Taylor Hawkins sat silently in the dimly lit office, waiting for a response. Assistant Director Collins sat at his desk across from her, and behind him stood the seldom seen Director of the NIA, Carl Hammond. Technically, he was Collins’ boss, but the assistant director was usually given free rein in administrative matters. They certainly had called in the big guns for this one, and she had to admit, it was sort of flattering. She had come out of the hospital feeling pretty low, which wasn’t surprising, really. She always got a little depressed when a case was over and there was nothing left to pursue. This time was especially hard; this particular case had been constantly in the back of her mind for over a decade. Now that it was over, she felt somewhat… empty. But, in truth, it wasn’t really over, not until she managed to convince these two men that she had done the right thing. If she got drummed out over this, Darien would still have won a small victory. Frankly, there was no way she was going to give him even that much satisfaction, if she could help it. A new challenge always got her spirits up and her blood pumping again. And explaining her plan from the beginning, she was sure that she had done the right thing. Now, she simply had to wait to see if the brass agreed. After a long moment of silence, Collins cleared his throat and addressed her coldly,

“Agent Hawkins, your actions have displayed a reckless disregard for agency protocol and for the safety of our agents. Lying to superiors, stealing case files and evidence, not to mention failing to inform anyone here of an imminent threat to this agency. You allowed the lives of countless people to be endangered, and you crippled the official investigation by holding back essential information,” Collins fumed.

“Yeah, because your investigation was going so well, I’m sure that would have broken it wide open for you,” Hawkins muttered sarcastically. “Besides, I sent you a tip.”

“That is not the point,” Collins huffed.

“Then what is the point, Assistant Director?” she said disdainfully. “Why should I have trusted you? Hell, for all I knew, you were Parabellum. Right age, right length of employment. I had no reason to trust you any more than anyone else. And frankly, didn’t you endanger more people by failing to stop him, for years? Darien was right under your nose the whole time. He answered to you, came up in the agency with you; you were really closer to him than anyone, weren’t you?”

“That is no excuse for your behaviour!”

“No, you’re right. Maybe I should have done what you did and gone directly to the dangerous serial killer to ask him to find himself,” Hawkins sneered. “And then I could have helped him attempt to murder the only people with evidence against him. Tell me, is it your usual policy to order the summary execution of your own agents, without any evidence?”

The man’s incompetence never ceased to amaze her.

“There was proof,” he spluttered.

“Yeah, that any 10-year-old could have doctored up on Photoshop.”

“Hey, you are the one who murdered an agent, not me,” the vein in his forehead pulsed rhythmically.

“I think you mean killed in self-defence,” she shot back. “Blake was the real murderer, the real traitor. And if any of you had taken even a moment to check your facts before sending a hit squad out for me, you would have known that. What’s more, he never would have had a chance to become a serial killer’s apprentice in the first place if you had put him in prison years ago, where he belonged!”

“So, this is still about that, is it?”

“About you letting a dangerous criminal carry a badge and a gun for years, even after you knew what he was capable of? Yeah, it’s about that. Well, partly about that. It’s also about the fact that Darien controlled you and your investigation completely, just like he had done for years! He almost got you to assassinate me yourselves, and you wonder why I didn’t come to you? If I had, I’d probably be dead by now, and so would you,” Hawkins rolled her eyes.

Collins leapt to his feet, his face purple with rage.

“Now listen here, Taylor,” he spluttered. “You’re conduct was unacceptable and your attempts to justify it are even more so. We cannot tolerate it in this organization.”

“You want to fire me?” she challenged.

“Maybe I…”

Suddenly Hammond, who had been all but forgotten in the heat of the moment, placed a hand on Collins’ shoulder and pushed him firmly back into his chair.

“Calm yourself, Adam,” he said coolly. “We aren’t firing anyone today. I know that you and Agent Hawkins do not get along, personally, but I still expect you to act like a professional. Am I expecting too much?”

“But Carl,” Collins almost whined. “She…”

“Saved all our asses and exposed a black mark on our organization that will take us years to fully recover from. You and I, we were here for all 5 of the Parabellum cases. I lost good agents, and good friends.” Hammond turned to her, “The entire agency appreciates what you’ve done for us, Agent Hawkins. And the families appreciate the closure you’ve brought them. Though I suppose you know that better than most, don’t you?”

She nodded solemnly.

“It is also clear that the death of Agent Blake was unavoidable, under the circumstances. Darien has confessed that Blake was working with and that he sent Blake to kill you and Agent Stone. The way Agent Stone tells it, he almost succeeded. Even after all that, you still went after Darien, risked your life for everyone in this agency. There is nothing more that we can ask from our agents. So, I want to congratulate you on a job well done.”

“Thank you, sir,” Hawkins replied.

“Now, Agent Hawkins, what assistant director Collins says is true. If you indeed initiated a personal investigation, stole evidence and hindered the official inquiry into this crime, that would be a very serious offense indeed. Not to mention a further blemish on this agency, at a time when it can hardly afford one. However,” a flicker of a smile cracked Hammond’s somber façade, but only for an instant. “I have spoken to your partner, privately, and he told me quite a different story.”

Hawkins wasn’t sure where this was going. Stone hadn’t said anything about talking with Hammond.

“Agent Stone told me that this investigation was fully authorized on the highest level, by the Assistant Director himself, and simply kept off the books to avoid it being leaked to a criminal who seemed to have inside information on this agency.”

Collins looked like he was going to burst a blood vessel. He opened his mouth to protest, but Hammond raised a hand to silence him.

“Now, if that were true, it would mean that this entire investigation was completely legitimate. It would also look extremely good for our agency, and especially for you, Adam, since you had the foresight and wisdom to use creative methods to end a long-term threat. Being an instrumental part in catching this serial killer would be quite the feather in the cap of the leader who presided over the capture, and it would reflect very well on him when he throws his hat into the political ring, too. Certainly, much better than the alternative, where he would look somewhat incompetent, at best. Wouldn’t you say, Adam?”

Hawkins was pretty sure Hammond winked at her.

“So, what of it? Did Agent Stone tell us the truth? Did he clear everything with you, in private, before embarking on this course of action? Was this all part of your plan?”

“I… It…” Collins stuttered, unsure of what to say. He clearly didn’t want to support Hawkins, but on the other hand, this was an opportunity. Hammond wasn’t lying, this could either look very good, or very bad for him. Hawkins could see him weighing his options in his mind. Finally, he reached a decision.

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“It didn’t go exactly as I had planned,” he began slowly, through gritted teeth. “Darien’s lie fooled me near the end, but the initial operation did, in fact, have my full approval. Agents Hawkins and Stone were working for me this entire time.”

“Excellent,” Hammond smiled. “Agent Stone assured me that this could all be straightened out, if we could just talk like this. In private.”

“Agent Stone is very perceptive,” Collins murmured.

“Yes, he is. A good thing too, all things considered. But, now that everything is out in the open, I can assure you that there is no longer any need for you both to pretend in front of me. You are free to admit to everyone that this was your plan from the beginning, Adam,” Hammond fixed his subordinate with a meaningful look.

“Of course, Director,” Collins held his gaze for a long moment before dropping his eyes and turning away.

“I’m glad we understand each other. Now that that is all taken care of, I can say officially that we will be taking no disciplinary action against you, Agent Hawkins.”

“Thank you, Director.”

“Don’t thank me. I am a practical man, and this decision is solely based on merit. So just keep up the good work and don’t make me regret it.”

“I understand, Director.”

“Good. Now, I don’t expect to see you back in this building for at least another month, you take some time off. Rest, heal and come back when you are 100%, understood?”

“Yes, sir,” Hawkins nodded sharply.

Collins cleared his throat loudly.

“Do you have a problem with my decision, Adam?” Hammond turned to Collins.

“No, Director,” he mumbled.

“Good, because I need you two to continue working together. You did so well this time, after all. Do not make that a problem for me.”

“Yes, sir,” they replied in unison.

“Agent Hawkins, you are free to go. Your leave starts immediately. We will see you back here in one month, I’m sure we’ll have a new case for you by then.”

“I look forward to it, sir,” Hawkins rose from her seat and quickly headed for the door, before they could change their minds.

As the door closed behind her, Carl Hammond turned to Adam Collins,

“You know, as much as you seem to dislike the idea, Agent Hawkins is not going anywhere. So, you’d better get used to the idea of working with her.”

“She is a disruptive influence, Carl. You are going to regret keeping her around,” Collins muttered.

“Maybe. But she is too good an agent not to take the risk. She is easily as good as Grace was. Maybe better.”

“Is that what this is about? Are you going to bat for her because of your relationship with Grace? You are certainly going out of your way to make this work out for her.”

“No, Adam,” Hammond shook his head calmly. “I am backing her for the sake of the agency, and because she did the right thing. What would you have done?”

“I would have run a proper investigation.”

“And you would have failed. You did fail. Darien had us all fooled, Adam. Her methods were unorthodox, admittedly, but I doubt he would have been caught another way. He had everything too well planned, too well controlled.”

“We would have found him.”

“You mean like the last four times? Like this time? Face it, Adam, sometimes outside the box thinking is exactly what is called for.”

“I have no problem with outside the box. Going rogue, however, I do have a problem with.”

“That is why she has a supervisor,” Hammond replied pointedly. “Perhaps if you spent less time attempting to drive her out and more time actually providing leadership, she would have trusted you enough to really go to you when this started.”

“You are blaming this on me?” Adam spluttered indignantly.

“Partly,” Hammond replied. “It is a leader’s responsibility to manage their people. That is why I also blame myself for failing to intervene in this sooner. Your… strained relationship with Agent Hawkins has been no secret. I had hoped that you would resolve it yourselves. Clearly, that was a mistake. So, I am giving you an order now: make it work, Adam.”

“This is ridiculous, Carl,” he protested.

“You are both good at what you do. If you cooperate, you will both be better for it and so will this agency. I know you really have the best interests of the agency at heart, right?”

“Of course,” Collins mumbled.

“Then we have no problem, do we?”

“No, sir.”

“Good. I look forward to the work the two of you will do in the future.”

John Carson was waiting for Hawkins when she left the office.

“Well?” he asked.

“Well, we still have our jobs,” she replied.

“That is good,” Carson smiled. “Because if you were fired, I have no idea how you would be able to pay me back all of the favors you owe me, now.”

“True, it also would be harder for you to find me to collect.”

“I would have managed,” Carson clapped her on her good shoulder. “But in all seriousness, welcome back, Taylor. Thanks for saving all of our butts.”

“Think nothing of it,” Hawkins smiled. “After all, I couldn’t have done it without you. We can just count that as one of the favors I owe you.”

“Hey, since I was integral to the whole investigation, maybe I should add a favor instead,” Carson joked. “Well, you’d better go home and get some rest. The sooner you get back, the sooner I can call in a few of those markers.”

“I’ll see you in a few weeks, Carson.”

“Take care of yourself, Hawkins. Don’t be a stranger in the labs.”

As Carson turned and walked back into the building, Hawkins headed for the elevators. Ryan rose from his chair in the hallway as Hawkins approached.

“So, how did it go?” he asked eagerly.

“Why didn’t you tell me what you had planned?”

“Well, I wasn’t sure Hammond was going to go for it,” Stone rubbed the back of his neck. “I suggested to him that it might look better for everyone this way. He told me he would think about it. I didn’t want to get your hopes up.”

“Well, he went for it,” Hawkins grinned. “Collins too, if a bit reluctantly. We are in the clear, it seems.”

“Nice,” Ryan whistled. “Good thing too, because I really couldn’t see you working at as a librarian or something.”

“Yeah, I dodged a bullet there,” she chuckled. “Because my customer service skills are terrible. Collins is still a prick, if it were up to him, I’d be packing my desk, but Hammond isn’t so bad. And you do pretty good work yourself, Stone.”

“I know,” he grinned. “And I told you, didn’t I? Hammond likes you. Some of the senior guys say you remind them of him in the old days.”

“Hey, whatever the reason, I’ll take it. I’ve got a month’s leave and then I am back at work.”

“That works out perfectly. I was going to use some time off myself. Then, since we are both back to active duty at the same time, they can give us our new case together.”

“We?” Hawkins asked. “What about your promotion?”

Ryan burst out laughing.

“You’re kidding, right? After that debacle? Any political capital we earned was used up saving our jobs. I’m right back to zero again, maybe less than zero.”

“Welcome to my world. I tend to play a zero-sum game.”

“Why am I not surprised?” Ryan chuckled. “Either way, a promotion is a far-off prospect at this point. So, I guess you’re stuck with me for a while.”

Hawkins pressed the button for the elevator.

“Well, you aren’t going to make much headway on the career advancement front if you stay with me,” Hawkins warned.

“What can I say? I like a challenge,” Ryan grinned, undaunted. “I wouldn’t want to do this the easy way.”

“Wasn’t this supposed to be the easy way?”

Ryan rubbed his neck sheepishly,

“I don’t think anyone would ever claim that working with Taylor Hawkins was easy.”

The elevator doors slid open, and they headed down to the parking garage.

“That’s a good point. Which reminds me, who won our bet, anyway?”

“Bet?” he frowned, confused for a moment. “Oh! That bet. What do you mean who won? It was obviously me. I stuck it out as your partner for easily more than two weeks. Admit it, you were wrong about me.”

“Maybe I was wrong about you. But even so, you didn’t meet the second condition of the bet. Not only was Collins not informed of my progress, but you also helped me actively mislead him. So, you definitely did not win.”

“True,” he admitted. “I did fail miserably at being a snitch, didn’t I? Though I can’t say I am broken up about that. But what does that mean for our bet?”

“I guess that makes it a push,” Hawkins concluded.

“So, nobody wins. We will just have to let the bet ride on the next case. I am sure we will think of something we can bet on there, too.”

Hawkins laughed,

“Alright, until next time, then. But where does that leave us, exactly?”

“I think it leaves us as partners.”

“Partners,” Hawkins snorted. She knew that she must be losing her edge, because she actually kind of liked the sound of that. “Well, I suppose I have no choice, no other way to settle the bet, after all.”

Stone grinned broadly,

“Exactly. There are really no other options.”

Hawkins offered him her good hand and he shook it, sealing the deal. Ryan chuckled to himself as he unlocked his car and slipped into the driver’s seat.

“What?” she asked, sliding into the passenger’s seat.

“I’m just happy,” he smirked.

“About…?”

“I knew that you liked me,” his smirk broke into a grin.

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Hawkins huffed.

“Just admit it, you like me,” he teased.

“Let’s just go, before I change my mind,” Hawkins rolled her eyes.

“Come on, Hawkins,” Ryan offered her his most winning smile. “You don’t need to be embarrassed; I tend to grow on people.”

“Like a fungus,” she retorted.

“Aww, don’t be a sore loser,” he replied.

“Hey, I did not lose.”

“Well, you didn’t win, that’s just like losing.”

“You know, I think I’m regretting this already,” Hawkins groaned.

As he turned out on to the highway, Ryan smiled to himself. If nothing else, it looked like things were going to be very interesting from now on.

Finis.