A/N: Ok now, if this thing is working like the website says that it's working, this should be in italics. If it isn't, then ARGH! Ok, on with the chapter.

Chapter 2

Berto, Kat, and Max sat in Jefferson Smith's office as Smith and Rachel read the reports of the days failed mission. The two senior agents looked up from time to time to glance at Max, who didn't meet their eyes. Kat and Berto sat there in silence, both staring at him, Kat with a tan ace bandage on her wrist. She had refused a sling. Max sat leaning forward in his chair and stared at the floor. He had no idea as to how he was going to explain this one.

Finally finishing the mission log, Smith glanced at Rachel who had finished hers a few seconds before. She gave Max a quizzical look and then looked back at her boss and shrugged.

Smith sighed. "Max, have you been getting enough sleep lately?" Agents lacking sleep often lost their concentration easily, and it was the most obvious cause he could think of.

"No," Max mumbled.

"Have any recent problems been popping up in your daily life or with your job?"

Max lifted his head and stared at Smith.

Smith felt like hitting himself with the mission log. "Sorry. Almost forgot who I was talking to. It's been a long day." The man stood there and watched as Max dropped his gaze back to the floor. Rubbing his temples, he looked at Berto. "Martinez, any idea?"

"I'm just as in the dark as you are, sir."

Kat stood up. "Well, I want answers." She kicked Max in the shin again. "Steel, what held your attention for such a long period of time and made you blow the mission?"

Rachel Leeds and Jefferson Smith looked at each other. No one had been able to get an answer out of Max so far, so they were willing to let Kat try for a while.

Max looked up at Kat, rubbing his shin. "I was...tired." He answered lamely.

Berto cleared his throat, and spoke, trying to ignore Max's murderous stare. Max knew what he was going to say. Since he knew it too.

"Martinez, talk." Kat moved herself between Max and Berto to shield Berto from their partner's influence.

"Well, at first I did think Max might've dozed off and was talking in his sleep, so I looked at his t-juice levels...which were full. He had been recharged before the mission."

Kat, who seemed to have taken control of the situation paced back and forth in front of Smith's desk, looking like a lawyer in some courtroom scene. "Which means," she started, "that Max wasn't the least bit tired, and according to his t-juice levels, should've been fully awake and energized."

"Hold it a minute," Rachel Leeds spoke for the first time in the conversation.

Max groaned, knowing exactly what hadn't escaped her hearing.

"Shut it, Max."

Kat made the sound of a whip cracking, ignoring the 'when-we-get-out-of-here-I-am-so-going-to-kill-you' look from Max.

"Berto," continued Rachel, "you said you first thought Max was talking in his sleep?"

"Yeah, until I saw his t-juice levels."

"Well, what did you think after you decided it wasn't sleeptalking?"

"Is that even a word?" Max asked, stalling.

Everyone ignored him except for Jefferson, who hadn't taken his eyes off his son since Rachel started talking.

"I thought that maybe someone was either in stealth mode or just not in my view and was talking to him. He made a reference to Dread at some point. But even if he was talking to someone else that I couldn't see, that still wouldn't explain why he refused to answer or even acknowledge me."

Max remembered the 'reference to Dread'. I AM NOT LIKE ONE OF JOHN DREAD'S MINIONS AND WILL NEVER BE!

Rachel turned to Max. "Max, why did you fail to answer Berto?"

"I didn't hear him," he lied.

Jefferson stood up. He had had enough at this point. "Okay, everyone out."

Max was the first to stand up, and tried to get to the door as quickly as he could when Jefferson said "except for Max."

Max groaned again and stood there, shooting evil looks at Kat and Berto as they walked past him. Berto looked at him strangely, but Kat just stuck her tongue out at him.

Jefferson waited until Rachel Leeds disappeared through the doorway. He gestured to the seat closest to his desk. "Sit down."

Max sat.

"Now turn off max mode."

"What?"

"Turn it off."

Max hesitated, then pushed the button on his biolink, and changed back into Josh McGrath. He slumped back into his chair.

"Okay," said Jefferson. "Now, this isn't boss talking to agent, this is father talking to son. What are you holding back from me, Josh? What aren't you telling us?"

"Nothing."

This made Jefferson angry. He had tried everything. Why wasn't his son telling him what was wrong? That's what fathers are supposed to be for. Sons shouldn't hold things back from their fathers, even if they aren't biologically related!

"Is something wrong with your partner? Are you having trouble getting along with Kat? Berto?"

"No. Nothing's wrong."

Jefferson kept going with his questioning until he was repeating himself. Then he launched himself into a tirade about how it disgraced him that his own son couldn't trust him. Josh tuned out after the first three questions. He felt bad, but he knew there was no way Jefferson was going to find out that he was hearing voices. He had enough people concerned about him as it was. He didn't need any more special attention.

"Doesn't that make you mad, Josh?"

Stop talking to me.

"Why do you want me to stop talking to you?"

You're making people think I'm crazy. You're making ME think I'm crazy!

"Maybe you are."

No, I'm not.

"I think you arrrrrrreeee," the voice stretched out the last word in a sing song voice."

I'M NOT CRAZY!

"Josh McGrath is crazy, Josh McGrath is losing it," the voice taunted.

Shut up! Shut up!! "SHUT UP!!!" Josh roared the last words out loud, stunning his surrogate father. Josh had raised his voice to Jefferson only a few times his whole life, and had never told him to shut up.

Jefferson stopped talking and just sat there, staring at Josh, stunned. He watched Josh as he sat there in his chair, yelling at someone...and yet no one. Jefferson realized (with relief) that he wasn't the cause for Josh's anger, because he doubted Josh had heard half of what had been said in the first place. After a while, Jefferson had noticed a far away sort of look in Josh's eyes, and had even thrown in a few made-up words to his lecture to see if Josh would even notice. Then, when the man had finally stopped talking altogether, Josh's countenance didn't change in the slightest.

All of the sudden, Josh seemed to wake up. Stunned, he looked down at his hands, which had splintered the arms of the chair he was sitting in. He looked up at Jefferson.

"I have to go," he mumbled.

Jefferson stood up. "Son, I think you should stay here. I'll get Berto and he can figure out-"

Josh ignored him as he walked quickly to the door and opened it, the doorknob breaking off in his hand.

"Sorry."

Unintentionally slamming the door behind him, Josh exited the office.

Jefferson sighed and picked up the phone on his desk. "This is Smith calling Martinez. Martinez pick up now."

After a few seconds' delay, he heard "Martinez here. What can I do for you, sir?"

"I don't want Josh leaving the building. This is urgent."

Berto had been watching through the biolink the whole time, even though he knew he probably wasn't supposed to have been.

"I understand, sir."