Torn was exasperated. Not only had he woken up to a cold slap in the face and was sporting a hangover that felt like miniature eco bombs going off in his head, he had to deal with the orange rat before he'd gotten over the shock of Jinx's recent indescrepancies. Daxter and Tess had sauntered down the stairs shortly after Torn had decided to deal with the matter, and Torn was beginning to have trouble putting up with the rodent and keeping a look of horror from creeping over his face. Everything that Keira had told him was difficult for him to swallow. There was no need to show her that, though. How could she trust him to resolve the matter if he was visibly freaking out?
"What's up, Tattooed Wonder?" Daxter asked, helping Tess up onto the war table,"you kids have a wild night?"
"What in Mar's name are you talking about?" Torn spat. He shot a glance at Keira. She was giving him the I-didn't-tell-Daxter-anything-please-don't-say-something-stupid look. He quickly fumbled for words.
"Naw, well, what happened was that Keira got cold on the ride home. I put my scarf around her to keep her warm and forgot it when I dropped her off. She was pretty...wasted last night. She thought something might've...happened between us, and so she came over here to ask about it,"Torn hoped Daxter didn't see right through his lie.
Daxter cocked an eyebrow,"Uh, huh. So DID anything happen?"
"No! Nothing happened. I just took her home,"Torn said.
"What happened to Jinx?" Tess piped up,"he left with you guys, didn't he?"
Keira and Torn glanced at each other.
"Uh, yeah he did,"Keira squeaked,"if I remember right, he drove."
"So everything's cool here?" Daxter cracked his knuckles,"cause I gotta take Tess to the market, and then I gotta meet Jak at the stadium for a few practice runs before the race," he looked up at Keira,"is my zoomer ready yet?"
Kiera flinched,"Just a few more tweaks and she'll be perfect."
Daxter grinned,"Alright! I'll take you back to the garage first, then. Come on ladies, let's go!"
Daxter and Tess leapt off the table and walked towards the door,"Bye, Torn,"Tess called.
"Yeah, later Inkface,"Daxter added.
Keira stepped closer to Torn as the ottsels started up the stairs, whispering,"Thanks for covering for me. And for helping me out with...you know,"she smiled,"I feel better, already." She turned towards the door.
Torn grabbed her shoulder before she'd hit the first stair,"When you get to the garage, shut and lock all the doors after Daxter leaves. I'll be up there after I take care of a few things."
She nodded, touching his shoulder, and turning to head back up the stairs. Torn slouched against the war table, rubbing his forehead. He was going to have to set aside some of his indifferences with certain people if he was going to get anything done today. He pulled out his communicator, sighing as the screen beeped to life.
"Torn! You were the last person I expected to call me today,"Jak bellowed. Torn could hear the roar of a zoomer and the wind whipping by the mic,"What's...err...up?"
Torn winced. He hated having to ask anything from anybody, especially someone he'd considered an enemy, or at least, a rival. For a second he actually thought about just hanging up. But there were more important things at hand.
"Torn?" Jak sounded confused.
Torn sighed,"I've got a mission for you, if you want it,"he growled,"I need you to find Jinx and drag him back to Headquarters. I don't care how you do it, just get it done. And when you get back to HQ, make sure he doesn't leave."
"What's going on, Torn?" Jak was suddenly serious,"is there something I should know?"
"Not until I get to HQ,"Torn snapped. He couldn't help but smirk. He was dishing out orders again, and in a way it felt good to be pushing Jak around. It was a good start to going back to work,"I'll be there after I find Sig. Jak..."
"Yeah?" Jak asked.
"If Jinx runs, shoot him."
Jak looked hurt, but nodded,"Got it."
Torn hung up the communicator. He left the Underground and walked out of the alley, "borrowing" a zoomer on the way and heading towards Haven Forest. He knew exactly where he'd find Sig.
"Hello, Torn!" Samos hovered around his head like a giant green wumpbee as soon as he'd stepped through the city locks. Torn plastered a half-smirk on his face and surveyed the forest. It had taken a while, but Samos had managed to almost heal the plants and trees of all the damage the Dark Makers had caused. Their only problems now were a few rogue metalheads that refused to leave. Sig was having fun with them.
"Have you seen Sig today? There are a few things I need to,"Torn started, but then-
"-HI CHILIPEPPER!" Sig marched up over a hill towards them, dragging a massive pile of recently slaughtered metalheads. He hauled them to the city locks,"what a surprise to see you somewhere other than the Naughty Ottsel."
"And how's the King of Spargus been?" Torn fake saluted. Sig doubled over with laughter.
"Seriously,"Sig finally said,"there's gotta be something up for you to drag your butt all the way out here. What's going on?"
Torn glanced at Samos. The Green Sage had moved out of earshot; tending to a few flowers.
"We have a problem,"Torn said,"it has to do with Jinx. I've sent Jak out to find him, but so far he hasn't-"
Torn's communicator activated, floating out of his pocket to face him. Jak was on the line.
"Torn, I've searched the city, but so far I haven't found him. I also tried a few of our contacts, but noone seems to know where he is,"Jak said,"I'm beginning to think he skipped town."
"Dammit,"Torn spat. Did Jinx know they were already looking for him? It didn't seem likely. He turned to Sig,"Jinx attacked a local last night. She wasn't hurt, but there's a chance he might try again. You heard Jak - Jinx is on the run, and if I know him, there's only one place he would go."
"It's about time I got back to Spargus anyway,"Sig's voice deepened. He looked troubled; doubtful. He turned to leave, but doubled back,"you said 'she'. Was it anyone we know?"
Torn paused. He considered telling Sig the truth. The words were dancing on the tip of his tongue, but every time he tried opening his mouth all he saw was Keira's mortified face. She'd trusted him with her secret. Torn put together a lie.
"No, she was just one of Tess's acquaintances,"he finally said. Hey, it wasn't a total lie. Just an omission of certain truths.
Sig raised an eyebrow,"Alright then, I guess I'll get going,"he stepped out of Haven Forest. Torn watched him go, hurt that he'd had to lie to him.
He wondered why Keira felt so compelled to hide all of this. Was there something else going on, or was she lying to him? It was hard to tell. As far as he knew, she had nothing to gain by lying about something like Jinx, and he really didn't think that Jinx's advances were really that bad. But why was he spending so much time thinking about it? Why was he spending so much of his energy thinking about her?
Torn jumped. He'd completly forgotten about getting to the garage.
"I heard everything,"Jak said from the communicator. Torn had forgotten he was still on the line,"what's up with Jinx and some local girl? What's going on, Torn?"
For a split second Torn heard an edge to Jak's voice; a dark edge.
"Nothing that I can fully explain without Jinx in custody,"Torn said, not wanting to rouse Jak's Dark side. The last thing he needed was a pissed off Dark Jak wreaking havoc on the city,"listen, there's not much more we can do until we find him. Call the Freedom League and inform the patrols to keep a lookout. I'll contact you as soon as I hear more."
"Fine. I'll be at the stadium if anything happens,"Jak said. The communicator beeped off.
Torn took one last look around the forest before ducking into the city locks. Maybe later he could come back to unwind when nobody was around. It sure seemed like a good spot to take out a lot of his frustrations. But for now it was time to go find out what was up with Keira. There were a lot of questions he had to ask. Questions he hoped she'd have straight answers for.