puppy love } { of burned spies and paranoid moms

[impetere]

Stiles: [the news that hit overnight and on every station the next morning was about a massacre in France - 9 dead: a Middle East Oil Baron, four bodyguards, and four civilians -one a prostitute with the baron, and three people in the hotel that the killer has murdered as they left the scene. Details were sketchy at best, but it was believed to be a planned assassination gone wrong.

What people didn't know was that it was a trap not for the baron, but for the American Assassin who had become a big enough threat to the terrorist groups that they had set a trap. Stiles had escaped, but not before taking down the four men with automatic rifles at the door that filled the air with bullets. The fifth man he hadn't seen, and it was his bullets that bit into Stiles as he made the break for the balcony for his rope to repel away from the hotel room and to the ground below. More bullets bit at the ground at his feet as he ran for an alley, disappearing into the shadows before the other man could follow.

Hours later - including an emergency self surgical moment to examine and fill the wound with a superglue type compound, and a two hour float down the disgusting cold river through the city at night brought him to a factory. He was able to shower, find clean clothes and look presentable enough to get a hotel room to crash in. His brain started to go through the previous night and he knew he had to check in with his handler but he wasn't sure he could trust them. He knew calls to Hayley would be tapped. But he could feel the infection starting to creep into the edges of his skin and he could barely move his left arm.

He needed help, and there was no one in France he could trust. No one he could call that the CIA wasn't watching. Except one person, and he knew he could trust her. That was why her cell phone was ringing with an international number on it]

Cora: [squints at and thankfully her brother is still out of the country, so she doesn't hesitate when it comes to picking it up] Derek?

Stiles: Sorry, it's just me. [he's biting back the pain as he tries to keep his voice light and relaxed] How are you doing, beautiful? [he couldn't tell her to play along, and he wasn't going to say her name aloud. French hotel walls were paper thin.]

Cora: [who is confused? This girl. but there has to be something else going on here] Fine. Is everything okay?

Stiles: Oh yes, everything's fine darling. I just realized that I missed you already and thought that perhaps you could sneak away from work and take a vacation. It's so beautiful here.

Cora: [what ... what] I thought you said ...

Stiles: I know, I said that it was just a business trip, but once I got here things changed. If you can get out today you'll be here by morning. Just you and me... Paris... just being young and reckless. [a spike of pain caught in his throat and he tried not to audibly cry out, pressing the phone to his chest a moment as he tried to breathe through it. His heart was pounding hard, his breaths in short gasps, and her ears would be able to hear that where no one else could]

Cora: [oh, yep, that's not good] Sure. Where should I meet you?

Stiles: [when he is able to speak again without his voice wavering, he gave her the information quickly] And could you ask your brother's ex to see if my coworker has any more bottles of her homemade red wine. I think it would be a perfect final touch.

Cora: Yeah, sure. I'll be there as soon as I can. [maybe Allison will make more sense] Don't go anywhere, okay?

Stiles: Wouldn't dream of it. See you soon, darling. [and he will hang up and go to pass out]

Cora: [and she will go track down Allison, who will call Hayley, and Cora will still be very confused but eventually she and Hayley will get in the car to get on a plane and Hayley will call Matt on the way]

Matt: Can't talk right now, Hayley.

Hayley: That's good because I don't need you to talk, I just need you to listen. Did your old bosses call you in to deal with a problem in Paris? Only answer yes or no.

Matt: [licks his lips] Yes.

Hayley: Yeah, that problem is Stiles and I don't know if his cover is blown or someone's screwing him over, but I'm going out to get him, so what I need you to do is make sure that they don't get to him first until I can figure out what's going on. Allison is here to help you, but can you do that?

Matt: [looks over his shoulder] I know. I'm already at Regan. Can't make promises though.

Hayley: Yeah, well, if you happen to run into us? Stay out of my way. If you need help, call Allison. [and then she'll hang up and off they go to Paris]

Stiles: [and when they are at the hotel room, he will work the doorstop out from the door and open the door an inch before stepping back behind it. His good hand is holding his gun just in case they aren't alone. He's sweating, shaking, and his shoulder is red and hot with infection as he uses the wall to hold him up]

Cora: Jesus, Stiles.

Hayley: [closes the door behind them, and brings her wrist up to her mouth to bite it] Here. Drink fast.

Stiles: [he swallows and shakes his head] Only one... came out.

Hayley: Of the bullets?

Stiles: [he nods, slumping to the ground. He manages to kick his foot out, pushing the door wedge towards Cora between her and the door] Can't use the arm. Kit... in the bathroom.

Hayley: Get it. Can you take his pain?

Cora: Not a lot, but some. [she shoves the door wedge under before going to get the kit]

Stiles: [he looks at Cora go, then Hayley] How bad?

Hayley: You've got me. You're not going anywhere. My blood will keep you here and I'll be quick. This is not the first time I've fished bullets out of a body.

Stiles: I meant her.

Hayley: Oh, did you think Allison and I were going to break that news for you? Yeah, no, you have a lot of explaining to do.

Stiles: [nods] She was... only one I could trust... out of it.

Hayley: I know. I'm not the one you need to explain it to. [and Cora will return, and they will do some quick and messy surgery in the hotel room, after which Hayley pumps him full of blood, goes to get rid of the bloody sheets and check the perimeter, leaving Cora and Stiles alone]

Stiles: [and he is exhausted, dealing with the residual pain as his body stitches itself back together under the bandages. When they are alone, his had goes to take hers, squeezing it] Thank you

Cora: [she glances over to him, before giving his hand a small squeeze] Of course. Not that I'm really sure what I did.

Stiles: Saved my life, for one thing. But you trusted me. Even without any explanation.

Cora: Yeah, I still want one of those.

Stiles: I know. [he goes to push himself to sit up, straining at the pain in his shoulder] remember when I told you that I was an analyst for the government?

Cora: I'm sensing that that is not the truth.

Stiles: No, it is. That's what I do with Hayley. But she recruited me from a different part of the government. From the part that doesn't exist on paper.

Cora: [her eyebrows go up] Are you saying you're a spy?

Stiles: [he nodded] Yes. And assassin.

Cora: [and that makes her start to pull her hand back] You're killing people?

Stiles: Terrorists. People who've killed or caused the deaths of Americans, and their nations won't hand them over for trial.

Cora: [she doesn't really think that makes going in to kill people okay, but she doesn't say anything for right now, she's still trying to wrap her head around this] So ... what happened?

Stiles: It was a trap. I did my job, and a strike force came in before I could get out. Someone set me up.

Cora: Is Ben in trouble?

Stiles: No. No, he's not. The chatter - no one knows who I am. I'm a ghost. If they knew who I was, I'd be dead in a river and never even see the shot coming. The fact they did a trap means they don't know.

Cora: Do they know now?

Stiles: [thinks, running the scene over in his head] No. It they had surveillance in the room, my mask was on the whole time. But they know I'm alive. I was shot on the balcony so there shouldn't be any blood evidence from me.

Hayley: Problem is, Matt is only going to be able to run interference with the CIA for so long.

Stiles: [looks up at Hayley comes back] Matt's here? Shit. [he shifts to get up]

Hayley: I called him before we took off and he was already at Regan. You need to sit still and tell me what it means.

Stiles: If Matt's coming, so is his handler. Hurley. You thought Matt and I have issues - Hurley hates me because I'm just like him, only better. [he looks at Hayley] I missed my check in. I don't know if someone there or at CONTROL decided to betray me. What's the news say?

Hayley: That someone shot up a hotel, killed a Middle East Oil Barron and his associates and is at large.

Stiles: The Oil was alone with a prostitute. He didn't have any associates.

Hayley: [holds up her phone] Nine people dead total. Four bodyguards, the two you mentioned, and three civilians on their way out.

Stiles: [thinks] I took out the oil baron. Silencer. The prostitute didn't stir. Then the door opened and four came in and lit the room up. I gave up counting the bullets and just listened for magazine changes and then I moved. I took them out - two shots each. Made for the balcony and rode the rope down. That's when I got shot. [he looks back up at his partner] They think it's all done by one person?

Hayley: They're not reporting bullet counts, just dead bodies. And Allison said she'd call when she had more information. But I can hit the streets and start asking pointed questions.

Cora: And what do we do? Just wait here?

Hayley: No, you need to get Stiles out of Paris without anyone finding out about it.

Stiles: No, I can't leave. I need to figure this out and clear my name before Matt and Hurley find me. They won't think I’m still in town. They'll start at the safehouse, but they don't know about my redundancy plans.

Hayley: You need to let me figure this out because someone is trying to kill you and it's better if you don't make yourself a target. Especially with a civilian in tow.

Stiles: Hayley, you can't take this over from me. [for someone still healing and in pain, he's standing tall and not backing down] This is my world. I'm in charge here. You don't know the rules, and if they sent Hurley and Matt here - if Hurley doesn't like what he sees he will kill me without hesitation, or make Matt take the shot. I need you both to trust me, or else get far from me so I can finish this. If I run, if I don't handle this - I can't go back home. I'll always be waiting for that bullet. And I am going home to my son. [that last bit was firm, because no one was taking Ben from him]

Hayley: And if you die with my blood in your system you either become like me or you die. So you need to listen to me because right now you're on a 24 hour clock that I'm not sure you fully understand.

Stiles: I understand it just fine. My safehouse is on the other side of the city. But I know this part of town too. I spent weeks here learning it as a backup for situations just like this. And that also means people here know my face enough that I'm not an outsider and can move around freely without having people give me a second glance. Right now I just need to find a phone booth and check in with my handler, and start to get some damage control back in DC. Do a quick reconnaissance to see if I notice anything off Then I'll come back and rest. [he looks at Cora] And I'll answer all your questions, I promise.

Cora: [honestly is just reeling from all of this and doesn't really have a response at the moment, which is probably for the best]

Hayley: I'm not letting you go alone. They won't see me, but this situation does not give me good feelings right now, and I'm a lot harder to kill than you are.

Stiles: [huffs, but nods.] Fine. Just make sure you follow me like you would any other tail. Don't let me see you either so I can't give away your position. [he reached for the bedside table where his gun was, checking his bullet count before looking up at Cora] Stay here, okay? Wedge the doorstop under the door when we leave and don't open it for anyone but us. Want me to bring you back something to drink or eat?

Cora: [she shakes her head because eating. that's hilarious.]

Hayley: Don't worry. You won't even know I'm there. [because she's going to go up, rather than down]

Stiles: I'll be back in thirty minutes, I promise. [and he is going to tuck his gun in the small of his back, grab his jacket and head off. If she watches him out the window, she will see him morph his entire mannerisms into the same as the people around him, looking down and weaving through the tourists like he did it every day of his life until he disappeared around a corner]

Hayley: [and she will follow him on the rooftops, keeping quiet and sticking to the shadows so she doesn't draw too much attention to herself, and thankfully it's night at this point(?) so she doesn't stand out too much. benefits of being part vampire]

Stiles: [and he will find a phone booth and there will be a short five minute call to his handler's home phone because like hell he was using the service to leave a message. When Irene picked up he laid into her with his suspicions and why he hadn't checked in on time because he was shot. She talks about coming to Paris to bring him in. About how Matt and Hurley were already on their way. How they didn't know if they could trust him, and he pointed that the feeling was mutual. He knew he had to break off the call before any trace finished, and as he hung up he pointed out specifically that he had only taken out the target and the four men who tried to kill him - no one else. he never broke protocol. He needed them to know that because if he didn't, they would continue to think he killed the innocent people and he would never do that.]

Hayley: [just listens from the rooftop nearby, not making herself known but not being far either]

Stiles: [and he will head back to the hotel after that, stopping at a market and speaking to the owner in French about nothing in particular while he purchased fresh bread, cheese, fruit, meat, and bottled water because he was starving and needed the nutrients. At that point he walked upstairs and knocked on the door, making sure he was visible to Cora through the peep hole]

Cora: [will come and look in the peephole, before pulling back the doorstop and opening the door]

Stiles: [and he will slip in, closing the door behind him and reinserting the wedge. He didn't know when Hayley would come back, but it wasn't something he was going to relax on] Anyone come by?

Cora: [she shakes her head] I made a call while you were gone. There are these family friends we have that have their own personal jet. One of them happened to have used it to get to Paris for a work thing, but she's flying out tonight and said we could go home with her, so we don't have to worry about a flight manifest.

Stiles: Thanks, but I need to finish this. You should go though, and take Hayley.

Cora: Hayley's not going to leave you and I don't want her to. She's good back up to have.

Stiles: Trust me, I know that. But I didn't want her here in the first place. That's why I called you.

Cora: You called me with some kind of cryptic message and told me to go get Allison, and you expect me not to bring help? I didn't know what I was doing, Stiles! I didn't know what I was walking into. You're lucky I didn't call Derek to see where he was and if he could get to you.

Stiles: I know, and I hated putting that on you but you're the only one I know I can trust that isn't in the government, and that wouldn't be monitors by them. I'm sorry I put this on you, and if you can get out of here, I want you too. I don't want you to be involved in this part of my life.

Cora: But I am, Stiles. And so is Ben. Because as much as you may want to, you can't just separate yourself into two different people and expect one to not affect the other. And now, after years of worrying about my own family's enemies, now I have to worry about this too. [she was finally starting to feel safe and now it was all spiraling back again]

Stiles: Cora, if I thought this was going to be a danger to you or Ben, I never would have agreed to see him in the first place. I never would have called you back after I saw you in the bar. I thought about that long and hard before I did it, and talked to people to debate the risks. You and Ben are safe here. You're in no danger.

Cora: [she shakes her head because she can't not be in danger because Stiles was dangerous. Stiles wasn't the person she thought he was, who could so easily lie to her, and could kill people without losing sleep over it. She can't reconcile the person in front of her with the boy she used to love and it scares her. it scares her a lot] It really doesn't feel that way.

Stiles: You need to trust me.

Cora: [and that makes her laugh. not in a good way, but in a "god I can't believe we'e having this conversation" kind of way] You tell me to trust you after I find out that you've been lying to me for months and you're living this double life and you're actually this person that I don't even know anymore. Stiles do you have any idea how insane that sounds.

Stiles: I have never lied to you. I am an analyst. That is what I do with Hayley. But I sometimes have to take jobs out of the country that have me gone for a few days. I never lied. I just didn't give you details.

Cora: Take jobs out of the country where you have to go and kill someone.

Stiles: Yeah, to save hundreds of other people. Sometimes thousands. Faceless people I'll never meet, but I know that our country is safer with a few less terrorists in it. That other people won't suddenly lose people they love because of the actions of others that they can't control.

Cora: Maybe you're right, and maybe what you do is good, but Stiles, you can't just say that and think that you can dictate how that makes me feel or my trust.

Stiles: [he purses his lips] I'm the same person you've trusted these last few months.

Cora: Because I thought you were someone else. Doing a different job and living a different life. And you can't just drop this bomb on me and expect me to be fine.

Stiles: I'm not expecting you to be fine. I knew this wasn't something you were going to like finding out the details about. But I'm the same person you've been with the whole time.

Cora: No, you're not. Not to me, and not right now. [she takes a deep breath as she turns away from him, letting her hand rest against her forehead for a moment. there are things she still needs to address and things she needs to work through her in her own time. Maybe she'll be able to reconcile the two given more time and given time to see Stiles with the whole truth] I know that you believe you're safe, and maybe you're right. But right now, I don't feel that way. So until I figure this out and can get my head around this, I am going to want two people with Ben at all times, preferably one with a healing factor.

Stiles: Damnit Cora - Ben is safe with me.

Cora: You saying that doesn't make me believe it right now. So this is the compromise you have to make until I believe it too.

Stiles: Or what, you're going to take him away from me?

Cora: Did you honestly think you could tell me this and everything was just going to be the same? I don't want to take him away from you but I am not going to risk losing my son.

Stiles: BEN IS SAFE, CORA! He's my son too and I wouldn't risk it any more than you would and you know it! [he explodes at her, but then takes a step back, focusing on calming his breathing because he is losing his composure] You know what, whatever. I don't need this right now on top of everything else. Get out of here. Go to your friend, get on the plane, and go home. But you want to know why I'm good at this job? Why I keep doing it? Go ask my dad about the claw marks on his chest and how he got those. Or ask Allison about how he mom died. Have them tell you what Beacon Hills turned into after your sister took you and left in the middle of the night. Maybe then you'll understand why I know Ben's safe - because I've seen a world far uglier than you ever will.

Cora: God, Stiles, this isn't about you! For once in our goddamn relationship, this is not about you, and your feelings and how I'm hurting you. [she's on the edge of tears, but it's the angry, frustrated kind because he's not turning this on her. Not agan.] This is about me. This time I get to be the hurt party because I have to go home and tell Ben that everything is going to be fine, and his dad is going to be okay when two hours ago, you were dying. No amount of insisting that he's safe will make that not a lie. So you listen to me and let me do what I need to do to find that safety again or you can stick to phone calls and face time until I say it's okay. That is your choice.

Stiles: Fine, do what you need to. But I have rights too, and I will exercise them if you leave me no other choice. [And the mask is slipped back into place because he doesn't know how to do anything else.] Call your friend. Go home.

Cora: Fine. [and she storm out, calling Nadia as she goes and it isn't until she gets to the plane that she calls the sheriff who had Ben and who she had to call in a bit of a panic before she left to make sure he could keep him]

Sheriff: Yeah, I can keep him. What's going on, Cora? Everything ok?

Cora: Not really. [there's a pause] Look, I need to ask you something, and before I do, I want to make it clear that it's not because I don't trust you or don't think you can protect Ben but ... things are kind of complicated right now, and I was wondering if it would be okay if Malia hung out with you guys on the days you have Ben after school? Just for a little while, until things clear up. It would really make me feel better knowing someone was there looking out for both of you.

Sheriff: ..... Okay. This isn't an alpha pack thing is it?

Cora: No, no. It's something else. It's probably just me being paranoid, which is why I don't want you to feel like I can't trust you but I just ... I need this. Just in case.

Sheriff: I'm fine with Malia tagging along but she's probably going to be very bored babysitting an old man with his grandson. She'll be the one you have to convince. [he thinks for a moment] However, if you're asking for someone with abilities to protect the token humans in the family, you need to tell me what I should be looking for so I can help protect Ben and Malia too. Because now you're making me feel paranoid.

Cora: That's the thing, I don't even know. Which is why Stiles is angry with me about it, but they're not supernatural, necessarily. They might be human they might not I just ... it kind of feels like everything is closing in and I can't lose my son. [she swallows hard] I know I sound like a crazy person, I'm sorry. It's just been a really long, really bad day.

Sheriff: [looks over where Ben is watching TV] Cora, you're not crazy. You're a mother, and you will always want to make sure he's safe. There's nothing crazy about that. I promise you, nothing bad will happen to Ben. Okay? He's safe with me, and [he drops his voice] this is between you and me - but we recently learned that Parrish is something nonhuman. He's still trying to figure it out and he's sensitive about it so let him have his time telling your sister about that, ok? But when he's at my house, your son is in one of the safest placed in DC. Malia will just up the safety net, but we're good. Take a deep breath, and just get some rest. I'll keep Ben out of school tomorrow so he can be where I can watch over him until you come get him, alright?

Cora: [she exhales slowly because that is what she needed to hear, not Stiles being angry with her. Just the fact that he understood is enough so she'll take a deep breath and nod] Thank you. [but, since she needs the distraction] Tell me about Parrish.

Sheriff: [sighs] You know how he was in the Army a bit before he became a cop, right?

Cora: Yeah, I think so.

Sheriff: Well, since I've known him, Parrish has hated the sounds of fireworks. He refuses to work the shifts at the field on the fourth of july. Anyway, cut to last year and he was in marriage counseling, and his ex was laying into him about how he refused to let them have fireworks on their wedding. The psychologist felt it was PTSD from Afghanistan, and offered to help him in a private session to figure that out because you know, service to our vets and all. [he has wandered away from the small child with good ears] I came with him because I had a bad feeling this wasn't something he was going to be happy remembering and would need me there. He knew he was discharged from the Army after he was one of the survivors of a roadside bombing. He just couldn't remember the details until he was under hypnosis.

Cora: What were the details?

Sheriff: [rubbing the back of his neck] It wasn't a roadside bombing like the report said. He had found the IED while doing a sweep with his team. It was a homemade one, nothing he had seen before, and they didn't know if it was going to create a chain of not. The rest of his team took off while he was trying to find the wires to cut, and when he couldn't... he laid down on the bomb to muffle the explosion to prevent it from a possible daisy chain effect.

Cora: [her eyes widen] And he survived?

Sheriff: Yeah. What happened in the explosion is fuzzy, but he thinks that he just absorbed it. The next thing he remembers was staggering back to his teammates behind the armored truck with most of his uniform burnt away but otherwise fine. It scared the rest of them, and the whole team was sent back to the US and honorably discharged.

Cora: [. . . .] Do you know if he showed any signs of being anything prior to this? Any weird fire tendencies or family members with anything similar?

Sheriff: He's an orphan. He doesn't know his family at all. But tendencies... no. Not that I've seen or he's mentioned.

Cora: [a long beat] What about when he was under? Did his eyes change?

Sheriff: They stayed closed the whole time.

Cora: Okay. [another long beat] So the world is a big place and there are a lot of different things, but ... there's only one thing I know that's created in a trial by fire and ... it doesn't - I mean, the human side ...

Sheriff: I think this is something you may want to talk to him about. Maybe when you get back from wherever you are?

Cora: Yeah. [yeah, she doesn't want to break this news right now.] We're leaving soon so I'll be home in five or six hours. [a beat] You might want to be there when we do talk about this though.

Sheriff: Well, I'll be here with Ben, so that's a given.

Cora: Okay. I'll see you soon. [and another beat before] And thank you again. For understanding.

Sheriff: You're welcome. Get some sleep. Sounds like you could use it.

Cora: I'll try. [and with that she will hang up and try and sleep but probably not]