~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Part 5
Alyx stood behind Hobbes in the small meeting, trying to convince her body it was not nearly as
cold as she thought it was. Today she was doing all black, with an oriental twist. Hobbes had taken
one look at her and shaken his head. Not in dismay -- she could tell he was pleased -- but more
because he knew how deceiving the look was, especially on her. She only wished that the top she was
wearing had sleeves. It looked impressive, but it was getting harder to keep the goose bumps from
appearing. If she had only learned one thing from this 'vacation,' it was this: show any sign of
weakness, and you could kiss breathing goodbye.
So she did what was necessary, keeping up the appearance of bland indifference while watching
Hobbes' back and keeping her senses open for trouble. The meeting was educational, and went well
with the work she had been doing in one of her most recent courses. The Official had apparently
decided she was ready to learn about any and all forms of mass destruction, from homemade pipe
bombs to complicated timed devices to timed chemical rigs.
The guy on the stage was supposedly one of the world's preeminent bomb designers, at least on the
terrorist front. He had a blackboard full of calculations on some new and stable chemical he had
created that went boom in a really big way with only a small amount. Kind of like nitroglycerine
with attitude, and without the stability problems. Alyx found herself getting distracted by the
stupid formula. It was beginning to drive her crazy, so when the floor was opened up to questions
her hand went up.
"Kid what the hell are you doing?" Hobbes asked when he realized that it was her that had been
chosen to ask the first question.
"Saving some schmuck's ass," she commented before looking up at the speaker. "I have no intention
to discredit you, but this is your formula?" The man at the podium nodded. "You do realize that
with the ratio you are claiming to use, it would self-destruct due to too high an acid
concentration?"
There was a sharp intake of breath from those on the stage with the guy, and Hobbes spun about to
glare at her. He had no idea if she was correct, but she should not have drawn attention to herself.
One of the gentlemen on the stage stood up and began bellowing at her about how a lowly bodyguard
-- and a female one at that -- should mind her place and not try to understand things far above her
intelligence. He would have continued except that the creator of this little bit of magnificence had
gotten up to examine the formula carefully. When he was done, he turned and looked at Alyx, who
still stood, ignoring the bellowing.
"Shut up," he barked, and the guy lecturing her did so. "She is correct. Whoever copied my formula
reversed the numbers here." He pointed to the area on the board. "For whom do you work?"
"Victor Battaglia," Alyx answered, and Hobbes got to his feet for a second to acknowledge the fact.
"I would suggest you give her a raise," the speaker said and then returned to his seat. "Next
question."
Hobbes didn't say a word until the meeting broke up. "Kid, sometimes you scare me. Let me guess:
you've been studying bomb design recently and they gave you the chem design course."
Alyx nodded. "Memorizing formulas and designs is easy for me. Want to see the chem rig I can build
out of every day household products?"
He laughed. "Not right now. Just next time, please, don't do that." Yeah, he asked. She was kind of
like Fawkes in the taking orders department; gentle persuasion usually worked a lot better.
"Boss, the reason I spoke up is because some of those guys were gonna go home and try it out for
themselves. With the incorrect formula, it would make one hell of a mess and require a HAZMAT unit
to clean up," Alyx answered truthfully. She didn't even want to think about how many people died or
were severely injured in the screw ups for that... that thing's development testing. "I felt it
pru..." she trailed off as she caught that flash of recognition again. She closed her eyes and
opened up her shields a bit more, but could not pinpoint it among all the other voices and emotions
that surged into her mind with the increased contact.
Hobbes noticed, and knew by now what was going on. Placing a hand on her back, being very careful
not to make contact skin on skin, he moved her out of the flow of people going from one meeting
hall to another. "Kid?"
*Someone recognized us, but I can't find him. There are too many others,* she sent to him, sounding
a bit strained.
While he wasn't thrilled with the method, he had to admit that bit of info was best shared in this
manner. *All right. Drop the search for now.*
*Bobby?* Alyx wanted to be sure.
He did set a hand on her bare arm then, giving her an orientation to help her back. He'd had to
learn some weird things to work with her, but he did know what to do. A moment later she opened her
eyes and blinked up at him.
"Sorry, there are some very strong minds in this group," Alyx said to explain.
"No prob." He directed her to the next meeting they planned on attending before the lunch break.
'How to Gain Loyalty to Your Cause.' "See if you can find him while I pretend to listen."
"I'll try." She took up her usual spot standing behind his chair as they waited for the lecture to
begin. This time she didn't close her eyes, but she really wasn't seeing anything as she
concentrated on those around her. Once she had lightly gone over all the minds in the room, she
expanded her search outward until she started to lose track of herself in the midst of all the
other minds and emotions. Each time, she would pull back and take the time to refocus before
starting again.
About halfway through the meeting, she realized how very cold she was getting. This type of forced
concentration, much like doing meditation, tended to slow the heart rate and circulation, thus
chilling her even more. So she took the time to artificially elevate her heart rate to compensate.
By the time the meeting was over, she was no closer to finding the person, but at least Hobbes knew
about him now, and there was a good chance she would recognize the mind the next time it was near
her.
As she escorted Hobbes from the room, they ran into Darien and Claire.
"Boss, you remember the good doctor. Regina Curtis," Darien filled in before either of them tried
to call her Claire or Keeper out here.
"Of course." Hobbes took one of her hands and brought it to his lips. "How could I ever forget?"
Releasing her hand, he tried not to laugh at the astonished look on her face. "We were just about
to head to lunch. Care to join us?"
"Ummm, Boss. I think I should be heading back to the room." Alyx absentmindedly rubbed the side of
her head.
Claire took one look at her and agreed wholeheartedly. Alyx was a lovely shade of pale and, based
on the way she was rubbing her head, was working on one of her headaches. "Angel, what have you
been doing?" she hissed as they all headed back to the room.
"My job," Alyx snapped. "And trying to keep from shivering. I'd be one hell of an unimpressive
bodyguard standing there with my teeth chattering." She had done what was necessary to get the job
done, but she needed a break before the evening show-and-tell.
They got her to the room and Claire grabbed her wrist to get her pulse. She was not thrilled to
find it galloping along. Alyx had even begun to sweat lightly. "What did you do?"
"I artificially elevated my heart rate to keep warm while I was doing some searching," she
explained.
Claire tsked. She understood the reasoning. "You do know what's going to happen as soon as you slow
it, don't you?"
Alyx nodded. "That's why I wanted to be back here." She closed her eyes. "Here we go."
Claire stepped back and turned to Darien. "Catch her."
Darien didn't even get the chance to ask what she was talking about; Alyx simply folded. He was
successful in catching her, barely. Not needing to be told, he carried her through to the bedroom
and lay her down on top of the covers. He then grabbed that blanket she'd been walking around in
and tossed it over her now-shivering body.
"Has she been cold since arriving here?" Claire asked, moving to examine her.
"Yeah, walking popsicle," Hobbes offered.
"Titanic's bane," Darien added.
"Titanic? Good one, Fawkes. A bit dated, but good," Hobbes said with a snicker.
"Will you two please be quiet?" Claire snapped at them. On the bed Alyx groaned. "How are you
feeling?" Claire asked her.
"C...c...cold, again," she answered, pulling the blanket closer about her. "I'll manage."
"Have you been cold the entire time?" Claire asked, checking her pulse. She was pleased to find it
was once again something resembling normal. "Did you get any sleep?"
"Freezing my butt off since we arrived, and I got four hours last night. About normal." Normal for
her, anyway. She scooted up into a sitting position. She felt fine; it was just the sudden change
from the fast heart rate to slow that had put her down. "How about some lunch? I'm starved."
Hobbes shook his head. "Sure kid. I'll have something brought up for the lot of us. We should
probably check out the toys the Keep brought for us anyway." Both Hobbes and Claire walked back
out to the sitting room where the trunk was waiting.
Darien rubbed the back of his neck and sat on the bed next to Alyx. "You sure you're okay?"
Alyx smiled. "Just doing my Mr. Freeze impression again. Someone recognized us, here. We have to be
really careful."
"Recognized us? How?"
She shrugged. "Saw us, I would guess. Who? I have no idea yet, but he obviously hasn't told anyone
of importance." She had an odd thought then and slid off the bed. She walked out into the sitting
area, where Claire was explaining some of the items she had brought. "Bobby could there be someone
else here undercover?"
"Not from the Agency, but yeah, it's possible. CIA or NSA would have a big interest in this thing.
Why?" Hobbes had gotten to his feet and moved closer to her. She was still shivering and was doing
that blue thing again. "Kid, sit down before you fall down." He hesitated for a moment, then
decided he'd rather have her functional. "Fawkes, get her warm."
That got a surprised eyebrow-raise out of Claire. Bobby had been doing his best to keep them apart
ever since he'd figured out that Darien's attraction to Alyx was not just some passing fad.
Hobbes caught Claire's look. "Unless you have something to poke her with that will help?"
Claire shook her head. "Nothing that she can't do on her own. I'm just not sure why she's cold."
She turned to Alyx. "Have you been like this back home?"
"Not this bad," Alyx answered through chattering teeth.
Darien set his hands on her shoulders and pulled her down onto the sofa, wrapping his arms about
her. "You are an ice cube again," he commented as he attempted to warm one of her hands.
Claire moved away and came back with a thermometer, which she stuck unceremoniously in Alyx's
mouth. "This is your first winter since... since..."
"Uh-huh," Alyx managed around the thermometer, which then beeped and Alyx pulled it from her mouth.
The number there did not make her very happy, and she handed it to Claire.
"This can't be right." She reset the thing and they tried again. "No playing with it," Claire
admonished. Not that she thought Alyx had, but more to ease her into relaxing. Even she could tell
Alyx was more than a bit tense. When it beeped again, Claire looked at it and frowned.
"Keep?" Darien asked, pulling Alyx in a bit closer until she rested her head against his shoulder.
He could feel her trying not to shiver under the blanket.
"According to this, she's running a mild fever. The cold and shivering could be indicative of a
virus, but she doesn't appear to have any other symptoms." Claire returned the thermometer to her
bag and sat down in a chair.
"I feel fine except for being cold." Alyx turned back to Bobby. "We need to come up with an escape
plan in case they guy who recognizes us decides to cause trouble."
"There's always the plane," Hobbes said. "We get there and commandeer it."
Both Claire and Alyx shook their heads, but it was Claire who spoke. "The pilot said everything was
going to be shut down. They're expecting near-blizzard conditions for the next three days. The
only way out is going to be by car, maybe. Or on foot."
Hobbes groaned. "Perfect. Just perfect." He rubbed the top of his head, making the few hairs there
stand up oddly. "I'm going to make a phone call and try in find out if there is another agent here.
We can't afford to be stepping on each other's toes." There was a knock on the door then and
Hobbes moved to answer it without thinking.
Alyx jumped to her feet, tossing the blanket away, and intercepted him. "Boss, I don't think you
should be answering the door."
"Oh, right." He backed away and made sure he was out of line of sight, just in case.
Alyx set one hand on her lower back under her shirt and opened the door cautiously. "Can I help
you?"
"Room service, Miss O'Connor." The uniformed man watched her carefully, waiting.
Alyx gave the cart a quick mental scan and then carefully examined it by hand to make sure there
was nothing suspicious. It was quite obvious, by the man's lack of reaction, that this was
expected. When she was done she stepped aside and waved him in. Darien had gotten to his feet and
stood nearby, to hand over the tip that got a smile from the guy as he scooted out the door. Alyx
rolled her shoulders to relieve the tension there as soon as she had locked the door. Darien was
already removing the covers from the items to see what Bobby and Claire had ordered. He turned his
head slightly to look at her.
"Okay, I'll bite. What are you hiding back there?" He waved a hand at her.
Alyx reached around and pulled out the knife she'd stuffed there. "Just my handy-dandy pig-sticker."
"You been practicing with that, kid?" Hobbes asked her as he moved over to claim his portion of the
food. He carried it over to the table shoved in a corner.
"Of course." She gave him a quick demo before stuffing the blade back into her pants. Then she
picked up an oversized mug of soup and a spoon. She forced herself not to shiver -- she wanted to
eat the soup, not wear it. "They've been running me through some new self-defense techniques, as
well as the kill scenarios." Hobbes gave her an odd look. "You know; one hundred and one ways to
kill a man with dental floss."
Darien choked on his sandwich and had to have Claire rescue him from certain death by pastrami.
Hobbes' reaction wasn't much different. "Why the hell are they teaching you close-quarter kill
techniques?"
"Got me, but I hate it." Her voice dropped. "I'm deadly enough as it is, without knowing how to
kill barehanded, too."
"No kidding." Then, realizing what he had said, Hobbes tried to apologize. "Ah, crap kid, that's
not what I meant."
"Why not, Bobby? It's true enough." She sat down with her soup and tried to warm her hands. "You
have no idea how close Menkin came to being in a body bag the other day." She closed her eyes and
shook.
Hobbes watched her and decided the Official was an idiot. She didn't need to know any more methods
to kill. Protecting herself, yeah. Defensive and offensive techniques, sure. But it sounded like
the Fat Man was trying to turn her into his personal killing machine, and Hobbes knew that wouldn't
work. He'd hung around her long enough to know exactly how reluctant she was to use any of her
abilities. When she fought, she did it well, but she always held back. Always. No wonder she'd been
freaked the other day. It was one of the hardest things to learn: to kill. And once that line had
been crossed, there was no going back.
"Kid, the point is, he didn't. I realize some serious shit happened before you came here, but a lot
has changed since then," Hobbes pointed out. Alyx opened her eyes to look at him. "Whoever you were
before doesn't matter..."
Alyx shook her head violently and snarled at him. "You have no idea what you're talking about,
Bobby."
He'd tried, but maybe she wasn't ready for this discussion. "You're right kid, I don't, but I also
don't care. I never met that other person, just the one sitting here with me, and it's this one I'm
partnered with. That's all that matters to me."
Alyx rubbed the side of her head again, this time in consternation. She was unsure what to say now.
"Eat, kid. The boss will dock my paycheck if he has to thaw you." Hobbes was only half joking. He'd
been docked for odder things in the past. "This afternoon Fawkes'll do the bodyguard thing. Keepy,
go over all the toys with her while we're gone. She'll learn the fastest and, based on her
commentary this morning, no one will be surprised that she knows it all."
No one really argued. The only problem was that Darien would not be able to spot the mystery guy
unless he was really lucky, but Alyx did need the break. Maybe between her and Claire they could
figure out something to help her.
"You want us to make a grand entrance when they open the doors?" Alyx asked him.
Hobbes nodded and picked up his plate. "I'm gonna make that call." He walked into the bedroom and
shut the door behind him.
Darien had watched all this with bemusement. Once again he was being left behind in the
conversation. Something had just gone on between Alyx and Bobby, but he wasn't entirely sure what.
So he changed the topic to something he could understand. Maybe. "Can you help her, Claire?"
"Not without performing some tests that I don't have the equipment for," she answered. "I'd have to
determine what is causing the effect first, before I could create a way to counter it." She set down
her fork. "It might be perfectly normal for her. There's no way to tell as long as we're here."
"I'm fine, Dare. I don't think I'm about to turn into an ice sculpture or anything," Alyx said
between sips of the soup. Slowly she was warming up.
"Unless this is some unexpected and unforeseen side effect of what was done to you," Claire said
straight-faced.
Alyx shook her head and grinned; she knew the alterations were reasonably stable. Darien, however,
didn't get that she was joking. "Then maybe we should call this off and get her home. If it could
be serious...." He trailed off as he realized both women were trying not to laugh at him. "And
that went right over my head, didn't it?"
"S'all right. You can still try and keep me warm." Alyx leaned against him as he sighed. "Unless
you find that far too onerous a duty."
"Please do so, Darien. She does not look at all good in that particular shade of blue," Claire
commented.
"I thought she looked looked cute in her blue jammies." Darien was surprised that he actually
managed to make Alyx blush. Deciding to spread about the embarrassment he said to Claire, "Of
course, I'm sure it's not nearly as cute as what you sleep in, Keepy."
"Fawkes, behave," Hobbes said as he came back into the room. "What Claire does or does not wear to
bed is none of your business."
Claire wasn't sure if he was continuing the joke or defending her. Maybe a little of both. "Well?"
"Eberts is working on it and hopes to have something for us by this time tomorrow. Until then, we
follow the plan." Hobbes sat down next to Claire and grabbed some more food. "Fawkes, eat. Or
you'll be skinnier than the kid there."
Without complaint, Alyx shifted so Darien could get up. He was back a few moments later with the
plateful of food that he had set down. He wrapped on arm around Alyx again and began to eat. "So
Hobbes what fun and excitement are we in for this afternoon."
Hobbes chuckled. "Don't worry, Fawkes, you'll find it quite educational."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Everything seemed to go as planned. Alyx and Claire spent the afternoon reviewing the gear and
making Alyx as much of an expert in it as could be done in a few hours. When they walked into the
show-and-tell that evening, they made an impressive-looking pair. Claire was leading the way,
wearing purple from head to toe. Alyx trailed behind the rolling cart behind pushed by a lodge
employee, still in her black and doing her best to look dangerous.
She was successful.
They spent the next several hours giving demonstrations of various items to interested parties.
From wrist sheaths to small items that fired darts, hidden injectors to creatively disguised
throwing knives; they had to give the boss credit in setting this up. They shared a demonstration
area with a few others who sold similar wares. When someone wanted to see how an item worked, Alyx
was more than happy to show them, for while she did she was able to pull information from the
surface of their minds. Information that might be very useful in the long run.
The sticks she had holding her hair up in a bun were an example of the toys they were offering. At
one point, a potential buyer complained that they could not be nearly effective enough. Alyx gave
an impromptu demo. With a sly,"Oh, really?" she spun about, pulling them out of her hair -- the
daggers were hidden in the hair pieces and were released with a simple twist -- and flung them at
the target behind her. All within seconds.
She looked the guy over. "The wielder is what makes them effective, plus they can be poison-tipped
and are too small to hold prints." The guy stared at her and swallowed hard. "We also have them
patterned after usable chopsticks."
Darien had retrieved the thin daggers and handed them back to her, not wanting to even attempt to
put them back in place. With a practiced motion, she returned them to the hollow sections still in
her hair and locked them into place.
Hobbes and the gentleman began a detailed discussion then, but it involved the guy trying to buy
her instead of the items they were trying to sell. Alyx didn't really listen; she had caught that
shocked recognition again, only this time it was tinged with anger as well. She tried, really
tried, to find the source of it, but was defeated once again by the number of minds in the room.
Frustrated, and becoming concerned about this unknown, she gritted her teeth and opened her
shields, intending to find him. She hadn't forgotten how stupid or painful this could be, but did
it anyway. She let most of the voices slide away and focused on that one mind she needed to find.
The distrust and hate in this room was intense, but mostly covered with a veneer of peace and
insincere comradeship that made her feel nauseous. She somehow kept herself from probing too deeply
on any particular person; these people hid way too much information that, although it would probably
make the Official very happy to have, she wanted no part of. Slipping through and past minds that
didn't interest her, she found him and probed a bit deeper.
It was Darien he had recognized. She was trying to find out where from and who he was when she was
rudely jerked back to herself. She reacted to the unwanted intrusion with anger, backed by power.
Darien was surprised when Alyx did not react to the negotiations going on between Hobbes and the
slime-ball sitting with them regarding the possibility of purchasing her, either in toto or on a
job-by-job basis. Instead, Alyx's eyes had gotten unfocused and she was staring off into the crowd.
After a moment, she tipped her head slightly like she was trying to focus, and her eyes began to do
that glow thing that was really hard to miss.
He stepped between her and the majority of the crowd. "Alyx ," he said quietly, trying to get her
attention. Instead, her brow furrowed and she went even paler than she already was. This was not
good. He set a hand on her shoulder to bring her back. Whatever it was she was doing was not
helping her any; she was not just cold, but clammy as well, and he was betting her heart was
pounding along at top speed again. Her hand came up to grasp his wrist -- to move it away, he
suspected. What he didn't expect was the sudden overwhelming pain that was shoved into his body at
her touch. It was worse than the time as a kid when he'd accidentally grabbed a live wire in a
light cord. This burned into him and set every nerve afire.
With a yelp of pain he let go of her and dropped to the floor, holding his head in pain.
Hobbes, thinking he was screwing around for some reason, barked, "Fawkes!" Claire dropped to her
knees next to him, suspecting he was having an unexpected attack of pre-madness symptoms.
"Easy, Da... Fawkes," Claire said as soothingly as possible.
Darien couldn't even talk; everything still hurt so much. He just curled up, whimpering.
Alyx blinked back to reality, and paled as she realized what she had done and to whom. "Boss, it's
time to pack it in," she got out as steadily as she could.
Hobbes took one look at her and nodded. She was bordering on green at this point. "Yeah, we have
enough for tonight."
Claire continued to try and get Darien calm, while Alyx and Hobbes packed up the gear. When people
began to take notice of the situation, Alyx did her best 'it's none of your business' glare and got
most of them to turn away. By the time they had the trunk of gear loaded up to move, Darien was on
his feet, a bit shaky, but up and moving.
By the time they got to the room, Alyx was berating herself. She barely made it to the bathroom in
time to get rid of what she had eaten earlier. She locked the door and huddled on the floor, not
wanting to go out and face them. All she could think of was that she had attacked Darien as if he
were a hated enemy. Even though she was concentrating on something else, she should have known it
was him, she should not have...have.... Just the thought was enough to make her ill again. She
ignored the banging on the door and the voices calling to her. It was bad enough when she reacted
like this at bad guys, but at her friends? She wanted no part of it.
Claire finished examining Darien and pronounced him alive, though barely. It was an attempt at
humor that fell a bit flat, considering they all knew Alyx was hiding in the bathroom because she
had done this.
"Darien, can you quicksilver for me?" Claire had to do this. If the gland was affected, there
could be serious problems.
"Uh, sure." He held out his left arm and quicksilvered from the elbow down. He waited a few
seconds and then stopped the flow and shook off the flakes.
"What the hell happened down there, Fawkes?" Making a spectacle of themselves would not help them
in this group.
Darien shrugged, not entirely sure himself. "Alyx was off somewhere and her eyes began to glow. I
thought that might not be a good idea and tried to get her to come back. When she didn't respond to
her name, I touched her. She grabbed my wrist, and the next thing I know I'm holding lightning and
she's growling at me." His head was still doing this weird buzzing thing. "You'd think I'd know
better than to touch her on bare skin by now." He shook his head, trying to get rid of the ringing
in his ears.
"So she zapped you a good one," Hobbes summed up. "And now she's feeling guilty."
"It's not her fault," Darien protested. He meant it. He knew she could and would react
unconsciously in certain situations. Hell, everyone did. Most people just didn't have her unique
ways of doing so.
"No, it's not. Or not entirely, anyway. With the types of minds she must have been touching, it's
not surprising she reacted with violence. Self-preservation is a very powerful motivator." Claire
checked Darien's eyes one last time, glad to see his pupils were finally the same size. Alyx had
zapped him a very good one. "Now we have to convince her to come out of the bathroom so that I can
check her."
"I'll give it a try Keepy." Hobbes wandered out to the sitting room and they could hear him
knocking on the door and talking to Alyx.
"What is going on with her, Claire? I know she was a bit depressed about the holidays, but I
thought she had...oh, found herself or something. Even you said she had full control." Darien was
hoping Claire might be willing to explain so that he could understand better.
"Darien, there is a lot I do not know about her and her past. What little I do know mostly involves
her time at the lab before coming to the Agency." Claire got to her feet and paced across the room.
"I have some partial medical records from before, but they don't tell me much." She suspected a few
things, but had no proof as of yet and she was not willing to confront Alyx about it. "I do think
she has real reasons for not wanting to hurt people, reasons that go beyond what happened at the
lab." She stopped by her medical bag and returned the pen light to its place. "She may have gained
the control she needed, but that has nothing to do with her reactions, or with her emotions."
"And the Official has made a point of training her like any other agent that comes in, forgetting
that she might not want that," Darien said in irritation. Maybe it was better that he'd been
trained the way he had. "The Official doesn't give a damn, does he?"
Hobbes poked his head back in before she could answer. "Keep, maybe you should give this a try. I
can't even get her to yell at me."
"Oh, bloody hell." Claire was concerned that Alyx might go back to her state of near catatonia
that occurred right after the destruction of the lab. It had taken over a week for her to come out
of it the last time. She knocked on the door and tried the handle, finding it locked like she
expected. "Alyx, you need to come out so that I can check you. We know it was unintentional, and
Darien is just fine. Please, Alyx."
Darien pushed his way through and went to work with his lock picks; he had the door open in
seconds. Swinging it open, he half-expected it to be shoved shut again by unseen hands, but nothing
happened. Guessing it was safe, he stepped in and found her sitting between the sink and the wall,
with her legs stretched out before her and her head tipped back against the tile. "Alyx?"
"I'm sorry," she said in a quiet voice. "I just..." She moved her head enough to look at him.
"I... You're the last person I want to hurt."
"Hey, I've beat you up a few times; I guess I deserve it." Darien shut the door and sat down on
the floor, ignoring the protests of the others.
"You don't understand. That wasn't some uncontrolled reaction or some drug-induced madness. That
was me being pissed off and lashing out." She dropped her head. "At you."
"Doesn't matter. Come on, even I can see you're wired. We've been working forever, plus the
holidays, plus you've been taking all those classes on how to hurt people recently." She nodded
slightly. "Plus we're walking around in a hotel full of our traditional enemies and pretending to
make nice. Hell, I'm jumpy, too." He lowered his voice. "To tell the truth, I spent the afternoon
trying not to go see-through every time I got bumped or someone looked at me oddly. I find this no
easier than you."
She started laughing then. "See, you really don't understand." She shifted forward so that she was
on her hands and knees. "I'm enjoying every minute of it."