Italics signal thoughts, signals change of time or place and signals flashbacks.
A/N: Very little chapters left to go! We'll be done soon! Yay!
Chapter nine: A failed attempt
Jesse sat in the rec room's couch reading 'Everything's Eventual' by Stephen King, when Emma walked in slowly and stood in front of him. Since he was so involved with his reading that he didn't notice her, she clicked her heel impatiently against the floor. He lifted his head lazily and his eyes widened at the sight before him.
Emma was wearing a knee-length velvety-looking black skirt made of a flowing material and a tight corset-style olive green blouse. She had a choker from which hung a single tear-shaped crystal, and long chandelier earrings.
"Emma, you look amazing", said Jesse in an awed voice.
She walked over to the couch and sat beside him, crossing her legs. "Why, thank you." Jesse was speechless as he kept looking at her, and, sensing his thoughts, smiled even wider. He raised an eyebrow at her, but she shrugged. "I'm innocent!"
Jesse laughed derisively. "Yeah, right."
Emma shifted and took a deep breath before beginning her mission. "Jess, look, there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about."
Noticing how serious she was, he closed the book and turned completely in his seat to face her. "Yeah?"
"I think we should…" She was cut off by Kay clearing her throat loudly. Jesse turned to Kay with a smile, but Emma glared at her, muttering lowly.
"What part are you on?" Kay asked Jesse.
It took him a couple of seconds to realize what she was talking about. The book. Come on, Jess, what's the story you're on…. oh, yeah! "The Road Virus Heads North."
Kay smiled warmly. "Gave me the chills, that one. My friend Julie has a picture whose eyes follow you as you walk across the room. It is supremely creepy. So you can imagine what it was like for me to read that."
He chuckled. "Know anyone with a noisy car?"
"Yeah. My friend Michael has an extremely noisy Oldsmobile that he bought for a couple hundred dollars and he's worked his ass off in restoring."
"He must be very rich."
She nodded. "Oh, he is. And he loves cars."
Noticing the stares and smiles between Kay and Jesse, Emma scowled. That was definitely flirting. She felt the barriers that protected her mind from random thoughts come down and a message entered her head: Two's company, three's a crowd, sweetheart! She glared at Kay, knowing she was the source of the message, and growled almost inaudibly. But Kay's feral hearing caught it and she smirked, looking very pleased with herself.
Jesse knew that the challenging gleam in Kay's light eyes meant intervention, so he played his role in her little game. "So, Kay, we have a plan yet?"
She smiled him, acknowledging his recognition of her cue. "I was actually hoping that you'd help me research to see what we can come up with."
Jesse's face lit up. "Sure! I'm going to go ahead and start, see you in a couple of minutes."
She nodded and fixed her stare back on Emma, raising her eyebrow. She tossed her hair back gracefully with a swift flick of her shoulder, which she positioned to adopt a cocky stance. They had a glaring duel, neither of them moving an inch, the only sounds being the ones of their own heartbeats.
Soon Emma had to look away, and Kay chuckled, muttering under her breath: "I knew she couldn't beat me."
Emma turned back to Kay abruptly, and her face contorted into a look of pure hatred, her nails biting into her palms as she clamped her hands closed with rage. "What did you say?" she asked, her voice low.
"Ooh", Kay shivered mockingly. "It seems Emmy isn't all that innocent."
Emma closed her palms again and stood up to face Katharine again. "I said this once, and I'll say it again: stay away from him."
Instead of backing out, Kay moved a step forward and gazed straight into Emma's light eyes. "Afraid of a little competition, are we Ms. DeLauro?"
Emma looked at Kay derisively. "You're no competition for me."
Kay smiled warmly. "Then what are you worrying so much about?"
Seeing that Emma was speechless, Kay turned on her heel and walked slowly out of the room. She stepped into the computer area, where Jess was typing furiously, his eyes glued on the screen as he frantically searched what he had acquired. Kay sat beside him and crossed her legs, inspecting the information with him.
After a couple of minutes, she leaned over to whisper in his ear. "Maybe we should remind Emma of the equation."
Jesse glared at her mockingly, then smiled as she squeezed her arms around his waist. "You know, you may just be right."
Emma stood at the doorway, livid with fury, looking at them and readying herself for her next move. I won't lose him. She won't have him, I won't let her!
Little did Emma know that she was being manipulated to Kay's will. She is so predictable, Kay thought when Emma's emotion waves flowed near her. She leaned in against Jesse again as she started to stand up. "Soon, it'll all be over. Love will prevail." She kissed the tip of his nose, leaving him frozen, and departed clicking her heel rhythmically against the floor.
Jesse was dazed, still trying to recover from the unexpected contact, and his eyes closed. If onlyshe did it. God, she's just so beautiful and so amazing...
Emma intercepted these thoughts and a single tear escaped her eye. I better act fast. She has gained too much to terrain. But I will stop her, soon. I may have failed today, but I still have a lot of opportunities and plans.
A/N: What is Kay's game, anyway? Soon it will all be explained. I'll give you a hint about the equation: the episode Once Around explains it. Next chapter will give us the rescue plan (finally!) and we'll have the confrontation between Gabriel and Brennan soon enough.