One Last Dance

[bravotwozero]

OOC: Follows this thread here.Brittany meets her team in a secluded parking lot at LAX. Four different vehicles, in the end. She came with Michael, and McCarron went to pick up Tom, insisting on staying close to his mark. Everyone knows their assignments. McCarron protects Tom. Lex does the technology. Michael and Agent Scully, whose expertise is

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[bravotwozero]

After a phone call from Eric Weiss at CTU, Brittany buckles up and looks at everyone. Tom is directly behind her, McCarron beside him. Jimmy already looks like he'd jump someone who blinked out of line. Lex is doing something on his laptop. Michael looks a little nervous, but that's something she knows he always does. She hears the doors seal shut and a few moments more, the engines are screaming into the air.

She waits until the jet has reached cruising altitude to survey everyone and the briefing packet she put together at the last minute. "Okay, here's the breakdown," she says, folding her hands in her lap. "Once we hit Heathrow, I bet it won't be long until Five or Six gets word that Tom's back in the country. That means, at least on his count," and she nods to her British ex-spy, who's trying to look content but has settled for calm, "we've gotta move fast. Because I need him to catch Lindsay, but it won't do me a damn bit of good if they string him and me both up."

Pause. She sighs. "So this means the first thing I need to do is go to Thames House and see Harry Pearce. Tom, I don't want you with me. Jimmy, you stay with him and stay in the car. Anybody checks, the Counterterrorism Center is backing us up, but I won't produce him until we're good. If things go bad, you take Tom and get the hell out of here. There is no other option. All right?" Her eyes are boring into McCarron's. She knows he'd stand his ground and fight for her rather than abandon her, but she knows she can't do that to Tom. Finally, Jimmy admits that he understands.

"I'm going to want somebody to go with me to Thames. You two stay close, but I'll be in touch. The rest of you, head straight off for the Hotel George and somebody start coming up with a plan. If things go well at Five, and I hope they do, I'm going to see what they can give us."

"You should talk to Adam Carter," Tom advises. "I don't know him, but nobody's going to understand a spook better than another active spook. Harry's mostly a bureaucrat now. Adam's in the field."

"I'll keep that in mind." Brittany sighs. "Let's get you secured and then we'll go assassin-hunting. Everyone will be wired up by the time we land, we proceed exactly according to plan. No room for him to punch through our defenses. Any questions?"

[dana_scully_]

Scully leans forward, her voice quiet. "I don't know Pearce, but I've the impression you mistrust him...? If Carter isn't available, is there anyone else at MI5 we could contact to renegotiate Agent Quinn's status?"
She considers, and looks over at Lex. They haven't been assigned 'guard duty' yet. It would be the logical choice to send one of them with Brittany--or both, one to go openly, the other perhaps not so openly. "Always keep a few surprises tucked away," one of her FBI co-workers used to tell her.

[bravotwozero]

"I..." Brittany pauses. She glances at Tom, not sure if she should be talking about this.

Tom interjects. "Harry Pearce was my former supervisor at Five. I had to shoot him when I made my break. We've not truly spoken since. My former colleagues, Danny Hunter and Zoe Reynolds, have both left the Service. The only people I still know there won't be high enough to get anything done."

"What if we go to Stephen?" Brittany asked him, then clarified, "Stephen Bradley, at Cooper-Fozard, he represented us in the case that started this a few years ago."

Tom chuckled cynically. "What do you think Stephen can do? He'll put up a good argument, but just because you've got power of state doesn't mean he does."

"I don't know." Brittany sighs. "We'll see what happens when we get there. Agent Scully, would you mind coming along? I don't want to be alone if I get locked up for treason. Somebody would have to move this thing on without me."

[dana_scully_]

She listens, attentive, a slight frown her only outward reaction to Tom's explanation. Wryly, "Yes, I can see how discussion with him might be a bit difficult. I can't officially advise you to break any laws...
however, with an assassin looking for you, purposes unknown, if it's a choice of 'run like hell' or being confined, I would personally NOT go with door number two." Remembering some of her experiences with dishonest or
hostile...colleagues, she shakes her head. "But yes, to answer the question you did ask."

[bravotwozero]

"Thanks. It'll save this operation in case the worst blows over. Of course, since I'm the bait, I don't know how it'll mess things up, but at least I'll have people active." She shakes her head. "It took me a hell of a lot to get this agreement, I want to see the look on his face when I ask him to help me break it."

"We've already broken it at least three times," Tom reminds her, "but I wouldn't tell him that if I were you. Talk to him. See what happens. Personally? I wouldn't be here if not for you."

"Don't say that, okay?" She seems a little edgy underneath the leader's decorum. "Let's not put me on a pedestal until we're sure I deserve it. And that I'm breathing. And that I'm not on trial again. So ... if we're going to walk in there, we're going to need a plan. Suggestions, or do we just play it up front on this?"

[dana_scully_]

"Up front entirely doesn't seem to be a workable option. MI5...if we're 'negotiating' with them too, do we have any leverage? Either to
get them to work with us, or at minimum, let us all go if the discussions break down? Lindsay has to be the priority.
We can't plan for their reactions, so best to assume uninvolvement on
their part."

[bravotwozero]

"Leverage? Other than the massive guilt trip that only we can stop a potentially deadly assassin and that Tom is the perhaps best spy I've ever seen and after all he did for his country, they turned him into a traitor and I then proved his innocence, not much. I cleared him ... but because they'd already crucified him, there's never been an easy way back." Brittany shakes her head, a little disgusted. "The best we could do if things go south is bail Tom out and remind them that I'm the one that Lindsay wants."

[dana_scully_]

Scully had had actually had something less...overt, in mind, than appealing to the man's conscience, but decides not to press the point just now.
"All right. Then, we should be ready for a sudden departure, from Thames, or London, if this goes against us?
With Lindsay active--"Apologetic nod to Quinn--"settling business with MI5 at the same time may be unworkable, though we can hope."

[bravotwozero]

"That's the thing. I'm not sure I can beat this guy without him. Tom knows more about this country and its state secrets than anyone..."

Tom shakes his head. "Brittany, if you have to go on without me, you will. I'll do what you need me to do, but don't think that you can't do this."

Brittany shakes her head. "I don't want to think about this. What's going to happen if this goes south is that Tom is going to get the hell back to the States. The rest of you, no matter what happens to me, need to find Lindsay and take him out. The paramount concern in this has to be ending him, but it'll be a lot easier if I have Tom in this game."

She pauses. "The other thing ... He knows me like the back of his hand, which means he probably knows a decent amount about all of you and our history together. He may try to come after me directly, so if I for any reason seem like I'm not right, I want you to check it out, but do so at a distance. I don't know how this guy is going to react, but we have to assume he knows everything about us."

[dana_scully_]

"He may have heard of me, but even I didn't know I'd be with you on this mission," pointed out quietly. "But, understood. The job first." Duty.Serve and protect.' She's silent, looks to see if anyone else has questions.
"Seems like we're done..."

[bravotwozero]

"Yeah. Looks like." Brittany sighs. "I'm just getting used to being a human target. My dad lives in perpetual infamy ... I guess it's just a family thing." And here she smiles a little. "Maybe my last name is Bauer after all."

Pause. "But thank you for being here. I really appreciate it. I owe you one, presuming I'm around when the thing ends."

[dana_scully_]

Dana waves that off. "Maybe I can deduct it from the three I owe other people?" She shrugs, then stands up, looking toward the exit.

[phaseofgrace]

Jimmy McCarron, beverage in hand, makes his way from the back of the plane. He looks over at his team leader: "We have like hours before we land. I thought you were told to get some rest."

"I'll sleep when I die."

"That's not funny right now," he reminds her. "Anyway. We're on schedule. I'm going to start tracking Lindsay's suspected movements. Lex has sent up what data he could find." Pause. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you out there."

"Jimmy, we've been over this. I am expendable."

"No, you're not." He shakes his head. "Don't argue with me."

"Wouldn't stop me."

"This time, just don't argue with me." He puts a hand on her shoulder. "So, Agent Scully, how'd you end up here?"

[dana_scully_]

"Luck, or stubbornness. Or a good mix of both. I was in Los Angeles on
a Bureau case, and phoned Michael, concerning that. He told me about
the mission here. I volunteered my services." Wry smile. "The other investigation--can be delayed, in fact I think my superiors might unofficially prefer that it was."

[phaseofgrace]

"No one runs full speed into walls anymore. Takes a select breed to do it." McCarron nodded. "Detective McCarron, LAPD Robbery Homicide. I've worked with Brittany for the last couple of years. She'd have a hard time shaking me," and this was more for Brittany's benefit, no doubt.

[dana_scully_]

Scully offers a handshake. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Detective McCarron." She smiles, and gives him an approving nod for the "hard time" comment when Brittany's not looking.