A/N - this chapter turned into a bit of a behemoth and I ended up separating it into two parts so you are getting a shorter chapter this week. Thank you to those who have reviewed (including guests!). The support is incredibly appreciated. I proofed this while supervising the creation of a cardboard boat city, complete with an oil rig (shades of season 2 anyone?), so apologies for any errors. Alas, the SS Cardboardia quickly sunk and Baby Boats 1 and 3 were the victims of malicious activity. The SS Nice and Baby Boats 2, 4, 5, and 6 continue to ride the waves. xoxo - tmtcltb
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Ch. 7 - What Goes Around, Comes Around
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"First, we get Kara back to the ship," Danny began, "and then..."
Kara cut him off. "Vargas is smart. And he must have connections. That's the only explanation for how he has managed to stay hidden so long. We have to assume that he knows, or at least suspects, why we are really here. He attacked that hotel to distract us and give himself time to escape. He's assuming that our first step will be to return to the ship and regroup. Hell, he probably has someone watching the port right now."
"Foster's right," Sasha interjected. "If we want to get Vargas, we need to go now. Catch him by surprise."
"Kara's not part of the team," Danny argued, pacing back and forth across the small kitchen. "She's not trained for this."
That stung, but Kara reminded herself that she wasn't trained for this type of mission. On the Nathan James, she fully expected Danny to follow her orders, but here in the field, she had to cede that control. Trust that Danny and Sasha - the whole team - knew what they were doing. She took a deep breath. "So I'll stay here."
"Hell no," Danny snapped, eyes narrowing.
"Why not?" Kara demanded.
"I'm with Green," Sasha sided with Danny this time. "You're a high-profile target, Foster. And this place was designed as a short-term emergency safe-house. We don't have a cover story set up to explain your presence. You could easily attract the wrong kind of attention."
"Vargas might see capturing one of the Vaccine Six as a sure-fire way to get what he wants," Wolf added.
Azima snorted. "The man doesn't have the balls."
A smile ghosted across Sasha's face. "Until we know for sure that the attack on the hotel was a distraction, rather than a kidnapping attempt, we can't leave Foster unguarded. Besides, there is always the off chance that Vargas wasn't behind the assault, in which case we have no idea what the motives are here and we could be playing directly into the attackers' hands."
"I could stay with Foster," Tex offered, flipping a coin as though he had no interest in the outcome either way. Kara wondered when the man had perfected the disinterested act, wishing that she could learn his secret. She felt anything but detached at the moment.
"No." Kara shook her head in frustration. "That leaves the team a man down and you have no idea what you're walking into. Let me go with you. I'll stay out of the way. This might be our only chance to get Vargas before he goes to ground again."
And the longer that Vargas was free, the longer that Danny would be chasing him, putting his life at risk over and over again in an effort to neutralize the threat. The longer that Andrea would have to wonder whether Liam would be growing up without a father. The longer that Wolf and Azima would continue to dance around the idea of a future together. And, no matter what Admiral Chandler said about supporting Sasha's work, the longer that Tom would have to worry about losing another wife.
Kara would not be the reason why this man slipped through their hands.
Sasha opened her mouth but Danny didn't give her a chance to speak. "No. Getting you to the James is our first priority."
"We can't risk the mission," Kara began again. "That's more important..."
"Not to me!"
Instant silence as everyone turned towards Danny. Fists clenched, he was staring at the ceiling. One breath, two, and then his head lowered, eyes closing for the briefest of a second.
"We'll give you a moment, mate," Wolf began, drawing Azima towards the other room, but Danny shook his head.
"No, don't go." Danny crossed his arms, as though bracing him. "Back at Gitmo, I thought that I could separate my personal feelings from the mission. I couldn't. I fucked up and almost got everybody on the Nathan James killed. I'm not going to make that mistake again."
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"Did you think that I couldn't make the shot?"
Kara hadn't planned on saying anything, hadn't planned on acknowledging Danny at all upon finding herself alone with him in the wardroom, but the question slipped out. And she regretted speaking instantly. Danny didn't look up, his attention apparently entirely focused on the salmon loaf that he was pulverizing, acting as though she wasn't there. The same way he had been for two weeks. As though ignoring her would somehow make her - make the situation - disappear. The logic of a two-year-old, not a damn thirty-year-old man.
Frustration getting the better of her, Kara repeated the question. "Hello? Danny? Did you do it because you thought I couldn't make the shot?"
"No." He sighed, looking up, and she immediately wished that he hadn't. Hated how her breath caught and her knees went weak. Maybe there was something to Danny's "pretend-she-doesn't-exist" act after all. "You said you made expert marksman. I never doubted that."
Until that moment, Kara hadn't realized how much it mattered. How much she needed to know that, despite what had happened between them personally, Danny had faith in her. Trusted her to do her job. Believed that she was good at it, even. That he saw her as more than a pretty face who had slept her way up the ranks.
Her throat tight, she whispered the words. "Then why?"
Again the silence stretched and she didn't think he would answer. "I couldn't save Benz or Berchem or Smith. I couldn't stand the idea of losing you too."
"I understand," she whispered. Danny snorted, returning to pushing the mangled salmon around his plate, and Kara felt her stomach recoil. Still, she pressed on. "I do. That's how I feel every time you leave the ship."
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Kara gasped, her gaze flickering to the other four people in the room. None of them seemed surprised by Danny's revelation, as though this were old information that had been shared and discussed and considered. Kara, on the other hand, felt dazed, as though her entire world had flipped on its side and she couldn't figure out how to right it.
Sasha folded her arms across her chest. "Y'all know the drill. We all agree or we don't go."
Kara tried to focus on the task at hand, grasping at straws. If Option A and B both suck, pick Option C. Slattery might not be as inspirational as Chandler, but he did have a way of getting to the point. "What about Marco?"
Danny looked blank. "Marco?"
"Your contact here?" Kara pressed. "The one who gave you the information on Vargas. I could stay with him."
"That could work," Sasha considered. "Even with the iffy cover probably safer to stay here. Easier to get Marco in than to get Foster out now that her face has probably been splattered over the morning news."
"How do we know that we can trust him?" Danny demanded, earning an eye roll from Sasha.
"You're still alive aren't you?" Sasha replied.
Tentatively, Kara reached out, placing her hand on Danny's arm, almost shocked when he didn't shake her off. "Don't throw the mission because of me. Vargas is a killer. If we don't stop him... I don't want to be the reason that he got away."
Another silence fell, Danny's jaw working, as though he were having an internal battle.
"How about Pablo?" Tex asked, breaking the tension.
Wolf frowned. "Man only shows up half the time."
"He'll show up if Green asks," Tex replied, continuing to flip the coin.
"Who is Pablo?" Kara asked, glancing around the room.
"We served together years ago," Danny said, his eyes flickering in a way that indicated sure as shit that he was lying. Well, perhaps not lying but definitely evading the question. Kara narrowed her own eyes, wanting to demand an explanation, but knowing that this was neither the time nor place. They were now on Danny's turf, playing by his rules, not hers. And, based on the strange tension in the room, she wasn't the only one who was being left in the dark about Pablo. Azima's expression was distinctly annoyed. After a moment, Danny nodded. "Anyone have a burner?"
"Here you go." Sasha tossed him a phone from her pack. "So Foster stays here with Pablo. Once we get Vargas, we give the signal and the helo picks them up. Everyone in?"
Nods all around as someone picked up on the other end of Danny's call. "It's Green. I need a favor."