"Hey, I think I've got something here," Benji says confidently, turning the computer to the team, and pointing to the tracker. Luther nods, calm as ever, "Nice work Benji."

Benji grins as Luther pats him on the shoulder. Jane's already halfway out the door, "Come on, let's go." Will gives a determined grin as follows her. Luther sighs and moves past Benji as he grabs the computer but doesn't leave yet. He waits patiently for Ethan, not for any particular reason, just a habit he's obtained to make sure Ethan's with them. Benji doesn't remember exactly why he did it the first time. Nonetheless, Ethan tilts his head, "What?" Benji does a double-take raising an eyebrow, "What?" Ethan smiles, a genuine one as shakes his head and moves on.

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Will is sitting in the driver's seat when Luther walks up and casually opens the door, tossing a duffle bag that's just random items that may or may not be useful at some point. Will catches the bag just before it hits him in the face, grunting in surprised annoyance, "Luther, what the hell, man!" Luther looks at him as if it's obvious, "You're in my seat," he says plainly. Will huffs, "Seriously?" Luther's eyes narrow at him. "Why, I was here first."

"You're the analyst, Will. I'm the driver." Will shrugs, "Who appointed you?" Before Luther can answer, Jane grabs the duffle bag and tosses it to the back seat, "Will, let Luther drive and get back here before I carry you back there, Luther, get moving." There's no hesitation this time as Will hops out. Luther quickly takes his seat back, "Wait, so you listen to her and me?"

"She's my wife, Luther, kinda a no-brainer." Jane gently punches Will's shoulder. "Oh yeah, she's also always right." Jane smiles, satisfied with the answer as they got to their seats.

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Venice, 1989

Ethan stood frozen, a statue carved from fear, unable to utter a word or move a muscle, as the deafening blast of Gabriel's gun shattered the stillness. Time slowed to a crawl as Ethan's mind raced, grappling with the grim reality unfolding before him: death, imminent and merciless, delivered by the very hand he once trusted. Ethan's breath caught in his throat as the realization hit him like a freight train: He was going to die. When Ethan dared to open his eyes, disbelief flooded his senses. He was still breathing, still standing, but why? He spared a glance around the ally, searching for where the bullet hit. "No..." Marie….Marie, lying motionless, a crimson stain blossoming on her chest, a grotesque testament to the violence that had just occurred. She was deathly still and limp, with a bullet hole in her chest, and blood forming a small puddle around her. Blood, so much blood.

Ethan was horrified to find Marie's lifeless body on the ground. He ran over to her, his heart pounding with a primal dread as he froze hoping he wasn't too late. But she was cold to the touch and she remained inert to his efforts to revive her. Guilt washed over him in suffocating waves as he realized his own inaction had sealed Marie's fate. If only he had acted sooner if only he had been quicker to protect her, as he heard Gabriel's voice behind him. "She would have been dead anyway," he said coldly. "She knew too much." Ethan didn't fully comprehend what Gabriel had done. Marie was dead, and Ethan was responsible for her death. As he stared, Gabriel leveled himself to Ethan, his weapon aimed at him. "Why didn't you finish the mission?" Gabriel asked, his voice nearly emotionless. "I'm sorry," Ethan whispered. "I couldn't do it. I couldn't-."

"You're really that Weak, are you?" The single word was delivered with disdain and Ethan's heart sank into a pit of endless despair, wishing he could be invisible. Why couldn't he have just gotten the danm job done, maybe getting it over with himself would have made it easier. "Hey, hey." Ethan felt Gabriel's dead-eyed stare that seemed to go straight through him, "Look at me." Gabriel's voice was demanding. Ethan tried not to look at Gabriel, but his eyes instinctively snapped into place. "Look at me, Ethan..." Gabriel's voice raised ever so slightly. "You had One Job. And you couldn't even do that." Ethan flinched at Gabriel's surprisingly chilling look of disappointment, trembling.

"Ethan." Ethan reluctantly narrowed his eyes to look at Gabriel directly. The coldness of his stare set Ethan's heart racing, trying desperately to escape the situation. Ethan tried to compose himself, but it was futile. He was too terrified, too broken. Gabriel just stared at him in silence, his face still held no readable expression but his eyes showed a little contempt. Ethan tried to force himself to stop crying, but it was no use. He had failed. "You're too soft and empathetic for your own good. Always have been", Gabriel said matter of factually. "I'm sorry," Ethan whispered even though he wasn't exactly sure what he was apologizing for at the moment. "I failed."

"You did." Gabriel's voice remained cold as he stood up straight. "And now, what do I do with you?" Ethan's eyes widened in fear as he realized what the question meant. "I-." As Ethan realized the consequences of his failure, the full realization of what 'he' had done began to sink in. Overcome with grief, Ethan dropped his weapon as tears streamed down his face. He collapsed to the ground next to Marie, cradling her lifeless body and sobbing. In that moment, Ethan realized that there was a cost to every action and that decisions made in a split second can have consequences that could never be undone. Gabriel tilted his head, still cold, still calculating, a stone-cold expression on his face as he said, "Give me one reason why I shouldn't just kill you right now." Ethan paused, desperately thinking of a reason why Gabriel shouldn't kill him. It's so hard to think straight when you're about to die.

Finally, he said, "Because... because... I can still be useful. I can do a better job. This was just one mistake."

"I'm not going to kill you," he said at last. Ethan felt a sense of relief flood through him even though it shouldn't have. "Why?" He croaked. Ethan's mind was reeling. He stared aimlessly, unable to grasp anything around him. Nothing made sense. He felt detached from life. Nothing seemed to matter anymore. He wanted to sink into a dark, deep hole and never come out again. He had failed. Failed Marie. Failed himself. Failed his mission. How could he do this kind of job? Could he really do this? How could he look anyone in the eye again knowing what he had to do?

"Why wouldn't you kill me?" Gabriel didn't reply immediately. Instead, he studied the young agent intently, taking in every detail of his face and expression. After a moment, he finally spoke. "You're a good agent, Ethan."

Ethan blinked in surprise at Gabriel's words. "But you have a lot to learn. You showed compassion, and you took responsibility for your failure, and I believe there is something more important than a successful mission to prove yourself. What happened tonight was tragic, but necessary. In this line of work, you can't be emotionally attached to the people you're assigned to."

Was that what this was? Just a test always lead to the same result? She never stood a chance. Ethan just nodded. "I understand," Ethan said, his words a desperate attempt to convince hmself more than anything. "Good. I'm not usually one for second chances but…" Gabriel extended his hand to help Ethan up. Don't do it. Gabriel's eyes softened slightly, "Let's start over." Was this really happening? Ethan took a deep, shuddering breath and looked over at Marie's body, lying still and lifeless on the ground, the image forever etched into his mind, a wave of emptiness washing over him. He felt numb, unable to process the reality of what had just transpired. Even amid his shock and grief, he couldn't help but feel a flicker of resentment towards Gabriel. Was it really necessary? This was wrong….right? But-But Gabriel was right - he was a good agent, and he needed to learn how to separate his emotions from his job. But at that moment, all Ethan could think was why. Why, why, why?

Ethan was shaken to his core. He couldn't believe he was still alive after everything that had just happened. The weight of his guilt and shame was too overwhelming, threatening to crush him, and the tears that had been streaming down his face finally stopped. Ethan took a moment to compose himself before taking Gabriel's hand and getting back on his feet. He knew he shouldn't have, but he did anyway. Why exactly that was he still doesn't know. Perhaps it was the shock, the trauma from it, or maybe he was just too scared. Maybe he was afraid of what would happen if he didn't. Maybe, even after everything, he still felt a certain respect for Gabriel for some incoherent reason that made no sense in the slightest. His best guess was that a tiny bit of him would feel bad if didn't accept the, now looking back, sort of sadistic offer. He'd known Gabriel for three years, they'd served in the army together, and Gabriel had saved Ethan's life on multiple occasions. In hindsight, that shouldn't have changed anything.

The man he'd associated with a unique sense of safety had just murdered an innocent woman for no other reason than to prove a terribly haunting point, You can't save everyone no matter if they were "good" or "bad", something that lost any reason after what had happened. Maybe he had still felt he could, needed to do something "good" to make up for his mistakes, or just to find a reason to consider himself as a "good" person, which he'd never had to prove if he was a "good" because, despite everything, he had still been a kid basically at just 20 years old, not even old enough to drink for that matter, besides, despite how Gabriel presented it, he never had a real choice in what happened. He didn't even understand where the line between "good" and "bad" was.

An outsider looking in would consider Ethan naive or just plain stupid and they'd be right because, in all honesty, Ethan still thought that now and again even though he knows that wasn't a fair judgment. Was it? It's not there hadn't been signs. There were a ton of signs, which were also probably intentional on Gabriel's just to see how much Ethan would notice.

Gabriel could be so kind and empathetic. He'd tell jokes and had always known how to cheer Ethan up, for the most part anyway. Although it was a facade, Ethan still considers him an old friend of sorts, because for a time he really was a good friend and he had, in a very unique way obviously, cared a lot about Ethan. Ethan's not that naive. He knows most of that friendly and supportive side was a facade but, in an odd way, Gabriel had genuinely cared about him and Ethan would still call him an old friend, out of context of course.

He turned to look at Marie's lifeless body once more, and at that moment he felt something strange. A wave of emptiness, a void he had never experienced before. How was this possible? He had always thought that in moments like these, he would feel sadness and grief. But in that moment he felt nothing... absolutely nothing.

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Ethan's slumped against the door, his head resting against the window. It doesn't look very comfortable. But he's still getting some much-needed rest.

Will won't shut up about stopping somewhere to get the kids souvenirs as he promised as Jane sits in amused silence, amassed that Will can be so much like the kids, if not less mature at that.

Luther ignores him as best as he can. Benji's gaze drifts to Ethan's impossibly small frame and watches him carefully. Benji sees Ethan's eyes moving rapidly despite his otherwise still frame. He's dreaming. About what is anyone's best guess at this point.

As if sensing eyes on him, wakes. He's had a bad dream. Despite his calm posture and demeanor, Benji catches Ethan's twitch when his eyes open a little too quickly, the quick scanning of his surroundings, and very subtle sharp intake of breath that seems to get stuck in his throat for a moment as he sits up straight and releases the breath.

He looks at Benji, blinking a few times. Benji eyes him with silent concern that Ethan simply nods at, giving a forced smile before leaning back in his seat, relaxing. But Benji knows that's not it.

Ethan's good at that. He can fake emotions with a suspicious ease and naturalness that feels entirely unnatural though.

Ethan's got this stimming thing he does when he's bored or anxious where he'll, though subtly, as if to hide it, fidget with his hands. When he's bored it's quick and repetitive, when he's anxious it's a lot more nuanced and random. That's the one he's unconsciously doing right now.

There's a noise that at first Benji assumes is Ethan but knowing immediately he's wrong as the passenger side window shatters and the SUV swerves, the microscopic glass now pelting them thanks to the wind. There's no to comprehend what's happening before there's a big banging crash sound now replaced by darkness.