Page 24 of Saltwater Memories
Ned frowned. “Whoa man, this piece is huge!” Another laugh. “I could never finish it.”
“Do your best.” Mike turned back to the cake, hacking away, the lettering nearly broken up now.
After ten minutes of cutting, he could still make out the “Congratulations!”
Ha. As if his retirement was an achievement. Yes, there was a time that he was thinking about retiring, but that was before things started coming together. When Margie’s house was broken into, it was like a missing piece of the puzzle jumped up and hit him in the face.
While he didn’t like that it put his sister in danger, it also put everything into focus. Things started making sense. He was finally close to piecing it all together when Ned took over and hastily pulled him out of his post.
What was that all about? He still hadn’t gotten any answers. Ned alleged that he’d gotten intel about Mike being in danger; he said that Mike needed to exit his undercover role immediately.
Mike never got a whiff of him being endangered, and he usually had a pulse on everything that was going on in that family. There still wasn’t any clear indication that his life was any more at risk than usual.
But Ned didn’t have to explain himself; Mike got pulled out with a slapped-together story that made little sense.
He shot a look over at Ned, who’d inserted himself into a conversation between some of the other office staff. His voice was loud and carried across the room. “Well, all I know is that when I’m the smartest person in the room, it’s because I’m theonlyperson in the room!”
His attempt at self-deprecation solicited a few fake smiles. They had no choice but to humor him; he was the boss, after all.
Mike rolled his eyes. He’d heard Ned say that phrase at least a dozen times. His false humility was one of the worst things about him, especially because despite what he said, his ego got in the way of all of his decisions. He was a power-hungry bureaucrat. Mike cursed himself for not noticing it sooner.
“Folks, gather around,” Ned announced. “I wanted to say a few words about this wonderful public servant, Mike Grady.”
Mike grimaced. There was nothing he could do to stop it.
“Mike joined the FBI twenty odd years ago, and back then, he was in the same shoes that many of you are in today.”
Wrong. It was thirty-two years ago. He shot a look to Lincoln, who suppressed a smile.
“He worked his way up to be one of our finest agents. We’re proud of the work you’ve done, Mike, and I’m excited to say that we have new agents here ready to step into your shoes. You’re leaving your responsibilities in good hands.”
It was almost like he’d ad-libbed a sendoff from a corporate handbook. “Thanks Ned.”
There were a few claps before Lincoln stepped up to say something.
“I’ve known Mike since he walked into our humble office thirty-two years ago, fresh out of his Air Force career and looking for a fight. I was fresh out of the police force and as you can imagine, he found in me a partner to fight with.”
Mike chuckled. “I had to toughen you up.”
Everyone laughed, including Lincoln. “Well, it worked. We didn’t always see eye to eye, but we always worked toward the same goal. My career and my life are better for having known you, and I know that everyone who’s been lucky enough to work with you would say the same. It’s been an honor serving with you, Mike. You’ll be sorely missed.”
Applause broke out again, much stronger this time. Mike smiled; he’d hoped to avoid sappiness. But coming from Lincoln, that was high praise.
Once the clapping died down, he cleared his throat. “Well, I guess I have to say something now.”
More laughter.
He stood for a moment, everyone’s eyes focused on him. What could he say that would mean something to all of these people?
He had an idea. Or at least, the beginning of one. “I was here the day that they installed one of our first computers. An office before computers, can you imagine? And now we’ve all got a computer in our pocket, or on our wrist.” He paused; his goal wasn’t to sound like an old man, but that was kind of how it was coming out.
He shifted his weight. “I watched the department go through changes – the same changes that we’re watching happen across the rest of the world. We had to change, too, so we could keep up. Progress and change happen more and more rapidly now, and we have to be willing to meet it where it is.
“There will always be scummy people, trying to stay one step ahead of us. Sometimes it feels like we’re chasing our tails, but you can’t give in to despair. Keep changing. Keep progressing. You don’t have to pretend to be the smartest guy in the room to make a difference.”
Mike smiled to himself. Was Ned even sharp enough to catch that? Probably not. “I want to thank each and every one of you for the friendship and camaraderie that we’ve shared over the years. It’s been a wild ride.”
Applause broke out again, and almost instantly Ned raised his arms, motioning that they needed to quiet down. “All right, all right everyone. Don’t forget that people are still working and we have to keep it down. Let’s have some fun, but we report back to our desks in thirty minutes sharp, okay?”
