[JP] Cryptic
[Agent 99 = failuretotrust, Dean = jstliketherifle, follows THIS and THIS.]
When Max got word of what had gone down in Italy, to say he was not pleased was an understatement.
He and 99 had gone their separate ways as a couple a long time ago, but she was still his partner. He still cared a great deal for her well being. He was not pleased when he heard that 72 had allowed her to get shot. In fact, there was quite a bit of ranting and raving that he felt rather bad about when he found out that 72 was dead before 99 got shot, but still. Max was not a happy camper. Not at all. There may have been some office storming and demanding that he be the one to bring 99 home once she was stable enough to travel, and it wasn’t like the Chief was going to deny him on this one-if 99 hadn’t already been brought home.
And like that, he was off to the hospital.
The conversation they had wasn’t that long, and slightly impaired because of the drugs, but from what he could gather, she was doing just fine. He knew there was someone else that needed to be informed, however-not her family. He knew that that bridge had burned a long time ago, but-someone else. Someone who was in her life more recently. Someone who probably deserved to know that a person he cared about was laid up shot in a hospital.
Once he was sure 99 was asleep, he went into her effects where they had been left next to her bed and found her cell phone. He slipped it into his pocket, then made his way out of the hospital as he turned it on. He would only be a moment, and 99 certainly wouldn’t notice that it was gone. It was just a matter of making sure he got the right story down.
He started listening to the voicemails for a moment, searching for the name she was giving him, and once he had that, he hit redial on one of the missed calls, bringing the phone to his ear and waiting for the person on the other end of the line to pick up.
“Yeah?”
“Hello, is this Dean?”
There was a long pause on the other end of the line, before the voice changed slightly. “Who wants to know?”
“I’m a friend of Beth’s. I’m calling to let you know that there’s been an-accident-and Beth has been shot.”
“What?” There was genuine worry in the man’s voice, more than Max had expected. Apparently he’d underestimated the strength of their relationship. He hated being out of the loop. “Where is she? What happened?”
At this, Max hesitated slightly, before responding. “I’m afraid I can’t tell you that. We’re worried for her safety and I can’t give out that kind of information.”
“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me? So what? You call me just to torture me? What kind of person calls to tell someone that someone they care about has been shot, and then follows that up that they can’t tell them anything?”
Max was quiet for a moment. Yeah, he knew this was an awful thing to do. “Not a very nice one, but I’m afraid that doesn’t change the fact that I can’t tell you. Due to the circumstances surrounding the event, I can’t tell you that she’s in Our Lady of Mercy hospital in Washington D. C., and I can’t tell you that she’s checked in under the name Helen Harper, and that you have to call me when you get to D. C. so that I can walk you up to see her. I can’t tell you that.”
There was another long pause on the other end of the line, and Dean nodded slowly. “I’ll be there in two days.”
“I’ll look forward to hearing from you.”
After that, he hung up and started to make his way back into the hospital again. Oh, he was going to get into so much trouble for this. But hopefully, as far as 99 was concerned, it would be worth it.
689 words
When Max got word of what had gone down in Italy, to say he was not pleased was an understatement.
He and 99 had gone their separate ways as a couple a long time ago, but she was still his partner. He still cared a great deal for her well being. He was not pleased when he heard that 72 had allowed her to get shot. In fact, there was quite a bit of ranting and raving that he felt rather bad about when he found out that 72 was dead before 99 got shot, but still. Max was not a happy camper. Not at all. There may have been some office storming and demanding that he be the one to bring 99 home once she was stable enough to travel, and it wasn’t like the Chief was going to deny him on this one-if 99 hadn’t already been brought home.
And like that, he was off to the hospital.
The conversation they had wasn’t that long, and slightly impaired because of the drugs, but from what he could gather, she was doing just fine. He knew there was someone else that needed to be informed, however-not her family. He knew that that bridge had burned a long time ago, but-someone else. Someone who was in her life more recently. Someone who probably deserved to know that a person he cared about was laid up shot in a hospital.
Once he was sure 99 was asleep, he went into her effects where they had been left next to her bed and found her cell phone. He slipped it into his pocket, then made his way out of the hospital as he turned it on. He would only be a moment, and 99 certainly wouldn’t notice that it was gone. It was just a matter of making sure he got the right story down.
He started listening to the voicemails for a moment, searching for the name she was giving him, and once he had that, he hit redial on one of the missed calls, bringing the phone to his ear and waiting for the person on the other end of the line to pick up.
“Yeah?”
“Hello, is this Dean?”
There was a long pause on the other end of the line, before the voice changed slightly. “Who wants to know?”
“I’m a friend of Beth’s. I’m calling to let you know that there’s been an-accident-and Beth has been shot.”
“What?” There was genuine worry in the man’s voice, more than Max had expected. Apparently he’d underestimated the strength of their relationship. He hated being out of the loop. “Where is she? What happened?”
At this, Max hesitated slightly, before responding. “I’m afraid I can’t tell you that. We’re worried for her safety and I can’t give out that kind of information.”
“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me? So what? You call me just to torture me? What kind of person calls to tell someone that someone they care about has been shot, and then follows that up that they can’t tell them anything?”
Max was quiet for a moment. Yeah, he knew this was an awful thing to do. “Not a very nice one, but I’m afraid that doesn’t change the fact that I can’t tell you. Due to the circumstances surrounding the event, I can’t tell you that she’s in Our Lady of Mercy hospital in Washington D. C., and I can’t tell you that she’s checked in under the name Helen Harper, and that you have to call me when you get to D. C. so that I can walk you up to see her. I can’t tell you that.”
There was another long pause on the other end of the line, and Dean nodded slowly. “I’ll be there in two days.”
“I’ll look forward to hearing from you.”
After that, he hung up and started to make his way back into the hospital again. Oh, he was going to get into so much trouble for this. But hopefully, as far as 99 was concerned, it would be worth it.
689 words