Redemption (boyxboy) (18+)

Chapter Thirteen

Ben's hunched in his desk chair, the only light in the office the blue glow of his computer screen, a cup of overcooked, so-strong-he-nearly-has-to-chew-it coffee sitting cold and forgotten at his elbow. He's been researching his coworkers, digging into their lives to an obsessive, stalker-ish level for nearly two weeks now and he's exhausted. He's defeated.

He's found nothing.

Not literally nothing, of course. He now knows that Maria was having a fling with some EMT that turned a lot more serious three weeks ago when her doctor confirmed a positive pregnancy test. He knows that Gary goes to the children's hospital every Saturday to put on long and ridiculously involved sock puppet performances. And he knows that Cara spends an unhealthy amount of time on bondage porn sites and has a sex toy collection that rivals the catalog at Adam & Eve's.

But he's got no clue who is selling Nathaniel out. There's no new influx of money into anyone's bank account and there's no sign that anyone is being blackmailed.

Maybe Reid was wrong. Maybe there is no mole.

Ben clicks the red X in the corner of the screen, slides back in his chair and closes his tired, burning eyes for a moment. It's 9:36 PM, and if he goes home now it'll be the shortest work day he's had since he got back. Maybe Janie will even heat up food for him, put on some lingerie and distract him from this crap for an hour or two.

He sighs, clicks on his desk lamp and starts packing up to go home. He's wrangling the fat Angelev file into his briefcase when he freezes, hearing faint footsteps down the hall.

And they're growing louder.

Ben had been sure he was the only one working late. His back immediately straightens, his hand going for the gun in his desk drawer.

A short shadow rounds the corner, steps into the circle of light around Ben's desk.

"Hello, Ben."

Ben sags, relieved. "Jared, hey. I didn't realize you were still here."

"Tying up a few odds and ends, you know." Jared leans over, his bald spot shining in the lamplight as he takes a peek at Ben's now-blank computer screen. "What about you? How's my favorite jolly pale giant doing without his little lima bean?"

Ben frowns, never particularly fond of the nicknames Jared has chosen for himself and Reid. "I'm fine. Just catching up on some paperwork."

Jared stares at him for a long moment, his small, dark eyes seeming even more calculating than usual. And then he blinks and plasters on a smile that is so fake it's insulting. He straightens to the extent of his short stature, tugging his cuffs back into place on his wrists. "Yes, well. I'll just leave you to it, then."

But Ben stops him; he's seen something that makes him actually want to talk to Jared for the first time in years.

"Nice watch. Is that new?"

Jared twitches at his cuff again, a flash of gold peeking around the edge. "Ah, yes. It's a fake, of course - picked it up on Canal Street when I was in New York last week. Talked the odorous man carrying it around in his coat down to $20." He pushes the watch down on his wrist, looks at the face with another of his greasy, private smiles. "It'll probably stop ticking in another week or two, but I'm hoping it will help me with the ladies until then."

Ben stares at the watch face, noting the flawless Rolex logo and the perfectly smooth sweep of the second hand. He doesn't know a whole lot about absurdly expensive timepieces, but he's pretty sure that's no fake.

He keeps his expression carefully blank as he looks back up.

"Yeah, man. It looks good. Have fun."