He spent most of the afternoon going over the details of the mission, and going over them again, and again, looking over and over for mistakes or traps.
She wandered out into the living room about two hours later, dressed, but still looking just a tad bit bedraggled. "Hi," she yawned, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "How's the mission looking?"
"About as irritating as I expected it to. Survivable, but not pretty." He shrugged.
"A good portion of our trips are," she sighed, sitting down next to him.
"True, but most of those I volunteer for the risks," he sighed.
"Yeah, we're not normally coerced, I suppose," she shook her head, sighing. "Although, maybe the 'threat of death upon dismissal' counts."
He shrugged. "That was never really a threat, not to me. I would have done anything for him or told him he was being a moron, one of the two. Or so I thought. But here we are, so evidently I was mistaken."
She didn't say anything in return for a long moment, just raised a hand to squeeze his shoulder. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't. She didn't know yet. And she wasn't sure how long it would take her to find out. "Either way, is there anything I can do to help with the mission?"
"You could stay here so we aren't both killed by Moriarty in a single evening," he suggested dryly.
"What, like I want to be alone with Mycroft? Sebastian, please," she snorted, rolling her eyes. "Not that I don't appreciate the effort you're trying to go to to keep me alive, but relax a little."
He leveled a glare in her direction, then returned his gaze to the plans. "You'll be my lookout, then, as discussed."
"Alright," she agreed, cracking her fingers. "Let me know if Mycroft changes any of the plans or anything. God, you don't think he'll send us with a chaperone, do you?"
"It wouldn't surprise me," he sighed, rubbing his eyes.
"Eugh, gross," she muttered, leaning back into the sofa. "He's probably going to string us out all day, too, the bastard."
"Almost makes you miss Moriarty," he snickered, tossing the file aside and stretching with a groan.
She smirked, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, at least with him we knew we were on our own. With Mycroft... Christ, I don't know a bloody thing about Mycroft."
"I suspect very few people know a bloody thing about Mycroft. I also suspect that that is precisely how he likes it."
"Oh, I'm sure," she sighed. "It's how the both of us would want it. It's how Jim wanted it."
"Oh well," he sighed, rubbing at his eyes a little. "They'd better arm us. If I have to go in there without a gun I will be unconcerned but very annoyed."
"They know better than that, surely," she scoffed, less at him and more at the general idea of the thing. "Telling you to go unarmed is a stupid risk, especially since we're on the lam from the network. They shouldn't be risking a couple high-value assets."
"They shouldn't be sending us at all, but that's a different story altogether," he snorted. "But I agree."
She sighed, running her fingers over the smooth leather arm of the sofa. "Well, at least it's only a one-night thing. I wouldn't want to do a long game here."
"No?" he asked, looking over at her. "I'm surprised. Why not?"
"I don't trust the people here. I don't trust the people at the network, either, but it's a different sort of mistrust. I know that at the end of the day they want me to succeed because there will be a payoff that reaches them, too. Here, though..." she shook her head, "they won't really care about the money that comes in at the end of a job. They'll care about doing right. And if the right thing ends up being to let me get killed... I trust money more than I trust morals, is all."
He nodded. "I agree to an extent. But morals can be manipulated much more easily than money can. They have their uses. Not that I trust anyone here either."
Lorna nodded, trying not to think too hard about how much she could logically trust Moran. Emotionally, she trusted him. She couldn't help it. She'd been through a lot with him. After all the things, people, they'd overcome, it was hard not to. She was quiet for a moment. "This is going to be a hard adjustment. Our coworkers better not send any dirty looks our way."
"Just ignore them," he said, shrugging. "Who cares? Fuck them, anyway."
"I'm a vain, vain woman. I hate it when people give me negative looks," she snorted, standing and moving over to the narrow window that looked over a tiny courtyard at the back of the house. It was the most unkempt-looking area on the whole block, from what she could tell. Too many spiders, maybe? "I think we can probably count pride as one of my sins. I like to at least be feared, if not desired."
He stood, too, walking over to wrap arms around her waist, smirking a little. "I think we both can count pride among our sins, though perhaps for different reasons." He bent to kiss her ear, but whispered instead, "Tonight, be watching his people. See if they know me."
She gave the tiniest nod, then disguised it by leaning her head back against his shoulder, just in case there were cameras that had yet to be found. It would be a challenge, keeping an eye on both Sebastian and Mycroft's men, but the fact was that it had to be done, so she would do it.
He kissed his way down the side of her neck gently, then straightened. "Alright. Let's get dinner together. The file says someone will pick us up at 2100, and I'd like a chance to relax a bit before then."
"You want a last meal, is what I'm hearing," she joked, smirking and turning to face him. "You want to do casual or do you want to make our hosts shell out a little cash from the national treasury?"
"As much as I prefer the latter... Let's go for something that's going to be simple and stick around. Nothing like feeling hungry in the middle of a mission or getting caught because your stomach growls," he smirked.
She laughed. "You're right, that'd be embarrassing. Not how I want to die." She slipped past him and headed for the door, glancing at him over her shoulder. "How's fish and chips sound?"
He walked over to grab a jacket, before hesitating and glancing at the door. "This is stupid," he snorted, hanging it back up. "And we both know it. Come on, I'll make something."
"Sounds good to me," she hummed, pushing off the door and following him back towards the kitchen. "Have you gotten any more details about the mission besides when they're going to pick us up?"
"Just what you saw. Moriarty is meeting in person with a contact. The contact is unknown, but given that Moriarty is meeting them himself they expect it to be someone of some importance. We're to observe only."
"What, they couldn't spare one pair of discreet eyes tonight?" she scoffed, folding her arms across her chest. "Could they make this test any more obvious? I'm not feeling talked down to enough."
"I know," he snorted, pulling out frozen hamburger meat. "But as you unfortunately heard, objection didn't go over well."
"No, I remember. Not a conversation that's extremely fun to wake up to, believe me," she muttered. Was she surprised? Not really. But that didn't make it enjoyable.
He nodded just a little, setting out the meat to thaw and starting to sort through the fridge. "Hamburgers okay?"
"I'm fine with whatever you make. You're a good cook," she shrugged, leaning against the counter nearby. She wanted to talk to him about what they were going to do if she was sure that none of Mycroft's people recognized him. Damn bugs. "And I'm reasonably certain you wouldn't poison me before a job."
He smirked just a little. "Well I won't now that you've discovered my plot," he shot back, tossing a tomato her way. "Slice that."
She caught it with a small chuckle, turning to go grab a cutting board and then fishing around for the knife drawer. "I don't know, that could be a ruse. Shit, I don't know if I'm fast enough to switch hamburgers on you."
"Tell you what, I'll take a bite of yours first. How's that?" he smirked, pulling off a few leaves of lettuce.
"Alright, I can live with that," she relented, sliding the cutting board over to him with a smile, the chopped up tomato on top. "Not a bad last meal, really. I wonder if we have any wine lying around. Or beer. Not feeling the hard liquor."
"Beer would be good.. Take a look around while I get the burgers cooked, alright?" he asked, pulling out some grated cheese and bacon to stuff the burgers with.
She nodded and headed over to the enormous fridge to start digging around, trying not to think too much about the food he was cooking behind her. God, did it smell good.
Fifteen minutes later he slid the burgers onto buns and slid one in her direction to fix up however she liked. "Let me know when you want me to take that bite," he teased.
"I will, thanks," she chuckled, throwing a few slices of tomato and some lettuce onto his masterpiece. She felt a little bit like Garfunkel. "Here's to not getting killed tonight, huh?"
He added mayonnaise and tomato to his, and some extra cheese, nodding and reaching to pick up the beer Lorna'd found and holding it out in her direction. "I'll drink to that."
She tapped her bottle with his and then dug in, figuring that if Mycroft's driver showed up early they wouldn't appreciate waiting for her to finish up her food. He ate at a measured pace, not caring particularly whether or not anyone was waiting.
She finished a few minutes later, then sat back with a huff, sipping at her beer. She gave his plate an amused look. "I see you've not been affected at all by our timetable."
"If Holmes thinks I'm going to jump when he says like some bloody lap dog, he has a surprise in store," he said calmly, taking another bite of his burger.
She smirked and finished off her beer. "That he does. I don't know if I've ever successfully rushed you; he's got no chance."
He nodded in agreement. It took him a few more minutes to finish his burger, and then he stood. "I going to go change into blackouts. You should probably do the same."
She nodded, pushing out from the table and standing to follow him to the bedroom. It was times like these she was grateful she wasn't a blonde - she'd seen more than one agent with shining golden locks be caught because they'd forgotten to hide their hair. It was nice to be the one with a natural camouflage for once.
He changed into his blacks, rubbing blacking grease into his hair to cut the shine and then pulling on a hat and his shoulder holster. "Ready?"
She nodded, decked out in a nearly-matching pair of blacks approximately seven sizes smaller, dark hair loose around her face; she'd discovered a long time ago it made good impromptu camouflage for her pale Londoner face. "Let's go."
He nodded, slipping his pistol into its holster and heading downstairs and out the front door. A black car was waiting in the shadows between streetlights, and he headed for it cautiously.
She followed him after sliding a bowie knife into the sheath strapped to her leg, her hand twitching towards it as she followed him to the car. A quick glance was all it took to tell her that the rest of the street was all but deserted, a single light on in a house four doors down. When they finally took the final steps to the door, she opened it and slid in, her eyes glued to the man in the driver's seat. He gave her a bored look in the mirror.
He slid in right behind her. "Let's go, shall we?" he said as he shut the door. The man didn't comment, just started the car and headed off.
She wanted to ask for more details on the mission, but gathering from their driver's stony expression, he wasn't going to be offering any up. Fine. They'd find someone who'd talk to them. Find out what this shit was really about. And then she had to get to Jim, with or without Sebastian's help. Jim was not known for his patience. She was worried that if he didn't get something concerning Moran soon he'd do something drastic.
The driver pulled to a stop a few minutes later, in the middle of a dark alley, cutting the engine and getting out. "We'll access the roof via that fire escape."
"We? Oh, great, we get the Great Stone Face on assignment with us," she snorted, getting out of the car and pulling out a pair of black gloves from her back pocket, slipping them on. "You wanna give us any other details or is it going to be a need-to-know basis kind of deal?"
"Need to know," he responded calmly, locking the car and motioning for them to take the lead. Moran snorted but walked over to haul down the escape ladder.
"Alright, Big Brother, whatever," she rolled her eyes, following Sebastian, and letting him get a few rungs up on the ladder before she started up after him, wondering if these trousers made her butt look good. She'd be able to kill the man easier later if he got a little distracted now.
They reached the top of the building and Moran turned to haul Lorna up the last few feet, leaving Mycroft's man to fend for himself. He did, scrambling up with less than his usual grace onto the roof. He slung a bag off of his shoulder and pulled out binoculars and a long-distance-listening gun. "Here," he said calmly, handing them to Sebastian.
Lorna crouched on the roof behind them, wishing vaguely for a cigarette. She didn't expect one to appear, but it didn't hurt to try. "What, you didn't bring enough for the class? For shame," she muttered, tsking quietly behind them. The man shot her a mildly annoyed look.
"I wasn't informed you'd be tagging along. Will you be quiet, now?"
"Watch it, Corpse," Moran said coolly. "We weren't informed that you would be tagging along, and I much prefer her quips to yours. Clear?"
He squared his jaw, giving them both a dirty look, but he fell silent, returned his gaze to the mostly-dark buildings ahead of them. She smirked.
"The stone cracks," Moran muttered to Lorna, not particularly caring if the other man heard them. He wondered if the man had shown any signs of recognition. He hoped not. He shifted down to a crouch and started scanning the building across the street for activity.
Lorna kept her eyes on the stranger more than she did on Moran, watching for any sign of familiarity in the way he sat, in the way he shifted. She could find no sign of any. Quite the opposite, in fact. Once she could see past the mask, he moved like a tourist caught in a tiger cage. Sure, he'd heard what the beast could do to him, knew logically that it could kill him, but he wasn't the keeper, wasn't anybody who knew anything more than the pure basics. He didn't know Moran. He would have been more afraid.
Moran kept his eyes on the building, then motioned for attention. "Moriarty just entered a room on the second floor," he said quietly.
"He with anybody you recognize?" their nameless companion asked quietly, voice expressionless. "Pass the binoculars to her if not." Some of the bitterness about her involvement returned, but it stayed mostly unnoticeable. Wise of him.
He shook his head a little, though he did know the men. They were representatives of Armetti, there to discuss American business. And the security of the place was appalling, though judging by the slight bulk of kevlar under Jim's suit, he knew it. "No idea." He handed the binoculars to Lorna.
She looked through the binoculars, and after putting the room in her sights, stayed still for a moment, debating about whether or not to say she recognized the men. Surely Mycroft knew enough about the deal to know who was on the other side? If she stayed silent, she risked exposing them. If she spoke up, she risked exposing Jim. She knew which one was more dangerous. "I've slept with half that room. Not that that's saying much," she shrugged, handing the binoculars back to Sebastian, deciding to play it relatively safe.
"Just half?" Moran chuckled, taking them back and returning his attention to the room. "Harrison, can you set up that listening device?" he asked, keeping his attention on the room
"Yeah," she murmured, scooting forward in between them and starting to set it up with practiced movements. She didn't do a lot of roof stakeouts, but she did enough. Either way... she wasn't sure how she was going to give their chaperone the slip.
He knew she needed to see Jim. She was his informant. Moran's only chance at a lifeline back to Moriarty's network. And this was going to be their best chance.
He glanced over at her perfect set-up and snorted in annoyance. "Really? You've set this thing up how many times and you still can't do it right."
"Oh, bite me," she rolled her eyes, ignoring the look their companion gave them. "I set it up fine. If it's not working, it's a faulty piece of equipment. One of us will just have to get close enough to hear."
"Out of the question," the other man shook his head, frowning at the two of them. Lorna let out an exasperated huff.
"Alright, so how are we going to hear them, wise guy?"
"Yes, completely out of the question," Moran agreed. "If you think for a second that I'm letting you go in there, you're sadly mistaken. I'll go."
"Mr. Moran, I'm afraid I most certainly cannot let you do that-"
"So, what, you'd rather go in and deal with Moriarty's goons?"
The man's gaze shifted quickly.
"I thought not."
"Moran, if you go, you'll get shot. I, on the other hand, still have the reasonable doubt on my side," she argued, willing him to let her go. She had to talk to Jim, had to keep this path open for them. "Not to mention all the people in there who've seen me naked. C'mon, they're not you. They're going to think twice before ruining this." She waved a hand over herself in the dark, though with their blackouts on, it was hard to really make out a defined shape on anyone.
He hid a smirk. He couldn't let her convince him too easily or Stoney would get suspicious. "I still don't like it... but I'd rather you than him and I suppose you're right that I'm not an option..." He sighed.
"I'm glad you know a lost cause when you see one," she smirked, giving his shoulder a pat and then standing, peering around in the dark for another way down. "Try to shoot anyone who tries to shoot me, huh? Thanks."
"I will," he nodded, still watching carefully through the binoculars.
Stoney still looked an odd mix of concerned and annoyed under a failing mask of apathy. "Don't be too long," he muttered.
"Aww, is that concern I hear in your voice, Mr. Robot? Don't worry, you'll probably still get to see me seduce Moran on the rooftop. I won't be able to stay away from that possibility for too long," she laughed, then she was gone, climbing down a maintenance ladder she'd found near the corner of the building. Time to contact Jim.
"So what you're telling me, in short, is that Mr. Armetti is an incompetent idiot," Moriarty drawled, sounding bored. "That is hardly a shock, you know. Almost everyone is."
He tuned out the scrambling protests if Armetti's men as he heard the door to the street open and close. "I'll be back, gentlemen. In the meantime think of something more engaging to talk about or I'll be using your patellas to prop up lopsided tables. Perhaps run any conversation ideas past Gerard here."
He left Gerard to keep an eye on the situation, and walked out into the hallway. Harrison was at the end of it, escorted by one of his men. He dismissed them.
"You certainly took your time. I hate waiting."
"Sorry, Boss," she ducked her head a little, eyes running along the walls of the hall, making sure there were no clear vantages. It didn't really matter if Sebastian saw her, but it mattered if Mycroft's man saw her. "We have a chaperone. Had to give him the slip. He doesn't recognize Moran, though, so there's some good news."
"And everyone else?" he asked, studying her shrewdly. She was tense, though she probably didn't know it. It was underlying stress, not surface. "I want a report, Harrison. If I was interested in the teaser I would have a bucket of popcorn."
"We've barely seen anyone else, is the problem," she shook her head, running a gloved hand through her hair and then regretting it as static crackled through the strands. "We've seen maybe five other people so far, and all of them have been pretty blank. No signs of recognition. And Mycroft doesn't really seem prepared for this; it took time for him to produce a file, and there are things I don't think he really knows. I don't know. It's all just been really weird."
"And that's it?" he asked, eyes narrowing as he stepped forward. "I imagine it's difficult breaking up your little bonobo vacation, but I wanted information."
She managed to stop herself stepping back out of reflex, her eyes skittering from the wall to the floor and back to him before darting away again. "Boss, I know, I'm sorry, but my hands are kinda tied here. I can't be too nosy about it without blowing my cover - Christ knows Mycroft is almost as good as you when it comes to reading people - and I have to pretend to be hiding from the network at the same time. I can't exactly leave and go Nancy Drew it all over town. I don't know anything. They haven't given us shit. I don't know how to prove he's not a traitor."
There was a long moment when he considered drawing his pistol and just dealing the whole situation the easy way, but that had never been his style. He allowed his hand to stray in that direction just to see her jump, just to let her know how close he'd come before he'd decided to have mercy, but then he stepped back and relaxed, offering her a bright smile. "That does sound difficult. Let's make this easier, shall we? Get me Mycroft."
"Where do you want him?" she asked without hesitation, as if the blood hadn't completely drained from her face, the knowledge of just how close she'd come to just blinking out of existence hitting her a little harder than she'd expected. She thought part of that had to do with Sebastian. If Jim had killed her just then, had left her dead on the floor, never to return to that rooftop, what would happen to Moran? He wouldn't know what had happened, not really, not without a window to see. He would assume he was a traitor after all, that much she was almost certain of. And that, of course, would probably spell the end for him, too. Something she didn't want to be responsible for. "And how soon?"
"Tomorrow," he said easily. "Wherever he chooses. You'll wear this." He pulled a subtle silver bracelet off of his wrist and handed it to her. "It has a tracking device embedded. Just press this button rapidly three times, hold the last. That will activate it. We'll be there in five minutes."
She nodded, slipping it onto her wrist and tucking it under her sleeve. "Okay. What do you want me to do with Moran?"
"Bring him to the meeting. We'll extract you both," he said calmly. "Then I'll hold him until I have what I need out of Holmes."
"Okay," she said again, already making up scenarios in her head of how to get them both somewhere Mycroft would be vulnerable. Not to mention what she was going to tell them when she got back. "Sounds good, Boss."
"Good," he said, turning away and heading back to the room. "We're done. Oh, and Harrison, you'd better find a decent reason to tell them you couldn't listen in."
"Yes, sir," she nodded, waiting until he'd disappeared into the room to sidestep her guard and disappear back into the night.