Author's Note: I'm so sorry for the delay. I've been unexpectedly without a good internet connection for the last few days. This next section was edited in Maryland, posted in New Jersey. I've got two more stops to hit up before I'm back home so lets see how much I can crank out.

I appreciate all of the reviews and alerts and for all of you reading along as I try to get this out of my head and onto computer screen. Many thanks.

Chapter Four
Control: Part IV

Zane slowly stepped towards Carter and frowned. Jo was starting to get a little concerned about his animosity towards the sheriff. The fallout between them in the real world was definitely going to be an issue. Jo sighed and put her free hand on his shoulder. For now, dealing with Carter so they could get on to more important things was the greater problem.

"We need to do something about him. We can't have him tipping off the other NPCs that I'm not the real Jo."

"Agreed. And you were right. We're going to need help with the ionic resonator." He paused as if contemplating the various scenarios available to them. "Why don't I just shoot him?"

Jo gasped. "Seriously?"

"C'mon, he's not the real Carter. You said yourself that he's back at Henry's garage. Besides, I hate this guy," Zane added with an extra jerk of his gun and iciness in his voice.

Jo gave him a long look and it continued to sink in how traumatized he was by this Matrix simulation. He wasn't going to be the only one.

"Why don't we stow him away in his car with a nice sleep tranquilizer to keep him company. I'm sure I have some in my trunk." Even though she knew this Carter wasn't real, she wasn't sure it was the healthiest thing in the world for Zane to go killing a person in cold blood like that. If there's a threat, then sure, but even if it's fake, that kind of thing has a way of staying with you.

Zane scoffed at the idea. "Where's the fun in that?" Jo gave him a skeptical look and he stood down. "Fine. We do it your way." He walked over to the sheriff who was now definitely coming around. "How do you want to play this? He's going to think you're his loving, devoted girlfriend." She didn't miss his disgust at having to point that out.

"We play this clean," she said joining him beside Carter. "Give me his gun." Zane handed it over with only a little hesitation. She spun him around until he was facing her and tucked the gun into the inside pocket of his jacket. "He texted me, the virtual me, to come and get you. I'm here to give him an assist; the less he knows the better. We're going to have to get him back to the road though. And for that, you've got to be caught."

He leaned down and kissed her lightly, pulling back to wink at her. "Not a problem, babe."

While getting Carter incapacitated and safely stowed away in his jeep had been relatively easy, all things considered, it had still been stressful. Jo hadn't mentally prepared herself for how unnerving it would be to confront the NPC Carter. The first time he initiated one of his many little touches—to her arm, to the small of her back—she had to suppress the urge to shake him off. His subtle innuendo was even creepier, especially since she knew he was doing it to annoy Zane who was walking a few paces ahead of them with his hands over his head.

Zane was extremely tense, she could tell. She didn't blame him since the situation was completely absurd. But she could imagine that he'd still have some problems trusting her even with Carter's gun safely stowed in his jacket. They'd simply told him that Zane had thrown the gun away.

And after the shock of Carter's intimate overtures, she'd gotten into her role quite nicely knowing that he'd be particularly on alert if he suspected Zane had become aware of the program. Once he was comfortable with her, he talked freely of their next steps and how she'd have to eliminate him after conducting a thorough interrogation. The worst part was the way he said it, so matter of fact but with a compassionate regret that made her believe that this really could be Carter under darker, weirder circumstances. And he had a point; given Zane's history and bitter behavior of late, no one would question him being in custody. That last part had been Jo's observation and judging by the way he relaxed into her as he held his injured head, it had gone a long way towards keeping Carter in the dark.

They reached the cars and she ordered Zane to keep his hands up before moving to her trunk to get a first aid kit and the tranquilizers they'd need to subdue Carter.

"You move one inch Donovan and your ass meeting one of my bullets will be another item on your growing list of worries."

"Bite me Lupo. You and your boyfriend can both kiss my ass." She shouldn't be surprised at the vitriol she heard in his voice. She didn't blame him for his tone—he was stressed and this was the point where he'd really have to trust her.

Carter was leaning against the hood of his car keeping an eye on Zane but also nursing his bloody nose. She thought he'd be more out of it than he was. Something must be going on with the program and they would have to work fast.

"I may have been knocked around a little but if you pass me your gun, I can keep an eye on him while you get the first-aid kit. Or we could just get back to GD and have Allison take a look at me."

At the mention of the other woman's name, Jo turned sharply towards them, a glare penetrating his now defensive expression. "Why don't you stop telling me how to do my job? Or are you that eager to go see Allison."

This bit of diversion worked like a charm. Not for the first time, Jo thought how easy men could be sometimes.

Flustered, Carter slid into a classic deny and mollify mode. "Jo, that's not what I meant," he pleaded softly. She glanced briefly in Zane's direction as Carter turned himself fully away from him. Zane nodded slightly to let her know he was still on board. The amusement in his eyes revealed that he had picked up on her subterfuge and was impressed.

"Right," Jo responded ramping up the girly pissiness. "It seems like you find a lot of reasons to keep her company these days." She turned her back to him and yanked open her trunk, mindful to turn up the aggressiveness. "Don't think I haven't noticed how much time you two spend 'catching up.'"

"Uh Jo, you've got to know that we're just doing the best we can for Jenna's sake. And for the record, when I'm bleeding from my face, I think that's a legitimate reason to keep her company." Jo could tell he was trying to be patient with her but was also a little annoyed. That was good. Better to be annoyed at her than focused on Zane.

"We've got bigger problems here and I can fix you up quickly so we can take care of it. Besides, this station is GD property which means it's my jurisdiction. Don't get me wrong, I love working with you but maybe you still need to learn to back off sometimes."

Carter put his hands in his pocket and tensed. "Are we going to have this discussion again for what, the thousandth time?"

Jo had located the first aid kit but with Carter's attention now on her, she realized she needed to be careful not to tip him off. If worse came to worse, she'd say the tranquilizers were for Zane but it was a wildcard excuse that needed to be a last resort.

"Hey! Could you two lovebirds shut the hell up and get on with it. If you're going to kick me out of the Matrix, I'd rather just get to it." Just as he planned, Carter turned back towards him scowling and Jo quickly grabbed two tranquilizer darts and shoved them in her pocket. She didn't want to take him out for long. All they needed was enough time for a few fireworks and then the real Carter and Henry would hopefully get them out of there.

Jo turned around and cocked her gun at Zane again as a feigned reminder of who was boss. No words were necessary. And he was right; they needed to get on with it.

"Come here Jack," Jo said shortly but with, what she hoped was a thawing affection meant to pacify. Carter paused briefly, then smiled at her and followed her to his jeep. She felt a little guilty for what she was about to do despite knowing that this wasn't the real Carter. It wasn't going to stop her though. She dropped the arm holding the gun she had pointed at Zane and turned her attention to her fake boyfriend.

Three minutes later he was unconscious and tied up in the back with a tarp covering him. Even when she was secretly injecting him with the tranquilizer, she played the concerned girlfriend, frantically calling to him as he passed out from the drug. If he were to wake up and somehow escape, she didn't want him knowing that she'd switched sides.

"You are so good." Zane closed the trunk and moved to join her in walking towards her car. She raised an eyebrow to ensure him that she knew exactly how good she was. "We make an awesome team JoJo. A good ole computer simulated Bonnie and Clyde."

Jo laughed and motioned him to the other side of her car. "I wouldn't go that far. But we do seem to work nicely together when we want to," she added with a twinkle to her eye.

"And we play nicely together even better." He grinned back at her and got into the passenger seat so they could proceed with the next phase of their plan to get the hell out of there.

TBC

AN: I'll try to get the next section up tomorrow. I should have a solid internet hookup once I get on immobile ground.