Crossing the Rubicon part 10
Title: Crossing the Rubicon
Author: Morgan72uk
Pairing: DeWitt/Dominic
Characters: DeWitt/ Dominic
Rating: R
Spoilers: For season 1 and Epitaph 1 and bits of season 2
Disclaimer: Not mine - regrettably.
A/N - Thanks for the reviews and feedback. This fic is obviously AU (and getting more so by the week).
Previous part is here if you need the reminder of where things ended. And don't kill me for the Alpha thing.
For a scorching moment everything stops, then as realises what the message means he almost literally sees red.
Caroline is taken by surprise when he grabs her, but she recovers fast - shaking off his grip as he demands, "what did you do?" She knocks him aside, he aims a vicious kick at her knee and only a complicated twist stops her from falling.
"Are you crazy?" Ballard is moving towards him and he can see Cole approaching them as well.
"Alpha is in Tucson, he’s in the damn building - the message said something about an attack. He's your buddy. So, what did the two of you cook up?"
"Nothing." He grabs her by the shoulders and though she shrugs him off he can see that she is surprised by Alpha's appearance.
"You used him to help get through the systems yesterday?"
"He knows more about them than anyone else," Ballard says, "and you wanted our help."
He can't believe he didn't consider this - Alpha isn't someone you can just use and forget about. He should have known that some attack was likely, done more to ensure they were prepared. "I'm going back," he says.
"We have a job to finish here." There is something ironic about Ballard telling him how to do his job, but he doesn't care about that. "Langton's there and - we don't know what Alpha wants."
He closes his eyes, because he knows what Alpha wants - what Alpha always wants; to cause pain and to revel in knowing he is stronger, smarter, more dangerous than anyone else. The instinct to finish things here is strong, instilled by years of training and the experience of countless missions. But getting to Adelle is instinctual in an entirely different way. He remembers how Alpha slaughtered his security team and half a dozen actives, how she'd looked lying in his arms after she'd been shot; the light fading from her eyes as he'd tried to force her to hold on. He'd promised himself that he wasn't going to leave her when she was in danger again - not after all those months when he'd thought Rossum had taken her from the hospital.
"Do you have this?" He asks, turning to look at Cole; the only person he can bring himself to trust in this situation. She looks confused at first and then resolute.
"Go," she tells him, "send the helicopter back when you can. We'll wrap up here." It is all the encouragement that he needs and he is already striding to the exit when he becomes aware that Caroline is following him.
"If it's Alpha you'll need me," she says when he turns to face her. Unfortunately she is right; while she is not the companion that he wants, she is the one he needs.
He ignores her as they sit in the helicopter, because all he can think about is getting back to Adelle. The idea that he might lose her now, after everything they have been through, is terrifying. He is holding onto the belief that she can take care of herself - because he has no other form of comfort at his disposal. His fingers itch for some form of activity but all he can think about is running them over the smooth warmth of her skin.
"You're afraid," a voice says from across the helicopter.
He raises his eyes, the inflection of her voice is different, sad but curious eyes look back at him. "Echo?"
"She doesn't know what to say to you," she replies - he assumes the 'she' in question is Caroline.
"So, she let you do it?" He bites back a spurt of anger at that, but she shakes her head.
"I decided to." Under any other circumstances he would be disturbed by the news that the former active can apparently take control whenever she wants to, but he can't make himself feel more than cursory interest at the revelation. "Sometimes Caroline is too angry, she doesn't use us - she makes mistakes."
"Like teaming up with Alpha?" Her mouth twists in disapproval, clearly whatever agreement Caroline and Alpha reached, Echo hadn't been too happy about it. "You couldn't have stopped her?"
"She knew what I thought." That Caroline is reckless isn't exactly a shock - but he does spare a moment to consider that having forty personalities rattling around in your head, all of them with an opinion, can't be easy.
"Alpha wants you," he says - forcing himself to concentrate, "always before when he attacked us it was because of you." Her nod is enough encouragement for him to continue. "Is that still the case?"
"The last time Caroline spoke to him, when she asked him to help us get past Rossum's security systems, she told him about the leaked research and when it happened."
"So?"
"Caroline didn't listen but, one of us thought he might have known already."
"One of us?" He holds his hands up, "forget I asked. You think Alpha leaked the research?"
"I think he knew it was leaked."
"As Adelle would say, 'there is a distinction'" He manages a grim smile at the thought.
"You'll be sad if Alpha hurts, Ms DeWitt."
He is not sure that 'sad' really covers what he will feel if the worst happens, but he can't talk about what he feels for Adelle. He's not sure he can explain it to the woman herself - though this is a problem he may need to overcome at some point. But Echo doesn't seem to require confirmation from him and he assumes that someone in there has enough experience of relationships to convey the feeling to her, if not the words. "She's done terrible things."
"There's a lot of it about," he shoots back.
"Some things have to be sacrificed." Echo tells him quietly.
"Not here - and not Adelle."
"She's sad."
"No, she isn't." He buries his head in his hands and thinks about lying in bed with her mere hours before, seeing her smile as she reached for him. "Not anymore."
As they reach the outskirts of the city they receive instructions to re-route to the hospital - which has a helipad on the roof. Hospital means casualties and though there is a medical facility at the centre the skeleton staff they retained hadn't contained any medics; multiple casualties would be too much for Claire to cope with on her own.
He is out of the helicopter the moment it touches down - Echo at his heels. The hospital staff isn’t prepared to deal with an armed man on a mission to get information as quickly as possible. The security personnel swarm around him, not seeming to understand that he will fight his way past if he needs to. There is noise and chaos and though he raises his voice no one seems to want to answer him and he loses sight of Echo in the tumult.
"Dominic!" Langton pulls him out of the scrum of bodies and slams him back into the wall. "You need to calm down!"
"Where's Adelle?" He demands, realising what he’s called her only after he has spoken the words. The use of her name is hardly the starkest evidence that their relationship is well beyond strictly professional.
"She's downstairs - she's uninjured." His knees almost buckle with a relief that he knows is completely inappropriate under the circumstances.
"How bad is it?"
"Bad," Langton responds tersely. "Topher's in surgery and Dr Saunders has been sedated." He doesn't need to guess what that is likely to have done to Adelle, but then he remembers the fledgling attraction that rumour has it lies between Langton and Claire - this can't be easy for him either.
Langton reaches for the gun he barely realises he is still clutching. "Get cleaned up, I'll have someone find you a change of clothes." He opens his mouth to protest but the other man says, "you're no good to her like this," and that shuts him up fast.
"You said she was all right."
"She found Topher and Claire, rode in the ambulance with them. She and Judith are running the Rossum Corporation from a hospital waiting room. She needs you."
"She isn't going to admit that."
"That," he replies with a glimmer of sympathy, "is not my problem."
***
For the last hour she's been preparing herself for the news that Topher is dead; that it hasn't come means very little in the general scheme of things. She can't even summon the necessary energy to wallow in her guilt. Her hands have stopped shaking she notices dispassionately - though as she stretches them out before her she wouldn't be surprised if, like Lady Macbeth, she could still see the blood.
She's been in almost constant motion since she got here, snapping orders into her phone, pacing the length of the waiting room as though impatience and intimidation can guarantee her the result she wants. The name Rossum exerts a lot of pull and the arrival of the current CEO with injured staff generated a swift and highly professional response. But now there is nothing more she can do. It’s a question of waiting.
She's changed clothes - sitting around in a shirt stained with Topher's blood was absolutely insupportable, but even she is running out of other things to think about.
Finally, resigned to her fate, she slumps inelegantly into one of the unpleasant plastic chairs and runs a hand through her hair. There is a dark bruise on her wrist and she touches her fingertips to it.
They hadn't even seen it coming.
Her meeting with some of Rossum's senior executives hadn't been completely cordial - but they were too intent on survival to challenge the view of the Board. Her mind is still half on the next steps as she heads down to the lab to check in with Topher, to make sure his block is still working - the last thing they need is for it to fail while Laurence and the others are still in the building.
The lab is in darkness, which is not what she expects. As she steps inside, trying to remember where the light switch is her foots slips on something and...
Gasping she comes back to the present, reminding herself that she is in the hospital waiting room. But when she closes her eyes all she sees is the blood.
Her fingers fumble for the light switch and when she finds it the sudden flash of light illuminates the room. The details stand out, like camera flashes. Claire leaning over a body, Topher curled into a corner like a child hiding from a monster. The blood splashed over the walls, across the monitors and when she looks down she knows it is also what made her slip.
Her first thought is that Claire is treating the prone figure but, as she steps closer, she sees the knife. She watches in frozen horror as it is brought down into the chest of the man - over and over. There is a streak of blood across Saunder's face, her lab coat is soaked in the liquid and her eyes are unfocussed.
Around her, alarms start sounding. The body on the floor is apparently not the only indication that they have had some kind of intrusion. She's been half expecting some action from Ambrose, some attempt to seize back his kingdom. But this, this is not Clive Ambrose.
Topher isn't moving but Claire and the body block her path to him. "Claire," her voice trembles but there is no reaction. "I need you to help me." She reaches out to take her hands, to stop the frenzied stabbing. "Dr Saunders!"
"It's not finished! I need to make sure." She sounds nothing like Claire Saunders in that moment but her grasp is surprisingly strong, wrenching Adelle's hands away and going back to stabbing a body littered with knife wounds - as though there is no overkill here.
She has to get to Topher, now she is closer she can see the blood pooling around his chest. But as she moves past the body, Claire brings the knife down once more and she gets her first sight of the face of her victim. Alpha.
She breaks herself out of the memories. Her hands are shaking again. They'd been shaking when she reached Topher.
She turns him over - already feeling that he is cold. The blood is soaking the front of his T-shirt and she presses her fingers against his neck - searching desperately for a pulse; breathing out a shaky sigh of relief when it is there, however weak. He needs to get to a hospital - she knows this even as she presses down on his chest, trying to staunch the flow of blood. But if she goes for help - there will be no one here to stop the bleeding. The phones are still off, the labs are deserted and so far beneath the ground that it is not even worth calling for help. The intruder alerts mean that people are going to be searching - they are going to find them.
In the end it comes down to the promise she'd made - that she wasn't going to leave him.
But no one comes and she pulls a monitor to the ground in an attempt to attract attention but all it does is finally shatter Claire's trance. The knife clatters to the ground as she stretches her hands out in front of her, looking at them with a morbid fascination that quickly turns to panic as she gets to her feet and backs away from the body.
"Dr Saunders, you need to help. Topher's dying."
"I'm a Doctor." She says, making no move towards them. "I try to be my best."
"That's right, you do." Adelle speaks carefully, no longer sure who exactly she is dealing with - trying to coax her. "To be your best, you need to help me." At the tentative nod she encourages, "Can you go upstairs, get some help for Topher - can you do that?"
"He's sleeping." Claire asserts confidently. "Alpha came and made him go to sleep."
"No - he's not asleep - he's hurt, Alpha hurt him. Please."
She jumps at the sound of the door opening and then blinks in confusion at seeing Laurence standing in before her. Surely he is supposed to be in Dallas?
"The centre is secure," he tells her formally, arms crossed in a familiar gesture. "Alpha's body has been removed - and Langton checked to make sure he really was dead. Cole and Ballard are on their way back from Dallas. They cleansed the site and Ivy tells me that there has been no recurrence of the signal - the block is still operational should we need it. She's monitoring it and she asked if there was any news."
Her mind is still half on the moment the security team found her with Topher. Everything after that is a puzzle made up of pieces of bleak chaos; Alpha’s blank, unseeing eyes, Claire hysterical in Langton's arms, the paramedics reeling off a litany of injuries that she is not sure anyone can possibly survive, the blood and now the waiting.
"Excellent," she manages after what is probably far too long a wait. "Thank you." He nods, watches her for a moment and then crosses to her side and lowers himself into the chair next to hers. She tries to think of something else to say but words become unnecessary when he shrugs out of his jacket and drapes it over her shoulders.
"You're shivering," he says when she looks confused by the gesture and while she is still processing that he reaches over to take her hand in his.
***
They wait. Adelle takes calls, Judith buzzes back and forth, they drink very bad tea; the coffee is completely unpalatable. They don't talk a great deal and he is glad that Langton told him as much as he did - because he knows that he stands no chance of getting the details out of Adelle. Besides he can see everything he needs to know in her eyes, feel it in her shivering and in the intermittent shaking of her hands.
She doesn't move away from him, even leans against the arm he stretches across the back of her chair - though she sits up when the door opens and Langton comes in.
"Claire's awake," he says from the doorway. "She's asking to see you Ms DeWitt."
There is an almost imperceptible moment of hesitation before she nods and gets to her feet. "I'll wait here. If there's any news I'll see that you're notified immediately." He forces himself to keep his language formal, controlled - right now she needs him to be the efficient, professional Mr Dominic far more than she needs him to be her lover.
Langton is wise enough not to give any sign that he notices that she is wearing the jacket that Laurence should have on. "How's Saunders?"
"Shocked, scared. I'm not sure how much she is Claire Saunders at the moment."
"Did the imprint fail? Or did Alpha trigger some sort of embedded imprint, a self-defence programme?"
"I think Dr Saunders killed Alpha, not Whiskey." Langton tells him, his voice as sombre and heavy as his expression.
"Hard to believe," he replies - frowning as he tries to imagine a scenario where the slight Doctor could overpower Alpha, especially without any self-defence skills.
"Doctors are good with knives." Langton says and then the scene is, just, possible to imagine - especially if she had been trying to stop Alpha from killing Topher. "There was what looked like arterial spurt on her jacket; she only needed to hit the right spot once."
***
Doctors take an oath, Adelle reminds herself as she emerges from the hospital room, to first do no harm. But sometimes there is no way to avoid harm. In any other circumstances Claire's defence of Topher would be evidence of growth and forgiveness, but having seen her timid, terrified and still not entirely coherent all Adelle can think is that the heroic act might have sown the seeds of her destruction.
She is in no condition to say much to the medical staff, which is probably just as well because the edited version is difficult enough. The NSA are holding the Tucson Police at bay with a tale of a young Doctor, her violent and unbalanced stalker and the colleague who inadvertently got in the way.
The Rossum name is working its magic, she been adept at using it for a while now but the cachet of the CEO is even more impressive. However, rearranging the truth to cover up a murder and a violent assault is not exactly how she imagined spending her first full day in her new position.
Her fingers tighten on the soft, heavy fabric across her shoulders. Laurence's jacket smells of Laurence's aftershave - which she shouldn't recognise, but does. She can't bring herself to part with it at the moment - telling herself it's because the hospital is cold - which is another thing that that isn't exactly true.
"What the hell happened?" Caroline is not high on the list of people she wants to deal with right now, or ever in fact.
"You tell me, you're the one who has been cultivating the relationship with Alpha." The question of what Alpha wanted is one more lingering uncertainty - rather like many of his actions over the years. But the timing gives some indications as to intent. He’d come very close to pulling down the block before Laurence and the others had reached Dallas, killing the only other person capable of creating or repairing it, would probably have damned everyone.
"I didn't know he was going to do this." But Adelle can't help thinking that she should have known, they all should have.
"He came to kill Topher," she tells her bluntly, "because he'd managed to block the signal. I think Alpha was hoping we were going to destroy ourselves."
"Aren't you proud of your creation?" She sneers in response and Adelle knows the ambiguity is deliberate.
"Did you think you could save him? That he even wanted to be saved?" The taciturn expression is evidence that her conclusion is all too accurate.
"We understood each other." She doubts even Caroline believes that and when she looks past her to where Paul Ballard waits it is clear that he certainly doesn't.
"Topher is in surgery having a tear to his aorta repaired, Dr Saunders has been sedated, she had some kind of breakdown - no doubt brought on by killing Alpha."
"You can always do something to her, imprint make all that go away."
"That's beneath even you." She tells her, voice cold and contemptuous as she confronts Caroline's dismissal of Claire's existence yet uncomfortably aware that she’d ordered Topher to do exactly that to Whiskey.
"We're leaving, now we've helped you do your dirty work. I'll be watching you, to make sure you keep your promises."
"I'm quite certain that I'll disappoint you." She wants Caroline Farrell out of her hair but she has learnt, perhaps late in the day, that it isn't going to work out that way. She recognises the young woman's power, even the aura of destiny that surrounds her. Some things are just too inevitable to resist. "Caroline," they are not completely out of earshot and as Caroline turns back, looking irritated, she knows that it is useless to issue warnings but does it anyway. "Be careful."
"I'm touched that you care, but I've been looking out for myself for a while now."
"You're an idealist and idealists have a habit of getting people killed. I recognise the signs, I used to be one myself." Almost unbidden Webster's lines float across her memory, But that was in another country - and besides, the wench is dead.
But Caroline's expression has grown stormy. "You and I are nothing alike."
"For your sake, I hope you're right about that."
When she slips back into the waiting room Laurence meets her eyes and his single, curt shake of his head tells her that there has been no news about Topher.
"I think Dr Saunders might appreciate some company," she tells Langton quietly, watching him for any sign of reluctance. "She's still quite shocked, but I'm not sure she is enjoying being alone." He actually looks relieved at she gives him a lot of credit for that. It is purely incidental that his departure leaves her alone with Laurence.
"Caroline and Mr Ballard have left," she tells him. "We're on our own."
"I think we'll manage. Caroline has problems of her own; I spoke to Echo on the way here - she's not exactly a happy camper. You may not be the only one planning a coup."
"Well, that would certainly be interesting," she says as she returns to the seat she vacated earlier and, giving into temptation, leans against him. "Though I'm not sure what good that my coup did."
Clear blue eyes look back at her, her idle remark taken deadly seriously. "We're here, we survived, Topher's still alive and the Rossum Corporation is at your command. If you want to do some good you'll never have a better opportunity." Unfortunately that is exactly what she is afraid of.
***
It's back to waiting and more lousy tea. He finds himself thinking quite a lot about his interactions with Topher over the years and as a result of his meditations asking Adelle if there is any family they should be contacting. Her quiet negative isn't all that surprising - but it only gives him something more to think about.
He is relieved when Agent Cole puts her head around the door and beckons him out. She looks as though she wants to check that he is OK - but he scowls and somehow she is persuaded not to ask. He dislikes the fact that she was there to witness how torn he was; to see him when all he'd been able to focus on was getting to Adelle. But she probably realises that and there is no sign that she plans to use the knowledge to her advantage.
"Blackwood's on his way," she says. "He's looking for you, well for DeWitt actually." He appreciates the heads up, because Blackwood arrives seconds later.
"We have a visitor," his tone sounding less than delighted. "He wants to see DeWitt."
"A visitor?" He follows Blackwood's gaze, looking out of the window to see the dark cars and large security detail - which gives him the identity of their new arrival. "Palmer should still be locked down somewhere," he says. "We closed the site down - but until we're sure they don't have copies there's still a risk."
"Well, he's the man. You try arguing with him." His expression in response prompts a wry shake of the head from Blackwood and the comment, "and that wouldn't do your career much good. You need to let DeWitt know he's here. She's the one he wants to talk to."
He keeps his distance once Adelle knows that Palmer is here, but positions himself where he can see her as well as all the entrances and exits. This quiet conversation is, he knows, one that they will never be able admit took place. The Director of the NSA just doesn't have an earnest discussion with a woman who, in a different world, could be facing charges for the crimes she committed in the name of Rossum and progress.
Palmer does a lot of the talking, Adelle's responses are brief and their handshake is probably more than symbolic. She has just agreed to something and it isn't too difficult to hazard a guess as to what Palmer could have asked of her.
When she steps back towards them he knows that his speculation wasn't mistaken. Her smile is tight and strained - the NSA, perhaps the Government, want the technology. Whatever she does with Rossum has to accommodate that demand. So now she faces the daunting task of unravelling its worse excesses with a Federal agency looking over her shoulder, one intent on taking advantage of technological advances gained through methods that include slavery and murder.
"Ms DeWitt?" The tired looking Doctor has no idea who he is looking for, though he brightens up considerably at the sight of Adelle. "Mr Brink made it through surgery - he's in recovery now. You should be able to see him soon."
"Can you give me some idea of his prognosis?"
"It's early days and it's not the sort of injury you just bounce back from but, he's young - relatively strong. If he makes it through the next day or so I'd expect him to recover."
"And how long before he can be transferred to a Rossum facility?"
"You need to give us a couple of days on that - not because I doubt the care he'll receive, but I don't want to risk moving him yet." The Doctor is really piling on the charm for her.
"Of course. Thank you." Her smile is a little more genuine this time and the Doctor preens. Laurence narrows his eyes, scowling at the man. Only someone familiar with her would see the amusement that lurks in her eyes, as though she is perfectly aware that he isn’t enjoying someone else paying her attention. He crosses his arms - every bit the stoical bodyguard and, if anything, her amusement grows.
"I'll call Ivy," he offers as the Doctor returns to his patient.
"I've asked Judith to attempt to find us some reliable technical staff. I'd like the block monitored - but I'd prefer to have someone we trust doing it."
"What about me?" Cole asks, "I could do it - couldn't I? The er, architecture in my brain means you could imprint me?" Adelle's gaze is cool and assessing, while Laurence knows he gapes at his colleague in shock.
"Are you insane?"
"You said it couldn't be removed," she points out, "so why not use it?"
"We do have appropriate imprints available," Adelle offers. "You understand what this would mean?"
"Sort of. I'm trusting you to remove it when it's over."
He knows he couldn't do it, but he has memories of being wiped and sent to the attic, of all the betrayal and pain. He supposes it is just possible that for Cole the only way to make sense of what was done to her is to use it. He suspects Adelle understands that, she's always been ruthlessly practical.
Now she looks over at Blackwood, Cole does work for him after all. His only response is to shrug and say, "I'm guessing Palmer gave you carte blanche."
"Not precisely." She responds, but he doubts that she would have settled for much less.
***
It is late by the time he has sat through Ivy's imprinting of Cole and seen her become every bit as geeky as Topher; only not Topher - Ivy knows better than that and he isn’t sure any of them could stand that right now. He doesn't know how he feels about this, even though Ivy offers all the reassurance she can and her relief at being able to visit Topher and see for herself that he is alive is evident.
He can't let himself dwell on the thoughts, so he moves carefully around the facility - aware that they have survived one incursion already. When Langton arrives he thinks the man is as much in need of activity as he is, so they split the tasks between them.
He is not certain about the sleeping arrangements for tonight; though he has the access code to the guest quarters and there are still all those offices with couches. It isn't as if he and Adelle discussed what had happened between them last night. He can attribute meanings to it though and some of them at least allow him to conclude that she is not expecting to sleep alone tonight.
He spends more time than he would like making up his mind before muttering "screw it" and heading to the guest wing. It has been a hell of a day and he wants to sleep with Adelle within reach. If she kicks him out there are other bedrooms, or indeed a lot of couches.
The soft glow from the corridor illuminates the room as he steps inside. She is buried under the covers and he remembers that the room hadn't exactly been warm the previous night and how much she'd been shivering earlier. His jacket is draped carefully over the chair with her clothes and he strips down enough to crawl under the covers to join her.
She doesn't move at first though he is sure she's awake. He isn't particularly aroused, he's seeking and offering comfort not sex, but his hand rests on her hip and she shifts a little closer to him. He brushes his lips to her shoulder and just waits, because the next move has to be hers.
She is still and quiet and he half thinks that she is falling asleep until she makes a small sound that he identifies as a stifled sob. Then he wraps his arms around her and holds her closer and tighter as she cries angry, harsh tears for Topher, for Claire, for all of them.
She turns her head towards him and he tastes salt on her lips as she kisses him with the same desperation that fuelled her tears. Her hands move rapidly over his body, tugging the remaining clothing off him, while he groans and tells her to let him catch up - even as he pulls her sleepwear off. He knows exactly what she wants and needs and once she breaks his veneer of control he recognises how badly he needs it as well. This wild, hard fuck that, for all it's simple physicality, is rooted in trust and safety. Neither of them would let go this easily, this carnally, with someone they didn't trust.
They aren't particularly careful, but they don't go out of their way to hurt each other. He is sure he leaves bruises on her hips and she digs her nails into his back as she arches beneath him. They aren't quiet either, because it's just not possible to have sex like this quietly. But he's too lost in her to care, too focused on driving away the memories of the moments when he believed that he would lose her. She responds with the same dark ardour and he knows that she has even more things to hide from. If his body can give her that escape then, for tonight, it is enough.
In the morning he stands by her side as they wipe Clive Ambrose. Her eyes are hard - glinting with the cold light of her victory; which isn't a victory at all. The wipe is as brutal as he remembers, but she doesn't flinch and neither does he - because it is an ending of a sort and he knows they need that.
Then, quietly and competently, an imprinted NSA agent returns the original persona to the body. "Welcome back Mr North," Adelle says as the man comes awake, blinking in confusion.
"Five years already?"
"A little less," she tells him, "there's been a change of policy within the organisation. But our agreement still stands - there are a few checks we need to complete and then one of my colleagues will explain the immediate arrangements. You're currently in Arizona, we will of course ensure that you have transport to your preferred destination."
She is calm and reassuring - the sales pitch delivered in reverse and when she turns away her expression has changed. It as though she has reached some resolution with the daunting task ahead and what it may yet cost her.
He follows her out of the lab and together they walk towards the elevator. He knows the sense that this is where he belongs is illusory - the NSA will recall him soon, send him back to New York, or perhaps DC, However, he can't imagine that she will be content to confine herself to Arizona and as far as he remembers the company has a multitude of private aircraft at its disposal.
"While you are still with us perhaps you might undertake a little research into the likely whereabouts of any of the other Clive Ambroses and of Harding as well." She says, her thoughts apparently heading in a similar direction to his.
"I'll get straight onto it."
"Thank you Agent Wentworth." He is so surprised by her use of his name that he almost stops walking, pausing outside the elevator to see the tiny smirk she is sporting.
Laurence Dominic Wentworth, undercover NSA agent and a man with excellent taste in clothing but challenging taste in women, follows her into the elevator having picked his jaw up off the floor.
As the doors close Adelle is still looking rather pleased with herself and because it isn't good for her to believe that she is always going to have the upper hand in this relationship, even though she is, he hits the emergency stop button and pushes her back against the wall.
This should be THE END and it is - apart for the Epilogue