Not long after receiving Vasquez's call, J'onn, sensing Winn might want to change out of his pajamas, retrieved a set of DEO-emblazoned training gear from the gym, then made his way up to Winn's lab. He wasn't surprised at all to find the genius hard at work on a small handheld device, while Vasquez silently handed him supplies over his shoulder.
Vasquez saw J'onn first, but waited until Winn was done fiddling with a particular part before tapping him on the shoulder. Winn glanced up, his expression fearful for a split second, until he recognized J'onn.
"Boss man!" he crooned, but didn't get up. "What are you doing here this late?"
Given that that answer should be obvious, J'onn tilted his head and looked at Winn, who, after a beat, shrugged.
"Okay, I know why you're at the DEO, but why are you here? Like, in my lab?"
"I'm checking on a close friend who went through a rather traumatic experience a few hours ago, and bringing them a change of clothes," J'onn replied. "But if you want a more directorial answer, we need your official statement."
Winn flinched slightly. "Wait, I didn't mean…" He pushed himself to his feet and hobbled around the long lab table. "Sorry, it's been a long day," he said once he was standing in front of J'onn. "Thanks for coming by, and bringing those."
He reached for the bundle of clothes pinned under J'onn's arm, but stopped when J'onn made no motion to hold them out to him.
"I have a question for you first," J'onn said, "and I need you to answer it honestly."
Winn must have predicted where this was going, since without waiting for J'onn to actually ask the question, he replied, "I'm okay. Really. Had a bit of a breakdown right after, but now I'm just mad. And somewhat confused by the fact that they beat my security system."
"And your knee?"
"Sore, but no worse than earlier."
J'onn looked at Winn for a long moment, but didn't see any signs that the other man was lying.
"I'm truly glad to hear that." He held out the clothes to Winn. "Get changed and meet me in interview room A for your deposition. Vasquez, you can return to duty."
"With all due respect, sir," Winn interjected, "we really need to finish the invisibility detection device. And if I'm going to be locked away in an interview, Vasquez is the best person for the job."
J'onn looked over Winn's shoulder at Vasquez. "Can you finish it?"
"Yes, sir," she said.
"Good. When you're finished, bring it by the interview room, then return to duty."
"Yes, sir," she repeated before grabbing a pair of safety goggles and getting to work.
While Winn was being properly deposed, Alex and Kara had returned to the DEO and were watching as the remaining analysts typed furiously on their keyboards.
"Anything about Chester Dunholtz? Family members? Close friends?" Alex asked.
"Nothing yet, ma'am."
"How about the family of the agent Toyman killed during his arrest?"
"They moved to Limestone, Maine two years ago, ma'am. Haven't been back since."
"And Smith and Johnson didn't see anything?" she asked, but it was a rhetorical question, since she'd already interviewed both of them on the scene. They hadn't seen anyone or anything enter or exit either the building or Winn's floor, nor had Smith seen anyone hanging around outside the building either.
"It's like he's being harassed by Casper," Alex grumbled to Kara, who signed unhappily.
"What about the registered telekinetics?"
"It's a long list, ma'am. We're working through it, giving priority to those registered and in the National City area."
"Pull in whoever you need. Overtime is not an issue for the next few days." It wasn't just about Winn anymore. That bomb had endangered the rest of his apartment complex, which logistically and in payroll's eyes made the perp more of a threat than he'd already been.
"Yes, ma'am." Vasquez turned to Hernandez. "Call in whoever is available, or whoever can start helping us iterate over the results."
Vasquez turned back to Alex, and seemed almost surprised to find her there. "Anything else, ma'am?"
"I want to help. And it sounds like you can use it. So what can I do?"
Vasquez smiled then led Alex over to an empty workstation. "We need to run down alibis of the searches popping up on the screen," she pointed at the wall, which was rotating through batches of DMV photographs of registered telekinetics. "And here's how you do that."
Sometime later, James walked into the DEO carrying a large bagful of supplies. He saw Alex sitting at a workstation and headed over to her.
"How is he?" he asked, startling Alex.
"Still upstairs with J'onn. I guess he's being very thorough."
"Any news on who tried to blow up Winn's apartment?"
Alex filled James in on what they had, which was still a whole lot of nothing.
"There's no way someone is this methodical," James said when she was finished. "They'll slip up somewhere." Before Alex could respond, he asked, "Anything you need me to do?"
"Just… be around for Winn. I have a feeling he's going to crash soon and it might not be pretty."
James nodded. "You got it."
They only waited about ten more minutes—Alex continuing to run down alibis and flagging the most likely for Alpha squad to divvy up and check out while James ran a few searches of his own on his phone—before her computer beeped.
"What is it?" James said, sitting upright immediately.
"J'onn and Winn are done," she said, pointing at the security footage of the interview room where the two in question were standing up, one significantly more stably than the other. She logged out of the computer and motioned for James to follow her up the stairs, where they met Winn and J'onn as they were leaving the room.
"Hey man," James said, as soon as Winn came into sight. "Glad to see you're alright."
"Hey. What are you doing here?" Winn asked, his face scrunched in genuine confusion. He looked down at his watch, then back up at James. "It's the middle of the night."
"I heard what happened on the news and came right—"
Winn's face paled, causing James to swallow the rest of his sentence.
"It was on the news? Did they mention my name?" Winn reached for his back pocket, presumably for his phone, and scowled when he came up empty. "I need one of your phones," he said, holding out his hand to James or Alex. "Or my laptop. Now. Now. Now!" he demanded, snapping his fingers in time to the last three syllables.
"Hey… hey. Winn. Breathe," Alex said, reaching out a hand but not making contact with her visibly upset friend. "We're keeping the exact details under wraps, but they did get some exterior shots of the fire department entering and exiting the building."
"I only recognized it cos I've been there before," James chimed in.
Alex nodded. "We're being careful, Winn, I promise. We know how much your privacy means to you."
Winn nodded slightly but he didn't look entirely convinced.
"You can still have my phone if you want," James said, pulling his out of his pocket and holding it out. "But I grabbed a burner for you, along with some other stuff, since Alex said all yours is evidence."
Wordlessly, Winn accepted the proffered bag instead, then opened the handles and looked through it. "Thanks," he said to James before pulling out the cheap, but still touchscreen smart phone.
"It was all they had," James said, semi-apologetically.
"It's fine. Really." Winn popped it out of the cellophane and turned it on. "Now I just need to clone mine—It's still in my apartment, right?"
Alex nodded. "Until the arson inspector is done."
"Good." Winn looked around the hallway, then back at them. "I'm gonna go to my room, get this all set-up, and unpack," he said, holding up the bag. "If that's okay."
"Absolutely."
"I'll walk you back," J'onn said.
"No, J'onn, really, it's like thirty feet—"
"I need to go that way anyway," J'onn said, in a tone that left no room for argument.
Winn inhaled sharply but seemed to accept his fate. "Okay, boss man. Lead the way.
"Thanks again," he said to James before trailing J'onn down the hall.
It was only outside the door to Winn's temporary residence that J'onn stopped and turned back to Winn.
"I've taken the liberty of taking you off the schedule tomorrow morning," he began, and was almost immediately cut off by Winn.
"That's really not necessary, sir. I'm more than—"
"I don't think I was clear," J'onn interjected. "You are more than welcome to go anywhere in the DEO accompanied by Agent Johnson, but under no circumstances are you to go down to the command center, or log onto the server before noon."
"J'onn, really—"
"Keep arguing, Agent Schott, and I will make it a full day's break."
Winn's jaw clamped shut, but his eyes burned unhappily.
"Winn." J'onn reached out his hand and rested it on Winn's shoulder, surprised when his agent didn't pull away. "I know it doesn't seem fair but you need to rest. To heal. We're going to need everyone at their best to keep up with our case load, and if that means you taking the morning off to get some actual uninterrupted sleep, then that is how it has to be."
Lips set in a thin line, Winn nodded before letting out a long exhale. "I want it on the record that I'm not happy about it, but I accept your terms. I'll be down there ready to get to work at noon sharp."
J'onn nodded. "I'd expect nothing less."
Later that night, Alex made her way up to Winn's quarters, his laptops which had just cleared IT's inspection in one hand and a bag from Al's in the other. She'd gone to Al's to check in with the bartenders, including Stella who was working the night shift, to see if they'd heard anything about the bank robbery, or now, the attempted bombing at Winn's apartment—though mindful of Winn's privacy, she'd left his name out of the conversation. Neither of the three on-shift had heard anything, nor had any of the kitchen staff, but as always, they promised to call if they did.
As Alex stepped out of the elevator, she heard a vaguely familiar song emanating from Winn's bunk, and it took her a second to place it. She could safely say she hasn't heard it in years.
She flashed her badge at the agent outside Winn's room, who must have spelled Johnson for a few hours, then tapped softly on the door. Almost before she pulled her hand away, the song stopped. Footsteps approached from the other side of the door and she took a step back so she'd be clearly visible in the hall's security cameras.
"It's Alex," she said too, just in case Winn wanted extra verification.
She heard the chain unlock, then the door opened to reveal Winn still dressed in the same DEO-issued outfit as earlier.
Alex held up her two bags. "I brought chicken wings, and your computers."
Winn's face brightened, but the expression didn't reach his eyes. Still, he took the bags and motioned for her to enter.
Though he had stopped the movie that was playing on his phone, the screen hadn't faded to black yet, meaning as Alex stepped inside the small room, she was able to see a still of Aladdin before Winn was able to poke the power button.
"Hey," Alex said, gently catching his arm as he pulled back. "Kara loves watching those movies too."
It was meant to be comforting, but Winn's face was totally and unusually blank. "They got me through some tough times," was all he said. He put the takeout bag down on the table then began unloading its contents.
"I assume some of this is for you," he said to Alex when he pulled out two containers of wings.
She shook her head. "It's always good to have extras. Besides, you said yourself they taste fine cold."
"I did say that, didn't I?" He looked at them for another moment then lowered them to the table.
"Not hungry?" Alex asked as she stepped closer.
"Not really." He looked up at her. "I know I should be, but I'm just not."
"You have had a rough few days." But just to be sure nothing else was amiss, Alex slowly reached out her hand and laid the back of it against Winn's head.
"That cannot be scientific," he deadpanned, but didn't pull away.
"It's surprisingly accurate. And for the record, you feel fine." She then sat down, gesturing for Winn who was standing with every muscle in his body tensed, to do the same.
He did so, semi-reluctantly.
"Do you want me to go?" Alex asked, when Winn didn't start up a conversation.
In the span of about a second, he shrugged, nodded, then shook his head. Finally, he frowned, then rested his elbows against the table and dropped his head into his hands. "Honestly, I don't know what to think. I mean, I always was prepared for the possibility someone could come after me because of my dad—he did kill seven people, after all. But for something I didn't even do?" His voice was thin, and if Alex could see his face, she suspected he'd be biting down on his lip to keep his voice from quavering further.
"Hey." She reached out and began rubbing his shoulder. "You're not wrong here, Winn. They are. We'll find whoever is after you, and there will be consequences to their actions." Then she leaned down until her chin was almost touching the table. "Look at me."
Winn did slowly, his lips pressed tightly together and his eyes red.
"You belong here. This is not your fault." When he didn't react at all, she continued, "I need you to show me you understand what I'm saying."
He finally nodded.
"Say it."
"'s not my fault." Then he swiped under his eyes. "I don't even know why I'm acting like this. I'm like… in a fog and I can't see or do anything right."
"You're tired," Alex said, reaching out and taking Winn's hand. "It's one of the perks of sleep deprivation."
"I am not deprived."
"Your last comment says otherwise." Alex slid her hand up to Winn's, gently took it, and led him over to the bed. "Now, is watching Aladdin a one-person activity or can I stay?"
"You can stay," he said, lowering himself onto the bed so his head was propped up by the wall before he patted the space beside him. "Wanna grab my computer? It'll be easier to watch with two people."
Alex brought over the bag containing both laptops, then assumed a position similar to Winn's while he fired one up and located the movie. After setting it on the bed between them he tapped the space bar and the genie's song poured through the speakers.
"We're going to figure this out," Alex said, reaching over and grabbing Winn's hand while he was still allowing her to do so. "I promise."
Winn looked over at her and nodded. "I know. I trust you."
They watched the rest of the movie in silence.
Not much action, but I think we can all agree Winn needs a break. Not for long though! The action picks up again in the next chapter!
Thanks so much for all your kind words and alerts!