Icarus and Daedalus
Chapter 2
***Okay, folks. Here's the next instalment of my story. If you've made it to this chapter, hopefully you've decided that my work is worth reading, for which I am most grateful. I wanted to get this to you much sooner, but December was all kinds of fucked up. Having to bury both of your grandmothers in the same month tends to put more pressing things than fanfiction on your mind. That being said, my writer's block has finally lifted, and the next chapter awaits. To all of the reviewers who despised my formatting in the previous chapter, I have heard your concerns. Hopefully you will find this one easier to read. If not, please tell me, as I'm always trying to improve what I publish here. And now, read on, dear friends.
UPDATE: This has been up for awhile now. If people actually are reading this, please review. If I get no feedback, I'm going to assume that nobody is interested in this story and I'll stop writing new chapters.***
He dreamt of Faridah Malik. He dreamt of their bodies moving as one. Connected. The air filled with heavy breathing and cries of ecstasy. His electronic sensory receptors telling him everything about her body. Her temperature. Her scent. The smoothness of her skin, flawless, save for a scar below her armpit just behind her left breast, courtesy of a Belltower rifleman in Lower Hengsha. The pitch of her voice when she cried his name: something close to a high C. He dreamt of the way she had moved; locking her legs around his waist, arching her back upward from the bed as he moved. He dreamt of their final exertion and subsequent collapse into an exhausted heap, of Malik wrapping his arms around her and moving close to him as she fell asleep, nestling herself in a cocoon of carbon, steel, and flesh.
He awoke with a contented smile on his face. Eyes still closed, he reached over with his augmented arm, expecting it to drape across Faridah's slender frame. Instead, it brushed through empty space. Confused, he opened his eyes, wondering if perhaps it had been just a dream. He found the note on her pillow. The message was short, and written in her familiar handwriting: neat and even, not unlike the lettering stenciled on the sides of supply crates.
Spy Boy,
Went to the VTOL to make sure everything's good for the flight to Detroit. Meet me at the helipad. If I'm not there, then meet me at the café across from the pub that we were in last night.
-Fly Girl
Below the writing, she had drawn a surprisingly detailed set of lips. Adam smiled. Since she never wore makeup, it was her version of kissing the note with freshly applied lipstick. Adam dressed, went downstairs, and exited the hotel. He found Faridah at the helipad sealing the VTOL and finishing her external inspection. "Hey there," she greeted. "I think this bird did just fine in the storm last night. Feel like grabbing some breakfast before we head home?" "Of course," Adam replied. They embraced casually, but as Adam leaned down to kiss her on the cheek, she turned suddenly away and began walking down the stairs.
They ate breakfast in more or less an awkward silence. They were famished, and the food was excellent. Eggs Benedict with whitefish, caught fresh from Lake Superior before sunrise that morning. An odd-sounding combination to be sure, but quite good. Faridah wasn't paying much attention to the food. She felt bad about pulling away from Adam back at the helipad, and she was pretty sure that he had noticed. Still, they couldn't very well start up some romance; they worked together. Anyway, Adam probably didn't have the greatest impression of her right now. She felt stupid about how she had conducted herself the night before. Stupid, and slightly ashamed. Here she was, a 26 year-old woman, and she had acted like a damn hormone-crazed freshman girl. She had jumped her best friend in a hotel room for God's sake. Her actions must have seemed both desperate and rather slutty. She had hoped that they might somehow fall for each other one day, but now it seemed rather unlikely. Spur of the moment sex between two friends usually killed off any chance of romance, at least in her experience. She also feared that their friendship and working relationship would be compromised. As the weight of all of these thoughts hit her, she stood up suddenly, choking back a small sob. She didn't want Adam to see her like this. Adam looked at her with a puzzled expression, and she mumbled something about getting the VTOL started up before quickly walking out of the restaurant and into the light rain that had started outside.
Adam paid for the breakfast and started walking towards the helipad. He had become quite skilled at reading people during his career as a detective, so he didn't need his CASIE aug to tell him what was wrong with Faridah. The fact was, she was wrong. Adam didn't think any less of Faridah. He realized that they couldn't start a romantic relationship, but he saw no reason that their professional relationship or their friendship needed to suffer. He walked into the VTOL and saw Faridah sitting in the pilot's chair, crying. "Faridah, I think we should go ahead and talk about last night and just get it out of the way," he said, placing his hands on her shoulders. "I understand that you're upset and that you're afraid for our friendship. The truth is, I don't think any less of you because of what happened." Faridah turned to look at him, a small smile beginning to appear on her face. "So, we're okay?" she asked. "Yes," replied Adam. "We're fine. I value you as a dear friend of mine, Faridah. I don't want that to change. That being said, last night probably shouldn't happen again. We do work together, and if things get complicated between us, given the nature of our work, it could put both of us at risk." Faridah agreed with him. "You're right," she said. "That was just two people blowing off steam. I hadn't planned to make a habit of it. Now strap in, Spy Boy. David's going to be expecting us." Faridah kissed Adam on the cheek before turning around and starting up the VTOL. Expertly manipulating the controls, Faridah lifted off of the helipad and soared into the gray, cloudy sky.
Faridah landed the VTOL at the Sarif Industries helipad, and the two agents stepped out and began walking towards the building. As soon as they set foot inside the building, Sarif's voice shouted loudly in Adam's Infolink. "Jensen!" he yelled. "What the hell were you thinking last night? Get your asses in my office, now!"
No matter how loud someone screamed over an Infolink, the sound could not be heard by anyone other than the person with the augmentation, however, the sheer volume of the voice inside his ear caused Adam to wince visibly, prompting Faridah to ask him what was wrong. "Sarif's pissed," he replied simply. "Shit," Faridah muttered.
Sarif rounded on the two agents as soon as they stepped over the threshold of his office. "As you're both aware, I can access Adam's augmented eyes and his Infolink to get a real-time feed of what he's doing in the field. Which means I saw everything that happened last night. Start talking."
"About the hacker?" asked Jensen. Sarif was slightly confused for a moment. "What the…? Yes, of course about the hacker! Jesus, Adam, what else would I be asking about?"
Adam related the previous night's events in detail, explaining the firefight, and explaining that the last thug had slipped past them as they went out to confirm that all threats were neutralized. Adam was beginning to feel frustrated with Sarif. It was one thing for Sarif to be upset with Adam and Faridah's "poor performance," but Sarif hadn't been there getting shot at. Jensen and Malik had been significantly outmanned and outgunned, yet they had still managed to neutralize all threats and come out without a single injury to either of them. Were Adam in Sarif's position, he would be commending the field agents for coming out of the situation so well.
Sarif finished his rant by asking "Christ, what do I pay you two for?" Adam could bite his tongue no more, and he responded with barely concealed anger, "All due respect, boss, but you weren't there last night. We went in practically unarmed to a situation that was supposed to be clear of any threats, based on the intel that you gave us. If you have a problem with our performance in the field, then maybe you can pick up a weapon and come with us next time. Otherwise, get off my ass!"
After a few seconds of the two alpha males glaring at each other, Sarif finally calmed down. "Alright, Adam," he said. "I apologize. You're right. You got blindsided, but you both made it out safe and sound. That's what's important."
Adam apologized as well. "I'm sorry too, boss. Look, just get a fix on this hacker, we'll go in heavy, and we'll have him back here in no time."
"That's the problem," Sarif replied. "He's in the wind. I've got Pritchard pulling out all the stops to find him again, but it's going to take some time. Look, you two have had quite the adventure, and there's nothing pressing to be done right now. Go home and relax for a bit. When something comes up, I'll call you."
Faridah and Adam thanked Sarif and began walking out of the office. Sarif called out as they left, "Oh, Adam. Somebody came by the office looking for you. Sounded like a gig. It was some lady looking for a PI. I left you the details in an email on your computer in your apartment." "Thanks," Adam responded as he walked out the door. "I'll look at it when I get home."
As Adam and Faridah walked to the penthouse elevator, Faridah made one of her trademark sarcastic quips to Adam. "Always nice to get a warm welcome, huh?" "Oh, I don't know," replied Adam. "I wasn't overcome by the urge to kick David in the balls, so I'd say it went reasonably well in there."
The man sat in his dimly lit office, reclining in a large wing-backed leather chair, and smoking a large calabash pipe. It was a strangely furnished office, to be sure. The desk was occupied by a state-of-the-art personal computer, and one wall was covered by a high resolution screen used for video calls. Simultaneously occupying the room in stark contrast to the high-tech equipment were several antiques, all of which were older than the man sitting at the desk. The antiques consisted of very old paintings, sculptures, books, two chairs and a large rug, intricately woven by hand and easily the oldest thing in the room.
All of the antiques were adorned with various symbols and images. None of these would be understood by the average person, though a few would be recognized by anyone who had examined a one-dollar bill. If someone had looked at the man sitting in the office, they would never have guessed what he actually did, but they likely would have guessed that he was an extremely powerful man. And they would have been correct. He was arguably the most powerful man in the world, though only a handful of people in the world even knew of his existence.
Right on time, a call came into the office. The man sitting at the desk answered the call and turned to face his video screen. The caller was a younger man, an associate of the man at the desk. It was their custom to black out their images during video calls, appearing only as silhouettes, but each man instantly recognized the other's voice. They had worked together for years, and currently, they had much to discuss.
After the greetings and formalities, the younger man spoke first. "It gives me no pleasure to inform you that our friend's plan was a disaster, as I predicted."
The older man snorted. "You predicted?" he asked with a slightly mocking tone. "I knew that it would fail long before you did. That's what happens when you send boys to do a man's job."
"Then why didn't you intervene?" the younger man inquired.
"Because now," replied the older one, "he might listen to me. Especially after the 'discussion' I'm going to be having with him very soon."
"Be careful, my friend," cautioned the man on the other end of the video feed. "You know what our friend's sentiments are towards us right now. Push him too hard, and he's liable to make good on his threat."
The older man sighed with the air of a man who was accepting his defeat in a battle. "I'm afraid nothing will stop that, my friend. We can appease him all we like to entice him to stay with us, but I believe that we are only delaying the inevitable."
"I'm starting to fear that you're right," replied the other man. "In that case, why not sever all ties now? We can get rid of him and get him out of the loop while we deal with the business that he was supposed to take care of."
The old man chuckled. "You still have much to learn, my young padawan," he said, referencing a decades-old science fiction film. "He will never be truly out of the loop. Even when he is gone, he will have eyes and ears among us. But once he's gone, it will be much harder for us to be in the loop about his activities. The task that I gave him still needs to be done, and until it is, I want him where I can keep an eye on him."
The young man couldn't help but question the older man's judgment. "I say this with all due respect, but is this even a problem worth worrying about? It's one man that we're talking about, correct?"
"That's precisely what Hugh Darrow thought, my friend," the old man replied. "Look what happened to him."
"I understand." The younger man paused for a moment. "I read the information that you sent me. Am I understanding this correctly? You want me to assume the responsibility for this task?"
"You are to assume leadership," replied the old man. "Our friend will now answer to you in this matter. And before you voice concern, I will make certain that he will cooperate with you."
"Understood," was the young man's reply. "Until later. Farewell, my friend."
"Farewell."
The older man terminated the video link and sat for a minute in his chair, pondering the situation at hand. These were indeed turbulent times. One way or another, things would soon change. For better or for worse was anyone's guess. The only certainty was that once changed, they would never be the same again. His secretary chimed in on the intercom built into his desk.
"Mr. Page is here to see you, sir."
He squared his shoulders, preparing for the heated discussion that was about to take place.
"Send him in."
***And thus ends the second chapter. As always, please review, and favorite me/the story if you enjoyed it. As for the reviews, don't bother giving me flak about the cafe scene with Faridah and Adam where they deal with the awkward feelings that occur when two good friends make passionate love for the first time. I'm aware that it's not terribly well written (it's certainly below my standard). Unfortunately, if I decided to get hung up on making it really good, I fear I'd still be stuck. I needed to move the story along, so please forgive me for the less-than-stellar writing at that spot. I hope that you found the rest of the chapter to be better written. Also, the final scene is deliberately ambiguous. The Deus Ex-style conspiracy is now begining. Thanks for reading. Please review if you want to see more of this.
UPDATE: Once again, if I get no feedback, the story goes away. If you've read this far, please take the time to write a brief review of my work. I live for it. (Well, not really, but I DO write for it.***
