CHAPTER 35

BEFORE SUNSET

Jason was driving to his house, pensive, thinking about all the things that Dianna said to him about Natalie. And the more he thought, the more disappointed he felt. With himself.

He had no one to blame but himself, because Natalie just wanted to mold him to be exactly who she wanted him to be, and he let her. He was slowly turning into someone he didn't recognize anymore, and he only noticed that when Dianna came back.

Because just talking to Dianna made him feel relaxed, alive, and understood. He started to notice how the months with Natalie actually felt like weeks, because they were all the same. Plain routine, shallow conversations, annoying requests from both sides, and Jason almost always losing his temper with her. He was turning into a resentful and boring person, and he felt so angry at Dianna during those months because he was always feeling so miserable. And then he blamed Dianna for that, but it was also his own fault.

The surgery and the possible idea of a forced retirement helped him go down the hill, too, and his relationship with Natalie may have helped him with his physical recovery, but definitely not with his psychological one. He lived in a haze, not being able, or even allowed, to make decisions for himself.

And one of the worst things is when he thought about his therapist. He actually forgot about that, but he started doing his therapy when he was still just flirting with Natalie. And one of the first things that Jason wanted to talk about, besides his panic attacks, was about Dianna, and the therapist kept saying that the past was in the past, which was right, but he needed to talk about her, because he hated being so angry at her. And more than once, the therapist agreed with Jason's anger, saying that it was his right to be angry, and if he let out all that anger, he could move on to someone more deserving of him, and supportive. And, imagine that, obviously the only woman that Jason actually kept in contact with, on a weekly basis, besides maybe Davis, was Natalie. It was almost as like the therapist was describing her during his therapy, and Jason now was squirming in his car and breathing heavily, because he realized how he was played. For months. And maybe they really wanted what was best for him, but for their own benefit too, and not thinking about Jason's happiness.

He felt like he was in a shitty teenager rom-com movie, where kids made pacts or bets, and tricked, toyed and controlled the popular boy in high school to make him like the girl, who at the end of the movie, wasn't even being what the boy actually wanted, because she was molding herself for him to like her, too.

And with that in mind, Jason aggressively turned his car around, because Dianna was right, even if she didn't want to be with him, there was no way that he could live another minute with Natalie. Because he wasn't living, he was just surviving, at that point.

He saw the time and knew that she would still be working at Base, and it was close to his house, so he decided to first break up with her, take the weight off his chest, and then grab his things at his apartment to go back to Davis' house.

He walked to the building fast, because he really didn't want to waste another second, so he could go back to Dianna and his teammates, who really had his best interest at heart. While he walked, strongly grabbing his phone, he suddenly reminded of all the times the guys, and especially Davis, kept teasing him about things that Natalie asked him to do or change, and they sometimes insisted on it, and Jason, feeling like a gentleman, defended her honor, but in fact, he was being a moron, because they were all right. So they stopped meddling so much, except for Davis. Davis really didn't hide much about how annoying she thought Natalie was, but Jason, once again, thought it was just because Davis was a good friend of Dianna.

Jason was practically laughing at himself, about how dumb he was, when he aggressively opened the door to her office, and shut it, aggressively, too.

"Jace" Natalie stood up instantly, with wide eyes, "what happened?" she asked, with a soft voice, walking around her table.

Jason saw her eyebrows raising exaggeratedly, like she was pretending to be some ingenue woman to him. He breathed in to calm himself down a bit.

"Nothing happened. I just was thinking about us, and we should break up", he stated, not even saying why, because he didn't want to waste any time fighting with her.

"What? Why?" she came closer to him, placing her hand on his chest, and he took a step back. "We just had a stupid fight. I told you I won't keep moving your stuff around anymore, ok?" she sounded sincere and apologetic, but now Jason noticed her eyebrows even more raised, and she was practically a telenovela actress. Of course the others saw it right through her.

"That's not the reason. It's also because of that, but because I realized you're always trying to change me, control me, and I'm sick of it", Jason stated, aggressively gesticulating and coming closer to her.

Natalie didn't move, and she pleaded again, "Of course not, Jason, I'd never want to change you. Or control you. I just want what's best for you, ok?"

"You want what's best for you" he said, indignant, "because this ridiculous things that you're making me do or not do are just because of what you like, and want for yourself, not for me" he gesticulated again. "And anyways, it's not just that. But I'm sorry, I realized that I don't see a future for us. I tried, and I'm sorry for saying that just now, but I don't want to be with you". He looked down while saying it, in the gentlest way he possibly could.

"You don't want to be with me? After everything I did for you? After all the time and effort I put on you?" Natalie was indignant, and coming closer to him, with an exasperated expression. "Where would you be if it weren't for me, Jason? I can't believe you could hurt me like this".

Jason felt more indignant now, "Yes, a lot of effort, true, u-hum, but you did benefit from me when you started to hit on me during our sessions, huh? You were my doctor, of course you had to help me. That was your job, not a favor. You were seducing me from the start, and I was dumb enough to think of you as some fucking saint, but truth is, if I had done my sessions with any other doctor, definitely the results would be the same. I'd just need to pay an extra for the nightly hours, because those you actually put on for free". Jason finished, and realized he was a little too harsh with her, but he also noticed how her face suddenly changed to an emotionless one. She swallowed, then her expression turned to seductive in a second, but she looked like psychotic seductive.

"Well, I don't remember you complaining" she slowly walked to him, and Jason was taking a step back because he didn't even want her to touch him anymore, and suddenly the phone he had on his hand rang.

Natalie immediately looked down and saw Dianna's name on the screen. And the photo he chose for her was the one he took of her in Paris, next to the window. A very intimate and romantic one.

Before Jason could react, Natalie grabbed his phone off his hand, and held it behind her back, while Jason tried to take it away from her, but he didn't want to touch her.

"Ah, so now I see, huh? The actual reason? How could you do that? You said you didn't have anything with her, and now all of a sudden, she calls during our fight?" Natalie was mocking, and the phone stopped ringing. Jason gave up trying to take it from her, because he didn't want to hurt her either.

"Just give me the phone, I really don't have anything with her, but it's an emergency situation, and I need to take that call" he tried to sound reasonable with Natalie.

"Oh yeah, do you really think that I'd let you talk to that whore right in front of me?" She asked, sarcastically.

"You watch your mouth, Natalie, or I swear I'll rip this phone off your hand, even if it comes with it attached", he promised, dangerously.

"Oh, how cute, defending that bitch. Because I remember when you mentioned to me how angry you were at her because she just left the team" she leaned on her chair, and Jason just stared at her, angry, "and kept switching between you and Nick, huh".

Jason stared at her, but now alarmed, because Natalie didn't realize, but she had just confirmed that she was controlling him. And his therapist was, too. Because he was absolutely sure that he never said to Natalie that he had anything romantic or sexual with Dianna, or that he thought she slept with Nick. Not ever. But he told his therapist, during a couple of sessions. So his therapist was telling Natalie confidential things about him, and he felt nauseated with that feeling, and it finally made sense how supportive she was with specific things that were happening in his life, like she was guessing how these things were affecting him. He felt doubly betrayed, and had no patience with Natalie anymore, so he advanced at her to grab his phone, that started to ring again.

"Get off of me" Natalie said, when Jason held her arm, and he let her arm go so she wouldn't press charges against him or something, and she quickly threw his phone against the wall of her office. And she smiled when she did.

Jason barely looked at her, alarmed, and went to pick his phone, very destroyed now. He didn't even look at Natalie again, because he felt it was a lot more urgent to talk to Dianna, so he got off her office to find out if someone had her phone number, or Davis', or anyone's, because he didn't know any of those by heart.

But before getting out of her office, he had to confirm.

"We're over, Natalie. Stay the fuck away from me".

"I overheard some parts. Sorry" Davis walked into the living room, looking at Dianna, who had her eyes filled with tears, still sitting on the sofa. Dianna looked back at her, nodding, and Davis sat on the sofa, next to her, not without checking if there was some wine spilled on it, making Dianna chuckle.

"I didn't spill any" Dianna said, amused by Davis' controlling way.

Davis shrugged. "Well, you are a bit clumsy, sometimes".

They kept quiet for a few seconds.

"I wish I had your courage, Dianna" Davis admitted, looking down. Dianna looked up, confused. "You let him go, actually, you forced him to go and think about what he truly wants. Even if it is to be with the woman you despise".

Dianna had more tears in her eyes, now. "Yeah. Not sure that was such a good idea now. Maybe I should be a little more selfish next time".

Davis chuckled. "But then he probably wouldn't be so into you, huh" she wisely said.

Dianna smiled. "You think?" and Davis smirked, nodding.

Then Dianna saw Davis' look turning sad. "Is there really no way for you to be with him?" she said, without mentioning Sonny, and Davis felt alarmed for one second, because she never fully admitted anything to Dianna, but then she thought, of course she knew. She was an interrogator, after all.

"There is" Davis stated, "But both of us love our jobs too much and don't want to give them up".

Dianna nodded. "You're right. You'd probably resent each other later. So, all you can do is wait? For a spot opening or something?"

"Yeah" Davis said, grumpy. "Just wait".

Dianna looked at her, and felt really bad. She was really happy that she could be with Jason, if they wanted too. Because she knew neither of them would give up their careers to do so, otherwise. "I'm sorry, Davis", she said, looking into her eyes.

Sonny almost immediately walked into the living room.

"Are you gonna make out? Because then let me grab my phone" he said, and the girls laughed, but he didn't seem to be joking when he took his phone off his jeans.

"Just talking" Davis said, and Sonny laid on the other sofa next to them, stretching his legs.

"Just gonna take a nap, okey" Sonny muttered, then Ray got in and watched that scene.

"Nice, man, aren't we supposed to be alert about Will?" he was annoyed, and with reason.

"I just don't get it" Dianna suddenly said, and Ray leaned on their sofa, looking outside, since Sonny was being useless, "I really think he wouldn't come after me. Or the other victims".

Davis looked at her, "But could you be sure? The guys were just telling me that nobody really knows where he is, and the gossip is that the judge who released him is about to put an alert for the police to see if he tries to escape any borders. But I mean, he could be vindictive, right?"

"But he doesn't have the profile, Davis" Dianna tried to explain, and Sonny sat up to hear too, "he's a coward, but he's obsessed with women in a way of not wanting to hurt them, but to look after them. Like it was his mission" she said, because she had access to the statements of the other victims. "Obviously the rape victim is lying and he really raped her, but the way it was, he wasn't violent, he drugged her after stalking her. He said he was protecting her from a neighbor and decided to sleep at her house, and that it was consensual. Lying, of course, but he didn't use violence to take her".

"He's making a run then, you think?" Ray asked, curious.

"Maybe. Probably. I think if he was seeking revenge, he'd do that and then escape, but not me nor the other victims are seen by him as someone that ruined him, I think." she looked at Ray and Davis then, "When he tried to take my gun, he had his own gun on his back, and he could have taken that and fired at me, but he didn't. He just wanted to keep me from shooting at him, and he'd probably escape, then".

Ray suddenly realized something. "Yes, you're right. Jason told me that the prosecutor insisted on him giving the details about how he watched your fight, because his attorney kept pointing at specific things. Maybe it was that, his defense. That he wouldn't hurt you and it was self defense when he grabbed your gun".

Dianna didn't know any of that. "Yes, that could be, Ray. True. But then if he had a good case against my allegation that he was attacking me, and the rape victim made a new statement, why would he escape?"

Everyone kept quiet, and Sonny all of a sudden talked.

"Ray. Jason was annoyed during our deployment, remember? The prosecutor asked him to go come to make his statement in person, and since Jason refused, he was called like two or three times to give his statement by real-time video".

Ray remembered. "Yeah, so?"

Sonny explained. "Once he got out of the media room extremely annoyed, because Will's attorney was there and made a lot of questions himself, and tried to make Jason admit that he thought good things about Will before all that, and that maybe he deserved a second chance, since he defended his country and could be just having some stress or mental problem. The prosecutor apparently loved his statement, because later Jason found out that he was classified as the first witness, right after the victims", Sonny said, stern. He looked at Dianna then.

"He told me that he said during that deposition that Will couldn't continue to roam free on the face of the Earth, because he broke a rule, needed to be punished, and suffer the consequences. And that Will must be kept locked in, because he committed the same crime, over and over, and he would never stop, because he already showed that he lost control of his urge more than once, and couldn't get it back, and would never stop chasing and hurting women. Because he was empty and had no conscience to stop him".

A silence could be heard in the living room, because it was obvious that the words that Dianna said to the team in Bogota were registered in Jason's brain, and he repeated them almost word by word during his testimony. And Sonny, and probably Ray and Davis, remembered the words too, and the boys immediately understood.

Dianna stood up, with Sonny and Ray walking behind her to the front door, and Davis stayed in the living room. Davis stood up and asked, "What is it? Where are you going?"

"He'll go after Jason, Davis" Dianna explained, already searching for Jason's number on her phone, "because even though Will thinks of us victims in a protective way, he hates Jason. Because he uncovered Will to the others. And he'd do something to him in the most coward way, because that's what he is". Dianna looked at Sonny, with her phone on her ear, because she remembered what Will was specialized in Echo Team when she worked with them, and it was the same expertise as Sonny's.

"He'll blow him up" Sonny said, looking at an exasperated Davis while quickly walking out the front door behind Ray and Dianna.

"It's Brock" Dianna said to Ray and Sonny from the back of the car, curious, and quickly answered the call.

"Hi?"

"Dianna. What is it? Something wrong?" Jason asked her on the other side. Dianna told the guys it was Jason, and they exhaled, relieved, while Dianna put him on speaker.

"Nothing wrong with us. But where are you? Whatever you do, don't go into your apartment" Dianna quickly said.

"I'm not there. I came straight to the Base. I talked to Natalie, Dianna" he said, very affectionate, and Dianna could hear his smile through the phone, and she smiled too, knowing what it meant.

Sonny meddled, anxious. "We think Will is trying to get you. To get back at you because of that good statement. He likes the girls, he hates you" Sonny clumsily tried to explain in fewer words all that Dianna said. But Ray and Dianna shrugged, it actually wasn't such a bad explanation.

"O-kay…" Jason answered, and he also seemed to have kind of understood Sonny.

Ray added, "We're going to your place, and calling the police and maybe anti-bomb squad, because Sonny is almost certain that Will rigged your apartment with a bomb, so maybe you meet us there?"

"Ok, but my phone is shit. It's broken. I'll leave the Base in a minute and meet you there. Just, please, Sonny, don't touch anything ok? And Dianna, stay very, very far away".

They all agreed and Jason quickly gave Brock's phone back to him, and he and Full Metal kept walking behind him.

"Where are you going, Jace? Do you want us to come with you?" Full Metal asked.

"I'll just sign a form, real quick" he immediately got into the Navy HR room, and asked what he needed to do to cancel the relationship form he had filled with Natalie. The girl looked alarmed by his urgency, but she gave him a one paper requirement that he needed to fill with his name, two simple informations, and sign, and it would be attached to the relationship form, and be handed to the Captain, that would cancel the previous form. She barely finished explaining and Jason had already filled and signed the paper, handing it back to her, and leaving to go to his car. This time, looking to the sides, just in case Will was nearby.

Dianna was leaning on Ray's car, and Sonny and Ray were staying at the front of Jason's place, but not too close, when Jason arrived. He got out and walked to Dianna first, both of them opening a wide smile to each other.

"You good?" she asked, anxious, he barely nodded, and she stood on her toes and threw her arms around his neck, holding him close, while he wrapped his arms on her waist and buried his face on her neck.

"You were right" he muttered, his voice muffled by Dianna's neck. "She was controlling me. And I found out more. I broke up with her. For good".

Dianna smiled, and he felt her smile on his neck. "Ok. Good".

And neither of them distanced themselves for long seconds, until two police cars arrived.

The four of them stood behind while the cops checked, then with Sonny's insistence they called a guy from anti-bomb squad, but he found nothing. They were about to call Brock to bring Cerb, and Jason was pissed at Will, more than before. "Ok now with all of this, my tenant will never renew my lease".

Dianna grabbed Jason's biceps and looked at him, with wide eyes. "Oh my God, Jason, Will probably doesn't know that you moved out of your house".

All of them yelled at the anti-bomb squad, waving their hands in the middle of the street, and the cops came closer too, and when they heard that information, none of the cops and specialists was willing to risk it, so they flew to Jason's old house, to get there before anyone got hurt. But the cops said that they should stay behind, because if there really was a bomb, they had no protection and could get hurt, and Jason didn't want Dianna to be there, and he also didn't want to stay away from her.

After fifteen minutes, one of the cops called Sonny and confirmed that the front door of the house was rigged with a bomb, but nobody got hurt because they were all out, the kids were at school and at a friends' house, and the parents were still at work. Obviously, now Will was the most wanted criminal in the entire state.

Jason and Dianna walked to the beach near his apartment to calm him down after he heard that Will almost blew up his old house. It was the golden hour, again, but a lot had changed in 24 hours, they thought to themselves.

"All those memories would be gone", Jason said to Dianna, distressed, when they reached the sidewalk of the beach, after he realized that more than the life of another family was at risk.

"But they're not" Dianna calmly stated, coming closer to him, "and they're also all in here, Jason" she said, grazing a finger on his chest, over his heart, "and here" then she grazed the same finger on his forehead. He closed his eyes for a couple of seconds, then opened them.

"How do you do that?" he muttered, lazily combing Dianna's locks with his fingers. They were wavier after she loosened the braid, and moving with the sea breeze. She looked confused, now cupping his bearded cheek in her hand. "You calm my mind", he explained.

She looked at him, frowning her face.

"Sorry to interrupt, guys" Ray awkwardly said, standing close to them, and only after a few seconds they turned their heads.

"But we should find a place for you two to stay safe, just in case Will tried something, again. Maybe a hotel or something. We don't know if he didn't follow us or you guys to Davis' house, or to here". Ray smartly explained.

"I know where you could stay" Sonny walked and stood next to Ray, and overheard what he said. "It's supposed to be sunny this weekend, boss". Sonny opened a wide smile to Jason, and he opened a wide smile back at him, immediately understanding.

Sonny was really glad, in spite of all that happened. "Haha, yeah".

.