If there was anything the government required absolutely and completely, it was punctuality. Hunnigan had reamed Leon out enough times for being what was essentially on time, but not adhering to the standard etiquette of five-to-ten-minutes early, that doing so had since become a habit
( ... )
Jill broke into a warm grin when she spotted him, swiveling her stool in his direction. "Hey," she replied, her tone equal to her expression. "It has--coming on six years, I think."
Sure enough, he looked the same--older, of course, and with that same subtle but detectable air about him that people in their position always seemed to carry: a maturity, almost, that most others seemed to lack, or maybe it was just a mutual understanding of similar circumstances. The knowledge of what it was like to go through hell, to be blunt. Or maybe survivors of their situations just projected that onto others like them.
Whatever the case, there was definitely a more experienced look about Leon than Jill remembered.
"But it's great to see you again--I wasn't sure you'd remember me," she admitted, her smile turning some vague shadow of sheepish.
He smiled a bit more openly now, with an amused noise under his breath. "Forget about you? Really? Come on, my memory's not that bad." Granted, she'd also looked much the same from a distance, which had definitely helped a great deal. If she hadn't, he would have ended up awkwardly trying to get a good look at her without letting her know he was looking at her. Such was usually the nature of meeting like this.
Looking over Jill more carefully, he started noticing smaller details. She looked older, of course, and with the same invisible but ever-present weight that seemed common among those involved with bio-terrorism. The general feel of her seemed strained, too, like she was too little fabric stretched over too much area. Stress, maybe?
His elbow came to rest down on the bartop as "Curious, though. What brings you to D.C.?" Well, obviously it was political in one way or another, but he was curious as to the specifics.
His comment got a good-natured chuckle out of her. "Now I don't feel so bad for calling you up out of the blue like that," she joked.
At the question, Jill exhaled silently, but her smile stayed as she drummed her fingers along the side of her as-of-yet-untouched drink. "Business, pretty much. I mentioned before that Chris and I are with the B.S.A.A. these days; there've been a lot of loose ends to tie up since our last mission in Kijuju, Africa." She glanced at Leon, looking for a sign that he recognized the topic. Considering all that had gone down over there, there was no way the American government hadn't caught wind of most of the details, but she could only wonder how much someone in Leon's position would know. "That's pretty much what we've been running around here for," she concluded. "That, and a few other paperwork matters."
Like the Alliance helping her through all the complications that came with trying to revert one's legally dead status.
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Sure enough, he looked the same--older, of course, and with that same subtle but detectable air about him that people in their position always seemed to carry: a maturity, almost, that most others seemed to lack, or maybe it was just a mutual understanding of similar circumstances. The knowledge of what it was like to go through hell, to be blunt. Or maybe survivors of their situations just projected that onto others like them.
Whatever the case, there was definitely a more experienced look about Leon than Jill remembered.
"But it's great to see you again--I wasn't sure you'd remember me," she admitted, her smile turning some vague shadow of sheepish.
Reply
Looking over Jill more carefully, he started noticing smaller details. She looked older, of course, and with the same invisible but ever-present weight that seemed common among those involved with bio-terrorism. The general feel of her seemed strained, too, like she was too little fabric stretched over too much area. Stress, maybe?
His elbow came to rest down on the bartop as "Curious, though. What brings you to D.C.?" Well, obviously it was political in one way or another, but he was curious as to the specifics.
Reply
At the question, Jill exhaled silently, but her smile stayed as she drummed her fingers along the side of her as-of-yet-untouched drink. "Business, pretty much. I mentioned before that Chris and I are with the B.S.A.A. these days; there've been a lot of loose ends to tie up since our last mission in Kijuju, Africa." She glanced at Leon, looking for a sign that he recognized the topic. Considering all that had gone down over there, there was no way the American government hadn't caught wind of most of the details, but she could only wonder how much someone in Leon's position would know. "That's pretty much what we've been running around here for," she concluded. "That, and a few other paperwork matters."
Like the Alliance helping her through all the complications that came with trying to revert one's legally dead status.
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