Chapter 4: I Read the News Today, Oh Boy...
				February 9, 2016
               “Here comes the sun . . . doo do doo do. Here comes the sun and I say, it’s alright . . .”
Bobby sat on the hill where they’d set camp, singing and playing his guitar. It was early afternoon, and
Bobby was enjoying the sun on his back, the wind blowing his hair in his face.

                He heard someone hoarsely clear their throat, and realized that he was no longer alone.
He knew it would be Paperback, and, though he loved to see her, internally groaned; they’d set up camp
when their plane had been sabotaged, and though they would have usually stayed to check things out, they
had to get to Commander Stevens. Paperback had been training Bobby to the bone ever since.

                Bobby turned around, flushing as he did. Had Paperback heard him sing? 

                “Agent Paperba—?” Bobby broke off midsentence, seeing Paperback as he had never before.

                Her eyes were red rimmed, her face red, and she wasn’t wearing any makeup—though Bobby
didn’t see why she wore it in the first place. Even though Bobby hadn’t known Paperback that terribly
long, he could just tell she wasn’t one to cry. Not ever.

                He tried to hide the utter shock when he spoke, nervously now. “Agent Paperback?”

                He could see Paperback trying to hold herself with dignity, trying not to lose it. She
was his superior. “There is an issue in our mission.” All business.

                Bobby gulped. “Issue?”

                “Are you hard of hearing? Yes, an issue.” He noted that she seemed upset to the point that
she was angry, and told himself not to push it.

                “Um . . . what issue?” he asked innocently.

                That seemed to trigger it; all of the clichés fell off, and Paperback fell to her knees,
sobbing. Bobby was dumbfounded. He never thought Paperback would let herself go like this in front of
him, in front of anyone. He laid his guitar aside and kneeled next to her, lifting her chin bravely and
looking her in the eyes directly, which salt water continued to spill out of.

                “What is the issue?” he said.

                “C-c-c-commander . . . S-t-t-t-Stevens . . . he . . . he . . .” She was crying too hard
to talk.

                “Commander Stevens what?” Bobby felt like he was trying to get information out of Lassie.
“Paperback?”

                “Tim . . . oh God, my best friend . . .” She took a deep, ragged breath. “They’ve captured
him. Word just came. They’ve captured him, and he’s probably . . . probably . . . dead!” A new wave of
sobs overcame her, and she fell back into an even lower slump. 

                Bobby didn’t know what to do, to say. Could Commander Stevens be dead? How would they
have gotten him from the base? All that security . . . something didn’t add up.

		But Paperback was not only his partner and superior, but she was his friend. And he was going
to help her, and wouldn't stop until Commander Stevens was rescued. He placed a hand on her back, lifting her
head to eye level. "Bryn... Listen... I know now it looks bad... But if we stick together, I know we'll get
him back."

		"Bobby . . ." she tried to reply, but instead, she flung her arms around him and held so
tightly that Bobby began to find difficulty in breathing.

		"It's gonna be okay, we'll find him... I promise..." He closed his eyes, wrapping his arms around her,
softly shushing her weeping. Tears ran into his shirt, and he slowly tilted his head so that his mouth was at
her ear, and sang softly, "... And anytime you feel the pain, Hey Jude, refrain, don't carry the world upon
your shoulder... Because you know that it's the fool who plays it cool, by making his world a little colder..."

		She stopped crying, and she said, calmly, "Thank you, Bobby. I needed that." She looked into his eyes
before letting one last tear roll out of her eye. Bobby wiped it away, and they both smiled.

					. . .

		Later that night, Paperback looked over and said, "Hey, Bobby, you awake?"

		Bobby, who had been sitting on his sleeping bag all night, turned to her and said, "Yeah. You alright?"

		"No..." she replied. "I can't stop thinking about Tim... How could this happen to him?"

		"I dunno." Bobby'd been pondering that himself all night. How could the country's third most protected
person be so easily kidnapped?

		 "Right now, I just wanna sleep, but every time I try to, I start crying again..." She started to quietly
cry, and upon hearing this, Bobby crawled over and sat beside his sobbing overseer. He leaned toward her and began to
sing quietly, "Golden Slumbers fill your eyes... Smiles await you when you rise..." The girl fell silent, and Bobby
continued his song. "Sleep, pretty darling, do not cry... And I will sing a lullaby..." By the time he finished, she had
fallen into a peaceful sleep. He smiled and whispered, "G'night, Bryn." He wiped a tear from her face and went back to his
sleeping bag, finally climbing inside and drifting into sleep...