Jean and Angelo: Spy Hard (Backdated)

[x-jeangrey.livejournal.com]

Jean meets up with Angelo, one of her fellow X-Corps buddies, to talk about life, beer, and Warren Worthington




Climbing out of the taxi cab, Jean stared up at the bar to make sure this was the right one, then paid the driver. She adjusted her scarf to keep out the biting cold, even if it was only 10 more steps, and paused at the door. You could hear the music outside, a mixture of modern alternative and oldies rock. It'd been awhile since she'd seen Angelo. Work had kept both of them busy and once she reached the states she had gotten wrapped up with her sister, and now, with Warren.

Angelo was sitting at a table near the door, waiting for her, with his image inducer on so that if anyone gave him a second glance, it was for the right reasons. He grinned and waved as she arrived, using every telepathic shielding trick he'd ever learned to keep memories of the old Jean tucked away where she'd have to actually be looking for them to find them.

Spotting Angelo, Jean headed over, holding out her arms. "Hey stranger. Long time no see!" she said. She noticed he had a bit shielding than usual but passed off the thought. Some people knew she sometimes experienced empathic bleeding if emotions were too high. He was likely trying to spare her the potential judgmental feelings from going out on a date with one of New York's most eligible bachelors.

He stood and gave her a hug. "That's what happens when you go out of town for months", he said, teasing, as he nudged the spare chair out for her. "And then you go gallivanting with the rich set."

Wrapping her arms around Angelo, Jean held on for a moment or two before settling down in the chair. She laughed. "I was waiting for that to come up. Had a bet with myself to see when it would," she said, then paused for a moment or two as her smile disappeared into thoughtfulness. "Something came up, though, between now and then. Something involving Warren and his company. I talked to the Professor about it but..."

"But?" he prompted, eyes suddenly sharp. "What kind of something, something wrong?"

Jean glanced around to make sure no one was listening, then shook her head. "I was approached by one of my college friends. She works in the mutant underground. She says that someone at Worthington Industries got a hold of her with suspicion that the company might be involved in developing anti-mutant technology. She saw me in the paper with him so she thought I might be able to figure out just how deep the rabbit hole goes. I wasn't sure what Warren's stance was about things but he was my in, so I used him to try to get information. And then once I had the information, and figured out he wasn't in on it, I knew I had to get his help. I told him." She examined her shirt. "It didn't go well," she said quietly.

He made a sympathetic face, reaching out to pat her hand. "He thought you only went out with him for that?"

Jean shook her head. "Pretty much. What can you say to that? I'd be upset too. I know I'm helping people, and it was worth it, but it doesn't stop me from seeing the look in his eyes. What makes it even worse is during the 2nd date...I'd already gotten the information but I didn't want to draw suspicion, so I continued on with the date...I had too much to drink, things got involved, and before I knew it I'd kissed him. So I freaked and left. Since I knew it wouldn't go anywhere and I didn't want to break his heart even more. But then I realized he would be able to help us...and I had to come back and talk to him." She rested her face in her hands. "I'm the worst spy ever."

Angelo nodded, thinking about it."OK, so. You got two choices now. You write Warren off and we figure out another way to find out what's going on there. Or you talk to him."

Jean sighed. "He's the easiest way in. I don't trust anyone with that company other than him, and I don't want to further jeopardize the person who brought it to our attention. I already spoke to Warren. He didn't believe me at first but then he talked to his father about it without bringing me or any of this up directly and had his concerns confirmed. He really doesn't like me but he knows what his father's doing is wrong. We're going to meet with Charles soon," she said.

"If he's not happy working with you on this..." Angelo said slowly, "I could stand in. Your call."

Falling silent for a few moments, Jean shook her head. "Thanks Ange. But it's okay. I need to learn how to develop a thicker skin. Especially if I want to keep working with X-Corps. " She smiled softly. "But enough about me. How've you been?"

"Oh, you know." He smiled wryly. "The world went and changed on me since New Year's Eve. Speaking of X-Corps... we're going to need to do some rethinking."

Jean glanced down. "Yeah, it got pretty hectic," she said. The hospitals had gone nuts that day. Even if there were no survivors no one knew that at the time. They had called her in. People kept calling, checking if their loved ones were alright. The ones who had been close by the ones who had been immolated were injured as well. It was chaos. She never told anyone that she had fainted that night and woke up on the living room floor an hour later. "Rethinking how?"

"Mutants aren't the world's favourite people anymore", he said quietly. "So an organization that exists to help mutants, and me at the head... at best we're going to have to do things a lot quieter."

"And at worst?" Jean said, studying him carefully. He had that look in his eyes, like he'd been doing a lot of hard thinking, making decisions he didn't necessarily want.

"We've always been under the radar anyway. Most of my contacts though...they're gone. Or hiding so deep that it'd be impossible to find them even with a map."

"At worst", he said with a sigh, "X-Corps is over. At least in the way it used to exist. We've still got most of our core people, though, and we can rebuild something different..."

"You weren't kidding when you said everything changed on New Year's Eve," Jean said with a faint smile. She rested her chin on steepled fingers.

"I'm here for whatever you need to do. Though, admittedly, I feel like, with the restructuring, moving back to the states, and coming off my residency that I'm just....adrift. Like nothing's the same and everything's new." She still had the stability with her family, but other than that it was an entirely different ballgame.

"Sounds like we're sort of in the same boat, then." He returned the faint smile. "Maybe that'll help, we can get back on our feet together."

Jean's smile widened. "This is a good plan. I like it," she mused. She glanced around.

"I think this plan should also include beer, though. What's good here?"

"Most plans would be better with beer." Angelo caught the bored-looking bartender's eye, taking advantage of his invented past life in this world apparently including regular visits to this bar, and the man nodded and started pouring two glasses. "He knows which is best."

"Who am I to argue with a professional?" Jean said with a laugh. Leaning back in her chair, she seemed a bit more at ease than when she came in.

"I really missed hanging out with you, Ange. Though there's nothing quite like the pubs in the UK."

It was good to see her relax, and it was what he'd been going for. "Been a while since I was over there. Maybe I should make time for a visit."

"The next time I go visit my parents you're welcome to come. I'm sure they'd love to have you," Jean said.

"My dad says he finally perfected his Shepherd's pie."

Angelo grinned. "You know, I think I'll take you up on that. Everybody always says I don't take enough downtime."

"Everybody's right. Overworking...one way ticket to ulcer. Course that's a do as I say not as I do sort of example." She smirked.

He made a face in response, teasing. "Careful, or I'll sic - the dog on you. Very good at sitting on people, my dog."

"Throwing out the Joyita card will get you nowhere, Mister. Regardless of how adorable that card is," Jean said with faux sternness that the sparkle in her bright green eyes betrayed.

"Bah. The Joyita card gets me everywhere and you know it", Angelo retorted, smoothly moving past what he'd almost been about to say instead of 'the dog' into uncomplicated banter.

Jean rested her chin in her hands with a grin. There was a certain energy to her, an unburdened nature that her original counterpart didn't share.

"Just because I know it doesn't mean that will be the case forever. I will not be swayed by a pair of big brown eyes and wagging tail."

"You only say that because she hasn't really tried. You wait until the next time she knows you've got treats in your pocket."

"That's because I don't want to be tempted," Jean said simply, knowing full well she would. She paused.

"Okay, mostly it's because I haven't gotten to meet her yet." Some dogs didn't travel well and the only time she really got to hang around Angelo was during a X-Corps assignment.

Angelo grinned triumphantly. "You will. She's always with me when I'm in New York, except when the weather's like this."

"As she shouldn't. The snowpocalypse is always something I never miss when it comes to the east coast. It'll take some getting used to again," Jean said. The UK had a lot of rain, but was for the most part relatively temperate.

"California", he said, pointing to himself. "I never even saw snow until I came out here."

"I remember it when I was a kid before we moved, but that was before I became old enough to have to worry about things like a work commute and shoving snow off sidewalks," Jean mused.

"I suppose that's another thing we can commiserate over."

"While we huddle in our warm buildings and complain about it", he said with a crooked grin.

"Complaining about the weather...bringing people together since the dawn of time," Jean said, grinning back. She noticed the bartender had set out their beer.

"I'll get it," she said, hopping up to grab their two pints. She set one down in front of Angelo, then took her own, sneaking in a sip.

"Mmmhmm," she said, sneaking a bit of beer foam off her top lip. "Awesome choice."

"Told you", was the smug response. "Give me a good microbrew over mass-produced any day."

"The problem is we get spoiled. Can you imagine living in a tiny town where the only selections are coors light and bud?" Jean said.

"I mean it's great to find a local brewery but those are so few and far between."

"Ugh." He made a face. "Catch me ever living in a place like that."

"That's why if we ever go out of town for an assignment we'll alternate with who carries the stash of beer in their suitcase," Jean said. Simple solution, really. Right?

"And we'll just try to be frugal..." Her shoulders slumped at the thought. "Damn that's gonna be hard. It'll be a practice in self control."

"Carry a bottle of tequila instead", he suggested flippantly. "Takes up much less space."

Jean burst out laughing. "And repeat what happened LAST time I had tequila? I think you might have repressed that memory if you're even considering it. Tequila and I...noooo," she said, giving the cut throat signal.

He shook his head sadly. "Such a lightweight, Jean Grey. Such a lightweight."

Mouth dropping open, Jean crouched forward like she were preparing for a fight. "What? I am not. I--" She shrugged. "Yeah. Yeah. But it is not my fault. Being around other drunk people gives me a contact high. When I'm by myself I'm perfectly fine...ish."

"Then you should be fine drinking tequila on your own", he said with the air of making a reasonable point.

"Drinking hard liquor alone means something's wrong. I'm a social drinker, thank you very much," Jean retorted, putting her hand on her hip.

"Drinking a lot of hard liquor alone means something's wrong," he countered. "Some people do a shot or two just to get the night started."

Jean shrugged. "Maybe," she allowed. "I suppose it is cheaper to start things off at home. Still, I'd rather be social."

"Fair enough. It's definitely more fun to be social, I was only teasing."

Taking a long drink of her beer, Jean laughed. "I figured," she said. She stared into the bottom of her glass, then held it up.

"A toast. To new beginnings."

He clinked his glass against hers with a smile.

"To new beginnings."