Season 6, Episode 3: Praesidium
Hetty breathed in relief when Nell confirmed she and the others were safe after the shootout at Dovecote. She would have felt far better if she could have spoken to them all — if she could have seen them on one of the screens in Ops, could have confirmed for herself that they were unharmed.
But Leon was keeping her on a very tight leash. He'd permitted the call to Miss Jones on a secured line only after she threatened to expose that little adventure he thought she didn't know about down in Paraguay. Leon let her speak to Nell twice, once during the shooting and once afterwards, but that was it. Then she was escorted to a secure location for the night with a half-dozen agents who were so professional and cold, they might have been robots.
Oh, I must be missing Los Angeles if I am starting to think like Mister Beale.
Hetty shook herself.
This is not the time to indulge in such fanciful ponderings. There is too much to do.
She would probably need a full day to turn those agents of Leon's, but when they did turn to her service instead of his, it would be complete. Leon never had quite the same talent for getting his hooks into people as she did. It would give her something to do, anyway, besides pacing in the small bedroom she'd been allotted and counting the changes of the watch.
Other than worry.
And grieve.
Oh, Duke.
The only bright spot in the loss of such an old and loyal friend was the fact that Duke had always kept very much to himself. Even Mister Callen knew him casually at best. They had crossed paths many times, but never moved beyond cordial to friendly. It was in both of their natures to be suspicious and standoffish.
Except with her, of course.
That was one of the common threads amongst the people Hetty trusted most in the world, she supposed. Those who survived in their world of secrets and danger tended to be loners, unwilling to forge connections or build much in the way of rapport. It was what made them good at their jobs, but like any good rule, there would always be exceptions.
Hetty knew herself to be that exception for many of her allies.
She smiled to herself at how neatly Grace had arranged some trustworthy individuals to help her escape from her hearing. Those people had come to Grace by way of Agent Callen, she was certain. She could read it in their very mannerisms. She also knew that agents of this quality meant her boy had called in some major favors to get them to take this on.
Whatever was happening in Los Angeles, the fact that G Callen had called in such favors meant he was badly worried.
And that was reason enough for her to be even more concerned.
First the breach at Dovecote, now the possibility of a mole. If trouble truly did decide to arrive, as it often did, in threes, the third would be worse.
She needed to start working on an exit strategy. Turning one of Leon's agents would get her a means back to Los Angeles, but it would take more than that to get out of the hearings and make her flight.
Her team, as Leon said, was largely unstoppable, could stand against any threat — but she did not want them to have to stand alone.
They were her team. This trouble was hers, and one man was already dead. And now, even from the opposite coast, she knew that her team would be doing everything possible, and several things which were more than reckless, all in an attempt to protect her.
Her team was in danger, and the storm on the horizon was getting darker all the time.
She needed to be there to keep her family safe in return, no matter what.