Curls & Chaos – Chapter Nineteen

The concussion had been severe enough to keep Blake in the hospital for three days. His hearing was a little better, but the doctors said it could be a couple of weeks before he was back to normal. Rizzo insisted he come back to her place so she could keep an eye on him for the first few days, so that’s where he was.

“We can communicate with tablets,” Rizzo said as she typed it out and handed a new tablet to him, then picked up hers. “That one’s yours,” she messaged him. “Yelling isn’t good for your ears, so this seemed like the best option.”

“Works for me,” Blake said, but his voice was louder than it should be and Rizzo winced.

“Yelling isn’t good for my ears, either,” she messaged.

He gave her a wry smile and tapped out a message on the tablet. “Any news on Mai Tanner? The rest of the team? No one would tell me anything.”

“SAIC Kate Welling will be here before three and she’ll fill you in. And no, I’m not going to dress in suits and go into the FBI office, so don’t even try that with me,” Rizzo replied.

“I wouldn’t,” Blake sent back. “And I’m not letting them promote me away from this office, either.”

“Did they say something about that?” Rizzo asked.

“One of the agents that came in to visit said he’d heard rumbles about a promotion. As long as I didn’t die or end up with brain damage. I don’t know if he was just being an asshole, or if it was true.”

“Well, you’re not going anywhere for at least three weeks, so your ears can heal up. Might as well get comfortable. You can watch TV with subtitles. I think there’s a game on,” she sent, then handed him the remote for the TV hung on the wall where he could see it from the couch. “Now, do you want a drink? Something to eat?”

“I’m good. I’ve still got some of that cola left. I’ll just chill until Welling shows up,” Blake replied. He reached up and pulled her down for a kiss, then mouthed the words ‘thank you’ with a smile. Rizzo cupped his face, careful of the tiny cuts and abrasions that dotted his skin, then left him alone.

Blake could feel the shift in the air when SAIC Welling arrived and it woke him from sleep. Part of it was that she wasn’t alone – Assistant Director Benjamin Foley was with her. Blake slowly sat up and ran a hand over his face, then watched as Rizzo led the two people into the kitchen. He got to his feet and picked up the tablet to go join them.

Apparently, Rizzo had explained to their guests that they used the tablets to communicate, so Foley took the tablet from Rizzo and typed out a message.

“Good to see you up and around, Nolan. We’re here because your work has been exemplary, and we want to offer you a new position. How would you feel about being the ASAIC under Kate here?” Foley sent the message, then watched Blake’s face.

Blake read it twice then looked from a smiling Kate Welling to Foley. He gave a nod then typed out his reply. “I’m interested, but I’m not sure the team is going to be too enthusiastic about working with me since I got three of them killed. Or is it more? No one will tell me how Mai Tanner is doing.”

“Mai will be fine, but she had a worse concussion than you, broken ribs, broken nose and a cracked orbital bone from when her face hit the car door. She needs a couple of surgeries and some time to recuperate. They say her sight will be fine – and her hearing – but right now, she only has partial vision in one eye and her hearing is like yours,” Kate typed out and sent to Blake. “I’d like you to work with me, but I understand your concerns. There is another option we’ve considered,” she sent him, then handed the tablet back to Foley.

“Director Robert Griffin thinks you should have your own division, with Ms. Maldonado here as part of your team,” Foley said. “And I agree.”

“I’m not working at the FBI headquarters. We’ve already discussed this,” Rizzo spoke to the two guests before she looked at Blake and just shook her head no. She took the tablet back and typed out, “I’m not working there. If you want my skill set, then approve my SCIF here and I’ll get to work, but I’m no good to you otherwise.” She sent it to Blake as she spoke the words to Foley and Welling.

“What would this division do?” Blake sent to them. “I wanted white collar because I was burned out doing the trafficking and child abduction stuff.”

“Whatever you want. Whatever Ms. Maldonado finds that needs doing. You’d answer directly to me,” Foley sent.

“I need to talk to Rizzo first. This is also contingent on her not having to go into the office on a daily basis. A briefing? Sure, she’s already agreed to that. But she knows how she works best and she gets results, so why mess with a good thing?” Blake sent back.

“Well, you’re on leave for three weeks, or until your ears heal enough to get a doctor’s slip. Talk it over and let me know,” Foley sent, then slid two of his business cards onto the table. “Now you both have my contact information. Let me know what your answer is as soon as you can. Government bureaucracy can move slowly.”

Blake gave him a nod, then picked up one of the cards.

“I’d like to see your setup, if I may?” Foley asked Rizzo.

Rizzo sent a message to Blake that she’d be showing them her office and he should get back on the couch.

Blake shook Foley’s hand, then Welling’s, and took his tablet and the card and went back to the living room. He sent a message to Rizzo that she didn’t show the others, that said, “I’m all in if you are.”

Rizzo slid open the pocket doors and led them into her office. “You’re not playing games with me, are you, Assistant Director?”

“Just call me Ben for now,” Foley replied. “And no, no games. You’re not the first brilliant mind that works better outside of the Bureau’s complex. It’s not common, but it’s not unheard of. I’d have one of our tech’s come and make sure you’ve got a dedicated line for the classified machinery, and they’d walk you through the security protocols. We’ve already run your information to see if you qualified for a clearance. You do if we ignore a couple of incidents where you saved some trafficking victims.” His grey eyes twinkled as he looked at Rizzo. He was about six four in height, with a fit and healthy appearance for his age. Silver streaks in his close-cropped dark hair, tanned skin, clean-shaven, and those eyes that didn’t miss a trick.

“How do you feel about working for the dark side?” Foley asked with a chuckle.

“I’ll talk to Blake about it, but I like helping people and I’d prefer to not be doing anything illegal,” Rizzo replied.

Kate Welling sighed and gave Foley a look. “Dammit, Ben, you did it again. Stop stealing my talent finds.” She turned to Rizzo. “Take his offer. I think you’ll like the work. It was a pleasure meeting you.” She then turned back to Foley. “I’ll be outside. I need a cigarette.”

Rizzo watched the woman leave, then turned back to the man in front of her. “If Blake agrees, then I’m in – but only if Blake agrees. This is his career move, not mine.”

“Wise woman,” Foley said. “I look forward to working with you, Ms. Maldonado.”

“Call me Rizzo,” she told him and shook his hand.