Let down

Jason cocks his head at Katie’s tone, hit with a sudden realization that he hadn’t thought of before. He’d never have guessed that his recovery would have been a disappointment on some level, but apparently it was. “Katie…” He shakes his head at her. “You silly goose.” He almost laughs. “Even the old Jason could have used a personal hero…”

He pauses, studying her face, and growing a little more serious. “You’re still needed, Katie, and don’t you forget it.”

He allows the conversation to shift to another topic, slight discomfort rising in the form of heat on his neck, while a new thought strikes him.

“Say, I better get a hold of TJY. They’re going to want a report from me, and I haven’t even given Austin a full rundown yet.” He rolls over and grabs the phone, pulling it onto the bed and hitting the speaker phone. He dials the number and waits until a female voice answers. He grins. “Hey, Susanne.”

“Jason??”

Jason raises an eyebrow at her tone. “Yeah. How ya doing?”

“Well…fine…I guess I didn’t expect to hear from you though. Thought you might be on a long vacation somewhere.”

Jason furrows his brow. “Well, I just got back from the hospital, but no vacation for me. I decided I’d give Reese what he wanted and get back on this case, at least in the background. Gonna be a while before I’m back on my feet.”

There’s a pause before Susanne speaks again. “Jason…hasn’t Con told you?”

Jason bristles and glances at Katie while continuing his phone conversation. “Hasn’t he told me what?”

Susanne doesn’t answer.

Jason repeats himself, a strange fear descending. “What hasn’t he told me, Susanne?”

“Well…” Susanne pauses again. “You’ve been suspended.”

Jason’s jaw drops, his eyes widening. “What?!”

“I’m sorry, Jason. Con was supposed to tell you. The paperwork came across my desk just yesterday.”

“But why?” Jason’s confusion and anger begin to surface. “On what grounds, and by who’s request?”

“I shouldn’t be telling you this.”

“Tell me, Susanne.”

Susanne sighs. “Look, there’s a whole list of reasons you’ve been suspended, and it came directly from Carter. You’re in deep, Hotshot. I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Jason looks back and forth between Katie and the phone, in total shock. “What…how…what are the reasons? I need to know.”

There’s a pause, with typing in the background before Susanne speaks again. “There’s a statement from Carter, expressing dissatisfaction due to……a list of things….” She pauses again. “Here it is, and I quote, ‘an apparent mental instability, frequent fluctuations in loyalty to the case, deliberate breach in security by exposing information without authority to a certain party, threatening a superior with his life, and negligence by putting himself and others in harm’s way.”

Jason’s eyes can’t go any wider, his blood running cold. He doesn’t even know how to respond.

Susanne finally breaks the silence. “I’m sorry, Jason. If you want more information, you’ll have to talk to Austin, Con or Reese, who’s not here at the moment. …I have to go now before I get into trouble. Carter’s on the floor.”

There’s a click, abruptly ending the call. Jason stares at Katie, at a completely loss for words. He’s angry, he’s confused, and he’s embarrassed. What just happened?