A bit sooner than promised, but I was bored, so here is the next chapter. Enjoy!
Jess knocked lightly on his office door, entering when he answered. "Lunch?" She asked, holding up a bag. "I had Abby pick us up something."
"Perfect," he said. "I'm starved."
Jess set the bag on his desk and dropped into the seat across from him. He moved files out of the way while she pulled out the containers and arranged everything between them. She smiled as she thought about how quickly this had become another ritual of theirs.
They chatted about work as they ate, finished up the meal quickly. Jess reached back for the bag, pulling out the last container. Becker laughed as she opened it, revealing a chocolate cake. "You going to share that?"
"Nope," she answered, pulling the container towards her. She took a bite, humming in contentment as she did.
Becker stood, walking slowly around the desk. Jess looked up at him, her eyes widening. She tried to stand, but was too slow. Becker leaned over her, placing a hand on each side of the chair, trapping her. He bent down, kissing her, his tongue darting out to taste the chocolate on her lips. He pulled away after a few seconds, grinning. "Delicious," he said, licking his lips as he pulled away. He turned suddenly, grabbing the cake and walking back around the desk. He dropped into his chair, propping his feet on his desk, and took a large bite.
"Hey! That's mine!" Jess pouted.
"Not anymore," Becker said, taking another bite.
Jess stood up, stretching over the desk to try and reach it, but Becker simply slid his chair back. Jess glared at him, making him laugh. He met her gaze, before taking another bite and then setting the plate down. She looked down at the cake, now half gone, then turned her glare back to him. "That was mean, Becker," she said, walking over to him. She mimicked his earlier pose, putting her hands on either side of him. A second later she let out a surprised squeal as he grabbed her legs, lifting her to sit on his lap.
Becker pulled her head down, letting his lips brush against hers softly. She whimpered, enjoying the taste of chocolate and Becker, and brought her hands up to twist in his hair. They broke apart, gasping for air. "I don't know why you have to do that every time," he teased.
"You know better than to come between me and chocolate," she answered.
"So you love chocolate more than me?"
Jess pretended to think, so Becker began tickling her until she squirmed above him. "Becker!" she gasped between giggles. He finally stopped, letting her catch her breath. She reluctantly stepped back, returning to her own chair and straightening her clothes. She glanced at her watch, sighing softly. "Guess I better get back to the hub," she said. "Dinner tonight?"
Becker nodded. "Chinese? My place?"
"Sounds good. I'll pick something up on the way over." Jess walked back over and gave him a quick kiss before leaving.
The alarms blasted throughout the ARC, interrupting the program updates Jess was working on. She slid her chair across the floor, stopping in front of her keyboard, and pulled up the detector information.
"What have we got, Jess?" Becker asked, appearing behind her, followed by the rest of his team.
"It's down by the docks, it looks like some sort of factory," she replied, still typing. "I've got a camera feed. There it is. It looks like a construction site. I'm sending directions to your satnav now."
"Any incursions yet?" Matt questioned.
"Not that I can see." She watched everyone leave, calling out for them to be safe before the elevator doors closed.
As she watched the feeds, she saw the anomaly surging. "Something's coming through," she warned over the earpiece.
"What is it?" Connor asked.
"Hard to tell. It looks like a dog, or hyena maybe.
"Sounds like an Aelurodon," Connor said.
"Keep an eye on it for us, Jess. We're almost there," Matt said.
They got to the site a few minutes later, everyone carefully approaching the building. Jess led them to the door and hacked security to get them inside. They moved slowly around the large room, a building in the middle of construction. There were supplies and boxes stacked across the floor, the anomaly floating in the air in one corner.
"Get it locked," Matt ordered, glancing to Connor and Abby. "We'll find the creature." He and Emily joined Becker in searching the room for the incursion.
Connor was just about to sit down on a crate to set up the locking device when Abby grabbed his arm. He gave her a confused glance so she pointed to the label on the box. Danger: Explosives
"Thanks, Abby," he said, moving several feet from the box before he began setting up. A minute later he activated the device, and the anomaly shrunk to a hardened ball of light.
"Any sign of the creature, Jess?" Matt called as they worked.
"Sorry, there are only a couple cameras set up. It might have gone upstairs."
Becker nodded, walking towards the staircase. Matt and Emily were across the room, and began moving that way. As Becker disappeared up the stairs, everyone heard a loud growl, followed by EMD blasts. They all took off running for the stairs, only to freeze as the creature tumbled down, landing on the floor. It skidded to a stop at their feet as Becker ran back down the stairs, weapon raised. "Found it," he said with a small grin.
"Let's get it back through the anomaly," Abby said.
Everyone moved slowly towards the creature, watching it carefully. Connor went to the anomaly and opened up as they lifted the beast and began carrying it forward. Just before they reached the ball of light, it flickered again, and another creature leapt through, knocking Connor to the ground. They dropped the other creature, abandoning it to help Connor. Abby blasted the beast off him before leaning over to check him over.
"I'm alright," he said, standing slowly. "Just a scratch," he said as he glanced to his bleeding arm.
"Abby, go help him clean up that cut, we'll get the creatures through," Matt ordered. They both nodded and left the room. "Alright, let's get these things home."
The three of them turned to the closest creature, and heaved it back through the anomaly. As they turned back to the first one, they were surprised to see it gone. "Damn it," Becker said, raising his weapon again.
They spread out, searching for the creature. A second later it appeared, leaping onto some boxes near the anomaly, and focusing its attention on Becker. Emily and Matt circled around it while he distracted it. As it jumped for him, Becker fired, knocking it back into the crates at the same time that Matt and Emily fired. An instant later, there was a loud explosion, throwing them all off their feet.
Sorry for the cliffhanger! Next chapter up soon. Hope you liked it :)
