Of Demons and Darkness

Enemies Behind Us...

Doubts have a tendency to linger on the heart like a cystic growth; innocuous and innocent-appearing at the outset, but can turn cancerous when least expected giving the stricken no warning until it's past the point of no return.  Doubts give rise to mind-numbing fears that paralyze and choke the life out of the victim utterly. NCIS Special Agent Clay Barringer sat alone at his desk in the Office of Special Projects until late into the night.  It had been a long, hard month for him and the other federal agents attached to OSP.  Clay had grown a fairly thick skin working as an agent with the FBI office in San Francisco before his defection to NCIS nearly two years previous.  Since coming to NCIS, he had witnessed the very dark, evil, twisted side of humanity even more so that when he worked at the Bureau.  Having suffered his fair share of injury and angst, he prided himself on being capable of pulling out of the subsequent emotional and mental funk with little trouble, but that changed after their operation to protect a nine year-old girl who witnessed her mother's brutal murder by her estranged father.  

Their investigation led not only to the arrest and conviction of Malachi Bishop for the murder of Navy Lieutenant Nicole Bishop; the attempted murder of his daughter and the assault and attempted murder of two federal agents among many, many other charges that would keep him behind bars for the rest of his life, but the discovery of a new and dangerous threat in the group of American militants that called themselves The Freedom Coalition.  Barringer was growing increasingly weary of fighting the platoons of criminals who called it open season on anyone wearing a badge...and not necessarily law enforcement badges.  The jaded federal agent understood the risk inherent to the career he had chosen so many years ago and accepted those risks willingly, but what really grated on him was having live enemies behind him. Living in a constant state of heightened awareness was hard enough, but knowing an enemy lurked in the shadows just out of view stalking your every move made the man more jumpy than usual.  

"Just accept it and move on, Barringer."  A soft, unexpected voice whispered causing the tightly wound agent to jump out of his chair in alarm as he drew his sidearm from its holster.

"Dang it, MacBride!!"  Clay yelled.  "Yet another five years off my life!  Give me some warning before you sneak up on me like that, will ya?!?  Damn!!!"

"Try amping down a few cycles, then."  Clay's partner, Special Agent Kerigan MacBride, snarked humorously.  She had naturally noticed his increased brooding; his sleepless nights and touchiness about things that seemed insignificant.  "Hanging onto this crap isn't helping.  Let it go already.  I want my partner back, please."

"I'm fine, MacBride."  Barringer snapped hotly.  "Except for the heart attack you just gave me!"

"You are not fine, Barringer."  Jana barked.  "Now out with it, and don't make me drag it out of you."  

"Why can't you just leave me to deal with this alone, please?"  Clay retorted.  "I've been doing this longer than you think, MacBride."

"True."  Kerigan agreed nonplussed by her partner's surliness as she planted her fanny into her chair across from his desk.  "That doesn't mean squat with me, and you should know that about me by now.  What are you afraid of Barringer?"

"Damn it MacBride!"  Clay exploded angrily at his partner's poking and picking.  He was in no mood for her Freudian probing of his fears and psychoanalysis of what was going on in his head.  "Get out of my head already!!  I...don't...wanna...talk...about...it!!"

"We are not leaving until we do, Barringer!"  MacBride barked back hotly.  She needed her partner to push past his doubts and get his head back in the game.  "Stuff your idiotic pride and the incorrect notion that you don't need anyone to 'deal with it', you twit!  You of all people know better than that!"