I was lead into the police station. My parents were waiting for me. My Father was fuming. He shouted at me until he was red in the face.

"Jason! What the hell were you thinking! You hauled off and freaked out then you left. How the hell did you start the car? I had the keys. Now your here at this goddamn police station and your going to be here for a long time! Unless you want to be sent to a metal hospital, which I thing would be a good idea!"

"I'm sorry, alright! If you didn't want me around then why the hell did you say yes when I called? I'm having a hard time adjusting to being back home."

He went to speak.

"No, don't. If you wanted me gone all you had to do was say the word. I would of left. Left and not looked back. It was clear when you two started to argue that I needed to leave. I left and then you drug me back home!"

The cop still had ahold of me and he went to speak.

"I think with the circumstances here, that you, Jason, should be stay here. Just until you're back on your feet." The cop said.

My Mother hadn't said a single word. Tears rolled down her face.

"Mom, I-I'm sorry. I'm trying to change. I've stopped drinking, haven't I? I'm not doing drugs anymore either. I-I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"Don't make a promise you can't keep, Jason." She said, her voice filled with hurt. She turned and walked off. My Father gave me a glare and turned to follow her.

The cop lead me to a cell. A question kept bugging me. Why didn't he arrest me before now? Once to the cell I was given a orange jumpsuit. I changed and tossed my clothes to the cop.

"I'll be back to check on you." He said.

"Why didn't you arrest me before now?" I asked.

The cop gave a sigh and hesitated to answer.

"Because you remind me a lot of my brother. He was a war vet and before we knew it he was too far gone. He'd only been home six months and he committed suicide...."

The cop struggled to keep his emotions under control.

"I'm so sorry...I...."

"Don't be sorry, Jason. He's in a better place." The cop said, giving a wary smile and soon walked off.
*****
That night I paced my cell. I couldn't sleep. Truth to be known I missed home. I missed my parents. I had hurt them both and I couldn't take it back. I laid on the makeshift bed and my thoughts drifted to the war, my men and Danny. I had put them through hell and I couldn't get them out. Truthfully, I was one wrong word away from a mental break down. As an FBI agent I learned to hide my feelings well. Sometimes the ones who knew me well had a hard time telling my mood. Danny used to say that all I had was sarcasm and a gun. He was right. Sarcasm was the name of the game sometimes.
*****
"What are you doing?" Danny laughed.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You're wearing a damn suit, tie, and fucking dress pants. We're going to war, not to do their damn taxes!"

"Listen, these are my work clothes and if you don't recall I'm entitled to wear what I damn well please." I teased.

"No,no, no, Jase. You need a uniform and lucky for you, I might have an extra in your size."

"This is ridiculous, Danny."

"You look like you're going sit down and do their taxes. You wouldn't last a day by yourself and you need me to protect you, Jase."

"Okay, Danny keep telling yourself that, but I can take care of myself. I'm the damn FBI!"

"I know, Jase. I'm so proud of you. Even if all you have is sarcasm and a gun." Danny smiled all over himself when I wrapped him in a tight hug.

"You're right, Danny. I do need you to protect me, but only until I learn the ropes then I'll be fine. I'll always need you by side though."

A car horn sounded and Danny slug his ruck sack over his shoulder and handed me mine.

"Ready?" He asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be, let's go."  I replied.
*****
I woke up laying on the floor of my cell. My back ached and my head throbbed. I pulled myself to my knees and looked around.

"Rough night huh?" Someone said.

"What?" I asked as I turned and peered out the cell door.

"Well, once you rolled off that bed I'd figure you'd wake up. You didn't though." The voice belonged to a women.

"Listen whoever in the hell you are, just go. I'm here for a reason and...."

"That's enough, Agent Donavan. The boss man told me to come and get you. I've talked to the cops and they've agreed to let you go."

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Sally McGee. Now let's go."

Sally opened the cell door and shoved my clothes into my chest. Sally was a short women, only coming up to my chest. She had long brown hair tied back into a ponytail and hazel colored eyes.

"Put those on and then come to the lobby. We have much to discuss."

After putting my clothes on, I limped out into the lobby of the jail. Several men, which I recognized, stood in the lobby. They all wore grim expressions on their faces.

"Jason, we've received new information about Danny's death and we all figured that you should be involved, if you could." Agent Reed spoke up.

"Tell me what in the hell is going on, Reed." I said, panic coming to my voice.

"Danny's death was staged. He knew it would happen. The man that killed him, killed him out of revenge and Danny knew. He accepted his fate..."

I felt all the color drain from my face and I struggled to keep my emotions in check. After a few minutes I finally spoke.

"What do you mean he knew! I could of helped him through what ever trauma he was going through. He told me everything.... He wouldn't of kept that from me and...."

"Donavan, get ahold of yourself. We'll figure everything out." Sally said.

"There no one of question." I continued, "I killed the man that killed Danny."

"The man had a brother. We can question him. The boss gave us the okay to do so." Sammy chimed in.

All I could do was nod. I felt my legs getting weak and my vision blurred with tears.

"I've gotta go." I said, turning on my heel and limping off.

"Oh no you don't, Donavan." Sally said. "The boss man gave me strict orders. They were not to let you out of my sight. We are partners through this, you understand?" She asked, taking me by the arm and leading me to a black Escalade.

We rode in silence. My mind whirled with several different thoughts. Danny told me everything and he would have told me something as important as that.

"You holding up okay, Donavan?" Sally asked.

I shook my head.

"I don't understand. Why didn't he tell me. He never gave any indication or anything. I just wish I could of saved him...."

"Donavan, we will get to the bottom of this, don't you worry."

"No, need to call me by my last name. Jason, will do just fine." I said.

I saw a faint smile come to her lips.

"Okay, Jason." She said.

We arrived at headquarters and were greeted by the boss man, Daniel Stratton.

"Jason, it's good to see you again." He said, offering a warm smile.

"It's good to see you too, sir. I heard about Danny's...."

"Danny's death was staged. We're not sure what he could of gotten himself into but that's for us to find out and you're going to help us."

"I thought I was fired, you don't remember yelling at me until you were red in the face and telling me never to come back."

"Forget about all that, Jason. Right now we need to focus on your brother."

I gave a hesitant nod.

"Can you do this?" He asked.

"Yes, I want to know what happened to my brother." I said, determination entering my voice.

"Now you're sounding more like yourself, Jason. Let's get you a gun and badge and go over what we have so far. Sally, you and Jason will be partners through this."

"You've already told me, sir." Sally said.

I followed Sally into Daniel's office. Daniel sat behind his desk, a file laid in front of him. The title of the file was Brothers In Arms. My eyes fell upon a picture of Danny that had been stapled to the file, along with all of his information, which was most likely provided by the U.S. Military. If I didn't know about Danny's death being staged then my parents didn't either. I felt tears prick my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. Sally nudged me and I looked up at her. She had a worried look in her eyes.

"Sir, who is this man we are supposed to interrogate?" I asked.

"His name is Kasim Daher. The man that killed Danny is his brother, Akram Daher."

Hearing Danny's killer's name sparked range in me.

"Is he still in Iraq?"

"Yes, I am sending some of my top agents to retrieve him."

"What will I do? I have to go and meet this asshole face to face!"

"I know, Jason. For now just sit and wait. Sally will make sure of that."

I saw Sally give a wary smile at Daniels. I rolled my eyes and began pacing the room. Daniels gave me my badge and a gun. I tucked the gun in the waist band of my jeans and put the badge around my neck. It fell just below my dog tags.

"Sally, why don't you escort Jason to the gun range and test his skills." Daniel said, not looking up from the file.

"Yes, sir."

I followed Sally through the double doors and past several office cubicles, until we finally passed through the double doors that lead out to the gun range. I had been here so many times with Danny. Danny had said that he didn't want to lose his touch with his gun, so I asked Daniels if Danny could come and shoot once or twice a week. Thankfully, Daniels agreed. A sly smile came across my face as I remembered several memories of Danny and I challenging each other to see who could shoot the most moving targets.

"So, Jase, let's have a little friendly competition, shall we?" Danny asked, a smile on his face.

"Why not, Danny. I'll be sure to kick your ass!" I teased.

"Oh, little bro, you're on!"

Danny had a assault rifle and had my 9mm Glock pistol. We each fired at several moving targets until our guns clicked empty. On my side of the field most of the targets had been knocked down. Three remained standing. On Danny's side all the targets had been knocked down.

"Damn, that was quite a shoot out!" I said

"Better luck next time, Jase. Is this what the FBI teaches you? To miss several enemies!"

"No, I'm just having an off day."

"What are you gonna do? Talk your way out of trouble!" Danny laughed.

"Nope, it's all about the element of surprise." I said, firing three more shots. All the bullets hit the targets in the head, straight between the eyes.

Danny's jaw dropped.

"Well, hell, I didn't know you had that in you, Jase. I could turn you into a fine soldier, if you'd like."

"Nah, I think I'm fine in the FBI, thanks for the offer though."

I wrapped Danny in a tight hug and we walked back into Head Quarters and that's when I found out my assignment about the U.S. Military and the Iraqi civilians.

I managed to find my way to the look out over the field where Danny and I often shot at. I stared down at the field below, my jaw clenched.

"You and your brother came here a lot? Didn't you?" Sally said, concern in her voice.

"Yes, we did.... I just don't understand, Sally. Why wouldn't he of told me. Hell, he told me everything." I said, anger coming to my voice.

"Jason, what happen to Danny isn't your fault, you must understand that."

"It is my fault, alright! Danny died in my arms. I couldn't save him...."

Sally, was lost for words at this point. She shifted weight on her feet and stared out into the field before meeting my eyes again.

"Jason, no matter what happens you must realize that it wasn't your fault. I know it's difficult to believe right now, but you'll see."

Sally came and wrapped me into a hug.

"Thanks, Sally. You're the only one I haven't snapped at yet. Mentioning my brother is a very touchy subject and...."

"It's alright, no need to explain." Sally said, letting me go.

She unholstered her gun and flicked the safety off. She fired several bullets into a target far out into the field. I gave a smirk.

"Not bad, McGee. I could do better though."

"Oh, really?" She said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yep."

I unholstered my gun and took my position. I soon shot several targets in the head.

"I can't wait to get ahold of Kasim." I said, reloading my gun.

"Can you handle it and not pounce as soon as you see him?"

"No promises."
******
An armored jeep and several police cars pulled in Thursday morning. Four days since I started working for the FBI. I shifted weight on each foot and stared at the ground. Sally had been a lifesaver through this new finding. She's tough but has a soft side. Kasim was lead by six Agents. Two holding each arm, two in front, and two in back.

"You okay?" Sally whispered, nudging my arm.

"I'm gonna hurt him. I can feel it. He'll be dead before he hits the floor."

"Jason, you said that...."

"I didn't agree to anything. I'm still libel to kill him. I killed his fucking brother, didn't I."

Sally drug me into the lobby of Head Quarters.

"Listen, Donavan. If you make a move to hurt him it could be a major set back in the case. Just promise me you won't." Sally said, a pleading look in her hazel eyes.

"I'll try my hardest, Sally. I can't promise anything."

She gave a sly smile.

"Thanks, Jason. I know how much this means to you and I just want to make sure we find out the truth."

We walked into the interrogation room Kasim was being held in. He gave a smirk while looking me straight in the eyes. Daniels, already had a seat across from him. Kasim had shaggy sand colored hair and one blue and one green eye. An ugly scar ran down his left cheek.

"Well if it isn't the grate, Jason R. Donavan. I've heard so much about you. Including the fact that you were the one that killed my brother!" Kasim snapped, in Arabic.

Anger surged through me.

"He killed Danny and I want to know why!" I snapped back at him.

"You mean you don't know." He smirked.

"Danny was involved with our drug operation. He failed a delivery, back talked the boss man, and killed innocent people."

"You're lying!" I snapped.

"Am I? I do recall my brother telling him that if he failed this then he was a dead man. He tried to out run his problems, but he failed and suffered greatly."

I began to pace the room. My hands clenched and unclenched at my sides. Kasim smirked again.

"It's so funny seeing you so worked up. I though you were supposed to handle your emotions better than this."

"You fucker!" I snapped, taking Kasim by his shirt and pulling him to his feet.

"You caused the explosion that killed my brother and your men, you know that right?"

I slammed Kasim's head against the table. The impact broke his nose and he staggered back as far as the shackles around his ankles would allow.

"You listen here, asshole. Tell me what really happened."

"Why would I lie. I have nothing to hide." Kasim hissed.

I released his shirt. Daniels was fuming. It was then I realized that the director of the London brach of the FBI, Bryan Dowel, was standing in the corner, watching this whole spectacle unfold. Dowel gave a disgusted look and motioned me to follow him. Sally was on my heels.

"Sir, don't fuss at Jason. It's me you should be mad at. Daniels didn't want Jason in the room in the first place and...."

"McGee, that's enough. Give Jason and I a minute to discuss this matter."

Sally walked off, but stayed close enough to hear.

"Donavan, what in the hell are you doing back?"

"Daniels said that he needed me, sir. I came because of that."

"I want you off this case. Do you understand?"

"You can't kick me off my brother's case. I won't allow it!"

"That's an order!" Dowel snapped

"You understood everything we said."

"Yes, you're not fit to be in this line of work." Dowel said and walked off.

So much for being in this line of work, I thought.