Chapter 77
The mood of the hospital room was somber as the ordeal of the last weeks finally caught up with them. Betraying shadows of fatigue lined their faces as they began informally debriefing the events that led to four of them and a civilian hospitalized, and another two agents injured. While all the paperwork was finished and filed, this was the first time they'd all gotten together since the climatic ending two days ago.
Standing at the end of Jack's hospital bed, Ted Garrett led the conversation while keeping a protective eye on the others. While only seven of the people in the room were actually his team, he owed the others for the work they did in helping keep them safe. The group would always retain a special bond, and he hoped they would be able to work together again soon.
"I still don't understand why this woman did everything she did," Katherine stated, confused as she leaned against the wall next to Myles.
"Did we ever find out what her name was?" Tara asked, sitting next to Bobby on the couch. They hadn't seen each other more than briefly the last two days, but somehow whenever they did, the two of them always ended up together. His arm draped lazily over the sofa behind her, the tall Aussie was recovering from the explosion and was going home today.
From the distracted way the tall Aussie played with the hair at her neck, Ted wondered if there was more to Tara volunteering to help him once he came home. However, considering the events they'd both witnessed, he was relieved they wouldn't be alone, whatever the circumstances.
"Jinn Girvan…" Ted struggled to fingerspell the name for Sue, his large fingers fighting to form the unfamiliar shapes.
"Looks like someone could use their friendly neighborhood 'terp again," a voice quipped from the doorway.
Seeing everyone turn, Sue followed their eyes, smiling when she saw Matt standing in the doorway. His sister stood beside him as he grinned broadly while he scanned the familiar faces in the room.
"Actually, I'm considering putting you on payroll," Ted admitted shaking the younger man's hand.
"Really?" Matt blinked signing both Ted's statement and his response without even thinking. "Why?" he questioned.
"Well, after two years with Thomas here, and then hearing of Mrs. Jarrett's heroics, I'm seriously considering recommending to the Director our next recruitment campaign focus on the deaf community," Ted smiled, watching Matt sign as Emi moved over to stand beside Jack's bed.
"True," Bobby agreed from his place on the sofa. "If we would have sent those two shelias after Saddam and bin Laden, the War on Terror would have been over in a week," he smirked.
"Yeah, I sure don't want to meet either of them in a dark alley," Dale smiled, agreeing wholeheartedly that the two women really impressed him with their strength.
"Okay, okay, back to what Ted was saying please," Sue requested, blushing in embarrassment after reading Matt's interpreting.
"Okay, as I was saying, the woman's name was Jinn Girvan, a.k.a. Garvin, Girswin, Gering, Erwin, and a number of different aliases," Ted informed them. "Apparently she suffered from some kind of 'split personality' disorder," he explained.
"There is even some evidence that some of her aliases were 'communicating' with each other," Carrie continued. "Sending letters back and forth, talking as if the aliases were different people that just knew each other," she added when everyone looked at her confused.
"That's awful that she didn't get the help she needed," Sue mentioned quietly.
"Awful," Myles inquired sharply from just inside the door. "You do remember she tried to kill you, more than once," he reminded her. "And Carrie, Mike, Bobby, and don't forget Tracey or even the torment Kayla endured," he was astonished.
"Hey," Jack inserted, only to be stopped by Sue's hand delicately on his arm.
"I know what she did, but she wasn't right," Sue maintained, her eyes brushing across Jack's angry face before turning to Myles. "She had a lot of anger inside her, and no one to help her. Perhaps her personalities were a way of trying to escape that anger," she sighed. "She deserves our sympathy for that," she affirmed.
Frustrated, Myles wanted to argue, but he could see the truth in Sue's statement. Ever the perfectionist, Myles had taken the hostage situation hard. Leaving Tracey alone at the nurses' station, and then realizing she'd been shot, Myles began questioning his decisions that day.
A lot of 'what if' situations played through his head. After visiting Tracey he seemed better, but with the wall Myles put up, it was difficult to tell. Even now, he stood on the outside of the conversation almost as if he didn't feel he had the right to participate.
"So why did she single out Thomas?" Mike asked, immediately regretting his question when he saw the dark shadow cross Sue's face.
Jack reached out to take her hand, placing it beside him on the bed. Always wearing their hearts on their sleeves, Ted could see a deep strain on their relationship that he unfortunately understood too well. The dangers of their job crept into his marriage many times, and he couldn't hide the fact that it had been the topic of many fights between him and his wife.
While he suspected more than just friendship between the two of them, Ted really hoped they would be able to work through whatever problems this case caused and find a common ground. Running away from the issue wasn't going to make it easier. Neither was forcing the other out, to live the life you want, because it would just make them miserable.
"We'll never know for sure," Carrie stated, watching with pain the sadness on Sue's face. "From what we were able to get out of her sidekick, and what he told Kyle, as well as what Jack and Matt were able to tell us from her ramblings when she, um,…" she stammered.
"She obviously had issues with the deaf," Mike took over, putting his arm around Carrie as the emotions started to overwhelm her. "We know she had intentions of killing both of them, thinking it would make an example to others that the deaf didn't belong," he continued solemnly.
"Didn't belong?" Lucy finally spoke up, her anger coming to the surface.
"She'd flunked out of the F.B.I. Academy two years ago, which is why we think she picked Sue," Ted explained, amazed that Matt was keeping up with all the different people talking.
"Sue excelled in something she failed at," Myles analyzed from his position at the door. "Many serial killers pick victims for the same reason," he stated, then looking around at everyone's faces realized he said that aloud. "Sorry!" he muttered, moving back against the wall.
"Why Kayla?" Jack questioned, his thumb caressing the back of Sue's hand comfortingly. "What is Kayla's connection?"
"Well, at first we thought Mrs. Jarrett's connection was through her friendship with Thomas," Mike mentioned. "Finding all the newspaper clippings and pictures where she'd been stalking Thomas, it seemed logical," he explained, looking at Carrie to continue.
"However, after talking with Mr. Jarrett, we discovered that his wife actually beat Girvan out for a job a year ago, and when the company merged later, Girvan's position was eliminated…" Carrie resumed.
"And felt it was Kayla's fault for taking the job she felt she deserved," Jack supplied.
"It's so sad that someone like that could let their hatred for the deaf get so out of control," Katherine inserted, shaking her head. "I never knew that much bigotry still existed."
"Unfortunately, it does," Sue whispered, getting everyone's attention as tears streamed down her face. She took a deep breath, trying to talk again, but decided instead to speak in her language, letting Matt interpret for her.
"The deaf have had to work so hard to be a part of the hearing world…a world that is unfamiliar and foreign…with different cultural features and traditions," Matt spoke Sue's words. "We learn to read lips and speak to talk with the hearing, but very few hearing people learn sign to talk with us," he continued, noticing the way many in the room looked away in embarrassment as she signed.
"Some hearing try to learn about our culture and traditions, truly intending to be a part of our worlds," Matt paused as Sue took a deep breath gathering her thoughts. "While others learn only to ridicule and challenge us," he continued.
"It's something Kayla and I have lived with all of our lives, at various levels, and something we can never get away from," he finished, his eyes as sad as hers because he knew so many deaf friends that went through every day too. It was one of the reasons he'd became an interpreter – so he could help bridge the gap – but he knew even after ten years of interpreting he still had so much to learn.
"What can we do, Sue?" Carrie asked, kneeling down in front of the blonde. "How can we help link the two worlds?"
"Be open, be willing to learn…and be accepting of our differences," Sue stated quietly. "We're not all the same, but we want to be treated equally," she told them.
"Like when you came into my office that first day," Jack started, tapping her shoulder gently to get her to look at him. "You didn't want to be treated differently, but you wanted to be given the opportunity to use your skills," he remembered.
"After seeing what you can do," Ted added. "I'm glad we've had you for the last two years, and you're not still in fingerprint analysis," he told her, moving closer. "And I'm going to do my best to be more open, more willing to learn, and more accepting," he repeated, before squeezing her shoulder reassuringly.
"We all will," Carrie maintained, looking around the room, seeing everyone nod in agreement. "If you promise to help us along the way," she smiled soberly.
With a nod and a watery smile as she struggled to hold back her tears at the love she felt in the room, Sue accepted a hug from the petite agent. Slowly but just as dedicated, the others one by one filed by, offering a few words or a brief hug.
Even Myles knelt down before her, allowing her to wrap her arms around his neck, even though he'd been one of those discriminating people not too long ago. Patting her stiffly on the back, he sadly thought, even after the terrorism and other cases he'd handled, that nothing he'd been through could ever have been as bad as what the young blonde went through everyday.
Myles realized too that, even with all of her pain and heartache, Sue was still the most compassionate, caring person he'd ever met. Tightening his arms around her, he vowed to work harder in the future. Sue deserves that for all she's done for me, Myles promised.
Chapter 78
The next morning dawned wet and dreary as Sue stretched lazily in her bed. Still sore from her various bumps and bruises, she winced as her muscles protested the movement. However, looking around at the familiar walls of her bedroom, she smiled happy to be home again.
The weather outside her window mirrored her feelings as Sue wished she could just hide away in bed forever. She'd never thought she'd lived in a fantasy world, but after this last case, she really began to wonder. Would I ever be able to live my life, in my culture, and still be a part of the world? she questioned.
Slowly Sue eased out of bed, yawning as she made her way to the bathroom. As she stood under the warm water, letting it work out the stiffness from her body, her mind drifted back to the day before. Everyone was so encouraging after finding out the woman's motives for stalking Sue and kidnapping Kayla. However, she had to wonder if they would treat her differently.
Would they look at me with the same pity I'd seen so many times before? Sue wondered as she shampooed her hair. Or would they continue to try to bridge the gap between their worlds, despite all the obstacles it would create for them?
Disappointed so many times in the past by people who said they loved her, Sue didn't want to get her hopes up. Her own mother hadn't been able to accept her hearing loss, forcing her to live in a world that wasn't hers, and be a person she wasn't.
In the two years they'd been roommates, Lucy had come so far in adjusting to living together, even though they still had a long way to go. There were still times that Lucy would forget and talk without looking at her, or get frustrated when she didn't hear what was said. However, Lucy made the effort to work with Sue in trying to find a middle ground so that neither of them would totally give up their ways. With time, they'd come to a decent understanding of each other, and each other's needs.
Now Sue's relationship with Jack was a very different story. She had to admit she held a certain attraction to the dark-haired agent, probably from the day they met. However, it had been less than two weeks since she'd actually been able to act on those feelings and Sue was terrified.
Sue was frightened of the strong emotions she faced every time he was around. She was afraid of the intense passion she felt whenever he touched her. Panic coursed through her when she realized that she would surrender everything for him. Would he do the same for me? she wondered.
Sue wouldn't see herself in a relationship like she'd seen her friend, Carol, go through with her husband. It was probably better that they called it off, before it got too serious, Sue thought. She didn't know what she'd do, if they tried to make a relationship work, and he ended up hating her because of the sacrifices she made him endure.
Sue knew she'd still have to talk to Jack, but the sooner she did the easier it would be. They could go back to being just friends, like before this case started, she told herself firmly. She'd have to tell Jack they had to go back, since she didn't want to risk losing his friendship.
Rising her hair in the warm water, Sue looked up as the bathroom lights flickered on and off. Lucy must need me for something, she thought wondering why her roommate hadn't gone to work already since it was after 9:00. Probably staying home to take care of me, she smiled ruefully.
"I'll be out in a minute, Lucy," Sue called, satisfied she'd responded correctly when the lights stayed on.
Quickly finishing her shower, she dressed in a pair of casual jeans and a loose fitting, light blue sweater. Drying her hair with a towel as she went in search of Lucy, Sue left the bathroom feeling better, at least physically, than she did before her shower.
"I'm out of the shower, Lucy," Sue called, her face still partially hidden by the towel she used to dry her hair. "What do you need?" she dropped the towel, her voice fading away as she saw Jack alone in the middle of the living room.
Jack! Sue thought her breath catching in her chest as the towel slipped unnoticed from her fingers. Her heart pounded as she realized she wasn't ready to see him yet.
Can I tell him? she wondered. Can I tell him it's over?
Swallowing, Sue opened her mouth to talk, but no sound would come out when her eyes locked with his. With a strangled cry, she turned running from the room, slamming her bedroom door behind her as she sought solace in her room.