Jerry couldn't avoid Sarah forever.
"Be a man and fix it or I'll kick your butt," Kyle said, his tone as polite as it could be in a situation like this.
It was strange how those simple words triggered an unreasonable amount of jealousy inside him, even if he was aware Kyle and Sarah talked.
Kyle let out a sigh and massaged his forehead, leaning the other hand on the kitchen table. "Look, I know it's none of my business, but just don't leave her hanging. I don't know what the deal with you two is, but don't... Not communicating sucks. It screwed up Angie and Tom and Jimmy and Jessie."
Jerry just nodded. Jimmy and Jessie breaking up had been so hard to stomach, even if it had been two days since she left. Two days since Angie came back and she and Tom officially broke up. Two days since Kyle had spent his time at home for some reason which had Jerry more worried than he liked to admit.
He didn't like any of it. Not the depression Sam was slowly but surely downing in, not Tom and the unusual silence surrounding him, not Jimmy and how he buried himself in work and didn't speak unless it was absolutely necessary. And definitely not how tense and worried Kyle was, as if the pressure of being the last one standing was bringing him down. The least he could do was give him this.
So he nodded, texted Sarah and agreed to meet her. As nervous as it made him, he knew it had to be done. He had to face her, tell her what was going on, and take it from there.
When he reached the small cafe, she was already waiting, a laptop in front of her, typing away. She closed it when she saw him and didn't look too belligerent. Maybe just a little disappointed.
"Let me guess," she said instead of a hello. "Kyle bullied you into coming."
"Not exactly." He sat in front of her, already feeling like a douche. "Can I get you anything?"
She narrowed her eyes. "We're not on a date, Jerry. I got myself something."
Right. She had a point. She wanted answers. And he had no idea where to start.
"You don't have to spare my feelings," she said. "Just let it out. What happened? What did I do?"
"How did everyone find out about Sam and Christine breaking up?" he asked instead.
She faltered. "I don't know. I guess they were going to figure it out eventually seeing as they haven't been seen together in a while."
"They were tipped off by sources close to the group."
Her expression turned to stone. Where before there was mild concern, now was an unreadable mask, shutting him out completely. "You think I sold you to the press."
It sounded horrible, but it wasn't question. She'd basically admitted it. "You were the only one who knew. And you said it yourself. Lack of money makes people do things they later regret."
"I wish I had my coffee so I could throw it in your face." But she didn't cry, didn't get up and leave, didn't try to throw something else at him.
"Understandable." He paused for a moment. "So you're denying it?"
"I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer." She looked out the window, her face set in a neutral expression. "And you know why, Jerry? Because you shouldn't even have to ask. Because you should know better."
He didn't like this. Didn't like it at all. Especially because she wasn't alleviating his fears that she'd been the one to do it, even if by mistake. "Try to see it from my side. There are very few people we can trust and things like this have horrible consequences on everyone."
"Yes, but that doesn't mean you should be paranoid."
"I disagree. I believe we have plenty reasons to be paranoid."
"I don't care if you disagree." She kept looking out the window. "I guess this is where we part ways."
"Excuse me?" Was she breaking up with him when they weren't even together?
"I'm not here to waste your time, and I don't want to waste anymore of mine." She finally turned to him and the pain in her eyes floored him. "So good luck with everything."
He didn't want this. He wanted her to assure him that she hadn't betrayed his trust, that it wasn't her, that he was an imbecile for even considering it. He didn't want her to shrug and tell him to get lost because she either did it or didn't do it.
"Thank you," was all he could say. "Good luck to you, too. With the job hunt and your practice and everything. Can I... Can I still check on you from time to time?"
She shrugged. "If you wish. I'll still be here. My life won't change. So if you'll want further entertainment at my expense..."
"Sarah... It was never that."
She pursed her lips together. "I think you should go now. Unless you have something else to say to me."
He didn't. So after a mere ten minutes, he got up and left, feeling dizzy and heartbroken. Until that very moment, he hadn't realized how much letting her go would hurt.
♠️
Sam was officially going crazy. He couldn't stand being stuck at his desk with little to do except try to find a pattern in the movement of Snitch Gravel's men. That wasn't interesting. He'd already figured out they just went after resources when not attacking them and it was less than thrilling. Actually following them was a lot more entertaining, but Herrison had made good on his threat.
Bored out of his mind, Sam started randomly browsing the server. Maybe he should try to figure out where the next jewel was again. He'd never had this much time to dwell on it before. He'd always been busy with family, Christine, or an actual assignment. Now he had none of that. And surprisingly, he missed Christine the most. Because she was always there, ready to listen whenever he felt like talking.
Now, he had no one. Because everyone was just as messed up, except maybe Kyle and Kay, but even they had their hands full what with Angie needing someone to be there and Kyle basically alone to face the rest of his depressed family. He couldn't continue bothering everyone with how much he hurt. News flash, everyone was hurting.
Just get over it already! Yes, because just yelling at himself would fix everything. Of course it didn't. And the more time passed, the more he needed to see Christine, talk to her. He even missed Harry if he were completely honest. Life sucked.
Focus on something else. He accessed the folder with all their jewel research, but there was nothing new there, so he did a random search for jewel on the server. A folder he hadn't seen before showed up. Egypt.
"What the hell?" Sam clicked on it, but there were only two files inside. One was broken and lacked an extension. The other was a photograph.
He opened it and stared in awe. It was a engraving, obviously on a wall of some ancient tomb, the lighting a little tricky on the eyes. What it represented however... There were tiny people on their knees with their hands towards the sky while from above came a rain of glittering jewels. He could tell they were supposed to glitter from the sparkles drawn around them. The coloring was mostly faded, but one was reddish, another blue...
"Seven," he whispered, staring at the image dumbfounded.
Why hadn't he seen this before? He'd searched far and wide for any clue-- The answer presented itself before he could finish wondering. In the upper left corner of his screen was Herrison's name. To prevent Sam from taking any more distress calls that were not meant for him, Herrison had signed into Sam's computer, linking it to his. It was a two way thing which apparently granted Sam access to places he hadn't been before.
Before anyone caught on, he printed the photograph and then began searching thoroughly through all research folders. After an hour, he was forced to conclude that there was nothing else he could access, since most folders required a password he didn't have. So he logged out of Herrison's account to stop him from controlling what Sam was doing and logged back into his own. Then, he focused on what he'd found.
The image explained a lot and nothing at all. If those were really the jewels they'd been looking for, it appeared that, at some point at least, they'd been together to just be separated later. But it didn't make sense how they'd be spread out across the globe like that.
France would be understandable since the Romans and later the French themselves pillaged Egypt and took a lot of their valuables. But it didn't explain India. It didn't explain North America. It was about time he brushed up on his ancient Egyptian and tried to figure out the writing. He just needed to get to a library.
But as he stood and folded the photo, he realized that for the first time in his life, his heart wasn't into historical research. The simple thought of burying himself in books made him feel even lonelier. He didn't want to do it.
Like a given, his computer gave a loud beep and he hurried behind it. A new attack from Snitch Gravel's men had come through, the alert going out to Jimmy who was on call at the moment. All the information the police had on the place and damage came through to them and it showed it was a supposed robbery gone very wrong in one of the more questionable neighborhoods. Sam hesitated, but decided that as long as it wasn't Kyle, it was worth a try.
So he dropped the photograph and headed out of his office, out of the Agency.
"Sam!" Herrison marched towards him before he reached the exit. "Where do you think you're going?"
"Out for dinner?" He didn't even bother slowing down.
"You are off field work, didn't I make myself clear?"
Damn, Herrison could be naggy and Sam was in no mood for his crap. Adrenaline was already pumping through him, and he liked the high. It made him feel better, useful. It pushed the pain and all thoughts of Christine out of his mind.
"I can handle it, and I'm about to prove you wrong." And just like that, he hurried out.
He could hear Herrison calling out after him, mumbling to someone else, but he didn't care. He got into his car, connected his GPS to the address he needed and was off, his mind thankfully numb, his body humming with energy for once.
When he was half a block away, he pulled over and got out. He could already hear sirens in the distance, so he rushed around the corner and froze. A car was on fire in front of an electronics' store with its front windows shattered. Three men were waving their guns around to frighten pedestrians while another held a gun against the temple of a man Sam could only assume was the owner of the store.
"Come out, you damn Grant brats!" one of the armed men was yelling.
One of his companions took out what looked like a bottle, lit it on fire and threw it in another store front. The Molotov exploded, creating even more panic in the street. Frightened people milled about, making it difficult to see.
"Don't be so impatient," Jimmy stepped out from the corner behind them, a smirk on his face, guns out and pointing. "I'll think you missed us."
The men turned towards him and Sam took it as his opportunity to do some damage. He walked closer, capping a rubber bullet into the back of the guy holding the hostage. The goon yelped and released the man who scurried away for dear life.
"It's two of them!" the nearest goon yelled as if it wasn't already freaking obvious.
Jimmy's eyes darted to Sam and he frowned, but didn't say anything. Instead, he shot one of the men in the leg, sending him bleeding on the street.
"Damn it, Jimmy, rubber bullets," Sam said between his teeth. He didn't need witnesses to make them into monsters more than they already were.
"What's the point?" Jimmy asked, shooting another one of them in the thigh. "They keep coming back anyway. Would be much easier to eradicate them all together."
His words sent a chill down Sam's spine. His tone was off, and the haze in his eyes scared the crap out of Sam. He recognized the sign and he needed Kyle to tone him down. Or Jessie. Except neither was there and it was exactly the lack of Jessie that was making him this way.
As if to further justify Sam's fears, Jimmy came close enough to stick the barrel of the gun to the third goon's head and fire. The man's head snapped back and he fell to the ground in a crumpled mess. Sam actually jumped back, his heart beating so fast, it made him dizzy.
"Damn," Jimmy mumbled. "Used the rubber bullet gun by mistake."
"No, stop it!" Sam ordered, using his best leader voice.
"Look at them having a conversation."
Three more goons appeared from behind Jimmy, guns pointed, making the civilians who'd stop to stare flee in terror. The only guy still between Sam and Jimmy hurried away to join his comrades.
"Now lower your guns," one of the men said.
"Great, just great," Sam said, dropping his guns.
Jimmy made a show of crouching and laying them on the ground. The moment he was down, he spun in a circle and tripped three out of four men. The one left standing immediately fired into his back, but Jimmy didn't even flinch. He stood, grabbed the man's gun hand and tripped him. The moment he was down, Jimmy stepped on his armpit and twisted his arm. The goon's cry of pain joined the sick crack of breaking bones.
Sam picked up his guns again, even if he wasn't sure who he wanted to shoot at this point. Maybe capping Jimmy's ass would calm him down. Before he could explore that possibility, more gunshots rang around him followed by desperate screaming and more running people.
"Sam, move away!"
William had joined the party, his gun pointed towards the goons. Sam didn't want to move away. He wanted to help even the numbers and make Snitch Gravel's men scurry away like the rats they were. So he walked with William towards Jimmy. The heat from the still burning car had sweat running down his face.
"You're not supposed to be here," William said, his eyes trained on the three remaining men.
"I'm fine," Sam snapped.
"Then take the one on the far right."
No problem. Sam let William step away from the car while he focused on aiming between running people. Then, he saw her. A girl with chocolate brown hair standing a few feet away from the sizzling car, in harm's way. What was she doing there?
The noise seemed to dim as he stared at her, unable to tell just why she refused to run, to leave. Maybe she was paralyzed with fear. A bullet soared past her head, narrowly missing her and his heart seemed to stop.
"Christine, get out of the way!"
He had to get to her, he had to save her, he didn't even care what she'd done, he...
The car exploded. Something hot and heavy hit him in the chest and propelled him into the nearest wall. Darkness swallowed his vision and smoke filled his lungs, but the image of Christine being obliterated by flames burned him worse than the fire.
He blinked, trying to focus again, to assess the damage. Something hit him across the face and his vision finally cleared.
Jimmy and William both crouched in front of him, frowns on both their faces. The sound of blaring sirens rang from behind them. The police and ambulances were there, taking care of the wounded, including the three goons Jimmy had incapacitated.
"Christine," he whimpered.
"What Christine?" Jimmy snapped. "You froze like an idiot. What the hell happened?"
Sam ignored him, his eyes roaming past his shoulder, searching for the girl he'd seen. He couldn't have hallucinated everything.
"It wasn't Christine, Sam," William said, his tone much gentler. "It was just a girl with the same hair color. You just dropped everything when you saw her."
Shit. Sam clutched his head in his hands. The car door was still in his lap. How could he have failed to see that it wasn't Christine?
"She was three feet away from you and you didn't save her," William continued, driving the final nail into the coffin. He took an appropriate pause before getting to the point. "You can't go on like this."
"Neither can he." Sam pointed at Jimmy. "You can't keep breaking bones and shooting people."
"That's my job, Sam."
"Bullshit! You didn't do it when Jessie was around."
Jimmy didn't even wince, which said a lot about his mindset. "Mature."
"It's true. You need help."
"So do you. At least I don't let people die."
"No, you try to kill them yourself."
"Innocent people!"
"Enough." William sounded more annoyed and authoritative than Sam had ever heard him. "You both need help. Do I really need to have Kyle watching you?"
"No," Jimmy mumbled. "But maybe it would be better if I focused on something else for a while." He looked at Sam. "I'm leaving for Houston in two weeks for astronaut training."
Sam jumped in surprise. "Really?"
"Yes. And that will help. It will be a lot of work and it will take care of... Well, this. What are you going to do?"
Sam bit his lower lip. His eyes stung, and he wasn't sure if it was from the smoke or the failure. As much as he tried to deny it, Jimmy was right. Herrison was right. He couldn't do this alone. He had to function again. Go back to college, reclaim his life.
"Fine," he breathed. "I'll go to therapy."
The words didn't make him feel any better. He hoped the real thing would.
♠️♠️♠️
Sam's finally accepted his weakness and is ready to fix it. And crazy Jimmy is going to outer space. Whatever will I do next? I'll admit I have no idea. It's getting a little iffy at this point. BUT I will continue and hopefully produce some plot.
Hope you enjoyed the break from sentimental garbage. Sam found treasure. He also found trouble. Jerry did a bad thing. *has no idea where I was going with this*
The next part will be a surprise to everyone. Me included.
Yay for double update. Here's hoping for another one tomorrow.