No Longer a Cube

Kirk cringed a little, scrunching his nose. "I... didn't wanna talk to you about Sam because I thought you might be mad at me." He sighed. "Of course I respect her. If I didn't, I never would have asked her to be a part of this. What she did though... now I don't know what to think. I know she did what she thought was right in the heat of the moment. But the consequences are enormous. I mean... the entire Elite is at stake because of it."

He rubbed his forehead wearily. "We do need to be a team, but that's what Reese and I both have been trying to accomplish, and it feel like everyone is pulling opposite directions. No one is pulling together. It's just this... this... this big... blob." He took a napkin and crumpled it up, letting it fall on the table in an odd shape. "It should be smooth. Streamlined. Efficient." He took another napkin and laid it out flat, smoothing it over with his hand. "It's just... not. The Elite was functioning, but flying by the seat of its pants. It needs more structure. There have got to be consequences, which is exactly why I had to suspend Sam. She let loose a criminal - period. She knew it wouldn't be approved and she did it anyway. And Pete's in the same boat. A few months back, neither one of them would have gotten in trouble. Reese would have given them a slap on the wrist, then it would have been business as usual. But it just can't happen like that anymore. It's not efficient, it's not good sense, and it's just not right." 

He shook his head, his eyes going wide, proving his agitation. "Then there's still this big secret going on with Jason and Katie. I can't prove it, but I can feel it - they're hiding something. How are we supposed to function as a team when they won't even tell us what's going on? They blame us - the FBI - for not working with them, yet they're digging in their heels at every turn, refusing to bend or budge. So what am I supposed to do with that? How can I not enforce protocols when all they wanna do is get rid of us?" 

Realizing he'd just totally gone into a rant, he sighed deeply, puffing out his cheeks. "Sorry. I just feel like we really are moving backwards, and it's not going to end well if it keeps going like this." He paused his thoughts as Thirteen brought their drinks, and they ordered their pizza. 

Once she'd gone, he looked back at Adison wearily. "I don't know what to do at this point. I'm at my wits end."

"Maybe you've been asking the wrong people for help."

Kirk's eyes snapped up and he tensed, seeing Garret by their table. How much had the man heard? And why was he - impolitely at the very least - inserting himself into their conversation? It wasn't like they were advertising it as a public discussion. "Excuse me?"

Garret shook his head slowly. Calmly. "If you force a cube into a round hole, you're gonna shave off the corners by force and it's no longer a cube. If that's your goal, great. But if you want to preserve the cube, you need to find a square hole. And if a square one doesn't exist, maybe you need to cut one out." 

Kirk furrowed his brow, still rather irritated, and not understanding. 

Garret didn't give him time to respond. "If an object doesn't fit the mold, it doesn't mean it's defective. It just means it didn't come from the mold you expected. If you force it into another shape, it will wither and die. Its spirit will be crushed, and you will have nothing left other than another robotic shell. And I don't think you want that to happen." Leaving it at that, he turned and walked to the door to exit.

Kirk looked back at Adison, still frowning. "Now I'm getting advice from the Agency guy. Great."


"Mm... I think some coffee actually sounds good." Zan nodded his agreement. 

"Yes," Jett agreed. "And she definitely has to stay because I'd rather have her cooking than yours." 

Zan smirked. "Says the man who could get kicked out at any given moment."

Jett's eyes twinkled as he smiled. "You wouldn't kick out an injured body like me, would you? Would you be that cruel?"

"I don't know..." Zan sighed. "I suppose not." He gave Destiny a sidelong glance and a wink before looking back at his friend. "Speaking of which, how are you feeling now anyway?"

"Oh. Um." Jett shrugged. "Okay."

Zan squinted at him. "Liar." 

"Well... my head feels like it's gonna split open, I'd like to rip out my ribs, and I'm about ready to go throw a cement block on my foot so I won't feel the pain in my arm anymore. Other than that, I'm great." 

Zan rolled his eyes. He patted Destiny's leg before getting up, making sure he didn't trample her in the process. "You haven't had any pain killers since this morning. I'll go get you a couple, okay?"

"Okay..." 

Leaving Jett alone for now, Zan wandered to the kitchen with Destiny to help put on some coffee, and get some ibuprofen and water for Jett. At the counter, he slung an arm around Destiny's shoulders and kissed her cheek. "I'm sorry Jett's hurt but... I'm kinda glad how it turned out," he admitted quietly. "It's been fun having you around here all day."


Eric nodded thoughtfully at Ashlee. "Okay. I'm gonna see if I can't give him a bit of a workout. If he calms down enough, I might bring him in and crosstie him and you can give him a good grooming. Maybe he just needs some extra TLC." 

He cocked his head. "Thought I might take Static out and lead Seven on the side to stretch his legs. You wanna take Moonbeam out and ride with me?"