It was finally nine o'clock. John had packed up his hotel room and the office he'd taken over, and he stormed into the office of his immediate superior.
"McBain"
John put his phone down on the desk with force, "Undo it"
"What?"
"I know you have a block on my phone. I know you're blocking me from getting any voicemails. Undo it"
"Agent-"
"I don't give a shit about procedure. You know as well as I do that completely blocking my incoming calls is not procedure so don't give me that line of bull"
"I don't know-"
"Don't give me that crap, either. I know how this works, I've done it long enough"
"Why the sudden change, McBain?"
"That's none of your damn business. Fix my phone"
Reluctantly, his boss took his phone and plugged it in to his computer and had pressed a few buttons.
"It's deprogramming. Now, can I ask why?"
"I got a call last night"
"I see"
"You knew" John said. That reaction was not the reaction of a person who was surprised at his reaction.
"Agent McBain, I'm sure I don't know what you're referring to"
"Bullshit"
"Agent McBain, I will remind you that I am your superior-"
"And I will remind you that we were once partners" he yelled right back, "Jake, you had my back then, was I only kidding myself to think that would still be true?"
"John, surely you have to understand the situation is a little different-"
"Do you think I give a damn about the situation? The mother of my child could be dying for all I know and you kept that from me"
"Don't you think that's being a little melodramatic? Its not like you've been to see her"
"And you damn well know why. Or was that a scheme of yours too?"
Jake's mouth hung open, unknowing how to respond. That was enough for John.
"No. You did not give me a fake restraining order. You're not responsible for keeping me away from my girlfriend and my son" he said, and when Jake didn't respond he added, "Jake, tell me"
"She did take out the restraining order, or someone did" he said, "And we got you, and you got good results" he paused, "And then it was rescinded"
"How dare you" he said, "You knew I was only here because I couldn't be with them. You knew this was just supposed to be temporary, you knew I had a job waiting for me-"
"You are aware the FBI has done much worse to get some of the agents we have"
"Yeah, well, they're not me"
"I hope you can look past this, once you have your phone back-"
"I'm sorry, what did you just say?"
"That you'll be more level-headed about your situation once you receive your phone and listen to what's been going on"
"Do you think I'm staying?"
"John, you have to stay"
"I have to do nothing. I never signed any contract"
"You're in the middle of a case"
"That doesn't even belong in FBI jurisdiction"
"That is not your call"
"I worked in local law, hell I ran a local precinct, I'd say I know what a local PD can and can't handle"
"Agent McBain-"
"Cut the crap, Jake, you know you have no reason to fight me on this"
"You're a damn good agent, John. It would stupid for you to leave. So what if your girlfriend doesn't have a restraining order out on you? It doesn't matter, you're always going to be you. You're not going to commit, you're not capable"
"Don't you dare say that like you know me. I love Natalie, I love my son. I have wanted nothing more these last few months than to go back to the life I left"
"But you did leave it. Do you really thing that's not going to happen again?"
"I won't let it" he said, "They mean too much to me"
The computer beeped and Jake disconnected the phone from the computer, handing it to John. John watched his phone catch up with the missed calls and messages. True to what Michael had said, he saw 5 missed calls each from Michael, Marcie, and his Mom. Had another two missed calls from Bo. He had another 10 missed calls from Natalie. His voicemail count was at 25. All he could do was stare at it. He knew he had to open them, but he was starting to understand how scared she must have been.
"You got what you wanted" Jake told him.
"No, I haven't had what I wanted for a long time. That changes right now" he said.
"John?"
"I quit" he said, and walked out of the office.
He got to his rental car and let out a deep breath. He wanted more than anything to listen to all those voicemails, but he knew he was probably being watched, so he put the car in drive and started towards the airport.
He waited impatiently in the ticket line, and when it was finally his turn at the counter, he barely waited for the "How may I help you?" before he answered.
"I need to get on the next plane to Seattle"
"Let me see what I can do" she said, starting to click through her computer. The process was taking much too long for John, "The next flight is booked but I can get you on standby; other than that, we have no other flights to Seattle today. I can get you a ticket for LA and you can go from there"
"Yeah, and put me on standby" he said.
In short order, he'd made it through security and was seated where he could hear both the flight he was on and the flight he was on standby for. It was time to listen to those voicemails. He put his phone to his ear, and prepared for what he was sure would be the worst few minutes of his life.