Author's note: Thanks so much for all the wonderful reviews. again! This
chapter is sooo long! Nightlight4 I think I'm on overload! Just kidding, I
love reviews they're. well they're not what keeps me going, the story
itself does that, they're just the really yummy bit, Anyway, a bit more
background in this chap. And the time jump at the beginning, I have to move
this story along or we'll never get to the end!!!!!! Ok so here you go! Oh
and see if you can't catch the little foreshadow to a sequel I'm thinking
about writing. hehehe.
Once Elizabeth had come out of the bathroom and Will had discovered the purpose of the boxer/briefs, things had simmered between them. For the past two days it had been nothing but work for Elizabeth and tension for Will. Elizabeth would work on the computer tirelessly, only pausing for food, or for rest, in both cases at the insistence of Will. Will could sense that she was frustrated but had not the power nor knowledge to help her. It was finally in the late morning of the Tuesday, while Will sat on the bed reading Elizabeth's old copy of Treasure Island that she exploded in all of her anger and frustration.
Will was jarred from his reading suddenly as he heard Elizabeth start yelling at the computer.
"Grrrrr, why won't you just open up and tell me how to crack you!!" she screamed as she stood and threatened to hurl the infernal machine at the wall.
Will was at her side instantly and grabbed the computer before she could do anything drastic, despite his Pirate side telling him to drop the computer, destroy it completely and then call it an accident and stay by Elizabeth's side forever. He gingerly laid the machine on the bed and went back to a still fuming Elizabeth.
"Maybe you need another break," he suggested as he led her over to the couch.
Elizabeth would have none of it. "I don't need a break! I need a way to break that stupid thing!"
Will tried to lighten the mood. "Would my sword help?" he said slyly.
Elizabeth stopped dead in her tracks. "Am I mistaken, or did the brooding Will Turner just try and make a joke?!" she looked at him incredulously.
Will smiled slightly, it had worked. "Not in the least fair maiden, I was being entirely serious," he said pasting a faked expression of sternness on his face.
Elizabeth's laughter was a welcomed relief to the tense atmosphere the apartment had been associated with the past few days. "Well I'll be, Mr. Turner has a previously unmentioned sense of humour. I thought it wasn't befitting a gentleman."
"It was something a little Sparrow taught me," Will said smartly.
Elizabeth was almost rolling on the floor in laughter. "Yes, I can recall lessons a little Hen taught me once." Will was slightly shocked as Elizabeth stopped suddenly, a look of realization crossing her face.
"That's it!" She yelled out suddenly, shaking Will slightly. "Oh Will Turner I could kiss you!" Will almost jumped out of his skin; that was the first time either of them had broached the subject of their feelings for one another in the past two days. He moved closer but was shot down as Elizabeth suddenly moved away.
"I could kiss you for what you've done for me Will, but I won't," she said sternly. "We've made too big a breakthrough to loose it all now."
Will was now hurt and confused. "What are you talking about?" he asked attempting to get any form of explanation.
Elizabeth chuckled a little more. "I should have thought of it sooner." she paused as she went to the closet and began searching through it. "It's not going to be easy, but I think I can appeal to him," she said as she pulled out a large box and started to go through it.
"What's not going to be easy? Who's not going to be easy to appeal to? What's going on?!" Will called out suddenly.
Elizabeth stopped going through her things and listened to him, her happy expression changing as she realized Will's confusion. "Come here, sit down and I'll tell you all about it," she said as she went back to the box.
"Yes ma'am," he said as he pulled up a piece of the rug next to her.
Elizabeth didn't look up, but continued to search through the box. "Jack Sparrow taught you how to be a Pirate, correct?" she said as she picked up a book, riffled through it and then threw it down into the box.
"Yes, I suppose you could say that, only it wasn't really Piracy he taught me but sailing and orienteering by the stars and rigging and things like that." Will said a bit indignantly.
"But basically he taught you how to be a Pirate, because you needed him to help you." Elizabeth didn't wait for his response, but kept on talking. "Well just as you had an experienced Pirate to show you the ropes, I had an experienced hacker who taught me mine."
"But I thought you had left hacking behind you! I thought you had been betrayed!" Will said suddenly, not wanting Elizabeth to sacrifice her innocence on his part.
Elizabeth dropped the envelope she was searching suddenly and looked at Will.
"How do you know about my hacking?" she said accusingly.
Will was squirming under her intense stare, it had been so much easier when she had been swooning over him. "Umm. Bradford told me," was all that Will could muster.
"What? That little punk! He had no right to tell you about my past!" Elizabeth started to stand, preparing to tirade around the apartment. Will quickly sensed that this would be less productive and would never lead to the explanation of the situation.
"It was my fault, I asked him to tell me." Will said, trying to divert Elizabeth's attention back to him.
"Why would you care about my past?" Elizabeth said as she moved over to Will.
"I wanted to know how to protect you, I need to know about your past and present in order to do that," Will said sincerely.
"You could have asked me." Elizabeth said indignantly.
"Alright, I'll ask you now, why did you become a hacker?" Will hoped that Elizabeth was telling the truth. If he could get her past out of her it would be the next step in rebuilding their relationship.
Elizabeth pondered for a moment and then moved back to the box and continued her search. "I was eighteen, a freshmen in collage studying computer engineering. I didn't come from a rich home, it was happy," Elizabeth paused as if remembering happier times.
"It sounds nice," Will said softly, happy that his plan was working.
"It was, but it wasn't rich," Elizabeth said with a tone that could only be classified as disgust. "I was running out of money fast and when Hen approached me with the opportunity to make thousands of dollars doing what I was good at, I let my greed take over and I accepted.'
"Who's Hen?" Will asked gingerly, not wanting to pry, but too curious to resist.
"Henry Mitchton, a Processing professor who had his hands in some. let's say questionable affairs. He recognised my talent and gave me a job offer I couldn't pass up." Elizabeth looked hopeful as she picked up an old wallet, but then flipped through it and placed it back in the box dejectedly.
"You became a hacker." Will's calm voice rang.
"Not overnight, I wasn't really into becoming a criminal, but Hen had a different philosophy, he did mainly corporate work, industrial espionage, illegally accessed things which weren't all that legal to begin with. He seemed more like Robin Hood than a hardened criminal, only he wasn't nearly as dashing," Elizabeth smiled slightly as remembered him.
"And you think he will help us?" Will asked forcing himself a little deeper.
"That's the hard part, see as I started working I became a little more. I thought it was ambitious at the time, but it was greed, I wanted bigger fish, so I ditched him and started working for the highest bidder, he wanted to tell me everything he knew, but I left before he had the chance. I was young, foolish and invincible, or so I thought." Elizabeth hung her head.
"And then you were caught?" Will knew the answer but wanted to hear it from Elizabeth, to be let in on that part of her life.
"I wanted to escape, I got in over my head, I went to Hen at first, said I needed help, he said I needed money more than anything and that hacking wasn't supposed to be about greed, it was supposed to be about the challenge. So I went to the CIA and." Elizabeth paused, Will mentally begged her to continue, to let him in and allow him to comfort her, it was the next step in getting her to trust him again, in letting him get close to her in the way Will knew both of them wanted, and he was so close. But it wasn't meant to be at that time.
"And they gave me a job and now I'm supposed to be working for them, but that didn't really work out either so now I guess I'm going back to Hen," Elizabeth said as she quickly went back to work searching for whatever it was she was searching for.
"He sounds like Jack," Will said quietly, respectfully, saddened at her refusal to let him in, but knowing the difficulty of it at the same time.
"He is, in a lot of ways, like Jack, he was never in it for the money, only for the challenge." Elizabeth smiled again as she remembered him and picked up a small piece of paper. "In fact it's that characteristic which is probably going to convince him to help us."
"I don't follow," Will said slightly puzzled.
"I mean come on," Elizabeth said as she realized that she had finally found the peace of paper she was looking for, and her smile grew a little more. "What pirate could pass up the opportunity for betrayal, intrigue, government conspiracy, escaped movie characters and a super-computer which makes something out of nothing, it's defiantly his idea of fun." Elizabeth's eyes sparkled and her faced beamed as she turned over the paper to reveal a set of number's with 'Hen's Phone Number' written across the top.
"Fun says you, I think I understand your plans, says I." Will said grinning slightly.
"Wonderful," Elizabeth said as she packed up the box and put it back in the bottom of the cupboard. "Let's give my friend a call shall we?" Will was happy she had found what she was looking for, but saddened that it seemed to bring him one step closer to going back to the empty Caribbean, and she didn't care.
"Yes, let's" Will said as he offered her a hand up and tried his hardest to seem happy.
*****
Elizabeth moved over to the phone, faking her enthusiasm as she went. She knew she could convince Hen to help her, but knew that once he cracked this fickle computer Will's fate would be sealed and he would be put back into the movie. But that was what was supposed to happen, Will was supposed to go back to his waiting Elizabeth (Swann, that is) and he would live out his life and be happy and Elizabeth would go back to her computer games and Our Fine Hero.
She looked at Her Fine Hero as she picked up the phone and dialled the number to her old mentor. Will had moved back to the bed and had taken up his book once more, Treasure Island Elizabeth had thought that was so funny, so like him, wanting to go back and relive his adventure, to visualize the billowing sails of the ship and the spray of the sea salt. It sounded like a magical place, and a part of Elizabeth wished she could go back with Will and witness it all. She was brought back to reality as the phone sprung to life and blaring techno music hit her ear.
"If you have this number you better have two things to go along with it, a secure line and a dang good reason for calling me her." A gruff voice called over the music.
Elizabeth almost chuckled at the sound of her old friend and his paranoia. "Hello Hen," was all she said.
Or rather all she could say, because the minute Henry Mitchton heard her voice, Elizabeth was met with a barrage of questions and accusations.
"How dare you call here! What do you think you're doing? If you think for one minute that I'm going to give you any information Lizzie you have another thing coming because I'm not in that business anymore, I've gone legit remember?" Elizabeth knew that Hen was anything but legit, but also knew that he was covering his butt in case Elizabeth was trying to play him.
"Relax butt munch, I wouldn't ask your opinion if you were the last computer geek on earth, you over conceded poop-spewing puss ball," Elizabeth almost laughed as she registered the look of shock on Will's face at her. creative language. She covered the receiver in an effort to explain herself.
"We have a special relationship, me and Hen," she said as she registered Hen's voice on the other end of the receiver.
"Now you listen, you arrogant little she-devil, you know that I'm the best there is, now if you want something, you just come out and say it, you inexperienced whelp of a an analyst!" Hen's angered voice returned.
"Ok geezer, here's my proposition, I have a friend that I want you to meet, he's visiting from pretty far away and I thought it wouldn't be too bad if he met my worst half you slug-fingered oaf of a processor." Elizabeth smiled widely at her creative insults and Will tried to hide a smirk as he attempted to concentrate on his book. But Hen wasn't picking yet.
"And what would ever convince me to make an appointment with one of your no doubt mindless and flee-ridden acquaintances," Hen's voice was quickly losing patience and Elizabeth knew that if she didn't dangle a carrot she'd loose him and be hard pressed to reach him again.
"Maybe the fact that he's the key in a recent chain of event's, and if you saw him you'd be crazy as a pirate not to take me up on my offer." Elizabeth hoped he'd remembered enough of their old conversations to notice her slight emphasis.
It seemed as though he had because there was a short pause and then Elizabeth could almost see the smile cross his face as he answered.
"Well then, you conceded monkey butt muncher, if you're so cocky as to think that that this person is worthy of my attention you should check out Maria's Party Palace this Wednesday and let them have some fun." Hen sneered on the other end.
Bingo, Elizabeth was in.
"Oh come on," she said playfully. "That place is so old, I wouldn't be caught dead there for more than an hour! I mean someone would notice me and connect me with their bad taste and tackiness." Elizabeth was following standing meeting procedure, setting a limit on time letting Hen know she may be monitored.
"Well it's the only place I frequent, Maria always makes sure I have a good time, she's got a room for special customers, but it only opens after ten o'clock and usually fills in the first fifteen minutes, I could leave a spot open for you and your friend to have some fun." Hen had taken her offer and set the time and place, now it was up to Elizabeth to confirm, and boy did she have a doozy.
"You old perverted fart! How dare you insinuate that I would be caught dead there! If you only listen to the one letter of this you'd better get what I'm saying." Elizabeth paused in order to lend effect.
"Teens earn nicer pay, all stats taken!" Elizabeth added another pause to make it clear.
"You got that? Don't you dare try to buy me off with some cheap thing like that! We're through here." Elizabeth hung up the phone with a bang, sat down on the bed and sighed.
"That man will never change," she said as she leaned against the wall.
Will moved next to here and put a comforting arm on her shoulder. "Don't worry Elizabeth, we'll work through this together."
Elizabeth realised that Will hadn't understood her comment and was now coming dangerously close to her lips again. Quickly she stood and moved over to the couch.
"Oh, sorry Will, you probably didn't get any of that," Elizabeth said as she winced at his sadness in her haste in increasing the distance.
"I understand that the person you called was unable to be of assistance, but don't let it worry you," Will stayed on the bed, respecting the distance Elizabeth had placed between them.
"No that's just it Will, we have an agreement, me and Hen, he want's to meet us at ten past ten tomorrow at Maria's Party Palace." Elizabeth saw the confusion in Will's face and chuckled.
"And again you start will that infernal chuckling Elizabeth. Do you find my ignorance amusing?" Elizabeth was shocked at Will's sudden annoyance; she was only playing with him.
"I do when you let it bother you in such a way, I mean come on Will don't get so bent out of shape!" Elizabeth moved over to the kitchen and opened the fridge.
"Therein lies the problem, you keep saying things and I have not the slightest idea of what they mean. I am trapped in this world and you refuse to show me anything about it, and when I make a mistake out of ignorance, you laugh at me. I thought we were past this, but clearly we're not." Will humphed and flopped himself down on the bed.
Elizabeth realised her mistake immediately went to the bed and sat next to Will. "You're right it's not fair to keep you cooped up here like this, I guess if we were being tracked by agents they would have shown up by now hey," Elizabeth smiled at Will who finally smiled back.
"There you go, much better now. Now what do you say we get out of this place and go hit the town," Elizabeth said as she nudged Will in a friendly manner.
"Are you sure it is safe Elizabeth? I mean those brutes who attacked you before could be waiting for an opportunity such as this." Elizabeth was touched by Will's concern but longed to get out of her tiny apartment as much as she knew he did.
"I think that a certain sword wielding hero has deterred them from any further attacks," Elizabeth said sweetly as she got up and moved to grab her car keys.
Will coloured slightly, "I really didn't do much," Will said humbly.
"Oh yeah, only gave one a smart bump in the head, one a broken nose and the other a severe fear of potted plants." Elizabeth chuckled again as Will rose to join her.
"So what are we going to see?" Will said as he linked arms with Elizabeth and they walked towards the door.
"Well, I have a hole burning in my checking account and you need some new clothes for the dance so." Elizabeth burst, laughing out loud at Will's reaction to the word dance.
"Dance, what dance?" Will asked incredulously.
"First things first," chuckled Elizabeth. "Let's go shopping."
"Is waltz common in the twenty-first century?" Will asked sheepishly.
"What?" Elizabeth cried.
"Waltz. It is the only style of dance I know, I was trying to learn, but I was caught up in the smithery and I never found the time to complete my training, I am a excellent waltzer though." Elizabeth saw that he was turning a slight shade of crimson.
Author: Ok I know that waltz isn't a 17th or 18th century dance, and I know Will saying he is an excellent waltzer sounds rather pathetic, but Please bear with me! It's very important to the story and a * VERY * good moment in the future. Ok I'm done, back to the waltzing Will.
"You want to learn how to dance?" Elizabeth asked.
"Well I'm curious to know how much the music style has changed, along with everything else in the world." Elizabeth couldn't read the expression on Will's face, so decided a little crash course on twenty-first clubbing wouldn't hurt much. would it?
Once Elizabeth had come out of the bathroom and Will had discovered the purpose of the boxer/briefs, things had simmered between them. For the past two days it had been nothing but work for Elizabeth and tension for Will. Elizabeth would work on the computer tirelessly, only pausing for food, or for rest, in both cases at the insistence of Will. Will could sense that she was frustrated but had not the power nor knowledge to help her. It was finally in the late morning of the Tuesday, while Will sat on the bed reading Elizabeth's old copy of Treasure Island that she exploded in all of her anger and frustration.
Will was jarred from his reading suddenly as he heard Elizabeth start yelling at the computer.
"Grrrrr, why won't you just open up and tell me how to crack you!!" she screamed as she stood and threatened to hurl the infernal machine at the wall.
Will was at her side instantly and grabbed the computer before she could do anything drastic, despite his Pirate side telling him to drop the computer, destroy it completely and then call it an accident and stay by Elizabeth's side forever. He gingerly laid the machine on the bed and went back to a still fuming Elizabeth.
"Maybe you need another break," he suggested as he led her over to the couch.
Elizabeth would have none of it. "I don't need a break! I need a way to break that stupid thing!"
Will tried to lighten the mood. "Would my sword help?" he said slyly.
Elizabeth stopped dead in her tracks. "Am I mistaken, or did the brooding Will Turner just try and make a joke?!" she looked at him incredulously.
Will smiled slightly, it had worked. "Not in the least fair maiden, I was being entirely serious," he said pasting a faked expression of sternness on his face.
Elizabeth's laughter was a welcomed relief to the tense atmosphere the apartment had been associated with the past few days. "Well I'll be, Mr. Turner has a previously unmentioned sense of humour. I thought it wasn't befitting a gentleman."
"It was something a little Sparrow taught me," Will said smartly.
Elizabeth was almost rolling on the floor in laughter. "Yes, I can recall lessons a little Hen taught me once." Will was slightly shocked as Elizabeth stopped suddenly, a look of realization crossing her face.
"That's it!" She yelled out suddenly, shaking Will slightly. "Oh Will Turner I could kiss you!" Will almost jumped out of his skin; that was the first time either of them had broached the subject of their feelings for one another in the past two days. He moved closer but was shot down as Elizabeth suddenly moved away.
"I could kiss you for what you've done for me Will, but I won't," she said sternly. "We've made too big a breakthrough to loose it all now."
Will was now hurt and confused. "What are you talking about?" he asked attempting to get any form of explanation.
Elizabeth chuckled a little more. "I should have thought of it sooner." she paused as she went to the closet and began searching through it. "It's not going to be easy, but I think I can appeal to him," she said as she pulled out a large box and started to go through it.
"What's not going to be easy? Who's not going to be easy to appeal to? What's going on?!" Will called out suddenly.
Elizabeth stopped going through her things and listened to him, her happy expression changing as she realized Will's confusion. "Come here, sit down and I'll tell you all about it," she said as she went back to the box.
"Yes ma'am," he said as he pulled up a piece of the rug next to her.
Elizabeth didn't look up, but continued to search through the box. "Jack Sparrow taught you how to be a Pirate, correct?" she said as she picked up a book, riffled through it and then threw it down into the box.
"Yes, I suppose you could say that, only it wasn't really Piracy he taught me but sailing and orienteering by the stars and rigging and things like that." Will said a bit indignantly.
"But basically he taught you how to be a Pirate, because you needed him to help you." Elizabeth didn't wait for his response, but kept on talking. "Well just as you had an experienced Pirate to show you the ropes, I had an experienced hacker who taught me mine."
"But I thought you had left hacking behind you! I thought you had been betrayed!" Will said suddenly, not wanting Elizabeth to sacrifice her innocence on his part.
Elizabeth dropped the envelope she was searching suddenly and looked at Will.
"How do you know about my hacking?" she said accusingly.
Will was squirming under her intense stare, it had been so much easier when she had been swooning over him. "Umm. Bradford told me," was all that Will could muster.
"What? That little punk! He had no right to tell you about my past!" Elizabeth started to stand, preparing to tirade around the apartment. Will quickly sensed that this would be less productive and would never lead to the explanation of the situation.
"It was my fault, I asked him to tell me." Will said, trying to divert Elizabeth's attention back to him.
"Why would you care about my past?" Elizabeth said as she moved over to Will.
"I wanted to know how to protect you, I need to know about your past and present in order to do that," Will said sincerely.
"You could have asked me." Elizabeth said indignantly.
"Alright, I'll ask you now, why did you become a hacker?" Will hoped that Elizabeth was telling the truth. If he could get her past out of her it would be the next step in rebuilding their relationship.
Elizabeth pondered for a moment and then moved back to the box and continued her search. "I was eighteen, a freshmen in collage studying computer engineering. I didn't come from a rich home, it was happy," Elizabeth paused as if remembering happier times.
"It sounds nice," Will said softly, happy that his plan was working.
"It was, but it wasn't rich," Elizabeth said with a tone that could only be classified as disgust. "I was running out of money fast and when Hen approached me with the opportunity to make thousands of dollars doing what I was good at, I let my greed take over and I accepted.'
"Who's Hen?" Will asked gingerly, not wanting to pry, but too curious to resist.
"Henry Mitchton, a Processing professor who had his hands in some. let's say questionable affairs. He recognised my talent and gave me a job offer I couldn't pass up." Elizabeth looked hopeful as she picked up an old wallet, but then flipped through it and placed it back in the box dejectedly.
"You became a hacker." Will's calm voice rang.
"Not overnight, I wasn't really into becoming a criminal, but Hen had a different philosophy, he did mainly corporate work, industrial espionage, illegally accessed things which weren't all that legal to begin with. He seemed more like Robin Hood than a hardened criminal, only he wasn't nearly as dashing," Elizabeth smiled slightly as remembered him.
"And you think he will help us?" Will asked forcing himself a little deeper.
"That's the hard part, see as I started working I became a little more. I thought it was ambitious at the time, but it was greed, I wanted bigger fish, so I ditched him and started working for the highest bidder, he wanted to tell me everything he knew, but I left before he had the chance. I was young, foolish and invincible, or so I thought." Elizabeth hung her head.
"And then you were caught?" Will knew the answer but wanted to hear it from Elizabeth, to be let in on that part of her life.
"I wanted to escape, I got in over my head, I went to Hen at first, said I needed help, he said I needed money more than anything and that hacking wasn't supposed to be about greed, it was supposed to be about the challenge. So I went to the CIA and." Elizabeth paused, Will mentally begged her to continue, to let him in and allow him to comfort her, it was the next step in getting her to trust him again, in letting him get close to her in the way Will knew both of them wanted, and he was so close. But it wasn't meant to be at that time.
"And they gave me a job and now I'm supposed to be working for them, but that didn't really work out either so now I guess I'm going back to Hen," Elizabeth said as she quickly went back to work searching for whatever it was she was searching for.
"He sounds like Jack," Will said quietly, respectfully, saddened at her refusal to let him in, but knowing the difficulty of it at the same time.
"He is, in a lot of ways, like Jack, he was never in it for the money, only for the challenge." Elizabeth smiled again as she remembered him and picked up a small piece of paper. "In fact it's that characteristic which is probably going to convince him to help us."
"I don't follow," Will said slightly puzzled.
"I mean come on," Elizabeth said as she realized that she had finally found the peace of paper she was looking for, and her smile grew a little more. "What pirate could pass up the opportunity for betrayal, intrigue, government conspiracy, escaped movie characters and a super-computer which makes something out of nothing, it's defiantly his idea of fun." Elizabeth's eyes sparkled and her faced beamed as she turned over the paper to reveal a set of number's with 'Hen's Phone Number' written across the top.
"Fun says you, I think I understand your plans, says I." Will said grinning slightly.
"Wonderful," Elizabeth said as she packed up the box and put it back in the bottom of the cupboard. "Let's give my friend a call shall we?" Will was happy she had found what she was looking for, but saddened that it seemed to bring him one step closer to going back to the empty Caribbean, and she didn't care.
"Yes, let's" Will said as he offered her a hand up and tried his hardest to seem happy.
*****
Elizabeth moved over to the phone, faking her enthusiasm as she went. She knew she could convince Hen to help her, but knew that once he cracked this fickle computer Will's fate would be sealed and he would be put back into the movie. But that was what was supposed to happen, Will was supposed to go back to his waiting Elizabeth (Swann, that is) and he would live out his life and be happy and Elizabeth would go back to her computer games and Our Fine Hero.
She looked at Her Fine Hero as she picked up the phone and dialled the number to her old mentor. Will had moved back to the bed and had taken up his book once more, Treasure Island Elizabeth had thought that was so funny, so like him, wanting to go back and relive his adventure, to visualize the billowing sails of the ship and the spray of the sea salt. It sounded like a magical place, and a part of Elizabeth wished she could go back with Will and witness it all. She was brought back to reality as the phone sprung to life and blaring techno music hit her ear.
"If you have this number you better have two things to go along with it, a secure line and a dang good reason for calling me her." A gruff voice called over the music.
Elizabeth almost chuckled at the sound of her old friend and his paranoia. "Hello Hen," was all she said.
Or rather all she could say, because the minute Henry Mitchton heard her voice, Elizabeth was met with a barrage of questions and accusations.
"How dare you call here! What do you think you're doing? If you think for one minute that I'm going to give you any information Lizzie you have another thing coming because I'm not in that business anymore, I've gone legit remember?" Elizabeth knew that Hen was anything but legit, but also knew that he was covering his butt in case Elizabeth was trying to play him.
"Relax butt munch, I wouldn't ask your opinion if you were the last computer geek on earth, you over conceded poop-spewing puss ball," Elizabeth almost laughed as she registered the look of shock on Will's face at her. creative language. She covered the receiver in an effort to explain herself.
"We have a special relationship, me and Hen," she said as she registered Hen's voice on the other end of the receiver.
"Now you listen, you arrogant little she-devil, you know that I'm the best there is, now if you want something, you just come out and say it, you inexperienced whelp of a an analyst!" Hen's angered voice returned.
"Ok geezer, here's my proposition, I have a friend that I want you to meet, he's visiting from pretty far away and I thought it wouldn't be too bad if he met my worst half you slug-fingered oaf of a processor." Elizabeth smiled widely at her creative insults and Will tried to hide a smirk as he attempted to concentrate on his book. But Hen wasn't picking yet.
"And what would ever convince me to make an appointment with one of your no doubt mindless and flee-ridden acquaintances," Hen's voice was quickly losing patience and Elizabeth knew that if she didn't dangle a carrot she'd loose him and be hard pressed to reach him again.
"Maybe the fact that he's the key in a recent chain of event's, and if you saw him you'd be crazy as a pirate not to take me up on my offer." Elizabeth hoped he'd remembered enough of their old conversations to notice her slight emphasis.
It seemed as though he had because there was a short pause and then Elizabeth could almost see the smile cross his face as he answered.
"Well then, you conceded monkey butt muncher, if you're so cocky as to think that that this person is worthy of my attention you should check out Maria's Party Palace this Wednesday and let them have some fun." Hen sneered on the other end.
Bingo, Elizabeth was in.
"Oh come on," she said playfully. "That place is so old, I wouldn't be caught dead there for more than an hour! I mean someone would notice me and connect me with their bad taste and tackiness." Elizabeth was following standing meeting procedure, setting a limit on time letting Hen know she may be monitored.
"Well it's the only place I frequent, Maria always makes sure I have a good time, she's got a room for special customers, but it only opens after ten o'clock and usually fills in the first fifteen minutes, I could leave a spot open for you and your friend to have some fun." Hen had taken her offer and set the time and place, now it was up to Elizabeth to confirm, and boy did she have a doozy.
"You old perverted fart! How dare you insinuate that I would be caught dead there! If you only listen to the one letter of this you'd better get what I'm saying." Elizabeth paused in order to lend effect.
"Teens earn nicer pay, all stats taken!" Elizabeth added another pause to make it clear.
"You got that? Don't you dare try to buy me off with some cheap thing like that! We're through here." Elizabeth hung up the phone with a bang, sat down on the bed and sighed.
"That man will never change," she said as she leaned against the wall.
Will moved next to here and put a comforting arm on her shoulder. "Don't worry Elizabeth, we'll work through this together."
Elizabeth realised that Will hadn't understood her comment and was now coming dangerously close to her lips again. Quickly she stood and moved over to the couch.
"Oh, sorry Will, you probably didn't get any of that," Elizabeth said as she winced at his sadness in her haste in increasing the distance.
"I understand that the person you called was unable to be of assistance, but don't let it worry you," Will stayed on the bed, respecting the distance Elizabeth had placed between them.
"No that's just it Will, we have an agreement, me and Hen, he want's to meet us at ten past ten tomorrow at Maria's Party Palace." Elizabeth saw the confusion in Will's face and chuckled.
"And again you start will that infernal chuckling Elizabeth. Do you find my ignorance amusing?" Elizabeth was shocked at Will's sudden annoyance; she was only playing with him.
"I do when you let it bother you in such a way, I mean come on Will don't get so bent out of shape!" Elizabeth moved over to the kitchen and opened the fridge.
"Therein lies the problem, you keep saying things and I have not the slightest idea of what they mean. I am trapped in this world and you refuse to show me anything about it, and when I make a mistake out of ignorance, you laugh at me. I thought we were past this, but clearly we're not." Will humphed and flopped himself down on the bed.
Elizabeth realised her mistake immediately went to the bed and sat next to Will. "You're right it's not fair to keep you cooped up here like this, I guess if we were being tracked by agents they would have shown up by now hey," Elizabeth smiled at Will who finally smiled back.
"There you go, much better now. Now what do you say we get out of this place and go hit the town," Elizabeth said as she nudged Will in a friendly manner.
"Are you sure it is safe Elizabeth? I mean those brutes who attacked you before could be waiting for an opportunity such as this." Elizabeth was touched by Will's concern but longed to get out of her tiny apartment as much as she knew he did.
"I think that a certain sword wielding hero has deterred them from any further attacks," Elizabeth said sweetly as she got up and moved to grab her car keys.
Will coloured slightly, "I really didn't do much," Will said humbly.
"Oh yeah, only gave one a smart bump in the head, one a broken nose and the other a severe fear of potted plants." Elizabeth chuckled again as Will rose to join her.
"So what are we going to see?" Will said as he linked arms with Elizabeth and they walked towards the door.
"Well, I have a hole burning in my checking account and you need some new clothes for the dance so." Elizabeth burst, laughing out loud at Will's reaction to the word dance.
"Dance, what dance?" Will asked incredulously.
"First things first," chuckled Elizabeth. "Let's go shopping."
"Is waltz common in the twenty-first century?" Will asked sheepishly.
"What?" Elizabeth cried.
"Waltz. It is the only style of dance I know, I was trying to learn, but I was caught up in the smithery and I never found the time to complete my training, I am a excellent waltzer though." Elizabeth saw that he was turning a slight shade of crimson.
Author: Ok I know that waltz isn't a 17th or 18th century dance, and I know Will saying he is an excellent waltzer sounds rather pathetic, but Please bear with me! It's very important to the story and a * VERY * good moment in the future. Ok I'm done, back to the waltzing Will.
"You want to learn how to dance?" Elizabeth asked.
"Well I'm curious to know how much the music style has changed, along with everything else in the world." Elizabeth couldn't read the expression on Will's face, so decided a little crash course on twenty-first clubbing wouldn't hurt much. would it?