EUREKA

MAIN STREET

Thanks to Susan's directions, civilisation at last looked to have caught up with Jack and Zoe as they stood at the top of the road and looked down onto Main Street. They also could not help but agree with her words either as they took in the sight before them.

If Eureka had a heart, Main Street was it.

The street was crowded with people – mostly kids, Jack noted as he took it all in. One of the stores, a café it appeared, seemed to be the most popular attraction. Not a single table or chair outside was left unoccupied, with many customers even standing and chatting as they enjoyed their drinks and conversation. This was where most of the adults had congregated, with the other kids and teenagers off and enjoying themselves. And it was here where they were both greeted by a sight which unsettled them both.

More drones.

Zoe stepped back in alarm at the sight of them. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me!"

Fortunately, these appeared to be under control and not attacking their respective owners – not that it was of much comfort to them both. Brian's drone may have been small, but it was nonetheless a dangerous toy for a boy his age to be playing with – and especially unsupervised. These drones, on the other hand, could – and would – have delivered a great deal more damage if they had decided to go rogue. Some of the ones, Jack saw, would have cut his jacket to ribbons and drawn far more than a few drops of blood. Unlike poor Brian, however, these kids were thoroughly enjoying themselves, with the largest group racing their drones against one another.

The thought of a cup of coffee was still very much on Jack's mind as he spied out the café once again. A touch of warmth spread through him at the thought. With that, he started walking. "Come on," he said, "let's get going."

"What?"

Zoe's exclamation drew a few glances in their direction from passers-by.

"Are you insane? I'm not going anywhere near those things!"

Turning back, Jack said, "Then you're more than welcome to go back and wait in the car." His lips then widened into a smile. "That's if those dogs don't get you first."

Zoe stared after her father as he turned back and continued walking; her expression hardening with contempt and further alarm at the thought of approaching these drones. But, despite her fears, she had very little energy left to even think about attempting to head back to the car now, and she could only hope that this town had a decent hotel – a thought that wasn't remotely encouraging given what she had seen so far.

SHERIFF'S OFFICE

Nudging a very sullen and moody Zoe inside, Jack stepped through into the Sheriff's Office and immediately felt a rush of warmth run through him at the thought of being back on familiar territory. It may not have been his office back in Los Angeles, but it was at least a step in the right direction to getting back.

Leaning back in her chair; with her feet up on her desk and a magazine in her hand, Jo looked up with absent enthusiasm. "Can I help you?"

"Yeah, me and…" Pausing mid-step, Jack found himself drawn off as a sweet aroma met his nostrils. He sniffed the air, allowing it to fill him up. "Is that coffee?"

Raising an eyebrow, Jo's sigh was barely audible as she closed her magazine. "Excuse me?"

"Sorry, we've just been up all night, and I could really use a fix."

Unamused, Jo tossed the magazine she had been reading aside, swinging her feet off her desk as she did so. One glance was enough for her to know they were not from around here as she rose from her seat. All new transfers went through her office and, of the twelve new transfers who moved in this week, these two before her were not on that list. With a flare of her arms, she indicated around the office, "Does this look like Starbucks?"

"Oh, sorry," Jack said, shaking his head, "Deputy…"

Her hands on her hips, Jo's stare intensified. "Lupo."

Noting her growing frustration, Jack stepped forward. "Sorry," he said again. "Maybe we got off on the wrong foot. I'm Jack Carter." He began reaching into his jacket. "I work for…"

Jo drew back, her expression seeming to weaken slightly. "Carter?"

Frowning, Jack nodded as he attempted to disentangle his I.D. from the shredded interior of his jacket. Tearing it free, he held it up for Jo to see. "Jack Carter. U.S. Marshal."

And with that, the atmosphere lightened considerably, with Jo straightening up; her hostility slowly giving way to what Jack could only describe as either shock or disbelief. There was another faint trace of a whisper of 'Carter' as she studied the badge, and then she asked, "Do you mind if I…"

Knowing this would likely happen, Jack nodded as he passed his badge over. Protocols had to be observed, and impersonating a U.S. Marshal would be a stupid thing indeed inside a police station.

Edging ever closer to the door, Zoe silently slipped out as Jo turned back to her desk.

Sitting back down, Jo placed Jack's badge down on a tablet computer that appeared to be built into her desk. There was a brief flash as it scanned the badge. "You're a long way from home," she said, sparing him a glance as his service record appeared on her monitor. "Make a wrong turn?"

"Well, I was transporting this one back to…" The realisation struck. "Oh, for cryin' out loud!"

Jo rose an eyebrow over the monitor. "Oh, yeah, she left."

With a sigh, Jack slumped, shaking his head. With all his skills and experience of being a Marshal, Zoe had been the only person to truly test his patience. His boss had actually joked once that Zoe would do wonders for training purposes – one which had Jack's full backing and support. And whilst this latest escapade of hers was the furthest she had actually managed to go, he honestly had no idea what he was going to do with her. Not even the threat of sending her to a juvenile detention centre had any effect on her. Anything to get away from her parents just seemed to spur her on even more.

Bu then, Zoe came walking back inside; with another Sheriff close behind. "Did somebody lose this? She says her name is Shania."

Jack sighed again. "Shania?"

Zoe shrugged. "What?"

"He's a U.S. Marshal," Jo said, passing over Jack's badge as the other Sheriff came over.

The Sheriff drew back at that. "Really? We don't get many of those around here." He then smiled, his voice breaking into a laugh. "Then again, we don't get much of anyone around…" His voice faltered as he looked to the badge in his hands, which in turn saw him look to Jo, who nodded in reply. And with that he looked back to Jack, smiling as he extended his hand. "Bill Cobb, County Sheriff."

"Jack Carter."

Looking over the badge one last time, Cobb passed it back. "Well, I must say, had we known you were coming…"

Jack then broke in. "Didn't look to be," he said. "I was transporting this one to LA when we had a little bit of an accident."

"An accident? Are you all right?"

"Yeah, we're fine," Jack said, waving the Sheriff's concern away. "Just ran ourselves off the road trying to avoid a dog."

Cobb nodded. "Oh, yeah, he's a local hazard."

"Yeah, well, your 'local hazard' owes me a car." Jack then glanced in Zoe's direction – and he could not help the grin that came to his lips. "Anyway, I was hoping that you could hang onto the kid whilst I went and dealt with it."

"Well, I don't see why not," Cobb said with a light shrug. "Jo?"

Zoe's eyes flared as the realisation struck home. "You can't be serious! You're just going to lock me up here?"

Jack's grin broadened at the sound of the jail cell door sliding open. After all he had been through – the favours he had to trade in, in order to track her down, as well as using up what little remained of his holiday hours to accomplish it – it felt like justice. "After driving a thousand miles to come and get you, you're damned right I am."

Breathing a sulky sigh, Zoe stormed off toward the cell; casting her father a venomous glare as he closed the door behind her. "Don't think I won't forget this!"

"And don't think I won't make it a permanent arrangement." Jack left that threat to linger with a smile as he turned back to Cobb. "I'm guessing you guys don't get AAA out here?"

"No, we have Henry," Cobb replied. "Jo, give Henry a call. Have him –"

Jack felt it too; looking to the floor just as a series of loud clicks could be heard.

Both Cobb and Jo took a step back as the rug, embroidered with Eureka's Sheriff's department emblem, began to shake. And, no sooner had they done so, had the rug shot up into the air. Jack almost tripped over backward in his surprise. He didn't even bother to reprimand Zoe for her language as he steadied himself on Jo's desk – he almost swore himself. That was until he caught sight of what appeared to be the most unusual collection of weapons that he had ever seen – as well as two drones, which immediately took to the air.