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Neon Shadows. (Alpha and Touch Of Temperament)

His unease at her question was palpable. Niamh silently cursed herself, she should have been more careful in asking this question. It was just so very normal to her. She'd underestimated once again that he was new to a lot of the technological advances, that were an integral part to the way they ran ops these days. She smiled, deciding to distract him from his apprehension by playing into his joke. She leaned forward resting her forarms on her thigh, her back arched slightly. Very well aware that in this position her breasts pushed against her top, offering him a glimpse of her cleavage.

"What are you proposing Max?" Her voice had a little extra husk and her pony tail draped over her shoulder. She winked.

She held her sultry posture, but her next words were all business. Not unlike the moment they'd had downstairs. "A neural link is a direct communications channel between two or more people. It can only be created by direct consent of all parties involved. So don't worry. No one is getting into your brain if you don't allow them to. Also you can open and close the link whenever you want. But it beats wires and microphones. If we do this we'll be in contact the entire time tomorrow at the party, even if we're in separate rooms. We can share information realtime, follow any interaction the other person might have."

Then she leaned back, sitting back up and letting the vixen fall away. She didn't want him to think she was trying to seduce him into this.
 
God she knew how to make it hard for him to focus, sitting there listening to her explain this uplink and all he could do was think about how much he wanted to burry his face in the deep valley of her clevage. The plasent thoughts kept him occupied long enough for the other, logical part of his brain to digest what she had said, not that he wanted to think too much about business. She wound him up like no woman he'd ever known and he was starting to think it wasn't just the excessive hormones pumping through his system, she really was just that much of a knockout.

The idea made sense, a totally secure comms channel that would let them mingle separately without having to worry about range, interference or anyone piggybacking onto the signal.

"I think" he said finishing off the last of his meal, "we can save that for tomorrow. As for what I'm proposing. I think you're smart enough to figure that out."
 
She breathed out, relieved he accepted her explanation on the neural link. But now he'd called her bluff and the proposition hovered between the two of them. Her arms crossed in front of her. Her head cocked to the side, eyes slightly narrowing as she weighed her decision. She was seriously tempted to tumble him into her bed and give him the best sex he'd had in a hundred twentyfive years. Their chemistry sizzled and perhaps it would pay to get it out of their system. By tomorrow their undivided attention could be on the job. Which didn't mean they couldn't do it again, and again, if they wanted to.

At the same time, he was fresh out of stasis and barely had his head on straight, while being bombarded with things such as neural links. He was being coerced by Deltaware to work for them and he only just started to trust her. She could risk their partnership by doing this. They had to work that party tomorrow. They both needed to focus.

"Work before play, Max."

The words sounded breathy and huskier than she had intended. She found herself thinking about that kiss she'd given him downstairs. It wouldn't hurt to get just one more taste.
She leaned in, her hand sliding to the back of his neck and pulling him in for a kiss. This time was nothing like before. It was hard and fiery. Her teeth nipped his bottom lip before she pulled out of the kiss. By now she was breathing hard and could hardly remember why she was taking the moral highground.

"Not tonight, but tomorrow night.. You're mine."
 
He didn't resist when Nimah reached for him, didn't give the slightest inclination of trying to fight back or pull away, instead he leaned into her, returning the burning passion she projected onto him, her mouth soft and sweet and eager all at the same time. An arm coiled around her waist, pulling her closer to him, desperately wanting to feel more of her, wanting the weight of her body and the warmth of her skin pushing against him. A flinched as she bit down on his lip, less from pain and more from surprise and he chuckled as she pulled away.

His arm remained where it was, wrapped around her when she pulled back, his grey eyes starting hurgerly into her blue ones and somewhere amid the fog of his brain he genuinely had to question if this was a good idea or not. He sucked several deep shuttering breaths in.

"Reward for a job well done. I suppose I could get behind that." He said with a chuckle.

That rational part in the back of his brain told him he needed to get up, go back to his own room and take a shower. A very very cold shower, but that other primitive hormonal part demanded he stay, to get just another taste of what was promised tomorrow night.

The rational part won out and Max detangeled himself, snatching the watch from the table before slowly moving to the door, still fighting the primal urges in his system.

The elevator ride back to his own floor was silent save for the pounding of his own heart in his ears. He was peeling his shirt off before the room door even closed, storming into the bathroom and turning the shower on as cold as possible and letting it rain down on him. He closed his eyes, taking slow deep breaths before opening them again, looking down at his body.

Something was wrong.

He hadn't had a chance to look at himself much since had woken up, but now that he did, something was different, scars that should have been weren't, his fingers traced over where they should have been and felt only smooth new skin.

He didn't bother turning off the water, stepping out into the cold marbel floor he leaned in close to the mirror. He looked younger. By at least ten years, maybe abit more.

Max ran a hand down his face, taking in this new information on top of everything else, "what the fuck...."
 
Her skin seemed to burn where his arms had been wrapped around her. Niamh watched him leave the room, breathing deeply to slow that racing pulse. That's all she focused on to block out the insistent urge of hauling him back against her. Breathe in, breathe out. The door fell closed behind and she thrust both hands into her hair, groaning in frustration. Her head fell back against the wall, and she rubbed her face. Man, was she a glutton for punishment or what. They both would spend the night dealing all that unresolved need and lust.

She shook her head, pushing herself to her feet. Just a quick shower to clear her head and then she could do some work before she went to sleep.

Tugging her top over her head, she headed for the bathroom. She switched on the hot water, feeling the steam fill the room as she took off her pants. A sigh escaped as she stepped under the warm water, letting it cascade over her heated skin. With both hands she pushed her wet hair back, letting her hands slide over the front of her shoulders, making their way over her breasts. Her fingers brushed her nipples and she sucked in a breath. Steadying herself with one hand against the wall, she took the showerhead, guiding the stream down her body.


After bringing herself to climax in the shower she lay down on the bed. Frustrated, that her orgasm hadn't done nearly enough to release that coiled tension in her body, she scanned over her case file. Work would distract her. She added a few notes here and there, little reminders for herself tomorrow.
 
For Max the night was restless, not so much out due to stray thoughts of what may follow their journey into the upper crust of society, but because of the things he had noticed changed about himself that didn't seem to add up. The tech was there before he had gotten locked away to get rid of scars, but with he didn't understand was why they would do something like that? Was it because of the environment he was operating in, they assumed he'd be walking around with a shirt on and a man loaded down with scars would draw attention? There was logic there he could follow but it didn't click.

Dawn found him sitting on the balcony, the crystal ashtray overflowing with cigarette butts. He found a some peace in watching the sun peek above the horizon. He received the room phone from it's cradle and called down to the front desk, "Please let Miss. Jones up in 2210 that Mr..." He paused as fumbeled the fake passport he had been provided, "let her know Mr. Parker would like her to join him for breakfast on the roof in a couple hours."

Without waiting for confirmation he hung up the phone had vanished into bathroom to get himself put together for the day before riding the elevator up to the rooftop restaurant.
 
Niamh had always been an early riser and she liked to get up with sun and get in a workout before she did anything else. This morning she'd had done a meditative martial arts flow. They could be done anywhere without equipment and helped her build strength while calming her mind. There was the added bonus of being able to build on the intensity of the flow. It helped her focus and work off some of that excess energy, leaving her with a rush of endorphins as well as feeling much more in control.

The reception desk called her with the invitation to meet Max for breakfast on the rooftop as she was wiping the beads of sweat from her forehead. With a smile she headed for the bathroom.


The elevator doors pinged as she reached the rooftop and they opened to bathe her in the soft morning sunlight. Niamh lifted her face to the sun, simply enjoying the warmth on her skin. She'd dressed in black pants, topped off with a crisp white shirt. Her hair in a nonchalant bun, her makeup subtle but flawless. In a place like this appearances were everything.

She dazzled the host with a smile. "I'm meeting Mr. Parker."
 
The host, another of the locals smiled a toothy smile at her and lead her through the sea low tables flanked by soft couches under a cloth awning that billowed gently in the morning breeze to a table along the outer rail where Max sat staring into a cup of coffee. The lack of sleep showed on his face, all dark circles under his eyes and heavy carpet of stubble across his jaw. Well, heavier than usual, Max was the kind of man who sported five o'clock shadow no matter the time of day.

He gave a half hearted nod to the opposing couch, "you're looking bright eyed and bushy tailed this morning." He said without looking up from his coffee.
 
Niamh took a moment to scan the rooftop and appreciate the view from up here. A tell tale tingle on her skin told her the hotel maintained a force field here to keep anyone or anything from going over the rails. A smirk played on her lips as she joined Max at the table, sinking a little deeper into the couch than she found comfortable. "I'm afraid I can't say the same for you." Her deadpan response followed his remark without a thought. She leaned forward, glancing at his face. "Rough night?"

She found herself wanting to feel the rasp of his stubble. Niamh shook her head, so much for that focus she'd gone for this morning.

A waiter brought her a cup of coffee too, which she gladly took. Her fingers busied themselves with the breakfast menu. "I sent a message a friend at the company, asking about that supplier we saw yesterday." She told him. "Just making sure he's not causing trouble for us."
 
"I've spent the last hundred and twenty five years asleep. Actually being asleep feels a little too much like being locked up again." It was like, but one that seemed possible given his situation. What little sleep he had gotten the previous night had been filled with dreams of a small Mountinan cabin miles away from everyone, the same dream he'd had wile he'd been under, the same dream he was told was impossible to have wile in cryo. Max drained the last of his coffee and looked out across the still blue water. The whole planet was a giant vacation spot, resorts dotting the landscape. They wouldn't be able to just walk down the road to Quint for their evening plans, transit would have to be chartered to get them where they needed to be, be it sea or air.

He rubbed at his chin with the back of one hand, "Something about that feels wrong me, same time, same place we're trying to conduct an operation he shows up."

Max kept his gaze focused on the horizon, away from Niamah, he wanted to focus on the task at hand for now, he had a gut feeling she'd be distracting enough later that night in whatever she ended up wearing to the party. A wind blew in and he caught the smell of her skin and fought against the hormonal impulses to reach across the table and taste her again, to explore her more fully, feel her skin against his palms, explore those places that she had only teased at yesterday. It was going to be a long day.

"So what's the game plan for tonight?"
 
There was way too much she didn't know about cryogenic stasis. While the technology wasn't new at all, it wasn't something she was likely to encounter in her work. Therefore she had never had a reason to read up on it. She was considering it now though. It was likely the time in stasis would have its after effects on him. That made it very relevant for her. They would have to wing it for now. The job came first. There were other things demanding their attention. Like some Deltaware supplier showing up on this planet. "I agree. I'm sure by tonight we'll know more about him." She took a sip from her coffee. "The only thing that would make it even more suspicious is if he also shows at the party."

Niamh leaned back into the couch, checking the practical details on her hud. " I've arranged for transport to pick us up at seven. Hope you don't get air sick."

She glanced at him and then continued. "We're going in as representatives for company that is a potential customer for Quint, it's small pickings though. So we shouldn't attract too much attention and we can go in together, but also separate and make our own rounds." She highlighted the cover story, adding it to his under cover persona in their shared file.

"We're all set for tonight. We just need to set up our neural link. Unless there's anything you need?"
 
Max tapped a finger against his lower lip. Something he needed. He needed her, naked and sweaty and moaning in pleasure, that's what he felt like he needed the most at that moment but he wasn't convinced now was the best time to bring it up. But at the same time this thing, this electricity was a distraction that could cost them in the field. But at the same time giving into it now could be just as bad.

Max skated around his own thoughts as the waiter came by, refilling his mug before moving on to help.......

No one at all.

The restaurant had been empty when he had arrived, he had assumed it was simply because it was early, but not a single other person had arrived other than Nimah the whole time he'd been sitting there. Aside from them and the waiter it was a ghost town. Max stopped tapping his lip but didn't shift his gaze from the horizon. This wasn't normal, it couldn't be.
 
Niamh followed his gaze around the restaurant. His silence made the emptiness of the restaurant suddenly obvious. It was too quiet to be natural. She pushed herself out of the cushions, sitting upright on the couch as a sense of unease crept up on her. While she was cursing herself for not having noticed this sooner, she heard the ping of the elevator. The elevators doors opened to reveal the silhouette of a person.

Her eyes narrowed as the Deltaware supplier emerged. He seemed completely unfazed, but she definitely did not believe in coincidence anymore where this person was concerned. And he made a beeline for their table.

Niamh rose to her feet, keeping her posture relaxed, arms hanging loosely by her sides. She didn't want to be sitting in that couch when the man reached them. His face and features were unremarkable, his expression bland. It was the kind of man who would blend in anywhere. Her unease grew. "Please don't get up on my behalf, Miss Jones." He knew. He knew who they were. That wasn't possible, even as a Deltaware employee he would not have access to her information, especially not while on a job. "It's time we have a chat."
 
"Well. I guess we just got an anwcer to that question." Max said, following her gaze towards supplier. The occupational paranoia had him expecting a half dozen heavily armed thugs with itchy trigger fingers to come crashing through the door guns blazing, or the waiter to pull a knife and try to jam it in his tracia. Something so small as this suit was unexpected and a quick glance around the roof showed him that the waiter had made himself scarce for the time being, which was a shame because he had decided the steak and eggs with a side of home fries sounded pretty good to him at that moment.
He watched the man approach, a sudden strange feedback coming across his HUD that gave him pause and he scoweled.

The tracker tag he had marked the man with the day before wasn't responding and the code name she had given him last night, unsure if this man knew who they really where.
 
Niamh remained standing, unwilling to sit in the presence of this man. Something about him set her on the edge. She had learned long ago to watch out for the quiet ones. But this man had set off every alarm she had. Yesterday he'd seemed so unassuming. Now she wondered how she could have missed. When she wouldn't sit, he slid onto the couch where she had been sitting. He touched her cup, smelled her coffee and for one crazy moment she wondered whether he had poisoned them. But their hud had been updated with latest of software, it would've picked up anything in the coffee.

"So good to see you two getting along." The supplier told them with a friendly affable smile. He leaned forward to Max, his voice a loud whisper. "One can never be sure, especially considering what happened to her last partner."

Niamh showed him her teeth, jaw clenched together in tension. He was not supposed to know this.

"Oh. I take it, she hasn't told you yet." The man's smile widened. "Awkward.. but it's best coming from her." Niamh took a step toward him, her hands balled into fists. She managed to reign her anger. "What do you want?" The 'supplier' was still smiling. "Oh I want you to do as planned. I just want you to report to me in stead of to Deltaware." Niamh found herself wishing that she and Max had set up their neutral link yesterday, so that they would've been able to communicate right now.
 
Max clicked his tounge against his teeth as he listened to to suit, "I'm guessing her partner died. Big fuckin deal. That happens in this business.". He dug a fresh cigarette pack from his shirt and shook a fresh on out before lighting it. He didn't care if this was a no smoking area, no one was around to tell him otherwise for the time being so he may as well make the most of it. This little bastard wanted to play with them he was ready to play back.

He took a long pull off the cigarette, watching Niamah out of the corrner of his eye, noting the tension that seemed to have taken over every fiber of her being and he had to wonder who this guy really was. Any real thoughts he might have where disrupted by the buzzing the back of his skull.
 
Niamh felt a hard smile edge over her lips. Max wasn't letting this guy bait him. It grounded her, get her temper back under control. Her anger now evolving into an icy thing, giving her clarity. How easily had he pushed her buttons, had she let him goad her. She didn't talk about Darren, but this was no secret at Deltaware. However only a handful of people knew what had really happened. This man seemed to insinuate he knew. He could also be toying with her. If he did know, there was a leak somewhere high up in Deltaware.

She raised her chin, looking down at the man and drawing in a deep breath. The smoke from Max' cigarette curled around her and she could taste it in the air. "We're bought and we stay bought." Her arms crossed in front of her. "Forget it, you've nothing to offer us."

The suit sat there, still seemingly unconcerned. "You might want to reconsider that." He nodded to Max. "And I don't think you get to speak for him."
 
The buzzing continued in the back of his skull, getting wore and worse with each passing moment making it harder and harder for him to focus on what was going and what was said. The suit was getting under his skin and he had an overwhelming urge to smash his coffee cup across the man's face but the more he thought about the worse the buzzing got. He had a feeling this man wasn't acting in the interest of the company and acting against that would lead to his grey matter being ruptured.

"Sorry shit head." He said through gritted teeth, "but she's right. The hand that holds the money is the hand that keeps our loyalty."
 
Something was off with Max, but she had no idea what. Niamh engaged a neural link with her friend at the office, she needed answers about who this man was and she needed them right now. Almost delicately the supplier pressed his fingertips together, his hands forming a little triangle. "Your loyalty is commendable. But I would hate to have to swing the bat."

Icy fingers skittered up Niamh's spine. She knew that phrase. It was the code that she had for her contact at Deltaware to activate Max' killswitch. At the same her friend sounded over the link. Niamh, the profile you sent me is an alias for one of the partners. Everything alright?

Her eyes closed for a moment. She was well and truly out manoeuvred. Any move she made against this man would cost Max.

Peachy.

Anger had her clenching her fingers, nails digging into her palm. She hated someone else having power over her. Her entire life she'd worked to avoid ever being in that position again. She smiled at the man, showing him her teeth. He may have them cornered, but he was playing with fire.

"Fine. We'll do it your way. What do you want?" The suit smiled again. "Good, I knew you'd come to the sensible conclusion. Proceed your operation as planned. You can brief me tomorrow morning on what you find. I'll send you a time and location." He rose from the couch, nodding first at Max, then at her. "I look forward to doing business with you." And with that he left.
 
The moment the man vanished from site the buzzing in his head cleared and he suddenly collapsed sideways on the couch, his eyes trying to focus and having no luck. He sucked a ragged breath in through his teeth, somewhere along the way the cigarette had fallen from his lips and ended up in his coffee mug. Max suddered, trying to comprehend everything that had just gone on, his own body seemed to have just out right stopped responding to his commands. His fingers felt strange and numb as he managed to shake loose another cigarette, the lighter trembling in his hand as he tried to catch the end of it with the small wobbeling flame.

"The fuck...." He finally gasped after taking a long pull from the coffin nail, the smoke escaping in a single shapeless cloud from between his lips, "The fuck just happened...."
 
Max collapsed as the suit left them and Niamh knelt by his side, watching in concern. Frowning she bit into her lower lip, glancing from Max to the exit and back again. Things started to make sense. Her anger surged anew. This job was turning out to be one big clusterfuck. Her jaw clenched and she sat on the table, right in front of Max, in his space.

The smoke seemed to curl around her and she tugged the burning cigarette from his fingers, bringing it to her mouth and taking a deep drag herself. Her full lips opened to blow the smoke upwards. She gave the cigarette back to him.

"Thanks.."

Her voice was gruff. She didn't really know how to tell him this. She decided to give it to him straight.

"So, I have bad news and even worse news. The bad news is that the killswitch isn't the only modification to your brain. They've ensured that you can't hurt any high level exec at Deltaware. What you've just felt is the dissonance they programmed into you. The more you want to hurt him, the worse it gets."

The turncoat had planned this spectacularly well. Max was physically unable to hurt him. And he had taken a gamble that she wouldn't risk Max' life. Or maybe it was something he'd deduced from her file. He'd obviously done his homework on both of them, but Niamh couldn't think about that or she'd just get too angry. Her hands itched, she wanted to break something, kill something.

"Also.. he has the code phrase to your killswitch."
 
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"Great...." He muttered as he took the cigarette back from her, tasting her lipstick on it and wishing that he was in more of a frame of mine to enjoy it. The kiss from the night before was still fresh in mind dispite the odd occurances going on, something he blamed very firmly on the unbalanced hormones in his system that he really needed to deal with before he made a mistake.

He took another long pull, burning through half the cigarette in a single long breath before snorting the smoke out his nose. This whole thing had just gone sideways in what looked to be the worse way possible, not only did they shove a bomb in his fuckin head they made it so he couldn't kill the bastard with his finger on the trigger. It was an action that made sense when basically holding someone hostage, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

He looked up at Niamah, staring into those blue eyes for hers and wondering if he would actually make it out of this operation alive.

"Any chance of a pity fuck for the condemned?" He said, half joking around his cigarette.
 
He was down, but definitely not out. A smile curved over her red lips at his wry humor. Niamh leaned forward, her gaze drifting from his eyes to his mouth. "You didn't I'd give in that easily, did you?" Her head tilted slightly to the side, amusement playing on her face. She got up from the table, planting a knee on either side of him so that she straddled.


"He's not getting you. And.." There was a wicked gleam to her eyes and she leaned in closer. Her face only inches from his. "I don't do pity fucks."


Her eyes looked up at his and she stole his cigarette again. This time going for a more leisurely drag, before flicking the cigarette away. The smoke escaped from her lips and then she said. "Angry fucks, though.. anytime."


Niamh wanted him now. He wanted her. This was kind of release both of them needed. She didn't care about much else at that point.
 
There where some things in this world that he just couldn't say no to. Some emotions that where always welcome and in some way usable and anger was just one such emotion. He could use it in so many different ways and at that moment the idea of channeling his anger into a good hard fucking sounded very very appealing to him at that moment.

His hand trailed along Niamah's legs, up along her thighs and came to rest on her hips. Yeah, anger was good, angry sex sounded even better than killing when angry, mainly because he didn't know when he'd get a chance to kill anyone.

What Max did know was he could fuck her and get something out of his system.

He grinned, "Angry sounds much more satisfying." He said, giving her ass a squeeze.
 
His hands sliding up her legs felt so good. The sensation just confirming that this was what she needed. A groan rumbled in the back of her throat as he squeezed her ass. She wanted his hands on her skin.

Her hands slid into his hair as she closed the distance between them, kissing him hard. Her hips rocked forward, finding his erection. Rubbing herself against him as her hands explored his chest. Anticipation had her pulse racing. Suddenly she had no more patience for all these clothes that were between them.

Without pausing to think she ripped open his shirt, sending buttons flying in every direction.
 
Sensation overwhelmed him as their lips touched. He returned the kiss in kind, buring with a white hot hunger that could not longer be contained Max gave himself over to those primal animalistic urges that had been making nosies in the back of his head since last night. His hard on strained against his slacks, making it's presence known in a way that was almost painful. He groaned into the kiss, feeling the friction as she ground against him and returned in kind.

Hot air on chest as the flimsy fabric of the cheap vacation shirt tore away and he wasted no time returning the favor, tearing open her shirt before breaking away from her lips and burrying his face in the deep valley of her clevage.
 
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