AN: I hope everyone is enjoying this, please let me know what you think. Even if it's to correct me on something. I catch myself pulling the old chapters out just to make sure I'm getting some of the names right. I had a rough time with the last chapter, I worry about the pacing and don't want things to happen too soon but don't want it to drag either. This chapter gets the ball rolling again :)

Let me know what you think!

"So she wants to write USR out of the picture all together..."

"That seems to be the sum of it."

Robinson turned to look at the suspended police chief. Stone giving him a knowing look as he watched the wheels turning behind blue eyes. After a moment of tense silence, he leaned back in the chair he'd been offered and looked about the room they'd retreated to. He didn't recognize their surroundings, doubted he'd ever been to this area of Cornelius' home before, and was unsure as to why they had adjourned to what appeared to be a sparse and rarely used lab.

Turning his attention back to the inventor, he took in the man's appearance discretely. As Robinson paced about the room, he took in the man's exhausted posture. No longer held to the constraints of an authority figure, he was permitted to speak freely with the other man.

"When's the last time you got any sleep?"

Cornelius paused, seemed to consider his response before finally shrugging faintly and continuing his pacing.

"Sit down, Robinson, you're making me nervous."

"You just told me the main suspects in an attempted homicide case will most likely be released of any suspicion. I think I have cause to be pacing."

"They're not completely in the clear, but Taylor says nothing was ever confirmed through the emails, so Smith figures there isn't much more that can be gained from that lead."

The look he received from the blond surprised him slightly, and while he didn't outwardly react, he did make a mental note that Robinson's patience seemed to be wearing thin. He'd never seen the man this way. Not that he blamed him, but the usual reserved and calm composure of the man before him was slipping away a little more with each dead end they faced.

He shifted in the chair, reaching for the coffee cup on the table beside him and changed the subject.

"How's the family holding up?"

His question was met with silence, no answer forthcoming until he set his cup back down and looked toward the other questioningly. Robinson stood with his arms crossed, watching him.

"We're tired, Jesse. It's been two weeks with no sign of any progress. Since you've been suspended, we're no longer kept up to date on what's happening. What little I know comes from Taylor, and Smith has him run so ragged that the poor kid can barely see straight when he is out here." He left out the fact that he'd given the young officer a box of caffeine patches that morning, Taylor would be much more alert the next time they spoke.

Jesse could only nod, having noticed this as well. He looked back up as Cornelius continued.

"There's still no word on when Jake will be released. His wife and son have been staying here so they're not on their own right now."

"I saw them this morning coming in." Stone commented, having a vague idea of the situation.

"Keeps the media off their backs." The blond added after a moment, his gaze distant as he pulled a rolling chair up to the table, swiveling it around to sit across from the other man.

Silence fell over the pair once more, each lost in their own thoughts. When the quiet began to stretch, the former chief considered his friend. Robinson leaned to the side casually in his desk chair, tapping his fingers against the armrests in thought. The blond sat staring up at one of the large, mounted, smart boards on the wall across from them. His brows lowered abruptly as a thought struck him, he startled the other man when he shot up out of the chair again and walked around the long counter, leaving the chair spinning in his wake. Having never been in the man's company this much, Stone was intrigued to see The Father of the Future at work. Apparently something had just occurred to him, and the dark haired man waited patiently for the inventor to voice his thoughts.

Cornelius crossed his arms once more, leaning back against the darkened surface of the lab counter. He spoke while still looking up at the blank white board in front of him.

"Todayland PD is still under contract with Robinson Industries for their forensics equipment correct?" He finally glanced back toward the other man briefly before springing to action again. Pushing away from the counter, he went to rummage through one of the many drawers at the desk closest to the unlit screen.

The question seemed to surprise Stone, who considered for a moment, before replying with a hint of hesitation as he watched the energy that had suddenly taken over the man before him.

"Yes...for the next three years if I remember correctly. You were there during the agreements, why are you asking?"

"Talking out loud I suppose."

Cornelius returned to the counter with an array of items. A tablet, netbook, and equipment Stone was sure he'd never seen before. The blond set them all down before reaching for a remote and turning back to the screen with a vague grin, Stone found it strangely reminiscent of Robinson's boy.

"We won't be in the dark much longer."

Chief Smith breezed through the main lobby of The Todayland Police Station, shrugging off her jacket and throwing it over a chair. The secretary, a few patrolman, along with Taylor, looked up from their work briefly as she spoke to no one in particular.

"Is it too much to ask for a full week of sun? It's the end of May, we should be done with rain."

Her complaint was met with silence, her subordinates going back to their work without comment. She glanced about the room, having expected at least something from anyone present, before turning to continue to her office.

"Taylor."

The young officer glanced up from the screen he'd been looking over with another officer. He straightened from where he'd been looking over the woman's shoulder and directed his attention on Smith.

"Ma'am."

The chief only turned and continued toward the office, the silent request obvious. Taylor grabbed his tablet with a sigh and parting word with the girl, who looked up from their work toward him with an understanding expression.

None of them cared much for Chief Smith. Not that she was hard to get along with, her style just didn't seem to mesh with the established relationships within the department.

Taylor crossed the station slowly, forcing himself to keep a neutral composure as he entered the office silently and closed the door behind him. He stood with his hands clasped over his tablet, waiting expectantly. He was forced to speak when the woman never turned to acknowledge him.

"You wanted to see me, Ma'am?"

She turned from the high windows looking over Todayland to look over the young officer. The rising fog and overcast lighting of the sky casting her in silhouette to Taylor's unadjusted eyes. He blinked a few times, eyes watering despite himself. The woman's following request threw him for a loop.

"I need you to stop in to USR."

He merely nodded, waiting for her full instructions.

"Thank them for their cooperation and let them know we won't be needing to contact them again."

A strangled, half formed word escaped him before he could stop himself. Nearly dropping his tablet before he gained his composure once more.

"Uh- yes Ma'am-"

His distaste at the situation must have been obvious, as Smith justified herself to him.

"We've got nothing to go on, Nick. The only thing tying USR to this case is the fact that it seems to have happened in their parking lot."

"That's the only lead we've got-"

"You'll have to question Robinson again, or once Jake Conner is conscious, we can see if he saw anything before the shooting started."

"Ma'am, with all respect." Taylor started. "Hughes was present at the time of the-"

"Robinson stated the shooter was too short, and Hughes is on the list of employees that were in the building once they were put on lockdown."

Taylor flipped his tablet on, scrolling through information. They couldn't just write USR off, that was all they had. He paused briefly as his screen went black, brows furrowing, and when Smith went to question him, they were interrupted by the girl who had been working with Nick on the computer. Her tone was frantic.

"Chief, someone's hacked the station's database!"

Smith rounded the desk and passed Taylor before he could process what the girl had said. Catching up to them in one of the tech rooms, he glanced down at his own tablet to see that white text of command prompts now filled the screen. He wasn't completely computer illiterate, someone was uploading something to the station's servers.

"Can they be blocked?" Smith shouted to anyone who would answer, watching one of the large screens on the wall at the far end of the room.

"We're working on it!" One of the tech hands replied before going back to work with the small team that was anxiously shouting back and forth to one another.

The girl who'd alerted them of their current situation shook her head from the desk she was working from. The screen reflecting brightly in her glasses each time she glanced up from her quick typing. Taylor could see numbers and commands flashing by in the small lenses.

"This is too advanced! It's lowered all of our firewalls and security settings! I can try to close off the network but-"

"Do it!"

"We can't even do that!" Another programmer shouted back. "We're sitting ducks!"

"Find out what this is! Who this is!"

"I can't tell if it's uploading or downloading, nothing seems to be-!"

The room fell silent as all the screens went black once more, every officer present looking to their colleagues with a questioning and anxious expression.

Finally, as if nothing had happened, each computer returned to their original working screens.

The tech hands sprang to action again.

"Check on the-"

"Run a diagnostic, I want-"

"I thought our firewalls were-"

Nick watched the large screen on the wall, the board displaying all the actions of the tech department as they set to work on rooting out what may have been put into their systems.

If they couldn't stop it while it was breaching the servers, he doubted they'd be able to stop it now.

His attention was drawn away when his personal phone chimed softly in his pocket, switching his tablet from one hand to the other, he reached for the phone and swiped the lock screen to see the text.

Call back number: 528-548-2498

Returning the phone to his vest pocket this time, he looked toward the chief.

"I'll go to the USR offices, Ma'am, unless there's something else you need."

The woman watched him for a moment, not oblivious to his change in attitude on the topic.

"No, that'll be fine Taylor."

The officer dismissed himself, looking back once at the screens before leaving the building. Smith watched him, only turning back to see what progress was being made once Nick was out of sight.

Opening the door to his cruiser, Taylor tapped the screen to bring the text back and tapped the number before sliding into the driver's seat. Closing the door again to assure privacy, he watched out the front windshield as the ringing continued.

It stopped mid ring, and he could tell someone had finally picked up on the other end.

"How'd you like the show?"

He nearly dropped the smart phone, juggling the piece for a moment before returning it to his ear. He cleared his throat and attempted to not sound as surprised as he was.

"Mr. Robinson?"

"Your tech department won't find anything, and none of their files are damaged. I promise."

"That w-" Taylor laughed, despite the situation and leaned back in his seat, running a hand through his hair before continuing. "How-?"

"I was one of the developing programmers." Was the calm response. "Nothing's been changed, like I said. I've only uploaded an add on, whenever any evidence is added to the database, I'll be able to access it."

Taylor paused and looked toward the main entrances of the station, a feeling close to dread fell over him like a wet blanket. Suffocating for a moment. They'd made a mistake in underestimating Cornelius Robinson, the only comfort he had was that he'd stayed on the right side.

"Does-"

"Jesse is here with me, his computer will be able to access it also."

Taylor wasn't sure if he was overwhelmed, or relieved. The thought of not having to make a personal visit to both men was appealing, but the realization that if his involvement were discovered, that he'd most likely lose his job, was daunting to say the least. He was pulled from his ruminations by the inventor-turned-hacker's voice on the other end of the line.

"Next time you stop by, I'll go over it with you."

"Sounds like a plan."

The connection was ended, and he set the phone in a cup holder before starting the cruiser. The young man was suddenly filled with an odd combination of optimism and wariness as he set off to meet with Hughes at USR.

Chief Smith stood in the doorway of TLPD, watching the cruiser finally merge into traffic.

"We're only concerned for his well being ma'am, you understand."

"Yes, of course." Was the slightly less congenial reply from Franny as she looked through the glass doors of the high school guidance office into the hallway, where a very moody looking Wilbur Robinson sat with his arms crossed and legs stretched out in front of him.

"We commend him for making the effort." The counselor offered after a pause, her heels clicking as she rounded back to her side of the desk. "But it may be best if he stay home at a time like this. School will only be in session another two weeks, and he can make up the finals at any point in time. We could have them sent to you if you'd like."

Franny shifted to face the woman fully, forcing a smile as she retrieved her clutch from the chair she'd never taken a seat in. "Let me discuss it with Mr. Robinson and we'll give the school a call."

The woman only nodded at the polite dismissal, unsure as how to deal with the situation at hand. She watched from behind her desk as one of the most powerful women of Todayland left the office and collected her son. The pair leaving the building in silence, ignoring the curious glances from office staff through the hall windows, and then even the grounds crew they passed outside.

She'd been surprised when he had stated during lunch on Saturday that he wanted to go back to school that week, and at her questioning, he'd explained that he'd missed enough work and was afraid of falling behind in the reviews for the end of the year SSA testing.

"Wilbur, honey..."

The teen looked up at her while readjusting the position of his backpack over one shoulder.

"Are you all right?" She finally asked after a moment.

"Yeah. I dunno why they thought I needed to go home."

"They're worried about you, love. I'm worried about you." Franny stopped on the walk to face her son. Deciding they needed a mother/son chat, she rested a hand on his arm and led him the short distance to the car.

Wilbur tossed his heavy pack into the backseat before hunching forward and staring out the windshield at the overcast sky. Franny watched her son's profile quietly, taking in the boy's features and fatigue. She reached out toward him finally, placing a hand on his cheek and turning his face to look at her as she spoke.

"I know you wanted to go to school, that you want to keep going to your practices. You're not sleeping though, love, and you can't keep doing this."

The boy's brows knit together and his shoulders rose in the tell tale signs of a protest. "Carl-"

"Hasn't said anything." She alleviated. "I just know these things."

She watched his gaze drift to the side in acquiescence and the defenses fall.

"Everything will be all right."

"What about the Conners?" He shot back, looking at her again.

"It's only precaution." After a pause she added, "You should really talk to Adam."

"I don't want to."

"I know."

Silence fell over mother and son, Wilbur staring resolutely out the window as his mother regarded him in understanding silence. After a moment, Wilbur leaned to the side and rested his head on her shoulder, never looking away from the landscape in front of them. Maternal instincts taking over, Franny put an arm around his shoulders and brushed her hand through his hair, kissing the top of his head once.

"I love you."

"Love you too, mom."

He wasn't sure how long they had sat like that, the teen nearly falling asleep before his mother's voice roused him gently.

"I'm meeting with Stacy in a little bit, do you want to come?"

He sat up slowly and shook his head, looking up at her finally. "Are you going home?"

When his mother shook her head in response, Wilbur asked, "Can I walk home then?"

"You're just going home?"

"Yeah."

Franny nodded, and reached forward to hug him. "Be careful."

Wilbur grinned tiredly, it seemed to be their family's new phrase.

"I will, mom."

Anthony Hughes was on the phone the moment Nick Taylor left the USR office buildings.

"You make it sound like he's making a mistake." Greg Moyer commented once his brother in law was finished sharing the news.

"It's just so sudden."

"Well you wanted them off your back, and Smith has made that happen."

"I'd still like to know just what happened that day."

"The past is the past, Tony. Keep moving forward." He added with a condescending tone.

The response was an amused chuckle, "Guess there's some advice I should take from Robinson."

"Absolutely. USR can get back to work. I saw the board's not even interested in rescheduling the budget meetings after this whole incident. Between dealing with the media over the Robinson case, suspending Stone and electing Smith, they've decided to just reinstate the figures from last year's records."

Hughes swiveled his chair to look out the large office windows, listening to Moyer over the speaker phone and speaking loud enough for the mic to pick him up.

"Good news, production will be going up. I doubt the same can be said for Robinson Industries."

"That's too bad."

"Indeed."

The conversation ended and Hughes cut the connection just before one of the part time secretaries entered the room. He looked up as the young woman set down a stack of papers beside him.

"It's nearly four, you're done for the day aren't you?"

"Just about, Mr. Hughes. This was my last stop of the day, unless you need anything." She smiled faintly.

"No, thank you. Have a good night."

"Good night, Mr. Hughes."

Wilbur walked with his hands in the pockets of his hoodie, hoping the rain would hold off until he got home. He understood his parent's concern, even the school's concern. Yes he was tired, yes he was upset over what was happening in their lives, but what the school had mistaken as an onset of some kind of depression was merely frustration and irritation over the situation. At least his parents knew that.

He knew the authorities were suddenly dragging their feet, he was more observant than they gave him credit for.

Stopping, he forced himself to look over the situation realistically. This wasn't one of those T.V. shows where they solved a case in the half hour time frame depicted on screen. Here in the real world, it sometimes took months, or years, before any breakthroughs were ever made.

Sometimes cases were never solved.

He flipped the hood of his sweatshirt up at that thought, eyes narrowing slightly as it began to mist again. Practice had been canceled that night, the school's gyms being used for another event, which left him with nothing to do. At the incredibly close sound of a hover car over head, he looked up to see a silver vehicle swerving dangerously down toward the sidewalk ahead of him. The driving seemed erratic, and the sight of the four ways going on confirmed there was something wrong. Wilbur kept his distance until it finally came to a stop, jogging forward to see if whoever was within was all right.

The door flung open and the raven haired teen blinked in surprise at the familiar face. Kelly Milton had rushed from the vehicle as soon as it had come to a stop, shaking and desperately fighting back tears.

"Hey, you ok?" Wilbur called as he approached the car, looking toward the woman with concern.

It seemed to take her a moment to come back to herself, staring at Wilbur with a trembling hand over her mouth. Her voice was unsteady as she replied.

"Yes- I...I don't drive- anymore...really and-" She swallowed thickly, trying to keep her composure. "It's going to rain and the car just-"

She felt foolish complaining to a teenager, rain and some car trouble should not have her in hysterics this way. She'd never liked driving after losing everything, though.

"What happened?" Wilbur asked after a moment, taking a step toward the car.

"It just...cut off-...I got it running again just long enough to park it." She answered while taking a step forward, watching him look over the vehicle.

While he might not have been The Father of the Future, Wilbur had learned his fair share of mechanics and the like. Save the time machine but that's a whole other story... He paused in front of the door and looked questioningly toward Kelly.

"May I?"

She only nodded with a sound of affirmation, arms crossed to shield herself as best she could against the chilled air.

Opening the door, Wilbur reached across the dash to turn the ignition, stepping back as the engine idled and frowned slightly when it puttered out. He muttered something to himself and looked under the dash, having to nearly crawl into the hover car. He pried back the cover to the fuse box with cold fingers until the clips snapped open.

"Ha, this is probably it."

"What is?" Kelly asked while rounding the vehicle to stand on the side he was on.

"You had a loose fuse, it was making just enough of a connection but if it was getting bounced around it probably cut the power off." He pushed the tiny element back into place with his thumb before returning the cover with a few clicks. Climbing back out of the car, he looked toward her. "Try it now."

The woman looked at him hesitantly, as if not believing he really knew what he was talking about, before going back to the driver's side and turning the keys. Without a problem, the hover car started and continued to idle quietly where it was parked.

Kelly looked toward the boy that looked so frighteningly familiar and smiled in relief. "Thank you."

Wilbur nodded, shivering once. "No problem."

Before getting into the hover car, she looked at him questioningly. "Do you need a ride home? It's getting pretty cold."

"I'll be ok, thank you, though." Was his immediate response, uncomfortable with the idea, and remembering what he'd told his mom about being careful.

"Of course, least I could do for fixing my car."

He only nodded once more as the woman closed the driver's side door. Starting down the walk, he looked up to see the silver vehicle merge back into one of the lower skylanes.