Story: A Little B&E Between Friends

Rating: M

Author: Rogoblue

Summary: A breaking and entering engagement goes horribly wrong, potentially implicating the Dollhouse.

Spoilers: Minor ones up until Episode 1 x 09 "The Spy in the House of Love." Set after 1 x 06 and before 1 x 09.

Disclaimers: The toys are Joss Whedon's. The idea is mine.

Pairing: DeWitt/Dominic

DeWitt stood next to the chair, waiting for the intake personnel to bring Echo in for her treatment. She glanced at her watch. Her fingernails drummed on the headrest. Adelle looked at her watch again.

Topher Brink fiddled with his equipment, whistling a jaunty tune.

"Will you stop that, please, Topher?"

"What?" Topher stepped back from his computer. "Oh," he mumbled, laughing nervously, "the whistling. Sorry." Staring at the elevator door, he asked, "Shouldn't they be here by now?"

"They're downstairs." Adelle stilled her hands and stepped away from the chair. "There must be some difficulty."

"Really? Having a problem? You think?"

"Topher?"

"Do the math," Topher began, dramatically pointing at Adelle. "Echo plus Lawrence equals problem."

Checking her watch a third time, Adelle said, "Do I really need to remind you that Mr. Dominic is a professional. As such and regardless of his issues with actives, he will stay on mission—one of the parameters of which is to return with Echo."

As if on cue, the elevator door slid open. The intake woman—Elaine Rulen—stepped between Lawrence Dominic and Boyd Langton. "Please bring her over to the chair, Mr. Dominic," Elaine said.

"Alert the media," Topher murmured. Turning to Adelle, he unnecessarily observed, "Lawrence carrying Echo?"

Echo had her face turned to Dominic's shoulder and she seemed to be holding on for dear life. Dominic looked worse for wear—face dirty, clothes torn, hands bloody and bruised.

"Boyd?" Adelle murmured, taking the handler's arm as he moved to follow Dominic to the chair. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure, but I do know this—Dominic is hot. And he doesn't want to talk about why in front of Echo."

Boyd watched Dominic lower Echo to a sitting position on the chair. She had a firm grip on the security chief's black T-shirt and she wasn't letting go.

A T-shirt? For an infiltration? Oh, I see. Echo is wearing his turtleneck. What on Earth has transpired?

"He's been doing that the whole way back," Boyd said. "He's had some experience dealing with trauma."

Adelle focused her attention.

"It's ok, Natalie," Dominic said, placing his hand on one of Echo/Natalie's without trying to dislodge it. "Remember, we talked about this in the van. You're going to get your treatment and then go and see the doctor. The … ah … other doctor. This is the chair I was telling you about. It's pretty comfortable and this won't take long."

"He said it was the only way he could get her to move," Boyd informed Adelle. "Telling her each and every thing they were going to do and how they were going to do it."

"But, surely, her imprint to trust you trumped step by step guidance."

"No," Boyd said, "She's tuned in to his voice. At least for now. She's not let up on the death grip on his shirt either." Nodding to the chair, Boyd said, "Now for the last step."

"Are you ready?" Dominic asked.

Echo/Natalie looked up at Dominic. Adelle gasped and Topher made a strangled noise. Her face was bruised and stained with tears. Her eyes were wild, hunted and focused on Dominic. Echo/Natalie shook her head.

"Well," Dominic began, wincing as he crouched beside the chair so he wasn't bent over at the waist. "Here's the thing. You can't see the doctor until you have your treatment. And I can't see the doctor until you do."

"You're hurt," Echo/Natalie said, releasing the T-shirt with one hand and moving it to rest on Dominic's left shoulder. "Because of me."

"Not because of you." The snarl in Dominic's tone startled everyone.

"Mr. Dominic," Adelle warned, taking a few steps toward the pair, halting when Echo/Natalie shrunk back in fear.

Dominic rested his head on the chair for a moment. "I'm not hurt because of you, Natalie."

"Because you came back for me."

"No." A ghost of a smile flickered across Dominic's face. "Not because of that either."

"Because you had to carry me."

"Do you think you could ease up a bit?" Dominic asked, gesturing to the fist still clutching a nice size chunk of his T-shirt.

"Ok." Echo/Natalie released the shirt.

"Ok," Dominic said, sitting on the very edge of the chair. "Let's get you situated and get this show on the road."

Eyes never leaving Dominic's face, Echo relaxed in the chair. Dominic had barely tensed his muscles in preparation to stand when Echo latched onto his T-shirt again. "Don't leave me. Please don't leave me here."

Adelle quickly crossed the room to Topher. "Is it a problem?" she asked.

"I don't know," Topher admitted. "There's never been any physical contact between an active and anyone else during a wipe."

"Is there any risk to Mr. Dominic?" Adelle asked.

"Might be." Topher threw out his hands in a blatant request for sympathy. "I've never modeled anything like this."

"Can we just do this," Dominic said.

"Lawrence?" Adelle said. "There is some risk. Are you certain?"

"I already feel like crap and I'm not getting any pain meds until this is over. So, yeah, zap us and be done."

"Zap … us?"

"Ah … sorry, Natalie." Dominic's eyes drifted closed briefly. "Just an expression."

"And here we go," Topher said, commencing the wipe.

* * *

"How do you feel, Lawrence?" Topher asked with a gleam in his eye. "Have we advanced science today?"

"Strange," Dominic admitted, rolling his shoulders to ease tension, instantly regretting the motion when pain flared in the left. "Detached."

Topher held up a hand. "What's my name?" he asked.

"Topher."

"My defining characteristic?"

"Babbling geek speak."

"Good, who's that?"

Dominic hesitated. He knew both of the other people in the room but their names wouldn't come. Fortunately, they were nearly standing next to each other. To buy time, he asked, "Which one?"

"Take your pick."

A scene flashed into Dominic's mind.

"I have made my decision, Mr. Dominic. The risk is too great."

"With all due respect, Ms. DeWitt, the risk of the attempt is less than that of doing nothing. I can be in and out in—."

"You are not a viable option."

"Ms. DeWitt," Dominic said. Defining characteristic is controlling everyone and everything.

"You took your time answering," Topher crowed. "Was it just her name you didn't remember or—?"

"Just the names," Dominic said. Damn, I'm tired.

"Identifier recall dysfunctional." Topher smiled as he moved about Adelle's office. Spinning around to face the couch where Dominic was sitting, Topher continued, "Defining characteristics present and accounted for. There's a paper in this. Well, if any of this were publishable, there'd be a paper. For sure."

Handing Dominic a bourbon and water, Adelle asked, "Can we come to the point before Mr. Dominic collapses from exhaustion or Dr. Saunders demands that he present himself for examination?"

Topher bowed in Adelle's general direction. With a dramatic arch of an eyebrow, she pressed, "What happened in there, Mr. Dominic? What went wrong?" Adelle sat next to Dominic and regarded him over the rim of her glass. "This was a straightforward data extraction from an organization that contracted with us for you to design their security system. The only reason we sent in two people was that the paper files were located several floors below the portal from which we could access the electronic information."

"What's a little B&E between friends?" Topher commented with a nervous laugh

"I need for you to appreciate the tenuous position we are now in, Mr. Dominic," Adelle said. "But first, may I assume that we have at least one satisfied client this evening?"

Moving carefully in an attempt not to jostle his injured shoulder, Dominic retrieved a data stick and a tiny, ultra high resolution digital camera. "That's everything DataDyne wanted. I finished the wipe of EcoTech system memory that Echo started. We did it all under scramble video/audio umbrellas. They have nothing."

"Davison Bradley is up in arms over his five hospitalized men," Adelle said. "He claims three of them were beaten within an inch of their lives and he's demanding that you come down there and give him your assessment."

Dominic choked on his bourbon. "Now?"

"I've bought you some time but it will have to be tonight."

"He's in no shape to face those people," Boyd Langton said, hovering near Dominic in a stance that was clearly protective. "His shoulder looks separated. That slash on his leg can be stitched but there's no way to fully mask the pain of something like that. None that will leave him functional at any rate."

"Let's leave that to Dr. Saunders, shall we?" Adelle suggested. "So, Mr. Dominic, we return to the question of the hour. What in the Hell went wrong?"

Dominic took a sip of the bourbon and felt the alcohol burn down his throat. "They haven't changed the patrol pattern since I put it in. Ever. We keep tabs on them and everyone else we've done security jobs for. They changed it tonight." Dominic looked past Adelle at Langton. "They knew we were coming."

"How could they have known?" Langton muttered. "And how did Echo end up in the … condition she was in?"

"Begin at the beginning, please, Mr. Dominic."

"We went in via the roof as planned." Dominic's voice took on a flat atonal quality. "She took the portal. I went down to Bradley's office. Also as planned. I photographed the pages specified and proceeded to the south stairwell. Echo didn't show. I gave her an extra two minutes before I went after her." He stopped, took a deep breath and drained his drink.

Adelle took the glass from him and handed it up to Langton, who took the hint and moved to refill it.

"We were cutting it close and, to be honest, I was afraid Echo was glitching again and that I'd just squandered time I'd need to deal with the situation if she was. I was … I was annoyed and I … well …."

"Take your time," Langton suggested, handing the refreshed drink to Dominic.

"We don't have time to take, Mr. Langton," Adelle commented. "Continue."

Dominic spoke quickly and with passion. "Look, not only did they know we were coming but I'm betting they knew one of us was a girl—a pretty girl."

"Why would you think that?" Langton asked.

"There were three security guards in the room with Echo. Bouncer-types. Big." Dominic looked down at his glass. "They seemed pretty pleased with themselves as they gang raped her."

Langton froze and the angry mask that descended over his usually calm placid features stoked Dominic's still simmering rage.

"Did you know, Langton," Dominic said, "if you really put your back into it and focus on follow through, you can swing through three heads with the stock of an automatic weapon?"

"I did not."

"Me neither. Until tonight." The two men looked at each other. "It went downhill from there. For them."

"All of those men are in hospital in critical condition, Mr. Dominic," Adelle said.

"They're alive," Dominic muttered, "in full compliance with your no body count order. But, Christ, you saw what they did to her."

Adelle nodded and asked, "How did you get her out?"

"Carried her. Otherwise, same as we drew it up. To the roof. About a third of the way down the ladder along the side of the building. Jump over to the adjacent building. And repeat. Came down on the walking path a half a block away. Crossed the green to the wall of the compound. About halfway to the up and over point along the wall, we got hit by two more guards. Limped the rest of the way. Up and over was tricky but manageable with an assist from Langton. Into the van and back here."

A knock sounded loud in the silence. Dr. Saunders stepped in. "I'm ready for you, Lawrence."

"Echo?" all three asked, nearly in unison.

"Sleeping."

"And?" Adelle asked.

"Sleeping is the best we can hope for right now."

"I have a command performance tonight, doctor," Dominic said, gingerly and slowly rising. "Just how good are your drugs?"

"No," Dr. Saunders said. "That's impossible."

"I'm afraid we have no choice, Dr. Saunders," Adelle said, putting a firm hand under Dominic's elbow to steady him. "The people he will be seeing are those we robbed this evening and we suspect that at least one of them knows we did the deed."

"I can't guarantee—."

"All I ask is your best effort, doctor. Thank you." Adelle looked up at Dominic with what appeared to be genuine concern. "Can you make it under your own power?"

"I'll make sure he gets there," Langton said. "It's the least I can do."

"About Echo," Dr. Saunders began. "Lawrence, I need to ask—.

"Three guys who haven't missed many meals."

"I see." Dr. Saunders bit her lip. "May I inquire as to the condition of those men?"

Langton replied, "Word on the street is beaten within an inch of their lives."

"Good."

* * *

"Here's the computer lab, sir," said the lackey who had admitted Lawrence Dominic to the EcoTech building.

Dominic stepped inside and quickly surveyed the room housing the data portal Echo had used. He whistled softly at the amount of blood spattering the walls. "Jesus, Davison. Business that tough that you need to rent this room out for dog fights?"

A short, dark haired man with a paunch not quite concealed by his custom tailored suit turned to the door. "Dominic, cut the crap and get in here."

"So this is the infamous Mr. Dominic?"

Dominic regarded the speaker—a blue eyed redhead wearing a nice, albeit severe, slate gray business suit. Glancing back at Bradley, he asked, "Infamous? Thanks, Davison. What exactly have you been telling people?"

"I have been telling Ms. Kelleher to use her mouth less and ears more."

"For what?"

Bradley blinked at Dominic a few times and then laughed. "To better secure EcoTech's real, tangible and intellectual property, Lawrence."

"So," Dominic began, turning toward Bradley but not quite exposing his back to Kelleher. "What do you want from me?"

"Adelle didn't tell you?"

"She said you'd had a break in, weren't sure what you'd lost, if anything, and were fired up about some of your security people spending the night in the hospital." Dominic let his eyes wander about the blood spattered room again. "It wasn't clear whether you blamed the security system, the protocols or what."

"The cameras picked up nothing," Kelleher said, closing the gap between her and the two men with a confident stride. "The system is flawed."

"Flawed is a relative term, Ms. Kelleher," Dominic said. "We put the hardware in a while ago. Back when the money wasn't flowing nearly as well as it is now. We maximized coverage within budget."

"You have recommended a system upgrade more than once, Lawrence," Bradley admitted. "I know. But Simson didn't think it necessary so I never allocated the funds."

"Where is Simson, anyway?" Dominic asked.

"Mr. Simson is no longer with EcoTech," Ms. Kelleher replied. "If you'd like, you can think of me as the new Mr. Simson."

"That would be too weird." Dominic took a deep breath, pushing back the fatigue that was creeping over him. "Cameras got nothing. Fine. What about the audio pickups?"

"Same," Kelleher said, smiling slightly as she sidled closer. "Except for the screaming, pleading and crying."

"Your men were—?"

"Not my men, the girl they were … detaining."

Nodding, Dominic demanded, "Play it."

"We've already been over it," Kelleher said. "There's nothing of use."

"Another set of ears might pick up something—."

"Lawrence," Bradley began, looking at the floor. "She was being raped."

Dominic looked from one to the other. "So this is rape not robbery, then. Sorry, I misunderstood."

"No," Kelleher corrected with too much aplomb to suit Dominic. "She was in the process of stealing our IP."

"Davison, I … ah …" Dominic closed his eyes for a moment. "Are you saying, or deliberately not saying, that one of your security people raped the woman who was stealing from you?"

"Not one," Bradley muttered.

"Right, the protocol would have put two men here last at—."

"We altered the protocol."

Eyes flitting around the room again, Dominic said, "I see that worked out great for you."

Kelleher got right in Dominic's face. "We altered the protocol because we had reason to believe that we would suffer a security breach at this location. Three men arrived in this room at 8:17 pm. All of them came out on stretchers. None have regained consciousness."

"Three? Rape…? Christ! Ok. Anything else?" Rubbing his temple in an attempt to forestall an oncoming headache, Dominic waited.

"One of our security teams on the grounds encountered a man and a woman moving along the exterior wall of the compound."

Dominic sighed. "And?"

"They too are in the hospital."

"Damn." Shooting a sympathetic look at Bradley, Dominic asked, "Were you able to get anything useful out of them?"

"The man was carrying the woman. There was an altercation. They believe they injured the man but were vague as to the nature of those injuries."

Bradley drew a breath in sharply. Kelleher looked pointedly at him and turned a cold smile on Dominic.

"Description of the intruders?" Dominic asked.

"The woman had long dark hair and a battered face. Medium height for a female, lean and firm in … ah … I believe the quote was 'all the right places.'"

Dominic forced a small smile. "And the man."

"Approximately six feet tall, lean and strong. Dirty fighter." Kelleher deliberately looked down at Dominic's hands. Dr. Saunders had done an amazing job concealing most of the battering they had taken. "Could almost be a description of you, Mr. Dominic."

"Could almost be a description of a lot of people."

"What happened to your hands?" Kelleher asked, a hint of triumph in her eyes.

Please, I've been doing this since you were hanging out at the mall. "Dry wall."

"Excuse me," she said.

"Sanding dry wall. Messy, pain in the ass job. Next time I'm going to pay someone to do it."

"Since when do you do drywall, Lawrence," Bradley interjected with a snicker.

"Since I had a day off and someone bet me I couldn't replace the towel rack in her bathroom."

"How much at stake?" Bradley asked, much to the annoyance of Ms. Kelleher.

"There was no money involved."

"Oh."

Dominic wondered if it was simply opportunity or Bradley's impressed tone that prompted Kelleher to deliver a sharp blow to Dominic's right inner thigh with her clipboard. Right along his line of stitches.

Silently promising to send roses to Dr. Saunders in thanks for the fabulous drugs, Dominic slowly turned and pulled a Topher. "First of all—Ow. Second, what the fuck do you think you're doing?"

Bradley stepped between Dominic and Kelleher. "Our security team told us they knifed the guy in the leg."

Separating himself from both of them, Dominic said, "You have got to be kidding. You think I broke in here and redecorated for you in blood red?"

"You're the only one who could've done it," Kelleher asserted."

"How do you figure, Ms. Kelleher?" Dominic warmed up to the performance. "The video is beatable. No need for conversation when you're hacking a system. So audio isn't worth much. Building plans and maps of grounds are obtainable if you know the right people. I can think of six, seven guys who might pull it off." Glancing at Bradley, he added, "That's why I kept after you to either update the hardware or pony up the cash for one of those roaming software programs that protects highly sensitive data."

Bradley held up his hands in acknowledgement.

Dominic whirled on Kelleher who was aiming a blow at his left shoulder. He blocked it with his forearm with more force than strictly necessary. "And, you know, I've been in this business a long time, and it's a rare day when a security team gets caught literally with their pants down. This is … almost comical." Sighing, taking a deep breath, he added, "Davison, if you want me to poke around, I will. You've been a good client. But I am not going to stand here and star in Ms. Kelleher's fantasy about saving the day."

Ms. Kelleher opened her mouth but Bradley spoke first. "That will be all, Ms. Kelleher." Putting a hand on Dominic's shoulder, Bradley steered him out of the room and toward the elevator bank. "Lawrence, could you price out the hardware and software upgrades for me?"

"I've already done the hardware piece. I'm sure I have a copy of the bid. I can do one for the software, if you give me an idea of how much sensitive material we'd have to shield."

"Thanks." Bradley pressed the button for the lobby. "And thanks for coming down."

"No problem, Davison."

Bradley walked Dominic to his car. "I'm sorry about Kelleher."

"She's a piece of work."

"Seriously, I'll see that nothing of this sort is repeated."

"Ok." Dominic sank into the rear seat of the car Adelle had sent with him. "Go," he muttered to the driver. Several blocks away, when Dominic was satisfied that they weren't being followed, he said, "Stop."

Wearily, he climbed out of the car and was violently ill by the side of the road.

* * *

"What do you conclude from this, Mr. Dominic?" Adelle DeWitt spoke softly, regarding Lawrence Dominic as few in the house ever saw him—jacket and tie discarded over the back of her sofa, staring pensively into his drink.

"Kelleher knew. She wasn't guessing. She was tipped by someone who knew or could guess pretty much exactly what we'd do." He sighed and leaned his head back to rest against his chair. "Maybe someone at DataDyne spoke out of turn, but …"

Adelle perched on the arm of Dominic's chair. "I gave no indication to the DataDyne people as to how we intended to proceed vis a vis their engagement." A sharp knock at the door brought a slight smile to Adelle's lips. "That will be dinner."

Still staring into his bourbon, Dominic was suddenly aware of something that smelled amazing being put on the coffee table to his right.

"When have you last eaten, Lawrence?"

He considered for a moment. Things had been busy. "Lunch," he ventured.

"Lunch yesterday," Adelle said, lifting up the lids that had been keeping the various plates warm. "If we neglect to elevate Power Bars to meal status, that is." Deftly pouring two glasses of a crisp Sauvignon Blanc, she added, "I hope you don't mind if I join you. It's been a long day." Smiling at him, she took the bourbon from his hand. "Bourbon doesn't pair well with Shrimp Scampi, but I wouldn't have poured wine for you if you had done more than use this glass as a focus for meditation of some sort."

Dominic's mind wandered no place in particular as he ate. Suddenly aware of Adelle's intense regard, he looked up and asked, "What?"

"Not a thing," Adelle said, wearing an expression that on anyone else Dominic would've called a smirk. Refilling his wine, she ventured, "I think it was Alpha who set us up with EcoTech."

"Maybe," Dominic said, watching Adelle pick at a whole grain, high fiber, more or less cardboard dinner roll. "He certainly has it in for Echo."

"Nonsense," Adelle countered. "Alpha wants to help Echo regain Caroline."

"That seems to be the popular theory around here."

"You don't agree?"

"It doesn't play." Dominic closed his eyes to collect his thoughts. "He could have taken her with him. He didn't. He left her confused and frightened in the midst of a shower area full of bodies." A glance at Adelle confirmed she was listening with at least a partially open mind—her body language was a dead giveaway when she wasn't. "If he's smart enough to do a remote wipe, he knew what the result would be. Sensory overload, leading to fear and intense disorientation. With a little imagination, he could foresee that she'd take abuse from people who started their adventure with a competent safecracker and ended up locked in a bank vault with a frightened child. Not to mention the chance of injury or death if they tried to shoot their way out." Dominic shook his head. "And if you're right, he turned a mildly interested FBI agent into a pit bull with highly detailed knight in shining armor fantasies." Looking Adelle in the eye, Dominic said, "Does Caroline really deserve to reenter the world the object of that kind of obsession?"

Adelle leaned forward, resting a hand lightly on Dominic's knee. "What do you believe Alpha wishes to achieve, Lawrence?"

"He wants to bring us down but he's not in any hurry to do it." Dominic frowned at his nearly empty wine glass because he didn't recall drinking any of it. "And he wants to do it through Echo but I have no idea why." Fixing Adelle in his peripheral vision, he asked, "Do you?"

"I do not." A wistful expression flashed across Adelle's face before the smirk-like look reappeared. "Time for dessert."

Dominic choked on his last sip of wine. "Dessert? Since when do you have dessert?"

"I was thinking more of you and the day you've had," Adelle said as she pulled away the cloth cover of a small basket that Dominic had assumed contained more dinner rolls.

"Is that … are those … chocolate chip cookies? With real chocolate?"

"60% cocoa dark chocolate from Argentina." Adelle laughed. "Quite high in antioxidants. Go on, Lawrence."

A dull ache had returned to his shoulder. Where did I put that bottle of pain meds? Thinking alcohol might help a little, Dominic retrieved his bourbon. "Goes better with chocolate than white wine," he responded to Adelle's raised eyebrow. Her genuine smile almost stopped him from posing the question he'd been waiting to ask. "Do you get the feeling that things are going to get worse before they get better?"

"How so?" she asked, shifting closer, lightly rubbing his sore shoulder.

"We've had problems recently. With the actives, with some engagements, with our own personnel. I … I'm concerned."

"So am I," Adelle admitted in a low voice. "However, I am also confident that we will solve whatever problems arise."

Dominic laughed. "Is this the pep talk part of the program?"

"If you like."

Without pausing to think, Dominic asked, "And what would you like?"

"To treat myself from time to time."

"Coziness! Didn't expect coziness." Topher gasped. "Coziness with cookies!"

"What is it, Topher?" Adelle asked with what sounded suspiciously like annoyance.

Dominic didn't listen all that carefully to Topher's self-congratulatory spiel with respect to some complicated imprint for Sierra. What does she want to treat herself to, exactly?

THE END