Chapter Eleven
The silence and secrets of the OPS center tormented Eric, tonight. Usually, he thrived in the cloak and dagger of his job, but he was worried about his best friend. He was worried about what the latest case had done to her and would continue to do to her as time went on. He wondered what other ripple effects the shooting of his friend, Special Agent Mike Renko, at the Point Blank Gun Range would have on the team. He hadn't realized that two of his close friends were involved. In hindsight, it explained a lot of how Nell had acted with the team, with him. Would she hate him when she learned what he was forced to do?
He inhaled and exhaled slowly while counting as if in an attempt to meditate to combat the panic that had tried to settle in on him. The attempt had helped him focus for another twenty minutes of research and work for the special case Granger had assigned him. Eric had mentally titled it, Operation Broken Trust. He groaned as he tried not to cry as he backstopped an alias for an agent. He twisted his upper torso while sitting in the chair with his tablet in his right hand. He cracked his neck with his left hand before rolling his shoulders. Startled by the opening doors of OPS, Eric almost dropped the tablet in his right hand.
He sighed in relief when he realized that it was the Operations Manager instead of anyone else. He greeted, "Hetty."
A moment of comfortable silence hung between the two before she said in a weary tone, "Mr. Beale, go home. Turn your phone off. Owen can survive twenty-four hours without your assistance. I am certain that he is at home resting. It is well past one. If Mr. Callen inquires about you, I shall let him know that you are taking personal time."
He blinked twice then nodded as he said, "Thank you, Hetty."
"You are certainly welcome."
He started to begin the process to shut down OPS.
"No need, Mr. Beale." She stated as she raised her right hand as if to stop him. "I will shut OPS down tonight. I have something of importance that I need to look in on."
"Oh," He said, confused yet knowing better than to ask for clarification. "Okay."
She stood near the communications table with her hands clasped in front of her. Her posture was perfect yet her eyes were tired. She desperately wanted to go home, to go to sleep then wake up from this nightmare. Yet, she was astute enough to realize, that in her line of work, reality was often of nightmares instead of dreams.
"Did," He paused, his facial features displaying the inner turmoil he battled. "Did we do the right thing?"
She swallowed then pursed her lips. She nodded once before she smiled, sadly. "Mister Beale, there comes a time in every agent's career when they are forced to toe the line of what is not quite right for what is right." She reached for his hand and softly cupped it. "You, my dear, are walking that line."
Frustration and despair engulfed his tone of voice as he whispered, "But, I'm not an agent."
"No, no, you are not," She conceded. Gently, she let go of his hand as he took a step backward. "However, what Owen has asked of you many agents could not perform."
In reply, Eric hung his head as he walked away.
He was certain that his life would never be the same.
His career may soar when this was over, but his personal life would plummet.
He was certain of it. He was in too deep now to make an alternate decision.
Hetty stared at the large black screen for several minutes before she opened an encrypted file on a secret server. She typed in several pass codes for various files within the original file. Finally, a live video feed of a hospital room appeared on the large screen.
Her lips parted in surprise even though she knew what, who she would see. She smiled both heartbroken and relieved to see the person on the screen asleep on the hospital bed. The person took a deep breath and slightly moved which triggered an alarm on a machine near the bed. She braced herself against the communications table with her left hand as she began to cry in earnest.
For the moment, she would allow the walls around her heart, her facade to fall.
She loved her people, dearly.
More than she loved herself.
Much more than she loved her career.
By the time this was over, her career would plummet, she knew.
But, she hoped she still had her people, her family.
Including, the person she currently watched.
Had watched for far too many years.
She could not stop now.
She would not stop.
No one would stop her.
A/N: For the foreseeable future, this story will be updated on Wednesdays. Please let me know what you thought of the update; I love reading suggestions, theories, and comments. Thank you for reading.