Transient Reality: Part IV
Jake was relatively pleased that his week didn't get any worse. Between the detention, the lecture and the problem with his truck on Wednesday, Jake went home that night dreading the rest of the week. He avoided Mr. Wilson, aside from when he absolutely had to see the man in class, and he was sorely tempted to simply skip class. The other part of avoiding trouble involved staying out of the way of any and all jocks and bullies. The easiest way to do that was simply to put his earphones on, turn up the mp3 player and shoot from one class to another like a squad of Jaffa with zat guns and staff weapons were right on his heels.
River accompanied him to drop off his car at the body shop Thursday evening, and though Jake grumbled about the deductible, he was relieved that vandalism was covered under his insurance plan. It hadn't helped deal with the snickers and raised eyebrows when he arrived at school Thursday morning driving the truck which loudly proclaimed how the jocks had gotten back at him, but he comforted himself in the knowledge that by Saturday afternoon his baby would be back in his possession, and devoid of any evidence of the less than subtle attempt at intimidation.
Katie, predictably enough, took a long weekend and did not appear for classes on Thursday or Friday. Jake alternated between worried and pissed off, even more so towards the latter when River intimated that he knew where Katie was and that she was perfectly fine.
"Just having another one of her Katydid moments," River remarked when he dropped Jake off at home Friday night.
Katie hated that nickname; River and Jake delighted in calling her by it. Unfortunately, it was a waste of breath with her all too conspicuous absence.
Now, it was Saturday, and for some insane reason, Jake found himself leaning against the outside wall of his apartment building before ten hundred hours waiting for River to pick him up. Yet another problem with being physically seventeen and attending high school, but having the life experience of a fifty-year-old man was that nagging sense of responsibility. Rather than irresponsibly blowing off the research for his English project and kicking back to watch an afternoon of college ball, he was doing the conscientious thing and going to do actual schoolwork.
Then, they would pick up his truck. Which, Jake had to admit if only to himself, was the true impetus out of being willing to trek over the university library with River on a Saturday morning.
A horn honked as though to get his attention, but it was truly unnecessary. It wasn't possible that Jake, or anyone else looking, could miss the sleek silver Lexus that pulled up to the curb in front of his building. Grabbing his backpack up, Jake made it to the car in a few strides, pulled open the back door and tossed his bag inside. "Dad's car? What was the occasion? Decided to apply to Harvard after all?"
"It's Saturday," River replied, "Everyone deserves a little luxury on the weekend, Jako."
Jake slid into the front seat, enjoying the feel and smell of the leather interior. "He's out of town on a conference, huh?"
A large mischievous grin broke out across River's face as he put the car into drive and eased away from the curb. "Oh yeah. Mom too. And you know, I couldn't let this baby just sit there for two weeks without seeing any action."
"So it has nothing to do with your other choice being to drive 'the family car'?" Jake teased, recalling how many times he watched River pull into the student lot in the Dodge Grand Caravan, complaining loudly the whole entire time.
"It's a sad state of the times, really. I mean, I wouldn't be forced to have make these types of hard choices if they would just get me my own car."
"Yeah, but you know what happens when you give teenage boys cars. They stop studying, start dating, getting laid –"
River shot him the expected offended glare. "FYI, Jake, I don't need a car to get laid."
"No, River, you need to date to get laid." Jake smirked and glanced out of the window. He straightened up in his seat as his eyes landed on what appeared to be a familiar figure walking in the distance.
"You're not exactly Hugh Hefner over there, man. I mean, when was the last time you had a date? Spring formal? Leslie –"
"River, slow down and pull over," Jake cut him off with a negligent wave of his hand. "That's Katie up there."
"Your point?"
Jake swiveled his head to look at River, not surprised to see that his friend was giving him a completely innocent look of vacancy and annoyed by the fact that Jake had expected precisely that. "Maybe she needs a ride."
"And maybe she doesn't want one," River argued. Despite the argument, the car slowed and began drifting towards the solitary walking figure. "She knew we were going to the library today. She told me that she was going to study somewhere else."
"Why?"
River simply raised his eyebrows.
"Oh for crying out loud!" Jake rolled the window down as the car fell into pace with the walking girl. Her head was down, the earphones from her mp3 player blocking out all noise from the street. Dark red hair was pulled back in a braid, and it was clear from her brisk determined strides that she hadn't even noticed the car pulled up along side her.
Jake shook his head and swore silently. And the girl wanted to know why he got protective with Cameron? When she took a casual stroll and didn't even notice she was being stalked? Albeit, a really nice luxury car was stalking her, that still didn't change the facts.
As if she were reading his thoughts, Katie stopped abruptly and turned her head just enough to get a good view of the car. An unruly lock of long red hair flopped across her cheek and she pushed it back into place, her green eyes flickering with annoyance. "Believe it or not, Jake Bartidge, I am perfectly capable of walking to the public library without getting attacked by hormonally challenged football players."
Now where in the hell had that come from?
"You could just go the university library with us?" Jake offered, flashing her what he hoped was his most charming and apologetic smile.
"I like the public library."
"But the university library has better books." That argument didn't even make sense to Jake, but he plunged on anyway. Illogical arguments weren't really anything new to him, and at least these days he could chalk them up to being seventeen. "They have the, you know, bigger, more academicism ones."
Katie rolled her eyes, "I don't even think that's a word."
"It is," River called out. "Not the way Jake used it, but it is."
"See?" Jake smiled more brightly, "The walking dictionary knows. It is a word."
"I really don't want to talk to you right now, Jake."
"So what? You'd rather just stew and simmer and stay mad at me? That's really counterproductive, Katie. You should just yell at me, call me a misogynist and move on with it. It's better for all of us, and it's really better for our group project in physics class." Jake paused and tilted his head pleadingly when he noticed that both River and Katie were completely silent. Katie was giving him a look that made him wonder if he hadn't grown another head and a quick glance at River revealed pretty much the same.
"What? What did I say?"
"Man, you just used misogynist in a sentence, and you used it the right way," River explained.
"Don't sound so surprised. I used unequivocally with Mr. Wilson the other day, too."
River poked him. Hard.
"Ow! What the hell was that for?"
"Just making sure you're you."
"Just because I can't recite the dictionary backwards doesn't mean – " Jake stopped in mid-rant as Katie spun on her heel and continued walking. "Katie! Come back here! River, catch up to her!"
"Because she walks so incredibly fast that it is entirely possible she could outrun a motor vehicle traveling at full speed," River quipped, yet he eased the car forward to keep pace with their friend. "And by the way, man, you're not a misogynist unless you've taken to hating women. I think you want Katie to call you a chauvinist."
Jake chose to ignore the impromptu English lesson.
"Come on, Katie, at least give me a chance to defend myself," Jake called out of the open window. Or at least a chance to try talking some sense into you, he added silently.
Katie kept walking.
"I know you're a big girl, and I'm sorry if I stepped on your toes or something. My dad was old fashioned. I was raised that way." It wasn't a total lie. His dad was old-fashioned, relatively speaking.
"Look, girl, at least get in the car and ride with us so people stop staring at us like we're pedophiles or something," River added.
That made her stop. "River, you and Jake don't even look old enough to buy beer. I think the pedophile argument is really pushing it."
"Yeah, but it does look like a black guy in a nice car is giving a pretty white girl a hard time, so get. In. The. Car. Already."
With a roll of her eyes and an exasperated sigh expressing how she felt about being coerced in such a way, Katie yanked open the back door. She tossed herself against the backseat, snorting loudly, "Since when did you start playing the race card, Riv?"
River glanced at her in the rearview mirror and snorted. "Katydid, don't even. You're just mad because my argument actually made sense."
Katie chose to ignore the use of the hated nickname. "Why are you driving your dad's car anyway?"
"Because I can."
"So, they're both out of town?" Katie leaned forward, reaching between the two seats to roam radio stations. Both River and Jake swatted her hands away with admonishments to keep away from the radio.
"You do not touch the driver's tunes. It's a rule, woman!" River snapped.
"And we don't want to listen to that rap crap that you call music anyway."
"It's not rap, it's hip-hop."
"It's still crap," River remarked.
"River, you are so white that it's embarrassing," the corners of Katie's mouth turned up in a teasing smile.
River grinned back easily in return, although Katie could really only see the side of his head, "Watch it, cracker."
Jake took advantage of the light heartedness and playfulness between his friends to peek around the seat. "So, are we all cool now?"
Katie's eyes narrowed as she gazed back at him, her arms folded across her chest. Jake waited for an explosion, but it never came. Instead, she rolled her eyes and shook her head. "See, this is why I always avoid you guys when I'm mad at you. I can't stay mad at either of you for long enough to even make a point."
"And what point were you trying to make?" Jake asked lightly, "That you could walk to the public library by yourself?"
His answer was a sharp kick to the back of his seat.
Four hours later, Jake was more than ready to leave the library. Yes, he managed to get more research and information for his paper than he would have managed at the public library. Yes, watching the three sorority girls from the table strategically selected by River was a pleasant distraction when research and reading got to be too boring. However, there was only so much study time that even Jake could handle and that was saying a lot for someone who had spent seven years biding time and trying to curb boredom while other folks twiddled with thingamabobs and rocks.
Now Jake had his resources, the sorority girls were gone, he was hungry and most importantly, he was itching to go and pick up his truck. The last of those was the thing that was currently the most important obsession on his mind. And truthfully, he wasn't that far from his goal: if River would stop flirting with the girl at the copy machine.
"He so does not have a chance," Katie observed, rejoining Jake from her side trip to the ladies' restroom.
"Doesn't mean he won't keep us here all day," Jake reminded her.
"Yeah, I know. I'm going to go have a smoke. You want to come with?" His answer must have been apparent before he even opened his mouth because Katie stopped him with a finger held up, "And don't even start on me about how I should quit. This is my first one of the day, so hey, a little bit of credit here all right?"
With that, she ducked into the stairwell beside the elevator, the clunking of her army boots echoing down the stairs. Jake took a minute to consider his options. He glanced at River and then with a nostalgic smile and shake of his head, followed after Katie. "Shouldn't we tell River where we're going?"
"Don't worry about it. He'll know where to find us."
Jake would have objected, but realized the truth of words. Oddly enough, no matter when, where or how, if the three of them got separated, River always seemed to know how to find the straggler.
They reached the landing and stepped out into smoking dock behind the library. Katie immediately produced a cigarette from the folds of her jacket, and turned away from the wind as she tried to light it. Which was probably why she failed to notice to three men stepping out onto the dock behind them. Jake, however, did notice them and something about them made all of his years of special ops training move to the forefront of his mind.
"Hey, maybe we should step into the student quad and wait for him?" Jake suggested, taking Katie's elbow and leading her a few steps away.
Unfortunately, the unexpected action only made her stumble and turn to glare at him. "Jake, what's your problem?"
"Katerena Lyons?" One of the men stepping onto the dock behind them inquired.
Katie turned; Jake turned and grabbed her elbow. The action earned him another glare, but also put a few feet of distance between Katie and the men.
They were all non-descript, the only remarkable thing about them being that they were unremarkable. Faces that would quickly fade from memory, faces that would never get noticed walking down a city street. They moved quickly and confidently, like predators and Jake got the distinct impression that he and Katie were the prey.
But why were they asking for Katie by name?
"That's me," Katie said, taking a deep drag on her cigarette.
"We've been looking for you, Ms. Lyons." One of the men flashed a badge, "I'm Detective Ross. We need you to come with us. It's about your father."
"Great," Katie made a snort of disgust and took another puff on the cigarette. "Dear Daddy got himself in trouble again. Just tell me who to see and I'll have my friends drive me over."
"Actually, Ms. Lyons," the man took a step closer, his eyes moving slowly from Katie to Jake and back again, "It's a bit more serious than that."
Jake knew that look. He was being sized up; he was also peripherally aware that the other two men were moving slowly towards them, but in an outward arc. If he and Katie didn't move soon, they would be trapped. And while he could possibly take down one or two of these men, he wasn't sure about the third one and he doubted Katie could; she might have really been able to handle herself against a football player, but this was different.
These brutes were dangerous.
"Could we see that badge again?" Jake asked, sidling up closer to Katie. This time, he slipped his arm around her waist and with every ounce of his being willed her to understand that this situation could definitely be defined as not good.
"What?" The man looked from Katie to Jake again, his stoic face briefly interrupted by a look of surprise.
"Your badge, Detective Ross. I just want to look at it." Jake eased a step backwards and Katie came with him willingly. He sensed a shifting her posture, a tightening of her back and muscles that told him that either she picked up on his vibe, or her own personal fight or flight responses had kicked in. Whichever it was, that was a good thing.
Jake's eyes quickly darted from 'Detective Ross' to the other two men, trying to gauge if any of them were carrying weapons. The best thing to do would be to grab Katie and run, but not if it meant they would be dodging bullets. And if he could delay them long enough, River would eventually show up . . .
And what, Jake? Just get trapped here with three thugs like you and Katie.
Nope, Jake realized he was on his own.
"Why do you want to see my badge kid?" Detective Ross laughed it off. "Been watching too many cop shows?"
"Something like that. Can't be too careful."
"All right, sure thing." The man reached into his coat again and removed a small, thin black sheath. Jake's mind assumed that it contained the fake badge. Jake made the leap to fake badge because the moment the man opened his coat, Jake caught a glimpse of something that no police detective on any precinct on earth would carry.
Hooked onto the man's hip holster was a zat'n'ktel, a bit of alien weapons technology.
That meant that he and Katie were in a whole world of trouble.
As soon as the badge came out, Jake realized too late that he wouldn't have time to spring a plan. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of coats opening and blurs of black and blue. He heard the discharge before he felt it, before he felt Katie jerk and fall down beside him trembling. Then the all too familiar prickling and shocking jolt of the zat gun reverberated through his body, knocking Jake down as well.
"Oh for crying out loud," Jake rasped, trying hard to shake the affects and rolling over onto his side. It didn't matter. It only served to allow him to see one of the other men place a white cloth over Katie's mouth and nose before the same softness of cloth touched his senses and the sickly sweetness of chloroform filled his nostrils.
Jake racked his brain, trying to make sense of it. It was the NID, it had to be. But if they wanted him, why come after Katie? Why go through Katie at all? His mind frantically tugged at the missing threads until blackness swallowed him up.
No one noticed the three men lift and carry two unconscious teenagers into the non-descript black van that pulled into the alleyway the smoking dock was located on.
No one noticed the teenager that came racing onto the deck, yelling the names of his friends as the van sped out of the alley and around the corner.
And the only creature that noticed when the teenager disappeared in a crackle of light and energy was a lonesome hungry tomcat, that arched its back, hissed and dove under the dumpster.
An hour later when the janitor brought out trash, the cat was still hissing.
End of Part 4