HEROES: Recruitment

Assignment: Reno, NV

Disclaimer: I own Nuttink! Heroes characters intellectual property of Tim Kring; Reno 911 characters property of Tom/Ben/etc, Comedy Central/Paramount?

A/N: If you've watched Reno 911, you know what to expect from a couple characters. Yep, this gets pretty slashy.

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"G'night, Sally, Have a good weekend," Matt said to his new young blonde secretary (with the hyper-processing eidetic memory) as he left his office. He was looking forward to spending the weekend with his girls, Daphne and Molly. He knew Mohinder would probably appreciate the peace and quiet of the apartment if Molly was at his place.

"Hold on, Matt," she replied. Matt froze in his tracks, hoping it wasn't bad news. It was. "Our young 'Rebel' just sent me some reports of unusual activity over in Reno. Seems some of the clubs there are breaking out episodes of hysteria?"

"Hysteria? What kind of hysteria?" he asked as Daphne arrived to take Matt home and joined them.

"A few incidents a night of late, it seems," she replied. "No one can seem to pinpoint the source from either alcohol or any of the usual drugs found on the scene, weed, X, acid, etc."

"What's going on?" Daphne asked, sidling up to Matt.

"Looks like we might have to go to Reno," he told her, kissing her on the lips.

"ooh, fun!" she chirped.

"Business, first, then we'll see about some 'fun', hon," he replied with a smirk, pulling her closer.

"Here's the latest reports," Sally said, handing Matt a sheaf of papers. He gave a slight groan at the sight. "Looks like you might want to contact the Reno Sheriff's Department first for more information?"

Matt sighed, glancing between the papers and Daphne. He turned back to Sally. "Who's on duty for back-up?"

Without missing a beat, she replied, "Cooper and Walters, Smith and Johns, or I can call Odessa for Bennet and Redhouse?"

"Noah? No, I'm sure Sandra has plans for him, this weekend, since he's been working with Nathan in New Jersey so much," he said. "Why don't we call Coop and Dan in on this? We'll meet them at LAX?"

"Will do," she replied and turned to the phone.

"Ma-att," Daphne whined. "Why fly when I can run?"

Sally paused, waiting for his answer.

"All three of us, guys?" he asked. "No, I don't want you to strain yourself. Let's take a nice flight out there, make a weekend of it," he told her. "Go ahead and book us a flight out, Sal, please?" She nodded and started making a call.

"Double date, then?" Daphne inquired as they headed to the elevator.

"I don't know what you're talking about, milady," he replied in an innocent voice. She slugged him in the arm. "ow! What was that for?"

"Oh please, Matt. Everyone knows you set those two up," she told him. "What, do you think we're all stupid or something?"

"Luck of the draw, Daph," he replied. "When Dan asked me about becoming an agent, Gary and Coop were coming out of the gym together (no pun intended), so it could have been either one of them who partnered up, or Smitty or Murph--"

"Matt, you teamed him up with the only other gay guy on staff at the moment. You set them up."

"Not intentionally!" he argued.

This went on the rest of the way to the airport, at which point she only quieted down so as not to embarrass Dan in front of John. The new couple still had to listen to the occasional "Yes, you did!" and "No, I didn't!" verbal sparring on the flight. They decided it was a 'couple thing' and ignored them, not realizing they were the topic of discussion.

Upon reaching Reno, they rented a car and headed straight for the Sheriff's Department. The quartet met a burly, mustached redhead sergeant with "Declan" on his tag and a young Asian (Matt guessed of Viet descent?) nearly busting out of her uniform shirt. Matt didn't catch her nametag.

"Can I help you?" the redhead asked, distracting Matt from the young lady, which Daphne elbowed him for. Coop and Dan were slightly amused, but more focused on the sergeant, much to Matt's chagrin.

"Yes, we would like to speak to the Watch Commander about a possible drug related problem we heard you were having recently?" Matt said presenting his PrimaTech card and ID.

"What are you, some kind of pharmaceutical company or something, Mr. Parkman?"

"Or something," Matt replied with a smirk. "We're not in pharmaceuticals, but if it is the one we think it might be, we might be able to help."

Declan looked at him a moment. "Uh-huh." He turned around and yelled at the door, "Hey, Lou! You busy? Got some people out here want to talk to you!"

"Be out in a minute!" came a voice from the other side of the door.

"Have a seat, guys," Declan told them.

No sooner had they sat down than a pair of black officers came walking down the hall, arguing over some petty thing. Actually, she was going on about something, while he looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "That's what I was saying, girl got to get her some and--" She stopped when she saw the quartet sitting there, then screamed.

Everybody but Matt jumped in shock, finger in their ears. He rose to his feet, smiling. "Rae-Rae?"

"Matt!? Is that you, boo?" she asked, hugging him. "How you been, baby? You know I saw you on the TV when that cracker got shot! Nobody believed me I knew you!" she turned to her two officers. "You see! You see? I told you I knew that boy! Don't nobody believe Miss Raineesha!"

"Yep, that was me!" he replied, blushing. "Nathan's fine buy the way. I'm actually working with him, now."

"As what, a bodyguard?" she teased.

"No, uh, it's more of a family thing our, uh, parents started," he explained. "Actually, that's why I'm here, to talk to your Lou about a possible problem we may be able to help you with."

"Oh, you mean that club thing?" she asked. "Yeah, we ain't got nothing on that. How you been, boy? Still with that wife of yours?"

Matt heard Daphne before he could answer. "Wife?"

"You did it now, Raineesha," the black cop scolded her. She shushed him, putting her hand all up in his face.

Matt turned back to Daphne. "I told you, we divorced before I ever met you, Daph." Daphne crossed her arms and glared at Matt.

"Is this your new lady?" Raineesha interrupted. "Damn girl, you cute! No, I really mean that." Daphne continued to glare at Matt, but allowed a corner of her mouth to smirk slightly. "No, girl, you are damn fine, ain't she boys?"

"Yes, she is, Rae," Matt agreed, giving his girlfriend the puppy dog eyes.

"Sure," Sgt. Declan agreed half-heartedly.

"Not our style, but yeah," Coop said as Dan poked him in the side.

"I'd do ya," Jones said, only to have everyone turn and stare at him. "What? You wanted to make her happy, right?" Now it was Raineesha's turn to glare at her man. "Don't look at me like that, Rae," he warned her.

Before anybody could say anything else, the office door opened and a lean, mustached man in a Sheriff's shirt and shorts opened the door. "What's going on out here?"

Jones spoke up first. "Jim, will you tell her I was not hitting on this white girl?"

Jim scanned the group. "Okay then, I'm going to hide in my office until this blows over and--"

"Hold up, Lou," Declan said. "These guys want to talk to you about that drug thing," he said, pointing to the quartet.

"Which drug thing?" he asked.

Matt spoke up. "You've been having some problems with outbursts at some of your clubs, lately? We were hoping to talk to you about it, see if we could help."

"Drug company?"

"Detective Matt Parkman, formerly of the LAPD and NYPD," Matt introduced himself. "Independent contractor now, you could say, but we might be able to help each other."

"I see," Jim replied, scanning the group, eyebrows twitching. "Well, come in, come in! Have a seat and we'll see if we can help each other out, Detective!" He waved them into the briefing room, eying the other two men as they entered. Coop winked at him, but Jim was too distracted by checking out a suddenly nervous Dan at that moment to notice. "I'm Lt. Jim Dangle, by the way. You can call me Jim."

As soon as everyone had settled, Matt started explaining the situation, offering another PrimaTech card. "In case you haven't heard, the President has acknowledged the existence of certain individuals with, shall we say, unique talents, and is cooperating with our Company, PrimaTech in LA and Pinehearst in New York-New Jersey, in the location and training of said individuals."

"Uh-huh. Can I ask, what kind of unique talents are we talking about here?" he inquired.

Matt smirked. "Well, for starters, Daphne here is a speedster, moreso than you think of yourself as a 'law enforcement cheetah' and you're making one of my other friends here nervous with what's been going through your head since you opened the door," he explained. He leaned closer, over the table. "Personally, I think he wants to see you in less than the shorts," he winked.

Jim smiled and glanced to the other two men, almost salaciously.

"I do not!" Dan protested. John grabbed his beefy arm, keeping him from standing, and motioned for him to settle down. He gave Matt a dirty look and defiantly hung his arm over the back of John's chair.

"I see," Jim replied, eyeing the male couple. Matt snorted at his latest thought. "And you can read minds? You're saying you all claim to have super-powers like in the comic books?"

Matt drew himself up. "For starters, but not quite," he replied. "Most of us are naturally gifted, but some were given their abilities by other means. We recently became aware of a drug that is being manufactured on the black market to activate these abilities in certain individuals and is slowly making it's way across the country. We came here to see if these incidents are a result of someone with abilities, likely mental in nature like myself, or someone selling the drug here in Reno, in which case, we may already be too late," he explained.

"So, you want to do some ride-alongs to the clubs and see if you can find out who or what is causing this?"

"At this point, it's our best option, other than going over incident reports to see if there are any connections your team may have overlooked," Matt replied. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to share those reports? We have someone on our staff in Los Angeles whose ability is perfect for that job."

"I'm sure we can arrange that, Detective," he said, making a note of it, copying information from Matt's card. "Now, how do you want to split up for the ride-alongs?"

Matt turned to Daphne. "Do you want to ride with Rae? She really is just a friend."

"Yeah, Williams is all about the moment, and she'll definitely let you know if she likes you or not," Jim told her. "From what I saw, she likes you because Mr. Parkman here, likes you. She's really a sweet gal." Usually.

Matt caught this last bit and fought a laugh. "Ride with us, talk to her, we'll all be laughing about this later tonight, you'll see," he pleaded.

Daphne groaned, "Alright, Matt. I'll do it for you." He kissed her on the cheek in appreciation.

"Alright, then!" Jim cheerily exclaimed, then turned to the other couple. "And what about you two? Stay together or split you up in two cars?"

"Oh, we're staying together," Dan said, patting his hand across John's shoulder and getting another poke in the ribs from John.

Jim regarded the other blond man. "You don't say much, do you, Mr.--?"

"Officer John Cooper, also formerly of the LAPD," he replied. "Not too much to say, since we're playing back-up to Detective Parkman while we're here."

"Okay then Officer Cooper, I know just who you guys should ride with," Jim said, getting up and heading to the door. "Hey Jack? We're gonna pair up some ride-alongs for our friends here, scout out the usual clubs these incidents have been happening. Can I get you and Jonesy to take these two guys, while Williams and I ride the other two?"

"Sure Lou, no problem," the sergeant replied.

Introductions went around between the group and a few others, mapping out a plan for the evening. Jim finally asked the newcomers, "Well, we've got a few hours before things usually start hopping around here, want to grab a bite before we hit the streets?" After everybody had agreed, he told them, "Well then, let me make a few calls, see if I can get us an expanded reservation, as Leslie and I kinda had a date tonight," he laughed.

"Sure, we'd love to meet your date," Matt said, tossing Cooper a wink.

Jim caught that, pointing and replying, "Righty-o, one dinner party coming up! Show of hands, everyone who's coming?" he asked, taking a quick count before heading to the phone.

An hour later, the group was headed out to the restaurant where they met Jim's date, Leslie Frost. He was intrigued about the night's assignment, but was no help as to who was behind it, having little time to club of late. Jim then got to introduce a couple of his other deputies to the visitors when Travis Junior showed up with Cindy and Trudi Weigel showed up alone and unannounced. She immediately latched onto John and Dan in an attempt to make Jim jealous. John and Dan tried to brush her off nicely until Dangle flat out told her they weren't interested. Even then he suggested the couple follow his lead when he turned and kissed Leslie at the table, much to Leslie's delight and Trudi's annoyance. She tried to do the same to Dan, but he realized what she was doing and immediately kissed John on the cheek, turning red in embarrassment in doing so as he buried his face in John's neck. Chuckling, John then explained that was a big step for Dan, who was still working his way out of the closet he'd been living in back in Kansas, which caused a round of "Dorothy" jokes and native Kansans Dan and Daphne threatening John with death at that point.

When the meal finished, Jim asked if they brought some more casual clothes to go undercover at the clubs, but no one really had. When Daphne offered to run home and grab some, Leslie said he had some clothing at his store, so that became the next destination. Daphne and John had a laugh at the name, explaining the "Buy Curios" name play to dyslexic Matt and clueless Dan.

Once inside, Daphne and Dan started geeking out over the actual curios for sale, while Leslie showed the other two the limited clothing section. "How big are you boys?" Leslie teasingly asked Matt and Dan, tossing a wink to Jim.

Matt laughed it off with saying he was usually an XXL, getting a round of giggles from the others. Meanwhile Dan mock-griped, "Only XXL? How I long for the days when those fit me!" Leslie and Jim shared a knowing look at that, with John suddenly claiming in jest it was "mine! all mine!"

Unfortunately, XXL was the biggest size Leslie happened to have on hand, and the shirt clung to him closer than a second skin. He wanted to die of embarrassment when he came out of the back room, as Matt and Daphne tried not to laugh while the other three tried not to make too loud a noise wolf-whistling and howling "WOOF!" at the top of their lungs. He claimed he felt like Larry the Cable Guy in the muscle shirt with his gut hanging out a bit below.

When it was his turn to change, Matt soon found out why Dan was initially embarrassed, as the "back room" was also the 'adults only' section of the store and was more stocked than the front. He exited to whistles and "Woof!" from everybody, which he simply laughed off before noticing Daphne had already changed into her third outfit at super-speed, not that any of the other guys would have cared.

When Cooper went in back to change, he simply hollered out, asking if Leslie would be open after the clubbing, as there were several things he wanted to buy. Dan turned red in embarrassment as the others laughed.

With everyone changed, they met the others and split up to cover the clubs, Jim and Leslie pairing with Matt and Daphne while Declan and Jonesy escorted Cooper and Dan to another, with Junior, Cindy, Williams and Weigel staking out a third.

Matt had little trouble keeping from being separated from his hosts, but tried to keep out of their minds as they made out on the dance floor as much as he and Daphne did at the gay clubs they wound up at. He wasn't so fortunate in keeping the partiers thoughts out of his head, even offering to switch off with his back-ups, who would have found it easier in those venues. That was when Dangle informed him most of the incidents had been happening at the handful of gay clubs, and their groups were basically rotating around them, looking for their possible perps.

It was at the second club that they ran into Jonesy by himself at the bar. Matt and Daphne joined him to keep the other men from constantly hitting on him. He informed them he hadn't seen their friends since they walked in the door, and Jack disappeared shortly after. He assumed the couple were in a dark corner, making out and Jack was hiding in the bathroom.

Matt did a quick scan of the crowd and learned Jones was only half right. John and Dan were in a dark corner booth making out, but Jack Declan was at the next table, making out with a drag queen. Jones almost choked on his beer. When Matt pointed them out, the drag queen was barely passable even in the dark corner.

That's when Jonesy recognized the drag queen as Terry, a local malcontent who caused many a headache for the department. "He's also one of Jim's boys," he added in slight disgust at the situation. "We gotta get Jack out of here," he informed them.

Matt signaled Jim and Leslie, pointing out the table Jack and Terry were at. Jim doubled over laughing as he approached them ahead of the trio. Leslie had his cell phone out, snapping pictures for later. "What's going on, Jack?" he asked the sergeant.

Declan was caught off guard. "Lou? I-I wasn't doing anything!" he protested, embarrassed at being caught. "Th-th-this is Terri, she came on to me, and --"

"We know who Terry is, Jack," Jim responded, going into 'cop mode' now that Jones, Matt, and Daphne joined them, each trying not to laugh. "How's it going, Terry?"

"Oh gawd, do you have to ruin everything for me?" Terry protested.

"Not ruining anything, Terry," Jim replied. "Just saw you making out with my sergeant and thought I'd swing over and say hi. Hi!" He tossed a limp salute to the pair.

"Well, far be it from me to say who my deputies can or cannot date, but I didn't know you swung this way, Jack?"

"She hit on me, Lou, honest!"

"She? What are you talking about, Jack?" he asked. "This is Terry. We bring him in all the time for tug jobs at Tacos Tacos Tacos Tacos and for selling 'Skittles' and 'oranges' on street corners."

"Yeah, her name is Terri," Jack protested. "She said she wanted to rock my world tonight, and honestly, it's been a long time for me, Lou. Let me have this tonight, please?"

"Again, Jack, this is Terry. A man!" he said, leaning over the table to make sure he was head. "We caught you kissing a MAN!" He wasn't sure if he was being understood over the music.

Jack Declan gave his superior officer a confused look.

"Jack? Are you okay?" Matt asked, waving his hand in front of the burly man's face. He barely blinked before leaning forward and kissing Jim.

Leslie gasped in astonishment. "Get off my man! JIM!" No sooner had he grabbed his boyfriend than he spun him around and pushed him down onto the table, kissing him again.

Matt stepped back, unsure what had just happened. He turned to look at Daphne, who appeared to be lost in Jonesy's eyes.

"You've got the prettiest eyes," she told him. He reached out to pull her closer, but Matt pulled her away first. Jones stumbled forward and into the booth beside Jack. They took one look at each other then pulled each other into a kiss.

"What the hell?" Matt yelled. Then he realized their perp was in the bar, either spiking the drinks or...spiking their emotions. He looked around and saw nearly everyone near them was making out, some quite indecently. Even Daphne seemed to be in a daze of lust, pawing at him. He dragged her toward the door.

Somehow, he wasn't affected yet, so best to pull out--pull BACK! he corrected himself, stepping around several lovers on the dance floor. Best to get outside and get some fresh air if it was a pheromone. Call Noah and Mohinder for advice and/or help.

He ran into the third search party in the parking lot. "Don't go in there!" he warned them. "Something's happening in there, and it's not for the faint of heart!" He didn't get much more out as Daphne pulled him down into a kiss.

"Damn, Matt!" Raineesha scolded him. "At least get into the car to make out!"

Matt pulled Daphne free for a moment. "That's what I'm trying to tell you, whatever's going on, it's happening inside, right now! Everybody in there is making out or worse! And I do mean everybody!"

"You know this is a gay club, right, buddy?" Junior said.

"That's why I said 'or worse'," Matt informed him. "Even your friend Declan was making out with this guy, Terry, and then when I pulled Daphne away from Jones, he--"

"Jonesy's in there?!" Raineesha cried out. "That's it, I'm going in!"

"Rae, Don't!" Matt called after her, pulling Daphne free. He quickly pushed her into the backseat of their rental car before chasing after his friend. "Stay out here and keep an eye on Daphne! Don't let anyone else in!" he ordered the other three.

Junior and Weigel exchanged confused looks as they watched Matt chase after their co-worker into the club. Junior was suddenly distracted by Cindy running her fingers over his sensitive areas and giggling. He smiled.

"Well, what am I supposed to do now?" Trudi griped as the couple began making out. She looked at the car and noticed it was vibrating. Looking into the backseat, she saw the young blond girl, legs spread over the front seat, her hand a literal blur between her legs. "Huh," she said, not realizing what was going on, but suddenly feeling the urge to join Junior and Cindy's groping. Junior didn't even find it strange he found her offensive at the moment, but welcomed her intrusion.

Inside the club, Matt had no choice but to direct Raineesha to the corner he left their friends in. Both were shocked to find their respective coupled companions in an orgiastic fervor, Matt surprised that Dan was still his full height as he was (don't look, Matt! Do NOT Look!) with Coop.

In fact, at first glance, only Jack Declan seemed to be missing, but then both noticed that Jones' eyes were glazed and he appeared to be holding something in his lap. It turned out to be Jack's balding head of red hair. Rae screamed, "What the hell?!" and slapped Jones hard. He seemed to be waking up, but still out of it, as if hung-over.

That's when Matt noticed Terry was still at the table, trying to get a kiss into the Jim/Leslie tangle, but kept getting pushed out, so he was calling them "bitches!"

Matt now realized who their perp was. He reached over the lovers and slapped Terry as hard as he could. "OW! Why'd you do that, you big meanie!" he whined. It was like everyone had been splashed with ice water.

Luckily for Jones, Raineesha had succeeded in pushing Jack out of his lap so he was leaning against Terry's leg now. Matt could see that Terry had been playing with himself under the table. As soon as Rae had drug Jonesy away from the table, Matt reached over and hoped he could save Jack from further embarrassment by pulling him up by the collar onto the bench and shoving a (hopefully clean) drink in front of him.

Everyone near them seemed to be coming around at that point. Matt ran to Raineesha, who was zipping up Jonesy. "Sweetie, I hope you can understand and forgive me for this," he said and before she could react, he grabbed her head and made her forget the last few minutes since they ran in the bar. He knew she really liked Jones and he didn't want her to remember seeing him like that. He then went back to Jack and fuzzed the memory of the last few minutes even more. He just wanted to make him forget who he was with, as Matt had already read him as questioning himself for a long while, earlier. Everybody else was on their own, he decided. He knew not even Rene could "Haitian" everyone here into forgetting the evening, even if they wanted to remember or forget.

Heck, even seeing Dan going at it (unfortunately) while at full size (no making jokes, Parkman!) would probably boost his confidence and get him to control his ability better.

Seeing as everyone was coming (d'oh!) to their senses and either dressing in shock or finishing up, he decided he needed to be somewhere else. like outside. with his girlfriend. He grabbed Rae's arm and led her and Jones out only to find Junior on the hood of his rental car, Cindy's legs around his waist and Trudi's tongue in his throat.

The trio stood there in shock for a moment taking in the scene.

"Junebug, what you think your doing?" Raineesha yelled at him. "Get the hell off him, Trudi," she scolded, slapping the woman away. "Junior, pull up yo damn pants!"

Matt and Jones looked at each other and bust out laughing. That's when Matt noticed the blonde in the backseat. "Daphne! I'm sorry, I forgot about putting you in there, honey!" he apologized, opening the door and letting her out.

"Matt?" she asked groggily. "What's going on, where are we?"

"You don't remember? We're in Reno, investigating a case."

She sleepily ran a hand over her face. "Reno? When did we get to Reno?"

"We flew in this afternoon?"

"Why didn't I run us out here?"

"Because I brought Coop and Dan along as back up, remember?"

She looked at him. "Not really?"

Matt sighed. "What's the last thing you remember clearly?"

She bit her lip. "Breakfast this morning?"

Matt smiled. "You mean what we did before breakfast or...?"

She gave him a blank look. "What are you talking about? We haven't done it in the morning since Saturday."

Matt looked her in the eyes. "Daph, what's today?"

"Thursday?"

"Friday night, close enough," he said. "We'll get you checked out as soon as we can, okay? For now, just sit tight here in the car, alright sweetie?" She shrugged. Matt sighed and went to the others now that Junior had pulled his pants up. "Daphne thinks it's still yesterday, there seems to be some memory loss. How are you guys doing?"

"I feel like I drank a whole bottle of Jack and need to bust a nut, honestly," Travis told him. The others tried to disregard the last half.

"Pretty much the same," Jones concurred. "Feel like I got a bit of a hangover and need to get off. Rae?"

"I don't know," she said. "I remember heading in for Jones, then Matt dragging us out. What happened in there?"

"Your friend Terry happened," Matt informed them, watching as their (slightly disoriented) friends were exiting, Jim and Jack dragging a protesting Terry on skates, the other three behind them. "What's going on, Terry? Got anything you want to share with us?"

"I got nothing to say to you guys," he protested, his wig falling off. "I'm just trying to have some fun in the club. Woot-woot!" He tried to throw his hands in the air, but Jim had cuffed himself and Declan to their 'friend', preventing it. Matt didn't ask where the cuffs had come from.

"What did you take tonight, Terry?" Matt asked.

"I didn't take nothing!"

Jim turned and faced him, almost nose to nose. "Terry, it's me. We know you took something tonight, and several other times, causing people to go a little bit crazy--"

"You're crazy!"

Jim gave him a light slap. "Terry, listen to me. We need to know what you took and who you got it from. Right now. Terry? Terry, talk to me."

"I only took some skittles and--"

"Terry, come on!" Jim yelled. "We know you have drugs that nobody else does! Where'd you get them?"

Terry rolled his eyes. "I don't have anything!"

"Want me to get him to confess, Lou?" Declan asked, clenching a fist.

Jim held up a finger to the sergeant without moving his face away from Terry's. "Not now, Jack. Terry, tell me. Tell me, Terry. Where'd you get the drugs?"

"Knock-knock!"

"Who's there, Terry?"

Matt started. "Wait, what did he say?" He had picked up a fuzzy memory from the man.

"Ice princess," Terry replied to Jim.

"Ice Princess who?"

"Nice Princess who gave me some new medici-i-ine," he whispered, ending in sing-song.

"What was her name, Terry?" Jim whispered back.

"I don't know!" he replied.

"I do," Matt said, staring at Terry.

"No, you don't!" Terry protested as everyone else turned to Matt.

"Black guy and an ice princess, Terry? Is that who sold you the drugs?"

"Nobody sold me anything, they just gave them to me!" he told Matt, still whispering.

"What did they look like, Terry?" Jim asked him.

Terry shrugged, "I don't remem--"

"Son of a--Knox!" Matt shouted. Cooper perked up at the name, as Daphne pressed herself against the window of the car. "It was Knox, wasn't it, Terry? I saw him in your head!"

"I saw him in your head, Mr. Angry Bear Man," Terry retorted. "Mr. Daddy I'd like to F--"

Jim shook him, getting his attention. "Is he right, Terry? Was this guy named Knox?"

"I never asked, he never telled me," he replied in a sing-song voice.

Cooper leaned over to Jones. "Is this guy like this all the time?"

"Pretty much, yeah," Junior replied on the other side of Jones. "Actually, he's being pretty cooperative, tonight."

John and Dan shared a befuddled look. "Glad he's not one of ours," John remarked.

"He is until we figure out a way to clean him out," Matt said. Everyone turned to him again. "Terry Bernadino, as a duly appointed government agent, I'm going to have to take you into custody because of your actions, tonight," he informed them, going into full cop mode.

"Wait, you're going to take him into custody?" Jim asked.

Matt flashed his new badge. "As I explained earlier, we've been given a federal sponsorship. Terry is posing a threat to the peace of this community with his ability, and as such, it's our prerogative to take him into custody for abusing his abilities." He pulled out his cell phone.

"You can't be serious?" Jim protested. "He's one of ours, once this drug wears off, I'm sure we can--"

"That's just it, Lieutenant Dangle, it doesn't necessarily wear off," Matt informed him.

"You can't keep Terry locked up forever!" Jim protested.

"We've got holding facilities to keep him comfortable," Matt told him. "Once we figure out what's going on, and if there's a chance we can neutralize what's happened to him, we can release him back into your care."

"What if you can't?" Raineesha asked. "Matt, don't play us like this."

"I'm sorry, Rae," he told her. "That's my job, now. It's what we came down here for. I'm a cop and I'm doing my job." He punched a number into his phone. "Pete? Yeah, we got a pick up for you. Reno, Nevada. You got it? Thanks, man."

"What, so that's it?" she argued. "You just call up your goon squad and haul off our problem?"

"Peter's not a goon squad, Rae," he told her. "He'll be here in a second and get Terry to some help. Trust me on this."

"You ain't the Matt Parkman I remember," she told him. "The Matt I remember wouldn't betray his friends like this."

"I'm doing my job, Raineesha," Matt protested. "Did you forget how to do your job? I'm sorry if you guys think Terry is your friend, but right now, he's a health hazard to this city, and it's my job to keep situations like this under wraps. Can you understand me?"

"You ain't my friend no more, Parkman," she said and started to walk away.

"Rae--" he started, but Jim grabbed his shoulder.

"Let her go, Matt," he said. "I kinda get what your doing."

"You do?"

"Matt, from what I've been reading -and I was aware of what was going on from certain online forums- people like you are potentially loaded weapons walking around, right?" he asked. Matt nodded. "You have to go out there and keep your asses covered before there's rioting that make's Watts, the Rodney King and OJ riots, even Stonewall, all combined, look like a walk in the park. Am I right?"

"You couldn't be more right, Jim," Matt confided as he watched Peter appear behind the rental car. He waved him over, giving him a quick mental briefing. "Peter, here, will make sure Terry gets taken care of. Won't you Pete?"

"Sure, Matt," he replied. "Don't worry, I'm a trained nurse. Your friend is in good hands."

Jim eyed the young man before turning to Terry once more, who was looking bored since he wasn't the center of attention at the moment. "Terry? You listen to me, okay?" he got the man's attention. "You are going with these men and you will do everything that they ask of you. Is that clear?"

"What-ev-errr," he replied.

"I'm being serious, Terry," Jim warned him. "If I hear you've been misbehaving and sassing these guys, I'm going to let them keep you locked up until you straighten up. Is that understood?"

"Yeah, sure," he said sarcastically.

"Terry?" Jim questioned him, pulling him into an awkward hug with their hands cuffed together. "You better behave for me."

"You're so gay!" he replied, pushing Jim away.

"Come on, Terry. Let's go," Peter said, grabbing his shoulder. "I'll see you in Odessa, Matt?" he asked, getting a nod in return. Peter concentrated a second, then disappeared with Terry in a gust of wind, leaving Jim and Jack with an empty handcuff each.

The deputies startled at this. "Whoa! That was awesome!" Jim exclaimed.

"You gonna be okay, Jim?" Matt asked.

"Is Terry going to be okay?"

"I told you, we're going to take good care of him," Matt consoled him. "We'll even let you visit if he behaves."

"It's for the best, right?" he asked, tearing up. Leslie approached and gave his friend a hug.

Matt put his hand on the man's shoulder. "Hey, at least it'll be quiet around her for a while, right?"

"You wouldn't believe the kind of action that goes on around here, man."

Matt laughed. "From what I saw tonight, I hope I never see any action like that again. Ever." He clapped Jim's shoulder. "If you'll excuse me, I need to go check on Rae and Daphne."

Jim and Leslie thanked him for the fun and bade him goodnight as Matt made his way across the parking lot to his old friend.

"Rae? You gonna stay mad at me?"

"Damn straight, white boy!" she replied. "Why you gotta get all up in our faces like that? Huh?"

"It's my job, Rae," he replied. "You know what it's like on the beat? Now expand that on a global scale and you've gotta stop random craziness before it starts. That's what I've gotta deal with, now," he explained. "You guys got lucky, he had what looks like a low level ability. There are some abilities out there that are far more dangerous and deadly. To the user and to the people around them. Trust me, I've barely survived a couple of them."

"Like what?"

"How about a walking nuclear disaster, ready to happen?" he replied. "On top of that, there's a guy who liked to slice people's skulls open and take their abilities. He's a walking arsenal."

Raineesha regarded him a moment, then pulled him in for a hug. "I'm sorry, Matt. I just didn't expect something like that to happen to Terry, y'know?"

"That's okay, Rae, it's all part of the job," he replied, hugging her back.

"What about your girl? She gonna be okay?"

"Peter's coming back in a few to pick her up and get her checked out," he confided. "I'll let you know how she's doing."

"Y'all gonna get married to her?"

Matt smiled. "You never know, stranger things have happened."

"Hey Matt, you ready?" Peter asked, tapping him on the shoulder.

"Yeah Pete," he replied. "Let me introduce you. Peter, this is an old friend, Raineesha Williams. Rae, this is Peter Petrelli, a newer friend and--"

"I know you!" she exclaimed to a suddenly befuddled Peter. "I seen you on TV, too! When that guy got shot next to Matt!"

Peter smirked. "Yeah, that was my brother Nathan," he confessed.

"Damn, you fine, too! I could put a hurt on both y'all!" she teased.

"Ahem!" Jones spoke up, standing next to her.

"Shut up, fool, or you ain't getting none," she warned him.

"Listen, we gotta get Daphne checked out, but I'll be sure to let you know what's what as soon as I can, okay Rae?" She nodded and Matt motioned to Cooper and Dan. "You guys coming back with us, too?"

"Someone's gotta take the car back to the airport and check out of our rooms, Matt," John explained.

"Okay then, see you boys Monday morning?" he asked, handing over the car and hotel keys.

"Will do, Matt," he replied.

"Hey, try not to tear up those two too much, will ya?" Matt chided, jerking a thumb at Jim and Leslie, bumping shoulders with John.

Dan went red. John laughed. Peter tried to ignore them as he grabbed Daphne from the car and teleported the couple away back to the LA office to check her out.

Jim and Leslie approached the remaining couple. "What was he saying?" Leslie asked.

"We've got the whole weekend to blow, guys," John answered with a smile.

"Really?" Jim and Leslie asked, smiling at the word play.

John looked at Leslie. "Now about those toys I was looking at earlier?"

"Can we please just get out of here and back to the hotel?" Dan pleaded.

John smiled. "Meet me in the car, then," he said and turned back to Leslie, giving him Matt's hotel key. "Meet ya in an hour?"

"What about those toys you wanted?" Leslie asked.

John winked. "Surprise us."

Tbc__________

A/N: yeah, I made Terry the fall guy, here. Almost made it Jim, but decided just to leave it at the 'cheetah' quip. This one took me twice as long as 'Seacouver' to write. I just couldn't find the hook, then the gay jokes just started taking over. I tried to keep it from getting too slashy, tho. Sigh….

Bonus points on how Matt knew Rae and even Terry. ;)