A/N: So sorry for the delay in updating! Moving turned out to be a much bigger project than I had anticipated. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed the last chapter- I hope you enjoy this one!

Chapter Three- Broken Silence

"So, how've you been, Becker?" Matt asked, breaking the awkward silence in Becker's truck that had been present since they had left the ARC's parking garage several minutes before.

Becker cast a sidelong glance at him. "Fine." He answered shortly. Matt had never been one for small talk before and Becker found his sudden interest in his well-being suspicious. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, no reason. Just haven't seen you around much these past few weeks. You've been spending a lot of time in the armory."

"No more than usual." Becker replied cautiously.

Matt shook his head. "I know you love the armory more than anyone, Becker, but for the past few weeks you've hardly come out except to respond to the anomalies." Matt watched his face carefully for a reaction as he prepared his next comment. "Ever since that incident with Ethan and the bomb, now that I think about it."

"Hmm." Becker answered noncommittally, fighting to keep his face neutral. As a soldier, he recognized an interrogation when he saw one. Matt's sudden interest in his daily routine was extremely out of character and Becker had a sinking feeling he knew where this inquiry was headed.

"You've been in a bit of a mood ever since then, you know." Matt continued, pretending not to notice Becker's unease.

"A mood?" Becker repeated sarcastically.

"Connor's word, not mine," he said with a shrug, "but he's not wrong. You've definitely been, well, more Becker than usual. Connor and I aren't the only ones who have noticed. Abby and Lester are worried about you as well. Lester seems to think you might be about to snap."

"I've had work to do." Becker explained tersely, hoping Matt would accept the flimsy excuse without further questions. "I'm the Head of Security. It's not an easy job keeping you and your people alive, you know. I don't have time to hang around socializing at the water cooler with the rest of you."

"Ah, of course." Matt paused for a moment before continuing. "Which would explain why you've been so carefully avoiding the ADD."

"I have not been avoiding anything," Becker shot back, his tone growing threatening. "I told you, I've had work to do."

"So this sudden work ethic has nothing to do with a certain field coordinator with a fondness for short skirts and chocolate?"

Becker's knuckles turned white as he tightened his grip on the steering wheel, knowing he had been caught. "Jess is good at her job. She's a valuable asset to my team. That's all."

Matt nodded, smiling to himself in triumph, knowing he had finally hit a nerve. His original plan had been to wait to bring up the subject until after he had gotten a few drinks in Becker, however, questioning him when he was cornered in a vehicle and unable to hit him was certainly proving to have its advantages. "Right, good to know. So you wouldn't mind if I asked her out then?"

Becker braked at a red light much harder than was necessary and turned to glare at Matt who was smirking back at him.

"Don't worry, mate, I'm not going to steal your girl away from you. If you like her, you should ask her out. Take her to dinner or the firing range or something."

Becker turned his attention back to the road as the light turned green and traffic began to move again. "It's… complicated." he answered.

Matt rolled his eyes. "It's always complicated, Becker. But she isn't going to wait around forever."

"If you asked me for a drink so we could talk about our feelings, then-"

"Who's talking about feelings?" Matt asked innocently. "I'm just making conversation."

Becker's mobile rang and he snatched it up without checking the caller ID, thankful for the interruption. "Becker." He answered. "It's the ARC," he explained to Matt a moment later. "Right," he said, balancing the phone between his ear and his shoulder and reaching for the truck's sat nav, "what are the coordinates?"

Matt searched his pockets for his own phone only to discover it missing. He cursed himself for having forgotten it at the ARC and waited impatiently for Becker to finish the call so he could fill him in.

"Looks like we're going to have to get that drink some other time," Becker said as he ended the call. "An anomaly just opened a few blocks from here. Abby and Connor are en route and a security team will meet us there." He looked to Matt for approval.

Matt nodded. "Let's do it."

Becker slammed on the brakes and threw the truck into a sharp U-turn before speeding off in the opposite direction, weaving in and out of traffic, and racing through yellow lights.

"Next time, I am definitely driving," Matt commented, his voice sounding slightly strained as Becker narrowly avoided colliding with an SUV as he cut across traffic.

Becker ignored his criticism and instead focused on navigating through the increasingly congested city streets. They reached the coordinates within a matter of minutes: it was a construction site in the middle of a district of London that was undergoing major renovations. Becker vaguely remembered reading something in the paper about tearing down the older buildings to make way for a new office center. Most of the buildings had been gutted and the roads had been torn up, leaving bumpy dirt paths where paved roads had once been. What little space there was between the buildings was taken up by heavy construction equipment and trailers. The area seemed to be completely deserted, all the workers having gone home for the night. Becker noticed a guard's station near the front of the site that was still empty. He guessed that the night watchman had not yet arrived for his shift and he made a mental note to have someone check on that as soon as the anomaly site was secured.

"Nice neighborhood," Matt remarked, surveying the bleak construction site. "At least we won't have to worry about civilians getting in the way."

"This is it," Becker said, indicating one of the smaller office buildings with a nod of his head. He circled the building once before turning down the ramp leading into the underground parking garage the relief field coordinator had described. The garage was surprisingly large for such a small building, at least fifty meters across with a high ceiling. The power to the building had been turned off and so there were no lights save for the dim light coming from the anomaly itself, which was located almost in the exact center of the garage. Becker switched on the headlights to illuminate the garage before parking at the bottom of the ramp about twenty meters from the anomaly.

"Doesn't look like anything's come through," Matt observed as he climbed out of the truck.

"Yet." Becker added darkly. "Hold up," he said as Matt started to walk towards the anomaly. He walked around to the bed of the truck and lowered the tailgate.

Matt joined him and peered into the truck bed. "What's all this?" he asked indicating several large metal cases packed neatly inside.

Becker selected one of the closer cases and unlocked it, producing two EMDs. Handing one to Matt, he explained, "I like to be prepared."

"Are they all weapons?" Matt asked suspiciously, already knowing the answer.

Becker nodded curtly. "Of course." He pulled off his jacket and tossed it into the bed of the truck before pulling on his spare tac vest and slamming the tailgate closed. "Let's secure the perimeter before the others get here."

Weapons raised, they approached the wall to the right. Becker noted an elevator in the far corner of the garage that he suspected would not be operational and a set of stairs next to it which presumably led to the ground floor of the office building above. It never hurt to have an exit strategy in case something went wrong, he reminded himself.

"What are all these wires for?" Matt asked, stooping next to the wall to have a closer look.

Becker pulled a small flashlight from his vest and panned the light down the wall to follow the wires back to their source. They ran all the way along the wall and up to the next floor through a series of small holes drilled into the ceiling. "This building is scheduled for demolition tomorrow," he said, recalling his brief conversation earlier with the relief field coordinator. "The construction crew must have gone ahead and set the wires for the charges." He spotted several crates stacked a few feet away and went to investigate.

Matt turned quickly to look at Becker. "This place is wired to blow? Brilliant."

Becker shook his head. "They haven't placed the detonators yet," he said, reaching into the box and producing one. "We should be safe. Just don't… touch anything."

Matt raised an eyebrow. "Should be safe? With our luck?"

Becker conceded the point with a shrug of his shoulders and carefully replaced the detonator in the crate. "Then let's hope Connor gets here soon with a locking device before anything comes through."

Matt nodded. "Aye." He glanced at his watch. "They should be here soon."

They completed the rest of their search in silence before returning to the truck to wait for the others to arrive.

"Matt," Becker said slowly, carefully avoiding looking at the other man, "what we were talking about before…"

Matt looked at him with interest, wondering what else Becker might reveal about his personal life. "Yeah?"

"If you tell anyone, I'll shoot you."

Matt chuckled to himself. "Fair enough." He paused for a moment, listening intently. "I think I hear a car outside."

"Go check if it's Connor and Abby. I'll stay here."

Becker watched Matt jog back up the ramp and out of the garage before turning back to face the anomaly. He walked toward it slowly, weapon raised, staring into the light with intense concentration as though he was willing himself to see through to the other side. Behind him he heard a car pull into the garage and he relaxed slightly when he heard Connor and Abby's voices asking Matt about the anomaly.

But when a fourth voice, one he knew all too well, joined the conversation, his relief turned to panic. He spun quickly just in time to see Jess hop out of her car and turn to smile and wave at him.

A/N: With a little luck, I should have the next chapter up within the next couple of days. If you have a minute, please review!