by Alex Strong
“Jesus Christ, Jillian!” Reid called out.
“You’ll have to kill me to get it,” she said. “And then you lose all leverage over Reid.”
“A little girl like you isn’t going to shoot me,” said Casimir taking a stride towards her with his arms out.
“Like hell, I won’t,” she said and sent a bullet into the floor between his feet. Her aim was much better at this distance. It was enough to stop him in his tracks. It was also enough to point the other two big guns her direction, and she gave Reid a look that didn’t take him long to read.
In one swift movement, he took control of the gun closest to him, sent an elbow to the face of the man it was attached to, and got a shot off hitting the second gunned man before aiming it at the third man, whose gun was aimed right back at him.
“And what the hell did that accomplish?” Casimir asked, fuming. “If you shoot me, your precious Reid will die.”
“My man is prepared to die for his country,” she said, “as am I. Are you?” But deep down Jillian knew he was right. They were still at the same standoff as before, just a few less players. Truth was she really didn’t want to die today. And she didn’t want to lose Reid either.
But then the glass from a window shattered and the last gunman dropped, causing Jillian to panic. Her confusion must have been enough for Casimir because he knocked her to the ground in an instant, trying to wrestle the gun from her. Jillian felt it slipping from her grasp just as Casimir cried out in pain. As he rolled off of her, clutching his side, she saw Reid standing over them taking another kick at Casimir. She slid away, still holding the gun, trying to avoid the mess when Aaron barged in through the front door and stopped Reid from taking any more blows at him.
As Aaron zip tied Casimir’s wrist, Reid helped Jillian to her feet.
“Are you okay?” he asked, checking her face and body for any marks.
“I’m fine,” she said. The scuffle hadn’t been that bad.
“What the hell were you thinking? You could have gotten yourself killed!”
“He was going to kill us either way, wasn’t he?”
He pulled her against his chest and Jillian wrapped her arms around his midsection. Was it really over? She looked at Casimir, still on the floor with his hands bound behind his back. Aaron was on the phone calling in to someone when movement in the far corner of the room caught her eye. Her father was huddled there, crying again.
“You!” she cried, pushing away from Reid. “This is your fault!”
She had marched half-way across the room when Reid’s arms caught her by the waist, preventing her from getting any closer to him.
“You fucking coward!” she screamed, trying to push Reid’s arms off of her, but now he was keeping her feet from even touching the ground.
“I’m sorry,” he father sobbed as he pushed himself up to standing. “After your mother died ...”
“Don’t you bring her into this! She would have been ashamed of you. How dare you!”
Reid carried her to the door as she still struggled against him.
“Restrain him as well,” Reid said to Aaron as they walked out of the cabin where he finally set her down on the gravel.
“My own father,” she said, turning around to face him. “How could he?”
Instead of answering, Reid again pulled her into him and this time she started crying into his chest. It was all too much. The abduction, the standoff, her father’s betrayal.
“For the past ten years he’s been lying to me,” she muttered into Reid’s shirt and he rubbed her back, still not speaking. And then she remembered that her father wasn’t the only one who had been keeping secrets. She lifted her head and looked into the blue eyes that had always been so intimidating.
“Please don’t look at me like that,” said Reid.
“I guess I don’t really know any of the people in my life, do I? Not Cameron, not my father. Not even you.”
“It’s not the same with me.”
“Isn’t it?” she asked. “Half of what you’ve told me has been a lie. Where you work, where you go when you’re not here.”
“But I’ve never lied about how I feel about you. And I would never willingly put you in danger.”
Jillian didn’t doubt Reid’s words, not after everything they had just gone through, but she was so confused right now.
“I love you,” he whispered, as though sensing her thoughts.
The screen door creaked and they both looked up to see Aaron coming out.
“A team should be here in about thirty minutes,” he said.
Jillian stepped back from Reid, and with Aaron witnessing, he let her go.
“Can I go home now?” she asked.
“Afraid not,” Aaron told her. “They’re going to want to talk to you.”
She looked at Reid who nodded.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“I’ll wait in the car,” she said and trudged over to Reid’s SUV.
As she crawled into the passenger seat, she thought of Reid’s proclamation and felt bad for leaving him hanging. Deep down she knew she felt the same way, but wondered if it was enough.
Reid watched Jillian climb into the car. He knew she needed time. What she would decide to do after that, he didn’t know.
“Apology accepted, by the way,” said Aaron.
Reid looked at him. “For what?”
“For suspecting me.”
Unable to look him in the eye, Reid looked down at the dirt.
“How did you know?” he asked.
“I saw the look on your face. And because I would’ve come to the same conclusion based on the evidence.”
“I wanted to be wrong,” Reid said, finally meeting Aaron’s eye. “I’m glad I was wrong. What made you decide to come up here?”
“I figured it was where you were headed,” said Aaron. “And if you were right about someone leaking information, there was a good chance you were going to need back-up. Just because you doubted me didn’t mean I was going to leave you high and dry.”
“I’m sorry, man. I don’t know what to say.”
“Like I said. Apology accepted. So what are we going to tell the Director when she gets here?” Aaron asked.
“The truth,” Reid told him.
“You sure?”
Reid looked at Jillian sitting in his vehicle.
“Yes. No more lies.”
For the next half-hour, Jillian watched Aaron and Reid from the car. Occasionally Aaron would step into the cabin and come right back out. She figured he was checking on Casimir and Jacob. From out here it was easy to forget that her father was inside, restrained and waiting for the authorities. She wondered what would happen to him, but wasn’t ready to ask that question.
Reid kept looking back at her, frowning, and it made her heart ache. She was just about to open the door and go talk to him when a black SUV pulled up and several people jumped out. A dark sedan came in right behind it and someone opened the back door for a woman to climb out. She was dressed in a smart black pantsuit and expensive, but practical shoes.
“You’ve got some explaining to do, Agent Jackson,” she said, marching up to where he and Aaron were standing.
“Yes, Ma’am.” Despite being a good foot taller than her, Reid was visibly submissive in her presence. Jillian had no doubt this was his boss, the woman in charge.
“Where’s the girl?” the woman asked, surveying the scene.
Reid pointed at the car, and Jillian came out trembling, wondering if she was in trouble too. But as the woman approached, Jillian could see her stoic face softening.
“You must be Jillian Sandro.” Jillian nodded. “I’m Director Rollins,” she said, quickly flashing a badge. “I understand you’ve been through quite an ordeal.”
Jillian nodded again and Director Rollins snapped her finger. A man rushed over.
“This is Brent Riker,” said Rollins. “He’s going to drive you back to headquarter, where you’ll give your statemen
t, and then we have some paperwork we’re going to need you to fill out.”
“What about Reid?” Jillian asked.
“Agent Jackson will be along shortly.”
Jillian reluctantly climbed into the back seat of the sedan with Rollins’s lackey and as they were driven away, she turned back to watch the whole scene shrink away.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
After telling Riker everything that had happened, he asked her to write it down. Then asked her to tell him again as he went over it.
“Just being thorough,” he told her.
A lot of questions about Reid’s involvement were asked, and Jillian began to wonder how much trouble he was in.
When he was finally done with the interrogating, Riker brought in a lawyer who sat down next to Jillian with a non-disclosure agreement. They assured her she could go home as soon as she signed it, but also politely explained what the consequences would be if she breathed a word of the agency’s involvement to anyone outside of the agency. There was no hesitation. She wanted to forget about it all as much as they did.
Riker and the lawyer left as Director Rollins walked in with another gentleman who wasn’t dressed nearly as sharply as everyone else.
“We thank you for your cooperation, Ms. Sandro,” she said. “Agent Gavin Maxwell here will escort you home. If we need anything else, we know how to reach you.” She turned on her heel and left.
That was it, Jillian had been dismissed.
“If you’ll follow me, Ms. Sandro,” said Gavin.
They walked down the hall not far behind Rollins and as she entered another room, Jillian caught sight of Reid. Their eyes met for a second before Rollins shut the door behind her.
“What’s going to happen to him?” she asked.
“Hard to say,” Gavin said with a shrug.
Reid stared at the door for a few more seconds before turning his attention to Director Rollins.
“Where is Maxwell taking her?” he asked. “Ma’am,” he added after seeing the icy expression on her face.
“Home.”
Aaron kicked him from under the table, reminding him what he should be worried about right now.
“Now let’s go over this one more time, gentleman,” she said.
It was late when Director Rollins finally let Reid leave. He pulled into his driveway, feeling the familiar exhaustion, but immediately walked across the street to Jillian’s house. As he stood on the front step listening to the doorbell echo through the house, he told himself that she had succumbed to fatigue and didn’t hear, yet couldn’t help feeling that she was simply avoiding him.
Deciding to try again first thing in the morning, he walked back to his house with both hands in his pockets. As he approached his darkened porch, Reid could just make out something, or someone, lying across the swing. He walked up to discover Jillian, fast asleep.
“Hey,” he said, crouching close to her face and her eyes fluttered open. “What are you doing here?”
She sat up while he kept the swing steady. “I couldn’t go inside.”
“A team has already done a sweep,” he said. “I promise there’s no more surveillance equipment.”
“That’s not it,” she said, shaking her head. “Even if they’re not watching me, that was never my home. It wasn’t even my father’s, it was his.”
“Come inside,” Reid said, taking her hand. “It’s chilly out here.”
She nodded and let him lead her into the house. Her hand in his felt good and Reid resisted the temptation to pull her into him.
“I didn’t know where else to go,” she said. “All I have left is my aunt and I didn’t know what to say.” She stifled a sob. “How do I tell her that her brother-in-law was… What am I supposed to say to them?”
Reid wiped away a tear that was sliding down her cheek. “Of course you can stay here. I want you here with me.”
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“And we can worry later about what to say to everyone. You should get some sleep now. You’re exhausted.”
“Sleep does sound good.”
She followed Reid upstairs and he found a t-shirt for her to sleep in.
“Will you stay here?” she asked as he pulled back the covers and she crawled into his bed. “Next to me?”
Reid stripped down to his boxers and slid in next to her.
“There’s nowhere I need to be but right here,” he said and she curled up into his arms.
“Reid?”
“Hmm…” he answered, gently stroking her back.
“I love you.”
He kissed the top of her head. “I love you too.”
Jillian woke the next morning to sunshine peeking into the bedroom and Reid’s arms around her. For a precious moment, it was easy to pretend everything else had been a horrible nightmare. But then she saw the bruise on her arm and knew it had indeed been very real.
“Good morning,” Reid said into her neck.
She rolled over to see the smile on his face and felt one growing on her own.
“Good morning.”
“How’d you sleep?” he asked.
“Very well, thank you,” she said propping up on her elbow to look down at him.
His smile faltered. “That’s good. But don’t be surprised if some memories spring up over the next few days.”
“You’ll be here to protect me from them, won’t you?”
“I hope so.”
Now her smile faded. “Are you in trouble?” she asked.
“Yes. But they haven’t decided what to do with me. There’s a hearing next week.”
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“I’m not,” he said, caressing her face.
Jillian took the hand and kissed his palm. Without warning, Reid rolled her onto her back and she felt a charge as he straddled her.
“No matter what happens,” he said, staring right into her eyes, “I’d do it all over again.”
She arched up to meet his lips and kissed him.
For the past hour, Reid had been sitting at a table listening to the Disciplinary Board run through everything he, Jillian, and Aaron had told them, pointing out every wrong choice he had made along the way. This was not looking good for Reid.
“In light of recent events,” one of the board members concluded and Reid prepared himself for the blow, “we still could not overlook your exemplary service to this agency and the fact that your actions led to the apprehension of a known terrorist. After one month’s suspension without pay, you shall be re-instated to full active duty.”
“Thank you, Ma’am,” said Reid, hardly believing what they were saying.
“This hearing is adjourned.”
Reid stood up and exited the conference room to find Jillian and Aaron seated on a bench.
“How did it go?” Aaron asked as he and Jillian both stood.
“One month’s suspension,” said Reid.
“Really? That’s great!” Aaron gave him a hearty pat on the back.
“But I’m handing in my resignation this afternoon.”
“What? Why would you do that?”
Reid looked at Jillian then back to Aaron, who looked pissed. He didn’t expect him to understand.
“Because I don’t feel I’ll be able to carry out the missions to the best of my ability anymore.”
Now Aaron looked at Jillian.
“This is your doing, isn’t it?” he asked and Jillian’s jaw dropped.
“I had no idea,” she exclaimed.
“This decision is mine and mine alone,” Reid said. “Don’t blame her.”
Aaron crossed his arms over his chest. Reid knew his partner well enough to know that he was trying not to blow up at them. Aaron opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Riker rushed up to them.
“Rollins thought you should see this,” he said, handing a letter to Aaron.
Aaron read it and Reid watched his jaw tense up even more.
“What is it?” Reid asked.
<
br /> “Based on what Jillian told Riker,” he said, “we think it was Morozov at the cabin before you arrived. But as always, there isn’t enough to bring him in.”
“What?” Reid and Jillian said together.
“His lawyers came in and said that everything was circumstantial,” Riker explained.
“But he was there,” Jillian cried. “He told me everything.”
Reid put an arm around her and could feel her starting to shake. From fear or anger, he wasn’t sure.
“Did he ever tell you his name?” Riker asked.
“Well, no.”
“But she was on his god damn boat,” said Reid. “We know that for a fact.”
“Morozov admits that he let his cousin borrow his boat,” said Riker, “but claims he had no knowledge what Casimir was doing with the vessel. It’s your word against his. There’s no hard evidence. The man didn’t even leave any fingerprints at the cabin.”
“But my father…” said Jillian.
“He’s not talking,” Riker told her. “I think he’s too scared.”
“I want to talk to him,” she said.
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” said Riker.
“I think it’s a great idea,” Reid asked, “Why not? She’s the one person he might listen to.”
Riker rubbed his temple. “I suppose you’re right. I’ll go talk to Rollins.”
“Should we be worried?” Reid asked as Riker walked away. And by we, he meant Jillian.
“I don’t know,” Aaron said with a frown. “He’s just made a clean escape. I don’t imagine him doing anything to jeopardize that. But somebody needs to take this bastard down and soon.”
Aaron’s phone went off, and Reid recognized the tone.
Aaron looked at it. “I have to go.”
Reid nodded as Aaron rushed off.
“Now what?” Jillian asked with worry written all over her face.
“If I know Wells, he won’t let this go. But that’s not something you and I need to worry about anymore.”
“Are you really resigning?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“But why?”
“Because I don’t want to be out there in the field worrying about you,” he said. “Or know that you’re here worrying about me.”