Participants:
| Scene Title | Mildly Successful |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Len is pleased with the success of last night's extraction. Veronica, not so much. |
| Date | August 5, 2009 |
Fort Hero: Len Denton's Office
Having gone over some of the reports over last night's extraction of Minea Dahl and everything seems to be in order. It was a little more volatile than he had anticipated, but they were supposed to put on a good show. The doc has had little problem putting Magnes back together. He'll be wounded for a few days, but should be good as new after that. Minea is locked away until she can be debriefed by Len, seen by Dr. Sheridan, and determined to still be on the right team.
However, there are a few unanswered questions that remain, so Len has called Agent Sawyer into his office to chat. While he waits, he is compiling all the reports from the incident to be sent higher. All in all, he considers it a successful operation.
Veronica arrives in less time than he probably anticipated, as she was still on the base, having kept an eye on Magnes while he slept. She enters the office with a knock on the open door. Her hair's wet from the shower, and she looks a touch tired, but that's par for the course these days. When isn't she tired?
"Hey, boss," she says, sliding into the seat across from him. She doesn't smile but sits with her hands flat on her thighs, waiting for the questions. It's clear she that she's not happy about the way things turned out yesterday, even if she was the only one able to walk away.
"Well, you look far better than I thought you would after last night." Len tries to make the mood a little lighter as he can tell she's not in the best of spirits. As she sits, he flips off his monitor and turns his attention to her. "Other than Varlane getting injured, is there something else about last night that's bothering you?" He says, getting right to the point.
"That's not enough?" she says with a chuckle. "Well, it upset him. A lot. He says he wants to quit, but I may have calmed him down enough not to mean that anymore." She picks up the nameplate on Len's desk and turns it in her fingers, something to occupy her attention a bit. "He also wanted to go 'check on' some girl named Claire; I think maybe she's part of his group of friends at Phoenix. I told him if she has anything to do with them, knows them, is near their headquarters, is affiliated in any manner, he couldn't, and he didn't argue. If she wasn't, I think he would have pressed more." She frowns at this, feeling a bit guilty for letting Len know, but it could be important.
"Other than that, I don't think Hugh knew that it was all an act, and he and Minea almost killed each other for real. What the hell was that about? And how did he just happen upon us?"
Len listens as she speaks. When she finishes, he nods. "Hugh was sent as backup. Seems like I made the right call, though I did tell him that the use of non-lethal force was required. I'm fairly certain they both knew what they were doing. We have her in custody until we can debrief her and make sure she hasn't turned. And you can't really hold her accountable for that goof that was with her. We did need a witness."
He leans back in his chair and nods about Magnes. "He's had a couple rough runs right off the bat. I don't /like/ for that to happen, but I'll see if I can give him a couple of easy assignments to let him know it's not always like this. Have him go see Sheridan too. And if it has to be, yes, it's an order. Look, it was a good operation, successful as hell and everyone is pleased. So, don't take it to heart that it didn't go exactly as you would have liked. The end result is the same. Another success for you, Sawyer."
Veronica chuckles humorlessly. "They could have fooled me. I didn't want to have to tranq her, but it looked like they were going to kill each other. Hugh's head all right?" she asks. Getting pistol whipped can leave one with a nasty concussion, after all. "Call it survivor's guilt I guess. Not a scratch on me, but I guess for once I didn't pull the short straw. Truth of the matter is, I'd rather I got hurt instead of Magnes. He's being rough on himself, but hopefully he'll get over it. I guess I feel sort of responsible for him — since I recruited him. But he's got Carrie and Minea, now that she's back, so he doesn't need me to feel responsible for him, right?" She gives a smirk at that. "Anyway, I'm glad Minea's back."
Len seems to be glad as well. As much as he was fairly certain she was safe inside Phoenix, he is glad that it's over and Pinehearst is history. "She made the call to come back, so hopefully that's true. Just want to be sure she hasn't been turned. I am certain she's not, but we do have motions we have to go through. Once she's cleared through Sheridan and I get her debrief, she'll be back on the job. And I'll talk to Magnes, and feel free to drop him back on Castillo's doorstep. They have bonded well enough, I can probably team them up and they would probably work well together. I still need to chat with Castillo about it, at least to get him started. She's done really well with him so far. Doesn't make any sense to split them up. I do appreciate you taking him with you last night. That was important."
Sorry if I broke him," Veronica says, half-jokingly, but there's an element of truth in the words and her tone. "I tried to point out he'd be doing dangerous stuff if he was on his own, and now at least he's gotten better at it." She stands, and sets the name plate back on his desk. "Thanks, Boss," she says with a smile.
Len shakes his head. "You didn't break him. The fact is, he's been living in his little bubble for long enough. I think it was time he had it popped and I think this has done the trick." He sits up. "Look, you're an outstanding agent, Sawyer. So much so that it seems I'll be heading up north for a bit on an assignment. It's not set in stone, but if I do go, I'm going to recommend you for running the show here in my absence."
Veronica sits back down, eyes widening. "Your job? I can't… I'm not… what?" she stammers. "There are more senior agents than me… How long?"
A shrug. "Oh, a couple weeks, I imagine. Not too long. They need someone with some clout to go investigate a death up in Canada. I have a few things I need to handle down here before I can go. Don't worry, I'll only be a phone call away if you were to need anything. And really, it's not up to me to say who stands in my place, but my recommendation does carry a bit of weight." Len grins over at her. "Besides, it's not like you don't deserve a little pat on the back. The others who are more senior have had their turn in this chair, so it's your time now."
She laughs. "Is the chair that good?" she asks, with a grin. "Well. If it's temporary. I don't think I'm management material in the long term." She's cut herself off from people too long to be good at managing them. "You're good at your job. I don't think I can fill your shoes. They're much, much too big."
"I have one hell of a chair, Agent Sawyer." Len gives her a wink as he leans back in it. "I picked it out myself." He smiles at her. "As far as my shoes go, I'm taking them with me, so you'll just have to wear your own. Make sure Varlane goes to see Sheridan, okay?" he asks, making sure she understands his intent. They just got Magnes trained up, he doesn't want him skipping out already.
The agent stands again, and nods. "Good. I don't do cowboy boots," she says with a wink. "And all right. I'll go tell him, maybe take him myself." She gives a little wave and turns to head out of the office.