Case Reopened

Needing to Train

This is connected to the Rear Window saga, so just know that's what's being referenced in here.

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Mason decided the only way out was to quit. Did he like his job at the FBI? Yes, he did but some things needed to be sacrificed for the greater good. The greater good being Mason avoiding the next hour of his life.

An hour in exchange for his job. It seemed reasonable to him.

Despite his decision to quit, Mason continued down the hallway to the training center. As he walked, he touched his ribs, hoping for some sign of soreness proving that he needed to put this off.

But instead of them backing him up by pretending to be still damaged, they only served to remind him of why he needed to do this.

Still, Mason felt if he had to, he could fake it. He was a pretty decent actor. Maybe he could even convince one of the Bureau medics that he was in no condition to train. Only the thought of Yvette's face when he explained that his ribs, which had been healed for two weeks, were suddenly damaged again kept Mason from going to the medics.

He walked into the training center and surveyed the area, assessing how many people would be witness to his humiliation as well as the main audience member of it. Mason found that one person.

It was clear, he was going to quit. It was a nice job but there was no getting around it, he was quitting. That was how things needed to be. He'd come to terms with it later but it was the only it could be.

After all, who did anything other than sit on their phone while they were waiting? Except Donovan wasn't on his phone. He was doing a combination of moves that made him look like the biggest idiot.

It was simply embarrassing. How could Mason work with someone like this? Was what Donovan was doing likely to attract Owens's attention along with every other woman's in the world? Did it look impressive? That was all besides the point, he looked like an idiot, one Mason had to work with.

Mason couldn't do this. There were some things a reputation couldn't come back from. Being seen with Donovan Keller had to be one of those.

Maybe Mason could ask Owens to help him. He felt like that would be less terrible than Donovan. Donovan was a manufactured human after all. There was no working with a person like that.

But before Mason could turn in his resignation, Donovan stopped, spotted Mason, and met his eyes. That was all. Donovan didn't even make a gesture for Mason to join him. He simply looked like that was all that was needed to make someone come to him.

Mason crossed the training center, which was terrible proof that that's all Donovan needed to do. And a trait that Mason would be learning from Donovan one way or another. It was tiring to call out to someone, he wanted the ability to look at them and that was all he needed to do.

"Hey," Donovan said as Mason reached him.

Mason only nodded in greeting. Two could play the Silent Power game, Mason was just a different level than Donovan. Not lower, just adjacent.

"We're going to start with form," Donovan said.

Mason appreciated the lack of pleasantries. They were boring and pointless at the end of the day. Who really cared how someone was doing after weeks of recovery? Clearly not Donovan.

Step by step, Donovan walked Mason through foot positioning, how to curl his fist, and where the force of his strikes was to come from. He spoke with a calm voice that wasn't condescending or commanding, which pissed Mason off.