After the case, Avi and I went back to Virginia without the other agents a couple days later. Our supervisor, Matthias Constantine, made Avi go to the hospital due to his injury. Matthias pretty much called all the shots. Whatever he said, goes.
Agents aren't allowed to travel alone so I decided to stay with him in the hospital. They ran some tests and some scans on him. Soon enough, sent him on his way.
Our jet rides were always quiet. Avi never really spoke during these journeys. I looked over at him on the other side of the jet. He just stared out of the window, watching the clouds. If I ever tried speaking to him, he never even acknowledged me. It was as if he disassociated from the plane. Almost like he was in a trance. I looked back out the window.
I remember on my first case with him I was taken aback by his lack of communication on the plane. I kept on trying but he just ignored me. Nowadays it doesn't even phase me. I knew he wasn't doing it to be cruel. He was deep in his thoughts. It was even worst in cases that went wrong. You could see the pain in his face. You could see how much he was beating himself up on the inside. He really put his heart and soul into his work. If it went wrong, he broke. A piece of him always shattered because he cared so much.
To fill in the silence, I just listened to music from my phone. That was my way of unwinding and destressing. It was my only way of escaping the mentally scaring reality that is my job. Calming melodies to wash away all the screams and tears of innocent people. Soothing rhythms to cover the gore filled scenes we always arrive to.
I turned away from the window and almost had a heart attack when I saw Avi moving towards me. He smiled at me and I smiled back."Hi Kaplan," I greeted as I took my headphones out. He began sitting down in a slow fashion. I heard him silently groan as he sat. "Your back still hurting?" I asked.
"Unfortunately," He nervously laughed as he rubbed his back. "I feel like an old man already," He joked and I laughed. "I bet by next year, I'm going to need a walking stick," He laughed hard but my laugh began to falter.
I looked in his face and I could still tell that he was genuinely hurting. "You should really take some time off. That fall was bad and it could've really messed you up,"
"I'm fi-"
"You need the break,"
"I don't think s-"
"You need re-"
"Just drop it, Hoying," He shouted frustratedly at me. I was slightly taken aback by his sudden agitation. "I'm fine, ok?" I gave him a look of concern before looking back out the window. I sighed.
"You'd be better if you listened to me," I mumbled frustratedly under my breath.
"I'm sorry, did you say something?" He responded instantly.
"So, do you think we're going to get another case when we get back?" I questioned, changing the subject.
He paused for a bit scowling at me, but I avoided his eye contact. "It's not a question of thought, but a question of when." He joked and I laughed at the painful truth. It was so tiring. Day in and day out, we'd be speeding down streets trying to track down the next monster. "They're going to run us dry," He laughed.
"You're so right," My laughing subsided as I watched him rub his back again.
"Prepare for our descent," The pilot's voice came through the intercom. I did my seatbelt after that announcement.
"So, what are you going to to do when we land?" He asked me.
"I'm probably just going to relax in my apartment. Maybe, clean up a little," I answered. "Listen to some music,"
"That sounds like a dream,"
"You could try it too, you know," I replied. He shrugged his shoulders and sighed.
We had a very smooth landed and soon enough we were carrying our bags to our cars. My phone vibrated in my pocket. I took it out and saw that Mitch was calling me. "Hi, Grassi, what's up?"
"Hey, Hoying! Agent Constantine says that we have another case but he wants us to take a couple days off," I rejoiced in my head as I received the good/bad news. "Please tell Agent Kaplan about this please,"
"You said please twice," I commented, jokingly.
"Well I have to urge you because you know how he is,"
"Alright, will do. See you soon,"
"Bye," Mitch ended the call. Mitch was one of our co-workers. An agent that also worked on the field. He was the brainbox of our team. If you asked him a question, he'd recite a whole essay about that question. That's how smart he was.
"Kaplan," I caught his attention. "Constantine says that we have a case but we have to take a couple days off," I informed him and he rolled his eyes. "You can't avoid rest,"
"I guess I could use the break to right up all the reports,"
"No, you are going to rest. I will stop by your house every day just to see if you are resting,"
"I don't believe that,"
"Don't doubt me, Kaplan. You know I will," I replied in a joking manner. We finally made it to our cars. About to head home. "I'll see soon," I waved before I got into my car. I put my key in the ignition and began driving home.
