North and Felicia, Break In

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Felicia can't sleep and goes to take a peek at what she's gotten herself into. North is an early riser.


Despite the fact that Felicia had never been undercover for more than a couple of months before taking on the persona of Charlie Strode, she hadn't exactly expected it to be this difficult to come back from, either. She'd dreamt about finally being able to be Felicia Hardy again, live in her Manhattan apartment, wear heels higher than two inches, cut off her hair - seriously, what kind of thief had long hair, it was always hitting laser systems - but now that she was finally free it felt... empty.

It was probably because she hadn't expected to have to leave Charlie behind so suddenly, so unfulfilled, at least that's what she told herself as she left the all night Parisian cafe and made her way down to Snow Valley at some absurd hour in the morning. She was still too awake, maybe she'd take a look at their numbers. It'd either keep her up until she crashed or put her to sleep instantly, but there was no way she was going out to the hellhole that was Westchester right now, and certainly not at this hour.

But she had not quite counted on being found, no more than an hour later, by a man with a trenchcoat and a gun in his hand. A gun that he had aimed at her head the moment he eased into the room, stance so relaxed, it was almost casual. His expression, however, was a little hard to make out in the dim lighting of the desk lamp that she had been working under. But bets were on him not smiling.

"It could not have been much of a challenge for you, breaking into filing cabinets," North said quietly as he reached out and flipped the light switch, barely even blinking as light flooded the room.

While Felicia didn't jump at the newcomer, she did make a squinting face at the ambiance change with a soft, annoyed murmur. "Good morning to you t- oh. Gun. I suppose I should have been expecting that," she said, slowing her movements to the least threatening level possible. "Is this your desk? Because I have to tell you, whoever is moving the money around for payroll here is a genius and I'd really like to tell them so."

She paused, eyebrow raised at the barrel of the gun then back to him. "Which I can't do, if you shoot me for sitting at your desk."

North shrugged, expression bland. The gun did not move.

"I will pass the message on," he assured her, though he actually was loath to shoot her where she sat. Gun wounds at such close range would create a mess across the papers strewn across the desk. And they had just rescued her after all. "Why are you here, Ms Hardy?"

"I wasn't going to bed, so I figured I'd take a look at what I'd got myself into," Felicia replied, ignoring the tensing of the muscles in her legs. "Look, I don't know how you initiate people here, but I have yet to dodge a bullet at this range and I'd rather not try, so would you put that down?"

The moment of silence that followed was long and drawn out. Then the German man sighed and lowered the gun, going so far as to holster it as he pulled out his phone and began typing a message to Marie-Ange who would no doubt give him grief for texting her at that hour.

"They offered you a job." Statement, not question. He deposited the coffee cup she had not noticed him carrying onto a nearby desk and pulled open a drawer to retrieve a bundle of documents. He dropped the folder onto the desk on top of the files she had been reviewing. "But your paperwork has not been processed. As such, you are not yet an employee."

Felicia smiled forwardly, placing her chin in her hand, elbow resting on the desk. "Correct on both. I suppose since you skipped out on the thanks for not letting them put me into the mutant slave ring party past the first round, you missed the news. I'm here to steal the secrets of your 401Ks."

"How is that going for you?" He asked mildly, almost amused. "And did you accept the offer or is this your version of a sneak peek?"

"Technically, you accepted my offer; help me finish my last job and I'll steal shit for you. As for the rest, well," Felicia corrected, trailing off with a shrug. "Let's not pretend I really have to waste my breath explaining them to you, Mr D North, sign-off on pretty much everything numbers related."

In response, North merely jerked his chin at the new stack of papers on the desk. He did not just sign off on things with numbers on them. More specifically, he ensured that their cover story was not going to fall flat on his face on the grounds of petty things like accounts and taxes. Emma Frost's people generally took care of the rest.

"Paper work for a new hire," he explained. "Fill it up and return them to me during working hours. Exclamations over my genius can come after."

Felicia paused a beat before breaking into a full grin, nose scrunching, and picked up a pen. "You are adorable, how are you even real?" she asked, then looked down to the intake forms, scanning through them. "What are the working hours, anyway? I am more of an evening person and was sort of counting on this not being a nine-to-five place."

"We can work out a flexi-time arrangement for you. There is an application form for that." North turned to retrieve his coffee cup and took a large drink from it. "Have no fear, Ms Hardy. Ms Frost treats her employees very well."

"Well, if it has dental and she's not trying to kill me, it's already better than my last job," Felicia said, tracking the movement cautiously as she tap-tapped the end of her pen against her papers.

"Life and dental insurance," he confirmed, a small smirk on his lips, obscured by the styrofoam cup. The team's insurance premiums were as bad here as it had been in the past. "I cannot, however, in good conscience promise lack of attempts on your life."

Felicia made a happy noise - it didn't matter how much money you'd acquired, no one liked paying for that stuff - and flourished her signature, shuffling things around. "Well, one out of two isn't bad. We wouldn't want to rope your good conscience into promises it couldn't keep." She looked up at him. "You're just going to stand there until I leave, aren't you?"

"I cannot in good conscience allow you to wander this place alone," North shrugged, blatantly not denying it as he parked his hips against an empty desk. It was not that he did not trust her. He simply did not trust people he did not know enough about. Her background check dossier was encrypted on his computer, with thanks to Weasel via Wade, but he had not had the time to do more than glance through it. "You understand, of course."

"Of course. And it's not like I'm not enjoying the... company," Felicia replied, flicking her gaze up his leaning body. She smiled with just the corner of her red lipsticked mouth, surprised when it turned into a small yawn. "I should probably sleep, though. I'll leave these with you and you can find me a flex-time form for next time?"

"I will make sure it finds its way to you," the German man promised, a corner of his lips ticking up in a faintest hint of a smirk. He stood as she did, like a perfect gentleman, faithfully tracking her movements towards the exit. "Have a good night, Ms Hardy."