Wow. Hey guys. It's been almost…3 years since I updated? I think I get the reward for worst updater ever. Many apologies. It's not all that great, but I haven't written in a LONG time. I'm out of practice, but I promise it'll get better!
She never left his side as he watched. His eyes never left the screen. Not even when the fatal blow was delivered. It was almost eerie. Eventually his eyes diverted from the screen, and Chloe took this as her cue to stop the video.
Jack briefly rubbed his forehead and let out a breath. He pushed his chair back and put his head in his hands.
"This shouldn't have happened," he said, shaking his head, "It shouldn't have happened."
"You couldn't have done anything Jack," she responded, "It had nothing to do with you."
She placed a hand on his shoulder, but he quickly shrugged it away. Standing up abruptly, he startled her.
"How could you possibly know that Chloe?" he yelled. "How?"
The volume of his voice caused Chloe to flinch, and others to turn their attention to them. Jack stormed off, past Chloe, and off of the main floor. Chloe remained where she was, unsure of what had just happened.
Milo, who had overheard everything from his station, made his way over towards Chloe, who was now sitting.
"Chloe, you ok?" he asked.
"Fine Milo," she answered.
"I just wanted to make sure. I saw Jack's outburst. You sure you're ok?"
Chloe rolled her eyes.
"I told you. I'm fine," she answered, annoyance in her voice.
"Hey, I'm just trying to be nice. It wouldn't hurt to return the action." He turned around and walked back to his station. Chloe watched him leave, and then turned her attention back to her computer screen.
Although she was intently staring at the screen, she couldn't focus for the life of her. She was worried about Jack. She always knew deep down that he wasn't Superman; that he got scared too. But seeing it somehow made it a truth, not just a thought. And it bothered her.
Finally, it was Bill who disturbed her from her thoughts.
"Have you seen Jack?" he asked her.
"Um, he was here a few minutes ago. He probably just stepped out for a minute," she said. Then, more quietly she added, "He watched the video."
"Oh. I see," he said, "I need you to find him for me." Inwardly, she cringed.
"Yes sir," she replied obediently.
She rose from her chair, and walked off in the direction she had seen Jack go only a few minutes before. As she started down the hall, it occurred to her she didn't have a clue where he was. She stopped for a moment, and tried to think.
She shook her head, and took a left down the hall, stopping at the fourth door on the right. It was just an empty room. A useless room. In fact, it was a sad room. A few months before, couches and tables had been placed inside. For no real reason. However, the furniture went unnoticed and the room was rarely used.
Except by Jack. He liked the room. He liked the couches and tables. For no real reason. He went there to be alone. To calm himself. She knew it was where he went.
She stood outside the door, unsure of whether or not she should knock. After a brief debate in her head, she lightly knocked while opening the door.
"Jack?" she called softly, "Are you in here?"
The lights were all off. There were no windows. It was pitch black. After a few moments, her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and she could make out a silhouette sitting on one of the couches. It was a silhouette she knew too well.
"Hey Jack. Mr. Buchanan's looking for you," she said quickly, "Just thought you should know."
She turned quickly to leave the room, but the sound of his voice made her stop.
"Chloe, wait," he said, "I'm sorry for snapping at you."
She shook her head.
"It's fine Jack. People snap at me all the time."
"You weren't doing anything wr-"
"Jack! Really. It's fine," she said, interrupting him, "Mr. Buchanan's waiting in his office."
"Thanks. I'll be right there." Despite his words, he made no indication that he planned on moving.
"Jack?" she asked, confused.
"You know I wouldn't hurt you, right?"
She was glad the room was dark enough to not see his face. She couldn't bear to see the face that matched the sadness and desperation in his voice.
"Jack, where is all this coming from? It's fine, ok? Don't worry about it. Now, let's go."
On the floor, Bill was talking to Curtis when Jack and Chloe approached him.
"Oh, good. You're back. The background check came back on Wechsler. Everything checks out. We're gonna send the teams in. Jack, I need you to get ready."
"Sure thing," he said, nodding. He gave Chloe a brief pat on the back and walked off with Curtis.
"Chloe, the server's been acting up again. I want you to go check it before we send the teams out. We can't afford to have something go wrong."
In the server room she placed her phone down on the desk and started to get to work. She spent a few minutes looking over everything, but couldn't find anything wrong. She came to the assumption that it must have been the stupidity of some new analyst, rather than a faulty server.
Rolling her eyes, she turned to leave the room. All of a sudden she felt someone grab her from behind. Startled, but not helpless, she started kicking and flailing her arms in an attempt to escape. She thought she was getting the upper hand, until a cloth came down over her face. Then, all she knew was darkness.
Accompanied by Curtis, Jack returned to Bill.
"Ok Bill. The teams are ready. Are we good on this end?" asked Jack.
"Almost," he replied, "I'm waiting for Chloe to get back."
"Where'd she go?" asked Curtis.
"To check the server. Almost ten minutes ago," he said, looking at them.
"Ten minutes for Chloe to check the server?" asked Curtis, "I don't buy it."
"Just tell her to get up here," said Bill, "She's holding up the mission."
Curtis nodded, and broke out in a light jog toward the server room. He returned only a few seconds later.
"Well?" asked Bill, "Where is she?"
"I don't know," he replied.
"She wasn't there?" asked Jack.
"No. But this was," he said, holding out Chloe's phone.
They all knew Chloe never went anywhere without her phone. Something was very wrong, and Jack didn't like it one bit.