it impossible to breathe.
They sat there in silence for a few moments while Elias processed Zain’s words.
“Yeah, okay.” Elias nodded. Anything else was beyond him.
“We good? Will I need to have this talk with you again?”
“No, sir.”
“Okay. Take a minute and then we’re going to convene in the big conference room. Looks like we’ll be supporting this operation from here on out.”
“What?” Elias’ head snapped up.
“Yeah.” Zain chuckled. “You just can’t have an easy Christmas, can you, dude?”
“Jo. Is she okay? What’s going on?”
“She says she’s fine. I’m guessing she’s got a few bruised ribs, but she’s one tough soldier. I did hear her threaten bodily harm to Owen and Rusty if they didn’t let her see you.” Zain grinned. “I think you better save them. But, take a moment first, got it?”
Elias nodded.
Zain clapped him on the shoulder then got up, leaving Elias with the lump in his throat and feelings he wasn’t keen on dealing with. Zain was right though, Elias had held himself a little apart from the others. Some things, like going out to a crowded bar, were more about his comfort level. Others? He’d stayed out of because he didn’t see himself as part of any team. But he was. Everyone from the people who kept the office going to the guys in the field, they were all important.
Elias got up and turned toward the door just as it opened again.
Instead of Zain, Jo stood there in her blood splattered clothes.
They froze for half a second before she launched herself at him. He barely caught her around the waist and avoided being drug to the ground.
He clutched her to him and buried his face in her hair.
“Are you okay? Are you in trouble?” she asked.
He gently set her down. “I’m fine, and not really.”
Jo grabbed his head none too gently and pulled him down again for a kiss. He tilted his head, allowing himself to drink in this moment and the comfort it provided.
“Come on, you two love birds.” Someone knocked on the door. “We’ve got things to do.”
“Fuck off,” Jo said over her shoulder.
The door knocker merely laughed.
Elias peered over her shoulder at the red headed man from before.
He grinned back. Rusty. “Hey, need you both in the conference room, okay?”
“Yeah, yeah. We’re coming.” Jo took Elias’ hand, threading their fingers together.
He glanced down at their joined hands.
“Is this okay?” she asked, though her tone didn’t imply a question. That was Jo, pushing ahead and doing what she wanted.
“Yeah.” He squeezed her hand.
“Good.”
“What happened? Are you okay? What’s going on?” he asked.
“Best if we answer all of it at once. And yes, I’m okay.” She flashed him a smile, then led him out of the office and into a main area.
There were other people clustered around what he assumed had to be the conference room door. The others filed in with Elias bringing up the rear. It was a tight fit, but there were seats enough for everyone.
Rusty tapped his knuckles on the table and glanced at Zain. “Where are we starting?”
Zain shrugged. “The beginning?”
“Okay.” Rusty nodded and glanced around the room. “It’s nice to see some familiar faces again. So, Owen and I have been running a long operation trying to get more intel on the Eagle Tech company. We had plenty of circumstantial evidence, but no one has been willing to come forward. It seems like one of our undercover units got into a bit of an altercation when following who they believed to be Eagle Tech employees from the airport.”
“Wait.” Jo leaned forward. “You mean the people who shot at us were FBI?”
Rusty held up his hands. “Those agents have been removed from the field.”
Elias shook his head.
“Long story short,” Zain interjected, “the FBI knew Eagle Tech or someone associated with them was blackmailing their clients. What they didn’t know until Jo and her associate filled in the holes was that they are owned and operated by a shell company under the control of a certain Russian oligarch.”
Rusty nodded and picked up the thread. “Correct, and seeing as Jo’s supervisors are off for the holidays, we’ve been given permission to act on this intel given the time sensitive nature of what’s going on.”
“Okay, so what are we doing?” Jo asked.
“That’s what we’re here tonight to figure out.” Rusty glanced around the room. “This is going down in the next twenty-four hours. We need as much back-up as possible.”
Elias squeezed Jo’s hand.
He wasn’t yet recovered from the verbal smack down in the