Disclaimer: Standard crap, you know the drill. Blah, blah, blah. I own nothing, whoopdy-do. Warning! You have about ten lines to clear the building for HR! Die Bryce and Michelle!!!!!!! Die!!!!!!! Die!!!!!! Burn in hell!!!!!! (Sorry, another personal vendetta. I’ll just have to kill Bryce and Michelle on my own time! Darn it all!) Questions, comments, saline IV? (X-Files.) Mirax_Harbin@hotmail.com or you could flood the mailing list. Ha, ha, ha!! (Sadistic laugh, not like ha, ha I’m so funny laugh.) But I really want to know what you think. Categories- HR, Angst, E, F, ALT Archivers- If you feel like condemning yourself eternally, go ahead “The Girl on the Necklace” Part One Mirax Harbin They never found her body. After the firemen took me out, they went back in, but they couldn’t find her. They said she probably died. She probably did. But until I have proof, I refuse to believe it. I can’t. I never told her. Never had the right feeling, that now was the moment when I should. But I wish I had. I wish I’d told her that I love her. QQQQ I don’t remember my name. I don’t remember much at all. I remember a fire. I was with someone. I don’t remember who. But in the fire we got separated, and I haven’t seen him since. I remember his face. That’s all. Disembodied, just a face, deadly serious, floating in my mind. And sometimes, I have ghosts of memories, that flicker at the back of my mind, then flee away when I reach for them. I remember that I love him. But I don’t think he knows. But I do. He’s one of the people on my necklace. I am, too. There are five sets of initials on my necklace. I don’t know how I know that they’re initials, but I do. There’s BQ, JQ, RB, JB, and HS. I wonder, sometimes, which one I am, and which one the boy is. I wonder who the other ones are. I remember in the fire, after me and the boy got separated, I kicked open a window, and jumped out. I ran for as long as I could, then I remember feeling dizzy and faint. Probably from the smoke. The next thing I knew, I was lying on my stomach in a sort- of- forest. I couldn’t remember anything. Now I remember more, but not much more. I call myself Jess, because I remember someone calling me that. Jess Mulder, because I really love The X- Files, and Jess Scully sounds weird. I actually can remember basically everything about me, except the important stuff, my name, and where I come from. The stuff I need to find my self again. Or at least find the people on the necklace. I got a job at a local restaurant. I’ve been living here for about six months, in Rockport, Maine. I have enough money to get by, now, and I’ve become the manager of the restaurant. I live in a tiny apartment, but it’s my home. Sometimes I go back to the place where I was caught in the fire. It’s still burned, and it needs repair. It looks like it is about to collapse. One time I remember I was up there, when I saw him. The boy. He was looking at the remains of the church, and he had a strange expression. Then he suddenly turned, and walked down the hill that leads up to it. That’s when I saw his face. I yelled, but I don’t think he heard me. QQQQ I still can’t go near her room. I can’t go near her hall, for that matter. I’m lucky my room is on the opposite hall, or I’d have some trouble. I remember that day. We went up to the church to take pictures of the stained- glass windows. We’d been on the second floor. Suddenly, the organ had seemed to explode. I still have a scar from the flying brass. Then there was fire everywhere. “Incendiary bomb!” Jessie had yelled, and we ran down the stairs. Then, when I looked back, Jessie wasn’t there anymore... I heard breaking glass. I thought it was strange, but didn’t dwell on it. I passed out, several feet from the door, luckily right in the path of the firefighters. They’d literally stumbled on me, barely breathing. They’d rushed me out. He was revived, and I remembered yelling. That Jessie was still in there, and they had to save her. The firemen had rushed back in, but hadn’t found any trace of her. Except her camera, melted closed and deformed. I still have it, in the secret drawer of my desk. There wasn’t anything else in there, except a picture of me and her about a week before the trip to the church. We were miniature golfing, and Hadji had gotten a picture right when Jessie had gotten a hole in one. She looked beautiful, radiant. I look dismayed. I smiled, but it was instantly forgotten. I thought that I had seen her, about two weeks ago, at the church. I go up there all the time, and curse it’s existence. iIt looks horrible. But somehow, all the windows survived, all though they were a little melted. Well, except one, that had a five foot hole in it. The police said that was probably how the bomb got in. But there wasn’t any breaking glass, until... Until later, after me and Jessie had gotten separated. I ran outside to my car, as fast as I could go. I pulled out of the driveway a little too quickly, and knocked out a tail light on the car. But I didn’t care. I went about seventy to the church, about 40 miles an hour above the speed limit. But I had to get to the church. I swerved into the drive, fishtailing a small amount. I ran up the hill, and collapsed in front of the window. I stared at the hole. It was the perfect size for Jessie to have jumped through it. She would have, if there wasn’t another action. But if it wasn’t near the stairs, then it was probably nothing. I had to see... I walked around to the door. It had been burned, and only the frame stood. I stepped inside, careful not to hit something that might bring the whole structure down on my head. Suddenly, it came back in a flash. I was in the fire again. I could hear the explosion, feel the sharp brass from the organ cutting into my face. The smoke... I could smell it... see the flames licking at the varnished pews, racing toward Jessie and I. Jessie? Where was Jessie? I collapsed. I couldn’t go in. I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket. I shakily dialed Dad. I would have liked to have Hadji here, but he was in Bangalore. It rang twice, and then was picked up. “Hello?” I heard Race’s drawl. “Race? Is Dad there?” “No, kid, he went to a luncheon with the mayor. What’s wrong, Jonny?” “Nothing. Just come to the church.” “What church? Oh. Why?” he sounded hesitant. Jessie’s death, or disappearance, had been as bad for Race as it had for me. Race didn’t like the church any more than I did. “Please! Just come! And hurry!” “All right. This better not be a joke or something...” “Race, please! Hurry!” “Fine! See you in about ten minutes.” “Bye.” I sat down in the doorway, unable to move. The fire was happening again, the smell of the wood, the firemen... And the feeling that Jessie hadn’t gotten out... back in full. QQQQ I have a normal routine. Get up at ten, take a shower, get dressed, eat, then go to work. I get back around four. I’ll have to go to school in a couple of months. I don’t know how I’ll manage it, without birth certificate, or any ID I don’t even have a drivers license. I walk to work. It’s only about a mile away. I could get a birth certificate by saying the old one was lost in a fire. That’s sort of true. I lost my identity in a fire. But I’ll have to get all my shot’s again. I hate needles. Just the thought of shots make me shudder. But I’ll have to face it. I wish I could have my old life back, the life of the girl on the necklace. QQQQ “Jonny?” Jonny was jolted out his memory by Race calling him. He jumped up, and ran outside. “Race! Race, c’mere! Jessie’s alive! She’s alive!” That brought Race running. “What?” “She’s alive, Race. I heard a crash of glass. I didn’t think about it until earlier today. The cops said it was from the bomb, but it couldn’t have been. Only one window broke, and it couldn’t have been both things. She got out, Race!” “Jonny....” “I swear! Here! Look at the window! Do you think a bomb did that?” “Well...” “And I think it’s near the stairs where we got separated!” “Why didn’t ya go check?” “I- I can’t. You’ll have to.” “Jonny, I have no idea what it looked like inside.” “I’ll tell you.” “Jonny, you have to go in. At least with me.” “Okay. You come, too.” Race walked confidently toward the entrance. Jonny followed hesitantly, walking slowly. He didn’t want to go back in, and face the memories. They got to the door of the church. Jonny froze, the feelings coming again. “Jonny, come on!” “I can’t.” “Why not?” “It’s just- well- whenever I go near there, it comes back. That day. Then.” Race looked at him for a long second, thoughtfully. “Come on, Jonny, I’ll help you.” Race crossed to Jonny, putting an arm around his shoulders and holding him tightly. Race took a step closer to the church. Jonny followed tentatively. Race took another, and Jonny matched it. Step by step, they got through what had been a hallway, into the old burned church. Jonny breathed quickly, and he was tense. The feelings threatened, creeping into his mind, a spreading blackness. Race saw. “Jonny, nothing’s happening. I promise. It’s over. It’s over, Jonny.” Jonny looked at Race. His face was all white, and held scared expression on his face. Slowly his breathing slowed. he broke free of Race’s hold, and walked over to a lump of blackened wood. “This is it, Race. Where... where...” Jonny couldn’t finish it. “Where you got separated?” Jonny looked at race, and he realized that he hadn’t ever told anyone what exactly happened on that dreadful June day. Jonny started speaking. His voice has a strange tone. “It was Wednesday, June 23rd. I’ll always remember that date. Someday I’ll forget when Kennedy died, and when Hadji went back to Bangalore last. But never that day. “We came up here to take pictures. The stained glass windows were famous. Now they’re too melted, but they were really beautiful. “We couldn’t get much from the bottom floor. And I’d already used up my film. My camera’s probably still in here somewhere. I lost it. “We heard something. Not glass breaking. A beep. At the time we didn’t know it, but it was the bomb being set off by remote command or something. Then it exploded, right over there by the organ. It went flying.” He showed Race the scar on his hand. “This almost hit my eye. Luckily I know what to do. Jessie got hit on the shoulder. Cut right through her shirt. She has a scar, too, wherever she is. I don’t know where else she got hit. Then flame was everywhere. Jessie said it was an incendiary bomb.” “She was right.” Race smiled, proud of his daughter’s skill. “Right. We ran down the stairs. These stairs. I was at the bottom. I looked back, and she was... she was gone. Then I heard the breaking glass. now I know, it was her. She got out! “I got a few feet, and passed out. I woke up outside, and you know the rest.” Race was quiet. He felt privileged that Jonny was telling him this, because Jonny had always kept this to himself, even with Hadji. They hadn’t known anything at all until four months afterward. Jonny had been sullen and withdrawn... until today. Thinking Jessie was alive had brought back some part in him that had disappeared with Jessie. “She’s alive, Race! I know it!” “I’m wouldn’t be too sure, Jonny...” “Race, how many times have I been wrong about things like this Remember China?” “Well, never, but...” “Exactly! I know she’s alive, Race. I can feel it.” “Jonny?” “Yeah?” “What was between you and Jessie? We could never figure out what it was.” “Who’s ‘we?’ You and Dad?” “And Hadji sometimes. But he didn’t help.” “Well, we were best friends, I think that’s all. I loved her, as much as Dad, as Mom, but... I never told her. And then... she was gone.” Jonny’s voice broke on the last syllable. “Come on, we should go,” said Race quietly. He seemed to understand Jonny’s feelings, like he’d been expecting them, or at least he wasn’t surprised. “Yeah... But she’s alive. We need to look for her.” “All right.” Race sighed. Good thing Benton’s goin out of town. QQQQ “Hey, lookit this!” an overweight, balding man looked at the paper at the pool in Jessie’s apartment complex. His buddy, just as bald and overweight as him, looked over. “Hey... Don’t that look like the girl on the third floor?” “Yeah, Listen. Red hair, green eyes, about five feet seven inches. Age seventeen. That’s mighty peculiar.” “Yeah.” Jessie walked out into the pool area, in a green swimsuit. She spread out her towel on a bench a few away from the men. One of the men pointed at the small scar on her shoulder. The other nodded, looking down at the paper. “Hey, girlie!” Jessie looked up. The men were staring at her. “Hey, come look at this.” Jessie approached hesitantly. This wasn’t the best neighborhood, and the men were notoriously womanizing. “Lookit this!” The man in the too- tight red suit pushed his paper at her. She jumped back, surprised. “Look at what?” she demanded haughtily. “This!” The other man pointed at fat finger at a half page section. She read ‘Name: Jessica Bannon. Height: 5’7”. Hair: red. Eyes: green. Age: 17. Identifying marks: small scar on right shoulder. Last seen: June 23rd, 1997.’ She looked at the scar on her right shoulder. June 23rd was the day of the fire... “Yeah, that could be anyone!” she said in the same haughty tone. “Lookit, the picture, girlie. Or Jessie?” Jessie looked. It was a picture... of her! She was about a year younger, and it looked like a school photo. At the bottom she read, ‘Contact us at 313- 478- 3957, or e-mail at jquest@quest.com. “It’s him....” she whispered, staring at the picture. “D’ya want this page, girlie? We don’t need it.” The man in the green suit offered her the sheet. She took it. “Thanks. Thank you so much.” She ran toward the apartment complex, almost forgetting her towel. The man starred after her. “Strange...” said the one in the red bathing suit. “You’re tellin me! Now, how bout that jacuzzi?” “Sounds great.” QQQQ Jonny stared at the blank computer screen. He’d been waiting all day, for some sign of Jessie. He’d stayed right in his room, with the phone next to him, and computer on. Nothing so far. He got up dejectedly. he’d been so hopeful, that she’d survived. But she’d probably died in the forest. She might have been burned, so they couldn’t identify her body. He curled up, crying softly. QQQQ Jessie ran into her apartment, and slammed the door shut. Please let them know me, please let them know me! She ran to the phone, and pressed talk. Suddenly, a scene from long ago flashed before her eyes. A small girl, running and shrieking. A boy, blond haired, chased her, laughing. “I’ll get you, Jessie!” “No you won’t, Jonny!” Then a boy with dark skin and hair jumped out from behind a bush. “Aaargh!” he growled. The boy and girl both shrieked, and they all laughed. “Don’t ever do that again, Hadji!” said the girl, glaring the dark- haired boy. He stuck out his tongue, making an outrageous face. The scene faded away. Jessie shook her head. What was that?! Then she remembered the names. Jessie, Jonny, Hadji.... That was me! And the boy! And someone else! The boy, he’s Jonny! And I’m Jessie! I’m Jessie! She dropped the phone, and twirled through the apartment. Suddenly, everything returned. I’m Jessie! my name is Jessie! And my phone number is 313- 478- 3957! And my address is 4538 Southlan Drive! She reveled in the fact that she an identity, a name. She had a father, named... Race Bannon, and a mother named Estella Velasquez, and people who knew her for Jessie Bannon, not Jess Mulder. Jess Mulder... The name sounded ridiculous now. There was no one named Jess Mulder. Jess Mulder didn’t exist. She stopped twirling, exhausted, leaning against the wall as she breathed hard. The boy on the hill, that was Jonny! She breathed slowly, and remembered that the phone was still on the kitchen floor. She walked slowly into the kitchen. She saw the newspaper lying on the floor. She focused on the number. But she remembered it. Slowly she picked the phone back up again, and dialed. QQQQ Jonny lay on his back in his bed, miserable. She is dead she is dead she is dead.... It kept repeating in his head. He was jolted out of his grief by the phone. He picked it up slowly. “Hello?” He heard a long silence. “Who is this?” “Jonny? Jonny, is that you?” “Who- Jessie?” “Jonny, it’s me.” “Jessie? Jessie is that you?” “Yes.” Her voice was extremely quiet, like she was afraid of something. “Jessie where have you been? Jessie. oh my god, I’ve missed you! Jessie, where are you? On my God oh my God oh my God!” Jessie laughed quietly. “I... this’ll take a while. Can I meet you somewhere?” “Of course! Where? When?” Jonny was happier than he’d ever been in his entire life. he felt like he would never be sad again. “How bout Rockport mall, in front of the fish, it twenty minutes?” “It’ll take thirty minutes to get there.” “Oh. Okay. I’ll wait for you. Promise you’ll be there?” “Definitely. And when I get there, there’s something I need to tell you.” “Okay. I’ll be waiting.” They both hung up and ran. QQQQ Jessie jumped into the shower. She’d learned how to take a shower in five minutes, because the hot water didn’t last much longer than that. She quickly finished, and towel dried her hair as much as she could. She never blow dried her hair. She walked into her room. Now, what would she wear. Oh, well, he won’t care if he’s like I remembered. She repeated the word ‘remember’ in her head, loving the sound. She quickly threw an some clothes, then pulled back her hair, and put on a tiny bit of make up. She grabbed her purse, and headed out the door. She ran down the hall, and slid on the corner of the stairs, not noticing the Wet Floor sign until then. She continued down the stairs. She ran out of the apartment complex, and to the bus stop. The bus should arrive in... two minutes. Perfect! She nervously shifted until the bus arrived. She paid her fare, and sat down as far forward as she could. She didn’t notice the man in a bowling hat and black suit looking around his newspaper at her, or the way his glittery dark eyes narrowed when he saw her. QQQQ Jonny walked slowly, nervously. What if it isn’t Jessie? The Quests had gotten hundreds of fake Jessie when they first published the ad for her, a month after the fire. None of them looked like her, but most the claimed that they had plastic surgery to repair their burned faces. He remembered one girl who had indignantly exclaimed, “I always looked like this!” when they asked why she didn’t look like Jessie. She hadn’t even bothered to die her hair and put in color contacts like the rest. But none of them had been able to equal Jessie’s halo of fire. hHe smiled, remembering all the unfortunate girls who had come, mostly at their parents’ or boyfriend’s wishes, to try and get capture the famed Quest fortune. A few of them had even admitted it, and one, a girl who was also named Jessie, had even asked them to keep her parents from pressuring here into it. She was the most like Jessie. She hadn’t died her hair or anything, although she’d had naturally green eyes. But he’d recognized her voice. Even though it had been almost a year, he recognized her voice. Jessie’s voice was totally unique. He knew it . Suddenly, he stopped. There it was, the giant aquarium, right past the fish fountain, that he and Jessie had loved when they were kids. She remembered. It must have been her. He looked, but he couldn’t see her. Wait! On the other side! He saw a flash of red. He walked a fast as he could without upsetting other shoppers to the other side of the twenty- foot aquarium. There she is! She was standing, not ten feet from him, facing the other way. “Jessie!” End Part One isclaimer: I do not own the Quest Team. Categories: Same: HR, E, A, F, ALT Date posted: Monday, Jan. 31, 2000 Archivers: Sure! Mirax Harbin “The Girl on the Necklace” Part Two She whirled around, her damp red hair bouncing. They stood still for ten seconds, unable to move, staring at each other. Then he was running, faster than ever before, and so was she. It only took about a second for them to meet, going about fifteen miles an hour each, with ten feet of space between them. He crushed her in the tightest hug he’d ever given anyone, and she wrapped her arms around his back and squeezed him tightly. They stood, totally oblivious, for five minutes, both of them about to cry. “Jonny I’ve missed you...” “Me, too...” He gently pushed her out, and held her at arm’s length. “What happened?” “Well...” Jessie sat down on one of the benches surrounding the aquarium. “I remember the fire, in the church.” Jonny sat down next to her, and nodded. “I -” “You kicked out of the window and went through the woods.” “How’d you know?” “Ah, elementary, my dear Jessie.” Jessie smiled. Jonny was exactly the same as she remembered. She still loved him, after almost a year of not even remembering his name. But she wasn’t sure if she wanted to tell him. “Well, I eventually passed out, from smoke and stuff. I woke up, and walked to the nearest civilization, which happened to be Rockport. I had two hundred dollars.... I remember we’d just gone to the bank. But I didn’t remember then. I had total amnesia. I didn’t know who I was, who you were, where I lived, phone number, license plate, anything. The only connection to before was this necklace.” She looked down at her neck, at the glittering silver necklace and the ten letters. “I didn’t know who any of them were. Just that I was someone, and you were someone. I remembered they were initials. “But I got a job, an apartment, everything... Except I missed that year of school.” “Me, too.” “Why?” “I just.. didn’t want to live anymore. There wasn’t anything here, without you.” He looked at her, with expression she couldn’t read. “How did you find us?” “Some guys, at the pool at my apartments saw a missing person ad in the paper, and realized it was me.” “And?” “They showed it to me, and I called you.” “And when did you get your memory back?” “Right before I called you, actually.” “Hm.” “What?” “Nothing.” “Jonny, what is it? I may have had amnesia for eight months, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know you as well as myself!” “I was just wondering... What if that had been the hole made by the bomb?” “What do you mean?” “Oh! The hole, that you made going through the window. The police thought it was from the bomb, but I remember that all we heard was a beep, and realized that was you. Otherwise, I never would have made that ad, and you never would have seen it, and...and if Race-” “Oh, where’s Dad? And Hadji? And Mom? And Dr. Quest?” She was running to the nearest pay phone before Jonny could stop her. He caught up to her, and grabbed her arm. The stop in momentum caused her to swing around, and bump straight into Jonny. They both flew backwards, and splashed right into the fountain. Jessie came up first spitting water and floundering. “Jonny!” “Sorry! I had to stop you!” “And a fine job you did of it, too!” They stood up just as mall security came running. They were helped out of the fountain, and given towels. The crowd stared. Jessie grinned, and Jonny waved. Everyone looked away, except for one woman, who came running toward them, calling, “Brian! This is a much better story than that new dog Beanie Baby!” They turned toward her. She offered her hand, then thought better of it, and withdrew it. Jonny and Jessie were both soaked, and there was a quickly spreading puddle on the floor. The security hustled them into an unmarked door. The woman and man, who had a news camera with ‘WGNX’ plastered on the side, followed. None of them, however, noticed the man in the black bowling hat and suit that quietly turned and strode briskly away. Jonny and Jessie found themselves in a hallway, with several doors on either side. There were nondescript brick walls, and the doors were a uniform tan. The carpet was the dark kind usually found in schools. The woman stepped forward again, facing the soaked pair. “Mary Captison, WGNX News. Are you Jonathan Quest?” She signaled for the camera, and the man hoisted it and turned it on. Jonny glared, but said. “Yes.” “And who is this?” They glanced at each other. They didn’t want their parents and Hadji hearing it on the news before Jonny and Jessie could tell them that Jessie was alive. “My name is Jess. Jess Mulder.” “Really?” “Yes.” “You’re not Jessie Bannon, presumed dead eight months ago?” “No!” “Oh. Well, have a nice day.” She signaled, and the man turned off the camera, and they both walked out. Jonny looked at Jessie. “Who the heck is Jess Mulder?” “My alter ego.” “What?” “Tell you later.” The security men made themselves heard for the first time. “You are Jessie Bannon. I saw that thing in the paper.” Jessie looked hesitant. “Yes. Yes I am. But I’m not going to tell those vultures anything until after I tell my family.” The security man, whose name tag read ‘Maurice,’ looked at her weird. “Long story. You’ll undoubtedly hear it on the eleven o’clock news.” The security man still looked unsure. His partner, who was named Jack, said, “Well, you gotta get cleaned up.” “Yeah,” Maurice continued. “We can’t have you just jump in our pond and leave.” Jonny protested. “We didn’t jump!-” “I know, kid. I’m jokin!” “Oh. Well, we really should be getting home. Thanks.” “You sure? You’re still really wet.” “Positive. We can get cleaned up at home.” Jessie looked up sharply at the word ‘home.’ “Well, all right. Se ya’ll later.” Jack and Maurice left, but Maurice looked back. “We’ll be lookin forward to seein you at eleven!” Jonny and Jessie laughed. QQQQ Benton Quest looked up from his book, Modern Astrophysical Studies, and looked at his computer. “You’ve got mail,” chimed IRIS’s voice. Benton walked to the computer, and clicked on the appropriate icon. A message sprang up. Benton’s eyes opened wide, and he swayed on his feet. “My God!...” The message read simply, ‘Dad: Found Jessie! I swear it’s true. Come home ASAP.’ Benton hurried to find Race, and pack his things. QQQQ Estella Velasquez waited impatiently for the fax to finish. It was supposedly urgent, from Jonny Quest. She looked at it, and collapsed onto the crate next to her, barely missing several precious Malenque artifacts. The message fell to the floor. It said, ‘Estella: Jessie’s alive! Come home.’ QQQQ Hadji Singh looked from the laptop as a messenger came in, out a breath, and thrust a paper at him. “Here, Your Excellency!” gasped the messenger. “Oh, my!” He folded the paper, and put it under the laptop, concealing the writing, ‘Hadji: It’s Jessie! I swear on my life. Come home.” QQQQ Estella Velasquez ran up the huge drive of the Quest compound. She’d been so devastated when Jessie had disappeared, she’d almost gone into deep depression. And she knew Jonny wouldn’t joke about this. Especially not how he’d been recently. He’d missed a year of school because he’d lost the will to do anything. After that day at the church, he’d gone from an A student to a D student. It would have become F if Benton hadn’t seen the problem and taken him out of school for therapy. But therapy hadn’t helped. If anything, it had worsened Jonny’s condition. So they’d let him heal himself. He had been getting better. At least, that’s what Race had said. Hopefully now something would happen. She walked into the house. “Hello? Jessie? Jonny? Hello?” No one answered. She walked into the still kitchen. “Hello?” Still no answer. That’s strange. They should be here. The message light on the machine was blinking. She pressed ‘play.’ Benton’s voice came over the phone. A small holographic image sprang up. “Jonny, Jessie? This is Benton. We’re going over the Atlantic. Should be there in two hours. Quest out.” The image faded away. Estella noticed that he was in the QuestJet. Apparently she was the only one there. There seemed to be no one in the house besides her, which was odd because Jonny and Jessie had wanted to see them as soon as possible. She explored the house. There was no one in the family room, living room, ping- pong room, dining room. No one downstairs. She checked in Jonny’s room as the first room on the second floor. The furniture was thrown all over, and the room was a mess. Jonny desk and computer were on the floor. The computer was giving off sparks, and it smelled like it was burning. The rest of the room was in similar shape. But there was no sign of any people. Except... A black bowler hat. QQQQ Jonny groaned. His head hurt like anything. he sat up slowly. He was in a small room, with cement walls, floor, and ceiling. “Someone needs to hire a decorator.” “Glad you approve.” A man walked into the room through a concealed door in the shadows. “I was wondering when you’d wake up. You friend did several hours ago. Of course, she wasn’t hit as hard.” Jonny jumped up. He was wearing a black pin striped suit and a black bowler hat to replace the one still in Jonny’s room. He was pushing Jessie, who was gagged, in front of him, holding her hands behind her so she couldn’t escape. She fell, and instantly tore the gag from her mouth. She glared up at him, her emerald eyes narrowed, and her face almost as red as her hair. “Who are you?” she hissed. “Oh, you don’t know me. But I know you’re father. Very well. Very well, indeed.” “That doesn’t tell us shit!” Jonny looked at Jessie, surprised. She must have been changed over the past months. The worst cuss word he’d ever heard her say before was crap. “Ah, it’s not supposed to.” “Bastard!” “My, aren’t we fiery today. You must get it from your mother. I never knew her.” Jonny spoke up. “What do you want with us?” “That’s quite simple. Elementary, my dear Jessie, as you would say.” Jonny and Jessie looked at each other. Who was this guy? “I’ve been watching you. Both of you, in your separate identities. Ever since... June 23rd.” Jonny and Jessie leaped toward him. He neatly stepped back. “Ah, ah, ah, now. We mustn’t get too pushy. I failed once, but this time I will kill you. Both of you.” He stepped out of the room, and closed the door with a slam. They were left in complete darkness. Jonny felt for his watch. He pressed the light button, and a bright flashlight beamed flashed out. They could now see each other and the cell very well. Jonny crawled to the door. He shined the light on it. “No way out. This thing’s sealed as tight as our house.” “We’ll find a way.” QQQQ Estella picked up the hat. This wasn’t Jonny’s. She turned it upside down. The tag read ‘Eli Smith.’ She sucked in her breath. Eli Smith was one of Race’s agency ‘friends.’ A convicted counterfeiter, murderer, and... arsonist. He must have escaped. And if he had Jonny and Jessie... QQQQ “Like what?” “How should I know?” “You’re always the one who comes up with the brilliant ideas!” “Well, I have escape plan- block!” “Fine!” “Fine!” “Fine.” “Fine.” Jessie started to laugh. “What’s so funny?” “Nothing, but we’re fighting like three- year- olds! It’s ridiculous!” “And...?” “Imagine two seventeen- year- old people shouting ‘fine’ at each other until they’re blue in the face.” Jonny started laughing, too. He watched Jessie, who looked beautiful, despite having been unconscious for an unknown amount of time, and hauled around by some sadistic madman. As much as he tried to bury it, he couldn’t hide what he was feeling for her. And as much as he didn’t want to, he knew he had to tell her. He abruptly became serious. “Jessie?” She immediately looked at him with concern. “What?” “I need to tell you something. Remember, on the phone I said I needed to say something before I forgot?” “Yes.” “Well, this is it.” She looked at him, and he suddenly became nervous, wondering if she would reject him, or say she didn’t want him near her? “What is it, Jonny?” He realized he’d been sitting, totally silent, staring at her while he juggled his worries. “Well, when you.... left.... I lost all will to live. I just didn’t care anymore. I thought you were dead. Everyone did. But they found ways to deal with it. Race and Estella had each other, Hadji had his little metaphysical stuff, and Dad must have learned how to deal with things when Mom died. But I didn’t know what to do. I withdrew into myself. My grades went to Ds and Fs, then Dad took me out of school. I just, wasn’t there anymore.” He stopped talking and looked at Jessie. She was watching, not speaking. Just listening, which was probably exactly what he needed. He plunged on, feeling like someone who had just decided to swim the English Channel without knowing how to swim. “But what kept me going, Jessie, was hoping that somewhere, somehow, you’d survived, and were living, and that someway you’d find your way back to us. Sometimes, there were days when I felt like swallowing every pill in the house, or jumping off the cliff. Particularly on the 23rd day of each month. But somehow, I’d convince myself that you were alive, and so I had to stay here.” he looked at her again. She was still just sitting down, watching him, illuminated by his watch light, leaning against the wall. “What, I’m trying to say, Jessie, is that I love you, more then life, more than I’ll probably ever know. I just wanted you to know that, before we die.” He looked at her. He was more serious than she’d ever seen him, and had something in his eyes, she couldn’t understand it. She sighed. “I need to tell you something, too.” He looked at her sharply. “I’ve already told you mostly what happened. But I told you that my connection to you was just my necklace. But that wasn’t true. I didn’t tell you before, because I was afraid. But I also had a picture of you, your face. In my mind. I knew that there was someone out there, although I didn’t know who he was, that I loved more deeply than I could express in words.” Now it was turn to stop and look at him. He was silent, listening, but there was that thing in his eyes again. She couldn’t read, despite how well she knew him. Hope? Fear? She didn’t know. She kept going. “I can’t tell you how many days I would pick up a razor, and press it on my wrist, but as soon as I felt it, I would always see your face. And I knew that I had to see you again, know who you were again. Basically, I love you, too.” They stared at each other for a long time, then the door clicked. Jonny quickly shut off his watch light. The room flooded with light from whatever was outside the door. The haunting man’s voice came. “Time to die...” QQQQ Estella heard the door open. She heard running footsteps. “Jessie? Ponchita? It’s Daddy!” It was Race and Dr. Quest. She rushed toward their voices. She was crying, and she wordlessly held the bowler hat in front of her. Race looked at it, confused, but Dr. Quest took it from her. He read, “Privately tailored for Eli Smith... Who’s Eli Smith?” Race grabbed the hat from Benton. “Oh, no...” He looked at Benton, who still didn’t know what was going on. “Eli Smith was- is- from my agency days. Convicted of several things, given eight life sentences. He seems to blame me. And he won’t hesitate to kill them.” QQQQ The man was followed in by several beefy, bouncer- type men. They fanned out, and the man stayed behind them as they circled toward Jonny and Jessie, drawing closer to trap them. They instinctively moved together, standing back to back and facing the three men. One of them darted forward, with speed that was strange with his size. He grabbed Jessie’s wrists, and pulled her away from Jonny. She cried out, and Jonny turned to look at her. One of the other man seized his shoulders, and quickly had him in a winch- like hold. Jonny was totally helpless in a matter of seconds. Jessie, however, was having better luck. She’d used the man’s grip on her wrists as a support system, and she jumped up and kicked him. Performing a flip by stepping on his shoulders, she wrenched free of his hold just as he slumped down, unconscious. But the other man grabbed her, and wrapped her into a full nelson, stepping away so she couldn’t kick him. She struggled wildly, but all she did was hurt her arms. They were dragged, both struggling, out of the room. The man followed, smiling smugly, evilly. They left the unconscious man on the floor, blood coming from his nose and mouth where Jessie had kicked him. Once they were out of the room, the man directed his henchmen to walk about ten feet apart. He stepped in between them. “Now, now, nothing will come of hurting Fred and Neal. I’ll still kill you, just... more immediate.” He pulled a gun from an inside pocket of his suit, a tiny holdout gun. They stopped struggling, glaring at him. The man seemed amused. “If looks could kill, I’d be nothing but ash. But they can’t, so you’ll have to do better.” He shot the two men in the head. They both fell down, releasing Jonny and Jessie. Neal got blood all over Jessie’s green shirt. She looked at it in disgust, and stepped to the side as more pooled around her feet. Jonny just stood in the puddle of blood that circled him, with his fists clenched, and his feet planted firmly a foot apart. He bent his knees, looking like he was about to attack the man. But he was trembling, shocked by the display of cruelty. “I said, aggressiveness will get you nowhere. I have more where they came from.” He indicated Fred and Neal with the gun. “Like they’ll want to do anything for you now!” Jonny spat. “Oh, but they will. You see, my workers aren’t exactly... fully, humanly conscious.” He grinned evilly, and gave a maniacal laugh. Jonny and Jessie whirled around, unsure of what to expect. The man continued to laugh maniacally, throwing his head back and shouting, “Now I will not fail! June 23rd was just... practice.” he said the last word like it was extremely important, stressing it as much as he could. The man pressed a button next to another door. Suddenly, 3 doors opened, and three robots stepped from each one. Two of the doors closed. The man stepped through the third one. “Fare well. Ha, ha, ha, ha, haaaaaaaa!” The robots continued their slow, steady advance. “Jessie! Get in the middle of the blood! Get in the middle of the blood!” Jessie looked at Jonny strangely. “What...?” “Just do it, please!” Jessie sighed, ignoring the robots, and stepped into the pool of Neal’s blood. Once she was standing in the red liquid, she tensed, ready to spring at any of the metal giants clanking toward them. Jonny did the same. One of the robots got within two feet of Jessie. As soon as it stepped in the blood, however, it slipped, and fell to the floor with a crash. The impact sprayed blood into the air, getting Jessie as well as the robot. The blood short- circuited the exposed wires, which didn’t have any rubber over them, and after sparking for a minute, it deactivated, and lay smoking on the floor. Around both of them, the other robots were doing the same thing. Only one remained, because the blood was too thin on the floor to bother it. It continued toward Jessie. She stared at it, until it was three feet from her. Then she kicked out at what would have been its chest. The robot didn’t move, and Jessie’s foot gave several an audible cracks. She cried out, and fell to the floor. The robot continued toward her. She snapped put a hand, and grabbed its foot. Yanking, she sent it down to the floor. Then Jonny was on it, he crunched in the open wires on its face. “I never thought rubber shoe bottoms would do be useful,” he commented, lifting up his foot to look at the bottom. Jessie laughed. Then her face twisted, and she gasped. Jonny remembered her kicking at the robot, and the cracks. “Broken?” She nodded. “Definitely.” She tried to stand, and fell again. Her face went white. “I’m not gonna be able to walk.” “Damn!” QQQQ “Computer, play last twenty minutes of video with movement but without anyone in the house now.” “Acknowledge with voice command.” “Acknowledged by Doctor Benton Quest, command A6-35-476-HGVYU.” “Playing video on dining room player.” They were in the dining room. They turned to the east wall. A four foot holo screen appeared. It started with Jonny and Jessie in the TV room, watching something. Everyone’s eyes became watery when they saw Jessie. She was laughing normally, like nothing had happened. She’d always had the remarkable ability to get over things quickly, unless it really mattered. If something was irreparable or permanent, it took her years. At least, that’s what brain pattern waves showed. So far, nothing like that had happened. The closest thing was Race and Estella divorcing. That took her about a year to become the same as before. In the video, there was a knock on the door. Jessie sprang up like a jack-in-the-box, and went at a dead run to the door. The film shifted rooms to follow her on one half of the screen, while the other half stayed with Jonny. Nothing happened to Jonny. Jessie opened the door. It wasn’t Race, Estella, or anyone that should have been there. It was- “IRIS, full screen on Jessie!” “Acknowledged.” The full four feet showed Jessie staring at the figure in the door. He was wearing a black bowling hat. “Computer, analyze and id-” “No. I know that man. It’s Eli Smith. I’d know him anywhere.” “All right. IRIS, continue playing.” “Acknowledged.” Eli Smith stepped inside the house before Jessie could do anything. he grabbed her wrist. She shrieked. He shut the door behind him, and in the moment he was distracted, she hit the nerve on his wrist, and his hand dropped limp. He cursed. Jessie sprinted out of the room. She ran into Jonny in the doorway. He saw the man running after them, and they both started running. “The next scene will be too fast for your eyes to follow,” announced IRIS. “Slow it down.” “Acknowledged.” The screen now showed a slow, shifty Eli Smith chasing a slow, shifty, Jonny and Jessie. They ran to Jonny’s room. he pressed the emergency lock- down code. A thick metal panel slid over each side of the door, sealing Eli Smith. Now it showed him laughing maniacally, and he sprayed the metal with something. It melted. He pulled open Jonny’s door, and melted the next panel of metal. When he got it, however, Jonny and Jessie both kicked him in the face. His hat flew off as he fell to the floor. He appeared unconscious. Jonny and Jessie looked at each other in relief, and bent down to pick him up. He opened his eyes, and flicked his wrists. Knives slid from his gloves. Jonny and Jessie leaped back. He got up, and flicked his wrists again, making the blades disappear. He drew a gun. Jonny picked up a chair. Jessie slipped behind Eli. Jonny threw the chair. Jessie had crept up behind Eli, obviously planning to catch him unawares. But Eli ducked, and Jessie didn’t see the chair. It caught her full on the head, and she fell without a sound. Jonny cried her name, and knelt down beside her. Then Eli struck. He kicked the back of Jonny’s head. Hard. Jonny fell on top of Jessie’s stomach. Eli Smith laughed again, and dragged them out of the house. “End of film with movement and no present occupants.” Benton looked thoughtful. “IRIS, trace whatever you can.” “Negative, no tracers have been activated.” Race looked at Benton. That meant that Jonny and Jessie had forgotten to activate the tracers, or they couldn’t. QQQQ End Part Two