Woman in Love Ch. 03

"He's not my boss, so I'm not working with you, in case you haven't figured it out." Callie fired back.

Tim said "Look, Jack says my job depends on it---"

"Good!" Callie said. "Maybe you'll get fired. And then you'll never have reason to come up here again."

"I'll always have reason to come up here," Tim countered, "as long as Cindy's here... with my child."

"It's not your child!" Callie spat. "It's hers! And once she marries me, I'm going to cut you out completely!"

Tim closed his laptop and disconnected it, gathered his papers, and put it all in his briefcase, then got up.

"You're leaving with classified material?" Callie asked darkly.

"I'm taking it back to the Federal Building." Tim said. "I won't be coming back here." He exited the office.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Tim Jenkins entered the Federal Building and went up to the makeshift office Jack Muscone was using.

"What are you doing here?" Muscone asked. "We don't have a meeting until this afternoon."

Jenkins said "I know." After a pause he said "I just came from Dr. Fredricson's office. I can't do it, Jack. I cannot work with Callie Carrington. She just won't let me. She's putting up brick walls that I can't get through."

"You gotta try harder." said Muscone.

"No, I've done all I can." said Jenkins. He placed the briefcase on Jack's desk. "This is my laptop and all the classified material I have on this case. I'm turning it in to you now, and I'm leaving for Southport."

"Leaving?" gasped Muscone. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Jenkins stood erect and said "You told me that it was my job and my assignment to work with her. I am unable to do it. I cannot fulfill your assignment nor follow your orders regarding it any more. And I am not going to waste any more time trying to. I'll email you my resignation when I get home. Here's my badge and ID now." He placed his FBI Badge and his ID on the briefcase.

"Hold it!" gasped Jack. "You don't have to resign! Sit down. Let's talk this through."

Jenkins said "There's nothing to talk about, Mr. Muscone. A few days ago I was excited that I'm going to be a father, and I had a good career going with the FBI. Now, all of that is up in smoke. If you'll excuse me..." He turned for the door.

"No, I won't excuse you!" Jack called out. "Come back in here and sit down!" But he was saying it to Jenkins's back as Jenkins left the office...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Commander Ross." said Cindy as she picked up the buzzing landline phone on her desk.

"Ma'am," said the Duty Desk Sergeant. "A Tim Jenkins is here to see you."

"Tell him to come on in." Cindy said. "He's an FBI Agent."

"Ma'am, he doesn't have his ID on him." said the Sergeant. "Shall I escort him to your office?"

Cindy was perplexed, wondering what this was about. "I'll come get him." she said. She hung up, then got up and hurried down the hallway.

"Hi, Tim." she said as she opened the door by the Duty Desk window. "Come on in."

"Ma'am," said the Duty Desk Patrol Officer, "he'll need to sign in and wear a visitor's badge." Cindy had Tim sign in.

"Why don't you have your ID?" she asked as they walked down the hall.

"I'll tell you in your office." Tim said. A moment later they were in Cindy's office, and seated. Tim told Cindy of the 'conversations', or lack of them, he'd had with Callie, including the one earlier in the morning.

"Look," Tim said, "I'm not telling you this to cause problems with Callie, or to blame her for any of this. I'm telling you just so you'll know why I'm doing this. Muscone assigned me to work with her, and she won't even speak to me. She's built up brick walls that I can't get through, and that means I am failing to do my job and the assignment given me. There's no way to complete that assignment, but Muscone was still insisting I try to work with Callie. So I turned in my badge. I'm leaving the FBI."

"What?!" Cindy gasped. "You resigned?!"

"Yeah." said Tim. "Cindy, you know how much I think of you, and I was really looking forward to being a father and having the baby and you in my life. But I'm ruining your life and your relationship with your fiancée. I still want to be the baby's father, but she said she was going to cut me out, so we'll have to find another way to do it---"

"Hold on!" Cindy said. "It's not her decision to make. It's mine, and I want you in my life and especially the baby's life." She stood up. "Will you do something... two things... for me now?"

"What's that?" asked Tim.

"Don't leave for Southport yet." Cindy said. "Give me a chance to talk to some people about this. And second... come with me."

She went for the door, and Tim followed. She pivoted into the office next door. "Don, this guy just resigned from the FBI. Tim, tell him what you just told me. All of it. I'll be back in a while." She all but pushed Tim into the office and closed the door behind him.

I just looked up at Tim Jenkins, making observations and deductions. Then I indicated a 'hot seat' and said "Have a seat..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Cindy committed the cardinal sin: she blew past Laura's assistant Laurie and flew into Laura's office. Laura was back from her meeting, and was sitting at her desk.

"Don't you knock?" Laura said acidly, then realized that Cindy's beet-red face was a sign of 'trouble'.

Cindy did not even acknowledge Laura's rebuke. Her blazing eyes were fixed upon Callie. "You. Let's go talk. Now!"

"Back room." Laura said, pointing to the old nursery room behind her desk. Cindy pretty much chased Callie into the room and closed... er, slammed the door shut.

With over three decades experience of listening to conversations that were none of her business, Laura had no qualms about turning on the baby monitor that was still in the room, and listening in on Cindy's 'discussion' with Callie...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"I understand a lot of how you feel." I said to Tim Jenkins after he poured out his story. "Sandra Speer took my daughter to New York City. I want to call my daughter, I want to get on a plane and go see her... but I can't, because her mother got a Court Order prohibiting me from having any custody of Greta nor even being able to see her."

I said "So you're very lucky that Cindy wants you to be part of the baby's life. You need to be part of that baby's life, no matter what anyone else says. And I'll add this unsolicited advice: that baby, especially if it's a boy, is going to need you in the future. If he's a boy, he's going to need a father, a male father, in his life. That's one reason Paulina changed her mind and let me back into Tasha's life. So don't give up on being the baby's father."

Tim said "I hear you. And I do want to be there for my kid. But I don't want to cause Cindy pain, or mess up her relationship."

I nodded. "Well, that's something Cindy and Callie will have to work out for themselves. I'm hearing the talk in contradictions on occasion, and as Ayn Rand teaches us: contradictions cannot exist. They'll have to get things resolved between themselves, and that's something you cannot do nor help with. In the meantime... let's talk about your professional future..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"What the fuck is going on?" Cindy angrily asked Callie. "Tim just resigned from the FBI! Because of you! Why were you being such a shit to Tim, when you were supposed to be working together on this case?"

"I don't want anything to do with him." Callie said. "He's come between us enough, and I feel like he's destroying our relationship. And he's using that baby to worm his way into your life and take you away from me!"

"No he's not!" Cindy said. "Unless you keep acting this way, that is. Now we've talked about this. Tim is going to be this baby's father----"

"WHY?" Callie screamed out, and the tears started flowing. "Why can't that be OUR baby, like Betsy is our baby?"

Cindy said "First of all, I adopted Betsy, and you haven't yet... and there's something you need to know about that. You know Don is the father of that baby. I didn't know this at the time, but when I was adopting Betsy, Laura went to the judge with a contract. Don gave up parental rights, but Laura put in a clawback clause in the event the adoption didn't go through... or something happens to me. If something happens to me, Don is going to have custody of Betsy."

"Whaaa..." Callie gasped. "I mean, I knew he was the father... but if I adopt her..."

Cindy said "That's not how it's going to work. And Don and Laura don't even know that I know, so don't go talking about that in front of either of them, and especially don't say anything in front of Carole."

Well, Laura now knew that Cindy knew...

Cindy continued: "But I digress. Look, Tim is going to be part of the baby's life, and you just have to respect that."

"Why?" Callie spat. "I don't accept it. I don't want him in our lives----"

"He's already in our lives!" Cindy shouted back. "At least... he's in mine."

"Even if it's him or me?" Callie said, looking into Cindy's eyes. Cindy held the look.

"I want to marry you and be with you for the rest of our lives." Cindy said. "But Tim is going to be in this baby's life. And if you have a problem with that, then maybe you should go to The City, get on an airplane to California... and never come back."

Callie gaped at Cindy, then her eyes went jet. "Yeah. Maybe I should." she said quietly. She got up and left the room. By the time Cindy came back into Laura's office, Callie was gone.

"My God." Cindy said softly to Laura. "What have I done?"

"What you had to do." Laura said. "You've heard the old adage: If you love something, set it free. If it comes back to you, it's yours. If it doesn't, it never was..."

"I let her go once before." Cindy said. "I don't know if I can stand it if she doesn't come back to me this time."

"I was talking about her." Laura said. "She has to set you free, too. And accept your choices and your decisions for your child..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I rapped my knuckles on the door of Tanya Muscone's office and then opened the door and walked right on in.

"Come... oh." said Tanya, sitting behind her desk. "Sir?"

My eyes were boring into Tanya's as I said authoritatively: "Did you call Muscone about Jenkins?"

"Uh... may I speak freely?" Tanya asked warily.

"No you may not." I replied. "I just asked you a question as your direct boss, Commander to Captain... did you call Muscone like I told you to?"

"Not yet, sir." said Tanya. "And like I've said before, I don't like being put in the middle between----"

"This is not about your personal life!" I thundered. "This is official Police business! Why didn't you make the call when I told you to?!"

"Okay, I'll call him now." Tanya said, reaching for her landline phone.

*WHAM!*

I swept my hand across the desk, sending the phone flying to the floor. "It's too fucking late now!" I yelled. "Tim Jenkins has resigned from the FBI!"

Tanya was already shocked at my outburst of physical violence, and the news of Jenkins's resignation added to it. "Whaa?" she gasped. "He resigned?"

"Yes!" I said angrily. "Your husband ordered him to work with Callie, and made it clear that his, Tim's, job was on the line if he didn't make it work. And Callie showed her ass and wouldn't work with him, making it impossible for Tim to complete his assignment. So he turned in his badge rather than beat his head against the wall trying to work with her any more!"

*BRING!* *BRING!* *BRING!* *BRING!*

Lucky. Lucky Lady Ironside. It was my personal iPhone, and it was Laura calling. "Yes, I heard." I said in reply to her first words. "I'm having a philosophical exchange of values with Captain Muscone about it right now... I'm not surprised... No, I have no idea... Okay, then... I love you, too... bye."

As I disconnected, I said "That was Laura. Nobody knows where Callie is, and she's not answering her phone. I'll go have the Duty Desk put out an APB. With the Rogue SEAL Team at large, she could be in danger..." With that I left Tanya's office, both of us knowing this was not over yet...

Part 19 - Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye

11:15am, Friday, May 22nd. Callie Carrington was in tears as she packed her two suitcases and one carry-on bag with clothing and other items she would need. She didn't have to take everything right away, as she had clothing in her condo in California. She debated taking any of the photographs, and on a whim took one of her, Cindy, and Betsy.

She thought to herself that she would drive to the Airport and fly to California, then arrange to fly back and get her car and drive it cross-country, and maybe with the rest of her things. All she knew now is that she had to get away. She'd hurt Cindy, the last thing she'd ever wanted to do, and she knew she just needed to get out of Cindy's way.

As she got onto the road, going east on North Street to take University Avenue south, she felt a huge wave of nostalgia that she had not expected to feel. Everyone had told her that this Town & County grew on a person, and got into one's soul. She now knew that was true as she drove down University Avenue, seeing the University on her left. She saw the Psychology Building and thought of stopping to say goodbye to Laura. Laura had been good to her...

Then she looked up and saw The Cabin high above, nearly at the top and end of the mountain finger. She thought of what Cindy had told her about Betsy, and Betsy's true parentage. She knew Betsy was as well-protected as a child could be, and she hoped Betsy would be okay.

She didn't stop. She turned onto the road leading to the Nextdoor County Highway, that would lead to The City and its Airport...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Tim Jenkins had packed his belongings and checked out of the University Hotel. As he pulled onto University Avenue, to go south to the University-Midtown Parkway and on to Southport, he saw Callie Carrington's car pass by. Eerily coincidental, and fitting as a reminder of the disaster that had just happened to him.

Then he noticed the car behind Callie's, a black Buick. Something was out of place about it, he thought to himself, but he wasn't sure what it was. Then he saw the car turn left behind Callie's, and instinct kicked in. He swerved over and turned behind the other car as the light went to yellow.

The three cars were driving east. Tim was trying to find his cellphone, but it was in his pants pocket, and he couldn't contort himself to get it out. Maybe this is nothing, he thought to himself as the cars crossed the line into Nextdoor County.

Nope.

Just as they got past AGC Trucking and to the dirt road that went to 'the Fucking Field' (Author's note: 'Unresolved', for that story.), the black car suddenly sped up, passed Callie's car, then hit the brakes, forcing Callie to stop!

Callie was trained in defensive driving, and she didn't even consciously think about it as the two masked men jumped out of the black car, brandishing weapons. She threw the car into reverse and hit the gas, driving backwards...

*WHAM!*

She felt the jolt of the back of her car slamming into the vehicle that had come up behind her, trapping her. Again she was in motion, getting out of the car and running away from the two perps as the other car door opened. She barely had time to realize that it was Tim Jenkins.

"Keep running!" Tim called out. "Get behind me!" Callie ran past him as the two masked men opened fire. Jenkins returned fire, but he was hit, once in the neck, and one bullet driving through his chest. He did not have on any armor protection, and he felt himself falling, still firing his service weapon at the perps, his shots off-target. Then the gun clattered to the pavement as he fell on his side and rolled over onto his back.

Callie's first instinct was to pick up Tim's gun to shoot at the perps. They saw her action and were getting into their car. They screeched off with a squeal of tires by the time Callie could pick up the gun and aim at them.

She ran back to Tim, and saw the damage. "Hang on!" she yelled as she put her hands on his neck wound to stop the flow of blood.

"Take care... of Cindy..." Tim gasped as his eyes fluttered shut.

"Hang on!" Callie yelled. Then she screamed at the top of her lungs "HELP! SOMEBODY HELP US!"

To be continued.