"Episode 58 - Familiar friend."

"It must be the guy I've been waiting for." Turning on the monitor, I watched the live feed that was not being recorded. "Yes, it's him." I pointed to Nathan Ross on the small square at the top corner of the monitor.

"Oh!" I stood, using the table as my support.

"I'll reheat the noodles, make myself some too." She left quickly making me wonder they the hell she was still here, helping me out when I threatened to kill her. I wobbled towards the steel door. Opening it, I found Ross staring at me with a mixture of surprise and concern.

"Man, you look like death." Entering, he quickly closed the door behind him.

"This way." He followed me through the reception area, into the staff room to find Linda there.

"FUCK Gabriel." He cursed.

"I've been telling her to go home, she wouldn't." I sat down on the couch adjacent to the kitchen isle.

"She's my patient. I can't just abandon her." She clanged around some coffee mugs as the kettle whistled.

"Gabriel! What did you do?" I put my head in my hands, wanting everything to just stop for a minute. Exhausted, I lay down on the small couch, my legs hanging off. My mind went to Elena and her sleeping figure. I should go to her but my body felt so heavy that I couldn't move. I couldn't even tell if I was awake of sleeping. I realised that I hit my head when we rammed into that damn car. It seemed like I had a minor concussion otherwise, I could stay awake for longer than 36 hours without slowing down.

Hushed whispers floated around behind me when suddenly, I felt a feminine hand shaking me awake. The smell off coffee and food hit me. Jumping up, my brain sloshed around in my skull. Whimpering, I sat up.

"You have a concussion." She said. "You need to drink this and eat. I'll get you some pain meds but you need to be awake." Handing me a hot steaming mug of coffee, she went left again.

"How are you holding up?" Ross asked, sitting down next to me.

"I feel like death." I sighed.

"How's Elena."

"She's in the O.R. You can finally meet the heir to the family you've been obsessing over." I laid my head back against the wall. Sipping on my bitter coffee, I waited for whatever medication Linda was giving me before I chomped down some food. There was a long pause from him before he started talking again.

"You made a big mess man. FBI, NYPD and Homeland Security, everyone wants a piece of the action. Some are saying terror attacks, new type of gang war coming in to play. Did you have to use grenades?" He sipped on his own coffee.

"They had her." I carried on gulping down the hot liquid.

"I know."

"They kept her because her dad, Alberto Catalan, is still alive." I revealed.

"WHAT?" His outburst sloshed the liquid out of his mug and onto his pants. "Damn it." Standing, he found some napkins to dry himself off.

"When Jude disappeared after his last murder in USA, he went around majority of the countries in South America trying to look for him but still couldn't find Alberto Catalan. When Jude kidnapped her, he told her why he kept her alive for so long." Looking up, I found Linda staring at me with wide eyes. Gulping, she handed me some pills that I washed it down with the coffee before digging into the bowl of noodles.

"Thank you." I usually didn't care about expressing my gratitude but it needed to be said.

"How do you know that it's true?" He came around the white island, pulled a chair from the other side of the room for Linda. The room was just as bland as the noodles. Just some steel filing cabinets in the corner, a fridge next to the counters against the wall on the other side. A washing machine and a dryer right opposite us.

"Because of what Elena had to go through. I know he could have just killed her but it makes sense though." I half explained considering the lack of energy. We all sat down, ate in complete silence. Linda would look from me to Ross every now and then, probably wondering what she just got herself into.

"How's she doing?" I asked her once we were done. She needed to eat too, I doubt she'd had anything to eat since they took her.

"Everything seems normal so far. I was thinking of taking some scans. Just to see how she's doing in the inside." Nodding at her words, I stood. I needed to get back to her.

"You have to rest yourself." She stood. "Why don't you stay here, I'll go check up on her and do the scans." She left the room without giving me the time to contradict her.

Two clicks of a briefcase opening snatched my attention form the door. Sitting back down, I watched as he pulled out a file and a plastic wallet full of I.Ds. I finally noticed that he was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Hair perfectly combed back but not jelled.

Taking out my phone, I finally looked at the time. It read 1:43.

"Here, I managed to get in touch with Jake. He's out of New York, probably heading South, I didn't ask. But he gave me all of this. It's only half but hopefully you guys can live on this for a while until FBI can catch Jude." Taking the pouch from him, I took out the fake Driving Licences. They were all marked as Mr and Mrs.

My eyes widened at the surprising indication. Mr Horashio Sully with Mrs Jessica Sully. Nope. Mr. Justin Copella and Mrs. Lauran Copella. Maybe. I flipped through the next ones without reading anything but took a careful look at the altered versions of myself and Elena in each one. Whoever Jake used, was good at his job but I guessed that Jake was behind the alterations.

"And this is the place in Oregon I've fixed for you. It's a cabin by the woods on a higher vantage point. Lots of mountains and lots of trees. Get to Lane County, I've written the coordinates of the cabin. You'll have to see the manager of the reserve but it's all a done deal.

"I told him that you guys are my friends who are thinking of taking off to the wilderness for a while from the busy city life. He'll know me by James Carter. I've also put in some disposables and a couple of sims. Just in case. Do you need anything else?" Handing me the other package, he turned his briefcase and clicked the little flap open.

"Also, Jake told me to give you these." He started handing me the bundles of $100 bills but I stopped him.

"My bag is in Elena's room. I'll transfer that in there." I waved him off. "You should have been in the CIA." Amazed, I set everything down next to me. I'd have to put these in the bag with the untraceable laptop, sat phone and the money.

"Nah, not my calling. I prefer my job but I'm thinking of quitting soon." His confession didn't surprise me. He was sitting next to a man who's bulldozed through a part of a city and he hadn't arrested me yet. Something just clicked.

"You've given up on the justice system." I rubbed my head, feeling a bump form under my hairline.

"What justice system?" He scoffed, leaning back, he made himself comfortable by throwing a hand over the back of the couch. "I thought I joined to put criminals behind bars but you're not a criminal if you're a political figure or financial influence. What the fuck was I fighting in a different country for, I don't know."

Instead of replying, I just leaned back myself, wondering how many of us who's come back to feel the exact same thing. "Wasn't it easier though. Back there, we knew the difference. We were the good guys, they were the bad guys but here, it's like everyone's living in this bubble and it's so fucking suffocating."

"Yeah." He paused, scratching his eyebrows with his thumb. "Why do you think we keep going back?"

"What made you stop?" I don't know why I asked, it was none of my business.

"My wife was a hostage in a bank heist. The standoff between the robbers and the cops went on for 5 hours. I got the news while she was inside with my kids. That's when I said fuck it. What's the point if I lose my family in the land I was fighting for?" He huffed.

"Yeah."

"I'm not even going to ask you about Elena. It's too obvious." He chuckled and I couldn't prevent the once sided smile from escaping. "I don't even want to know the things you'd do to protect her."

"You know she squashed the bastard that shot her against another car and while I was driving, she was spraying them with bullets." I boasted, pride fulling my lungs.

"I guess you've found your match then." He slapped me on the back, ready to add more to it when he paused hearing the hurried footsteps.

Suddenly, Linda ran through the door. "Come quick, it's Elena." 

---------------Two more episodes and we are done.