As promised, this fic follows on from the last, in that it deals with Nick and Jen's second undercover mission. This chapter contains dialogue from the episode "Reunion", Series 4, story by John Hugginson and John Banas. I hope that you enjoy it. Please don't forget to take the time to review – let me know if you like it, let me know if you don't!
Disclaimer: I do not own City Homicide or its characters.
1.
From the moment they had seen Abdul Supomo's lifeless body on his kitchen floor, blood sprayed on the walls, it had all come flooding back with a vengeance. Nick and Jen knew that things were happening, but what did it mean for them? They knew that Abdul had worked for SIS in the past, they were sure that the murders of him and his family had to be connected to his past; but they knew that they could not talk to anyone about it, tell anyone what they knew. Abdul had been their handler, he had been their contact, when they had worked for SIS four years previously.
They had never expected, however, that SIS would track them down, come looking for them, whisk them away from their work, command them to keep homicide out of the way of their ongoing investigation.
They had expected it even less, when Cameron Burns turned up at Wahid's home, got Waverly to order Allie back to the office, and ushered them into a four wheel drive, weaving them down back laneways to a deserted warehouse, where they found SIS headquarters set up inside.
Jen felt a sense of anxiety, not knowing where this was heading, not liking the emotions that it was evoking in her after four years of semi-successfully keeping them in check. Nick was curious as to what was going on. He was keen to get answers as to what had happened to Abdul.
They were met by McAllister, who revealed a digital image on a computer screen. That image sent shivers down Jen's spine, she felt the hair on the nape of her neck bristle and stand on end.
"Detectives. I believe you know this man."
Nick knew what this would be doing to Jen. He didn't like it. Yes, they knew who it was, alright. Mohammed Hartono. The man they had dealt with four years ago. The monster who had murdered an SIS undercover operative before their eyes. What did the SIS still want with Hartono, Nick wondered to himself.
McAllister advised them that Hartono had teamed up with a man named Travis Abbott, and that they were planning a terrorist attack in Australia. Abbott had been responsible for the murders of the Supomo family. Jen felt sick to her stomach. This man had murdered two children in cold blood.
Mc Allister regarded Nick and Jen with cold eyes. "You worked undercover for SIS in the past. As Trish and Wesley Claybourne, of Claybourne Shipping. You helped Hartono run guns between Australia and Indonesia."
Images came flooding back into Jen's mind. The fear that she had felt back then, was lingering just below the surface again. She had been scared for her life, she had never been so terrified. She didn't want to feel that way again.
McAllister's voice sounded as though it were far away – Jen almost felt as if she was outside of her body, looking down at this scene, hearing him speak the words. "I don't have the luxury of time to train new operatives..."
Jen couldn't believe what she was hearing. "I need you to go back undercover."
It took every fibre of her being to control the scream she felt rising in her throat, the desperate urge she had to turn and flee. Instead, she turned to face Nick. "We're Trish and Wesley Claybourne again."
Nick looked at her. He knew how she must be feeling, right now. He knew the self-control that she was exercising, and he wanted to tell her how proud he was of her, for keeping herself in check. He couldn't believe that this was happening to them. They had survived this once already, now they were being told they had to risk their lives all over again. At once, he remembered the fear, the tension, the uncertainty of whether or not they would ever get out alive. He knew that they had no choice. They had to do what SIS ordered of them.
What would their colleagues be told, Jen wondered.
Waverly – doing what she had been instructed to do, by SIS. Jarvis, completely incredulous that Mapplethorpe and Buchanan were working for SIS, and not for the first time, either; Stanley, taking it all in his stride, the consummate professional; Matt, being given his orders by Stanley, feeling somewhat hurt at being kept out of the loop about what was going on, not being told where two of his detectives had been sent. Allie – pissed off at having had a gun pulled on her, and the fact that no-one was telling them what was going on. Duncan – wondering where Nick and Jen were, but having faith that they would be told soon enough. Rhys – amused and intrigued by the whole affair.
Jen and Nick were brought handfuls of files from Burns and McAllister. Jen wanted to know how long they would need to be undercover as Trish and Wesley again. "It's an open ended assignment" they were told. Open ended? What did that mean exactly? Months? Years? They had jobs and lives to return to. Jen didn't think that she could handle having to live like this again, for an indefinite period of time.
Nick wanted to reach out to her, put his arm around her, tell her that it would be okay. But he couldn't, because he didn't know whether it would be.
Trish and Wesley had been released from prison a couple of weeks ago. In these files, was all of the information that Nick and Jen needed to know.
The real Trish and Wesley Claybourne had been placed in a witness protection program, and were overseas. They would be no threat to Jen and Nick's cover. McAllister told them that their brief was to approach Hartono about using the Claybourne Shipping Company to ship guns, once again.
They would only have one night to learn the information, they were to be put into the field in the morning.
Jen looked over at Nick, her eyes full of fear. This could not possibly be happening to them, again. It was like a bad dream.
Jen had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. A couple of weeks ago, after she had run into 'Gina', a woman that they had known during their first undercover stint, she had made an offhand comment to Nick about it 'never being over', working for SIS. She hadn't realised at the time, just how true it really was. It was never over.
They sat at the desks allocated to them, late into the night, studying the files they had been given. Empty water bottles and coffee cups strewn over the desks, along with scattered papers. It was a mess. Everything was a mess.
Nick looked over at Jen. He was apprehensive about going back into the field, but he felt strangely comforted by the fact that he would be spending time with her, again. They were husband and wife again, and despite the circumstances, part of him was glad that he would get to be married to her for a second time. If only the situation were a different one.
He studied her closely, watching her as she tried to memorise the information in the files. She looked tired, he thought. He felt an urge to reach across and brush the hair off her face. In the dimly lit warehouse, her face illuminated by the reading lamp on their desk, she looked beautiful. He shook his head briefly. He needed to get his head into the game, and fantasising about her, and about what he would like to be doing with her, was not going to help him memorise these files.
She broke the silence by complaining that last time, they had been given a lot more time than one night, to prepare. Nick joked to her that they both knew that she had already memorised the information. Her memory was fantastic, his not so good, although he was useful in other ways.
Jen shook her head. "When I left home this morning, I didn't think it was going to be the last time I slept in my bed for...however long it takes." She looked completely forlorn.
He knew what she meant. He understood completely. When he left home this morning, he didn't think that this time tomorrow night, he would be sharing a bed, once again, with Jennifer Mapplethorpe. Things could be worse, he surmised.
In the morning, they walked out of the warehouse into the laneway, where a taxi awaited. They had been transformed into their new identities. Jen's hair had been straightened, and she was dressed in a denim skirt, long sleeved top with a crocheted, sleeveless cardigan, and long boots. She looked different, somewhat edgy. Nick thought she looked delectable, as usual. He had also been made over, his hair flattened and darkened; he looked not like a businessman, but a reformed criminal. Trish and Wesley had certainly fallen from grace after spending time in prison for their crimes.
Nick asked McAllister the obvious question of why they hadn't been provided with firearms. SIS had decided against it, which made Jen and Nick feel equally nervous. Mc Allister handed Nick a mobile phone, and advised him that he needed to contact Hartono, as soon as they were settled in, warning him that Hartono may not want to risk using the Claybourne company again. "It's your job to make sure he does."
With that, Nick and Jen got into the taxi, Jen feeling an overwhelming sense of dread. Once they were in the back seat, she grabbed for Nick's hand. He was momentarily taken aback by the move, but he knew how frightened she must be. He squeezed her hand tightly and looked deep into her eyes, silently trying to convey to her that everything would be okay, that he would look after her.
The taxi pulled away, taking Jen and Nick to their temporary new lives.