He opened the door to the room at the end of the long hallway and glanced around. Thankfully, the room was empty and he closed the door silently behind him. By government standards, the case was complete; everything that could have been done had been. The crime was solved and the perp caught, confessed, and entered into the justice system as per protocol but it was not over by any means. There was one more loose end to tie and it was out of his hands. None of his training and skill could aid in the final closure to this case and it was all but driving him mad.
The case had caused him to break two of his rules and as he thought about it, two more were likely to be broken because of it, one of them very soon. Normally he would be angry with himself for tossing aside the rules but this was no ordinary case.
Rule 10 – Never get personally involved in a case. He really didn't see how that was avoidable since the fight was literally brought into his domain – his HOME.
Rule 11 – When the job is done, walk away. He couldn't and wouldn't. The technical portion of the job may have been done but his job was so much more than just executing standard government protocol; his team made sure of that. Tony had made sure of that.
Now before the small alter at the end of the aisle, he knelt down prepared to break rule six: Never say you're sorry – it's a sign of weakness.
He whispered, "It's been a while and I'm sorry but You know how angry I was and actually still am. But I guess I wouldn't have gotten here without having been there and in some twisted way, it does make sense. Guess I'm just going to have to trust You on that one."
"I have no right but I'm going to ask anyway. The guy a few floors above me, in ICU room 3 – keep him alive, OK? Please?" He could no longer speak with his voice but used his heart, 'I love him.'
Just a few floors above the oxygen monitor ceased its incessant alarm as the levels rose to an acceptable standard and the harsh coughing tapered off. Tony could finally rest.
