Long, and making things happen! First I'd like to make a comment regarding Felix and Bridgette. I've had a couple of people state its a little sudden, but Felix and Bridgette met right after Marinette found out she was pregnant. In story canon that would mean they've know each other for a few months. Its just that they are more of a side thing. I'm sprinkling a bit more here and there since I'm growing to like them, but I wasn't trying to just throw it out there. Sorry if it caused confusion to anyone.=^-^=
Ch. 30 - Chat's Gonna Blow
Marinette was sorting through the winter clothes they both had in storage boxes in the closet that was soon to be Luis' room. The designer had run out of excuses for trying to get anything work related done, so she decided to get winter sorting and mending out of the way. She would check each garment for tears and wear, fixing what could be fixed and re-appropriating the rest. This usually meant tossing over used cloth since if she couldn't fix it, it was too far gone; Aaron's underwear tended to get to this point since he only wore Gabriel designer ones and they couldn't afford to buy those all the time. It was a little funny since he got a present from a relative every year that included a few pairs of the very expensive boxer briefs.
"Mari, you're not lifting anything heavy are you?" She heard Aaron call from the living room which was right around the corner.
"No, just pulling down-" She heard him clear his throat and turned to see him now in the doorway.
"How many times do I have to tell you to let me get it? Hell, I tell you that even when you're not pregnant." Since Marinette was barely over 5 feet in height, she had trouble getting anything from high up.
"Weren't you making lunch?" She asked with a pout as he walked over to fetch the box down for her.
"I was, but Tikki, being ever smart and not so stubborn, decided to tell me you were at risk of being buried in clothes."
"Tikki!?" She felt a little betrayed as the kwami flew up to her.
"It's for your own good, Marinette."
"I'm still able to do things, and just because I'm short doesn't mean I can't reach it." She pouted.
"Then try." Aaron countered just to prove his point. He was fully ready to stop anything that came down if she succeeded. When Marinette turned to reach for the box, though, his point was made. Her fingers barely grazed the bottom of it on the top shelf. She would need a step stool to reach it, and Aaron hid that weeks ago.
It was just after lunch when Adrien felt his heart sink into his stomach. He'd allowed himself to become complacent and hadn't been worrying about the possibility, but now it was here. An Akuma Alert was sounding through Paris. "Mari, where are you?" He dashed into their bedroom to find his partner looking at the miracle box in worry. "You're not going out there."
"But, Aaron…"
"No." He countered adamantly and then gave a stern look to her kwami. "And don't you let her."
"You wanna go out on your own, kid?" Plagg asked a little worried himself.
"No… I'll go scout out the problem. " He turned to the window before another idea came to him. "Alya! Call Alya and Nino to come back me up, Mari. You are not to do anything else!" Aaron transformed and jumped out of the window leaving Marinette to stew over the issues this would bring up.
"Can this really be done without Ladybug?"
Tikki worried her paws before shaking her head. "Not an Akuma. No other kwami can restore destruction like I can."
The designer quickly reached for her earrings. "Then I'll have to let Alya-"
"Stop!" Tikki interrupted with a panicked expression. "You can't take those off now! Y-you… You would be in danger. Without my magic protecting you, the sudden effects of your pregnancy might cause you to become ill."
"But, Tikki… I was fully ready for all of the problems of pregnancy the moment I told Aaron about having kids. Even if it's earlier than I planned, that doesn't really change it."
"No, Marinette, it does. You remember me telling you about how you should keep my miraculous on before when we were all talking about the possibility of an Akuma?"
Though it had been some time ago, Marinette did remember that day and how stressful it was. "Yeah, so I'll get a little naus-"
"No, it'll be worse than that, Marinette. A little nausea is the least of your worries at this stage. It's the difference of standing under the rain or standing under a waterfall. Normally you have the symptoms come in stages over the course of the pregnancy, but if you remove your miraculous, all those things will hit you at once. Your body hasn't been able to acclimate to them the same as a normal person, and while none of them alone is very bad, all together could cause serious problems."
Marinette immediately pulled her hand from the accessory. "W-what!? But then… How can we?"
"You must remain Ladybug, Marinette." The kwami decreed with a pointed paw.
"But, Aaron… I… Have your other ladybug's done this sort of thing?"
Tikki nodded. "Yes, and it didn't always end well, I'm afraid, but there's no other way this can work. You'll be in danger either way." Tikki felt bad laying all of this on her chosen at once, but she'd honestly thought Hawkmoth was gone; like most of Paris. That being said, Marinette had a little more going for her than any other chosen she'd ever had. "But you have the Miracle Box, Master. Call on Rena and Carapace like Chat Noir said. I'm sure you can work out a plan by the time he returns."
Marinette placed her hand on the box still worried. "But, Tikki… I couldn't go out like this." She gestured to her stomach with her other hand. "Hawkmoth will notice and take advantage somehow." There were a million terrible scenarios playing out her head at this point.
"Keeping it hidden is the easy part, Marinette. Keeping you safe is the harder part."
Chat Noir leaped over building after building with his staff at the ready each time. He'd tried to get back into regular exercise with the bakery closed but had only had a couple of chances to roam around as Chat since he also was keeping his wife from doing too much. Shaking off the rust only took a couple of jumps, and his current determination wouldn't stand for any more. "The Akuma Alert said it was around the 4th arrondissement." It was one of the busier areas due to the presence of one of Paris' landmarks, the Notre Dame Chapel. Considering that, however, there weren't many people up in a panic. This made it hard to determine where the Akuma was. Chat Noir landed near a small cluster of people to ask. "Good afternoon, anyone seen an Akuma? Probably dressed in a ridiculous costume and threatening some kind of trouble?"
"Actually… There was someone, but I'm not sure if it was an Akuma." A woman answered with her son nodding beside her.
"Yeah, they were kinda… Boring?" For a kid, any Akuma is exciting, so this made zero sense.
"Chat Noir, the Akuma went that way. She looked so normal aside from the oversized camera."
"She had blue skin though." An older man argued.
"No, it was more of a pale green. I almost didn't notice it." The mother countered.
"But she just looked pale to me. The camera was the only cool thing." The son cut in.
"Okay, but you all agree about the big camera part?" Chat clarified due to the slightly conflicting stories.
"Yes." The mother answered getting nods from the rest of the group.
"Okay, that way, right?" The hero asked as he started off in a sprint. He didn't want to lose any time if the Akuma was already going to be hard to spot. As he dashed down one road the Notre Dame started to become visible and he immediately noticed something was off. It was a famed landmark and always looked like a world wonder but… Now it looked a little too wonderful? It was like the whole area was given one of those photo filters to make the lighting and colors better. It really took him back to his modeling days. Vincent would take a million pictures and use filters afterward to accentuate whatever he was presenting in the photo whether it was clothes or Adrien himself. "Okay, camera and weird filter light?" If this was an Akuma's doing, of course, but what else could it have been?
Assuming he was on the right track he kept up his chase and was joined several minutes later by Carapace. "Yo, dude."
"Carapace?" Chat stopped and looked around. "Where's Rena Rouge?"
"She's with Ladybug. They're hatching a plan, but are waiting for your info on the Akuma. Rena tried finding footage or pictures but the Akuma's always blurred out somehow."
Chat's ears immediately went flat in irritation at hearing Ladybug was present. That meant Marinette transformed. "I told her she wasn't fighting!"
Carapace put up his hands. "Chill, dude, Alya's got her. That's why I was sent alone. Rena won't let her come out here even if she does look perfectly normal suited up."
"Huh?" The cat hero dropped his anger for bewilderment. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Yeah, it's insane. Me and Als literally dropped our jaws when we saw her. It's like she's not even pregnant, you know? Crazy." He then waved his hand away. "But back to business, dude." He pointed off along the river. "Rena Rouge thinks the Akuma is headed towards the Louvre Museum based on the Akuma posts."
Chat Noir nodded and took stride beside the turtle hero before pulling up his baton and using the call feature. "Ladybug, we talked about this." He nearly growled into the speaker trying to control himself. "You'll get hurt."
"Calm down, Chat Noir. I'm not going anywhere near the Akuma." She declared in a commanding tone that made the man flinch. "And, yes we talked, but apparently staying out of it isn't as simple as we thought. I'm sending Rena Rouge to join you two as soon as you scope out the Akuma and we make a plan."
Chat Noir scowled away from the screen before taking a deep breath between roof top jumps. "Okay, but promise me you won't come out here even if we're in danger, milady. I swear if I see even one red and black spot, I'm dragging you back home even if that means abandoning the rest of Paris." He declared with a serious tone Ladybug knew not to take lightly. Chat Noir really would put her over the whole of Paris.
"I understand, Chat. I'm using the horse miraculous to transport Rena. I can send her with the Lucky Charm and pull her back to use the Miraculous Cure. Easy."
"I hope so, milady." Chat relented with a sigh.
"Relax, Chat Noir. We got this. It'll be four against one… Three against one, I mean." He corrected at the slight glare his fellow hero shot him. As the duo approached the museum, there were more people heading towards them and away from some incident at the glass pyramid. "This probably means, the akuma is still around." Carapace noted aloud as he followed the cat hero.
"Yeah, probably. Plus, take a look at the Louvre. It looks like it was torn straight from a post card. Glossy finish and all." The whole area around it seemed to shine as if laminated or polished. The security for the museum was taping off the area around them and escorting visitors outside. "Can we assume the Akuma is inside?" Chat asked one guard as they dashed up to the police line.
"Oh, Chat Noir, and… Tortoise?"
Carapace shook his head with a controlled sigh. "Carapace, but that's not important."
"Oh, my apologies. Yes, the Akuma is inside. She appeared to be taking pictures but something weird happens every time she does. At first we didn't think much of it and we were just going to question her, but then someone got caught in the picture too, and well…" He pointed to a security tent that had just been set up. Two guards were holding a person who appeared frozen in place.
"Whoa… Talk about Freeze Frame." The DJ remarked looking around. "Is that the only victim?"
"So far, and my boss told me they had most of the visitor's at the main entrance a few minutes ago. I told him about the blonde man who ran in after we started the evacuation and we think he's the only one left."
"Someone ran into the museum? With the Akuma running around?"
"I was surprised too, but just about threw one of our guys with some kind of karate or something. We've been too busy with the people up here to go after him, though."
"Got it, we'll look for him." Chat assured as he pulled his baton back up to dial Ladybug.
"Did you find the Akuma?"
"We think so. Security at the Louvre says she's inside."
"What about her powers?" Rena asked from behind their leader.
"She takes pictures and it's like the whole area has some light filter placed on it."
"Plus it freezes anyone caught in it like a statue." Carapace added looking back to the poor victim.
"So far, there's only one person frozen. I didn't see anyone frozen while I was following her trail either." Chat continued thinking to his chase.
"The Akuma might have a target in mind if they aren't going after people." Ladybug paused a moment to think. Akuma usually went after anyone in the area unless they were focused. Hawkmoth usually wanted them on the attack though, in order to lure out the heroes. "Go inside and see what else you can figure out. Call me if you need Rena or when you know what the Akumatized object is."
"I'll do you one better, milady. It's probably the camera." The cat hero countered with a smirk.
"Confirm that and call me back." Ladybug shot back with a smirk of her own and hung up.
"I'll confirm I'm right." He half pouted before extending his staff and ducking under the tape.
"Divide or stick together?" Carapace asked as they dashed through the main lobby where a few more people were being escorted out.
"Better to stick together on this one. Have your shield ready to block her power if she tries to freeze us."
"But she could sneak up on us, Chat Noir."
He shook his head and chose a hall to check. "I don't think so. She hasn't had many victims yet so I don't think she wants people in the pictures she takes. This Akuma wants something and it isn't our miraculous."
"Yet." Carapace countered. Most Akuma were doing something on their own before the heroes showed up and Hawkmoth made his desires known. Right as they turned into the roman statues exhibit an instant sparkle was noted in the air. "We're definitely on the right track." Chat nodded and approached the center of the display area.
"Yeah, but which way next?"
"Over there." Carapace pointed at what appeared to be a person ducking behind a stone display.
"Hold up, we're gonna need you to stop-" He froze as soon as he got around it and saw it wasn't the Akuma he expected. Instead it was a very familiar blonde man. "F-Adrien?" He corrected in more than a little surprise.
"Whoa, Adrien Agreste?" Carapace repeated a little forcefully since he knew it wasn't.
"What are you doing in here? There's an Akuma running around. You need to head to the lobby." Chat ordered next reaching out a hand to the scowling man.
"No, I'm not leaving yet. I came here looking for someone."
"Who? We'll try to find them."
Felix stood up on his own and kept his distance from the heroes. "A woman." He explained simply still annoyed he'd been spotted. He just wanted to get Bridgette's attention, not 'saved' by heroes. "Now if you don't mind-"
"Carapace, keep looking. I'll take him back to the lobby real quick." Chat Noir stated as he threw Felix over his shoulder without waiting for any sort of permission.
"Fuck off, and put me down!" The blonde pushed Chat's head away and kneed him in the gut, though the suit absorbed most of the damage and Chat was able to keep a hold of him.
"Stop moving or I'll drop you." He warned back and dashed back towards the entrance.
Felix wasn't one to surrender and be carried off though so he snatched the hero's staff and extended it right as they went through an archway. This effectively tore him free as Chat moved on with his momentum. "I told you to leave me alone." He snapped taking the staff in one hand after twirling it rather masterfully.
Chat turned around to glare at the difficult man. His cousin was never one to be a follower or do what he was told. It was a miracle he'd agreed to listen regarding the modeling, but Adrien could tell it was like torture to him. "You're only going to get in the way if you stay down here. Carapace and I will find anyone else down here and get them to the lobby so just go and wait."
"I'm not in the way, you are!" The blonde shot back pointing the staff at its owner.
"Seriously? Have you never been involved in an Akuma attack before? You'll get frozen if you get caught in the pictures they take."
"She won't take a picture of me, Chat Noir. She only wants to take pictures of priceless art and monuments."
Chat Noir stopped his next counter as the information hit him. "Wait… How would you know that?"
"Because I know the woman who was Akumatized." Felix continued to scowl and set the staff against his shoulder.
"Who? Do you know why she was Akumatized?" The hero quickly asked.
"Her name is Bridgette Covington, and from what I was able to gather, she was fired for some reason. Nobody would tell me why, since I wasn't there. I was waiting for her outside the Louvre. She was going to be photographing me for some dumb add campaign."
"She was fired?" Chat rubbed his chin. Marinette told him about her, and then there was the whole conversation in the office earlier that day. Marinette mentioned Bridgette might have been the one to find her flash drive, but she didn't explain much else. He was now wishing he'd been able to go into the office with Marinette, because this was confusing with just the bare minimum.
"Look, just back off and let me go find her. She's probably just taking some stupid picture somewhere. I doubt she'll be much of a fight." Felix reasoned as he handed over the staff seeing the hero looking more reasonable.
"While I do believe you, I can't let you get involved." Chat took the staff, pushed Felix back and then wacked a security console on the arch. Immediately metal bars came down between them keeping Felix from following as the black cat hero ran off back to join his comrade.
"I'm crossing cats off a possible pet list. That prick." The model mumbled before looking around to find a way past the bars.
"Are you sure about that, Chat Noir?" Ladybug asked through their communication devices.
"Yeah, that model, Adrien Agreste, seemed pretty sure about it. He couldn't tell me why she got fired though. Apparently that's why she was akumatized."
"What!? Bridgette was fired? How? Why?"
Chat gave a dry chuckle at his partner's confusion. "That's what I was planning to ask you, actually. You mentioned she came up at that meeting before, but you didn't look worried."
"I wasn't, though now those questions worry me. Mr. Agreste was asking about Bridgette on set and about what she liked to talk about."
"And what did you say?"
"I told him we usually talked about work and she liked asking about outfits Adrien wore. She would usually ask me what kind of things he'd be wearing whenever we had a photo shoot."
Chat stopped to think. "You think maybe Mr. Agreste took that answer differently then you intended?"
The look of horror on Ladybug's face was instant as she put the pieces together. "Oh my god, she was fired over the flash drive! Mr. Agrest must've though she stole it!"
"You sure she didn't?" Chat asked back since he didn't know the woman very well.
"Absolutely. She didn't really like fashion, and only ever asked about Adrien's clothes because she has a crush on him."
Chat Noir nearly tripped over a corner as he let that bomb hit him. "What!?" He then shook his head. "Never mind, that's not really important right now." He'd try and ask Felix about it later. "Anyway, I just caught up with Carapace and… Huh?" As soon as he laid eyes on the Akuma, he was questioning whether it was one. About the only thing that gave her away was the large camera and the fact she was a little fuzzy. He could tell she had dark hair, fair skin, and a petite frame, but not much else for sure.
"Dude!" Carapace whispered to him and waved him behind the black stone cat he was using for cover. "Took you long enough."
"Sorry, the guy was a handful." To put it mildly. "Anyway, what's she up too?"
"She's been taking pictures of basically the whole exhibit if you couldn't tell by the trail behind her. With her pale blue skin, she kind fits into this exhibit though." He chuckled to cut the tension.
"Pale blue… No, she's Caucasian. A little fuzzy, but not blue."
"Fuzzy, what are you talking about? She's got pale blue skin and her hair is all over the place." The DJ countered in surprise.
"Boys, her appearance might not really matter here." Ladybug cut in to remind her partner she was still on the line. "Turn your staff so I can see the Akuma."
Both boys looked sheepish as Chat Noir held up his baton to give his lady a panoramic view of the room and villain. "What do you think, milady?"
"I think you need to duck!" She warned just in time for the camera to click. Chat Noir was able to lower his arm enough to dodge the picture but Carapace wasn't so lucky. He was now frozen in place peeking over the cat statue.
"You ruined my picture!" The Akuma shouted before running off for another exhibit.
"Chat Noir?"
"I'm okay, milady, but Carapace is… stuck." He showed her the frozen man. "And she's moving onto the art wing."
"Carapace will be fine if she's just leaving. Go after her, and I'll send Rena Rouge."
"You have a plan, milady?"
"I'm not really sure, but it's all I have right now."
As soon as she hung up a portal appeared next to the man and Rena hopped out. "Damn, babe…" She mumbled at her frozen husband.
"Chat Noir, Rena's going to be enacting the plan. You just need to destroy the camera as soon as you see an opening." Ladybug ordered through the portal.
"Yeah, though I'm still not too sure about this." Rena held up the postcard with spots on one side and a scenic view of London on the other. "I'm hoping being away from the field isn't making your lucky charm wonky."
"It's never failed before." Chat assured while glancing at his wife sternly. "We'll take care of everything, Ladybug." He stood as if barring her path and she just rolled her eyes at him with a playful sigh. It wasn't until the portal began to close that Chat Noir noticed how thin and very non-pregnant his wife appeared in the suit. "What the heck!?"
"Focus, Chat Noir. You can gawk later." Rena teased since she'd had the same reaction before.
"The Akuma was defeated quickly and with minimal damage, but I know I'm not alone in finding Hawkmoth's apparent return to be disconcerting. Though the Akuma was not destructive, the reminder of the villain's presence in our city weighs heavily on the majority of Parisians today. We will keep you informed as we learn more."
The video stopped and Felix scowled at the phone he was listening to. "Stop here." He ordered his driver noting the address on the corner. "I'll call you when I need to be picked up." Mr. Dunbar glanced at him over the seat and raised a brow. His 'charge' wasn't impersonating Adrien today, but dressed like himself; stuffy and formal right down to his neatly combed down hair. "You can tell Uncle Gabriel that I'm not coming in for the rest of the day. I'll deal with his disapproval later." And then the man got out of the car without waiting for any sign of understanding. He knew the larger man wasn't a talker and he, quite frankly, wouldn't have listened anyway. After checking the address in his phone, Felix walked down a few blocks and entered and apartment building.
"Good evening, sir, can I help you?" A middle-aged woman called from a window next to a staff door.
Felix found the fact there was anyone attending the lobby surprising considering this apartment complex didn't look well off enough for that sort of thing. He was hoping to just stroll up to the door and knock. He cleared his throat and put on his best gentlemanly smile. "Yes, Madame, I'm here to see Bridgette Covington. I was told she was on the fifth floor?"
"Oh?" The woman asked back with an apparent blush for the handsome man. "Well, then she's in… Yes, she's in number 504. Do you need help finding it?" She asked after looking through her leasing files.
"No thank you, Madame, though that isn't to say having a lovely escort such as yourself wouldn't make my day." He practically flirted. "But I do not want to take you from your duty here in the lobby. Should I have any trouble finding the room, however, I will come back to take you up on your offer." He flashed her a charming smile and walked over to the elevator. As soon as he was behind closed doors he dropped his plastic expression and rolled his eyes. "Security here really is as bad as I thought."
Felix continued taking mental notes criticizing the humble complex right up until he knocked on the door which he noted had paint chips that looked ancient. It took a few tires before he finally got a response. "Yes? Who is it?"
The blonde eyed the peephole that was obviously in use. "Who do you think, Shorty?"
"Adrien? What are you doing here?" Her tone was a mix of fluster and bewilderment.
"What? You expected me to wait out at the Louvre all day?"
She was silent for a moment before he heard the lock tumble and the door opened slightly. "That was… I'm surprised they didn't tell you." She almost muttered with a disheartened expression.
Felix couldn't see much through the sliver she gave, but he could tell her face was swollen and her hair was a mess. "About you being fired? They may have mentioned it, yeah."
She flinched at the reminder and closed the door a bit. "Then you really don't need to bother coming here."
He pressed his hand and pushed the door as much as the security latch would allow. "I bother when my time is wasted, and no one is explaining anything at the studio. That's why I came to you. What happened?" He asked as if he'd been inconvenienced at a store. His mask of indifference only flinched at noting Bridgette's eyes start to water. "Shit…" He muttered and leaned towards her in the door opening. "Let me in so we don't make a scene in the hallway." The last thing he needed was people staring at him while a woman broke down in tears at her door. That would bring in all manner of assumptions he didn't need.
"Hurry up." He insisted noting a door down the hall was opening. Felix set his hand on the door knob so she couldn't impulsively lock it when she closed it. He kept his eyes away from the one passing behind him and slipped in the moment the door gave again. "Finally." Bridgette nearly fell from the door's impact but Felix took her arm before she could. The décor in the room was about what he expected having no real theme. Since Bridgette was just a short term assistant, that meant her salary wasn't substantial and she was only in Paris temporarily, not to mention recently. It stood to reason the apartment would have the bare minimum. "Now then…" Felix was about to get back to the explanation he had come all this way for, but he noticed something first. "Do you share this apartment with someone?"
She didn't have a boyfriend as far as he knew and it was annoying that it actually bothered him. "Marcel… We got one together…" It was rather amazing that two women could have such a plain apartment, but at least it wasn't a man.
Felix shook that thought from his mind and began pulling Bridgette to the rooms. "Which one is yours?" He asked without looking her way.
"Huh? H-hold on a sec-"
"Which one?" He asked again though the first one he opened had a few of Bridgette's unflattering shirts strewn on the bed so he deduced it without an answer.
"A-adrien!?" He shut the door firmly behind as soon as she was inside with him.
Marinette was on a mission and Aaron knew there was nothing on Earth he could do right now to stop her. The whole Earth could split separating Marinette from the office and she would work out a way to cross it with what little she kept in her purse if she had to. In this instance, he wasn't exactly against her either. He was curious about the matter too. She'd called Stephen last night to ask about Bridgette but he would constantly sidestep the questions and no one else was talking. "This is ridiculous! I go on maternity leave and suddenly everything goes crazy." Marinette grumbled in frustration as she entered the lobby with Aaron right behind her.
"Please calm down, Mari." He tried to sooth as she angrily approached the receptionist.
"Mrs. Bassett? What are you doing here?"
"I'm here because nobody is talking to me." She snapped.
"Sorry, she needs to speak with Stephen about something."
"No, I want to talk with Gabriel Agreste!" Marinette corrected now tired of beating around the bush.
"Marinette, calm down or I'm taking you home." He warned with a firmer grip on her shoulder.
The designer frowned and took a breath. "Please arrange for me to speak with Mr. Agreste." She forced out in a calm tone. That was the best he was going to get, he supposed.
Several minutes later and Nathalie was entering the lobby very surprised by the sudden visit. "Mrs. Bassett, you're supposed to be on leave."
"I'm not here to work. I just really need to talk to Mr. Agreste." She adamantly insisted. Talking to anyone lower on the totem pole would just get her the work around again.
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Bassett, but he is busy at the moment."
"Well, make him un-busy!" Marinette snapped again showing an uncharacteristic anger that had Nathalie a little worried. The secretary glanced at her husband for a possible answer.
"Sorry, she heard about Bridgette and wants to talk with Mr. Agreste about it. It's been really stressing her out so I'd appreciate it if he could make a few minutes." His smile was gentle but at the end Nathalie could see the cold demand in his eyes. It was basically, 'make that ass clear his schedule to fix this mess' or something close to it.
"I will see what I can do." She gestured for them to follow and they went straight to Gabriel's office. A few muffled harsh words were heard from inside when Nathalie went to go inform him and a moment later Gabriel emerged looking less than pleased.
"Marinette? You wished to speak with me in regards to Ms. Covington?"
"Yes, you firing her was stupid!" The younger designer accused and a short dumbfounded silence ensued. Aaron found himself struggling not to laugh at the shock his father wore from being called stupid so bluntly.
"Marinette… I would like to remind you of where you are and who you are speaking to. I do not believe you are-"
"I'm perfectly sane and sober, Mr. Agreste." She snapped crossing her arms over her chest. "You, however, might want to get evaluated." Aaron was struggling even harder with every jab his wife made. He just couldn't bring himself to restrain her when it came to putting his father in his place.
"Marinette, this is inappropriate behavior regardless of your condition. I ask your husband to take you home-"
"Not even if your office were on fire. We're talking about this right now!" She commanded her boss in a tone Aaron knew was her Ladybug special.
"Excuse me." Nathalie cut in. "Perhaps a discussion would be in order? Mrs. Bassett is obviously confused by Ms. Covington's dismissal and it would be in the interest of all parties to explain the circumstances." Gabriel was looking irritated and it was a wonder he hadn't actually yelled at his subordinate. Nathalie knew there was a limit, however, and cut in to give a little order to things.
Gabriel, and his amazing newfound patience with the woman, nodded with a frown of annoyance. "I just so happen to be in a meeting with Stephen and Vincent. We will be able to talk about this clearly."
Aaron quickly placed his hands on Marinette's shoulders. "And as you can see from my wife's demeanor, she is stressed. I request to be present and would be more than happy to sign any nondisclosure agreement for the meeting." And once again his eyes told them he was demanding it. Gabriel didn't have the patience to argue with both of them, so he merely waved it off and Nathalie nodded with a tired expression. As soon as they entered Stephen looked uneasy. It was no doubt due to the glare Marinette was giving him for keeping her in the dark. Vincent didn't look nearly as uncomfortable though he did look a bit tired compared to his usual energetic air.
"Now then, in regards to Ms. Covington." Gabriel started before Marinette could make another bold jab at him. "She was let go due to stealing and attempting to sell company assets. I, of course, do not abide by this."
"The flash drive?" The ravenette asked already having her theory in stone.
"Yes, the very one you checked yesterday. It was found in Ms. Covington's possession along with evidence she intended to sell it."
"Bridgette would never steal my work to sell it." Marinette argued as if that were all the evidence she would need.
"Marinette, I understand you and Ms. Covington were well acquainted but that is no stand in for tangible evidence." Gabriel argued back calmly. He would not be the one slandered for yelling at a pregnant woman.
"That's plenty of evidence. Bridgette isn't the kind of person to steal. Whatever evidence you found is wrong or you just read it wrong." She then turned to Vincent. "What did Bridgette say happened? Did she find my flash drive?"
"Actually…" Vincent started slightly unnerved by the bold woman talking back to his boss. "I did not get any explanation. She spoke with Mr. Agreste in his office and I was told of her need to be dismissed immediately after."
"So you just fired her because Mr. Agreste told you to?" Marinette asked looking more irritated. She then looked to Gabriel. "Then what did she tell you about the flash drive?"
Gabriel scoffed. "She told me she had no idea what flash drive I was referring to and offered no other alternative to it being found in her possessions."
With that Marinette let out a sigh. Of course she couldn't argue with Gabriel Agreste. Few could. "Okay, why don't we call her to come in and get the full story before we jump to some ridiculous conclusion?" She practically tossed every word as if an accusation at Gabriel Agreste and he was just at a loss for where this was coming from. He'd felt her confidence before, but no one had ever been this bold to him aside from maybe Nathalie or his own wife.
"Vincent." He relented seeing she wouldn't back down.
"Of course, sir. I'll get her right away." He dialed her number several times due to her apparently hanging up on him. "Ah, Bridgette, I know you are probably still upset about-" He quickly started as soon as the line connected before his face went to confusion. "Adrien?" He checked his phone to make sure he dialed the right person. "What are you doing with Bridgette's phone?" All around the room looked intrigued by the odd development. "She's.. Asleep… Okay, well could you have her come into the office as soon as she can? We're going over the issue regarding the flash drive with Mrs. Bassett."
"Tell him to get over here as soon as possible. We're not waiting for him to drag his heels. I'm sending Mr. Dunbar to get him and Ms. Covington immediately." Gabriel decreed sitting at his desk with a venomous gaze.
Can you believe I actually cut 3k words from this? It'll be on the next chapter and I'm sure it'll be a good one for anyone who loves how Gabriel is getting the work around right now. Marinette, being irritated and pregnant, is not going to take no for an answer. (Never argue with a pregnant woman. You will lose. I've tried with three different women. I lost every time.)=^-^=
Anyway, if anyone was into the FelixXBridgette ship (Which I have never written before obviously) this is for you. BTW, don't assume things. LOL. Thank you for reading and I hope to post the big debate soon. I wonder how much longer Gabriel's patience will last?=^-^=
