Author: Alison
Title: In His Sights
Pairings: Edgerton/Kim
Summary: Set immediately following SZ
Rating: T+
Spoilers: Everything up through SZ is fair game
Disclaimer: I own none of this. Characters are the property of the Scott brothers.
Kim fingered the folded piece of paper in her pocket. She hadn't decided what she was going to do about that yet. Foster was telling one of his lame jokes. Kim ignored him and leaned against the bar, sipping her beer.
Everyone was laughing at the punch line. Kim smiled politely. Some people who had been dancing moved and she got a clear look at one of the booths along the back wall. She was surprised by what she saw. Not to appear unsociable, Kim strolled over.
"Hey, Don," she said, standing in front of the table.
"Hey, Kim," Don said.
"Charlie," she said, greeting the younger Eppes sitting across from him.
"Hi," Charlie answered.
"What are you doing here?" Don asked.
"Just having a couple of beers after work," she answered. "You guys?"
"Celebrating," Charlie said.
"We caught the sniper," Don interjected.
"Yeah, I heard about that."
Don reluctantly scooted over in the booth. "Have a seat." Kim sat, although she didn't feel particularly welcome. She refused to allow things between Don and herself continue to be strained. "We called in Edgerton."
"I heard. How come he's not here having a drink with you guys?"
Charlie rolled his eyes. "Because he's a borderline psychopath. Do you know him?"
Kim brushed her hair away from her face, a gesture she used as a stall technique when she didn't know what to say. "Yeah, I know Edgerton."
"Everyone has him at Quantico," Don offered.
That wasn't what Kim meant, but it would do. "He's not a psychopath," she said, bluntly.
Charlie shook his head. "You should have seen him. It's like he reveres snipers."
"Sniping is an art," she countered, echoing the words she had heard Edgerton say so many times.
"Murder? That's an art?" Charlie exclaimed. "Forgive me if I can't see the beauty in the senseless ending of human life."
Kim was getting mad. She truly believed that deep down Charlie was a good guy and a decent human being, but he had moments of arrogance. Granted, he certainly had reason to be arrogant when it came to math, but she didn't feel this was his area of expertise. "You sound a little ungrateful considering he saved your life." Charlie looked stunned and Kim decided to drive the nail home. "I find it pretty ironic that a scientist is expounding the sanctity of human life. What about the people of Hiroshima? What were their lives worth?"
"I didn't build the atomic bomb!" Charlie protested. "You can't blame the entire scientific community for something that happened before I was even born!"
"Okay," she said. "That was unfair."
Charlie paused for a moment, regaining his temper. "I never said I didn't appreciate what Edgerton did for me. I just said that he seemed to devalue the lives of the victims."
"So where is he know?" Kim asked. "How come he's not here celebrating with you guys?" Neither brother spoke. "Oh, nice. You're just letting him hang out alone in his hotel room until he flies back to Virginia?"
"This is sort of an Eppes brothers thing," Don said.
Kim assumed that sounded as hollow to him as it did to her. Eppes brothers thing, indeed. She reached into her pocket and felt the piece of paper again. Edgerton had left his hotel information on a voice mail and asked her to call him. Unsure if she was ready to open that can of worms again, she had just jotted it down and shoved the message in her pocket.
"You didn't invite him because you simply don't like him," she explained. "But you've got him all wrong. He's not a psychopath and he doesn't condone murder. If he did, why would he be working for the FBI? Why would he take a job at Quantico training people to stop this sort of thing? He's good at what he does and he loves it. And, believe it or not, he's a good guy."
"You sound like you know him a little better than just having been his student," Charlie mused.
Kim glanced over at Don who had wisely decided to stay completely out of the conversation. He was now looking at her, waiting for an answer.
"We were...involved," she admitted. She tried to gauge Don't reaction.
He sighed. "I'm going to go get another pitcher," he said, climbing over her to get out of the booth. Neither she nor Charlie bothered mentioning that their pitcher was still half full.
"How do you go from someone like Edgerton to someone like Don?" Charlie asked once Don had safely made his escape.
"It was the other way around, actually," Kim said. "And they're not that different."
Charlie leaned back and wiped the condensation from his glass. "I just don't see you with him."
"You don't know anything about me. Or him," she retorted. She didn't give Charlie a chance to reply. "I'm going to leave now so that Don can come back. See you later, Charlie."
Charlie gave a half-hearted wave as she left. Don was watching her from the other side of the room. Kim exited the bar into the cool night air, pulled out her cell phone, and dialed.
