Primeval WIP: Critical Situation (43/...)
Title: Critical Situation (43/...)
Author: TalliW
Pairings: Lester/Cutter, Stephen/Lyle, Jenny, Oliver Leek, Connor
Rating: K+
Disclaimer: Primeval is the property of Impossible Pictures. I write just for fun.
Lyle belongs to Fredbassett.
Acknowledgments: Thanks to Fredbassett for beta-reading. I couldn't have done it without you.
Nick hadn't heard from James since the phone call but he had thought of him through most of Sunday, especially every time his arse had twinged from the rough handling he'd given it with the Maglite.
He had seldom been so excited to go to work. Just the thought of seeing James again after what they had done made him giddy.
But when he walked into Lester's office he could feel the anxiety pouring from the man in waves and he tried to calm his exitement.
After a polite greeting, Lester eyed him tensely until Nick took pity on him. With a bashful smile, he declared "I'm here to get my shirt like you promised me."
James relaxed instantly and fished for his briefcase.
Handing Nick the bag containing his worn shirt he started falteringly, "Nick, that call..."
"... was a pleasant surprise. There is no need to feel awkward. We both enjoyed it and that is what counts. By the way the Maglite has now found its place on my bedside cabinet just in case you feel the need for more calls. I hope you will."
Lester's eyes flared up suddenly. "I want something in exchange for the shirt," he croaked.
Nick looked curiously at James and waited for an explanation.
"Just bring me one of your white tee-shirts you wear to bed."
"What do you want with it?" Nick asked, horsely.
"Perhaps I want to wear it myself."
The display of raw hunger on Nick's face made Lester shiver.
"Oh, God, James, don't say something like that to me," Nick groaned, barely able to suppress the desire flaring through his veins at the thought of James wearing his clothes. It was something so intimate it made his head spin.
When he took a step closer, Lester involuntarily took a step back at the feral look in Cutter's eyes and grasped the back of his chair so hard his knuckles turned white. The last time he had seen this look had been the day Cutter had attacked him.
Then Nick gulped and closed his eyes. When he opened them again the wild expression had vanished and had been replaced with a remorseful look.
"I had better go now. I'll bring you the shirt tomorrow," Nick whispered and fled from the office.
Lester bit his lip and then hurried after him. He had to sort this out before new problems arose.
Nick Cutter was standing in his office and was just swallowing another sedative with some soda when Lester stepped in.
"What happened just now? I thought the drugs were working?"
"They are, but sometimes it's not enough. Since I thought I'd lost you at the school it's been worse. But there is no need to be afraid of me. I have everything under control so far. I'd rather die than hurt you again."
"I wasn't afraid of you."
Cutter snorted. "Your reaction was more than obvious."
"Nick, I spent a night in your house voluntarily and after our date I followed you to your place, knowing you hadn't just invited me back for some small talk. That should show how much I trust you. Just sometimes I get flashbacks, especially when you say the same things you said that day or look at me like that. That's what happened a few minutes ago. I hadn't expected you would get so turned on by such a small request."
"Lord, James, nearly everything you say turns me on. You could read the latest agricultural report and I would be turned on by your voice. The added image of you in my tee-shirt was just too much."
Lester chuckled. "Nick, you've really got it bad for me."
Nick Cutter grinned sheepishly, relieved that another awkward situation had been avoided.
Jetrow smirked as Lyle watched Stephen at the firing range, and walked closer to his friend. "He has a good aim but perhaps his posture needs some correction. He could overstrain his shoulder if he has to shoot for a longer time. Don't you want to help him?"
"Quit it, Jeremy."
"Uh, oh, it has been a while since you called me by my proper name. Have I touched a sore point? Are you afraid someone might draw conclusions? Why so shy suddenly, Jon? You haven't been very discreet for the last few days after all."
Lyle tensed at Jetrow's words. "Could it cause problems within the team?" he asked with a hitch in his breath. That had been one of his concerns from the start.
"They are good men and mostly don't give a damn about things people do in private. Even Finn, who always has been a little homophobic has accepted Lester's and Cutter's relationship quite easily. And he would have to be blind not to realise there's something going on between you and Hart as well."
"Fuck. I've always managed to maintain a level of professionalism. But with Stephen my common sense flies right out of the window."
"So it's really serious between you both?"
"I've fallen for him hook, line and sinker. Fortunately it goes both ways."
"That's good. Frankly they will find it easier to accept a real relationship rather than just a sordid affair between their direct superiors. Now give our team leader some advice about his stance. Just don't snog him in front of the others. That could be a little too much for them to take."
Lyle slapped his friend on the back with relief. "Thanks, Jetrow. As much as I sometimes hate your blunt approach it's very helpful most of the time. I'm glad you haven't stopped speaking frankly with me."
"My blunt approach is the reason I'm still just a Staff Sergeant. I'm afraid most of the other officers aren't so fond of people who speak their mind." Jetrow grinned and walked back into the ARC. Jenny had hinted she needed someone to talk about a private matter with and wanted to meet him in the staff canteen.
When he turned around the last time he saw the lieutenant move Hart's arm into the right position and Stephen Hart shifting his hip subtly closer to Lyle.
James Lester came back from another meeting with his boss. The idiots had declined to fund Connor Temple's idea and his mood wasn't the best. On his desk, waiting for him, was a small box with a blue ribbon, and he hesitatingly started to open the gift.
With trembling fingers he touched the familiar key he'd left back on the keyboard the day he'd moved out of Cutter's house which now lay inside the box with a ribbon around it.
"It's just to remind you it isn't only my house or my place. It's yours as well. You don't have to live in a hotel when you have a home," Cutter told him when he walked into the office. "I can go up into the attic when you prefer not to have me too close. You can have the master bedroom and any other room in the house."
"Thank you. I'll think about it." Lester closed his hand around the key, deeply affected, and put it into his pocket before he straightened his back and looked nervously at Cutter.
"Please, can you take a seat? There is something I have to talk about with you."
Nick Cutter sat down and eyed Lester curiously. The man was now completely businesslike again.
"Before the incident I got more data from Helen which I gave to Connor to check over. Temple found out she had changed some information but he could work around it and developed a theory to manipulate the Anomalies."
Nick Cutter draw a breath at the news. He knew Connor and Lester had shared some secrets but with the delicate situation between them, he hadn't dared to ask Lester about it.
"I'm sorry for not telling you straightaway. But so much has happened in the meantime.... I've tried to get an increase in funding to put that project into practice. I didn't want to get your hopes up before I was sure we could finance the research. But unfortunately the Prime Minister didn't deem it necessary to support us in this. We'll have to find another way to buy the equipment. Perhaps you can start to set up a list with Connor of what we need to get this off the ground?"
"Can I see the data?"
The civil servant pushed a thick file in Cutter's direction.
Whilst Cutter flipped through the pages Lester regarded him intensely. "Although I'm a little late I always intended to tell you about this from the start. I haven't forgotten my promise," he said quietly.
Cutter looked up and just nodded in understanding. He put his hand on top of Lester's on the desk and started to gently caress James' fingers.
They were startled by Connor's loud cursing. Normally the young man wasn't a person who used heavy swear words but now he was cursing like a sailor.
Lester rolled his eyes when they arrived on the ground floor and looked over Connor's shoulder to see what had upset the young man so much.
Instead of his usual wallpaper of the spaceship of Star Trek Voyager, a T-rex, emitting small hearts, now decorated his computer desktop with the headline JURASSIC ARC.
"Someone has hacked into our system. He has changed my icons and the sound effects too," Connor whined. He clicked on a velociraptor icon and a roar was heard before the file opened.
"How did he get access, Connor? You assured me the system is protected. Check everything. We have to know what he has done apart from that and what knowledge he has has gained about the project," Lester snarled.
"No system is one hundred percent secure but whoever did this has to be a pro to get through the firewalls and my personal security systems without setting off the alarm. The weird thing is he hasn't done anything else. As far as I can see he only was interested in the personnel files."
"Great, that means he has the home addresses of the whole team now. When did he break into the system?"
Connor tapped furiously on his keyboard and then declared, distressed, "Friday, after hours. 7:22 pm to be exact."
The civil servant rubbed his eyes wearily. "All right. Crisis meeting in fifteen minutes. I want all the staff to be there."
Oliver Leek sucked angrily on his right forefinger where a small piece of fingertip was now missing. The eager velociraptor which snatched him, along with the beef, now lay with broken neck on the other side of the room where Leek had hurled him.
Finally Oliver calmed down and continued to feed the remaining nine predators, currently no higher than his knee and chuckled to himself.
"....At the moment, we don't know who has got access to our computer system. It could have been reporters or someone else with interest in the project or just a hacker kid. With our safety compromised we have to act with care. If anyone encounters something unusual I want to know about it asap. Pay more attention to your environment. Everything could be important. That's all for now," James Lester declared to the alarmed staff members.
The people slowly filed out of the conference room.
Jetrow and Jenny shared a look and Jenny walked over to the civil servant who was watching his nervous employees hurry back to work.
"James, I think we could have a situation..." she began.