Fancy Seeing You Here, Tag: Eve

[Mark O'Connell]

Mark stepped into the main atrium of the agency and paused a moment to take in the sight. It wasn’t full of people, but compared to the activity levels of the last three or four months the place was buzzing. There were new recruits looking a little dazed and confused, recruiters trying to look reassuring, and various agents going about their business.

“Excuse me, sir?”

He turned to his left, towards the voice to see a young man looking confused and holding a green slip of paper. A shiny new agency wristband around his wrist made Mark smile, first day on the job. His smile faded a little when he observed the man’s clothes. A rolled up, slightly wrinkled dress shirt with jeans was not professional work wear. Mark sighed inwardly; the young man looked like a bum.

“I’m a little lost.”

“Right, it’s a big place.” Mark’s friendly smile reappeared as he took the paper from the man and scanned it. “Hmm, you’ll want to use the set of lifts on the right. Floor 32.” He handed the paper back to the man. “Good luck, and welcome to the agency.” The young man headed off in the right direction and Mark continued forward, cutting across the center of the atrium, angling for the lifts on the left. It was good to see so many old faces among the new.

Speaking of old faces, Mark had taken a peek at the recent personnel files and noticed that Eve Lloyd was back. He smiled to himself as he stepped into the lift. She was a good partner, a good woman. It would be nice to be working with her again. Mark straightened his tie a little; maybe she’d even be back today.

The lift doors opened quietly and Mark stepped onto the Field Operations floor, still smiling. He strode over to the receptionist at the main desk. ”Hello there. Mark O’Connell reporting in for duty. Mission: Prevention.” They hadn’t specified who his partner was for this mission, only that he wouldn’t be working alone. He’d probably get stuck with some new agent who hadn’t the faintest idea of what they were doing. Mark sighed, Eve needed to get back in the game sooner than later.

[Eve Lloyd]

Eve was running late as usual, and she was really running to the Field Operations office as fast as her little feet could go. She had slept through her alarm and raced up to the Head Quarters as fast as she could. She was thankful that she had taken a shower the night before, and that her hair was the kind that she could brush out quickly and make it work. She took a oral care and cleaning pill and could feel the minty flavor start as she threw on a pair of jeans and a dark red tank top. Just before she tripped out of her ship she grabbed her green jacket and dashed to where she needed to be. She was very careful not to run into anyone this time since it would not be a very good impression to show up to your mission with someone else late. Someone else. The thought that Eve would be going on a mission with someone else nearly tore her apart. She missed her old partner Mark so much that she felt a dull ache in her chest every time she thought about him.

Mark was Eve’s best friend, or at least he was before the agency disbanded. She loved hanging out with him on all of their missions together and when it ended so did all communications between her and her good friend. She had even tried to look him up with no luck. The one thing that she feared the most was that he had been killed. It would have broken her heart to hear that the only person she felt that she could trust completely was dead. Eve wouldn’t let herself think that, she simply couldn’t get a hold of him and that was it.

Reaching the Field Operations office she crashed into the receptionists desk. “Eve Lloyd, Mission:Prevention” the woman gave her the file without hesitation. Her partner must have been here recently because retrieving files usually took forever. Eve flipped through the file quickly and saw that under partner there was no name given, only the word ‘assigned.’ She was sure that it would be a new recruit since all of Terrenus was crawling with them these days.

Eve skimmed the mission and where to meet her partner. She walked toward the rendezvous point and looked around. She saw hundreds of people talking and conversing and making small talk, many you could see were meeting for the first time. Eve scanned the crowd for any familiar face, when like the red sea the mass of Time Agents parted and she saw one person reading in depth his files.

Mark was always the over achiever and kept Eve out of the mischief that she wanted to get in… mostly. She saw how good he looked and Eve couldn’t help but smile. She called out to him “MARK!” and ran over to him. She was glad to see him smile back at her. She jumped up and grabbed a hold of his neck hugging him tightly. “Where the hell have you been I’ve looked every where for you.” She hopped down, gave him a peck on the cheek and smiled up at him since he was taller than she was, waiting for his explination.

[Mark O'Connell]

Mark took his file from the receptionist and made his way to the rendezvous point. His partner was apparently running a little late, so he flipped open the file and started reading. The mission seemed simple enough, probably wouldn’t require any violence. Mark studied the various photos and floor plans carefully, forming a few different strategies in his mind. Hopefully whatever new recruit they gave him knew how to take orders, and had some acting skills as well.

He was jerked from his studies by a very familiar voice shouting his name. He looked up and spotted Eve running towards him and grin broke out on his face. “Eve!”He returned her hug enthusiastically, professionalism be damned for the moment. Mark had missed Eve, much more than he would have ever admitted. “You look fantastic.”

“I’ve been travelling, researching, trying to keep off the radar for the most part. I used a few different names. I guess I did good if you couldn’t find me” Mark was stopped by the peck on his cheek that was unexpected, but not unwelcome. He straightened his tie and smoothed out his jacket from the wrinkling effects of the hug. The familiar actions allowed him to recollect his thoughts, wipe the goofy grin off his face, and look down at Eve as Mark the professional again. “And what about you? It’s not like you were easy to track down either. I heard you stole a ship?” The news hadn’t surprised him in the slightest the first time he heard it. Classic Eve, by his standards.

His eyes strayed to the file she held in her hand, and he was just able to make out the wording. Prevention. Mark couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief as he held up his own file for her to see. “I was afraid I was going to be babysitting another rookie.”He grinned.”Although that might be easier than keeping you out of trouble”. He really couldn’t resist throwing that little dig in there. Eve really was a handful. Mark always enjoyed it though, even if it did mean missions involved a bit more risk than was absolutely necessary. She kept things exciting.

”Have you browsed through the file yet?” He assumed that she hadn’t had a chance yet, but you never knew. Mark spotted an empty bench nearby and guided Eve over to it. They should go over the mission details first, since they were technically on the job at the moment. After that they could spend some time catching up, there was sure to be plenty of stories to be told on both sides and he couldn’t wait to hear them. “Seems like a fairly easy job, for us at least.”

[Eve Lloyd]

As Eve hugged him she smelled the very familiar smell of detergent and cologne. Mark’s smell. She was keen on making memories that involved smell since it was the easiest way to remember something good or bad. Mark never changed though and for that Eve was very grateful. He always dressed smart and clean, never a thread out of place never a hair out of line. She figured that’s why the agency put them as partners in the first place. She needed to be with someone that would follow the rules line upon line, and he needed someone that would expand his imagination. He told her that she looked fantastic and she could hardly believe him since she put no effort in her look this morning. “You look devilishly handsome as always.” She didn’t exaggerate. Mark was a very good looking man she wondered why he hadn’t had a girlfriend while he was at the agency.

He explained to her that he was in hiding under different alias’ and that would have been the reason that she couldn’t find him. She laughed as he straightened himself after the hug. “You never change. I have half a mind to mess up your hair out of spite right now!” She knew that it bothered him when she tried to make him ‘less presentable’ but she didn’t care Mark needed to have some fun sometimes. He asked what she had been doing and about her stolen ship and she grinned with pride. “Well during the meeting where they were telling us that the agency was going to be disbanded… I couldn’t let the old girl go… so I ran over and headed out! I hid in one place for a year or so, which about killed me, just to get the readings of the ship gone and then I travelled. Met a few very interesting people, but nothing terribly exciting to talk about.”

She saw him eye her file and sigh, apparently they were on the same mission. Eve was so happy that the agency put them together again. Eve and Mark had worked together so often that it was like clock work, but Eve wondered if that would have changed over the years. “Oh come on you know that every time you have gotten me out of a mess that I made for myself you have loved it! She hooked her hand around his elbow and pulled him away from the crowd as it became more thick. “Besides, what’s the point of having rules if you can’t bend a few of them?” She smiled at him trying to look innocent as she always did.

Marks asked Eve if she had read through the file yet and lead her to a nearby bench. She sat down automatically. Eve could hear the ‘down to business’ tone entering his voice. “Not at all. I woke up late as usual and have been running ever since.” She opened up her file and browsed through the main points . “Praedoria? I don’t think I have ever been to that planet. Have you? From what I have read it’s a pretty laid back era.” Eve read through the file a little further and read that the assignment was to prevent the ambassador from attending a meeting in order to keep the planet from entering space 80 years before it’s meant to. Eve looked at Mark, “Really? Honestly and Truly? We are keeping someone from a meeting? Is it me or has the Agency given us missions equivalent to baby food?” She would have preferred something much more dangerous. Hell, she expected something more dangerous. Mark and Eve were returning agents, they knew what they were doing, it was as if the agency expected them to forget everything.

[Mark O'Connell]

Mark couldn’t help but blush a little when Eve called him handsome. That certainly stroked his ego just the right way. He straightened up a little when she threatened to muss his hair. “Why do you always insist on messing the hair right off?” He smirked. “There’s nothing wrong with being well groomed, you know.”Mark self-consciously ran a hand along the side of his head, making sure that his hair was in its place.

“Ah, that would explain why I couldn't find you after the meeting."Mark hadn't stayed around for very long after he heard the news either, it was too dangerous. "Nothing really seems quite as exciting after a few years here, does it? I assume they’re letting you keep your bird?”

“Just because I enjoy it doesn’t mean it isn’t a real challenge.” Mark grinned again when she grabbed his arm and led him away from the crowd. Eve was fun to work with, even though she had that wonderful talent for turning safe simple missions into a good fight. “I’ve known you much too long for that innocent look to work anymore, dear.” He sat down on the bench. “Rules exist to prevent utter chaos from ensuing.” How they got on as partners Mark still couldn’t quite understand. He liked the rules, thought they were important. Eve, on the other hand, took no small joy in tossing the rulebook out the window, literally.

“You know, there was this fantastic invention made centuries ago that might help with that. They call it an alarm clock.” He teased. She always seemed to be running somewhere. “I’ve been to Praedoria once, a lot of lazy high society types and politicians in the area we’ll be in.” Mark frowned a little. “Advanced technology too, I guess that means no crossbow.” It was a shame; a crossbow was so much more elegant than a revolver.

He sighed.“The assignment is a little insulting, but maybe they honestly didn’t have anything else. Or they wanted to make sure we could still work together.” The latter explanation didn’t make much sense though, they were a great team before the agency disbanded and neither of them could have possibly changed enough to damage that partnership. They were both too stubborn to change. ”Hopefully the sooner we finish, the sooner we can get on to something exciting.” He pulled out a small schematic of the building the ambassador would be found in.
”We should be able to walk right in to the main part of the building. The only real difficulty will be coming up with a method to detain the ambassador without making his security detail suspicious.”

[Eve Lloyd]

Mark acted annoyed as she messed up his hair, he asked her why she went for his hair and told her that there was nothing wrong with being well groomed. ”Of course there is nothing wrong with being well groomed but that doesn’t meant that you have to be perfect all the time. You know how I hate perfection! She wouldn’t even have to explain to Mark about her obsession with imperfections. He knew only a part of her history, but she had told him how the pleasantries of her home planet were nothing but beautiful facades of a deeply imperfect planet trying to give he impression of flawlessness. Mark didn’t know about how her mother had died but he knew that she was dead, and he also knew that Eve’s childhood was not ideal. Anyone could have guessed that when she mentioned the fact that she had run away from home. Eve could count the people that knew the entire truth about her past on one hand. Even with her closest friends, like Mark, she was still afraid of getting hurt, or worse judgments.

”Yes Mei Mei is all mine. They told me that they had to make modifications to her but that they would let me keep her.” Her ship had been her home and she wasn’t going to let the Agency have it without a fight. Luckily, they were quite understanding about her situation.

Eve smiled at Mark’s constant disapproval. ”But the stories are better when there is utter chaos. No one wants to hear the boring ones, love.” With Mark there everything felt like it was falling back into place. Even though she wouldn’t admit it right out, Mark was what she missed most about the Agency, he had been her once constant friend, her confidant, and her savior throughout the years. She always knew that she were to fall, mark would be there to catch her. She cared very deeply for the man next to her that it was no wonder why so many people had mistaken them as a couple. She didn’t think of Mark that way and she was sure that he could never imagine them going any further than best friends.

Eve hit Mark’s shoulder as he made fun of her for sleeping in. He loved teasing her almost as much as she liked danger. ”No crossbow, you mean there isn’t a Robin Hood theme going on in that century? Too bad, I think I would make a pretty hot looking Friar Tuck.” Mark was obsessed with all things medieval. ”Well the way I look at it, we could take the guards down or… perhaps I could use my feminine whiles on him… at least that is if her prefers feminine whiles to male whiles. Otherwise you could to the wooing.“ She chuckled and nudged him with her shoulder. Everything was just as it should be. Nothing had changed between them.

Eve read over her file once more, ”Ah Ha!” Eve said triumphantly ”Looks like he would prefer me to you.” She smiled at him sweetly. ”Not that you aren’t cute and all.”

[Mark O'Connell]

"You hate perfection, I love it." Mark smirked. "How in the Universe do we work so well together?" Although she wouldn't tell him the whole story, Mark knew that her enviroment growing up was a good part of the reason she was so anti-perfection in her personal life. Just like his childhood was a large part of why he needed order and perfection in his personal life. He wished that Eve would feel comfortable enough to tell him the whole story, surely she knew that he wouldn't judge her for her past. Maybe one day... "That's quite understanding of them, I'll have to stop by and have you give me a tour. If you don't mind of course."

"True, the stories might be more entertaining. Although they would be easier to live through if things were a bit more predictable." He smiled at Eve, thoroughly enjoying how comfortable things felt again. This was how things should be. Sitting across from Eve, going over the mission details, knowing the entire time that no matter how well he planned things it would all unravel at some point and they would have to wing it. Now that things were finally returning to normal, Mark felt old feelings starting to come back. Long ago, before the Agency disbanded, Mark had given up on anything happening between Eve and himself. He just wasn't her type. Time and time again, Mark had watched Eve go for the bad boy, the type of man who wouldn't even open the rulebook. In short, the complete opposite of himself. However, sitting here and seeing her again made that little spark of hope re-ignite.

Eve's playful punch brought Mark back to reality, and he laughed. "I'm sure you would. Maybe you should try it if the Agency ever throws a costume party." She'd look pretty in almost anything, he decided. Even in a monk's robe. Mark's eyes widened when Eve suggested that he might need to use his 'male wiles' in this mission. "Well, um, if he prefers that, it might be best to...uh...find another way." He stumbled over his words, quickly looking down and shuffling his papers. Good, the minister definitely went for the feminine wiles.

"Well, as cute as I may be, I think your feminine wiles will be much more effective. You are the beauty of the group, after all."Mark took off his suitjacket and draped it carefully over his knee."So, you'll distract the minister and I'll take care of any security issues that may arise?"

[Eve Lloyd]

Eve smiled as he asked how they work so well together. “Its because I am secretly corrupting you into my way of thinking, and since I haven’t seen you in so long I have some catching up to do. Hopefully you haven’t gone back to the total prude that you were when we first met. I think that you wanted to kill me our first day together.” She remembered the look on his face the first time that she suggested something that was not in the rule book, and then did it even though he had told her not to. She knew that it would have made everything easier which it did, even though it almost cost Eve her life. That was the first day that Mark saved her, and was very far from his last. It was because of Mark that she wasn’t so curious about death. Or at least hesitant to get there. Before Eve’s mind had been so screwed up that she had no self preservation at all. Now she had it but it never kept her from doing anything dangerous. She thought that having your adrenaline spike was one of the best feelings in the world.

Mark mentioned that he would have to stop by to visit her shuttle for a tour sometime if she didn’t mind.“You of all people have an open invitation.” Eve didn’t care if Mark showed up in the middle of the night. She trusted him so much that Mark around her was like second nature. It was a opposites equaled the end result. Up and down, hot and cold, left and right, back and forth, Mark and Eve. Back in the day you couldn’t have one without the other it seemed and everything was falling back into place like clockwork.

Eve sighed and pouted just a bit as Mark started to dull the already dull project. ”Predictability is for gits. Come on I want to have some fun.” she pleaded. “This is our first go back together and you want to be predicable?” She looked at him again with her innocent pleading eyes hoping that her old tricks still worked.

She looked at the papers with him and laughed as he turned every shade of pink when she suggested he be the one the minister went for. He gave the layout of a plan and told her that she would be the one that would distract and he would take care of the security. “Translation is I have to do the boring stuff while you get to have the fun? How fair is that?” She pulled one of the sheets out about clothing and culture. “What will I have to be wearing in order to distract him do you think? I am not sure I have many of this planets styles in my personal closet.” She showed him clothing and noticed that most of the women’s selection of upper class were rather low cut. She pointed to one of the pictures “Is this trying to tell me that I have to dress like a concubine in order to get his attention?”

She looked at her wrist and checked the time. “When were you thinking that we go anyway?”

[Mark O'Connell]

Mark sat up even straighter and stared at Eve with a holier-than-thou sort of look. “I will have you know that I am thoroughly incorruptible.”He was about to say more when she tossed in a little line about him being a prude again. “I am not a prude! And I did not think of killing you. Leaving you stranded or locked in a bathroom…..perhaps.” He smirked a little. “Not that I would have had to put forth much effort if I wanted to kill you. If I remember correctly, you almost got yourself killed. In fact, if it wasn’t for a certain prude your career would have been cut quite short.” Mark could remember that mission quite clearly, and every mission that involved Eve almost getting herself killed. It had become a familiar mission tradition. It’s not that Eve wasn’t good at her job, she just had a tendency to rush right into dangerous situations without planning a way out first. “I’d never met someone with a fully fledged death wish before.”

”I’ll be sure to stop by then.” Eve’s quick response made Mark relax a little more. It was just another sign that nothing had really changed. Things were starting to feel normal again already; he was starting to feel normal again. Once they got this silly mission out of the way they could go back to the big jobs, show all these new agents what a proper team was like.

He knew it wouldn’t take long for Eve to start trying to veto any real organization for this mission. Mark gave her a businesslike frown. “I like planning; it greatly decreases the likelihood of personal injury.” He shrugged. “Besides, if I were anything but predictable, you’d start to worry, admit it.” Mark refused to make eye contact, instead looking back down at his notes. Eve was definitely giving one of her doe eyed looks that made men worlds over lose all resolve. There was no way he’d look, he knew her old tricks.

“Now,” On reflex, sheer reflex, he looked up as he started to show her another picture. One look at that innocent face and he was gone. Mark sighed heavily. “Alright, alright, we’ll just start with what we have and see what happens.” He was going to regret this later, he knew it.

“Excuse me; I wasn’t aware that flirting was so boring for you women. I’ll have to keep that in mind next time some girl tries to.” Mark glanced down at the photos of Preadorian fashion. “Oh dear. Not a terribly modest culture, are they? I’m sure someone around here has the right clothing, if dressing like a concubine would aid in your….wiles.” He shook his head and looked away from the photos. “Your choice. I was thinking we should leave as soon as possible, since we’re chucking all the planning out the window.”

[Eve Lloyd]

Eve laughed when Mark told her that he was incorruptible. She knew for a fact that everyone could be corrupted even Saint Mark. She had seen his resolve weaken at times and she loved those moments that he did. It made her feel like he was really living and she was helping him with that. She remembered all to well the look on Mark’s face the first time that she had nearly gotten herself killed by doing something reckless there was a strange sort of panic that came into his eyes and he would never breathe until he knew everything was safe. Eve wondered if that little attribute had changed about him. Mark seemed to hold his breath when he was nervous, at least that’s what it seemed like he did. He would always end up gasping for air after the danger was gone. “I don’t have a death wish per say. I would more call it a sense for adventure.” That’s what it was now but before when Mark had first met her death wish wasn’t very far from the truth. So many things had changed that.

Eve could tell that Mark was trying every bit as hard as he use to, to hold his ground. The corner of her lips twitched ever so slightly when he was refusing to look at her. Mark knew Eve better than anyone and she was glad to see that nothing had ever changed. “I would also think that you were a spoil sport on top of worrying.” She kept her eyes on him determined to win this battle. When he looked at her she raised her eyebrows in hopes to make her eyes just a little bit more ‘vulnerable.’ Eve saw Mark look in her eyes and have the inner struggle between rule book and fun that he use to. They’re eyes stayed for a fraction longer than she would have guessed and then he gave in. “You are the best Mark. Thank you thank you thank you thank you. Statues should be built in your honor.” Eve curled her arm around his and rested her chin on his shoulder.

“Flirting is boring when your subject looks like that.” She pointed to the unattractive picture of their target. “I suppose I could go in and flirt but perhaps we could try and get past security at his home rather than just a distraction at this event he is suppose to be attending.” She thought of her wardrobe and remembered one outfit that might fit into the planets style although the last time she wore it she was impersonating a stripper if she remembered correctly. “Lets go now, I just need to stop off at my shuttle to change.”

Eve stood still holding Mark’s arms and walked in the direction of where she was parked. They had gotten away from the ravenous and clueless crowd of new Agents and walked silently Eve leading Mark and Mark reading endless notes about the mission. This was not at all out of the ordinary there were times in their friendship where Mark and Eve had spent hours in silence but completely comfortable. Eve decided to break his reverie delicacy “I missed you.” She waited for him to look at her to continue and now it was her turn to look away. “quite a bit actually. I kept thinking about where you were or what you were doing or… anything.” Eve didn’t usually open up like this to anyone and it was a rare occasion when she did but for some reason Mark brought it out of her. “I missed having a friend that I could trust.” she rolled her eyes “You know me and trust issues.” She chuckled lightly trying to make her sentiment less corny then she thought it sounded.

[Mark O'Connell]

"Oh, I can see the inscription on the base now: In memory of Mark O'Connell, who constantly let his pretty-adventure-seeking partner get her way." He would have continued, but the sudden feeling of Eve's arm around his and her chin on his shoulder left him speechless for a moment. He had missed this woman.

Right, back to the mission. "We could try to worm our way around security...There are more than a few ways to go about this mission, I'm just not sure which would be the best." When he said best, he of course meant the safest and most likely to succeed. Definitely not Eve's definition which had something to do with it being terribly exciting and dangerous. "That sounds fine, I'd like to see the old bird anyway." Mark smiled and let her lead him towards her shuttle. It was nice and quiet as they finally moved away from the crowd of agents. He hadn't had much time for solitude since returning to the agency. It was nice, especially with Eve here.

She missed him? Mark smiled and looked at her, keeping his eyes on her face even when she looked away. "I missed you too." He gave her arm a little affectionate squeeze. He did indeed know about her trust issues and had made a private vow to never do anything to violate the trust she'd given him. "Thought about you a lot too." He chuckled a little. "It worried me a bit to think of you running around the universe completely unrestrained. Who knew what kind of trouble you'd find?" Mark looked straight ahead again. "I'm glad you're alright."

[Eve Lloyd]

Eve giggled about Mark worrying about if she was alright. She was glad that someone cared about her. She loved they would always be friends. No matter what had happened to them or how long they had gone without talking, they would pick right up where they had left off. “Of course I’m alright. How could I not be?” She smiled and then thought of how lonely she was for all those years. How she had cried herself to sleep thinking about how much she missed her best friend, and how she would seek out things that smelled like him. Any time she smelled things like soap and fresh laundry and vanilla she was reminded of Mark, that was his mixture of smells. He never abused cologne like other men did. She remembered one night after trying to track him down that she lit a vanilla candle just so she could feel like he was close to her. Of course she would have never mentioned this to him, she wanted Mark to see her as the strong individual that she had always been around him.

They had reached her shuttle and she unlocked it and lead him inside, thankful that she had cleaned it the night before. “Home sweet home! Give me a minute to change and we can go straight away.” She ran into her closet and dug through her many trunks to find the tiny dress that she was looking for. She finally found it and squeezed herself into the tight form fitting tube dress. She found a dangly pair of earrings and ran a brush through her hair and came back out to show her progress to Mark. “Well? Do I look the part?” She pulled the top of the dress up a little and the bottom down trying to cover as much as was humanly possible with this dress. Eve looked up at Mark who had turned a shade of pink and she smiled. “Why is it that all men in all species when they see a girl in a skimpy dress go gooey.” She stepped towards him and pushed up his chin as if she was closing his mouth, and giggled again. “You shouldn’t leave this on the floor its impolite.” She loved teasing him.

Eve opened her vortex manipulator and checked the coordinates. “Where are we landing, or did you want to take my shuttle?” She wanted to get the job done quickly so that she could come back and change into something more comfortable. Eve would be happy to live every day of her life in a pair of good jeans. “I assume that plan A would work the best out of any other and I would like to get home at a reasonable hour, wouldn’t you?”


((the word tube dress has a link to the dress that I figured she would be wearing.))

[Mark O'Connell]

"I...uh...yes?" Mark stammered and he could feel the rush of blood to his cheeks as a response to his embarrassment. Once again, he played the part of the fool. She looked hot. It was a phrase he didn't really use for women, it seemed to derogatory when most men used it. However, the phrase was more than accurate now. The dress was a perfect choice. Covered just enough to be decent and leave something up to the imagination, but still gave plenty to look at.
Mark cleared his throat as Eve walked towards him, saying something about his jaw on the floor and being impolite. "Men go all gooey because an extremely attractive woman is wearing an extremely flattering dress and we are carnal creatures." He cleared his throat again and straightened his already straight tie. Anyway. That will do just fine. Can you still fight in it, if it came to that?"

Back to the mission. Business. Anything but thinking about how sexy Eve looked right now and about how every man they passed on this mission and possibly a few of the women would be leering at her. "I picked a spot to land inside a room that connects to the lobby of the building." It wasn't entirely clear on the plans if it was a bathroom, closet, or small office. Things weren't labeled as specifically as he would have liked. However, there was nowhere else that they could land without risking exposure. "Yes, a reasonable hour would be preferable. Shall we go?" Mark set his vortex manipulator to the proper settings and showed them to Eve.

[Eve Lloyd]

Eve double checked the plans and adjusted her dress as she did. “Yes please let’s.” She held onto his wrist as they were taken to the right place and time. Eve looked around for guards and not seeing any, gave a quick sigh of relief. She looked at Mark and whispered, “The ambassador’s room is just up the hall around this corner. I will get in and start talking to him. After a while I will slip him..” Eve opened up the small clutch she was holding and pulled out a small dart. “This. It’s lined with a drug that induced instant sleep. I’ll call you from there and we can search the room for the plans. Then when we are about to leave give him this.” She gave Mark a syringe of green fluid. “It will revive him after a minute or so. If you don’t hear from me in 10 minutes then come in after me.” She adjusted the dress again, and with a wish of good luck to him she rounded the corner.

Eve walked slowly towards the ambassador’s room, she saw a guard who looked her up and down as she walked passed. Men were so predictable, it was a wonder that any of them were still alive in her time. She reached the ambassador’s room and knocked. She heard a faint Come in from within the room and pushed the door.

The ambassador was by far the furthest thing from an attractive man, at least in Eve’s opinion. He reminded her of the sweaty rich men that enjoyed unsavory things that involved degrading women. It wouldn’t be a surprise to Eve, but all the same she had to play the part. “Ambassador. I am Serenity.” With a sleazy sort of smile he gestured for her to join him on the sofa. She obliged and walked with a purpose of showing off the curves of her dress. “How may I be of service Ambassador?”

The ambassador snapped his fingers and without warning four guards came out of different hiding places of the room. Eve reflexively put her hands in the air and looked back at the ambassador. “I was told that you would be visiting me tonight Ms. Lloyd.” Eve looked at him startled. How did he know her name? “However, Mr. Hart did not mention how beautiful you would be.” Eve glared and thought immediately that she would have a long discussion with Mark about how she would never do things the easy way ever again, if she lived through this.

[Mark O'Connell]

Mark tried not to enjoy Eve holding his wrist too much, it was necessary to share a vortex manipulator after all. "All clear so far. You sure you're alright with all of this, right?" He took the syringe and tucked it in his pants pocket. "Ten minutes and not a second more." Jumping right back into the danger, they were. Mark watched her go with a bit of apprehension. Just a simple, routine mission. Nothing to worry about. She was just seducing a hideous man while he waited outside like a good little partner.

With a slightly exaggerated sigh, Mark leaned against a wall. He was on the opposite side of the hallway, looking down the hallway to where the doors were. The footsteps behind him didn't alarm him at all, he figured it was just a passerby. But the footsteps stopped right behind him and their owners spoke. It was a low gravelly voice with very unwelcoming words.

"Mr Hart sends his regards."

Mark reacted before the tip of the knife could find its place between his ribs. He twisted, letting the blade slide across his rib cage and grabbed the hand holding it. Mark gripped it tightly and bent it the wrong way until he heard the wrist snap and the knife drop to the floor.

"A knife? Really? How primitive." He critiqued. It was only a moment letter that he realized Eve would certainly be under attack as well. He squeezed the mans carotid artery, slowly dropping him to the ground. "If anything has happened to my partner, I'll be back to kill you."

Mark ran to the door, trying to listen through it. He wasn't the type to run in guns blazing. Not unless that was exactly what the situation called for. There were indistinct voices, but no sounds of a struggle yet. Mark though over the supplies he had on hand. A gun, a knife of his own, and two small charges. One was what you might call a flash bomb, the other was a small explosive."I should have brought my crossbow." It was silent and reliable. Guns were significantly less stealthy.

Was there another entrance? A window he could climb to? If only he could get in the room without being seen, and capitalize on a surprise attack. "Think, Mark. Think." He couldn't remember a window he could reach, but he couldn't make Eve wait any longer if she were in trouble. Looks like all guns blazing it was. Mark pulled his revolver and the flash bomb, shaking his head. He'd set off the flash, then move while everyone was blinded. That was the plan at least.