Corbin wasn't sure if it was someone watching him that woke him up, or if
he woke up, then realized that there was some one watching him, but he
suddenly became aware of a presence hovering over him. He reached up on
reflex, and grabbed the offender by the arm, tossing the body to the
mattress with one hand, and reaching for his gun with the other.
"Hey, watch it!" Ed said, sounding slightly annoyed at staring down the barrel of a gun.
Corbin sighed with relief, and released the girl from his hold. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, and dropped his head between his knees. He'd nearly shot the girl, when did he get so jumpy? When did he learn to react like that? It had happened so fast, he was barely aware of what he was doing before he'd shoved a pistol into her face.
When he placed the gun back on his night stand, his hands were visibly shaking, but Ed pretended not to notice.
There was a long silence before he spoke.
"What do you want, Ed?" he said, in a voice so quiet the hacker had to strain to hear him.
"Is it true?" she asked, tentatively.
"Is what true?" He reached a shaky hand into his t-shirt pocket, and pulled out a slightly crumpled pack of cigarettes.
"You know..." She leaned over, and rapped her knuckle lightly on his forehead.
"Oh, that." He lit his cigarette, and inhaled tar and nicotine into his lungs. "Who knows," he said, as he exhaled.
Ed stood, as if to go, but stopped half way to the door.
"Guess we'll find out soon enough, we're on Ganymede, and you do have that appointment."
She flashed him a goofy grin, and dashed out of the doorway.
Corbin threw himself back onto the bed, and pulled the covers over him. Could he hit the reset button on this morning?
The ship swayed gently with the rocking of the waves. To and fro, to and fro... Faye closed her eyes, and buried her nose in her coffee cup, inhaling it's rich aroma. Normally, she'd be sitting here with Irma, but she'd told her assistant to sleep in today, and she savored this time alone, to gather her thoughts. And she had a lot to gather.
When did life get so complicated?
She fiddled with the ring on her finger again, twisting it, grinding the stone into the tender flesh of her palm... she had no right to keep it, not when they'd parted so badly. She hated herself for not being able to love John, for refusing herself happiness, but what else could she have done?
She turned her attention to her breakfast, in a vain attempt to divert herself. Bacon, eggs, toast... She hoped that she'd managed to stumble on a recipe for amnesia. Funny, once all she'd wanted was to remember, now she wanted to forget. Selective amnesia, forget all the pain, remember the laughter. And while she was at it, she could forget the glinting eyes, and the curve of a smile that had gotten her into this mess to begin with. Corbin's stolen face. She couldn't look at that face without seeing Spike, as she'd seen him for the last time... leaning over her, his face so close to hers, she could feel his breath on her lips, the suicidal glint in his eye. Most of the time, it was painful to look at that face... and then... she shuddered as an image of his lips wrapped 'round her cigarette flashed through her mind, sometimes it hurt even worse.
She placed her forehead on the table, narrowly missing her plate, and sighed deeply. She smelled cigarette smoke all around her, and opened her eyes to see herself caught in a cloud of smoke. Her gaze drifted to the end of the table, where Corbin was standing in worn blue jeans and a crumpled looking white t-shirt. . She hadn't even heard anyone come in. Faye swallowed the lump in her throat, along with the thought that he looked very good in the basics. God, he really had a way of cluttering her thoughts. She hated it. She curled her lip in annoyance and looked up from her eggs long enough to give him a sneer.
"Morning. sleep well?" she said, in an overly sweet tone.
He plastered a careless smile on his face, and dropped into the seat opposite her. "Wonderfully."
"Glad to hear it." god that mocking tone was annoying. She focused her attention on her eggs, attacking them as if they had somehow wounded her. "What do you want?"
"Cup of coffee?" he said, hopefully, then began chuckling, as she snarled at him.
The laughter was more than she could stand at the moment, it took the last bit of civility right out of her. "Get it your fucking self." she spat. She wanted her alone time.
His crooked smile was her answer. He made no move to get himself a cup, instead, he leaned over the table, and waggled his finger in her face.
"Temper, temper."
She resisted the urge to bite it.
"Why do you insist on ruining my morning?" she asked between mouthfuls of toast.
"Misery loves company," he said, then yawned. "So, when is this appointment?"
"11 o'clock... we've got about an hour and a half."
"Dr. Slagg, right?" he sighed, and tilted his head back to stare at the ceiling. "What good is this supposed to do, huh? I mean what are they looking for anyway?"
"I don't know... anything,"
He gave her a wry smile. "Anything? Well, at least you know they'll find it."
Faye raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm not so sure."
"Ouch, now that was a low blow, even for you."
She stood up, knocking her chair backward, and managed, just barely to keep from launching herself over the table at him. "I'd better go change..." she mumbled, and walked off.
Corbin sat for a minute, staring at her overturned chair. There it was again... that uncheckable desire to irritate Faye as much as possible. He sighed, she did make it easy, though. He believed that he had the power to irritate her more than anyone else. It wasn't a thought her relished.
He took the final drag of his cigarette, drawing the life giving vapor into his strained and battered lungs, and holding it there for a split second before releasing it in one ragged, soul draining breath. He felt bare, stripped naked, like he'd exhaled all the crap and meaningless banter, and cut straight through to the emotion underneath, but just long enough to catch a glimpse of what lay there. He saw fear, anger, and... no, now he lost the image, as he heard a cough behind him, coming from the doorway.
He glanced over his shoulder to see Dimitri's doll leaning against the frame.
"I passed the Miss Valentine on my way in here, she looked really ticked off..." she said, circling the table until she reached Faye's chair, which she righted, then sat in. "Are you always that smooth?"
Corbin smiled, "only when I'm with her."
Eve closed the top of her lap top with an angry shove. Corbin was supposed to be going in for a neurological scan today... this was bad. She had to reach him before he could be examined, otherwise... she didn't even want to think about it.
"That doesn't leave me much time."
Ed was surrounded by a sea of digital images, binary stretched out endlessly before her in a twisting ribbon. She was immersed in ever shifting color and light, images popped up then dissolved around her, a meadow in spring, a smiling family, most aimless but in a few places there was a direct purpose. She watched this all, making sense of the chaos, this was what she her world. Here she was queen. This was The Web.
She'd been like this for a while, just how long, she couldn't tell, but she could feel her legs beginning to cramp from sitting cross legged for hours on the floor. She looked down to where they should have been, and sighed. She couldn't see them of course, she had a VR visor on, but she knew they were there.
"Just a little bit longer." she told them, then inhaled sharply. The fog was shifting, and she didn't like what she was seeing. It was one of those images... this one she recognized, though. It was Corbin. Someone was accessing information on him.
She tried to counter the other hacker, but whoever was after the information had already gotten it. She bit her lip in frustration, just a few moments sooner. She hadn't even had time to trace them.
Ed slid the visor from her head, and slowly uncurled her legs, stretching them gently before she tried to stand on them. Her muscles screamed in protest as she pushed herself off the floor, but she ignored them. She was going to have to tell Faye.
Not now! She screamed silently, and sunk under the surface of her bath water. She was just going to ignore the pounding until it went away. Yep, the squirt could bang on the door until her arm fell off, but there was no way Faye was getting out of this bath before she was good and ready.
She didn't even get up when the pounding intensified, and Ed's voice was joined by a deep male one... sounded like Jet, he was supposed to meet them at the doctors, why had he shown up so soon. She surfaced, suddenly curious, and grabbed a towel. "Alright, alright, you can stop pounding now, I'm on my way." she wrapped herself tightly, and stalked to the door, pausing only momentarily to examine her death glare in the mirror, and assure herself that it was ferocious enough.
She threw the door wide, and Jet stopped his fist an inch from knocking on her forehead. She narrowed her eyes at him and growled, "what is it?"
"Well, I ran across a hacker today," Ed began.
"And? What else is new Ed?" she asked, her voice thick with sarcasm.
"She was accessing information on Corbin. Faye, I think it must have been Eve."
"Eve, huh?" she looked at Jet, "that's why you came here instead of meeting us at the office, to help escort Corbin."
Jet shrugged, "not that I don't trust your abilities, or anything, Faye. Just rather be safe than sorry."
Faye smiled, "I think between, you, me and Corbin, she'd be crazy to try anything."
"Hey, watch it!" Ed said, sounding slightly annoyed at staring down the barrel of a gun.
Corbin sighed with relief, and released the girl from his hold. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, and dropped his head between his knees. He'd nearly shot the girl, when did he get so jumpy? When did he learn to react like that? It had happened so fast, he was barely aware of what he was doing before he'd shoved a pistol into her face.
When he placed the gun back on his night stand, his hands were visibly shaking, but Ed pretended not to notice.
There was a long silence before he spoke.
"What do you want, Ed?" he said, in a voice so quiet the hacker had to strain to hear him.
"Is it true?" she asked, tentatively.
"Is what true?" He reached a shaky hand into his t-shirt pocket, and pulled out a slightly crumpled pack of cigarettes.
"You know..." She leaned over, and rapped her knuckle lightly on his forehead.
"Oh, that." He lit his cigarette, and inhaled tar and nicotine into his lungs. "Who knows," he said, as he exhaled.
Ed stood, as if to go, but stopped half way to the door.
"Guess we'll find out soon enough, we're on Ganymede, and you do have that appointment."
She flashed him a goofy grin, and dashed out of the doorway.
Corbin threw himself back onto the bed, and pulled the covers over him. Could he hit the reset button on this morning?
The ship swayed gently with the rocking of the waves. To and fro, to and fro... Faye closed her eyes, and buried her nose in her coffee cup, inhaling it's rich aroma. Normally, she'd be sitting here with Irma, but she'd told her assistant to sleep in today, and she savored this time alone, to gather her thoughts. And she had a lot to gather.
When did life get so complicated?
She fiddled with the ring on her finger again, twisting it, grinding the stone into the tender flesh of her palm... she had no right to keep it, not when they'd parted so badly. She hated herself for not being able to love John, for refusing herself happiness, but what else could she have done?
She turned her attention to her breakfast, in a vain attempt to divert herself. Bacon, eggs, toast... She hoped that she'd managed to stumble on a recipe for amnesia. Funny, once all she'd wanted was to remember, now she wanted to forget. Selective amnesia, forget all the pain, remember the laughter. And while she was at it, she could forget the glinting eyes, and the curve of a smile that had gotten her into this mess to begin with. Corbin's stolen face. She couldn't look at that face without seeing Spike, as she'd seen him for the last time... leaning over her, his face so close to hers, she could feel his breath on her lips, the suicidal glint in his eye. Most of the time, it was painful to look at that face... and then... she shuddered as an image of his lips wrapped 'round her cigarette flashed through her mind, sometimes it hurt even worse.
She placed her forehead on the table, narrowly missing her plate, and sighed deeply. She smelled cigarette smoke all around her, and opened her eyes to see herself caught in a cloud of smoke. Her gaze drifted to the end of the table, where Corbin was standing in worn blue jeans and a crumpled looking white t-shirt. . She hadn't even heard anyone come in. Faye swallowed the lump in her throat, along with the thought that he looked very good in the basics. God, he really had a way of cluttering her thoughts. She hated it. She curled her lip in annoyance and looked up from her eggs long enough to give him a sneer.
"Morning. sleep well?" she said, in an overly sweet tone.
He plastered a careless smile on his face, and dropped into the seat opposite her. "Wonderfully."
"Glad to hear it." god that mocking tone was annoying. She focused her attention on her eggs, attacking them as if they had somehow wounded her. "What do you want?"
"Cup of coffee?" he said, hopefully, then began chuckling, as she snarled at him.
The laughter was more than she could stand at the moment, it took the last bit of civility right out of her. "Get it your fucking self." she spat. She wanted her alone time.
His crooked smile was her answer. He made no move to get himself a cup, instead, he leaned over the table, and waggled his finger in her face.
"Temper, temper."
She resisted the urge to bite it.
"Why do you insist on ruining my morning?" she asked between mouthfuls of toast.
"Misery loves company," he said, then yawned. "So, when is this appointment?"
"11 o'clock... we've got about an hour and a half."
"Dr. Slagg, right?" he sighed, and tilted his head back to stare at the ceiling. "What good is this supposed to do, huh? I mean what are they looking for anyway?"
"I don't know... anything,"
He gave her a wry smile. "Anything? Well, at least you know they'll find it."
Faye raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm not so sure."
"Ouch, now that was a low blow, even for you."
She stood up, knocking her chair backward, and managed, just barely to keep from launching herself over the table at him. "I'd better go change..." she mumbled, and walked off.
Corbin sat for a minute, staring at her overturned chair. There it was again... that uncheckable desire to irritate Faye as much as possible. He sighed, she did make it easy, though. He believed that he had the power to irritate her more than anyone else. It wasn't a thought her relished.
He took the final drag of his cigarette, drawing the life giving vapor into his strained and battered lungs, and holding it there for a split second before releasing it in one ragged, soul draining breath. He felt bare, stripped naked, like he'd exhaled all the crap and meaningless banter, and cut straight through to the emotion underneath, but just long enough to catch a glimpse of what lay there. He saw fear, anger, and... no, now he lost the image, as he heard a cough behind him, coming from the doorway.
He glanced over his shoulder to see Dimitri's doll leaning against the frame.
"I passed the Miss Valentine on my way in here, she looked really ticked off..." she said, circling the table until she reached Faye's chair, which she righted, then sat in. "Are you always that smooth?"
Corbin smiled, "only when I'm with her."
Eve closed the top of her lap top with an angry shove. Corbin was supposed to be going in for a neurological scan today... this was bad. She had to reach him before he could be examined, otherwise... she didn't even want to think about it.
"That doesn't leave me much time."
Ed was surrounded by a sea of digital images, binary stretched out endlessly before her in a twisting ribbon. She was immersed in ever shifting color and light, images popped up then dissolved around her, a meadow in spring, a smiling family, most aimless but in a few places there was a direct purpose. She watched this all, making sense of the chaos, this was what she her world. Here she was queen. This was The Web.
She'd been like this for a while, just how long, she couldn't tell, but she could feel her legs beginning to cramp from sitting cross legged for hours on the floor. She looked down to where they should have been, and sighed. She couldn't see them of course, she had a VR visor on, but she knew they were there.
"Just a little bit longer." she told them, then inhaled sharply. The fog was shifting, and she didn't like what she was seeing. It was one of those images... this one she recognized, though. It was Corbin. Someone was accessing information on him.
She tried to counter the other hacker, but whoever was after the information had already gotten it. She bit her lip in frustration, just a few moments sooner. She hadn't even had time to trace them.
Ed slid the visor from her head, and slowly uncurled her legs, stretching them gently before she tried to stand on them. Her muscles screamed in protest as she pushed herself off the floor, but she ignored them. She was going to have to tell Faye.
Not now! She screamed silently, and sunk under the surface of her bath water. She was just going to ignore the pounding until it went away. Yep, the squirt could bang on the door until her arm fell off, but there was no way Faye was getting out of this bath before she was good and ready.
She didn't even get up when the pounding intensified, and Ed's voice was joined by a deep male one... sounded like Jet, he was supposed to meet them at the doctors, why had he shown up so soon. She surfaced, suddenly curious, and grabbed a towel. "Alright, alright, you can stop pounding now, I'm on my way." she wrapped herself tightly, and stalked to the door, pausing only momentarily to examine her death glare in the mirror, and assure herself that it was ferocious enough.
She threw the door wide, and Jet stopped his fist an inch from knocking on her forehead. She narrowed her eyes at him and growled, "what is it?"
"Well, I ran across a hacker today," Ed began.
"And? What else is new Ed?" she asked, her voice thick with sarcasm.
"She was accessing information on Corbin. Faye, I think it must have been Eve."
"Eve, huh?" she looked at Jet, "that's why you came here instead of meeting us at the office, to help escort Corbin."
Jet shrugged, "not that I don't trust your abilities, or anything, Faye. Just rather be safe than sorry."
Faye smiled, "I think between, you, me and Corbin, she'd be crazy to try anything."
