Disclaimer: HB owns the JQ lot, not me.   I'm making no money off this, so don't
sue me, unless you wanna waste a bit of time on lil' ol' me.  It's created out
of (a lot) of love and respect for the series.

Archivers: Suze can have it, of course.  Everyone else ask and it's yours.

Categories: Angst, mature language, violence, J-J HR.  If it's not in the series
now, it will be eventually.

Summary: It's gonna get a bit darker from here on in...

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Jessie grinned at the scowling figure stalking towards her.
*Hadji really musta laid it on thick...*

"I am *so* gonna kick your ass this time, Bannon."  His sudden grin mirrored
hers.

"You and what army?"  She leapfrogged lightly onto the snowmobile.  She hadn't
got a hope in Hell; Jonny had practically grown up on a snowmobile and she only
knew the basics after a few insane races with him.  He was going to rub her nose
in it afterwards, but somehow, she didn't care.

*At least he's not depressed anymore...*

She turned to see Jonny gunning the engine to his own  snowmobile.  His face was
hidden by the visor to his helmet, and Jessie donned her own.

Hadji walked up.

"I will referee this *most* important of races..."
Jonny and Jessie chuckled.  Hadji's voice was designed for false bravado.

"3!"

Jonny stalled for a moment.

"What the-?"

Jessie sped off laughing.  She had thought it was so obvious that she and Hadji
and set him up.  Jonny could be so thick sometimes....

She turned, expecting to see Jonny trailing.

He was right behind her.

"Damn, damn, damn..." She muttered to herself.

"Nice try, Jess!"  He shouted over the roar of the engine.

He continued to chase her, easily negotiating the terrain.  Jessie was much
slower dodging the trees, after all, she had grown up in Texas.  She hadn't even
heard of a snowmobile before she came to live with the Quests.

She was pulled out of thoughts by Jonny suddenly appearing beside her, helmet
off and grinning like a madman.  He looked back up the trail.

Horror flashed across his face.

She followed his gaze.

Race was on the ground, blood pouring from his thick coat.

"Dad!"

Jessie leapt off her machine and sprinted across the snow to her prone father.

Race looked up.

"Ponchita, no!"

Jonny jumped off his snowmobile, which was still going full throttle.  He landed
in a roll, and quickly scanned the area.  Nothing....

The ground behind Jonny erupted.  He turned in time to block a pistolwhip, the
blow easily breaking his arm.  He screamed in pain.

Jessie was suddenly beside him, hitting the man in a frenzy.  She was kicking
and thrashing, but Jonny quickly saw what she was doing.  The man couldn't get a
decent swing, but still relied on his weapon, meaning Jessie was soundly beating
the crap out of him.  Suddenly, she stopped.  Grabbing the man's gun wrist in
her left hand, she turned, catching the armpit to the same arm.  As she turned,
she threw the man over and he flipped straight over her, landing in a heap at
her feet.

"Ow! You landed on my foot, you jerk!"  She kicked him for emphasis.

Jonny gritted his teeth, fighting the pain.

"I don't remember Race ever teaching us *that* one,"

"I don't remember you ever being related to Race,"

"Ah.  Special training?"

She grinned, then started back to her father.

Another man leapt out of the treeline, gun in hand.

Jonny quickly grabbed the gun from Jessie's unconscious adversary.  He turned to
contestant number 2, and calmly raised the pistol.  The man
raised his own, pointing it at Jessie,  Jessie stopping in her tracks.  She
stumbled; there was no nearby cover to hide behind.  She closed her eyes and
heard a loud crack.

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She opened them again.  The man was on the ground, blood pouring from his head.
She looked away.  The man was quite clearly dead.  She turned to Jonny.

"That was *too* close."

She caught Jonny's expression.

"Jonny?"

He stood there, gun hanging loosely from his fingers.  His eyes were red, and he
was staring in horror at the dead man.

"Jonny, you had to...he would have killed me."

He didn't move.  He looked so lost, so vulnerable....

"Hey, don't forget about me over here."

Race pulled himself up, using a nearby tree for support.  He doubled over in
pain, gasping.

"If I get my hands on..."

He looked up, and wished he hadn't.  Pain was exploding in his stomach.

"Dad, try to stop moving..."

She looked back at Jonny.  The gun had fallen out of his hand, but he hadn't
moved.

*What do I do?*

Race opened his eyes again.  Ignoring the pain, he looked over at Jonny.  He was
just....standing there, his face fixed in horror.  Blood poured from his left
arm, which wasn't sitting right beneath his jacket's sleeve.  Race followed his
gaze.

"Ah, Hell."

Jess helped him stand.

"Dad, what's going on?  What's happened to Jonny?  He's killed before, never
deliberately, I know, but...."

Race looked down at her.

"We'll get him inside, and I'll explain."

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Comments?  Suggestions?  Flames?  High praise?  Send 'em all to
SchmittVanDean@hotmail.com

Go on, admit it!  You were damn certain I'd kill off Jess!

-Schmitt

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Don't delegate.  They'll only
do it wrong.-Ronan Candappa
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