Overnight Therapy - Chapter Forty-Four
Title: Overnight TherapyAuthor: LSM71059
Fandom: Spooks
Characters: Lucas
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Season Seven
Summary: Lucas North has someone to confide in and take care of him when the nightmares and bad flashbacks happen.
Disclaimer: All Spooks Characters are the intellectual property of the BBC.
The Inspiration for this story was taken from the song "South City Midnight Lady" by the Doobie Brothers
(Time Line for chapter: Just Prior to Episode 7.04)
Chapter Forty-Four
Lori's laugh was brought to an abrupt halt when her Blackberry started vibrating all over the top of washer at the back where she'd left it. She dropped the pair of folded boxers on to the pile of clothes before sprinting over to pick up the call. She looked at the caller I.D., connected and asked sounding apprehensive, "Hey Joe, got a Sit Rep for me?"
It didn't take long till she was pacing back and forth across the back of the Launderette. Her head was down and the Blackberry planted firmly against her ear. Observing her out of the corner of his eye keeping vigilant for any sign of distress on her part, Lucas kept folding clothes. When he came across two t-shirts, one his-plain black, one hers-the yellow one with the "Swedish Mafia Silent but Deadly" writing which made him smile because of the whimsy of it. He felt it was a great commentary on their two personalities, his opaque and hers vibrant.
Lori had come to a halt in front of the dryer holding the towels. She started taking them out as he heard her muttered under her breath, "Bastards," then rolled her eyes as she spoke louder directly in to the phone, "and these terms are non-negotiable."
It sounded like she was finishing the other person's sentence. Done folding his first lot, Lucas joined her stepping up to the dryer beside hers that held the jeans and trousers. He began to extract them as he ascertained Lori's mind set. From her whole demeanour, it wasn't pleasant. She began folding towels with such vehemence, that it was obvious whatever was being said had left her exceedingly distraught.
Lori was practically seething as she answered in to the Blackberry, "You have my word. Call me when you get in and I'll come over. Now, I need you do something for me. Bring the files. There needs to be a read in."
There was a slight pause before she finished the conversation with, "Yes, those files. Have a safe trip across the pond."
Lori tossed the towel she'd been folding on to the table before taking the Blackberry from her shoulder, hanging it up and setting it down on the washer closest to her. Staring off at a point somewhere across the room, she drummed her fingers next to the phone. For the next minute, Lucas watched in open fascination as a myriad of emotions passed over her face. It ranged from pure rage to resignation to pondering to determination to resolution. He'd faced most looks from all kinds of people through his career. But he'd never seen intensity like the one in her eyes when she finally looked up at him. Although he was almost positive the look was not for or because of him, it still sent a shiver down his spine.
Picking up another towel to fold, Lori's voice was very low and controlled when she finally spoke in her rapid fire business manner, "As you have may well already ascertained, that last phone call was shall we say not exactly what I had anticipated. But be that as it may, to the best of my knowledge Eric is still alive. I'm not waiting on some Bureaucrat to decide when we can go after him. To give you plausible deniability about my upcoming actions, when we are finished with the laundry, it's best that we part company for the rest of the night."
Lucas gave himself a moment to reply by finishing folding the last pair of jeans and adding them to the pile. He stepped over to stand in front of Lori, stopped her in mid-fold by covering her hand with his giving it a squeeze and gazed directly in to those intense eyes. He replied in his own quiet all businesslike voice, "While I can appreciate you wanting to keep me out of whatever may be happening tonight for my own protection, it is quite unnecessary. That being said, I'm no stranger to going off the grid when the situation warrants. I meant it when I said earlier anything you need, anything at all. So please allow me the honour to be of service to you."
He continued to hold her gaze as she seemed to be searching for something in his eyes, for what he wasn't quite sure. Lori finally looked away sliding her hand out from underneath his. She picked up where she had left off, folding towels. Looking like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders, she said with a huge sigh, "For Eric's sake, I have to dance with the devil in the pale moonlight."
Taking her gently in his arms, Lucas responded quickly before she could say anything else, "Then let's dance, you and I."
Having finished the video conference with Sec Nav and The Pentagon, Donovan looked over at Joe saying, "She's not going to like the delay."
"You think?" Joe responded giving him a wry look like he was totally daft.
"It's too much for me knowing she's going to put herself in harm's way. She's done it before numerous times for a lot less at stake. This was supposed to be at an end when Lori retired from The Agency. There wasn't going to be any more dangerous missions or her going off grid to get the job done. It has been bad enough they wanted her to fly the chopper for the rescue mission. Damn it, Joe, she's used up eight and half of her nine lives already," Donovan lamented.
"You could sit here and whine all the way across the pond or you could get your head on straight and help me deal with the situation at hand," Joe said in his calm rational manner. It was always the same with those two, Donovan ranting and raving while Joe remained calm, cool and collected. But that's why their partnership had always worked so well. They balanced each other out. He continued, "The way I see it, the only trump card we are holding is Lori doesn't know yet that we have been given clearance to release the coordinates for Eric's beacon."
Donovan took up Joe's line of thinking, "So we tell her she gets to have it on the condition she stays put."
"Well, something along those lines. I have an excellent spin in mind to use that will leave us virtually faultless in the matter. We have to tread very carefully with her. She isn't one to be easily manipulated. And we both know how she hates to be handled. The last thing I want to do is stress Lori out anymore than she already is. However, if she gives me her word she will stay put then she will. Her word is her bond and she has never broken it with me. Perhaps it would be best if I talked to her. You do tend to get a bit high handed with her and then she chafes relatively quickly," Joe countered.
"Well, it's only because I care," Donovan said getting defensive.
Joe soothed, "Yes, I know as we all do. Now, let's get that phone call to her made so we can get going. We've received clearance to take off immediately. Keep your fingers crossed, this all goes smoothly."
He dialled Lori's number and waited while it rang four times before she picked up.
When her Blackberry started vibrating all over the top of washer at the back where she'd left it, Lori stopped laughing and dropped the pair of folded boxers on to the pile of clothes before sprinting over to pick up the call. Looking at the caller I.D., she quickly connected and asked full of apprehension, "Hey Joe, got a Sit Rep for me?"
"Of course My Dear, I promised I would call with an update. The op is being put in to motion however things are going to be on a slower time table than we'd originally hoped. It looks like it will be a minimum of twenty-four hours but more like forty-eight before any mobilization will take place. But I assure you I will keep you in the loop as things progress," Joe said in his most soothing voice.
As she listened to him, Lori paced back and forth across the back of the Launderette. Her head was down and the Blackberry planted firmly against her ear. The way he was talking she felt there was another shoe about drop, as it were, and sure enough, he continued, "Given your past exploits, there is concern that if the coordinates of Eric's beacon are released, that you will strike out on your own. I have given my personal assurances that you will do no such thing and stay put till the op is ready to mobilize in order for you to get them. I need your word that you will stay put when I get them to send you the coordinates and..."
Lori was so angry she saw red and needed to have something to keep her hands busy as soon as possible. Otherwise, the wall in front of her would end up with a few holes in it. She stopped in front of the dryer holding towels and started to extract them. Better to take all this aggression out on being productive by folding towels. While listening to Joe explain the current status, she muttered under her breath, "Bastards," then becoming even more irritated with the whole deal, rolled her eyes as she spoke directly in to the phone finishing his sentence, "and these terms are non-negotiable."
"You are astute as always, My Dear. As I told you earlier, Donovan and I are coming over to wait with you. I've called ahead to have the townhouse prepared for our arrival. And don't argue that it isn't necessary. It will make us feel like we are being of some use to you. I have your word, right?" Joe asked keeping his fingers crossed Lori would comply.
Although she was seething at the situation, Lori was not angry at Joe. It wasn't fair to shoot the messenger. So she answered with the practiced restraint that had been honed over the years, "You have my word. Call me when you get in and I'll come over. Now, I need you do something for me. Bring the files. There needs to be a read in for certain individuals."
"The sealed ones from the Navy and the Agency?" Joe asked wanting to verify that's what she meant. He figured there were only one maybe two people in England she would consider worthy of being read in on her exploits.
Lori finished the conversation with, "Yes, those files. Have a safe trip across the pond."
Lori tossed the towel she'd been folding on to the table before taking the Blackberry from her shoulder, hanging it up and setting it down on the washer closest to her. Staring at a small sign as a focal point across the room, she drummed her fingers next to the phone. As she mulled over the conversation with Joe and how it impacted her plans for rescuing Eric, her emotions went from pure rage that her tactics were coming under scrutiny to resignation she'd have to comply if there was any chance of getting Eric's coordinates to pondering how she could pull this off without leaving London to determination to make it happen no matter what to resolution that it would have to be put in to the capable hands of her associates and that at all cost Lucas needed to be kept out of the operation for his own protection. She finally looked up at him and picked up another towel to fold.
Keeping her voice very low and controlled, she spoke in her rapid fire business manner, "As you have may have well already ascertained, that last phone call was shall we say not exactly what I had anticipated. But be that as it may, to the best of my knowledge Eric is still alive. I'm not waiting on some Bureaucrat to decide when we can go after him. To give you plausible deniability about my upcoming actions, when we are finished with the laundry, it's best that we part company for the rest of the night."
Lucas finished folding the last pair of jeans and adding them to the pile. He stepped over to stand in front of Lori, stopped her in mid-fold by covering her hand with his giving it a squeeze and gazed directly in to her eyes. He replied in his own quiet all businesslike voice, "While I can appreciate you wanting to keep me out of whatever may be happening tonight for my own protection, it is quite unnecessary. That being said, I'm no stranger to going off the grid when the situation warrants. I meant it when I said earlier anything you need, anything at all. So please allow me the honour to be of service to you."
Lori thought of the full range of reasons why and why not to let him become part of the op while she looked in to his too blue eyes. And it didn't help her resolve with him holding her gaze. She looked away sliding her hand out from underneath his and picked up where she had left off, folding towels. All of her bravado was seeping out of her at an alarming rate. Feeling like the weight of her world was crashing down on to her shoulders in full force, with a huge sigh, Lori began "For Eric's sake, I have to dance with the devil in the pale moonlight."
Taking her gently in his arms, Lucas responded quickly before she could say anything else,"Then let's dance, you and I."
After his definitive statement and being held in his strong arms, Lori only thought was, "Now how do you say no to that?"