Disclaimer: I do not own anything besides Colin, Misty and the plot.

Sam's POV:

Physically, David's mother was fine. She passed all the scans, blood panels and every other excessive physical test they gave her. Minor cuts and a bruised lip, but no limps, ragged coughs or brain tumors to be found.

Mentally, however, she was like a shell shocked Vietnam veteran. The slightest noise, a pen drop, an abrupt sneeze, would make her jump and at the very least whimper. She was an emotional wreck, prone to random crying fits and night terrors. She would randomly nap only to scream five minutes later.

Being around her was wearing me down. A person can only take so much neurosis and paranoia before they too begin to jump at shadows they with their peripherals. I was beginning to have nightmares, ones that didn't make any sense to me, just a random batch of all the things that scare me. From clowns to the death of loved ones, I would wake up off and on all night, just endlessly tossing and turning.

This made going to the conference a living hell. I would have to pinch myself to stay awake through seminars and have to fake being completely fine, even though there were the purple bags under my eyes that I had to hide with a ton of my best concealer, that Erase Paste from Benefit, and that is not the cheapest of concealers, let me tell you.

After the fourth day and a rather unfortunate incident with a coffee mug, I had to the house in fear of my last shred of sanity being completely destroyed. I knew it was no fault of anyone's in the house, but that didn't help the stifled resentment I held towards the entire situation. Was my whole life going to be like this?

I was distracted by what seemed like a freshly made track appearing in front of me as I walked. I found myself following it, against my better judgment.

David's POV:

I couldn't tell Mom about me and Sam. At least not yet. She was already like an emotional yo-yo and I was honestly afraid of what she might say about the situation. The very idea of her saying to Sam that she doesn't like her like she had said to me made me nauseous.

I laid down on my bed in an effort to take a nap. I hadn't been sleeping well. None of us had. Between my mother's condition and my own personal issues, sleep was non-existent for me. Maybe if I had Sam just laying their with me would help. I was so ready to be over this whole "you're not old enough to make your own decisions" thing I could scream. Four more months and I was running out the door. If I was alive by then...

I sighed, frustrated that my mind had gone there. We were going to be fine. We would just finish the conference and get the hell out of Texas. I close my eyes and began to drift off when I sat straight up with a very disturbing thought: We were being tricked. Herded. Worked from the inside. We were being played.

I bolted out of bed and ran to find my father.

Sam's POV:

I was completely lost. Where the hell did I think I was going, following this stupid trail? It was probably made by some animal that was luring me to its lair so that it could eat me for dinner. Like a panther. Or a chupacabra. Waiting in the bushes, ready to pounce. Could chupacabras pounce?

A voice, from deep inside me said "Really Sam? This is what you're thinking about right now?"

I sighed and shook it off.

I continued down the path. A growing uneasiness was tugging at my stomach, telling me to go back but I ignored it. Something bigger than me was pushing me to keep going.

"Sam?" a voice stopped me dead in my tracks. A small voice in the back of mind that was aware of my surroundings sarcastically replied "Who else, Ghandi?"

I turned around to see Colin standing behind me, shirtless and for some reason wet. "What are you doing out here?" I asked.

He was walking towards me, smiling. " I was just about to ask you the same thing."

A sudden tremor of fear swept through me, leaving me almost completely breathless. Was it pointless paranoia or legitimate fear? I had the feeling I was about to find out.

David's POV:

"David, that is ridiculous." my father waved his hand dismissively.

"Wow, and you're the president of the United States?" I thought. I shook my head. "Dad, seriously? Think about it. Why does it seem like everywhere we go we get found by these people? We're getting moved by the Secret Service, the mother of all protection agencies. That's why they guard you. Its not like they're telling everyone where we're going. Plus, the thing we the lights at the Driskill. There has to be somebody who is privy to the information of our whereabouts, someone with unrestricted authority? Who else besides someone who IS part of the authority?"

"It just doesn't make sense David. We've had almost all of the men working for us the entire time I've been president."

"Who are the ones who we haven't had then?"

Dad pondered this for a moment. "Well, there's Jason, the extraordinary young African American man that came to us from Harvard. Kara, the blonde girl, ex-basketball player from NYU, Lance, the curly haired Jewish kid from Wisconsin..." I had to admit I was slightly stunned to hear my dad's knowledge of the people, not to mention his description of them, but not too stunned to hear what I was pretty sure my mind had connected a while ago, but that I was too dumb to realize. "And that newest one I don't really know anything about. What's his name, the prodigy kid? Sam's bodyguard?"

I felt my stomach drop. "Colin?"

"Yes, that boy. Colin. Although he seems nice enough."

Just then, one of the Secret Service agents, Jason, came running in the room, out of breath. "Sir, it would appear we have a situation."

My dad sighed heavily, already tired of said situation before it even began. "What's wrong Jason?"

"Well sir, it would appear that Miss Madison is missing. We have checked everywhere, asked everyone, but no one has seen her."

I felt the blood drain from my face. Why Sam? Why is it always you? "Are any of your men missing?" I asked as calm as I could.

Jason nodded and caught his breath before uttering the one name I never wanted to hear: "Colin."

Happy Labor Day!