Le Tourbillon de la Vie (4/12)
Title: Le Tourbillon de la Vie
Characters: Claude, Sandra, OMC
Rating: PG13
Warnings: Not much
Word Count: 956
Spoilers: In this part not terribly much but for the story overall it really helps to have read the Golden Handshake series of the GN.
Disclaimer: Not mine, blah blah.
Summary: A Company trip to Paris takes a turn for the...interesting.
A/N: Because I am clearly insane I took a perfectly decent Noah/Sandra/Claude threesome fic (which is now the prologue) and turned it into a quasi-romantic action movie set in Paris. I still don't even know. I blame Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn.
Super-awesome-special thanks to englishmuffin2 for beta-ing and assisting with the French.
[ Prologue] [Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] [Chapter 3] [Chapter 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 6]
[Chapter 7] [Chapter 8] [Chapter 9] [Chapter 10] [Chapter 11] [Chapter 12] [Epilogue]
“She’s just been crying and crying, ever since we brought her in. Tried to ask her what happened but-“
“So you brought her in here and just left her alone?” Jean sounded incredulous and the young man winced.
“We’ve been watching her, sir, making sure she didn’t hurt herself but-“
“Fine,” he sighed. “Go get her some…” he looked at Claude, who blinked and shook his head in confusion, and then sighed again. “Coffee, I suppose, and then come right back.”
“Yes, sir,” and he ran off as Claude and Jean entered the room.
Sandra looked up and started sobbing again, full-bodied gasps that made even Claude wince, and then getting up and falling into his arms before he could say a word.
Curled up tight against him, sniffling and shaking, burying her face in his neck and he tried not to get too caught up in that, having her so close, her warmth and her scent and her hands on his chest. Patted her softly on the back, purposefully high, and waited for her to quiet.
“Sandra?” he kept his tone low, and wasn’t quite sure what to make of the accompanying whimpered sound.
Jean cleared his throat behind them and Claude half-turned, shrugged as much as he could, and conveyed as much bewilderment as he felt comfortable showing.
“I will…” the man said, backing away. “I will give the two of you a moment.”
He heard the door shut and kept patting at her shoulder. “Shh, love, it’ll-“
And she was pulling away, turning away from him, and taking deep breaths.
“Sandra?”
“Do you think it worked?” She sounded breathless and nervous, and when she turned around her eyes were still red, but she’d stopped crying altogether.
“I…you…” he did his best to process, but all he could do was gape at her. “You were faking?”
“Well not at…” she took another breath, and pushed back her hair. “Not at first, but once I started crying they didn’t seem to know what to do with me so I figured if I kept at it…”
“You…” he nodded to himself, and let out a nervous laugh. “Well, that was…good job, then.”
“So you think it…”
“Yeah, think so,” he hazarded a smile. “’course Jean just heard all that, but…” he stopped when her face fell, and tried to be comforting. “But s’all right, he’s a friend of mine, he won’t….”
“Does he know anything about Noah? Is he going to find him?” She’d brightened considerably, and Claude did his best to keep smiling.
“We’re workin’ on it, yeah,” he tried to sound casual. “But first I’m gonna take you back to the hotel, and Jean’s agreed to send someone to stay with you later, make sure you get some sleep-“
“Someone that will most likely be me,” Jean had entered without either of them noticing, and Claude nodded. “Once my shift ends.”
“Oh no, I couldn’t,” Sandra said immediately. “He couldn’t, couldn’t ask you to come take care of me right after you’d got off work, I’m sure you’ve got a…family to get home to, or…”
“It is quite all right, Ben and I are old friends,” Jean gave his most charming of smiles, and Sandra did not look unaffected. “And after all, I always love repaying old favors.”
*
“Claude?”
He looked up from his search for the extra round he hoped he wouldn’t end up needing, and was surprised to find her standing directly in front of him.
“Yeah?”
“He thinks your name is Ben.”
“Maybe it is,” he said, after a moment, and looked down again.
He sensed Sandra stepping away from him.
“Is it?”
“No,” he shook his head, and glanced up. Sandra frowned and he sighed. “No, it’s not.”
“And I’m just supposed to believe you,” she murmured, mostly to herself, and Claude sighed.
“Look,” he reached forward and grasped her arms as lightly as he could. Was more than relieved that she didn’t cringe or pull away from him, and then her eyes softened, and he felt undeservedly warmed. “When we’re done with all this, I promise, I’ll tell you everythin’ you want to know. But right now, Sandra, I-“
“Okay,” she nodded, before he even finished. “What do you need me to do?”
“Nothin’,” he said, automatically. “Can’t put you at risk like that, Noah’d never-”
“Claude.”
“No. You’ll stay here, wait for Jean to show up. Get some rest, finally, because I’ll bet you haven’t since yesterday, and I’ll…” he sighed to himself. “I’ll do what I have to do.”
“Well then don’t you have…don’t you have back-up or someone who’ll-“
“Noah’s my back-up,” Claude slipped his gun into its holster. “And I’m his.”
“But the Company, wouldn’t they-“
“The Company’d be of the opinion that an agent that let himself get captured wouldn’t quite be worth the trouble of savin’.”
“But-“
“Which is why we’ll sort this out ourselves. I’ll find him, get him out of wherever the hell he is, and that’ll be the end of it.”
“Claude,” she pouted at him, and almost seemed about to stomp her foot. “I am not gonna stay here driving myself crazy waiting for the two of you to come back if-“
“Dunno what you want me to tell you, Sandra, but-“
“Tell me what I can do to make sure I see my husband again,” her tone steadied as her eyes narrowed to two slivers of steel ready to cut through him. “That’s what.”
Claude sighed, playing back the scenes from barely three hours earlier, and shook his head. Knew he was going to regret this but-
“Didn’t bring some sort of suit along, did you?”
*
Characters: Claude, Sandra, OMC
Rating: PG13
Warnings: Not much
Word Count: 956
Spoilers: In this part not terribly much but for the story overall it really helps to have read the Golden Handshake series of the GN.
Disclaimer: Not mine, blah blah.
Summary: A Company trip to Paris takes a turn for the...interesting.
A/N: Because I am clearly insane I took a perfectly decent Noah/Sandra/Claude threesome fic (which is now the prologue) and turned it into a quasi-romantic action movie set in Paris. I still don't even know. I blame Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn.
Super-awesome-special thanks to englishmuffin2 for beta-ing and assisting with the French.
[ Prologue] [Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] [Chapter 3] [Chapter 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 6]
[Chapter 7] [Chapter 8] [Chapter 9] [Chapter 10] [Chapter 11] [Chapter 12] [Epilogue]
“She’s just been crying and crying, ever since we brought her in. Tried to ask her what happened but-“
“So you brought her in here and just left her alone?” Jean sounded incredulous and the young man winced.
“We’ve been watching her, sir, making sure she didn’t hurt herself but-“
“Fine,” he sighed. “Go get her some…” he looked at Claude, who blinked and shook his head in confusion, and then sighed again. “Coffee, I suppose, and then come right back.”
“Yes, sir,” and he ran off as Claude and Jean entered the room.
Sandra looked up and started sobbing again, full-bodied gasps that made even Claude wince, and then getting up and falling into his arms before he could say a word.
Curled up tight against him, sniffling and shaking, burying her face in his neck and he tried not to get too caught up in that, having her so close, her warmth and her scent and her hands on his chest. Patted her softly on the back, purposefully high, and waited for her to quiet.
“Sandra?” he kept his tone low, and wasn’t quite sure what to make of the accompanying whimpered sound.
Jean cleared his throat behind them and Claude half-turned, shrugged as much as he could, and conveyed as much bewilderment as he felt comfortable showing.
“I will…” the man said, backing away. “I will give the two of you a moment.”
He heard the door shut and kept patting at her shoulder. “Shh, love, it’ll-“
And she was pulling away, turning away from him, and taking deep breaths.
“Sandra?”
“Do you think it worked?” She sounded breathless and nervous, and when she turned around her eyes were still red, but she’d stopped crying altogether.
“I…you…” he did his best to process, but all he could do was gape at her. “You were faking?”
“Well not at…” she took another breath, and pushed back her hair. “Not at first, but once I started crying they didn’t seem to know what to do with me so I figured if I kept at it…”
“You…” he nodded to himself, and let out a nervous laugh. “Well, that was…good job, then.”
“So you think it…”
“Yeah, think so,” he hazarded a smile. “’course Jean just heard all that, but…” he stopped when her face fell, and tried to be comforting. “But s’all right, he’s a friend of mine, he won’t….”
“Does he know anything about Noah? Is he going to find him?” She’d brightened considerably, and Claude did his best to keep smiling.
“We’re workin’ on it, yeah,” he tried to sound casual. “But first I’m gonna take you back to the hotel, and Jean’s agreed to send someone to stay with you later, make sure you get some sleep-“
“Someone that will most likely be me,” Jean had entered without either of them noticing, and Claude nodded. “Once my shift ends.”
“Oh no, I couldn’t,” Sandra said immediately. “He couldn’t, couldn’t ask you to come take care of me right after you’d got off work, I’m sure you’ve got a…family to get home to, or…”
“It is quite all right, Ben and I are old friends,” Jean gave his most charming of smiles, and Sandra did not look unaffected. “And after all, I always love repaying old favors.”
*
“Claude?”
He looked up from his search for the extra round he hoped he wouldn’t end up needing, and was surprised to find her standing directly in front of him.
“Yeah?”
“He thinks your name is Ben.”
“Maybe it is,” he said, after a moment, and looked down again.
He sensed Sandra stepping away from him.
“Is it?”
“No,” he shook his head, and glanced up. Sandra frowned and he sighed. “No, it’s not.”
“And I’m just supposed to believe you,” she murmured, mostly to herself, and Claude sighed.
“Look,” he reached forward and grasped her arms as lightly as he could. Was more than relieved that she didn’t cringe or pull away from him, and then her eyes softened, and he felt undeservedly warmed. “When we’re done with all this, I promise, I’ll tell you everythin’ you want to know. But right now, Sandra, I-“
“Okay,” she nodded, before he even finished. “What do you need me to do?”
“Nothin’,” he said, automatically. “Can’t put you at risk like that, Noah’d never-”
“Claude.”
“No. You’ll stay here, wait for Jean to show up. Get some rest, finally, because I’ll bet you haven’t since yesterday, and I’ll…” he sighed to himself. “I’ll do what I have to do.”
“Well then don’t you have…don’t you have back-up or someone who’ll-“
“Noah’s my back-up,” Claude slipped his gun into its holster. “And I’m his.”
“But the Company, wouldn’t they-“
“The Company’d be of the opinion that an agent that let himself get captured wouldn’t quite be worth the trouble of savin’.”
“But-“
“Which is why we’ll sort this out ourselves. I’ll find him, get him out of wherever the hell he is, and that’ll be the end of it.”
“Claude,” she pouted at him, and almost seemed about to stomp her foot. “I am not gonna stay here driving myself crazy waiting for the two of you to come back if-“
“Dunno what you want me to tell you, Sandra, but-“
“Tell me what I can do to make sure I see my husband again,” her tone steadied as her eyes narrowed to two slivers of steel ready to cut through him. “That’s what.”
Claude sighed, playing back the scenes from barely three hours earlier, and shook his head. Knew he was going to regret this but-
“Didn’t bring some sort of suit along, did you?”
*