Carpet

Smiling again she gave a little nod. She really did loved when Kirk asked for her input. It made her feel good, not that Kirk ever made her feel bad, but that extra feeling of being valuable was nice. Taking a sip of her drink she sets it down her eyes twinkling.

   "I would be honored to come over and have you pick my brain. We'll see what we can come up with together."

Hearing his comment that had to do with the other night Adison couldn't mind but find his foot under the table and gave it a light tap. Really she wanted to reach over and wack his arm, reach over and....stopping her thoughts right there Adison new this was not the place, not to mention not how there friendship was, no matter how much she wished there was more.

   "You better watch it or I'll smash another gummy worm into the carpet."

Giving a jump as Justin got s upset Beth didn't exspect it to be that bad. Maybe have him be a little upset, but not as mad as her got. She just listened to him daring not to interrupt. She didn't know what to say. She had already thought about this, gone over the pros and cons and had come out with the same.

   "I just wanted to do something useful."

Beth whispered every so softly as Justin left the room. Just continuing to sit on the couch she didn't know what else to do. He was really upset, and she didn't want to upset him more this had been a crappy day to stay with.

Sinking down on the couch Beth just wraps her arms around herself and brings her knees to her chest. She wondered if Justin would be back, but she would wait. A single tear trickled down her cheek.

   "I'm sorry."

She whispered.

Wrestle

As Beth spoke, Justin sat up straighter and turned to look at her, his eyes going wide. "What? No." He shook his head emphatically. "That is completely out of the question."

He withdrew his arm and stared at her in disbelief. "The Agency kills people, Beth. It's what they do. Getting yourself killed isn't going to help, or bring your sister back. You may not have family to worry about, but you're what I've got...and I don't want to lose you." He took a deep breath and ran a hand over his tired face. "And whether you like it or not...this is my fault. I never should have gotten involved with the Elite in the first place. Take a lesson from me."

Getting up off the couch without warning, he trudged to the kitchen where he leaned on the counter to try and calm down before he lost his temper. He couldn't risk blowing up at Beth. Not now. Not in her state. But he was angry. Angry with the Agency. Angry with the Elite. Angry with himself. And he did know Sarah's death was his fault  nothing could change that.

Feeling the tears starting to surface, he took deep breaths, trying to stop them. This wasn't his time to mourn. It was Beth's. She needed him to be stronger than this. He had to be. His eyes scrunched shut tight as he teetered on the edge of losing it. No. Not now. 


Kirk laughed and nodded. "Yes. Please resume your habit of coming over. I just knew if you did it this last week, I never would have been able to keep my mouth shut 'cause I..." He stopped, his smile changing ever so slightly. "...I tell you everything." It was true. Keeping secrets from Adison was nearly impossible. She just always had such good perspectives and let him get things off his chest...he didn't know what he'd ever do without that.

His eyes dropped to his food as he cut another bite of steak. "Really though," he resumed talking about work, "I'll need some help deciding how to approach things, and I'll wanna pick your brain for some fresh ideas. It's not gonna be easy, but there are some changes I really think need to be made in order for this whole thing to work." He paused to chew while his brain shot off in another direction. "Actually...you wanna come over tonight? Hash things out? I need to come up with a written plan of action that has to be approved by the board before I can proceed and...I really could use youe help." He held up his hand. "And I promise not to be bossy...unless you get out of hand or something. I'm which case, I'll have to wrestle you to the floor again."

Only Family

Eating a bit more of her noodles Adison thought. They sure were going to have there hands full at the Elite and there was going to be adjustments all the way around and having Kirk as her boss. Maybe that was the only normal thing. They works well together so she didn't see it big deal. As much as she likes bwing in charge he still respected her enough and he opinions enough that it worked ok.

   "Hey, as long as you don't get to bossy I don't see a problem with it. I mean it might be a little odd at first, but I don't see a problem with it honestly. When we are one cases together already you pretty much take the lead. I'm just there to look good, and add and extra brain to see it from a different side."

Looking at Kirk for a long moment Adison processed her own look in her head. He was thinking about something but wasn't saying. The look he had...she wasn't quite sure. Maybe it was just her imagination and she was tired.

   "So...does this mean we can hang out again? I kinda miss just talking into your apartment and having the old lady across the way stair at me."

Maggie couldn't help but laugh at Garret's comment about his cards. This was one of her most loved games and playing it with Garret, she didnt know why was more fun the normal but it was. Maybe it was the small smile she herself cought here or there, or maybe it was gentil teasing, but she was enjoying him joining in with the family.

   "Once, I think Nate had almost the whole deck in his hand. His cards kept falling."

Nate rolls his eyes as he takes his next turn and skips Maggie's turn. She loved this game, and even if it was simple she was good at it. He loved spending time winning or losing with his family just enjoying the simple things. Having Garret here to enjoy it too. Looking at Laura he smiled putting his arm around her and kissing the top of her head.

   "There I saved you a little bit of pain Garret from Maggie this go around, but I dont know about the next turn."

As Justin comes back into the room Beth is just quiet. She'd paused the movie to make sure he didnt miss any of it. She'd heard his conversation and felt bad. She didn't want him to quit because he thought this was his fault.

   "Hey. Didn't miss anything I pauses it."

Leaning into Justin Beth leaned her head on his shoulder. She felt terrable today with the funeral. One step forward two back.

   "I wasn't meaning to ease drop but I heard you on the phone with with Reese. You shouldn't quit. This whole thing is not your fault it's the Agency's fault. Anyone could of been targeted."

Falling silent for a moment again she moved a little go look up at Justin. She wondered what he would think of what she was going to say next.

   "I...was thinking of seeing if I could work for the Elite...becaure it was the Agency's fault and I want to help do something usefully and take them down. They removes the only family I had left. I just...want to help."

Boss

The game was easy. Too easy. Garret really didn't understand what the whole point was. The only game he'd ever played had been poker and that definitely had had a point. But this? These people were even stranger than he'd thought, which was saying a lot. For Maggie's sake though, he kept his opinion to himself.

As the game went on, he saw laughter. Friendly competitiveness. Pride in each other. Happy losers. And by the time Maggie slapped down a Draw 4 card on him for the umpteenth time, he had to smile, roll his eyes and shake his head. He was beginning to see now that the point was not to win. Nobody really cared about that. The point was just...to be with each other and have fun. It was still foreign to him. Still something he didn't understand. But there was something...enticing about it. He couldn't quite put his finger on it but...it was part of...something bigger. Family. 

With a hand completely full of cards, he whacked Maggie softly upside the head with them and smirked. "You just wanted me to play so you could see how many cards I could hold." 

Laura grinned as she held only two cards, bouncing just a little to see if she could win this round. "You do seem to have quite a talent there." 

"Uh-huh." Garret leaned forward a little, quirking one eyebrow at her. "Let's see how much talent you have." He tossed down his own Draw 4 card.

Laura's jaw dropped. "You turkey!"

"Hey, don't blame me. Maggie's the one who taught me to play." 

"Sure." Laura started drawing cards. "I have a feeling you've known how be on the winning side longer than just this evening." As soon as she'd said it, she realized how it could be taken the wrong way, and her gaze snapped up at him. 

Seeing the horrified look on her face, his eyes narrowed slyly. "Oh, I've been known to get my way a time or two..." He let his comment linger a moment before adding a grin to take the edge off. "And yes," he said in almost a whisper. "The big scary guy does have a sense of humor." 

Not knowing what else to do, Laura laughed and shook her head. "I'll remember that." Her sidelong glance caught Nate's eye as she smiled. Maybe...just maybe...they were making progress.


For just a moment, Kirk's eyes locked with Adison's. His facial expression shifted slightly from the flippant way he joked with her into something more serious. But it had nothing to do with their jobs. 

Blinking, he dropped his gaze and cut into his steak to take a bite before his mind wandered too far into dangerous territory. "Okay, so...I will...let Barnes know you're coming with me. Next step is finding a new facility for the Elite. The board isn't satisfied with them still using an old manufacturing building. They need something better, above ground, and better equipped for their...our...line of work. I also need to have a sit-down discussion with Reese. Apparently it's also my job to inform him of all this and...he's not going to be happy, especially after our last meeting. And... I'm not sure how to say, 'Hey, we're gonna be working together, you have to move, and oh, you're still the chief but I'm kinda your boss.'"

He sighed and took a sip of water before looking back up at her. "Technically...I'll be...over you, too. Is that gonna be weird for you?"

"Look, I don't..." Justin paused the phone conversation as he paced his hallway. Beth was waiting for him on the couch to finish their movie and he really wanted to get back to her. It had been a hard day for her, facing Sarah's funeral, and he knew that right now, she needed him more than ever.  Having Reese call him this evening was an inconvenience to say the least, especially when Justin's heart was far from work at the moment. He'd been asked to come in tomorrow and discuss Garret, then try to talk to Aaron again.

 

He sighed. "I'm not sure I'm coming back at all."

"What?"

"Can you blame me? The Agency came after me by killing my girlfriend's sister. Do you know what that's doing to me? I'd rather get poisoned myself, but they figured me out, Reese. They figured out how to get under my skin and I fully admit it. I'm just not so sure I want to keep playing this game and risk the lives of those around me."

"So you're just going to quit? Give in to what they want?"

"Got a better suggestion?"

There was a long pause before Reese's voice came back calmly. "You do whatever you think is best. I'd be sorry to see you go - I think you've done a great job so far and the Elite needs someone like you to help figure out the people we bring in, not to mention the ability you have to help them. But...I understand your position. Just think about it, okay?"

Justin dug his toe into the carpet as he stared at the floor. "Okay. I'll think about it. I'll talk to you soon." Ending the call, he let out a long breath. He wasn't taking this lightly, being flippant or making up his mind too quickly. He'd already thought long and hard about it and had made up his mind. He would finish out his jobs with people loosely connected to the Elite - people like Mackenzie and Ryan. But otherwise, he would pursue other clients that would not put his loved ones in danger. 

Returning to the living room, he eased back down on the couch, putting his arm around Beth and kissing her head. He hoped he'd been quiet enough in the hallway to have not disturbed the movie. "What did I miss?" he whispered.

Wing Man

Continuing to just listen to Kirk Adison curls some pasta on her fork. She sure had missed Kirk, and she had missed his babbling too. She never minded it, and would never interrupt him, she actually likes how he just when on about something so she could process it all at once, and no try to do it section by section.

   "Well...if they want you to fail...I guess we will just have to prove them wrong, and make it work. They'll be so sorry they day they messed with us."

Popping her spoonful of noodles into her mouth and chewing Adison smiled searching Kirk's face for a long moment on his last comment. Was there more to his comment? Her heart seemed to speed up a little bit. But the more she thought the more she tried to calm herself down. He was her best friend, that's how he wanted it and she didn't want to jeopardize that. 

   "You are the only wing man I want. I couldn't imagen going head first into danger without you."

Hearing that Garret would play with them Maggie smiled wide. She wanted Garret to be part of the family too and having him play a family added to that. She was pleased. Getting everything set up and making sure Laura and Nate where play too Maggie started to explain.

   "So when you get down to one card you have to say Uno, because if you dont and someone catchs you, you will have to draw two cards."

Maggie smiles again as she deals the cards out. She wasn't sure if she explained it right but she sure hope she did.

Nate looks around the table picked up his cards. Smiling at Laura and than looking to Garret. It seemed he never played a game before like this but he hoped he could relax a little and have some fun.

   "Don't worry Garret we will walk ya though it if your confused still. You will be  pro in no time. Gotta watch it though I think Maggie has wilds up her sleeve."