FBI agents don't make good teachers. Mahone's own words when he found out the Federal Bureau of Investigation had decided to accept one intern from the special police academy. They had been under pressure for years about their policy of not accepting any students into their teams in fear of sensitive information getting out.
So Cathy spend the first three hours of her first day signing paperwork that would keep her mouth shut for the next five decades. She was pretty sure her grandchildren would hear about this internship. But atleast she got in. A position to envy for someone of her age. Not many 24 year olds got the chance to work and learn with the nation's top team. Everybody had been very kind to her so far, and she had been appointed as agent Lang's personal assistant. A chore the female agent had volunteered for herself, seeing at is was her who persuaded the bureau to finally accept pupils. Agent Mahone didn't want anything to do with it, and she was advised to keep out of his way.
What she didn't know was that he had been told to stay away from the new intern as well. Nobody was waiting to explain Mahone's erratic behaviour to the police academy should it come to some sort of situation between him and the young student. He was basically told to take it easy on the new girl, and he didn't chose to spend energy in trying to explain to Lang he didn't intend on hurting the feelings of her new kitten. A lovely little kitten, for sure. But still a kitten. And she would be on Starbucks duty for the rest of her internship if it was up to him. But, as Wheeler had made very clear before, she was put under Lang's charge. And the lioness took to her cub immediately.
Next to Lang's, Cathy had been appointed her own rickety desk. An old one from the basement, covered in dust and imprints of coffee cups. She even got her own, outdated, phone. And a very old desk lamp with a drawstring switch. But she was happy to have it, even more so with the time Lang put in giving her little assignments. Running plates or locating gravesites of family members of the escapees. Small stuff she could set her teeth in and work on for a few days, getting familiar with the tricks of the trade.
From where she sat, she had a perfect view on agent Mahone's office. Peering right through the two leaves of some plant someone had put in there, she could see his pale face as he worked behind his desk. She watched as his glasses slowly made their way to the tip of his nose when his face was covered in sweat. Sometimes he was too late with shoving them back in place, and they would fall on whatever he was reading or texting, startling himself in the process.
Cathy shared the same hours as Lang, and so she made long days. For agent Lang had the tendency to wait for agent Mahone to leave the office before going home herself. The girl refrained from asking why, but it probably had something to do with Mahone's lack of sense of time. He never seemed to enjoy leaving his desk to go home and rest. So the man always seemed to be dog tired from lack of sleep.
She had watched as Lang would get up around 11:00 in the evening to poke her head around Mahone's office door. "Alex, it's time to break this up and go home."
"You go, Lang.. I'll stay a little longer." She heard him say without looking up. But agent Lang didn't budge and simply folded her arms across her chest. "It's 11:00 a clock, Alex. You need to rest."
"I need to find these guys, that's what I need. I'm busy! You want to go home, go! Take the girl with you. I don't want to get into any trouble for not keeping my team on school hours!" He barked, shoving a pen holder off his desk forcefully, causing the whole thing to slam against the wall, pens flying everywhere.
Cathy was happy to see her intern coach didn't look impressed by Mahone's outburst. Eventhough the admirable woman was standing with her back to her charge, her defiant posture hadn't changed.
"Go home, Alex. Get some sleep." She said and closed the door of his office. Her expression a mixture of weariness and worry. "Cathy, you can go. I'll see you tomorrow morning."
The girl didn't hear her, for her gaze was fixed on the agent behind the glass. Reaching into his coat pocket, he took out a pen and unscrewed it. A small blue pill fell into the palm of his shaking hand and he swallowed the thing quickly, nervously, like he was afraid to get caught. He looked like he was about to have a nervous breakdown. But after a few deep inhales, his eyes closed and his still shaking hand to his forehead, he seemed to be slowly regaining his composure. Turning a little green from the obvious stress he was putting his body through, he reached for a glass of water and took a careful sip.
"Cathy!" she snapped out of her trance and looked up at Lang's agitated expression as she held out the girl's coat. "let's go." Agent Mahone didn't go home that night. For when she returned the next morning, he was wearing the exact same shirt, sweaty as it was. His desk decorated in a colourful collection of hysterical empty coffee cups. His hair was a mess, and he had managed to make an even bigger mess of the many papers and files before him.
This went on for weeks. And she watched the friction between him and agent Wheeler, sometimes ending in a round of yelling and empty threats shooting both ways. She had watched the come and go of Richard Sullins. A man she had had many interviews with before she was allowed into the team. To her, he had always been most amiable. And when he paid his surprise visit to the bureau, he winked at her kindly before heading for agent Mahone's office. It seemed that Sullins and Mahone knew eachother well enough to shamelessly admit to their mutual hate for one another. She had no idea what the conversation had been about, but from the almost defeated look on Mahone's face, it wasn't a thank you note.
When Sullins left, he placed his card on Cathy's desk with a charming smile. "You'll call me when he starts throwing trashcans around again, won't you dear?" He said.
"Trashcans, sir?" she asked, looking up at him in surprise.
"Yes.." He confirmed with another smile. "Call me" He said again and left the workfloor without a word of goodbye to anyone else. She looked at the card with a confused expression, one that Lang picked up immediately. The agent let out a tired sigh.
"Put that away before agent Mahone sees that, or this place will definitely see some flying trashcans." She advised. Cathy put the card in her wallet quickly, not wanting to upset the already troubled agent.
There were days at the office without Mahone. And everybody tuned in to find him. But when the man choose to disappear, nobody could track him. These were the days agent Wheeler picked up the task to lead the rest of the team, never skipping a chance to talk bad about the missing agent. Lang always made sure to lock Mahone's office and hide the key in a drawer of her desk when it was obvious he wouldn't come in that day. Cathy admired her intern coach for these little acts of kindness and loyalty. And felt sorry for her as well, when it turned out Wheeler had contacted Sullins about the missing key and the latter showed up with a spare. Now everyone could nose through Mahone's desk no problem. They even stole a few of his coffee cups.
Three months into her internship at the federal bureau of investigation, she had gotten pretty used to everyone on the team. She had made friends with another young girl, named Susan, one of the phone operators. She was only two years her senior, and it was nice to have someone around she could talk to. Unlike Susan, she wasn't a big fan of gossip. But atleast now she knew Wheeler got recently dumped by his girlfriend. Serves him right for the attitude he gave to Mahone, she thought. It was almost Christmas, and after a long discussion with everyone involved, a small Christmas tree had been allowed in. Of course decorating it was up to the intern. Cause no matter how nice everyone seemed, they still enjoyed giving her pesky little chores.
Agent Mahone couldn't care any less about Christmas trees or who the sucker was that had to decorate it. He had locked himself in his office and had been bend over stacks of files for hours. He answered his phone, chucked down his double expressos and took his pills. It didn't feel like it was almost Christmas at all, with or without tree, the weather outside was grey and rainy. No snow had fallen yet, though it had been cold enough for it for weeks.
When Mahone emerged from his office after a short phone call, both Lang and Cathy looked up. He looked like Lazarus risen from the grave. His hair a mess, his tie loose, and his eyes red and swollen. She had seen him in this condition before. It happened occasionally. But he always made sure it wasn't witnessed by too many people.
"I got a call.. They might have been sighted about an hour ago. I'm going there right now." He announced with a tired and shaky voice.
"When is the last time you slept?" Lang snapped. If he was any less tired, he would have rolled his eyes at her. But he decided to just sigh and ignore the female agent's fussing. "Did you even go home last night?" she continued.
"I don't have time for this, Lang.." He told her, almost begging her to just drop it and help him do his job. There was a short silence between the two agents. Pursing her lips in annoyance, Lang decided to save him the embarrassment of a confession in front of an intern and go about his way.
"Well, where is it?" She asked. Mahone sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly as if he was trying to wake himself up.
"Somewhere down town.. I know where it is. I gotta go." Taking one step forward, he almost lost his balance as his leg threatened to give out on him. Cursing under his breath, he leaned on one of the empty desks. Most people had gone home by now, it was long past dinnertime. There was no one there to witness this embarrassing situation but his most trusted agent and her young assistant. Lang got up from her chair and walked over to him. She placed an unsure hand on his shoulder. "Let someone take you there." She suggested gently. The tone in her voice more worried than agitated. He shook his head, rubbing his leg nervously. "Alex, you're no condition to drive right now. The roads may be slippery."
"I'll be fine" He argued weakly.
"I would drive you there myself if I could, Alex. But I'm expecting an important phone call. I cannot get away from that phone right now. Why don't you let Cathy drive you there?"
"What?! No.. are you crazy?! I'm not taking an..an intern with me. Come on, Lang. Cut me loose, will you? I'll be just fine. I'll get some coffee down the road." Mahone said, straightening himself up to show everyone he was just fine. Fact was, the room was dancing in front of his eyes. But he had to go there. It was important. There were witnesses to talk to. His stomach cramped up because of the lack of food and rest, and he clutched it silently. The pills were not supposed to be taken on an empty stomach, and along with all the coffee he had already consumed, he dreaded to find out what kind of chemical brew he had created inside himself right now. But he had the slight idea he was going to see it pretty soon.
"Then tell her to stay in the damn car" Lang said sternly. "I will not have you ram your car into a lamppost because I let you go in this condition." The tired agent seemed ready to just burst out in tears right there, but he collected himself and nodded in defeat.
"Alright.. But she's not taking my car.." He mumbled, trying to fix his tie with shaky fingers. Lang rolled her eyes and looked up at her shy charge, who had been following the conversation with widened eyes. "You got a car, Cathy?"
She nodded frantically and rummaged through her pockets to show the agent her car keys. "I gladly take you there, sir. It's no problem. " She said. Mahone didn't look up to meet her eyes, and just nodded a little.
"Put your coat on.. it's cold outside." He told her softly. His gentler side showing now he was about to put up a young girl with the task of driving his exhausted self around. He was embarrassed about the whole situation, and she could probably tell he was, by the way she looked at him.
Lang placed a comforting hand on her arm and smiled at her kindly, thanking her in silence for taking care of her supervisor. She smiled back in reassurance.
"I'll let you know when we're there." Cathy said, holding up her cell phone. Lang nodded and turned to Mahone to help him stand. He pulled away from her gently, and held up his hand to indicate he was fine on his own. He didn't need any assistance walking to the parking lot, thank you very much.
A little worried, the female agent watched her young intern and her trusted colleague leave. The girl putting on her long winter coat as they walked, with Mahone in slow pursuit. They received some looks on their way to the front entrance, but she tried to ignore them as much as possible. Someone passing them by in a hallway asked Mahone where he was going, but the latter just shook his head at the man. He wasn't in the mood to answer any questions right now.
The cold wind hit them the moment they stepped outside, and she clutched the front of her coat to keep her neck from being exposed to the chill air. Agent Mahone had no coat, and he must have been freezing, but if he was cold he didn't show it and simply followed her to her car. To her surprise he climbed into the back seat, and plopped himself down unceremoniously, happy to be sitting down again.
She refrained from asking why he refused to sit next to her, and threw her bag on the passenger's seat. Her old car refused to start the first couple of times, and in the view of her mirror, she watched Mahone rub his eyes in agitation. Mumbling something about Lang going to get it.
"Come on, you.. don't let me down now." She mumbled at the ancient relic she drove around in.
"Maybe it's time to invest into something more functional, miss." Came the sharp remark from the backseat. She closed her eyes to calm herself and let out a deep sigh. Turning the key again, the car protested, but then the sound of the old engine roared through the almost deserted windy streets.
"Alright, we're off." She said excitingly.
He didn't reply, and she, too nervous to start the conversation, remained silent as well. He didn't seem to be in the mood to talk, and she watched him peer out of the foggy windows with a tired expression. The streets were dark, the wet road reflecting the many lights of the city. Causing her to squint her eyes sometimes to see where she was going exactly. She turned on the heat the moment the engine had warmed up sufficiently.
As the warmth started to spread through the car, she watched him fight against his exhaustion. His eyes closed and his head lolling, until a bump in the road caused him to sit up again and look around in slight confusion.
He had scribbled the address on a post it note that she had stuck to her dashboard. It wasn't far, but because of the weather, she couldn't drive very fast. It had started to rain again and she was forced to turn on the windshield wipers. Rounding another corner, she hit the brakes because of people running across the road holding their coats over their heads.
"Fuck.." she hissed. "This weather makes people suicidal"
No reply came from the back seat and she sighed. The silence was deafening, the only sound came from the wipers, her turn signal and the rain clattering on the roof. Suddenly, she heard something slide across the smooth leather seat, followed by a dull thud. Mahone had disappeared from her rear view mirror, and she quickly looked over her shoulder to see he had slumped to his side and was now laying across the entire back seat of her car.
"Sir?"
He didn't answer. Not knowing what was wrong with him, she pulled over. The tires hitting the sidewalk with a squeaky sound. She turned to get a better look at him. He didn't look like there was something serious going on. He looked perfectly fine now, actually. Better than in waking state, if she had to be honest with herself. His eyes were closed, and his breathing calm and evened out. He had simply lost the battle with his exhaustion and had fallen asleep. She was more than willing to let him get his much needed rest, but he would never forgive her if she let him miss his appointment.
"Sir?"
No reply. She sighed and reached out to give his leg a gentle shake. He growled softly, like a dog not wanting to get up, and pulled his legs onto the seat, away from her annoying hand. He was a goner, and it was going to make him mad as hell later, but it was so much better for him right now.
"Probably the smartest decision of the evening anyway.." she mumbled to herself, turning in her seat again. She had to admit, she had seen enough of his self-destructive ways anyhow. And the fact his body had lost control in the back of her good-for-nothing car, gave her a sense of odd pride. Right there, she decided she would let him sleep. She admired him for his persistency and great intelligence, it was a shame to see him exhaust himself up to the point where he just collapsed.
"Are we there yet?" His voice came as a surprise to her, and she looked over her shoulder. His eyes were still closed. But now that the car was no longer moving, something in his brain was obviously telling him to wake up.
"No sir.. Traffic lights.." she told him. Oh, they would kill her if they found out about this. They would kick her out and make sure she wouldn't even be able to get a desk job at the local police office. She was misleading an FBI agent this way. For his own good, but still. But his tired brain accepted her explanation, and she watched him fall asleep again. He curled up more tightly, his breath visible in the now cold car.
She clicked her tongue and unbuckled her seat belt. There was a blanket in the trunk of her car, in case of emergencies. Reaching over the sleeping agent in a daring acrobatic move, she grabbed the patterned quilt and tucked it around the shivering man. He wouldn't remain asleep aslong as this car was standing still, it was its gentle jostling that told him they were on their way, and he could take a few moments of repose. As long as it was moving, he would get his rest. Ready for her new task, she buckled her seatbelt and started her car, turning on the comfortable heat once more.
"Let's go for a drive, shall we.." she mumbled to herself, and steered her car off the sidewalk. With no real destination in mind, she decided to first take all the scenic routes through the city. As long as agent Mahone would get a few hours of sleep, she was prepared to drive around. Lang was still expecting confirmation of their arrival at the scene though, and Cathy wasn't sure it would be wise to lie to the female agent. Then again, telling Lang she was driving her sleeping supervisor around in the back of her car didn't seem like a great option either. She took out her phone and, sighing deeply to calm herself, made up her little white lie.
"arrived at the scene. Agent Mahone is talking to witness right now"
She just hoped the woman would buy her story. It didn't take her very long to send a reply.
"Did he behave himself?" Came agent Lang's question. Cathy chuckled. Yea, the man was behaving himself perfectly fine. He was every parents' dream during a ride to a holiday destination, actually. Not talking and sleeping peacefully.
"No complaints. I'll let you know when we're on our way back."
"Driving Miss Daisy" Was the last reply from Lang, causing her to laugh again before putting her phone away. Now all she needed to do was make up some excuse to not bring the agent back to the bureau. She could tell Lang she brought him home, but she had no idea where he lived. And that question would really make for some seriously awkward situations. For now though, all she was going to do was drive for as long as he needed.
She drove through every neighbourhood she knew, visiting places she hadn't been to for years. Her old home, where her family moved to from New York. Her elementary school and high school. The park she used to walk her dog at. She kept the car comfortably warm. The man on the back seat slept in utter silence. Nothing betrayed his presence but the scent of his unwashed shirt, and an occasional restless moan. Getting tired herself after driving nonstop for three hours, she pulled into the drive through of McDonald's to get a cup of coffee. Taking a careful sip of the hot beverage while pulling out of the parking lot, her phone started ringing. She cursed under her breath when Lang's name showed up in the glowing screen. She had to pick up. Ignoring it would only cause her more trouble.
"Hello?"
"Cathy? Where are you going? What is agent Mahone doing?"
"Ehm.." she peered over her shoulder at the sleeping man, curled up like a child with the blanket covering most of his pale face. "He's.. still inside talking to someone." There was a short silence on the other end of the line.
"We both know that isn't true, Cathy. Agent Mahone never showed up at the site, and the GPS in his phone has been showing him going through basically entire Chicago. Where is he?" She swallowed thickly. Not really knowing how she was going to talk herself out of this.
"I don't know where he is. He got out of my car, left.. and.. I haven't seen him since. He told me not to tell you, agent Lang."
She wasn't sure the woman bought her story, but with a simple "Alright" she hung up. Apparently, her own whereabouts weren't interesting right now. Moments later, Mahone's phone started to ring from the inside of his coat pocket. He stirred, frowning in his sleep at the annoying loud sound. For a moment she thought he would wake up and answer, but then the ringing stopped and he relaxed again. She exhaled after holding her breath for the duration of the moment and tried to calm herself. She was putting her entire future career on the line by letting this man get some sleep. But she was in the middle of it now, there was no going back. So she pulled out of the parking lot and resumed her way.
It was around two in the morning when the rain turned into snowflakes and the world outside had gotten deadly quiet. Mahone's phone had rang a few more times, but eventually, Lang stopped trying to reach him. Probably thinking the man needed to disappear again like he did every now and then. Cathy knew she had to stop, she was getting dizzy and driving on would bring them both in danger. So she pulled into her own drive way in her deserted suburban neighbourhood, and there she leaned back her head, giving her eyes a few moments of rest. She kept the engine running, so the car wouldn't cool down too much.
Her bed was only a few feet away now, but she couldn't leave Mahone behind in her car. She had a guestroom he was more than welcome to use, but he would never agree to it. Besides, once he would wake up, the war would begin. She only hoped he would remember it was all done out of an act of kindness from someone he barely knew. So she waited until the agent was done resting.
She had fallen asleep soon after, and when she woke up again, the digital clock on her dashboard read 4:34 in the morning. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, and smoothing her hair back, she peered over her shoulder. Mahone had somehow managed to roll onto his other side, his back to her, but further than that he was still vast asleep. She sighed. It made sense though. The man hadn't slept in days, and he was making up for it right now.
She had almost fallen asleep again when she heard him stir in the back of the car. He appeared in her rear view mirror as he slowly pulled himself into a sitting position, looking perfectly disorientated. Looking around, he frowned, having no idea where he was. He looked at his watch, squinting at the small numbers. They locked eyes in the mirror.
"Where are we? What happened?" he asked, his voice hoarse from the depths of sleep. She sighed, here we go. The end of her career.
"We're in my drive way,sir." She started, and watched him climb into the passenger's seat stiffly. He sat down with a heavy thud and made a face when his sore body protested against the movements. It took him a moment to process the information. He smoothed down his unruly hair and rubbed his eyes, trying to get rid of his drowsiness.
"And why are we in your drive way exactly?" He asked, taking out his phone to see if he had missed any calls. "It's 5 in the morning.." He mumbled, confused, and looked up at her. His sleepy gaze turned into a sharp glare within seconds, and he tilted his head at her in question. "Why the hell am I in your drive way at 5 in the damn morning?!"
She closed her eyes momentarily at his the backbiting tone in his voice, but she hadn't expected anything less. "Because you fell asleep, sir. And I didn't have the heart to wake you." She explained. He just stared at her with an expression of anger and disbelief.
"Are you telling me we've been here in your drive way since we left the bureau?! Because I fell asleep?!" He spat. "Oh that's just perfect!"
"You needed to rest.." she started.
"No! No.. you have no idea of what I need! Don't you dare.. telling me what I need..Cause I swear to God.." He opened his phone to dial Lang's number, turning his back to the young girl in pure anger. The female agent didn't answer, and he cursed under his breath, snapping his phone shut furiously. He tried to open the door, but the lock was on. "Let me out of this damn car!" He yelled.
Unlocking it, she watched him get out, only to pace around her drive way with an almost murderous rage. He dialled another few numbers, but everybody was asleep and he received no answer. She decided to grab her coat and get out of the car too, but the moment she did, he came up to her and forced her back against the parked vehicle. His cold blue eyes were spitting fire, and for a second she thought he would physically attack her.
"You have some explaining to do, young lady. Cause I swear to God, if I missed out on any important clues from that witness you were supposed to take me to.. if anything got delayed because some numskulled run of the mill cop had to write down a statement.. I will personally make sure you'll be working at the local McDonald's for the rest to your life!" He roared.
"This is my explanation, sir." She fired back. "I did it because you weren't well and you needed sleep."
He rubbed his eyes impatiently, mumbling something underneath his breath as he tried to collect himself and not round house kick this girl across her own drive way. "Have we just.." he started, exasperated. Sounding almost desperate. "Have we just spend the entire night just standing there on your drive way with the engine running?!"
"No, I drove around the city until about 2. I didn't want you to wake up, sir. And stopping the car meant turning off the heat."
He stared at her with a blank expression, having no idea what to say to this stupid girl, other than that she was more stupid than he ever anticipated her to be. He would have never guessed the FBI headquarters would assign an oxymoronic student to his team. He panted, out of breath from his violent outburst, and wiped his mouth with his sleeve roughly. Looking around like he expected to find a better explanation for the current situation, his eyes fell upon the blanket on the back seat of the car. Her kindness almost humbling, he sighed.
"Alright.." he mumbled, backing away from her. He held up his hands, indicating defeat and almost an apology for his behaviour. He couldn't rip apart a 24 year old girl that had meant well. There was no way he could justify that to himself. Besides, her foolish act of compassion was something he hadn't experienced in a long time. He sighed deeply, his hands in his sides as he peered up at the clear sky, breathing in the crisp winter air. His mind forever clouded over from the drugs that kept him going.
"Let's go find ourselves a decent cup of coffee.." He suggested.