Walter's phone beeped once. That beep was all it took to send his heart beating like a race horse at two a.m. It meant there was a job to do that's what it had always meant, except, he looked around the bedroom and things weren't right. He wasn't in Bolivia, he wasn't hiding out in Prague. No this beep meant something else, he grabbed the phone and flipped off the lock, a text from a secured line "Check your email." was all it read. He knew what that beep meant, the end to paradise and the beginning of what he had trained and been born for. As careful as he could he slid from the bed and moved about the house finding the hidden hard drive that held the private email and operation settings. He would have to be careful to not wake Ree as he reset all the components in his computer when he got back upstairs.

Silently he removed the hard drive and slid the displacement shell into place, the computer whirred to life and he grimaced slightly before looking over the monitor at Ree's sleeping form. Could he do this? He had no choice now, but did he ever? No he had known that from the start and Ree had excepted it as well.

He quickly logged into the now secure terminal and double checked all of his information. The email booted up baring the NSA seal. Walter closed his eyes and detached his moral bindings, he had to detach, make his links to this life sever, he slowly drifted from his smiling happy go lucky self into the controlled sociopath they would need him to be. This was the first mission.

When Walter opened his eyes he read the information carefully and memorized every bit of it. He was to infiltrate a man named Carter Varone's outfit. Ensure no illegal weapons were being shipped in to terrorist cells in the US and then monitor Varone's activities. This was to be a dark mission which meant to Walter he would have no contacts on the inside and no way of getting out if things got messy. He opened Varone's file and shook his head, apparently both Brian and Roman had messed up this guys life before. Walter took a deep breath and rubbed his hands down his face. He was to get himslf arrested, break free, and get Varone's attention. Reading the mission made him excited but then he realized what he would be giving up until the mission was over. He flipped the computer off after sending a single message that said 'Accepted' and removed the hard drive. He brought the secure drive back down stairs and pressed the switch on it that would cause a miniature implosion causing all memory to be wiped. He was a ghost now, an NSA spook, he would be caught and arrested under an assumed identity and Walter Kavanagh would be gone. He looked out the window at the beech knowing that he wouldn't get any more sleep tonight.
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Hours later he had breakfast made for him and Ree, fat fried toast, bacon, eggs, and orange juice. All was freshly made, he knew he wouldn't be getting any of that on the inside so he made up for it all today. With a grim smile he sat at the table and waited for her in deep thought. How could he tell her? What could he say? He shook his head already knowing he couldn't say anything but 'Im sorry.'

Ree woke to find the bed at the side of her empty, but more importantly cold, which ment it had been empty for a while. She heaved in a breath, not liking where her thoughts were taking her. She swallowed, biting the inside of her lip, her hands wrapping around her naked form. She quickly looked around the room, finding one of his tops which she promptly pulled over her head.

The smell of food hit her senses and she swallowed, did she really want to go down there and face him, shaking her head her feet touched the soft carpet as she made her way downstairs. "Joker"She questioned with a raised brow as she rested agaisnt the doorway to the kitchen, dark gaze locked onto the man in front of her, the man in such a short time she had lost her heart to.

Walter looked up as Ree said his name. His throat lumped up. "Ree." He said curtly and looked down at the food. He couldn't form the words from his thoughts. He managed though to shovel some food onto two plates. "I made breakfast." He looked back up at her, he could see a tinge of fear there, his brave warrior woman could feel fear after all. He looked back down and poked his plate with a fork. "I uh, I got an email about my job." What was he feeling though? Fear? Not really he knew he would live through this, so not fear of death. Doubt? He pegged it, fear of loss and doubt of seeing Ree again. His stomach did a back flip and she looked back up at her with almost a puppy dog expression, "Ree, you might want to sit down." He hardened himself for what he was about to do, his voice became ice and his blood matched it. He had to do this for the good of the US and cause if Varone was shipping in weapons Ree would be at risk even if not directly.

Ree didnt like what she saw in his eyes, nor the way he wouldnt quite look at her, she swallowed, biting the inside of her lip hard enough to draw blood. So this was it, she thought upon hearing his words, he was being sent away. She had spent so long pretending she didnt know what he did, when she should have been facing it, she should have never even gone there with him, the second she knew what he did, she should have turned the other cheek, if she had she wouldnt be feeling this feel of lose once more.

She slowly walked towards him, his shirt clinging to her chest, bare feet padding across the floor softly, she dropped into the seat opposite him, not even feeling the need to eat the food in front of her, she couldnt bring herself to do it, couldnt bring herself to even begin to feel hunger.

"When are they sending you away"SHe stated, her own voice mathing his cold one, if she didnt shut herself of now, she'd never cope, hell she didnt even know if she'd cope now.

Walter took a deep sigh, "Today, and I will be around. You can't know me though, you can't say my name you can't recognize my face, I won't be me any more." He slowly pcked at his food, he enjoyed it as if it were ash in his mouth. It was killing him to do this to Ree after what she showed him, it was a gift to see how the other half lived.

"Ree, I am so sorry. I will return though, but I don't know how long it will be. If you find someone, don't be afraid to persue it, I just want to say before all this starts, something I have wanted to say since day one...I, I love you." He said it and hung his head, it was preassure off his chest but he knew he might as well have driven a knife strait into her soul.

Ree let out a breath...today....she wasnt ready for this, no where near ready for this, how the hell was she going to let him go. She swallowed pushing away her food more, gaze flicking out to the ocean, she shook her head, letting out a breath, putting on a brave face. "Dont worry about it"She stated easily, he had been the first man she had let in since her sisters death. SHe had sworn away from military and here she was with a man who was special forces and he was leaving.

At his words she felt tears prickling to her eyes, he loved her, there was no way he got to say that to her the day he was leaving. Taking in a breath she pushed herself away from the table, and walked over towards him, she moved his plate away, before moving so she could sit on the table in front of him, then slid into his lap.

Her fingers traced his face, cupping his cheek as she forced him to look at her "I love you to"She whispered, fingers moving through his hair "Just come home to me ok"

Walter looked up at her and tenderly ran a thumb over her cheek, "When I can I'll be here for you, but I will not put you at risk, I love you too much for that." He had given her all the information he could, he told her it would be dangerous, that he would be close and that he would be checking up on her.

Ree inhaled nodding her head "Just make sure i dont see you"She whispered, because if she did and wasnt able to talk to him, to touch him, she thought she might just turn insane. She swallowed pressing herself agasint him, her lips pressed tightly agasint his, she didnt know if she could do this, if she could honestly let him walk from her life and not know if he was comeing back.

"Baby, if that sun shouldn't rise tomorrow. I will still come back for you. They picked me cause I am the best," He met her lips and kissed her passionately, "You need to leave soon babe. I need to clean this place and lock it up." He said solemnly and lifted her to her feet. They were prolonging this and nothing good could come from that.

Ree nodded her head "Guess its a good job i didnt move any of my stuff through"She let out a breath and turned away from him, heading up stairs so she could grab the stuff she had left here, she wouldnt cry, she couldnt, she couldnt put her self through it, not again,

Walter couldn't get up, he was so enraged at himself. He should never have let her in, he knew what he had to do but he wondered what she would do. As she finished grabbing her gear he calmed himself enough to say one final thing. "Never say goodbye, one day I will be back."

Ree looked over at him, nodding her head, yea he'd be back, but would she ever be able to go back to him, to know that one day he'd be called form her side once more. She inhaled a breath, "I have a match to get ready for"She stated as she headed towards the door so she could go back home, back to her own lonely life and beat the holly hell out of her gear.

The full realization of what happened hit him but the armor was up. He had chosen his path long before he met Ree, there was no going back and to think there was would be foolish, as she let herself out he waited until she was gone and stood up. He allowed himself one act of anger and threw the plate of toast across the room into the kitchen. It shattered into a thousand shards but the majority landed in the sink. He sighed and began to clean the mess up.

Minutes later he was upstairs with a scalpel, he needed to remove his last mark of military life, the insignia on his bicep. He worked quickly and cauterized the wound, it would be another scar in his life but he needed to finish off this last strand of his life. He welcomed the searing pain and bit down on the leather strap. After he removed the red hot knife he was gasping for air but now the pain was a throb. He shook his head and went to his dark place, he cleaned the blood up and exited his house. Walter was gone he was Jeremy King now and he had to get himself into some trouble.

Looking back she didnt even know how she managed to make it the short distance back to her front door, let alone down to her gym. She had only ever felt so drained once, right after her sister had died. She tried to contain it, to stop it from actually bubbling to the surface and taking over her, but there was no use, her legs gave way before she even made it to the garage and she slid down the wall, shaky legs drawn up to her chest.

A chocked sob broke free from her parted lips, fists clenched tightly around her legs, hair curtaining her face as she rested her forehead agasint her kness. She had promised herself so long ago she would never allow herself to feel that sort of loss again, and although he was still alive, she realized that he might as well be dead. She had no longer how long his job would take, or if he would ever come back. And if he did come back like he kept teling her, she had no idea if she could do it, allow herself to feel for him again, to let him back in, knowing that it would only be a short time before he got called away again.

She pulled in a raggid breath, she wasnt going to do this again, she couldnt afford it, not now. She pushed herself to her feet, angrily she wipped a hand over her face and forced herself down the staris to her gym, she didnt bother with the tape like she normally would, nor any other gear, she just dropped her bag and turned her attention to her punch bag.