Sergey Novicov typed out the email as quickly as he could. His Washington D.C. hotel offered free WiFi but he still didn't want to spend one more minute than he had to, online.
Vicky,
I don't know if you still check this email address but right now, you are the only one who I'm pretty sure doesn't want to kill me. I hope I'm not wrong. I took something and you are the only one who can help me. My father is looking for me. I need help. I'm in D.C. now. Contact me at this email address. I will check it every day at noon. Pease help if you can. Whatever you do, do not contact my father.
- Sergey
He clicked SEND, hoping that his plan would work.
NCIS
Monday morning… Brynn felt good, walking into the squad room of NCIS. Her thoughts were on her son's birthday, just another three days away. Layla had long since offered to be Chris' full time nanny. Both Gibbs and Brynn felt better about leaving Chris with someone who was family, as opposed to the daycare. And somehow, Chris himself seemed much more agreeable when Brynn picked him up from Layla's at the end of the day. Brynn didn't see anyone from team Gibbs in the bullpen. Not putting much thought into this, she just continued on to the elevator that would lead her to the sub-basement.
Finally at her desk, she powered up her computer. She had several updates to check, and an email alert beeping at the bottom of her screen. She clicked on her internal message box first.
NCIS
That night, Brynn had come home two hours later than Gibbs. This was unusual, but not something that had never happened before. Chris was already sleeping peacefully in his room. Brynn opened the front door as quietly as she could. Her mind was spinning. Just yesterday, her biggest concern was finally getting Chris to a barber for his first haircut. Oh, how life could just unravel right in front of you. Brynn hoped Gibbs was already in bed as she tip-toed across the foyer. Those hopes were quickly dashed.
"Hey." Brynn froze for a second. Her head turned. Gibbs was sitting on the couch in the living room.
"Hi." She called back. "Why are you up?" She set her bag on the table beside the door and went to join him on the couch.
"I was waiting up for you." He pulled her in for a kiss as soon as she sat down.
"You wanna know why I'm home at nearly midnight." It wasn't a question. Gibbs just looked at her. "Just an old case I had to revisit."
"Everything okay?"
"Yeah, but I'm really… I'm, uh, just exhausted."
"Okay." With a look that told her this conversation was not nearly over, Gibbs led her upstairs and into bed.
Gibbs settled into bed with his arms wrapped around Brynn. She rolled over and faced him, burying her face into his chest. One arm swung over his waist and squeezed him a little tighter than normal. Something was bothering his wife. And instead of lie to him, she chose to avoid the subject altogether. Gibbs sighed and closed his eyes.
NCIS
It was just after lunch time the next day, when the team came back from a crime scene. Gibbs immediately left for coffee. Maybe he'd pick up an extra one for Brynn. He rolled his eyes at the thought. Why did she insist on drinking coffee with ice? For that matter, why did she feel the need to put extra cream and sugar in it too? That wasn't coffee. That was… Mutant java.
Brynn felt her stomach drop as soon as the elevator doors opened. She took in a breath and let it out slowly. As much as she was dreading this next conversation, she knew it had to be done. This was her job. She had a responsibility. But family came first… Her feet were moving and before her mind could catch up, she was already in the middle of the bullpen.
"Brynnie?"
"Huh?" She turned in the direction of the voice and saw Tony looking at her with his eyebrows scrunched together.
"Are you okay?" Tony stood up from his chair and for some reason Brynn that couldn't make sense of, she instantly stepped away from him.
"I need to see Vance." Brynn's explanation did nothing to soften the worried look on Tony's face. Before he had the chance to further interrogate her, she scampered away.
"Well, that was just disconcerting." Tony said out loud.
"What was?"
"Nothing boss!" Tony instinctively jumped at Gibbs' voice. He turned and saw Gibbs staring at him with a raised eyebrow and a look that said, 'I know you're hiding something.' Tony forced his eyes away from Gibbs' face. "If that iced coffee is for Brynnie, she just went up to Vance's office."
Gibbs' eyebrow lowered and he frowned. He set both coffees on his desk and made his way to the stairs. Just as he was out of Tony's line of sight, McGee and Ziva showed up.
"Where is Gibbs?" Ziva asked, her eyes sweeping over Gibbs' desk and finding the two coffees.
Before Tony could stop himself, his mouth fell open and he replayed everything he had just witnessed.
Gibbs passed by Cynthia, with barely a nod in her general direction. She was so used to it, she paid no mind to the glare set on his face. He opened the door to Vance's office and stopped short at the scene in front of him. Brynn was standing in front of Vance's desk with one hand on her hip and the other waving in front of her face. Vance sat in his chair, seemingly unmoved at the outburst being thrown at him.
"I'm not leaving my family in the dark this time, damn it!" Brynn's shouting had masked the sound of the door opening. The second Vance saw Gibbs, his eyes widened. Brynn immediately slapped her mouth shut, knowing there was someone behind her. She slowly turned and locked eyes with Gibbs. "Shit." She muttered.
"Something you wanna tell me?" Gibbs directed his question to Vance. Brynn flinched at his demanding tone. Vance stood and ran a hand down his shirt, smoothing out his tie.
"Get your team into the conference room, now." Vance calmly turned to Brynn. "You too, Agent Sutter."
Gibbs scowled at Brynn's maiden name. They had decided it would be for the best, if there weren't two Agent Gibbs' running around. So, Brynn had kept her last name for work purposes only. Her badge actually read Sutter-Gibbs. But Gibbs found that he didn't like it when people called her Sutter. He chalked it up to his territorial issues. And yes, Gibbs knew he was a very jealous man.
Brynn didn't say a word as she crossed from Vance's office, into the conference room. Her hand was still firmly wrapped around the flash drive she had brought up. Without looking behind her, she plugged the flash drive into the screen on the wall. She grabbed up the remote and powered on the screen. When she heard everyone file in, she finally turned, but flinched when Gibbs' stare hit her.
"It seems I can either sanction this," Vance's voice made Brynn break eye contact with Gibbs. Her eyes swept around the room and she realized she and Gibbs were the only ones standing. "Or I can give an order that I know will be disobeyed anyways." Vance cleared his throat. "So, I'm bringing your team in on this, Gibbs." Gibbs let his eyes shift to Vance. "Talley's team will take over your current case." Gibbs' eyes found Brynn again. She seemed suddenly fascinated with the remote in her hand. "Agent Sutter." Her eyes shot up. "Whenever you're ready."
After a very awkward beat of silence, Brynn made herself speak.
"Uh," She cleared her throat and clicked the remote. "This is Sergey Novicov." A surveillance photo of a young looking man with back hair filled the screen. "He is the son of Yuri Novicov, ex-KGB. Yuri is known to be involved in drug manufacturing and selling, arms dealing, and…" Brynn took a breath. "Also human trafficking." Another breath. Why did she have to remember to just breath. Oh yeah, her husband's stare was burning a hole in the back of her head. She turned and faced everyone at the table. "This is why I went to Paris. Yuri was looking for a computer hacker who could help him branch out his network. We intercepted encrypted chatter, and to make a very long story short, we managed to convince Yuri that I was what he was looking for."
"You went under cover?" Gibbs sounded both angry and surprised but still managed not to raise his voice.
"Yes." Breath. "I was trading emails with him and working from here, for months before he demanded we meet in person." Breath in, breath out. Brynn let her eyes move to Gibbs. "I was working on this way before you and I…" She stopped when she saw Vance shift in his chair. "Anyways… While in Paris, I met Sergey. He was young and impressionable. I may have… Exploited this, a little." Why the hell had she said that?
"A little?" Tony shrank in his chair as soon as the words left his mouth. Gibbs was standing right behind him.
"I was undercover, doing my damn job. I had to get as much intel as I could on their operation." Brynn's voice suddenly hardened. "So, yes, I did what needed to be done, without compromising myself." Tony shrank even lower when her glare zeroed in on him.. "I was pulled from the assignment before we could move in with our evidence."
"Why were you pulled?" Ziva asked.
"Because she was pregnant." Vance spoke up. "As soon as she told me, I had her taken off the mission." Vance and Gibbs exchanged a look. "Go on, Agent Sutter."
"According to Yuri's people, I got into trouble with the authorities and had to go underground. By then, my work was pretty much done anyways. They didn't want me linked to them if I did get caught, so they didn't argue when I said I needed to leave." She clicked the remote again. "The email address I used for the case is still active. I set up an alert so I would know if anyone tried to use it. I got this, yesterday." She magnified the email so they could all read it.
"Vicky?" Tim asked.
"Vicky Miller was my cover." She clicked the remote again to reveal another email. "This one came in today." She heard Gibbs growl as he read it. It detailed a time and place for a public meeting at a café.
"He wants a meet with you?" Tim looked at Brynn and shook his head. "That's too dangerous. There's no way to tell if he really wants to turn in evidence, or if his father sent him here to shoot you." Tim snapped his mouth shut when he saw Gibbs glaring at him.
"How does he even know you are in D.C.?" Ziva asked.
"I don't know." Brynn lowered her eyes. "I was sure, I left Paris clean. But we don't even know that he really does know where I live. All we know is that he is in D.C. and he wants a meeting here."
"Or maybe your cover was blown." Gibbs' voice was low. Brynn suddenly glowered at him, throwing him off guard.
"That's why you will all be at the meet with her." Vance stood as he spoke. "I want every precaution taken: surveillance, snipers, full coverage in and around the café." He looked right at Gibbs. "I'm only giving you the lead on this because I know giving it to anyone else, would be pointless. No other agent here would accept it." Gibbs couldn't help but lift one corner of his mouth. "We've got two hours. Get it done." Vance left the conference room.
Brynn quickly turned and retrieved her flash drive. Again, she had to tell herself to breath. She knew the look Gibbs was giving her. There was about to be a fight…
"Tony, you and Ziva set up a perimeter at the café. McGee, you set up the surveillance. Pull as many agents as you need."
There was a chorus of "on it, boss." Then Brynn found herself alone with Gibbs. It was several minutes before she swallowed a lump in her throat and finally turned to face him. The fact that there was a large table between them, did nothing to comfort Brynn.
"Were you ever going to tell me?" Her eyes widened at his tone. She knew he was working to stay calm.
"Not if I never needed to." Lying would be useless and really just an insult at this point.
"What?" And here comes the yelling. "What do you mean, not if you never needed to? I think this was something I needed to know about three years ago!"
"Excuse me!" His anger brought out her own temper. "I was undercover on a classified assignment. I couldn't tell you! You know that better than anyone!"
"So you just threw yourself into danger! Without even thinking about the consequences!" He quickly rounded the table and stopped right in front of her. "What if something had happened to you?"
"Do you know how hypocritical you sound right now?" Brynn let out a sarcastic laugh. "So, it's okay if you constantly run into the fire, but the second I do it, it's unforgivable. You can get hurt, stabbed, shot, blown up, but not me?"
"No! You can't!"
"So now, it comes out." Brynn smirked triumphantly at him. "I'm just a tech head who needs to be stuffed down into the basement. Just a helpless little paper pusher, not capable of holding a real field assignment."
"Brynn." Gibbs finally realized he had said the wrong thing. "I'm not saying you aren't capable." He tried to calm them both down.
"Really? Cause if I remember correctly, and I know I do cause it just happened, you did… Rather vehemently." She stepped forward. "As much as you may hate it, I am a Federal agent too. I am capable of being in the field. And for the record, this was not my first undercover assignment." Gibbs cocked his head and opened his mouth. "Did you ever think to ask why I was transferred down to Cyber Crimes?"
"Why?"
"I spent almost a year undercover on my very first assignment. It wasn't unlike the Paris case. By the end of it, two agents were dead, and I got blamed. They blew their own cover, but because I survived, just barely… I got the brunt of the blame for the screw up. It was easy for Director Morrow to just send me downstairs, instead of taking the chance that a green agent might screw up again." She sighed and made her body go limp. "Honestly, I was happy to be sent down there. Better that, than being fired. And you should remember how little faith Morrow had in female agents."
Gibbs wanted to kick himself. So many things suddenly made sense. Brynn's constant apprehension, second guessing her every move, double checking everything she did… If you get told so many times that you're a failure, you eventually believe it. And Brynn had self-confidence issues long before she came to NCIS. Just when she had started climbing out of her shell, here he was, trying to shove her back into it.
"You're right." Brynn's head shot up at his now quite tone. "We are both Federal agents. And you are more than capable of field work."
Brynn's jaw dropped. How had she won this?
"Can you blame me for being overprotective?" All Brynn could do was shake her head. "We need to get you ready for your meet. You're wearing a wire and a vest. And I want you armed too."
Neither of them knew it, but Ziva, Tony, McGee, and Abby were all in Abby's lab huddled around her big screen. None of them had been prepared for what they had heard while eavesdropping in on the conference room. They had managed to tap into the security cameras right as the yelling started. As soon as they saw Brynn and Gibbs leaving the room, they quickly scattered from the lab.
NCIS
Gibbs was a very unhappy man. The look on his face had kept the poor café waitress at bay, until she had to deliver his coffee order. That same mug still sat in front of him, full of cooling coffee. He had insisted that he be one of the agents in the café. Dorneget and Swenson were at a booth closer to the back. Another field agent, Rinker, was at the bar counter. McGee and Tony were in the surveillance van in the alley near the back entrance to the small eatery. Ziva was positioned in a car across the street, where she had a perfect view of the table where Gibbs was now seated. Several other agents were set up on rooftops, and seated on benches outside.
When Brynn told him she needed to go home and change, Gibbs hadn't thought anything of it. It had been one of those weird days when she had worn a skirt to work. He figured she would want to be comfortable for her undercover meet. But when she walked into the café wearing knee high leather boots (not quite the clunky ones Abby wore, but more feminine), a long sleeved black blouse, and skin tight black jeans… Gibbs wanted to grab her and drag her away from every male eye that fell upon her. Maybe even the female ones too… He hair was down, tumbled and wind-blown. The leather jacket she wore, had to be borrowed. Gibbs had never seen it before. But it made the bulky vest and gun he knew she was wearing, less noticeable.
As soon as she walked in, even her walk was different, she let her eyes sweep over the entire café. Gibbs was sitting at the very last booth, up against the wall. Brynn kept her eyes on him as she made her way to her seat. He flinched and narrowed his eyes when she sat with her back to him. The waitress approached her and smiled. Gibbs couldn't hear what Brynn ordered, but the waitress quickly brought her a cup of ice and a cup of hot coffee. Gibbs fought the urge to grin. Even undercover, her coffee habits were the same.
"Any sign of our target?" Gibbs discretely spoke into the mike on his wrist. For some reason he couldn't make himself say the name of said target.
"None so far, boss." Tony's voice came through on the earwig, shoved into his left ear. Brynn flipped her hair back, grabbing Gibbs' attention. This time, he didn't fight the grin. She hated her hair in her face.
"You all set… Agent Sutter?" This was McGee's voice. Again, Gibbs grinned. McGee was trying to sound professional, but Gibbs knew how worried McGee really was.
"Mm hmm," was her only reply. Gibbs wanted to reassure her that he wouldn't let anything happen to her, but there was really no telling how many other agents were listening in on this conversation. If he made her look weak in front of everyone, she'd be pissed.
Gibbs let his eyes turn towards the big window beside him. A quick glance told him no one was approaching the café. His eyes quickly went back to Brynn. She was leaned over the table, her hair covering both sides of her face. She propped her elbow on the table and let her face rest on her hand. She stayed like that for a full three minutes before something caught her attention.
"Got him." Brynn's voice was quiet in his ear. "Black bomber jacket." Gibbs' eyes shot to the door, just as it opened.
"Vicky." Sergey went straight to her. Gibbs gripped his coffee cup when Brynn stood up and hugged the younger man. Before she sat down, Brynn played at flipping her hair, but really used it as a chance to shoot a look at Gibbs. The wink she sent was the signal they had set up to tell him that Sergey was armed. Gibbs tried to tell himself that the hug was only to check for a gun…
"Heads up." Gibbs said quietly into his mike. "He's armed."
"You're in trouble aren't you." Brynn's voice came through clearly on the wire.
"I want out, Vick. I need out."
"How did you find me?" She suddenly sounded angry.
"I uh… I found your passport one night when you were at the hotel with dad… I looked in it and saw you flew over from Dulles. I figured it was a long shot you'd come back here, but I went for it."
If not for the fact that Gibbs had read all the mission notes, he'd be pissed that Brynn let someone see her passport. But part of her cover was that she once worked at the Pentagon. It was no surprise someone would look for her in D.C. But making Sergey think she didn't want to be found, only added to her credibility.
"So, you went snooping through my personal things, practically stalked me all through Paris, and now you want my help. What makes you think I'm willing?" Gibbs cocked his head to the side. Why was she playing hardball like this? "After the way we left things…" Gibbs straightened in his seat.
"I'm sorry about that." Sergey leaned in closer to her. "Can we put it behind us?"
"Give me a reason."
"How about six million dollars."
"Keep talking."
"My dad has all his money hidden in four bank accounts. I managed to get a hold of a hard drive that has all of the bank account's information on it. But the whole thing is encrypted."
"So you brought it to me?"
"If you unlock it for me… I'll pay you six million."
"Why the hell would you risk this? I know your father. There's no way he would hesitate to kill you for this… Or me, for helping you."
"I got into some trouble. I got someone else into trouble. She…"
"You got some girl pregnant, didn't you?" Gibbs saw Sergey nod. "I never thought you'd get caught up in some romance novel. So, what, you gonna run away with this girl?"
"That's the plan."
"Where's the hard drive?"
"I'll take you to it."
McGee's voice came over the earwig, voicing Gibbs' exact thoughts. "Don't you dare, Brynnie."
"You really think I'm just gonna follow you somewhere?" Brynn said after a two second pause. Gibbs let out a sigh. "I don't trust you, with damn good reason."
"Okay, I'll meet you somewhere."
"How do I contact you?" Gibbs put his hand on his gun when Sergey opened his jacket. Brynn didn't even flinch.
"Call me at this number when you wanna meet." He wrote something on a napkin and slid it to her. "But it's gotta be soon. I don't know if my dad even knows I have the hard drive. If he does…"
"If he does, you just killed us both." Brynn snatched up the napkin. "And your pregnant girlfriend."
"You're not gonna call him are you?"
"Are you insane? I had my reasons for getting out when I did. You think I want back in that life? It almost got me killed. No, thanks." Gibbs glared down at his coffee cup. She had some explaining to do, later. "I've been more than happy, laying low. The last thing I need is to pop my head back up and get it shot off."
"I always knew you had something… Some one waiting for you. I could see it. You'd get this look in your eyes, like you were missing someone. Even when… But I get it, now. I know why you wanted out."
"Don't start sharing with me, now. I may have to rip my ears off, if you get any sappier." Brynn stood up and threw a few bills onto the counter. "Just be ready when I call." Without glancing back at Sergey or Gibbs, she left the café.
"Wow…" Gibbs heard Tony mutter over the earwig. "Brynnie's alter ego has some claws."
"I can still hear you, DiNozzo." Brynn sounded annoyed.
Gibbs stayed in the café for five more minutes until Sergey left. "I want agents on him." He gave his last order to Dorneget and Swenson, before heading back to the Navy yard.
NCIS
"Abby's got a trace going on the number he gave me." Brynn ignored the door opening and shutting behind her. She kept her eyes on Vance and continued her report. "Dorneget and Swenson are still tailing him." She could feel Gibbs walk up and stand right behind her.
"Where and when are we having this next meet?" Vance let his eyes slide to the man behind Brynn.
"Tomorrow at noon. We're getting surveillance set up at an internet café that rents out private booths. It'll be private enough for the meet, but pubic enough that we can rush in if we need." Gibbs spoke to Vance, but his eyes were on Brynn's back.
"Agent Sutter," Gibbs was starting to get the feeling that Vance only used her maiden name to piss him off. "You spent a lot of your undercover time with Sergey Novicov. Do you believe this story about wanting out?"
"I believe he wants his father's money." She heard Gibbs shift behind her. "He could be telling the truth. It's also possible, he thought making up some sob-love story might convince me to help him. He's always been a manipulative little weasel."
"I don't think you should go home tonight…"
"But Director," Brynn started but Gibbs interrupted her.
"He's right." Brynn finally turned and faced Gibbs. "It's too risky. We'll stay at a safe house until this is settled. I'll call Layla about Chris."
Brynn was ready to argue until Gibbs mentioned Chris. If anyone managed to follow her, cover blown or not, she would not risk leading them anywhere near her son. She nodded at Gibbs and left Vance's office.
Brynn didn't stop until she reached the elevator. Her mind was set on retrieving her clothes and changing. She had borrowed the boots and leather jacket from Ziva. They had both fit, but Brynn found them annoyingly uncomfortable. She felt like she couldn't move properly. She knew Gibbs wanted to talk to her, but she hadn't counted on just how determined he was. An arm flew out and stopped the elevator doors just before they closed.
"Shit." Brynn muttered. Gibbs arched an eyebrow as he stepped in to join her. Her shoulders fell when he reached out and flipped the emergency stop switch.
"Haven't heard you cuss this much in one day, since you gave birth to Chris." His calm voice immediately confused Brynn, causing her guard to shoot up.
"I know you want answers."
"Am I gonna get any?"
"I'm begging you to save your questions for later. I need to focus right now."
"Okay. Later then…" He reached up and flipped the switch. The elevators sudden movement made Brynn reach out and grab Gibbs' arm.
"You should go home tonight." Gibbs looked at Brynn like she was crazy. "Gibbs, one of us should go home to our son."
"Oh, no. You don't get to do that." The elevator doors opened and he stepped out.
"What are you talking about?" Gibbs twisted around and faced her, holding one arm out to keep the doors from closing.
"We made a deal, remember?" She shook her head and shrugged. "If you're working, I'm working too. I'll go home, when you do." He smiled as he saw the memory come back to her.
"You're throwing that back at me?"
"This is the only chance I've ever gotten to. So, yeah."
NCIS
The rest of the day was a dull blur of prepping and planning. Brynn had snuck in a chat with Layla, explaining the situation, and saying goodnight to Chris. Gibbs had run home to pack them both bags for their safe house stay. Brynn hadn't seen the need for the army of agents escorting them both to the safe house, but she knew protesting would only be met with an argument.
Finally, Brynn and Gibbs were left alone in the small one-room house. They were in the middle of nowhere, so there was no internet. The T.V was busted, and Gibbs hadn't thought to bring her any books, so she was stuck playing Free Cell on her laptop. Gibbs had spent the last forty minutes (Brynn was timing him) on his phone, checking and rechecking everything for the undercover sting. When he slapped his phone shut, she quickly closed out her game. He sat across from her at the small kitchen table.
"Any chance I might get some of those answers?" He asked, frowning.
"What do you wanna know?"
"Were you really almost killed?" His eyes hardened when she let out a sigh of relief.
"No. They just think I was. I needed a really good reason to leave. So we set it up to look like the authorities weren't the only ones after me. I was shot at… But it was all planned."
"Why does this Sergey guy think there was something between you two?"
"I told you, Gibbs. I needed information. No better way to get it, than to flatter someone." Gibbs nodded. He had done it too…
"Did you request going undercover?"
"Are you kidding me?" She suddenly straightened. "I think you should remember me being pissed about having to go to Paris." He nodded again. "Vance gave me this assignment before you and I ever dated. And going undercover was never my intention."
"You seemed to… At the café today, it was almost like you were having fun with it…"
"Honestly, I kind of was. It felt good to know I could still do it."
"You're pretty good at it. I can see why Vance didn't hesitate to send you out again."
"You know what I loved about being undercover? I could be someone other than, that girl whose parents ignored her. That girl whose brother turned out to be a sadistic monster. That girl who's just a geek. I got to be Vicki Miller: a strong, independent, sassy, and sexy badass. I liked being her. It was… Empowering."
"Brynn," Gibbs shook his head and smiled. "You are her." Brynn rolled her eyes. "I'm serious. You know, the first time I met you, you scared the hell out of me." Brynn cocked her head and raised an eyebrow. "I mean it. You were pretty intimidating. I was a jumpy, nervous mess around you, constantly. You always seemed to have the upper hand. The first time I saw any vulnerability in you at all, was the first time you came to my house."
"When I thought you weren't interested in me…" The memory washed over her.
"Then, the more time I spent with you, the sassier and sexier you became. You were always calling me out on my B.S., not letting me get away with anything. Watching you lose your temper scared me and turned me on at the same time. You were just damn fierce."
"Were, being the operative word?"
"Brynn…" He sighed. "After you testified against your brother, you changed. I think you finally felt safe enough to let yourself shine. You didn't run and duck behind your wall of excuses anymore. Vance could see that. I think that's how he knew you were ready for field work again. He was the only one who knew you had ever been undercover. But I had no idea what was going on, so I didn't see it like he did. I didn't know what you were capable of. I also didn't know that Morrow had put that doubt in you. I never knew you even wanted to do field work. All I knew was… Vance was sending the woman I love on some assignment. And to be honest, I was happy thinking you were safely tucked in a hotel room on a laptop, surrounded by agents. I didn't want to consider you might be…"
"Surrounded by gangsters and thieves?"
"Yeah." He shook his head. "Even now, I don't like to think about it… But you did it. And you did it without any of my help. That has to show you something about yourself. Vicki Miller isn't some alter ego, or super hero. She's just who you let yourself be, when you don't have me around to jump in front of you."
"But then I lost my memory… And the scared little Brynn came back."
"No. You can't look at it like that. If anything, you came out stronger, after you finally faced your grief. I know all about hiding from grief. I know what it takes to work through it. You did it a lot more gracefully than I did. That took courage."
"I can't tell who you are trying to give a pep talk to, me or to yourself…"
"Little of both." He took a moment to just look at her. "You can do this. I have faith in you."
"Still feels nice to know you have my six."
"Well, it's a very nice looking six." He smirked.