How about a little comic relief from Jack & Sue's friends at the office?
I regret to inform my devoted readers that I'll be out of town all next week, so my next update won't be until after that. Hope this gets you by until then!
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Chapter 9 – The Water Cooler
A new day began at the FBI, blinds opening and coffee pots percolating, doughnut crumbs falling on dress pants. Business resumed as usual but the atmosphere in Ted Garrett's division seemed a bit off. Cautious, uncertain glances kept falling on Jack and Sue's desks, then darting between other faces looking at their empty chairs.
All ears perked up like Dobermans when Lucy walked in. The breathless expression on her face said it all.
"All right everyone, I have news – nobody stand up, I don't want you to pass out!" she clenched one fist like a microphone.
"Well, is my theory right? Are Jack and Sue being experimented on by aliens?" asked Myles.
"Or did Ted rearrange things so they'll have to work for Randy when they come back?" Bobby theorized.
"Both very creative guesses that would explain their grim expressions yesterday," Tara pointed out.
Lucy waved her hands to make the chorus stop. "It's something even crazier!"
Myles looked skeptical. "What could be crazier than the two of them running errands for Randy, who turns out to be an alien? And then he coerces them into assisting his plan to take over the world?"
"Brace yourselves," Lucy warned one last time. "They're married."
Four pairs of eyes stared back at her, confused and unblinking.
"Did any of you hear me? I said they're married!"
"As in… married, married?" Bobby spoke up, perplexed.
Lucy nodded vigorously. "Yes!"
Slowly, like mental patients taking in new surroundings, they all looked at each other. Their mouths fell agape at different times.
"What…?"
"Why?"
"Where?"
"When?"
One single-worded question was all each of them could manage. Lucy drew them closer and lowered her voice, savoring this more than all other pieces of office gossip combined.
"It has something to do with Statute 545, at least that's what I heard."
Myles' eyebrows shot sky high. Bobby's and Dimitrius' soon followed.
"What do you guys know about it?" Tara asked.
"Oh, not much. Only that it's one of the single most powerful statutes in the FBI," Myles feigned indifference.
"I'll say," Dimitrius looked pensive. "I've never heard of anyone using it."
"Well, my guess would be neither has Jack," Lucy remarked. "You all saw how upset he was yesterday. They say he's fighting it tooth and nail!"
Bobby snorted. "I wish him luck!"
Wheels were turning in Tara's head. "What's the big deal? Obviously the powers that be wanted Jack and Sue's cover to be rock solid. Once their surveillance is over, they can just get a divorce, can't they?"
The three men exchanged knowing glances.
"If this were a common civil union, sure," replied Myles. "But we're talking something much, much stricter."
"Imagine you're in Alcatraz," suggested Bobby. "There are four-inch-thick iron rods barring your window. The cell walls are electrically charged to shock you at the slightest touch. The guard to prisoner ratio is ten to one. The sea is teeming with a hundred sharks per square mile."
Everyone was listening with intense interest, waiting for Bobby to finish the mental image.
"It would be easier to escape that prison than get out of Statute 545," he concluded.
Tara and Lucy balked, then looked incredulously at each other.
"Think he's exaggerating?" pressed Myles. "Read up on it yourselves. Jack ran off with his copy but I'm sure there are others lying around."
Lucy held up both hands. "So… are you saying they're stuck? Like really, absolutely stuck?"
"Afraid so."
"And Ted didn't think to warn them this could happen with a mission like this?"
Myles shrugged. "I don't question Ted's tactics unless they directly affect me."
"How typically selfish," Tara glared.
"Yes, but let's be honest here. How many of you want to bet that by the end of the week, Jack will have abandoned his noble quest for justice?"
Frowning, nobody seemed to know what to make of that question.
"Come on, let's not pretend we haven't felt the romantic tension between those two! Don't tell me I'm the only one who sees it!" Myles entreated.
Lucy crossed her arms. "Okay, but it's still a huge leap from office infatuation to marriage. They may be attracted to each other but they're two of the most responsible, reasonable people I know."
Bobby laughed. "Reasonable or not, they're still not getting out of this without an intervention from the president himself."
"Then maybe that's what Jack will get," Tara replied smugly.
"Right," Myles rolled his eyes. "Or, he'll do what any other warm-blooded male in his situation would do and seal the de–"
"Excuse me!" a booming voice interrupted.
All of them bounced like Mexican jumping beans. There stood Ted, beloved supervisor, looking none too pleased with their use of company time.
"I'm glad to see you're all bright and chipper this morning," he glowered. "I'm sorry to interrupt an important discussion that's so relevant to keeping this country safe. Lucy?"
Swallowing drily, she stood. "Yes sir?"
"The paperwork you delivered to Jack and Sue yesterday – there's more. I need you to drop it off this afternoon."
"Oh," she blinked, grateful that was all. "Of course."
Ted brushed past the crowd with a grunt. "Good. Now if you'll excuse me, I have statutes to review."
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