+18 - eps 22-27 - A case takes Russell and Brock to the brink of death. It'll be up to Gillian and the team to rescue them before they're killed by a white supremacist militia. And in the aftermath of the Paris attacks, the threat of a bio attack fo...
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Gillian sipped her coffee, not paying much attention to the team's talk. They didn't have any new case and Aldana had helped her get rid of most of the paperwork. They'd worked for ten days straight, including a very busy the weekend in DC, but none of them complained about it.
She tried to decide if she should ask Cooper to give them the day off, when Cooper's assistant showed at the door, looking for her. The Iron Lady requested her presence.
On her way out, she saw Tanya come to the office with some pictures in her hand.
"Hotties in the nude?"
"Go figure. Mind if I lend a hand with Russell's case?"
"We don't have anything, so knock yourself out."
"Great!"
Gillian needed the five steps to Cooper's office to get it. Russell had to help his mother with a broken faucet that morning, and he wouldn't come to the office until noon. So it'd been Brock who'd given Tanya the task. And Tanya used Russell's name so she wouldn't refuse—because it was actually Russell's case too. Meaning Brock was in the building, at the fourth floor, and he'd rather ask the favor straight to Tanya than coming up one single floor and tell her about it.
She knocked on Cooper's door with a downhearted sigh. Yeah, the last thing she'd said to him was to leave her alone. But Brock knew her well enough to understand she was only talking about that particular moment. So it was his choice not to see her now. That'd been the end of it for him. From now on, he'd manage to avoid any evitable contact with her. And she couldn't blame him for that.
Cooper lowered her computer's lid and motioned for Gillian to sit down. As usual, she went straight to the point in her dry way. This time, though, Gillian noticed she tried to look indifferent as well. As if whatever she was about to say wasn't something really important.
"Gillian, I'm taking two days off by the end of the week. And you'll cover for me."
Cooper's words were a splash of cold water to Gillian's gloomy mood. "I'm sorry, ma'am. You're taking a two-day leave...?"
"Thursday and Friday."
"And you want me to do what?"
"To take my place for those two days—actually until Monday morning. You'll be ASAC."
Gillian gawked at her, speechless. Cooper held her astonished look, waiting for her questions.
"Ma'am, I'm so fri—so honored you even considered me. But I... I can't! How am I to be in charge of the whole field office? I mean, I joined the Bureau only six months ago! How am I supposed to know what to do at any situation at all? Any other agent here is more qualified than me!"
Cooper still held her eyes in silence.
"What about Jones? He's been around like, forever!" Gillian looked away. "But he doesn't do overtime... Patterson? She's a hell of an Agent! And everybody likes her!" She sighed. "But she takes care of her mother on weekends... Wait. Agent Brockner! Why not him? He's always willing and ready for some extra work." Cooper's face was enough for Gillian to grimace. "Okay, not him... O'Hara! He's a hard worker!"
Cooper waited, letting Gillian go over the whole payroll.
When she ran out of names, she faced Cooper with a desperate look. "Why me?" she finally asked.
"Because unlike them, you're used to lead a group, assign tasks and delegate. You can make appropriate, quick calls under pressure and lead others accordingly."
Gillian nodded as if she'd just heard her death sentence.
"In case you're interested, Cassidy agrees that you're the best choice for this situation."
Gillian took mental note to poison Cassidy's beer next time they shared one. Then her inquisitive instinct was able to get the message through, so she looked up at Cooper, narrowing her eyes. "I don't mean to intrude, ma'am, but... It's weird, you taking personal days off... Everything okay?"
Cooper took a moment to decide whether to talk about it, and how much. "I'm having a medical procedure on Thursday morning. It's a laser surgery and I'll be back home by Friday night. But I still need to rest two more days before they clear me to come back to work."
Gillian's lips shaped a silent, "Oh", surprised that the Iron Lady shared such personal information. It'd take her a moment to wonder if Cooper did it to trigger her natural reaction: "You can count on me for whatever you may need, ma'am."
"I already told you what I need from you, Gillian."
"You got it, ma'am." She frowned. "Guess I'm gonna need some kinda crash course about some things, right?"
"Yes. And a workspace where you can have a private conversation if you need to."
Now Gillian started to wonder. "That would be the office next door, right?" She was tempted to laugh when Cooper fished in one of her drawers at the speed of light and handed over to her a sober black sign reading "SA R. Gillian" in white. The right size to fit in the slot of the small office's door.
"I'll make a list of the cases and issues that might require your attention in my absence," said Cooper, ignoring her ironic little smirk at the sign. "You'll have it later today, about five. I'd advise you to take a look at those things by tomorrow, so I can answer any question you may have about them. On Wednesday, we'll work together on forms and procedures you need to know, just in case any kind of emergency shows up over the weekend."
Cooper waited for Gillian to nod again, then lifted her computer's lid. Gillian stood up, toying the sign with her name. She knew the conversation was over.
