Steve huffed as he continued to drive before he finally pulled off to the side of the road and put the car in park, becoming consumed with so many emotions at once he wasn't sure what to do.
"Count to ten." Steve told himself, breathing in and out as he counted to ten and finally let his anger subside.
His eyes began to water up, he was so scared and worried for Harper that he honestly couldn't function; he wondered why Sykes took her, he still wondered if it he really was Sykes.
Steve wiped away a forming tear, letting random memories enter his mind; one memory in particular was Harpers' first day of school.
It was weird, Claudia was the one who couldn't wait to get Harper sent off to school but as the three of them walked into the crowded hallways Claudia was getting jittery.
"Maybe we could homeschool her?" she bargained with Steve, who simply smiled before turning to her.
"Claude, relax. She's going to be fine." He said before kneeling down to Harpers' pint size and smiled at her.
Steve adjusted her backpack and sweater, then pushed some hair away from her face "Alright. You ready?" he asked her.
Harper nodded "Yeah, daddy." She said with a smile.
"You remember what we talked about?" Steve asked her.
"No biting."
"Yes, no biting. What else?" Steve asked.
Harper sighed "You and mommy and secret service agents, don't talk about the warehouse, and just because you might not be picking me up after school doesn't mean you don't love me." She said.
Steve smiled "Yeah, baby. That's right." He said, adjusting her sweater one more time before pulling her in for a hug.
"I love you." Steve whispered to her.
"I love you too, daddy." Harper said, not wanting to let go of her dad before Steve finally pulled away, letting Claudia get a hug in.
Claudia sighed "You've got your lunch money?"
"It's in my pocket."
Claudia nodded "Sweater's warm enough?"
"Yeah."
Claudia took a deep breathe in before pulling her in for a hug "I love you, jelly bean." She said, almost smothering the 5-year old with the hug.
"Mommy, I can't breathe!" Harper remarked, now having Claudia let her go.
Claudia stood up, giving Steve enough time to pull her away from Harper; Harper turned around to face the sea of school children in the classroom in front of her.
"Have a great first day, sweetie." Claudia called out as they both watched her walk into her classroom.
Steve smiled, she was so small and full of life; she trusted the world which scared Steve, but as she grew older he knew that she had grown wiser.
He brushed away another tear, putting the car back into drive and began driving again; he was going to find Harper, he knew doing it on his own was stupid, but his urge to find her was strong.
She sat in the back with Sykes, after her attempted break out he refused to take his eyes off of her; Harper refused to make eye contact with him as she looked out the window, pretending that he wasn't next to her.
Harper played with her restraints as she pretended not to feel a pair of eyes on her; but it was becoming hard not to turn and look at Sykes.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
Sykes smirked "I told you, it's a surprise." He remarked.
Harper sighed, continuing to look out the window; her hormones were getting the best of her as she huffed "Y'know, when I get out of these restraints…I'm going to kill you myself." She hissed.
"Oh, are you?" Sykes asking with a light chuckle.
"Yes." Harper remarked, moving closer to the window.
Sykes smirked to himself, now looking out the other window in the back seat of the car "I'd like to see you try." He taunted.
Harper clenched her jaw, she couldn't wait for the team to find her.
Claudia and Artie were sitting in the office while Myka and Pete were rummaging through the destroyed warehouse; they hoped that maybe they could find a sign of where Harper was through the skewed artifacts.
Claudia sighed, going through the pictures one more time "I wish there was some way to track her down." She muttered.
Artie nodded "Me too." He remarked.
"I hope she's still putting up a fight, giving them a run for their money." Claudia remarked, looking at Harper in the pictures as she sat in her seat.
Claudia sighed "Maybe we can track Steve?" she suggested.
Artie thought for a moment "We can try." He remarked as he rolled his chair towards the computer and began typing away at the keyboard.
Claudia came up behind the senior agent and watched as Artie began to track Steves' cell phone, Artie hummed to himself "It seems like he's at The Dud." He remarked.
"Oh, Jinksy." Claudia muttered "I'll see if I can catch him there." She remarked as she grabbed her jacket and walked out of the office.
The lights were dim in the coffee shop and Claudia spotted Steve in a corner area, staring at two cups of coffee.
Claudia gently walked up to Steve and waited for Steve to speak first, it was obvious there was something on his mind as he sat there.
Steve sighed "I was on auto-pilot, I ordered two cups because I usually come with Harper. But I paid for the coffee and turned around to realize that Harper wasn't behind me like she usually is." He said as he looked up at Claudia.
Claudia sat next to Steve and took his hand "We're gonna find her, Steve." She assured Steve.
"I'm sorry I snapped at you." He muttered.
Claudia smiled "Yeah, you really scared me back there." She admitted.
Steve nodded "I just want to find her, and it seems like we're just standing around."
"Well, we tried to track her phone, but whoevers' got her destroyed it. And maybe he'll call us with further instructions…or something." Claudia said.
Steve looked over at Claudia, lacing his fingers with hers as she scooted closer to him "I love you, Jinksy." She whispered to him.
"I love you too, Claude." He said.
Claudia smiled as she grabbed the other cup of coffee and began to sip on it before she gave Steve an ugly face "Dear God, what is this?" she asked before putting the cup down.
Steve chuckled "…it's a Cinnamon Spice Latte. Harpers' favorite." He said.
"Well, it's disgusting." She said, giving Steve another moment to chuckle.
