xp_logs | Domino and Pete, Saturday evening

They head for a nearby bar, where they talk about Nate, job offers, and other things...

Domino checked her watch, frowning a little. "I wonder where Nate is," she said, reaching out and picking up her martini. Pete had let her order for them both and she'd indulged in a James Bond moment, just to make him grin. Which was a worthy endeavor, given that he'd been looking a little grumpy when she'd first blown in through his office door. "He said he'd meet us here once he finished up with Charles..." She shrugged, then gave Pete her best dazzling smile. "Should've ordered him a martini anyway. Then I could have had two."

Pete couldn't help but smile back. "Yeah, because you need an excuse to buy martini number two. It wouldn't do for you to delibarately set out to drink two whole alcoholic drinks in one night."

He sipped his drink.

"Actually, while he's not here, I should check - how long are you in Mongolia for? I don't know if he told you, but he's got me doing a thorough fucking de-brief on Mistra with him, and I'm pretty sure it's going to be hard on the poor bastard. He might need someone to talk to that's not me or MacTaggart, even if it's only on-line. Someone who he's not going to frighten too much, y'know?"

Domino blinked, then took a sip of her martini to cover her reaction. "No," she drawled once she had a firm grip on her composure, "he didn't tell me. Succumbing to masochism again, is he?" This they would definitely have to talk about. She shrugged elegantly. "As for Mongolia, probably a week. If it's any more than a week I'm liable to go batshit insane. I'll make sure I nag him once I get back to civilization." She arched an eyebrow at Pete. "Want me to bring you back a souvenir while I'm there? Some yak cheese, maybe?" Pete snorted and she grimaced. "And yeah, I'm insane to be taking work from the Russian Mafia, but the bastard who hired me saved my ass once so I sort of owe him."

"I've like dealing with the Russians, as much as I like any mob of criminals. They're sneaky and vicious, but the lads I met didn't bother pretending to be anything else." He lit a cigarette. "Don't go too hard on Nate over this Mistra, thing, though. If we're going to get the bastards out of his, and everyone else's hair, then we need solid intel on them, and he's the only option we've got. Besides, Nate's not the only one being stupid around here. Dunno if he told you, but after the whole mess at Muir, I've signed back on with British Intel."

"Give me some credit," Domino grumbled. "Just because I hate the idea of him reliving all that shit doesn't mean I can't see the point of it. I just hate that damned kicked-puppy look he gets when the subject comes up." She sighed, shrugging. "You and I might want to have a talk about it, too - I did help him take out that last team that came after him." Deliberately switching the subject, she eyed Pete skeptically. "So. Back working for Her Majesty's Government. Is this a good thing?"

"Looks very much like it is. The whys of it are a very long story, but I've wound up attatched to MI6 running ultra-deniable ops. Got a second called John Culley - ex SAS boy - holding the fort in London. It gives my mates back home an excuse to keep me in the loop without risking their jobs, and gives me a budget to work with. Best bit is that it's going to be very hard for them to make us do jobs we don't want to, because we're both officially on the rogue list."

Pete took a long drag on his cigarette.

"But it's part of why I want to catch up with you, anyway - fancy earning a retainer, and then proper cash if works comes up? I'm going to need a small team of people to actaully run ops with, and I figure that between you, me, Culley and Nate, we should have enough to be going on with. The money's shit, frankly, but I like the idea of only doing the jobs that're worth doing..."

Domino sipped at her martini, pondering the possibilities. "You had to spring this on me this week," she said dryly. "Just when I'm at my most bored and vulnerable..." She batted her eyelashes at Pete, who snorted. Inwardly, though, the idea was exciting her all out of proportion, and she had to wonder if Pete could see it. To be able to work with Nate and Pete, doing things that would always have at the very least a point... "If Nate's said yes, sign me up too," she said casually.

The slightly skeptical look on Pete's face said he wasn't fooled. "Yeah, Nate's in, and I didn't figure you were any more likely to turn me down than he was."

Domino stuck her tongue out at him. "So long as you remember that we're both ornery and tend to improvise, this should be good," she said, dropping the pretense of diffidence. "Seriously. I've been getting fucking sick of having four shit jobs for every job like the one we just finished in Iran. And the money might be nice, but after a while it's just another way to keep score."

Pete just grinned back at her. "Why d'you think I want you two? I've had enough of either working on me own, or with squaddies who needed their hands held every step of the way. I can't promise to fill your days with fun and explosions all the time, but it'll be better than nothing. Once Nate and I are both passed as more-or-less fit, I'm going to get Culley over here, so if you're not doing anything whenever that is, it'd be worth you stopping by as well. Speaking of getting fit, I think I've given the kids their weekly share of chuckles by confessing that I used to study ballet before they stuck me behind a desk."

Domino smiled lazily. "I bet most of them laughed. But did any of them look thoughtful?" She took another sip of her martini. "After everything's that's gone on even since Nate's been here to tell me about it, you'd think some of them would have gotten at least a bit of an education by now."

"I hope a few of them did, but I think most of them were just surprised. To be honest, I probably shouldn't have mentioned it - I don't really want some of them thinking about the sorts of uses I've put the training to over the years. Forgot I wasn't just talking to Shinobi..." He took another sip of his drink.

"Don't want to be giving the little darlings ideas, huh?" Domino snorted. "Some of them don't seem to need the inspiration, from the sounds of it."

"Some of them, yeah. Some of them, I dunno, I just don't want to rub their noses in it. They're nice kids, y'know?" He took another drag on his cigarette, and tapped the ash into the ashtray.

"Wisdom, you're turning into a big softie on me," Domino said with a grin. "You and Nate, both mellowing... it's kind of cute. Very disturbing, but kind of cute." She tossed back the rest of her martini, then signaled the bartender for another.

Pete snorted. "It's some kind of evil effect Charlie and the kids have on people. Make you start thinking about making a better fucking planet that doesn't need bastards like us. It's kind of sad, really and I don't even have Nate's excuses to go soft in the head."

The bartender came over with her martini, and Domino took it from him and handed the empty glass back without missing a beat. "Mmm," she said, sipping at it. "Speaking of Nate, I promised I'd chase him around the gym a little before I leave tomorrow. If I'm back in a couple of weeks when you're more mobile, I could do the same for you."

"Provided you promise not to laugh at me too loudly, sure. Half the reason I want Culley to get over here for a few days is to help me get back on form - he was doing hand-to-hand training at Monkton until last month, but if I can get a bit more practice in before he gets here, so much the better." He took another drag on his cigarette.

"Me? Laugh? Never," she said with an innocent look. "I am kind and tolerant of the old and slow and shot-up. Really." Pete was smirking at her, and she shrugged cheerfully. "Or, well, not so much. But there aren't that many people who can give me a good workout, so I'm not going to let any of them get out of shape on me." The topic of conversation reminded her of something, and she smiled a bit wryly, setting her martini back down. "Spent some time with Sarah today. Please tell me you have something in the works to make sure that the kid doesn't get herself killed permanently?"

Pete sighed. "Yeah, I do. I have this feeling that it's going to come back and bite me horribly, but I figure that she's never going to give up trying so I've more or less blackmailed her into getting some proper training, and letting me and anyone else I choose go along next time. I don't expect she's much going to like the reality of the training I have planned - I'm going to teach her to exercise some self-control, think ahead and work with others if it fucking kills me. The irony of me teaching someone else to be a sodding team player is not lost on me..."

"I tried to convince her to talk to Nate, but she seems to be convinced that he's an arrogant blowhard who doesn't know anything worth the effort," Domino said with a snort. "Which is ironic, given that his training is probably the closest of anyone's to these people she's after." She pursed her lips a little. "Though I don't think he'd have thanked me for sending her to him anyway. He was supremely, irrationally pissed about her getting her friends involved." She shook her head. "He's definitely a little out of whack these days, Pete. I'm sure it's probably a good thing that he's not internalizing everything anymore, but it seriously sounds to me like he's going a bit nuts here. He needs to get back out into the field or something."

Pete snorted. "Then they're both going to love the fact that he was pretty much my first choice for people to try and get to come with us when we go after the fuckers. As for Nate - he's had a bloody rough few months, even by his standards, and this place is enough to strain even a model of sanity like me, so I'm not bloody surprised he's feeling it a bit. Still, We'll get him out blowing up something theraputic as soon as he's fit for it..."

"Ah, the healing power of explosions," Domino said merrily, raising her martini almost in salute. "So," she drawled, deliberately changing the subject. "How mobile are you, really?"

Pete raised an eyebrow. "Mobile enough. Right arm's still a bit stiff, and the leg's still wobbly enough that I need a stick. Between the fact that the guy only hit meat and a couple of ribs, and Amanda's healing spells - they're a fucking marvel - I feel much better than I've any right to. It's only the ribs that I still need to be really careful of."

"Well," Domino said wickedly, "why don't we get another couple of martinis in you, then? The night's still young..."

Pete grinned, raised a hand and signalled for the bartender...