Story [L&O:OC] 2022 Drabble Challenge Response

**waves** Hiya.

Astray: That's an interesting bit there, where his face is smarting, and he doesn't dare hold her hand. Like that.

Perception: Turbulence is no fun, especially when recovering from panic attack...

Temerity: Ack... but yay, that they're not sending him back across the pond?

Duress: Ack that he needs to be cuffed at all...

Tenebrous: Sometimes, that is all one needs, there. That focus.


[International was by far my least favorite FBI. Which makes one wonder why I’m including International at all, much less spending so much time here.]

I asked myself that same question yesterday about the idea that was bugging me, that I wanted to run screaming away from... finally, I found an angle and asked RovingPixels if I could. It's important, finding why you're doing something, you know?



Rumble: passed, as in "he passed the mushrooms" or past, as in "he ran past me"? (Dog! Hello, doggo!)

Flutter: Good point, that. The dog being there makes total sense.

Thump: Was it the From The Earth To The Moon Series? Yeah. "Whoever's tapping the pencil? If you value your life, please stop."

Splash: Oh no...

Crackle: You go find her, Malachi, sir.

Obstruct: Nope, not a spoof. Not at all.

Obtain: They already did, hon.

Infuse: ...ack, but at least the setting is nice?

Immerse: They actually trust a hacker to do as they say and nothing more. How funny...

Dissipate: Malachi, she's being cloak and dagger under their noses and they let her play with a computer. Take it for what it is, sir.

Surf: Ha, the network's having issues...

Current: Well... technically she does. From an undisclosed location!

Tide: Not sure what to say here, but... furiously typing code! Constantine, where are you?

Squall: Because everyone needs creature comforts, yeah? Yeah.

 

Chaos created on the internet and Jet and the woman needed to solve it? Love the story

 

@DaenaBenjen42 Hi.
Astray is one of my favorites, glad you like it!
Thump: I'm not familiar with From The Earth To The Moon, but I like that line! I've wanted to say something like that in multiple stories, but I think this is the first time it has made it to the page.
Thanks so much for reading and commenting!!

@earlybird-obi-wan I always love to read your comments! Thank you!

---

Week 9 - International (Part 7)​

41. Per Se

“Cassidy. Angela Cassidy.” Jet said the name as it came to her. She’d realized that she recognized her captor some time ago. She’d been struggling to remember her name since then.

Being in law enforcement, Jet was familiar with all the most wanted lists. Not memorized them per se, but committed the faces to memory just enough that if she ever came across a suspect, it would set off an alarm bell.

In this case, it seemed the opposite had happened. Jet had never really felt afraid of Angela because on an unconscious level she recognized her from the beginning.


44. De Facto

Angela Cassidy had been burned by the CIA years ago. The charges against her were severe but generic. The kind of claims that could have been the result of major crimes against the government, or could have been her being thrown under the bus for someone else’s screw-up.

She was a de facto enemy of the state, but that didn’t mean she was a threat to Jet.

Angela looked up when Jet said her name. “You are sharp,” she said with a nod. Then she gestured to the paper she’d been writing on. “What if you try something like this…”


42. Ad Hoc

Angela’s plan was, frankly, pretty dumb. No hacker worth their salt would attempt something so basic. So artless, so uncomplicated. Jet could imagine Malachi’s disgust at the very suggestion.

And yet…

The enemy had anticipated every move a hacker was likely to make. But a move a hacker would never make? Would they have planned for that? Could they have?

There was no reason not to try.

Angela’s plan was strangely brilliant.

***​

Malachi read the incoming message. “That’s a stupid idea.”

“Just stupid enough to work,” Constantine replied.

“You think? ...Hey feds! Gather ‘round. It seems we have a plan.”


43. Vice Versa

The car rolled to a stop. “Two blocks straight ahead, turn right, third building on the right. You’ll recognize it once you get close.”

Jet looked down the road. Angela must have mapped out the street cameras and parked in a dead spot.

Angela took Jet’s hand. “I know I’m not in a position to be asking you for favors. But if you could take your time, give me a few minutes, I’d appreciate it.”

Jet nodded, opening the door. “Thanks.”

“Thanks? For kidnapping you?”

“If you hadn’t…. intervened, I don’t think we could have gotten it done. So thanks.”


45. Et Cetera

Jet found the field office easily enough. She hesitated before entering. Partly she wanted to give Angela the time she’d requested. And partly, she didn’t relish the idea of being swarmed by everyone and answering a hundred questions.

“I had a strange feeling…”

Jet turned to see Malachi.

He closed the distance between them and set his hands on her shoulders.

“I… I… Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I’m… pretty good, actually.” She took a step forward, into his embrace.

“I missed you.”

Jet took a step back. “I— ”

“Jet!” Hana rushed out the door, followed closely by Maggie.

 

The way that you've managed to incorporate all these prompts into a running story with so much intrigue is really entertaining -- I especially love how you used each of those tricky phrases this week!

That sounds plausible, that after all the faces she's probably had to memorize the "not probably going to immediately do a murder on you" pile is internalized as almost familiar and trusted in an odd way.

Aww! After reading some of your other stories about them, this is such a Jet/Malachi reaction to these kinds of events -- hugs, feelings, WHOOPS OH NO FEELINGS THE AWKWARDNESS ABOUNDS.

 

Like how Angela could help them

 

@Kahara Hi! Thanks so much for reading and commenting! You have such a knack for understanding the essence of characters even when I'm pretty sure I haven't communicated them well at all.

Yes, exactly about Jet, and also Angela should totally put that on her business cards!

Hehe, yep, OH NO, NOT FEELINGS pretty much defines Jet's relationship to Malachi at this point. And perhaps her life more generally too...

@earlybird-obi-wan Thanks so much for sticking with the story and writing so many comments!

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Spoiler: Author Note

Readers have perhaps been able to guess by now that the two characters I like are Tank the dog and Angela. Honestly the last few drabbles have been a bit of a slog to write, but I'm really excited about the next few parts! And the prompts just happen to fit in really easily (for the most part). Also, this set may help explain what the heck was going on in the last few drabbles. Or maybe it will just make it more confusing... I'm never sure, so let me know, if you'd like

Week 10 - International (Part 8)​

46. Tetchy

Forrester was fuming as he entered the bar. He spotted her immediately, at a table in the corner, swirling her drink. It was ginger ale, he knew. She swirled it to eliminate the bubbles, so everyone would assume it was something harder. She couldn’t stop being a spy, not for one minute.

“Where’s the girl?!” Forrester demanded.

Angela looked up calmly. “That’s a rather tetchy note to start out. Check your phone.”

Jaw clenched, Forrester glanced at his phone to see he’d received several texts alerting him that Jet had returned.

“How do I know you didn’t spoof this too?”


47. Prudent

Angela shrugged. “If you want to be prudent, call your girlfriend. Have her put the detective and elite coder—who has a name by the way—on the phone. Do you remember what her voice sounds like?”

“I know Jet’s name. And Jaime and I—” Forrester stopped himself. Predictably, she was playing his emotions like a fiddle.

“All I’m asking is for my only child to read a file. Is that too much?”

“You’re asking me to sacrifice my career to try and resurrect yours! Newsflash: it doesn’t matter what’s in that file, your career is over. Accept it.”


48. Daring

“Don’t you dare talk to me about careers. I just saved yours. You waited too long to call in help, when the help finally came you didn’t have adequate resources, and to top it all off, your security is utter crap. If it wasn’t for me, you’d be taking the fall for one doozy of an international incident. And you would have deserved it.

“You think because you’re not in the states you can do what you want and no one will notice when you bend the rules? You’re reckless and selfish and it’s going to catch up with you.”


49. Ornery

“So that’s it? You finally going to give up and leave me alone?”

“You’re my son. I’ll never give up on you. But that doesn’t mean I’m not angry. Or that I don’t know when I’ve hit a brick wall.”

Angela left, wondering if she’d ever speak to her son again. Wondering if she’d done enough. Wondering if she’d done too much.

Forrester left the bar with a deep scowl etched on his face. He did not have time for this. He had a mountain of paperwork to finish before the inquiry began tomorrow. His mother’s problems were her own.


50. Jovial

“Ugh, why are you smiling so much? It’s distracting!” Raines complained.

Malachi leaned back and spun around in his chair. “It’s a good day to be alive, wouldn’t you say?”

“Easy for you to say when you aren’t actually doing any work. Have you finished your report? Have you started your report?”

“Yeah, that’s really not my thing.”

“Reports aren’t anyone’s ‘thing.’ They’re part of the job. What we all have to do to get paid.”

“Mmm, yeah, Still gonna pass. I have a medical condition that makes it impossible for me acquiesce to the trivial demands of the Man.”

 

Mother and son clashing. I like how you could write a story with these prompts

 

@earlybird-obi-wan Thank you!

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Week 11 - International (Part 9)​

51. Heretofore

Raines sighed. “Jet, can you help me out here?”

Jet glanced up briefly. “He’s never filled out a report before now. As far as I know he’s functionally illiterate.”

“Master coder can’t put a few sentences together? I find that extremely hard to believe.”

“I assure you, if you want your boss to keep his job, the less I write, the better.” Malachi pulled Jet’s chair back, away from the desk. “So we’re gonna go now.”

Jet furrowed her brow. “I’m not done yet.”

“Technically I don’t think you’ve started. You haven’t typed a single word you didn’t immediately delete.”


52. Unbeknownst

“Which is good for you feds. A blank slate. You guys get your story straight, type up whatever you want for our reports unbeknownst to us and we’ll sign them, no questions asked. But right now, we’re getting the frell out of here.”

Raines looked to Vo. She lifted her hands, palms up.

“Ok, fine” Raines relented. “But you two could not look more like clueless American teenagers. You aren’t going alone.”

“We don’t need a babysitter—”

“Tank!”

The dog trotted across the room to Raines, who clipped a leash to his collar. He handed the leash to Malachi.


53. Henceforth

“Take the dog.”

Malachi shook his head and stepped back.

“You take the dog, or you take me.”

Malachi sighed dramatically. “Then I guess we’ll take the dog. Henceforth you can’t say I wasn’t cooperative.”

*​

Tank paused to sniff; Jet flinched and shifted behind Malachi. “Do you have control of that thing?”

Malachi laughed. “Are you seriously afraid of this big dumb pile of fluff?” He knelt down to zealously scratch the dog around his neck. Tank excitedly wagged his tail and licked Malachi’s face.

Jet shuddered. “Are you serious?”

Malachi grinned. “You know this is Constantine’s best friend, right?”


54. Notwithstanding

“Things that Sloot is afraid of: cars, planes, dogs. Things Sloot is not afraid of: being shot at, being kidnapped…”

“You’re oversimplifying.”

“Is that so?”

“I’m not afraid of cars, I just hate them.”

“Give me your hand. C’mon you trust me, right?”

Reluctantly, Jet let Malachi guide her hand to pet the dog. Its fur was much softer than she imagined. It turned its head to look at her and she jumped back.

“Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.” Malachi’s smile was mischievous as he spoke. Nevertheless, his eyes shone with earnestness, and Jet smiled back at him despite herself.


55. Forevermore

They sat at a small table under the terrace of a quaint café, enjoying bowls of ice cream. The dog sat unobtrusive between their feet. Red wine raspberry and orange pumpkin weren’t flavors Malachi would normally have thought of, but they were actually pretty amazing.

Or maybe it wasn’t the ice cream that was amazing, but the company.

He was trying his best not to stare into Jet’s eyes too long or too deeply, but it was hard. Especially given the growing silence. But he didn’t dare speak, for fear of confessing to her his undying love, his devotion forevermore.

Spoiler: Author Note

Since I know approximately nothing about Budapest, I Googled "Budapest ice cream" to make sure they actually have ice cream in Budapest and they don't have a special name for it or something. It would seem they do have ice cream in Budapest, as evidenced by this page. But they have some interesting flavors, especially in the second result. (Which I think is this place, although the website doesn't list flavors.) Anyway, just so you don't think I came up with those flavors myself...

 

Love how Malachi guides Jet to the dog. A nice continuing tale

 

@earlybird-obi-wan Thanks!

---

Author Note: These prompts are turning Malachi into far more of a poet than I expected!

Week 12 - International (Part 10)​

56. Pebble

Jet was well aware that Malachi was looking at her with a weird intensity. She was half-tempted to tell him to cut it out, but he was rarely silent for this long and she was rather enjoying the quiet.

She studied her ice cream, an intensely dark blue with sparkly pebbles of sugar crystals. The taste was strange, but good. She tried to savor this brief moment in in another world, knowing it was unlikely she’d ever be back.

She would never tell him, but she was a bit grateful to Malachi, for having dragged her away from her paperwork.


59. Flint

“What flavor is that anyway?”

The ice cream Jet had chosen was simply called Dark Side.

“Blackberry and cinnamon, I think?”

“You know I love your contradictions. Rule-abiding cop who plays chaotic evil at D&D and embraces the Dark Side. You're a Slytherin, aren't you?”

“And you play as a lawful good Gryffindor, but in real life you're an anarchist felon.”

Malachi smiled. “Hufflepuff, actually.

“Seriously, though. How'd a gothy rebel like you end up in law enforcement?”

Jet shifted uncomfortably. “What's it matter anyway?”

“You fascinate me. You’re a flint that ignites my curiosity. I want to know more.”


60. Gravel

In that moment their eyes met. Somehow, they’d avoided actual eye contact all evening. But now they held each other’s gaze.

Jet felt she was seeing him for the first time. Not the arrogant hacker persona he constantly projected, but the human underneath. A curtain had been drawn back that she hadn’t even realized was there.

He flinched first, shifting his gaze as the dog crunched the gravel under the table.

When Malachi looked back up, the curtain had returned. He smiled slyly. “Ready to go? Don’t want to be late.”

“Where?”

“You’ll see. Trust me, you’re gonna love it.”


Bonus: Lodestone

“How about I tell you what I know and then you fill in the gaps?

“You graduated top of your class at some fancy STEM school at sixteen. Despite your disdain for cars, you actually have a driver’s license, which I assume you had to get as part of your coply duties.” Malachi paused to gauge Jet’s reaction.

She gave him nothing; he pressed on. “So I figure you’re parents are either rich but distant—hence the boarding school—or murdered horribly and that’s why you became a cop.”

Silence.

“Or maybe both? In most cases family is the lodestone.”


Bonus: Detritus

Jet stopped. They were near a low wall; she hopped onto it.

“You know that thing they say, that you can drop a baby off at any firehouse and they have to take it? You ever wonder if it’s true? I can tell you it is.”

Malachi leaned against the wall beside her. Not the answer he was expecting.

“Just leave your baby, like any other detritus, for someone else to clean up. That’s all I know about my parents.

“I worked my butt off to get into that STEM school on scholarship. I knew I couldn’t survive public school.”


Bonus: Monolith

After Jet’s monolithic revelation Malachi felt obligated to reciprocate.

"My dad was never in the picture. I entered foster care when I was four, after my mom's dealer beat the living snot out of her.

"Got passed around a lot. Then ran away at fifteen and never looked back."

Malachi was staring hard at the ground when he felt a light touch in his hair.

“I never noticed…” Jet pushed some of Malachi’s bangs back, revealing a scar surrounded by short white hairs just beginning to grow in.

He turned to her. “Not bad for getting shot in the head.”


58. Loam

The rich, loamy smell made Jet very aware they were underground. “You know I hate it when you lead me into creepy dark basements.”

Malachi looked over his shoulder at her. “You’ve never regretted it once we get there.”

“Seriously, do you even know where we are? Is this safe?”

“Of course it’s safe. We have a dog.”

“That doesn’t—” Muffled sounds from somewhere in the darkness ahead sent a shiver down Jet’s spine. “Give me the leash.”

Soon they arrived at a door. There was loud music and shouting on the other side.

A concert, a rave, a …?


57. Boulder

Maggie released a huge breath as she was excused from the inquiry. She was a bit surprised to see Hana waiting for her.

Maggie smiled and was about to express her relief, when she noticed Hana looked extremely serious.

“You need to call Jubal, something happened.”

*​

“It’s your sister. She’s in critical condition at a hospital in Boulder. Apparent overdose.” Jubal’s voice rang hollow over the phone.

“Thanks for letting me know,” Maggie replied numbly. Things could be entirely expected and devasting all the same.

“I just talked to the pilot, be ready to board at 0700. I’m sorry, Maggie.”

 

A great set revealing more about Jet and Malachi. Aww for Maggie

 

Don't you just hate it when that happens?

Really enjoyed the banter over ice cream, and the later revelations about Jet's and Malachi's stories were really poignant. It seems like Jet really wants Malachi to know her better, but everything about her past is a bit of a sore spot -- and some of the same goes for him.

 

Thanks so much!

It's not the first time, and it will not be the last...

Thanks!! I always so enjoy your insights!

---

Week 13 - International (Part 11) ​

65. Everything

“Where’s Jet!?” Maggie demanded as she swept into the field office.

Raines straightened in his seat with a quick glance to Vo. “She and Malachi went to explore the city.”

“You lost her? Again?! After everything, how could you let her out of your sight?!”

“Hey now, relax. They’re adults. Despite what we deal with every day, the city’s relatively safe. Besides,” Vo turned a monitor toward Maggie, “We know where she is.”

The monitor displayed a map of the city with a red and a blue dot.

“It’s a nice little café,” Raines added. “They have good ice cream.”


62. Neither

“Wow, you got a tracker on Malachi?” Hana asked, impressed. “Which one is he?”

“Neither,” Raines shook his head. “The red dot is Jet’s cell phone. Blue dot is Tank. He’s got a GPS microchip. He’ll take care of them.”

Maggie huffed. “I can’t deal with this right now. Hana, can you handle this?”

Hana nodded eagerly. “Of course, no problem.”

“I need you, Jet, and Sebastian at the runway at 0700. I could not care less what Malachi does. I’m going back to the hotel.” Maggie strode away quickly.

“She just got some really bad news,” Hana explained, sympathetic.


61. Several

Hana felt a bit of relief, that Maggie trusted her to take care of things tonight. Jet had disappeared on Hana’s watch and it still gnawed at her. Her first time as handler… she better not lose her again. Or Constantine.

Hana and Maggie had been alternating shifts, sleeping at the field office. When Constantine wasn’t cuffed to a desk, he was locked in a small room with a barred window on one side and glass panels on the other. Maggie or Hana would sleep on a bench in the hallway, checking on their charge several times throughout the night.


63. Another

“Are you… mad at the dog?”

At Constantine’s words, Hana realized she’d been staring at the dog bed in the corner, thinking hard.

She looked to her prisoner, consciously softening her expression. It was just the two of them now. Raines and Vo had gone home for the day.

“No, just puzzled. Why didn’t the guard dog react when Jet was being taken?”

“Perhaps he didn’t sense any ill-intent from Angela. Or, she wasn’t just another person—she smelled like one of his favorite people.”

“Umm… what?”

“You know Angela is Forrester’s mother, right?”

“No, but… that explains a lot.”


Bonus: Someone

“Uh-oh.”

“What?!”

“The dots… they… disappeared.”

“What does that mean? Did they disable the trackers? Why would Jet do that?”

“They could easily have turned off Jet’s phone. But the dog’s tracker… that would be more difficult.

“They were last… Oh. Hmm.”

“What? Where were they?”

“There’s a… there’s another explanation. I’m sure they’re fine.”

“What explanation? Did Malachi tell you where they were going?”

“He… did not tell me.”

“Constantine! Do you know where they are?”

Constantine opened a browser and brought up a livestream. “Someone like Malachi… not unlike me… he might be into this. And it’s underground.”


Bonus: Whichever

It was entirely too late for this sort of dilemma. Did Hana try to track down Jet, verify with her own eyes that she was okay? Or did she figure Jet was an adult free to do what she wanted and assume she would be back by morning?

Then there was Constantine… she could hardly just leave him. Bring him along? Even cuffed, she had to imagine the temptation to bolt would be great. Call in Maggie, who was dealing with a personal crisis and had trusted Hana to handle things?

Whichever way she went, Hana was taking a risk.


64. Anything

After calling and texting Jet several times, even though Hana knew Jet likely didn’t have cell service, Hana reluctantly decided to trust that Jet could take care of herself.

That said, there was absolutely no chance of Hana getting any sleep that night.

“Do you want to… play a game? Give me a few minutes and I can emulate anything. Halo, Minecraft, Zelda…”

“Well…” That would not exactly be an ideal use of FBI resources. Then again… Hana was going to go crazy without some sort of distraction.

“What about… Mario Kart?”

“Good choice. That was my sister’s favorite game.”

 

The worries about Jet are gripping Hana. An old game that will distract her. Great use of the prompts

 

Ah, don't you hate it when the people you're tracking go to an underground rave? And Mario Kart is a perfectly fine use of FBI resources.

I love how you have developed these characters and the plot arc in the confines of this format. I'm impressed with writers with this kind of focus!

 

Thanks! Yes, poor Hana, stuck between a rock and a hard place. Thanks for sticking with this story for so long!

Hi! Glad to see you back! Yes, Malachi has a special talent for making other people's lives difficult. My muse/writing style is rather well suited for drabbles - no room for description, easily able to just skip over the scenes I don't want to write (i.e., when anything exciting happens).... Thanks so much for reading!

---

Spoiler: Author Note

This set gave me a bit of trouble. Don't think it was the prompts of even the place in the story. More the fickle muse running out of steam... Hopefully inspiration will return next week. It does look like we will get out of Budapest before this challenge is through! For a while I wasn't certain.

(Translations from Google Translate)

Week 14 - International (Part 12)​

66. Axis

It was loud, that was for sure. Rock music, crowd noise, an announcer.

Lights flashed and shifted. Spinning spotlights drew attention to the center of the room—an arena. Gleaming metal floors, fully surrounded by thick glass walls.

On each end of the center axis sat a colorfully painted block of metal on wheels. One had a large blade rotating beneath it. The other, a barbed spinner flashing under the bright lights. The small machines moved forward and backwards, spun around, showing off complex designs.

It wasn’t what Jet had expected.

She half-smiled as she turned to Malachi. “Robot fighting?”



67. Contour

Despite the darkness, Malachi did his best to study the subtle contours of Jet’s face under the flashing lights. Was there a hint of a smile? Did she like it, did she hate it?

It was very loud, he hadn’t much thought about that aspect. He knew her hearing was more sensitive than his. Everything about her was more keenly attuned.

She took her eyes off the robots to look at him. She mouthed something to him, but he couldn’t hear over the blare of the starting chimes. Jet leaned in to watch the battle. His eyes lingered on her.



Bonus: Syzygy

The crowd had calmed and the noise level dropped considerably after the opening matches finished.

They’d found a schedule that was partially in English and skimmed down the list of names.

“Syzygy,” Malachi read aloud. “Sounds powerful, right?”

Jet scoffed. “Not really.”

“Smart money’s on Elektromos Sámán.”

Startled to hear another English voice, Malachi whipped around.

Jet turned more slowly and eased closer to Malachi.

Tank gave a muted woof and jumped up on the interloper.

An older woman, tall and blonde, pushed the dog back, then reached down to pat his head. “Apologies, I didn’t mean to startle you.”



68. Meridian

“What are you doing here, Angela?” Jet sounded genuinely curious, not at all frightened.

Nevertheless, Malachi crossed his arms and took a protective step in front of her. “If you’re wondering if your idiot son lost his job, we don’t know. We just do all the work, the suits make decisions.”

Angela expression stayed entirely neutral as she regarded Malachi. “He’s stubborn and often misguided, but he isn’t stupid.

“But that’s not why I’m here.”

“So? Why are you here?”

“Elektromos Sámán. Electric Shaman. That’s who you want.” Angela’s attention shifted to something at the opposite meridian of the arena.



70. Zenith

“Is gambling like this legal—”

“We are sooo far out of your jurisdiction, my darling Slytherin. Don’t even worry about it.”

“Mal—”

Malachi walked up to the shady character in the back corner. No words exchanged, he pointed to a name on the paper he was holding, then tapped at his cell phone. Jet turned away, not wanting to see more.

*​

The crowd roared as scraps of metal—more specifically, bits of the robot Parallax—scattered across the arena and bounced off the glass walls.

“Elektromos Sámán kazanır!”

Malachi grinned at Jet. “Your friend Angela knows her robots.”



Bonus: Vertex

“They would only pay out half in crypto,” Malachi explained with mild disgust as he returned to Jet with a fistful of colorful bills.

“I didn’t expect you to listen. I guess you’re smarter than you look.” Angela once again appeared from nowhere, this time she ruffled the hair on top of Malachi’s head as she entered the conversation.

“I guess this is your cut.” He handed her the bills.

Angela waved him off. “Keep it.”

Malachi shrugged. “Then I guess it’s Constantine’s share, since he couldn’t come.”

Jet rolled her eyes. “You know what Constantine would do with it…”



69. Nadir

“What would Constantine do?” Angela asked.

“He’d hand it out to random strangers. Just stacks of bills to people he’s never seen before and will never see again. Hopefully without getting murdered in the process.”

Bemused, Angela shrugged. “I’m game.”

*​

Jet had strongly encouraged Angela to hand out the money at the library. On her way, as Angela fiddled with the bills in her pocket, she noticed one bill felt a little different. She removed it from her pocket and saw it was a note.

I don’t want Jet involved. But if I can help you, hit me up.
-M​

 

Thank you, it's nice to be back!
Yes, I definitely see how your writing style is good for this format; it condenses everything to be efficient and to the point so the characters and dialogue can really shine.
While you did feel like this week was tough, I thought this set was a lot of fun. Tank returns! Surprise robot battle date! What's not to love?

 

Love the snark and dialogue in this fun set at a robot battle and it ends with a cliffie

 

@UltramassiveUbersue and @earlybird-obi-wan Thanks so much for the kind words!! Your comments really make my day every time!

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Week 15 (International Part 13)​

72. Topsy-turvy

It was before sunrise when Maggie returned to the field office. Her sister wasn’t quite out of the woods, but a couple hours of sleep and Maggie was in much better spirits. She hoped Jet and Malachi had returned, but she expected only to find Hana and Constantine. Hearing strange noises as she entered the main doors, she hurried down the hall to the main office.

Pew Pew.

“Do a barrel roll!”

Pew Pew.

Maggie walked in to see everyone at the computers playing some sort of space adventure video game.

Thank goodness, she thought, seeing Jet safe and sound.


73. Fuddy-duddy

“I’m so glad to see you.” Maggie gave Jet an awkward half-hug from behind, even as the young hacker remained focused on her game.

Maggie stepped back, surveying the room once again. “But what are you guys doing?! With federal property… How did you even…?” Maggie looked primarily at Hana as she spoke, who had quickly exited out of the game as soon as she spotted Maggie.

Biting her lip and looking sheepish, Hana replied, “Well…just trying to stay awake, honestly.”

Constantine glanced up. “No worries. I’ll wipe all evidence from the machines.”

“That’s not really what I’m concerned about…”


71. Hush-hush

Maggie turned to Jet. “You need to let us know where you’re going next time. We were worried about you.”

Jet scrunched her eyebrows together. “I was off the clock; you wouldn’t have gotten into trouble if I didn’t make it back.”

“I wasn’t worried about getting in trouble Jet, I was worried about you.”

Maggie suddenly realized the person she should most expect to be in the middle of things was nowhere to be found. “Where’s Malachi?”

Jet shrugged. “He left after he brought me back here. I’ve learned not to ask questions I don’t want the answers to.”


Bonus: Dilly-dally

Malachi pounded on the apartment door.

“Open up! This is important. I don’t have all day.”

Finally, the door opened. “What the hell? You know it’s 5am?”

Forrester looked pissed, but Malachi just pushed past him into the apartment. “Yeah, that means you don’t time to dilly-dally.”

“How did you even find… What are you doing here?”

“I have a proposal. Constantine. Smart guy, quite the asset, wouldn’t you say?”

“I guess. What’s your point?”

“My point is, he’s one of the best hackers in the world, a legend of our time, and he’s rotting away in some prison cell.”


Bonus: Hoity-toity

“Meanwhile, you can’t find your butt with both hands over here. How about you talk to whatever hoity-toity suit is holding your leash and ask if you can keep Constantine.”

Forrester was about to give a retort, but Malachi held up a finger and continued. “We may have won the battle, but the war is far from over. You weren’t ready for the first attack, you won’t be ready for the next. Unless you get some brains working on your side. You got two hours. Once Constantine gets across that ocean, I doubt you’ll be able to get him back.”


75. Pitter-patter

Malachi headed for the exit, entirely unsure if he had gotten through to the fed or not. Before reaching the door, he paused when he heard the pitter-patter of dog paws approaching across the wood floor.

Tank sat between Malachi and the door and whined. Malachi patted the dog’s head before turning around. Forrester was glaring in his general direction.

“If international security and the safety of the western world isn’t enough of a reason, how about this: your dog’s gonna miss his new friend. You took in one stray, why don’t you let the dog keep his pet hacktivist?”


74. Wishy-washy

You waited too long to call in help. When the help finally came you didn’t have adequate resources. Your security is crap.

His mother’s words. That were pretty well echoed during the inquiry. Presumably Constantine could help with all of the above. And given that Constantine was a prisoner, he wouldn’t add as much to the budget as another agent.

Forrester hated to let Malachi tell him what to do. He hated even more to think his mother might be right. And yet… maybe… maybe it was worth thinking about.

He pulled out his cell phone to make a call.

Spoiler: important context!

Some (not actually important) context: They are playing Star Fox 64 in this scene. For which Jet is at a disadvantage because it was released before she was born.

Also, it is slightly amusing to me that Malachi keeps ending up with all the strange prompt words. I guess maybe because his manner of speaking is more flexible than some other characters.

 

You're very welcome!

Ah, another fun set this week!

"Do a barrel roll!" made me laugh... my brother played the heck out of that game. Ah, memories!

Forrester, you've got to let Constantine stay... won't you think of the Tank?

Yep, I can see why Malachi gets all the fun words. He says all the fun things!

 

Strange prompts yes. But you are making quite a good story with them in this fun set

 

Yay, glad you think so!

I'm not sure if I ever actually played 64, but I played the original Star Fox quite a lot. Glad it brought back fond memories!

Right? Tank doesn't ask for much!

He is my wild card for sure! Thanks so, so much for commenting!

Aww, glad you thought it was fun! Thank you, I do so appreciate your comments!

---

Week 16 (International Part 14)​

77. Scruple

There had been five people on the plane when they left the States; only four would be returning. It made Maggie very uneasy, even if Constantine was likely getting a better deal by staying behind in Budapest.

In front of her, Hana was out cold, leaning against the plane window.

Across the aisle, Jet was equally sound asleep, her head on Malachi’s shoulder.

Maggie was pretty sure Malachi was wide awake, though he gazed at Jet with eyes half-closed.

“I can’t tell if you are blissfully content or in excruciating pain.”

Malachi looked up at Maggie. “Can’t it be both?”


76. Incendiary

There was fire in his shoulder, but Malachi didn’t dare move.

“I think I dislocated my shoulder a few months back. It’s been feeling pretty okay for a while now, but then getting unceremoniously tossed into a dumpster reawakened all the pain.”

“I’m sure Jet wouldn’t want to hurt you. I’ll just ask her to move a little—”

“Don’t. You. Dare.”

Maggie bit back a laugh. His tone was both menacing and adorably earnest.

“I made sure she stayed awake all night so she could sleep now and hopefully not freak out,” Malachi continued. “You aren’t going to ruin that.”


79. Piquant

“Anyone ever told you, you’re kinda charming when you aren’t trying too hard?”

Malachi arched an eyebrow at Maggie. “You think I’m charming?”

“Ew, no, not like that. Your girlfriend is right there.” Maggie instantly regretted her words, even as Malachi’s eyes lit up.

“Girlfriend? Did she say something to you?”

“No, I mean, whatever this is. Your hopelessly unrequited crush.”

Malachi appeared visibly stung. “Hopelessly …unrequited…?”

Maggie grimaced at her overcorrection.

“I…. don’t have a chance?”

“I didn’t mean… Forget I said anything. I don’t know anything. But she’s obviously comfortable around you. That’s not nothing.”

“Comfortable. Just… comfortable.”


78. Careen

Comfortable…

Malachi did his best to fight frustration at the word. How long they known each other? How long had he known they were meant to be together? There was something deep, and powerful, and beautiful between them, and he was supposed to be happy with comfortable?

He wanted to argue, to vent his frustration, but Maggie had closed her eyes. He knew that wouldn’t be productive anyway.

Don’t screw it up.

Constantine’s words often came to him when he felt himself about to careen off the rails. Push too hard and he may lose Jet forever.

Patience. Or you’ll screw it up.


80. Emphasis

Jet awoke, disconcerted to realize she had been leaning against Malachi for who knows how long. She didn’t have long to worry about that though, as she realized where she was and her adrenaline surged. She was hardly even fully awake as panic crashed over her.

*​

“Hey, Jet, look at me. Look at me and breathe. Breathe with me. You’re okay. Really, you’re going to be okay. But I need your help with something. See my phone? It has this candy on it, and it needs to be crushed. Can you do that? Can you help me crush the candy?”


Patina

Maggie awoke to Malachi’s voice. She looked to see Jet had a patina of sweat on her brow. Her urge to comfort Jet was great, but oddly enough, Malachi seemed to be doing a pretty decent job on his own.

Jet’s hands were shaking as she took Malachi’s cell phone, but her breathing was something approaching regular.

Hana had awoken in front of Maggie and she looked from Jet to Malachi to Maggie. She half-smiled at Maggie and reached for her cell phone.

*​

Hana: Is he… not the worst boyfriend a girl could have?

Maggie: He is full of surprises.


Corner

It took everything in Malachi’s power to keep his face neutral as the feeling returned to his shoulder. A sensation of hot pokers and electricity lanced through the left side of his body. He began to regret not having let Maggie awaken Jet earlier.

Jet lowered the phone. She looked up at him, straight into his soul. Her eyes were wide, but less fearful than they had been moments ago. He could swear he saw the corners of her lips quirk into the tiniest hint of a smile.

“Thank you,” she uttered quietly.

Suddenly, Malachi felt no pain at all.

 

I love how Malachi cares for Jet. And those comments from Hana and Maggie, perfect for this set of prompts

 

Awwwww! I loved this set.

#80 Emphasis made me laugh out loud. "See this candy? It needs to be crushed." It sounds so silly but it's probably really effective.

#79 Piquant is very, very relatable... I think I stick my foot in my mouth like that at least once per day!

It's so sweet that Malachi is so excited about Jet that he takes everything to heart.

I love these character moments during quiet interludes, and that they're just as much fun as the action scenes. I'm looking forward to more!

 

Thank you!! Malachi can be pretty cute

Thanks!! I'm glad you liked it!

I have heard that cell phone games are good for panic attacks. They're always a good distraction anyway. (I do kinda like the idea that Malachi was researching how to help with panic attacks when he was off-screen.)

Me too, complete with overcorrection.

Where did he get to be so cute!?

Aww, thanks! They are probably my favorite part to write. The scene between Maggie and Malachi has been in my head pretty much since the beginning.