|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Thu Aug 25, 2011 8:13 pm
The sun had gone down some time ago, and Gently Ponsonby was still at her desk. Or rather, the desk she shared with two other people who rotated as copyeditors when someone was on vacation or the paper was too backed up. Tonight, it was the former, and Gently had been called in a little late.
She had a lot of work to do before they went to print, and had to have her revisions on her editor's desk by the morning.
"Are you sure you're going to be okay here by yourself, England?" A burly man said, standing from his desk and looking at her as he put his badly faded, rumple hat on his head and drew his coat around his shoulders. He looked like he had stepped out of a mobster movie, and Gently adored him for it.
"I'll be fine," she intoned sweetly, waving her hand, "go home. Didn't you promise your kids pizza?"
"Yeah, I'm going to be in trouble for that one. Well, ya got my number. Call if something happens, yeah?"
"You got it."
The man nodded, seeming satisfied that now he had offered his protection and she would thus be perfectly safe all alone in the locked, mostly dark building. It was a small paper, and thus they only had two floors to work on. Upstairs was completely empty save now for Gently, however, and downstairs were the front desk and storage/printing rooms. Still, they churned out their paper every week, and printed enough to satisfy their subscribers in the city. So it worked well enough.
After her last cohort disappeared down the stairs, Gently got up to stretch. Only the light by her desk was on, the paper big about conserving energy, and she walked to the window to glance outside into the warm, glowing night.
She was eager to get out there, and steal some of that energy that seemed to give the whole city life for herself.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 4:02 pm
Lieutenant Osumilite had a thirst for revenge. Some small-time b***h of a columnist had recently written a scathing review about someone he loved more than anyone else: himself. It was a terribly unfair review about Tag Swagger's segment on Channel 6 News, that made absurd claims that his stories aren't grounded in fact or that he creates unnecessary fear. But worst of all, she called him overconfident, cocky, and "not as important as he thinks himself to be." Ludicrous accusations, every one of them. Tag Swagger was exactly as important as he thought, and exuded this exact level of confidence. And then there were the intolerable ridicules of his work ethic.
The column could simply not be tolerated; there must be revenge. The reporter - Gently Ponsonby - was not very difficult to track down. As a fellow reporter, it was no surprise to him that she was slaving over her desk late at night, burning the midnight oil at work. It is said that that type of worth ethic could either pay off or kill you, and unfortunately for Ms. Ponsonby, Lieutenant Osumilite was planning for her pay off to be the latter.
He waited outside her work building, quietly stalking his target. A burly man was headed out for the evening, which was Osumilite's signal to make a move. The lieutenant grabbed the burly man by the collar and began to drain his energy until there was a loss of consciousness. He then tossed the man into the alley, stripped him of his wallet and keys and snuck into the office. He tip-toed about, looking for his prey only to find her staring out the window.
Finding the moment opportune, he rushed forward and grabbed her, wrapping one arm around her waist with his palm grasping her chest and the other arm wrapped around her neck - putting her in a chokehold. He began to drain her energy and reached in for her starseed, hoping to tear it straight out of the little b***h who shamed him.
"Gently Ponsonby," Osumilite whispered into her ear. "You should really think before your write. You never know what words will kill you."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 11:20 am
Gently, for her part, had felt her column was a very good one. She had a sharp wit and a keen eye for detail, in her own opinion. She also knew that Tag was more than what he seemed, having been present for his corruption.
Her goals were a little more convoluted then he would have realized, she imagined, when he opened the paper and found her scathing review of literally everything he did. She even had the set up to pull off such a random article, as even before any of this had happened she had mentioned him in articles before. And never in a particularly good way.
She didn't like television reporters, more often than not, and Tag was certainly the kind she didn't like. She felt he was phoning it all in for ratings. And she let him know that, with a plethora of other insulting opinions to add some flavor. Whatever her ulterior motive was, it was hers to know.
She let out a surprised sound when she felt someone tug her backwards, strong arms around her lithe frame. Someone got the drop on her? Suppressing the feeling of being impressed, she didn't have time to struggle before she recognized the feeling moving through her. Someone was draining her energy. She whimpered in protest as she heard the voice, familiar to her now though they had only met once in person.
"And you, Lieutenant," she said thickly, not about to let him tear her starseed out of her, "should pick your targets a bit better." Shoving her elbows back at him in an effort to free herself, she powered up. Her energy signature went from nothing to powerful and chaotic at the drop of a hat, and she was suddenly very glad to be a General.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 9:05 pm
<********> Of all the things that could have gone wrong in this little plan of his, this was one thing he certainly was not expecting. His target, the woman he had just suck up on and tried to kill, was his superior - General Painite. This would absolutely count as a demerit, and worries of what punishments he may face for his rashness raced through his mind faster than Phelps swimming after a gold.
He stumbled backwards as she pushed him off her, his feet staggering and his words stammering - how was he supposed to get himself out of this one? A little charm, maybe? His charm didn't quite win her over in their last encounter, but hey - the thought occurred to him - how could she really resist him for too long? After all, his ego constantly reminded him how irresistibly dashing he is.
"My apologies, General Painite," he said, bowing his head down in shame. "I had no idea it was you; you must know that I would never do anything to cross you or any other superior." His words were sincere, and his tone conveyed such. He looked up at the General, looking her straight in the eyes. "My sincerest of apologies."
He corrected his posture, no longer bowing or conveying weakness, but stood more firmly as if taking a stance. "That said - I only approached you, the lovely Gently Ponsonby, because of that little column you wrote about my newscast." He clasped his hands together before his torso, fingers of one hand tapping on the other one by one. "Perhaps I'm confused, but was I doing something wrong? I was recruited to the Negaverse for the very reason of doing what I have been, was I not? So why the harsh words?"
He arched a brow with a playful smile. "Does someone have a little crush they can't quite vocalize?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2011 10:39 am
General Painite fixed him with a keen glare that didn't really look like it really belonged on her small, pretty face. Her bright eyes weren't made for truly angry expressions, and even now there was a look of mischievous excitement to her.
"Oh, shut your trap," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand, "and stop your groveling. You and I both know you don't mean a bloody thing of what you're spewing out. Just like on your show."
She hadn't written that article just because she wanted to make a rival out of him, or that she felt it would be better for their cover if they had a negative relationship rather than two news reporters agreeing on how terrible those skirted terrorists were. No, she honesty believed most of what she wrote about him, and had no qualms about telling him in person. Powered up or not.
Though she much preferred it now, not getting her energy drained and having a bit of an advantage. That had almost been scary, before, and she was not going to admit that.
"Just because we're fighting the same war, it doesn't mean we're fighting in the same way. I happen to think you're all hair gel and fancy lighting, but you reach a broad audience. People who don't read the papers regularly are more your demographic, and they need to be against our enemies as well. You know. Idiots."
She fixed her eyes on him, not flinching at his crush comment, a very pleasant smile on her face now. She would have to get him back for that one, but she imagined mocking him would keep things interesting.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 1:42 pm
"Au contraire mon cheri. I don't lie nearly as much as you must think," Osumilite lied. "My apologies were sincere whether you choose to believe me or not. For the sake of full disclosure, I truly am sorry for attacking you, General Painite - but I am not apologetic for attacking you, Miss Ponsonby."
He paused. The time for cowering under her superiority was far gone now; she was clearly looking for an adversary in him. While it may typically be unwise for a lieutenant to participate in this type of rivalry with a general, he had a feeling she wasn't about to report him for responding to her provocations.
"You may disagree with the way that I do things, but there's a reason that I have achieved the notoriety and admiration that I have. There is a reason you know my name. There is a reason you have watched my segment, and there is a reason I reach a broad demographic. It is that I am good at what I do. Can the same be said about you? Perhaps there is a reason you are just able to work in print? Surely it isn't your looks, but I'd venture to guess the issue lies in your terrible ethics."
For a man like him to be lecturing on ethics was a mockery in itself, but he did believe he had a fair argument to make. "Calling out another newscaster in your article? Tsk, tsk. Not a very classy move. And publicly disgracing a fellow member of the Negaverse? I doubt I would be blamed by fellow agents for taking the actions that I did in response. And why then would you write that article about me? It must not be simple disproval - it must be something personal."
"So I ask you, are you jealous of me and my success?" he asked, opening his arms out in a wide questioning shrug that calls attention to himself. He then pointed his thumbs at himself. "Or was my earlier theory correct, and do you simply just want to tap this?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 6:19 pm
Painite simply grinned at him.
"Cocky bugger, but that's not surprising. Luckily, I am too," she shrugged nonchalantly, then slipped closer to him, looking up into his face. Her eyes were scrutinizing, but coy and devious at once.
She wasn't just sizing him up.
"I can imagine the way you achieved you 'notoriety' and 'admiration," she said, standing pointedly close to him and even daring to rest her hand on his hip. It seemed she wasn't afraid to play his game, especially since he was very adamant about her wanting to sleep with him. She laughed. "I think our ethics are not the question here, and I think you've very aware. I attacked you in my article in the first place because I was being honest. So everything you read should tell you why it was written. In the second place, it would be better for our cover, and much more fun, if we didn't draw attention as two anti-terrorist reporters who did something as simple as get along."
She reached up to tug his tie out of his jacket, fiddling with it thoughtfully as he pointed at himself.
"Maybe I do? You certainly seem keen on it. But, my excitable friend, I don't think I'm going to give you the... pleasure. Or maybe I don't, and still won't." Patting his chest, she took a few steps back from him, holding her hands behind her back. "Don't you want to have a little fun? You look like the kind of guy that likes a good challenge. Prove me wrong, and do some real reporting. Maybe I'll write something nice about you."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 6:34 pm
Lieutenant Osumilite had issues. Had he been willing to acknowledge these issues as actual problems, he'd likely be in therapy. But there was something about this woman taunting him - threatening him - that made her even hotter. He didn't have any romantic or even friendly feelings about her, but there was something about the situation that made him want to drill her more than Sarah Palin wants to drill Alaska.
"Well then you've kept your cover," he started, not fully buying that excuse. He doubted anyone would truly speculate or form conspiracies about two reporters who shared the similar point of view - especially since their point of view was in the morally right. "I ask that we don't continue this rivalry in the public front any further. I understand there is some sort of obsession you have with me, but lets not do a back-and-forth of public and professional humiliations. As you said yourself, I reach a wider audience than you, so a retaliation on my end would hurt you more than you could hurt me. And I don't want to hurt you."
He paused again and smirked. "Okay, maybe a little. But not hard."
His brows raised at her suggestion. "A challenge? I'll accept your little challenge, but lets raise the ante a bit, shall we? I meet your standards of this oft-mentioned 'journalistic integrity'..." he said, using finger quotes to convey his sarcasm. "...and you and I have a little late-night fun together. If I fail to meet your standards, then you get the prize of sleeping with me. Its win-win." He had a feeling she may laugh in his face, reject him, or slap him - but it was well-worth a shot.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 6:53 pm
Painite couldn't help but laugh. She let it go for a long moment, even doubling forward a bit as a peel of laughter almost took her off her feet. She couldn't remember the last time she had been so wholly amused, and it wasn't just because she was teasing him. He was clever and determined, and that made him challenging.
She liked a challenge, but she was not going to lose this battle of will and wit.
"Oh no! You've caught me. I only hurt because I love. You should really leave your window curtains open, it would make my life stalking you so much easier."
She fixed him a look, crossing her arms over her chest, and tilting her body to one side.
At his offer her expression fell skeptically, though the faintest of coy smirks still remained tugging at the corner of her lips.
"That doesn't sound like much of a prize for me," she said, "a very little and disappointing one, if I had to guess. Bravado does very little for me, Mister Swagger. Lieutenant. However amazing you think you are, I don't share your opinion. But it's very sweet, how bad you want me."
She moved toward him, not too slowly either, until her chest was against his and she was standing on her tip toes to speak into his ear.
"You might get your prize if you work hard, but I'm not going to just give you what you want. If we're playing this game, then you're going to have to earn it with much more than pretty words and a charming smile." Not that she was going to make it easy for him, or even lay the new version of the bet she had forming in her head out for him just yet.
She wanted to see him squirm first.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 7:02 pm
"Pretty words and charming smile...and I think you've forgotten my a** on that list. Have you seen my a**? Its pretty fine," Osumilite teased some more. He didn't mind being toyed with or playing these games - he felt that all his life he was playing these sorts of games and he had an overt sense of confidence that he had 'the game' all figured out. The prizes changed, but the rules always stayed the same.
"But alright, I'll hear you out," he started. "What is it exactly that you want from me? 'Better reporting?' Please, you know the industry just as well as I do - I can't be held to those limitations any more than you can. There must be something specific you have in mind. Something I can undoubtedly succeed in - I always do."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 7:31 pm
"I haven't seen your a**, no, but don't worry. I'll take a nice look when you leave."
"I think we can shift the focus. I'm not going to get better reporting out of you, and it's a shame to set an impossible goal so early in the game. So you work on that, and I might give you some extra credit if you surprise me." Her eyes flashed as she looked him over, seeming to consider something, but she shook her head slightly and reached whatever decision she was pondering without a word.
"But for now, why don't we focus on our real jobs. You snuck up on me today, that means, at least, you're half way competent. At least at shutting up when you need to. Bring me something shiny, something difficult to get."
She was still a General in the Negaverse, after all, and even in play, they had jobs to do. It did not occur to her as strange that she was using a life as a bartering tool for something as trivial as sex, but she was and she was enjoying doing so. She grinned at him to emphasize that idea of eagerly enjoying this game.
"Bring me a starseed. A hostage. Something. Your prize depends on what you bring me. After all, in our business ratings and readers are dependant on the quality of our work. Impress me, Lieutenant."
She moved slowly and kissed him on the cheek, just barely missing the corner of his lips, and then patted his shoulder dismissively. She wandered away from him at that, returning to her desk and sitting down languidly. She had no intention, regardless of how he responded, of making her victory as easy as that. It was a delight to be able to tease so freely, and to enjoy a brand new game. She hadn't been able to create a character for herself, find a role and stick to it, in a long time. And she found this was far easier to enjoy than she could have imagined.
"You can show me that a** now, the door is just where you left it."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 7:42 pm
"Its a done deal," Osumilite nodded. Bring her something? Please, she couldn't have set the bar lower for him. He wasn't sure if he should be offended by her low expectations or delighted with the ease of the task. Sure, he'd face challenges along the way, but the task was far more reasonable than he would have expected. "I'll return to you shortly, General Painite. Farewell, sleep tight, and sweet dreams of me."
He bowed his head in farewell before turning away to head out the door. Before crossing through the threshold, however, he stopped and turned his head towards her. He kissed his own two fingers and then placed them on the rear of his pants, adding in a sizzle sound effect for extra measure with an exaggerated wink before finally leaving the woman be.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
