Good evening. Thank you for continuing to read. I am truly very appreciative of your wonderful reviews, PM's, Follows, and Favorites. Thank you. Again, I'm hoping that I was able to edit this well, but editing is not my strong point. So, please feel free to let me know what needs to be changed if I made a mistake.

Harry101: Thank you! I always worry if my story is dragging. And, I write a lot, so longer chapters are a standard for me. And yes, there are some twists which I hope you like. I hope that whatever I had on my mind was successfully transferred on to paper…or computer. LOL! P.S. So glad you like the idea of Phoenix!

Anatolie: Master is very special. Let's just say that he is pretty complicated. Kind of a madman actually.

JDCocoagirl: Well, there will be a lot of things happening. I hope you enjoy it!

Playlist:

Chelsea Lankes-Ghost

Ella Henderson-Ghost

Again, my sincerest gratitude for reading! See you next week.

Chapter 5

Jessie had been staring at the computer screen for hours typing algorithms and building the appropriate firewalls that protected Phoenix against any unwanted viruses QuestWorld might attack it with should it see it as a threat. Time passed so quickly she didn't feel it.

Taking a break from the screen, she looked outside her bedroom window. The morning brought sunlight and white puffy clouds. She had woken up at around seven in the morning, gone for a quick jog with Claire by the beach, practically swallowed her breakfast and showered before turning her computer on by nine that morning. Looking at her watch, she saw that it was quarter past one. Now, the afternoon had turned the sky a little gloomy. The sun didn't shine so bright and the clouds were now a shade or two darker. It would rain soon.

Jessie missed lunch, yet she was not hungry. She had made ample progress with Phoenix and felt that leaving her room to even get a morsel wasted time and progress. She couldn't afford to lose any more time. A knock at her door brought her to alertness, "Come in," she hollered, clearly annoyed.

Claire opened the door and without so much as a greeting, began barking orders, "Get dressed Red. We are going out to lunch and then do some damage to the credit cards."

"I am dressed," Jessie replied looking at her friend curiously, "What's with you?"

"Nothing," she grinned excitedly. "Just that I finally landed a date with Hadji! I can't believe it. Honestly, I thought I'd have to work all summer to get one date with the sexy sultan."

"That's great, Claire," Jessie's demeanor changed and a heartfelt smile crept into her lips. She had spoken to Claire during their stay at the Watergate Hotel. Her best friend shared her feelings for Hadji with her. Jessie was sincerely happy for Claire, though at times she found it hard to see Hadji "sexy", as Claire had stated. "So when is this wonderful event happening?"

"Tonight, seven o'clock," she sighed happily, gliding around the room like a ballerina," Dinner and then dancing at Oasis."

Laughing a little, Jessie lifted her eyebrow in question, "Hadji? At a club? He must really be into you because the Hadji I know wouldn't dance on a first date."

"Well, it was mostly my idea, I just nudged him to agree," Claire replied laying down on Jessie's bed. "Red, I need your help."

Jessie snorted, now she knew why her friend had come in and interrupted her ongoing work session, "And what type of help would that be?"

"Come with us tonight?" Claire suddenly winced as she sat up.

"Absolutely not!" the red head immediately responded. "Claire, I'm checking to see if Phoenix will work at full capacity once I download it onto QuestWorld. I don't have time…"

"Come on Jessie! You've been cooped up in this room for the past week. Hadji is already asking me questions and you know that your dad has already asked you what you've been up to. How would it look if you don't go out with us tonight? Do you really think you can keep them in the dark for long?"

"Claire..."

Her friend shook her head, "No, Jessie. You know that if you want to keep appearances you'll need to go out with us. Otherwise, they'll start questioning more…and what are we supposed to say then?" Lowering her voice, she added, "Besides, if you want my help finding your former boyfriend, you'll help me secure my future one. Tonight."

"That's unfair!"

"Oh, it's fair!" she added, "Now, what's it going to be?"

Jessie thought for a moment and knew that Claire was right. She didn't need her father asking her any more questions as to why she spent her days up in her room. Earlier in the week, when Race confronted her, she had told him was just catching up on some leisure reading she couldn't do at school. That lie would only last so long, "Fine. One night won't kill me…I guess."

"Great!" Claire jumped up. "Now, let's go shopping for tonight."

"Now?"

Her friend sighed dramatically, "Hadji was asking me what you were doing today…"

"Okay!" Jessie finally stood up, "I give up. Let's go."

XXXXXXXXXX

As the plane descended down the runway, the woman who sat beside him during the nine hour flight continued her chatting over the perks of attending the University of Maine. The only time DR128 felt at peace was when she had fallen asleep for a while after dinner. Unfortunately, the peace didn't last too long. The woman awakened after only two hours and began her chatting again as if the conversation had never stopped. He would have preferred her to have been a shy introvert who wouldn't cause too much ruckus. But alas, she happened to be a dancer majoring in drama. The woman was a full blown extrovert. Just his luck! He would have to do his best to put up with her. Judging from her personality, she was the kind of young woman who would ask questions if one didn't direct the conversation to her.

"You really should consider it, Josh." Her short blond pixie haircut with long sleek bangs in the front was stylish and modern. He could tell she took proper care of her looks, "Maine has one of the best criminology programs in the state and since you want to go into the FBI, you should really consider it. Did you know that we even have an I-1 office here?"

"I'll think about it Kara," he answered with a small smile. She and some of her classmates had been in Greece on a study abroad program and were just returning home through a connecting flight. DR128 told her that his name was Josh Waters (the name on his passport) and that he was taking an independent study class in Russian history. His parents had given him the opportunity to visit the country after he finished the semester. After spending two weeks in Russia and a few other countries, he was coming home for the summer. DR128 was happy that Kara didn't question him about the actual specifics of the class.

"What is it about the University of Miami that keeps you there?" she asked shaking her head. "I mean, I know it's Miami, but I doubt you'll benefit from it in the long run, not for criminology I mean."

"Well, you may be right about that, Kara." The woman beamed with pride. He continued playing with her ego, "And, if I transfer back home, I'll be close to the folks, like you suggested."

He continued lying, but had to admit, sitting next to Kara proved better than spending time with the doctor. The week before, the man had put him through a variety of tests he didn't find useful for the mission. These were memory tests with weird questions he couldn't answer and places that meant nothing to him. The doctor smiled every time he couldn't answer the question. At the end, he told him that he passed all tests with flying colors even though DR128 felt he had failed each and every question asked. He wondered why.

"Oh, I'm sure your parents would appreciate it," Kara replied. "And we wouldn't need our smartphones so much to keep in touch," she smiled.

DR128 smiled back at her. But only because he heard the captain's voice alerting them that they had landed safely. Of course, she didn't need to know that. Luckily, they sat toward the front of the airplane, so it didn't take them that long to disembark.

Once out and into the terminal, Kara turned to him, "It was really nice to meet you Josh."

"Likewise, Kara," he extended his hand to her. She dismissed it and immediately hugged him. The gesture surprised him and for a moment, he wasn't sure how to react. No one had ever hugged him without a purpose and it felt awkward. But, he managed to play it off and pat the woman's back.

Taking a piece of paper out of her pocket, she opened it up and handed it to him, "Call me, okay? Maybe we can meet sometime this summer for drinks or…whatever," Kara told him before a couple of her friends met up with her.

"Sure," he lied. He hoped he wouldn't see her anytime soon. Little did she know he was not attracted to blonde women. He didn't know why, they just didn't do much for him. Red heads, for some reason, called his attention more.

Her friends, who soon joined them, also bid him goodbye before the group went on their way. When they were gone, he found the closest garbage can and threw the paper away. His eyes travelled to the signage around the terminal and he soon found the exit. Walking toward it, he glanced at the huge banner on the ceiling that read, "Welcome to Rockport."

XXXXXXXXXX

Race Bannon spent most of the morning and afternoon in his office at Quest, Inc. going over one of the security specs his team was about to upgrade in the labs of the building, when he heard the phone ring, "Bannon here," he said after swipping the unlock feature of his Iphone.

At first, he had been brought in to be a bodyguard for Jonny, but with time, and as Jonny grew older, his role expanded to Chief Security Officer of the organization aside from being, at times, Benton Quest's bodyguard.

"You left I-1 years ago, yet you still answer like an agent. You even have the damn tone down packed," Phil Corvin replied from the other line.

"Phil!" Race smiled, happy to hear his friend's voice. "Good to hear from you buddy. How are you?"

"I'm good Race, thanks. It's good to hear you too. I heard that Jessie graduated last week. Congratulations."

Confirming, Race walked out of his office and locked the door. Making his way to the Plant Operations area where he had to speak to one of the engineers before heading back to the compound, he answered, "Thank you! Can you believe it, Phil? A systems engineer! Jessie's all grown up. We're getting old man."

"No kidding," Corvin responded. "When Mark graduated with his BA in criminology, I thought I was old. Next year, he graduates with his JD. You don't want to know how I'm feeling."

"Ah, Phil, I'm still coping, don't make it sound worse," Race laughed as he continued walking. "How's Alex doing? You two…"

"No. Not for the moment that is," the man on the other side of the phone laughed. After his first wife Eleanor passed almost ten years back, Phil found himself unable to commit. He figured he would someday, but so far it was highly unlikely. Aside from Eleanor, there had been another, the one that got away long before Eleanor came to him. No chance of that happening ever. For the moment, Alex was the closest woman he would think about committing to and then again, neither felt compelled to take that extra step in their relationship. "Alex and I kind of like how things are at the moment."

Race laughed, "You two are never going to accept that you belong with each other."

"Just like you and Jade, huh?"

"That's different," Race replied laughed. "Jade still feels like she needs to travel the world. She isn't ready to settle."

"Please," Phil taunted, "If she came back and told you she was ready, you'd quit Quest Industries and run away never to be seen or heard from again."

The white haired man laughed, "Bastard."

"Just calling it how it is," he responded. "When was the last time you saw her?"

"About three months ago, I went to visit her…" he stopped himself, "At an undisclosed location I swore I'd never tell."

"That woman is nuts."

"She's a sexy nut," Race beamed. Inside he hoped that one day both of them would find a way to be together permanently.

"How's Benton?" The questioning continued.

At this he sighed, "He's better now, last week was kind of bittersweet. Jonny would have graduated too, you know."

"I figured," Phil responded. "That's what I thought." He paused for a moment. Race took note of it immediately, but before having a chance to ask, Corvin began talking again, "Hey, do you mind if I pay you and Benton a visit tonight at the compound?"

Race felt anxiousness creeping in and stopped walking. Standing in the hallway as others curiously watched his body language and features of concern on his face, he asked, "Phil, what's going on?"

"Listen, I think it would be better if we speak to you and Benton personally. Zack and I will be at the compound by eight o'clock tonight."

Race's heart started pounding, "Is this about Jonny? Is he…"

"Calm down Race. At this point, nothing in the investigation has changed. As far as we're concerned, Jonny is still missing."

XXXXXXXXXX

The Master kept a picture of Rachel in the first drawer located on the left side of his desk. Every opportunity when he had a chance to breathe, when there were no meetings, no conference calls, no one entering his office, he took the picture out and gazed lovingly at her. Rachel had been a beautiful woman with long blonde hair, blue eyes and just a gorgeous figure that no other woman had matched since she left him. His heart ached, when he saw her with Benton. After he found out about his son, anger burned his heart. Somehow he had to find a way to get his son and Rachel back. In the midst of planning to get his family back, Rachel was killed.

Master thought he had lost the world when she died. Rachel meant everything to him and her death devastated every aspect of his life. He felt empty, until he realized that his son could fill some of the void. He then did everything in his power to make sure to get him. And, after some years, he succeeded. Getting his son was the greatest achievement he had done in his lifetime. In the last five years, Master made sure to raise him the way he dreamed of, a trained fighter, a perfect spy.

A knock at the door disrupted his thoughts, "Come in."

The doctor walked in with the usual serious look as the Master put the picture away in the drawer, "He arrived to Rockport with no detection and has checked in to the assigned hotel."

Nodding, the Master sighed, "I think that after this mission, I will tell him the truth."

The doctor sat on the chair across the Master's desk, "Now, why would you want to do that?"

"He's my son. I want to tell him the truth. I want him…"

"To what?" the doctor questioned sarcastically. "What is it that you want? You want him to know exactly who you are? What you did to him? Do you really want to tell him who he really is?"

"He is my son! That's who he is!" Master shouted.

"You're delusional," the doctor calmly shook his head. "Telling him the truth won't change anything. What do you even think will happen after? That he'll pull you into his arms? Tell you 'Dad, I've missed you.' Please, you've trained him to be a killer and that's who he will always be. One emotionless killer."

"He's not like the others."

"And that's a mistake you made. He isn't like the others, that's why he's dangerous," the doctor replied. "You're playing with fire. It's just a matter of time."

"Everything will be fine," Master shook his head, "After this mission, we'll go away for a while. I'll tell him the truth about me, about his mother, about who he is."

"Then what? It's not like he can work alongside of you," the doctor reasoned, "If Quest finds out…"

"It doesn't matter if Quest finds out," Master smirked. "My son will know the truth and what he did to our family."

The doctor laughed, "You're crazy." He stood up and began walking to the door, "It's your choice, but like I said, you're making a mistake. DR128, or Aidan as you want to name him, is dangerous. "

"You keep telling me that, yet you don't tell me why."

Turning to him again, he asked with disbelief, "Haven't you noticed that he's never questioned you or me for that matter?"

"He trusts us." Master reasoned.

The doctor snorted, "No. He's thinking, questioning inside his head. When I questioned him about places he visited in his past, when I showed him pictures of Quest, his friends, his brother, he didn't remember a thing, but I could tell that he was dying to ask me who those people were and why he was being asked questions he didn't have the answers to. Haven't you ever questioned why he acts like the others, even though he not conditioned like them?" The doctor shook his head, "He's thinking, strategizing. He's capable of turning rogue on us if he suspects anything…."

"What can he possibly suspect?" Master was now the one who laughed.

"I don't know, but he's back home," the doctor stood up and began walking out of the room. "Anything can trigger his memory and if it does, I'm telling you we will have a very hard time with him."

"You just told me that he had no recollection of anything or anyone from his past and I'm sure you gave him another booster shot as an added measure."

"Yes, I gave him the booster. But that won't prevent the memories from coming back. And I gave him a second serum to make him forget the images from the tests. But, you need to keep in mind that the booster will only inhibit the brain from anything that will stimulate memory. But if something triggers the brain deep enough for the memory to surface…

"We've been giving him booster shots for years. The memories are gone."

The doctor shook his head, "You don't know the human brain. Why won't you let me program him? I already gave him the first dosage and he didn't experience any side effects. Let me—"

"The first dosage. Wasn't my choice, remember? No," Master told him. His voice lowered and his tone changed to a menacing one. "I told you, I don't want him dosed with the full serum. You already disobeyed my orders when you took the liberty to dose him with that first dosage in Russia, don't do it again. He has been able to function for the last five years without the drug. Besides, I don't want him turned like the others."

"You're so stubborn," the Doctor shook his head as he stood up to walk toward the door.

"Oliver, he will be in and out," Master said seriously looking at the man, "You shouldn't worry."

"Don't be surprised when I say, 'I told you so,'" the Doctor said before opening the door and walking out.

After his colleague left, Master opened the drawer again and took out the picture of his beloved. Then, he retrieved a second picture, one of his son. He looked at his family, the one he longed for, the one he lost. There was no reason for sending him to his former home other than the fact that his son really was the best agent for the job. As the head of the organization, he had to make the conscious decision to let his best agents do the most important assignment the agency had ever had. Yet, the doctor's words worried him deeper than he let on. What if something did go wrong? And worse, what if he couldn't provide damage control?

XXXXXXXXX

After checking in with headquarters at the hotel he was assigned, DR128 went ahead and took an Uber to the local Enterprise dealer, where he rented the car needed to complete the assignment for later that night. He thought about renting a vehicle by the airport, but security had been tight since one of his colleagues assassinated a target the week prior, the faster he was out of the airport, the better.

He went back to the hotel about forty-five minutes later, ordered room service and opened his laptop to check the confirmation on a cottage he had reserved. He rented it for a week, not really expecting to stay that long, but he couldn't get it for any time less.

"What the hell am I doing?" he whispered to himself as he looked at the computer screen. Nothing had happened to make him question his protectors, yet, things felt off for some reason. After the weird testing the doctor performed, not to mention another injection that wiped away everything that was shown to him, and the brief meeting with Master telling him about the assignments, he felt uneasy. Later that day, he hacked into the system and managed to rent the cottage without anyone knowing. Sighing, he closed the laptop.

Then, pulled out the IPad from his bag and began reading the document that had been sent to him on his target, "Stephano Remini….guess your time's up."

XXXXXXXXXX

"Benton!" Race called out as he briskly walked into the mansion, "Benton, are you here?"

Doctor Quest walked out of the study with a look of concern, "Race, what's going on?"

"Where are the kids?" he asked as he walked closer to the doctor.

"The girls went out for lunch and Hadji's at the bookstore getting another book he needs for school," Benton replied maintaining the concern in his tone. "Race, what's going on?"

The white haired man walked into the study and sat down on the sofa. From the corner of his eye, he watched as the doctor followed him, "Take a seat Benton."

"I rather not," Benton shook his head, "Tell me what is going on?"

Race paused for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts before he spoke again, "I had a call from Phil Corvin about an hour ago," He couldn't meet his friend's eyes. So many years, so many dead ends. What if tonight was yet another? Race doubted that Benton could put up with any more false promises.

"And?" Doctor Quest replied now even more worried at whatever message Race would bring.

"He's coming tonight to speak to us," Race continued as he had no choice but to look up and meet Quest's gaze, "It's about Jonny." The former I-1 could have sworn he witnessed Benton Quest's face turn white, "Benton, have a seat."

Without listening the doctor continued, "They…they…found him? Is my son…"

"No," he immediately shook his head. "No, they haven't found him."

"But…"

"I have no idea Benton," Race replied, "I wish to hell I knew what Corvin wants to tell us."

At that point, the doctor finally sat down across from Race on one of the sofa's located close to the fireplace, "What was it that he told you?"

"Nothing Benton," Race sighed, "Only that he had something he wanted to share with us and that he and Zack would come tonight."

"Zack is coming too? At what time are they coming?"

"They should be here by eight," he replied with a heavy sigh.

"Good," Benton nodded still uneasy. "Jessie, Hadji and Claire are going out tonight."

Curious all of the sudden, Race asked, "Where are they going?"

"Hadji told me that the girls wanted to go out to dinner and then dancing," the doctor explained, "They are leaving at seven."

"Then, it's a good thing they won't be here. I don't want Jessie to get any ideas based on what Phil and Zack tell us."

"I don't want them to know anything about this until we learn more about this situation ourselves," Benton nodded. "You are right, Jessie doesn't need this and we shouldn't get Hadji's hopes up either."

"I agree."

Both men remained silent for a long moment. Benton stared out the window. The sun was slowly being covered by dark clouds looming over the sky, "What is Corvin going to tell us tonight?" Benton sighed.

"I don't know, Benton," Race answered with a heavy sigh, "But whatever it is, it's a lead. And it's the best thing we've heard in the last five years."

XXXXXXXXXX

After a nice lunch at Seasons Fifty-Two and some shopping, the girls, or rather Claire, decided that they should treat themselves to a mani/pedi at a nearby spa. After the pamper session, the plan was to go home and rest. That was until Claire practically begged Jessie to drive by the club just to take a sneak peek of the building.

"Why would you want to go now? We'll be there in a couple of hours," Jessie asked as they drove the red Jeep Liberty down Sheppard Street a few blocks from the club. The Jeep was a gift from her dad on her seventeenth birthday. Both she and Jonny had received cars that year. She had the Jeep, Jonny had the dark gray mustang. Hadji had received his car, an Acura RDX, the year before. Needless to say both she and Jonny were static that Hadji didn't have to drive them everywhere any more. She had always been a little envious of the mustang, but her father had been adamant about making her drive the SUV. Either way, it didn't matter. Every time they were together Jonny let her drive his car. In the end, she had pretty much the best of both worlds.

"Jessie, I don't know how to get anywhere around this city. Might as well learn a little each day," Claire replied as she began changing the station on the radio. "Besides, if I really like the place maybe I'll go on my own next time."

The red head laughed, "Please! I don't know Claire, but after tonight, Hadji might not want that. After all, with what you're wearing this evening, I doubt he'll let you out of his sight."

The comment made Claire exceptionally happy for she beamed with delight, "You think so?"

"I know so," Jessie nodded, "I don't know why you just didn't ask him out sooner. You two have been making eyes at each other for the past two years."

"It wasn't that easy," Claire responded with a shrug. "He's a brain and I'm the typical party girl. Maybe now that I'm working with him, he'll get to see the more serious side of me. "

"Come on! Spare me the pity party," Jessie laughed. "You're at least half the brain he is!"

"Half the brain?"

She shrugged, "Okay…a third. It's Hadji after all." Both girls laughed before Jessie continued, "Honestly Claire, Hadji's been into you since the first time you two met. You're literally the yin to his yang. He needs you to loosen up. I guarantee that's one of the reasons he's attracted to you. You make it comfortable for him to loosen up."

Claire remembered the little banter the two had had in the study earlier on that day. Hadji had loosened up for her, "Hopefully, he'll do so tonight," Claire sighed. "Anyways, maybe you'll get lucky too."

Jessie rolled her eyes, "Don't intend to."

Looking at her friend, Claire responded, "Listen Jess, I'm not telling you to marry or sleep with anyone, but at least have a little fun…you can't devote your life to…"

"Let's change the subject," Jessie smiled uncomfortably. "Claire, I'm going to have some fun tonight. Mainly laughing at the likes of you two idiots."

"Hey!"

She laughed, "No, really. That's all I need for now." That's all I want, she said to herself.

"Alright," Claire rolled her eyes. "So, are you going to take me or am I going to have to whine until you do?"

"Fine," Jessie shook her head and laughed before putting on the turn signal, "We're actually about ten minutes away anyway."

XXXXXXXXXX

After a light lunch that consisted of a vegetarian pita with baked fries and a sweet iced tea, DR128 reread for one last time the information on his target. He felt confident he'd be able to pick him out from a crowd. Feeling cabin fever creeping in after two hours in the hotel room, he changed into a pair of black Nike sweatpants, a grey T-shirt and grey Nike hoodie.

Pulling out an IPhone from his bag, he put it inside one of the arm pockets of the hoodie. Running was part of his exercise regimen. Seven miles a day. Those were the requirements. He hadn't been able to do it that morning since he had an early flight. Doing it now would serve two purposes other than fulfilling his daily exercise requirement. One, the target site was four miles from the hotel, he'd be able to scope out the area and devise any escape plan if need be. And second, he'd be able to see if anyone was following him.

Leaving the room, he took the elevator down the lobby and then walked outside. The sunny day had turned a bit overcast and the sixty degree temperature felt even colder. Putting the hoodie over his head, he began jogging but diligently looking everywhere around him.

XXXXXXXXXX

Benton entered his son's room and looked around. Taking a deep breath, he sat down on the bed and lowered his head, "Please God, please…"

He then heard a knock on the door that made him look up, "I thought I'd find you here." He watched Race walk in, "Benton, you need to take this news with a grain of salt. It might be nothing."

"I now," he nodded. "But we haven't heard anything in so long. And now, out of nowhere they find something. I can't help feeling…hopeful."

"Benton…."

"If it would have been Jessie?" the doctor looked up at his friend, "Wouldn't you be?"

Walking over to his friend, Race took a seat next to him, "I can't blame you. But, Benton, I'm asking you to please take it easy and just…"

Quest nodded, "I know." Looking around the room, he couldn't help to stop the tears run down his eyes, "It's just that I miss him so much. He's all that I have left."

XXXXXXXXXX

As DR128 continued jogging down the street he felt a bit more at ease watching people jogging as well. The sky had grown darker and raindrops began spattering around him. Not caring about the rain, he continued jogging.

A minute or two passed by when he turned onto a side street containing some traffic. Looking around, he found it was a strip full of shops, restaurants and a black onyx building with no windows but a double door. Dark blue letters attached to the top portion of the building spelled out OASIS. Looking around one last time, he turned to study what the back of the building looked like.

XXXXXXXXXX

As Jessie headed down the exit ramp, rain began to pour, "I hope it doesn't rain tonight," she sighed.

"Maybe it's just temporary," Claire shrugged. "So, is this strip nice? From the pics I saw on the web, it looked pretty cool."

"Well, Oasis is on Altenor Lane, it has all kinds of restaurants and shops. It's like a little city…actually, pretty nice city. Jonny and I used to walk the strip a lot," Jessie smiled. "Sometimes we even rented scooters and headed down the strip to the causeway where the beaches were."

"Scooters?" Claire teased.

"We were fourteen you geek!" she laughed. "Jonny would have preferred a motorcycle, but even Doctor Quest had to draw the line somewhere with him." She turned left and soon, Claire watched with amazement the strip. It seemed like a happening place, full of entertainment and things to experience.

"The night time life must be fun around this place," she smiled.

"It's definitely the place for us," Jessie replied as she looked around and switched to the other lane. "Ok, you'll see the club to your left. It's a block or two down."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The club had two doors in the back. From afar DR128 watched some employees stand by one of the doors smoking cigarettes under an awning. By the other door another man walked out carrying two large black bags which he tossed into the garbage receptacle.

"Don't you all work?' the guy asked frustrated while the two that smoked laughed.

"Dude, you lost the bet," one of the guys responded. "Besides, it could have been worse. Can you imagine how much garbage you would have had if we had some live entertainment this week? You're lucky there's only a DJ."

"Well, it's no fun throwing out all this leftover food," the frustrated guy answered. "I never knew they used so much crap to prepare the menu."

That has to be the kitchen door, DR128 said to himself. Looking at the second door closely, he acknowledged, "That's the back stage door."

He would have to look for the doors from inside the club later tonight. But, at least he would know where he was walking out to when making his exit. Turning away, he decided to walk out to see the best area to park his car. By this time, the rain began pouring even more. He'd have to jog back in the rain, but that didn't bother him. During training he had to do that dozens of times. He began looking around while the traffic from the strip slowed down due to the rain. Among the cars that created the traffic, a red Jeep Liberty was forced to make a stop.

XXXXXXXXXX

Looking at the vast amount of rain that suddenly fell from the sky, Claire sighed in frustration, "I hope this rain stops before tonight. It would be horrible to be out with this weather."

"Chill out Claire, I don't think it will last long," Jessie answered. "You should be more worried about getting Hadji out on the dance floor," she laughed.

"Please! That's a piece of cake," she replied.

"Damn it!" Jessie shook her head as traffic stopped suddenly, "Well looks like you'll get a pretty good view of the club. It's right to your left," she pointed to the black onyx building a few feet ahead of them.

Claire smiled, "It looks awesome!" she gloated and continued speaking as Jessie drove slowly ahead. Within a minute or two, traffic stopped again, right in front of OASIS. Claire continued speaking as Jessie began paying attention to the people by the sidewalk, who rushed to the closest awnings and areas where they sought shelter from the rain. With the sidewalks clear from people, Jessie couldn't help to notice a man wearing black pants and a gray sweatshirt walk out of the side alley of the club in the rain. He stood out and looked at the street as if trying to find something.

"We are going to have such a great time tonight Jess," Claire continued speaking unaware of her friend's lack of attention.

With the hoodie over his head, Jessie couldn't clearly see him. He moved toward the side of her car and she suddenly caught a glimpse of his face. A bit of his wet blond hair popped out of the hoodie and she could see very familiar features in him. She froze.

"I'm not sure if I'm going to wear the red dress or the lavender tank that I bought…I wonder what's Hadji's favorite color is…"

Jessie's heart beat so rapidly, she felt it would pop out of her body and out of the car. The shock made her unable to control her moves. The man was about to get closer to her when she heard the honking of various cars. Surprised, she found herself turning when felt a tap on her arm, "Jessie, what's wrong?"

"What?"

"Jessie, you're stopping traffic!" Claire told her as she signaled for her to move forward.

Looking back, to the area where the man previously stood, she found he was no longer there.

"Jessie! Do you want these people to kill us?" Claire told her as the honking increased, "Move!"

"Oh my God!" the redhead accelerated the car, but not before looking back at the rear view mirror hoping to catch a glimpse of the man that had made time stop still. He's gone, she whispered to herself.

"What was all that about?" Claire asked curiously.

"I thought I saw someone," Jessie replied trying to keep her cool, even though her mind raced like wildfire.

"Must have been someone pretty interesting," Claire shook her head.

"Why…why do you say that?"

"Because you are paler that Casper the Friendly Ghost on Halloween night." The blond answered as she studied her friend.

XXXXXXXXXX

Jogging back to the hotel, he couldn't help to wonder if for some reason he had been recognized. Who was that in the red Jeep? No one knew he was there, only Master and the doctor. Could someone actually be following me? He thought as he continued running back to the hotel. He knew that was a possibility, but he didn't quite believe it until right then and there.

Everything since Russia had been strange and now it grew stranger. He'd had to keep his eyes open; he didn't like what he was feeling.