Sasha glanced up as her father walked into the room, getting Mike's attention as well as her own as he took a drink of what she knew wasn't water. She was about to make a comment, but stopped when she saw Mike watching him as he took a sip of coffee.
He wheeled his chair towards Ryan and leaned his elbows on the desk next to him.
"So, does the coffee work as an equaliser?" he asked. Sasha snorted, and Ryan frowned as he looked down at the file in his hands.
"That's the idea," he replied. "Look, uh, Rick Kester's records just came in, take a look at this," he slid the file over to Mike and pointed to a couple of things that didn't make sense. Mike frowned in confusion, before his eyes widened and he spun around in his seat to face Sasha, who was sat on the opposite side of the room.
She was reading something, and Mike cocked his head to the side as he watched her. She'd been told to stay in the room and stay out of the way until they needed her almost as soon as they'd got back from the college – something Mike knew had bugged her. She knew no one involved really trusted her, and he could tell she was frustrated because all she wanted to do was be of some use to them.
"Sasha," he called. Her head snapped up, her eyes meeting his questioningly. "C'mere, need your help with something," he waved her over. She nodded, standing up and walking towards them, leaning over his shoulder.
"What is it?" she asked quietly.
"This," he pointed to Rick's credit card records. "Kids toys. You know Joey, right? Well enough to know what things he plays with?"
"Uhm," she frowned, scratching her forehead. "I don't know, it's been a couple years since I saw him face to face, but… That," she pointed to the sheet of paper. "I bought him that, I sent it over to him like a year ago for his birthday. Claire told me he loved it. What- what is this?"
"Are they buying him toys? The same toys he has at home?"
"This is good," Ryan nodded. "This is good. They're buying things for him, they wouldn't buy things for him if they were going to hurt him," he grabbed the file off the desk and picked up his bag before standing up. "I'm going to call Claire, to ask if she recognises any of these things on the list. Sasha-"
"Don't move," she interrupted with a roll of her eyes. "Stay put like a good little girl. Got it," she mock-saluted him and Ryan sighed. Sasha sat in his seat as soon as he left the room and she looked towards Mike. "Thanks, Agent."
"What for?"
"For involving me then. You didn't need to."
"I thought you might have known because you know Joey, that's all," he shrugged nonchalantly and Sasha smiled knowingly.
"Of course you did," she nodded slowly, and Mike knew she didn't believe it. "Whatever. It was nice of you, so thank you."
"Look," he sighed, leaning back in his chair and stretching his legs out in front of him. "I know what it's like to have people constantly waiting for you to fuck up, they still do it with me. I'm still trying to prove myself and I'm their colleague. You just gotta give them a while, prove yourself to them."
"That's a little hard when no one is giving me a chance," Sasha smiled sadly. "And why would they give me a chance? I'm not an agent. Jesus, I'm not even remotely close to being one, I've never wanted to be one. I'm just some random chick they've brought in on the off chance I might know something."
"You're Ryan Hardy's daughter, you're not just 'some random chick', Sasha."
"Being Ryan Hardy's daughter doesn't mean anything to anyone but you, Agent Weston. You seem to be one of only two people around here willing to take Ryan seriously."
"That's not true," he frowned. "It's just that… well, his reputation precedes him a little, I guess," he paused, trying to find the right words. "He's the one who caught Joe, he saved someone's life and he got himself stabbed in the process. I think people are a little intimidated by him."
"Or they think he's a has-been who's obsessed with destroying Joe and anyone who supports him."
"Have you always thought so highly of your father?" he muttered sarcastically.
"It's not that I don't think highly of him, Agent. I just realise that not everyone sees him the same way you do. Most people will remember him for his screw-ups, since they came later. They'll remember him for the stupid book and they'll remember him for those rumours about Claire. I can understand why they'd be weary."
"So you can understand why they'd be weary of you?"
Sasha paused, thinking it over for a couple of minutes. She could understand why she was being ordered around, why she couldn't go out with them and why she couldn't sit in when they were talking to Joe.
She wasn't part of their team, for one. She wasn't part of the FBI, she wasn't anything to do with law enforcement. She was a counsellor at a crisis centre, she was supposed to offer help and support to the people who were more than likely part of the cult. She was supposed to help people who'd been traumatised, people who felt they had nowhere else to turn, and she was pretty sure that was why most of them followed Joe.
Why else would you blindly trust a serial killer and help him plan something like this for God only knows how long?
"Of course I can," she finally answered. "I'd be pretty stupid if I didn't understand why people were suspicious of me. But I was invited here, Agent, just like my father was. He isn't the only expert on Joe Carroll. You may have read the files, but I had to live this. I witnessed first-hand what it did to people and Ryan has told me absolutely everything about him, things that aren't in those files you people like to bury your heads in. I've known Joe for six years. If my father is an expert on the old Joe, then I'm an expert on the new one. I know all his games because he's already tried to play them with me. He's charming, he's manipulative and he's conniving. I just don't understand why I hauled my ass here if all I'm allowed to do is sit here and look at screens while the rest of you work your asses off trying to figure out what his next move is, not when I can actually talk to him and try and help."
"Do you think he'd open up a little to you?"
"I don't know. Probably not, but at least he might give me a straight answer. He's just playing games with Ryan, it's what he does. This whole thing is a game to him and he's always going to be one step ahead of you until someone or something slips."
"…Y'know, you look like him. Your dad," Mike told her, his eyes scanning her face. Sasha opened her mouth to reply, but Agent Riley stuck his head into the room and called Mike outside. He stood up and looked down at Sasha, who sighed in boredom. "You coming?" he asked. She looked up at him in surprise and he smiled. "Come on, they're only talking to Maggie."
"Uh- yeah, sure, just uhm… I'll follow you out," she waved a hand at him.
Mike nodded, following Riley out and leaving Sasha where she was. She sighed, her head dropping to her hands.
She was so desperate to help, so insistent that she might be of some use but deep down, she knew that wasn't true. She knew her being here was a waste of time, it was something Joe had hoped for. It was part of his game. She couldn't help them anymore than Joe was willing to, and they all knew it.
She never should have agreed to come out, but she was here now and she had to make the best of it. She had to find a way to help.
She shook her head and stood up, just in time to see Mike rush back into the room and sit down at his computer.
"What's going on?" she asked.
"Rick's called Maggie, I need to-" he stopped talking, waving a hand at her and she stepped outside, standing next to Riley as she listened. Maggie was sat in the same chair as before, the phone on the desk in front of her.
"The FBI came to the house, Rick. What have you done?" Maggie whispered.
"Are you with them now?" Rick's voice floated through the phone, steady and cold. Maggie looked towards Ryan, who nodded his head encouragingly.
"Y-yes," Maggie stuttered. "Yes. They're looking for you Rick, you're in trouble. How could you hurt those people?" she asked, her voice thick with tears as she looked at him, who gestured for her to find out where he was. "Where are you , Rick?"
"Is Ryan Hardy there?" Rick questioned. "Tell Ryan it was all for him," he spoke, before the phone beeped, signalling he'd hung up. Sasha's eyes snapped to her father, knowing how those words would affect him, but he was looking at Debra with pursed lips.
"So," Mike sighed, stepping up beside him, his arm behind Sasha as he leant against the doorframe. "He's using the same set up as their internet. It's being routed internationally, we can't trace it."
"How are these bastards doing it?" Sasha grumbled, rubbing her forehead as she felt a headache coming on. Mike smiled sympathetically, giving her shoulder a quick squeeze before dropping his hand back to his side so fast Sasha wasn't sure if she imagine it or not.
"What do you think?" Riley asked. "We try and make contact."
"I don't know…" Debra paused. "No. Take her home, stay with her. I'll send someone to relieve you in the morning," she ordered. Riley nodded his head, walking past her and back into the room where Maggie was waiting as Ryan stepped forward.
"I'll go with him."
"No. What you're gonna do, vodka breath, is take your daughter back to that dumpy little motel the FBI put us in and get some rest."
"I feel totally fine!" he insisted, and Debra scoffed.
"When was the last time you had more than an hour of sleep? You're gonna go and you're gonna get some sleep, Ryan, and tomorrow we're gonna find Joey. Do you understand?" she asked. Ryan opened his mouth, clearly to protest against her orders but she silences him with a glare. "No. No excuses. Look, Ryan, I get it. You over identify with the victims, the guilt makes it personal, you unravel. I get it."
Sasha shifted from foot to foot, uncomfortable at the sympathetic, understanding tone to Debra's voice. She might not have been around him for the last couple of years, but she knew her father, and she knew how he'd react. He didn't disappoint, and he looked between Debra and Mike with a frown, before turning around and walking back into the incident room.
"…You know we'll go back to the motel and he'll leave me as soon as I look the other way, right?"
"I do," Debra nodded. "That's why he's going with you, to keep an eye out," she pointed towards Mike and he paused, holding back a sigh and nodded his head, turning to follow Ryan. "Hey, Weston," she called after him, and he turned around expectantly, raising an eyebrow when Debra looked between him and Sasha. "No funny business," she raised her eyebrows at him and he smirked when he heard Sasha's scoff from beside him.
"I think you're taking what Joe said a little too literally," Sasha crossed her arms over her chest but Debra just shrugged her shoulders and Sasha turned around, stopping behind Mike who was leaning against the doorframe.
"You're not going back to the hotel to sleep, are you?" Mike asked, his hands stuffed in his pockets. Ryan grabbed his bag, looking around him uncertainly before answering.
"I think Rick Kester knows where Joey is."
"Well…" Mike paused. "They gave me a rental car…"
"Uh, you're supposed to be keeping an eye on him?" Sasha reminded him, but Mike just shrugged his shoulders as Ryan walked past them.
"I can keep an eye on him in the car," he told her. "Better hurry up and get your stuff. Looks like we're leaving."
Sighing, Sasha uncrossed her arms and leaned forward, resting her elbows on the two seats in front of her and looking towards Mike.
"Should I even be here? I'm not an agent or anything, as you both seemed so quick to point out earlier today. I'm… nothing. Wouldn't I be better at the motel? Like what if you guys get involved in a shootout, am I just supposed to sit here and hide?" she asked. They'd been sat outside the Kester's house for just over ten minutes and she didn't understand why. Rick wasn't stupid enough to go home, and they all seemed convinced that Maggie was completely innocent.
"Pretty much," Mike nodded slowly, turning his head to glance at her. "You can always duck and hope nothing hits you."
"Joes trusts you," Ryan told her, not taking his eyes off the house across the street. "That might make Rick trust you, too."
"Oh so now you're using me as bait? Why don't you just dangle me from a hook and set a trap?" she rolled her eyes. "And please don't think I'm naïve enough to believe that Joe Carroll trusts anyone. He certainly doesn't trust me. He uses people to get what he wants, that's all. Why do you think he agreed to see me? Because he knew you wouldn't be happy about it. Look, maybe I should just jump out here and get a cab to the motel or something."
"You can't," Mike told her. "Joe knows you're here, which means Rick and any other followers he might have, know you are, too. If they really took Joey to get to Ryan, what do you think they'll do to you?" he asked. Sasha paused, narrowing her eyes at him before flopping back into her seat with a heavy sigh, keeping her glare fixed firmly on the back of Mike's head.
"You know, I don't think I like you very much, Agent Weston."
"Hey, you're the one who doesn't trust Maggie, Miss. Hardy," his eyes met hers through the rear-view mirror. "That's our whole reason for being here."
"I thought we were waiting for Rick."
"That, too," he shrugged.
"Well isn't that all the more reason for you to listen to Parker and take me back to the motel?" she asked. Mike turned in his seat to look at her, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly.
"Is that an offer?" he asked. Sasha opened her mouth to reply, but Ryan beat her to it as he sat up straight, his gaze not once leaving the Kester house.
"They're home," he turned to Mike. "Call Riley, let him know we're here," he ordered. Mike did as he said, pulling his phone out and dialing before clicking the speakerphone button.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Hardy squared and I are outside."
"…What?"
"Huh," Sasha let out a scoff at Agent Riley's confused tone, and Mike sighed.
"Ryan, Sasha and I. We're outside, in case you need us."
"Does Parker know?" Riley questioned. Mike paused, glancing at Ryan before turning away, as though they wouldn't be able to hear him if he wasn't facing them.
"Yeah," he lied. Sasha knew Agent Riley could tell he was lying by the way he paused before speaking again, completely changing the subject.
"…Do you really think Kester would be stupid enough to come back here?"
"He's already killed two people today. He's escalating, he's getting bolder."
"Yeah, so shouldn't you take the girl somewhere else?"
"My point exactly!" Sasha pointed towards the phone in triumph, and she heard Riley chuckled on the other end. "You're my favourite one so far, Agent Riley!"
"We'll be outside if you need us," Mike mumbled, barely giving Riley a chance to reply before he hanging up the phone. They say in silence for a few minutes, before Sasha leaned forward again and looked at Mike, who avoiding her gaze.
"Liar," she smirked. Mike glared at her from the corner of his eye and Ryan turned to look at them both, his attention focused on the agent.
"Does Parker know we're here?" he asked. Mike looked away from him with a sigh.
"She told me to watch you," he shrugged. "Look, I know you march to your own drum and everything – an annoying trait I think Sasha seems to share with you," he pointed his thumb behind him. "And, hey, that's cool. Maybe someday I can, but I'm the second youngest agent in the BAU and people still look at me funny. This is my career, sir."
"You don't need to call him sir, you know?"
"Sasha."
"What?" she frowned at the warning tone in Ryan's voice. "He doesn't. He's showing you a level of respect which you haven't really returned, so he doesn't need to call you sir. I'm just pointing that out. You won't even call him by his first name."
"Uhm, neither will you?" Mike looked at her in confusion.
"Different reasons, you pissed me off," Sasha waved a hand dismissively. "At least I have the decency to tag an Agent in front of it, instead of just repeatedly calling you Weston," she looked at him pointedly and he thought about it for a few seconds, before speaking to Ryan.
"You still live in Brooklyn?"
"It's kinda creepy that you know where he lives," Sasha commented.
"Oh, I'm sorry, was I talking to you, or to your dad?"
"I'm just saying, it seems like you know an awful lot about him… Why is that, exactly?"
"Well, why do you know so much about Joe Carroll?" Mike questioned, and Sasha snapped her mouth shut. "Yeah, I didn't think you'd wanna answer that."
"Okay, guys," Ryan grumbled. "Listen. I'm starting to feel a little bit like a babysitter so how about you both knock it off and remember what we're here for, okay?"
"I'm here because Agent Weston won't take me to my motel, and you seem to be intent on holding me hostage," Sasha mumbled, causing Ryan to turn around and stare her down. She rolled her eyes and leaned back, staring out of the car window.
"So uh, did you ever make it up to Albany?" Mike asked, and Sasha opened her mouth to reply before she realised he was talking to Ryan, who'd stayed silent. "I read your book, I know you grew up there."
"Not for years," Ryan answered. "There's no reason."
"Right," Mike nodded. "Family."
"Uh-huh," Sasha mumbled. "He could just about make it to my grandparents place, and that was only fifty miles away."
Ryan turned in his seat and stared at his daughter, but she refused to meet his eyes and she busied herself with plaiting the ends of her hair. He faced the front, turning his attention back to the house as Mike continued to talk.
"Um, I'm a military brat. I was born in San Diego, I've lived everywhere-"
"I'm gonna take a look around," Ryan interrupted. Sasha looked up in time to see him push the door open and climb out of the car. "Stretch my legs," he added, and Mike nodded at him. He closed the door and with a tut, Sasha climbed over into the front seat.
"Don't take it personally," she gave Mike a sympathetic smile. "He doesn't do the whole bonding thing, he doesn't like to have friends. Thinks he cursed or something – not that he'll ever admit that, I got that from one of his ex-girlfriends. Of course, he dumped her as soon as they started getting close. I mean… he's my father, right? And he couldn't tell you a single thing about me, that wasn't obvious to everyone else. Same goes for me, I couldn't tell you his favourite food or anything. Just… Don't let it get to you."
"It must have been hard for you… Losing your mom and having to live with your grandparents."
"I dealt with it," she shrugged. "Nana and Gramps were cool. They gave me everything I needed, it was like I was a second chance to them, because they lost my mom. I liked living with them and they were civil enough to Ryan if he ever came to visit or if I went to stay with him."
"How old were you? When she died?" Mike turned his body to face her and she looked down at her lap. "You don't- I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked. You don't have to answer that if you don't want to."
"No, I- it's okay. I was 14. When she- afterwards… Ryan tried, for a few months. We'd never lived together before, he'd never had me stay over for more than a couple of nights. We had to get used to each other, I was a teenage girl… He couldn't balance the FBI and being at home, so he sent me to live with them. It was the best decision for him to make at the time."
"Do you, uhm," he licked his lips, clearing his throat nervously. "Do you think Joe did it?"
"Do I think Joe killed my mom?" she clarified, and Mike bobbed his head in confirmation. "No. A lot of other people do… a lot of people who don't know much about it. Ryan's not too sure, neither are my grandparents, but I am. I mean, what are the chances that he kills my mother, that she's his first and only victim until the college killings, and then three years later, Ryan catches him? No," she shook her head. "Joe didn't kill my mother. He's never given me a straight answer, but I just know he didn't do it. He knows who did, though. I'm sure of that."
"If-if I can help at all – maybe look into things, police files or anything, just… let me know. You deserve to find out."
"Thanks…"
"Have you uh, ever talked to Ryan about it."
"Nope," Sasha shook her head quickly. "God, no. Please don't mention my mother to him at all. He likes to do this thing where he pretends people he's lost never existed in the first place."
"Yeah… I've noticed that," he smiled softly at her. "So, just out of curiosity – and I'm not saying I believe you – but why don't you trust Maggie? She's like a classic case of a terrified, abused wife."
"Exactly," Sasha pointed a finger at him. "Listen, I've dealt with abuse victims before and there's always something different, always something that sets them apart. Maggie's like a textbook case, it's too perfect, you know? Plus, we found Rick way too easy. After all that planning, he just parks in front of a camera? He did that on purpose. Joe would have taught them to look out for that kind of stuff. And I mean… Maggie says she filed for divorce and that's why Rick stabbed her right?" she put her elbow on the headrest, tucking her legs underneath her and kneeling on the seat as she face Mike fully. "So after that… Why take him back? She filed for divorce two years ago. Why say she's only been separated from him for six months? That's like… there's an 18 month gap between, you know? …Am I making any sense to you?"
"Yeah, yeah you are…" he frowned, pulling his phone out again when he caught Sasha watching him curiously. "I'm… Just checking in with Riley, making sure everything's okay… Hey, you okay?" he asked into the phone, glancing nervously towards the house. "I'm coming in," he pushed open the car door and ended the call, climbing out and dipping his head back inside when Sasha called him.
"What's going on, where are you going?"
"Stay in the car, lock the doors, and stay down," he ignored her question. "You see anyone but me or Ryan coming back, you drive," he threw the keys to her and she fumbled, grabbing them as they landed on the floor. "Got it?"
"What's going on?"
"Do you understand?"
"You can't just leave me here on my own!" her eyes widened.
"Sasha, do you understand? If you see anyone you don't like the look of, if someone so much as glances at you the wrong way then you get the hell out of here and you go find Parker. Do not stop until you're with her. Got it?"
"G-got it. Yeah," she whispered nervously, her eyes wide in fear as she chewed on her bottom lip. Mike sighed, running a hand over his hair.
"It'll be okay. Just… lock the doors," he closed the door before crossing the street and disappearing from her sight. Sasha leaned across and locked the driver's door, automatically locking the others. She climbed in to the driver's seat and put the keys in the ignition, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel and humming to herself to try and keep her nerves at bay.
"Stupid attractive FBI guy scaring the crap out of me," she mumbled to herself, shifting in her seat and squinting towards the house. "Stupid Ryan Hardy. Stupid Joe and his stupid little cult. Why is it always guys, huh?" she asked her reflection, looking into the rear-view mirror. "Stupid men always making my life ten times more difficult than it needs to be. Should have stayed at home," she shook her head, letting out a shriek and jumping when she heard gunshots.
She shrunk down in her seat, trying to make herself as small as possible as she heard a scream. Fumbling for her phone, she pulled it out of her jacket pocket with trembling hands and dialled the number she'd programmed in earlier.
"Sasha."
"Debra," she whispered. "I-I'm outside the Kester house, I'm in the car, I- I heard gunshots, I don't know what-"
"Stay there," Debra told her urgently, and Sasha heard her running. "Stay inside the car and don't move until Weston comes to get you."
"…Maggie-"
"You were right. Don't move."
Sasha heard a beep, indicating that the call had ended and she stared at the phone in her hands, screaming when she heard a knock on the window. She scrambled backwards and tried to catch her breath, taking a minute to realise it was Mike. She sighed in relief and lunged forward, unlocking the car door and barely having a second to open the door before he'd pulled her to her feet.
"Are you okay, are you hurt? Did you see her? Where did she go?" he fired questions at her, turning her round and checking her over as she shook her head.
"No, I-I did what you said, I stayed in the car and I called Debra. She told me to stay here and wait for you and- she said Maggie was- what- oh my god!" her eyes widened as she took hold of his hands. "Oh my god you're covered in blood! Where are you hurt, what did she do to you?" she looked up at him and froze. His jaw was set, his face pale and his eyes blank as he stared at her.
"It's not mine," he whispered.
"What?"
"It's not my blood."
"Who's-" Sasha dropped his hands, the blood staining her fingers as she looked at them. Her stomach clenched and she screwed her eyes shut, shaking her head. "No," she whispered. "No. No."
"No- Sasha, no, it's-"
"Dad!" she pushed Mike away from her and took off running towards the house, ignoring his shouts for her to stop as she burst through the half-open front door.
"Sasha, stop," Mike reached out, wrapping his fingers around her wrist but she shook him off and rushed into the kitchen and covering her mouth with her hands as she screamed.
"What the- get her out of here!" Ryan demanded, looking past her to Mike.
"I thought-" she stopped, tearing her eyes away from Agent Riley's body. "I- I didn't-"
"What?" Ryan asked curiously. "You thought what? What in hell made you think running in here was a good idea!?"
"She thought it was you," Mike frowned as Sasha turned away from Agent Riley. "She saw the blood and thought it was you. I didn't have time to tell her otherwise, she just started running," he continued, putting a hand on her shoulder and pulling her towards him.
"Sasha…" Ryan's voice was soft but she shook her head, tears filling her eyes as she looked at Mike pleadingly.
"I want to go. Please. I want to go back."
"I-" Mike paused, looking over her shoulder as Ryan nodded at him. "Okay. I'll take you to the motel, come on."
"Parker will need to talk to both of you," Ryan whispered. "I'll… send her to the motel, then. Weston?"
"Yes, sir?" he looked back at Ryan as Sasha walked out of the house. Ryan sighed, looking around him and running a hand over his face before turning to the young agent.
"Look after her," he pursed his lips. Mike nodded, rocking back on his heels before following Sasha outside.
Ryan looked down at Riley's body, anger surging through his veins. He was going to stop them.
He was going to catch them, and he was going to make sure Joe paid for everything even if it was the last thing he did.
He already knew… There was no way they were both getting out of this alive.
This is my first fanfic for The Following and I'm relatively new to the show/fandom. This has honestly taken me so so long to plan – watching the show over again, taking notes, getting the dialogue right, adding Sasha in, trying to get Mike, Ryan, and Parker's characters down… Any feedback would be much appreciated, whether it's good feedback or whether you think I could improve in some way :)
I originally wanted to write one chapter per episode, but chapter one ended up being 12,000 words long, so it's going to do two, possibly three chapters per episode, depending on content!
becca
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