Tom Strickler had been waiting for this moment for a long time. Any handler who manages to stay alive for as long as he has in the game learns that you cannot invite a spy to work for you without knowing absolutely everything there is to know about said spy.

Michael Westen was the best there was. Everyone knew that. They knew that before he was burned & most espionage associates are smart enough to know that this hasn't changed after his burning. What most people overlook is that a spy without an agency is the most dangerous and ellusive of all spies. Michael Westen was both the best there was and fiercely independent (despite his apparent craving for agency work). He was the espionage equivalent of a unicorn. Put it simply: he was too good to be true.

Strickler intended for Westen to be the crown jewel in his collection of assets. His collection would not be complete without Michael. But he couldn't have Westen calling all the shots. Michael was going to be his asset not the other way around.

All spies are hard to read. It just comes with the job. All spies are very good readers of other spies. That too, comes with the job. As a handler, Strickler could not afford to misread his assets. All bosses have to know their workers well but not many bosses have to worry about being assassinated by their workers.

Michael Westen was extremely difficult to read. He's not the first spy to play nice and appear harmless to hide the fact that he was lethal even on his sick days. There's also no denying that he was darn good at spying -working covers, conducting surveillance, etc...

But he was one of the few spies who had learned to bury himself completely. Michael Westen was not just a spy on the job. Being a spy was his primary identity. He was a spy first and Michael Westen second. This made his poker face absolute.

Being the esteemed handler that he was, Strickler made sure that he learned the last frontier of any potential asset. If this frontier proved impossible to break down and the asset was too good to allow into the hands of a competing handler, Strickler would do his utmost to make sure that the asset would cease to be an asset at all - for anyone.

Michael wanted to get back in. More than anything else in the world, he wanted his old job back. But he wasn't stupid. He knew that there was a price to be paid. All soldiers wish to work for generals who look after the common good and have no hidden agendas. Michael had been in the business long enough to realise that such a general does not exist.

Although a handler was nothing more than a middle manager, for those in the field, information relayed between handler and asset could make the difference between life and death. And although it was a truism that the mission always came first, very few spies would actually take suicidal risks without a good reason. The relationship between asset and handler then is one of a delicate balance between the handler's desire to complete the mission at all costs and the asset's desire to survive the mission and live to fight another day. After all, you can't go on future missions if you're dead.

Then of course, there is the one thing that colours everything that a country does and it is the one that all spies and agencies hold above the mission itself: politics. Even though Michael understood politics quite well (enough to manipulate cartels into doing his biding), in his professional work, he wanted nothing to do with it. It was for this reason that he always remained a freelancer prior to his burning. He could make his own judgement calls and screw what the big guy said.

Of course Michael knew that Tom Strickler was using him. Everyone thinks that espionage is the act of breaking and keeping secrets. That's a broad enough definition but what spy work was actually all about was the act of exchanging favours. No spy will work for no gain and Strickler being the businessman that he was would see to it that Michael never forgot who was responsible for getting him back into the game.

It is at this junction that the two meet at Tom's house, both knowing that the other cannot really be trusted but both needing the services of the other.

"Is this really necessary?" Michael glared at the heart monitor, he was about to become attached to.

"A psych evaluation will be mandatory when they re-examine your case." Tom replied. "Consider this your dress rehearsal."

"Where are you going?" Michael asked as Tom stood up to leave.

"I'm sorry. I don't really have the patience for this sort of thing." Said Tom. "Dr Foran will be conducting the interview."

"I'm Emily Foran." Said the doctor. "I look forward to sharing our next hour together."

To be continued