"I'm fine."
"You're not fine. You're very pale, and I can see the pain in your eyes."
"Well, I don't have time to not be okay," he said with a shrug. "Don't worry. I'll get through this. I've been shot worse before."
"Yeah, I've seen a few of those scars," she murmured.
"They make me sexier, right?" he asked, trying to joke his way through the tension coming not only from his pain but also from their earlier conversation.
Kara hadn't said much since they'd left the house, her hands steady on the wheel, but her jaw was tight. The easy intimacy they'd shared just two days ago felt like it belonged to different people. Now there were walls between them again, built from secrets and moral differences that might be impossible to bridge.
"It's not funny," she said a moment later. "You could have been killed yesterday."
"So could you. We both live lives of danger, Kara. That doesn't make us stop doing our jobs."
"I know, but this felt…different." She let that thought linger, then gave him a quick look and said, "You pushed me out of the way. You saved me from being shot."
"And you saved me afterwards. We're even."
"I guess."
"Let's focus on the case. I want to go back to my place. I need some clothes."
She nodded. "Good idea. But I'm not sure your place is safe, or mine, for that matter. I didn't expect us to be targeted on our own. We've had some close calls, but that was because we were with someone else. But Dominic was long gone by the time we got to the lake. There was no one there but us."
"We're getting too close," he said. "That's a good thing. It means they're not feeling totally in control. And worried people try to move faster, which sometimes leads to mistakes."
"Do you think Qadir made a mistake when he walked in front of a security camera?" she asked.
He heard the doubt in her voice and understood where it was coming from. "I don't know," he admitted. "He could have wanted to make himself a distraction, but that would be incredibly risky and very dangerous. It's not just me who wants to get to him; his escape and defection are an embarrassment to the entire agency. And there are other agencies that have also been affected by his many crimes. Putting a target on himself makes little sense to me."
"I'm still leaning toward the idea that he wanted you to see him. Your history with him is intense."
She didn't even know the half of it. "That's true. But understanding why he's here isn't as important as finding him."
"I need to get my team involved," she said. "Probably 26 Fed, too. And you need to talk to the agency. Maybe also Dominic. Make him tell you who he was with at the lodge."
"Getting additional people involved doesn't always make things easier. There are more layers of bureaucracy, more chances that someone is a mole, that information will be leaked."
"That's a chance we have to take. Qadir is one of the most wanted terrorists in the world, and he's in New York City."
"Well, my former agency is already involved. That photo came from someone still working for the CIA."
"Then the FBI needs to catch up fast," she said decisively. "I'll drop you off at your apartment. Then I'll catch a cab and go to the office. It's Sunday, but I'm sure I can get some people in based on this information."
"Why don't I go with you to the office?" he suggested. "After I change clothes, of course. I'd like to talk to Tyler. He was in Syria when my friends were killed. He was hunting Qadir, too. We need to compare notes."
"Now, you want to be friends with Tyler? You spent the past week telling me not to trust him."
"I'm not saying I'm going to trust him. But we need to find out what he knows and what side he's on."
Fifteen minutes later, Kara parked by Max's building, and they carefully walked down the block, both on high alert. Since she'd found Max's address with little trouble, she was concerned that someone else had as well. He hadn't been living a covert life recently. "I think you should pack a bag," she said as they entered the building. "You're a target now. You can't stay here."
"I agree," he said as he led the way up the stairs and unlocked his door.
She pulled her weapon, exchanging a silent look with him before he pushed the door open. She entered first, prepared to shoot, but there was no one inside the small apartment. She checked the bedroom as Max closed the door.
"It's clear," she said.
