Two-Way Street

Chapter 3:

Mike let out a long breath and nearly fell to his knees at the sight of his boss. His briefcase slipped from limp fingers to clatter dully to the floor.

Harvey, on the other hand, was looking at him oddly, brows furrowed in confusion at finding his associate in his office and not at his desk completing the work Harvey had instructed him to do.

"Mike, what are you doing in here?" he asked slowly, appraising the fallen briefcase disapprovingly.

Before answering, Mike looked over Harvey's shoulder at the impatient officers and a pleading Louis still at his cubicle. He might be able to make it after all if the officers decided to leave.

"Mike," Harvey intoned.

The younger of the two officers suddenly looked up into Harvey's office as he lazily scanned the room and Mike ducked in front of Harvey.

"What's wrong with you?" Harvey demanded, taking a step back away from the kid cowering before him. His voice turned sharp. "Are you high?"

"No, no," Mike said hurriedly, quietly, keeping Harvey between him and anyone looking in from outside. He gripped Harvey's sleeves with still shaking fingers and pulled him towards his desk. "Act normal, and don't look back. Please," he pleaded as he slowly backed towards the desk, pulling Harvey with him. A swift kick to his briefcase sent it spinning away to the far wall where it became indistinguishable against a shelf of books and boxes of files.

Harvey continued to stare at him oddly but didn't argue. Slowly, the two made it to the desk. Mike dropped down abruptly to sit in front of the drawers, keeping the desk between himself and the glass windows of Harvey's office, as Harvey took his place inconspicuously at his chair. Mike leaned heavily against the desk, trying to calm his breathing and keep his hands from shaking. He had no idea being hunted could feel so terrifying and exhilarating.

Harvey cooperated beautifully, keeping his eyes down as he opened his file, sensing his associate's distress and willing to play innocent in order to hear his story.

"What's going on?" he asked in a low whisper, lips barely moving to appear as if he were mumbling to himself rather than talking to the man hiding beside him.

"The police are here," Mike answered solemnly, fear and weariness dispelling his usual sarcastic levity.

Harvey gave a start but swiftly regained composure. "What?"

"Louis called them apparently," Mike continued, not bothering to hide the disgust in his voice.

Harvey tensed at the mention of the greasy man. "Why?" He shifted a hard stare to Mike. "Are you still taking?"

"No," Mike protested desperately. "I swear. I'm clean. I was clean during the drug test too, otherwise I would have been fired by now."

Harvey eased back, lightly flipping through the file.

"They're at my cubicle," Mike added, sinking heavily against the desk in defeat.

He noticed Harvey glance up with a blink and then, within the next blink, his eyes had returned to the file. A hard frown was on his lips.

"I think Louis figured it out," Mike said in a meek whisper. "I think he knows and called the police to take me out."

"How?" Harvey asked, tone still hard and unwavering.

"I don't know," Mike answered honestly, his voice the complete antithesis of Harvey's.

"You said your girlfriend put you in Harvard's records, right?"

"Yeah. And she's not my girlfriend."

"Good. Then we have a trump card against Louis. He doesn't have the proof."

"But that doesn't explain how he found out."

"An anonymous tip most likely," Harvey shrugged impassively.

"You think it was someone from the firm?" Mike asked, looking up at Harvey, hurt at being betrayed by a fellow employee swirling in his eyes.

"Does that surprise you?"

Mike looked away in contemplation. "Yes."

Harvey arched a brow.

"I mean, I know I'm not exactly anyone's best friend around here but I didn't think someone would turn against me like this."

Harvey sighed at the kid's limitless naiveté. "You're a threat." He ignored Mike's dismayed and appalled look. "Someone is just trying to remove you out of their way."

Mike looked back down at his hands, eyes wide as he tried to comprehend Harvey's words. Someone had told Louis about his secret for the sole purpose of self-preservation. Granted, Mike had done his fair share of selfish actions but never to cause harm to someone else.

Lost in his thoughts, Mike didn't notice Harvey's eyes on him as the older man took in the bewildered expression on Mike's face. The kid wasn't dealing with betrayal well.

"Maybe it wasn't someone from the firm," he offered with a shrug.

"Who else?" The question came out hollow.

An answer came to mind but Harvey didn't dare say it allowed. If the kid got all broken up about learning someone betraying him in the firm, who knew what would happen if –

"Trevor," Mike said aloud.

Harvey flinched and looked down at the disbelief in Mike's eyes. "You think Trevor told someone I never went to Harvard."

"I'm merely counting the suspects," Harvey explained calmly. "You shouldn't be biased. It clouds judgment."

Mike ran a hand through his hair. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the desk drawers. Harvey noticed that his hands were still shaking but he doubted it was caused from the adrenaline of the hunt.

"Not Trevor," Mike said at last with decision. "He's done a lot I'm not proud of, but he wouldn't rat me out."

Harvey nodded half-heartedly without conviction. "Whoever it was is only making my life more difficult. Figures Louis would call the police. He always was an extremist."

"I'm sorry," Mike whispered, rubbing at his eyes.

"It's not your fault," Harvey answered, voice soft. "Well, maybe a little. But then it's as much my fault as yours. We both lied."

Mike was silent, thoughts racing. He reached a somber decision and looked up sadly at Harvey. Before speaking, however, his eyes hardened with determination.

"No," he said firmly, "I lied."

Harvey stiffened and looked down at him, disregarding the file in his hands. "What?"

"I lied. I told you I was a Harvard graduate and you believed me. You liked me and decided not to run a background check. You took my word for it and my word was a lie. You didn't know. It's not your fault."

"Michael, what are you talking about?" Harvey said with quiet force. His attention was solely focused on the boy sitting at his side, piercing dark eyes searching crystalline blue.

"I'm talking about only me getting the blame."

"No," Harvey answered steely. "I knew the risks and I took them anyway."

For a second, the determination in Mike wavered and, for that second, Harvey could see the fear and apology swimming in his eyes.

"Listen, this is the only way to keep you out of the blame," Mike insisted. He took a deep breath for courage. "If they catch me, and I'm sure they will with Louis leading the cavalry, then I'm going down. It's not enough for jail but I know I'm going to get fired." His fierce stare burned into Harvey. "I don't want you to go down with me." He looked away again, staring down at his fidgeting hands. Harvey watched him silently. "I don't want you getting in trouble too. You have a career here, a life. I don't think you can live another one."

Harvey opened his mouth to interrupt but Mike didn't allow him the opportunity "I have another life. I can adjust if I lose this one. Hell, I can even start a new one, fresh, without Trevor or pot." He looked up at Harvey, wry amusement bringing a small smile. "I don't think you could start over, even if you wanted to. No way could you get another job. Even Jessica has a hard time tolerating you."

Harvey allowed a chuckle to escape his lips, the unbidden smile fading as fast as it came.

Mike sobered. "You, this is your life. You belong here. You do good here. Me? This was a dream come true, but it's time to wake up."

"Let me get this straight," Harvey said, refusing to look away from Mike; staring hard at his associate until he looked up to meet his gaze. "You're willing to lie, to put all the blame on yourself, to protect me?"

"Yes," Mike said with absolute resolute.

Harvey leaned back, amazement crossing his features. "My god, I actually believe you."

"I know it may only be a one way street," Mike chuckled dryly. "But I happen to care about you. I don't want your life to be ruined because of me."

Harvey glanced down at Mike, noted the warm smile, and then looked away again, leaning forward to rest his chin on his steepled fingers. That was when he noticed the officers coming towards his office, Louis leading the way.

"Shit."

"What?"

"They're coming."

Mike sighed submissively and straightened. He had come to Harvey's office to hide, like a coward; depending on Harvey to protect him. But the police were coming and if he continued to hide and Harvey tried to cover him, then Harvey would be punished too. He had to turn himself in, give himself up before Harvey became any more involved. That way, there would be a greater chance of keeping Harvey out of trouble. If had been only a matter of time before someone learned of Mike's secret anyway. It seemed the time had come.

"Let's get this over with," Mike said. He met Harvey's eyes one last time. "I'm glad to have met you. Thanks for everything." He started to stand, his head nearly clearing the top of the desk, when Harvey reached out a hand, grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back down.

Mike gasped in surprise but Harvey ignored him. He moved his chair away and pointed to the space underneath his desk with his foot. "Get under there."

"What?" Mike asked, rubbing his neck.

Harvey's foot kicked his arm, eliciting a hiss of pain. "Get under there now and don't make a sound."

"Harvey, I appreciate the gesture, but I've made my choice. I-" Before he could say more, the file Harvey had been looking at dropped to the floor beside Mike. Mike stared at the fallen file curiously but reached out to retrieve it. The moment his focus and balance shifted, Harvey bent down and shoved him under the desk, despite his protests. Then, Harvey casually picked up the file and moved his chair back to his desk, trapping Mike between the enclosed space under his desk and his feet.

"Harvey, let me out," Mike hissed angrily, beating at his boss' shoes.

"Shut up," Harvey shot back without heat.

"Why are you doing this?" Mike's voice filtered from under the desk, anger and frustration making his voice raw.

Harvey calmly opened the folder back up, paying no heed to the officers outside his door.

"Because it's not a one-way street."

Mike silenced.

Louis opened the door.

Harvey looked up in surprise and smiled starkly in greeting at the greasy man and the two officers tailing him.

._._._._._._.

Yes, another cliffhanger. How could I resist?

Well, now you got to see what Harvey said and did. I know that's what most of you were waiting for and wanting to know.

Note: I know Harvey's desk is open in the front but since this is a "what-if" fic I made his desk look like Rachel's: closed in the front but a space for the feet underneath.

As the chapter title suggests, both Harvey and Mike are doing the protecting. I figure at this point in the show, if Mike's secret was compromised, he wouldn't try to drag Harvey down with him like he hinted he would in the first episode. I'm sure he would try to keep Harvey as little involved as possible. Because he does care about Harvey. And we all know Harvey cares about him too.

So, there's an angry Louis with two police officers in Harvey's office and Harvey has a hidden Mike under his desk. (Note: this is not a slash in case you had any thoughts).

What will happen next? Well, you'll have to wait to find out.

Until next time,
Hobey-Ho