They walked out to the car and she watched him out of the corner of her
eye. "Stop staring" he demanded angrily and adjusted the eye patch. Kate
tried to keep her eyes straight ahead but she was a bit frightened of
Christoph. The Chief had been type of man she knew quite well. Maybe not
men but she knew enough women like him that she could keep him subdued and
pacified but Christoph was different. She hadn't experience with vengeful
men and she was sure that was the only reason he had made any effort have
her released.
As he stepped up to the car she heard the doors unlock and gave his a sidelong glance. He hadn't even touched the car. Christoph reached into his pocket and pulled out a black credit card sized object and held it between his thumb and forefinger for her inspection. "It senses when I'm near the car. It starts it too now get in." Kate hadn't seen a car like the one he was driving since she had left Europe, a Renault Megane. "My, aren't you quiet." He said as he pushed the start button on the lower left hand size of the panel just next to where the ashtray would be.
"I'm just trying to figure you out," she said flipping down the visor and inspecting her reflection in the mirror.
"Nothing to figure out Kate, you didn't think I was just another of the Chief's toys did you? I have a degree in law from Harvard. I could have been a great criminal attorney but instead I chose to work for the Chief. He paid better than most law firms."
She bit her tongue at his remark about criminal attorneys. With the Chief she would have made a comment about that being ironic knowing that he would have been momentarily offended but then enjoyed the word play. With Christoph on the other hand her sense of self-preservation kicked in so she sat there in silence and watched the scenery of tall glass buildings glistening in the rain. "So, where are we going?" she asked.
He looked over at his passenger. He like the Chief liked her. She was the type of woman who would do whatever it took to get what she wanted too bad he was the same kind of man. "Your place."
"My place? My place is Anton's place. What if he is there? Have you thought about that?" Although she wanted to see the Thin Man she didn't want him to see her with Christoph that would just confirm his worst thoughts about her. "No," she thought, "that wouldn't be good."
Christoph laughed. It was a cold sound that gave Kate goose bumps. "What?" she demanded when he didn't say anything. She silently worried that perhaps Christoph had already done something to Anthony but her uncle had helped train him so she doubted someone like the bodyguard/lawyer could manage to dispose of him. Plus he was supposed to the one of the best assassins, which she had learned from the Chief.
"You really are naïve aren't you?" he asked with a note of contempt in his voice. "I somehow figured you for realistic despite everything." She looked at him about to question what he meant but he continued. "You really believed that he would be in that old house of your Uncle's pining for you? He left your ass in that cell and really I don't blame him. If you used a taser on my girlfriend I'd probably be pretty pissed too. So think about it Ekaterina where do you think he is?"
She understood what he was saying and part of her knew Anthony would be with Dylan. It was logical. She just couldn't figure out what he saw in that angel. "So why am I here? What do you want for getting me out?" she spat angrily. "I doubt you are doing it out of the goodness of your heart."
"My heart? Good? Please Kate there hasn't been any goodness there since my brother died, maybe even before if you want to know the truth. You are going to help me accomplish what the Chief couldn't. He had to have elaborate plans and schemes. Hell didn't he ever watch TV, the villain always has something elaborate up his sleeve and it never works. I'm more practical than that." Keeping his eyes on the road he reached into the box between the seats and pulled out a silver flask. Placing it between his knees he unscrewed the cap and took a big swig then held it out to his passenger. "Take a sip."
Kate shook her head "no." It was bad enough that he was driving and drinking whatever it was. "Take a sip Kate, go on it will put hair on your chest."
"No thank you."
"Oh that's right you are Russian you probably have hair there anyway." He laughed at what he thought was his own humour. Kate glared angrily at him and snatched the flask from his hand. Placing the bottle to her lips she downed a large gulp of the bitter liquid coughing as it burned her throat. "Pretty good huh?" he asked noticing her red eyes.
"What the hell was that gasoline?" she asked wiping her lips on the back of her sleeve.
"Absinthe," he said recapping the flask and placing it back in the map box.
"I thought you were supposed to mix that with sugar and water." Her head was throbbing after one sip of the 70% alcohol drink. "I think I'm going to be sick." She searched frantically for the button with which she could lower the window. After he got over laughing at her discomfort he lowered it from his side of the car.
"I thought you Russians could stomach anything. Shall I stop and get you some vodka?" She shook her head no but the movement made her feel even worse as though her brain was loosely rolling around in her skull. "I don't normally drink alcohol except for the occasional glass of champagne," she said. "I think you should stop the car Christoph unless you want me to ruin your paint job."
Reluctantly he pulled over and she threw the door open and the drink of absinthe out of her stomach. Once she was through and had shut her door again he resumed driving. "You tolerated that better than I expected," he said handing her a tissue. She dabbed at her mouth and stuffed it in the ashtray.
"What was the point of that? Did you get some pleasure out of seeing me suffer?"
"No," he replied, "surprisingly enough I didn't. I just wanted to get your attention and well that seemed to be a good way to center your thoughts on something besides you pathetic love life. Now you wanted to know what I have planned. I'm going to kill Dylan."
"W-what," Kate sputtered not quite believing her ears.
"You haven't suddenly grown a conscience have you? She killed Jorge and the Chief."
She understood that the Chief wanted revenge on Dylan for killing his lover Jorge and she could see Christoph being angry for the same reason but killing the Chief? She would have thought that something to rejoice over. "But I would think you are above petty revenge schemes."
"I owe her for my eye too."
She had wanted to bring up his new handicap since he led her out of the police station and this was the perfect segue. "Does it hurt?" she asked curious and now intrigued that Dylan had something to do with the patch he was sporting.
"Damn straight!" he yelled causing her to jump a bit. "Why do you think the absinthe? It makes me numb." She wanted to ask how Dylan had done it but was almost frightened by the man next to her. It didn't matter thought because he decided to tell her. "Nothing like having a piece of porcelain rammed into your eyeball."
Kate swallowed hard and said more to herself than her driver, "Maybe I should have waited to throw up." Christoph just laughed at her weak stomach.
*-*-*-*-*
Once Dylan had calmed down she sat and leaned her still damp head against Anthony's shoulder. Carefully he put his arm around her expecting her to pull away but she didn't. "So where do we go from here?" she asked him softly. He wanted to know the answer to that question as well. It had been what he wanted to know from the moment she had run out of Dimitri's when she saw him with Kate and hadn't stopped for a second since. "Do we try to pick up like we were before Kate? Or do we just say that it was a nice try and move on?"
He couldn't believe what she was asking. He tried to guess at what she wanted and how his answer would influence that. Then she spoke again. "I ." she hesitated and sat up, her green eyes staring into him. "I want to try but if you don't I'll understand completely." Anthony didn't say anything just shook his head enthusiastically. A slow smiled spread across her face. "Are you sure?" she asked. In reply he leaned in and kissed her.
Dylan closed her eyes and savored the kiss. She felt his hand slip from her back upwards into her hair and she was momentarily taken back to the night on the rooftop of the theater. Then she broke the kiss. Anthony opened his eyes hoping he hadn't done anything long and was relieved to see that she was still sitting there smiling at him. Standing she took his hand and gently tugged on it. He stood and followed her into the bedroom.
Seductively she sat down and patted the bed next to her and he sat. Then she reached over and grabbed one of the cardboard boxes off the floor. "Maybe we should put this stuff away," she said handing it to him. With his eyes never leaving hers he took the box from her hands. "No," he thought looking at the objects inside, "there is time for this later." Instead of unpacking it he set it back on the floor and pushed Dylan back on to the bed.
"Oh, you don't want to unpack right now?" she asked innocently. He shook his head no and lay down next to her stretched out on his side. Right now he wanted to do so much more than unpack a silly box. With one hand he lazily played with her hair then gently traced the outline of her face. She shivered slightly as he lower is head and kissed her collarbone where the shirt had been stretched away revealing the delicate ridge. "Anthony," she said whispering his name. He stopped what he was doing and looked at her with a look that asked what was wrong. She sat up and smiled. "I want to do this, but." she stopped and looked a bit embarrassed and glanced at the clock on the night table. He cocked his eyebrow at her. "I have to go to dinner tonight with Alex and Natalie. If we start this now we wont get there on time."
He stood and brushed his jacket down and grabbed his cane off the bed then stomped into the living room towards the front door. "Anthony!" she called out. He stopped but didn't turn. "Don't go. I had forgotten about Alex and Natalie if I hadn't I wouldn't have led you on. Jason is coming all the way from his shoot in Costa Rica because he thinks I am dead. I sort of have to go." Standing there motionless he just listened to her. "I want you to come with me." His shoulders sagged as he relented and came back. She smiled at him and kissed him. "Thank you for not leaving."
Nodding once he said, "I want to go by Dimitri's."
"Why?"
"With Kate in jail I have decided to sell the house."
Dylan's mind was whirling with the implications. Did that mean he wanted to live with her still? He had always complained about her messiness, the fact that she left the cap off the toothpaste and liked eating crackers in bed while watching Leno. She tried to hold her excitement in check resisting the urge to pump her fist and say "yes". Instead she asked, "Are you sure?"
"Too many things, most of which aren't good have happened there. I want to take what is mine and sell the rest," he said. She could understand that but the house was lovely and somewhere in the back of her mind she pictured the two of them with 2.3 kids and a dog living in the quiet little house with the crooked picket fence and over grown hedges. As if sensing that he touched her hair saying, "We can find some place else later if we want to." She smiled as she though about what he was saying and that just a year ago she worried about Natalie hooking up with Pete for a long term commitment now she was looking for one with the Thin Man of all people. "Let me get dressed and we will go." She rummaged through the pile of clean clothes on her closet floor and pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. "Okay all set," she called walking into the living room, "Let's go."
As he stepped up to the car she heard the doors unlock and gave his a sidelong glance. He hadn't even touched the car. Christoph reached into his pocket and pulled out a black credit card sized object and held it between his thumb and forefinger for her inspection. "It senses when I'm near the car. It starts it too now get in." Kate hadn't seen a car like the one he was driving since she had left Europe, a Renault Megane. "My, aren't you quiet." He said as he pushed the start button on the lower left hand size of the panel just next to where the ashtray would be.
"I'm just trying to figure you out," she said flipping down the visor and inspecting her reflection in the mirror.
"Nothing to figure out Kate, you didn't think I was just another of the Chief's toys did you? I have a degree in law from Harvard. I could have been a great criminal attorney but instead I chose to work for the Chief. He paid better than most law firms."
She bit her tongue at his remark about criminal attorneys. With the Chief she would have made a comment about that being ironic knowing that he would have been momentarily offended but then enjoyed the word play. With Christoph on the other hand her sense of self-preservation kicked in so she sat there in silence and watched the scenery of tall glass buildings glistening in the rain. "So, where are we going?" she asked.
He looked over at his passenger. He like the Chief liked her. She was the type of woman who would do whatever it took to get what she wanted too bad he was the same kind of man. "Your place."
"My place? My place is Anton's place. What if he is there? Have you thought about that?" Although she wanted to see the Thin Man she didn't want him to see her with Christoph that would just confirm his worst thoughts about her. "No," she thought, "that wouldn't be good."
Christoph laughed. It was a cold sound that gave Kate goose bumps. "What?" she demanded when he didn't say anything. She silently worried that perhaps Christoph had already done something to Anthony but her uncle had helped train him so she doubted someone like the bodyguard/lawyer could manage to dispose of him. Plus he was supposed to the one of the best assassins, which she had learned from the Chief.
"You really are naïve aren't you?" he asked with a note of contempt in his voice. "I somehow figured you for realistic despite everything." She looked at him about to question what he meant but he continued. "You really believed that he would be in that old house of your Uncle's pining for you? He left your ass in that cell and really I don't blame him. If you used a taser on my girlfriend I'd probably be pretty pissed too. So think about it Ekaterina where do you think he is?"
She understood what he was saying and part of her knew Anthony would be with Dylan. It was logical. She just couldn't figure out what he saw in that angel. "So why am I here? What do you want for getting me out?" she spat angrily. "I doubt you are doing it out of the goodness of your heart."
"My heart? Good? Please Kate there hasn't been any goodness there since my brother died, maybe even before if you want to know the truth. You are going to help me accomplish what the Chief couldn't. He had to have elaborate plans and schemes. Hell didn't he ever watch TV, the villain always has something elaborate up his sleeve and it never works. I'm more practical than that." Keeping his eyes on the road he reached into the box between the seats and pulled out a silver flask. Placing it between his knees he unscrewed the cap and took a big swig then held it out to his passenger. "Take a sip."
Kate shook her head "no." It was bad enough that he was driving and drinking whatever it was. "Take a sip Kate, go on it will put hair on your chest."
"No thank you."
"Oh that's right you are Russian you probably have hair there anyway." He laughed at what he thought was his own humour. Kate glared angrily at him and snatched the flask from his hand. Placing the bottle to her lips she downed a large gulp of the bitter liquid coughing as it burned her throat. "Pretty good huh?" he asked noticing her red eyes.
"What the hell was that gasoline?" she asked wiping her lips on the back of her sleeve.
"Absinthe," he said recapping the flask and placing it back in the map box.
"I thought you were supposed to mix that with sugar and water." Her head was throbbing after one sip of the 70% alcohol drink. "I think I'm going to be sick." She searched frantically for the button with which she could lower the window. After he got over laughing at her discomfort he lowered it from his side of the car.
"I thought you Russians could stomach anything. Shall I stop and get you some vodka?" She shook her head no but the movement made her feel even worse as though her brain was loosely rolling around in her skull. "I don't normally drink alcohol except for the occasional glass of champagne," she said. "I think you should stop the car Christoph unless you want me to ruin your paint job."
Reluctantly he pulled over and she threw the door open and the drink of absinthe out of her stomach. Once she was through and had shut her door again he resumed driving. "You tolerated that better than I expected," he said handing her a tissue. She dabbed at her mouth and stuffed it in the ashtray.
"What was the point of that? Did you get some pleasure out of seeing me suffer?"
"No," he replied, "surprisingly enough I didn't. I just wanted to get your attention and well that seemed to be a good way to center your thoughts on something besides you pathetic love life. Now you wanted to know what I have planned. I'm going to kill Dylan."
"W-what," Kate sputtered not quite believing her ears.
"You haven't suddenly grown a conscience have you? She killed Jorge and the Chief."
She understood that the Chief wanted revenge on Dylan for killing his lover Jorge and she could see Christoph being angry for the same reason but killing the Chief? She would have thought that something to rejoice over. "But I would think you are above petty revenge schemes."
"I owe her for my eye too."
She had wanted to bring up his new handicap since he led her out of the police station and this was the perfect segue. "Does it hurt?" she asked curious and now intrigued that Dylan had something to do with the patch he was sporting.
"Damn straight!" he yelled causing her to jump a bit. "Why do you think the absinthe? It makes me numb." She wanted to ask how Dylan had done it but was almost frightened by the man next to her. It didn't matter thought because he decided to tell her. "Nothing like having a piece of porcelain rammed into your eyeball."
Kate swallowed hard and said more to herself than her driver, "Maybe I should have waited to throw up." Christoph just laughed at her weak stomach.
*-*-*-*-*
Once Dylan had calmed down she sat and leaned her still damp head against Anthony's shoulder. Carefully he put his arm around her expecting her to pull away but she didn't. "So where do we go from here?" she asked him softly. He wanted to know the answer to that question as well. It had been what he wanted to know from the moment she had run out of Dimitri's when she saw him with Kate and hadn't stopped for a second since. "Do we try to pick up like we were before Kate? Or do we just say that it was a nice try and move on?"
He couldn't believe what she was asking. He tried to guess at what she wanted and how his answer would influence that. Then she spoke again. "I ." she hesitated and sat up, her green eyes staring into him. "I want to try but if you don't I'll understand completely." Anthony didn't say anything just shook his head enthusiastically. A slow smiled spread across her face. "Are you sure?" she asked. In reply he leaned in and kissed her.
Dylan closed her eyes and savored the kiss. She felt his hand slip from her back upwards into her hair and she was momentarily taken back to the night on the rooftop of the theater. Then she broke the kiss. Anthony opened his eyes hoping he hadn't done anything long and was relieved to see that she was still sitting there smiling at him. Standing she took his hand and gently tugged on it. He stood and followed her into the bedroom.
Seductively she sat down and patted the bed next to her and he sat. Then she reached over and grabbed one of the cardboard boxes off the floor. "Maybe we should put this stuff away," she said handing it to him. With his eyes never leaving hers he took the box from her hands. "No," he thought looking at the objects inside, "there is time for this later." Instead of unpacking it he set it back on the floor and pushed Dylan back on to the bed.
"Oh, you don't want to unpack right now?" she asked innocently. He shook his head no and lay down next to her stretched out on his side. Right now he wanted to do so much more than unpack a silly box. With one hand he lazily played with her hair then gently traced the outline of her face. She shivered slightly as he lower is head and kissed her collarbone where the shirt had been stretched away revealing the delicate ridge. "Anthony," she said whispering his name. He stopped what he was doing and looked at her with a look that asked what was wrong. She sat up and smiled. "I want to do this, but." she stopped and looked a bit embarrassed and glanced at the clock on the night table. He cocked his eyebrow at her. "I have to go to dinner tonight with Alex and Natalie. If we start this now we wont get there on time."
He stood and brushed his jacket down and grabbed his cane off the bed then stomped into the living room towards the front door. "Anthony!" she called out. He stopped but didn't turn. "Don't go. I had forgotten about Alex and Natalie if I hadn't I wouldn't have led you on. Jason is coming all the way from his shoot in Costa Rica because he thinks I am dead. I sort of have to go." Standing there motionless he just listened to her. "I want you to come with me." His shoulders sagged as he relented and came back. She smiled at him and kissed him. "Thank you for not leaving."
Nodding once he said, "I want to go by Dimitri's."
"Why?"
"With Kate in jail I have decided to sell the house."
Dylan's mind was whirling with the implications. Did that mean he wanted to live with her still? He had always complained about her messiness, the fact that she left the cap off the toothpaste and liked eating crackers in bed while watching Leno. She tried to hold her excitement in check resisting the urge to pump her fist and say "yes". Instead she asked, "Are you sure?"
"Too many things, most of which aren't good have happened there. I want to take what is mine and sell the rest," he said. She could understand that but the house was lovely and somewhere in the back of her mind she pictured the two of them with 2.3 kids and a dog living in the quiet little house with the crooked picket fence and over grown hedges. As if sensing that he touched her hair saying, "We can find some place else later if we want to." She smiled as she though about what he was saying and that just a year ago she worried about Natalie hooking up with Pete for a long term commitment now she was looking for one with the Thin Man of all people. "Let me get dressed and we will go." She rummaged through the pile of clean clothes on her closet floor and pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. "Okay all set," she called walking into the living room, "Let's go."