AN:Fair warning. I was tired when I proof read. I'll fix mistakes later. Slightly longer versions of previous chapters on the other site.

Hadji arrived at the hotel and did not bother checking in. He walked straight to the elevators and pushed the button for the twentieth floor impatiently. Impatience was not a feeling he gave in to often, but time had felt like it slowed down since he spoke with Race. He was worried for his friend and worried about his brother. He wanted to get to his family and get to work.

When he finally arrived at the hotel door, he took a deep breath before knocking. He needed to be strong for his family.

"Father," Hadji greeted him with a brief hug and then rushed into the room so he could set-up. "Mr. and Mrs. Bannon," he nodded upon noticing them.

Jack stood to shake Hadji's hand and then placed both hands on his shoulders. "Jack and Sarah. How many times do I have to tell you that?" he tried to lighten the mood, but that was hard with Sarah crying softly in the background.

Hadji knelt so he was eye level with her and spoke confidently. "We will find her. No one stands a chance against the combined resources of this family."

"I know," Sarah choked out. "I'm sorry. Just a little scared."

Jack was beside her in a moment and offered his hand. "Come on, sweetheart. We need to let them work and you need to lie down." Sarah reluctantly agreed.

Hadji waited until they were gone before speaking again, but he continued to login to his equipment. "Where's Jonny?"

Benton paused before answering. "In his room I think…or Jessie's. I'm not sure. He and I got into an argument so he refused to stay and work here."

Hadji was not surprised. His brother was never rational when it came to Jessie, but he still felt bad for his father. He felt bad for anyone on the receiving end of Jonny's temper when it came to Jessie. "You know how he is when it comes to her," Hadji offered.

"I do," Benton sighed.

"What happened?" Hadji asked as he waited for his computer to connect to IRIS.

"I refused to tell him where the van was when I found it," Benton admitted and then paused again.

"Race filled me in on what you know so far," Hadji assured.

"I didn't want him inserting himself in a dangerous situation," Benton continued. "My son didn't agree with my point of view."

"I see," Hadji shook his head and decided to focus on what he could control instead. "Where are you at with the search?"

"I've hacked in and run our facial recognition software on all available video footage for the ten mile radius south and east of where the van was parked. On the corner of Atlantic and Tarpon. Can you take north and I'll take west?"

Hadji nodded his agreement. "What else?

"Jonny insisted she was wearing her earrings with the GPS," Benton continued with a shake of his head. "I can't find a signal though."

"Last known?"

"The hotel." Benton confirmed. "Last night."

Hadji took another deep breath. He had felt the need to take several in the last forty minutes. "Alright. On top of the surveillance searches, you take working on the GPS signal and I'll taking scanning through the police files for similar MOs…"

"No," Benton cut in.

Hadji looked up in surprise. "Why? We should play to our strengths. This is what makes the most sense."

Benton stood firm. He would not allow it. "You're on scholarship to Yale. I won't have you hacking into police servers illegally."

Hadji smiled. "I appreciate where you're coming from, but we can't afford to waste time. My friend needs me. Besides, I won't get caught. I learned from the best," he added confidently.

"And then you surpassed him to become the best," Benton closed his eyes in resignation.

"Which is why we will split the tasks up like I suggested," Hadji said again. "I never bothered to become an expert in cell tower technology."

"Because you knew it would become obsolete long before the rest of us," Benton said proudly.

"All technology becomes obsolete," Hadji shrugged. "Let's get to work."

"Will you check on your brother first?" Benton requested. "I'm worried about him."

Hadji considered that for a moment and then shook his head no. "Let me do some work first. Jonny will be more receptive if I can give him an update when I see him."

"FUCK YOU," Jonny screamed at his computer and then stood up to pace the length of the small hotel room. He was feeling claustrophobic and frustrated. When his mind was focused on the information in front of him, he felt some semblance of control. Some semblance that he was moving forward and making progress towards finding her, but each time he found himself waiting for a page to load or a search to finish his eyes drifted, against his will, to the archway connecting their rooms and then to the clock ticking away.

It had been over two hours since she was taken and he did not have a solid lead from Race's watch list. He could not find any surveillance footage capturing her image. He could not pick up a signal on her earrings and Race was not answering his phone. All of this bothered him, but nothing bothered him more than her earrings. He knew she was wearing them, but in that moment he had to double check and eliminate all second guessing. He forced himself to go into her room and look for them. He ripped through her drawers and suitcase desperately. He checked the shower, the bathroom counter and finally the bedside tables. Nothing.

As he sat down defeated on the bed, his eyes drifted to the note she had written him and the penguin keychain again. Just like it did when he first entered the room. He shut his eyes for a heartbeat. He saw her face. He pocketed them both and then stood.

'FOCUS,' he screamed at himself. 'Stop pacing right now and think. Prioritize.' He did. He was trying to do too many things at once. It was splitting his focus and slowing both computers down. He needed to give every name on Race's list his full attention. Race asked him to do this because it was important. With that thought in mind, he shut down every open window on the computers, except the window that let him see what his father was actively working on. He was not willing to give that up. He still did not trust his father to keep him in the loop.

The sixth name on the list was a man named Simon Roth.

"I've been patient," Race snarled. "Sergeant you have no idea how patient I've been, but if you don't give me back my phone and get to your fucking point with these questions in the next ten seconds you're gonna have a problem on your hands."

The Florida Highway Patrol had detained him an hour ago for bypassing one of their roadblocks as he made his way back from Jacksonville. They spotted his helicopter at a distance and then greeted him on landing. It was hard to be stealth in a helicopter, but it was his best option.

He decided to play nice because he knew they could have arrested him on site if they wanted. He did not want to deal with that red tape, but he did want to find out everything they knew. So he played along. He surrendered his cell phone and cooperated fully with their questions. As he waited for an audience with the Sergeant, he made small talk with one of the troopers over their shared military backgrounds and quickly built a rapport. He found out from the trooper that they had no leads, but they thought Jessie's kidnapping could be connected to another girl's disappearance in Georgia. Race did not discount that theory since the stolen van had Georgia plates, but he also knew that anyone with half a brain would be smart enough to switch the plates.

For the last ten minutes, the Sergeant had been trying to dance around questions about Jonny. Race saw right through it of course. While he appreciated this man's need to perform his duty, the time he was losing here was no longer worth the benefit. He had gotten what he wanted from the trooper and h knew the Sergeant would not give him any more information.

"My daughter just introduced me to her first boyfriend," the Sergeant grumbled. "Not a fun time for me. I ran a background check on the kid, but don't tell anyone," he chuckled. "I just wanted to know everything about him, ya know? How about you?"

Race stood. "I think you made the right decision looking into your daughter's boyfriend. I would have done the same if I was in your position, but you're headed down a pointless path. Jonny has nothing to do with this. I've raised that kid since he was six. I already know everything about him. I know you have a job to do and that you have to rule out family first, but that's not applicable here. Now arrest me and give me my call, which will be to the head of I-One by the way, or give me back my phone so I can get outta your hair."

Simon Roth was a former I-One agent with a serious gambling problem. Fifteen years ago he had gotten in so deep with the Ciccone crime family that he started trafficking drugs across state lines to cover his debts. Race was the one that turned him in and he was sentenced to twelve years in federal prison. Race's involvement was supposedly sealed, but Race added him to the list as a precaution when he was released. After some digging, Jonny found out that he had been staying at a Hampton Inn a few miles away for the last week. He was on the sixth floor and had rented a silver Toyota Camry from a Hertz in Houston. It was a real lead and his heart rate tripled. He called Race immediately, but it went straight to voicemail.

"Call me back."

Jonny stared at the computer as he considered his next move. He could not sit on this for long. He needed Race to call him back. Then a noise from the other room interrupted him.

Hadji knocked on Jessie's door several times before Jonny opened it distractedly.

"Anything new?" Jonny asked immediately. It broke Hadji's heart a little when he had to shake his head no. The hopeful look in his brother's eyes dimmed. He sighed heavily and then walked away without another word.

Hadji entered the room slowly. He felt like he was intruding on something sacred. Her things were strewn all over the room. At first he found himself surprised that Jessie had made such a mess, but then he realized that her things had been rifled through. He was surprised again to find Jonny in the next room.

Hadji leaned on the door frame and watched his brother for a moment. Jonny was sitting on the bed and typing away furiously on his keyboard. "You figured out how to get adjoining rooms?" Hadji laughed lamely.

Jonny responded without looking up. "I haven't seen her in three months. I was very…motivated," he grumbled and ran a hand over his face. "Jonny…I love you."

Hadji quickly changed the subject at Jonny's reaction. "Why did you go through all her things?"

"I needed to make sure I wasn't wrong about the earrings," he admitted. "She was wearing them, Hadj. Why can't we pick up the signal? Do you think that means she's underground?"

"That's one possibility," Hadji offered, but he knew Jonny already knew that and all the other possibilities. His brother was just grasping for anything firm to hold on to.

"Are you working on strengthening our link to the satellite?" he urged.

"Father's working on that."

An annoyed sound escaped Jonny's lips. "Mmm…Where are you on…"

Hadji felt the need to defend their father. "Jonny, he's just worried about you."

"I'm not talking about that right now," Jonny shot back with finality. "Give me a rundown of the searches you've run so far?"

"You're monitoring everything I'm doing," Hadji sighed. He knew his brother was scared, but the dismissive attitude was frustrating.

"Yeah…well I'm also a little busy here, Hadj. Did you need something then?" he sighed. "Even though I can take care of myself, I am okay with you being my hero, baby." He heard it as clearly as if she was lying right next to him saying it again. He could see the trusting look in her eyes.

"Hey," Hadji called out with worry.

When Jonny refocused, Hadji was in front of him with a hand on his shoulder. "Sorry," he said softly, shrugging away and standing. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Of course."

Jonny felt guilty for what he was about to do. Then he noticed her lingerie on his pillow over Hadji's shoulder. He had forgotten she left it there last night and did not notice it earlier. He could not wait. "I need to take a break and I need to apologize to Dad…but I don't want to hold up the searches Race asked me to do," he added quickly.

"What are you working on?"

"Race gave me his threat list. Every person he monitors. He asked me to track each of them down to see if anyone is in the area. I'm through the first six and have no leads. Can you start on seven and keep working through them until I'm back? Race is convinced this is our best shot so I don't want to waste any time."

"Go," Hadji smiled. "Talk to father and catch your breath. I'll keep this moving."

"Thanks. I'll be back soon." He walked out without looking back because he was afraid his brother would see right through him. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, turned it off and threw it on Jessie's bed. He began his mental checklist as soon as the door closed behind him. He needed cash, a disposable phone, a laptop, binoculars and a gun. Jonny knew that Race would have most, if not all, of that in his room depending on how much he took with him to Jacksonville. Either way, Race's room was the most logical first stop. He just had to get past his father.

Race had ten missed calls so he needed to prioritize once he got into the cab. "The Ritz," he told the driver distractedly. Half the calls were from Jonny. Three from Jade and one from Benton and Estella each.

She picked up on the first ring. "Jade. Sorry. Talk to me."

"I don't have anything useful, Race. I'm sorry. I heard back from my guy in Jacksonville. No prints and the blood was hers. The bullet was from a 9mm."

"Ok," he said slowly. "What was in the syringe?"

"Pavulon."

"Shit." It was a muscle relaxer. Fast acting and could last up to three hours from one dose. It was part of the drug cocktail used in lethal injections. "What…anything else?" he cleared his throat on the last word.

"I'm sorry, Race." She did not know what else to say. "What can I do?"

"Is this guy on your payroll or was this a one-time favor?"

"Payroll. Just call if you need him again. I'll make sure he's there," she promised.

"Thanks darling." He paused for just a moment and then hung up. Benton was next on his list. "Benton. You called?" He tried to keep the agitation out of his voice, but failed.

"We finished the search of every accessible camera feed. No luck. I'm having IRIS rerun the initial search and look twenty miles out as a secondary. The secondary will take longer, but…"

"I know," Race swallowed. "Just a precaution. This island is only thirteen miles long and the roadblocks were set up quickly. I don't want to rule anything out, but she's likely still on the island. Listen…I heard back from Jade's guy. The drug he injected her with was Pavulon. It's a long shot, but can you see if there's anything out there about Pavulon being reported as stolen? Also, another long shot but please confirm that Tyler is definitely in Boston."

"I'm on it."

"Thanks. Anything else?" he could not help but ask.

"Nothing firm, but we're all looking. We'll find her soon," Benton promised and then heard a loud knock. "Oh…someone's at the door. Are you on your way back? Race?" He had already hung up.

He called Jonny back next, but it went straight to voicemail. "Damnit."

Race was trying to remain confident, but the fact that they had gone so long without a lead was unnerving him. 'Did I miss something obvious?' he worried.

"I'm so proud of you, Ponchita." It was just the two of them in her dorm room and he was getting ready to head home. Secretly, he was thrilled that he got to drop her off without Jonny there. They did not get to spend much one-on-one time together anymore.

"Dad…thank you," she hugged him tightly. When it became clear he was not letting go any time soon she smiled and settled in. "Don't be sad."

He kissed the side of her head. "I'm not. Just proud."

"I'm gonna call you every day," she promised.

He pulled back slowly. "You better."

She took a deep breath and smoothed out a nonexistent wrinkle on his shirt to distract her from the sadness she was starting to feel. "Take care of yourself. I'll also be calling Mrs. Evans weekly to make sure you're not eating too much red meat."

He rolled his eyes. "I think she got your long list of instructions."

"Take care of Jonny for me," she then added quietly. "I threw him for a loop on this one."

"He's gonna be a real pleasure to be around the next few months. Thanks for that by the way," he said sarcastically.

Jessie managed a half smile. "Just don't let him do anything too reckless, please."

"I love you."

"I love you more."

Race decided he could not go back to the hotel and face Estella or Jonny with no news. They would call him if anything came up on their end. "Driver, change of plan. Take me to Fernandina Beach."

It was not the best plan he had ever concocted, but it would have to do. Jonny knocked and then braced his arms heavily on the door frame as he waited for his father to answer.

"Son," Benton greeted. "How are you?"

Jonny walked through the entryway and straight toward Race's bed with laser focus. He knew Race usually kept his supplies in at least two locations when they stayed at a hotel to reduce the risk of everything being taken in case of a theft.

"Any luck?" Jonny asked lamely. He knew he sounded like a broken record, but wanted an update before doing anything else.

"No," Benton replied simply.

'Keep it together, Quest. Do what you have to do for her and don't look back.'

He made a show of inhaling sharply and then sat on the edge of the bed. His head in his hands. His breathing exaggerated through his mouth so it sounded like he was hyperventilating.

Benton immediately sat next to him and rubbed his back. He kept his mouth shut because he knew there were no words to comfort his son in that moment.

"Dad, I feel like I can't breathe," Jonny chocked out. "Like I'm gonna pass out."

Benton tried to push against his shoulder, but Jonny resisted. "Lie back for a moment."

"Can you please get some ice?" Jonny asked. "I think I just need to cool off."

Benton pulled him close for a second and then stood. "You do feel hot. I'll be right back."

Jonny was moving as soon as he heard the door. He counted before knocking. The ice machine was ten rooms away so he only had a minute. Less if his father rushed. He checked under the bed and the closets by the bed and in the entryway. There were two small black duffel bags. He grabbed both and then hurried out of the room and straight for the stairwell. He did not look back to see if his father caught him and he did not stop moving until he was safely in the back of a cab. He risked a look back as the driver pulled away, but no one was following him.

"Just drive around for a few minutes," he requested. "I need a minute to figure out where I'm going."

Jonny ripped open the first bag and found most of what he needed. A thousand dollars in cash, an iPad and a pair of military grade binoculars. The second bag had a gun, ammo and several types of tracking devices. As soon as he saw the tracking devices he instinctively checked each tracker to make sure they were turned off. Then he patted the bag down and found one turned on in the lining. He turned it off and did the same to the one in the second bag. All he was missing was a disposable phone. He had left his phone at the hotel room and turned it off for the same reason he turned off the trackers. He did not want his dad or brother interfering until he had a chance to assess the situation. He thought about moving forward without a phone, but quickly decided against it. He wanted one handy in case he needed Race.

"Where's the closest Walmart?" Jonny asked.

"Amelia Plaza. Very close. About ten minutes," the driver told him.

"Take me there," Jonny decided and then sat back and looked out the window. He would be moving again in less than ten minutes.

"Jonny Quest, where are you taking me?" He had snuck into her room and shook her awake in the middle of the night. She was annoyed at first, but humored him. Now she was fully dressed and heading north with him along the highway.

Jonny just laughed. "I didn't answer that question the last five times you asked. What makes you think I'll answer now? Just trust me."

"I'll let you get in my pants if you tell me," she smiled.

He scoffed at that. "I'll take my chances, baby."

His response made her turn in her seat and raise an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just that I'm a very lucky man," his grin grew fivefold. "You're insatiable, love."

"You think I can't resist you?" she huffed.

"I think that's a pointless challenge. Who wins if we deprive ourselves? Besides, I already know I can't resist you."

She sighed softly at that, leaning her head against the seat and staring at him lovingly. "You're far too charming for your own good."

"Is that your way of saying you can't resist me either?" he teased. She responded by unclicking her seatbelt, rolling down her window and then sticking her head outside the moving car. "What are you doing, Jess?"

"I'm in love with you," she screamed into the night. "I'm in love with you," she giggled as he pulled her back inside the car by her belt loops. She inched closer to him, placing both her hands on his shoulder and then leaning her chin on top of her hands. Her lips right at his ear. "I'm so in love with you. It's insane."

"Sir," the driver interrupted his memory. "That will be thirteen fifty."

Jonny handed him a twenty and told him to keep the meter running. He avoided the crowds and made his way through the aisles with precision. He found the disposable phone he needed and then also grabbed a dark t-shirt, hat and sunglasses on impulse. He went through the express checkout and was back in the cab in record time. "Take me to the Hampton Inn on Sadler."

It was less than two miles away so Jonny was in the lobby of the Hampton Inn five minutes later. He had put on the new shirt, the hat and the sunglasses for good measure before getting out of the cab. The lobby was small so a quick scan told him that Roth was nowhere in sight. He walked straight to the registration desk and offered the middle-aged clerk a greeting. He hoped that some innocent flirting might get him what he wanted.

"Darlene, good morning. That's a pretty name," he grinned. "I'm looking to rent a room for the night. I know check-in isn't for a few hours, but if you have anything available I would appreciate it so much. It's been a long night."

"Let me check for you, sweetie."

"I prefer the sixth floor if that's at all possible," he tried to add casually. He kept his eyes on the elevator as Darlene tapped away on her keyboard.

"Come back in twenty minutes and I can get you in room six twenty-four."

'Perfect,' he thought. 'Three rooms away from that asshole.'

"Thank you so much," he plastered a fake smile on his face. "Can I pay now to save some time?"

"Sure. I just need to see some I.D. and a credit card."

"My wallet was actually stolen," Jonny lied smoothly. "Part of my long night. Luckily, I have enough cash on me to crash for the day and then get home."

"Where are you from?"

"Atlanta. I was just here for a buddy's bachelor party. Less than twenty-four hours and I managed to let someone steal my wallet and cell phone right under my nose. My girl…well she's always telling me I'm too trusting," he trailed off. "How much for the night?"

"One hundred forty seven," she told him. "What's your name?"

"Morgan. Morgan Brenner," he handed over the cash. "Thank you again. You're a life saver, Darlene. I'm gonna take a walk around the block to stay awake. I'll be back in twenty."

Jonny did take that walk around the block. He wanted to scout out the area and see if he could spot Roth's car. There was a Renaissance Inn a block away and several parking lots in the surrounding area. On his first pass, he counted four silver Camrys that could have been Roth's, but did not get close enough to read the license plates. As he began his second pass around the block, he pulled the phone and one of the trackers controlled by a remote from the bag. He removed the adhesive from the back of the tracker and slowed down as he approached the first car. It was not the one he was looking for. He did not think it would be. If he had to put money on it, he would bet that the Camry closest to the hotel's back entrance was the winner. When that car was in his line of vision, he paused and looked up. He counted to the sixth floor windows and saw that there were five open windows in full view of the car. If the hotel floor plan he had found was accurate, two of those windows belonged to Roth.

He started at a jog with the tracker hidden in his right hand and the phone in his left. He dropped the phone once he was at an arm's length from the car and managed to attach the tracker to the bottom of the car before popping back up and continuing his jog. Then he kept running until he was back in the lobby, hoping that Darlene had worked her magic faster than promised. He smiled as he approached and his smile grew wider when she waved a key card.

"Thank you," he said again, grabbing the card and heading toward the elevator. He felt as tired as he was pretending to be. He pushed every button because he wanted to get off on a floor that was receiving maid service. He ended up stepping off on the third floor and waiting for a maid to leave her cart long enough so that he could swipe the universal key she left hanging off its edge. Her oversight would make what he needed to do much easier.

When he made it up to the sixth floor, he walked straight past Roth's door and felt the blood rush to his head. 'What if she's in there?' He dropped his bag in his room and then took off his shoes. The first thing he needed to do was confirm that Roth was in the room. He opened his door quietly and kept it propped open with his shoe. Then he tiptoed down the hall, knocked on Roth's door loudly and ran back to his room, shutting the door quietly. He waited and listened patiently. When he heard the door open and then slam shut a second later, he released the breath he had been holding.

'Okay,' he told himself. 'Now the hard part. Your move Roth.' He sat by the door and waited.

"You're too trusting, Jonny. Too good," she whispered in his ear. They were on the couch in his room, taking a break from studying.

"What…huh?" he breathed heavily. "Keep doing that, baby."

"She didn't need help with her calculus."

"Who?"

"Katie."

"Who?"

"Good answer."

"God that feels good."

"She was just trying to get you alone, Jonny."

"She failed. I saw right through her," he panted. "You're the only one I want to be alone with and I'll show you TOO GOOD," he smirked and stood up.

The happy yelp that came out of her mouth as he carried her to the bed was a sound he would never forget.

"I love you," she sighed.

"You're everything."

AN: Promise next chapter won't take as long as this one. Already half done.