And Ethan backed down.
Because he wouldn’t burn Gene, or grovel to this man, Ethan took off his badge and gun and placed them on Gabe’s desk.
“Then, I guess I’m terminated,” he said, and it was the hardest words he’d ever said in his whole life. All he’d ever wanted to be since he was eighteen, was to be a Fed.
In that split second, he had to make a choice.
Now, his dreams were crushed.
His heart was broken.
“I’m not playing games with you. This is exactly that. You want to see if I’ll bow to you, but I never will. I’m not going to be forced into compliance when I have an excellent closure record. I do my job, and I work damn hard to bring honor to that badge,” he said, pointing at his once-prized possession. “I’m not your pawn, and I’m not going to let you break me. I’ll walk first. I’ll give up my ambition for what I believe in.”
From where he sat, Gabe was shocked as shit.
He knew the man was ambitious.
“So, you’ll quit? Over losing a simple partner?” he asked, seeing it wasn’t so cut-and-dry.
Ethan already had.
Now, he needed to get out of there before he started puking up his coffee.
Because that was next.
“You gave me the ultimatum. I chose, but I’m betting that wasn’t what you wanted—but what you just got. Director, with all due respect, fuck off, Gabe. Fuck off. You’re a disgrace to thebadge, and while you might not be dirty, like the director, you’re just as foul.”
Gabe actually stared.
And with that, he knew it was over.
Heading out of the man’s office, he slammed the door behind him. Then, he made the walk downstairs to the lobby, out the door, and no longer a part of the one thing that saved him five years ago.
Gabe watched from his window as the man walked across the lot and got into his rental car.
And he was legitimately shocked.
Yeah, he didn’t expect it.
He knew this was Ethan’s dream job. His ambition was his strength, and now, he’d given it up. There had been no contingency plan, and that was bad for agents.
Gabe knew one thing.
He was disappointed.
Ethan Blackhawk had given up too easily.
And now, the FBI had just lost a good Fed.
Outside, Ethan pulled out his phone.
He couldn’t breathe.
He couldn’t think.
He was scattered and scared.
All he knew was that everything that he’d worked for in the last five years was gone, and he needed to regroup.
