It took Jane a little under half an hour to walk to the pier. As she did her emotions flashed back and forth between anger and hurt, and eventually settled on hurt. She understood where he was coming from. To be honest, she could not blame him for not wanting to be on a team. In Brandt's mind working with Ethan would be reminder of what he had cost the man. Jane understood that.
That did not stop it from hurting. Realistically, the only way she and Brandt could even attempt some form of a relationship was if they worked together on a regular basis. Otherwise, it would just be something fleeting like what she had with Hanaway—and, while that had been enough for her then, things were now different. She wanted more with Brandt.
Jane bit her lip. It didn't matter what she wanted. He was not joining the team and that meant that they would see each other every so often, but nothing would really come of their relationship. She felt her heart sink a little more, but pushed that aside when she spotted Benji walking over towards her.
"Hey Benji," Jane said and leaned in to give him a quick hug.
"Hello, where's Brandt?" he asked.
"We're not joined at the hip, Benji!" Jane said slightly defensively.
"I know that! I just thought you two would—oh, never mind. There he is," Benji said as he lifted his hand to wave at him, who approached her from behind. Jane tensed up, but refused to turn around to look at him. She kept her eyes on Benji.
"We should find Ethan," she said as soon as Brandt had joined them.
"I see him," Brandt said with a nod towards the tables, "Over there." Jane started to walk towards the tables and sure enough there was Ethan. He sat at a table with a man that left shortly after their arrival.
"Thanks for meeting me," Hunt said as they all took seats at the table. It had been eight weeks since the four of them had been together like this. Ethan and Benji shared a joke about the BMW he had crashed and Jane laughed politely. She could feel Brandt's eyes on her, but she refused to turn and at meet his gaze. Instead, she focused on Ethan.
The last time she saw him was in the hospital in India when he was all bandaged up from his various injuries, "How's the leg?" she asked.
"Still working," Hunt replied before he nodded, "You?"
She thought for a moment. Physically, she was fine. Emotionally—despite the fight she had with Brandt, despite the fact they weren't going to be together as she had earlier assumed—emotionally she was, "Healing," she said with a small smile, and she and Ethan exchanged a look of understanding.
"I'm fine, by the way!" Benji said with a small wave, "I'm not actually sleeping though. You know, cold sweats, middle of the night." His statement caused Jane to frown slightly. He always acted so carefree whenever she spoke to him. Her heart went out to Benji since he was relatively new to the field and had been thrown into missions that really put him to the test.
Benji looked around at the people on the pier as they drank and socialized. He lamented on how at peace they all seemed considering their lives were in danger just a few weeks ago, "They have no idea they were almost vaporized! If it hadn't been for—"
"Dumb luck?" Brandt said and Jane held her breath. Did he really believe that their success was a result of nothing but luck? It was more than that! She was about to speak up when Ethan vocalized her thoughts.
Hunt looked at each of them and reminded them how despite the team being unprepared and disavowed the four of them worked well together. They made a good team. He placed three mobile phones on the table, one for each of them.
"Your missions…choose to accept them," he said.
The table fell silent and Jane couldn't hold it any longer. She stole a quick glance at Brandt, but he was focused on the phones on the table.
Benji accepted his first, "I'm in" he said, "I mean, it's not as if any mission is going to worse than that last one, is it? Is it?" His nervous laughter and hopeful expression caused the rest of them to laugh. Benji reached out, picked up his phone, stood up, and exchanged a handshake with Ethan before he left the table.
It was just her and Brandt now, but she didn't draw out the inevitable. She knew she wanted to be on the team and she knew Brandt's decision. Jane picked up the phone closest to her, "Agent Hunt," she said to Ethan as she walked past him, gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze, headed down towards the pubs.
Benji waited for her with a huge grin on his face, "This is excellent!"
Jane returned his smile, but it must not have reached her eyes because he frowned slightly, "What's wrong?" he asked.
She shook her head, "Nothing, nothing." Jane slipped the phone into her pocket and stole a look over her shoulder at Brandt and Ethan. Brandt stood next to him. She couldn't see the expression on his face, but she could read his body language. Tense, uncomfortable…relieved? She watched as he slowly sat down in Benji's vacant seat.
"How about a round of drinks to celebrate?" Benji said and she returned her attention to him.
That actually sounded like a good idea. She would need a drink or two after she said goodbye to Brandt, "Sure thing, Benji," Jane said, "You go and get us a table, okay? I'm going to wait here for Brandt and then we'll be right in."
Benji nodded, "Okay, don't take too long," and with that he was off. Jane turned to face the table where Hunt and Brandt were seated, folded her arms, and waited.
Brandt sat in the car for twenty minutes. He hated himself for hurting her and promised himself that he would make it up to her even though he had no idea how. Finally, he started the car and drove the short distance to the pier, parking the rental, and hopped out.
He scanned the crowd and checked for her. She should be here by now. Sure enough there she was as she talked with Benji. He started to walk towards them and he waved back when Benji called out to him. Jane didn't turn around and he noticed her back stiffen when Benji called his name.
He barely nodded a greeting at Benji when Jane insisted they find Hunt. Brandt checked his watch. They still had a few minutes to spare, but he figured she just wanted to get there as soon as possible. He nodded to where Ethan sat at a table and they made their way over. Bradt started to walk along beside her when she moved to walk on the other side of Benji. He internally sighed and walked on.
Hunt was talking to a robust black man when they approached. Hunt introduced him as Luther before he introduced the three of them.
"I blew an entire weekend on the bottom of the San Francisco bay, no thanks to you clowns!" Luther said to them. No doubt something to do with the fact the IMF had been disavowed because of them. Luther must have been positioned somewhere on the West Coast when it happened.
Luther exchanged a little more banter with Ethan before he left. Benji, Jane, and Brandt slid into the empty seats around him. Brandt purposely picked the one opposite Ethan. Jane sat to his left and he stole a glance at her a few moments later when she laughed at Ethan's joke. He continued to watch as she and Ethan exchanged pleasantries.
She told Ethan she was healing…she told him the same thing she said in the car about half an hour earlier. The fact that he was a part of her healing and was now hurting her made him hate himself even more. He forced his gaze away from her and turned his attention to Benji, who happened to be talking about their past mission.
"All these people are happy and smiling, completely oblivious to the fact that they were almost vaporized. I mean if it hadn't been for—"
"Dumb luck?" Brandt said because really that's what it was. Dumb fucking luck that they stopped that warhead in time. Dumb luck that they had not been caught or killed.
"Was it?" Ethan said, "I mean, look. We were unprepared, in the dark…disavowed. The only thing that functioned properly on that mission was this team…I don't know how we ended up together, but I am glad we did."
Hunt removed three cell phones from his pocket and put them on the table. He looked at Brandt dead in the eyes as he spoke, "Your missions…choose to accept them."
Brandt could no longer hold Ethan's gaze. Hunt was asking him to join a team now, but when he'll discover the truth in a few minutes he will change his mind.
Benji accepted the mission as he picked up his phone. Jane followed suit and he watched her go. He felt his heart sink at the thought of everything they were loosing before it had even begun. He stood up, left the phone on the table, and moved to follow Jane. To say something to her…anything.
"Brandt," Ethan called out to him and stopped him in his tracks. He watched Jane's retreating back from where he stood. It was time to tell him—to tell Ethan that he was the reason Julia Hunt died.
Brandt kept his eyes forward as he spoke, "I'm not picking up that phone, Ethan, because I don't think you want me in the field," he said and frowning slightly.
"I know your wife is dead. I was there in Croatia," he stole a look at Hunt before he continued, "I was there for one reason. One. And, I failed. It was my job to protect her." It is my fault.
"How do you know she's dead?" Hunt asked calmly.
Brandt turned his head sharply to look at Ethan. What sort of question was that? "There was a body," he answered, confused by the question.
"Did you see it?" Hunt asked again in the same calm tone that he used before. Brandt's heart raced…was Ethan possibly saying that she was not dead. No, if that was true he would have retaliated for her death.
"You—you killed those Serbians," Brandt told him.
"I had to get her back," Ethan said.
Brandt could not believe what Ethan implied. What about the prison he was sent to? He posed the question to Ethan, who simply said that he was willing to make that sacrifice since IMF suspected Hendricks had people in prison. The only way to get to him was to have someone on the inside. If all this was true then that would mean that the hit Ethan took out was for nothing.
"So, six dead Serbians was the ideal cover?" Brandt asked.
"Ah, waste not, want not," he replied.
Relief flooded through him. He could practically feel his shoulders ease from the guilt being lifted. Brandt sat down, rubbed his face, and let out a thankful chuckle.
"The Secretary never told me," he said.
Hunt leaned in slightly toward him, "I accepted the prison mission on one condition. That no one knows she's alive." Brandt was surprised. Hunt trusted him with the truth.
"…But you're telling me?" He got a nod in response and another relieved laugh escaped him. This changed everything. This meant that somewhere out there Julia Hunt was alive and well. It meant that he had not failed his mission. That he had not failed Ethan.
"When did you find out I was in Croatia?" He asked curious as to how long Ethan had known that Brandt had been his protective detail at the time.
"I pulled your file after India," he said.
"Right," Brandt said with a nod. His mind still raced at the news, "So, you had to fake your wife's death," he said.
Ethan's tone changed and carried a hint of longing and sorrow as he spoke, "As long as we were together she could never be safe. It was not your job to protect her Brandt. It was mine."
Brandt looked up and from where he sat he could see Jane talking to Benji. Jane. Everything was different now. He and Jane could actually have a chance at a relationship. A new emotion that he was not sure how to describe filled him. He could not wait to tell her the news.
He turned to Ethan and extended his hand, "So, we're good?"
Hunt shook his hand firmly, "We're good," he said.
Brandt stood up and picked up the phone and started his walk towards Jane. His eyes never left her as he closed the distance between them.