Undercover

By theladyknight

Disclaimer: Digimon—not mine!

Dedication: To everyone who reviews! I could ramble on with apologizes about why it took me so long to update, but I'll just let you guys get to the –long- chapter instead. Oh, and to anyone who asked…Mexico was a lot of fun!

Chapter 12: Caught!

In all his time working at the FBI, Agent Matt Ishida had only seen his superior officer this mad on two occasions. The first time had been a result of a major security breech. A man had entered the division with an incredible resume, boasting of high and mighty accomplishments. Agent Jones was positively beaming—a trait no one associated with him—at the mere mention of the man's name. But then, a good month later, it all went down the drain. He was a complete fake who forged all of his credentials. Agent Jones' wrath was large enough to feed the entire FBI for a year. The second incident was a bit of an embarrassment to the head official. He had caught his wife in bed with his brother…

That was probably the worst one, but he sounds nearly as mad now as he was then.

Matt shoved Sora's helmet into her hand. "We need to jet. He doesn't get pissed off like this too often, but you do not want to be in his doghouse ever."

"How is he communicating to us?" She accepted the helmet as he climbed onto the bike but didn't put it over her head. "Isn't he back on the East Coast?"

That question had been lurking on the blonde's mind from the second he heard the all-too-familiar voice. "I don't know. But somehow he knows something and managed to reach us."

"Do you think he's really that mad about no one being at headquarters tonight? Or maybe…maybe he knows something more."

Matt was getting a bit irritated that she wouldn't get on the motorcycle. "I don't know what he does know and what he doesn't." He ran a hand through his hair. "But we need to get there pronto. There's no telling what kind of lecture we're going to get. He might not even know anything. We just better get our asses there so things aren't worse than they appear to be."

Her lips melted into a smirk as she leapt onto the motorcycle and wrapped her arms tightly around his torso. "I know this is important, Matt. I just don't want to rush in there without some sort of plan of attack."

Sora's logical bearings struck him deep in the heart as well. Hadn't he used to want a plan for everything? Hadn't he always stuck to the book? Hadn't he been a cold-hearted bastard, driven by his work and unaware of others emotions?

Hadn't he been?

That all changed with her. "I think this is just one of those times we're going to have to take a risk and hope it works out in our favor. We've gotten ourselves out of sticky situations in the past and this one looks to be no different. We may have to wing it, but we'll both survive."

He hadn't been expecting the familiar sensation of her lips on his, but he definitely did not pull away. Until his mind caught up to him. Sora was smiling as his blue eyes studied her quizzically. "It sounds so completely foolish and illogical to do so. But…I think this is just one of those times it makes sense." She slipped the helmet over her head. "Let's go…"

Her fingertips grazed his lightly as they slowly made their way into the main quarters from the garage, hands entwined together in a gesture of reassurance and something else altogether. She couldn't, for the life of her, understand why she was this way around him—so touchy-feely and actually wanting to be that way. Sora never allowed herself to be like that around guys. It was her mantra, her rule book, the basic law of dating. To be like that, at least for the first few weeks or months—dependent upon how long the relationship lasted, was a sign or weakness and being needy. She didn't feel obligated to play the poster role of girlfriend and Barbie to a Ken so many girls fantasized about.

But right now, she couldn't keep herself from holding onto his hand. Sure, it was a bit of reassurance. It was nice to know that she wasn't alone, that she wouldn't have to face Agent Jones' wrath on her own. At the same time, though, she was positively glowing in the memory of what had happened between the two of them an hour ago. The woman had pushed love out of her life only to see it waltz back in the most unexpected of ways.

"Sora, whatever happens in there…" Matt paused, looking through the windows on the door at the group and saw a big screen projector with an obviously angry man in his line of vision. "Stick with the competition. Don't abandon it should anything happen or should they know something we didn't want them to."

"Do you take me for stupid, Matt? I know my role and obligations. I won't give up that easily."

"I wouldn't expect you to. It's just with everything going on and all…" he gestured between the two of them, releasing their hands from their comfortable resting spots, "…yeah…"

She rolled her eyes. "Don't flatter yourself, Ishida. C'mon, we need to get in there and figure out what's going on."

His eyes trailed after her figure as she confidently trekked into the room. There was the Sora he knew and, daresay, was falling fast for. He could gather why they were taking things so calmly before. They both knew the gravity of the situation at hand but nothing was ever lost by being optimistic. Agent Jones had been mad; however, they had no means of knowing what it was about. But right now, taking a glance at how the veins were nearly popping out of his face and his cheeks were a puffed out shade of fire engine red, Agent Ishida had a fairly good idea that optimism had just gone out the window.

"'Bout time you two showed up. The others have all been here for awhile."

"We were at the hotel," Matt lied through his teeth, a trait he had mastered exceptionally well. "I had just brought Takenouchi back there when we heard your message."

Agent Jones' eyes, reduced to angry black slits, searched the room menacingly. "Take a seat. We have some important matters to discuss."

Tai waved Sora down, and she gracefully landed in the open chair next to him. Matt walked over to the far corner of the room by Davis, eyes never leaving his boss' and sitting in one of the lone folding chairs. It seemed like only their group, the elite circle, had been called into the room. No one else from the San Antonio Police force or mission headquarters was in the room. But out of the corner of his eye, the blond could see two burly men in black, stereotypical FBI agents blocking the exits of the two sets of doors leading out of the room. Yep, this isn't going to be good.

"Where were you all tonight? Why were you not here at headquarters!" the man demanded, looking as if his head was about to blow off his body at any moment. "I expect an answer."

Tai gulped as the man stared daggers in his direction. "I was at Club Cancun with the others."

"I think the others are fully capable of speaking for themselves."

Matt cringed to himself, knowing Tai was talking his way out of Agent Jones' favor. From previous experiences, the lone FBI agent in the room knew that his superior officer would make a clear-cut opinion of someone from the very start. And that opinion either went up or down.

And it was obvious what way it was heading for Tai.

"W…we got a tip about some of the girls being involved in some shady activity. This was our last chance to check into things before tomorrow."

"Why didn't you look into it before like you were supposed to?"

The bushy-haired man didn't have an answer. He hung his head in wallow, choosing not to say anything. Agent Jones glared at Sora, and she knew it was her turn to answer. "I was playing my role of Miss Sora Lynn Rogers. I was at Club Cancun with the other contestants because I knew that if I wasn't there, things would look suspicious on my part. I saw the others there, and they really were playing their part." If Matt gets to lie then I'm going to as well.

He wasn't impressed with her answer either but let it slide for the time being. "Well?"

Izzy wasn't used to being interrogated. He was one who followed the rules and prided himself in doing that. He looked at Joe, sitting on his right, and knew the man was in the same boat. They had both gone to the club on a whim, knowing Tai's true intentions but also believing they could get some research done.

It didn't work out quite as planned.

They had gotten sidetracked by the ladies present. They both would be the first to admit that girls generally didn't jump in their direction but that certainly wasn't the case at the club. Izzy hit it off with one of the contestants, one of Sora's friends named Gwen. Joe had some nice conversations with Miss Alaska, both finding they had a lot in common. They'd gotten sidetracked by everything and it didn't help getting called into…

"Well?" Izzy nearly jumped out of his seat at Agent Jones' icy voice.

"My story is the same as Tai's. We went to that club tonight because all other leads led to a brick wall."

"We didn't find anyone whose story sounded off according to our records," Joe put in, understanding he was next in the inquisitional line. "But we did set out what we intended to do."

"And what about you? You're not part of this mission?"

Davis hesitated, unsure of how he was supposed to be answering the question. "I was put on the case by the San Antonio Police Department. Tai asked me to go along because I know my way around San Antonio…"

"Why did Kamiya ask you to go instead of Agent Ishida? I was aware that he was the leader of this mission."

"I chose not to go," the blond coolly said, and all attention in the room drifted to him. "I stayed here to look over paperwork regarding our evidence and suspects but ended up at this club when Mr. Fujiyama, the pageant director, called me and asked me to get Takenouchi out of there before she got drug off by their guards."

"I was in communication with Fujiyama, and he informed me of your task. But with your credentials, Ishida, I'm a bit surprised it took you an hour to get Takenouchi out of the club."

"Guards were posted at every exit," he retorted immediately, this time actually sticking to the truth. "We had to wait for an opportune moment to get out of there. We had just arrived back at the hotel when we heard your message and came straight here."

Everyone was under the impression that he got his answers. Everyone was expecting a brief talk about what to do tomorrow at the pageant. Everyone was ready for the subject of tonight's activities to be dropped.

Everyone but Matt.

He saw the sparkle in Agent Jones' eye that only came when he had uncovered some important dirt, leaked to him by a spy or a mole. "Ishida, while I was talking with Fujiyama, I asked him about your meeting with him on Sunday. He was completely in the dark about this meeting. Apparently, it never existed. Do you care to fill me in on your true whereabouts along with Takenouchi's?"

I knew there was something more to this. "We used the meeting excuse to get the rest of these people off our case. Takenouchi and I had to run an errand to my brother's apartment. He is a newspaper reporter and had some valuable information on some of the judges that we never had before."

"Ah yes, Takeru Takaishi or T.K. as he prefers to be called. And am I safe to assume that one Hikari or Kari Kamiya was there as well?" Matt made no motion to answer. "Security tapes, Ishida. When we received transmission of the press conference, we were a bit startled to find two others with your group, two others who were not associated with the government, police or FBI. I had our offices run a search on the possible accomplices you may have chosen, and I'd say we struck gold. And after the maid put a tracker in your wallet after I requested…"

"…you bugged me? What the hell! I've worked for you for the past few years, earned your trust and been put in charge of this whole mission and you take advantage of my trust and violate my rights?"

"Ishida, don't take that tone with me. You're lucky I haven't fired you. Yet. You strictly went outside the boundaries of the FBI syllabus for this mission, explicitly ignoring all our rules and traditions. You inserted civilian lives into our works and placed the entire operation in jeopardy. And I was right to bug you. It was quite apparent you didn't give up on that little rat race you preached at the beginning. All those places you went, all the people you saw…I gave strict orders to abandon your theories and you blatantly ignored me!"

"I'd do it again if I had to. Your options are limited, sir. You have no lead suspect or evidence on this chase. The pageant is tomorrow, damn it! Do you realize how many innocent lives are on the line here? I went out of my way, knowing it could cost me my job in order to save a group of people. Wouldn't you do the same in my shoes?"

"This wouldn't have happened if I was in your shoes! We would have caught the culprit weeks ago and would be packing up our bags, watching "Miss New York" compete in the finals. But your mission failed, Ishida. And there's a dangerous culprit on the loose. And don't begin to state that it is Mr. Fujiyama or Mr. Oikawa. I had your computer searched while you were out. You made it easy for us; everything was right there. In your haste, you didn't bother to log out of it. But you showed that you've been subversive, going against everything the FBI stands for. You are officially off this case, Ishida."

Since the debate—or screaming argument—between the two had begun, Sora knew things were heavily decreasing for Matt. She cringed as he was given his first punishment. But I'm sure it won't be the last one.

"You will fly back to DC tomorrow at 0700 hours. You will arrange for your own—and the FBI guards accompanying you—to get a ride to the airport, and you will pay for the transportation and plane fare out of your own paycheck. When you arrive and after the pageant is complete, you will sit in a hearing with the board of directors of the FBI and face your fate. At best you will sit behind a desk for the rest of your life, submerged with paperwork and never venturing on another mission. But most likely you will be stripped of your title of an agent and kicked out of the FBI. You had a fine run here, Ishida, but your behavior on this mission only makes you deserve the latter."

"Don't you think that's just a bit harsh, Agent Jones?" Sora didn't realize she had said anything until everyone was facing her.

"Takenouchi, are you on the FBI?"

"No, sir."

"Precisely what I thought. You are not making the calls. I am. Ishida has gone up against everything we stand for on the FBI. I should kick him off right now, but we do things by court order and a hearing so he still remains for the time being. Why are you jumping to his defense? Did you stick with his theories or abandon them like ordered?"

She wanted to tell the truth more than anything. Matt's face was unreadable but his soul-searching eyes were sending her a distinct message: do not compromise your role. She wished she could be stronger. Sora didn't want to go up against what she knew and believed. But as Matt had said earlier, she must stay there and compete, all the while staying undercover in more than one way.

"I was not involved. I bowed out and threw in the flag immediately at your request. I tried to convince Ishida to back out too, but my efforts were to no avail."

She would be their undercover agent. She would do things their way, at least in their eyes. But all the while, she would be playing with fire, playing with her own game and playing with Matt's evidence. It was dangerous; she knew that full well. To be an undercover agent was one thing, but to be a double agent...that, in this book, was almost committing career suicide. But Sora had long forgotten about the role promised to her on the FBI. She had long since cared whether or not she got the payment she deserved for doing this. Now it was about saving the lives of innocent spectators and the women who had become her close friends. The game of cat and mouse was slowly dwindling, coming to the finish line but there was still one major part of the chase to go.

And I'm playing by my own rules.

The blond slowly let out the breath he'd been holding. He could see the internal anguish written on her face and was afraid she'd back out of her promise. I shouldn't have doubted her. But I need to talk with her before anything else boils down. She has to know what I found out.

"Were any of the rest of you involved in this?"

A chorus of 'No, sirs' echoed all over the room, and it was obvious all were a bit anxious as to determine Matt's fate. The possibly former agent's eyes ventured to the door on the far right as two burly guards came in. Matt let out a soft groan as the two faces that greeted him were two he would rather not see. "Take Ishida back to his room at the end of this meeting. You will need to pack all your possessions tonight. You leave tomorrow morning. The rest of you…let's just say the fate of many rests in your hands. Don't screw up. Take him to his room."

"Yes, sir," the two guards—Jake and Thomas, two of the FBI's officers Matt went through training with and despised with a heated passion—grinned sadistically in the blonde's direction.

"Wait a minute. Don't I get a chance to say goodbye to these people? I've been working with them for the past two weeks."

"Fine," Agent Jones barked. "Tell them goodbye…"

"…in private. I'm not one who's very good with goodbyes, and I might think you don't trust me if you don't let me do this."

"You're digging yourself a deeper hole, Ishida. Sarcasm is not needed right now on your part."

"Well you see, sir, I happen to deal with things that are complete bull shit in this manner." He was being testy right now, but quite frankly, he didn't care a rat's ass about it. His fate was seemingly sealed; it was no question. Agent Jones had already made up his mind. Even though the decision went to a hearing, his superior had unbelievable authority in convincing others his way was the only way things should be solved. But I'm not going to stand for it.

"Fine, be a stubborn ass, Ishida. I never expected this of you. But apparently, I was wrong. You have five minutes." The large screen suddenly turned back, but Agent Jones' voice rang in the background.

Matt smirked at the two agents in front of him. "I'm not talking to the two of you so I'd suggest you leave me to talk with the others."

"We're not letting you out of our sight, Ishida." Thomas snarled. "You're probably planning on escaping."

"Do you really think I'd be stupid enough to try and run from the FBI?" Although you never know…

"You'll talk here," Jake tried to come off as intimidating and powerful but failed miserably. The blond had to do all he could not to laugh at him.

"Actually, I think I won't. I'm going to talk alone with each one of these people. Like it or not…"

"Please remind me why I'm talking to you in the bathroom, Matt." Tai rolled his eyes as the two were crammed into the small room, whispering things to each other.

The brunette couldn't believe how calm and cool Matt looked. It was like he didn't care that he was most likely not going to be employed come the hearing. Instead, here he stood in a little bathroom, looking bored and a bit tired. "Look, I'm fairly certain they have that room bugged. I can't have said everything I need to say in there, now could I?"

"Why did you stick to your stupid theory after we told you not to? You had to know it would get you in trouble."

Matt had gone through this same process with all the others. It seemed almost a scripted conversation by now. "I've already justified my stance, and I'm not in the mood to argue right from wrong in our opinions. Just promise me one thing, Tai…"

"…I'm not going to follow up on your leads, Ishida…"

"…I wasn't going to ask you that. Look out for Sora. Yes, I know she can take care of herself perfectly well, but I have a very strong feeling she's going to be one of the Beauty Queen Killer's next targets," He sighed at the confused look Tai was giving him. "My gut is telling me this, Kamiya. Sora's been kicking ass in the competition; the judges love her. She's the perfect target."

"Why are you so concerned about her now and making it known? Did something happen between the two of you that I should know about?"

Matt gave an irritated groan. "Kamiya, this is not the time to talk about that! Can't you understand how serious things are getting?"

A knock on the door briefly interrupted their conversation. "You got a minute and a half left, Ishida. If you want to talk to this chick out here…"

"…don't call me a chick you dumb ogre!"

"Ouch…yeah, this girl out here, then I suggest you wrap things up."

Tai waved his hand in Matt's direction. "Good luck, Ishida. We may not have always gotten along, but I'm cheering for you."

"Good luck here, Tai."

"See you later…oh and I hope you and Sora used protection."

Sora walked into the room, watching as Tai winked in her direction and Matt tugged at his hair in frustration. "What was that about?" she asked the moment the door closed.

"Tai's being his usual self. Okay, we obviously don't have much time…"

"…of course I'll look into the leads. That's why I'm staying here, isn't it?" She was trying to put a bit of humor into the situation, but the attempt wasn't as successful as she hoped for.

"Look out for yourself. I hit a bunch of dead ends regarding Misters Oikawa and Fujiyama. They're both key suspects, each with plausible motives and the materials and assets to achieve their motives. I just haven't found that key link yet."

"I'll look into it. What are your major points for each of them?"

"It'd be easier if I wrote that down." The blond looked around the room. "Do you have any makeup or anything I could use to write on this?"

Sora stifled a giggle as Matt held up a piece of toilet paper. "Does lipstick work?"

"It'll have to do." He furiously began to make note of the things on the thin paper, keeping things as simple as it could. It would be better for her to have this information with her than to attempt to remember it all in such a stressful time. Let's just hope this works. "Here you go…hey, can you take out your cell phone?"

As he was placing the lipstick and note into her purse, he noticed how familiar looking the phone was. She took hers out, and he did the same thing, holding the two phones up to each other and smiling at their similarities.

"Sora, can I keep your phone for the time being?"

Her eyebrows rose. "What do you need it for?"

"I need to check in with T.K. and tell him and Kari to lay low for awhile so the feds aren't bothering them. But I also need to call Lucas and see if he can be our method of transportation." He rolled his eyes at the stupid rules Agent Jones had put in play. "They've probably bugged my phone at some point in time. It'd be better this way."

"Yeah, go ahead. But you'll want to change the backgrounds and stuff while you're at it."

He nodded. "I'll get right to it."

"Twenty seconds!" a voice from the outside shouted.

"They're getting really into this 'only five…"

She was cut off as his lips passionately claimed hers. He pulled her to him, wishing this could be a proper goodbye kiss but knowing that was unlikely. "Given the circumstances…"

"…it's okay," she panted, "I know what you mean. Besides there'll be more time for that later. You owe me a few dates at least."

He grinned at her forwardness. "We'll see who owes whom. Listen, Sora, watch your back out there. Things are going to heat up really quickly, and I don't want to see you get burned."

"I'll be fine. I'm more worried about you. There'll be hell to pay when you get back…what?"

"I'm not planning on going back for a while?"

Silence.

"I'm going to find a way to be at that pageant and help you figure out who the guilty person is if it's the last thing I do."

Sora sighed. He is so stubborn. "It probably will be the last thing you do."

Matt kissed her forehead lightly. "Goodbye, for now."

"Goodbye," she shut her eyes and gave him a hug. "And don't do anything stupid."

"Would I ever?" he innocently asked as Thomas opened the door.

"Visiting hours are over. The inmate needs to go back to his cell."

I think he's getting a little bit to into this. Sora offered Matt one last smile before being pushed off to the side by one of the guards. She stood with the others and patiently watched as Matt was cuffed and led back to his room. Okay, they're getting way to into this. Be careful, Matt…

"Matt, how did you get yourself into this mess?"

The blond laughed at the expression he knew his brother wore. "I think you already know that, Teeks. They're shipping me back to DC tomorrow so I can 'sit hearing' to decide my fate."

"Let me guess: you already know what the answer's going to be."

"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out. Listen, I need you and Kari to keep a low profile. Agent Jones knows you're involved, and he's probably going to corner you somewhere and make you sign a bunch of documents, swearing you to secrecy about all this."

"Not if we take it to the press first."

"You're even more foolish than I am."

"That's a trait I got from you, Matt."

"Very funny. I got to go pack…"

"…if I know you as well as I think I do, Matt, I'm pretty sure you're going to spend the rest of the night coming up with a way to get out of this and stay here."

The older blond sheepishly grinned. "You know me too well, T.K. Hopefully the next time I talk to you, I'll still be in San Antonio and at the pageant."

"Don't do…"

"…anything stupid. I know, I know. Goodbye, T.K."

On the other end of the phone, T.K. wondered how he was related to Matt. Somedays, the things he does really surprise me. The old Matt never would have done that. But I have a feeling something, rather someone, changed him for the better and brought out this rule-breaking streak. "Good luck, Matt."

Agent Ishida, well he wasn't sure he'd be called 'Agent' much longer, stared down at the two phones in his possession. I guess I'd better call Lucas and see if he can be our mode of transportation. T.K.'s right though; I need to figure out what I'm going to…

His glance found the phones once more and an incredibly outrageous, insane idea came to his head. He had absolutely no idea if it would work. Matt was sure he was crazy enough to attempt it, though. It's an idea for now, but I can work on the details as I keep planning. First I need to get my ride.

"Howdy,"

"Hey, Lucas. It's Matt Ishida."

"'Bout time I heard from ya again. I was startin' to think ya left town."

The blond gave a nervous laugh. "Well, that's kind of what I'm calling about, Luke." How do I explain this? "I need you to do me a favor…"

"Would you stop tapping your foot? It's driving me crazy?"

"Well would you stop blowing bubbles?"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

"Where is Ishida at?"

Thomas looked at his partner who he had—unfortunately—been assigned with. "Ishida takes his time. I always knew he was a lazy ass."

"You and me both,"

Neither could describe how much they didn't like the blond agent. Both Thomas and Jake had worked their way up the ladder with him, starting at the same time in the FBI. From the very start, they despised him. Agent Jones never played favorites, but it was clear that if he did, Matt Ishida would be his favorite employee.

Ishida had moved up the ranks increasingly fast while the other two were stuck in an infinite mound of paperwork and annoying forms. While Ishida was out on the field, they were cramped indoors. It wasn't fair; he was nothing special. They couldn't understand what he had that they lacked.

"He had this coming to him. For once, I'm glad Agent Jones doesn't have favorites."

"Cause if he did, Ishida would have gotten off with nothing more than a slap on the hand."

"What's taking pretty boy so long?"

Maybe it was because he attracted the attention of nearly every female in the Bureau. Maybe it was because he had a shining record, jam-packed full of every achievement possible. Maybe it was because he had what appeared to be everything anyone could ever want.

But right now, he had nothing.

And they were going to rub it in.

"Get your ass out here, pretty boy. It's five till. Where's our ride?"

Jake heard a door slam behind him and out walked a very unbelievable sight. Matt normally kept to himself, but he could be sociable if he wanted and could definitely dress the part. But now, here he was wearing a black button down shirt, shirt ends sticking out. Black dress pants, full of wrinkles, stuck to his legs and nearly covered the brown shoes he wore. But the most surprising thing, even more shocking then the color and clothes selection he bore nearly made them faint.

He was wearing a hat and his precious blond locks were nowhere in sight.

Girls sighed at the sight of the hair. Guys teased him about the amount of gel he used. Women indignantly asked their boyfriends why their hair couldn't look that way. In all their experiences with Ishida, neither of the two guards had seen him like this.

"Cut off your hair in misery, Ishida?"

That damn smirk was back, the irritable look that always pissed Jake and Thomas off. "I really don't spend much time on my hair, contrary to public opinion. And anyway, why would I need to do anything to my hair when number one, no one's going to be looking at me because I'll be locked up in a plane all morning, and two, the gel's packed away in my suitcase."

"Where's your…"

SCREECH!

"Sorry 'bout that folks. I got stuck behind some traffic. Otherwise I woulda been here sooner."

"And you are?" Jake glared at the man, obviously not impressed by the driver's persona. He wore a pair of worn-out jeans and a long-sleeved flannel shirt. Completing the look was a trucker's hat, tipped at an oblong angle and showing messy brown hair off proudly.

"The name's Lucas, but y'all can call me Luke." He tipped his hat in a sign of respect, green eyes sparkling in the sun. Matt kept himself from smiling at Lucas's antics. The guy never fails to make me laugh.

"Let's get this show on the road. We're already late. And Agent Jones does not approve of tardiness."

"Chill out," Matt lazily headed over to the door. "Agent Jones is already pissed off enough at me the way it is. What's he going to do? Fire me twice? I'm going to get my luggage." He smirked in their direction. "Don't leave without me…"

"Bitch." Thomas glared at Matt's shadow as he walked back into the headquarters.

"So…er…I take it y'all don't get along too well?"

Jake rounded on Lucas but still ended up looking up at the taller man. The two guards were trying out the intimidation tactic but were not pulling it off. Matt and Lucas were around the same height—nearly five inches taller than Thomas, the taller of the guards. Lucas looked a bit hefty but fit, as if he had spent his life working out on a farm compared to the way Ishida had gotten buff from working in a gym. With the physical intimidation clearly not working, it was time to get psychological.

"Listen, cowboy. You will not ask any questions on the ride to the airport. Better yet, you'll say absolutely nothing. This is strictly FBI business, and you're not a part of the FBI, now are you?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Don't worry about it. I wasn't plannin' anything like that. Don't worry; I'll be as silent as a mute." The cabbie leaned into his car and pulled out a fast food sack. "My breakfast." He apologized amidst their glares. "Is there a place inside I can dump it?"

"First door, take a right. Hurry up." Jake directed.

"And tell pretty boy to hurry up too."

Jake rolled his eyes and turned to his partner. "How the hell did we end up with him?"

"Ishida picked him."

"Sounds like the type of person Ishida would pick. Someone who would annoy us to no end."

The toe tapping and gum popping started up again as the seconds turned to minutes. "Ishida, don't make me come in and get you."

"I'm coming!" Matt called out but didn't appear at the door.

The cabbie came back out and gave the two a lopsided grin. "His luggage strap broke."

"Ishida…"

"I'm here. Jeez…calm down."

The driver put the luggage in the trunk while the two guards and their "inmate" got in the back of the cab. "Airport is comin' right up."

"What'd we tell you about talking?"

"Sorry," he looked back at him through his mirror and drove off…

It was the quietest ride any of them had ever experienced. Meaning, in other words, it was also the longest, even though the airport was a five minute drive from the headquarters. When the cab finally arrived, directed right to a private strip because of their clearance, they found the plane waiting for them. "It's about damn time you showed up!" a man aboard called out. "We're running late. We have clearance to go so let's get moving."

A flight attendant grabbed the luggage and Jake and Thomas boarded the plane. "Let's go, Ishida."

The two men still on ground level turned to each other. "Nice meeting ya and working with ya."

"Same to you. If you run into Sora at all, tell her I'll be watching."

"No problem. Your flight's boardin'. Better not let the 'men in black' wait any longer."

With a wave of his hand and a rude gesture to the two guards, the blond boarded the plane. Those on the ground directed the driver and his taxi to move out of the way, but he pulled over to the side to watch the plane screech off for New York City and a foggy fate. You're going to have one hell of a ride there and a lot of explaining to do. Good luck. You're definitely going to need it…

A/N: Will Matt find a way to get to the pageant? Will they find the Beauty Queen Killer? And most importantly, who's going to be crowned Miss America? You'll just have to read to find out:insert evil laughter: Please review! I put this ahead of the scholarship application and article about Mexico I have to write for the paper because this was a lot more fun to write. I'm going to do my best to update this faster, but I'm not going to promise anything. Hope you guys liked the chapter! And don't forget to review!