Chapter 39: Angel
Blake was a perfect gentleman the entire day and the following one. He never so much as touched her hand casually despite his tactile behavior with the rest of the co-workers. A quick clap on the shoulder, a bump with the elbow and a rather memorable moment where he kicked the other man's foot for the implied slight that Blake wasn't doing his job properly. It was all done in good humor, of course. None of it was directed at her despite the obvious way he was watching her.
Like Jack Hunt, Blake Bourque was a professional when the moment called for it. If she had been the eager student Naomi Barrett was supposed to be, she would have learned much from the day she shadowed him. As it was, she was simply confused.
The day came and went without any sort of advances from the man. He was the perfect gentleman and the contrast from the first instance she met the man to now was too great for her to bridge the gap with any conclusion that made sense. It didn't fit the files she had on him. Neither did, for instance, Jack's own behavior towards her. He didn't specifically avoid her, but he did stop any of his own advances.
Had they drawn up a schedule on her time or something? Was this her rest day, so to speak?
He followed this pattern for three days straight. When it came time to her day off, she wasn't any wiser to the matter. She had plans on the other hand and that would have to come first.
Her next meeting with Rick the informant followed the same pattern as their first meeting. When she saw him, the first words that came out was, "I hope there isn't another hotdog over there." That code he had made would haunt her for years to come.
"What? Where?" His raised eyebrow was belied by the smirk on his face, even as he tried to express innocence. "I have no idea what ya mean."
"Sure you don't."
She eyed him shrewdly. Rick was a hard contact to figure out, mostly because he liked to play by the old rules of in-person meetings, codes and some kind of getup that reminded her of small chubby fingers drinking from a straw while watching the latest Bond movie. His newspaper cap wasn't exactly modern. In the middle of City Y however, where all kinds of different styles were embraced alongside the old adage of "Mind your own business", he fit in surprisingly well. She still didn't know how he had amassed such a large network, however. It would bug her to death, she just knew it.
"Should I be flattered? I think I should be flattered." He bobbed a theatrical bow at her stare, her lips twitching unwillingly in amusement.
"If you wish, Rick. You can interpret it however you like."
He brightened. "Thanks a lot. That reminds me. Yer name."
"Naomi –"
"No, no, no. That's not what I meant. I was supposed to give ya one, wasn't I?" He folded his arms and stared at her with pursed lips. He hemmed and hawed, finger tapping his chin. "That's... Ya know, I looked ya up before our first meeting."
She tensed. She didn't mean to tense, but her muscles locked even as she pretended they didn't. "Oh?" She should have expected it, really.
He had the graciousness to ignore her. "My first impression was Alex, actually."
"... Alex?"
"Short, much to the point, and ambiguous as all."
Her expression morphed into something strange. "Thanks?" Was that an illusion towards her height she heard?
"Then I thought, perhaps a Dee."
"A... Dee." Oh dear, what had she gotten into? If she didn't need his information, she would have left already. His expectant stare made her ask, "Why Dee?"
"Will Thee Be Mine?"
"That's... not even the same word. Close, but no dice."
He laughed. "I know. Can't really figure out a name from one meetin' though. We'll settle for Angel. Is that alright with ya?"
She tilted her head. "I suppose."
He grinned, bright and friendly as he swung his hand forward. "Well, nice to meet'cha Angel! I'm Rick, though I suppose ya knew that." He winked.
Incredulous laughter bubbled in her throat and she swallowed it down with some effort. She shook his hand. "Anything else you want to decide today? Any stories you want to regale me with?" She was hinting pretty hard there at the end but she figured after all that, he could take it.
"Sure thing, Angel. Are ya interested in buildings? Because I find 'em fascinating. Secret doors and the like. Easy to get lost in 'em if ya don't know the way. Also, as it so happens, filled with traps that can lead ya by the nose until yer nose deep in the ditch."
She nodded ruefully, accepting the chastisement and the newspaper he handed her. She shouldn't be impatient with her only informant contact in City Y. It just wasn't done. "Thank you," she said politely. He grinned at her to show her no harm done.
"I heard the coast is lovely this time of the year. Just take the plane, and off ya go." His eyes crinkled, but there was something in them that made her pay attention. "The best thing is if ya rent a place of yer own instead of takin' a hotel. Perhaps someone y'know could lend ya one."
Her eyes immediately dropped to the newspaper, shifting through the code and landing on the entertainment side, tourist spots highlighted in the seemingly innocent article. A private airport owned by the Hunt family? How hadn't she known that before? She looked up. "Thank you, again. I never seem to have the time to buy my own." She chuckled in embarrassment for any who might overhear their conversation. It wasn't like the park was empty at this time of the day.
"For Angel? I would even doff my topper." He made a bow with his hat sweeping off his curly hair, bobbing before coming to a stand with a ridiculously large grin. "Have a lovely day."
"You too, Rick."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone