I do not own any of the characters of Sue Thomas F. . This is just for fun.
PROLOGUE
Jack trudged wearily into the deserted bullpen, some of the remaining tension from the case easing. He had begun to relax once his plane landed at Reagan International and the knots in his neck had continued to loosen as he drove downtown toward the Hoover Building. He wasn't expected to check in tonight but since he wasn't particularly sleepy and he wanted to begin the next day free from the case, he chose to stop and write his reports and get them behind him.
He settled in at his desk and began the task of wading through the numerous forms that required completing. It was hard to concentrate as his mind wanted to wander and settle on his happiness at being home. He'd only been gone three weeks but it had seemed much longer than that. The team, while knowing the gist of his assignment, had been cut off from communication with him. He was eager to reconnect with them and catch up. Sighing, he gave up and leaned back in his chair. He allowed his gaze to roam the room, resting on each desk and imagining his friends there, as they would be in the morning. They would be surprised to see him. He had not called to let them know he was returning, wanting to surprise them.
Finally his eyes settled on her desk as his heart
constricted in his chest. ]She had been on his mind more and more recently. Lately, in fact, he had begun to feel a bit unsettled when her name or features flitted across his mind. He had not been able to put his finger on the source of his misgivings and had finally settled on the fact that he simply missed her. He missed her more than a training agent missed a special trainee, more than a teammate missed a partner; he missed her the way a man misses the woman in his life when they are separated. The woman in his life. The thought made him smile as he tried to plan the perfect time to reveal his feelings to her.
Shaking his head to bring his focus back to the reports on his desk, a nagging thought began to take root. Looking back at Sue's desk, he noticed what his eyes had seen but his mind had begun to register. Something was different. Standing up, he approached her desk then sat, observing the desktop carefully. Sue had never had a cluttered desk, but this one looked unused. That was it! Sue's personal effects - her pictures, her plant, the Bible verses she left stuck in strategic places were all missing. Jerking open each drawer with growing urgency, he found each one empty.
Jack picked up the phone and hastily dialed Sue's number, silently urging her to pick up the phone. He sighed in frustration as the answering machine instead picked up on the fifth ring. "Hi, you've reached Lucy. Leave a message and I'll get back to you."
Jack dropped the receiver as if it had suddenly burned his hand. 'You've reached Lucy'? What about Sue? Where was she? Rubbing his head as the tension he had finally shaken earlier came flooding back, he remembered he had Lucy's grandmother's number in his desk drawer. He hurried back to retrieve it and see if he could track down Lucy. Yanking open his drawer, his eyes fell on an envelope addressed to him. Recognizing the writing as Sue's, he picked it up and read it eagerly:
Dear Jack,
I know my leaving has come as a shock to you. It's a shock to me too. I had no idea Agent Hackford would go over my head and make a request to the Director, but that is neither here nor there.
I have enjoyed every bit of my three years learning from you, Jack. You have been a patient teacher and an incredible friend. I know that my new assignment holds new challenges, but I have confidence in my ability and that is mostly because of you. Thank you, Jack, for taking a chance on me those few years ago.
Please, you and the team take care of one another. I will be praying for all of you, for your safety and happiness, and for the opportunity to return one day.
I'll miss you,
Sue
Jack sat transfixed as he tried to assimilate the information before him. The pit in his stomach grew as her words sank in; Transferred? Hackford went over her head? Did that mean she was in New York?
Jack stood and strode from the office, his reports abandoned. He had too many questions and no answers.
There was no time like the present to find someone who could rectify the situation.