Note: Sorry I've taken so long to update...almost three weeks...you'd be surprised how busy you get when school starts...well anyway, here you go. I'll try to get these chaps out sooner. Please don't forget to review.
Inconnu flew back on his plane in silence. Once he reached his place, he threw his jacket at his assistant, as always, and went to his black elevator. Pushing a few buttons, he was sent downward to a lab.
A blond man turned around quickly and gave a small smile. "Professor Inconnu, what a surprise. Did you enjoy your-" Inconnu grabbed him by the neck and slammed him against a wall.
The man slammed against the wall loudly, his groan the only noise in the room. Inconnu loosened his grip when he saw the man's face changing colors slightly. Quietly, he asked, "Why did you commence with this…endeavor with the good doctor?"
Coughing a little, the man's brown eyes eyed Inconnu warily. Stuttering, he said, "W-we were under the impression it w-was what you had wished."
Inconnu laughed loudly. Under the impression? Oh Inconnu would make an impression... an impression of his gold rings into that man's-
"Who do you work for?" Inconnu snarled.
The man's shoulders slumped in fear. "You, sir."
"Then why did you listen to him, YET again? Believe me, I'm quite curious."
"Um….our department had nothing to do with the last mistake the doctor made. It did sound like something you would want done." The man cursed himself as soon as the words left his mouth.
"Oh it did?"
Trying to cover up, he started, "Well, I mean-"
"It sounded like something I would do, hmm? Well hear me well, I will come down here MYSELF and issue orders. You will follow them and them alone. Is that understood?"
"Yes sir."
Inconnu's eyes flew around the room as he dropped the man. "Is that completely understood by ALL of you?" his voice roared. All he heard were collective murmurs of agreeing. Smiling, he said quickly, "Good. Have a nice day." Inconnu stalked out of the room quickly and back onto his elevator.
Something was going to have to be done about this DeMarquise fellow….but like all good things, they come with time. Thank God Inconnu was patient.
…
Peter quickly pulled his pants up, buckled his belt, and looked at himself in the mirror briefly. Jameson called him in early, the day of to be exact.
Peter hadn't gotten much sleep the night before. He stayed up that night to do his pictures and submit them to Nathan. To top it all off, crime was up again after a small drought. Though he liked the lack of work, he was almost glad to have his nightlife coming back to action, just not the same night that he had a lot of work to do.
He ran through his kitchen, grabbed a strawberry poptart, rushed out the apartment, and hailed a cab down. His blue eyes eyed the smaller gentleman who was driving him. He was of middle eastern descent and made no acknowledgement of Peter except when he entered the vehicle. He got no vibes from him. That was one of the things his mind did often; testing vibes from people. He was doing that a lot lately. This would be the reason his mind was on Mikala for a while. Though she was nothing more than a partner to him, absolutely nothing romantic, and she seemed like an okay person, she still gave him the creeps. Maybe it was because she was so overpowering, always wanting things her way or no way.
It had its advantages. The paper was getting some of its best interviews from Mikala and his pictures were gaining even more attention though it had only been two issues of the Daily Bugle. Jameson gave him compliments, which shocked him. Very weird thing…
Peter reached the building at exactly eight o'clock. Jameson was a stickler for punctuality. Giving his money to the cab driver, Peter ran into the building, and to the elevator. It was 8:02 by the time he reached his designated floor. He rushed past the secretary and knocked swiftly on Jameson's door. "What do you want?" he heard the familiar voice bark.
Peter opened the door slowly. "It's me, sir." Peter looked around the room and saw Mikala sitting in a leather chair across from Jameson's notorious cigar tray. He nodded his head toward her in acknowledgement of her presence.
"You're late Parker!"
"Sorry sir, I had to beat the morning traffic."
Jameson took a puff from his cigar before placing it from his face. "Well don't just stand there, SIT DOWN!" Peter jumped slightly. Was there something wrong with the previous issue? The pictures? Peter went to the nearest chair and sat down. He watched J.J. with interest. "Okay, I heard from sources that there is something big down in city hall. The mayor is playing Sherlock, something about corrupt officials." Pointing his cigar toward Mikala, he ordered, "I want you there to be the first to interview the mayor. I want the scoop." He pointed his cigar to Peter. "I want you there to take pictures of the whatever it is they take out of there. I want lots of pictures. Got me Parker? Not crappy drawings on what you may call film, but GOOD pictures. Got me?" Peter nodded his head slowly. Jameson waved them off quickly. "Get out of here! Why are you in here?" Peter softly sighed to himself at Jameson's last comment. He really did ask quite stupid questions.
Peter opened the door for Mikala quickly before stepping out. Mikala eyed Peter carefully as he walked next her through the newsroom. He wasn't all that bad looking. He did look kinda cute in his tux last night….She felt his muscles tighten when she gave him a kiss. His arms aren't nearly as measly as she originally thought. She could only wonder what else there was that she hadn't originally expected….
Peter held his arms in his hands, rocking back and forth on his heels, all the while shifting uncomfortably in the elevator under Mikala's intense stare. His eyes wondered from the glass walls to the ceilings, to his shoes, ANYWHERE besides at Mikala. When they reached the bottom floor, he followed her to her car, noticing how many glances she stole.
He couldn't take it anymore finally. "W-why are you staring at me like that?" Peter stuttered out finally after mustering enough courage to ask.
"Staring at you? " Mikala's cat like laughter rang through her car. "Parker, you are interesting to look at. Look at you, you're on the edge of your seat like you're scared or something. Like you're a trapped mouse." Peter's mind did often make references to her being a cat…. "Chill Parker, I won't bite." Peter stuttered out a small laugh. He was always on his guard around her. It felt as though he were afraid….
But of what?
The two got to City Hall within six minutes. The parking lot was already crowded with newscasters and reporters. Mikala slammed her black car door shut. "This was supposed to be my story," she mumbled. Although her "alter" life was getting the things that others couldn't with a pretty face, she did have a passion for writing. With that, came a very competitive nature. She grabbed Peter by the arm and dragged him through the crowd. "You're slowin' me down Parker! C'mon!" She pushed and pulled her way to the front of the small crowd that was growing larger as the seconds passed.
She finally made her way up to the barricade when a police officer held his hand out. "Stop right there."
Mikala pushed his hand down roughly and spoke quickly. "Okay Rent-A-Cop, stop with the act. Let me through."
The man's staggering 6'1 body didn't phase her one bit. He was used to haughty reporters who wanted a story, but normally, their tenacity was brought down a few notches when they saw his large form. "Look, MISS, you aren't allowed through here."
Mikala rolled her green eyes at him. She wanted her story…dammit she was gonna get it. Of course Inconnu told her to use her "eyes" only when necessary…well, this was necessary. After all, who was she to upset her "employer", Jameson? She was his reporter. Tightening her facial features, she stared him down coldly. "I am going to be let through, is that clear?"
The policeman blinked for a moment before shaking his head. "No, you aren't allowed." His voice was beginning to shake.
She was getting through and she could only feel a smirk tugging at her lips. More adamantly, she said, "You will let my photographer and myself through. Aren't you?" He stood there for a moment not answering her, when suddenly he nodded his head slowly.
Pulling the metal barricade back, he said numbly, "Go ahead."
She smiled sourly at him and said a curt thank you.
Peter couldn't quite hear all of what was being said between Mikala and the cop, but whatever it was must have been persuasive. He looked at the cop oddly as he was whisked past him. His jaw was slightly lax and his eyes had turned into a deep color, ebony it seemed. A split second later, his eyes were back to their regular hazel color. Peter blinked for a moment as if to fully comprehend what he just saw, but shrugged it off. Still….the thought lingered in his mind….
Mikala made her way up the steps quickly, gripping Peter's arm the whole way. Peter looked down at her crimson painted nails that were beginning to dig into his flesh. He stumbled up the steps behind her, whisking through the double doors. "Um, out of curiosity, where exactly are we going?"
Mikala stopped dragging Peter to think for a moment. She had never been inside City Hall before. How was she to know where to go? Tapping her foot, she looked around quickly. Her eyes flew from one side of the white hall to the other until she saw who she was looking for.
None other than the mayor himself.
Smiling widely, she said, "C'mon." She grabbed Peter's arm again and began to run. Her black boots slid across the tile floor into the room, which held the mayor.
A few men turned around, along with the mayor and police chief. "What are you doing here?" the mayor ordered. His now storming gray eyes turned to the police chief. "I thought I said no reporters?"
He shrugged his broad shoulders. "I don't know how she got through sir." The police chief turned his eyes back to her when a small smile came to his lips. "I remember you. You were that charming lady I had the pleasure of talking with last night. Am I right?"
Mikala smiled brightly as she flipped her hair back. She always did know how to leave an impression on a man… "Yes you are."
Peter rolled his eyes at the sight. The chief was having impure thoughts that much was evident, and Mikala was relishing in the mere thought of it. Of course, he kept mum on her tactics. The mayor, on the other hand, would not. He rolled his gray eyes and said in a scoff. "I don't care where you met her. I want her out of here!" With that, he turned back around to his entourage. A few officers began to walk toward them.
Just as she and Peter were about to be escorted, she said quickly, "You've got a lot of guts doing this in an election year."
His balding head shot up from some paper he was looking at. "Excuse me?"
"I can see the headlines now, 'Mayor mauls reporter to keep corruption within his City Hall, details at nine'."
"Dear girl, you need to work on your verbs and adjectives."
"I dunno. As tight as the muscle men, you call cops, are gripping my arm, I'd say that would leave a bruise." Peter nearly dropped his jaw. Not only where they going to get thrown out of City Hall, but put in jail for blackmail also. How did things go from good to bad to worse in less then five minutes?
The mayor's eyes narrowed into deep slits. "What are you getting at?"
Mikala snatched her arms from a policeman who had a grip on her arm. She shot her angry eyes his way quickly before turning back to the mayor. "It seems suspicious and shows idiocy if you keep all of the people of the press out of here." Everyone in the room collectively inhaled. Folding her arms, she said confidently, "What do you have to hide, sir?"
The mayor stared at her dumbfound. This girl, this girl that was three times younger than him was throwing challenges his way. He was the mayor of New York and he was getting challenges thrown at him by some Playboy reject! Scoffing at her attempts, he said coolly, "It's nothing that concerns you little girl."
"This is my city, and you are MY mayor. It does concern me."
The mayor stared at her for a few seconds before starting to laugh. She had a lot of spunk and he liked that. But maybe she had a little too much. Waving his hand, he said with laughter, "Somebody PLEASE escort Connie Chung out of here." Mikala huffed loudly. She was about to throw her eyes at the mayor when the Police chief stepped between her, Peter, and the other policemen.
He held up his hand quickly. "Wait a second, I've got an idea."
The mayor rolled his eyes at him. He bet he had an idea…too many about the reporter. "Klein, what are you doing?"
"I've been thinking…" The mayor scoffed at him. Oh, he bet he was thinking…with the wrong part of his body. "Instead of letting the press come to its own conclusions, let these two help you influence the people out there."
His eyes narrowed. "What?"
"You give her the chance to get an interview, make you look like the man who stopped the corruption, and you'll be sitting on your bum with your title still attached."
The mayor thought about that for a moment. That new guy, Collins, was stealing his votes. If he could nail this corruption thing AND get the positive publicity, then it would a big plus to him. Who would not vote yes to a man who stopped corruption? "What newspaper are you for?"
Mikala snapped out of her own thoughts and answered the question. "The Daily Bugle."
"You work for that nut Jameson?"
"I take it you know him."
He chuckled to himself. "Yeah…me and him go way back. Crazy bastard." He remained quiet for a few more seconds. "Okay, since you're one of Jameson's lackies, I'll give you a break since I know he's paying close to nothing anyway. I like you…you got a lot of spunk." He patted her on the shoulder. "Look, I'll give you some quotes, then you can take it up with Klein. I got better stuff to do then talk with a reporter."
"Deal." Mikala turned to Peter and winked. Peter just shook his head slowly. How did she do it every time?
The day overall went well. Peter got great pictures of the mayor and police chief, officers inspecting materials, etc. Mikala got her interview and the home number of the Police chief in case she wanted to do an "inside story". Of course, she could only add this to the many men who had fallen victim under her charm.
Peter didn't think of Mikala as having charm; he thought of her as manipulative and driven. Not the best combination in the world, but maybe it was for this field of work. Who knows? He got his pictures, she got her interview: The only pictures and interview pertaining to the corruption clean out at City Hall.
It was well into the afternoon when Peter and Mikala made it back to the Daily Bugle. Peter went to the dark room to develop his pictures and Mikala began to work on her story. By six, Peter was leaving. He squinted his eyes as he left the dark room and into the brightly lit hallway. He made his way to the main paper room to turn in his pictures. He was tired, his feet hurt, and he wanted to catch up on the sleep that was taken from him with Jameson's barking.
He was on his way out when someone called out for him. Turning around quickly, he saw Mikala starting toward him. She skidded over to him and began to walk with him. "Well Parker, you look beat."
He stifled a quick yawn. "I am. J.J. woke me kind of early, so I'm hoping on catching up on some sleep."
"Not a morning person I take it."
"Not at all."
"Hmmm." Well, if he was this tired and this set on going to his apartment, why not continue her pursuits to his apartment? "Well you know, I could give you a ride. Save on cab fare."
"I don't want to impose. It's okay."
"It's not imposing if I'm the one offering."
"Okay, if you insist." Peter didn't feel like putting up a fight. He was just going to have to cope with his insecurities and doubts with her another time. He had a long day.
The two drove to Peter's apartment building in silence. Mikala was concocting plans for Peter, while Peter was steady thinking about what to fix for dinner, how was Aunt May, and when Kristi was coming back. When she pulled up, Peter hopped out of the car and thanked her for the ride. Mikala's green eyes looked at him incredulously. Leaning over in her seat, she asked, "Aren't you even going to invite me in?" As usual, her perfect cleavage would be showing.
Peter gave a small tired smile. He scolded himself for the trailing of his eyes. Shame on you, Parker, he thought. Shutting his door, he leaned on the opened car window. "I would, but being a crappy, sleepy host isn't the way to go about it."
She could wake him up, she was sure of it. She nodded her head slowly. "I get ya. Well go take your nap or whatever." He was afraid of her, she knew it, but he did look tired. They had done a lot that day, so attempting to do anything now would be pointless. Oh well, she'd fine someone to entertain her interest. Maybe she could give the police chief some classes on strip searches…A smile touched her lips.
She loved using men!
Snapping from her thoughts, she leaned back to her first position. Mikala said quickly, "See you tomorrow at nine."
Peter stepped away from the car as she revved it up. Waving, he said, "Bye." He watched her speed off down the street before walking up the concrete steps of his apartment building. He was tired, he needed a shower, and he needed some food. The only thing he had eaten was an iced PopTart that he had for breakfast.
He walked toward his phone and played the messages: one from Harry about getting together, one from M.J. about a small part she had gotten on a TV show, one from Aunt May about his Aunt Agnes coming in on Friday, and another from one of the people who had English with him the previous school year. All was well with everyone, just checking in on him. He was kind of surprised he hadn't heard from Kristi. She probably wasn't much in a talking mood, but he knew her more than she gave him credit for. Even though she wouldn't talk, she wanted to. That was just the way things were.
Reaching for his cordless phone, he dialed the number to the hotel and her room number. The phone rang three times before someone picked up. "H-hello?" a voice croaked out.
The voice was drowsy…perhaps he had dialed the wrong number? "Kris?"
Kristina inhaled deeply before talking again. "Hey Peter."
She sounded so sleepy that it was adorable."Did I wake you?"
Kristi rubbed her eye ruefully and looked at the digital clock. She stretched quickly before answering. "Yeah, but I needed to be getting up anyway."
"What did you do today?"
She shrugged sleep off of her body. "I did nothing. I didn't feel like doing anything. My cousin called me. I talked to her for a little bit, but that's all."
"You aren't going to get out and do something?"
"I was going to go to my cousin's for eight."
"Well that's good."
She sighed softly. His voice made her feel just a little bit better. She didn't feel bad, just drained. She had poured her eyes out. Taking her mind off of it, she asked quickly, "Did I miss anything up there?"
Peter shrugged his shoulders as he went into his kitchen to look for something to cook. "Not really. Four store robberies and three muggings that were prevented," he said with a nonchalant sigh.
For the first time, Kristi had a nice healthy laugh. She goes away for two days and he develops an ego."Is that your way of gloating for your good work?" she asked with humor and sarcasm.
Peter's eyebrow rose in a challenge. "Is that your way of giving a compliment?" he countered.
Kristi smirked into the phone. "Touché."
He sighed once more before his eyes roamed over his kitchen pantry. "So how are you?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "I'm okay I guess." Sarcastically, she said with a scoff, "Still hope I have a job."
Peter shook his head at her weak humor. "How are you, really?"
Kristi sat up on her bed and glimpsed around the room. "I feel a little on the empty side, but comforted. It's a weird thing."
Spotting some fried rice, Peter's hand reached for the red box. "Why is it weird?"
Kristi's eyes were wondering around her room when her dark eyes fell onto her mother's ring. Speaking in distant tones, she said with a quick laugh,"You'll think I'm crazy for this."
He gave a small smile as he tore the top of the box off. "No I won't. You know that."
She sighed heavily over the phone. "Okay...well, last night, I cried myself to sleep or close to it. Then I felt something…."
Peter bent underneath his stove in hopes of finding his favorite silver pot. "Like what?"
"Warmth and murmurs. I know it sounds crazy, but it made me feel better." The whole idea wasn't really crazy, but what she felt…wasn't her mother. It was someone else, someone close to her, but she couldn't put her finger on. It seemed as though her past began to blur together into large blobs, getting bigger and bigger, making things harder to decipher. Maybe this was her way of protecting herself. Who knows? Peter's quick yelp brought her from her thoughts. "Are you okay over there?"
Peter groaned angrily, while brushing his free hand over his head. "I'm fine...the bottom of the stove bit me, as you would so eloquently say. But yeah...that's not crazy." Pulling his pot out, he placed it under the faucet, and began to walk to the refrigerator.
"What it probably was me having my dreams again. Ever since the wake, all I see is sadness and hear I'm sorry's and feel hugs even in my sleep."
He pulled out some eggs, carrots, and butter. "Maybe so."
Kristi shook herself of her memory and refocused on Peter. "But anyway…how are you? Are you okay?"
"I'm good."
"How's your partner?"
He went back to his pantry to pull out some peas. "She's fine. We get along okay, I guess."
Her eyebrow rose skeptically. "You guess?"
"Yeah. She creeps me out a little. I mean, everyone's different, and it's not a weird creep me out, just a creepy creep me out."
"I get ya."
He went to his salt cabinet and looked for some soy sauce. "Other than that, everything seems cool." He found the soy sauce and place the brown bottle next to his other ingredients. "We've been on three assignments. All good success. Not a compliant from J.J., and that's a huge rarity."
"I'm happy for you."
"I'm happy you're happy." He could feel her smiling back at him. His being goofy with her was never looked down on and he loved that. "Guess what?"
"What?"
"I'm making fried rice," he said proudly as he dumped some of the excess water out.
She could feel him beaming over the phone. Sitting up on the bed, she asked, "Really?"
Peter nodded his head. "Yup yup. You gonna wish me luck? I just got this apartment not too long ago, I don't wanna burn the place down."
"You did pretty well with the pasta yesterday. You're still alive and all."
"Yeah, but this has bunches of steps." He started to make a whiny voice."You know I can't do that sort of stuff. I'll hurt myself."
Kristi swung her lanky legs over the side of her bed and looked at the green carpet. She needed her sneakers. "Poor dear."
"So what time are you coming back tomorrow?"
She dropped to her knees with the phone still in her hand. Lifting the comforter, she said,"Um…eleven."
His mouth contorted to a weird shape. "Ewww…" he said sounding like Lucille Ball.
"What?"
"I gotta be at work for nine. I would have met you at the airport."
She shook her head at him. "I'll be fine Pete."
"You sure?"
"Oh yeah."
"Okay then." There was silence for a moment. Peter rocked on his heels for a moment before speaking again. "Well, I was just checking in with ya. It must be near seven o'clock over there, so I'll let you go get ready to see your cousin."
All she had to do was put her sneaks on her feet and pull her hair into a ponytail. She knew he wasn't trying to get rid of her, but there just wasn't much to say. She just liked hearing his voice. "Okay."
"Okay..." Enthusiastically, he said, "Bye DEAR!"
She chuckled over the phone at his playfulness. "You are such a goober."
"Yeah, you like every minute of it."
"I sure do. Bye Pete."
"Bye Kris." Click. Peter put the phone back on its base and went back to cooking. Truth be known, the phone just wasn't working for him. He missed Kristi. He needed some support every time he went to work. He could have sworn that Mikala had been flirting with him and checking him out. Maybe she just wanted attention since he had been on his guard so much, not really being one open to conversation. He never felt as though his reserve was breaking when he was around Mikala, but she sure seemed persistent. It was weird, sometimes someone just needed the reassurance of another face...
...
Kristina got off of her plane at 10:50. Quite frankly, the whole flying thing was not her cup of tea, especially when bad kids where running up and down the row making noises like a plane. That didn't settle her nerves too much. Never in her life had she been happier to be standing on solid ground away from a confined space and hours of torture by pint size trouble makers.
Getting her luggage, she quickly flagged down a taxi. She had been thinking a lot lately about getting a car. Nothing fancy or new...maybe a Tahoe or a Taurus. With the way things were going with her at work, she would need to do some double shifts in order to make the payments. With school coming in a few weeks, she could get some quick cash, but when school started...
"Yeah well...one day at a time," she told herself. Once she got to her home, she put her stuff up and went straight to her laptop. She needed to confirm her classes for school that semester. If she didn't do it now, she wouldn't remember. She had called in to work to tell them she would be able to work at 2 pm.
While on her computer, she remembered she needed to buy her books, binders, notebooks, and of course a new calculator. She stepped on her old one...some sort of fluke accident in her bathroom. She often did math while she was sitting in the bath tub. Oh well...it was about time she got a new one. That graphing calculator was at least six years old. She sighed quickly as she thought about all of this. Welcome to the world of Academics.
It was 12:05 when she got a knock at her door. She was a little taken back by it. All of that silence and then loud knocking. She got up from her table and skidded across the floor to the wooden door. She pulled it open to see Peter smiling at her. Her entire face lit up.
Peter's blue eyes softened when he saw her face. Reaching out, he pulled her into a hug. He breathed in deeply. Her hair smelled like summer. Peter smiled to himself. How can someone smell like summer? Pulling his face from the top of her head, he gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Well hello there."
Kristi grinned at him. "Well hello there. What are you doing here? I thought you had to work."
"Lunch break. So...I'm hoping you haven't eaten already."
She shook her head. "Not a bite."
"Good good. Would you like to come with me?" he said with a cheeky smile.
"No."
His face scrunched up in puzzlement. He hadn't expected her to say no. "No?"
She shook her head. "Not at all." Of course she was joking with him, but it would be interesting to see where this would go.
"You sure? Not many people want to say no to this face." He flashed his teeth at her.
"I'm not many people."
He sighed as his smile fell. "I know. That's one of your better attributes."
"Thank you. Thank you for the offer also. I would love to go to lunch with you."
The grin came back. "I knew you would." Grabbing her keys and purse, she followed Peter out the door.
"What is this ego you've developed?"
His eyes shot up defensively. "Ego? Me, never."
"Hmm..."
"What are you 'hmmm'ing for? No ego, I promise." He stuck his tongue out at her, getting a quick laugh from her. By instinct, his hand reached out for her's and held it as they walked.
Kristi smiled inwardly at the subtle movement. "So...what are you doing?"
"Walking with you," he said calmly. There was humor, but it had a serious tone behind it.
"Goober."
He shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing really. Covered a new library opening at 11 this morning. Got some great photos of the librarian." His eyebrows furrowed in. "I think she was my 3rd grade teacher. I'm not sure."
"Did you say hi?"
He shook his head. "No. I would feel really bad if that wasn't her. Besides, the more I think of it, she was too young to be my teacher. Or maybe I thought of her as older because I was only what, four feet tall."
Kristi smiled warmly at the thought of a younger Peter. "I can just picture you in 3rd grade."
He couldn't tell if there was humor or seriousness. "What does that mean?"
"Nothing bad!" she said defensively. "I'm just saying, I can picture a mini Peter Parker." Her eyes wandered from in front of them and glimpsed at him with mischievousness.
"Mini Peter Parker! Geez..."
"I bet you were one of those kids who was really hyper and you just mellowed out over the years."
"No...I was shy," Peter said quietly.
"You can be shy, but hyper."
"Well I mean, I didn't run around with my underwear on my head."
A brief thought past through her head. Promptly afterward she said with a loud laugh. "Oh God, I just got an image..."
"I was a good kid. Aunt May never said anything really bad about me. Well, there was that one time I ate green paint..."
"You what!"
"I thought it was tapioca pudding! I wanted some before dinner and you know the whole dinner then dessert thing...well, I couldn't wait. It was as innocent mistake." The two had reached a small Italian café. Holding the door for Kristi, Peter followed after her. The room was covered with green, red and white. A small man murmured something to them while escorting them to a table. He handed them their menus and went scurrying off somewhere.
Getting comfortable in her seat, Kristi said quickly, "Well...if it makes you feel better, I used to take the mayonnaise off of my sandwiches and put them in the paste jars. My mom always put mayo on my sandwiches and I told her I didn't like it, but on the days she would forget or get our sandwiches mixed up, I would do that."
His jaw dropped in disgust. "That's gross."
"No...you wanna see gross? Try opening that jar of paste with the mayo a few days old, NOT being refrigerated. That is some nasty stuff."
"Man you were bad."
"Nu-uh, I was sweet as a sugar cube."
He rolled his eyes sarcastically. "You seem it."
"Hey paint eater, you don't have room to talk."
"I guess I don't. Word from the not so wise: Don't ever eat paint."
"Don't ever mix paste with mayo." The waiter came back for their drink orders. A few moments later, he returned and asked for their selections.
While waiting for their food, Kristi drummed her fingers on the table. "Have you done you confirmed your scheduling for school?"
"Uh huh. You?"
"Uh huh. I did it this morning. I've got so much stuff to do. I've got Martin again and I need to get a new calculator because I stepped on the other one and now its kaput." Peter's eyes were staring at her slender fingers in deep concentration. "What's wrong?"
"I was looking at your ring. It's beautiful. I've never seen you with it before."
Kristi's dark eyes fell on her finger. "It's my mother's engagement ring. I would wear it around my neck, but I haven't bought a chain for it."
Peter's shoulders fell slightly. He wanted to kick himself. Reaching for her hands, he cupped her smaller ones within his own. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"
Kristi shook her head. "Don't be sorry. I'm okay with it." With a sigh, she said confidently, "I'm okay with everything."
There was silence at the table for a moment. Take a swallow of his Dr. Pepper, Peter said quickly, "I haven't gone shopping for school yet either. Why not go together?"
Kristi's eyes were concentrating on the elaborate table cloth underneath her fingers. Looking up, she said in a quiet tone, "I'd like that."
He nodded his head. "Good."
"Good." Peter kept his eyes on her. He really hated himself now. She was laughing and joking and smiling and then he brought up the ring...stupid!
Just as he was about to ridicule himself some more, his ears perked up. Dean Martin.
In Napoli where love is king
When boy meets girl here's what they say
Peter cleared his throat and began to imitate Dean Martin:
When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie
That's amore
When the world seems to shine like you've had too much wine
That's amore
Bells will ring ting-a-ling-a-ling, ting-a-ling-a-ling
And you'll sing "Vita bella"
Hearts will play tippy-tippy-tay, tippy-tippy-tay
Like a gay tarantella
Kristi's jaw dropped as she playfully hit Peter on the hand. "Oh God Pete stop."
He gave an innocent look. "Why?"
When the stars make you drool just like a pasta fazool
That's amore
When you dance down the street with a cloud at your feet
You're in love
When you walk in a dream but you know you're not
Dreaming signore
Scuzza me, but you see, back in old Napoli
That's amore
This was the funniest thing in the world to her. Kristi stared at Peter's face as he contorted it to hit certain notes. He wasn't really singing, but damn...Such a goofy boy. "Peter, you are a special boy..."
He kept his eyes shut as he swayed his head to the music. "I know I am. Sing with me..."
(When the moon hits you eye like a big pizza pie
That's amore
When the world seems to shine like you've had too much wine
That's amore
Bells will ring ting-a-ling-a-ling, ting-a-ling-a-ling
And you'll sing "Vita bella"...
Hearts will play...tippy-tippy-tay, tippy-tippy-tay
Like a gay tarantella
Lucky fella
When the stars make you drool just like a pasta fazool)
That's amore
(When you dance down the street with a cloud at your feet
You're in love
When you walk down in a dream but you know you're not
Dreaming signore
Scuzza me, but you see, back in old Napoli)
That's amore, (amore)
That's amore
Peter opened his eyes and looked at Kristi's face. "Now why didn't you sing with me? You are like, the karaoke queen."
Kristi leaned back into her chair. "I'm just playin' it cool...down playing everything for a while."
"You're with me right now, how is that downplaying?" He saw her about to open her mouth. Quickly, he placed his hand over it. "On second thought...don't answer that. Just...don't." He just knew some sort of smart remark was going to come out. It just had to.
Kristi smirked into his hand in humor. He knew her too well. His hand was still clasped over her mouth, so she opened her mouth and nipped him with her teeth. He pulled back quickly. "You're a biter too! That kinda hurt."
She scoffed at him. "No it didn't."
"Yeah it did. See that? I got red teeth marks on my palm now...thank you very much!"
She glimpsed into his extended palm. She knew she hadn't bit him that hard. She didn't get enough flesh to do it that hard. Looking at his pouting face, she held his hand and kissed his palm. "Did that make it better?"
"No."
"No?"
"No. Wanna know why?"
"Yes I would."
"I injured myself from the shock of your brutal behavior."
Injured himself? Kristi was confused. "Well I mean, where else did you hurt yourself?"
"Out of pure fright, I bit my lip."
Her eyebrow rose. "You want me to take the blame for you biting your lip?"
"It was a reflex. Shock is a strong emotion." Her eyebrow rose higher. "Okay...I'll stop. I would just like a kiss." He blinked for a moment. Wow...he was becoming more and more blunt. Adding some humor, he said, "That's all...I think I deserved it, you nearly took off my hand. If you were hungry all you had to do was say so. I know I probably taste better than most foods, but lets not go to cannibalism! I mean, we are in a restaurant."
Kristi placed her palm on his cheek as she rolled her eyes at his antics. "You are a sweet heart..."
He sighed before answering. "I know."
...
The few days passed and everything was basically back to normal. Kristi was off from work that day when she remembered she was to go to her mother's firm to discuss her will...at the same time she was to go school shopping with Peter. Certainly he'd understand this...they had about three days before school started. Dialing quickly, she heard the phone ring three times until she heard someone pick up. "Pete, hey."
Peter smiled over the phone. "Hey Kris. What's up?"
"Do you think we can go school shopping another day? I'm sure we'll be able to get our stuff, but something came up about my mother."
Peter nodded his head. "Sure that's fine."
"Thanks a lot Pete. Maybe we can meet up at coffee shop?"
"Sure... I'll call you when I get home from the Bugle."
"Okay."
"Well I'll let you go okay?"
"Okay."
"Bye Kris."
"Bye Pete.." Kristi hung up the phone promptly and proceeded to go to her room to get dressed.
The building was at least thirty stories high. She walked through the double doors and peered around. There were many people is suits scurrying back and forth across the bottom floor. The person who had called her told her to meet him on the 25th floor, office 26 B. She had visited her mother many times before, so she knew her way around the building fairly well.
Once she reached the room, she knocked on the door softly. Hearing a "come in," she opened the door and looked around. She recognized only once face and that was Charles Edwards. He often came to her mom's Christmas parties or helped her with a case or vice versa. Another man was in the room, a caramel, lanky man who lounged in the chair next to Charles.
Charles stood up quickly when he made eye contact with her. "Ah Kristina! Hello there. Please," he pointed to a black leather chair, "have a seat."
She felt like she was in grade school and that she had been sent to the office for being bad. Charles still had friendly mannerisms, but it was obvious that he was attempting to have a serious business facade about this.
The caramel skinned man cleared his throat. "We've called you here to go over you mother's will. But first let me extend my condolences to you." Kristi just nodded her head solemnly. She was getting tired of the sorry's. Clearing his throat again, he said, "Your mother has accumulated quite a bit of wealth, according to her will."
"He goes straight to the point," she thought bitterly.
He glimpsed down at some paperwork. "She leaves you everything except two large monetary sums to her mother, the firm, and to the cancer foundation. All else is left to you. A trust fund of $1,471,306 in your name, $1,450,600 in stock, $400,097.42 in her bank account, and $3,191,862 in her Swiss bank account. The total comes to: $6,513,865.42."
Kristi nearly jumped out of her chair."What!"
"Yes. That does not include the account put aside for your education."
This was unbelievable! She began to stutter. "How did she have…she never-"
The other man raised a curious brow. "I take it she never talked with you about her finances?"
"Never. I mean, I knew she was well off and money wasn't really ever a problem for her, but how…"
Charles jumped in this time. "Trust funds that had matured, a Swiss bank account that, from the looks of it, had been receiving deposits for almost ten years. Good investments with your deceased father…It all adds up."
Kristi sat in the chair frozen. Just that quickly, everything changed. What would she do with all that money! Lord knows she didn't need it...it was ludicrous. "My grandmother. What about her-"
"$1,863,245."
"Wow…."
"Everything has been taken care of. The funeral arrangements have been paid in full, by word of her will and the rest goes to her benefactors, which would be you and her mother."
Kristi just shook her head. "Mom, mom…mom."
The caramel man eyed her. This was going to take longer than he thought. Nina Devun was a gold mine. Of course she would leave money to the firm...but such a large amount! In order for them to get their money, her daughter had to get the ball rolling. Otherwise..."We understand that this must be quite a blow to you...but it is absolutely essential that we get the paperwork processed today."
Kristi's eyes widened incredulously at the man. Charles, sensing her rising anger, intervened. "Kristina, it is not absolutely necessary that you-"
"Oh no...let us go ahead and get this over with. I'm sure lots of people have money to get..." she said. She knew what this was leading to...her mother had warned her far too many times of the money grubbers in this place...
Kristina stayed at the firm for a few hours. They needed a notary and there were at least a dozen papers for her to sign, legal procedures. By the time she got home, it was already two. She sat around her house in a daze, waiting for Peter to call. He didn't have to go in for work until 1:30 and they were supposed to have gone shopping in the morning. "Oh well..." she thought. She had to go to work for three, so school supplies would have to wait until later.
She jumped out of her chair when she heard the phone ring. "Hello?"
"Kris hey!" It was Peter. "What happened with your mom?"
"Um…some lawyers went over her will today."
Peter's shoulders dropped. Going over a will had to be tough. It was a constant reminder..."I know that had to have been hard."
"She…left me, 6.5 million dollars Pete."
"What!" The few people that were around him gave him strange glances.
"I couldn't believe it."
His hand ran through his brown hair. "I don't know what to say. Congratulations is pretty bad, but um…well wait, what's wrong?"
"She never told me she owned so much! She just…she didn't tell me."
"I guess she felt she didn't need to."
"Peter what am I going to do? I don't need all that."
She sounded as though the world had crashed in. "Kris…first rule of living in the real world: you always need money. Are you okay…seriously? You don't sound too happy."
"I'm in shock really. I just…I'm in shock! I don't really have that much to be happy for. Look at the circumstances."
He nodded his head. "True. Well, what are you going to do?"
"Um, well first I gotta go get going to work before I'm late. Maybe we can do something later?"
"Okay." He glimpsed at his Timex watch before speaking again. "We've got a small interview to do here. It shouldn't take long. Call me when you get off."
"Okay."
"Bye."
"Bye." Kristi hung up the phone and proceeded to get dress for work.
Elsewhere in New York, Doctor Benjamin Stratford left the large complex in a daze. What had he done? This girl's mother was dead because of him. He had to get of the city...what about the girl? She needed to know in order to protect herself. From what he heard, they hadn't been following her lately since the mother thing...they needed to lay low, but they had sent her something, something with hormones, that much he was sure of. He ran a hand nervously through his hair. He had to get word to her. He could only be fearful about what could happen if he didn't. What happens if they went after someone else? He'd get in touch with her...sooner or later. Sooner he hoped...