Redemption

Chapter Sixty-Seven

Bobby leaned against one of the four government-issued SUVs sitting in front of the Hoover Building as he became impatient waiting for Jack. He'd called him twice, though didn't expect him to answer and hung up when he got his voicemail. He knew they were all waiting for him and he was taking his sweet time saying goodbye to Sue.

If only this was a different scenario, the Aussie could actually feel happy for the two, yet it wasn't and time was not a luxury they had on their side at the moment. Their hour was almost up, now. "Come on, mate," he muttered under his breath. He was ready to leave without him and rescue Danni on his own, but Jack was who they were using for bait and with no bait, they couldn't catch the big fish they'd been waiting idly by for.

Usually, an agent who had a personal attachment to the case would not be allowed to join in, yet they were only going to do a quick exchange—Jack for Danni—and get her to safety, which meant he was able to go along for the ride, but Myles would be the one doing the bargaining. His anger was adamant, but so was D when they finalized the plan. His head just wouldn't be in it and things could go wrong because he was so worried about simply saving her and not about who or what could be lurking in the shadows. They'd lost many a good agent in those instances.

D was right, of course, Bobby had to agree. He was too close and his mind would not be on the plan. He would be Myles' backup if need be, but as soon as the switch was made and Danni was in the safety of his arms, he was going to make sure she would never leave the safety of his arms. He didn't care if that meant keeping her barefoot and pregnant throughout their entire marriage, but he would find a way.

He managed a small smile at that thought. The idea appealed to him, though for different reasons. They would be married after this was all over—it would be his first order of business to show how much he loved her and never wanted to let her go.

"Agent Manning?" an unfamiliar voice asked as it approached. He turned his gaze toward a young agent—only in his second year in the field—who was approaching him. Behind him walked Darcy, her hands shoved deep into the pockets of her jacket as she glanced around at the surrounding field agents in their matching SWAT gear. It was ominous to witness a dangerous mission in the works.

Bobby only nodded to the agent—not really able to remember the kid's name at this time, though he'd worked with him once before and knew he was good at what he did—so Darcy would be able to pass. He watched her approach, her loosely-flowing hair blowing around her head as the wind picked up. One of her hands removed itself from her pocket and waved at him, filled with sympathy that no one had the privilege to offer—not even her. "Hi," she spoke softly as she approached him, wanting to pull him into a strong, comforting hug at the sight of the distress in his eyes. "I heard what happened. I'm really sorry."

"You make it sound like she's dead," he snorted sarcastically and focused his gaze upon the street in front of them. People walked down the sidewalks without a care in the world as it passed them by. None of them knew the severity of what was really going on around them and he would blame himself if this blew up in their faces.

She nodded. It had sounded that way and she had to apologize for it. "I didn't mean it to sound like that. I'm truly sorry. I know how much you love her." She was trying to say these words to cheer him up, but it would do little good. Of course, it didn't help that he wouldn't even look at her. He was probably still angry at her for what she had been trying to do and, looking back on it, trying to steal Bobby back was cowardly and stupid. She felt small because of it and wanted to ask for forgiveness for that as well, if he would accept it.

"What are you doing here, anyway? I haven't heard from you, so I thought you went back to LA." He crossed his arms over his chest as much as his vest would allow. It made him look more menacing, especially with the scowl he'd been wearing all day, but in truth he was really trying to hug himself and give himself comfort. It just wasn't the same as when Danni would hug him. Her soft curves fit so well with his hard angles that it just wasn't the same without those curves in his arms; God, how he missed just holding her.

"I got a phone call late last night about something with media chatter. I didn't quite understand so I called back this morning, but there was no answer. Then I heard what happened." She moved a stray piece of hair from her eyes as she tried to look at him and imagine his pain, but it was obviously deeper than she could imagine or he would reveal.

He furrowed his brow, his gaze finally flickering to hers as he frowned even deeper. "Who called you?" He was sure he would have heard about it if a member of the team had called her, though he hadn't exactly been in his usual, big teddy-bear demeanor lately.

She cleared her throat and awkwardly shuffled her feet underneath her as she felt the heat of his gaze. "She did." There was no need to specify which she Darcy was talking about, they both knew. "She said she wanted to know if there was anything compromising about the FBI that was floating around." Her expression was puzzled as she shrugged. "I honestly don't know what that meant so I was hoping you could elaborate for me?"

"Trust me, Darce, you'd understand if you'd heard it." That was a sigh of relief and a great weight of their shoulders. They hadn't leaked Jack and Sue's relationship yet, but it was only a matter of time if Jack didn't get his butt down here. He gazed up at the building as if expecting to see him peering down at them, but only saw the late-October sky reflected in the windows.

She let her tongue run across the inside of her cheek in frustration as he gave her the constant cold shoulder. He was bearing the brunt of so much guilt, but there was no reason for him to feel at fault. She'd dealt with him in these moods before, but not when the love of his life was the one who was in danger. With a groan of frustration, she grasped at the straps of his vest and pulled him down to her level, her eyes serious as she forced him to stare into her crystal-blue eyes. "You listen to me, Bobby Manning," she threatened, though quietly so no one around them would be able to hear, "don't you dare let guilt take over you, right now. She needs you to be strong and to have a clear head and that can't really happen with it being up in the clouds, now can it? I can see that you love her and that she loves you very much the same but if you let that fat head of yours mess this up, you will never forgive yourself." She let him go, crossing her arms over her chest in a huff as she looked up at him.

A small smile had formed on his lips from her speech and her stance, but mostly from the words she hadn't spoken. Her eyes told him volumes more about what she wanted to say, but didn't have the heart to say. In short, she was saying how sorry she was for hurting him and making the biggest mistake of her life by letting him slip away into the arms of a woman who now deserved him more than she did. She was letting him go and approving of Danni, despite her previous hatred of the woman and the want to get Bobby back. There was no chance of that, now, which meant she now had the chance to move on with her life as well.

"Thanks, Luv," he said softly, leaning down to engulf her in a hug. His large, imposing body practically swallowed her small form up, but the emotions that the hug emitted were clear and that was what he really wanted to get across.

"Take care of her, Bobby," she ordered as her arms wrapped around his neck and pulled him closer as she said a silent, last goodbye.

"I will," he vowed with a smile before placing a kiss upon her cheek and pulling away.

At the moment his lips touched her skin, their fearless team leader had finally decided to exit the building, causing him to stare at the rather touching moment with an awkward feeling stirring in his gut. "Crash?" Jack asked as he raised a single eyebrow in question.

Darcy cleared her throat awkwardly and muttered: "I should be going," before whispering "good luck" to them both and leaving them to stare at one another.

"Did you do what you had to do?" Bobby asked as he straightened himself up and looped his thumbs through his belt loops. His heart was feeling so much lighter at this point and not even Jack's stone-clod stare could discourage that feeling.

Jack couldn't help but blush softly, but didn't let the question deter him. "Yeah, and it looks like I wasn't the only one." He managed a small chuckle, despite the sudden feeling that someone had just been betrayed by what had just occurred between the ex-lovers.

"It's not how it looks," he tried to explain; only he discovered that he couldn't. What was there to explain, except that Darcy had finally let him go? It was very liberating and it was that which made him realize how much of a fool he'd been making of himself.

Jack shook his head, but stopped as he felt a headache coming on. "I don't care how it looks, Bobby. I just need to know that your head is in this. You are going to be my eyes and I want to know if you have both mine and Myles' back." His expression was now serious, the ability to switch from normal human being to Special Agent Jack Hudson seeming flawless if one blinked. Bobby having seen this change numerous times over their long friendship wasn't affected by the change, though he could certainly feel it in the man's words.

The Aussie nodded. "You can count on me, Sparky." He let another smirk creep to his lips as he thanked God for the little bout of inspiration he'd been searching for. Though, why it can to come from such an unconventional source was confusing, but he got the message all the same.