Chapter 3
Scud squinted at the bright sunlight as he opened the door and stepped outside onto the patio. The glare of light was magnified off the surface of the pool so he had to cup a hand over his eyes to help him spot his quarry. On a pair of chaise lounges about halfway down the length of the pool he spotted his target, tucking the files he held firmly under his arm, he set off grumbling slightly to himself about having to conduct this meeting outside.
"Nice to see that you two have time to work on your tans while I have been inside, slaving away, gathering and compiling data," Scud said as he came to a stop beside the pair of chairs that held Lucy and Dom.
Lucy turned her head lazily to the side until she was looking at Scud. "Surely you're not telling me that you have had DEBS practically in our back pockets for months and you are just now getting a thorough workup on who they are?" Lucy asked with mock menace in her tone.
"Um, no. No of course not but you know I had to...um...print it and stuff since you didn't want to do this in the control room."
Lucy rolled her eyes at Scud's failed attempt to gain sympathy. Knowing that he was still probably a bit disgruntled at having been overruled on the issue of the D.E.B.S. "So sorry to be an inconvenience, but someone had to do it," Lucy said, her tone making it clear she wasn't sorry in the least.
"Move to the left a bit would you, you're blocking our light," Dom spoke up for the first time from her position on the second chaise. "I finally convinced her to get her pasty ass out here and get her color back the last thing I need is you blocking the light while you stand there and pout."
"Oh like she doesn't have more important things to think about, we have D.E.B.S trying to infiltrate for crying out loud." He waived the files he had on them around to emphasize his point.
"Exactly why she needs to work on her tan silly…now move!" Scud narrowed his eyes at Dominique and reluctantly positioned himself in a more suitable spot; he did have to agree though, Lucy definitely needed the rays.
"So what have you got for me Scud?" Lucy asked, ready to get down to business, and more then a little eager to find out a bit more about a certain D.E.B.
"Max Brewer. Age 26. Her dad was career military and it seemed like she was all set to follow in his footsteps, she was looking to enter the USMA in WestPoint, until the D.E.B.S recruited her. Once she was in the academy she must have done very well since she graduated at the top of her class. She is proficient in most fields but she truly excels in small arms, demolitions and as you know offensive and defensive driving."
"Amy Bradshaw. Age 25. From all accounts she had a fairly standard suburban upbringing. Only child of two doting parents she had applied to a number of art and liberal studies programs at some of the top schools in the country as well as a few abroad. Nothing in her background suggests that she would be ideal material for the D.E.B.S. but she scored off the charts on their little hidden test. Perfect score. When she was in her senior year of high school both of her parents died in a car crash. She has been with the D.E.B.S ever since."
"She was in the same year, and in fact squad, as Brewer and they have been together ever since. They have managed to form quite a formidable team. You remember that arms runner out of Mexico, Javier Sanchez? The one that used to supply all our small arms, the carbines, assault rifles, shot guns, you know, the small stuff...well turns out these two were the ones that managed to bring him down, they caught up with him before he had a chance to cross the border. And remember that time your dad called you all pissed off and told you to get your ass in gear and find some profitable fronts in Tokyo so they could start laundering cash? Them again. Turns out they managed to bust old Uncle Marty in New York and really put a crimp in your dad's cash flow. And my old buddy Archie that I used to hack into the Department of Homeland Security with? Also them."
"Your point Scud?" Lucy asked, knowing that Scud was driving at something but not entirely sure what.
"These chicks are not small time Lucy. Unlike the rest of the idiots in federal law enforcement they can actually manage to connect the dots. I just think it is a really really bad idea to bring them so close to the action. They could cause some serious problems for us. Problems we really don't need."
"Why don't you let me worry about how close they are getting to the action. You worry about making sure everything is running smoothly and we don't get hit with any unexpected surprises," Lucy said. Looking over at Scud she quirked one eyebrow in question, "And?"
"And, what?" he asked confused.
"And is that all or is there perhaps a bit more information in your little file?"
"Like what?"
"Scud..." Lucy said a clear note of warning in her voice. She really did not like having to dig for information.
"She wants to know if you managed to uncover any...juicier details about a certain D.E.B. in all of your research," Dom supplied helpfully. Besides she wouldn't mind knowing if the straight-laced blonde had a bit of a wild side.
"Unbelievable. I expend all sorts of resources to find out pertinent information and all you want is an idea of what you need to do to get into her pants," Scud said in honest exasperation.
"Oh I don't know," Dom said with a smirk. " I think that information could turn out to be of the utmost importance to our poor leader."
"Please," Lucy scoffed. "I do not need help to get into her pants. If I decide I want something you know it's just a matter of time before I get it." Lucy paused for a moment. "But seriously, you don't have any information about her...um...preferences?"
Letting out a long-suffering sigh Scud responded. "No Lucy. This may come as a surprise to you but the U.S. government doesn't typically expend resources and man power to keep track of the dating lives of their agents on the off chance that a horny, recently returned from Siberia, criminal mastermind might find the information useful."
"Iceland," Lucy and Dom corrected together. "You would think they would be a little bit curious," Lucy said with a slight pout, disappointed that the information she was after wasn't available. "The government only cares about the boring stuff."
"Well I hate to bore you with more uninteresting details," Scud said with mock sympathy. "But there are a few more details that you should know. Like I said last night there is also a pair of DHS agents hanging around but from what I have seen they don't appear to be working together."
"The D.E.B.S. tend to work alone," Lucy agreed. "Part of the reason they have been such a pain is by not getting involved with the less competent branches of federal law enforcement they can actually manage to close a few cases."
"Well when Amy and Max aren't kicking the Pink Thunder girls around the race course," Scud couldn't resist the chance to rib his sister a bit, "they are hanging around a garage slash coffee shop called Mr. P's. Max's "uncle", a one Tiberius Phipps, runs the garage. The whole place is a front. As far as I can tell anyone that works there is somehow connected back to the D.E.B.S."
"You know," Lucy said thoughtfully "for an elite government spy agency their cover really does seem to be for shit. I should really think about giving you a bonus for a job well done Scud, it couldn't have been easy to break their cover and hack the firewalls."
Not about to let her brother bask in Lucy's praise, especially after his dig about her girls Dom was quick to set the record straight. "It's plenty easy when someone sends you the information wrapped up with a bow." Noticing the puzzled look that Lucy was sending her Dom continued, "Almost before they had a chance to set up shop we got a call out of the blue letting us know that there was something not on the up and up about Max and Amy, if we wanted to know more, they could fill us in, for a price."
"Of course I was immediately suspicious and we weren't about to just hand over that kind of money without verifying the information," Scud hurried to explain, trying to help repair his image as a master of cyber space. Judging by the look that Lucy was sending him he figured he had a bit further to go to reach that goal. "I dug into their backgrounds and on the surface they looked legit, of course knowing they were already suspect I managed to keep digging and that's when it became clear that something wasn't right. Usually when you run background on someone there is always shit in the data that doesn't match up or makes sense, fragmented records, most of it just a result of people not filling out forms with exactly the same name, putting wrong addresses, inverting numbers, it just happens and its to be expected. The history on these girls was pristine."
"Yes Scud that's just riveting," Dom broke in sarcastically, "but back to the point. We paid what they asked and the next day we got the information that Scud just relayed to you."
"How do we know this information is even good? Where did it come from?" Lucy asked, not liking the fact that they were building a plan of action on what appeared to be second hand information.
"Well we put a trace on the E.F.T when we paid for the information and we managed to trace it back to Lesley Higgins. She is some kind of desk grunt at D.E.B.S. headquarters."
"And we're sure this information is legit and not just some garbage that we are being fed by the D.E.B.S.?" Lucy asked.
"We thought of that," Dom answered "and it just makes no sense that they would be trying to launch an undercover operation and then also telling us its all a setup. It just doesn't add up. They have a leak, one that I think if we pay enough, will eventually crack the whole dam open for us. We just have to be patient."
"Interesting," Lucy mused. Deciding that she had gotten her fill of sun for the day she climbed up from the chaise. "This information is helpful. And it's especially nice to know we have a resource behind enemy lines. But this doesn't change my plans."
"Of course not," Scud said with resignation "that would be far to easy."
Lucy shot Scud a cocky grin before diving into the water. The cool water felt great on her overheated skin and she took a few moments to enjoy the feeling before shooting back to the surface. Slicking the hair back from her face, she lazily rolled and floated on her back. "So," she called to Dom, who was not in the least interested in the pool and was still sprawled out on the chaise, "when do I get to see these girls in action? I am anxious to get this plan set into motion."
"I'll just bet," Scud muttered.
"I have a race set up for this Friday. Since Amy and Max won the last race they will definitely have a spot. The other drivers will be waiting to hear from me by Thursday to see if they also get an invite."
"Sounds good. It will give me a chance to whip myself back into shape." Lucy kicked off the side of the pool and started down the length of it, clearly intending to do some laps, and effectively ending the conversation. Scud looked over at his sister and rolled his eyes a bit. "Girls," he said shaking his head.
"Please. You're just jealous cuz you know you would never stand a chance with any of the girls that Lucy gets."
"Of course I don't!" Scud cried indignantly "they're all lesbians!"
*************************************
Dom stood near her car, idly smoking a cigarette, and chatting with the girls of Pink Thunder that were milling around. One of the things she hated the most about coordinating the circuit races since being back was the constant need to wait around for the winner to eventually cross the line. She was going to have to talk to Lucy about the possibility of promoting one of the other girls to take her place so that she could spend her time on more...enjoyable pursuits.
One such pursuit caught her eye as she walked past in barely her leather short shorts and a bikini top. So maybe waiting around at the finish line wasn't all bad, she thought, as her eyes tracked the girls' progress. The sudden buzzing of the phone in her pocket popped her out of her perusal and she dropped her cigarette and ground it beneath her toe, while reaching into her pocket to retrieve the device. Glancing at the caller ID she simply opened the phone and didn't waste any time on pleasantries.
"Get your eyes off that girl's ass and get over to the finish line," Scud said by way of greeting. Being able to tap into almost any camera in the city allowed him to keep a watch on his sister. Much to her general displeasure. "They're about ready to hit the home stretch. The sooner you dispense with the formalities of the win the sooner I can call Lucy and let her know the coast is clear for her arrival."
"Been a bit anxious has she?" Dom asked with a chuckle.
"God you have no idea. I swear she's worse than a little kid at Christmas. I told her if she calls one more time I may be forced to cut service to her cell phone."
"Cut her a break Scud. I'm just glad she's able to show this much interest in anything or anyone, even if it is a D.E.B. I'm sure once she gets this girl out of her system she'll be in a much better place. She just needs to let off a little steam."
"Well I just wish she could let off some of her steam with someone that couldn't throw her in federal prison," Scud griped.
"You know Lucy. Why do something the easy way when you could break all sorts of laws and get the same result," Dom responded. Hearing the roar of engines approaching she decided to grab the briefcase of cash out of here passenger seat and head towards the finish. "I hear them approaching, need I even ask?"
"Well you could but I'm sure you already suspect the answer. Go say hi to Lucy's new toy for me, and try to keep your flirting with Max to a minimum. I don't think she bats for your team, and according to her file she knows her way around a handgun."
"You worry to much big brother. Besides, what's the fun of the hunt if you don't risk a little personal injury now and then?" Dom asked with a laugh as she cut the connection. As soon as she started to walk towards the finish she found herself flanked by Pink Thunder members and she sighed a bit internally about being constantly surrounded when she was out in public. Part of the job she supposed.
Coming to a stop shortly past where the finish line was marked she looked up the road just in time to see the cars swing around the final corner. As expected the car holding the D.E.B.S. was in the front and appeared to be in no danger of losing its position anytime soon. The Subaru WRX that she knew held the DHS agents, invited at Lucy's insistence just so she could keep an eye on the pair, was holding a fairly close second. Not wanting to increase any hard feelings towards Max and Amy, Dom had decided not to run any of the girls from Pink Thunder in this race. The final two was rounded out by another pair of girls that held some serious promise and was on her short list for an invite to Pink Thunder, and a pair of drivers that claimed to be freelance but that she knew to be running for the Schaffers'. She knew the time for putting off dealing with Riley was fast approaching, and Lucy was going to have to prepare herself for that confrontation, and soon.
Sensing that they finally had a chance to beat the D.E.B.S., Dom saw the Subaru rocket forward as they engaged their NOZ. Shaking her head at the amateur move, the exact same move that they lost with last week, Dom couldn't help but agree with Lucy's assessment that they were clearly not something to worry too much about. Just as it had last week, the end of the race played out with the D.E.B.S. crossing the finish line first due in large part to the superior race strategy of the team behind the wheel. Not for the first time, Dom lamented the waste of a damn fine driver to the employ of the federal government. Seeing that the girls had pulled the car to a stop and gotten out Dom walked over.
"A tuner?" Dominique looked at Max before walking around the Dodge Viper, Amy and Max watched as Dominique gave the car a once over with an amused grin as she stopped in front of Max and quirked an eyebrow, "I always figured you for a muscle girl," Dominique smiled at Max before handing her the briefcase that held the prize money.
"Yeah well, thanks to someone," Max looked over at Amy with an eye-roll before looking back to Dominique, "my Shelby is having some work done."
Amy walked over and stood beside Max and folded her arms across her chest, "She's just mad that I was right…she knows that as close as that last race was, that move was crucial to us winning," Amy said with a smile as she bumped shoulders with Max causing her to shake her head but inwardly she had to agree with Amy.
"Yeah that was a nice move," Dominique laughed at the two but glanced back at the car, with another quirk of the brow she had to ask, "Pink?" Max knew that at some point she would have to answer the question of why she was in a pink tuner, she just figured that perhaps it would be by that asshole Bobby, but since he had just lost another race to them, and wanted to avoid another blow to his ego, he had already disappeared. However, the question still seemed to embarrass Max and she felt herself flush, she said a silent prayer that it wasn't evident because of the dark complexion of her skin, but she already had a simple answer for the question.
"Oh, this is Amy's car", she looked over at Amy. Max knew that Amy was enjoying her discomfort by the grin that was showing on her face.
"Yeah," Amy finally added, deciding to come to Max's rescue, "I'm sure she was hoping to do a little damage to it but do you really think I would let her put a scratch on my baby?" Amy asked rhetorically as she threw an arm to rest on the roof of the car with the grin on her face growing wider.
"Yeah, how fortunate for you and your…baby", Max responded looking back to Dominique, who seemed to be thoroughly amused with the pair.
"Well it's a nice color," she nodded at Amy, "and you handled it very well", she said in Max's direction, with a smile, "you guys should bring it down…" stopping mid-sentence Dominique turned her head as she was interrupted by the unmistakable sound of motorcycle engines getting closer. She smiled and put her hands in her jacket and excused herself as she walked towards the group that had just arrived, the other girls in her crew following closely behind her as always.
Removing her arm from the Viper and with another shoulder bump to Max, Amy was now grinning like a Cheshire cat, "I think she likes you!"
Max shook her head and folded her arms on her chest and leaned back against the car while watching Dominique approach the bikers, "I've already told you, that's not how I roll!" Amy only kept grinning at Max as she turned to lean against the car as well. She then turned her head and watched as Dominique walked towards the bikers and came to a stop, as did her crew. Amy thought for a moment before she spoke, "She said that it was a nice move as well, you think they are watching us?" She asked looking over at Max for a second.
Max was staring straight ahead transfixed on the motorcycle that the lead biker was riding. Max finally spoke, "Yeah, they probably hacked into the traffic cams or something."
Both girls watched as the driver of the motorcycle reached up and pulled the helmet from her head allowing the long brunette hair that had been confined under the helmet to fall freely around her leather-clad shoulders. An obligatory headshake seemed to make the brunette move in slow motion to those watching. She then raised her hand and ran it through her hair and with one last flick of the head her bangs fell perfectly in place. The rider then took her helmet and sat it on the space in front of her then in one smooth motion she got off the motorcycle.
She approached Dominique with a smile as the others that rode up with her also removed their helmets and got off their bikes. The two separate groups merged seamlessly and now formed a circle around the two figures in the center. To the casual observer it might just look like a group of girls commingling, but really, the crew of Pink Thunder instinctively encircled their leaders ready to defend them at any moment. Watching from the skybox above, Scud, ever vigilant and concerned for the safety of his friend and sister, had sent down a few men from the organization to stand watch over Lucy's arrival.
Both Max and Amy straightened from their leaning positions on the car, "It's her," Amy spoke softly, admiration evident in her tone.
"Yeah," Max said absently. "Look at that. Clad all in black…damn that's hot. What I wouldn't give to take that for a ride," Max's tone now held an almost worshipful edge.
"Oh yeah, definitely hot", Amy agreed as she absently chewed her bottom lip while never taking her eyes off of Lucy. She found herself craning her neck a bit to get a better look at the black leather clad figure in the center of the circle. Silently she cursed the vigilance of the crew that surrounded their leader, while it undoubtedly provided an extra line of security, it also prevented her from getting a good look.
Upon hearing the breathless tone in Amy's voice Max snapped out of her dazzled state to look over at Amy and took in her friends' look of awe, "Since when have you ever been interested in motorcycles, I thought you said they were dangerous?"
"What?" Amy turned to look at Max and suddenly felt her face get warm as she belatedly realized just what Max had been referring to. Shit. "Oh…I mean um, well they are but that one…well…um, that one is kinda nice, huh?" Amy chuckled nervously as she stammered out her response.
Max was quiet for a long moment, which made Amy more apprehensive, a quiet, contemplative Max was much more nerve-wracking than a raging and ranting Max. To her surprise, and relief, Max just looked back in the direction of the bike nodding her head, "Yeah, yeah that is one sweet looking piece of machinery."
"Hey," Max nodded her head in the direction she was looking, "she wants us to come over there." Amy turned to look in the direction that Max had indicated and saw Dominique motioning with her hand for them to come over. "Let's do this." Max said as she tugged on Amy's shirt a little before walking towards the group with Amy beside her.
Lucy couldn't help the smile that tugged at her lips as she watched the pair approach. She particularly took note that the blonde definitely looked hotter in person than she had on the profile page she'd seen earlier that week. She also noted that since her arrival Amy had been trying to get a clearer view of her, and was attempting to surreptitiously smooth her hair and clothes as she approached. Game time, she thought with a confident smirk.
"Hey guys this is Lucy," she heard Dominique say and knew that was her cue to snap out of her appreciation for the human form that stood in front of her. "Lucy these are the girls I was telling you about, the ones that are kicking everyone's ass here...including some of our girls" she finished looking around the circle where some of the girls gave some barely audible responses at her comment.
Lucy saw the team's driver extended her hand and introduced herself as Max, she couldn't help but smirk at the formal greeting, but she took the offered hand and shook it firmly, adding a bit more pressure then was probably strictly necessary. It never hurt to establish who alpha dog was from the start. She saw the muscles in Max's jaw bunch at the move, but gave her points for resisting the urge to return the pressure.
Next, the blonde extended her hand and introduced herself. Lucy again took the hand offered to her, careful to maintain eye-contact with the girl. Instead of the firm, almost painful pressure that she had put into her handshake with Max, Lucy made this grasp almost a caress and lightly stroked her thumb over the back of Amy's hand. She couldn't help but notice how the girls hand felt, soft and warm and she felt a shiver involuntarily make its way down her back.
At the gentle contact Amy helplessly felt her cheeks once again get warm as she chewed unconsciously on her bottom lip, silently willing herself not to blush, now was definitely not the time. She couldn't help but noticed that even after they had made their introductions, she and Lucy still held each other's hand, both seemingly either unwilling or unable to let go. This made the butterflies stirring around in her stomach a little more active and Amy knew that she now was indeed blushing.
"Lucy", Dominique interrupted and cleared her throat trying to get Lucy's attention. The action seemed to work as Amy felt Lucy slide her hand slowly out of her grasp. Amy wasn't sure if she should be disappointed or relieved that the unnerving caress had come to an end.
"What?" Lucy asked a trifle annoyed at the interruption. Like Amy, she wasn't sure if she should be relieved or not. While she was wholly satisfied with the effect she was having on the blonde, she was less then thrilled with her own reaction. The last time that she could remember someone having that effect on her was Riley.
Dominique gave her a knowing smirk, clearly recognizing the sparks that had passed between the two, and pulled at her sleeve, "C'mon, let's go watch the next race," Dom looked over at Max and a still flustered Amy, "you two, come with us."
The four girls walked to the door that led to the stairway of the skybox as the members of Pink Thunder began to scatter around, the men that Scud had sent down followed the girls upstairs. Entering the room, Dominique saw Scud hunched over the back of a chair while watching another member of the organization typing on a keyboard. Excusing herself she walked towards him leaving Lucy and the D.E.B.S. lingering near the doorway.
"Don't you ever get tired of looking at a computer monitor? You need to get downstairs and talk to some girls or something. I would ask when the last time you had some was but I'm afraid you probably wouldn't be able to remember back that far." She smirked as she watched him continue giving orders to the guy sitting at the table and attempting to ignore her.
"Girls down there?" Scud finally said with a scoff while still looking at the monitor, "Sloppy seconds aren't my thing little sister. You forget…we do live in the same house." Scud finally turned around with a smile on his face, but it soon faltered when he looked past Dom and saw Lucy chatting with the D.E.B.S. He looked back at Dom with an incredulous look. "Here? You bring them here?" Dominique only smiled at him and shrugged before she walked back over to the trio.
As soon as she set foot in the skybox, Max went into spy mode taking in the details of the room. When you think skybox you think of the crappy section above the crowd that has a few rows of seats with a couple of twenty inch monitors on the wall in the back that you have to strain your neck to see because they're positioned behind you. This one, however, was much nicer, but then again criminals always did do it big, Max thought as she continued to look around.
It had the feel of a lounge; leather chairs were placed around the room and a small table in the middle with a mini bar that sat in the corner. Towards the front was a glass window that ran the length of the wall that gave a view of the scene below, in front of it was a table that held a pc with a triple LCD monitor. On the ceiling was a state of the art video display, much like the ones that you would see in basketball arenas but on a smaller scale, it had several screens that randomly displayed different intersections and streets in the city.
Placing her hand on Amy's shoulder, Lucy felt her jump slightly and did her best to contain her grin. "Can I get you anything to drink? Water , beer, mixed drink?"
Excruciatingly aware of the heat and pressure of the hand that was resting on her arm, Amy did her best to concentrate. Get it together Bradshaw. "I…um…whatever. You pick," she finally managed to stammer out. She felt the butterflies in her stomach kick back into high gear when Lucy sent her a cocky little grin before heading over to get her a drink. Amy once again found her attention riveted as Lucy swaggered over to the bar.
Walking up the mini bar Lucy stood and contemplated the ingredients before her. Hmmm. Definitely something alcoholic. Not beer. Fruity and sweet. With a slightly evil grin she began to grab the ingredients she would need.
"You're really going though with this, aren't you?" Scud hissed in her ear. Startled, since she had been lost in thought, she almost dropped the bottle. Managing to retain her grip she placed it safely on the bar before shooting Scud an annoyed glance,
"What did I tell you Scud?" Lucy asked him pointedly, signs of annoyance lacing her voice. Scud held up his hands in surrender, as he had many times before, and turned his attention back to the guy at the table in front of the computer. "What're doing?" Lucy asked but clearly not interested as she focused her attention to making the perfect drink for the blonde bombshell. A lazy grin spread across her face as she thought of the long smooth legs, the dark denim skirt that showed off curvy hips and she found herself wondering how they both would feel under her palms.
Lucy tilted her head a little, and caught sight of Amy, she licked her lips as she noticed how the light blue tank top raised exposing the girls' midriff a little as she pointed to something in the room. Moving higher, Lucy eyes stayed fixed on the woman's chest as she realized she wasn't wearing a bra, she licked her lips again and drew her bottom lip between her teeth and slowly released it. Shifting a little against the table Lucy looked up and saw blue eyes staring back at her. She chuckled a little and sent her another sexy grin. She congratulated herself when she saw Amy's face flush and the blonde start to chew on her bottom lip once again.
Enjoying the blondes' reaction and the fact that their eyes stayed glued to each other's, Lucy gave Amy a wink. Amy's lips parted slightly and then she swallowed hard as the butterflies made their presence known once more fluttering around in her stomach.
"I'm uploading the data from the race so I can compare it with the teams' previous races to update their…" Scud looked back at Lucy and realized that she wasn't in the least interested in what he was saying, looking over to see what had her so mesmerized, "this is retarded," he shook his head and gave an exasperated sigh as he turned his attention back to the monitors.
Amy was finally broken from her trance by Max tugging on her arm to get her attention. She noticed that Dominique had started walking towards some of the chairs. "You haven't heard the first thing we've said have you?" Max hissed annoyed as they slowly followed Dom to the chairs.
"Of course I have but I was just, um…checking out the room, it's nice isn't it?" Amy tried to portray a coolness that she clearly didn't feel, not after she had seen the way Lucy looked at her, with pure…desire? Thankful that they had arrived next to Dom, Amy only had to suffer Max's annoyed glare.
"So good, I'll let you two know where we'll be before you leave." Dominique sat down in one of the plush leather chairs and lit up a cigarette. Amy gave Max a confused look clearly unaware of the conversation topic, as she really hadn't been paying attention before.
"Yeah, we'll definitely be there…watching a little head to head racing will be a nice change of pace from these idiots trying to run you off the road on the circuit." Max responded trying to clue Amy in on what they were talking about, looking over to her Max only shook her head and made a mental note to slap the hell out of Amy for acting like a rookie.
"Well good, the more the merrier," Lucy said joining in on the conversation as she chose to take a seat on the armrest of Amy's chair and looked down at her flashing a smile she was sure would make the girl weak in the knees. "Your drink," Lucy said, handing the glass to Amy with a flourish.
Relieved to finally have something to focus on, Amy latched onto the glass gratefully and took a healthy gulp. Too late, she realized that Lucy had fixed her a mixed drink and she was sure she was going to hear more about this later. Sure enough when she glanced over to Max she caught her disapproving glare. Not wanting to appear rude to their host she commented, "Mmm, this is good I don't think I have had this before, what is it?"
Not able to contain her smirk, and in fact having fixed this drink to see what reaction it would garner Lucy responded, "Sex on the Beach." She wasn't disappointed when Amy immediately started choking on her drink. Never one to miss an opportunity Lucy immediately began patting Amy on the back trying to help her work through her coughing fit. "You ok?", she asked trying to inject just the right amount of sincere concern into her voice.
"Fine," Amy managed to wheeze out. "Just went down the wrong way. Thanks."
"Well if you want a refill you just let me know," Lucy said.
"I will, thanks," Amy responded, once again cursing the fair skin that she knew was once again betraying her embarrassment with the situation. Deciding that the alcohol might help calm her jumpy nerves she took another healthy swallow, Max be damned, and found herself sending Lucy a shy grin.
Lucy found herself unexpectedly charmed by the ease with which the blonde seemed to get flustered. She found herself smiling in return and realized that she was starting to veer into dangerous territory. She abruptly removed her hand from where it still rested lightly on Amy's back and mentally brought herself back to the task at hand. Bed her and boot her, Diamond.
"So," Lucy said, once again brimming with her usual swagger. "I noticed you checking me out when I arrived. Pretty sweet huh?" She felt Amy still beside her but she kept her attention focused firmly on Max. Max returned her gaze coolly and Lucy found her self once again begrudgingly admiring the girls' ability to hold her own.
Max narrowed her eyes slightly, not particularly caring for the baiting tone in Lucy's voice but knowing that she really didn't have a choice but to play along. She caught Amy's slightly confused look and realized that once again she wasn't following the conversation and was still one step behind. Scowling slightly she took note of the now half empty glass in the blonde's hand.
"Absolutely," Max responded. "I was telling Amy here when you pulled up that I would love to take it for a spin sometime," Max noticed that with this statement the confusion seemed to clear from Amy's face as she realized what they were talking about. "That was the MV-Augusta F4CC wasn't it?"
"Good eye," Lucy said approvingly. "If you play your cards right I just might let you take it for a ride." Looking down at Amy she asked, "What about you? Any interest?"
"I stick to vehicles with four wheels. Motorcycles just seem really dangerous. " Amy responded, glad that she was finally able to finish a sentence without stammering, blushing, or choking.
"You don't know what you're missing. There is nothing quite like the freedom of being on a bike. It just allows you to focus all of your thoughts on just being. If you ever decide to live a little dangerously let me know. I can't take you out on the Augusta but I have a few others that you could ride on with me. You should try it at least once."
"I'll keep that in mind," Amy replied with a smile, charmed by the earnestness in Lucy's tone when she talked about riding. She could relate to the feeling, if not the means by which Lucy achieved it, she felt that same sense of freedom when she had the chance to paint or draw. It allowed her to forget the tedious details of day to day life and just exist in the moment.
"Well I guess we should be going," Max broke in. Both Lucy and Amy swung their eyes in her direction and asked 'Why?' in unison. "Well because the race we came up here to watch is over, and you and I have to work in the morning," she told Amy pointedly.
"Well you can't go before we discuss you guys coming out to watch the head to head next week. I think it would be good for you to broaden your horizons a bit and see what's out there besides circuit racing," Lucy tried to keep her voice fairly level but there was definitely a part of her that didn't want to see the evening come to an end.
"We already discussed that," Dom replied drily.
"Oh," Lucy said with a slight grumble. Not one to give up easily she tried another plan of attack. "You plan on doing any betting?" Lucy turned her attention to Max now trying to recompose herself.
"Yeah, with all that money you guys have been winning you definitely can stand to do a little gambling," Dominique said as she blew out a puff of smoke.
"Oh, I don't know about that," Amy shifted sitting up in her chair turning her back a little to Lucy trying to divert her attention elsewhere.
"Well if you decide to, I would definitely put your money on me." Lucy boasted.
"So you're racing?" Max asked out of sheer curiosity as she mentally sized up Lucy thinking she could take her any day in a head to head, circuit or whatever other kind of race she was thrown into.
"No…," being able to read people, Lucy noticed Max inwardly trying to size her up and probably hoping that she would be driving so she could assess her skills, any time any place D.E.B Lucy thought to herself. "But one of my girls will be, so I can definitely say your money's safe with me," Lucy claimed with a confident smile.
Max thought she was a little to sure of herself but decided not to get into a battle of words with the girl, seeing as she didn't want to ruin the progress they seemed to be making. "We'll see," Max replied as she stood up, "but right now I think we need to get going," she said looking pointedly at Amy.
"Yeah, it's getting late," Amy said setting the glass down as she stood noticing that Lucy did so as well causing her to brush against the brunette as she turned sending goose bumps over her entire body. Blowing out a final puff of her cigarette Dominique stood too and looked around for something to write with, seeing a pen over by Scud she went over to grab it and scribbled down an address on it.
"I can't believe you two," Scud said to his sister as he watched her write down the address of one of the airstrips they often raced on.
"Believe it," she responded with a smirk as she tousled his hair and walked to give the two the address. Saying their goodbyes, Max and Amy left and headed for their car.
Scud and Dominique watched as Lucy picked up the binoculars and looked out the glass, already knowing what she was focusing on. Dominique couldn't help the grin that spread across her face as she took in her brother's worried expression. "Clearly you've come to some rational conclusion about this Lucy," he asked taking one last stab at trying to get her to come to her senses.
Lowering the binoculars and turning around to face her two best friends with a devilish grin in place, "Oh I have indeed Scud," she said as she placed a hand on his shoulder, "the D.E.B.S poster child doesn't know it yet, but she's into me."
*************************************
The ride home was very tense between Amy and Max, Max kept shooting death glares at Amy thinking about the night's events and Amy kept avoiding them, both the death glares and the night's events. Every time she thought about the way Lucy looked at her she felt her face become flushed and her body temperature rise, so she made an attempt to put it out of her mind.
"What the hell is wrong with you Bradshaw?" Max asked pulling Amy out of her thoughts, "We're finally getting somewhere on this case and you're acting as if this is your first op."
Amy looked over at Max trying to grasp exactly what kind of explanation Max was looking for, "I-I don't know." Amy answered honestly, really not knowing just what the hell was going on herself, she'd always been able to keep a cool head whenever they had to go undercover and get a job done, but tonight, meeting Lucy Diamond had completely floored her and she wasn't sure why.
"Well you better get your shit together and be on top of your game when we go to this head to head race, we don't need any mistakes on this one, we're finally getting somewhere and I don't want anything to mess this up." Max demanded as she looked back to the road. Max went to say something else, something that had been bugging her since they'd met Lucy but she was quickly quieted by the blare of the radio when Amy turned it on.
Finally arriving at the apartment building Amy quickly got out of the car and briskly headed for their building. Getting out of the car and slamming the door behind her, Max followed. Upon entering the apartment Max had reached her boiling point, "Amy, really what the hell was wrong with you tonight, you just seemed...distracted?" Max questioned, as if not sure that was quite the right word to describe Amy's behavior.
Stopping mid-step Amy turned around, "Wh-what are you talking about? Everything went fine." From the tone of her voice it was clear that not even Amy believed her own statement.
"Yeah everything went fine no thanks to you, you were to busy..." Max was interrupted by Janet rolling off the couch and crashing to the floor after being woken abruptly by two arguing. "Owww," came a muffled moan from the sheet encased lump on the floor. Max and Amy looked over to see her trying unsuccessfully to unwrap herself from the sheets.
Deciding to ignore Janet's plight Amy took advantage of the distraction. "Look Max it's late, we have to work tomorrow and you know we got in trouble the last time when we were late," Amy said as she turned and walked towards her room, "can we please just talk about this tomorrow?" She turned around and looked at Max pleadingly.
Being tired herself and not really feeling like dealing with Janet so late Max narrowed her eyes at Amy and stalked past her, "Fine, whatever." Shutting their doors both girls sank into the comfort of their rooms to prepare for the early morning ahead.
Finally managing to unwrap herself from the sheets that had held her captive, Janet emerged and looked around the now empty room. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine!" Janet proclaimed loudly in an annoyed tone. "You guys can catch me up in the morning, I wouldn't want to keep you." Grumbling to herself about ill mannered barbarians, she carefully situated her pink satin eye pillow in place before punching her pillow a few times before settling once more on the lumpy sofa.
*************************************
Max and Amy arrived at the café a little earlier the next morning so that they could meet with Janet and fill her in on the late night/early morning events. Max didn't particularly like reporting to her, but seeing as Ms. Petrie had sent her to be a thorn in their side she knew she had to. Janet had also left a little early that morning since it would be her first day on the job, they had implanted her as a waitress at the café attached to Mr. P's, and Janet was very excited to finally be "in the field."
Since they'd started up, business had been pretty good considering Max was a complete gear head who could fix just about anything that went wrong with a car, and Amy was particularly good with painting. She especially loved the requests for custom paint jobs, it allowed the artist in her to rear its head without being scrutinized by Max. Along with some other D.E.B.S that rounded out the staff there was Mr. Phipps, Max's uncle and the owner of it all, or at least that was his cover. His knowledge of all things motor vehicle made him a perfect candidate for the op as well, plus it allowed him to keep an eye on the girls.
"Jesus Christ, what is taking her so long?" Max drummed her fingers along the table impatiently waiting for her food. "I knew this was a stupid idea having her work here, she should've just hung back at the apartment, or better yet, back at HQ out of the way and my eyesight."
"Come on Max, don't you think you're being just a little to hard on Janet, it's not her fault that we got stuck with her and she means well, you know that," Amy defended. "Besides it's her first day, give her a break."
Seconds later Janet emerged from the kitchen door balancing two platters in the air, she carefully placed one down at a table as she walked past then she approached Max and Amy and set their plates down in front of them. "This is not what I ordered," Max said annoyed as she looked at Janet with a frown, Janet looked at Amy and saw her shake her head as if to say that wasn't what she ordered either.
"Um…" Janet looked around at the table she previously brought an order to and saw the pair sitting there looking at her expectantly, "Oh," she scooped the plates up taking them over to the other table and switching them and then bringing Max and Amy the plates from that table. "Sorry," she muttered sheepishly as she sat down at the table.
Max began to eat and Amy sat in uncomfortable silence as she picked at the food on her plate, Janet just looked between the two for a few moments, "So um, anything new to report?" she started awkwardly as she fumbled with the saltshaker. Max eyed Amy as she continued to eat, Amy briefly took a glance over at Max but immediately avoided her gaze.
"Well we won again and got invited to another race, some sort of private head to head racing," Amy pushed the food around on her plate briefly looking over at Janet as she spoke.
"Oh? Invited by who?" Janet inquired looking over at Amy.
"By Dominique..."
"And Lucy Diamond." Max added cutting her off as she chewed on her bacon. Amy shot her a look of uneasiness.
"Yes and Lucy Diamond," she continued, "apparently they have these head to head races as a form of gambling and entertainment." Amy was cut off once again by a high-pitched squeal escaping from Janet.
"She was there? You guys met her? This is great you're finally making some progress…I knew me being here would help!" Letting her fork drop to her plate with a loud 'clank', Max looked at Janet in disbelief.
"What? You've been here barely a full week and have done nothing but relay information back to Ms. Petrie and rearrange our living room...what exactly is it you think you've help do?" Max asked in irritation.
"Heeey, I told you guys that you needed to start making friends and look, now you have the main focus of this op interested. It was the car wasn't it?" Janet asked cheerily looking between the two, "I knew I made the right choice, I knew it would work! They named their group Pink Thunder so I knew a pink car would be just what you needed to get the ball rolling." Janet bounced lightly in her seat and clapped her hands together rapidly, unable to contain her excitement.
"It most certainly was not the car, it was my driving," Max responded hotly.
"Well it seems to me you have been driving all along. The only thing that was different last night was the car. I just think you're jealous that you have been working on this op for months and you couldn't make any progress until I came along," Janet countered.
"Like I said, the only thing you've managed to do was be a mouthpiece where this whole thing is concerned, you even screwed up the car, the only thing you managed to get right is that it was American made and..."
"Well you did win didn't you," Janet had to interrupt seeing where Max was going with this. Amy looked at Janet and then at the scowl that had deepened on Max's face. She mentally shook her head at the display in front of her, they'd done nothing but bicker back and forth since Janet had arrived and quite frankly she was tired of it.
"Ok, its time for us to get to work," Amy said standing up and walking hastily towards the door. Max looked at her retreating form and decided she wasn't in the mood for another lecture on why they were late. She finished off her bacon and got up while shooting another piercing glare at Janet and headed towards the exit.
"Hey," Janet yelled after the departing pair "you forgot my tip!"