Electricity
By LMR
Disclaimer: If I owned the show (which I don't), don'tcha think I would have managed to get them into swimsuits already? I wanna watch them squirm.
A.N.: I want to thank my Beta Claire/guitar73girl for fixing all the mistakes and telling me to write out what the characters are thinking already! I mean, you have the nifty little italic thought processes going on, tell us what's going on inside those gorgeous heads! You never tell us enough of what- Okay, so Claire's way too nice to ever say it that way, but that's the general idea. If it's in italics, you can probably thank her for it.
A.N. 2: Thanks for the reviews, guys. I really want to thank all of you for giving me suggestions on what to do with these guys in swimsuits! I got some great ideas... 99 of which I could not use in a K + rated fic. I sure did enjoy reading them, though. I think some of you need to get your minds out of the gutter. Mine already has all the prime real estate anyway. I tried, oh how hard I tried, to find an excuse to get out the sunscreen. I racked my brain trying to find a good way for it to come up. But like so many great ideas... sigh
Chapter 7: Synchronized
xXx
Nopienit Pool - 11th and Kickapoo Streets - Monday, July 2 - 6:49 p.m. Doink, doink.
Goren had insisted that they do the thing right. A dip in the pool might be necessary to annoy the owner into giving them information.
Fun, too.
But swimming meant swimsuits. Goren was in the process of stashing his clothes in the locker when Eames, doing the same across the locker room, decided to share her thoughts on the assignment. "Married couple, thinking about joining, find something we could get him in trouble for?" she asked.
Without thinking, Bobby's head turned toward her voice. Fortunately, she was looking the other way, because he knew his attraction had to show. He could feel his pulse rate rise, his jaw slacken, his face redden, and could almost swear he could feel his pupils dilate as he took her in. OhGodhelpmesheshot. Bobby rocked on the balls of his feet nervously, trying not to notice that his partner was half-naked, and extremely built. Her silver one piece left little to the imagination, high cut, showing every inch of her thighs and more cleavage than he really needed to see. He turned away from her, making a pretense of bending for his towel. But a thought occurred to him that made him momentarily forget this particular brand of anguish and encounter a whole new brand.
She's seeing me half-naked!
Bobby didn't know whether to be terrified or happy about this. He knew, objectively speaking, that he was attractive. His girlfriends always thought so, and he had what would be considered the standard, properly proportioned, visually ideal body shape. He was symmetrical, anyway. But that didn't make him feel any more secure in this situation.
Because she's looking at me and I'm half-naked.
"Sounds good," he replied, catching the cheap band they used for their undercover assignments. Eames always kept them handy for their favorite game.
Alex felt a hitch in her breath as she turned toward him. She realized, somewhat sheepishly, that the first thought to cross her mind was that he should really stop wearing those all encompassing suits. In fact, she figured, he should consider ditching clothes altogether. She shook her head as if trying to clear the thought from her mind. Stop it, Alex! But those shoulders. Those arms. That back. And Oh, God the front is even better. She scolded herself. This is supposed to be my husband! A man I see every day in various states of dress and undress, and I shouldn't be going googie over him like some high schooler! She groaned, knowing she would just have to hide her attraction long enough to get through the assignment.
Too bad it wasn't cold out there. She could use it as an excuse.
Throwing her towel over her shoulder, Eames gestured for him to lead, finally vocalizing their shared discomfort. "Now is not a time for 'ladies first,' Goren."
"Oh, 'course." Bobby protested his innocence with his hands, clearly saying that he had only the purest intentions.
Purest intentions, my ass. Alex nearly laughed when she became aware of her unintentional joke, but managed to stifle it just in time. Laughing when he'd just started walking away from her in his trunks might be seen as a little insensitive.
And those trunks contained nothing to laugh about, as a matter of fact. His sensibilities as a gentleman had apparently overruled the knowledge that he'd just made himself eye candy. If a woman does it, she told herself it's not sexual harassment. It's leveling the playing field.
They turned to cling to each other after both attempting a believable show of unwillingness and hesitation. Bobby could feel the curve of Alex's hip on his leg and wondered how long they could drag this assignment out. Alex was wondering how any body could feel so comfortable and warm.
They glanced around the pool area for the most likely person to be the owner. They found a likely contestant (as he was the only one dressed) rattling on to a nearby lifeguard. "So you see, it really is a worthy cause. Just because a word hasn't been in circulation doesn't mean that it isn't worthwhile. Word usage is very important, and when you consi-"
"Excuse me? Are you the owner?" She got a nod. "Hi. I'm Alex." She shook his hand immediately put it back around Bobby's waist.
Above the trunks. On his bare skin. Just being believable. And having a good time, too.
"This is my husband, Bobby." He shook the man's hand, not taking his left arm from around Alex's hip. "Honey, you can go look around if you want," she hinted, annoyed that she wouldn't get to hang on to him for too much longer.
But Bobby had gotten comfortable. "I will in a minute," he responded, causing her to work at retaining a sigh of exasperation. Then again, she could think of worse places for his hands to be.
She could also think of better ones.
He's pressed up against me, she thought breathlessly. Did he just run his hand down my hip? And back up? He's copping a feel! Granted in rather G rated places, but still... She returned the favor, kneading the sensitive skin on his side lightly, enjoying the feel of him under her hand. But to her dismay, Bobby immediately removed his hand from her waist as if he'd recieved a shock. He thought he'd been scolded rather than groped, she realized. As his back retreated from her, she lightly brushed her fingers over it, trying to give him an "it's okay." But he was poolside so quickly she doubted he'd noticed the gesture.
"Well Bobby and I..." She turned to gesture to Bobby, who was already lowering himself in.
"He's not a people person," Eames said simply when the man gave her a questioning look. "We're thinking about joining. Are you the one we talk to?"
He nodded, then turned back to Goren. "You'll want to watch the curglaff," he pointed out smugly.
Goren grinned at him. "That's okay, the water's not cold enough to be a shock," he said. Alex beamed. "Nice word usage, though. Obsolete, but nice."
The man turned back to Eames, clearly miffed. "Hoover Matthews, I'm the owner, nice to meet you." He shook. "I'd be happy to talk about our membership rates."
Keep him talking till Bobby finds something wrong. Eames put on her overly curious expression and put a hand on her hip. "Now, why would you be here all day, around this beautiful pool and be decked out in your land clothes?" She lightly lifted the collar of his polo shirt. "You know, if I worked here, you'd have to drag me out of the pool."
Hoover looked at the ground and was obviously not pleased with the question. "Well, actually, I, uh..." He whispered the rest of the sentence. "I'm afraid of water," he admitted sheepishly.
"Um. Oh. Um." She couldn't wait to tell Bobby. But what was an appropriate response to this ridiculous statement? I'm sorry? That's odd? What the heck are you doing here?
Fortunately no response was needed. "Oh, Honey, look at this." Goren called from the water. "Honey" stood near the edge of the pool to see what he was looking at. "This valve here, it's kinda, well, it's loose. No, no I'd call that broken."
"I don't know much about pools," Eames told the owner. "But I would think it would be dangerous to have broken equipment in there."
"There's someone coming next week," Hoover was quick to inform them. "It's really not a big deal, it can't hurt anything."
"Actually, this is the filter valve," Goren pointed out. "If it's broken, contaminates aren't leaving the pool, which means the pool is..."
"A petrie dish?" Eames offered.
Goren jumped at the suggestion. "Exactly."
"Sounds like a health code violation." She moved her towel aside showing the badge she was holding under it. "I'm sure he could tell you which one, but I'm guessing you don't care."
"Don't you have more impo-"
"We want to know about Iskra Kent," Eames said. Goren, still standing in the pool, listened intently. "She had an accident here," she reminded Hoover.
"Yes, I remember. She was swimming during a thunderstorm; I don't know what more there is to investigate. The lifeguard on duty yelled at her to get out, and she was on her way down from her tower, but she was too late."
"That would be Maya Hixon, right?" Goren asked. "We'll need to talk to her."
Matthews suddenly looked dubious. "Why are you looking into this again?"
Eames looked the man over skeptically; decided it was in their best interest to tell the truth. "We think her death might not have been an accident."
A shadow crossed Hoover's face. Finally he sighed. "I lied about Maya. I did it to protect the reputation of the pool. And myself," he admitted. "Look, I didn't think it was a big deal at the time. It wasn't a full practice, only two or three teammates coming by. They're experienced swimmers, I didn't think there was a reason to call up a lifeguard for overtime." He blew out a breath he'd been holding. "No one with pool management was here that night."
"So you don't know if anyone saw Iskra's death?" Alex asked.
"I'm guessing one of her teammates would have seen it, but I don't know." He paused, looking at the ground. "Look, Maya's just a kid. Please don't give her grief about it. It was my fault. I take full responsibility for lying about this."
"Thank you," Goren said with sincerity. "Do... do you have an earth leakage breaker?" he wondered, looking up and down the pool as if he expected it to be floating by.
Hoover winced. More hot water, so to speak. "No. I know I'm suppos-"
Eames cut him off, not particularly interested in his excuses. "We know: They're coming next week and the check is in the mail."
"So the electronics, like that radio over there." He pointed to the small replacement for the hulking thing that had been used as a murder weapon. "That's operated through a main, right?" He gestured to a stereo that was newer than the one in the picture.
"Uh, yeah. We had a bigger one, but it quit-" he started, not quite understanding. Comprehension dawned. "You think someone used..."
"We'll be in touch," Eames reminded him, walking away, trying not to notice Bobby's impressive strength as he hefted himself out of the pool; to stop wondering what else he could do with those muscles. "And get that thing fixed," she said, pointing toward the valve and trying desperately to shake the charge her partner was giving her.
xXx
FYI: The Cell + Special features + Deleted Scenes + Extended Carl With Victim good view of VDO's bum (sans skivvies). Thought you ladies should know, if you can stomach the scene, anyway. And don't forget to review!
Questions to be answered next time:
What happened to the memo? (Yes, you're actually going to find out.)
Who are our suspects?
Who cares who our suspects are? You care about...
How much feeling up can LMR squeeze into one chapter? (As much as possible)
