Holy glitch, Batman! Thank you so much for your kind messages - things have indeed been glitching through the site, including notifications not coming through, and I'm hoping that will be fixed soon... but it's been weeks since it got very noticeable, so it may be a while. I really appreciate you taking the time to let me know you were still reading along and enjoying!

Natureliesbeneath, I keep having that progression with Archie too. :) I think it's a tough position, a really complex/changing one, and he's a teenager, so... yeah. And I think they've been due for working through the shifts that have been taking place since story three, where Jughead's reappearance almost demanded that Archie share his parents in big ways. It has not entirely gone away. I'm excited to see how this plays out for them! I thought throughout Sarah's analysis that it reminded me of a (less chaotic) version of FP's analysis when he first had to work with Brand. The Sarah/FP parallels actually fascinate me and I'm interested in seeing how that plays out too. And I'm glad Gunnar is growing on you! I hope you enjoy this chapter as well! :)

LeafGreene01, I'll be sure to remember that you're reading along; that will make me smile. :) There is nothing better than hearing that these stories are helpful for winding down. I hope you enjoy this latest chapter!

Woodscolt215, thanks to you as well, particularly for the amazing compliments! I love that you gravitate towards the Joaquin/Keller storyline since I think there is something so rich and complex there. I'm hoping it plays out satisfyingly as the tour heats things up, and I'm curious about where all of that is headed for them. I am also thinking about Sweet Pea, Finn, and Tim; my internal 'parallax novel' is alive and well for their story, and I've had a strong awareness throughout this story that they're only barely 'offscreen.' No spoilers for what little I know about their doings (characters still seem to surprise me all the time!), but yes - they're coming... and I'm really excited to hear that you're looking forward to that as well! :)

Enjoy!

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The concert was coming up quickly; it was only a few hours away. Jughead was looking forward to it eagerly, and had finally been cleared to leave the hospital – though not in the traditional, medical sense.

'Get your dad authorized to be off for another half hour,' Brand had directed via text message, 'and then have him bring you directly to me. Clark's got some insights I want everyone to hear.'

'Yes sir.' Jughead hoped his sarcasm translated over text.

'Directly to me. Do not pass Go, do not collect $200.'

It sounded like Brand had caught the sarcasm. Jughead smiled with satisfaction. "Penn, we've got a stop to make before you can go back to work."

"The horror," FP said dryly. "I'll let 'em know. The crew might have to do some actual work for once."

"Kent's working," Jughead objected.

"True. He might drop dead if they leave it all to him, though. Besides, ten to one he'll be sniffing around whatever Davies is working on." FP smirked in response to Jughead's expression, so he must have somehow confirmed that his father was correct.

They made their way out of the hospital, bracing against a sharp wind that had picked up quite a bit in the hours they'd spent inside.

"Is there a storm brewing?" FP mused.

"It wasn't supposed to amount to much." Jughead looked up at the thickening cloud cover that was moving astonishingly quickly above them. "I guess that might have changed?"

"Well, let's not get caught in anything." FP lengthened his stride and Jughead had to jog in order to keep up.

They were back at the venue in no time, following the strange directions Brand had given them in order to keep Jughead from running into Dax – or any of the primary security team – before they could debrief.

Jughead and FP followed the directions and found themselves in a small room, alone.

FP looked around the room as if Brand was hiding somehow, even though there was only a semicircle of folding chairs and no place to hide. "He did say to make a left after-,"

"I'm here." Brand was suddenly moving swiftly through the doorway. "I've had a few things to do. But you-," Brand pointed at Jughead, "-need to tell me exactly what happened. And I need to know from you-," Brand pointed at FP accusingly, "-why Clark's cover is blown."

"It's not." FP's expression froze. "Wait, did he do something to jeopardize things? If Jughead is back under the gun-,"

"No. He said everyone started treating him really differently today. Out of nowhere." Brand was glowering, but he seemed confused more than angry. "They were acting cold before, but suddenly started being real friendly. A complete sea change. He assumed that meant-,"

"Oh. That." FP shook his head. "No. I'll text him right now, so he doesn't blow anything. Everyone still thinks he's the reporter."

Both Brand and Jughead regarded FP curiously.

"The change in attitude is because the road crew now likes the journalist." FP spread his hands wide, and he gave Jughead a proud smile. "Since he's a man of the people."

"Ah. That just figures. Clark has been completely freaked out by the oh-so-foreign experience of being treated well." Brand's tone was wryly amused.

Jughead grinned, though even Brand would have to admit that Clark was usually well liked and well regarded. "Hey, I'm glad that the crew likes him now – and me by extension, I guess."

"Well. It's not a bad thing," Brand said slowly. "It might change what we do next, though. Dax would be privy to what the crew is saying, so we need to consider that."

"Everyone knows the gossip." FP held his phone up.

"Wait, isn't Clark on the app?" Jughead asked. "Wouldn't he know that people still thought he was the journalist?"

"Not everyone has access to every conversation," FP said with a shrug.

"But…" Brand's eyes narrowed as he considered the statement and its implications. "You do?"

"I have reason to think so." FP's tone wasn't quite smug, but it was close.

Jughead had to hide a smile at Brand's discomfited reaction. "People tend to like Dad."

"Yeah. I am well aware." Brand's tone was meaning-laden.

FP suddenly looked like he was about to lose patience. "Brandon-,"

"It's good. It's an advantage." Brand's reply was brusque. "We can use it. But the real question is whether Dax has access to the same information. And, if Dax thought Clark was the reporter, then I think we have to assume he was setting up Jones and Clark."

"What?" Jughead was bewildered by that abrupt twist.

"He got you two alone in a room and engineered an incident." Brand shook his head with a sharp jerk. "No way that's an accident; he wanted the press to have a front-row seat. Clark's pretty sure Dax set the whole electrical issue up. He might even have had some sort of handheld device that caused it."

There was a heavy silence.

"I don't think so."

Jughead had thought the words, but it was FP who said them.

Jughead looked up at his father hopefully. "Really? You don't think it was Dax either?"

"Not like that, no. It doesn't follow; for one thing, Dax didn't ask Clark first. He approached several other members of the road crew and they're the ones who sent him to Clark." FP looked thoughtful for a few moments, but then his eyebrows lowered and he sucked in a breath.

"What does that prove?" Brand was massaging the back of his neck. "That doesn't mean Dax is innocent. He could have been covering his tracks by intentionally not going straight for Clark, and-,"

"Wait. Back up. There was a handheld device?" Jughead held up his hands as if there was a universe in which that could slow down either adult. "Someone tried to… blow me up?"

"No. What are you talking about? You're fine; it was obviously meant to be for show. Nothing was rigged to be dangerous." Brand was dismissive and turned immediately back to FP. "Dax seemed pretty freaked, too, which makes sense if he didn't intend to hurt anyone. Jones did rack up a whole lot of points-,"

"Hold up. That doesn't make sense, Brandon. It's not a story if he doesn't get hurt," FP interrupted. His expression was dire. "And I was there. I saw him ask the crew: Dax was insistent that he just needed another set of hands, and that it wouldn't take long. The roadies are the ones who sent him straight to Clark. If there was a setup, it wasn't Dax."

"Let me save you some time on running those statistics: there was a setup." Brand seemed even more frustrated as FP's information showed his narrative to be increasingly flimsy. "But I'll bite; you obviously have another suspect in mind and you think they wanted to do real damage. Only why would anyone on the road crew want the press to see the kid fried to a crisp?"

Jughead took a deep breath and let it out slowly; he felt a wash of cold run over his forehead and sat down on one of the folding chairs as dizziness roiled through him. The wolf pack was tense, but they were listening to each other. Information was being shared and the theories were being updated. This was probably a world record for cooperation between Brand and FP.

There was no reason for Jughead to feel like he was about to be sick.

"I don't know. But I think we need to cast a wider net while we figure it out because that's what happened," FP replied sharply. "And I want heads to roll."

"I'm…" Jughead gripped the seat of the folding chair with both hands, trying to get the floor to steady out beneath him. "Um, I think I'm-,"

"I got that loud and clear, FP. And don't you worry; we're going to take 'em apart whenever we know for sure who pulled this. Did you do anything bizarre when you went down?" Brand directed the last question to Jughead even though his eyes were still on FP.

"Yeah. Or, uh, no. I mean, hang on-," Jughead felt his dizziness increase – and then a pit seemed to open up inside of him as panic inexplicably surged through his system. "Brand-,"

"Well, did you or didn't you?" Brand frowned impatiently before he addressed FP again. "I don't know, FP. I'm stuck on motive. If we want to entertain the idea that the road crew is creating the poltergeist, has a motive for targeting Jones, wants the press involved, and-,"

"They aren't happy with the pay and the tour in general. They want to strike. They may think that bad press about safety conditions would give them traction." FP sounded weary. "They're not in the union, so this might be an extortion attempt."

"Extortion? Of who?" Brand's expression changed a moment later and he slapped himself on the forehead. "The bands?"

FP shrugged. "Who else?"

"Dad-," Jughead tried again, but his voice came out weakly and Brand spoke right over him.

"Oh God, you sound even nuttier than me. You think that the road crew is turning into agents of chaos trying to prove that they're necessary – and that they should get hazard pay – by creating literal ghosts? By blowing up Jones while he's two feet away from a reporter?"

That did it: Jughead felt the floor tilt before everything went dark.

00000

"Tall Boy strapped him into a vest full of explosives, and yet you feel free to say things like-,"

"It was an alleged bomb vest."

"If you don't want an alleged bullet in your head, then I strongly suggest-,"

"Wow. Did you even pack a weapon for the tour? Because I sure as hell did, and threats against the security team will not be tolerated-,"

"Let me be very clear. I am only threatening you and not for any reason related to security."

Something about hearing the wolf pack arguing furiously in hushed whispers was… calming.

"Dad? Brand?" Jughead hated how weak his voice sounded.

Both adults froze, waiting for Jughead to continue.

Only there was a weird buzzing sound in his head.

Then it stopped.

Then it started.

And then it began doing an off-kilter call and response.

"Kid?" Brand finally asked.

"I think your phones are going off," Jughead informed them. "Like, a lot."

Both FP and Brand gave him a look, but obediently pulled out their cellphones.

"Huh." FP stared down at his phone.

"They really can't go two seconds without me." Brand was scrolling through his phone and began rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well, we can't leave him like this," FP said, but he was shaking his head like something was really worrying him.

"What's going on?" Jughead demanded. He pushed himself up into a seated position, feeling a rush of strength – adrenaline, no doubt – move through him.

"Things are… a little tense."

Hmmm. Brand was definitely downplaying whatever it was, maybe even to the point of straight up lying.

"Sarah." FP suddenly pointed at Brand. "She can stay with him while we deal with all of this."

"Yeah. That's good. Sarah." Brand nodded enthusiastically.

"Only… Dax is asking for backup, and you can't be in two places at once." FP stopped and seemed to be deep in thought. "How sure are you that he's dirty, Brandon?"

Now it was Brand's turn to pause. "I am one hundred percent sure that the man is up to something and has his sights on Jones. But if he didn't hand pick Clark, then something's off about my analysis; at this point I wouldn't stake anyone's life on it."

Jughead did not miss that when Brand said the phrase 'anyone's life' his eyes flickered to his godson. He felt himself cringe involuntarily.

FP's expression softened and he patted Jughead's shoulder as he continued to speak to Brand. "Sarah can handle Dax. I'd trust her to keep Jug safe. And if our money is on it not being Dax who masterminded the electrical issue, then working with him might just be the safest place for Jug."

Brand's movements stuttered for just a moment, his shoulders tensing. "Yeah. You're right."

They both turned to face Jughead, who was focusing on taking deep breaths and reminding himself that the wolf pack needed him; he was fine; someone on the tour needed help pronto; and that he and Sarah could be of actual use if he could keep it together.

"All right, then. Something is still wrong with Dax, and don't you forget it," Brand ordered Jughead sternly. "But… for the moment, out of necessity, the plan is officially back on until we have a better theory. Agent Sarah's going to have to pitch in with Dax and his team, and I don't want you alone, so-," Brand's eyes narrowed and Jughead felt his godfather studying him carefully, "-you might as well make yourself useful finding out whatever you can. If you can walk, you're back on the case."

Jughead took a deep breath. He eased himself forward and lifted himself slowly and cautiously to his feet. So far so good.

He smiled wanly. "I'm good for it."

Neither adult looked impressed.

"This is a terrible idea," FP muttered.

"The worst," Brand agreed darkly.

"Do we have an alternative?" Jughead asked, squaring his shoulders. He was pretty sure he knew the answer.

"We always have alternatives," FP said firmly, catching Jughead's eye and giving him a meaningful look.

"They're not looking that good right now, but yeah. They exist." Brand watched Jughead as the teen moved cautiously around the room, making sure his limbs worked and his lightheadedness had fully passed. "You know, panic attack aside, you actually look better than you did earlier today."

"Well, I tend to work best under pressure," Jughead joked with far more bravado than he felt. He felt the sensation of a trickling warmth moving through him. Adrenaline, no doubt. "I'll be fine. Besides, Agent Sarah's basically a professional babysitter."

"Do not let her hear you say that," Brand chided him immediately.

FP was smirking. "Nah, you can say it to her face. She wouldn't mind."

Brand's body language did the weird stuttering thing again.

Jughead looked from one to the other as the two men focused on their phones, each texting swiftly.

Huh. They were sharing information and actually listening. Cooperating. Compromising.

It would have been scary seeing them with such a united front, except that something else weird was clearly happening under the surface that both of them were trying their hardest to ignore.

"All right, I have another idea. Phones out." Brand was suddenly brandishing his cell phone at the other two. "I'm making a group text. The app isn't the only method we have of sharing information, and given our uncertainties about who, what, how, and why, I'm going way out on a limb and saying that we may need the ability to pivot on a dime."

"What?" Jughead was pulling out his phone, but already he didn't like the sound of this new plan.

"I'm creating an SOS group text, just for the wolf pack, and only for emergency information." Brand began typing on his phone. "You get a message through it, you don't ask questions. You follow orders and you move. Immediately."

"Brandon-," FP sounded irritated, and he looked a whole lot like he was picturing the potential for pranks.

Which was fair, since that was where Jughead's mind had immediately gone.

"That goes for anyone." Brand stared FP down.

Mutually assured destruction was their typical insurance policy, Jughead reflected with a wry smile. Thankfully that was usually an effective deterrent.

"Wait, hold on, you mean anyone?" Jughead perked up as he interjected hopefully. "You mean that if I send a message, you two won't ask questions? You'll just follow orders?"

FP's expression relaxed, though it looked like it took quite a force of will, and he nodded in acquiescence to Brand. Then he turned to Jughead seriously. "Yes. But this is an emergency tool – which means it's a last resort. You abuse the privilege and you'll find yourself in serious trouble with me, boy."

Jughead ducked his head to hide his smile so he would not get a lecture. So, he was going to be treated like a full member of the wolfpack. Cool.

FP reached out a large, warm hand to cup Jughead's chin and gently raise his son's head until they were making eye contact.

Jughead froze; this was weird.

FP stared curiously at Jughead for a few long, increasingly awkward seconds. "You do look stronger today."

It sounded more like a question than anything.

"So why are you passing out from a panic attack?" FP muttered, but this time it seemed like he was talking to himself.

"Medical mysteries are gonna have to wait," Brand said firmly, though he shot Jughead a curious look as well. "Let's go deal with… everything. We'll regroup tonight. Jones, you wait here for Agent Quinn; she's already on her way."

Jughead nodded and then watched FP and Brand hurry off to deal with whatever the latest crisis was.

Only then did Jughead let himself start to puzzle over the same question that was bothering both of them: what in the world was going on with him?

00000

Archie had thought it was a great idea, and he'd been bolstered by Betty's enthusiasm; they'd taken advantage of a gap in their schedule and sneaked out the side door that they'd entered the venue through – it led into an alley where they could get some 'fresh' air and take some very cool photos as a band.

Veronica had come up with the idea of going toward the street and getting some of the slow-moving traffic in the background of some long-exposure shots. The only problem was that Mrs. Andrews had parked her car at the end of the alley – opening band's privilege, Archie assumed –, so they had to go all the way past the car to get the shot that Betty promised would be amazing.

And that was why Veronica had been far too visible – and a crowd of fans who were likely in the area for the concert later that day had spotted them.

Archie had thought quickly, but he was being forced to admit that 'quickly' had turned out to not necessarily mean 'well.'

When they'd heard the excited shrieking, Gunnar, Betty, and Alice had made a run for the door. And, as far as Archie knew, they had made it safely back into the venue.

Archie had instinctively placed himself between the fans and Veronica, and after tucking his girlfriend under one arm, he'd used his key – and jumped into his mother's car.

The fans did not seem aggressive; they had quieted down almost immediately, and now were just standing around hopefully.

It was probably fine to just get back out of the car and sign some autographs – take some selfies – and get back to the venue.

Only Veronica was shaking. And the group of fans was getting bigger.

"No. No, I can't. Don't unlock the door." Veronica shook her head again as Archie tried again to persuade her that their fans were cool. They'd respect their space, and it would probably be a really fun meet and greet.

And now Archie's phone was lighting up. Brand had apparently been busy (no doubt with Jughead), but Archie's mother was telling them to sit tight in the car because Davies was on his way.

"Oh no." Veronica's somewhat breathy, panicked tone had changed completely; she suddenly sounded like her usual self. It should have been reassuring, but Archie had an instinctive feeling that something bad had jolted her back into thinking clearly.

Veronica held up her phone for Archie to read a rush of notifications pouring through the tour app.

"Uh…" Archie knew this was not helpful, but he was nervous that any plan he came up with now might be just as foolish as the one to jump into the car here.

"It's a bomb threat. It's imminent. We have to get clear of the building – and we need to take them with us." Veronica motioned to the still-growing crowd of fans. "Brand and Clark and Agent Quinn will get everyone out of the building, but nobody is going to warn the fans in time if it's really set to blow any minute."

That made something click in Archie's brain: "Isn't that because telling them without a plan might cause even more injuries? Or even kill people? We can't just start yelling about a bomb, V."

"I know." Veronica nodded firmly. "But I do have a plan. Follow my lead."

And, with that, Veronica unlocked the car door and stepped out.

Archie had no choice but to scramble after her.

00000

A few minutes earlier…

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Dax caught sight of Agent Sarah first and his expression was profoundly relieved. "I need you out front. We need someone in the wings for the duration to keep a close eye on the crowd; I've got two people parked in front of the stage, so that's already covered. We'll show a little muscle and hopefully keep things calm, but they might have their hands full."

Jughead nodded along with Sarah, but it was obvious when Dax noticed him trailing her.

"Cyrano!" Dax grinned; he seemed sincerely delighted to see Jughead. "What are you doing here? Last I heard, you were headed to the hospital and Kent said you'd be there for hours. Are you okay, then? How are your-," Dax motioned toward Jughead's wrists. "-burns?"

"They said I checked out and they should heal up, just maybe take some time. But there should be minimal scarring, so that's good," Jughead reported. Then he shrugged apologetically before continuing: "I'm not going to try for a marathon tonight, but I'm on my feet and ready to work. Brand sent me with Sarah since you need more people."

"Wow. That is not the decision I would have made," Dax said with concern, regarding Jughead with a quick, assessing sweep that seemed very reminiscent of Brand, actually. "You'll still be useful, don't get me wrong, but I don't want you to do anything other than be a warm body for tonight – part of that show of muscle I mentioned. And as long as we're loaning team members back and forth, you let Davies know that I'll need your help out through tomorrow, too. I've got a cot with your name on it; you don't need any more of that man's BS right now."

Jughead's eyes widened, but Dax was moving past him already and clapped him on the shoulder as he passed. "It's really good to see you on your feet. You had me worried."

Just then a familiar figure bounded into the hallway. "I found you! Finally!"

Alice handed Jughead a sheaf of papers. "Read it and weep," she declared with a sweeping gesture.

Oh. The article-writing contest. Oh boy.

That was when Alice noticed Dax. Her jaw dropped as she realized her gaffe, but thankfully she didn't say another word.

"Great. Thanks." Jughead gave Alice a tight smile that exuded irritation and he ducked his head so that his hair fell in his face. "I'll check it out later. You should get back to the band for now, though. We're busy working out the security arrangements for tonight."

Alice nodded mutely, eyes wide, and spun on her heel. She was gone as quickly as she'd appeared.

"O-oh." Dax's tone was teasing and he was unsuccessfully biting back a smile. "Now I get it."

"Get… get what?" Jughead wracked his brain, hoping desperately that Dax had not just realized Jughead was the journalist – which still seemed impossible, since Alice didn't even know that –, but it did not compute. As his mind whirled, coming up with nothing, Jughead suspected that even if he had been firing on all cylinders, Dax's comment would not have made sense.

"Look at you, panicking. So that's why you really don't want to leave your family's bought-and-paid-for internship." Dax's grin broke through in full force.

Agent Sarah was looking from one to the other. She seemed ready to step in and run interference, but was clearly waiting to see how this played out first.

"Uhhh," Jughead wasn't sure what to say to that.

"I guess Cyrano's not just helping out a friend this time." Dax's grin widened. "He's got his own direct line to the lady."

Oh.

Oh.

Jughead felt his face heat up, which probably sold it perfectly – and hey, it gave him a useful addition to his cover story. He could totally work with this.

In fact, Agent Sarah already looked thoroughly impressed.

"I can't-," Jughead winced; he was so tense that he was nearly stuttering. He stopped to clear his throat shakily.

Dax patted Jughead's shoulder once more, shaking his head and smiling reassuringly. "Hey, it's all good. Your secret is safe with me. And with Sarah. Right?"

"I don't have the faintest clue what you're talking about," Agent Sarah said quickly, shooting Jughead a small smile.

That made Dax laugh and regard Sarah more closely – and with approval. "I might just have to try and poach you from Davies since it suddenly seems a lot less likely that I'll be able to tempt this guy to join forces with me. But I will certainly take Cyrano as a loan when I can get him. In fact… that sort of arrangement might suit us all just fine, don't you think? I mean, you can't possibly approve of how Davies treats his people, Sarah."

Sarah gave Jughead a dry look and then shook her head. "I really don't."

"Good. We'll work together, then," Dax said with finality.

Jughead looked from Sarah to Dax and felt himself relax; this was not the attitude of a man who was out to get anyone.

Moreover, it was precisely the arrangement the wolf pack had been aiming for: an unofficial relationship where Jughead spent time working with Dax and could gather information from a whole new set of contacts.

Excellent.

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I was stuggling a bit with this chapter... I knew where things were and where they needed to go, and a lot of the foundations and dynamics made sense in my head, but something kept killing the momentum. Then, this week, the rest of the chapter just flooded onto the page like it was waiting for me to simply open up the tap. Never a dull moment! And I'm hoping to keep that great momentum going. :-D I hope you enjoyed and I can't wait to hear your thoughts - and hopefully, before quite so long, to share the next chapter!

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