AU: Magnetism

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

This was the most ridiculous thing to happen since joining up with the organisation years ago.

It was always a type of dance; that which spun an inevitable cycle. One agent would work with one associate anywhere from a week to a year, but eventually tides were set to change. For the last eighteen months, Lucy had been paired with the Chevalier agent known only as Dom. As one of their highest ranking agents, he got to throw his weight around to a certain extent; the last time they tried to initiate talks of separation, he bartered a deal. The second a mission went awry, they could have her. Anyone could have her.

Clever as he was, he knew how outweighed his terms were for their company. They agreed, and thus far, it had bought her another six months at his side.

Because they were breaking records; their track was completely stellar, so certain rules had been bent in order to accommodate the proverbial perfect game the pair were hitting.

But every good thing - every perfect thing - was set to finish.

Sitting in the most spacious office available to the highest ranked individual in the organisation, Lucy crossed her legs, hands together in her lap with her arms settled on the rests at either side. Her eyes stared at the dark liquid in the glass on the desk in front of her, but she wouldn't drink. Not unless he touched his first.

Poured from the same bottle as they were.

"Admittedly, we never expected your success rate to stay at one-hundred percent." They were addressing him, first. After all, he was the primary individual here. All Lucy could give was a small raise of her chin a fraction. She hadn't the means to express that they only received such accolades together; apart, they were still above average, but no duo was this good. "Surely you understand that we can't continue to risk it."

[Dominique Chevalier]

Some agents didn't like having anyone assigned to work with them. It placed a certain amount of constraint on oneself when one had to go through someone for every update, every booking, etc. Dom had shared this opinion, at first. And then he'd been paired with an Australian girl on a mission in Budapest. Things had gone wrong. She hadn't been one of them, and he'd gotten the extraction. When he'd moved on and returned to France, she had come with him.

Dom was the best at what he did. He knew what that looked like.

That was what made this entire situation an inexcusable waste of their time.

"This is ridiculous," he said, his eyes cold and flat. "Our numbers speak for themselves, and no one should be wanting to risk that." He spoke with finality as he lea; the subject was to be closed, now. They had better things to be doing, and though he did not so much as glance in her direction, Dominique shifted the arm nearest her, the smallest of movements towards her.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Dark eyes searched the profile of the individual she'd come to know best over the past year and a half. From his cold refusal to his cold indifference to his cold acceptance. Cold, cold, cold; every inch of a stone-chiselled form during every step they took together. Dom offered conviction against a slightly unsteady voice. They were nervous to dismantle their top agent, and they had a right to feel that way.

"You have to understand-"

A small raise of her hand, then. The nearest to his side. A quiet interjection and a means to disconnect her intertwined fingers.

"Don't speak for him."

"Excuse me?" Their directer replied with a coarse quality, hands pressed to the table's edge.

"He doesn't like - nor does he need - to be spoken for." Lucy explained, her tone fighting off an abrupt finish. "He prefers to speak for himself."

And really, who didn't?

"There's a method of genius to splitting the two of you up." He offered finally, eyebrows lowering to attempt a cooler demeanour. But nothing could be quite as cold as he. "Surely-" He cut himself off before the Australian could raise a finger to his repetitive state, "For the productivity of the agency, reassigning you can bolster other fallen success rates." Ah, appealing to his ego. Leaning back in her seat, Lucy dragged her fingertips along the length of her jaw slowly. Certainly a far better attempt at persuasion than searching for some kind of mutual understanding.