I woke up abruptly. Ethan and Luther above me, looking worried.
"What's wrong?" I asked them.
"Kensi you passed out..." They told me, I nodded, remembering what put me on the floor.
"Could be internal bleeding... Could be loss of blood, could be that you just haven't eaten today." Ethan started rattling off diagnoses. I started to get up. Ethan reached out his hand towards me to pull me up a little. I grabbed it and let him pull me up. It stung my ribs. I grimaced and phrased my next words carefully.
"Ethan, seriously, I'm okay. Don't worry about me. How long was I out?" I told him a lie. I was sore and battered and he knew it. But I was trying to get him to stop babying me. Luther stood up to give us some space. Benji walked off with him to where Walker went with Lane.
"Only about a minute. I have to go to a meeting, will you be alright?" He asked me. I smiled he was still worrying.
"I'll be okay. Wait. Is it with Alanna?" I asked him. I was curious what ploy we were playing with Alanna.
"Everyone is perfectly capable of taking care of you here." He told me simply not answering because he knew I would come if it was with Alanna.
"It is, isn't it? Ethan... Let me come with you, we can play up the cover." I told him already making mine in my head.
"No, Kensi it's too dangerous. Plus we don't need to give away that I'm not Lane, just yet." He said to me softly stroking my hair.
"Ethan... Please." I begged with him, looking into his eyes.
"No Kens. Not yet. You need to rest, we'll reconvene. Okay?" He asked me, I realized his decision on this was final. I nodded, slowly. He helped me to my feet.
"You know what you need to do Luther?" He asked him. Luther nodded solemnly. He smiled at me.
"See you soon, Kens." He gave me a soft smile leaning in towards me holding my waist pulling me towards him. Luther turned away at that moment and walked off to make himself busy.
"Ethan." I whispered not being able to tear my eyes away from the floor. He lifted my chin forcing me to look into his eyes.
"Kensi… I need you to be okay." He whispered into my ear. As he pulled away I could see he was completely serious.
"I will—" I started but was abruptly cut off with Ethan's lips on top of mine. My eyes shot open, he knew I was engaged but hadn't heard from my fiancé in about 3 months almost 4. Fuck it, I thought. I leaned into the kiss my hands sliding up into his hair. Ethan smiled into the kiss and deepened it when he felt me give in. I realized at that moment that this was something he'd been wanting to do for a while, something he wasn't able to do because he was my best friend and Brandt had gotten to me quicker than he did. Ethan thought he wasn't there for me when I got shot back in India. He was everything I had come to know and love. Brandt and I had moved too fast. We needed to take a step back I thought. All my thoughts of this just confirmed I had no idea what I was doing. I needed to think about this later. Ethan's tongue danced with mine and my thoughts faded away. Slowly, he broke away from me looking into my eyes.
"I've been wanting to do that for a while. Just between us." He whispered smiling as the words left his mouth. He let his grip of me go and walked off to the car, getting in and backing out of our sanctum. I sighed walking over to where my shirt was sitting and threw it back on before I called out to them. We needed to come up with before Ethan got back.
ETHAN'S POV
I walked up to this quaint riverfront where I was told to meet with Alanna. She was standing there just staring out at the distance. When I approached she turned to me.
"You're just full of surprises, Lark." She told me her facial expression didn't change one bit.
"Your brothers plan was bad from the word go. You'd have lost all your men and Lane
would've been killed in crossfire. I had to improvise." I told her my eyes never leaving hers.
"Why not say that in the first place?" She asked putting on a façade of hurt.
"Because I don't trust your people. Especially not your brother." I was very careful not to say I didn't trust her.
"Family, what can you do? So where's Lane? Certainly not at the bottom of the Seine." She looked towards her brother standing off in the distance.
"I have him. He's safe. Where do I meet the courier?" I asked her trying to get this conversation back on track.
"Let's talk about the woman." I gave her a confused look as the words came out of her mouth. Certainly, she had met Kensi but didn't know a thing about her. Clearly, my effort to keep her on track didn't work.
"Woman?" I asked.
"She was with you at the Palais. Zola saw her again today. She tried to kill Lane. She had a chance to kill you but she didn't. Why?" She implored. I nodded, she was talking about Ilsa.
"We have a past. It's complicated." I told her keeping it short and simple.
"Well, I'll make it more complicated for you. My price just went up. Someone killed four of my men today. I assume it was her. I want her, Lark. And you're gonna bring her to me. Otherwise you don't meet the courier and the plutonium goes to the highest bidder. I'd hate for her to come between us." I cringed inwardly. Knowing my next words needed to prove loyalty to her. She was skeptical after the kidnapping of Lane.
"She's yours. At the meeting. Not before." I told her, she took a step towards me, I stepped back avoiding what I knew would've been a kiss.
"Go to London. Instructions will follow." She said curtly. Not too happy about me dodging her attempt. I turned around and walked away. I walked down a path with pillars for a building I wasn't entirely sure where I was going but I noticed Ilsa in the corner of my eye. I took her down a series of paths before I turned around where she would find me. She turned around looking at me, I walked in sync with her to the trees where we wouldn't be seen. She walked to me.
"I knew if I followed her you'd show up eventually." She told me removing her sunglasses.
"You okay?" I asked, I had hit her with my car when she was chasing me on the motorcycle.
"Ilsa, I'd never..." I started again hoping to regain her trust which I was positive I had lost.
"I know you had your reasons." She said cutting me off.
"You need to walk away." I said to her hoping she would take the warning and leave.
"I can't do that." She said looking to the side hope leaving her.
"You weren't at the Palais to kill Lark." I inquired.
"No." The answer I was expecting fell out of her mouth.
"You were there to protect him." I told her.
"Yes." She said to me.
"And you killed him to protect me. You wanted Lark to break Lane out. No, you needed him
to break Lane out. Because you have to kill Lane." I put the pieces together.
"Who's making you do this? MI6. Why?" She had a constant stare on me that answered my questions as they came.
"After we captured him in London they tried to bring Lane home through diplomatic channels. But too many countries want their pound of flesh. A man like that, what he's seen. What he knows about British intelligence. They can't have him talking to foreign government, ever." She explained the basics for me but didn't answer my question.
"That's not what I'm asking. Why did they send you?" I asked again.
"This is how I prove my loyalty. This is how I come home." Her words confused me.
"But you were out!? You were free?" I blurted.
"We're never free, Ethan. I've spent two years undercover with Lane. To them I'm as much of a threat as he is. I kill him or I never stop running. Now, tell me where he is?" She told me. This was screwed up, if the IMF knew that MI6 was putting Ilsa through this that means they might be planning to do the same to Kensi.
"I can't help you." I told her unhappily. I wish I could get her out, she deserved it. She was an amazing agent that just needed someway to cope and leave this work.
"I'll get to him one way or another. Please, don't make me go through you." She asked and without another word walked off. I walked back to the car I took out to meet Alanna and drove back to headquarters debating a way out for Ilsa but couldn't seem to find one that would get her out fast enough. She needed to complete this mission with us and I would find a way to do that. I drove up seeing Benji, Luther, and Kensi staring at me looking to see where we would go next. If they had finished the plan I devised by the time we got to London we would be in the clear and Walker would never be a free man again.
"Luther, you get the truck I asked for?" He nodded and held up the keys.
"Benji?" I asked him.
"Done and done boss." He smiled at me happily.
"Perfect. I'll get Lane." I told them as we walked off to get Walker away from him.