Battlefield

by Debbie Kluge

Story 5 in the Jealousy Series. Jonny and Jessie face separation and their own personal fears as Jonny tries to help a young friend.

11. Out of the Past

Chapter 11 -- Out of the Past

Will you turn me away?

It was the end of a busy school day. Jonny was preparing to leave, while he waited for Brandon to show up, so they could head home. He frowned a little looking at the three notes he had found tacked to his locker. They were from Matt and Bobby Evans. He had gotten word from several sources throughout the day that they were looking for him and that it was urgent that they talk with him as soon as possible. He had gotten word from several sources throughout the day that they needed to talk with him as soon as possible. Unfortunately, they hadn't managed to connect all day. He simply couldn't figure out what could be so important. But it wasn't like those two to get hyped up over nothing, so something must big be going on.

Suddenly, he heard his name, and looked up to see the twin brothers trotting down the hall toward him. Both looked agitated.

He greeted them easily, "Hey, guys. Where have you been? I got your messages but could never find you when I was free. What's up?"

Now that they had actually found him, neither of the brothers seemed to know what to say. They exchanged uneasy glances and they both stared at the floor. Finally, Bobby took a deep breath and started, "Well, Jonny, we just found out . . . we thought you really ought to know that . . ." He stopped abruptly, his eyes focusing on something over Jonny's left shoulder. His mouth snapped shut and his face went blank. Jonny whirled, not sure what to expect.

The sight that greeted him left him gasping for breath. Francesca Hamilton.

Memories flashed through his mind, accelerating like a runaway train: visions of the two of them dating, studying together, taking long walks in the park. The echoes of her laughter. These were quickly followed by images of Jessie lying on a wind-blown street corner in London, the Great Pyramid in Luxor by moonlight, a sterile waiting room. Jessie' pale face, as she lay dying in a cold, white hospital room in Cairo. The memories spun in his head like a kaleidoscope, until they abruptly stopped on the image of Francesca's white, terrified face over the barrel of a gun. He had almost killed her that night in Cairo. All because of what she had done to Jessie. Now she stood scarcely three feet away . . . just staring at him, without saying a word. And Jessie was gone. The rage that suddenly enveloped him was terrifying.

"What the hell are you doing here???!!?" he spat. His hands were clenched into fists, and he could feel a tremor beginning deep inside. Francesca flinched under his angry stare.

She took a deep breath and answered, "I live here now."

"What do you mean, you live here?" he raged. By this time, he was white and shaking. "You can't live here. I don't even know why you're not in jail!"

"I'm on probation."

"Probation! What stupid idiot gave you probation?!"

"The Egyptian government."

Jonny was speechless. Finally, he grated, "Where's your father?"

Her eyes filled with tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks. "Still in jail in Egypt. They say they will never let him out. He's going to die there." She put her hand over her eyes and he heard her sob softly, as she struggled to get control of herself. For the first time, he really looked at her. She had changed, somehow. He wasn't quite sure what was different. She was still as tiny and beautiful as ever. Her hair was long and it hung loose, surrounding her in a blue-black cloud. Rather than being all dressed up the way she used to be, today she wore faded blue jeans, a soft cotton blouse and a soft lavender and blue print vest. And she wore little or no makeup. Overall, she looked somehow younger and more vulnerable. Jonny looked over at Bobby and Matt, who hovered in discomfort. Neither of them had ever seen this side of Jonny Quest.

Matt finally said to him, "She's living with Mr. and Mrs. Conners."

"The guidance counselor, Mr. Conners?"

Matt nodded. "He does foster care stuff and has accepted Francesca as her probationary foster care placement."

Jonny stared at Francesca, so angry he didn't know what to say. Finally, he turned and slammed his locker door viciously. He took a deep breath and asked the twins, "Would you mind hanging around until Brandon gets here? Tell him to meet me out at the benches on the front school lawn."

"Sure, not a problem. We'll bring him to you."

"Thanks, guys. I owe you one." He snatched Francesca's arm and dragged her out of the building. Finding a bench, he shoved her down and then sat at the extreme other end. He waited in stony silence, and tried to regain control of his temper, while Francesca attempted to pull herself together.

When he had finally calmed down enough to be able to speak civilly, he said to her, "All right, Francesca. Tell me why you're here?"

She looked at him with eyes that were red and puffy from crying. In that instant she looked very young. "I thought I was going to be locked away in that Egyptian jail forever. But after about six months, the American ambassador came to visit me. He said that he was new and was reviewing the files. He thought that he should check on the situation, since I was a minor and all. He worked at it for a long time, and the Egyptian government finally said that they would release me on probation to the U.S. government, provided they guaranteed I would never return to their country. When I got back to the States, they tried to locate the rest of my family, with the intention of placing me with them. But I didn't have any other family. So they were stuck with me. For a while, they had me in a place in New York City. It hated it there, and the family I was fostered with scared me. Finally, the people from DCFS asked where I wanted to go. This is the only place where I've ever really been happy, so I asked them if I could come and live in Rockport. They found me a place with the Connors, and that's how I ended up here."

Her violet eyes were huge and shadowed as she looked at him. She started to reach out a hand to touch him, but stopped herself. She dropped the hand into her lap, and stared down at it for a moment. Then she looked back up at him, and he could see tears in her eyes again as she said, "I know there is no way for you to forget what I did. You have every right to hate me. But all I want to do is put the past behind me and start over. And I would like for you to be my friend. If there is any way that could be possible . . . "

Jonny's answer was short and to the point. "No."

"Jonny, I'm sorry. I have no good excuses for what I did. But for whatever it's worth, I never really wanted to hurt Jessie. Drive her away, yes. But not hurt her. That was Keller."

"That's not what you said."

She reached out a hand and laid it on his arm, but he struck it away with a sharp movement. "I know," she said softly. "But I was angry and hurt. I cared for you and she had taken you away from me. You were the only really good thing that had ever happened to me, and you were slipping away. I would have said anything . . . Please, Jonny, just give me another chance. I only want to be your friend."

His rage boiled over once more, and he lashed out in fury. "My friend? After London? And Cairo?! Do you know what she went through? What I went through? Do you have any idea how badly hurt she was? Or what it took for her to come back from those injuries?" He began to shake again. "She DIED, Francesca . . . I sat there in that Cairo hospital and watched her slip away. If it hadn't been for Hadji, I would have lost her for good. And this happened because I was too dumb to see you for what you really were. Well, not again. I won't be fooled a second time. I don't know why you've really come back, but you'll never get me to buy the line that it's because you were once "happy" here. That's a crock and you know it. So cut the crap. If that's the story you want to give to everyone else, then fine. But don't expect me to believe it. And STAY AWAY FROM JESSIE, you hear me? I swear, if you go anywhere near her I'll . . ."

He broke off abruptly. In the distance he saw Brandon, Mike, and Bobby crossing the lawn toward them. He greeted them with relief, knowing that he needed time to cool off before saying anything else. Brandon ran up to Jonny and gave him a big hug. With an effort, Jonny smiled down at the boy, and started to say something about going home. But before he had the chance, Brandon turned and greeted Francesca.

Holding out his hand, he said, "Hi. My name is Brandon."

Francesca managed to smile slightly in response, and took his offered hand. "Hello. My name is Francesca. It's nice to meet you. Are you a friend of Jonny's?"

Brandon nodded, "I'm staying with him for a while." Brandon slipped from Jonny's grasp and sat down next to her on the bench. Jonny eyed the two of them with extreme misgiving, but moved a little way off with Bobby and Matt.

In a low voice he asked, "What have you heard about her?"

Matt and Bobby were about the only people who knew anything at all about the real history of Francesca . . . and even they didn't know it all. The two brothers shook their heads. "Nothing other than what we told you," Matt responded. "She turned up this morning in my first period trig class. As soon as class was over, I started to hunting for you. I didn't have any luck, but I ran into Bobby. He said word had already spread that she was back, and both of us started looking for you. But we just couldn't track you down."

Jonny shook his head. "I don't have classes during the first two periods on Tuesday, so I came in a little later. I had some research I had to do at home. And then I was running late, so I didn't have a chance to look for you guys."

Bobby asked, "Why is she here?"

Jonny shook his head in response. "She says she came back because she was 'happy' here. But I don't trust her."

"And her dad?"

"Still in jail in Egypt, supposedly. It should be easy enough to find out. My dad can check."

Matt asked quietly, "What about Jessie?"

Jonny's face went blank. But next to Hadji, Matt and Bobby Evans were Jonny Quest's closest friends. Neither boy missed the look of pain that flickered across his face at the mention of her name. "We can be grateful she's still in Colombia. At least, if Francesca is planning anything, she should be safe there."

"Yeah," was Matt's response. He looked at Jonny closely and then said, "Hey, man, what's wrong? You and Jessie havin' problems?"

Jonny stared at the ground for a long time. Finally he looked up and said, "It's a long story. Leave it for now, okay?"

But Bobby pressed on, "Hey, you guys are the perfect couple."

"No. She deserves better," he said with a look of bitter resignation. At that moment, Jonny heard Brandon ask Francesca if she was a friend of Jessie's. Jonny stiffened. Francesca responded that the two of them had never really gotten along, but she hoped that would. Brandon explained that she was in Colombia right now and that it would be a while before they could talk. Jonny turned to the twins in haste. "Look, we gotta go. I'll see you guys later. Brandon! Come on, we need to go now or we'll be late."

"Goodbye, Jonny. Please, think about what I said . . . " was Francesca's soft farewell.

"Yeah, right," he said sarcastically, as he propelled Brandon toward the parking lot. Bobby and Matt just stared after him in utter astonishment.

***

Brandon chattered all the way home, but Jonny didn't really listen. He was completely absorbed with his own thoughts about Francesca. He could hardly believe the level of anger he was feeling at seeing her again. He had thought he was over that. Maybe "hate" was too strong of a word, but he thought it was probably close. And he was sure that she must have an ulterior motive for returning to Rockport. He had to find it before Jessie got back. He wouldn't risk her life again.

"Jonny! Jonny, did you hear what I said?

"What?" Jonny shook him himself mentally. "I'm sorry, Brandon. I was thinking about something else. What did you say?"

"I said, I like Francesca. She seems really nice. Did you know her a long time?"

"No, not very long."

"I was surprised when she said that she and Jessie didn't get along. What was wrong?"

"They just didn't hit it off."

"But how did you know her?"

"I dated her for a while."

"Ohhhh . . . " Jonny glanced over at Brandon. He could see the boy assess what he had just told him and come up with an answer. Slowly, Brandon said, "I see." There was a look on the boy's face that made him uneasy. He wondered what he was thinking, but before he could ask, they arrived home.

The first thing they noticed was a sheriff's car sitting in the drive near the front door. Both of them climbed out of the car slowly, watching with concern as the officer exited the front door, accompanied by Jonny's father. The man nodded to Benton Quest and, with a sidelong glance at the two boys, climbed into the car and drove off.

Benton smiled easily at the two of them. "Hi. How was school?" Jonny looked closely at his father and immediately saw that there was something his father didn't want to talk about in front of Brandon.

"Just fine," was Brandon's hesitant answer.

Benton smiled. "Good. Mrs. Evans just finished a big batch of oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies. If you go and ask nicely, I'm sure she will give you some."

Brandon grinned and set off at a run for the kitchen. As soon as he was out of ear shot, Jonny turned to his father. "What's wrong?"

"Brandon's mother has gotten a judge to agree to review the original decision. I have to appear in court on Friday for a custody hearing."

"Oh man, this we don't need. Brandon's not going to be able to stand another appearance in court like the last one."

"He won't have to. She's had both of you banned from the courtroom. She's playing to win, Jonny. And this time, I think she might be able to pull it off."

***

Brandon sat staring at the computer, debating with himself. The other day he had decided that the problems between Jonny and Jessie were something they needed to resolve on their own. But judging by Jonny's mood, things were only getting worse. And maybe he could do something that would help. Maybe if Jessie got a dose of her own medicine, she would realize what she was doing to Jonny, and would stop talking about that Ruben guy all the time. Yes. He would tell her about Francesca being back in school, and how she and Jonny were sitting out on the school lawn together this afternoon. Surely it wouldn't hurt anything if he tried it . . .

***

Meanwhile, Jonny was also staring at a computer screen. It was a long time before he finally logged onto IRC. He knew that if Jessie was signed on, she would know the minute he arrived. And right now, his emotions were in such shambles, he was afraid of what he might say if he did talk with her. He knew what he wanted to say . . . that he was sorry for what he had said about her parents . . . that he loved her so much, he felt like he wanted to die when they were apart . . . that he missed her and wanted her with him so much, he couldn't eat or sleep. But he was also certain that if he wanted to do what was best for her, he needed to let her go on with her life. They had been friends for so many years that he suspected she would stick with him out of pity and friendship, rather than doing what was best for herself. And now with Francesca . . . He finally decided that he would sign on, and then immediately initiate a private chat with Hadji. Get his business done and get off. That seemed to be the best way.

***JBond (jquest@quest.com) has jointed #Battle

Jonny saw immediately that all of them were signed on, and that Jessie and Brandon were in the midst of a conversation about school. He double-clicked on Hadji's nickname swiftly, and initiated the private chat before anyone could even greet him.

JB Hadji, are you there?

S Here. Where have you been?

JB Busy. Hadj, I need your help.

S You only need to ask, my friend. You know that.

JB I'm trying to trace Brandon's dad and I'm not having any luck. And I have the feeling that time is getting really short. Can you help me locate him?

S Of course. What information do you have?

JB Not much. I'll e-mail you what I've got. And I'll continue looking, too. I really need to find him, Hadj. If I don't, Brandon's gonna have to go back to his mother. And I'm scared of what he will do if the courts try and force him to do that.

S I will do everything that I can. But I am going to require something in return.

JB What?

S That you be honest with me, and tell me what is wrong. Both you and Jessie are miserable. I can tell this even through IRC. What has happened?

Jonny's answer was a long time in coming.

JB Hadji, please. Don't make me go through this here. I don't think I can take it. Let it wait until you come home, and then I promise, I will explain everything.

Hadji's response was also a long time in coming. And in the meantime, a box popped up at the bottom of his screen. In bright red letters it said SCIGRRL. Jonny closed his eyes in pain. When he opened them again he saw,

S All right, my friend. I will let it go for now. But I will require a complete accounting of all that is going on when I get there. I will be leaving here sometime in the next few days to come home.

Jonny released his breath in a gasp. He really needed Hadji's help and would have told him everything if he had been forced into it.

JB I thought you were staying another couple of weeks.

S I think I am needed more at home right now than I am here.

JB Thanks, Hadji. I'm gonna be really glad to see you. Look, I gotta go. Will you do me a favor? Tell Jessie I'm short of time and can't respond to the private chat she's trying to initiate, and that I'll talk with her later.

The response was almost instantaneous.

S NO.

JB Please . . .

S I SAID NO. I will not be put in the middle of your fights. You either walk away without answering or you talk with her and tell her yourself. I will not serve as your messenger in this.

JB Okay. Okay. I'll do it myself.

As he popped back to the main channel, the words he saw on the screen turned his blood cold.

CmptrWhz She seemed really nice. I liked her. Jonny said he used to date her. And she's really pretty. I don't think I've ever seen that much black hair before.

SciGrrl I remember.

CmptrWhz I get the feeling she would like to date him again. I met them out on the lawn. They were sitting out on one of the benches together.

That elicited no response from Jessie. Jonny knew instantly what had happened. With a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, he clicked on the private chat icon. The screen changed, and he read the words that screamed at him.

SG You bastard! I HATE YOU!

It was the end. If there had ever been any chance left for them, it had just ended with the innocent words of a young boy who didn't know any better. Jonny laid his head in his arms, too devastated to even sign off the system.