Michael smirked as he took in Alicia's reaction to the car they stood in front of. It was a sleek silver car, a model that was a little nicer than most of the new Agents had the honor of receiving. Birkhoff had managed to find a good deal on it, or so he'd claimed, and since it fell in the price range there had been no reason not to allow it. As nice as the car was it was the look on her face that had the man smirking. "Is that mine?" Alicia asked, her eyes flittering over to him in disbelief. She'd known that active Agents were treated well by Division, but everything still seemed like a dream to her.
"I can take it back if you want-" he teased, moving the keys he held in the air away from her as though about to take them back.
Alicia snatched them quickly from his hold, flashing a lustful grin at the car. "Don't even joke about it," she breathed, stepping up to the car.
He watched the way she ran her fingers up the hood of the car, slowly trailing her way to the driver's side. It was more than apparent that she loved the vehicle she had just been handed the keys to, and Michael couldn't help but enjoy her level of enthusiasm. If he had to be honest with himself, this was the best part of his job. She'd passed her graduation with flying colors, taking out her target as though she'd been born a killer. "First car?" he asked, hands clasped together behind his back as he stood back and observed the young woman.
"I've never even owned a bike," her distracted reply came. I think I'm in love, she smiled to herself as she clicked the unlock button on the keys and the doors chirped in reply.
He quirked a brow, finding that a little sad to hear. While he didn't know exactly what her file contained, he couldn't imagine the smiling girl in front of him ever being denied anything in life. One of those smiles she had become famous at Division for and he probably would have gotten her a car off his own paycheck. "Your file said you had a license," he commented, going over the few facts about her that he did know. While he'd never gone into her personal file he had been present during her selection for the program and he knew the basics. It was part of his job after all.
"I did," she acknowledged before rising her eyes to meet his, "I mean, I do."
Once more her smile worked its magic and Michael returned it with one of his own. Good choice Birkhoff, he congratulated the man's selection, feeling a little sorry that he hadn't been able to see her reaction to it in person. If he knew the man at all, and he did, then he was watching from one of the cameras in the well lit parking garage. He couldn't blame him either, her clear happiness was contagious. "You can give it a try later," he informed her, drawing her attention away from the car before she could open the driver side door and climb in.
"Later?" her face fell. Unlike many of her now fellow Division Agents, Alicia saw no need to hide her emotions from her coworkers. After all, it made it easier to contain them when the time came. Not having any tension pent up from the normal day to day activities meant when the time came to play a role she could submerge herself completely. It was part of her undeniable charm.
"We have to head over to your apartment. Now that you're an Agent there's no reason to stay locked away in Division, don't you agree?"
"But," her eyes flickered to the vehicle, "what about my car?"
Michael smiled, glad that she was already referring to it as hers. The emotions she displayed were like a breath of fresh air for him. He'd been pleasantly surprised when he learned both Amanda and Percy approved of her casual personality. They found no fault in it, assuming she kept up her success at playacting whenever the need arose. "It will be delivered to your apartment, don't worry."
"Can't we take Alfred?" Alicia asked, hope in her voice as she flashed him a smile, tucking a strand of her long auburn hair behind her ear.
One of his eyebrows quirked upwards, amusement playing over his handsome face. "Alfred?"
She couldn't help but grin, stroking the hood of the car lovingly. "That's his name," she informed him with a childish level of enjoyment, "don't judge."
His gravelly laugh filled the parking structure as he shook his head in disbelief. No one would ever believe this girl was a government assassin; it was actually a little scary. "You've had it for all of two minutes and you've already named it?" he asked, trying to make sense of the young woman. She was one of a kind, but Birkhoff was right; she was nothing like Nikita. Her easy going attitude paired with the natural sweetness about her appearance was inviting and pure. The only time she was serious was when it came to do with work, and then it seemed like she morphed into her role so naturally that she'd never been any other way.
With a sly smile she pressed the button on the keychain in her hand causing the car to hum to life. "See, he likes it," she joked, pairing it with a little laugh at Michael's instant look of amusement. He usually looked so serious and broody, but just like she'd done with almost everyone she ran across she was able to break down that wall. Seeing an opportunity to strike she batted her lashes at him hopefully. "Please?"
For a moment he was silent, locked in her gaze, before giving in with a heavy sigh. He didn't know why, but he couldn't deny her the simple wish. "I'll arrange for a ride back," he complied with her request, "but-" he added with a hint of authority to his low smooth voice, "I'm driving."
Birkhoff laughed when the call came in for a pick-up. The second he saw Michael climb into the car, Alicia slipping into the passenger seat with a triumphant smile, he knew that the girl had worked her magic yet again. He wasn't surprised that the moment the two were in the car a call came in on one of the lines. Though he let one of the techies answer it, he watched with a grin as plans were rearranged.
When Alicia had been informed that she was about to be given the chance to graduate she had met Birkhoff's eyes immediately. He'd mouthed the words one week, at her and the way her brow furrowed was oh-so worth it. She'd been going crazy trying to figure out what he'd meant by that and he had to admit it gave him a twisted sense of pleasure to tease her about it. The surprise of finding out she was being tested for graduation had clicked immediately with his teasing, and she realized that he'd known all along.
She'd never so much as suspected that his little breadcrumbs had been leading towards the fact she was going to become an active Agent. It wasn't common for a recruit to go active after only two and a half months of training. Though it wasn't all together unheard of, it wasn't common practice. Usually it would take anywhere from four months to a year for activation. It all depended on the recruit and their progress, and Alicia had progressed quickly, passing her kill job with flying colors.
His eyes wandered to the information he had pulled up on one of the monitors at his station. Now that Alicia was an active Agent he once more had her file falling into his sights. He hadn't looked at it since the day he'd initially pegged her as a potential. With her tracker activated and her status updated he'd found himself once more handling her information. On the screen was a profile shot of her, accompanied by a list of details. He scanned over the ones he'd just updated, her new status as an Agent included. It didn't take long for his eyes to reach the information regarding her now nonexistent past.
Though it was all facts that he'd already gone through once before, and Birkhoff had an amazing memory, he still skimmed over it. Alicia had been twenty-three when she'd found her way into Division's sights, or more specifically Birkhoff's. He'd been the one who had created the program that processed every arrest that occurred and flagged potentials for him to narrow down through yet another one of his programs depending on the amount of names it supplied. When she'd been arrested the program had flagged her before she'd even been booked for a trial.
Three counts of murder, and, now that Division had their claws in her, it was followed by suicide. While the charge wasn't unique, it was the details surrounding it that had caught the program's attention. She'd committed two of the murders at the age of seventeen, disappearing off the face of the earth and avoiding police radar for six years before resurfacing to kill again. The crimes she'd committed hadn't been the sloppy acts of passion that were often the case with someone her age. No, it was the fact that they had all been premeditated and carried out with chilling precision that had sent her to the top of his list to examine. Even more miraculous was the fact that when she'd finally gotten arrested she had allowed it to happen.
Alicia had been found sitting on the couch at her uncle's, staring down at his lifeless body tied up at her feet. While she hadn't placed the 911 call, it had been one of the neighbors, she had been aware that the cops were on the way. Instead of fleeing she had made herself a sandwich and waited for the authorities to arrive. There had been no reason for her to run, she'd told the arresting officer; she'd finally completed the one goal in her life.
She had no history of drug use and had managed to create a life for herself through legitimate means. Working any dead end job that she could get her hands on without needing a form of ID, she supported herself for six years without a paper trail. Birkhoff knew how hard that was to accomplish. It meant living strictly off of cash. Alicia could never sign a lease or leave her signature for large purchases. Nevertheless, Seymour had been able to place together the general path that she'd followed for those six years. Division needed as many facts on their potentials as possible, and he'd spent hours behind his computer going through data and recalibrating programs to search for her image.
What he'd found was that she'd covered a startling amount of ground, moving all over the states in her search for her uncle. It seemed that he had been as under the radar as the niece that hunted him with such determination. Almost as if he knew, he thought, skimming over the information, as if he knew she was after him. Reading over the data he didn't doubt if that was the truth.
He found his fingers hovering over the keyboard, posed to begin an attack on the system. It would take a minute or two, but with the right keystrokes he could easily hack into Amanda's files. In them he'd be able to read the real details about Alicia. Amanda recorded all of her sessions, taking notes and making observations on everything that went on. While he hated the woman he knew that she was amazing at her job. A regular mind ninja, Birkhoff mused. The allure of finding out more information about Alicia was hard to resist.
Yet he slowly drew his hands back from the keyboard, busying them instead with grabbing an energy drink to gulp down. Peering over the rim of the can as he drank he stared at the screen before him with resolve, he promised himself he would not dig into the files that he'd been denied access to. What happened between Amanda and her subjects was supposed to be private. While Birkhoff honed the recruits technological skills, Michael trained them in combat and a handful of others handled the other aspects of becoming an assassin, Amanda had the job of molding them emotionally. Her methods were often that of nightmares, and what occurred in her sessions was kept under lock and key. With the exception of Percy no one truly knew what went on behind her closed doors.
It had nothing to do with obeying orders and everything to do with Alicia that he refrained from digging any deeper. He didn't want to use his amazing hacking skills to find out about her life. It wouldn't be fair really. Nothing stood a chance against his skills, and once he had his mind set on something it was only a matter of time before he had it at his fingertips. As satisfying as that was, he knew that wouldn't be the case this time. Birkhoff didn't want to learn about Alicia through Amanda. The very thought was unappealing enough to make him grimace. If he was going to find out about Alicia's mysterious past, than it was going to be from her; not from one of his computers.
That didn't mean he couldn't use his skills to his advantage however. Swiftly closing out of his many open windows he got to his feet. "I'm taking a break," he announced to the techies that looked up at him, "no one better disturb me unless it's Christ's second coming." With a pointed look he made sure that they got the point, and they nodded in understanding. He spun on his heal, shooing a man out of his way with an irritated, "Move!" before striding from the room.
Alicia was sitting on the large L shaped couch staring blankly at the skyline that lay behind the large glass panes that made up her eastern wall, when a sound startled her back to reality. It was a trilling she wasn't familiar with, and it took a second for her to place the sound. Digging into the pocket of her designer jeans, compliments of Amanda, she pulled out the phone Michael had supplied her with. While the phone was no longer making sounds, the small flashing in the upper corner alerted her to the fact that it had been the source of the sound.
With a few taps she pulled up the text message that had been the culprit of pulling her from her daydreaming state. It was a number she didn't know, and not one that was saved in the list of contacts Division had supplied her with, already programmed into the phone under code names, and she blinked down at the phone in surprise. She'd only had the phone for an hour and already she was being contacted by an unknown number?
When she opened the message she was only more confused than ever. There's something under your bed, and it's not a monster, it read. There was nothing more to it than that. No name, no hint at who had sent her the strange text. For a second she stared down at the screen, her face twisted in confusion. If it was code for something then she had obviously missed that day in class. Of all the code words she'd had pounded into her head at Division this unusual message held none of them.
"There's something under your bed," she read it out slowly, working over it in her mind as she did, "and it's not a monster?"
Her eyes flickered around the large room that was the living room of her new swag apartment. As she knew when she'd looked; no one was there. It was just her in this apartment, her apartment. The entire thing was already like some dream she'd wake up from any minute now. It seemed surreal that just a few months ago she'd been living from couch to couch, using her natural charm to find places to spend the night. For six years she'd been on the run, living day to day off of her looks and dazzling personality. She'd never even had her own cellphone before for crying out loud.
In a matter of hours she'd found herself supplied with everything a girl could ever desire. First there had been the car, which she still couldn't believe sat in the garage below just waiting for her to drive it whenever she wanted. It had been followed quickly by a cellphone and a credit card that Michael had handed over with the casual comment of, "You can use it for whatever you want, but purchases over twenty thousand need to be approved." If it hadn't been for his serious expression she would have thought he was playing some cruel joke on her.
But it hadn't ended there. No; he'd driven her to her new apartment as promised. Upon arriving in the artsy uptown building he'd lead her straight to the top floor, the elevator opening directly into her apartment after he'd typed out the passcode into the touch screen that was mounted to the wall. He informed her of the code before leading her into the apartment, commenting that she must have made a strong impression with the kill job that had resulted in her activation. Her accommodations were better than any he'd seen assigned to a new Agent before. Usually one had to work their way up to this level of treatment, but someone somewhere had decided she was a promising investment and had given her this beaut of an apartment over some other Agent out there.
Michael had left her to explore the apartment, a smile on his handsome chiseled face as he'd excused himself. He would have stayed and given her the official tour, he'd said, but unfortunately he had a ride waiting for him and didn't have the opportunity. They'd shared a smile over that, and he'd disappeared behind the closing doors of the elevator. After he'd left she hadn't known where to start, and so she'd sat on the couch and been suck there ever since.
Now that this mysterious text had pulled her from her mindless state of wonder, she got to her feet and scanned the room. The living room was spectacular; complete with an electronic fireplace. She turned and left the room, passing by the kitchen that opened up into the living room without a glance towards it. Michael had informed her that, while the apartment was fully furnished, there was no food in the place. She wandered into the bedroom, stopping when she saw the large bed. Compared to the accommodations at Division she felt like she'd died and gone to heaven. An idea came to her, and she quickly closed the distance towards the bed, dropping down onto her knees to peer under it.
There, beneath the immaculate bed, was a package. She reached under, pulling out the box with a sense of wonder. It was a little heavy, weighing maybe four pounds or so, which she found unusual since it resembled the sort of box one would find clothing gifted in. It was tied with a bright yellow ribbon, and with a curious smile she moved, sitting on the edge of the bed. Alicia didn't have time to marvel over how comfortable the mattress was, for her fingers had already started to busy themselves with undoing the bow. Discarding the lacey yellow ribbon she lifted the lid off the box, peering down inside. There, sitting among bright yellow tissue paper, was a laptop.
"Birkhoff," she grinned, knowing without a shadow of a doubt that the present had been from him. The yellow should have given it away, but it wasn't until she had laid eyes on the impressive piece of hardware that she realized who the mystery texter was. She lifted it from the box, snagging the power cord from amidst the yellow tissue paper as well, before striding into her living room. In a few moments she had it up and running, plugged in and sitting on the coffee table in front of her.
One push of a button and the machine came to life. It booted right up, and she was met with the desktop. It held two icons. The first was labeled: Customize me! and was the shape of a rainbow. The second caught her interest. It looked like a hooded figure, and in wispy letters beneath it said ShadowStalker. That was all she needed to see to know she'd guessed the gift giver right, and a big smile crossed her face as she clicked on it.
For a second nothing happened, and then the screen jumped into action. It flashed black, green letters and numbers flashing across it. If she hadn't taken Birkhoff's class she would have thought she'd just broken the thing, but her trained eyes realized instantly what was happening. The computer was going through an encoding process, and after a second of working she was greeted with a new screen. Before she could examine it, a dialogue box popped up on her screen demanding her attention.
Her eyes flickered over the message that informed her she had an incoming call, and she clicked accept without a second thought. A small light came on near the top of the laptop, and the moment she realized it was a webcam Birkhoff's image came up on her screen. "I see you found your present," he greeted her, a smile already on his face.
"You-" she stammered, unprepared for an audience with the man. A moment ago she'd been thinking about how she'd go about saying thank you, and now it seemed like the opportunity had presented itself. Or, rather, Birkhoff had presented it for her. Composing herself, she made note of the immense pleasure that coated every inch of his expression. The floored look she'd just had clearly pleased him, and she shook her head to clear her mind. "I did," she breathed, "thank you."
Ignoring her thank you, his navy eyes sparkled as he took in her smile. He'd anxiously hovered at his computer, waiting for the alert that she'd booted up his program to show up. When it had, he'd barely been able to contain his anticipation at being able to talk to her. For once there was no one who could interrupt them. There were no Division Agents lingering around, no cameras to pick up on their activity. He'd even gone as far as encrypting the program to make their communications virtually untraceable. Now that he could see and hear her, the gratification he felt was impossible to hide. "How's life on the outside?" he asked, unable to resist from digging for information.
"Overwhelming?" she supplied as an answer, her eyes flickering around the room she sat in. From the looks of it she was in the living room. Birkhoff could tell because he was the one who had graciously supplied the apartment, not that Division knew that. He had a great deal of money hidden away, and when he'd learned about her activation he hadn't been able to refrain from buying the building and conveniently adding the unoccupied top floor apartment to the list of available apartments in the Division database.
"I told you the service would be better sweetheart," he beamed at her.
She laughed, relaxing as she realized that she didn't have anything to fear anymore. This was her apartment, and the only people who would be in it were people she allowed in. There would be no Samson lingering around the corner to surprise her. Knowing Birkhoff the program that they now talked on was invisible and untraceable, and it explained the encoding process it had gone through when she'd started it up. "It's phenomenal," she agreed with a nod. "Just yesterday I was sleeping in a military style bed and now I've got more pillows than a sultan!"
"You would be most impressed by the bed," Birkhoff laughed, glad to see she was enjoying herself. That dazzling smile of hers had him on cloud nine, and they'd barely been talking for a minute. It was like a silent prayer had been answered for him when Alicia had come waltzing into his life. If he'd known the affect she'd have on him he would have tracked her down years ago.
"Not remotely," she shook her head with a secretive smile, "I'm actually more jazzed about Alfred to be honest."
That made him blink in surprise. Who the hell is that? He wondered, keeping the shock at her announcement from his face. "Alfred?" he questioned casually.
"Oh yes," Alicia nodded on her end of the screen, "he's wonderful. Sexy, powerful, faithful- the whole package."
Though his fingers flew over the keyboard he kept his eyes trained on the screen. In under a second Birkhoff had the results of everyone in the apartment that she resided in up on one of his monitors. A few more clicks and his computer emitted a low beep, informing him the results had come up negative for anyone with the name of Alfred. "No wonder you're jazzed about him," Birkhoff responded, trying to keep all the questions he had bottled up.
"Want to know the best part?" she asked, a smile playing on her lips. Alicia didn't give him time to answer that, for she was holding up a set of car keys, dangling them in the air with great satisfaction. He'd kept her guessing all week about what he knew that she didn't, and it was only fair that she got to rile him up if only for a moment. "He's turned on with the push of a button," her playful comment came, a teasing sparkle in her eyes.
Birkhoff didn't know whether to laugh or breathe a heavy sigh of relief. He didn't want to think about why it had panicked him so much to think she'd already met a man, and so instead he focused on the humor of the revelation. "You named your car?" he asked, eyes widening in amused relief.
The look on his face made her laugh, and the sound filled her empty apartment as well as his personal computer cove. "You sound just like Michael!" she exclaimed, loving how easy it was to surprise supposedly emotionless government assassins. "Is it really that surprising?"
Seymour chuckled, raking a hand through his hair as he shook his head. "For you it's not doll," he admitted. He'd become happily accustomed to all of the little surprises that the young woman would spring on him. She was difficult to predict, and yet everything that she did made him blissfully delighted to be a part of it. "But why Alfred?" he just had to know.
"If Alfred was good enough for batman," she grinned, "then he's good enough for me." Lowering the keys, she placed them on the coffee table beside the laptop. When she heard his taken aback laugh her green eyes trained on Birkhoff's image on the screen, simply radiating happiness. She was glad that she was able to make him laugh without worry of being overheard.
"So you like the car then?" he questioned her, a mischievous smile playing on his lips at the news.
"Like it," she scoffed, "more like love it! After all, I did name it within two minutes of owning it, as Michael pointed out with great amusement."
Though Birkhoff wished he'd been there for the actual unveiling of the vehicle, he was content with having seen it through his eye in the sky. "I'm thrilled to hear that," his smile came naturally.
On the screen he watched as her eyes narrowed, lips pursing the slightest bit as his comment. "Birkhoff," she tilted her head, clearly taking in his image on her end of the connection, "if I didn't know better I'd say you look smug."
Leave it to Alicia to pick up on this fact. The one time I don't brag, he marveled, she zeros right in on it. If I didn't know better she's a mind reader. For a second he waited, half expecting her to say How did you know? But she didn't, because as Birkhoff knew perfectly well, mind readers didn't exist outside of the tween drivel they now called books. "Well," he admitted, seeing no reason not to now that she'd brought it up, "I may have had a hand in picking it out."
Truth be told it had been another one of his impromptu presents for her. He didn't even know why he'd done it, but by the time it had all fallen into place he had been unusually eager to see her response to it all. When Amanda had tasked him with finding a vehicle fit for her graduation present, the woman had been certain that the recruit would pass with flying colors, he'd gotten right on it. Birkhoff had always loved buying cars, and he'd spent a good few hours picking out the right one for Alicia. When he'd spotted a red Jaguar XF for sale he knew he'd found the one, and promptly went online to build a custom order. It hadn't ended there however. When the car came in he spent a good few minutes adjusting the mileage to look like it had been gently used, and then put the car up on the market under a false name.
It had been no coincidence that it just barely made it into the allowed budget for new Agent's vehicles, despite it being worth more than a pretty penny above the price he listed it at. He scooped it up with Division's funds, earning back a portion of the money he'd put into the endeavor, and had it ready to go for Alicia's activation. No one had been any the wiser, and he was a little surprised that she'd picked up on his satisfaction at her reaction when no one else had. Even Michael hadn't suspected anything, and that was saying something.
"A hand?" she pushed further, not believing that he was owning up to the full credit he was owed.
Normally he would have been bragging by now, but with Alicia he didn't find that necessary for some reason. Instead a sly smile came over his lips as he held up both hands, wriggling his fingers and said, "Okay, maybe two hands."
His expression said it all, and she laughed, shaking her head, sending her auburn waves tumbling over her shoulders. "Birkhoff, have I told you you're amazing?" she asked, praising the man on the other end of the screen. The answering smile he sent her way said it all, and she beamed happily at him. "A laptop, a car…" she shook her head in a pleased disbelief at it all, "next you'll tell me you played a part in this place!" Birkhoff nearly choked on the energy drink he'd started to take a sip of, surprised that she'd come to the conclusion so quickly. It had only been a joke, but it was too late to take back his reaction and being as perceptive as ever her eyes narrowed in on him. "Birkhoff!" she exclaimed, eyes widening in astonishment.
Alicia had only been joking when she'd made the comment, but with one look at the man she knew that she'd hit the nail right on the head. For the life of her she didn't know why he'd go to such lengths for her, but the reasons didn't matter. It warmed her to the core to know that he'd done so much for her, and she didn't even bother to question his motives. Instead she accepted the grand gestures that he hadn't even claimed credit for. Everything she knew about the man said that he should be bragging right now, as he often did about the things he did, and yet he was silent on the other end of the screen.
"You're unbelievable," she gushed, unable to contain her elation. "Do you spoil all the newbies this much?"
His spirits soared, and for the first time in ages he forgot about all the worry and stress in his life. All that mattered was the dazzling smile the beautiful young woman on his screen was wearing just for him. "Only my favorites," he shot back, a little laugh at her question. Here he was overjoyed that he'd somehow lucked out and formed an unexpected bond with the mesmerizing Alicia, and she was surprised that he was paying so much attention to her?
"Are there that many?"
Her question had been playful, but he felt driven to answer it nonetheless. "Just one," he admitted, deep blue eyes sparkling as he gave her an easy smile. The way her green eyes lit up, a hint of red touching her cheeks, Birkhoff could feel his heartbeat pick up. Her reaction to his presents had been worth every penny of his fortune that he'd spent. Before either one could say another word, a series of beeps on coming from his computer ruined the moment.
His eyes flashed to the screen, annoyed at the moment being ruined by work. Division always found a way to ruin everything for him. "Duty calls," he sighed, angrily shutting off the alert with a click of his mouse.
Alicia could almost see the happiness evaporate from his mood altogether. Though she felt a similar twinge of loss upon realizing that he had to go, she didn't let it get to her. While it was true that Division would always come first, it was also true that it was the only reason she'd ever met Seymour Birkhoff in the first place. If there was work to be done than there was nothing either one of them could do but carry out their orders. "Go get 'em tiger," she flashed a smile, noticing how his eyes darted to the screen at the sound of her voice.
Miraculously his disappointment evaporated. One look at those striking green eyes that were reached by the warmth her smile, and he remembered that things were different now. Alicia was just a click away, and if there was anything he was good at it was clicking. The alarm sounded again on his computer, and he shut it off, averting his eyes to the other screen for barely a second. This time he didn't scowl, but he did get to his feet, bending over to smile down into the webcam. "Do you still have the text I sent you?" he asked, wanting to tie up the loose ends before he became absorbed in whatever work awaited him in Operations.
"Yeah," she nodded.
"Save the number," he informed her with a smile. "It's my personal line, so it's different from the one Division would have provided you."
"One day out and I've got your personal number," Alicia couldn't help but tease, glad to see that his spirits had returned so quickly, "boy do I have skills."
Birkhoff laughed, loving her sense of humor. "No one could deny that sweetheart," he sent her a wolfish grin. Once more his computer trilled out an alert and he swiftly shut it off, not even bother to look at it this time. He was too busy enjoying the smirk she flashed him to even worry about the fact he was keeping whoever kept paging him waiting. "My line is encrypted, so if it has to do with work, use the other one. Otherwise they'll start to think we've got a psychic bond, and I know Amanda is just dying to have an excuse to perform a lobotomy on me."
She laughed, understanding his fear of the woman. "I'll keep that in mind," she gave a little nod. When he flashed her a smile she couldn't help but raise her brows at him in amusement. He was just as unenthusiastic about leaving the computer as she was to let him go.
"And I'll get to keep mine," he shot back, "sounds like a plan." One more smile and he was picking up his energy drink from the desk, ready to go and face work, for once feeling energized and he knew it had nothing to do with the caffeinated beverage in his hand. "Until next time," he winked, and she responded with an adorable little wave.
Just as he exited the program the alert sounded on his monitor once more and he rolled his eyes, shutting it up yet again. There was no reason to dilly dally and so he made his way from the room, drink in hand and a smile on his face. Alicia wasn't a genius with computers like he was, but she'd definitely found a way to rewire his entire view on life in the matter of a few short weeks.