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Love is Strong	By : harry102 Category: +M through R > New Adventures of Jonny Quest, The Views: 8124 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Jonny Quest, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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“I’ll tell you the whole story,” Jade promised. “But first, were you able to tap into satellite?” she questioned.

“Yeah, there are roughly forty eight bodies. I’m guessing that at least forty are just for security,” he reported.

“Shit. This guy is either getting more paranoid with age, or he’s planning something Jonny,” she said a little worriedly. “I have a bad feeling about this. Can we PLEASE just call Race?” she asked.

Jonny didn’t even answer. He just gave her a look to let her know it wasn’t an option.

“Fine,” she said fed up. “I want you to make me a promise though,” she demanded.

“What?” he asked, getting impatient.

“No matter what we see…or what I tell you,” she paused. “Promise me that you won’t act on impulse. We PLAN everything out, and do it all TOGETHER,” she emphasized.

“Agreed,” he said too quickly for her liking.

“I’m not joking,” she said seriously. “I want to make sure we all get out of this alive.”

“I promise,” he said slowly. “Now please tell me what’s going on. I’ve been going crazy over the last thirty plus hours. You said that you were sure this time. That you double and triple checked. Jade?” he pushed, clearly agitated when she didn’t answer him immediately.

“Ok,” she started. “Like I told you yesterday, I never really believed that I was wrong two years ago, but I also didn’t have any proof that I was right after everything that went down in London. I wasn’t about to bring it up to you right then. I debated long and hard about just going to Race, and the last few times we’ve seen each other, it’s been really hard for me not to tell him, but I didn’t. I kept my promise to you and I expect you to keep yours now,” she finished.

“Thank you, and I do promise,” he said sincerely.

“Alright,” she continued with a deep breath. “The year after London, I couldn’t ask too many questions or tap my resources about Grobin. He’s better connected than I’ll ever be, and I didn’t want anything getting back to him. He’s not an enemy I want. So I just kept my eyes and ears wide open, hoping that he’d request my services again so that I could get back in his house and reevaluate his security, which I had assumed received a major overhaul after our break in,” she told him logically and took a breath.

“Nine months ago, he called me in again,” she told him. “I saw the same woman that I saw the first time I was there, but got a closer look and realized that it wasn’t your mother.”

“I think we already established that,” Jonny said a little annoyed. “Are you even sure that you’d recognize my mom?” he asked.

“I’ve seen the picture of you two above the fire place, and her portrait in the study enough times…”

“You’re hardly ever in my house,” Jonny cut in.

“That’s what you think,” she chuckled.

“Jesus,” he breathed. “No details please.”

“Anyway,” she continued. “I’ve made sure to pay extra close attention to her picture these last two years so that I’d know for sure if I saw her.”

“Did you see her?” he asked anxiously.

“Yes,” she answered.

“Is she okay? How can you be sure it’s her?” he demanded.

“One question at a time. I thought you wanted to hear the whole story?” she said.

“Hurry then,” he ordered.

“When I saw that woman again and recognized that she wasn’t your mother, I thought that I was wrong all along. I was furious at myself, but decided to just focus on the deal with Grobin instead. While we were talking, he called for ‘Rachael’ to get us some drinks. I almost fell off my damn chair. It wasn’t your mom that came in, but she was another carbon copy from a short distance. So within five minutes of being in the house, I saw two women that could have been your mother’s sisters, and then I saw a third on the way out. At his point, I’m thinking one of two things. Either Grobin’s a bigger psycho then I could have ever imagined or…”

“Decoys,” Jonny interrupted.

“Exactly,” Jade agreed. “He has a lot of ‘friends’ in my world that would love to take his place, so it doesn’t surprise me that he’d go to such extreme measures to protect her. I suspect she’d be the greatest piece of leverage any rival could get his hands on.”

Jonny was having trouble focusing, but was able to gather his voice long enough to ask a question. “How do you know that these women aren’t just filling this sick fuck’s fetish? You saw her? Get to that part,” he said.

“When I realized that the decoy theory was highly probable, I knew that I had to get into that house and see if I was right. It took about a month before I felt confident enough with the security system and patrolling patterns of the men to give it a try. Once I was in, I crept through that house for fours hours and came across a total of six look a likes before I hit a room with three guards hanging outside. I knew that if she was there, it was in that room.”

“With Grobin,” Jonny bristles.

“I’d assume yes, but I never saw them together,” she told him. “There was no way I could get in that room without alerting the whole house, so I just waited and watched. I was hoping she’d come out to use the bathroom or something so I could get a quick look, but she never did. I was gonna leave and come back the next night, but then I decided I’d have a better shot at getting to her during the day. I thought maybe she’d have a little freedom inside the house and that some of the security would stick with Grobin. Around 7:30, I heard Grobin telling someone goodbye and that he’d see them again that evening. Two of the guards remained at the door, but I figured she was probably in there by herself, so I managed to get myself out on the balcony and I picked the lock.”

“Christ Jade, what if it wasn’t her?” he said shocked. “You could’ve been hurt.”

“I wouldn’t be here if I got caught Jonny,” she told him seriously. “Which is why we have to be so careful. This man is ruthless, and your mother is clearly his prized possession.”

“That was a dumb risk to take,” he commented.

“It had to be done,” she said in a neutral tone. “I couldn’t take this to the next level until I knew for sure. Besides, I didn’t get where I am today by staying home and baking cookies. Risks come with the territory.”

It meant more to Jonny than he knew how to express that she was willing to risk her life for a woman she never met, and that she put herself in even more danger by not telling Race. He knew that he owed her big time, but he couldn’t focus on that right now. All he could think about was his mother.

“Did…did you talk to her?” he asked haltingly.

“No, there wasn’t time. Once I got in the room, I was barely able to grab her before she could scream. I told her to calm down, and that I was there to help her. When she did calm dawn, I was finally able to get a good look at her. There’s not a doubt in my mind that it’s her Jonny, unless she has a twin somewhere out there that we don’t know about. I told her that I needed to take a picture of her, and I promised her that I’d be back to help,” she finished as she pulled the car to the side of the road. “If it wasn’t her, don’t you think she would have warned the guards about an intruder?” she posed, and then pulled out an 8 X10 photograph to hand to Jonny.

He took it from her slowly and took a deep breath before turning it over. “Oh my God,” he said and then dropped the photo to the floor. “Oh my God. What have I done? I left her there with him,” he said quietly, and couldn’t stop shaking.

“Don’t do this to yourself,” she said rubbing his back. “None of this is your fault,” she soothed.

“You don’t get it,” he whispered.

“Talk to me,” she encouraged.

But he didn’t wanna talk to her. He wished that Jessie were with him.

“I’m fine,” he said, straightening up and putting his emotions on hold. “I’ll be fine. Let’s go. We have a lot of work to do.”

“Alright,” she said. “I’m here for you if you need to talk though.”

“I know, and it means a lot to me,” he told her.

They drove for the next thirty minutes in silence, and Jonny forced himself to think about Jessie and what he’d like to be doing with her right now, so that he couldn’t think about his mother.

“Alright,” Jade spoke up as she pulled her car into the woods. “We walk from here. It’s two miles north, and I’m not entirely confident yet that he doesn’t have men patrolling the woods too. I certainly wouldn’t put it past him, so don’t make any noise. Just keep your head down and follow me. Once we’re within eyeshot of the house, I found a safe place to watch from. Any questions?”

Jonny just shook his head no.

“Let’s go,” she announced.

Jonny didn’t dare say a word as they trekked through the forest. Reconnaissance was Jade’s forte, and he trusted her instincts. It took them about thirty minutes to reach Jade’s spot. It was a little farther away than Jonny had hoped, but it seemed pretty safe.

They spent the next two hours watching the patrolling patterns of the men and taking note of which rooms seemed to house the most activity. Jonny couldn’t wait to get back to the car to see how consistent his observations were with Jade’s from last night. He’s knows that two nights hardly equals a solid picture of Hill’s security detail, but a little consistency will do a lot to make him feel better. The sooner Jade’s confident, the sooner he can get her out of there.

They began to make their way back to the car around 4:00 so that Jonny wouldn’t have any trouble sneaking back into Compound.

“So?” he asked anxiously as soon as they were on their way.

“It was pretty consistent with last night, but we can’t jump the gun,” she warned.

“I know,” he said with a sigh, but that’s not how he felt. “So when do you think we can go in?” he asked impatiently.

“Jonny,” she admonished.

“Look I know what you’re gonna say, but that’s my mom in there, and I don’t wanna leave her with that psycho a second longer than absolutely necessary. Please give me a timeline or something,” he begged.

“I’m not gonna make a promise that I can’t keep,” she told him tightly. “If I tell you tomorrow, you’ll get that set in your head and won’t stop even if I say you have to for good reason. If you don’t keep your cool and follow my lead then I will call Race,” she threatened.

“Jade we’ve been through this already,” he yelled.

“I promised not to tell him FOR NOW. Those were my exact words,” she reminded. “And I say when now is up,” she finished determinedly.

“What…,” he stumbled with difficulty. “What if this all blows up in our faces again?” he asked her quietly. He hated that he was back in the same place as he was two years ago, believing that he was gonna get her back. Feeling unbelievably guilty that she’d been suffering so long and no one knew, and petrified that Jade was just wrong. He doesn’t deal well with these emotions, and usually channels them out angrily.

“Jonny,” she softened. “I…”

“NO,” he screamed. “This is bullshit. You told her that you’d be back to help her, and that was 8 fucking months ago. If that’s her, then she’s waited long enough, but we are still not telling Race. I can only imagine what my mother has been through,” he said slowly. “But I know exactly what my father has been through, and I refuse to let that happen again. We will extract whoever that is, I will do a DNA test, and if it’s her, then, and only then, will we tell my father and Race. I know that Race will be angry that we didn’t tell him, but I’ll make sure he knows it was all my fault, and if things don’t work out then…then he’ll never have to know,” Jonny finished.

“I’m not worried about Race hating me Jonny. I already guaranteed that when I didn’t tell him about this two years ago, and then you disappeared for a week. Do you have even the slightest clue how worried he was?” she asked. “He called me while we were traveling to London, ya know. He wanted my help,” she smiled. “That man has never asked for my help, but you’re a hell of a lot more important to him than his pride, and he was afraid. I’d never heard fear in his voice before then, and I haven’t since. He’s the most fearless man I know. Not telling him that I knew you were safe was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my life,” she admitted. “You’re more important to him than I’ll ever be. He considers you his son. I have no delusions, believe me. I’m not worried any longer about him hating me. I’m worried about him killing me if something happens to you,” she finished in a low voice.

“Listen,” he started, a little stunned that she had just admitted so much to him. “Nothing is going to happen to me. I won’t let it. I have too much to live for, especially if my mother is still alive. I have people that need me, and I won’t leave them,” he said, thinking of Jessie. “If it comes down to it, I will make Race understand how amazing you’ve been to me, Jade. You have no idea how much I appreciate what you’re doing for me. I still don’t fully understand why you’re doing it, but I appreciate it,” he said.

“I don’t fully understand it either,” she laughed, but then sobered. “I’m sorry that she’s had to wait 8 months. Grobin’s job for me took a lot longer than I expected, and then he upped and came to Maine, which is the primary reason that I’m so concerned. What the FUCK is he doing here, huh? Why is he so close to your father. Is it a rush for him? An ego thing? Or is he planning something else?” she asked in a worried tone.

“I don’t know,” Jonny said unfocused. “All I care about is getting her out of there. We can figure out the rest later.”

“I wish it was that simple,” she said. “So, am I picking you up the same time tomorrow?” she asked.

“I wish, but I have to be in D.C. tomorrow,” he told her.

“Ah, the White House Christmas Party. Good times,” she commented. “Well don’t worry, I’ll hold down the fort until you get back,” she promised.

“Thanks,” he told her with a sigh. “And I’m sorry this has gotten so complicated. I owe you. I’m afraid to say that to you,” he laughed. “But I do, more than I could ever repay.”

“Not necessary,” she told him

“What?” he asked shocked.

She just looked over and grinned at him a little. “Shut up,” she said. “I care about you, and I wanna see you happy. If I can help that, I will,” she finished simply. “I may not be that old, but I’ve seen a lot and I’ve met a lot of people, and you’re just aces in my book kid. I consider you a friend, and I don’t have many so I make it a point to take good care of the ones I do have,” she said.

“And I suppose it helps that Race cares about me,” he smiled.

“Well it certainly doesn’t hurt, but I still meant what I said,” she told him.

“So can I ask what’s going on between you two?” he questioned.

“What do you mean?” she asked, and shifted in her seat a little.

“Are you in love with him,” he asked boldly.

“Jonny,” she exclaimed.

“Sorry,” he apologized. “I was just curious.”

“It wouldn’t matter if I was anyway,” she said.

“Sure it would. Love changes everything,” he told her.

“Maybe when you’re eighteen it does, but this is a bit more complicated. It could never work out. I’m not the domestic type. Besides, Jess would never have it,” Jade breathed.

“Yeah that’s true,” Jonny admitted, as she pulled up to the outskirts of the Compound. It was about quarter after five. “You’ll call me?” he asked, as he stepped out her car.

“When I’m done tomorrow,” she confirmed. “Have fun.”

He just gave her an exasperated look and closed the door. It took him about twenty minutes to run back to the Compound, and he was grateful not to stumble across Estella like he had yesterday. When he reached his door, an overwhelming feeling of loneliness swept over him. He paused before entering and looked over at Jessie’s closed door. He was so tired and wanted so badly to walk into her room, curl up next to her, and drown out the rest of the world for a while.

He knows he promised himself that he was gonna try and keep things normal between them until everything with his mother was over. Being around her would only make things harder he tried to convince himself earlier, but right now he feels like being around her is the only thing that will help him calm his mind enough to get some rest. As long as they don’t talk anyways, at least not about anything that matters.

Before he even knew what he was doing, his hand was turning her doorknob. He knew this wasn’t right on so many levels, but he didn’t turn around. When he saw her lying there holding onto her stuffed bear, he couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face. She looked so innocent and beautiful. He could have stood there and watched her for hours.

Then he took a breath, took off his shoes, and walked up to her. He dropped to his haunches beside her bed and ran his hand over her cheek. “Hey,” he called out softly and she stirred a little. “Hey Ace,” he called again, still stroking her face.

“Hmm,” he heard, and she opened her eyes a bit. “What’s wrong?” she asked sleepily. He saw that she was about to sit up so he stopped her.

“No, no don’t get up,” he said quickly. “Nothing’s wrong,” he assured her. “I just uh…,” but he didn’t know what to say. “I can’t sleep,” he confessed. “Can I just lay with you for a while?” he asked nervously.

Jessie didn’t answer him. She just scooted over and lifted her covers for him to climb in with her. Then she rolled over onto her stomach and stared over at him. “You ok?” she asked quietly and began to brush the hair back from his forehead.

“Fine,” he said, just closing his eyes and enjoying her touch.

“Liar,” she said softly. “Don’t think I forgot that you never told me what was wrong before.”

“I’m just tired,” he answered, throwing his arm over his face.

“Liar,” she accused again and then curled up next to him, putting her head over his heart and clutching his t-shirt. She’s still determined to find out what’s bothering him, but is also perfectly content to lie in his arms for a few hours, and forget about everything else.

Her actions surprised him for a second, but then he let out a deep breath and felt truly content for the first time since he’s woke up with her in his arms the morning that she left for school. He took his arm away from his face, wrapped it around her, and then fell asleep.
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Love is Strong