lastrat | ♠ | 004

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♠ | 004 | Voice

[Sup Barge. Here's a funny thing you might have noticed, if you've been in port and paying attention to the news: there was a break in and, so news anchors say, attempted burglary at an affluent townhouse. A blurry camera image has been making the rounds, and a police sketch, and you know what?

Both of those pictures look a lot like James Bond.

Yeah, the second he recognized London, he headed for MI6 and couldn't even get past the lobby. So, he went for M's apartment. Which, in this world, was definitely not M's apartment.

It all kind of went downhill from there.

The past almost forty-eight hours have largely been spent awake and avoiding cameras and cops. Which is really not an easy thing, do you have any idea how many CCTVs there are in a city? All in all, nowhere near his worst two days, but definitely, definitely not his best. There's nothing quite like hope dangling in your face only to see it ripped away.

He doesn't bother with a video this time, just clicks on the audio function; he sounds short, maybe even tired, and there's an edge that really just says he's not in the mood for anything.]

I need money.

[He knows you wardens have cards. He is fully planning to take one, he just needs to pick a target. And no, he's not going to mention is foray as a wanted man because it's really not that new to him.]

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[She's tempted to say "what did you expect?", and really, would it even have mattered if they did know him? They wouldn't be able to keep him here, he'd still be pulled back to the Barge when the Admiral decided it was time to leave. And wouldn't that be worse?

But she bites her tongue, wrestling with what to say next, here.]

Are you alright?

[He could have at least armed himself, he thinks, or found out what happened in Bolivia, or warned Tanner to get the girl out and arrest Greene. There was a lot he could accomplish in two days. If he wasn't a relic from a book.]

Don't I sound it? [Dry dry dry, but he doesn't care. At least he isn't being completely bitch to her, right? :c]

[It's an improvement, and it makes it harder to pull away and pretend she isn't worried. Because she is.]

If there's anything I can do- [She trails off, not really sure what she's offering or what she's potentially getting herself into. She's not overly interested in dying again, or spending the rest of the port in prison, but she knows she'll probably do whatever he asks. And she kind of hates herself for it.]

[That's what love does. He's just spent every moment since the call from M - since her death - convincing himself that he doesn't care, wasn't in love, that she didn't matter.

It was easier when she was dead. She was the only one he'd said the words aloud to, after all. But she's hear now, and he can't just deny the things he'd said.]

I've had another offer. [It's abrupt, cool, but there's less anger in it. He doesn't want to take anything from her, be he recognizes that there's a distinct need, here, one that she can fill.]

I could use some cash. [MI6's plastic is no good here, after all.]

[She doesn't hold it against him (she holds it against herself, in so many ways), so she tells herself she doesn't mind, that this is better than nothing, that he's letting her help and that's an improvement from acting like she doesn't exist, or like she's something that needs to be eliminated at the first opportunity.]

I can get you some.

Where are you?

Regent Street, at the moment.

Stay there. [He assume he doesn't need to add that he's on his way, but he's heading their directly, pondering stealing her card entirely or just taking whatever she'll withdraw for him.

It would be cruel to leave her penniless and stranded. He's a little ashamed by how tempting it is.]

[You will be bitched out quite a lot if you do, James. :|]

I will. I'm by an Apple Store, right now.

[He probably won't :| just give him a lot of cash okay :|

And he doesn't answer, just heads over. It takes some time - he wasn't close and there is a lot of head ducking to be done - but eventually, he steps into the Apple Store and out of the fucking cold, looking for her.]

[She's stepped inside and made an attempt to make it look like she's an interested customer, but pulls away from the wall of phone cases to come find him, smiling warmly like she was happy to see him, they were just normal people not trying to make an exchange of funds out of necessity.]

Hello, darling, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting so long. Shall we head to the bank?

Anything to keep out of the cold, dear. [He makes himself return the smile and kiss the corner of her mouth before wrapping an arm around her to head back out. The smile starts to slip when they're back out the door, and it's sheer stubbornness keeping it in place.

His arm stays, though, shielding her against the cold.]

I thought we'd dispensed with covers, [he said dryly, keeping his voice low.]

[She wants to pretend like she leans into it subtly just to improve their cover, or that she is cold, because the snow really is coming down fairly hard and the temperature's definitely dropping, but she knows she's lying to herself.

She also knows he has every right to be angry with her, and that she doesn't deserve any favors for what happened, so there's an odd sort of acceptance that this isn't really genuine, and that it will come to an end sooner rather than later.]

I'd say "we dispensed with one that was of no use and created another that is", but I'm not entirely certain part of that's true.

[They are broken people who get more broken around one another. But his arm stays, holding her - holding them together, and his mouth takes a wry twist.] Not necessarily more useful. Anyone can go to a bank.

[The smile fades entirely, and he slips into business mode: it's easier, to plan and be detached, rather than feel things for her, with her.]

We'd be better served going to ATMs. There will be limits, but two or three should do. [It would be enough to line his pockets, until he did the job for Narvin.]

[She doesn't mind. Not really, anyway. It's complicated, but his arm is still around her, and she figures that counts for something.]

Of course. You should probably let me make the withdrawals, I'd hate to give them more security camera footage to broadcast all over the evening news.

[She's diligent. She's smart. There were a lot of things he liked about her. He won't let himself think on them.] Don't look at the cameras. There will likely be one directly above you to the left or right. CCTV will cover most other angles. Don't dawdle, pocket everything quickly. And don't walk like you're late for a business meeting.

[There's a part of her that wants to roll her eyes and tell him she's not an idiot, but if she's really being honest, it's not like she's really had a lot of experience doing this sort of thing, double agent or no.

So she does listen and nods when he's finished, doing her best to look casual.]

Alright.

[Double agent is just a turn of phrase, though: she's never been an agent, she doesn't have the training (he still doesn't know how she fooled him the whole damn time). He nods down the block toward an ATM, and slows, stopping to lean in and kiss her cheek and speak quietly.]

Just act naturally. You're good at that.

[He couldn't entirely resist that last little barb.]

[And it stings, just like he knew it would, and she almost hates him for a moment for doing it before remembering she really just hated herself.

So she does act naturally, pulling away calmly and following his instructions perfectly. She might not be an agent, but he is right. She's good at acting normally.]

[It would be so much healthier if she would just hate him. But he doesn't know about all this self loathing, and he isn't in the best place to talk her out of it. So he watches her go, huddled near the wall and occasionally pulling his collar closer against his bare neck. He watches without making it obvious, largely watching her from the corner of his eyes, making it look like his attention is elsewhere. He passes the time easily - even makes it look like he's using his device to text someone. It's all calm, though; he sees no reason to worry, and waits for her to come back with the money.]

[There doesn't seem to be reason to be. She walks back to him without being bothered by anyone and hands over the money without calling attention to the gesture, calm and casual.]

Where next?

[And he slips the cash into his jacket pocket, as unobtrusive as ever. It's that kind of nonchalance that lets him murder someone in the middle of a crowded room - though she hasn't exactly seen that yet.

He can watch her in a new light now, though, and she's good. He doesn't like that. Still, he slips his arm around her shoulders again, and strolls down the street again.]

There are two more within a couple blocks.

Alright.

[This time, it's harder, because she wants to lean into him and appreciate the closeness they can't have under other circumstances, but another part of her wants to push away, that says if she can't have it normally, it was a stupid idea to use it as a cover. But she also knew walking stiffly and looking upset would alert everyone to the fact that there was something unusual going on here, so she tried to relax as they walked.]

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