The following is a bit of alternative fiction based on certain characters from the Xenaverse. It is not meant to infringe on anyone else's rights.
I took a breath, inhaling the sweet sweet scent of her, and opened my mouth to reply or to kiss, I couldn't really be sure. My gaze never left hers. My hand smoothed under the heavy fabric of her coat. Her back felt as wonderful as I remembered. I was so looking forward to this. My lips reached for hers. "Ye...." I began to say. I never finished the word.
The whaop whaop whaop of an alarm shattered the spell I was under and brought me back to the scene that my brain had so urgently escaped from. My heart slammed in my chest and my breath came so fast I thought I might faint. But I didn't.
I was disoriented for a moment, but long long practice brought me back to where I could concentrate on the Now. My ability to adapt, if you could call it that, had improved tenfold. So, I quickly got used to the fact that, once again, something inside of me had skipped school to go fishing.
Now I was here. Now, I was in a world of monitors and security guards and Joni. The security chief's essence seemed to intensify in feel. She was saying something about, "Turn that thing off!" She didn't even lift her voice, but the coldness of her tone carried. "Robinson, Report!"
Robinson swiveled in her chair and plunked out a few keystrokes. She talked in rapid fire, "We've identified a male intruder. Young. He's on grounds. I've almost got the visual." Curious, now that my heart was restoring itself, I peeked around Agent Hardbody's shoulder and down at the monitor.
Sure enough, there in vivid color, was a blurred masculine figure. He was wearing a t-shirt and jeans as far as I could tell. His complexion and hair were dark.
"Clear that visual!" Joni order. "You and You! Go get him." She seemed to be arbitrary in her selection, but the agents moved with alacrity. I didn't know how strong that young man was, but I knew he was about to face a challenge. Those women were buff.
I could tell Robinson was working to fulfill Joni's wishes. There was fluidity to her motions as she pulled the focus up and up and up until it seemed as if we were staring the young man in the face.
My jaw nearly fell out of my mouth.
It was a face I knew. One of my sons . . .No.. It couldn't be. I knew it couldn't but, he looked so much like..so incredibly. .
Wait. I didn't have any sons.
I wasn't sure I could take this.
There were several sounds erupting from the monitor, as if there were shouts in the background. The young man's expression changed from one of astonished curiosity to one of dismayed agitation. He ran and the visual really went out of focus for a moment and it seemed as if nothing was clear. When the visual came back up, the security people were running down a hill and he was gone from view.
Robinson said, "He's probably at a different camera angle. Want me to track."
Joni rejected the offer, "No. They'll catch him. I want to finish up here. Make sure he's brought to my office."
Joni's glance turned back to me and I realized that she'd been watching me all this time. Before the alarm that is. Even when I mentally disappeared. The thought made me wonder what I looked like when I "left the building."
Now, Joni seemed unwilling to let me out of her sight. I wish I could say this was a good thing. The eyes she made at me...I'd have felt far safer with Ms. Hardbody and her handcuffs. She fell back into the discussion with the agent as if the alarm had never happened.
Did I say discussion.
No. It was an argument of tremendous depth. It seemed that the agent was holding her own, but Joni was definitely winning. Her acid words cut to the bone and they weren't even directed at me.
No wonder I'd flipped out.
Even while arguing with the agent those beautiful eyes never left my vicinity. Not that this spared the unfortunate woman who'd provoked her. Their argument pretty much ended with "Agent Solarnov, Miss Poughkeepsie is the director of a Class Blue project. Which means she has already been checked, crosschecked, referenced, indexed, and vetted. Which means there is no reason on God's green earth to refuse to issue her the appropriate credentials." All spoken in clipped icy tones that fairly rang through my body. In my head, my body, I kept softening them, hearing faux memories of how she could sound. Could. But didn't.
Joni was starting to scare me. I could tell she had Solarnov spooked, despite the automatic defiance of the agent's stance. I had to wonder if Joni remembered the woman was armed, and then I wondered if it even mattered.
Regardless, Joni's desired effect was achieved, and I was shortly handed an assortment of ID's. Then, I was given a small leather folder with a picture ID printed on a sky blue card, a clip-on badge (sky blue with the words CLEARANCE BLUE ONE in big, bold letters underneath my picture), and small stack of business cards (ALSO sky blue, with my name, title, and bunch of phone numbers...including the one at my apartment!)
What impressed me most was how good my picture looked. For once, I had an ID that looked like someone had cared when they took the photo. They even caught me in a smile. Fabulous. Okay, so it's a tad vain, I know, but I think I'm entitled here.
Solarnov, managing to recapture some of her Hardbody stance, gave me the ten second rundown on security procedures. Flash my folder ID to the gate guards, keep the clip-on displayed at all times, and give security a call if I ran out of the business cards. Try not to wander into any Crimson-clearance sections (everything was color-coded, obviously; I didn't want to think about the consequences 'Crimson' entailed) and please don't talk about the work going on here to anyone on the outside. Seems there'd been some contracts, which had been...compromised...when one of the engineers went out drinking with a writer for "Popular Mechanics."
At least they weren't imposing siege conditions...yet. I didn't put getting placed under "house arrest" past them, and was determined to avoid such an occurrence. Well, *maybe* I'd consider it...if Solarnov promised to use her handcuffs... Well now where had that thought come from? Don't go there, Bernice...actually, Joni would have looked better in them...Or if Joni wanted I'd be more than happy to. . .
My cheeks were burning, though nobody seemed to take any notice. Sol was still talking and I was still nodding along, keeping my head down, presumably to study the ID closer. Thank gods the lighting was low enough my coloration changes weren't all that noticeable. I heard Sol say, "I'll show you the car pool now, ma'am."
Joni cut in again, icy as ever. "*I'll* show Miss Poughkeepsie to her car, agent." She moved forward and quickly grasped my elbow in a firm grip, practically dragging me through the chamber to the elevator doors at the opposite end. I felt a lot of eyes on my back right then, but all I could feel was the way my arm sang with energy at the contact.
It was a connection wherein lay all my dreams of the past ten years.
Her touch left me the instant the elevator doors shut. Added to it was a rather forceful shove, which set me to the opposite end of the car. I went through the several emotions of anger, confusion, hurt, and despair, but of course was still in too much of a spin because of how my life had changed in just the past few hours to fully process it all.
Not knowing what else to do, I cleared my throat and said "Joni...?"
Again, the sleek blonde cut in, her tone brooking no commentary. "Do *not* touch me or *speak* to me."
She might as well have cut my heart out.
I was tempted to reminder whose tongue was in whose mouth a mere five minutes ago. Tempted, but then I remembered that it'd never happened.
So I kept my mouth shut, my feelings under wrap, and stuck to staring holes into her back. Gods I'd gotten enough practice throughout college. I knew every inch and curveÉ. Well, not the way I wanted to, but I could dream.
Heh, I did dream.
There was a tight set to her shoulders and tremors that shook her sleek frame. I figured she was mad at me, though I couldn't quite discern why? I mean, she seemed willing enough to defend me before, but now?
Now she wouldn't talk to me, let alone kiss me. It was another, "never gonna happen," to put on my list. I sighed, but kept my place. The elevator opened, ending a journey at once too short and lasting entirely too long. We disembarked, not saying a word, the air positively screaming between us. Please touch me. Please say something, anything.
Nothing.
While her body was just as smooth in its glide as I remembered, her body language warned me off. Unit 415 was parked a full ten paces (ten *looooong* paces) from the elevator. It didn't help it was a Jeep Cherokee, in my favorite color. Someone knew me very well indeed. The jeep was a polished wood brown.
Great. Now every time I drove it, I'd think of what I couldn't have.
Then again, to think of her, even if admiring from a distance, was bliss.
My inner dialog, and obvious inspection of the vehicle was sufficient to blot out Joni's turning on her heel and marching back to the elevator until she was nearly there. "What about my clothes?" And my medication, but I didn't mention that. I was too embarrassed to in front of Joni.
"They're already in there," was her thrown-over-the-shoulder reply. Then she added "Be here tomorrow at nine. Sharp." I suddenly remembered where I was in the food chain of this corporation. I was little fish and she was . . . gorgeous blonde shark. Gods, she could eat me any time she wanted.
"I will," I said. I -think- she nodded, but it could have been the wind blowing her hair . . .except we were in a parking garage. Still, I was suddenly envious of the wind.
It, at least, could touch her.
Then she was gone, leaving me to wonder if there was such a thing as coincidence any more. Rather than ruminate over it, I climbed into the driver's seat of my new car. They were pretty cushy and I could tell I was definitely going to enjoy the ride. It had all the amenities. This was going to be fun. I didn't even have to search for the keys. They were already in the ignition.
Without further adieu, I fired up the engine and eased the Jeep out of its spot. The parking area was in the basement of the Amazon building, so I was momentarily blinding emerging into the daylight. Well, technically it was past sunset, so it was twilight. But the difference between light sources was intense enough to make me wonder just how long I'd been down there.
I have to admit it was a bit of thrill to flash my blue badge at the guards and watch them scurry to open the gates for me. I thought, if I didn't think about the disappointments of the day that I could get to like this.
The jeep was as smooth a ride as I thought and I only wished it were Joni.
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