Aiding The Enemy
Chapter One
"Good Morning, Peggy!" chirped the voice in the doorway. Callahan looked up from her mountain of paperwork, and a smile lit her entire face. Steve was holding the door for - Jaime! Callahan flew to the door and joyfully hugged her friend.
"Jaime! It's so good to see you! It's been what - two months?"
"Just about -"
"Oh, you're looking so much better!" She remembered Steve, still in the doorway. "Hi, Steve. I'm sorry - I wasn't ignoring you, but I see you all the time."
Steve smiled warmly at the secretary. "Hey, it's ok. I'm glad to see her up and bouncing around again, too."
It had been two months, almost to the day, since the NSB's second-in-command had tried to frame Jaime for double homicide and several traitorous acts in an ugly incident at the Pentagon. Jaime had spent 19 days in the hospital, overcoming the effects of the various drugs she'd been injected with and the nasty device Kirk had implanted in her head that administrered horribly painful shocks to keep her under control.
Her knowledge (strictly 3rd-hand) of the evils performed under her identity and by her hands - but completely, 100 percent beyond her control - had sent Jaime spiraling into a dangerously deep depression. Rudy had been reluctant to release her, but Steve suggested some time away, alone together, and it had been exactly the medicine Jaime had needed. Very gradually, over the course of several weeks, his love and patience had drawn her out of the emotional prison she'd locked herself into, and they had grown much closer as a result.
Callahan suddenly remembered her duties and pressed the intercom button for Oscar's office.
"Yes?"
"Jaime and Steve are here."
"Thank you." Instead of having Callahan send them in, Oscar came to the outer office to greet them himself. It was the very first time Jaime had set foot in any government building in the last two months; he wanted her to feel as comfortable as possible.
"Jaime! Welcome back, Babe!" Oscar beamed at her as he took her hand in both of his and pulled her closer for a hug, careful to keep it strictly 'friendly', very mindful of Steve's watchful eyes. Oscar longed to really hold her, but even he had to admit that, when she was with Steve, the picture was complete. The love between Oscar's two friends was so strong, it could be seen and felt even by strangers whenever they weretogether. Oscar didn't dare interfere with that, but he could dream...!
"Come on back to my office, and we can talk awhile."
Steve knew something Jaime didn't about this visit: they weren't dropping in casually to say hi - they had been summoned, both of them. This made Steve very nervous. If he had his way, Jaime would not be returning to work, ever, but right now was simply too soon. Her wounds, especially the emotional ones, were still too fresh, her recovery still somewhat tentative. Steve pictured her as being similar to a very young colt, still learning to balance on shaky new legs, to walk before she could run. His arm snaked protectively around Jaime's waist as they followed Oscar into his office. Steve led her to the sofa, instead of the desk chairs, so he could remain glued to her side like a guard dog.
"Steve, always good to see you." Oscar eyed Jaime carefully. She seemed happy and healthy - back to her normal self - but how was she, really? "And Jaime, you look 10,000 percent better than the last time I saw you." That would have been right before she'd been released from the hospital.
Get to the point, Oscar, Steve thought to himself. Are you gonna try and send Jaime back to work? Over my cold, dead body!
"I got a call yesterday morning," Oscar began carefully, "from someone I used to know, the Director of one of our sister agencies. His people have lost faith in him and his entire organization has lost pretty much all of its credibility." Oscar saw Steve's stony-eyed glare but chose to ignore it. "I've already consulted with him myself, several times -"
"Consulted about what? How to save his ass?" Steve knew exactly who Oscar was talking about and couldn't believe he would bring it up now, in front of Jaime.
"No - he wants to save his agency," Oscar corrected, "and make it whole and vital again. He's asked to consult with my two best operatives on how he can make that happen. He specifically requested the two of you."
"No. Way." Steve said very emphatically, as he unconsciously held Jaime just a little bit tighter.
"Steve," she said in a soft but firm voice, "you can't make decisions for me."
"Sweetheart, he's talking about Jack Hansen and the NSB."
"I know that. Oscar, what exactly does he want from us?"
"Understand first that this is not an assignment, merely a request, and you can say no, but he'd like to meet with the two of you - just a few times over the course of a couple of days - and get some honest feedback -"
Steve interrupted angrily. "I'd like to give him some brutally honest feedback!"
"Steve!" Jaime admonished. "You don't have to help him, but you also don't have to be nasty about it!"
"I'm sorry, but you are not going to do this."
"And I'm sorry, too, but you aren't my keeper." She looked at Oscar. "I'll do it." Steve stared at her in total disbelief. "I will do it," Jaime repeated, "under one condition: I want him to tell me everything he knows about what Kirk did to me. And I wanna see the security tape from the Pentagon."