UC: UNDERCOVER:
ACHILLES HEEL
By Wendy
Part two
This new department was not going the way he planned. UC was supposed to be his step up the ladder, not Frank Donovan's. Bloom thought to himself.
With Murphy asking for the ex-hostage negotiator by name, added with the fact that the Attorney General's son had been returned unharmed after his kidnapping ordeal, it had only managed to strengthen Frank's standing in the eyes of those above. So, now the man seemed to be untouchable as well as damn unreachable.
Stalking toward Donovan's office, Paul Bloom cursed the ghost of the former leader of UC, John Keller, damning him for having the stupidity to get himself killed. That one single act of pointless bravado, necessitating Donovan's appointment and thereby forcing him to do the leg walk to talk too the inaccessible man in question.
"Where is he?" Bloom's patience had worn too thin to warrant the use of manners, even to the members of the team that was faultless.
Cody hadn't heard Bloom enter and startled by the harsh command of the voice, he leapt to feet, the action causing his chair to skid backwards across the room.
"And which he, would that be, sir?" he asked, more flippantly than he had intended as he silently cursed the absence of his fellow teammates.
"Donovan," Bloom snapped, glaring at the younger man. "Where is he?"
"In his office, sir," Cody answered more formally, as he pointed the way.
Without any further acknowledgment, Bloom headed toward Keller's old office, only to find on his arrival, that the room was unoccupied.
"Are you looking for me?" A deep voice asked from a side room.
Following the voice, Bloom turned to see Frank Donovan watching him from what, if he remembered correctly, was the storage room doorway.
"If I wanted a dead man's room," Frank said, answering Bloom's question before it had found voice. "I would have taken it. I did not. This room will be adequate for my needs."
"I see where you got your reputation," Bloom made no attempt to completely hide the disregard he felt for the new UC leader. But he had to admit, even to himself, that it was a clever move on Donovan's part. Take over a dead man's chair too quickly, you risk the wrath of people in the team he left behind. Damn, clever move.
"And I see where you got yours," Frank responded, before turning on his heels and heading back into his office.
Undecided as to how he was to take Donovan's tone, Bloom squared his shoulders, shrugging off the uncertainty that the imposing leader had produced in him, and marched into the former storeroom.
"Paul Bloom, I assume," Donovan greeted his superior with an outstretched hand.
"Yes, well," Bloom returned the acknowledgment with as firm a handshake as he could manage. "Now, that we both know who we are," he said forcefully, quickly releasing his grip as he reviewed the room. "Maybe we can get down to business."
"As you want. Please have a seat," Frank offered as he reclaimed his own chair behind his desk.
In the seconds he had known Frank Donovan, Bloom could see that Donovan was everything the Justice Department head, wasn't. Where as the UC leader, was tall, dark, oozing an inner self-confidence than demanded you take notice, Paul was a balding, ex-cop who went unobserved no matter how hard he tried. The fact that by the time he was told, Donovan's appointment was already a done deal, demonstrated his point precisely.
No, he would not take a seat and lose even more ground.
"I'll stand thank you." Bloom declined. "I was sorry we didn't get to meet when you were appointed the position, but I'm here now, so I would like to set the ground rules."
Frank leaned back in his chair; showing no emotion as he waited for his boss to continue.
"The UC is 'my' program, so, it's my ass on the line when things go wrong." Bloom stated firmly. "We've always had a lot to prove here, but now, with Keller's death, we have to demonstrate even more that taxpayer money is not being wasted on this unit. That our jobs are way too specialized to be accomplished by already funded and overworked branches of Justice department."
"I do understand the inner workings of government bureaucracy, Agent Bloom, and I was of the belief the team was accomplishing those aims, even with the unfortunate death of a good man," Frank defended in an even tone.
"Don't get me wrong, Frank," Bloom responded as he turned to look out of office window, absent-mindedly scanning the inner sanctum of UC headquarters. "The team effort on Quito Real and Sonny Walker was great work, but it's not over by a long shot and there are more just like them out there. But," Bloom curtly stopped, a pleasant smile slowly creasing his face as he turned and walked over to Frank's desk. "That's for another time. I really just wanted meet you, let you know where I stand."
"Well, I think I know exactly were you stand, Agent Bloom," Donovan said as he stood holding out his hand once again.
"And I you, Agent Donovan," Bloom answered as he once again shook the offered hand and started to leave, only to pause at the doorway, slapping his hand against its frame, before looking back. "Oh, by the way, next time I'd like to get in contact with you, I trust won't have to come to you again."
"Noted," Donovan said, seemingly untroubled by his superior's not so subtle rebuke.
Bloom silently mocked himself as he stalked from the room without looking back.
The lyrical chime of cell phone to an end to his self absorbed tirade and reaching into his jacket he answered.
"What!" He snapped down the line, having already ascertained by the number on the read out, that it was his office calling.
Abruptly stopping, Bloom frowned as he listened to the message. "Say that again." Needing to be sure he had heard right the first time.
"Are you sure?"
" No, no, don't do anything. I'm coming back to the office now. I want to see this information for myself."
Canceling the call and slipping the phone back in his jacket, Bloom spun on his heels, wondering whether he should inform Agent Donovan about what he had just learned. Hesitant, he decided to wait. If there really was a price on Donovan's head, he would have to be sure of his information.
TBC
ACHILLES HEEL
By Wendy
Part two
This new department was not going the way he planned. UC was supposed to be his step up the ladder, not Frank Donovan's. Bloom thought to himself.
With Murphy asking for the ex-hostage negotiator by name, added with the fact that the Attorney General's son had been returned unharmed after his kidnapping ordeal, it had only managed to strengthen Frank's standing in the eyes of those above. So, now the man seemed to be untouchable as well as damn unreachable.
Stalking toward Donovan's office, Paul Bloom cursed the ghost of the former leader of UC, John Keller, damning him for having the stupidity to get himself killed. That one single act of pointless bravado, necessitating Donovan's appointment and thereby forcing him to do the leg walk to talk too the inaccessible man in question.
"Where is he?" Bloom's patience had worn too thin to warrant the use of manners, even to the members of the team that was faultless.
Cody hadn't heard Bloom enter and startled by the harsh command of the voice, he leapt to feet, the action causing his chair to skid backwards across the room.
"And which he, would that be, sir?" he asked, more flippantly than he had intended as he silently cursed the absence of his fellow teammates.
"Donovan," Bloom snapped, glaring at the younger man. "Where is he?"
"In his office, sir," Cody answered more formally, as he pointed the way.
Without any further acknowledgment, Bloom headed toward Keller's old office, only to find on his arrival, that the room was unoccupied.
"Are you looking for me?" A deep voice asked from a side room.
Following the voice, Bloom turned to see Frank Donovan watching him from what, if he remembered correctly, was the storage room doorway.
"If I wanted a dead man's room," Frank said, answering Bloom's question before it had found voice. "I would have taken it. I did not. This room will be adequate for my needs."
"I see where you got your reputation," Bloom made no attempt to completely hide the disregard he felt for the new UC leader. But he had to admit, even to himself, that it was a clever move on Donovan's part. Take over a dead man's chair too quickly, you risk the wrath of people in the team he left behind. Damn, clever move.
"And I see where you got yours," Frank responded, before turning on his heels and heading back into his office.
Undecided as to how he was to take Donovan's tone, Bloom squared his shoulders, shrugging off the uncertainty that the imposing leader had produced in him, and marched into the former storeroom.
"Paul Bloom, I assume," Donovan greeted his superior with an outstretched hand.
"Yes, well," Bloom returned the acknowledgment with as firm a handshake as he could manage. "Now, that we both know who we are," he said forcefully, quickly releasing his grip as he reviewed the room. "Maybe we can get down to business."
"As you want. Please have a seat," Frank offered as he reclaimed his own chair behind his desk.
In the seconds he had known Frank Donovan, Bloom could see that Donovan was everything the Justice Department head, wasn't. Where as the UC leader, was tall, dark, oozing an inner self-confidence than demanded you take notice, Paul was a balding, ex-cop who went unobserved no matter how hard he tried. The fact that by the time he was told, Donovan's appointment was already a done deal, demonstrated his point precisely.
No, he would not take a seat and lose even more ground.
"I'll stand thank you." Bloom declined. "I was sorry we didn't get to meet when you were appointed the position, but I'm here now, so I would like to set the ground rules."
Frank leaned back in his chair; showing no emotion as he waited for his boss to continue.
"The UC is 'my' program, so, it's my ass on the line when things go wrong." Bloom stated firmly. "We've always had a lot to prove here, but now, with Keller's death, we have to demonstrate even more that taxpayer money is not being wasted on this unit. That our jobs are way too specialized to be accomplished by already funded and overworked branches of Justice department."
"I do understand the inner workings of government bureaucracy, Agent Bloom, and I was of the belief the team was accomplishing those aims, even with the unfortunate death of a good man," Frank defended in an even tone.
"Don't get me wrong, Frank," Bloom responded as he turned to look out of office window, absent-mindedly scanning the inner sanctum of UC headquarters. "The team effort on Quito Real and Sonny Walker was great work, but it's not over by a long shot and there are more just like them out there. But," Bloom curtly stopped, a pleasant smile slowly creasing his face as he turned and walked over to Frank's desk. "That's for another time. I really just wanted meet you, let you know where I stand."
"Well, I think I know exactly were you stand, Agent Bloom," Donovan said as he stood holding out his hand once again.
"And I you, Agent Donovan," Bloom answered as he once again shook the offered hand and started to leave, only to pause at the doorway, slapping his hand against its frame, before looking back. "Oh, by the way, next time I'd like to get in contact with you, I trust won't have to come to you again."
"Noted," Donovan said, seemingly untroubled by his superior's not so subtle rebuke.
Bloom silently mocked himself as he stalked from the room without looking back.
The lyrical chime of cell phone to an end to his self absorbed tirade and reaching into his jacket he answered.
"What!" He snapped down the line, having already ascertained by the number on the read out, that it was his office calling.
Abruptly stopping, Bloom frowned as he listened to the message. "Say that again." Needing to be sure he had heard right the first time.
"Are you sure?"
" No, no, don't do anything. I'm coming back to the office now. I want to see this information for myself."
Canceling the call and slipping the phone back in his jacket, Bloom spun on his heels, wondering whether he should inform Agent Donovan about what he had just learned. Hesitant, he decided to wait. If there really was a price on Donovan's head, he would have to be sure of his information.
TBC