Hero

Seeing Chad was going to stay, Clint leaned on the open engine hood after tossing him a different wrench. "Yeah...she's fine." He turned his attention to the engine but winced when he tried to use his freshly wounded hand. "As fine as she can be after her own father made her miserable enough to walk away from the place she loves most."

Bitterness laced his tone and even though he was staring at the engine, his mind was far from his task now. He finally sighed and glanced back to Chad. "She did want to cut contact with you. But only for two reasons. One, because of all the flack from our dad, she got so screwed up, I think she started to forget who she really is. She couldn't handle the conflict anymore. And...two...because she didn't want you caught in the middle."

He paused and straightened up. "Look...my sister is in love with you. If you don't want to deal with all this family crap or her mixed signals, I get it. I won't blame you if you walk away, and I won't tell her you were here. But...if you can handle it...and if you care as much as I think you do... I'll tell you where she is. Despite her pulling away...you're what she wants most right now."


"Okay." Jason smirked a little. "You haven't lost your stubbornness, that's apparent." He grinned before turning to leave. "I'll touch base with ya later, Hero."


"I know. And I'm sorry too." Reese nodded slowly.

"Look, I, um... I know we haven't seen eye to eye lately...on a lot of things. And I can't lie...It really bothers me." He pursed his lips in thought. "Not because I'm upset we disagree but because I just hate the tension and distrust...on both sides."

He shrugged and took a sip of coffee. "Not sure how we got to this point, but I wanna fix it. Somehow. The Elite can't afford to have us at odds."

A long pause followed, and he finally took a seat in the extra chair. "There are...changes...that are coming. They have to do with coordinating efforts with the FBI. That's the easy way of putting it, but we're getting pressure from the board, and the bottom line is they're too uncomfortable with our continued free rein. They want us more accountable and less vigilante-ish."

A light chuckle surfaced. "Not quite what I envisioned when I joined TJY under Austin's lead. But it is what it is, and I believe in our work too much to let it end."

He searched Nate's eyes. "No one else knows about any upcoming changes yet, so I'd appreciate it if you kept that tidbit under your hat. But, um...back to us..." He sighed deeply. "I trust you, Nate. I always have. We may not agree. But I trust you. So I want you to know...if you do anything or know anything you think I'd disagree with...just tell me. You're right that I probably wouldn't have wanted you to stay in touch with Victoria. But all I'd expect is to have been informed anyway. I trust your snap judgments and I don't require that you get my permission on everything. I just need to stay in the loop. Especially being under as much scrutiny as we are right now. We need to be a well-oiled machine...always, but especially now."

Another pause allowed for another sip of coffee. "So. I guess the bottom line here is I'm sorry things have been rough. And I need you as my top agent now more than ever. If I get cranky, it's only because I'm trying to make the best decisions for our team as a whole. I'll be open with you, if you're open with me."

Something Worse

Knowing Clint did need the help Chad didn't hesitate to take off his jacket and throw it over on of the tool boxes. He really didn't mind helping, and he didn't mind getting dirty either. Even if thats not why he was there he could still help, and talk at the same time. Clint was his friend too not just Rosalyn's brother. 

   "She moved?"

Chad couldn't help the shock that laced his voice as he moved closer to the car. He hadn't known she was moving, or that she was even considering it. He did know she was tired of being here, and things had gotten pretty rough with there dad but he never would of guessed that she would leave.

   "Is she alright? I haven't heard from her in weeks. I know she was probley trying to drop contact with me, but I'd never forgive myself if I just assumed that and there really was something more wrong."

Katie searches Jason's face for a long moment. She didn't want him to feel like he was a burden because he wasn't, and being a bodyguard was just part of her job title. She never thought badly of it, or regretted it. She did just wish the Agency would leave them alone. She didn't like when someones life was on the line.

    "I'll think about it but more than likely I'll just stay here now. Last thing we need right now is I go off, and Reese gets upset. He's been in quite the mood lately and now I dont want to make it worse. Thank you though J for being so willing, and trying not to hold me down. You're not though so no need to worry."

Smiling at Jason she gives a nod. Her mind was made up. He's just have to call Hunter and let him know what was going on. Maybe he'd like to do lunch there with her. It was much different from a bike ride and a picnic but at least they would still be spending time together.

 Looking up at Reese as he handed him the coffee Nate took a sip. The warm liquid felt good, and he had been running late this morning himself. The coffee tasted extra good because of the lack of it this morning. Putting it down on his desk and giving a small smile Nate nods a little to Reese.

   "Truce.!"

He new all the pressure Reese was under and he could only imgen how blindsided he was with all this stuff that kept going on. So though Nate didn't agree always he could never be to upset at Reese for to long.

   "And I'm sorry it felt like I was keeping you in the dark. That was not my intention at all. I'll try to keep you more informed next time."