TNT: Ch. 56

"I'm sorry, Melissa, but this doesn't make any sense."
Melissa sighed. "You're telling me there's no budget for recovering stolen property?"
"I am saying I don't get why you care. They are freaking springs. I will buy you some from the hardware store. This is not a major archeological find." John held up a newspaper.
"Did you see this, Melissa? The world is laughing at us. I'd like to know why they aren't laughing at the idiots who found the springs and leaving us alone."
"John, this department isn't a democracy and I'm not a lunatic. I have my reasons for wanting to make sure we keep these springs. What I asked you wasn't whether you thought we should, but whether we had the resources to do it."
John flung his pencil across the room.
"Yeah, we do. There are a lot of other projects we could better put the money too, but nothing priority. If you really want to do this I guess we're doing it."
"Good. See to it. I'm going home."
But Melissa Hastings didn't go straight home. For some reason, she decided to take a walk through her park, through the wooded walking trails. She didn't see the trench coat-clad figure follow her in.
She walked down the path. She knew it well and walked on a path she knew would give her time to think but get her out pretty quickly. She knew at some point it would loop around, and when it did she saw the man in the trench coat, fedora pulled down over his face, sitting on the rock.
"Hello again, Ms. Hastings," the man said.
She was actually glad to see him. She was going to make a stand, and tell the man exactly what she meant.
"I'm sorry, sir. I'm not helping you this time. It's irresponsible of me to commit this much of the department's resources to a project you've given me no justification for. Thank you for your help, but our partnership is over."
The man was silent for a moment.
"Such a pity. I have already hired a team of private lawyers on your behalf who had agreed to show up tomorrow and begin working on the case. My superiors were going to pay their full fee. But I suppose if you can't be bothered I'll have to take the money to those divers. Perhaps they can be persuaded to part with the springs."
"You... You've hired lawyers? Well, I guess that changes things. I guess we can carry on with the suit."
"Very good. Tell me, Ms. Hastings, have I ever let you down before?"
She sighed. "Not yet."
"Then just keep trusting me and everything will be ok." He turned and disappeared into the woods.
She didn't trust him, and she wished she could tell John about him, but perhaps this was near the end of the "partnership." Maybe soon she could go back to running her own department.