The next morning, Jesse rose early like always and found himself on the computers again. A restless routine. This time, however, Shalimar was there waiting for him.
"What are you doing?" she inquired as though he had never been on these computers before, but she didn't give him any time to answer. "You're coming with Lex, Bren, and me today."
Jesse rolled his eyes and sat on the computer stool. "Did Lexa put you up to this?"
"Actually, Lexa was going to leave you wasting away in front of this computer —'"
"I knew I liked her better."
I'm certainly glad no sleep or food hasn't ruined your sense of humour, Shalimar thought sarcastically. Shalimar hit his arm in a playful manner that hardly showed up anymore. "Anyway, I couldn't let her do that so get ready while I go tear Brennan and Lexa out of bed."
Jesse groaned but there was no way out of it. Usually, Shalimar was caught up in her own thing that she never really paid much attention to Jesse or Lexa, but some times, she'd change into Den-Mother of the Year. Jesse walked to his bedroom, dragging his feet.
"Good morning, Sunshine," Shalimar mused as she looked in Lexa's full length mirror in her bedroom, playing with her wavy, golden locks.
Lexa still laid in her bed, on her side, but she was awake. "Oh, great, you've been replaced by June Cleaver."
"But you have to get up anyway," Shalimar joked. "We have a couple of gorgeous men waiting for us."
"If they aren't Brad Pitt or Antonio Banderas, I'm staying here," Lexa groaned.
Shalimar's hand dropped to her sides and she sat on Lexa's bed. "Hmm, will Jesse Kilmartin do? I know he's not much to look at but . . ."
"How'd you get him to come along?" Lexa inquired.
"Just told him that you were coming and he said 'Well, I know she's not much to look at ...'"
Lexa lifted her head and swung her pillow at Shalimar.
"Ouch! Boy, you're both just as grouchy as ever. I think you two were made for each other," Shalimar snapped with a teasing glint in her brandy brown eyes. She took a couple steps toward the door. "Now, I'm going to be back in five minutes, if you're not up, I'm getting Brennan to throw a few sparks at you."
"Why did you do this to me?" Jesse pleaded to Lexa.
Jesse, Lexa, Brennan, and Shalimar paced the big city streets to a snazzy pub that Shalimar and Brennan populated often.
"As much as I'd like to take credit for getting you out of that cave .. I had no idea until this morning," Lexa replied.
Brennan and Shalimar were a couple yards ahead of them, laughing and chatting happily about something that Jesse and Lexa didn't hear about.
"Well, I would have stayed inside if Shal had told me we were walking to the end of the earth," Jesse replied.
"What is up with them lately, huh?" Lexa inquired, nodding toward Shalimar and Brennan.
Jesse thought about it with creased eyebrows. "I don't really know. When you were at the Dominion headquarters, something happened between them but they won't tell me what."
Lexa's jaw dropped. "You're telling me while I was being held hostage . . ."
"Hey!" Jesse interrupted. "I was with you half the time, you know, who knows what they did while I was with you."
Lexa dropped the subject, Jesse was a little snappy talking about what happened with the Dominion.
Shalimar and Lexa sat at a round table while the men got their beverages. The pub was crowded even for early morning, men and women in suits populated the bar and the other tables, Lexa felt out of place.
"Don't worry," Shalimar said, seeing Lexa's wandering eyes. "The fun starts later."
Lexa blinked and turned her attention back to Shalimar. "No, I was just observing," Lexa replied, worried that Shalimar thought she was bored.
The actual bar was furnished wood with a plexiglass top, lights were placed under the plexiglass that illuminated anything above the top of the bar. Racks of alcohol was behind the couple of bartenders, some of the liquid Lexa didn't even recognize.
"This is the first place Brennan met Emma, you know," Shalimar sparked a conversation. "They ran into each other there." Shalimar pointed at a hallway from the door, a large mirror was placed on the left side from where they were sitting. "He's been going to this place ever since Emma died."
"I know you three miss her," Lexa replied warmly.
"Emma was our best friend," she explained.
Lexa didn't want to talk about Emma anymore, she didn't like the faraway look in Shalimar's eye, that she regularly saw in Jesse's eye, when someone mentioned Emma. Lexa didn't like the sudden change of atmosphere every time someone spoke about their friend, however, Lexa found herself always thinking about Leo and was almost sure she looked the same way when she was thinking about him. Their conversation ended when Jesse and Brennan came back with their drinks. Jesse placed Lexa's drink in front of her and slid into his chair.
"Not drinking today, Jess?" Brennan asked.
"It's noon," he replied with a raise of his eyebrows.
"And?" Lexa asked, taking a sip of her drink.
Brennan and Shalimar slid closer to each other and laughed at a private joke Lexa and Jesse didn't know. Jesse looked at Lexa and read each other's mind almost. "Excuse us," Lexa remarked but Shalimar nor Brennan seemed to hear them. Lexa took her drink and followed Jesse to the bar and they slid into some stools.
"You feel like the third and fourth wheel?" Lexa asked, taking a quick glance to Brennan and Shalimar as they talked.
"Oh, yeah," Jesse responded.
"Oh, God, and we're spending all day with those two," Lexa said with a sigh, Jesse returned with an even longer sigh. "Want to drink now?"
"Oh, yeah," Jesse answered quickly, Lexa laughed.
Lexa and Jesse still sat at the bar a hour later, having their own fun, while Brennan nor Shalimar moved. "What do you think we're going to do next?" Jesse asked.
"What? We're leaving this place?" Lexa asked sarcastically. "I don't know, I have no idea what they do on their days off." Lexa paused. "How long have they been taking their days off together?" Lexa inquired.
"For about two or three years, I think, like I said, they've always been like that. Except now, it's multiplied," Jesse illustrated.
Lexa rolled her eyes and caught something in her vision. "Jess, I think that woman in blue is checking you out," she whispered.
"Oh?" Jesse turned around and saw an attractive young woman smiling at him. Jesse turned back around and took a drink, completely ignoring the woman in blue.
"What did you do that for? She could have been the woman of your dreams," Lexa replied, before taking a sip of her wine.
"I have another one?" Jesse asked with a wolfish grin.
Lexa blushed and put her glass down. "OK, I think you've had a few too many," Lexa said as she pushed Jesse's glass away from him.
"Yeah, right," Jesse said. He pulled her hand away from his glass, laid his and her hand on his knee, and took his glass back. Jesse took a drink but still didn't let go of her hand, Lexa raised her eyebrow but he didn't notice. "I'm glad Shalimar tore me off the computer this morning," Jesse started, putting his glass down and changing his grip on Lexa's hand so her fingers were resting in his palm. "This has been fun."
"Yeah," Lexa answered, her stomach getting flighty. "It has been fun."
Before she thought anymore about it, Lexa pulled his hand closer to her and the rest of Jesse followed. Their faces close, Jesse's blue eyes twinkled in the plexiglass' light. Before they could get any farther, Brennan and Shalimar walked up.
"Excuse us," Shalimar teased. "Are you ready to go now?"
Blushing, Jesse got off the barstool with Lexa close behind, the four walked out of the pub to the street above.
Jessie Quick peddled hard on her Haro BMX bike, she was borderline into her mutant abilities, but she knew how hard to push herself to go as fast as humanly possible. Traffic was blocked up by a red light but she sped in between them, swerving, avoiding bumpers, pedestrians, and other bicyclists. Subway entrance. Jessie turned sharply in front of a blue BMW toward a flight of stairs, lifting her rear end from the seat, the bike nearly glided down the stairs into the crowded subway station.
Swerving even closer around people, Jessie navigated through the subway station down the cement platforms, until she hit the F train. A metal door slid open, Jessie steered in front of a couple into the train and then out of the closing door across the train's corridor, onto another platform.
"Hey, guys, there's a three o' clock movie showing at the theaters down a few blocks, wanna go?" Brennan asked as he read from the newspaper.
Shalimar walked next to him while, again, Jesse and Lexa were about five feet behind them. "Sure, why not?" Lexa asked and Jesse shrugged. "What movie?"
"Hmm, there's supposed to be a good flick called Friday Night Lights?" Brennan suggested.
"Ugh, football movie," Shalimar shot down.
"Whatever you guys pick," Jesse responded.
"Hey, watch it!" a man called from the window of a taxi cab.
Jessie, who was disguised by a helmet and sunglasses, shrugged and faced the road in front of her. Jessie gripped the handlebars with her gloved fingers and hopped on the sidewalk. Peddling faster and faster, speeding past people and some cars, almost exposing her abilities.
"Whoa!" a woman screeched as Jessie almost trampled her.
"Sorry!" Jessie called back but she was already a hundred feet away, and doubted the woman heard her.
Highway. Jessie sped past cars onto the highway's sidewalk and followed the passing cars onto a bridge. A river lay under the bridge and Jessie gazed into the blue water as she peddled faster. The bridge ended and Jessie rode all the way back to a city street.
Brennan slid a twenty dollar bill and fished for another ten in his wallet. Jesse, Lexa, and Shalimar talked a yard away from the ticket booth. A bicyclist on a black sports' bike, wearing red and black clothes and a black helmet and dark sunglasses, hopped on the sidewalk in front of the theater and then swung its leg over the back tired and walked the bike to a stop.
Lexa, Jesse, and Shalimar watched the rider with curiosity as the rider locked the bike up to rack, not noticing its spectators. Then the rider took off its helmet. Long blonde hair toppled from the helmet to rest on the rider's leather shoulders. Jessie Quick.
Jesse scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Of course."
Jessie locked her helmet up next to her bike and turned to see them. "Oh," she said, surprised. "It's you." Jessie didn't say another word as Brennan saw her too. She walked right passed them to the ticket booth while the four just sighed and rolled their eyes at seeing her again.
"Did you track us here?"
"Oh yeah," Jessie replied sarcastically. "Just so I could give you the cold shoulder, 'cause I know how much it hurts not seeing me again."
Jessie walked into the theater while Mutant X just waited.
"Do you think she followed us, Jess?" Lexa asked him.
"Why?" Brennan answered instead, not wanting to fuel Jesse's paranoia. "Come on, let's see the movie."
Shalimar put her hand on Jesse's shoulder. "It's fine. This isn't a very secluded movie theater, you know?"
Jesse nodded and the corner of Lexa's mouth tilted into a smile. "No one's trying to get us. If anything, I'm going to tackle her."
Jesse smiled and they walked inside.
Jessie took the tub of popcorn and walked down the aisles, counting the center rows from the bottom up, and then from the top down. Finding the exact middle row and then she counted the very center seat to find a man already sitting in it.
"Excuse me, think you could move down one ... or two?" It was already dark, Jessie was already missing the trailers but she couldn't enjoy the film without her special seat.
The man was young, not much older then her, he had dark hair and a suit on. Handsome. "What?"
"I need that seat," Jessie snapped, the movie starting.
The man held up his hands in surrender. "Fine." He lifted himself into the seat next to it and motioned for her to sit.
Jessie eyed him suspiciously before taking a seat in her seat. "Thank you."
Shalimar and Lexa held the drinks and Brennan held the popcorn while Jesse's job was picking the seats. They walked into the theater and Jesse stopped dead in his tracks.
"What is it, Jess?" Brennan asked, avoiding running into the man.
Jesse pointed at the back of Jessie's head.
"You're kidding me, how can you see in here?" Lexa asked, blinking several times to adjust her eyes to the darkness.
Shalimar sighed and Brennan looked where Jesse was pointing. "Dammit, it's Quick."
Lexa shifted her weight on one foot. "Well, I came all this way, and I'm not leaving until I see this movie, OK?"
Shalimar grinned. "Whatever you say, Boss." The only reason she called Lexa that, was when she agreed to her decision.
Brennan nudged Jesse in the shoulder with the popcorn bucket. "Go on, Jess."
Jessie heard voices and turned around, the light from the outside illuminated the new-comers' silhouettes and no others could look like them. "Oh, crap."
The man, out of curiosity, leaned closer to Jessie. "You know them?"
"Not really," Jessie said, backing away nervously from the stranger.
Mutant X took four of the side-seats away from Jessie Quick. Jesse breathed a laugh quietly. Lexa, who was of course sitting next to him, leaned toward him. "What?"
"See where she's sitting? In the exact center of the theater," Jesse sighed.
"Stop worrying about her," Lexa returned and she handed him a soda.
After two hours of watching a movie that Brennan wasn't very interested in, the lights came on, and the movie ended. Jessie was climbing over a man sitting next to her, away from Mutant X, toward the door.
"Hey!" Brennan called.
"Brennan, what are you doing?" Jesse asked.
Jessie stopped and turned around, and Brennan walked down her row toward her. The man she was sitting next to stepping in front of him. "Hey, man, leave her alone. She's just seeing a movie."
Brennan's attention escaped Quick for a second and when he looked over the strange man's shoulder, she was gone.
Brennan was annoyed now, he grabbed the stranger by the collar. "Great, she's gone."
Jesse jumped over the row of seats and walked toward them. The stranger grabbed Brennan's wrists and pushed his hands away from him. "Now, you don't want to do that."
Jesse pulled Brennan away from the stranger. "Sorry, man, the girl's just a friend of ours."
"Yeah, I can sense that," The man said sarcastically and with a wary look at Brennan, he walked away.
When the man walked out the theater, Jesse pushed Brennan out into the aisle. "What the hell is wrong with you, Brennan? She didn't do anything, man!"
Brennan's head dropped and he exhaled. "I don't know, Jess."
"Hey!" The stranger called to Jessie as she unlocked her helmet from the bike rack. Expecting Jesse Kilmartin, she hopped on her bike and then saw who it was.
"Hey," Jessie answered.
"I took care of that guy .." he held out his hand. "Thomas."
Jessie took his hand. "Jessie. Thanks, I'm sure he didn't mean any harm, just someone I met last night."
"He certainly looked harmful to me," Thomas argued.
Jessie smiled. "Well, I guess I'm lucky you came to my rescue then. Sorry about yelling at you for the seat, just a crazy tradition ..."
"You have to sit in the exact center?" Thomas finished. "I like it too."
Jessie smiled and then she saw Mutant X coming toward the glass doors. "Well, I got to go," she motioned to the group.
"Want to come take a walk?" he paused with a glance at Mutant X. "I can protect you."
Jessie considered it and then she locked up her bike in a few seconds and nodded. "Sure." Thomas motioned for her to follow him.
Brennan spotted Thomas and Jessie walking off from inside. "Hmm."
"Bren, no," Shalimar argued.
"I didn't really invite you," Brennan snapped and Jesse pushed Brennan slightly toward the door.
"Come on, Brennan," Jesse responded, not wanting to provoke Shalimar more.
Brennan and Jesse walked out of the cinema and Shalimar and Lexa looked at each other. "Why is everyone crazy about this kid?" Lexa asked.
Jessie and Thomas walked down the alley, the sun was beginning to set and the blue sky was streaked with hot pink and gray. Thomas looked both ways down the alley, and made sure they were deep into the alley. Thomas stopped walking and Jessie turned to see what was wrong. Thomas grabbed her by the neck and pushed her into the alley wall. "You think you could run from us, huh, Chambers? We own you."
Jessie's eyes burned with terror. "No!" she screamed.
Brennan and Jesse walked into the alley and saw Thomas holding her. "Hey, let her go!" Jesse yelled.
Thomas didn't regard Jesse in any way, he held up his hand and a large black gun appeared in a puff of black smoke. He pulled Jessie from the wall and pressed the nozzle to the back of her neck and pulled the trigger. "OW!" Jessie screamed and held the back of her neck.
Brennan threw a Tesla coil at Thomas and he was thrown back away from Jessie, and he disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Jesse ran to the girl, who was still clasping the back of her neck. "Let me see." Jesse lifted Jessie's hand from her neck, a black stub was protruding from her neck. "It's a subdermal governor, Brennan."
End of Chapter 2