[TheNoir] "Masters of Distraction"
- From: Isabella Valentine <wistful_fancy_noir@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: thenoir@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 19 Feb 2005 23:11:52 -0800 (PST)
Masters of Distraction
By Isabella Valentine and Trey Onadan
"All right, Cervo, hold on a second," Trey looked over his shoulder at Bella as
they topped the ridge south of the compound. "They'll never get past those
guards. We've got those tags and that will give us the chance to cause a
diversion." He smiled as he parted through a shrub line and into what looked
like a naturally-made pasture. "Five tags, five animals."
"Um... sure," Bella responded, following along. "Shouldn't we be waiting until
it's dark to do this?"
Trey smiled, kneeling down and attaching the tag to the fur of a dog-like
creature who almost purred. "If we did that, it would be amazingly obvious.
The guards patrol around the outside, but as they round the corners it makes an
entire side vulnerable. We beam in our friends here and they don't know the
difference. They rush to contain the animals and Cervo and the blue guy run in
safely." He tilted his head and looked at her, "You don't think it'll work?"
"I think you're nuts. But I guess it could work. Since when are you the
mastermind of this operation? I thought we were just the eyes and ears," Bella
commented, trying to make friends with one of the furry buggers so she could
pin a tag to it.
"I'm just trying to be useful."
"Yeah, well, I don't see what the point of bothering is," Bella replied,
reaching out for the creature who repeatedly shied away. "These things don't
like me. How do you do it?" she asked, as Trey pinned his second one.
Smiling, Trey moved over behind her, "Maybe it's your negativity," he joked.
"You're reaching out for it, not to it. Turn your palm over and place the tag
in it." He ran his hand down Bella's arm and to her palm, turning it over.
Almost instantly, the furry being turned back towards Bella and trotted over to
smell the tag. "Now, pin it."
She shivered as Trey's hand slid down her arm. Stop that, she admonished
herself. Smiling as the furry came closer and nipped at her hand, she petted
its head and pinned it before it could eat the tag. The furry nuzzled her
cheek and she laughed. "I think he likes me."
"Who wouldn't?" Stepping away, he grabbed another one and pinned the fourth
one. He eyed her playing with the small animal and smiled to himself. Stop
it, Trey, he said to himself as he forced himself to look back towards the hill
they had walked over. What did she do to him? "You've got the last one,
Bell."
A dark haze clouded her eyes for a moment. "Don't call me that." For some
reason she didn't snap at Trey like she would others. He was just... sweet.
Didn't deserve it. "Shane called me that," she explained, as she was on her
knees holding out her hand in offering to another furry.
"Would you rather me call you Valentine?"
She smirked, "There's one I haven't been called in a long time." Bella looked
around slightly surprised as she realized she had drawn about ten critters all
converging on her at the same time. "Oh!" she exclaimed as the first two
bowled her over, knocking her onto her back in the grass.
Leaning against a tree, Trey crossed his arms, "Now, that's not something you
see everyday," he laughed to himself as he watched the playful creatures crawl
on top of her, several of them lapping at her face with their tongues. "This
is a picture perfect moment. Mercenaries caught playing happily in meadow with
furry critters."
"Not... funny," Bella laughed, trying to push the little buggers off her face
and chest. "A little help here?"
He grabbed one of the little creatures and hoisted him off Bella and into his
own arms. "Oh, that's a good boy, oh you're so cute," Trey nuzzled the furry
animal's face and got licked himself. "Let's keep one."
"You're kidding, right?" she asked, then squealed as one of the overly-friendly
ones licked her ear. "Trey!" Bella was trying to get his attention off the one
he was holding in order to help her up.
Trey brushed off and pushed away the remaining 'attackers' and pulled Bella off
the ground. "Come on, he's cute and he can just hang out in our quarters and
what not. We can name him Charger or something..." He winked at Bella before
putting the small pup next to his face and began talking in a baby voice, "Does
Bella not want to be a mommy?"
"Oh, stop that," she admonished, attempting to smooth her hair back into place.
However, she couldn't help but smile at the sight. They were incredibly cute.
And friendly. "But you don't know anything about them. What if they have to
be in large groups to survive? Or... what do they eat? How much do they poop?
'Cause I am not cleaning up after it."
"Geeze, mother," Trey said, smiling and setting the small creature on the
ground. "Let's head back to the compound and get our people inside." Turning
on his heel, Trey headed back the direction they had come.
"I'm not your mother, you freak," she replied, following him once again through
the thick brush. "Were you really serious, though?"
"Couldn't hurt," he took in a deep breath, relishing in the fresh air, "There's
too much animosity on the ship to begin with. There's tension on every deck.
I came from a station where that was the norm. You never knew if the corner
you were about to round would be your last. It's moments like those that make
one lose years off their life. A little pet to lighten the mood wouldn't hurt,
don't you think?"
She stopped, causing Trey to turn around. Bella appraised him for a moment,
staring into earnest eyes that had every right to be tarnished and yet remained
so sweet. "If it means something to you... then sure, I guess." She finished
the acquiescence by looking away and then to the ground, not sure about how she
felt being such a pushover where Trey was concerned.
Trey hardened himself, wiping away all sense of caring, "No, it's not that big
of a deal. Probably end up skewered and served for dinner sometime anyway.
It's leverage. Emotional attachment is," he looked up into the blue sky,
watching an bird flying flawlessly through the air, and searched for a word,
"detrimental."
"Detrimental? Yes. Sometimes worth it? Yeah, that too. I think you know
that." Bella continued to look at the ground, playing in the dirt with the toe
of her boot. It was odd how she felt sometimes, especially when Trey was
around. She was really glad the kid came knocking on her door that day.
"Come on," he said, walking over the hill and back towards the compound, "Got
an idea of where to hide after we get our terrible threesome in through the
gates of hell?"
"How 'bout that little bank where we first came in? It's kinda built up on
three sides like a bunker, sorta. We can see the compound from there pretty
good."
"Sounds like a plan. Got the tricorder triangulated to beam our friends into
their new temporary home?" Trey looked at her as he knelt down behind a shrub
and pulled his scope from his pack. After a moment of viewing the patrols, he
nodded with satisfaction, "Sometimes I even amaze myself."
Tapping the coordinates into the tri-corder, Bella said off-handedly, "Well,
don't get too cocky, kiddo, you never know when all hell's gonna break loose.
Murphy's Law number 12."
"Don't you mean 13?" He grinned.
She winked at him, "I just made it up, anyway. Here." Handing him the
tri-corder, Bella sat back on her heels and waited.
He tapped the controls on the device and smiled. "Cervo, this is Trey, we're
all set for you guys to go. I'm going to beaming in some guests to aid in the
distraction. Don't ask questions, just get your asses inside that compound.
We'll keep a lookout for you." Trey initiated the transporter and waited to
hear the obscenities from the other side.
---------------------------------
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