Disclaimer: Still don't own it
Sorry for the day late update but as you know, I always release Sweet Sacrifice along with story and the latest chapter needed to be rewritten; which lead to the delay on this chapter being updated. Anyways, please Read and review and even criticism would be welcomed since I want to know what you guys think. Once again, a shout out to my friend Paraddicted for the pre-read and you should check out her stories.
Mona stared at Spencer through the glass.
Her eyes were narrowed as she continued to look at her former enemy who was just silent after her little speech.
It was taking every ounce of Mona's will not to have Spencer arrested and stuck in the deepest darkest hole she could find. It was still surprising that the FBI Agent had simply walked into her place of work in order to request a meeting; something that Mona thought Spencer wouldn't do given their history. Then again, she had heard about the body being found just a few buildings away so it shouldn't come as a complete shock that Spencer would want help in finding the perpetrator; especially since it appeared that a new A had risen from the ashes.
Both women knew the implications of that factor.
"What do you want to do?" asked one of her subordinates from the right of her; a tall man who stood in the dark room with her. Mona didn't answer him but simply pulled out her phone and sent a text to the agent in the room; who received it with a loud buzz of his phone and then left Spencer alone as he exited the interrogation room.
"Do you want to stick her in a cell?" asked the agent who had just been with her former enemy as he entered. Mona had a smirk on her face at the words and was actually considering ordering it done.
"Tempting but her boyfriend would lay siege to this place to get her back as well as put us in conflict with the State Police as well as the FBI," Mona said dryly as she watched Spencer sit back down and fold her arms with an impatient look on her face.
"Are you going to meet with her?" inquired the dark skinned man as he exchanged glances with the other NSA Agent in the room. The two men were the only few people in the agency who knew the entire story of what was between the two women.
"Do you think I should?" asked the shorter woman as she turned and faced her two subordinates, wanting their honest opinion. Everyone who worked in the building had been handpicked by Mona and were the people she trusted the most as well as her friends for years.
"You were pretty upset when you read that e-mail; at the very least you could provide them with information they need," suggested the Caucasian man next to her. He looked to be a few years older than her like the other agent in the room.
"And you?" Mona asked, looking at the other man in the room.
"I'm with him; plus you could always help," he stated with a shrug which earned an eyebrow raised from the woman. His companion also gave him a surprised look given the implications of the matter.
"Explain," ordered the Assistant-Director in a firm but polite tone. She had always told her subordinates to speak their minds.
"You've been on edge ever since that first body appeared and everyone here can see it. We trust you completely but I think you need to handle this for some closure. Plus, they obviously can't get the job done without you," said the dark-skinned man and Mona seemed to consider his words. She looked at the other agent who nodded, seeming to agree with what the other man said.
"I'll be right back; keep the audio off," she ordered and the two men nodded as Mona then left the room to confront Spencer.
Spencer looked up as the door to the interrogation room opened up and Mona appeared at the door way. Unlike the black hoodie she was in earlier, she was dressed a little more officially with her hair tied back. She was wearing a blue skirt with a matching blazer; with a white blouse underneath as well as high heels on her feet. Spencer recognized the look as one Mona had used when they had encountered one another at Radley when she had still been a teen; back when Spencer had been incarcerated because of her breakdown. The FBI Agent wondered if it was a coincidence that Mona was wearing the exact same outfit now or if she always wore that while here at work.
While Spencer unfolded her arms and sat up, Mona took her seat opposite from the woman and leaned in.
"Thank you for seeing me," Spencer said to Mona, trying to keep her voice as polite as possible and not create another incident.
"Well you did come here alone and said you wanted my help; so you have my attention," Mona stated while staring at the other woman, keeping her features stern. There was so much tension in the room; it could be felt on the other side of the glass even though neither of the two men could hear what they were saying.
"You heard about the other body?" asked the FBI Agent, wanting to get straight to the point. As much as she was curious about what had happened with Mona all this time as well as how she became a part of the NSA, there were more pressing concerns.
"Yes; you said it was the representation of Hanna?" inquired the shorter woman, keeping the apprehension she was feeling under control.
"Pretty much; dressed up to look like she did back in high school," answered Spencer with a grim look upon her face.
"So I guess that makes two now," said Mona, more as a statement than a question. The woman was equally grim since the implications were more than obvious to her.
"And two more to come unless there is a representation of you and Alison that is set to appear unless we stop him or her," Spencer pressed, emphasizing that the word "we" to the woman sitting on the opposite side of the table.
"What makes you think that A will do a representation of me?" Mona asked, curious since the thought never occurred to her. When she and the others had been held captive by Charles, no one had been made to dress up like her; just the five girls with even Alison allowed to be herself.
"I don't know; I just feel that there is a chance that all six of us could be represented in this sick game by this new A," answered the FBI Agent, stating what she believed even though it was out of pure instinct.
"So why come to me; I am pretty sure that you, Toby, and Mike could handle this. You could even rope in the rest of the Scooby gang for a mystery adventure," Mona mocked, smirking at the other woman and appearing to not care. Spencer just narrowed her eyes and dropped her polite demeanor since she was getting annoyed with Mona's attitude.
"Listen, like I said, you have a grudge against me and I understand. But, this is bigger than what we have and I need whatever you have to help stop this," stated the FBI Agent as forcibly as possible.
"What makes you think that I have anything?" inquired the shorter woman off handily, waving her arm as if it were nothing.
"Because you are Mona Vanderwaal and you always know something; I also doubt that it was a coincidence that you just happened to be at that travel agency where the first victim got the tickets when we showed up," pressed Spencer as she leaned forward and stared into the eyes of her former enemy in order to make her point.
"What do you want?" asked the NSA Agent, sighing after a minute of silence. She leaned back and dropped her hostile demeanor.
"I just want your help; you have more resources at your disposal than what me and the others have," answered Spencer, being truthful in the matter as well as dropping her hostility.
"I'll be in touch," Mona simply said after a minute of silence; as if it were final. She then got up and left the room over Spencer's objections; ignoring the woman completely.
After telling her two subordinates to escort Spencer out of the building, Mona proceeded through the building towards the communications room. She passed fellow agents who were going about their business, who moved aside out of respect. Mona knew all their names since she had just about handpicked every last person in the building; so she smiled at them out of courtesy while she walked passed them. After arriving at a lone door which looked like all the rest in the building, at the end of the hall, Mona typed her personal code into the keypad on the side of the then entrance as well as put her eye to the retinal scanner just above it. After confirming her identification, the door unlocked and let the woman inside.
The room itself was mostly shrouded in darkness and quite large; with the only illumination from various computer monitors on the side as well as the large screen directly in front. Since it was empty of fellow agents, Mona was able to have a private conversation without anyone overhearing on her end. Though she trusted her subordinates, Mona still harbored some paranoia because of what happened to her at the dollhouse. No matter how many years had gone by, the woman still had scars just like the others; which often had forced her to confront more difficult aspects of her job. After typing in a few command at one of the computers, Mona stood there until a person appeared on the main monitor.
"I didn't expect to be hearing from you given that I already had gotten your report," said Director Ward as he looked surprised to be seeing his subordinate. The man was a lot older than Mona, in his late fifties, and had his hair though mostly all of it was grey. His face was clean shaven, with white skin, and appeared to be wearing a black suit though only the top half of him could be seen on the screen.
"I've run into a situation," Mona stated, her voice sounding hesitant which caught the Director's full attention.
"Does it have anything to do with the two bodies found this week?" the man asked with his eyebrow raised. He gave a small chuckle when it appeared that he caught Mona by surprise on the statement.
"Word spreads fast," stated the NSA Agent with a sigh and shouldn't have been surprised since her boss seemed to know everything.
"I have friends in the other agencies who have talked about the murders; I also know about the e-mail you found as well. Since I am one of the few who know your complete past, I assume that your call is about the case?" inquired Director Ward, leaning back in his chair.
"Yes; Spencer Hastings has asked for my help and I wonder if it would be okay that I take some time off to deal with this," Mona said to the man which earned her a slight look of surprised from her boss. Out of all of the people who worked under him, Mona had never once taken a day off in her life.
"That isn't a problem since you need the time off but are you sure that something like this needs your attention? You went to great lengths to walk away from all of that," stated the older man, reminding Mona of the past somewhat.
"I think I need to do this; plus Spencer is way out of her league on this though Toby knows what he is doing," said the shorter agent; which earned a smirk from her boss.
"I approve then and take all the time you need; though if something comes up, I will want you back without delay," Director Ward said and his subordinate nodded. She smiled in thanks and the communication link was then cut.
Mona then headed out of the room and straight to her office which was not too far from where the communications room. After going down a few doors, Mona walked inside and to her desk which was at the back end of the room. Her office was rather barren with nothing on the pink walls and everything centered around her desk area; there was a night lamp next to where her work space was with an overhead light for more illumination. The large wooden black oak desk held her computer, phone, and several other items. There was a single picture of her and her mother, taken last year, facing where Mona sat. There was also a scattering of paperwork on her desk which contained various reports as well as other miscellaneous materials.
Once Mona was seated, she sent out a number of texts to call her subordinates to her; gathering her things while she waited for them to arrive.
The door opened up a short time later and a small group of individuals entered the office; lining up side by side in front of her desk. Other than the two men who had been with her when Spencer had been in the interrogation room, there was also an Asian woman with dark hair and two blondes who had arrived as well; dressed in black suits. They all seemed to be curious about their boss packing her things since after years of working with Mona; they knew her habits rather well. The Assistant-Director was always the last to leave when going home and never ventured far from the office unless she had to go to headquarters in Washington. Given that they had spent the most time with her from the very beginning, they knew something was up.
"I am leaving for a while to take care of something personal so it will be up to you guys to run the office while I am away. Since nothing major is on our desks right now, the Director said I can take all the time I need; though I don't know how long I will be gone. You are to call me immediately if anything does come up though," ordered Mona as she grabbed her personal laptop and placed it in her shoulder bag.
"I am guessing that this has to do with the bodies?" inquired one of the blondes; who had first alerted Mona to the second corpse being found not too far from where they worked.
"It has to do with closure," Mona simply answered which earned her a series of sympathetic smiles from the group. Each knew of what had happened to their boss all those years ago so there was no need for an explanation.
"If you need our help, we're here for you," stated the dark-skinned man sincerely since he often viewed Mona as a younger sister of sorts. His fellow agents nodded in agreement and Mona offered a smile in thanks.
"I'll be fine; thank you though," said the woman as she finished gathering her things and gave them a look of appreciation. She then left the office and towards where her car was parked.
The building sported its own underground parking garage that had a more secretive entrance than the other agencies in the area; built once the NSA had moved into the building. It was well secured and only accessible by the agents stationed in the city. Once Mona entered the garage, she walked towards the small blue vehicle parked towards the front where one could enter the building proper; an advantage of being the boss. Once she unlocked the vehicle and turned off her custom security protocols, Mona started the car and then drove out of the garage to her destination. Since she always had a bag packed in the trunk for overnight stays, there was no need to go home.
When Mona and her team had first been assigned to Philadelphia after reentering the country after years of being overseas, the first thing she had done was to see who from her past was in the area. She wasn't surprised to see that Toby was now working in the city with the State Police given that Tanner had voiced her respect for the young man. She was surprised though that Spencer had joined the FBI and was working not too far from where she was; expecting the woman to simply follow in her parent's footsteps and become a lawyer. After making sure to avoid the couple, Mona decided to check on the rest of the old gang to see what they were up to after all of these years. It wasn't hard to do and had been slightly astounded to find out that the old posse of girls wasn't much of a group anymore.
After driving for about ten minutes, Mona arrived at the State Police Headquarters and parked her car in one of the free spaces in the back.
After grabbing her things, she made sure her car was secured and headed into the building; smiling at the security staff while showing her badge. Mona was one of the rare people in the city that had an all access pass to any official Government building; whether it being State or Federal so she was simply waved through without a second thought. Since there was often coordination between the various agencies and their respective counterparts in the State, she didn't earn a second glance. Since Mona knew the building layout well, she had no problem finding where Toby's office was.
Finding the office empty, Mona assumed that Toby and Mike were either briefing Tanner or still at the crime scene. Deciding to simply take up residence, she sat down on the floor and took out her laptop; booting it up and linking with the building's server. Though she knew everything about the first body that was found, Mona had yet to check up on the second corpse given that it was still fresh. Hopefully, the autopsy was finished or at least the reports were posted on the crime scene. Finding what she needed, the NSA Agent began reading and catching up with the investigation; even hacking into Toby's and Mike's computer for the relevant information while she waited.
That is when Toby and Mike entered the room; their jaws dropping at the sight of her.
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