Work Text:
Sparking Wires.
by Lopaka Tanu
The size of the crowd was intimidating to say the least. Buck felt nothing so much as an animal in a zoo. Tugging on his dress shirt collar, he silently cursed Cathy for making him wear it. What should have been a multicultural symposium was turning in to a freak show.
People who came here didn't care to learn about other cultures. No, he noticed, all they seemed to do was stare and take pictures of the exhibits. He wasn't alone in that boat. Even if most of them came just to see him, he could take comfort in that fact.
Still, he had a job to do and he wasn't about to blow it. So, he grinned like an ignorant tert and attempted to hand out another flier on Tenctonese Culture. He chose a woman who was browsing the art pictures on a Tenctonese carved privacy screen. "Would you care to read about our K'enek ceremony which will be held later this week?"
The woman froze. Her eyes went wide, staring at Buck as if she were surprised he could actually talk. Eventually, she looked down at the paper he offered her.
Buck reminded himself to be polite. "We will be sharing an approximation of a fruit drink we enjoyed on Tencton." The smile on his face hurt.
When he gently shook it, she jumped back. The woman brought her hands to her chest, like she thought he was going to nip at her fingers. She continued to stare at him in horror as she fled in to the crowd.
He would have felt something if her reaction wasn't typical. Buck knew that outside the Los Angeles area that New Comer sightings were rare. People viewed them as the aliens they were. And that was the problem he was supposed to be overcoming here.
Shaking his head, he checked his wrist watch. He had another two hours before Foolery came to replace him. The thought of two more hours among these fools made him groan.
He started to sit down when a throat cleared on the other side of the table. Warily at first, Buck glanced up. Halfway there, he remembered he was supposed to be psychotically cheerful and forced a smile.
Fingering a picture of the Little Tencton Delta Project, the man let out a derisive snort. "You can't seriously believe that this will work."
"Actually, sir, it's already working," Buck bit out through clinched teeth. "We have restored over sixty square miles of wetland."
The man shrugged slim shoulders and moved on to the next display. This one was a diorama of Tenctonese architecture. "Is this another success story or are you people hoping to get donations to build it?"
Feeling his temples begin to pulse, Buck closed his eyes. Peace and calm, serenity was within him. The chant came easily to his mind as it was not the first time he had recounted it to himself today. A crashing sound snapped his eyes open.
The screen containing samples of Tenctonese art had been knocked in to his table. Several of the pictures were still fluttering to the floor around it.
Standing with one of the pictures in his hand, the stranger had a smirk on his lips. "Oops." He offered up the picture. "It fell."
It took every ounce of Buck's self discipline not to snap. As it was, his fingers trembled around the stack of fliers in his hands. "That's all right, I'll fix it in a moment."
"Why not now?" The man began to twist the picture between his fingers. "I'll even help just make it up to you." Giving Buck an honest smile, he seemed to genuinely want to help.
Buck didn't trust the man for a moment. Setting down the stack of fliers, he kept a lid on the excitement he was feeling. The chance to do something other than kiss tert ass made his hearts jump. If the man even so much as sneezed, Buck would be all over him like a flash. "All right, then."
Stepping back from the mess, the man seemed content to let Buck guide him on this.
That was fine with him. Even if the human was only messing around, then the best thing he could do was stay out of the way. Coming around the main table, Buck kept an eye on the man.
Buck started by picking up the pictures on the floor. Much to his surprise, the man moved to help him. Soon they had all the pictures picked up and were setting them on the table. That done, Buck reached for the privacy screen.
It was then the man made his move. Coming up behind Buck he reached for the edge of the screen. He overbalanced on purpose and fell in to Buck's back. "Oh! I'm so sorry." The man caught himself by placing a hand on the center of Buck's back.
Buck hissed as strong fingers slid over the sweet spot. A shock of pleasure caused him to shudder. Anger filled him at the violation and he swung back with an elbow aimed at the tert's stomach.
The man wasn't there.
Having anticipated the reaction, the man dodged to the side. "What's the matter? Did I hurt you?" There was a hint of mocking in his sympathetic tone.
His anger overriding his common sense, Buck released the screen completely. He spun to face his attacker. The white dress shirt he wore tore in several places from the act. Much to his satisfaction, this caused the man's smirk to drop off.
An emotion different from fear replaced the smirk. Swallowing, the man stared at the New Comer's shredded shirt. "Looks like you went a little Hulk there, pal."
Buck flashed him his teeth as the words hit home. The Hulk was a giant freak who recklessly destroyed things when he was angry. He was not a destructive monster! Clenching his fists, he took a step towards the human. "You do not touch me, ever!"
Holding up his hands, the man backed away another step. "All right." He looked glanced about them at the forming crowd. "Just calm down, okay?"
"I think it's time you left." Keeping his fists clenched, Buck pried an index finger loose so he could point over the man's shoulder. He was half a step from doing something he would have regretted. "Now!"
Suddenly, a woman burst through the throng. Launching herself at the man, she swung an arm around his chest. Her direct assault knocked the man off balance and she had enough momentum to drag him in to the crowd.
He was out of sight before he even had the mind to protest.
Buck closed his eyes as he put his fingers together. Lowering his head, he began to chant to himself the prayer of serenity just as Director Mai had shown him. He began to filter out the noise of the symposium, trying to find his center. All he needed to do was calm himself.
He wasn't an animal. He would not put on a display for these low brows. Tenctonese were not here for their amusement. As the representative of New Comers every where, he had an image to uphold. There was no room for slip ups. He was in charge of his own mind and body.
"What?" A voice. That voice. It was that man. Even from across the dome, Buck could make it out destinctly.
"Nick, I can't believe you did that!" The voice of a woman ripped through Buck's forced serenity. "Captain Page said you were supposed to observe only!"
"What? It's not like I shot the guy." The man didn't sound the least bit repentant for what he had done.
"You...are completely unbelievable. You assaulted the man." She got it in one.
The man chuckled. "I touched one little spot. He's the one who went all 'Hulk Smash'. By the way, that shirt trick, very impressive. I'd like to be able to do that next time Carl started mouthing off."
"You are such a dork sometimes, Nick." She sounded like she didn't know whether to laugh or scream. She chose the latter. "That is the last time I let you investigate a possible Link alone!"
"Oh, come on, Kate, don't be that way."
Captain Page, Nick, Carl, and now Kate. Buck now had enough information to run a search on the police database. Opening his eyes, he took a cleansing breath. Apparently, whatever information they had on New Comers hadn't included the fact that they could hear extremely well.
Buck smirked. There was something to do here besides pretending to be nice. Chicago might not turn out to be such a wasteland after all.
THE END............................