New Important Disclaimer: Okay, first off, I mean absolutely no disrespect to any native or foreign spies, peoples, Quebec Que, etc. I'm not native to the States myself. ;) Secondly, I've never been to Ridgecrest, so I really can't confirm what's it's like there...I was just using my creative license as an armature writer to plead ignorance! Thirdly, as far as I know, we only know Hobbes 'has or had' a younger sister, the creation of his family is purely for this story alone and is non-cannon. Plus, the names I picked, I don't know if anyone else had done the same thing, they were just the first ones to pop into my head.;)
On the Fourth Day of Christmas my I-Man gave to me…
Yesterday had been one of the longest days Darien had ever had. For most of it he'd wandered around town feeling lost. He'd checked with his old contacts, but they were thieves, none of them knew anything about the Free Quebec Militia.
Thankfully Eberts had managed to uncover some things and discovered a small front for the FQM. "You're in luck Darien, it's in Ridgecrest, so you can make contact with Hobbes while you're there." Darien was more than relieved to hear that and was now making his way up north on a fresh new day.
He'd driven right through Ridgecrest without even realizing it, but that was fine, the address Eberts had given him was quite a ways outside of town anyway.
The further north he went, the colder it got, till, quite suddenly, Darien realized there was a couple feet of snow cleared off on the banks. Checking for the correct mile marker, Darien pulled off the highway and quickly found himself submerged in the fluffy white stuff.
"At least it snowed somewhere for Christmas," he grumbled to himself and flicked the heater higher. The road he followed seemed to wind its way into the middle of no where, Darien wasn't even sure if he was following a road anymore, but his car wasn't capable of traveling outside the two rivets already in the snow so he just hoped for the best and kept going.
Eventually, Darien came to a turn off with a mailbox with the number he was looking for. Grudgingly the car inched its way up the driveway and Darien stepped out into a foot of packed snow.
He wasn't sure what he'd say when he knocked on the door, but was gratefully spared from coming up with something as the door opened and a short man stepped out into the snow. He was dressed head to toe in snow clothes, from thick black snow boots with the fur lining sticking out the top to the red knit hat pulled down over his ears with it's loose top and pompom hanging off the back. A likewise dark red scarf was wrapped snuggly around him covering half his face as its ends hung out over the puffy collar of the bright blue jacket that seemed twice the size of the man itself. As a final touch, thick red mittens covered the hands of the man's arms that were having trouble hanging over the thickness of the jacket and what ever was underneath. He reminded Darien so much of the little kid from 'A Christmas Carol' that it was hard not to laugh.
"Fawkes?! What are you doing here!" A familiar voice demanded from underneath the tightly worn scarf.
"Hobbes?" Darien asked incredulous, and finally just burst out with laughter.
"Ya ya," Hobbes grumbled, then stated, "You didn't answer my question!"
Darien's face was still covered with mirth as he walked up to his partner and experimentally patted his arm, most of it was the jacket. "Man! Buddy! What are you wearing? I didn't even recognize you!"
Bobby grumbled something too quite to hear then said a bit more placated, "They're gifts from my sister. She insisted I try them on, so I figured, why not put it all on at once, get it done and over with, ya know?"
"Makes sense, makes sense, sure," Darien agreed, still smiling.
"So what's going on partner?" Bobby questioned, fixing Darien with two shrewd eyes, the only thing visible, really. Then all at once Bobby asked, perhaps a bit too eagerly, "Is there an emergency? Do I have to come back to San Diego?"
"Ah, not exactly," Darien replied, curious and humored by Bobby's anxious nature all at the same time. He explained what all had occurred with the missing disks, the spies and his odd encounter with Arnaud while they stood outside in the snow. Darien would have liked to go inside to talk, he didn't have anywhere near the padding Bobby did, but Hobbes wasn't even inching in that direction.
"The FQM, uh? Haven't heard much from their direction for quite some time, they've been staying pretty low now for some time. Not so unusual for Canadians, can't predict them, one minute they're as passive as a badger, and the next they're biting your hand off!"
"Hobbes, I don't think badger's are passive."
"Sure they are," Hobbes argued. "I had a cousin who had a pet badger, sweetest little guy you ever meet!"
"Ah, ya." Darien wanted to say he didn't think badgers were little, either, but let it lie. "Well, Eberts says they've got a front in Ridgecrest, we might be able to find out more there."
"Sure, Old Pete at the Coffeemart," Hobbes stated knowledgably.
Darien was surprised, "You know him?"
"Of coarse I know him!" Hobbes retorted sounding a little insulted but continued, "He makes the best cruller you've ever tasted! Wait till you have one Fawkes, they're-" Two brown eyes narrowly regarded his tall partner. "Then again, let's just stake out the place."
"What ever you think is best," Darien replied, just happy to be with his partner again. He turned towards the car to get going but Bobby called him back.
"Hold up Fawkes, we can't go just yet. Gotta tell Rachel something, and I came out here to find Jason before you showed up." Hobbes stated, rotating the upper half of his body to look around since he could barely move his head.
"Jason?" Darien questioned perplexed.
"Ya, he's my nephew," Bobby answered a bit gruffly.
Nephew? Darien suddenly realized up here in the mountains was a part of Bobby's life he knew nothing about. He took a step back towards his friend to help him look when something cold, large and wet landed smack dab in the center of his back with enough force that he almost quicksilvered in reaction.
"There he is!" Bobby simply announced.
Darien spun around to see a young kid with a mop of dark mangy hair grinning at him as he took aim at Darien with another snowball inside a sling. Suddenly, Darien realized there was another reason for Hobbes snowsuit other than 'just trying them on.' "Hey!" He protested with a grin and ducked as the snowball was let loose. Unfortunately, Bobby was right behind Darien without the same maneuverability.
Yet the wet snow just bounced off the thick jacket and Bobby yelled out, "Jase, come on, it's time to go in."
"Okay Gampa," The little boy, probably no older than seven, replied, happily bouncing towards them. "Who's this?" He asked craning his neck to look up at Darien.
"I'm not you're Grandpa! I'm your uncle!" Bobby stated with what was obviously a repeated argument.
"I'm a friend of your uncles, my name's Darien." Darien said in answer to the kid's question.
A perpetually smiling face gazed up at Darien as he happily stated, "Uncle Bobby!"
"No, I'm Darien."
"I'm your Uncle Bobby," Hobbes repeated a bit agitated.
The little boy looked at him and said, "Okay, Gampa." Bobby just sighed, and Jason giggled before bounding to the door, throwing it open and yelling heartily, "Mom! I'm home!"
Darien smirked, he had an idea the kid knew exactly who Bobby was and was just seeing how far he could push it. Bobby seemed to agree, for he chuckled, quite contrary to his previous behavior. "That kid's a smart one, Fawkes. He'd put you to shame!"
Jason's Mom immediately came to the foyer the second Jason told her about Bobby's new friend. "Who's this Robert? He's not a 'friend' from work, is he?" She asked narrowing her eyes at Darien so much that he wonder what kind of 'friends from work' had she met before. With dark hair to match her sons, it was curled into a knot around a pencil while her hands were planted firmly on her hips, small suds still clinging to the tops of her wrists. There was a sense of fire bred hotter from being burned about her. She was so obviously Hobbes' sister it was uncanny.
"No," Hobbes instantly replied drawing the word out, then stated matter of factly, "He's my partner, Darien Fawkes."
"Oh, well, in that case, welcome," she stated to Darien, although her voice didn't soften much and she didn't bother to offer a hand or introduction.
Bobby just continued, "Fawkes and I have to go into town, we'll be back late."
Her scowl instantly darkened. "Bobby, you promised!"
"This is important Rach," Bobby persisted.
Rachel just shook her head and growled out, "You never change."
Jason, unperturbed by the semi-hostile exchange tugged at his uncle's jacket. "Can I go?"
"Not this time kid," Bobby told him, ruffling the kid's hair as best he could with a mittened hand. Darien awkwardly waved goodbye to them as he and Bobby quickly left.
"So, that's your sister, uh?"
"Uh!"
Arnaud sat, quite frankly, naked, in the middle of a packed snow bank. It was one of the disadvantages of his gland compared to Fawkes. It took him forever to control his gland enough to quicksilver a small object, and even then it was finicky. Clothes were completely out of the question! At least the cold wasn't an issue, only the snow that froze to him and fell in a shower of ice every time he moved.
It made for hiding a tab bit more difficult, but after wearing his 'normal wear' into town, he quickly realized he'd get nothing done. For a town this size, everyone still knew everything about everyone else.
Patiently, Arnaud waited. Not too long later a familiar car pulled up and stopped and the dynamic duo he was waiting for appeared.
Bobby stepped out into the snow, having shed just about everything but the jacket, including a sweater or two. "Well, here we are partner, good ol'Ridgecrest!"
Darien could see the Coffeemart across the street, but Bobby pulled out a packed pillowcase he'd filled from the house and turned instead to the public laundry facility. Catching up to his partner, Darien leaned over and questioned, "I thought we were going to stake the place out?"
"We are, genius! You don't get away with just sitting around for no reason in this town, my friend. Trust me!" Bobby continued inside and greeted the man lounging on a stool with a paper in hand. "Hey Dan, how're the kids?"
"Angels, as always," Dan answered. He sounded sincere enough, but the way Bobby grinned Darien guessed it was some sort of inside joke. "How's Rachel? Still holding a grudge?"
"Of coarse."
"Don't worry Bobby, she'll get over it someday." Then Dan turned curious eyes up to Darien. "Who's your tall friend?"
"This beanpole, is Darien Fawkes, my partner from San Diego," Hobbes introduced then, proceeded to empty the contents of the pillowcase into a washing machine.
Darien greeted and shook Dan's hand, but Dan surprised him by saying, "Oh, here on business are you? Old Pete?"
Darien quickly looked to Bobby, but his partner wasn't in any way alarmed that Dan knew and easily answered, "Not sure, it's just a hunch."
Dan laughed, "You've been playing your hunches since we were kids!" Bobby just grinned in response.
Darien felt even more surprised and smiling with discovery asked, "This is were you grew up, Hobbes? I always took you for a city kid."
"I am," Bobby stated, then motioning to Dan with a soap box stated, "Dan here's with the CIA, knew him when I was with The Company."
"Right up until he was kicked out!" Dan said good-natured.
"Then, are you watching Old Pete, too?" Darien asked, feeling more and less confused by this new revelation.
"Among other things," Dan slyly stated, then seriously asked, "What's your interest in Pete Hobbes?"
Bobby shook his head, "Nope, sorry, that's a need to know, my friend. But I'll scratch your back if you'll scratch mine," Bobby said, closing the lid to the machine and popping in the quarters to turn it on before strolling over.
Smirking, Dan shook his head with silent mirth. "You never change, Hobbes. Alright. I've seen some people come through that could easily be FQM, but it's hard to tell."
"Always is," Bobby agreed.
"No one in the last week, but they always head north east. There's a large lot of private land in that direction, a large house set at the center of it. Could be them, don't know." Dan shrugged.
Hobbes pursed his lips in thought, then in return replied with a question, "Do you know about a man names Arnaud De Phone?"
"De Fohn," Darien automatically corrected.
Dan's expression grew severe, "He's on our hit list, why?"
"There's a chance he'll come here looking for a couple FQM. My boss wants to have a chat with Arnaud." Bobby told him. It wasn't exactly the truth, but it was more than enough to satisfy the CIA operative.
"I'll keep my eye out for him," Dan answered.
"Better keep two," Darien quipped, half serious. "He has a tendency to be invisible."
Dan nodded, not realizing Darien meant that literally.
Darien and Bobby hung out at the laundry room for a couple hours. Eventually, Dan left, waving goodbye and best wishes on their hunt. When Darien was sure they were alone he finally questioned Bobby, "Are you sure that was wise telling him so much?"
"Bobby Hobbes knows what he's doing, my friend!" Hobbes stated confidently. He was about to continue when another car pulled up next to the Coffeemart and the two foreign spies they were looking for stepped out.
"Hey, that's them!" Darien anxiously stated.
"Alright, time for you to go invisio, partner."
Darien suddenly realized the flaw in Hobbes' plan. "Ah, Hobbes, I can't."
"What?" Hobbes looked at his partner with alarm and worry. "What do you mean, you can't?"
"Well, The Keep's in Utah-"
"Utah?!"
"Ya, and she won't be back till later and it takes two days-"
Bobby cut Darien off again, with a growl. "You could have mentioned this earlier you know! Come on!" Pushing his partner ahead of him, the two ran out of the laundry facility and across the street to the Coffeemart.
Yet they barely entered the little store before they had to take cover behind a table as a spray of gunfire rang out to meet them. "Aren't you going to shoot back?" Darien quickly asked, ducking down further as bullets reamed the edges of the table.
"I don't have my gun," Hobbes told him.
"What?" Daren exclaimed with more than a little alarm.
"Are you kidding me? Rachel would kill me if I brought a gun anywhere near her!"
"You could have mentioned that earlier," Darien growled, but suddenly the shooting stopped and they cautiously peered over the top, ready to jump to the next piece of cover at a moment's notice. The shooters were no where in sight and a gust of wind blew in through the open back door while another vehicle pulled swiftly away. "How many car's do they have!" Darien exclaimed with exasperation.
The only other occupant of the café was an old man who was also getting up from behind the counter. "Young people these days, so excitable!" Then he looked to the two agents and stated with a grimace, "Bobby Hobbes, should have figured you'd show up. Turn the table back, while you're over there, would you lad, and I'll make us all a cappuccino."
"Sure Pete," Bobby agreed and together, he and Fawkes up righted all the fallen furniture. Darien was surprised to find that most of the furniture was actually metal with wood lining, and just about all sported bullet wounds both old and new. This was a very odd town.
The three gathered at a table and sipped peaceably at their warm cups. "You must be Darien Fawkes," Pete opened. "Most here just call me Pete."
"How do you…?" Darien asked surprised.
Pete shrugged, "It's why you're both here, isn't? Rena and Pierre stole some disks from you and now they're heading north."
"Why would you tell us that?" Darien asked, confused, more so because Bobby was just as calm about it as this strange man was.
Pete laughed, "The world has changed much since I was your age, but it really hasn't, you know. Everyone's still trying to get the upper hand on everyone else. I haven't told you anything you don't already know, lad."
Then Hobbes asked, taking another sip at the drink. "What did they want?"
"The usual, info. Asked about you, they didn't know you were already here, Bobby. They seem to have an interest in your Agency, but I don't know why."
"And you don't know where they were heading?" Darien asked.
"North. It's almost always north, not many other places you can go from here." Pete stood then and amiably stated, "If you boys are done I've got some cleaning to do."
"Sure Pete, I'll see you later," Bobby stated and drowned the last of his cappuccino. As they were leaving Bobby was shaking his head, a look of consternation etched on his face.
"What?" Darien asked concerned.
"I just can never tell if he's lying or not," Bobby finally stated.
"Why hasn't anyone ever taken him in?" Darien asked curious.
"Are you kidding? You'd never get anything out of Old Pete that Old Pete didn't want to say! That and he feeds us."
Down the street only a block away, Arnaud stood with a 'floating' phone in hand while shaking the ice crystals from his feet.
"Why are you in another telephone booth?" The annoyed voice of Stark came through the line. "What happened to the cell phone I just gave you?"
"It's back at the inn. I didn't have the time to waste." He would have liked to get a bit further away from the Coffeemart at least, but this was the only payphone for blocks. "Use that world dominating technology of yours and follow a car for me." Arnaud growled out, he didn't like having to depend upon Chrysalis for anything, but he had to admit some of their toys were quite interesting.
"Fine," Stark responded in kind and took down the information Arnaud gave him. "I'm also sending up some specialists to meet you tomorrow."
"Fine." Arnaud didn't bother to say anything further and hung up on the man.
Darien had just opened the door to his car when he noticed the odd occurrence of the telephone booth's door opening and closing. Taking a chance, he quicksilvered his eyes and instantly the monochrome world revealed the man who'd been hidden within. "Arnaud!" He hissed out.
"What? Where?" Bobby asked sharply, looking around.
Darien took off running after the new light source, grabbing up snow as he went, and before Arnaud had realized Darien had discovered him, a ball of snow was flying straight for the invisible man. It landed with a plop, quickly followed by another ball of snow that froze and stuck to Arnaud like a mold.
"There!" Darien yelled in response to Bobby's question.
Arnaud swore and took off running, trying to shake the frozen snow from him as he went.
Once it was off, he ran to and inside the town's resident Wal-Mart.
Darien and Bobby skidded to a halt just inside the doors, an elder couple staring at them openly. Gazing around the store Darien couldn't see him anymore, and there were too many people to keep his eyes quicksilvered. "Damn it!"
"Don't worry partner," Bobby stated, tugging on his arm to go back outside. "He'll show up again."
Darien let the quicksilver fall, but the rage didn't leave as quickly.
…Four Balls of Snow
Three Missing Disks
Two Foreign Spies
And Arnaud in a Telephone Booth
