This was obviously a low-level Agent, closely related to the Stewart case - no doubt Stephanie's newest little lackey by the terms the guy used - of a moderate high rank, judging by the suit he wore, although Rudy couldn't remember if it was A-6's or A-5's who got to wear them. Hmm, maybe you had to be A-4? Whatever. This wasn't what he'd expected and it definitely wasn't what he felt he deserved. Especially not with the tone the other man was taking with him, directing him to get cleaned up as if he were a parent telling a child not to embarrass them in front of company.
He didn't know this man, but Rudy prided himself in reading people and he knew when others were seeing the word "Idiot" written on his face. He also knew how to make the situation better and worse, and despite being used to being labeled as an incompetent fool, it was still not something he enjoyed. He was an A-3 and the Lead on a very big case! Technically Eric Patten had demoted him, but this pompous pretty-boy didn't know that! Against all odds, he'd done something none of these assholes could and they sent their middle-guy to come and sneer at him as if he were a waste of space or a stain on their gloomy establishment. Oh, yeah! He had to rush and get himself cleaned up! What did they think was he gonna do? Mess up their pretty floor?
"Well, I gotta tell ya," Rudy said with a cheerful smile, no longer bothered by the blood on his hand and using it to lever himself up enough to get his feet underneath and back in a standing position. His whole backside was wet and sticky with blood, but he stood relaxed as if it were just a part of his outfit. Standing now, he had to look up slightly to meet the guy's eyes - freaking giant-people with their obscene height! - but he didn't let that affect his laid-back manner and when he started talking his voice sped up easily, each new thought bursting forth from his lips like rapid gunfire.
"It definitely wasn't easy. The experience was a bit like that movie, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, except 10 times worse. I of course played the part of the ever witty Steve Martin and she played the role of the fat, lovable idiot. Except minus the lovable part. The flippin' whale made me lose two of my phones and everyone within a few feet of us was suddenly overcome with the urge to lay into me for no fucking reason. Like, attack of the meat puppets, man. And this," he indicated his body and face with a small circular wave of his hand. "Just a flesh wound. I can deal with it later. You know, pump myself full of antibiotics and anesthetics and just 'slap a bandaid' on it. Preferably one with Spiderman on the back or Hello Kitty - by the way, superhero themed bandages actually work to heal you faster. I kid you not.
"And what the hell do you mean 'the condition I brought her in'?" he asked, suddenly getting an annoyed tone to his quick, clipped voice. "What are you--An A-fuckin'-10? Who the hell do you think you are? This is bullshit. So, I smacked her around a bit. I think it was more than warranted for the the situations in order to subdue her, especially after she killed my assistant and I was left alone having to deal with her. Sorry. My bad. I shoulda stopped to brush her hair and put a frickin' bow on her after the mind-controlled police officer shot me in the chest. Any other important suggestions you wanna make to me, a superior Lead Agent? I'll take it all down and put it in a memo titled 'Use This When You Run Out Of Toilet Paper.'
"Anyways, right now, I'm just a little peeved that Stephanie isn't an immediate part of the welcome wagon. I'm sorry - no offense - but I really didn't want to answer to and explain myself to a nobody or rather her new fuck-buddy or whoever the hell you are. No doubt if you're working anywhere close to her you got the chance to tap the Agency Slut and I'm sure she's 'busy' right now giving someone else a taste of something we've all gotten a bite of," including her superiors, Rudy thought with a small unkind grin. 'Rising star' my ass.
"But I'm over 9,000 percent positive that she has time to close her legs long enough to talk to me and hear what I have to say, since I'M the one who did her fucking job for her. I didn't have to abandon my target, who is probably miles away from where I left her by now, to make this stupid fucking delivery. That shit ain't free and I'm owed a very specific favor. It's an insult that your 'Lead' is not here to personally witness the result of my efforts." Again, he made a small motion over his person as if it weren't obvious to anyone who even glanced at him.
"So, quit wasting my time, you useless A-20 loser and get out of my way, okay?" he said, sweetening the comment with a dorky grin. There. That should get him what he wanted and he'd definitely put the other man in his place. Not only that, but he was probably tired of hearing Rudy talk by now and would willingly point him in the right direction just so he didn't have to deal with him anymore. It was how it always worked when Rudy opened his mouth. He loved how easily pliable people were.
***
As Benoit appeared from the doorway, his eyes lighting up with relief for once at the sight of her, there was a very brief moment when amusement twinkled in Stephanie's eyes to see the beautiful black swan encircling his arm like a python. Such a cute couple, she thought wonderingly, once again admiring Madeline's beauty before wincing slightly at the A-2's screeching voice. Then there was the flutter of something within Stephanie's breast, something deep inside the pit of her stomach that curdled at the image the two presented. That almost frantic whisper in Benoit's eye mixed with a little glimmer of pain as his arm was hugged tighter; the possessive and obviously painful squeeze the woman put on his limb; the defensive tone she took with him just bordering and hinting at something below the appropriate public relationship.
Standing there, face to face with the dark pair, their aura decidedly foreign and clinging to a sense of propriety and dignity that Stephanie could not touch with her fully tainted American blood, it was like looking into a twisted mirror of herself and Jason. Glancing back the way she'd come, longingly waiting for him, once again feeling a weight on her shoulders that inspired a heartbreaking fear inside - what was that? Something was breaking... something was very wrong... he could fix it...he could - she clutched apathetically at the Pup, once again scratching at pudgy, soft skin and trying to stifle the urge to scream.
A battle raged within her as Benoit stepped forward to usher her into the room, Stephanie surreptitiously glaring at her shadow-haired mirror image for no reason other than an irrational jealousy, delight filling her as the French Agent was freed from her, walking back into the room he'd just left. And yet still, another part of her wanted to shove him away, push him back into the dark embrace of that seductress, even as she wanted to keep her from him and keep them from each other, as she and Jason were separated. Where is he?
Upon entering the room, Stephanie took everything in once more - the glorious tanks she'd just finished describing to the Puppy set along the wall still, now moved aside to fit the newcomer into the middle, their red glow soothing and yet setting her heart to galloping through her chest. And there, in that space just by the wall where he'd set the feed of his goggles like a movie theater, was where Jason had... A pleasant shiver coursed through her to remember being in his arms, his lips dancing over hers, passion filling him and surging into her like she was a wire plugged into him and brought to electric life. Even so, a pang of regret quickly followed to remember the elevator ride that preceded her return to the room. It was odd to think of what happened and she wasn't really sure what had triggered the memory now, but she was not fond of how strong it been and how much everything still hurt from so long ago. Most of all, she really hoped it wasn't something Jason would want to talk about or feel conflicted by. Heaven forbid the past should control her life again and end up pushing him away. Cookies would help. And tequila would smooth everything over.
Her hands kept a firm hold on the Pup, even though they'd now "arrived" and he was done escorting her, seeming to comfort herself in Jason's absence by cutting and recutting into his palm with her fingernails. The position was a tad awkward, their elbows locked together and her opposite hand reaching across herself to clutch at the hand of the arm she'd captured. But standing there...remembering Jason's body and hands...looking up at the empty, soulless bodies of ex-Agents and feeling the yearning pull to become one of their ranks and escape the shadow of inner demons... She dared not let go, lest she fall apart right here. Right in front of Master. That was a fear that still shocked her into alertness, especially when she tricked herself into thinking she caught a whiff of Jason's scent still lingering in the air and worried frantically for a moment that the others could detect it too.
Because along with the memory of her recent "conversation" with Jason, she also remembered her talk with Master in this room from before. She'd reached her final decision to keep her partner with her and although she didn't think it'd be important or that he'd bring it up right now, she felt like someone had doused her face in ice cold water being inserted back into the room with him here. She felt exposed and almost transparent, her eyes trying to stay on the jars along the one side of the room but occasionally drawn to that spot again, instantly darting to glance guiltily at Master. Trying to tell herself she was silly and acting foolish, she shoved the internal battle aside and cleared her throat, glancing at Benoit finally to keep her eyes busy.
"So, this is the great 'guest?'" she asked with the slightest doubtful inflection in her voice. It wasn't as if it was completely unbelievable. He had the standard Agency look - fit, good height and strong build - although hair a bit longer than what was normally seen or permitted on field Agents. But other than that, her interest hit a brick wall. This was Benoit's part of the plan reaching it's setting stage and she was glad for it, she really was... but it brought back to the forefront her anxiety about Rudy arriving safely with something other than a corpse on Charlton's doorstep. And he was just the type to consider that a "mission completed" from what she remembered about him.
Still, it did no good to pout in front of the Master, even as bile rose in the back of her throat along with thoughts of a thoroughly cooked Gwendolyn Stewart flashing in her mind, and Stephanie set her chin and forced a serene smile to her lips. "After a long road trip, it looks like things are finally coming together, the trap fitting in place. Feels like we set up this plan ages ago..." She swallowed, briefly sneered at nothing, then smiled insincerely as she re-focused on the French Agent. "How exactly will the reverse transfer work? He's been gone for a while hasn't he? Does he know how the process is done? Even if it's not much different from a regular transfer, I can't imagine that things are the same as they once were. I know the important part of the plan is to have him stuck in the middle of transferring - or at least it originally was - but are you positive you can keep him distracted with this long enough?"
Without realizing it, something had entered her tone, but even though it alarmed her, she allowed it to stay as she laughed humorlessly. "I don't mean to be rude, but ever since this partnership started, you and your team have been as much responsible for failure as my own. I don't want to shove in your face the very deliberate 'allowing him to get away because you expected him to fall over' or something, from the apartment building - and that turned out perfectly, didn't it? Scraped him right off of the side-walk, didn't you? And the very lackadaisical air with which you handled your pursuit, following behind him at a specific distance and stopping for fucking breakfast when we were just a few miles away from them. Oh, and Jean was excellent on his own, clearly efficient, at least wounding him enough to slow him down before underestimating his power and paying the price for his mistake - what a way to retire from the case!"
She took a shaking breath and turned to look at the tanks again with shiny eyes. "I want to have faith in you. I want to think that this'll work. But this part of the plan will effect both of us and I'll not have you ruining my part of it just because he surprised you. I will not fail like you have for 6 years - or however long you've been chasing the same person and allowing them to get away over and over again. But if you DO fail in keeping him tied up with this...whatever, I will not hesitate to do what needs to be done to protect her from him. Regardless of what that means for you or whoever might take your place." Not that she was directly saying she fully expected him to die in failure but...well, yeah. And of course, by "necessary actions" she wasn't overtly implying that she'd kill his target either, but...a bullet to the brain could happen to anybody. Even the all-powerful and mighty "Xander". And it'd definitely put an end to a very real problem.
The bitter annoyance didn't leave her voice as she once again cleared her throat and asked, "So, how exactly does it work?" feigning just enough interest for now and hoping Benoit said something that restored some semblance of hope that she wouldn't be left to deal with this alone. Rudy's impending failure to deliver what he promised had her feeling incredibly pessimistic about everything - she was surrounded by incompetent fools and she did not want to lose herself in their ranks. She would not and at this point it wasn't a matter of choice. Once Gwen was in her arms, she would die before letting her go...and kill everything that came within 50 feet of them both until she'd gotten her prize.
***
The general mood in the car - specifically Osono's - greatly improved when Alex started to speak. Which seemed a bit contradictory for how she'd felt before, but things were a bit different now. She'd actually, seriously apologized for once and had fully expected him to either be a bastard about it or to get sappy about it, thus making her regret saying anything. But he did neither, his tone understanding but not overly sympathetic and even tossing in another joke about himself. It made her fully release the tension she'd felt building and actually let the situation rest and fully put it behind them. Okay, so maybe she didn't actually hate him afterall and he could be alright some of the time.
But then a different kind of tension started to creep in replacing the other as he went on. First, there was a brief mention of a 'coffee thing' and for a few seconds she was left quirking an eyebrow in confusion trying to figure out what he was talking about. Yeah, they'd gotten coffee and...? She wasn't sure exactly what she was missing. His quick correction and addition didn't really help, the new statements climbing over the previous one haphazardly fitting together but not really. Sure...death threats and people in line... but so far she hadn't really witnessed anything like that from him. In fact, Ozzie had been the one to start shit in Starbucks, not him. And she hadn't really been paying attention when he'd ordered... Was he talking about when he attacked those people and stole their coffee? Then why bring up waiting in line and ordering at all?
Despite the confusion, the earlier ease that had settled on her shoulders allowed her to shrug it off and nod her head in relaxed understanding - even though she didn't really. She rolled her eyes when he gave a very abrupt answer to her question about his foot - obviously the damn thing was not fine, but if he wanted to act like a macho man and brush off the one time she tried to show concern, then he could knock himself out. But then he changed gears and started to explain things a bit more indepth to her and she snorted briefly when he said it was "nothing serious". Yeah, okay, so maybe he was trying to make up for the "mushy" feeling in the car by acting like a hot shot now and she had to admit that despite it being just as annoying as him whining, it was also a little amusing.
Jumping a little when he suddenly told her to 'slow down' she glanced at him as if he were crazy. "I'm not going very fast, ya big baby," Ozzie said in a slightly irritated tone, shrugging with her eyes once again fastened on the road. Even so, she slowed down from going 10 over the 55 mph limit to just 60 and tried to keep the car from rocking too much, based on the assumption that pain had caused the outburst.
She'd almost relaxed again when another surge of tension twisted in her shoulders at his mention of "a different part of himself". What...what did that mean? Immediately, Osono thought he was probably referring to the internal/psychic connection he had with Gwen, but something about the begrudging and doubtful way he said it tickled the back of her mind. Trying to tell herself she was crazy, she shoved the feeling aside and rolled her shoulders, frowning at the road as he went on, the tension subsiding but staying put and lurking in her shoulder blades and spine. Out of the corner of her eyes, while on a particularly smooth and straight expanse of highway, she caught him turning away from her and coughing and that really didn't help the growing suspicions or the half-extended concern she felt towards him at the moment. Just sitting here, the car barely jolting around and the guy was going through agony. Had she just not noticed how bad it was before?
Then she decided that no, that wasn't it, as he continued to speak, bringing up the restaurant fight. She's been a bit preoccupied at the time, but she DID remember seeing him fight and being impressed by the way he'd moved. Glancing at the cringing, coughing thing sitting in the seat next to her now, Osono once again returned to that "other part of me is handling it" comment he'd made. How could he move like a ninja at one time and then fall over, pass out and struggle to stand like a newborn baby deer the next? Had things really been that physically taxing between then and now? They hadn't done anything, certainly nothing to handicap him where going 60 mph in the smoothly cruising and practically brand new Audi - and with shocks that moved like creamy butter - made him ball up in physical torment. They couldn't be moving less inside their little cocoon if they'd been sitting still - and Ozzie was in no way a crazy driver, despite the speeds she was going.
All of that could be set aside as idle suspicions and fantasy - he'd already explained all of this to her about the protective powers Gwen had extended to him and the copy Gwen had left of herself in his mind to keep him company - and she could easily disregard it as silly and foolish idle wonderings encouraged by the recent stress of events. But several red flags shot way into the air when he started to go over what to expect when they got to Charlton and mentioned a "side-quest" that would render him unable to fight for an unknown length of time - was he planning on passing out again? And to top it all off, there was something very odd about the way he said these people would be expecting him.
Again, if he'd been traveling with and protecting Gwen for a while, it made sense for the Agents who were after her to also know about him and expect him to try to rescue her. But that tickling flared up, blaring loudly in the back of her head, itching like crazy with suspicion and doubts. And once it started it wouldn't stop, unable to be pushed down and silenced again, realizations and theories dawning on her like lightbulbs flashing on in a darkened room. All at once, she felt a small flash of anger at how he'd lied - and he DID lie, she was sure of it now, everything fitting together so perfectly, it couldn't go back to the original mold - but then amusement followed, making her want to laugh at how simple everything was and how she'd stupidly ignored the obvious.
"Alex," she said, her nose crinkling a little and a faint smile touching her lips. Glancing at him, she made sure she had his attention before continuing. "Do you have powers?" A look crossed his face, quickly shuffled under the outer layers of skin like a broken vase under the living room carpet, but she saw it and nodded to herself with a small raspy laugh as she focused back on the road. "Heh, 'kay." No need for further explanation, although it certainly would be welcome. After foolishly taking that crap he'd given her about Gwen, she was pretty open to anything that might resemble the truth. Of course, then again, at the time, she'd been willing to assume anything about Gwen, having just learned about someone else having powers other than herself. Alex had shot that to pieces when he'd opened the box of what the Agents intended goals were. Anybody could have them now and it was much more likely that Alex possessed some of his own and that he himself was a threat to be captured rather than going in a roundabout circle to say he was riding on Gwen's coattails.
And that was another thing.
"And that thing in your head...? Your 'mumble buddy'?" she looked at him again and although he was much more guarded this time, she'd already made up her mind and wasn't really asking him anymore. "Gotcha."
Slowly she let out a breath and shook her head a little as she passed someone going to slow in front of her, the turn signal providing a clicking soundtrack to the otherwise smooth transition. "Well, I don't know what you've gotta do or whatever and it's really none of my business. But I'm there to help you out and keep the both of you safe until we're free and away. So, 'one-woman army'? I can do that." She made a small finger gun and clicked her tongue as she winked in his general direction - not chancing another glance at the moment as a large truck inched close to the car's backside, keeping an eye on it in the rearview.
"And don't worry about there being oil or gas. It'd be nice to have around, and definitely make things easier, but you know..." she shrugged. "I'll work with whatever's available."
If it was an office building like the one where they'd found the other two, then it might be a little difficult to get things going and it was very likely that the only thing flammable would be human flesh and whatever people were wearing. Ozzie didn't really plan on using too much fire anyway, except as a last resort. Because if there was any kind of alarm system like in the other building, then she'd be screwed as soon as the sprinklers started. She could still heat everything up and dry everything out and push the fire to stay alive despite the moisture, but it was a sap on her energy that she did not need in a tight situation like this.
Luckily, being in the car and sitting down again was giving her back what she'd lost from the last fight, but she had to be careful. It wasn't going to work to go barging in there covered head to toe in flames and whipping fire around uselessly if it was going to leave her empty and drained before they found Gwen and started to make their escape. So, she'd be cautious when using her powers, only releasing it when it was necessary and rely on physical attacks for the most part. And now that these people weren't useful for codes or anything, she didn't need to pull her punches anymore. That meant quick and easy knock-outs and plenty of broken bones to spare. Thinking that, she smiled again, feeling a small burst of adrenaline burst through her.