Three Weeks

Even though Adison's words gave Kirk's heart hope, he still couldn't deny the inevitable. He bent to rest his elbows on the desk and set his chin on his hands, silent for a few minutes. "Maybe I just know when to throw in the towel."

"Who's throwing in the towel?"

Kirk's head shot up to see Reese standing at the cubicle wall. "I am."

Reese frowned. There was definite surrender in Kirk's eyes. "I... don't understand." He looked to Adison, then back to Kirk. "What's going on?"

"I just came from the FBI."

Reese tensed.

Kirk saw the look on his face, and shook his head. "No... I didn't tell them about Jason and Katie. And I'm not going to either. I'd rather go drown myself in the lake before I gave them anything else."

Reese's eyebrows rose. "Okay... that's... a switch."

"Yeah." Kirk leaned back in his chair again. He might as well just explain now instead of making it a formal meeting. He was just as glad Adison was here anyway. "I guess that's what happens when you find out you've been stabbed in the back. You tend to learn pretty quick that you'd rather not give them any more information to twist around and use against you." He shook his head once more. "I never wanted to tell them about Jason and Katie. I just thought it was what I should do because I've always followed the rules. You may not believe me, but... I do hope you believe me when I say the secret is safe with me. Wherever they are... you should get word to them to come back."

Reese felt relief flood his veins. He did believe Kirk and he was ready to call Jason and Katie this instant. "Thank you." He paused though. "But... that's not all, is it? What really happened?"

"I've been used," Kirk stated flatly. "The board just wanted proof that the Elite will never play by the rules. And... I unwittingly helped them prove it because now the FBI can state with confidence that they had their own agents here and even that did no good."

Reese's shoulders sank. "They're gonna shut us down, aren't they?"

"Unless a miracle happens in the next three weeks... yes. Someone is controlling Barnes and I don't know who it is or why. But whoever it is doesn't want the Elite to exist, and they simply found a way for the law to work in their favor in order to bring this place down. And I am... truly sorry I was a part of it. It was never my intent and I hope you know that."

Reese leaned on the top of the wall, trying to control his mixed emotions. "I know. I've always known you were just trying to do your job. To be honest... I respect your integrity. You've never let your personal feelings get in the way of what you thought was right."

"No," Kirk countered. "No... not what I thought was right. What I thought was the rules. I've always known what the Elite does is right. I just... was adhering to the laws I swore to follow. Today though... I resigned."

Reese's eyes widened even more. "From the FBI?"

"Yep." Kirk pursed his lips and sighed. "Not that it does any good. But I couldn't work for them anymore. What the Elite does is... so important. How you run makes no sense to me. I've always run on logic and protocol, not emotion. So seeing everyone here fighting the Agency with instinct and gut reactions is like taking my fingernails to a chalkboard. And yet... I've never seen more passion and I've never fallen in love with a place quite like I have here." Admitting it aloud caused his gaze to drop. "I'm gonna miss it."

Reese cocked his head. Kirk really did have a heart after all. He was just... good at hiding it behind regulations. His eyes drifted to Adison, scanning her face before looking back to Kirk. "You've got at least three weeks left," he reasoned.

Kirk furrowed his brow and looked up again. "What?"

Reese shrugged. "Unless you don't want an Elite badge. Although your girlfriend's got one and... it kinda shows you up just a little." He gestured with his thumb and finger to show a tiny amount. "Bruises the ego a bit."

Kirk just stared at him a moment before a slight laugh surfaced and he just shook his head. "Adison said I shouldn't give up... I didn't think you'd want me to stay."

"Why not? You were just doing your job. I know once you got to know this place you weren't trying to shut us down. The result was just a byproduct of who we are. We're not going to change... and that's not your fault. At least if you accept my offer now you'll be able to tell your grandkids you were an Elite agent once."

Kirk gave him a wry grin. "And my position would be...?"

Reese shrugged again. "How about Chief Advisor? We could use a little more logic around here."

"For three weeks."

"Right. Three weeks worth of logic ought to do it."

Kirk couldn't help another laugh as he was overcome with a rather strange sense of bewilderment. "Okay then. Do I need to sign a contract?"

"Nah... it would take about three weeks to process anyway. Unless you feel the protocol is worth it."

"Oh, I dunno... maybe this will be my first rebellious act on record."

Reese grinned and nodded. "Alright. Well. I have a phone call to make. And... I'll start letting people around here know to be prepared for the results of that board meeting."

"Right." After watching him leave, Kirk looked back to Adison, his face showing a mix of exhaustion, relief, worry and sadness. "Gonna say 'I told you so' now or later?"


Jett swallowed hard and rubbed his aching forehead. Events from the day before flashed in his mind, and they didn't make him feel any better. If anything, they just made him feel worse. He couldn't remember much after leaving Destiny's house, but he did remember what a loser he was. 

Trudging to the table, he sat, folding his arms to act as a pillow for his head and he closed his eyes. "Why the heck would you help me?" he mumbled. He was worthless, and she should just walk away like everyone else. "And why did you let Zan bring me here? I woulda been fine." 

He could feel the tears rising again, and he turned his head the other way to hide his face. He had no idea which bar he'd been at or how much he'd had to drink or how long he'd spent there. He just knew he wished he could have stayed asleep for much longer. And forgotten for a much longer amount of time.