Connections 2
See Ya Later
Rina
3/20/00
Disclaimer: Since John Woo and Alliance stopped playing with them, I
suppose it's okay for me to grab the boys and have some fun.
The moment the door to the Agency's headquarters shut behind him and Vic
saw who was waiting for him, his good mood vanished, cut off as thoroughly
as the spring morning had been by the layers of reinforced metal behind him.
The glare of the florescent lights shone off Dobrinsky's head, making the
former cop wince and wish for his sunglasses. Three hours of sleep just
didn't cut it when it came to dealing with the Director's assistant, even if
the reason for staying up that late had been pleasant.
"What is it, Dobrinsky?" Vic sighed, starting to walk past the other man,
only to be stopped by a hand on his shoulder.
"You're late. She isn't happy." The news was delivered with almost a
maniacal glee.
"Five minutes and considering how late I was here last night, it could be
a lot worse."
"Ahhh..." Dobrinsky smirked. "Enjoying the new assignment were you? The
only thing that's saving your ass this morning is that Ramsey isn't here yet
either."
"What do you mean Ramsey isn't here?" Mac asked as he pushed open the
door, strolling inside, his sunglasses and a grin firmly in place. "You mean
you've been waiting for me? I'm touched."
"In the head. Buck up, Ace. You and Mansfield had better get yourselves
into the briefing room or I can't say what will happen. Might like to watch
though."
"You would." Both Vic and Mac muttered the comment at the same time ,
then looked at each other and smiled, bonded by their desire to antagonize
their common enemy.
"Well Victor, we'd better get going, wouldn't you say?"
"Definitely. Don't want to make things worse for us then they are
already."
"Nah, I just don't want to give Dobie a show."
"And here I thought you were an exhibitionist at heart."
"There's a lot you don't know about me, Victor."
"Like what? I think I know more about you then I want to actually."
Mac tilted his head to look at Vic over the top of his sunglasses. "Like
what I did last night after I left here."
The younger man's bloodshot eyes gave Vic a very good idea of what Mac
had been up to and his lip curled in an expression of disgust. "Spare me the
details, please."
"Sure you don't want to know? Might give you a little ammunition for
tonight..." Mac grinned, pushing his glasses back up into place, rendering
his dark eyes unreadable again.
"Thought the idea was to try to get this guy to pick me up, not to make
him sick."
"Don't be too harsh on yourself, Victor. I'm sure he wouldn't become ill
comparing you to me - just stick to your good points."
"Being?" the ex-cop asked dryly.
Mac rubbed at his chin a moment, pondering the question as they walked
down the deserted hallways toward the briefing room. "Well... ummm...
There's - no, that doesn't work. How about... No, not that either... You're
loyal!"
"So is a dog."
"No go, eh? How about..."
"You have nice eyes and a gorgeous ass. An ass that should have been
sitting in front of me fifteen minutes ago." The Director stood in the
doorway in front of them, her petite form encased in a skin tight leather
jumpsuit the particular purplish-red shade of arterial blood.
"What about me?" Mac whined, causing Vic to glance at the ceiling and
shake his head. Only Ramsey would risk their boss's claws for a complement.
"You have a lovely ass too, Mac, but it would do for you to remember that
I own it and that I do not like to be kept waiting for it's arrival!"
The last was punctuated by the sharp blow of the riding crop the Director
had concealed next to her leg against the younger agent's posterior as he
passed her.
"Ow! What was that for?"
"To make a point. Now move, both of you."
Vic turned his face away from the other two when he sat and coughed into
his fist, attempting to hide his amusement from them. If Mac had been the
only one present then he wouldn't have bothered but considering that any
reaction right now would probably earn him a whack as well - well, Vic
really had no desire for that.
"Something amusing, my dear?" Vic jerked around and found himself face to
face with the Director. The proximity was much too close to her teeth for
his comfort, especially considering that the term 'man-eater' seemed
designed just for her.
"No, I just had a late night and I was taught that yawning without
covering your mouth wasn't polite." Ignoring Mac's mouthed 'Good one', Vic
settled back into his seat, trying to ignore the harpy hanging over his
right shoulder.
"So I heard." Straightening, the Director turned and strolled to the head
of the table. "And did you both have a productive evening?"
Vic shot a quick glance at Mac who suddenly seemed very interested in the
amount of shirt cuff showing under his jacket sleeve. "Not if you mean
finding Kirkdon, we didn't. I did spend time in eight of the chatrooms he
has frequented in the past, but no one there matched the profile of his
online personality that we had."
"And you, Mr. Ramsey? How was your time spent?"
"From what I was able to recover from the logs, Kirkdon likes shy,
insecure partners. He wants to be able to dictate each step of the
relationship including where and when they finally meet."
For a moment, it looked as if the Director had the urge to pat both her
agents on the head. "Good work boys - for the first night at least. That
profile is exactly why I want Victor in the rooms."
Vic bristled at that and his mood wasn't helped when Mac gave him a sly
grin. "So nice to know what you all think of me. If that was the case, why
don't you put Nathan out there in the room? Kirkdon will be all over him in
a second."
"Now really, could you see Nathan lasting more then five minutes in one
of those places without proposing one of his theories. As much as I
appreciate his skills, I also know his liabilities and I do not want to risk
losing another Agency employee to this man. I want you both back out there
tonight. Mac, you skim the rooms, trying to spot Kirkdon. Victor, talk to
some of these people, see if any of them have any information."
"Gee, can't wait," Vic sighed, kicking Mac under the table when the
younger man snickered to himself.
"Behave boys or I will make you do so. Now, get some rest, I want you
fresh for tonight."
The two men remained silent until she had left the room, ascending the
stairs that led to whatever realm of purgatory she occupied when not making
their lives miserable.
"I vote for running this mission from the comforts of our own places. No
point in sitting here all night when we can access the web as easily from
home."
Vic started to disagree on principle, then he reconsidered. It would be
easier to talk to his new friend if Mac wasn't there looking over his
shoulder - and provided that CJ was online tonight. "It's not like she won't
know what's going on anyway, probably has taps into everything we do there."
The fact that the Agency routinely bugged their apartments with mikes and
cameras was something of a joke and Vic, Mac and Li Ann at times placed bets
on who could find the most hidden devices in an evening's time. So far Mac
held the record with twelve, including one camera hidden in the light over
his stove.
"Better watch what you say then," Mac chuckled as he stood, rubbing at
the spot the Director had hit earlier. "Or you may be the next one she
swats."
"I'm not the one who was out partying when they should have been working,
remember?"
"And thank you for covering for me." The ex-thief's teeth flashed as he
grinned. "Let me know if you want me to do the same one night. I'm sure I
can pass myself off as you online."
Vic slid out of his seat, shaking his head at his partner's cocky
arrogance. What had Li Ann ever seen in him? It was impossible to hold a
serious conversation with the man. "Thanks, but no thanks. I don't want to
get the reputation out there as being easy."
"Ooo, good one. I'm wounded." Mac tipped his glasses down and gave Vic
what would have been a very effective pout if the older man hadn't known it
was fake. "Does that mean you don't respect me any more?"
"No." Vic waited until Mac's expression changed to a pleased smile, then
swooped in for the kill. "That would mean that I respected you to begin
with." The change in the younger man's expression was immediate and
pronounced and Victor almost felt sorry for him. "See ya later tonight, Mac.
And don't worry, I won't tell anyone." With that, the former cop strolled
out of the dark room, heading for home and the nap he knew he was going to
need if he was going to make it through the night.
TrueBlue: Any luck so far?
LghtFngrs: No, the man is still
laying low as far as I can tell. Anything interesting going on where you
are?
TrueBlue: Gee,
do you want to hear about the guy who says that he is Tom Cruise's double
and is trying to pick up anything in sight or the size queen who keeps
asking for everyone's measurements?"
LghtFngrs: Better then the crap I'm
reading.
TrueBlue: What crap?
LghtFnrgs: Don't ask, I think it
would offend your innocent eyes if I typed it on the screen. Just be glad
that he's not in this room.
TrueBlue: C'mon Ramsey, you going
to tell me something I didn't see when I worked vice? I doubt it.
LghtFngrs: Am not in that room any
more anyway. Off to the vanilla side for a while, don't need to warp my
young mind.
TrueBlue: Too late for that.
LghtFngrs: Aww, I didn't know you
cared.
TrueBlue: I don't. Warp your mind
all you want, it might do you some good.
LghtFngrs: Hmmm, maybe I should
send you to that room anyway...
Vic was about to reply when a new arrival in the room he was scanning
caught his eye and he found himself sitting up on the couch and grinning. He
brought up a message box, then paused, wondering if he should do this. The
uncertainty was compounded when he saw that CJ was greeted as an old friend
by quite a few of the others in the room.
Maybe he just tries to come on to people that way, maybe I should just
forget it, maybe... The thought was interrupted by first a personal
greeting in the room and then an IM.
CJiles: TB! Glad to see ya man. I
was hoping I'd catch you on tonight.
TrueBlue: Same here, CJ. I can't
believe some of the people in here!
CJiles: Yeah, has FlvrMvn given you
his old 'tell me how big you are and I might play with you' routine?
TrueBlue: Oh yeah, I think he got
the message when I told him that if he had to ask he really didn't want to
know.
CJiles: Good comeback
So, did you survive work today?
TrueBlue: Barely. Ended up a little
late to my morning meeting and the boss almost chewed my ass off for it.
CJiles:
Ouch! I'd offer to kiss it better for you but I don't want you to think
I'm that kind of guy.
TrueBlue:
If she had done it I might be tempted to take you up on it.
LghtFngrs:
Victor... Oh Veek-tor... I've got another room for you to try. Say
goodbye to your friends and come along.
Vic cursed under his breath, wondering at Mac's timing.
TrueBlue: Look, can it hold on a
minute? I want to check something out here.
LghtFngrs: ::shrug:: Your neck,
man. Someone there catch your eye?
TrueBlue: Just keep on looking
Ramsey, okay?
CJiles: Good thing for both of us
then that she didn't or who knows what might happen ;)
LghtFnrgs: All right but just
consider this payment for what you did last night.
TrueBlue: All right, all right!
TrueBlue: If she had I'd be going
for rabies shots as we speak.
CJiles: All right what?
LghtFngrs: Huh? If who had what
and why would you be needing rabies shots?
Looking back at the messages, Vic lowered his forehead into his hands and
groaned. Thank God there was nothing strange in either message - well,
really strange any way.
TrueBlue: Sorry CJ, this annoying
person keeps bothering me and I was trying to get him off my back.
TrueBlue: I was... Don't worry
about it, Mac, just let me know if you think you've found him.
CJiles: Do you know how to block
idiots like that?
LghtFngrs: I read and obey,
Master ::snicker::
TrueBlue: Just did it. So what
about you, survive the morning?
CJiles: Barely, I did get lucky
though, boss left early so I skipped out and came home to take a nap.
Amazing what a few hours sleep will do to your outlook on life.
TrueBlue: I hope you don't get in
trouble over that. I'm really sorry I kept you up that late last night.
CJiles: Hey, you apologize again
and I'm going to have to thwap you. It was my pleasure, really! I'll crash
come the weekend so it all evens out.
TrueBlue: Are you sure?
CJiles: I wouldn't say it if I
didn't mean it.
TrueBlue: Sorry, guess I'm not used
to taking people at their word.
CJiles: Life been that bad to you?
CJiles: And I told you I'd do this
if you apologized again.
TrueBlue: Hey!
No hitting!
TrueBlue: And - well, let's just
say I've had a few bad experiences.
CJiles: Sorry to hear that, but
don't let a couple of jerks ruin you for everyone.
TrueBlue: I know, it's just...
CJiles: Just what?
CJiles: Or say 'CJ shut up' if I'm
prying too much.
TrueBlue: No, it's not that, I
guess it's that after a while you don't trust your own judgment in things
like that any longer.
CJiles: Things like what?
TrueBlue: Personal relationships.
You could say I have a history of failures in them.
CJiles: Everyone has a heartache or
two in their background. I think it makes you appreciate the right person
more when they come along.
TrueBlue: But what if they never
do? Or what if you're looking in the wrong place when they show up?
CJiles: But what if you aren't?
BlackWatch: Hi there. Pretty quiet
in here tonight.
LghtFngrs: Yeah, it is. Is it
always like this?
BlackWatch: No, it varies. Don't
think I've seen you in here before.
LghtFngrs: First time I've found my
way in, got any tips for a newcomer?
BlackWatch: Sure, I'm always glad
to help. With that and anything else you might need.
End
 since 02-04-07
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