Jammed (Louis Tomlinson au)

Chapter Five

We landed back in New York in the middle of the night. LaGuardia was practically empty for once, which made traveling a little easier. Of course that was quickly ruined when Louis tried to grab one of my bags and I had to slap him away. I was exhausted already and he wasn't making things very easy. And Niall was no help, as usual.

Even as late as it was, the city was busy. People were out eating, partying, or just wandering the streets. Cabs were still running, and there was still never ending traffic on Broadway. It was cool, but a comfortable weather, unlike London. It felt like home.

If New York City was still awake, then so was the MASK office. I used to think Mallory and everyone in that goddamn office was some sort of a vampire, I mean they were always there and always working. I had never heard so much truth in "the city that never sleeps" until I came to MASK. It was really unfortunate that I was always so exhausted.

So, it was not doubtful that as soon as we landed, Mallory called Niall and told him the three of us needed to come into the office for a quick debriefing. I remembered that Niall had said something earlier about new developments in the case, and I assumed that was what they wanted to talk about. I was happily surprised that Mallory wanted me there, given that just hours ago he seemed to be done with me. I hate temperamental bosses.

So, instead of heading back home the three of us stuck our luggage in the back of a government van and drove to the office. Louis kept asking questions and acting like a goddamn tourist, and to my dismay Niall kept answering them. He had lived in New York for all of six years and manages to tell Louis that the Yankees played at Fenway Park. Not that Louis even knew who the Yankees were.

We got to the office and found that most of the cars in the parking lot still seemed to be there. This late at night that usually meant someone was getting close to finding a key clue to an operation, which also meant we'd all probably be here for a few more hours. I had hoped that coming home would mean time off of work, but I figured I wouldn't have something like that for a while.

As we walked in the building I remembered that the man walking beside me was Louis Tomlinson. I was taking him into a high-security government building, with no proof of his innocence in this case. I was temped to close the door on him, but this close I knew I couldn't turn on the boss like that. It would surely get me off the case, if I wasn't completely kicked off of it already. It could've even gotten me fired if things were that bad inside.

I still didn't want to trust Louis. But, I was beginning to understand that things were getting pretty bad around here. Mallory was a smart guy, and I trusted him more than anyone else I worked with. If he was willing to give someone his trust, he had to be pretty confident in them. And if he wasn't, then he was desperate. At this point, it could have been either of the two.

So, I let Louis enter the office. Of course I stuck him between Niall and I, keeping my gun in easy reach. But all the way into the building, he followed our directions and acted quite normal. People watched us as we brought him into the building. I assumed some of them knew who he was, but most of them were probably very confused. Working for a technology agency, unknown people didn't just walk in. So, when a stranger walked in people were on ease.

I walked into the building as a stranger, too. I was twenty and had somehow found myself in New York. I won't tell that story and go into detail, however. Coming back into the building now, with all these people watching the three of us, I felt like an outsider again. In light of recent events, I felt I couldn't trust any of the eyes watching me, and maybe they felt the same.

Mallory was waiting for us, as expected. He still didn't look happy, but no one did at two in the morning. I'm sure I looked like a could kill someone; maybe that was why everyone was staring. But as usual, I didn't care what the people in the office thought. They'd be lucky to get the clearance I had in all their years working here, so it didn't matter to me what they thought.