+18 eps. 17-21 - After a hard case that takes the team to DC in order to catch a blackhat and prevent a bombing, all hell breaks loose on their return to Boston , when the ghost of the Libra killer comes back to torture Brock seven years after the m...
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Cassidy led them to the third floor and down a wide, empty hallway. Most of the rooms opening to it had glass doors and walls, and they saw all kinds of equipment and devices in them. Around a bend, they got to the double glass doors at the end of the hallway.
Tanya, Connor and Kurt let out suffocated exclamations when they walked past those doors. They were now at a vast open office arranged like a split-level amphitheater. They were standing on a balcony of sorts that ran around the inner space on the lower level. A dozen techs worked down there, on double or triple desks covered with last-generation devices. The opposite wall was covered from floor to ceiling with large screens that could be used separately or as one huge integrated screen if needed.
Gillian heard Tanya whisper to Connor, "The Hive..." There was an unusual reverence in the girl's voice. Connor managed a nod, wide eyes moving around.
More people walked through the glass doors behind them, and Cassidy turned to them. Gillian did the same. A man in his late fifties in a wealthy, impeccable black suit approached them, followed by a woman and three men, all of them about Gillian's age and wearing less formal outfits.
The man nodded at Cassidy with a cold smile. "Roy..."
Cassidy glanced at Gillian. "This is Agent Gillian, sir, the team leader. Gillian, this is Executive Assistant Director Wright."
Gillian knew what it meant: this man was Cassidy's direct boss. He also ran Cyber Crimes, International Operations and Critical Response. She felt a chill when she shook the man's hand and met his dark eyes. Stone and steel on the outside, jagged ice inside and a cunning mind behind those drilling eyes. Not really a surprise, considering his position.
Wright bestowed a cold smile on her and glanced at the agents that came with him. His hand motioned at the woman. "This is SSA Garret, in charge of Cyber Crimes," he said, his voice misleadingly nice, almost warm.
Garret shook Gillian's hand and both women looked straight into each other's eyes. Gillian knew she needed to show this woman she wasn't there after her post, because they needed her support to solve the case.
"Nice to meet you, Agent Garret," she said, with a quick but honest smile. "We're really grateful for this chance to work with you." She glanced to her side, at Connor and her techs, inviting Garret to do the same. "Well, I think that flabbergasted would be more accurate than grateful. T, lads...?"
Tanya spun around, bracing her laptop to her chest, as if somebody were about to take it away. Kurt faced Garret with sparkling eyes, Connor needed an extra tug at his sleeve to be able to part his eyes from all the technology around him.
"Agent Garret, they are Tanya Lawrence and Kurt O'Brien, analysts. And this is my son, Connor."
Garret nodded at them, and her face softened at the way they nodded back, oozing respect and admiration. Then she introduced her two assistants—both with a higher rank than Gillian and with some titles she forgot the moment she heard them.
"So how can we be of help, Roy?" Garret asked then, her voice full of irony.
Cassidy looked at Gillian, who made a mental note to punch him in the nose, for forcing her to speak to all these big shots looking for the tiniest excuse to kick them out.
But she wasn't about to let them see her hesitate. So she replied, in her usual plain, firm way, "We expect the Ghost to hit the FBI mainframe as soon as he finds out we came in his way. Agent Lawrence has a plan to defend it, but we're gonna need all the help you can lend us, because we can't make it on our own."
Garret raised her eyebrows—really? Gillian glanced at Tanya.
The girl couldn't find her voice. She needed to clear her throat, her knuckles white on her computer. "We need to set up a mirror of the mainframe as a bait," she managed to say.
"And then be ready to counter the Ghost's attacks," said Connor.
"The programming alone would take at least a week," said one of Garret's men.
The woman narrowed her eyes when Tanya and Connor turned to Gillian.
"I think we already got that covered, right, lads?" Tanya and Connor nodded. "But we still need to set it up."
Garret stabbed Tanya with a questioning glare. "You programmed it?"
"Yes, ma'am," the girl muttered, as if playing guilty to mass murder.
"All by yourself?"
"He helped me."
Garret scowled at Connor's visitor badge. "You're not an agent," she accused.
"No, ma'am. But he's very good at this," Gillian said, gentle and warm to attract the woman's anger to her. She saw the look Garret traded with her men—run a background check on the boy and give me a reason to send him to juvie.
"We should get to work," said Cassidy, almost casual.
"I need to see that mirror," Garret replied.
Tanya swallowed hard and offered her computer with a sheepish look.
"This way," the woman said, and turned to Wright. "If you'll excuse us..."
One of Garret's men waved for Tanya to follow them out. The girl glanced at Gillian—don't leave me alone!
"You're an analyst too?" asked Wright, faking a mild surprise.
Like you don't know I'm not. "Of course not, sir," Gillian said, velvet and roses. "But I need to know how this works to plan our next moves."
The man bestowed another cold smile on her as he nodded, and Gillian motioned for Connor and her techs to follow Garret's men. Cassidy waited for them to leave and faced Wright, arching his eyebrows—do they please milord?
