Morning all! Hope you enjoy this week's installment. The next chapter is another favorite of mine. Hope you stay tuned for it.

TJ12398: No worries my friend. I'm grateful that you are still here for the ride. Chapter 18 is very heavily JJ, but with a story like this where so many aspects play a part in their relationship, I need to divide the scenes so that things make sense. But, after this chapter, things will change. Enjoy!

Drica: I'm so glad you are enjoying the story. Thank you for reading. I'm updating as much as I can. My workload has increased in the past week and it looks like it will not lighten up, so please bear with me. LOL!

DotNetDemon: I loved this series! I have always enjoyed cartoons that had suspense, drama and even a bit of 'unofficial' romance. It was a very smart show too. Wish there were more like these today. I find most of today's cartoons pretty dumb. (Yeah! I still like cartoons. But I haven't found one good enough to peek my interest. LOL! Suggestions?) Anyways, thank you for reading. Hope you continue to read.

Jdcocoagirl: I think you are going to like this chapter!

Playlist

Counting Crows-Hanginaround

Red Hot Chili Peppers: Scar Tissue

Chapter 17

He walked out the double doors of the Agency miraculously unscathed.

Walking over to his car, the doctor thought twice about taking it. The once black BMW520D looked more like a death trap than the fine luxury automobile he was used to driving. Perhaps the Master placed an explosive and when he'd turn on the engine, he'd be blown up to kingdom come. He shook his head. No, he wouldn't do something so extreme. Casually, so no passersby would expect anything, the doctor got in his car and turned on the engine, closing his eyes hoping his previous thoughts wouldn't come to fruition.

The engine started without a problem and he heard himself sigh with relief. Pulling out of the parking lot, he drove into the main street in search for a hotel to spend the night. His apartment was not safe anymore, he'd have to get to a secure place until he gained control back.

Suddenly, he phone rang. Immediately, he picked it up and heard a familiar voice, "I know you said no contact‒"

"You failed," he replied heartlessly.

"I wasn't expecting her," the assassin flatly answered.

"Her? What are you talking about?" the doctor answered surprised.

"The woman with him," the assassin unemotionally answered, "She warned him."

Girl? What girl? The doctor thought as he tried to understand who the the kid spoke of. Then, something trigged his memory. A girl…no one would have known who he was unless it was… "Describe this girl for me."

"Red hair, green eyes, about five foot seven, one hundred and twenty pounds," he continued as the doctor, hearing the description, closed his eyes. The Bannon girl. How did she find him?

"Stop, I know who you speak of," the doctor answered. Sighing, he asked, "Where are you now?"

"Nearest checkpoint," he answered, "I needed supplies. He managed to take all of mine. I needed to do certain things to acquire them though."

"That's alright," the doctor once again answered, "I'm guessing he'll be going that way as well. DR128 knows that something is going on. He won't use your equipment, it's compromised. And I'm sure Master told him to get new ones." Shaking his head with frustration, the doctor continued, "Stay put. Wait for my call. If he happens to show up, kill him."

"And the girl?"

"Kill them both," he answered annoyingly. Pausing for a moment, a new thought came to his mind, "I'll be coming to you. Wait for me at checkpoint. If you are compromised, keep me informed as to where you are going. Do you understand?"

"I understand," he answered with a cool demeanor.

"Good, I'll see you in a couple of hours," the doctor replied before hanging up and turning his car to head for the airport.

XXXXXXXXXX

They pulled up to the nearest gas station and parked closed to a pump. Jonny turned to Jessie, "I'll be back in a few minutes. I can only pay cash."

"I figured," Jessie answered, "I'll wait here…if you don't mind?"

Nodding without looking at her, he opened the car door and walked out. Jessie watched as Jonny walked over to the service station and waited in line to pay for gas. There were three people ahead of him, which gave him the opportunity to check on her from his position her from time to time. Jessie turned on the radio and lowered the volume. The Counting Crows were played a jovial tune. Making believe that she was singing along to the song playing, Jessie carefully pulled the phone from her back. Looking at him again, she noticed that he wasn't paying attention to her at the moment. Quickly, she lowered the volume even more. Keeping the phone on her lap, she dialed Claire's number and tapped on the speaking icon. She prayed her best friend would pick up just as fast as she dialed.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Hadji and Claire carefully studied every possible area that Jonny and Jessie could have taken based on the little information they had discovered during their log in session on QuestWorld. Claire, concentrated on the screen, was startled when her phone rang.

Looking up, Hadji asked, "Who is it?"

Quickly picking up her phone, Claire shook her head, "I don't recognize the number."

"Pick it up," he ordered. "You never know."

Nodding, she picked up the phone, "Hello?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

From her end, Jessie sighed in relief, "Claire! It's me."

"Jessie!" she heard Claire almost shout from the other line, "Oh my God! Are you alright?"

"Yes," she tried to be as calm as she could, "I can't talk for long. I'm okay."

"I'm putting you on speaker," Claire told her, "Hadji is right next to me."

"Jessie, what is going on?" she heard Hadji ask.

Looking at Jonny, Jessie noticed that he had only one person ahead of him, "Okay, I need to speak fast. Jonny can come back at any moment. We are heading to New Hampshire. He says there's a checkpoint he has to go to. I'm not sure where it is, but, I need you to find us. I'm going to turn the phone on and call you as soon as we get there. I need you to trace the line and get our location that way."

"That means we should start heading out now," Jessie heard Claire say.

"Hadji," Jessie answered, "You are going to have to take a plane. You won't get here on time. We aren't that far away."

"Will do," he quickly said, "Tell me about Jonny."

Looking back at Jonny, he was already at the counter paying, "Hadji, he doesn't remember anything about himself, about us. I'm not sure who did this to him, but I'm trying to find out."

"This is dangerous," Hadji replied. "Jessie, he could be dangerous."

"No," she shook her head, "He saved me yesterday. Hadji, he's not dangerous, he's…confused. I need to help him. I need to find out who did this to him." Looking ahead, Jessie watched Jonny walk out of the station, "I have to go, I'll call you as soon as I can. Find me!"

Hanging up, Jessie quickly hid the phone on her back and raised the volume of the radio. This time, the Red Hot Chili Peppers played Scar Tissue. She watched as he walked over to the pump and started filling up the tank. Sighing heavily, she hoped that Hadji and Claire would find them in time.

XXXXXXXXXX

FBI headquarters Madrid.

Race and Zach waited anxiously outside the FBI's pathology department. Sitting down on plastic chairs close to the double doors that held the body of the young kid they tried to stop earlier, Race rubbed his eyes using the palm of his hands. He was tired, confused and utterly angry. Who could be so cold as to have trained a kid to kill himself?

"Don't kill any more brain cells thinking about it," Zach replied. He too was tired, resting his head to the wall. His eyes were closed as he spoke, "I guarantee you won't find any answers at the moment."

"He was just a kid," Race sighed, "Couldn't have been more than twenty."

Sitting up, Zach turned to his friend knowing what he was thinking, "Race, Jonny will not end up that way. He won't. You have to believe that."

Nodding, Race replied with a worried tone, "I know. I know. In my heart, I don't believe he would. But, it's just that I don't want to think that he'd do something like that…if we finally caught up to him."

Pausing a bit before speaking, Zack finally spoke, "Even if he thinks about it, we won't give him a chance. We know what to expect." He turned to his friend of twenty years and put his hand on Race's shoulder, "Race, we are very close to finding him. Whoever took him would not have gone through such lengths to throw us off if we weren't that close."

Race was about to answer him when they heard footsteps. Both men turned and watched as Agent Queen walked toward them holding a folder in his hand.

Standing up, both men waited for the agent to reach them before they heard him speak, "We tried every method to identify the kid. He had no prints on his fingers, which means they were removed. Dental records are non-existent. It's like the kid never existed."

"But you were able to find something?" Zach asked with some hope in his tone.

Nodding, Queen answered, "The only thing we had left was to use an age progression program that's housed in the FBI databank."

"Were you able to identify him?" Race asked.

"We took a picture of him and scanned it in the system. The program was able to regress his features to the point of finding what we believe was an exact match." Pulling out a paper from the folder, Queen handed it to Race, "Meet Anthony Kane. Born January 8th, 1992 in Liverpool, England. Kane was orphaned at age five. He lived in an orphanage until he was adopted at age eleven. Then, he just disappeared in 2007. Parents reported him missing after he didn't make it home from school one day. Police thought he ran away. He was never found and the case remained opened…until today…we can hope."

"You think the kid in there is the missing kid you described?" Zach asked with a little doubt. "Are you sure?"

"Seems like it," Queen answered with a little doubt himself. "But, until we can acquire some DNA from Anthony Kane and compare it to the body, we can't be sure. One thing that I can be sure of is that our system hasn't missed once."

Looking intently at the photo Race answered, "This kid did not run away. He was taken…recruited by the same people who took Jonny. They are programming these kids."

"You think they are programming them to become assassins?"

"Could be," Race added, "Who would suspect a kid like this?"

"Who the hell are these people Race?" Zach asked now with a tone of wonder and a lot of concern. "And, how many have they taken?"

"That's going to be hard to trace," Queen chimed in. "We have nothing so far. And, to tell you the truth, even though I believe that our system is correct, it's still just a theory that this kid is in fact Kane. "

"Where do we go from here?" Zach questioned.

"Right now, I have to report back to Grant," Queen answered. "I can offer to continue looking for Jonny here, but we all know that chances are he isn't here. Probably never was."

"Yeah, you're right," Race ran his hand through his face.

As the men continue speaking, the medical examiner interrupted them. Asking Agent Queen to speak privately, the two men separated for a moment while Race and Zach continue speaking.

"What now, Race?" Zach asked looking at his friend with tired eyes.

"We report back to Benton," Race rolled his eyes in frustration. "He's going to be pissed." Looking back at Queen and the Medical Examiner, Race couldn't resist looking beyond them to the double doors of the morgue where the body of the supposed Anthony Kane lay. Such a young kid, such a rotten short life. Suddenly feeling nostalgic, Race felt compelled to hear his daughter's voice. Taking his cell phone from his pocket, he dialed Jessie's number. He heard a busy signal. Suddenly the nostalgic feeling turned into one of sudden concern, "Zach, can I borrow your phone for a moment?"

Looking at Race, but without question, Zach pulled out his phone from his pocket.

Taking it, Race dialed Jessie's number and again he heard a busy signal, "Something just isn't right," he whispered to himself.

"What's wrong?" Zach asked.

"I think…let me check out something," he answered as he turned and called Agent Queen.

The younger man turned, excused himself from the medical examiner and walked up to him, "What's wrong?"

"Can your cellphone make international calls?"

Nodding, Queen answered, "Yes, of course."

"May I borrow it? I think mine is having issues," Race answered. "I'd like to call my daughter."

Taking out his phone from the side pocket of his jacket, the agent handed the phone over to Race, "Take your time," he said before walking back to the medical examiner.

Race began to dial the numbers, when Zach asked, "Care to tell me what is going on?"

"I have a feeling our phones haven't been working on purpose," Race answered as he heard a normal dial tone, then Jessie's voice on voicemail.

Hi, you've reached Jessie. I'm not available right now, but leave your message and I'll get back to you as soon as possible.

"When I use my phone and I call Jessie, I get a busy signal," Race explained. "Same thing happened with your phone. Zachary, they've been playing us for fool all along."

Sighing heavily, Zach shook his head, "Shit."

"Let me see if I can get a hold of Hadji," Race said as he called Hadji's cell. Within moments he heard the young man's voice, "Hadji!"

"Race!" Hadji answered, "I have been trying to contact you for the past two days. It has been impossible to connect with either you or father."

"No kidding," Race rolled his eyes in frustration. About to continue speaking, he was suddenly cut off by Hadji.

"Race, you and father need to get back immediately."

"Why? What's going on?" Race raised his voice a little when he noticed Hadji's stressed tone.

"It is Jessie," Hadji began.

"What's wrong? Is she okay?"

"Yes! She is fine, it is just that‒" Hadji's voice was agitated.

"Hadji tell me!" Race raised his voice, now very worried. What was happening at home?

"Jessie's fine," he finally said, "She's with Jonny."

"What!" the I-1's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

"It's true. He showed up at the United Nation's Ball. He was apparently going to assassinate one of the ambassadors, but somehow…It is a very long story Race. You and father need to come back. Jonny escaped and took Jessie with him."

"Are you sure it was him?" Race wasn't sure what to believe anymore.

"Confirmed. Jessie called about twenty minutes ago. She confirmed it was him. They are on their way to New Hampshire to something called a checkpoint. Claire and I are also on our way to meet her there. We should be there in about an hour since we are taking one of the company planes. I'm hoping we can convince him to listen to us."

This was unbelievable. Impossible.

All Race could think of was, "Is she safe?"

Hadji paused for a moment. This sent red flags to Race and he closed his eyes when he heard Hadji's words, "I am not sure. Jessie told me that he has no memory of who she is…of who any of us are. And there is more."

"What?"

"Someone is after them," he said, "That is the reason he took her. Apparently, this other assassin was going to kill Jonny when Jessie stopped him. Now, he is going after both of them. "

"How do you know all this?" Race asked trying to understand how Hadji knew so much.

"It is a very long story Race," he answered, "We could be here forever. What I really need is you and father back. Claire and I cannot do this by ourselves."

"We'll be right there, Hadji," Race immediately answered, "Don't lose them, but be careful. Jonny is not Jonny."

"I know," he said, "How do we contact you?"

"Don't worry, I'll call you soon." Race answered, "Just make sure you pick up."

"I will."

"Be careful, both of you," Race repeated before hanging up.

Zach had heard the entire conversation as he stood beside Race, he too looked shocked, "We need to go home Race."

Nodding, he answered, "I'm calling Benton right now."

XXXXXXXXXX

Jessie watched as they passed a sign that read 'New Hampshire 15 miles'. Jonny had been quiet most of the trip. He looked pensive, as if planning in his head whatever his next steps would be. Jessie tried to initiate conversation, but it would always end up in dead silence.

"We're almost there," she mentioned.

He nodded, wordlessly.

"What's going to happen after you get to the checkpoint?"

"I'm not sure," he answered looking at the road ahead, "After I make contact with the Agency, I'll decide where we will go from there."

"You're going to go after that guy, aren't you?"

"Not until I know more of what's going on," he answered as he continued driving.

The ride continued in silence for a while until Jessie took a deep breath, wanting to ask the question she had been thinking about all morning, "You said that you'd never been to the United States, what brought you here?"

"An assignment," Jonny answered her, purposely keeping his answers to a minimum.

She could already tell he, or maybe the people he worked for, made sure that he never spoke too much, "I know you came here to kill the Italian Ambassador's son. I know because you killed the son right in front of my eyes, didn't you Jonny?"

"Yes," he answered flatly.

"Why?"

"I don't know. I never know anything other than who I have to go after and when they expect me to do it," he didn't understand what compelled him to say even that much.

"Don't you ever question why you do what you do?" Jessie asked sympathetically.

"Why would we need to question?" he answered, now looking at her with wonder as if surprised she would even consider questioning everything.

She smiled sadly, "You used to question everything." Looking at him, Jessie gave him such a sympathetic look at for a brief second his cool composure faltered, "Everything that came out of your mouth was a question. Why did things happened in a particular way? Why take that specific route? Why listen to Race or Dad?" she laughed at that one. "You questioned everything. Drove Dad nuts."

At that moment, Jonny didn't know what to say. He did question. In his mind only, but never outwardly. Never to Master or the Doctor. It was just wrong. No one ever did it. Why should he?

Jessie, unaware of his thoughts, continued speaking, "I remember one time, you, Doctor Quest, Dad and Hadji went to Italy to investigate this house once owned by the infamous Jacobi family. I was visiting my mom in Columbia at the time. Anyways, you witnessed…let's just say a very powerful spirit‒"

"Spirit?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yes, a spirit," she answered very firmly, "You have a very interesting and colorful past, Jonny Quest. Anyway, from what you told me when you got back, it was a very strong spirit. Capable of taking Dad and Hadji into his spiritual world. You were able to save them. When you came back, you had so many questions about ghosts and spirits that you drove your father crazy," she smiled at the thought. "You just always questioned Jonny, that's why I'm surprised you don't do that now."

He wanted to tell her that he did question everything, all the time, just not outwardly. Master would have never allowed that. But he remained silent. The less she knew the better, for her.

"Don't you want to ask me anything?" she interrupted his thoughts for a moment.

"No," he answered.

"I just told you something about your past life," she countered, "Don't you want to know more?"

"I'm not sure why you believe I'm this Jonny Quest," he sighed as he took the exit he needed to get off the turnpike. "I'm not him and I definitely don't have a colorful past like that."

Losing her patience, Jessie looked at him with anger, "I'm not crazy! I would have never done what I did if you weren't who you are! Why can't you believe me?"

"Lady, you have no idea who I am," Jonny shook his head trying to control his patience toward her.

"Fine! Tell me who you are," she hollered. "Why don't you tell me just one thing about yourself?" she asked, "Just one thing about where've you been. Who's taken care of you? Damn it! Why don't you enlighten me, whoever you are?"

"It's not convenient‒"

"Liar! You got me into this! You better damn well tell me who you are, if you're not Jonathan Quest," Jessie firmly told him, "What's your name?"

Jonny remained quiet, looking straight ahead as if trying to come up with an answer.

"Well?"

"In Russia I've gone by several names, Nicola Gehle, Hans Behrens, Casper Bohm, Lucas Breker. In Prague, I've mostly gone by Pavel Proksch. In Italy, Andrea Bellini or Francesco Palmeiri…I could go on. Choose the name you'd like me to call me."

She was not surprise by the amount of names he stated, but by the accent he used for each one of them. Perfect accent, perfect pronunciation. It was as if he had been born in each of those countries. Jessie was now even angrier. Jonny was so cold, "You speak Russian?"

"Russian, German, Italian, Spanish, French and Gaelic," he answered casually.

She was impressed and for a second, Jessie thought that maybe it wasn't Jonny. Jonny was adventurous, street smart. He did very well in school, but Jessie would have never categorized him as book smart to the point that he'd learn so many languages, "How…how did you learn those languages?"

"The agency. They taught me."

"Apparently so, but have they ever told you your real name?"

Looking at her, Jonny answered with sadness laced in his tone, "I have no name."

XXXXXXXXXX

Both Benton and Ethan were looking at the files pertaining to the drug case Ethan worked a few years back. The files were huge, but it didn't deter Benton from thoroughly looking each one over. He was not in a hurry and anything was better than waiting to hear from Race or Zack. Neither had called in hours. Benton didn't want to daydream of what would be going on in Spain. Day dreaming was a waste of time at the moment. He wanted facts.

"Are you alright, old chap?" Ethan asked as he looked up, noticing Benton's blank gaze, "You haven't spoken in a while."

Looking up, Benton gave him a half smile, "I'm fine Ethan. Just thinking."

Mirroring the smile, the Englishman replied, "If Race or Zack haven't called, it's not because they don't want to. I'm sure they'll find something."

"I hope so, old friend," Benton sighed, "I hope so."

"Let's get back to these files," Ethan replied as he opened yet another folder, "I'm not even sure if we are going to find this man's name."

"If we do, we may have a lead," Benton answered, "It's the only thing we have so far." As both continued searching through the files, the doctor's phone suddenly began ringing. Ethan immediately met Benton's eyes in question, "Well, I was beginning to think this phone wasn't working."

"Who is it?" Ethan asked curiously.

"I have no idea," Benton replied as he looked at his screen, "I don't recognize the number." It was true that he hadn't recognized the number, but he wasn't about to dismiss it for any reason. Anything could give him a lead as to the whereabouts of his son. Pressing the button, he answered, "This is Benton Quest." After a moment, his eyes widened, "Race?"

Ethan put down the folder he had in his hand and listened intently. He also watched as Doctor Quest's eyes widened with surprise and his normal toned complexion slightly paled. Continuing his observation, he heard the doctor answer.

"Are you sure? Race, that's impossible! Are you sure Hadji isn't confused…Jessie's with him! No, don't come back here. Take the first plane back to Maine, I'll meet you there. Yes, go, I'll be fine," the doctor paused for a bit before continuing, "Yes, I understand. Call me. Talk to you soon."

"What's going on?" Ethan asked.

Looking at the Englishman, Quest answered, "Race…he just told me that Jonny is in Maine."

"What?" Ethan exclaimed with shock. "How…how did‒"

"I'm not sure," he answered half smiling, half shocked himself, "Race said that he was at the UN ball. He was about to assassinate one of the ambassadors when Jessie stopped him."

"Jessie? How was she able to do that? That was dangerous."

"I'm not sure," Benton shook his head, "Race told me that Jessie is with him. He seems to be under the influence of something because he can't remember anything from his previous life. Ethan, I need to go home."

"Absolutely," he nodded, "I'll get you on the first flight out of here."

"Thank you," Benton was grateful.

"Come on," Ethan said as he turned and began walking out the door, "I'll book us one of the I-1 plane to take us."

"You'll go with me?" the doctor seemed surprised.

Looking at Quest just as surprised, Ethan said, "Of course. Benton, Jonny is the key and the connection to his captors. He's the key to solving this entire mess." Dr. Quest was about to speak when Ethan interrupted him, "Besides, I've known that kid almost as long as I've known you. I'll do whatever it takes to keep him safe."

Smiling gratefully, the doctor nodded, "Thank you Ethan. Thank you so much for what you're doing."

Nodding, with a small smile, the I-1 agent answered, "Come on, let's go get that plane."

XXXXXXXXXX

Claire and Hadji quickly freshened, dressed and packed after they had spoken to both Jessie and Race. Walking into the study, Hadji quickly went over to the wall across from the door that held a picture frame of the late Rachel Quest. Gently taking off the wall, he placed it down on the floor before looking at the safe that the picture. Knowing the combination, he pressed the keypad and opened it. Inside, he found a gun and a few vials containing a clear water-like liquid. He took the gun and the vials out. Further in, he also found a case. Taking that too, he zipped it open and inserted the gun and the vials safely in. Zipping it close, he placed the case on the side table, closed the safe and began putting the picture frame up to cover it.

"What did you take out?" he heard Claire's voice.

Turning to her, Hadji answered, "In case we run into trouble."

Claire looked at him questionably.

He explained, "We need to consider the possibility that Jonny will not come with us willingly."

"So you are going to shoot him?" She continued asking, evidently watching when he took out the gun.

"It is a tranquilizer gun," Hadji answered, picking up the case and walking over to the sofa that contained his travelling bag. "I have six vials containing benzodiazepine. In case he doesn't come willingly, we will need to put him to sleep."

"Don't you think he'll be ready for that?" She asked worriedly.

"I am positive," Hadji answered, "But we need to be prepared just in case we have an opportunity."

She sighed and shook her head, "God, I hope by the time we get there Jessie's convince him."

"Let us hope Claire," Hadji answered, although his tone was not too convincing. "Are you ready to go?"

Claire nodded as she lifted up her travel bag. "I found some guns in Mr. Bannon's room." Hadji was about to speak, but she stopped him. "Not for him, but we can't be naïve enough to believe he's the only one we will encounter on this trip. We may all need them."

Hadji wasn't happy, but he understood what Claire meant. Walking to her, he gently reached for her cheek with his hand and caressed it, "I am so sorry to put you through this."

"You're not Hadji," she smiled very faintly, "Jessie is my friend. She'd do the same for me. I can't and I won't leave her. And…that's your brother. This is important to you too. I won't leave you either."

Touched, his eyes watered a little. Hadji didn't know what to say. So he kissed her, ever so passionately, that he made her moan. Claire closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around him, kissing him back fiercely. Hesitantly, he broke contact and whispered, "Are you ready to go?"

With her eyes closed, Claire simply nodded.

Smiling a little, Hadji gently broke away from her and went to the sofa to get his bag, "Let's go."

XXXXXXXXXX

Phil Corvin watched as the garage door open. Pulling out of the garage, a black Land Rover LRX appeared on the driveway as the gates opened. From inside the car, he saw Hadji driving and Claire in the passenger seat. "Where are you two kids going?" he asked himself.

Turning his car, he slowly pulled out from the corner street he'd been hiding during his stakeout of the house. He watched as the Land Rover headed toward the main street. Slowly, the agent followed them from behind.