Manipulation
by Time Guardian

Chapter Two - Old friends, Bitter Past
Bannon Home - Denver, Colorado

The beeping wouldn't stop.

Jessie Bannon moaned, and covered her head with a pillow.

She knew it wasn't the alarm clock...the beeping was too short and high pitched. With a groan, she sat straight up in bed, and looked out of her bedroom window into the darkness.

-It's still the middle of the night. What's going on here?-

Jessie got to her feet, and quietly made her way downstairs. Listening carefully, she followed the sound to a closed door at the end of the hallway.

It was a room that her father had forbidden her to go into.

She ran a hand through her long fiery-red hair, and pondered her options. Her dad tended to be a light sleeper, but he had come home tonight exhausted after tracking down a criminal for a local bounty hunter.

-He's not awake, and it's been ten minutes already. If I don't shut that noise off, I am not gonna get any sleep.-

Jessie placed a hand on the knob and turned it slowly. The door yielded with little noise, and she carefully stepped inside.

The room was illuminated by moonlight from a nearby window, allowing Jessie to see well enough without turning on the light. She noticed gadgets of all sorts filling the room's shelves, and the walls were flanked with pictures of her dad's time spent with the US government.

Jessie stopped short in front of the desk against the wall. She spotted what looked like a small square PDA. A status light on the side of the unit was flashing in time to the beeping.

Picking it up, she pressed a button on the side of the Unit. The small screen lit instantly, showing a face she hadn't seen in some time.

"Dr. Quest?"

He had aged considerably since she had visited his lab long ago, but she recognized him easily.

He smiled faintly, "Jessie, it is good to see you. Is your dad around?"

Jessie got to her feet. "I dunno. He was out on a case for most of the night, and just got home two hours ago. I'll go check and-"

"No need, I am right here."

Jessie jumped at the sound of her father's voice. She turned around and started apologizing profusely.

"I'm sorry dad, the beeping of your unit was keeping me awake and I just came down to shut it off and-"

"It's all right, Jess," he said quietly, taking the device out of her hand, "would you leave the room for a bit? I need to talk to Dr. Quest alone."

Jessie hadn't seen her father so ill at ease in the longest time, but reluctantly she left the room, closing the door behind her.

After Race made sure that she shut the door, he sat down and turned back to
the face showing on his communication screen. "It's been a long time, Benton."

He saw the image of his friend nod in reply. "It has."

Race noticed that the doctor was pale, but excited. "Well, are you going to tell me why you called me at one in the morning?"

"He's alive, Race."

He groaned in reply. They have had this conversation more than once, and it was starting to get thin. "Benton, don't do thi-"

Race was cut off by Dr. Quest's angry words. "Hear me out. I was attacked tonight in my bedroom by a ninja-style assassin. Luckily, Bandit kept him busy long enough, or I would probably be without a head right now. In all the chaos, the intruder's hood came off, and he chose to make his escape. I didn't get a good look at his face, but I discovered a few hairs trapped in the hood. DNA analysis shows that they are a perfect match for my son. The age and the markers in the sample indicate that this is no clone."

Race's eyes widened. After all of these years... "There was an investigation. They found an 11 yr cold's remains in the explosion. For God sakes, Benton, the investigation was handled by the FBI and the agency."

"Yes, and it was an investigation we were both shut out of, remember?" Doctor Quest retorted.

"That's to be expected, 'cause we were too close to the victim," Race shot back. He noticed the Doctor cringe at the description and calmed his voice. "I'm sorry. Is the DNA evidence the only thing you have?"

"Bandit. He recognized him, Race. At first when I woke up I thought the dog was attacking the intruder, but he must have recognized Jonny's scent. The barks that I heard from him were not ones of danger, but of joy," he replied with eagerness Race hadn't heard in some time.

Race stared at the communicator screen in astonishment. He knew the dog easily recognized friend from foe, but after five years?

He sighed before speaking again. "I have to admit that is pretty compelling evidence. So, say for the sake of argument Jonny was kidnapped."

The doctor nodded, "Go on."

"To keep this quiet, the perp would have had to have someone on the inside, because Palm Key was always kept locked down tighter than Fort Knox most days, thanks to your surveillance equipment," Race finished. "Is that what you are thinking?"

Dr. Quest gave another nod. "Yes. It's not totally out of the question. We have seen some fine people corrupted before, and sadly it won't be the last time either."

Race's voice was tinged with anger. "The agency was clean, Benton. Those were the finest fellow agents that I ever had the pleasure of working with."

"Why did you leave them then, Race? They cleared you of any wrongdoing-I know you did nothing wrong."

Race looked down and noticed his trembling hands. "But I was at fault. The reason I slept through that explosion was because of that sleep dart. Hell, you are the one that discovered it in the sand next to my beach chair. If I had only been awake to see where he was going-"

"IT WASN'T YOUR FAULT," Doctor Quest stressed, "The investigators did discover that it was fired from a considerable distance with a high powered rifle. There was no way to have known."

Race cleared his mind, and focused on his breathing, until he was able to still his hands. He waited a few more moments before asking.

"I failed you, and you want me back?"

"Please Race, I'm not above begging, but I know you are the man for the job, and I can think no one better to put my trust in right now. I have followed your career as a bounty hunter for the past four years, and know you have kept your skills sharp. You also have knowledge of the men that were investigating the case at that time. Hadji won't be home from the University in India for quite some time. I can have a plane at the Denver airport in two hours. So what do you say, old friend?" Dr. Quest urged.

Race paused, then stated with determination, "Send your plane, Benton. I'll help you get your son back, and that's a promise."

A distinct young feminine voice piped up from behind him. "You mean WE, dontcha dad?"

Race didn't even bother turning around. He figured Jessie couldn't resist listening in. "Jess-"

The doctor smiled. "Jessie is welcome to come, of course." Race then saw the Doctor's face grow solemn. "Race, thank you for believing in me."

The communicator then blinked off.

Race stood and turned to face his daughter. "Better get packed, Jess. Our plane will be here in two hours."

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My apologies for the confusion. I have updated the summary to reflect better
where this story is going. I didn't do it for the first chapter, cause I wanted to have
a bit of mystery and- I was still shaping the idea. ;)

Well this idea has grown some more...hmmm. And I got a little ahead of myself. A second chapter within 4 days is a new record for me. I'm still sticking with a week to two week schedule for my chapters, cause of real life and other fanfics that I need to finish. :)

Hope you enjoy, and till later,

Time Guardian