A/N: I forgot to mention that this was Sci-Fi...he he, sorry? :P

Chapter 16: Lies & Half-Truths (Part 1)

"...agh." Kowalski set the beaker down as gently as his anger would allow him and dropped onto the stool. His fingers ran through his hair and he stared at the papers before him. He looked up, the open door of his lab giving him access to the office he shared with the others. They were busy doing their own work, minus Private who was at school as Andy, though Skipper would look up once in a while to check on him. Their eyes connected for a second before Kowalski drifted over to the door near Barbie's workstation. The one leading to the chief's office. He looked back at the table, eyeing the corner of a picture peeking from the stack. He took it out and stared at it before looking over at the closed door. "I have got nothing to lose."

The picture in hand, Kowalski marched out of the lab and headed straight for the door, ignoring the looks he got from his teammates.

"Kowalski." His hand paused on the knob and he turned to Barbie, who didn't stop typing away at the computer or look at him. "I'm pretty sure he knows what's going on." He frowned at her when she continued to stare at the screen before pushing open the door and closing it behind him with a soft click.

"Barbie," Jay murmured without looking up from the file he was going over, "didn't I tell you that I was busy at the moment?"

"Did you know that Selena had Kyle transferred?"

Jay froze before looking up at the man standing by the door. "Kowalski?" The scientist walked to the table and casually sat down.

"Did you?" Jay stared at him for a while before closing the file and putting it away, placing his clasped hands on the table.

"Is there something wrong, Kowalski?"

"Answer me, Jay." The older man frowned at his tone but didn't say anything.

"Yes."

"And you let her?"

"She's a grown woman, Kowalski. If she thinks that's best for Kyle, than so be it."

"Did you know why she did it?"

"Is there something bothering you, Kowalski?"

"Yes. I want to know what you know. And I will know if you lie to me, so don't even try it." He placed the picture on the table and Jay glanced at it briefly before turning his attention back to the man. "I want to know why she's still alive."

"For someone like you," Jay muttered under his breath, his eyes narrowing at him angrily, "I didn't think you would want her to stay alive."

"That was a cover. Just like my so-called love for Doris."

"Anything to please your father, is that right?"

Kowalski scoffed and looked away. "If I wanted to please him, I should have just killed myself in the first place. He would be very," he turned back to Jay, "happy."

A weird silence encased the two before Kowalski leaned forward and tapped the photo on the table. "What happened to her brother?" Without looking at the picture of a younger and happy looking Selena hugging a boy with the cowboy hat on his head shadowing his face, Jay answered solemnly.

"Why don't you ask her?"

"She doesn't remember. And I want to know why."

"Same reason why she doesn't remember my son." Kowalski's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "She has a stepbrother too. A few years older than Kyle."

"What," the younger male faltered a bit, eyes going over the impassive man's face, "happened to the boy?"

"This is not up for discussion, Bennett. If you don't have any progress on finding my daughter, I want you out of my office. Now."

"What is she doing, Jay? What is she hiding? I need to know if we're going to find her."

"And you believe that I know?" The man sharply countered with a dangerous look in his eyes.

"Shouldn't you be keeping tabs on her? You are her parental figure, after all."

"Are you telling me how to do my job, Bennett."

"No, sir. I just want to know what she's been doing that would make her suddenly disappear for a month. Nobody, not even Fire, knows where she is. She left the dog behind, but for some reason he has been well fed."

Jay sighed and rubbed his temples. "That would be Marlene's doing. She was hoping Selena would turn up somehow."

"Then I can only tell you that Selena won't be turning up unless something happens."

"Kowalski-"

"She's not going to come back until something happens. Don't you get it? She's in league with Blowhole somehow." Jay's eyebrow perked slightly but Kowalski caught the motion. "Has she went away before?"

There was a pause before Jay answered. "I only know that she tends to go out of the city occasionally to meet a few friends."

"And how long are these visits?"

"No more than two days. Always. You do know that she works for Miss Penelope Wascher? It's a secretariat job. I believe it's compensation for"

"For her fashion business?" Jay just stared at him, studying him. "I remember that Penny's father was a mob boss. Selena wouldn't happen to be working on that side, would she?"

"That girl will do anything to keep trouble to herself alone."

"Is that what she's afraid of? If whoever is against Penny 'family business' has a grudge to get rid of her adopted daughter-"

"Penny owes Selena for helping her take care of Kyle instead of letting her father get rid of the child. Penny has enough forces on her side to keep anyone from knowing who Kyle really is and to keep her out of harm's way. A petty grudge, as you put it, is nothing compared to what Selena's dealing with. But nobody knows what that is, because the girl is too selfish with secrets she can keep." Jay leaned back as he picked up the picture and looked over it. "If I were to be honest, I believe she's trying to stop the threat looming ahead, but can't. And it doesn't seem to be helping her sanity, if her recent hallucinations and anxiety attacks are any indication."

Jay held onto the picture and sat up straight on the big wooden chair.

"Didn't a certain 'Edward Jefferson' almost get incinerated some time ago? If it wasn't for a mistake in rescheduling, you would've been dead."

"I'm not sure if it's a mistake..." Kowalski murmured as he remembered the way that Selena placed the schedule card before her safety.

"Get the team in here. I need to discuss a few things."

It wasn't long before the entire team, minus Private, was settled in the office, and Jay's inexpressive eyes swept over them.

"Even though there have been no other attempts," the man started, still not showing any emotion, "the team isn't any closer to solving the mystery at all."

"It's not a terrorist." Everyone turned to Kowalski, who had blurted it out. "That's what you're telling me, aren't you? Someone's out to get me."

"You're not that special, Bennett." Jay commented dryly. "But yes. Apparently someone has called out your alter ego. The rest of you are currently at stake here."

"That's not possible." Skipper spoke up, not moving his eyes from the linoleum below him. "We were so careful. All the precautions, the stories, the lies. Something is just no adding up here. First, Kowalski tells me that Selena knows Blowhole, since she has the Delphi family crest. Second, the female disappears after pretending to get drunk and almost getting capture by a bunch of amateur retrievers."

"Did he tell you who the other pendant belonged to?" Skipper looked up sharply at Jay before turning to Kowalski, who looked caught.

He cleared his throat when Skipper narrowed his eyes at him.

"It's another family crest." He licked his lips.

"To who?"

"It's...it's," Kowalski crossed his arms, keeping his gaze away from Skipper's intense one.

"Spit it out, Kowalski!"

"It's mine...It's the Bennett family crest."

Skipper continued to stare at the man before letting out an aggravated sigh. "I'm confused." He gestured to Kowalski as he looked to Jay. "How is he related to this mess? I knew he used to go to school with Selena, but that is all."

Jay looked from Skipper to Kowalski and back again. "I will assume that your lieutenant has refused to tell you about how his dear father used to be one of the co-owners of The Institution."

Skipper glowered at him, taking steps to Kowalski who countered him. "And you were going to tell me this," his hands grabbed onto the lapels of Kowalski's shirt and pulled him down to face level, "when?"

"It's not important."

"Do NOT," his grip tightened, "put words in my mouth, Kowalski. Your job is to give me the information I need. And right now, whatever you are holding back could be the very thing I need to solving this crack ass mystery behind your reckless girlfriend, got it? You will not refrain anything, and I mean ANYTHING from me. Or I swear..."

Kowalski swallowed audibly and nodded. "Yes, sir. I read you loud and clear." Skipper glared at him before letting go and taking a step back.

"Before you start, Kowalski," Jay's calm voice showed no sign of distress from the earlier argument as he looked over the four of them, "I would like to tell you that if Selena wasn't there with him, in The Institution where our boy here grew up in, he would be the one you would be fighting against right this moment. That should be enough reason not to hate on him so much." With a nod to Kowalski, Jay leaned back, studying the picture yet again.

"Alright...Where should I begin?"