@inhumanhacker

@inhumanhacker

Happy Death Day 2U 2019 | dir. Christopher Landon

Elizabeth hated that they had to work together and headed to the gym to blow off some steam while Charlie and AJ coordinated everything. If she was going to be stuck babysitting a rich boy with a perchance for thrill-seeking, she needed to make sure that she was ready for anything.

AJ was Switzerland in all of the going ons when it came to the business end deal of what they did. He just needed to know what and where and follow the trails and make sure that Elizabeth got there before everyone else. While the prospect of having to work with someone else sounded strange but he'd trust anything Charlie would set up for them and readied himself for the files to come through.

Charlie for his part enjoyed that he'd get to talk to Sage again. "Doing well, how have you been since I've last seen you darling?" Smile on his face, he answered. "We are a go. Send your files over for AJ to review and start to look over and we'll be good to go. I saw we meet in two days time to come up with a game plan, what do you say?"

"What did you do to her?" Sage snapped as soon as Charlie had disappeared from view.

"Me? Nothing, she was explaining the game to me, told her I had never been. You know how my Father was. The next thing I know, she's barely speaking to me. And you expect me to work with that? Some hormonal woman with daddy issues?"

"You're unbelievable. We work with them, or we lose the Scion to someone else. That's your decision, but we can't get it without their support, their expertise." Sage shouted pointing her finger warningly at Rafe.

"Fine." Sage knew he wouldn't drop this, not when it was so close to being theirs. "Coordinate with your new boyfriend. Have Ashley send them what they need." Sage could have argued with him for calling Charlie her boyfriend, but knew it was futile.

-----

After filling Ashley in, who was keen to see what this AJ was capable of, she had a file ready to send once Sage gave the go-ahead.

"Hi Charlie, it's Sage. How are you?" A silly question, she had only been with him earlier, but she liked him. "SAo have you decided? We've got everything ready on our end. We can send it straight away."

The thought of having Dolly over so soon had her slightly excited but she also wasn't going to let him know that. "No, I don't think it'd be too soon. I'm sure that something could be moved around." But the smile on her face was also giving her away. "I'll take good care of her, scouts honor. How long will you be gone?" Part of her wanted to ask about his case but she didn't want to ruin this. For once she would take the advice of someone and not think about work for a second. No clues to follow or mysteries to unravel, for one night.

"Ah," she nodded in acknowledgment. "It runs in the family, huh. Well, fear not, there is nothing to be nervous about here and I'm," A small shrug of her shoulders. "Comfortable. So no need to talk me ear off anymore." Chuckling, she added. "But I think I have become so accustomed to it that if you stopped talking I'd think something is wrong."

Her new home? How to tell someone that their home was nice but not a place that she considered her own. Not that she ever felt at home anywhere, ever. Listening to him talk, rather passionately about hanging out more often, she couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped her when he said to grab it by the horns and ride it. Thinking of something else she had wanted to do that night, the irony not lost on her. Live. What was it to actually live, not that she knew. Life had just been a series of tasks to accomplish. Once one was done, she had moved on to the next one. “That’s a lot coming from someone who works just as hard. I don’t recall us not spending more than two hours before work comes up. Your phone is always ringing, and its always work.” With a sigh, she laid her hands flat on the table. “I’m not saying no, just, later. This case has to be perfected I have to meet with the clients lawyer and prepare with them for deposition. Everything needs to be perfect.” While she hated this tedious part of some cases, she also knew how important it was to make sure things were wrapped up and the client was able to have some sort of relief from it all.

“Nope.” She said proudly. “ Never got seasick actually,” as for the missing part, that was still something she was coming to terms to. It wasn’t until she left New York behind that she found herself missing her friends. “I guess.” Finishing her drink, she smirked. “What is a fabricated story but a pretty lie though, Wally.” She would know, having spent her whole life spinning them like a spider weaving an intricate beautiful web of lies. Her father’s stories just helping her imagination, helping her be a better liar. “Where? Maine? Maybe. California, I go back all the time. But.” Her eyes narrowed slightly at him as she began to think back about how he could’ve known about her inclination to baseball and had began to realize something. “I’m sure you’ve heard about that from Orion, didn’t you.” Orion was an open book and knew that he had liked the man when he spent Easter with her on the island. There was no one else who could have shared so much but him.

“Well someone,” she said pointedly looking at him. “ Didn’t mention great places to see before so how is it my fault?” Waving away his thanks. “No thanks is needed. People just suck and you can’t let them make you feel like you can’t enjoy the things you like just because it isn’t their thing, we are always learning and evolving and anyone who isn’t is dumb. And I’m full of weird quotes and sayings.” A small huff of a chuckle, thinking about all the books she read and the stories her father had told her once upon a time.

Giddiness filled her and she tried her best to keep it at bay as he said that he was ready. She began to reach for her phone, for the money stuck between her case and phone ready to pay for this dinner as a thank you but he was already signing a bill. “Can you at least send me a request for half?” The request she knew would most likely go ignored but she couldn't help but ask.

Now she felt like she was encroaching on a family thing. "Oh, so being pregnant is no excuse for being hormonal?" It was a tease anything to get her out of her mind for now. "Now I'm going to make it my mission to make a bee line straight to them and tell them what you think of their pregnancies." A joke, it was the last thing in the world she would ever do, just embed herself in a family, unless she was stealing from them.

"Exactly!" Her hazel eyes grew wide with excitement and her smile wide displaying her teeth. "They are all so different yet the same. Uniquely themselves in uniformity. Hope?" The idea through her off. The light was always just that to her. A light in the distance letting her know that her time at sea was coming to an end. It wasn't hope to her. It was an end. But she could see what he meant by it. She could recall the pitch black nights on the water where you couldn't even see your own hand unless you had a light on you. The only thing that put through it in the distance would be the faint light and off distance echoing sound of its horn. "I should take you?!" The words were said with an exaggerated surprise and small giggle as she put her hand in his without a second though scooting out ready for this adventure. "You are barely taking me to a lighthouse that I didn’t know about and you want me to take you across the world?"

She never talked about her trips to Iceland, a depressing homeland trek, the fact that she even brought it up caught her off guard. Standing straight, she shrugged one shoulder. "There's not much to see, not like here." A lie but thinking about a place she had dreamed of being home, it felt empty each time she went to see where her father once lived. Where a piece of paper said she had been born. Where her father had always written and talked about as a magical place only for her to feel bitter that it didn't feel like that each time she walked its land. Stepping into the night air, she took a deep breath and shook the thoughts away, becoming a one track mind and smiled at Wally. "She never talked about her trips to Iceland, a depressing homeland trek, the fact that she even brought it up caught her off guard. Standing straight, she shrugged one shoulder. "There's not much to see, not like here." A lie but thinking about a place she had dreamed of being home, it felt empty each time she went to see where her father once lived. Where a piece of paper said she had been born. Where her father had always written and talked about as a magical place only for her to feel bitter that it didn't feel like that each time she walked its land. Stepping into the night air, she took a deep breath and shook the thoughts away, becoming a one track mind and smiled at Wally. "Did you know the oldest lighthouse in the world is in Spain? Built by Romans." The topic of lighthouses would for sure keep her from straying to other things she'd rather not slip up.

It seemed like he'd just found the nickname for her and based on that beaming flicker across her face he couldn't help but feel a bit smug that he had put that look on her face. He wasn't a parent either but knew if there wasn't a mutual trust then it'd show in the way that they'd keep the kid away with any bogus excuse.

The nickname for his pup made him laugh and quickly had him nod his head. "Then it's set. I am traveling to LA for a case on Friday so if it's not too soon for you, you can take her and I can give Lenny a break." His face took on a somber expression. The case in LA was the one that kept him up at night with all the possible outcomes and he knew getting it closed was not going to be easy. Especially knowing that there was no DNA matches since it'd been a few years. "She does love to walk, I'll give you that. If you take her out before sunset you'll get to see it on your walk over the horizon. It makes the beach glimmer."

"It's actually a nervous habit I inherited from my mom. Either I do it when I'm trying to make someone else comfortable or when I'm nervous and want to break an uncomfortable ice barrier." Naturally, he was the one most like his mom, personality wise while his twin was the one who looked like their mom.

He shrugged like she had just said the most obvious thing in the world. "I can multitask you know. Also why not. You just finished saying you want to explore more of your new home. There's so much to see when it comes to the islands. Not to mention there is Pearl Harbor. Though, maybe not that one. You'll need clearance for that," he murmured as a sly little smile overtook his features. It wasn't like he hadn't gotten his own family in there twice. "A big case has not stopped us before. Why would it now? Unless, this is your polite way to say no you've gotten bored of me. Listen, work is always going to be there. Life happens and sometimes you gotta grab it by the horns and ride it. Take it from me, someone who had to learn to take my vacation days just because." It was no secret he took his job seriously and more often than not would overwork himself to get things done. "I'll help you with it. If that is what you'd want but don't bury yourself in work. Let yourself live."

He snorted when she agreed Maine folks weren't the nicest. Glad he wasn't the only one who thought that. Listening to her talk about her time on a boat made a smile appear. It seemed like quite an adventure, one that someone would hold dear. "That sounds nice. Except for the motion sickness. Isn't that how it always goes? You miss something when you no longer have it." There was ancestry dot com he thought but really she needed to want to know for it to work. "There's ways to know but I guess it'd be fun to have that pirate ancestry. Sometimes a fabricated story is better than a straight out lie." He didn't necessarily agree with that statement but he also he wasn't one to talk.

"Would you want to go back?" Wally asked, unsure if this would be one of the places she'd want to go back to. "California reminds me of Louisiana except it doesn't hold a candle to my beloved Bayou." He smirked as if that was any secret that his hometown held a special place in his heart.

With the rim of the drink against his lips he ended up laughing into his sparkling water. "First," he took a sip and tried to control his laughter. "You never asked how long it'd take and secondly, there's a billion places to see and lighthouses on each island so your bad for thinking this wasn't gonna take some time." He swallowed the water and set it back down, the nickname she had for him made his green eyes sparkle. He liked the name more than he actually admitted.

He tried to make his blush less noticeable and only nodded. "I'm sure I'm missing about ten more places but it's not the same when you travel for work as it is to travel for fun." The saying was pretty accurate. "I like that saying. Also thank you for not thinking it's nerdy. I think once you're not in school people tend to forget you keep learning as an adult."

The excitement was charged in the air as he finished off his drink and did the signal for the check. "Mhmm. I'm ready. I'll just grab the check." The exchange of the credit card and tab was quick enough that if she blinked she missed it. He took the pen in his left hand and signed it. His penmanship was neat, something he attested to his time working on his cursive. It was almost comical how much he resembled his sister in this moment and how much they resembled their mother. They all drew their B's the same. He signed two since he knew the food was en route to be delivered to his sisters homes and added in a 25 tip for them. His skills at fast mental math weren't as good as Lucie"s but they weren't too shabby.

"I've seen about eight in total. With my sisters having babies every year or so it seems like, we don't get to explore as much and they hate it when I go on my own. They tend to say they miss out on the experience so I have to wait until they're cleared and have given birth to go to drive to the other islands. Hard too when they're all hormonal and the heat makes them insufferable." He looked up from his check and smirked. "Don't tell them that." Then went back to his writing. "What fascinates me most about them though is the lights. They each have a different shade of light. They're not all the same. Though, it may seem weird or odd but I like lights. It's like a beacon of hope. I also like how each is built so different from the others. Not one looks exactly the same."

"Iceland? Maybe you should take me." His eyes finally looked up and smiled as he put his pen down and closed the book. Gave his thanks and started to move to get up off the seat. Holding out his hand for her to take if she so chose it he waited.

"I wish." Elizabeth laughed thinking about the sleaze ball she learned sleight of hand from. "No, I can't say that I have but from how you talk about it, I think I'm going to have to remedy that. I'm sure if we looked hard enough for it we could find one. You can also order practically anything online too, you could have it delivered to the island." It was just suggestions, anything to keep him from thinking about the pain.

Comms? Memo? A British Intelligence officer? There were so many stipulations building on top of this, that she wanted to say to just forget it, that she’d confine herself to the villa instead. But there was work to be done, good work, so she’d agree to whatever he needed to feel okay about whatever happened, even if it irked her, this was still his case. And this was better than being in that cell so close to McKinney, which she was still repaying him for but she would still mutter in protest. "I'm a lot more capable without an entire entourage. How am I supposed to schmooze up to anyone and try to get information with so many following me around. This isn't my first rodeo."

Chuckling at the comment, she rebutted. "Yeah, but it's better than a boring husband." With a small sucking of her teeth, she nodded as she settled. "Yeah, I've met some in the past." Her left-handed ring finger began to flex as a phantom ache settled in its bone, recalling the broken finger she obtained in Vegas. "Can't blame me for not liking you when meeting you, when your colleagues give such stunning first impressions."

Settling she took a second bite from her sandwich as her hazel eyes never left him. Taking in the reasons why he did what he did, about his family, more than she could ever think about asking. Setting her sandwich aside, she drank from her water, feeling like perhaps this was something she shouldn't be listening to. Something about this felt too deep, something shared between friends who would be around each other for a long time, and a small guilt nagged at her. But she didn't want him to stop and found herself wanting to know more about the man she had come to see in her life more often than not. Something that she would remedy once they were out of there.

The more he talked, the more he opened up, the more she began to feel horrible about this all. Out of all the people in the world for her to befriend, or befriend her in all honesty, and it had to be a good man. A good person who had no business associating with her. She had already known that Wally was a good person but this just further confirmed that she needed to hang back from whatever friendly situation they had going on. There was no doubt that if he ever learned who she really was, he'd do the right thing, turn her in. She could feel the walls closing in.

He was also right, she knew all too well the red tape that came, the rules, regulations and policies in place that kept anyone from trying to make an actual change in the world from doing so. "Yeah," she said sighed and clearing her throat. "I do, know. Why not just join under another name? Change your last name." It was an easy fix for someone who never attached herself to a name, and answered to a handful of them when the situation required it. A name meant nothing to her anymore, just something on a piece of paper, something that interchanged that she needed to remember to answer. She had to remember that not everyone had an aversion to being tied to one name. "You know actually, you don't have to answer that. Sorry."

Taking a moment to look around the room to remind her where she was, what she was here for, she looked back at him. Realizing that she hadn't thought about the eye, she reached out to sweep his hair out of the way. Her hazel eyes looked over it for swelling and any visual loss. "How's the eye? Need me to bring you some ice?" Then her eyes began to wander, down his form, the side was the easiest to spot but she never stopped to think about all the injuries he might have sustained. Also focusing on something like patching him up was a safer topic. "Anything else that needs tending to?"

"Was it Houduini?" Wally asked, eyes alight with amusement. "I guess I could share that secret with you. You're trustworthy, why not." A dimpled smile followed his statement as he was now actually thinking of that pie. "Have you ever tried a cannoli pie? It is the actual best thing on this planet. Especially if its creamy on the inside so it's like that thick goo." Just talking about it made his mouth water. "I'll share a piece with you once I can get my hands on it. Wish the islands had it. That'd be a lot more convenient. For me." A deep sigh soon took over knowing that was literally a dream. No way he could magically produce that. "Wish Hawaii had that spiked marsala. It adds that distinct flavor and sweetness."

The suggestion was like if someone had told him to bring an umbrella out when it rained. True in fact was that it was a brilliant idea but one that he couldn't just sit back and relax. Though his injuries told him otherwise. Releasing a deep sigh, he knew she was right. Though the thought of having her out there without backup, regardless of her knowing how to handle herself, was terrifying to him. Even so, she did offer to help and he did promise he'd let her. "Only on one condition. You take me with," he lifted a finger to say give him a minute to explain as he adjusted himself better. "Comms. You'll have my voice in your ear. That is my compromise. I'll stay back and rest but you take me with and Memo maybe also Barbara. She's former British intelligence and owes me a favor." This was already complicated as it was and not knowing what was happening with her would literally have him on pins and needles. "As for the missing agent. Yeah, okay. Just be careful. If she's burned already which I'm assuming. They'll be trying to pry information from each other." He laughed and nodded. "Mrs. Fioreli. You got your hands full with that husband of yours."

He nodded, eyes serious as he really did want to know the answer to that. A soft smile spread hearing what she really thought at first. She wasn't wrong, most of his co workers mostly the higher rank officers did abuse power as they saw fit. "Ah, so you've met my colleagues," crinkled eyes stared at her for a second. The dislocated shoulder comment made him hum in response. "That definitely humbled him."

"I've seen how the system fails people. If you don't have influence or money, you're fucked. My uncle was part of the SEAL team 6 unit. As a kid I didn't know what the hell that meant. All I knew was that he was gone for extended periods of time and that somewhere out there he did good. It wasn't until I got older that I saw what good he left behind. All the people he helped and saved." The story of his family, specifically of his uncle was something he always kept close to his chest. No one knew he was that Bordeaux who gave his life for his country. His mother had done a good job at cloaking her own children from prying eyes of the public lenses of being such a high profile case. "I was maybe ten at the time but he once told me a story about one of his missions where he would have loved to do more. But couldn't because he didn't work in a field agency. There was a mother who had lost her daughter and never got closure." A soft dry chuckle escaped him as he recounted the story. "She was told that there was nothing that could be done for her. If she wasn't in the list then she was gone. Best to move on. All she wanted was for someone to listen to her and be her daughter's champion and voice. But no one did. None of the agencies lifted a finger to help. It was better to name it as a cold case then actually spend resources which they had to find her and give that poor mother peace. You once asked me why I took on cold cases. It's the ones no one willingly take because there's no immediate reward. No badge of honor that let's people know you're a good person for doing your job."

Shaking his head as he picked at his sandwich, he hummed. "Being a social worker you get a lot of red tape. Things aren't as easy to accomplish when you've got whiny agencies who cockblock at every move. Can't tell you how many social workers are on a wait list to be helped because government officials can't be bothered to expedite shit. I wanted to help. I don't want to see another person's face of utter disappointment when they're one of the many cast aside because they're not top priority. I knew I could never do it the way he did. The Navy SEALS are another level. If I had applied then it wouldn't have been based on my effort but the legacy. I didn't want that. Everything I've ever done and achieved was because of the work I put in. Not the name."

CARA GEE AS FREDA Extrapolations, “2037: A Raven Story” 1.01