Good evening everyone! Hope all are well. So, I'm in transition between one position and another at my place of employment and well….it's been busy. Hope you enjoy this latest chapter. I'll be honest, I didn't review as much as I liked, so if you see mistakes, forgive and report. Thanks!

Drica: You're welcome! Thanks for reading.

TJ12398: I think you may enjoy this chapter my friend. It's now all coming together! This one is more JJ focused ;)

Harry101: Well, what do you think? How far did you get? Thank you for continuing to read.

DotNetDemon: Okay, as you probably saw from my profile, my various cartoon (next to this one of course) is Voltron. Love, love, love Voltron. Most of my writing is geared to that cartoon. Never saw Lawnmower man, but now you have peeked my interest. I have often thought exactly the way you have. I, too, would like to see an adult version of my favorite cartoons like TRAJQ or Voltron. That would be killer. Other favorites for me include: GI Joe and Thundercats….man they don't make cartoons like they used to. BTW, love your fic!

Goddess Evie: Thank you so much! I am very grateful that you are reading this fic. I must say, I'm very much enjoying your fic as well. There's so much emotion, so much angst. I feel so bad for Jonny and Jessie. You have an amazing fic and I'm very much enjoying it.

Babi Brito: Thank you so much for reading! Well, here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

Jdcocoagirl: What can I say? Yes, there's trouble brewing…keep reading to find out ;)

Playlist

Silent Shadows-Peder B. Helland

Big Girls Cry-Sia

Curtain Call-Stateless

Chapter 18

Sitting on his seat while waiting for the plane to take off, Master tried with every fiber of his being to control the anger he felt would ignite at any moment. Quest and Bannon had found out that his son was in the US. And worse, the Bannon girl was with him.

This was unacceptable. He finally had to admit admit to himself that he had made a terrible mistake sending him to the states. DR128 should have stayed away. But, all was not lost yet. He would get his son back. With just enough of a diversion, he and Aidan would slip away from their grasp without a problem.

Opening his laptop, he began reading the file of Jessica Estella Bannon. He hadn't read it in years so he felt the need to refresh his memory. She would be the person scapegoat, the ideal person to transfer the attention his son was currently getting. Soon, the Bannon girl would fade into the night and he and Aiden would disappear as well.

XXXXXXXXXX

Arriving at the tarmac of the where the Quest Industries planes were located, Hadji parked his car before both he and Claire got off. Their pilot waved alerting them that everything was ready for takeoff.

"He's ready," Claire told Hadji as she pulled her bag over her shoulders.

"Let us not keep him waiting," Hadji answered as they walked toward him.

As the two approached the plane, both suddenly watched as another car quickly pulled in to the tarmac. They immediately knew who drove the car. Hadji shook his head as he watched Phil Corvin exit the car and run toward them, "You two, stop right there!" he yelled.

"Crap!" Claire snorted frustrated, "What the hell are we supposed to tell him now?"

"Whatever we need to as long as he does not stop us from getting to Jessie and Jonny," Hadji said as if trying to come up with an idea at the moment.

It only took a few seconds before Corvin made it to them, "I want an explanation and I want it right now."

"What do you mean Agent Corvin?" Claire asked, acting surprised that the agent had shown up to the tarmac in such fashion.

"Don't play games with me Claire," he answered looking directly into her eyes. "Where's Jessie?"

"We told you that Jessie‒"

"Cut the crap!" the agent answered losing his patience. "Jessie's car is driveway."

"She took her father's car," Claire answered as calmly as she could. It seemed that even Phil Corvin's intimidating tactics didn't shift her own controlled cool. "Listen Agent Corvin, Hadji and I are working on a project for Doctor Quest‒"

"You expect me to believe that?" the agent answered with a mocking snort. "Listen. I know something is going on and I know it has to do with Jessie. Where is she? Who is she with?"

"We have no idea what you're talking about," Claire replied adamantly.

Corvin turned to look at Hadji who, for most of the conversation, had kept his silence, "He's your brother." Then, turning to Claire, he said, "And she's like a sister to you. Don't let this get any deeper than it has to. Allow me to help them."

Hadji's eyes widened, "How did you know?"

"At the ball," Phil answered, "I knew it was him the moment I saw him, just before he knocked me out. Hadji, I need to find him. You don't want any other agent catching him. Every I-1 agent is looking for him right now and if they do catch him, I won't be able to protect him. Please, let me help him."

Hadji looked at Claire who nodded at him. He looked at Corvin and replied, "They are in New Hampshire. We are on our way. My father and Race know and they are on their way back too."

"Is Jessie with him?"

"Yes," Claire nodded. "Someone else is after them. Someone who is trying to kill them."

Looking at the kids, Corvin's demeanor softened, "I'm going with you."

"Then, we should get going now," Hadji answered as he led the agent to the plane. "I will tell you everything that we know so far."

Without hesitation, the I-1 agent followed the kids to the plane. Someone else is trying to kill them, he thought. As he walked, he prayed that things would not get any worse than they already were.

XXXXXXXXXX

The doctor looked at his watch for probably the third time in the past two hours. The seven hour flight would prove annoying and stressing. Yet, another side of him was happy he would have enough time to plan his attack.

He'd meet his assassin as scheduled and go over his plan should DR128 be still alive once he'd arrive. He also hoped that his agent would get rid of the Bannon girl as well. Poor thing had no purpose being with DR128, but at this point she probably knew too much. He couldn't allow her to continue living. Bannon and Quest would also prove to be a nuisance, so they would need to be exterminated in time, especially after they'd find out that their kids were dead.

He cursed the Master for being so careless. Love made you act stupid more often than not. If he had just listened, he thought. DR128 should have been disposed of years ago, now….

He looked at his watch again. Five hours left.

He was pretty sure that the Master was on his way to Maine as well to pick up his son. This would serve as a good opportunity. He needed to dispose of the bastard if he was to lift the hit he had on his head.

Five hours left.

It was as good as time as any to come up with a plan to take out the Master. That would prove to be more challenging than he thought. He looked again at his watch. There was still time…to prove himself wrong.

XXXXXXXXXX

Pulling in to a long dirt filled driveway, Jessie saw that the checkpoint was nothing more than a house barn in the middle of nowhere. Hiding through surrounding pine trees and large oaks, the two story wooden house or "checkpoint" hid from everyone's view. Painted barn red with white trim, the house looked lively and happy. It was ironic that such a pretty place held something dark and most likely sinister. Jessie noticed that the only way someone would stumble to this place would be by accident. It was purposely hidden from the world.

Jonny parked the parked the car by the side of the barn. He had to make sure no one saw the car from a frontal view, "Stay here. I shouldn't be long," he told Jessie who just nodded.

Opening the car door, he got out and then walked to the back of the car and opened the trunk. Turning herself around, Jessie watched Jonny retrieve a gun and placed it on his back, hiding under his t-shirt. Closing the trunk, Jonny quietly passed the car without so much as giving Jessie a glimpse.

"He's focused on something," she whispered to herself.

She watched him walk to the front door. By the wall, she thought she saw the doorbell, but as she continued observing, Jessie saw that he pushed a button that revealed a keypad. Whatever number sequence he used, opened the door and Jonny walked in before the door once again closed.

After seeing that he wasn't coming out anytime soon, Jessie picked up the phone again and began dialing Hadji's number.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Are you too positively sure that Jessie is in fact with Jonny?" Phil Corvin asked again as the three sat across from each other on the plane that was on route to New Hampshire.

"You said yourself that you thought it was Jonny at the Ball," Claire reminded him. "If you suspect it, what makes you think that Jessie wouldn't know who he was?"

"She hasn't seen him in five years," he reminded them.

"I assure you that it was my brother," Hadji spoke calmly, but firmly. "Agent Corvin, as we told you before, Jessie's program helped us see what happened. I watched with my own eyes what occurred on that balcony. It was Jonny."

Phil Corvin sighed. This was utterly the weirdest couple of days he had ever experienced. Claire and Hadji had told him everything they already knew. He had even spoken to Dr. Quest, Ethan, Race and Zach via conference from their perspective planes. "What the hell did they do to him?"

"I wish we knew," Claire responded. "All we know is that Jessie and Jonny need our help now. We can worry about what happened to him after they are safe." Looking at Corvin, she asked, "Do you think your people will have any luck finding more information on this Oliver fellow?"

Shrugging, he answered, "Benton used the resources at the I-1 headquarters in Russia. Since this guy seems to come from the states, maybe my people will have better luck, but, I'm not sure. Most of our databases are the same."

"We could run our own investigation‒" Hadji began speaking before the sound of his cell phone ringing interrupted him. Quickly pulling it from his pocket, told the group "It's Jessie!"

XXXXXXXXXX

Walking into the house barn, Jonny looked around. To the ordinary eye, the place looked exactly like a house barn. Six stalls filled with hay, farming machines and horse riding equipment filled each stall. Ironically, there were no horses anywhere around the vicinity. Jonny waited a moment. Once he came in, he expected the gatekeeper to come up to him, but no one did. Immediately, he knew something was wrong. Where was the agent in charge? He pulled the gun out from his side.

Jonny walked down the long aisle that divided the stall. Gun in hand. Going over to the last stall on his left hand side, he opened the door and walked in. Towards one end, there was a stack of hay by the wall. Opposite from that end, there was a door on the floor. Another clue that there was something wrong. The hay should have been covering the door.

He knew he should have walked out, turned away, but he couldn't. He needed his equipment to find out what was going on and who was really after him. He needed to clear his path, so he could disappear in peace…or at least gain good distance from the agency. Temporarily putting the gun away on his side, he wrapped his hand on the handle of the slab. Pulling the slab up, he opened the entrance to a lower chamber below the barn house. A long gray staircase greeted him. He pulled out his gun once again and began descending the steps.

It was quiet, but as Jonny descended the steps, he felt he was in trouble. The rectangular room was filled with locked glass cases of every type of gun imaginable. All four walls were filled with glass cases. As he continued to walk down, he observed that each corner of the room held large cabinets. He knew they held laptops and other technical devices. A large computer with a three screens, printers and other devices sat on a large table in the middle of the room. It was currently turned on, but Jonny didn't pay attention to what was on the screen. His focus fell on the man currently lying under the table with a wound in his abdomen. Suddenly, he heard another set of footsteps coming down the stairs. Jonny didn't bother turning around, he jump over the railings just as the first shot rang out.

XXXXXXXXXX

Hadji's eyes flew from Claire to Phil Corvin as soon as he heard Jessie's voice on the line, "Where are you?" Quickly he placed the phone on speaker.

From the other end of the line, inside the parked car, Jessie answered, "It's a barn house on Yankee Barn Road in Grantham. Jonny just went in the house; I'm waiting for him outside."

"How long will you be there?" He asked as Claire plugged in a device on Hadji's phone to trace the call.

"I'm not sure," Jessie answered from the other end of the line. "He didn't tell me how long he'd be or where we would be going after this."

"It says it's a twenty minute drive," Claire suddenly said as the device's screen popped out the address.

"We need to work fast," Phil Corvin suddenly spoke out. "Jessie‒"

Inside the parked car, Jessie's eyes widened, "Mr. Corvin?"

"No time to explain Jessie," Corvin leaned forward to speak on the phone, "Right now, you need to focus. If, there is no eminent danger, can you stall him?"

"I'm not sure if I can," she answered as she looked around. "Right now, I'm surprised that he's taken so long."

"We're on the way, Jessie," Corvin answered. "As soon as we land we'll have a car by the tarmac‒"

Suddenly, he was cut off by Jessie, "I have to go…something is happening!"

"What?"

"Shots! I hear shots!"

"Jessie!" Hadji quickly leaned over, Do not-"

She had hung.

XXXXXXXXXX

Jessie didn't wait. As soon as she heard the shots, she told Hadji she had to go and hung up the phone. Quickly getting out of the car, she ran to the driver's side and used the button on the door to open the trunk. Running to the back of the car, she picked up a gun and checked to see if it was loaded. Satisfied that it was, Jessie closed the trunk and ran to the door.

"Locked!" she said to herself. Finding no other way to get in, she took the gun, aimed and fired at the handle. The door opened and she ran in somewhat cautiously. "Damn it," Jessie whispered knowing that going in like a crazy lunatic without checking her surroundings could cost her life.

Luckily, no one was around. Suddenly, she heard more shots and a faint male's voice. It wasn't Jonny's. Jessie thought she heard the noise coming from one of the stalls at the far end of the building. Two more shots. Running while still looking around, she headed towards the noise and the shots. When she got to the stall, that's when she saw an open slab and an opening to an underground level.

XXXXXXXXXX

Jumping over the railings when he heard the gunshot, Jonny landed on the ground and quickly took over one corner of the room giving himself the opportunity to plan where to go next. He heard a voice call out to him, "DR128. We meet again. Were you reading my mind?"

"You know my name," Jonny answered in a low but audible tone as he looked around the room, trying to discern if the man after him continued to descend the staircase, "However, I don't know yours."

He heard a mirthless laugh, "Why worry about that. It will make no difference in the end if you know my code." The assassin then pulled his gun up and fired two more shots.

Jonny noticed that he fired at the two circular mirrors hanging on the corners of the opposite side of the room, preventing Jonny from seeing where the man headed.

"I thought I make this more interesting," he answered calmly but without emotion, "Why should you have all the advantage."

Bastard talks too much! Jonny decided. With that, he knew he had to get out of the corner he currently stood. His advantage there was short lived. One of the cases adjacent to him would serve as good cover and give him a better view of where his enemy, but it was a few feet away from him. He'd have to run to avoid a hit and even then he knew that bullets could probably outrun him in his current predicament. There was no time to strategize, he had to act fast. Screw it!

Jonny ran toward cover, diving to the floor as he heard a round of bullets coming at him. Then, like a jolt, he felt a sting on his arm. Once on the floor, he saw the blood spilling down.

XXXXXXXXXX

Jessie slowly and carefully, making as little noise as she could, walked down the stairs. When she did, she found her assailant at the foot of the stairs, his back facing her. He hadn't seen her. Yet.

Taking a chance, Jessie took one more step down and was able to see Jonny on the floor hiding behind a glass table containing gun.

The assassin walked slowly towards the case, still unable to see Jonny due to the black laminate finish of the case that hid him well, "He told me to be careful with you. He said you were smart."

Jonny remained quiet. Jessie watched as he listened to the voice of the assassin, waiting for the right opportunity to strike. What's he going to do? I need to help him! She lifted her hand and pointed the gun toward the assailant. She prayed that she'd be able to strike him. Jessie even entertained the idea to distract him, thereby giving Jonny the opportunity to strike.

"I believe he was right," the man continued as he walked toward the case. "I know that the girl is in the car. I watched her from the monitors earlier. I will dispose of her after I dispose of you. I guess this is the end, DR128. It is time for you to die."

About to shoot, he soon heard a voice, "Guess again!" He turned around. Saw Jessie at the top of the stairs, gun pointing straight at him. He was about to shoot her just as Jonny came out of hiding and shot him in the head.

The man went down with a hard thump.

Jessie ran towards Jonny. Just as he was about to speak, she threw her arms around him, "I thought you were as good as dead."

Shocked by the fierce hug, he didn't answer her right away. Jonny felt her holding him tightly and a feeling within him stirred. He had never felt such a thing before and found himself wrapping his arms around her as well. He smelled her hair, Gardenia. He closed his eyes enjoying the fragrance.

"You're bleeding!" he heard her say as the moment fizzled away.

"I'll be fine," Jonny answered. "The bullet just grazed me."

"He almost killed you!" Jessie answered, her voice almost breaking.

"I already knew what I was going to do," he answered looking at her intently. "He talked a lot. When you talk too much, you allow your opponent to think. I was ready for him."

"It didn't look like it from my angle," Jessie sighed, her voice wavering even more. "I thought that by distracting him, I'd give you a chance to…" she began to cry.

"Jessica?" Suddenly, he didn't know why she was crying.

"You killed him," she replied between her whimpers. "You killed a man. Jonny…I …I didn't want you to…but, I didn't want him to kill you either."

He couldn't refrain from hugging her again. Giving her comfort, "I'm sorry you had to see that."

Jessie looked up at him, her green eyes filled with tears, "This…this doesn't affect you, does it?"

He swallowed and shook his head, "No."

She abruptly let go of him and looked around, "What did you come here for?"

Feeling slightly disappointment at her sudden coolness, he refrained from asking her anything else. Instead, he walked past her to the table in the middle containing the computers, laptops and phones. Looking it over, he saw a closed small laptop and a phone lying on top of it, "These devices have a secure line. I'll be able to call my contact and see where I go from here."

About to answer him, Jessie watched as he turned on the phone and looked at the screen. The words, security verified flashed for a few seconds before it disappeared. Jonny was happy that the gatekeeper was able to finish the work before he was killed. Looking at Jessie, he noticed that she had walked over to the foot of the stairs and sat down. Immediately, he knew she didn't want the two dead men on the floor anywhere close to her.

Not wanting to be there any longer himself, Jonny dialed a number, he knew well. Within moments, he heard a familiar voice, "DR128?"

"Yes," Jonny answered seriously, "I have what I need."

"Is he still after you?"

"No," he answered, "He found out I was here‒"

"Are you alright?" The Master seemed genuinely concerned and that for some reason made Jonny feel good.

"I'm alright. He's been…taken care of." He answered looking at Jessie, who averted her eyes away from him.

Master must have realized the change in his normal terminology, for he asked, "Is she with you?"

Jonny's eyes widened with surprise at the question. How did he know? He looked at Jessie again who had stood up and began looking at him. She wanted to go. He felt it and knew it by her body language.

"DR128?"

"Yes," he replied quickly.

"You need to dispose of the Bannon girl," Master answered, letting Jonny know that he knew who the girl was. "She has seen too much. It will not be good for the agency. Do you understand?"

Quiet, Jonny didn't know what to answer. He couldn't kill Jessie. He couldn't kill someone who had done nothing wrong. He couldn't kill someone who had saved him. It wasn't right.

"Do you understand?" Master's voice was grew a pitch higher.

Jessie walked up to him and mouthed, "Are you alright?"

Nodding, he forced himself to the reality. His voice grew firmer. He couldn't show emotion to anyone, much less the Master, "I understand."

"Good," the Master responded. "I will meet you tomorrow evening at 8pm at Portland International. Gate 28. The flight to Amsterdam will leave at 11:20pm."

"We will need a cleaner at this site," Jonny stated as he looked around for the moment. He was leaving the states at last. For some reason, this didn't sit well with him.

"The site has been compromised. I've made sure that it will be taken care of. I want you to leave right now."

"Agreed. Will that be my next assignment?" he asked as he watched Jessie's eyes widened.

Master was quiet for a moment, "No, son. This will be different. Someone is after you and I plan on disposing this individual. I need you in a safe place."

Jonny didn't know how to take in that answer. The only thing he could think of saying was, "I will see you soon."

"Make me proud, son," Master said as if reminding Jonny of what to do.

"I will," he said before hanging up.

Looking back to Jessie, she asked, "Jonny, are you alright? You're pale."

"I'm fine," he roughly answered. "We need to get out of here."

XXXXXXXXXX

For the first time since she had found him, Jessie noticed Jonny's feelings come out. As soon as he hung up with whomever he spoke to, Jonny looked distressed. And, his rough answer when asked if he was alright, startled Jessie. He wasn't fine. Something was really wrong. Worse, it looked like he was going somewhere. Jessie knew she wasn't going to be tagging along this time.

As they made it to the car, Jonny ordered, "Get in."

"What's going on Jonny?" Jessie asked as she walked over to the passenger side of the car. Jonny had walked to the trunk opened it and placed the laptop inside the large bag carrying the guns. Aside from the guns he already had, he took two Kimber 9mm weapons. These were light and easy to hide. For some reason, he felt the need to carry these with him.

He ignored her question and instead, asked one of his own, "You said that this man you work for- Benton Quest… is pretty prominent." He closed the trunk and walked to the driver's side of the car. Opening the door, he got in. Jessie followed.

She didn't know why the topic of his father was coming up all of a sudden. "Yes…YOUR father is pretty prominent. Why do you ask?" Closing the passenger side door once she entered, Jonny turned on the ignition of the car and began pulling out of the dwelling.

He ignored her question again and asked another, "I'm sure he has homes around the world, places that are secluded enough and he's able to hide from the press. Maybe a place where he can hide out from everyone. A place where he can't be found."

"What are you talking about?" Jessie asked now firmly.

"Answer the question Jessica!" he looked at her with anger. She knew it wasn't anger directed at her, but he was angry about something…someone.

Jessie looked at him curiously, unfazed by his tone, "Jonny, tell me what's going on, now."

Sighing, he shook his head in frustration and look at the road ahead, "I need you to hide out for a few days. Somewhere no one would suspect or even look for."

"Why? You killed the person that was after me," Jessie answered with a tone of worry. "Who is after me now?"

"The immediate danger is over," Jonny confirmed. "But, someone else wants you dead."

"Who?"

Jonny didn't answer her.

"Jonny! Who is it?"

"It's not important," he answered her. "Right now, I bought you some time to hide. I'll find this person and fix this."

"That was what the conversation was about back there, wasn't it? That's why you got pale. That's why you're angry," Jessie finally realized. "He wanted you to kill me back there."

Jonny nodded.

"Why didn't you?" she heard herself suddenly asking. "You had the opportunity. No one would have found me, I'm sure."

"You don't deserve to die," Jonny replied looking ahead. "Nothing is going to happen to you Jessica."

"What if you can't stop him?"

Jonny didn't answer for a moment. Then, he finally said, "I'll stop him."

She saw firsthand what Jonny did to the killer at the barn house. She knew exactly what his words meant when he stated them. "You're going to find him on your own."

"I have to go on my own," he answered. "You're a target. If he finds out you're alive before I see him, he'll send more. We are all very well trained. Handling one with you is one thing, but more…it's too much with you being in the middle."

Jonny was right. She knew it. Being in the middle, was not only a liability for her, but to him as well. She'd have to let him go. Jonny was the only one who could save her. But, after it was all done, would she be able to find him again? Would he go off the grid again? She couldn't let that happen. She had to find a way to make him return if he'd leave her. "The cabin."

Turning to her, Jonny asked, "Where is it? What does Quest use it for?"

"It isn't his really," Jessie answered. "Your father is a visiting professor at the University of Maine. One semester a year he teaches a geology class. He donated a large sum to the University a few years ago to build that cabin for the use of research relating to geology. He normally uses it during this part of the year when he's preparing for his fall semester class. He's not there at the moment. That's why I know we can use it."

"Where is he now?"

Looking for you, she felt like telling him. But, this wasn't the time to taunt him. "Russia."

Jonny turned and looked at her, "For what?"

"He told me that he was working on a security system for I-1," she responded, even though she knew that Dr. Quest had somehow found out about Jonny being in Russia as well. She noticed that Jonny nodded, probably halfway believing the lie.

"So this cabin is currently at your disposal?" he asked as he took the ramp onto the expressway.

"Yes," Jessie nodded. "I'd have to buy a few things before we get there."

"I know," he sighed, "The ride back will take us a few hours as well. I'm to report to him tomorrow night, it should give us enough time to drive back and get you settled."

As they continued driving, Jessie perused the fact of telling him about Claire and Hadji. They could gain so much time if they flew back instead of driving. Yet, she was scared. Jonny obviously trusted her so far, but would he if she told him what she had done behind his back? After a few minutes, she decided that she had to tell him. They needed the help. She needed her family's help.

"What if I were to tell you that we could get back faster?"

"What do you mean?"

Pulling out the phone from under her seat, Jessie showed him the device, "I stole it from a lady in a bathroom at the diner. I've contacted your brother. He knows where we are."

Jonny's eyes flashed anger, but remarkably he controlled himself, "Do they know about me?"

"Yes."

"Why would you do that?" His voice, so cold, made Jessie uneasy.

"Because, they are my family, our family," she answered. "And, I didn't want them to worry. Hadji took one of your father's planes. They are at the airport. We can leave with them and be in Maine within an hour, hour and a half at most. It gives us time to better plan and get what we need."

Jonny raised his voice angrily, "I am not going‒"

"You have to!" she cut him off. "Jonny, we will never get back in time. Half the day is gone, we still need to buy supplies…this is your brother, damn it! He'd never do anything to hurt you."

"I don't have a brother," he yelled. "I don't know why you keep feeding me this bull idea of family. I have no family. Never have!" He began accelerating the car.

"Let me prove to you that you are wrong!" Jessie shouted back as she noticed the increase of speed. "Jonny, what are you afraid of?"

He didn't look at her, just kept increasing the speed of the car. Dodging cars on the intersection. Hearing the cars honking. He ignored them.

Jessie ignored the speed. If she was going to die, so be it. But, she was going to tell him everything she felt. "You're afraid that I'm right? That you really do have a family that's been looking for you for the past five years! Damn you! If not for me, prove it to yourself. Find out the truth. You've been killing people left and right and you have no idea why. What's your purpose? "

The car sped faster. Jonny looked past his breaking point. A truck was suddenly adjacent to them, Jonny cut him off. The truck honked loudly.

"Have you ever experienced love? People who care about you? People who care so much about you that they've search all over the world for you? Jonny, please! I beg you. Let me…us, show you who you really are. This isn't you! You are not a killer. You are my Jonny! The love of my life! I will die for you! Give me a chance to prove to you who you are. I love you! I've loved you all my life! I will not give up on you!"

Cutting in through another lane, he got off on the first exit and slowed down. He then pulled on the side of the road and parked the car. His hands shook, his eyes dark and grim. He had never lost control. He had never allowed anyone to get him this distraught. "Damn it! Damn you!" he finally yelled as he banged twice the steering wheel with the palm of his hands.

When he thought he had finally taken control of himself, Jonny looked at Jessie. She was as white as a Styrofoam cup. But her gaze was steady and challenging. She wasn't going to back down. Jonny closed his eyes and took a deep breath before speaking again, "Make the call."