Chapter five,
the most trusted intelligence, is the intelligence you gather yourself. You know where it has come from and you know how reliable the source is.
When Michael had told him to sweep for bugs Sam had done as he was ordered. He had made sure that the house was completely clean. Then he had got out his own set of listening devices and bugged Michael's bedroom.
Michael was his friend, he trusted him with his life. However Michael didn't always know when to stop, he could get carried away in the moment and his moral compass could fail. As much as he hated it sometimes Mikey needed someone to pull him up.
Fiona had gone all around the house checking window and door locks. She placed guns in strategic spots, and made sure the was no areas where an enemy could take cover. She also made sure escape exits were kept clear. As part of this task she cleared Michael's bedroom searching for any place he might be hiding something they needed to see.
Michael sometimes didn't realise he had a problem sharing. Heaven forbid any of them tried to hide something from him. He had an insatiable need to know everything. Want to cause Michael anxiety? Try and keep him in the dark.
Jesse spent his time making sure all the movement activated lights they had put in place outside weeks ago still worked properly, and then cut back any foliage that obstructed the view of the street. Afterwards he ran Madeline to the supermarket to stock up on all the essentials, including first aid.
Michael got back to find the lock down on his mother's house completed, it was only ten am. He was impressed. He noticed how tidy his room was and when nobody was looking he did his own search for bugs. He smiled when he found two of Sam's listening devices. He guessed one of them would of also checked out his hiding places. It didn't matter, when he left he took the cell and the card with him.
"These yours?" He asked Sam dropping the bugs onto the kitchen counter.
Sam at least had the decency to look ashamed. "Yeah they're mine. But, I wouldn't have to do it if you let us in on your plan." He justified his actions.
"Ok," he drawled. "What do you want to know?" He lent back against the counter.
"What the hell are you up to for a start." Michael raised an eyebrow. "Oh don't give me that look." Sam continued. "You're up to something you know we'll disagree with or you're ashamed of."
"It's complicated Sam, oh I know that's no excuse." He stopped as Jesse came inside.
The younger man looked at the other two and realised he had interrupted something. "You need me to leave?" He asked. "It's just Fiona wants to set up trip wires and I'm worried about her blowing up one of the neighbours."
"I best go deal with this." Michael started for the door.
"Mike we need to talk about this. Soon brother." Sam shouted to Michael's back.
It was one pm and Vaughn had been working none stop all morning since his meeting with Michael Westen. That man had caused him so much trouble it was unbelievable. He was still writing reports on the fiasco over losing control of the man for six weeks. Westen in enemy hands for five weeks and then he only realises something is wrong when he meets him in the flesh. That took a lot of explaining. Then the was the two "do good" medics who had put the damn man back together. He admitted blowing up a very small chunk of Miami real estate was wrong, but they deserved it. Wasn't his job hard enough without civilians interfering.
He was jerked out of his mood by the soft putting sound of gunfire muffled by silencers. Nobody would be so stupid as to attack his people in a five star hotel penthouse suite. He got to his feet, hand on his gun when the door was blasted of it's hinges. Four figures came in, dressed in black combat gear and Vaughn died, shot to death before he could finish drawing his own weapon.
All of the shooters now made their way round the room gathering as much paperwork as they could find. Vaughn's computer went into a bag as did his cell phone. Another man stood in the doorway, dressed in a nice suit, watching the other men work, a cheerful grin on his face. This was a very profitable day for him.
A laptop, tons of paperwork, a cellphone all to sell to the highest bidder, and he was one step closer to having Michael Westen willingly work for him. A very good day indeed and it was still only lunchtime. He opened his own cell hitting the speed dial.
"Michael. How are you?"
"Is it done?" Came the curt reply.
"Manners Michael. Yes it's done."
"That was fast work scouting the Hotel."
"I'm a professional. You remember how that goes don't you. Time is money."
"I remember. I still need that other piece of information?"
"Reid Ottoman, is the new head of special operations at Drake Industries. Not a nice man worked for the CIA for a while. Interrogation specialist."
Those words chilled Michael's soul "Thanks when do you want to meet?" He hoped he had hidden his fear.
"Tomorrow at that dump you call an apartment. Ten o clock suit you?"
"I'll be there."
"Oh Michael, no tricks. You came to me. Remember that and keep up your end of the deal."
"I'll remember." He hung up. Sliding the phone into his pocket.
Michael had gone into his bedroom as soon as his cell had rung, not realising Sam had hidden four bugs in total in his small room. Anyone else Sam would of said four was overkill. But he had expected some of them to be found.
Sam sat in his own room listening to Michael's side of the conversation. Something had been done at a hotel, and the person who had done it had given Michael another piece of information, and they would be meeting soon. Not a lot to be going on with. However Sam now turned on his police scanner. He figured that whatever happened at the hotel would involve the cops.
Sam didn't have long to wait. A fire alarm had been triggered in a penthouse suite at one of the premier hotels on Miami beach. When one the managers went to check he found five dead bodies and a door blown off it's hinges. As Sam listened in he felt a moment of dread. Michael had definitely gone too far this time. They would be sure to kill him for this. He had recognised Vaughn's description and knew probably before the cops would have time to start a full investigation it would be taken off them and the crime would disappear. Probably along with Michael, and depending on how badly they wanted to make an example, all of them too.
He turned round, he hadn't heard his bedroom door open, but Fiona stood in the door way. One look at her face told Sam she had heard everything.
"Where is he?" She asked. Already, Sam could see how this was going to go. He was angry himself, but Fiona looked more furious than he had ever seen her.
"Fi-" He started to try and calm her down, she looked ready to blow.
She turned away abruptly, stalking off, Sam came after her. "Fiona, if you tear into him he'll-"
She had spotted him, chatting with his mother and drinking coffee. Not looking like a man who had just ruined everything.
The cup of coffee went flying as Fiona dragged Michael around by his arm, she brought a fist up and hit him hard on the side of the jaw. Stunned Michael fell back and his arms were still down when she hit him again this time bending him double. It was not clear if she had remembered his bruised ribs or not. Hearing his gasp of pain did not stop the onslaught.
While Fiona continued to try and hurt Michael, Sam grabbed Madeline pulling her out of the danger zone.
"Sam stop them!" Madeline had never seen her son and his girlfriend act like this. Sam had and knew better than try and get between them.
Michael had taken several blows and she still wouldn't give up, she was now swearing in between breathes. He made a grab for her, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her in close. She stamped on his instep and slipped out of his grip. They faced each other now.
Sam escorted Madeline out of the back door, "It'll be safer out here for a while." Sam told her. "I'll make sure they don't destroy your house."
"What's he done Sam?" She wanted to know.
Sam could hear Michael's angry voice, but not clear enough to make out the words. "I better get back in there." He left her stood in her own back yard.
Inside the fight had stopped at least for now.
"How could you do it without even discussing it with us?" She accused.
"What Fi?" Michael was angry and sore. A bruise was already coming out on his jaw, and he stood slightly hunched protecting his ribs.
"Vaughn." She hissed the name out.
"What about him?" He tried to bluff.
"Dead. Shot along with his bodyguards. In his private suite." She spat out each short sentence.
Michael glanced quickly at Sam who had just come back into the room. Then turned his attention back to Fiona.
"More bugs Sam?" It wasn't really a question. Michael moved slowly away from the kitchen counter he wanted more room in case he needed to escape and evade. He kept his eyes on Fiona.
"You do know they'll kill you for this, it's not like Carla. That at least looked like you were cleaning up their mess. This, with Vaughn was an attack. Mikey we can't take them all on." Sam growled.
"We don't have to. I have a plan."
"You going to share this plan." Fiona asked, but the way she tensed meant she was silently adding you better.
"It's complicated," he said softly.
She didn't wait for more, two quick steps and she was in range. A swing of her hips and a leg shot up in a roundhouse kick. If it had landed it would of probably taken his head off. But Michael blocked it, slid an arm over and around the leg trapping it against his side. Then a quick move sent an already off balance Fiona sprawling on the floor.
"Fi, stop it now." Michael's voice was hard. He was warning her. He took a deep breathe.
"The plan is complicated. You're right Sam neither of you is going to like it. But it's the only way I can keep you all safe. When it's over you'll see I'm right."
"So what you're saying is you're not going to tell us damn thing." Sam's eyes blazed.
"You'd try and stop me if I did." Michael tried a smile. They were both so angry he wasn't sure they would stay.
The was an uncomfortable silence, Fiona got to her feet, she moved to stand next to Sam.
"How can we help you, if you don't tell us what is going on?" She asked.
"By staying here and doing what you've been doing protecting my mom."
"We didn't get you back to lose you again." Sam said.
"I'm not going anywhere. Well actually I am, I'm going back to the loft. The next few days will be," he paused thinking of the right word. "Tricky." He came up with.
"Tricky!" Fiona repeated.
"Tricky, yes that's the right word. If things go as planned it will be over with -" He took his eyes of Fiona as Jesse had quietly slid into the room.
"Er Maddie asked me to come and check, she was worried it had gone quiet?" He noticed the coffee on the floor, Micheal's bruised face and the wary way they were all staring at each other.
"It's ok Jesse." Michael said, relaxing his stance. "I'm going to go back to the loft for the next couple of days. You can take me over there now."
He was effectively cutting Sam and Fiona out. He could see the hurt on their faces. He would make it up to them later. He told himself.
Most of his stuff was at the loft anyway so he was ready to go straight away. Madeline tried to talk to him but he brushed her aside. Jesse looked confused by the whole episode, but he left with Michael hoping to get some answers out of him.
"What are we going to do?" Fiona asked as she watched Michael drive away.
"I think we get those business cards out again. He kept the number of nearly everyone he 's come into contact with. The has to be one missing we need to figure out who it is."
Fiona sighed "I hate research."
Jesse parked his car up behind Michael's charger. As he went to open the door Michael dropped a business card on his lap. He looked at it, recognising the name.
"What I'd like to know is how long have you been working for him."Michael had a strange tight smile on his face. He also had a knife gently touching Jesse's side.
"You see, somebody must of told him about the hand off to Barret. And when Sam and Fi couldn't get me out and were beginning to give up. You appear with all the right information to put them back on track." Michael was calm, but the knife was digging in a little more.
"Mike, you're wrong-"
"No I'm not Jesse. Don't treat me like an idiot. Now unless you want me put this knife into you answer the damn question."
"Ok then you want to know what happened." Jesse's temper rose. "While I was waiting for you to come up with something on the name in that bible. I had a visitor, he told me that pretty soon you were going to turn up with some long lost intelligence that would solve everything. He told me you knew who Simon Escher was you had even worked with him. Diverting an aircraft, blowing up a hotel, causing a major car pile up. Then you turned up with that folder, just like he said you would. I saw him later on, he told me that you were the one that burnt me, and you were using me to get information for your boss. That you worked for some secret black op agency. He also told me my old boss had given Fiona information that could've help prove my innocence. Any of this ring true?"
"So what. You set me up. Try to kill me. Then have a change of heart?"
"I came back because I was sorry about what I had done. After he got the briefcase he threw a load of money at me. Thanked me for a job well done. Made me feel like a – well you know. So I started my own investigation, I saw who took you. So I had a better start than Sam and Fi. I only went to them when I was pretty sure I couldn't do any more on my own." He risked moving slightly. "I haven't seen him since, I am trying to make up for what I did."
Michael looked at Jesse, part of him wanted to kill him. Michael was listening to that part a lot more now a days. He felt the urge to plunge the knife into the younger man, the traitor. He reigned it in. He removed the knife from Jesse's side and opened the car door.
"I appreciate what you're doing, I'd like you to keep it up. But for your own safety you had better stay away from me at least for a little while." He left the car slamming the door. He spoke through the window. "It would be best for you not to mention you know who the mystery man is with the bible to either Fi or Sam." Jesse watched him climb the stairs before driving off.