Shoot for the Moon

Aaron smirked a little, but didn’t mouth off to Sam. Not today anyway. He needed time to feel her out… see where she really stood… find her buttons. As her fingers brushed his wrists while she cuffed him, he looked at her eyes, wondering about her…about who she was behind the badge.

Standing back out of the way, Hal just let Sam find her own way. He was there, but he wanted to see what kind of initiative she had and see how she handled Aaron without any undu prompting. He knew she wasn’t just a rookie on the force, and wasn’t going to assume she needed help where she didn’t. 

Aaron took a few ginger steps forward, gritting his teeth against the pain. He must have twisted his knee earlier worse than he thought. Rick had warned him, and he hadn’t listened. Sam’s question brought a scoff to the surface. “Yeah. Never.” 

His knee buckled and he caught himself against the wall, muttering a curse. He shot a glare in Hal’s direction. “If you wouldn’t insist on these stupid cuffs, I could actually use something for leverage.” 

Hal quirked an eyebrow as he considered the options. Rick had wanted Aaron to use crutches, but there was just no way to allow that and restrain him at the same time. As a result, Aaron’s recovery was slow going because he had to put too much weight on his knee with each step. “Well, if you were better behaved, you’d have a lot more options. But as it is…” He shook his head. 

Aaron just rolled his eyes and tried again, but the going was slow. After they’d looped around the lower level, it was on to the stairs. Aaron stopped and just stared at them. He tried to look tough on the outside, but on the inside… Leaning against the wall, he slid down to sit on the floor. 

Hal threw Sam a quick glance. This was something new. Sometimes he didn’t want to come out of his cell, but he’d never just quit halfway before. “Come on, Aaron.” He nudged him with his foot. 

Aaron shook his head stubbornly. “Not til you take these cuffs off so I can use the railing.”

“We’ve been over this a hundred and seven times.”

Aaron finally looked up at him. “Come on. You got your gun. What am I gonna do, huh? Run away?”

“You caused an awful lot of damage the last time you tried to get out of here, and you were in worse shape then.” 

Aaron sighed. “Fine. Pick me up and carry me then. I’m not moving until you take these cuffs off.” 

Was he really just being stubborn, or had he genuinely hit a roadblock? Hal couldn’t tell. Maybe it was time they tried giving him another chance. They’d have to eventually. He looked to Sam again and nodded. “You keep an eye on him. I’m gonna go see what Rick has to say. If he tries anything…” He glanced down at Aaron, then back up at her. “Well, I think you know how to handle yourself.” 

Left alone with Sam, Aaron just held the floor in a silent stare for several minutes until he finally looked up at her. And for just a split second, there was more than anger in his gaze. There was fear. Fear this wasn’t going to get any better. Fear he’d be lame the rest of his life. Fear that this was it for him – being a prisoner within these walls. Fear that all freedom was gone. 

And just as quickly, the look vanished, replaced by his usual coldness. “Told ya…babysitting. Having fun yet?”


“I told you he should be on crutches.” Rick tossed some paperwork aside and shook his head at Hal, exasperated. “He shouldn’t have had any weight on that leg at all until it was in better shape.”

“But you said he needed to walk every day.” 

“Because there’s no other way to get it done!” Rick threw up his hands. “What do you want me to say? Medically speaking, he should be using crutches and be going through therapy. But since he’s a prisoner with no wish other than to kill people and run away… there’s no other option than to have him walking, and it’s severely affecting his recovery.” 

Hal sighed, remaining calm. He knew it was hard for Rick to want to help people who didn’t want to help themselves. “So if he’ll behave… crutches would at least help?” 

“Yeah.” Rick’s shoulders dropped along with his temper. “It would help at least until he can manage more weight.” 


Scott’s emotions churned, and it took all he had to keep himself under control. He appreciated Dalton’s assurance… he really did feel safer around his big friend. But it didn’t solve anything. 

Finally, he shook his head, not even sure how long he’d spaced out. Now he knew how Jason had felt lately. “You can’t… I mean, I… I should go home. I…I can’t… It…” He rubbed his blind eye as he tried to think straight. “Nothing I do makes a difference… it…it all just… it doesn’t end and… I can’t…” He gasped for air as he started to hyperventilate. “They can’t… I… It was supposed to be over. I just… why… why can’t they leave me alone?”  


Reese thought for a moment about their options. “A month…that’s fine. I’m sure you have a lot of things you’ll need to wrap up. I’ll be honest – you’re coming in at a bad time with all the changes happening, but we can use you.” They’d just lost Gunner so there was a pretty big hole right there. “I don’t know what you’ll find when you get here, but eventually things will settle down and we’ll all find a new routine. Keep me in the loop as far as when you foresee coming and… we’ll see you soon then.” 

Kirk fished his phone from his pocket as he sat with Adison back in the cubicle again. “Hey! Reese approved Ron for the job.” 

Good deal! 
There’s a ton of stuff
around town. I can shoot you 
some info. Shouldn’t be 
hard for you to find 
something. When are 
you coming?


Jamison parked along the street before getting out and wandering across the grassy lot of the park. Finding an empty picnic table, he sat and just watched a couple squirrels for a while before he pulled out his phone. He thought on it a few minutes before eventually dialing. Hearing the female voice answer, he smiled. “Hey, Tiff.”

“Jamison! Hi!”

He chuckled at her enthusiasm. “Hi. Didn’t catch you at a bad time, did I?”

“Oh, no. Bella’s at preschool and Meghan’s just dragging that stuffed dinosaur you gave her all over the house roaring and giggling. That means Mommy has about ten minutes to clean their room, but…I’d much rather talk to you. Aren’t you at work?”

“Um…about that.” Jamison cringed a little. “I…may have gotten myself suspended.”

“Suspended?! Why? What for?”

“Slugging another agent.”

“You? You actually hit somebody? Who was it?”

“Remember I told you about Mark?”

She snorted. “Oh yes. Wait. You finally gave it to him? Well good! I mean…is it bad?”

Jamison sighed. “Well, it’s not so great for me, no. It gets more complicated than that though…” He went on to tell her as much as he could about what had happened, then Kirk’s proposition about him joining the Elite.

“Whoa…that’s some pretty heavy stuff. The Elite sounds…cool though, right?”

“Sure. Awesome in fact. But I’d have to quit the FBI. And I just…”

“I know. You spent how long, trying to convince Mom and Dad that law enforcement was what you wanted, and that the FBI was a good job?”

Jamison picked at some chipping paint on the table. “Yeah. Mom wanted me to be an interior decorator. Can you imagine?”

His sister snickered. “Actually…I sort of can. But that would require you doing something other than reading and feeding fish, and you never were a real good judge on colors.”

Jamison’s eyes narrowed. “Thanks.”

She laughed. “You know I love you. And I know you do plenty besides read and feed your fish. Even though I’m not there… I can imagine you go through a lot every day. I have no idea what it takes to be a part of the FBI but… I’ve always been proud of you, ya know. It’s kinda cool to be able to brag about my brother being an FBI agent.”

“Yeah well…how about an Elite agent?”

“Mmm…I don’t know anything about them, but Elite sure sounds like a cool name.”

“And about the quitting part?”

“It’s not quitting. It’s resigning your current position in order to move up. That’s all. You have to put it in perspective. Is it really what you want to do?”

“I…” Jamison hesitated. “I think so.”

“Then for Pete’s sake, do it. Who cares what Mom or Dad or anybody else thinks? You’ve been miserable where you’ve been at. I know it was fulfilling in a way because you’d gotten where you wanted to be but…if this would be a better position for you where people would actually respect you and let you show your stuff then…what’s to stop you?”

“I dunno… What if it doesn’t work out? Then what?”

“Shoot for the moon, Jamie… at least if you miss, you’ll land in the stars.”

Jamison smiled. His sister had been telling him that for years. “Yeah, well if the stars don’t catch me, I’m falling right on top of your head.”

She giggled. “Okay, I’ll be keeping an eye out for you.”


Garret walked along the sidewalk, knowing it wasn’t safe to let his mind wander, but he did it anyway. Nate’s words bothered him. Not in an angry way, but in a confusing way. He was starting to put the puzzle together but…was he ready for the final outcome? Being family…treating others like family… it required a lot of trust… a lot of grace… a lot of openness. Garret wasn’t so sure he had any of those. Nate’s family…they were treating him like he belonged with them. Like he was one of them. But to return that…how could he possibly open himself up like that? He’d been taught all his life not to put himself in a vulnerable position. And making friends or family…that was the most vulnerable position of all. 

He turned a corner and kept walking. His mind shifted along with his direction. The guy he’d met outside the Elite building…who was he and why did Garret feel like he knew him? His face had seemed so familiar for some reason. Had he been part of an Agency case he’d worked on? It wasn’t like him to not be able to remember. He felt like he was slipping. Slipping away from who he was. And yet… to become someone who could survive in this new world… must he first let go of who he’d been? 


Suppertime. The scent of spaghetti sauce lingered as the little family sat down to eat. It was just the four of them. Nate, Laura, Maggie and Brian. They didn’t talk about the fact that Garret was nowhere to be found, but carried on as usual, mostly for Maggie’s sake so she wouldn’t worry. It was only after the meal when Laura was alone with Nate that she had time to actually talk to him without Maggie’s listening ears. 

“He was home for a little while at least,” she mentioned quietly as he washed some dishes. “I know, because he was on the computer again, looking up the same guy as before. From what I could tell from the browser history, he was also checking out the guy’s wife and her family. By the time I got home from running errands though, he was gone again.” She shook her head. “I just… feel weird about it. I don’t think he’s up to no good, and I want to trust him but… Stalking someone’s family online just… seems too odd not to take notice. Especially for a guy like Garret.” 

She rinsed several plates and put them in the drainer. “I don’t know… I guess I just remember Carson and Alec and how they were pulled back into the Agency by threats and I’m just scared something like that’s happening to Garret, too. I know no one is supposed to know he’s alive, but still.” She glanced up at her husband, the worry showing in her eyes. She truly didn’t think Garret was doing anything wrong on purpose, but what if there really was more to this story? Her gut said there was, and it was just…never good when someone from the Agency had secrets. History had proven that time and time again. 

She was about to say more when the sound of the front door cut her off. Her eyebrows rose as she cocked her head, listening as the door was shut again, and familiar footsteps came their direction. 

Garret hesitated before stepping into the kitchen. He knew supper was over…he’d purposely come home late to just avoid the choice of whether or not he’d eat with the family. 

Laura couldn’t help but notice the tired look in his eyes, but she smiled anyway. “Hi, Garret. Are you hungry?”

He bit his lip. Not chiding for having disappeared? “I…I know it’s late.”

“That’s okay. It won’t take but a couple minutes to warm up. Take your jacket off and sit down.” 

His stomach won out, so he obeyed, sitting down quietly at the table. Laura went about warming up leftovers, and threw Nate a skeptical glance. She’d leave the room if he wanted to talk to Garret about the day.