A/N: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed this story or added it to their story alerts. It's nice to know that people are enjoying this story. I genuinely appreciate all of the feedback.

Disclaimer: I only own Alannah.

"I'll stand, thank you," Mike replied as he stepped a tad bit further into Alannah's office.

Alannah nodded as she reclaimed her seat behind her desk. It made no real difference to her whether or not he sat, but she took a mental note that Harvey's associate was clever enough to find a way to show just exactly where his loyalties were without saying it outright.

She leaned back in her chair, "I'm sure Harvey has told you all about my less than cordial exit from the firm five years ago."

Mike shrugged, "He may have mentioned it in passing."

Alannah matched his nonchalant tone of voice, "In passing, huh? Did he also mention that Daniel Hardman is absolutely toxic for this firm and I fully intend to get him out of here as fast as possible? Did he mention that Daniel is not to be trusted under any circumstances? Did he mention that as Harvey's handpicked associate, you are on Daniel's radar even though you had absolutely nothing to do with what happened between all of us five years ago?" Alannah paused for a moment and when he shook his head, she continued, "No? Well, he should have. Daniel is gunning for anyone who has any sort of loyalty to Jessica and Harvey. Nobody is safe and everyone is expendable."

He walked closer to her desk, but still didn't sit, "Why are you telling me this?"

The older woman ran a hand through her hair before answering, "You're the only one who is about to be caught up in this war that didn't know me when the first shots were fired. As such, I believe that you're the only one involved who can look at my actions objectively. Jessica is emotionally involved and, even though he likes to pretend he has no heart, Harvey is too. There will be times that Harvey isn't going to like my suggestions simply because he doesn't like me. All I want from you is to insert some objectivity every now and then into a volatile situation."

"That's it?" Mike asked.

"I see Harvey's already taught you to question everything." Alannah observed with a laugh, "That's it, I promise. Contrary to what James Bond and Miss Moneypenny would have you believe, I'm not the devil's reincarnate. Now, don't panic, but Donna just saw you in here talking to me. I expect Harvey to be here soon."

"What?" Alarm flashed across his face, "I should g-"

"Stay," she commanded as she stood, "I'll handle this."

"No, really." Mike gestured towards the door, "I can just go back to the bullpen."

"Mike, you know how they call Harvey a closer?" He nodded and she smiled as she pointed at her couch, " Well, I'm a fixer and not only am I damn good at what I do, but Harvey doesn't scare me. Never has. Take a seat and watch how Mommy and Daddy handle adult business."

Harvey stormed into Alannah's office without waiting for any approval from her. Alannah sat on the edge of her desk as she said, "I do realize the walls and door are made of glass, but you really should try knocking. Especially when I'm with an associate."

"My associate." Harvey corrected.

"Nice to see you're still incredibly territorial, Specter." She turned towards Mike, "Remind me to tell you about the time he tried to have Jessica place me on probation because I borrowed his Coltrane record."

Mike turned his gaze towards Harvey, "Seriously?"

"It was a limited edition," he defended.

She rolled her eyes, "That I bought him for his birthday, but he likes to leave that part out of the story."

Harvey turned towards Mike, "She loaned it to her brother so he could impress a jazz musician and get laid."

"What can I say?" Alannah shrugged, "In addition to being a good sister, I'm also one hell of a wing woman. You should know that from personal experience, Harvey."

Harvey's gaze met hers, "There are a lot of things I know about you from personal experience."

"Relax, Harvey. Word on the street is that Mike here proofs briefs faster than any other associate down in the bullpen." She picked up the briefs and tossed them to the associate, "You can go now, Mike. I'm going to lunch with a client and then I'll be out of the office for the rest of the day. Just get those to me by noon tomorrow."

Mike glanced over at Harvey at her request. Harvey gave a slight nod that Alannah would have missed if she hadn't been looking for it. Mike got up from his spot on the couch, grabbed the briefs, and exited her office. She noticed that he headed in the direction of Harvey's office instead of toward the bullpen.

Alannah laughed as she sat back down at her desk, "Did he really just look at you for permission to get out of my office? Tell me, does he sit, roll over, and play fetch too?"

Harvey stuck his hands in his pocket, "Keep your hands off my associate."

"Calm down, Harvey." She leaned across her desk, "It's not that type of party. I learned my lesson about interoffice romances."

His face hardened at the reminder of her affair with Daniel, "That's not what I meant."

"I know. Don't worry, Harvey. I have no use for your associate other than what we've just accomplished."

"And what exactly is that?"

The slightly younger woman smirked, "Everyone just witnessed you storm into my office and are watching us have a rather heated conversation. I'm not the only one that's on Daniel's side in this firm. It's going to get back to him that you and I can't get along. Considering how close we used to be, that'll be music to Daniel's ears."

At this, Harvey stalked over to her desk and leaned over it until they were face to face, "I'm not someone you want to try to manipulate, Alannah. I'm not the same man you knew five years ago. I don't just beat my opponents, I crush them. This isn't a game that you want to play."

Alannah resisted the urge to flinch, "I'm not your opponent, Harvey. We're on the same side."

He shook his head, "I'm not fully convinced of that and until I am, you'd better tread lightly."

Before she could respond, he turned and exited her office.

The door to Harvey's office barely closed before he asked Mike, "What did she say to you?"

"She asked me to give an unbiased opinion about her suggestions for getting Daniel out of this firm since you might be inclined to shoot them down because you hate her." Mike answered without hesitation.

Disbelief flashed across his face, "And that's it?"

"Yeah," Mike replied and then asked, "If she's Hardman's mistress than why does she want him out of the firm?"

"The reason she gave was a bunch of emotional bullshit that I don't believe and doesn't really matter. I don't trust her and you shouldn't either." He pointed to the documents Mike had in his hand, "Proof those briefs for her and then try to stay as far away from her as humanly possible. I'm giving you permission to tell her no to whatever else she asks of you. If she has a problem with it, I'll handle it."

Mike stood from his spot on the couch and started for the door before stopping, "There's another thing, Harvey."

Harvey sat at his desk before answering, "What?"

"Right before you came in, she said that she was a fixer. What does that mean?" Mike inquired.

"She's a mediation specialist. She takes dueling parties and gets them to compromise and maintain their working relationships," Harvey answered.

"I thought the goal was to win."

Harvey leaned back in his chair, "It is, but, depending on the lawyer, there are different ways to win. Every lawyer has their forte. Louis is a financial expert. I'm a closer. Alannah is a fixer." He picked up a pen and began toying with it, "Let me put it this way, when two parties have a working relationship, Alannah is who you go to for couple's therapy. I'm who you go to for the divorce."

Mike crossed his arms, "Is that even profitable?"

"Considering that with every case she takes on, she's got two clients she can bill instead of one?" Harvey shot back.

"Okay. Stupid question," he yielded, "What happens if mediation fails?"

"It doesn't." Harvey sighed, seemingly bored with this conversation, "Not when she's the lawyer handling the mediation."

"Come on, Harvey." Mike crossed the room and sat down at a chair across from him, "She's got to fail at some point."

"Do I fail, Mike, or do I find a way to get my clients the upper hand even if I can't get them what they originally wanted?" He paused for a second before continuing, "Let me make something very clear, I do not trust that woman. I do not like that woman. I want her and Hardman as far away from this firm as humanly possible. That, however, does not mean that I cannot acknowledge that she is a phenomenal lawyer. She is the best at what she does."

Mike grinned, "Is she better than you?"

Harvey glared, "Don't be ridiculous. Nobody's better than me."

Alannah walked into the small bistro that operated a few blocks away from the Pearson Hardman building. She smiled when she saw her party was already waiting for her at their usual table.

As soon as she pulled out her chair, he asked, "Well?"

"Everything is in place," she assured him. "Jessica is tentatively on board. Harvey is a little more skeptical. That's to be expected given our past."

Daniel smiled, "Of course. How do you plan on changing that?"

"If I give Jessica a few good tips on staying ahead of you, she'll be fine." She flipped her hair over her shoulder, "As for Harvey? I figure I'll try and pick up where we left off all those years ago."

"He'll never go for that. Not after the way you burned him last time." Daniel pointed out.

"I know," she agreed, "But it'll throw him off his game. His ego is big enough to believe that I've been pining after him all these years. Especially once I get close to Donna again and plant those seeds in her head. We'll have them out of the firm within a year."

"And when we do, I'll do everything in my power to make sure you're promoted to Harvey's senior partner position," he vowed.

"Excellent." She laughed, "I'll definitely enjoy rubbing that in his face."

"We both will." Daniel laughed along with her and then stopped abruptly, "Thank you, Alannah."

"No need for thanks, Daniel." Alannah placed her hand over hers, "We both have something to gain here."

He gave her hand a small squeeze, "That's true, but you've had my back through the embezzlement and Alicia's illness. Even after we ended our romantic relationship, you stayed loyal to our friendship. The relationship you have with Sarah is something I can't thank you enough for."

She returned the gesture, "Sarah's a good kid. Spending time with her is no hardship. As for the rest, our affair aside, you're my friend and mentor, how could I not be loyal to you?"

"You're the only person I fully trust in this firm."

Alannah smiled at the sincerity that was apparent in his voice, "That's probably a wise decision. Now, all this espionage has made me hungry. Let's order and talk about something else, shall we?"

She motioned for the waiter and they spent the rest of their lunch talking about everything, but Pearson Hardman.