A/N: Another tame one here, guys, but this had to be done I'm afraid. Hope you're not too disappointed. Don't worry... they'll get some action soon. :) I'd like to thank LotRseer3350 for their help. I have seen the word written down somewhere else, so I think I'll go with that spelling. Getting the novelisation today in about an hour, so I'll have a look for that name you mentioned. Here you go, you've earned this *gives LotRseer3350 a big yummy cookie* Enjoy! Make it whatever flavour you want. So glad to see you're checking back, guys, I'm glad I'm not boring you all into a stupor. Sorry! Hope this one's okay... one of my faves actually... *shuts up and lets you read*
She followed with an undeniable sense of intrigue, and before long, she found herself standing behind him as he opened a heavy door by twisting the metal handle in the middle. He stepped aside as it swung open, and let her out into the fresh air. She took in a deep breath and smiled despite herself. It was very refreshing.
Tom, squinting slightly in the sunlight, looked out over the vast ocean that was all that was visible for miles around, and sighed. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"
Anise turned on him, and could not hide her smile. "Oh, it's magnificent." She walked to the edge of the deck, and peered over, her eyes wide all of a sudden. "How fast are we travelling?"
"Well, I couldn't tell you the speed," Tom replied, coming up to her side and leaning on it with his hands as he glanced at the waves crashing against the ship, "but Nemo says this thing's fast, and he's not wrong. We should be in America in a couple of days."
"Are you excited?" Anise found herself asking almost immediately.
Tom turned his gaze upon her, and he shrugged. "Sort of. I don't really miss it, you know? I have the chance of a lifetime here."
She nodded in understanding. He wasn't wrong. What she wouldn't give for this life... but she had other priorities, other loyalties. She could not throw all that away for this existence, no matter how much it tempted her.
"So, Tom Sawyer," she began quieter, feeling her brown locks of hair swirling about her face in the slight breeze, "what is it that you brought me up here to see?"
"Ah," Tom breathed, and nodded to the other side of the deck they stood on, "a little... test, I suppose you could call it."
"A test?"
"I've never seen you with a gun." He grinned mischievously.
"Ah, but you have," she corrected. "When we first met."
He laughed, nodding to the dark-skinned man standing at an unusual machine. The man nodded back once. "True, I've seen you holding one, but I've never seen you shoot." He paused for a moment. "I'm curious."
She didn't know what to say or do, so she just raised an eyebrow at him.
He paced over to the other man, smiling at him slightly, and retrieved a long object she soon recognised as a gun, a rifle to be precise. He came back over to her holding it in one hand, looking at it admiringly.
His green eyes met hers then, and he persisted, "You up for it?"
She laughed quietly, intrigued once again, and nodded slowly. "All right." She cocked her head slightly to one side. "But we are both curious as to skills, Tom Sawyer... for I have never seen you fire a gun."
Tom raised his eyebrows playfully. "Is that a challenge, Miss Delacroix?"
Anise bit her lip gently. "Maybe."
"All right," he said to her, "have it your way."
He called something in a language she did not comprehend, although it sounded to her like he said 'salau', and suddenly, an almighty orb sailed through the air, travelling for what seemed like an eternity before splashing down in the waves in the distance. She realised how her face must have fallen then... how could they hope to hit this target?
Tom raised the gun with ease, and stood perfectly still for a moment, before squeezing the trigger, and letting off a shot.
She watched in awe as the red sphere exploded with the impact of the bullet.
Anise found herself cursing in French with surprise, and she looked apologetically to Tom, who appeared confused at once. "Pardon me," she said to him in a voice barely above a whisper. "But... how is it that you struck the target? It is so great a distance..."
"Well that just comes down to practise," Tom informed her, the other fingers of his right hand pulling down and forward on a lever behind the trigger guard. A shell was ejected from the rifle, and she heard the affirming click of another round slotted into place in the barrel. "I'm not ashamed to admit the others can find me up here whenever we surface."
She smiled at him then, earnestly and with a dazed sense of wonder. "And your weapon?" She pointed at it loosely. It was unfamiliar to her. She was much more accustomed to her pistols.
Tom offered the gun out to her, and she took it by the stock and the barrel gently, as if afraid she would hurt it. "Modified Winchester rifle. Lever action." He hesitated, hands akimbo in the slight breeze as his own hair partially obstructed his eyes from view. "You ever used one of these?"
Anise could not lie to him. She hadn't, despite her occupation. She was no longer certain she wanted to play this little game of his. "No."
"Don't worry," he assured her, "I'll guide you through it."
Tom positioned himself behind and slightly to the side of Anise, very close to her, and used his hands to urge her to raise the rifle. She followed his lead, and the barrel elevated slowly. She already had her index finger in the trigger guard but seemed wary of positioning her others appropriately.
Tom gently took a hold of them, and showed her where to place them, inside the lever behind the trigger, and she did not protest.
She was holding the gun almost perfectly now. Tom called for another target. One was launched at once, and they waited for it to land.
Tom kept his own eyes on the target as he spoke to Anise softly, "Just forget the distance, and remember to compensate for the wind. Don't be afraid of the gun... work with it." He realised how much he reminded himself of Allan Quatermain, and suppressed the smile. "Concentration is key... when you're absolutely positive you're at the right moment..."
The gun fired. Tom saw the bullet disturb the waves about twenty feet too short of the target. He nodded slowly, and smiled at Anise, who looked slightly ashamed.
"I fired too soon," she explained needlessly. "Maybe this was not such a good idea, Tom."
He shook his head. "Don't be silly. You said so yourself, you're not used to this kind of gun. Don't feel bad about it." He took the gun from her gently, revolved the lever, loading the new round, and then handed it back to her. She took it tentatively.
He felt his right hand going around her, to ease up the tension on her trigger finger as she raised the rifle again once the new target had been launched.
"Never pull the trigger," he said to her, quietly, "just squeeze it. Okay?"
She nodded gently, and their faces were so close he could smell her perfume now. He tried to shake off the sense of contentment it filled him with, and kept his eyes on the red target.
After what seemed like hours, which was in reality only a matter of seconds, the rifle was fired again.
"Oh, this really is not my kind of weapon," she said at once, and turned on him guiltily.
Why did she feel so bad about it?
"That was pretty damn close," he assured her with a smile. "Considering that was only your second shot, that was impressive."
She raised an eyebrow sceptically and frowned, before thrusting the gun at him. "You take another shot. You will strike the target... I know you will. Show me what I am doing wrong."
Tom took the gun hesitantly, suddenly not so eager to be the victor, and aimed after shifting another round into the barrel. His eyes were concealed from Anise's view, so despite his better judgement, he closed them and fired.
"You did that on purpose!"
He opened his eyes; seeing that he had -as intended- missed the target. He held the rifle in his right hand only now, and looked to Anise innocently... well as innocent as he could manage. "I did not."
"Yes you did," she laughed, waving her hand at him. "You weren't even looking. You closed your eyes, I saw you!" She was laughing quite loudly now, so obviously she wasn't too annoyed with him.
Tom wasn't sure what to say next, so he simply shrugged, and narrowed his eyes against the glaring of the sun, trying to look apologetic. "Sorry... I didn't want you to feel too bad about missing."
"I know I am no good with a rifle, Tom," Anise retaliated with a smile. "There was no need to try and spare my feelings." She stepped closer. "But I appreciate your concern."
Tom suddenly wished the aide would disappear. Even though the other man did not look their way, Tom wanted nothing more than to once again be alone with Anise.
Anise tilted her face up to his, and kissed him gently for a few seconds, before breaking away slowly. She was wearing that same enthralling smile when he opened his eyes to look at her.
"What will you do when Evans is stopped?" he asked of her suddenly, Winchester still in his right hand firmly. His left hung at his side, empty.
Anise looked startled by the question, and shrugged lightly beneath her blouse. "I suppose I will return to Paris."
Tom had been afraid of that.
"But there are some things," she began in a low voice, leaning on the rail suddenly to look over at the waves once again, "about that city that make me wish I will never see it again."
"So don't go back," Tom said to her from his place some six feet away. His eyes stared down at the metal floor below them. "No one's making you go back."
"I have a duty to my country, Tom," she replied, somewhat sadly, "and other pledges to fulfil. There are some things more complicated than 'yes' or 'no'."
Tom leaned the rifle against the railing beside him, and his feet carried him the short distance to stand beside her. "Nothing should ever stop you from doing what you want to do, Anise." He paused, his eyes watching her as she stared down at the waters below. "What does your heart tell you?"
Anise's eyes rose to meet his then, and there was a certain sorrow there. "To stay."
Tom swallowed dryly, unsure of what to do all of a sudden. "So stay."
"Tom..."
He smiled. "If it's what you want, Anise, then you shouldn't let anyone stand in your way."
Anise's lips turned up into a smile slowly, and she closed her eyes with a slow sigh.
As she stood there silently, apparently at ease once again, Tom's eyes found the intact red target drifting away from them, and exhaled quietly, hands finding his pockets.