I.N.E.T 4

by Brenda Cothern

  “So, why us and not the DEA?” Knight inquired.

  Lita answered before Fish had the chance. “They wanted the bust for themselves more than likely and then found out the drugs were coming from outside the country.”

  “Or he is just doing Fish a favor by giving us the bust on the drugs,” Knight stated and smirked at Lita before he continued. “Then again, maybe he just wants to see you again.”

  Lita laughed. “Screw you, Knight. It’s not like that. Shit, I’m not even gay like the rest of you assholes’. We were just reconnecting.”

  “Reconnecting. Right. Someone might want to tell Harrison that,” Knight quirked while he finished reading through the file Fish had handed him fifteen minutes ago.

  “Okay you two shits.” Fish leaned forward. “Get your standard gear from Deat. I’ll send Hunt and Payne down to back you up. Hunt will give you the surveillance shit you need, but he and Payne won’t be staying with either of you. You won’t be staying together, either. Deat will send you the details about where you’ll be staying,” Fish informed them. “Now get the hell out.”

  Both INET agents stood and walked toward the open door to Fish’s office. Lita had already stepped out when Fish called out to Knight who turned to look at his boss.

  “Slade is suspended.”

  “What? Are you fucking insane?” Knight walked back toward Fish and stood in front of his director’s desk. “He’s a terror during down time in the office. Do you know what kind of chaos he can stir up without some sort of work to do?”

  “Yeah, I do, but he shouldn’t have tried to blow up two of my agents and part of my damn building!” Fish’s voice steadily gained volume.

  “But, suspended?”

  “He should’ve thought of that before he pulled this stunt.” Fish glared at Knight as if it was his fault Slade pulled this kind of shit or as if Knight could have stopped his partner and chose to let him set off the grenades instead.

  “Can’t you at least send him with Hunt and Payne to do surveillance?”

  “No. He needs to learn he can’t do shit like this, Knight.” Fish sighed. “I’m still catching hell over the last sprinkler stunt that left red shit everywhere.”

  Knight ran a hand over his face just thinking about that particular prank Slade had pulled. His best suit was ruined and the fucker wasn’t cheap. Beating Slade's ass was almost as gratifying as sex with him was, but Knight was sure the ass kicking he'd given Slade earlier wasn't going to result in incredible sex later. Especially, once Slade heard Knight was heading to South Carolina without him.

  “I get it, but don’t blame me for any of the shit he does while I’m undercover in South Carolina,” Knight growled out and turned to leave.

  “Knight.”

  Jesus Christ. Am I ever going to get the hell out of this office? Knight thought before he turned back to his boss once more.

  “Don’t tell Slade where you are going.” Fish stared bullets at Knight. “He is suspended and I don’t need him fucking up this op.”

  Knight gave Fish a nod and mentally cursed the man again. There was no way in hell Slade would be okay with him going undercover somewhere without knowing exactly where, especially if Slade wouldn’t be permitted to back him up.

  There was no sign of Lita, Hunt, or Payne when Knight stepped out of Fish’s office and headed to his desk. His ass had barely planted in his shitty rolling chair before Zep and Spider were leaning over the partition that separated his and Slade’s workspace from theirs.

  “So, how much shit is Slade in this time?” Zep grinned and the amusement in his voice was clear as day.

  “He’s suspended,” Knight informed them with a frown that let both of his coworkers know he wasn’t pleased with Fish’s decision.

  Spider whistled at the same time Zep practically shouted, “Oh shit!”

  Spider glanced at his partner and Knight wanted to grin at the former ATF agent’s surprised expression over his partner’s reaction to the news.

  “It can’t be the first time that asshole has been suspended.” Spider looked between them. Neither Knight nor Zep replied. “Is it?” Spider inquired. “How the hell is that even possible with all the shit he blows up?”

  Knight shrugged and Zep continued to look worried. “Lita said you guys are going under in South Carolina and that Hunt and Payne are backing you up.” Zep met Knight’s pale blue eyes and was sure the concern in Knight’s gaze was mirrored in his own. “You know he’s going to follow you up to South Carolina.”

  “Fish ordered me not to tell him.”

  Spider whistled again and Zep repeated, “Oh shit”, before just shaking his head and walking away.

  “Are you going to follow that order, Knight?” Spider’s question was practically asked on a whisper.

  “Yeah.”

  “What the hell, man? Slade’s not my favorite person, but damn. Not telling your partner where you are going under? That’s fucked up.”

  “I can’t risk him blowing our cover and if he knows where I’m going he will just insert himself. All that will accomplish is making shit worse for him with Fish and risk getting us and the Feds killed,” Knight explained his logic to Spider as if he were talking to a six-year-old.

  “Still, that’s fucked up, man.”

  Knight didn’t bother to reply before Spider walked away and Knight shut down his computer. He grabbed his keys off the desk and didn’t even bother to say goodbye to Zep and Spider before he stepped on the elevator.

  Lita was still bullshitting with Hunt and Payne who were waiting for Deat to finish gathering the surveillance equipment they would require for the op. Knight was glad to have caught Lita before the man left so he could give his temporary partner the folder Fish had handed him in his office.

  Knight’s speed reading allowed him to absorb everything in the file, little as it was, while he had sat in Fish’s office. His photographic memory allowed him to recall the entire file, so he no longer needed it. However, Lita did, so he held out the file to him.

  “Thanks.” Lita nodded at Knight.

  “We are going to head down tomorrow night and get your apartments set up,” Hunt informed Lita and Knight. “Deat gave us the addresses.”

  “I sent them to your phones as well,” Deat chimed in just as two cell phones dinged.

  Deat came out of a row of shelving with two hard cases in his hands. He handed them over to Payne. He slid a third box that sat on his work table to Hunt.

  “Your laptop and two monitors,” Deat informed Hunt. “I’ll overnight the rest.”

  “Sounds good,” Hunt agreed and didn’t make a fuss when Payne handed him the two smaller hard cases to carry before he picked up the heavier box.

  Hunt and Payne turned to leave when Deat called out, “Keys.”

  Payne shifted the box in his arms just in time to free up a hand to catch the keys Deat threw at his head.

  “Ass.” Payne grinned and pushed the keys into his front pocket.

  Lita and Knight were still chuckling while watching their coworkers leave when Deat spoke again, “Yours.”

  “Jesus, Deat,” Lita cursed and fumbled to catch the keys that bounced off his chest.

  “Knight.” Deat held out the keys to the apartment Knight would be using for the op.

  “What the hell? He gets special ‘no key beaning’ treatment?” Lita waved at Knight who just smirked.

  “We are war brothers now,” Deat grinned.

  “Yup, we survived Slade’s mini war,” Knight agreed and continued to smirk.

  “Hrump,” Lita grunted and headed toward the door. “Keep smirking Knight and let me know how the real war Slade’s going to start turns out when he finds out you’re going on an op without him.”

  “Fuck.” Knight scrubbed his face with a hand which effectively wiped his smirk away. Lita’s laugh was still echoing in the hall and was only silenced by the elevator doors closing.

  “It’s going to be bad,” Knight groaned.

  “I
t was probably going to be bad because he’s never been suspended. What it’s going to be now?” Deat shrugged. “Not sure there’s even a word for it.”

  Knight groaned again. “I’m half tempted to go home with you tonight and to South Carolina with Hunt and Payne tomorrow night instead of going home.” Knight was seriously contemplating that option.

  Deat laughed. “Yeah and make him a hundred times worse when you get back from the op. It’s your life man, but if you want to crash at my place you’re more than welcome.”

  “Yeah,” Knight agreed about how pissed Slade would be when he got back from the op if he didn’t go home before he left for South Carolina.

  “Here.” Deat pushed the case toward him.

  “I can’t use my issued weapon? Or is this another backup piece?”

  Knight took what he thought was a gun case and opened it. What he saw in the case sure as shit wasn’t a gun. Unless someone somewhere figured out how to turn Mary Kay shit into firearms.

  “What the hell is this?”

  Deat roared with laughter. “The look on your face. Oh shit,” Deat gasped for air in order to continue. “It’s makeup.”

  “No shit, Sherlock,” Knight growled out. “What the hell do I need fucking makeup for?” Knight shut the case and pushed it back toward Deat. The fucker was still laughing and pushed the case back.

  After a moment, Deat caught his breath. “To cover up Slade’s handiwork that will be very obvious come tomorrow.” Deat waved at Knight’s face.

  Just being reminded of his brawl with his lover made his face start to throb. The thought that he’d have to wear fucking makeup on the op until the bruises disappeared made him want to kick Slade’s ass all over again. At least the asshole only clipped his cheek and jaw instead of giving him a black eye and a busted lip.

  “Son of a bitch.” Knight ran a hand over his face again.

  “You know how to apply this stuff?” Deat smirked.

  “If I don’t, I guess you’re going to show me.”

  “If I need to.” Deat’s smirk turned into a grin.

  “I’ll manage.”

  Knight glared at Deat and grabbed the handle of the makeup case so hard that the contents would’ve decorated the room had it not been securely closed. He stormed out of Requisitions and cursed Slade the entire ride home.

  Two

  Slade heard Knight’s truck pull into the driveway. He didn’t bother to get up from where he sat on the sofa in nothing but a pair of INET training sweatpants. He’d only been home for three hours now and hadn’t moved from the couch except to get another beer. He was nursing them and still on his fourth when Knight stepped through the front door.

  Shock. He was still in shock over Fish suspending him. That was the only explanation he could come up with for how he was currently feeling. Of all the shit he had ever pulled in the past, Fish had never suspended him.

  Knight wasn’t sure what to expect when he walked into his house that he now shared with Slade. It sure as hell wasn’t to see his lover looking like a vegetable on their couch wearing next to nothing.

  Hell, if he were honest, he expected Slade to be seething mad to the point of trashing the place. But no, Slade was practically zoning out at the TV while holding a bottle of beer. The TV wasn’t even on.

  Knight set the damn makeup case down on the kitchen counter and removed his suit jacket. He gave no thought to draping his expensive jacket on top of the counter before he pulled a box of Ziploc bags from the cabinet.

  Ice. I need ice and if I am lucky these bruises won’t need the fucking makeup.

  Knight knew he was lying to himself but didn’t care as he filled three bags with crushed ice. He put the first bag against his ribs and used his arm to keep it there. A hiss escaped through his lips at the sudden cold and his entire body felt like it was covered in goosebumps. The second bag, he held to his face. It was just big enough to cover where Slade clipped him on the cheek and jaw. The last bag he made to replace one of Slade’s because whatever cold compress his lover made three hours ago would be nothing but water by now.

  Slade tracked Knight when his lover walked into the kitchen. He watched Knight make ice bags and it dawned on him that he should have made himself some when he first came home. Knight would give him shit about not doing so in three, two…

  “What the fuck, Slade?”

  Knight stared down at his lover incredulously. At first, he thought Slade’s ice bags had melted to the point where he just set them aside. A quick glance at the couch and tables revealed that wasn’t the case. Knight knew he hadn’t hit Slade hard enough in the head for his lover not to take care of himself after they’d gone a few rounds.

  It has to be the suspension.

  “Take these though they’ll probably do you as good as they will me.” Knight thrust out all three ice bags.

  “Not worth it, now.”

  “Use the fucking ice,” Knight growled and dropped the three bags in his lover’s lap.

  He didn’t wait to see if Slade moved them where they needed to be applied before he returned to the kitchen to make two more for himself. Knight wanted to rant at Slade for the shit with the grenades and for getting himself suspended because of his stunt. The thought to bitch about their punch up never even entered his mind. They beat each other up over stupid shit all the time, to the point anyone outside of their team thought they hated one another.

  Slade continued to watch Knight. He knew his lover would be pissed when Knight came home, but Knight didn’t seem mad until he realized Slade hadn’t taken care of himself. Slade did so now by placing the ice bags where he could feel aches and pains turning into swollen bruises although he doubted they would do any good. However, Knight not fuming when he walked through the door made Slade’s gut twinge and not in a good way. No, it twinged in warning as if he were about to be shot unseen at any moment.

  “What aren’t you telling me?” Slade dropped his bare feet from the coffee table and stared at his lover when Knight finally sat across from him.

  Knight wasn’t sure why he was surprised that Slade figured out that Knight wasn’t telling him something. He just didn’t expect Slade to pinpoint it so soon. I should know better by now.

  Still, Knight evaded his lover’s question with one of his own. “What the hell were you thinking when you pulled those fucking pins? And don’t even try to tell me it was an accident. You don’t do a damn thing by accident.”

  “I sure as shit wasn’t thinking Fish would suspend me and don’t evade the question.”

  “How could he not suspend you, Slade?” Knight’s voice raised and he leaned forward in the chair. “You could’ve put a fucking hole in HQ for fuck’s sake!”

  “They didn’t land anywhere near the building.” Slade smirked. “And you still haven’t answered my question.” When Knight remained quiet, Slade frowned. “Fish didn’t suspend you too, did he?”

  “No, but…”

  Slade didn’t seem to hear him before his lover stood and started shouting. “He can’t fucking suspend you. You didn’t fucking do anything!” The ice bags fell to the floor and were long forgotten as Slade started to pace. “I’ll kick his ass. No, I’ll just tell him he can’t suspend you if he expects me to come back. Yes, that’s what I’ll tell him. This is on me. Hell, you were just near where they went off, he knows that. I’ll remind him.”

  Knight watched Slade pace and run his hands through his dark hair. After his lover’s initial outburst, Slade was talking more to himself than to Knight. He would’ve found his lover’s behavior amusing especially since Slade’s native southern accent was making an appearance the longer he talked to himself, but he couldn’t. Slade was too genuinely upset that he’d been the reason Knight was being reprimanded at work for something he’d done.

  Slade’s assumption wasn’t far-fetched, either, and Knight couldn’t fault his lover for making the assumption. Knight was always unreasonably held responsible for Slade’s shit and expected to keep a tight r
ein on Slade so that his antics didn’t get out of control. Who the hell Fish tasked with the job before Knight came along, he had no clue. Their boss had probably reprimanded whoever was closest to Slade when shit happened.

  “Slade.” Knight stood. “Slade.” His lover was still talking to himself and pacing. “Aaron.”

  Knight stepped in front of Slade and if Slade’s reflexes weren’t so honed, he would’ve plowed right over his partner and lover. He didn’t fight Knight when the man grabbed his biceps to halt him.

  “I’m not suspended.”

  Slade blinked and let the words sink in. Thank God, he thought, but instead deflated and said, “Oh, good.”

  “I wish that were the case, though.”

  “What? Why? You really don’t think I’ll burn down the house do you?” Slade grinned, his mood shifting back so fast it almost gave Knight whiplash, he and wrapped his arms around his lover’s waist.

  Of course, now that Slade knew he wasn’t responsible for Knight being suspended, his mind had already turned to thoughts of making a homemade version of Deat’s new grenades. He wouldn’t mention that to Knight though, or his lover would come unglued. Then again an unglued Knight was a hot Knight that always led to even hotter sex.

  “With you? There is no telling,” Knight pulled Slade closer so when he dropped the real reason he wished he was suspended, Slade would have less room and less force by extension when his anger exploded

  “I wouldn’t, really.” Slade batted his lashes in an attempt to look innocent, but even he knew he looked more ridiculous than anything else.

  “Humph.” Knight leaned in and kissed Slade with the hope to distract his lover and avoid telling him about his new assignment.

  Slade willingly accepted Knight’s kiss even though he saw it for the distraction tactic that it was. But that was okay. Slade would willingly be distracted by Knight any time. He closed the small distance between them and moaned into their kiss when his sweatpants-covered erection made contact with Knight’s suit covered hardness.