![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mitochondriaaya‘The Palais’
Now this was a welcome surprise: A view from a high balcony while the cool breeze brushed against his face, sipping from a glass of champagne that came highly recommended under the clear night sky. Certainly not what he’d expected, but then that wasn’t exactly a bad thing.
He was well fed—in just about every sense of the word. Not only had Leon had himself a fine meal not too long ago, but he’d found a possible lead to yet another Umbrella facility. Now if only he could relax, as he tried to smother that raw, untapped anxiety that came with leads. It felt good. It felt very good. But he needed to tone it. It was good to relax he reminded himself. He wasn’t always on the job, and he did need to meet the people he would be working with. That was important too.
“Hmmmm.”
The only thing that might make this night more complete would be some quality company—of the female variety, naturally. There was Ingrid, but…well… he wasn’t quite sure about her. She was pretty, sure. She was also someone who he could feel comfortable making small talk with but… No. Then there was Aya with all her charm and sassiness. She was almost one of the guys if she wasn’t a girl. She was nice but…. Maybe he should just roll with it like he usually had too.
Peeling himself away from the balcony and the rhythm of the city streets below, the formally dressed ‘Mr Kennedy’ debated climbing down stairs where there was a sizable lounging area, and more important, a rather stocked bar. The debate however soon became moot as the path down became blocked by a lengthening shadow. Someone was joining him.
Now this was a welcome surprise: A view from a high balcony while the cool breeze brushed against his face, sipping from a glass of champagne that came highly recommended under the clear night sky. Certainly not what he’d expected, but then that wasn’t exactly a bad thing.
He was well fed—in just about every sense of the word. Not only had Leon had himself a fine meal not too long ago, but he’d found a possible lead to yet another Umbrella facility. Now if only he could relax, as he tried to smother that raw, untapped anxiety that came with leads. It felt good. It felt very good. But he needed to tone it. It was good to relax he reminded himself. He wasn’t always on the job, and he did need to meet the people he would be working with. That was important too.
“Hmmmm.”
The only thing that might make this night more complete would be some quality company—of the female variety, naturally. There was Ingrid, but…well… he wasn’t quite sure about her. She was pretty, sure. She was also someone who he could feel comfortable making small talk with but… No. Then there was Aya with all her charm and sassiness. She was almost one of the guys if she wasn’t a girl. She was nice but…. Maybe he should just roll with it like he usually had too.
Peeling himself away from the balcony and the rhythm of the city streets below, the formally dressed ‘Mr Kennedy’ debated climbing down stairs where there was a sizable lounging area, and more important, a rather stocked bar. The debate however soon became moot as the path down became blocked by a lengthening shadow. Someone was joining him.
no subject
Date: 2010-02-09 09:08 am (UTC)He didn't bother looking behind him as he backed up the stairs, he was too busy looking below him for the tell tale sign of a snitching bitch...ahem. "Damn right I'll rat you out. Leave that run to the newby, you're headed to Prague in the morning. AND WEAR A DRESS!" he snapped at the phone as the tell tale sound of a dead line buzzed out.
"Great...just great."
no subject
Date: 2010-02-10 02:00 am (UTC)“Trouble with the lady?” He asked, waiting till Pierce had slapped his phone shut.
“She’ll come.” Of course she would. Otherwise he would've known what's good for him and kept his talk nice and polite.
no subject
Date: 2010-02-10 02:07 am (UTC)Eh, didn't matter. He was probably expecting a chick or something.
"She'll come." he agreed, slipping the phone into the pocket of his penguin suit. "Workaholic would rather we were running a side mission right now, but I convinced her that drinks and mingling is better than air duct crawling right now." he didn't mention that it would, of course, be an 'unsanctioned' side mission. Last thing they needed was the rule bookies to realize how many of those there were.
"Though if she's not here in ten I'm calling in the big guns to carry her ass over."
no subject
Date: 2010-02-10 08:39 am (UTC)Watching the man ascending the stairs pocket his phone with remote interest, Leon offered an understanding nod. They both knew what girls were like. Fifteen minutes was at least thirty. Ten was… Well who knew what ten was. But he would look forward to meeting the blonde anyway. He needed some interesting conversation anyway. Maybe about crawling airshafts? He could do that with the best of them.
“And just for the record… Who are the ‘Big guns’?”
Out of respect he raised his glass and downed the remnants left in his glass. Was there a big brother he had to worry about? Someone who saw her as more than a friend maybe?
no subject
Date: 2010-02-10 08:45 am (UTC)...or point to given the current height advantage!
"Oh, big guns? I call work, see who on the strike team isn't at the party yet and tell them to make a pickup. She won't hit them if they're dressed nice, and she's small enough to carry easy." Pierce leaned his hands on the indoor balcony and looked over the party, kinda wishing he'd thought to garb his own glass before the phone had rung.
no subject
Date: 2010-02-11 08:55 am (UTC)“Let’s hope whoever it is. ” He smirked, imagining the small statured woman taking one of the less experienced strike team members out with a mean left hook. “Knows how to dress for the occasion.”
Without missing a beat Leon turned his attentions to the room below, resting a hand in his pocket, noting with humorous objectivity the foyer was now buzzing with activity. It wasn't stifling, Leon having been to a few busier places before this, but it was relatively small. Everyone he knew was probably here, but just in case, he wanted keep an eye on things.
“You’re Pierce right?” Failing to discern many of the faces from the crowd, his attention soon returned to the conversation at hand? “How long have you been here fighting the good fight?”
no subject
Date: 2010-02-11 09:12 am (UTC)"Well, the strike team tends to have a hell of a lot of common sense." He chuckled easily, then waved at a few people below he knew. "And a hell of a lot of experience dodging hits from Aya. Newbies don't get to be called 'strike force' until the real team runs them around a few times." Everyone lived longer that way!
"Hmmm, yeah. Operator Pierce at your service. We've been doing this...hell, a long time. Since New York. Before your Raccoon city."
no subject
Date: 2010-02-13 11:09 am (UTC)Following Peirce’s gaze, Leon looked through the crowd of faces, disseminating those he had met from those he didn’t. Surprisingly there were a lot of people he hadn’t yet met yet, but it was far from his mind. Something else Pierce had said had caught his attention, his much more immediate attention.
“You mean the New York incident back of 1997?”
Course it was. It may have been dwarfed by the bio-terrorist attacks that followed, but there was only one attack in New York. The fact the government took such effort to cover it up, even from him, meant that it had the same serious implications. As such Leon had trouble resisting the temptation to ask about the specifics. But it was a damnable question. He himself didn’t like talking about that night in Raccoon City.
“And you’re an op…”
And just then a third person joined the group, slipping carefully through the crowd, as usual being certain not to actually touch anyone. She’d headed straight for Pierce and Leon, though the place she put herself near them a few seconds later gave her the faint chance of hearing what some members of the crowd might have been talking about.
Hopefully.
"Hey guys," she said as she stopped, offering them both one of her most accommodating smiles. “Pierce, aren’t you going to introduce me to the new guy.”
no subject
Date: 2010-02-13 11:20 am (UTC)"Jody. Hi." Pierce turned when he was done talking, flashing the lopsided grin that meant he wasn't exactly sure what small talk was necessary for the situation. "Hunnigan's dish of the month, meet Jody. Lady Information, meet Leon Kennedy. Newest field agent yadda yadda yadda. He's not done with all his placement tests yet, so I'm sure there's going to be all kinds of letters after his name soon but!"
no subject
Date: 2010-02-15 10:45 am (UTC)The dolled up socialite could barely resist a smile at the new developments, discreetly looking over to where the crowd was. No Aya yet. Damn. Why was she never there when she was needed? When the perfect plan needed implementing.
“Thanks” Mr Kennedy replied politely. Yes. Aya needed to be here yesterday!
How sweet. How chivalrous. It was nice to see that some things really weren’t universal, no matter how corny. Even if Pierce was a much more suited catch. Aya could like this guy. He was disarming… almost. And cute. Hopefully NOT taken.
“Don’t mention it” she giggled girlishly, turning toward the blonde, brown hair and sparkly eyes doing their best to lure him into her ‘circle’. She’d have to get the low down on Leon later but for now, there was no harm in assessing the situation as it were.
“So Pierce… When’s Aya going to be here? Are you guys planning on doing anything later?”
no subject
Date: 2010-02-15 10:55 am (UTC)"As consolation prize, I think the boss has joined the hair club for men?" he pointed out the man's head helpfully.
The party was in full swing, loud and chatty as they always were and then, slowly, a silence trickled through the crowd. Aya had come through the door followed by about three strike members. She looked like a little china doll in front of the three giant men, but that wasn't why the room went quiet. Nope, the silence was because of the dress. Everyone usually managed to forget Aya was a girl girl. Hard not to remember the fact now with that low cut front and slits up to the thighs.
Damn, anyone over five foot five was getting a view.
"You know...I love that dress." pierce confided to his partners up on the next floor.
no subject
Date: 2010-04-19 02:22 pm (UTC)“Hmm? Aya?”
Eyes drawn to the point Pierce was obviously interested in Jodie frowned. It stung, but there was no doubt in her mind that she would manage, given time, to make him see that there was a girl standing right next to him that thought the world of him. Already, she'd made a lot of progress on that, but it just wasn’t enough. He was still genuinely attracted to Aya and her admittedly fetching attire.
So with a laugh she shrugged, trying to rid herself of the oppressive blanket not being recognized placed her under.
“Yeh she sure can wear style when she wants too… Don’t you think so Leon?”
Nodding at Jodie’s voice more than anything, Leon was about to ask about Hunnigan, considering she would have to be there soon, and paused, taking in Pierces slack-jawed expression with a few confused blinks. Shaking himself from the reverie however, he turned his gaze to what the other man was seeing, and cursed himself for his blind focus. He'd not even paid attention to the ample breasted and beautifully presented agent at the periphery of his vision when he was checking over the crowd.
“Wow…”
By god. She looked… amazing.
no subject
Date: 2010-04-20 02:41 am (UTC)"You made her buy that dress way back didn't you Jodie? Have I ever thanked you for that?" He was doing the idle chatter thing so Leon could have time to recover a little bit of his dignity. Well, at least until...
"Whoops. Alright, new plan kids." Pierce leaned a bit further over the railing to eye the newest entrance. "Jodie? You and me are on Aya. We get to play human shields. Leon? You get to handle Hunnigan. I don't want to see a cat fight tonight okay?"
no subject
Date: 2010-06-19 03:47 am (UTC)“Cat fight?”
Leon furrowed his brow, tarring his eyes from the blond beauty in order to look for answers in Jodie. Some strange girl problems he wondered before Jodie could reply, suddenly chiding himself for not being discrete. Had that been rude to ask? Pierce hadn't seemed brusque when explaining the plan but he was a personal friend of both Aya and Jodie. That counted right?
“Yeh… It’s not a pretty sight… They get on at the office but anything like this and they hold no prisoners.”
For Jodie it was harder to have Pierce thank her for making someone else sexy than it was to have to explain the situation. Always harder when she had tried so damn hard to impress him and he had other things on his mind. Like Aya. Of course, she highly doubted that he’d actually do anything with her and even if he did, it definitely came with its share of concerns. She would settle for being noticed though; just one single tiny compliment. Hopefully trying to maintain social harmony would keep the frustrated little voice in her head quiet.
“Just act natural okay? Distract her before she bypasses her usual administrative circle and do one for the team. Oh and you might want to watch out for the talons. You’ll know what I mean if she starts talking about the rest of us unmanageable ‘employees’. It can be kind of nasty…”
In response Leon nodded. He wasn’t aware of why he suddenly belonged to this ‘team’, but if it kept the peace then he could make a small sacrifice for it. He could always think of a question or two to ask his fellow agent. No harm in that.
no subject
Date: 2010-06-21 03:54 am (UTC)Very ugly in fact. Their last office party, well, the strike team members had dragged Aya out the back door and to a bar before the little blond could kill the rule bound woman. Granted, it had been right after the death of Hunnigan's partner, and Hunnigan had been drinking some, but that hadn't made the man's death Aya's fault, much less the other accusations.
Pierce offered Jodie his arm, grinning boyishly, and started for the stairs. They were going to ride to the rescue! And save Jodie's party! "Oh, and Hunnigan's a witch on red wine. Keep her to white!"
no subject
Date: 2010-08-13 09:54 am (UTC)“Wish me luck…”
Unsure of what to do next, he scratched the back of his neck absently, staring though the room, straight in to Hunnigan’s eyes. Before he even knew that he'd made up his mind, he was drawn into her circle, her private little section of the establishment where she felt safe to let her concerns spill out into the ears of agents close enough. Already Aya was starting to sound like the bad guy,
“Hunnigan. Didn’t think you were into these things.” He commented, cutting a string of insults dead as he mustered all the boyish charm he could manage. “
no subject
Date: 2010-08-13 10:00 am (UTC)Blood wouldn't look good on his suit.
"So, bets on the kind of poison she's dripping in his ear?' He asked Jodie a few minutes later. "We lost her first partner at a party like this right? Maybe we should talk Aya into something more modest? Like a Burka?"
no subject
Date: 2010-08-13 12:40 pm (UTC)"Probably has her speech more or less written down word for word now."
no subject
Date: 2010-08-16 09:07 am (UTC)Or better yet! "Can I be the creepy nurse of the antichrist? I've always wanted to hang myself at a birthday party!"
no subject
Date: 2010-08-19 10:28 am (UTC)"I'll make you a deal Pierce. You can be whatever you want if your willing to put on the uniform!"
no subject
Date: 2010-08-19 10:30 am (UTC)"I can totally pull off heels though."