Ingrams & Assoc 6: Downfall Ch. 04

April needed to be careful here. The moment you start pleading is the moment you lose your equal negotiating position. Pleading is considered by the subconscious too close to whining and gets relegated to the same power level.

Chris Morgan stared at April, utterly still, eyes blazing. Everyone could see him trying to his damnedest to keep himself under control, and the herculean effort it was taking him to do it.

Eventually, he said, slowly, "You are right. This is not a democracy. People here need to do their jobs and do what I tell them, for the good of the team. It's not always necessary for a good soldier to have the complete picture, only that which they need to know to carry out the mission. That's how a successful army has always operated."

There was another silence, before April replied, gently, "Yes. I'm sure. But... this isn't the army, Chris. These people don't have to be here."

There were a few moments more before Chris blinked.

"Right. Yes, you are right," he breathed out. The tension in the room immediately broken.

"I'm sorry. You all knew that there was a reason I was here, and it was to do with the wife, but no one asked before. Not even you, Beatrice. You do deserve to know the truth, April is right. Sorry everyone."

The mood subtly shifted, and the moment was over.

"I'm sorry, Chris. What she did to you was... horrible. I'm so sorry," said Lindsey, hesitantly. She then got up and came over to Chris, and enveloped him a hug.

"I'm sorry too," said Beatrice, rising to join them. Suddenly everyone in the room was on their feet, talking at once, wanting their leader to know he had their support. Everyone but April. She knew better. She just sat and let the moment play out.

Eventually, everyone said their piece, and went on to their room, Chris making it clear he needed a moment with April alone.

They stared at each other for a moment, and April realized she was holding her breath. She desperately hoped that Chris understood what she had done, and why, because it could go very badly for her if he didn't.

Eventually he growled, "You are dangerous, you know that?"

April grinned. She knew what this meant.

"Not to you, honey. I just lanced a boil that you didn't even know you were sitting on. You needed that, they needed that, everyone needed that. Your team is going to be even more well lubricated now, because you are one of them now. Human. Vulnerable. If you thought they were connected to you before, they are doubly so now."

"I don't need you for team building, April."

"No, I'm sure you don't," she acceded. "But, I'm cute, and I know what I'm doing, and you seriously do need someone rummaging around in your head because you've been carrying that shit for far too long. Plus, I fuck like a minx," she said, tossing her hair in an exaggerated seductive pose.

Chris couldn't keep the straight face and burst out laughing.

"Yes, you do at that. And speaking of that....?"

April's mouth went dry, because it suddenly seemed like all the moisture had gone elsewhere.

"Oh god, yes," she groaned, throwing herself into his arms.

They coupled throughout the night. At first feverishly, desperately needing each other. Then slowly, languorously, delighting in looking into each other's eyes as an impending orgasm arrived. Then, later, hard and fast again, urging each other on with the dirtiest thing they could think of to say to each other.

By morning, they were utterly wiped out, and neither rose before midday, even though everyone else was up and starting to break down the contents of the rooms they were staying in.

April eventually opened her eyes, yawned, looked at the clock on the bedside and cursed out loud.

"Fuck. I need to be at the hotel. I need to see my team. Clue them in."

Frantically she dressed, with Chris watching her, silently. When she was done dressing, she suddenly noticed him, staring at her.

"What? Do I have something in my hair? What?"

Chris just smiled at her, and said, "No, you look great. Well screwed. Very rested. So, you determined to do this? Go meet your people?"

"I have to. They need to know what I know."

He sighed. "Okay, well, I can't, - and won't, - stop you. But we'll be gone by nightfall. We need to be moving on anyway. Too hot here now. They'll be looking for us. Looking for you, too. I would advise you to vanish as soon as you can. You never know if they clocked you at the house last night. Either way, you'll be at the very least on their watch list."

April sat down on the bed, grabbing both his hands.

"Come with me. We can get you out of the cold. You can tell your story."

He shook his head. "Don't you get it, April? Too many people are already compromised. I can't come in from the cold, because the reception would be too hot. I need to see this through."

She let out a heavy breath. "Yeah, I know. I know. Look, I have to go see my team. Just... don't leave without me at least saying goodbye, okay? Promise me that?"

His body tensed, she could feel it.

"Like I said, we are leaving at dusk. You know where we are if you want to come by. But don't be late."

"So this might be it then?" she asked, bluntly, desperately afraid, and realizing she hadn't thought this through.

"I guess so," he replied, turning his head away.

April was at a loss. The actual prospect of walking away from this man, from the things he had woken inside her, was chilling. And yet, she had to. For her own life. For her team.

"We'll meet again, Mister," she blustered, trying to put on a good face. "Trust me on that. Believe it."

She forced his head around and kissed him, with everything she had, to let him know, she was there and was marking him as hers. And he kissed her back, with equal passion.

Chest heaving with emotion and shortness of breath, she forced herself to stand up.

"Wait for me," she commanded, and then turned and fled, not looking back, afraid if she stayed any longer, she would never leave.

* * * * *

It took April an hour to get across the city. She'd had money pressed into her hand by Beatrice on her way out, with a hurried, "Take care of yourself."

She'd walked for twenty minutes, to get distance between herself and the building the group occupied, just in case, and then taken a taxi back to the Hotel.

As she walked into the hotel, Steve sprang up from the chair he'd been occupying, watching the door way, with a strangled cry. "April! Are you okay?"

He grabbed her and hugged her hard.

"We were so worried. You just vanished for a walk and the next thing we knew, a bomb went off, and no one could contact you."

"Yeah. It was pretty... harrowing. Look, Steve, I'll tell you everything, but not here. Let's go up to the suite and I'll brief everyone."

He nodded, and walked with her to the elevators.

"Everyone is packing up. Show is done, and so's the mission. We would have been gone yesterday but..."

As they stood in the elevator, April glanced at him.

"Is she coming?"

"Jessica?" he asked looking up at her.

She nodded.

"Yeah, she's coming." He glanced at his watch. "She'll be touching down any moment, in fact. Coming straight here. She'll want to talk to you first thing."

"Yeah," replied April, not looking forward to that conversation. She had kind of figured Jessica might show up, and it was not an enticing notion.

The doors opened and they walked to the room, Steve opening the door with his key card.

There was silence when they entered the room, and everyone saw she was there. Talia then squealed, "April!" and threw her body into April's arms.

"We were so worried!"

Everyone crowded around, wanting to know what happened.

"Right, sit down. I have a lot to tell you. And can someone get me a diet coke? I have a feeling I'm going to need it."

After she was passed a cold can, she popped it, took a long sip, and sat down in one of the easy chairs.

And then she talked.

She explained how she'd gone to the café with Chris Morgan, the bomb, the effects, the scenes of carnage. How he'd got her out of there, taking her, shell shocked and all, to where his crew had their base of operations. She talked of the crew, what they'd told her. She spoke of the visit to the Storm Clouds mansion, of what she saw there. And Chris' story, how he came to be on the self-directed mission he was on. Of how Ingrams and Associates had been used to find him, and how the attempt on his life was aimed at both of them.

When she was done, there was silence, then Talia asked the question it was obvious everyone wanted to ask, "So, are we all on their shitlist then? Whoever 'they' are?"

"I don't know," replied April, wearily, the events of the last few days really coming home to her. "I honestly don't. I guess if we probe and push, probably. If we don't, if we just leave it, then, I dunno. Probably not. Hard to really know."

"Well, it sounds like something we are well out of then," answered Talia, bluntly.

April just looked at her, tired and beaten down.

"I need to get packed... Are you guys ready to leave?"

Steve nodded. "Yeah, pretty much. A few things left to crate up. We are just waiting for the boss to get here, then we are off. You need to go pack too."

"Right. Okay then. Guess I'll need another key card," said April, weakly. She tried to smile, but everyone could see the adrenaline rush of the past few days had caught up.

She rose, and made her way out of the suite, and, pausing only at the reception desk to pick up a room key card, she was in her room and packing within moments. April was an old hand at fast packing, and was done within fifteen minutes, and then there was a knock at the door.

She rose and opened it, to find herself facing Jessica Ingrams herself. Jessica looked entirely too fresh and well put together to have literally just got off a plane from the states, but here she was. Dark hair held in place with several of her signature ornate combs, face well made up and impeccable lipstick. Her business skirt and jacket, with matching blouse looking like she just put it on five minutes ago.

"April, please tell me you are alright? You aren't injured?" she enquired, reaching out and putting both hands on April's shoulders.

"I'm... fine. Just tired. It's been a long couple of days," she answered, trying to smile to let Jessica know she was still the same old April.

"I don't know what it is about you, you know," said Jessica, "You manage to get into more trouble going to the toilet than the rest of the girls put together on their worst day!"

April knew Jessica didn't mean it; it was her way of expressing concern.

"You didn't have to come all this way," protested April.

Jessica just looked at her sharply. "Well, if what I'm hearing is right, I think I do need to be on scene. I need to work out what to do next, frankly. Anyway, let's go down, in the open. Coffee? Bring your suitcase and bag."

That was Jessica, - orders and nothing escaped her notice. She'd checked out the room, seen April was ready to leave, and just told her what was going to happen next. And, as always, April was scooped along.

They went down to the Novotel's coffee lounge, and April couldn't help but notice that Jessica both took the chair facing the rest of the open area, and also the table farthest from everyone. And there was a large man, in a tight suit, in glasses, stationed at a table by the door who nodded faintly at Jessica on the way past. Jessica now had her own security. That was new. April was learning to be more observant of things like that, given the events of the past few days. Never let it be said she didn't learn.

After they were situated, and coffee had been brought, and Jessica had finished with her surface conversation regarding comings and goings back at home office, she just sat back and regarded April with hooded eyes.

"Well, I'm pretty sure you know I want to know. Everything. Every detail. I need to know exactly how deep in it we are, and what we can do about. So spill."

And April did. For the second time that day, she recounted everything. From running the show, meeting Chris Morgan, her attempts to get close, the lunch date, the bomb, running to his lair, the people he was with, spending the night, the next day, their inquisition, visiting the Storm Clouds mansion, and then Chris recounting his story. The only thing she did leave out was her increasing feeling for Chris Morgan. She judged that lack of professionalism would not endear her to her boss.

When she was done, a good hour later, Jessica then took her through her first case, where she hired a submissive from a Storm Clouds establishment, and the end of the mission, where she found the note on her car, cautioning her.

"So, they know who we are then. And who you are. That's obvious. I'm not entirely surprised; we are a pretty much open secret in some circles," she concluded.

"Well, they did hire us," pointed out April.

"Well..." said Jessica, sucking through her teeth. "That's not strictly true. The client was a set of lawyers, back in DC. From what I got from them, this situation had already been passed through other law enforcement, but they'd gotten nowhere, and we were a last resort. That's what we were told, anyway. Now though, I don't doubt it was deliberate."

"How so?" questioned April.

"Well think about it, April. They know who you are, - who you represent. You've been a minor irritant once, years ago, and a major one after the fiasco in London. Using you to get to another major irritant they can't seem to scratch, well, it's nothing short of inspired. If you succeed, it puts the two of you together, to be removed in one move. Both thorns pulled out in one go. And if you don't, well, nothing lost there. It's diabolically clever. Of course, they didn't expect your talent for survival. But still, an elegant plan."

"Well, Chris' talent really. He saw what was going to happen and made me safe."

Jessica just shrugged.

"The question now is, what next?"

"Well, isn't that obvious?" retorted April, surprised. "We go to every law enforcement agency we can with this. We hoist these bastards from the nearest yard arm!"

"Do we?" Jessica arched an eyebrow at April.

"What?" demanded April, puzzled.

"Well, let's look. You were part of a bombing. There is zero physical evidence that it was aimed at you. Sure, you have circumstantial, but nothing tangible. From all the reports I've seen, it's assumed it's Baader-Meinhof or some Basque Separatist group. They left behind all their signature hallmarks. Sure, it could be a false flag operation, but there's no evidence of that.

"You've seen things, at this Storm Clouds mansion. Now, given what happened to you before, I completely believe you, April. But a DA? Any kind of law enforcement? It's going to sound like some fairy story to them. A shadowy group of high-power people, who apparently have the power to reprogram people to their liking? All inside the front of a Gentleman's Club? Seriously? It sounds like the plot of a Kingsman movie."

April sighed, and sat back, chin on her chest, hands on the table. Defeated.

"Yeah, I know. But we know shady shit is going on inside there, Jessica. I've been on the receiving end of it. Chris' team, they've all had various degrees of experience of it too. We can't just let these bastards get away with it," she protested.

"What would you have me do, April? I'm as proud of Ingrams training and agents as anyone could ever be, but let's face it. We are therapists, April. Sure, we are damn good, and we sneak around for the benefit of those we help, but we aren't James Bond. We aren't the secret service or military intelligence or trained for this kind of thing. We've gotten involved twice so far, and both times I've almost lost my best agent. It was only through luck, so random preemptive hypnosis, and your damn will that you weren't killed, either time. Or worse. This is not what we do, April."

Jessica was perfectly calm and poised, and April was a cauldron of frustration.

"But we have to do something, Jessica. I can't just leave these people. They need our, - my, - help."

Jessica sighed. "April, we can certainly alert our contacts in the US. Talk to the Feds, we know people at the federal level. The FBI. But this is not our fight."

"Jessica... I..." April started to say, running her hand through her hair, even more frustrated.

"NO!" exclaimed Jessica, slapping her hand hard on the table with a loud crack, her poise broken. There was a pause, while both women looked around, noticing others had witnessed this.

"April," hissed Jessica, "I am not putting any more of my people in danger. This is kill or be killed stuff, if this bombing is to be believed. You've done enough, and I will not allow you to put yourself or any of the rest of us in peril over this. I suspect we already are on watch lists, which will do the business no end of harm as it is. I'm not putting lives in jeopardy over this. Do you understand? That's the end of it."

April looked at Jessica, her face morphing into disgust.

"So that's what this is? About 'The Business', and the potential damage to it? Jessica, there are people being hurt here. Lives are being destroyed. We've seen it first hand, with Lee Hicks." April made no bones about her revulsion to Jessica's statement.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it," intoned Jessica, icily. "Don't you twist my words. My point is that Ingrams is of no use to anyone if agents are dead or caught or injured. We cannot afford to get caught up in this."

"Jessica -"

"No. I've made my decision clear here, April. We are done here. I expect you on the van when everyone leaves in a few minutes." Jessica shut down all April's protesting.

Seeing the expression on April's face, Jessica softened.

"Look, maybe we offer these people some intel. Put Talia's people on it, or something. But nothing that can come back on us. And you need a vacation, that much is clear. This mission was too soon, I should have kept you on the bench another couple of months, after London. When we get back, you are taking a month's paid leave. I'll send you somewhere with Megan, - she won't mind a trip to, oh, the Bahamas, or somewhere like that."

"No," said April, quietly.

In the last few minutes, April had been forced to look at who she was, what she cared about, and what mattered. And she discovered that not only did what Chris represent matter, - something she had a personal experience and stake in, - but he himself mattered. In a way no man had ever done so before, to her. She didn't want to lose contact with him, and she damn well needed to see this through. She needed him, and she was pretty sure he needed her.

If that was the end of her Ingrams career, well, she'd be sad but if, - no, when, - it came to the choice, well, it wasn't that hard to make. She was completely surprised in herself how resolute she was, having made the decision. No regrets. No looking back. This was right, she could feel it.

"I'm sorry?" asked Jessica, puzzled.

"I said no. You don't own me, Jessica. I work for you. You pay for my time and my abilities. You don't get to tell me who my friends are, or who I spend my time with. You don't get to order me around. You pay for my time, and as of this moment, you don't even do that."

"April, now listen, don't be hast-..."

Now it was Jessica's turn to be cut off.

"If you won't help them, I will. This is bigger than you or me, or Ingrams. This is a threat to everything we represent. To people being the best they can be. We are done here, Jessica. I'll take it from here. You can mark my end date two weeks ago, or whatever you want. Be careful when you get home."

April rose, fluidly, hoping desperately that Chris and his group hadn't left yet.