Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

6:22pm

Jack woke up feeling refreshed. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and rubbed his face with his hands, feeling the rough beard with a smile. Looking over to the clock radio, he saw the photo of himself and Anne. He leaned over, picked it up and carried it to his dresser. Opening his sock drawer, he put the frame in upside down. He closed it and headed for the shower. He pulled his shirt over his head and stepped out of his shorts. He reached in and turned on the water, setting the temperature on high. Removing his cast, he set his watch on the counter, pulled the shower curtain aside and got in. Jack grunted as the hot water hit various sore parts of his body. Finally, as his tense muscles started to relax, his emotions did as well and he started to cry. Tears fell down his face as he leaned against the shower wall. Jack cried until he didn't have any more tears. Strangely, he felt better. He picked up the soap and started to wash his body. He let his mind stay clear as he poured the shampoo into his hand. He felt the length of his hair, knowing that it was curling over his shirt collar. Rinsing his hair, he wiped the soap from his forehead and felt his beard again. He was going to shave, today, but thought that Sunday would be fine. Turning off the water, he stepped out onto the bathmat and reached for a towel. Drying off, he picked up his shorts and carried them into the closet and put them in the laundry bin. He opened a drawer and put on a fresh pair of shorts, sweatpants and a t-shirt and walked out into the hallway. Jack stopped and returned to the bathroom with a sigh, picking up his cast, and putting it back on. Heading back into the hallway, he heard some music playing softly and smelled something cooking.

"You're up! How did you sleep?" Tyler asked, turning from the pot he was stirring.

"Not bad, thanks. And you?" he replied, sitting on the stool at the breakfast bar.

"Like a rock. I hope you're hungry. I think I made too much spaghetti."

Jack smiled but didn't answer.

"Glass of wine?"

"Sure."

Tyler poured Jack a glass of red wine and set it in front of him. He took a sip and looked around him. A large stack of mail rested precariously on the narrow countertop. The answering machine blinked and in red the number nine could be seen. He sighed and picked up a pen, sliding a pad closer, before hitting the play button.

Thursday four pm. the machine said.

"Agent Malone, this is Detective Jessen. I thought you were coming down to fill out a report on your mugging today. Please call when you get this message. I'm at 212-555-3540."

Friday nine am the machine said.

"Agent Malone, this Detective Diehl. If you do not come down and file a report, then these guys'll go free. That is, if they get out of the hospital. Call me on my cell 646-555-3542."

"They sound pissed," Tyler commented.

"Yeah, they do."

Friday ten am the machine said.

"Mr. Malone, it's Dr. Siegel's office. We're trying to schedule your appointment for Monday to have your cast removed and your foot re-x-rayed. Please call us at 212-555-7520."

Friday eleven thirty am the machine said.

"Jack, it's Ritchie. Guess we're even, for now at least. Seriously, thanks, man."

Jack took a sip of wine and continued to listen while Tyler set the table.

Friday eleven thirty five am the machine said.

"Jack, it's Glenn. I just wanted to try to set up a couple of appointments with you for next week. Call me when you can. You have all my numbers."

Friday twelve pm the machine said.

"Jack, it's Victor. I just wanted to give you an update personally. Martin will be fine. He's dehydrated and slightly hypothermic, but that's all. They're keeping him overnight for observation. Thank you again, Jack to you and to your team, for getting him back for me. I'll call you when I get to the city, tomorrow. Bye."

"That's nice of him."

"Yeah."

Friday twelve ten pm the machine said.

"Malone, it's Diehl. I don't know what kind of game you're trying to play here but it's not funny. The brass are coming down hard on us to get you in here. They're worried about your bosses thinking we were slacking. You have my number. Call me."

Friday twelve thirty pm

"Malone, it's Jessen. The shit is hitting the fan here. Call me."

"They really are partners, aren't they? How many more, your food's getting cold," Tyler commented.

"Uhm, one more."

Friday twelve thirty two pm

"Jack, it's me. I'm sorry I missed your call today. Tonight is Kate's dance recital so we'll miss our call, but we'll call you tomorrow. Take care."

Jack cleared the machine and picked up his glass before heading to the dining room table to join Tyler, who was twirling his spaghetti on his fork. He looked up briefly as Jack sat down and then returned his concentration to his dinner.

"Big day, today," Tyler commented softly.

Jack fiddled with his fork, taking an occasional forkful of spaghetti. He sipped his wine and remained silent.

"What's wrong?"

Jack continued to move his food around his plate and then finally set his fork down. He looked up at Tyler and took a small breath.

"Anne got a transfer," he said quietly.

"When?"

"I'm not really sure."

"She's gone?"

"Yeah, her office is cleared out, name off the door, whole deal."

Tyler looked at his friend and took a chance.

"Look, you may not want to hear this right now, but her leaving New York might be the best thing for you. You can get on with your life. You can talk about what happened without worrying that you're going to hurt her."

"I loved her."

"I know, I know you did, but she wasn't able to handle the miscarriage, your accident: any of it. This was the only way for her to survive."

Jack took a sip from his glass and realized that he needed more.

"Need more wine?" he asked.

"Yes, please."

Jack went into the kitchen and brought the bottle back to the table. He poured liberally into the glasses and set the bottle on the table He went back and picked up the portable phone and pad before returning to the table.

"I think I better call those fellas back."

"Good idea. Are you done with dinner?"

"Yeah, stick it in the fridge and maybe I'll have an appetite later."

"Okay," Tyler said, picking up the plates and moving them to the kitchen.

Jack turned on the phone and then dialed.

"Diehl."

"Detective Diehl, Jack Malone. Sorry for not getting back to you. We had an emergency at work involving the son of a senior agent."

"Yeah, I know Director Fitzgerald called my captain this afternoon. He squared it to give you a couple of days. We'll see you on Monday."

"Thanks, Detective."

"You're welcome, Agent Malone. Have a nice weekend."

"I will, bye."

"Bye."

Jack hung up the phone and took a sip of wine.

"Victor called the captain of the precinct. I don't have to report until Monday."

"Good for you."

"Yeah."

Tyler's cell phone rang.

"Simpson."

"Hi, it's Lou."

"Lou, you promised me this weekend."

"I know I did, Tyler, I'm sorry. We've just received a report on a series of homicides in Fredericksville."

Tyler sighed into the handset before responding.

"I can take the eight o'clock Acela. If you have Mutt and Jeff meet me at the BWI station."

"Thanks, Tyler."

"You're welcome, Lou."

"Bye."

"Bye." Tyler said, closing his phone.

"Something up?"

"Yeah, someone put two and two together; looks like we might have a serial in Fredericksville."

"Well, at least you can have a good night's sleep."

"Yeah, look, I've got some work to do."

"Sure, I'm gonna go return some more calls in my bedroom," Jack said, topping off his glass of wine.

"Okay."

Jack picked up his notepad, and his phone list from the kitchen then headed to his bedroom. He closed the door and walked to his bedside table and set down the glass. Sitting down on the bed, he turned on the light and picked up the phone to dial.

"Steve Siegel."

"Hi, it's Jack Malone."

"I'm glad I gave you my cell phone number."

"Yeah, my schedule is a bit off. What time do you want me to come in on Monday?"

"I have rounds at the hospital in the morning. Hang on, let me really look at my schedule. Okay, eleven would be good."

"Okay, do you think you can do a fitness for duty exam as well?"

"Yes, I'll just block the time now."

"Great, thanks."

"You're welcome, Jack. I'll see you on Monday. Bye."

"Bye," Jack said, depressing the button and dialing again.

"Glenn Bradley."

"It's Jack."

"How're you doing?"

"Coping, I guess."

"I'll accept that for now. Eight a.m. Monday and Wednesday good for you?"

"That should be okay," Jack said, writing the info on his pad.

"Great, take it easy. Have a quiet weekend and I'll see you Monday."

"Thanks, Glenn."

"You're welcome, Jack. Bye."

"Bye," Jack said, hanging up the phone.

Jack took a sip of his wine and then carried his papers and the glass back into the living room. Tyler was working on his laptop.

"Can you print something for me?"

"Sure, are you emailing me or is it on a memory stick?"

"Uhm, email."

"Okay," Jack said, setting the pad and phone list back on the breakfast bar.

He walked to his laptop and turned it on, hearing the soft beep as it went through its start-up. He reached the green button on the front of the printer and turned it on. Sitting down, he sipped his wine and waited. A few minutes later, he was staring at a photo of the girls from Christmas.

"Okay, let me just get to my email account. And…I'm in."

"Sending."

"Got it, how many copies?"

"One is fine. It's the Amtrak ticket backup in case the ticket kiosk is screwed up."

"Right."

"You get your stuff settled?"

"Yeah. What time is your train?"

"I'm on the eight a.m. Acela so I'll be out the door around seven tomorrow."

Jack took another sip and looked at his screen. He had set up his screensaver to be a series of photos of Hanna and Kate. He looked at his watch and was surprised to see it was almost nine o'clock. He wasn't tired, exactly, he was restless. Standing up, he walked to the window. In the quiet apartment he stood drinking his wine. The only noise was the tapping of Tyler's fingertips on his laptop. Lost in thought, he sipped his wine and watched the occasional person walk down the sidewalk and get illuminated by the streetlight.

9:30pm

"Jack, I'm going to bed. Will I see you in the morning?"

Jack turned and saw that Tyler had packed up his computer and set it and his briefcase near the front door. He set his glass on the window sill.

"Yeah, I'll see you then."

"Don't stay up all night."

"No, I won't."

"Night."

"Night."

Tyler looked at his friend and saw that he was still troubled. He walked up to him and embraced him tightly. Neither man spoke. Finally, Jack took a step back, wiping his eyes with his forearm. He cleared his throat.

"Go to bed, you rebel," Jack said, gruffly.

"You too, hippie"

"Soon, I'll be there soon enough."

"Night."

"Night."

Tyler walked down the hallway to the guest room and shut the door behind him. Jack picked up his wine glass and noticed it was empty. He looked at the dining room table, but the bottle was no longer there. He went into the kitchen and noticed the bottle in the recycle bin. Pausing for a moment, he reached up and pulled down a rocks glass. He opened the bottle of Famous Grouse and poured generously before adding some tap water. Walking back to his desk, he sat down at his computer and looked at his emails; nothing important in his personal account. Logging in through the secure VPN he scrolled through his office email. He sent an email to Viv explaining about his appointments for next week and then logged out. Taking a sip, he watched the computer go into screen saver mode and the faces of his girls came up again. He watched them for several minutes, feeling the tears course down his face. Abruptly, he got up and walked to the front door. His wallet was in the tray. Picking it up, he returned to his computer and started to type. Soon he was smiling, sipping his drink, and finally feeling slightly tired. He logged out and turned off his computer and his printer. Grabbing his drink, he went to the sofa and sat down. Reaching for the remote, he turned on the TV and started to channel surf.

Saturday 2:12am

Tyler woke up with a dry throat. He padded down the hallway, and wasn't entirely surprised to see Jack not in bed. He was surprised that Jack was still awake.

"Can't sleep, huh?"

"I sleep for ten minutes, then wake up."

Tyler noted the minimal remains of liquid in the scotch bottle. He took a glass and filled it with a small amount of Famous Grouse and then a lot of water.

"Let me drink some of this and then we are both going horizontal, okay?"

"Sure, Tyler."

Five minutes later, Tyler turned off the TV and the lights in the kitchen and living room as Jack headed to his bedroom. Tyler heard the door shut and sighed as he returned to the guestroom.

6:30am

Tyler woke up and started to strip the bed of the dirty sheets. He walked to the bathroom and took a shower, returning with only a towel around his waist.

"Coffee and toast?" Jack called from the kitchen.

"Perfect, thanks."

Jack had been up since six. He had taken a shower and carefully shaved his beard, debating about leaving a moustache and goatee, finally deciding against it. He was dressed simply in a pair of jeans and a white oxford shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He leaned against the counter, sipping his coffee. Two pieces of bread were poised to be toasted.

Tyler walked down the hallway carrying his duffle. Dropping it by his other bag, he greedily took the mug of coffee from Jack as he started to smell the bread toasting.

"Butter or jam?"

"Just butter today, please," Tyler said as he sat at the breakfast bar.

Looking at Jack he noticed a certain energy that hadn't been there recently.

"Got plans today?"

"Not really, just going to play it by ear."

The toast popped up and Jack quickly plated it and handed it to Tyler with a knife and the butter.

"None for you?"

"Not hungry," Jack replied, taking another sip of his coffee.

They remained quiet; the only sound was the occasional one from the street.

"Well, I better be going. I'll give you a call when I can," Tyler said, standing.

"Great."

Tyler opened the closet and took out his top coat. He slipped it on, checked for all of his bits and parts and then walked up to Jack. He hugged him tightly.

"You take care of yourself, Malone. No heroics this weekend."

"No heroics, got it."

Tyler stepped back, slung his duffle over his shoulder, picked up his computer and briefcase before walking by Jack, who held the door open.

"Safe trip."

"Thanks, man."

Jack watched as Tyler negotiated the narrow stairs until he was out of view. He shut the door and walked back to his bedroom. Pulling a small black bag from his closet, he started to pack. Ten minutes later he was more or less done. He walked back to the front door and slipped his badge onto his belt next to his cell phone. He checked that his gun was safely hung in the closet before he unplugged his cell phone charger and slipped into his bag. Walking into the kitchen, he made sure the coffee maker had turned itself off. Finally, he put his wallet in his jacket and reached for his topcoat. As he was almost out the door, he remembered his IPOD. He grabbed it, the charger, and the head phones, and then left the apartment.

8:10am

Jack made it through security and headed for the Admiral's Club to wait for his flight. He had almost two hours until his flight, which was rough. Coffee, bagels, and juice were all that were offered. He was okay, excited to fly to Chicago to see the girls. He was able to link to the FBI server to look at email; nothing new. He surfed the net until, finally, he boarded his plane. Finding his seat, he put his bag and topcoat in the overhead and then settled into his window seat. He turned off his cell phone. Clipping his seat belt in view of the flight attendants, he fell asleep.

12:15 Chicago

He woke up on the second bounce. Rubbing his face, he cracked his neck and got ready to stand up. The plane came to a stop, and the two pings came over the sound system. Jack stood, waited for a few moments, and then retrieved his coat and bag. He left the plane and headed toward the train that would get him to downtown Chicago. From there he could change to a bus or train.

1:45pm

He walked into the condominium building. The doorman looked at him curiously.

"Maria Malone, please."

"She's not here."

"That's all right. I'll wait," Jack said, showing his badge.

"Uhm, yes of course, sir."

"Relax, she's not in any trouble. You haven't met me yet. I'm her ex-husband. I had some free time so I'm surprising her and the girls."

"Sure, okay, not a problem."

Jack sat in the first leather chair and waited, soon falling asleep.

2:15pm

'Daddy!!" the girls shrieked as they saw him sprawled in the chair.

Jack woke up seconds before Kate launched himself onto him.

"Hello, sweetheart. Hello, Hanna. How are you"

"We're hungry, Daddy," Kate announced.

"What are you doing here, Dad?" Hanna asked.

"I needed to see you. I'm sorry that I could have planned it better. Sorry to mess up your weekend, Maria. I just needed to see the girls."

Maria looked at their daughters and smiled.

"Jack, have you had lunch?"

"No, no lunch, or breakfast for that matter."

Maria smiled as the girls pulled their father to his feet. He picked up his bag as the girls led him to the elevator.

"Daddy, are you staying for the weekend?" Kate asked.

"Honey, I'm in Chicago until tomorrow afternoon, but I didn't plan it with your mother, so we have to see."

Jack was shown every new toy, device, program, and school activity in the last month since he had been there.

"Okay lunch is ready," Maria said loudly.

Hanna led the way in with Kate and Jack in tow. The bowls were filled with tomato soup and each plate had a hot grilled cheese sandwich. It was perfect. They ate everything in relative silence.

"Okay nap time," Maria said forcefully.

Kate reached up to her father's hand and pulled him to the girls' bedroom. He walked in and then sat on the floor between the two beds. Kate handed him a book and he began to read. Hanna settled on her bed with her Gameboy.

3:30pm

Maria finished putting the dishes in the dishwasher and cleaning the kitchen. She walked to the girls' room and heard nothing. She walked into the room and found the girls asleep, both curled up on their respective beds, facing their father. Jack was asleep on the floor, his head against Kate's bed. Maria smiled and left the room. She walked back to the kitchen and picked up the phone and dialed. The answering machine picked up after several rings.

Hi, this is Paul, leave your number, I will call you back eventually.

"Hi, Paul, it's Maria. I'm going to have to cancel tonight. Jack came in today and we need to spend time together, the four of us, as a family. I hope you understand. I'll call you Monday."

She hung up the phone and went to the guest room to make the bed.