It all started when I was doing a piece of fanart of the Infamous Shark Episode, and I was obsessing over getting Ian's face right because he has such a complex blend of emotions on it. Then I thought, "It would be interesting to know what he's thinking in that moment," and the idea for this fic was born.

I'm kind of worried about putting this up. I got my first flame ever last night, and now I'm basically paranoid that everyone will hate my stories. Oh well, here goes.

"Hello... this is Ian Kabra - no, wait, don't hang up on me yet. I need to speak to Amy."

There was a long pause, then -

"Wh-what do you want, Ian?" Amy's voice.

"Now, that's not much of a greeting. But I suppose I deserve it."

"You deserve worse than that."

"I know. I have done some terrible things to you. But we're in a contest. I learned from my father that the only important thing is to win. I hear his voice in my head all the time, like after a cricket match. Ian, I don't care if you played well. Didn't you notice that your team lost? If you expect a pat on the back, you're not getting it from me!"

Ian was talking too much, he knew. But he was nervous. Having one's slightly terrifying mother listening in on every word of a crucially important conversation tended to do that to a person.

"Tell it to your therapist." The stutter was definitely gone now. She was getting braver.

"Look, I deserve everything you're saying." He did, but Isabel thought he was lying. Best not to stay on the subject too long. "I'm not calling to gain your trust. I'm calling because I have some information."

"Tell it to someone who cares," retorted Amy. Ian looked at his mother in frustration; this was not going as planned. Isabel brought her hand down in a quick gesture. The meaning was clear: Now.

"Do you expect me to –"

Ian interrupted Amy in the middle of her sentence, wishing to keep this as short as possible. "It's about your parents. About their death." There. That ought to get her interested. He glanced at Isabel; she nodded encouragingly.

Silence on the other end of the line. Ian pressed on. "My mother told me everything." Not everything, but enough for this phone call. Time for the trump card. "They were murdered."

This time there wasn't silence; there was a slight sigh. Not an intentional sigh, but the type of sound that escapes a person after they've been winded by a serious blow to the stomach. As though the breath was being squeezed out of her lungs.

"Amy?" Maybe he'd been too abrupt. If she was too much in shock to hear him, then he'd have to call back, and he wasn't sure how that would go down. Unfortunately, Isabel also seemed to be aware of this fact. Her eyes had narrowed dangerously.

What should I do? Ian looked at her helplessly. Amy hadn't disconnected - he could still hear her breaths coming fast and labored. It seemed cruel to do this - then again, why should he care? She was just an obstacle, just a competitor... right?

Keep talking. Isabel motioned with a finger.

Ian took a deep breath and kept going. "My mother wanted to talk to you about it. A temporary truce. We give you our word that nothing will happen..." Probably a complete lie. He wouldn't do anything, of course - a truce was a truce - but he had a feeling that Isabel was not trying to arrange a meeting with Amy just for the sake of friendly conversation. "... if you cooperate." There. That made it probably true. "Will you come?"

"Tell me what you know." Amy's voice was shaking, but her tone was of a forced calm.

"This phone is not secure." Too right it wasn't. Not with Isabel listening in.

"What?"

"Trust me. It's not." According to his mother, anyway - Ian wasn't sure how much stock to put in that statement. "Listen, I'll meet you in an open place with lots of people - The Rocks Market at Circular Quay. Meet me in front of the Museum of Contemporary Art at 3 o'clock."

More silence. Time to get this over with. "I hope you do." Ian pressed the button and disconnected. He looked at his mother. "Do you think she'll come?"

"Of course she'll come," replied Isabel impatiently. "Information can sometimes be better than a cash bribe. She won't resist being able to find out who set the fire."

Ian nodded, shutting the phone. However, part of his mind was elsewhere. He hesitated, then began, "It seems a little... cruel, though, doesn't it?"

Isabel's eyes hardened. "What do you mean?"

Ian should have remembered that throwing caution to the winds was never a good idea around his mother, but it was too late to back out now. He continued haltingly, "I mean... she might have come anyway... I mean," he amended himself hastily, "probably would have, if I know her - "

"Indeed." The scorn was evident in Isabel's voice. "And you know her just how well? I'm beginning to have my doubts about your... special role in Korea, Ian. If you become distracted like this - you know full well what I mean by that - then I might have to do something." She turned and strode away.

Ian took a deep breath. He had gotten lucky, he knew; his mother had simply decided not to unleash the full force of her rage. However, she'd been right, on one count at least - he was also having doubts about Korea. He knew, at least, that if he could do it over again, he'd have found some other way to get the coin back. True, it had paid off, but he'd been inexplicably left with unfamiliar - and rather inconvenient - feelings of regret, remorse, and something deeper - something that he couldn't quite put his finger on, but that sent a pang through him whenever he remembered the look on Amy's face as the cave doors closed, sealing her in...

The cell phone made a small sound as it went to sleep, snapping Ian out of his trance. This was ridiculous. Obsessing over his feelings, however confusing, would get him nowhere. Especially not now, when Amy was about to have a meeting with Isabel. Transactions like that never ended well.

Things were about to get complicated.

This is only the first installment, of course. Sorry if I didn't put in enough IanxAmy. I just didn't think Ian would be obsessing over Amy's impending doom that much. He's waaaay too much in denial to ever do that. But hey - that's why we all love this pairing, right?

Now, see that little button down there? The one that says Review this Story? Time to put it to its proper use. And don't think you'll get off easily just by faving or subscribing. On the contrary, if you fave or subscribe you have a bounden duty to review. I'll want to know exactly WHAT you liked about it, and what made you add it to Story Alerts or Favorite Story. If anyone does do that. Also, PLEASE don't flame. I'm still sore from the last one. Yeah, yeah, you're probably thinking "what a wimp", but I'm a very sensitive person. No, really. I cry at jokes people think are funny.

Anyway. Were was I? Oh, yes. Review.