Cut and Run 1 - Cut and Run

though, so it was trimmed and neat once more. He had a few more scars. He'd not told anyone about those. No one to tell, really, and they'd mostly healed up.
    Wrinkling his nose, Zane dropped the helmet on the seat and clomped his way into the building, grumbling to himself.
    With all his contacts, he'd managed to find out only that Ty had been released from Walter Reed on the day Zane had last seen him, but then he hit a dead end. How it was possible for Ty to just walk out of the hospital and disappear, he didn't know; agents not on assignment were usually pretty easy to find through the Bureau. He hadn't gone on the lecture circuit like he'd said he was, that was for certain. The only thing Zane could come up with was that Ty was working something off the books—not even undercover, but serious black-ops stuff—and that meant he wouldn't be found at all. It had been frustrating as all hell as Zane searched for him. And now here he was, faced with a partner he didn't want in a job that was swiftly becoming more like work and less like something he enjoyed.
    * * * *
    "Good to see you doing well, Special Agent Grady,” the secretary offered insincerely as Ty entered the outer office.
    "Good to see the stick still firmly lodged, Princess,” Ty responded as he walked right by her and waved for her to tell Burns that he was there. She puffed up angrily and jabbed at the intercom to announce him.
    Ty entered the Assistant Director's office and stopped short. Over the past five or six hours, he had allowed himself to hope that his new partner would really be his old one. That Burns had finally pulled Zane out of that hell in Miami and brought him back to the Special Crimes unit. But now, he saw with a sinking sensation that his new partner was already here, sitting in one of the chairs opposite Burns with a leather portfolio in his lap, taking notes.
    Holy Jesus, he was taking notes .
    The young man looked up and over his shoulder to study Ty as Burns started talking. “Special Agent Grady, thank you for joining us. This is David Reese."
    The blond man stood, clutching the folder to his chest. Bright green eyes shone through wire-rimmed glasses. “Special Agent Grady,” Reese said. “It's great to meet you."
    Ty remained planted where he was, staring at the kid. He looked to Burns with sheer outrage glinting in his eyes. “What the shit is this?” he asked.
    Reese blinked and looked back at Burns, who was smiling. “David is a junior at Georgetown. He's interning with me this summer. Say hello, Ty,” the Assistant Director ordered pleasantly.
    Ty stared at him, slightly nonplussed as he looked back at the kid. “Shit,” he finally muttered apologetically as he stepped closer and took his hand in greeting. “I thought you were my new partner,” he said with a laugh.
    "Jesus,” Reese muttered as he shook Ty's hand. “I feel for your new partner, man. He'll be crapping his pants."
    Burns snorted.
    "Yeah well, he also won't look twelve, so he'll be fine,” Ty huffed in return.
    Reese smiled slightly, but he didn't appear amused by the crack about his age.
    "David, Special Agent Grady here is one of the more unconventional agents you may encounter here at the Bureau. Do not include him in your summaries,” Burns cautioned with a smirk as he leaned back in his chair.
    Reese nodded and smiled wryly. “I should hope not, sir,” he answered. “I don't know how you'd keep new recruits."
    "We'd feed them to the military,” Ty grumbled as he went over and flopped down into the empty chair. “So where is this asshole, anyway?” he asked with frown. “You can't tell me I'm the one on time."
    "Actually, you are, although he's not far behind. Security said he came through a few minutes ago,” Burns said. Then he looked to Reese. “You see, David, one of the more arduous jobs we have here is figuring out how to gather agents who work effectively together. Special Agent Grady here presents a particularly difficult challenge, as I'm sure you can imagine.” The young man glanced to Ty, obviously agreeing with the sentiment.
    Burns cocked his head when he heard the outer door open and footsteps clomp in. The office door opened and Reese turned curiously to look. Ty was almost afraid to do the same, but curiosity got the better of him.
    Zane Garrett stood totally still just inside the doorway, his eyes already settled intently on Ty.
    "Special Agent Garrett, how lovely of you to join us,” Burns drawled. “This