A/N: Thank you again to everyone who continues to read this story, I really appreciate it and am so glad that you're enjoying it so far! This Brenda is a little sassier and fun then the one we're used to, so I hope you like it.
Enjoy!
Brenda sat in Buckley Evan's office, flipping through one of the files that had been handed to her.
Andrew was sitting next to her, reading the exact same file as she was, even though he had memorized every single one of these files long ago.
" What you brought me in for?" asked Brenda, repeating Buckley's previous statement. "I've been here for two years, how big of an assignment is this?" asked Brenda, perplexed by the current situation she was in.
" We had to train you first, make sure you were right for the job. Lucky for Andrew here, you were." said Buckley
Brenda turned towards Andrew, raising her eyebrows at him simultaneously.
Pushing her glasses up from her nose, Brenda took another look at the files. " These are all employee files, what exactly is it that you want me to do?" asked Brenda
Andrew sat there quietly, letting his boss do all of the talking.
" The past couple years, we've been having trouble carrying out certain aspects of specific removal missions." stated Evans, beginning to fill Brenda in on her assignment.
Brenda scoffed at his response, laughing at its diplomatic undertone. "Well that was vague."
"This is the CIA, if you can't handle being vague, you might was well walk right out that door. Is that what you want?" asked Buckley, growing frustrated with Brenda's disrespectful tone.
" No, sir. Please continue." said Brenda, putting on a smile for her boss's boss.
Brenda was from the South- she had learned to fake sincerity before she could even walk.
" As I said before, our removal team is having trouble carrying out their missions. We spend months, sometimes even longer, gathering intel on a target. After all the intel has been gathered, we check it, then we recheck it. We're rarely ever wrong."
"So what's changed? " asked Brenda, taking another peak at the file in her hands.
Andrew finally spoke up, turning himself to face Brenda. " That's the problem, we don't know. That being said, all of theses failed extractions do have one thing in common." said Andrew
" Their targets." said Brenda, finishing Andrew's sentence.
" Precisely. You've trained her well Andrew. Our removal team has been focusing on taking down parts of an arms dealing operation in Russia."
"Arms dealing? I thought you wanted me to find your mole? " Brenda asked, a confused look settling on her face.
Brenda was already frustrated with her new assignment. She was an interrogator; she manipulated people to get the answers she needed.
She was not in the business of mole hunting. The moles were brought to her, not the other way around.
" We do. This leak has the potential to wreak havoc on the entire Agency, essentially, it poses a threat to our National Security." Buckley sighed in exasperation, he was not in the mood to deal with his subordinate's attitude. "Look Brenda, this is your assignment, whether you want it or not. I'm also assigning you a partner, Cole Daniels."
" Daniels is good Brenda, you'll like him."said Andrew, making an attempt to bring some comfort to his mentee.
" Oh I'm so glad." said Brenda, the sarcasm practically dripping from her mouth." Mr. Evans, I'm just not sure I'm the right person for this job. I interrogate people, I don't investigate them."
" Consider this you opportunity to learn then. You're dismissed."
Brenda sighed, picking up the files from the desk in front of her.
She and Andrew exited the conference room, Brenda slamming the door on her way out.
" Brenda I know this isn't exactly what you had in mind, but this is a good thing for you."
" It's not the assignment I'm upset about Andrew. You've been grooming me to be a mole hunter for the Agency, and that is not what I agreed to. I lie to people, not the other way around."
" Well you better get used to it Brenda. This the CIA, nothing is ever as it seems. You're meeting with Cole Daniels in half an hour, take that time to familiarize yourself with the potential leaks. Report back to me when you and Daniels are through."
Andrew walked away, leaving her standing alone on the hallway with a handful of files.
Brenda walked back to her tiny cubicle, immersing herself in the files.
They had narrowed it down to two suspects, or persons of interest as Buckley Evans put it.
Michelle Williamson and Gordon Perry.
Michelle Williamson was not an actual agent in the CIA, she had a somewhat different type of job.
She was the secretary to the Director of Clandestine Services, Buckley Evans. She saw every single piece of paper that he did, and therefore knew the locations of each operation that had been compromised.
It was also rumored that they two of them had struck up an affair, but that was just Agency gossip.
Gordon Perry was a completely different story.
Perry was one of four members on the "removal" division, as the CIA so eloquently put it, and had been present at each of the missions that were unsuccessful in their attempts.
Perry had in impressive record, having been on countless operations that had taken down terrorist cells, including an ex KGB member, a man named Mikahail Gavlik.
While Brenda was about halfway through the two files, Andrew arrived back at her cubicle.
" Daniels is waiting for you, I'll walk you down there."said Andrew, poking his head into Brenda's workspace.
Brenda picked up her files, nodding her head in response to Andrew's offer.
She had only worked with Andrew before, helping him break suspects in the interrogation rooms, and then handing them off to the Agency.
She never saw those people again, let alone knew what kind of punishment they received. Most of the time, she didn't even want to think about what had happened to those she had broken.
The only thing she knew for sure was that torture was not a reliable way to get someone to talk. That, she knew by firsthand experience.
Brenda and Andrew arrived at Cole Daniel's office, opening the door and taking a seat at his conference table.
Daniels was thirty years old and had been working with the CIA since the day he graduated college, just like Brenda.
Brenda took a quick glance at Daniels, sizing him up with a single look. He was very fit for his age, and had dark brown hair.
Daniels interrupted Brenda's train of thought, reaching his hand across the table. "Cole Daniels, nice to finally meet you. I've heard a lot of things about you ."
Brenda took his hand, shaking it as she spoke. "Yes well, you can't believe everything you hear." said Brenda, taking her hand back quickly.
Andrew shot her a knowing look, silently warning her to keep her attitude in check.
" Daniels, you've been on this case for a while now, correct?" asked Andrew
Brenda crossed her legs underneath the chair, awaiting his response.
" Only a month, but when I wasn't really getting anywhere, I decided to bring someone else in."
" And you chose me?" asked Brenda, still wondering what on earth she was doing in that room. "I'm an interrogator, not an investigator."
" And I'm not an interrogator, we make the perfect team. "
Brenda rolled her eyes at this man's arrogance; so far, she was unimpressed.
" Mr Daniels, what is it exactly that you want me to do?" asked Brenda
" Cole, please call me Cole. " He shot Brenda a smile, not bothering to answer her question.
Brenda didn't like to be ignored.
" Okay, Cole." Brenda said his name with a hint of disgust in her voice, which Andrew did not take very well. Brenda look over to her left, where Andrew was shifting in his chair and rubbing the sides of his forehead.
" What do you want me to do? Interrogate them until the break? Because I hate to tell you this, but I don't think a mole will break, no matter how good of an interrogator I may be."
" Observe. We're going to observe them. " said Andrew simply.
" Observe? What exactly does that involve?" Brenda wasn't interested in sitting inside of a van for hours on end each and every day.
Anybody could a do that for heaven's sake.
" Brenda, in theses types of situations, you have to gather all of your intel before you question someone. You can't just walk into an interrogation room and expect them to confess to the act of treason." said Andrew
Brenda sent him a look of annoyance, grumbling in frustration under her breath. " I understand that Andrew, I was just curious as to how exactly we were going to figure out who this mole is without actually interacting with them."
" First we observe, then we act." said Cole, attempting to provide some comfort to Brenda.
" We start off observing together, one suspect at a time. That way you can watch me take not of what's important, then we're going to slowly start watching them separately. I'll take one on one day, you the next. Make sense?" asked Cole
" Oh I think I understand completely. You want me to watch you watch them, that's what you're saying, correct? "
" You think my ego is that big? " asked Cole
Brenda fired quickly, " I don't know, is it? " Brenda folded her arms across her chest, leaning back in her chair as she responded to his question.
Andrew glared at the two of them before excusing himself. He didn't have the energy to sit thorough another pissing match. " You'll both have to excuse me, I have another meeting to get to."
Brenda sighed as Andrew walked out of the room. He was supposed to be her ally in this, and he didn't back her up once. How could she trust this Cole Daniels if she couldn't even trust the person who had been her mentor for the past two years?
" Well now that we've gotten all of the formality out of the way, I say we dig right in. Grab your things." Cole stood up from his chair and collected his things before heading toward the door.
Brenda followed suite, picking up her giant black purse that sat at the foot of her chair. " Just where exactly are we going? " asked Brenda
" To the van of course. Nice bag by the way, sturdy." said Cole
Brenda could practically taste the sarcasm dripping from his mouth, so she responded with the appropriate answer.
" Thank you, thank you so much."
Brenda had been sitting in this van for over two hours, and she was beginning to grow restless. She flipped through the file of Michelle Williamson for what must have been the seventh time.
She had memorized it by the third time, but it gave her something to do.
She glanced over to Cole, who was listening intently to an old telephone conversation that Michelle had had with an unidentified person over a month ago.
He was clearly trying to look busy as well, but was failing, miserably. Brenda however, wasn't about to call his bluff. She's learned that the best way to control a situation was to let the other person think that they had it all along.
It was genius in the purest of forms.
Eventually, Cole put the tapes away. He hadn't gotten anywhere with them months ago, and he sure as hell wasn't getting anywhere now.
They had been sitting outside Michelle Williamson's house all afternoon, and absolutely nothing had happened.
" Cole, Ms. Williamson is still at work, correct?" asked Brenda, finally breaking the silence between them.
" Why yes Brenda, she is." Cole spun around in his char, shooting her a smile as he answered her.
She had to admit, he did have a great smile.
" Then what exactly are we looking for?" Brenda was growing increasingly frustrated with this assignment, along with her new partner.
He was just so arrogant.
And she was the only one who was allowed to be arrogant, because she was damn good at her job. So far Cole had done nothing but convince her that he was simply a man of observation.
" We're waiting for someone to come to her. A visitor of some sorts, or a telephone call. In most cases, when people are selling secrets, they don't ever communicate with their contact face to face. "
" So everything happens in secret? " asked Brenda. " That way, when they get caught, they can say that they've never met their contact in person?"
" Exactly." said Cole with a proud look on his face. " You catch on quick Brenda Leigh Johnson."
Brenda about leapt out of her chair right then and there.
" You do not get to call me that. Andrew doesn't even call me that. " said Brenda, folding her arms across her chest in the process.
"I like your full name, it flows together very nicely. Most people's don't, but yours, yours is very nice."
" Well you can thank my parents for that." said Brenda. "You know my middle name, I think it's only fair that I get to know yours." Brenda unfolded her arms and leaned forward in her char.
She would be working with this guy for what seemed like would be a rather long time, she might as well appear to be interested in what he had to say.
"Archer. " said Cole, leaning back in his chair with somewhat of an embarrassed look on his face. " Cole Archer Daniels."
"Archer? " asked Brenda, trying to desperately not to laugh. " As in why don't I go shoot a bow and arrow Archer?"
Cole chuckled a bit at her response; he'd grown accustomed to being made fun of for his middle name and no longer took offense.
" Exactly, minus the whole bow and arrow part. " Cole flashed Brenda yet another grin, hoping to illicit some sort of response from her. Brenda let a small smile escape her lips, but as soon as she felt her lips curve upward, she immediately went back to her professional mode.
" What are you listening to over there? " asked Brenda, trying desperately to change the subject. She refused to make it apparent that she was actually starting o enjoy the company of this Cole Daniel's person.
Taking the hint, Cole picked up the tape recording and handed it to Brenda before answering.
" We put a wire tap on her home phone line about a month ago, so far nothing major has happened. About a week ago, she got a call from an unlisted number that we haven't been able to track yet." explained Cole, with a hint of frustration in his voice.
" What do the tapes say? " asked Brenda, fiddling with the equipment in an attempt to put the headphones on her head.
" Not much really, we can't make anything out. " said Cole, trying not to laugh at the site in front of him. " Do you need some help with that?" asked Cole
" No no, I have it, I have it. " said Brenda finally slipping the device onto her ears. " What do you mean you can't make it out, is it in another language? "
" Here, just listen for yourself." said Cole
Cole pressed play as Brenda fiddled with the headpiece one last time.
A confused look swept across Brenda's face; the only thing she could hear was what seemed like a phone connection breaking up on the other line.
" I don't hear any voices. It sounds like the phone connection was dropped." said Brenda. She slipped off the ear piece, practically throwing it on top of the desk.
Cole shuddered at her treatment of headphones. " Hey, careful, careful. " said Cole. He picked up the headphones, checking to make sure that they hadn't been destroyed by Brenda's nonchalance. " This is expensive equipment."
Brenda rolled her eyes at his concerned look. She was not in the mood to be told what to do.
" For a while we thought that the sounds were some type of code, a message of some sorts."said Cole, checking on the head phones one last time.
" A message? Telling him what? Meet me at the nearest construction site?" snapped Brenda. This is why she hated assignments like this, it was always a guess and check type of system.
When she was in an interrogation room, face to face with a suspect, she had all of the control. She could manipulate her way into a confession, lying through her teeth, threatening the suspect-doing anything to illicit a confession.
And it worked, most of the time. There was always that one person, that one suspect who wouldn't crack, no matter what she did.
That's when she handed the suspect off to another division, one who had more experience with the more –difficult suspects.
She didn't like to think about what happened to them. Mainly because she knew exactly what would be done to them.
Cole pulled Brenda away from her thoughts, chuckling at her response. " Like I said Brenda, we need your help on this."
Andrew knocked on his boss's door, dreading this meeting even more by the second.
"Come in." said Buckley Evans, sitting in his chair at his desk. He was sifting through files, signing off on certain papers. " Andrew, take a seat. We have some things to discuss. "
Andrew sat down, setting his briefcase on the floor next to his chair.
" So, tell me your thoughts on our meeting this morning." said Buckley, putting his folders down and slipping off his glasses.
It seemed like everyone in the CIA wore glasses; black thick-rimmed glasses. Most of them didn't even need to wear them, they just did to make themselves seem more intimidating-it usually worked.
" She took it just like I told you she would- terribly." said Andrew, sighing as he relaxed in his chair.
" We're on the right track then "said Buckley, clearly impressed with himself. " How was she getting along with Daniels? Hatred, lust? Something in between? Tell me."
" Brenda was her usual self" said Andrew, who still wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. "She was rude, condescending, bossy, exactly what you hoped she would be." said Andrew
" Excellent. This is turning out rather well, don't you think?" asked Buckely, slipping his glasses back on.
Andrew let out a small sigh, going unnoticed by his boss. He wasn't sure he could do this to Brenda, he had really grown fond of her these past two years. He wasn't sure he could betray her like this.
Keeping his thoughts to himself, he answered Buckley with the appropriate response. "Of course, everything is going exactly as planned."
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to leave a review to tell me what you thought!
-Alison