Zacharie
Truly Feared
The Proxy
Posts: 247
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Post by Zacharie on Oct 14, 2012 23:57:32 GMT -6
It’d been quite a long night for Zacharie, running up his tab at the small bar in Rogue River. While he was usually there openly socializing with local patrons, the spy found himself sitting alone at the bar that night. Occasionally the bartender would ask if he was doing alright, only to be dismissed with a small wave and a knowing look. He didn’t look well, he didn’t feel well. It might’ve done him some good to perhaps eat a bit before drinking, but he didn’t. Throughout the night the small ash tray at the bar was also filled with cigarette butts and emptied multiple times. About three or so shots into the night he’d let his mind wander to the subject he wanted to forget.
He was experiencing what one would call cognitive dissonance. For quite some time he was denying his strong interest in Fran by covering it up with lies and excuses. He questioned them, but they fell through, his cover-up was a paper thin veil. Everyone had seen through it, Eric, even Gordon. Zacharie had been lying to himself for quite some time, since the wine bottle incident to be exact.
What a fine mess it truly was.
But at least he was able to get a cab ride safely back to the base, even at closing time. He highly doubted anyone would be awake when he returned to base. Zacharie stepped carefully through the gates, the moon obscured by the usual dark grey clouds. He felt groggy and frankly a little buzzed still, but it wasn’t technically a bad thing. At least this way he could get to sleep easier.
Quietly as he could muster, he opened the door to the RED commons and stepped inside. Removing his fedora and coat, he put them on the rack by the door.
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Post by Franciska on Oct 15, 2012 8:24:16 GMT -6
Florescent lights glowing overhead and a cold cup of coffee close at hand, Fran sat at the kitchen table, diligently scribbling away at her paperwork. Once it got this late, the idea of working alone in her secluded office quickly became very unappealing. Her concentration was broken by a heavy yawn. Looking down at the paper before her, it became harder and harder to focus on words until it was nothing but a unintelligible mess. Defeated, the medic rested her head on the table. Maybe she should just worry about this junk in the morning.
In the silence of her moping, she could quite clearly hear the common room door squeaking open across the hall. For the briefest of seconds she worried that Eric actually was dumb enough to try to return. Dismissing that idea, she crept over and poked her head around the corner to see who it was.Disappointment became evident on her face when she saw who it was. Nope, even worse. Wordlessly, she returned to the kitchen table. He could stumble up to his room on his own. Her pen felt like lead in her hands, but she forced herself to pick it up and continue writing anyway.
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Zacharie
Truly Feared
The Proxy
Posts: 247
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Post by Zacharie on Oct 15, 2012 11:29:11 GMT -6
As he turned away from the coat rack he could swear he saw someone in the hallway. He was wrong, apparently somebody was up at this hour after all. Rubbing his eyes and smoothing back his hair, he decided to inspect the hall. Noticing the fluorescent lights pouring in from the kitchen, he took a step in.
One short glance told him enough. There she was, of course it was her. God must be really laughing at him now. Spend the whole evening agonizing over your unheathly obsession with a woman? Managed to drink just enough to forget? Well here she is, have fun and enjoy your buzzkill.
"Oh." Zacharie said quietly, trying not to startle her, even though she was already aware of his presence. "I had thought I saw a mouse peek around the corner as I came in." He was able to keep his wits about him, despite how tired he looked.
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Post by Franciska on Oct 15, 2012 12:02:48 GMT -6
She blinked, not even bothering to look up from her work. Was that supposed to be a joke? "Well I thought I heard a snake slithering in our front door so I went to take a look." She said in a tone that was as curt as it was uninterested in continuing the conversation. Of course it was only when he insisted on talking to her that she realized just how pleasant it was back when he was avoiding her. Fran contemplated continuing the streak herself, but there was no way she was going to scurry away just because of him. Maybe if she just kept her eyes locked on these papers, he'd give up and go away. If she could keep her eyes open, that is.
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Zacharie
Truly Feared
The Proxy
Posts: 247
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Post by Zacharie on Oct 15, 2012 12:55:43 GMT -6
He was a snake now, was he? Fair enough, he thought. To be honest he wasn't in the mood to be dismissed so easily. No, that stupid voice in his head told him to stick around where he was obviously not wanted. Like a damned arrogant fool.
Dismissing her remark with a simple shrug and a shake of his head, he stepped quietly around the table and to where the coffee pot and sink were. He noted that the pot was empty, then the cup on the table. Had she nearly finished a whole pot on her own? Perhaps it was shared with one of their teammates at some point in the evening. Either way he decided to fix himself a cup to help fully sober up.
Calmly he removed his gloves and set them aside on the counter. He spoke in a curt manner that matched Fran's, but there was a hint of haughtyness to it still.
"No one attacked while I was out hopefully?"
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Post by Franciska on Oct 15, 2012 15:54:48 GMT -6
"No. Eric stopped by though. I almost cut her arm off. The more I think about it, the more I'm not sure why I did not do it when I had the chance." There was no question Fran was fully capable of some vicious acts. She had had remorselessly cut down more people than she could ever remember, what was one more loud-mouthed scout? Her heart just hadn't been in it at the time. Oh well. They'd meet again soon enough. She'd already worn herself out fuming over it and was now so tired she could hardly bring herself to care anymore.
Her resolve wavering, Fran found her eyes repeatedly darting up to catch a glimpse of him as he moved about the kitchen, only to snap back to her paperwork. Why isn't he gone yet. He should have left by now. As her right hand wrote, she began absentmindedly tapping to the beat of a song stuck in her head with her left.
If Eric was here right now, if she called her a stupid bitch like she claimed she had, would he defend her? Would he even try? The more time she spent trying to convince herself she didn't care, the more she played the scenario over and over in her mind. In no version of that situation was there ever Zacharie the white knight, rushing in to protect her good name. It was almost silly to try to picture him doing such a thing. Fran gave up writing all together and glared at his back as he prepared his coffee. Saying he hated her and storming off...yeah, that sounded about right.
Not that she particularly cared either way.
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Zacharie
Truly Feared
The Proxy
Posts: 247
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Post by Zacharie on Oct 15, 2012 18:16:59 GMT -6
“You should have.” He said as he continued to go about making his coffee, Zacharie couldn’t help but chuckle a bit to himself at that thought. So Eric had decided to stop by again, was BLU really that bad that she’d continuously wander into their territory after he threatened her? Perhaps they needed to stop with the threats and act on them for once. The spy silently decided to himself what to do next time. Shoot to kill.
But as he went about his business he could feel a tension in the air that was all too familiar. Occasionally he would glance back at Fran, once or twice he caught her doing the same. He was familiar with this body language, she wanted him the hell out of her sight. He ignored it outright, standing in front of the coffee maker and examining his fingernails as the pot filled. This was the first time they'd been in each other's presence for more than a minute since his successful coup over her just a few days past. But soon enough he could feel her staring at him, if she were some sort of super heroine she would have burned two holes right into his back by now.
Shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot, he cleared his throat before speaking.
“You want me to leave, don’t you?”
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Post by Franciska on Oct 15, 2012 18:40:37 GMT -6
"I'd like that, yes." She kept her tone agreeable. "I can not make you leave though." She shrugged and looked back down at her notes. She'd been doodling in the margins for the past few minutes. Damn it. So much for getting work done. Still, Fran was here first and she was ready to fight for her chair, even if she wanted nothing more than to just go to bed.
The scent of coffee that filled the air made her yearn for a new cup, but asking him was completely out of the question. Oh Zacharie, is there anything you can't ruin?
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Zacharie
Truly Feared
The Proxy
Posts: 247
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Post by Zacharie on Oct 15, 2012 19:21:29 GMT -6
“No, you can’t.” He replied with a pleasant tone of his own, back still turned to her. Zacharie reached for a mug and poured himself a cup, cream—no sugar, just the same. “And I won’t, sorry to say.” He turned to her and took a satisfied sip from his cup. “Ah.”
Taking a few more steps towards the table, he craned his neck a bit to look at what she had before her on the table. “Paperwork?” Zacharie asked, raising his eyebrows in curiosity. A quick look told him that much, but after another second of looking he noticed doodles in the margins. Was he distracting her that badly?
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Post by Franciska on Oct 15, 2012 19:46:31 GMT -6
"No, I'm writing a novel. Of course I'm doing paperwork." She rolled her eyes and flipped over the scribbled page as stealthily as she could manage. She was just about done with all of this. He could say anything right now; he could comment about the weather and it would set her off. She just wanted him gone. All Fran could do was desperately pray he didn't pull up a chair and try to sit with her.
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Zacharie
Truly Feared
The Proxy
Posts: 247
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Post by Zacharie on Oct 15, 2012 20:02:04 GMT -6
But that is exactly what he did, without missing a beat he pulled out a chair across from hers and sat down. Zacharie carefully put his mug of coffee before him and drummed his fingertips on the table a little bit, still without his gloves. Just the aroma of coffee in the air alone was enough to wake him up a bit, the light tingle of the alcohol in his system was also starting to subside.
“Thank goodness it wasn’t a novel then, because the illustrations go on the actual page; not the margin.” He commented with a bit of a grin.
The spy was certainly beginning to feel a tad antagonistic.
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Post by Franciska on Oct 15, 2012 20:32:10 GMT -6
The corner of her mouth twitched. "What are you doing here? I'm not in my office. Don't you want to go dig through my sock drawer before I get back? Find some big important clues hmm?" Fran scoffed. She folded her hands and set them on the table before her, mostly to distract herself from just how badly she wanted to smack the grin off his face. This was the hardest part, waiting for him to laugh and shrug off whatever venom she threw his way. Trying to insult Zacharie Volkov was like trying to cut down a tree with a spoon. It did nothing, however, to discourage her from trying.
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Zacharie
Truly Feared
The Proxy
Posts: 247
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Post by Zacharie on Oct 15, 2012 20:48:24 GMT -6
“What do you take me for? I would not do such a thing.” Zacharie’s eyebrow twitched a bit as he looked at her. He knew she was exaggerating but he was rather proud of himself for not resorting to searching through her dresser during his investigation. “I have standards.” He said with a noticeable growl to his tone, methodically drumming his fingers on the surface of the table still.
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Post by Franciska on Oct 15, 2012 21:06:19 GMT -6
"Of course you do." She said flatly. "Which is why you mutilated your own hand just to have an excuse to go snooping through my things." She didn't know if this was the truth, but she certainly wouldn't put it past him at this point. He was clearly beginning to lose patience. But why? What right did he have to be mad about any of this? Zacharie's stern gaze pierced right through her, sending her eyes darting around the room for something else to pay attention to.
Fran's stubbornness was quickly losing to her need to no longer be in the same room with him. She inched towards the edge of her chair, ready to slide off and depart at a moment's notice.
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Zacharie
Truly Feared
The Proxy
Posts: 247
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Post by Zacharie on Oct 15, 2012 21:13:27 GMT -6
“I wouldn’t have needed to if—Hm.” He furrowed a brow, his fingers ceased their drumming. He didn’t want to admit to that. Zacharie thought back on that moment where he thought it clever idea to cut his hand open like that. It was a tad overdramatic to him now; perhaps he wanted to garner extra sympathy to sell it better.
“You understand that sometimes one must go certain lengths in order to get things done.” He then laced his fingers together carefully over the table. “You weren’t going to tell me about who stole those papers, so I had to take matters into my own hands.”
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