Doubt

Aaron kept his eyes on the legos, just a little bit of heat crawling up his neck. He hadn't even really let himself think about his reasoning, let alone talk about it, let alone to Sam. He snapped a piece into place and shrugged. "I didn't think Pete would let me go," he admitted. "And... well I figured... as lax as everything is around here, you'd just get a slap on the wrist." 

His eyes finally slipped to the side to look at Sam, slowly roaming her face. Why had he come back? "When I heard you'd been suspended, I..." He swallowed hard and looked back at the legos, just fiddling with a piece between his fingers. "Well, I just didn't have anywhere else to go," he concluded quickly. 

But after another moment of quiet, his shoulders sank a little. "And..." His voice grew quiet. "I know how important this job is to you and... I didn't want to be the cause of... of you not being happy."


Coming out to his pickup after work, Jett's pace slowed. A man he didn't recognize was leaning back against the driver's door.

Garret folded his arms and looked through his sunglasses at Jett. Just by the way the small man moved, Garret could tell he'd be an easy Agency target. He didn't walk with confidence, and held himself like someone who was a follower, not a leader. As Jett approached, he didn't move. "Nice job last night."

Jett stopped a couple feet away, tensing. No one was supposed to know about that. "Excuse me?"

"I was told you did good for your first time out." Garret's tone only amplified the almost-scary look with his black clothes and boots. He finally took off his sunglasses and squinted at Jett. "I was also told you're ready for the next level. That's pretty good for a newbie."

Jett swallowed hard. This guy was Agency. No one else would know anything about last night or that he was a newbie. A little tingle ran down his spine. They wanted him to move up already? He bit his lip to hide a smile. "What's next?"

Garret almost wanted to punch him right there. He was making this way too easy. No wonder the Agency had so many followers. "Just do as I say." He moved around to get in the passenger side and waited for Jett to get in behind the wheel. "Corner of Fifth and Birch."

"Now?"

Garret threw him a half glare. "Now."

Jett blinked and put the pickup in gear. He wasn't about to argue with this guy. The Agency had all the makings of the military, but no bootcamp, you got to live your normal life, and it was all kept very top secret. They only recruited those they thought would do well in their ranks, proving Jett maybe had some purpose after all. But underneath it all was still an unspoken rule that you did as you were told without questions - questions led to answers, and answers could lead to leaked information. So as much as he wanted to ask this man's name... he refrained. He had to be high up in the ranks though, the way he acted. Which made this just a bit exciting.

It took about twenty minutes to arrive at the warehouse, and Jett parked along the curb, glancing at the man with question. "So... what are we doing here?"

Garret simply got out of the truck. "Follow me," he directed gruffly.

Jett cut the engine and did as he was told, stopping only when the man did at the door to the warehouse.

Garret looked at him sternly. "Are you ready for the next level?"

"Um..."

"Yes or no?"

"Yes." Jett nodded. He could do this. He wanted to. He could finally be a part of something.

"Good." Garret opened the door and motioned him inside.

It was dark. Dirty. Obviously abandoned for quite a while. Jett tried to swallow his nervousness. There was nothing to be nervous about. They moved to a back section where only a few dirty windows let in a small amount of light. But as they approached the far corner, a figure came into view. It was a man, tied to a chair and slumped over as if unconscious. Jett's nervousness increased. 

Garret stopped and reached to his back, pulling out a handgun, and handing it to Jett. "Here." 

Jett took the gun and stared at it for a moment before looking up at Garret with wide, confused eyes. 

"That man over there is withholding intelligence we desperately need," Garret explained as he pointed. "He thinks he can withstand anything we throw at him, but that's why you're here. To prove him wrong."

Jett swallowed hard and looked at the gun again. "What do you want me to do?"

"That job you pulled last night? That was just the tip of the iceberg. This... will not only gain the intel we need, but it will also prove you're ready to move up." Garret cocked his head. "Just avoid any vital organs. He'll probably talk with just one bullet to either knee." 

Jett's face had paled and he looked between the gun and the man. "But... but you've obviously already been..." He swallowed hard. "Working... with him." 

"I usually don't send a newbie in without softening up the meat a little beforehand."

Jett continued to stall. "Well what... I mean... what's so important you need from him? What's he really done?" 

"You don't need details!" Garret's voice became exasperated. "No questions, remember? You get a job, you do it, get it done, and move on. It's that simple. Now go over there and convince him to give you what we need. There are three six-digit codes. Get them, memorize them, and you'll be done."

"Well but... then what? You just... leave him here?"

Garret's expression turned into a glare. "That is none of your concern." 

He wouldn't kill him... would he? "But-" 

Garret gave his shoulder a shove. "Go do it!"

"I..." Jett dug his heels into the floor. "I-I-I can't... I can't shoot somebody. That's just... that's not what-"

"What?" Garret continued to glare at him. "Not what you were told you'd be doing? Well tough. You signed on to help our cause, and there's no turning back. You knew that. So show me you really want to be a part of this." 

Jett swallowed hard. The Agency had a good cause. He could help with this. Who knew who this guy was? Maybe he was a mass murderer. Maybe he deserved to be killed. It wasn't the Agency's fault that the law wouldn't step in and help them. He knew he was being tested. That much was obvious. If he didn't cooperate now, he'd never make it. He'd never gain the respect that was promised to him. He'd never fit. He had to do this. Tightening his grip around the gun, he took a couple steps forward. The man lifted his bruised face to look at him through his disheveled strands of hair but remained silent. Jett's gut twisted. He took another step and extended the gun, which shook slightly in his hand. "Tell us what we want," he ordered, although his tone was far from threatening. 

The man scoffed and just let his head hang again. Jett opened his mouth to say more, but then stopped. He couldn't. Lowering the gun, he turned back around. "I can't," he admitted. "Isn't there something else I can do? I'll keep driving for jobs. Anything but this."

Garret frowned. He came over and took the gun swiftly from Jett, coming back with it straight across his mouth. Jett was knocked to all fours on the concrete and blinked, stunned. He was barely recovered from his accident the way it was. Blood spurted from his split lip. 

"You're weak!" Garret raised his voice at him. "And you're a coward! The Agency can't use anybody who's not willing to get the job done." 

Jett got to his feet, only to be knocked down again with a punch to his jaw. "Stop it!" he yelled. "I'm sorry!"All he received for his apology was a swift kick to his gut, causing him to double over as he lay on the floor. 

"I told them you didn't have it in you," Garret scoffed. "They didn't believe me, so I set this up to prove it. And guess what? I was right."

"I can still help," Jett gasped. "Please... just give me another chance." 

Garret thought he might be sick. This man was actually begging to be a part of the Agency. "Didn't they tell you? We don't give second chances! Unless you stand up right now and get those codes from him, you're out." 

"No... no wait..." Jett got to his feet, still holding his stomach. "Maybe I can do it without shooting him." 

"You really are a weakling, aren't you?" Garret grabbed him by the shoulder and shoved him towards the prisoner. "How about spending a little time to get to know him, huh? See what it's really like to cross the Agency."

"But I didn't... I just..." How could this be happening? How could they kick him aside so easily just because he didn't want to shoot someone? It wasn't making any sense. He was shoved into another chair and when he resisted being tied up, he was hit so hard, he fell back to the floor. 

"Get up!" Garret hissed. When Jett didn't move, he shoved him over with a foot, proving he was unconscious. "Oh for Pete's sake." 

"Way to go." Wyatt sat up straighter and rolled his eyes. 

"Well I didn't meant to knock him out," Garret defended. He dragged Jett back up into the chair to tie him up. "He won't be out long. When he comes to, start convincing him this is what it's all about. I'll give you half an hour with him."

"Right, right." Wyatt wriggled his nose around. "Hey untie me a minute, would you? Itch."

Garret grinned. "Bummer."

"Oh come on!" Wyatt lurched in his chair as Garret walked away. 

Garret just waved over his shoulder. "Have fun."

Wyatt growled and tried to scratch his nose with his shoulder, which didn't work either. Sighing, he sat back and looked to his side at Jett. Poor fool. Maybe this would wake him up. 

It only took a few minutes for Jett to stir, and once he realized he was tied up next to the prisoner, terror crossed his face and he started struggling.

"Don't bother," Wyatt warned. "He knows how to tie a knot."

Jett squinted at the man's battered face before he glared at him. "If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be in this position."

"Me?!" Wyatt's eyebrows rose. "I don't know what's going on with you, but I'll take a wild stab in the dark and say you're a new recruit who didn't have the nerve to do the job. Can't say I'm not grateful, but don't blame me. I'd rather take a bullet to the head than go through any more torture."

Torture? Jett stopped struggling. "What... what did they do?"

"The Agency will do anything..." Wyatt elaborated a little bit about how the Agency liked torturing its victims with no mercy. How they thrived on creating fear. 

As Jett listened, he grew silent. None of this made any sense. None of this matched what he'd been told. He'd been told the Agency was fighting against people who the law ignored and were getting away with crime under the radar. Not... committing crimes themselves. "What did you do that they targeted you?" There had to be a real reason for this man to have been taken prisoner.

Wyatt cackled. "I was head of security with intel they wanted so they could hack into the Jupiter Science lab's main systems." 

"But... they had reason to. They-"

"They don't want anything but to steal what the scientists have been working on so they can have it for themselves, wipe it clean from the system and leave the lab with absolutely nothing to go on." 

Jett fell quiet again. No... he couldn't have been this wrong. He couldn't have been so blind as to gotten involved with something so bad. There had to be some mistake. But the seed of doubt had been planted...

...A half an hour later, Garret returned. But this time he was unarmed, and he released Wyatt first, then Jett. Stunned, Jett just looked up at him. "What's... what's going on?" Was he simply going to execute them both? 

"Jett, my name is Garret Jackson, and this is Wyatt Reese. We're both with the Elite."

Jett remained seated, his eyes widening. "What? I... I don't understand."

Wyatt wiped some makeup off his face with his shirt sleeve before combing his hair back with his fingers. "What you just experienced... is actually tame compared to what the Agency really does." 

Garret bent to look Jett square in the eye. "I used to be with them. Be glad I got out. Otherwise, you'd be lying here dead right now because you're simply not worth the Agency's effort to keep alive." 

Jett's emotions started to churn. No. No, this wasn't happening. He hadn't been duped that badly. The Agency couldn't be like this. "No..." He shook his head stubbornly. "You're wrong. You're from the Elite? You just don't like the Agency stepping in and getting jobs done you can't handle." 

Garret rolled his eyes. "They did a better job on you than I thought. How long have they been talking to you anyway? A couple weeks?" 

Jett shrugged. He finally got to his feet and rubbed his wrists. His jaw still hurt, and his lip was throbbing. "Who cares? You're the ones who put me through this, not them. So what does that prove?" In spite of his attitude, he was now faced with a wall of doubt that only made him even madder. "I finally found a purpose and now the Elite is ripping it out of my hands."

"They lied to you!" Garret glared at him. "Don't you believe anything Wyatt told you? Do you want to come down to headquarters so we can show you all the evidence of what they've done? Who they've tortured? Killed? I was as high in the ranks as you can get, and let me tell you - I don't even know how many innocent people I killed just because it was my job. You need me to slap you around a little more to prove it?"

"No!" Jett backed up a step. "I don't believe you." 

Garret turned to address Wyatt, lowering his voice. "This is exactly what I was afraid of."

"Well what do you want to do?" 

Garret thought for a moment before looking back to Jett. "You've got a choice, Jett. Either come with us and tell us who was involved in that robbery last night, or you're going to be arrested. We have you on camera and we don't need any more evidence than that. Help us and you're free. It's that simple." 

Jett scowled at them both. "You're wrong about the Agency," he insisted. "I'm not gonna rat out the others. You're so smart, find them yourselves."

Wyatt sighed. "So you don't mind going to jail?"

"All I need is a good lawyer and the Agency has plenty. Apparently the cops don't appreciate them that much either."

Garret took a deep breath. He'd gladly just let Wyatt arrest him, but he was helping because he was Eli's friend... and he wanted to prove he was here to help not just beat somebody up. "Okay... you wanna play this way? Fine." He grabbed Jett's arm and shoved him towards the door. "Let's go." 

Jett knew he was no match for Garret, and decided to simply remain silent. He'd get a lawyer. He'd get off the hook. And he'd be commended for not betraying the Agency. It was going to end up good. All this... it was all a lie. It had to be. Riding alone with Garret in the SUV, he didn't understand why they didn't follow Wyatt, but took a different route. And when they pulled up to a house, his confusion increased. "What's this?" 

"Get out," Garret ordered. It was almost dark by now after a long day, but it would have to last as long as necessary to save Jett. Coming around the vehicle, he grabbed Jett by his shirt collar and half shoved half dragged him to the house and up onto the porch before he rang the doorbell. Jett squirmed, but he just tightened his grip. "Knock it off or you're gonna wake up with another headache." 

Despite his anger, on the inside, Jett was terrified of this man. He couldn't defend himself worth anything and he knew it. It was always like this. But the Agency was going to help change that. He'd be somebody. He'd be strong. He'd be respected. 

As the door opened and he saw Destiny, all color drained from his face. Why on earth was he here? "Destiny?" He looked up at Garret. "What's going on? Why-"

Garret didn't let him finish. "Destiny..." He sighed, knowing his face said it all. "I couldn't just take him in without giving you a chance. You wanna try talking some sense into him? Because we've told him everything and he refuses to believe us." 

Jett searched Destiny's face wildly. Was she with the Elite? He didn't think so. So what was going on? Why did Garret bring him here? What did she know? And why did she know he was trying to get into the Agency? He hadn't told a soul. Why had the Elite told her?