Disclaimer and Notes
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"So, Raye, what was it that you wanted to talk to me about" Fallon Henderson, resplendent in warm caramel chiffon that brought out her dark golden skin, asked the younger woman.
"Fallon, this is James Byrne, James, this is Fallon Henderson. As you know, she's the ambassador to Lebanon." Fallon gave James a polite smile and a handshake, looking slightly bemused.
"A pleasure, Mr. Byrne. Er...Raye?"
"Fallon, James and I are working together. Do you know what we do for a living?" Raye asked.
"Well, I thought that you went into physics research, or something of the sort? Nivin mentioned that Mr. Byrne here was a computer scientist. I suppose that you two are working together in some corporation or another?" Fallon guessed.
"No, and you're only partially correct about our fields. It's true that Raye's particular area of expertise is nuclear physics, like mine is computers, but we're not simple researchers or scientists." James said.
"Have you heard of that LA crime lord and his gang who had kidnapped a girl, and then was found dead after a vicious motorcycle chase, a few weeks back?" Raye asked Fallon.
"Of course I have! It was headline news! Although no one knows exactly who was responsible for rescuing that girl and getting rid of that horrid gang. Must have been some particularly brave hero."
Raye smirked. "You're looking at her right now."
Fallon's mouth fell open. "W-WHAT?! Did I hear you correctly?" Raye nodded.
"James and I are two of eight elite agents who are specially chosen and assigned to crack tough criminal cases. Now, of course, this information is usually never divulged, and as far as the general populace is concerned, we're just two normal civilians. The reason we're telling you this is because you're in danger."
"M-me?" Fallon was still incredulous.
James nodded. "I'm sure you've heard of the bomber-hacker known as Saffir." Fallon nodded. "We have very good reasons to believe that you're his next target."
"And...w-what might those reasons be?" Fallon asked cautiously.
"Come onto the balcony with me." Raye beckoned. Fallon, still half disbelieving, followed the other woman out. "Look at this."
Fallon gasped. It was no longer ticking, and it was perfectly still, but there was no mistaking what it was. "A bomb!?"
James nodded grimly. "It came in an Oriental urn. The pieces of which you see over there. An assassin brought it in with him today. Had Raye not defused the thing, this entire place would have been blown to bits long ago. The primary reason we're here tonight is to prevent something like that from happening. As Raye was defusing the bomb, I went after the man who brought the bomb. He shot at me. He also tried to kill me with a knife. He was an assassin known as Olivine."
"Was?"
James' face was grim. "He threw the knife at me, I deflected it. He's...he's now lying somewhere in the back gardens."
Fallon's face grew ashen. Raye took her hand gently. "Look, Fallon, we know that it's a lot to accept, and trust me, we wouldn't be giving you a tenth of this information had we not been convinced that you're in danger."
Fallon looked at the deadly-serious faces of the handsome blond man and beautiful dark-haired woman standing in front of her. Then, at the bomb lying in the corner of the balcony. Then at the pieces of porcelain that had originally been an Oriental urn. Slowly, she nodded. "All right. What do you think I should do?"
~ ~ ~
That evening, Raye and James did not go home. First, there was the matter of explaining everything to Fallon's equally astonished husband without letting on too much, then there was the matter of hacking into and disabling the systems that Saffir had set up to monitor Fallon's every move. Then, there was the issue of moving Fallon and her family out of their home to somewhere else safe before Saffir's computers picked up on the breaking into of the cybersystem and the escape of his target. Raye had arranged for Fallon to stay in her penthouse, and for Fallon's family to be secretly shipped off, that very night, via a ridiculously expensive hotel reservation that she had managed to secure at disgustingly short notice. 'Goddammit they BETTER pay me back for all this...I've money, but this is ridiculous! The things I do for people...' Raye and James would stay at Fallon's villa, and Raye would act primarily as Fallon's bodyguard and bring her to work, etc. while James would utilize his computer skills to combat Saffir and try to prevent technological surveillance of his intended target. At about 1:00 AM, everything was finally set, and Raye had seen Fallon safely back to her penthouse that night, and had taken the opportunity to pick up her personal belongings.
It was past 2:00 AM when she had finally gotten back to her new temporary residence. Exhausted by that evening's activities, she collapsed onto the couch and promptly fell asleep.
James had been outside disposing of the dead assassin. When he had come back in about half an hour later, he saw Raye, her slender form cloaked by her cascading jet-black hair, asleep on the couch. Gently, he shook her, but she did not stir. He cautiously turned her over, expecting her to wake up and bitch-slap him at any moment for touching her, but she was fast asleep. Unlike the fiery, passionate woman he'd seen during the daytime, she was tranquil in slumber. Carefully, he lifted her up and carried her into the master bedroom, and lay her down on the bed. He tucked the covers snugly around her, and smiled. Surely the peacefully slumbering beauty in front of him couldn't be the fierce, hot-tempered woman who had, on several occasions, nearly bitten his head off. But it was. The fire in her still burned, albeit gently. In an odd sort of way, she sort of grew on him. The antithesis of a typical rich girl. He pressed a soft, tender kiss to her forehead before leaving the room and shutting the door behind him, knowing very well that that may be the only time he would ever be able to do such a thing.
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