Brock was still going over the case when his phone buzzed in his pocket, startling him. He checked it and scowled deeper.
He picked up, keeping his voice down not to disturb Andrea's sleep. "Coleman?"
"Hey, Brock! It's been a while!" Russell sounded out of breath and excited at the same time. "Cassidy asked me to call you for a quick update, in case the Director is on your neck. You can tell him everything went fine here. We finished all the procedures a while ago. We've caught most of the people involved, and they're all in custody."
"Good news. Everything okay? Did you have any trouble?"
"No, not at all! It's been a hell of a long day, we're all drained, but we're on our way back to Boston and everybody is fine."
"You're meeting Cassidy and Cooper now?"
"What? No! He's here, with us! I mean, with Reg. He joined her for the first procedure, at the workshop in Boston, so she had him take us with him to finish the job."
She had him. Way to go, Section Chief. Hardly a month in the Bureau and she's already turned you into her pet. Told you she'd like you, didn't I. Hope you got a cookie. "Cassidy took part in the procedure?"
"Procedures, plural. The one at the workshop, first. Then at the harbor, and after that, he and Reg went together to Worcester."
"You didn't go with them?"
"No, no, Ron, Al and I went to Manchester. Fred and Hank took Providence."
Oh, well, what a happy picnic. The punks should be merrier than ever, back in the field and having their senior officer let them go all over for some fun.
"I see."
"We already checked in with Cooper, so now we're all heading back home for a well-earned weekend off."
"Sure."
"How are you, man? I thought you would tag along with Cassidy for such a big case. But he told me he'd left you to cover for him. He's got you chained to a desk?"
Brock forced himself to sound as casual as he could. "Yeah, for a few more weeks at least."
"Well, sorry to say it, but I'm glad I'll be seeing you next week."
"You're coming to DC?"
"Yep, Cassidy wants me to complete my profiler training, so I'm going back to Quantico to finish the courses."
"Are you joining the BAU then? I've heard they're needing new blood."
"I don't know, Brock. You know that was my dream some years ago, but now, I honestly hope they'll let me come back home and stay here." Miles, Brock recalled. Russell wanted to stay in Boston and try to start something with Gillian's agent. "Okay, I'll let you be. It was nice talking to you again, man. I really miss our days on the road, you know?"
"Yeah, me too." Well, that wasn't exactly true. Brock had enjoyed being back to the field with Russell. But he surely didn't miss his post in Boston. Then he smiled, allowing himself to show that no matter Russell's circle, he honestly valued him. "Come see me when you get here. And if you need where to crash, you know you can always come stay at my place."
"Thanks, Brock, but don't worry. I've got it covered. See you next week."
"Take care."
"You too."