Dallas, Texas

"Diane, is Bobby still around?" leaning back in his chair, JR spoke into the intercom and grinned to himself when his secretary responded, "yes". Ordinarily, his youngest brother's presence at the office was more of an annoyance than anything else, but today he was glad that he had decided to stick around and pretend to work, that meant he didn't have to travel far to prove his point. "Good, send him in here, I have a few things I want to show him". His father had done some research, but for a smart, sneaky businessman, he sure hadn't done a very thorough job. Jack was shady and it was high time someone dealt with him in an appropriate manner.

"Take a look at this", tossing his own brown manila folder at his brother, he sat and watched smugly as Bobby leafed through the contents. "There's a lot in there, but I'd like to draw your attention to a couple of things in particular. Firstly, you'll find multiple eyewitness confirmations that he was at the library using the microfilm reader to look at old newspapers, newspapers the Ewing family has appeared in more than a few times over the past few decades. Secondly, there's a detailed list of the contents of his motel room, nothing too out of the ordinary there, except of course the folder with his travel information in it, travel information that seems to indicate the trip from Alaska to Dallas wasn't exactly planned well in advance. To go with that, it appears our dear cousin won't be in for too much of a surprise when daddy makes his suggestion, as you'll see from the photo supplied, he knows all about the job we're advertising, he's torn our ad from the newspaper and I'd bet money that he did that before he ever showed up at Southfork. Daddy says he's contacted a few people in Alaska to do his own research and Jack's story about his previous employment checks out, but I don't believe for a second that he just came to Dallas for a change of scenery. He's here with an agenda and you and daddy are very naïve if you think otherwise; he's playing a game and we're participating in it, like fools, because nobody has established the prize or the rules. He has no claim on Ewing Oil and I don't understand why everyone is so quick to gloss over that, it's not like we all have some great attachment to him anyway, he's nothing and no one to us. He didn't write first or call to let us know he was coming, he's a stranger who's shown up out of nowhere looking for a handout and I cannot believe you and daddy are so willing to just accept him, without any thought to the future".

Shaking his head as he looked over the dossier JR had complied on their cousin, Bobby wasn't sure whether to laugh or shout; JR was incredibly predictable, in the worst way. "You broke into his hotel room? JR, that's low…" His brother had had a point earlier in the day, they didn't know all that much about Jack or even of him and it was perhaps a bit foolish and hasty to jump straight in to offering him a job working with them, but still, that was no reason to treat him like the enemy. As far as he could tell, Jack was a young man just like himself, and even with JR's information documenting his prior knowledge of the state of the Dallas Ewings, it was still reaching to assume he was anything more than curious about his family. He was Jason's son, naturally he knew of Ewing Oil and one would expect when taking a trip to Dallas he would satisfy his curiosity by seeking the people and researching the company he'd likely only ever hear about in stories or caught glimpses of in pictures. In that general research it was also likely that one would stumble upon the job Ewing Oil was currently advertising, a lot of people had spent a lot of time and money ensuring the ad stood out amongst the others on the page.

As far as Bobby was concerned, JR was acting completely irrationally, Jack wasn't a criminal or even a suspicious stranger, he was just a young man who had made an impulsive decision and ended up stepping on someone's toes in the process. The most baffling and somewhat hilarious part of the situation as Bobby saw it though was the fact that despite all of the discussion about Jack and all of the effort that had been put into building him up and tearing him down, Jack had yet to actually say a word. For all they knew he didn't even want the job, he was simply curious about his family in Dallas and was planning on returning to Alaska soon enough. Before he had a chance to voice any of his thoughts to JR though, his older brother was back ranting again.

"Motel room Bob, and I didn't do it, one of my men did. That's beside the point though, don't you see, he's playing us and daddy's falling for it, we have to do something, before it's too late. You might not see it, you're leaving Ewing Oil soon enough so you won't have to deal with the consequences, but I sure as hell do and will. Ewing Oil is set to be mine and will be mine, but what use is it being in control later if I'm not in control now, or allow daddy to make quick, reckless decisions that could ruin everything? I'm sure you wouldn't like it if instead of daddy saying he wanted to give Jack a job here, he said he'd be better off at the ranch. The ranch is your domain, you do whatever it is you do there and you're happy about it, especially the power hierarchy. There's a plan and some insignificant, arrogant outsider pushing himself into our family businesses isn't part of the plan. Make friends with him all you want, if you still honestly believe he's worth being friends with, and if you're generous enough to part with what daddy has gifted you, then be my guest, but he has no place at Ewing Oil and I want you to back me up when the topic comes up for discussion again". Speaking animatedly as he described the awful picture of the future he imagined if Jack did worm his way into things at Ewing Oil, JR's tone changed as he spoke the final part of his last sentence. Bobby was his brother and although they didn't always get along, they ought to be far more important to each other than some secondary, Alaskan Ewing, and Bobby really needed to remember that. He was looking for his brother's support because it would be easier to convince their father if the son he actually liked was against his plan, however, he would push forward without his support if necessary. Jack was an intruder in Dallas, he had to go, one way or another, where to didn't really matter, as long as he was out of their lives.

To be continued…