A/N: hello everyone. Sorry for the long wait in updating.
Just a quick reminder to keep yourselves safe, stay at home if you can. Hey, if you find yourselves bored, just like... reread the whole thing ;)
"What exactly are we waiting for?" Sarah's restless. We all are - cramped up in our Boston safehouse tensions are high.
"Be patient, Sarah," Siobhan advises calmly. "It's not like you have a better place to be."
She's right, at the moment we're all stuck in limbo. Since Daniel's the one who hired us, the remaining Websters don't seem to know what to do with us. Daniel was the heir apparent to the empire - which means that his father was too long away from arriving at any real decisions, while William doesn't appear to care much about filling his older brother's shoes. Moreover, neither of them truly knows what was going on right under their noses.
For the moment, we've been given a few days off while the family takes care of all the arrangements necessary to say their last goodbye to Daniel. This gives us the perfect opportunity to regroup and rethink our strategy. We find ourselves in a crossroad and disappear, as would be our go-to move, is not an option - not with the FBI involved and breathing down our necks. To just vanish would trigger too many alarms and we certainly don't need that kind of attention right now. Besides, our only connection to whomever is setting us up is Daniel, provided that connection hasn't died with him. No, for now we must stay put and even if the surviving Websters decide that they no longer require our services, we need to find a way around that.
This is why we're all here, waiting for Delphine. Siobhan has determined that it's time to open up about it to Sarah and Felix - not that they know who we're waiting for. Delphine herself was very reluctant about all this, at least according to Ms. S, who reached out to Delphine, begrudgingly admitting she needs her help. How she managed to persuade Delphine to go along with this beats me, and when I asked, Siobhan refused to answer.
Siobhan wants Delphine to give us access to everything the FBI finds in Daniel's personal computer, certain that in the midst of his files lays the answer to who's sabotaging our missions. However, I can easily spot a flaw in her plan: we no longer have anything to trade. Not only are we most likely about to lose our advantageous position in the Webster organization, but with Daniel's fate now ultimately sealed, the FBI (and Delphine by extension) has every justification they need to look into his business - both legal and illegal. Without a bargaining chip, our position is considerably weakened. We've become expendable and there's no reason for Delphine to continue to accommodate our demands.
"You know, S, the suspenseful routine doesn't suit you very well," Sarah complains again, getting up from the couch and walking the few steps to the small kitchen area. She takes a beer from the mini fridge and pops open the cap on the edge of the counter.
"Hey, toss me one!" Felix asks from the same couch, extending his right hand.
"Get one yourself!" Sarah throws back.
Felix raises the middle finger of his hand suspended in the air, but does get up eventually to help himself to a cold brew.
While that's happening, I go to the window and part the curtains slightly, looking outside. The street is deserted, not many people would venture out at night in this wrong part of town. The snow that has been falling all day is an added discouraging factor, with the sidewalks covered in dirty ice which has accumulated throughout the day. A few cars drive by without stopping and there's no sign of Delphine.
I don't believe she'll stand us up, but I do think she probably has too much on her plate right now and I doubt we're too high in her list of priorities. She'll take her time but she'll come, despite the fact that she certainly doesn't like that she'll have to disclose her identity to all of us. This will be a complicated conversation at best, but if Sarah and Felix don't stay sober it can become downright nasty. Not only will they not like that Delphine is a federal agent but also - and probably more gravely - they'll hate that Siobhan and myself kept that information from them.
Both of them are on their third beer when Delphine finally arrives, which isn't too bad but it's not great either. It would've been advisable for Siobhan to keep them from drinking altogether, but she might've reconsidered it given how the last couple of days have been stressful beyond what any of us could predict. Besides, alcohol - in the right amount - could make them more pliable. Still, as she goes to open the door after two solid knocks, Siobhan turns around to them and gives them a look that demands Sarah and Felix to be on their best behaviour. Felix nods and Sarah rolls her eyes in response.
Strangely, I'm not nervous or anxious. In fact the only thing I am is eager to see an end to the secrets between us. We work better when all the cards are on the table, even if I know that my partners' initial reactions won't be the most accommodating or accepting to Delphine's presence.
To Felix and Sarah's credit their first reaction about seeing Delphine cross the door is much tamer than I expected. Or perhaps they're just too stunned to react at all. They just stare, Felix in total shock and Sarah with a more subtle raised brow.
"No fancy restaurant tonight?" Delphine asks, shedding her coat and awkwardly standing by the door.
"I thought we could use a little bit more privacy today," Siobhan answers, moving pass Delphine to close the door.
"Probably a good idea," Delphine comments in a low voice, her eyes briefly meeting mine with a small smile.
"I didn't know I could bring a plus one to this event," Sarah says bitterly, narrowing her eyes in my direction. "What the fuck's she doing here?" She demands, still looking at me.
"I asked her to come," Siobhan says, taking the coat from Delphine's arm and draping it on the back of the couch. "Can I get you anything?" She then asks Delphine.
"No, thank you."
When Siobhan extends her hand to the couch offering a seat, Delphine takes it, but she doesn't get too comfortable: her body leans forward, her elbows resting on her thighs, her hand joined in front of her with her fingers enlaced. She looks exhausted: shoulders slumped, dark half circles beneath her eyes casting a dull stare at her surroundings. If we've had a couple of rough days, I can only imagine what Delphine's have been like. If I were in her position I don't know what would've been worse: the failure of an assignment or the death of someone she was necessarily close to, especially in the circumstances it occurred. Perhaps it's a combination of both that seems to be bringing her down.
"Is anyone going to explain what the hell is going on?" Sarah's voice is insistent and she moves closer to Siobhan. "I think we've waited long enough."
Longer than you think, I hear my own voice inside my head, but say nothing aloud. When Siobhan told me about this meeting we agreed that it was best to leave the talking to her. It'll be harder for Sarah or Felix to act out if the news came from our boss. For one, they won't be able to chalk up the arrangement we had with Delphine to my alleged feelings for her - they can't accuse Siobhan's judgement to be clouded by emotions regarding Delphine. So I stand back, arms crossed over my chest, my shoulder resting against the wall next to the window, occasionally looking outside to be certain Delphine truly came alone.
"Ms. Cormier here has been helping us with a little problem we've been having," Siobhan starts in a calm voice.
"What sort of problem?" Sarah asks, her tone still demanding but her temper slightly less combative.
"It all started with your job in Warsaw," Siobhan says, looking directly at Sarah. "It seems that it wasn't exactly a coincidence that when you got there everything went to shit," she puts it bluntly.
"Yeah… and what does that have to do with her?" Sarah aims a hand at Delphine.
"Sarah just… let S finish," I breathe out, earning an ugly look from her.
"I haven't even started with you!" She turns to me, ill-contained anger burning hot in the stare she gives me.
"I'm just saying that this will be a lot smoother if you stop interrupting," I point out.
"You knew about this and didn't tell us?" Felix says, finally having an opportunity to attack me now that I've intervened.
"And so will both of you, provided you keep your mouths shut and listen," Siobhan's deep blue eyes move between Sarah and Felix.
"Fine!" Sarah says. "Let's hear it then!"
"As I was saying the Warsaw mission's failure was intentional, the fact that Mr. Lebedev's head met a bullet the moment you were in the vicinity was planned. But at the time I couldn't know, I thought it was just bad luck, bad timing… But I immediately knew it reflected poorly on us... on me," Siobhan corrects herself, shaking her head. "I was eager to make up for that botched job, so when the same person contacted me with another offer, I didn't hesitate to accept it. Even then I knew I should've done a better job at vetting the mission - do some research, ask for more information instead of blindly sending you in," Siobhan's words became faster but lower and I have a notion that she's finally expressing her internal thoughts - the guilt she feels about her bad decision being laid bare. "But I feared that we wouldn't have another opportunity after what happened in Warsaw… to reject the Webster's job would be career suicide. As you know, word travels fast in our line of work - it would've been a matter of time before we'd be blacklisted."
"Okay, hold on!" Sarah interrupts, raising one of her hands, requesting a pause. "You're telling us that the dude who got us this job is the same person who got us into that Warsaw mess?"
Siobhan nods. "Exactly!"
"And what makes you so certain that this person is out to get us?" Sarah asks. "I know what happened in Warsaw is suspicious but… from that to believe there's a big cabal against us is quite big a stretch."
"The two assignments are connected in more ways than one," I say, looking at Sarah, who raises a confused brow. "At Daniel's request I went to Poland… back to Warsaw."
"Without backup?" Sarah shows more concern than ire but both feelings are still there.
I briefly eye Delphine, who raises her head and gives me a quick glance. Not for a moment did I consider telling Sarah the whole truth, it'll be hard enough for her to take what we have ahead of us without her losing her infamous temper. "I was in constant contact with Siobhan. And, besides, I was there just to inquire about someone Daniel was allegedly thinking about doing business with."
"Yeah… and I was there just to copy some hard drive…"
"Excuse me," Felix clears his voice and furtively looks at Delphine. "But should we be discussing this with her here?" His chin aiming at the woman who hasn't moved from the couch since she sat there.
Sarah rolls her eyes. " C'mon Fee! Haven't you figured it out yet?" The tone of her voice filled with bitter mockery. "We're the last to know about this. It's obvious blondie here is already in the know about all of this. We're the suckers who were left in the dark."
"Cosima's supposed to meet a contact there - a journalist who met the same fate as your Mr. Lebedev a few months prior." Siobhan puts a stop to it, ignoring Sarah's jabs. "A sniper took him down in broad daylight in the middle of one of the busiest avenues in Warsaw. Perhaps you've seen it on the news. More telling is the fact that the man she was to investigate had at least one suspicious deal with your target in the amount of millions," Siobhan explains, looking at Sarah. "Both of them connected to the Russian mob, with whom Daniel was also trying to get in bed with."
"Alright… I see where you're going with this," Sarah nods, her features contemplative, her rage momentarily forgotten as she tries to make sense of what we're telling her. "But that still doesn't explain what Delphine has to do with this."
"Delphine is helping us figure out who's behind all this. Who's sabotaging us, who hired us in the first place," Siobhan speaks with unshaken tranquillity even though she knows she's about to drop a bomb.
"And what makes her qualified to help us?" Sarah asks, but her eyes are on Delphine, scrutinizing and trying to envision what she's obviously missing.
Felix is silent, the beer bottle half empty and forgotten between his fingers. Even he knows by now that Delphine's not what he thought she was, his stare locked on the odd-woman-out of our usual meetings. The uncharacteristic quietude is no doubt due to Siobhan's presence in the room. Had she not been here to keep him in check, he would've most likely already lost his cool.
Delphine herself is equally still and quiet. Even when her presence in this room comes into question, she gives no sign of having heard her name. She has barely moved from the position she adopted the moment she took a seat, her head bent in a way that when I look at her I only see a mane of blonde curls covering her features, making it impossible for me to read her expression. And it occurs to me that that may be exactly her intention; after all, if I can't see it nobody else can. She's protecting herself and won't step up to the conversation unless she absolutely must. Or maybe it is just the way she found to appear as least threatening as possible.
"Delphine happens to be in the perfect position to help us on this matter. She has access to information we can only dream of," Siobhan continues in the same serene manner.
"I'm not following," Felix complains, moving to Sarah's side. "This is getting too cryptic, even for you, S."
"Let me clarify it then," Siobhan says in a non-nonsensical way. "Delphine here is a federal agent who's been trying to help us identify this mysterious saboteur in exchange for inside information regarding Daniel's less than legal affairs."
"A federal agent?! A fuckin' Fed?!" Sarah explodes, the anger she was trying to contain earlier comes to the surface with a force much more violent than I predicted. "And you have invited her here to discuss our private matters?" Her eyes are daggers aimed at Delphine, her finger pointing accusingly at the blonde. "Have you completely lost your mind, Siobhan?"
"I'd watch my tone if I were you!" Siobhan loses her calm and composure. She knows she has to keep control of what's happening even if it means putting one of us in their place.
"How can I when you put us all at risk?" Sarah did not and has no intention of backing down, and this could get ugly in a matter of seconds. "Who's to say she's not wired and her friends are not around the corner getting ready to take us all down?" She moves fast in Delphine's direction, too fast for me to react, and before I realize what she intends to do, she's pulling Delphine by the arm, bringing her to her feet. "As a matter of fact…"
"Sarah! What the fuck?!" I protest, rushing to meet her.
I try to pull her back, but Sarah is stronger than I am and is filled with angry and unyielding determination. Her hands furiously pat Delphine's torso, feeling for any sort of device that could be recording our conversation. In an instant her hands go to Delphine's back pocket where her phone is. But the inspection is short lived for Delphine quickly counters, twisting Sarah's arm behind her back and causing the phone to fall to the floor and effectively subduing Sarah.
"If I wanted to arrest anybody, I would have already done it in the several opportunities I had in the past," Delphine says in a low but distinctively edgy voice. It's clear she's had enough of Sarah's badgering.
"She's right, Sarah!" I try to reason with her, but I step back, convinced Delphine has her under control. "She saved our asses at the hotel, she saved my ass at the meeting with the Russians."
But she's not listening. Sarah continues to struggle against the armlock and eventually manages to get herself free, spinning around and landing a fist to the side of Delphine's face. It's the last straw and Delphine loses her defensive stance to go on the attack. When Sarah's hand moves to deliver another blow, the attack is blocked by Delphine's left arm while her right elbow smashes against Sarah's cheek - a move quickly followed by a fist to Sarah's left kidney.
Sarah feels the blow and releases a groan of pain. But it only slows her down momentarily, and just like that she's ready to attack again. This time though, I'm faster. The initial trade of blows was too unexpected that I couldn't react, but this time I'm able to position myself behind her, locking both Sarah's arms with my own.
"Stop it, Sarah!" I nearly scream.
"Take your hands off of me!" She demands in return, never stopping resisting my hold.
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Siobhan's voice rises over the altercation.
The commanding tone gives Sarah pause, her resistance weakens - but I still feel her body taut, the muscles of her arms hard. I don't know if I should release her so what I do instead is relax my restraint a little bit, and she immediately wiggles herself free.
"Let me go!" She says angrily. But she turns to me, the poisonous stare locked on me and no longer on Delphine.
The situation has been diffused, at least for now. She holds my stare for several moments and I can see the betrayal that my actions caused her to feel. And if her expression was not a dead giveaway of it, when she finally walks away, I hear her mutter "fucking traitor…" as she reaches the small kitchen area. In the aftermath, Delphine is left with a gash on her left eyebrow while Sarah has a split lip that she's nursing with a cold beer bottle she took from the fridge.
There's a long, awkward silence, the tension inside the miniature apartment no less heavy despite the apparent reprieve. I look at Delphine who remains standing, having picked up her phone from the floor and putting it back in her pocket as the fingers of her free hand probe the injury on her forehead. Her eyes lowering to the bloody tip of her fingers and immediately raising them angrily to find Sarah, who had opened the beer and with a wince brings it to her broken lips on the other side of the room.
"I think we all have had quite enough for today," Siobhan observes, her voice back to its normal pitch.
"Agreed!" I say, looking at her.
She's standing next to Felix, who never moved from where he was, presumably because our boss never left his side. Not that he'd likely get involved in the scrimmage. He prefers nasty words over fists and I suspect that before this is all said and done, I'll be experiencing and hearing it firsthand.
Without saying another word, I go to the small bunk bed where I left my coat and pull it over my shoulders.
"Where do you think you're going?" I hear Sarah's voice from the opposite end of the area.
"Out!" I reply sharply.
"Running away, are you?" Sarah presses. She seems determined to pick another fight, or maybe just continue the one I broke off. But I won't bite, I merely shake my head to myself and keep moving towards the door.
When I get to the door, Delphine is already there, slipping on her own coat, obviously ready to leave as well. I open the door and Delphine's the first to cross it. As I leave my friends behind I have the distinct notion that our fight is not over. This is but an intermission.