Tommy noted the door to his basement was propped open and he could hear the sounds of rummaging around through it. After hearing the news about Zack, his mind suddenly raced with dark thoughts. What if it's the traitor? Am I next on the target list? What about Billy, he's supposed to be here now? Is he safe?

Without thinking, he charged through the door ready for a fight, only to find a flustered looking Billy cursing silently to himself as he searched through a box. He looked exhausted- like he'd been going full-out for several hours. His hair was in disarray, his clothes dirt and dust covered and there were several nasty scrapes along the insides of his forearms. After last night though, the sight of him- even all mussed- still sent shivers down Tommy's spine. Tommy looked around the room and realized that there were at least two dozen or so opened boxes scattered around the basement, and various pieces of scientific equipment sitting in piles. "Billy? Are you all right?" Tommy asked.

Billy looked up at him somewhat wild-eyed, "No, I'm not all right! One Ranger has died and another is in the hospital, and it was supposed to be my job to stop it from happening!" He shook his head and leaned heavily against workbench, his shoulders shaking in impotent rage, "I'm not doing a very good job at it." He slammed his fist down on a workbench, "And damn it, I can't find all the equipment I left- equipment I need to do my job. Tommy could see tears well up in Billy's eyes.

Picking his way across the maze of boxes and equipment, Tommy pulled the former Blue Ranger into his arms and held him. For long moments, Billy simply melted into him. Tommy whispered into Billy's hair, "I heard about Zack. I'm sorry. I know I didn't know him as long as you did, but he was my friend too."

Billy slowly pulled away from Tommy and wiped his eyes, "I'm sorry, Tommy. I didn't mean to blow up on you like that. It's against my nature."

Tommy smiled at Billy, "It's all right.," he was about to say "Bro", but realized that Billy had long since gone past being a "Bro" so he tried another word on for size, and was surprised at how well it fit ".Love, I understand." Looking around the room- it looked like about the same number of boxes that he and Justin had put into storage, "What's missing?"

Billy shook his head, "Several weapons modules I was working on to deal with Mondo, some genetic replication equipment we confiscated from Rita and Zedd, and of all things one of my failed experiments in creating an artificial alpha wave scrambler."

"Huh," Tommy asked.

Billy smiled and shook his head, "It was before you joined the team. I was trying to create a device that would scramble any of Rita's attempts to mentally control one of us. We gave it one trial run," Billy actually blushed at something, "and then I locked it away so no one else would have difficulty with it."

Tommy asked, "Why? What was wrong with it?"

Billy smiled, "It had certain unexpected side effects." He reached for the glasses that weren't there, "Let's just say that Kim and I got to see how each other lived for a short while?"

Tommy smiled and nodded. He remembered Jason telling him this story when he'd accidentally stuck his foot in his mouth with Kimberly over something- Tommy couldn't even remember what it was now, "You mean the mind switching machine?"

Billy nodded and asked, "I take it you heard about that?"

"Jason told me."

Billy smiled blushing deeply, "Sometimes I wonder if that's why we both are attracted to the same kind of men."

Tommy chuckled, "Maybe it's just because I'm so lovable."

Billy shrugged, "That must be it." Turning back to the mess he'd made in the basement, he continued. "I think one of the weapons modules is what's being used on the Rangers."

Tommy knew Billy enough to realize that he wasn't saying everything he knew. He also knew that if not prodded, Billy would keep things bottled up. Putting his hands on his hips, he gently demanded, "What else?"

Billy shrugged with his back turned to him, "I'm not sure. Something is just not making sense. I can't put my finger on it, but something I've seen today is important. I don't know what it is yet, but it's something I should have recognized as being wrong immediately."

"And that's making you crazy," Tommy offered watching his lover going through a notebook.

"Does it have something to do with Jason?"

Billy shook his head, "No, not really. It was something I saw at the hospital. I just can't ascertain what it actually was."

"So it has something to do with Justin. Since you don't know Justin, it has to be something about what you saw there that has to do with his condition," Tommy told him. Actually, he was rather proud of that bit of logic.

Billy stopped momentarily and considered his words. Tommy could almost see that fantastic brain of his working. Suddenly his eyes lit up, "That's it! You're a genius!" In a very uncharacteristic outburst, Billy grabbed Tommy, kissed him solidly on the mouth and then stood there bouncing like a school boy with a new toy. "Can I borrow your car? I need to get to the hospital."

Tommy just nodded, "Of course. I'll even drive you."

Half an hour later, Tommy watched Billy going through the doctor's chart on the wall next to Justin's very still form. The sight of the former Turbo Ranger lying there so still tugged at his heartstrings. After several minutes, Billy quietly went over and gently inspected the wound on Justin's head before turning and heading out the door. Something in the way Billy was moving sent a chill down Tommy's spine. He stopped, his blue eyes flashing with a grim determination, looked at Tommy and said, "This wasn't Jason, and it wasn't one of the Ninjetti Rangers." He turned toward the door and headed out saying, "I know who did this. Let's go."

Tommy had never seen Billy like this before. Jason had tried to warn him that things weren't exactly the same with the former Blue Ranger, that he had become more confident, but he hadn't expected this kind of take- charge style. He realized that Billy was ready to mount an attack on the Gates of Hell if that was what it took to bring down the traitor, and some part of Tommy was willing to hold his coat for him while he did it. It wasn't something Tommy was used to dealing with from a boy- no, Tommy had to admit to himself that Billy was a man- he'd always considered quiet, and self-effacing. "Who?" he asked chasing after his lover.

Billy stopped and smiled at him. "Think about it Tommy. Experimental weapons modules are missing- modules that were unfinished and required a specific level of technical expertise to complete." He ticked the point off on his little finger, "Then there is the genetic replicating equipment that we took from Rita and Zedd that also requires a greater than normal understanding of science than is commonly experienced today." He ticked off another finger, "Finally, we're missing the mind switching device- not a piece of equipment that one can simply pick up on a quick shopping trip to Radio Shack." He gave Tommy a wry smile, "Who do you know that could operate all three devices?"

"Well, there's Adam. . .,"

"Already cleared," Billy cut him off.

Tommy shook his head and said, "That just leaves Justin, Trini, and Zack,. Trini and Zack are dead, and Justin is in the hospital. It would be impossible for it to be any of them."

Billy smiled, and with his voice pitched slightly lower he said, "An ancestor of mine once maintained that once you have eliminated all possibilities, then the answer must be the impossible."

Tommy got the feeling that he was quoting something, but was unsure what. "That sounds like Sherlock Holmes," he said.

Billy smiled, "Actually, it's Spock quoting Holmes in Undiscovered Country."

"So which impossibility is it?" Tommy asked.
Sorry I couldn't resist leaving this as a cliffhanger. More to come right after I finish up with the final chapter of Ties That Run Deep.

Danny.