"You're not with the police." Ms. Lehard said when they reached the suburbs.
"No, we are not." Finch admitted. "Let's just say we're a concerned third party. Could you tell me about the program that the people back at your house made you write for them?"
"How do you know they had me write a program?"
"The people who held you hostage - they're very dangerous. They are looking to do a lot of harm, and we are trying to prevent them from doing so. Please, it's important you tell me about your program."
She hesitated for a moment, but the friendly smile Finch succeeded in maintaining on his face, despite the long day he'd had, convinced her to answer his question.
"Okay. I write mostly firmware. They had me finish a code injection routine. I'm afraid it's not quite a kosher thing to do. I think they'll use it to inject arbitrary code into the operating system that will use the power supplies on which the firmware is installed."
"That's alright, like you said, we're not with the police. All I need to know is: were you able to finish it?"
"Yes, I finished it this morning."
"Excellent." Finch said to astonished looks from both Lehard and Reese.
"I'm not sure you understand. It's like a hardware virus!"
"Oh, I do understand that." Finch smiled. "It won't do any harm."
Finch and Lehard talked about the details of her program until they arrived at the large brick house where Westen and his friends were already waiting. The group of ex-operatives cleared the house in record time, despite it being one of the bigger ones in Finch's holdings, while Finch himself and Lehard waited in the lobby; Lehard still unsure of what to make of all this, and Finch looking almost smug. He was quite proud of the Machine and how it had arranged to bring Westen, Glenanne and the disk to them. He was also relieved that Lehard's code injection routine worked as he had anticipated, so that the program on the disk indeed would not cause any harm to the Machine.
All the pride that comes with the accomplishment of an overwhelming number of sometimes difficult tasks was visible on his face. As soon as he had learned of the break-in, he had arranged for new phones, a new safe house and new computer hardware put up the warning sign for the Detectives and met with Reese, then got the new computers up and running and hooked into the library surveillance, broke into the CIA servers, met with Westen and Glenanne, cleared out the library, cracked the encryption on the disk, figured out the meaning of the data on it and figured out how to alter the code in a way that would not be detected. And that's not even counting the success he'd had in managing his group of 'assets' throughout the day and through the operation against Stanton, keeping information coming and directing its flow. Various pains in his body were the price he payed for the day's achievements.
When everyone was back in the lobby, he said: "I trust you can manage the assignment of bedrooms without me. I'll see you all tomorrow morning. A car will be here to pick you up at 9am."
He looked to Reese who in turn went to open the door for him and followed him out. Westen was too stunned and in too much pain himself to say something in time before the door closed behind them.
"Man, bring your mom up here, too, and we could have our own private field office." was Sam's comment. "Those two would have us all dancing to their tune in no time." A look from Westen made him reconsider elaborating on his observation.
Glenanne grinned, then took Lehard to call the still shaken woman's mom.
.
** Wednesday 01:55am
Reese took the driver's side again and started the car as soon as Finch had settled into the passenger seat and closed the door. The older man leaned back stiffly against the leather seat, exhaled and closed his eyes. He was well beyond the point where the pain in his back was localized to a few areas only, and now he could finally allow himself to relax.
"Harold?"
"Hmm?"
"Want to fill me in?"
"Can it wait until morning?"
"No, it really can't." Reese said softly. He was aware of his employer's - his friend's - physical state, but he had a responsibility to make sure what they had done earlier was right, and wouldn't have unintended consequences.
"If it absolutely cannot wait: The disk contained information about very specific server hardware. Hardware that you wouldn't use in this configuration today, unless you wanted to integrate it with a system roughly 7 years old."
"They're upgrading the Machine's servers." Reese guessed.
"That was my guess as well. As I said before, the code for the Machine cannot be accessed or altered in any way. The impending hardware additions offered a unique opportunity for whoever might want to control the Machine to introduce a kind of spyware that's hidden in the firmware of some of the components - the intelligent power supplies, to be precise. Much of the required code was also on the disk, just waiting to be installed on the hardware before it would be shipped. All it was missing was the injection routine, which would activate the code and integrate it with the Machine. Ms. Lehard provided that now, so I presume they don't need her anymore and she'll be safe."
"What about the Machine?"
"Oh, this could have been disastrous for the Machine. I subtly altered the code for the spyware though and rendered it harmless. I don't think the people behind it will notice my changes before initializing the server components with the code on the disk, certainly not if they are pressed for time. Westen stealing the disk must have caused them quite some delay."
"And once the components are installed, the time window is closed and there will be nothing they can do about it." Reese concluded.
"Not until the next upgrade, whenever that might be. Whoever was behind this, they are dangerous, and smart."
"So is the Machine, apparently."
A contorted grin fought its way onto Finch's face.
"So you think the Machine really was protecting itself. It arranged for Westen to find the disk and to bring it here."
"Yes, I think so."
"I didn't know the Machine could be so feisty." Reese said with a bit of teasing and a bit of respect in his voice.
Finch smiled briefly and leaned back into the car seat again.
Several surveillance cameras they passed saluted them with their red lights flashing briefly. Both of them noticed. Reese finally allowed himself to relax as well.
Reese was satisfied that the situation was under control, at least for now. When he thought of the empty library though, he felt like a stone was weighing down the pit of his stomach; a feeling he had the luxury to acknowledge, courtesy of the 'ex' in his status of 'ex-op'. He also realized that the circumstances around their need to give up the library were not as serious as they had originally thought. Maybe it was salvageable.
The events of the day taught him that even the loss of the library was not enough to upend his life again. Carter and Fusco were still there for him. Finch had not skipped a beat - he had been as reliable as ever. Reese just now realized that he had no clue how the older man had gotten so many things done in so little time and without the comfort of his library. It was good to know that he was surrounded by people he could rely on like that.
.
** Wednesday 9:03 am
"Hurry up in there, we're going to be late." Glenanne half-yelled at the closed bathroom door.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." Axe said as he opened the door. "You're acting like he's your boss or something."
Westen walked into the hallway while adjusting the position of his tie. He looked twice but said nothing about Axe's brightly coloured, wild patterned shirt.
"Well, my mom is overjoyed that we found her friend's daughter. I didn't tell her about the exploding barn."
"Who are you people, anyway?" Lehard was starting to process everything that had happened in the past couple of days.
"Oh we're just friends of a friend of your mom's." Axe said jovially.
Lehard gave him a dubious look.
"Mrs. Westen's friends. I know, you said so last night. Most people don't have friends who blow up barns and whose bathroom is better stocked than the nearest medical clinic."
"Well what can I say. We're special."
"He's special alright." Glenanne said, grinning at Axe, just before she snatched her handbag from the hall stand and dashed past them out the door.
.
** Wednesday 9:40 am
The car dropped them off at a park rather far outside the city. Westen was about to question the driver, when he saw the unmistakable forms of Finch, Reese and Bear by the water. He raised an eyebrow at his companions and they made their way across the still-dewy grass. Finch was opening bags filled with bagels and doughnuts and setting them on the picnic table next to several paper cups of coffee and a handful of yoghurt containers, under the watchful eyes of Bear, who could temporarily not decide whether the food or the newcomers interested him more. His interest in the canine companion to the approaching pack finally won out, and the two dogs ran off to play.
"So, what are we doing here?" Axe wanted to know.
"Post-mission debriefing." Finch said matter-of-factly. None of the ex-operatives were quite sure whether or not he was joking.
"In the park?" Axe asked.
Finch gave Axe's shirt a disapproving look.
"The temperature here is not always as agreeable as it is in Miami, but that should not stop us from getting some fresh air. Besides, you're not staying long; your plane leaves in two hours."
Finch handed Axe and Lehard a plane ticket each.
Reese handed out cups of steaming coffee. He noticed Westen staring, without really staring, at the yoghurt containers. Finch had been unclear about what the yoghurt was all about.
"Oh? Where are we going?" Axe asked, opening the ticket.
"You're taking Ms. Lehard back to Miami to stay with her family while her property is being renovated."
"I am?" he looked around to Westen who demonstratively shrugged his shoulders.
"Who's renovating my property?" Lehard chimed in.
"Well, I know some people ... " Finch started.
"Say no more. I don't want to know."
"Can we at least have some breakfast before we go?" Axe was already reaching for a doughnut.
"That's why it's here, please help yourselves."
.
"So, do you have plans for us as well?" Westen inquired with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. He was still preoccupied with the yoghurt.
"My plan right now is to have you eat some breakfast."
"Can't argue with yoghurt now can we?" Glenanne said. She sat down and both dogs sat next to her in anticipation. She broke a cream cheese bagel in half and gave a piece to each dog. Reese wondered how in the heck the dogs always knew who the right person to beg from was.
They ate and made small-talk, mostly for Lehard's benefit, until it was time for Axe and Lehard to leave. Westen and Glenanne walked them to the car. Finch remained sitting at the table and Reese stayed with him.
"How many painkillers have you had this morning?" Reese asked, a smirk on his face.
Finch turned and looked at him questioningly.
"You're not usually that well-versed in small-talk." Reese explained.
"There are still many things about me you don't know about, Mr. Reese." Finch said in retaliation.
"Yet, you know all about us." Reese said pensively, giving one of the yoghurt containers a nudge.
"That has always been the arrangement." Finch reminded him.
.
They abandoned their banter, as the car had left and Westen and Glenanne were back at the table.
"Alright, what was on the disk?" Westen demanded.
"The disk contained a computer virus that would have given the wrong people unprecedented access to a large surveillance network. I rendered the virus useless."
"What do you think the 'wrong people' will do, when they find out?"
"There's nothing that they can do. By the time they realize that the virus did not work, their time window for deploying the virus will have passed, and they will never know why it did not work as designed. I don't think they'll come after you again."
Westen looked at Reese, whose face was expressionless. Reese wasn't going to let his face give away the fact that this was not the whole story. He also realized, again, how good Finch was at leaving out the juicy bits. An expert manager of the flow of information.
"It's our lives on the line if they do."
"All they wanted was the disk. They know you'd never have been able to change the code on it, and it will pass any tests they might subject it to before deployment. They will have no reason to go after you.
I will also look into your burn notice. Maybe I can come up with something that will help you run down the last of the members of the organization that had you burned, before they can come after you."
"I still don't know who made those calls to the public phones."
"I'm afraid I can't help you with that."
"You don't know who is providing you those SINs?" Westen thought he had been more than patient thus far. The evasive answers were upsetting him and his mood became darker.
"I don't think you'll be getting any more of them, if that's what you're worried about."
"That's not what I asked."
"It's all I can say."
Finch's voice had a finality to it, and Glenanne recognized the determined look on Westen's face. She was disappointed that the people she had come to trust so easily were suddenly so secretive again, but she did not want the situation to escalate, either. She touched Westen's arm.
"Let's go." she said.
He kept the determined stare on Finch a while longer, then suddenly got up and walked toward the exit of the park.
Glenanne looked after him and then back at Reese and Finch. Finch gave her a helpless but determined look. She fed Bear the remaining part of the doughnut she had been eating and left after Westen.
.
"I thought you might offer them a job." Reese said when they were out of earshot.
"Do you miss having colleagues?" Finch turned and looked at him with interest.
Reese shrugged. He was still watching the two retreating figures.
"You made a good team yesterday. The Machine obviously likes them. Should their situation change, I would not mind asking them to work with us. For now they have their own agenda. They are not like us. They still have families, loved ones. Besides, I have a feeling our paths might cross again. For now: the less they know about the Machine, the better."
Reese couldn't agree more.
.
** 6:00 pm
Westen and Glenanne closed in on the airport check-in counter after spending part of the day doing actual sightseeing. They spotted Finch and Reese on their way to the gate. Glenanne was the one who walked up to them, and Westen grudgingly followed her. Finch struggled to his feet.
"Ms. Glenanne. I had meant to give you this in the park this morning. A souvenir from New York."
He handed her a large plastic bag. In it was a shoe box, which made Glenanne flinch inwardly a little - shoe boxes, outside of shoe stores, did not usually hold pleasant things in her world. But in this box she found the pair of very expensive shoes that she had tried on but had decided she couldn't really afford.
"I can't possibly accept these." she said.
"Then consider them payment for bringing me the disk."
Westen was unimpressed by a gesture so obviously meant to buy back their goodwill.
"I realize that this does not make up for the disappointment you may feel concerning the amount of information obtained on your trip, but I hope it will make you remember the trip here in a little better light, at least." Finch said, as if in response to Westen's thoughts.
Glenanne did not, in the end, care about the shoes. They made her happy, but she didn't sell her soul for material things. It was the thoughtfulness of the gesture that touched her. Not just the gift; the two of them did not have to come to the airport to see them off. In fact, if they were at all like some of the operatives she had met, they wouldn't have. Maybe they did have a good reason to not divulge more information than they had.
"Mr. Westen. I'm sorry I was not able to satisfy your curiosity to the extent you had hoped. All I can hope is that you will believe me when I say that you bringing the disk here will ensure that many lives are saved.
If I learn anything concerning your burn notice, or the people who burned you, I will let you know. And if either of you are ever looking for a job, don't hesitate to contact me."
He handed business cards with nothing but a name and a phone number on them to Glenanne and Westen.
Reese was standing just behind and to the side of Finch. Westen looked at him after putting the card in his inside west pocket. It was the first time Reese looked back openly, without the mask, without pretending and without trying to hide his state of mind. Westen dropped his mask as well, just for a moment before turning to walk away.
"If you're ever in Miami, look us up." Glenanne said, then turned and disappeared into the crowd of travellers herself.
.
** Two weeks later
Reese carried the last box of files and equipment up the library stairs. Water was dripping from his hair; evidence of the rain that was drumming quietly on the building's roof and windows. He found Bear's ball on top of the box and threw it down the hallway for the dog to chase. Bear knocked over a pile of documents that Finch was about to pin back onto the board.
"Do you want to get lunch?" Reese asked once he arrived in the main chamber.
"No, go ahead without me."
Finch didn't even look at him, he was so engulfed in recreating his board of numbers.
Reese stood there for several minutes, watching Finch carefully handle the pictures and newspaper clippings. Narrow beams of light shone through gaps in the drifting clouds and made it look like an ensemble of shadows was dancing slowly across the library floor.
Finch finally turned around.
"You're still here." He commented.
Reese wasn't sure what to say.
"You agreed that it was safe to come back here." Finch continued, guessing as to the reason for his employee's reluctance to leave.
A hint of worry was only partially to blame for Reese's hesitation. He was standing there feeling unexpected relief. To be re-claiming this space, to watch it come back to normal; he was savouring the moment. He smiled and lifted a new computer tower onto the desk.
"I'll get lunch later."
.
There, I had them out to play and put them all back neat and tidy, the way I found them, just like they teach in Kindergarden. :)
Wow, this ended up quite a big longer than I had anticipated. Thanks for sticking with me to the end, I hope you enjoyed it. Don't be shy to leave a review.
