fandomtownies | Fourth Sin, Tuesday Night

Fourth Sin, Tuesday Night

Jarod and the still-unnamed-kitten whom he'd taken to calling "M" (since she seemed to react better to names with that letter) were sitting behind the desk. Christmas had been quiet, but that suited him well. He did miss Parker, though, and hoped she was having a good time in the Bahamas with her father.

He slid a picture of a beautiful red-headed woman out of the manila envelope. "Mom." He wasn't sure how he was ever going to repay Sydney for this.

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GOB walked into the Sin, figuring that he'd actually get a chance to talk to Miho behind the desk. Then he saw Jarod there. It always made him a little nervous to do business here with his coworker from Caritas at the desk.

Not that mild discomfort was going to stop him once he walked in the front door. "Hey, Jarod! How are you tonight?"

Jarod looked up from the picture and smiled. "Doing well, thank you, GOB. What can I do for you this evening?"

"Cute kitten," GOB said quickly. No small talk. Just in, out, pay, done. Except maybe not described in exactly that way. Or that quickly. It really was an adorable kitten, though. He mentally *ahemed*

"Who's available tonight?" he asked.

"Thanks. She doesn't have a name yet, but we're working on it." Jarod grabbed the kitten just before she wandered off the edge of the desk, then checked the appointment book.

"Um, Kit's available, or Goldie." He frowned. "Everyone else is already occupied. Probably because of the holiday."

"You need a name, eh? How about 'Marta?'" GOB asked.

"I'll go with Goldie tonight." Aside from the thing with the kitten, this was going well. Little time at the desk, he was almost ready to go to a room. It would be a shame if he were somehow delayed from going back.

"Marta?" Jarod looked at the kitten. "Are you a Marta?" The kitten ignored him completely and began to play with the cord on the computer. "Hmmm."

"Goldie it is, then," he said, calling up to the girl's room to make sure she was available. After a short conversation, he hung up the phone and gestured towards the stairwell with his chin. "Go right on up, she's waiting for you."

GOB seemed stunned. No exceessive smalltalk. No delays. No fear of a slicing from Miho if he took a step too soon. No utter disinterest in anything he had to say.

He was almost disappointed. Then he remembered that he could go up to Goldie's room, so the almost disappointment faded for now. "I'll see you later, Jarod," he said.

"Have a nice night, GOB." Jarod said, then went back to looking at his picture. GOB was a nice enough guy, and Goldie could take care of herself.

She was not actually miserable, but she wasn't having a good time. Nope. So calling Jarod was all about curiosity, not loneliness or boredom. Right.

*riiiiiiiing*

The kitten jumped about six inches up in the air when the phone rang and promptly skittered off the desk onto the floor.

Jarod bent over to pick her up and spoke to her in soothing tones until her back went down. He was chuckling as he picked up the phone. "Good evening, Fourth Sin."

"It's me. How was your Christmas?"

Parker looked over the blue bay from the tenth floor balcony, and checked to be sure no one at the party was going to interrupt her call.

"Quiet." He smiled. "Why aren't you out seducing cabana boys?"

"They're all in for the night. It's just very manly waiters who are too busy serving champagne to respond to anything more than phone numbers slipped in their pockets," Parker responded, smiling. "Plus, I'm going back to Blue Cove tomorrow. It's barely worth the effort."

Jarod shifted in his seat and watched M bat a milk ring around the counter.

"You're slipping, Parker," he smirked. "Did you have a good time, at least?"

"I got a tan, I got a caftan, I went windsurfing. I had a good time." She stared at the sunset. "I'm just bored now. And my father got me another car for my birthday, since he won't be there next week. How's the cat? Any zombies attack? Should I stay in Blue Cove, or is it going to be interesting when I come back?"

Jarod chuckled at the idea of Parker in a caftan. Definitely not her normal attire. "Bored? How so?"

Privately, he thought that Parker didn't need another car and would much have preferred her father's company, but knew she'd never, never say so. He sighed. "What kind of car?"

"M's fine." He tickled the kitten, who was sleeping. She nipped at his finger. "No zombies, but there was a weird thing with the ducks a few days ago." He grimaced. "I don't think you should stay in Blue Cove."

"Ducks? Those ducks have always been a little weird. Good to know I have something to look forward to." Parker probably sounded a lot more cheerful at the thought of trouble. "And it's a blue Miata. I didn't have the heart to tell him the rules about cars at the school. I can't decide whether to bring it and pay storage on two cars or trade the Porsche out."

"M? As in James Bond's boss? You named the kitten after a spy queen?" Parker laughed. "You get a spy kitten, I get drunken execs. There is no justice here."

"I don't know what was going on, but a bunch of them flew out of one of the stores the other day. That can't be normal."

He walked over and looked out the window, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. "Which one do you like better? I can't imagine why you'd want two cars here if you can't drive either of them."

"Who's James Bond?" He held the purring kitten close to the phone so Parker could hear her. "We're working through the alphabet. So far, she likes M names best."

"Road trip caravan?" Parker grimaced. "No, you're not wrong. I just hate to tell him the car's of no use to me at school. I'll... think of something."

"I'm getting you a James Bond DVD when I get back. I want to hear your reaction to his movies." She snickered. "That should be entertaining."

"And of course she likes M best. It's the best letter there is," Parker said slyly.

"I'm sure you will. You're a smart girl and very creative."

He wasn't sure what to say about the James Bond movie thing. He eyed the kitten suspiciously. "Did you brainwash the cat while she was with you?"

For once, she managed *not* to get defensive when Jarodsaid she was smart; maybe the phone helped. That, and the genuine concern about the brainwashing.

"Agent M? Proceed with plans as ordered. Tomorrow? Execute plan C-nine-alpha. With sleep disorder."

Chortling, Parker added, "I should go. Dad's signaling me. Joy. I'll see you on Friday. Tell Lorne I said hi. And don't worry, M is fully cognizant of all of her actions. We just have an agreement. That's all."

Jarod laughed and held the now purring kitten up to the phone. "Contrary little thing."

"Sleep disorder? Is that where she wakes me up by sitting on my forehead and putting her feet in my eyes? Because she's getting quite good at that. You should be proud."

"Have a good time, and I'll see you when you get back. Stop making secret pacts with my cat."

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Fourth Sin, Tuesday Night

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