Spoilers: Set between 3.16 Last Known Location and 3.20 No Choice in Duty.
A/N: Given the season finale, this story is definitely AU. I couldn't get the uninformative reply Blackburn gave about who got Sonny in trouble off my mind, so I decided to explore the idea a bit.
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"How in the hell did Lindell find out what happened, in D.C.? ..."
"Heard somebody from the bar called DOD."
~~~ Sonny Quinn and Eric Blackburn, 3.16 "Last Known Location"
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Clay Spenser sat on his bunk with his phone to his ear, hoping this time his call would be answered. However, it didn't even really ring before it went straight to voice mail. After having already left several messages, sending a few emails, and having multiple requests for a video chat ignored, Clay didn't bother saying anything and hung up.
He shoved the phone under his pillow and sighed.
Still more than a little hurt by Sonny's accusation that he'd been the one to get his friend into trouble, Spenser hadn't wanted to reach out to the man after they'd arrived in Afghanistan. This hadn't been the first time in recent months that his so-called friend had deliberately hurt him with his words – or lack thereof.
All of the pointed comments about not being around as much since he'd started dating Rebecca. Being replaced so quickly by Vic as Sonny's wingman at bars. Not having the older man call him by any one of a dozen annoying nicknames. Multiple digs about him having ambition in regards to his career.
It had taken a toll on their friendship, though thankfully not on their working relationship. He'd been feeling the distance between them for too long now, and hadn't expected this latest hurdle just when they'd started talking again.
Yet, Clay couldn't quite get around the fact that Sonny would accuse him of such a betrayal. Sonny was one of his best friends; he would never intentionally betray a friend let alone any of the men he considered family.
He carried that hurt all the way to Afghanistan, believing Sonny owed him an apology for the accusation. However, with the base being decommissioned and fewer missions, he had more than enough time on his hands to think. And he couldn't help but think of all the hits Sonny had taken in terms of his friendships and relationships over the past months.
Sonny had given his heart to someone only for them to ultimately reject him, and had not taken the situation all that well. Since then, there had been an underlying anger suffusing nearly everything about the man. It hadn't helped that Clay had started a relationship with someone who lived and worked a couple of hours away, which meant he was absent from team gatherings more often these days. Despite him not feeling like that, in Sonny's eyes it might have seemed just like another rejection.
And then there was Vic's betrayal primarily of Ray but also Bravo as a whole. The younger man had become Sonny's wingman, his new little buddy, and Vic had chosen to betray the trust of all of them with his stupid decision to keep quiet about the mistake he'd made. It had shaken the team, but he knew Sonny had taken that badly, and not just because Ray was like a brother to him, but because he'd trusted Vic.
The incident at the bar, and the subsequent reassignment/punishment by Lindell, which had taken Sonny from his family, had likely been the final straw, and the man had lashed out not only at him but everyone else.
After so many blows, was it any wonder Sonny was feeling angry, betrayed, and rejected by the team he has called family for so long? Should he hold a grudge when Sonny was only lashing out against yet another disappointment?
Those questions had him changing his mind about reaching out to Sonny. He wasn't expecting an apology, and maybe didn't deserve one, but he missed his friend and wanted to make sure the older man wasn't imploding further without Bravo for support.
So far, every single one of his attempts to contact Sonny had failed, been outright rejected, and that hurt more than the accusation had.
Clay thought maybe he should take the hint, but his innate stubbornness wouldn't let him. He kept trying at least twice a day, but all forms of communication were rejected by Sonny. He could only take very little comfort from the fact that neither Lisa nor the rest of the team had had no luck either with contacting their brother. In fact, it worried him, and he wondered if Sonny would ever relent or if they would lose their brother, not to death but to a giant misunderstanding and flared tempers.
A wet nose on his arm startles him, his eyes popping opening and his heart set to racing. He hadn't thought he'd fallen asleep thinking about the current situation with Sonny, but it seems he had. Clay lifts his head off the pillow, and sees Brock at the entrance to their quarters.
The older man gestures for Cerberus to join him, and says, "Spense, briefing in less than five."
"Copy that," Clay said, getting up off his bed as Brock leaves.
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Something said at the briefing, which was little more than an update about the region, makes him uneasy. He doesn't know just what was said that triggered it, maybe it was how Davis had explained the source of the latest intel, but suddenly he's wondering exactly how Sonny had been identified for punishment.
He thought back to Blackburn's reply to Sonny's question, trying to think of the exact wording. Something about…the DOD being called?
It's chow time as he leaves the briefing room, but he doesn't feel like eating and decides to head back towards his quarters instead. He's asked where he was going and vaguely pointed in the direction of the latrines. About half way there, he turns away and starts walking instead, trying to find a relatively quiet place to sit and think.
How does someone calling the DOD lead to Sonny? Had Sonny been indiscrete enough to give out his name or other identifying information despite consistently working classified missions and knowing better? Spenser hadn't been there for the beginning of the confrontation, but he'd seen both Sonny and Full Metal talking to the false SEAL. Trent and Brock seemed to be on the sidelines, watching their teammates' backs, rather than getting involved with the confrontation.
More than likely the two men had admitted to being SEALs, yet only Sonny had been identified and punished? Wouldn't the others have at least received a verbal warning for their participation and for not preventing the escalation?
Granted, Sonny had been the only one to commit assault by roughly pushing the fake SEAL down into a booth, but Clay couldn't imagine the guy who had been the one stealing valor in the first place to be the one who called in the complaint. He'd been around others who had tried to pretend they were active SEALs, including ones who sometimes claimed to be on the teams, and when confronted, they always turned tail and left as quickly as possible even when physically pushed to leave. They were very aware they were in the wrong and wouldn't stoop so low, knowing they would only be admitting to being a liar.
Clay thought back to that night. He and Rebecca had been talking to the Senator's aide, when he'd noticed things were about to turn ugly. Rebecca had stayed with the Senator's aide, while he made his way over to his brothers, hoping to keep things from escalating too much. Did the aide turn Sonny in? No, that wasn't right. The aide had seen Sonny up close before the demonstration and had had no look of recognition on his face. Unless the man had the most incredible poker face, Clay doubted the Senator's aide had made the call.
So who called the DOD? One of the other bar patrons? A friend of the guy Sonny accosted? He shook his head. Most people don't like to get involved in something like that. Neither of those felt right for some reason.
Bartender? Bar owner or manager? He shakes his head, believing neither possibility was the answer. As he'd walked back towards Rebecca, he'd seen the bartenders continue working as if nothing had happened. If there had been a manager present, they hadn't made themselves known either. Spenser could only see the manager caring if the confrontation had caused damage to the bar or had disrupted business for much longer.
Then who?
Despite the heat, a shiver runs down his spine when his mind conjures up a new possibility that stops him in his tracks – Rebecca.
Rebecca?
No. No, it can't be…
Can it?
He moves to lean against the nearest wall and closes his eyes. Slowly inhaling and exhaling in an attempt to calm his racing heart, Clay forces himself to go through every moment of that night in the bar, trying to come up with someone, anyone else who could've called the DOD.
But then a quote from a Sherlock Holmes story he read as a kid flashes through his mind: "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."
And the truth is that Rebecca had to have been the one to call the DOD. He can't think of any other possibilities that make sense.
Still, he finds himself resisting the idea, even though his gut is telling him otherwise. Resisting the idea because he can't fathom why Rebecca would do such a thing.
Or, maybe he could.
Rebecca likes power – gaining it and using it. It had occurred to him more than once that the networking, the cultivating contacts wasn't always to benefit her employer. He was starting to think everything she does was for her own benefit in order to gain more power, a better position.
Clay remembered her eyes lighting up, and looking pleased with herself, when Congressman Suzuki had called them D.C.'s new power couple. When he had jokingly mentioned it again, she had basically referred to them as possible future successors of John and Jackie Kennedy. At the time, he thought Rebecca was also joking, but…maybe…she wasn't.
He should've realized from the beginning how determined Rebecca is to succeed by any means possible. She's been encouraging him to step out onto that bigger stage, to be more than a pipe hitter or door kicker – not that she'd know the difference. Just like she couldn't seem to figure out the difference between a soldier and a sailor. Something so basic to his existence, and she couldn't be bothered to realize there was a difference. It seemed she used his position in order to increase her profile among peers and heavyweights, including divulging information to the Congressman that could have led to him getting a reprimand from Lindell.
Granted, he had imagined himself on a bigger stage more than once; something which dated all the way back to before he'd started seriously dating Stella, but eventually he had thought that meant leading his own team one day. Being with Rebecca had re-ignited that desire for more after everything that happened in Yemen with Ambassador Marsden, who had sacrificed everything to make a difference on a global stage.
Yet, ever since he'd started dating Rebecca, she had been pushing him towards her version of making a difference. And in continuing on that path, he had been missing out more and more in interacting with Bravo. It had opened up a divide between him and his brothers. One that had only increased when Thirty Mike had outed his decision to go the STA-21 route Lindell had offered him. They treated him like a traitor, and once he left, it was only a matter of time before he moved on and they forgot about him just as they had so easily forgotten about Vic Lopez. Now he was wondering if her version of success was the one he truly wanted. More and more doubts were springing up in his mind the longer his theory continued to bounce around inside his head.
He briefly closed his eyes and shook his head dislodging that train of thought. Despite it feeling right, he still wanted to have more proof than what his gut was telling him. Besides, he didn't think Sonny would believe him without proof, and even with it, Clay feared he would still be blamed for the whole thing. More than likely, it would just cement the rift between him and Sonny and create and even bigger one between him and Jason.
As he started walking again, this time heading towards his quarters, Clay started working the problem. By the time he'd reached quarters, he'd had an idea.
A friend of his from BUDS, who had received a career-ending injury with the SEALs, was currently assigned to the Pentagon. Perhaps Parker could help him get the proof he needed. Given the lack of privacy, especially with Thirty so willing to eavesdrop and divulge private information, Clay had to exercise caution when contacting Tony the Tiger.
Given the time difference and their jobs, an email would have to do in order to get things going. Only then would he be able to figure out his next move.
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Five days.
Five days of waiting for an answer once he and Parker had connected for an online chat. Five days of continuing to be rebuffed by Sonny and mostly ignored when off mission by Jason.
If he was honest with himself he had been kind of dreading what the response would be.
And now, it was time to find out.
Spenser had been asleep when he'd gotten a text which simply said – encoming. The word "incoming" had been misspelled on purpose to clue him in as to how the information would be sent his way. In this case, it would be sent via email. His friend had said he would see what he could do, Tony still feeling like he owed Clay for introducing him to his wife of five years. The rules regarding the handling of complaints didn't allow for much leeway, but if possible Tony would try to get him some answers. It seemed Parker had come through for him, and now he owed Tony the Tiger and his tigress a night out.
It's nearly 12 hours after he'd received the text from Parker before he could check his email. Their rec room was out because Thirty was there playing some video game, and he'd learned his lesson about doing anything related to his personal life around the nosy, inconsiderate dick if he didn't want it broadcast all over base. Clay had checked into some other possibilities for some privacy and settled for quarters, which was occupied by Trent who had his earphones in and was watching something on his computer. Aside from being alone, Spenser thought this the best case scenario and got out his own laptop.
In his inbox, there is an email from a one-time use email address with an audio file attached to it. He grabs his earphones from one of his pockets and plugs them in so he can listen without being overheard.
It's not a recording of the actual complaint call, but it is the initial conversation where the person had asked to be transferred to the right department. The audio file is barely 12 seconds long, but it's enough for him to recognize the voice. And, if that hadn't been enough, the use of the word "soldier" instead of "sailor" is more than sufficient evidence for him to know he was right about who turned Sonny into the DOD.
In his mind, he hadn't outwardly reacted to the confirmation of his theory, but apparently that wasn't the case in real life, because Trent was suddenly there beside him asking him if he was alright.
Feeling a bit shaky, Clay closed the lid of his laptop, took out his earphones as he looked up at Trent, and said, "M-migraine. It just, uh, hit, uh, all of a s-sudden. My head…"
Clay closed his eyes and swallowed the lump in his throat, hoping the older man would buy his story, which honestly wasn't all the far off from the truth. His head wasn't feeling all that great at the moment. It just wasn't a migraine that was causing him problems.
Trent looked doubtful, but advised him to immediately get some meds followed by rest. Clay nodded, set the laptop down next to his chair, and got to his feet, wobbling slightly as he felt a little shaky because of the implications of what he'd recently learned.
He felt a hand on his shoulder, forcing him to sit back down. "I'll go get you something. You stay put."
"Thanks, brother."
Clay closed his eyes once again and leaned his head back against the wall as Trent made his way out of the room. When the door opened, the overhead lights suddenly went out and the small lamp they kept for those going to bed late was turned on.
Once the door was closed again, Clay opened his eyes and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and running his hands through his hair several times, thinking about the audio file on his laptop. He had wanted confirmation, and now that he had proof of what Rebecca had done, he didn't know what to do with it.
Knowing Trent would be back any minute, Clay reached down and unlaced his boots. Once they were off and stowed away along with his laptop, he got into his bunk and turned to face the wall, closing his eyes and focusing on breathing evenly so he wouldn't scream and yell out his frustrations to an empty room.
The more he thought about it, the more it really didn't matter that he had proof. It didn't really change anything about this deployment. Sonny was still back in the States for armory school, and wouldn't talk to him. Jason still couldn't, or wouldn't, forgive him for wanting to go the STA-21 route. Ray understood his reasons for wanting to move on. Brock and Trent were pretty much 'live and let live' kind of guys and didn't treat him too much like a traitor, but he could also tell they didn't think much of his leaving the team to be a cake eater. And Thirty Mike was still a dick. He had a feeling it would be about as useless to tell the team who had turned Sonny in to the DOD as it was to have a chocolate teapot, to paraphrase something his grandmother used to say.
No, the only thing that changed was his relationship with Rebecca. She'd betrayed him by using his friendship with Sonny for her own gains – in this case, to further isolate Clay from Bravo and use him to further increase her standing.
He wasn't like the other wannabes in D.C. jockeying for power. All he wanted was to have an impact on the world, and being on the STA-21 path seemed to be the way to do it someday in the future. But he wasn't so focused on that goal that he would start betraying his beliefs or betraying his brothers in the SEALs. Something Sonny said while they were in Yemen floats through his mind: Ambition is a dirty word. It was obvious Rebecca was all too fond of that word.
His thoughts were whirling around and around inside his head at what seemed supersonic speeds and seemed to want to make his recent lie about having a migraine the truth, so he was thankful when Trent returned with the meds. Clay thanked Trent and swallowed down the meds with half a bottle of water before lying back down again.
Given Rebecca's betrayal, he knew what he had to do, but he also knew he would have to engineer an amicable breakup so he wouldn't jeopardize the progress he'd made regarding getting more recognition for TBI's among veterans. There would be no accusations, no animosity, but rather a gradual distancing that will hopefully soon lead to a breakup with Rebecca.
As he began making plans to end things with Rebecca, Clay felt the meds he'd taken start to work, and his mind was finally slowing down bit by bit. At one point, he thought he heard Brock and Cerberus enter quarters and Trent ask them to keep it down, but he must of fallen asleep before he could hear their reply.
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Story Notes:
The opening quote was taken from episode 3.16, which was written by Stephen Gasper and Dana Greenblatt.
The Sherlock Holmes quote comes from the story The Sign of Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Congressman Suzuki was introduced in episode 3.11 "Siege Protocol: Part 1" as the Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
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The end.
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Many thanks to Celticgal1041 for proofing. Any remaining mistakes are my fault.
Thanks for reading!
*Please do not repost or use this or any of my other works on another site or app without my knowledge or consent. FanFiction and Archive of Our Own are the only two sites (as AZGirl on both) where my fiction should be posted. Thank you!