"So, can you tell me what's going on?" asked Dominic as they sat.
She took a sip of her latte, stalling for time as she figured out how to explain. "I'm not getting into drugs," she said. "I'm going undercover."
"No shit!"
"Yes, shit! Keep your voice down. Sam, my friend Sam, she works for the Air Force."
"Since when does the Air Force do drug busts? What exactly does this friend of yours do?"
"Deep space radar telemetry. And it's not a drug bust, really. We need samples for analysis."
"This wouldn't have anything to do with blood tests and you freaking out on me, would you? Because that's a bit too much of a coincidence."
"That's classified." Which was as good as saying yes, she cursed herself as the words left her mouth.
"Holy crap. You're in deep, aren't you?" He took a large sip of coffee, and grimaced. "That's hot."
But Cassie wasn't listening; something had just occurred to her. "You can still help me."
"What?"
"You can help me get the drugs."
Dominic shook his head. "I dunno, Cass. I just got away from all that."
"You're right. I'm sorry. I never should have suggested it."
"On the other hand..." He looked thoughtful. "Is your Air Force friend gonna kick those guys' asses?"
Cassie smiled. "I hope so."
"Then it's for a good cause. Count me in." He tried the coffee again; it was just right. "Well, I'm guessing 'deep space radar telemetry' doesn't really mean 'deep space radar telemetry.' "
She shrugged. "You're a smart kid. You figure it out."
Cassie jumped up and turned off the TV when she heard the unmistakable jingle of keys in the door, half expecting it to be her mother. Her heart sank when she realized that this was Sam's house, and Sam was at the door.
Her mother was dead.
"Hey, Cass," called Sam as she dropped her bag on the table. "I heard you cut class again today."
That was it? No judgment, no reprimand? Oh, well. She might as well play along. "Yeah. I had to talk to Dominic about something."
"That important, huh?"
"Yeah."
Pause.
"Wanna talk about it?"
"Not particularly."
"Okay." Sam backed off. "Well, if you change your mind..."
"He's changed," Cassie blurted. "He's not doing drugs anymore."
"Well, that's good news, isn't it?"
"But I could have been there to help him."
Sam shook her head. "You did. You gave him a reason to quit. Breaking up with him might have been hard, but in the end, it was probably better for both of you."
"I still like him," Cassie whispered.
"Why don't you tell him that?"
Cassie shrugged, and then laughed at the irony of the situation. "Look who's giving out relationship advice."
It wasn't an insult; it was an eye-opener. Maybe Sam was better at this stuff than she let on.
"Did you eat dinner yet?"
"Not yet. I was just gonna have a bowl of cereal or something."
Sam made a face. "For dinner?" Although, that was probably what she'd be having if she were still alone in the house. "Why don't we order a pizza or something?"
"Sounds even better." Pause. "Sam? Would you mind if I stayed here for a while? It gets pretty lonely at home."
Sam could relate to that. "Sure. Stay as long as you want," she said, feeling triumphant, like a barrier had just been broken through.
The noise was an unwelcome intrusion that yanked Cassie out of her much-needed sleep. She slapped her hand in its direction, and realized that it wasn't her alarm clock when the noise refused to stop. Belatedly she realized that it was her cell phone. She checked the time – who would be calling at six o'clock in the morning?
"Hello?"
The voice on the other end was frantic. "Cassandra? This is Dominic's mother. He never came home last night, and I'm worried sick. Do you know where he is?"
Just the time to be observant, Cassie thought crankily. What were you doing when your son was on drugs? You probably don't even know we're not dating anymore.
"I'm sure he's fine," she said out loud. "Just calm down. He's probably – oh, crap!"
Dominic was out buying drugs for her. What if something really had happened?
"That's not very comforting!" his mother shrieked.
"No, don't worry. I think I just remembered where he is. I'll call you when I find him." She hung up to silence any protests and started getting dressed.
"What was that all about?" Sam called sleepily from her bedroom.
"Dominic's missing," said Cassie. "We have to go find him."
The morning grew brighter as they drove around to every place Cassie could think of, some of them twice. Still no Dominic.
'This is bad, this is very bad,' Cassie kept repeating in her head, even though she knew that getting all worked up wouldn't help the situation.
"I'm sure he'll turn up," Sam said. "Why don't you see if he's at school?"
Cassie checked her watch – she was ten minutes late already. Her teacher wasn't going to be happy, but oh well. Cassie had more important things on her mind.
The halls were empty when she entered the building, praying that Dominic would be there. Trying to be inconspicuous, she opened the classroom door –
"Cassandra Fraiser!" the teacher said sharply.
"Yeah?" She tried to be nonchalant, but her heart was racing, eyes furiously scanning the room, hoping to find a friendly face, and instead coming to rest at an empty desk.
"You've been late without a pass for the past three days. And this morning you don't even have your books with you. Would you like to tell me what's going on that is more important than my class?"
"Shit," she whispered. A wave of giggles swept across the room.
"Excuse me?"
"I'm sorry. I have to go." She ran out, leaving loud protests in her wake.
Where was Dominic?
On her way out the door, she got another phone call. The number was blocked. She answered it anyway.
"Who is this?" she demanded.
The voice on the other end was distorted, deepened in a way that made it sound so Goa'uld-ish that it made her jump.
"If you ever want to see your boyfriend alive," it said, "you'll do what I say."
Cassie pressed the phone closer to her ear. "I'm listening."