by Michael Blakeney and Gem Lassiter
90602.2130
-=Flashback, continued from part one=-
90602.2130
-=Flashback, continued from part one=-
She hurried toward the front door and pulled it open with one forceful yank. “Get out.”
He stood, straightened the sleeves of his jacket regally, and walked in even, measured paces toward her. “As you wish, my dear. I was only trying to help.”
“Help? That kind of help I need like a hole in the head.”
“Oh, you need help. In fact, you need my help, specifically. Think about it before you send me on my way. If you let me go, you may regret it.”
“I’ll take my chances.”
“Goodnight then.” He said indignantly as he walked through the door and she slammed it behind him. Then instantly she turned her back, pressed it against the door for good measure and folded her arms across her chest.
As he took his first few steps away into the cold air Michael considered that if she was as determined to be unhappy and alone as she thought she was then maybe he should just let her.
Inside as she leaned against the door and looked over her once orderly world, she began to form a plan about the quickest way to eradicate the chaos he’d created. Even with him gone she couldn’t just pretend he’d never been; glasses were left in odd places, plates were where they shouldn’t be and somehow it looked like he’d even changed the angle of the furniture while she wasn’t looking. Immediately she began to go over how this could have happened.
Naturally, he went over the events in his mind too, those last few seconds especially. Then he stopped moving, she’d never have been this upset and determined to get rid of him if he’d not had some sort of an impact on her. For almost a second, he considered it, before he turned around.
Gem’s heart rate had almost returned to normal when she heard him speak again.
“It’s a shame, though,” he called back to her, his voice muffled by the thick wooden door. “Now you’ll never know about the lead I’ve found.”
Gem quietly but repeatedly cursed; she cursed that he wasn’t gone and she cursed what she was considering. Yes, the man was trouble and it was immeasurably unlikely that he had any such information. Still, with nothing yet to go on herself and her career on the line she could hardly risk taking the chance, however slight it was. She was always an agent through and through.
“Lead?” she asked quietly to the door, almost hoping he wouldn’t hear.
“Oh no.” He laughed, knowing from her voice that he’d hooked her again. “You want to know? You’re going to have to open the door and invite me back inside to finish my dinner.”
Gem cursed again, debating her options and concluding she had none she’d want to take.
Blakeney waited, ticking down the seconds in his head, certain it would take less than ten for her to comply with his wishes.
After eight seconds, she pulled the door open and gestured stiffly with a wave of her arm for him to walk through. He continued grinning, and moved back toward the couch and his unfinished food.
With the satisfaction she saw in his face she immediately began to wonder if any information could be worth this. With her standing by the door and him so comfortably seated it felt more like she was the visitor here and this was his home. She moved in slightly further to the kitchen, at least claiming back some of her own space.
“Fine.” She said. “ But you stay over there and I’ll stay here.”
She took the PADD she held and set it down on the kitchen countertop, glancing at him from a safe distance across the room. “So what’s this lead anyway?” she asked incredulously. “As if you had time to find one.”
“What? You think I didn’t do anything else for that hour I was gone except wait for our food? And watch the beautiful women walk through the lobby of the grand hotel from which I procured it?” he said, sounding amused.
Gem smirked. There was nothing she’d put past him getting up to in that hour, with the obvious exception of work.
“Well, I did those things, of course, but I also found a lead.” He bragged, pausing for dramatic affect “I am a master at multi-tasking.”
“Yes, you’re quite a piece of work.” She acknowledged, trying her best to make it sound somewhere between a tease and an insult. “The only question is whether you’re a piece of work who’s found something useful.”
He laughed as he picked up his plate and propped his feet up upon her perfectly polished coffee table. He took several bites and another sip of wine, ever the showman he ensured she wait until he was good and ready to go on, before finally he proceeded.
“If we’re going to be friends, Gem, there’re a couple of things you need to know about me.”
“I never said I wanted to be your friend.” She replied, in a tone which he could not quite determine whether it was intended to be coldly blunt or masterfully dry.
“One,” he went on, dismissing her remark whatever it was as he continued to enjoy his food, “Is that I never say I have a lead unless I do. Two,” he glanced up at her as he paused; holding her gaze as he slowly took another drink from his wine glass. “There are plenty of women out there on this planet and many others who would stand in line for the chance to spend an evening in my company, let alone my bed. So I’m perfectly happy to move on if you’re not one of them.”
Gem suddenly felt her face redden, with what she hoped was just anger. She was conflicted and she didn’t understand why.
She had no intention of succumbing to his advances tonight and had in fact promised herself she wouldn’t, yet, the speed with which he’d decided that she just wasn’t worth any more effort wounded pride that she didn’t know until now that she had.
She’d never been egotistical, but the idea that he’d simply given up that easily bothered her, a lot.
“By all means, Agent Blakeney.” She spoke through gritted teeth and tilted her head slightly as she spoke. “Move on.”
“And so I shall. But first,” he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a PADD which he held out toward her. “You might want to have a look at this.”
Gem moved just close enough to snatch the PADD from his hand, causing him to laugh once again. She was keeping her distance as if she was afraid that he would lunge forward and bite. She was very, very fun to toy with this way.
“What’s on it?” She asked.
“What I found…” he began slowly, explaining the notations as he finally set his plate aside, “was this.”
He paused, making her wait just a little bit longer, before continuing.
“Tetratinium.”
Then he simply left it at that as if it were the only explanation she should need.
She knew he wasn’t going to continue until she asked, not knowing how long it could take her to look through this PADD and figure it out, begrudgingly she gave him just what he wanted.
“Tetratinium?”
“Tetratinium.” He confirmed with a smile, absently explaining. “An alloy of Tritanium, Duranium and a few extras for flavour. Minute traces of it were found on the hands of our friends the would be assassins. I know it’s not that uncommon, but it’s a start.”
Gem immediately stopped looking through the PADD and looked to Michael like he was an idiot, speaking in disbelief. “Where have you been living?”
“What do you mean?” Michael asked with concern, not liking her tone.
““Tetratinium isn’t just uncommon.” She said, shaking her head. “I doubt you’ll even find it in this star system.”
Michael paused, wondering how to explain this lapse, but he quickly dismissed it.
He shrugged his shoulders.
“That’s handy.”
------
LT. Commander Michael Blakeney
Temporal Investigations
And //// Gemini Lassiter
Director, The Alchemy Project
And former TI Agent
LT. Commander Michael Blakeney
Temporal Investigations
And //// Gemini Lassiter
Director, The Alchemy Project
And former TI Agent