Chapter 4

"You're moving me tonight, aren't you?" Jewel asked, leaning against the wall of her cell.

Stark came closer to the outer glass wall. He never could get used to how she always seemed to know what he was thinking.

"We have a special guest coming in tomorrow and I can't have him knowing about you. We don't know who we can trust. So, you'll be spending a couple days in the smart house."

"And you think that things will be relatively calm, because that's what you want during this visit. So, my dad will be working his regular shift, then home to spend time with me. Supervised of course because, according to you, I am the country's most valuable asset next to the Intersect," Jewel said.

"I never said anything about an Intersect," Stark said.

"Didn't have to. It told me," she replied. "So, when am I going to my dad's place, and does he know I'll be there?"

"You're going right now. We'll take you there in a cab. It won't be suspicious."

~***~***~

"No. Nope. Nope. Oh, my God, no," Jo said as she marked all of the wrong answers on a weapons' test. "Carter, the XJ-55 assault cannon uses a 30-round magazine? On what planet?"

"Less commentary. More addition. My kid's coming home for the day. What's my score so I can get outta here?" Carter said in excitement.

"Fifty-three percent," Jo replied.

"Yeah! Third time's a charm."

"Third time's the 'F', again. No advanced weaponry for you."

Carter had to know every gun in the hidden rack. To Jo, it seemed like Carter felt he should've had special treatment since he was the Sheriff.

"I see what's going on here. You feel you were passed over when they brought me in as Sheriff."

"And yet, I aced the exam the first time."

"Jo, it's not a contest. I was assigned here by Washington. The same Washington that decided my daughter is to be studied like a scientific anomaly for the rest of her life. If you have an issue, like I do, take it up with them. And give me the remote."

Jo wasn't about to give him the remote to the gun rack until he passed the exam.

"It's regulation, Carter."

"Okay, Jo. I'm the sheriff, which means I need your trust, I need your respect, and most importantly, I need the remote to the freaking gun rack!"

"Really, Dad. You can't enforce the rules if you're not willing to follow them first," Jewel said from behind Carter, causing him to jump out of his skin.

"Better hit the books," Jo chuckled. "And you," she said to Jewel. "Don't distract him."

"She's just here to say hi. How many security guards will be at the house?" Carter asked. He took a sip of his coffee.

"Just a handful, or... twelve," Jewel replied.

"Tw-twelve?!" Carter exclaimed as he choked on his coffee. "What did you do that Stark had to increase your security detail?"

"I sort of left GD the night you moved into the smart house. Hid in the smallest room I could find upstairs. My locator chip came back online during the power surge. Because that happened, I waited until you left before I snuck back into GD so you wouldn't get in trouble. I had slipped past everyone until I reached my cell. Stark was there, waiting for me," she answered. "I've been on lockdown ever since so they could see how I got out if I ever felt like trying again."

The phone rang. Someone was asking for the Sheriff to have Henry's assistant turn the sound down on his movie night.

"I'll, uh," Jewel started. "I'll see you at home." She turned and left before having to hear Jo complain about payback.

~***~***~

The next morning Stark was in his office, checking on the status of different projects that would interest the special guest. The window that monitored Jewel's location was the only one that remained on the screen the entire time.

He couldn't have her breaching containment again, especially on a day like this. He didn't want to keep Jewel a secret from the guest, Congressman Faraday, but he had to based on what little was known about the artifact.

"She seems to interact with the artifact as though it is her friend," Kim said. Kim was a gifted doctor and a friend of Henry's that was brought in with her husband to work on Section Five projects. She was currently researching anything connected to the artifact, which included Jewel.

The window disappeared and the sound muted as Stark heard Allison call his name.

"Allison. It's late," he said.

"It's 7:00 in the morning. Have you been here all night?"

"Yeah, I guess I got a little caught up."

"How's the budget going?"

"It's not. I have to justify a number that will keep Global cutting edge, but still give Congress something to slash."

"So, when does Congressman Faraday get in?"

"He's in. Flew in from McChord Air Force Base last night. He expects hard numbers and a field test of the PX-319 Project at 9:00 a.m. Hopefully, he'll be impressed."

"What about any off-site project permits?" Allison asked.

"All known projects are accounted for," Stark answered. He wasn't going to discuss Section Five projects with her.

"Hopefully, he's forgotten that you called him a shameless grandstander in front of the Defense Appropriations Committee," Allison said.

"He brought that upon himself. The man's smart, but he likes the sound of his own voice too much. Global's future is all I care about."

~***~***~

Carter and Allison were now at Cafe Diem placing orders for the owner's special coffee blend, Vince-spresso.

"We have a visitor in town," Allison said after Carter had purposely embarrassed her to get an answer to his question. "Congressman Faraday, he got in last night. We're under a budget review and Faraday's tour has to go smoothly. Nathan would just like you to keep a lid on things."

"In Eureka? Please say you have an easier job for me. Maybe Stark can put a temporary ban on entering the labs for anything but project maintenance to keep things from exploding."

Both knew it was an impossible request.

~***~***~

Jewel paced the floor of the guest room. She was getting restless. At least when she was in her cell there was a reason for her to feel trapped. That was a feeling she didn't want to have in her home away from Global.

"Will there come a day when you won't be able to speak with me?" she asked, not caring who heard her. The guards already knew since they had Section Five clearance.

It's unlikely that someone will take your place. You're special. There is a connection between us that has never happened with anyone else.

"What happened to the others you've connected with?"

They died. They didn't have what you do. You were born with a connection to me, like an immunity. The others didn't have that advantage...

"Oh," she said sounding disappointed. "I thought it was something more than a--"

"Something's wrong with the PX-319 Project." The artifact interrupted her.

"Why am I not surprised?" Jewel thought. "And what do you want me to do about it? I'm stuck here. Normally I'd ask you to put everything on a loop, but these guards haven't left me alone for a second more than they have to."

"You have to warn Doctor Stark. Something is about to happen to the congressman."

"Why are you trying to save the congressman? You're the one who found him questionable long before he got here."

"It's talking to her," a voice said just outside the open door.

"Don't bring her back until the Faraday has left. We don't know who we can trust," said Kim. "Ask her what it said."

"What's it telling you?" a guard asked.

"Check the satellite for PX-319," Jewel replied. "That's all it said. It hasn't told me why, but I think I already know. Spencer, Henry's assistant, was hosting a movie at his place. My dad got a noise complaint about it last night."

"Can you make a hologram of me and send it to Dr. Stark?" Jewel asked.

"The warning is too late. The congressman has been taken captive. Would you like me to warn Sheriff Carter?"

"No. Believe it or not, he's smarter than the geniuses here. He'll figure it out on his own."

She could almost hear Stark laughing in her head as if he'd heard what she told the artifact.

~***~***~

"I hear it's been talking to you all day," Stark said as he approached Jewel's cell.

"It told me I was special," she answered absent minded. "I was born with the ability to communicate with it... Is everyone alright? I heard it was about to get messy before Dad slipped passed your guys and saved the day again."

Stark just looked at her with a blank stare. He wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of knowing her dad, a man he openly mocks, saved his job yet again.

"How did Faraday talk you into showing him the artifact?" Jewel asked.

"He needed to see something worth funding," Stark answered.

"And you needed me out of the lab for that? Artie and I aren't even in the same lab. You've placed us on opposite ends of the section just to test a reception theory. Clearly that was unnecessary since I've been talking to it my whole life."

Stark leaned against Jewel's desk. There were working models of at least a dozen of Global's projects since it opened in 1945. They were failed projects she knew absolutely nothing about, and yet, here they were. Right in front of him. Each item was no bigger than his fist, and they all worked.

"You're right. There was no need for it."

"You wanted to see if I'd try to escape again, didn't you?" Jewel asked reading his mind. "I'll make a deal with you. You schedule regular visits for me to be with my family, and I won't think about escaping every chance I get."

"We'll work something out," Stark said and left Jewel's cell without another word.

"Well, Artie. Get ready for more experiments."