Triggering incident in this chapter.
Barney pulled up on a different street from Kate's apartment this time. You never knew who was watching. He thought Lee was crazy for going back, but Kate did need an update on what was going on. There was no doubt she'd be confused as hell after seeing Toll "kidnap" Tansley.
"I'm setting a timer," Barney warned. "You've got one hour. If you're not back, I'm coming in there myself to pull you out. I don't give a shit what you're doing."
"All right, all right," Lee huffed. He got out and pulled his black ball cap low over his eyes. He hurried along the street in the shadows, grateful for the oncoming darkness. He made his way to Kate's apartment door with a pounding heart. Just knowing he was going to see her again was making him go crazy inside.
He knocked softly. After a moment, the door opened slightly to reveal Kate's face.
"Lee," she said surprised. "What are you doing here?"
"I figured you needed to know what's been going on," he answered. She nodded, shut the door and unbolted it from her side before opening it again to let him in. He couldn't help himself. He gathered her into his arms and kissed her with such a passion that her knees gave out slightly, making him grab her waist to keep her from toppling over.
"Was that part of the information?" she asked, catching her breath after.
"No. I just missed you," he answered with a small smirk. She shook her head as she led him to the kitchen where he sat at the table. She sat across from him, but she did reach to hang onto his hand.
"Why did you take Tansley?" she asked.
"She's CIA," Lee answered. "Agent Fields. Drummer planted her."
"He did?" Kate asked, surprised. "Why didn't he tell me?"
"She doesn't know you're planted either. Deniability," Lee told her, "should one of you get caught, but just know that you do have an asset in there if you're in trouble."
"Good to know," she nodded. The deniability on her part was now gone, but she'd rather know she had help if needed. "What did she tell you?"
"She said Boris has the bomb and is going to sell it very soon. She wasn't sure when. Edward is arranging it. She doesn't know who the buyer is yet but rumor has it they're from the States."
"Did she mention Roger?"
"Briefly. She said he's not in the country yet but will be by tomorrow night."
"I don't know why Edward told me Roger would be at that meeting last night," Kate said. "Unless I've been made, and he's setting me up."
"He was supposed to be there," Lee explained. "But he didn't show. He got held up wherever he is now. Tansley explained that."
"Obviously she has higher clearance than me," Kate sighed. "If she has access to that information."
"She's been working under Boris for about two years," Lee said.
"Oh."
"So what was your plan the other night? Kill Roger in front of everyone? I thought Drummer needed him alive," Lee said, looking at her. She made a face.
"He does. I was going to knock him out and arrest him, hand him over to Drummer, and walk away from all of this," Kate said. "So much for that."
"You can still walk away," Lee said softly. "We're here now. We can handle it."
"And have wasted this last year for nothing?" Kate asked. "Hurt you for nothing? No. I can't just walk away now."
"I wouldn't blame you if you did," he said, squeezing her hand. "And I definitely wouldn't hate you for it. You did it for the right reasons, Kate. I get that."
"I'm not walking away," she said firmly. "I'm not. I'm sorry." He bowed his head slightly, nodding. He knew it was a long shot but worth a try. She leaned forward to take off his ball cap and look him in the eye.
"When this is over, and we're both still alive, we can go wherever you want and do whatever you want. I'm done with the FBI and the CIA after this. I just want to be with you," she said. "Okay?"
"All right," he agreed.
"You better go before someone catches you here," she said.
"Expecting company?" he asked.
"No, but he sometimes just shows up for a late visit. He works crazy hours."
He inhaled slowly and then exhaled. He didn't want to leave her, but he didn't want to blow her cover either. She patted his hand.
"I've got this," she said. "I promise."
He got to his feet slowly. He had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, but he didn't voice it. He had to trust that she'd be okay. She handed him his hat back, and he put it on. Kate walked him to the door where he paused.
"If this gets over your head, please abort," he requested.
"Okay," she promised. He nodded and opened the door. He refrained from kissing her because he knew that if he started, he'd be unable to stop. He turned to give her a small wave before he disappeared around the corner. He went to wait for the elevator when it opened and Edward came out. Lee could tell immediately that the man had been drinking, and he had a very determined expression on his face. Lee stepped aside as Edward moved past him without paying attention. He faltered at the elevator, watching Edward head for Kate's apartment. He pulled out his phone and texted Barney that he'd be a bit late as something was happening. Then he moved quietly back towards Kate's apartment.
...
Kate went to answer the door thinking it was Lee coming back, and she was surprised to see Edward there. He stank of booze, and he had a grin on his face.
"Hey, babe," he said.
"Edward," she replied. "I didn't expect you."
"I thought I'd surprise ya," he said, coming in without being invited. Kate closed the door, feeling cautious. What did he want? Why was he there?
"You seem happy about something," she commented.
"I orchestrated a big sale tonight," Edward said, wiping at his nose. "I just got a lot of money for it too. I'm here to celebrate."
"Oh, I see," Kate nodded. "Um, I don't have any alcohol here."
"That's not what I had in mind," Edward said, giving her a look. She cringed inside. So that's what he wanted.
"What was the sale?" she asked in a curious tone, hoping it would distract him. Edward didn't discuss business with her, but when he was drunk, he sometimes said things he didn't mean to.
"Let's just say that a little place called the U.S. of A. is going to go boom," he giggled. Kate stared at him. So he had helped sell the bomb. It was already gone. She felt the wind leave her lungs.
"Oh," she said.
"Shhhh," he said, putting his finger to his lips. "You can't tell anyone."
"I promise," she said. "Never liked that place anyway. I hope they go for a big city like L.A. or New York." She was fishing, trying to find out where the bomb was going to go off so she could tell Drummer. She didn't like saying things like that because she wasn't a terrorist.
"Definitely Califooooornia," he sang, snapping his fingers and jerking his hips around. "Woot, woot!"
It would have to do. Kate knew he wouldn't tell her anymore than that. At least they could narrow the search down to just one state.
"I think you should maybe sleep off this high you're on," she said, recognizing that he'd done some cocaine as well since he kept sniffing hard and wiping at his nose.
"Or maybe," he said, skipping over to her. "You can celebrate with me."
"Ed, no," she tried, but he grabbed her wrists tightly. "Ed!" He was surprisingly strong, and he started to drag her to her bedroom. "Stop, Ed! I mean it!"
"You've been holding out on me for too long!" he exclaimed. "Eddie needs it, and he needs it now!"
"No!" Kate shouted, trying to get out of his grip, but he managed to get her down onto the floor despite her fighting back. She did her best, but he held her down and started pulling at her pants. "Eddie! Stop it!"
"You're my fiancee! You're supposed to do this for me! I can't keep hiring those call girls. It's costing me money!" he yelled. He clamped a hand over her mouth when she tried to scream. She tried to claw at him, but he slapped her hard and stunned her. She tried to scream through his hand anyway when she got her senses back. He had her pants off her hips now, reaching to pull off the rest, and she was freaking out. Then there was a resounding "clang" noise, and Edward's eyes went crossed as he groaned and fell sideways off of Kate. He landed on his face, unconscious. Kate lay there frozen, hands up in the air a little and breathing hard. Then she looked to see Lee standing there, frying pan in his hand.
"Wanker," he commented, looking at Edward before her. "You all right?"
"Shit," she said, looking at Edward. "Shit! How do I explain this?"
"He's higher than a kite. He won't remember if you got away from him and knocked him out," Lee shrugged.
"Oh my God," Kate said. "This is bad, Lee. Very bad!" She lifted her hips and yanked her pants back up, glaring at Edward on the floor, who was snoring now. Lee helped her to her feet and gave her a quick, tight hug. Neither of them voiced what could have happened here if Lee hadn't come along. Kate figured she would have gotten him off of her, but she didn't like to think about if she hadn't been able to.
"You didn't answer me. Are you all right?" he asked again.
"I'm fine. I'm pissed off," she answered angrily.
"Why is he so high? What did he do?" Lee asked her.
"He helped sell the bomb. Tonight. It's going to go off in California. That's all he would tell me," Kate answered, running a hand through her hair roughly. "What do I do, Lee?!"
"Someone call for a garbageman?" Barney's voice called. "To take out the trash?" He came into the room and wrinkled his nose at the sight of Edward, who let one rip in his unconscious state. Lee waved a hand past his nose and coughed.
"Hi, Barney," Kate said, feeling embarrassed and not sure why. Edward wasn't really her fiance after all.
"Hello, love," he answered. "Lee? Shall we?"
"Yup," Lee nodded, moving for Edward's head. Barney picked up his feet, and they started to walk him out. Lee had no problem banging Edward's head off the door frame or the walls as they went. Kate followed them.
"Where are you taking him?"
"Don't you worry about it. He won't remember this at all," Barney promised. "And if he does, you can say we were repairmen in the building who heard you scream."
"Okay," Kate said, feeling nervous.
I love you, Lee mouthed as he turned his head after going out the door. She held up her hand in the "I Love You" sign, and he smiled, understanding. Then they were gone, and she sat down on the living room chair shaking inside. If Lee hadn't been there...
No, she wasn't going to think about that. She did her best to forget about it as she got ready for bed and tried to sleep. She had done therapy after being trafficked, and she started to use the techniques she'd learned to help calm herself down. She had contacted Drummer to fill him in on everything (minus Lee and the team being there...she wasn't going to tell him she knew he'd sent them there), and now all she could do was breathe and wait.
...
"Ugh," Barney complained when they shoved Edward back into his car. Their hope was that he'd think he passed out before going into Kate's apartment. If he remembered going in, their hope was that he would think he left and didn't remember leaving and decided to sleep off his high in his car. They also hoped he would attribute his headache from getting whacked in the head to the alcohol.
"If the bomb's already sold," Lee said, looking at him, "then what are we still doing here?" Barney looked at his phone as it started to ring.
"Well, speak of the Devil," he said. "It's Drummer. Yea?" He answered the phone and plugged his other ear with his finger. Lee looked up at Kate's apartment, knowing she couldn't see him but was in there. He hoped she was all right. He was glad he'd gone to check out the situation. It was all he had not to kill the bastard, but without Edward, Kate couldn't get to Roger, so he had to leave him alive. He and Barney walked back towards the street their van was parked while Barney talked to Drummer. The others were at a hotel for the night, having complained about sleeping in the van the night before. They'd join them after this.
"Okay," Barney said after he hung up. "So Drummer knows about the bomb. I'm assuming Kate's told him, not that he'd say that's where he got that info from. He wants us to meet him tomorrow."
"He still won't say what's going on?" Lee asked.
"Nope."
"And you're not lying to me?"
"Not at all," Barney said, affronted. "When would I lie to you?"
"Keeping back information like you did about Agent Fields is the same as lying," Lee pointed out. Barney snorted.
"It is not."
"Is too."
"I'm not holding anything back!" Barney said loudly, holding up his hands. "Swear to God!"
"Okay, good. Cos I'll stab you if you are," Lee threatened.
"You can try," Barney remarked. He got into the van, and Lee did too. They drove away, and Lee hoped that this would all be over very soon.
The Next Day
Kate was on edge all morning. When Edward finally did call her, she almost had a mini stroke. She had no idea what to say to him, so she just started off by saying "hello."
"Was I at your place last night?" he asked immediately.
"No," Kate lied. "You weren't."
"I wasn't?" he confirmed, sounding relieved.
"No. It was just me here," she said.
"Oh, good," Edward said happily.
"Why?" she asked.
"Well, it would appear that I was celebrating something for work and fell asleep in my car by your place," he chuckled. "I just wanted to make sure that I hadn't gone to see you and got inappropriate or something."
Kate gritted her teeth. The idiot actually didn't remember. She must have a horseshoe lodged in her somewhere.
"I can assure you that you didn't," she lied.
"In that case, you want to get breakfast with me?" he asked. "Before you go to work?"
"I can't, Ed," she said apologetically. "I'm to be there early. Rain check?"
"Okay," he said happily. "Have a good day. Love you."
"You too," she said, hanging up. She couldn't bear the sight of him right now, not after what he'd done to her last night. Knowing he slept with call girls wasn't exactly a surprise, but it still stung a little bit. Were there no decent men left who could wait for someone to be ready?
Well, there was. She smiled, thinking about Lee. He'd never pushed it on her ever, even when she was at her most vulnerable. He always waited for her to initiate it or at least say it was okay first.
She went to work and found Tansley in a dither at her desk.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Oh! Everything," Tansley answered, pressing a hand to her forehead. "It would appear that Boris is late for work, which disrupts the entire day."
"Oh no," Kate said, sympathizing.
"He's never usually late, but I can't control that," Tansley went on.
"I heard there was quite a party last night," Kate said. "Ed said he was celebrating with the guys."
"Well, that would explain it then, but whatever it was about, I wasn't informed," Tansley replied. Kate couldn't tell if she was lying or not. After Cindy, Kate was more skeptical of people, but she got a genuine vibe from Tansley at this point in time. She decided to trust Tansley was being honest.
"Can I help in any way?" Kate asked.
"I'm afraid not. You haven't got the clearance from Boris that I have for things," Tansley sighed, sitting back down in her chair. "Thank you, though. You're sweet to offer."
"Okay," Kate said, not knowing what else to say.
"So when are you and Ed getting married?" Tansley asked, changing the subject.
"He wants to get married before Christmas," Kate answered, feeling cautious.
"And you're not so sure?"
"It's kind of fast," Kate admitted, which it was.
"Ed's a fast kind of guy," Tansley chuckled. "But I must warn you, he does wander."
"What do you mean?"
"Oh, Desiree," Tansley laughed. "He's seen at strip clubs all the time, and more than once he's been seen going home with a prostitute. I'm surprised he even wants to get married when he thrives off that kind of lifestyle."
"Well," Kate said. "I wasn't aware of that until just now." She was made aware last night when Edward had spit it out, but hearing it from Tansley also stung. How many people knew her "fiance" was a wanderer?
"Oh," Tansley said, covering her mouth with her hand. "I'm...I'm sorry. I thought you knew..."
"I do now," Kate replied. "But...he's still a good guy. Maybe when we get married, he'll settle down." She had to make it seem like she didn't care. She couldn't have a strong reaction to it and then stay engaged. It would be too suspicious. She didn't care if Tansley was CIA. She wasn't about to reveal herself, just to be safe.
"Maybe," Tansley said absently. She turned back to her computer, and Kate lowered her head to her work. Then it got busy, and she did her best to not think about everything else.
...
Drummer was there as promised when Barney and Lee went to meet with him. The others hung back in the van, waiting. Lee felt anger upon seeing Drummer. He hated that this man made Kate lie to him and destroy their relationship before it even got started.
"Nice day, isn't it?" Drummer asked, looking around at the sky. Barney snorted.
"Why have you got us doing this?" Lee asked him.
"Again with the mumbling," Drummer commented.
"I do not mumble," Lee growled.
"Don't piss off the Englishman with a pocketful of knives," Barney warned Drummer. "But he's right. Why are we doing this? What is the bigger picture here, Drummer? Why are we here?"
Drummer heaved a sigh and ran a hand through his hair. He looked reluctant but also like he knew he had no choice.
"You all remember Roger Hastings, right?"
"Yes," Barney nodded.
"He was working for someone above him. We found that out after we apprehended him," Drummer explained. "It turns out this person high on the food chain is the ringleader in all of this."
"Well, one of the minor players just sold a bomb to someone," Barney pointed out. "Could they be connected to the ringleader too?"
"No," Drummer said. "The buyer is not in this ring. The buyer is Stan White, who runs his own show in the States, which is a different problem, and the FBI and Homeland Security are all over it. We're dealing with this problem here in Europe with this ring of guys."
"How many more players are we looking for?" Barney asked. Drummer hesitated, and Lee knew it was because Drummer knew if he talked, he'd have to reveal about Kate, and Lee just knew that Drummer didn't want to do that.
"At least four," Drummer finally said.
"Who are they?" Barney asked, getting right to the point. Drummer shifted on his feet.
"We don't know the ringleader's name or who they even are for sure," Drummer confessed. "I've got someone working on that right now."
"Who?" Lee demanded. Drummer tipped his head back slightly, briefly closing his eyes before looking at Lee again.
"By the sound of your tone, I'm guessing you found out," he sighed.
"Found out what?" Lee asked, playing stupid. "What, Drummer?"
"Oh, knock it off," Drummer growled. "You saw Kate the other night, didn't you?"
"Why is Kate here, Drummer?" Lee questioned sharply. "Huh?"
"You already know," Drummer reasoned.
"Say it," Lee ordered.
"Because Roger Hastings escaped!" Drummer exclaimed. "Happy now?"
"No, I'm not," Lee said angrily, pointing a finger at him. "If anything happens to her..."
"You'll disembowel me with your pocketful of knives, I know," Drummer nodded, eyeing the knife on Lee's hip holster.
"Edward Nash is one of the players, correct?" Barney cut in. "And Roger Hastings? That's two. The ringleader is the last one. Boris is third?"
"Yea. Boris Stein is the third one. Joe Brown was also a part of it, but we've got him now. He's out of the game."
"So why not bring in Edward and end this ridiculous charade for Kate?" Lee suggested.
"Because Edward and Boris are meeting Roger this evening," Drummer said snarkily. "And I need them to meet in order to find out who the ringleader is."
"Why?" Barney asked. "What aren't you telling us, Drummer?"
"This meeting tonight is Roger promoting Edward as a congratulations for orchestrating the sale of the bomb and giving him access to communication with the ringleader. I need that information. Edward Nash has just become a key player. He's not just a bottom fish anymore."
"You'll get the information," Barney promised.
"But you're not going to be the ones to get it," Drummer said impatiently.
"Which again brings me back to why are we here, Drummer?" Barney countered, crossing his arms. "Why bring us to Romania at all?"
Lee watched Drummer's face carefully and realized something.
"He wanted us to find Kate," he noted, feeling surprised. "Why?"
"She's getting in too deep with this," Drummer said. "She was just supposed to be his girlfriend and maybe move in with him for a bit. I didn't expect it to take this long, and when she got engaged to the bloody bastard I knew things needed to speed up and she'd need help."
"You didn't tell her that, though," Lee pointed out.
"I didn't want her to think I didn't trust her abilities because I do," Drummer said. "This is just getting bigger and bigger. Too big for her alone."
"So pull her out," Lee demanded. "Right now."
"I can't. It would alert Roger and everyone, and I can't have that. All I'm asking is for you to keep an eye on Kate, and don't go bustin' into any parties and almost getting caught by Roger, got it?"
"Oh, like what could have happened at the last party we went 'bustin'' into?" Lee asked, annoyed.
"I got last minute intel that he was supposed to be there, but he didn't end up being there at all. You got lucky," Drummer shot back.
"You should have been upfront about this from the beginning," Barney chastised.
"I didn't want Kate to know I'd told you after I made her keep it a secret," Drummer admitted. "This way she thinks you just found out on your own, which you did."
"She knows you sent us," Lee informed him.
"Of course," Drummer sighed. "You told her?"
"Of course," Lee answered smugly.
"Damn spook," Barney muttered under his breath. "All right, so the real mission for us is to protect Kate. Right?"
"Right," Drummer nodded.
"We'll get right on it," Barney agreed. He put his hand on Lee's shoulder and steered him away before Lee could attack Drummer, which Barney could tell that's exactly what Lee wanted to do.
"Down, boy," Barney said when Lee first tried to shrug him off. "You'll get your chance, just not yet."
"I hate him," Lee said angrily, finally turning around and marching back to the van beside Barney.
"I know," Barney nodded. "All in good time, my friend. All in good time. Now, let's go help Kate, okay?"
Lee already had a plan laid out in his mind. It would assure him that Kate wouldn't get hurt and it wouldn't put him on Roger's radar.
He just had to execute it perfectly.