"NO!"
Sage awoke with a scream, banging his wrist on the bedside table. His cry turned into a string of curses as he realized that he wasn't wearing his braces. He looked around frantically and dove out of bed, slamming the window open.
The familiar sounds of cars honking, police sirens wailing, and the welcome glare of streetlights greeted him. A deep sigh escaped his lips as he began to calm down, coming to the conclusion that nothing had really happened.
"Just a dream…it was all just a dream…" He convinced himself, looking at his bedside clock. The little digital numbers in the corner told him the date, "Jeez…it's still the same night that Tyler brought over the coffee…"
Just to be sure, Sage made his way quickly to the kitchen.
Yep, in the trashcan were two still-hot to-go coffee cups, marked on the side with 'Old Mama's Home Ground Java.' The sink drain still smelled of poured out coffee.
"It's five o'clock…I was just dreaming…whew…" He sighed, then chuckled, "Man, I have got to lay off the late night caffeine splurges. This is really going too far…"
Just as he was heading back for the bedroom, Sage turned to glance at the phone. The digital message recorder was blinking with the number '2,' telling him that he had messages that he hadn't listened to yet.
He was pretty sure that he wasn't going to fall asleep again, so he hit play.
"Hey, Sage, it's me, Ryo," Sage felt a rush of homesickness when he heard that voice, "Um, well, I just wanted to call and ask if you wanted to meet us for lunch or something. We're gonna be heading back to Toyama in a couple of days…"
They're leaving again… Sage thought, but this time, I might not get another chance at getting them all back…
"…So, yeah, give us a call at our hotel if you want to, okay? We're at the Holiday Inn, rooms 763 and 762. Here's the number," Ryo rattled off the hotel's phone number and Sage had to scramble to jot it down before the message ended.
"Sunday, nine-twenty-four, p.m. Message two…" The answering machine said in a quiet voice.
"Sage, I got some bad news, man," It was Tyler, "Turns out that this Saeki guy has a little more clout than we thought. You need to lie low and be careful until the Bureau and I can get you some place safe. I'm going to be over first thing in the morning to get you, so be ready."
"Monday, three-thirty-seven, a.m., end of messages," The answering machine beeped off.
"Can my life get any more complicated?" Sage groaned and headed back to his bedroom.
He sat on his bed and tied on the wrist braces. The digital clock read five a.m., so there was no real reason to go back to sleep, if it was only for a mere hour…
Flexing his fingers hurt more than it should, but, then again, he should have been in the hospital for longer than he actually was. They had let him go home on a list of conditions like calling the hospital every day, wearing the braces, keeping the call button with him…
Blah, blah…
He lay down…and a second later, Tyler was rousing him out of bed.
"Come on, Sage, wake up."
"Not another dream…man, I don't need this…" He groaned and sat up anyway. Tyler pinched him in the arm and received a half-hearted punch.
"Good thing to know that you aren't dreaming." He grimaced, rubbing his shoulder, "Sage, we've got some intelligence reports on Saeki and his buddies. Seems that his friends really don't like you."
"What you're trying to tell me is that there's a black-market bounty on my head," The blonde grimaced and pulled his small duffel out from under his bed. Tyler grabbed his shoulder and shook his head.
"No time, man. You're moving out now. Don't worry, the office knows what size you wear," Tyler allowed his friend time to grab a few personal items, such as his toiletries bag, a small photo book, and a small cedar box. Sage shoved them into the duffel and followed his friend out into the kitchen.
Two other agents, Matthew Ruble and Peter Kyle, awaited them. Peter smirked at Sage's rather rugged appearance and helped him into his letterman's jacket. They all waited while Sage gingerly pulled on his boots and shoved a pair of sneakers into his duffel.
"Ready to go?" Matthew asked quietly. He and Sage had been in the hospital together after the initial bank robbery accident. He had been on the trail of a kidnapper when a drunk decided to run him off the road.
"Yeah, and let's hurry. Witness Protection wants him out of the state as soon as possible," Tyler said, helping Sage stand.
"Witness Protection? Since when was I under their jurisdiction?" Sage demanded.
"Since Saeki's old business buddies figured you were trying to shut them down." Peter pressed his ear to the door. Once he was satisfied, he opened it and the four men headed to the elevator.
An old white haired man hobbled up to join them in the car. Peter moved to hold the man back so they would have the car securely to themselves, but Sage shook his head, "Hurry, Mister Richmond, or you'll miss the elevator."
"Smart aleck kids, that's all you are. Humph." The old man grinned. He had been working the early shift at a local hotel's butler services for close to fifty years, working his way up from a bellhop. Sage had known him since coming to the United States, and knew that he had a thirty-year-old sense of humor.
Peter obviously didn't like the idea, but he managed to smile at the old man and step partially forward, making his presence known. Sage shook his head. Peter was a very suspicious man, not one to easily trust someone, even if one of his friends did.
The parking ramp was quite this early in the morning, and Sage expected it. He, Tyler, and Matthew waited while Peter called to the car. They had a special driver, one who had stayed with the car.
"Let's go, buddy." Tyler slipped into the back with Sage while Matthew got shotgun. Peter waved them off and walked back into the parking ramp.
"Where's Peter going?" He asked off-handedly as they drove into the ever-awake streets of New York.
"He's going home, of course," Tyler grinned, "He's got a wife and kids to take care of. This is a dangerous mission."
"Oh, yeah right." Sage rolled his eyes, "Where are we going, anyway? Why am I being hustled out of my home at six a.m. in the morning, forced to bring nothing but personals, and escorted to a car?"
"Honestly? Good ol' Uncle Sam wants you protected." Tyler pointed to his head. "Your other-sight or whatever it is has made you very special. You're lucky that they didn't land you in a think tank. So Witness Protection and your bosses upstairs are getting you to a safe haven."
"So that's why there's so much cloak-and-dagger?" The blonde closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose, a habit that he had cultivated over the past few—months?—of having to wear those dumb reading glasses.
"Yep," Matthew smirked back at them, "You're catching the red-eye out to Amsterdam. There, I go home to the US, but Tyler will stay with you all the way to Switzerland. You'll meet up with our FBI plant there—"
"Whoa, hold up! You're sending me where?" Sage exploded.
"Switzerland," Tyler grinned lopsidedly.
That second, the car spun out wildly, sending Sage smashing against the car door. A silver car rammed them again, its windows tinted against all identification. The license plates were missing too.
The driver hit the gas, speeding away. The silver car pursued, tail-ending them.
"Diver! Head for the Holiday Inn!" The blonde agent gripped his seat belt with a death-clamp.
"Ted, don't even think about it! Sage, stop being such a rock!" Tyler jabbed a finger towards the driver, then turned to his partner, "Look. You need to be out of the country. Saeki's buddies are planning to—"
"Yeah, I get the point! They want to kill me!" He grabbed Tyler's collar, "Now you listen to me. I'm not running away to some cabin in the woods like some poor people that the 'Witness Protection' people have trapped!"
"You're not going to some—"
"Shut up!" He snapped, releasing his shirt, "If I go anywhere, it isn't going to be the Alps to yodel with Old Man Mountain, get it?"
"Well, where do you want to go?" Tyler growled angrily, "If you don't want us to save your skin, who do you want to hang your hide on?"
Sage turned to the driver, "Ted, right? Take me to the local Holiday Inn. Lose these jerks first."
"Course."
It was then that Sage realized that 'Ted' was a woman, and her smirk was a little too 'Dale-Earnhart-meets-Jeff-Gordan-one-on-one' for his comfort…
Knock, knock…
A figure dressed in black shorts and a red t-shirt lay sprawled on his bed, on top the covers, sleeping peacefully. The knocking on the door roused him from the dreamy rest, but had no effect on Cye, who slept in the other bed, snoring quietly.
Knock, knock, knock…
"Mister Ryo Sanada?" An authoritative voice called from the hall. Ryo knew the man, but couldn't place him just now.
"Coming, give me a second." He pulled a pair of pajama pants on over his shorts and opened the door. His eyes widened, "Sage! Tyler, right? Come on in! What happened to you two? You look like—"
"Like we nearly got run over? Yeah, you'd be right," Sage grimaced. The car door had clipped his leg as it dropped them off and sped away. The car that had been chasing them hadn't seen Ted and Matthew drop them off, and continued to chase the government-issue sedan.
"What's going on, Sage?" Ryo asked, motioning for them to sit at the hotel room table. He saw the duffel that Sage carried, a small, underpacked bag, "Are you planning on going somewhere?"
"Not on purpose," He responded quietly, "Ryo…I'm in trouble."
"What do you mean?" His black-haired friend looked eager to help, "What can we do?"
"I can't stay in New York," He admitted finally, "I—well…"
"He refuses to go where the government tells him to, so we were wondering if he could go back to Japan with you, so he could have the protection of old friends," Tyler rambled that out seamlessly, as if he had been practicing.
Ryo was a little stunned, but he leaned back and grinned, "No problem. Mia kept your old room the way it was."
"Serious?" Now it was Sage's turn to be amused.
"Of course. Who else is going to use it?" Ryo laughed, then became serious, "Transportation. We only have our four tickets."
"No problem. The office can get a set of one-ways for Sage." Tyler nodded.
"Clothes?" Sage grimaced, embarrassed.
"I have the duffel that the office put together right here," After Tyler slid it over to him, Sage realized now that the bag was the reason that Tyler had stumbled on his way out of the car.
"Sleep?"
They looked over at Cye, who was sitting up in bed and yawning, "Hey, Sage. What's up with the early morning pow-wow? Did I –yawn– miss something?"
"Yeah, kinda," Ryo snorted, a grin on his face, "Sage is coming back with us to Japan."
"That's nice. Tell him to remember to bring the sauce and chicken from the deli," With that mumbled, Cye fell back asleep, muttering things about chicken salad sandwiches and au gratin potatoes.
Sage, Tyler and Ryo looked at each other, then burst out laughing. It took them almost ten minutes to get 'the giggles' out of their systems.
After that, Ryo called down to the front desk and called up a cot and set it up right in front of the door for Tyler, who insisted on keeping watch over the entrance. Sage got the couch and Ryo returned to his own bed.