"Hey, Clyde, it's Becca...did I catch you at a bad time?"
"No, no. What's wrong?"
"Does something have to be wrong? I'm fine, I promise. I just...you know. Jet lag. Can't sleep. Can't tell time."
"I don't know, does something have to be wrong? Good. Glad you're okay. Glad you weren't around Monday. It was royally fucked."
"What did I miss?"
"Michael Morgan got shot. He's fine now. What are you doing?"
"...Ouch. I can only imagine the chaos in the wake of that. I'm just killing time here--in Singapore. Flights have been delayed and rerouted, so I'm doing a little sightseeing while I wait for my connection. I just...wanted to hear a friendly voice." -she laughs- "In English."
"Ah, yeah, cause I'm all bout the English. You coulda called Mattie if you wanted English English."
"I don't think Mattie likes me very much."
"Why wouldn' she like you? Did you do somethin'? Y'all have a fight?"
"No, I don't think so. Just a hunch. It's probably--nothing. Forget I mentioned it. You're both okay, right? No one else got hurt on Monday?"
"Yeah, we're both okay. Or as okay as we can be. Y'all not gettin' along or something?"
"I guess I haven't talked to her in a while. I'm probably just over-analyzing again, I know we've all been mad busy. I just wanted to talk to you, make sure you knew I hadn't fallen of the end of the world." -slight pause- "I guess I missed you."
"I'm glad. You're right, it's been fuckin' crazy, babe. You are lookin' after yourself, right? Keepin' out of trouble and all that shit?"
"Yeah, it's just the usual check-in, check-out. None of that crazy stalker-has-girl-cornered-on-the-Red Eye stuff, like in the movies. I just get sick of hearing my own voice sometimes."
"I like your voice, babe. Like lots of things bout you." -definitely smiling-
"Oh yeah?" -she might be smiling back- "You might change your mind if you had to listen to the same handful of questions for twelve hours straight. What else do you like about me?"
"Oh, I think you know. You're waitin' for me to ask you what you're wearin' arentcha?"
"Well, if you like my voice that much..." -another soft laugh- "Silk. I'm wrapped in yards of silk...and not much else."
"No? Kimono or somethin'?"
"Or something."
"Somethin' like what?"
"Something much less complicated. Like...a sarong. Just one long piece of silk, wound around my body, and knotted over one shoulder. Why?"
"Curious. Wondered what kinda silk bits you were wearin', I guess."
"My panties are silk too..."
"Oh, really?" -laughs softly- "Gal, you are trouble."
"Mhm..." -there's a soft sigh, and a rustle of fabric, as if she is stretching languidly in her hotel room- "You love it. Now tell me something I don't already know."
"If you stick melons into an improperly calibrated MTN, they will explode, meanin' your head would prolly do the same?"
"I love it when you talk nerdy to me. I don't suppose I can make you promise you won't ever go Quantum Leap on me, though, can I, Chief?"
"We don't have that technology. Heard tell there was a guy, gal, whatever who did, but we don't have it right now."
"Well, that makes me feel a little better. Clyde? You carry your phaser, right?"
"Now and then. It's not one of the sleeker newer models. Damn thing sticks out...why?"
"Next time you go transporter-hopping, if you see any Agency personnel wearing or carrying a charm that looks like a wooden nickel on a red cord, that would be a good time to shoot first and ask questions later--after you douse the thing in salt."
"Douse the charm or the Agency type?" -a pause- "What's goin' on, Becca?"
"The charm." -insert awkward silence here- "I don't know. All I know is that CORE had big plans for the Agency, and I had to do some hocus-pocus so they wouldn't get suspicious. I probably shouldn't say anything, even to you, but I just...needed you to know. That I'm still trying to be good."
"Charms. What do they do? What do they mean?"
"It's bad. Not lethal, bad, but mindfuck bad. They're designed to let the user pull an Obi-Wan. That's why shoot first, before they can psych you out."
"Shit. Okay, so shoot first, ask questions later. Got it. Anything else? You tell anyone else this?"
"Oh, yeah. Believe me. I told Michael right away, when CORE commissioned me to make the damn things, that's why he was all cryptic like 'check on your Agency branch, bring salt.' But with Michael getting shot, and hearing how everything's hit the fan, I just...wanted to make sure you had as much intel as I could give you."
"Got it." -a pause- "Got it. Fuck. Thanks, Becca."
"...fuck, I'm sorry." -sighs- "I really am trouble, aren't I?"
"Babe, we're all in trouble."
"I just wish I wasn't such a two-faced bitch, you know? But I really wasn't that much better before Ruby came along. I'd still be up some random guy, teasing the hell out of him about my silk panties. I just wouldn't be making any tearful confessions about doing magic for the bad guys so that they can bend us over. Maybe I'll get lucky, and they'll all get handsy, and dissolve the spell themselves with the salt from their fingerprints. Bitch didn't tell me there was a way to key all ten of the charms to a master amulet until after I'd already done the deed." -there was a wry laugh, and a catch in her voice as the words tumbled out- "Sometimes I think she's mocking me."
"Don' worry bout it. You told me. That's gotta be a hitch in her plan, right?"
"Yeah, maybe. If the jet-lag and the headaches are any indication, I'd say that's affirmative. You're really the only person I can talk to, aside from the boss, because you brought me in. Well, you and Mattie."
"Okay, babe, you relax, alright? You get some rest, and tell that bitch she can go fuck herself. Which gotta say, would be somethin' of a feat."
"I'll try. Maybe I'll go get a Thai massage or something." -laughs- "Thanks so much for that lovely visual. Remind me to send you some of the naughty pictures from my date with Jax last weekend as a thank-you gift."
"Nah, I'll pass. Think I'll just let that go, but thanks for the temptin' offer." -laughs softly-
"I'm kidding." -pause- "I wish you were here. I feel safer around you."
"Babe, I wish you were closer too. Hate to say it, but it's gettin' late. Need to go to bed. You get home safe, okay?"
"Yeah. I will, I promise. Get some sleep. I'll try to close my eyes for a while before I have to pack my bags again."