Circumvention

The car, or one exactly like it was outside the next morning when Danielle went to work.

Jace pulled his baseball cap down, peering at the watcher through mirrored sunglasses he'd found among the things in his room. The glasses gave him a little more cover-- he felt a little freer to keep an eye on the vehicle baking in the hot Nevada sun.

Would they follow him, Jace wondered absently as he stepped carefully onto the sidewalk, or would they try to make it less obvious that they were tracking him this time?

Downtown was not far away, however the air was hot. It took a little more effort than he'd expected to get two blocks. Jace frowned as he paused.

Too slow. He'd never loose them this way.

Taking off his glasses, he took a moment to wipe at his face, as though he were absolutely exhausted-- and used the mirrored surface to take note that the suit in the car had started it, and moved down a side street closer to where he was 'catching his breath'.

They were following him again.

Jace slid the glasses back on, and continued, trying to achieve a faster stride.

This would be easier if he had wheels--

One foot caught on a rough patch, and Jace nearly fell. Wheels.

It would be troublesome to head to Mission City with these guys following him. There'd be trouble for sure-- Mr. Government's attitude had promised that much. And even if he managed to evade them, they'd have a very good idea of where he was headed.

He'd just have to find a way to send them in the wrong direction.

The bus station was just down the next street, according to the maps he'd memorized this morning. Instead, Jace continued walking, and instead slipped into the closest open door.

A wave of cold greeted him– air conditioning that made the store beyond feel as cold as space.

Not quite though, he was hardly in space. Just unused to the temperature outside.

As Jace flattened himself against the wall, just inside the door, he could just make out the form of the vehicle gliding to a halt in the strip-mall's small parking lot. Not good– he'd just let himself get cornered.

And right now, he was feeling a little more of the fragility he'd been stuck with since ...

Since when?

The answers would be found in Mission City, wouldn't they?

"Are you all right, sir?" A voice asked patiently as a hand touched his shoulder. When he turned, the short blond woman was peering at him with an expression of surprise, "Jace? What are you doing here?"

"Uh... hi." Jace fumbled for a moment, trying to figure out how she knew– how would she know–

"Come on in, hon." She had a hand on his elbow already, and was leading Jace towards the back of the store– which he now noticed contained more books than his sister's condo. "You walked from Danni's, didn't you? You need water, and to sit down for a while. If you want, I can call her to give you a ride home."

"Don't call her– " Jace protested. Who was this woman? "I'll be fine."

"I'm sure you will," The name tag on the green smock said 'Donna'. "Danni's been keeping me– us up to date."

"She has?" Jace frowned as a clearly marked door was opened to reveal a small room with a table and a few chairs. A fire door and the door leading to the stock room were the only other doors. "Why?"

Donna blushed, but did not look confused, as Jace thought she might. She made sure he'd sat down, and had a bottle of water in front of him before she answered.

"Because we were friends once– and Danni was always hoping that we would get together." She shrugged, "Danni wanted to see you come out of your shell, Jace. The book deal helped, but..."

"Book?" Jace stared at her.

"You mean she didn't tell you yet? Crap. I'm sorry. With all the bad stuff going on around you, I thought she would have..."

"What book deal?" Jace sat up straight, ignoring the bottle for now. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you wrote a book, Jace. You've always had an imagination– and it was the best way for you to express yourself. You used to spend hours in here, just reading. You let me take a peek at it, and... well. We were waiting for news about when it was going to be published, so that the store could make an order. Then we got word from Danni that you were in the hospital."

"She didn't tell me that part." Jace shook his head. Well... imagination certainly explained how he could dream so vividly. "Do you know why I would have been in Mission City?"

"That's where the publishing house is– you went there to meet them to sign a contract."

"And got into a car wreck on the way there." Jace sighed, rubbing his temples. The answers weren't there after all. And maybe the car was his imagination as well.

"Car wreck?" Donna frowned, "Jace... you didn't take your car. Danni drove you."

Jace's head snapped up to stare at Donna. "What did she say happened then?"

"She didn't say much. Just that there'd been an accident. Considering the big snafu that went on down there, none of us thought anything of it. There were lots of accidents going on– I was just glad you didn't end up getting tangled up in whatever it was." The sound of bells attached to the front door interrupted before Jace could ask her anything more. "Sorry. I'm the only one on today. You just rest here. I'll be right back.."

Through the crack of the door as Donna opened and closed it, Jace spotted a familiar face.

Suits. Ties.

Adrenaline surged, as he made for the door, peering through the crack.

There were two of them. Not the same ones from the hospital– one 'agent' turned enough so that Jace could catch a glimpse of his face. He hadn't been at the hospital, but this one was familiar--

Perspective shifted for a moment, and Jace had to hold onto the wall to steady himself.

The agents were handcuffed together in a chain leading to the light pole. None of them were happy, but they had to hinder their movements, or they would get in the way, and get hurt. Or cause someone else to get hurt–

The moment passed, and Jace scowled at the men who couldn't see him here. They were talking to Donna, and in a moment, she'd point them back here.

Jace grabbed a chair, and wedged it against the door. That would buy him a few minutes.

The only other way out of here was the fire door. He was going to have to use that to his advantage.

Swiftly, Jace punched the lever to open the door, hearing the immediate sound of an alarm going off. If he was lucky, he realized, as the door swung open, these guys would react just like typical mindless thugs.

Jace started running.