Operation Primetme: Lost Souls
Outside Thames House, London
MI5 Central HQ
5:45 A.M. local time
Sitting in the back of the rental car, Tom Quinn folds his hands in his lap and watches Brittany Colefield and Dana Scully advance on the doorstep of Thames House. He almost wants to smile, knowing MI5 and MI6 will be thrown when the young woman they had hoped never to see again shows up on their doorstep wanting to bring the albatross of his existence or lack thereof back to center stage. There are only a few ways it can go from here. She'll either make her point and he'll be making that walk himself in just a few minutes, or it will all go to hell and he'll be heading back for the safe harbor of the United States. Tom doesn't know which way it will go.
He knows full well this game can end with his life being spent in prison or a bullet in the back of his head. In fact, when the phone call came, he assumed that to be the ending. He has done that each of the times she's called him asking for his help; he has to, because those are the stakes. He knows he's very lucky that each of the times he has violated his compact - the industrial action case, Nina Myers' return, the Code Five confrontation - he's managed to escape retribution. He doesn't kid himself that his luck will last forever. He also knows Brittany never calls on him unless she has no other choice. She is still guilty for consigning him to what seems, at times, a fate worse than death.
They have stripped him of his country, his identity, his freedom and his belief, but deep down inside, Tom Quinn is still one of the best spies the world has ever seen. Given all that Brittany has done for him - and he still remembers the shouting matches behind closed doors with lawyers, the way she sat emotionlessly at the defendant's table with him, refusing to cut him loose when she could have quit and saved herself - he sees no better use of his talents than saving her life. He understands perfectly why she has asked this time, and he knows that even if his luck runs out today, their relationship sealed his choice from the moment she called.
"You don't plan on listening to her, do you?" he asks Jimmy McCarron, the detective sitting in the front seat, the first indication that he'd heard any of the conversation that had just happened. Briefly, Tom wonders if Michael knows his wife is in love with another man, but he knows Michael Colefield isn't stupid. Their short time as allies taught him that. He knows that McCarron, like Michael, is in this for love. Such a noble end.
McCarron shifts in his seat, glancing back over his shoulder at Tom. His eyes are hard, intensely burning, firmly set on what's ahead of him. "I don't know. It'll depend on the situation. If I think I can save her, I won't leave her." He pauses, taking in the spy he's worked with before but doesn't seem to know. "If it was you, what would you do?"
"I'd listen to her." Tom sighed. "Knowing what I know about Harry, as soon as my name gets dropped, they'll be searching the country for me. She's collateral damage. I'd rather protect some of my agents and leave the rest to fight on than get us all strung up before the real target can even get pinned down." He paused. "The problem is there's too many ways it can go. It can go well, and we walk out of here together and get Lindsay. It can go badly, and you and I end up back in the States while the rest of the team goes to ground and tries to deal with both her and him. Or it can go exceptionally badly and the whole thing can be fucked. There's no way to tell, because we don't know what anyone will do."
"That thought had occurred to me," McCarron agreed, eyes constantly on the move in case of a threat. "There are too many options. Too many things out of our control." He bristled, and Tom could see it. This was personal for him, as if the kiss hadn't been a blatant sign of that.
"We don't have the luxury of control," Tom informed him. "We're fighting two fronts here. Five can come after me and her or the whole team, depending on how vengeful they feel like being. Lindsay can come after her or all of us. And if it really goes to hell and she gets strung up," he hesitated, "what's to say Lindsay won't find out?"
McCarron finished a thought: "And launch a full scale attack on MI5 to get her out."
"Control is a myth," Tom repeated in the resulting silence.
MI5 Central HQ
5:45 A.M. local time
Sitting in the back of the rental car, Tom Quinn folds his hands in his lap and watches Brittany Colefield and Dana Scully advance on the doorstep of Thames House. He almost wants to smile, knowing MI5 and MI6 will be thrown when the young woman they had hoped never to see again shows up on their doorstep wanting to bring the albatross of his existence or lack thereof back to center stage. There are only a few ways it can go from here. She'll either make her point and he'll be making that walk himself in just a few minutes, or it will all go to hell and he'll be heading back for the safe harbor of the United States. Tom doesn't know which way it will go.
He knows full well this game can end with his life being spent in prison or a bullet in the back of his head. In fact, when the phone call came, he assumed that to be the ending. He has done that each of the times she's called him asking for his help; he has to, because those are the stakes. He knows he's very lucky that each of the times he has violated his compact - the industrial action case, Nina Myers' return, the Code Five confrontation - he's managed to escape retribution. He doesn't kid himself that his luck will last forever. He also knows Brittany never calls on him unless she has no other choice. She is still guilty for consigning him to what seems, at times, a fate worse than death.
They have stripped him of his country, his identity, his freedom and his belief, but deep down inside, Tom Quinn is still one of the best spies the world has ever seen. Given all that Brittany has done for him - and he still remembers the shouting matches behind closed doors with lawyers, the way she sat emotionlessly at the defendant's table with him, refusing to cut him loose when she could have quit and saved herself - he sees no better use of his talents than saving her life. He understands perfectly why she has asked this time, and he knows that even if his luck runs out today, their relationship sealed his choice from the moment she called.
"You don't plan on listening to her, do you?" he asks Jimmy McCarron, the detective sitting in the front seat, the first indication that he'd heard any of the conversation that had just happened. Briefly, Tom wonders if Michael knows his wife is in love with another man, but he knows Michael Colefield isn't stupid. Their short time as allies taught him that. He knows that McCarron, like Michael, is in this for love. Such a noble end.
McCarron shifts in his seat, glancing back over his shoulder at Tom. His eyes are hard, intensely burning, firmly set on what's ahead of him. "I don't know. It'll depend on the situation. If I think I can save her, I won't leave her." He pauses, taking in the spy he's worked with before but doesn't seem to know. "If it was you, what would you do?"
"I'd listen to her." Tom sighed. "Knowing what I know about Harry, as soon as my name gets dropped, they'll be searching the country for me. She's collateral damage. I'd rather protect some of my agents and leave the rest to fight on than get us all strung up before the real target can even get pinned down." He paused. "The problem is there's too many ways it can go. It can go well, and we walk out of here together and get Lindsay. It can go badly, and you and I end up back in the States while the rest of the team goes to ground and tries to deal with both her and him. Or it can go exceptionally badly and the whole thing can be fucked. There's no way to tell, because we don't know what anyone will do."
"That thought had occurred to me," McCarron agreed, eyes constantly on the move in case of a threat. "There are too many options. Too many things out of our control." He bristled, and Tom could see it. This was personal for him, as if the kiss hadn't been a blatant sign of that.
"We don't have the luxury of control," Tom informed him. "We're fighting two fronts here. Five can come after me and her or the whole team, depending on how vengeful they feel like being. Lindsay can come after her or all of us. And if it really goes to hell and she gets strung up," he hesitated, "what's to say Lindsay won't find out?"
McCarron finished a thought: "And launch a full scale attack on MI5 to get her out."
"Control is a myth," Tom repeated in the resulting silence.