Jake slumped in his seat and dragged his heavy eyes from the window back to the front of the classroom. The late winter storm had given way to a beautiful early spring day. He pulled the green tinted soda bottle from his bag and gulped down the drink. Class was about to start. He was prepared for a two hour nap.

In spite of Mr. Lyon's best efforts to reel the slipping teen back into focus, Jake continued his downward spiral. The strict teacher had even arranged meetings with the young tom's guardian, during which Chance had expressed his own frustration. Since Jason's death, Jake just did not seem to care.

As Mr. Lyon began the day's lecture, Jake buried his head in his arms. He'd taken two pain pills almost as soon as Chance dropped him off, and had been nursing the strong drink disguised as lemon-lime soda since the middle of first period. Just as his eyes slipped closed, he heard the teacher call his name. He ignored it at first.

"Jacob!"

Jake snapped his head up. "What?!" He shouted back. The whole class seemed to gasp. Mr. Lyon stared at Jake for a long moment before demanding that the teen step out into the hall. Jake rolled his eyes but stood up, stumbling slightly over his bag as he left the room. Mr. Lyon followed him.

He eyed the glowering youth for a moment before sighing loudly. "I understand that you've had a very traumatic start to the year. Losing loved ones is never an easy task, but it is time to move forward. You are far too intelligent to behave this way."

"Are you finished?" Jake asked quietly.

Mr. Lyon huffed. "I will not continue to tolerate this level of insubordination."

"Fine. Then I'll leave," Jake puffed back, turning back towards the door. "I shouldn't even be here anyway."

"If you walk out of my class, I will notify your guardian."

"Fuck if I care," Jake hissed as he grabbed his bag. He pulled out his phone. "I'll tell him myself."

Stunned by the unusual behavior even for the moody teenager, Mr. Lyon watched as Jake left his classroom.

"Fuck this. I'm over all this bullshit. Tell Susan to just stick me in fucking foster care or juvie." Jake pressed the send button and looked up in time to see the city bus.

Chance was talking with the foreman overseeing the reconstruction of the garage when his phone went off. He read the text message three times before he could believe what he was seeing. As he was about to call Jake and find out what happened, his phone started ringing. Chance recognized the number from Jake's school.

Jake stayed on the bus until it reached the coastal area of the city. It was nearly an hour from Callie's apartment. He ignored the calls from Chance, but fully expected the tabby to be following the GPS in his phone. Jake thought about ditching it, but he still wasn't sure if he wanted to be found or not. When he got off the bus and started walking, and his phone started ringing again, he made his choice. Jake tossed the device into a nearby trashcan.

Despite the warming weather, the beach was relatively vacant. Jake sat down in the sand and pulled his knees up to his chest. He scowled at the waves as they caressed the beach and sighed loudly. He wanted to disappear. If this was the life he had to look forward to, Jake was positive he did not want to follow in his father's footsteps. Heaving another loud sigh, Jake pushed himself up and into a run. He wondered how far he'd make it before he would hear the Turbokat's engines above him.

T-Bone cursed loudly when he didn't see the wayward teen. "He's smart," the tabby huffed. "If he wants to hide, nobody is going to find him."

Still, he continued his search over the city. While he patrolled from the sky, he knew Rita and Callie were driving around the city, trying to find Jake. T-Bone felt the knot in his gut tighten. When he spoke to Mr. Lyon, the teacher was convinced the boy was under the influence of something. He insisted that he smelled alcohol on his breath.

"Where is he getting it?" He wondered. He'd searched Jake's room numerous times in vain. T-Bone checked his fuel gauge and shook his head. He needed to head back. "Damn it, kid!" He swore as he circled around.

Jake watched the Turbokat as it shrank into the horizon. He pulled his backpack closer and began rummaging through it. His stomach rumbled, but all he had was a handful of pills and a couple of blunts. He'd used his cash to pay for them that morning. "I guess I could have thought this through a little more," he mumbled. He had the bank card Chance had given him a few months ago. "If I use that, he will know where I am," Jake sighed. "It's fine. I've got this." He dry swallowed the rest of the pills and stood up. He wanted to put more distance between himself and the city before he gave his location away.

Chance paced back and forth in the waiting area of the Enforcer station. Callie sat in one of the uncomfortable chairs, watching him wear a path in the floor for a few minutes before standing up and grabbing his arm. "We will find him, Chance," she squeezed his paw. He looked down at her delicate, finely manicured paw and sighed. "Callie, I..." He trailed off. Chance was at a loss. He didn't know what to do, and he had no clue what to say. "I just didn't see this coming, and I feel like I should have."

"Furlong!"

Chance stiffened at the sound of Commander Feral's voice. The tabby quickly schooled his expression, pushing down the emotions that were bubbling to the surface.

"Are we certain this was not a kit-napping?" Feral already had the missing kat paperwork in his hand.

"It didn't start out that way," Chance sighed. "But it's been hours since I heard anything. Anyone could have recognized him from the public statement we made." He clenched his jaw shut and looked away. Was this how real parents felt when their kittens were in danger?

"Chance!"

Chance snapped his head up. Callie was tightly gripping his forearms and staring at him with wide blue eyes.

"You kind of just zoned out on us," she whispered.

Chance looked from her to the commander. His stony façade softened.

"We'll find him," Feral promised. "Where's the last place anyone saw him?"

Chance sank down into a chair. "At school. He walked out."

"Alright. We will pull the security footage at his school. Maybe someone picked him up, and we can try to trace his phone." Feral pulled out his own phone. "I'll have a couple of the Enforcers check the hospitals, too."

Chance clenched his paws into fists. He'd already checked the hospitals, and checking Jake's phone was pointless. It was getting dark, and the nights were still kind of chilly. Worry seized his lungs. "Where do you want me?"

Feral crouched so that he was looking the former pilot in the eyes. "You need to stay here. As soon as we find out anything, you'll be the first to know."