The Lincoln Deception

September 9, 2018

"Yooo hooo? Anybody home?" Flynn's voice echoed in the empty space. No one sat in the kitchen planning their next mission. Or on the couches watching old movies, the only ones they had that would play on the old VHS in the bunker. He looked at his grandfather's watch, Agent Christopher should be at her desk about now, but their fearless leader appeared absent from today's non-festivities. Fitting.

He looked to where the Lifeboat should occupy space. He'd been left behind. On his birthday. To be fair, he mentioned it to exactly no one, but he really thought they'd been making headway in the friendship department. And they'd taken off on a mission without even a by your leave.

Flynn offered a shrug no one witnessed and opened the fridge, pulling out a beer and then the milk for a bowl of cereal. A completely random combination, but whatever, it was his birthday and he'd cry into his cereal if he wanted to. He chuckled and walked over to the tv, ejecting African Queen and pushing in his favorite movie. With no one here, no one could laugh at him for loving Roman Holiday. He propped his feet up on the coffee table and settled in to indulge in a simpler time.

Unbeknownst to him, Lucy returned and found him so lost in the movie he didn't notice her presence. So she stood, observing him, relaxed and unaware. She'd never seen him so peaceful, worry free. She crept around the tables, sneaking up on him.

"So you have a thing for Audrey Hepburn?" She whispered in his ear. Flynn startled and spilled his beer, Lucy frozen, mesmerized as the drops slid down his black turtleneck. Focus, Lucy. She chuckled, "Get up. We got a mission."

He reached for the remote and flipped off the movie. "Is that where everybody is?"

"Yeah, all hands on deck, I just came back from raiding the theater." She raised her hand. "Gotcha a suit. Rufus is out running last minute errands and the rest of the crew went ahead to get us situated."

"Even Agent Christopher?" Lucy nodded. "She went on her first trip? Wish I'd been there for that. I bet her reaction was almost as priceless as Mason's." He laughed, remembering. Moving around the couch, he took the suit from her, asking, "What's all this foofaraw about?" indicating the black three piece suit with its sleek long coat and maroon cravat.

Lucy lifted her rose colored dress with maroon piping and inspected it. "We're crashing the Republican National Convention of 1860. We think Rittenhouse is going after Lincoln before he's nominated."

He knew something about 1860, didn't he? Nothing came readily to mind, but something important happened, he was sure of it. Instead of questioning her further, he let it go for now. "Didn't we already do Lincoln? Isn't that a bit boring? I expected better of the time team," Flynn joked as he started towards the hallway.

She joined him. "Ha. Ha. Ha. Mr. Jokerpants." Bumping his shoulder, she nudged him towards his room. "Jiya and Rufus should both be back soon. Stop wasting time."

"Let me know if you need help with your hoops," he teased. "I'll be changed before you've tied the first one around yourself." She blushed and his heart fluttered.

"Errrr, um..." Adorably flustered, she tried to find a direction to flail in and ended up tripping over the edge of the long skirts, toppling into him. H er right hand splayed across his chest. For a second all she could do was enjoy the feel of him and then he righted her. "Thank you," she sputtered out. "I'm just gonna go change. M'kay? M'kay. Yeah." Spinning on her heel, she hurried away and left him with a bemused smile.

xxxxx

When Lucy walked into the kitchen, skirts swirling around her ankles, Flynn's mind went blank. From the curls gathered around her neck, just above her shoulders, to the way the color of her dress complimented her...well, her everything. Stunning.