Lex Talionis – Chapter 2

"Ah. Detective Eames," Nicole greeted her as she walked into the interrogation room alone. "Has your partner abandoned us?"

Alex closed the door behind her and dropped a file folder on the table. "He's stuck in traffic," she lied without conviction. Nicole gave her a knowing smirk and let her eyes dart to the two-way mirror. They both knew exactly where Bobby was.

Alex remained standing and pulled a black-and-white still photo from the folder. Placing it on the table, she slid it across the surface toward Nicole. "Who is she?"

Nicole glanced down at the photo then slowly lifted her eyes to Alex. "What makes you think I would know?"

"This photo was taken by the security camera outside your apartment."

"My husband's apartment," Nicole corrected her and gave a dismissive shrug. "She was probably an acquaintance of his."

"No, see…" Alex eased herself into the chair across from Nicole. "Your doorman distinctly remembers her. He also remembers her numerous daytime visits over the past three months. Daytime. When your husband wasn't home. But you were."

Nicole's only response was a smug smile and another glance at the mirror.

"Is she another one of your conquests?"

"Hardly," she huffed. "She's not really my type."

"Funny… I didn't realize you had a type," Alex relaxed back into her chair. "Your past choices have been so indiscriminate."

"Speaking of choices, Detective," Nicole's eyes suddenly gleamed with mischief. "I've always wondered about yours. That whole in vitro thing," she waved a hand vaguely through the air. "Volunteering to put your body through all that, just for someone else's child." Nicole leaned in close across the table and lowered her voice. "You can tell me… Is that what really happened? Or did you find yourself suddenly preggers and in need of a home for the little bugger?"

Nicole's tactic was expected. Alex and Bobby had actually discussed her likely strategy before she even walked into the room. The blonde psychopath had two favorite areas of attack – Alex's pregnancy and Bobby's mother. Frankly, she was getting a little bored with it.

"I wouldn't expect you to understand, Nicole, since the term selfless, isn't in your vocabulary."

Bobby, time for you to get in here.

This time, the hand-off was planned. They both knew that if Nicole had anything to reveal, Bobby would be the one to get it out of her. Alex was just here to prime the pump.

"Tell me, Alex," Nicole continued in her secretive tone. "Was Bobby there for the birth? Or better yet… the conception?"

As though on cue, Alex heard the door open. Picking up her file, but leaving the photo, she stood up and leaned close to Nicole for one final parting shot. "Either way, you'll never know."

She heard Nicole's gleeful squeal behind her as Bobby held the door. Alex gave him a reassuring smile and slipped past him to join Deakins in the observation room.

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"Your partner is getting quite cheeky, Bobby," Nicole grinned at him. "You may want to take a firm hand with her. That is, if you haven't already."

Bobby scrubbed at the back of his neck with one hand while pulling a chair away from the table with the other. Seating himself, he folded his hands on the table with an air of extreme patience and sighed deeply. He looked at the photo. "Who is she, Nicole?"

"I believe you already know who she is." Her eyes never left his face.

He nodded. Trust Nicole to turn even the simplest thing into a game of wits. "Do you know who she is?" Bobby rephrased the question.

Nicole smiled, pleased that he was playing by her rules. "Would you like me to introduce you?"

"Yes, actually. I'd like that very much."

She tsked. "Are you that unsatisfied, Bobby, that you have to resort to introductions?" Nicole gave him a sympathetic frown. "Maybe I've overestimated your relationship with your partner."

"Well.. misconstrued, certainly," Bobby tried to dismiss her suggestive banter. "Tell me her name."

"You know… all that frustration can't be good for you," she cooed with false concern. Nicole placed her hands flat on the table and slowly slid them toward Bobby's own, stopping when she was only millimeters away from touching him. Her new, forward-leaning position revealed ample cleavage at the vee of her sweater. "I am a single woman now," she purred.

Bobby glared at her and suppressed a shiver of revulsion. He swung himself out of his chair, grabbed it, and shifted its position to the end of the table, close to Nicole but with the back still to the mirror. As he sat down, he spread his knees and edged the chair even closer. Her smile melted and she couldn't help but glance at his lap then coolly looked back at his eyes.

"You want to know if you do something to me, Nicole?" Bobby calmly asked in a low voice. "Do you want to find out, once and for all if… you have any kind of affect on me?"

One corner of Nicole's glossed lips curled slowly and she sat perfectly still.

"Go ahead…" he encouraged softly. "Reach out a hand… find out if you have the affect you think you do."

Nicole's smile stayed in place, but he saw uncertainty flicker in her eyes. It was always good to try a new tactic with her, especially one so unexpected. Her eyes dipped once more to his lap and she swallowed deeply. When she looked back at him, her smile was gone and Bobby knew she wasn't going to do it.

He could almost hear Deakins choking on his tongue, hoping that Bobby wasn't leading them down the path of a sexual harassment lawsuit from this crazy bitch. But if he was going to get anything out of her, he had to shut Nicole down and stuff her ego back into its place. He also suspected this was a continuation of her ploy to divide him and Eames, and Bobby was getting more than a little sick of that game.

"Don't be crass, Bobby," she scolded primly. "It doesn't suit you."

"Then let's stop… all the sexual innuendo and the… seductive siren act." Bobby stood up, relieved beyond belief that she didn't actually have the nerve to touch him there. He spared a quick, apologetic glance at the mirror in the area where he thought Eames might be standing.

"Just… answer my questions. Starting with her name."

TBC…