The crowd that night left in high spirits.
The Supreme Chancellor had seemed appreciative of the show, up until Cat and Jade's number. Afterwards, he was either upset with the show or it was well past his bedtime, because his good eye was set in a surly glare.
The HA6++ gang retreated to their rooms that night to rest.
After getting rid of a lizard in their bed, Jade checked in with her dad's contact, who had just arrived in Yerba and was on his way to their hotel.
"Guys, pack up, Jerry's on his way to get us out of here," Jade said.
There was collective whoop, as the friends scattered to pack.
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Jerry, one of the attorneys Marcus West worked with, arrived at the hotel another hour later.
The gang came down with their suitcases.
"I thought I told you that you had to finish your one week of shows. You've only done one night," Sgrodis said in the most good-natured front-desk worthy tone anyone could muster.
"I will be taking these minors back with me to the United States," Jerry interrupted. "The State Department has been informed that there are US Citizens that were lured here under false pretenses and were being detained against their expressed will. They'll be looking into your brother who connected you as well."
Sgrodis held up his hands. "I-Take it easy, buddy, there's no need to get the governments involved."
"Of course there is. These are children you lured here and refused to allow safe passage out. You're going to stop holding them and allow us to leave at no cost to you, or else the US military will have to stop your war for you," Jerry said so coolly it was a threat.
"Alright, alright, you may go, thank you for your performance tonight," Sgrodis said with a faux smile.
Jerry nodded to the door, and the HA6++ gang exited the lobby immediately.
They kept quiet piling into the rental van that Jerry had driven to the hotel.
Once in the van and on the bumpy road to the airport, Jade asked Jerry, "You weren't serious about the US State Department, were you?"
Jerry, who up until this point had been the imposing figure one could mistake for law enforcement, cracked a smile. "No, no, I wasn't, but he doesn't know that." He let out a hearty laugh.
"How are we not going to get totally screwed before we get to the airport?" Tori asked, panicking.
"Relax, Miss Vega, Yerbanians don't have a consulate, and the nearest one is ten hours away. They probably won't make an international stink about this, and even if they did, we'll be back in the United States before they figure it out."
Jerry gassed it as they hit what passed as an expressway.
It wasn't until two hours later, strapped into an American Airlines jet bound for home that the whole gang could finally breathe easy.
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They arrived back in LA, and it was night time.
The gang's respective guardians showed up at the airport to pick them up.
"Thanks for grabbing them, Jerry," Marcus said, shaking the man's hand.
"No problem," Jerry replied. "It was fun bluffing the little hotel guy."
Marcus shook his head at Jerry's idea of fun. Jerry was a lot younger, single without any attachments, and so he was still the perfect guy for a job like this.
The parents had formed a small huddle before the plane landed. Marcus had explained what had been done to get them home, and they had agreed that the kids needed to work to pay back the expenses Marcus's firm had incurred by flying Jerry over.
It had been decided that the gang would pay the firm back by working as their in-house cleaning and courier crew for the rest of their break.
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One of the days the gang was staying a little late to clean up after a long board meeting, they decided to have some fun and shoot a new MV, with Cat doing the lead vocals.
Oh-oh, oh-oh-oh
Let me tell you now
When I had you to myself
I didn't want you around
Those pretty faces always made you
Stand out in a crowd
But someone picked you from the bunch
One glance was all it took
Now it's much too late for me
To take a second look
Their cleaning crew jumpsuits gave their background a jailhouse feel. Robbie did most of the shots, but he chimed in for the chorus.
Oh baby, give me one more chance (To show you that I love you)
Won't you please let me (Back in your heart)
Oh darling, I was blind to let you go (Let you go, baby)
But now since I see you in his arms
Yes I do now (I want you back)
Ooh, ooh baby (I want you back)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah (I want you back)
Na-na-na-na
Trying to live without your love
Is one long sleepless night
Let me show you, girl
That I know wrong from right
Every street you walk on
I leave tear stains on the ground
Following the girl
I didn't even want around
Let me tell you now
Oh baby, give me one more chance (To show you that I love you)
Won't you please let me (Back in your heart)
Oh darlin', I was blind to let you go (Let you go, baby)
But now since I see you in his arms, uh huh
A buh buh buh buh
A buh buh buh buh
All I want
A buh buh buh buh
All I need
A buh buh buh buh
All I want
A buh buh buh buh
All I need
Oh, just one more chance
To show you that I love you
Baby (baby), baby (baby), baby (baby)
Forget what happened then
And let me live again
Oh baby, I was blind to let you go
But now since I see you in his arms
Spare me of this cause
Gimme back what I lost
Oh baby, I need one more chance, ha
I tell ya that I love you
Baby, ow, baby, baby
I want you back
I want you back
After Robbie hit stop, there was clapping from down the hall where they shot their last sequence. It was Jerry.
"Sorry," Tori offered lamely.
"No, no, it was great!" Jerry said. "Marcus mentioned you were in Hollywood Arts, but that was something else."
"We post videos of things we perform on Splash Face once in a while," Robbie said.
"Really?" Jerry asked, grabbing his phone and loading Splash Face. "What's your page's name?"
"HA6++," Beck said.
Jerry found their account and scrolled through the videos. "Nothing from Yerba yet?" he asked, as he scrolled.
"They're timed to go up in a few days, one per week," André said.
Jerry scrolled back to the most recent video already up on the website. It was the one from Prome. "Hm," he hummed, "did you guys perform something like this?"
Jade recognized the opening bars to "El Beso Del Final". "Yeah, we did the same song and dance."
Jerry put a bookmark on the video. "It's a good thing I got you guys out of Yerba when I did, or you might have gotten yourselves locked up."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Cat asked.
"Well, let's just say… Yerbanians don't like two things – Spanish and public displays of affection," Jerry said.
Tori's eyes went wide.
"No wonder there was a ruckus in Yerba the day after we left," Jerry said. "I thought the Supreme Chancellor was just overreacting."
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They finished their cleanup shortly after Jerry bid them good night.
"Oh shoot!" Cat exclaimed.
"What is it?" Jade asked, worried.
"I forgot I was supposed to meet Enrique!"
Jade checked her watch. "What time was it supposed to be?"
"8PM," Cat said.
"There's time," Beck said. "Did you bring a change of clothes?"
"Yep," she said, grabbing her duffel from its place in the break room.
"Go change, I'll drive you," Jade said.
"Thank you!" Cat called over her shoulder as she disappeared into the bathroom. She emerged a few minutes later – blue jumpsuit in hand, decked out in a bright orange dress and heels.
"Wow," Robbie said, "you look incredible."
Cat did a little twirl. "Why, thank you, Robbie."
Beck, Jade, Tori and André just nodded in response. While it wasn't anyone else's usual style, it was very Cat.
"Come on," Jade said, brandishing her car keys.
"Catch you at the trailer?" Beck asked.
"Mm hmm," Jade said, pecking his cheek before heading out.
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Jade pulled up to the al fresco restaurant Cat was meeting Enrique at. It was 8:15. "Not that late," she commented.
"He hasn't texted me back, though," Cat said.
"It should be fine," Jade said. "Go on. I'll drop your stuff off at your place before I head to Beck's."
"Thanks, Jadey," Cat said, hopping out of the car.
Jade smiled at her best friend. "You're welcome." She leaned back and watched Cat head towards her date.
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"Hey, Enrique!" Cat said, spotting Enrique on his way out of the restaurant. "I've been texting you nonstop. I'm so sorry I was late!"
Enrique saw her and paused, taking her in. "Whoa."
Cat folded her hands in front of her, waiting for him to say something else.
"I didn't realize you'd be such a mess in a dress, Cat," he said with a chuckle.
Cat couldn't decide if he was insulting her or just being a sarcastic shade of funny. She tried ignoring it. "I tried to tell you I was running late. We were cleaning up at work."
"My phone's been dead. I didn't realize you were the type to not bother to show up on time," Enrique said, clearly unhappy.
"I'm really sorry, Enrique," Cat said.
"You know what, let's just cancel tonight. We'll try again next week. I'm not in the mood anymore tonight," Enrique sighed.
"Oh," Cat said, uncertain. "I'm really sorry," she repeated.
"Yeah, me, too," Enrique said. "I'll call you," he said, walking away from her.
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Jade, who hadn't left yet, had been watching from her car. Puzzled that Enrique was leaving Cat, she got out and hurried to Cat.
Cat, on her part, looked about ready to cry.
"What happened?" Jade asked, looking past Cat, trying to see where Enrique had gone. She was about ready to chase him down and shove her boot up against his neck.
Cat shook her head. "He was upset I was late and didn't like my dress."
"What!" Jade exclaimed.
Cat shook her head again. "Leave it alone, Jade. Can you just give me a ride home?"
Jade sighed. "Let's go grab dinner first," she said. She took out her phone and texted Beck to meet them at one of their favorite pizza places. Cat was not in any shape for Jade to leave her alone.
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A/N: This was a really tough episode to have hit stagnation in. Locked Up has always had an odd place in my heart with how much I love it and hate it at the same time. Loved the music, hated the storyline.