skieswideopen (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
skieswideopen) wrote2014-07-07 02:30 am
skieswideopen) wrote2014-07-07 02:30 am
Entry tags:
In the Balance (Intelligence, Cassidy & Jameson, PG-13, 1076 words)
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gameofcards.
In the Balance
Chris waited with Cassidy while two CyberCom agents swept his house. It wasn't until they signaled the all-clear that he let Cassidy out of the car.
"You know, this really isn't necessary," Cassidy said as Chris followed him into the house. "Jin Cong is under arrest, and they already have what they want from me. I don't think anyone else is going to come after me."
Chris gave one last quick look out the door before he closed and locked it. "We just want to be sure you're okay, Doc." He offered a reassuring smile to Cassidy, who was waiting by the door, hands held out in front of him awkwardly, as if he didn't quite know what to do with them. "It's just for a couple of days."
"Alright, alright," Cassidy grumbled, but Chris thought he detected a touch of relief beneath it. He turned toward the kitchen. "I'm going to make some hot cocoa. Do you want anything?"
Chris shook his head, but followed Cassidy into the kitchen. He watched as Cassidy poured milk into a pot and then puttered around, waiting for it to warm. Cassidy looked more comfortable now that he had something to do, but Chris couldn't shake the feeling that he was an invader. He didn't know Cassidy very well--even when Cassidy had still been actively involved with Clockwork, he and Chris hadn't spent much time together. Cassidy had been on the development side, working in the lab, while Chris had divided his time between C-Doc and the field. The two had crossed paths in briefings, and had spent some time together in C-Doc when Clockwork first went active, but there hadn't been a lot of time for personal conversations then.
Really, for Cassidy's comfort, it probably ought to have been Gabriel here. Except Gabriel had been held captive too, and besides, he was too important to waste on routine protective surveillance. Especially since--as Cassidy had correctly surmised--the risks were fairly low. So Cassidy got Chris instead.
"My mother used to make this for me when I couldn't sleep," Cassidy said suddenly. "Always with milk, not water. I made the same thing for Nelson, when he was a boy."
"Mine just gave me the warm milk," Chris said. "Without the chocolate."
"Not the same," Cassidy said. "Are you sure you don't want some? Or I have something a little stronger, if you prefer."
"I'd probably better not."
"Of course," Cassidy said, looking embarrassed. "On duty and all that."
"It's fine," Chris said. He didn't want Cassidy to feel uncomfortable around him. Especially now. With Amos turned traitor and in the wind, he knew Lillian was going to have to ask Cassidy to come out of retirement, at least long enough to train a new primary technician. And Chris didn't think Cassidy was going to stick to the lab this time. Not with his creation out in the field. They were probably going to be spending a lot of time together.
Cassidy turned his attention back to the pot, stirring and testing until he was satisfied with the temperature. He poured it into a mug and mixed in the cocoa, then carried it into his living room.
"Gabriel had me aim so I didn't kill him, you know," he said. "I think he was afraid of what it would do to me, to kill a man."
"You shouldn't have to kill," Chris said sincerely. He wasn't actually sure Gabriel had intentionally tried to get Cassidy to aim for the arm, mostly because even a trained sniper would have trouble pulling that shot off, and Cassidy wasn't trained, even if Gabriel had been the one telling him which way to point. On the other hand, it did sound like something Gabriel would do. He might well be confident enough in his own abilities to take that kind of risk. And if he hadn't, it would have been out of concern for Riley's life, not his own.
"But I have killed," Cassidy said. "Three times now. Three men at my hands." He paused, sipped his cocoa. "I still see their faces sometimes."
Chris knew who he was talking about. Gabriel's predecessors.
"That wasn't your fault. You weren't trying to kill them."
"No, but that doesn't make them any less dead. I knew the risk when I performed surgery on them."
"So did they," Chris said. "All three of them were warned. They volunteered anyway."
"Yes. For the future of humanity. For their country. For whatever reason Lillian gave when she talked them into it."
"They were all military," Chris said. "They all volunteered to risk their lives long before they met you."
"You were military, weren't you?" Cassidy asked. "Before you joined Cyber Command."
Chris nodded. He hadn't been planning on Cyber Command when he'd joined up at 18. The minimum hitch and then college and then the FBI. That had been his plan. He'd done the college part, eventually, but not the rest. It was funny how things worked out sometimes.
"If you'd had the gene, would you have volunteered to have the chip implanted?" Cassidy asked.
Chris had visited Wiseman during the months of paralysis before he'd finally died. He'd gone to all three funerals, standing beside Lillian as families and friends wept. He thought he could handle the latter, if it had come to that. But the former... "I don't know."
"I don't know that I would either," Cassidy said. "But I kept asking other people to do it. After each failure, Lillian told me that the only way to make that sacrifice meaningful was to keep going. To try again until it worked."
"And it did work."
"Yes. It did." Cassidy set down his mug. "I might have killed someone else today, you know. Even if she has the gene, there's no way of knowing whether that young woman I implanted the second chip in will ever wake up."
Privately, Chris rather hoped she didn't. Having the chip under their control was one thing. Having one running loose in the wild was something else entirely.
"I sometimes wonder how it will balance out," Cassidy said. "Whether in the end, I will be found to have brought more good or more evil into this world." He stood up. "Goodnight, Agent Jameson."
"Goodnight," Chris said. With Cassidy gone, he took a chair closer to the window, just in case. His sole job for the night was to prevent one particular evil.
gameofcards.In the Balance
Chris waited with Cassidy while two CyberCom agents swept his house. It wasn't until they signaled the all-clear that he let Cassidy out of the car.
"You know, this really isn't necessary," Cassidy said as Chris followed him into the house. "Jin Cong is under arrest, and they already have what they want from me. I don't think anyone else is going to come after me."
Chris gave one last quick look out the door before he closed and locked it. "We just want to be sure you're okay, Doc." He offered a reassuring smile to Cassidy, who was waiting by the door, hands held out in front of him awkwardly, as if he didn't quite know what to do with them. "It's just for a couple of days."
"Alright, alright," Cassidy grumbled, but Chris thought he detected a touch of relief beneath it. He turned toward the kitchen. "I'm going to make some hot cocoa. Do you want anything?"
Chris shook his head, but followed Cassidy into the kitchen. He watched as Cassidy poured milk into a pot and then puttered around, waiting for it to warm. Cassidy looked more comfortable now that he had something to do, but Chris couldn't shake the feeling that he was an invader. He didn't know Cassidy very well--even when Cassidy had still been actively involved with Clockwork, he and Chris hadn't spent much time together. Cassidy had been on the development side, working in the lab, while Chris had divided his time between C-Doc and the field. The two had crossed paths in briefings, and had spent some time together in C-Doc when Clockwork first went active, but there hadn't been a lot of time for personal conversations then.
Really, for Cassidy's comfort, it probably ought to have been Gabriel here. Except Gabriel had been held captive too, and besides, he was too important to waste on routine protective surveillance. Especially since--as Cassidy had correctly surmised--the risks were fairly low. So Cassidy got Chris instead.
"My mother used to make this for me when I couldn't sleep," Cassidy said suddenly. "Always with milk, not water. I made the same thing for Nelson, when he was a boy."
"Mine just gave me the warm milk," Chris said. "Without the chocolate."
"Not the same," Cassidy said. "Are you sure you don't want some? Or I have something a little stronger, if you prefer."
"I'd probably better not."
"Of course," Cassidy said, looking embarrassed. "On duty and all that."
"It's fine," Chris said. He didn't want Cassidy to feel uncomfortable around him. Especially now. With Amos turned traitor and in the wind, he knew Lillian was going to have to ask Cassidy to come out of retirement, at least long enough to train a new primary technician. And Chris didn't think Cassidy was going to stick to the lab this time. Not with his creation out in the field. They were probably going to be spending a lot of time together.
Cassidy turned his attention back to the pot, stirring and testing until he was satisfied with the temperature. He poured it into a mug and mixed in the cocoa, then carried it into his living room.
"Gabriel had me aim so I didn't kill him, you know," he said. "I think he was afraid of what it would do to me, to kill a man."
"You shouldn't have to kill," Chris said sincerely. He wasn't actually sure Gabriel had intentionally tried to get Cassidy to aim for the arm, mostly because even a trained sniper would have trouble pulling that shot off, and Cassidy wasn't trained, even if Gabriel had been the one telling him which way to point. On the other hand, it did sound like something Gabriel would do. He might well be confident enough in his own abilities to take that kind of risk. And if he hadn't, it would have been out of concern for Riley's life, not his own.
"But I have killed," Cassidy said. "Three times now. Three men at my hands." He paused, sipped his cocoa. "I still see their faces sometimes."
Chris knew who he was talking about. Gabriel's predecessors.
"That wasn't your fault. You weren't trying to kill them."
"No, but that doesn't make them any less dead. I knew the risk when I performed surgery on them."
"So did they," Chris said. "All three of them were warned. They volunteered anyway."
"Yes. For the future of humanity. For their country. For whatever reason Lillian gave when she talked them into it."
"They were all military," Chris said. "They all volunteered to risk their lives long before they met you."
"You were military, weren't you?" Cassidy asked. "Before you joined Cyber Command."
Chris nodded. He hadn't been planning on Cyber Command when he'd joined up at 18. The minimum hitch and then college and then the FBI. That had been his plan. He'd done the college part, eventually, but not the rest. It was funny how things worked out sometimes.
"If you'd had the gene, would you have volunteered to have the chip implanted?" Cassidy asked.
Chris had visited Wiseman during the months of paralysis before he'd finally died. He'd gone to all three funerals, standing beside Lillian as families and friends wept. He thought he could handle the latter, if it had come to that. But the former... "I don't know."
"I don't know that I would either," Cassidy said. "But I kept asking other people to do it. After each failure, Lillian told me that the only way to make that sacrifice meaningful was to keep going. To try again until it worked."
"And it did work."
"Yes. It did." Cassidy set down his mug. "I might have killed someone else today, you know. Even if she has the gene, there's no way of knowing whether that young woman I implanted the second chip in will ever wake up."
Privately, Chris rather hoped she didn't. Having the chip under their control was one thing. Having one running loose in the wild was something else entirely.
"I sometimes wonder how it will balance out," Cassidy said. "Whether in the end, I will be found to have brought more good or more evil into this world." He stood up. "Goodnight, Agent Jameson."
"Goodnight," Chris said. With Cassidy gone, he took a chair closer to the window, just in case. His sole job for the night was to prevent one particular evil.