Disclaimer: Still don't own it
Spencer knew her boss didn't like the idea.
Neither did the agent from the Behavioral Analysis Unit that the Assistant-Director called i9n to consult.
After she had laid out her plan to catch Tabitha Clark, her boss looked at the young agent with a rather grim demeanor. It had been the exact same look that Toby had as well as Tanner when she had first told them; though Mike was unsure what to think. Mona approved, which didn't surprise Spencer, and gave the plan her full support; even beginning the early stages on what was needed to be done. Even though Spencer had yet to get approval from any of the parties to go through with her plan, she wanted to at least be ready just in case. There was quite a lot to do to make the plan work and secrecy was key; which was why she was meeting with her boss alone in his office. The BAU Agent also promised to keep the plan off the books in case it was approved; though he was adamant on the risks it involved.
The plan was pretty straight forward though it involved a few steps before it was ready to be initiated. First off was making sure that Doctor Clark didn't already have someone representing Spencer in her clutches; which they now believed to be the case. By luck, the team managed to find out the third person that had been taken by Jonathan Myers before his death at the hands of Mona; a blonde that was a recovering drug addict and assumed to represent Alison. With that revelation, they now knew that it was Emily and herself that A still needed templates for. By forcing the Doctor's hand, Spencer wanted herself to be abducted and brought to the Dollhouse since there was a chance that Tabitha would want the real thing. The BAU Agent theorized that Tabitha Clark wanted the people she admired rather than representations; thus the attempted kidnapping of Mona. Spencer hoped that A had the same respect for her so that there could be an attempted on herself as well.
To force A to grab Spencer, the FBI Agent planned to attack the good doctor's ego; by revealing the game to the world. She still had friends in the media, though contacts of her parents, and the plan was to leak the A Game with even some quotes from Spencer that were rather insulting to Tabitha Clark. Mona in the meantime would make sure that the FBI Agent was wired with a few tracking devices even though they knew where the lair was; just to be sure. The place was still under constant surveillance from Mona's people in the NSA so it was still low key; since there was a chance that A had people in the FBI or had hacked the network. There was nothing on computer record that the lair had been found; in order not to tip A off. When Spencer arrived in the Dollhouse, she would make contact with the other victims and alert the cavalry.
It was a simple and effective plan; though incredibly risky as well.
"I have to say Agent Hastings that I don't like putting the people under me at risk like this; even if it is their plan to begin with," stated Assistant-Director Ashford as just finished reading the full detail of Spencer's plan; that he insisted on having in writing so that it was fully detailed. The BAU Specialist had also read the plan and had issues with it as well; especially since he advised that angering A could get a hostage killed.
"I understand that sir; but this is the only way to get inside Tabitha Clark's Lair to rescue the hostages and catch her unawares," said Spencer, trying to keep her tone as official and professional as possible. She knew that the entire plan was riding on getting approval from her boss since it would grease the wheels for the other parties involved.
"Why do you call it a "lair"?" Ashford asked, finding the term interesting though a little strange since it reminded him of something that a super villain would have if this was a movie.
"Because that is how every A has termed their central hub; from Mona Vanderwaal to Charles DiLaurentis. By calling it a "Lair" it gives the owner a place of power as part of their psychosis," answered the BAU Specialist before Spencer could respond. While the BAU wasn't officially a part of the case since they hadn't been invited in; Ashford still wanted their expert advice given the complications of the case.
The man himself was a great deal older than her; which wasn't a surprise since most of the BAU were made up of older individuals. He was light skinned, short, stocky, and had brown hair with a trace of greyness along the edges. Unlike her boss, the BAU Specialist was dressed a little more casually with him being in a pair of black jeans with a blue sweater vest as well black tennis shoes. This told Spencer that the man was probably off shift when her boss called him in since the BAU wasn't that laid back in comparison to the other departments at the FBI; all abiding by a dress code handed down by whoever was in charge. Spencer knew that Director Ashford had a good number of friends in key places at the FBI and could call someone for a consult if it was needed.
"Well regardless of what you call it; this plan of yours is still incredible risky. From what I have read, Doctor Tabitha Clark is incredibly intelligent and quite sociopathic; thus by going forward with this plan, you are putting yourself as well as the other hostages in serious danger," said the Assistant-Director, quite adamant on the danger Spencer was about to put herself into.
"But this is the only way to get in and past her defenses. Despite her intelligence, Tabitha Clark is incredibly arrogant and will be caught off guard; like every A that came before her. I plan on exploiting this weakness," Spencer explained to her boss in an attempt to persuade him. She had gone over it with what she was going to say to the man with Mona before she came here; who coached her on what to say.
"Why not just go in now? From what I have read, you are more than sure that the location you have identified is the place of operations for this A; a full team should be able to go in with no issues," advised Ashford though Spencer had a feeling that the man was testing her; given that he knew the risks better than anyone on that particular plan.
"A has always had traps in their lairs before and I imagine that Tabitha Clark is ready in case we do go in. I don't want to risk the lives going in as well as the hostages in case she triggers something on her escape," answered the FBI Agent with full conviction.
"I agree with Agent Hastings on that point. It is in my belief that Doctor Tabitha Clark will have traps set that will be triggered if our people as well as the police go in," stated the BAU Specialist, backing up what Spencer just said. The junior agent was glad for the support for at least that part of the conversation though she had no clue if he backed her plan.
"Do you think this plan has merit?" Ashford asked the man, looking over and still looked unsure whether to approve it or not. It took the BAU Agent a good couple of minutes before he could respond and Spencer was nervous for every minute of silence from the man.
"Like you have said, it is risky and under normal circumstances I would have advised against it and that the FBI should take over immediately. However, I do believe her plan is the best scenario for the moment," answered the BAU Specialist; which sounded like an endorsement to the junior agent. Ashford leaned back in his chair and began to think about it, which lasted several minutes before he spoke up again.
"Alright; you have my support to go through with it. But you and the State Police are to keep in contact with my office every step of the way so that we can have a team standing by in case something goes wrong," ordered the older man and Spencer nodded; promising to stay in touch as he signed the request, then handing it back to her.
Spencer then left the office and went back to her desk to pack for her next destination.
Since things were about to get exposed, Spencer felt that her friends needed to know what was going on first; so they didn't have to find out from a news report. While she was busy with the FBI, Toby was gathering all of their former friends, the ones in the area anyways, at Mona's house since it was the biggest and most secure place to meet. While they wouldn't be helping in any shape or form, they still needed to be told all about A as well as what she had been doing; including the murders. She knew that they would be angry with her as well as Toby for not saying anything to them further; but she also knew that the guys would at least understand. As much as she loved her friends, Spencer understood they were still somewhat immature; like they had been back in highschool. It took her a few years into the FBI Academy to realize that as well as what had happened with Charles; but to be fair, she was young.
After grabbing her stuff from her desk, Spencer left her desk after clicking off the little lamp she had. It was late and a lot of her fellow agents had left for the night or were on other assignments; thus there were very few people around. Taking the elevator down, she walked to her car with no issues and got in; then driving out of the parking garage. Her phone beeped and Spencer saw that everyone had arrived at Mona's; bringing food alone with them. They had all agreed to bring something since it was hardly expected for their host to cook. While the girls were trying to repair their relationship with their former nemesis, it was no way at the level of friendly dinners and girl's nights. Spencer had some chips and salsa in her backseat that she was bringing to contribute.
Getting to Mona's didn't take that long at all; though Spencer paid attention to see if she was being followed. Though they didn't expect Tabitha Clark to act within the next few days, the team was still being careful as well as cautious in case she was watching their moves. This was why the NSA were the only ones watching A's Lair since there was no way that A could infiltrate their systems. When she arrived at Mona's house, the rest of the gang were already there since the FBI Agent recognized their vehicles. After parking her car directly behind the Fitz's, the young woman grabbed the bag full of food and headed inside; though she politely knocked. Toby was there to meet her, taking one of the bags; dressed a little more casually than what he wore at the office. Making their way further into the house, Spencer saw that Aria, Ezra, Hanna, and Caleb were already seated on the couch.
"Sorry I am late; had some things to wrap up at the office," said Spencer as Mike appeared to take the groceries into the kitchen. He was still in his work attire and probably hadn't had a chance to get home and change.
"No problem but I am just surprised that you wanted to meet us like this; especially here of all places," Aria said as she looked around the bare room; Mona had yet to decorate her home despite her mother and Hanna being around.
"Well we need to talk about something and we needed somewhere private where no one could hear us," stated the FBI Agent in an official tone of voice. That seemed to startle the four since they had never heard her speak to them like that before.
"What's going on?" Ezra inquired as he noted how serious Spencer suddenly was; making eye contact with Caleb, who was sitting near Hanna on the floor. The sparseness of the front room had left very little places to sit; though Hanna was trying to change that.
"There's no way to sugarcoat this; A is back," the FBI Agent announced to the assembled group as she could hear Mike and Mona in the kitchen with Leona Vanderwaal. The reaction was exactly as she had expected; shock and apprehension.
For the next ten minutes, Spencer explained the entire situation to the group; from the murders of the women who had been dressed to mimic them to how Tabitha Clark took over as A. She told them how Charles was murdered by Doctor Clark and how she had her own Dollhouse as well as the same sort of operation that A had. All through her explanation, she watched as both Ezra and Caleb held their respective mate's hand as they silently listened. She could see that both Aria and Hanna were not taking the news well despite their silence; which the FBI Agent could understand since she had gone through that Hell along with them. Even if they were not the direct targets this time, people were still suffering at A's hands. Every now and then Mike would appear with drinks though Mona had yet to be seen. The two had agreed to let Spencer do all the talking and Mona was honoring that part well; staying out of the way. It was she after all that had started the A Game and there was a minute chance that Mona might be blamed.
"So A has been active these last few weeks and you didn't say anything?" Aria asked Spencer with obvious rage in her voice. While Hanna seemed more out of it than angry, her shorter friend's face was all fury.
"Spencer couldn't say anything because this was an official case that we are working on. This also had nothing to do with you," Toby interjected before his girlfriend could respond. While Spencer might be a little reluctant to defend herself against her friend, he knew that he needed to come to her defense.
"This has everything to do with us; everything A related has to do with us and we should have been told," the shorter woman shot back, snapping at the young man. Ezra was attempting to calm her, sympathizing with Toby and Spencer, but Aria was too angry and shrugged him off.
"And what? Run and hide or try to solve the thing yourself like you back at Rosewood High? This is being handled by the professionals for once Aria so calm down," Mona ordered as she emerged from the kitchen with a plate of cooks; followed by Mike, who seemed a little nervous at getting involved in the conversation.
"Fine job then; if this is being "handled by the professionals" then why is it taking so long to track this Doctor Tabitha Clark down?" countered Aria as she stood up to face Mona; shrugging off Ezra once again as he tried to cool her down. As expected, Aria was turning her wrath towards Mona since she was an easy scapegoat.
"And you did such a wonderful job back then; took you years to beat A while our little group has the situation well in hand in a short amount of time. We have this handled Aria and we are only telling you now out of courtesy. So relax and keep your mouth shut," the NSA Agent stated to the young woman as she gave her a bored look. Everyone just froze while Aria was in Mona's face and Ezra as well as Mike moved to separate them in case something happened.
"Why are you telling us now?" inquired Hanna softly, speaking up for the first time. While she was a little annoyed that Spencer had been keeping this from them, she was mature enough to understand why her friend had to stay silent.
"We have a plan to take down A but that involves us revealing everything to the public. I wanted to talk to you guys first given our history with A," answered Spencer soothingly as she watched the tense situation between Aria and Mona. She wished that Mona would have shown a little more tact when confronting Aria but then again, this was Mona after all.
"Was the person who attacked you involved with A?" Ezra asked as the thought suddenly occurred to him. That seemed to startle Aria and Hanna, who then looked at Mona out of a mix of concern as well as surprise.
"Yes; Doctor Clark wanted me for her Dollhouse and tried to grab me using a former corrupt cop," answered the young woman, making sure to motion at her black eye as well as other injuries. That seemed to sober Aria up since she then backed down and went back to her husband's side.
"Why you? Why not the rest of us?" Aria pondered, slightly confused since she always had nightmares of another A returning to ruin her life.
"There are several theories but we think she wanted me because Charles never really broke me and this A wants to," the NSA Agent simply answered as she sat down on the couch next to Hanna; who she offered a cookie to. Her mother was leaving them alone to discuss the situation while she cooked dinner.
"So the other girls are not at risk?" Caleb inquired, already planning to install some extra security features none the less. Though he had believed A to be gone for good, he had always been careful to make sure Hanna was okay.
"No; Doctor Clark seems to be using this whole series of murders as a trial run so that she could do her own thing. As far as we can ascertain, she has no desire to go after the original group aside for Mona," Toby answered him in an attempt to reassure his friend. The team had agreed that if Tabitha Clark had been interesting in going after the entirety of the Core Group, she would have done so a long time ago.
"But you should leave town for a few days just in case; take that family vacation you have been wanting to do for a while," Mike advised his sister and the others. His colleagues nodded in agreement since it was a good idea in case something went wrong.
After all, the best laid plans often went wrong; especially those thought up by Spencer Hastings.
Please Read and Review; also a special thanks to Paraddicted for the pre-read!