Chapter 6

Kate followed the agents down the tarmac and toward the plane waiting for her in the distance. It all seemed to happen in a blur. She thought they made it out and were in the clear the moment she and Lucy exited that building and the server was destroyed, but she didn't account for one thing, the extent of her father's scheming. She knew he would come after her, but didn't think he would go after Cara and Jane first. The sound of one of the agents alerting the others to a potential threat made her look up and she smiled as three SUVs sped down the runway. The agents drew their weapons as they were suddenly surrounded. A security team drew their guns in response as they got out of the SUVs. Kate sighed in relief when DIA Director Singh got out of one of the vehicles as well and sauntered over to the agents, who were surprised by her presence.

"Madam Director, you are interfering in CIA…"

"Who's in charge here," she asked and Kate looked around at the four men before shrugging.

"Well, technically, none of them. I kind of got the agent in charge temporarily reassigned." The woman shook her head in amusement.

"You are a handful, you know that?" Kate looked around at the agents surrounding her and the security team surrounding them.

"I think that's a fair assessment. Yes, ma'am."

"How did you know he would play this card?"

"To be honest, I didn't. I just knew he would play."

"You gentlemen will be releasing DIA Officer Whistler back into my custody now. That's an order that goes above even your boss's pay grade," she informed as she handed an envelope to one of the agents. He opened it and skimmed over the forms before giving a curt nod.

"Yes ma'am," he said as Kate sighed in relief again and walked over to the director. Director Singh smiled politely at the agents.

"A pleasure doing business with you, gentlemen. Be sure to tell your director to call the president if he has an issue with how things are being handled moving forward," she said before getting into one of the SUVs with Kate. The moment the doors were closed and they were on the move, Kate slumped down in her seat and exhaustion washed over her.

"Gold star," giggled Director Singh.

"Your timing was impeccable."

"You know, when you told me taking this position would give me the chance to not only lead, but to take down your father, I thought you were bullshitting me, and yet, here we are, leading, taking down your father."

"Was that letter legit?"

"From the president himself, the brass is not happy with your dad and I have a sneaking suspicion he won't be able to talk his way out of retirement this time."

"Well, that's going to make family dinners around the holidays interesting."

"I'll let you two hash that out. You were able to retrieve the operative and destroy all the intel related to this matter?"

"Yes."

"And your computer whiz friend made sure it's as if you never were in Moscow?"

"Already handled, so, what do you say?" The woman sighed as she mulled over her options.

"You're not going to be happy if I don't do this, are you?"

"I wouldn't blame you, but, no, not really."

"And that could potentially sour our relationship?"

"I wouldn't go that far. I do think that mercy is honorable, especially in this situation, and doing such a thing could keep morale high at work."

"You know how I feel about traitors."

"That I do, but unless you are going to change the policy about firewalling to include members of the DIA…"

"We aren't the CIA and that's already a headache for the brass. The resources it takes are mind-numbingly expensive. I suppose I see your perspective on the matter and agree that coercion was used. I'll take care of it."

"Really," Kate asked hopefully and the director rolled her eyes.

"Carlos will be fired and all acts will remain on the record, but he will not be imprisoned," she conceded and Kate smiled appreciatively.

"Thank you, Shivani," said Kate as they pulled in front of a plane.

"You owe me one now," added the director and Kate slowly nodded.

"I'll add it to my apparently growing list."

"Oh, I'm sure it's quite long after what you just managed to pull off." Kate beamed with happiness when she saw Jane, Cara, and the woman she couldn't wait to have back in her arms. Director Singh smiled knowingly at her.

"I don't think I've ever seen you so happy. We'll make sure Special Agent Tara is protected from any blowback from the State Department."

"Thank you. I wouldn't worry too much about that, though. My father knows me quite well. That's a button he knows to steer clear of for a lot of reasons. See you back in Oahu after your trip. Stay safe."

"Stay out of trouble," called the director as Kate got out of the car. The moment Lucy saw her, she ran over, and jumped into her arms. Lucy held onto her as tightly as she could and showered her with kisses.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again," scolded Lucy as she continued kissing her and Kate smiled lovingly at her.

"Thank you for trusting me."

"I was one second away from pulling one of their guns and shooting my way out of their with you."

"I know you were. What made you change your mind?"

"Our kids, well…our hypothetical kids…you would only bring them up if you planned on us having a future together and you would only bring up something that's so private to you if you wanted to send me a message."

"Look at us communicating," teased Kate before slipping her hand into Lucy's and walking over to the others. Jane gave an impressed nod.

"How the hell did you pull that off," asked Jane and Kate winced.

"It definitely wasn't easy and I will probably owe a lot of favors in the future, but my father has made too many enemies and used the CIA as his own personal army more times than he can probably count by now. The brass has noticed."

"What does that mean for me," asked Cara and Kate smiled warmly at her.

"Whatever you want it to mean, just keep your head down for a bit until the air clears. You're out, like I promised you would be. Come on, we all have a plane to catch back to Hawaii and I could definitely use some sleep," said Kate and Lucy nodded in agreement as she yawned.

"Yeah, I don't know how you three did that on the regular. I'll stick with NCIS. We have easier hours," said Lucy as the four of them climbed the stairs of the plane.

"That wasn't that bad in terms of prep time, op, and escape routes. My longest op was eight months," said Cara.

"Ten for me," said Jane.

"Ew, no thank you please," said Lucy and Kate giggled at her as they boarded the plane. It had been a wild few days and they were relieved that their time in Moscow was ending with them all returning to Hawaii in one piece.