C. Paradee - Deep Cover

Hal and Ron sat at one side of the interrogation table, waiting for Blue to sit down on the other side. They both knew this wasn't going to be a pleasant debriefing, because of the amount of time it had taken to tie up all the loose ends.

Blue slid into a chair and glared at the two men sitting opposite her. "What do you want now? I kept my part of the bargain, and you still hung me out to dry."

The taller of the two men cleared his throat. "We didn't have a choice..."

Blue spat, "Bullshit! I could've been killed, my partner could've been killed, my mother could've been killed and you didn't have a choice? Do you really expect me to believe that? And even supposing that's true, where in the hell have you been for the last two weeks."

Ron spoke quietly. "Michael was one of ours."

The operative's eyes briefly widened. "So you are the ones that protected him when he fucked up our extraction three years ago."

Hal nodded. "We've suspected him of working for the other side for quite some time, but we needed something solid. With the pictures and recordings your partner gave Earl, we have that."

Blue shook her head in disbelief. "You had no way of knowing we'd uncover anything on him, yet you still jeopardized innocent lives? Shelby and my mother could have been killed. I don't fucking believe this."

"Every time we made a move, the Russians knew about it. We had to find the leak. You were our best bet."

Suddenly some pieces began falling into place. "You let Michael know I was returning to headquarters and when I'd be arriving."

Both men remained silent, and Blue continued her accusatory litany. "Our deal was that I notify you when I was activated. I did that. So instead of honoring your part of the deal, you leave me to fend off the Russians alone and catch Michael."

She snorted and said sarcastically, "And we're supposed to be on the same side? Am I the only one who sees something wrong with this picture?"

"Our options were limited. We had to break Michael before we could honor our part of the agreement."

Kris crossed her arms and sat back in the chair. "Care to explain that? You were given pictures and recordings."

"Yes, we were, but he claimed he was just going along with Maggie, and was going to turn her in. Before we could turn him again, we had to break him. He's good. It took a while."

Ron met Blue's eyes. "If we couldn't break him, we needed you around until we did."

Blue finally understood why she'd been held in total isolation after her initial debriefing. These guys had covered up who and what she was, but the operative wanted to hear them admit it. "How were you going to manage that? Earl knows the whole story."

"He's been sworn to secrecy." Ron smiled. "It didn't hurt that he was on your side, anyway. Made our job really easy."

Blue sarcastically said, "I assume you broke Michael. Mind telling me what you needed me for, if you hadn't?"

"To shadow him. Report his every move and contact. You know the routine. You've done it before."

Blue just shook her head, disgustedly.

Ron commented. "Just until he agreed to double."

Blue rose to her feet angrily and began pacing back and forth behind the table. "So he walks?"

Hal shrugged. "We need him. Gregor reneged on his request for political asylum and he doesn't know about Michael. It could take us years to get another agent in place to provide information he's already in a position to get for us."

"And you trust him?"

"No. But it seems he was a little more attached to Maggie than we realized. In exchange for her complete cooperation, we plea bargain to a lesser charge than treason and she gets probation. Michael knows if he reneges on any part of the deal, we'll throw the book at both of them."

Blue was irritated at having been used, but knew these guys were acting in what they felt were the best interests of the country.

She sighed. "So now what? Am I free to go? Or do you have some other surprises in store?"

Ron handed her a folder. She pulled out a sheaf of papers and began reading. A few minutes later she signed a nondisclosure agreement, pushed it across the table and stood up, her heart beating wildly. She was finally free. Maintaining her composure, she nodded at the two men.

"I would say it's been nice working with you, but that would be a lie. Thanks for keeping our deal."

The two men watched her leave, then Hal looked at Ron. "She's really pissed."

"Yeah. Hope we don't have to activate her anytime soon."

"You think she knows we'll recall her if we need her?"

Ron shrugged. "She's smart. I'd bet on it."

Shelby and Masha sat at the dining room table in Lisa's house, waiting for the police to complete their questioning. The officers had finished taking pictures and were completing statements from both boys and her mother. They had arrived as the police were leading Jonathan to the police car in cuffs.

Shuddering, Shelby remembered the venomous glare and barrage of threats Jonathan had shouted at her as the police officer was pushing him into the back seat. She'd ignored him, running into the house followed closely by Masha, and breathed a sigh of relief to see no one seriously injured, although Jason's black eye turned her stomach.

She listened in silence as each related to the police what had happened, and felt a surge of happiness and relief when she heard her mother agree to press charges. At least one of their lives was improving. Shelby had called Kim after arriving at her mother's house and her friend was on her way over.

A few hours later, Shelby got ready to leave. It had been a good visit. Lisa had even agreed to Kim's suggestion that both she and the boys see a psychologist for a while. The analyst smiled, knowing that was a huge milestone for her mother, given her reluctance to even talk to Kim a few weeks before.

When her mother had asked after her partner, she'd simply told her she was still involved in the case, which wasn't really a lie. Lisa had been genuinely happy to see Masha, and the Russian had offered her quiet support the entire evening.

Touched by the foreigner's concern for her well-being, Lisa had invited Masha to spend the night. Well aware of how empathetic Kris' mother was Shelby reluctantly agreed, knowing that it would be good for both women. However, she dreaded the coming night...the first night she'd be alone since Kris had been gone.

Kris rang the doorbell, but didn't expect an answer. When the taxi dropped her off in front of the building, she hadn't seen her partner's car or the Taurus she'd rented. Sliding her key into the lock, she walked in and looked around. While she couldn't wait to see Shelby, she was nervous about seeing her mother. It seemed so strange to have a mother again. What would Masha think of her? Could they recapture the relationship that had been stolen from them so long ago?

Pushing her concerns aside, Kris picked up Stormy, and gently hugged her in spite of the young feline's protest. "What? You didn't miss me?"

The operative set the kitten down, walked over to the couch, and picked up the neatly folded sheet at the end, smiling at the sight of the unicorn on the floor next to the couch. Knowing her partner would've insisted on sleeping on the couch, she inhaled deeply of the linen and was rewarded by the slight scent of Shelby's bath oil. She hugged the sheet close to her.

During the long days in isolation, she'd hungered for Shelby's presence, half-convinced that she'd never again feel her partner's touch. Repeated requests to use the phone had been denied, so she'd dwelled in her memories; lingering over every remembered conversation, recalling each nuance of expression on that expressive face, and tormenting herself with a bittersweet longing for the sensation of the other woman's body pressed against hers. Kris had spent hours projecting her overflowing love, hoping that somehow Shelby could feel the message of her heart through the distance separating them.