Nick and AJ were waiting for Agent Bryant in the LaGuardia airport the next morning, like Bryant had requested. There was no sign of the officer anywhere in the waiting area as far as either of them could tell so far, and they'd been sitting in those plastic blue bucket seats for about an hour. Nick had his iPod on, humming to the music, lost in his own little world. He was looking every direction except towards AJ, who was rustling through his duffle back -- Nick's, not his own -- trying to find a pack of gum.
"Hello boys," came Bryant's voice at last. AJ stood and grabbed both duffles from the floor. Nick didn't notice Bryant had arrived, too deep into his music. Bryant glanced at Nick, "Uh..." then looked at AJ, "Well it's good to see you again."
"You, too," AJ said.
That's when he saw her. She was drop. dead. goregeous. AJ was sure his breath was taken away, in that cheesy I-Think-I'm-In-Love sense of the phrase. She had long jet black hair, cut in layers with lots and lots of curls. She had square framed glasses, making her look smart and classy, yet fun at the same time. And a little bit kinky. She wore an olive green skirt suit which reflected the green in her hazel colored eyes. She had an excellent shape, a beautiful butt AJ couldn't help but notice, and her cheeks had that soft fuzziness on them that wasn't like facial hair, more like the skin of a peach, which made you want to press your cheek against hers and rub. He swallowed.
Bryant noticed his stare and waved a hand to her. "This is my colleague, Ivana," he introduced her.
She reached out a delicate, gorgeous hand, and AJ took it, shaking it firmly. "Hello, I'm Ivana Focque," she said delicately.
AJ was sure he'd misheard, and smiled, "What?"
"Ivana Focque," she repeated, smiling.
AJ smiled a dirty grin, "You don't have to be so blunt about it, sugar... you had me at hello." Bryant's eyes widened.
Luckily for AJ, it was at this moment when Nick realized they'd been joined and pulled his earbuds out. "Hey!!" he grinned, "Agent Bryant! Dawg!! Long time no see!!" He hugged the agent, who looked deeply uncomfortable. Ivana watched, one eyebrow raised.
Bryant patted Nick's back and pulled away, "I was just introducing AJ to my new colleague," he said, waving a hand to Ivana. "She's from the European branch that we'll be working with once we get to France."
Ivana stuck out her hand to Nick, "Ivana Focque."
Nick stared at her hand and looked up at her. "Excuse me?"
"Ivana Focque."
His face reddened and he started laughing. "I'm... Nick.. Nick Carter," he answered. She lowered her hand, realizing he wasn't going to take it, and smiled tightly.
Agent Bryant covered his face, "Oh my God. I'm sorry, Detective Focque, please excuse these two..." he glared at Nick and AJ.
Nick said defensively, "Hey I didn't do anything!"
"Yet," Bryant injected.
"It's okay," Ivana said, "I get that joke often..." she smiled directly at AJ, "And from Mr. McLean of the Backstreet Boys, I'm not going to complain." AJ beamed, pleased with himself. Bryant seemed unneasy.
As they were walking through the airport towards the gate they'd be boarding the France-bound plane from, Bryant edged closer to AJ. "I don't want to find out that you've slept with my co-worker," Bryant whispered in a warning tone to him. "This is purely a business trip, even for you. Do not make it sexually charged. This case is about solving six murders and bringing justice to families who are missing members because of a cold blooded killer."
AJ nodded, "Yes sir."
"I mean it," Bryant reaffirmed before stepping forward and leaving AJ behind, having said what he needed to say.
Now... anyone who knows AJ knows this was where Bryant made his biggest mistake. And maybe if Bryant hadn't done this, the whole case would've worked out a lot differently. Who knows? All I can tell you for the time being is that knowing that Bryant DIDN'T want AJ to hook up with Ivana Focque made AJ all that much more determined TO hook up with her. It was now inevitable that he would fall in love with her, passionately and ravenously, and would probably forget about her the following morning. Thanks to Bryant's warning... AJ now HAD to have the girl.
-----
On the plane, AJ and Nick sat next to each other, while Bryant and Ivana were three seats forward and on the right handside of the plane. AJ had taken the window seat at Nick's insistance that if he was that close to the window he'd puke everywhere. AJ had been hoping to get the aisle seat so it would be easier to watch Ivana during the flight. He was craning his neck trying to see over a fat drooling man that sat in front of Nick, asleep and snoring loudly. Nick was flipping through a complimentary copy of National Geographic magazine.
Suddenly AJ's view of Ivana was blocked with a page from the magazine featuring a mega-upclose picture of an ugly looking spider - all tanish brown with red and brown striped legs that were huge and looked like they were trying to reach out and grab AJ's face. AJ scowled, "What the hell, Nick." He waved the magazine away.
"Dude, dude..." Nick nudged AJ excitedly, "No check it out... This spider, right? It's called a Golden Orb Spider."
"That's great, Nick," AJ answered, straining to look at Ivana again.
"Guess why," Nick suggestion.
AJ shruggd, "Why?" he asked distractedly.
"You gotta guess, dude," Nick insisted, "C'mon, guess!"
"Because it's round," AJ answered robotically, trying to ignore Nick.
"NO!" Nick squealed, "It's called that because it craps gold!!!!"
That was enough to get AJ's attention off the girl. "What??"
Nick was grinning now. "It shits gold! How sweet is that??"
AJ hated spiders, especially ones that looked all creepy and evil like that one did, but... then again... "I wish I crapped gold," AJ replied.
Nick nodded enthusiastically, "I know, right???" He looked at the picture with a dopey grin on his face. "Dude, AJ.. AJ.. Next time that someone asks me that stupid question about what animal I'd be if I could be any animal in the world... Next time someone asks me that I'm gonna say a golden orb spider cos I could buy uber awesome stuff with my POOP."
AJ looked at Nick, eyebrow raised, and laughed, "You, Carter, are a sick fucker." He shook his head and Nick grinned. "That would be pretty sweet, though," AJ relented. "Shittin' gold I mean. Not being a spider. If I was a spider, I'd scare the crap out of myself."
"Well... you'd be rich anyways," Nick laughed.
AJ smirked. "Fo' shizzle, muh Nizzle," he agreed.
"Word," Nick answered, doing the goofy hand sign. "Word, my brotha."
Saving the Day for Blondes 2: The Amazing Story of How Nick Apprehended The Infamous Masquerade Murderer Without ANY Caffeine In His Body! by Pengi
