Arresting Eyes (On Hiatus)

Chapter 5

            Casey tapped the send button and leaned back in her chair, sighing. Her report on the hacker was finally done, Frost had made her rewrite it twice already, and she was free. A metallic clunk on her desk had her snapping her head forward. Moisture clinging to the can in beads, the silver metal of the Diet Pepsi had her smiling.

            She heard a chuckle as her benefactor sat down on the corner of Casey’s desk, crossing her long legs, brown eyes dancing. “You looked like you needed that.”

            “Bless you, Thunder,” Casey replied, already reaching for her sweet, sweet addiction. “My stash ran out yesterday and I forgot to buy some on the way into work.”

            Thunder laughed, a smoky sound that always brought a smile to Casey’s lips. “Frost running you ragged again?”

            She groaned before taking a long pull from the can. “He kept making me rewrite my report. After he lectured me for how I’d gotten our target to open the door, despite the fact it worked, and we finished earlier than anyone expected us to. I wish I knew what his problem was.”

            “You’d better give up. He’s one of my best friends and I don’t know why he does half the things he does.”

            “At least I shouldn’t have to go on another job with him any time soon. I heard Combat’s finished up whatever it was that had them all out in the field the last little while. The last time I went to their office I thought I’d gotten lost and ended up in the unused office. It was like a ghost town.”

            Thunder shook her head, setting her curly black hair to swaying against her back. “Combat’s always out of the office.”

            “Not all at the same time. There was actually no one in there. It was weird.”

            “Well, mes chéries, I am always so happy to be greeted by your smiling faces,” said an accented male voice.

            Both Casey and Thunder jerked and jumped to their feet at the sound of the voice, backing up against the desk and settling into half-defensive postures. The man who’d been standing just behind them smiled, the wrinkles near his eyes crinkling up even more as he smiled, his steel grey hair cut just as short as always.

            Casey recovered first, though she kept her eyes on the man, alert to any movement from him. “Hi Boss,” she said.

            “Bonjour Gorgon,” he said, hand darting out and grabbing hers before she could stop him. He pressed it to his lips just before she was able to snatch it back. “You are as lovely as ever.”

            Going a bit pink in the cheeks, she muttered a disclaimer as Boss turned his attention to Thunder. “Not that you aren’t lovely as well, ma tonnerre, but it’s Gorgon I’m here to speak to.”

            Casey’s eyes lit up and she stood straighter. “Is it a job?” she asked, glancing around. “And where’s Cassie?”

            Boss shrugged. “She’ll be along in a moment. I had to see if you were here first. The job I have for you is important, the kind of job you’re long overdue for. And with you at it I can’t believe it will be anything but parfait.”

            While Casey grinned, Thunder shifted her weight from one foot to the other, her lips pulling down at the corners. “Shouldn’t you be talking to Frost first then, Boss?”

            Their leader flapped one hand dismissively. “I’ll tell him when he returns. It’s not as if I’m not in charge here,” he said, before raising his voice. “Cassie, if you’ll come over now?”

            An echoing sound of footsteps announced Cassie’s arrival. Her blonde hair in its usual tight braid and dressed in a tailored pantsuit, her movements were deliberate and sharp, her eyes scanning the area. But what drew the attention of the two women was the figure behind her, the one responsible for the double footfalls.

            Shaggy black hair partially hiding his green eyes, his clean shaven chin revealing a cleft chin, the boy ducked his head slightly when he found himself under their combined gazes. Cassie stopped, and he stopped a moment later, nearly running into her. She put a hand into the middle of his back and shoved him forward so that he was standing beside Boss.

            That man was grinning from ear to ear. “Now Gorgon, this is Cloak. He’s our new recruit and summer student. I’m assigning him to you for the duration of the summer. Treat him well.”

            “Boss!” Thunder said, standing straight up. “Why are you giving him to Gorgon? You really have to talk to Frost about this!”

            Boss grey eyebrows rose. “It’s far past Gorgon’s turn for this, ma chérie. She has only had one trainee so far, far less than the rest of you. And it is, as it always has been, my choice on who or where to assign our new recruits. Frost may discuss it with me when he returns, but it’s still my decision. Or is there some other reason Gorgon can’t teach Cloak?”

            Thunder flushed, eyes dropping to the floor. Sighing, Casey shrugged. “It’s fine. I’m sure I can handle anything Cloak will throw my way.”

            “Excellent!” Boss said, grinning. “I’ll leave him in your capable hands. Come visit me any time.”

            Without another word to them, he turned and strode towards the doors, Cassie hurrying after him. All three of them watched the pair until they were out of sight before turning to look at each other.