Assignment - Part 17:

Consequences

Justin sat quietly on the couch, while dozens of CIA agents moved around the loft, searching for any evidence they could fine.  Having explained what had happened earlier in the loft - leaving out the part where he let Brian go, off course - Justin had nothing left to do but wait.

It all felt surreal to him, as if he were asleep and everything that had happened was just a bad dream.  And all he had to do was wake up and he’d be back in Brian’s arms – happy and safe.

But unfortunately, this wasn’t a dream.  It was ironic that the one person who Justin felt safe with after his ordeal with Kissilyev, the one person who he wanted to go to, to run to when he felt like the world was crumbling around him – was the one person he could not trust.

“Justin?”

The blond raised his gaze to the man standing in front of him – Ben.  Justin stared at him for a few seconds.

“What are you doing here?” he finally asked.

“Lindsay told me what happened.”

Justin nodded, knowing full well what Ben was doing there – he was sent to bring Justin in. 

“How pissed was she?” Justin asked, rising from the couch.  He knew it was time to face the music.  There was no reason to lie to them either, since the bugs that he had planted in Brian’s loft had most likely recorded each and every final word spoken between him and Brian. 

“She wasn’t happy about it, that’s for sure,” Ben answered.

Justin picked up his coat that was still lying on the back of the couch and put it on. 

“Come on,” Ben said, putting his hand on Justin’s shoulder.  “I’ll give you a ride.”

“I can drive myself,” Justin responded.  He could tell that Ben was about to object, but Justin was not up to any arguments at the moment.  “Look, Ben, I appreciate you coming over here and pretending to give a shit, but you don’t have to worry.  I’m not going to disappear or join the other side.  I’m not gonna run.”

With that said, Justin made his way out of the loft.  Not giving Ben a chance to catch up, Justin quickly walked down the stairs. 

As soon as he was out of the building, he came face to face with the last person he wanted to see. 

“Michael?” Justin stopped dead in his tracks.  “What are you doing here?”

“What do you think?” the brunet snapped.  “I’m here to see Brian.  But they’re not letting me in.”

Only then did Justin notice that the building was surrounded by cops or rather CIA agents who were dressed in police uniform.

“What the hell are you doing here?” was Michael’s turn to ask.

Justin returned his attention to Brian’s best friend.  What was he supposed to say?  Was he just expected to follow the rules once again?  To feed this man yet another lie because Brian didn’t have the guts to tell him the truth?  Justin felt sick even thinking about it.

“Oh, just, you know, Brian and I had a fight because he stole classified information from the CIA and turned it over to the enemy of the United States,” Justin heard himself say.  “Oh, and I work for the CIA.” 

The blond almost wanted to laugh at the dumbfounded look on the other man’s face. 

“Ben?” Michael said, his eyes traveling to the man standing behind Justin.

“Ben works for the CIA too, by the way,” Justin added.  He turned to the bigger man, strangely finding amusement in the glare he received from his colleague. 

“What?” Michael gasped.

Justin shook his head and began to leave, only to be stopped by Ben’s hand on his arm. 

“He’s joking, Michael,” Ben said in his calm, quiet voice.  “There was a robbery in the building.  That’s why the police are here.”

The alarm immediately appeared on Michael’s face.  “Is Brian ok?”

“Yes, he’s fine.  It wasn’t his loft.  He’s actually on a business trip now,” Ben replied.

“A business trip?  Another one?”  Michael was seemingly upset.  “He didn’t even call me.”

“I’m sure he meant to,” Justin heard himself say.  “But between killing people and stealing decoders he forgot.”

Michael’s eyes once again widened while Ben only sent a warning look in Justin’s direction.

“It was a last minute thing,” Ben said.  “Urgent.”

Michael seemed to buy that explanation.  “What are you doing here?”  The question was directed at Ben.

“I had to pick up a package Brian forgot to bring to the office before he left,” Ben answered, holding up a thick folder.  “And Justin was kind enough to wait for me here after Brian left.”

Justin held back a snicker as he watched Michael process exactly what the implications of those words were.  Torturing Michael lost its appeal fairly quickly, though.  Pulling his arm out of Ben’s grasp, Justin moved toward the street where his Porsche was parked.

He heard Ben say good-bye to Michael behind him and then Ben’s footsteps as the older man tried to catch up to him.  Justin was already opening the driver’s side door when Ben walked up to him.

“What the fuck was that?” Ben demanded.  “Are you out of your fucking mind?”

Justin wasn’t fazed by Ben’s outrage.  “Aren’t you tired?  Of lying to everybody you know?  To your family?  Your friends?  Your boyfriend?  Because I am,” he admitted honestly.  “I’m tired of living in a world where everything we say is a lie, everything we hear is just more lies.”

Ben moved closer, placing his hand on Justin’s shoulder and squeezing it.  “I understand how you feel.”

“Do you?  Because, honestly, I have no idea how I feel.”  Justin opened the door of his car and got inside, slamming the door shut.  Turning the ignition on, he pulled away from the curb.

~~~***~~~***~~~

Brian tapped his fingers against the top of the desk and let out a loud sigh.  He had been sitting here for hours now – in Stockwell’s office – waiting for him.  After Brian left the loft, he headed straight for Stockwell’s estate. 

After he got there and found out that Stockwell wouldn’t be back until later that night, Brian had nothing left to do but wait.  And think.  About everything that happened earlier that day.  At the time, it all seemed so surreal to him – seeing Justin go through his things, knowing what that meant, the fight.  And then Justin letting him go.  Just like that.  That came as a huge surprise to Brian too.

“Jim’s not gonna be happy.”

Brian looked up at Brad - one of Stockwell’s men.  “Jim will just have to get over it.”

“Is that right?”

Brian’s gaze shifted to the man standing in the doorway. 

Brad quickly stood up to greet his boss.  “Brian’s got some news.”

Stockwell moved through the room, walking around his desk and settling down across from Brian.  “Yes, I heard,” he simply said, staring directly at Brian.  He then looked up at the other man.  “Give us a minute.”

A few seconds later Brian heard the door close behind Brad.  And then he waited.

Stockwell leaned forward on the desk, his hands clasped together as he studied Brian’s face.  “I thought you said he wasn’t a problem,” he finally said.  “In fact, I’m SURE you said he wasn’t a problem.”

Brian pulled his lower lip in between his teeth as he waited quietly for more to come.

“Is he dead?” was the next question.

“No,” Brian replied, keeping his voice steady as he leaned back in his chair. 

“Then why aren’t you?”

As crazy as it was, Brian understood the other man’s thinking.  One of them should have been dead, or at least captured.  But that wasn’t the case.  Instead, Justin was probably back at the CIA Operations Center and Brian was sitting here, explaining himself.

There were a lot of excuses Brian could come up with, but if his instincts were correct, Stockwell already knew exactly what had happened, since Brian’s loft had been most certainly bugged.  So, he had to settle for the truth.  “He let me go.”

“And why would he do that?”

Brian grimaced, looking away for the first time.  He knew what his boss was implying.  But he was not about to discuss anything personal with anybody, least of all the man sitting before him.  “I don’t know, maybe ‘cause I’m a good fuck?” Brian snapped, looking back over at him.

As predicted, Stockwell didn’t find Brian’s response particularly amusing.  He pursed his lips, staring at Brian for a few seconds before opening a drawer of his desk and taking something out.

In the next moment, Brian knew what the object was – a gun.  He stared at it, lying still on the sleek, shiny surface of the expensive desk, realizing what the other man was trying to tell him.  Brian forced himself to look up, feigning ignorance.

“Kill him.”

Brian swallowed, feeling his blood grow cold inside of him.  On the outside, however, he had to remain unaffected.  “What for?”

“What for?  I think you’re in the wrong business, Brian, if you really don’t know.  He knows enough to bring both of us down.”

“Whatever he knows, he’s already told the CIA.  It’s too late now,” Brian argued.

“And whose fault is that?”

Brian took a deep breath and silently returned the man’s stare.  “Besides, if we come after him now, they’ll know it was you.”

“No.  They’ll know it was you.”

Brian sneered.  “Who are you kidding, Jim?  They know I work for you.  If Justin Taylor dies, they’ll know exactly who ordered it.”

“They’ll be hard-pressed to prove it.”  Stockwell placed his hand over the weapon and moved it closer to Brian.

“There’s no reason to kill him now.”  Brian glanced down at the gun, then back at his boss.  “And, I don’t, as a rule, kill people without a reason.”

“There IS a reason,” the other man said, rising from his seat.  “I want him dead.”  His voice left no room for objections.  “Besides, it will be sending a nice, explicit message to his father.”

Brian was surprised by that revelation.  “What does Craig Taylor have to do with this?”

Stockwell nodded.  “The man’s been a thorn in my side for far too long.  It’s time to make clear to him that he doesn’t own this world anymore.”  He crossed the room toward the door, stopped and looked back at Brian.  “Make it personal.  Close range.  Get him somewhere alone and shoot him.”

Brian desperately tried to control his emotions.  “That’s impossible.  There’s no chance in hell he’ll meet me anywhere private, alone.”

Stockwell smiled and Brian once again felt the chill roll down his spine.  “I’m sure you’ll think of something.”

With that Stockwell opened the door and walked out, closing the door once again behind him, leaving Brian alone.

Stockwell walked down the hall with Brad at his side.  “Follow him,” he ordered.  “If Taylor’s not dead by this time tomorrow, kill them both.”

~~~***~~~***~~~

Justin let out a loud sigh when he heard the door open and then close behind him.  As soon as he got to the building, he was escorted to Lindsay’s office where he had been waiting patiently ever since. 

He followed with his eyes as his superior walked around the desk and sat down across the table from him, while Melanie remained by the door. 

It seemed like an eternity until Melanie finally broke the silence.  She walked over to where Justin was sitting and leaned against the edge of the desk.  “You wanna tell us what the hell happened there?”

Justin raised his head and held her gaze calmly.  “I’m sure you have the entire thing recorded.   Why don’t you just go and listen to it?”

The brown-haired woman definitely did not like his response.  “Don’t you start that whole smart-ass routine with me,” she warned him.  “Answer the damn question!”

Justin stared back at her, slightly puzzled at her question.  He assumed he was called in to get his ass chewed up, and not in a good way, before either being suspended or fired.  Instead, he was being questioned on what had happened. 

Justin turned his attention to Lindsay who up until now sat quietly across from him.

She seemed to understand his silent question.  “It seems that Brian found the bugs you planted.”

Justin let out a bitter laugh, shaking his head in disbelief.  Brian’s been onto him for days now, maybe even weeks. 

“Justin, we need to know what happened there,” Lindsay tried this time, more calmly than Melanie. 

Justin bit his lower lip, staring down at his hands while trying to decide what to say to his boss.  He took a deep breath and finally looked up at her.  “He caught me going through his things.  We fought.  He won.”  Short and sweet. 

“What about your call?” Melanie asked.

Justin briefly glanced at her, then back at his hands.  “I thought I had him.  I was wrong.  He got away.”

“Just like that.”

It was obvious she didn’t believe him, not that Justin could blame her.  He was pretty sure he wouldn’t believe himself either in her position. 

“Just like that,” he confirmed.

“You are so full of crap,” Melanie stated.

Justin looked up at her, surprised by her outburst.

“Mel,” Lindsay tried to calm her partner down. 

“No.”  Melanie was on a roll.  She moved closer to Justin, getting right in his face.  “You know as well as I do that this is bullshit.  So, now tell us the truth,” she demanded.  “He didn’t just *get away*.  You let him go.”

“That’s quite an accusation,” Justin replied, surprisingly calm, even though he realized that what was happening in this room could determine the rest of his career in the CIA, or the lack thereof. 

“It’s the truth,” Melanie replied.  “Isn’t it?”

“Come on, Mel,” Justin shot back, snidely.  “Think about it.  Brian’s bigger and stronger than me.  How could I possibly overtake him?”  He smirked as he held her gaze, getting a weird sense of enjoyment from almost seeing steam come out of her nostrils. 

“Mel, hun,” Lindsay’s quiet, calm voice broke the tension between Justin and the other woman.  “Would you mind giving us a minute, please?”

Melanie turned to her lover for a moment before making her way out of the office. 

When the door closed behind her, Justin turned to Lindsay.  “That time of the month?”

She didn’t find it as amusing, however.  She stood up and walked around the desk, standing now in the same spot that Melanie occupied moments before. 

“You let him go, didn’t you?”  Unlike Melanie, her expression wasn’t angry or upset. 

Unable to look her in the eye, Justin looked away.

“I can’t say I blame you,” Lindsay continued.  “I probably would have done the same thing.”

Justin snorted as he looked back up at her, giving her a pointed look.

Lindsay smiled.  “You were right.”  When Justin responded with a questioning look, she clarified.  “When you said that I asked you to do what I couldn’t.  You were right about that.  It was wrong of me to ask of you what I myself couldn’t do.  And I’m sorry for that.”

Justin sighed and closed his eyes. 

Lindsay was quiet for a few seconds.  “I think you should take a leave of absence.”

Justin’s head shot up.  “Am I being suspended?”

Lindsay walked back around the desk and sat down in her chair once again.  “No, of course not.  I just think that after everything that’s happened, you should take a few days off to sort things out, decide what you want to do next.”

There was nothing left to say after that.  Justin simply nodded and stood up.  Gathering his coat from the back of the chair, he walked out of the office.

~~~***~~~***~~~

Brian turned the handles of the faucet and watched the water flow freely for a few minutes before putting his hands under it.  He leaned down and splashed some cold water on his face.  Turning off the faucet, Brian stood up straight, staring at his reflection in the mirror. 

It had been hours since Stockwell left after giving out his order.  And Brian spent every second since then trying to find a way around it.  But the truth remained that there wasn’t any way around what he had to do. 

Sighing heavily, Brian reached for the towel on the towel rack and wiped his face dry.  He then walked out of the bathroom that was adjacent to the office.  The gun that Stockwell gave him was still lying in the same spot he had left it. 

Brian walked over to the desk and picked up the gun, feeling the cold of the steel against his warm fingers.  He put the gun in the back of his pants and pulled his jacket over it.

Opening the door of the office, Brian came face-to-face with Brad. 

“Tell Jim I found a way,” Brian said.

Go to Part 18

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