The Old Mine

28: Nefarious Intent

                      They got about halfway through the first season when Cal fell asleep but since she had seen it up until the third season... so, Recke and Bret kept watching. It was well into the night when they call it quits. Bret headed to bed while Recke didn't feel like moving Cal... and Murk. Recke fell asleep but that's when the nightmares started over his last mission. He jerked himself away and tried to regulate his breathing. After a couple minutes of not being able to get back to sleep Reck got up to do more cleaning and yard work. He started with the yardwork because he loved looking up at the night sky. When he had finished the work in the yard and gardens and went inside to clean up but there wasn't much to do.

                      Recke headed to the bedroom and then right into the adjoining bathroom. When he climbed out of the shower, he heard a noise that concerned him, he dressed in a hurry and rushed out of the bedroom. Recke came around the corner and came face to face with Brick. "Hang on," he took a deep calming breath and pushed him out of the house. "Why didn't you message me first, you scared me. I thought you were East." He stepped out with him and shut the door. "She doesn't need to hear anything right now; she needs rest and healing. What do you want?"

                         "East is on permanent medical leave, until Ocea figures out why he does this and we fix these outbursts. Also... everyone who is prone to outbursts is benched as well. I have always hated how men tend to treat women in the jump industry, but it was not until Cal that I thought about...." He took a deep breath "Do you think it's my fault that Astrid..."

                        "Probably, but she had her choice and she made it." Recke noticed that didn't help so he continued "She chose to leave, rather than talk to her own father about it. It doesn't matter what you think... the point is you spoiled her and were always there to fix her problems, but for some reason this time she didn't come to you. That means abuse wasn't the answer or that whoever was abusing her is someone close to you... that she thought you would trust over her."

                          "I wish I knew what drove her to leave..." He looked at Recke "Do you know anything about... that is do you think there is a possibility that someone was hurting her?" Recke shrugged and raised an eyebrow at him. Brick put his hands behind his back and relaxed, changing the subject before Recke could completely answer. "You and Cal have as much time as you need. I have bumped your team up a notch; you have clearance levels equal to mine. When you are ready to take on another jump mission let me know." He turned to leave then stopped "The class that Cal put together saw the footage that you uploaded, and victims are coming forward left and right to back up everything Cal and you have claimed against East. We are working through all the reports, but the key is that the victims are all volunteering to aid in the class." He handed Recke a report "This is everything she has been doing since you left. There are a lot of fine details that I don't know... so you still need to talk to her."

                          Recke's eyes went wide as he flipped through the huge report "Let the victims each take turns, it might help them and it will help Cal. Plus from personal experience I can tell you that each and every person has an exclusive view on the subject." Recke took a huge breath as he closed the report "I approve of your speed and efforts. I am going to stay on hiatus until she is well because I don't want her shoulder to reopen." Recke glanced back at the house "I thought they got it all out but since it opened back up, that means there was some of the toxin left." He looked back at Brick Doesn't matter really, I think this proves... We jump together. I will no longer do jumps without her." He winked and went back inside. Brick took a large sigh of relief troublemaker or not, Recke was the best jumper at the agency and he couldn't lose him. He glanced around at the well-manicured lawn and with a smile, he left.