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A few days later, she was waiting around for The Book. Lee had called her when she hadn't come down at her usual time.
"Where are you?" he asked.
"I'm at work."
"Still?"
"Yes. I'll be home by eleven."
"P.M.?!"
"No, A.M.," she said sarcastically. "Yes, P.M.!"
"What are you doing up there?"
"It's called work," she replied.
"Are you alone?"
"Somewhat."
"I'm coming up there."
"What? No. No, you're not," she argued. He had already hung up, and Emily panicked, wondering who would see him with her and then ask questions or make up rumors. She was typing when he entered, and the force by which he came in made her jump. She was extra jumpy lately it seemed, but then again, who wouldn't be when you were expecting someone to leap out at you and kill you?
"You're seriously working until 11?" he asked, looking at her.
"Yes," she nodded.
"Deadline?"
"The Book," she answered. Miranda didn't trust Mei to do this task yet, much to Emily's annoyance.
"What the hell is The Book?"
"You wouldn't get it," she dismissed. "I have to drop it off at Miranda's place afterwards."
"What kind of job is this again?" Lee asked, feeling confused.
"You do your job, and I'll do mine," she answered.
"Fine," he said, moving to sit at Mei's desk. He put his feet up and pulled out his phone. Emily shot him a look but then ignored him. He texted for quite some time.
"I didn't realize Barney was so interested in our movements," she said after a bit, unable to help herself.
"It's not Barney," he answered.
"I see. Girlfriend?" She knew it was Lacy. She had to confirm Lacy was his girlfriend for some reason.
"You could say that."
"How long have you been dating?"
"Not long."
He didn't offer anymore information, but Emily was curious about this woman.
"Do you like her?"
He looked at her then, an amused expression on his face.
"I do."
"How did you meet?"
"At a bar. Why are you interested in this?" he questioned, stopping what he was doing.
"I don't know. I guess I thought since we are roomies we might as well know a little bit about each other," she shrugged.
"I'm good," Lee said, going back to his phone. Emily felt a little bit annoyed inside. He was good, was he? Hrmph.
Hours later (most of it filled with awkward silence), The Book was ready. Thankfully, no one had come in to see Lee there, so she didn't have to make up some story about him. Emily picked it up and met Lee by the elevator. They went down in silence and walked out to the car he had rented. He drove her to Miranda's house where he waited in the car while she went inside. He took in all the surroundings. He wondered how anyone would want to live in such a large place to begin with. So much cleaning would be required, but then again, Miranda probably hired someone to do that for her.
"All right," Emily said, coming back. "Home time."
"Thank God," Lee groaned.
"You didn't have to sit with me," she pointed out. He didn't respond. He almost wished Theron would hurry up and come after her so he could finish it and move on with his life. It wasn't like Emily annoyed him (well, sometimes she did, but not always), but he didn't want to live with her forever. He wanted his life back.
...
"Update?" Barney asked Toll.
"Things seem to be all right for now," Toll answered. He paced while he talked on the phone. "I'm getting to know the regulars."
"That's good. Anyone asking any questions about Emily?"
"Nope."
"All right. Keep me posted."
"Will do, boss," Toll promised. After they hung up, he went back to his book. He was almost finished. He started to think about Serena a little bit then. She was cute and stunning. He didn't usually get attention from women like that. He was greatly enjoying it. He smiled to himself as he read. There were perks to being undercover it seemed. Maybe he'd do it more often.
...
"Keep that cat away from me," Lee ordered. He was trying to get settled on the couch, but Jasper kept climbing onto him and kneading him with his claws.
"The more you resist, the more he wants on you," she replied. She was watching TV, which was annoying him. He wanted to go to bed. It was late after all.
"Do you have to?" he asked, gesturing.
"Yes, I have to," she answered. He growled to himself and buried his face into the pillow. Not too long after, he felt the kneading again.
"All right," he said, getting up quickly. Jasper took off out of fear, and Emily looked at him.
"What?" she asked.
"I need a quiet, dark, and cat free zone to sleep," he said. "If I don't sleep, I won't be alert, and if I'm not alert, the chances of you dying get a lot greater."
"Okay, okay," she said, turning off the TV. "Cranky much?"
"When I can't sleep, yea," he answered. Emily picked up Jasper from his hiding place and headed to her room. Once her door was shut, Lee exhaled and felt bad for snapping. He'd make it up to her somehow. He got back down onto the couch and promptly fell asleep.
The Next Day
"What is this?" Emily asked, coming back from her run to find food and coffee waiting for her.
"I'm sorry for grouching at you last night," Lee apologized. "It's a peace offering."
"I see," she said. "Well...thank you."
He noticed she did not eat much, which made him curious. He didn't ask, though, as he was afraid of her response. He didn't want to piss her off.
"How was Steve?" he asked casually when she came back changed into her work clothes. He was glad Yang was on running duty. Lee was not a fan of running for sport. He only ran when his life or someone else's depended on it.
"Fine," she answered.
"Still trying too hard?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Yea, you do."
"I'll be finished work at my regular time today," she said, changing the subject as she got ready to leave.
"Okay."
"Have a good day," she said with a small smile.
"You too," he replied. He almost laughed out loud. It was like they were playing a married couple without being married or romantically involved. It was a bit odd but amusing as hell.
A Week Later
Emily needed space. She had a constant shadow everywhere she went, even at her hair appointments! Gunner was not subtle, and her hairdresser began asking questions when he wouldn't stop hovering by the window. Gunner moved down to a bench after she told him, but not before he had laughed at her hair paraphernalia. Yang ran with her every morning, and in the beginning he had been right on her heels. Luckily, Steve had been too busy talking to her to notice. If Emily had tripped, she knew Yang would have run her right over. She told him to back off finally, and he did drop back a few feet thankfully. She had dropped out of yoga because she couldn't take Caesar whimpering in pain and asking the Sweet Lord to end the torture at every stretch anymore. She'd do it at home. She knew it was to keep her safe, but she was getting tired of it. One night after work, she got an idea. Lee was watching TV, so she went into the bathroom and locked the door. She started the shower, but instead of getting into it, she opened the window and looked out. It was easy enough to climb down to the fire escape from the window sill. Once she was at the bottom, she felt giddy. She was free! She had no one to report to, no one to complain about what she was doing, and no one to make people ask her questions. It was like her old life again. She ran down the street, eager to just do something without someone following her around.
...
Lee frowned as he turned off the TV and heard the shower running still. It had been half an hour. Was she all right in there? He went over to the door and knocked.
"Emily?" he called. No answer. He felt a bit alarmed. "Hey, Emily, I'm coming in." He tried the door and found it locked. Had she passed out in there? Had someone come in the window and killed her? He felt panicked now. Did he have to sit in the bathroom with her too and make sure no one killed her? He kicked the door in, and he found no one inside.
"Emily?!" he shouted. He went to the window and looked out. Where the hell was she? Had she been kidnapped? He reached for his phone to call her, but she didn't answer.
"Aw shit," he said, rushing to the door. He had to find her and fast. Who knew if she was even still alive. He called Barney.
"What happened?"
"I don't know. Get Yang to track her phone."
"On it."
...
Emily knew it was him before he even sat down beside her. She could feel his anger coming off of him. She stared ahead at the movie that was playing. All she had done was go to the movies. Big deal. Then, his voice was in her ear, his breath on her neck.
"Do you realize that I thought you had been kidnapped?" he asked. Emily felt bad suddenly. She hadn't thought about his reaction to her being gone. She had just wanted to get out.
"I just wanted to be alone," she answered back. He snorted.
"Alone is what is gonna get you killed," he replied.
"Look, I'm sorry," she said, twisting to face him. It put their faces very close together. "I didn't mean to scare you."
Lee didn't say anything as he looked at her. He had been scared, not that he'd admit it. His mind had gone through all sorts of scenarios as well as what he might find if Theron had killed her. When Yang told him where she was, he went through stages of relief to wanting to kill her himself to being incredibly frustrated.
"Don't do it again," he ordered. Emily briefly had a thought of what it would be like to kiss him, and she went red in the face. Thankfully, it was dark so he couldn't see it. Where the hell had that thought come from anyway?
"Okay," she agreed finally, moving back so that she was facing the movie again. Lee made her feel things every now and then, and she didn't know what to do with those feelings. She knew he had a girlfriend. It was pointless to like someone when they were dating someone else, she knew that. If only her brain could communicate that to the rest of her.
...
When they got home, Emily went to her room to go to bed (she really just wanted to hide her embarrassment). She had noticed the broken bathroom door, and she winced knowing she had to get it fixed. After a while, though, she grew thirsty.
"Hell with it," she muttered to herself. "It's my bloody apartment." She came out and stopped in her tracks when she saw Lee standing by the couch with no shirt on in his cargo pants.
"Sorry," she said, looking away quickly. Her cheeks flamed. Oh God. This was bad. To make things worse, he left it off while he came to stand beside her to get some water as well. She felt flustered. It was like he knew what he was doing to her. Then, she saw the scars.
"What happened?" she asked. She was aware that she was now openly staring at him, but she felt genuinely concerned as to how he'd gotten the scars. They looked like knife wounds in some places and bullet wounds in others.
"Just the job," he answered, setting his now empty glass down.
"They look...painful," she finished. She met his eyes then. Lee was a little surprised that she was worrying herself with old war wounds.
"It's fine," he told her. He moved back to the couch, tugging the grey t-shirt he slept in over his head. Emily finished her water and hovered for a moment.
"I really am sorry," she said again, making him look at her. "About tonight."
"I get it," he replied. "You're tired of always being watched. Who wouldn't? Just tell me next time."
"I will," she promised.
"I'll fix the door," he told her.
"I can call someone..."
"I can assure you that I know how," Lee interrupted.
"Okay. Well... good night."
"Good night."
She shut her bedroom door behind her, stopping to look at it for a moment. Then she went to bed.
A Few Days Later
True to his word, Lee fixed the door, but he insisted that she learn how. Emily had to admit she was impressed. He didn't just have the skill of killing people. He was a handyman too.
"Just hold it," he instructed as she struggled to hold the door still for him to screw it into the wall.
"It's heavy," she complained.
"Well, then I'll hold it and you screw it in," he suggested.
"I can try," she agreed. They switched places, and she carefully picked up the drill and screw, examining them both and wondering how to start.
"Go a little slower will you?" Lee commented. "I can hold this all day."
"Oh, I'm sorry. Is it heavy?" she asked sarcastically.
"Just hurry up," he ordered. She stuck her tongue out at him childishly before continuing on. She missed his smirk like grin in response.
"No don't-" he started as she held onto the screw while squeezing the trigger of the drill.
"Ahh! Ow, ow, ow!" she yelped, dropping the screw and the drill and flapping her hand around. "Ooohhh it burns!"
Lee set the door down as she whimpered and stuck her burning fingers into her mouth. He left and returned with an ice pack.
"Here," he said, handing it to her. She pressed her fingers into it, hissing through her teeth at the sudden coldness.
"You don't hold the screw while you're operating the drill," he said.
"Thanks, Captain Obvious," she retorted. "Where was that tidbit before it happened?"
"I assumed you knew how."
"Clearly I did not."
"Let me see," Lee said, taking her hand in his and turning it to see her fingers. She felt that jumpy sensation inside at his touch. "You got any aloe vera?"
"Do I have any what what?" she asked.
"For the burn," he said. "It helps."
"No, I don't."
"Put it under cold water for now then," he said.
"What about the door?"
"When you've settled down, we'll finish," he answered.
"I am not a wimp," she said hotly, picking up the drill and ignoring the pain in her fingers. "Let's go." It was so confusing, this feeling of liking him and also being so annoyed by him at the same time.
"Emily..."
She squeezed the drill, drowning him out with the noise it made. He gave her a look when she stopped.
"Are you-?"
She repeated the noise, raising a brow until he pressed his lips shut.
"You done?" she asked.
"Go for it," he gestured.
"Pick up the door," she countered. He shook his head, picking up the door and getting it into place. She put the screws in properly this time. After ten minutes, she eventually finished with the last screw and was helping tidy up when she heard knocking at her door.
"Oh no," she groaned. Who was it this time? She hoped it wasn't Steve.
"I'll finish," Lee said. She nodded and went to answer the door.
"Heyyy," Serena started when Emily opened the door.
"No!" Emily yelped, slamming it promptly in her face. She felt horrified. What was she going to do? Serena would recognize Lee from the hospital!
"Babe? You okay?" Serena asked through the door.
"Yea, uh...just...it's a mess in here!" Emily called back. "Give me a minute!"
"Okay," Serena laughed. "Whatever."
"What was that all about?" Lee asked, emerging from the bathroom having finished cleaning up in there. Emily rushed towards him and pushed him into her room.
"Hey, hey!" he yelped. "What are you doing?"
"Serena is here," she hissed. "She can't see you!"
"Aw come on," Lee said as Emily raced to grab his weapons bag he just casually left lying around. She shoved them into his arms as he gave her a look.
"Just...stay in there," she ordered.
"I'm not a dog," he started.
"Please, Lee," Emily begged. "Trust me when I say you don't want Serena thinking we are dating cos that's where her head is gonna go."
"All right, all right," Lee sighed, annoyed. She shut her bedroom door in his face and raced around the living room, hiding all evidence that someone was sleeping on the couch. Then she raced back to get Serena.
"You tidy up quick," Serena commented as she came in. Emily froze as she saw one of Lee's pistols sitting on the table by the couch. How had she missed it?!
"Um, yea," she said, casually making her way over to it. She grabbed it and held it behind her as Serena went searching for alcohol. It sometimes annoyed her how easily her friend just rummaged through her fridge.
"Since when do you eat pepperoni sticks?" Serena asked. Emily swallowed.
"Jasper likes them," she lied.
"Seriously?" Serena asked, surprised.
"I read it somewhere," Emily dismissed. Damn Lee and his stupid cravings for food she never ate. She managed to stuff the gun into the drawer without Serena seeing. Her fingers still burned, but she bit down her grimace from the pain. She'd focus on it later.
"Oh man, what a day," Serena groaned, going to sit on the couch with her glass of wine.
"Uh huh," Emily agreed. She felt so on edge.
"Is it okay if I just hang here for a bit?" Serena asked. "I just need some girl time."
"No problem," Emily said weakly. She looked over at her closed bedroom door and wondered how much Lee was gonna hate her for doing this to him.
...
Lee grew bored very quickly. He had checked out everything there was to look at. He even played with the damn cat, who had gotten locked in there with him. Now, he was sitting on the floor and looking at a photo album that had been sticking out from under the corner of her bed. He assumed the people in it were her family. Some pictures made him chuckle. Emily seemed more open and relaxed in these photos. Then, he saw a wallet sized one that made him draw in a breath, and he didn't know what possessed him to do it, but he took it out and examined it closer. Emily was laughing on a beach wearing a black, halter top style sundress (yes, he'd looked that one up to know the difference after her lecture, not that he'd ever admit it). She looked so happy.
"You don't mind that I'm borrowing that shirt?" Serena's voice asked right outside the door suddenly. Panicking, he tossed the photo album, crammed the picture into his back pocket, and shoved his weapons cache under the bed and crawled under it himself. Jasper, thinking it was a game, followed.
"No, shoo," Lee ordered, but the cat just kept pawing at his face. "Argh...damn it."
"It's such a mess in there!" Emily's voice shouted just as the door opened. Lee watched a pair of feet head to the closet with a second pair come running in after them.
"It's fine. I would hate to see what a real mess is," Serena commented. "Ah, here it is! You're such a doll. Thanks, luv!"
"No problem," Emily said faintly.
"Thanks for the gal pal time," Serena said, giving Emily a hug. "See you tomorrow."
"Sure," Emily agreed. Lee waited about two minutes before he took in a proper breath. Jasper bunted his head into Lee's face then.
"Oh, come on," he growled. He slid the protesting cat out from under the bed.
"Lee?" Emily's voice asked. He groaned as he dragged himself out. He propped himself on his elbows, half under the bed still, and looked at her.
"It better have been the best time of your life," he commented.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I really am. I didn't know she'd stay so long."
"Uh huh," he said, hauling himself to his feet now.
"Did you clean up in here?" she asked, looking around.
"Clutter annoys me," Lee answered.
"You...you organized my closet?" she asked, looking.
"Don't know how you find anything in that disorganized mess," he shrugged. She turned to look at him.
"You touched my stuff," she said.
"How else was I supposed to clean?"
"You should not have touched my stuff," she said, pointing at him. "That seriously violated my boundaries." She felt weird knowing he had touched her things. What all had he looked at? She flushed scarlet thinking of some outfits she had that he may have seen.
"Well, don't shove me in here for five hours and expect me to do nothing," Lee replied, picking up his weapons bag and moving past her. Emily opened her mouth to say something else, but she didn't know what to say. His clean up job was impeccable. She couldn't have done it any better herself. For some reason, she didn't feel as upset as she should have been. Hell, if she'd been trapped in his room, she probably would have organized it too. She looked at him standing in the living room and checking his phone, and she wondered what else this guy was going to surprise her with.
A Week Later
Emily gradually got used to Lee in the background. More than two weeks had gone by, and no one had tried to kill her. Emily wondered if Barney had misread the situation. She hoped that she'd be able to live her life again soon without a constant shadow. Lee was always around during the day, watching her, but he was always home before her, probably to check that the apartment wasn't broken into or something. She came home from work Friday night and caught sight of Lee sitting on the couch reading a magazine, but not the kind she expected him to be reading.
"What are you doing?" Emily asked. Startled, Lee chucked the magazine as far away from him as possible as though it was on fire. It skidded across the room and hit the wall with a thud.
"Nothing," he answered. She bent to pick up the magazine and started to laugh.
"You're reading Runway?!" she asked, incredulous.
"No," he denied, going a bit red in the face.
"And here I thought you were strictly a Guns & Ammo kind of guy," she laughed. "You're reading an actual fashion magazine."
"I was just seeing what all the damn fuss was about," he said indignantly. Her building was always so busy, and he couldn't understand why.
"Sure you were," she nodded sarcastically. She set it on the coffee table and went to the kitchen for a drink. Lee felt a bit embarrassed.
"I still don't get what the fuss is about," he went on.
"Of course not. If it isn't about the newest, biggest gun created that could blow someone's head off by just looking at it, then it's not interesting," Emily replied.
"Well, I don't understand your stuff, and you don't understand mine. No one said we had to," Lee said defensively.
"Right," Emily agreed. She went into her room to change. She was glad it was Friday night. She was actually off all weekend for once, and she wanted to do something fun. She wondered if she'd even be allowed to. She came out of her room to hear Lee on the phone.
"I know I promised I'd be back by now. Things are just not going as planned," he was saying.
She paused, eavesdropping. She knew it was wrong, but her curiosity won.
"Lacy, I'm doing the best I can," he went on. "No, I am not seeing anyone else. Why would you even say that?"
Emily felt surprised as she examined her finger nails. Did Lacy not know what he did for a living?
"Look, I'll try to get away for a few days," Lee promised. "I'll call you."
Emily heard him sigh loudly after he had hung up. She chose this moment to enter. He looked at her when she came into view.
"Trouble in paradise?" she asked casually.
"It's nothing," he answered.
"Come on. I can tell you're dying to talk about it," Emily reasoned. "I'm a good listener." She sat down on the couch and propped her chin on her hand to prove her point. He looked conflicted, but eventually he sat down beside her.
"As you know, there's this girl I'm seeing..."
"Lacy," Emily nodded.
"Yea. It's only been a few months, and I've barely seen her because of work. She's threatening to call it quits if I don't see her in the next few days," he sighed. He was surprised he was even talking to her about this, but she was right, he did need to talk about it. Barney would just tell him to forget about Lacy, and he didn't want to just yet.
"Does she know what you do?"
"No."
"Oh, well that complicates things then," Emily noted.
"Kind of."
"Why don't you just go see her?" Emily suggested. "I mean, it's been over two weeks. I'm still alive. I think you can leave me alone for a few days."
Lee looked at her. He was very tempted to jump on her suggestion, but he knew Barney would kill him if he did.
"I can't," he shook his head.
"What if I went with you?" she offered. He gave her a surprised look.
"What?"
"I'm not on call this weekend. Let's just go," she said. "You can say I'm your cousin, if she sees me."
Lee contemplated this idea. He really wanted to see Lacy, to see if there was anything left to salvage. If Emily came with him, then he technically wasn't leaving his job. The job was coming with him.
"You'd do that for me?" he asked.
"Yes," Emily nodded, although she wasn't sure why she was offering this. It still bugged her a little that he was dating someone, and that was bothering her just as much. Why did she care?
"Why?"
"Consider it payback for making you stay in my room for five hours with my cat," she answered.
"All right. Deal. Let's go then."
"Where is she?"
"New Orleans."
"So not too far away then."
"No. A couple hours by plane."
"Are you going to tell Barney?" Emily asked. Lee hesitated. Then, he made his decision.
"No."
...
Josh had been doing his homework and doing it well. He was stationed in a hotel room a few blocks away from Runway. He learned all about Emily Charlton and had forwarded the information on to Louis. It was obvious that Miss Charlton had a tail, though. Josh saw the man in the park sitting on the bench across from the magazine building often. He sat in other places too, but he was always there during the day. He was quite certain it was the same man who had pulled her out of the room back in Paris. In fact, he was very certain. Facial recognition had told him so, but he hadn't been able to get a name. He couldn't find the other man, either. It was as though they both were ghosts. It made him curious as to who these people really were.
"You want me to move in?" Josh asked over the phone.
"No," Louis answered. "Not yet. I think they're using her as bait."
"That is blatantly obvious," Josh agreed. "This girl is simply an assistant. She has no background in anything remotely to do with CIA or any other agency."
"You're positive?"
"Very."
"I suspect Barney Ross is behind this."
"Barney Ross?" Josh asked, surprised. "What makes you think that?"
"Because my friend and partner, Conrad Stonebanks, has told me all about Barney and his gang of Expendables. Plus, Barney was at the gala in Paris according to Conrad's source, who confirmed his identity when I showed him the security footage. They were smart to enter my party separately, but I will get the rest of his team in a matter of time."
"So what do we do about the girl?"
"I think we continue on with our original plan and see what goes from there," Louis said.
"You're sure?"
"I'm positive."