Shut up and Get in the Game!

The following day, when John came into work, he didn’t even bother stopping by his desk. After what happened yesterday, he knew the Chief would cut him some slack and let him stay home. But instead of resting, he came into work and headed straight into the briefing room.

He entered Roman’s office and paused. The Chief wasn’t behind his desk like usual. He was pacing near the window. When he spotted John, his face lit up with something like relief.

“John! I’m glad you’re alive,” Roman said. “Shut the door.”

John did so.

“You really leapt out of a damn building?”

“If I can be honest, I’d like to live a long life never having to do it again.”

“Jesus, man. You left the fifth floor looking like a used fireplace and then performed a swan dive into the cold harbor? Doesn’t really match the economic analyst job description.”

“I’ll do better, sir.”

“Go ahead,” Roman said, gesturing to the chair. “Sit.”

John dropped into the seat. “Did you read my report?”

“I did,” Roman said. “Frankly, I’m surprised you submitted one at all. How’re you feeling? You don’t want the day off or something?”

“Sore. But not terrible. I must’ve hit the water at the right angle. Kind of felt like cannonballing.”

“Or belly-flopping.”

John sucked his teeth. “There was surveillance from the CIA boat, wasn’t there?”

“Still, you tank an explosion blast,” Roman said. “You don’t know where your siblings are?”

“Nope.”

Roman squinted at him. “Wanna tell me what really happened?”

“What do you mean?”

“Your report just says your mother got the house and Tony got the empire. That’s it?”

John leaned backward. “You’re skipping the part where I got blown out of a building.”

“Oh, I saw that part,” Roman said. “But nothing else? Convenient how that wire got lost.”

“They took my jacket.”

Roman stared at him, unimpressed. “I’m giving you one more chance to tell the truth. Otherwise, you're gonna get embarrassed.”

“Embarrassed how?” John asked, raising a brow.

He knew exactly what the Chief meant. But he also wasn’t about to rat out his family. Not because he owed them anything, but because he was tired of everyone digging into his life. This life he never asked for. The CIA was supposed to be his escape. A regular job, a regular life. Something his father’s enemies couldn’t touch. Something his family couldn’t exploit.

Roman studied him. John didn’t blink. His poker face was solid. It always has been. Another thing he’d picked up from his father.

“Fine,” Roman said. “You want to play dumb? I’ll play smart.”

He pressed a button on his desk. A panel slid open to reveal a monitor. Roman typed in a few commands into his computer.

“What is this?” John asked. “Surveillance footage?”

“Something like that.” Roman hit play.

Vito’s voice filled the room. “I, Michael Leo Nero, of sound mind and body…”

John’s eyes widened. “You bugged the room?”

Roman grinned. “Not exactly, but the job got done. I wanted to see what you’d do. See whose side you were really on.”

“So you still don’t trust me?”

“Clearly, I was right not to. You ditched the wire on purpose.”

“You can’t prove that!”

“Exactly! That’s how I know you did it.”

John sat back and thought for a moment.. “The shoes! You bugged my shoes, didn’t you?”

“Exactly,” Roman said. “I was worried the water would short them, but turns out that new waterproof tech holds up.”

“That’s a violation of privacy!”

“You work for the CIA,” Roman shot back. “You violated protocol! You disobeyed a direct order. You betrayed me for a family you say you hate!”

“If they’re scumbags,” John said quietly, “then so am I! And I’m not a fucking scumbag!”

Roman paused. The silence between them was heavy. This was the first time that John had really vocalized it. He was shocked to hear him admit it. He usually keeps his true feelings further down in his mind. This wasn’t good. He was being pushed to his limit.

Then the Chief chuckled. “Finally,” he said, “you’re talking like a real man. Don't excuse what you did, though.”

“I know.”

“You want out. I get it. But this thing? This mess?” Roman gestured to everything. “You’re knee-deep in it now. You don’t get to pretend you’re just some guy anymore.”

“Why do you think I’m here? I gave you one family. I’ll give you the others too.”

Roman shook his head. “The Nero family is the biggest arms-dealing mafia on the planet. Your father was a genius with weapons. Several organizations, hell, even the CIA, have used the FOCUS system.”

John swallowed hard. His lips became tight. “You told me we didn’t use the FOCUS system.”

“And you told me you’d wear the wire,” Roman snapped. “So I guess we’re even.”

John stayed silent.

“I can see it now. This is how it’s gonna go,” Roman continued. “You lie. I lie. You hide things. I hide things. We push. We pull. Round and round the circle goes. I can’t trust you , so I’ll have to have faith in something else...”

“Oh yeah?” John said. “And what’s that?”

“Faith that you won’t be a complete idiot.” Roman said with a straight face. “But I also can’t trust you to blindly follow orders.”

“So what, I’m fired?”

“Quite the opposite. You’re being promoted.”

The words hit John like a gut punch.

“Promoted? For this?”

“For surviving,” Roman said.

John’s voice was slow. “You’re not… making me a field agent, are you?”

“No, no. Relax. You’ve made that clear. More like a field assistant. You’ll be our eyes and ears on the inside. You won’t have to rat. Just share how things operate. That’s it.”

“And the Director’s okay with this?”

“The Director’s the one pushing it. And when you meet him, he’s going to ask you something.”

Roman’s face darkened. He fidgeted with his thumbs. “He’s going to ask you to kill your siblings.”

John’s mind froze. He couldn’t speak.

He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

His siblings were difficult. Complicated. But they weren’t evil. They protected him growing up. They were still his blood. And now, someone wanted them dead by his hand.

“I… I can’t do that. I don’t know how to run my dad’s empire!”

“I know,” Roman said. “That’s why you’re perfect.”

The puzzle pieces clicked. “The CIA doesn’t care about me. They care about the weapons! The business. They want to take it all and put it under their control.”

Roman didn’t deny it.

John stood. “I’m not doing it. I quit.”

“You can’t quit.”

“I just did.”

“If you leave now, the Director will think you’re switching sides. And if he thinks that, you’ll disappear.”

John clenched his jaw. He was right. It would just look like he’s turning back to his family and they would definitely get to him before he could leave the state.

“Just give me some time,” Roman said. “To fix this. To stall. At least until the funeral.”

John nodded once. “You’ve got until the funeral.”

“When is it?”

“I don’t know. You tell me.” He turned to the door. “You’re the one who bugged my shoes.”

He slammed the door behind him.

As he walked back into the bullpen, all eyes were on him. Until he looked up. Then suddenly, everyone was very interested in their screens, in their keyboards, in their paperwork.

He sat down at his desk and rubbed his temples. Numbers were meaningless now. The CIA wanted him to kill his siblings. Just like his father’s will had implied. And now, both sides were playing the same twisted game.

Even when Lea brought him his usual black coffee, he barely noticed. She rested a hand on his shoulder.

“You okay?” she asked.

“No,” he said. “Did you know they bugged the shoes?”

“What?”

“Did you know?” he asked again, his voice sharper.

“No!” she snapped back. “What’s your problem?”

“My problem? Really?”

“You don’t get to take this out on me!”

He exhaled. “You’re right. I’m sorry. It’s just… a lot.”

“I know,” she said. “So what are you going to do?”

“I don’t know. They’re asking me to kill my own siblings.”

Lea’s eyes widened. “What?!”

Everyone turned. She glared at the room, and instantly, everyone turned back around.

She lowered her voice. “They want you to kill your siblings?”

“Yeah.”

“They’re out of their minds!”

“Clearly.”

“Well, are they trying to kill you? Are they coming after you? Because if that’s the case… I want you to win this,” she said. “If it’s a game of survival, I want you to survive.”

“Thanks,” John said. “But right now… I need more than a friend. And since you can’t be that…”

Her face fell. He saw the words sting.

“I’m going away next week,” she said. “My friend’s going-away party in the Poconos. Maybe the Chief will come up with a plan by then. Maybe we both will.”

“You want me to come?”

“Not if you’re my friend,” John said.

And he walked off, leaving her at the desk.