7
On Monday morning, Joe came in early to the main Hercules Security office to write up his report for the mission in Pakistan. After that, Herc debriefed him in person, wanting to know everything about the human traffickers Joe and his teammates had captured or killed. It wasn’t something Joe especially cared to relive moment by moment, but at least it helped take his mind off the situation with Finn and the fact that Joe had lost him to someone else.
“Are you all right?” Herc interrupted Joe’s account of the last day of the mission, and Joe glanced up from his notes, meeting Herc’s sharp blue gaze, seeing the unmistakable concern in his boss’s eyes.
“Yeah.” Joe tilted his head to one side. “Why do you ask?”
“You just seem a bit off.” Herc leaned closer across the table. “I know this was a tough one, Joe. You did amazing work, and you can be proud of having saved a lot of lives. It was an ugly situation, though, and there’s no shame in needing to talk to one of the psychologists about it.”
Joe liked and respected Herc, and knew Herc took the well-being of his employees seriously. “Thanks, but I’m okay. It’s not the mission. It’s… something else.” There was no way he could talk to Herc about Finn. Or talk to anybody else about it.
Herc continued to look at him for a few moments and then he nodded. “If you say so. But remember, the counselors are there for personal stuff, too—not only the fallout of hard missions.”
“I know.” Joe looked back down at his tablet. “This is just something I have to work out for myself.”
“All right.”
Joe was relieved when Herc dropped the subject and returned to the debriefing. Joe had done nothing for the last two days except think about Finn. He wondered if Finn was serious about still wanting both him and this new guy, or if it was Finn’s way of letting him down easy by putting the decision in Joe’s hands. He knew Finn cared, and that Finn wouldn’t ever want to hurt him, even if he had fallen in love with someone else. Of course, Finn had no idea Joe was in love with him, so there was no way Finn could realize just how much the situation was killing him inside. He had to find a way to act like it was really no big deal, that it had been fun while it lasted but that now they would just be buddies.
Would they still be partners?
Joe felt as though a knife had been thrust into his gut. He hadn’t considered until that moment that Finn might want to be partnered up with the new guy, and the thought of losing Finn completely was almost enough to make him cry out. He closed his eyes, wondering if he could even stay with the company if that happened. Joe liked his cadre, but Finn hadalwaysbeen his partner. He didn’t want anyone else.
“Joe!”
He opened his eyes as Herc spoke sharply, realizing with dismay that he’d stopped listening to Herc’s questions.
“Sorry, boss,” he managed to say, wondering where he’d lost track of the discussion. “I think I’m still jet-lagged. It was a horrible flight back, and my time zones are still screwed up.”
Herc gave him a piercing look, but then he nodded. “Okay, that makes sense. I thought you’d fallen asleep on me. I think you should go home and give yourself a couple of days to get back in the swing of things.”
More time in his own head wasn’t something Joe wanted, so he shook his head. “I’ll be fine, boss, I promise. I think I just need to get back to work.”
Herc didn’t look convinced, but after a moment he nodded. “Okay. Let’s end the debrief here. I’ll go over everything and let you know if I need more info.”
“Thanks, boss.” Joe was relieved Herc wasn’t going to push him to go to counseling again.
“Come on, let’s get out of here. I have an assignment lined up for you, anyway.”
Herc stood, and Joe followed along, wondering if Finn had already spoken to Herc and this was how Joe was going to find out Finn had asked for a new partner. But no… Finn wouldn’t do something like that. He’d tell Joe himself.
Herc pulled out his smartphone and typed something in before leading him out to the common area. The other employees were reporting for the day: getting their assignments, picking up equipment, or heading for the locker room to change for workouts. Herc beckoned Joe to follow him with this last group and made his way straight to the back wall where Joe and Finn had their lockers.
And there was Finn.Joe shouldn’t have been surprised, but he was. He went completely still, gazing at Finn and hoping his fear wasn’t plain to see on his face.
“Hey, Finn.” Herc punched Finn playfully on the shoulder. “Ready for a new assignment? Joe says he’s ready to go.”
Finn gave an exaggerated wince and rubbed his shoulder, but his smile faded slightly as he studied Herc. “I’m ready. Is everything good?”
“As far as I know.” Herc gave a slight shrug and glanced at Joe. “Your partner seems to be a bit jet-lagged, but I’m sure you’ll watch out for him and make him get any help he needs, right?”
Finn’s eyes narrowed as he peered at Joe, and he nodded. “You bet I will, Herc.”
Joe would normally have protested that he was fine, but he was so relieved Finn was still his partner that he could only draw in a deep breath and pray that his knees didn’t give out. He hoped that Finn couldn’t tell how close he’d been to bolting from the room. It was hard to look cool and unaffected when he wanted to sag against the wall, pitifully grateful to know Finn apparently didn’t want to end their partnership. At least he would still have Finn in his life.
“Good. What I have for you shouldn’t be too taxing, anyway. There’s an international environmental summit that will be taking place at NC State next month, and we’ve been retained to provide security for the event, since there are likely to be protests on both sides of the issue. I want the two of you to take point.” Herc reached into a pocket of his cargo pants and pulled out a business card, which he handed to Finn. “Here’s the contact information for the coordinator at the university. I think this is perfect for the two of you. Finn, you’ll know what potential medical personnel should be on call. Joe, I want you to make sure the people working security have a good smattering of different languages, just so we have a chance of picking up on potential threats in the making. Got it?”
Finn tucked the card into a pocket and nodded. “Got it, boss man.”
