Putting his hand over Anna's, John ran his thumb over the ridges of her knuckles. "It'll be alright."

"Is it alright if I confess that I don't believe you?"

"More than." John squeezed her hand a moment before releasing it. "It won't be as bad as you're thinking it will be."

"I have to confess to my family that they're moving to Yorkshire, effective immediately, because I work as an assassin." Anna sighed, staring through the one-way mirror at her family in the other room. "How do you even say that out loud and not sound completely insane?"

"You don't." John shrugged, pulling his phone from his pocket when it vibrated. "But whatever you say, it'll have to be quick. We've got a lead on Carlisle and Vera so we've got to move."

"Maybe I should just leave them in that room until we've finished."

"What good would that do?"

"Because then I could say their holiday was cut short because of a terrorist or something." Anna folded her arms over her chest. "Then I wouldn't be entirely lying and they might forgive me if I then said the problem is already solved."

"But they'd always wonder where the rest of the truth was and why you hid it from them." John pointed toward the room. "Set their minds at ease and be honest."

"They'll never forgive me." Anna shook her head, "Henry won't understand and my parents… How could I ever explain what I do in a way that doesn't make me look like a killer? Or, at the very least, not a complete psychopath?"

"Just tell them the truth and whatever comes of it comes of it."

"That's not a comforting answer."

John almost reached for Anna's hand again but stopped himself. "Unfortunately it's the only answer I've got."

Anna nodded, staying quiet a moment before speaking softly. "What happens when they take my child away because I recklessly endangered him through my occupation? What do I do when this ruins my family?"

"First of all, they can't prove you ever put Hendry in danger."

"They were practically dragged out of their beds in Lagos because there was a man sitting on their house waiting for an order to kill them."

"That could happen to anyone in a position of power when someone wants to manipulate them and I've got a host of movies and tv shows to prove that."

"But-"

"But nothing, you didn't put your son in any more danger through this job than any other you might've chosen in the intelligence community. And secondly…" John shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe it'll ruin your family maybe it won't."

"You're the picture of helpful in this, you know that right?"

John almost smiled. "I'm not perfect at this by a long shot. I literally threatened to put a bullet in my ex-wife because of what she did for a living before I went and did almost the exact same thing. More to the point, I still haven't told my mother and my daughter is still largely suspicious of me because I told her the broad strokes of all this and that's before I even consider telling her it almost killed me."

"But she'll forgive you?" Anna met John's eyes. "They'll both forgive you for it all because they love you right?"

"Catherine's a teenager so I don't think that'll happen until she's an adult but, maybe, she'll forgive me once she's had time to think about it and once I'm officially not part of this life anymore." John bit his lip, "My mother'll rant and rage about it, mostly because she's Irish and my mother, and then maybe throw up her hands and sigh about how I'm always putting her through things like this."

John watched Anna's family through the glass, "But, eventually, the real question is why I didn't tell them. And, in the end, they deserve to know. With how much this has affected their lives, despite what I did to stop that happening, they deserve the fighting chance that comes from just knowing that there's a danger out there they didn't realize before."

"Think that'll make it better for them?"

"It can't hurt." John urged Anna from the room, "If you never try to talk to them then you'll never know."

"You're not wrong." Anna put her hand on John's and he moved to hold her close. "But I'm not saying you're going to be entirely right either."

"As much as this reminds me of Schrodinger's cat, it's still worth it to try."

"I know. And thank you… Even if your advice is practically shit."

"It's the advice we've got to work with."

Anna hugged him close for a moment before leaving the room.

John turned to the mirror, watching as Anna entered the room to the silent uproar of her family. The pantomime almost had him smiling but for the tension in Anna's shoulders and the desperate way she tugged her fingers. When she took a seat on the sofa, Henry climbing onto her lap, John turned away and walked out of the room. The moment, even if it was silent to him, deserved privacy.

Closing the door behind him, John found Mary in the corridor, typing away furiously at her phone. She barely glanced up as John as he took position on the wall opposite hers, leaning on it as they waited together. "She told them the truth yet?"

"I'd guess that's where she's going with it but I didn't stay to watch."

"Why?" Mary's eyes darted up for a second to look at him before returning to her phone. "Afraid she'll throw you under the bus?"

"No, I thought it should be a private moment and I didn't feel like infringing on that, no matter how much I'd love to see the outcome." John dug into his pocket for his phone and showed Mary. "Was this yours?"

"The phone? Absolutely not." Mary shook her head, "I don't tend to invest in bricks from the stone age."

"No you git, the message."

"Oh." Mary read the message in a blink and returned to her phone screen. "Yes, it was. We spotted Carlisle near the East End. We've got your man Branson on it now, following the lead and keeping respectful distance."

"Seems a little beneath Carlisle to be in that part of town." John slipped his phone away. "I thought he was a man of means."

"He's got some old warehouses there." Mary paused, snorting as a devious smile took over her face. "And since we've succeeded in freezing all his other assets he's not got many places to go now."

"No fancy hotels or restaurants to flaunt about in while he's wheeling and dealing to secure his future while sacrificing the Empire?"

"Not since there's a 'arrest on sight' warrant out for him." Mary grinned like a Cheshire Cat. "It does tend to muddle the water."

"Nice work."

"It was part of the plan we formulated. The one that began with leaving Green's dead body on Carlisle's doorstep." Mary finished her novel and tucked her phone away with a final tap. "It got the right questions asked and, now, the government is finally stepping in to help sweep up a mess it created."

"How many do you think he'll take down with him?"

"Depends on how thorough he was at backing up his files." Mary pulled out her phone again, reading the contents quickly before responding. "If we've got another Thomas Barrow on our hands then it'll be a shitshow no matter what we do with Carlisle after we finally nail his ass."

John narrowed his eyes, studying Mary as she typed ceaselessly at her phone, "What's your beef with Carlisle anyway?"

"Other than him being a pompous ass or a rather dangerous agent or an all-around selfish prick?"

"Yes, other than all of those things."

"They're not enough?"

"Not for you." John nodded at Mary, "What's gotten him so thoroughly under your skin in particular?"

Mary looked up from her phone for a second, quickly typing a response to another message, and tucked her phone away to look at John. "I'll only tell you as part of a quid pro quo."

"I've only got beef with Carlisle as far as he threatened my daughter to my face while she stood twenty feet away."

"I mean with his agent." When John frowned Mary rolled her eyes. "Your ex-wife, Mr. Bates."

"The 'ex' part of that wasn't enough of a reason?"

"As a woman with more than her fair share of former romantic liaisons, no, the 'ex' part isn't enough of a reason."

"Why not?"

Mary shrugged a shoulder, "You're the one who said my issues with Carlisle had to be more than just because he's a rubbish human being."

"Fair." John took a deep breath, "My ex-wife's a selfish individual. That's the beginning and the end to her story. All her finest and more heinous of character flaws summed up in one adjective."

"That's it?"

"It doesn't help that my involvement with her had entirely too much to do with thinking I knew better than I did when everyone else warned me she'd only love me to leave me and it'd burn my ass in the end."

"As charming as all those reasons are," Mary wagged a finger at John, "None of them are why you'd like to see the end of her."

"No?"

"Certainly not enough to have a death wish."

"I don't have a death wish on her."

Mary rolled her eyes and went back to her phone for a moment, "Right, because you following this case so closely is entirely because you've got the best interests of the Empire on your mind."

"That's fair." John took a deep breath. And then another. "She sold out people who were friends of mine. Colleagues I served with. People I valued and who depended on me. She used me for my connections, sold them out, and ruined my career… As a result of being the unwitting accomplice in the bungling of missions, the burning of assets, and the death of two agents."

Mary whistled, "That's a bit rougher than I anticipated."

"Where Vera's concerned, it's always rougher than it looks at first blush." John shrugged against the wall. "If it hadn't been for your father then I never would've gotten back into this work."

"So you're going to get your wife back for ruining your life?"

"No, for being a horrible human being and getting people killed, imprisoned, maimed, incarcerated, and fired." John waited a beat, "Is that a good enough answer or do I still sound too cagey?"

"Good enough for me."

"Then," John nodded at Mary. "Your turn."

"Carlisle took information he wasn't supposed to have in the first place and sold it to the highest bidder."

"How'd he get the information?"

"I gave it to him." Mary waved her hand at John's expression, as if to bat it down from his face. "It was intentional and not, as I'm sure crossed your mind, because I talk in my sleep."

"I didn't even know you'd been involved."

"It was brief but it was." Mary let out a breath, "What I told him, I told him in confidence, because I relied on him to keep it to himself, and he didn't." Mary bit at her lip, "It's part of the reason Matthew died."

"But you and Mr. Crawley-"

"Richard and I were together, for a few months, before Matthew and I finally made a real go of things." Mary shuddered, "Talk about stupid adolescence. A lot of wasted time there, if you ask me, and part of the reason I was in that position in the first place was because I didn't trust Matthew with the details I told Richard."

"And you blame him for Matthew's death?"

"Matthew's death was…" Mary paused, "It wasn't anybody's direct fault but the fact that I kept information from him about Kemal Pamuk and… The reality of it is, if there's blame to lay it goes directly at my feet and nowhere else."

"That's not what anyone else thought."

"And yet, here we are." Mary pulled out her phone again. "I hope your girlfriend's wrapping it up in there."

"Because we've got places to be?"

"Because they're transportation's here and Branson's been sitting on a warehouse for ten minutes."

"I'll check."

"I could go if you-"

"No, I've got it."

John pivoted to go back into the viewing room but the door opened and Anna emerged. She paused, looking at both of them, but nodded to Mary. "They're ready to go when you are."

"Good, because the car's already here." Mary moved forward and put a hand on Anna's shoulder. "I can imagine how difficult that was for you."

"Difficult enough that I don't want to talk about it right now." Anna put her hand over Mary's. "But thank you, for doing this for me."

"We're the ones who almost got them killed so let's call it evens yeah?" Mary left Anna, walking into the room as the door barely had time to click shut.

John waited, watching Anna as she dry-washed her hands before tugging at her fingers. After a minute he closed the distance between them and put his hand on hers to stop the nervous tick. "We've got to go ourselves."

"We've got something?"

"Branson's sitting on a warehouse." John took Anna's hand, "If you're still in for seeing this to the end."

"Absolutely."

They were quiet as they went out to the car and John moved to the passenger seat as Anna instinctively moved into the driver's seat. But they did not move. Instead they sat in silence for a few minutes until John finally spoke.

"If you want to talk about it, I'm here to listen."

"I know." Anna took a deep breath, the exhale shuddering slightly. "They stared at me like they had no idea who I was. And, in a way, that was fair because they didn't. But now that they do…"

John waited for Anna to speak again. "They're going to go to your house in Yorkshire and 'stew', as my father said, until they've decided how they'll handle what I told them."

"And then?"

"They don't want to see me until they've made a decision." Anna put her elbow on the door of the car, resting her hand on it as she stared out the windshield. "It's better than I feared but not as good as I hoped."

"As someone once said, we hope for a Disney ending and prepared for one befitting a Shakespearean tragedy."

Anna half-snorted a laugh before wiping her hand over her face, sniffing with a strong intake of breath, and reached her hand to turn the key to the car. "True. And, in the case of the bomb I just dropped on them, more than fair."

"Did they understand?"

"They liked the idea that this'll be my last day of work before I truly become an HR executive at a nice company." Anna turned to John, putting her hand over his to squeeze it before taking the gear stick under her palm. "What are the chances you're going to start your own tech company and turn to fixing old ladies' computers for your day job?"

"High given that today is also my last day of work at my current job."

Anna risked a small smile, "What if I could put in a good word with the IT department at my new company?"

"It wouldn't hurt."

"It's in Yorkshire."

"That makes it all the better."

"Then I guess we'll see what strings I can pull." Anna finally turned the key on the car. "But after we're officially let go from our current jobs yeah?"

"Far more professional that way."

They drove to the address in John's text and Anna parked the car close to where another already waited in the shadow of shipping crates. When Anna turned the car off, allowing a moment of almost eerie silence, John took a breath. "Not to sound ominous, but I remember the last time we were in a situation like this."

"You faked a limp and we shot a lot of people."

"What's to say that's not the ending this time?"

"Because I've got a crane over there," Anna pointed, "With a good view of the warehouse and you've got a friend in that car. So I'll take the lovely rifle they've left us in the back of this vehicle and you'll get him to help you paint me a target."

"I didn't know you were a sniper."

"I wasn't, not officially, but I've always been a very good shot." Anna gave John the keys. "Give me a few minutes to get into position before you and your Mr. Branson there take on an army on your own."

"It's almost like you don't trust me."

"To be honest, out of the two of us, I'm usually the hotter of the heads."

"I won't disagree, you are the hotter of the two of us."

"Don't get charming on me now John," Anna winked at him as she got out of the car. "I'll come over all insensible and then where will we be?"

"In a very compromising position in this rather mediocre car."

"Maybe next time."

John watched Anna, the case slung over her shoulder, dart around the large shipping containers, climbing a few of them using the ladders reserved for the workers- and marked with signs to that effect in large letters- to get herself to the crane overlooking the shipping yard. The distant speck of her settled into a position before John got out of the car and walked to the one occupying the rest of the shadowed space where they hid. Rapping his knuckles on the window he alerted Branson and waited for the other man to join him.

"Anything?"

"Other than your girlfriend taking spotting position, no." Branson shook his head. "Carlisle went in there with a carload of cronies and they've hunkered down."

"Waiting for something or someone?"

"Not sure. Maybe regrouping given the absolutely spanking the Met and everyone else gave his people this afternoon." Branson passed his phone to John, showing off the stream of reports. "I've got a mic on him and the Dowager's people got us a line when they hacked the building but otherwise it's just been tense in there. All pins and needles."

"Then let's go get a better look." John and Branson wove between the containers, sprinting at a crouch to reach the walls of the warehouse.

Easing around the side of the building, Branson led the way before craning his neck around the other side. When he looked back at John, Branson shook his head and motioned to switch spots to give John the view. One that showed two men, hands nervously patting at their sides and jackets as they paced, pacing a route close to the door behind them.

John moved back next to Branson and pointed back they way they came, shifting away from the guards to another possible entrance. That one too, unfortunately, was guarded by another duo of nervous individuals who, when they accidently bumped one another, looked ready to shoot each other until they finally calmed. Branson and John returned to their position, crouching down for a moment before John pointed upward.

Branson craned his head back before nodding. Weaving his fingers together to interlock them, John bent down and put his weight into his knees as Branson's foot settled in his hands. Silently mouthing the countdown to one another, moving into an almost bouncing motion, John lifted on three to give Branson the leverage he needed to leap upward and catch an overhanging bar. His hands wrapped it as his feet landed on the wall to walk himself upward high enough to drop the latched ladder for a fire escape.

It slid down as slowly as Branson could manage it and John caught the metal before it could hit the ground. Following Branson up the ladder, John joined him overlooking the warehouse through a fogged window. Even a rubbed sleeve over the glass did little to clear it.

John bit the inside of his cheek before removing his jacket to wrap around his hand. With only a nod toward Branson, who found a broken piece of board, John punched his fist through the glass at the same moment Branson's hurled piece of wood hit a far container. The dual noise confused the guards and allowed John and Branson a view of the interior of the building.

A view that left John motioning to Anna's distant figure before pointing inside. It took less than a minute for two quick cracks to whip past John's ear and hit two people inside the building. The noise disturbed the guards and they rushed inside, guns drawn, only to start firing at one another.

"I think we've made it a thing." Branson called over the sound of bullets and pulled out a phone, dialing the same number three times. "Think they'll come and get them for us?"

"Let's not stay to find out." John took a peek through the window and caught sight of Carlisle with a woman. She did not look toward him and John forced himself away from the window, following Branson down the ladder to hit the ground and return to their cars.

Anna joined him there, tucking her case back into the car and shrugging. "I missed them both."

"A few less people on our conscience isn't a bad thing." John opened the door for her as the sound of sirens rang louder than the bullets from the warehouse. "And, let's be honest, we don't need it."

"Catch on you on the flip side John." Branson saluted him, his car peeling out faster than John could fathom.

He sniffed at the smell of burning rubber but tucked himself into the car as Anna drove away from the area as police cars swarmed the area. They drove around for a stretch before Anna parked the car in a garage. After a moment they separated, wiping down the car and removing anything from inside it before walking toward the lifts in silence. Even when the doors opened and they entered the lift, neither of them spoke until the doors closed.

Anna pulled the emergency button to stop their ascent and turned to John. "Where do they have you waiting out?"

"Other side of town for a few days. Then they'll finish closing my house, give me my severance, and force me to sign a stack of forms that means I can't ever talk about this ever again."

"Me too." Anna sighed, leaning the rifle case against the wall. "We'll have to take different levels. They've left me a car on the top of the building. I don't know what they've given you."

"I take the bus to the Tube and then another bus to the safe house." John shrugged, "I'll be fine."

"I hope so." Anna reached out her hand, taking John's with hers. "And, once we're allowed to pretend we ever lived normal lives, we'll meet up and go to Yorkshire to retrieve our families… If they still want us."

"I think they will." John chewed the inside of his cheek, tightening his grip on Anna's hand. "Do you remember what we hoped would happen?"

"That one day I wouldn't have to worry about my family discovering my work because we'd be normal people?" Anna snorted a laugh, "Look how that turned out for me."

"Well, our bad guys are down for the count and we're free and clear." John shrugged, "Maybe we can make something of a new life where we're not the ones responsible for clearing out the horrible people in the world."

"The day when we can actually take our children to work with us so they can roll their eyes at how boring our day-jobs really are."

"See?" John nodded, "Good as new."

"I looked forward to this day." Anna's thumb ran over John's knuckles for another moment before she stepped closer to him. "Now that it's here it doesn't feel real enough and yet far too real at the same time."

"Are you afraid?"

"Yes." Anna's fingers paused in his, her focus away from his face. "Are you?"

"I'm terrified."

"Then," Anna's grim firmed and she closed the remaining distance between them. "I guess we'll have to figure it out together."

"I guess we will."

It took them all of a second before John bent to kiss Anna. If it were possible, and John was not imagining himself the object of Anna's intense desire, the words for her next actions could have been described as 'climbing him like a tree'. The residual adrenaline from their day coalesced into their rush in the corner of the lift. A similar corner to the one they used in a hotel so long ago.

They mangled through their clothing, only managing to get rid of the pieces preventing them getting closer, before they joined in s rush. Breathing heavily through the poke and stick of unintended pleats and tucks of clothing bent at odd angles, John eventually lowered Anna back to the floor and they sorted themselves as much as they could. She grabbed for the rifle case and hit the button to allow the lift to move again.

"If we keep hitting those buttons, someone's going to notice the lifts aren't going up like they're supposed to."

"It'll be someone else's worry." Anna stepped out at her level, "Don't let it be too long before we see one another again?"

"Your family is at my house so we'll have to see one another." John waved at Anna. "Go on, you'll be fine."

"So you say."

"So I mean." John stopped the doors closing. "I'll not allow anything to get in the way of our possible future happiness."

"No?

"No." John tapped the doors. "Because I fully intend to court you properly now that we're in a position to do so without the worries that we'll kill one another or someone else'll kill us."

"I like that." Anna waved at him, "I'll see you soon then."

It was not as soon as either of them liked. Through their debriefing, the conversations and testimony held in close-door sessions recorded only in redacted transcripts, and the awkward counseling their respective families endured, John only managed to take Anna out on a true date three months after they left one another in the lift at the parking garage.

It was another six months after that before he reserved the same room they shared after Henry's birthday almost a year before. The large tub of the hotel held them both as Anna rested against John, her eyes closed and the deepness of her breathing suggesting that she was close to sleep. John kept in position, reaching carefully over to the shelf near the bath, and only just stopped one of the bottles of shampoo from collapsing into the tub.

"What are you doing?" John smiled, despite the fact Anna could not see him, and juggled what was in his hand as Anna partially turned to see him. "I was this close to falling asleep."

"I know." John kissed her temple, keeping his hand hidden below the rim of the tub. "New job giving you trouble?"

"It's more exhausting when you can't just get rid of the people who give you trouble and you now have to help with conflict resolution." Anna almost sat sideways. "What's in your hand?"

"Something I wanted to be a bit more smooth about but," John held a ring up for Anna's view. "It's what I've got."

"John," Anna put her hands to her mouth before extending her left one. "It's beautiful and… And how'd you plan this?"

"You mean because I wrangled this all together?" John shook his head, "It's not all that difficult. Finding the time was."

"You'd think us all sharing your house would've made it easier."

"It is a bit easier considering your in-laws went back to Lagos but, you're right," John cleared his throat, "Anna May Smith, would you like to marry me so the weird household we've already got going can be official?"

"Without reservation, yes." Anna allowed John to slide the ring onto her finger and grinned at it. "You've got good taste."

"Your mother helped me pick it out… After Henry told me I could."

"You told them before you told me?" Anna swatted at John's shoulder, sending the water splashing a little as she maneuvered to straddle his legs. "John Bates, I could give you a slap if I wasn't so happy."

"Technically you already did." John caught her hand, kissing it before moving up her arm to her shoulder. "But you can make it up to me."

"Can I now?"

John nodded, urging Anna closer as his fingers played beneath the water and between her legs. "Yes. And I'll make it worth your while too."

"Will you now?"

"Of course." John leaned forward, kissing over her neck. "I plan on always adoring my future wife."

"I like the sound of that." Anna's fingers wrapped around John's wrist, stopping his motions so she could sink down on him. "But I like this much better."

"Me too." John met Anna's lips, following her lead until they finished. "And, in case it wasn't clear, I love you, Anna May Smith."

"I hope so." Anna grinned at him, "Since you're marrying me."

"Yes I am."