"No. We are not letting her go, and that's final." Jack said sternly. "Damn the threats to the CIA's reputation. That's why we have lawyers. How do we know she won't just reveal the information anyway? It's better if the CIA gets ahead with this and prepares a statement."

"He's right, Arthur. I will do whatever it takes to minimise this." Annie added, looking at him. "I'll go back to the Farm. I don't care. We can't let her get away with this." Jack noted her integrity and loyalty to the agency. It was good to see in a junior agent, but it was just unfortunate that her scandal wasn't even the biggest of the four to deal with. Two drug scandals were a problem but not unheard of. A prematurely released agent they could spin by saying she was of exceptional talent, something he believed based on her file to be true. As for the DCS having an illegitimate and, by the sounds of it, criminal son, that wasn't going to go away as easily.

Arthur seemed to be deep in thought. He kept looking at his wife, who hadn't said a word. Given what Nina had revealed, Jack couldn't blame her. Yes, the revelation that her husband had an illegitimate son was huge. But he was mainly thinking about her prescription drug problem. He'd spent the last three months desperately trying to keep his own addiction a secret from everyone, especially Kim. He told himself every time he filled that needle that it was for the sake of the Salazar operation, but deep down, he knew it was only to numb the aching grief he'd carried for almost five years. A kind of grief that always tended to turn into rage whenever he saw Nina's face. Jack held sympathy for Joan. They might not be in the same position, but he could count on one hand the number of federal agents or army operatives he knew who didn't drink or use, at the very least, smoke. And even then, one mission could change that for a person. It didn't make it right. But he could understand.

What Jack did know wasn't right, under any circumstances, was releasing Nina.

"She's bluffing; she won't do it. If we let her go, she could use that to humiliate us, too." Arthur postulated. "Either way, we need to prepare for scrutiny from the media in the next…" he glanced at his watch, "hour and forty-two minutes."

"Starting with, no offence, your son, Arthur," Jack said. "One, because being DCS makes you the most public out of the three of us, but two, that's an international incident."

He sighed and still wouldn't meet his Joan's gaze. "He's thirty-two years old. He's working deep cover with the CIA. He is not a terrorist."

"Are you saying that as a husband or the DCS, Arthur?" Joan asked, her voice thin.

"It's a long story." He dismissed. "But we'll deal with it. I lost contact with him a long time ago, which, given the current threat… is probably for the best."

Joan had moved over to her computer. "We need to figure out exactly which files she's accessed. We need to know how much she knows because if she has everything, if she has details that we don't even know about, then we can't possibly win this fight."

Annie nodded. "I can put Auggie on it."

"No, don't," Joan said somewhat abruptly before immediately calming herself. "I'll do it. You should stay here and discuss your options with Arthur."

She left quickly before anybody else could say anything. Jack didn't quite trust that. The other thing that he'd been thinking over was the implication that Joan had had the same kind of relationship with Lena that he had had with Nina. She might not have threatened to reveal that, but she very well could if she wanted to. That wasn't going to be easy to live down, either. And, knowing the way the media worked, especially around federal agencies and their scandals, it might even overshadow the drama of Arthur's son simply because she was a woman. Her career would be finished. Joan didn't strike him as the kind of person to be shallow enough to prioritise that over everything else, but it was a factor. And her husband was going to be affected one way or another.

"Jack, you might be the only one to catch a break here," Arthur concluded. "We can fudge the dates. We can say that you've been undercover, and your drug usage was solely for that. Even though…" He gave him a discerning look. "According to Lena, that's not quite true, is it?"

He looked away. "No. I don't want to cover lies with more lies. She knows the truth. We have to stop her from releasing that intel, not to cover my ass, but because that mission is crucial for national security."

"Don't the Salazars just run a drug cartel? Why isn't this an ATF mission?" Annie asked.

Jack sighed. "What level of clearance do you have?"

"Enough to know," Arthur answered on her behalf. "We're in this together now, whether you like it or not."

"We have intel to indicate they'll be in contact with someone who is offering a lethal bioweapon and that they intend to sell it to the highest bidder." He explained after a beat. "It's a highly infectious pathogen, worse than Anthrax."

Both of them raised their eyebrows in shock.

"We're running out of time." Jack reminded them. "We need to figure out how she's doing this and stop her. She's got the information, but we can stop it from getting out." He turned to Annie. "This… Auggie, do you think he's capable of finding out how she's contacted the media?"

She nodded. "Absolutely. If anyone can do it, it's him."

That reminded him of Joan. She had just said she'd tell Auggie to look up the files. She should have come back by now. Something didn't feel right in his gut. She was one of the superior agents here. She had access to everything. He reflected on everything they'd discussed. She had barely said a word. At first, Jack thought it had been because she was ashamed, but no person got into the position she was in without having a thick skin. She hadn't objected to letting her go, but she certainly hadn't agreed with any of them either. She'd been frantic to leave the room and try to find the media details. Perhaps she genuinely took Nina for her word and believed she'd hold up her end of the deal. If she'd known Nina longer than he had, he had to respect her judgement here.

At the same time, all he could think about was the fact that she and Arthur had the most to lose here. And nobody would care about Arthur more than his wife.

Jack moved to the door, listening as Annie and Arthur called out his name with confusion. He was grateful for his memory because he knew exactly how to navigate back to the interrogation rooms, striding with purpose in a way that thankfully made most security guards step out of his way. As soon as he got to where Nina had been, the first thing he noticed was a distinct lack of protection there. The large pane of glass in the vestibule revealed an empty chair where she had once been.

"She let her go." He concluded, whipping his head around.

"What?" Arthur said with a squint.

"Your wife let Nina go." Jack turned to Annie, knowing Arthur would be only be easy to talk to once he came to the same conclusion. "What's the fastest way out of here?"

"The fire exit. She might already be out by now." Annie said worriedly.

He cursed under his breath. Arthur called to block off the exits, but they followed her lead to an empty parking lot. He could faintly hear an engine screeching and found Joan standing there with a look of regret but also relief. He'd been called here so he could make sure Nina stayed in custody once and for all, and she'd just been let go once again. Nina had everything at her disposal to disappear completely. Worse still, the time wasn't up. They still didn't know if Nina would release her information to the press anyway. He felt his grief and rage resurface again. He thought about all the people he was going to let down. Kim had taken great comfort in knowing Nina was confined to one area of the planet far, far away from the two of them. Tony, too, he was certain, because he would understandably be worried about Nina using Michelle against him like she had used Teri. How was he supposed to face them and tell them what had happened? He couldn't keep this from them. Tony, for one, could find out. He had the clearance and would be livid if he knew he'd kept something this huge from him.

As Jack met Joan's pained expression, he saw red.