FicWad

The next hour or so was a mass of confusion. The supervisors came in and had the dead bodies taken away. Sheldon was taken to a small room, where he was told to wait.

Meyers answered all of their questions and turned over his recording of their conversation. As a direct consequence Richard Mullens was sent for and arrested for conspiracy. That had been the least of Meyers' concerns his main concern was Sands. He had made it perfectly clear that Sands had nothing to do with the shooting of Ethan Schmidt.

Sands on the other hand, was on edge. He was sitting in what he was sure was a very small, cell-like room. He hoped that whatever was going to happen would happen soon, at least before he ran out of cigarettes. He was angry with himself, in the scurry that happened after the shootings, he had left his stick with Meyers. He was tired and stressed out. He hated playing the waiting games but at the same time he was becoming lost in his own thoughts.

He was going over what Bradney had said and although he had been certain that Bradney had been desperate when he said it, there had been truth to it. The truth was that Rachel had dumped him a few days before he had left for Mexico. She had said that he had to make a choice, The Company or her. The Company told him to make a choice. He either work for them and do what they wanted or they make him disappear. A lot of good that decision had done him. Now he was sitting inside the Central Intelligence Agency's headquarters, unemployed, mutilated and feeling incredibly lost.

The door opened and Sands regained his composure. He couldn't tell who it was right away. It took until the man was completely inside the room and the door was closed before he knew.
He released a breath that he didn't know he had been holding. He had been expecting it to be one of the supervisors; telling him that although they appreciated the work he did and they were thankful that he had taken out the Cartel; but the way that he achieved this, as well as some of his dealings were questionable, so with some regret they'd have to make him disappear. But he was grateful when he realized that it was Meyers.

"Sands, are you okay?"

Sands turned so that he was facing the direction of the voice. "That depends."

"On?" As he spoke he placed Sands' cane in his hand.

"Your definition of okay."

"Well, I have good news and bad news."

Sands took a long drag off his cigarette. He held the smoke in his lungs until his body was screaming for air. He waved his hand, in what he hoped was the right direction; telling him to continue.

"The good news is that they're claiming everything that happened in that room was self defense. They are also saying everything that happened in Mexico was the result of bad planning and the consequences were unavoidable."

Sands scoffed. "What are they trying to do?"

Meyers knew that Sands wouldn't like what he had to say. "Well, by implying that it wasn't anyone's fault, you become a write off."

Sands tried to hide how angry he was. He knew that The Company would try something like that. He also knew that like anything run by the government, they would make sure that he kept his mouth shut about anything he knew, that the general public wasn't supposed to know.

"What are they offering?"

Meyers smiled. He forgot how much of a game putting up with Sands was. In Sands' book information came at a price, his silence was a bargaining chip. The fact that he knew something that someone didn't want him to know was something that he could dangle over their heads until they gave him what he wanted. "You know how to play any hand you're given. The Company is placing you into early retirement. You'll have a full pension."

Sands sighed and snubbed out his cigarette. Meyers finally understood why. While the whole ordeal was going on, Sands had still been connected with the CIA. With all the loose ends tied Sheldon had to face the fact that he was a civilian. "Okay." He stood up. "I'm going home to pack."

Meyers felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. "Where are you going?"

Sands chuckled and gave a heartless smile. "I'm taking Fernando and going back to Mexico."

"Why?"

Sands shrugged. "I'm fucked with no excuse. I have no life here, my career is over and with neither of my parents speaking to me, I have no reason to stay. I'll give the Finance Department a bank account number where they can deposit the checks."

Meyers forgot how cold and unforgiving Sands could be. "I'll drive you to your apartment."

Sands smiled. "Good, because there's no way I'd be able to afford a taxi from this end of town."