Alyx was in the pool.
Slow steady strokes back and forth the length of the sparkling clear water. She'd been in the water mere minutes after getting home, bandaged leg or not.
His dad had taken a quick shower, changing back into the jeans and t-shirt he preferred and clearly felt most comfortable in. Darien, after grabbing some cold beers, had changed into a pair of swim trunks, but had not made use of the water, not wanting to disturb Alyx's efforts at clearing her mind and attempting to relax.
They did have planning to do, but were waiting for Bobby to arrive before getting serious about it. The smoker was doing its thing with a rack of ribs and a whole chicken. Vegetables would be grilled eventually, and a bread pudding was baking in the oven. Alcohol would be the main component of the evening, Darien was sure, all of them needing to blur those lines for a little while.
Plus, they had learned that they just came up with more creative plans when they all had a good buzz going.
"How is she?" Mason asked as he sat down on the lounge chair nearest to Darien, who sat at the edge of the pool with his feet dangling in the water.
"Good question. Considering she ran full tilt down the street to save me today, I would guess better," Darien answered turning to look at his dad, view darkened by the sunglasses he wore. *Hey, babe, got a sec to chat?*
If she didn't respond he wouldn't push and risk disturbing her efforts at finding her zen, but she immediately changed direction and swam over to them. She bobbed in the water next Darien's feet. She grabbed his ankle, a tingle of energy where her hand rested. "S'up, boys?"
Mason chuckled. "Just wanted to make certain you were all right."
She nodded. "Last bits are officially out so I should start healing like I usually do. Stupid thing itches like crazy already."
"Trying to make up for lost time, probably," Darien observed and she nodded.
"Which is why I'm swimming."
Mason looked appropriately confused.
"She pulls in energy from everything around her; lots of brownian movement going on when she swims, lets her pull in more than if she's just sitting and soaking up sunshine," Darien explained.
"But isn't she using energy to swim?"
"Did you watch her? Her stroke is simple and efficient." Darien knew she'd been on the dive team back in high school and college, which, while it didn't require large amounts of distance swimming, still had trained her to do it right.
"And I expend less energy than I pull in. I can do that," She hooked her thumb over her shoulder, "for hours… and have."
"She's not kidding. It's one of the ways she decompresses from a stressful mission." Darien shrugged. "Lots of stuff we can't tell each other, so we've found ways to deal without ending up in a fight over nothing."
"I can't even imagine living with someone I work with," Mason said, then turned away to look out over the yard and in the distance the ocean. "I screwed it up badly enough."
Alyx levered herself up and out of the pool in one smooth if wet motion. "You couldn't tell the truth and she couldn't live with the lie." She shrugged. "I get it. Could have been worse though."
"How?" Mason asked head snapping about to meet her eyes.
"She could have believed every word and stayed. How much would you have cared for her when you realized that?"
Darien sucked in a breath in shock. Alyx's words had not been harsh, but they resonated with him. That's how it had been with him and Casey; she had believed and fallen in love with the lie that he had sold her. Never once suspecting that he had been something other than what he portrayed when with her. In retrospect it was kind of… sad. People might accuse him of being crappy thief and conman due to his conscience, but he'd had Casey over a barrel, and if he'd never been caught - for doing the right thing, admittedly - she still wouldn't have a clue.
Mason nodded slowly. "You have a point, I will admit." He must have seen something in her eyes. "I take it you know this from personal experience."
"That's putting it mildly." She got to her feet and moved to get her towel and once less drippy pulled on the robe Darien had brought out for her. The sun well on its way to the horizon and the onshore breeze making the air cooler than she liked on her skin. "Have you ever heard of The Centre out of Blue Cove Delaware?"
Mason blinked twice. "Yes. Their Triumverate is a nasty bunch." Then he cocked his head to the side. "Don't tell me you are mixed up with them."
Alyx snorted. "Right down to my DNA." She took a moment to squeeze excess water from her hair. "My friend who is helping us escaped from there back in the nineties, he lives to be a thorn in their side."
Mason looked to Darien for the details. "Friend? Or something closer."
Darien glanced at Alyx who didn't react one way or another. "Well, we use the term brother since it's simpler than explaining she is his female clone."
Mason looked like he needed to sit down even though he already was. "You're part of the Pretender program?"
Alyx nodded, her look carefully blank, clearly waiting to see how his dad was going to handle that bit of intel.
"That explains why you're so damn good," Mason said, actually sounding a touch in awe. "No wonder you were able to handle the genetic modifications of the QSX Project, you were designed for it."
Alyx laughed lightly. "You are taking this far too well." She glanced up at the clear sky overhead.
Mason echoed her gaze and saw nothing. He turned to Darien for answers. "What's she looking for?"
"A shoe," Darien told his dad getting a chuckle in response.
"There is a permanent BOLO out for your… brother. His sims were highly valued by certain factions of the government. None of their other proteges have even come close."
She smiled softly. "He is special that way. What I need to know is what you will do when he arrives?"
"Do? Thank him, most likely. He's helping me to regain my life. Should I do something else?" Mason could probably buy his way back into the biz with Jarod, Darien suddenly realized; Alyx had obviously been aware of that risk from the getgo and kept it to herself until now. And while Mason didn't seem the type to bite the hand that fed him unless necessary, she had needed to be certain before welcoming Jarod into their home.
"Good," she said with a quick nod. "I'm going to scamper off and get decent for company and finish up some things for dinner. Bobby should be here soon."
Darien got up and went to her, planting a soft kiss on her forehead when she tipped her head up to look at him. "I'll let him in. You take your time."
She took a moment to lean against him, then simply walked away, the limp barely noticeable now.
"Damn, she's tough," Mason said softly.
Darien shrugged, "Not really."
"She is where it counts. You keep her… human." Mason got to his feet and walked over to the grill, canting it open slightly to check on the meat, releasing scents that would be making the neighbors jealous. Alyx's rib rub was to die for and smelled incredible.
"I try to. Sometimes it's not easy." He rubbed the back of his head, oddly glad he had the opportunity to talk about this with someone other than Father Tom, whose advice, while not bad per se, tended to have a skewed religious slant to it. His dad had actually been there, dealing with emotional crap while doing the job. Even if advice were not involved the understanding ear to bend would be a nice change. Both Hobbes and Claire maxed out their tolerance for relationship crap pretty quickly, which was reasonable given they all worked together as well. The line had to be drawn somewhere and taking sides in the relationship wars was one of those things they had all tried to avoid.
"She puts up walls," Mason said with a knowing look. "And you never learned how to, not really. You'd get defensive and act out in all the wrong ways. I'm betting she holds everything inside, making you guess what's wrong."
Darien probably looked as dumbfounded as he felt.
"You are remarkably like your mother that way."
Darien ducked his head. "Not sure that's a good thing."
"Not a bad one either," Mason pointed out. "Be patient with her. She puts those walls up for a reason. Probably to protect you. Add in her other abilities and I'm betting there's times she's simply overwhelmed and needs that distance to sort everything out. My job was far simpler in most ways. Get to the target. Eliminate the target." He shrugged. "Yeah, there were times that took months, but that is what it boiled down to."
"And what she has to do can be a lot more complex. Who she has to be a lot more complex." Darien walked over to the bar where he'd left his t-shirt and pulled it on. Then he reached around for one of the beers set in a bucket of ice. He twisted off the top and downed a portion. "Jarod has helped her learn to keep the different people she has to be separate, but there are times she still forgets who she is. I just try to remind her."
"And what does she do for you?"
Not an easy question by any stretch of the imagination, but one he knew the answer to. "She sees me. And it's something I didn't even know I needed until I met her."
His father was saved from commentary by the trilling of Darien's phone. The ringtone belonging to one Bobby Hobbes, who was most likely just letting him know he was on the way. "Hey, partner, what's the good word?"
"She insisted on coming. Said she needed to check on Alyx."
"Oh crap. You're bringing Claire? Are you nuts?"
"No nuttier than normal. This was not an arguement I was gonna win. We'll just have to deal. Just wanted to give you fair warning is all."
"Thanks, Hobbesy. We'll gird our loins. See you in a few." He snapped the phone shut and set it back down.
"Problem?"
"Maybe?" Darien said, rubbing the back of his head. "Claire has invited herself to this confab, and we are unsure of her ulterior motives."
"Does she have to have ulterior motives?"
"Claire? On this occasion, yeah, I'm pretty damn certain of it," Darien stated, positive this would not end well.
"She suspects you two are related," Alyx said behind them, startling Darien badly enough to spill his drink. "I had to head her off at the pass earlier." She had showered and changed, her hair pulled back into a damp bun at the base of her neck. She wore shorts and a tank top, showing off the deep tan she earned during lazy hours by the pool.
She set down the empty tray she carried on the counter next to the smoker, awaiting the meat that would be done shortly. "I have baked beans heating on the stove, green beans steaming, and bread in the oven. Anything else you two want to add to the menu?"
"Aside from enough scotch to make the Keepy forget why she came? Nah. You know what you're doing."
Alyx snorted. "Some days more than others, obviously." She moved over to the bar and hoisted herself up onto one of the stools. "Keep's no fool and smelled something hinky with the special treatment we were giving you," she said to Mason. "And she's observant, while the two of you did a decent job playing the part, the resemblance is there for anyone to see."
"No wonder she was looking at me cross-eyed," Mason stated, a frown appearing on his face. "Is this going to be a problem?"
Darien shrugged. "We told the Official, so even if she runs to tattle to him the point is moot." He glanced over at Alyx. "I don't see her turning you in to… to… They're not exactly bad guys, are they."
"Depends on your definition I suppose." Mason didn't look to thrilled with this turn of events. "How does she know I'm here at all?"
"She doesn't," Alyx told them. "Far as she knows you were delivered to the safe house as planned. Her involvement done for the time being."
"Shit. How badly does this screw up your plans?"
"Not at all," she assured both of them. "Relax, Claire is on our side… mostly anyway."
"That is not giving me a lot of confidence."
"Don't think it was meant to, but it doesn't matter. If this goes sideways, barring something over the top like a bunker buster striking our location unexpectedly, she will see to it you are out of the line of fire and set for life." Darien gave Alyx a small grin. "She's pretty awesome that way."
She preened. "Yes, yes I am."
. . .
Claire had managed to hold her tongue until after they had all eaten, had several drinks apiece, and moved outside to enjoy the glorious evening air by the firepit that Alyx had brought to life with a casual thought. She'd double checked Alyx's leg - had to since it had been her pretense for tagging along - stating it appeared to be healing finally, even after all the stupid things Alyx had done to it. The sideways glances and narrowed eyes had kept Alyx amused and restraining laughter the entire time.
Darien had endeavored to take it the same way, Mason, however, had only seemed to worry more as time passed, waiting for that shoe Alyx had looked up into the sky for earlier to drop upon all their heads. He had no reason to trust Claire other than their word, and given the good Keeper's behavior the last few hours, there was little wonder the older spy had remained on edge and suspicious.
"Claire, just ask and get it over with before you make someone explode with the stress." Hobbes stood to get another bottle of alcohol; the kind didn't really matter as they would all pretty much drink whatever. "Plus we need to get to the planning portion of this evening." He walked around the group, pouring the amber liquid into each glass as it was held up. Only Claire abstained, her tolerance for hard liquor nonexistent.
She huffed in irritation. "I came to make certain Alyx is okay, you then invited me to stay for dinner. Why else would I have come over?"
All eyes turned to Mason AKA Forrester Perdue, who sipped at his drink and said nothing.
"Who is he?" Claire asked in exasperation. "Yes, I know he's this Perdue, but who else is he? Why is he here and not at the safe house?"
Darien intended to answer, began trying to sort out the best words to use when his dad beat him to the punch.
"My real name is Mason Fawkes. I'm Darien's father."
Claire's mouth dropped open and and stayed that way long enough that Hobbes chuckled, then reached out to tap her chin to get her to close it. "Keep, it ain't that big a deal."
"Not a big deal? How can you think that?" she snapped, twisting about in her seat to shout at Hobbes directly. "How long have you known?"
"Six months give or take," Hobbes answered.
"Uh, a couple weeks here," Darien said, sticking his hand up and waving it to get her ire away from his partner. "Knocked me for a loop too, Keepy. But… we're working it out." He glanced at the others involved one at a time, receiving blank looks across the board. None of them about to step up to fill in any of the missing pieces.
"You've known he," Claire waved at Mason, "was Darien's father for months, knew he wasn't a thief as everyone thought and you couldn't be bothered to tell me?"
"And why, exactly, would you need to know that?" Alyx questioned, leaning back in the chair and closing her eyes. She looked in dire need of a long winter's nap that she would not be getting for some time yet. As soon as Jarod hit town they could move onto the next step. A step they needed to work out the details of instead of arguing over who knew what when.
"You seem to like to forget that I am his doctor and I take care of his mental health as well as his physical. Learning this information could have-"
"What, Keep? Made him cranky and act pissy towards me and the kid for a couple of days?" Hobbes snarked. "Which, may I just point out, you never even noticed."
"Bloody hell," Claire muttered, tucking strands of blonde hair behind her ear.
"This wasn't something we wanted to advertise, Claire," Darien pointed out, drinking down the little that remained in his glass and then pouring more. "Besides, it's not like he's going to be here for long."
"And you're not happy about that," Claire said in her perfect sympathetic voice.
She wanted in on this and would play any and every card she could if he'd let her. But, aside from needing her help to assure the body that went to the morgue would convince the world that one Forrester Perdue had most certainly died, they really didn't. Alyx had already taken care of most of it, some of the genetic voodoo would require the good doctor's help, but little else. He most certainly had no interest in pouring his heart out to her about the unfairness of getting his dad back only to lose him again days later.
That's what he had Alyx and Bobby for, who would understand without trying to psychoanalyze him.
"Keep, right now it doesn't matter. We have a job to do, and we're going to do it. What I want, hell, what any of us wants doesn't matter, right?" He looked over at his dad who had carefully schooled his expression into a neutral one.
"And we should be getting on with it," Hobbed muttered. "Kid, I know you've got a rough plan already, I assume we're here to work out the details?"
"That we are." Alyx had slouched down in her chair, dragging her eyes open to only half closed. "There will be some risks, but when we pull this off they will all believe one Forrester Perdue has met the demise they hoped for." She turned her head slightly to focus on Mason. "If that works for you."
He chuckled softly. "Works just fine, now how are we going to kill me off?"
. . .
Dawn was just a couple hours away when Darien finally attempted to drag Alyx off to bed. Hobbes had left with Claire just after one a.m. Dad had gone to bed a little while later after a soft, tense conversation with Alyx that he seemed satisfied with when he walked away. Darien had been curious, but hadn't asked, fearing it would lead to a discussion that could lead to an argument and that would not be a good thing. So, he let it go, dragged her away from the maps she seemed to find so fascinating and tried to encourage her up the stairs to their bedroom.
Of course, it was at the stairs that she stopped cold, refusing to continue and managed to shift away when he tried to pick her up and carry her there.
"You need to sleep," he stated, not about to back down. Yeah, she might only actually get a couple hours, but they would be needed to pull off this crazy-ass plan they'd come up with.
"I am aware. Just not with you." She didn't sound upset with him, so he had no clue why she was refusing to come to bed.
He sat down on the steps, looking up at her in utter confusion. "What did I do wrong this time?"
She sighed softly. "Nothing. I just don't want to hurt you."
"Well, hate to point this out, but not wanting to sleep with me kinda hurts."
"Darien," She reached out and cup his chin gently, "I never said I didn't want to sleep with you, just that I won't."
Darien drew in a shaky breath then kissed her palm. He had learned not to make assumptions. She had her reasons, always did, he just had to be brave enough to ask her. She wouldn't always tell, but he'd never know until he tried. "Okay, why?"
She moved closer, sliding her hand back into his hair, playing with the curls he knew to be there. "Because now that I can heal, I'm going to do it in overdrive and I don't want you hurt because of it."
"Uh, what? How would you healing hurt me?" He understood, if just barely, as no one truly understood how she could do some of the things she did, how she healed faster than the rest of the mere mortals, but had no idea how it might harm him.
She leaned forward, pressing her lips gently against his cheek. "I'm a lot stronger now," she reminded, lips moving softly on his skin, making him close his eyes in pleasure. "I draw in energy from every possible source, including anyone near me. I have some control when conscious, but none when asleep."
"And? You know I'll do what I can to help. If that means being a little more tired or whatever, I'll do it. We both need to be on top of our game to pull this off, so the sooner you heal, the better."
"But I-"
"What's the worst that'll happen?"
"We'd probably just sleep longer than normal," she answered as his hands came up to rest on her hips.
"You mean more than two hours?" he asked, trying for levity, but his want of her intruded into his voice. "Come to bed, sleep with me."
"Just sleep?" She encouraged him to tip his head up and he looked into her eyes and just let himself fall again. That need for her that had stirred earlier while Quicksilvermad returned. He wanted to take her then and there, but swallowed it down. She shivered, clearly feeling all that he did. She hadn't tried to stop him in the stairwell, which suggested she had wanted him just as much, injured or not.
"I'm willing to expend some energy if you are," he told her, lifting his head to bite her on the chin, causing her to suck in a breath and shudder.
"Darien, we-"
"We need this," he told her, pulling her in closer to kiss the hollow of her throat, teasing the smooth skin with his tongue. "I've been an ass, I know, forcing you to block me out to protect yourself, I want… need you to let me back in. Please. We work best when together and we're going to need that edge to pull this off." His hands wandered, one higher and one lower, finding skin where he could and endeavoring to make her feel what he did through his very touch.
She gave in and stopped fighting, if she had ever really been, cupped his face in both hands and kissed him hungrily and he let her, his hands exploring all that he could reach for several long minutes. When she pulled away, her eyes had dilated wide, her skin flushed pink with passion she nodded. "You've convinced me. Take me to our bed."
He laughed softly, not about to argue with her. With a soft growl he stood, scooped her up in his arms and carried her upstairs, her lips hot against the side of his neck the entire way.
He kicked the bedroom door closed behind them, walked across the room and set her gently on the bed. "Do we have to go into the office tomorrow?"
She shook her head. "Not really, I can work from here if needed."
He grinned. "Good." And then made every effort to exhaust her and encourage her to stay in bed with him for as long as possible.
And for her part, she didn't argue or raise a single word of complaint.
. . . . .
"So, you are the one who is going to facilitate my new lease on life." Mason turned to Alyx. "He doesn't look nearly as scary as all the reports claim."
Alyx snickered. "He's a big teddy bear for the most part, but don't get him riled. He will defend what he believes in like a mama bear defends her cubs."
"Good. The world could use more of that kind of integrity," Mason stated, every word the truth from what Darien could tell.
Jarod looked over at Alyx who shrugged and said, "I didn't coach him."
"Never would have suggested you did. Yet he still knows who I am. Who I really am." There was no accusation in Jarod's voice, but the look in his eyes turned wary.
Mason spread his hands. "You can't think your Triumverate didn't look outside for help when they had little success tracking you down."
"And yet he's pretended to be any number of agents and they still can't find him," Alyx pointed out in a droll tone.
"Clearly, he's just that good," Mason responded.
"Or the government just that stupid," Darien muttered causing everyone to laugh.
"Why help me?" Mason questioned, leaning back against the decorative table along the wall. While ostensibly a foyer the area was open and led directly into several other rooms.
Jarod shrugged. "Because she asked and I was in a position to do so." He then tipped his head slightly, eyes narrowing. "Though I suspect she's helping because you are related to Darien. Father would be my guess."
Mason's lips tightened and he turned to Alyx. "I asked him to help, and explained what skills I needed, nothing else."
"The family resemblance is obvious and your age would either make you an uncle or father," Jarod explained, that innocence that sometimes hung about him suddenly on display. "Sorry, that's how my mind works."
Mason shook his head. "You aren't the only one to figure that out recently. Why should I trust you?"
"Why should I trust you? This could all be an elaborate plan to capture me for The Centre." Jarod didn't seem the least bit concerned that might be the case, thankfully. "Do you trust Alyx?"
Mason twitched, but nodded. "As do you, I suppose. Is that enough?"
"I think it will have to be." Jarod turned to Alyx. "Do you have a place I can work?"
"And stay, if you like. We have plenty of room and won't be stepping on each others toes."
"I can see that," Jarod said as he allowed his eyes to rove over the expansive house, what of it he could see anyway. "I know you have some money tucked away, but isn't this a bit… extravagant? Especially for just the two of you?"
Darien had a feeling Jarod knew about Alyx's inability to have more children, but perhaps not her hopes to change that. Still from his perspective the house was seriously overkill for just the two of them. "Not as expensive as you might think thanks to a bitter divorce and us offering cash up front. Plus it gives us some serious privacy for more… personal endeavors."
Jarod chuckled. "I imagine it does. Will you have all the equipment I need?"
Alyx nodded. "I make my own papers now and then, though I do like to outsource on occasion."
"Shouldn't the Agency be handling any identification you might need?" Mason questioned.
"Have you been following along? The Agency is broke most of the time and the ones she makes in her spare time are miles better. 'Fish likes to retread previously used IDs and we've been caught with our pants down a time or two." Darien couldn't help the bitterness that crawled into his voice, he'd damn near gotten killed over some crappy IDs the Agency had provided.
Mason shook his head ever so slightly. "I didn't realize things were that bad." He gazed over the room the way Jarod had a few minutes ago, a contemplative look on his face. "So how did you two manage to afford this place on government salaries?"
Darien glanced over at Alyx, who shrugged. She trusted both men and obviously had no concerns about revealing a few more tidbits about her more esoteric skills. "Well, she earned some serious cash on an outside job way back when and let's just say she has mad skills when playing the stock market."
"And that's before we get into more generic betting," Alyx added, the corners of her lips just barely lifting in the hint of a grin.
"I have the feeling you find it quite easy to see the trends and move your money accordingly," Jarod said, making it clear he found it just as easy. "You mentioned an outside source for papers? Someone local?"
Darien snorted. "Mob pizza."
"Mob pizza?" Mason and Jarod had equal looks of confusion on their faces while Alyx burst out into peals of laughter.
"In Vino Veritas. Local Italian place that is mob run. The owner and current mob boss is one Lenny Facinelli who is one of Alyx's contacts. He'd do just about anything for her, including making the bodies disappear if necessary," Darien explained, earning a look of concern from Mason and one of pride from Jarod, making it obvious which one believed in making and using any contacts possible.
"Oooh, mob pizza for dinner. Let me give them a call." Alyx flounced away, bare feet barely touching the floor heading for one of the house phones to call in some awesome take out.
Jarod watched her like a hawk until she turned the corner and passed out of sight. He turned to Darien. "How badly hurt is she?"
"She's not," Darien told him only to have his dad clear his throat and shake his head. "What? She's not. She's healing just fine now."
"The two of you slept for nine hours. Even I know that's not normal… for her, anyway." Mason actually looked worried and Darien found that touching. Seemed Alyx grew on everyone who took the time to get to know her. Hell, even Arnaud would take her back in a hot second if she would only be willing to go all sith and help him expand his business. She was fucking scary when she went all dark side, but no less skilled.
Jarod raised one eyebrow in clear question.
Darien sighed. "She's fine. She slept so long because her body went into overdrive to heal. And I ain't complaining because, yeah, she normally only sleeps a couple hours a night."
"That few?" Jarod didn't sound happy about that. "Her time at The Centre…" He trailed off.
"Yeah, it changed her, but she has the control she lacked before, and the confidence to do her job and then come home and be herself. You helped her achieve that." Darien knew it to be true. Yeah, she'd been a prisoner at The Centre for over a month, but some good had come out of it. Not the least of which was her coming home. To this house. Their house. Their home. She came home every time she went out of town and Darien treasured that more than she could possible know.
He turned his head to see her standing in the doorway watching him with a tiny smile gracing her features. Then again, maybe she did.
"Dinner will arrive in an hour. In the meantime you may feel free to abuse the camera equipment and get this show on the road." She turned to Mason. "Do you need time to pretty up?"
Mason snickered. "No. I am not nearly as vain as my son."
"Well, that's good to know," Jarod commented, earning a smile from Alyx and a mock-glare from Darien.
"Look who's talking there pretty-boy," Darien came right back with, and he wasn't wrong. Jarod looked like had stepped off the pages of GQ. From his perfect haircut to the shoes that cost more than a months pay Jarod was the picture of male perfection. Darien would be jealous if it wasn't for the fact that he knew the only interest Jarod had in Alyx was familial.
Jarod simply stood there oozing confidence. He didn't need to do anything else. He could play a part with the best of them, hell, he was the best of them. He could be anyone or anything he wanted to be. Today he was playing saviour for his dad. A role he excelled at according to Alyx.
Alyx bopped into the room, taking Jarod's suitcase and briefcase from him, tugging the overcoat off and draping it over her arm. "Relax, Jarod, you're safe here."
He sighed. "I know that. I'm ostensibly here to kill him." He pointed at Mason who tensed.
Darien felt his heart stutter in his chest. They'd let the man into their home and he planned on killing his father? "Jarod-"
"I'm not going to, of course," he assured everyone. "But the sharks are circling." He turned to Alyx who looked calm and unconcerned, which eased Darien's burgeoning worry. "I'm hoping you know exactly what is going on out there."
She nodded. "Been trying to not let them know, so thanks for spilling those beans."
Jarod's face fell. "I only wanted to make certain they were fully aware of the situation."
"How bad is it?" Mason asked, not about to let Alyx out of it this time based on the look on his face.
She shrugged. "About what you expect. Every professional hitter on the planet is gunning for you and they all know you are at the Agency. It changes nothing other than your death needs to be a spectacle that will leave no doubt for anyone."
She went to the hall closet and hung up Jarod's coat with a casualness that concerned Darien. She was good, he knew that, but this had to go off perfectly or his dad and probably others he gave a flying fuck about would be very, very dead.
"Alyx-"
"Darien, you knew this was coming. And, yes, they are going to be targeting us to get to him," She thrust a hand out in the direction of Mason, "but it changes nothing."
She look from one man to the other exasperation coloring her features. "Come on, do you really think I don't have every possible contingency covered that I can? Whims of fate are mostly out of my reach, but if I get any warnings you can be damn certain I'll act on them."
Jarod nodded. "Fair enough. Do you have a location chosen?"
She looked thankful that at least one of them believed in her. Darien did as well, it was just more complicated since his father was involved.
"Narrowed it down to four, five locations all of which have their own unique pros and cons. Was planning on bouncing them off all of you later - during dinner probably." She didn't appear overly upset, almost hyper in fact, which probably meant her body was still running in overdrive and needed to do something to burn off the excess energy. "Now, you two go take some pretty pictures while I set things up for dinner." She waved at Jarod to scoot, though Darien had to wonder how he would know where to go, when he remembered that her connection to him was also a permanent part of her… of them and she'd probably given him the entire layout of the house including the passwords to get into the less public rooms.
She then bounced over to Darien, popped up on her toes for one instant to kiss him on the cheek before prancing off, her mood contagious and making him smile.
"If that's what a real night of sleep does for her… I hope it continues," Mason said as he shook his head and smiled. "Now, how can I be of assistance?"
Jarod and Mason walked off chatting amiably enough leaving Darien alone in the foyer. After debating a moment he trailed after Alyx who had taken up residence in their expansive kitchen. If the doors along one wall were opened they could wander right out into the pool area, and they were indeed currently open. The late afternoon breeze just starting to be felt. She had taken over the table in the so-called breakfast nook with a computer and several maps. Plates and glasses were on the counter by the bar stools, clearly where they would be eating. She was digging in the huge fridge, sorting through various libations being kept there. They also had a wine cellar that she was adding to one bottle at a time, though most had not been wine, but expensive liquors and meads that she'd taken a liking to.
He moved up behind her, setting a gentle hand on her hip. She didn't even flinch, surely knowing exactly where he'd been the entire time. "Try not to eavesdrop on Jarod. I imagine the conversation between him and my dad will be interesting to say the least."
She snorted and stood, open beer in hand that she handed to him. "Very interesting indeed, but nothing too embarrassing." She stepped aside and closed the door, her own beer in hand. "He's going to have to play the heavy once it becomes known he's in town. This particular Pretend is a mechanic."
Darien swallowed the beer around a sudden lump in his throat. "You mean hitman."
She nodded. "You can't be surprised. The hit on your father has been farmed out to, shall we say, non-union contractors. They want him dead in a bad way."
"Who are 'they'?" he asked, and not for the first time.
"Does it matter? People he's worked for. People he's hit. Mostly government, but there are a few cartels of various stripes who would love to see his head on a pike." She moved to stand before him, mere inches separating them. "He will not be hurt… well not anything dangerous. I fully expect to walk away with bruises at the very least."
"Christ." Darien didn't want to deal with this. They were going to have to walk right into the inferno and just pray all of them made it to the other side with minimal damage. He cupped her cheek with a free hand. "Just tell me this is going to work."
She turned her head and kissed his palm before responding. "Of course it's going to work, I'm brilliant, remember?"
He kissed her on the forehead. "All these geniuses in one place, I should hope so."