"So what's the plan stan?" Birkhoff asked in between bites. Alicia had been so kind as to make breakfast, and now that he had some food in his stomach he was feeling ready to face the day. He was used to going without sleep, working at Division that had become commonplace in his life, and he'd shrugged off her suggestion to catch some shut eye. She gave in easily and he was rewarded with a stack of pancakes just begging to be drowned in syrup. If he didn't know better she really was spying on him. After all, treatment this good wasn't something that he'd ever expected to be a part of his life.
She looked over at him, setting down the cup of milk she'd just finished. "Amanda reinstated my break so I don't have to worry about being called into work, but she did tell me to go over the information on you today," Alicia answered honestly. She couldn't help but glance over at the tablet that sat discarded on the far end of the couch. While she'd agreed they could eat in the living room, she had insisted they at least move the technical equipment to the side. It was kind of cute how Birkhoff was so childish in a lot of ways. He may be a number of years older than her, but the way he poured the syrup over the pancakes and she hadn't been able to help but tease would you like some pancakes with that syrup?
"Get ready to have your mind blown," he smirked over at her.
"It's already blown," she laughed, getting to her feet. She swiftly gathered up the empty plates, only moments after he'd finished off the rest of his food. "You should have seen my face when she brought up the assignment," Alicia continued talking to him even as she strode into the open kitchen. As she knew he would, he'd gotten right back to his computer the moment she got up. Nevertheless she knew he was listening. "After a little stare off with Roan in medical she turns to me and goes, What do you know about Seymour Birkhoff?" Alicia mimicked Amanda's tone of voice, and Birkhoff snorted he was so surprised at how well she was able to do it.
"What did you tell her?" he asked, shooting the question over his shoulder. As much as he would have loved to spend the day lazing around with Alicia he knew that wasn't possible. Instead he was back on Division servers, running his routine checks.
"Oh you know, just what the recruits have passed around about you," she shrugged.
Now he was truly curious. "Like what?" Birkhoff pressed. He knew that Alicia was aware of all the pretty things said about him. He also knew that she clearly didn't take any of them to heart. If she thought he was just some pathetic, reclusive, computer nerd then she wouldn't currently be washing the dishes after having just made him a scrumptious breakfast with a smile on her face.
In the kitchen she paused, trying to think back on the moment. She'd been so startled by the unexpected question that she had scrambled for an answer. "That you were saved from prison by Percy-"
"They know about that?" he cut her off, surprised. As far as he knew he was a bit of a mystery around Division. The only ones who could his information other than him were Percy and Amanda. Even Michael didn't know what his file contained.
"Well, it only makes sense. It's no secret that all of the recruits are plucked from prison or situations that would only end in death. After all," she glanced back at him, "isn't that why they call it getting a second chance?"
While Birkhoff knew that there were some more shady methods Division had gone about in order to get some of their current Agents, he didn't feel the need to disclose that information. It wasn't important after all. She was right, protocol typically called for the prospective recruits to be in dire situations. "I've been in so long," he laughed, "that I've heard speculation I was born in Division."
"You mean you're not a test tube baby?" Alicia shook her head, smiling as she thought back to all the outlandish tales the recruits told. Seymour Birkhoff was somewhat of a hot topic back in Division. Compared to all of the serious faced Agents that wandered the halls he always seemed so out of place. "Because that's what I heard."
"Babe," he grinned at the computer screen in front of him, "this genius is all me."
Alicia chuckled from the kitchen. She knew that despite his little interruption he expected her to continue on. "Let's see, what else," she paused, thinking back on the moment. As she slipped the rinsed dishes into the dishwasher she could hear his fingers flying away on the keyboard, sparking a memory. "Oh, that you were a hacker before Division," she teased, waiting for his reaction.
"Just a hacker?" he scoffed.
It was fun getting him riled up. The man loved to brag, and she could understand why. He was a damned computer whisperer for crying out loud. So, when she walked back into the living room, she came up behind the couch instead of joining him on it. "Oh no, of course not," Alicia smiled as she placed her hands on his shoulders. One glance at the screen and she could tell that he was in the middle of work. The interface wasn't one she recognized, but when she caught a few of the words that were passing by she realized he must be doing something related to Division. "Everyone knows your name," she lowered her mouth to his ear to whisper the last part, "Shadow Walker."
The way she said it sent a shiver down his spine, and if he wasn't in the middle of rotating the security protocol for the hour he would have stolen a kiss. "I love it when you say my name," he grinned instead. The happiness was fleeting however, for soon a window popped up to inform him of yet another thing he had to look into. Birkhoff groaned. All work and no play, he thought sourly, makes me a dull boy. It was rare that he got an entire day away from Division and he had wanted to spend it with Alicia. It seemed like he was going to have to settle for just spending it around her instead of with her.
Before he could let it get to him, the sensation of Alicia's hands massaging his shoulders cleared his mind. This time when he groaned it was in pleasure. Tilting his head forward a little, he offered up more of his sore muscles without thinking twice. She got right on it, fingers expertly kneading away. "This isn't distracting you," she asked softly, "is it?"
"Not at all," he dismissed her question quickly.
She smiled, happily continuing to massage his shoulders and his neck. The moment she'd seen how tense he was she hadn't been able to resist the urge to do something to help. Truthfully, she was probably enjoying it more than he was. Seeing him at work always made her heart beat faster. Something about the man being hard at work behind a computer was just so sexy. Alicia had never considered what her type would be before, but now she felt if anyone was it then it was Birkhoff. His playful attitude, his snarky comments and the way he put his brain to use made her all the more attracted to him. She didn't understand how anyone could ever think any differently.
The first time she'd met him he'd been behind a computer, which was only fitting considering he was her IT instructor. As the recruits filed in he hadn't so much as looked up. Instead he was intently focused on his screen, hunched over with his glasses slipping down his nose. His hair had been a tousled mess, a few strands falling around his face. One look at him and it was clear that he was in the middle of something. As the students all took their seats she'd been unable to stop from sneaking a glance his way. She was curious to know what he was working on. Whatever it was he quickly finished, for before long he was on his feet and addressing the class in the belittling fashion he was known for.
Every class she had with him she paid rapt attention. Alicia had a very limited history with computers. The only time she'd ever had access to them was at local libraries or if the person she was crashing with that week was nice enough to offer her its use. When she used them it was for one purpose and one purpose only; to track down her uncle. It had taken her six years to finally get to him. Two days under Birkhoff's instruction and she marveled over his genius. If she had Birkhoff at her disposal she would have been able to have her uncle's whereabouts in six minutes, not six years.
However, she didn't let how masterfully he owned with computers fool her. She knew that, while the man made it look easy, the work he did was utterly complex. It didn't take a genius to see how stressful his work was. And yet it seemed like she was the only one who did. While everyone else was making snide comments about the man behind his back, she was only thinking of him with respect. No one else could ever comprehend the work that he did. She knew that she sure as hell couldn't. It was for this reason that she'd been thoroughly impressed with him since day one.
Alicia finished working out all of the knots that she could reach before pulling her hands from his shoulders. "Better?" she asked the moment his fingers paused on the keys.
"Much." Birkhoff rolled his head, stretching out his neck in wonder. "If I didn't know better," he teased, "I'd say you were a masseuse in your past life."
"But you do know better," she muttered, drawing her hands back. Sometimes she wondered what Seymour thought of her. With his unrestricted access to Division's servers, her information was only a few clicks away. While she didn't have any sort of a paper trail during her time on the run, she knew better than to believe they didn't piece together her movements on their own. If anything it was the lack of information that looked so bad. A girl moving from place to place, never staying anywhere long and never having a place of her own could bring a number of ideas to mind.
Though she would have rather learned about Seymour Birkhoff from the man himself, she knew that she couldn't- not yet. If Amanda asked her any questions on the information it would look mighty suspicious if she knew material not contained in the files. She doubted there'd be a quiz, but to be on the safe side it would be better to be able to discern the difference between the data on the tablet and what she learned firsthand. So, prepared to learn more about the man she was in a secret relationship with, she plucked the tablet from the end of the couch.
"Is it story time?" Birkhoff asked, shooting her a mischievous smile.
The eagerness to his voice made her laugh, despite having no idea what he was talking about. "I thought you didn't need a nap?" she teased, dropping onto the couch near him.
He shot her a little look, peering over the glasses that had slid down his nose. "You've got homework," he ignored her question, "and I want to know what the dragon lady has on me."
"You mean you don't know what's in your file?" she couldn't help but voice her surprise, and perhaps disbelief.
"There are Division's files, and then there are Amanda's," he informed her bitterly. "She keeps her mind voodoo sessions separate," he wiggled his fingers as he said this, and Alicia cracked a smile, "while the rest of us deal in facts."
"So you've never peeked?" Alicia pressed. She knew regardless of where Amanda's files were stored that Birkhoff could access them. She doubted there was anything he couldn't get his hands on if he set his mind on it. After all, he'd hacked into Percy's personal files just that morning. If he could get into the head honcho's private data then getting into the resident psychiatrist's would be easy.
"I already know she hates my guts. I've never felt the need to read about it," with a chuckle he pushed his glasses back up his nose.
Alicia turned on the tablet, watching the start up screen as it booted. "Why does she hate you so much? I mean," she nudged him playfully, "besides you possibly being a traitor and all."
"She's got a major hard on for Percy, and he trusted me with finding prospective recruits. Ever since the day he had me make the program to handle the nitty gritty of narrowing down the fields," he relaxed back in the couch, done with his work for the moment, "she became the wicked witch of the west." After flashing a glance to Alicia he slipped his arm over her shoulder, drawing her closer. He knew she'd sat a little away so as not to interfere with his work and wanted to let her know that wasn't necessary, as thoughtful as it was.
This was news to her. Birkhoff's the one who found me? It came a shock to learn he had been the one who had made her second chance possible. "Amanda wanted to pick the recruits?" she asked, not all that surprised if that was the case.
"She was in charge of it before I came along. Well, for the most part," he filled her in. "It was Percy who found me. I think he was tired of having to go out and handpick ones he found useful. You know Amanda," he sneered, "she's more interested in how she can use Agents than anything else. Percy only allows it because he doles out the missions where her approach is necessary to her when they come up. Unfortunately sometimes her mind games are required."
Alicia knew better than anyone how Amanda enjoyed utilizing her favorites. While she spent a fair amount of time with each and every member of Division, picking around inside of their heads, there were those she found more promise in than others. The title of Amanda's Pet carried the burden of being looked at differently by other Agents. Knowing it was her looks and ability to morph into whatever character the mission called for that made Amanda like her so much, Alicia could just picture what Division would be like if it was run by the woman. Still, Birkhoff being behind the selection process brought a few questions to mind. "So," she asked casually, "what is it you look for in a prospective?"
Looking down into her green eyes he knew exactly what was on her mind. "You mean why you?" he prompted her with a little smile. The look on her face was answer enough and he didn't hesitate to fill her in. She may as well know what was in her file; it was about her after all. "You fit the profile of what we look for; it's as simple as that. The basic formula for my program popping you out," Birkhoff shrugged, "is pretty simple. First box to check was your situation. Division recruits those who have substantial prison terms to serve, are on death row or would be if it wasn't for us. More importantly though is that you wouldn't be missed. Not having any family ties or nosey friends who would be looking for you makes our job a whole lot easier. We can't have someone searching for someone who, for all intents and purposes, is dead after all."
He felt a little bad to be the one to tell her this. It seemed so impersonal when he thought about it, and truthfully he never had before. "Next are the circumstances that put you there. What stuck out about you weren't just your crimes or how you went about committing them, but that you evaded authorities for six years. That's a feat in itself, but the fact you did it without any paper trail shows you've got smarts," he pushed a few strands of hair back behind his ear, "and for Division that means potential. After that it's more superficial. In shape? Check. Attractive? Check. In the proper age range? Check."
When he put it like that it did make sense. "So, it's that simple?" she questioned.
"Well, after my program flags you as a prospective you go to Amanda. She looks into whether you're mentally stable and such," he snorted, "not that she rejects the crazies. Everyone has their uses after all. From then on it's all on Percy. He makes the final cut and sends Michael to go pick up Division's new asset."
"If that's all there is to it I'm surprised there aren't more of us. I mean," she looked up at him, "these days there are a lot of people that fit that description, aren't there?"
Birkhoff nodded, knowing full well how many there were. "We try our best to pick the winners. But sometimes even we get it wrong. Training isn't just to prepare you," he explained, "it's also to weed out those not up to the task. Scrubs who can't pass the basics don't last very long in Division."
"You mean-"
"Cancelation," he nodded. "Well, that or a suicide mission. We can't exactly return them to where we found them when we had to document their deaths to get them out in the first place. You could say," he grinned, "you're dead the second you step in Division."
Alicia laughed, shaking her head as she did. As morbid as the whole thing was, when it was relayed to her in Birkhoff's teasing tone she couldn't help but see the funny side to it. "So, how did I die?" she was curious to know.
Seeing as Birkhoff was the one who handled the task of fabricating the deaths of all recruits he knee hers by heart. "Quite poetic really. After successfully killing the man you'd hunted down for six years" a smile was growing on his face as he said it, "you committed suicide. Seppuku to be exact."
For a moment her face was blank, and he watched as she slowly absorbed this information. "You mean to say I disemboweled myself?" she asked in astonishment.
He let out a laugh, pleasantly surprised she knew what the term meant. "Well your weapon of choice was a mean dagger," he shrugged, smirking, "and I thought it would be a good way for you to go, all things considered. Your mission accomplished you exterminated yourself with honor before you could face sentencing."
"So how many of my fellow Divisionites," she smirked at the term she'd just come up with as well as the topic of conversation, "have taken the samurai's way out?"
It only took Birkhoff a second to think about it. "Only you," he kissed her nose playfully, "I guess you could say I knew you were special before I ever met you. Man, am I a genius or what?"
She laughed openly, positively glowing. Looking at the pair it would've been impossible to guess they'd just been talking about her suicide, fabricated or not. "How about you, how did you die?"
Before he could answer her he remembered just what the device she had resting in her lap held. "Take a look and find out," he tapped the tablet.
Alicia had forgotten all about her assignment, but the moment she lifted the device it all came rushing back. "What all do you think is on here?" she asked, scanning over the icons.
"No clue," he admitted.
"Well there's only one way to find out," she breathed, tapping on the icon that could only hold the information in question. When she was greeted with familiar black interface that the Division's servers used she knew she was in the right place. A directory appeared with only one option to choose from. Her eyes flickered over to Birkhoff, and their eyes met. After a little nod from him, she returned her attention to the screen and clicked on the words Seymour Birkhoff.
A picture of a much younger Birkhoff took over the screen, lingering for a moment before zooming out to rest in the upper left hand corner. "I hate that picture," he groaned.
"You look so young!" she marveled. Her eyes were still on the picture, not paying attention to the rest of the data quickly appearing.
"I was seventeeneighteen when that picture was taken," he complained, "had barely been in Division for two seconds when Amanda snapped it and saved my file." Birkhoff reached up, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. A big reason he never revisited his file after the first time he'd accessed it was because, unlike everything else at Division, he had no control over it. Whatever went into it was strictly up to Percy and, unfortunately, Amanda. Making any changes to it would have only elicited their anger. "They update all Active's photos once a year, or whenever your appearance changes, but it's just a file extension. Your main one," he grumbled, "always remains the same."
At the mention of this her eyes quickly found the file in question. Before he could protest she clicked on it, and one after one his photos appeared in a grid. As he moved to commandeer the tablet she swiftly turned her back on him, holding it out of reach. Her eyes danced over the photos, counting them out as she went. "You've been in sixteenfifteen years?" she asked in awe. She'd heard that Birkhoff was a long-time member of Division, but she hadn't known it was that long.
"FifteenFourteen," he corrected her, making another swipe for the tablet. Alicia moved quickly, clambering under his arms to the other side of the couch. He gave her a sour look, which only made her smile all the more. "When I got my contacts they updated the picture," he explained, "ergo sixteenfifteen pictures, fifteenfourteen years."
While she was listening to him, her eyes were down on the screen. Kneeling on the couch, she rested back to sit on her calves as she enlarged one of the pictures. Her eyes danced over the image, taking in Seymour's young face. At seventeeneighteen he'd looked so boyishly cute, his hair the same long messy style it was now. With a smile on her face she flicked through the pictures, watching Birkhoff grow up right before her eyes. As the years went on he lost some of the youthful thickness of his face, but not all. Over the years his stubble came and went, never getting longer that an inch. His eyes seemed to lose some shine, almost changing color with how they seemed to morph from glittering cobalt to a more serious shade of navy blue. She could see how Division had matured him.
"What happened your fourth year?" she asked, flicking back to the picture. It stood out from all of the rest. His hair had been trimmed, but it was more than just the haircut that made him look different. He looked a touch pale, eyes a little bloodshot and his expression was very solemn. Unlike in the rest of photos he didn't look frustrated at having his photo taken, rather he looked nervous.
Birkhoff grimaced at her. He wasn't self conscious about his appearance so to speak, but he didn't like the photos he knew were in his file. While he'd only ever seen three of them before, he'd been there when they were being taken and he knew just how unhappy he'd been to have them done. Broody pictures weren't appealing, not for anyone. "Michael had told me the day before I'd be going along on my first Op," he groaned, "which you would know if you were doing your homework instead of playing around."
"Your first Op?" she looked up to him from the pictures, eyes sparkling.
She looked so adorable, kneeling like that. And the expression she was giving him, like she was just dying to know, made him smile despite himself. "No, the first Op I went along on instead of manning it from the safety of Operations," he corrected her. "Now get over here," Birkhoff motioned for her with a pulling of his finger, "and stop goofing off or you'll never get anything done."
"But Seymour, you look so cute," she gushed, grinning down at the photos. She'd never kept a photo of anyone from her life, not after she lost her mother, and it felt nice to have a few of Birkhoff. It didn't matter that they were Division issued snapshots. They were of Seymour and that was all that mattered. Alicia would have told him that if it didn't sound so sappy and sentimental. But really, it's not like she'd ever be allowed to have a picture of him by normal means. This assignment was revealing more and more benefits by the second.
Birkhoff just raised his brows, tilting his head in impatience. Without another word she obeyed his command from earlier, crawling back to his side. She settled in, pulling his arm down over her shoulder as she took her place against him. He smiled in amusement as she begrudgingly backed out of the photographs. "Treat it like any other assignment," he warned her before she could decide what to open next, "because I know how the dragon lady works. What does she do every time you have a target?"
"We go over my approach based on the information I've received," she sighed, knowing he was right. For a second she stared down at the file before going over all of the basic information. To the right of his picture was a fairly simple list. It stated his birthday followed by his age: 32, his gender: Male, his height: 5' 8", his weight: 150lbs. . . . she scanned over all of the remaining data, committing it to memory. Alicia knew that she had to take this seriously or risk them being discovered, but it was hard to do when the man she was currently reading up on was right beside her. She'd just finished going over the page when Birkhoff's computer chimed.
He flashed it a look, drawing his arm from her with a groan. "Looks like we've both got homework," Seymour muttered as he reached for the mouse. With a few clicks his suspicions were confirmed. Once more Division called for his attention. He chanced a look over at Alicia only to find his picture on her screen once more. "Okay that's it chika," he snatched it away, holding it up and out of reach as he scowled at the picture on the screen, "your tablet rights have been revoked."
"Hey!" she yelped, reaching for it. He moved it quickly, holding it off to the side instead. "All I did was open a different folder," Alicia complained, "that's it."
Birkhoff stared at the picture as he held the tablet at arm's length. "What is this shit? She's been having me followed?" his eyes narrowed in angrily at the picture. Alicia was right; she hadn't gone back to looking at the yearly photos. The image on his screen was that of him coming out of his favorite comic shop. What bothered him was that he had no way of knowing when this picture had been taken. He'd been going there for years.
"That's a traffic-cam photo Seymour," she pointed out. As she knew it would, calling him by his first name caused his expression to relax a little and he examined the picture to judge her claim. "Of course Division is going to want pictures of where you frequent," Alicia continued, slipping onto her knees beside him. Even as he was reminding himself this was true, she started to make a move for the tablet once more. She reached over him, having to place a hand on the cushion on the other side of him for stabilization as she deftly plucked it from his grasp.
"It's just," he ran a hand over his hair, "usually I'm the stalker not the stalkee."
She set the tablet down on the couch, flicking her finger over the display to back up a screen. "Well, get used to it. Amanda was nice enough to provide me with a complete list of where you go," Alicia informed him what the file in question contained, "along with timetables. Looks like you've been a stalkee for quite some time bub."
A little trill came from his computers speakers once more, and Birkhoff reached over her back to the mouse. He found himself temporarily distracted from the conversation as he pulled up the alert and started to type out commands. Work called for his attention and he couldn't afford to deny it. There was no one else who would, or even could, do his job for him. He was so absorbed in his work he didn't even notice when Alicia eased off of her hands and knees.
She settled instead on her stomach, lying across Seymour's lap. Whatever was in the cream that Division had provided was working, and her injury didn't even sting as she put pressure on it. Her feet went up in the air, and she propped her head up with one hand, using the other to flick the screen of the tablet that lay on the couch. It was oddly comfortable, and when Birkhoff rested his forearms over her back as he assaulted the keys she smiled.
It didn't take her long to get absorbed in the information. With every sentence she read she pieced together more information about him not as a target, but as a person. Every girlfriend should get something like this, she mused. It was easy to get a picture of just who Seymour Birkhoff was as she took in the data. Alicia had a secret in, having already spent enough time with the man to begin to understand him, and all of the information gave her more insight than it would anyone else who looked at it. His likes, his dislikes and his history were all displayed right in front of her.
By the time Birkhoff had the issue that had called for his attention under control, Alicia was already well underway with her reading. He looked down at her, sprawled across him, and smirked at his luck. There wasn't any point in asking if her stomach hurt; he knew she'd insist it didn't. As much as it pained him to know she'd gotten hurt on her Op he also knew that his worry was irrational. She was right in saying it was just a scratch. Compared to some of the injuries she'd received as a recruit during training it was nothing. Division wasn't exactly gentle on their personnel.
His hand found the small of her back, and he gently hitched up her shirt, tracing patterns on her skin as he went. "Anything interesting?" he asked, gazing down at the flawless skin of her back. It had been quite some time since he'd last been with a woman, and he most certainly had never been with one in the way he was with Alicia. He'd had a romp or two with a few of the techies over the years, and had even managed a handful of one night stands when out on the town. But none of them had been anywhere close to as beautiful as Alicia, and he'd certainly never had the chance to be casual and relaxed around them. Cuddling wasn't something Seymour Birkhoff had ever known before.
"Interesting is an understatement," she mused, "I mean really Birkhoff; the Pentagon? You hacked into the Pentagon?!"
He grinned at the awe in her voice. "That I did. From my dormroom no less," he chuckled.
"And that's how you wound up in prison," Alicia murmured, "where Percy was already waiting to snatch you up."
"I only got caught because I got cocky. I was so busy covering my own tracks as I hacked my way in I totally forgot about the college servers," he grimaced at the memory of it. If he'd only taken the time to think about it then it would have been a problem easily solved. Truth be told he was so invested in getting into their system that he had gotten sloppy.
He watched as she shook her head, continuing on in her research even as she talked to him. "Why did you do it? All of the other things attached to your Shadow Walker alias are digital attacks on government agencies. Where does accessing the Pentagon's security systems fit it?" she asked, truly curious.
"I was proving a point. Sending a message. Showing them that us cyber bullies could get to them," Birkhoff smirked, "just as easily as they were claiming they could get to us. Their security systems were a symbol and I tagged Shadow Walker all over the sucker." Her laugh was full of admiration and awe as she shook her head, her auburn hair falling to hang over her shoulders. He grinned, thoroughly pleased with himself. Having her impressed with him was a good feeling and he considered his ego now thoroughly stroked. "Anything else?" he asked, truly curious now.
"Let's just say all my suspicions have been confirmed," Alicia sighed in response.
His finger froze on her back, his attention now focused on the back of her head. "Oh, and what pray tell were those?"
"That there's no way you and I would ever be together in the real world," she replied sounding almost defeated. He couldn't wrap his head around her answer, but there wasn't any time to ask for an explanation. Alicia was kind enough to start providing one on her own. "I mean look at all this stuff. Even before Division you were a legend. If it wasn't for getting caught you were clearly headed towards big things. No wonder Percy couldn't wait to get his hands on you," she marveled. After flicking her screen and pausing to read something she continued to talk, despite the fact she was still going over his information. "With all the hacks you did it would only be natural to assume you have some money hidden away. And from your cars comment," she tucked some hair behind her ear, "I take it that some is closer to tons."
He waited for more, but she'd fallen silent. Working over what she said, he still couldn't quite grasp what she was trying to get at. "What does that have to do with a potential us?" Birkhoff urged her to finish the thought. While he agreed they'd never have ended up together if it wasn't for their unusual circumstances, he didn't understand her reasoning behind it.
"You broke into the Pentagon at seventeen Birkhoff," she gave a little laugh as though the answer was obvious, "from your college dorm room. If you hadn't gotten caught imagine where you'd be now. You'd be filthy rich, and the alias Shadow Walker well known as some sort of modern day Robin Hood."
"A: I'm going to use that sometime," he laughed, liking the sound of it already. But, as much as he liked hearing her praise him, he still didn't see where she was headed with it. "And B: How does any of that affect us?"
This time she looked over her shoulder, turning her green eyes to take in his face. Alicia scanned over his expression once, then twice, as though trying to decide if he was being serious. When she realized he was, she shook her head in disbelief. "What would a wealthy legend be doing with the likes of me?" she scoffed, rolling her eyes before turning back to the tablet.
"Uh hello," he chimed, "have you seen yourself?"
"Oh puh-lease Seymour. Face it; you'd never look twice at me in the real world. So what if I've got a pretty face?" she asked, sounding amused. "I'd still be a girl on the run wanted for three murders. You know what they say: Ain't no rest for the wicked. I'd always be looking over my shoulder with a burden to carry. And you," Alicia gave a little laugh, "you would be up in your ivory tower eating bon bons and saving the world."
The second it sunk in he was staring at her with mouth open. "You're saying I would be too good for you?" Birkhoff asked with a laugh.
"Well now that I think about it, no. What I'm saying," she looked back over her shoulder to him, "is that you already are too good for me." When he just stared at her like she was crazy she just once more rolled her eyes. For a genius, she mused, he sure doesn't catch on fast. Turning back to the tablet she shrugged her shoulders at his obliviousness to their situation. "Birkhoff you're the head of the IT department of a secret government organization which you singlehandedly built the system for, not to mention an all around braniac. Me," she smiled, "I was just lucky enough to be selected by your program."
"I think you should get your head checked with Amanda," he scoffed.
"You may want to take that back," she teased, "because apparently she's not very good at her job. She has it written here that you have a god-complex. From what I'm hearing that's not true."
He laughed, shaking his head. Alicia truly was one in a million. Deciding there was no reason to insist that she was the one out of his league, he let the conversation drop. All that mattered was that she clearly wanted him and he knew damn well how much he wanted her. Who was better than who really didn't matter. What was important was that he currently had a beautiful girl on his lap and he was the fool that was disagreeing with her. While his fingers resumed tracing patterns over the smooth skin of her back he thought over what she'd said. "While you sit there and go over my information," he couldn't help but ask, "do you mind if I poke your brain a bit?"
She thought he'd never ask, and hid her smile as she stared down at the words on the tablet. "No, not at all," she responded nonchalantly.
"How did you become a girl on the run, wanted for three murders," he mirrored her words back at her, sincerely curious. He had been dying to know. A girl like Alicia didn't become a killer for no reason.
Alicia paused, considering how to answer this. While she'd wanted him to ask about her past so he could understand who she was, regardless of her title as a murdered, she hadn't thought of how she'd go about answering. "Do you want to hear it the long way," she asked, "or the short way?"
"With you? Any which way," he purred, slipping his hand onto her ass and giving a squeeze. When she laughed in response he smirked, leaving his hand where it had come to rest. "I want you to spill all the beans," he answered more seriously this time, "since you get my entire file I think it's only fair."
"My dad died when I was pretty young; drug overdose. So as you can tell, I wasn't exactly brought up in sunshine valley," she started at the beginning. Flicking the screen, she moved on to the next tidbit of information on him even as she talked. "My dad's brother, my uncle Clark, moved in and he and my mom shacked up so to speak. I stayed away from home as much as I could, seeing as the two were both drug heads. I took care of myself and stayed out of their way. Really things weren't as bad as they could have been, all things considered. Clark was an asshole," she grimaced just thinking about him, "and even that is an understatement. When he lost his job he got my mom all doped up and rented her out to two of his friends for the night."
Talking about it some of the anger came back, but nothing like she used to feel when she thought of that night. Amanda, despite all of her nasty sides, had worked with Alicia since day one on her past. She'd helped her to see that what had happened was a long time coming and she'd been the only reasonable one of the bunch. "I sat in my room thinking of all the ways I'd like to kill them, but I didn't do a thing to stop it. When I came out in the morning for school," she exhaled a low breath, "my mom wasn't breathing and the two assholes were passed out from the drugs. I just snapped. I went into the kitchen and I took a knife and I-" Alicia paused before deciding not to go too far into the details, "well, you know what happened. I cut em up and hit the road."
Birkhoff listened intently, staring towards the back of her head. He'd heard a lot of stories over his years at Division. All things considered Alicia was right; it wasn't as bad as it could have been. She wouldn't have been the first recruit to have been molested, abused or worse; sold into the sex trade. While he was glad that wasn't the case with her, he couldn't help but wish there had been some way of finding her before all of this happened to her.
"By the time I had gotten far enough to breathe I realized that I wasn't done. I had to find Clark, I just had to. There wasn't anything else left for me anymore. I was already screwed, and I figured if I was going to go down then it would be with a bang. You know the rest," she shrugged, "I found him, killed him and waited for the men in blue to take me away."
He sat and absorbed her story. Though he didn't know what he expected her history to have contained he was nevertheless surprised. The official police reports for the original two reported murders had painted the killings as being chillingly precise. Birkhoff had looked over the files himself; he'd seen the photos of the crime scene. It hadn't looked like a crime of passion but rather a cold calculated murder scene. Looking at the beautiful girl that lay so casually over his lap it was hard to believe she'd been capable of such things before Division had sunk their teeth into her. While his curiosities on her crimes were sated, he wasn't done with her yet. "How did you manage to remain under the radar so long?" he asked.
"It was easy really," she shrugged, "I just floated." Alicia had finished the task of researching Birkhoff and rolled over on the couch, sitting instead with her knees drawn up over his lap, leaning back on her elbows as she looked to him. "I used my arsenal of fairy dust smiles," she flashed him one of said smiles as she spoke, "and charmed people into letting me stay with them. That's why I'm so good at cooking, massages and paying attention to the little details. Instead of using my body I used my head to find places to stay. By the time they wanted to take things the next step I'd already be gone. The only times it got anywhere was when I wanted it to, but I'd always split before they could get attached. I guess you could say I shared Division's view on things. Lesson One of successfully surviving without complications: no relationships."
He felt like a huge weight had lifted from his shoulders. While Seymour never would have blamed her if she'd had to sleep around in order to survive, he was beyond pleased to find out this wasn't the case. Once more he couldn't help but realize how incredibly lucky he'd been that she'd persisted in those disarming smiles of hers. Picturing life without her was just sad. He took her in with a sweep of his eyes, before realizing she had discarded the tablet. "You done reading up on me?" he asked, eyes sparkling.
She nodded. "Yeah. Oh, and you should know that now I've got a hotline direct to your tracker," Alicia rose her brows, flashing him a playful smile, "not that it matters what with you being able to hack your signal in your sleep."
"Well, what would you like to do now sweetcheeks? I've currently got a break in work it would seem," he asked, glad that it seemed they would be able to get some time together.
He watched as she smirked, gently biting on her lip as she tilted her head and stared up at him. With wide emerald eyes perfectly laced with mischief she only took a moment to think about the question. "Wanna make out," her voice was playfully seductive as she stared straight into his eyes, "Shadow Walker?"
Birkhoff let out a little growl, moving toward her without hesitation. "I thought you'd never ask," he purred, his voice husky. His lips met hers, bodies shifting as he positioned himself over her. She was just slender enough, and the couch just wide enough, for his knees to fit just perfectly on either side of her hips as he kept his weight off of her. One had slipped up to the side of her head, fingers lacing into her hair.
Alicia accepted him, the kiss quickly heating up. She eased her back down onto the couch as he lowered his torso to follow her. The moment her head hit the cushion her hands found the fronts of his shoulders, resting against the warm muscle that lay hidden beneath the cotton tee. Though according to Amanda's file Birkhoff didn't have much experience with women, he was an expert kisser. She could feel herself melting into him as the kiss was deepened, tongues dancing fervently with each others. His warmth surrounded her, followed soon after by his sent. Birkhoff smelt gently of fine cologne, a surprisingly dark and almost spicy sent that sent a shiver down her spine. No one would ever expect the computer nerd to be the suave man that Alicia had come to know.
Her hands traveled down his chest, slowly taking in the firm wall of muscle that was hers. She loved that thought, and when her hands found the hem of his shirt she wasted no time in slipping them underneath it. Though Birkhoff wasn't the chiseled, perfectly cut muscle that the activeActive Agents were, he was still in great shape. As her hands traveled up his shirt she splayed her fingers out, wanting to feel every inch of him that she could. There was a hunger burning in her gut, and it was for Birkhoff. She couldn't explain it, but the man drove her completely crazy.
Gliding over his warm skin her hands moved instead to roam up his back, hitching the graphic tee shirt up as she went. The second her hands came to rest on his shoulder blades he pulled his mouth back. His navy blue eyes met hers, a spark passing between them, and he backed away from her to slip his shirt up and over his head. For a moment Alicia was frozen, staring up at him. She took a mental picture, filing it away.
Seymour couldn't believe that his lust was perfectly reflected in her eyes. He didn't quite understand how this beautiful girl could want him when she was surrounded by candidates for GQ on a daily basis. But for once he took Amanda's advice. Never question a gift, he thought, smirking, it's rude. The silly woman hadn't even known that she had given him a present by throwing Alicia in his path, but he was going to happily accept it nonetheless.