Hawkins took a seat at the kitchen table. She knew that she would only get one chance to do this right and any mistakes on her part could easily get them both killed. But one thing she’d learned doing undercover work was that the best lies were the ones that had a foundation in truth, so Hawkins knew exactly how to play this. She just hoped it would work. Turning back to Stone, she began to explain.
“Ok. Once we’re done here, we are going back to the agency.”
Stone chuckled knowingly,
“You want to put on a show?”
“You read my mind,” Hawkins grinned. “If we are going to sell this, I think we need to make it blatantly obvious.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“I need you to go do your second job.”
“Second job?” he raised an eyebrow.
“Collins asked you to rat on me, didn’t he? Well, I need you to go and do it. Give your professional opinion that I am unfit for duty. Think you can convince him?”
“I doubt it will take much convincing,” Stone mused. “He’s been wanting to get rid of you for a long time. He’ll jump at the chance.”
“Just don’t overdo it,” Hawkins warned. “I don’t want to end up being committed, ok?”
“You take all the fun out of these things,” Stone sighed. “But I’ll do my best.”
“One more thing, I also need you to convince him that you should ‘counsel’ me. It shouldn’t be that hard, as much as he wants to get rid of me, he doesn’t want an agent to have a nervous breakdown under his supervision. Just tell him that you think you can get me back to work if he gives you some time.”
“You know I am not a therapist, right?”
“Well, you’re just going to have to be persuasive. I need you to have a reason to keep seeing me. I can’t go back to the office after this, without raising suspicion. That means I need you to be my conduit, as it were. Just find a way to make it look good.”
“Yeah, alright, don’t worry about it, I’ll figure something out.”
“Oh, and I hope that I don’t need to say this, but I am putting my ass on the line here. I am trusting that you are really on my side and not his,” Hawkins knew that she was taking a risk, but she had no choice, she needed his help. As much as she hated it, she couldn’t do this alone. “If you tell him anything… Well, it could be the last mistake either of us makes. You understand that, right?”
“Of course,” Stone looked a little bit offended. “I told you I was on board, and I meant it.”
“Good. You just take care of Collins, I’ll take care of everything else. Meet me back here when you’re done.”
“Hey, are you sure you’re up for this right now? You still look pretty rough.”
Hawkins laughed,
“Good. It’s more convincing that way. Besides, this can’t wait.”
“Ok, let’s go,” Stone sighed.
She reached out and put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him,
“You know once we start this, there’s no turning back, right?”
“I know.”
She bit her lip thoughtfully,
“Oh, and one last thing,” Hawkins added. “Make sure you are especially careful with Collins. You never know.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Well, just in case you needed any more reasons not to trust him, remember his age and how long he’s been at the NIA.”
She could see Stone doing the mental calculations.
“Collins could actually be Parabellum” he grimaced.
“Exactly. So, trust no one,” she muttered darkly.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Stone swallowed hard. “Now, let’s do this before I change my mind.”
Ryan dropped Hawkins off in front of the building and pulled around back to the parking lot. They had ironed out the details on the drive over, so he knew what he was supposed to do; there was no need to see her again until they were done. Putting the car in park, he dropped his head onto the steering wheel and closed his eyes. This was insane, and probably illegal, though he hadn’t actually looked it up. He was no hero; he never had been. Going it alone was Hawkins’ style, not his. But there was no denying her logic, the man who called himself Parabellum would start killing their colleagues the instant she took his challenge and with no time, no leads, and a fixed game, when could they hope to stop him, one murder? 5? 10? Or would they both be killed before they could manage? This plan would buy them time and give them the upper hand. Something no agent had ever had before. Maybe it wouldn’t work, but if they missed this opportunity, there wouldn’t be another. And anyway, it was too late to change his mind now, he had promised to have her back, and he would. He may not be perfect, but he kept his word when it mattered. So, he straightened, opened his eyes, and got out of the car. No regrets, Ryan thought resolutely. They’d catch Parabellum or die trying. With that cheerful thought, he walked slowly and calmly into the building to commit career suicide.
Moving through the familiar halls, everything looked somehow different to him, more sinister. Every face he passed was suspicious. People who had been his colleagues and superiors looked like strangers. There was a traitor among them, a wolf among the sheep, and no one else knew. For him, so much had changed, but everything here was the same, and in that moment, it seemed almost perverse. He shook it off and kept walking. He couldn’t afford to get distracted. Collins’ secretary was away from her desk, so he knocked on the A.D.’s door.
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“Come in,” Collins called.
Ryan slipped through the door and closed it behind him.
“Yes, what is it, Stone?” Collins sighed.
Ryan took a deep breath; he could do this.
“Um, Sir, I think we need to talk.”
With that, Ryan launched into an explanation of the situation, layering the lies carefully onto the truth. Collins listened silently to his entire narrative. Ryan was gratified to realize that he had been correct; convincing Collins that Hawkins had suffered a nervous breakdown after the events of the previous evening, was easy. Collins seemed to have wanted her to crack, perhaps he had been waiting for it all along, and he accepted the news with what could best be described as barely suppressed glee. It was disturbing how much Collins disliked her, especially now that Ryan knew why. But the difficult bit was yet to come. He had to convince the man not to fire her on the spot.
“I came to you with this because I am concerned about her,” he finished. “I don’t think she should be in the field right now.”
“You did the right thing,” Collins smiled, a politician’s smile. “If what you say is true, she is clearly unfit for duty. I will take the appropriate action.”
“Sir, if you’d indulge me, I don’t think permanent action needs to be taken, just yet. A leave of absence should be enough. If you’d just give me some time with her, I am sure she’ll be able to come back. I can bring her around.”
“Agent Stone, I appreciate your loyalty, but you are not a psychiatric professional, your degree in criminal psychology does not qualify you for this type of situation. And frankly, there is no reason to waste your time on something like this. She’s just another agent who couldn’t hack it. I see it all the time. And, between you and me,” he gave Ryan a knowing look. “Most women just aren’t cut out for this type of work, emotionally. If Agent Hawkins needs professional help, she can get it through official channels, on her own time.”
This was what Ryan had been afraid of, but he wasn’t beat yet.
“With all due respect sir, how will that look?” Ryan asked, with mock concern for the older man.
“What do you mean?” Collins regarded him suspiciously.
“Well, she is your agent, after all. You put her on this case, which is tantamount to vouching for her abilities. A good leader should know their people. If you’ll forgive my saying so, her falling apart under your command doesn’t reflect well on you, sir. Especially if you just cut her loose like this, instead of standing behind her,” Ryan paused for effect. “And, given your bad history with her…”
“She mentioned that, did she?” Collins sniffed disdainfully. “All that shows is a pattern of weakness and overreaction on her part.”
“That may be the truth, director. But perception is everything, and I can tell you, this will look bad. It may make you look negligent, or worse, like you wanted to drive her out, to get rid of her. And considering that she has a grudge against you, in her current, unstable state, she might try to make trouble for you.”
Collins suddenly looked concerned.
“That’s true,” he mused, stroking his chin softly. “She is the vindictive type.”
“Exactly, sir,” Ryan smiled. He had him now, appealing to his sense of self interest was exactly the way to play Collins.
“So, what would you suggest I do in this situation, Agent?” Collins watched him carefully, testing him.
“My opinion, sir? Well, if it were me, I would cover my ass. I’d call this ‘exhaustion’ and give her time off to ‘rest’. Let me work with her, it’ll keep things unofficial and undocumented, I’ll bring her around. After she’s ready to get back to work, you can have her assessed and determine that field work is too difficult for her, too much for her to handle. Then you can quietly transfer her back to the lab where she belongs, out of your hair. You’ll look like an excellent leader, who watches out for his people and is concerned for their well-being, and she won’t be your problem anymore.”
Collins considered this plan for a long moment, Ryan barely dared to breath.
“It’s a good plan. Practically perfect. I knew you had a talent for this sort of thing.”
Collins smiled and Ryan breathed a silent sigh of relief.
“But, Agent Stone, just one more question,” Collins continued.
Ryan tensed again, it seemed this wasn’t finished.
“What’s that?” he tried to sound casual.
“Why do you care so much, anyway? What’s in this for you?” Collins eyed him suspiciously.
Ryan swallowed hard; this was the one question that he had no ready answer for. To make this work, he had had to push hard with Collins, but forcing the issue like that was bound to make people suspicious. It was human nature, after all, most people don’t stick their neck out for others with no reason, and all of the reasons he did have, he couldn’t reveal.
“Well, she is my partner.”
“For what, several days?” Collins retorted. “And I think we both know that she isn’t exactly the touchy-feely, bonding type.”
Ryan grimaced internally, there was only one excuse that he could think of that he could viably use, while also advocating for a plan to manipulate and demote her. It was a bit cliché, but he suspected Collins would believe it as a reason a man would stick his neck out for a woman he barely knows. Hawkins wasn’t going to like it. Still, she had told him to make it happen, so he pressed on, regardless.
“Well, I wouldn’t exactly call what we do ‘bonding’, but there is plenty of touching,” Ryan raised his eyebrows. “If you know what I mean.”
Collins obviously did, and the suspicion vanished from his face.
“Well, well, well,” Collins chuckled. “It seems you live up to your reputation, in more ways than one.”
Ryan just smiled. He wasn’t going to spell it out, being oblique would ring truer.
“So, that’s why you’re pushing for the uh, ‘therapy’, huh? Looking to get some more ‘couch time’ with Agent Hawkins?” Collins winked.
“Something like that,” Ryan replied with a forced grin. “But don’t worry, I’ll still get her back to work, it won’t interfere with the plan at all.”
“Well, it sounds like she already trusts you. Alright, I’m convinced. I’ll try this your way, Ryan. For now. Your case is closed anyways, so I don’t need her around, and doing it this way will save me answering some embarrassing questions that I would rather not deal with. But if I don’t see results from this quickly, I’m pulling the plug, understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’ll still need to talk to her, of course, but if she seems as unstable as you say, I’ll send her on leave today. Is she here?”
“Yes, sir. We came in together this morning.”
Collins smiled knowingly,
“Alright, you get back to work. Finish the paperwork and close out the rest of this case quickly, and you can work with your partner in your spare time. Is that satisfactory?”
“Of course, sir.” Ryan agreed obediently.
“Thank you for coming to me with this, Agent Stone,” Collins said, wrapping up their little chat. “You’ve showed good diplomatic instincts here today. You’ll have a bright future, if you keep this up.”
“Thank you, sir,” Ryan shook Collins’ hand and then quietly excused himself from the room. As he closed the door, he finally started to breathe again. He had been terrified that this wasn’t going to work, and now that it was done, he could already feel the knots in his stomach loosening. Though it wasn’t a perfect solution, their new ‘relationship’ was a good cover for other reasons, too. It gave him an excuse to go to the mat for her, and a better reason to be seen with her at any time of the day or night. Ryan had done his part. Unfortunately, he would have to wait until tonight to see how Hawkins had made out with hers. For now, all he could do was get back to work and make everything look normal. With that in mind, Ryan Stone headed back down the hallway, it was time to pay a visit to the bomb techs. Hopefully, they would have some new information for him.