Work Text
Jack was fucked
Okay okay, he might not be living on the streets and begging for spare money but he was pretty damn close.
After saving Christmas-
He can't believe that actually happened.
He had been trying to better himself, no more heavy drinking, no gambling and the hardest of all, no sketchy work.
Easier said than done, when all your income was those sketchy job deals.
But he promised Dylan, promised him he wouldn't do that kind of work anymore, since it worried his son to no end and he was getting kinda tired of the whole thing.
No one ever recognized his talent, or how hard he worked to get the information some of these sleazy bastards wanted.
No they just wanted their info and for him to be silent, or as silent as Jack O’Malley can be.
So he was currently job searching, he had managed to get a few shifts at some pizza place but that barely paid the bills of his shity apartment.
So he was searching, though said searching was being a real pain in the ass because it was hard to explain the missing experience he was needing to get these jobs.
He knew the FBI wanted him, but he wasn't about to go and kiss ass for a living, he has more dignity than that.
Plus he didn't like some prick telling him what to do, he could if the said prick was respectable, but they usually aren't.
So he continued trying to bullshit his way into getting a job, he had no idea how he landed this pizza job, except that said pizza place was cheap as hell and barely had a two star rating.
Not that he could blame the customers. The place was disgusting, not just the inside but the outside.
The parking lots were all busted up, he was sure he saw two rats fucking near his car last shift, there was way to much crime for the area and the place was covered in trash.
Now he did try to make the place a bit better, he really did.
From waking up early and going in, cleaning up the litter outside, shooing rats away, and waking the bums that had fallen asleep on the wall of the building.
He even stayed late to scrub the kitchen, the dining room and the horrifying kids play area, he was never going to see those things the same ever again.
But it didn't last, the parking lot was trashed quickly, the rats doubled, the bums got aggressive and the other employees did not give a shit and acted like pigs.
He even brought up the issues with his manager but he didn't care either, just told him to stop bothering, that the place has always been this way and it wasn't about to change.
So he stopped, he even started to name some of the rats that he saw outside his car.
God this was sad.
At first he had been eating from the place, his first week there but after getting the worst food poisoning in the history of man he stopped real quick.
Though sometimes he did have to put up with the sickness if he had no leftover money from rent and had to eat something.
Cus the only glory of the job was you didn't have to pay for anything, if you worked there you could eat whatever.
Though he thought they should have put a hazard warning on half the food in the joint, he swears he was throwing up the color green for days.
One year of this, one year of food poisoning almost all the time, shitty apartment, and no luck.
The apartment he had been staying in before he couldn't afford after quitting his ‘sketchy job’ as Dylan called it.
He never told Dylan of his shity living arrangements, the kid didn't need to know how bad his old man was struggling.
He didn't need to know Jack had gone a week eating hazardous pizza to afford him a gift for his birthday.
Or that he worked triple shifts to afford the new video game that came out that Dylan wanted..
Or that he sold his couch to afford a school trip Dylan wanted to go on, he didn't tell Oliva of his money problems either.
She had to put up with his shit long enough and didn't need to hear anymore about his lack of luck or uh money.
So he silently carried his burden and tried to not fall into old habits, he was doing good so far.
Though he would have moments, where he so badly wanted to just get drunk and zone out for days.
Some days he felt like the worst human being in the world and he just wanted to rot in bed and not go to work.
But alas, his son still needed him alive, not to mention he still had his promise to keep afterall.
It was now February of the new year, and Dylan was getting suspicious.
Jack knew he was, after subtly asking to spend the night or the weekend with him, and getting oh the crib isn't cool yet, or Jack sidestepping the question altogether.
He would love to have Dylan for the weekend, but he had literally no space for himself, how was he going to fit his son into this box of an apartment.
He didn't have a couch…
He knew Dylan was suspicious and he was wondering how long he had left before Dylan pulls some spy kid shit and finds out about Jack's shity situation.
He needed a better job, and he needs one bad.
Pulling out his shity phone, seriously he had no idea how the thing still worked, it was more duct tape then phone at this point.
Scrolling through his messages he noticed he had a new one from an unknown number.
Huh that's weird
Opening the message he was surprised to find who it had been from.
-
Hey, it's Drift. Checking to see if you're still alive.
- Well I hope I'm alive, or everyone here is a medium.
-
What does size have to do with this conversation?
- Oh nevermind, I'm fine. How'd you get my number anyway?
- Zoe.
- Of course it was her, well as you can see I am alive and doing fine.
- You sure?
- Uh yeah? Why, am I back on the naughty list?
- Ha ha, no you're at level two on the nice list.
- Oh shit really?
- Yes.
“Well I'll be damned” Jack laughed, looking at his phone.
He may be suffering slightly but he is still getting better it seems.
Jack's mood was soured quickly when he got a text from a number he did have saved.
Apparently a guy that was supposed to be working tonight got sick last minute and now he had to come in.
“Ugh” Jack groaned, pulling himself to his feet from his mattress, that he still needs to get a frame for.
He quickly put on his uniform and went to the door, pausing to send a quick message before dashing out the door.
-Sorry Cal, duty calls, talk later.
Callum looked down at his new phone with slight confusion.
“You okay there chief?” Garcia asked, stepping up behind Callum to see what he was holding.
“Yes, just checking in on O’Malley” Callum stated, putting the phone in his pocket.
“That guy? Why?” Garcia asked, confused.
“He did help save Christmas Garcia” Callum pointed out, smiling when the large bear rolled his eyes.
“He's the reason Christmas needed saving at all” Garcia argued, growling slightly.
“Either way, he is the reason I changed my mind on retirement, I owe him something” Callum said quietly, checking the clipboard he was handed for things he needed to get done.
“Does he even know he helped or are you just doing this for fun?” Garcia asked, crossing his arms.
“No he doesn't know, does not need to. I just have a feeling that somethings off” Callum said calmly, checking off things on the list.
“Like what? You think he's in danger or something?” Garcia asked worriedly, while he loathed the bastard, didn't mean he meant the guy any harm.
Jack had gained some respect from the Polar Bear, after everything he did to redeem himself.
The guy didn't even ask about payment after everything was done, just asked for a lift back home and for his kid.
“No nothing like that. I don’t think so anyway, just that something is going on. I don't know” Callum tried to explain, pressing a bit too hard on the pen in his hand.
“I'm sure he's fine chief. He'd say if he wasn't wouldn't he?” Garcia asked, taking note of the worry coming off of Drift.
“Jack? No way, he could be missing both legs and still try to climb up stairs on his own” Callum laughed, before having his sentence hit him.
“What if something is wrong?” He asked, turning to Garcia with slight worry on his face.
“Drift, he's fine. You have his number now right? Just check in on him from time to time, if you still think something is up then ask for a day off and go check” Garcia offered, while he knew Callum hated taking days off, he could tell his friend just might this one time.
“Okay, you're right. I don't know what is going on with me lately” Callum said, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Uh you really don't know?” Garcia smiled, laughing when Callum gave him a confused look.
“Know what?” Callum asked, confused, looking at his friend.
“It's pretty obvious you have the hots for the guy, why is beyond me” Garcia laughed, watching the face of his boss go different shades of red.
“What?! I do not!” Callum tried, but now that he thought about it…
NO!
“No way Garcia, he's just a friend” Callum said sternly, turning back to his clipboard.
“Whatever you say boss” Garcia laughed as he walked away.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Jack was going to kill his coworker.
Okay not literally but the guy was cutting it close.
He just entered the kitchen and saw the biggest mess he had seen in years.
Pineapple chunks were everywhere, some even ending up on the ceiling somehow, pepperoni stuck to the wall in an inappropriate design, and coffee grounds all over the floor.
They didn't even serve coffee!
“Alright, let's get this hazard under control” Jack mumbled to himself, he was working a solo shift tonight, because of course he was.
Everyone else had called in ‘sick’, so he was left to deal with all this shit.
Grabbing a mop, he started to clean the slip hazard on the floor the best he could, his boss never bothered to buy cleaning equipment so it was mainly Jack buying the stuff.
Which he hasn't been able to do lately, the bike he had been using to get everywhere got a flat tire so the spare money he did have had to go to getting a new wheel.
Which then ended up getting stolen two days ago…
He can never win
After cleaning the horrors that was the kitchen he walked into the dining room to see the horrendous state that said room was in.
Chairs were all over and not even remotely where their supposed to be, soda was fucking everywhere and there was a table upside-down.
How that happened he had no idea, but he now knows to never put his hands under the tables, there was more gum then there was table at this point.
Sighing, Jack began the workout that was fixing the dining room. He thought about taking the time to scrape the gum from under the tables but realized he didn't get paid enough for this shit.
After flipping the table, he turned to the glass door that led to the kids play area, staring at for a whole minute before deciding that no he was not about to clean that thing today.
The kids will just have to play somewhere else.
Then he thought about it, there's no parks in this area, the neighborhood he lived in was run down and was pretty empty, this was probably the only playground in the area.
Dammit
Jack had clocked in around three in the morning, it was now five and he was just now finishing cleaning that damn play area.
Standing up and cracking his back, he looked at the ceiling begging God to strike him down so he didn't have to work before sighing in defeat and walking to set up for the day.
He was also going to ignore the sore feeling he was getting in the back of his throat…
He was fine
He was not fine
His head was pounding, his stomach turned, he felt dizzy, and his nose and throat were fucked.
It was around lunchtime, there were about ten people in and he wanted to die.
He also was now realizing that the slice of pizza he had an hour ago was probably not the right move, for his stomach was threatening him violently.
Deciding he couldn't hold it in anymore, he casually walked to the men’s bathroom because there was no employee bathroom because that would mean the world liked Jack, closed the door and he all but ran to a stall.
Ripping off the door and dive bombing onto the ground to unleash the pure evil that was torturing his insides.
He didn't even care that his knees were most likely in a puddle of piss, he was so sure Satan himself had made the ninth layer of hell in his stomach.
He just clutched onto the mobility aid metal handle on the wall for dear life as his soul left his body.
He wasn't sure how long he was in there but he knew he heard the door to the bathroom open and then promptly close with whoever was going in to change their mind after hearing the battle Jack was losing in the left stall.
He stumbled out of the stall, all but fell onto the sink counter and looked himself over.
His stubble had gotten a bit long so he now had a slight beard, which he hated, his eyes were puffy and red, his nose looked like damn Rudolph and there were red splotches from burst blood vessels.
Splashing cold water onto his face, and contemplating his life for five minutes, Jack dragged his suffering body off the counter and left the bathroom.
Where he saw the biggest mess ever caused by children.
The other families had left so now there was just what he thinks is a single mom and her five kids, four boys and one girl.
Said four boys were wreaking havoc while their mom was on the phone, she looked like a hooker but Jack didn't want to assume, the leading detail to his theory was the knocked over purse that had condoms and lube pouring out the damn thing, and she was wearing practically nothing.
One of the boys was running around as he ate, getting pepperoni and cheese everywhere he might add.
Another boy was running around the drink area and was pushing all the buttons on the machine which was now just a waterfall of soda that was pouring onto the floor.
The third boy was smacking a small ball machine with a rock trying to break the glass, as he picked his nose.
And the final boy was the worst of all, he was in the play area on top of the slide as he drank his soda and was currently pissing down the slide.
Jack was in so much shock he just slowly looked to the mom and saw that the only one behaving was the little girl.
Around five years of age and she was the most mature one here, she was sitting calmly as she nibbled on a breadstick, when she saw Jack looking at her she smiled and waved.
Okay, that made Jack feel a little better, at least someone here was having a good time.
Deciding to ignore the chaos that was happening, Jack walked back behind the counter and placed his head in his hands as he tried to make the world stop spinning.
“O’Malley?”
Jack snapped his head up, which he really regretted as the world that had been a gentle carousel ride went to the spinning death and he had to swallow down the bile in his throat.
“Drift? What are you doing here?” Jack asked once he was sure he wasn't about to puke all over the counter.
“Came to check on you, what is going on here?” Callum asked, looking around at the horrifying scene that was in front of him, he had never seen such naughty children.
“Oh uh, work like usual” Jack joked, coughing into his arm lightly, trying to keep his face out of the light so Drift wouldn't be able to see him that well.
“Work. This is normal?” Drift asked repulsed, he looked over at who he assumed the mother was, who was yelling at the phone about topics that should never be had near a child.
“Uh the girl sitting calmly is new” Jack laughed roughly, God his throat hurt.
“Are you okay? You don't sound good.” Callum asked, trying to get a better look at O’Malley who was trying to do the opposite.
“What? Yeah I'm great, you know just a little tired is all” Jack lied, walking over to the left to grab his bottle of water.
“Jack what is going on, I know you're not okay” Drift pressed, crossing his arms.
“Listen Cal, I'm fine, just a little sick. And this-” Jack motioned to the dining room where the kid from the play area came running out with no pants or underwear, came into view.
“Is not new- no okay that's new. Hold on” Jack sighed as he made his way to the mother to tell her that her child needed to be wearing clothes.
“What do you mean? He's just a little boy, who cares?” The woman snarked, going back to her conversation on the phone.
“Ma'am he needs to be wearing clothes, it's the rule, everyone can't run around naked” Jack tried again, he was feeling dizzy again.
“Ugh hold on Mike- Listen here-” She paused to look at his name tag.
“Jack. My son isn't bothering anybody and you're the only one here with a problem. So just go back to scrubbing the place clean” She spat, looking over to the play area before adding.
“And you might want to get a head-start, there's piss in the slide” She smiled, talking back into the phone.
Jack just stared at her for a minute before looking at the girl sitting across from her mom.
Said girl looked guilty, looking at Jack like she was sorry for her family, which was just sad really, she shouldn't have to deal with this.
Turning around Jack saw Drift with an unreadable expression, which was every expression if he was honest.
“Sorry Drift, have to go clean- uh the slide” Jack mumbled, trying to keep the bile in his throat at bay.
“I don't think so, go sit down” Callum said scarily calm, and helped Jack into a chair.
“No Cal, I need to work-” Jack was cut off when Drift gave him a look.
Sighing, Jack relaxed into the chair, watching in slight panic as Callum began walking toward the mother.
“Excuse me, you need to leave, now” Drift ordered calmly, helping the daughter pack her food for later.
“Ugh wha- hold on Mike, this place is open until eight tonight!” She squealed, watching as her daughter stood up and began to walk to the door.
“Well not today it doesn't. Get out” Drift said, raising his voice.
“Well I never! You have no idea how to talk to a lady!” She snarked, getting up and picking up her purse, shoving all her things back into it.
“You are no lady, now get out before the police are called” Drift warned.
“Oh please there are no police here! If anyone is in charge around here it's my pimp! And-”
She was cut off when Callum frowned deeply.
“Ugh who cares, this place is a dump. Boys!” She walked off quickly, taking her horde of children with her and throwing pants at her son.
After they left, Callum turned around to see Jack had left the chair.
“What- Jack!” He called out, before hearing what sounded like a dinosaur being choked.
“Oh no” He mumbled before running into the men’s bathroom to see one of the stall doors closed.
“Jack?” Callum asked softly, knocking on the door with his knuckle.
“Ugh, no don't come in here-” Jack was cut off when a demon crawled out of his throat.
Drift didn't take his warning and unlocked the stall door to see the state Jack was in.
He didn't like that one bit.
Carefully, he knelt down and placed a hand on Jack’s back and started to rub circles into him.
It was about ten minutes later when Jack stopped throwing up, he lifted his head and just zoned out after he was done.
“Come on, let's get you home” Callum offered, helping Jack stand up even when the man tried to walk on his own.
“I'm fine Drift, I have to finish this shift or I'm fired” Jack argued, wobbling over to the sink to rinse his mouth of evil.
“I'll help you get a better job than this shit show. You're too sick to work right now anyway” Callum argued back, handing Jack a paper towel.
“Ugh, can't find anything else.” Jack mumbled, which worried Drift for he saw him sway and stumble.
Walking over to him, Callum pressed the back of his hand to Jack’s forehead and winced.
“Jack you have a really bad fever, come on” Callum said, grabbing one of Jack's arms and looping it around his neck and helping him walk.
“Is that why I feel fuzzy?” Jack slurred, he was really dizzy now.
“Probably, what have you eaten today?” Callum asked, as they walked out the door.
Jack stopped them from walking, looking around in his pocket.
“Hold on, got to lock up.” Jack turned slowly and locked the door before looking at metal bars by the door and groaned.
“What's wrong?” Drift asked, trying to see what upset the man.
“I forgot my bike got stolen yesterday” Jack whined, slamming against the wall with his back and plopping his head back in despair.
“What happened to your car?” Callum asked, how much had Jack been suffering like this?
“Huh? Oh I had to sell it awhile ago” Jack mumbled, closing his eyes.
Callum sighed and grabbed Jack again, “I have mine, I'll take you home”
Jack was silent as he helped him into the car, it seemed the fever was making him a bit delirious.
Callum drove slowly out of the parking lot so as to not make Jack feel any worse than he already did, before asking.
“Where do you live?”
“Uh the next street down, turn left and it's the building called Jerry’s apartments, can't miss it, has a big sign” Jack slurred, squinting his eyes slightly.
Drift nodded and followed his instructions, parking in a spot close to the door before getting out the car.
It was a bit of a heart attack getting Jack out the car for Jack just threw himself out and almost knocked himself out on a curb.
“Be careful!” Callum yelled, grabbing Jack by the shoulders.
“Eh I’m fine, ugh stairs..” Jack seemed to be more concerned about stairs than his potential death.
Drift just sighed and helped Jack inside, the place was… interesting to say the least.
The carpet was stained and torn up, the wallpaper was peeling, the desk person was asleep on said desk, the vending machine was laying sideways and broken, and there was a small disgusting fish tank with one fish trying to live.
“How long have you lived here?” Callum asked as they began the trek up the stairs, since he noticed the elevator said out of service.
“Uh, like a year? It's funny, the elevator worked one day I was here then some idiot blew it up” Jack laughed, as he motioned for them to go into the door that led to his floor.
“It was blown up?” Callum asked, horrified, noting that Jack lived on the third floor in room fifty two.
“Yeah, before a tenant was evicted there was a crack dealer that messed up and chemicals happened, and the elevator was the victim” Jack mumbled, as he unlocked his door, stumbling into his home.
Callum stayed silent and took in Jack's home, or lack of home.
There was no real furniture but a chair and computer next to the kitchen counter, a poster of some guy Callum had no idea who he was, and another poster of Britney Spears.
He watched Jack carefully as he made his way to his room, watched him slam into his mattress and promptly pass out.
Drift sighed, and covered Jack with a blanket, feeling sick in his stomach that Jack was living this way.
He made his way to the kitchen to see if he had tea or anything, for Jack’s throat must be hurting and only saw a couple of cans of who knows what and a fuzzy lemon in the fridge.
He turned to see a calendar on the wall next to a small clock, looking closer he saw todays date circled with the words, ‘One Year Sober!’.
Callum smiled and walked out the door, he needed to get Jack some things, to at least try to make him feel better.
He was glad he called out today.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Callum sighed, driving back to Jack’s apartment trying to destress from the trip he just made.
For he just had the most painful shopping experience for he had to practically beat ladies off with a stick, mainly single moms.
Deal with annoying guys who were trying to steal, not even trying to hide it at this point.
And trying to find a tea that one Jack would like and two would help him both with his throat and his stomach.
He spent way too much time staring at the options of tea, since when were there this many choices?!
He ended up picking a ginger tea and chamomile, both organic because that sounded better.
He also picked up some pasta, rice, beans, ground meat, milk, bread and a few cans of soup he hoped Jack liked.
When Callum thought about it he didn't know anything about Jack, sure he knew he was a very talented hacker, but besides that not much.
He knew he had a son, and that his name was Dylan, but really that was it?
He sighed at that, pulling back into the parking lot he parked his car and began putting bags on his arms to bring up the stairs.
He was stopped when it someone called him to stop,
“Yo you're a new face, you visiting a friend?” A snotty voice asked in front of him.
Callum looked up to see the front desk person actually awake this time, and he was hoping he didn't have to talk long.
The guy looked horrible, shoulder length hair, that was so greasy it looked wet and clung to his face.
He had acne which wouldn't be a problem but Callum was so sure he saw one fucking pop.
The guy also looked like he never showered, dirt covered his face and arms, his hands being so dark he looked like he dipped his hands in mud.
He stunk of cigarettes and alcohol, and maybe some other substance he couldn't place.
Bags hung under the man's grey, bloodshot eyes, and wire looking stubble on his lip and chin.
And oh god his voice, it sounded like if trash could talk, Callum already hated this guy and he only said one sentence.
“Yes, taking care of a sick friend” Callum said emotionlessly, starting to walk in the direction of the stairs before the man spoke again.
“Oh man is it Jackie? The guy is always puking his guts!” The guy laughed, opening a candy and plopping it in his mouth.
“Jackie? How often is ‘always’?” Callum asked, while he wanted to get away from this living stench he needed to know how long Jack has been giving himself food poisoning.
“Jackie! Ya know Jack? The hot guy that lives on the third floor?” The guy said casually, spit spraying out of his mouth as he talked.
“I don't think he would like you calling him ‘Jackie’” Callum responded curtley, he hated this guy even more.
Callum had never been one for jealousy, whether it be envy for someone else's life or in relationships but he couldn't help the feeling when this guy called Jack ‘hot’.
He knew he had no right to feel so, he wasn't even sure of his feelings one hundred percent, and he knew Jack was a good looking guy but damn was he pissed off.
“Ha! Yeah he acts like he hates it but I know he doesn't! One day I’ll get his number!” The guy laughed, spinning around in his rolling chair with his arms raised.
“Unlikely” Callum argued, he turned and walked to the stairs, ignoring the offended ‘hey!’ behind him.
Callum paused as he got to Jack’s apartment door, he took the key with him when he left for the store but he still felt it wrong to just open the door and come in.
He awkwardly knocked before unlocking the door and walking inside.
He placed the bags on the kitchen counter, picking out a can of soup to warm up-
Shit he didn't check if Jack even owned a bowl let alone a pot.
Luckily he did, which made Callum feel so much relief, Jack had a bowl! And a pot!
He was about to start when he heard a stampede in Jack’s room which then came into the living room.
Callum saw Jack not walk, not run, but full body sprint to another room, slam the door open and Callum heard what could only be described as the sounds of a man dying and begging god to kill him.
Rushing to what he now knows is the bathroom, he entered the room to see Jack throwing up over the toilet bowl.
Slowly, he walked over, kneeling on the floor and placed a hand on Jack’s back, startling said man.
“Wha- Drift?” Jack asked, voice rough before he gagged and turned to throw up again.
“Yeah it's me. Found you at work dying, dragged you home and you fell asleep” Callum explained, rubbing soothing circles into Jack’s back.
God how he hated that he could do nothing, Jack was mortal and he didn't know how he would react to the medicine he had on hand.
After Jack was done emptying his soul and bones, he sat up and groaned in pain, holding his stomach with one hand as he wiped his mouth with tissue.
“God, why'd you pick today to visit? I look like shit right now” Jack whined, purposely looking away from Drift so he couldn't see his face.
“Because I had a feeling you were not okay and I was right. I'm glad I did- Stop turning around you'll make yourself dizzy!” Callum scolded, wrapping his arms around Jack in a side hug to make the man stop moving.
“Come on, I'll get a bath ready for you. You need to lay down as I do that” Callum instructed, letting go so he could help Jack stand up.
Which Jack swatted away and stood up wobbly on his own.
“A bath? I'm not a kid Drift, I can handle a shower” Jack argued, stumbling over to the shower and turning the water on.
“Fine, fine, but leave the door cracked so I can hear if you crack your skull open” Callum said sternly, leaving the bathroom to grab clothes for him.
Callum looked around Jack’s bedroom finding a small closet, opening it he picked a soft feeling worn shirt, black sweatpants and a boxers.
He smiled when he saw the design on the shirt, it was a boxing shirt with a player Callum wasn't familiar with, but the shirt looked well loved.
Knocking on the bathroom door, he spoke through the sounds of water,
“Brought you clothes” Drift said, waiting to hear if he was to place them on the counter or throw them like a grenade and run.
“Shit- Thanks I forgot that, just put them on the counter”
Jack said, though muffled by the shower.
Callum opened the door slightly and reached over to the counter with his arm and placed the clothes there, he didn't even need to take a step inside the bathroom was so small.
“I'm going to make soup, you feel up to eating it or should I just make broth?” Callum asked through the cracked door.
“You don't need to do that Callum, I'm sure you're busy” Jack deflected, sounding uncomfortable.
“I'm not. Took today off and tomorrow, now broth or soup?” Callum asked again, damn Jack and his allergy to help.
Callum waited in silence before he heard a sigh and a mumbled ‘broth’ come from the other side.
“On it” Callum said smiling, starting to work on the broth.
It was about thirty minutes later until Jack left the bathroom, Callum suspected Jack was taking it easy so he didn't in fact crack his skull.
The broth was done and he had made the tea first so it wasn't boiling when Jack got out.
Jack wobbled to the chair in the kitchen and face planted onto the kitchen counter.
“Ugh, I got to stop eating that shit” Jack mumbled to himself, not knowing Callum could hear him.
“Then why aren't you? Heard you've been making yourself sick for a while” Callum asked, placing the tea he made next to Jack.
Jack looked up annoyed before pausing.
“Wait, who told you that?” Jack asked, noticing the tea and lifting his head and holding the warm cup in his hands.
“The creep downstairs at the desk” Callum answered grouchily, he was trying to hide his dislike but it was a hard thing to do.
“Ugh Tony was awake? God he didn't see me did he?” Jack asked tiredly, sniffing the tea before taking a drink.
“No, he was passed out on the desk when we got here” Callum said, leaving out the other part of the conversation he had with the guy.
“Thank God, he is so annoying when he's awake” Jack mumbled into his tea.
“Is he usually asleep?” Callum asked, though he could put two and two together and see the guy wasn't that great at his job and was in fact usually asleep.
“Yeah, if he's not asleep then he's up smoking or trying to get you to smoke” Jack answered, drinking his tea and seeming to light up, even if he was hiding it.
Noticing this, Callum said nothing on it for he didn't want Jack to suddenly stop drinking the tea, it was helping his stomach right now.
“That seems accurate, does he try to get you to smoke?” Callum asked, he wanted to know the guy wasn't an actual danger.
“Huh? Oh yeah all the time, though he doesn't get it when I say it's not my thing” Jack responded, shifting in his chair to face Callum rather than away.
“He thinks everyone should enjoy life and do every drug on the planet” Jack added on, rolling his eyes.
“Wait, you said he'd try to get you to smoke? Not do drugs.” Callum asked, confused.
“Yeah he does both, just can't get his head around that I don't like either” Jack laughed, taking the last drink of his tea and sadly setting it on the counter.
“Huh. He do anything else?” Callum asked, before refilling Jack’s cup with more tea.
He was going to remember that Jack seemed to like ginger tea, surprisingly.
“No not really, besides not taking the hint” Jack laughed, his eyes lighting up when he picked up his cup filled with more tea.
“Not a guy to take no?” Callum tried to joke, even when he felt jealousy and anger wash over him.
“Eh more like he could get hit with a stop sign and still think it says go” Jack snarked, smiling into his cup as he drank.
“He's pretty harmless so I let it slide, not to mention he's the landlord's son anyway” Jack quietly mumbled the last part into his cup but Callum caught it anyway.
“So he gets to do whatever he wants? He doesn't even do the job right.” Callum said annoyed, the guy just kept getting worse.
“Eh it's not that big a job, hence why he works there. The landlord is in some sketchy shit so he puts his son wherever so he's out of the way” Jack answered, looking bored.
“And you know all this how?” Callum asked, he didn't think the guy would rat on his dad, as sleezy as he was.
Jack just smiled and looked back into his tea.
“Jack” Callum said sternly, giving Jack a look.
“What? I didn't do anything but look, I swear!” Jack laughed lightly, holding a hand up in surrender.
“Still. Be careful Jack” Callum warned, filling a small bowl with the broth he had made.
“Yeah I know” Jack mumbled, looking at the bowl with uncertainty.
“If you can't finish it that's fine, but have at least a few bites” Callum instructed, watching as Jack looked at the bowl like it was a math test.
“Eh if I puke this will be a lot better than solids” Jack guessed, picking up the bowl with his hands and taking a sip.
“You don't have spoons do you?” Callum asked, both joking and concerned.
“Uh, no not really. Never really needed em” Jack said through a grimace, he seemed to be struggling with the broth.
“Don't force yourself Jack” Callum scolded lightly, placing a hand on Jack’s shoulder and trying not to smile when he watched Jack relax subconsciously.
Jack took a total of three sips before tapping out, looking upset with himself.
“You're suffering from severe food poisoning, I'm surprised you ate this much” Callum offered, taking the bowl and putting it in the sink.
Jack said nothing but nodded and stood up, wobbling as he did so.
“Here, let's get you back in bed” Callum suggested, taking Jack’s arm.
“I can walk on my own, you don't need to do that” Jack argued, trying to remove his arm.
“Jack, it's just you and me here, drop the tough guy act” Callum said seriously, making eye contact that Jack tried to avoid.
“Sorry, I know you're trying to help. I don't mean to be a pain in the ass” Jack said sadly, looking ashamed.
“I know Jack, I'm not mad. I just wished you felt comfortable to let me help” Callum comforted, leading Jack when he stopped trying to pull away.
Jack again said nothing but avoided eye contact the whole walk to his bedroom, even when Callum helped him lie down onto his mattress.
“Get some rest, do you need anything?” Callum asked, pulling the blanket over Jack which he noticed made said man blush slightly.
Cute
“Uh, my phone? I try to text Dylan everyday” Jack asked quietly, looking pained that he just asked for something.
“No problem” Callum said with a smile, knowing he placed Jack’s phone on the counter in the kitchen.
Quickly grabbing the phone he walked back into the bedroom to see Jack curling up in his blanket and snuggling into his own shirt.
“Here it is” Callum said smiling, he wanted to tease but he just couldn't. That had looked so damn adorable and he wasn't going to tease Jack for trying to find comfort when he was sick.
“Uh- Oh yeah- thanks Callum” Jack fumbled, taking the phone and quickly opening it.
“Uh, how long were you standing there before?” Jack asked nervously, staring at his phone like it could hide him from embarrassment.
“Long enough, I'm guessing the shirt is special?” Callum asked, ok maybe he teased a little but he tried.
“Uh yeah, it is” Jack mumbled, looking uncomfortable.
“I won't pry, how is Dylan anyway?” Callum asked, hoping the change of subject would make the frown on Jack’s face disappear.
Like a lightbulb, Callum watched Jack’s whole face and mood shift. Looking like he just won the lottery.
“Oh yeah he's doing a lot better! Got his grades up, he even won a medal for his music!” Jack babbled, talking a mile a minute and looking so happy it made Callum smile.
“Oh and Kevin got busted spray painting the portables” Jack ended, laughing victoriously.
“Wait- what?” Callum asked, snapped out of his daze. He had been watching Jack closely and had been memorizing the face of Jack being happy.
“Oh yeah we hate Kevin, ex best friend ya know?” Jack said seriously, looking up at Callum for the first time since the kitchen.
“You and Dylan aren't doing anything right?” Callum asked sternly, crossing his arms with a smirk on his face.
“What no way. We're just watching the house burn, not setting it on fire” Jack laughed nervously, finishing a text he was writing and putting his phone down once he hit send.
Callum shook his head, smiling at the dork in front of him.
“Yeah yeah, sleep. I'll wake you in a few hours” Callum said, practically tucking Jack in before he left.
“You don't gotta stay, you've done so much already” Jack said seriously, looking embarrassed as he laid down.
“I know, but I'm going to” Callum said, leaving no room for argument.
He was turning off the light and walking away when he heard a faint, ‘thanks’ from behind him.
“Of course Jack, sleep well” Callum said softly, going to the kitchen and to think.
Pulling out his phone, that he totally didn't get just to text Jack.
He sent a text to the only other person he had saved to the phone.
- Hey Zoe, did you ever send that letter?
- The one to O’Malley? I had a worker send it why?
- I don't think Jack ever got it
Callum waited five minutes before he got a response.
- The idiot who was supposed to send it misplaced it and it was placed under a bunch of junk
- Yikes. Any chance you can make another one?
- Ha you think I'm not going to?
- Hey I know your a busy woman
- Not busy enough to miss out on getting thee wolf to work for my team
- Calm down fangirl
- Says you, finished the letter. It's on its way now.
- Thanks Zoe
Callum turned off his phone and sighed, he hoped Jack thought about the opportunity and took up the offer.
It's not everyday you get not one but two letter from M.O.R.A
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Jack woke up soreHis throat felt like he swallowed goatheads, he sounded like if a cheese grater came to life and could talk, and his body felt like a bruise.Slowly sitting up, which didn't make him dizzy surprisingly.
The heartburn he had earlier also went awayHuhUsually he felt like he was bit by the pain truck when he gets like this.He never feels better after a day…Eh whateverMaybe he just had some buffed out antibodies or some shitHe still felt weak which sucked, but he'd take that over the hell he had been living yesterdayShitCallum had seen him yesterdaySaw him die while he threw up, multiple times..“Ugh!” Jack groaned, throwing his head up and tugging at his hair in agony.
He had just realized his sorta crush on the guy and he sees him like this?!A year later and this is the first thing Callum Drift sees of the new Jack O’Malley.GreatJust greatDeciding to get up and not sit and stare at the wall in shame and grief, Jack forced his body to stand up.It wasn't graceful, like at all.He had done a throw all your weight to your feet and try to balance maneuver, which almost ended with him passing out because he smacked his head on the wall.But no one was in the room so he quickly shrugged it off, walking out into the living room and looking around.From where he was standing he couldn't see anyone else in his apartment, walking around he checked the other areas.Which was just the bathroom really since his kitchen and living room was one unit, but alas no one was there anyway.Maybe he left.Not that Jack could be mad at that, look at the place.Jack sighed as he took in his so called ‘home’He really needed to find a better job, the only decor he had was of some rock singer Dylan was really into and he had decided to buy one to bond with his son.He didn't really know any of the songs, he just knew enough to get by if Dylan asked if he'd heard the new song or what his favorite was.The only thing he had that was his because he just wanted it was his Britney Spears poster, which he had since he was a teen.It was still in good condition somehow, it was maybe fifteen years old and it still looked new.He also treated the thing like gold, it was the first thing he ever bought with his own money. He had worked three weeks, all night shifts to afford it.Well it took so long to get his check because his boss sucked but he didn't care at the time, he was just happy he could work.Do something with time, instead of sitting in his room or skateboarding around his neighborhood.
Now that Jack thought about it, his teen years were a bit rough.His dad was in jail, his mom was always out working, and he was either suspended from school or at work.He never really saw his mom after his parents divorced, eh he never really saw either of them really.His mom was a lady of the night and was always off doing who knows what, or who.His dad was….He wasn't going to think about him
His mom was loving and tried to take care of him sometimes, she wasn't book smart at all, so she could never keep a regular job.So to keep a roof over his head and sometimes food in his stomach she worked at some stipclub called ‘sparkles’ and would take up odd jobs here and there.What those extra jobs were he didn't know of at the time, was only when he got in a fight did he realize what she had been doing.He found out by his so-called ‘friends’ calling his mom a whore, which he denied and said she was a hard working woman.Which ended up being the thing to make the boys laugh, saying they saw her messing around with guys behind dumpsters all the time.Jack didn't believe them at first, not wanting to, he ended up getting into a fight about it, he still remembers the feeling of having his stomach hit with a brick one of the guys had picked up.He didn't win the fight, since it was four against one and he had been a stick of a teen.So he picked himself up after they stopped kicking him and walked home angry, his mom wasn't a whore.Getting home, he walked in to see his mom on the couch smoking a cigarette while she looked at a magazine, a glass of red wine on the side table next to her.“Hey mom” He said, dropping his school bag on the floor and kicking off his shoes.“Hello Jackie, how was school honey?” She asked, smiling at him when she looked up.She gasped when she saw his face, running over to him and asking him what happened.He looked down at his feet, mumbling his answer.“Honey, I can't hear you. Who did this?” She asked worriedly, running over to the kitchen sink to grab a napkin and wet it before running back and cleaning his bloodied face gently.“They called you a whore” Jack said, upset, tears gathering in his eyes as his mother looked at him sadly.“Jackie” She sighed, holding her son's face in her hands, making him look at her.“Don't get in fights over me, I'm an adult and can handle it myself” She said sadly.“But you're not a whore! I don't care what they say, it's not nice!” Jack cried, running into his mothers arms and began to cry.“Oh honey, I know I'm not the best mother in the world. I know my job is not one to be proud of” She began, petting her son's hair as he sniffled.“But I do what I have to, most people will think me of a whore and they would be right” She sighed, looking at her son when he looked up to argue.“Hush. I know you don't see me that way, but to everyone else I am” She said, looking at her son with sadness.“I know I should try to do better, but I don't know how” She admitted, looking away.“I dropped out of school at the age of sixteen, running off with some guy I liked at the time” She sighed, upset with herself.“If I had stayed in school maybe it would be different. But then I would most likely never have had you” She added on, smiling at him.“And that would just be awful, you're my Jackie. I wouldn't trade you for anything” She said smiling, kissing his forehead.“I wish you didn't have to sleep with people who treat you so horribly,” Jack mumbled, hugging his mother.“I know sweet pea, me too” She answered honestly, a few tears coming down her face.
Jack snapped back to reality when he heard a knock at the door, he hadn't realized he had zoned out, or the tears that were falling from his eyes.He heard the door begin to open and tried to wipe the tears away, hoping his eyes and face weren’t puffy.“Oh Jack, you're up” Callum said happily, closing the door and putting the bags he had been carrying on the counter.Jack turned around and tried to slap his go to grin on his face.“Hey, thought you ran off to protect Santa” He laughed, trying his best to push the other memories that were going into his mind away.“No, just went to pick some stuff up-” Callum cut himself off when he looked at Jack, he paused and took in his appearance.While Jack was smiling it didn't reach his eyes, in fact he looked so sad it hurt.His eyes were red and his face was puffy, had Jack been crying?“You okay?” Drift asked, walking over to Jack with concern.
“Who me? Yeah of course I am” Jack laughed nervously, backing up.“You look like you were crying, what happened?” Drift pressed, looking over Jack to see if he was hurt.“Nothing, I'm fine Drift” Jack snapped, looking away.“Jack, I- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to overstep” Drift said quietly, looking ashamed.And that just broke Jack all over again, why does he make everyone he cares about upset.“No- You didn't do anything. I was just having a pity party earlier” Jack admitted, while he hated talking about himself and getting personal, he hated the sad face Callum was wearing more.“A pity party? Why?” Callum asked, he had heard of the thing but he didn't know why Jack would be feeling that way.“Just everything I guess, my past and junk. I get this way when I think too much” Jack laughed sadly, looking down and moving from foot to foot slowly.
“Your past? Oh-” Callum caught himself and what Jack meant, and it hurt him.Jack had been so upset about his past he had been crying, God he wished he could just go into the past and fix whatever was hurting him so he never cried about it again.Shit he really did like this guy.No.The realization hit Callum like a truck, no like a damn nuke.He loved him.He knew fucking nothing about him but dammit he loved him.“I won't press, but I'm here if you wanna talk” Callum offered with a smile, feeling his heart jump when Jack finally looked up at him and looked surprised.
Then the smile, God the smile.Callum had never seen such a pure smile like that, he blushed and looked away to grab something out of one of the bags he had brought.“Thank you Callum, I mean it” Jack said smiling, walking over to Callum to see what he was doing.“Uh what is all this?” Jack asked, looking at the amount of boxes of ginger tea that was in one of the bags in surprise.“Uh, noticed you didn't have much so I got some stuff” Callum said like he didn't just blow Jack’s mind.No one had taken the time to care for him like this… Not in a long time“I hope that's okay, I know you like doing shit on your own but there's no shame in taking help” Callum rambled on, not noticing the shocked face Jack was wearing.“I got you some basic foods, some of it I got earlier, like rice, meat, milk, bread, beans and such” Callum began listing, pulling the new things out the bags.“Noticed you liked the ginger tea and thought I would make sure you had a lot of it” Callum joked, still not turning around.“Oh and a few other things, a few vegetables, and lots of kinds of cookies, like chocolate chip, oatmeal, ginger-” Cal stopped when he realized Jack had said nothing this whole time and he began to worry he overdid it.“Uh if you don't like anything I can always return it-” Callum started but stopped when he turned around to see Jack full on crying.He looked so surprised and confused, he had huge tears rolling down his face and he began to tremble.“Ah! What happened, do you hate ginger? Do you feel sick?” Callum asked worriedly, running to stand next to Jack and look him over.Only to be met with Jack running faster and slamming into him, giving him a hug.Surprised, it took Callum a few seconds to realize Jack was hugging him like he was dying to snap back into reality and hug him back.Drift just held him, letting him cry, Jack had begun to hiccup and what would be called ugly crying. But Callum didn't think he looked ugly.Never uglyDrift stayed silent, just holding onto Jack, holding him up when Jack’s legs gave up.Jack clung onto him like if he even loosened his hold he would disappear, which made Callum hold him tighter, to help calm him.“I'm sorry” Jack mumbled into Callum's shirt, hiding his face once his sobs turned into sniffles.“Don't be, you just had me worried you were hurt” Callum said calmly, petting Jack’s hair lightly.“Eh, not really used to crying and it all just came out” Jack laughed weakly, slowly letting go and wiping at his face with his hands.“Crying is healthy, do you feel better?” Callum asked, grabbing tissue he had bought out of the bag and opening it, handing Jack a few tissues.“Not really, I mean, I do? I don't know” Jack mumbled sadly, wiping his face and turning slightly away to blow his nose.“That’s okay, things take time” Callum offered, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge and handing it to Jack.“You really went all out didn't you?” Jack laughed roughly, more tears prickling at his eyes and threatening to fall.“Well yeah- you're crying again, did I do something wrong?” Callum asked quickly, shit maybe he did go too far and offended him.“Uh no, I- I have never had someone care about me in a long time” Jack admitted, holding the water bottle like it was precious.
“Let alone buy me things, things I needed and things just to make me happy” Jack choked, tears falling from his eyes.“Ugh, I don't want to cry anymore dammit” He mumbled to himself, turning away so Drift didn't see him crying again.Drift slowly moved to him and pulled him into another hug, making Jack stop crying immediately.
“Well get used to me caring, your my friend and I take care of my friends” Callum said seriously, holding Jack protectively.
“Thanks” Was all Jack could squeak out, ugh this crush thing was just getting worse.They let go and Drift began pulling out a container filled with ginger cookies, and turning to Jack smiling.“Since you're not feeling so great why don't we just sit and eat cookies” He suggested, he knew Jack was feeling better and could stomach these.He totally didn't make the tea special, okay he totally did, he had learned a few things from the witches he had dated and he was glad he paid attention.It was just a simple illness repelling tea, but damn did it work great on humans.Callum laughed when Jack snorted, walking past him to the floor and sitting down near the huge window.The only good thing about Jack’s apartment was the huge window that showed the city below, it wasn't a great view but it showed the sky setting which was nice.It was one of those windows that went from the top of the wall to the floor.Jack slowly walked over to Drift and plopped down onto the floor, pulling his knees to his chest and looking out the window.“Don’t think I've had a cookie since I was a kid” Jack laughed when Drift handed him a comically large cookie.Calllum had just been about to bite down on his own cookie when he paused, cookie being forgotten.“What?”
Jack looked surprised at Cal’s seriously shocked face and his face began to blush in embarrassment.“Uh, my mom could never afford cookies so the only time I really got them was when I was at my uncles for Christmas” Jack started, playing with the cookie in his hand.“And uh, I was never really allowed to have em anyway. My aunt was a health nut and tried to make me diet” Jack said, annoyed.
“So I kinda stole the cookies for Santa” Jack mumbled quickly, looking ashamed.“I feel bad about it now but at the time I just-” Jack cut himself off when he didn't have any real excuse and looked up to see Callum giving him a sad look.He went to apologize, since he was sure stealing Santa cookies was a big deal but Callum cut him off.“You just wanted a cookie” Callum said sadly, looking down.“Uh, you okay?” Jack asked worriedly, did he make him that upset?“Me? Jack I should be asking you that” Callum laughed but it was not out of joy.“You just said something so sad it made my heart hurt, hold on” Callum admitted, getting up and running to the kitchen.Jack was worried Callum was about to leave then and there before seeing him run back to him with boxes of cookies pouring out his arms.“Here, eat as many as you want. I have something for you to take if you get sick” Drift said seriously, pushing the boxes of cookies to Jack.“Fuck that’s sweet” Jack laughed, blushing brightly.Callum watched as Jack happily began looking at all the kinds of cookies and opening ones he wanted to try.He looked so beautiful, his face was still slightly pink, a warm smile was on his face and his giddiness over having so many cookies made him look so damn cute it made Cal’s heart flip.He was going to make sure Jack always had cookies dammit.While Jack was living his childhood dream, Drift remembered he had something and began pulling it out from his pocket.Holding out an envelope silently to Jack who paused munching on a snickerdoodle cookie to look at it confused.He silently took it and looked at it in his hands, then to Callum, then back to the letter.He looked up one last time to see Callum snort and nod his head toward the letter.He began to open the letter, the cookie still in his mouth which Callum thought was the cutest thing ever.Jack took a few minutes to read the letter, then pause, then re-read the letter, then re-read it again.He looked stunned, looking up at Callum and raising an eyebrow.“Don't give me that look, she had made it forever ago and just was made aware the person who was meant to send it fucked up” Callum began explaining.
“I just let her know you never got the letter, so she sent a new one, herself this time” Callum finished, hoping Jack wouldn't be mad.“But why? I know nothing about your world, I just found out Santa is real!” Jack said confused, looking at the letter with even more confusion.“Yes, you knew nothing yet you handled everything like it was normal, sure you had times where you looked damn confused but you rolled with it.” Callum stated.“She also has been wanting to recruit you before, she just was never able to get a hold of you” Callum finished, handing Jack another bottle of water.“I don't know, I don't have anything she needs. What would I even offer her?” Jack asked dejected, which Callum just couldn't have.“Jack your a fucking brilliant hacker, your so smart you found information that hadn't been found in hundred thousands of years! You have more to offer than you think” Callum said honestly, smiling at Jack and watching said man blush at the praise.
“Plus, you can always learn. And you will fuck up, who cares. We all do, you just try again” Callum pointed out.“Okay, I guess I can try it out. Though I still have no idea how I'm supposed to help with anything” Jack admitted, putting the letter to the side to be signed later.“She will explain it I'm sure, here” Callum pulled out a pen from his pocket and handed it to Jack.Jack just laughed and mumbled ‘Mary Poppins’ under his breath which Drift caught and rolled his eyes.Taking the pen, he quickly signed the letter and was about to put the letter back when Callum opened his hand for it.Confused, he gave him the letter and watched as Callum tapped buttons on his vambrace and the letter disappeared.Jack blinked, looked at the empty space the letter had been in and then to Callum who smirked.“Okay…” Jack rolled out, picking up his cookie and nibbling on it.Which made Callum laugh loudly, “See? You just went with it”Jack snorted and rolled his eyes, huh he really liked snickerdoodle cookies apparently.
After Drift was done with his laughing fit he noticed Jack had favorited the ginger and snickerdoodle cookies more than the others and he just had to ask.“You really like ginger don't you?” He asked, which made Jack pause and blush lightly.“Yeah, my mom got me to like it” Jack said calmly, looking lost in thought.“Oh- If you don't want to talk about it I understand” Callum quickly added, realizing he needed to be more careful with his questions.“No, it's fine. I can answer this one” Jack smiled, which made Drift’s stomach fill up with butterflies.“It's kinda funny actually. So when I was a kid my mom tried to learn to bake, she couldn't cook for shit so she thought she would give baking a go” Jack began, laughing as he remembered her burnt pasta she had tried to make.“Well she couldn't bake either, her chip cookies were hockey pucks and her cakes were like mud. She was so upset she couldn't bake that she stopped. I noticed her looking sadly at her last failed batch of cookies and tried to cheer her up” Jack rambled, playing with the ginger cookie in his hands.“Told her I would look for the easiest recipe for her, which took me to the library at school. I got made fun of for it but I found a book with a recipe for ginger cookies” Jack said, as he took a sip of water.“I didn't really have a library card, because at my school you needed one to check out books, didn't have any paper or pens either so- I kinda ripped it out the book and shoved it in my pocket” Jack admitted nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.Callum just snorted and smiled at him, showing he wasn't mad.“So I went home, waited for my mom to get home, I got the kitchen ready for her, ya know bowls and shit. “ Jack waved his hands about since he hadn't a clue what any of the tools were.“She came home and I gave her the page, she looked at it and gave me a look. She knew I just ripped it out without me even saying anything, I faked innocents of course” Jack laughed.Callum laughed at him, smiling at him like he was the sun.Which made Jack stumble over his words slightly before continuing.“She didn't buy it but she didn't say anything. Just smiled and ruffled my hair as she walked to the kitchen. She didn't have a lot of money, and ginger was cheap at the time, hence why I picked it.It took her longer than it would take most people but when I came home from school the next day she dragged me inside and showed me the plate of ginger cookies she had made.She was so proud of them, they were a little burnt but they were still edible.
I remember when I tried one for the first time, they were awful” Jack laughed at the last part.“But the fact she had tried so hard to make something for me made them the best cookies ever, I hated ginger before that but ever since it's been my favorite thing” Jack smiled.“Ginger and potatoes were my childhood foods, the two things my mom was able to make, so they're comforting to me.She didn't really have money to make cookies all the time but she made them maybe three times and it was special each time” Jack added, looking at Callum.“That's sweet, I'm sure you made her very happy” Callum said smiling, noticing the slight frown it caused on Jack.He went to apologize but Jack cut him off “Its fine, just need to work my way up to telling you more”“In time I will, just let me have some time” Jack asked, which got him a surprise hug from Drift.“Whatever you need”Which made Jack smile so big he thought his face might crack, he accepted the hug happily.Damn he hadn't had this many hugs ever in one day.“Let's get you to bed, who knows how early Zoe will want you to come in to discuss work” Callum said after they parted.“Sleep does sound nice” Jack laughed, getting up and walking to his room.“You're going back tomorrow right?” Jack asked once he plopped down onto his mattress.“I don't have to, are you feeling okay? I can stay if you still feel sick” Callum offered, kneeling to tuck Jack in subconsciously.“I'm feeling fine actually, a little sore but that should clear up soon.” Jack said seriously, giving Callum a serious look when he looked doubtful.“Alright, keep me in the loop on how the job goes okay?” Callum asked, looking at Jack warmly.“Of course of course, I'll let you know if I need any saving” Jack joked, getting a snort from Drift.“Alright you damsel in distress, get some sleep. I'll text you in the morning” Drift said warmly, watching as Jack stretched before getting comfy.“Will do big man” Jack said sleepily, Drift watched him quickly fall asleep before shutting the door.Walking out, he locked the door with his vambrace, because yes he could do that, and left for the pole.
God Garcia was going to have a field day when he got back.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Jack was scared shitless
He had gotten a phone call at seven in the morning, waking him up from his wonderful sleep he was having.
He had answered it sounding like he had never had a phone call before-
He hadn't had an actual phone call in months okay
He really shouldn't have been surprised at who it was, but he still was.
Zoe had called him to meet up at some café to discuss the job offer and bring him into the building to show him around.
If they meeting went well
Which totally didn't make Jack panic
Not at all
God he had no idea what he was doing
He hadn't had an important interview in forever, let alone one he actually wanted to work for instead of hating it.
He had just stared at the ceiling after the call had ended, trying to see if he was still asleep
Once he realized that no he was not, and that in one hour he was to meet up with his hopefully new boss.
That got him up
Throwing on a clean black shirt, with black jeans and a jacket with a bunch of patches on it.
He really should wear something better but did he look like the guy to own a suit, lets be real.
Plus he loved this jacket, he had it since he hit the age of twenty one and bought it to celebrate.
He had been decorating it with band patches and random shit ever since.
After a quick shave to go back to his stubble and not the full on beard he had, he ran to collect his shit before running out the door.
Which leads to now, him sprinting down the streets of Philadelphia to a small café.
He nearly died a few times, almost getting run over but it was worth it.
He was nearly there when he realized sprinting around probably wasn't the brightest idea, he did shower yesterday but he was paranoid.
So when he was just down the street he threw himself into an azalea bush, he was sure he looked insane to the outsider but he was too stressed to care.
After lying in the flowers for longer then he intended he left the bush he just fucking crushed and walked the rest of the way.
He was walking in the doors, flicking off flower petals and leaves when he heard someone snort at him.
Turning around he saw the woman herself.
Zoe was smirking with her arms crossed, leaning against the wall near the window.
“Want to tell me what I just witnessed?” She asked with a laugh threatening to spill out.
“Uh, I fell in a bush” Jack deadpanned, trying to be as serious as he could muster with pink petals in his hair.
“Uh huh, from where I was standing it looked like that was intentional” She said with a raised eyebrow.
“Well the thing about that is you weren't supposed to see that” Jack said through gritted teeth, while he silently screamed in his mind.
That made Zoe lose her composure, letting out a laugh and patting him on the shoulder.
“Oh you are a dork, Jack O’Malley” She laughed out, grabbing him by the arm and leading him to a table.
After sitting down, a waiter came by and asked what they would like to drink.
Zoe ordered a very complicated coffee, making the waiter look a little nervous while Jack just asked for a water.
Which made the waiter let out a sigh of relief as she left.
After the waiter left they both looked at each other, in silence
God this was awkward, should he say something? Ask her how her day went?
“Don't over think it O’Malley” Zoe said seriously, but giving him a reassuring look to let him know this wasn't that intense.
“I know, just not sure what to talk about” He admitted, playing with a napkin in his hand.
“Well, let's start with what you would be doing at M.O.R.A” Zoe started, nodding at the waiter who brought them their drinks.
“We have people, objects of great importance, things that like to get lost or stolen.” She began, taking a sip on her drink.
“Yes we have the trolls but they can only do so much, plus they don't have the skill you seem to have” She smiled, holding up a hand when Jack went to say otherwise.
“I know your work, tried to get in contact with you sooner but you're a hard guy to find” Zoe pointed out, while Jack sat awkwardly nodding his head.
“I also know you have done things the trolls can only dream of. We need someone who can track people like Red who go missing.” She continued.
“Relics that get stolen, that sort of thing. You would make a good amount, have your own office and set up. So?” Zoe asked, smiling when Jack seemed to glitch.
“Use your words” She joked, smiling when that got him to snap back into coherency and roll his eyes.
“No catch or anything?” Jack asked, he had never had a job offer that wasn't sketchy or hiding some catch like he needed to hide in a basement in the fucking artic.
“No catch Jack” Zoe said seriously, she wasn't offended.
She could see his reasons to be hesitant, God the things this man must have seen and experienced.
She might work with the mythological world but she sometimes forgets the chaos that regular old humans get up to.
“Um, then yeah that sounds like a plan” Jack said, taking a drink of his water.
Jack was just ready to clean up and stand when Zoe looked to have other plans.
Sitting in her seat she asked, “So, I hear Drift paid you a visit?”
“Uh, yeah he did” Jack said nervously, he wasn't going to wonder how she knew this he didn't want to know.
“How did that go?” She asked with a glint in her eye, smiling into her cup as she took a sip.
“Considering I was sick, I don't remember much on the first day” Jack joked, pausing when Zoe stopped her sip to give him a curious look.
“First day? How long was he there?” She asked, for all the years she knew the immortal, taking days off never happened.
Let alone him not being at the pole for more than one, hell she hadn't heard of him being away for a few hours.
Especially for just a visit
“Uh just two I think. Made him go home last night” Jack answered, not sure why this was important.
“Huh. Well that is interesting” Zoe laughed, looking away in thought.
“Uh why is that interesting?” Jack asked, even more confused now.
“Well, Drift hasn't taken a day off in over one hundred years, let alone two” Zoe said matter of factly, laughing slightly when Jack gave a look of shock and confusion.
“I did not know that” Jack mumbled, trying to will away the feelings that were stirring in his chest.
“And you had to make him go back, hence the interest” She added on, smirking at watching Jack stutter at that.
She was just about to ask something when her phone rang.
Taking out her phone she answered, “Hello?”
Jack watched her face change from fun to serious in the blink of an eye, then if he squinted he could see worry.
“Alright, I'll head in now” Zoe said sternly, ending her call and looking to Jack hopefully.
“I usually wait a few days before making a new employee work but can you come in?” She asked, taking a moment to down her drink.
“Uh sure? What's going on?” He asked, he was happy to work but now seemed a bit early.
“I'll explain in the car, follow” She called, walking to the door.
Jack silently followed and got in a black van after her, sitting down in a seat he looked to her.
“A very important document was taken, via online. It has information about residence at the pole” She started, pulling out a watch like thing and throwing it at Jack.
“Put this on, it's a communicator. You will need it to communicate with everyone” She explained, fixing the gloves on her hands.
“Oh yeah hold on” Zoe said with a smile.
“What-” Jack was cut off when the car started to lift off the ground.
Jack screamed on the inside as he looked out his window to see the ground get further and further away.
He needed to get used to this or he was always going to be the starstruck guy in the room.
He was just about to sit back and try to relax when he paused.
He forgot to respond to Callum’s message
FUCK
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Callum was totally not anxious
Nope
Not even in the slightest, he was calm and collected
“Uh chief? You okay over there?” Garcia asked, walking into the room Drift was currently standing in staring at the same parchment he had for like ten minutes.
Garcia walked all the way to him and still no response, gently he nudged him on the shoulder and tried again.
“Drift you okay?” He asked, watching in worry at how Drift jumped like he was startled.
That wasn't a good sign
Drift never got startled, ever. Even if he did you would never be able to tell on the outside
“Huh? Oh yeah just going over this checklist of this year's wrapping paper.” Callum answered, trying to act like his heart wasn't about to rip out of his chest.
“Listen, I can tell something is up and it's not wrapping paper. What's going on?” Garcia asked, sitting down on a chair.
“I- It's silly” Callum muttered, looking at the paper in front of him like it could hide him from talking.
“Come on Drift, we've known each other for a long time. Just spit it out” Garcia urged, he was starting to wonder if something was actually wrong with his friend or if he was just being an idiot.
“I messaged Jack this morning and I still haven't gotten a reply. Do you think he's mad at me?” Callum confessed, though he was lucky Garcia had good hearing since he all but spat the words out at a fast pace.
Garcia paused to just stare at Drift, blink at him a couple times before breathing in like he was trying to hold in a laugh.
Yup he was just an idiot
“Callum, he's not mad at you” Garcia promised, noting his boss was blushing a lot lately.
“I just- I just don't know with him” Callum started, putting down the list and starting to pace.
“I'm so worried I'll say the wrong thing or misunderstand what he says! It's been so long since I've just talked to a human mortal.” Calllum ranted, his pace speeding up the more worked up he got.
“You're not going to say the wrong thing, if there's a miscommunication then you guys will work it out” Garcia suggested, standing up.
“Just cus he's human doesn't change anything. Sure there's differences but he knows that” Garcia reminded, placing a paw on Drift’s shoulder to make him stop pacing.
“Just be yourself. Plus isn't he on an interview today?” Garcia asked, trying to calm his friend down.
“ I know, but it's hard to know what will upset him. That's the one thing I never want to happen” Drift admitted, sighing.
“Yes, his interview was this morning. That's why I'm confused” Drift explained, pulling out his phone to check it again.
“Maybe he's just busy. He does have a son after all” Garcia joked, making Drift smile slightly.
Putting his phone back in his pocket, Drift walked back to the table and picked up his parchment again.
“I don't know why I get so- so stupid” Callum muttered angrily, he was so frustrated about the constant worry he was feeling.
“You really like him don't you?” Garcia asked, trying to push the teasing remarks back.
“Yes” Callum mumbled, wishing his face would stop heating up.
He was about to say something when he got a ‘ding’ coming from his pocket.
He paused and stared at Garcia for about a second before he all but ripped the phone out of his pocket and checked the notification.
- Its Jack, information was taken from the poles network. I recovered most of it but one file is still missing. Tell them to put up barriers now
Callum paused in fear as he read the message and began to run out the room, leaving behind a very confused Garcia.
“Woah! What's going on?” Garcia questioned, running after him.
“Someone broke into our system, took information. Jack got most of it back but is still working on getting the last one” Drift explained, telling the system workers to put up safety walls.
“We need to tell Red” Drift said seriously, turning around to see the man himself looking worried.
“I know Cal, Zoe says they're working on getting the info as quick as possible” Nick said, walking past, to a large screen on the wall in a separate room.
“Call M.O.R.A” Nick instructed to the ten workers at the desks, watching as the unicorn Icon popped up on the screen.
When the line was picked up the screen showed a very distressed Zoe with a bunch of trolls and humans freaking out behind her.
“We are working on the problem now Red” Zoe huffed, trying to organize a stack of documents.
If you looked in the far back you could see a corner filled with screens, all showing different things, codes, locations, documents, ect.
And in front of those screens, driving the ship was a very focused Jack O’Malley.
He was standing, having said fuck the chair and was busy racing between keyboards and touch screens trying to do something.
“We have recovered nearly all the files, a total of five were hacked and stolen. We just need one-” Zoe was cut off from her explaining by the string of curses that were heard from behind her.
At the Pole they all watched Zoe spin around and run back to Jack and watched as he slumped in defeat before getting the look of someone who was completely pissed off.
They all strained their ears to hear what the two were saying on the screen.
“The fuckers used a spiked wall and a copy, we have the original file but they managed to copy it” They heard Jack mumbled angrily.
“Shit, can we take it or are we fucked?” Zoe asked, looking at the confusing screens Jack was looking through.
“No, the wall stops all hacking, I need to be closer to do it or use their computer to get the info” Jack said annoyed.
“HA!” Jack yelled in triumph, before grabbing a usb and shoving it in the computer, downloading something.
“What? What did you get?” Zoe asked, confused, she didn't see what Jack was clearly seeing.
“The hacking location and the type of equipment that was used. It's not much but it can be a start” Jack ended the last bit with a mumble realizing it probably wasn't that much at all.
“Great we will have you and a squad go out and track them down” Zoe ordered, touching Jack’s shoulder before running back to the screen.
“We are working on getting the file back, they made a copy-” She was cut off when Nick held up a hand.
“We heard, do you need support?” He asked seriously, keeping an eye on Jack in the back who looked like was giving the trolls instructions.
“Possibly, hold on” Zoe answered, turning around and yelling to Jack.
“Where is the place located?”
They heard Jack say something but they couldn't make out what he said, just watched Zoe wince and look back.
“I'm not sure, do you have anyone that is willing to go?” Zoe asked, looking at Drift.
Drift nodded to her then to Nick who agreed, “Drift will go” Nick offered.
Zoe was about to say something when Jack suddenly came running to her, whispering something to her before having a troll tug on his sleeve to get his attention.
Zoe’s face got sad before it was quickly replaced with her work face, turning back to the screen.
“Garcia, you might want to go too” She explained.
“What why?” Garcia asked, looking at Jack who was busy telling a troll something.
Zoe opened her mouth before also tugging at Jack’s sleeve and nodding her head toward the screen.
Jack turned around and was surprised to see the faces of people at the Pole but he quickly shook it off.
“The file that was taken is one on your family. You, your wife and seven kids” Jack said seriously, looking at Garcia.
They all looked at Garcia who had the face of someone who just got punched to the gut.
“I'll go, lets gear up” The Polar Bear said, they could tell he wanted to rip whoever these hackers were to shreds and they shuddered in fear.
Jack nodded before walking off out of the camera's view.
“We'll be there in one hour” Callum said before following after Garcia.
Drift watched Garcia as they boarded the plane, he could see the pure anxiety surrounding his friend.
“Well, find them” Drift said, sitting down and watching his friend sit down in sadness.
“We better”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Is this really necessary?” Jack grumbled, standing on a raised platform in the middle of a room with his arms out.“Yes Jack, you need this to be safe and not die” Zoe reminded, checking things off her list she was holding.After the call had ended, Zoe had dragged him off to a side room filled with all types of protective gear.He was currently being forced into a vest, a very heavy vest he might add.“I know, but really gloves and shoes?” Jack complained, there was not one piece of him that was exposed.
“Yes even those, I can't have you dying on me out there” Zoe mocked, smiling at the eyeroll she received from the man.“The hell are you sending me into?” Jack asked, he knew the location was some isolated place in Germany but did he really need all this?“I have no idea, hence the caution” Zoe answered, looking Jack over.He had a vest that could support a heavy blow, a long sleeve shield cover shirt, magic infused steel toed boots, and locking gloves.What any of that meant Jack had no ideaJack was just about to jump off the platform when Zoe grabbed his arm.“Here, you'll need this” She said, putting odd arm cuffs on his wrists.“Uh and they are?” Jack asked, looking at the cuffs.“Tech bands, the real deal.” Zoe smiled before listing off their traits.“You have a strong modem, large storage cache, and high protection against malware.” She said with pride as she circled Jack.“And it has a strong network so you're able to communicate with everyone you will need” She finished with a final once over at Jack.“”Plus, I'm sure you'll find more ways it's useful” Zoe added on with a smirk, watching Jack jump off the platform.“Okay, now am I good?” Jack asked, trying to get used to the new weight.“Almost” Zoe joked, before placing sunglasses on Jack’s face.“I'm sure you've seen these before” She asked jokingly, adjusting the glasses.Jack snorted as a reply and looked around the room
Huh
They didn't alter his vision and make the room look darkerInteresting
“They adjust to whatever space your in” Zoe explained before adding on.“And if you press this button on the side we see what you see” She finished, checking her watch.“Alright, they should be here in ten minutes” Zoe announced, walking toward the door to leave
and motioning for Jack to follow after her.
Jack was going to die hereNot even from the dangerous mission he was about to go on
He was following after Zoe and he felt like he was doing a marathon or at least on a track team.The woman just never stopped!They had started by entering a room and checking some status reports.Then rushing to the security units to check on them, then the hacking and protection units, then finally to the docking and loading bay.He was sure there were other things but he was just trying to keep up with everything she was doing.Since when they got to the room where most of the trolls and other computer nerds were she asked him a million questions.Like how do we improve this?How would you do it?What are we doing wrong?This hasn't been working, can you fix it?Are you able to do this?Are our walls strong enough?Yada yadaHe was sure he had never been asked so many questionsAnd all of them being serious and not just mocking him.It was surprising and he didn't know how to feel about it yet.So he just answered all the questions honestly, watching as Zoe gave a look of understanding and a few lightbulb moments she had.Not to mention the trolls and humans that were taking his words like they were gold.Weird
But back to his pointZoe was a mad woman who needed to slow downHe swears that if he hadn't been used to running around everywhere he would be dying right now.
“Okay, we will wait here for them to arrive” Zoe announced, turning around to look Jack in the eye once they reached the bay.“You sure you're up for this? You don't have to go” She asked, a tint of concern in her voice that matched the worried look on her face.“Yeah yeah, I know, you asked me a million times before we got here” Jack loathed, checking his clothing.“I have to go, I read what's on that file. I know these kinds of people who take that info” Jack admitted, his stomach feeling with worry.“I know what they want to do to his kids, I just can't let that happen” Jack explained, zipping up the jacket he just put on.“I can't sit this one out, I already have a headstart on them. An idea of how they're doing this” Jack added on, putting his hands in his pockets.Now Jack was expecting a few reactions, either a quiet head nod from her, a monotone response, a blank face, hell even for her to spit out a rude reply that he cared too much.Those were always the responses he got when he explained or talked to his clients.But she did none of thoseSomething he was never going to expect
She hugged himHe had just looked up to meet her gaze when the woman threw herself at him.Holding him in such a strong embrace, protectively, like she cared about him…“You're a good person Jack, don't let anyone tell you otherwise” She whispered next to his head.Jack had paused before he slowly began to return the embrace and try to relax.He wasn't used to this, before Cal came over to help him when he was sick he hadn't had a hug that wasn't from Dylan in years.It just never happened, he wasn't in contact with any of his relatives, he had no real friends.He had connections, people he had work relationships withPeople who could see where he couldn'tNot people who cared about him, to see if he ate or slept, or if he overworked, hell not even people who would just hug him.And he wasn’t going to lie, this kinda scared himHe was used to everyone against him or using him in some wayNot hugging him like this, like he was worth worrying for“But I'm not” Jack admitted, whispering back.He was startled a little when her first response was to tighten her hold.“No one, not even you” She said quietly yet sternly.She started to rub his back calmly, which he guessed was okay.He could allow thatIt was nice to have a friendCould he call her that?
Well he wouldn’t to her face or you know, out loud.But he could think it.Their moment was interrupted when a cough was heard next to them.They both turned their heads to see Drift and Garcia looking at them.Garcia was smirking while Drift looked uncomfortable.Zoe slowly let go, patting Jack on the cheek gently before a switch seemed to go off and her whole demeanor changed.Cleaning her throat she began, “Alright you're all going to a secluded area of Germany”She walked away, motioning with her hand to follow her.“You okay?” Callum whispered, nudging Jack lightly.“Huh oh yeah, how's he?” Jack asked, he wasn't the one with his family on the line.But he thought it was sweet he askedMan he really needed to get this crush under control or he was fucked“I'm fine” Garcia cut in, people always forgot how good his hearing was.“Alright enough chit chat, Jack fill them in on the way there” Zoe butted in, once they reached the jet that would take them to Germany.Garcia got in first, then Jack, but before he sat down Jack turned back to see Callum and Zoe giving each other annoyed looks.They were saying something to each other, something that annoyed Drift and Zoe found funny.HuhAnywayHe needed to find the way he was going to describe the situation to the two.He just figured it out when Callum Sat next to him, while Garcia was on the other side facing them.Great now he his head was bufferingHow was he supposed to think and be professional when the person who has taken up his mind sits right next to him.So close their legs are touching, so close he could smell the cologne the man was wearing, so close-Okay he needed to stopLooking to his left where Callum was, he saw the man signal the pilot to take off.Turning back he saw Garcia giving him a smirk and what looked to be the face of a bear trying not to laugh.God this was going to be a long flight
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“So care to fill us in O’Malley?” Garcia asked, crossing his arms.
God Jack was going to die in this jet he just knew it
“Uh right. So the guys who did the hacking are in some weird ass spot in Germany” Jack started, trying to get his brain to work while his heart was doing flips.
“I'm hoping we get there soon, I have an idea as to why they would want that information” Jack admitted, trying to move past the last part but Garcia cut him off before he could.
“Wait you do? What? Why take information about my family?” Garcia demanded, his face full of impatience.
“Uh well it looks like they were trying to get a few different types of information” Jack reminded, trying to subtly shift away from the bear even though he couldn't.
“Then why was mine taken then O’Malley?” Garcia barked, clenching his fists.
“Garcia, yelling at him isn't going to help. Were going to the location now” Callum cut in, he knew Garcia wasn't mad at Jack he was just stressed and angry.
But he shouldn't be taking that out of the man who was trying to help him
Said man who looked cool on the outside but his eyes looked terrified, his hands nervously picking at the sleeves of his leather jacket.
Callum’s interruption seemed to shock Garcia back into himself, for he tensed before looking ashamed and he slumped in on himself.
“Sorry O’Malley, I'm not trying to be an ass. I'm just so worried and angry” Garcia apologized, lowering his head to sigh.
“No I get it, but you need to stay focused. I can get us into the location only if you are quiet and don't just rush in” Jack stated, he wasn't mad.
He was used to people getting mad at him for shit he didn't do but it was hard not to feel intimidated by a giant buff polar bear.
“What more can you tell us about what's going on?” Callum asked, glad Garcia seemed to calm down.
He could only imagine how stressed his friend was.
“How far back do you want me to go?” Jack asked, he wasn't sure what they deemed important or not.
“The start. What other files were they trying to take and your input” Callum suggested, as Garcia nodded in agreement.
“Well there were five files hacked total, only one was taken. I'm not sure how far they read on the others” Jack started, trying to put the information in his head together to make a sentence.
He wasn't used to explaining his planning or thinking to anyone so that was really putting a pause in said thinking and planning.
But stating information and how they were fucked
He could do that
Remembering the screen he had on his wrist, he tapped in and pulled up the titles of the hacked files and sent it to Garcia and Callum.
Said people both getting a ding notification and confusedly looking at their own screen watches and opening the message.
“These are the files that were hacked, seems like they panicked once they got found out and were downloading random files” Jack explained as he double checked his notes.
Hacked Files
Ribbons And Bows
Macaroons Suck
Garden Planning
Bite No Bark
Tough Alliance
“Were you able to read any of the files?” Callum asked, looking at the message Jack sent.
He could recognize most of the files but some he did not, let alone know what the files said.
Ribbons and bows?
“Eh briefly, enough to know what kind of information was in each file but not a detailed read through” Jack answered, noticing a message from Zoe on his screen.
- If you need backup, tell me immediately, understand?
- Yeah yeah I know, if I need saving I will let you know
- Good. Also try not to get distracted lover boy
Jack had to pause and re-read what he just read
Oh God she knew
Was he that obvious?
Could Drift tell? No he's dense
Thank God
- I have no idea what you mean
Nice
The dumb card, always worked
Shit no it didn't!
- Uh huh, we can discuss your crush on the head of security for the Pole later. Be careful.
Jack wanted to slam his head into the nearest wall but alas there was no wall for him to do that
And he couldn't really do that in front of Garcia or Callum
Damn
- No we will not. But thanks I will.
After hitting send on the last message he explained the plan.
“Zoe said we were to go to the location I tracked, but to not be seen” Jack stated, pulling up the location and sending it as well.
“So no going in and trying to rip them apart if they're still there” Jack added on, trying to convey they really needed to be stealthy here.
“Wait, why wouldn't they not be there?” Garcia asked, looking up from his own screen to look at the human in front of him.
“Well they know they were caught, they're gonna flee. But some might still be there so we have to be careful” Jack explained, checking the site diagram one more time so he had an idea of pathways and such.
“If they're not even going to be there, then why are we going?” Garcia asked, annoyed, looking to Drift.
Drift having no idea either just met his friends eyes and shrugged lightly.
“It's not the people we’re after right now. I know you want to rip their hearts out like Indiana Jones but that is for later” Jack muttered, memorizing the layouts and exits.
“What we need is to find some of their tech and hopefully some trace as to where they're going” Jack finished, he wasn't sure if they understood him or not.
Every time he tried to explain himself it always came out confusing or the person just didn't know anything about what he was talking about.
“Okay, so we're trying to find a computer of some kind?” Callum asked, he wasn't too knowledgeable about computers or at least not like this.
This was all Jack here
He was just following him and hoping he would be able to help where he could
Drift was also just amazed by how fast Jack seemed to work, every time he looked over at the man next to him he was tapping away on the small screen on his wrist.
The screen constantly changing what was being shown, sometimes even more than one thing open at a time.
How Jack could even read that fast was beyond him
For Jack only had the file open for maybe a minute at most before switching to a different file and doing that multiple times.
“Okay we should almost be there” Jack announced, turning off his screen and looking up to see the two staring at him.
It wasn't a look of hate or anger but well he wasn't sure what those looks were
But he sure felt uncomfortable
“Uh, any questions?” Jack asked, clearing his throat and tapping his hands on his knees to distract himself from their staring.
Garica and Drift had been curiously watching the human
It was impressive at which the speed he worked at, they saw how the trolls worked and it was always fast but never this fast.
Jack made the others look like noobies
Garcia was having fun watching Drift’s face change every few seconds.
Like the man couldn't figure out if he wanted to be impressed or confused.
“Just tell us who to bash” Garcia said with a grin, cracking his knuckles.
“We follow you” Callum added, checking himself to make sure he had everything he needed.
“Alright, then let's go. We’re here” Jack announced, standing up and preparing for the mission ahead.
Oh Boy
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Okay, we're going in through an underground entrance” Jack announced, walking down the ramp of the jet.“Why? Is the place an underground hub?” Callum asked, following after Jack with Garcia on the side of him.“Eh kinda, the somewhat legal stuff is on top but the illegal shit is down below” Jack explained, checking the belt he wore on his hips.Which looked to have a bunch of equipment latched onto it, and maybe a few weapons?“Go figure all the shady shit is underground” Garcia commented, looking around the empty plane they were in.“You sure we are in the right location, O'Malley?” Garcia asked, for he didn't see or hear anything but the three of them.The jet having already left and was awaiting for their arrival back to the pick up location.“Yes we are” Jack answered distractedly, like he was looking for something hidden.
Callum tried to see what Jack was looking for but didn't see anything out of the ordinary.Sure he felt uneasy and like he was missing something important but he wasn't sure why or what was causing it.“Ah here we go” Jack suddenly said, bringing his wrist closer to his face and tapping in something while they stood in a seemingly empty plane of green grass.“Uh what are we supposed to be seeing?” Garcia asked, irritated, crossing his arms.“This” Jack said simply, hitting one last button and a door appeared.
No walls or anything, just a door in the middle of nowhere.Drift even looked to the side to see nothing behind said door, like someone just bought a door and placed it in a field.“Explain” Drift asked, he knew there was something there but he didn't see it.“No time, we need to go” Jack said seriously, putting his wrist up to the door, which made a clicking sound they could hear.OddThey hadn't seen a scanner of any kind.They didn't get any questions out for Jack grabbed the handle and opened the door slowly with his finger pressed to his lips in a silencing manner.So quiet they remained, following after Jack into the door in the middle of the field.
Wow had they been wrongThis wasn't just a door, it seems like the dome they had at the Pole this too was invisible unless hacked or damaged.Since they were currently walking down a dark hallway, only one or two lights scattered on the ceiling which were flickering.Drift suspected this was not an area taken often, by the lights being broken, the smell of mildew, the rusting metal walls and the litter that was all over the floor.“This used to be a main entrance before they opened the unit up top. This is a fairly common business.” Jack mumbled to himself, he wasn't expecting the others to be listening or let alone paying attention to his rambling.“You know what this building is and what it contains?” Drift asked, why didn't Jack say that sooner!“Eh sorta, I read up on the history of the location then snooped on the information of this building which is masquerading as a storage facility” Jack explained, checking the screen on his wrist on locations of other beings.“What is this place then? You're being very vague O’Malley” Garcia asked, the only reasons he wasn't getting too mad was one because of Drift.He didn't want to piss him off by upsetting or being rude to the man's crush, and two because he genuinely respects the human.And he wasn't an idiot, he knew the man was doing all to help him, which he knew was difficult.
“A poacher den” Jack whispered, stopping which in turn made them stop.“A poacher den?!” Garcia hissed, oh God what were they planning with his family?“Shh! Yes a poacher den, they specialize in the mythical hunts. Now be quiet, I'm trying to unlock doors here and keep an eye on the few people who are here” Jack scolded, he was trying to see if the people here were actually workers or just creatures they have in cages.“Right, so what's the plan?” Drift asked, looking over Jack’s shoulder to see what the man was looking at.Which looked like a map with a bunch of different colored dots on it, some moving and some not. Jack seems to be changing the color of the dots to different colors.“What do the colors mean?” Garcia asked, since once he saw Drift be nosy he wasn't about to miss out.Jack jumped when he realized the two very large people that were very close behind him. The others realizing and backing off to give the human space.“Uh different colors, different creatures, red are workers, yellow are creatures being held in captivity, and purple are cameras” Jack explained once he heart stopped trying to run away.Why were they that close?!“We are going to go to the side rooms, the main one wont help us here” Jack added, walking once again and making a right turn when a fork came up.“What are we looking for exactly?” Drift asked, trying to memorize where they were going.“Well I need to find the computer that was used to hack into the Pole, then hack in and hopefully find our guy or guys” Jack muttered, squinting in the dark hallway.“What do we do?” Garcia asked, making sure the human didn't fall down a hole or run into a wall.He knew Drift was doing the same when his hand twitched when Jack would trip slightly.“Uh, Zoe said to make sure I don't die. But I'm sure you guys can do more than that” Jack answered, he really didn't know why Zoe insisted on them going.Well he did but he didn't like the reasons“Just stay out of sight and this should go smoothly” Jack added, pausing at a door.“Okay we should be in a supply room with this door, there's only creatures and research in here but still” Jack said, taking a metal pick with many forks and inserting the pick into the lock.A few clicks later and they were in.“I both hate that you can do that and don't at the same time” Drift commented, which made Jack smirk lightly as they walked in quietly.The supply room was indeed what Jack said, the room being filled to the brim with boxes and containers of things.Some of which were gross and disturbing.Jars of organs sat on shelves, and pieces of carcasses in different stages of decomposition in clear boxes which had small carrion beetles munching away.What type of creatures that were in those boxes neither Garcia or Drift wanted to know, but by the looks Jack was wearing he already knew.But he chose to keep that to himself it seemed.“I need to look around, if nothing comes up we move on to the next room” Jack whispered, walking away to a side of the large room.“Why would a computer be in here?” Drift asked, looking around and regretting it.“Because this is a supply room, a place that is overly crowded and not thoroughly checked. Perfect place to hide something you don't want someone to find” Jack answered simply, picking up a broken tablet screen on the floor.Drift watched Jack plug in some cords to the tablet then to his own screen, tapping away and seeming to get lost in what he was doing.Callum’s attention was taken when Garcia nudged him.“This place gives me a bad feeling, and not just because they are poachers,” Garcia uttered, looking like he was going to be sick.“I don't like it either, we can just hope Jack finds what he needs quickly,” Drift agreed, looking around and noticing a few bottles and more jars on shelves.Every single one containing something odd and to most, disturbing.Bottles filled with different types of blood, eyes of creatures, tongues, teeth, hair, skin, even one with a full head of what looked like a type of bird.“Jeez how can Jack look so nonchalant in a place like this” Garcia asked, he lost the ability to look at anything after seeing the last finger and organ.“These people are sick” Garcia gagged out, looking away and took to watching O’Malley.“I don't know and I feel like I won’t like the answer” Drift admitted, looking away as well and switching between watching the two doors in the room and Jack.A few minutes passed when Jack pulled the plugs from the tablet and handed it to Drift.“Didn't find what I needed but I know where it is now. Keep hold of that, it still has info that could be useful to shutting these guys down” Jack explained, moving to the door and opening it.They quickly followed after Jack and were horrified at what was on the other side.It looked like the most fucked up living room ever created.There were taxidermy magical creatures everywhere, claws of a griffin were used as coat hangers, feathers of a phoenix as a feather duster, a unicorn horns were pegs for a shelf made of scales of a wyvern, jaws and fangs of a basilisk was hung over a large desk, and a jar of vampire teeth were displayed on a mantle as a centerpiece.
And that was just some of the things in this room of horror.Which Jack just casually walked through, opening a desk drawer and starting opening and reading files.“How can you just walk past all of this with no more than a glance?” Garcia asked, he wanted to shake in discomfort but was doing his best not to.“It's best to not look I have found out, plus this isn't the worst things I've seen” Jack admitted honestly, he really didn't want to think about what he has seen in his life.Even before he knew of the mythological world, he has seen some things he considered evil or at least horrible.And that was just shit humans did.Drift and Garcia didn't know how to absorb that, Drift hated that Jack has seems something so horrible it makes this easy to walk through.Though he isn't a myth, to them this is like walking into a murder room, but Jack barely looked phased.
“I have the files I need, let's get out of here” Jack said, turning around, holding a few files in his hands.“Finally, let's go” Garcia exclaimed, going to turn before he saw the pissed off look Jack was wearing.Which Drift caught immediately, slowly the two turned to see a human standing in the doorway.Wearing a dirty suit, messy greasy short hair, sunken green eyes, and a smile that was missing a front tooth.“Charlie, you son of a bitch” Jack spat, walking in front of the two men to look the stranger in the eye.“Jack, Jack, it's been a loooong time” The man drawled, throwing his hand in the air around him comfortably.“Yeah you're supposed to be dead! I knew that shit was made up! Car crash my ass.” Jack barked, pointing a finger at the man.“Ha! You always were the brains to our unlucky pair weren't you?” The man laughed, shaking his head in twisted mirth.
“Jack, who is this?” Drift asked quietly, not knowing if he should be beating the shit out of the guy or what.“Ouch I'm hurt Jack, you haven told them about me?” The man mocked in pain, holding a hand to his heart like he was stabbed.
“Nothing to tell besides you're a freak, a traitor! You should have stayed dead.” Jack gritted out, putting his hand on something on his belt.“Now now Jack, no need to get violent. Just give me those files and we can part ways. Or not, I have missed you” The man said silkily, holding his hand out.“Id rather eat my foot, not get the fuck out of my way before I kick your ass again” Jack sneered, slapping the file onto Drift’s chest which the man held onto.“Such a shame, well. Guess we have to do this like last time don't we?” The man laughed, pulling out a knife from behind his back.“Take the file and get it back, I'll deal with him” Jack muttered to Drift and Garcia, pulling out black rod which extended into an electric weapon they had seen Zoe use before.
Before either of them could say anything about that being a horrible idea, they watched as Jack ran full speed at the man while that other said man ran out the room.“I'll take the file, you keep track of the idiot” Garcia offered, taking the file from Drift who nodded and ran after Jack.Though they were both shocked to see Jack seeming to lose his shit.Throwing everything and everything at the man who genuinely looked like he was regretting his earlier choices.
Garcia ran out after a second pause to see Jack throw a large fucking boulder at the man which slammed into the wall and broke in half.Why was there rock in here?!Drift wasn't sure how to proceed, Jack told him he was to do this and it seemed personal.So he stayed to the side and watched curiously as Jack seemed to get more and more pissed the longer the guy hid himself.“Stop hiding and get out here before I drag you out!” Jack ordered, and damn did Drift find that hot.He had seen Jack in a few moods of emotion but pure anger was not one of them.The man just seemed to get annoyed, but he was mostly aloof and messed around.He must really hate this guy.The man didn't answer which pissed Jack off to his limit it seemed, for Jack ran full speed at the spot the man was crouched behind and tackled him to the ground.
Drift lost sight of the two for a seconds before he turned a corner and saw the two fighting, Jack having put the weapon away and was fighting with his hands while the man swung wildly with the knife.Drift was about to intervene but Jack looked to be handling himself.He watched Jack fight, how he pinpointed certain locations on the body.Hitting the man in the eye over and over, then smashing his fist into the man's neck which made the man gasp and go to clasp his throat.Before the man could recover Jack landed a blow to the man's jaw which made the man stumble before his eyes rolled back and he fell over knocked out.But Drift did notice the way Jack had winced at the punch and was currently shaking his hand as he pulled out cuffs with the other and placed them on the man.
Drift watched Jack pant as he looked at the unconscious man on the floor, before he looked over to Drift with a silent question.
Nodding, Callum went and picked up the man and they walked out the supply room to the pickup location.Garcia smiled when they returned, noticing the man Cal had on his shoulder.“He important?” Garcia asked, turning to Jack.“I'll die before he roams free again” Jack answered criptidily, sitting down and not letting his eyes move from the unconscious man that Cal put on the floor in front of them.
Callum and Garcia gave curious looks to each other the whole jet ride to M.O.R.A, watching Jack not seeming to blink as he stared at the man with so much hatred they could feel it.So much anger his clenched fist was shaking, like he wanted to beat the shit out of the man, which Cal suspected based on the earlier encounter.
Once they arrived at M.O.R.A the man was taken into custody and Zoe came running to them.“How did it go, who's he?” She asked, looking at the three men.“Do not let him out those cuffs, he's useful to shutting down a gang of poachers of magical beings” Drift explained, though he wasn't completely sure himself.She looked past the two to see Jack behind them who looked out of it.“Jack? Did you find what you needed?” She asked, watching him with alarm.Jack seemed to snap back into focus as he replied,
“Yes. I'll work on it right away” Jack answered, taking the files from Garcia and walking away.
Though Callum noticed he still only used his non-punching hand.“You should call in a nurse to look at Jack’s hand, think he broke it” Drift suggested, watching Jack leave his eye range.
Nodding, Zoe walked away to most likely follow Jack as she called the nurse on her com.“So I take it Jack kicked his ass?” Garcia asked, looking to Drift.“Sure did, but he was holding back. Wanted him alive and able to talk” Drift explained as they walked to a common room to wait for news.“Smart. Hopefully he's able to find the bastards who did this” Garcia stated, sitting down on a large couch.Drift nodded as he sat down on a chair, thinking about that man.What had he done to upset Jack so much?
A traitor?
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Zoe, I'm fine” Jack groaned as the woman kept demanding to see his hand while he was working.“Funny, I heard different. The nurse is already on her way down now, stop fussing!” Zoe warned, taking Jack’s hand again.“It's just a little sore that's all! I'm trying to find the guy who did this and you're making that difficult.” Jack complained, but letting Zoe have his injured hand while he worked with his other.“And you need medical attention. And see you're doing both right now aren't you?” Zoe snarked, smirking when Jack gave her an annoyed look.After seeing Jack go back to what he was doing, Zoe sent a quick message to Drift on her watch.
“What do you think that guy did?” Garcia asked, turning to Drift who was swirling the coffee he had around in his cup.“What?” Drift asked, he had been zoning out thinking when Garcia had started talking to him.“Jeez Chief you never zone out. You okay?” Garcia questioned, munching on some kind of pastry they got from the cafeteria.“Just thinking about what we're gonna do next, and what Jack meant about that guy” Drift answered, taking a sip of his coffee.“What, hoping it's not his ex or something?” Garcia joked, getting an annoyed look in response to his comment.“You joke about that but it might be true for all I know” Drift muttered, while Garcia laughed lightly.“I'm sure he's not about to go running into the guys arms anytime soon so you should drop it” Garcia offered, he saw the look of hatred in Jack’s eyes.There's no way that man is going to win him over.“I know, I also have no right to be mad. Just can't help but think of the reason why Jack got so upset” Drift explained, his attention being grabbed when his phone chimed.
Pulling out his phone he saw that he had gotten a message from Zoe.
- Help me convince O’Malley to let the nurse look at his hand.
- I take it he's being difficult?
- More than that. I can tell he has at least one broken finger but he's being stubborn.
- Sounds like him. Be right there
- Do you know why Jack is pissed? He's not saying anything about it but he's hitting buttons harder then he usually does and he's acting strict.
- Jack is acting strict? Didn't think that was possible. And sorta, that guy has something to do with it but I don't know more than that
- It's freaking the trolls out. And me. I have my workers looking into that man, so far it doesn't look good.
Closing his phone he turned to Garcia who was busy munching on sweets.“We have to go, Jack is still pissed and isn't letting the nurse check his hand” Drift said, standing up.“Damn still? What is he turning red in the face?” Garcia joked, holding a few sweets in his paws as they walked.“Worse. He's being strict.” Drift stated, hearing the confusion from his friend.“O’Malley? Strict?” Garcia questioned in disbelief, he didn’t think a thing could be possible.“Yes and it's freaking the others out” Drift added, taking a pause once they got to the door for the hacking department.Turning to look at Garcia behind him, he saw the bear nod in agreement, opening the door he saw a few trolls give him a look that said ‘save us’.He squinted his eyebrows in confusion as he and Garcia walked to wear the trolls pointed.Which they found was where Jack wasJack who was moving so fast they were surprised he didn't get whiplash, he also looked anything but how he usually did.
He was snippy, short tempered, and bossy.Snapping at Zoe when she bugged him, which was a huge sign he wasn't thinking fully.Walking up to where Zoe was, as she started putting her hands up in surrender when Jack snapped at her.“I can handle this Zoe, stop poking me dammit!” Jack warned, turning back to his screens and angrily typing codes.“Jack, you alright?” Drift asked cautiously, noticing the way Jack jumped when he heard him.Turning around Jack looked surprised to see him, and seemed to snap back into himself.
“Wha? Uh yeah I'm fine, just overwhelmed” Jack uttered, looking nervous.“I can see that, have you gotten your hand looked at?” Callum asked, grabbing Jack’s hurt hand by the wrist and looking it over gently.“Uh nah, it's fine” Jack tried, but the look Callum gave him showed how much he believed that.“Move your fingers then” Callum ordered, looking at Jack expectedly.
Jack huffed, looked around nervously and saw that almost everyone was looking at him.Zoe raised her eyebrows and smirked at him while Garcia smiled.“Fine” Jack muttered, before he tried to move his fingers one by one.His thumb moved fine, his pointer finger moved without problem, and his middle finger had some resistance but still did what he wanted.
But it was the last two that were outing him.He tried to move his ring finger but it only half extended, and inside he was cringing from how much making it move hurt.Callum raised an eyebrow at him but looked back to see him move his last finger.Jack paused as he breathed in and tried to move his pinky finger, but it didn't even budge.He was also tried to hide how he nearly shed a tear from trying to move it but by the look he got from Callum he was doing a poor job of hiding his pain.“Totally fine, right” Callum huffed, gently holding Jack’s wrist as he noticed bruising starting to form around his knuckles.
Turning to Zoe he asked, “Where's your medical wing?”Zoe sent him the location to his phone and told him which turns to take, then they were off.Which upset Jack, obviously.
“Oh come on it's just a little bruising and stiffness. I can still work!” Jack complained, moving to take his hand away when Callum tightened his hold.“You have some kind of fracture Jack, just because you can work doesn't mean you are fine” Callum argued, getting annoyed when Jack went to open his mouth.“You. Are. Going. To. Medical.” Drift ordered, not leaving any room for Jack to argue.Garcia and Zoe watched Jack get red slightly before huffing and muttering under his breath.“I'll get his hand looked at, once that's done i'll bring him back” Drift explained, looking at Zoe who was smiling at Jack.Jack was telling the trolls what to do and in turn was slowly pulling away from Callum, who noticed and was not happy about it.While Jack was busy talking, Callum took the opportunity of Jack being distracted and moved the man’s jacket to the side and grabbed one of the belt loops on his jeans.Locking his finger around it and dragging O’Malley away by the side of his hip.
Which caught Jack completely off guard since he made an odd noise and swatted at Callums shoulder before pointing at a troll and giving them more directions.Which had Callum roll his eyes and pull harder, making Jack stumble into his back before Callum grabbed him by the hips and dragged him to the other side.So he was then in the middle of him and Garcia, which seemed to annoy him beyond belief.
“I don't need you to drag me everywhere” Jack complained, flicking Garcia's paw away when the bear went to poke him jokingly.
“Clearly I do” Callum muttered as he took the side belt loop closest to him and held it secure with no intention of letting go.Jack turned to complain when Callum gave him a look, before pulling the belt loop hard which had Jack stumble into his side where he slid his hand over Jack’s lower back and held his
hip.Garcia watched the whole thing trying not to laugh, for the second Drift had done that smooth maneuver Jack had gone completely red.
Garcia also noticed how Drift had gone under the jacket so it was less noticeable and the smug look on his friend's face.When Garcia snorted, Drift looked at him and rolled his eyes when Garcia winked at him.
Jacks mind was fuckedFirst he had the biggest mind fuck of his life by seeing a person he thought he would never have to deal with again, who was supposed to be dead.Which was a whole thing he really didn't want to deal with at all, he had gone five years without even thinking of the guy and he had wanted it to stay that way.And the second thing, the thing currently making his mind stutter and lag.How was he supposed to think when Callum had just manhandled him by the hips and pretty much moved him where he wanted with no effort.He also was trying not to think too hard on the fact that Callum had ever so gently slid his hand over his lower back and was now firmly holding his hip.Or the fact they were so close because of it, Jack being nestled right against Callum’s side with nowhere he could go but closer.Jack was going to die and we wasn't even mad about it.
Okay he was madThey had just gotten to the medical wing, the nurse getting one look at his hand and he was suddenly dragged away from Callum into a room to be looked at.Which totally didn't bum him out, he so didn't
miss the comforting warmth that Callum had given off when they were walking.Or the hand that held his hip and kept him in placeNopeNot at all“Hey be careful man, my finger doesn't bend that way!” Jack winced, trying to pull his hand away from the doctor who was trying to take his damn finger off.“Hmm, looks like a boxer’s fracture. You'll need a cast and a split for a couple of weeks” The doctor said, grabbing what he needed to dress Jack’s hand.“Wait weeks? How long am I not going to be able to use this hand?” Jack asked, he didn't have time for broken fingers dammit!“Like I said, a couple of weeks. Each person heals at different times, you broke two fingers they need to heal” The doctor explained, bandaging his fingers.“You also will need to ice it several times a day, along with having your hand above your heart when resting. You can also take pain killers but since I don't have your medical chart I can't prescribe any to you” The doctor went on, adding the two splits to the man's fingers.“So take Advil, aspirin or tylenol.” The doctor added, writing something down on a piece of paper.Jack was so not going to do that. He didn't have time to do any of that, nor did he want to.
He would down four advil and continue working“Here, this is instructions on how to care for your hand and what to take for the pain. Follow it” The doctor ordered, handing Jack the paper.“I will have you come in when a week has passed to check your progress” The doctor said, walking Jack to the door before they parted ways.Once Jack left the room and had walked down the hallway so he was at least a few doors down, he looked down at the paper.Yeah right, like he was going to do any of that.Snorting, Jack crumpled the paper and shoved it in his jacket pocket before walking off casually down the hall.
“Nice move you pulled back there” Garcia laughed, taking delight when Drift groaned in annoyance.
“I have no idea what you're talking about” Drift stated, ignoring his friend all together as they waited outside the medical wing.“Yeah sure, no idea. I so saw the way you slowly dragged your hand across his back” Garcia pointed out, smirking when Drift stiffened.“Or how you kept your hand right on his hip the whole trip” Garcia laughed, watching Drift get more and more uncomfortable.
“Or-“Okay okay enough” Drift cut in, stopping his friend from outing him even more than he already did.“It took you long enough, you never take this long to make a move” Garcia commented, snorting when Drift rolled his eyes.“This is different and you know that” Drift stated, crossing his arms and looking around to see if Jack was done yet.“Ah yes because he makes your brain stop working” Garcia joked, smiling when Drift gave him a look."You don't need to be so afraid to talk to him” Garcia stated, looking at his friend seriously.“I know, I just don't want to push him. Let alone what to say” Drift admitted, spotting Jack across the room.“Looks like he's out” Garcia pointed out once he looked up to see what had gotten Drift’s attention.“I don't know how he can walk so casually after breaking his fingers” Garcia muttered, as they started walking to O’Malley.“Well it is Jack we're talking about” Drift joked, but noticing the way Jack’s hand was hidden in his pocket.“You think he has noticed we're following after him?” Garcia asked, as they started following behind him.“Who knows, he acts so aloof all the time but is actually paying attention” Drift said, watching Jack greet different creatures as he walked past.They followed him for about five minutes before their cover was blown when Jack had started to talk to someone when said person looked up and saw the two of them watching them.They watched as the person stopped talking and pointed at them, making Jack look confused before turning around.“Man I was wondering why I felt like I was being followed” Jack joked, touching the person's shoulder before saying goodbye.“There's this thing called calling out ya know, you don't have to creepily follow me” Jack stated, walking up the two.“We were waiting for you and you just started talking people's ears off” Garcia pointed out, crossing his arms.“Well how was I supposed to know you guys were waiting for me? Though you would have left” Jack asked, shifting from foot to foot slightly.
“Well you thought wrong, what did the doctor say about your hand?” Callum asked, looking at the hand that was currently hiding in a pocket.“Oh that? Eh no big deal, put a cast and split on em. Now let's go, I have to finish up” Jack rambled, before quickly turning around and walking away.“Hold up, that's it? No way you were just sent off with a cast and split” Garcia questioned, watching as Drift had the same look.“Because it wasn't that big a deal? Why do you care anyway?” Jack muttered, walking faster so he could hurry up and get back to his computer.“Because it is a big deal, you broke your hand” Callum stated, avoiding answering the second question.“Just two fingers and it's just a boxer’s fracture” Jack complained as they entered the room that held the smartest trolls.
The room was interesting to say the least, it had nothing but computers and screens with keyboards to match.
Not to mention they let no one but trolls and Zoe in, saying anyone else was a distraction and got in the way of their thinking.They seemed to like Jack thoughBut them being so strict meant they weren't all that thrilled to see two E.L.F. agents just walk in.Drift and Garcia were slightly unnerved when all the trolls took thirty seconds to stare them down before muttering and going back to typing.“Just a boxer’s fracture? That is not ‘just’ of anything” Drift argued, trying to keep his voice low so the trolls didn't get riled up.
Jack seemed to be a moth to a flame, for the second they had walked in he was immediately drawn to the screens and started doing what he did best.They both noticed their words were just bouncing off him so they decided to watch what Jack was doing.And trying to ignore the death looks they were getting from the trolls ever couple of seconds.They watched as Jack had many screens up, all showing different things, what any of those were they didn't really know.But they saw numbers and letters fly by and Jack seemed to understand it all, muttering under his breath as he read.At some point , Zoe had came in and started to watch Jack as well.“Makes you wonder what he's thinking when he does this” She whispered, watching as Jack started to put plugs into a broken tablet, the same one she had seen them come in with.
“Who knows, probably a mess in there” Garcia mumbled, seeing a troll get frustrated and stand up.They turned to watch the troll waddle over to Jack and lightly tug at his sleeve.Jack paused what he was doing to look down as the troll started complaining.“I just don't get it, it's like she doesn't exist! I've been tracking this siren for weeks and nothing!” The troll whined, trying to subtly ask for help.Which was surprising since trolls never did that, always having a bit too much pride and always striving to do things themselves.
Jack nodded as he followed the troll back to their desk and bent down slightly to look at their screen.He looked at it for maybe two minutes before going back to his desk to get a usb before walking back and plugging it into the computer.Typing away before they all heard a ‘bing’ then they saw the troll’s mouth drop open.“There ya go, one siren” Jack smiled, before running back to his computer and continuing like he was never interrupted.They watched as the troll and a few others looked at the screen amazed, before sending the information to where it needed to go.The troll unplugged the usb and handed it back to Jack, looking at him like he was a God.“I don't even know how you did that” The troll admitted, fidgeting with its fingers.“Eh it's a thing I made way back when, needed to track something hidden by the government and needed something strong. Which didn't exist or was way too expensive so this here was born” Jack explained, putting the usb back onto the desk before going back to typing.
“They are never impressed by anything but Jack makes at least one a day drop their jaw in shock” Zoe whispered, watching Jack and the troll continue to talk while Jack worked.
“I can see why the FBI wanted him” Drift muttered, both amazed at what Jack was doing but also a little lost.Zoe watched for a few more minutes before going up to Jack and tapping him on the shoulder.“The guy is awake, you said in your report you needed to speak with him for information” Zoe confirmed, watching Jack frown slightly before slapping a smile back on his face.
“Ah yes I need to do that, I almost have the information to take down that poacher base. Just need to do a few things and it's done” Jack stated, typing somehow even faster.She waited another five minutes before Jack stopped and turned to them all.“Alright, done here. Now to deal with the other problem” Jack sighed lightly, telling a troll to watch for something before walking toward the door.The others had to run after him to keep from losing him, Drift grabbing the man’s shoulder to stop him from walking once they left the room.
“Hold up Jack, we need to discuss what we're going to do before you go off” Drift stated, as Jack turned around.“I need information, which I know he has. We don't have a lot of time” Jack complained, but allowed himself to be stopped.“We know that, but you need to communicate with us. What are you going to do” Zoe questioned.“He's always been a poacher type guy, he also did a lot of sketchy shit and I know he knows something or is the one behind this. I need to get the information out of him, or were back to square one” Jack explained, looking impatient.
“How are you going to get him to talk?” Garcia asked, watching Jack look away before answering.
“Whatever I need to” Jack answered, before walking off.Zoe looked at Drift and Garcia before saying, “Make sure he doesn't kill that man, there's cameras in the interrogation rooms. Along with voice recorders, just focus on keeping an eye on Jack” She stated, walking off to the observation room to keep an eye on them herself.
They nodded before running off to follow after O’Malley.“I can't wait to see this” Garcia said gleefully, which made Drift roll his eyes.“Lets just hope he has answers” Drift sighed, as they reached the door to the interrogation unit.