Sensory Pleasure part 18 - (06/18/2008)
Yikes! Has it really been almost two months since I last updated this story? I'm kind of tempted to go crawl into a hole and hide, rather then face any justifiably irate readers, but I do owe you an update, and I even happen to have one right here. Hope you enjoy it!
Title: Sensory Pleasure (part 18/?)
Author: That'd be me. *grins* Andrew, Obsidian, call me what you want. But only if it's nice. ;)
Rating: R - or MA, if you prefer. Same thing, really. ;)
Previously, on Sensory Pleasure: The girls take a trip to the Paris Opera House, with a minor detour on the way back into an alley for Lucy to take advantage of a not-especially-resistant Amy, while the DEBS head for Paris... and learn that Bobby is doing the same. Dominique almost figures something out. Lucy and Amy enjoy a "slow day", which involves Lucy getting them thrown out of a museum for, shall we say, indecent exposure? Bobby is punched out by Scud the mime, while Amy and Lucy share an extra fluffy moment at the Eiffel Tower.
Legal Disclaimer: I do not own 'D.E.B.S.', Angela Robinson does. Though if I had my way, there would have been a sequel or two by now. ;)
"Tonight, could I be lost forever?
To drown my soul in sensory pleasure."
~Natalie Imbruglia, Beauty on the Fire (album - White Lilies Island (2001))
"Max, where are we going?" Janet asked as they moved down the road.
"The curator over at Quai Branly said that Diamond and her partner were going in this direction after they got thrown out," Max said, not even bothering to look back at Janet.
"Okay... but where are we going?"
Not wanting to admit that she had no real idea, Max instead said, "Dom, you grew up around here, right?"
"Close enough to eet, oui," Dominique confirmed from her position at Max's side, Janet a few steps behind them.
"Good. Where would they go? We're in your hands, here." She didn't miss Janet's muttered, "God help us all," but chose to ignore it.
No matter how much she might have privately agreed.
Dominique had likely also heard it, and her eyes sparkled as she said, "Well, I can say from experience zat zey were most likely 'ungry afterwards. Zere eez a cafe ahead zat zey may 'ave stopped at."
"Just one?" Max asked, obviously trying to ignore the first part of Dominique's response.
"Ze best one." Because where else would Lucy Diamond go?
And why did her brain find the fact that they had vegetarian meals important?
"Sounds like as good a place as any to start," Max agreed.
The walk to the cafe wasn't that long, and they began showing Lucy Diamond's picture to the servers. Dominique, acting as translator, informed her team that it seemed that Diamond and her partner had stopped by for a bite to eat, before continuing on their way.
And, Dominique added, there was really only one thing in the direction they were being pointed that a curiously unconcerned about being seen Lucy Diamond might have been interested in.
The Eiffel Tower.
**********************************************
"...-ake the hell up, man."
Bobby groaned, winced, and opened his eyes to find his partner staring down at him. He extended a hand and allowed himself to be yanked to his feet. "What happened?"
"That's what I was gonna ask you," Ryan replied. "Dude. You got punched out by a mime." He was too good an agent to actually laugh, but his eyes revealed his amusement.
Right... now he remembered. "That wasn't a mime, that was one of Diamond's people," he countered.
"Who was dressed up as a mime." But, as expected, mention of Lucy Diamond was enough to cause his partner to sober up immediately. "Well, you weren't down for long, so chances are good she's still somewhere in the area."
Bobby was about to respond when something caught his eye. "Guess we're not the only ones who think so," he said, gesturing off to the side. Ryan looked over to see three girls it took his brain a few seconds to recognize as the rest of the DEBS Sector One team making a beeline for the Tower. "Come on," Bobby said, about to start after them.
Ryan stopped him. "Hang on a minute. Knowing what we know about Lucy Diamond, do you really think those three will be able to catch her like that? Just heading right up, no planning, no prep, nothing but guts and guns?"
Put that way... No, not really. "What are you suggesting?"
"We wait down here for them to flush Diamond down, then take her by surprise. I'll cover the elevators, you take the stairs."
"You're on." No way Diamond was going to get away this time.
No fucking way.
**********************************************
Lucy Diamond was ordinarily not an especially giggly person. Not that she was in any way humorless. No, she just had better self-control then most, was all.
So why was she currently leaning against her girlfriend in a descending elevator, struggling for breath?
For one very simple reason.
After Amy's lovely little surprise with the band, they'd finally been heading for the elevator so that they could leave when the doors had opened, admitting the DEBS onto the observation deck.
Lucy had wasted no time in dragging Amy behind a cluster of people, and they calmly walked right by the DEBS and into the elevator. Janet had turned around at the ding of the doors closing, and did a double-take as Amy gave her a jaunty wave before the doors shut.
The adrenaline from the close call, combined with the fact that they'd walked right by the DEBS top squad - not to mention Janet's priceless expression right before the doors had shut in front of her face - had just been too much, and they'd taken one look at each other before they started cracking up.
"O-okay," Amy finally choked out. "Obviously, you were right, and we should have left sooner, but... God, did you see the look on her face?"
Lucy had just been getting herself under control, but that caused her to lose it again. The best she could manage was a nod. Eventually, she waved - flailed, really - a hand, trying to get Amy's attention. "All right, we can laugh about it later," she said, lips still twitching a bit. "Right now, we need to focus. If the DEBS are here, chances are they're not alone. And even if they were, we've obviously been here too long." She hated to say it, but there really wasn't much choice. "You're going to have to go back with them."
Amy sighed, her good humor evaporating. "I suppose so," she agreed reluctantly. "That's probably our best chance at keeping them away from you."
Despite the situation, Lucy smiled at the idea that Amy was more worried about her then any threat to her own career. "Works for me. I'll drop you off at the safehouse, collect Scud, and meet you back in LA." She hit the button for the second floor. "And it would probably be best for us to take the stairs. More room to manuver that way."
"Which we hopefully won't need," Amy said, but didn't disagree. If there was one thing she'd learned in the DEBS, it was to expect the unexpected. Evidently that rule was just as true on the other side of the law. Which was where she currently was.
It was amazing, really, just how little that idea bothered her, anymore.
**********************************************
Bobby was beginning to lose his patience.
Certainly, patience had never been his strong suit to begin with, but given how long Amy had been in Lucy Diamond's clutches...
Well, he felt justified with wanting to take Diamond down sooner, rather then later.
It wasn't that he couldn't understand what she'd want with Amy. Really, he'd be hard pressed to figure out why someone wouldn't want to kidnap her, no matter what rumors had been floating around about her and her old partner. But to take his girlfriend - well, ex-girlfriend, but whatever - was simply not acceptable. And who knew? Maybe once he saved her, Amy would finally understand that they were supposed to be together.
Even he didn't quite believe that, but it made for a nice dream.
And a distracting one. So much so that he nearly missed the flicker of brown hair on the stairs, until the crowd parted, and there she was.
Lucy Diamond in the flesh.
He was not afraid of her, he told himself as he ducked out of sight, carefully making his way closer while remaining as unnoticed as he could. He just wasn't stupid, either. That was one of the most dangerous women - hell, one of the most dangerous people - on the face of the planet. Only a fool would openly approach her and give her plenty of time to pull her gun and start shooting. And there were too many people around to risk doing the same himself. Just because they weren't American citizens didn't mean he had no obligation to protect them.
Besides, he had to take Diamond alive. At least until he'd saved Amy. Then she was expendable.
Diamond lingered at the bottom of the stairs, even as the crowd thinned out, looking back up as if waiting for something. The mime, who must have warned her they were onto her? Well, he wouldn't mind if it was.
He was definitely expendable.
And if pressed, Bobby had to admit he might have enjoyed putting a bullet in that tricky little bastard.
He slipped by Diamond even as she directed her attention to the plaza around them, obviously keeping an eye out for government agents. Too little, too late, he thought, almost disappointed with how easy this was.
Not that he was going to object. Capturing Lucy Diamond, without firing a shot?
That would make his career.
"Don't move," he growled, pressing his gun against her back. She froze, going rigid, and he could have sworn he heard a muttered curse of some kind. And so begins the legend of Bobby Matthews, he thought smugly. "Lucy Diamond, you are under arre-"
"Get away from her!" a voice hissed from behind him, too quiet and angry to recognize. He inwardly berated himself for falling for the same thing Diamond had, even as he began to turn around to face the new threat. Ryan should be showing up soon, he thought, since the elevators were obviously a bust. If he could just keep things under control for long enough...
He'd barely finished the thought when, the very second his gun had moved away from Diamond's spine, something impacted the back of his head with a vicious crack, making him stumble as blinding pain rippled through his skull. Diamond tore the gun from his hand and darted away, even as his attacker continued, smashing his leg with whatever it was they were using (something hard and metallic, it felt like), nailed him in the kidney, then swung it at his face.
He caught a bare glimpse of red, and beyond that just a hint of blonde, before the world went black.
**********************************************
Breathing heavily, Amy leaned against the wall, still clutching the fire extinguisher she'd hastily grabbed when she'd caught sight of Bobby in the crowd. She privately blamed herself for distracting Lucy at a vital moment, as obviously the thief had been looking around for what had evidently spooked her lover.
She absently wiped it down, then tossed it aside and moved to Lucy's side. At Lucy's raised eyebrow, she realized she had a faint, sheepish smile on her face. "I think I enjoyed that a little too much," she explained with a little shrug.
"Your ex?" Lucy asked.
"Yeah."
"Ah." From what Amy had told her about the ass, she could hardly blame her. "Well, he probably wasn't alone, and people must have noticed that, so now we've really got to move."
Amy took her hand without a word, allowing herself to be lead away to the car that Scud had found. Her lips twitched when she caught sight of the mime disguise that he hadn't had time to get rid of, but, to her credit, she managed to keep herself under control.
"I almost wish we hadn't come here," she whispered as they sped off in the direction of the safehouse.
Lucy heard her anyway. "What do you mean?" she asked, concerned. It wasn't that she thought Amy was having second thoughts about being together... though the worry was always in the back of her mind, ready to sneak up on her during a vulnerable moment.
Amy sighed, shaking her head. She really didn't want to get into this, but... well, she had brought it up, hadn't she? "Being here, with you, like this... I just..." She sighed again, heavier this time. "I have no idea how I'm supposed to go back to what we had before, like nothing happened."
Lucy's heart ached, even as part of her rejoiced that this was all that was wrong. "You don't have to," she suggested hesitantly.
"Except that I do!" Amy exploded. "You said so yourself! I have to go back there, a-and pretend that I just underwent this horrific ordeal, and listen to them talk about you like... like they think they know you, when all I want to do is scream that you're not like that, and they have no idea what they're talking about..." She sagged in her seat. "And that I love you, and why can't they just understand?" she finished morosely.
"Oh, baby..." Lucy pulled her into a hug while exchanging a look with Scud. She didn't think either of them had really understood just how much this was affecting Amy, and she didn't know about him, but she felt lousy about being the one to put the blonde DEB in such a situation. "If I could just give back everything I've stolen and have them forgive me, I'd do it in a heartbeat," she said, surprising herself by really meaning it. Crime had always been her life, but she realized that Amy had come to mean more to her then it ever had. "Unfortunately, I doubt it would be that easy."
"I know," Amy sniffled."
"Our best bet would probably be to run away together, and go somewhere that the whole cop-criminal mess wouldn't follow us."
Amy froze, then, in a barely audible voice, requested, "Ask me that again later."
And she really meant it, Lucy realized with astonishment. But she was also right, this was not the time for such discussions. Emotions were running too high, and that wasn't the way to make good decisions. "Deal," she said softly, placing a light kiss on Amy's cheek. Scud, bless him, was doing his best to pretend he couldn't hear the discussion going on behind him. "Well, when they ask, you can just say that I kidnapped you to make sure that the DEBS were too distracted to figure out what I was really up to, and you were otherwise left alone," she suggested, summoning up what she could of her usual breezy, nonchalant attitude.
Amy managed a shaky smile. "Okay, I... I guess that'll work. And I am sorry about all this, really. I just... I guess it just hit me all at once, is all."
"It's all right," Lucy assured her. She was interrupted by the car coming to a stop as Scud parked it in front of the safehouse, and the three of them dashed inside. It didn't take long to gather up the items that the couple had purchased during their vacation - Lucy assured Amy that she could get hers back in LA - and load them into the car, and while Scud was taking a few minutes to de-mime-ify, Lucy favored Amy with the grin that still made her weak in the knees. "And hey, if you wanna get in good with your bosses, you can always tell them that you managed to get this back when I wasn't looking," she said, taking something out of the bag she'd placed on one of the chairs while they'd been packing up the car and tossing it to Amy.
Who was stunned to find that it was a huge diamond - moreover, a huge diamond that she recognized. The 'Star of California', the gem that she'd (accidentally) stolen and then "negotiated" with Lucy for. "But... this is..." she sputtered.
"I can always steal it back another time," Lucy assured her with a negligent shrug. Whether or not she was actually that confident, the important thing was that no matter how much the diamond meant to her, Amy was worth more. So very, very much more.
Amy felt tears threaten, and pushed them back. "Do you have any rope laying around, or something?" she asked, voice somewhat ragged over the first few words. "Maybe something I could have used to cut them?" At Lucy's inquisitive look, she explained, "I'm sick to death of always needing to be rescued."
"You didn't in Hawaii," Lucy pointed out, though she could see where Amy was coming from.
"Except that I kind of did, since they were right behind us, which is the only reason you didn't have time to come back for me after I jumped out of the car," Amy countered, referring to her cover story she'd made up on the spot to explain her 'escape'.
"Well, either way, I'm sure we can come up with something." And here was another way that staying in a CIA safehouse came in handy, as there were all manner of restraints present - more then any agents would have needed, really, unless they were planning on capturing and securing an entire mob.
Frankly, it made Lucy wonder if the CIA boys (and girls) weren't just a bit more kinky then she'd ever given them credit for.
Eventually, they'd managed to stage a convincing-looking escape for Amy. She and Amy stood in the middle of the main room, both knowing Lucy had to leave, and neither quite ready to part. "You really should get going now, you know," Amy said quietly. "If you don't..."
"If I don't... what?" Lucy prompted. Anything to keep the conversation going, and delay leaving Amy's side for just a few moments longer.
"If you don't... I won't be able to let you go," Amy finished. "And that's not something I really need my friends walking in on." The hunger lingering in her gaze made it clear just what she meant, and Lucy grinned.
"Trust me, I don't really feel like playing exhibitionist for them, either." She gave Amy one last, lingering kiss. "I love you," she murmured against her lips.
"Love you, too," Amy said softly as she pulled back. "Now get moving. The sooner you get back to LA, the sooner you can come find me."
And that was, Lucy had to admit, probably the only thing that could have made her leave that room, even knowing the DEBS were likely en route that very second. Which should have alarmed her, but somehow didn't. "Look on the bright side," Lucy said with a sudden smile. "Before too long, it'll be time for the Vegas job. We can take in a show, or something."
"Sounds like a plan," Amy agreed, knowing that if she had to tip the DEBS off herself, she'd make sure they were sent to Vegas to 'catch' Lucy. Hopefully they'd be convinced that she was fit for duty by then. It surprised her how quickly the time since Lucy had first mentioned it in Hawaii had passed. The two weeks were almost up, and if Lucy really meant to be at the top of her game for this...
Well, it would take a lot of work. Which meant less time with together. Which made Amy glad that they'd at least had Paris.
She had to bite her lip, but she kept from making any movie quotes.
Having no idea what was going through her head, Lucy fought down a lustful groan at the sight, visibly forcing herself to pull away and back toward the door. "See you soon," she promised.
"I hope so," Amy replied truthfully.
And then Lucy was gone.
Sighing, Amy flopped down on a chair. She knew she should have been making sure that Lucy hadn't left anything behind, but somehow that seemed like too much effort right then.
She knew she was being ridiculous. She'd be back with Lucy soon enough, and she did like spending time with her friends. She just... hated having to choose between them. Because that's what they were making her do: them or Lucy. Lucy or them. No middle ground.
It wasn't at all fair, but then, what in life was?
Ever-so-faint sounds reached her ears, coming from the door, and a muffled, "Shh!" spurred her into action. She dashed over to the desk, grabbed the straight backed metal chair, and moved over to stand next to the door. It became evident someone was trying to get in, and all she could think was that Bobby and whoever he'd been there with had managed to track her down.
Like hell was she going to be 'rescued' by him. She raised the chair over her head, and when the door opened and the first figure entered, she brought it crashing down with all the force she could muster.
**********************************************
"What do you mean, we 'just missed them'?" Max asked dangerously.
"I mean zey left shortly before we arrived," Dominique replied with a shrug.
"What were they doing up here at all?" Max pressed, straining to control her temper. Strangling Dominique wouldn't change the facts of the situation, after all, and would only slow them down more.
After a few more questions to the witnesses, Dominique blinked in surprise and replied, "Dancing, apparently."
Whatever Max had expected her to say, that was evidently not it. "Dancing?" she repeated blankly.
"As well as sightseeing."
"So... she was still with her partner, then? Not Amy?" Janet asked.
"Ze descriptions say she eez tall and blonde. Zat would fit either of them." And Amy was dating a girl named Lucy. "Ah, L'Amour," she murmured softly.
"What?" Max demanded irritably, obviously not having heard her - or at least, not having heard her correctly. Janet, however, did hear her properly, and her expression went from surprise to shock to concern to astonishment to carefully neutral in rapid succession.
Well, well, well. Wasn't that interesting? Someone 'as been keeping secrets, it seems. They'd have to talk later, once Max wasn't around.
And once she'd determined exactly how she felt about the idea that Amy was dating Lucy Diamond, despite what she'd claimed. Though if it really was love...
"Which was did they go?" Max asked impatiently. When Dominique translated the question, the witnesses pointed in every conceivable direction - including straight up. "Oh, that is so helpful," Max said acidly as she turned and stalked toward the elevator. "Come on, let's go see if we can find a lead downstairs."
Dominique could have sworn that one or two people in the crowd winked at her as she turned to follow, but carefully didn't react.
"You know?" Janet hissed to her before they caught up with Max. "How do you know?"
Well, that answered that. "'ow do you?"
Unfortunately, there was no real time to talk.
The elevator ride was silent and tense, and it was a relief to exit onto the ground again. It quickly became obvious that something had happened while they were upstairs, though as confused as things were, all Dominique could ascertain was that it was an assault of some kind... though not a robbery, which, given the timing, meant the unlucky victim had probably been someone trying to stop Lucy Diamond and her 'partner' from getting away.
Several more questions later, and they'd been provided with at least a vague direction to go in. As they walked, they found other witnesses who'd seen Lucy and the blonde in question - and given how happy they supposedly were to be together, it was obvious that said blonde was Lucy's partner, which made Max wonder aloud where Amy had been all this time, while Janet and Dominique tried not to feel too guilty - which provided them with a much more specific destination.
As they flagged down a cab, Janet frowned. "Don't quote me on this," she began uncertainly, "but isn't that a CIA safehouse?"
"How would you know that?" Max asked, eyebrow raised. Janet turned red and muttered something likely self-incriminating. "Right," Max drawled. "Well, if it is... The CIA's going to have some explaining to do."
When they arrived at the address they'd been given to find a worn-looking building which opened to show an equally worn-looking - but otherwise empty - storefront, Janet was certain.
Max silently pointed at the floor, where the dust was visibly disturbed along a path leading to what looked like just another part of the wall... and when they moved up to it as quietly as they could, flipped aside a hidden panel to reveal a keypad.
"Do we have the code?" Janet asked, more mouthing the words then whispering.
"Shh!" Max hushed her, making almost no noise herself.
Almost.
A quick consult with headquarters via a secure PDA - set on silent mode - produced a list of possible codes, and Janet began trying each one in succession. The third time, the door soundlessly opened inwards. Gun in hand, Max took point.
At which point a chair swung down towards her head.
Max had seen movement off to the side and tried to get out of the way, but all that meant was that she was hit mainly in the shoulder, with one of the legs hitting her head, rather then taking the whole force of the blow directly on her skull. It was fairly lucky for her, really.
Whether she saw it that way when she woke up, though, was another question entirely.
Before Janet or Dominique could bring their guns to bear, though, they heard a distinctly chagrined, "Oops."
Sure enough, when they cautiously peeked around the corner, there was Amy, chair resting on the floor, her hands nervously gripping the back of it. "I-I wasn't expecting you guys," Amy said by way of apology. "...she's not going to be happy when she wakes up, is she?"
"When's the last time we actually did see her happy?" Janet asked.
"I think when Ms. Petrie called me in for that little photo session... or maybe when we got permission to hunt Lucy across national boundaries?" Amy suggested, finally letting go of the chair.
That sounded about right, actually... which was a tad depressing. But Janet wanted- no, she needed to ask something else. "Speaking of Lucy, since it obviously wasn't her, who did you think it was when you decided to commit assault with a deadly chair?"
Amy blinked at her in surprise. "What? I don't know what you-"
"You can save the act," Janet interrupted. "Dom figured it out."
Amy maintained her defensive look for a few moments more, then chuckled ruefully. "I knew I'd made it a tad too obvious for you," she admitted.
"Saying you were dating someone named Lucy at the same time Miss Diamond picked up a new partner was something of a give away, oui," Dominique said with a faint smile.
"Are you... okay with that?"
"Tell me, 'ow do you feel about her?"
"I love her," Amy said honestly. "So much that... I hate being away from her, at all. When we're together..." She sighed wistfully. "Everything's so perfect. I've never felt like this about anyone, before. Ever."
Dominique stared at her for a long moment, then sighed and gave a small shrug. "You cannot control matters of ze heart," she said simply. "It is madness to try."
Amy smiled, relieved. "Thank you."
"And now that we've gotten that settled," Janet broke in, "maybe we should see about getting Max some medical attention?"
Amy winced. "Heh. Yeah, that might be a good idea."
**********************************************
All too soon for Amy's taste, they were back in LA, in the sterile medical facility of the DEBS academy. "Have I mentioned yet how really, incredibly sorry I am?" she asked Max as the latter fixed an ice pack to an aching spot on her shoulder.
"Yes. About twenty times, now. I think I forgave you around the third." Well, fourth, maybe. This had been before she'd gotten some of the best painkillers the DEBS had to offer into her system, when her skull had been splitting itself in half and her shoulder had been insisting that it had been shattered beyond all repair, so she thought she could be forgiven for not giving in to Amy's whipped puppy expression right away. "You were trying to escape, and an unknown party was approaching with God-knows-what intentions. You reacted exactly the way you were supposed to."
"And you at least got off easier then Bobby," Janet told Max. The flight home - with Max out cold on painkillers - had given the other three a chance to catch up and exchange stories. Ignoring the slight flush making its way onto Amy's face, Janet gleefully continued, "Apparently, he managed to get the drop on Lucy Diamond, only to get his ass kicked by her partner. Everybody's talking about it."
Max chuckled, then winced as the motion jostled her shoulder. "Now that I wish I'd gotten a chance to see."
"You may ask him about eet now, if you wish," Dominique said from her seat near the examination bed Max was still sitting on, waiting for the doctor to get back with her X-Rays. "I believe he eez here, getting his head examined."
"About time, if you ask me," Amy muttered. And speak of the devil, she thought with an internal groan as Bobby entered the room.
"Amy, are you all right?" he asked, ignoring the other three DEBS completely. Ryan, lingering in the doorway behind him, shook his head and gave them an apologetic look.
"Fine," she said coolly. "I'm sure you've already read my report on what happened, and I don't really have anything to add to it." And she'd certainly been praised for that little work of fiction. Mister Phipps had been especially impressed that she'd been able to get the 'Star of California' back, which had made her feel a twinge of guilt that she'd quickly suppressed.
"Yeah, I have, and you were amazing! I don't know many agents would have been able to keep their cool like that."
Well. If he kept that up, she might be able to get through this without hitting him.
"Of course, I also don't know a lot of agents who would sneak into Lucy Diamond's hideout without bothering to take any kind of precautions."
Then again...
"But don't worry, you're safe now, and I won't let anything else happen to you."
And that was it. Just like that, Amy's already fragile self-control completely snapped.
"Okay," she said as she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Eyes hard and unreadable, she advanced on Bobby. "I've tried to be patient. I've tried to be polite. But now it appears I'm going to have to be rude." Standing right in front of him, she glared at him as she ground out, "You repulse me. What is it going to take to get this through your thick skull? We. Are. Over. I might have liked to be friends, but now I don't even want that. I despise you. The idea of you touching me ever again makes me actually, physically sick. I would sooner marry fucking Lucy Diamond before even speaking with you again!" By this point, he was backing towards the door, Amy moving with him, occasionally poking him sharply to emphasize a point. "I am giving serious thought to taking out a restraining order against you, which I'm sure will just do your career a world of good. I don't want you within a hundred yards of me ever again, for personal OR professional issues, do you understand? Because if you come near me again, I swear to God, I will fucking shoot you. Do you get it, yet?!" Struck dumb by her tirade, he could only nod. "Good! Then get the hell out of my sight! There are sick and injured people here, and they don't need you hanging around to make them worse!" With that last shout, she slammed the door shut in his face.
She stood there for a long moment, breathing heavily, letting the ringing in her ears from the door fade, then turned around and faced her team. "Sorry about that," she began. "I guess I, ah, got a bit carried away."
She needn't have worried. Dominique favored her with a rare, full grin, while Janet giggled and applauded.
Max, however, said it best. "That," she said with a grin of her own, "was totally worth getting smashed over the head for."
Okay, so this was BEYOND late. I can't apologize for that enough - though I am so very, very, very, very, very, very, very sorry - only promise to try and do better in the future. It is the longest chapter to date, though, if that helps. ^_^
Title: Sensory Pleasure (part 18/?)
Author: That'd be me. *grins* Andrew, Obsidian, call me what you want. But only if it's nice. ;)
Rating: R - or MA, if you prefer. Same thing, really. ;)
Previously, on Sensory Pleasure: The girls take a trip to the Paris Opera House, with a minor detour on the way back into an alley for Lucy to take advantage of a not-especially-resistant Amy, while the DEBS head for Paris... and learn that Bobby is doing the same. Dominique almost figures something out. Lucy and Amy enjoy a "slow day", which involves Lucy getting them thrown out of a museum for, shall we say, indecent exposure? Bobby is punched out by Scud the mime, while Amy and Lucy share an extra fluffy moment at the Eiffel Tower.
Legal Disclaimer: I do not own 'D.E.B.S.', Angela Robinson does. Though if I had my way, there would have been a sequel or two by now. ;)
"Tonight, could I be lost forever?
To drown my soul in sensory pleasure."
~Natalie Imbruglia, Beauty on the Fire (album - White Lilies Island (2001))
"Max, where are we going?" Janet asked as they moved down the road.
"The curator over at Quai Branly said that Diamond and her partner were going in this direction after they got thrown out," Max said, not even bothering to look back at Janet.
"Okay... but where are we going?"
Not wanting to admit that she had no real idea, Max instead said, "Dom, you grew up around here, right?"
"Close enough to eet, oui," Dominique confirmed from her position at Max's side, Janet a few steps behind them.
"Good. Where would they go? We're in your hands, here." She didn't miss Janet's muttered, "God help us all," but chose to ignore it.
No matter how much she might have privately agreed.
Dominique had likely also heard it, and her eyes sparkled as she said, "Well, I can say from experience zat zey were most likely 'ungry afterwards. Zere eez a cafe ahead zat zey may 'ave stopped at."
"Just one?" Max asked, obviously trying to ignore the first part of Dominique's response.
"Ze best one." Because where else would Lucy Diamond go?
And why did her brain find the fact that they had vegetarian meals important?
"Sounds like as good a place as any to start," Max agreed.
The walk to the cafe wasn't that long, and they began showing Lucy Diamond's picture to the servers. Dominique, acting as translator, informed her team that it seemed that Diamond and her partner had stopped by for a bite to eat, before continuing on their way.
And, Dominique added, there was really only one thing in the direction they were being pointed that a curiously unconcerned about being seen Lucy Diamond might have been interested in.
The Eiffel Tower.
**********************************************
"...-ake the hell up, man."
Bobby groaned, winced, and opened his eyes to find his partner staring down at him. He extended a hand and allowed himself to be yanked to his feet. "What happened?"
"That's what I was gonna ask you," Ryan replied. "Dude. You got punched out by a mime." He was too good an agent to actually laugh, but his eyes revealed his amusement.
Right... now he remembered. "That wasn't a mime, that was one of Diamond's people," he countered.
"Who was dressed up as a mime." But, as expected, mention of Lucy Diamond was enough to cause his partner to sober up immediately. "Well, you weren't down for long, so chances are good she's still somewhere in the area."
Bobby was about to respond when something caught his eye. "Guess we're not the only ones who think so," he said, gesturing off to the side. Ryan looked over to see three girls it took his brain a few seconds to recognize as the rest of the DEBS Sector One team making a beeline for the Tower. "Come on," Bobby said, about to start after them.
Ryan stopped him. "Hang on a minute. Knowing what we know about Lucy Diamond, do you really think those three will be able to catch her like that? Just heading right up, no planning, no prep, nothing but guts and guns?"
Put that way... No, not really. "What are you suggesting?"
"We wait down here for them to flush Diamond down, then take her by surprise. I'll cover the elevators, you take the stairs."
"You're on." No way Diamond was going to get away this time.
No fucking way.
**********************************************
Lucy Diamond was ordinarily not an especially giggly person. Not that she was in any way humorless. No, she just had better self-control then most, was all.
So why was she currently leaning against her girlfriend in a descending elevator, struggling for breath?
For one very simple reason.
After Amy's lovely little surprise with the band, they'd finally been heading for the elevator so that they could leave when the doors had opened, admitting the DEBS onto the observation deck.
Lucy had wasted no time in dragging Amy behind a cluster of people, and they calmly walked right by the DEBS and into the elevator. Janet had turned around at the ding of the doors closing, and did a double-take as Amy gave her a jaunty wave before the doors shut.
The adrenaline from the close call, combined with the fact that they'd walked right by the DEBS top squad - not to mention Janet's priceless expression right before the doors had shut in front of her face - had just been too much, and they'd taken one look at each other before they started cracking up.
"O-okay," Amy finally choked out. "Obviously, you were right, and we should have left sooner, but... God, did you see the look on her face?"
Lucy had just been getting herself under control, but that caused her to lose it again. The best she could manage was a nod. Eventually, she waved - flailed, really - a hand, trying to get Amy's attention. "All right, we can laugh about it later," she said, lips still twitching a bit. "Right now, we need to focus. If the DEBS are here, chances are they're not alone. And even if they were, we've obviously been here too long." She hated to say it, but there really wasn't much choice. "You're going to have to go back with them."
Amy sighed, her good humor evaporating. "I suppose so," she agreed reluctantly. "That's probably our best chance at keeping them away from you."
Despite the situation, Lucy smiled at the idea that Amy was more worried about her then any threat to her own career. "Works for me. I'll drop you off at the safehouse, collect Scud, and meet you back in LA." She hit the button for the second floor. "And it would probably be best for us to take the stairs. More room to manuver that way."
"Which we hopefully won't need," Amy said, but didn't disagree. If there was one thing she'd learned in the DEBS, it was to expect the unexpected. Evidently that rule was just as true on the other side of the law. Which was where she currently was.
It was amazing, really, just how little that idea bothered her, anymore.
**********************************************
Bobby was beginning to lose his patience.
Certainly, patience had never been his strong suit to begin with, but given how long Amy had been in Lucy Diamond's clutches...
Well, he felt justified with wanting to take Diamond down sooner, rather then later.
It wasn't that he couldn't understand what she'd want with Amy. Really, he'd be hard pressed to figure out why someone wouldn't want to kidnap her, no matter what rumors had been floating around about her and her old partner. But to take his girlfriend - well, ex-girlfriend, but whatever - was simply not acceptable. And who knew? Maybe once he saved her, Amy would finally understand that they were supposed to be together.
Even he didn't quite believe that, but it made for a nice dream.
And a distracting one. So much so that he nearly missed the flicker of brown hair on the stairs, until the crowd parted, and there she was.
Lucy Diamond in the flesh.
He was not afraid of her, he told himself as he ducked out of sight, carefully making his way closer while remaining as unnoticed as he could. He just wasn't stupid, either. That was one of the most dangerous women - hell, one of the most dangerous people - on the face of the planet. Only a fool would openly approach her and give her plenty of time to pull her gun and start shooting. And there were too many people around to risk doing the same himself. Just because they weren't American citizens didn't mean he had no obligation to protect them.
Besides, he had to take Diamond alive. At least until he'd saved Amy. Then she was expendable.
Diamond lingered at the bottom of the stairs, even as the crowd thinned out, looking back up as if waiting for something. The mime, who must have warned her they were onto her? Well, he wouldn't mind if it was.
He was definitely expendable.
And if pressed, Bobby had to admit he might have enjoyed putting a bullet in that tricky little bastard.
He slipped by Diamond even as she directed her attention to the plaza around them, obviously keeping an eye out for government agents. Too little, too late, he thought, almost disappointed with how easy this was.
Not that he was going to object. Capturing Lucy Diamond, without firing a shot?
That would make his career.
"Don't move," he growled, pressing his gun against her back. She froze, going rigid, and he could have sworn he heard a muttered curse of some kind. And so begins the legend of Bobby Matthews, he thought smugly. "Lucy Diamond, you are under arre-"
"Get away from her!" a voice hissed from behind him, too quiet and angry to recognize. He inwardly berated himself for falling for the same thing Diamond had, even as he began to turn around to face the new threat. Ryan should be showing up soon, he thought, since the elevators were obviously a bust. If he could just keep things under control for long enough...
He'd barely finished the thought when, the very second his gun had moved away from Diamond's spine, something impacted the back of his head with a vicious crack, making him stumble as blinding pain rippled through his skull. Diamond tore the gun from his hand and darted away, even as his attacker continued, smashing his leg with whatever it was they were using (something hard and metallic, it felt like), nailed him in the kidney, then swung it at his face.
He caught a bare glimpse of red, and beyond that just a hint of blonde, before the world went black.
**********************************************
Breathing heavily, Amy leaned against the wall, still clutching the fire extinguisher she'd hastily grabbed when she'd caught sight of Bobby in the crowd. She privately blamed herself for distracting Lucy at a vital moment, as obviously the thief had been looking around for what had evidently spooked her lover.
She absently wiped it down, then tossed it aside and moved to Lucy's side. At Lucy's raised eyebrow, she realized she had a faint, sheepish smile on her face. "I think I enjoyed that a little too much," she explained with a little shrug.
"Your ex?" Lucy asked.
"Yeah."
"Ah." From what Amy had told her about the ass, she could hardly blame her. "Well, he probably wasn't alone, and people must have noticed that, so now we've really got to move."
Amy took her hand without a word, allowing herself to be lead away to the car that Scud had found. Her lips twitched when she caught sight of the mime disguise that he hadn't had time to get rid of, but, to her credit, she managed to keep herself under control.
"I almost wish we hadn't come here," she whispered as they sped off in the direction of the safehouse.
Lucy heard her anyway. "What do you mean?" she asked, concerned. It wasn't that she thought Amy was having second thoughts about being together... though the worry was always in the back of her mind, ready to sneak up on her during a vulnerable moment.
Amy sighed, shaking her head. She really didn't want to get into this, but... well, she had brought it up, hadn't she? "Being here, with you, like this... I just..." She sighed again, heavier this time. "I have no idea how I'm supposed to go back to what we had before, like nothing happened."
Lucy's heart ached, even as part of her rejoiced that this was all that was wrong. "You don't have to," she suggested hesitantly.
"Except that I do!" Amy exploded. "You said so yourself! I have to go back there, a-and pretend that I just underwent this horrific ordeal, and listen to them talk about you like... like they think they know you, when all I want to do is scream that you're not like that, and they have no idea what they're talking about..." She sagged in her seat. "And that I love you, and why can't they just understand?" she finished morosely.
"Oh, baby..." Lucy pulled her into a hug while exchanging a look with Scud. She didn't think either of them had really understood just how much this was affecting Amy, and she didn't know about him, but she felt lousy about being the one to put the blonde DEB in such a situation. "If I could just give back everything I've stolen and have them forgive me, I'd do it in a heartbeat," she said, surprising herself by really meaning it. Crime had always been her life, but she realized that Amy had come to mean more to her then it ever had. "Unfortunately, I doubt it would be that easy."
"I know," Amy sniffled."
"Our best bet would probably be to run away together, and go somewhere that the whole cop-criminal mess wouldn't follow us."
Amy froze, then, in a barely audible voice, requested, "Ask me that again later."
And she really meant it, Lucy realized with astonishment. But she was also right, this was not the time for such discussions. Emotions were running too high, and that wasn't the way to make good decisions. "Deal," she said softly, placing a light kiss on Amy's cheek. Scud, bless him, was doing his best to pretend he couldn't hear the discussion going on behind him. "Well, when they ask, you can just say that I kidnapped you to make sure that the DEBS were too distracted to figure out what I was really up to, and you were otherwise left alone," she suggested, summoning up what she could of her usual breezy, nonchalant attitude.
Amy managed a shaky smile. "Okay, I... I guess that'll work. And I am sorry about all this, really. I just... I guess it just hit me all at once, is all."
"It's all right," Lucy assured her. She was interrupted by the car coming to a stop as Scud parked it in front of the safehouse, and the three of them dashed inside. It didn't take long to gather up the items that the couple had purchased during their vacation - Lucy assured Amy that she could get hers back in LA - and load them into the car, and while Scud was taking a few minutes to de-mime-ify, Lucy favored Amy with the grin that still made her weak in the knees. "And hey, if you wanna get in good with your bosses, you can always tell them that you managed to get this back when I wasn't looking," she said, taking something out of the bag she'd placed on one of the chairs while they'd been packing up the car and tossing it to Amy.
Who was stunned to find that it was a huge diamond - moreover, a huge diamond that she recognized. The 'Star of California', the gem that she'd (accidentally) stolen and then "negotiated" with Lucy for. "But... this is..." she sputtered.
"I can always steal it back another time," Lucy assured her with a negligent shrug. Whether or not she was actually that confident, the important thing was that no matter how much the diamond meant to her, Amy was worth more. So very, very much more.
Amy felt tears threaten, and pushed them back. "Do you have any rope laying around, or something?" she asked, voice somewhat ragged over the first few words. "Maybe something I could have used to cut them?" At Lucy's inquisitive look, she explained, "I'm sick to death of always needing to be rescued."
"You didn't in Hawaii," Lucy pointed out, though she could see where Amy was coming from.
"Except that I kind of did, since they were right behind us, which is the only reason you didn't have time to come back for me after I jumped out of the car," Amy countered, referring to her cover story she'd made up on the spot to explain her 'escape'.
"Well, either way, I'm sure we can come up with something." And here was another way that staying in a CIA safehouse came in handy, as there were all manner of restraints present - more then any agents would have needed, really, unless they were planning on capturing and securing an entire mob.
Frankly, it made Lucy wonder if the CIA boys (and girls) weren't just a bit more kinky then she'd ever given them credit for.
Eventually, they'd managed to stage a convincing-looking escape for Amy. She and Amy stood in the middle of the main room, both knowing Lucy had to leave, and neither quite ready to part. "You really should get going now, you know," Amy said quietly. "If you don't..."
"If I don't... what?" Lucy prompted. Anything to keep the conversation going, and delay leaving Amy's side for just a few moments longer.
"If you don't... I won't be able to let you go," Amy finished. "And that's not something I really need my friends walking in on." The hunger lingering in her gaze made it clear just what she meant, and Lucy grinned.
"Trust me, I don't really feel like playing exhibitionist for them, either." She gave Amy one last, lingering kiss. "I love you," she murmured against her lips.
"Love you, too," Amy said softly as she pulled back. "Now get moving. The sooner you get back to LA, the sooner you can come find me."
And that was, Lucy had to admit, probably the only thing that could have made her leave that room, even knowing the DEBS were likely en route that very second. Which should have alarmed her, but somehow didn't. "Look on the bright side," Lucy said with a sudden smile. "Before too long, it'll be time for the Vegas job. We can take in a show, or something."
"Sounds like a plan," Amy agreed, knowing that if she had to tip the DEBS off herself, she'd make sure they were sent to Vegas to 'catch' Lucy. Hopefully they'd be convinced that she was fit for duty by then. It surprised her how quickly the time since Lucy had first mentioned it in Hawaii had passed. The two weeks were almost up, and if Lucy really meant to be at the top of her game for this...
Well, it would take a lot of work. Which meant less time with together. Which made Amy glad that they'd at least had Paris.
She had to bite her lip, but she kept from making any movie quotes.
Having no idea what was going through her head, Lucy fought down a lustful groan at the sight, visibly forcing herself to pull away and back toward the door. "See you soon," she promised.
"I hope so," Amy replied truthfully.
And then Lucy was gone.
Sighing, Amy flopped down on a chair. She knew she should have been making sure that Lucy hadn't left anything behind, but somehow that seemed like too much effort right then.
She knew she was being ridiculous. She'd be back with Lucy soon enough, and she did like spending time with her friends. She just... hated having to choose between them. Because that's what they were making her do: them or Lucy. Lucy or them. No middle ground.
It wasn't at all fair, but then, what in life was?
Ever-so-faint sounds reached her ears, coming from the door, and a muffled, "Shh!" spurred her into action. She dashed over to the desk, grabbed the straight backed metal chair, and moved over to stand next to the door. It became evident someone was trying to get in, and all she could think was that Bobby and whoever he'd been there with had managed to track her down.
Like hell was she going to be 'rescued' by him. She raised the chair over her head, and when the door opened and the first figure entered, she brought it crashing down with all the force she could muster.
**********************************************
"What do you mean, we 'just missed them'?" Max asked dangerously.
"I mean zey left shortly before we arrived," Dominique replied with a shrug.
"What were they doing up here at all?" Max pressed, straining to control her temper. Strangling Dominique wouldn't change the facts of the situation, after all, and would only slow them down more.
After a few more questions to the witnesses, Dominique blinked in surprise and replied, "Dancing, apparently."
Whatever Max had expected her to say, that was evidently not it. "Dancing?" she repeated blankly.
"As well as sightseeing."
"So... she was still with her partner, then? Not Amy?" Janet asked.
"Ze descriptions say she eez tall and blonde. Zat would fit either of them." And Amy was dating a girl named Lucy. "Ah, L'Amour," she murmured softly.
"What?" Max demanded irritably, obviously not having heard her - or at least, not having heard her correctly. Janet, however, did hear her properly, and her expression went from surprise to shock to concern to astonishment to carefully neutral in rapid succession.
Well, well, well. Wasn't that interesting? Someone 'as been keeping secrets, it seems. They'd have to talk later, once Max wasn't around.
And once she'd determined exactly how she felt about the idea that Amy was dating Lucy Diamond, despite what she'd claimed. Though if it really was love...
"Which was did they go?" Max asked impatiently. When Dominique translated the question, the witnesses pointed in every conceivable direction - including straight up. "Oh, that is so helpful," Max said acidly as she turned and stalked toward the elevator. "Come on, let's go see if we can find a lead downstairs."
Dominique could have sworn that one or two people in the crowd winked at her as she turned to follow, but carefully didn't react.
"You know?" Janet hissed to her before they caught up with Max. "How do you know?"
Well, that answered that. "'ow do you?"
Unfortunately, there was no real time to talk.
The elevator ride was silent and tense, and it was a relief to exit onto the ground again. It quickly became obvious that something had happened while they were upstairs, though as confused as things were, all Dominique could ascertain was that it was an assault of some kind... though not a robbery, which, given the timing, meant the unlucky victim had probably been someone trying to stop Lucy Diamond and her 'partner' from getting away.
Several more questions later, and they'd been provided with at least a vague direction to go in. As they walked, they found other witnesses who'd seen Lucy and the blonde in question - and given how happy they supposedly were to be together, it was obvious that said blonde was Lucy's partner, which made Max wonder aloud where Amy had been all this time, while Janet and Dominique tried not to feel too guilty - which provided them with a much more specific destination.
As they flagged down a cab, Janet frowned. "Don't quote me on this," she began uncertainly, "but isn't that a CIA safehouse?"
"How would you know that?" Max asked, eyebrow raised. Janet turned red and muttered something likely self-incriminating. "Right," Max drawled. "Well, if it is... The CIA's going to have some explaining to do."
When they arrived at the address they'd been given to find a worn-looking building which opened to show an equally worn-looking - but otherwise empty - storefront, Janet was certain.
Max silently pointed at the floor, where the dust was visibly disturbed along a path leading to what looked like just another part of the wall... and when they moved up to it as quietly as they could, flipped aside a hidden panel to reveal a keypad.
"Do we have the code?" Janet asked, more mouthing the words then whispering.
"Shh!" Max hushed her, making almost no noise herself.
Almost.
A quick consult with headquarters via a secure PDA - set on silent mode - produced a list of possible codes, and Janet began trying each one in succession. The third time, the door soundlessly opened inwards. Gun in hand, Max took point.
At which point a chair swung down towards her head.
Max had seen movement off to the side and tried to get out of the way, but all that meant was that she was hit mainly in the shoulder, with one of the legs hitting her head, rather then taking the whole force of the blow directly on her skull. It was fairly lucky for her, really.
Whether she saw it that way when she woke up, though, was another question entirely.
Before Janet or Dominique could bring their guns to bear, though, they heard a distinctly chagrined, "Oops."
Sure enough, when they cautiously peeked around the corner, there was Amy, chair resting on the floor, her hands nervously gripping the back of it. "I-I wasn't expecting you guys," Amy said by way of apology. "...she's not going to be happy when she wakes up, is she?"
"When's the last time we actually did see her happy?" Janet asked.
"I think when Ms. Petrie called me in for that little photo session... or maybe when we got permission to hunt Lucy across national boundaries?" Amy suggested, finally letting go of the chair.
That sounded about right, actually... which was a tad depressing. But Janet wanted- no, she needed to ask something else. "Speaking of Lucy, since it obviously wasn't her, who did you think it was when you decided to commit assault with a deadly chair?"
Amy blinked at her in surprise. "What? I don't know what you-"
"You can save the act," Janet interrupted. "Dom figured it out."
Amy maintained her defensive look for a few moments more, then chuckled ruefully. "I knew I'd made it a tad too obvious for you," she admitted.
"Saying you were dating someone named Lucy at the same time Miss Diamond picked up a new partner was something of a give away, oui," Dominique said with a faint smile.
"Are you... okay with that?"
"Tell me, 'ow do you feel about her?"
"I love her," Amy said honestly. "So much that... I hate being away from her, at all. When we're together..." She sighed wistfully. "Everything's so perfect. I've never felt like this about anyone, before. Ever."
Dominique stared at her for a long moment, then sighed and gave a small shrug. "You cannot control matters of ze heart," she said simply. "It is madness to try."
Amy smiled, relieved. "Thank you."
"And now that we've gotten that settled," Janet broke in, "maybe we should see about getting Max some medical attention?"
Amy winced. "Heh. Yeah, that might be a good idea."
**********************************************
All too soon for Amy's taste, they were back in LA, in the sterile medical facility of the DEBS academy. "Have I mentioned yet how really, incredibly sorry I am?" she asked Max as the latter fixed an ice pack to an aching spot on her shoulder.
"Yes. About twenty times, now. I think I forgave you around the third." Well, fourth, maybe. This had been before she'd gotten some of the best painkillers the DEBS had to offer into her system, when her skull had been splitting itself in half and her shoulder had been insisting that it had been shattered beyond all repair, so she thought she could be forgiven for not giving in to Amy's whipped puppy expression right away. "You were trying to escape, and an unknown party was approaching with God-knows-what intentions. You reacted exactly the way you were supposed to."
"And you at least got off easier then Bobby," Janet told Max. The flight home - with Max out cold on painkillers - had given the other three a chance to catch up and exchange stories. Ignoring the slight flush making its way onto Amy's face, Janet gleefully continued, "Apparently, he managed to get the drop on Lucy Diamond, only to get his ass kicked by her partner. Everybody's talking about it."
Max chuckled, then winced as the motion jostled her shoulder. "Now that I wish I'd gotten a chance to see."
"You may ask him about eet now, if you wish," Dominique said from her seat near the examination bed Max was still sitting on, waiting for the doctor to get back with her X-Rays. "I believe he eez here, getting his head examined."
"About time, if you ask me," Amy muttered. And speak of the devil, she thought with an internal groan as Bobby entered the room.
"Amy, are you all right?" he asked, ignoring the other three DEBS completely. Ryan, lingering in the doorway behind him, shook his head and gave them an apologetic look.
"Fine," she said coolly. "I'm sure you've already read my report on what happened, and I don't really have anything to add to it." And she'd certainly been praised for that little work of fiction. Mister Phipps had been especially impressed that she'd been able to get the 'Star of California' back, which had made her feel a twinge of guilt that she'd quickly suppressed.
"Yeah, I have, and you were amazing! I don't know many agents would have been able to keep their cool like that."
Well. If he kept that up, she might be able to get through this without hitting him.
"Of course, I also don't know a lot of agents who would sneak into Lucy Diamond's hideout without bothering to take any kind of precautions."
Then again...
"But don't worry, you're safe now, and I won't let anything else happen to you."
And that was it. Just like that, Amy's already fragile self-control completely snapped.
"Okay," she said as she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Eyes hard and unreadable, she advanced on Bobby. "I've tried to be patient. I've tried to be polite. But now it appears I'm going to have to be rude." Standing right in front of him, she glared at him as she ground out, "You repulse me. What is it going to take to get this through your thick skull? We. Are. Over. I might have liked to be friends, but now I don't even want that. I despise you. The idea of you touching me ever again makes me actually, physically sick. I would sooner marry fucking Lucy Diamond before even speaking with you again!" By this point, he was backing towards the door, Amy moving with him, occasionally poking him sharply to emphasize a point. "I am giving serious thought to taking out a restraining order against you, which I'm sure will just do your career a world of good. I don't want you within a hundred yards of me ever again, for personal OR professional issues, do you understand? Because if you come near me again, I swear to God, I will fucking shoot you. Do you get it, yet?!" Struck dumb by her tirade, he could only nod. "Good! Then get the hell out of my sight! There are sick and injured people here, and they don't need you hanging around to make them worse!" With that last shout, she slammed the door shut in his face.
She stood there for a long moment, breathing heavily, letting the ringing in her ears from the door fade, then turned around and faced her team. "Sorry about that," she began. "I guess I, ah, got a bit carried away."
She needn't have worried. Dominique favored her with a rare, full grin, while Janet giggled and applauded.
Max, however, said it best. "That," she said with a grin of her own, "was totally worth getting smashed over the head for."
Okay, so this was BEYOND late. I can't apologize for that enough - though I am so very, very, very, very, very, very, very sorry - only promise to try and do better in the future. It is the longest chapter to date, though, if that helps. ^_^