Chapter 4

She did not like coffee. It was the taste. The taste was something that she did not like in her mouth. Coffee was too bitter for her liking. Jenny figured that it must be like any alcohol drinks, you must simply get used to the taste. Jenny decided that if she did not like it, she would not devote too much time with it. After her first coffee drink, Jenny simply ignores any coffee drinks. After being on Earth for a while, she went with another drink: hot chocolate. That is a drink that she likes. The sheer sweetness going down her throat into her stomach is a wonderful sensation. She loves it.

As Jenny start walking away from the coffee shop with a chocolate drink in her hand, she wonder what today was going to be. She wonders what kind of astonishing thing that she will see. Jenny took a sip from her large cup that was wrapped with a thin cardboard. With all the wondering that was going on in her brain, she did not notice that she walks down an alleyway. Jenny did not notice the guy with the gun in his hand slowly walking behind her.

"Hold it right there." said the man. His clothes have seen better days. His bearded has not been trimmed. His hair has not seen a drop of water since the last time it rained. His gun is the typical gun found in pawn shops or used gun shows.

Jenny turns around to see the man with the gun. Her smile slowly went away to reveal her concern face.

"Hello." Jenny watches the man. He was no threat to her. A lot of things have change since the last time she has seen a gun pointed at her. She knows now what to do in this situation.

"Give me your money." commands the would-be robber. With her right hand holding her chocolate drink, she reaches in her pant's pocket and takes out the cash that she had in her pockets. Being in a world that demand cash, Jenny found it a strange concept. Like all good soldier, she made do with the situation. With her sonic screwdriver, Jenny took enough cash from the ATM that she needed. Today, she had one hundred dollars in her pockets.

She extends her hand with the money to the man. Every situation is different. Jenny could see that. This man was not doing this out of malice. This man looks like he needed the money. It was in everyone's interest to simply give him what he wants.

The man looks at her with curiosity. He can tell that she was not afraid. She stands very still. It was a very weird sight. Her heart was not racing and she did not give off the scent of fear. She was different.

"Here. Take it." said Jenny to the man. He made no movement toward her. "What's wrong? I am giving you what you want."

He did not move. She was now starting to frighten him. There was a serious calm about her. She was evaluating the situation. He can tell that much. He was so scared that he forgot about his tail. When he saw Jenny's eyes widen, the man realize what he just did. He waged his tail.

"Do you have a tail?" Jenny did not contain her joy. Her calm face erupted in glee.

"No." The man hopes that she did not see it. How can she? It was underneath his pants.

"Yes, you do. Tell me you are an alien."

"No. I'm like you."

"Well, I am not from earth."

"What?" The man almost drops his gun. He was also pretty sure that his mouth was wide open. The girl said the one thing that he could not believe.

"I am from up there." Jenny points to the sky. She knew that her statement sound stupid. The jolly feeling that she had in her override what good sense she has.

"What galaxy are you from?" He had to ask. If she was an actual alien, she would be able to tell him that.

"It's not there right now. Give it a few more centuries, it will be there. I think it is just being created as we speak." The man could not help but smile. The possibility that she is telling the truth was getting better. Beside, her smile was very infectious.

"Who are you?" The man put his gun away behind his back.

"Like you, a castaway. I have been trying to get my ship up and running. The problem is that I can't find others like us to help me."

"There are a lot more of us then you think." Jenny's hearts were beating faster. This was good news.

"Then let's go and see them." Jenny put the money back in her pocket. She starts to approach the man, whose face darkens a bit.

"I can't." He looks down on the ground in shame. Jenny was surprises by this. The man who had the gun was now ashamed.

"Why not?" Jenny stops right beside him.

"My species. We are like a hive. We live together. We eat together. We talk telepathically. We are connected. Think of it like a GPS. We always find each other. About a year ago, something happened. I was walking home one night and then there was silence. I don't know what, but I can't find them. I can't hear them. I tried to search for others, but I can't. It was as if something silences all of their voices. I hate it. I even found a tracker, but it does not work."

"Wait. Are you saying that you have been looking for your family?"

"I have. Like I say, I can't find them even with a tracker." Jenny saw the man for what he really was. He was desperate. He lost the thing that matter the most and was just trying to survive without it. Jenny could see it as the man just simply looking down on the ground.
"That's good." said Jenny.

"Why?" The man looks up and saw her small smile.

"Because it means that I am not the only one that has this problem. Do you have that tracker?"

"Yes."

"Tell you what? I give you a hundreds dollars for it."

"Agreed." The man took out the tracker. They exchange the items. "Why would you need it? It doesn't even work."

"I am going to do an experiment. If I am correct, it will eliminate a lot variable. By the way, I'm Jenny."

"Randy."

"Randy. Nice to meet you. I will tell you this much. I am going to find out what is going on. With any luck, you will be with your family soon." She took another look at the lost alien. He gives her a small smile. He felt something that he had not felt for a long time: Hope. "Well, I'm off." Jenny walks away from the hopeful, yet still confused alien with a tail. She took out her scanner and turn on the tracker. Both beep to a location. She smiles. Both devices were pointing toward the same location. By the end of the day, she will know for certain whether her hypothesis is correct.

********

Chuck enjoys his first morning off in a long time. Working at the Buy More is not stressful. The fact that he was usually the one who had to open the store up every morning is the problem. Chuck is not a morning person. He was forced into being one.

Right now, he is enjoying watching lame cartoons with his bowl of cereal.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" The tall woman walks into the room in her pajamas heading straight to the refrigerator.

"I took the rest of the week off." said Chuck to his sister. The resemblance between the siblings was obvious. They had the same bone structure, which Chuck will never admit. At times, Chuck wish he had the bone structure like Devon Woodcomb, his sister fiancé.

Living with his sister and her fiancé did nothing to his love life. Chuck can't complain though. His sister has been watching over him ever since their mother left them. She watched over him as he got kicked out of Stanford. If it was not for her, Chuck couldn't fathom what he would be like. He also hates the fact that like Morgan, he cannot tell her the truth about his life. Considering that they used to tell each other everything, Chuck thought that part of his situation is the hardest.

"How come?" Chuck already thought of this. Any other time, he would have to scrambles for a lie. This time he actually had one.

"Sarah lost her job." Ok. It was the truth that he can use. It was better than telling his sister that he was suspended for the rest of the week.
"What?" Chuck heard the milk carton being drop on the floor. Chuck put his cereal down to talk to his sister. He turns around and saw his sister's shocked face.

"Sarah got fired, so I decided that I would help her find another job."

"Oh my God! That is so sweet." His sister is smiling. She approaches Chuck and gives him the sisterly hug that he deserved. Chuck then saw Devon Woodcomb walking in part of his glory.

"Dude, put a shirt on." Chuck let go of his sister, who had to turn to see what the fuss was about.

"Sorry, Chuck." Devon Woodcomb, aka Captain Awesome, is a big morning person. Chuck has seen the man wake up with a smile. The running outfit that Devon is wearing is the proof that he loves his mornings. The outfit is a bright blue with black stripe on the side. The fact that Devon is putting a tight blue shirt is proof that Devon had very little amount of fear in him. Ellie simply chuckled at the scene. "So, you have the morning off?"
"Actually, I have the whole day off." Chuck corrects Devon.
"Really." The smile on Chuck's future brother in law scares Chuck. Chuck had to run through his thoughts on why it did.

"Yeah." cautiously Chuck had to respond.

"Great. We can have the run."

"Run?" The word sent shivers down Chuck's spine.

"Yeah. Don't you remember? You promised to run with me when you had the day off. Oddest thing though. That was three years ago when you made that promise."

"I did?"
"Yes, Chuck. You did." chimes in Ellie. Chuck look at his sister. She simply nods.

"Oh. Well. I see." The excuses that Chuck had in his mind were not going to work. Chuck saw one that may postpone it. "I have one problem. I don't have any shorts that I can wear."

"Hold on." Devin left the Bartowski siblings in the living room.

"Come with us." pleads Chuck to his sister.

"Sorry, you are on your own. I got a load of laundry to get wash and a full DVR of shows that I have not seen. It's your fault of making that promise." Ellie went to the kitchen counter and pick up the paper towels.

"I never figured that Captain Awesome would remember it."

"Chuck. There is your problem. Devon is Captain Awesome." Chuck's sister starts cleaning up her spilled milk that was on the floor. Chuck let out his sigh of defeat. Chuck should have known better. There was no way in defeating Captain Awesome. His powers were too great and numerous. Chuck had to resign to the fact that he may have to run. Ellie could see that Chuck did not like it. She knew that if she did not make Chuck understand, this run would be a disaster. "C'mon, Chuck. Devon likes you. He just wants to spend a little guy time with you. I want you to spend some time with him. He is family now."

"I know. I just really did not want to run." Chuck saw Devon coming in the room with his smile.

"Catch." Devon tosses the ball of clothes to Chuck. Chuck catches the ball and slowly unravels the ball. His eyes saw what it was, but his brain tried to deny what it was processing.

"Look, Ellie." Chuck shows his sister his fear. Ellie saw the outfit and resist the fit of giggles that wants to explode out of her body. She did not want to further the humiliation of her little brother and hurt Devon's feeling, who obviously wants to bond with Chuck. "Matching outfits."

"The advantages of doing your laundry: I know your size." said Devon with pride. Chuck sighs to his fate. He was going to run this morning in matching outfit with a man who probably will outrun him.

********

John Casey is an all prepare person. He is prepared to wake up at anytime at a moment's notice. The ordinary life unfortunately had a habit of developing routines. John would wake up. He would make his coffee. While he is taking a shower, he reviews logs involving Chuck. He makes his breakfast. He secures his apartment and goes to work, hoping for a mission.

When he heard it, John Casey could not help himself. He had to take his camera and wait to take his shot. The moment the Bartowski's door open up, he steps outside. He carried the camera like it was his baby. Like Ellie, he resists the urge to laugh when he saw the two men. Devon and Chuck was wearing the matching outfit. Devon had no shame while Chuck look like he wants to crawl back into bed and forget this situation.

"Hey, John." waves Devon to his neighbor.
"Devon." With that, he told a picture of the camera. Chuck's eye widen. He realizes what John just did. He took Chuck's picture in the outfit. "Well, you have a good run."

John went back inside. He has a mission to get prepared. He had his coffee. He also had a picture of a humiliated asset. Today will be a good day.