A/N: Sorry this has taken some time to update. No other excuse except LIFE. But do not worry I will not leave this abandoned. Next update will be done by the weekend.

"ONE ORDER ONLY! We only gave you one direct order and that was NOT to kill anyone. Can you please explain why we have now got a dead body to deal with?" Shirley was absolutely fuming at Jeff.

Jeff and Troy had quickly left Dublin and had headed back to Greendale. Jeff was currently in a de-briefing with Shirley and Director Pelton.

"You weren't there boss. I had to make a judgement call and I made it. I'm sorry it had to end this way, but I got the job done."

"Tiger but the president is now going to be after your head," the panic in Shirley's voice was evident. She was worried about what would happen to Jeff.

"That may not be the case," Director Pelton interrupted. "The last I checked with the President, he was happy that we had managed to stop anyone else getting their hands on the files, not to mention that Professor Hawthorne is now convinced that we are the only agency that can protect him. He has agreed to come back to work for us, and has promised the President a large donation for this re-election fund. It seems that we once again owe you our gratitude Agent Tiger."

He stood up and headed for the door. "Agent Bennett, Tiger. Once again congratulations on a job well done." With this he turned around and left the office.

Shirley let out a deep breath and looked at Jeff. "I'm so sorry Jeff-ery."

"Sorry about what?"

"Agent Barnes filled me in on your relationship with Annie. I'm sorry that after everything that happened with Slater, you were again put into a position where you had to choose between your duty and your love."

Jeff simply nodded his head at Shirley and got up to leave.

"Jeff take a few days off to recuperate. Then I have your next mission ready for you."

Jeff took a deep breath. "Boss I've been thinking. Like you said I've been on mission after mission for the last 12 years. Maybe it's time to take a break."

"What do you mean?"

"Well rather that going out on missions, I could stay here behind the scenes organising the missions."

"And who exactly would we send out on these missions?"

"Barnes. Trust me he's ready for this. I could handle him from here."

Shirley narrowed her eyes at Jeff. This was an odd request. He was actually volunteering for a desk job. As she looked at him she realised that Jeff was hurting, he was human after all. Sometimes even she forgot this fact and believed that he was a superhero called Tiger. But now she could see the pain in his eyes. Her heart broke for him.

"Ok Jeff-ery. We'll try this for a month. Give you some time to recharge your batteries."

One month slowly turned into six and Jeff's very demeanor had changed. Everything that he did reminded him of his brief time with Annie. Every meal he had, his mind would wonder back to the memory of the meals they shared together. Every time he spoke to his mother she kept asking about what had happened with Annie, oblivious to Jeff's pain. Over time Jeff started to get more withdrawn. He spoke less and less with his mother, fewer trips to the bars with Troy. Even his time with Shirley became non-existent.

One thing everyone had noticed was that Tiger hadn't been out in the field in over six months. Every day he would dive straight into the big pile of paper work on his desk. When he was not doing that, he would force Troy to repeat the same tedious training programme that he had devised for him. Over a short period of time Troy was excelling in the field, and people started saying that he was the greatest agent the agency had ever produced, with Jeff just nodding politely when he overheard them talking, content in his little bubble with his memories of Annie. Then one day everything came crashing down around him.

"Tiger? Tig, Tig Tiger?..."

Jeff looked up from his desk. "What do you want Chang?"

Chang leaned in closer and said with a whisper "What do you think Director Pelton is discussing with the boss-lady?"

"I have no idea. I'm sure if it was important, then they will let us know."

"Hey Tiger do you remember the good times when you were privy to what happened in Bennett's office? But of cause now you're just washed up and no longer relevant. How the mighty have fallen! How does it feel to have been replaced by the dumbest agent to ever walk these walls?"

"Get. Lost. Chang!" Jeff said with his jaw tightly clenched.

"Fine I'm going Tiger. Though just a parting shot, is there any point in even calling you Tiger. Maybe we should just change your code name to Agent PUSSY Cat."

Jeff just simply glared at Chang

"HA HA. See you later loser." With this Chang left.

Jeff was seeing red and started to count down from 10 to calm himself down. Realizing that this was not going to help he stood up ready to strangle the life out from Chang. Chang was saved from the ringing of Jeff's phone.

"WHAT?" Jeff shouted down the phone.

"Agent Tiger, you DO NOT answer your phone like that ever. Am I making myself clear?"

"Sorry Boss won't happen again."

"Good. Now get your sorry ass to my office on the double" and with that Shirley disconnected the line.

Jeff slowly took a few deep breaths and walked towards Shirley's office. Once he reached their, he knocked on the door and walked in.

"It's nice to see you Jeffery. Take a seat."

Jeff sat down. "So how have you been boss?"

"Oh you know, the usual. Stressed and need a year's long vacation. The boys have been asking after you. They miss you."

"I miss them too. Maybe I should come round one day to see them."

"Oh Jeff-ery they would love that."

"Boss no offence, but I'm sure you haven't called me around to talk about my relationship with your family. What can I do for you today?"

Shirley was tempted to chew Jeff out for his comment, but decided it wouldn't help matters at hand. She decided to just tackle the problem.

"Jeff it has come to the Director's attention that you haven't been out on the field for quite some time now. We all feel that your skills are being wasted, sitting behind a desk."

"Boss I thought that this was what you wanted for me. You know to pass on my expertise to the other agents."

"Yes Jeff that is true, however we still need you out there. As the Director put; you are the first line of defence for us. It has been decided that you will be given an assignment to go out on."She looked up to see a darkness beginning to cloud over Jeff's eyes. "Relax Jeff it's an easy assignment, just to get you back in the groove of things. You'll be with me, as we accompany a delegation of senators to the peace conference the U.N is holding in Istanbul. We are just there to make sure everything runs smoothly."

Jeff looked deeply at Shirley. "I suppose I have been hiding for too long. I know I should get back to things. You're right boss, you're right...as always. Guess it's time to let Tiger out again."

A smile broke out onto Shirley's face. "Good to hear that Tiger. Go pack your glad rags. Who know we might even manage to have a bit of fun out there!"

Jeff stood up and walked to the door. "See you at the airport boss!"

Jeff, Shirley and the rest of the delegation had made it to Istanbul with no problems arising. As they were driving to the hotel Shirley spoke quietly to Jeff.

"Jeff you know that there are more spies here then actual people who want peace. I hear the Koreans might be up to something. Keep your ear on the ground and if you have any contact here, it may be a good idea to speak to all of them and make sure they keep you in the loop."

Jeff just nodded.

They made their way in to the hotel and checked in. Jeff unlocked the door to his room and put his bag on the bed. He looked around and noticed a bottle of whiskey on the table. He cautiously approached the bottle and saw a folded note under it. He grabbed the note and read it. The note simply said:

Jeff,

We need to talk.

Milady.