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[rickitikitarr]

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[yedinyy]

She's there five minutes later, her weapon visible in its shoulder holster underneath her light blazer. She's not pretending to be that innocent anymore.

She smiles when she sees him, raises a hand in greeting.

[rickitikitarr]

He nods, and moves to open the door, wondering;

"Your warden give you that, before he went?"

[yedinyy]

She nods and smooths her hands down over her blazer.

"I asked him for it, and he didn't see the problem with it. It came in handy when we went to the Land of the Dead." And it makes her feel more secure, on a day to day basis.

[rickitikitarr]

"Well, I would too. You seem like the kind of woman who calms a situation, rather than escalates it."

He says, holding the door open for her, politely.

[yedinyy]

"Well, or else I escalate it very calmly," she jokes, referring quietly to their little plot. She nods in thanks when he opens the door, and searches for a booth that will let them both put their backs to the wall, eyes on the entrance.

[rickitikitarr]

He watches her pick their seat in surprise. She's got an eye for a line of sight.

"Grab a chair, I'll grab a couple of glasses and a bottle. Can you drink whiskey?"

[yedinyy]

"Can I?" She raises an eyebrow at him- what a peculiar way of asking.

"Sure, I can drink whiskey."

[rickitikitarr]

He fetches them a bottle and two glasses, and comes back over, sinks into the seat opposite.

"So, you'll keep my plan quiet until it can go to a good home? I want it saved for something important."

[yedinyy]

"Cross my heart," she promises him sincerely, as she takes the bottle from him and deftly pours the both of them a glass.

"It was a good plan, Ricki. I'm disappointed I can't use it."

[rickitikitarr]

"Me too. I'd have loved to see it in action."

He admits, sinking into his seat, and leaning back.

"So, what has happened with you since I saw you last? You seem- a little different."

[yedinyy]

That interests her, and she looks up at him, glass raised halfway to her mouth.

"Different how?"

[rickitikitarr]

"Well, you're carrying openly. And you've got- your head up a notch."

That, he thinks, is what he's responding to.

[yedinyy]

"Last time I saw you, monsters hadn't just been roaming the hallway," she points out, as she puts her glass down.

"A lot of people died, Ricki. I'm not going to hide the fact that I have a weapon in a situation like that."

And her head is up a notch, which she thinks might be because she lets it go to its natural place. She's no longer as inclined to play the innocent housewife, not after months of being here. She can show some teeth.

[rickitikitarr]

"I like it. It's a good look on you."

He promises her, very sincerely.

"You're- a contender, suddenly. And now you're footloose and warden-free... going to cause any trouble?"

[yedinyy]

She knows it is, but she wonders if he'd still say that if he knew who she really was. If he wouldn't find the same thing he likes now repulsive.

Not that she'd mind. He may not be American, but he worked for the Brits. He shares those feelings, she knows.

She shakes her head to that question. "I don't need to cause trouble for trouble's sake. No powder bombs from me."

[rickitikitarr]

"That was very therapeutic."

He still can't bring himself to regret it.

"I had a lovely time, and it was incredibly romantic."

[yedinyy]

"Who were you with when you did it?" She wants to know these things about Ricki, like she wants to know them about other people.

[rickitikitarr]

"Omar, who came back with me, after we graduated. He's off in Malaysia watching my daughter for me."

Which is a big relief.

[yedinyy]

Of course she knew all of this, she's read about this, she's read whatever communication they'd left behind- which wasn't a lot. But she manages to look suitably pleased for him, sips her whiskey.

"Did the two of you meet here?"

[rickitikitarr]

"We did. I wasn't out, when we met."

And the nice thing about this story is that all of it, they kept ridiculously private from the network, after Bill Haydon's nasty little visit, so his news is real news.

"You probably know those sorts of inclinations weren't taken lightly."

[yedinyy]

She looks just as interested as she would have been otherwise, but there's that special thrill that comes from finding information undercover.

"No, I guess they weren't. But now it doesn't matter anymore?" She can't imagine it doesn't matter at all: two men raising a child would be hard to imagine in her own time, in West, and they weren't living there either.

[rickitikitarr]

"We live in Malaysia and own bad reputations and many weapons. I'm sure people are still concerned, but there's little for them to do."

He admits, with a laugh.

"Now that I'm out of the game, everything is easier."

[yedinyy]

She smiles, like she's just so glad for him. In reality she's mostly glad he's out of the game for her own sake.

"Do you miss any of it?"

[rickitikitarr]

"The rush."

He admits, of course, tapping the edge of his glass against his bottom lip, adding;

"The seduction, too. Not the sex, but- I was a charming bastard."

He still is, of course.

[yedinyy]

Seeing him tap his glass against his bottom lip somehow makes her crave a cigarette. So she reaches to the inside of her jacket pocket and takes out a pack, a lighter, and offers him one.

The joke gets a genuine, surprised laugh out of her. "Aren't you still, Mister Tarr?"