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The fire in her voice surprised him faintly, but not in an unpleasant way. No, it delighted him, as evidenced by the way his smile widened.[break][break]

"I'm looking for a specific person, actually. A bit of a celebrity in the area, as it happens."[break][break]

He reached into his pocket, bringing out an address written out in the scrawling penmanship of a receptionist in the League headquarters. His ice-blue eyes met hers as he allowed her time to study the paper.[break][break]

"The Head Scientist Illeana Reyes lives near here, I'm told. I couldn't manage to find her during office hours but, well. Who am I to interrupt her scientific research with a request for an interview?"[break][break]

Would she accept the bait, or reject it?

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So this was Felix Gallagher's newest fixation.[break][break]

More bookish than Malcolm had expected, truthfully, but that was a bit endearing in an annoying way. A Head Scientist and geneticist both was an impressive pedigree, and despite her momentary disarray, the fact that she had an appealing physique to match made Illeana seem... well, out of Felix's league, if Malcolm were to be quite honest.[break][break]

Although that had been in Sinnoh, and as Malcolm was learning, Hoenn was not one and the same as their home region.[break][break]

As the woman glared up at him, Malcolm met her with an easy charm, taking the brief window of opportunity to talk. He took a half-step to the side -- enough to make it seem as if he would let her pass, but enough to still inconvenience her.[break][break]

He needed her time, after all.[break][break]

"I apologize, I appear to be a bit lost," he said, meeting her gaze with an apologetic smile. "I was hoping to find someone, but am rather new to Lilycove City. I don't suppose you're a local?"

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This was a pleasant change of pace. Being treated as an equal, rather than the unseen observer in the room, that was.[break][break]

"My sister spoke highly of your company's reputation," Malcolm agreed. The term was a little more endearing than what he'd personally assign to ANA STONE: the half-sister he was tied to by traitorous blood. Still, family was a bargaining chip, and he sought to play his as well as he could.[break][break]

It still mystified him, slightly, that she'd been willing to give him the position of Hoenn's regional director. Then again, she'd been clear in her desire for the company, and in that their interests aligned.[break][break]

"I'll be blunt, then. The goal for RotomTV is growth and profit. I'm sure this is unsurprising to you, as it is the goal of all companies."[break][break]

He leaned forward here, a faint smile visible as he picked up the glass of water to wet his lips.[break][break]

"The stocks I'm most interested in, however, are Devon Corp. Family is important to me, Mr. Caffey, and my father loved that company more than anything else."[break][break]

His bastard son included.

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"Wouldn't anyone enjoy the opportunity to play necromancer?" was his easy reply, a dazzling smile meeting hers as she lowered her mask. "Imagine my surprise at seeing your pretty corpse so very far away from Sinnoh."[break][break]

And in so very much trouble.[break][break]

He gestured for her to come inside, where she'd find comfortable seating in the form of an immaculate white couch set before a cold fireplace. Outside, the beautiful cityscape of Mauville was in clear view, streetlamps glimmering in the night.[break][break]

"I have to ask, Serena." A long-suffering sigh, like a parent discovering the antics of their beloved child, interrupted his thought. "Why Rocket?"[break][break]

Malcolm couldn't fathom why anyone would be so insufferably stupid as to sign up their life with a terrorist organization, but he would play the part of a patient listener for her. He would pretend he could understand.

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"Temper, temper, Gallagher."[break][break]

Still, he let the controller go without argument. A smirk pulled at the corner of his lips, although he bit back the urge to laugh. Better to keep his smug satisfaction to himself, lest he push Felix too far.[break][break]

At the mention of Marissa, however, his eyebrows rose. That dull, dreary creature with a Mudbray's face? This time Malcolm was unable to hold back the sudden laugh that took hold of him.[break][break]

"I wasn't aware you cared who I spent my time with, frankly."[break][break]

Not that Malcolm minded the accusation in the slightest. On the contrary, it pleased him to see Felix so rattled. A shit-eating grin beamed up at him, and Malcolm met his green eyes with ice-cold blue.[break][break]

"Don't tell me you're jealous?"

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He fashioned a laugh, his eyes twinkling a cold clear blue as he accepted the champagne.[break][break]

"Lie? Ah, Luci. That's such an ugly word for the pretty things you say."[break][break]

An arm linked with his, leading Luciano gently along as they intermingled with the other guests. He could feel the gaze of the others present on them both, and his mouth twitched into a faint smile.[break][break]

Glancing over his shoulder at the other wealthy Sinnohians, he then turned back to one of the paintings Luci had completed. A landscape, this time.[break][break]

"As for criticism, I haven't the same eye for art as you do. Though I'll observe you're talking to me all evening... when there are many other people desiring of your attention."

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"Don't make promises you don't intend to keep," he teased, his arm drawing around the artist's to lead them further into the gala. "Wouldn't want to disappoint me, would you, Fisk?"[break][break]

This wasn't as idle and unlikely a threat as he made it sound.[break][break]

The pomp and ceremony of the gathering had caught Malcolm's attention immediately; it was not something he'd been accustomed to, but it was something he'd hungered to experience, something that he believed had been his stolen birthright.[break][break]

As far as golden tickets went, Luci was ideal. Handsome, well-spoken, well-bred, well-liked. Insufferably full of himself, but who wasn't in this room? They fit right in.[break][break]

Although sometimes, Luci said things that led Malcolm to wonder if he wasn't quite as oblivious the artist as he played at being.[break][break]

"Do you think I flatter you?" he asked, a soft chuckle dismissing the notion. "I can criticize you more, if you like."

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"Someone's pissier than usual."[break][break]

He grinned as the controller was shoved into his hands. Its well-thumbed buttons had worn away the letters some time ago, but muscle memory filled in those gaps.[break][break]

"You're going to ruin your teeth like that, you know," he continued flatly, eyeing the almonds with a lift of his eyebrow before he restarted the game mission. Felix's avatar reanimated before it ran across the screen, unsheathing his weapon to battle.[break][break]

God, what horrible character design it was, too. No imagination whatsoever. Classic Gallagher.[break][break]

Malcolm crossed his legs, eyes narrowing as he focused on his virtual foes, the memorized move-sets resulting in a quick jerk of his thumbs in reflex. His grin dimpled into a smirk as he made his way passed the entry point that had plunged Felix to his fiery doom, making his way to the gate that he'd failed to breach until now.[break][break]

"Sometimes I wonder if you just like losing."

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"Impressive as ever, Fisk."[break][break]

Malcolm's amber eyes flitted appreciatively over the other man's painting, privately finding its proportions a tad generous for a self-portrait. Not that he would say so, of course. No need to puncture his ego tonight.[break][break]

Some inflating of it, however, might go a long way.[break][break]

"I have to say," the white-haired man continued, his mouth curving into a faint smile, "having the man of the hour as my date tonight is a stroke of luck. I can't imagine a better introduction to the blue bloods of Sinnoh."[break][break]

The gentlest kiss was lightly pressed to the other man's knuckle, almost worshipful in its touch.[break][break]

It was incredible to Malcolm, really, how little effort it took to get him taken into such an exclusive gathering as this one.[break][break]

Were all artists this vain?

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Malcolm Carver took off his shoes as he entered the Gallagher's home, always careful to respectfully abide by the matriarch's rules. He'd learned that much in his youth: mothers were to be listened to, or else there were consequences.[break][break]

Mal endeavored to make mistakes rarely. That made him a quick learner.[break][break]

A charming smile and an offering of apology was enough to melt any barriers that might have kept him outside in the bitter cold, and he thawed inside as he looked about for his chosen target, the faintest frown manifesting as he failed to find him.[break][break]

"Are you looking for Felix?" A hand helpfully gestured to the backroom, where the distant sounds of a videogame system filtered through the darkness. "August is out, I'm afraid."[break][break]

His smile widened at this. Felix was alone? Good. He preferred it that way.[break][break]

The blurry light of the television glared down on the dark-haired boy like a neon halo, upbeat music masking Malcolm's footsteps in noise.[break][break]

"This again, Gallagher?" was his dry introduction as he sat down beside him. "You're shit at these games."

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As the late hour of night crept its way over the city, Malcolm stared out at the glittering buildings beyond the window walls of his Mauville Hills penthouse, and waited.[break][break]

Patience came easily to a man who'd been born wanting. With his hands clasped behind his back as he stared down the city from above, Malcolm looked for a familiar head of dark hair, scurrying in the shadows of the lamplights below.[break][break]

She'd come, of course. Serena Malcolm always did, if he was the one calling her.[break][break]

He'd discovered only recently that she'd stumbled her way into Hoenn with him, despite wandering so far from the northern borders of Sinnoh. The exact nature of her presence here was irrelevant, only that she was present, and that he'd found her.[break][break]

Even so, Malcolm had to admit her peculiar circumstances fascinated him.[break][break]

When the knock sounded on the door, he fought to suppress a small, knowing smile that she'd come as he bid her. It satisfied him to know that this had not changed between them.[break][break]

"Serena," was his beginning to their decade-long reunion. "You look well for a dead woman."

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