The smell of macaroni drifted into the near-empty break room. Jefferson stopped a few feet from the door, and rested some of his weight on the gold handle of his cane. There was one other person in the room. The last person Jefferson wanted to see. Hamilton. He was leaning back against the round table, and stared at Jefferson as if expecting to meet there. As with previous days, there was distrust and hostility in Hamilton's dark eyes, which told Jefferson that Hamilton still hadn't accepted that the two of them would soon be embarking on missions as a team.

"Macaroni?" Hamilton said, infusing the innocent word with as much judgment as possible. "Really?"

A glance around told Jefferson that Hamilton was not there with lunch. "It's better than nothing."

"Why would I waste time on eating when there's work to be done? You clearly don't know how we operate around here," Hamilton shot back.

Jefferson took a few steps closer to emphasize their height difference, and Hamilton stood up as tall as he was naturally able. "Look," Jefferson said, with a sigh. "In my short time here, I have met everyone here around lunch time."

"So?"

"Everyone takes a lunch break but you. If you gave a rat's ass about your team, you'd know that much."

Hamilton lifted his head higher, scowling. "Don't lecture me about my team, at least my team is still alive!"

Every day, Hamilton had made some kind of similar remark. Every day, Jefferson acted like it didn't bother him. Every day, Jefferson wondered why he didn't see it coming. Today, he had had enough. "Don't act like you're the reason they're alive!" Angelica, Eliza, and Peggy had quickly invited him to feel like they were his new family. "They're the ones working to make sure your sorry ass survives every mission!" Laurens, Lafayette, and Mulligan had invited him to get a drink sometime. "They don't get paid to put up with you, they chose to on their own. The least you can do give them the credit they deserve. You're only successful because of them."

In the brief moment Hamilton was forming a response, Jefferson gripped his cane tighter and turned to leave. Hamilton called after him, "I would have died before I let someone kill anyone in this building! The fact that you're alive shows just how much you didn't care!"

As Jefferson passed through the doorway, Burr stood aside to let him through, before entering himself, with a raised eyebrow. "I see you're getting along as well as ever," he noted, before taking a sip of his coffee.

"Yeah, well, he isn't exactly making it easy."

"Neither are you. I keep saying, if you talked less and smiled more, you could learn to get along."

That earned Burr an eyeroll. "I don't care. Inviting him to work here was a mistake."

Burr set his coffee mug down on the counter. "Washington doesn't do things without thinking. He's not about to change his mind either. You're just going to have to learn to get along."

"I'll get along with him when he gives me a reason to," Hamilton said, leaning on the table again.

"You have a chance to do the right thing. If you take it, it would be a good place to start." The disbelieving stare Burr got back prompted him to continue. "If you go apologize and admit that you were out of line, I'm sure he'd be more open to a respectful conversation."

"I don't need to apologize. I didn't say anything that wasn't true."

Burr crossed his arms and put on his smile of tested patience. "Regardless, he's going through a lot. How would you feel if you were the only one to survive an attack on this office?"

"I wouldn't let that happen," Hamilton said stubbornly.

With a sigh, Burr picked up his coffee. "Of course," he said. "Just try to talk to him. You're partners whether you like it or not."

Hamilton paced through the different levels of the office, searching for the poofy hair or magenta suit that belonged to Thomas Jefferson. He found Maddison, the only other person left from Jefferson's old agency, but Jefferson was not there. He found Lafayette and Peggy discussing the newest lead, but no Jefferson. Angelica stopped him for a minute to hear about the search, but she hadn't seen him for a while. Muttering about how hard Jefferson had made it to find him, Hamilton made his way to the basement below ground level, where there was a shooting range. The range was silent, without a single sound to be heard. Hamilton glanced through the space, finding that the range's silence was for good reason. It was empty. Everyone was encouraging him to get along with Jefferson, but he couldn't do that if he couldn't find him.

Finally giving up, Hamilton rode the elevator up to the office space, and made his way to his desk to use his time in a better way. As he passed Jefferson's on the way to his own, the bright color of Jefferson's jacket on the back of his chair caught his eye like it always did. Hamilton noticed that the chair was occupied by the jacket's owner. He stopped and took a step back, and leaned on the short cubicle divider. He had searched the whole building, and here Jefferson was, at his desk with his head in his hand, staring at the documents in front of him. At his elbow, the macaroni sat, almost untouched.

At a lack of what do say, Hamilton said the first thing that came to mind. "I don't think staring a hole into those papers is going to help."

Jefferson sighed and turned his head slightly. "You're the last person I want to deal with right now. Can we go back to ignoring each other?"

Contrary to popular joking belief, Hamilton was not stupid. He could tell that, as happened on rare occasions, Burr had been right. Hamilton couldn't argue about Jefferson's request, so he did go back to ignoring him.

The weekend passed, and Jefferson seemed to be settling into the new building. Each day, it became more common to see him with a little smile as he greeted the others. Hamilton kept their interactions to a minimum. Tuesday afternoon, he got a group text from Laurens, Lafayette, and Mulligan, suggesting that the four of them take the two newcomers out for drinks to celebrate the first week of being there. The others in the chat quickly agreed, and asked Hamilton to tell Jefferson, while Laurens asked Maddison. Not one to pass up the chance to go drinking with the group, Hamilton saw he had little choice.

He leaned back in his chair and scooted it back a few inches, so he could see around the divider that separated their workspaces. Jefferson seemed only slightly busy. Hamilton didn't feel that bad about interrupting. "Hey. Jefferson."

"Hm?"

"A few of us are going out after work." For such a simple question, it seemed hard to ask. "They want to know if you'd wanna come with."

Jefferson looked over at him, surprised. "Well, who all will be there?"

"Me, Laurens, Mulligan, Lafayette… They're asking Maddison too."

As he expected, Jefferson seemed more interested when his friend was mentioned. "I see more than enough of you during the day. I suppose if James is going, I may as well."

With that said, Jefferson turned back to his work, and Hamilton slid his chair forward, to tell the group Jefferson's condition. To their luck, Maddison had agreed right away.

At the end of the day, Hamilton waited as Jefferson put on his jacket and grabbed his cane. They said nothing as they went downstairs, and met the rest of their group by the door. Hamilton was quick to join the conversation, and took the lead as they walked through downtown to the nearest bar. Jefferson and Maddison followed the four increasingly rowdy friends, catching up as they tried to keep up with their walking pace.

With a table secured for the six of them, Jefferson and Maddison melded into the heated discussion of politics. The arrival of the first round of drinks thankfully silenced what was quickly becoming a more and more hostile debate.

To further diffuse the situation, Laurens offered a toast to the completion of Jefferson and Maddison's first week, to which they all drank. He then asked how Jefferson and Maddison had met, which lead to trading stories about missions and mission related work. They shared how they got into their unusual field. Mulligan had always taken an interest in secret codes, which lead him to recruitment. Lafayette had once been a double agent in France, and after an incident he wouldn't talk about, was fired and then found by Hamilton and Mulligan, who later went home and mentioned him to Washington. Laurens had gone through the training to be a field agent, but had been injured on his first time out, and so agreed to take a more supportive job. Maddison had studied forensic science and had taken extensive medical classes as well. Hamilton had been determined to make it as soon as he found out such a job existed, and had started earlier than most were allowed to. Jefferson became interested when he learned about Maddison being recruited from college, and Maddison had helped put in a good word for him.

Lafayette's burning curiosity couldn't be contained. "Hey, Jefferson, why do you carry a cane anyway?"

Jefferson brushed the question off, saying, "It belonged to a relative of mine." To his relief, the others didn't question this response.

An hour later, Hamilton had to go to catch the bus to the other side of town, and Laurens went with him. With the two most rambunctious voices gone, their table was considerably calmer. It wasn't long before the conversation turned to hushed whispers about work, and work meant talking about the incident that lead Jefferson and Maddison to be working under Washington. Just over two weeks ago, the agency that the two called home was attacked. Jefferson was left to die, but was found by rescue crews after the building had been set on fire. Maddison had been out that day due to illness. ("He really does get sick a lot," Jefferson said, rather fondly.) When he had heard the news, Washington reached out to the two, and offered them a place among his ranks in return for helping investigate. Part of their current objectives was figuring out who had instigated the attack, partly to ensure that it didn't happen again. The secret of how it happened had been revealed; there had been a hacker involved, who had found their way into the system, and had been a major player in the attack itself, shutting down many of the security measures in place for such an incident. As soon as the hacker was tracked down, there would be a breakthrough in the investigation, and perhaps a counterstrike could be organized.

To lighten the mood, Mulligan asked if Jefferson and Maddison were in relationships, and then smirked as he asked if they wanted one, gesturing with his beer at a group of ladies that just walked in. Since Maddison grew a little quiet, Jefferson said that he, for one, would be leaving. Maddison stood to follow, so they paid their tabs and left the last two to plan the best way to get the girls' attention.

The next day, as Hamilton and Jefferson were working, a buzz of excitement found its way upstairs to them. The buzz was in the form of Peggy and Lafayette, with an excited Eliza, Laurens, and Maddison following them. As they approached, whispering to each other, Hamilton stood up to see over the cubicle dividers. They smiled at him and waved as they came over, and stood between the desks of the two. Getting the hint, Jefferson turned his chair around as Hamilton leaned against the dividers.

"We have some exciting news," Lafayette said, and exchanged a grin with Peggy.

As if it were a cue, Peggy looked from Hamilton to Jefferson. She stayed silent for another moment, before bursting out, "We got a lead on the hacker!"

A mischievous smirk crept onto Hamilton's face. "One step closer to an actual mission. I can't wait to get back out there."

As if the meaning finally caught up to him, Jefferson stood up, looking between Lafayette and Maddison. "You mean…?"

Maddison nodded. "Yes. The hacker from our case."

For perhaps the first time, Jefferson showed a full smile. He grabbed Maddison in a short hug, and then turned to Lafayette. "So there's progress?"

"As soon as we figured out how to track him, we got as much information as we could." Lafayette looked back to Peggy, who held up a USB stick. "If things go well, we could find his employers within the next week."

"I told you, the hacker has to be a woman, I've never seen a man organize his code like that," Peggy argued, elbowing Lafayette.

He leaned down a little with a warm smile as he teased, "Just because you haven't seen it doesn't mean that it doesn't exist, and statistically speaking, a man is more likely."

Impatiently, Hamilton cut in, "Does Washington know? The sooner we start planning, the better."

A little bit embarrassed, Peggy told him, "We wanted to tell Maddison and Jefferson first."

"Then let's go," Hamilton urged. "They both know. The sooner Washington knows, the better!"

With Hamilton leading the way, the group made its way across the floor to Washington's office, and Hamilton knocked on the door. When they were told to enter, they did, and Peggy handed Washington the USB as they told him about their breakthrough. Washington praised their diligence, and gave them all a smile as he told them to go and keep up the good work.

That day, Peggy and Lafayette sorted through what they had found, and found what they were hoping for; a small key that would lead them back the code's path to its source. As the evening approached, they found a location. The last location they expected. The two shared a nervous glance and rechecked themselves. Once again, they found the same result. Lafayette sprinted upstairs to deliver the information personally to Washington. They had traced the code back to their own building.

Washington called for an immediate lockdown, to last until everyone had been questioned. Jefferson and Maddison were not to know. One by one, everyone was brought to be questioned by Washington. Being on the same floor, Jefferson noticed the pattern, and tried to figure out what it meant. When Hamilton was told to go as well, Jefferson gave it a minute before taking his cane and going for a walk around the floor, which conveniently took him past Washington's office. He slowed down and passed by as close as he dared. A quick glance around told him that no one was watching, so he stopped and slowly leaned his ear against the door. Washington's smooth voice was hard to make sense of, though a few of Hamilton's words cut enough to be heard. Words including 'hack', 'can't', and 'how'. Jefferson didn't dare to linger a moment longer, and finished his circuit, sitting down with the resolution to ask Hamilton what they talked about.

Hamilton sat down unsuspectingly. The next moment, Jefferson pushed his chair back to see around their barrier. "Hamilton. What was that about?"

"Nothing," he said smoothly, and glanced back at the intensely staring face of his longtime rival.

"It's not nothing. He's been calling in just about everyone. Is it about that lead?"

"Even if it was, I couldn't tell you."

"Hamilton, if it relates to the case, I have a right to know."

Hamilton glanced away from him, and unsettled himself by thinking of what Burr might do. "Alright, but you didn't hear it from me." Jefferson scooted a little closer, and Hamilton rolled back to talk more quietly. "Lafayette and Peggy went back and started trying to find where the hacker was. They said it came through here."

As Hamilton expected, Jefferson was furious. "What? Are you serious?"

"Washington has the building on lockdown, no one gets in or out until we figure this out."

"And to think I was starting to like it here!"

Hamilton glanced behind them, and kept his voice down. "There's no way it was someone here, we all know Peggy would have figured it out, the investigation is just a formality."

"Just a formality my ass, were you the one who lit the damn fire?"

"No, Jesus, didn't you hear me? No one here is stupid enough to be so obvious, it has to be a setup!"

Jefferson pushed his chair back to his desk, and grabbed his cane. "This whole thing is a ruse to get us to lower our guard and finish the job, isn't it?"

"Not everything is about you!" Hamilton spat, ready to stand up and fight at a moment's notice. "This whole time, we have only acted in self-preservation. If someone is attacking agencies, we need to figure out who it is and what they can do, so that we don't all die too. None of this has been about you! Washington brought you here to get a witness's account as to what we could be dealing with. We're investigating your incident in case we could be next, not because we feel bad for you! So just shut up and let Peggy do her job, so that we don't have to die like all of your old so called friends."

Hamilton stared Jefferson down for a moment more, and was pleased that he had been rendered speechless. Hamilton scooted his chair back to his desk and pretended to refocus, though his attention was fixed on detecting evidence of a possible retaliation. He heard nothing but the sound of the ventilation system. Then, Jefferson's calm voice cut through the air.

"You're worried you'll be left behind like I was."

Hamilton said nothing, and dropped his eyes to his keyboard.

"The worst part is knowing that since you had some life left, there was some fight left that you didn't give. That if you had really tried, you could have done more, but it's way too late now. I wouldn't even wish this on the person I despised most." There was a pause. A hesitation? "That includes you, by the way."

Hamilton allowed himself to smile a little sarcastic smile. "I'm delighted you think so highly of me."

Once again, the only sound to be heard was the air moving through the room. There was the faint sound of Jefferson's chair wheels, and then near silence once more.

As the evening passed on, the two ran out of things to do. There already wasn't much two field agents could help with around the home base, and before long, they were left waiting for the all clear to go home. Everyone had been questioned, and Washington had gone down to work more closely with Peggy and Lafayette, as they tried to find the evidence that the hacker had set up a red herring.

In this time, Hamilton and Jefferson hadn't moved, nor had they said anything since sharing a moment through the barrier. Jefferson silently reminded himself that his mother would have wanted him to give people the benefit of the doubt, and he watched his hands as he passed his cane back and forth between them. He had started counting for a while, but even that became dull. Minutes seemed to creep by, each second going on endlessly. Suddenly, Hamilton stood up, and Jefferson watched as he strode out of their area, running his fingers through his long hair.

"What's the matter, getting impatient?" Jefferson asked with a little smirk.

"They'll figure it out. I just can't sit here doing nothing anymore." He stopped, dropping his hands, and turned his head back a little. "I'm going to shoot off a few rounds downstairs."

When Hamilton didn't take off right away, Jefferson raised an eyebrow at him. "Is that an invitation to share your delightful company?"

"More like an invitation to get your ass kicked, I could out shoot you any day," Hamilton said stubbornly, not looking back.

A grin crept onto Jefferson's face as he stood up. "I'm not threatened by you, you couldn't hit a moving target if it was five feet in front of you."

Hamilton turned with a challenging smirk. "I can kill with a bow and arrow more effectively than you can with a gun."

"Clearly I'll need to introduce you to my 9mm." Jefferson lifted his suit jacket from the back of his chair and draped it over his arm.

Hamilton waited as Jefferson caught up, and the two started towards the elevator. On the fairly short ride down, Jefferson showed Hamilton the concealed carry in his jacket, and Hamilton in turn showed his, on his hip beneath his untucked shirt.

As they stepped into the empty firing range, they were bragging about their most impressive feats of gunmanship. The two selected identical guns from the cases on the wall, and loaded their cartridges, setting up a few rules for their competition. When their earmuffs were securely on, they filled the range with their deafening gunshots until their cartridges were empty, whereupon they went to check out their targets up close, and assign a number score to each shot based on how far away it was from the center of the target's chest. Hamilton, not content to stop after losing the first set, demanded a rematch on a higher caliber. They stepped it up, using fewer rounds to score from, and then did one final gun, with only one shot to succeed.

Hamilton took this shot with care. He let Jefferson shoot before him, and knew that he had a fairly good chance at winning their competition with two out of three. Just as he was set to pull the trigger, he felt something touch his ankle, and it surprised him just enough to make him miss. Furious, he spun around and saw Jefferson, who was looking around as if he were completely unaware of what was happening, both hands on his cane, in the pose of some kind of dandy. His innocent act was clearly so, because he looked sideways to meet eyes with Hamilton, a sly smile turning up the corner of his lips. Hamilton instinctively reached for the safety on his gun, but then stopped, and instead uncovered one of his ears. "I demand another shot, interfering isn't allowed!"

Jefferson watched him, but didn't remove his earmuffs. Instead, he leaned over a little, putting a cupped hand by his ear, loudly saying, "What was that? I can't hear you!"

That told Hamilton all he needed to know. He went to load in another round. As he passed by Jefferson to his lane, he casually kicked the bottom of his cane, making Jefferson fall a little as it slid on the hard floor. A little smug, he took his shot. This time, Hamilton was not interrupted. Even from a distance, it was clear that Hamilton had been closer to the small crosshairs that indicated the center of the target's chest.

With their guns properly put away, Hamilton gloated once more about how even with the distraction of Jefferson undermining him, he was a better shot. As the elevator doors closed, he said, "It looks like I've more than proven my case for being in charge on whatever field missions we're sent on."

"Being a little more accurate with a wider range of guns doesn't mean you're clever enough to take the lead," Jefferson reminded him as the elevator started carrying them up.

"Maybe not, but it means I would be able to actually kill some of my attackers, unlike you."

The smile slid right off of Jefferson's face, his eyes fixed straight ahead. "That's low, even for you."

Hamilton glanced sideways at him and straightened up a little more. He hadn't actually intended to make another sleight at the incident that had brought Jefferson to their agency, but he was not about to apologize.

Thankfully, they were left with only a few more seconds of awkward silence, before the elevator doors opened, and the two were met by a smiling Angelica. "There you two are," she said, stepping aside to let them come out. "We've been looking for you. Peggy found our proof, whoever the hacker was, they made it look like it was someone here, but the trail goes through another agency."

"That's great news, I did tell you that it couldn't have been someone here," Hamilton said, turning back to Jefferson as he stepped out of the elevator.

Jefferson already wore a small smile again. "Yeah yeah, another victory for mister know-it-all," he said with an eyeroll.

"I'm on my way out," Angelica told them. "You should check in with Washington before you go, so he knows you've heard."

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow," Hamilton said as she passed them. He then turned to Jefferson as the elevator closed once more. "You heard her, I'm sure you'll get all the details you want now that the investigation is over."

Finding Washington wasn't hard. He was still with Peggy and Lafayette. Maddison and Laurens were talking with them, coats in hand. All the others, it seemed, had left. Washington was glad to see them, and gave them an official dismissal for the night. Peggy and Lafayette, he told them, had volunteered to stay even later to keep their investigation going, so that perhaps by the next day, they might have their source, ahead of schedule. Laurens cut in and told Hamilton that they could catch the next bus if they hurried, and the two were gone.

Washington took a moment to assure Maddison and Jefferson that things were going well, and that they would soon get their justice. Jefferson assured him right back that it was more important that they prevent such a thing from happening again, and that anything they could do to help, they would.

As they walked through the cool night, taking an easy pace along the sidewalk to their parking garage, Maddison looked up at his friend. Ever since they had first roomed together in college, he had come to know Jefferson quite well. After all, they had been the closest of friends for more than fifteen years. For this very reason, Maddison knew Jefferson's "acting tough" face. He even wore it as it was just them in the light of the streetlights and occasional open business. Staring straight ahead, the ghost of a faked smile, and putting more weight on his cane than usual. It was fairly clear what was on his mind.

"Did he make another remark about our old agency?"

Jefferson answered with a sigh. "You know me too well. I'm starting to think you have some psychic abilities you haven't told me about."

Maddison ignored the halfhearted joke. "You're sure you don't want to tell him what's on your mind? It never hurts to have more than one friend."

"I suppose I did tell him some. I already wish I hadn't. I should consider myself lucky he's still making jabs at it, and not trying to sympathize."

"Do I need to remind you that you promised to try getting along with our new coworkers? Part of that is learning how to let them into your life."

"If it means them feeling bad for me, then no thanks. I don't want their pity. There's enough of that as it is." Jefferson counted out the next reasons on his left hand. "I'm not fragile, I don't need looking out for, and I sure as hell don't need them to think that. And, considering how they're so quick to try to make friends, I don't see my actions as a problem."

"If things are truly going as well as Washington said they were, it'll all soon be over and forgotten about," Maddison patiently assured him.

To his relief, Jefferson's smile seemed to become more genuine. "That day can't come fast enough."

The next day, Jefferson reached his desk to see Hamilton already at his, with a fiery look in his eyes and a suspiciously large coffee in his hands. "Did you hear the latest?" he asked, jumping up as Jefferson approached.

"No, did they find the hacker?" he asked, resting his cane against his desk and taking off his jacket.

"Yes, but that isn't half of it, they also patched the hole in the system that the hacker used, and they think they know who to follow to lead us to the ones who ordered the attack!"

"Do they have a name?"

"Devorae. Johnathan Devorae."

Jefferson's brows furrowed as he considered the name, folding his jacket over his arm. "Johnathan Devorae… Why does that sound familiar?"

If it was even possible, Hamilton seemed to light up even more with interest. "You know him?"

"I think so. I can't quite place why." He looked at Hamilton more closely. "Why are you so excited? None of this has to do with you."

Hamilton snapped and pointed at him, an unstoppable grin on his face. "That's where you're wrong. Once we have the details, I get to finally go back onto the field again."

"Need I remind you that we'll have to put up with each other for an extended period of time when that happens?"

Ignoring him, Hamilton continued, "The counterstrike mission is soon enough that Washington is having you trained on our equipment today."

"Uh, okay?"

"That means now, come on!"

Jefferson barely had time to put his jacket down. Hamilton hurried him all the way to the floor below, where Angelica and Eliza were chatting in front of a long series of shelves and drawers, each labeled with the kind of technology they held. When they saw their visitors, the two ladies welcomed them with a smile.

"Did you pass by Mulligan on your way?" Angelica asked.

"We must have just missed him," Hamilton told her, eyes darting longingly to the locked boxes along the back wall. Eliza crossed her arms and stepped in Hamilton's line of sight.

Angelica explained, "He was just sent out to Devorae's apartment. Hopefully he'll have the cameras up before noon."

"In the meantime," Eliza cut in, "Jefferson, welcome to your first and hopefully last equipment training. I'm sure most of this will look familiar, but it never hurts to get a refresher course." She glanced at Hamilton, adding, "Now, if someone would excuse himself, we have quite a bit to cover."

"And miss the chance to spend more time with two of my three favorite women in the building?" Hamilton said smoothly, earning him two eye rolls from the women in question.

Taking charge, Angelica insisted, "You can stay only if you don't mess with anything, and keep your comments to yourself."

Just as Eliza had said, most of it was review of basic safety procedures. She and Angelica fitted Jefferson with his field equipment, including a handgun like he and Hamilton had shot the previous day, in a harness holster. Eliza also showed him the cameras that Mulligan was out planting in their suspect's apartment. Angelica, meanwhile, was busy shooing Hamilton away from the safe boxes he had been eyeing earlier. A simple question later, and Eliza told Jefferson that the secure boxes held their heavier duty arms, including a rifle and a sniper rifle, both to be taken out only in extreme circumstances.

Since there wasn't much to hurry back to, Jefferson didn't feel bad lingering there, telling Eliza about the kinds of tech he had worked with before. Angelica seemed to finally get Hamilton under control, because they joined the two a while later, and mused about what they would like to one day get, if the budget ever permitted. While they chatted, a small light flashed on the PC by the one wall not covered in shelves, and Eliza was there in an instant. Soon, they watched as a small square popped up on the black screen. At first, it didn't seem to be showing anything. The picture moved, and they saw their own Hercules Mulligan backing up, leaving the camera with a view from a corner of a room. They watched him move around the room, setting up a few more. As he did, new camera feeds showed up on the screen, until they had a nice grid of nine, each with different views of the small cluttered apartment. Mulligan passed through the various camera views until he reached the front door, and disappeared into the hallway.

Even after Hamilton had gone elsewhere, Jefferson lingered at the screen, searching the cameras for something familiar, some kind of sign to point to where he knew this man from. No such luck.

The next day, they had confirmation of Devorae's face, and an internet search told them that he was a simple tech worker, who specialized in setting up wireless file and printing systems for businesses. This explained the abundance of computer technology that was strewn about the apartment, but it did not explain anything else.

Between searching through the information they had, Hamilton and Jefferson suggested explanations back and forth when a possibility came to mind. Hamilton's were much more frequent, and often seemed too ridiculous or complicated to be realistic. The day ended no nearer to a solution. On his drive home, however, Jefferson realized how he knew Devorae. As soon as he was parked, he called Maddison, and cut straight to the point.

"Do you remember about a year ago when we got one of those new printers?"

"Thomas, it's getting late, are you really calling me about some printers that were destroyed in a fire?"

"Forget that part, do you remember where we got it from?"

"No, I was out that week."

"James, I think we got it from the company Devorae works for. His name sounded familiar because I talked to him about where his name came from."

There was a pause. "Are you sure? That doesn't give him any reason to do anything with the rest of our actual network."

"Sure, but think about it, no one would suspect someone like that of any foul play, it's just like a method we might use if we were trying to get information on a whole company. He had a very convenient opportunity to poke around and see more than he was paid for."

As expected, this revelation was most welcome. Jefferson brought it right to Peggy when he got to the agency. Peggy took this information and ran with it, fleshing out Jefferson's suspicion with a full blown theory. Devorae must have recognized that someone in the world would pay good money for the kind of insider information he would have had, so he had gathered what he could about their security system, and had sold his services to someone with a bone to pick. Meaning, Devorae would need to be questioned about the one-time sale of information.

Much to Hamilton's disappointment, he was not allowed to take care of bringing him in. That job fell instead to Lafayette, Mulligan, and Burr. The three watched and waited a few days to determine their best opportunity. Devorae got on his usual bus to go home from work, Lafayette close behind him. As soon as he stepped off, Lafayette was right behind him, and acted like a hopelessly lost foreign sightseer, stopping him to ask for help with directions. Lafayette kept him distracted with questions as Burr brought their car close and Mulligan strategically bumped into him and sedated him. Lafayette and Mulligan quickly brought their target into the backseat. The three agents stayed most of the night as the agency to question Devorae, before carefully drugging him to forget, and returning him to his apartment.

Everyone was eager to hear what they had learned. The new information? Devorae truly didn't have any idea who he was paid by. He had done as Peggy thought, seeing the chance to make a considerable amount of money and going deep into the web to sell his information. He could tell them that he was offered more to shut their system down himself at a very specific time, but could otherwise tell them no more than his guilt and regret.

Back at their desks, Hamilton lamented that there would be no field mission for him after all. Jefferson listened, eyes staring blankly, and the ghost of a fake smile on his face. Maddison visited to see how they were doing. Washington noticed them both together and stopped by to assure them that they still had places on this team, and when Hamilton insisted, he assured him that he would get a mission soon enough.