Live and Die Hard

3. Anna.

Saturday

Jack parks the pickup in the underground parking lot of the CIA headquarters.
The whole drive back to Los Angeles had been quite silent, the two men obviously had nothing much to share.

He gets rid of the fishing vest he's wearing and slams the driver door shut. He walks towards the lift, barely paying attention whether or not John follows.

Pushing the button for the 7th floor,  he shifts to the side to make room for his father.

"Back to CIA agent mode, son?" John breaks the heavy silence.

Jack doesn't bother to answer, and when the doors open in a recognizable ding, walks straight to Chief McKay's office.
He stops at the door, nods at Kathleen, the secretary and warns his father.
"Stay quiet. Don't mess it up for once."

Knocking only once, he doesn't wait for an answer and enters the room.

McKay lifts his head up from the files he's studying and greets his agent.

"McLane. " he just utters.

"Chief McKay. " Jack greets back.

Noticing the bald former detective, McKay sighs.

"McLanes. " he corrects.

"Chief McKay, nice to see your mug again. You're getting old though."

"At least my hair hasn't defect my scalp. Take a seat gentlemen." He offers.

Flopping down a seat, John lets his eyes wandering through the office. 
"What's up? Got promoted? You got a better view than the one you had before."

"Three floors higher. That's what you could expect when you behave like a real cop." McKay mocks.

"Sorry to interrupt your reunion, why am I here?" Jack impatiently asks.

"A special mission. Witsec. A mother and her 5 years old daughter. You're in charge with their relocation and safety until the trial starts. 3 weeks at a safe house. You and me are the only ones to know."
Glaring at John, he shakes his head and adds:
"I guess the three of us will be in the secret. John will join you, am I right?"

Jack just sinks deeper in his seat, rolling his eyes to avoid the upset look McKay throws at him.

"I'm great with children. Pretty good skilled in telling stories and play hide and seek. "

Both Jack and McKay chuckle, he couldn't say anything more stupid.
John is to kids what pimples are to teen's faces. 
A long, endless pain in the ass.

"The woman is a former agent. She has been working undercover as Tony Varela's personal nurse and gathered enough clues to throw him in jail for 200 years. Unfortunately, her cover has been blown two days ago and Varela is likely to attempt to take her life or her daughter's."

Jack clears his throat. He couldn't stand when kids were involved. Nobody would threaten children. He would happily terminate anyone who went after an innocent little thing.

"She personally insisted to have you as a guardian. She said you were the best and would trust only in you."

Jack stiffens and sits up, who the fuck could ask after him? He knew no former female agent with a child. He knew nobody with children actually.

McKay presses on his desktop phone and orders his secretary:
"Kathleen. Let them in please. "

The door cracks open in Jack's back and the voice, that voice he has tried to forget for years hits his ear.