(Un)masked
Chapter 5. Deadlock
Author's Note: Thanks to Gogo and nicalenav for the ideas for this chapter. To Skater1263 as always for their kind help proof-reading.
Suppressing a start, Isobel suddenly remembered the killer might be watching. Did Jubal's inconvenient reaction give them away? Controlling her sharp anxiety, Isobel reached for her phone in a move she tried to make look casual. The last notification, less than an hour ago, read: 'Online.'
She mentally swore, fearing, with this unfortunate incident, they ruined everything.
·~·~·
As she and Jubal entered the JOC, Isobel made a beeline for her top computer expert.
"Good morning, Ian."
The analyst looked away from his screen, but continued typing, as if his hands were not his own. "Good morning," he greeted cordially.
"I need you to find a way to corrupt the video file from my home surveillance cameras from around 6:20 today," she requested.
"Why?"
Isobel restrained herself from jumping in with a gruff 'Because I said so'. Knowing Ian, she was sure he was asking because he needed to know for some technical reason. Jubal turned his back to them, casually glancing toward the screens, arms akimbo, so no one would notice he was blushing, but Isobel could see it on the back of his neck.
They tried to behave like adults, but the time between getting ready to leave and finally arriving at 26 Fed was truly awkward. Although she doubted OA and Maggie would comment on it, Isobel was glad they were currently resting, and weren't going to the office until later.
"Because we made a mistake which could give us away," Isobel replied avoiding going into details. "The hacker was online at the time, but I hope he didn't get to see it. I wouldn't want him to find out just because he decides to go through the recordings."
Ian nodded in agreement. "I'll get on it right now."
Before leaving for her office, Isobel took one last look at Jubal's back.
As she walked down the hallway, she closed her eyes as she recalled the desire his body seemed to display this morning.
Irritated, she chided herself for jumping to the wrong conclusions. Anyone with even a little knowledge of male physiology would know Jubal's physical reaction was perfectly natural and need not have anything to do with her specifically... She was still embarrassed by the burning effect it had on her... by the way it made her shudder when remembering it. Isobel blamed it on the inconvenient dreams populating her night, and tried not to dwell on it
·~·~·
Maggie met OA in the break room. They said good morning somewhat sleepily. It was almost past lunchtime, though not for them, since they just got up. They didn't say much more to each other as they poured themselves coffee.
Elise walked in with Kelly, both with lunch boxes in their hands, and the four greeted each other. The analysts sat for their late lunch. It was not unusual for work to force them to take a break so late.
"Sooooo..." Elise looked around, as if making sure there was no one around who could eavesdrop. "What happened last night?" she asked matter-of-factly and stuffed a good portion of pasta into her mouth.
OA and Maggie looked at each other. Last night was… strange. Seeing Jubal and Isobel interacting to this degree of intimacy felt really weird. They weren't really surprised by the chemistry between their two bosses, but watching them kiss was endearing and awkward at the same time. It always is when you see Mom and Dad doing something like that...
But it wasn't the only thing.
"Maggie. Maggie, wake up," OA called her in the middle of the night, when she was getting a little sleep so she could stay up the rest of the night. "You need to see this."
OA was the first to see Isobel, beautiful and regal, looking out onto the street with the curtain drawn. It didn't take him long to understand what was going on. When Maggie approached the screens, Jubal already joined Isobel. Maggie smiled at this. And quickly felt uncomfortable about how the situation was unfolding. However, she had to feel sorry for Jubal when she witnessed his disappointment at realizing Isobel was still asleep, and even more so when he was later seen avoiding her by curling up at the far end of the bed.
OA hid taking a long sip from his coffee mug, leaving the matter of answering entirely in Maggie's hands. Thanks, partner, she thought in annoyance, though she knew OA did it because he thought she would be able to handle it better than him.
"Well," she replied to Elise, "they're excellent professionals. They play their roles accurately." Elise smiled and Kelly raised his eyebrows. Maggie felt bad because what they understood was not what she meant. "They know what they're doing," she clarified.
"I know. It's just this whole situation…" Elise mused. "Isobel and the serial killer stalking her, Jubal protecting her." She shrugged, smiling casually. "It's like… I don't know… unreal. Like being inside that old Whitney Houston movie."
"Maybe, but Isobel asked Ian to render one of this morning's video files unusable," Kelly chipped in, not sure what to make of all this.
Elise barely stifled a giggle. Maggie and OA looked at each other again, uneasy.
In the morning, they switched shifts in front of the screens. Now Maggie was watching their bosses sleep, and they ended up cuddling. She felt like a child averting her eyes from the intimacy of others. OA joined in during the most 'interesting' moment, when Jubal woke up.
As their ASAC jumped off the bed and raised his hands protectively, OA muttered something to himself about not being able to blame him, and Maggie shot him an amused sidelong glance.
Now, the analysts were watching her intently, waiting for her response.
"Um, yeah. Nothing odd. Just a slip which might blow the cover," Maggie replied, feeling as if she was lying to protect them, even though she was just telling the truth.
·~·~·
Meanwhile, by Isobel's office door, Jubal prepared himself inhaling slowly to enter and speak to her directly. He watched her from outside for a moment, unable to avoid reminiscing about holding her in his arms, receiving her kisses. And, especially, rediscovering the connection, which seemed to draw them together in spite of their recent feuds.
He cleared his throat. He still felt embarrassed by what happened in the early morning. He knocked on the door and did not enter until she signaled through the glass to grant him permission.
"Hey, uum... I brought you some lunch," Jubal said, leaving a paper bag from the corner deli on her desk.
Isobel would not look at him.
The pounding of Jubal's heart beneath her palm, the undeniable tenderness in his kisses from the night before, haunted her. Isobel's efforts to banish them from her mind proved hopelessly fruitless.
She peeked into the paper bag to discover her favorite salad. A grateful smile escaped her face. It simply made Jubal happy.
"Any news?" she asked in a controlled neutral voice, pulling the container and cutlery out of the bag.
"No..."
The killer logged out shortly after the incident and did not log back in. Although, since Isobel and Jubal left for the office shortly afterward, it really didn't make much sense for him to have done so.
"This guy knows I have a position of responsibility in the FBI," Isobel lamented. "If he suspects we're on his trail, he'll be gone forever."
"I'm sorry," Jubal said sadly, for the umpteenth time.
Isobel lifted her face, her lips twisted. It irritated her how he always apologized for what wasn't necessary, and didn't apologize for what was. It wasn't hard for Jubal to understand the source of her frustration, but now wasn't the time to bring up the only really serious disagreement they had in the five years they were working together.
"There may be no point in continuing the operation anymore," Isobel reflected.
"Maybe... Should we abort?" Jubal asked with uncertainty. The truth was a part of him would have felt relieved.
"It would mean letting this bastard get away," she replied, shaking her head. She really feared they definitely missed the chance to catch him.
Letting out a long sigh, Isobel shook her head in dismay, her face disgruntled. She was reluctant to give up, but wasn't sure what to do. They seemed to have reached a deadlock.
"Yeah... I'm so-" Jubal started to say.
Isobel's cutting look and tight lips stopped Jubal in his tracks from finishing saying it. An awkward silence ensued and she began to eat.
"At least Ian was able to corrupt the file," he tried to cheer her up. "By the way, um... I asked him..." Jubal added, lowering his voice, "...not to watch it."
Without looking up again, Isobel nodded approvingly. She didn't want to talk about what happened earlier this morning, but she appreciated Jubal wanting to spare them public embarrassment.
For her part, Isobel was reviewing the previous day's recordings, in case she found any more fragments which needed to be deleted. She wasn't even halfway through and, at least so far, she didn't find anything concerning. Although seeing herself making out with Jubal on the couch did nothing to calm her agitation and quiet her invasive memories.
She continued to eat her salad, studying him. She did not miss the exhaustion on her ASAC's face. Jubal looked like he was up all night. She knew how it felt: with the exception of last night, she hadn't slept properly for weeks. She wondered why she slept so well this time. The bottom line was Jubal's presence allowed her to truly relax, and this was somehow unsettling in a completely different way.
"And you? Have you eaten anything?" she asked, changing the subject abruptly.
Jubal controlled his smile. It was the first time Isobel showed any interest in him on a personal level since he returned from suspension.
"Yeah. I ate something at the deli," he said, gesturing vaguely toward the bag.
"One of those awful energy bars you sometimes shove down your throat doesn't count as lunch, huh?" growled Isobel. It bothered her that she couldn't distance herself from Jubal enough to not care about his well-being.
"Larded beef sandwich and an apple."
"Good," she said dryly.
Jubal's smile widened despite himself. Isobel's pulse quickened, but she looked at him feigning coolness over her glasses. He was making her nervous.
"Did you want anything else?"
"Uh... No. No." He started to walk away, somewhat embarrassed, and Isobel continued eating. But then Jubal stopped, tapping on his belt. "Actually..."
He saw her sigh, calling for patience. After a couple of seconds of hesitation, Jubal made up his mind. He approached her desk again.
"Mmm... Isobel, did you know you sleepwalk?" he asked quietly, trying to be discreet.
She raised her head, blinking. For a moment, she thought about denying everything, but decided it wasn't a good idea.
"Sit , please," Isobel asked, taking off her glasses and pushing the salad aside.
She waited for Jubal to take a seat in one of the visitor chairs. He looked at her in intrigue.
"It doesn't happen to me regularly," she explained. "Only when…" She looked down. "…when I'm under a lot of stress." She missed the genuine grimace of concern escaping Jubal. She shook off her embarrassment and looked up again. "Was I…? Was I sleepwalking last night?"
"Actually, yeah..."
"I hope I didn't do anything embarrassing," Isobel murmured.
"No, no. No way. Not at all," Jubal assured her.
The haste of his words seemed somewhat odd.
"Really? I've been told I can be a bit… eccentric at times," she confessed, allowing herself to appear a little shy.
Jubal was taken aback at how her gesture touched him.
'Eccentric' is not the word I would use... he thought, amused, somehow. He struggled not to give away his inner turmoil, his mind saturated by memories of what really happened. He hesitated whether or not to tell her the truth. But what good would it do Isobel to know except to embarrass and stress her out even more?
"When I noticed, I took you back to bed. That-" He couldn't help clearing his throat. "That was it."
Isobel sensed his moment of indecision, but didn't give it much thought.
"I should have warned you," she admitted dejectedly. "But it's been a while since the last time. Honestly, it didn't even occur to me it would happen again just now…"
Jubal nodded, trying to offer her understanding. He was well aware Isobel was under a lot of pressure with a stalker spying on her in her own home, and also having to pretend things she didn't feel towards a coworker...
He cursed internally. If he had known how very exposed he would be not only physically and emotionally, but also to admit certain things to himself, he would never have insisted on joining Isobel on this mission in this particular way.
No. Who was he trying to fool? The need to protect her from all harm was simply overwhelming.
"Don't worry. I'll be watching from now on. We're a team," he said with conviction. "We're in this together."
The way Jubal said it gave Isobel a pleasant sense of security... and unexpectedly stirred something deep inside her, feeling the bond strengthening between them. Dubitatively, she glanced at him in silence, not quite sure if she could allow herself to feel this way about him.
The doubt in her eyes tore Jubal apart inside.
A couple of knocks on the frame made them look towards the door. "A package for you, Mrs. Castille," one of the orderlies announced.
Isobel motioned for him to come in and the man set a small cardboard box on the desk. She thanked him before he left. Jubal waited to see if Isobel would resume the conversation, but she took the box and began to open it silently. Heavy-hearted, he took this as an indication he should leave.
He was just heading out the door when Isobel called out to him in a choked voice.
"Jubal."
She stood and the two met in the center of the room.
Holding out her hand, Isobel showed him the inside of the box. It was stuffed with the pink paper shavings the killer used to pad the other gifts he sent Isobel.
Jubal recalled with revulsion the objects she received -and handed over as evidence-, some of them disgustingly crude, specifically chosen with the intention Isobel would use them to fantasize erotically about her stalker.
Inside the box was a paper of a deeper pink, carefully folded, and underneath, a square black case, the kind used in jewelry.
Taking a breath, Isobel took the paper. Jubal leaned over her shoulder to read. His proximity brought her the poise she needed to face it.
'Oh, my love. How could you betray me like this, hurt me so deeply? You, who are the light of my universe', the note read.
Isobel and Jubal exchanged an uneasy glance.
'You can't leave me for this guy. He's just a miserable person who doesn't deserve you', it continued.
He's right about that, the bitter thought fleetingly crossed Jubal's mind.
'But you will understand. I will make you understand. I'll make him suffer and show you. I will prove it to you, when push comes to shove, he would not sacrifice himself for you.'
With a shiver, Isobel clenched her fist and swallowed at the terrible images the threat conjured.
'Then you will ask me to take possession of you. In every way I desire.'
Fury and revulsion nearly overwhelmed Jubal.
'And I will please you, you can be sure. Until you won't believe you have ever wanted another man but me. Because you are mine. Only mine. And you will be forever.'
The word 'mine' was underlined furiously, while 'forever' stood out in itself inferring an ominous outcome.
With fingers shaking more than Isobel would have liked, she set the note aside and opened the jewelry case. Inside, an elegant gold padlock on a black velvet choker rested on red as blood satin.
Hers curdled in Isobel's veins. The case nearly fell from her hands, and Jubal rushed to help her hold it, while struggling unsuccessfully to get rid of the image of Isobel in the place of one of the victims, lying, abused and dead, the choker adorning her slender neck.
She turned, looking him in the face. Her black eyes wet but unrelenting. "Do you know what this means?" Isobel said, her voice hoarse.
Jubal read her mind. "I do. He's going for it and we're moving forward," he replied, with a tight lump in his throat.
~·~·~·~