Hey all, here's the next installment of High Explosive :) FLUFF WARNING! TURN BACK RIGHT NOW if you are allergic to fluff, or
it is against your religious/ethical/moral beliefs, or if it will cause you to to vomit and sprout green and orange polka dots, or
if for any other reason you are opposed to fluff. *caffeine induced maniacal laughter*
Thanks to all the fabulous people who have reviewed:) If it were not for your encouragement, I wouldn't be updating so
regularly :)
As always, disclaimers apply.
Enjoy!
* * *
It was becoming a routine. Every morning, Raye would bring Fallon to work, each time driving a different car. So far, no new
assassins had turned up, although approximately once a week there would be the discovery of new bombs. Ranging from
pop bottles to wedding invitations to fucking flasks of NAIL POLISH, Saffir seemed to have an endless creativity when it
came to making the damned things. Thankfully, so far, nothing that Raye had not been able to either defuse or detonate
safely.
Raye had come to an odd sort of...accord with James. It was not exactly friendship: it did not have the calm, complacent
feel of a friendship. Half the time, she would be pissed at him, and the other half, she would be having a great time with
him. And the whole time, unbidden and unwelcome, she would feel goddamned physically attracted to him!
There would be days when she would just feel at the end of her rope, and he would do something to irritate her, and then,
they would argue. Unlike almost all the guys she knew, though, he wouldn't cringe and cower when she was in a bad mood.
Nor would he chalk it up to PMS. Every irate comment she made at him, he would fire right back at her. They would fight
like cats and dogs, although, throughout it all, she noticed, both of them tried to avoid petty and truly cruel comments. No
low blows below the belt. And not once had he called her a bitch, whether or not he was in her presence. Truly, a first.
Then, there were also days when both of them would be considerate to each other. They would work together on trying to
figure out what next to do in this case against Saffir. They worked pretty well together, Raye found out, when they were
not arguing. Her connections and his street-savvy, their complementary areas of expertise. It all sort of fit.
However, it was the blasted physical attraction that she felt towards him, that bothered her. Oh, of course, he was a very
handsome man. But it wasn't as if she had never seen handsome men before. Then, what was it about him, that, whenever
they touched, she would get those damn tingles that Mina always talked about?
However, today, Raye was too tired to contemplate such things. That day, she'd had to deal with no less than four bombs!
Two she had dismantled, and the other two she had detonated. Then, after Fallon had finally finished working overtime that
day, she had asked Raye to teach her some self-defense! Raye took another good 2 hours to teach the other woman some
basic maneuvers. By the time she got home, the sky was darkening and all she wanted was to rest.
James emerged from the study when he heard the door slam. Raye entered, and plopped down on the couch, shrugging out
of her white blazer, then kicking off her white leather pumps and propping her slender feet up on the coffee table. She looked
bushed, just sitting there in a coral halter-top and white linen flares, her head bent slightly. Silently, he handed her a can of
cherry cola. Gratefully, she gulped it down. "Thanks. I don't even want to start on how overly long my day was...so how was
yours?"
"Well, not too much is going on, I've come up with a new program that is a deterrent to hacking into private accounts, that
could be useful. Oh, and I just went and picked up a pizza. Is that good with you?"
"Sure! I'm starved and tired and sore all over. Let's eat." And with that, Raye held out a slender hand to James, who pulled
her to her feet, and hand in hand, they went to the table.
After three slices of pepperoni pizza and another can of cherry cola, Raye felt slightly more refreshed. She got up and slowly
stretched her arms. "OW!"
James sprang up in an instant. "Are you all right?" He asked her, his blue eyes full of concern.
Raye gave a slight wince. "I'm fine, just sore. After the four bombs, Fallon had me teach her self defense." She replied.
"I see. Here, sit back down, on this stool." Raye gave him a quizzical look, then sat down obediently on one of the stools by
the bar. Suddenly, her eyes widened. He was slowly rubbing her aching shoulders, his calloused thumbs pressing circles on
her bare, smooth skin. His hands were strong, but gentle. Gradually, the ache and tension in her back and shoulders lessened
before vanishing completely, but his hands did not leave her skin, although now his touch had changed from a massage to a
caress. Contently, she leaned against him, and threw her head back so that she was looking upwards into his face. "Thanks,
James, that was lovely."
James felt a slight lump in his throat. He had, with the best and most honorable of intentions, decided to give her a back rub
when she had told him that she was sore. But when he had touched her smooth skin for the first time, he almost felt as if he
had been burned, and it had nothing to do with the temperature of her skin, which was pleasantly cool. He had gently lifted
the cascade of long black hair aside, resisting the temptation to just pause and drown his hands in what felt like a mass of
liquid silk. But James had gone through all of that wonderful training. He was not Mr. Stony, like Kevin, but he would call upon
the formidable amount of self-discipline that he had cultivated as part of his job, and NOT make a fool of himself. And then,
just when he had finally gotten totally under control and was mentally patting himself on the back, she, temptress, just HAD
to arch back that creamy throat, throwing her head back, her hair once again bouncing back from over her shoulders to pour
over his hands. And her dark violet eyes had met his blue ones, and they were not the diamond-hard eyes of an agent, but
velvety-soft, and inviting. And all of the sudden, he decided, self-discipline be damned.
Raye suddenly found her stool being spun around, and looked up to see that she was face to face with him. Their gazes held
for a split second, then she had sprang to her feet, and stepped eagerly into his waiting arms. Looping her bare arms about
his neck, she stood on tiptoe, and closed her eyes as their lips met.
Certainly, both of them had been kissed before, but something seemed a bit different. Perhaps it was due to the fact that
they were equals, that it went beyond attraction, because they understood each other, and with each other, there was no
pretense. That they were together in a mission that they knew full well could end up with both of them lying dead in a body
bag. When they finally broke apart long moments later, no words were exchanged, but this understanding was clear in each
other's eyes.
Finally, James spoke, his voice husky and quiet. "We're in this together." Raye agreed silently, raising her face from where it
was buried in the crook of his neck to look at him.
~ ~ ~
Stephan Black gazed thoughtfully at his computer screen. Someone who did not know anything about him would see, at the
moment, a handsome, serious-looking man with blue-black hair and similarly colored eyes. Someone who had the intellectual
look of a scholarly professor. A young and attractive one at that. That impression would have remained until the observer
took a clear look into his brilliant eyes. They were the color of dark sapphires, and just as cold and hard.
He sighed in frustration. His latest target had been unusually difficult to get. There was undoubtedly an agent protecting her,
and whoever the agent was, she was an explosives expert. He gazed at the picture of her that the little fool Alexandrite had
managed to get before she'd gotten shot in the head. She was quite a beauty with a mane of dark hair and a lithe figure. Her
face had been in profile, but he could see the elegant, high-bred lines. Of course, the agent had the foresight to change all
of her personal information to fictitious details, and he had no idea what her name was. Now...he needed to think. Who could
it possibly be?
An agent that beautiful, and with such mastery of her field, had to be fairly elite. His mind wandered back to his..unfortunate
cohort, Esmeraude. SHE had been taken care of by that platinum-haired sharpshooter, Agent Kunzite. Who, along with three
other male agents, worked under the direction of Artemis Cato. This agent was at least as highly skilled and elite as Agent
Kunzite, but she was female. Which could only mean one thing.
She was one of the four female agents, counterparts to the male agents working under Artemis Cato, who worked under the
direction of Luna Felis. And, with the long raven hair and slightly slanted eyes, it was quite obvious exactly which agent she
was.
Agent Mars. The resident explosives expert. It was small wonder that she had managed to make harmless all his bombs. BUT,
if explosives were her specialty, then, she would be susceptible in other areas. Saffir allowed a thin smile to appear on his
face for a moment, before turning back to his computer screen. But not before ringing a bell to summon a man with ice-blue
hair into his study.
* * *
OOH, and so the plot thickens! Suspense!! And I'll keep you in suspense if you don't review! ;)
There will be more action in the next chapter, hopefully. We'll see what insanity my brain concocts next.......
That's all for now, follow the arrow!!
~Thalia
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V
it is against your religious/ethical/moral beliefs, or if it will cause you to to vomit and sprout green and orange polka dots, or
if for any other reason you are opposed to fluff. *caffeine induced maniacal laughter*
Thanks to all the fabulous people who have reviewed:) If it were not for your encouragement, I wouldn't be updating so
regularly :)
As always, disclaimers apply.
Enjoy!
* * *
It was becoming a routine. Every morning, Raye would bring Fallon to work, each time driving a different car. So far, no new
assassins had turned up, although approximately once a week there would be the discovery of new bombs. Ranging from
pop bottles to wedding invitations to fucking flasks of NAIL POLISH, Saffir seemed to have an endless creativity when it
came to making the damned things. Thankfully, so far, nothing that Raye had not been able to either defuse or detonate
safely.
Raye had come to an odd sort of...accord with James. It was not exactly friendship: it did not have the calm, complacent
feel of a friendship. Half the time, she would be pissed at him, and the other half, she would be having a great time with
him. And the whole time, unbidden and unwelcome, she would feel goddamned physically attracted to him!
There would be days when she would just feel at the end of her rope, and he would do something to irritate her, and then,
they would argue. Unlike almost all the guys she knew, though, he wouldn't cringe and cower when she was in a bad mood.
Nor would he chalk it up to PMS. Every irate comment she made at him, he would fire right back at her. They would fight
like cats and dogs, although, throughout it all, she noticed, both of them tried to avoid petty and truly cruel comments. No
low blows below the belt. And not once had he called her a bitch, whether or not he was in her presence. Truly, a first.
Then, there were also days when both of them would be considerate to each other. They would work together on trying to
figure out what next to do in this case against Saffir. They worked pretty well together, Raye found out, when they were
not arguing. Her connections and his street-savvy, their complementary areas of expertise. It all sort of fit.
However, it was the blasted physical attraction that she felt towards him, that bothered her. Oh, of course, he was a very
handsome man. But it wasn't as if she had never seen handsome men before. Then, what was it about him, that, whenever
they touched, she would get those damn tingles that Mina always talked about?
However, today, Raye was too tired to contemplate such things. That day, she'd had to deal with no less than four bombs!
Two she had dismantled, and the other two she had detonated. Then, after Fallon had finally finished working overtime that
day, she had asked Raye to teach her some self-defense! Raye took another good 2 hours to teach the other woman some
basic maneuvers. By the time she got home, the sky was darkening and all she wanted was to rest.
James emerged from the study when he heard the door slam. Raye entered, and plopped down on the couch, shrugging out
of her white blazer, then kicking off her white leather pumps and propping her slender feet up on the coffee table. She looked
bushed, just sitting there in a coral halter-top and white linen flares, her head bent slightly. Silently, he handed her a can of
cherry cola. Gratefully, she gulped it down. "Thanks. I don't even want to start on how overly long my day was...so how was
yours?"
"Well, not too much is going on, I've come up with a new program that is a deterrent to hacking into private accounts, that
could be useful. Oh, and I just went and picked up a pizza. Is that good with you?"
"Sure! I'm starved and tired and sore all over. Let's eat." And with that, Raye held out a slender hand to James, who pulled
her to her feet, and hand in hand, they went to the table.
After three slices of pepperoni pizza and another can of cherry cola, Raye felt slightly more refreshed. She got up and slowly
stretched her arms. "OW!"
James sprang up in an instant. "Are you all right?" He asked her, his blue eyes full of concern.
Raye gave a slight wince. "I'm fine, just sore. After the four bombs, Fallon had me teach her self defense." She replied.
"I see. Here, sit back down, on this stool." Raye gave him a quizzical look, then sat down obediently on one of the stools by
the bar. Suddenly, her eyes widened. He was slowly rubbing her aching shoulders, his calloused thumbs pressing circles on
her bare, smooth skin. His hands were strong, but gentle. Gradually, the ache and tension in her back and shoulders lessened
before vanishing completely, but his hands did not leave her skin, although now his touch had changed from a massage to a
caress. Contently, she leaned against him, and threw her head back so that she was looking upwards into his face. "Thanks,
James, that was lovely."
James felt a slight lump in his throat. He had, with the best and most honorable of intentions, decided to give her a back rub
when she had told him that she was sore. But when he had touched her smooth skin for the first time, he almost felt as if he
had been burned, and it had nothing to do with the temperature of her skin, which was pleasantly cool. He had gently lifted
the cascade of long black hair aside, resisting the temptation to just pause and drown his hands in what felt like a mass of
liquid silk. But James had gone through all of that wonderful training. He was not Mr. Stony, like Kevin, but he would call upon
the formidable amount of self-discipline that he had cultivated as part of his job, and NOT make a fool of himself. And then,
just when he had finally gotten totally under control and was mentally patting himself on the back, she, temptress, just HAD
to arch back that creamy throat, throwing her head back, her hair once again bouncing back from over her shoulders to pour
over his hands. And her dark violet eyes had met his blue ones, and they were not the diamond-hard eyes of an agent, but
velvety-soft, and inviting. And all of the sudden, he decided, self-discipline be damned.
Raye suddenly found her stool being spun around, and looked up to see that she was face to face with him. Their gazes held
for a split second, then she had sprang to her feet, and stepped eagerly into his waiting arms. Looping her bare arms about
his neck, she stood on tiptoe, and closed her eyes as their lips met.
Certainly, both of them had been kissed before, but something seemed a bit different. Perhaps it was due to the fact that
they were equals, that it went beyond attraction, because they understood each other, and with each other, there was no
pretense. That they were together in a mission that they knew full well could end up with both of them lying dead in a body
bag. When they finally broke apart long moments later, no words were exchanged, but this understanding was clear in each
other's eyes.
Finally, James spoke, his voice husky and quiet. "We're in this together." Raye agreed silently, raising her face from where it
was buried in the crook of his neck to look at him.
~ ~ ~
Stephan Black gazed thoughtfully at his computer screen. Someone who did not know anything about him would see, at the
moment, a handsome, serious-looking man with blue-black hair and similarly colored eyes. Someone who had the intellectual
look of a scholarly professor. A young and attractive one at that. That impression would have remained until the observer
took a clear look into his brilliant eyes. They were the color of dark sapphires, and just as cold and hard.
He sighed in frustration. His latest target had been unusually difficult to get. There was undoubtedly an agent protecting her,
and whoever the agent was, she was an explosives expert. He gazed at the picture of her that the little fool Alexandrite had
managed to get before she'd gotten shot in the head. She was quite a beauty with a mane of dark hair and a lithe figure. Her
face had been in profile, but he could see the elegant, high-bred lines. Of course, the agent had the foresight to change all
of her personal information to fictitious details, and he had no idea what her name was. Now...he needed to think. Who could
it possibly be?
An agent that beautiful, and with such mastery of her field, had to be fairly elite. His mind wandered back to his..unfortunate
cohort, Esmeraude. SHE had been taken care of by that platinum-haired sharpshooter, Agent Kunzite. Who, along with three
other male agents, worked under the direction of Artemis Cato. This agent was at least as highly skilled and elite as Agent
Kunzite, but she was female. Which could only mean one thing.
She was one of the four female agents, counterparts to the male agents working under Artemis Cato, who worked under the
direction of Luna Felis. And, with the long raven hair and slightly slanted eyes, it was quite obvious exactly which agent she
was.
Agent Mars. The resident explosives expert. It was small wonder that she had managed to make harmless all his bombs. BUT,
if explosives were her specialty, then, she would be susceptible in other areas. Saffir allowed a thin smile to appear on his
face for a moment, before turning back to his computer screen. But not before ringing a bell to summon a man with ice-blue
hair into his study.
* * *
OOH, and so the plot thickens! Suspense!! And I'll keep you in suspense if you don't review! ;)
There will be more action in the next chapter, hopefully. We'll see what insanity my brain concocts next.......
That's all for now, follow the arrow!!
~Thalia
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
V