#and I have had too many near misses with my laptop in prior travel situations

[sarasa-cat]

Successful steamdeck experiments so far:

[X] CP2077 load and runs. Fixed stuttering vocal audio by turning off controller vibration (weird but truth). Works with wireless KBM and with my PS5 controller.

[X] Found where screenshots are stored in the file system (when switching over to Linux) for both the in-game photo tool and the steamdeck hardware controlled screenshot tool.

[X] Can use Steamdeck as an actual desktop computer (with small screen) and can access the internet, tumblr, etc., for sharing goodies.

[X] Explored the file structure for where steam installs games on the steam deck. Prep’ing to try using mods (tomorrow)

Open Questions:

[?] Why is CP77’s in game photo mode a bug fest when i press “take photo”? Obviously, i have a work around that also allows me to directly upload to my steam account in the cloud

[?] How to get steam link working with my iPad. My iPad insists ONLY on seeing my gaming machine and not the steamdeck. HM. I do know I can force it by turning off iPad’s wireless network and connecting it to the steamdeck via a wired Ethernet cable and the adapters sitting on my desk. That’s a later thing. Tonight? Tomorrow? TBD.

To do:

[ ] Install BG3 while I am sleeping (lol— it will take hours)

[ ] Install some other games that are lighter weight

[ ] Install and format the SD card that arrived a few hours ago

[ ] Set up my SDE tools on the extra space that. The SD card will provide

[ ] Bang on steam link until it works with my iPad Pro (bigger screen!)

[ ] Finish replicating the set up of some guy on YT who uses his iPad Pro + Steamdeck as his lightweight travel laptop for software dev when flying to other places — he inspired me to do this so, it better work!! ;)

[ ] Play some more CP77 while tweaking settings until it is smooth and buttery. Or as smooth and buttery as possible. Honestly, it feels good.

[katsuriin]

|distracting kisses ∙ shouta aizawa|

november fifteenth  ∙ day 8

prompt: distracting kisses from someone that are meant to stop the other person from finishing their work, and give them kisses instead.

warnings/themes: pro hero/teacher!reader

[back to fluffvember masterlist?]

You made your way up the stairs quickly. Nothing had happened as such, you just craved the feeling of home a little more than usual today. The students had been rowdy today, excited for the nearing holidays as they laughed and bickered amongst each other throughout their lessons. You felt a strange sense of attachment to them, watching them in their last couple of years of childhood and growing into the dignified heroes they were going to become-and also watching Kaminari drop his pencil three times in the space of five minutes until Bakugou taped it to his hand none too gently with Sero's tape. You smiled when you remembered their antics, unlocking the door to the apartment and sighing contently as you finally slip off your shoes. "I'm home" you say quietly, before venturing further into the apartment to the small study. You knew he'd be in there, just not in the same position you'd seen him in 8 hours prior.

"Shouta, please tell me you've moved a muscle other than your hands at all today." He acknowledged you then, his eyes travelling to your figure leaning against the doorframe. "I moved my head." You scowl at him as the ghost of a smile appears on his face. The desk isn't too cluttered, his coffee mug empty and laptop open with plays of the recent practical test replaying on the screen. Making your way over to him, you drape yourself on the back of his chair, resting your chin on his hair gently whilst wrapping your arms around his shoulder. He relaxes under your touch, placing his pen down to study the screen instead. "You know, I think I know better than anyone that we want what's best for them, but you are gonna have to give a couple of failing grades Shouta." You say as you watch a pixelated Uraraka struggle after using her quirk for too long whilst Mineta flees the scene. It warms your heart really, how your boyfriend seemed to be incapable of giving anything lower than a C grade to his students. He was tough on them in person, but only you got to see him when his eyes never leave the computer screen noting down the tiniest actions that could show initiative or good hero skills. You smiled softly as he brings up his hand to rest on yours. "They've had it tough anyway, too tough in fact. They all deserve to make it as heroes and I don't want to be the one to hold them back from that." His words come out mumbled but clear all at the same time. It's obvious he's repeated them many times and you can't help but smile wider. Unsnaking your arms from around him, instead you push his chair so he's swivelled around to see you.His tired, bloodshot eyes meet yours as you stare him down. "You need a break. How long have you been working?" He smirks a little before attempting to face his desk again. You don't let him, deciding to situate yourself on his lap instead. His arms wrap around you immediately despite the deadpan expression on his face. "I'm fine, there's only 3 more reports to do." You tuck a strand of his hair behind his ear, not missing the way he slightly leaned into your touch. "Then you can do them tomorrow after a decent night's rest love" He closes his eyes and you know his defence is slowly crumbling. Deciding he needs a little more persuasion, you cup his face, stubble prickly against your hands. You press kisses on his eyelids first, prompting him to keep them closed. His hands knead small, continuous circles into your waist, massaging the muscles there as you continue in your ministrations. You kiss inbetween his eyebrows, giggling as he scrunches his nose up a little. The tense set of his jaw seems to come undone as you smooth out his face with your fingers, kissing all over until all that's left are his lips.  He was patient through it all, letting you do as you please which is probably why you weren't expecting him to press you closer to him. His hand guiding you from it's place on your lower back and his lips meeting yours gently. Eyes falling shut you let him take the lead, his arms circling around you as he tilts his face a little. His lips are a little chapped as they move against yours languidly. You can practically feel what little tension there was left, leave his shoulders as you pull away, his lips still pouted. He's sleepy; you can see it in the way his eyes droop a little more than usual. For the umpteenth time that night, your heart warms a little as you stand, taking him by the hand and quickly turning his laptop off. He lets you lead him to your bedroom, eyes falling shut the second his head hits the pillow.

fluffvember taglist: @deephasoceanmagic @dreamykou​ @jmeyerss​ @anarchytheselfshipper​ @omg-haikyuu​ @aprettyfruit​ @patricia-ceballos​ @thembo-kuto​ @strawb3rry-babe​

[maevefiction]

Your Light in the Mist - Chapter 5

I dropped my fork. “I’m sorry, I must have heard that wrong, because it sounded like you just asked me to become your employee.” Luke’s brow lifted.

“No, you heard it absolutely correctly. I did ask you to come work for me. For Prosper. Initially as Tom’s social media manager, and when that’s squared away, as Prosper’s social media director.” So many things I wanted to include in my reply instantaneously flooded my brain, but, as usual, it was miles ahead of my mouth and lord knew what would come out if I spoke. I decided taking another bite of my cannoli while they fell back in sync was the best course of action. Chewing slowly, I looked back and forth from Tom to Luke, then swallowed. I chose my words carefully, hoping to not be offensive.  

“Luke, I’m incredibly appreciative, but normally my role is to provide plans for social media managers and directors, which they in turn implement while working one-on-one with their clients. Direct client management isn’t really something I’ve done in a number of years, and I’m not sure it’s something I’m interested in, or even capable of doing again.” He fished some papers out of his bag and pushed them across the table.

“Anne Rice says you’re capable.” I snatched them up, holding in my hand a copy of my resume as well as an email from Anne, singing my praises. It appeared to have been sent earlier in the day. I laughed softly. Client testimonials were usually all anyone cared about, but I kept my resume posted on my website just in case. I didn’t think anyone had ever even looked at it, never mind taken the time to contact my former employers.

“Nice detective work, Luke. I’m impressed. But not only was that more than ten years ago, Anne doesn’t count. She has to say nice things…she’s a friend of the family.” He looked puzzled. “My parents owned a home right down the street from her in the Garden District of New Orleans. When she got wind of my new business venture she volunteered to be my guinea pig.”

Tom leaned forward, scrutinizing me skeptically. “You’re from New Orleans?” I nodded and slipped into an exaggerated southern drawl.

“Born and raised. Even rode on some Mardi Gras floats.” I shrugged and switched back to my regular dialect. “I never had a strong accent, and I’ve lived in New York nearly as long as I did in New Orleans, so it’s faded almost completely.”

Luke pointed his index finger at me. “You should know that not only did she reply to my email immediately, she gave me her number so we could speak. We talked for a good twenty minutes, and she told me she credits you with all of her social media success, including the idea for ‘People of the Page’.  She said you were the only one who managed to help her not only understand, but embrace the technology that allowed her to form deeper connections with her legion of fans. And, she wishes she could have held on to you forever, but she didn’t want to keep you from your dream.” He paused for a moment. I made no comment. “According to your resume, you’re also proficient in website design, graphic design and photography, which are additional assets you’d bring to the company. I’m assuming you do your own site?”

“Correct.” I opened my laptop, started Firefox, pulled up Prosper’s website and grimaced. “Who does yours? It’s…it’s…how do I do put this nicely?” I raised my eyes skyward in thought. “Nope, I can’t. It’s awful. You’re redirecting people to your social media instead of having an actual site. It’s all lowercase, and the italic version of your font is hard to read. There’s a generic, single email as a means of contact. I don’t see a phone number. And that black background…I just can’t even.”

Luke began rubbing his temples. “Admittedly, we’re lacking in that area at the moment.” I snorted. “Maude, this is exactly why I need you. As far as PR goes, I’m exceptionally motivated and skilled.” Tom coughed. Luke shot him a chastising look. “Quiet, you. I lighted out on my own because I know I have something unique to offer…genuine bespoke, personal publicity. What I didn’t account for is the amount of time and effort the social media aspect of it would require. Events, interviews, red carpets, networking, I can handle all of those things with very minimal assistance.” He frowned.

“Unfortunately, I’ve found that all too often I put social media on the back burner because I can’t keep up with it, and as a result I feel like I’m not delivering what I promised to my clients. A few months back I determined it was time to seek outside help, but not a single applicant met my expectations. You, however, exceed my expectations.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

“Luke, I always appreciate an ego boost, but let’s keep in mind that I didn’t apply for anything.” I put an elbow on the table and rested my chin in my hand. “I did agree to an initial consultation, and since you attended my seminar you know where things are supposed to go from there. Translation – not here.” I leaned back in the chair and linked my hands behind my head. “But, this is where we’ve ended up, and I would be remiss if I didn’t entertain your offer, however briefly. So, what the hell. Lay down the details. Especially the ones pertaining to compensation and benefits.”

************************************************ I stood staring out at the horizon as the waves hit my shins, wiggling my toes in the wet sand underneath the water. Finally, beach. Warm, breezy, sunny, quiet, beautiful beach.

After learning that Tom had no prior knowledge of Luke’s plan to hire someone as his social media manager, I excused myself so they could speak in private for as long they deemed necessary. That’s what I told them, anyway. In truth, I really just needed to get the hell out of there so I could attempt to process all this insanity… which I knew wasn’t even remotely possible until I was alone. Part of me hoped that ‘as long as they deemed necessary’ turned into several hours. Or days.

Luke had proposed an initial annual salary of one hundred thousand dollars while I was working with Tom, increasing to one hundred and twenty-five thousand upon assuming the role of Social Media Director of Prosper. I’d be issued a corporate credit card and expense account, and the company would cover all travel expenses. I currently grossed around forty thousand more than that a year on my own, but being stuck covering all my own travel costs made it a negligible difference. When I factored in the lack of income stability that goes hand-in-hand with self-employment, I’d probably come out ahead financially if I opted to accept the position.

When I pressed him to define my duties and responsibilities, he’d shaken his head and imparted that I was the expert, not him, and therefore I should implement whatever strategies I would have included if I had drawn up a proposal. Though I’d technically be an employee, he preferred that I handle everything on my own and retain complete creative control for the duration of my time as Tom’s personal social media manager. We’d step back and re-evaluate things when I was ready to take the directorial helm.

My spot near the water was becoming popular, with several children running amok carting floats, balls and a slew of other things ankle biters enjoy that destroy peace and solitude for the rest of us. I was walking to the opposite side of the property from Luke’s room where it was less crowded when the gravity of my situation overwhelmed me completely and began to literally pull me down. I sank to my knees on the sand, then tried to shift to a sitting positon as gracefully as possible and without flashing everyone on the beach. Again.

I rested my ass on the back of my calves, listed to one side using my arm as a support, lifted my hips a little, extended both legs at the same time, then pushed myself upright. Not pretty, I’m sure, but I had managed to keep my legs closed. I crossed them at the ankle just to be safe and began to mull over my options. “Okay, Maude. Crunch time. Don’t fuck this up.”

When I first started out, I loved every minute of my ‘job’ and had a burning desire to share my knowledge. Maude Gallagher, LLC was everything I had aspired to do and be. I ate, slept and breathed it like oxygen. I never stopped working, always a phone call or an email away from jumping on a plane. But over the past few years, it seemed that my interest in my own company was steadily waning. While I constantly updated my lectures, the material remained essentially the same and what I used to find fun had become work. Every proposal I presented to a client was unique, but at its core it was identical to all the rest. I still put forth 100%, and my ‘phoning it in’ was akin to someone else’s ‘gave it my all’, but something inside me had changed. What was once my life had become just a job, and that prompted me to consider that I might have missed out on actually living along the way. I kept on truckin’, as they say, because the money was so damn good and the idea of having a boss was horrifying after so many years of answering to no one but myself.

Now here I was, sitting on a beach in Kaua’i, wearing a dress and trying to ignore the sand working its way between my thighs, faced with the daunting task of deciding what the fuck I wanted to do with my life…keep running in place, monotonous but comfortably familiar? Or race off in a new direction, intriguing but entirely foreign?

My proposal for Luke would have advised him to have a website created, marketing materials designed, the existing social media accounts revamped and new platforms established with all of them monitored intensely. I also thought it best that Tom have his own photographer/videographer who’d travel with him to shoot on set, at events and in ‘normal’ situations when deemed permissible. He would have had to hire three or more individuals to meet these specifications, but if I signed on he’d only need me. When I thought of all the types of work involved, how it would be different every single day, that I could be creative again…there was no way I could deny that it sounded pretty fucking spectacular. But something was holding me back, making me hesitate instead of screaming ‘yes, I’ll take it!’…and that something was Tom. Though we’d just met a few short hours ago and I didn’t know him at all, I felt…well, I had no idea what it was, only that is was THERE and that it scared the living shit out of me.

************************************************ I was picking up handfuls of sand and watching it sift through my fingers over and over again when I noticed the long shadow to my left, growing ever closer. Khaki cargo pants followed. I looked up…and up…and up. The sun was almost directly behind us, bathing him in an ethereal glow. So, so beautiful. I licked my lips and wished he’d lose the T-shirt already. He squatted beside me, elbows on his knees.

“Hi.” The corner of his mouth curled in a half smile.

“Hey.” I wiped the remaining bits of sand on my dress. He gestured towards the ground.

“May I?” I nodded. He sat, crossing his legs Indian style, which I wouldn’t have believed possible if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. “Luke and I just finished chatting.”

“Oh, okay. Thanks for coming to let me know.” I started to get up, but he put a hand on my shoulder to stop me.

“I…erm…there are a few things I’d like to say before you go back to see him. If you don’t mind hearing me out, that is.” I shook my head.

“Nope. I don’t mind at all.” He ran his hands through his hair and met my gaze.

“Thank you, Maude.” He swallowed. It crossed my mind that he appeared nervous, but I dismissed it because I didn’t want to consider what that meant. I frowned, turning to look towards the ocean. I heard him inhale deeply.

“First, I want to apologize for losing control of my emotions and acting like a tit. My comment about social media being a waste of time and effort and doing nothing but spreading hate was uncalled for, and I in no way meant to devalue you or your work. All of the feelings I entombed broke loose and I’m so very sorry you had to bear witness to my little crackup.” I turned to look at him and patted his knee.

“No worries. Everybody loses their shit to some degree at one point or another.” He pointed at me, brow raised. “Yes, even me. But really, this was nothing. I once had a client scream ‘this mother fucking social media bullshit has ruined my fucking career and my cunt of a wife fucking left me and now I’m going to have to pay her a fuck ton of alimony and it’s all your fault, you stupid fucking fat piece of shit’ in my face.” Tom’s mouth was closed so tightly his lips were a tiny, thin line. “He was so inept that he accidentally posted a photo of his girlfriend sucking his cock across all his accounts instead of sending it directly to her phone. Best part was that he took the shot in the mirror so his face was clearly visible.”

He put his hand on mine. “Tell me who it was and I’ll happily beat the living shit out of him.”

“Thanks, but not necessary. I handled it. By slapping him three times. And telling him that if I ever heard even a whisper of him saying another derogatory thing about me I’d hunt him down, rip his nuts off with my bare hands and feed them to him for dinner.”

Tom’s eyes were as wide as saucers. “You did no such thing.” I laughed.

“Oh, but I did. And then I fired his sorry ass. And then his band fired his sorry ass. Last I heard he was broke and filing for bankruptcy. Karma, Thomas. She is indeed a wicked bitch.” Before I knew what was happening he leaned in and enveloped me in an embrace. Time came to a grinding halt and I was frozen in place. He rubbed my back for a moment and released me before I even had a chance to hug him back. He remained close, his face only inches from mine.

“Maude, you are an amazing woman. And absolutely beautiful.” I blinked. It was the only thing I was physically capable of doing. I considered telling him that being called fat was a common occurrence for me, though it did happen less now that I was a size 14 instead of a 24…and that it really never got under my skin. Because, fuck that. I had never been lacking in the self-esteem department no matter what the scale said. Or my mother said. I had just come to the conclusion that I’d save that particular tidbit for you know, never, when I felt something under my chin. It was Tom’s hand.

“Shit, sorry, I got lost there for a bit. Woolgathering.” He smirked as he slid his fingers and thumb along my jaw and slowly backed away. He put his hand over his heart.

“Second on my list of things to say… I’m afraid I have a confession to make.” I made a get on with it motion with my right hand. “Earlier, at Talk Story, my requesting you specifically to assist me may not have been entirely a happenstance of fate.” I raised an eyebrow.

“When I walked in, the desk was completely deserted so I wandered off to see if I could locate someone to help me. After coming out of a side room I glanced back at the desk, saw the lovely girls in their Loki shirts, realized they were all staff members, and admittedly panicked a bit. Not because they were fans, but because I had very little time and I knew they’d want a few moments with me and I just couldn’t squeeze it in. I’d worn the ugly shirt and cap so people would be less apt to recognize me for that very reason.”

I poked him in the chest. “You know you have to go back there, don’t you? That adorable girl Alani will die of heartbreak knowing that you were in the store and she didn’t get to meet you.” He grinned.

“I absolutely will. And I’ll ask for her by name. But, on with my confession. So, there I was, caught like the proverbial deer in headlights. And then I saw…you. You had two books in one hand, and a several spread out on a table. I heard your phone alarm go off, and I saw your lips move but couldn’t quite make out what you were saying. I watched you gather them up as if they were precious treasures, and I sneakily followed you as you returned them gently to their proper places. I saw someone with a very obvious love for books, who happened to be a gorgeous woman, a ray of light shining through the early morning fog.  It seemed logical that you were an employee, or perhaps the owner, but…here’s the confession part… I honestly didn’t care whether you were or not. I just had to meet you, and my book reservation was the perfect cover story in the event my logic was flawed. I hesitated when I was finally directly behind you, and when you turned around I almost lost my nerve, but when you looked into my eyes I knew it was now or never. ” He took a deep breath, and I noticed that his hands were shaking slightly. I reached out and took one in mine.

“I thought you may have recognized me, and was waiting for you to out me. I really was. Instead, you marched up to that desk, got my book and brought it to me even though you didn’t actually work there. You paid for the damn thing. And when you called me Indy, the fact that you not only picked up the reference but played along…” He shook his head and put his free hand on top of mine, sandwiching it between both of his.

“Which brings me to the third thing on my list of things to say. And it’s the last. On the street, when I said I wanted to find out who you were, and that I had never wanted to discover anything else quite so badly? I meant that, Maude. All the way down to the depths of my very soul.” I was speechless. Completely, utterly without words. He leaned in to meet my gaze.

“I don’t understand why, or how, or what the fuck it is exactly that I’m feeling…but what I AM certain of is that I’ve never felt it before and it’s glorious and incredible and terrifying all at once. And whether you decide to take the job or not, I still want to KNOW you, Maude. I NEED to know you.”

I smirked devilishly, hoping to add some levity to the situation so I wouldn’t totally freak the fuck out.

“Like, biblically?”

He threw back his head, laughing so loudly people down the beach turned to look our way. I started giggling, which turned into guffawing, and then the snorting started. He laughed even harder and soon enough we were both weeping and holding our sides, trying to catch our breath. I was wiping the tears from my eyes with the back of my hand when he whispered in my ear.

“Yes, Maude. Biblically. As often as humanly possible, preferably.” He pulled back so he could see my face, trying to analyze my expression to determine what I was thinking. I smiled softly.

“I want to know you too, Tom. In every way imaginable.” He grinned, then stood, offering me a hand up. I took it. “Let’s go see a man about a job, shall we?”

************************************************ Luke was overjoyed at my acceptance of his offer and after we all had a quick dinner he broke out the bottle of champagne he’d ordered. He placed a glass in front of me and began to pour. I held up my hand in protest.

“No thank you…none for me, please.” He cocked his head to the side. “Do you have any tea lying around? I’d love a cup if you do.” He went off to see what was in the kitchenette. Tom was pacing around outside, phone up to his ear, his free hand gesturing wildly. He’d just gotten word that Michael Keaton and J. K. Simmons had pulled out of Skull Island. I saw him tap the end call button and he walked back into the room just as Luke came in to tell me he hadn’t had any luck finding me some tea. He set the phone on the table.

“Well, it looks like the shoot’s been postponed until early 2016.” Luke shrugged.

“It happens, Tom. I wasn’t thrilled with either of them being cast, to be honest.” Tom sighed, then grinned at me.

“On the bright side, this gives us lots of time to get things up and running on the social media front.” I yawned. We still had a ton of details to work out as far as how we were going to proceed, but I was exhausted and needed some time alone to get in the zone for my two long days of seminars. Which would be my last, at least for a while. Knowing that felt…delightful, as much as it pained me to admit it.

“Gentlemen, I hate to be a party pooper, but I have two insane days coming up and need some rest so I don’t muck things up too badly.” They both awwweeed but I got up from my chair anyway, slinging my bag over my shoulder and picking up my shoes. “We’re still on for the museum’s hula class at five on Wednesday?”  

They nodded, and Tom rose from his chair, grinning like a fool. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world. May I walk you to your room?”

I rolled my eyes. “If you must.”

He took my elbow and walked me to the door. “Oh, I must.”

I waved at Luke. “Goodnight, Luke…and thank you. If you need something, call.”

“Goodnight, Maude. And thank you. This is a game changer for Prosper, and I appreciate you being on board. I couldn’t make it happen otherwise.” He closed the door behind us.

Tom stopped out in the hallway. “Where is your room, exactly?” I headed for the stairs. We walked in silence, just basking in each others presence. I stopped in front of my room, found my keycard in my bag and opened the door. He pointed to the number.

“Oh, 203…you’re right above Luke.” I just stood there and watched his face, waiting for it to dawn on him. When it finally did, his mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water, finally spluttering “Right above. Luke. Your room. Is.”

It was my turn to grin like a fool. “Yes, yes it is. If you take another run in the morning you may want to look up periodically. You never know, I just might forget to close the balcony doors again.”  

[agent-nova]

Uncharted AU - Part 1

(I am borrowing Naughty Dog’s characters for this, I do not own them, though they are very shiny and very nice. This is an AU which will feature some characters like Ellie and Charlie, Laura (as a linguist) and possibly others, if you guys want. This is something I’ve been working on whenever I have down time which hasn’t been very often. I really hope this is okay and I hope you like it! This is going to be super self-indulgent fun because I love adventure and I love Naughty Dog’s universe. This is one part, but I have plans to integrate other characters in the following part. Also sorry for this essay...) @cyber-nya here you go!

From: Ross, Nadine Sent: Tuesday, September 05, 2017 8:39 PM To: Graves, Ellie Subject: [No Subject]

If someone asked you what kind of mark you wanted to leave on this world, what would you say?

Leaning back against her worn leather couch, Ellie stared at the computer screen. She was sitting in the darkness of her living room, sipping from a bottle of Stella as she went through her emails. Freshly showered after coming back from an extended trip down in Florida, all Ellie wanted to do was relax. Yet she couldn’t un-see this message. Hearing Nadine’s South African accent suggesting what was surely some sort of offer sent Ellie’s heart racing. She re-read the sentence many times until her vision blurred. She had worked with Nadine before, prior to Nadine acquiring her father’s company. The woman was a force of nature, and Ellie has seen firsthand what that looks like.

Nadine was a good friend. Ellie missed her. It had been years since their last adventure, delving into some Egyptian ruins that by rights shouldn’t have even existed. They were lucky to avoid death. When they reached the underground chamber, however, none of it mattered as they discovered they had found a trove of royal treasure, dating back to the 18th Dynasty of Pharaohs and Queens.

She couldn’t indulge in this any longer. She closed her laptop and set it on the coffee table, eager for a distraction. She had sworn off reckless adventures after landing her job at the British Museum. Now she could go only where the permits allowed. After spending time down in Florida, hunting for the lost Spanish fleet and its untold treasures, she would be lying if she said didn’t miss the thrill of true discovery. She hadn’t been able to feel anything close to that after deciding to follow the straight and narrow path of scholarly pursuits.

Her phone lit up beside her, and she picked it up, unlocking it to see who had bothered to message her at this time. She didn’t have friends here in London, having left the U.S. to take the position offered to her by a family friend. Her parents’ contributions to the field left a lasting impression among their colleagues, and she was held in high regard as a result. It had honestly surprised her, after growing up without much of their love and attention, to be receiving any sort of benefit from them.

iMessage: Nadine

Have I got your attention yet? I’m in London. Meet me at the bar near your place. I want to talk.

The message sent a thrill through her. Everything was happening so fast, it reminded Ellie of their prior adventures. But she couldn’t. Surely Nadine would understand. She had her career to think about now. It would be incredibly short-sighted to give all of that up for one last adventure. Suddenly she felt like her parents, and it wasn’t a good feeling. They greatly disapproved of her traveling and adventuring, insisting that she commit herself to studying instead. Little did her parents know, she funded her own education with the fruits of her discoveries.

Her parents would never know the things she had been able to find. One of the decisions Ellie and Nadine had made early on was to try to find the things people were already looking for, so that they could let someone else take credit for the discovery and keep whatever reward or compensation was offered and avoid legal trouble. It also kept them off the radar of more dangerous factions.

A knock at her door made her jump, the rush of adrenaline an unnecessary response. She set her phone down and stood, tying her robe tighter around herself before walking silently over to the door. That wasn’t Nadine’s knock, and as far as she knew no one knew where she lived. She peeked out of the peephole and didn’t see anyone in the hallway. Maybe someone had gotten the apartment number wrong. She left the foyer, walking back over to the couch when there were three more distinct knocks, echoing with force.

Feeling more than a little concerned, she stepped over to the fireplace and grabbed one of the implements tightly, returning to the door. Peeking out again, she still couldn’t see anyone. She knew her door was reinforced, but that did little to comfort her.

Silence filled the room for a moment while she cleared her head, feeling thrust back into a time where she had to look after herself. With the return of Nadine to her life, the promise of danger had also returned, it seemed.

She heard small clicking noises near the door, on the other side, and realized someone was trying to pick the locks. Maybe their knocks had been to see if anyone was home. They were going to break in. She knew there wasn’t anything of value here, and no one knew of the treasures she and Nadine had kept, mementos of their experiences. Maybe like she thought before, they really did have the wrong door.

She silently ran over to the couch to grab her phone, calling Nadine. “Where are you? I’m over here by my tall friend - very handsome, by the way. Total gentleman, exactly your type. Dating anyone? I have it on good authority that he isn’t.” Her conversational tone wasn’t sitting well with Ellie, given the current situation.

“Nadine, get here now, please. They’re trying to break in.” Ellie was as quiet as possible, but she couldn’t hide the fear in her voice. It had been a while since she had encountered proper danger.

“Shit, really? Listen, I want you to hide. You won’t be able to get these guys on your own, you’re probably out of practice, right?” Nadine chuckled. Why did Nadine not sound surprised by this?

“Just please get here.” Ellie hung up the phone, with the last sound she heard from Nadine being laughter.

Taking her phone and the iron rod, she retreated to her bedroom and headed for the attached bathroom. The front door slammed open. She shut the bathroom door and locked it a little too loudly in her panic and wondered if they had heard. She moved her small cabinet in front of the door, hoping to be able to barricade herself in, and moved the shower curtain aside to sit in the tub, crouched down on the balls of her feet in case she needed to move. It wasn’t the most comfortable position to be in, especially when she didn’t know how long she was going to be in there, but she would suffer a little if it meant she would possibly get through this. She knew this could turn ugly if they were anything more than common criminals.

Which, if Nadine already had a heads up about them, implied very heavily that they were not simply criminals looking for a score. The more Ellie thought about the timing of Nadine’s message, the more angry she got. She almost hoped the people in her apartment would manage to get in here. She would have a lot of force in her swing.

Nadine had balked at Ellie’s choice to leave their nomadic lifestyle for something more permanent. After a while, Nadine seemed to understand. Now here she was, making a mess on Ellie’s doorstep. This just reminded Ellie why the wanderlust she sometimes felt was not always a romantic notion. It was reckless, and she had more important things to do here.

The door shook, and the intruder realized it was blocked. That hadn’t taken very long. They must not be looking for an item. Maybe they were looking for a person. She hoped not.

“She’s in here.” She heard a male voice outside the door. So there was more than one person wandering around her apartment.

“Just bust it down already, we don’t have time for this. We were already delayed once on this job.” Another male voice sounded like it was coming from the living room. She tightened her grip on the rod and waited. What kind of a job was this? Who did these two work for?

The door almost gave on the first kick. Ellie tried to focus, attempting to plan out her next actions. When the door opened, which could be very soon, the cabinet would fall forward, unsturdy little thing, and the intruder would have to pause in order to avoid tripping over it. She would have to be lightning quick in order to hit him first.

Before they could bust down the bathroom door, she heard her front door clatter against the wall. Had Nadine arrived so quickly? There was a very loud crash and she knew her coffee table had been shattered. Why, why did this have to happen to her?

There was another loud smack near the bathroom door before nothing. Complete silence. Who else had come in? Usually Nadine was quite vocal and enthusiastic about beating someone to a pulp. It didn’t sound like Nadine. Was there now a third party?

The door gave with one hit and Ellie reacted as quickly as she could, swinging the iron rod down on the stranger. It bounced off with a clang, sending vibrations down her arms. She looked up in alarm to see a tall stranger, a handsome one at that. He had short buzzed hair, and a well-groomed beard. His cheekbones were extremely pronounced, and he had incredibly inviting full, pink lips. His eyes were kind, a stunning blue, underneath a strong pair of eyebrows. He looked angelic.

The rod clattered from her hands, rolling under the sink. He smiled, lowering his arm. “Sorry about your door. I didn’t know if you were alone in there.” Ellie was at a loss. He was stunningly handsome, and his voice was just as nice. It was deep, and it rumbled in his chest. He was British, and probably very well educated by the sound of it. “Did I hurt you? Did one of them hurt you?”

She quickly realized he asked her if she was okay because she hadn’t said a word to him. “Oh, god, I hit you, I’m so sorry!” She paused, still feeling the tingling in her arms. “Wait, I hit you…”

“Don’t worry, it’s quite alright. You couldn’t have known I wasn’t one of them.” He adopted a more relaxed stance and crossed his arms over his chest, quirking an eyebrow. She spotted the metal hand tucked against his arm, peeking out through the sleeve of a thin green henley. That was different… “Why are they after you?”

She stepped forward, eager to leave the confines of the bathroom, and he moved aside, leaning against the dresser behind him. There was a man splayed out across the floor in front of the bathroom door, unconscious. “Who are ‘they’?” He opened his mouth to answer, but the front door slammed opened again. She was never going to get her deposit back on this place. She would be lucky to avoid a noise complaint tonight.

“Charles?” It was Nadine. So this was the tall, handsome gentleman Nadine had been talking about. Suddenly she was very interested. He stood up straight and walked out of the bedroom, meeting Nadine in the living room. “Is she alright?” Ellie passed through the doorway behind him as he continued into the room, wrapping her arms tighter around herself, suddenly realizing she was still in her robe. He took a seat on the couch in front of her shattered coffee table, resting his arms along the back. There was an unconscious figure huddled on the pile of glass in front of him.

He grinned. “Yeah. Somehow I think she would have managed just fine on her own.” A wink. Ugh. Flatterer. But her cheeks warmed at the compliment anyway.

Nadine just smiled at him, eyes darting between the two of them. An eyebrow rose as she fixed her eyes on Ellie for a moment. Ellie simply shook her head, knowing right away what Nadine was getting at.

She sighed and placed her hands on her hips, reaching out with her boot to turn the unconscious man over. “Well, they’re still tracking us.” Charles made a noise of affirmation, leaning forward to pick up Ellie’s somehow still-intact laptop from the mess.

He brushed it off gently before setting it down beside him. “How’d they know to come here?” he wondered. 

At the reminder of the fact that Nadine brought this to Ellie, she felt herself grow angry. “Would someone like to tell me what’s going on and why these men are following you? Why they decided to come after me?”

Charlie picked up the empty bottle from the floor, holding it up so Ellie could see it. “Got any more of these?”

There it was again, that knock. It seemed like code for something, though it wouldn’t be anything Laura recognized. She already told the man outside that they were closed. No more tours for today.

They were the bane of her existence, but she felt that she was edging closer to that assistant curator position every time she visited the offices. It was why she had decided to make the journey and settle into this tourist trap. 

Another knock. “We’re closed,” she shouted. Again. 

Finally at her wit’s end, she stood and marched over to the door, pulling it open as the man began knocking again. He paused, a bit of surprise in his eyes as he dropped his hand slowly.

“Hi,” he greeted, stuffing his hands in his pockets. Cute or not, Laura was about done with him.

“Can I help you?” She asked, crossing her arms over her chest. 

He glanced around the interior of her small office before chuckling. “You know, most people would’ve gotten up at around the third knock. But it took you seven times,” he grinned, “you must be quite patient.”

“Not nearly enough,” she warned. “What can I possibly do for you?”

“I hear you’re the best translator there is,” he started, “and I am in desperate need of one.” He leaned onto the doorframe with a forearm, getting a bit too close. She simply raised an eyebrow in response. “Got a fancy dress, tucked away for a special occasion?”

Laura’s eyes narrowed, hearing an offer in his question. She didn’t need to let herself get distracted by adventure. She was so close to getting this job, she couldn’t afford to disappear now.

“I won’t do it.”

He stood up straight and held his hands up in surrender. “Alright, then. But you’d be missing out on the discovery of the century,” he boasted, turning around to leave. She ignored him, turning back to shut the door. “Bigger than Tut’s tomb,” he added. She froze for a moment, but knew he was likely exaggerating.

She watched him walk away until he stopped in the middle of the street and turned around to face her. “Are you familiar with the holy grail?”

Her eyes widened and she stepped out into the chilly air, jacket forgotten, slung around the back of her desk chair. “Seriously?”

“Yep,” he nodded, tossing something small her way. She only barely caught it, the stone smooth and heavy in her palm. “I need your help. We can’t do it without you.”

She looked up, stone momentarily forgotten. “Who’s ‘we’?”