Hayley took a deep breath as she waited in line at the bank. She was going to deposit all the money they'd collected and then write a check to give to the court. She watched as the woman in front of her went searching through her bag for something. Just when Hayley was about to say something rude one of the teller's called to her.
"I can take you over here, ma'am," he said. She gave him a grateful look and walked over to him. He took her deposit and started to process it. Her eyes followed every movement, hoping he wouldn't transpose digits.
"Here you go. Have a nice day," he said. Hayley took the slip and checked the numbers against what she knew should be there. It matched. She gave him a nod and headed back to her car.
"Time to get you out of there," she breathed, pulling out of the parking lot.
Back at the Mercer residence, Trent was waiting impatiently for his father to get home. He needed to convince his dad to help with this. He was the only one who could counteract whatever Elsa had done. He checked his watch and found that only ten minutes had passed. Finally he heard the door open and he sprinted to the front of the house.
"Dad, I need some help," he said.
"Can I put my things down first?" Anton asked. Trent nodded and was hot on his father's heels as he walked into his office.
"What do you need help with?" he asked, sitting down behind his desk.
"We want to build a device to show Kira what happened," he continued.
"No. Trent I can't help you with that," Anton answered sharply.
"Dad…why not?" he begged.
"The link between myself and Mesagog is too fragile. I could slip at any point. I don't want to put you in that position," Anton answered.
"I don't care if he finds out. Screw Mesagog. You're the only one who can help us get what we need," Trent countered.
"I gave you money. That's all I can give you," Anton said. His tone was dismissive and Trent let out a frustrated huff.
"I just thought you'd want to help an old friend out," he muttered before walking out of the room. Anton watched his son walk away. He wished he could help Tommy out. But he didn't want to risk Mesagog taking over midway through.
Around the same time, Hayley pulled up to the police station. She vaulted from her car and nearly took out an officer on her way in.
"Sorry," she called as she skidded to a stop at the front desk.
"May I help you?" the desk clerk asked.
"Can you tell me where to pay bail?" she asked. The clerk pointed down the hall and she walked briskly in that direction. She had to wait in another line but luckily it moved faster than the bank line.
"Next," the man behind the counter called. Hayley walked up and slid the check to him under the pane of glass separating them.
"Who is this for?" he asked.
"Tommy Oliver," she answered. He turned to his computer and pulled up a file.
"His bail is substantially more than this amount, ma'am," he said.
"I know…but…isn't it enough for a good faith payment or something?" she asked, sounding desperate. Hell she was desperate. Her best friend was in jail for no reason.
"I'm afraid not. We need bail paid in full to release prisoners," he answered. Her mouth hung open in shock. How could anyone expect them to come up with that much money before a trial took place? Angrily she snatched the check back and stormed from the room.
She found the rangers bent over the computer at the Cyber Space. Conner looked up to see how pissed off she looked and didn't say anything. Ethan noticed the check in her hand.
"Where's Dr. O? I thought you were going to pay his bail," he commented. Hayley rounded on him.
"Nope. We need the full five hundred thousand to get him out," she snapped. All four rangers jumped at her tone.
"That's crazy. No one can get that kind of money this fast…unless they robbed a bank or something," Conner interjected. Kira stayed silent while Trent was lost in his own brooding.
"Someone please tell me what have some good news in all of this. We have help with the device?" Hayley asked.
"My dad said he can't help," Trent admitted.
"What? You said he'd definitely help," Kira almost shouted.
"I said I thought he could. He said all he could do was help with the money," he said. He wasn't about to tell them his father's fear. He knew the team couldn't handle another blow like him being in Mesagog's lair right now. They were fragile enough as it was.
"We'll just have to try and figure it out on our own," he murmured.
"Then let's get going. The longer we sit around and spin our wheels the longer he sits in there," she said, ushering them away from the computer.
They arrived at the lab to find Jason staring at a photograph. They didn't want to startle him so they tried to be quiet as they started to gather what they thought they'd need for the device. Kira tentatively made her way towards Jason and peered at the picture over his shoulder. It was of he and Tommy when they were younger.
"You look really happy," she noted. He looked up and nodded.
"As sappy as it sounds, I really miss him," Jason said, laughing bitterly to himself.
"I'm so sorry. I just can't say it enough," she apologized for the millionth time.
"I swear if I get the chance I'm going to beat that manipulative little bitch to a pulp," he said, his fingers tightening around the edges of the photograph.
"Hey guys, we could use a little help," Trent called. Kira and Jason joined them. Hayley had managed to compile some parts including a small laser.
"What is that going to do exactly?" Kira asked nervously.
"Theoretically, once we find a way to get Tommy's memories, we will convert it an optical beam and fire it…at you," the older woman explained.
"Right," Kira gulped.
"Is there anything more we can do now? I mean until we have Tommy's…whatever it is we need from him?" Jason questioned. Hayley shook her head sadly.
"I don't think so. We should be able to plug it in to the outlet for power," she answered.
"Guys, why don't you go home and get some rest. This has been stressful for you," she suggested. None of them wanted to leave but they knew Hayley would badge them until they did. They grabbed their backpacks and headed up the stairs.
"So how are we going to get his DNA?" Jason asked.
"I have no idea," Hayley sighed.
Luckily neither of them would have to worry about that much longer. At that very moment Anton was walking towards the visiting area of the prison. He was stopped at the security point and had to put his keys and wallet through the metal detector. He passed through without question and waited for the guards to bring Tommy in. He'd been careful to conceal his weapon. Upon entering, Tommy was surprised to see Anton sitting there waiting for him.
"Anton? What are you doing here?" he asked.
"Doing a favor for someone," Anton answered. Tommy looked confused.
"Does this have something to do with Trent?" Tommy whispered, leaning in closely.
"He asked me for my help and I wasn't sure I could give it…but I reevaluated the situation and well…here I am," he explained.
"I'm afraid I don't follow," Tommy stated. Anton watched. The guard seemed not to be paying attention so he leaned forward.
"Let's just say he's trying to get you out of here and I'm providing a sure fire way," Anton explained. He stood up, making it look he was going to leave. He motioned for Tommy to stay seated and walked around so he was standing behind Tommy. As inconspicuously s he could, Anton produced a needle and stick it into Tommy's neck. Tommy let out a gasp but the pain ended as quickly as it had begun. Anton pulled it out and capped in one motion. Wordlessly he walked out of the room and passed back through the security check point.
That evening Trent walked into the kitchen to find an envelope with his name on it sitting on the kitchen table. He picked up and opened it. Inside was a syringe of clear fluid and a note. It read 'This is what you need'. He smiled and rushed into his room for some privacy.
"Guys! I have it," he called over his communicator.
"Have what?" a chorus of voices asked.
"What we need to show Kira what happened," he answered excitedly. They all agreed to meet at the lab as soon as possible.
Within an hour they'd managed to get the device working. Kira was sitting in a chair, gripping the arms so tight that her knuckles turned white. Hayley was finishing up the laser alignment.
"Are you ready for this?" she asked. Kira swallowed and nodded.
"Let's just get it over with. I'm ready to know," Kira answered.
"Ok…keep your head completely still and try not to blink," Hayley instructed. Kira nodded and watched as Trent turned the machine on. The laser, a bright purple, came shooting out and hit her retina straight on. She took a sharp intake of breath at the contact but did her best not to move or blink. What she saw made her sick.
She saw herself unbuttoning her shirt and undoing Tommy's. She could feel the adrenaline pumping through Tommy's system as she sat in his lap.
It finally ended and she couldn't help but cry. Her entire body shook with sobs and Trent wrapped his arm around her.
"Just breathe. It's ok. It wasn't really you," he told her. She nodded and wiped at her eyes.
"I know…but knowing makes it worse," she whispered. They all looked around at each other. Now that she knew what had happened, the next step would be finding a way to get Tommy out of trouble.