Chapter 42: Negotiations
Kellen led the way out of the elevator, shaking his head at Brent’s antics. They hadn’t even had lunch yet, and he already felt exhausted. Brent had his head on a swivel as they moved down the hallway, but because Kellen was leading, he couldn’t notice the trepidation on his face as Kellen continued to lead him down a white hallway with locked doors. When Kellen finally paused to open the door to the field department, he relaxed. He even smiled as he saw that there were people in this room, and the scientists inside perked up at the sight of two Guides, but grew nervous at the sight of a new person.
"Good morning Kellen, Lieutenant Casper! Who’s the new friend?" Maeve’s voice carried over the room and Kellen heard Brent gulp beside him. Kellen reached over and smacked his shoulder, warning him to behave.
"Maeve, this is the other Field Guide I wanted to bring in to help me. This is Brent Jameson. Brent, this is Dr. Maeve Lyons." Maeve stared down at Brent, her deep blue eyes unblinking for a moment before she turned her gaze to Kellen.
"I didn’t realise that all Field Guides had to be attractive. How do you screen for that? Does it help with getting others to trust you?" She pondered and Brent laughed. He threw his head back, laughing still, before reaching out his hand and patting Kellen on the shoulder.
"Kellen, man, I fucking love her. Is she an Esper? Does she have a regular Guide? Holy hell." Kellen shook his head at Brent’s antics, sighing.
"Maeve, despite his looks, he’s an expert in his field. He specialises in fluctuating gates while I specialise in stable ones. It would be good to have discussions with him about anything you’re curious about when it comes to your research. Be careful though, he’s handsy." He warned her. Maeve’s expression didn’t change for a moment, before she gave them a calculating smile.
"Well, he’s such a little thing, I’m afraid I’ll break him." She teased and Brent blushed.
"Kellen, I’m in love." He whispered loudly and Maeve’s smile turned into a grin.
"Guide Jameson, I’ll trust you for now since Kellen has so much of my own trust, but if I find you snooping in my office, I’ll have to punish you. And you have no idea where any of these doors lead to." Kellen had no idea if Maeve was winding Brent up on purpose or not, but it was working either way. Brent was going to be pestering her for days now. Shaking his head, Kellen grabbed Brent by his duffle bag strap and pulled him towards his office.
"You don’t have to worry about that Maeve. If he agrees to work with me, he’ll be too busy to snoop." Maeve grinned at Kellen’s response.
"Why wouldn’t he want to work with you? From what I’ve gathered, you’re good at your job, you have a good reputation, and you treat your colleagues well. Besides, no one is going to the front lines until the deal with the new gate is settled, which means he has no work to do there. This is the perfect time to get involved with your plans." Brent made a face at her words.