red light. Bret was going to be okay. Perhaps this would be the wake-up call he needed.

Finally arriving to the hospital, Con is quick to find out where Bret is. It worked out nicely that he had just come from TJY... with his new badge, getting to see Bret was a whole lot easier.

The small room is dim and quiet, except for the soft humming of machines. Con enters slowly, making the room seem even smaller. His big hand is soft and gentle as he lays it on Charlotte's shoulder. "Hey." He greets her quietly. "Someone from the track called me. How's he doing?"


Ryder laughs. He steps closer to Thirteen with a wet towel to clean off part of her face. "If there's anybody cute in this kitchen, it's you."

Just as he's turning back to the stove, the one he'd been waiting for appears in the doorway.

Carson stops, his eyebrows rising high as he looks around. The kitchen... his kitchen... looked like a tornado had swept through it. He blinks and looks to Thirteen, then to Ryder. "Well... looks like you've been busy."

"Busy? ...Busy? That's all you have to say?!" Ryder takes off his apron and tosses it in Carson's direction. "Table eight is waiting on a pizza. You better get busy."

Despite the mess, Carson had seen the pleased looks on customer's faces as he'd come in through the front. The kitchen might be in total disarray, but somehow, Ryder had pulled of the job. For that, Carson couldn't complain. "Right." He tosses aside his keys and grabs the apron. "Next time you two come in, your meal is on the house."

Ryder grins at Thirteen. "Looks like we'll have to come back sometime." He moves to the sink to clean up and help her clean up as well before they left.

Carson tries to get his bearings, seeing that half of the things were now in different places. He'd only been gone two hours, but that had been enough. He tastes some leftover white sauce. "Hey... what did you put in here?"

Ryder looks up from the sink. "Um... I'm... not really sure. That bad?"

"No." Carson shakes his head, surprised. "I'll have to figure out what you did because I like it better than the other recipe. Hey, Aerith?" he calls, setting the bowl down. "Dani? Sorry I disappeared. How are things going?"