Heya, whazzup?
Update time.
Sorry updating is so irregular and rare. I'm busy with real life, sadly.
Anyway, I wanna say a big thank you to my faithful reviewers: Shadir, Daxo, Badkidoh and Halfhuman123.
Also I want to thank the nice people who add my story to their story alert, thanks guys!
Disclaimer: I claim no ownership whatsoever of anything in this story, except maybe some plot, do not sue.
Note: One of my all time favorite story makes a cameo in this chap. I wonder if anybody else likes it?
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Chapter 10 – Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Kimiko closed the door behind her. The room was dark, as its windows faced west. It took her a moment to adjust her eyes to the gloom, the hallway had been lit. A sudden voice erupting next to her ear caused her to jump.
"And where have you been?" it sounded furious.
Her face snapped around to the source of the voice. Dojo occupied the back of one of the armchairs framing the door. He sat up as tall as he could, while still in his miniature form, his arms crossed over his narrow elongated chest. His tail twitched in an irritated fashion.
Kimiko rolled her eyes, she'd forgotten Dojo was there.
"Have you any idea what time it is?" Dojo demanded, sounding every bit like an exasperated overprotective mother.
If she weren't so tired, and her feet weren't so sore, Kimiko might have been amused with the dragon's antics.
"I was out partying wildly. Drinking too. Not that it really concerns you Dojo" she stated testily.
"Master Fung expressly told me to keep an eye on you, so it does concern me" he stopped and looked more closely at Kimiko " There's something different about you… hey! Weren't you wearing a dress?" he exclaimed.
"Like I said, wild party" she muttered, dropping on the bed. She closed her eyes.
Dojo hopped of the armchair and made his way to the bed. A minute dip in the mattress alerted her to the dragon's whereabouts.
She cracked open her eyes. Dojo hovered above her, his snout inches from her face, an expectant look on his reptilian face. Kimiko sighed and began relating the lengthy story. Why couldn't Dojo read the mood and wait till she'd gotten some sleep.
"So you just left your dress lying there?" Dojo asked after she'd finished speaking.
"Of course not" she snapped "it's in the pack"
"So you just left the pack there?" Dojo would not let the thing drop. He always picked the worst times to get stubborn.
"No" she sighed, closing her eyes and willing the pestering lizard away "The pack is on my back, currently squished under me" She opened her eyes, Dojo was still there. No psychic powers then.
Dojo gave her a dubious look "Not that I can see" he said.
Heaving another long suffering sigh, Kimiko lifted herself to a sitting position, performing a curious set of motions with her arms, or so it seemed to Dojo. She then held a fist up for inspection.
"N-ooot getting it" Dojo said lifting an eyebrow "Maybe you should get some sleep" he conceded.
"Ha, ha. Take a better look, and then maybe I can do just that" she gave her hand a shake.
He did see it then "That's… a very unusual color"
"It's not a color, it's one of Jack's inventions" she said, running her fingers over the strange magnifying surface, until they encountered a small metallic bump. Frowning in concentration she tried to pick it off. After some fidgeting, something gave a tiny click and the device came free. She cradled it in the palm of her hand.
The bag became instantly visible. The design on it was reminiscent of Jack's original jet-pack. She gave that to Dojo, being more interested in the little device.
As she examined it, she became aware that the room was no longer dark. This annoyed her.
Kimiko put the little robot on the bed table, perhaps a little roughly. She must have triggered something, because it gave a little beep and retracted to a very familiar looking golden disk.
Intrigued, despite herself, Kimiko picked it up again. It looked almost completely smooth. Upon closer inspection, however, she discovered a tiny microchip like pattern as well as small concentric rifts marking its surface. Suddenly fearful of misplacing the little disk she tucked it in one of the jacket's pockets.
Meanwhile Dojo had opened the bag and was staring aghast at the dress "You ruined it. Completely" he told her.
"I'll dry clean it and hope for the best. It's a shame, I liked that dress" Kimiko said, yawning hugely. She thought about taking a shower, but was simply too tired to attempt it. "Dojo, be a dear and turn around, I need to get changed" she added rummaging through a drawer for her pajamas.
The dragon complied, still grumbling over the dress.
It was midday when Kimiko woke up to a knock on the door. It started like one at least, then steadily progressed to a full blow staccato rhythm. Dojo snored unhelpfully from the foot of the bed.
She forced herself out of bed, swaying slightly, determined to break the offenders arm and use it to beat a staccato through his skull, only more literally.
Kimiko wrenched the door open. On the other side, Jack froze, fist in air, poised to knock. He unfurled the fist and gave her a little wave.
"I guess I'm disturbing, huh?" he asked nervously, if unnecessarily.
Kimiko wrestled for a moment with her initial desire to pummel him, and sensible thinking. The pounding headache, didn't improve Jack's chances. Luckily for him, the later won out.
"What is it Jack?" she asked, her voice rough with sleep.
"We-el, I thought we could get to work on this" he said, producing the cryptex, an unreasonably jovial expression on his face.
"Ew. You're a morning person" Kimiko said in disgust, making a face.
Jack looked thoughtful "I am, but in all fairness, it's midday" he said reasonably.
Kimiko's shoulders sagged in resignation, and she walked back into the room.
Jack hesitated a moment before deeming it safe to follow "I did make sure we got seven hours of sleep" he assured her.
Kimiko gave him a baleful look over her shoulder "You may have gotten seven hours, I had a talkative dragon to attend to" she said, switching her glare to the oblivious Dojo.
"Er, we don't have to do this right now" Jack said hesitantly as Kimiko proceeded to tidy the bed in a rather violent unstable way.
"I can hardly go to sleep now, can I?" she said this quietly, so she wouldn't wake the slumbering dragon. This was not out of respect for an old saying, or for the dragon in question, from the kindness of her hear. She simply did not need another yapping mouth.
"Love the PJs" Jack said over the sound of pillow fluffing. Kimiko ignored this.
Jack flopped in one of the chairs next to the window "Nice weather today" he said vaguely.
Kimiko sat on the bed, crossing her arms "The weather, Jack? That's very un-original of you. I'm disappointed" she commented drily. Her headache was beginning to fade and as a consequence her mood was improving.
Jack picked up on that. Sprawling in his chair, he offered a lazy cat-smile "I figured I'd try and play it safe. A politically correct topic. The way you were punching those pillows… It didn't much encourage originality" he had to duck as one of the afore mentioned pillows was thrown at his head.
"Low blood pressure" Kimiko said shrugging "I hate waking up"
"I'm not surprised to hear that. Grouchy sounds like you" he told her cheerfully.
Kimiko lifted an eyebrow "I thought you were keeping it safe" she said warningly, but for some reason felt like smiling.
"Right. Should I call for coffee?" Jack said diplomatically.
"I abhor coffee" she stated
"Tea then!" he exclaimed brightly, undeterred "I know you like that"
"I'm like an open book to you, hmm?" Kimiko said archly.
"Not at all. I'm only playing an your good side. Tea?"
Kimiko smiled, the man was incorrigible.
"I'll call. Get some breakfast while I'm at it" she said reaching across the bed for the phone "Want?" she asked dialing Room Service.
"Sure. No peanuts, I'm allergic"
"All done. Now be a good boy, and keep yourself busy as I go shower" she told Jack.
A shower and a peanut-butter-free breakfast later, they were –all three of them, for Dojo wouldn't have slept through breakfast- seated comfortably around the room. Jack sat cross legged on the bed, crypts in his hands, his face locked in a frown of concentration. He wore his orange goggles again. Every few minutes he would mutter a curse word.
Kimiko sat curled up in one of the armchairs, covering her feet in bandages. It was depressing how much of her feet she had to cover in ointment and white material. There was hardly any skin left, that was not either raw, swollen or covered in bandages. A miracle her toes didn't freeze off too. She suddenly remembered how nice and warm Jack's body had felt as he carried her. Kimiko paused, that had been a completely random and marginally disturbing thought. She shook her head to dislodge it and redirected her attention to her feet.
Dojo was serenely polishing a framed photo of Master Fung.
A particularly loud curse from the bed made Kimiko look up from her depressing occupation.
"You ok?" she asked curiously.
Jack heaved a frustrated sigh. He ran his free hand through his hair, in the other he held the cryptex "This thing is impossible" he hissed.
Kimiko straightened up in the armchair " I thought you liked the thing"
"Oh, I do" he exclaimed glaring at the cylinder "It's just that it's so… frustrating" he stood up, suddenly pacing the room.
"You explain things so well Jack" she intoned "let's give it another go" she said, getting up and carefully making her way to the recently vacated bed "Sit down and explain how the thing works, maybe I can help"
The prospect seemed to appeal to Jack, as he readily joined her. He dropped on the bed with a little too much enthusiasm, Kimiko was lifted off it for a second.
"Try to keep the explanation relevant, don't wander off" she told him.
"Will do" he agreed, giving a mock salute "Okay then. So this is basically a hollowed cylinder. Inside it is a slip of papyrus-our clue- as well as a vial of vinegar" he launched into the explanation.
"Vinegar?" Kimiko interrupted.
"Yeah. If you tried to forcefully open the cryptex, the vial would crack, and the vinegar would dissolve the papyrus" Jack explained patiently.
"Ok, so no cheating. Go on" she said.
"Well" he said leaning in towards her "this is the good bit. Notice the wider cylinder has a labyrinth like pattern on it, it's also only half as tall as the other cylinder. Now if you'll look closely at this longer cylinder, you'll notice that there are tiny bumps running the length of it. To open the cryptex you need to slide over, hook and press the buttons in, in a correct order, to trigger the opening mechanism. Kinda like a key turning in a lock."
Kimiko nodded slowly "Sounds fairly uncomplicated. Where's the catch?"
Jack grimaced "Uncomplicated in concept. But have you seen the thing. Pardon the expression, but that maze is a bitch to crack"
"Can I have a go?" she offered.
Jack gave her a doubting look, which she instantly found offensive "What? You think I'm not clever enough?" she demanded angrily.
"No!" Jack exclaimed, hastily leaning away and lifting his hands in a placating gesture "It's just that, you tend to sort of run off with your temper"
Their eyes met "Yeah, like that" Jack said appearing to shrink under her heated glare. "I'll give it to you, if you promise to handle it calmly" he conceded, slowly offering her the cryptex.
Kimiko rolled her eyes "Does my temper come out as being that terrible?" she cried out.
"Yes!" both Jack and Dojo said at once.
Kimiko silently and a little stiffly took the device. Experimentally she started twisting and sliding the maze over the bumps. She managed to push it up half an inch, before it jammed "Wha-?" she said trying to get it free.
Jack's hand appeared out of nowhere to cover both of hers, stilling them "Don't do that. When it sticks, just allow it to slide back" he said soothingly.
Without the support of her hand the cylinder slid back. Jack removed his hand.
Several tries later Kimiko handed the cryptex over "This is really not my thing" she muttered grudgingly.
"I could have told you that. I did, I think. Kim, baby, you have virtually no patience unless you really focus on it" Jack said informatively.
Kimiko only shrugged.
"Kimiko?" Jack called after a while.
She looked up from her bored slump "Yes?"
"Babe, it's really distracting having you hover like that" he said, his eyes intent on the cryptex, he'd managed to slide it halfway over.
"Distracting?" she repeated, lifting an eyebrow.
"Yeah. Like I keep feeling the need to look over and see if you're doing anything, or just staring blandly at nothing" he said fluttering a hand for emphasis.
"That makes sense Jack" she said sarcastically "so if I were to start prancing around, you'd find me less distracting, because I would be doing something?"
"No. I would still find you distracting, but for very different reasons" he said, finally looking up to give her a very pointed once over.
Kimiko's eyebrows shot up at that and her mouth fell open slightly, in surprise. The thing must be really getting to him if he was spouting stuff like that. Still he was being irritating and completely unreasonable. To think only moments ago he was picking on her temper.
"It's not like I can do anything useful, remember? I tried and you banished me to this end of the room" she said acidly.
Jack cursed loudly. He'd run into a dead end again. Reluctantly he allowed the cylinder to fall back. He looked up at her once more. He sighed "You're being overdramatic"
"Yes, well you're clearly frustrated and eager to stir up a fight to vent out some of it" she countered.
"Not at all. I was merely going to make a suggestion. You took up the defensive" he said innocently.
"Right. I'm all ears" Kimiko said derisively.
"Why don't you take Dojo and go out, have a look at the tourist attractions. Buy some souvenirs" he suggested.
Kimiko gapped at him "Are you trying to kick me out of my own room?" she demanded "Why don't you just run along to your room?"
"Don't get abrasive. If I did that, you would still be bored, and I'd be stuck with a permanent squint" Jack noticed her bewildered look and added for clarification "because of poor lighting"
Kimiko rubbed her forehead. He could be so exasperating. She decided to take the walk for sanity's sake.
She took a quick run around the city. It was a shame she didn't allow it more time, she thought. She particularly enjoyed Les Jardins de la Muette and the Alexandre Dumas Museum- she hadn't known that Villers Cotterets had been his home town.
Kimiko returned to the hotel room, little over an hour later.
"That was fast" Jack greeted her. He sat at the window table, making use of the last rays of sun.
"I took your car" Kimiko told him happily and tossed him the keys.
Jack caught them out of reflex. He stared from them to Kimiko "You took my car?" he cried in disbelief.
Kimiko shrugged, trying to hide the growing smile.
"How did you get these?" he said jingling the keys "You stole my keys!" he gasped.
Kimiko gave him an arch look "Now who's being overdramatic? And I didn't steal them. I borrowed them"
Jack's face turned into a pained grimace. He clearly wanted to argue the point, Kimiko cut him off before he had the chance "I gave them back, therefore I borrowed. So what are you doing?" she asked walking over to the table.
"He's being artistically creative" a voice answered from the armchair. Kimiko turned to look at Dojo. He was flipping through the channels on the large screen TV. "He started doing that a while ago, after he threw the tantrum. A shame you missed that, it was really funny when he p-" Dojo said with increasing enthusiasm.
"I" Jack said loudly, talking over the little dragon "am drawing out the pattern of the maze, so that I can try and work it out" he finished, glaring at Dojo.
Kimiko looked at Jack "So? Any progress?" she asked.
"I need to finish this first. Then I'll start working on possible routes" he told her as he carefully drew another line. His hand was very steady, Kimiko noticed.
Something else caught her eye. She walked forward, towards the table. "Jack, could you please lift the papers for a second?" she said.
A shadow of worry crossed Jack's face "I'm a bit busy" he said a little too fast, his hands nervously spread out the papers, in an effort to obscure more of the table surface.
"Jack, this is not my table" she said frowning.
"Of course it isn't, it belongs to the hotel" Jack said.
"There's a different pattern on it" Kimiko said, now looking suspiciously at Jack "Where's my table Jack?"
"Er" Jack said, frantically drawing out the maze design.
Kimiko pursed her lips "Dojo" she called, not looking away from Jack "What happened to the ta-?"
"Okay so I was a little angry" Jack admitted. He wouldn't make eye contact with her.
"A little? You trashed the table? Did you break anything else? Is this why you wanted me out?" she asked in disbelief.
"No, I didn't break anything else; and yeah, it would have been nice if you'd taken the lizard with you as well" Jack said grudgingly.
Dojo answered this with an evil chuckle.
Kimiko smirked, not really sure what an appropriate reaction would be. Poor Jack, he looked really frazzled. She frowned slightly, it had occurred to her that he'd been working on the thing for about five hours "Maybe you should take a break" she offered in a kindly voice.
"Why? Do I look neurotic?" he asked, twitching his eye convincingly.
Kimiko snorted. "Did you have lunch?" she asked.
Jack twitched his eye.
"I'll call for lunch. You take a breather. Go watch TV" she told, her tone inviting no insubordination.
"Nu-uh. After I finish this" he said, insubordinately, sounding like a petulant child.
Kimiko smiled, hanging up the phone, having placed the order. She sauntered towards him "You know, I could make you stop" she almost purred.
Jack's head snapped up at her tone. His red eyes were glued to her face. His lips curled into a slow smile "Oh really? And how will you do that?" he asked slowly, laying down his pencil.
Kimiko closed the distance between them and leaned down until their faces were level, she smiled predatorily.
Jack's pulse picked up speed. A pleasant warmth was spreading throughout his body. His breath caught when he saw her hand reach out towards his face.
Slowly, still smiling, Kimiko brought her hand to his cheek, sliding it in a gentle caress touching his temple, then drifting over his ear "Physically" she whispered and sharply tugged him out of the chair by his ear. The chair fell back with a clatter.
Jack's gasp at Kimiko's last word turned into a cry of pain "A-ah-ow! Alright! Alright, I get it! I'm done, I'm done!" he cried pitifully.
Kimiko let go, her face smug "I have to give it to you Jack, you never pick the easy way"
Jack was cradling the side of his head, he looked up through watering eyes "Where's the fun in that?"
Kimiko shook her head. A knock on the door announced the arrival of Room-Service. "Sit" she commanded and went to answer the door.
"They have good food here" Jack said between mouthfuls.
Kimiko smiled. Her eyes fell on the little dragon, currently wolfing down a rather large plate of food. Another point Jack and Dojo agreed upon. They both seemed to love eating.
"I always liked this movie" Jack spoke again "Gerard Depardieu plays a good Count"
They were watching The Count of Monte Cristo. "Yeah, I thought it was fitting to watch this. Did you know Dumas was born in this town?" Kimiko asked.
"Yeah, found out when I was researching the place. Pretty cool, I thought. Did you see the museum?" he said, watching the screen.
"Yeah, had to do it in a hurry though" she answered, shrugging.
"You just couldn't stay away from the great excitement at home, could you?" Jack said, smiling wryly.
Kimiko grinned "Actually, it seems there was quite a bit of that. Honestly, a table? We'll need to pay for that" she said, teasing.
Jack groaned in response.
"Would you two keep it down? I'm trying to watch this" Dojo complained.
The phone rang suddenly.
"Oh great" muttered Dojo in annoyance.
Distractedly, Jack reached out and picked it up. This annoyed Kimiko slightly. It was her room.
"Ello" Jack said into the speaker, a french fry halfway to his mouth.
"Uh-huh" he muttered, nodding "A gentleman?" he asked slowly, lifting his eyebrows at Kimiko, who rolled her eyes.
Jack's face froze at whatever he heard next. He looked more pale than usual. This made Kimiko curious.
"I'll be right down" he said hanging up. Almost instantly he was on his feet and rapidly walking towards the door.
"Wait!" she called after him, getting up as well "What is it?" she asked anxiously.
Jack stopped with his hand on the doorknob. He turned to look at her "It seems Chase is paying us a visit" he said darkly.
Kimiko's eyes widened in alarm "Do you think he suspects-?" she left the question hanging.
Jack shook his head "I don't know. I'll find out in a jiff though…Stay here" he said, darting out the door.
Ten minutes later Jack returned looking bemused.
Kimiko eyed him expectantly.
"Well, it wasn't Chase" he said "it was some lackey of his. I think I offended the fellow by looking so relieved to see him. Anyway, he brought a note for you, from Chase"
Kimiko frowned slightly "What does it say?" she asked.
Jack gasped "Ah! You wound me! You think I would read your mail?" he said, apparently appalled by the notion.
Kimiko gave him a pointed look.
Jack's shoulders slumped in defeat "Female intuition!" he exclaimed "Amazing thing, no way around it"
Kimiko tapped her foot impatiently "Get on with it"
"Okay" he said, producing the folded piece of paper. He flipped it open "He wants to tell you Hanibal Bean is planning something appropriately evil, down in South America" he paused "hmm. Why do you think Chase'd share this?"
Kimiko shrugged "He hates Bean and he has a political career to keep publicly clean. I should give Rae a call, give him a heads up"
"O-kay. Well, he goes on a bit about that, he's a very meticulous writer, Chase is. Lots of big words. Ah yes, he finishes with a droll comment on seismic activity in France and how volcanoes pick the most curious moments to go off" he said, skimming quickly thorough the note. He met Kimiko's worried look with one of his own.
"Oh no. I guess the groaning, the grinding, the really loud rumbling and the ground shaking didn't go unnoticed. Do you think he knows anything?" and after a moment of thought "Does he sound interested?" with Chase that was usually more important.
Jack pursed his lips thoughtfully "He sent a note…that doesn't really scream interest. He's just jerking our chains. He really enjoys messing with people"
Kimiko nodded knowingly "That's good I guess, I would hate to have him as competition" she said with genuine relief.
Jack nodded and walked to the table to pick up the paper, a pencil and the cryptex. Bringing them with his he sat down to the floor, leaning his back against the bed.
After some more sketching, having presumably finished drawing out the maze pattern he began tinkering with the codex. Inevitably the string of curses resumed. Every now and then he would stop to cut out or draw another path.
Having lost interest in the movie, Kimiko went to sit next to him, on the bed, watching his progress and making suggestions.
Kimiko sighed inwardly. Her eyes flew to the clock on the wall. Progress was slow, another two hours had passed. An excited sound drew her attention back to Jack. He'd managed to cross over the latest stitch and had covered more than two thirds of the way.
"Oh yes!" she whispered excitedly, hovering above Jack, her hands clasping his shoulders "Come on, you can do this!" she said in his ear, her eyes keenly following the movements of his fingers as they slid and turned the cylinder. Dojo was peering over his other shoulder, tail twitching nervously.
There was a collective intake of air, as with hesitant fingers Jack gave the cylinder its final turn. Nothing for a moment, then a series of clicking noises filled the silence, and the top of the cryptex slid open.
Kimiko squeaked in delight "You did it! You're brilliant!" she cried in joy, hugging his head.
Dojo roared a flaming "All right!"
As for Jack, he seemed a little dazed, slumping back limply against the bed, with Kimiko's arms wrapped around his head and neck "Whew! I think I'm not cut out for this kind of excitement" he said weakly, gazing wonderingly at the troublesome little device.
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Well, that's over. No what will they find inside?
Nothing really helpful probably. Definitely not straightforward.
Place your bets!