Disclaimer: Not mine.
Spoilers: Season 9, Episode 13
Like a panther, he watches his prey, slowly stepping closer before pouncing in for the kill. His eyes burn like copper chloride thrown into a fire and from his palms drop rivulets of his own blood. Perhaps he should have cut his fingernails yesterday.
With eyes darkened by the hurt of betrayal and loss she strides by the opposite side of his hiding place and he releases the tension in his legs. Every fiber of him wants nothing more than to walk out on the tarmac and hurt the man who has thrown her life into such a mess.
Instead, he keeps his cool. His pace is leisurely, and his hands are lazily placed in his pants pockets. When he reaches the airplane beside which The Other Man stands, he comes to a stop. A safe four feet of tarmac lay between them.
"She left quickly," our panther comments. He speaks casually, keeping a lid on his natural tendencies to pound some sense into The Other Man.
The Other Man sighs and looks resignedly to where she had left. "Yeah." He looks back to the panther. "I messed up."
Laughing softly, demonstrating his slowly abating anger, he replies, "Oh yeah. That was a royal screw-up you had there."
"I had no choice!"
He shrugs. "Maybe, maybe not. But," he takes a step forward, "you lied to her," another step. "You barely visited her," even closer, "And you just couldn't ever appreciate her." Now, the panther is a foot away from his prey, about to raise his paw and strike The Other Man down, without even showing his temper. "You betrayed her trust."
But The Other Man is a CIA agent, practiced in the methods of interrogation and its brother, intimidation. "If you had been in my place, would you have done differently?"
"Yes," is the unhesitating reply.
"I find that difficult to believe; I know about the Grenouille and Rivkin fiascos."
He forces himself to retrace his steps, resisting the urge to give the other man a piece of his mind. "I am a changed man."
"As am I, but does she know that?"
Just then, there comes the scream of sirens, and the tired conversation ends. The panther walks away, knowing that The Other Man wouldn't run. He knows that the defeated ex-boyfriend, fiancé, or whatever, has little motivation left. And the panther makes a vow to himself that he won't ever betray her trust.
A/N: Shorter than I would like, but oh well. The next chapter, and then maybe the third, will be up today! The second and third will most definitely be longer as well.
If you liked, or if you didn't, please review! All feedback is greatly appreciated.