Back the fuck away, Nathaniel, a voice in his head screamed. Turn around, walk away, and pretend like this never happened. Ignore how ridiculously hot she is, ignore how close she is to you, ignore the fact that you want to fuck her brains out on her table right now. That wasn't helping. Think about how badly this could risk your job. Think of the fact that you're brother is clearly interested in her. Think of---

"Fuck it."

Almost as instantly as the words had left his mouth, his mouth crashed down on hers, as he pulled the brunette closer so here was minimal distance between then. Every nerve ending he had felt like a blazing inferno, as a hunger he never quite knew he was capable of grew inside him. He pulled at Joanna's top, lifting it with ease over her head. For a brief second, he thought of how the doors to the training facility were unlocked. That anyone could walk in at this very moment and see Nathaniel making out with one of his topless recruits.

And then he caught a glimpse of said topless recruit, and the thought all but dissipated from his mind. His lips met her own again, letting out a small groan as he felt her bare chest against his own. Pulling away for a brief second, Nathaniel leant his forehead against hers. "So, tell me, Langston. Up against the wall, or on the table", he said, a sly grin forming on his lips.

just pull the trigger | nathaniel + joanna

Six years, leaning on seven. But being there for eternity wouldn't save me from Copeland's wrath if he doesn't get his own way, especially when it comes to those lovely children of his.

Oh, it's one of her favorite past times. You should see when she decides to change people's memories instead of remove them. It'd be hilarious if it weren't so alarming.

*She blinked, wiping her hands on the rag that was tucked into her skirt before pulling her phone out from behind the counter. Heather stared at it for a minute, nodding to herself.*

Right, still Wednesday. Time gets blurry here sometimes. People buy more when they can’t tell time.

*Her face heated momentarily at her lack of regard and knowledge on the subject, hands subconsciously fidgeting with the rag. It was a nervous tick.*

Do you really think they’d fire you? You’ve been with Helix for…how long have you been with Helix?

Brain drain from the Ice Queen. Wonderful. I’ll be sure to recommend it to tonight’s crowd. She does enjoy tormenting others for her own amusement, doesn’t she?

The truth is what we choose to believe and what I told you at the truck stop was the truth.

As long as it doesn't end with the Valens City Police Department at my door at 3 a.m, the world's your oyster little brother.

Well, damn!

What does a guy have to do to get a little fun around here?

"Well, what can I say, I aim to please", he said before sculling the contents of his glass. Slamming it down on the bar, he groaned. "Oh, y'know, just busting my ass for Daddy Copeland's every need and whim. And we both know he's got eyes like a fucking hawk. So, I haven't exactly been able to... fraternize lately. Not with our boss breathing down my damn neck."

Scoffing at Eliza's comment about his dedication to Helix, Nathaniel motioned the bartender for two more drinks; if he was going to get absolutely trashed, so was Eliza. "Look, we both know that I'm probably a little more dedicated to my job when I should be. But I joined this corporation in order to achieve something, whatever the hell it may be. I sure as fuck didn't take this job to play nepotism to my boss' golden children." The two drinks arrived, and he quickly swallowed some of its contents before continuing to talk. "I mean, Madison I can understand. The girl's easily our best recruit, and between you and me I'm fairly sure she's  a bit of a murderous psychopath. But Dylan - I mean, he's good, but if his parents really think he should be next in line to be CEO they're kidding themselves."

Nathaniel was vaguely aware that he shouldn't be telling Eliza any of this; as well respected as she was within the corporation, she wasn't quite allowed to know the various secrets of Helix yet. Hell, even Nathaniel was kept out of the loop on occasion. But with almost four glasses of whiskey in him, any discretion was long gone.

That time again | Eliza & Nathaniel

Nathaniel's eyes widened at the sight of Joanna stripping off her jacket. She's not--- no, surely not. He was her boss, and romantic relations were strictly forbidden at Helix. Of course, that had never stopped him with Eliza Manning, but Eliza was never one of his recruits. And Eliza never shared a close relationship with his younger brother.

That's not to say he hadn't noticed how ridiculously attractive Joanna was before - he'd be blind not to. But there was no way he could act on it, sleeping with Eliza was already putting his job in enough risk. Sleeping with a recruit could be enough to put his life on the line. But Jesus Christ, when she was looking like that...

Watching intently as Joanna once again attempted to hit the targets, he was soon interrupted by Joanna herself, who was now dangerously close to him. He looked down at the younger woman nonchalantly, trying to pretend that her body on his wasn't affecting him the way it was. "And, how exactly do you suggest we do that?", he asked.

Without a second thought, he ran his hand lightly down her arm, clenching his jaw as he did so. His skin felt like it was on fire when it touched hers, and every fiber his being was screaming at him not to do this, that it wasn't worth, that it was wrong, so goddamn wrong.

But that didn't dull the ache in his stomach.

"You know, Joanna. Those doors aren't locked, which means anyone could walk in at any moment. And if someone were to walk in right now, this could be an incredibly compromising position to be caught in. I am your boss after all", he said cooly. He was already going to hell for this; he may as well act suave doing it.

just pull the trigger | nathaniel + joanna

She is feeding you, And you lie with her. And for the first time, Your right arm becomes useful. As you sin with it, You wanna cut it off. But instead you thank God for all of the wrong you do.

"Another", Nathaniel slurred, gesturing towards the empty glass in front of him. "Actually, make that two. I have a friend coming." He smirked to himself - Eliza was more than just a friend. Not unless friends often slept together on a regular basis, but that was about as far as their relationship went; Non-exclusive and no strings attached. At least, that's what Nathaniel told himself when he chose to ignore the glaring looks he would catch Eliza giving Heather Maxwell, and when he found himself doing the same when Eliza was flirting with whoever her next conquest was.

His thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of Eliza herself, and he found himself grinning. "Eliza, it's been far too long", he exclaimed. Usually the pair met up far more frequently than this, but with his nepotistic boss breathing down his neck lately, Nathaniel couldn't risk being seen with Eliza. Romantic relationships in Helix were forbidden, even ones as casual as theirs, and as much as it thrilled him at times, he wasn't about to everything he had worked for just because he wanted to get laid. But now Dylan had his long-awaited first Removal, so Nathaniel was free to do whatever he wanted.

At that moment, the bartender handed him two glasses of whiskey. He passed one to Eliza, raising his own in the air. "To the end of a godawful week", he toasted."Though I must say, it's a little better now", he said, his lips curving upwards to his trademark smirk.

That time again | Eliza & Nathaniel

Although Helix was underground, it lacked the damp darkness that you’d think of when sewers come to mind. No, like the corporation itself, the headquarters of Helix was sleek and as close to perfection as an underground hideaway could be. Eliza waited for the elevator that would pick her up from one of the lower floors in the building, where they brought people – both Breed and Ordinaries – that seemed to know too much about the corporation. Being as she was one of the few, if not the only, mutant they had with memory manipulation, this walk had become rather familiar to her. She had just finished wiping the memory clean of some irrelevant pedestrian who happened to witness an unidentified Breed member shifting into a dog. As soon as Eliza had had the time to roll her eyes as the pure stupidity of the person that shifted in the clear daylight, she wiped the memory from the human’s mind. It was one of the simplest tasks Helix had assigned her for quite some time.

 As she came to the disguised ground level floor, Eliza stepped out into the now-dark city. It amazed her how quickly things could change in the outside world when she was underground. She supposed this thought carried some deeper meaning about her future at Helix, but the blonde quickly shrugged it off. She stepped into the driver’s seat one of the corporations town cars and headed towards Awol. The cars were normally used for assignments, but Eliza didn’t feel like hailing a cab, only to have to have some mindless conversation with someone that couldn’t even advance their career past driving a taxi. Besides, it wasn’t as though this trip to the bar had nothing to do with Helix. Regardless of her enormous value to the corporation, Eliza was still kept out of the loop on some of the top-secret Helix assignments, and it was something she detested. She had a deep seeded thirst to know all there was about the organization she was so a part of, and what she wanted, she got. That was one thing Eliza was unyielding about.

As she parked the car a few spots down from the bar, she made a silent mental note to not get too drunk that she couldn’t return the damn thing, though she know this promise to herself was half-assed. Normally she’d be more careful about acting in control of herself in front of her superiors – superiors only in job rank, obviously – but she just a bit more relaxed in front of Nathaniel given their relationship. And if Eliza knew him as well as she thought she knew just about everyone, he’d already be 4 glasses of whiskey in. She walked in through the dark, familiar doors and quickly glanced around for Nathaniel, noticing with a small sigh that Heather Maxwell wasn’t bartending. Shame, she thoughtas she was always up to ruin someone’s night in order to enjoy hers. Spotting the man, she slid up to the seat next to him. “Hey, stranger.” 

Joanna had always been a bit of an enigma to Nathaniel, and just about everyone else in Valens. Hired by Helix as a recruit at the ripe old age of 16, Nathaniel had heard some rather twisted rumours about her past - he wasn't quite high up enough in the ranks to know every little detail about the Corporation - but he brushed them off as nothing more than mere rumours. Helix was capable of some dark shit, but not that awful. All he really knew about the young woman was what was on her case file, and that recently she had been getting closer to his younger brother, Aaron, for surveillance purposes - something that made Nathaniel somewhat uncomfortable.

Nathaniel raised an eyebrow once the bullets hit the target, noting that they hadn't actually landed where they were meant to. To be honest, he was a tad perplexed - Joanna had passed every assessment with ease, only being bested by Madison Copeland - and he found it a tad odd that Joanna struggled with something as difficult as hitting a bullseye.

"You distracted by something, Langston?", he asked. Nathaniel walked up to the brunette, resting his hand on the small of her back.­­ He leaned in closer to her, pointing towards the bullseye on the target. "Focus on nothing else but that target, Joanna. I've seen your evaluation scores, this is child's play for you." Suddenly aware of the minimum amount of distance between their faces, Nathaniel cleared his throat, stepping back immediately.

"Okay, uh, try again with the shell casings. Just pretend like I'm not even here." He folded his arms, watching intently as Joanna attempted once again to hit the targets.

just pull the trigger | nathaniel + joanna

Nathaniel huffed as he picked up the last file, hoping this final evaluation would go much better than the incompetent telepath he had just tested. Opening the file, he felt a wave of relief once he saw the name and accompanying picture.

Joanna Langston.

One of Helix's best recruits, Nathaniel was sure he'd be out of here in no time. Joanna was an expert at using her power - he had heard rumours that she often slit people's throats with her telekinesis - and all she had to do was hit a few targets, lift a few heavy items, and then Nathaniel could finally go home and have that long awaited glass of whiskey.

The training facility was set up in between each test in order to suit the recruit's ability. In the case of Joanna, the room was all but empty except for a line of targets at the end of the room, and a table assorted with various items of different weights for Joanna to throw with her ability. Truthfully, Nathaniel thought the test was too easy, though he assumed the big wigs at Helix knew that there was really no point in this evaluation for Joanna; she was a master at her craft.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of heels clicking, causing a smirk to form on his lips. Amongst other things, Joanna was known for her incredible self-confidence. Turning to face the young woman, he eyed her over quickly, taking in her long legs that were accentuated by the high heels she had on. Shaking away the thought, he raised an eyebrow, somewhat amused by the way she spoke to him.

"It's rather simple really, hit the bulls eye on the target with these items. They range in weight, the lightest being this shell casing, the heaviest being a brick. They're all items you could use as a weapon on the field - simple stuff really, Ability Evaluations are just unnecessary protocol that test your incredibly basic skills. I'm sure someone with your talents will have this done quickly."

just pull the trigger | nathaniel + joanna

As Joanna made her way down to the Training Facility, her hips swaying in her usual saunter, as she pulled her brown tresses into a high pony tail. She had to resist the urge to roll her eyes when Sharpe had mentioned her evaluation. Not that’d she ever so much as admit it, but she had forgotten - something she never usually did. Before enrolling in the University her life had been relatively simple - she never really had to think for herself, as everything she did was for the Helix. They mapped out her schedule, planned her various Removals, and so on. And while she was still technically only undercover because of the Helix, she suddenly found herself truly having to make choices on her own. She now had responsibilities outside of the corporation — homework or various social obligations. Some pestering student was almost roping her into partaking into something new, and her Ability Evaluation was all but forgotten. 

It seemed needless — she had been a Recruit for three years. She was confident of her skills, she knew what she could do, and surely they did to. But these evaluations were routine, and nothing new, especially not for Joanna. She’d undoubtedly pass with flying colors, and be out of there in no time. 

As she entered the facility, it was empty just as promised, except for her moderator of the evening, Nathaniel Sharpe, whose back was turned. Her heels clicked upon the tile pavement, echoing throughout. She’d wear them for the evaluation, just as she would out on a Removal. She stopped once she was square in the middle of the room. 

“Well,” she began, announcing herself as if her arrival weren’t already apparent, “now that you’ve got me here..”

The corner of her lips tugged into a coy smile, “—show me what you got.”

I'll do that right after you pass your Ability Evaluation, or did you forget about that amongst all your baby silencing.

Well then, boss man, why don’t you work that magic of yours, and get that baby out of my building.

Now, now. I've been handed a lot of things on a silver patter, I'll freely admit that. But my accomplishments in Helix, including being your boss, I've worked my ass off for. Pay particular attention to the part where I'm your boss.

And here I thought you were one of those that worked for everything he had.

Careful now, someone's gonna start thinking you have a drinking problem.

Rest in peace, Shirley Temple. You were my most favorite non-alcoholic drink, so really my least-favorite drink.

I also happen to have a very wealthy family and an incredibly large trust fund. Luckily for me, a spoilt rich kid living in that so-called big, shiny tower makes sense.

Or maybe you’re just keeping it all for yourself. You in that big, shiny tower, while the rest of live in squalor. Being Head Recruit sure does seem to reap its rewards.

We've been through this, Joanna. A complete stranger waltzing into Valens raises enough questions, a complete stranger waltzing into Valens with enough money to live in a Manning complex could blow your cover.

That and we wouldn't want you assaulting children of the more affluent families in Valens.

I don’t know — must have been lost in translation along with why I couldn’t have a better suite.