She sighed, glancing around the concrete and iron building she was in, waiting for Ian again.
She didn't look up when he sat across from her expectantly.
"Plan in action?" He asked, not bothering with greetings. She nodded, deep in thought, a guilty look on her face. "You meet the little runt, yet?"
She frowned. "He's not a 'little runt', Ian. And yeah, I met him."
"You flattered him, yeah? I told you: the quickest way into his pants is stroking his—"
"You ARE about to say 'EGO' yeah?" She stopped him, a disgusted look on her face. "I'm not going to get 'in his pants', I'm just getting him to like me enough to do me a favor…"
Ian shot her a 'you-know-what-you-just-said-right?' look and she scowled at him.
"You're a pig. I don't know why Dani ever cared so much about you."
He grimaced, covering up his hurt look quickly, but not quickly enough for Alyssa not to see. "Sorry," she murmured.
He shrugged it off pretending not to care about the young girl's older sister. In all honesty, he was worried sick. Alyssa hadn't disclosed much information about her sister's captors or the situation at hand, and Ian doubted whether she knew enough, herself, to be able to disclose anything at all.
"The point is, he won't help unless you have him wrapped around your finger," Ian said, slouching in his chair, not making direct eye-contact. "At least tease him with the idea of letting him get in your pants-"
"Ian Howe," she growled, her eyes narrowed and teeth clenched.
"I know this kid," he continued, as if she hadn't said anything, "I worked with him for two years before the 'Charlotte mishap'…"
"And by mishap you mean when you found out there was an invisible map on the Declaration of Independence and when your two honest and well-meaning colleagues said they wouldn't help you steal it, you blew up the two-hundred-something year old ship leaving them for dead and went off to steal it anyway?" she asked, glaring at him.
He faltered. "Poole's been talking about our adventure?" he asked, eyebrow quirked.
"Hasn't stopped. I told him to tell me everything, and he's done just that. He likes to talk-"
Ian scoffed. "'Likes' is an understatement."
She ignored him and continued, "-especially when he thinks I'm his biggest fan and wants to hear my ideas on Area 51 and the Bermuda Triangle…" she smiled a bit, thinking of how cute he was, "In fact, he asked me if I've ever been to Bermuda, and offered to take me there if we wanted to explore the myth 'that's also true', too…" she grinned and Ian rolled his eyes.
"You like him, don't you? Jeez, Lyss, you can't get attached to him. This mission may end up getting him killed and or thrown in prison, so don't fall for him. You remember the aim of the game is to get him to break me out, right? To save your sister from her kidnappers, yeah? What name did you tell him anyway?"
She looked like she was about to slap him, but restrained herself. "He's nice, I don't like him, and yes, I remember what I'm doing here and why I'm doing it. I'm Jacqueline Vance… and he's not going to get killed or thrown into prison, so shut up," she glared at him as he chuckled.
"You do like him. Go figure, the loser goes for the geek. You have to do whatever it takes, even if that's sleeping with the little punk."
This time, she did slap him, and a guard was over in twenty seconds flat, restraining her and reminding them both, "No touching." Ian just laughed more, his cheek stinging only slightly. She was just like Dani.
"Best control that temper of yours and run off to your new little boyfriend," he said, ignoring the guard who looked at them both warily. She clenched her fist but nodded. "See you around, Howe," she nodded, shooting him another look.
"Bye, Cam," he nodded, watching with a smug smirk as she left. "So much like Dani…" he whispered, watching as the guard escorted her out. He remembered the older girl with a pang of guilt. He was the one who got her into so much trouble… he never meant to hurt her, and now he couldn't even protect her… he missed her so much. He winced. "Prison," he reminded himself. 'Can't care when you're in prison… you'll get yourself killed in the end,' he finished the thought silently, and stood to head back to his cell.
The phone rang and he stumbled hastily to grab the portable off its charger. "Hello?" he answered, turning back to the stove. The pasta was bubbling over. "Aw, shit," he muttered, dropping the phone
and going to turn down the heat, grabbing the pan off the burner with a pot holder. "Riley? Riley? Are you there? You okay?" he heard a miniature voice squeaking from the phone a few feet away. He winced, and picked up the phone again. "Yeah, yeah, I'm here, Ben, what's up?"
His friend sounded relieved, "Abigail and I were wondering if you want to come over for dinner," Ben Gates told his friends, glancing at his girlfriend who sat in their study, reading an enormous volume from his personal collection. He stifled a grin and turned his attention back to his friend who has already started to reply.
Riley sighed, and said, "Thanks but no. I'm making Jackie dinner. She's coming over in a few and I'll be MIA for a while," he smirked smugly to himself and could practically hear Ben rolling his eyes. "Missing in action? I assume by action you mean the emergency room waiting for her to recover from your latest food poisoning attempt? Or is she going to assume it's deliver, and you'll shrug it off, mumbling something about DiGiorno?" Abigail looked up from the book, tossing Ben a confused look, wondering what in the world the two were talking about. Ben shrugged it off and turned his attention back to the phone call.
Riley was scowling now, cradling the phone on his shoulder while stirring the sauce into the pasta. "Ah-ha-ha-ha, you should consider comedy as your new career. I bet you could make crowds laugh until they cry with that one, and then cry until they bleed internally when you turn your stand-up into a history lecture," Riley bit sarcastically.
Ben chuckled at his friend. "I guess you're not coming, then?"
Riley dropped his spoon into the pasta, reaching into the burning noodles to pick it up quickly. "No, I'm not coming. Thanks though. I'll take a rain-check…"
"If we offer one," Ben reminded, smirking. "Kidding. You know you're welcome here anytime. You been working on those coordinates?"
Riley heaved a sigh. "No, Ben. I've been a bit busy lately," he said, sounding apologetic. In all honesty, he didn't really want to find out what the coordinates meant. He was all for a new treasure hunt, but it seems whenever he hung out with his friends, that's all they talked about, and he was getting tired of it. He wouldn't mind another adventure; he was all for adventure and the thrill of the hunt. Just… not when the fellow "treasure protectors" only cared about their goal. He was feeling third-wheel-ish, and now that he found Jacqueline, or, rather, she found him, he felt like he fit in somewhere. He was able to talk about anything and everything and nothing at all. He felt comfortable, and intelligent, and… cool around her. She was awesome. He grinned a little, but his smile faded as his friend's disappointed tone piped up, "Oh. Sure, yeah. Okay. Well, I'll let you attempt to get some… er… love," Ben said, careful to avoid Abigail's glare as she heard that portion of the conversation. "Tell Riley I said, bye," she said, returning to her book.
Riley scowled at Ben's comment. "Tell Abs bye for me," he muttered, and Ben replied with a "She says bye, too. Good luck, Riley. Don't break a shoelace," he grinned as he heard his younger friend growl
slightly and hang up. Ben hung up the phone and turned to Abigail. "Looks like it'll just be you and I tonight…"
She scoffed, and stood, taking her book with her, "Yeah, and good luck getting some love tonight," she repeated, quirking an eyebrow and giving him a pointed look that made him smile sheepishly.
Riley hung the phone up as the buzzer rang. He didn't even bother hiding the wide grin that spread across his face as he rushed to the door. "Come on up," he called into the intercom.
When she had arrived at his door, he opened it up wide, inviting her in.
"Riley… hey," she smiled hesitantly, almost cautious. "We… can we talk?" she asked nervously.
His smile faltered. How many times had he heard that? He swallowed a bit, now completely embarrassed for making a whole dinner –her favorite- and wishing he hadn't turned down Ben's offer.
"It's cool… no problem. Just friends, got it," he said, shrugging it off, frowning but hiding his disappointment. He looked away, wincing as he spotted the candles he'd set out on the table set for two. He felt like a moron, the wine ready to be poured and desert sitting ready in the freezer.
She looked surprised at his words and looked around them at everything he'd prepared, seeing the slight color in his cheeks as he stared intently down at his shoelaces.
"That's… not what I was going to say…" she started softly, "But if that's what you want…I understand," she sounded almost hurt, forming the words slowly and hesitantly.
He looked up, carefully, shocked. "Uh… if that's not what you wanted to talk about… what is it?"
She bit her lip. 'Damn, I have to get back his trust…' she thought. "I'm… starving. Haven't eaten all day, and what you're making smells fantastic," she leaned up to kiss him on the cheek and he smiled.
"Well then, milady, come hither and I shall wait on thee," he gestured behind him, and took her jacket, hanging it on the hook next to the door as he allowed her to step into the apartment and closed the door behind her.
She sat down in the chair that he pulled out for her at the kitchen table and he poured her a glass of wine. "I hope you like fettuccini alfredo, chicken parmesan, and cheesy, garlic bread," he grinned, knowing full well that she loved each of the food items.
She looked up at him, flattered. "You're amazing," she said, as if she was just realizing this.
He gave a nonchalant shrug, "I do what I can…"
He fixed her a plate and placed it in front of her before taking some for himself and sitting down across her. It was very rare that he ever ate a home-made meal unless he went over to eat with Ben and Abigail, who made it a habit to cook together at least once a week as a "cute-couple quirk". This was a really special occasion, for him. He'd been 'dating' Jackie for a few weeks, and he really cared about her.
She was already engrossed in her food, closing her eyes in delight as she relished in the taste of the pasta. "This is amazing," she repeated, eyes still closed, enjoying the flavor.
He grinned, watching her eat. "I try," he joked, breaking off a piece of bread and chewing it as he watched her eat. She was right; the food was pretty darn good. He wasn't a great chef, and he would never claim to be, but he'd been planning this and practicing all week.
She felt so guilty… He was so awesome, so wonderful... and what she knew she was going to do was making her sick. She was using him. To break out someone who had tried to kill him on various occasions, no less! In lieu of this, she reminded herself that it was all to save Dani. She'd do anything to save Dani, and she was sure that Riley would help of his own free will if he knew how much danger her sister was in… or how much danger she could be in.
As she ate, making small animalistic noises in appreciation of the food that Riley thought was unbelievably adorable, she continued her silent musings.
'Ian is so wrong about him… He's not an annoying twerp, he's an amazing, smart, sweet, attractive…. Shit. I'm falling for him. No. Ian can't be right. I won't give him the satisfaction, and I won't hurt Riley more than I already have to…' she cringed at the thought that she would hurt him either way but luckily, her expression escaped her date's notice as he took a sip of wine from his glass.
They ate mostly in silence; she, concentrating, or attempting to concentrate, solely on the food and he occupied with watching her contentedly with a smile on his face, so glad that she was enjoying the food he made for her.
After dinner, he presented her with a simple vanilla ice-cream sundae with hot fudge, whip cream, Oreo crumbs, and a cherry- the desert she'd ordered on several of the dates they'd went out on. It was large enough for them to split, and he held two spoons.
She smiled, loving how he was so sweet to her.
He took this opportunity to get in close to her, feeding her the ice cream, and watching the ecstasy that showed so clearly on her face with each bite. When her eyes were closed, enjoying the sensation of the cold ice cream with the hot fudge, and the taste of the sundae as a whole, he leaned in and brushed his lips softly against hers. She gasped only slightly in surprise, her eyes fluttering open, and he took advantage of the slight shock, deepening the kiss and tasting the vanilla and chocolate on her lips and tongue. She let her eyes close and kissed him back, their tongues battling as they left the ice cream, forgotten, on the table and stumbled to the couch, where they made themselves more comfortable.
After a few minutes, he was on top of her, kissing her neck softly and running his hands through her blonde hair… it felt unusual, but he figured it was just the shampoo she used. That's when she was jerked back into reality and put on a hand on his chest, signaling him to stop. He pulled away, a little confused. He contained his groan, and instead asked her, "You okay, Jackie?"
She couldn't look him in the eyes. He was so amazing… She took a deep breath and replied, "I'm sorry. I just can't do this…"
"No, no, I'm sorry. We don't have to… uh… I'm taking this too far, too fast, I'm sorry-" He felt horrible. He'd ruined the perfect night by trying to push himself on her, and she wasn't ready for it yet.
"No, no," she said quickly, and his eyes lit up as his head snapped up to meet her gaze, "I mean yes, but, no," she continued to stutter, and he looked at her confused beyond belief.
"I want to," she said quietly, blushing, and biting her lip, and he closed his eyes in relief and restraint. "You are going a little fast… but well… I just can't. I need to talk to you." She tried to move away and he let her, looking at her expectantly.
"I'm sorry. I really am," she said nervously, pulling at her sleeves and avoiding his gaze. "Please don't hate me," she took a deep breath, not wanting him to be mad, but knowing she had to tell him, soon, or Dani's life would be in even more danger. She took another deep breath, not looking into his eyes, but he cupped her face in his hands and lifted her chin up, kissing her softly. "I could never hate you, Jackie," he said quietly.
She let out a cross between a sob and a protest to his statement.
"My name's not Jackie," she said quickly, wanting to hit herself for such an idiotic way of spilling it. 'Real smooth, Alyssa,' she thought, wincing.
He looked confused. "That's what his is about? I'm sorry, I can go back to calling you Jacqueline, if you want. I just figured Jackie was shorter, and cute," he smiled a bit at her but she cringed and shook her head. "I won't call you Jackie if you don't want," he said quickly, pulling his hands away from her face, and leaning back into the couch. "I'm sorry," he tried to apologize but she shook her head again.
"No, I'm sorry. I wouldn't mind the nickname Jackie, least of all you calling me Jackie... if Jacqueline were my name." She shut her eyes tight, listening for his reaction.
He stared at her, mostly baffled, slightly scared and upset. "What?"
"My name's Alyssa Camerino. People call me Cam or Lyssa for short…" she said, opening her eyes to gauge his reaction. His expression hadn't moved past "shocked" yet.
"I... don't understand."
"I need your help, Riley. I need your help so badly, so I had to lie to gain your trust," she started explaining and Riley, who was now standing, looking at her in shocked horror commented dryly, "Oh, that makes perfect sense. You've got as much people skills as freakin' Ian Howe—" she winced, and that didn't escape his notice.
"Riley, you don't understand," she protested weakly.
"Don't understand that you lied? That you're just using me? Okay, what'd you do? Got involved in some Enron-scale scam and don't want the feds to catch you? Yeah, sure I'll hack into government files to get you off the hook if you sleep with me. Yeah I'm that desperate." His voice was cold and sarcastic and she couldn't look at him. She knew he'd be mad. She just needed to explain.
"No, I haven't done anything illegal yet-" she started, realizing she allowed the word "yet" to slip in at the end of the sentence.
"Yet? Yet? Oh man, you got to be kidding me. That's what you're recruiting me for?" he asked, disgusted, and started pacing.
"Riley, please, just let me explain!"
He scoffed, not looking at her, spotting the remains of dinner and dessert. Of course she wouldn't like him. Of course she was completely fake. How could he have been so stupid?
"Riley, my sister Danielle has been kidnapped, and they're going to kill her and me if they don't do what they say," she managed to cry out, her head in her hands and her eyes barely restraining the impending tears.
This made him stop in his tracks and turn to look at her. "Wh….what?" he asked, shocked.
"They have my older sister, Danielle, and if I don't do what they say, they'll kill us both," she repeated, not bothering to hold back her tears. He hesitated, but sat next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder as she sobbed into her hands.
"Who has her? We can call the FBI," he said gently but he gasped, jerking away. "No! You can't! They'll kill her!" she cried out, shocked. He swallowed, not knowing what to do or say.
"Take a deep breath. Tell me what's going on. I deserve that much," he said quietly, his tone not cold, but sad.
She bit her lip and wiped her face (which really did no good because she continued crying anyway), and nodded.
"My sister fell in love with a jackass criminal, who hurt her, not before he introduced her to a group of maniacs. Those maniacs now have her, and have contacted me, telling me that they'll kill her if I don't do some things for them. They need me to break into a maximum-security federal building and steal something for them, and use that for the next part of their plan. They've only told me that much. They didn't tell me why I need what I'm stealing, or how to do it. Just to do it before time runs out or she'll be de…" she sobbed and choked out, "dead."
He sat in shocked silence as she continued weeping next to him. "And if you don't?"
"They'll kill us both, Dani and me," she sobbed.
He took in a shaky breath. "How'd you know to ask me?" he asked, bewildered.
"A little birdie told me you were an expert at computers and you admitted that you'd used your skills to break into the National Archives building…" she said trying to wipe her face with her sleeve. It sounded to her as if he'd been considering helping.
She was afraid that he'd say no, whether or not she and her sister her in peril, if he knew what – or, rather, who- they were stealing. The same little birdie that told her about him. 'Jail bird,' she thought to herself, angrily, as another sob escaped her lips and she buried her face in his shoulder.
For a moment he just sat there, thinking. He didn't know what they were stealing, or where they were breaking into. But this girl… this Jackie or Lyssa, or whoever she was… this was a treasure that needed protecting. And that's what he was. A Treasure Protector. If he could just ask Ben and Abigail for help, and somehow alert Sadusky and his team…
"Alright. I'll help," he said quietly, and she pulled away, sucking in a deep breath. She looked at him and saw the sincere concern in his eyes. She threw her arms around him in a tight hug, and he hugged her back.
"So… what are we stealing?" he asked, running a hand through her blonde hair.
She pulled away, eyes down.
"That's the other thing I needed to tell you about," she said quietly, pulling her hair gently to reveal that the blonde hair was really a wig, and she untied her medium-length straight black hair.
"It's more of a 'who'…" she said wiping her face again, her wet eyes sore already from crying.
She looked up, wincing, as she saw his bright blue eyes widen.
A/N: Okay, so kindof a long chapter. Hope you liked it!
the next update may come in a week or so. I spent the last few hours doing this instead of homework, which really isn't a smart idea since i have a lot due monday and a really busy day tomorrow. heh, my bad. So, there was some Ian, a lotta Riley, and a little bit of Ben and Abigail, too! Hope you guys like it. :
Thanksso much for the reviews!
Broadwaylover07: I hope i spaced it enough for it to be legible. sorry about that:x Thank you so much! Hope you enjoyed the update.
BandGeek58407: Hehe, i'm quite interested in how they spring Howe, too. I haven't quite figured the logistics of it yet. Hehe. I'll definately check out your stories! I like the concept a lot. :DYeah,I was debating how to introduce theOC to Riley,and i thought it'd be really coolif she was'Jacqueline', and that little scene just popped into my head.It's alittle cheesy, but i thought it was kinda cute. Thankies for reading, and hope you like the update!
Wizard-in-Disguise:lmao, don't give up hope, just yet. Ian has a lil' love, too. It's primarily aRiley-OC fic, but Ian and Daniwere in itembefore this story, and thewhole point of freeing him from jail is to free her from the threat of death, and ithink, like Emily and Patrick with their treasure hunting, there'll be a lot of adreneline andmaybe some tequila. lmao. Thanks for the read,the review, and the compliment. Staytuned, there'll be more Ian. Hope you like!
Blue-Starlight92: Thanks so much! I don't even knowhow i came up with the idea.Usually plot ideas come and go for me, tooquickly that i can't even get themdown on paper before i come up with something equally as fleeting.This one stuck, though, which i think is pretty cool. Hope you like the update. Thanks for reading and reviewing: