Anywhere, but here

by Ausiewanab

Race Bannon is forced to relocate to a new job which leaves him and Jessie moving across the country. But is everything as it seems?

Anywhere But Here
By Kara Estes


"Their getting too powerful sir."
"I realize that Watson, go grab me file number 0-37 and 0-72."
"What do you plan to do sir?"
"Reassignment."

"Do it again!"
"Ah come on Race, we've been doing it for two hours now, can't I take a break?"
"Not until you can get it right," said Race Bannon who was teaching his student, Jonny Quest how to do a flying dragon.
"What am I doing wrong? I'm doing everything that your telling me to do, what else am I lacking?" asked Jonny.
"Balance," Race said as he lightly pushed on Jonny's shoulder which sent him flopping down on his butt. "See."
"Ha-ha-ha very funny Race!"
"Agent Phil Corvin and an unidentified man are requesting admission at front gates."
"Request identification please Iris," said Race. He then reached back to his rear pocket where he unlocked his gun holster. Seconds passed before Iris reported back.
"The other man is identified as Agent Barry Watson. Shall I let them in or deny entrance?"
"Let'em in." Race said with a gruff tone.
"What's up Race?" asked Jonny.
"I'm not sure kido, but I want you to stay right here and practice your flying dragon." Race said. He then exited the Quest Physical Recreational Activities Room, better known as QPRAR, and headed up to the main part of the compound to join his guest.

"So what do I bestow the honors of you guys coming to my humble work place?" asked Race.
"Cut the crap Bannon, we need to talk to you and Quest," Watson said as he was cut off by a female voice coming from the bottom of the staircase.
"Hey dad, whose here? " Jessie asked, she then noticed the stern look on her father's face when she walked in to the living room.
"So is this your lovely daughter?" asked Watson. He then walked over to her and looked her up and down.
"Watson, take those filthy eyes off my daughter!" Race exclaimed.
"Why, she's about my age and I'm single. So how old are you?"
Jessie grinned and said,"I'm 17 and sorry uninterested!"
"Ooh ouch, well I was close, only 10 years difference between us, it could've worked!" Watson said. He then watched as Race's blood boiled.
"Uhem..." said Coven, "Bannon, we came to talk to you and Dr. Quest, privately!"

"You're what?" questioned Dr. Benton Quest.
"Were reassigning you a new bodyguard," Watson said.
"After reviewing your file, we have come up with that Bannon here isn't doing his job as he's supposed to be, so we are reassigning him to a new file and giving you a new bodyguard. He's a fresh new agent whose at the head of his class, his name is Christoph Holland. He will be arriving in three days, we expect you, Bannon to be out of here and in Springfield Missouri by then." Said Croven.
Watson then handing Race and DR. Quest each a file. In it, it contained a detailed description of ether the new bodyguard or the new job.
"What do you mean by I'm not doing my job," asked Race.
"Simple Bannon, it's just like they said at the academy, or at least when I was in it they did, that you take very little from the government and give back everything!" Watson said with a cocky attitude and a bad southern accent. "And by what I can see, you've taken it all and gave nothing!"

"Okay Dad explain it to me again why were going to Springfield Missouri."
"We already went through this, I'm getting reassigned. You better start packing your things, because we don't have long before we have to leave," Race said. He watched her expressionless face as she left for her room. He felt sorry for her.
"Race, you know whatever happens your always welcomed here at the compound?" asked Dr. Quest. He had watched his bodyguard and friend. It had been 10 years since Race had joined his families life and in that 10 years, he had become a part of it. When he had introduced his daughter into the house, Benton vowed then and there, to treat her asif she was his daughter. They were family, and it was going to be hard to see them leave.
"Have you told the boys yet?" Race asked.
"Yup. Hadji seems to understand, but Jonny's a different problem. He seems angry and bitter. You might go talk to him." Dr. Quest said.
"Later," Race said, it was all he could say. He didn't want to do it, nor did he want to even think about doing it. He knew that Jonny was in love with Jessie, he could see it in his eyes, and he knew that losing her is going to be a big blow to him.

Jonny didn't know what to say when his father told him what was happening. How could he, he had known Jessie for almost seven years. Seven years. And within those last few years, he had grown to love her. More so, that it made him cry just to think of life without her. He then decided to go talk to her, maybe they could come up with a strategy to get her to stay. He got up and left his bed, which he had been sitting in since he heard the news. He then preceded to walk across the hall and into her. He reached her door and gently knocked.
"Come in."
"Hey," he said. It was all he could say, nothing more, nothing less.
"Hey," she replied as she folded her clothes and gently put them in a box.
"So I take it, it's true?" he asked.
"No, I'm just packing these clothes for the heck of it, yes it's true." She said sarcastically.
Jonny smiled at her remark. "You know I'm going to miss you?"
"Yep." She said.
"You know I'm going to have a party after you leave?"
"Yep." She said again, still folding her clothes in boxes.
"You know I know that your ignoring me?"
"Yep." She said, "Hey! Sorry, I kinda have a lot of things on my mind. I'm sorry Jonny, I really am."
"Hey, I understand. Need any help?" he asked.
"Nah, but if you want to, you can start packing my picture frames and stuff."
"Okay," he said and went to work. Before he carefully wrapped each picture frame in paper, he would make sure to look at each picture, trying to remember all the events led up to the picture. Most were taking during a mission. Only few were else places. One picture stood out, it was taken during his 16th birthday party. It was when he got his drivers license and had driven the car into the front gates. She was there getting ready to take a picture of him when he drove in, but ended up taking one as he drove right into the front gates.
"Hey over there, I thought you wanted to help, not stand there and stare." Jessie remarked.
"Opps sorry, I just got caught up in the moment."
"So which one are you looking at?" she asked.
"Oh it's nothing, its just that picture you took as I drove through the front gates."
"Ah, the mighty "Speed Racer" picture." She said, she then grabbed the picture out of his hands and quickly wrapped it up. She then went back to her post and went back to work folding clothes.
"You know, we could say good-bye right here, right now, so that way we don't have to worry about saying good-bye because we already have."
"Yeah, we could." She said, she then sat down her folded shirt, and went over to him. "Good-bye!" She said, she could feel tears forming in her eyes, but she couldn't do anything about them. She just let them flow. It was then, when she felt Jonny hug her. He squeezed her tight, he knew he didn't want to let her go.
"Good-bye Jess," he said. It was then, when Hadji came bursting through the door. It wasn't unusual of him to do this, but he only did this because he had just heard the news and had just got back from Bangalor.
"I am so sorry my friends to interrupt, but I just heard the news and I came in here to say that I can't believe it's true," he said.
"Join the club," Jonny said as he let go of his embrace on Jessie. Jessie than quickly wiped away her tears, she normally didn't cry. It was something her father kind a shunned down on. So she always did her best not to let them show.
"You know I'm going to miss you guys a lot, you guys are like brothers to me." She said.


It had been almost a day since Race had gotten the file of his new job. It was going for 3 am, but he couldn't sleep. He had too much on his mind to even comprehend what was going on. It was hard for him to believe this was happening. He knew that something was wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was. He figured he should look at the file and see what he was getting himself into. He opened the file to see the basic history and biography of the guy he would be working for. His name is Gary Sechler, age 47, he is the grandson of the founder of I-1, and is one of the "Big Sticks". His wife, Sandra, has been married twice, the first marriage, her husband died, leaving behind a son, Brent Flanagan-Sechler, who kept his fathers last name and added on Gary's. Brent, was only one when his father died, and was two when his Mom got remarried. He his now 18. Gary and Sandra have a daughter also, her name is Kylee Sechler, who is 16.
Included with the background information, Race found information on the town, where they would be living, directions and school information. Just then, he looked up to see the tired emerald eyes looking at him. He cleared his throat as he thought up an excuse for being up, but while trying to come up with something, he realized that he should be asking her why she's up.
"Ponchita what are you doing up, its," Race said as he fumbled for the time.
"It's 3 am and I was beginning to ask you the same thing," she said.
"I just have too much on my mind to sleep, and you?" he said.
"Lets just say I just got done packing and can't sleep."
"Your done already?"
"Pretty much. So is the new boss?"
"Yup, and I was just getting to the part about your new school. We need to go up to your school tomorrow and get your transcripts and sign you out and then fax all that in and sign you up at your new school."
"So where is my new school called?"
"Um, I believe, here it is, Hillcrest High School." He said and took out the picture of it. The pictured showed a the front outside of the building which revealed two noticeable levels and what one could determine with a school being on a hill, a third one, being a basement, would be a must. It also showed a separate square building which was only a mere feet away, which from the look, was the gym, and another building, this one more close to the road, which had a gravel sidewalk leading up a hill to it from the school. The school was huge, and as Jessie read the paper about it, it was. It had 1,800 students in it, and just in her junior class, it held 355 people. Just her school population alone was bigger than the surrounding towns she lived in.
"Wow, it sure is big," she said.
"Yeah, but I think you'll be able to just, won't you?" Race asked.
"Yah, no problem," she lied.
"That's my girl." He said. He then showed her the family and the town they would be living in.


"I'm home," Jessie said as she walked into the house with Jonny at her heels. She walked into the living room, dropped her backpack down on the floor, and went to the kitchen to get a snack.
"Jess, honey, could you please come to the den, I need to talk to ya."
"Can it wait Dad, I just got home and I'm starving. I sure hope the food at my new school is much better than the one here in Rockport," she said with her head in the fridge.
"Well, that's what I need to talk to you about," Race said from the doorway.
"About school food?"
"Funny! No, I'm talking about your new school. Now could you please come in the den!"
"Okay Dad." Jessie said, she then shut the refrigerator door, and followed her father into the den. As soon as she walked in, Race closed the door.
"So what's up Dad?"
"What's up is that your probably not going to enjoy the classes I could get you. And before you complain, just remember, I was lucky to get you in, I had to pull a few strings with your vice principal, Mr. Snodgrass, so heres your schedule. Oh and I found out today that you will be in a few classes with Brent, whose Mr. Sechler's stepson," Race said. He then handed his daughter her schedule and prepared for her reaction.
"Okay, its a 8th block schedule."
"Oh yah, Mr. Snodgrass explained to me that on Monday's and Wednesdays you go to these classes," Race said pointing to the left handed column," and on Tuesday's and Thursdays you go to these classes, and on Fridays, you have every class."
"Oh joy!" she said. "Okay lets see here, Mondays I have Mrs. Evens, trig, oh boy fun, Mrs. Hannah, Bio III, Mr. Doddson, Journalism II, how in the heck did you manage this dad?"
"I pulled a few strings, you'll be working on the school paper, and the yearbook, everyday!"
"Fun!" she said sarcastically.
"And last is Media I with Mr. Paley, why did I get media?"
"I thought you might like it, besides it sounds fun!"
"Tuesday, Mr. Mullherin, PE, in the morning?"
"It was the only other class available at that time."
"Fine. Okay, Mrs. Gannon, family meals, Mr. Doddson , Journalism II and Mrs. Bishop, English III. Sounds fun dad!" she lied.
"That's my girl!"

Knock, knock.
"Come on Jess, six bells, we need to be leaving real soon!" Race said.
"I'm almost done," Jessie said.
As Race was about to go outside to make sure everything was loaded up, but got side tracked at the sight of his empty room. When he walked in, the sight of the bare walls and clean floor. As he walked into the room, he could feel the dents in the carpet from his furniture, and he could see the darker parts of the wall where his pictures were. It was hard to believe that it was really happening. He knew that there was a cover up going on, but he couldn't figure out why or who was behind it. All he knew was that as soon as he moved to his new job, he would make it a point to find out what was going on. But the part that troubled him the most was that they weren't just making his life a hell hole, but his daughter's and anyone else they were close to. He hated that he had to uproot her and take her away from the one house she had been able to call home.
"Hey Dad, wanna give me a hand?" Jessie asked as she, Jonny and Hadji walked out with boxes in their hands.
Race chuckled at the sight of his daughter carrying a few small boxes while Jonny and Hadji carrying all the big ones. "Look like you've already got help."
"Race, " Jonny said as he walked over to Race and placed the box in his hands.
"Ump," Race said, "what is in here?
"Oh nothing but the last eight years of stuff I have collected while I've lived here," Jessie said bitterly.
After that comment, Race kept quiet, he knew he could never make this up to her.

As hard as packing was, leaving seemed harder. Race had expected to be gone by 7 am, but instead, they ended up leaving around 10am. After driving for hours, they decided to stop off at a small cafe outside of Philadelphia.
"Sigh," Jessie said as she slumped down in the booth she was sitting in. She stared at her father as he scarfed down his barbecue beef sandwich. The sight of him eating the sloppy meal was making her chicken fingers look gross. It wasn't her choice to eat at a Mom and pop style place, she would rather be eating at McDonald's or Burger King, but her fathers explanation that they had all the time in the world to eat at those fast food places. So without a fight, she agreed. This is his trip, let him have fun.
As Race was eating, he noticed that his daughter wasn't eating, but playing with her food. He then sat his sandwich down. and swallowed his last bite and decided to confront her. "So, what's the sad look for?"
"What do you think its for?"
"Well, I should've seen that one coming. I was only trying to help," he said.
"Yah, and so did the people who decided that we should move."
"Hey I'm not that evil," he said. That remark earned him a smile. "Hey got you to smile."
"So."
"What are you trying to do, have a pity party?"
"Sounds fun to me!"

"After a short lunch, they were back on the road. Traveling through Philadelphia, and getting lost.
"Um... Dad... I think were lost." Jessie proclaimed.
"Not according to the map I-1 gave us," he said as he pointed to their direct locations.
"But Dad, we just passed a sign for South Street and according to this map I downloaded before we left, we are really off coarse," Jessie said pointing to her map. Just then Race made a quick pull over on the street in front of a shop. When Jessie looked over to see where they were at, she started laughing. While she was laughing Race grabbed her map from her hands and compared it with his.
"Hmm..." he said as he starred at each map, looking each up and down trying to find the mistakes. "Dagumit," he said,
"what's wrong Dad?" Jessie asked as she stopped laughing.
"I can't make heads or tails over which one of these maps are right, and damn, I left the cell phones packed in the comm bag in the U-Haul truck, I wonder if they have a phone I could use, I need to call an old buddy of mine to get him to send a map to the FBI field office here so we can pick it up and leave," he said. He then got out of the car.
"Dad wait, do you know where your going?" By that time, he didn't hear her. Oh well, she thought. He probably needs to restock his supply for the new town, she thought.

"Hi Welcome to Condom Kingdom, how may I help you?" asked a perky girl who was at the front counter. Just then, Race realized what his daughter was trying to warn him about before he came in.
"Um..." he said as he read her name off of her name tag,"Um, yes Morgan, I was wondering if you had a phone I could use."
"Yes, but it's only for paying customers."
"Okay fine." Race said with a red face and picked up an item and paid for it. "Now can I use the phone?"
"Certainly! Oh and have a nice night!" Morgan said with a big grin.

"Well, we have a new map waiting for us at the FBI office," Race said as he got in the car and threw a small brown paper sack in the back-seat. "It seems like the government, they haven't gotten new updated map's in years, I had to pull a few strings to get this new puppy," he said.
"So Dad, what's in the sack you bought," Jessie said with a huge grin across her face.
"None of your business!" With that, he quickly drove off, but not without glancing in his mirrors to make sure no one he knew saw him.

After they dropped by and picked up their new map, they were well on their way. They were trying to make it as far as they could; I-1 wanted them in Springfield in less than two days, so they didn't have time to spare getting lost. After a while, Jessie took over driving so her father could get some sleep. She was told by him, that if he wasn't awake by eight, to stop at the nearest town and find a hotel to stay at and then wake him up. When eight rolled around, it was just her luck that she was a few miles away from a large enough town to have a few hotels. When the arrived, they got a room, unpacked clothes for the next day, went out for supper and went back to the hotel to sleep. For them, 6 am was coming too quick.

As the night hours slowly exited, the two travelers awoke to a rainy dawn. They then quickly packed up their belongings, checked out and left. They would be traveling all day so that they could arrive at Springfield at a decent time.
The first signs that the received that they were getting close was the sudden change from the contemporary pop to the mostly country music radio stations. It wasn't anything Race couldn't handle, in fact, he was loving it to death. The strumming of the guitar and the rhythmic sound of the fiddle with twangy voice of the singer took Race back to his days of living in Willamette Ill. and working around on the farm. He truly was in heaven. He tapped his thumbs against the steering wheel to the beat of the songs about killing Earl, women getting their revenge against boyfriends who never listened to them, but what made him laugh the most was the song that was on after the revenge against boyfriends song. This song was different from the rest, but it was still a good ol'fashion country song. But it was rather unique, and held a power to make people come out of trances and listen to it. It even caught Jessie's attention. It all started with...

Plowing these fields in the hot summer sun
Over by the gate lordy here she comes
With a basket full of chicken and a big cold jug of sweet tea
I make a little room and she climbs on up
Open up a throttle and stir a little dust
Just look at her face she ain't a foolin me

She thinks my tractor's sexy
It really turns her on
She's always staring at me
While I'm chuggin along
She likes the way it's pullin' while we're tillin' up the land
She's even kind of crazy 'bout my farmer's tan
She's the only one who really understands what gets me
She thinks my tractor's sexy

It was those first lyrics of the song that arose Jessie from her magazine.

We ride back and forth until we run out of light
Take it to the barn put it up for the night
Climb up in the loft sit and talk with the radio on
She said she's got a dream and I asked what it is
She wants a little farm and a yard full of kids
One more teeny weeny ride before take her home

She thinks my tractor's sexy
It really turns her on
She's always staring at me
While I'm chuggin along
She likes the way it's pullin' while we're tillin' up the land
She's even kind of crazy 'bout my farmer's tan
She's the only one who really understands what gets me
She thinks my tractor's sexy

But it was those lyrics that got her to respond.
"This song is stupid!"
"Huh?" Race said.
"This song, listen to it."
"I'm listening."
"It's stupid. I mean, I've been to grandma and grandpas farm enough and rode a tractor enough to know its NOT sexy. It's down right nasty. Last time I rode one, I was covered with over an inch of dirt all over me, plus the sweat that was dripping off me was turning it into mud. And don't even get me started about the bumpiness. How demented is the person who wrote this song? That girl who thinks a tractors sexy needs to locked up in a mental hospital," she explained. All Race could do was laugh.
"Could we please change the station?"
"I doubt if your going to find anything better."
"It's worth a try!" And with that, she spent the next 30 minutes trying to find anything better and ended up going back to country.


"Well Jess, were in Springfield," Race said, "now help me look for street signs."
"Okay," Jessie said as she laid down her book. "So what am I looking for?"
"Umm... National, it's one of the main streets supposable and will take us to H highway which will take us to Farm Road 143."
"Oh goody, were living on a Farm Road, perfect, we should get a tractor to go along with this "Farm Road" and then we can sing, She thinks my Tractors sexy," Jessie exclaimed.
"Honey, I really don't want you using those stereo types around here, I'm hoping that maybe this is just a blessing in disguise. Besides, you should really look on the bright side of this, you'll be able to go to school everyday and won't have to worry too much on making up homework and you'll be able to make new steady friends," Race said.
"But did you ever stop to think if I ever wanted those? I was perfectly happy traveling all around the world, saving it, and learning stuff in other countries that I would never had learned anywhere else."
"I understand, but we really need to start looking for these road signs."
"Fine," she said.
The rest of the way was quiet except for the directions be given out. As the got closer to their destination, they were actually getting farther out of the town. The house that they were moving to was out in the country, around five miles out of the city limits. They finally saw the road sign for their street, Farm Road 143, and turned into the long gravel driveway that lead to a well hidden house. When they finally reached the clearing of trees, a huge house was revealed. It was a three story house with a pool, and a separate guest house where Race and Jessie would be living.
"Wow," Jessie said in awe. "It's almost as big as the Quest Compound."
"Yup, and we have our own house too, not too bad if I don't say so myself." Race said as he pulled the car and the U-Haul up to the paved driveway and parked the car. When they got out, they were greeted by their new boss, and his family.
"You must be Roger Bannon, how do you do? I'm Gary Sechler and this is my wife Sandra, my daughter Kylee and my son Brent."
"Nice to meet you sir, this is my daughter Jessica." Race said shaking his hand, "And please, call me Race."
"No problem," Sechler said, he then turned to face Jessie, "So your Jessica eh?"
"Hi," she said with a smile across her face, she then shook his hand. She then looked at his kids, Kylee and Brent and smiled at them.
"Well, we should probably show ya'll to your house and get what you need unpacked before it gets too dark, then tomorrow we'll help ya'll get moved in." He said as he led them into the guest house.
"Hi, I'm Jessica." Jessie said to Kylee and Brent.
"Hey, I'm Brent."
"And I'm Kylee," Kylee said all perky.
"So what's this town like?" Jessie asked.
"Well, besides the fact that theirs little places for teens to go, it's okay, We do have some popular hang outs like the Underground, and a few others here and there," Brent said.
"Well that's a few more than the town that I came from had."
"Where that at?" Kylee asked.
"Rockport Maine."

It was going for seven o'clock when they finished unpacking what they needed. After all that traveling and unpacking, it was time for Race to crash and burn. He then walked into the living room, laid down on the couch and turned on the TV. They were hooked up to a satellite due to the fact that they were out of the cable company's boundaries. So it wasn't too hard for Race to find something on the tube. While he was flipping through he could hear Jessie talking to Kylee down the hall.

"Hey Jessica, lets go out for supper or something, that way we can get to know each other," Kylee suggested.
Jessie sighed, it had been a long time since she had done things like that.
"But if your too tired I'll understand," Kylee added in.
"No, that sounds kind of fun, lets go," Jessie said.
"Okay, I'll have to go get my brothers keys and we'll be off."
"Your brothers keys?"
"I'll explained later," she said.

They then drove into town and stopped to eat at popular restaurant there.
"So you go to Hillcrest, right?" Jessica asked.
"Yup, and love it. I'm a cheerleader there and it's so fun. But don't let rumors get to you, the north side is not white trash," she said with a French fry between her fingers.
"North side, white trash?"
"See, we live on the north side, which is commonly characterized as the poor side, but were not. And then there's the south side, which is were all the rich snobby people live. You'll see. So are you going to school tomorrow?"
"No," Jessica said as she shook her head, "I need to unpack the rest of my stuff and get settled in. Besides, were still waiting on the rest our stuff to arrive, like mine and my dad's other car, some of the other communication devices, and so on. So I won't probably be there until next week or so. Oh speaking of cars, what's the deal with you driving your brothers car?"
"Oh that, well lets just say that when it gets icy here, it really gets icy, and I kind of hit a slick spot and put my car in a big ditch," the perky blonde headed girl replied.
"Ah, I see." Jessica said with a laugh.
"Yup, but since your not coming to school until next week, you might as well come to tomorrow nights big basketball game. It's the north side verses the south. Hillcrest vs. Kickapoo. That way you can meet all my friends and see Brent play and meet some new people."
"I don't know."
"Aw come on. I'm not cheering so I can introduce and sit with you! Besides it's a Friday night, and no one stays home on Friday or Saturday!" She said all perky.
"Okay fine. I'll come."
"Good. I'll take you shopping before hand and all how's that."
"Sounds fun," Jessica said as she was suddenly interrupted by a waiter passing by, who just happened to catch Jessica's eye.
"Earth to Jessica, you can stop drooling."
"Sorry."
"Don't, that is Hunter Keys . He goes to our school, and he's on the basketball team. He's also Student Council President and all around nice, cute, funny guy."
"Well then, I'm defiantly coming!"

The rest of the day was unpacking. Boxes after boxes, and when they thought they were done around noon, that's when the cars and the rest of the stuff came. So until late in the day, unpacking was all that happened.
"Well, we seem to be done, hey honey go run into the main house and ask Mrs. Sechler where we should put these boxes." Race said.
"Okay," Jessica said and walked to the other house, and walked in. They were told that they didn't need to ring the doorbell to get in, just walk on in or unlock the door.
"Why hello Jessica. How's unpacking?" Mrs. Sechler said. She had just gotten off work and was looking at the mail.
"We just got done, I was wondering were we should put the boxes?"
"Oh, just take them with you and Kylee when you go out and take them to the drop off site, she'll show you."
"Okay thanks Mrs. Sechler."
"No problem dear. Oh and just call me Sandra, when you call me Mrs., it sounds like I'm still in the classroom teaching. So what do you think of the town so far?"
"Okay Sandra. And the town is so far so not too bad, at least as much as I've seen."
"What was it like living with the Quest's and traveling so much?"
"It was," Jessica paused. The mention of the Quest's brought her back to the family she left and tried to forget. "It was fun."
"I bet, sorry you probably won't experience that around here. So do you have a mom?"
"Yes, she lives in Columbia, and is an archeologist. Why?"
"Oh just curious. I'm sorry for asking so much. I just didn't know if you were raised by your father or what?"
"Oh. Well no, I stayed with my mom most of my life until I came to live with the Quest. I visited her a lot, but when I talked to her last, she wanted me to stay here longer to get to know more people."
"She sounds like a good mother. What's her name?"
"Estella Velasquez."
"I think I know her. She was a professor of archeology in Texas for a while wasn't she?"
"Yeah, about four years ago."
"Okay, than I know her. I was a professor at the same University where she was when we lived there for a while. What a small world."
"Yeah it is."
"So have you lived most of year with your father?"
"Uh-huh." Just then the door opened and the sound of two arguing teenagers filled the air.
"Kylee, I am not letting you drive my car tonight. I have to be at school soon and I need it." Brent said.
"Well than what am I suppose to do?" Kylee complained.
"Drive the one you wrecked."
"I can't. It's at the salvage yard."
"Too bad!"
"Sounds like those two are going at it again over the car." Sandra said.
"Hey Kylee, don't worry about the car part, my car arrived today so I can take us." Jessica said.
"WAHOO!" Kylee said. Brent then walked over to Jessica and whispered to her.
"You've just made a bad mistake."

"So what do you drive?" Kylee asked as they walked to the guest house garage.
"Its a 99 Jeep." Jessica said.
"Ooh, sounds cool."
"Now remember, you have to help me get there, I have no clue where I'm going."
"Trust me! I'll get us there!"
"That's what I'm afraid of."
They then left for the mall.

"GO HHS!"
"Okay Jessica, I want you to meet Kendal and Bethany. Kendal, Bethany, this is Jessica Bannon." Kylee said. That was how most of the night went. Jessica meet tons of people during the game and doubted if she would remember anyone's name by the time she went to the school.
"Hey Jessica, wanna go meet some of the guys on the basketball team?"
"I guess, but the games still on."
"I meant after the game. I was hoping you would say yes, I was wanting to see Kyle," Kylee said.
"Whose Kyle?"
"Kyle Winthers, number 21, and my boyfriend," she said with grin.
"Wow, Kyle and Kylee," Jessica said.

Monday came early as usual at the Quest Compound.
"Son, would you come down for a minute?"
"WHAT?"
"I said come down here!"
"Just a minute."
This was a typical Quest Compound conversation anymore. What was once a vibrant exciting house, was turned into a abandon shack that is possessed by no one. While waiting for his son, Jonny, to come down, Benton glanced up at a framed article on the wall in his study. It was an article in TIME magazine, which he and the Quest Team made the cover as the Man Of The Year of 00. Next to the framed cover, was a frame version of the front of the article which had a picture of him in the center dressed in a black suite with his arms crossed and with a huge cocky grin. To the left of him is Jonny featuring his trademark lopsided grin, a white suit and Questworld equipment on. Then to the left of Jonny, is Hadji, who is also wearing a white suit and has a computer draped across his arms. To the right of Benton, was Race, who was in a hovering protected pose with a laser gun in one hand, and caring on the theme of black and white, he too was wearing a white suit. Next to him was Jessie, who was wearing a white flowing gown, with her hips resting on the side of her father and a cell phone resting firmly in her hands against her ear. The background of the picture was an old fashion looking brown map.
"So Dad, you wanted me?" Jonny asked in a sulky tone.
"Oh yes Jonny, I just got a phone call from Christoph Holland, and he is on his was and I think you should help him out when he arrives."
"Why?"
"Because it might make things go better than they are right now. Just try and make friends with the guy, who knows, he might even be another Bannon brother."
"Sorry Dad, I've met all of Race's brothers and I doubt if he even compares!"
"Don't knock them till you try them."
"Dad, has any one told you that you sound an awful lot like Hadji?"
"Nope, but thanks for the compliment!"

"Do you have everything?"
"Yup."
"Transfer papers?"
"Check."
"Grade slip?"
"Double Check."
"Parking pass on your jeep?"
"Done."
"Money?"
"Yes... no."
"Gotcha!"
"Can I have some?"
"Heres you $15 for the whole week, don't spend it all in one day."
"I won't. I should be going if I'm going to be in the counseling center by 7:30."
"You better, don't want to be late on your first day, plus isn't Kylee going with you?"
"Yeah,"
"I know honey, I don't it any more than you do..."
"But I have to make the best of it, I know I know."
"I'll be out of town tonight, Sechler and I are going to a conference in Kansas City and I won't be back until late, so don't wait up for me."
"Sure Dad."
"Well... you better be on your way."

"Hey Jess, you look great in that new outfit we bought," Kylee said as she ran out of her part of the house to meet Jessica.
"Thanks," Jessica said trying to avoid gazing into her eyes, she knew they girl would say it, she just knew it, and she didn't want the whole school on the first day knowing it too.
"Oh my gosh girl, pink and black are your colors!" Kylee said while getting into the Jeep.
"It's not really, I mean I've worn it a lot since I was ahem younger," Jessica said. 'Smooth Bannon, smooth.'
"But that's when your parents pick out your clothes right?"
"Yeah."
"And this is different, your wearing it on free will. Plus I bet you parents never dressed you in a tight long sleeved pink t-shirt with a tiger on it with tight black pants and a big black shoes did they?"
Laughs, "No can't say they did."
"You look adorable, plus I heard from the grapevine that the whole school is wondering who you are and along with those people is Hunter Keys, the one who works at the restaurant.."
"Cool." Jessica said pathetically. 'Well this is it, my moments glory.'
"Plus Chiquita, with that new medium 'do of yours, your definitely going to fit in and make heads turn."
"Joy." Jessica said as she pulled out of the drive way.


"That must be him." Benton said as a black car pulled up to the door.
"Here come the Men in Black," Jonny whispered to Hadji as the walked out the door to greet their new bodyguard.
"One should not be judge a person until they have a chance to judge you," Hadji said.
"I'm sure they gave him our files, he's had plenty of time to judge us."
"True my friend, but you shouldn't assume anything but the least expected."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Jonny said as he walked towards the just as the door opened and a young fellow, who looked around 27 stepped out. When he got out, he swept his fingers through his damp looking raven hair that seemed to match his black suit. He then looked at the three people, steering them up and down, letting his dark brown eyes pierced through each of them.
"Ello Dr. Quest," the guys said in crude British accent that would make any British person cringe.
"Hello, you must be Christoph Holland," Benton said as he shook Holland's hard hand. "Well, these are my two boys, Jonny, and Hadji."
"Hmm. yes, quite the trouble makes that I-1 buzz about," Holland said. The last remark earned him a bitter look from them all.


Ring Ring Ring Ring
"I'm coming; I'm coming," Jessica said as she raced towards the phone. She wasn't use to having to do this; usually one of the guys beat her to it.
"Hello."
"Hey Jess,"
"Jonny? How's, what's going on?"
"Did you just get home?"
"Yeah, I just walked in when the phone rang," she said trying to catch her breath.
"What time does school get out?"
"2:45, why?"
"Well what in the heck have you been doing for almost an hour and 30 minutes?"
"Jonny is that blond hair color getting to you or what? Hello, this is Central Time zone; I'm no longer living in Eastern! And when did you get so questioning?"
"Sorry, I've been all edgy today since our new bodyguard/slave driver, Holland, arrived."
"That bad?'
"Worse, he has this evil looking eye that follows your every move and this awful British accent and he always wants to know what were doing."
"Sounds fun."
"So how's life where you're at?"
"Oh besides the fact that I live with a girl who is Miss. Popularity who won't shut up and Mr. I'm all in a depressed mood guy, so far so good."
"So is that what the kids are like?"
"Yup. And don't even asked how many times I got lost at school!"
"How is your new school?"
"You just had to ask. Lets see here, its huge, I have odd classes, I feel like a total outsider in Journalism 2, which the teacher thanks I have possibility with my picture taking skills and computer skills, but the students don't want anyone new to join their realm of cliques, and that plus my media director loves me to death. He wants me to do a bit on my experiences traveling the world and crap. And tomorrow I get to face a whole bunch of new classes."
"Boy, wish I could've been there. So where's Race?"
"Out of town, like always. That's all he does anymore. I don't see him many ifs at all."
"Sorry, hey, hate to cut you short but Mr. Evil eye is starring at me, and it's giving me the creeps. Must run, stay tough like always Jess."
"Thanks, bye."


"Bye Kylee. Don't forget to meet me at the jeep after school."
"Sure thing Jess."
"Let's see here, PE, joy." Jessica said to herself as she glanced at her schedule. She then jumped as someone tapped on her shoulder. She turned around to see Hunter Keys, the boy she had seen at the restaurant.
"Oh sorry to scare you."
"It's okay," Jessica said with a smile.
"So you must be Jessica Bannon, right?"
"Yeah, how did you know?"
"Well, it's not every day my junior class gets a new student, plus when your STUCO president, you hear about everything. Hi I'm Hunter Keys, and if I'm not mistaken, we have the next class period oh wait next two class periods together."
"Good," Jessica said while shaking his hand, "than you can show me the way before I'm late."
"Just think of me as you're on personal tour guide, how's that?"
"Sounds fun to me."

"Young Jonathan, young Hadji, where are you two going?" Asked Holland.
"School, have a problem with that?" Jonny snapped back.
"Yes, and I want you two to wear these at all times," Holland said as he handed them a black box shaped like a pager.
"Sir, if you don't mind me asking, what are these?" Hadji asked as he fiddled around with his black box.
"It's a tracking locater that is also a pager that we can get a hold of you whenever we want."
"So basically you're following us?"
"I wouldn't put it that way, but if you insist, yes we are."
"Son, just wear it," Benton said as he appeared in door opening.
"Yes dad," Jonny and Hadji both said, and placed them in their pockets.

"I wouldn't eat that if I were you."
"Gee wiz, you sure do have a thing with scaring people don't you?" Jessica asked as she calmed herself down.
"Sorry, but still, I wouldn't eat that," Hunter said. He was referring to a line that had formed with students receiving a plate full of pasta.
"Okay, than what do I eat?" She asked.
"Well would Mexican do?" He asked.
"Where am I going to get Mexican? They don't serve it here and it's my understanding we have a closed campus lunch."
"We do, but me being STUCO prez, and you being new, I can pull a few strings and we can get signed out for the rest of this block to go eat, how does that sound?" He asked with a smile.
Jessica smiled back and said, "sounds great." She just smiled as he went to talk to a teacher, and went to the office to sign them out. There was something about him that reminded her of Jonny. It wasn't just his blond hair, but sense of caring.
"So I hope you like Mexican food. Theirs a great Mexican restaurant here that's pretty close to authentic."
"Well I'll be the judge of that." Jessica said as she followed him to his car.
"Now are we the judge of food?"
"Nope, but I've lived in Central Mexico and South America long enough to know what it's suppose to taste like."
"Ah I see." He said. He then walked over to the passenger side, and unlocked the door to his green Explorer. He then went over, unlocked his and got in and started the car and was on their way to the restaurant.

"Ooh this is so good!" Jessica said as she bit into her cheese enchilada.
"Told you. So does it meet with your approval?"
"Um-hm."
"Hey, I have a question for you."
"Shot away."
"Where you ever in Time magazine? You look awfully alike with this girl I saw in it."
"Wow that's kind of out of the blue question. Why do you want to know?"
"Just curious I guess. And like I said, you look a lot like her, which is a compliment."
"Thank you, and yes, that is I if you're referring to last years Man of the Year issue."
"I thought that was you. I love that picture. Man, I'm eating lunch with a Quest team member."
"Former Quest Team member and I'm flattered."
"Well how about you tell the story to me later because we need to be going so we won't be late to our last block class."

"So Race, how long do you think we should carry on this experiment of yours?"
"I'm not sure Sechler; I guess however long it takes for one of the two criteria's to be met."
"You know, with you out of the picture in Maine, the action could just die down for a while."
"I know, and I've taken that into effect, but if all goes like it usually does when I'm out of town or what not, it'll happen."
"I sure hope this little bit of insight you will gain will help you out."
"Same here." Race said, he then hung his head as he thought about what he was doing. He hoped for all sakes that everything would turn out as planed and it would be finally over. But he just didn't know how some of the key members in this experiment, who didn't know what was going on, would say.
"Please turn off all electronics and fasten you seat belts, we are about to land at *KCI, thank-you."


"So how was your lunch with Hunter?"
"How did you find out about it?"
"Hello... I can find out anything. The world is at my fingertips!"
"Sure, now buckle up and lets go," Jessica said as she put her jeep in gear and flew out of the parking lot. It had only been a week since she had moved into the town and already she was feeling like she had been doing the same routine for years. Driving the same route with the same passenger at her side. The route to and from school was an easy one to remember; she felt ease taking the sharp turns down the road. The only thing that made her feel uncomfortable about going back to her new home was knowing that her father wouldn't be there to great her when she got home. It didn't really bug her that much; at least it didn't while she was living at the Quest Compound.

Kylee sighed as looked at Jessica. She seemed to have an earnest look on her face. She knew how she felt. She knew what it was like being the new kid at school. But the only thing she knew that she didn't feel the same was joining in on your junior year during the semester. It had only been her second day at school and already she had her a lot of people talking about her. Some were good, but most where in question. A lot of people where wondering who she was and why she was invading their turf? She hoped Jessica wouldn't find out, she would feel so bad if she did. But if it goes as it usually does, than she wouldn't have much of a problem. Soon people would forget that she was the knew girl and accept her among their on, at least she hoped they would.






***Two Months Later***

"Hey Ponchita, where are you going in such a rush this early?" Race asked.
"To school."
"School doesn't start for another hour and half minutes. So were else are you going?"
"Well I told Haylee that I would pick her up." Jessica said.
"Okay, Haylee's your journalism partner for your story, right?" Race asked.
"Yup, plus her, Brad, Hunter and I are doing a little feature parody thingy for the announcements in media. So, I really don't want to be late."
"Okay, okay, but before you go, I got something to tell you."
"Can it wait until tonight?"
"Are you in that big of a hurry?"
"Yes, I have to get to school before Coach Paley gives away the new camera."
"Just go." Race said. He was starting to get troubled by the way she was starting to act. He was happy that she was accepting what was going on. He just wished she would stop and take some time out for her Mom and him. From what he could tell, she had blown off two trips to be with her Mom and besides the fact that he was always doing stuff out of town or wasn't home, he hardly ever saw his own daughter. All Race could do was to dread what he was going to have to tell her soon. He didn't really know how to break everything to her. Expressly the part about the fax and what it contained.
Ring... Ring...
The sound of the phone jarred Race back to reality. He slowly raised to answer it, he figured it was probably Hunter wandering if Jessica had left or not. It seemed anymore that Hunter had been calling over here a lot and that Jessica had been spending a lot of time with him. It also struck him odd that she was going by her full first name. She normally hated it when some one called her Jessica. But no, it was if someone called her Jessie, she would scream at them that her name was Jessica.
Ring... Ring...
"I'm coming..." Race said. "Hello."
"Race, I need to talk to you..."

"So Jessica, you're going to be behind the bar acting like the waitress eh?" Asked Brad Nixs, whom had one hand grasped on a script and the other waving around while he directed people? He was a tall muscular man who had a huge sense of humor and the personality that no one could hate.
"Sounds all right to me. So how many more takes do we have before this is over?" Jessica asked. She was dressed in an old fashion mobster suit and was holding a wineglass in her hands.
"I say if we can get this take right than one more since we've been filming backwards." Brad said. He then moved behind the camera that was on a tripod and placed his white shirtsleeve over the lens and pushed the white balance button. "Okay I believe we're ready, we all know our places right?"
"Sure, lets just get this over," Hunter said as he sat down on one of the bar stools. He was dressed up like an Abercrombie and Fitch poster boy; it wasn't his normal style of clothing, at least not the brand. He had the long sleeve button up plaid shirt that was left open to reveal a gray tee, a baggy pair of khaki jeans and a pair of brown Dr. Martins. He normally wore that type of clothing, not the brand.
"Okay, you two ready?"
"Yup,"
"Hunter?"
"Sure lets get it over with, so maybe I can still return these clothing and get some of my paycheck back."
"Okay and were rolling."
"So what can I get you, partner?" Jessica asked in a fake Italian accent.
"I hear the Kickapoo Chief calling." Hunter asked acting all secretive.
"The Kickapoo Chief is in its limo."
"Dang, too late."
"Better luck next time, Mr. HHS!" Jessica said, she paused as she waited for Brad to give her the cue it was over. "Uhem... are we done?"
"Yup, just seeing what you would do!"
"You stupid little... oh my gosh, it... can't be you!" Jessica stuttered out as she saw the sight of a blond haired boy standing at the ends of the stairs. She then jumped over the bar and ran over to his direction and hugged him.
"Hey Jess, nice of you to notice me!" Jonny said.
"How long have you been standing there?"
"Oh only about five minutes."
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"Because it was funny to watch you act stupid. So where's your hair?" Jonny asked as took hold of her red locks and followed them down to the middle of her shoulders, where they stopped.
"I cut them, you like?" She asked.
"Yah it looks good."
"Man, it's so good to see you again," she said. She then remembered that her friends where watching and had no clue who the heck he was. "I guess I better introduce you all. Jonny, this is, Hunter Keys, Brad Nix and that's Haylee Wheeton. You guys, this is the Jonny Quest I told you guy about."
"Oh yes the one who dyes his hair blond, right?" Brad asked.
"Shush."
"Jessie, you told them?"
"Don't get all mad at me, I was giving Brad a hard time about highlighting his hair blond and showed him the April Fools joke Hadji and I pulled on you when we switched your shampoos. Nothing big! Come on lets go up stairs. Sorry about the shoot today, I hope you understand."
"Sure, totally," Haylee said. "Call me girl!"
"See you guys!" Jessica said. She then wrapped Hunter on the side of the head as he walked by, "hey you keep those clothes, I like them. I might even have to borrow them from you!"
Jonny then leaned in and say, "don't let her borrow them; you'll never see them again!"
"SHUSH!"

"So how has it been, I mean here in your new life? You seem to have the new friend thing down packed!"
"It's been okay; people here are pretty cool."
"It hasn't been the same since you guy left."
"Don't think it's not hard for me to be here and not there with you guys."
"Well it's hard for you to show it!"
"Did you come here just to persecute me or why did you even come?"
"Well since you haven't visited us so we decided to visit you."
"Sorry."
"So what's with the chief and the Kickapoo thing?"
"Oh, just friendly school rivalry, something I was deprived of back home."
"Why are you so touchy?"
"Why are you?"
"You know Jess, you sure have changed. You're not the same person who left two months ago. Who are you and what has happened to the Jessie I once knew?" Jonny asked. He then stared at her in the face. She looked like the same person who he once new, same hair color, just different length, same size, same smile, same attitude, he couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something was different.
"I'm still the Ace you once knew. You know Jonny; it's funny how having a life beyond saving the world can be like. I never once imagined what it would like to live like the others, you know, get up at the crack-o-dawn to go to school, do homework, work on an oral report, to actually make friends who don't live on the other side of the world. You know, but then again, I doubt if you do." Jessica said harshly. She then stood up from her sitting position at the bottom of the stairs and walked off.
"You Jess, it's always been a big problem of yours, I mean the walking away from a fight. You maybe Race's daughter, but you sure don't act like it." Jonny said. Jessica then stopped in her tracks and stood there. Jonny gulped, he knew that last remarked struck a nerve with her. She then turned around and stared at him.
"Jonathan, I am very intrigued that you would say that to me. I'm glad you came all the way out here to argue with me. I sure hope our fathers are having better luck than you are and I am. Now if you will excuse me, I have some friends that I need to get a hold of and talk to." Jessica said. She then aberrantly turned around and left. All Jonny could do was stare. He didn't know what to think. Just then he figured out what was different about her, she had matured.


"Race, I don't know if you heard or not, but their was an attempted break in the other night."
"Yeah, I heard."
"You know Race; this little experiment of yours might be doing more damage than it will fix."
"Benton, you know as well as I do that we really don't have much of a choice. It's not as if they came to us and asked us if we would be interested in it, it was more we had to do it or else."
"I know Race, but what exactly is the "else" that's holding us from not doing it?"
"Well, as far as I can tell from what I've found out, it's separation for permanent, losing of government funds, I will lose my I-1 connections and ranks, and I'm sure theirs more." Race said as he laid his coffee mug on the table.
"They sure have some big hold on Quest Enterprise, don't they?" Dr. Quest asked.
"More than you could ever imagine."


"Come on you two, don't you two know what it means to get ready on time?" Race screamed at the top of his lungs to the other end of the house.
"No need to scream at me Daddy, I'm already ready," Jessica pronounced as she came up from the basement.
"What were you doing down there?" Race asked.
"Getting ready. It seems our blonde-headed guest took over my bathroom, so I went downstairs."
"Well, it's not as if I didn't give you fair warning." Jonny said as he walked into the discussion.
"Finally, now we can leave." Benton said as he too walked into the conversation. "It would be bad if we showed up late to eat out with the Sechlers."
"You know Dad, I do have homework." Jessica said.
"It's the weekend. Can't you come up with something better like 'I have a date'?"
"Because that would be lying." Jessica said with a smirk on her face geared towards Jonny.
"Well, I'll let you; Jonny, Brent and Kylee sit together."
"Oh goodie, oh yeah Dad, Kylee couldn't come, she already had prearrangements, like I did."
"We'll talk later;" Race said giving his daughter a stern look as he got into his SUV.

Later that night, after everyone was asleep, only one single soul was awake. Jessica lied there in her bed for awhile. After laying there for an hour and a half, she decided to get up and write in her journal.
She crept quietly to her desk and opened the laptop computer and clicked on a file and typed in her password. After glancing at the old entries, she noticed that she hadn't written since her first day of her new school.

"Well, I'm finally deciding to write again. It sure has been a while and a lot has happened since. I've met a lot of people and now have a ton of friends. Some are close, some are just aquantenses and one is super close. I smile each time I think of that person. They're the best!
Well, today I had a huge surprise. While Hunter, Haylee, Brad and I were filming a stupid Mr. HHS parody of James Bond, at my house, and low and behold Jonny appeared. Well we got to talk and I guess we both ended up ripping each other's heads off. Time and seven hundred miles can sure do a lot to a person. That night we [Quest, Dad and I] along with the Sechlers (minus Kylee) all went out to eat. I had to cancel on Hunter and the gang to listen to Brent and Jonny talk about stupid guy stuff. Now I know why Hunter complains when he's over when Kylee's around.
I'm starting to wonder if I'm never going to want to go back to live with the Quest. I'm really starting to like living a "normal life". I feel real bad about too. I know Mom is probably boiling in her own juices about me not visiting. Oh well, I hope she understands.
Yawns, it's currently 1:35am. I'm tired but I can't sleep. I'm listening to the FOO Fighters cd, There is nothing left to lose. It's not exactly the best cd to listen to right now but what the heck. I'm considering buying Jonny, Blink 182 cd just for the song, "What's my age again?". I swear they wrote that for him.
Well, I should probably go before the wee-morning hours fall upon me. Tomorrow, my whole goal is to get out of the house without any one noticing I'm missing. Good luck to me."

With that, Jessica saved her work and closed down the program. Just as she was about to close down her laptop, she noticed her QuestWorld icon was still on there. She had tried it once before to get into it, but without proper satellite hook ups to get into the main part, she had no luck. But after careful thinking and noticing that Jonny had his with him and was on, she remembered that they must have brought a mini receiver with them and she could probably get into the system now. So she clicked on it.
Soon seconds turned to minutes, and minutes turned to hours, but noon of that stopped her from playing around. It was heading towards 4am when something caught Jessica's attention. She was going through all the additions since she left and noticed a file that had started the night that they found out they were leaving up to the previous day. It was in text format so she clicked on it. After a while of trying to decode it and get through the password, she finally hit pay dirt.

"Experiment #8557-JAB
Hypothesis: To determine if the environment is the cause for the recent number troubles at the Quest Enterprise and locations.
Procedures: We have separated the team, Hadji Singh went back to his native Bangalore. Roger "Race" Bannon and Jessica Bannon have been reassigned to Springfield Mo and Dr. Benton Quest and Jonathan Quest have been assigned a new bodyguard, Christoph Holland.
Results: "

Jessica read over the documents. It seemed as if her Dad had been keeping tabs on her. Everywhere she had gone, everyone she had met, everyone one that was at the house, even surveillance tape was available. She read her section over and over, she recognized names, Hunter, Kylee, Haylee, Brad, even her teachers and the people she sat next to were on this list. She then went over to Jonny's section and Hadji's section, all the same.
It was then it all clicked. All she was, Jonny and Hadji, they were all lab rats. They had no privacy any more. How could he, she thought. She couldn't believe her father lied to her. It was all a cover. That son of a bitch, she thought. She then printed out the whole 20-page document and glanced at the time. 5am. She then creped down the hall and entered the guest bedroom that Jonny occupied and quietly knocked before entering. She then walked over to his bed and jabbed him in the ribs.
"Pist, Jonny wake up." She whispered.
"Go away!"
"Keep your voice down; we don't want to wake everyone in the house. Now would you get up I really need to talk to you right now!"
"Jess, it's 5 am. Can it wait?"
"No."
"Fine. What's so important?"
"This," she said and trusted the paper into his face. He then grabbed the paper and turned on his lamp. He sat up and glanced at the paper. His face became puzzled.
"Were did you get this?"
"Off of Questworld. I couldn't sleep so I decided to get into it since you brought a mini receiver. And as I was logging out I noticed it. Read on it has our daily activities in it."
"I can't believe they did this to us." Jonny said in disbelieve.
"Join the club."


"Boy, you two are up early," Race exclaimed as he walked into the kitchen to see the two teens sitting at the table next to each other with a look of anger.
"Oh good Jonny, your up, I was getting ready to go to your room and ask if you wanted to go with Race and I to Bass Pro to go get some fishing stuff?" Benton asked.
"No Dad, I think I'll pass." Jonny said harshly.
"Okay, what's going on here?" Race asked.
"We should be asking you this." Jessica remarked. Race and Benton looked at each other with a puzzle face.
"Read." Jonny said as he scooted a folder across the table. Race then grabbed the folder and opened it. It was what he feared. He had been preparing himself for this day, but never expected it to happen.
"Where... where did you get this?" Benton asked in disbelief.
"Off of Questworld. It was in plain sight." Jessica said.
"We can explain."
"Good, I was hoping to hear about us being your little "lab-rats". Jessica snapped back at her father.
"Jessica, you were NEVER lab rats. And it wasn't as if we had any choice." Race argued back.
"Sure it was the government's fault. Just like everything else. Just like how you and Mom got divorced, just like you never hardly got to see me when I was little. Just like you never did nor still now have time for me." She said with tears running down her face. She then quickly exited the room running to her own room. She then grabbed her keys, some money, her laptop, and whatever clothes she could find and stuffed them into her gym bag and ran to the garage. Just then her father appeared in the doorway.
"You know Hon; you shouldn't walk away from some fights."
"Funny, that's the same thing Jonny told me yesterday. I guess that's just another disappointment I am to add to your list." Jessica said and stepped into her jeep, started it, raised the garage door, and left.
It was 7o'clock. Early for a teenager, but she prayed as she pulled in Hunter's driveway that he would be awake. She noticed his parents car was gone, she presumed that they went to his little sisters soccer tournament, she just hoped that he hadn't gone with them. She then hit the doorbell button and waited. A couple minutes passed as she hit it again just as the door opened and a half-asleep face peered out.
"Jess, it's freaken early what are you doing here?"
"I really need to talk to you. I'm having a crisis and I need to be with someone before I do something stupid." She said.
Hunter looked at her as she said this. He may be half-asleep but he could tell that she had been crying. He also noticed that she was still in her sleepers had her laptop in her hands. "Come in." he said.

"I see now why you're upset." He said as he read over the documents.
"I'm so sorry for coming so early but I'm so happy to be with you."
"Don't worry about it. Here I'll get ready and lets go somewhere, get some breakfast and do something to get your mind off it." He said.
"Thanks. Can I ask you a favor?"
"Sure."
"Can I move me jeep into the backyard so it's out of sight? I really don't want my Dad finding me. While I'm here."
"Sure, and we'll just leave it back there for now. So how does a day at Branson sound?" Hunter said. She then hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. It was her first time to kiss him, but he deserved it.
"Sounds great, I'm just going for anywhere but here."


~Week later~

"Jessica." Race said as his daughter entered the house. "I was beginning to file a missing person file on you, nice of you to come home." He said. He then put down the box he was packing and hugged her, but she didn't hug back, she just stood there.
"I see your leaving." She said.
"You mean we, were going back home. Jess, I'm so sorry about this. I never ment for you to find out about it that way. I had no control over what went on. I was forced to do it." Race said.
"I understand. I hope you also understand that I'm not going with you. This my home. The Sechlers and the Key's are going to take me in until I graduate."
"Oh no you're not."
"Yes I am its ether this or I never speak to you again and go live with mom where you'll never find me again. I've already spoken to her and she approves it and is going to come and stay with me for a while."
"Are you this bitter?"
"No Dad, I'm not bitter, I'm just completing my fight. So audios cowboy. Maybe come graduation time, I won't be mad at you any more and send you an invitation." With that she went back out the door she came in, got into the passenger side of her jeep with Hunter in the driver and they left.