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Yes, it has taken me a long time to get this done. But as promised… an UPDATE! Please, hold your applause until the ride has come to a full and complete stop. I know it’s been a while, so here’s a reminder of the important points we’ve discovered along the way: 1.        Tara’s in the Initiative – she was recruited by Maggie Walsh a few years ago and was given an undercover assignment to find witches on campus and assess their threat level; 2.        Maggie Walsh is completely NUTS! She killed Dr. Engleman (or more specifically, had Adam kill Engleman), tried to kill Buffy, planted cameras all over campus to spy on Buffy and her friends, and has some kind of hidden agenda that involves Willow. Oh yeah… and she let Adam loose and has some sort of plan for world domination. Details, details…; 3.        Riley isn’t such a bad guy – he’s even kinda likeable. After Walsh tried to kill Buffy, Riley left the Initiative and is now camping out at Xander’s place. He and Tara have a solid bond and he’s trying to figure out a way to help her in her quest to discover what Walsh’s plans are; 4.        Willow and Tara have found each other, despite it all. But because of Walsh, they have to keep their love a secret and pretend to hate each other. I guess that’s the gist. Thanks for hanging in there through the very long delay to this chapter. Happy reading! -BB Title: The Truth of Deception - Part 29: Goddesses and Monsters Author: blameburner Feedback: Sure… Always a plus Summary: AU, baby! So you all know by now... Tara is part of the Initiative, she's had to lie to everyone... now the truth is out there, and Willow and Tara are together. But Maggie Walsh is still plotting something, and has more than one trick up her sleeve. Spoiler Warning: S4. Everything up to "Hush" is canon. After that, all bets are off. Disclaimer: Not my characters, but oh how I wish they were! Joss, blah, blah, ME, blah, blah. Rating: NC-17 Pairings: W/T, of course. Angst: Maggie Alert! Maggie Alert! Automatic 5 rating for Maggie, +1 for someone new. So total of 6. Previously..."Are the programs complete?" she asked without taking her eyes off the form lying on the table. "Nearly," a nervous looking man in a white lab coat said. "I just have to recheck the final subroutines and install them, along with the integration matrix." "Good, good," Walsh said absently. "When can I expect completion, Dr. Engleman?" "I need another 48 hours," Engleman said. "Then... it... should be ready for animation." "He," Walsh corrected. " He should be ready for animation." "Of course," Engleman said, though he disagreed. The thinglying on that table could never be considered anything other than a monster, at least not in Engleman's opinion. Still... the thing Walsh liked to call "Adam" had its uses. If it worked, that is. If they could get the final programs fixed and loaded into its computer processor of a mind, and if they could successfully animate it, and if... "And what about the Falasian Crystal?" Walsh asked, finally looking at Engleman for the first time. "Safe," Engleman said. "It's safely hidden away. And the witch?" "I have the situation under control," Walsh said absently. ****************************** Engleman's eyes widened in confusion. Then they widened even further as a searing pain ripped through his chest. Then Engleman fell to the floor, dead. Adam stood before Walsh, blood dripping from the sharp spear-like bone protruding from his right forearm. He retracted the bone back into his skin, and looked at Walsh. "Mother," Adam said, awaiting his instructions. Walsh smiled, reaching her hand to cup Adam's cheek. "Such a good boy, protecting your Mother like that," Walsh said in a sickeningly sweet voice. "We can't have anyone ruining our plans, can we, Adam?" "No, Mother," Adam said, his voice devoid of emotion. "Now, go out through the back door. Don't let anyone see you," Walsh said, ushering Adam to the secret exit in the back of the lab. "Once you've exited the facility, access the program hidden in your subroutines labeled 'WDDD1.' It will tell you how to proceed." "Yes, Mother," Adam said before walking out the door. ********************************* Tara walked into The Initiative staging area, still in her street clothes. No one really noticed her. No one, that is, except Riley. "Tara?" Riley asked, walking quickly over to the blonde. "What are you... how did you..." "Agent MaClay," Walsh said, coming out of her office and walking towards Tara. "Glad you could join us." " Agent MaClay?" Riley said in total disbelief. Tara winced. "There will be time for that later," Walsh said, "but right now we've got a demon to catch." ******************************** Walsh felt like her brain was going to explode, and she clutched at her head. She didn't know who she could count on anymore. Riley, Tara, Willow, Buffy... all spinning round and round and she didn't know... didn't know... and Buffy had threatened to take away Riley. Buffy had threatened to take something that belonged to Maggie Walsh. Buffy needed to be answered. A plan formed in her mind. Two birds, one stone. Actually, three birds. She dialed her cell phone. "I have a special mission for you," she said to the one she had called. The one she knew would never let her down. "I need to keep tabs on some people. Yes. As soon as possible. Good. See you then." She hung up the phone, chewing on the still extended antenna. It would be tricky, using him just now. He would know, of course. He already knew, and she knew he would just be biding his time. Her little boy. He hated when she called him that, but he let her do it anyway. She knew he would kill her if he had the chance. If he didn't need her. But she had something he wanted, so there would be no killing today. Or tomorrow. Or anytime soon. Not until he got what he wanted. That was the thing she liked most about him. The thing she could most use to her advantage. She smiled. Soon she would find out where they all stood. Riley. Tara. She was fairly confident about Tara, but... she needed to be sure. This would make her sure. And Riley... Riley might be a little further gone, but he could still be brought back. She just needed to eliminate what was distracting him. *************************** From her control room, Walsh smiled. She watched with interest as Buffy stalked out the door, curious to see what Tara's reaction would be now that she was alone. The events Walsh had just seen and heard had been pretty... severe... with all Willow's blubbering and the Slayer's pathetic threats. Would Tara cry? Would she get angry? Punch her fist through a wall? Would she regret her words? Would she decide she had spoken to harshly? Would she start questioning the story Walsh had told her in the face of Willow's obvious confusion at her words? Walsh watched Tara go to her closet and grab her gym bag, stuffing a pair of sweatpants, sneakers, socks, tank top, and sports bra into the bag. She noted the anger in Tara's movements, the way every article was jammed into the bag, the coiled rage lurking just below the surface. Tara was ready to explode, Walsh could see it. And that pleased her. Tara was cut off now. Totally, absolutely alone... save for Maggie Walsh and The Initiative. She had no friends, no family... no complicated loyalties. It was just her and Tara. As it should be. ******************************* And then Riley knew. Tara's performance in her dorm room had been just that - a performance. But it hadn't been for him, Willow, and Buffy, or at least, not just for them. It had also been for Maggie Walsh. Somehow, someway, Tara was afraid that Walsh would find out if Tara had told them the truth - that Walsh would know Tara had betrayed her. Riley didn't know why Tara would think that, or how such a thing would even be possible, but he knew with complete and utter certainty that it was true. And that changed everything. If Tara didn't feel safe within her own dorm room, then nowhere was safe. The walls had ears, or so it seemed. And Riley had no idea how far that might reach. Oh, Tara... Riley thought sadly. You must feel so alone. I'm so sorry. I'll find a way to help you, I promise.
And with that, Riley knew what he had to do. He had to talk to Tara, had to find out what had happened, what was going on, what she suspected. He had to make Tara understand that she wasn't alone, that she had backup, that she had help. And he knew that he couldn't tell Buffy about his suspicions, not just yet - not until he had talked to Tara.
But talking to Tara would be tricky. He had to find a safe place, free from whatever it was Tara was afraid of. And without knowing what that was, he had no idea how to protect them from it. But still... it was something. A beginning. A purpose. A plan. And Riley Finn liked having a plan.
******************************
“I’ll just tell Walsh I went out to the Bronze, got drunk, picked up a gorgeous girl and spent the night with her.”
“Oh really?” Willow asked, quirking an eyebrow. “Cuz you do that often, do ya?”
“Sure,” Tara said, amusement glinting her eyes. “Every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.”
“Uh-huh, I see,” Willow said, playing along and pulling Tara closer. “Any particular type of girl you go looking for?”
“Hmm,” Tara said, pretending to think as her fingers dipped lower on Willow’s breast. “Let’s see… what’s my type? Well, I do have a thing for green eyes…”
“What about hair?” Willow asked breathlessly, searching out Tara’s mouth with her own.
Just as their lips were about to meet, Tara said “Jet black.”
“What!?!” Willow squealed, pulling back in shock. Then Tara started laughing.
“Ohhhhhh,” Willow groaned, slapping Tara’s shoulder. “You are so bad. Evil, evil woman,” she said, grinning. Tara’s smile faded and she brushed the hair out of Willow’s eyes.
“Red, my love,” she said, pulling Willow’s head towards her own. “Forever and always, red.”
Then they kissed.
Part 29
Tara awoke wrapped around a gloriously warm and soft body. She smiled even before opening her eyes. Such a new sensation, waking up with her naked skin pressed against Willow’s, and yet it seemed so familiar, so right.
She snuggled a little closer and Willow responded in kind, pressing her back more firmly into Tara’s chest. Heaven, Tara thought. I’m in Heaven.
Tara nuzzled into Willow’s hair, inhaling deeply before placing a tender kiss against her lover’s russet locks. Then she slowly slid back, carefully extracting herself so as not to wake her love.
Willow grumbled softly and Tara had to resist the laugh that threatened to explode from her chest at the little pout that was distinctly forming at the corner of the hacker’s mouth. She stood and stretched, making a mental note to make sure they found a bed the next time she and her flamey goddess made love all night. And there will be a next time, she thought. And a time after that, and a time after that…
A tiny shiver raced through her body, and for the first time she noticed that the fire had gone out, presumably in the few hours they had actually slept. She grabbed a throw blanket off the couch and laid it gently over Willow. This seemed to settle the redhead slightly, though not completely – she kept letting out tiny frustrated moans that practically begged for Tara to lay back down and wrap her arms around Willow once again. It was all Tara could do not to give in.
But Tara had stayed too long already – she knew that. Walsh might not have cameras at Willow’s parents’ house, but she definitely had them in Willow’s dorm room as well as Tara’s. The blonde was sure of it, which meant that Walsh probably knew that neither Tara nor Willow had come home last night.
In and of itself, it wasn’t so bad. But I Tara and Willow came back around the same time… well, it was just too suspicious for someone like Maggie Walsh. Tara knew her planned cover story to Walsh could work – would work – but she didn’t want to arouse any more suspicion than absolutely necessary.
She dressed slowly, almost reluctantly, her body protesting the exit her mind had already decided to make. Tara glanced out the window and noticed the faint morning light just starting to push its way into the shadows of Sunnydale. She let out a faint sigh. She and Willow would have the rest of their lives to wake up together and enjoy the dawn. Once this all was over.
Tara quietly rummaged through a few drawers in the living room until she found a pad of paper and a pen. She thought for a moment, then grinned a mischievous little smile. It took her longer to fold the note into exactly the right shape than it took to write it. When she was finished, she beamed proudly at her work of copycat art. Willow would love it.
Quietly Tara crept out into the backyard, hoping to find… Perfect. Then she returned to Willow, placing the items on the pillow next to the redhead. After taking a long last look at her sleeping love, Tara placed a gentle kiss into Willow’s hair and whispered, “I love you.”
Then she slipped out the front door and into the early morning light.
***********************************
After arriving back in her dorm room, Tara quickly showered and changed, then made her way to The Initiative. She had made a big show in her dorm room of coming in sleepy-eyed but mildly content, with just a hint of inner turmoil. She figured even if Walsh wasn’t watching – which she had to assume she was – it was good to get into character now. It would make her eased-my-pain-by-picking-a-girl-up-in-a-bar story more convincing.
As she walked through the woods and to the secret entrance that led to Walsh’s office, Tara couldn’t help but wonder just how much of the campus the professor had covered by her little spy cameras. Everything aroused Tara’s suspicions now… the random patch of flowers next to the sidewalk, a broken emergency phone, an out-of-place sign… even the squirrels seemed to be watching her just a little too intently. She knew she was being completely paranoid, that it wasn’t possible for Walsh to have every single inch of the campus covered, but still… it made Tara shudder.
Her uneasiness occupied her the entire trip, until she was standing before Walsh’s door. Tara watched the monitor for a moment, watched Walsh make notes in a file then walk her pen across her fingers as she pondered what to write next. She’d seen Walsh do that trick with the pen a thousand times before, and it actually gave her a flutter of compassion for the woman who had once meant so much to her. Tara had always found the move somewhat endearing, indicative of the careful consideration Maggie Walsh gave to everything she did.
Tara shook her head as if to shake off a bad dream. No more. Everything was different now. She now knew who Walsh really was, what kind of person she was, what kind of monster. In that instant Tara could actually feel the last traces of compassion for Maggie Walsh die inside her chest. Never again would Tara feel anything but contempt and anger toward Walsh. Never again would Tara allow herself to feel affection for or loyalty to the woman she had once thought she owed everything to.
Never again.
Tara took a deep breath, then another. Then she knocked on the door to the viper’s nest.
“Come in,” Walsh called out, knowing that the knock could only mean one thing – Tara was here.
Tara entered as she always had: humble, strong, and full of purpose.
“It’s good to see you,” Walsh said, looking upon Tara with a fondness that made the blonde’s stomach turn. “Did you get plenty of rest?”
“Not really,” Tara said vaguely, shrugging her shoulders and plopping down into a chair across the desk from Walsh.
“Oh,” Walsh said, feigning surprise. She knew Tara had not slept in her dorm room last night, had not come home until after dawn this morning. Walsh had seen the confrontation with Rosenberg, Riley and the Slayer, had seen the anger inside of Tara as the blonde had grabbed her gym bag and stormed out… but she had not seen Tara return home, and that had worried her. It had worried her all night, in fact… so much so that she had stayed up all night and stared at the monitor that showed Tara’s room, waiting for the agent to return.
Of course, Walsh couldn’t admit that. She wasn’t supposed to know about the fight, or about Tara’s having stayed out all night. So she waited… waited for Tara to explain herself.
“Yeah, well…” Tara started, “After I left you yesterday, I had a run-in with Willow… Willow and Buffy and Riley. They all came at me, trying to turn me against you, just like Buffy turned Riley. And hearing that… those lies about you… I just couldn’t handle it. I snapped, told Willow to leave me the hell alone.”
Walsh faked surprise, then sympathy.
“I’m sorry, Tara,” she said.
“No, I’m sorry,” Tara said quickly. “I shouldn’t have gone off like I did. I just… it upset me. You had warned me that Buffy had tried to set you up, but to hear those lies coming from Willow’s mouth too… it was just too much. I can’t even believe I could ever have had feelings for someone so delusional.”
“It happens,” Walsh said compassionately. “You can’t help it that you are so open and caring. It’s a wonderful quality.”
“I just felt so used,” Tara said despondently, “so betrayed. I was angry… so angry. So I went to work out. I thought beating the daylights out of a punching bag would calm me down, but tit didn’t.”
“So where did you go?” Walsh said, her eagerness to know where Tara had spent the night causing her to hint that she knew Tara had been out all night.
Tara pretended not to notice.
“Well, this is kind of embarrassing,” Tara hedged.
“You can tell me anything,” Walsh encouraged.
“Well,” Tara began again. “I kind of… I went to the Bronze and had a few drinks – a few drinks too many, actually. And I ended up… well let’s just say I didn’t spend the night alone.”
“I see,” Walsh said, a mixture of understanding and disappointment filling her. Physical release was probably just what the doctor ordered, she thought. Still… she wished Tara had found another way to release her stress. After all, it just wouldn’t do to have Tara getting emotionally involved with anyone just now. Or ever.
“Yeah,” Tara said sheepishly. “Not something I would normally do.”
“Did it help?” Walsh asked.
“I suppose,” Tara said, feeling a strong urge to vomit. “It’s not something that will happen again, though.”
“Well, I think that’s probably for the best,” Walsh said patronizingly. Walsh smiled like she wanted to pat Tara’s head and tell her she was a good girl.
Tara’s nausea was now replaced by an overwhelming urge to knock the smug look off Walsh’s face, but she resisted the temptation.
“Not to change the subject,” Walsh asked, “but do you know where Riley is now?”
“I just assumed he’d be at Buffy’s,” Tara said. “I don’t know exactly where he went after he left my room. I didn’t exactly care, either. He’s just as bad as the rest of them, in my opinion.”
Inside, Walsh was beaming. She always knew she could trust Tara. Tara was such a good child.
“No, no one was in the Slayer’s room last night,” Walsh said. “Not even Rosenberg.”
“Huh,” Tara said. “Well, my guess is they’re probably all off together having one of their little Scooby meetings. Honestly? I really don’t care what they do as long as they stay away from us.”
Walsh nodded her acceptance. It didn’t matter for the time being. There would be time enough to deal with all of them.
“Where are we with Adam?” Tara asked.
Walsh sighed. “Nowhere, I’m afraid. Teams Three and Four came back empty. One and two are heading back out in an hour. We just haven’t been able to find a trace of him.”
“Do you want me to suit up,” Tara asked with false eagerness.
“No,” Walsh said. “What I said to you yesterday still applies. I need you rested and ready for when we do actually sight Adam. And since you don’t seem to have gotten any real rest last night… consider yourself on standby until further notice. I’ll let you know when it’s time.”
“Time for what?” Tara asked.
“Time for payback,” Walsh said, her eyes glinting as they stared off ever so slightly.
“What kind of payback?” Tara asked a little uneasily, though she hid it well.
Quickly Walsh shifted her attention back to Tara, as if she had been caught daydreaming in class. “Payback for hat Adam did to Dr. Engleman, of course.”
“Of course,” Tara said. Then she stood, said goodbye, and left.
Only when she was safely outside of Walsh’s office and deep into the woods did she allow the shudder sparked by Walsh’s words to consume her body.
***********************************
Willow awoke wrapped around an ingloriously cold and lumpy pillow. She frowned even before opening her eyes. She lay there for several moments, still shaking off the last tethers of sleep. She yawned and blinked fuzzily, trying to sort out her dreams from where they had bled into reality.
What happened? Where am I? Okay, let’s see… I remember yelling and rain and… oh, hey, look at that – no clothes… and I’m on the floor at… my parents’ house? What the… oh… oh, wow… Tara… Tara and I made love… was that a dream? Duh, Willow… you’re naked at your parents’ house! Of course it was real… oh, yeah… it was so real, with the kissing and touching and sucking and nibbling and Giles in a tu-tu… um, wait…Giles in a tu-tu? Oh dear Lord, please don’t let Giles have been in a tu-tu… no, no… that was a dream… correction, nightmare… definitely a nightmare… I’ve been spending way too much time with Giles lately… I need therapy… I wonder if the Watcher’s Council will pay for it? They must have some kind of Slayer Helper Health Plan… good God, Rosenberg, focus! Okay, okay… so if the good parts of my dream were real – and oh, Goddess, please let that thing Tara did with her tongue have been real – then the real question is… where the frilly heck is my girlfriend!
Willow moved to sit up, wincing slightly as she realized she was a bit sore. Oh boy, she thought. I’m a fiend. A little sex fiend. I can barely move and all I can think about is Tara and Tara-hand and Tara-tongue… I’m gonna have to get in better shape if I’m gonna do that again. And hey… who knew my body could bend like that? Go, me! You’d think I was a… what the?
It was in mid-mental-babble that Willow finally noticed the little paper airplane and rose lying on her pillow. She grinned. There was only one person who knew about her mild Top Gun obsession – especially with the morning-after scene.
Tara…
She unfolded the airplane and read.
Willow, my love—
        I’m sorry I had to leave you this morning, but it was safer this way. It was so difficult leaving you, with you being so breathtakingly beautiful and wonderful and… mine. But we will have the rest of our lives to wake up together, my love – many mornings to great the day wrapped in each other’s arms after spending the whole night making love. That is my idea of Heaven, and I promise it to you. Forever.
        Until tomorrow night… know I’ll be dreaming of you.
                                                        Love, Tara
Willow pressed the note into her chest and lifted the flower to her nose, inhaling its intoxicating scent. She lay back down, stretching lazily and smiling broadly. Even with all the demons and apocalypses and hospital visits and crazy government scientists out to get her… Willow Rosenberg felt like the luckiest girl in the world.
**********************************
“So how do I look?”
Maggie Walsh was startled by the deep, cocky voice coming from the corner of her office, though she knew she shouldn’t have been. He had always excelled at the sneaking around part of his job. Actually, he had always excelled at every part of his job – especially the parts that required a little depravity. The more underhanded, wicked, cruel, and just plain evil he had to be… the better he was at it.
She didn’t know how exactly he had gotten in without her hearing him, but it didn’t matter. Walsh refused to show her surprise. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. It annoyed her that he was standing there now, knowing he had gotten the better of her while knowing, too, that she wouldn’t admit it. And yet… it also instilled a certain amount of pride in Walsh. Motherly pride, she supposed. Her little boy… the student and the teacher.
“You look good,” Walsh said, looking up slowly. “I expected you sooner.”
“Traffic,” he said, shrugging his shoulders almost comically.
“Don’t take that tone with me! You take unnecessary risks coming in here during the daylight,” Walsh said, her eyes narrowing and her voice taking on that particular tone of the parent scolding the willful child. “What if someone had seen you?”
“I was careful,” he said, dropping his head ever so slightly in submission. “But you’re right. I’m sorry.”
Walsh’s eyes softened slightly and she nodded her head. She had gotten the response she was looking for. “Good, then. Fine,” she said, smiling slightly.
This was there game, the game they always played. He showed up, she found something to criticize him about, he made joke, she criticized him some more, he apologized, she forgave him… it was almost surreal, when he thought about it.
He supposed he played this game with her out of some kind of affection, though he didn’t think affection was really the right word since he felt little for anyone and cared for absolutely no one. Still, he played their game over and over again, and it amused him. He thought for a moment and realized that it was amusement – not affection – that caused him to continually re-enact this charade.
It amused him that he pretended – even for a few brief moments – to care what Walsh thought. It amused him that he allowed himself – even for a second – to be submissive to anyone, let alone her. It especially amused him that he could kill her in a split-second and it would mean nothing more to him than that he’d have to wash his hands afterwards… and she knew it. And he knew that she knew it. And that amused him most of all.
She stood and rounded her desk, locking her office door. Then she stood near her desk, eyeing him carefully. She took in his typical close-cropped hair, his typical all-black ensemble, his typical iron gaze… everything about him had become standard, disciplined. He was always the same, and some might say that made him predictable. Yet Walsh knew better. She knew what lie beneath the disciplined exterior, the quiet rage that bubbled like lava inside of him. And that made him unpredictable.
Even when he smiled – which wasn’t often – she could see the underlying menace. She could feel the hatred that seethed from him for anything and anyone who stood in his way – which meant everything and everyone. Everything was an obstacle to be sized up and navigated around, or when necessary, obliterated. Everyone fell pretty much into the same category, but with a bit more emphasis on the obliteration part.
He delighted in the destruction, on tapping into his cruelty – of which there was an infinite capacity – and using it to eliminate his enemies. No one was safe from him, her little boy. She was so proud.
“What’s my mission?” he asked, his voice now steely and dark. All traces of compassion were gone. No matter how much it amused him to play their little game, his ability to play the simpering, subservient fool was always short-lived. It was time to get to work.
His voice broke Walsh out of her thoughts, the change in his voice evident. For a moment she had forgotten that once their game ended – and it always ended – her little boy became the dangerous man he truly was. Now she saw the façade of humanity crumble around him, leaving only the beast within.
“I need you to act as my liaison with Adam,” Walsh said, her voice having lost its motherly quality as she gave the devil the respect he demanded. She handed him a dossier, which he began flipping through. “He has been out of contact since leaving the facility, and I need him brought into the fold. He is aware of the ultimate project objective, but he needs to know where we are in the process.”
He flipped through the file, scanning it for any information he didn’t already possess – which was very little. Beyond what Walsh had already told him of the Adam project, he had conducted his own “investigation” into Walsh’s activities to find out the rest. The only thing he hadn’t known was who Walsh had planned on using the Falasian Crystal on. But the file made that – and a lot more – very clear.
“They’ve been quite busy, I see,” he said, his voice even yet seething.
“Yes. But they are not your concern right now,” Walsh said sternly.
His head jerked up and his eyes flashed dangerously, but quickly he regained his composure. “And when exactly will they become my concern?”
Walsh had to bite her tongue to keep from snapping at him. She knew that when it came to this subject, the tight discipline he maintained could evaporate quickly. And she really didn’t feel like dying today.
“Soon,” she forced herself to say calmly. “Very soon.”
“This mission is not what you called me about, is it?” he asked, staring her down.
“No, it isn’t,” Walsh said. “But as you can see from the file, that situation has largely resolved itself. I know where everyone stands now. They are not a threat.”
“They are always a threat,” he said coldly. “You have an agent on the run, an angry Slayer, a betrayed witch… and then there’s Agent MaClay.”
“She’s not a problem,” Walsh said hotly. “And she’s certainly not your problem. I know where her loyalties are.”
He stared at her for a long moment, his jaw clenched, making Walsh wonder if she had just made a deadly mistake. But then he surprised her for the second time that morning by… smiling.
“Careful, Maggie,” he said almost sweetly. He stood and walked to the secret exit, the file in his hand. “Loyalty is fluid. The biggest mistake you can make is to trust that someone’s loyalty to you will keep them from destroying you.”
With that, he was gone. And Maggie Walsh couldn’t help but wonder if her life expectancy had just gotten significantly shorter.
********************************
TBC with Part 30: Interlude
"Maybe I'll change my look, or cut class. You don't know! And I'm eating this banana, lunch-time be damned!" - Willow, Dopplegangland
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