every game you play

every game you play;
Luke goes down to the basement, pulls the box related to the Mark Wallace case, and hauls it into his office. He doesn't want any of the other U.S. Attorneys to know he's looking at it, but he does want to know what he's dealing with. The case was before his time, prosecuted by his then-boss Tanner Benton, who had used a far more experienced attorney as his second chair. They had wanted to throw their absolute best at Wallace, which is exactly what Luke would have done in the same situation. But it meant that all he knew was things he had heard secondhand over the weeks of trial.

He's halfway through the initial witness list when a too-familiar voice interrupts. "Is it a really slow night?" Bryan Alexander comments, and Luke tenses. He feels like he's just been caught with something, which maybe he has. He glances up at his boss while putting down the paperwork. "No," he says. "I'm doing a little opposition research."

"On Mark Wallace?" Bryan retorts, pointing toward the box to remind Luke that he can read the label on the side. Luke exhales sharply. "I just want to know who I'm dealing with," he explains. "In case I end up dealing with him."

He's watching his boss closely for a reaction. Though Bryan Alexander is known more now as a politician, he was a talented prosecutor and didn't become U.S. Attorney just because he's well-connected. He had told Luke about Wallace's parole for a reason, being aware that the ex-Congressman had been locked up for financial crimes and wanting his bureau chief to have the same awareness. Since he dropped the dime he really can't get angry at Luke for picking it up. "Have you found something?" he asks.

Luke shakes his head. "But I don't want to get fucking blindsided."

This was something he'd do for any agent he'd worked with if a case came up again. He'd want to look things over to give them ample warning out of respect. But it being Michael made the situation that much worse, and also knowing how much the case meant to Michael both personally and professionally. Luke considered Michael a friend even if that friendship had been strained. Especially with Janet being out of town with Holden, he felt a compulsion to protect Michael in her absence. He was the best FBI agent anyone could name by a mile and he didn't deserve to be dragged through the wringer again.

"You going to tell me to knock this off?" he prompts Bryan, since the other man hasn't answered. "Or is there something I need to know?"

"I wanted you to be aware in case he came up on our radar, not for you to start an investigation," Bryan points out. His tone is the implied warning that Luke has already overstepped his bounds. "But be careful. Tanner ran everything by the book. You're a lot more emotional and aggressive than he is. If this does lead to anything, don't turn this into a fucking street fight."

"He has to start a fight with me first." Luke replies. He understands the point; he's definitely not his predecessor (something that he and Tanner had actually started an argument over). But in his eyes, if Wallace wants to make things ugly, then he has no problem fighting fire with fire. He never has. It's why he was smart enough to cut Janet loose before the Whitehouse trial. He would have burned the world down if anyone had come after her. Obviously that was an extreme circumstance, but he's still willing to get his hands dirty if someone wants to go after Michael. Particularly an already convicted public official who should never have been paroled in the first place. He has three different reasons to be pissed off about this.

Bryan knows two of the three, which is why he hasn't just pulled rank on Luke and shut him down. It's good business for the head of financial crimes to know that a high-profile white collar criminal is back on the street, and on a personal level he can understand Luke's opposition. Luke's passion for the work is why Bryan promoted him and why he wants him to become U.S. Attorney someday. Yet he also has the political savvy to understand this will be an even worse scandal if it goes to trial again, with how relentless Luke will be compared to the usually stoic Benton. "Put that back when you're done," he says. "Don't tell anyone you're looking into this. And don't do anything without talking to me first." The latter is not a request.

Luke nods and breathes a heavy sigh as his boss walks out of his office. They're all still hoping this is nothing, but his inherent cynicism tells him something is about to happen.