She sat on the cold stone floor of the secured corridor. Her back rested against the metal door as her knees were drawn close to her. Her head rested on her knees in an attempt as a make shift pillow. She didn't intend to fall asleep but the endless hours undercover and a long flight had finally caught up to her. She was comfortable in her decision that this was the safest and most secure place to hold the prisoner until she could get him to his final destination at Guantanamo.
"Cath?" Steve spoke softly, barely above a whisper.
Her head darted up and her reflexes raised her gun towards the sound of his voice. "Shit, I almost shot you"
He raised his hands in surrender "Sorry, I tried not to startle you. What are you doing here Cath?" He asked as he took his position next to her.
She holstered her gun "didn't Danny fill you in?"
"He may have left out a few details" He smiled
"I'm sorry to show up like this, but this detour was unexpected and we decided this was the best place to wait things out" She explained
Steve looked around to see nothing but empty hallway "We? You're alone."
"My team went to eat and do some sightseeing. First time in Hawaii" she rolled her eyes hoping he would not notice "I think they were excited to be stranded here"
"You should have gone with them. Whoever is in there isn't getting out" His eyes scanned her small frame "When was the last time you ate?" She was always thin but never like this.
"Honestly, I don't remember, but I'm not leaving" she was adamant " I lost everything I care about for this guy and I'm not letting him get away when I'm this close to putting an end to it once and for all" she couldn't help but stare into his eyes.
He could see the hurt in her eyes, those beautiful brown eyes, he thought. Was she referring to us, to what we had? He cleared his throat. "I get it" was all he could reply. "I can sit here and guard him while you grab a bite and maybe take a nap in my office? That couch is pretty comfortable"
"I remember" she replied with a twinkle in her eye, "but I'm not leaving"
"Who is in there, Cath?" Steve could see how important this was to her and his curiosity had peaked
"Petroff Voknel" was all she needed to say. She knew Steve would know who he was.
"Seriously?" Steve exclaimed "That's huge Cath, HUGE. We've been after him for decades. Did he flip on Nietsikova?"
"No, not yet. We tried but he refuses to give him up. Now it's up to the boys at Gitmo" she was slightly disappointed
"I can give it a try if you want" he offered
With a raised voice she insisted "it's not your case, Steve".
"I just want to help you, Cath. That's all" he was sincere
"I know" she spoke barely above a whisper avoiding eye contact. "I'm sorry; it's just this is my case, my collar, my payout. I'm too close to let anything or anyone mess it up. To let anyone else take credit"
"I'm not trying to take the credit away from you. You know I would never do that. I'm just trying to help you." he turned his body to face her more directly.
"Of course I know that, I'm sorry, it's just this is very important to me and I need to handle it on my own, with MY team" she emphasized
"Why is this so personal? What did he do to you, Cath?" he reached his hand to touch her arm.
"It's not like that. He hasn't done anything to me directly." she wanted to tell him more, the whole truth but none of that really mattered. He probably wouldn't understand anyway "How much do you know about my..." she paused "…career choice? I know you saved my life recently, preventing my cover from being blown, but how much do you really know?" she looked up to face him.
"I only know you lied to me about joining the CIA" he realized how cruel that came out but it was said and it needed to be.
She could feel the tears that were building and in an effort to hold them back she nodded in agreement "It's not that simple. I never meant to hurt you, but it's complicated and it was something I had little choice in. You can believe me or not, it doesn't really matter now, does it?" she shrugged her shoulders
"I guess you are right, the past doesn't matter" his response was curt
She wasn't sure what he meant by that remark but she was exhausted and was in no mood for a serious discussion. She offered no response to his comment
There was a moment of awkward silence
He needed to get out of there and quickly. "I'm going to get us some dinner. Don't go anywhere. I will be back in a few" without waiting for a response he walked to the end of the hallway and turned the corner towards the elevator. Once inside and the doors closed, he leaned his head back against the elevator wall. He allowed himself to release the tears that were on the verge of escaping. He was angry with her but he understood her, he was realizing he still loved her. "damn it" he scolded himself "why do I let her get to me?"
