Chapter 7- Are You Done With Me?
Leah, once again, hailed a taxi and headed for the garage Scorpion apparently called headquarters. She fretted in the backseat the entire time. This whole thing was not going to end well for her. The woman just hoped she'd be able to get away from Agent Gallo and get back for her flight in time.
Her plan was to give the cabbie some money so he kept the meter running while she walked into the garage, stayed near the door, told Agent Gallo the relative truth, and then get the hell out of there.
With luck, Gallo wouldn't shoot her.
Of course, she wasn't planning to tell him that she was sent here to kill him, but considering how much he hadn't trusted her earlier, she imagined he'd put two and two together.
So it was important she make this quick, but also get the point across.
Leah also had to make sure those two idiots from the hotel didn't catch her again. She couldn't keep fighting her way out of this. She was good, but part of it was knowing that trouble was coming. It would help her, but only to a point. Not to mention, all they had to do was set up a sniper and she was done for.
Not even Leah could run from a sniper.
The closer the cab got to the garage, the calmer Leah became. She was in the zone. She was used to killing people for a living, she could easily do this.
"Keep the meter running, please," she said as the cab pulled over to the curb just outside the front door. She slipped three 20s through the little hole in the plexiglass.
"No problem, lady," he replied, happily taking the cash.
With a deep breath, Leah pushed open the cab door and hurried over to the front door. She entered the building, cautious of what kind of environment she was walking into.
The members of Scorpion were busy, rushing around, collecting things. What had she walked into?
"Hey!" one of the men called out as the door slammed behind Leah.
Leah took a defensive stance, watching as a couple of the members of the team stopped what they were doing.
"I just need a quick word with your Agent Gallo and then I'm gone," she said.
"Not likely," Agent Gallo said, walking down the stairs from the upper level.
"Look, I'm out of time and so are you. Take me seriously when I tell you someone's coming to kill you. I don't know who and I don't know when, but you're in danger," she said quickly.
Agent Gallo narrowed his eyes at her as he walked closer. Leah backed up to the door, groping behind her for the handle. She had said what she needed to and judging by how he looked like he wanted to arrest her, she was fairly certain he grasped the gravity of the situation.
"Alright, good luck and good bye, Agent Gallo," Leah said before opening the door. She hurried out and turned. Stopping, Leah cursed loudly. The cabbie was gone. "Are you fucking kidding me?"
"Looks like your ride is gone," Gallo said from behind her.
Leah turned, letting out a deep breath. She saw his hand on his waist, probably sitting on his weapon. "Well fuck me. I've got to get out of the city. Out of the state. Somebody's trying to kill you and now someone's trying to kill me. Get your guys out of here and find somewhere safe."
"Somebody's after you?" Gallo questioned. His fingers twitched slightly.
"Yeah. I know too much. So naturally, I'm on the list," Leah said as she looked around nervously. "We're in the open. We should not be. I don't know if they've got snipers, but if they do…," Leah trailed off, looking back to Agent Gallo. "I don't need you to trust me, Agent Gallo, I just need you to believe me."
He stood still for a moment before nodding. "Fine, I believe you. What's your plan?"
Leah chuckled and shook her head. "Oh no, I'm not sharing that with you. Already told you too much. I'm getting out of here." Leah turned and began heading down the street. She didn't know the way too well, but she just needed to get to a safe place to call a cab and get out of here.
"Hey, wait," Gallo said.
Against better judgment, Leah paused. She heard a door open behind her.
"If you're in trouble too, I can protect you."
Leah outright laughed and turned around completely. "I didn't come here for protection, Agent Gallo. And truth be told, you can't protect me any better than I can protect myself. I am better on my own. I just came here to warn you because you deserve that." The Doctor and one of the men were standing behind Gallo, watching the exchange.
"Why? How could you know what Cabe deserves?" the other man asked. "We know what kind of man he is. But how do you?"
"What does it matter what I know or how I know it? Jesus Christ. Get the point already! Somebody is going to try to kill your friend and might just accomplish it. I don't know who, I don't know when, and I don't know why. I did what I could do." Leah looked at Gallo. "The rest is up to you. You solve things. Solve this!" she snapped before turning and walking away.
"I could arrest you!" Gallo threatened, walking after her.
She looked over her shoulder at him. "Then you're sentencing me to death. Comfortable with that, Agent Gallo?"
He stopped in his tracks, his eyes almost pleading with her, but she didn't know why. And she didn't care.
Leah kept walking. She had a flight to catch.
She returned to the motel after catching yet another cab. Leah had done all she could do. She warned him. Hopefully he would take her seriously.
But she couldn't get his eyes out of her mind. There was something in that look he gave her. He was pleading, but for what? More information? To let him protect her? What?
Maybe Leah could have told him that it was the Irish, but that was a lot of information to give. And it went against her self-preservation. If she outright told him it was the Irish, it opened her up to a lot. Maybe she'd call Homeland once she got out of the country.
Of course, he might be dead by then.
Agent Gallo worked for Homeland. Surely he had plenty of resources at his feet? He could figure it out.
Curling back up in the bed, Leah's mind was still running through all of the possibilities. She still felt guilty.
That wasn't anything new though. Leah often felt guilt after killing. How could you not? Taking a life was relatively easy in some senses, but there were still lasting consequences. She might have her ten rules to navigate the assassin world, but she was still a killer.
Squeezing her eyes shut, Leah tried to shut out the thoughts, but Gallo's blue eyes wouldn't go away. They were calling to her, reminding her of the life she left behind twenty-one years ago.
At 18, Leah Cross graduated from high school and immediately took the Police Officer's Exam. She passed and several months later graduated from Police Academy to be a Police Officer in Farmington Hills, Michigan. She lasted three years in Farmington before she quit and moved to Nashville to try again. Nashville last just a year. With a last ditch effort, she moved to Omaha, Nebraska and tried again. Finally, Leah gave up on being a cop in 1995.
It wasn't that she was a bad cop, per se. She just couldn't stand the injustices of the world. The rich white men who got away with everything. The men who got away with rape. She beat up one too many criminals for any of the cities to approve of. White male cops could get away with murder, but Leah couldn't hit an alleged rapist without getting fired.
Her union rep told her she had "too much passion for justice". Aka, she was too angry. Too violent.
Gallo reminded her of those years for some reason. Maybe because he was law enforcement. Maybe because he had kind eyes. He sort of reminded her of her Captain in Omaha. Gruff, but wanting nothing but the best for those around him. Captain Peake gave Leah a lot of opportunities, but in the end, she was too destructive. He kept in touch with her until 1998.
That was the year Leah dropped off the radar and started doing hits for money. It was in 2000 that the Irish found out about her and Andy brought her in. Sixteen years later, she had killed a lot of people for the Irish.
She should have known that eventually they would come for her. She had killed too many people; knew too many secrets. With her rules, she was a risk. A risk at running. A risk of turning states evidence.
But Leah also knew there was nowhere in the US that would be safe for her. The Irish had a lot of resources and a lot of hidden assets. She wouldn't be safe in prison. She wouldn't be safe in witness protection.
Like she told Gallo, her best bet was on her own.
So here she was, curled up in a dirty motel bed, trying to forget about the Homeland Agent that was likely going to end up dead.
Hearing footsteps and voices outside of her room, Leah tensed. Please just be walking by, she thought, squeezing her eyes shut tighter.
"Open the damn door, Leah!" someone shouted. Based on the voice, she guessed it was Agent Gallo.
"Fuck!" she groaned.
Just what she needed.
