Part Six
	Erica and Trek spent a lot of time trading sarcastic insults. But they also had to work together far more closely than anyone else in the team. Duke had a feeling that they were much better friends than either of them would ever admit. He also thought that Erica was probably far more upset than she was willing to show. He made a mental note to find her and talk to her later. Duke looked up as Kyle and Jenny entered the room deep in conversation. They took their seats around the table. Kyle's eyes moved to Erica's empty seat and he frowned. "Where is she?" he asked. "I don't know," replied Duke, "but I'm sure she'll be here." Beast snorted. "Yeah right," he growled. "She's probably doin' her nails." Before anyone could respond the door to the situation room opened and Erica walked in. Duke looked closely at her. Erica looked pale. Although the makeup was applied perfectly he could see rings forming under her eyes that spoke of sleepless nights. He sighed. Obviously Erica was taking this harder than she was admitting. "Are you alright?" Duke asked. "Of course," Erica answered brightly. "Never better." Kyle's frown deepened. "FLAG wants a status report," he stated. Jenny shook her head. "Well Trek's comatose, Plato's completely shut down, the vehicles are a mess and so are most of us," she said, emphasising the word most. Duke leaned across to her. "Everything's going to work out, Jenny," he rumbled. "I'm sure of it. We've all been in awkward situations before, and we've all come out of it alright in the end." Kyle cleared his throat. "I don't think we've got anything else to cover. Dismissed." As the other three operatives filed past him, Kyle reached out his hand and caught Erica's arm. "I need to talk to you," he said. Erica sighed and sat back down. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Erica sat on Kat staring moodily out across the desert. The light breeze ruffled her blonde hair but she hardly noticed, still stinging from Kyle's rebukes. She had become a team player. She really had. And she did care about Trek. They were friends, although she'd never admit that to anyone. Hell she was probably closer to him than anyone else on the team. But she couldn't go to see him. If she went in there and saw him and then he died... Erica closed her mind off from that possibility.       ** "I'm sorry I left my nerd to English dictionary at home." **      ** "What kinda nut comes up with this kinda stuff?"      "Trek."      "Yeah I had nothin' to do with this one." ** So many memories
					Part Seven