Alternate scene written for my sister, who loved the idea of a flustered Adam.
He'd had to knock out two bouncers to do it, but Adam managed to hack the Hive's security panel. As he ducked out the back door and activated his cloak to get past the cameras he half-swore half-muttered under his breath that whatever Malik was doing had better be worth it.
"Don't worry, it is," Malik's voice came in over his link, her voice humming with satisfaction.
He heard shouts on his tail and he cursed again, the battery flashing in his HUD burning out his cloak just as he made it into the back ally. He sprinted down the street towards the front of the club, rounding the corner at a slide. He nearly tripped over a bike messenger as he scrambled to get out of sight, but hands caught his vest and spun him into the wall before he could hit the ground.
He nearly reacted very violently, but Malik's bright eyes and triumphant grin were staring him in the face.
"Malik?" he exclaimed, staring down at her. He blinked, retracting his sunglasses. "You're stronger than you look. What are you doing here? I thought you were going to do something to the Hive from the VTOL."
"I am, but I couldn't resist seeing the reactions in person." She let go of him and dug a transmitter out of her pocket, raising an eyebrow as she set her fingers on the dial. "Watch this."
She flicked a switch and turned up the dial. The entire front of the Hive went suddenly haywire, static replacing the gold combs. A second later and the street broke out in surprised cries as her projection and recording defaced Lee in front of the whole block. The lead bouncer at the front of the Hive stood gaping, but after a few moments a guard came running up and got his attention, pointing towards Adam and Malik.
"Whoop they saw us," Malik said, grabbing Adam's vest again and dragging him down the alley. She shoved him into the corner between a high dumpster and the wall, spun him around so his back was to the alley entrance, and then pulled him down so they were both crouching. "Cloak!"
"What?! Malik we need to get out of h—"
"Cloak you idiot!" she said, smacking his chest.
Adam glanced over his shoulder and then popped his shades closed, curling his body over Malik and throwing up his cloak. He and Malik disappeared and the bouncers went running past, loosing track of them completely.
When the footsteps died away Adam's cloak disengaged and slid off of them with a pixelated flicker. Adam stood up and offered a hand to Malik, who took it and hauled herself up. She was still grinning.
"Did you just piggyback on my cloak?"
"I wanted to savor this. No way I was leaving already," she said, slinking to the corner and peering around it so she could see her handiwork. The street had forgotten about them, filled as it was with gaping spectators on cell phones.
"No, I mean, I didn't know you could do that," Adam said, standing behind her and pressing against her back, peering around the corner over her head.
"The cloak bends light around, you can stretch the effect if you're close enough to the object. How do you think it conceals your weapons?" She turned back around. "Told you the hack was worth it."
"Yeah, remind me never to piss you off."
"You'd have to try pretty hard after what you did here," she said. "Oh spy-boy, I could kiss you."
Adam didn't have the chance to register the split-second change in her eyes from "I'm joking" to "I'm gonna do it" before she grabbed his vest again and pulled him down to her level, her head turned so she could catch his lips with a full on kiss. She broke it just as quickly, her smile just as cheeky as her wink as she pat his cheek and let him go. "I'll see you back at the VTOL," she said. "Stay out of trouble."
She disappeared into the streets with the practice of someone who had lived there for years, and Adam stood gaping, feeling heat flush his cheeks and neck.
"Well, well, how was that?" Pritchard's voice came in through his infolink. "Sounded juicy."
"Stuff it Pritchard," Adam sputtered, digging in his pocket for a half-melted Cyberboost bar he'd snagged back in the Hive. He tore into it aggressively and struck off down the alley, trying to focus on his mission. At the moment, he couldn't remember what his mission was.