A/N: Thank you for all your lovely reviews and here's the new chapter! Hope you enjoy!

I don't own them.

Chapter 8

Brandt had two options: either he misheard what Benji had just said, or the technician was joking in some twisted manner. A quick glance at the Brit was enough to eliminate the latter, so the analyst decided to clarify.

"What?"

Benji smirked bitterly but his tone remained colourless and dull.

"As we speak, evidence is being collected. It might take some time, I don't know how long though. We can't go to the police openly even with what we have now. We can't just say we accidentally found out about it during a secret mission, can we?"

Brandt still had no idea where this was heading but so far it made sense, so he nodded.

"Someone has to keep the investigation. Not necessarily me. You can do it now that you know the truth. And you can't return to Lovett without me, can you? I'm sure by this point he even knows that we've already met. You have a choice. You can do what I've just told you — and don't pretend you misheard that — and tell Lovett you had no choice. I did attack you with a gun after all, I'm sure his men here saw us…"

Brandt's stomach was turning sickeningly. He knew that it all made sense and this thought alone made him sick even more. The only thing he couldn't agree to was the offer itself.

"What is the other option?" he asked dryly, not even considering the first one for a second.

"You can bring me to Lovett just like you are supposed to. Then, if you want, you can come back and finish this job. I just…" for the first time Benji's voice broke. He took a deep breath before continuing. "I just don't want you to pick this option. I don't know if I can take it all… again. I don't think I can. Don't make me go through it all again. Please".

Benji shivered, as if having flashbacks of his recent experience.

Brandt swallowed hard. It wasn't the choice he ever wanted to make. What kind of a stupid choice was this? Either kill your best friend or hand him to the enemy who had already tortured and broken him into pieces to continue breaking and torturing? There had to be a way out.

"So?" Benji asked suddenly, as if wondering whether Brandt preferred tea or coffee. As if it wasn't his life at stake. "Every second we waste here is making Lovett's suspicions rise. What are you gonna do?"

Brandt was shocked Benji was even offering him that choice. He was obviously still not thinking straight but this fact alone was making the analyst angry.

"No," his voice was harsh and determined.

"That wasn't a yes or no question, William".

"What did you expect me to say? 'I choose option number one: killing my friend'? Are you out of your mind?!" the glare he received after the last sentence made him add a sheepish "sorry".

"Do you think I like this choice?!" Benji's hands were now shaking. "Do you think I want to die that much? I have spent so much time looking for a way out of… whatever I was in, and whenever I found one, it just led me into a new situation, even worse than the previous one!" Brandt saw the Brit's hands clench into fists as his breathing peaked. It was so unlike the Benji he knew that it actually made him worry that Benji might just attack him in some rage fit.

"There has to be a third option," he stated more calmly. "We need to think about it".

Benji was drawing in deep breaths, trying to regain control over himself. He slammed his eyes shut.

"Either way, I need to disappear," he said quietly.

"I feel kind of ashamed of it now," Benji commented absently. "Of even suggesting that Brandt would…" he paused for a second, not wanting to finish the sentence. "But that was just my state. I couldn't see any other option. Couldn't think straight".

"How much has Luther told you about… about this?" Brandt was looking from Jane to Ethan.

"He showed us the video," Ethan replied, sensing Jane shrug at the memory by his side.

"How did you get Lovett to come here?" she asked, causing Brandt to shrug.

"Well, we decided to work out a complicated scheme of action, and it took us a bit more time than my mission would normally require. We expected someone to show up. We needed a believable witness. We didn't know it would be Lovett though…"

"And Luther," Benji added. "When I saw him there, I knew he wouldn't be able to help us in the future. Lovett keeps him close. That was partially why we decided to call you so urgently later on".

"So how did you pull this off?" Jane asked, impatient to finally make sense out of everything.

"That was some true wizardry from Benji here," Brandt patted Benji's back proudly. "I had two guns. One was fully loaded. The other one had two blanks in it…"

"It's like a remote control," Benji explained as Brandt was eying up the equipment with suspicion – something he had been used to doing ever since Dubai. He was now holding a gun which visually was no different to any other. "You pull the trigger and these tiny charges detonate. The rest is acting".

Brandt nodded. There were so many things about this plan that could go wrong. He was most worried about the possibility of them finding out that there were flat bags of fake blood sawn into Benji's shirt. He knew it had most likely occurred to the Brit, but they both didn't bring it up. One thing, however, made him shiver internally.

"Are you sure about this, Benji?" he asked carefully, staring at the substance the Brit was now loading into a small reservoir. He knew they had to hide any sign of life in the technician. They had to use it to make his pulse undetectable. But given Benji's recent history, injecting him with any kind of drug didn't seem healthy.

Benji let out a shudder. It was clear he wasn't very keen on this part of the plan, either.

"We have to, don't we," he muttered before turning to face Brandt. "I just want to make this clear to you, Brandt. I trust you fully. I hope everything works out, and I know you will do your best to make it happen. However, if it doesn't…" he saw the analyst was about to interrupt him and grabbed his shoulders, making him look him in the eyes. "If you sense they are about to discover our plans, you will have to use the other gun," he saw horror flash in his friend's eyes and looked down. "If they find out that you are plotting something with me, we are both dead. We can't have that. Someone has to bring them down".

Brandt nodded slowly. He really hoped everything would work out.

"You saw the rest," Brandt concluded, not looking at his colleagues. "It did work out. Pull the trigger, the charges detonate, fake blood. The rest was acting…"

"You were pretty good," Benji suddenly spoke up. "That's the kind of acting that gets people nominated for an Oscar".

Brandt smiled.

"Well, had to look believable while injecting you with that stuff".

"And what about your beatings?" Jane asked suddenly, eying up her friends' bruised faces.

"We figured Benji wouldn't have gone without a fight," Brandt's features became serious once again. "So we pulled some Fight Club stuff…"

"Apart from my eyebrow," Benji intervened again, pointing at his still painful looking injury.

"What happened to your eyebrow?" Ethan tensed.

"That's actually pretty funny," Brandt smiled again. "He slipped near a stairway and hit his head".

"That was not funny!" Benji exclaimed, recalling the moment, sounding almost childishly whiny.

"It wasn't," Brandt remembered being actually worried when it had happened. But Benji's expression, despite the blood trickling down his face, and the fact that, while facing danger all the time, it was actually something as trivial as simple clumsiness that sent him down, made Will giggle. "But it is now, in hindsight. A little".

"Well, maybe a little," Benji's features finally softened. Even though he didn't smile, the mere change of expression sent a wave of relief through his teammates and they found themselves chuckling. Despite everything, it was still Benji. Their Benji.