One Night Part 2
Yuy and Maxwell were studying a small bank of screens- Trowa hadn't paid attention to them when he had first walked into the room- he had been too surprised to find two dead men playing cards. Now he noted that they showed several different angles of the bar.
Maxwell looked up and smiled at him. "Joined the club I see."
Trowa nodded.
"We might have a small glitch, Mr. Winner," Yuy said quietly.
"What's is it?" Winner asked, going to stand by Yuy's shoulder.
"Looks like one of our Queens has sent in a pawn to keep an eye on things." Yuy tapped the screen.
Winner frowned. "One of the ones from last year- which means there might be more that we don't see."
"Probably trying to make sure that you take the bait." Maxwell suggested.
Winner looked at the clock. "It's not my normal time yet. Shall we try an obvious gambit?"
"Cho says he could vouch for all the customers up until a half-hour ago- all locals." Yuy said. "But that doesn't mean that she hasn't tried to use one of them."
"Still..." Winner tapped his chin. "It's worth a shot." He turned to Trowa and smiled. "Feel like trying to pick me up again?"
"I suppose I could try a few different lines this time." Trowa agreed. "Are we going to try and make her think you took the bait?"
"Yes, and if we arrange for your "death" to follow afterwards, I'm sure that might send an interesting message to our Queens. Mr. Yuy- if you'll show Mr. Barton the back door? We'll put on a show for the audience."
Yuy nodded and gestured to Trowa. "This way."
A few moments, and Trowa found himself standing in an alley behind the club. How easy would it be to just run? He could hide... maybe. If these people were as powerful as they seemed to be it wouldn't be for long... but then again- how did he know he wasn't being set up?
Though to waste all of this effort on a set up... He sighed. He could argue with himself about it for hours. Might as well just do as the man asked...
He took a deep breath and went to the front of the building.
Once again, he stepped into the dark smoky crowded room. Again, he scanned the crowd for a young blond man.
This time he spotted him right away- seated in the corner- at a table. Better.
This time he felt eyes on him as he made his way over to the bar and ordered a drink. The bartender winked at him, his monocle glinting in the dim light.
He set Trowa's glass on the bar, opened a fresh bottle of scotch and poured it over the ice.
"I'm still not drinking this," Trowa muttered at him. The bartender merely smiled.
"Your loss."
Trowa picked up the glass and turned, leaning against the bar, scanning the room as if he was just some guy out on the prowl.
He let his eyes linger on a gorgeous redhead, moved on to a petite brunette and then let his gaze move to Winner's table.
Winner met his gaze, let his eyes wander lazily over Trowa, and then lifted his glass in invitation.
Trowa strolled across the room, taking his time, trying to note where the watchers were...
On the way there, a young woman bumped into him. For a moment he felt her hand dive into his coat pocket and back out again.
Bugged.
He nearly caught her hand and complimented her on the smoothness of her move, but he didn't think he was supposed to give the game away like that.
He caught Winner's eye again. The other winked at him, and let his eyes follow the girl as she vanished into the crowd.
Apparently he had chosen the right response.
Winner smiled when he reached the table, his head inclining to the right. "Care to join me?" He patted the seat beside him and smiled wider.
Trowa slid in beside him. "Can't believe someone like you doesn't have company already... or am I just a way to pass the time?"
"Depends on how you use your time." Winner replied. His eyes flicked to the right again, and Trowa caught it. One of the watchers was at the table to the right. He continued to banter with Winner as he studied the person out of the corner of his eye.
An unremarkable brown haired man- nothing that stood out. Good choice for a job like this. So that made two of the opposing team in the bar.
Trowa nearly felt insulted. Why so many to make sure he did the job?
Or was he expected to fail- and someone else was to learn from his failure?
"Sooo," Winner drawled at last after a few more minutes of flirtatious chatter. "Feel like taking this someplace else?"
"Are you inviting me home to see your etchings?" Trowa parried.
"Oh no, I'm interested in showing you a different kind of art all together..."
Winner leaned forward, seizing Trowa's tie, and pulled him into a kiss. Teasing and light at first, it deepened into something else quickly.
His arms slid around Winner's waist, pulling the other man closer, as Winner's mouth moved demandingly over his. Trowa was feeling warm, and oddly shaky when they parted, panting. Winner leaned into him, smiling smugly.
"Ready to go?"
They stumbled out to the curb where a long dark blue limo waited. Trowa tried desperately to regain his equilibrium, forcing himself to keep his mind on the situation. Things were still dangerous. One kiss should not affect him like this...
Then they got into the car, and after giving a quick order to the driver in a language Trowa vaguely recognized, Winner climbed onto his lap.
Trowa started, but Winner's fingers tapped his side, right next to the pocket with the bug. They were being listened to- not watched, Trowa nearly protested, but then Winner's mouth was on his again, and his protests vanished.
Mouths met and fought for dominance, hands slid under clothes, skin was caressed and licked and kissed and nipped...
By the time the car stopped, their jackets and ties had been tossed to the floor, and both looked more than slightly disheveled. Winner gave him a satisfied look as he pulled Trowa out of the car. He gave the driver another order before heading for the house. Trowa suspected it had to do with his jacket.
"You are definitely worth having on my side." Winner said as the door opened for them. A tall dark man stood there, eyeing their appearance with disfavor.
"I haven't done anything yet," Trowa managed to retort in a dry tone.
"Oh, I disagree," Winner smiled at the dark man. "Rashid, we've captured the knight. Maxwell has plans for the phone call this evening with the others. Once he and Yuy get here, please see that all is done as he wishes.
"And what do you want done with this one?" Rashid glared at Trowa.
"He's come over to our side. Please install him in the guest quarters near Yuy and Maxwell, and let him freshen up. Maxwell will want to see him." Winner gave Trowa a smile. "I have business to attend to. I hope we will be able to continue our discussion later." He turned and strode off down the hallway.
Rashid huffed out a breath. "If I had my way, you'd be off the board... However, Master Quatre feels he can trust you. I hope his faith is not misplaced."
Trowa lifted an eyebrow. "Indeed."
Rashid led him up a staircase and down several hallways. The place was like a maze. Trowa wondered if it was built that way on purpose...
Rashid showed him into a small suite of rooms- bedroom, living room, and bathroom. "Please stay here until someone comes to get you. There are clothes in the closet and towels in the bathroom." He sniffed audibly and closed the door behind him.
Trowa sat down on the end of the bed and rubbed his temples. This was supposed to have been a simple job- fly in, take out the targets and get the hell out of this city. What had he fallen into?
The scent of smoke from the bar clung to him, making his stomach roil.
He rose to his feet and went to take a shower.
After his shower, as he stood before the mirror in the bathroom drying his hair, he noticed a small red mark on his neck and several more scattered across his shoulders.
No wonder Rashid had been eyeing him like that.
He wondered if he had left any on Winner's fair skin.
The marble of the countertop was cool under his palms. He leaned against it, eyes closed. What had he done? He had never lost control like that... not with anyone... And he never slept with clients... just like with targets- it tended to be a messy business...
There was a knock on the door. Trowa grabbed his pants and pulled them on before going to open it.
Maxwell stood on the other side, grinning as his eyes skimmed over Trowa's torso.
"Looks like your ride home was more fun than mine."
"It was cover. One of the girls slipped a bug in my pocket."
Maxwell nodded. "Yep, we caught that. Still- looks like you had fun." His grin widened. "Ready to die?"
Despite knowing the plan, that sounded a bit ominous to Trowa...
TBC...
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