Chapter Text
Chapter 1: The Debrief
Lena flips through the contents of a manila envelope. Indecent pictures of a foreign minister.
“It’s all in there,” the informant’s voice assures. “Negatives and everything. Undeniable proof of the minister's affair.”
With a pleased hum Lena puts the photos away and latches the envelope closed. “This is more than enough to force his resignation,” She tucks the envelope under her arm and turns to leave. “Keep up the good work,” She says over her shoulder.
The informant heaves a sigh as the exchange concludes. They spin on their heel to exit the alleyway.
“Where do you think you’re going?” A stern voice calls out.
The informant swings around and comes face to face with the man that just left. This time he is flanked by two bodyguards.
The man stalks forward, holding out a hand, “Aren’t you going to hand over what you promised?” He demands.
“What!” The informant exclaims, backing up. “But I just….” They point to the end of the alley.
The man’s eyes go wide, “You idiot…” his bodyguards surge forward.
“Oh no…” the informant says.
“It was a setup!”
Lena peels off her mask and takes off the suit jacket and bulky padding. In one smooth motion she slips the disguise into a drop box to be picked up later by Agency operatives. Blending into the hustle of city streets, Lena makes her way down into the train station. Moments after taking a seat, someone joins her. The person places a newspaper down on the bench.
“Bear,” The figure says. They get up and disappear into the crowd.
After waiting a couple of minutes, Lena picks up the newspaper and gets on the first train to arrive. She takes a seat at the back of the carriage and opens up the paper to read the coded message within.
Good work. Next mission, report to HQ.
Lena’s grip on the newspaper tightens slightly. It was unusual for her to be called in just for a new assignment. Glancing at the train line map, she deduces that the line would bring her close enough to HQ where she could walk the rest of the way without wasting too much time. She folds the newspaper away and settles in for the rest of the ride, trying her best not to give away her tension.
HQ has always been a busy place. Lena walks past people running documents to other departments, groups muttering around stacks of files, and rooms full of beeping machines with people sorting through wires and speaking quickly through headphones. Lena nods to a few people she recognizes as she makes her way to Handler’s operation room.
When Lena steps through the door, she catches the attention of a tall woman dressed in a dark pantsuit. There are a few other agents in the room, all of whom worked to make sure Handler’s operations ran smoothly. On one of the monitors over the command console, Lena can see a pair of operatives retrieving her disguise from earlier.
Handler straightens from where she is sitting behind a desk. “Lena, welcome back.”
“Handler,” Lena says, stepping closer.
“Come on now, Lena, you know here in HQ you can just call me Sam.” Sam smiles at Lena.
Lena crosses her arms behind her back and lifts her chin. “Off the clock, maybe,” She smirks a little. “But I’ll stick with ‘Handler’ while we’re here, thank you.”
“Boo, you.”
Lena huffs. Sam and Lena have always had a good rapport. It was part of the reason that their operations have such a high success rate. Paired together they had built a reputation of reliability that cemented their partnership for all future missions.
Sam rounds the corner of her desk and gestures for Lena to follow her to a long table.
“I know that you’re not used to coming into HQ for something as simple as a mission debrief,” Sam begins, glancing at Lena. She braces her hand on the table and gestures to the files laid out on its surface, “But this one is a bit more…complicated than the others.”
Lena frowns, “I’ve handled complicated missions just fine before.” She leans over to pick up the main file, reading through the description. Deep cover operation…Donovan Desmond…Eden Academy…required to pose as a single parent-.
“You want me to do what?” Lena asks incredulously.
Sam explains, “It’s the only feasible way to get an operative close enough to Desmond. His security is too tight and the only events that he attends are for his elder son, held by Eden.”
“And where am I supposed to find a child?”
“We have one.”
Lena blinks. “You…have a child?”
“The Agency,” Sam clarifies. “Rescued a child from an illegal testing facility. She’s perfectly healthy, and incredibly traumatized.”
“And you want me to take her on an important, deep cover mission.”
“I want you to help her acclimate into a regular routine in a monitored and controlled environment.”
“Sam.”
“Lena.”
Sam sighs and rubs her eyes. “Listen, I don’t like it either, but it’s better than grabbing some random kid off the street. She’s so young…you could really help her. After this mission, we could pass the labs off as just a bad dream.”
Lena purses her lips. “I know you don’t really believe that. Do you hear how wrong that sounds?” Lena shakes her head at Sam. “This kid needs counseling. She needs to process what happened to her, not try and repress it.”
Sam looks down at the table, unable to meet Lena’s gaze. “You’re right,” She says quietly. She shuffles a few papers around and pulls out a photo of a little girl. “This is her. Her name is Lori. She’s six, the same age as Donovan’s youngest son.” Sam slides the photo over to Lena.
Lena swallows. “Why are you telling me this?”
“I’ll get her help.” Sam looks up. “I guarantee it, but she’s going on the mission.”
“Sam-”
“She’s used to the agents and she is familiar with HQ. She’s brilliant, Lena, she’s the perfect candidate.”
“Christ,” Lena breathes.
“And,” Sam emphasizes, “You actually can give her a semblance of a normalcy. She will go to school, she’ll socialize, and she’ll live in a stable home with you as her caretaker. You will have the full support of the Agency in looking after her.” At Lena’s doubtful stare Sam continues, “I promise that Lori will receive counseling while the mission is ongoing. Failure to get close to Donovan means war, Lena. I’m making the best of a bad situation…for all parties involved.”
Lena stares at Lori’s picture in her hands. It’s unfair, she thinks, But who knows what the Agency will do with her otherwise?
“Fine.” Lena says, looking up at Sam. “I’ll take her, but she’s out the moment it gets to be too much.”
Sam breathes a sigh of relief.
“And I'm picking the counselor,” Lena adds.
“You’ve got a deal.”