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xp_logsOn the plane to Geneva, Amanda and Jake talk about family. Specifically, his. It's not a welcome subject.
The seat belt sign finally went off and Amanda unbuckled with a sigh, leaning forward to reach for the bag stuffed under the seat in front of her. Water bottle, pack of nicotine gum, book... she was set. Normally she'd have the iPod as well, but out of deference to her seat mate, she left it in the bag. Maybe if Jake dozed off, although looking at him, she didn't think that was going to be any time in the next month. Unwrapping a piece of gum, she tucked it in her mouth and wondered when the drinks cart was going to make the rounds.
Jake was trying not to twitch, really, he was. But it was really hard. He'd been dreading his inevitable return to Geneva for, God, four months now, and he had absolutely no idea what to expect.
Well, no, that wasn't true at all. He knew exactly what to expect--had known from the moment he'd called his sister to set up tomorrow's meeting. The phone call had been short, but she'd still had enough time to remind him why he'd never bothered to go back to Geneva.
He pulled his phone out before remembering that he was on a plane, then put it away, drumming his fingers on the tray table. He put that up, dug around in his carry on for a book, pulled it out and flipped through it, then realized he had absolutely no idea where he was in it or if he'd even begun reading it. He let it fall closed with a sigh, and started to dig around in his carry on again.
Amanda tried not to sigh out loud. Or roll her eyes. But between the nic fits and the restlessness of the man beside her in the small space, it was difficult. "I swear to Christ, if you want me to play I-Spy with you as a distraction, I'm getting off this plane here and now," she said, not unkindly.
Jake paused in his digging and turned to glance at her, then shoved his book back in the bag and sat up. "Sorry," he muttered, slouching back into the seat. "I'm just...anxious."
"Considering what's going on, I'm not really surprised." Amanda stuffed her own book into the pocket of the seat in front of her and turned slightly to face him, tucking a leg up under her. "So, do we talk or do we wipe out the drinks cart when it comes through?"
"It's tempting to try to drink ourselves into oblivion, but one, I think they'd kick us off the plane, and two, I should probably not be horribly hungover in the morning," Jake replied sadly. He gave her a hopeful look. "Are you sure you're not up to I-Spy? You have to admit, the irony alone is almost worth it."
"After the billionth time of 'P for passenger', 'S for seat' and 'C for crying baby', you might get a bit tired of it," Amanda replied with a small grin. "You sorted things out with Wanda, I see?" Perhaps changing the topic would help, at least until she worked her way back to the Infonet issue by the back door.
"S could be for stewardess?" he tried with a small smile of his own. "And yeah. Wanda's not allowed to come in through the door ever again."
"They call them flight attendants now. PC and all that," Amanda replied. "So, she's back through the window again? I hate seeing you two pissed off at each other. It's like Seigfried without Roy."
Jake snorted. "So we're gay tiger-wranglers? But no, we're good. No more broken noses or walking through the door." He shifted in his seat, half-fidget, half-trying to get comfortable. "I don't like Wanda being mad at me, either," he admitted.
"And very, very pretty," she told him in a faux-gay voice. "But yeah, I'm glad you two sorted it out. Wanda and you... you're like family to each other in a way. You're good for each other. You remind her to eat and she stops you from fleeing the country. 'S all good, yeah?"
"So pretty," he agreed, then twitched at the mention of family. "She's better than my actual family, that's for sure," he said darkly.
"The ones you choose usually are," Amanda replied with a sympathetic smile. "You haven't talked much about them - 's your folks and a sister, right?"
"Yeah." He ran a hand through his hair. "And Mother and Devi still run Infonet." It was easier to pretend it was about the job, in the end.
"What's your Dad up to now? He doesn't seem the sort to retire quietly and spend his time playing golf." Better to warm up to the topic of the Gavin women via the slightly easier path of Jacob Gavin, Senior.
Jake half-smiled at the notion of his father on a golf course. "Last I heard, Dad was in London, although that might've changed." He shrugged. "I honestly don't know what he's up to. He says he's retired, and I believe him when he says he's walked away from...the courier business, but he's definitely kept busy. I just haven't figured out towards what end." He had visibly relaxed as he talked about his dad. "He tells me just enough to keep me guessing."
"Sounds like Garrison's old man. Christian Kane. Used to be a spy or something back in the Sixties and is supposed to be retired, except he keeps turning up with something happening. Last time it was rescuing Farouk from Madripoor." Amanda chuckled a little. "There's a couple of people I'd love to introduce, just to see what happened, your dad and Garrison's."
"That's a terrifying thought." Jake shuddered. "From what I saw in Madripoor, the two of them would get into far too much trouble together. Although," he considered with a tilt of his head, "I wouldn't put it past them to already know each other. Dad's one of those people who somehow manages to know everybody. It's incredibly frustrating sometimes."
"Hah. He's one of those, is he? Yeah, Kane Senior's about as bad. A regular Who's Who of the spy game. Apparently he trained Pete, back in the day, too." Amanda's tone turned a bit wistful as she mentioned Pete - she missed having him around, being grumpy to the baristas and getting her to do his photocopying. "Do you miss him? Your Dad, I mean."
That gave him pause; it was something he hadn't really considered. "I...I still talk to him from time to time. Not as much as before, but..." He shrugged, shifting in his seat again. "Things change. It's a little strange not being able to talk business with him, though."
"Do you miss that? Working for Infonet, I mean?" Amanda knew how much Jake had identified himself as a courier, how much of his personality had been a result of his work.
He let out a frustrated sigh. "I do," he admitted. "I mean, not that I don't like working with you lot, but..." He fidgeted again, trying to find the right words. "Given the choice, I never would have quit that job," he said finally. "I liked it, I was good at it, and it's all I ever wanted to do. Even when Devi and Mother were at their most conniving and awful, it was still worth it." He rubbed at his mouth, slumping in his seat. "Here, I never quite know what I should do next. I hate that feeling."
"You can always join us in the weird magical shite department?" Amanda offered, consolingly. "Ghosties and ghoulies and things that go bump in the night?"
Jake laughed at that. "I think that makes me Shaggy. Or Scooby." He shook his head. "And I don't think it'll keep people from trying to kill me, to judge from the way you and Wanda looked when I first got here."
"That was regular Trenchcoat business, not Magical Shite Trenchcoat Business," Amanda explained. "Magical Shite has more ectoplasm and bitey bits."
"Hmm..." Jake pretended to consider. "Same amount of near-death, now with twenty percent more ectoplasm and bitey bits?" He grinned. "You're not doing a very good job of convincing me to come to the Dark Side, you know."
"I hate to say it, mate, but you're already there."
The seat belt sign finally went off and Amanda unbuckled with a sigh, leaning forward to reach for the bag stuffed under the seat in front of her. Water bottle, pack of nicotine gum, book... she was set. Normally she'd have the iPod as well, but out of deference to her seat mate, she left it in the bag. Maybe if Jake dozed off, although looking at him, she didn't think that was going to be any time in the next month. Unwrapping a piece of gum, she tucked it in her mouth and wondered when the drinks cart was going to make the rounds.
Jake was trying not to twitch, really, he was. But it was really hard. He'd been dreading his inevitable return to Geneva for, God, four months now, and he had absolutely no idea what to expect.
Well, no, that wasn't true at all. He knew exactly what to expect--had known from the moment he'd called his sister to set up tomorrow's meeting. The phone call had been short, but she'd still had enough time to remind him why he'd never bothered to go back to Geneva.
He pulled his phone out before remembering that he was on a plane, then put it away, drumming his fingers on the tray table. He put that up, dug around in his carry on for a book, pulled it out and flipped through it, then realized he had absolutely no idea where he was in it or if he'd even begun reading it. He let it fall closed with a sigh, and started to dig around in his carry on again.
Amanda tried not to sigh out loud. Or roll her eyes. But between the nic fits and the restlessness of the man beside her in the small space, it was difficult. "I swear to Christ, if you want me to play I-Spy with you as a distraction, I'm getting off this plane here and now," she said, not unkindly.
Jake paused in his digging and turned to glance at her, then shoved his book back in the bag and sat up. "Sorry," he muttered, slouching back into the seat. "I'm just...anxious."
"Considering what's going on, I'm not really surprised." Amanda stuffed her own book into the pocket of the seat in front of her and turned slightly to face him, tucking a leg up under her. "So, do we talk or do we wipe out the drinks cart when it comes through?"
"It's tempting to try to drink ourselves into oblivion, but one, I think they'd kick us off the plane, and two, I should probably not be horribly hungover in the morning," Jake replied sadly. He gave her a hopeful look. "Are you sure you're not up to I-Spy? You have to admit, the irony alone is almost worth it."
"After the billionth time of 'P for passenger', 'S for seat' and 'C for crying baby', you might get a bit tired of it," Amanda replied with a small grin. "You sorted things out with Wanda, I see?" Perhaps changing the topic would help, at least until she worked her way back to the Infonet issue by the back door.
"S could be for stewardess?" he tried with a small smile of his own. "And yeah. Wanda's not allowed to come in through the door ever again."
"They call them flight attendants now. PC and all that," Amanda replied. "So, she's back through the window again? I hate seeing you two pissed off at each other. It's like Seigfried without Roy."
Jake snorted. "So we're gay tiger-wranglers? But no, we're good. No more broken noses or walking through the door." He shifted in his seat, half-fidget, half-trying to get comfortable. "I don't like Wanda being mad at me, either," he admitted.
"And very, very pretty," she told him in a faux-gay voice. "But yeah, I'm glad you two sorted it out. Wanda and you... you're like family to each other in a way. You're good for each other. You remind her to eat and she stops you from fleeing the country. 'S all good, yeah?"
"So pretty," he agreed, then twitched at the mention of family. "She's better than my actual family, that's for sure," he said darkly.
"The ones you choose usually are," Amanda replied with a sympathetic smile. "You haven't talked much about them - 's your folks and a sister, right?"
"Yeah." He ran a hand through his hair. "And Mother and Devi still run Infonet." It was easier to pretend it was about the job, in the end.
"What's your Dad up to now? He doesn't seem the sort to retire quietly and spend his time playing golf." Better to warm up to the topic of the Gavin women via the slightly easier path of Jacob Gavin, Senior.
Jake half-smiled at the notion of his father on a golf course. "Last I heard, Dad was in London, although that might've changed." He shrugged. "I honestly don't know what he's up to. He says he's retired, and I believe him when he says he's walked away from...the courier business, but he's definitely kept busy. I just haven't figured out towards what end." He had visibly relaxed as he talked about his dad. "He tells me just enough to keep me guessing."
"Sounds like Garrison's old man. Christian Kane. Used to be a spy or something back in the Sixties and is supposed to be retired, except he keeps turning up with something happening. Last time it was rescuing Farouk from Madripoor." Amanda chuckled a little. "There's a couple of people I'd love to introduce, just to see what happened, your dad and Garrison's."
"That's a terrifying thought." Jake shuddered. "From what I saw in Madripoor, the two of them would get into far too much trouble together. Although," he considered with a tilt of his head, "I wouldn't put it past them to already know each other. Dad's one of those people who somehow manages to know everybody. It's incredibly frustrating sometimes."
"Hah. He's one of those, is he? Yeah, Kane Senior's about as bad. A regular Who's Who of the spy game. Apparently he trained Pete, back in the day, too." Amanda's tone turned a bit wistful as she mentioned Pete - she missed having him around, being grumpy to the baristas and getting her to do his photocopying. "Do you miss him? Your Dad, I mean."
That gave him pause; it was something he hadn't really considered. "I...I still talk to him from time to time. Not as much as before, but..." He shrugged, shifting in his seat again. "Things change. It's a little strange not being able to talk business with him, though."
"Do you miss that? Working for Infonet, I mean?" Amanda knew how much Jake had identified himself as a courier, how much of his personality had been a result of his work.
He let out a frustrated sigh. "I do," he admitted. "I mean, not that I don't like working with you lot, but..." He fidgeted again, trying to find the right words. "Given the choice, I never would have quit that job," he said finally. "I liked it, I was good at it, and it's all I ever wanted to do. Even when Devi and Mother were at their most conniving and awful, it was still worth it." He rubbed at his mouth, slumping in his seat. "Here, I never quite know what I should do next. I hate that feeling."
"You can always join us in the weird magical shite department?" Amanda offered, consolingly. "Ghosties and ghoulies and things that go bump in the night?"
Jake laughed at that. "I think that makes me Shaggy. Or Scooby." He shook his head. "And I don't think it'll keep people from trying to kill me, to judge from the way you and Wanda looked when I first got here."
"That was regular Trenchcoat business, not Magical Shite Trenchcoat Business," Amanda explained. "Magical Shite has more ectoplasm and bitey bits."
"Hmm..." Jake pretended to consider. "Same amount of near-death, now with twenty percent more ectoplasm and bitey bits?" He grinned. "You're not doing a very good job of convincing me to come to the Dark Side, you know."
"I hate to say it, mate, but you're already there."
