"We're supposed to be filming. Everything. You barely have enough for a short," Brian whispered, spittle flying.

"Just stay here," Cushing said. "Let me talk to him for a minute. We're not done yet. Just...stay here."

"Get what we need and get him back here," Brian said.

I fucked him up, Cushing thought. Jonesy all over again.

* * *

Maverick heard Cushing kick through the brush.

"Would you consider me a friend?" Cushing asked.

"Fuck no." Maverick said.

"Okay," Cushing said. "What about an acquaintance who wishes you no ill will?"

"Why not?" Maverick said.

"Great." Cushing clapped his hands together. He wiped the sweat from his brow. "As a well-meaning acquaintance, will you be honest with me?"

Maverick nodded, crossing his arms.

"This isn't a suicide mission, is it?" Cushing asked.

Maverick exhaled. "Well, that depends. Honestly, a lot can go wrong."

"We're not here to film a suicide mission, Maverick," Cushing said.

"No," Maverick said. "You're here to film a failure. You'll get the tragic, dramatic documentary you hoped for!"

Cushing watched Maverick smile and put his hand in his pockets. Maverick rocked back and forth on his heels.

"I'm not going to kill myself," Maverick said.

"No, you'll let the woods do it," Cushing said. "And don't think it will make you famous, they can't get a handsome twenty-something to play you."

"Fuck off," Maverick said. "I'm not going to kill myself. But I'm going to give this everything I got. That's what you want, right? I may not be a winner, but I'm tougher than that. Hell, my wife left me for my best friend and I'm still standing."

"She left you for Roman?" Cushing asked.

"Well, actually she left me after I found the feet and the note. She met Roman a little while later. You know how it goes."

"She said she thought you would quit. But you wouldn't," Cushing said.

"No, I wouldn't."

* * *

Cushing and Brian did confront Roman and Jet regarding their relationship. Neither party seemed particularly eager to discuss the matter.

ROMAN: I gotta get to work, guys. I saw Jet at the Trip and Go every morning before work...it just happened. She wasn't happy, hell, Mav told me he wasn't happy. I told Mav myself, we didn't sneak around. He was upset, hell, if it was me...but...he got over it.

* * *

JET: I do love Maverick. It's in a different way, I don't know...the way you love a kid. Like, I feel like Roman and I look after him. We check on him, we listen to his stories. I mean, I'm supposed to throw out the pizzas after work but I give them to Mav so he can bait the damn thing. You believe that? He baits his monster with cold pizza. Or maybe he eats it himself and has too much pride to admit it.

Cushing: He talked to us about his dad. The note. Everything.

Jet: He told you about his dad? Yeah. Do you see now? It was obsession, a...a blind obsession. I couldn't keep pretending I believed him. I stopped loving him. It sounds cruel, but I couldn't. Not anymore.

Cushing: What do you think of his plan, his last expedition?

Jet: Yeah, yeah, I heard his plan. Going out alone, staying in the woods for as long as it takes. This obsession has taken everything else from him, all that's left is his life.

* * *

ROMAN: Yeah, this ain't a camping trip. This is his "hell or high water" trip. He thinks this is it, and...he's probably right. Woods will be under water pretty soon.