To absolutely no one's surprise, Sean spent the remainder of the flight sulking.
You could call his behavior predictable, Naomi supposed, but she preferred to think of it as him being dependable. She knew exactly how he would react in any situation, and that was something she loved about him. He was always there for her, totally reliable, the only constant in her otherwise precarious childhood.
Yes, she appreciated her husband's dependable presence. Really, she did. Still, that didn't mean she was going to sulk along with him. No matter how miserable Sean might be, Naomi was having a blast.
She'd never flown before. Everyone knew how it was supposed to go, though. There were stand-up comedians on late-night TV who made a whole career out of telling jokes about the hassle, the cramped seats, the bad food – a seemingly-endless litany of familiar complaints for the audience to laugh along with.
This flight had been nothing like she'd been led to expect.
There were a grand total of four chairs in the spacious, luxuriously-appointed cabin. (Cabin was the right word for the inside of an airplane, she thought, wasn't it?) Forget elbow room, the other occupants were so far away she had to speak up to be heard.
The absurdly comfortable overstuffed leather seats were mounted on swivels, so you could spin them all the way around, or even slide them to different locations if you wanted to. Each one came with its own little attached table, and each little table came with a uniformed attendant that kept it stocked with wine and expensive bottled mineral water, fancy snacks and anything else she could think to ask for.
When she jokingly told the server she wanted some caviar, the woman had asked, dead-seriously, if she preferred a particular label. Then – once it became obvious that Naomi didn't know the first thing about caviar brands – she'd returned with a selection of a half-dozen miniature tins for her to sample from. All of them tasted awful... but that was beside the point. Eating caviar and sipping champagne on a private jet was a dream come true for her.
And if it took some playful flirting with Raid Captain Kaneko to ensure they'd keep getting this kind of treatment in the future, well, that was a sacrifice Naomi was willing to make. Keeping the odious little man wrapped around her finger hardly required any special effort on her part, anyway. A sidelong glance, an occasional smile, a seemingly-accidental touch now and then, that was all it took for her to turn an officer from one of the world's most powerful guilds into putty in her hands.
She didn't think it would be bragging to say that she had a knack for manipulating people. It was something she was good at. Really good. Men, especially, but women weren't all that much more challenging – they just had different buttons to push, that's all. Find the right angle, you could get them to say anything you wanted, do anything you wanted, and usually they'd be none the wiser.
The seemingly-endless succession of foster families she'd passed through as a child. All the other kids in school. Her co-workers and her bosses. Even Sean's clueless cousin, their would-be party leader, who'd thought he was oh-so-clever. Not one of them had proven immune to her charm.
It was a talent, something you either had or you didn't, and Naomi had it in spades.
Sean knew, of course. How could he not? They'd been together for so many years that he could hardly have failed to notice what she was doing, even if he was as dumb as he pretended to be – and he wasn't dumb. Stubborn, sure, and maybe a little impulsive at times, but not stupid.
He understood exactly what she was doing... and he hated every moment of it. Any time she played around with others, even when he knew she was doing it for their benefit, he'd go into a sulk.
In part, she figured, it because he'd never liked feeling dependent on anyone else. Not even her. Of course, the rest was plain old jealousy. Her husband was not the sharing type.
He knew why she was toying with Kaneko, and he trusted that she'd never take it further than some empty flirting, but nevertheless, he was never going to be able to tolerate it with a smile.
So as she traded idle banter with the man, her husband sat hunched over in his seat, arms crossed, stubbornly ignoring the incredible luxury all around them. Instead, he was glowering out the window like he could push the plane along to its destination faster by scowling at the fluffy white clouds below. Thinking dark thoughts the whole time, she was certain, furiously planning out scenarios in which he would someday kill Kaneko. Probably in a very painful way.
Honestly, she didn't hate that dangerous possessiveness of his, either – it was part of his charm. Who wouldn't get a tingly feeling, knowing that they were loved enough to kill for?
...especially by someone who'd already proven that they meant it? Now that, she said to herself, that was real romance.
He knew better than to try carrying out any of those homicidal plans without her permission, though, and there was no way she'd let him. Not any time soon, anyway. Like it or not, their current circumstances left them totally dependent on DragonFire, and that meant staying in Raid Captain Kaneko's good graces. At least for now.
That knowledge was undoubtedly contributing to his grouchy mood, too.
His loss. Settling back into her seat with a contented sigh, she popped another of the excellent little chocolate truffles she'd discovered in the overhead bin into her mouth, chasing it with a sip of champagne.
An announcement informed the passengers that they were beginning the final descent to Comodoro Rivadavia, and Naomi excitedly slid her chair back into place to watch. After a moment of consideration, she pressed her nose against the glass in a calculatedly-adorable way. It wasn't just an act – this was her first time landing in a plane, and she really did want to watch – but out of the corner of her eye she confirmed that Kaneko was grinning fondly at her cute overreaction.
Gotcha, she thought, carefully hiding her own smirk. It was almost too easy.
They got off (deplaned?) almost as soon as the aircraft had come to a stop on the tarmac. Another thing the comedians had been wrong about. Kaneko had offered her his hand in what he probably considered a gallant manner, helping her down the boarding ramp even though they both knew she didn't need it. With all the points she'd put into Agility, it would take an earthquake to make her stumble.
From behind, her inhumanly-acute hearing picked up the familiar sound of Sean's teeth grinding together. She flashed him a brief, genuine smile, but didn't release her hold on Ken's fingers.
Customs and security waved their whole group through without even bothering to perform a cursory inspection. That was the power of having a big-name guild behind you, she figured. Kaneko seemed like he was used to this sort of treatment.
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The Argentinian airport was small, mostly empty at this time of night, and overall it looked like it had seen better days. Paint peeling from the walls, flickering florescents overhead, battered plastic lounge furniture and dingy panes of streaked glass. It was a bit of a culture shock, stepping from the lap of luxury straight back into grim reality.
Fortunately, they didn't linger in the depressing lobby for longer than necessary. A long, black chartered limousine stood waiting to receive them – another first for her – and then they were off to "base camp", apparently located somewhere in the foothills of the Andes.
Never one for long companionable silences, the raid captain leaned forwards in his seat as soon as the doors were closed and the car had started driving.
"So, professor," he began, "what do you do for fun?"
Startled by the question, the mousy blonde looked up in confusion from the book she'd just opened. "Me?" she squeaked, pointing uncertainly to herself as if there was another professor present with them that he might have been addressing instead.
Pausing in the process of sliding his headphones on, Sean snorted, then stabbed the play button on his walkman with a little more force than was strictly necessary. It was clear that he'd officially checked himself out of this conversation.
Kaneko smiled disarmingly at the woman. He was doggedly persistent, she had to admit. Usually, she found his playboy routine amusing, but for some reason, she felt annoyed. Maybe it was seeing it directed at such an undeserving target. Resisting the urge to frown, Naomi brought her arms together – the movement subtly pushing her chest up and out – and turned to face their employer.
"What do you do for fun?" she asked brightly, tilting her head in a playful manner.
The woman met her eyes, recoiling slightly in a predictable manner at their unusual appearance. Naomi's feelings about the transformation the «Core (Snake)» in her third Core Slot had caused were decidedly mixed; the toxic green shade and serpentine vertical-slit pupils made it a lot tougher to to pull off her innocent-cute act, but she had to admit they were fun to intimidate unsuspecting people with. Some non-Heroes couldn't even look right at her without obvious discomfort anymore.
"Uh," she said intelligently. "Um."
This was going to be a long trip.
"I collect classic cars," Kaneko offered, trying to toss her a lifeline. "And I like yacht racing."
Of course he did. Naomi revised her estimate for how many lifetimes the ride was going to feel like upwards once again.
"I'm pretty good at it," he added, with what he probably thought was a humble smile.
"Ah," said Professor Rinzler. "Well... um, between teaching and research projects, work occupies most of my time. I suppose I enjoy reading, when I get the chance..."
"Ooh, I like reading too!" Naomi chipped in. "Who's your favorite author?"
For some reason, the question caused the woman to blush deeply. Guiltily, she closed the binder that had been open in her lap. The silence stretched uncomfortably.
Naomi's smile nearly slipped as she fought the urge to bury her head in her hands.
After several hours spent traveling down a series of increasingly narrow, winding and bumpy back-country roads, the vehicle suddenly rolled to a stop. It seemed that they'd finally reached their destination... a gravel lot in the middle of nowhere, starkly illuminated by portable work lights connected to a chugging diesel generator. The remainder of the space was occupied by an odd mix of big military-style trucks and battered old passenger cars. Naomi and Sean stepped out, curiously examining their surroundings.
Whatever lay beyond the recently-cleared parking area was hidden behind a fence of close-set metal slats that appeared to be equally new. Big, serious-looking guard towers manned by big, serious-looking guards flanked the big, serious-looking gate, making the site resemble a prison more than it did an encampment.
God, she thought to herself, this place is miserable. I hope they have showers, at least.
Actually, I hope they have toilets, she amended after a further second of consideration.
"Not the most welcoming hotel I've ever checked into," Kaneko remarked, trying to lighten the mood. "But I'm sure the room service is fantastic."
Nobody laughed.
The security procedures to enter the base camp were far stricter than those at the airport had been. Not just an ID check – one after another, they were each walked through an X-ray machine, wanded with what she thought was a metal detector, and then given an uncomfortably thorough pat-down for good measure. Even Raid Captain Kaneko hadn't been exempted. She was pretty sure she'd caught a characteristic flash of blue display window, too, which meant a Hero stationed in one of the guard towers Inspecting them as they passed.
Whoever was running the show here, they weren't messing around!
Within the perimeter, the accommodations were incredibly basic. Most were simply heavy canvas tents sitting on raised wooden foundations, plus a scattering of trailers that had been converted into temporary offices.
Despite the late hour, the promised fifth and sixth members of their party had been waiting for their arrival. Yet another indication of Kaneko's standing in the DragonFire guild – Naomi was certain that if it had just been her and Sean, they'd have let the meet-and-greet wait until the next morning.
"Shawn Keyes," the first man introduced himself, shaking hands with each of them in turn. Tall and almost painfully thin, with shockingly red hair as long as Naomi's and a splash of freckles across his face, he looked like he was barely out of high school. "Striker, Level 12. I'm looking forward to working with you guys."
"Striker" was an informal bit of guild terminology, telling them that he didn't really have any particular specialization beyond hitting things. Naomi's was "thief", something that she found delightfully ironic given how they'd entered the guild, reflecting her ability to identify and defeat Dungeon traps. Sean, technically, was supposed to be a "vanguard", although he'd assigned his Attributes in a less-than-standard way for the type. Usually they tended to have a lot more Resilience, and a lot less Power.
Between the two of them and Kaneko, they should have all the really important roles covered, regardless of what the other three members of their party brought to the table. Although, she reminded herself, babysitting the low-Level professor might still make things tricky.
"D'Shaun Cunningham," said the second, offering a fist-bump instead of a shake. He was as dark-complexioned as his companion was pale, and even shorter than the raid captain, making up for his lack of height with a genuinely impressive width. The man was shaped like a human bowling pin. Idly, she wondered if he might weigh more than Sean did. "Also a striker, Inspection says I'm Level 10 but I fight like I'm Level 20. Yo, I heard you guys are from Philly, too?"
"Born and raised," Naomi confirmed with a laugh. "What are the odds?"
Kaneko blinked weirdly at that question, quickly glancing away when he noticed her stare.
...what were the odds?
How many members of the guild were named Sean, she asked herself? Or Shawn, or D'Shaun? It couldn't be too many – DragonFire was selective as hell, and despite its international fame and standing, the guild wasn't actually all that big. Of those, how many of them were from Philadelphia?
The raid captain was still pointedly avoiding her inquiring eyes, which certainly seemed to confirm her suspicions. Something fucky was going on here. She turned towards Doctor Rinzler, figuring that the ditzy scientist might prove an easier nut to crack.
"Hey, professor..." she began, only to be cut off by Kaneko putting a hand onto her and Sean's shoulders and steering them towards one of the tents.
"I think we ought to turn in for the night," he announced in a totally-suspicious manner, then loudly yawned. "Hit the hay, get some rest. We've got a big day tomorrow!"
Taking a long step to place himself at the front of the group, he turned and spread his arms theatrically, the shadowed outlines of the towering mountains behind him providing a striking dramatic backdrop.
"So... who's ready to clear a Dungeon?"