Chapter 4


Twice! Jake was using a few choice words at the silver car that managed to get him as it drove away from the station! What made it worse was the fact that Jake had no idea who that guy was! There were no silver cars in the parking area when he took off on his morning run. Jake was sure of it because the parking area is where he had started out!

Danni was doing her best not to laugh. She had her hand cupped over her mouth and her head turned. She did manage to squeak out, “I guess the guy must have drove in while we were up at the hangar.” Then she could no longer control it. She burst out in full fledge laughter.

The sound of another approaching vehicle, also from the direction of the station, put an end to any possible chastising that Jake felt like giving Danni. He made sure he was not standing anywhere near a pot hole as it got closer. It only figured that this vehicle, one of the stations four by fours, actually had the courtesy of slowing down as it approached. This time the vehicle even stopped and it was Garcia who rolled down the passenger window and gave Jake the once over.

Tony was driving and he had to lean over too see Jake as well. He almost squished Garcia trying to get a better view. Before they could even ask about all of the mud, Jake decided to preempt them with a question of his own, “what the hell is going on? This damn driveway has turned into I-95 this morning.”

Garcia looked at Tony and asked, “what’s an I-95?”

Tony just shrugged and then told Jake, “Barbara came out of her office in a total rant fest. Told us to go grab Shannon and bring her home.”

Danni became concerned when she heard that. She ran around to the passenger side of the vehicle and asked, “you guys are going to pick her up at school?”

“Oh no,” Garcia replied easily enough. “We figure she’s still on the bus.”

Jake just shook his head in amazement and then asked, “so let me get this straight. You two are going to go force a school bus, full of kids, off the side of the road. Then you’re going to pull your guns, get on said school bus, snatch one of the kids, before speeding off? Does that about sum it up?”

Garcia thought about it and then told Tony, “you know when you say it like he does, our plan does sound kind of rough around the edges.”

Tony looked out the passenger window again and asked Jake, “you want to go with us?”

“No,” Jake just waived them off, “have fun you two.”

As they drove off Danni started to become kind of nervous. She almost wanted to go with the guys but, technically speaking, she was not even back on active duty yet. She said as much to Jake. He seemed to be in some serious thought and he was staring off at nothing. When Danni waved a hand in front of his face, Jake proved that he had listened to her by replying, “Nguyen, I don’t know why I think this but, I do believe there is some regulation that says you don’t have to be on active duty to go out and commit reckless endangerment of minors.”

Danni crossed her arms and nervously shrugged, “why didn’t you stop them?”

Jake suddenly acted as if he were completely back in reality now. He just nodded towards the station, “run’s over kiddo. Head on back and I’ll be joining you in a little bit.”

Not only did Jake start walking in another direction but, he was also leaving the road. To make it even weirder, he made sure that Rusty was following him. Danni just did not get that guy sometimes. It must have been an Earth thing. Then Danni wondered, was Amy like that? She was from Earth too. Then again, Amy had left there at a very young age so, just maybe, it was enough to save her from the stranger consequences of having grown up on a core world.

Danni decided not to run back to the station. She walked the entire way and kept up a brisk pace but, as much as she did not want to admit it to Jake, or anyone else for that matter, she was still in a lot of pain from her wounds. Modern medicine could produce some miracles. Danni realized that just things like her living and breathing right now was one of them. The part they never tell you about is the aftermath. She still hurt and even the doctors could not tell her why.

She had tried her best not to think about that as she finally strolled back up to the station. Cal was waiting on the porch with his headset conspicuously on. From the sounds of his conversation, he was on the phone with Tony. Danni did not want to bother him so she strolled right on past him or, at least, until he stuck out his hand and stopped her. He held up a finger for her to wait one. Then, when it seemed the conversation was at a lull, Cal put a hand over the microphone and told her, “Barbara wants to see you.”

Danni took each step down the back hall like she was a prisoner on her way to the gallows. When she reached the very last door on the left she stopped in front of it and, with some caution, she knocked. Danni almost thought she heard some sobbing coming from the inside of the room. Then, as if it had all magically vanished, the door opened and a very composed and serious Barbara nodded for the girl to follow her in the room. The command, “shut the door behind you,” sounded like the gallows door coming out from under Danni’s feet.

Barbara took a seat in her little office chair and Danni remained standing. Barbara did not even pretend to offer the girl the opportunity to sit down. Danni did not really care so much about that as she did the fact that Barbara had a uniform on! Why was she wearing that? It only made Danni more nervous as she stood there.

Then Barbara surprised the kid by asking, “how are you feeling Daniealla?”

At first, Danni treated it almost like it was a trick question. “I’m all right, I guess.”

“That’s good,” Barbara said with some genuine sounding sympathy in her voice. “I worried about you a lot. I wish that I had made it to the hospital more than I did. I apologize for not being there more. It was just that..” Barbara started seeing images of her father in front her. She took a deep breath and then straightened her back as she went on, “we’re all glad that you have recovered so well.”

Danni had her hands behind her back and despite the fact that the Rangers had no real regulations about how to stand, where to do it, or even how to address a superior officer, Danni still held herself stiff like she was in the military. She nodded to Barbara, “thank you ma’am.”

“With that said,” Barbara looked back to her computer. She looked as if she were pulling up a form. Only Barbara knew that was really an excuse. She did not want to look the girl in the eye, “I have to inform you that, Agent Nguyen, you are not being reinstated to active duty for the time being. You of course will still report to work and, you will not loose any pay but…”
“Excuse me,” Danni said in a very rude sounding way. “Barbara? What is this crap? I’m perfectly fine. I can do my job and…”

Barbara swung back around in the chair but, even if she was facing Danni, she still did not look up. Barbara mournfully stated, “this has nothing to do with your health Danni.”

Danni still sounded angry, “then what is it?”

Barbara took a few moments to compose herself. She had to force her eyes up, “Danni, you left your post. You were on com watch and you ran out and…”

“Oh that’s bullshit, Barbara, and you know it,” Danni fired back. “I got Cal to cover so it’s not like I ran off. It’s not like what Norm did or, even, Tony and Amy who took Shannon off for a joy ride.”

“No,” Barbara nodded in agreement, “that is all very true. What you did was put yourself in danger Danniealla. You ran off and almost got yourself killed for nothing. It was that action that not only put you but, the rest of your fellow agents in danger.”

“So I get to be the fall guy,” Danni replied with fire in her eyes.

“Danni,” Barbara tried to sound sympathetic, “you may not realize this.” Now Barbara stood up and looked down at the girl,

“you’re the future of this department. Of all the people I’ve hired, of all the people that came and went, you were the one that I always expected to take over from me one day.”

It did nothing to relieve Danni’s hostility, “oh, so now I’m being punished because I’m special? I’m not buying it Barbara. That sounds like that crap they tell first year manager trainees what to say. How do they put it? Oh yeah, I expect more from you. Well it’s crap.”

“Think what you want young lady,” Barbara told her. She sat back down in her chair and turned her back. Danni returned the favor and stomped out of the room. 

As Danni stomped back down the hall she passed a very nervous looking Amy. The look on Danni’s face made Amy gulp so, she stopped Danni by tugging at her sleeve. Danni’s hostile, “what?” made Amy flinch. She then meekly asked, “so I take it that she’s in a bad mood?”

Danni looked down at Amy’s hand. The red head’s grasp was still firmly in control of Danni’s sweaty sleeve so, Danni yanked it free and continued to walk off. Amy then called out, “it’s the guys. They just called in. Shannon wasn’t on the school bus.”

That did stop Danni in her tracks. She reached up and pushed a tear back. She never did look back to face Amy though. She just quietly said, “there’s nothing I can do about it.”