Hi Everyone, Special thanks to SWEEPEASPATCH for being my Beta!
Because I made you wait so long for yesterdays chapter, I'm already posting the next one today.
Thankyou to the reviewers:
Rae, Thank you so much!
Guest, Thanks thanks thanks! I'm so thrilled too that Camille and Richard are coming back in season 10. I hope it will be romantic and nice!
Guest, Thanks!
IsabelMC Haha, thank you!
Sweepeaspatch Hahahaa, I had to look the story of the movie up. It sounds like fun. I'd like the recipe for that drink too, but I would watch out though...
Chapter 22 Next morning, day of the undercover assignment/ party.
Camille looked up from the table where she was sat with Richard and Nick and saw Kris walking towards them. She saw how her friend froze in her steps momentarily when she noticed the men. Camille smirked knowingly.
"Hello." Kris said softly and in a timid voice as she sat down next to Nick.
"Good morning." Camille greeted her.
"Hello." Richard took a sip of his tea as he eyed Kris. She looked tired. Understandably.
"The strangest thing happened." Kris said as she looked at her wrist watch pointedly and then at Camille. "I woke up so late. Much later then I instructed my alarm clock to go off."
"Really?" Camille asked as she leaned back lazily and put her arm over the back of Richard's chair. "I thought you needed the rest."
Richard enjoyed the familiarity with which Camille put her arm on his chair. She didn't make contact with his back but it felt close. And that felt nice.
Kris closed her eyes for a moment and sighed. "I think I owe you all an apology." She frowned and rubbed her face shortly.
"O, this should be interesting." Nick commented amused as he crossed his arms over his chest and smirked at her. His blue eyes were sparkling with enjoyment.
Kris ignored him on purpose and focused on Richard. She cleared her throat. "Yesterday... I think... I don't know really what happened... One minute everything was okay. And the next... All my control seemed to.. Disappear…sort of." She mumbled honestly. She was always careful with booze. She was always never drunk. Tipsy sometimes, yes. But not like this, that she had lost her control that much. She hated that. And felt ashamed.
Nick laughed.
"Yes, I can imagine so. I had the same thing happen with Catherine's chicken soup. I didn't know what happened then either. And that wasn't even lethally spiked with alcohol... I don't think-"
"-Richard!" Camille warned as she swatted his shoulder. She would not stand for him insulting her mother!
"What? It did! Whether you want to admit it or not!" He mouthed, annoyed at Camille who shook her head angrily.
"Enjoying yourself?" Kris asked Nick, chagrined.
"Very." Nick admitted as he smirked at her. He loved that he had seen her so out of control. And having her grab everyone in her wake, hugging and touching had been adorable and cute. He hadn't minded her sticky behavior. If he was really honest to himself, he had liked her close proximity. But he had felt for her because he knew she'd probably regret it in the morning. And he had been right. She didn't look as vivid and fit as usual. She looked ashamed. He wondered how much she remembered from last night though... He hoped him kissing her wouldn't become uneasy between them...
Kris looked pleadingly at Richard. "I didn't bother you too much, did I?" She asked him.
Richard cleared his throat as he looked at his tea. "No, not really."
"Don't worry, I saved him from you." Camille said with a wide smile.
Nick kept looking at Kris and raised an eyebrow. "I'm waiting..."
She directed a dark gaze at him. "You can wait until you weigh an ounce. I'm not going to apologize to you." She answered as she stood up and looked at him. "You're enjoying yourself way too much."
Nick began to laugh. She was probably right. He was enjoying himself immensely. "Yes, that's true. And I will for a very long time." He told her smugly.
"Great." Kris muttered as she sighed again. "There goes my much deserved rest for the coming weeks."
"Weeks?" He looked up at her. "O, sweet Kris..." He shook his head. "Still so naive." He laughed evilly. "You gave me blackmail material for years to come."
Kris looked from him to Camille and rolled her eyes. She could better ignore that. It was too much to deal with this morning anyway... "So the idea was to meet up at three AM, wasn't it?" She checked.
"You did remember something." Camille quipped. "Oui." She said quickly as she saw a glare coming up in Kris's eyes.
"I'm just going to take a brisk walk or do something in the water to wake up and get fit again."
"We'll go over the plans again at three. Did you get everything you need? Your clothes?" Richard asked.
"Yes, Camille already laid them out on the bed." She walked towards Camille, bent down to kiss her cheek. "You're too sweet." She looked from Nick back to Richard. "I'll be at your service with a fresh mind this afternoon. I promise." She said as she took the strawberry off Nick's waffle.
"Hey!" Nick snapped as he tried to grab her wrist to get his fruit back. But she was too fast.
"See you later." She smiled as she winked at Camille.
"Are you ready for this evening?" Richard asked in a worried voice as he looked at Camille. He tried to hide it but Camille picked up on it.
Camille looked at Nick and nodded. "Oui. I actually look forward to it. It's exhilarating in a way to do undercover work again." She smiled at Nick.
"You will stick to the plan?" He inquired carefully. He didn't need Camille to run off and do dangerous things.
What kind of question was that?! "Oui, of course." She rolled her eyes as mild annoyance settled in the pit of her stomach.
"It's not such a weird question." Richard defended himself. She was impulsive and passionate.
"Oui, Richard. I'll stick to the plan." She promised in a bored and impatient tone.
Richard felt a weight lift off his shoulders…partly…
"But sometimes you have to improvise." She added.
Nope, the weight was back. He sat up straight instantly."You don't have to improvise now, because we have the plan." Richard reminded her sternly with a hint of anger in his voice.
"I'll take good care of her." Nick offered quickly, hoping to calm Richard.
"See?" Camille said. She studied Richard. "You aren't worried about me, are you?"
"I'm not worried. I just want to stick to the plan and have the best outcome. There's no need for anyone to be in danger."
"I'm a trained police officer, I know my undercover work." She reminded him a bit irritated.
"Yes, Camille, I know. So you said before." He remembers how she told him that in the first week they met. "Just no bullets or other injuries this time, please."
"Where is this coming from all of a sudden?" Camille asked.
"Just no confronting someone who is threatening you, and don't stand in front of someone who points a gun at you please. I want all my colleagues to stay healthy and well, if you please." He looked away. He was just better with victims and puzzles. He wasn't very good at doing this live action thing. Going undercover. This was too different. It didn't feel right. But Camille was probably like a fish in the water, eager to swim.
"Don't worry, we're with four people inside and two outside. What can go wrong?" Camille asked.
"Except you should never ask that question." Nick quipped as he took his waffle and winked at Richard teasingly.
The station
'You look amazing." Dwayne said as he eyed Camille up and down. She was wearing a dark blue silken gown that fell supplely across her female curves.
Richard swallowed and forced himself to focus on the Police Station walls. "Let's not forget that this is business and not a party we're going to." He reminded shortly, cutting Dwayne's compliments short.
Kris smirked secretly as she went to the small kitchen.
"Well, it is a party, Richard." Camille told him as she enjoyed Dwayne's compliments. "With music and snacks."
"You look amazing too, Miss Milano." Dwayne said cheekily, ever the flirt.
"Thank you, I was beginning to feel quite forgotten." Kris said as she eyed the rest with blame in her eyes. "Sort of a Cinderella deja vu." She muttered sadly in a teasing voice as she walked towards the table with a tray in her hand filled with glasses of lemonade.
Camille rolled her eyes at Kris's comment.
"What's that?" Fidel asked.
Kris put the tray down on Camille's desk with a broad smile. "This... Is for good luck. To make a toast. It's special lemonade I made. I always make something before an important job. This time I opted for a refreshing drink."
Fidel, Dwayne, and Camille came to stand around the table where she'd put the tray as she handed them the drinks.
"Richard? Will you join us?" Kris asked.
"In a minute." Richard mumbled as he was still staring at a file.
"Shouldn't we wait for Nick?" Fidel asked.
"Yes, but he just sent me a message. He'll be later because there was something important with his mother. We don't have to wait for him. Don't worry, he'll be here on time for the job. He always is." Kris assured them.
Camille nodded as she noticed that Richard still hadn't moved. He could be so slow! "Richard!" She snap-clicked and motioned him to come over immediately to where they were all holding the glasses.
When Richard moved to stand up, his coffee spilled. "O, no!" He muttered when he felt the wet liquid flooding his trousers.
Camille sighed impatiently as she saw Richard stumbling up clumsily.
"We don't have a lot of time. Just the toast, Richard?" Kris proposed.
"Today!" Camille added annoyed as he made his way over to them.
Dwayne raised an eyebrow at Camille's impatience. Fidel chuckled softly.
Richard groaned as Camille practically forced the glass into his hand and they all clinked the glasses together.
"To a good job, our safety, and of course... Good luck." Kris toasted as they all drank.
"Mmmm, this tastes really good." Dwayne concluded. He gulped it down easily. Fidel agreed immediately. It really tasted refreshing.
Kris smiled. "My mum's secret recipe."
Richard just took a sip and made his way over to the sink to clean his trousers. Good thing the coffee hadn't spilled on his white shirt.
"Need any help?" Camille asked.
"Er... The... I'll manage..." Richard muttered as his eyes fluttered from her chest to his hands. That dress was very revealing. Well, maybe it wasn't. It just showed off some cleavage. But more cleavage then he was used too from her. And given the fact he was always very interested in every peek of skin he could get of her, this was really unsettling.
"Shall we go over the plan once again?" Fidel asked.
Dwayne and Richard joined Fidel around the table.
"I'll join you in a minute." Camille said as she walked towards the bathroom.
"Camille? What is it?" Kris asked anxiously from the doorway of the little room.
Camille looked up from the mirror. "Nothing, it's just... Can you zip me up again?"
Kris nodded as she put the glass of lemonade down. "You forgot to drink your lemonade. We need it for good luck, remember?" Kris quipped.
Camille smiled and rolled her eyes. "You and your superstition."
"It's no superstition."
"Uh-huh." Camille muttered as she turned towards Kris who zipped her up.
"You look beautiful. That's a wonderful dress. And I love your hair." Kris said as she looked Camille up and down.
"You look good too." Camille said as she looked at Kris's black pantaloons, the sharp black blazer with the white waistcoat underneath. Her hair was pulled up too.
Kris smiled sweetly and placed a loving kiss on Camille's cheek. "You're a good friend Camille. Thanks. Cheers." Kris said as she looked at the lemonade. "To a good and fruitful evening."
Camille nodded as they clinked the glasses and she hastily took a few gulps. They both turned in shock when they heard Richard calling out in panic. Their eyes met shortly before they ran back towards the table.
"Fidel!" Camille called out as she saw the young man lying on the floor. She knelt next to him immediately. "What happened?!" She called out in shock at Richard who ran towards Dwayne. Fidel didn't react.
"Dwayne?" Richard shouted. The man was slumped over his desk and was lying very still, just like Fidel.
"They're unconscious." Richard said as he stood next to Dwayne and felt for a pulse.
"What's going on?" Kris asked with big eyes as she eyed the scene in front of her. She walked over and leaned against Richard's desk.
"How could this happen?!" Camille asked, shocked, as she looked around her. What was going on?! How could both of them be unconscious like this all of a sudden?!
"Yes, how did this happen?" Kris asked matter of factly.
Richard looked up at her. It was something in her tone he picked up on. Something different. His eyes went to the glasses they had just drunk from. Then back at Kris. The dots connected in his head immediately. He searched for Camille's glass frantically but didn't see it. He noticed how Kris sat on his desk in a rather relaxed manner. She looked at her watch. She didn't seem worried at all. Her behavior seemed really strange all of a sudden. He looked at Camille who looked up from Fidel.
"What have you done?" Richard asked Kris in a low voice.
"What?" Camille asked Richard in shock. Why did he ask Kris that?! "What are you talking abou-" She stopped talking the moment she saw Kris sitting on the desk. With a smile on her face.
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OH OOOooo... What happened? And what will happen further?
What did you think? Please let me know.