:multiple 
Timeline: April 8th, 2023
Note: Links to things used for this issue are at the bottom. Have fun!
Jean: Driving a car this old was something else, and Jean was glad of her teke as she circled the block behind Jamie's detective agency. It wasn't the best neighborhood and she'd attract attention she didn't want if she fucked around too long, but she was early.
Jean: She wanted to be early, to give herself time to catch him off guard, but not too early to be, like, batshit insane. She was trying to close in on that narrow window right now.
Jean: She looked in the rear view mirror of the old car one more time, checking her red lipstick and the status of her intricately coiffed and pinned hair. Even in daylight, the reds complimented each other perfectly and she congratulated herself.
Jamie: Jamie hopped out of the shower and used the side of his fist to clear the fog on the mirror, then wrapped the towel around his waist so his hands were free. He opened the medicine cabinet and pulled out his toothbrush and paste, quickly brushing his teeth and grinning at his reflection. Minty fresh. Just like Jean liked.
Jamie: He was 28 now. Wow. What would 28 be like? His guess was that he would have better sex than he had when he was 27. He put the brush and paste back, trading them for his comb. As he combed his hair, his lips pulled under in thought. He wondered what his parents would say to him if they were still here.
Jamie: What kind of 'next to last year of your twenties' type things would they tell him or tease him about? Jamie smirked, his dad would probably be planning some sort of over-the-hill type joke. His mom would be baking a three layer cake complete with twenty-eight candles. Which he would be expected to blow out in one go, so he would probably pop out some dupes to help just in case.
Jamie: ...But then if they all wished for different things, would they all come true? Or just his, Jamie Prime? He shrugged and shook his head once everything was combed perfectly, messing it up just enough as it finished drying. Right. Clothes! Jean should be here soonish, so he should probably have those on since she was taking him somewhere.
Jean: After getting the eye from some dudes hanging out on a front stoop, Jean enclosed the car in a protective bubble as she rounded the corner. Finding this car to rent it had been a trick, and she sure as hell wasn't going to be responsible for getting it jacked.
Jean: She ran her hands over the oversized wheel and leaned a little to look up at the building, ducking her head to make sure she didn't ruin her hair or her artfully placed fluffy hat.
Jamie: Jamie fixed his belt after having tucked in his shirt, then went to pick out a tie. Dress nice, she had said. But with the trench coat... Hmm. Of course, it was chilly still, and she had said she just liked the coat. It also helped to make sure he didn't have any extra versions of him pop out at inopportune moments holding extra cats... So maybe that was it? But he had a couple of jackets that he had wired for that now. Hmm, again.
Jamie: He knotted the tie and made a face at his reflection. Too stuffy? Maybe. He loosened it a bit and still didn't like it. No tie was the general consensus of the chorus of hims in his head. Right. He whipped it off and dropped it in the hall on the trek back to his room to get his coat.
Jean: Jean checked the time on her phone again and then circled to the front of the building to park at the curb.
Jean: Hopping out as carefully as she could in her outfit, Jean trotted to the front of the car and gave the shiny black fender a quick brush-off before leaning against it and arching back to rest her elbows on the high hood.
Jean: She shuffled herself around a couple of times, trying to get remotely comfortable while being sexy and not scratching the car, then slid a bare leg free of her black trench coat. Jean smirked and gave his mind a gentle brush.
Jamie: Oh! Jean! Jean! She must be here then. He adjusted his shoulders in his coat as he stopped at the bottom of the stairs. Be cool, Jamie. He ran a hand through his hair, then over his freshly shaven cheeks, wondering if he should have left it scruffy. But she said nice, so he had shaved. Too late now! He grabbed his keys and opened the door, not even remotely expecting what he saw.
Jamie: Holy... Shit... Jamie licked his lips and felt his heart speed up just a bit, but other than that, he was frozen in place. She was... With a... Grahhuuu fuuu... Je-- Yo-- FUCK.
Jean: She'd felt his nervousness before he opened the door and knew it just kicked up her own as she fervently hoped he'd like all this.
Jean: As the door opened, Jean started with a seductive smirk that became a real smile when she saw him. In the whole week - holy shit, it'd just been a week?! - since they'd found each other again, she'd grown used to his short beard. But now, he looked like the man she'd fallen in love with again. Holy shit.
Jean: She'd gotten so lost in her own shock that she took a moment to register his. Happy birthday, she giggled, holding out her hand to beckon him to her.
Jamie: Jamie's heart skipped a beat happily when he heard her in his head and then saw her reach out for him. For him. She was his. Damn he was a lucky son of a bitch. Ack. No! Sorry, Mom! Lucky son of a gun.
Jamie: He fumbled with the keys, locked the door, and practically bounded down the steps and over to her, taking her hand to pull her up and into his arms. "Thanks, doll. Y' sure are one beautiful dame, Jean." And without further talking, he kissed her, dipping her as any proper man who drove that kind of car would. Also, that car! Damn!
Jean: Jean didn't have much opportunity to answer, finding herself tipped back in a kiss. She wasn't going to argue, winding her arms around him and trusting he wasn't going to drop her since her balance was off, for several reasons.
Jamie: Jamie righted her after what he felt like was an appropriate amount of time lip-locking with his femme fatale. He beamed at her, "I don't deserve you, Jeannie." His eyes slid to the car again and he made a noise low in his throat that was probably inappropriate to make about a car. "Is that the same car from The Maltese Falcon?"
Jamie: He would not bounce up and down like a child. But it was becoming increasingly harder to keep his feet planted, so he walked in a circle around the car, fingers hovering over it the whole way. He wanted to touch it, but it might evaporate if he did because this was a dream. Had to be.
Jean: Jean was fairly certain it was the other way around with the deserving bit, but his excitement was infectious. "I think I'm jealous of the car now," she laughed, watching him inspect it. "It's one of them. It's a 1940 model Buick." She looked it over. It was sexy, in a gangster car kind of way. "And it's ours for the day."
Jean: "And the night," she added.
Jamie: "Until tomorrow?!" Holy... Shit... Jamie finally made his way back to her and ran his hands down her arms to take her hands, "You're the best, babe. I love you. You're pretty much the only Special I need, but a Buick Special is a nice addition."
Jamie: He could not wait to get her in the backseat of this thing. It was daylight still, though, so that would either have to wait or they would need to find somewhere secluded. Ooh, maybe that was part of the surprise. He gave her a wolfish grin at the thought.
Jean: "I love you," she said, feeling her face heat up. "I'm glad you like it." She was catching a little of the train of his thoughts and it made her bite her lower lip, glancing back up at him through her lashes. Maybe.
Jamie: Oooh. He felt an anticipatory shiver climb up his spine and he kissed her again. Jamie waggled his eyebrows at her when he pulled back. "Alright, doll. If I wanna catch the bad guys, we should probably hit the pavement in this jalopy." He felt dirty calling it a jalopy. And not in the fun way. Jamie turned and put his hand on the car gently in apology. "I didn't mean it."
Jean: "Should we call it Bogey?" Jean stepped in close and slid her arm around his waist beneath the coat. "Or do all cars need female names?"
Jamie: "Oh this baby is a dame, for sure." His arm naturally went around her shoulders, but his eyes stayed on the car. Ruth? Lana? Lauren? Phyllis? "Vivian." Jamie smirked down at Jean, "Lauren Bacall's character from The Big Sleep."
Jean: "Vivian it is then." Jean returned the smirk and she stayed close, winding her fingers into his belt loops. "So, later tonight, we'll have to be sure to find a place to bring Vivian into our relationship. Right?"
Jamie: "Jeannie..." Jamie turned fully towards her and lowered his voice in a conspiratorial whisper, "You mean you're game for a threesome with a babe like her? And it's not even my birthday." His eyes shifted left, then right, then left again. "Oh wait. It is!" Jean got a bright, toothy grin just before he bent to give her a hard, fast kiss. "Vivian will be the perfect addition to our relationship."
Jean: Jean grinned into the kiss. "I think that's the best way to avoid any jealousy." She gave a mock gasp and looked behind her, pretending to search for his car. "Unless Baby will feel left out of the fun?"
Jamie: Jamie gave her a knowing frown, "That is something to consider... But I think she'll be okay under the circumstances. Vivian is like a celebrity on a 'free pass' list. Besides, we can always make it up to Baby later."
Jean: "Oh we have a free pass list? Good to know." Jean couldn't resist and let go of his belt loop to give him a pinch on the ass, conveniently hidden by the coat. "And yes, Baby and I still need to have a little girl time."
Jamie: Jamie jerked at the pinch and gave her a toothy grin. "We do when it comes to cars." He frowned again, but this time it was confused in nature. Girl time? Did she want to drive his car?! "Um. ...What?"
Jean: Jean's giggle faded at his frown and she blinked at the echo of his confusion. Oh. Wait. Hee. God he was still adorable when he was completely lost. She floated up a bit to reach his ear and whisper. "I told you I have ideas for you, me, and that car."
Jamie: "Ohhh." Yeah, that he could do. His grin came back and he turned his head to catch her lips in a quick kiss. "Vivian first since she's a limited time engagement." Happy birthday to him. Hell, yes.
Jean: "Vivian first." She grinned and stole another kiss. "So, wanna take her for a spin?"
Jamie: "Um. Yeah! How is that even a question!" Jamie's eyes were bright with excitement and he started patting her down, "Where y' hidin' th' keys, see?"
Jean: Jean helped out with some strategic wriggling under his hands. "You're the detective, birthday boy."
Jamie: That earned her a predatory grin and he slowly undid the tied belt on her trench coat, opening it wide to check for any hidden pockets, but stopped as he saw her dress. "Babe. Damn." And that earned her another kiss, which he didn't break as he started feeling around for the keys in 'strategic' places.
Jean: Jean laughed into the kiss, which turned into a moan against his mouth when he pulled her against him. So I guess you like the dress, too, huh?
Jamie: I think that's an understatement. For emphasis, he pulled her tighter to him, forcing their hips together. Jamie hadn't found the keys in any of the usual spots, even digging around in her cleavage proved fruitless, though satisfying.
Jean: "Oh, shiiiit." Jean kind of just wanted to drag him into the car. Now. Like, immediately. Plans? Pfft. Reservations? Whatever!
Jean: She felt the car behind her as she tried to keep her balance and opened her eyes, coming to her senses. "Jamie..." Focus, Jean. Her voice was way too breathless.
Jean: "There's one place you haven't looked yet." Before he got any ideas about that statement, she gave the car a significant look, then smirked up at him.
Jamie: Jamie was very interested in continuing his 'search' until her words stopped him. Right. She had plans for them that probably didn't involve this. Yet, anyway. He looked at her then at the car and he blinked. Jamie ducked his head to look in the window and started laughing. They were hanging out of the ignition. "Clever. Very clever." And now they were calling to him. Can't pass up this opportunity. He could answer his other call later.
Jamie: "C'mon, Jeannie!" Jamie pulled away and opened her door for her, then bounded around to the driver's side, hesitating before opening the door. Then, he just stared. He was about to drive a 1940 Buick Special. Whoa. Jamie swallowed hard and slowly sat in the seat, running his hands over the large wheel in reverence. Double whoa. "Jeannie... This is... Whoa."
Jean: Jean started to get into the car after wrapping her coat back around her waist and tying it off. She paused to watch his face as he stared at the car and smiled to herself. Worth it.
Jean: She slid into the seat and crossed her ankles, going for demure and just enjoying his appreciation of the old car. "I'm glad you like it."
Jamie: Jamie's eyes lighted on each of the gauges for brief moments before moving to the next until he had looked at all of them. Then he did it all again. After the third time, he finally took his eyes from the car and let them rest on his stunning girlfriend. She was the picture of perfection dressed like that, sitting in this car, just across the seat from him.
Jamie: He smiled and leaned over to kiss her at the same time as his hand found the keys and turned the engine over. He felt his spine melt at the sound. Bliss. That's what this feeling was. True bliss.
Jean: Jean grinned at his expression. His happiness was bleeding over to her and she met him halfway for the kiss, trailing her fingers over his smooth cheek. She pulled back to meet his eyes and started to get lost in them. Oh. Right.
Jean: She shook herself and climbed up halfway into the seat to stretch into the back bench seat and grab a box.
Jean: "Before we go, you get a present." The black box was topped with a bow and she set it on the seat between them and bounced a bit in place.
Jamie: Jamie tilted his head to better enjoy the view of her nearly climbing over the front seat. Very nice... All he needed was a slight breeze and it would be even better. And then she was turned around. He cleared his throat and straightened. Hopefully before she saw, but she probably wouldn't care anyway. Hot. Ooh present!
Jamie: He grinned and plucked the bow nimbly, popping it on top of his head. "I love it." He checked his reflection in the rearview mirror. "Yep. I look beautiful."
Jean: "That you do," she laughed, nudging the box closer to him. Jean wouldn't have cared in the least about his peeking. In fact, her lingerie was very expensive, so he may as well enjoy it. Now and later.
Jean: She settled herself back into the passenger seat and artfully arranged the front of her coat and the side ruffle of her dress to expose a leg, resting her foot on the slight rise between the foot wells.
Jean: "C'mon," she smirked. "Aren't you gonna open it?"
Jamie: Jamie took the bow from his head and pulled the box into his lap with a leering smile for her leg. "Is there going to be something in here that I can use for our tryst with Vivian? Because I'd be all for that." He held the lid and shook the box a bit to get it to drop away, then tossed the lid between them and looked back in the box. Holy shit. It was the hat.
Jamie: A slow smile spread across his face and he started laughing, completely thrilled that she would get him this. "Can I turn 28 every year?!" He pulled the hat from the box, spun it by the brim between his hands and landed it onto his head with a slight flourish. Jamie grinned at his reflection, then turned that grin on her. "You're the absolute best ever, Jeannie. Thank you."
Jean: "Well, now I wish I had thought of that," she laughed, more interested in seeing his reaction to the gift than any vehicular sex toys. She grabbed the bow and stuck it to the lapel of her coat as he shook the box open.
Jean: "I suppose you can hold on this one, but then you wouldn't know what I'd get you for your 29th." She smirked. "Or your dirty 30."
Jean: Okay the little trick was sexy. In fact, he looked really way too sexy for a guy in a silly hat. "You're welcome," she said softly.
Jamie: Jamie tipped his head to be able to use the brim as an enhancer for the look he was giving her. "Dirty 30, huh? I like the sound of that. But, babe, c'mon, how in the world are you going to top this one?" He smiled and gave the new adornment to her coat a slight flick, then leaned in for another kiss. "Really, Jean. Best birthday ever."
Jean: "Oh, I'll think of something." It was getting warm in this car and she knew exactly why. She moved the box and lid out of the way so she could slide over and wind her arms around his neck all the better to kiss him. When they parted, she brushed her nose against his. "It's not over yet."
Jamie: "Right! We have to drive this baby around town and show off how awesome my girlfriend is." Jamie nipped lightly at her lower lip. "And then possibly grab dinner for energy to bring Vivian into our relationship."
Jean: "We do," she agreed, exchanging his nip for a nibble of her own as she tilted her head. "And we are totally gonna get dinner, but first we have a mystery to solve."
Jamie: A mystery?! Sweet! "Are we gonna go find the Maltese Falcon?!" He was a grown ass man, but he could not keep himself still at the excitement from that thought.
Jean: "Maaaaybe." Doubtful, but who knew what kind of fuckery the escape room had hidden. Jean's grown ass man was about to lose his hard-earned cool, so she gave him a final kiss and moved back to her side. "So, let's go. I'll be your navigator."
Jamie: Jamie gave her a bright, excited smile and turned back to the wheel. "Hell yeah." He put the car in gear and slowly eased it away from the curb, groaning in pleasure at the feel of it moving.
Jean: "You better be careful there, or I'm gonna drag you into the back seat before we make it to the reservation." Jean looked him over, debating how much she could distract him before he crashed this very expensive car. Sigh. She'd better behave.
Jamie: "But it's so..." He had no other words, so he groaned again. "I just can't help it. I mean, you drove it, but did you drive it? Because, this is euphoric, Jeannie. Fuck." Oh right. Focus on where they were going. That needed to be a thing. "Which way?"
Jean: "I guess I didn't drive it. I was more worried about the hoodrats on the next block trying to jack it." Also it was big, and old, and kind of hard to steer. It looked good though! "Um," she tore her eyes from him to their surroundings. "Toward downtown."
Jamie: "They could try to steal it. And fail miserably because you're a badass. And then, of course, they'd have to deal with me after the fact if either you or my new girl Vivian was harmed." He gave her a once over out of habit when talking about her being hurt. "You got it, boss lady."
Jean: "Yeah I am!" She sniffed and made herself comfortable, since she was going to behave. "Besides, I put Vivian in a bubble." She drummed her fingers on her knee. "I might have been driving with teke too... just a little."
Jamie: Jamie smirked and glanced back at her for a brief second before turning onto the highway, enjoying the strain on his muscles that the wheel gave him. Power steering had made people soft. "That's my girl. Bubble and alien tomatoes. What a total babe."
Jean: "Some tomatoes would have been handy to send their way," she nodded, watching him drive this boat far more successfully than she had. Being good was hard. Really, really hard. "Um, exit at Broadway."
Jamie: "You got it, dish." He checked the mirror and steered them off of the highway, refraining from groaning again out loud, but not bothering to stop the mental one. And then he remembered she was a telepath. Idiot. "Towards the square or away?"
Jean: "...good... plate?" He was random. Jean knew this, but that was a new one. Also, he was projecting his cargasm. Fuuuck. Stahp. She squirmed a little in her seat. "Uh... toward. The old bank building on the corner."
Jamie: "Yeah, ya know. Dish, dame, doll, filly, chippy. chick, frail, gid, and so on." Jamie arched an eyebrow at her. "All words for women from the 30s and 40s." He had looked just in time to catch her squirm and grinned before turning back to the road to pull the car the way he wanted it to go. Damn this thing was the sexiest car ever. Sorry, Baby.
Jean: "Words for women? Are you sure some of them aren't words for hookers, because I kind of remember that part too." Jean was laughing though. It was hard to be insulted. She looked up and spotted their destination. "Oh! That's it," she pointed.
Jamie: "Nah. Those are bats, demi-tasse, grouse, gilly, lousyliz, cuddle cutie. I mean, there's more, but those are just the ones on the top of my head." He changed lanes and pulled into a parking spot with a happy sigh. "You handle beautifully, Vivian. But don't tell Baby." Jamie looked up at the sign. "An escape room?" Was that cool? A slow smirk lit his face up. Hell yeah it was cool. "We are totally gonna bust this up."
Jean: "You know, frail is totally sexist." Jean's observational skills were a bit slow sometimes, but once they kicked in she was golden. Anyway! "Yup! An escape room, from which we must escape!" She giggled at his expression. "I will trust in your abilities."
Jean: Jean frowned. "Okay if women have all these semi-insulting and sexist names, what were guys called?"
Jamie: "I would never call you frail. You're anything but, pigeon." He frowned and went through his mental rolodex of old slang. "Abercrombie, geezer, joe, mac, pants, chump, cat, bub, pally, skirt chaser, tom. The list goes on." Jamie turned off the car and took the keys from the ignition to slip into his coat pocket. "We didn't get off easy, either."
Jean: "Pigeon," she snickered. "Okay well 'Joe' is just a random dude, 'Abercrombie' is an overrated brand, and you aren't nearly old enough for me to call you a 'geezer.'" She gave him a sweet and innocent smile.
Jamie: "How 'bout 'fella,' sweetie, or dick?" He gave her the same look back, leaned in for a super quick kiss, then hopped out to go let her out of the beauty that was Vivian.
Jean: "I get that 'dick' doesn't mean dick but... I just can't," she laughed when he opened the door, swinging her legs out and making sure he got an excellent view.
Jamie: Jamie would never get tired of her doing that little move. Maybe that was why he always liked to open the door for her. Mmm. "Nice gams, cookie pusher." Jamie offered her his arm, "Let's go blow the investigation wide open in there, huh?"
Jean: "Cookie pusher?!" Jean very nearly snorted that time, almost ruining the effect of slinking her way to her feet and taking his arm. "Okay, sweetie, let's do that."
Jean: She locked the door before he closed it and by the time she got them inside she was almost over the giggles.
Jean: Jean checked them in and behaved while they got the rundown of the rules. She even paid attention! Mostly. Really, she was mostly enjoying the feel of his arm.
Jean: Once they were led to the actual escape room, it really did look like an office from one of his old movies. Yelp did not steer her wrong.
Jamie: Jamie's eyes went wide and he stepped into the middle of the room and spun in a slow circle, taking everything in, completely ignoring the attendant who was giving them last minute instructions about hints. Remodeling at the office would be happening. Pronto. "Jean," he all but whispered. "I'm in P.I. heaven. Don't wake me."
Jean: Jean grinned and patted his arm, leaning her head against him. "You're the boss, bub." She thanked the attendant, and may have left a sliiiight mental suggestion for the kid to give them plenty of privacy. Just in case.
Jamie: The kid left and he shook himself out of his haze. Where to start. "Okay, so, I see at least four locks that we have to figure out the codes for. Let's get to it." Jamie bent his head to kiss the top of hers then moved away to the bookshelf, pulling at various books to see if any opened anything interesting or had clues. Nothing there. He squatted down to try and open the cabinet, but the handle pulled down to reveal another lock. "Five. Five locks."
Jean: "Riiight." Jean slung her purse over her shoulder by the chain and looked around, sucking on her teeth. There were potted plants! She investigated those and found... some sort of little metal thing, which she set on the desk.
Jean: "There's a drawing on here," she said, motioning to the paper, and started checking drawers. Some opened, some didn't, and what the fuck was that? Jean set her find onto the desk beside the other object and decided to play with the knobs on the antique radio.
Jean: Nothing seemed to happen and she gave Jamie side eye.
Jamie: Jamie came over to see what she found and bent down to look at the radio. "I saw those shapes..." He straightened and looked around, spotting the art on the wall behind them. "There," he pointed. "Put the shapes on the knobs in those positions."
Jean: Jean turned around and looked at the art, then back at the radio, then at Jamie. "I'm glad you're good at this," she giggled, then did as she was told. A drawer in the radio popped open and there was a weird coin inside that she inspected, making an appreciative noise. "And this symbol is on the paper..."
Jamie: Jamie grinned and kissed her cheek, "You're good, too, babe. Don't sell yourself short. Just keep your eyes open and make mental notes of everything." He moved to the sofa and tried to open the drawers underneath it. Only one was a real drawer, but it opened easily enough. "Light bulb?" He put it on the desk with the rest of the items Jean had found.
Jamie: Oooh. It matched the candelabra bulbs. He pushed a button on the aforementioned lamp and the lights flickered in a pattern. Hmm. Mental note. Check.
Jean: "Oh, so I should actually use that eidetic memory, huh?" She inspected the cabinet beside the desk. "Hey, there's a knife in here. I did not order the murder mystery."
Jean: She pressed a couple of buttons on the cabinet lock, but other than a few flashing lights and clicks nothing opened. "No teke?" Jean looked over at him and popped out her lower lip, turning on the sad eyes.
Jamie: Oh yeah, she did have that memory thing. So not fair. "Maybe it only looks like a knife? Maybe it's a clue to what opens the lock? There could be something written on it that we need for something else... Or something." Jamie gave her a mock-stern look over his shoulder, "No alien tomatoes."
Jamie: He picked up the four items on the shelf over the couch and made notes of the weird shapes on the bottom. And ohey! A key! "A key!" Where did it go, though? He went around the room trying all of the keyholes he could see. Six! Six keyholes. Ah ah ah. Should brush up on the impressions later.
Jamie: Clearing his head, he started to try and pull at the art on the wall. One was hiding a safe! Neat! No keyhole, though... But ohey! Another coin! "Another coin!" He put it on the desk with the first one.
Jean: Jean heaved a dramatic sigh at his reprimand and was totally prepared to search the cushions on that sofa for more weird coins when her eyes were drawn by a weird treasure box looking thing. "I... have no idea what this thing is."
Jean: It had a button, though, and buttons were made to be pressed, so she did. "Fuck!" An eye popped open on the lid and she flailed, nearly dropping her purse. She may have shoved it back a couple of inches before she kept her tomatoes to herself.
Jamie: Jamie whirled around and caught her as she flailed in one quick motion. Thankfully the room wasn't very big. "You okay, Jeannie? What happened?" He looked at the table she had been messing with and the box on it. Oooh, weird eyeball thing. Cooool.
Jean: Finding herself in Jamie's arms, she blew out a breath and grinned up at him. "Hey, handsome, fancy meeting a fella like you in a place like this?" Sure. It sounded... rightish. She pointed at the box. "It's looking at us," she mock whispered.
Jamie: "If all I gotta do to get a dame like you to fall into the arms of a dope like me is make an eye open up, sweetheart, I'd be doing it all over town." He winked, kissed her, and went to investigate the box. When he pushed the button again, the eye closed. Wait. He pushed it again and pointed to the different shapes of the lines and the eye while mumbling to himself, then went back to the desk and the piece of paper. "It's for the coins!"
Jean: He'd watched way more movies than her, clearly, because he sounded like he'd fallen out of one. She watched him investigate the weird eyeball box and then perked up. "Oh, hey! So we feed it the coins and it barfs up a key?"
Jamie: "In theory... But I think we need four of 'em. We only have two... Soo... Get to hunting, baby cakes!" He shot her a sly grin, "But make sure I'm close by to catch you if you feel another swoon coming on, will ya?"
Jamie: Jamie moved to the wardrobe and opened the bottom drawer. Pocket knife? Tied closed. Weird. He set that on the desk and moved to the bookshelf again. Red marble. Hmm... He plonked it into the circular hole of the box Jeannie had found earlier. Ohey! "Do you see another red marble?"
Jean: "Whatever you say, big shot." As she got into this, some of those movies were coming back to her, too. Score.
Jean: Jean decided to set her purse on the sofa, and then after a moment's thought stripped off the trench coat too. After she made sure her hat was still in place, she started looking around again. "Marble..." There had been a weird marking on the floor by the desk so she went back to investigate it and kicked the trash can. Something rattled inside and she bent to retrieve it. "Marble!"
Jamie: Jamie watched her strip and his sly grin turned more predatory in nature. Oh yeah. That was definitely one of his favorite dresses on her now. Arooo. "Nice! Drop it in the other hole, babe." Heh. Other hole. He mentally kicked himself. He was 28 not 12.
Jean: "Wow, with no foreplay or anything." Jean put on her model sashay across the small room and pretended to kiss the marble before she dropped it in. Another drawer popped open and she picked up the coin to inspect the symbol.
Jamie: "Yes! Three down, one to go! Good work, minx." He bent down to kiss her and put the now useless box next to the now useless radio. Jamie walked over to the cupboard with the coded lock and crouched down to spin some of the dials. Hmm. Some of these looked familiar. The shelf! "Jeannie! Tell me what the symbols are on the bottom of the things on the shelf over the couch."
Jean: That took a moment for her to decipher, but luckily she got the gist of it from his thoughts. She floated above the sofa and raised a hand, lifting all the items on the shelf and sending him the symbols, along with a mental caress. My fella is awesome at this.
Jamie: Jamie's ego just got a massive boost as she sent that thought. I am trained for it, after all... He finished putting in the symbols and gave the doors an experimental tug. Ha! Yes! Oooh. Box with keyhole, screwdriver attached to the door, and a candelabra with no bulbs. Bulbs! "Babe! Bulb!" He used the key he'd found on the box and found the last coin. "Coin!"
Jean: Jean fetched one bulb from the desk and took it to him, then stared at the weird collection of items on the bookshelf. Another potted plant, which was super boring, a lamp, which she fiddled with, and a box with a whole bunch of buttons on top of it.
Jean: "It looks like a checkerboard or something almost... where did I see that before? Oh." She sidestepped to the print on the wall and looked back at the box. She was gonna cheat enough to bring the box to her. It floated over to the shelf beneath the checkerboard and she tapped in the pattern.
Jean: "EEEE! It worked! Holy shit!" Another drawer popped open and there was a bulb inside. She held it up in triumph, then dropped down beside him to hand it over.
Jamie: Jamie finished screwing in the first bulb as she squealed and he looked up with a smile for her. "Good job! You're getting better at this, wren!" He took the other bulb, screwed it in, and pressed the buttons in the pattern he remembered from the lamp at the desk. The top popped open and he very nearly squealed, too. A... Paisley? He'd seen this somewhere... "Jean, does this look familiar to you? I can't remember where I saw it..."
Jamie: Oh and they had all four coins now, didn't they? He stood and scooped them from the desk and took her hand, dropping them in. "Put 'em in your eyebox friend."
Jean: "Wren," she snickered. "More birb." She leaned over to look at his find and blinked. "It's like one of those ying-yang symbol things."
Jean: Jean took the coins and inspected them, then went warily to the eyeball box. She fed them in one by one, pressed a button, managed not to jump when the eye opened and failed not to jump when it spit out a key. "Whoa!"
Jamie: Jamie hadn't thought of that. Maybe 'wren' was a good one to stick with. She said whoa! Why whoa? He stood and went to her. "Ooh! Another key! Start trying the keyholes we have left!" Ying yang. Where had he seen a ying...Yang! Behind the painting! Jamie practically bounded to it, moved the painting, and put the piece in half of the safe button. "Good call, Jeannie!"
Jean: "Thanks?" Jean managed to not jump when the eyeball machine spit out the coins again and gathered up her goods to start looking for keyholes.
Jean: There was one on the desk and the other crap was also there. She started looking through the items after trying the desk lock. Bleh. Looking around, she remembered a safe behind a potted plant and tried that one. "Score!"
Jean: A piece of paper fluttered out onto the floor and she picked it up. "I don't suppose this is the instructions?"
Jamie: "Maybe..." Jamie came over to look at it over her shoulder, then looked up at the hole in the wall inside the safe. It had a funny shape. Hmm. He narrowed his eyes in thought, then went to the desk, shuffling through the things they had already found and hadn't used. Triangle thingy! Jamie bounded back over and put it in the hole, stepping back in triumph. Nothing happened. He took it out and looked at both the back of the piece and the hole, stuck it back in, but still nothing.
Jamie: Maybe it turned? He tried to turn it to the left but it wouldn't budge. Right it was. He clicked it right and it turned on like a lightbulb. "Whoa..." He tried to turn it back left, but still wouldn't budge, so he turned it right again. And again. And again. And a few more times. It lit up and turned off in a pattern. Wait, he'd seen something like that, too! He took the piece and ran back to the shelf above the
cabinet he'd been in a minute ago.
Jamie: "Look, Jean!" He put the piece in the top and pressed the lights on in the pattern it showed. The middle of the sun popped open and another ying yang piece was lying in the space behind it. "Cool! Wanna do the honors?" He held the piece out to her and nodded at the safe behind the painting.
Jean: Jean had to say, she was really impressed by this place. This shit was complicated! "Awww, well thank you." She accepted the piece and floated up to give him a fast kiss and drag him to the safe with her. "My fella is the bee's knees." She may have attempted a Brooklyn accent for that one, just to see how it felt.
Jean: When she put the piece into the safe, it clicked open to reveal. "...is that a dragon?" She looked from it, to Jamie, back to the sculpture inside, which really looked like a dragon perched on top of an egg. "Well, it's not a maltese falcon, but close?"
Jean: It had a keyhole too, and she noticed a trap door in the safe's door, giving it a poke. It opened up to reveal a very boring key, that obviously didn't fit the dragon.
Jamie: Jamie grinned, "You're getting real good at that femme fatale stuff, girlie." Oooh. Dragon. He reached passed her and stroked the egg the dragon was sitting on with a single finger. He screwed his mouth over to one side of his face as he looked at the key she held. "Looks like the key for my desk at the office." He plucked it from her and opened the drawer of the desk in one try. "Ta da!"
Jamie: He picked up the book inside and saw the picture underneath. It marked an x behind the sofa. He'd seen other x's around the room in various places as well. Hmm. Maybe a clue for later? Jamie opened the book and saw a page with five x's in a star pattern. Ooor a clue for now. He turned the page to see if there was anything else that was helpful. Two pages with some sort of pattern, but the second page was ripped out.
Jamie: He turned back to the star and looked around the room, noting mentally the x's he'd seen and the one behind the couch. Meaning the fifth one waaaas... Jamie spun around and crouched at the floor in front of the double doors, popping up a loose floorboard. Here! And also a weird plug thing. Another key? He held it up to Jean with an eyebrow arched in confusion. "Wuzzat?"
Jean: "Thanks, but all credit goes to the master gumshoe." Jean smirked at him and then stared at the book. She blinked at Jamie. "Are we summoning Satan or something?" Did she need Cassie for this?
Jean: Jean crouched in front of him to inspect the find, wondering if he was too focused to realize what she was doing. "It for real kind of looks like some of the super old sketchy plugs at my grandma's house on her old frilly lamps."
Jean: She took it from him and started to look for the antique lights, but realized it seemed like more of a knob than a plug. "Is it an old TV turner thingie? Y'know, before remotes?"
Jamie: Jamie finally looked from the plug in her hand to her and he blinked. Ohey. Great angles all around for him to look at. He smirked at her and was about to comment before she said something about TVs. "No... But you may be on to something." There was a knob that needed another knob at the first cabinet he went to. He duck-walked over to it and pulled the knob away to reveal the holes that would fit the plug-knob-key-thing he had found. "See if it fits here?"
Jean: Okay, while she was all about letting him have a peek, she wasn't doing that waddle. Jean floated up enough to cross her legs, good old Indian guru style, and drifted over to the cabinet. "Huh!" She lined up the prongs, slid it in and gave it a turn and was pleasantly surprised when the door opened to reveal a bottle of wine, a bunch of books with some more of the screwy symbols from the coins, and a lever, which she immediately wanted to pull.
Jean: "So, is the wine the reward for getting this far?" She picked up the bottle and gave it a slosh. There was actual liquid inside of it.
Jamie: As Jean went for the wine, Jamie plucked the only different looking book from the shelf. It was plain and boring, with no symbols at all. He turned it over in his hands and frowned. It had a lock, but there was no key. But there were screws! And he knew where a screwdriver was! He did the same duck-waddle over to the other cabinet and used the screwdriver to take off the lock, then opened the book.
Jamie: "Maybe the wine goes in something?" He lifted his head up from the book and looked at the shelf that was now eye level with him. "Like this soy sauce looking container thing?"
Jean: "The wine can't go in me?" She gave him a sad face.
Jamie: Jamie made a face, "Um. It's probably not anything you really want in you, Jeannie. More likely it's moldy cranberry juice or dyed water or something."
Jean: She sighed gustily. "Fiiiiine. But they went to the trouble to seal it..." In fact, she'd need... OH! "Oh, corkscrew!" Jean knew she'd seen it somewhere and went back to the pile on the desk. She opened the manual screw, made a face, and used her teke to pull the cork. She gave it a whiff. "No... it smells like cooking wine. Pass!"
Jean: She brought it over to him and looked at the container he'd indicated. She gave it a dribble to see if anything exploded. "So since they like patterns so much I probably need to do this in order..."
Jamie: "Just pour it in the middle and see if anything happens? I mean, you can always alien tomato it back into the bottle and start over, right?" Jamie grinned at her as he stood and flipped open the book. Ohey! Another key! "Another key!" It looked old. And awesome. Old. Dragon! He jumped over to the wall safe and put the key in. It fit! He turned it aaaand...
Jamie: FIREBAD! Jamie jerked away until he realized it was only a lighter and it was a controlled flame. He slowly reached in and turned the key to turn it off for now. Fire bad.
Jean: Jean was pouring the vinegary wine when she felt Jamie freak out and nearly spilled it. "Shit, you okay?" She stopped what she was doing to go see what was on fire, thankful it wasn't him. She slid her arm around his waist. "Not all fire is bad."
Jamie: Jamie took a breath and wrapped both of his arms around her, leaning down to nuzzle his nose carefully into her hair, just smelling her. "I know, I know. But surprise fire is never good. Sorry, Jean. I'm okay now." He pulled back to smile down at her and gave her a kiss. "Promise."
Jean: "Good." She grinned at him and returned the kiss. "But you don't have anything to be sorry for." She held onto him for a long moment.Today was his birthday, but tomorrow was altogether another anniversary. It was the day he'd been taken and tortured by those fucking cannibals. If Quentin Quire wasn't already long dead, she would be more than happy to kill him herself.
Jamie: "Well then let's keep going and beat the clock!" He looked up at it, "We've only been in here for twenty of the sixty minutes. We can totally get those doors to open. We're an ace team!" Jamie grinned down at her, "Alright, Breathless, what'd the wine do?"
Jean: "It definitely opened my sinuses," she said with a nod, taking his hand to lead him back to the tray. "It made a pattern of some sort again." Jean looked around the room trying to decide what they hadn't yet messed with.
Jean: The knife cabinet was right next to the wine puddles, so she started poking the buttons. More shit lighting up in patterns. Once the lights went out, she copied the pattern from the wine receptacle and bounced when the lock clicked open.
Jean: "Watch out, now I'm armed!" She grabbed the dagger and unsheathed it, but of course it wasn't a real daggar. "Is this like, a giant key? Oooor one of those things you use to open car doors?"
Jamie: Jamie beamed at her with pride when she figured out the lock all by herself. "A slim jim? We don't need to get into any locked cars, babe." Buuut... They did need help reaching something... He took the weirdly shaped 'dagger' from her and went back to the desk, opening the bottom drawer the small amount that it would open, then used the pointy end to spear the scrap of paper.
Jamie: Jamie passed the knife back and flipped the book to the torn page, matching the paper he had up with the rip. "Well... Now what? Squares and circles... Not the radio, no triangles. The lamp maybe?"
Jean: "I could have thrown an alien tomato at that, y'know." Jean accepted the knife back and watched the crooked wire bounce when she gave the hilt a wiggle. "What's with the sun and... moon? Black moon?"
Jean: She pointed at it with the dagger and noticed something, laying it down over the top of the symbols. It fit, but she was still clueless about what it meant. "Sooo... does one code turn the lights on and one turns them off?"
Jamie: "Maybe? Nice call on the dagger thingy, though!" He looked from the book to the lamp and pushed the buttons. It just turned the lamp off and on. Jamie frowned at it. "Well shit." He experimentally poked them in the order he thought they would go and still nothing.
Jean: "Does it go backward because the knife is pointing that'a'way?" Jean was getting really close to searching the brain of the attendant in the front room for the clues. She was hungry and horny, and wanted those needs addressed, not necessarily in that order.
Jean: Jean hauled the book over to the cabinet and plonked the dagger back down to look at the code. She flipped it around, but that didn't work at all. "Hmm."
Jean: She poked at one of the pictures, which was screwed down. Okay, weird.
Jamie: "Oh, that's a good point. Not left to right, like reading, but the way the dagger points!" Jamie beamed at her again, "I love the way your mind works." He punched in the code going the other way and blinked when the lamp flicked on and off in a three blinking pattern and a door popped open on the base. "Another key! Only one more keyhole that I know of. Wanna do the honors?"
Jean: "Backward?" She had to laugh a little at that, watching the lamp give up its bounty. She gave the key a smirk and turned it on him. "Whose birthday is this?" Jean took the key anyway and opened the drawer in the knife cabinet.
Jean: She picked up another book and gave it a blink, handing it to Jamie. "I kind of dig the pocket watch." She picked it up to inspect the weird symbols. "I still think we might be summoning demons," she said with a nod. Was that really the time?
Jamie: "Demons? Those are runes, Jeannie. Viking, I think. I haven't sent a dupe to research vikings yet, though. Maybe I should." He mulled that over while he looked at the book. It matched the other books on the shelf from earlier. Jamie squatted down and opened the cabinet. "Maybe the symbols on the watch are clues to the order the books are meant to go in. And then you can pull the lever."
Jean: "They are the same..." Jean compared the watch to the books. "Viking runes, huh? Maybe it's a viking demon then." She amused herself with the thought if nothing else. "How many dupes have you got... like, out there?" Jean ruffled his hair since he was conveniently located right in front of her, moving in to stand behind his back.
Jamie: Jamie enjoyed the hand in his hair and tipped his head up to smile at her. Oh now he had to think. "Um..." He closed one eye and sucked his full lower lip into his mouth. "Still? Probably only like four or five left."
Jamie: He craned his neck to look at the watch then started to arrange the books. "Alright, Jeannie. Give it a push."
Jean: Jean held the watch for him and watched him rearrange the books. "Nope. It's your birthday, and you figured it out." She was quite fond of that thinking face and bent to kiss the lip he was abusing. Four or five. It was kind of alarming that he didn't remember how many of him were out there, doing who knew what.
Jamie: Oooh, kisses. Jamie pulled her into his lap as he fell to his butt, kissing her properly. "But you found this place for me. We'll do it together." He wrapped his hand over the back of hers and brought them both up to the lever, pulling it down with a satisfying click. And then a thunk. He frowned and looked around. "Something fell on the shelf. Was that supposed to happen?"
Jean: Jean giggled on her way down, using her teke to soften her landing, playing with his hair while they kissed. His move to pull the lever together made her smile, and she'd really expected this to be the big finale. Secret lever in a bookcase! Classic! But apparently not. "Um..."
Jean: She untangled herself from him and floated to her feet, smoothing down her short dress again. "A picture fell off the wall." She picked it up, but was distracted by the space behind it, which totally looked like one of those cardboard displays nerds put old coins into for funsies.
Jamie: Jamie pushed to his feet and looked at the picture she held. It had screws. Weird for something that was supposed to be art. He plucked it from her and went to the screwdriver in the cabinet. "There's a paper inside!" Jamie frowned at it, setting the two pieces of the art on the shelf. "It's got an arrow pointing to the plant. But we already know there's an 'x' under the pla... Wait."
Jamie: Oh gosh. This was exciting! He knew what the singed edge meant! Jamie jumped up and launched himself at the dragon lighter with the piece of paper, turning the key, and holding the paper over the flame. He grinned like a madman when the symbols showed up. "Invisible ink!"
Jean: "Never trust a potted plant," she said, nodding, then turned to watch him dashing around the room. When he went for the dragon, she raised a brow, although she knew his main problem with fire was surprise fire. Like her! Jean couldn't help but grin at his excitement. "Okay, wow, that's cool," she laughed, moving closer to see what showed up. "Very Hollywood."
Jean: "More vikings, huh?" Those symbols made her look over at the little pile of coins and at the coin sleeve on the wall. "Well well..."
Jamie: "Put 'em in, Jeannie!" He moved over to the plaque and held the paper up, pointing at the coins and then the paper, "Put them in the order here. Hurry, before it fades again!"
Jean: Jean grabbed the coins and did as she was told, looking between the paper and the wall until they were in place. For a moment, nothing happened and she poked at the paper, running her fingers over the invisible ink. Trippy! Then, one by one, the coins started to light up, forming an arrow.
Jean: "Whoa..." She stepped back from the bookcase and reached for Jamie's hand when the wall started to shake.
Jamie: Jamie stepped back with her, but he was grinning from ear to ear. The bookcase lowered into the floor and the employee assigned to help them was standing in the hallway smiling at them. "Ha! We beat it!" He grabbed Jean and lifted her into the air, spinning her in a circle before kissing her soundly.
Jean: Jean let out an embarrassingly loud squeak when he picked her up, laughing and wrapping her arms around his neck. "We did! Mostly you did, my master detective." She gave him a bright smile and lost herself in the kiss.
Jamie: Jamie set her down slowly, not breaking their kiss until the employee cleared his throat as politely as he could. He felt his face turn bright red, but he grinned at her, then over at the attendant. "Thanks, pally! Your game was amazingly well put together! C'mon, Knockout. Let's blow this joint and go meet Vivian."
Escape Game!
Vivian