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Jamie rejoined Mitch as soon as Allison had walked away. She had no idea what that woman had said to him, but considering what she'd said to her a few nights ago, she wouldn't be surprised if it was cruel. Deliberately cruel.
He looked at her as she eased back beside him. Confusion and… sadness?... were etched in the lines around his eyes and across his brow. She ached to run a thumb over the creases, soften them. The impulse shocked her. They were just, once again, behaving like adults to each other. Flirting, even. It was nice, but way too soon to be wanting more.
"What do we do now?"
Mitch looked away, glanced over the carnage all around them. He dropped his chin and shook his head. "We have to stop the NOAH objective. Even after," he lifted his eyes to hers, seizing her breath. His pain, his fear, his heartbreak; all so palatable. "This." He motioned with his head at the lobby.
"Right. How?" She tried to sound chipper. Instead, she sounded desperate.
"I have no idea." Raising a brow, the ghost of a smirk flitted across his lips. "Got any suggestions, oh toe-less wonder?" Suddenly, she wanted to laugh. There was the Mitch she knew and… Too soon.
"Yeah, kill Davies."
Jamie knew the instant her flippant response registered with him. His face lost all color. His pupils widened and his lips compressed. He stared at her at a loss for words. Sure, the thought had been bouncing around in her head since he'd had the nerve to Black Ops their plane, but she hadn't really meant to share it. It just sort of came out. She'd been surprised the idea had stayed with her for so long, actually. Especially considering how hard she had tried to revive him after Abe had, in fact, killed him.
"That's a little violent."
She sighed before answering. If he only knew. Which he didn't. Well, not anything since she'd killed Agent Shaffer. Though, he didn't even know everything about that murder. The extra three shots. She'd seen Jackson's face. Overkill. They had agreed not to tell anyone else on the team. She was violent. Very violent. Deadly. And it scared her.
"Effective." There was an edge to her voice. She pretended not to hear it.
Standing back at the airport, the empty tarmac where they had left the rest of the team that morning, faced them. A crushing blow to their psyches. They both sagged with weariness.
"I'll call Abe," he had offered, turning away and walking back toward the hangar nearby. It was the first thing he'd said to her since she'd voiced her plan. Using his IADG credentials, he'd convinced a police officer to bring them back here. Ideally to catch everyone else up on events at the embassy. Which was now a moot point, since they had been abandoned.
Returning, he shoved the phone into a pocket. "They are on the way to Pangaea. Apparently, Dr. Oz is the new Dr. Morgan. He's got a plan to save the animals."
"Ouch." She grinned, hoping to lighten his mood. The quick flick of his eyes back at her made her smile. She pushed her luck, "how does it feel to get left behind?"
"Jamie…" His face fell and she immediately regretted her words.
"I'm joking."
He shook his head at her sadly.
"Look, I know you don't want to talk about it, but there is something you need to know." He rose his hand to quiet her as she opened her mouth to protest. She did not want to rehash the past. It was a poor joke. Why did she never learn to keep her mouth shut?
"I never wanted to leave you behind. It shames me to say this, you can ask Abe, but I threw a tantrum when they ordered me back on the helicopter. Sat on the ground, crossed my arms and dared them to take me back. Abe had to drag me back home."
She wasn't expecting that confession. Not even remotely. She didn't know what to say. Reaching for his hand, she held it. They stood in silence for a long time, looking at each other.
Jamie broke the silence first. "Did I scare you? My idea." She wasn't sure why, but his answer mattered. Now, more than ever.
"A little." At least he was honest. "Then again, I spent a few hours daydreaming up 'accidents' that resulted in Logan in the freezer with the iguana." Snorting, she looked at him askance. Was he really that jealous of the bastard? "Can't blame you for wishing death and destruction on Davies. At least he's done something worthy of the idea."
So had Logan. Mitch didn't know the whole story there. And God help her, he would never find out either.
"Still, a bad idea."
"I said violent, not bad." He tipped his head as if thinking more on her cockamamie plan. "It has merit… a nice parallelism to it, considering what he's put us through. What he's about to do. What he's done." He nodded absently as he spoke. His eye glistened at the very corner, a tear threatening, only to be wiped away as he slammed his emotional door closed again.
"Killing Chloe."
"Yes, her."
