Drink Me

31. THE BOND

THE BOND

Riley unlocked the door of flat eight and walked inside to find Alice already there and couldn't help but wonder how did the woman move around the city so quickly.

On his way back to London, he had made contact and a meeting was conformed only twenty minutes before. He thought he had made it pretty fast and yet there she was in a pair of second-skin leather trousers, her signature Dr Martens and a neon green fluffy jumper with puffed sleeves that reminded Riley of a radioactive bat.

She was leaning over the crystal dining table, fidgeting with a laptop and some cables. Her head shot up when she heard the door open.

"Yo, Murphy," she said, returning her focus on the machine.

"Bro," Riley greeted back, walking to her and inspecting the  nature of her effort. "Thank you for seeing me so soon," he declared, slumping on the leather chair at the table.

Alice lifted her eyes briefly before focusing back on her task. "This is how things work, I didn't do it for you," she retorted matter-of-factly.

And Riley had noticed this about the real Alice, the bluntness of her character, as if she believed niceties were a waste of time.

"Should we start?" Riley queried.

"We're waiting for Smith," Alice explained without taking her eyes off her fidgeting fingers.

Riley's eyebrow lifted quizzically. "As in Agent Smith?" he asked, finally taking the cable from Alice's hands and connecting it into the correct port.

"Yeh," Alice replied simply. "Drink?" she offered, moving to the trolley bar.

"No thanks," Riley shook his head. "Should you be drinking, anyway? Aren't we on duty?" he teased a little.

Alice poured herself a brandy and made a show of filling the glass with extra alcohol after Riley's words.

"I've been on duty for two years, I think I can let loose a little," she winked. "Plus, I'm spending the night at Aidan's, God knows I need a drink... I swear if I have to talk about the wedding one more time I will scream," she massaged her temple in exasperation.

Riley studied her annoyed expression for a moment. "Do you have a boyfriend, a husband?" he asked bluntly, trying to imagine the man willing to put up with her real attitude.

Alice looked at him in amusement and her eyebrows knotted. "Yeah, right," she scoffed.

"Mmm, I guess it would be hard," replied Riley, realising his question was probably more naïve than he'd thought.

"Some people are in relationships while undercover," Alice explained. "But I don't think I could do it. I'm married to my job," she added. "Almost literally..." she muttered to herself as her eyes widened briefly. Then a melancholic look crossed her eyes. "Plus, the person I like doesn't like me back anyway..." she confessed to the man's surprise as she volunteered that piece of information.

Riley observed her down her brandy before pouring herself a second one.

"Which Alice tried to seduce him?" he teased, filling the distance between them.

Alice rolled her eyes and took another sip of her drink.

"I'm joking," Riley said, feeling like he was being harsh.

Then his look softened as he took in her delicate features. "Do you have any idea of the effect you have on men?" he gasped.

It would have been hypocritical not to recognize that Alice could have had any man at her feet in the blink of an eye.