Wow guys! I got so many nice reviews on the first chapter that I decided to post the next one as soon as possible. Thanks to all who read and reviewed!
As always, I don't own Burn Notice.
BNBNBNBNBNBNBN
Over the next couple of weeks, Fiona didn't get much farther in her investigation. Strong had been told by Michael that he was close to capturing one of James's most loyal followers, but Fiona couldn't corroborate that. In fact, it seemed as though Michael wasn't even searching very hard. Sure, she had followed him to a couple of meetings with various shady-looking men and women, but most of the time he was planted at the table in the loft writing what looked like plans for some mission that she could only assume was CIA related. However, since she was sure that the only assignment he'd been given was the one Strong had included her on, she was unsure what he was doing.
About two months after James had been arrested, Michael finally left the loft for what seemed would be a significant amount of time, judging by the small suitcase he had taken with him. Fiona took the opportunity to break into her former home, and take a look at the plans Michael had been making. She found them easily, because they were hidden in one of Michael's secret hiding spots, which she knew like the back of her hand.
She was somewhat pleased to find that the plans included the blueprints to a building at an address in northern Miami. Looks like Michael's found a lead after all.
Fiona placed a hand on her cell phone, then hesitated, trying to decide whether to call Strong and update him. She knew that it would be the safest move, so that she and Michael would have backup no matter what they found. Then she second-guessed herself. If Michael wants backup he'll call for it himself. Fiona removed her hand from her pocket, deciding to follow Michael's lead, since he seemed to have a plan. It would be unnerving enough for him to have her following him around, he didn't need the CIA, or even Sam and Jesse on his tail too. Fiona got into her car, entered the building's address into the GPS, and began the drive.
By the time she arrived at her destination, night had fallen and there was a slight chill in the still air. She grabbed her favorite gun and slid it behind her back, searching the surrounding area for Michael or the Charger. She saw neither. Wondering if she had been wrong about Michael's intentions, Fiona decided to have a look around anyway. Her curiosity about why the spy was interested in the modest building still needed to be satisfied.
The structure itself had clearly been abandoned for years. The grounds around it were overgrown, and many of the windows had been broken. It was not the kind of place from which she would expect James to operate. Perhaps Michael realized it was a dead end and headed back to Miami already. I suppose I might as well check it out myself while I'm here, Fiona reasoned.
The Irishwoman decided against trying the rotting doors, and instead opted to enter through one of the broken windows. She slid in, but scraped the inside of her arm on one of the shards of glass, causing blood to run down to her wrist. She cursed herself for not being more careful, but could tell that the cut was shallow.
She took a moment to listen hard, and heard the faint sound of voices coming from the other end of the large building. She crept quietly down the hallway, getting closer and closer to the people who were talking in what she assumed was a conference room. When she was close enough that she could hear the rumbling of the voices, but only make out a few words, she stopped dead in her tracks. She recognized one of the voices. That accent had haunted several of her recurring nightmares over the past few months, and she couldn't help but narrow her eyes at the sound. Sonya.
She felt a rush of accomplishment at having found the woman whom she hated so deeply, the woman who had made Michael question his loyalty to his friends. Fiona was just about to pull out her gun, although she had no idea what she would do after that, when she felt a rush of air and something solid crashing down onto her head. She felt dizzy and sick for a brief moment, before she collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Her body was dragged into one of the unoccupied rooms nearby, and she was handcuffed to a chair, lying unconscious on the metal table in front of her.
BNBNBNBNBNBNBN
Michael had only just arrived at the abandoned building, and parked in the small parking garage at the rear, when Strong called him. Michael hit the accept button and greeted his commanding officer.
"Westen, any leads?" Strong had been calling almost daily, and although Michael had given him bits and pieces of information to keep him from getting frustrated, he had avoided telling the agent anything significant. This time however, he decided to be as honest as possible. He needed the CIA to trust him, after all.
"I'm actually at an old office in Miami. I heard from one of James's contacts that he used to use this as a safe-house. It doesn't look promising, but I'll let you know if I find anything."
"Okay," replied Strong, not sounding entirely convinced. "Keep me updated."
He hung up without saying goodbye.
Michael slid his phone back into his pocket, and exited the Charger. He entered the building and went up the staircase to the ground floor, beginning to worry when he heard loud, stressed voices coming from the conference room. He entered quickly, after checking to make sure he had his gun.
"Hey!" he shouted above the argument Sonya and two of James's most trustworthy employees, Nicole and Roy, were having. "What's going on?"
"Michael," Sonya said in a quieter voice. "We've captured Fiona."
Michael felt his heart speed up immediately, and hoped no one had noticed The emotional response. "What do you mean? Why would you do that?" His voice sounded strained despite his efforts.
"I found her in the hallway, snooping around," informed Nicole. "How did she find this place anyway?" she asked Michael distrustfully. She had held a grudge against the double agent ever since James had taken such a sudden liking to him only months earlier.
"I don't know," he answered, preoccupied. "She must have been spying on me." He was ashamed he hadn't noticed it, but quite impressed with his ex-girlfriend's skills. "Where is she now?" he asked, trying to hide his concern.
"She's in the interrogation room down the hall, because Roy didn't have the sense to shoot her on sight," Sonya said spitefully.
"She's more use to us alive than dead," Roy defended, crossing his heavily-tattooed arms over his broad chest.
"Roy means that she'll be useful to him. He's thinking with the wrong head!" Nicole shouted brashly.
Michael held up his hand, internally deciding what to do next. "She can be useful. Think about it! Strong doesn't trust me completely, but he seems to trust her. I bet she has information that will help us eliminate the CIA threat." Even Michael knew his argument was weak, and was unsurprised when Sonya called him on it.
"Yet another man thinking with his dick! She is a threat to this organization and I will not let her walk out of here alive!" Michael concentrated on slowing his rapid heartbeat.
"It's two against two," reasoned Roy. How 'bout we let James break the tie?"
Sonya nodded, clearly believing James would side with her. Michael agreed as well, hoping it would buy Fiona more time to see things his way. Maybe I can convince her to work with us, his brainwashed mind hoped.
Michael took his phone out of his pocket and dialed the number for the burner phone he had slipped James the last time he had "questioned" him in prison. Since James was being kept in high security solitary confinement, chances were slim that he would be caught talking on the cell briefly.
James answered on the second ring, and Michael wasted no time explaining the situation. James listened thoughtfully and finally answered in his typical friendly drawl.
"I can see why you called, Michael. I think you're right about interrogating Ms. Glenanne. But she simply can't be set free again. I know it'll be hard for you," he continued reasonably, "but it is vital to the success of our organization that she either join us or be eliminated. Do you understand why this is necessary?"
Michael said yes, not really thinking about what he was agreeing to. Eliminated, eliminated, echoed in his head. She will join us, he told himself. I'll explain things to her and she'll get it. I can convince her to help me lead this organization.
He looked over at Sonya, who had taken the phone while he was lost in thought.
"Yes James," she was saying. "When the time comes, I can do that." She snapped the phone shut before Michael could figure out what their conversation was about. Sonya addressed the group once again.
"We have our orders. James said he wants Michael to interrogate Fiona and try to get her on our side, if possible." She looked as though the thought of working with the Irishwoman made her ill. "But if she refuses to follow us, if she refuses to cooperate, James ordered that Michael, and only Michael, get rid of her once and for all." Michael felt a fog descend over his brain at Sonya's final words. It won't come to that, he assured himself.
"Well," he spoke out loud, "I guess I'll get started. This might take a while." Giving his colleagues a weak smile, Michael exited the room and headed towards the makeshift interrogation room where the woman he...had once...cared for, was being held against her will. Slowly, Michael opened the door and stood silent for a moment, as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. He nearly cringed at the dissonant mixture of relief and terror he heard in her voice. "Michael."
BNBNBNBNBNBNBN
Fiona knew that the man standing before her was Michael Westen; there was no one who knew him better than she. But there was something different about him. His expression was cold, distant. He looked at her as though he were trying to convince himself she was someone else.
When she had first seen him come through the door, she had thought he was there to rescue her. However, he just stood in the doorway, staring at her, not making a move to free her. His eyes travelled from her bound wrist to her face, then finally to the bloody gash on her head, and for a moment, she saw concern and perhaps something deeper flash across his face. He finally spoke in a low voice, with an almost imperceptible hint of a tremble, "Do you need something for that?" He gestured in the direction of her head, and she assumed he was talking about her bloody scalp.
"No, thank you," she replied, as coldly as she possibly could. She had hoped that she had been wrong about Michael. She had hoped that his recent odd behavior was simply a side-effect of coming off of a taxing assignment. Unfortunately, it was now clear that Michael had switched sides. Fiona felt a lump rise in her throat but refused to shed a tear in front of this man.
Michael left the room briefly and returned with a first aid kit. He perched himself on the table in front of Fiona, and began cleaning and dressing her head wound and the cut on her arm. Fiona had half a mind to spit in his face and tell him to back off, but his hands were so gentle and his scent so familiar, that she couldn't do anything to jeopardize the brief moment of comfort she was being granted. The moment did end though, and soon Michael was seated across from her in a chair he had retrieved from another room. He stared at her seriously, all business once again.
"Have you been spying on me, Fiona?"
"Yes." She answered calmly.
"Is that how you found this place?"
"Yes," she said again.
"Does anyone know you're here?"
"No." Fiona didn't even bother to try to lie to Michael. He knew her too well to fall for any deception.
Michael rubbed his forehead, seeming disappointed in her last answer. He decided to ask a more challenging question. "How much do you know?"
Fiona answered without hesitation. "I know you betrayed your country. I know you're working for James. I know you're making a huge mistake."
"It is not a mistake," Michael defended. "And I'm not working for James, I'm working with him."
"With him? Oh my..." Fiona looked visibly disturbed for the first time since Michael had entered the room. "You're leading this organization! What is the matter with you? How can you do something so - so wrong?"
"It's not wrong," Michael corrected passionately. "It's whatever I want it to be. It's whatever I think is right. I'm not following orders anymore. I'm the one calling the shots."
Fiona simply sat staring at him, dumbstruck.
"And you can help Fi," he added excitedly. "We could use someone like you on the team."
"We?" Fiona muttered, frowning at the word. "We?" she said again.
Michael may not have been himself just then, but he was lucid enough to hear the toxic tone of Fiona's voice. He knew what was coming.
"What do you mean we? Your organization needs my help? What about you? How dare you ask me to help the people who destroyed my life, and yours?"
Fiona clamped her mouth shut in order to keep the tears at bay. Michael knew he wouldn't get any farther with her that day, so he decided to give her some time to rethink the situation...and himself time to regroup. He had to admit his interrogation hadn't been by the book.
"I'll bring you some dinner," he offered, "and a pillow and blanket so you can sleep."
She didn't even look at him. "Don't bother," she hissed venomously.
Michael felt his heart sink. This was not how he had wanted things to go. He hadn't expected her to agree to join the organization right away, but he knew that he couldn't live with the alternative. He went to find some food and blankets for Fiona, hoping she might be more open-minded after a full night's sleep. He was tempted to release her wrist from the cuffs, but knew that Fiona could easily escape if he did. And if she left he wouldn't be able to guarantee her safety.
BNBNBNBNBNBNBN
Back in the conference room, Sonya was filling Nicole and Roy in on what James had said to her. "James agrees with me that Fiona must die. But he doesn't want to lose Michael over it. He said to let Michael try his best to convince Fiona to join us, and when he finally realizes it is impossible, he must be the one to kill her. He was very clear on that point."
None of the three seemed to like the plan, but they took James's word as law, and would not disobey.
BNBNBNBNBNBNBN
Michael sat outside of Fiona's room all night, under the guise of preventing her escape. He fell into a light sleep a couple of times, but awoke every time he heard the chain on her handcuffs rattle. Deep down in his heart, Michael was horrified that Fiona was once again in handcuffs. Everything he had done in the past few years had been to keep her out of such restraints. But this time it's necessary, he told himself. I need to get her to join James, so that she can live. Despite his justifications, his guilt did not lessen.