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Post by Diana Ward on Nov 6, 2016 12:16:37 GMT -5
Diana led them back to the cabin, ignoring the look one of the attendants gave them as they emerged from the closet. If they weren't planning on leaving the cruise soon she was sure they would try and kick them out for all the trouble they had caused.
"It should be ready by now." she said opening the cabin door. She went to her side closet and opened it pulling out a vial, "Polyjuice potion. He's expecting Ling, so Ling has to be there. One of us distracts him, the other takes him out." it was simple, clean, and of course there was a million things that could go wrong but it was the best she could do on short notice.
"We'll set up a disapparation jinx once the meeting starts. Now do you want to be bait or should I?"
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Post by Christian Ward on Nov 6, 2016 13:45:51 GMT -5
Christian raised his eyebrows at her, impressed. Christian had been so preoccupied with himself that he had completely dropped the ball on this meeting. It was very uncharacteristic of him. But Diana hadn't skipped a beat. He'd have to compliment her on that. Later. Probably during a fight to get her to shut up.
"I've already conceded to you being bait once before," he said remembering Diana's titillating mission posing as an escort in which she took down several men in just lingerie. Christian took the potion from Diana.
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Post by Diana Ward on Nov 6, 2016 14:18:38 GMT -5
She let it go easily enough, though her hand lingered on his. There was an unspoken look in her eye tat told him to be careful.
She turned away from him then and pulled some tactical clothing from the gear that Christian had packed. She smiled briefly not up to thanking him for his thoughtfulness but inwardly admitting that it had come in handy. She stripped quickly not paying attention to her nakedness while she changed.
"We'll be within range in twenty minutes or so for him to apparate here. I imagine he'll come to you, but not here. I arranged a private conference room as back up on the upper deck, that's as good a place as any. Room 225."
She looked at him while he still had his face and smiled grabbing him by the back of the neck and pulling him toward her for deep but brief kiss, "I'm going to go set up. Be careful, don't make me a widow." she teased.
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Post by Christian Ward on Nov 6, 2016 14:40:22 GMT -5
Perhaps it was the fact that they had spent most of the week practically ignoring each other or maybe it was the danger of the oncoming mission that they'd barely discussed, but Christian sensed a shift in the way they communicated. If that didn't throw him off his game, his next comment surely would.
"Don't worry. If I go down you're coming with me, remember?" The teasing came naturally but he instantly felt the weight of their situation as soon as the words left his mouth. Every time he put his life on the line he was now putting Diana's life at risk too. He pulled her back for another kiss before he let her go and smacked her buttocks for good measure.
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Post by Diana Ward on Nov 6, 2016 14:50:35 GMT -5
She brought a hand up to his face. She felt the shift as well. They could yell at teach other, hurt each other, and tear each other down, hell sometimes they did that before breakfast, but at the end of the day what they felt was undeniable.
"Not gonna happen." she smiled, "We're too pretty to die." she wouldn't let him be killed anyway. She turned on her heel smiling at the familiar sting of his hand. Whether they acknowledged it or not they had come a long way.
She left him then to set up a vantage point and clean up any details of her plan.
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Post by Christian Ward on Nov 6, 2016 15:26:53 GMT -5
Christian looked at the vial in his hand, still impressed that Diana had managed to not only stay on target while they fumed at each other, but also that she had been able to put it all together right under his nose without his knowing. She certainly had plenty of time, as he had spent most of their cruise at the bar, but it was surprising nonetheless.
The potion was thick, a dark blue color that looked like the a cloudy night's sky. It had a bitter taste to it, but it wasn't as foul as Christian was expecting. Polyjuice Potion took on the essence of the person who was being mimicked, and while not everything about Ling's essence was cheery, Christian was unnerved by how decidedly not revolting it felt on the way down.
Instantly his stomach was in knots, twisting and turning as he changed. The sensation was enough to make Christian grasp the back of the nearby chair and lean over in pain. His skin was burning and his muscles shook. When the sensation receded, Christian was felt shorter and leaner. Ling kept in shape but he wasn't as active as Christian was, and his body type showed it. Christian didn't feel as strong in this body.
Christian rummaged through Ling's things that were still hanging in the closet and changed into one of the man's suits. When he left the cabin he was the spitting image of Ling, right down to the freshly shined shoes and the diamond cuff links. He scanned the room numbers to determine which direction to go, then headed to room 225.
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Post by Diana Ward on Nov 6, 2016 15:35:31 GMT -5
Diana saw him as he entered the room. She was stationed just outside with a sniper rifle.
"Nice suit." she said her voice carrying to him. He would be able to hear her speaking in his mind, and he could reply in turn. It was a charm she had been working on for a while, though she didn't tell him. A part of her wanted to see his reaction the first time she used it.
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Post by Christian Ward on Nov 6, 2016 15:44:27 GMT -5
He wanted to scold her for not being in position but he didn't actually see her. But her voice was so clear that it sounded as though she was speaking right into his ear. In his head, really. Christian turned slowly, scanning for her hiding spot. Where are you? he thought, seemingly to himself.
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Post by Diana Ward on Nov 6, 2016 15:55:58 GMT -5
"Look down." she said placing the laser sight on him. A red dot appeared on his chest then blinked a few times before disappearing.
"Ling's a little more flashy though, I much prefer your classic tastes."
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Post by Christian Ward on Nov 6, 2016 16:20:57 GMT -5
"Very funny," he said, looking up from the red laser point to the direction where she would be stationed. Christian realized she had charmed him somehow, so their voices wouldn't be required to communicate with each other. That was very clever, as really their only regular mode of communication would have been highly inappropriate in the given situation.
I prefer your taste, he thought in her direction, but their exchange was cut short by sounds of movement just outside the door.
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Post by Diana Ward on Nov 6, 2016 16:36:45 GMT -5
Diana kept her retort to herself as she saw him stiffen. This was it. She turned the laser off and waited for the prey to show himself. Then she saw him. It was the same man from before when they had tried to take out Sanchez. He saw as he approached another gentleman, they disappeared for a moment and then the assassin continued on while the other man headed toward the same room as Christian.
"Something's going on." she said her heart pounding, she knew something was wrong, "Get out of there!"
But everything afterward happened too quickly. The door opened a tall business man walked in and approached Christian. He took off his jacket to reveal a muggle bomb strapped to his chest and a trigger in his palm.
Diana moved faster than she had ever moved before. The last image she saw was the stranger lifting the bomb trigger.
An explosion rocked the vessel and she fell to the ground.
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Post by Christian Ward on Nov 6, 2016 17:11:27 GMT -5
Christian interpreted Diana's initial warning as simply nerves over their hastily planned mission, hearing the terror in her voice too late. A man entered the room and swiftly approached Christian, thinking he was Ling. The man was emotionless, clearly under the Imperius Curse, as he striped off his coat revealing a rather impressively large bomb strapped to his chest.
There was no reasoning with an Imperioed man. Christian had enough time to run and throw a shield charm around him before the blast. He was thrown to the ground from the force of the explosion as debris rained down over him.
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Post by Diana Ward on Nov 6, 2016 17:25:17 GMT -5
The impact at ehich she was thrown to the ground jarred her bones. It took her a moment to get back to her feet. Debris was falling everywhere, there was mass hysteria and people running away from the explosion. Diana felt her heart beating, the blood pounding in her ears.
"Christian!" She screamed her feet moving as quickly as before. She forgot their lives were tethered and ran head first into the fray fearing the worst.
"Christian?!"
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Post by Christian Ward on Nov 6, 2016 17:50:21 GMT -5
He was lying under a pile of rubble, large pieces of the wall having collapsed around him. It was silent as he pushed heavy pieces of wood and steel off him. A high pitched buzz began to ring in his ear, growing steadily louder until it was deafening. All around was chaos, people running from the terror though they were trapped by the water that surrounded the ship.
Christian called out for Diana but couldn't hear his voice over the ringing in his ears. His foot was pinned under a metal door that had been blown on top of him, but even as he struggled to free himself he continued to call for Diana. His voice sounded muffled as the ringing subsided and finally he was met with the sounds of the chaos around him.
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Post by Diana Ward on Nov 6, 2016 18:02:55 GMT -5
Diana stopped moving. Her training telling her to stay calm was failing her. She was praying now, though she wasn't sure she still believed in a God, she made all kinds of deals with him if Christian could just be alive when she found him. Suddenly she remembered that their lives were connected, if she was alive then so was he. Then she heard it.
It was hard to make out with the people screaming and running she could hear her name being called. She turned and headed for the sound, it took her a few more minutes to find him, but the sight of him was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.
"Christian! I'm here!" she called moving toward him carefully or not so carefully making her way to where he was avoiding debris as best she could. She removed her wand to levitate the metal door off of him then fell to the ground next to him.
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Post by Christian Ward on Nov 6, 2016 18:19:47 GMT -5
The sense of relief he felt when Diana appeared was a something completely unknown to him. He had worried that the worst had happened to her, forgetting in the moment that they were bonded to each other. He felt a rush of emotion sweep over him at the sight of her and he exclaimed "thank Merlin," as she approached.
When his foot was freed from the weight of the door he moved to Diana and grabbed her. "Are you hurt?" he asked roughly, his voice deep with frustration. They had been foolish in their hasty plan, but Christian was simply too pleased that she was alive to yell at her. Somewhere under the pile behind him was his wand and the suit jacket that he had pulled off after his natural form returned and he was once again too muscular to move freely in it.
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Post by Diana Ward on Nov 6, 2016 18:26:20 GMT -5
Diana grabbed at him as he grabbed at her. They could say whatever they wanted, but this moment was real. The relief they felt at seeing each other, holding each other, the fear they had when they thought the other was dead. It was that love that brought them to make such vows. Their hearts knew them better than their heads did, but all too often they relied on logic to get them through the day.
She didn't answer him when he asked if she was alright, because the truth was she wasn't. The devastation she had felt in seeing that bomb go off and being certain Christian was dead was still running through her. She was shaking and crying from the relief of his being relatively unharmed.
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Post by Christian Ward on Nov 6, 2016 18:41:04 GMT -5
She was crying but not out of any physical pain. Christian took that as the answer to his question. They needed to get out of there as quickly as possible. Being at the center of the blast would draw attention, once the madness died down enough. And whomever had Imperioed the bomber may still have been nearby, watching them. Christian hadn't seen the assassin, but it was clear from his brief meeting with the bomber that the mystery board member had no plans to meet with Ling in person.
"Summon my wand, I lost it in the blast."
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Post by Diana Ward on Nov 6, 2016 18:59:10 GMT -5
"Accio wand!" she said after a few deep breaths. After Christian's wand was securely grasped she held onto him and apparated back to his flat.
Once she felt familiar ground beneath her she let go of him and left the room. She was experiencing a bit of an emotional breakdown and didn't want Christian to witness it. It suddenly occurred to her that she was tethered to this man whether they were bonded or not. His death would ruin her. It had ruined her. He was still alive, but in the moment the room exploded she lost him. For the whole five minutes it took to reach him, he was dead and she couldn't handle it.
She was in the hallway now pacing back and forth, hyperventilating with emotion and sobs that shook her entire body.
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Post by Christian Ward on Nov 6, 2016 19:27:19 GMT -5
Christian internalized the same emotions as Diana but produced very different responses. Once they were in the safety of his home and Diana had run out of the room Christian let loose a flurry of obscenities as he tore apart his office.
He was furious at himself for putting Diana in such a situation. If he had died in the blast with the bomber then Diana would have perished too. The thought of it crushed his soul and he yelled into the heavens like a beast in pain. It was now more important than ever that they find a way to separate themselves from each other. He couldn't risk Diana's life every time he had a job. The thought of it made him throw his desk lamp through the window.
He stood there among the broken glass and torn books, breathing heavily. His fists clenched tight and a scowl fixed to his face. Blood dripped down his leg where he had crushed by the door, a small pool collecting at his foot. His thoughts were only of Diana, and he looked to the ceiling as he heard her pacing and crying in the hallway upstairs.
He took the steps two at a time to reach her faster. He grabbed her, stopping her pacing as his arms swallowed her. "I'm sorry," he said against her ear.
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