Her question made him sigh. “Not really. All I know is he joined the Agency as a teenager so he did have some kind of life before that. Garret was not only his superior in the Agency, but also his idol, so he feels pretty betrayed that Garret came here.” He shrugged. “That’s about it. Justin Hawks – he’s a counselor on contract – was just starting to work with him but the Agency apparently scared him off so I don’t know if he’s coming back. Anyway, he didn’t have time to dig into details. If you really want to know more about Aaron though… if I were you, I’d talk to Garret. Either wait til he comes in again, or go see him. He’d know more than anybody.”
Of course…last Hal heard, Garret hadn’t been doing all that well. Although he’d been here a little bit lately. “If all else fails, talk to Nate since he’s Garret’s handler. In the meantime…” He checked his watch. “Aaron’s lunchtime is in a little while. Come on and I’ll show you the ropes.”
He took her back upstairs to the breakroom and opened the fridge and freezer. “Got a variety frozen dinners here – take your pick, and the microwave is right over there. Aaron isn’t exactly appreciative, and I probably wouldn’t be if I were him either, but he refuses to tell me what he likes, so I’m not gonna waste money on something else. I figured out he likes apples though, and there are plenty of those here. And we give him all the bottled water he wants.”
He thought for a moment, going over everything in his head. “The days you’re here, you’ll take care of his breakfast and lunch at least. I usually work late, sometimes graveyard shift, so I’ll take care of his suppers. And I know you know this already but I gotta say it anyway – just be careful when you take him his food. He knows well enough to stand clear of the door, but I wouldn’t put it past him to pull any stunts. Just leave the food on the table and leave him be, and…that’s as hard as it gets.”
Scott frowned and took another sip of pop. “Yeah well…surviving sucks then.”
He didn’t know what to do now. Dalton wasn’t going to leave him alone – he knew that without asking. So should he go home and take Dalton with him, or just bunk down here? It would be more comfortable for both of them at the house, even if his place was small. But how long would it last? Really just until they’d dismantled that lab? That shouldn’t take long, right?
He was quiet for a long while, though his finger kept playing with the pop can tab. It would take a while for the initial fright to pass…but there was something else he felt this time. Anger. He was angry the Agency wouldn’t leave him alone. Angry that it kept cropping up again. Angry that he could never move on.
“Reese mentioned that Garret said I was primed for an upgrade.” Oh, how that thought terrified him. His hands started to tremble again, as did his voice. “Wouldn’t… wouldn’t that be a good thing? That it…well it…it might give us an edge on the Agency, right?”
Seeing the young woman blush, Jamison just grinned. He knew all too well the impossibility of recovering from a clumsy maneuver. “Try calculus from a professor who liked to write up assignments in Latin just for the fun of it.” He chuckled at the memory. He’d still managed an A, but it had been close.
“A backpack would probably be a good investment,” he agreed. Seeing one of her books slipping, and reached out to grab it before it fell to the ground again. He’d never forgive himself if he walked away now. “In the meantime though…” He took at least half the books from her arms without giving her a chance to refuse. “I can’t stand to see books this close to death. Let me at least help get them where you were going.”
Garret scoffed and shook his head. “What for? They don’t even know they have a brother. What would be the point? Just to make them feel good that they’re not the ones who got the short end of the stick?”
Bitterness laced his words, and he knew it. He did feel bitter. And angry. It was bad enough that his parents had actually sold him to the Agency, but then to leave the country altogether and go and start a new family without him… it hurt. It hurt a lot.
Realizing he was tearing the napkin in half, he tossed it aside and sighed. “No…no, it’s better they live in blissful ignorance. I’m sure they’re all happier not knowing about me.”
Laura had resumed her place at the counter and gave Nate a sorrowful look. How sad. How utterly and totally sad. It had been bad enough the way it was to learn of what his parents had done. To top it off with him finding out he had siblings, it…it was appalling. She just wanted to give Garret a big hug, but knew well enough that was something he would not appreciate. At least not now. She did wander closer though to rest her arm on Nate’s shoulder. “At least we know about you,” she mentioned softly. “And we’re happier for it.”
Garret looked up at her, his eyes glossing over again and he forced a dry laugh. “You know… for the first time… maybe I believe you.”
Laura smiled. “Good. Because it’s true. I know it has to really hurt…knowing about your parents and what they did. Whatever you decide to do though…you’re a part of this family now whether you like it or not. And that won’t change. You can trust that.”
Garret’s gaze dropped once more. Could he? Who could he really trust? No one had ever not let him down. “How do I know that?”
“Well… for starters… we do have chocolate ice cream.”
Garret’s eyes snapped back up again in disbelief.
Laura bit her lip to keep from laughing. She hadn’t meant to make light of the topic, but it did feel like maybe a shift would be good for the time being. “That’s… gotta count for something, right?”
Finally a grin curled Garret’s lips and he nodded. “You do have a point.”
“Good. If you want… when Maggie’s done with her homework – which should be any minute – we can all have some ice cream and play a game. If… you feel up to it?”
Did he? On one hand, Garret felt like doing nothing but hibernating. On the other…he didn’t want to be alone. “I think I might.” He turned his attention back to Nate as the wheels in his mind were still turning. “Um… there was a guy I saw at the Elite today. Kinda short… dark hair… maybe he was there with the FBI agents? I was just wondering who he was.” Actually, the subject wasn’t as disconnected as it might seem, but for now he was just trying to put a few pieces together.
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