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le-amewzing · 1 year

Text

line of sight

Five seasons in and I have a hankering to write about my fav minor charries. -w- *Note: This is set during and after s5e11, "Heroes."

Fic: "line of sight" [FFN] [AO3] [pfio]

Pairings/Characters: pre?onesided?Ian Lim/Kelly Moran, Elise Taylor, Isobel Castille, & Jubal Valentine, with cameos from episodic charries & mentions of others

Rating: K+

Words: ~3,430

Additional info: romance, friendship, angst, fluff, 3rd person POV

Summary: Jubal relies on them in the JOC, to be in the JOC. But it's hard for Ian to focus when Kelly's in that bank.

Only a few minutes have passed with Ian relocated to the conference room to work in anxious peace while he communicates with Trust National Bank's cybersecurity team. Isobel keeps wandering in and out of the room, pacing like a wild animal cornered, her orders sharp like bared teeth as she hovers, as if it'll do him or Kelly or Jubal or any of those hostages any extra good.

Line after line of code sprints before Ian's eyes, and he asks the security rep to repeat himself, because his mind can only take in so much information right now. And his focus is split: Code. Kelly. Code. "Sorry, come again?"

"Look, Agent Lim—"

"Oh." The title sounds wrong to his ears, so Ian can't help but go on autopilot to correct the guy. "Uh, I'm not a Special Agent, just an analyst."

"…Mr. Lim," the rep settles on, "we're digging through the source files as fast as we can, but there are really only a handful of options we have. Your best bet is to find the account holder and use the biometrics as intended." The representative's tone is tired but not unsympathetic.

Ian's fingers leave his keyboard for a moment while he pinches the bridge of his nose and squeezes his eyes shut, tight. "I understand," he replies through gritted teeth. "Please, just work as quickly as you can and pass along whatever data you can to me. I can't stress enough, how delicate a situation we have at the Brooklyn location."

A pause on their end. "Understood." And then the rep's end is filled with the soft quiet of keyboard typing.

Ian takes that as a signal to resume his end of this work, too. Things are almost peaceful for a bit before his ears prick up, hearing the slightest whoosh of the glass door opening, and he braces himself for Isobel's next useless order that will only add to the weight pressing down on him—

But it's not Isobel. That soft shuffle on the carpet? That belongs to Elise, and his colleague and friend steps inside but doesn't draw close, as though she knows the last thing he needs is someone else hovering. Instead, she places on hand on the nearer end of the conference table and gives it a gentle tap. "Ian, hey."

He spares her a glance and mutes his call with the cybersecurity team as well as his end of the comm with Jubal. "Any chance you're here to tell me things have been resolved out there and I can stop this mostly fruitless endeavor?"

Elise shakes her head. "No…I wish." She goes quiet.

And yet, despite her silence, he can feel her eyes on him. Ian swallows a lump in his throat and clenches his teeth. "Elise," he begins, "is there something else?"

She exhales. It's a short, huffy sort of sound, and it draws his attention back to her. When she catches his eye, Elise asks, "Ian, have you given your hands a rest at all?"

"They don't need a rest. I've only been at it…ten, fifteen minutes, tops."

Elise's eyes widen, and her expression makes Ian question just how much time actually has passed. But Elise's shoulders slacken. "Well, then. Can I fetch you a snack or something to drink?"

He appreciates the thought, he does. "Thanks, but no thanks," Ian answers.

Elise nods and, setting aside whatever drew her to check on him in the first place, returns to the JOC.

Alone again, Ian scans a few more lines of code. But then he decides to give Elise's suggestion a shot, and he lifts his fingers from his keyboard.

When they're not typing, they shake something awful.

That's why he resumes typing right away (after unmuting the cybersecurity team and Jubal's comm, of course), because he's not wholly unaware of the way his nerves are getting to him today. He just— He wasn't ready for Elise to recognize his nervousness, to pick up on it and to empathize.

The thing is, Ian's mind is abuzz with too much right now. He's here, in the adjoining conference room to the JOC, trying to get the info Jubal will need as a fake locksmith so the Salazars won't shoot the place to hell. But his head tells him that he should be out in the JOC, where he belongs, because that's how things are supposed to be. He, Kelly, and Elise are Jubal's three right hands, essentially. Much as he told the cybersecurity rep, they're analysts, not agents. They're not supposed to get caught up in anything. And yet…

If that were true…then Elise never would've had that scare a couple years ago with Vargas. And Kelly—Kelly would not be in that bank, with Jubal, with more than a dozen hostages, being held at gunpoint right now.

His mind works overtime, eyes skimming code while his memories play this morning in reverse. This morning began like any other, almost. It was as close to normal as possible, and Ian had thought it a promising morning, actually, considering he'd started his day with a call from Kelly.

"I…might be a little late," Kelly had said, although Ian heard the tall goof's usual smile in his tone.

"I was actually gonna call you about just that. Jubal's looking for you," Ian had stated. But the lilt in the other analyst's voice caught his curiosity. "Wait, why will you be late?"

"Well, remember the new coffee spot that opened up near my place, with the donut hybrids you wanted to try?" Kelly had sighed. "I thought I'd surprise you and bring in some for us to try, but I had a little altercation at the store, so I'm, uh, not sure I'm exactly welcome there anymore…"

The idea of gentle giant Kelly Moran being involved in any sort of altercation amused Ian then, much as it amuses him now. But that had been before 9AM, and Ian glances at the time in the bottom corner of his laptop's screen and—

Oh. Elise is right. He's been at this for a lot longer than fifteen minutes.

The realization is a sobering one, and he swallows a fresh lump of anxiety just as Isobel pops back in for a status report. Her words can be heard by the cybersecurity team, too, but they're quiet, leaving him to guestimate.

"Ian, Jubal needs a limit he can work with. Give him something reasonable. Something you think is deliverable," she says.

Ian's eyes dart between the telephone and his computer (thankfully his SAC stands behind him so his eyes don't dart to her, as well). "I-I don't know!" he blurts, because it's the honest truth. "Thirty? No, twenty minutes." He raises his volume and speaks with more confidence for Jubal. "Tell them twenty minutes, Jubal."

Jubal mumbles his thanks (risky, but Ian appreciates it—the man's a good boss), and Isobel lingers an extra beat beside Ian.

"I'm doing my best," Ian says—to Isobel, to himself, he's not sure anymore. "There's really no hacking into this system, though."

"There is a bypass code, though, Mr. Lim," the rep chimes in. Pages shuffle and flip on their end.

For the first time in what feels like forever, Isobel releases the breath she's holding. "Good. The second you have it, feed it to Jubal, slowly. We want this to end as quickly and painlessly as possible." And then she disappears back out into the JOC.

Ian, too, releases a little breath, but his eyes follow her out the room, and annoyance now wars with anxiety. Isobel's kept him away from the big screens all morning—for good reason, because if you want this delicate code sifted through, then Analyst Ian Lim is your best bet—but being in here… Being in here is all to help Kelly, he knows. But being in here means he's not out there, keeping an eye on Kelly, seeing what's happening in real time. It's the not knowing that frays his nerves this morning, making it hard to keep his focus on this impossible task of cracking the bank's security system. Not knowing what Kelly is up to is just fodder for the darker side of his imagination.

And, just as more and more ideas of everything that can go wrong multiply in his mind, the cybersecurity team directs him to the aforementioned code. Ian pounces on it and reads the lines that come before and after it. Finally, he starts to feel light—or perhaps it's just that this code is the metaphorical light at the end of the tunnel.

As if she senses the changing winds, Isobel pops back in, and Ian nods. "Then it's game time."

He blanches. They can't rush this. "Five minutes."

"We don't have five minutes."

"If I give Jubal the wrong instructions, that metal grid will slide into place, and the whole system will shut down," Ian rushes, trying to keep his panic from leaking into his tone. "It will make it impossible to breach." He doesn't want to imagine what the Salazars will do if that happens.

Isobel appears to weigh this possibility, too, and she clenches her jaw. "…you've got two minutes," she compromises.

But Ian's not certain he'd call it a compromise. Two minutes, two seconds—time feels irrelevant today when they've got the weight of the world on them.

"Ian, buddy…," Jubal prompts.

Ian nods to himself. "Okay. Connect the USB cord to the main panel."

"Yeah, that's already done." If Jubal's irritated with him at all, he hides it well.

"Now, type in the bypass code." Ian pauses for breath and carefully, slowly reads off each digit, including the dash.

…jeez. To think, all this security and it can be thwarted with a handful of characters entered in a precise order.

When he hears the final beep as Jubal presses buttons, Ian continues, "Good. Now, go to the scanner and—"

But Ian doesn't get to finish. The Salazars' paranoia is getting to the couple, and Jubal and Ian lose precious time while Jubal plays his role as affable locksmith, trying to talk them down, insisting he's "just here to help." Marco Salazar is most suspicious of Jubal, but the wife, Jennifer, is able to get him to focus on the task at hand, to focus on the deposit box.

Once it's safe to talk in Jubal's ear again, Ian clears his throat and supplies Jubal with the scanner's reset code. And…the computer system makes a high-pitched noise.

The Salazars are confused and question Jubal—the deposit boxes aren't opening?—and Jubal sounds just as frustrated. "Uh…I'm not sure…"

The shred of hope Ian got when he learned of the bypass code withers. "Jubal, did you type in the dash?" Silence on the other end. That hope withers away to nothing. "If not, that's why it didn't open. Try to stall," Ian blurts as he shoots back a message to the security team. "I'll see if there's a workaround."

Jubal does his best to play up the blunder and assure the Salazars it can be fixed. But the one camera feed Ian does have, affixed to Jubal's front, lets Ian catch a glimpse of the Salazars in the vault with his boss, and the analyst's hackles go up when he spies the object in Marco's grasp.

"Jubal, do not let him use that crowbar. It'll cause the security grid to activate."

And he hopes his warning gets through. Because, after that, voices rise, Marco starts swinging, and—

And of course the inevitable occurs. The grid drops down with all the finality of a body hitting the ground, and Jennifer Salazar wails in the background. The desperate parents reveal the reason behind their heist—their daughter's being held hostage by others—and Jubal once again tries to talk them down.

But his words aren't in the least bit soothing. The parents start talking over not only Jubal but each other, too. Isobel cuts in, insisting Ian's working on finding a solution but that Jubal needs to stall as much as possible.

Ian scrolls back through the earlier code, searching for something, anything he might've missed. And he does all this while ignoring the sorry look on Isobel's face, because they both understand this is out of Ian's hands now.

(But, Ian notes as Isobel walks back out into the JOC, Isobel's the only one willing to accept that likelihood.)

He catches bits and pieces in the background, of Scola trying to talk to the Salazars at the scene, of Maggie and OA reporting back that they're on the trail of the men who took the Salazars' poor daughter. Jubal, too, tries asking the bank manager to get their IT department to help, but Isobel points out that Ian's already done the same to no avail, that nothing can be done remotely.

The only thing that breaks Ian's concentration now is the feed on Jubal, when Marco tussles with him. In that instant, the sound from Jubal's earpiece fades to a distant whisper, and the Salazars push Jubal out of the vault, back into the bank lobby with Kelly and the rest of the hostages.

And that's when Ian knows. Even if there's a solution for the security system, they're out of time. And, since Isobel's not watching his every move anymore, he springs up from his chair in the conference room and joins everyone else in the JOC, because he has to know. He has to know that they'll be safe.

But Ian's eyes land on the big screens just in time to glimpse his favorite fellow analyst bravely, stupidly stand up, revealing himself not to be cuffed and to be FBI in one fell swoop as he extends his cellphone to Marco. Kelly exchanges a few words with him, somehow steady, but all Ian sees is Marco Salazar's gun aimed squarely at him.

With Kelly's line connected to them, they can hear everything, but that doesn't make it better. Even after Maggie and OA rescue a sedated Ella Salazar, robbing the parents of the need to carry out this plan. Even with Scola and Tiff getting ready to close in from the outside.

But then the team outside the bank is in position.

Marco hesitates the longer he stares Kelly down. The Salazars wonder why the FBI would call Kelly.

Don't tell them, Ian mentally wishes. "Because I'm with the FBI, too," Kelly answers anyway. He assures the distraught couple that the FBI has secured their daughter. "Just take the phone. Speak to your daughter. You'll see for yourself."

"If you're lying…," Marco threatens.

"I'm not. I'm so damn nervous," he says, and some of his nerves leak into his tone in the form of a half chuckle, "I'm gonna drop this phone."

The parents finally trust him and accept Kelly's phone, and that's when Scola's team goes into action, a flurry of flashbangs and broken glass. More screams erupt at the bank, and some of the action is a blur. But one thing jumps out at Ian:

Kelly Moran, disarming and slugging Marco Salazar in two fluid motions, as if he does this every day.

…strange. The action's over, and calm washes over the scene at the bank, and there's a collective sigh of relief here at the office. Yet, somehow, Ian finds himself holding his breath once more.

Ian waits out in the hallway, leaning against the wall opposite the elevators, his arms folded, the index finger of his right hand tapping away against his left arm. His eyes are trained on the carpet, at a point just beyond the toes of his shoes, while he waits for another DING, for a particular arrival.

When the elevator directly across from him chimes, he lifts his head—and frowns, because the carriage is empty. It's not the worst thing in the world right now, waiting. It was hell this morning, waiting while he was chained to his laptop under the guise of "helping"…which didn't amount to much in the face of things.

The elevator diagonally to his right chimes, and the occupant's soft sigh gives him away, drawing Ian from his thoughts. Ian lifts his head again, and this time he does see Kelly. Tired and absolutely worn, but it's Kelly.

The taller man beams at him and meets Ian in the middle of the corridor. "Never been happier to be back on home turf," he jokes.

Ian opens his mouth—there's a lot he'd like to say after this morning—but he's conscious of the subtle tremor still in his hands and shoves them in his pockets before he asks, "Did you just get back?"

They fall into step, on their way to the JOC around the corner at an exceptionally lazy pace. Kelly shakes his head. "No, I've been back for a bit. Debriefing," he elaborates with an apologetic half smile, as if he meant to come into the office right away (or maybe let Ian know, at least).

Ian nods. "That's good," he offers. What else is he supposed to say? He could double-check later, but he's fairly sure there's nothing in the handbook covering when you're accidentally hero of the day.

"Yeah… Not an experience I thought I'd have. But, all things considered…" Kelly purses his lips, and his pace slows. The doors to the JOC are maybe ten feet away, and he glances at them before stepping to the side of the hallway, knowing Ian will join him. "Jubal insisted I go home for the rest of the day." He meets Ian's eyes. "It would've felt strange, though, not setting foot in here today."

Ian grins (and, ah, his facial muscles feel sore—has he grimaced too much today?) at that, feeling more at ease. "You mean it would've felt strange not to hover over my shoulder instead of using your own computer." Funny, too. He spent all morning irritated with Isobel's hovering, but it makes more sense to him, now that he's thinking with a clearer head, that he might've been irritated that she occupied a space typically reserved for Kelly.

They share a laugh at Kelly's expense, and the taller man blows out a long breath. "Fair point. Today, Ian…today was such a strange day. It gave me a lot of time to think…" That big, beaming smile softens into a smaller, goofy one right as Kelly goes quiet.

And Ian waits. He waits and wonders. He wonders if he weren't the only one concerned about that bold yet dumb stunt Kelly pulled with the Salazars hours ago… He wonders if he's not the only one thinking about how often they invade each other's personal space in the JOC… He wonders if he's not the only one thinking about how often they talk and text outside of work, even making almost-plans for coffee-and-hybrid-donut dates…

"I…" His cheeks flush.

Ian's quota for patience with others has been met for the day. But he's got patience in spades for Kelly Moran, so all he does is cock his head forward encouragingly.

Kelly chuckles. "I wanted you to be the first to know: I'm considering applying to be a field agent."

These are absolutely the last words he expected to hear out of his friend's mouth today. Ian freezes and blinks, once, twice.

But Kelly waits. And waits. And waits—holy crap, he wants Ian's approval. Not that he needs it, but Ian's opinion matters that much.

On another day, Ian would be flattered. But all he can do right now is numbly nod, because the last thing he'd sign off on is "Special Agent Kelly Moran."

Except that's precisely what Kelly's dreaming of in this moment. Being a hero, not having coffee dates.

"Y-Yeah…," Ian says. "After today, I can… I can see how that'd suit you…"

And it's hell, because the compliment, this seal of approval, makes Kelly's eyes light up as if it's Christmas. He even scoops Ian up in a big hug, putting him back down on the floor and chattering about applying and what FLETC will be like as they cross that final distance to the JOC.

Ian listens and nods when he's supposed to nod. But his thoughts are back in that conference room, back to this morning, back to when he couldn't breathe because Kelly was out of sight.

They are analysts, not agents. Kelly ran into some grade-A trouble thanks to bad luck today…and Ian fears his becoming a field agent will only invite more of it.

Done for the 5, 10, 20, 50, 70, 100 Fandoms Challenge as well as the If You Dare Challenge (for prompt #359: more trouble) in the HPFC forum on FFN. SO. Been with FBI since the beginning, have had some shippy thoughts and feels, but more than that I've had my fav minor charries from the beginning, and Elise, Kelly, and Ian are they. -w- I'm actually surprised I didn't write Elise already, but I had to write this idea when "Heroes" aired. Elise, Kelly, and Ian are sacred to me, *lol*, and I legit got the sense that Kelly might apply to become a Special Agent (à la Timothy McGee, for any fellow NCIS fans), but I also have lowkey shipped him and Ian for a while, esp with the whole invade-each-others'-personal-bubbles thing, and then this fic happened, writing a lot of the ep from Ian's POV. :3c I hope we get to learn more about Kelly and Ian since we got to know Elise better (I LOVE THEM ALL, as well as Papa Jubal, *lol*), and I'm so glad we didn't lose anyone (otherwise I'd be a mess TT-TT). Lastly, some dialogue comes from the episode verbatim. AHHHH, I just. I need to know more about the analysts…! (Also, more Scola, plz. And not just bc he is James Aubrey from Bones by another name. ;P)

Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave an anon/unsigned review via the FFN link or comment via the AO3 link at the top of the post, especially if you enjoyed this!

~mew

#fbi cbs #kellian #ian lim #kelly moran #fanfic #mew writes too much #elise taylor #isobel castille #jubal valentine #also lol halp i need a ship name for my analysts X'D

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