"Sosh?" Jargon turned his chair to face her.

"Yup?" she rested her chin in her hand, and waited for him to continue.

"Do you think that keeping Price in the dark on this Paulson-chick thing is really a good idea? She is our boss."

"Jargon, Price wants to lock Travis up and throw away the key. We may be the only ones standing in her way."

"And Wiley."

"Yeah, and Wiley. There's something fishy going on here, I can smell it."

"But it's Travis' ship. Maybe we should let him go down with it?"

"Since when are you so full of doubts? You're the one who went to visit him because you felt guilty about him getting arrested. What did you find to change your mind?"

"I - just reading this document from when he was with CrayZhorse. Maybe Annie's right about him. He did a lot of illegal stuff when he was in the Uprising."

"Look, one thing about Annie is that there's only black and white, no grey. Level Nine is the white, CrayZhorse is the black. She acquaints Travis with the black. That's all there is to it, Jargon. She can't see the grey."

"You're saying Travis is grey?"

"A very light grey, almost white."

"So, you don't trust him either."

"I barely know him, Jargon. Look, what do you want me to say? That we're doing the right thing? We are doing the right thing, Jargon. How's that?"

"Better, I guess," he sighed, eyeing his computer monitor. "What if she finds out?"

"Then we tell her off. Travis is a member of our team, and we owe it to him to get him out scott-free."

Jargon raised his eyebrows at Sosh. "I had no idea you had this conviction. Towards anything."

"Yeah, well, Price pisses me off."

He chuckled. "I think she pisses everyone off. She should work on that."


***


Teigra had walked from the police station to the mall several blocks away. She picked up the payphone receiver, holding her quarter just shy of the coin slot. Was she ready for this? What if this Jargon decided to turn her in to the police, instead of help her free Travis? She hung up again.

"Are you goin' ta use that, or are ya jis goin' ta stand there arguin' with yerself?" a male voice grumbled behind her.

She recognized the voice, and turned toward the source. "I think I'll argue with myself a little longer, thank you."

"Damn, woman, other people gots ta make important calls, too, y'know."

She smiled at him. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, y'know, jis," he glanced around them, "Shoppin'."

"Uh-huh, shopping, right." she nodded sarcastically. "I'll bet."

"Yeah, well, I've been followin' you since Seven Eleven. You're off yer game, Girlfriend." Steve followed her over to a bench, and sat down beside her.

"Did you notice anyone else following me?"

"Nope. Jis me."

"Well," Teigra sighed, "That's a relief."

"He's gonna find out, Tig. We always knew that."

"Find out what? That I don't want Gopher to spend the rest of his life in prison? He already knows that. In fact, he's known that for years."

"Yeah, well, that's not what he killed Marvin over."

"I don't even know..." her sentence trailed off, as she was unable to finish it.

Steve put his arm around her shoulders comfortingly. "Travis didn't do it, Tig. You can't believe for a second that he did."

"I don't." she shook her head. At least Steve had not yet found the tape. "I don't, at all. It's just that seeing him today..."

"Brought back memories, I get that."

"Yeah. Bad ones." she shook her head. "Dammit, Steve, I've been through this once before. And look how that turned out."

"There was nothin' you could have done then."

Wasn't there? "I know," she sighed.

"There wasn't. It was the perfect set-up the first time."

"What if this is, too, but not for Gopher?"

"For who then, Tig?"

"Us,"

Steve shook his head. "You think too much."

"I hope you're right."

"Of course I am." he smiled broadly.

They departed the mall, en route to the night club where they both worked.

Upon arrival, Teigra disappeared into the basement to make a phone call. Ensuring that the call could not be traced or tapped, she dialed the number Travis had given her.

A male voice came on the line. "Hello?"

"Is this Jargon?"

"That depends on who's asking. Who's asking?"

"I'm a friend of Travis's. You could say I'm his get out of jail free card."

He seemed to consider this for a few moments, before returning, "How do I know you're telling the truth?"

"How do you think I got your number if it wasn't from him?"

"What's your relationship with him?"

"That doesn't matter. And quit stalling, you won't get a trace."

"I'm not tracing - "

"Oh, please. You government spooks are all the same. Even the rookies."

"I'm not a rookie."

"No, of course not. Rookies don't get into Level Nine."

"How do you know about - "

"I told you, I know Travis. And I have information that can help him, but I can't do this alone. I need your help, Jargon."


Jargon glanced sidelong at Sosh, but she was not paying attention to anything other than her computer. "What do you need me to do?"

"I need anything you have about Marvin Bates' murder."

"I'll see what I can do." he hung up his cellular telephone, then set it down beside his monitor.

Sosh did not take her eyes from the screen before her, but asked, "Who was that?"

"Some girl claiming to be a friend of Travis's."

"Oh? Her name isn't Tonya, is it? Codename: Thrillseeker."

"Actually, she wouldn't say."

"Well, I'd say that's a little suspicious, wouldn't you? Unless she's Paulson." she cast him a sidelong glance.

"I guess it could have been."

"Do you believe her? That she wants to help Travis, I mean."

"I don't know. She sounded sincere, and she did get my cell number."

"She could have gotten that anywhere."

"This one's not listed, Sosh. He would have had to tell her."

"Hmmm. What did she want?"

"Information about a murder."

"A murder?" she tried not to look guilty. "Whose?"

"Uh, Marvin Bates." Jargon shrugged. "I've never heard of the guy. Have you?"

"Oh, no, me neither." she shook her head, turning back to her computer, and trying not to seem conspicuous.

"Oh well, I'll see what I can find." he sighed, wondering why she looked so guilty.

"Let me know if I can help." she replied to ease his doubts.

"Always do,"


***


Travis sat facing the TV screen, a faint sense of hope flickering in the back of his mind. Wiley smiled at him reassuringly, making him aware of the knot in his stomach. Travis did not know what this was about. It could be him caught on tape taking the drugs he had apparently injected, for all he knew.

The knot grew, and he shifted uncomfortably in the silence. More silence.

The television came to life, a tape from the prison's surveillance cameras. The view zoomed in on a young woman : Teigra. She was walking by in the background.

Travis remembered this day. He had been talking to Jargon about what had happened the night of his arrest.

"Who is she?" Price's voice commanded a response.

"I don't know." he scoffed. He was not about to give up his one real chance at getting out of this mess. "Some chick visiting her eighty year old lover in prison?"

"You're not in prison, yet." Tibbs stated. Wiley was chuckling.

Price was angry. "Who is she, Travis?" she tried again, knowing that he was lying.

He continued his charade. "I don't know, Price." he echoed her same tone mockingly.

"Okay." The image changed. This time Travis was shown talking to her through the glass.

He knew he was screwed.

"We can't help you if you won't help yourself." Tibbs said quietly, evenly. He did not want to upset the young man.

"I am perfectly happy to have you locked away for the rest of your life." Price added.

Travis stared, forlorn, at the image projected on the screen.

Wiley decided to try to persuade him. "Come on, Trav. All she wants is the girl's name."

She. Price. All Price wanted was the girl's name. Wiley, at least, was on his side. Travis shook his head at him. "She has nothing to do with what happened to me."

"We'll be the judge of that." Tibbs replied. "After we talk to her. She may be lying to you."

Travis' manner turned defensive. "You don't think I've thought of that?"

"Easy, Trav." Wiley put his hand on the young man's shoulder. "It's like Tibbs said, we just wanna help."

"You want to help me, you stay away from her." he told Wiley.

"Why, Travis? What does she know?" Price questioned.

"Just back off it, alright? If CrayZhorse finds Level Nine snoopin' around her, he'll take her out."

"Take her out?"

"He'll kill her, Annie." Wiley clarified, using a tone that said she should have been able to deduce that herself.

Price stared Travis down. He averted his eyes, not wanting to take in her coldness. "Just leave her alone."

"She's our only lead right now, Trav." Tibbs informed him.

"She's a dead end." Travis snapped. "She won't talk to you. She doesn't want to get involved with you. It would draw attention to herself."

"Give us her name."

Travis met the coldness head on. "No."


"Oh, my God," Teigra breathed.

"What?"

She and Steve were at Great Uprising headquarters, working on their respective projects.

Well, Steve was, at least. "I've got it. I decrypted it...It's all here..." she was talking to herself, disbelief evident in her voice.

"You are not alone." Steve wiggled his fingers at her, speaking hypnotically. "Share your discovery witchyo friends, hey?"

Teigra switched off her monitor. "I don't want you to get swept into this, Stevie. You're in far enough, but you don't know enough to get killed over it."

"Oh, man. That's the disk - I mean the disk? The one - "

"The one that CrayZhorse thought Marv had, yeah." she nodded. "Now drop it before he overhears something."

"You have to get rid of that thing." Steve urged, trying to take the disk out of the drive.

She swatted his hand away. "This may be G - Travis' only chance to - "

"This could getcha killed, Tig. And I know Roller don't want that."

"Yeah, well, you leave what Roller wants up to me, okay?" she turned her chair back, flipped on the screen, closed the file, then ejected the disk. She put it in her purse as she got up.

"I can't letcha do this, Tig." Steve stood blocking her escape.

"Why? Because the Horse added you to his elite payroll, Stevie? I thought I meant more to ya than that."

"This has nothing to do with him. This is about you doing more than your share to free your ex. He is still your ex, right?"

"Yes, Steve, he is still my ex."

"Well, good. Then you can just throw that away." he pointed to her purse.

"What are you trying to pull, Steve? Get yourself off the hook? You're not even on the hook. Tell CrayZhorse that."

"I'm not worryin' about me, here, Tig. It's you. You can't go up against him alone like this."

"I'm not going up against him, Stevie, I'm just getting leverage."

"Leverage," he scoffed, letting her pass. "Let it be noted that I tried to stop you."

She gave him a blank look over her shoulder, and he shook his head.


***


Night had fallen. Travis felt like the seconds were getting longer. He was depressed, a deep sadness that he could not shake. All hope was gone. He was going to prison. There was no way out this time. No alternates. No escape.

He wanted to go home. Prop his feet up on the coffee table and watch some awful talk show. Anything was better than this.

Travis heard footsteps coming down the hall toward his cell. He sat up quickly, then went to the bars. Forbes, the security guard, was doing his usual rounds. It was seven o'clock, Travis realized. Only seven o'clock. Would this day never end?

"Tryin' ta squeeze through, Travis?" Forbes teased.

Travis did not mind. Forbes was a decent guy, and he was just doing his job. "Yeah, I think that if I just concentrate hard enough, I really will turn into Jell-O. And then I will be free."

Forbes shook his head at the young man. "Get some sleep. That's about all you can do around here."

"I can't sleep. It doesn't matter how hard I try, when I close my eyes, I just can't do it." he met the guard's kind gaze. "It's too quiet, is what it is. My place is situated near the railway tracks, and I'm used to snoozing through trains coming and going in the backyard. There's nothing here. Not even water dripping somewhere."

"That's not good, Trav."

"You're telling me."

An uncomfortable silence followed, and Forbes turned to go. Travis had a question, a plaguing question, but he did not know if the security guard would have an answer. As the older man continued down the hall, Travis gathered his nerve. He had to know what the other knew.

"Hey, Forbes?" He turned back, waiting patiently for Travis to continue. "How much do you know?"

"About this whole thing with you?" he shook his head. "Not much, my Boy. Just a few tidbits here and there when yer bosses come and go."

"Tell me. Please, I need to know."

Forbes stood thoughtfully observing Travis. The young man looked desperate. Not for details, but for company. He was stalling so that he would not have to be alone again quite so soon. "What you should really be concerning yourself with is, what else are they trying to figure out? You don't keep a parole violator in police custody for two days without another reason."

Travis digested this for several seconds, trying to decide if he knew what that meant. "Do you know?"

The guard sighed heavily. He should not have said anything, he realized. "Look, you didn't hear this from me, alright?" Travis nodded eagerly. He was used to not having heard things from people. "Apparently, there was a murder the night they picked you up."

"A murder? Who was it?"

"I dunno. Some hacker-kid. Martin, or Marlon, or Maurice...It started with 'Mar', anyway."

Travis leaned his head against the bars sadly. "Marvin?"

"Maybe," Forbes shrugged, "Something like that."

Travis closed his eyes against the despair he suddenly felt. Marvin had been one of his closest friends back in his days with CrayZhorse. He had also been the person he had chosen to follow, instead of staying with Jargon.

"You knew him?" Travis nodded. "Tough break, Kiddo. That ain't gonna look good when they get around to askin' ya about it."

"I didn't do it."

"From what I gather, you can't remember what you did." Forbes replied with a shrug.

"I know I didn't do that." he snapped.

"They always do."

"Don't tell me you're beginning to doubt me now, too."

"Hey, I'm just the guard, Travis. I'm neutral. I don't care if you killed a guy, drank till ya passed out, or are wrongfully accused. I just make sure you stay in your cell."

Travis nodded, "Yeah, I know. It's just so frustrating."

"I imagine it is. I have to finish my inspection, now." Forbes continued down the hall.

Travis stared, unseeing, at the floor. He was trying to figure out if Price and the others really did suspect him of murder. It explained why he was still being held here. His mind made a leap, and he wondered why Teigra had not said anything when she had come to visit him. She knew that Travis and Marvin were like brothers, why had she opted not to share this tragedy with him?

Unless it had not been Marvin, afterall.

The beam from a flashlight flickered over his face, and he looked up. "Hey, Jell-O Boy, you a hockey fan?" Forbes inquired jovially.

"Uh, yeah."

"Promise to behave?"

"Sure,"

Forbes unlocked the cell door, and let Travis out. He slapped on handcuffs, and led the young man to the outer room, where they could watch the Senators-Capitals game.

When it was over, two hours later, Travis was returned to his cell. "Thank you, Forbes."

"Yeah, just don't tell anyone."

"Don't worry, I won't. I appreciated it too much to betray you like that."

"Listen, Kid, whatever they say you did, I don't believe it. You're a good guy."

"Yeah, well, I wish that was all it took. Being a good guy."

Forbes nodded, then said, "Get some sleep." and left Travis to stare up at the ceiling, trying to follow his advice, but unable to calm the turmoil the surrounding silence caused in his head.


"I don't get it, Steve." Teigra sat back in her seat. She was tired, and bored, and flustered. Six hours of non-stop staring at a computer screen had proven useless. "I might as well have gone to bed." she shook her head.

"You would'na slept, anyway." Steve shrugged. "You're too worried about him."

She looked out the window. The sun was just coming out from behind a cloud. "Do you want to get some breakfast?"

"Yeah, okay." Steve shut down his computer. "Y'know, one of these days, the Horse is goin' ta send someone down here ta investigate us."

"No, he won't. He trusts us too much."

"That man don't trust no one. Not even his cat."

"Who says he has a cat?"

"Rumour. It is rumoured that he has a cat."

"I've never heard that one."

Steve shrugged, waiting for Teigra to turn off her computer. She slowly moved the arrow-shaped cursor up to the top right hand corner, and the 'x' that would close what she was reading. He noticed the picture of Travis, and then he noticed that she was staring at it. "You still love 'im, doncha?"

"Huh?"

"That's what I thought."

"What? Steve!"

"Ferget it, Tig. Let's go eat, I'm starved."


***


He stared up at the ceiling, as he had done all night. He had no idea what time it was, but he knew that he had lain awake for hours, staring, unable to sleep. For the past two days he had been plagued by insomnia, though he wanted to close his eyes and drift off.

He rolled over onto his side, and pulled the blanket up around his chin. He was shivering, unable to get warm in this rat hole.

"Someone here to see ya, Mr. Travis." Forbes' deep voice rumbled through the silence that was driving him mad.

He looked up, recognized Teigra, and felt a swell of relief that, for a few minutes at least, he would no longer be alone. He did not want her to think as much, though. "Why do you keep coming to see me?"

She stepped inside the cell, and waited for the police officer to lock the door behind her before moving again. She took in his miserable, fatigued expression as she knelt in front of him. She put her hand on his cheek. "Oh my God. You're lips are actually blue."

He swatted her hand away. "Don't, Tig, please."

She sat beside him on the cot. "How have you been?"

"Terrible." he leaned his head against her shoulder.

Tentatively, Teigra put her arm around him. They sat in silence, Teigra wishing there was some way she could speed up getting him out, Travis just enjoying her company.

"They tried to drag you outta me." he told her.

"What did you say?"

"I said no."

She was surprised. "You did?"

"Of all the people who think they know what they're doing, you're the only one I believe can get me outta here."

"Well, I'm trying, Goph. I can't promise anything. There's something else going on, I just can't...figure out what it is."

"A non-specific source suggested that I'm being held on suspicion of murder."

"Wait, you mean no one told you that - "

He met her eyes. "Told me what?"

"Well...Gopher, that's why they are holding you here. Max and Loon framed you for Marvin's murder, with the Horse's help, of course. It's all part of the get rid of Roller scheme." Travis stared in puzzlement at the floor. "I have proof that you didn't do it, Goph. I have Max and Loon's confession on tape."

"How?"

"Oh, the usual. They were drunk, and Loon couldn't keep his mouth shut."

"Where's the tape now?"

"Hiding." He arched his eyebrow at her. "I gave it to Steve. He doesn't know what's on it, just that he's s'posed to keep it safe. No one knows about what's on the tape 'cept me. And now you."

Travis nodded. "You trust Steve?"

"I have to. With Marv gone, he's all I have left."

"If you didn't know it was Max and Loon, would you have believed that it was me?"

"Not a chance, Gopher. You and Marv were best friends. Everyone who knew either of you had to know the other. It was this crazy inseparable thing."

"Until you came along." he smiled.

"Yeah, right," she snorted. "I almost gave up on you."

He caught the flash in her eyes, and laughed, "You are such a liar!" he went for her knees, the second most ticklish part of her body - the first being the soles of her feet.

"Gopher! Don't!" she giggled, trying to get away from him.

"What's going on down here?" Forbes demanded gruffly, then seeing the two on the floor, he smiled. "Oh, I see." Both looked up at the security guard, surprised by his sudden appearance. "Carry on, Mr. Travis. But you've only got five more minutes."

Teigra fell back on the floor laughing at the look on Travis' face.

"I was just tickling her knees, Forbes!" he called after him.

Travis shifted so that he was lying beside her, gazing down at her smiling face. She reached up and caressed his cheek. He caught her hand, and held it against his face. "Why did we break up again?"

"Oh, that's a brilliant plan that I give you all the credit for."

"Yeah, well, it was brilliant when I was going to be in prison for ten years."

"But it doesn't seem so brilliant anymore?"

"No, no it doesn't."

"I should go." she got up off the floor, and went to the bars to call Forbes back.

"What is it?"

"Nothing,"

"Tig, come on, what's going on?"

"Nothing, it's just - now's not a good time, Goph." Forbes unlocked the door to Travis' cell, then waited for Teigra to exit. "I'll come by tomorrow, okay?"

"Promise?"

"Promise." she looped her pinky around his.


***


Price and Wiley stood outside Travis' cell, waiting for him to acknowledge their presence.

"What? You guys get turned into vampires or something? You can't come in unless I invite you? Fine, Jack, you can come in, but Price, you can stay outside."

"That's very funny, Travis. Glad to see you haven't lost your sense of humour."

"When do I get to go home?"

"You know damn well that you're not going home, Travis."

He decided to play dumb, and weasel a confession out of Price for the real reason they were still keeping him in jail. He was not going back to prison having everyone believe he was completely clueless. "Why not? You can't hold me here on parole violation alone. What's going on?"

"It's a long story, Trav - "

Price gave Wiley a silencing glare. She then turned to Travis. "Did you know Marvin Bates?"

"Very well."

"Really," she looked amused. "When was the last time you saw or heard from him?"

Travis sighed. He decided that it was no use keeping it a secret anymore. "The day you arrested me. I was following him when whatever the hell happened to me happened to me. Where is this going?"

"Did you have any reason not to like Mr. Bates?"

"No, Price, never in my life did I ever have a reason not to like Marv. He was a good guy, and a better friend. We were going to help each other get away from CrayZhorse. And then the Horse framed me."

"CrayZhorse didn't frame you, Travis, I don't believe that for a second, and you could never convince me it was true." Price snapped.

"Whoa, whoa, I think now's a good time to step in here." Wiley interjected. "Don't fly off the handle over this, Annie. He could be telling the truth - about Bates, anyway."

"Not likely."

This remark was the last straw. Travis stood, staring into Price's fierce gaze. "What the hell is it, Price? You have been out to get me from the start. What the hell did I ever do to you?"

She kept her tone even, as she explained, "Of all the hackers and crackers we looked at and profiled for Level Nine, you were the one with the most credentials. You had more illegal entries and stolen passwords to your name than a public library has books on the shelves. And that's why they chose you. They wanted someone with your abilities on our side. It was sheer luck that you had slipped and gotten arrested, otherwise you really would still be in prison. Where I personally always said you should stay. I don't trust you, Travis, I never have, and that's no secret, either."

"So, what, this is revenge for not getting your way?"

"No, this is you getting what you deserve. You're a criminal, Travis. Criminals deserve to be locked up."

"You bitch." he spat.

"Hey, come on, you two. This isn't helping any." Wiley tried to settle the dust.

"Stay out of it, Jack." Price ordered, still glaring at Travis.

"No, Annie, I will not stay out of it. Why don't you just tell him what you're really doing, huh?"

Travis tore his glaring eyes from Price, turning them on Wiley. "What?"

"She's gathering evidence to prove that you did kill this Bates guy, Trav. She won't even look at the other side - the proving you innocent side. She's on the warpath against you, here."

He turned back to her, confused. "Why? Why would you do that?"

"I am not on the warpath, alright? But I do believe you murdered Bates. All I've seen is evidence to prove this."

"It's not true." Travis was shaking his head, furious. "I did not kill Marv! He was my best friend for years! I have no reason, not one to hurt him."

"Right, well, you just keep telling yourself that, okay?" she turned to Wiley, "I'll be outside." and with that, she left.

Travis let out an exasperated sigh, as he sat on the cot along the back wall. "What the hell did I ever do to her?"

"I couldn't tell ya, Junior." Wiley folded his arms across his chest, watching the other.

Travis simply shook his head. "You have to find her stash of PMS pills, and make sure she takes them."

Wiley laughed, "I'll get right on that. You're not the only one who'd be thrilled to see her normal for once."

"Normal? Price can be normal?"

"That's what Tibbs keeps trying to tell me." he shrugged. "Anyways, I kinda have some news from Sosh and Jargon. But it's not good. At all."

"Well, let's hear it anyway."

"They checked all surveillance cameras in the area, and found nothing. They were all hacked into and turned off, or the feed was diverted somewhere else, there's no way to tell which. Whoever abducted you knew how to cover his ass."

"That's the Uprising for you. We all know how to cover our asses."

"Unfortunately,"

"Yeah," Travis sighed, "Unfortunately. Anything else?"

"No, unfortunately,"

"A lot of unfortunately's in this conversation."

Wiley nodded, his grin betraying the fact that he had almost said it again. "I'll see ya later, Junior,"

Travis nodded, and the other left.