Whoohooo! I finally got this chapter up after my insane weekend. Really, it was weird, I'm never this busy. Hopefully now I can get back to my regular schedule of updating. I guess we'll have to wait and see though.
Disclaimer: I still don't own Eureka. Dang.
"She's the new what?"
"Chief of Security, Carter. I've told you this at least five times," Allison replied, failing to keep the exasperation out of her voice. "I didn't call you here to repeat myself. We need to figure out what this means."
Carter sighed and scratched the back of his neck. Allison had called him twenty minutes ago and told him to get to GD. She had been brief on the phone, and didn't explain why he had to come until he got there. Still, Carter was glad that she had'nt. If she had told him over the phone he might not have believed her.
"Okay," he began, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall, "so this morning you got a call from Mansfield."
Allison nodded. "He wanted to know why I wasn't already at work. I was supposed to be there early for some kind of 'testing'."
"And he didn't tell you what it was for?"
She shook her head. "I'm the director, remember," she snapped. "I'm supposed to know about everything already. I couldn't exactly ask Mansfield what the testing was for."
"Okay, sorry, you're right," Carter replied quickly, holding up his hands. "Keep going."
"Fargo, Jo, and I followed Mansfield to the lab that we came back in yesterday. Dr. Friedrich injected Jo with a tracking agent and sent her inside for a series of cardio and combat tests. Then Mansfield started talking about 'filling the position' and it being 'vital to GD.' And, I don't know, I had to agree with him to make it sound like I knew what I was doing and… " Allison trailed off, sounding like she was on the verge of a breakdown.
Carter reached over and hugged her. "Hey, it's okay. As far as changes go, this one isn't too bad."
"I guess not. But that will really depend on how Jo reacts," Allison said, checking her watch.
"Wait, she doesn't know yet?" Carter asked incredulously.
Allison shook her head. "Mansfield wanted to stop the testing, but Friedrich said it had to continue or the sudden stop might injure her. She should be finishing up though," Allison said, then paused and smiled sheepishly. "And I didn't want to be the one to tell her."
Carter nodded. "Let's go tell Jo about her new job."
"I'm the new what?" Jo asked incredulously.
"Chief of Security," Fargo reminded her.
He and Jo were safely hidden with Allison and Carter in Allison's office. Fargo had pulled an exhausted and stunned Jo away from Dr. Friedrich and General Mansfield before she could accidentally reveal that she didn't know what the testing had been for.
Luckily, as Fargo grabbed Jo, Mansfield had to take a phone call from the DOD. Dr. Friedrich was too wrapped up in analyzing Jo's results notice everyone abandoning him in the empty lab.
Jo shot Fargo a dirty look. "I know, Fargo. I heard you the first time when you dragged me away from the testing area. You don't need to repea-"
"Okay, okay," Carter said, stepping between Jo and Fargo in case Jo decided to punch him. "We're all a little shocked right now. But this is good. Let's all get it out before Mansfield comes back and we have to act like we're not surprised."
Allison nodded. "Apparently Jo was put on the short list a month ago, and was the forerunner in all the tests. You were the obvious choice."
"But I already have a job," Jo protested. "And besides, this position doesn't even exist in this universe."
"It does now. Mansfield decided to create it a few weeks ago," Allison said.
"Shhh," Fargo hushed, "Mansfield is on his way back in."
The four of them turned around to face the door just before Mansfield reached it. He replaced his phone in his pocket and extended his hand to Jo.
"Congratulations, Deputy Lupo. You're the Head of Security now. The Department of Defense just finalized creating the position with you as the Chief."
Jo nodded seriously and shook his hand, unsure of what to say.
Mansfield continued before she figured out what to say. "You start work Monday. The room we had the testing in today is being converted into your office. It should have enough room for you to house your weapons and all GD technology needed for the job."
"Whoa, whoa, wait a second," Carter cut in. "She starts work Monday? Does this mean that we're breaking Andy out again?"
"Unfortunately, no. Andy still refuses to comply to DOD orders, and cannot be put in a leadership position until he does so."
"So, who's going to be the deputy?" Allison asked.
Mansfield turned his gaze from Carter to Allison, then back again. "Well, Sheriff Carter, as you have so often reminded me, my job is only to oversee the happenings at Global Dynamics. Everything else in Eureka is not my responsibility, unless it will impact GD. And since Chief Lupo will be handling security matters here, I highly doubt that there will be as many incidents as in the past."
Carter stared at Mansfield, dumb founded. "The whole reason you created Andy in the first place was because the town needs two security personnel."
"The security of the town is your responsibility, Sheriff Carter," Mansfield said coldly. "If you don't think you can manage without Lupo, then I can begin searching for your replacement immediately."
Cater opened his mouth, then shut it, not wanting to make the situation worse.
Mansfield nodded. "Good. I look forward to hearing of your progress, Chief Lupo." He nodded to Jo again and strode out of the office.
Cater groaned and sat down on Allison's couch. "Great," he sighed, putting his head in his hands, "the town is done for. We'll be lucky to make it a week."
"Henry needs to know about this," Allison said, tapping a finger on her desk. "We need to keep this contained until we can figure out exactly what it means."
Fargo nodded. "I emailed him while the testing was going on. I didn't say anything specific, just that he needed to know about one of the changes."
"Alright. I guess there's nothing else we can do about it for now," Allison said, sitting down on her chair
"So we're just going to wait here?" Carter asked.
"It's probably the safest thing to do," Fargo answered. "Plus, no one's going to think it's suspicious. It'll just look like we're in a meeting, trying to figure out why the lab frogs in Tesla are suddenly flying or something."
"Don't jinx us," Carter moaned from the couch.
Allison suddenly sat up straight like she had been struck by lightning. "Where's Jo?"
"She's right ther-" Carter began, turning to where Jo had been standing near the door. She was gone. Again.
"She's over there," Fargo said, pointing to the rotunda. Jo was walking quickly toward the elevators. Instead of getting on one, she made a sharp left and disappeared. People along the way appeared to be waving and trying to get her attention.
Carter groaned again. "So much for keeping this contained."
Jo walked quickly through the hallway. She needed to get away from the office. As soon as Carter started talking about replacing her, she began to feel like she couldn't breathe. The feeling got worse and worse until she finally slipped out.
The people she passed all seemed to be either waving at her in congratulations, or whispering in low tones and averting their eyes. Apparently, her new job was a controversial decision.
As she walked, their seemed to be more and more people whispering. Jo broke into a jog to get away from them. The job became a sprint, and soon she was flying down the halls, not knowing or caring where she was going. She had to get away from the suffocating feeling.
Jo shook her head in an attempt to clear it, and ran smack into something very solid.
"Ow! What the hell?"
Jo blinked. She was on the floor, twisted awkwardly. A few feet away from her, Zane was sitting up and rubbing his elbow.
He glared at her. "Geez, Lupo. So when you can't get me in trouble, you charge into me where I work?"
Jo sat up and shook her head. "It was an accident. I didn't see you . I didn't even know where I was going."
"I can tell," Zane said, standing up. His gaze softened slightly. "Are you okay?"
Jo nodded slowly, trying not to look at his face. His eyes focused on her exactly the way they used to whenever he was concerned about her. "I-I'm fine. Just a little surprised, I guess."
"Surprised?"
"Yeah. Mansfield just made me the Chief of Security."
Zane grinned. "That surprised you? You were way better than your competition. You were always going to get it. Congratulations, Jo Jo."
Jo swallowed and resisted the tears that threatened to leak out of her eyes. "Thanks. You're the first person who's told me that."
"You deserve it," Zane said, extending his hand and pulling Jo to her feet. His hand lingered on her arm for a brief second before he quickly pulled it back. "Well, see you around."
"Bye," Jo whispered softly to watched Zane's retreating form. The tears she had been holding in started to spill. The feel of his hands on her arms as he pulled her to her feet had been the closest she had felt to him since he proposed to her. Letting him leave her again was torture. She wanted to run after him and let him hold her while she cried and told him everything that had happened in the alternate timeline.
Jo wiped her eyes and kept her head down as she made her way to the nearest bathroom. Inside, she looked at her puffy eyes and red nose in the mirror. The sheer irony of her situation made her laugh. She had just been appointed to one of the most prestigious security jobs in the world because she was known for being tough and never giving up, but here she was, crying her eyes out over her ex-boyfriend.
She turned the water on and washed her faced while trying to suppress any additional bouts of tears or laughter. She was the Chief of Security now, and she had to start acting like it. No more crying in public, especially in the corridors of the institution that was under her charge. Starting Monday, she would become the enforcer, the only person who could manage to hold the lid onto the disaster that was GD.
Jo fixed her hair and nodded to herself in the mirror. She could do it. Technically, she already had. And since she knew there were changes coming, she would be that much more prepared for any emergencies around GD.
As Jo walked out of the bathroom, she tried to ignore the doubts that were nagging at her brain. Becoming the enforcer would make GD a safer place, but it was likely what had ruined her relationship with Zane in the last month. Did she want to be more like the Jo that he hated? Could she even do her job to the best of her ability when there was always the chance that Zane was just around the corner, at the root of the disaster?
Rounding the corner to the rotunda, Jo hit the question that worried her the most. Would Zane ever look at her the way he used to again?
So, there goes the first change. But don't worry. There's more exciting changes coming up.
Also, I accept unsigned reviews, but if you leave one, I can't respond to it.
