marn

It's the sleek, black phone inside your desk drawer, the one you're supposed to answer no matter what. The one you're pretty sure only the President and the directors of a couple other government agencies know the number to. The one that hasn't ever rung since you took over the Department.\n\nYou think you might be in [[deep shit]].

Walker does the thing he always does - picks up the phone but doesn't answer, making you start the conversation. It's okay this time, because you have a lot to say to him. You can feel yourself coming back down into your body, a hot rush of anger flooding you, making your face feel warm. Your free hand is clenched into a fist.\n\n[["What the hell are you doing?"|what the hell]]

Your phone is [[ringing]].

Abbott scratches the back of his head with one long-fingered hand. You can't hold eye contact with him anymore, so you look down, at the rest of his face, so that it looks like you're almost still doing it. The skin around his lips looks chapped and broken, like he's been chewing it.\n\n"I was wondering if you, ah," his mouth curls in a smile that seems almost pained, "would like to, perhaps, go and get lunch with me."\n\nYour stomach twists. Something about the thought of being alone with Abbott - in a car, in your office, in the lab - it doesn't sit well with you. Maybe it's because you're having a weird day, or because you were already done with human interaction about thirty minutes ago, but your body is screaming at you not to do the polite thing and take him up on his offer.\n\nBesides, [[Finn|couch]] is still in your office.

You put your office phone away and pick up the phone on your desk, punching in a number you keep on a Post-It note stuck to the keypad. [[It starts to ring almost immediately.|ring]]

"Yeah."\n\n"Will you tell me about the case? So I can at least write a report, and explain why we need to take jurisdiction?"\n\n"Not much to tell," he says gruffly. "There was an evil spirit bound to a lake, some guy was doing blood sacrifices to keep it in line. Now he's in jail, because no one believes he was saving the lives of everyone in town."\n\n"Was he?"\n\n"Jacob," Austin says, suddenly more serious than you've heard him in a long time. "The thing, whatever was in the lake, possessed me. If it had gotten out into town, it would have murdered everyone there, then moved on to every other town in a five mile radius."\n\n[["Oh," you say.|oh]]

[[Then it stops.|pick up]]

[["I think I might go home early," you tell Finn.|early]]

[["Is that everything?" You hear yourself ask. It barely sounds like you.|ask]]

"Isn't it your job to know that?" Walker answers in his usual lazy drawl. "You put me back on the payroll just to keep track of me, if I remember right."\n\n"I mean with watching Austin," you snap.\n\n"Oh. Yeah. He's in the hospital, last I heard."\n\n"I know that already. Do you know how I know that? Because he called me, personally, from the fucking hospital. So what I want to know is, where the hell were you when he was being injured enough to have to go there?"\n\nWalker is quiet for a moment, a genuinely tongue-tied silence, like he wasn't expecting you to chew him out. Or he was, but he was expecting it to be less harsh, or coming from someone else. Good. You want him to feel bad. If he was standing in front of your desk right now, you think you might actually slap him. You sure want to slap something.\n\nFinally, he says, a little sheepishly: [["I lost track of him."|lost track]]

"Hi Abbott," you say. [["What's up?"|what's up]]

"You lose track of him for four hours and he ends up stabbed, hypothermic, and, what, possessed?"\n\n"I've left him alone for longer before! I didn't think he could get up to much trouble in four fucking hours, okay? So sue me!"\n\nYou pinch the bridge of your nose. It does nothing execept make your headache worse. "Walker, this is my brother we're talking about. Trouble orbits him like the Earth around the fucking sun. Your job - your only job - is to make sure it doesn't find him."\n\n"Jesus, okay." Walker seems to have gotten over his momentary surprise at being scolded, and sounds exasperated at still being on the phone. "Sorry I have a life or whatever."\n\nSomehow this is worse than the conversation with Austin. You know you ought to fire him, but that would be [[playing into his hands.|hands]]

Here are the three things that everyone knows about Abbott:\n\n1. He was fired from the Department when he was younger, and started the Underground, the crime ring that Finn now runs.\n\n2. You recently rehired him, hoping to fix a shortage of lab technicians the Department has been having.\n\n3. He has a very big, very obvious crush on you.\n\nYou aren't totally clear on the details of why he was fired the first time around, and the records are all either deleted or hard to find. But it was a long time ago, during the few years your dad ran the Department, and you're sure that Abbott is [[harmless]] now.

"I hope your brother makes a full recovery," he says, and fleetingly squeezes your shoulder in something that might pass for sympathy before scurrying off. The feeling of his hand on you lingers long after he's gone, making the hairs on the back of your neck prickle. You sort of feel like you need a [[shower]].

Austin sputters for a while before finally coming up with "What the fuck, Jacob?"\n\n"If you want your friend-"\n\n"He's not my friend."\n\n"Still, if you want him out of jail, he needs to be under the supervision of an agent. I'm shorthanded as it is, Austin, I can't send anyone else to some town in the middle of nowhere to keep an eye on one person. It makes sense to put you back in the system since you're already there."\n\nAustin goes quiet again, and this time you know he's fuming. You can imagine him screwing his face up in a scowl as he tries to think of how he can argue his way out of this. It almost makes you feel bad for him. But this is the simplest way to give him what he wants - DPR jurisdiction over the case, and minimal contact with you. It hurts, but you know that's what will make him happy, in the end.\n\n"Fine," Austin grunts. "Put me back in the system. I don't care. As long as you take the jurisdiction and get Landis out of jail."\n\n[["Fine," you say, unconsciously repeating him.|fine]] The pain in your head is still there, competing with the ache in your chest.

"Do not," you hiss at Finn, "move an inch."\n\nHe gives you a mock salute, which is better than nothing. You suppose that if anyone sees him in your office, you can always pretend that he's holding you hostage and hope they don't notice that you're clearly eating lunch with him.\n\nYou try to put on a face that doesn't show how tired you are of interacting with human beings today. There's no mirror in your office, so you can't tell how convincing it is, but hopefully it's nothing that will scare an intern off. Lethargy weighing down your bones, you open the door.\n\nOh. It's just [[Abbott]].\n\nAbbott is tall, thin, with unruly short-cropped hair and clothes that seem almost perpetually rumpled. He reminds you of a science professor you had at community college. It's hard to imagine him doing any kind of criminal activity. Even petty stuff, like shoplifting or kicking someone's dog. He looks like he might have a breakdown if a law enforcement official even looked at him the wrong way. \n\n[["Hello, ah, Jacob,"|hello jacob]] he says, fixing his big, green eyes on you. His gaze is a little unsettling - his eyes are deep-set in his face, with dark circles that go all the way around them, like he hasn't slept in a few years.

You sigh. "I told him I'd have the Department take jurisdiction on the case and get his friend out of jail, as long as he lets me reactivate him as an agent."\n\n"Really?" Finn sets his food down, his eyebrows shooting up. This might be the first time you've actually surprised him, but you don't feel good about it. Just kind of numb, still. "That was good thinking."\n\n"He wasn't happy about it." You look down at your hands and fidget. "He doesn't want to work here. That's why he ran away in the first place. But I just worry-"\n\n"It's well within your right to worry."\n\n"I know, just-"\n\n"Just nothing. You're allowed to be upset, JJ." Finn puts a hand on your back. You prickle a little, not expecting to be touched, but you don't tell him to stop. You appreciate the attempt at comfort. "So is that [[who you were yelling at on the phone?|yelling]] Your brother?"

[[You pick up the phone.|phone]]

"I don't think I've ever heard you that angry before," Finn says as you smack the reciever down into its cradle. "[[What was that about?]] Something finally get loose from Area 51?"

You steal a look over your shoulder at Finn. He is, in fact, still there, eating his burger. He gives you a look back that you're sure is him asking you if he should pretend to be holding you hostage to get Abbott to go away. You give him a very tiny shake of your head.\n\n"Actually," you tell Abbott, not sure what your excuse is going to be even while it's coming out of your mouth, "I'm kind of in the middle of a family emergency. My younger brother is in the hospital."\n\nYou feel a little bad using Austin as your Get Out Of Lunch Free card, but it's the best way to let Abbott down gently. Maybe you'll get Walker back on the phone and tell him to buy Austin a card. Or a balloon. No, Austin would hate a balloon.\n\n"Oh." Abbott looks put out for a split second, but then his mouth contorts back into that strange, strained smile. He locks his eyes on yours again. "Well, maybe some other time."\n\n[["Yeah."|recovery]]\n

[["He's my brother," you say.|brother]]

Of course. The first time you've heard from Austin in a year and a half, and it's because he needs a favor. You can barely find it in you to be surprised - in fact, you feel pretty detached about all of this. Sort of like you're looking through the eyes of a person who isn't you. Remotely piloting a body. Maybe because you're still panicking.\n\n"What do you need?" you ask him.\n\n"I need-" He clears his throat again. "I need the DPR to take jurisdiction of a case." He pauses, like he's listening to someone else, then adds, "Uh, please."\n\n"Where are you?"\n\nYou don't bother listening to his answer - you know he's in a small town called Antlers, in Montezuma County of Colorado. You type it into your computer while you wait for him to stop talking, pulling up the contact information for the sheriff's department.\n\n"Police stations hate it when we do this," you tell him, sure he [[already knows]].

html {\n /* Vertical colour gradient */\n background-image: linear-gradient(to bottom, gainsboro, silver);\n background-image: -webkit-linear-gradient(top, gainsboro, silver);\n background-attachment: fixed;\n\n /* Fallback colour */\n background-color: silver;\n}\nbody {\n /* Remove default styles */\n background-color: transparent;\n margin: 10% 0 0 0;\n font-size: 100%;\n /* Used to center the box */\n text-align: center;\n}\n\n#passages {\n /* Box background (white with 70% opacity) */\n background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);\n\n /* Border */\n border: 2px solid white;\n\n /* Rounded corners */\n border-radius: 1em;\n\n /* Box width */\n width: 60%;\n\n /* Center the box */\n display: inline-block;\n min-height: 40%;\n margin:auto;\n margin-bottom: 5%;\n padding: 0px;\n}\n\n.passage {\n margin: 0px;\n /* Inner margin within the box */\n padding: 2em;\n\n /* Text formatting */\n color: black;\n font-size: 100%;\n text-align:justify;\n}\n\n/* No sidebar */\n#sidebar {\n display:none;\n}\n\n/* Links */\na.internalLink, a.externalLink {\n color: royalblue;\n}\na.internalLink:hover, a.externalLink:hover {\n color: deepskyblue;\n text-decoration: none;\n}\n\n/* Shrink the page when viewed on devices with a low screen width */\n@media screen and (max-width: 960px) {\n .passage { font-size: 90%;}\n #passages { width: 70%; }\n}\n@media screen and (max-width: 840px) {\n .passage { font-size: 87.5%; }\n #passages { width: 80%; }\n}\n@media screen and (max-width: 720px) {\n .passage { font-size: 75%; }\n #passages { width: 90%; }\n}\n

Maybe it's time to [[change]] that.

"We're not done talking about this," you snap at Walker without taking your eyes off of Finn. Finn raises his eyebrows at you and sits mutely on the couch underneath of your window, waiting for you to finish up.\n\n"You seemed pretty done just a second ago," Walker drawls. God, you want to smack him. You've never wanted to smack anyone more than you want to smack Walker Rivers at this particular moment in time.\n\n"Do your fucking job, Walker," you spit into the reciever, annoyed at his tone, at how relaxed he is while your baby brother is in the fucking hospital. Your face is hot again. "The next time you screw up like this, I'm sending someone out there to supervise you. You won't be able to use the bathroom without running it by the Department and getting my approval."\n\nIt's an impractical threat - you just admitted to Austin minutes ago that the Department is shorthanded on agents, which is true. But if you can't fire Walker, you can at least bury him in red tape. And no self-respecting agent can even pretend to enjoy that.\n\n[["Okay, okay, Jesus," Walker says. "I'll watch Austin better. I didn't know you cared so much."|cared]]

ghost of corporate future

"Do not," you hiss at Finn, "move an inch."\n\nHe gives you a mock salute, which is better than nothing. You suppose that if anyone sees him in your office, you can always pretend that he's holding you hostage and hope they don't notice that you're clearly eating lunch with him.\n\nYou try to put on a face that doesn't show how tired you are of interacting with human beings today. There's no mirror in your office, so you can't tell how convincing it is, but hopefully it's nothing that will scare an intern off. Lethargy weighing down your bones, you open the door.\n\nOh. It's just [[Abbott]].\n\n

"So why are you calling?" you ask, only vaguely aware of your mouth moving and the sound coming out. Is this a panic attack? You haven't had one in months and you forget what it feels like, almost. The new medication you were on was working fine up until now. Apparently it didn't account for estranged brothers suddenly calling you out of the blue, on a phone reserved for national emergencies.\n\nAustin is silent for a while. You start to think that maybe he's hung up on you, but eventually you hear him clear his throat.\n\n"I need a [[favor]]."

[[You haven't taken a sick day since you started working as President of the Department.|sick]]

[["Hello?"|hello]]

"I know," you say.\n\n[[Everything around here is your call.]]

Walker wants nothing to do with the Department, and has gone to some pretty extreme lengths to avoid working for you ever since the first time he quit. But like it or not, the Department has to keep him on a tight leash. He's the strongest known telekinetic in North America and Europe, possibly the world, which means he either works for the Department in relative freedom or gets thrown in a holding cell. Having a rogue telekinetic as strong as he is running around is just something you can't risk.\n\nAlthough, there's nothing stopping him from just coming into work one day and slaughtering everyone in the building. You think about that sometimes. You don't think he would really do it, but at the same time, there's no plan in place for if it happens. How do you make a plan for escaping someone who can tear your limbs off your body or your eyes out of your head from thirty yards away?\n\n[["You still there?" Walker asks from the reciever.|reciever]]

[["That's it," Austin says.|that's it]]

You get up from your desk chair and walk around to the couch, feeling more and more energy leaking out of your body with each step, like you're a deflating balloon. By the time you get to where Finn is sitting, you don't even have it in you to look stern, much less complain about him coming in through your window again. You pick up one of the fast food bags and open it, inhaling the greasy french-fry smell.\n\n"This had better be for me."\n\n"You really thought I would bring myself a lunch and nothing for you? I'm offended." Finn smiles, but you can see in his eyes that he's still worried. He reaches out and touches you gingerly on the arm as you sit down next to him. "What's going on, JJ? You look like shit."\n\nYou chew and swallow a handful of fries before you answer. [["Austin called."|austin]]

END

"No." You shake your head, and pause to stuff another handful of fries in your mouth. "That was Walker. The guy I have watching Austin, who was off doing God knows what when Austin got put in the hospital."\n\nFinn frowns. "Tell me you fired him."\n\n"I can't. Long story." \n\nYou start unwrapping your burger. Finn isn't supposed to be hearing any of this, being DPR Public Enemy Number One and all, but who else can you tell about it? Sure, some of the people you work with have been your friends since you were five years old, but they've got to be tired of hearing about the same old Jones family drama every time Austin finds himself in a scrape halfway across the country. Last time, when he got attacked by the forest thing, you worried so much that you felt nauseous almost 24/7. You think that maybe you puked in the bathroom right after Walker called and told you what had happened, but you don't remember. You had kind of checked out by then.\n\nYou take one bite of your burger before [[someone knocks on your door]] and you have to put it down.

[["Yeah," you say, "but you have to let me reactivate you as an agent."|reactivate]]

[[He hangs up without thanking you.|thanks]]

"Anyway," Austin goes on, not giving you a chance to process anything he's just told you. "I want to get the guy who was watching the lake out of jail, because he saved my life and probably everyone else's. And the police don't really believe that he did anything except murder a few people."\n\nThere's an ache behind your eyes and forehead that you recognize belatedly as the beginning of a tension headache. You massage your temples.\n\n"Fine. I'll do it."\n\n[["You will?"|you will]] Austin sounds incredulous. Like he didn't really expect you to come through, even though you're his brother. You suppose you should be offended by that.

[["Uh huh," Walker says, and hangs up.|uh huh]]

"Shit, JJ," Finn says as soon as you shut the door, "someone's really into the idea of screwing the boss, huh?"\n\nYou collapse back onto the couch and groan. It doesn't even dignify a response. You know Finn's just kidding, anyway. He's been down that road with you before, and come to respect the fact that you generally stay out of anything that even remotely resembles having a sex life. Instead of saying anything about that, or about Abbott in general, you eat the rest of your burger in silence.\n\n"That was Abbott, right?" Finn asks, waiting for you to nod before he goes on. "Creepy as all getout, that guy. You outta keep an eye on him. I've only heard some of the stuff that he did, but-"\n\n"I don't think he's anything to be afraid of," you say, with a mouthful of hamburger meat.\n\nFinn shrugs. "Well, [[it's your call.]]"

Finn is the head of the biggest crime ring in town, and somehow one of your closest friends. No one knows about this, of course, because everyone who works at the Department is supposed to apprehend any member of Finn's crime ring, the Underground, on sight. Especially Finn himself. You tried to do this the first time he showed up in your office unannounced, but he's much bigger than you, and much stronger than you, and good to vent to about your problems.\n\nStill, it kind of makes you nervous that he keeps coming in your window like that. But there's no chance in hell you're going to tell your bodyguard about it. Then you'd have to explain why it's been going on for almost a year and a half, and why you've decided to befriend a man who heads an organization full of thieves, murderers, arsonists, and literal demons.\n\nFinn waves at you. You wave back. He's holding two fast food bags, and you make an educated guess that one is for you. Come to think of it, you didn't eat breakfast this morning, aside from a cup of coffee you drank to take your pills with. Your stomach growls.\n\n[["Hey," Walker says, "did you hang up on me? Can I go now?"|go now]]

"Austin?" Finn asks. You eat another handful of fries as you wait for him to think about it - it only takes a couple seconds before you see his eyes suddenly light up with recognition. His whole expression rearranges itself into one of sympathy. "Oh my god, your brother? He called you?"\n\n"For a favor," you say with your mouth full.\n\n"For a favor! Jesus!"\n\n"I know," you mumble, swallowing again and fishing your tinfoil-wrapped burger out of the fast food bag. "He wanted me to get one of his friends out of jail. Something about a possessed lake and some murders. Did I mention he's in the hospital?"\n\n"Jesus," Finn says again. "Is he-"\n\n"Oh, he's fine. He got stabbed, apparently. But, you know, it's nothing he wants me to worry about."\n\nFinn snorts, opening his own bag of food. "Of course not. [[What did you say to him?|say to him]]"

"Jacob." \n\nThe sullen voice on the other end of the line is familiar, albeit one you haven't heard in a long time. You let out the breath you were holding, but your heart is still hammering in your chest, feeling big and heavy like it's going to burst out of you and fall on the floor.\n\n"Austin?" you say softly, in awe, as if he's a wild animal you could scare off. "Is that - are you okay?"\n\n"I'm in the hospital, actually," he says, and your chest tightens. You wonder, in a brief flash of panic, if you're genetically inclined to heart problems. No one ever told you. "For, uh, hypothermia and a stab wound. It's fine. I'm fine."\n\n"But that's not [[why I'm calling]]," Austin adds quickly, before you can ask him anything.

You look up from your desk as you think of how else you want to reprimand Walker, and see [[Finn]] climbing in through your window.