Ignoring the battery warning signal of the mobile phone that John had given her, Danielle reached for the key to her apartment.
Without a suitable adapter for this kind of fossil model, it will remain useless, she mused.
No further contact with the two men for four days, she had considered to contact John via the speed dial function but rejected the idea as quickly as it opened up to her. The imagination that he might get hurt in a potentially dangerous situation due to her unnecessary call sent a shiver down her spine.
Maybe they simply don't want this bone of a phone back, she considered.
Discarding the thought, she opened the door to her semi-dark apartment when her heart skipped a beat.
"Geez, John. This is becoming quite a habit", she tried to suppress her surprise at the sight of her unexpected guest who again had sat down in front of the kitchen counter.
Looking back and forth between the apparently undamaged locking mechanism of the door and the man who today was wearing a black coat over his suit, she tugged away her umbrella.
"Now I remember what was on my to-do list: a new lock... preferably a security lock."
Raising an eyebrow, she added: "or maybe I'll give you a key straight away, which means less hassle for the both of us."
"Who says that it causes me trouble?", her counterpart asked with an amused look. "I briefly considered the copy room as an alternative, but you never know who you might surprise there."
Unable to suppress a laugh, Danielle shook her head.
"And the bad thing is that it was me who gave you the idea in first place."
Taking off her jacket, she stepped up to her visitor.
"However, you´re not here without a reason."
Pausing for a moment, she looked at him in concern.
"Please don´t tell me that another co-worker is in danger. Slowly that would become a pretty weird running gag."
Seeing another smirk on his face, John rose from the stool.
"Don't worry, there are no signs of another person at risk, but thanks again for your help, also from Finch. We probably wouldn't have made it without you this time."
"You´re welcome. Like I said, take it as a small favor in return to still be alive."
For a moment they shared a unified silence, when John eventually took the word again.
"So what are your further plans? If I understood correctly, you´d quit your job a few days ago."
"That´s right. I´ll be starting at the organization I told you about next month", she explained with a smile. For a moment she didn't know why she thought to see something in his eyes that she couldn't place.
"But don't worry, if there´s some danger alert at LabTech again, you can still give me a heart attack at any time", she added, nodding back to the entrance. "By the way, I still have something that belongs to you."
Reaching inside her bag, Danielle placed the beeping cellphone on the counter.
"Apparently you've come the right moment to save the device from a sad battery death", she stated with a smirk.
Noticing a short hesitance in Johns reaction, he grabbed into the inside of his coat to hand her a charging wire as well as a little black device that she identified as Taser. Looking back at him questioningly, she didn´t know what to think.
"Your new job will probably not be as quiet as it used to be at LabTech. Sometimes the streets of New York can be… chaotic", he searched for a suitable word. "So, if you ever find yourself in an unsteady situation, the Taser might come in handy. Apart from that, if you´re ever in need of help beyond what you think the Taser is able to solve…"
"...then I'll press speed dial 1", Danielle ended his sentence.
Recognizing the faint hint of a smile on his face, John nodded.
"Take care of you", he let her know before leaving her apartment.
Unsure of what just happened, Danielle looked down at the charger in her hand. While she had blocked out thoughts about potential dangers that would come with her new job so far, it was John's unexpected gesture that brought them back to her attention.
If you´re ever in need of help... his voice echoed in her head.
While she didn´t plan to be baffled by obstacles too fast, she had to admit a calming effect to his offer. To her surprise, fate had brought the two men back into her life for the second time. Maybe, she mused, gripping the charger unconsciously a little tighter, also this goodbye wouldn´t be for good.
If you´re made it up to here I hope you liked the story. Thank you for reading.