Summer 2007 Alphabet challenge at the Numb3rs Forum. Sequel to Z is for Zwischenzug. AU, after Janus List. This is the 20th in what will be a series of 26. Q is for Quagmire is the 1st. There will be no further updates to this piece.
--
"So the four guys we pinpointed had a different agenda than the gang leaders," Don said with a tired sigh. The FBI team had gone to the DDFS office for the debrief on the gang war.
"Yes," Paul replied, "The original gang leaders and their closest supporters were taken out in the first round of fire. That's when the new gang leaders turned on us."
"And we think that Biden set that in motion?" Steele's face was tight with anger.
"We'll find that out soon enough." Luke's soft, flat tone sent chills down everyone else's spines. Especially the ones who had heard Bad Boy's screams from the holding pen before he'd been sedated. The bandage on his arm didn't make him look any less dangerous.
"I'm sure he was under orders from the Mastermind," Paul said hastily, though he wasn't sure that particular fact would do Biden any good once Luke got started.
"Are we squared away with Walker?" Colby asked. As much as he liked Luke, it made him uncomfortable when Luke went into assassin mode. There was a darkness in him then and Colby wasn't sure if Luke would, or even could, discern friend from foe while he was in it. He felt it was prudent to change the subject away from Biden and how they were going to get additional information from him.
Don nodded, "Yes. The sudden turnaround was as much a surprise to him as it was to us. But he feels good that he's got these new gang leaders under lock and key. There's not a judge in the world that would let them get away after they tried to gun us down."
"And we've found out from our interrogations that they'd received instructions from someone named the Mastermind. He'd offered to help them take over the gangs, and had been feeding them the information they needed," Paul continued. "The smaller gangs backed out, because it was inequitable for them once the new leaders took over. It isn't known why Mexicali backed out, though I have a hunch on that." He glanced up and smiled at the nods around the table.
"So as far as we know, we've got the gang angle out of the way. At least where this massive conspiracy is concerned," Megan said with a sigh. "My profile on Spencer indicates that he's severely disturbed, probably suffering from acute Narcissistic Personality Disorder, hence the delusions of power and omnipotence. It's highly probable that a single event in the past triggered it, and he's been building on the rage from that event ever since, creating bigger and more complex scenarios of revenge as time went by. If we could just find the original targets of that rage, we might be able to figure out where we need to look next."
"Perhaps we should go back to Corker's file," Sean said slowly. He looked at Don. "Didn't you say that Spencer Lowell had a son?"
"Yes, Steve Lowell. David was looking at all of that, I'll pull all his findings and get those to you," Don told him. He turned to Steele, "David was also supposed to check with you, see if we can get anything out of Biden to find Leo Spencer." He paused and glanced quickly at Luke, then decided to move on. "We'll try to find a way to link Steve Lowell to Leo Spencer."
"I've matched the Mastermind's voice!" Charlie ran excitedly into the conference room, triumph in his voice and demeanor. He was oblivious of the smiles on the faces of the agents in the conference room.
"Matched it to what?" Steele asked calmly.
"To one of the voices on that tape David found in Corker's office," Charlie was still excited. "I've found the correct frequency modulation algorithm!"
Don looked warily at his brother, "Now, you're sure this works and you're not just modulating it to whatever you want it to be?"
Charlie scowled at Don, "You know my math is always sound! I've told you! Numbers never lie!"
"Alright, alright! Take it easy!" Don held his hands up to appease his brother. "Which voice did you match it to?"
"I factored in age for maturity in the voice, but the voice pattern is distinct. It's the voice they referred to as Steve," Charlie told them, happily setting up the laptop to show them the matching sound graphs.
Steele struggled to breathe; Charlie's news was a huge breakthrough for them. "Have you received Leo Spencer's voice sample from Kaplan?"
"Oh, not yet. I haven't checked actually," Charlie looked a little crestfallen. He had been so excited about the match he'd found, he'd forgotten to check for the more important voice sample.
"No matter, you still have time," Steele soothed him. "But let me know if you haven't received it by today. If we can connect Leo Spencer to Steve Lowell, it'll be a huge step forward for us."
Charlie nodded eagerly, and began to bring up his slides on the frequency modulation.
"Ah, what about the dummy NSA system?" Colby asked hastily. He didn't really want to sit through Charlie's lecture on voice changing algorithms.
"Did you need that today?" Charlie looked torn. He wanted to show how his algorithm worked, but he had just a few things left to do on that dummy system.
"Yes, please," Sean said quickly. "Ah, we need to get Wendy started as soon as possible. Redirect the missiles, you know?"
"Oh, right, the missiles," Charlie looked alarmed. "I'll get Amita to help with the NSA system." He grabbed his things and ran out of the conference room.
"You cut my brother off again and I'll cut you off where it hurts," Don scowled at both Colby and Sean. Then a split second later he heaved a sigh, "Thank you though. I love him to death but I'm not sure I could have sat through that lecture. Not when we still have so much to do."
Colby and Sean had bristled at Don's words but were startled into laughter at his honesty. "We really do need the NSA system," Colby told him.
"I know," Don waved it off. "Anyway, we need to find Spencer. All the evidence in the world isn't going to help us if we can't charge someone with it. As far as I know, we've struck out on any searches for Leo Spencer. I guess we should start looking for Steve Lowell now."
"And Spencer Lowell," Luke spoke again. This time, he seemed back to normal, the darkness in his eyes was gone.
"That makes sense," Megan said thoughtfully. "He might have taken on his father's identity, especially if his father was a powerful and omnipotent figure in his early life."
"What about the drug angle?" Colby asked. "Is that over and done with now that Corker's out of the way, or do you think we'll have to worry about a war with the Venezuelan Cartel?"
"I'll alert the DEA on that, but other than having to rebuild their distribution system, I don't think we're in the line of fire for taking Corker out of the picture. Corker was shot in the hunt and arrested for hunting humans, nothing whatsoever to do with the drug cartel. We'll keep tabs on it through the DEA, but I think we'll be fine," Don replied after some thought.
Steele tapped his lips with a forefinger. He wasn't as sure but he was willing to let that lie for the moment. The Chinese and Russian angles were his main concerns. At least he knew the Chinese were concerned about missiles. He still had very little idea what the Russian angle was, other than the fact that Kannin had been behind it. He hoped the meeting with Luchenko would provide him with more information. Steele glanced at Fiona's signal and smiled. "Don, thank you for your help on this. I think Fiona and I have a meeting with an informant on the Russian angle. We'll just move forward with looking for Spencer and continue our course with the Chinese. I'll keep you posted when we find out more about the Russian angle."
Don nodded, "Thanks as well. It helped to have your snipers available, since I couldn't get Edgerton at such short notice."
"Sniper, singular," Sean said dryly. "She's just a decent shot." He grinned when Fiona made a face and smacked him playfully on his arm. "You just hit me because you know Luke will retaliate if I do anything. That's just not fair."
Luke smiled at their byplay, but even Fiona backed off after a moment. The darkness was coming back into his eyes.
"Off to question Biden?" Steele asked quietly. He sighed softly when Luke nodded and left. It was a necessary evil, but he hated what it did to his friend. Perhaps that part of his life would be over soon. Steele shook his head slightly, unable to believe that he was willing to consider letting such an asset go. Disquieted by the direction of his thoughts, he got up and left with Fiona to meet Luchenko.
--
"There he is," Fiona murmured into her communicator when she saw Luchenko stroll into the park. She moved towards him, "Alexei, darling! What a surprise! I didn't realize you would be in Los Angeles." Fiona pouted, "Were you going to call me?"
"Désirée, as lovely and desirable as ever!" Luchenko brought her hand to his lips and brushed a gentle kiss on her fingers. "Alas, I was only told of this just before I was to leave. They only gave me enough time to pack my bags!"
Fiona laughed, husky and low in her throat, "Well, I'll just have to forgive you this time, won't I?"
"I sincerely hope so, my dear! Perhaps you could join me for a late lunch?" Luchenko looked hopefully at her.
"I can do better than that, Alexei," Fiona purred. She looked up at him from lowered lids, "I can cook you that late lunch. And then, maybe, you could stay and tell me more about your country."
Luchenko looked delighted, "But of course! Lead the way, Désirée. I am yours to command!"
Laughing softly together, they strolled across the park like they were lovers and entered a building. When they entered the apartment, both their demeanors turned brisk and businesslike. Luchenko held his arms out while Fiona scanned him for any electronics. Security check over, Luchenko greeted Steele who was waiting at the table.
"We have much to talk about, my friend," Luchenko said seriously as he sat down.
"So I understand," Steele replied quietly. "Any problems getting here?"
"No, I do not believe so. I have been checking and I do not believe I was followed. You have people who were checking also, yes? At different points along the way?"
"Yes," Steele frowned slightly. Luchenko was crafty if he'd spotted Steele's agents, and someone was going to be berated for giving themselves away. "As far as we could tell, you weren't followed."
"And who could blame a man for following a woman such as Désirée home, yes?" Luchenko's face lightened into a brief smile before settling back into its serious expression.
"What do you have for me?"
"Papers and recordings, my friend, of a conspiracy against both our governments," Luchenko looked upset. "We must stop this, and I cannot do this without your help."
"Tell me," Steele commanded.
"It began with the European missile defense system placed in Poland, and the radar facility placed in the Czech Republic. You will remember that the previous US Administration put this in place despite much controversy and opposition from the Kremlin. The Kremlin was convinced by that Administration that it was not put in place as a defense against Russia." Luchenko paused.
"I remember," Steele was almost afraid to breathe; he had not wanted to hear about missiles from the Russian side of the equation.
"Then Senator Kannin came into the picture, as you say. He has convinced a powerful man in the Kremlin that the missile defense system was indeed put in place as a defense against Russia. That the previous Administration, how do you say it, pulled one on the Kremlin."
"Oh, no," Fiona said softly.
"I'm afraid it is 'Oh yes'," Luchenko said heavily. "I have the recordings. You will have samples of his voice, yes? To make a match. Electronically. We can do this in Russia. I am sure in the US you can as well, yes?"
"Yes, we can match the voiceprints, that's not a problem," Steele said slowly. "I don't understand why he would do such a thing."
Luchenko shrugged, "Why? Why does anyone do anything? It is usually money, yes? Or revenge. It does not signify. What is important is that Kremlin believes the missiles are set against Russia, and that they are armed and set to attack soon." He looked anxiously at Steele and Fiona. "The Kremlin has ordered that we target our missiles on the missile defense system in Poland. Many people forget that Russia is large, and our outermost provinces are close to the US. We have a missile station in Petropavlovsk that is within range of the western parts of the United States. Maybe further! Who can say?" He threw up his hands in frustration.
"Alright," Steele said softly. "I will take the papers and recordings and we will decipher them, see what we can do. If we need to move on this, can we count on your help?"
"Yes, of course!" Luchenko met Steele's eyes. "We have worked hard, we Russian people, we cannot afford to be caught in a missile war. There can only be losers in such a war. It must be stopped!"
Steele felt the agony he saw in Luchenko's eyes. "If we need to get into Petropavlovsk..."
"I will take care of everything," Luchenko said decisively. "Papers, passes, everything."
Steele nodded, "We will be in contact. I must verify everything and make sure it is all in order."
"Yes, yes, I understand. This red tape," Luchenko said bitterly. "We have that in Russia, only worse. I cannot make anyone of any importance see how perilous this has become because of this red tape."
They stayed and discussed the papers and recordings for several more hours, before Fiona escorted Luchenko out of the building, suitably mussed from an evening of supposed fun and frolic.
"Keep him in sight and protected," Steele said softly over the communicator to his agents. He contemplated the papers Luchenko left with a sad sigh.
"He isn't who you grew up with anymore, Steele," Fiona said gently, referring to Ryan Carmody. "He's Michael Kannin now."
Steele turned to smile at her, "You almost sound like Luke."
Fiona laughed softly, "Just not nearly as dangerous." She saw a flicker in his eyes. "What is it?"
"He doesn't scare you." It was a statement, but it was obvious that Steele wanted to know.
"I'm not afraid that he would hurt me, no," Fiona said thoughtfully. She looked at him and continued honestly, "But what he can do does scare me. It didn't him long to turn Bad Boy into a mass of screaming jelly. And it didn't look like he did very much either. But they tell me in the holding pen that they have to keep Bad Boy sedated, because he continues to scream whenever he regains consciousness."
"Why do you continue to call him Bad Boy? You have his name," Steele asked curiously.
Fiona hesitated, "So that I can distance myself from what was done to him, I guess."
Steele nodded in understanding, "Did we ever find out who dispatched him and the man at the antiques store?"
"Yes, Bad Boy told us. It was Spencer. Apparently Spencer had got the contact from Kannin. The man at the store is the owner. Kannin's an avid antiques collector who doesn't care about the provenance of the items he collects. But I'm not sure that we can use information from Bad Boy as evidence in a court of law." Fiona met Steele's eyes. Information obtained under duress was not admissible as evidence.
He sighed, "I know. Do we have the store owner's whereabouts? Perhaps we can get proof of that connection from him."
Fiona nodded, "I'm working on it."
"Keep me posted," he said softly. Then almost unwillingly, "We should get back and see what he's managed to find out from Biden."
"And I'll have to figure out how to get that look out of his eyes afterwards," Fiona murmured. She looked at Steele, "I'm sure you already know that he was planning to quit after all this?" At Steele's nod, she smiled faintly, "Good. Because after these last few days, I think I'm going to insist on it. I can't bear to see how much this part of the job takes its toll on him."
Neither can I. Steele couldn't think of anything to say to that and they left in silence.
--
"Biden says Leo Spencer is in hiding under his father's name, Spencer Lowell," Luke murmured when Steele settled in his office. He didn't meet Steele's eyes. "He had the responsibility of feeding the information to the gangs, guiding them to that gang war we were witness to. The gangs were supposed to take us by surprise and wipe us out."
"I see," Steele said faintly. He was worried about the flat tone in Luke's voice. And he'd never been in a situation where Luke refused to meet his eyes.
Luke continued like Steele never spoke, "Before we took Biden into custody, he provided the Chinese with a DDFS user ID, so that they could access NSA and other systems. He was also helping the Chinese government in working out a deal to release Wendy to them."
Steele tapped his lips thoughtfully, "So Wendy will be able to let us know what information she provides to the Chinese."
"Yes." Still in that flat tone, Luke went on, "Charlie finished what he had to do with the NSA dummy system. Colby and Sean left a while ago to get Wendy what she needs. She'll be calling her SOS number. They think she'll be released tomorrow."
"Alright," Steele paused, and when Luke said no more, he said gently, "Luke, go home. You should be resting that arm anyway." Then it took all of his willpower not to flinch when Luke met his eyes. "I'm sorry," he whispered. The self-loathing he saw in Luke's eyes almost brought him to tears.
Luke sighed, "Whatever it takes, right?"
"I'm beginning to wonder," Steele said softly. He hesitated, "Fiona's waiting for you. You should both go home." He held his breath, wondering if Luke would refuse to go with Fiona.
After a long pause, Luke said slowly, "Maybe Hannah could use some help sorting out the jewelry."
--
"They must have finished up with Wendy very quickly," Luke murmured when he and Fiona pulled up to the jewelry store. Both Colby's and Sean's cars were there. They got out of the car, and Luke smiled at Fiona when she slipped her hand in his. Gently, he pulled her against him, and rested his cheek against hers for a moment.
"What are you two doing here?" Sean said in astonishment when he came out of the store.
"Stopped by to see if Hannah could use any help sorting the jewelry out," Fiona answered easily.
"I'm sure she could," Sean laughed, "She's still giving Colby hell about it!" He studied them curiously, then said quietly. "Why don't I pick up some dinner and bring it back here. We can have a jewelry sorting dinner party."
"Not if you have plans for the evening, Sean," Luke smiled at him.
Sean shrugged, "Melanie's working an extra shift."
"No pizza," Fiona said firmly.
The sound of Sean's laughter drifted into the store as they entered. Colby smiled with relief when he saw them. "Oh, good! Reinforcements!" He winced when a distinct "Hmph!" came from behind the counter.
"I've been sorting jewelry for hours, in between trying to cater to customers," Hannah scowled at Colby.
Luke had to laugh. He wouldn't have thought she would even know how to scowl; she was always so sweet-natured. "Tell us what you need us to do," he said gently.
"All he-man here had to do was stack the trays. No. He just throws it all in the safe. I've been inventorying while I sorted. He's just lucky none of the more fragile stones were chipped," the scowl remained on Hannah's face, while Colby remained prudently silent.
Luke tugged on Fiona's arm to stop the delighted grin that was spreading across her face. He struggled to keep his own face straight.
Then Hannah finally looked up at him. The scowl went away, and a look of puzzled concern crossed her face. "Are you alright, Luke? Besides the arm, I mean."
Startled, he stumbled over his answer, "Ah, yes. Yes, I am." How did she know?
"Liar," Fiona murmured. She crossed over to Hannah and began to help her with what little was left to be sorted. Hannah must have worked hard to get them all mostly sorted already. "What about the loose stones?"
"Those were already in the safe, in the velvet bags I always store them in," Hannah replied absently. She was still looking at Luke.
"Thank God," Colby muttered under his breath. Studiously, he avoided the sharp look Hannah directed his way.
"I can't wait to see how you dig yourself out of this one," Fiona laughed at the black scowl Colby aimed at her.
"Luke," Hannah's voice had softened with concern, "Maybe you should just go home and rest. You look... I don't know, a little odd." She stepped over to him and hugged him, pressing a gentle kiss on his cheek. "I'm almost done here. Really."
He held her close for a minute, surprising her when she made to pull away from the brief hug she had intended. She frowned slightly, obviously puzzled, but she returned the hug and held him till he released her.
"Sean's bringing dinner," he said mildly. "I'd like to stay for that, if you don't mind."
"I don't mind at all. I just don't want Fiona to blame me if you keel over from that wound or something," Hannah told him.
"I promise I won't blame you," Fiona grinned at Hannah, happy that the flat look had completely disappeared from Luke's eyes. She knew Luke had already started to relax during the drive from the office, but it had taken Hannah's hug to make the flat look go away. She wondered if she should be upset by it or even jealous of it, then she decided not to let it matter. All that mattered was that Luke benefited from it.
"You're a brave soul, to hang around for what Sean considers dinner," Colby said dryly.
"I just want to make sure Hannah lets you live," Luke said with amusement, laughing when Colby winced again.
"Oh, he's going to be fine," Hannah smiled reluctantly, giving Colby a quick kiss on his lips when she passed him. "I know he was worried about me. He doesn't think straight when he's worried about me."
"I think you're going to live," Fiona told Colby. She burst into giggles at the look of relief on Colby's face after Hannah kissed him. She looked up at the sound of a car pulling into the parking lot. "There's Sean with dinner."
"God help me," Luke said in horror when Sean came in with the packages, "McDonalds."
--
"Alright, Wendy's loose," Sean told Steele the next morning. "She's going to provide the Chinese with whatever information you've told Charlie to put into the dummy system. She's also going to get us what information she can about their plans for the missiles."
Steele nodded, "Thank you. We just have to wait and see on that. Anything else from Don about Spencer's whereabouts?"
"Not yet. Colby and I are going to head over there, see where they are and what we can do to help."
"Alright." Steele paused and hesitated before he asked, "Did you see Luke last night?"
Sean's usual light demeanor dimmed a little. "Yes, I was at Hannah's store when he and Fiona got there. He looked a lot better when he and Fiona left though." He grinned suddenly, "I don't think he was too pleased with dinner."
Steele raised his eyebrows.
"I bought dinner from McDonalds."
Unable to control it, Steele burst into laughter. "You certainly do like taking your life in your hands."
Sean laughed, "He actually ate some of it. Well, it did look like he was forcing it down, but it was still gone."
Steele shook his head, still amused, as Sean left his office to meet up with Colby at the FBI.
--
"So we're looking for Spencer Lowell?" Don asked as Colby and Sean settled into the bullpen.
"That's what Biden told us," Colby replied.
Wonder how far Luke had to go to get that information? But Don didn't voice the question. He wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer. "Alright. Sean, you can take David's desk. He wants to come back but I want him to rest at least another day before I let him come back. You can pick up where he left off on Corker's papers. Colby, you can start searching for traces of Spencer Lowell."
"Oh joy," Sean muttered as he delved into a box of Corker's papers.
Colby grinned at the look on Sean's face. He spun happily into what used to be his cubicle and began his search. He chuckled when Megan walked by and snickered at Sean's apparent dismay.
"Wow," Sean mumbled as he leafed slowly through the papers.
"What?" Colby turned to look at him curiously.
"There's actually a lot of stuff about the Brestons and the Jamesons in here. And the Carmodys." Sean went silent again as he read the papers.
Colby shook his head with a smile and went back to looking for Spencer Lowell.
"Hey, Megan," Sean said a few hours later. Megan looked up at him and waited till he dragged his eyes away from the journal he was studying. He rolled his chair over to her cubicle. "What do you think of this as the triggering event for Spencer's narcissism?"
Megan put her glasses on and read the pages of the journal Sean held out to her. "It's possible," she said slowly.
"Alright, spare me the suspense," Don said in annoyance. "Spill it."
"Corker kept quite a detailed journal, especially in those days when he was just second in command. He was quite in awe of Spencer Lowell and apparently wanted to make sure he learned what he could from Lowell. And young Steve Lowell also worshipped the ground that his father walked on." Sean paused and riffled through the pages, stopping when he found the spot he was looking for. "Apparently, Breston and Jameson were suspicious of Lowell and had been quietly investigating the operation for quite a while. Corker and Lowell finally bought Carmody off. And we all know what happened when the police raided the drug operation. But what wasn't in the police files was that Spencer Lowell died in that raid. No one knew who he was; they thought he was just another worker. But according to this journal, Corker knew, and Steve Lowell knew, that it was Breston and Jameson who had shot Lowell. One bullet incapacitated him, and the other killed him. I think Steve Lowell never forgot it, and when young Daniel Breston and Luke Jameson discovered evidence that finally caused Tanya Carmody to kill her husband, Lowell turned his rage on them. He kept tabs on Ryan Carmody, tracking him till he became Senator Michael Kannin, and began to work in conjunction with him on this massive conspiracy."
"It actually makes sense," Megan said thoughtfully. "The rage just kept growing, especially when he couldn't do anything about it. Powerless to do anything about it. Slowly, he built up his network, and built up his power until he became White House Chief of Staff. You know that's sometimes dubbed the second-most powerful position in Washington? It must have been a heady time for Spencer, to have everyone at his beck and call, everything at his command."
"So Luke was right again. It did have to do with that crime in Duquesne." Colby turned to look at Megan.
"It would seem so."
"Is that a strong enough motive, Megan? Would it stand in court?" Don frowned at the journal that Sean handed him.
"I think there's enough in the journal so it could stand in court, if we could connect Steve Lowell to Leo Spencer," Megan told him. "There's a lot riding on Charlie's frequency modulation thingy."
Don grinned suddenly, "Don't let him hear you refer to his work that way."
"I wouldn't dare," Megan murmured, but her lips twitched in amusement.
"We just need to find Spencer," Sean turned to Colby. He laughed when Colby shrugged.
"I'm still striking out."
"Keep looking, he's got to be somewhere. And I have a feeling Biden wasn't have been lying when he told us the name Spencer would be using." Don left the rest unsaid, and everyone went back to what they were doing.
--
Several back breaking hours later, Colby left to meet Luke at Les Trois Marches, despite the fact that he hadn't got very far in finding Spencer Lowell. He had done some fancy talking earlier that day, and it was an amused Luke who handed Colby a package at the front door of the restaurant.
"One crème brulée as requested," Luke smiled at the obvious gratitude on Colby's face. "And Pierre is willing to teach you, if you can figure out a time that's good for both of you. You'll just have to learn to dodge the pots and pans he'll be tossing at you." He studied Colby for another minute and chuckled, "Is she still mad at you? I thought she was mostly over it by the time we left last night."
"Not quite over it," Colby said with a sigh.
Luke laughed, "I take it that means you didn't get any last night."
Colby scowled at him, "That's none of your business, Pops." He ignored Luke's laughter as he drove off to pick Hannah up at the store.
"Hannah," Colby murmured as he stepped into the store. He locked the door behind him.
She was just putting everything away into the safe for the day. She looked warily at him, "Are we running again?"
"No," Colby smiled, "Not this time."
"Oh, good," Hannah heaved a small sigh of relief, "I've just got everything back in order."
I had no idea she was so compulsive about keeping things in order, Colby thought in tender amusement. "I brought you a present."
"Really?" Hannah's eyes lit up. "What kind of a present?"
Colby laughed, "Just a little something." He handed her the package.
"Oh! Is it crème brulée?" Hannah opened it up excitedly. She laughed as she looked at him. "That's to sweeten me up, isn't it?" Her expression softened, "I've been awfully mean to you, and you were just protecting me."
"Well, not mean exactly," Colby murmured, but he didn't give her a chance to say any more. A few minutes later, he finally let her come up for air.
She burst into giggles when he said, "Do you have a bed back there?"
Still giggling, she looped her arms around him, crème brulée forgotten. "I don't think we'll need one."
--
A/N: Nothing to say:-)