Uneasy

Scott would rather fight to talk to Carson now, but he had failed to even notice that Rick had given him a shot. His eyelids were so very heavy. All of his muscles felt like mush.

It took a lot to give Hope's hand a final squeeze before his head sank down into his pillow. His fingers slip from hers as sleep is finally forced upon him.


Hunter smiles a little as Alice walks beside him, and he listens intently as his fingers interlock with her own. Learning more about her, he turns his head to glance at her a couple times as they walk.

"Mm... sorry to hear about your dad." He gives a little nod. "Glad you feel a part of Break Out though... we all feel like you're a part of the team too."

He chuckles. "I think you covered a lot of bases, Alice Amanda Whitt." Turning a bend in the park path, he returns the gesture of friendship. "I am Hunter Bradly Maxwell. I don't have a best friend, but I've got nice circle of friends. I grew up in Nevada, took an interest in Karate and now travel with Break Out. I have an older brother in the Army, both my parents are living, though at the moment, I'm not welcome at their place."

Though a bit of hurt accidentally slips into his voice, Hunter keeps right on going. "My favorite type of food is Mexican, and one of my favorite things to do is take moonlit walks... with good company, of course."

Looking to Alice again, he grins.


The tap on Reese's door makes his eyes fly open. He hadn't really intended on sleeping, but his twenty-minute catnap had been refreshing. Sitting up straighter in his chair, he sees Jason standing in the doorway. "Jason." He clears his throat. "You're not supposed to be here."

"I know." Jason fiddles with his keys, his eyes dropping. There was a quietness about him... almost a form of surrender.

Reese senses this, and his guard is slowly lowered. "So what are you doing here?"

"I... I just want to be here." Jason looks back up at him. "I won't get in the way. I just want to be here when anything comes up or when Katie comes back." His eyes plead with his boss to let him stay.

Reese sighs deeply. "I know this is hard for you, Jason. And I'm sorry. All of us are going through heck, but I know your torture is ten times greater. If you can stand back until we need you, you can stay. But I can't have you interfering and questioning my judgment calls."

"I understand."

Reese hesitates, squinting at him just a little. "You alright?"

"Yeah." Jason nods, still quiet. "I'm okay."

Con appears behind him, looking over to Reese. "I'll keep an eye on him." He gives Jason's shoulder a pat. "I'll see you in your office."

Jason takes the cue and turns to head back across the main floor, swinging wide of Katie's cubicle.

Reese looks at Con expectantly. "Well? What happened?"

Con's faint smile is a warm one. "We got a new member of the team. That's what happened."


Carson makes his way back to Katie's desk, his walk a little slower. Ty was being sent home... for now, he had to let that case lie. Until he could talk to Scott, that particular avenue was on hold.

Finding Wyatt, he relieves him once again. "Anything new?"

Wyatt rises from his seat to give it to Carson, and shakes his head. "Nothing yet."

"Good." Carson sits down, heaving a deep sigh. Seeing Katie again, he inwardly cringes. Yes, it was good nothing had changed... but it was bad at the same time. She shouldn't be there at all.

Wyatt hesitates to leave, looking at Carson for a moment. His eyes fill with emotions. "How do you do it?"

"Hmm? Do what?"

"This." Wyatt shakes his head, finding it hard to control what he was feeling. He gestures to the computer screen. "I sit and I watch... for only a few minutes at a time. And each time, I get sick just thinking about it... just seeing Katie there like that. Now I know that... that my feeling for her are different than yours, but... how can you take this job and keep at it like this?"

Carson's fingers fiddle with a pencil lying on the desk. His eyes stay glued to the screen and his jaw muscles silently work at his tension. "Are the feelings so different?" He pauses then glances up to Wyatt. "It's my job. Someone's got to do it."

"But how-"

"Does it matter?" Carson looks back to the screen. "You just have to bring yourself to a point that you don't care what you see, or what you know is being done. If you don't care... it doesn't hurt."

Wyatt was still confused, but he didn't pursue the matter. He needed to step away from here before he went mad himself. It was no wonder Jason couldn't take this. This wasn't just torture to Katie - it was torture to everyone who knew and loved her.

Carson waits for Wyatt to walk away before he leans back in his chair and runs his hands over his face. He knew he needed sleep. But they needed just a little longer. He replays what he'd just said to Wyatt. There was only one problem with the words he'd chosen. He did care. And no matter how hard he tried to shut that part of him off... with Katie, it just wasn't working. Perhaps he didn't want to sleep, for fear of what his mind would create while his eyes were closed.

Movement on the screen catches his attention, and he's back on alert. Squinting, he realizes that Phinox is with Katie. His salute to the camera signals that so far, things were good.

Carson takes a deep breath and buzzes Nate's desk. "Nate... Phinox is in. Let Reese know. Nothing new yet though."


Gage looks up quickly as someone enters the room, and he's fast to throw his book back into the desk drawer. Seeing it's Phinox and not Rod, he quirks an eyebrow and just gives a slight nod. He wasn't too familiar with this guy, but as far as he knew, he was safe.

His eyes follow Phinox all the way to the door, then stare at it after he's gone to the basement. Standing up, Gage paces a little, glancing at his watch for the hundredth time. He wanted to get this thing over with. What was Phinox doing?

He goes over to the computer and hits a couple keys to bring up the camera. Nothing much was happening. Gage realizes that he's a little relieved to find that Phinox is not torturing Katie further. The woman had had just about all she could take the way it was without someone else coming in to beat on her.

Hearing footsteps, Gage shuts the screen off and leans back against the desk, folding his arms across his chest to eye Phinox as he came back up. "Satisfied?"