Disclaimer and Notes
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The balcony....as planned, Raye made her way nonchalantly towards the balcony with a champagne glass in her hand, looking like she's just out for some fresh air. James hung behind, to cut off the escape of any possible assassins. His eyes were peeled towards the balcony, waiting for someone to come in from there.
However, Raye took one look down the balcony and whispered, "Downstairs, back door, right now, James. Guy in a black suit. Romeo climbed down the rose trellis." James heard her smooth voice in his earpiece, and rushed out to the balcony as well. Spryly, he climbed onto the railing, and then, nimble as a cat, jumped off with a flip to land on his feet. Soon, he caught sight of the assassin making his way through the hedges, and followed stealthily.
Meanwhile, Raye scanned the area with an explosives detector, and soon found what looked like a nondescript Oriental urn. "Hi-YA!" With one well-placed karate chop, she had split the porcelain neatly in two pieces to reveal an intricately wired bomb. An assortment of rainbow-colored wires twisted here and there. Raye pursed her lips in thought.
She had 45 seconds before the thing detonated and blasted her, the balcony, and everything in a 20 feet radius into smithereens. From the looks of it, she had to yank more than one wire. Now, it could not be the red one. That one was the most prominent one, and as the top explosives expert of her group, she knew full well that most amateurs would be tempted to pull that one. Which would cause the thing to blow. Pulling the yellow would have the same results. Pulling the white one...nothing would happen at all. It was just there for a distraction. It could not be the orange one either. That left the green, the blue and the purple. Now, in what order? Raye's brain moved at rapid speed. 20 more seconds... There! First the green needed to be pulled, then, at exactly 5 seconds later, the blue and the purple needed to be pulled and crossed, then rewired. This would reverse the polarity. Otherwise, the bomb could still go off. She rapidly set off to work, then waited tensely.
5...4...3...2...1.......Nothing. Then, Raye flipped the bomb over. Shit! Another system was on the other side. Just like Saffir to go out of his way to make things difficult...she had 30 seconds. This time, it could not be blue, purple or green. Blue would set it off, purple would do the same, green was not even connected to the mechanism. Red would also set it off, yellow would do nothing. Orange, white and black. Hmm...yes. First, pull white, then pull orange 2.5 seconds later, then black last, another 2.5 seconds later. Twist all three wires and connect the orange with the blue, the white with the purple, and the black with the red. There! Three more seconds....3....2....1!
Nothing. Raye cautiously pulled aside the mess of wires, and peered at the bomb. Good, no more systems to go through. Flipping her hair behind her, she proceeded to methodically dismantle the thing. 'Hmm, I wonder how James is doing...'
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James followed the man out, walking with a practiced stealth. The man was making his way off quickly. To get the hell out of there before his bomb detonated. James had to stop him. He quickly took out a cigarette. A good distraction, even though he didn't smoke. "Hey man, do you have a lighter?"
The man spun around to see James holding out a cigarette, and looking the picture of innocence. He gave James a long, hard look and reached inside his jacket. James was ready. In a flash, gunshots rang out, but James had leapt behind a tree, then a birdbath, and finally a Greek sculpture. "Bastard!"
Soon, though, the assassin had run out of bullets, and lunged at James with a knife in his hand. James leapt out of the way at the very last moment, and the assassin had missed him and stumbled. In a flash though, he was back up, and once more charged at James, knife pointing at his torso. Again, at the last moment, James leapt out of the way. "You know, I've trained extensively with someone, who, despite his incorrigible player tendencies, is a God as far as knives are concerned, and HE has not been able to kill me yet." The assassin moved his arm backward, and James saw his intention immediately. Predictably, the knife came flying at him, and at the last moment, James grabbed a nearby rock. The knife hit the rock with a clang, and went flying back from whence it came. Before he could react, the assassin found his own knife buried in his chest. His face a mask of horror, he fell heavily to the ground. As he lay dying, James was able to identify him.
"Raye," He whispered. "Are you okay?"
"Just peachy. The bomb has been taken care of." Her satiny voice whispered back into his earpiece. You?"
"Just had a minor skirmish with the assassin. He got impaled on his own knife. It's Olivine."
"Hmm. Okay. Leave him there for now. The party will be over in about 15 minutes. Come on back here, then we need to talk to Fallon as soon as the guests leave. Dead boy's way out in the back, he's not going anywhere anytime soon. So, you didn't get hurt or anything, right?" There was an odd note of concern in her otherwise expressionless voice.
"I'm fine. I'll be coming back here in five. Take care."
"You too." Raye turned her head back to the main room. Some of the guests were leaving. It was a clear, beautiful night. The air was warm, but not too warm. The sky was like black velvet sprinkled with drops of diamond. There was the scent of blooming roses in the air. 'The peace of the surroundings belies the violence of events.' She thought to herself.
"Well, if it isn't the little spitfire." Raye groaned inwardly. "Where's your pretty-boy bodyguard now?"
"William, do you really have a death wish? Need I remind you that I kicked your ass just a while ago and that I'll as soon throw you over this balcony as look at you?"
"Why are you so difficult? Together, we can go places that you've never even been to in your wildest dreams. You, my dear, are one....hot...." William gave her a very lecherous look, and trailed a hand up her arm. Raye, with a murderous glare, grasped his offending hand and gave a twist and yank. A satisfying pop resounded in the silent night air. William howled in pain and rage. He curled his undamaged hand into a fist and launched at Raye. She tripped him, grabbed his extended arm, and pulled him down with a sharp jerk. "That's twice you've tried to assault me, asshole, and you're NOT going to get away that easily this time." Quick and hard, the toe of her high heel came in contact with his kidney. He squealed in pain.
Raye lowered herself until she was squatting right in front of him. Her eyes were venomous violet slits on her furious face. Drawing back her hand, she slapped him with enough force to snap his head around 120 degrees. "NEVER try to hit a lady again." She jerked him up roughly, and in a flash, William found himself halfway hanging over the balcony. Just a shove from Raye, and he would be hurtling down more than 20 feet. "Mercy! No, don't throw me down! Sorry! Sorry!" HOW did that girl get so strong?!
Raye held him there for several moments longer, watching coldly as his face started turning a pale green. "Now, William, if I ever, EVER hear of you causing any more trouble, or if you ever come within 30 feet of me, you'll be WISHING that I threw you off a balcony by the time I'm through with your sorry ass. Now, fuck off!" With that, Raye contemptuously threw him inside.
Right into the approaching James.
James saw someone crashing towards him, and instinctively reached out his hands to stop the person's fall. When he saw who it was, however, his grip tightened on the man's throat.
William wheezed, and looked up to see a pair of blue eyes that were, if possible, even more furious than Raye's. "Look here, you son-of-a-bitch...You...shall...NOT...bother...Raye...again. If you come close to her, if you touch her, if you so much as LOOK at her, I swear, I will KILL you. Is that clear?" James fingers tightened, and William choked.
"Y-e-s!" He managed to gasp out. James' grip did not loosen immediately. Soon, William started seeing black spots in front of his eyes. Just before he passed out, James released him abruptly, and walked past him, kicking him away. He walked towards Raye, who was still standing on the balcony. It suddenly occurred to him that the sight before him could be from a fairytale romance. Raye was standing next by the balcony, one slender, aristocratic hand resting on the marble railing. Against the dark leaves and silvery white blooms of a climbing rose, she stood out vividly, a dark beauty in scarlet silk. Her ebony hair fell free to her waist, contrasted to her ivory skin. Her cheeks were pink from her recent exertion, and her lips were parted slightly with her quick breaths. She looked like a princess who could have ruled a planet. But in the world they lived in, there was no time for fairy tales. There were assassins to apprehend and bombers to baffle. He shook his wayward thoughts aside and approached her.
Raye had watched as James, more angry than she had ever seen him, squeeze his hands around William's throat. With the aid of her earpiece, she had heard him threaten the cad never to bother her again. She felt an unusual feeling: She was flattered by his protectiveness. Usually, Raye hated it when others tried to take care of her, to do things for her when she was perfectly capable of handling things by herself, but for some reason, in this instance, she felt no offense at James' protective attitude. It even pleased her, oddly. Then, he had thrown the worthless William aside, and walked towards her. Despite his recent skirmish with the assassin Olivine, then the run-in with William, he still looked like an angel. How was that possible?
"So, where's the bomb?' His voice broke into her reverie. Quickly, she showed him the now harmless bomb, as well as the pieces of the Oriental urn that it had come in. "As soon as the guests all leave, we will have a nice, cozy little chat with Fallon." She declared decisively. He nodded, and the two sat down on the stone bench of the balcony, side by side. Of their own volition, he gently grasped her wrist, to examine it again.
Raye stole a glance at him as he took her wrist in his hand. He showed nothing but concern as he examined it. For once in her life, she did not yank her hand back when someone grasped it. After turning her wrist over carefully, he seemed to forget to let go of her hand, and soon, she found their fingers intertwined together. His slightly callused, larger fingers linked with her own smooth, elegant, manicured ones. Raye had a pleasant surprise. It felt...nice.
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