Targeted

[Ashi]

Even in her alcohol-induced haze, Claire could not help drawing the parallels between the Eagles' lyrics she was hearing and everything that had happened up to that point. The entirety of hers and Clark's situation could be compared to the "Hotel California." It wasn't a situation that they could apparently ever get out of; and if there was an end to it, there were only two results: good or bad. Heaven or hell. Clark and Claire both entered the situation of their own accord, willing (and perhaps not-so-willing) prisoners of their want for justice. Kilmont was a beast, one that would take more than knives to kill. Did that mean there was no way out except death? Grimacing, Claire shook her head to clear it. Of all the places for her mind to wander, it had to go to the most depressing one. She sat up, grumbling to herself, and looked over her shoulder at Clark.

"Oh? Pray tell, how exactly do I owe you?" Claire mused, unable to help the smirk on her face. She found Clark's drunkenness amusing and watched as he chugged what remained of the Jack Daniels. A laugh escaped when he hit the floor and stopped abruptly when he spoke again. The impact of those words seemed to jar her into sobriety if only for a moment. "Take It to the Limit" started and yet again Claire was making comparisons. An overwhelming mix of emotion washed over her with a lot of guilt and uncertainty. "I don't regret it.." She said in hardly more than a choked whisper as her gaze dropped to the floor. "There's only one thing I truly regret." Claire thought. Slowly she stood and made her way over to the chair.

"I don't regret my decision, Clark. My career isn't worth anything if let go of what I sought it for in the first place. I wanted to protect people, seek justice; but sometimes the justice system isn't always just and you have to work outside it. This... this is so much more than that. It's life as we know it, yours and mine... If I chose my career over you, then I would have abandoned everything I stand for. My career wouldn't mean anything. If I chose my career over you... that would be the biggest regret of my life; and I don't think I could live with that. I don't want any regrets. I can't lose anyone else..." Claire relented, looking into Clark's eyes. She gingerly touched the side of his face and pressed her lips to his.

 

[MST3K 4ever]

It had been a day and a half since Clark and Claire's night of getting hammered. Clark didn't remember too much after Claire kissed him except for two things. One, he didn't want it to ever end. Second, at that moment The Trust, Kilmont, and the rest of humanity could go to Hell for all he cared. Clark for most of his life put the needs of others above his own, but at that moment he was gonna be a selfish bastard and just enjoy being with Claire. The next morning, the hangover was the most pleasant thing they had to deal with. They woke up in his bed and through a hazy recall Clark and Claire knew what they had done the night before. It was actually very pleasant considering how bombed they were, but it wasn't something they were interesting in discussing.

The awkward phase was almost making Clark feel nostalgic about being captured by The Trust. Neither he nor Claire could really look at one another for more than two minutes without either blushing or finding a reason to leave the room. They took a bike ride to one of the nearby resort towns to pick up a Wi-Fi router and Claire was going to pick up a Lap-Top, but Clark told Claireit was best if they didn't, but he did have an idea. Clark saw one at a garage sale on the way to the Resort Town, and it was still there on the way back. It was an older Lap-Top in that it was five years old. In Lap-Top terms that was ancient, but Clark knew he could work with it.

Clark was able to tinker with the Wi-Fi router enough that he could hide their signal on another nearby signal for up to 30 minutes an hour. Once he had everything set up it was now time to prove his theory that Randy had something hidden for them online. Clark fixed himself a glass of Ginger Ale and cracked his knuckles. He said, "Okay Randy let's see if you're as smart as I hope you are." Clark entered in his search terms for the courthouse, Judge Parker, Atlanta, and District 9. There was nothing on the first page and he clicked through three other pages and was about to get frustrated on page four until he saw it. Clark knew what he had found was meant for their eyes only. Clark smiled and said, "Claire, check this out!" He pointed to a link to a site called "Sylvia's Imports" and Clark said, "It lists everything in our search request and it's cleverly camouflaged on a site that is just out there." Clark clicked on the link and it was for an import/export business out of Seattle. When suddenly a pop-up menu asked for "Username and Password."

Clark said, "Okay we know Randy would make it something obvious to both of us." Clark had only met Randy that night and he and Claire were only together the night everything fell apart. Clark closed his eyes and replayed the whole night over in his mind. Clark went over each phrase that was said, because he knew that it was in there Clark would find his information.
Clark typed his last name in all caps because that was all Randy called him, and then for the password he typed in "Parker."

The screen went black for a moment, and then flashed three different colors. Just then a video began and Randy was sitting in what looked to be an interrogation room. He said, "Hey you two from the great beyond. If you are watching this video it means that something happened and the Op has been compromised, and you two are on the run." Clark leaned back in the chair as Randy said, "Better sit down there's a lot to go over and once this video is over this site will crash and whatever you're watching this on will be the victim of a bad feedback loop ensuring that you can't be traced."

Clark said, "Well at least we didn't buy a new one."

Randy said as he began to tap on the table very lightly, "Not long before you and I became partners Claire I was recruited for an Op outside of the island of Coasta Mirada. It was designed to create unrest in the Region so we could get their leader General Ramirez into our country. It was actually a test which I passed and congratulated by Vice President Susan Kilmont. I was offered an opportunity to become a member of an organization called The Trust. They are a group of very dangerous and powerful people who are able to influence World Events and yes if they had Super Powers they would be Super Villains. Anyway the General needed to escape because he's one of them and there were those who were starting to become suspicious of him. I knew what they were about, and I didn't believe what they stood for and I still don't. I thought I could get inside and take 'em out from within." Randy took a deep breath and shook his head. He looked up and continued while tapping, "I was wrong I got in over my head. That was why I chose you for my partner Claire. I needed someone to not only keep me focused but someone who could continue the fight against The Trust if I was gone." Randy shifted his focus and said, "Walton, I was the one who convinced Kilmont to okay the planting of the files that brought you into this. I figured partnering you up with Claire would be a powerful combination. I scouted the files at Haddon and saw you and knew you were my guy. Yeah, you weren't a field agent but I knew you could do this kind of work if you got pushed to." He shifted his focus and said, "Hey Claire, did you know your partner Clark was recruited by the CIA? That's right at the age of 19 when he graduated College they wanted him." Randy shook his head and said, "People dream of getting that call, and he said no. I actually respect him for that. He had the potential but not the desire to be an agent, and rather than slog his way through and waste a lot of time he walked away." Randy winked and said, "Good for you Walton." Randy looked around and said, "Not much else to say except the only way to stop them is for you two…" He steadied himself and said, "You have to kill Kilmont. She cannot become President if she does the Trust will come to power within 3 months I have seen their plans. If they win Humanity is screwed."

Randy gave a nod and just before they video ended Clark hit stop on the video. He looked at Claire and said, "Kill the Vice President? Is he off his fuckin' rocker? There is no way Claire! He is out of his mind not to mention that damn tapping he…" Clark paused for a moment and they rewound the video to where the tapping started. Clark turned up the volume and he then grabbed a pen and paper and began writing everything down. Clark said, "The tapping Claire is the real message. Yeah the stuff he said about The Trust and all that is true, but the tapping is Morse Code." Once the tapping stopped Clark paused the video and opened up another tab on his browser. Clark studied the tapping and said, "Claire, the tapping is giving us map coordinates and I'll bet that's the heart of the message. Your partner is very good." Clark's fingers flew across the keys again and the coordinates were to a log house in a forested area outside of Atlanta.

Clark looked over at Claire and said, "Whatever Randy was really trying to tell us is in that house in Atlanta. Looks like another road trip for us.

 

[Ashi]

The bike ride back north to the resort town took a lot less time than it had for Clark and Claire to walk to south to the beach house. Of course, rather than go along the beach as they had for the walk, they took back roads; and they had bikes. Claire took a backpack to put the computer and router in once they obtained them since, even though one bike had a basket, it would look awfully strange to ride around with such things. Not to mention, it would make them a target for thieves and the risk of damaging one or both technologies was too great. The majority of the time, Claire rode a ways in front of Clark. Even though it had been nearly two days since their night of passion, she couldn't quite bring herself to make direct eye contact with Clark without blushing profusely.

In the kitchen, Claire sat beside him at the table, arms crossed. It made her uncomfortable knowing that the mystery surrounding their circumstances was about to be solved, perhaps mostly because her partner was in the middle of it. If he really was a part of this conspiracy, Claire wasn't sure she wanted to know. As Clark set up, Claire took a deep breath and swallowed the knot in her throat. Whether or not she liked it, they had to find this out. It could mean the difference between defeating the Trust and being defeated themselves. Claire was not one to accept defeat so easily. If there was an opportunity to fight she would surely take it.

"Maybe you need to try a more specific search?" Claire murmured as Clark surfed through nearly four pages of irrelevant search results. When it looked like they would have to try something else, he found something called Sylvia's Imports. "I'm sure. It's too bizarre not to be it." She scoffed at the seeming irony. It was just so.. Randy. Indeed it was exactly what they were looking for. Claire recognized the brown hair and green eyes immediately as her partner's. She leaned in close to the computer, eyes wide. Her heart beat very much faster. Randy spoke about work before he and she became partners, a mission from the Trust. He spoke of how Kilmont offered him a position within the organization and how he tried and failed to single-handedly take it down from inside. He said that was why he chose her.

"Chose?" Claire thought incredulously. An overwhelming sense of betrayal and disgust made her head ache; she felt used and lied to. Was that the base of their partnership? What did that mean for their friendship? Was any of it real at all? What about his promise? She glared at the screen, jaw clenched. She wanted to punch it, to punch Randy. If he were there now, it was likely Claire would Judo flip him on his head. Without word, Claire stood and left, slamming the front door behind her. She sat on the steps, watching the waves, and sighed. "Fuck."

After long, Claire came back inside, making a bee line for the stairs. "Grab the backpack and put some clothes in it. We're out of here first thing in the morning." She called to Clark. In her room, she found a duffel in the closet and started filling it with the clothes she left there. She took some small amenities from the bathroom and the picture from the bedside table. Hopefully, this stuff wouldn't get blown up somewhere down the road. They could take the bikes and maybe hitch a ride or two.

 

[MST3K 4ever]

Clark was able to see Clare's reactions to the video in the screen, and he thought maybe she was steeling her resolve for what laid ahead. Then he realized something and that was Claire was picked for this just like Clark had been picked. No asking if they wanted to be in this. No choice in the sense that Randy had studied their psych profiles and knew that Claire and Clark would help out of a sense of duty or loyalty. Randy was using Claire just like The Trust wanted to us Clark. Not to mention he thought about taking on a group like them without even fully realizing how powerful they were. That he could just do this on his own and that would be enough. Clark felt the overwhelming urge to beat the shit out of Randy. Not for just manipulating Clark but he abused a trusted partnership with Claire. Clark wanted to go and sit with Claire, but he realized that there wasn't anything Clark could do to help at the moment. This went beyond just an abuse of trust this was a betrayal on an epic scale. Much like Greg betrayed Clark Claire was now dealing with being betrayed.

Clark disconnected the Wi-Fi set up he had, packed up to the Lap-Top, the desk calendar which served as his diagram, and walked down to the shore. First he tore the calendar up into several pieces and placed them in different trash cans. Luckily the beach was basically deserted at the time and Clark then pitched the electronic items as far as he could into the ocean. The outer shells would be intact, but that saltwater would beat the crap out of the chips and circuitry making it all useless if it was ever found. Clark watched as each item sank out of sight. Once he was sure they were gone Clark started to head back to the house, but then he stopped himself. He stood on the shore and just watched the waves pound the shoreline. He didn't know what else to do now but just watch the waves. Not because he hadn't seen the beach for a long time, but for some reason he felt like one of those thousands of shells on the beach. Merely at the whim of the waves pushing them hither yon and fro with no say in the matter. Clark never felt so powerless in his life, and to make it worse he was with someone else in the same situation. Claire was now a victim of the circumstances around her. Clark and her now had a bond that no one would ever understand, and Clark at this moment would give anything for them to be free from it. Sadly, that wasn't going to happen anytime soon for them. Once they made it to the Log Cabin who knew what was waiting for them. Clark bowed his head and shook it slowly. He said, "And so it goes."

Once got back to the house he heard Claire issue her command to pack it up. In her voice Clark could tell she was hurting badly. The feeling of betrayal and hopelessness, and of course the discomfort of being here was showing in Claire. Clark wanted to help but he didn't know how, and just walking up to her and saying, "You wanna talk" was probably the number one way to replace Randy on Claire's shit list at the moment. Clark packed up some clothes, toiletries, and put the information he gathered into several folders and managed to get it all in the backpack. It weighed a lot but he had everything he thought they would need.

Clark walked into Claire's room and said, "I'm ready to go whenever you want." He walked over to where Claire was and put his hand on her shoulder and said, "I'm so sorry for what's happened Claire." It was the first time he had even tried to talk to Claire since they're night together, but at the moment embarrassment and awkwardness was the last thing Clark felt. He wanted to take the hurt away from Claire more than anything else. Claire needed to know that there was one person in the world she could trust. Clark took a step back and said, "I'll see what I can scrounge up for dinner" as he began to leave the room.

 

[Ashi]

Claire stood by the bed, staring into the duffle bag at the photo. Jamie's face smiled up at her through the half-fastened zipper, having prompted her to pause in closing the bag. For a second, Claire was comforted by that familiar happy-go-lucky expression; however, that comfort was quickly swept away by rage. Not only had Randy betrayed her, but he'd betrayed Jamie, too. He'd met and made friends with Jamie; he was there for Claire when Jamie was killed. He promised to help her solve his case when it went cold. How could he do that? How could anyone do that? "Kilmont can do it..," briefly crossed her mind. "Bastard. You better hope I don't find you." Claire muttered and zipped up the bag.

Claire had done so just in time, as Clark entered, announcing his preparedness to leave. She didn't say anything at first, not even turning her head to look at him. There wasn't much to say, and if she did say something, it would likely hurt his feelings. She didn't want to take her anger out on him. Where she would have normally brushed off the hand on her shoulder, Claire surprisingly accepted Clark's gesture of sympathy. "Me, too," she sighed in resignation. She wasn't one who liked sympathy or to feel like she was being pitied, but it was also a gesture of understanding and trust. If only for a moment, it calmed her rage. Shortly after, she descended the stairs. She entered the kitchen and rifled through a cabinet for a cup. On the counter was a fancy coffee machine, one of the single-serve kinds like Keurig. She prepared the machine and put the cup under the dispenser.

"Want one? It's pretty good." Claire offered as she removed the full cup from the dispenser. She no longer seemed angry or even just upset. It was more like she was trying hard to pretend that she hadn't watched that video, or to at least forget about for a little while. She wouldn't dare approach the subject of killing the vice president. That was a conversation better saved for Atlanta. Without waiting for an answer, she started a cup for Clark. "How about we have pancakes? Simple enough to make, go great with decaf?" She offered a wan smile and sipped her coffee. Again Claire didn't wait for an answer; she headed right for the pantry and collected ingredients.

Dinner was mostly quiet as was the remainder of the night. Claire didn't go up to bed; rather she lounged on the sofa where she barely even dozed. Her mind was too busy for her to rest. She couldn't help but recall her time with Randy; the days spent training, the first cases they worked together, all came flooding forward. If there had ever been any indication that Randy wasn't being genuine, she had never picked up on it. It made her feel more dejected and made the betrayal hurt worse, like salt in an open wound. Rather than sulk, Claire tried to use it as motivation. The sooner they got to Atlanta, the sooner she may find Randy and then she could let him have it.

Through the early hours of the morning, Claire was looking through an old atlas to get a better idea of a possible route. It was still best to avoid main roads, especially in Atlanta. She marked the route in pen, tore the page out, and stuffed it into her bag. She prepared food to take on the road, as well as water and some useful supplies. There were flashlights, matches, Para cord, and a multi-tool amongst others. Hopefully their things wouldn't get blown up again. She went as far as to make sure the bikes' tires had plenty of air in them. At first light, Claire nudged Clark out of bed. She wasn't pushing him out the door just yet, but she certainly didn't want to waste any time.

"If you need coffee or anything before we leave, best get it now. We need to hit the road ASAP." Claire said around a cup of coffee and a sandwich. She was already dressed; the bags waited by the door.

 

[MST3K 4ever]

Although the dinner was delicious and Clark told Claire so he wasn't overly concerned with it at the time. Being with Claire helped Clark a better sense of empathy, and he could tell that while she was pleasant with him Clark could tell Randy, if he was alive, was in a world of hurt if Claire found him. As much as he wanted to let Randy have it two things stopped him. One, realistically Randy was a trained agent and could probably kill Clark without leaving a mark on him. Secondly, he abused the trust between he and Claire to the point that Claire was wounded on every possible level. Clark knew Claire well enough that didn't he knew she didn't trust anyone very easily. Randy didn't give a damn about that at all, and in Clark's eyes that really made him no better than Kilmont. Randy could justify what he did all he wanted to, but the bottom line for Clark was that Randy was manipulating people to get what he wanted. Just like the Trust manipulated people and events Randy did the same thing and in the process destroyed two lives and fused them together forever. There was no coming back from this for either Clark or Claire.

Clark felt it best to leave Claire be. She was getting ready to leave a place that brought out many mixed emotions for her, and this was a road only she could walk alone. Claire knew where Clark was if she wanted to talk, but Clark also knew that Claire wasn't much of a talker. As he saw her on the couch Clark understood what Claire was going through. All the emotions of betrayal, things not being as they appeared, and the feelings of helplessness were all too familiar with Clark. Claire was strong and Clark knew that, but at some point that dam was going to break and when it did it wasn't going to be a pleasant time for them.

Clark made his way upstairs without saying anything. Not they were unsure or awkward anymore, but the fact that they were preparing to set out on a very difficult part of their journey. There was no doubt for Clark that not only was it going to be physically difficult but emotionally. They were about to be tested as never before, and that was saying something considering what they had already been through. Clark had the window opened as he listened to the waves pounding the shore, and the gulls in the distance. Any other time this would be so wonderful for Clark the guy from Pittsburgh, but at this time it all served as a reminder of something he probably wouldn't be experiencing again for a while. The peace of a moment and the wonderful sounds of shore made Clark just close his eyes. For the first time in a long time Clark actually prayed. He said, "I know we haven't talked in a long time, and I know that you're the only reason we've gotten this far. I can call it dumb luck all I want but I know you're here. So with all that being said all I ask is for two things. One, for those who are hurting us to face justice. Two, for Claire to make it through all this. She deserves a chance at a happiness. If I make it through as well thank you, and if I don't then let it be for the greater good. Amen." Clark crossed himself and laid in bed.

Clark didn't get to restful of a sleep that night. It was a lot of cat-napping during the night then came the moment when Claire woke him up, and at that moment any feelings of exhaustion were gone. Clark was now awake in many ways. He was ready to do whatever it took for them to have their lives back, and that mission for Clark began right then and there. As he started to leave the room he looked back at the bed, and he smiled. He remembered that first morning after "the night before." Granted, things were awkward for a while and there was a lot of looking at each other and trying not to blush. However, when Clark first opened his eyes and rolled over to see Claire next to him Clark smiled because Claire looked over and smiled at him. For a second it was pleasant, but then it was eyes wide open and both of them jumping out of bed screaming. Claire grabbed the top sheet and Clark grabbed the comforter as they attempted to cover themselves up. It looked like something out of a cheesy romantic comedy, but Clark looked back on it now with a smile. He was hoping by now that Claire…at least didn't feel disgusted by it.

Clark made his way downstairs and fixed himself a cup of coffee from the Keurig and added some ice with it. He didn't feel like waiting around for a long time and was determined to be Claire's equal in this mission, because now they both were on the same footing of wanting answers. That Clark also felt responsible for their situation. Clark fixed himself a bagel with cream cheese and had a banana as well. Once he was done eating Clark chugged his coffee like it was a bottle of water. Clark grabbed his back pack and he looked Claire and said, "All right let's go to Atlanta and get some more answers. You should be aware by now that they probably have their systems back online, so we need to watch ourselves." With that Clark slipped on his sunglasses and walked out the door. He sat on top of a silver mountain bike and took a couple of deep breaths. Once Claire was out there Clark was ready to go.

 

[Ashi]

The night Claire spent with Clark was arguably the farthest thing from her mind as she prepared to leave the beach house. That wasn't to say that it wasn't in her thoughts at all, but it held little of attention which was focused on the task at hand. The last thing she felt when she did think about it was disgust; and not just because a vast majority of any such available disgust was felt towards Randy. All the feelings she confided in him with, the nights she spent with him after losing Jamie, all of it made her cringe. There was a smidgen of loathing towards herself, mostly due to the fact that Claire felt Randy's lies should have been obvious to her. In her eyes it was as if she was so ignorant, she wouldn't have seen the truth if it hit her square in the face.

When breakfast was done, Claire quickly washed the dishes in the sink and put them away. It put off their departure by a little bit; although, it was a small gesture that Claire felt was only right since Nancy was so gracious in letting her stay there. Claire took the bags outside and secured them to the rack over the back wheel of the bike then went to lock the door of the house. She stood staring at the door, key in hand, poised over the lock. For a moment, it was as if time was holding its breath. The realization that she might never return to that house hit Claire with shocking force, enough to knock the wind from her lungs. Of course she realized also that it was only because of Jamie that she cared at all. She exhaled a shaky breath, locked the door, and replaced the key in its hiding spot.

"I figured as much. So hitchhiking is probably a bad idea. It's about thirty hours from here to Atlanta, two days of travel I figure. It'd probably be in our best interest to stop and camp out instead of trying to find a hotel." Claire said to Clark as she stepped down the stairs to get on her bike. "I know roughing it isn't ideal, but at least we're prepared for it." She shrugged her shoulders, kicked the bike stand up, and pushed off. The narrow roads of the little beach-side town were mostly empty, which eliminated the possibility of running into trouble just yet. Traffic was minimal on the highway, though if they stopped, Claire insisted on getting out of sight of the road.

The sun was past the middle of the sky before they stopped to eat. With trees on either side of the road, finding a place to prop the bikes up and sit for a while was easy enough. Hopefully this trend would continue, as the woods would be a wonderful cover to camp in when it came time to sleep. It would protect them from the air and on all sides. The only downside was having to sleep on the ground. Claire had only found one rolled-up sleeping bag at the beach house and no tents. They could always spread it out and sleep on it, but there were no blankets Claire felt comfortable taking. Thankfully, it was summer and not likely to be cold even at night.

 

[MST3K 4ever]

Clark was focused in on getting to Atlanta. There was a part of him that felt like he could make the trip by himself in one day, because there he and Claire might finally get some answers to what was going on. Randy left them a trail of breadcrumbs and they were following them. There was a part of him that was worried because Randy had shown that he couldn't be trusted. He was part of the Trust even if he was trying to take them down from within Randy was still involved with this. Not to mention he destroyed Claire's trust in him, and Randy wiped out Clark's chance of ever having normal life again. If he and Claire were lucky they could quietly fade from sight and spend their lives living on a sand bar in the Atlantic.

After Claire finished speaking Clark merely nodded and said, "Good call on avoiding hotels. As far as roughing it goes…" Clark shrugged his shoulders and said, "Hey, my idea used to be a Holiday Inn with basic cable. Now…" Clark shook his head and said, "Things have changed." Clark was in a different frame of mind. Clark kicked up his kickstand and with that they were on their way. Running had given Clark some well-developed leg muscles that were ideal for biking, and he was keeping up with Claire. Clark saw the cars pass them by, and he had no interest in wishing he was riding in them. Clark wanted to get to Atlanta and if Randy was there Clark didn't care if he was a Fed or not Clark was going to let him have it. Not only for what he did to Clark, but what he did to Claire that to Clark was the true crime in all of this.

The occasional breeze was very refreshing and Clark had easy access to his water bottle, but each time Claire suggested stopping there was a sense of it was a well-timed stop. Clark took some comfort in that his physical conditioning was equal to that of a Federal Officer. When they stopped to eat Clark sat under a shaded tree and ate some dried fruit with a few pretzel rods. He didn't say a word he barely even looked at Claire. It wasn't that he was angry with her or anything of that nature, but Randy started a slowly building rage within Clark that by the time they were in Atlanta it would be in a full crescendo. Clark realized though that he probably wouldn't get first crack at Randy. No, that pleasure would go to Claire and he didn't feel a shred of sympathy for him. Claire was still hurting over something more than what Randy did to her, but Clark had no idea what it was. Prying wasn't in his nature and if she wasn't going to share with him then Clark accepted her decision. He wasn't happy with it because they were all they had, and Clark was hoping she trusted him more than Randy.

Clark watched the birds flying overhead and he had always been fascinated with birds and their ability to fly and glide so effortlessly, but now he envied them. They had freedom to go wherever they wished they had their lives in front of them to do with as they wished. Clark and Claire didn't have that freedom anymore. There would just be leaping from one situation to another trying to avoid being caught, or in Claire's case killed The Trust already made it clear she was too dangerous to them.

Clark finally looked at Claire and he said, "We better get a move on. We got clouds coming in off of the shore. Which of course means rain is coming, and sadly by the looks of it we're gonna be in the middle of a thunderstorm." Clark walked past Claire, put his liter in a plastic bag in his backpack, and stood by his bike waiting for Claire. Clark had never felt this way in his life. So emotionally cold and seething towards another person, but there was a small part of him that was actually sad that felt like his humanity was slipping away from him.

 

[Ashi]

It took effort for Claire not to think about Randy. A long, quiet bike ride was the perfect opportunity for such and it was the last thing she felt she needed. She tried to keep focused on the practical aspects of the trip like the conditions of the road, traffic, the weather, and their supplies. Each time the two stopped to rest, Claire would take that time to look over the map. Unlike before, she actually ate rather than picking at the food. She had cigarettes then though, which had curbed her appetite; however, she had none now. That was undoubtedly a key factor in her anxious behavior. When she would feel stressed, Claire would smoke. Her craving was at an all-time high. If only she had just one.

"Hm?" At Clark's mention of the weather, Claire looked up from where the map was spread out on the ground. Indeed there were clouds rolling in from the east, and they were moving fast. Claire jumped up, folding the map and stuffing it in her bag along with what remained of her lunch. She rummaged through her bag for her jacket and threw it on before securing her pack on her person again. Then she picked up her bike from where it leaned against a tree and started for the road. "There's a camp ground a little further west. We might not beat the rain, but we could wait it out there. Either that or the next rest stop we come across. Either way, we're bound to run into other people." Claire explained, not particularly favoring either of their options. However they were the only options since they had no tent or other form of shelter. "At least at the camp ground there aren't likely to be any cameras."

As soon as the tires hit the road, Claire was pedaling hard. With every passing minute, the clouds were growing grayer and darker. On the side of the road was a green sign that indicated what was at the next exit and how far away it was. The camp wasn't even listed on it. The rain broke through before they got there. Claire pulled her hood low over her face to keep as much of the rain out of her eyes as she could. It wasn't so bad at first; although, as the wind picked up the sprinkles steadily became a downpour and visibility became limited. When they finally reached the road to the camp, Claire almost missed it as the sign was mostly hidden in the foliage. It was an uphill ride from there, luckily for them the road was paved rather than dirt or even gravel. Both might have made biking up impossible with the rain, which was no less despite the dense cover of trees.

There weren't as many people there as Claire initially thought there would be. Of course, the grounds were expansive and one could go anywhere within them to set up camp; they weren't limited to the common areas. Those she did see were getting in tents or going in the ranger station to get out of the rain. The picnic area, covered by a large pergola, was empty. Claire went directly to it, parking the bike up against one of the inner-most picnic tables where she took a seat. Thunder rumbled, a dim flash of lightning briefly lit the dark camp. Claire took off her jacket, hanging it over the bike. Even though she had it on, she still got decently drenched.

"Looks like we'll be here a while," She thought aloud in order to break the silence. "Maybe we ought to just settle in for the night?" The picnic area wasn't as private or isolated as Claire would have liked, but the woods was going to be soaked and there was no telling if more rain would come in over night. Then was it a good idea considering the ranger station was right there, not but yards away?

 

[MST3K 4ever]

When Claire mentioned the camp ground Clark merely nodded putting on a jacket and said, "Camp ground sounds good. Let's go." With that he was off keeping up with Claire as the clouds gathered around them. Clark knew that there were going to be obstacles in their way. With the exception of their dive into the ocean their time together had been nothing but obstacles and overcoming them to find a bigger one waiting for them. In this case though, they were aware of the potential ones and the two of them knew they could trust one another so they had that in their favor. Clark's mind began to wander a bit about Randy. Clark was not only angry at being set up by him, and for him setting up Claire as well, but he knew that things going wrong was a better than average chance. To count on just one other person to be responsible to stop a group like The Trust was an awful burden to place on anyone. That made Clark want to see Claire throttle Randy all the more.

The storm looked dangerous and powerful and it delivered on those appearances and more. The gradual sprinkles turned quickly into a downpour. Riding in it was starting to become dangerous. Dangerous to the point that more than once Clark could feel his feet slipping off of the pedals, and the tires were having trouble holding to the road. It came as a great relief to Clark when Claire pulled over to the picnic area. It wasn't four walls but at least it was somewhat enclosed and they weren't riding anymore, and Clark's legs were just short of feeling like Jell-O as he got off the bike. He wasn't sure how far they rode, but he was willing to guess they were at least half-way there. At least that's what Clark was hoping.

Clark heard Claire's rundown of their current status and said, "I agree with stopping for the night, but staying in here might not be a good idea either." Clark nodded towards the ranger station and said, "I'm willing to bet that they do nightly patrols and if they see us here that could lead to some very uncomfortable questions. Hiding out in the woods isn't much better with this storm. Lighting plus tress equals bad things." Clark knew that they had to settle for the night, and staying out in the open wasn't an option. Clark looked around and then a saw a sign. He said, "I think I might have an idea Claire. I'll be back."

Clark grabbed his flash light and did a little jog just past the sign, and staying to the woods as much as possible to avoid being spotted. Clark approached slowly a structure labeled, "The Whispering Pines Nature Museum." Once he saw that there no exterior cameras Clark tried the door. It opened up, but it was pitch black which meant no electricity in the building. Clark cut on his flashlight and there were several dusty displays and it smelled like the great outdoors, but Clark wasn't complaining as his feet walked on the concrete floor. Within the museum it showed various animals and plants within the camp ground area. From what Clark could tell no one had been in there for some time, and there were no signs of a nightly patrol through there. It wasn't perfect, but it was four walls in addition to a roof which was more than what they had at the picnic shelter.

Clark jogged back to Claire and said, "I think I found us shelter for the night. It's a museum display area. Four walls and a roof no electricity, but if nothing else it'll keep us out of the storm. There's enough room for the bikes in there too." Clark looked at his watch and said, "It's just after 9:30 now. We crash out there for now. Get up around 4:00 and get going before first light. Traffic won't be too much of an issue, and in theory they won't be doing patrols on the grounds so we can slip out as well."

Just then a violent flash of lighting shown followed by a clap of thunder that sounded like a cannon going off. Clark said, "I think we better get going Claire I'm afraid the storm is just going to get worse."

 

[Ashi]

The picnic area really wasn't a good place to stay for the night and Claire knew that all too well. It was too open, too public; there were no walls to protect them from the storm or other people. Claire glowered at the circumstances. If not for the storm, they would still be on their way south. If only they had checked the weather before they left the beach house. There was satellite television for crying out loud! They very well could have. "Why didn't I think of that?" Claire scolded herself for her thoughtlessness as Clark went to go investigate his hunch. She really was off her game and she had denied and ignored it so fervently that she almost believed she wasn't.

"Dumb luck strikes again?" Claire thought as Clark explained what he found. A nearby flash of lightning sizzled audibly before the subsequent rumble thunder. The storm was clearly not going to let up any time soon. "We should carry the bikes in. Tire tracks in the mud would stand out more than footprints. That way, it might not seem too obvious that someone was in there; and the bike tires won't be dirty enough to make a mess." Standing from the picnic table, Claire grabbed her things and picked up her bike. It wasn't easy to maneuver through the trees whilst carrying it, but it was worth not leaving a trail.

The inside of the museum was dark and dank, though thankfully not humid like it was outside despite the lack of proper ventilation. It smelled of the outdoors with a lingering sort of musk from the dusty exhibits. Claire reached for her flashlight, temporarily blinding herself when she turned it on. There was a great number of things that apparently didn't belong in there, hinting that the museum had become more of a storage shed. She found a place just out of view of the door to put her bike and dropped her things on the nearest open space on the floor. "Well, this is cozy." Claire joked grimly, kneeling to rummage through her things. With little regard to Clark's presence, she changed into some dry clothes and hung her wet ones to dry. Then, she spread the unzipped sleeping bag out on the floor and laid on one side of it.

"Try to get some sleep," Claire muttered as she turned off her flashlight. Morning, or at least the time to get moving, came too soon. It must have been at least seven hours; although, it felt like it had only been three at the most. She blinked groggily in the darkness, unaware of her surroundings at first. She was surprisingly comfortable and closed her eyes again, tempted back into sleep by the familiar feeling of another person's warmth. Then like a freight train it hit her who that warmth belonged to. Claire was right up against Clark. She rolled away in a panic, her cheeks burning with embarrassment. Well, why? Weren't they past that now? But if it wasn't that, what was it? Claire frowned and stood to stretch. Cautiously she poked her head out of the museum door to observe the conditions outside. The rain had stopped and the clouds had passed, as was evident from the view of the lightening sky. It couldn't be any later than five in the morning.

"It's my guess that we ought to be there by tonight or sometime tomorrow so long as we don't have anymore problems." Claire said at breakfast, which was about the only thing she said all morning. She could hardly make eye contact with Clark and it only exacerbated her frustration when she could make no sense of why. She made a point to stay ahead of him while riding so she could hide this.

 

[MST3K 4ever]

Up until all this began Clark's idea of roughing it was no cable or at a Holiday Inn. He was surprisingly getting used to this whole sleeping on the ground, or making due with what was around him and calling it good enough. Although, if he had to start eating bugs Clark was gonna have to draw the line. He hated bugs especially cockroaches, and he couldn't begin to imaging what they might taste like. In fact, the prospect of that almost made him physically ill. Just then as he realized Claire was almost up against him there was hardly any space between them. This feeling of comfort and familiarity made Clark feel warm, but then Claire rolled away quickly. This was enough to jolt Clark back into reality.

As they rode on Clark's frustration was palpable as Claire rode far enough ahead of him so he couldn't see her face, but close enough that if something happened she could help him. This was just the way it was before they got to know one another a little more, but then that damn video. It was that damn video that destroyed everything with them. Now Clark was regretting ever seeing that video. It destroyed every inch that Clark had clawed towards to get to know Claire. It wasn't a whole lot, but it was enough that he was seeing beyond her walls. Those walls were back up in place, and fortified.

The ride was relatively uneventful as they stayed to the back roads and kept their contact with other people to an absolute minimum. Night was falling and the wise thing would've been to stop for the night, but they were so close to the cabin the decision was made to push onward. It was just after 10pm when they finally came upon a gravel road with a single bar gate that even in the dark Clark could see there was cabin at the top of the hill. Clark looked at Claire and said, "Okay let's go." With that Clark pushed his bike, because at the moment his legs were just about done.

When they reached the Cabin Clark knew what to expect as he saw one single lamp lit near a chair through a window. He said with great anger in his voice, "Son of a bitch. He's alive!" Clark didn't even put his kickstand down as he dropped the bike and bolted right through the door. From the shadows a very familiar voice said, "It's about damn time you all got here." Clark said, "Randy! You miserable son of a bitch! You caused all this!" As he started to charge towards him Randy hit Clark with the butt end of a 9mm which sent him spiraling to the floor. Randy stood over him and asked, "Now do you want to settle down, and let me explain? Or do I need to hit you upside the head and take you two in for the five million on your heads?"

Clark tried to push himself up, but couldn't all he could do was roll over as he saw a small pool of blood on the floor from his cheek where Randy hit him. Clark knew what Randy was talking about but he wanted to hear it from him. He asked, "What are you talking about?"

Randy walked over to the end table with the lamp. He tossed a newspaper at Clark and said, "My guess is that you two have been laying low, and it's been a wise decision." There it was in a black and white Clark and Claire's pictures splattered over the front page. Clark was right early on in that they were being sought for the murder of his cousin Greg in North Carolina. Clark scanned over the paper and Kilmont kept her word as he read. She made Greg into a Saint and Clark and Claire into the worst criminals since Bonnie & Clyde.

Randy looked at Claire and said, "Hello Claire. You probably wish I was dead right now, but before you take any action against me I need to explain myself." He helped Clark to the couch and motioned for Claire to sit next to him. He said, "I chose you because like I said on the video you wouldn't let this go, and like I said I had good intentions. I realize I have destroyed your lives, and I wish I could say I was sorry, but now that you know what you're up against I like to believe that you see it's for the greater good. You two are all that stands between The Trust and Worldwide Rule."

He walked over to a lap top and cut on a power point presentation that showed a map of the U-S. Randy said, "When I'm done you both will understand what needs to be done." Randy said, "I've planted pieces of evidence throughout the U-S. It's up to you two to get them so you not only take out The Trust, but more importantly you will clear your names." The map showed where randy had planted his evidence and he said, "It has to be done before Kilmont accepts the nomination of her party which is in about two weeks. If she accepts the nomination, it's all over for everyone and they win." Randy said, "Now for the first part of this Claire you have to do one thing you never thought you'd have to do." Randy put the gun in front of her and said, "They find me they'll learn everything. I got lime in the cellar to dissolve my remains, but you two have to do this. In the cellar is also several items that will help you all along the way. Cell phones, lap tops, cash, everything you need to pull this off." Randy steadied himself and said, "You need to do this Claire. They don't know where I am but I can't take the chance that they might eventually find me. It's the only way."

 

[Ashi]

The remainder of the ride to Atlanta seemed a lot longer than the first part, perhaps due to the fact that tensions were high between Claire and Clark. It was none of his creation or blame, most if not all of the negative thoughts and emotions tossing Claire like a ship on stormy seas was due to Randy. It was safe to say that everything, all of the events leading up to that point, was Randy's fault. In fact, it really kind of was. If not for him, Claire would still be in Washington working for the FBI and Clark would be safe in Pittsburgh. If Randy hadn't gone meddling in the dangerous affairs of an organization like the Trust, everything would still be normal. But wait. If not for him, Claire wouldn't have reconnected with her brother; she wouldn't have met Clark. If not for the Trust, she wouldn't be doing the kind of work she wanted to in the first place.

"Who's to blame then?" Claire wondered. Soon enough, they came upon the gate that blocked the gravel drive of the cabin. The road led up a hill, atop which the cabin could be seen. Claire dismounted her bike and pushed the gate open. It easily gave way, apparently unlocked, and allowed she and Clark to push their bikes up the hill. As they neared the top, a light could be seen in the window. It lit the silhouette of a chair and what Claire thought might have been Randy himself. Claire propped her bike up against the porch railing and was hanging her backpack on the handlebars when Clark charged into the cabin.

"Clark! Wait! Don't!" She dropped the backpack and dashed up the steps after him, making it just inside the doorway when Clark tried to take a shot at Randy. Randy hit Clark with the butt of his gun, sending him to the floor. Claire stepped between her ex-partner and where Clark lay in front of him. The look in her eyes was one Randy had seen many times before, one he ought to know very well. When he made no move towards Clark except to help him up, she took a step back. "And why exactly should I let you explain? After all you've done?" She growled through clenched teeth. She made no move to sit down. Rather she crossed her arms over her chest and paced the small space in front of the sofa.

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions." Claire interrupted hotly. "You.. realize? How long did it take for you to come to that realization, Randy? You didn't consider the potential consequences of your actions before ruining our lives?!" She nearly yelled, her voice faltering in the middle causing her to lower her voice. She turned her back to the both of them briefly, shoulders visibly shaking. "How exactly do you expect us to do that when we're wanted fugitives you stupid ass?! We'd need a car with damn good gas mileage to get all of that in such little time. Better yet, how about a plane? You got a plane on hand, Randy?!" Claire was clearly about to flip her shit. Randy's next statement pushed her over that edge.

"You want me to..?" The words were hardly more than a whisper as Randy placed his gun in her hand. She brought her arm back as far as she could and slapped Randy as hard as she could. "How dare you ask me that! After all you've already put me through, you have the audacity to put that burden on me!? And what about Jamie? Have you forgotten what you promised?! Or did it mean anything to you?" Claire slapped Randy a couple more times before he grasped her wrist to stop her. His grip wasn't forceful though for Claire easily pulled her arm away.

"Of course it meant something to me. Did you forget that James and I were friends, too?" Randy challenged, to which Claire scoffed and averted her gaze. "But.. that promise.. I kept it, Claire." Claire's gaze immediately snapped back to meet Randy's. His eyes were serious, and if Claire didn't know any better, she might have guessed he looked a little sad. "You know?" She asked with a shaky breath. Randy nodded slowly and put his hand on hers, the one holding the gun. "But you need to do this." He repeated. Claire's lips trembled and tears blurred her vision. Randy placed his hands on her shoulders in a gesture of confidence and leaned down to whisper in her ear. Claire's eyes widened in a mix of anger and convincing horror as Randy drew back, arms dropping by his sides. There was a moment of silence between them as they communicated through stares.

"Let's go down." He said, turning to lead the way to the cellar. Claire looked down at the gun then to her feet, an expression of unwilling resignation washing over her. She followed him down the stairs into the dimly-lit cellar. About the middle of the room, he turned to face her. Again there was a moment of seeming telepathy. Switching the gun to her left hand, she placed the barrel to his right temple. She drew in a sharp breath, and in an instant the cellar was filled with the sound of gunfire echoing off the stone walls. Randy dropped to the floor, a puddle of blood forming from the missing chunk of the left side of his head. Claire used her shirt to wipe the gun, and careful not to touch it directly, placed it in Randy's hand and closed his fingers around it. She dumped the lime over him and started gathering up the supplies.

"Be sure to wipe anything you may have touched, so we don't leave prints." Claire muttered to Clark as she started for the door. She made a point to do the same before taking the stuff outside to pack into her bags. She didn't quite finish packing before the tears started to flow and she could no longer hold back her sobs. The walls crumbled.

 

[MST3K 4ever]

Seeing Claire deal with this situation on a whole different level was something Clark was ready for. Clark was ready to plunge head long into it while Claire was playing it cool in her own way. At the moment with blood seeping slowly out of his face Clark wasn't in much of a position to argue with Claire's way. However, seeing her now going through the emotional contortions of what was playing out was something Clark was wishing he could spare Claire. She was being tasked with killing someone that she at one point was prepared to take a bullet for if she had to. Not to mention that she had a point about how were they supposed to stop Kilmont and her organization when they were now on the run from the law? The whole thing was making Clark's head hurt even worse than he thought possible.

He watched Randy and Claire's silent exchange and in some ways Clark wanted to know what was going on, because it seemed that was at the heart of whatever it was that was giving Claire so much grief and throwing her off of her game. If Clark had the energy, and somewhere else he could go, Clark would've left the room. At the moment though, he had didn't have the energy and there was a part of him that told him Claire was on the edge and he needed to be there if she fell. Whatever was going on had something to do with someone named James and a promise. Clark could take a guess as to what it all added up to, but felt it best to let that dog sleep. Now was not the time for him to play amateur psychologist. The look Claire's face was one of pain and Clark knew it was only a matter of time before the dam busted.

Following Claire and Randy into the cellar Clark felt like he was in a Quentin Tarrantino movie. He had the sickening feeling in his stomach of what was going to happen, but he held out a small part of hope that there might be some sort of way out of this. In the cold light of reality Clark knew though that this was the only way for it to happen. He stood on the stairs and took a couple of deep breaths as he watched Claire put the gun to his temple. Clark felt his mouth open slowly and he started to shake his head. He was going to say something but the sound of gunfire made him flinch and left a ringing in his ears that would be there for the rest of his life. Clark had seen a lot of things in his day, but seeing someone be executed in cold blood wasn't something one can readily be prepared for.

Clark heard Claire's orders and merely nodded. As he began to take things outside he saw the walls crumble. Clark didn't even care if what he dropped was breakable or not. He immediately ran over to embrace Claire. Clark didn't care if this was what she wanted or not, but the bottom line for him was she was in Hell and he needed to make sure that she knew that she wasn't alone there. Clark was suffering as well. His parents now were under the impression that not only was their son a killer, but he killed a family member in cold blood according to the papers. He was on the run, and there was really no going back to his former life even if they made it out of this alive.

Clark just held Claire for who knows how long. He said, "Don't worry about tonight. We'll leave when we're ready. Remember this place doesn't exist otherwise The Trust would've been here waiting for us. Right now we are in no condition to leave here. We're done emotionally and physically" Clark still holding onto Claire said, "We need to plan first off and figure things out that's not going to happen quickly. If you look in the house Randy stocked it up with plenty of supplies, because he knew we would need a place to lay low for a while." Clark was hoping that his words were making sense to Claire and not making things worse, but at the moment Claire was in no condition to think so Clark had to do it for both of them.

Clark led Claire back into the house and led her to couch. He made sure she sat down, brought everything back into the house, and then made a cup of tea for both of them. Clark gave her one of the cups of tea and said, "We both could use a moment or two to gather our thoughts and try to put things together. However, all that can wait. Right now we just need to be here." Clark sat on the couch next to her and he knew that he was on dangerous ground, but for the sake of survival he needed to know what was going on. He said, "We're it Claire. We're all each other has now. Please talk to me. What happened Claire? If you're going to ask me to trust you then I need to know that you trust me and we're not just trying to survive without getting in each other's way."

 

[Ashi]

At any other time, Claire would have undoubtedly pushed Clark away. She didn't like to show weakness; she never had. Even growing up she was the same way, playing down her emotions until she couldn't hold them anymore. Then when she couldn't, she usually did so by herself and got more upset if anyone witnessed it. Attempts at comfort were most often rejected; there were few moments like this and that Claire let Clark in at all at that moment spoke volumes. Perhaps more surprisingly, she returned his embrace and buried her face in his shoulder. Amongst the anger and sadness there was guilt. Claire knew she wasn't the only one who was suffering; Clark had it just as hard. With the news of his glorified asshole of a cousin in the paper, his family probably hated him. Even if they cleared their names, his family may not accept him back. On top of that, he just witnessed the execution of a man. That wasn't an image he would ever forget.

Though she said nothing, Claire knew Clark had a point. If the Trust knew about the cabin, they would have been there already, waiting for them. Randy might have already been dead. He'd stocked the place up well, undoubtedly having known that Clark and Claire would need time to plan, and made it the perfect disaster hideout. The only thing that made it imperfect was Randy's quickly-deteriorating corpse in the cellar. She sat down on the couch, gathering her composure while Clark made tea. With a soft "thanks" she took the tea and sipped it, feeling at least a little soothed by it.

"I know.. and I'm sorry. I'm not the only one having problems, here. I just.. I never wanted it to be this way." Claire spoke after a brief silence. "Of course I was pissed and hurt and I wanted to kick Randy's ass, but he was still my partner. I didn't want him dead." She said in a low voice, not trusting it not waver and crack. Clark's words caused her to wince. Keeping secrets was in her nature, it was in her job description; it wasn't meant to hurt anyone, but it seemed to hurt him. "It's not like that," Claire shook her head, "it never was. It just, what happened wasn't relevant until Randy told me what he did." She stared into the tea, observing her blurred reflection on its golden surface. "You may have read in the papers about a young Washington ADA. being murdered in his own home. His name was James Holland. It was about the time Randy and I started working together that I met him. He was prosecuting one of our first cases and I was going to have to take the stand in court, so we met to go over trial details. Six months later, we were engaged." Claire couldn't help an embarrassed smile.

"Back at the gas station, your cousin mentioned the Black Tiger Human Trafficking ring. That wasn't mine or Randy's case, but Jamie was the one who took the ringmasters to court. Jamie and I had been engaged for nine months at that point and there were three months left before the wedding. I was living with him at his place; I'd sold mine. I got home and found him dying, shot multiple times, on the kitchen floor. I called for EMS, but by time help arrived, he'd died. Randy promised me he'd help me find out who did it, but the case went cold only a few months later. I investigated every case Jamie tried around the time of his death, thinking maybe it was a revenge killing or something by someone he sent to prison. But what Randy said...what he found out.. he said it was Kilmont's order. He'd been onto something with the Black Tiger case and was going to do a further investigation. He would have eventually outed her for who she really is." Claire's brow furrowed and her hands shook. She gritted her teeth. "I know I've said it before but, when the time comes, I'm going to kill her. I'm sorry for being selfish Clark, but I want it to be by my own hand." Claire looked at Clark, determination in her eyes.

"I won't have her take you away, too."

 

[MST3K 4ever]

When Clark was learning how to drive his first car it was a 2001 Neon. It was used, with a sizable dent in its passenger side door, over 150,000 miles on it, and in order to get the radio to work you had to cut on the headlights. To Clark though it was a Ferrari he was one of the first guys in his small group of friends who had a car, but there was a catch to it. It was a standard and his father told him he two days to learn how to drive it or it was gone. Until then Clark only had his license for a few days and he barely passed the test. His older brother Mitch took him out to the Football Field parking lot and explained to him everything about driving a standard. Clark listened with laser like focus and remembered every detail right down to what color shoes he was wearing. Clark mastered his driving of a standard within an hour. In this case though Clark made that time look like he was suffering from ADHD as Claire told him everything about Jamie, Randy, and he finding Jamie on the floor. Clark was so focused he wasn't sure he was even breathing at the time. He was seeing Claire Bennett really for the first time. Not Agent Bennett or someone who like to cut loose while screaming the songs of The Eagles, but the real Claire and he never felt so honored to be with another person in his life.

Claire finished speaking and Clark took a sip from his tea finally. It was lukewarm at the moment, but he didn't care. Clark put the tea down and began to pace very slowly. His mind raced so many different things. Claire was not just talking about murdering anyone this was the Vice President. The woman who, according to the polls, wasn't just going to win she was going to humiliate her opponent. Randy had left them all kinds of clues to take Kilmont down, but there was nothing that could clear them of Greg's murder. That fix was in and there was nothing short of a confession by Kilmont that would exonerate them. His whole world was now blowing up and Clark's mind was one endless loop of impossible questions and no win situations on top of another.

Finally, after pacing for a few moments in silence Clark sat back down. He took Claire's hands in his and Clark was not shocked in the least by the words that came out of his mouth. He said, "All right let's send that bitch straight to Hell." Clark looked down and then back to Claire as he said, "You're not the only who's life she has screwed with. Remember she was ready to destroy my mind and leave me for dead. Not to mention she tried to kill you three times." Clark shook his head and said, "You really are all I got left in this world. Even if by some miracle we survive this and clear our names my family will never look at me the same ever again. The endless questions about what really happened and all that shit. I see this ending only one of two ways we both end up dead and Kilmont with us, or we succeed and end up having to fake our own deaths." Clark thought for a moment and then continued, "Kilmont is smart. Whatever Randy has in terms of evidence you can bet she either knows how to counter it, or she has four or five sub-ordinates ready to take the fall for her. Killing her outright might be the only option on the table." The more he said kill her or thought of it the more it felt natural to Clark, and that was actually starting to scare Clark on some level. Clark looked at the ground as he gathered his thoughts and asked, "So what do we do Claire? Try to assassinate outright? Or try to gather the evidence and hope that maybe it'll be enough to derail their plans?"

He looked Claire in the eyes and said, "Regardless whatever we choose to do, I am with you all the way and I will not fail you I swear it." He pulled Claire close to him and said, "We have so much to decide and so much to do, but right at this moment. I just want to stay with you right here and right now." Clark wasn't sure why he was holding onto Claire at the moment they were either planning an assassination or possibly committing a high crime, but maybe it was Clark still needed to feel a connection with someone on a human level. That yes though he was starting to become edgier and cynical Clark at his core was still capable of needing a connection.

 

[Ashi]

Clark's words didn't really shock Claire much either; rather, she was surprised that she felt they were justified. In all of her blind rage towards Kilmont, Claire had almost forgotten that what she and Clark were plotting to do. They weren't conspiring to murder just anyone; this was the Vice President they were talking about. Murder was a heinous crime, no matter what degree was committed; and in court, this would be considered not only a highly premeditated act but a treasonous one as well. It went against everything Claire believed in and stood for as a Federal agent and this realization made the situation all the worse. How could she justify killing Kilmont despite all the innocent blood on the woman's hands? Claire had blood on her hands, too, because of her. She'd killed Kilmont's men, very nearly killed Clark's cousin, and she'd just killed her now-former partner. Despite all of that, Claire's first thought at Clark's words had been, "I can hardly wait to put a bullet between that bitch's eyes." It made her tremble with a very real fear. Claire steadied when Clark took her hands and looked up at him.

"I know and I'm sorry; I don't mean to be selfish." Claire averted her gaze for a moment. "You know, up until now I thought that one of us could still come out of this. Sure things wouldn't be like they were before, but we'd be able to move on from this one way or another. Between the two of us, that was you. But now, whatever chance we had at normal is gone. We won't be able to live even remotely normal lives; we'll always have Kilmont and the Trust hanging over our heads - even when they're long gone. The only option...is to disappear." She sighed. Between the two of them, Claire had not only the means, but the motive that would sell a case like this in court. She was prime to take the fall for Kilmont's death and she would have done it too if it would help Clark. Clark was right though, Kilmont was smart and would undoubtedly pose obstacles at every turn. They would end up having to fake their own deaths, else she would haunt them forever.

Claire started to think of a plan as Clark pulled her close; however, brushed it aside. There was so much to think about and go over, and after the day they'd had, they deserved time to just be. Claire rested her head on Clark's chest, wrapping her arms around him. "Let's worry about that tomorrow." She said softly and closed her eyes. There were still things that she felt she needed to tell Clark, like the brief fling she had with Randy subsequent to Jamie's death; but none of them seemed very important at that moment. Nothing really seemed important in that instant, as everything became warm and hazy. "Tomorrow," Claire murmured, stifling a yawn. The day's exhaustion caught up with her all at once in the comfort of Clark's embrace; on top of that, the couch was comfy.

Claire must have dozed off as she woke to the darkness of the cabin before dawn. She blinked, unable to see; however, she could tell she was still on the sofa. She felt the weight of Clark's arm over her shoulders before she remembered he was there with her. Smiling, she settled and closed her eyes, wondering why she'd even woken up in the first place. Then, there was a sound. Her blue eyes shot open and she scanned the darkness despite not being able to see even Clark right in front of her. For a moment, there was only silence and Clark's steady rhythmic breathing; then it came again, a sort of distant thump followed by some sort of ambiguous muffled noise. Claire's brow furrowed and she slid off the sofa, careful not to disturb Clark.

As slowly and stealthily as she could, Claire stalked in the direction of the strange sound. In the dark, she tripped and ran into the table by the sofa, resulting in a decent thud. It didn't occur to her to wonder why that didn't wake Clark or why she didn't simply turn on the lamp. Somewhere deep down, she supposed he was just as exhausted as she. Claire managed to feel her way to the kitchen, just outside of which was the cellar door. The noise was louder there, clearly coming from the other side of the door. Claire started to reach around the corner to turn on the kitchen light when there was a significantly louder noise just on the other side of the door. It almost sounded like something hit the door, though it didn't jar in its frame.

"Hello?" She called, not really knowing why. It made no sense to call out when surely there was no one down there, at least no one alive. But then.. No, no it couldn't be. It wasn't possible. Claire shook her head, grasped the door handle, and slowly opened the door little by little. "R-Randy?" The stairwell going down into the cellar was empty as far as she could see. It was surprising that she could see at all really. Claire let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding, which instantly became a shriek. A bloody hand thrust from the darkness just past the third step down, slamming onto the top step. From the darkness, with the sound of a heavy weight being dragged, came a bloody face. "Randy!?" Claire kicked his face, sending him tumbling back down the stairs, and bolted back into the living room. "Clark! We have to go! Now!" She turned on the lamp, plunging the room in the dim yellow glow. Horror struck her as she saw not Clark laying on the sofa, but Kilmont. The woman smiled and patted the place on the sofa next to her. "Won't you come back to bed?" She cooed. On the floor beside the table was a lifeless Clark.

Claire woke with a jolt as she rolled off the sofa onto the floor. She looked around frantically, the cabin bathed in the pale light of the early morning. She forked her fingers through her hair, which hung messily in her face, and heave a shaky sigh of relief. It was just a dream, albeit a truly nightmarish one. She stood from the floor, aching where she hit the coffee table on the way down, and sauntered into the kitchen. Despite it being only a dream, Claire's nerves were shot. There would be no calming down so long as she was there; it was the beach house all over again. Without fail, Claire defaulted to her typical stress relief. The urge for a smoke washed over her with significant force and Claire started rummaging through cabinets and drawers for anything she could use as a substitute for cigarettes. She remembered that Colt rolled his own smokes once with things he found in the kitchen. Alas, it seemed she wouldn't have to resort to that. In a drawer was a pack of cigarettes and a lighter with a note, bound by a rubber band. Randy really did think of everything. She freed the note first and opened it to reveal in Randy's cat scratch handwriting: "You quit yet?"

"Tch!" Claire crumpled the note and threw it across the room. For a moment, she paused, as if considering those words. Then she scoffed, removed a cigarette from the box, and headed for the front door. "The fuck I'll quit!" She muttered, lighting the smoke as she sat on the porch steps.

 

[MST3K 4ever]

Considering the task that laid before them Clark actually fell asleep quite quickly. The feeling of holding onto Claire and her falling asleep against him made Clark feel like a chapter in his life was drawing to a close as he drifted off to sleep with each breath he took. He was a bit nervous, but he and Claire had already beaten the odds on so many levels and they had an endgame in sight. Granted, that endgame involved murdering the Vice President and severing all ties with everything that was familiar and safe to him, but Clark was strangely at peace with that because of Claire. Yes, he was in love with her but the feeling of having another person understanding what he was going through made Clark feel not really relaxed, but more at peace with what was going on and that he wasn't alone. Since what they had laying ahead of them that wasn't an easy feeling for one to have.

As he drifted off to sleep he pulled Claire a little closer. Once he was asleep Clark opened his eyes and saw that he was back in the gas station. Did he just dream the whole thing? Was the stress of seeing a family member, a jerk yes but a family member nonetheless, being abused cause him to black out? Clark looked around and saw Randy standing there. Clark asked, "What the hell is going on here? Where's Claire?"

Randy chuckled and replied, "Settle down kid don't make me crank you in the jaw again."

Clark said, "Again? I'm dreaming. Good time to wake up, because you're dead and I'm alive."

Randy nodded and replied, "Yeah you are, however kid you need to realize something Claire is trained to do what she needs to do to take care of this. You're not, you got instincts in you that you've tried to avoid for the sake of being a computer geek. Bottom line Clark, you need to embrace your instincts and you need to get Claire close to where you are in terms of a computer. The reason for all that is simple there will be times you both will have to rely on the other to do each other's jobs. The Trust is counting on you all to follow a rule book of 'I do this, she does that.' Time to throw that book away Clark. Time for you two to become a well contoured and organized machine."

Clark asked, "Given the situation and our time limit do you think that's possible?"

Randy shrugged his shoulders and replied, "That's up to you two. I know you love her kid, and she has feelings for you too, but now is not the time to dwell on them. You both have a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it. Take care of business kid and let the rest fall into place."

Clark woke up and noticed that not only was it day light, but Claire was gone. He bolted upright but then saw a few wisps of smoke rising up from the porch. Normally Clark would warn Claire about smoking and all that, but at the moment he knew Claire was under a lot and this was her way of dealing with this. In some ways Clark was ready to join her.

Walking around the cabin Clark realized that this was where Randy made his video. Which meant Randy not only had internet access but to run his site he had a secured server. Clark walked over to where Randy sat and looked around. On the bookshelf the books were dusty and well read. All but the copy of a Brave New World it was fairly recent. It had some markings on it to make it look older, but Clark realized those were planted there. He pulled out the book and noticed that one of the pages was slightly dog-eared. Clark opened it up and the page had a scrap piece of paper in the spine. The paper read, "Cellar-3-4 vintage 1986." With that the paper disintegrated in a bright flash. It was flash paper designed to go up once it made contact with the air.

Clark made his way to the cellar. Randy's body was more than halfway decomposed, and the lime was covering the smell, but this time tomorrow Randy would be a memory in this cellar. Clark stopped for a moment as he remembered what had happened not too long ago. It would be years before he forgot about this chapter in his life. Clark walked over to the wine rack and counted three rows up and four bottles across where he found the bottle. On the side was written. Username: Bennett Password: Sylvia.

Carrying the wine bottle back upstairs Clark sat at the desk with a laptop. He cut it on and entered the information. Once he was into the system Clark read through the system directory, programs, and the files. Clark was pretty impressed with the set up Randy had. The laptop would prove to be useful on many levels for them.

Claire was still sitting on the porch as Clark joined her. He told her about the dream he had and the laptop he found. Clark said, "We're gonna have to train one another so that we can be that much more effective as team. Maybe along the way you can teach me a few new things about the computer, and maybe I can…" He shrugged his shoulders and said, "Not shoot myself in the foot." Looking back to Claire Clark said, "Face it Claire, we're about to enter the looking glass where white is black and black is white. The only way we're gonna survive is thinking outside the box and relying on each other." Clark took a deep breath and said, "Our planning and training starts today, but first…" He smiled and said, "I could use a decent breakfast. You finish your cig I'll get started on it. Blueberry pancakes are my specialty."

Clark left the porch and went into the kitchen where he began making breakfast.

 

[Ashi]

"Morning," Claire said around her cigarette as Clark stepped out of the cabin. She didn't even turn to look back at him; she didn't need to look back to know it was him. Who else could it be? "Certainly not Randy." She mused grimly to herself with a roll of her eyes. In the time she'd been sitting on the porch alone, her dream had replayed countless times in her head. Claire found herself picking apart even the most minute details, which she recalled with a strange vividness, searching for hidden meanings. It was typical for her to forget the dreams that freaked her out like that; usually within minutes of waking, most of the dream would be but a blur. Clark told her about the dream he had, which she found kind of odd and coincidental.

"At least your dream taught you something... I slept with Kilmont." Claire said of her own dream with a shake of her head, "But that's not relevant. Randy - er - well, your dream is right. We need to become a better, more efficient team. Right now, Kilmont expects us to play certain roles. If we learn and play each other's parts well enough, we'll have the advantage of surprise. Or, at least, she won't know quite what to expect; and we'll both be prepared for a wider range of situations." She flicked the ashes on the end of the cigarette onto the gravel and stomped them with her boot. "I know enough about computers to find issues and fix them and to be able to do my work, but all that hacking and programming stuff? That's a whole different ballgame." Claire was silent for a moment and watched Clark out of the corner of her eye. Then with a teasing smile she said before he went inside, "Don't worry. I'll make a proper agent out of you yet."

Heaving a sigh, Claire took the last few puffs from her cigarette before tossing the butt on the ground. Clark must not have noticed the small pile of ashes and butts. That last one was the fifth, a fourth of the pack was gone. Claire grimaced, thoroughly disappointed in herself. "Okay, asshole, you win. Once this is all over, I'll quit for good." She said as she stood, looking up into the cloudless blue sky and stuffing the pack into her back pocket. Claire strode into the kitchen to help with breakfast and make coffee. What didn't go on the table went into the fridge for later or, as she put it, for the road since they weren't sure when they would be able to eat like that again. The pancakes were like none Claire had tasted before, better than Jamie's she dared to say.

"Don't worry about cleaning up. If you need to change, best do it now. We have a lot of work ahead of us." Claire said, taking care of the dishes herself. She too changed afterward into a t-shirt and a pair of Randy's sweatpants that she stole from his things. Once Clark was ready, Claire led him outside to the grassy field beyond the gravel lot. "The grass will be much softer than the floor, not to mention we have more space out here." Claire kicked off her shoes and began to stretch. "You might want to loosen up a little. Unrealistic in the face of battle, but otherwise you might be sore."

"We'll work on your form first, defense second, offense third, and spar last. Don't be afraid of hurting me or getting hurt. Getting punched in the face and flipped a couple of times is what comes with training. Any questions?" There was almost a sing-song tone to Claire's voice, one that said she might enjoy this just a little too much. Claire was a fairly patient teacher; although, she wouldn't tolerate any talk of giving up. She didn't go as hard on Clark as she would have if he'd had more experience, but she didn't really go easy on him either. She kicked and threw punches, expecting him to block them or to turn it against her and throw her on the ground. She taught him how to flip someone with his being the example first however unfortunately. The sun was high in the sky before they quit; it was sometime late in the afternoon. Claire swiped some sweat from her brow with her arm, which didn't do much good since she was sweaty all over.

"I think a session a day if we can manage would be good, so you can keep building technique. We can work on guns too unless you think you're proficient enough with that, then we can skip straight to my lesson.. computers." Claire tried to keep the skepticism from her voice; however, she didn't quite manage. There was a lot more to learn about computers than there was to learn about fighting. What if she didn't understand any of it or couldn't remember when push came to shove? She didn't voice this concern though it was probably obvious.

 

[MST3K 4ever]

The sparring session with Claire went better than Clark anticipated. Yeah there were some struggles at times with getting used to throwing a punch properly. Clark learned had he made contact with someone the way he was used to it he probably would've broken his hand in at least two places. Claire taught him to see beyond what he was hitting and to visualize what the punch was doing to the victim. Clark was actually feeling pretty good about things until the flipping lessons. More than once Clark was convinced that Claire was enjoying it a bit too much. Especially when the last one she smirked and did a slow head shake. Clark told her that working on firearms wouldn't be a bad idea. Though he was semi-competent in his ability he needed to know that he could be counted on in the clutch. They were entering a time where indecision and panicking could get one or both killed, and then all the running and planning that they had done would be all in vain. He said, "Yeah, I like the idea of keeping things fluid moving forward. Besides we're not going up against rent-a-cops or dumb hicks. These people are trained psychos."

Once they were done and they gotten cleaned up Clark set up adjoining laptops on a desk. He could tell that much like him with the tactics training Claire had some apprehension and nervousness. As they sat down Clark looked over at Claire and said, "Okay first off I need to do this." He reached over and took the covers off of both laptops and said, "Notice there is nothing in here that will hurt us. This thing is a tool for us to use it's like any of the other thousands and thousands of computers in the world." Clark shook his head and said, "No big deal." As he put the covers back on he said, "You're a smart woman Claire. You'll pick this up easily I've got no doubt about that." Once he was done Clark had her open up a browser and he said, "Okay the first thing I'm going to do is teach you the art of hacking." Clark shrugged his shoulders and said, "The trick is to know whom you are hacking and why. If you're doing it just for the sake of doing you're gonna make stupid mistakes and that leads to one getting caught." He directed her to enter the local newspaper in the browser. Once it was up on his as well Clark said, "First off, Randy was smart as well his Wi-Fi is encrypted however I added a modification myself this morning. Anyone traces this signal it'll lead them to Oakland, California. As far away from us as possible and in a large city with millions of signals. It'll be weeks before they untangle the web." With that Clark had Claire enter in the classified page. He said, "We can't do anything that'll be obvious hacks that'll draw the Trust's attention to us like a bank, airlines, or major media outlets. Something small and out of the way like this." Clark then had Claire follow his lead as he showed her how to break down a security wall with an algorithm and said, "It doesn't work on everything but it works on most, because their computer server isn't as sophisticated as most others. Now to enter in something like…" Clark nodded and said, "Got it. We are going to sell a cuckoo clock." Clark stood behind Claire and said, "Okay think of the clock and describe it. We're going to enter in a name and address from the phone book." Clark pulled out a phone book and gave Claire a random name and number then stood behind her. Once she was done Clark told her, "Okay assuming we did everything right it'll be in tomorrow's edition. They won't question it, because hey it's in the computer. It's something mundane it's not going to raise any red flags." Clark sat next to Claire and said, "You know some of the basics Claire it's just a matter of learning the language for you, and as we've noted time and again you're a smart woman. You will have this down quicker than I'll have mine down."

Clark walked over to the easy chair and sat down. He looked at the clock and saw that the day was just about done. Clark said, "We Miss Bennett have had one helluva long day. We pushed ourselves physically and mentally it's time to just catch our breaths. I would say let's go out and do something, but in a small town like this we'd stand out, and we can't take any chances." He leaned his head back and said, "Randy's got enough booze here to open a store, but knowing our luck we get bombed just in time for The Trust to break in the doors." Clark shook his head and said, "Somehow I just don't see them joining us in a drink, or them waiting for us to sober up to kick their asses." Clark looked over at Claire and said, "Do you have any ideas at this moment Miss Bennett?" He gave her a smile that wasn't flirtatious or mischievous, but one that was of warmth and just wanting to relax.