This week was not like the previous week... Which is SO good! Thank you so much for the encouragement, too - there's nothing like things being insane during a time of staying at home to underscore (read: play on LOOP) exactly what has gone wrong.

And there is nothing like reviews, a week of good sleep, and a new chapter to make things feel like they are all going to be okay. :-D

Skyrider45, thanks so much! I really enjoy writing the amusement park, and it makes me so happy that you're enjoying it also - and not feeling that vague sense of "sort of, but it seems off somehow." And hey, the scariest thing I've written? I'm not sure I should be quite as proud as I am about that, but it feels great to hear! :-D I find that bone-deep feeling if I think about it on a ride, too, and I'm so glad it translated. Yay for more park! And a situation! And for at least part of today being amenable to being outside (my way of fighting cabin fever - take it all outside for a bit). I'll look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Living Lucid Dream, thank you so much for the extra long review. It cheered me up immensely, and I really loved hearing that Jug/Betty's chemistry is appealing! I'm always shy about writing romance, but they make it easier (and I'm getting practice, slowly but surely!). :) I'm looking forward to seeing more Alice and Kevin as well; they are somewhat similar people in my mind (if not always on the page, thanks to circumstances), and ought to make great friends. We'll see how it goes! Between that and the band, a lot of relationships are taking small steps in fun directions that make me smile. :) I loved your narration of reactions to the roller coaster! Brand should pay up (maybe even do the dishes as well) after all that, I agree. Brand and FP are finally locking into a healthier dynamic, too, and I'm curious about what they'll be capable of as a real team... and we may find out... as things continue to tangle! ;)

Enjoy!

-Button

00000

"We are definitely getting lifetime passes. Maybe even the good passes." Jughead watched smugly as Brand left with the park employees to learn more about the 'situation.' "Unless it's, like, Clark throwing up or something and they need Brand to come claim him from lost and found. If that's the issue, then we're not getting anything. We'll probably end up owing the park money."

"Come on. Let's decide what we want to do before Archie plays. That's coming up pretty soon now." FP watched Brand leave with a slight frown before he began to usher Betty and Jughead in the direction they'd previously been heading. "Brandon will sort out whatever they've got going on and then he can find us."

"Or…" Jughead flourished his phone, "we could all turn off our GPS and see how his tracking skills are holding up these days."

"You are in quite the mood." FP smiled at him, relieved that Jughead had not been upset by the adventure on the roller coaster - and enjoying the teasing at Brand's expense.

Jughead gave his father a confused smile. "Not really; I think this is my normal mood, Dad. Should we find someone else so we've got four people, or just go on some stuff with three?"

"Three is fine. We'll make it work." FP waved Jughead forward with Betty, but he was potently distracted by what Jughead had just said: that this was a normal mood.

A normal, teenaged, invincible-feeling mood where he chafed against parental oversight and safety precautions.

In fact, come to think of it, Jughead had expressed embarrassment about both Brandon and FP lately - about them showing interest in the opposite sex, and about them trying to keep him out of trouble. All of that was a far cry from Jughead's previous habit of seeking them out and watching their moods closely to ensure that he had their protection - their backup - at all times.

Jughead had even been downright mouthy all week about being told that he had to leave the amusement park before dark. FP was also pretty sure that he'd instigated the training fight with Brandon on Monday evening, before Tim had arrived with Roger.

Something had changed, but Jughead might be right: it was possible that it was a move toward normalcy, and not further away from it.

FP shot one more glance in the direction Brandon had disappeared. He was eager to confirm his impressions of Jughead with him, but for now he'd have to wait.

00000

"Then he said he was going to follow them, and he took off." Agent Quinn rolled her eyes, clearly expecting Brand to back her up in her frustration.

"How long ago was this?" Brand spared just a thought for the ingredients in the shrimp stir-fry he'd made with Jones and Clark the previous evening.

Because both interns were now acting like they'd had a monster dose of steroids and then been aimed at the amusement park.

"Thirty minutes? Forty?" Sarah checked the time on her phone. "That's when I asked a park employee to help me find you, before anything escalated and had the FBI's name stamped all over it. It took them long enough. They claimed that you were being evacuated from a stalled ride that someone was falling out of."

"Uh. Okay. Wow. People will say anything to get out of the hot seat." Brand figured that was a conversation for later. Or never. "What were they wearing?"

"Face paint and a lot of black. Jeans and jackets."

Brand held up a hand. "Have you ever been to one of these?"

"No." Sarah gave him a look as if he were stupid.

"Right. So you just described literally everyone. Tattoos? Gait? Something you've been trained to look for?"

"They were wearing face paint." Agent Quinn looked a little embarrassed now. "I wasn't really thinking in terms of other identifying features. They were staying out of the way so they wouldn't be seen, but they were dressed so conspicuously - at least for now, I guess, when the park isn't packed with actors."

Brand frowned. It was possible that Clark had just disappeared in pursuit of entirely unidentifiable costumed people in the park. "Maybe it would be easier to just look for Clark."

"Unless they've jumped him and left him somewhere, unconscious or restrained."

"Cheery." Brand sighed deeply. "But possible. I'm not thrilled you witnessed them egregiously bypassing the primary entrances to get a duffel bag-," it had been thrown over a fence, "-and according to the workers who brought me here it's 'impossible' that these are employees of the park pulling a stunt."

Apparently Clark had spotted the four costumed men receiving the bag over a tall fence in the park, and he'd taken off after them before Agent Quinn had had a chance to tell him not to. He had not responded to texts or calls since, and it was quite likely that he'd turned his phone off entirely.

"Impossible?" Agent Quinn's tone was dry.

"My sentiments exactly, but let's trust them on it at least being unlikely. For now." Brand rubbed a hand over his face. "And we've got FP to worry about, since he's a hot target for some unknown shooter. We've got Jones, who's been used as leverage against his father more than once. We've got Kevin Keller, who is dating a witness that is under protection leading up to a gargantuan trial. We've got an assortment of FBI personnel who could be targets for anything and everything - including violence that isn't specific to them as individuals."

"Should we evacuate? Send people home?"

"You saw some adults in costume most likely sneak some booze over a fence, Sarah. This isn't great, and I don't like that Clark went after them and hasn't been seen since, but it's been half an hour. We're not at that point." Brand frowned. "We are, however, at a point to get a search going for Clark. Tap a few of our people and I'll ask the park employees what they have in place for finding a missing kid or whatever. Heck, we'll call it looking for the smugglers who sneaked in contraband under guise of being actors for the haunting, but that still sounds like a fool's errand to me. We're looking for Clark, and you can tell our people that from the word go."

"Yes, sir." Agent Quinn gave Brand a tight smile, but it was sincere. "I think that's wise."

00000

"I thought we weren't red teaming," Agent Williams complained. "It figures Davies would spring this on us. He thinks this is SERE school or something."

"This is not red teaming." Agent Quinn shook her head firmly. "Davies had no idea anyone was sneaking a bag into the park, and Clark going after them was something nobody could predi-,"

"Has he spent a little too much time around Davies? That Canadian yahoo has poisoned even the good intern at this-,"

"Williams." Sarah cut her off severely. "I will write you up if you don't stop talking."

Three other agents were standing in a loose cluster, watching this exchange uncomfortably.

"Sorry, Sarah."

Williams did look sincerely apologetic for her outburst, but the damage was only accumulating day after day as she held onto her grudge against Brand, and Sarah was not at all sure that she was going to be able to prevent them from colliding at some point.

Maybe even soon.

00000

"Clark, I can't sneak away." Jughead leaned over the water fountain, but this was going to look very conspicuous very quickly. "It's getting dark. My dad would kill me."

"Jones, there are exactly two possibilities here. Either people have sneaked supplies into the park to do something nefarious-," Clark paused mid-sentence, and Jughead realized he'd heard him react to his choice of words and stifled any further huffs of laughter, "-and you'd better stop laughing at me, because the other possibility is that Special Agent Davies is red teaming us after all."

"Brand is not red teaming the RA." Jughead took another sip of water from the fountain to try to appear at least slightly less suspicious. Betty was using the restroom, but FP was only about fifteen feet away, sitting on a bench. "He was told by the higher-ups that red teaming was never going to happen."

"That's what he told us, Jones. And then he told you to leave before dark." Clark's voice was alive with intrigue. "I'm just saying it's a possibility. And we could be the ones to crack the whole thing wide open."

"Well, that is not a way of getting on Brand's good side." Jughead frowned. "If he is red teaming the RA, then we'd screw everything up if we got in the middle of it. Especially if we 'cracked it wide open' before he got the agents to mount a response or whatever."

Clark was silent for a few moments. "Good point. Well, let's just hope they're real criminals, then, so we don't get in trouble."

"Yeah, like that makes a whole lot of sense."

"Can you lose your dad when you go to the concert? Archie will understand. We really lucked out that Special Agent Davies isn't with you; I can't see you giving him the slip."

"Maybe. If I can get away, where should I meet you?" Jughead took one more sip of water. His dad was standing up from the bench, so it was likely that Betty had just reappeared.

"Text me. We'll go from there. Maybe I'll turn on my phone GPS so you can track me."

"All right. It's a plan." Jughead slipped his phone back into his pocket and rejoined his father just as Betty arrived.

00000

Clark was astonished by how much of the park was starting to fill with costumed actors for the haunted portion of the night. He had a clear bead on the four men he was following, though, and had taken note of enough identifying characteristics that he was certain they would not blend into the crowd from him - even though they clearly assumed that they would be essentially invisible to anyone else trying to find them.

When the four ducked behind a facade of an old west building, Clark moved close enough to hear them talking but not be seen.

This might not be red teaming (or maybe Clark was specifically excluded from the red teaming if it was), but it sure felt exciting.

"Donn said that if we go anywhere near the Jones kid, we won't get paid a dime. He wasn't supposed to be in the park at all, but for some reason he's here and sticking close to his father. That means-,"

"The Harlow guy. We have a description and a photo, so he shouldn't be hard to find-,"

Clark scrambled away as his breathing accelerated and he worried that might give him away. He pulled out his cellphone with shaking hands and began texting Jones again.

'We're in! It's red teaming. I'm literally the stated target, and the four guys doing it were told BY THE FBI to stay away from you. Davies is RED TEAMING us.'

A few long moments went by, and Clark kept a watchful eye on the four men who were still conferring. If he turned the tables and stalked them, they'd never find him in the park. The RA would win by default. A change of clothing and general appearance would be useful as well, but for now his plan was simple: he would not let them out of his sight, and they would have no opportunity to sneak up on him.

Jughead's text arrived: 'I'm going to kill Brand. I can't believe he was going to send me home and let you have all the fun. Also: you got a death threat. So this is kind of mean.'

'Jones. This is the FBI, and we're adults (mostly). It's realistic that he used current events for the scenario.'

Clark thought for a moment and sent one last text before turning his phone off: 'I'm going to try to change clothing. Maybe get hold of a costume for the haunted stuff. I'll text you in fifteen minutes with my location, but I'm going to follow the four red team guys so they have no chance of finding me. Expect that I'll be on the move and use the GPS app - I'll turn that on when I text you again.'

00000

Brand was irritated to find that Clark had his phone's GPS turned off as a matter of course, thanks to his paranoid streak.

Which might be justified at this moment, but never mind that.

Brand dialed Jones directly. "Kid?"

"Yeah, Brand?"

Great. The kid was surly for some unknown reason.

"Look, Clark's gotten himself into the middle of something. If you hear from him, get his location and let me know right away. Stay with your father for now, since I need to deal with this. Go to the concert, and then stay in large crowds until I can meet up with you. Avoid any of the more 'haunted' portions of the park. Got it?"

There was a long silence. "I think so."

"What do you mean, you 'think so'?" Brand demanded. "This is not code, Jones, and it is not complicated. I can't be worrying about you taking your parkour on the road when Clark's already gone rogue. Stay put."

"I heard you the first time."

"And I want to hear you say that you'll stay put. One more weaselly answer and I'll be locking you up in amusement park jail." Brand assumed there was a location somewhere on site for unruly or inebriated people, though that might just be a racetrack thing. "And keep your phone's GPS on."

"Okay, okay. It's on."

"All right. Good. You call or text if you hear anything."

"I've got my phone."

Brand frowned, not sure if he should call that out as being a 'weaselly' answer. He was probably just being paranoid himself, and Jones was almost certainly intentionally attempting to irk him - and Agent Quinn had just reappeared.

"I don't have time to fight with you, so please just be the adult that we both know you're typically incapable of being."

"Uh-huh." This time Jones' sarcasm was obvious.

Which meant they were back in familiar territory. That would have to be enough.

"Don't make me regret letting you stay in the park. I'll find Clark and then meet up with you as soon as I can. Keep your dad safe for me until then, killer. I'm counting on you."

"Okay, Brand." Jones sounded like he'd softened a little. Good.

The phone disconnected.

00000

Jughead stared at his phone.

Brand wouldn't be cheating by getting Jughead to narc if he was red teaming the RA. And the more Jughead thought about it, the more obvious it was that Brand would never set Clark up in a training exercise after the intern had received a legitimate death threat from Agent Donn.

It had been easy to be irritated when Brand first called, based on what Clark had said was going on. But now Jughead wasn't so sure that Clark was correct.

And the more he thought about Agent Donn sending Clark a threat, the more something bothered Jughead. Somehow, some way, Clark had gotten information that made it sound as though the FBI had targeted him - and explicitly said not to go near Jughead.

It might not be Rose. But it might be the next worst thing.

And that gave Jughead an idea: if he could just get in the middle of things, then anyone who had been told to stay away from him would be forced to leave Clark alone too.

It was half-baked at best, but it was the only plan he could come up with on short notice. It would have to work.

00000

"Come backstage with me." Gunnar lifted one shoulder in a disarming shrug.

"That only sounds slightly better than a van down by the river." Alice laughed. "Why?"

"You'll enjoy it more if you're right in the center of the action. I know you'll appreciate it, too, and you'll have good notes for us after." Gunnar motioned toward where Archie and Veronica were disappearing into the backstage area. "All the cool kids are doing it. You're with the band, Alice."

"I guess I am." Alice couldn't help but smile at that idea. "All right. I'll come roadie or whatever."

"Band manager," Gunnar corrected. "Or something like that - something with input and authority, but who does way less work than managing."

"Oooh, I like the sound of that. I'll work on the job title." Alice followed Gunnar. "Thanks."

"You are going to give me valuable impressions, and that will more than pay your way." Gunnar suddenly seemed shy now that he was getting what he'd hoped for. "Next time maybe I can include you in some of the decisions beforehand, and then you'll have even more to comment on. But impressions are good."

"Impressions are good," Alice echoed agreeably.

"I'll get you some water. I'll be the one to play roadie tonight, since you're doing me the big favor." Gunnar grinned. "Thanks, Alice."

"Remember me when you're on the cover of Rolling Stone," Alice called after Gunnar as he disappeared in search of water. She looked around at the dark backstage area with its scrawled graffiti and its worn, this-wood-has-lived texture. It should have felt dark and dirty, like a dive bar, and anything alive probably should have been exterminated.

But instead it felt electric.

And when a man and a woman who were clearly working hurried past, neither looking at Alice as if she were even remotely out of place, she decided that she could really learn to enjoy being with the band.

"Water." Gunnar reappeared moments later, flourishing a chilled, sweating water bottle. "I've got a chair for you, too, but I'm hoping you'll want to be up and moving during the set."

"We'll see." Alice accepted the water and adopted a light, teasing tone. "I guess you'll just have to move me."

Gunnar gave her a more intense smile this time, looking both determined and inspired by her words. "I'll do my best, Alice."

00000

"He's good!" FP yelled to Jughead and Betty. They were cozily entwined, Jughead standing behind Betty while resting his head on her left shoulder, and both were enjoying hearing Archie and Veronica perform again - this time on quite the stage, with fantastic professional lighting and sound. "And the songs do sound better plugged in."

"Totally!" Jughead yelled back. He handed Betty his phone and unwrapped his arms from around her shoulders. "Can you hold this for me? I'm going to hit a restroom. I'll be back in a minute."

Jughead thought he'd been perfectly casual, but FP's eyebrows shot up. "You can't wait another five minutes? I thought this was supposed to be a relatively short set."

"Just wait right here, Dad. Nobody's going to attack you during a concert, and I'll be back in a few minutes to protect you."

"Nope; not gonna happen. Nice try, but I'm going with you. Betty, can I please have Jughead's phone?" FP's expression had gone from confused to suspicious. "We'll be back in five minutes."

"Only girls go to the bathroom together," Jughead protested - belatedly realizing that continued resistance was a tactical error when his father reacted.

"That's it. Something's up. I'm texting your godfather." FP unlocked Jughead's phone and began to type.

"Fine. You can come, Dad - just don't text Brand. I'll explain, but you have to come right now or I'll be late." Jughead made a grab for his phone but his father held it out of reach.

"I'm coming too," Betty said firmly.

"You both have to stay back," Jughead warned, exasperated as he led them away from the concert and crowd. "Clark's doing something, and he needs my help."

"Clark's in on this?" FP began to type on Jughead's phone again.

"Dad!"

"Don't argue with me. Brandon's going to track us with your GPS and we'll just see what this is all about."

Jughead sighed. Clark was going to kill him.

00000

Clark had secured a costume and was feeling reassuringly incognito as he continued to stalk the four men through the park. His GPS was on, he'd texted Jones, and they should be able to meet up soon to strategize further. It was dark now, and fog machines were making it hard to see much more than a few feet ahead at a time.

Which was why Clark rounded a corner and had to pull up short when he found all four men facing him, arms folded.

"Uh, excuse me," Clark decided in an instant to bluff his way past them. He was, after all, in disguise. "I've got to get to-,"

When the men grabbed him roughly, Clark was immensely grateful to Special Agent Davies for the Krav lessons he'd been given over the past week. Clark was able to break free and even landed a kick before he began to run.

And then his whole body rebelled, and Clark felt himself go rigid - and then fall limply to the ground.

He was looking up at the men when they approached, and embarrassingly heard a four-letter word come out of his own mouth when the two began to manhandle him up and off of the ground while another put away the taser that had dropped him.

"Gag him. We need to find somewhere we can bleed him quietly." The fourth man grabbed Clark by the hair and clamped a hand tightly over his mouth while the taser guy began pulling strips from a roll of duct tape.

Clark sincerely hoped that they were just really dedicated red teaming professionals.

And that Jones had received his last text message.

00000

"Sarah, we may have found him." Brand rubbed his eyes and chuckled with relief. "You said that Williams was suspicious that I was red teaming the RA? Well, apparently Clark thought the same thing and tried to recruit Jones to help him take down the smugglers. FP found out about their master plan, and he's hot on Clark's trail with Jones and Cooper."

"Jughead and Betty are with FP, in pursuit of these guys? That's not great." Agent Quinn frowned. "What if they're dangerous?"

"They're grown men who most likely brought booze into an amusement park while dressed for Halloween. Let's get to FP first, haul Clark back from the brink, and worry about a park security breach later. Or maybe leave that to the park." Brand had a hard time getting worked up about this now that he had more information. "It sounds to me like Clark just got a little too excited."

"Uh, one other thing," Sarah held up her phone apologetically. "SAC Wilson's here. She caught wind of the search for Clark and she's concerned about PR issues. Word is that she wants everyone to freeze where they are until she gives further instructions."

"Okay." Brand shrugged agreeably. "Let's say you freeze and I'll get to Clark. Once I've got eyes on him, we'll stay right where we are and get you a location. That way you won't get in any trouble, and we don't have to worry about Clark doing anything he shouldn't."

Sarah nodded. "Sounds good. And be careful, Brand. Just in case."

"You bet." Brand shot her a cocky grin and was rewarded when her reluctant smile broke through in response. "Keep the fuzz off of my tail, and I'll make you dinner tomorrow with Jones as thanks."

"I'll do you one better and make sure that SAC Wilson never finds out that you referred to her as 'the fuzz,'" Sarah retorted, her smile widening. "Get out of here, Davies. Clark's a little too mission-minded for me to feel good about all of this."

"Yeah. True." Brand saluted Agent Quinn as he left.

00000

Okay. Cliffhanger for sure. No denying it this time. But what will they have for dinner? ;) I hope you're wrapping up a good week, and embarking on a lovely weekend. I'll enjoy any and all notes immensely as I work on chapter ten. :-D

May you all have health and happiness this week!

-Button