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"Damn shame about Corky, though," Roper says, a sudden change of topic that has Jonathan's guard going up even more than it already was. Seconds ago, Roper was talking about the pair of them being Kings of Arabia, and now he's bringing up his dead 'traitor'?
"I feel as if...if I'd known, I could probably have talked him 'round." Roper looks off, gaze no less intense for not being on Jonathan at the moment. "Could have explained that even traitors can be forgiven."
Roper looks at him, then, head on, blue eyes piercing. Jonathan keeps his expression perfectly calm as those eyes bore into him. "Actually be pretty useful," Roper adds, and the blasé tone is a sharp contrast against how serious everything else about him is right now. "Keep tabs on the enemy. Blow smoke in their face.
"But they have to commit, that's the thing," he continues. Jonathan's heart is pounding. "Have to make a decision."
The silence that falls in the wake of that statement is filled with tension. Roper still isn't looking away, and Jonathan holds his gaze, not reacting. It is so clear, in this moment, that Roper knows the truth. He knows that Jonathan framed Corky, that Jonathan's the real traitor. He knows, and he isn't dragging Jonathan off to be killed. Isn't torturing him for information.
No, he's giving Jonathan a chance. He's offering him forgiveness.
It's mind-boggling. Jonathan can barely believe what he's hearing, barely believe that Roper's serious. That after everything Jonathan's done, everything Roper knows he's done, he's still being offered a spot at Roper's side. A chance to continue on, be everything he's been pretending to be this whole time. Hell, not even pretending, not really. Jonathan is in so fucking deep by this point that he doesn't think he could shake Andrew Birch completely if he tried.
Jonathan hates himself, for the longing rising up inside of him. He's too self-aware to not already know he's gotten attached to these people in Roper's organization, to Roper himself. Even with how hard he's been working to undermine them all, there's no way to avoid the fact that he...he likes the life he has here. He liked organizing that weapons display, and testing out the merchandise, and having Roper smile that crooked smile at him and tell him how proud he is.
God, fuck, but he likes spending time with Roper. He doesn't really know how much of that is really him and how much is the mask he wears to fool them all, but it's still an undeniable fact. It's undeniable that the longer he's spent here, the harder it's felt to work against their interests.
He's done it; has gone above and beyond, even. But watching Roper fail brings him no satisfaction like he used to imagine it would. Even trying to remember Sophie, remember the entire reason he took on this mission in the first place, feels distant and...weak under the force of what he feels for all these people here.
Feels for Roper.
"I don't know why I'm telling you this," Roper says eventually with that crooked smile of his, looking out at the ocean. "You've already made your decision, haven't you?"
This is where Jonathan should smile, laugh, agree. Keep up the farce between them. Play his role, and commit himself to MI6 and Angela, the woman who's put so much faith in him. Turn down the olive branch being extended his way. This is where he carries on just as he's always done, just as he's supposed to.
Instead, Jonathan looks down, staring at the table. There's a war inside his head. He finds himself saying, "What if I haven't?"
There's a long moment of silence. Jonathan can feel Roper's eyes locked onto him, intense and searching. Jonathan has to fight against the urge to hold his breath.
Then, Roper says, "Then I suppose I would tell you now's the time to decide, Andrew. And that I wasn’t lying about forgiveness."
Jonathan steels himself. He says a quiet apology to Angela in his head, feels a pang of regret for how he's about to betray her and all the trust she placed in him, and then commits.
He lifts his gaze, meeting Roper's own once more. "It was me," he says, and Roper leans back in his chair. There's not even a hint of surprise in his expression. He really did know. "I framed Corky for sending the information to MI6."
"You're working for Burr," Roper says. It's not a question, just seeking confirmation. Jonathan nods.
It is—so very odd, to be this honest. It's been so long since he has been, since he's shed even a piece of this mask. Not even with Jed, not even with how much she wanted to know him and get close, he never could drop his guard, not for a second. It was too dangerous, and her strength too flighty. He hasn't even been completely open here yet, and yet he feels so stripped bare simply confirming what Roper already knows.
Roper sighs, disappointed. "Andrew," he says, shaking his head.
The fact that he's still calling him Andrew instead of what he knows his real name is—it makes Jonathan's chest feel a little tight. It feels meaningful, Roper's decision to keep using the name he gifted him. The name that proclaims Jonathan as CEO of TradePass, as Richard Onslow Roper's right hand man. Not the criminal Thomas Quince, not the British operative Jonathan Pine, but his man Andrew Birch. His star.
"Why?" Roper asks. "For Queen and Country?" He scoffs, as if the idea of that being Jonathan's reason is ridiculous, and it's not like he's wrong. Jonathan didn't agree to Angela's proposal because it was the right thing to do, he did it because he loved and lost a woman and was damn sure going to do something about it.
"I used to work in this hotel," Jonathan says, looking away, eyes sliding over the large, beautiful dining room. "Before Switzerland—I was the night manager here."
Roper is still watching him, intent. "You knew Freddie," he guesses. Jonathan nods tightly, years-old anger sparking in his chest. Even with the decision he's making right now, even with his allegiance switching to the enemy, he still wants Freddie Hamid dead. "Now I know he's a tiresome man but that made you want to become a spy?"
Jonathan gives a small shake of his head. He lets out a slow breath through his nose. "There was a woman."
"Ah," Roper says, and now he sounds amused. When Jonathan looks back to him, he's smiling. "There always is, isn't there?"
"Freddie killed her, and you ordered it." Slowly, Roper's smile drops. He examines Jonathan, not saying anything. Jonathan's hands twitch under the table. "You don't even know who I'm talking about, do you?"
Roper sighs sharply, shifting in agitation. "No, Andrew, I don't, and you didn't expect me to, either. I'm sure she did something against my interests, and I don't let people like that live." He eyes Jonathan meaningfully. "So you should understand just how special you are here."
"I understand," Jonathan says, because he honestly does. He knows the kind of man Roper is quite intimately by now, he's under no illusions. And he can't deny the fact that he feels special, being offered this chance. He killed someone Roper cared about, betrayed him to MI6 time and time again, and still Roper is welcoming him in. It...it says a lot, it really does.
It's—strange, to feel both honored by that and still angry about Roper causing Sophie's death.
And it feels like shit that he's pretty sure he feels more of that honor than his anger. He loved Sophie, he truly did, and yet now he's letting it go? How is that fair to her? He's part of the reason she got killed, and now he's abandoning his mission. She put her trust in him, and he let her down.
Seems to be becoming a running trend for him. Sophie, Angela...And, soon enough, Jed.
"Good," Roper snaps, his irritation lingering. He rolls his shoulders, visibly shaking it off. There's calculation in his eyes. "Is that going to be a problem here?" he asks. "I want you to think long and hard about your answer, because so help me Andrew if you tell me you're loyal to me only to want revenge for your girl later you will not like what my response is to that."
Jonathan has no doubt. Roper is giving him a second chance against all odds—there will not be a third.
"Like you said," Jonathan says, "you have to commit." He holds Roper's gaze firmly. "I'm committing."
He had to bring up Sophie, had to explain. But ultimately...it doesn't change his mind.
Roper smiles, his eyes going all warm in the way they do when Jonathan's caught him by surprise in a way he likes. It's a look Jonathan loves getting way too fucking much.
"Very good," Roper says. He reaches out, offering Jonathan his hand. "Then welcome aboard officially, Mr. Birch," he says, smile growing when Jonathan takes his hand with a smile of his own. "I think we're going to make a fantastic team."