Thread: A Tangled Web -- (Asylum and the_gladiator)

Becker continued to try to hack the information he wanted but, she was good. He made a mental note to ask her if her mother was a spy in deep cover, who hid their family that well? He allowed his mind to run down that path and didnt like what he saw there. Someone who was that wanted by the IGA or some other authority that they were consumed with that much paranoia about their family was not someone they wanted working for them. However even traveling down that ludicrous path was a waste of 5 seconds because she wasnt telling the truth. He didnt know exactly how he knew, but he did and that was what mattered. Lifting his eyes from his pad Becker let them sweep the room, until he found her. His lips quirked into a slight smile as he watched her speaking to the DJ, when her body wasnt obscured by the Dancers. Wasnt that a joke? He wondered then about some of her earlier words, about him being shy. Had the woman missed his innuendo? He hadnt been referring to dancing, surely she knew that. Even if she had caught on, he wasnt the type who ever would grow comfortable performing such in front of his men, Gunther now, something like that was occasionally his speed. Surely she was setting up that dance they had joked about. She was calling his bluff, challenging him she probably believed he wouldnt go through with it. Her next move raised his eyebrow. She was speaking to the barkeep now. Soon enough a serving girl was headed his way with a loaded tray. She stopped at the next table over to drop mugs off with the handful of the men seated there. Then she moved to Becker, who currently sat alone. He looked at her and raised his glass, Mine isnt empty. He said shortly. The queen says that that swill is not fit for someone as important as you. And as she set down the mug despite the captains protests Becker got it. Even the color looked better. So Gunther had been holding out on them. He accepted the glass with a small nod to the woman. Better her than him to explain to Gunther why his stash was empty. Maybe that wretched barkeep would get blamed. He actually found that thought a nice one, a grumpier person Becker had never met. It wasnt long before the soft strains of the waltz floated into the air and men started griping and complaining. It was not long before she stood alone, backlit by the strobes, her hair glowing like spun chocolate and the lights flashing from her eyes. It wasnt long before his eyes met hers, blue to brown. She smiled, and just that smile was a challenge. She did not hold a hand out in invitation, did not approach him, she just smiled, a welter of promises and seduction in that one expression. Becker grunted a laugh and shrugged. No one ever could claim he wasnt a man of his word. Leaving again captain? one of the men called seeing Becker stand. Na, he grunted, jerking his chin in the direction of the floor. Oh ho, going to dance are you? at Beckers nod he laughed. Then he sobered, With her? another nod, Why? She called my bluff. He said simply. Better you than me sir. I mean Id love to have her that close to me but Lord Gunther sees you, hell kill you. No fool, he would kill you. He only might kill me. He said no more, he did not need to tell his men why he was dancing with her. His initial reason was a way to talk to her again, she had upped the ante and it was time to regain control, let her know she couldnt just play him like a flute. However, he also wanted to because Becker hadnt always lived on the fringe of the galaxy, and there were occasionally things about the core he missed. He hadnt seen anthasar in years, but still knew well the moves of the formal dances. After all, hadnt he been forced to sit through classes on the damn things? That was something no one in this crew knew about him, and as far as they would ever know, he was the rimmer he always pretended to be. At heart it was true, he was done with the core, with the IGA and everything that went with it. He moved to her and could tell that she had freshened up. The slight film of perspiration that he had seen along her forehead caused by the heat of the place, damned cooling unit, had been washed away and she looked if possible even more lovely. Not for the first time he noted, he wasnt dressed for this occasion, especially for this temperature. However he carried himself with dignity, even approaching her with a different walk, not the rolling gate he had previously shown, but a more clipped controlled step, almost like he was from a core world. Because yes, believe it or not, different people had different walks on different worlds. Becker didnt even notice this shift in himself, and it would take someone extremely observant to recognize it and an expert to be able to identify its significance. It was almost like when preparing for the waltz it took Becker to a different place and time. He took her hand. His were rough from handling equipment, the grip of his blaster, and other such tools, however the grace of his hand was still present, a musicians hands, long fingered and deceptively delicate. Her hand was small in his and he raised it to his lips with a bow, which he tried to make look more awkward than he traditionally would, he did know that the fact he knew this dance at all was telling enough, if he correctly performed all of the rituals surrounding it, she might get suspicious, that was if she knew anything about Anthasarian traditions. Why would she out here on the rim? He slid his left arm around her waist and soon was pressing her against him. He wanted to be polite and keep a bit of distance between them however thats not what the dance called for. Had she done that on purpose? She had played the lovers kiss, or the DJ had. Was it just coincidence that if he followed the dance properly he would hold her very close indeed, or was it merely coincidence? Was Becker overanalyzing this? The answer to that wasprobablyyes he was. Perhaps he was the one who was paranoid.