Redemption
Chapter Thirty-Six
The pool hall was surprisingly crowded for a Sunday afternoon. Jack and Bobby were lucky to find a table and that was only because one became available when they walked through the door. It was as if the other patrons felt the two men needed to talk and the best way to do that was over a game or two. Jack racked the balls while Bobby grabbed a pair of cue sticks for him and his companion, yet they remained silent as the Aussie took the opportunity to break.
During this time, both men were studying the other as they waited for each other to speak. Bobby could tell that there was something on Jack's mind and that his friend wanted to let it out. The problem was that Jack never liked to admit when there was something wrong. He would keep it buried until something brought it to the surface; usually it would be something tragic and traumatic. Bobby only hoped Jack wouldn't do anything stupid and end up losing Sue in the process. There was something special about that woman and if he screwed it up, he would be no better than a drongo and Bobby would be more than happy to knock some sense into him.
While Bobby studied him in between shots, Jack retaliated by doing a bit of reconnaissance of his own. He could tell by the other man's posture and behavior that they hadn't come here to talk about him and Danni. This was some sort of intervention he'd been tricked into, which he didn't really appreciate. He had to admit that it was clever, though. "Okay, Bobby, what are we doing here?" he asked, causing Bobby to miss his shot. He hadn't meant for it to happen, but it would keep the Aussie from swindling him.
"Well, I was winning before you ruined my concentration," he said jokingly as he looked up at his friend.
"That's not what I meant." He wanted an answer, yet he still lined up his first shot, but didn't make any motion to hit the cue ball.
"Can't I want to spend time with my best mate? I mean, we haven't done this in a while." He pointed the tip of his stick toward the table as if to explain what they were doing here. He knew the other man didn't buy the explanation, though. Jack was too smart and too suspicious of Bobby to.
Jack's dark brown eyes rolled at the explanation as he continued to set up his shot. He leaned over the table and hit the cue ball, sending it perfectly into the three-ball. The three-ball went sailing, flawlessly into one of the side pockets, which let Jack assess his next move. It only seemed like he was figuring it out, but he was really thinking about what to say to his friend. He could yell at Bobby for dragging him away from something important, but the Aussie was only trying to do what he thought was right. "Before, you told me you wanted to talk to me about you and Danni. Now, I know that isn't true, because you've never been surer of anything in your life… even with the whole Stern fiasco. So, what's this about?" He leaned upon his cue stick, defiant to take his next shot until he got an honest answer.
A heavy sigh escaped the taller man as he leaned upon his own cue stick. He might have not been that convincing in his execution, but he still got Jack out of the bullpen, didn't he? That was what mattered most, other than discovering what it was that was plaguing the American's mind. "You," was all Bobby said as he watched his best friend's expression change dramatically.
With a heavy sigh, she threw down her pen and closed the last file that sat before her. She stretched as she stood up to get the kinks out of her muscles. A small number of them gave a few loud pops, but she had to admit that it felt good. She had been sitting there for quite a while and hadn't realized how long it had been until she finally stood up.
With a small yawn, she grabbed the large pile of files on her desk and carried them to the tiny closet of a file room that she'd gotten them from. There was a much large file room a few floors down, but that would mean she would have to walk back and forth to gather her information. For the task she'd had, the tiny one would do.
She balanced the files in one hand as she reached for the knob of the door. She gave it a turn, but found that it wouldn't open. It was locked, which was strange because the room was never locked. "That's funny," she murmured as she tried the knob again only to find that it still wouldn't open.
The floor was busy with officers and detectives hurrying about to finish their hottest cases, but even in all of the activity surrounding her, Danni was still able to hear two faint voices in the file room when she pressed her ear close enough to the door. She furrowed her brow in confusion as she tried to understand what was being said, but it only came out in muffled clumps.
Danni didn't know what motivated her to knock. It could have been her natural curious nature, or it could have been because she was now a lieutenant, though she didn't have the badge to prove it yet. The knuckles of her free hand solidly pounded on the door, hoping to frighten the insolent officers who'd decided to invade the miniscule room that was formerly a janitor's closet.
The door opened only a crack and the woman's jaw dropped to see a familiar face looking out at her. She almost dropped her pile of papers, but steadied herself enough to keep the pile erect. "Jeff?"
He gave a nervous chuckle as he straightened his collar and managed to squeeze out of the door without letting Danni see his companion. She just wouldn't understand and it would cause a lot of conflict if it was revealed. "What are you doing here?" He ran a shaky hand through his short, dark blonde hair as he tried to divert her attention away from the room he'd just exited.
"I came to gather my things. We're working with the FBI tomorrow, remember?" She saw him nod, but not give her a voiced answer nor any direct eye contact. He would try to change the subject and get her mind off of his indiscretion, but she wouldn't be strayed so easily. She wasn't officially his commanding officer, but she was still able to give him a piece of her mind and she was sure he didn't want that. "What were you doing in the file room with the door locked?"
He gave another nervous laugh and ran his hand awkwardly through his hair again. He really didn't want to answer that question, but he knew she would find out sooner or later. "I was… doing a bit of research for myself," he lied.
She looked at him accusingly as her eyes gauged his appearance. His dress shirt was disheveled with a button or two missing from their holes, his jacket in the same shape. His hair, as much as he would like to tame it, was sticking up on its ends. And, on closer inspection, she could swear there was a light smudge of lipstick upon his shirt collar. If she could, she would have crossed her arms over her chest, but with only one free hand, she resorted to placing it upon her hip. "With the door locked?" Her head snapped up and he turned around as they both heard the door open. "Oh, well, some kind of research this is!" She proclaimed when she saw who exited the room.