Their plan had gone surprisingly well. Jerry had managed to blend in with the staff without issues, and when the visiting program ended, Jimmy took his place and froze the cameras so they could stay inside and search.

As predicted, even if the Pope palace was huge, it didn't hold many secret hiding places, and halfway through the night, it became pretty obvious that the jewel wasn't there. Still, they swept every inch of the building with care, put everything back in order, reactivated the security systems and saw themselves out.

The crack of dawn greeted them with a chilling wind, but thankfully, no mist. They sat on the steps that lead to the castle, gloom and doom on every face. Jessie yawned, trying to fight back the sleep overcoming her and brave it until they at least figured out what to do next. Despite her many protests, Jimmy had given her his jacket and the warmth made her even drowsier.

"Man, that was a total waste of time," Billy mumbled, blowing into his hands.

"You were seriously expecting to find the jewel in the first place we looked?" Jimmy asked, making an excellent point. It was surprising no one had tried to kill them so far.

"Okay, fair point. Now what?" Billy turned to Kyle and so did everyone else.

Even if it was barely noticeable, Jessie saw him squirming. He wasn't comfortable with leading them at all, even if Jessie thought he was pretty good at it. It kind of made her like him even more for some reason. And she missed smartass, funny, reckless Kyle.

"Jimmy's right. I honestly didn't even considered we'd find anything here, solely based on it being the first place we looked. This is our fourth mission already, so we're going to have to squirm, suffer and almost get killed several times before actually finding something." The last word came out a little shaky, as if he'd realized saying this undeniable piece of truth wasn't the best idea.

Indeed, Tina shivered and snuggled closer to Jerry, burying her face in his arm. Jerry gave him the stink eye and Jessie fought the impulse to tell them to shove it. It was hard enough for Kyle as it was. The stiffness, him keeping away from Kay... It wasn't normal. It made him miserable.

"Anyway..." he said. "We should find a café or something so you guys can get something to eat and warm up."

"That sounds lovely," Tina squeaked and finally pulled her nose out of Jerry. "I've always wanted to have a continental breakfast. Croissants and coffee."

"Wait a minute. What about you?" Kay asked, standing and reaching out to him. He didn't go to her, didn't touch her, and it broke Jessie's heart. Apparently Kay's too, because her chin trembled.

"I'm going to get transportation," he answered, taking another step away from them. "Just share the location where you stop and I'll find you."

"Please promise you won't steal a car," Jerry mumbled.

He grinned, and looked a bit more like himself. "No promises there." And without another word, he was gone.

"Hey, how about getting us to a café first?" Billy called out after him, but he was already too far away to hear him. "Figures! Now we'll have to freeze on these steps."

"We can find a café on our own. Don't worry, Billy, I'll hold your hand when we cross the street," Jimmy said pleasantly.

Jessie laughed, and Kay giggled as well.

"Not funny," Billy said scooping out a handful of snow and throwing it in Jimmy's face.

"Damn it, Billy! I was cold enough already!" Jimmy made a snowball and threw it back at him.

"You wanna fight? Okay, let's see what you've got."

Billy got to his feet and started dancing around like a boxer. It took Jimmy precisely three seconds to trip him and start kicking snow over him.

"Jimmy," Jerry chidded, but there was amusement in his voice.

Tina giggled as well while Kay had burst into full blown laughter. It wasn't funny, but Jessie found herself laughing too because she was so cold and so tired and seeing two people pounding each other with snow reminded her of Christmas movies. Except Jimmy was wearing a hoodie.

"Okay, break it up." She went to them and pulled Jimmy of Billy.

"Come on, Jessie," Billy protested. "I was winning."

"Of course you were," she said before turning to Jimmy. "You're going to catch a cold."

"Who, me? Of course I'm not," he said, outraged.

She ignored him and took his jacket off. The freezing wind sent a shiver through her body, but she ignored it and shoved the jacket at him.

"Jessie's right," Jerry said, standing, too. "Let's go somewhere warm."

It didn't take them long to find a cozy little café, and Jerry ordered breakfast for everyone. Jessie focused on rubbing Jimmy's back, though she knew there was no use. The snow melted, turning into ice-cold water on his clothes.

"Hey, I'll be alright," he assured her, but she didn't buy it. Not when he was already trembling.

"Go change. At least your t-shirt."

He nodded, probably just too appease her, but complied.

"That wasn't such a good idea," Kay muttered, finally taking her jacket off.

Jessie just nodded, studying her friend carefully. "Are you alright?"

Kay didn't wince, but Jessie noticed her tensing. "Yes. Just tired."

"Are you and Kyle alright?" she whispered.

Kay's mouth turned down into a worried frown. "I don't know. I mean we haven't fought or anything, but he's so distant all of a sudden."

"Maybe he's just tired, too."

Kay gave a strained smile, trying to morph her distress into hope. Fortunately Jimmy came back together with their food, so they spent the next few minutes filling up. Jessie had no idea what those French people put inside the croissants, but they melted on her tongue. The coffee was decent, too, creamy and not too strong. Tina kept commenting on the special dough used for the croissants, but Jessie was too tired to focus on her words.

Kyle soon joined them, taking a seat next to Jimmy, and spread a map on the table for them all to see.

"So, we're down here, in Avignon," he said, pointing to their position on the map. "After we're done eating we should head north. Tours is pretty far away, so we should stop for the night. We don't need to burn ourselves out. My guess is we'll reach Clermont-Ferrand today." He pointed to another tiny dot on the map. "Considering that once we reach Tours we'll probably be raiding one castle per night, we should rest while we still can."

"Are the castles close to Tours?" Kay asked, leaning closer to the map and Kyle. To Jessie's relief, he didn't pull away.

"Yes. They're spread out along the Loire," he answered. "I think it would be safest to go Amboise, Chaumont, Blois, Chambord," he continued, pointing to each castle, "then take it from there. I hope we'll find something by then."

"We could drop Chaumont," Jerry said, taking a sip of his coffee. "It's not one of the important castles. But I agree with the rest of your plan."

"So, how are we getting to Clermont-Ferrand?" Jimmy asked. Then sneezed.

"What's up with you?" Kyle asked with a frown. "You sound all funny."

Jessie tensed. He did. He already sounded a little out of it. She hadn't really thought he'd catch a cold. It was such a silly worry given their situation, but it was there.

"I'm fine. Will be even better after I pound Billy for getting me wet in the first place."

"Hey," Billy said with a shrug. "Your fault for playing along."

Without a jacket. Which is what made it especially stupid.

"We'll grab some medicine on the way," Kyle said, waving him away. "We should get going. So everyone use the bathroom and let's head out."

"What are we, kids?" Billy asked, outraged, but only grinned when Kyle squinted at him. "Okay, fine. Where's the car?"

"Outside. The blue Land Cruiser. It's going to be a bit tight considering there are seven of us and the car only seats five, but we'll have to manage. If the girls get in the back with Jerry, we should be fine."

"Hey, what about me?" Billy asked. "Couldn't you like get a minivan or something?"

"There's no way in hell I'm driving a minivan. You'll be riding in the trunk," Kyle said, pointing with his thumb over his shoulder with a clearly dismissive air. When Billy just glared at him, Kyle let out a sigh. "Come on, you'll fit in nicely. It's a SUV, so it doesn't have a closed up trunk. We'll get you a pillow or something and you'll probably be the most comfortable."

Jessie could see Kyle's point. Also Billy's displeasure at being sent to the back. Jerry just rolled his eyes while Jimmy singgered, apparently considering this payback for the snowfight.

"I'm going to choke you two in your sleep," Billy warned, pointing at Kyle and Jimmy. "When you least expect it, I'll be there." Then he turned on his heels and headed out.

"Should we take him seriously?" Jimmy asked, amused.

"Neah, he'll love it," Kyle said with another wave of his hand. "He'll have the most room." He then turned to Jessie, a slightly concerned look on his face. "You okay, Jess?"

Jessie threw a glance over her shoulder to notice that the others had already moved out. "Yeah. Are you?"

Kyle hesitated for a moment. "I'm not sure."

Jimmy's amused expression morphed into one of worry. "What's up? You seemed fine inside the castle. Want me to drive the first stretch?"

He shook his head. "Nah, I'm not exactly tired. It's just..." He shut his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "We could get to Blois today. It's only a six hour drive. We could get to Paris, for fuck's sake. France is not that big. But I feel like it would be too... obvious."

Jessie pursed her lips. She could almost physically feel the pressure on his shoulders.

"I feel that stopping somewhere not obvious and resting for the night is the best decision, but still... I'm just doing it. Not asking anyone."

"Kyle, we're all exhausted after last night," Jessie said, putting her hand on his shoulder. "We could do with a break. And this doesn't sound like a bad idea."

"But Sam and Tom," Kyle whispered.

"I know," Jimmy mumbled. "They're phones are out," he added to Jessie.

A tight knot formed in her stomach as an awful thought settled inside her tired brain. What if they're dead? There was no way to know. And the fact that Jimmy and Kyle knew this and were keeping it to themselves...

"We shouldn't lie to each other," she whispered.

"I know," Kyle said, exasperated. "But I don't want to see the others worried. I don't want Jerry to lose this calm he has and I certainly don't want Tina freaking out. And Kay..." He shook his head. "I want Sam back. I can't do this."

"Yes, you can," Jimmy said, his tone confident. "You're doing a great job. Even this detour is a good idea."

"Is it?" Kyle muttered. "Well, not like I can turn back now. Might as well get all the rest we can." And with that, he turned away from them and headed outside.

Jimmy wrapped his arm around Jessie's shoulders, watching his older brother go. "Poor guy."

She could only nod. Leadership was taking an unexpected toll on her best friend.

❄❄❄

Help. I've done no writing in over a week. I need to get some done or no more chapters left. 😭 I don't want to adult anymore.

That's exactly how Kyle must be feeling in this part of the story. This chapter is a little filler, but I hope you still enjoyed it and had fun. What do you think it's the deal between Kyle and Kay?

Fun fact: In the original version, I had Steve tagging along instead of Billy. Didn't see the point in bogging you all up with an extra character when you already know Billy and there is enough interesting stuff to explore with him.

Thanks for reading. Now sacrifice a goat so I can get some writing done.