Daunting - chapter 4 by Xeen No copyright inFringement intended Note: set a few days after "AbilitY". So Peter has a new flat, but he can't sleep.... Prologue Coffee, What Else? Ground Control to Major Tom The Quiet Man -o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o - Lest Ye Be Judged "Hello, hello agent Dunham!" Walter chimed. He scurried to the entrance and trotted rapidly up the stairs to Olivia. "Did you sleep well?" he asked, helping her with her coat. He looked up to the clock and checked his own watch. "Aren't you late?" "Good morning Walter, I was at the Division downtown." She checked her wrist watch. "I'm no later than my usual. Where is everybody?" She slowly turned to the empty lab and back to Dr. Bishop with an interrogative smile. "Miss… huh… as I understand, Miss… had quite an interesting evening with a friend." Olivia nodded. "We were together." "Oh-oh, --I see, girls' night out, huh? Any remarkable male encounter?" he narrowed his eyes and put a conniving grin on his face but met only Olivia's bland stare. "I would say that she is currently suffering from mild alcoholic intoxication," he offered swiftly. "Astrid is sick?" "She is not sick. She is merely retreating from the world for the time being. She was adamant in her refusal to be disturbed." "Oh, she was," Olivia chuckled, "you mean she's hangovered?" "I wouldn't say. I'm having trouble assessing her real state since she won't talk to me," he said with a hint of whining in his voice. "Fortunately, she made coffee. Do you want some?" "No thanks, I had a few already." "I, on the contrary, --had a wonderful night. We played strip poker and I had margarita and tamale. I won." "Really? I'm glad you enjoyed yourself Walter. I take it you're settling in nicely in Harvard?" "Yes, yes, it's fantastic! You cannot even begin to imagine how fascinating it is to live on the campus. I have everything I need: former alumni, great food, my lab and full access to unlimited resources. Not to mention pretty students by the dozen simply captivated by my work." "You wouldn't talk about our work Walter?" she asked with a concerned face. "No worries. I am quite capable of devising intriguing alternative research and experiments for their purpose only. One can say they are not very bright," he said in a very low voice, casting suspicious glances around. Olivia grinned. "But you weren't asking about me, were you?" he prompted with an inquisitive look. "What do you mean?" "I told Peter that he should talk to you but he said he would eventually --but on his own terms." "I'm not sure…" Walter carried on, ignoring her. "He should have told you that he moved out of the hotel. He wouldn't leave me, you know, I had to push him away. He's a grown man now he must have his own place." He stopped briefly to catch his breath, avoiding looking Olivia in the eyes. "Do you know that Asteroid has been there? It is a very large loft, with a king size bed and with a view on the river. And a formidable bath!" "It is, really?" she commented, playing along. She had to find Peter and Astrid or she will never see the end of it. "Of course you know that two people sleeping in a king size bed will get the same amount of personal sleeping space as in a twin bed, isn't it wonderful?" "Where is Peter?" she asked, looking away with embarrassment. "He is with Astrid. He wouldn't talk to me either. I'm glad you finally came, agent Dunham, I was feeling lonely," he declared before turning tails and going back to his bench where he instantly forgot about her. That was easy, she thought, watching Walter's unwavering attention going back to his puzzling work. He poured a blue thick liquid from a round bottom boiling flask into a volumetric flask and grinned wildly. He placed four identical Erlenmeyer flasks before him and measured different amounts of the sample. She had no idea what was the topical issue. He left the bench and retrieved four beakers that he put orderly beside the flasks. She stayed a little while on the catwalk at her favourite spot, kneeling on the bench with her back to Gene. She leant on the railing, staring absently at Walter. Walter knew. Astrid was there. Why did Peter choose not to tell, why was she the last to be informed? Actually, she had never been informed per se, she happened to learn about it by accident. She closed her eyes and tried to regroup. It was not important. Peter didn't have to inform her. Maybe there was a note from the Division or something. Maybe she missed it because of her work and being focused on life threatening issues. Nope, she wouldn't miss it. She was keeping tracks of things… and what if Broyles had called her and asked her to go to a crime scene with her team? That was unacceptable. She took a deep breath and walked to her office. The door was open. From the doorway, she glared at Astrid and Peter. They were sitting at her desk on opposite chairs and engrossed in whatever they were working on. In spite of the fact that she was across from her, Astrid didn't spot Olivia. Her eyes were puffy and she looked clearly below par, her complexion chalky white bordering on green. Peter had his back to her and he was slowly beating the tempo and humming a song out of key with his headset cords dangling on his shoulders. "Hello." Her voice didn't spark off any reaction from the pair. She stepped inside the study and put her hand on Peter's arm to attract his attention. He jumped from his chair with a shrieking howl. He violently snatched away the headset and turned to her, grabbing her arm in the same motion. "Walter! I told you… Oh sorry Olivia, I didn't know you were here. I lost track of time. Sorry," he said again. "Did I hurt you? Oh, man I'm sorry…" She was about to respond abruptly when she saw his face. If Astrid looked pale and sick, Peter was ghostlike. Exhausted didn't even begin to describe the way he looked and probably felt. Noticing the large dark circles under his eyes and his weary bearing, she kept silent and simply shrugged. Astrid pulled her earplugs out and gave Olivia a poor smile. "Hello Olivia. I don't know how you do it. I've had only half the drinks you had last night and I spent the worst night of my entire life. To tell you the absolute truth, I'm currently devising a plan to bribe Walter into beaming me back to my place. Don't be alarmed, I shall leave a clone at the lab to do my job." "Astrid when I told you I've seen her with a bottle of whiskey, I wasn't kidding," tried Peter. "The both of you surely seem to have a bad hair day. Astrid, I'm sorry I talked you into drinking. I had no idea you were going to be so sick. But Peter, what's wrong? You look really bad, did you catch a bug or…" He waved dismissively at her. "You don't want to know," he said. "Well, did it occur to you that perhaps I might want to?" He bit his lip and chuckled. "Okay, guilty as charged. Who told you? If Walter…" "Astrid did. Why wouldn't you talk to me about leaving your hotel Peter? It's childish and it might have very well jeopardized our missions! What if I needed you at three in the morning? It's hard enough as it is without you pulling a Houdini." He sighed and locked his eyes on hers. "I know. I wanted to do it by myself. You've got enough on your plate without babysitting me. It's not your job." "Okay, you're in no condition to argue Peter. Astrid, take the day off, it's on me. Work can wait. Peter, you're coming with me." "Where?" "I have to see Walter first." She turned around and almost crashed into the good doctor. "It's ready," he said. "I was waiting for you." "You were," said Peter. "I was impatient! It's my best batch, I would very much like to collect your impressions," he said seemingly very eager to show them something. "What is it this time Walter?" Peter's voice didn't have its ordinary edge and Walter flinched. "You know," he winked nonetheless, "it's my new special recipe." "Is it alcohol-free Walter?" Astrid asked. "I'm afraid not dear." "I'll pass then. Okay, I'm out of here. See you tomorrow people. Thanks Olivia, I owe you one." "No, you don't, this is all my fault. See you." "Oh, she's going," Walter whined. "Will you give it a try agent Dunham?" "Maybe another time. I have to drive Peter… some place." "Oh… OH!!! I see. Well. I must assume that you're not going to drink with me either Peter?" "As much as I'd love too Walter, it's still a bit early for me." "You can't sleep, how can you tell the difference? Should you have a blindfold, I'll bet you would not be able to tell day and night apart." "But I haven't," Peter said, his mouth twitching. "I will have to taste it myself then," said Walter. "We'll miss you too Walter, let's get going Olivia, to wherever you want me to go with you." TBC |
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