Hello hello.
Ok now Eteri, come out and play! Seriously, where are you?
Right so...did you enjoy Cal and Gillian fighting back? Were you expecting Warton to let something slip?
Now I hope you're up for some Cal and Gillian time...
She had felt a bit like a thief, sneaking out of Cal's office with the folders under her arm after they had broken ranks. After nearly two hours of reading the coffee had gone cold but she hadn't noticed, and mostly she kept thinking she could have used something a lot stronger anyway.
It was sort of ridiculous, she recognised that; putting herself through that very special kind of torture on her own will was bad enough, but the fact that she and Cal kept doing the same thing while stealing the files away from each other was borderline insane. Then again, people react to crises in different ways and they were two very complicated individuals reacting to a rather peculiar situation.
"You shouldn't do that, love."
Gillian smiled to herself without looking up, wanting to get to the end of the paragraph.
"Why not?" She asked absently. "You went digging and struck gold. Maybe I can find something helpful too."
"I wouldn't call what I found a good thing," Cal muttered, stepping inside.
She had gone to the breakroom for her personal studies, feeling the need for a chance of scenery. Her office had never felt so small, Cal's was still carrying the signs of the fight and the lab was the stuff of nightmares… Truth to be told, at that rate there wasn't going to a place left in the office where she'd feel at ease. Gillian was sure that Cal felt the same, it would have explained how easily he had found her there, and the way he entered the room looking around as if he had found a place of solace.
His silent hesitation was what made her look up, biting her lip at the way he looked. Besides the injuries, the fatigue and all the rest that he was trying to hide, he looked like he didn't know what to do with himself. That was never a good showing, not for Cal Lightman. Thankfully, Gillian knew how far she could push with him and was well aware of the fact that she had ample room to manoeuvre.
"Cal, I have no problem admitting I am scared, as well as many other things, but you have to pay me the same courtesy." He smirked, knowing he had been unmasked. "And if you get to pretend everything is fine and power through, so do I."
The smirk softened, melting away in a warm smile that had no business coming to his face with what they were going through.
"You're something else, love," he said then in a low voice, coming over to the table and sitting in front of her. "Not that I didn't know it already."
"Flattery will get you nowhere, Dr Lightman," she warned him.
"How about chocolate then?" He quipped, pulling a chocolate bar out of his pocket and waving it in front of her.
"You sure know the way to a girl's heart, Cal," she chuckled, taking the candy from him and quickly unwrapping the goodie, then she nodded over at him. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm ok, love." He lied blatantly, not that she expected anything different. "The scratch on the chest itches like a mother but I'm alright."
Gillian rolled her eyes but took the info, knowing in Cal's very own deflecting language he meant that the cut hurt but it was manageable. Of course, she noticed he hadn't mentioned the ankle and she was gracious enough not to ask. It would have been useless, his limp was less pronounced but getting around clearly was no walk in the park and she hadn't failed to notice that everytime he took out the bottle of painkillers the rattle was less and less noisy. Still, she had decided not to make a big fuss about it. Despite what most people thought, including herself, Cal did have limits and was well aware of them, and if he wasn't going to the hospital he probably didn't need it. After all, he had posed no resistance to be checked out after the attack in his bathroom, which had been way worse, therefore she was willing to give him some credit.
Besides, despite having been attacked there she still felt the office was the safest place for them, especially now that Reynolds was getting some backup. Much like her, Cal dreaded the thought of leaving those walls, so another trip to the hospital was out of the question. After all, while they waited for Reynolds to check up on the names they had given him and tried to keep their company going despite the current situation - which sounded a lot more dignified than just sitting on their asses - he had plenty of time to rest and recuperate.
And to have a very unpleasant conversation with her.
Cal waited still, enjoying the way she savoured the chocolate bar with the enthusiasm of a child who finally gets to lay their hands on the Halloween loot. It was a moment of blissful peace and simplicity they could both use and when she was done, smiling shyly as if she had something to be sorry about, he smiled back. Then he sighed and leaned forward, his hands slowly closing the folder she had been reading and resting on top of it, palms open, as if he wanted to contain the evil within it.
"I'm sorry, love," he whispered in a low voice. "The warehouse, the file…I should have clocked it, back then."
"It would have changed nothing, Cal," she urged to respond, having prepared for something like that to come her way.
"I could have gotten there sooner, get help-"
"You have to stop it, Cal." Gillian shook her head and placed her hands on top of his. "I know you want to protect me but you can't change the past."
Gillian knew it would take way more than that to stop him from spiralling into self-pity, but she was glad to see him back up with a small nod and seemingly drop the matter for the time being. She smiled at him then stood up, going over to the kettle to prepare some tea, then went back to the table with two cups.
"Any word from Reynolds yet?" She asked then.
"No. I tried to call a couple of times but he didn't pick up, so I figured he'd call back when he can."
"Do you think he's going to get through?"
"He knows how to move in those circles, and I'm pretty sure whatever story he is using to get to them doesn't mention us, Ward or Warton."
Gillian nodded, thoughtful, considering that approach was probably the best. She certainly had no qualms with lying to people who hadn't had their backs in the past, but it was still hard to process the picture that all the clues and information they had gathered were shaping up.
"Do you really think that's what happened?" She asked after a while. "That they knew what was going on with Merton?"
Cal bit at his bottom lip, astonished that she seemed more concerned about the implication with regards to Merton than herself; she really was something else.
"Not only that," he painfully admitted. "I wonder if they weren't keeping tabs on the whole operation altogether."
"Well of course they were."
"No Gill, I mean behind our back."
"But…why would they? And if they were, why let it go that way?"
Cal sighed and shook his head, absently moving the tea bag around inside the mug and staring at the dark liquid.
"I don't know, love." He shrugged, but it was more a surrendering gesture than anything else. "My reputation with the Pentagon was already tarnished by then, that operation was a Hail Mary… Come to think of it, why the hell was I so hell bent on defending my position in that place after what happened with Doyle?"
"Because you were doing good work, and you wanted to continue doing it." She tried to comfort him, but she could tell he was already on the steep slide down of self-commiseration.
"Some good it did me! And you." Here we go! Gillian thought, biting at her bottom lip. "Had to drag you out of the Pentagon with me, on top of everything else."
"Allright Cal, I'll allow you one more of this self-deprecating one liner and then I'm going to smack you." She warned him, only half jokingly. Part of her appreciated his sensibility, but the fact that he couldn't go past it and understand that he had to let go was also infuriating. "You carry on like this and I may start thinking you asked me to work with you only because you thought you cost me my job."
"C'mon now Gill, you know that's not the case-"
"Then stop whining!" She sounded exasperated, but when she leaned back on the chair and closed her eyes to take a deep breath Cal realised it might not have been with him. "We have way too much on our plate to get down that path. It happened, it's in the past. If we get to talk to them we might get the answers we want, so might as well prepare the right questions."
Cal looked down at his own hands around the mug, the tea inside quickly growing cold, taking his time to respond. Not that she left him much room for it, she was Gillian and therefore always with a bit of a soft and understanding spot for him, but she was also clearly annoyed with his stubbornness on dwelling on the past. And she was right, of course: if Reynolds was successful in securing them a meeting with their former supervisors they had to be ready for it.
"We know someone helped Warton get out of prison early, it's all the more possible that the same person gave him insights on his brother's death," he said then, his voice low and grave.
"Could be, hard to tell with no proof," Gillian went on, absently glancing down at the folders on the table. "Either this psychopath, who is somehow extremely resourceful and knows how to get hold of confidential information, is chasing us for a personal vendetta…or people we were supposed to rely on, who should have had our back, are trying to get us killed."
Cal nodded to himself, staring at her as they both let the two scenarios sink in and trying to match them with the events of the past days. Then he sighed and leaned back too, joining his hands in his lap and letting his eyes wander around for a bit before landing back on her with a sad expression.
"I think I like the first one better." Gillian nodded in complete understanding, then Cal clenched his jaw and let out a painful sigh. "Too bad."
Too bad that's not the case, too bad everything points to the second option
They both thought the same, equally saddened and insulted by the scenario. But as much as they didn't like it, they knew that was more likely what they were dealing with. They let it sink in, each to their own, desperately trying to find some positive in it. Not that there were many, perhaps if they could find out who was behind it and why they could stop Warton, but they didn't want to get ahead of themselves.
However, there was a level of preparation Gillian felt important to lay down with him.
"If Reynolds gets us the meeting, I will go."
"Gill-"
"I understand why you don't want to go to the hospital Cal, and I can tell you're managing. But you need to rest."
"I'm not letting you go back there alone, Gillian."
He spoke slowly, clear and direct with every word, his eyes never wavering. Not for the first time since he had shown up in the office, bloodied and bruised, Gillian felt as if he meant so much more than what his words said, and had to avert her eyes to escape his intensity.
"It's just a building, Cal," she whispered, but he shook his head.
"Those people… If that is what happened-"
"I can deal with them." She paused and looked up at him again. "Probably better than you."
"We've been down memory lane enough as it is. I don't want you to-"
"That's it, that was your last one." She cut him off with a soft chuckle, and Cal rolled his eyes while backing away from her as if to avoid a blow coming his way. Then Gillian's face changed, morphing into something far more serious. "If we're trying to get the truth out of them, about what happened then and what is happening now, I don't think your presence would be helpful."
A strange smile came up to his lips, not pleased but more than anything curious about what she meant. A little part of him was also offended, as the man with the science it hurt to be told he couldn't be helpful in identifying liars, but it was obvious she had something else in mind.
"They've always been afraid of you," Gillian started to explain then. "Of your science, what you can do. If it's true that at least one of them has something to do with this, the moment they find out what this is about they will immediately be on the defensive."
"Which is why I should be there and put pressure on them."
Gillian shook her head, speaking to him almost as if she was explaining things to a child.
"The moment they see you they will probably panic. It wouldn't be just a passing fear, they will be nervous and increasingly so as we carry on." She stopped to give him a chance to respond but he didn't, he knew he'd hardly have arguments to match hers. "You know that kind of strong prolonged emotion can affect everything else and throw off the reading. That's why I think you should sit this one out." Gillian stopped again, biting at her bottom lip as she added seriously. "That, and I think you'll end up punching someone."
Cal tried hard for a few seconds to hold it in, but eventually he let out a laugh and threw his head back. It was out of place and inopportune, no laughing matter at all, but that last bit got to him with surprising ease. And, most importantly, got to Gillian too and she followed him with a laugh of her own. Once the hilarity dissipated, and after a quick check from Loker who had come to see what the fuss was about, they caught their breath and relaxed.
It didn't take long for their minds to get back to reality, to the pressing question of how to best approach their chance at the truth if they were to get one. It might have not been much, but it beat thinking about Warton and his thirst for vengeance by a mile.
Sometimes I wonder what is the issues with getting feedback... chapter too long, too short? Too much or too little going on? Not what you expect?
Well, I'll give you a hint for the next one: someone is gonna have to answer for this big ugly mess