Between the Lines - the pilot
Author’s Note - a while ago I started thinking what the show would have been like if DeWitt and Dominic had been the main characters and somehow, this AU was born.
I’ve written the set up, the first couple of episodes if you like, and rogoblue has graciously contributed an episode as well. If anyone else would like to join in - please feel free. The more the merrier!
Cue the appropriately dark and moody title sequence.
Between the Lines - part 1
When his opponent hit the mat with an audible groan and then rolled over onto his back, hands raised in surrender Laurence Dominic did him the courtesy of waiting for him to get to his feet. But when his sparring partner rose slowly and somewhat shakily it was apparent that he’d had enough for the day.
Practising hand to hand was part of the job - and also a legitimate way to take his aggression out on someone who didn’t deserve it; so far this afternoon there had been three different someone’s.
His muscles were burning and he had a few new bruises; but it wasn’t enough. Despite his efforts he could still see the faces of the three agents who’d died extracting him from the sumptuous house where he had almost lost his life. But it wasn’t about him; it was about an operation in tatters, his cover blown, the cost of getting him out and all of it for nothing.
He picked up a towel and leant back against the wall of the gym as he drank deeply from a bottle of water; trying hard to keep the dark thoughts at bay, aware that he was failing miserably.
He didn’t come here often, preferring an expensive gym close to his apartment. This place was too seedy and far too full of people from a similar line of work. He’d made two or three cops, someone who screamed FBI and a couple of guys who look burnt out enough to be DEA. Being dissolute and alternative was all the rage with Federal agents these days, making him more determined than ever to remain just the opposite. He wasn’t interested in wearing his wounds as a badge of honour or exposing his failures for public consumption.
His recent failure was still too raw for him to discuss. He understood that he couldn’t go back; his cover had not so much been blown as obliterated. But the agency’s refusal to sanction another operation had provoked an uncharacteristic display of anger. He knew better than anyone that falling back on electronic monitoring and technology wasn’t going to cut it, all the wiretaps in the world couldn’t compare to undercover agents. But maybe his days were done and it was all about the technology now.
He suppressed a smile when he noticed the guy he’d determined to be FBI getting his butt kicked by the slight girl he was sparring with. They both have excellent technique and he could tell they’d fought together before because he was holding back and she was reckless - every once in a while leaving herself open to the shots he wasn’t prepared to take.
“Go Caroline!” He looked over at the sound of the cheerleading and the other man lounging against the wall, watching their bout, sent a wry grin his way. “She’s scarier than he is,” he offered as explanation for the side he’d chosen. He was pretty clearly ex-military, or he was if you know what to look for.
“She drops her guard,” Dominic offered, “but she’s good.”
“She ought to be.” He didn’t ask for an explanation, he wasn’t that interested. But for lack of anything else to do he watched the rest of the bout, which came to an abrupt conclusion when the woman, Caroline, dropped her partner with an elegant move. He twisted away and managed to take her down as he fell; they hit the mat in concert.
“Go again?” Caroline asked, bouncing to her feet.
His fellow spectator turned to him and asked, “want a shot?” Dominic was tempted for a moment - were it not for her evident enjoyment he’d probably take up the offer; but he just wasn’t in the mood for fun. He didn’t answer the question, staring back at the younger man who blinked and muttered, “I guess not.”
Turning on his heel he headed for the showers without looking back; he didn’t have anything to prove to random strangers.
He was considering his options as he dressed because, while he was too careful to burn his boats with his agency, he had nevertheless made it clear that he was displeased at the news that there wouldn’t be another undercover operation. He prided himself on his control and his professionalism; he doesn’t get emotionally involved. He wouldn’t have survived for 5 minutes undercover if he had. But the instincts he’d honed over the years made him reluctant to let this go. The NSA didn’t agree and, as a result, he was taking some leave to come to terms with the blown op and his failure to convince them to try again. In reality he was wondering whether it would really matter if he decided to go solo on this one. He had very little left to lose and there would be a certain satisfaction in finishing this for good.
He looked up as the door to the changing room opens and tensed automatically. The three people who entered were the guy he’d spoken to earlier and his friends who’d been sparring. He recognised this was a set up at once - they were way too focussed on him. His hand twitched towards his gun, already safely secured by his ankle holster, but he held his paranoia in check just for a moment.
“Laurence Dominic?” The taller of the two men held out his hand, “I’m Paul Ballard.”
“And?” He didn’t take the proffered hand, instead finishing getting dressed as though there presence was of scant interest. He gave no sign that the name rang some sort of distant bell.
“We’d like you to come with us.” His body language probably made it clear that he wasn’t going anywhere without a fight and that part of him would relish the fight.
“I’m Caroline,” the young woman said as she stepped in front of Ballard, “we don’t mean you any harm. But our boss wants to meet you.”
He considered his options; three ridiculously good looking people were here, looking for him and he’d remembered that Ballard was an FBI agent until he got kicked out for some failure of temperament a year or so back - some case he took too personally and wouldn’t back off from. Normally he would be scathing about that - but today he was in no position to be critical.
“If your boss is so keen to talk to me, why isn’t he here?”
“That’s not the way it works,” Caroline said.
“And I suppose you don’t know what he wants?”
“Oh we know,” the only person whose name he doesn’t know chips in. “We just know better than to be the ones to tell you.”
“We wouldn’t be here if it weren’t important,” Caroline tells him. “We aren’t looking for a fight, our instructions weren’t to drag you out of here.”
“You think you could?” He said and this time she was the one who didn’t reply.
“We aren’t going to stop you leaving if you have some place more interesting to be; the point is, I’m not sure you do.”
She was right - though his curiosity was at war with the caution that had kept him alive so long undercover. Although a bitter voice in his head reminded him that his caution had recently failed him and as a consequence people had died while the big fish had eluded them. In the end that was what made the decision for him.
“Fine,” he said as though he were conceding something important and perhaps he was; he had no way of knowing.
***
His companions Paul, Caroline and the second man who introduced himself as Anthony, didn’t say much. The van with the predictably blacked out windows sped through the streets of LA and he evaluated his position; acknowledging that there wasn’t much in it to give him confidence. He had no idea where he was going or who his travelling companions were. It had definitely been a while since he’d had to talk or fight his way out of such a strange situation and though he was armed, he wasn’t sure that would help him.
“You’re NSA, right?” Caroline asked - leaning forward to scrutinise him as though she expected the answer to be etched onto his skin somewhere. When he didn’t reply she added, “you don’t like much like a geek, so that makes you undercover?”
Anthony turned his head from the front seat and asked, “what’s the longest time you’ve been undercover?”
“Three years,” he replied when he couldn’t think of reason not to answer that question.
“That’s hardcore,” Anthony offered, which was as good a description as any. “But it explains things.”
“What things?” Anthony looked over at Caroline.
“The retrieval mission,” she offered, as though that meant something. He gathered that he was the package being retrieved but that didn’t help. Before he could ask for more information the van made a sharp turn and came to a halt.
“We’re in a car lot,” he said as he got out; there were cars all around them and most seemed to be pretty high end. This wasn’t what he expected.
“I see you found him.” The new arrival was tall and he moved easily towards them. Dominic found he was relieved to be in the presence of someone who looked nothing like a model. .
“Was there ever any doubt?” Caroline responded, her grin cheeky.
“With you three? Always.”
“Come on Langton, you know you missed us,” she smiled up at him, causing a slight thaw in the older man’s stern expression, “it’s too quiet around here when we’re gone.”
“I enjoyed the peace,” he responded - but his eyes were warm. “Boyd Langton,” he said and for the second time Dominic ignored a hand held out to him - which was probably a metaphor of sorts. Langton looked over at Caroline, who shrugged.
“He doesn’t say a lot.”
“So I see.” Unperturbed Langton continued, “Agent Dominic, we’ve been expecting you. I’ve been asked to give you a short tour of the facility before your meeting.”
“I have a meeting?”
“It’s the reason you’re here.”
“I’m glad someone knows why I’m here.”
The ‘facility’ was an underground spa, but that made no sense; he couldn’t think of a single reason why anyone would put a spa underground. He’s pretty sure that the ‘tour’ didn’t cover half of what there was to see and the swimming pool, kitchens and exercise spaces don’t tell him squat - including what any of this had to do with him.
Fortunately his companions were more revealing, though they might not realise that. Langton was an authority figure - but not the boss; the group deferred to him, but they tease him as well - or at least Caroline does. Ballard was watchful and protective of her; Dominic had no idea why, since she didn’t seem to need protection. The two of them anticipated each other, seem used to working together. Anthony was more of a mystery; quieter and seemed to hang back - or perhaps the other two were overwhelming.
It was all very interesting and only backed up his impression that whatever was going on, this place was definitely not a spa. The people moved around too purposefully for one thing - it was all very businesslike.
He was standing in the large, expansive atrium; looking around him and wondering how it was possible to make it so light when they are so far underground and concluding that the answer involved a great deal of money. “Oh, he’s pretty!” The new arrival was tiny and the large man beside her looked exactly like a bodyguard. She was dressed head to toe in pink and her companion carried a small dog. She seemed to be talking about him, which was extremely disconcerting - he’d never been described as pretty. “Can we keep him?”
“Kilo,” Caroline stepped between them, “go and see Topher.” She pouted, looking exactly like a little rich girl whose Ferrari has been confiscated and then sent a brilliant smile in his direction before she twirled away.
“We’d explain,” Ballard said - exchanging a quick glance with the others, “but we’ve been asked to wait.”
Laurence Dominic wasn’t a particularly patient man, though he was capable of biding his time - he’d shown that through a long and varied undercover career. But his undercover roles were always men of action, giving him an outlet of sorts. Under these particular circumstances a default position of irritation and impatience seemed entirely justified. “You practically dragged me out of the gym, refused to explain what you want with me and now we’re here and there’s definitely something off with this place, with all of you. I want to know what’s going on, now!”
“I believe I may be able to provide the answer to that question.”
The hairs on the back of his neck stood up and he was so shocked by the completely unbidden reaction that for a moment he couldn’t even think about the voice itself. A split second later he dismissed the reaction and categorised the voice: female, accent British, tone faintly amused, imbued with authority and definitely not to be messed with.
When he turned around his first thought, rather irreverently, was to wonder how she had walked down the long flight of stairs wearing those shoes without breaking her neck. Wisely he decided to keep the question to himself.
There was no doubt that, whatever her identity, she was in charge here. He could all but see the aura of power and command that rested on her slender shoulders and the reaction of the others was instructive - a certain restrained deference; even from Caroline who he could tell didn’t respond well to authority figures. He could kick himself for the assumption that the person who’d sent the team to find him had been a man.
Green eyes coolly appraised him for slightly longer than necessary before she spoke. “My name is Adelle DeWitt, I’ve been looking forward to meeting you Mr Dominic.”
***
Adelle had been prepared for hostility - it rather went with the territory after all. But the ice cold disdain radiating from the man standing before her was both surprising and impressive under the circumstances. She supposed that undercover experts learnt not to express their feelings, though she wasn’t sure that this was the case here - she was certainly very aware of his, displeasure. But then she didn’t know the first thing about him; except that he had a skill set she could make use of and she was in the business of making use of people.
For a moment they simply stared at each other, she was far more aware of his physical presence than she had expected to be; surprising when he hadn’t actually spoken to her yet.
“Are you going to tell me what this is about?” He said at last - a demand that only barely qualified as a question.
She flicked her gaze towards Caroline - who looked amused by their exchange. “There is such a thing as being careful what you wish for,” she said lightly, practised smile in place. “But why don’t I show you what it is we do here?”
Langton took a step to follow them but she dismissed him easily, a gesture that produced an expression of mild rebuke in her Head of Security. But she wasn’t concerned for her safety and that again was a surprise. She glanced at the man who fell easily into step beside her; his stride matching her own, scowl magnificent to behold - it would be dangerous to underestimate him.
They paused in the doorway to Topher’s lab; a destination that wasn’t on his original tour. Kilo had just finished her treatment and they watch in silence as the chair rose from its recumbent position. Sitting up she aimed a baleful look in Topher’s direction, “ow!” Topher held his hands out and shrugged, smiling in a way that managed to be completely unrepentant. It was probably a good thing that he noticed their presence before he could say anything - Kilo followed his gaze and sent a small smile her way before looking over at Dominic, “sorry about before, Capri likes to flirt.” She hopped out of the chair and smiled at her handler, “time for a debrief, I think we made progress today.”
“Finally,” he responded with evident relief.
“Quit moaning, I’m the one back in high school.” Adelle watched them leave, bantering good naturedly about which of them had it worse in this particular engagement. They made an incongruous looking pair, but they work well as a partnership and she considered placing them together one of her better decisions.
For the first time Dominic looked something other than annoyed. “What just happened?” He must know that he what he had just seen was more than good acting. She’s seen Kilo when imprinted as Capri and knows just how different everything about her was.
“Why don’t we go to my office and I’ll explain.”
Caroline looked over at her handler and raised an eyebrow as they watched Adelle DeWitt walk towards the elevators, Laurence Dominic at her side - the two of them deep in conversation. “What?” Paul said.
“Do you like him?”
“Not particularly,” she smiled, sometimes he was all too predictable and she wasn’t surprised he hadn’t taken to the new arrival.
“He’s not very sociable.” She agreed, though she supposed they might not be seeing him at his best. “I hope Anthony likes him.” And that’s the point really, because Anthony was the one in need of a new handler and the chemistry had to be just right. What they did was difficult enough - you needed someone you trusted watching your back and if that someone was also sharp, resourceful and used to danger then so much the better.
“You think she’ll persuade him?” It was almost a rhetorical question. Dominic wouldn’t have got through the vetting if DeWitt hadn’t been sure he was right and that she had the means to persuade him to sign up. Very few people said no to Adelle DeWitt and fewer still argued with her; as an occasional member of the latter group Caroline thought it might not hurt to increase their numbers - maybe Dominic was a potential recruit.
“He’s definitely in,” she said, smiling broadly, “he just might not have figured out why yet.”
this could be where the ad break is...
I’ve written the set up, the first couple of episodes if you like, and rogoblue has graciously contributed an episode as well. If anyone else would like to join in - please feel free. The more the merrier!
Cue the appropriately dark and moody title sequence.
Between the Lines - part 1
When his opponent hit the mat with an audible groan and then rolled over onto his back, hands raised in surrender Laurence Dominic did him the courtesy of waiting for him to get to his feet. But when his sparring partner rose slowly and somewhat shakily it was apparent that he’d had enough for the day.
Practising hand to hand was part of the job - and also a legitimate way to take his aggression out on someone who didn’t deserve it; so far this afternoon there had been three different someone’s.
His muscles were burning and he had a few new bruises; but it wasn’t enough. Despite his efforts he could still see the faces of the three agents who’d died extracting him from the sumptuous house where he had almost lost his life. But it wasn’t about him; it was about an operation in tatters, his cover blown, the cost of getting him out and all of it for nothing.
He picked up a towel and leant back against the wall of the gym as he drank deeply from a bottle of water; trying hard to keep the dark thoughts at bay, aware that he was failing miserably.
He didn’t come here often, preferring an expensive gym close to his apartment. This place was too seedy and far too full of people from a similar line of work. He’d made two or three cops, someone who screamed FBI and a couple of guys who look burnt out enough to be DEA. Being dissolute and alternative was all the rage with Federal agents these days, making him more determined than ever to remain just the opposite. He wasn’t interested in wearing his wounds as a badge of honour or exposing his failures for public consumption.
His recent failure was still too raw for him to discuss. He understood that he couldn’t go back; his cover had not so much been blown as obliterated. But the agency’s refusal to sanction another operation had provoked an uncharacteristic display of anger. He knew better than anyone that falling back on electronic monitoring and technology wasn’t going to cut it, all the wiretaps in the world couldn’t compare to undercover agents. But maybe his days were done and it was all about the technology now.
He suppressed a smile when he noticed the guy he’d determined to be FBI getting his butt kicked by the slight girl he was sparring with. They both have excellent technique and he could tell they’d fought together before because he was holding back and she was reckless - every once in a while leaving herself open to the shots he wasn’t prepared to take.
“Go Caroline!” He looked over at the sound of the cheerleading and the other man lounging against the wall, watching their bout, sent a wry grin his way. “She’s scarier than he is,” he offered as explanation for the side he’d chosen. He was pretty clearly ex-military, or he was if you know what to look for.
“She drops her guard,” Dominic offered, “but she’s good.”
“She ought to be.” He didn’t ask for an explanation, he wasn’t that interested. But for lack of anything else to do he watched the rest of the bout, which came to an abrupt conclusion when the woman, Caroline, dropped her partner with an elegant move. He twisted away and managed to take her down as he fell; they hit the mat in concert.
“Go again?” Caroline asked, bouncing to her feet.
His fellow spectator turned to him and asked, “want a shot?” Dominic was tempted for a moment - were it not for her evident enjoyment he’d probably take up the offer; but he just wasn’t in the mood for fun. He didn’t answer the question, staring back at the younger man who blinked and muttered, “I guess not.”
Turning on his heel he headed for the showers without looking back; he didn’t have anything to prove to random strangers.
He was considering his options as he dressed because, while he was too careful to burn his boats with his agency, he had nevertheless made it clear that he was displeased at the news that there wouldn’t be another undercover operation. He prided himself on his control and his professionalism; he doesn’t get emotionally involved. He wouldn’t have survived for 5 minutes undercover if he had. But the instincts he’d honed over the years made him reluctant to let this go. The NSA didn’t agree and, as a result, he was taking some leave to come to terms with the blown op and his failure to convince them to try again. In reality he was wondering whether it would really matter if he decided to go solo on this one. He had very little left to lose and there would be a certain satisfaction in finishing this for good.
He looked up as the door to the changing room opens and tensed automatically. The three people who entered were the guy he’d spoken to earlier and his friends who’d been sparring. He recognised this was a set up at once - they were way too focussed on him. His hand twitched towards his gun, already safely secured by his ankle holster, but he held his paranoia in check just for a moment.
“Laurence Dominic?” The taller of the two men held out his hand, “I’m Paul Ballard.”
“And?” He didn’t take the proffered hand, instead finishing getting dressed as though there presence was of scant interest. He gave no sign that the name rang some sort of distant bell.
“We’d like you to come with us.” His body language probably made it clear that he wasn’t going anywhere without a fight and that part of him would relish the fight.
“I’m Caroline,” the young woman said as she stepped in front of Ballard, “we don’t mean you any harm. But our boss wants to meet you.”
He considered his options; three ridiculously good looking people were here, looking for him and he’d remembered that Ballard was an FBI agent until he got kicked out for some failure of temperament a year or so back - some case he took too personally and wouldn’t back off from. Normally he would be scathing about that - but today he was in no position to be critical.
“If your boss is so keen to talk to me, why isn’t he here?”
“That’s not the way it works,” Caroline said.
“And I suppose you don’t know what he wants?”
“Oh we know,” the only person whose name he doesn’t know chips in. “We just know better than to be the ones to tell you.”
“We wouldn’t be here if it weren’t important,” Caroline tells him. “We aren’t looking for a fight, our instructions weren’t to drag you out of here.”
“You think you could?” He said and this time she was the one who didn’t reply.
“We aren’t going to stop you leaving if you have some place more interesting to be; the point is, I’m not sure you do.”
She was right - though his curiosity was at war with the caution that had kept him alive so long undercover. Although a bitter voice in his head reminded him that his caution had recently failed him and as a consequence people had died while the big fish had eluded them. In the end that was what made the decision for him.
“Fine,” he said as though he were conceding something important and perhaps he was; he had no way of knowing.
***
His companions Paul, Caroline and the second man who introduced himself as Anthony, didn’t say much. The van with the predictably blacked out windows sped through the streets of LA and he evaluated his position; acknowledging that there wasn’t much in it to give him confidence. He had no idea where he was going or who his travelling companions were. It had definitely been a while since he’d had to talk or fight his way out of such a strange situation and though he was armed, he wasn’t sure that would help him.
“You’re NSA, right?” Caroline asked - leaning forward to scrutinise him as though she expected the answer to be etched onto his skin somewhere. When he didn’t reply she added, “you don’t like much like a geek, so that makes you undercover?”
Anthony turned his head from the front seat and asked, “what’s the longest time you’ve been undercover?”
“Three years,” he replied when he couldn’t think of reason not to answer that question.
“That’s hardcore,” Anthony offered, which was as good a description as any. “But it explains things.”
“What things?” Anthony looked over at Caroline.
“The retrieval mission,” she offered, as though that meant something. He gathered that he was the package being retrieved but that didn’t help. Before he could ask for more information the van made a sharp turn and came to a halt.
“We’re in a car lot,” he said as he got out; there were cars all around them and most seemed to be pretty high end. This wasn’t what he expected.
“I see you found him.” The new arrival was tall and he moved easily towards them. Dominic found he was relieved to be in the presence of someone who looked nothing like a model. .
“Was there ever any doubt?” Caroline responded, her grin cheeky.
“With you three? Always.”
“Come on Langton, you know you missed us,” she smiled up at him, causing a slight thaw in the older man’s stern expression, “it’s too quiet around here when we’re gone.”
“I enjoyed the peace,” he responded - but his eyes were warm. “Boyd Langton,” he said and for the second time Dominic ignored a hand held out to him - which was probably a metaphor of sorts. Langton looked over at Caroline, who shrugged.
“He doesn’t say a lot.”
“So I see.” Unperturbed Langton continued, “Agent Dominic, we’ve been expecting you. I’ve been asked to give you a short tour of the facility before your meeting.”
“I have a meeting?”
“It’s the reason you’re here.”
“I’m glad someone knows why I’m here.”
The ‘facility’ was an underground spa, but that made no sense; he couldn’t think of a single reason why anyone would put a spa underground. He’s pretty sure that the ‘tour’ didn’t cover half of what there was to see and the swimming pool, kitchens and exercise spaces don’t tell him squat - including what any of this had to do with him.
Fortunately his companions were more revealing, though they might not realise that. Langton was an authority figure - but not the boss; the group deferred to him, but they tease him as well - or at least Caroline does. Ballard was watchful and protective of her; Dominic had no idea why, since she didn’t seem to need protection. The two of them anticipated each other, seem used to working together. Anthony was more of a mystery; quieter and seemed to hang back - or perhaps the other two were overwhelming.
It was all very interesting and only backed up his impression that whatever was going on, this place was definitely not a spa. The people moved around too purposefully for one thing - it was all very businesslike.
He was standing in the large, expansive atrium; looking around him and wondering how it was possible to make it so light when they are so far underground and concluding that the answer involved a great deal of money. “Oh, he’s pretty!” The new arrival was tiny and the large man beside her looked exactly like a bodyguard. She was dressed head to toe in pink and her companion carried a small dog. She seemed to be talking about him, which was extremely disconcerting - he’d never been described as pretty. “Can we keep him?”
“Kilo,” Caroline stepped between them, “go and see Topher.” She pouted, looking exactly like a little rich girl whose Ferrari has been confiscated and then sent a brilliant smile in his direction before she twirled away.
“We’d explain,” Ballard said - exchanging a quick glance with the others, “but we’ve been asked to wait.”
Laurence Dominic wasn’t a particularly patient man, though he was capable of biding his time - he’d shown that through a long and varied undercover career. But his undercover roles were always men of action, giving him an outlet of sorts. Under these particular circumstances a default position of irritation and impatience seemed entirely justified. “You practically dragged me out of the gym, refused to explain what you want with me and now we’re here and there’s definitely something off with this place, with all of you. I want to know what’s going on, now!”
“I believe I may be able to provide the answer to that question.”
The hairs on the back of his neck stood up and he was so shocked by the completely unbidden reaction that for a moment he couldn’t even think about the voice itself. A split second later he dismissed the reaction and categorised the voice: female, accent British, tone faintly amused, imbued with authority and definitely not to be messed with.
When he turned around his first thought, rather irreverently, was to wonder how she had walked down the long flight of stairs wearing those shoes without breaking her neck. Wisely he decided to keep the question to himself.
There was no doubt that, whatever her identity, she was in charge here. He could all but see the aura of power and command that rested on her slender shoulders and the reaction of the others was instructive - a certain restrained deference; even from Caroline who he could tell didn’t respond well to authority figures. He could kick himself for the assumption that the person who’d sent the team to find him had been a man.
Green eyes coolly appraised him for slightly longer than necessary before she spoke. “My name is Adelle DeWitt, I’ve been looking forward to meeting you Mr Dominic.”
***
Adelle had been prepared for hostility - it rather went with the territory after all. But the ice cold disdain radiating from the man standing before her was both surprising and impressive under the circumstances. She supposed that undercover experts learnt not to express their feelings, though she wasn’t sure that this was the case here - she was certainly very aware of his, displeasure. But then she didn’t know the first thing about him; except that he had a skill set she could make use of and she was in the business of making use of people.
For a moment they simply stared at each other, she was far more aware of his physical presence than she had expected to be; surprising when he hadn’t actually spoken to her yet.
“Are you going to tell me what this is about?” He said at last - a demand that only barely qualified as a question.
She flicked her gaze towards Caroline - who looked amused by their exchange. “There is such a thing as being careful what you wish for,” she said lightly, practised smile in place. “But why don’t I show you what it is we do here?”
Langton took a step to follow them but she dismissed him easily, a gesture that produced an expression of mild rebuke in her Head of Security. But she wasn’t concerned for her safety and that again was a surprise. She glanced at the man who fell easily into step beside her; his stride matching her own, scowl magnificent to behold - it would be dangerous to underestimate him.
They paused in the doorway to Topher’s lab; a destination that wasn’t on his original tour. Kilo had just finished her treatment and they watch in silence as the chair rose from its recumbent position. Sitting up she aimed a baleful look in Topher’s direction, “ow!” Topher held his hands out and shrugged, smiling in a way that managed to be completely unrepentant. It was probably a good thing that he noticed their presence before he could say anything - Kilo followed his gaze and sent a small smile her way before looking over at Dominic, “sorry about before, Capri likes to flirt.” She hopped out of the chair and smiled at her handler, “time for a debrief, I think we made progress today.”
“Finally,” he responded with evident relief.
“Quit moaning, I’m the one back in high school.” Adelle watched them leave, bantering good naturedly about which of them had it worse in this particular engagement. They made an incongruous looking pair, but they work well as a partnership and she considered placing them together one of her better decisions.
For the first time Dominic looked something other than annoyed. “What just happened?” He must know that he what he had just seen was more than good acting. She’s seen Kilo when imprinted as Capri and knows just how different everything about her was.
“Why don’t we go to my office and I’ll explain.”
Caroline looked over at her handler and raised an eyebrow as they watched Adelle DeWitt walk towards the elevators, Laurence Dominic at her side - the two of them deep in conversation. “What?” Paul said.
“Do you like him?”
“Not particularly,” she smiled, sometimes he was all too predictable and she wasn’t surprised he hadn’t taken to the new arrival.
“He’s not very sociable.” She agreed, though she supposed they might not be seeing him at his best. “I hope Anthony likes him.” And that’s the point really, because Anthony was the one in need of a new handler and the chemistry had to be just right. What they did was difficult enough - you needed someone you trusted watching your back and if that someone was also sharp, resourceful and used to danger then so much the better.
“You think she’ll persuade him?” It was almost a rhetorical question. Dominic wouldn’t have got through the vetting if DeWitt hadn’t been sure he was right and that she had the means to persuade him to sign up. Very few people said no to Adelle DeWitt and fewer still argued with her; as an occasional member of the latter group Caroline thought it might not hurt to increase their numbers - maybe Dominic was a potential recruit.
“He’s definitely in,” she said, smiling broadly, “he just might not have figured out why yet.”
this could be where the ad break is...