Accident

Garret didn't look at Nate at first, but eventually sighed and glanced over to him. Was this doing things the Elite way? Offering help even when it didn't really concern him? Was that what he was supposed to do? But the Elite didn't care about him, so why should he care about Jason? Looking at Nate's face though, he realized that at the very least, he owed Nate. 

"You're not gonna find the sniper." He sat up a little straighter and folded his legs. "I told you before that Jason's gonna have to be the bait - I wasn't lying." He cocked his head, wondering how bold the Elite - or Reese - would really be. "The sniper's job is to move in, shoot, but not kill, and disappear. The only way to catch him is when he's gonna shoot. Which means leaving Jason vulnerable."

A small bit of life sparked in Garret's eyes without him even realizing it. He'd been raised to live for the hunt. The combat. The strategy. "I imagine Reese has been trying to protect Jason by either keeping someone with him, or making him stay at headquarters. But keeping him safe isn't going to expose the sniper. If it were me... I'd send out a whole team - but not all together. Spread them out like a net around Jason - far enough away no one would realize they're actually following him. Leave him out in the open. If he's been with a bodyguard, that's fine, don't change things up or the sniper will know." He paused. This was where it got hard. "Jason's going to get shot again. It's the only way anybody will be able to tell which direction it came from and act in that moment. If your men are spread out wide enough, they can close in around the suspected location and hopefully trap the guy. As far as Jason...as long as no one interferes before the trigger is pulled, it'll be another non-fatal shot. I'd bet my own life on that."

He leaned his head back against the wall, perhaps not noticing yet his itch to leave the dullness of this room. The desire was there...still under a thick fog of depression...but it was there, slowly rising.


"Oh good grief." Kirk reached out and pulled Adison close again, just wrapping her in a big hug. He couldn't help his laughter. "I must be the biggest idiot on the planet." He kissed the top of her head before retreating, and sighed. "I'm...sorry, by the way. For...being kind of a jerk last night. I guess when Ron was moving in on you, I... I suddenly realized I could lose you and... the thought alone makes me miserable.."

His hands slid down her arms until meeting her own hands to hold. "You have been my best friend all these years. And...with our jobs and all that, I didn't want anything more...until I realized that one of these days, you'd be gone. And that made me realize maybe my feelings ran deeper than I thought." His eyes searched hers. Did she really, truly feel the same way about him? How could he have been so blind? 

"I know it complicates things." He grinned. "But you and I have never done things the easy way, have we?"


Outside the storage area, Jamison grinned a little and shook his head. It had been so obvious for so long that those two belonged together. What prompted it to happen now, he didn't know, but he was glad for them. As long as Barnes didn't find out - he'd probably throw the book at them and remind them that their heads better stay in the game. 

Thinking of that, the briefing he was now late for, and reading a report as he went back upstairs and down the hall, he was less aware of his surroundings than he should have been. 

At the water cooler, a few upper ranking agents saw him coming. Mark snickered and nodded at his new walking target. While the others watched, he stepped out "accidentally" into Jamison's path. The collision that ensued "caused" Mark's paper cup of water to be spilled right down the front of Jamison's shirt, and on his paperwork. 

"Oh, whoa, man, I'm so sorry." Mark withheld his laugh. "You gotta quit reading while you're walking." He cringed. "Mm...looks like you gotta print out that report again, huh?" He reached out to mockingly wipe water from Jamison's shirt. The guys behind him stifled their own laughter. "Better hurry though. I hear Barnes is having a crabby day." 

Jamison stared down at his ruined papers - and his soaked shirt - before throwing the small group a perturbed look. His face grew hot and he gritted his teeth as his anger bubbled. At least once a week, if not more frequently, he was tripped, pushed, pulled, set on a wild goose chase or pranked in some way, shape or form. He was in this department because he'd been desperate and they'd needed a flunky... and he knew it. Complain too much, and he'd be out of a job. Start a fight, and he'd lose. He wasn't needed here, so if he wanted to stay, it was sit down, shut up, and take the bullying... just like he always had.

"Funny, guys...real funny." He grabbed some napkins and tried to mop up his shirt. "Apparently you have nothing better to do today?" 

"Oh, you know, just taking a break from the real work around here." Mark patted his shoulder before dispersing with the others. "Don't be too mad. It was an accident, after all." 

Right. Of course. As if. Jamison sighed and turned around to go back down the hall and up the stairs to the second floor where he shared the space with mostly department secretaries and assistants. So much for being ahead of the game today.


"Well?" Jason sat on the edge of the infirmary bed, looking to Rick for answers. After he'd finally woken up, he'd known better than to avoid the inevitable visit.

Rick tucked his hands in his pockets, giving Misty a leery glance before turning back to Jason. "Well, your sugar levels are a little low but I know you haven't eaten breakfast. Your episode didn't do your shoulder any good, but you didn't rip any stitches, so I'm going to leave it be for now. Your leg, I'm sure is sore, but it's healing nicely." The first wound wasn't even longer a concern. "That's all I've got."

Jason's eyes dropped. He felt like something was wrong, but there was no evidence. 

"Anything else you want to tell me?" Rick prompted. 

"Not really..." Jason shrugged. "I mean...it was kinda weird, like...like always before, I'd get a hint that maybe a flashback would come. I might notice the trigger. Then when it happened, I'd have a couple seconds warning, then I'd be totally out of it. This time it was like...I was being sucked in...in slow motion. I was totally aware it was happening, and like a couple times the past would just flash in and out until I was finally there and I couldn't pull myself back out." His shoulders sank. He knew his explanation didn't make sense but he didn't know how else to say it. "They've always been bad, but, I don't know, this one was...more...emotional. Or maybe I just think that 'cause it's been a while." 

Rick pursed his lips and paced a small circle. His eyes met Misty's again. If Katie's connection was not returning, that could explain the intensity of Jason's episode, since his emotions would have nowhere to go. "Have you...had any other symptoms lately?" 

Jason stiffened. He didn't like the tone of Rick's voice, and he threw a quick, worried glance at Misty. "Um...nothing I haven't told you about. Why?" 

"Do you remember when you started having this kind of trouble?"

"Yeah. I mean, I'd had bits and pieces of trouble on and off for years, but it didn't get bad til I was in Texas. That's when Katie..." His voice trailed off and his face paled slightly. "My blood work. You didn't find..."

"No. No, we didn't." Rick shook his head. "I do think you're stressed though. With this whole sniper business, I think probably it's your stress levels that are causing all your problems, from your tiredness and sugar issues, to your flashback. Which means...you need to chill out."

Jason let out the breath he'd been holding. Really? That's all this was? Why did it feel like more? Maybe he was just being paranoid. "Okay."

"Eat. Sleep. Work off your stress downstairs. Have some fun. And quit worrying." 

"Right." Jason slid off the bed and adjusted his arm's sling. "Anything else?" 

Rick handed him a bottle of tablets. "In case of sugar crash. But I expect you to improve your diet. I know you don't want to be put on medication." 

That much was true. "Okay. Thanks."

Once he was gone, Rick wandered back over to Misty. "Everything was the truth. So why do I feel like I just lied to him?" 


Out on the main floor, Jason wandered around until he found Katie at her desk. Slipping into her cubicle, he sank down in the extra chair. "Well, I'm not dying," he joked. "Rick thinks it's all just my stress. So apparently I need to have a little more fun." A grin emerged as his eyes twinkled. "Looks like I got you back just in time."